The next day.
It was hard to distinguish day from night in the Underground River, but instinct and a vague sense of time passing still made Uchiha Hikari realize, at some point, that the "night" was over.
After enough rest and food, her body had regained a little strength.
Still, the sluggishness of her chakra and the sealing bandages over her eyes continued to remind her of her predicament.
But her hands had been untied at some point. Why had this guy suddenly become so willing to trust her?
By the time she woke, Naruto was already busy beside the fire.
A scent filled the air, entirely different from last night's yet just as enticing.
It was the toasted aroma of eggs fried in oil, with a faint hint of meat.
Simple egg and tomato fried rice, with finely diced meat added in.
Each grain of rice was separate, coated in golden egg and rosy tomato juice, with bits of meat scattered throughout. It was colorful and steaming hot.
Uchiha Hikari sat up, and the jacket draped over her slipped a little.
She hesitated, not speaking right away.
After last night's "unexpectedly" lavish dinner, something subtle seemed to have diluted the bristling hostility between them just a little, though their wariness remained.
She quietly "watched" Naruto dish out the rice.
When Naruto brought a bowl of fried rice over near her usual spot, she pressed her lips together, seemingly working up her courage.
Then, in a tone slightly more natural than last night's, but still tinged with barely perceptible awkwardness, she asked softly:
"For breakfast, do you have any more of that... sauce?"
After asking, she seemed a little embarrassed herself, turning her bandage-covered face slightly aside.
She meant the jar of "chili crisp" that had left such an impression