Hikari ignored the shopkeeper and turned back toward Naruto, her fingers unconsciously brushing the hair tie again.
"...Busybody."
She muttered the word indistinctly, but made no move to take the hair tie off.
Sunlight slanted through the doorway, falling on the touches of silver and red in her hair and making them glimmer faintly.
Naruto smiled without saying anything else and felt in his pocket. Luckily, he had kept a little money for himself earlier.
He counted out a few bills, then turned to the counter to pay.
The shopkeeper was terrified and dared not accept it. Only after Naruto insisted did he take the money with trembling hands.
The two left the shop and returned to the streets of Kusagakure.
Hikari walked half a step beside him, the silver plum blossoms on her hair tie swaying gently in her hair with every step.
"Let's go."
Naruto's voice returned to its usual steadiness.
"I'll teach you Flying Thunder God when we get back."
"Mm."
Hikari answered and tucked a windblown strand of hair behind her ear, her fingertips brushing the cool silver ornament once more.
Once they returned to the office, Naruto began gathering his people.
Those he summoned arrived one after another.
Sasuke, Rock Lee, Neji, and Shikamaru.
Asuma came with them, an unlit cigarette held between his lips out of habit. He looked at the young man behind the desk with complicated feelings in his eyes.
"Lord Hokage."
There was a hint of emotion in Asuma's voice.
As he looked at the spirited young man before him, it seemed that the passage of time and the weight of responsibility had reshaped Naruto at an astonishing pace.
Even more startling were the swift, decisive measures Naruto had displayed on this expedition.
Even counting the journey to the Land of