Konoha Orphanage.
In the quiet little courtyard, Shinichi rocked back and forth in his prized rocking chair, looking every bit the pampered lord. Beside him, Yugao thoughtfully peeled grapes and gently fed them into his mouth one by one.
Had Tsunade and the others, who were buried in work day and night, seen this shameless scene, they would probably have snapped on the spot.
"Say, are you planning to keep leaving the two of us hanging like this?"
Nonō pouted and complained with some displeasure.
"Huh?"
Shinichi froze, then instinctively said, "I don't think I've done anything wrong lately, have I?"
Heaven was his witness. He had been busy planning for the Chunin Ninja Exams, making sure nothing went wrong. He hadn't done anything to upset these two women!
His original body might have been lounging here, but his mind was constantly at work. Every so often, he also had to process information sent back by his Shadow Clones. He wasn't nearly as relaxed as he looked.
He would wager that these past few days had been the hardest he had ever worked.
"What I mean is, do you expect us to stay with you forever without knowing where we stand?"
Nonō sighed softly. "I don't really mind. Someone who came out of Root like me doesn't care about her reputation anyway. But you should at least take responsibility for Yugao, shouldn't you?"
"Me?"
Yugao blinked and pointed at herself, then said casually, "I'm fine! As long as I can stay by Shinichi's side, I'm perfectly happy. I'm an orphan anyway, so I don't have parents pressuring me."
"You idiot!"
Nonō gave Yugao an exasperated look. "Even if you don't care, that's no excuse for a certain someone to get all the benefits without any commitment!"
Then Nonō grabbed Shinichi