Kazahana Koyuki

Shuofang Si certainly wasn't going to let a woman like Kazahana Koyuki ruin his mood. He returned to Ichiraku Ramen to check in.

He ordered a deluxe tonkotsu ramen from Teuchi. The broth was rich, and even the chashu and soft-boiled egg on the side looked appetizing. The noodles were exceptional, too. No wonder it was called Teuchi's Ichiraku-he really did make them by hand.

Shuofang Si finished the last mouthful of broth and let out a satisfied breath of warm air.

Teuchi was delighted to see how much he enjoyed his food.

By the time he finished checking in, night had fallen. A refreshing breeze blew through Konoha's streets, but there were hardly any pedestrians.

A few craftsmen who had just finished work passed him, eagerly discussing which tavern had gotten a new shipment of good liquor.

He headed toward his inn, but just as he rounded a corner and passed an izakaya...

He happened to hear an icy woman's voice coming from inside, tinged with drunkenness and condescending impatience.

"Hah, brat. I've seen plenty of people like you."

"You're always going on about how wonderful the characters I play are. As far as I'm concerned, people like you are complete idiots..."

Shuofang Si stopped. Of course he recognized that voice. Hadn't she been making quite a fuss earlier that day?

He took a couple of steps toward the izakaya's entrance and glanced inside.

The izakaya was brightly lit. Kazahana Koyuki sat alone at the bar, several empty bottles beside her. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was clearly drunk.

Standing before her was, naturally, Naruto. His head was lowered, and he said nothing. His illusions about his idol had clearly been shattered.

Naruto hadn't thought much of it when he came looking for Kazahana Koyuki.

He had recognized her at a glance that afternoon. She was Princess Gale from the movies, the heroine who saved everything.

But he hadn't dared speak up in front of Tsunade, afraid she would scold him. After finally waiting until evening and finding out that Koyuki was at the izakaya, he had worked up a great deal of courage before pushing the door open.

He had so much he wanted to say, but he had barely gotten out, "Princess Gale, I'm your fan," before she interrupted him.

Then came a barrage of mockery.

"I... I just wanted to say..." Naruto finally managed to squeeze out a few words. "Your movies really helped me a lot."

Kazahana Koyuki held her cup, her lips curved in a mocking smile.

"You fans like Princess Gale from the movies, not me. You say you admire me, that you like me, but do you even know my favorite color? What foods I hate?"

Naruto was stumped. He opened his mouth, only to realize he couldn't answer a single question.

All he knew was that her name was Fujikaze Yukie. The only image he had of her was Princess Gale.

"See? You clueless idiot. You don't know anything." Kazahana Koyuki sneered and drained her cup.

"Yet there you are saying, 'I like you so much.' What you like is your own fantasy. It has nothing to do with me."

Naruto's shoulders slumped.

Just then, the izakaya's wooden door swung open.

The wind chime hanging by the entrance jingled as the night breeze rushed in. Kazahana Koyuki and Naruto turned at the same time.

Shuofang Si stood in the doorway with one hand still on the handle, his gaze moving between them.

He had just finished that bowl of deluxe tonkotsu ramen at Ichiraku Ramen and had been in a fairly good mood.

But when he saw Naruto standing there with reddened eyes and Kazahana Koyuki holding her cup with a mocking expression, the lingering satisfaction slowly faded from his lips.

I've been a troublemaker in Konoha myself. Am I supposed to just put up with something that pisses me off?

"Mr. Arasaka?" Naruto blurted out in surprise.

Koyuki had left him speechless, and he had no idea how to extricate himself. At that moment, any familiar face walking through the door would have felt like reinforcements.

Naruto instinctively shifted half a step to the side, making room for Shuofang Si. His face practically said, "Now that you're here, I can relax."

Kazahana Koyuki's reaction was the exact opposite.

The hand holding her cup visibly trembled, nearly spilling the liquor.

The muscle memory of being kicked over in the ramen shop that afternoon was clearly more honest than her conscious mind.

But she didn't back down. The alcohol was going to her head, and the momentum from berating Naruto hadn't faded. Why should she fear some barbaric merchant who had kicked her once?

Forcing herself to maintain that cold expression, she slammed her cup down on the bar.

"You again. Do you have a habit of stalking people, too?"

"You were so loud insulting him that the whole street could hear you."

Shuofang Si walked in, sat in the empty seat between them, and raised a hand to the owner behind the bar.

"A cup of sake and a small side dish."

Then he turned to Kazahana Koyuki, sounding as casual as if he had run into an acquaintance at the market.

"Go on."

Kazahana Koyuki froze. She couldn't figure out what he intended to do.

He had been just like this at the ramen shop that afternoon, too, before suddenly getting physical.

Having him stare at her so calmly now made her more nervous than being yelled at would have.

"What's it got to do with you?" She struggled to keep her expression cold, but the tremor at the end of her words betrayed her.

Shuofang Si picked up the freshly served sake and drained it.

"Hah. I heard what you said to him. You called him an idiot, but did it ever occur to you that at least he has the courage to face things?"

"What about you? Besides sitting here drowning your sorrows and giving a fan who likes you a hard time, what have you done? Whatever's making you so miserable, do you dare face it head-on?"

Kazahana Koyuki's face flushed crimson. His words had struck the pain buried deep within her.

Playing the invincible Princess Gale in the movies had indeed numbed her heart. She thought of the crisis in the Land of Snow, a reality she couldn't bring herself to face. That helplessness made her turn the insults she had just hurled at Naruto on herself, only to discover that every one of them fit.

Humiliation instantly turned to rage. She snatched the cup from the bar and flung it at Shuofang Si's face.

The liquor traced an arc through the air. Shuofang Si tilted his head aside, and the cup flew past his ear, smashing to pieces against the wall behind him.

The atmosphere in the izakaya abruptly froze.

Shuofang Si looked down at his liquor-soaked shoulder, then back up at Kazahana Koyuki.

Her delicate face was a mixture of drunkenness, fear, and the reckless madness of someone who no longer cared what happened.

She looked like a cat cornered against a wall, baring its teeth. Her breathing was rapid, but her chin remained raised, stubbornly refusing to yield.

"Hah. I'm not going to indulge you." Shuofang Si moved.

He grabbed Kazahana Koyuki by the collar of her kimono and lifted her clean off her chair.

Shuofang Si moved so fast that Kazahana Koyuki didn't even have time to struggle before her back slammed into the izakaya's wall.

The wooden paneling gave a dull thud, and Kazahana Koyuki let out a muffled grunt.

Her feet left the floor as Shuofang Si pinned her against the wall with one hand.

Naruto froze for a moment. He instinctively wanted to intervene, but then remembered that this man was standing up for him and stopped himself.