For the entire day, Yūto and Shisui did not encounter another spy.
Physically and mentally exhausted, he clocked out and headed home, disappointment written all over his face.
As soon as he entered the little courtyard, he saw an Uchiha girl waiting outside his front door.
The girl's long black hair fell to her waist, and beneath her straight bangs were the Uchiha's signature black eyes. She wore a pale pink sleeveless top, a sash bearing the clan's fan crest tied around her waist, and ninja shorts that left her smooth, jade-like legs bare.
The moment she saw him, the girl greeted Yūto with a bright smile. "Hello, Yūto!"
When she noticed the bandages wrapped around him, her brows abruptly knitted, and she asked:
"Yūto, what happened to you?"
"Don't you work for the Konoha Military Police Force? How did you end up covered in injuries? Were there ninja causing trouble in the village?"
"Honestly, those ANBU are always dumping troublesome jobs on us Uchiha."
She really is the grand elder's granddaughter, a true heir to the Uchiha Hawk Faction's ideology. Whenever anything goes wrong, she suspects the village first.
After silently reflecting on this, Yūto finally explained:
"Tsukimi, you've misunderstood. I ran into a spy while on patrol today. The spy caused all these injuries."
"So that's what happened..." Tsukimi understood. She snorted, then complained again:
"It's all those ANBU's fault for letting a spy into the village!"
"Grandfather wanted me to train with you, too. He said something about you being too weak to support the Uchiha."
Training?
Yūto did not want to train at all.
He had to keep his strength in check and make absolutely sure it did not grow too quickly, or there would be fewer and fewer ninja capable of killing him.
Just like today. The man had been a spy, and by all rights, he should have been at least as strong as a Chunin, yet Yūto had killed him with a single slash.
Yūto truly had no idea what other opportunities he would have to meet an untimely death in the village.
He could not take dangerous missions alone, and patrol work rarely brought him into danger. What a headache!
"Tsukimi, thank you for the offer, but as you can see, I probably won't be in any shape to train for a while."
"Why don't you head back for now? We can train once my injuries heal."
Right now, Yūto only wanted to fob her off and send her away, without any further complications.
"All right." Tsukimi nodded.
But after saying that, she thought for a moment and spoke again.
Yūto's heart leaped into his throat. Please, just go already! I really don't want to train!
"Yūto, why don't I make dinner for you? Cooking must be quite difficult for you right now."
Hearing that it was not about training, Yūto breathed a sigh of relief.
He did not feel like cooking anyway. Even if Tsukimi had not offered, he would have gone out to buy something to eat.
After all, his wounds really did hurt quite a bit.
So he nodded and said:
"Sorry for the trouble, Tsukimi."
A smile spread across Tsukimi's little face, and she patted her less-than-full chest as she said:
"Don't worry! I'm quite confident in my cooking!"
Yūto opened the front door and brought Tsukimi inside, then returned to his room, picked out a novel at random, and began reading.
Entertainment in this world was rather limited. Reading and watching movies were probably the only options available to ordinary people.
Yūto was no exception. Konoha had no movie theater, so he could only read novels to pass the time.
Even the novels tended to be rather serious.
Jiraiya had not yet begun writing his famous masterpiece, Icha Icha Paradise.
Thinking of Icha Icha Paradise, Yūto suddenly had a good idea.
He vaguely remembered that Tsunade had once caught Jiraiya gathering material, and he had nearly been beaten to death.
Then if I go gather material too and get caught, might a powerful female ninja beat me straight to death?
After all, I'm only as strong as a Genin. Any Jonin could kill me instantly.
I'm a genius!
I'll go tonight!
Just then, Tsukimi finished cooking. She knocked on Yūto's bedroom door and said:
"Yūto, dinner's ready. Come out and eat."
Hearing her, Yūto immediately tossed aside his novel, left his room, and sat down at the dining table.
The meal was not particularly lavish, but it tasted quite good. Tsukimi had not been boasting; she really was a fine cook.
Watching Yūto eat heartily, Tsukimi smiled in satisfaction.
After clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, Yūto was just about to walk Tsukimi home when the front door was pushed open from outside, and a gentle female voice drifted into the room.
"Yūto, are you home? I've come to change your bandages."
It was Yakushi Nonō's voice. Yūto hurried out to greet her.
"Nonō, what brings you here?"
Nonō rolled her eyes at him. "You went and got yourself covered in injuries again, didn't you? I was worried you'd go on another dangerous mission before you recovered, so I came to change your bandages."
After speaking, Nonō spotted Tsukimi in the room and immediately covered her mouth with a soft laugh. "It seems I've come at a bad time. I've interrupted your alone time with your girlfriend."
Nonō's words immediately made Tsukimi's little face grow hot, and she stammered an explanation:
"No, I only helped Yūto cook dinner... I'm not his girlfriend..."
Nonō's gaze drifted toward the few plates still sitting on the dining table, and she grinned mischievously.
"Really? You two must be quite close, then. You look as though you're living together."
Tsukimi was too embarrassed to speak.
Yūto did not want to dwell on the subject of girlfriends. He had no intention whatsoever of finding a girlfriend in the Naruto world.
His plan to get himself killed could succeed any day. Getting a girlfriend would only waste someone else's time.
Yūto said evenly:
"Nonō, Tsukimi is just someone I know. There's nothing special between us, so don't read too much into it."
Yūto's words sounded rather heartless, and Tsukimi felt a little strange hearing them.
What does he mean, there's nothing special between us and I'm just someone he knows? He makes it sound as if I'm the other woman.
Fuming, Tsukimi put on her shoes and left without another word.
Watching her leave in anger, Yūto was baffled. But that was fine, too. If Tsukimi was angry, perhaps she would stop bringing up training him. He would leave her be.
Seeing Yūto's indifference, Nonō shook her head helplessly. Could this boy be any more clueless? Couldn't he explain things to her?
Still, girls these days really were a little thin-skinned. Being called just an acquaintance by a boy in front of another woman would surely upset them.
But Nonō had not come tonight to mediate romantic troubles. She had to hurry and change Yūto's dressings; she still needed to return to the orphanage afterward.
Nonō took out her medical kit and said to Yūto:
"Come on, Yūto."
Yūto obediently complied, taking off his shirt to reveal the new and old dressings covering his upper body.
Beneath the dressings were crisscrossing scars, some deep and some shallow, all left behind by Yūto's repeated attempts to get himself killed.
Every time Nonō saw the scars on Yūto's body, her heart pounded with alarm.
"Yūto, please, you must take care of yourself."
Yūto thought for a moment, then trotted out line number seventy-three from his repertoire of excuses specifically for Nonō.
"How could a man's journey through life be free of storms?"
Nonō burst into a giggle, curled a finger, and flicked his forehead. "A man? You're only a child."
Before you continue