Because I Like It

On the grass slope, two small figures lay beneath the setting sun.

The dark red sunlight fell over them, as though it had gilded them with a golden edge. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Especially the girl in a green robe with a black collar and cinched waist, her hair tied in a ponytail. She looked even more ethereal.

If she had not been hiccuping, it would have been even better.

With one leg crossed over the other and a blade of grass hanging from his mouth, Chishima Chiba turned to look at Tsunade, who was gazing up at the sky.

So beautiful!

"Hic..."

Tsunade let out another full hiccup. Her Little Face instantly flushed crimson, and her long Eyelashes trembled unnaturally.

"Why do you keep staring at me...?"

Tsunade's tone was somewhat weak. Perhaps because she had eaten his food, her usual arrogance was gone, replaced by a soft gentleness.

Chishima Chiba was a little unaccustomed to it, but he still smiled gently. "You're the most beautiful like this."

He praised her, but Tsunade did not seem impressed. She had heard those words so often since childhood that she had practically grown calluses from them.

But in the next moment, Chishima Chiba changed his tune, stirring ripples in Tsunade's heart.

"Still, it's not like you don't have any flaws."

Chishima Chiba could pick dozens of faults with Tsunade, but pointing them out now would have been unwise.

Girls liked hearing praise. Even if they acted unimpressed when you complimented them, if you pointed out even one flaw, they would definitely bristle.

That was why girls were such mysterious creatures. You had to praise them, but you could not praise them constantly, or you would become just another nobody and end up a simp.

But if, at the right time, you appropriately pointed out a flaw that was not really a flaw, they would instead see you in a new light and develop a different sort of fondness for you.

"If the sunset weren't serving as your backdrop, your beauty would be just a tiny bit less."

What kind of flaw was that?

Tsunade puffed up her cheeks, wanting to find a reason to refute him. But when she met Chishima Chiba's earnest eyes, she did not know what to say.

Because Chishima Chiba was right. With the sunset as a backdrop, all beauty rose by another level.

"But you don't have to worry." Chishima Chiba comforted her. "If there's no sunset, there's Morning Sun. If there's no Morning Sun, there's Scorching Sun. There are three kinds of sunlight in a day, so you have three kinds of beauty."

"And?" Tsunade tilted her head, her Bright Brown eyes fixed unblinkingly on Chishima Chiba.

"So, you need to smile more."

"What does smiling have to do with Morning Sun, Scorching Sun, and sunset?"

"Because there's sunlight in your smile. That's a fourth kind of beauty, prettier than the other three kinds of sunlight."

"..."

Tsunade turned her head away. For some reason, her heart was beating a little fast.

After a while, Tsunade turned back to look at Chishima Chiba, her gaze filled with scrutiny.

"Tell me, how many girls have you said that to?"

"Lots."

Chishima Chiba seriously counted on his fingers. "Morning Tsunade, noon Tsunade, Tsunade beneath the sunset, and Tsunade after she ate too much and hiccupped..."

"Hey!"

Tsunade raised her fist and punched Chishima Chiba, though it was so light that it carried no force at all.

The next second, Tsunade froze.

She suddenly felt that whenever she was with Chishima Chiba, she became a different person. The impatience and bad temper in her heart seemed to vanish. Even when she wanted to act up, they immediately dissipated.

"You really know how to talk..."

After a long while, Tsunade managed to squeeze out those words, then turned away and stopped looking at him.

"This isn't about knowing how to talk." Chishima Chiba shook his head. He did not look at Tsunade again either, instead gazing at the sky alongside her.

"What you see with your eyes can deceive you. Only by feeling with your heart can you discover things that are different."

"For example, when I look at you, I don't use my eyes. So... my words reach your heart."

"With my heart?" Tsunade responded blankly.

"Of course. If you want to try it, I can teach you."

"I'm not learning that." Tsunade snapped back to her senses, her Little Face red as though she had thought of something. "If I agreed, who knows how many more things you'd have to say to me?"

Pouting slightly, Tsunade wanted to keep hearing Chishima Chiba say pleasant things, yet she was afraid of getting addicted, so she could only cut things off decisively.

"You're not allowed to say things like that anymore. They don't sound real at all. They make you sound like a liar."

I'm not a liar. I'm a thief of hearts—and an arsonist.

Chishima Chiba added silently, then nodded. "If I can't say it anymore, then I won't..."

"Hmph!"

Tsunade haughtily turned her head away. She looked somewhat unhappy, but there was a trace of delight in her heart.

Tsundere girls were all like that, weren't they?

Chishima Chiba understood that perfectly, but he said nothing. He simply waited quietly until Tsunade was nearly out of patience before speaking again.

"Tsunade, do you see that cloud in the sky?"

"I see it. What about it?"

"If I fulfill my dream, I'll write your name on the clouds and let everyone in Konoha see it."

"Why would you write my name?" Tsunade blinked, looking a little dazed.

"Because I'm going to become the Hokage's man!"

Chishima Chiba's answer made Tsunade glance at him repeatedly, leaving her even more confused. "Even if you become the Hokage, why would you write my name on the clouds?"

"Because I'll be the Hokage. I can write whoever's name I want on the clouds. Tsunade, my subordinate—do you have a problem with that?"

Chishima Chiba's sudden unreasonable nonsense made Tsunade burst out laughing.

"Ha ha, Chiba, you're so boring. You want to become Hokage just to do things like that? Won't you consider anything else, like missions, relations between the nations, village affairs, and so on?"

"But do any of those things stop me from writing your name on the clouds after I become Hokage?"

"Uh... no." Tsunade irritably flicked her dark golden ponytail. "But we're going in circles again. Why do you want to write my name on the clouds?"

"Because I like it. Is that not allowed?"

In an instant, Tsunade's face turned red again. She looked at Chishima Chiba lying beside her, then at the clouds overhead, and another wave stirred in her heart.

"Liar..."

Tsunade shoved Chishima Chiba beside her. "You just promised me you wouldn't say nice things anymore, but you're still going around in circles."

"I said I couldn't say them then, but I think I can now, so I said it."

As he spoke, Chishima Chiba copied Tsunade and gently shoved her back.

If he only talked without making a move, how could they deepen their feelings? And how could he get rewards from the Dog System?

Chishima Chiba kept his hand very proper. It was just a simple shove; he did nothing else.

It was perhaps a little criminal, but at least it was safe. His survival instincts were at maximum.

"You shoved me?"

"Heh, I've never heard a request like that in all my life." Chishima Chiba shoved Tsunade again.

"Damn it!" Tsunade fought back.

"Don't slap my face!" Chishima Chiba panicked.

"Don't tickle me!" Tsunade laughed while forcing a stern expression, making her face look utterly strange.

"Ah! My wooden sandal..."

As they played around, Tsunade kicked off the wooden sandal on her foot. It rolled rapidly down the grass slope.

Watching Tsunade's soft little foot sway back and forth, Chishima Chiba was momentarily distracted and did not immediately help her retrieve the shoe.

In that brief moment of distraction, Tsunade's wooden sandal rolled out of sight at the bottom of the grass slope.

"Did you see where it fell?" Tsunade sat up and asked Chishima Chiba.

"I was looking at your foot... no, I was looking at the other wooden sandal on your foot. I didn't notice."

"Help me look for it. We're so far from the village—if I walk back without shoes, my feet will get rubbed raw..."

Chishima Chiba also realized the severity of the problem. The distracting thoughts in his mind vanished completely as he slid down the grass slope.

At the same time, Tsunade slid down the slope in exactly the same manner as Chishima Chiba. Side by side, they bent over and carefully searched through the grass.

But the sky gradually darkened...

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