On the way back from Scott Outpost, Lin Yue held Shukaku in his Bangboo form the whole time, her little hands gently stroking his metallic rabbit ears.
"Little Shukaku, can you really not talk anymore?"
"I can! My voice just turned into this weird electronic sound!"
An angry expression appeared on Shukaku's Bangboo screen.
"I hate this voice! There's nothing imposing about it!"
Lin Shuo walked beside them with the backpack, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "But at least the world won't reject you anymore."
"Hmph..."
Shukaku turned his face away, but his tail betrayed him with a gentle wag.
By evening, the streets of Lumina Square were bathed in warm, golden sunset light.
Lin Shuo pushed open the ramen shop's door. Yuzuha was slumped over the counter and immediately raised her head at the sound.
"Lin Shuo! Xiao Yue! You're back~"
She hurried over, her green eyes scanning Lin Shuo from head to toe. Only after confirming he had no new injuries did she sigh in relief.
Then her gaze fell on the Bangboo Shukaku in Lin Yue's arms.
"Is that... Little Shukaku?"
"Yeah."
Lin Shuo nodded. "He turned into a Bangboo to adapt to this world."
Yuzuha crouched down and studied Shukaku curiously. "Wow... so cute! His ears even move!"
"I'm not cute!"
Shukaku protested, but the expression on his screen betrayed him-a slightly bashful pixelated face.
Yuzuha smiled even more brightly and reached out to gently pat Shukaku's head. "Now we can take you out in the open~"
"Auntie Yuzuha," Lin Yue said softly.
"Little Shukaku's really shy right now. Stop teasing him..."
"All right, all right~" Yuzuha stood up, her expression suddenly turning subtle as she looked at Lin Shuo.
"Lin Shuo, you don't look too good."
Lin Shuo's heart tightened.
He really hadn't fully recovered yet-only about forty percent of his chakra had returned, so his complexion certainly couldn't look good.
"I'm just a little tired."
"Really~?"
Yuzuha tilted her head, a hint of slyness in her smile. "Then get some rest early today~ I'll clean up the ramen shop for you."
"No need, I can-"
"Can-do-what-exactly?" Yuzuha interrupted him, planting both hands on her hips.
"Lin Shuo, you promised me you'd rest properly for a week~ Don't tell me you're going back on your word?"
"...I'm not."
"Then be good and listen~"
Yuzuha turned to clean up the counter, her red ponytail swaying gently with her movements.
Watching her busy herself, Lin Shuo felt warmth well up inside him.
But that warmth soon turned into wariness-
Because Yuzuha suddenly turned her head and blinked her green eyes. "Oh, right, Lin Shuo, what exactly were you doing last night? That huge explosion in the south, and the lightning..."
Here it comes.
Lin Shuo's expression remained unchanged. "Dealing with a little trouble."
"What kind of trouble~?"
"Something involving the Order."
"Specifically~?"
"...Yuzuha."
"Yes?"
"With some things, the less you know, the safer you are."
Yuzuha stared at him for three seconds, then smiled.
Her smile was sweet, but Lin Shuo felt a slight chill down his spine.
"Okay, okay~ I won't ask anymore~"
Yuzuha turned back to cleaning, humming a tuneless song.
But Lin Shuo knew this wasn't over.
Sure enough, after dinner-
"Lin Shuo, come here for a second~"
Yuzuha stood in the kitchen doorway, holding a small porcelain bowl.
"What is it?"
"Dad made some chicken soup and asked me to bring you a bowl."
Yuzuha smiled. "Drink it while it's hot~"
Lin Shuo took the bowl, and the aroma of chicken soup wafted into his nose.
He took a sip. The temperature was just right, and the flavor was rich.
"It's good."
"Right~? Dad's a really good cook!" Yuzuha sat opposite him, propping her chin in her hands as she watched him drink.
Her gaze made Lin Shuo a little uncomfortable. "...Why do you keep looking at me?"
"Because you look so cute drinking soup~"
Yuzuha smiled innocently.
Lin Shuo's hand paused.
Here it comes.
Yuzuha's "little devil mode."
"Yuzuha." He set the bowl down.
"If you want to ask something, just ask."
"I don't~" Yuzuha blinked. "I just want to look at you~"
"...Really?"
"Really~" Yuzuha stood up, walked behind Lin Shuo, and gently placed both hands on his shoulders.
"You've been working too hard lately, Lin Shuo. Your shoulders are all stiff~ Let me massage them~"
Her technique was practiced, her pressure just right.
But Lin Shuo's body grew even stiffer.
This is too unusual.
Yuzuha sometimes acted cute and wheedled, but she was rarely this... forward.
"Yuzuha."
"Yes?"
"Are you..."
"Am I what?"
Yuzuha bent down and brought her face close to Lin Shuo's ear, her warm breath brushing his skin.
"What do you think is wrong with me, Lin Shuo?"
"...Nothing."
Lin Shuo decided to hold steady, whatever came his way.
Yuzuha chuckled softly and continued massaging him.
A few minutes later, she suddenly spoke. "Lin Shuo."
"Yes?"
"You got hurt yesterday, didn't you?"
"...Just a minor injury."
"A minor injury is still an injury~"
Yuzuha's voice was soft. "And... I heard Orphie kissed you at the training grounds today?"
Lin Shuo's body went completely rigid.
How did he know?!
"Don't be nervous~" Yuzuha circled around in front of him, crouched down, and looked up at him. "Captain Willowisp told me~"
"...Why would she-"
"Because I asked~"
Yuzuha smiled like a cat that had stolen a treat.
"I threatened her with, 'If you don't tell me the truth, I'll tell the whole outpost you like pink,' and she spilled everything~"
Lin Shuo: "..."
Senior Willowisp, where are your principles?
"So~" Yuzuha braced her hands on her knees and leaned forward slightly.
"Do you have anything you'd like to explain, Lin Shuo?"
Her green eyes gleamed slyly under the light, the curve of her lips just right-she wasn't angry, more like she'd found an interesting toy.
Looking at her, Lin Shuo suddenly understood.
Yuzuha wasn't really jealous.
She was... teasing him.
"Yuzuha."
Lin Shuo sighed. "What do you want?"
"Hmm~ Let me think~"
Yuzuha tilted her head. "First, you have to answer three questions honestly~"
"Go ahead."
"First..." Yuzuha raised her index finger.
"Why did Orphie kiss you?"
"Because... she was happy."
"Happy about what?"
"I let her keep taking care of Lin Yue, and I also told her that we in this spacetime could have our own way of getting along."
Yuzuha blinked. "That's all?"
"That's all."
"Hmm..." Yuzuha thought for a few seconds.
"Okay~ Second question: do you like her, Lin Shuo?"
The question was very direct.
Lin Shuo fell silent for two seconds, then answered honestly. "As a comrade and companion, I like her-but not the way I like you."
"How is it different?"
"You're the person I want to spend my life with."
Lin Shuo spoke calmly, but his ears reddened slightly. "Orphie is an important companion. That's all."
Yuzuha blushed too.
She hadn't expected Lin Shuo to be so direct.
"...Third question."
Her voice grew a little quieter. "Will you let her kiss you again, Lin Shuo?"
"No."
"What if she makes the first move?"
"I'll dodge."
"What if you can't?"
"...I'll have a serious talk with her."
Yuzuha stared at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed.
"Okay, okay~ I believe you~"
She stood up and clapped her hands. "But, Lin Shuo-"
She bent down, bracing both hands on the chair's armrests and boxing Lin Shuo into his seat.
Their faces were less than ten centimeters apart.
"I'll let it slide this time~"
Yuzuha's voice was soft, carrying a little devil's amusement. "But if something like this happens again, I won't let you off so easily~"
"Once you're healed, I'm going to give you a proper 'punishment'~"
With that, she gave Lin Shuo a quick peck on the lips, then turned and ran.
"I'm going to see if Little You and Xiao Yue have finished their bath~ Get some rest early, Lin Shuo!"
The door closed.
Lin Shuo sat in his chair, stunned for a full five seconds.
Then he raised a hand and touched his lips.
Yuzuha's warmth still lingered there, along with... a trace of the smile of a successful prankster.
He suddenly smiled.
He shook his head.
"That little devil..."
Though she had played a trick on him, for some reason, he felt much more at ease instead.
Yuzuha had not truly gotten angry, cried or made a fuss, or given him the silent treatment.
She had expressed her concern in the way she knew best-with sly, little-devil mischief and a touch of playful teasing-and given him a way out, too.
This was the Yuzuha he knew.
The red-haired girl who wove strange tales in Lumina Square, ran the gray porcelain business at Kaidan House, and would sulk for an entire day over a single remark from him that "the soup's a little salty."
Lin Shuo finished the remaining chicken soup and took the bowl to the kitchen to wash it.
As he passed the bathroom, he heard Lin You and Lin Yue laughing inside, along with Yuzuha's voice, pretending to be angry: "You two! Stop splashing! The floor's all wet!"
"Mom splashed us first!"
"That was your punishment for not listening!"
"Auntie Yuzuha's picking on us!"
"I am~ What are you going to do about it~"
Lin Shuo stood outside the door, listening to their playful commotion, the corners of his mouth lifting without him realizing it.
Everyday life like this was so nice.
Upstairs, in Lin You and Lin Yue's room.
The two little girls had already changed into their pajamas and were lying on their stomachs on the bed, whispering to each other.
"Xiao Yue, did you see?"
Lin You said quietly, "Mom went to 'interrogate' Dad just now~"
"Mm..." Lin Yue nodded, her Three-Tomoe Sharingan glimmering faintly in the darkness. "Auntie Yuzuha wasn't really angry. She was teasing Dad."
"Right? Right?" Lin You's eyes lit up.
"That's just how Mom is~ She looks angry, but deep down, she's already forgiven Dad~ She still has to play a trick on him, though. That's her idea of fun~"
"Fun?"
"Yep!" Lin You nodded vigorously.
"Future Mom said her favorite thing is seeing Dad look like he doesn't know what to do with her~ She said Dad's especially cute like that~"
Lin Yue thought for a moment, then smiled. "Dad and Auntie Yuzuha in this timeline... are really close."
"Of course!" Lin You said proudly.
"I brought them together all by myself!"