Once Nagato was out of the front door of the Hatake Clan, he slowed his pace, running a hand over his flushed face. Scrubbing his hands together vigorously, he continued walking toward the comrcial street.
The words of his elders echoed in his mind, stirring his mood into a restless whirl. He had assud it would be a normal dinner, but now he wasn't sure how to face Nonō. Perhaps she really just wanted to thank him for saving her life—that might be all there was to it.
Walking down the bustling street, Nagato blended into the crowd like any other teenager, drawing no particular attention to himself. It was just about dinnerti, and the comrcial street was alive with activity. The aromas of food and the lively cries of vendors filled the air.
Although Nagato didn't frequent the area often, he knew his way around. Guided by mory, he walked straight toward the dumpling restaurant. It would soon be six o'clock.
From a distance, Nagato noticed a long queue forming in front of the restaurant, a clear sign of its popularity. Not far from the line, he spotted a familiar figure looking left and right—Nonō Yakushi.
When Nonō saw him, her face lit up with joy. "Nagato, over here!" she called, waving excitedly.
It was clear she had put effort into dressing up. Her soft hair fell neatly to her shoulders, and she wore a clean kimono that suited her perfectly. Her fair face was frad by black-rimd glasses, and when she smiled, her eyes seed to vanish behind them.
"I'm here," Nagato responded, quickening his steps to reach her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said apologetically when he reached her side.
"That's fine, I just got here not long ago," Nonō replied.
In truth, she had been waiting for almost half an hour, having arrived a little early. But since it wasn't yet six o'clock, she didn't mind.
"Oh. Do you want so dumplings?" Nagato asked, gesturing toward the long queue nearby. He wasn't particularly interested in them himself, but since Nonō had chosen this eting spot, he assud they might be her favorite.
"Sure! Wait here, I'll go get so. These dumplings are really super delicious," Nonō said, her eyes lighting up as she prepared to join the line.
"I'll go. What flavor do you want?" Nagato interrupted, stopping her in her tracks. It felt inappropriate to him to let her stand in line for food. Though still young, he carried a faint sense of male chauvinism, without even knowing where he had picked it up.
"No, I'll go buy it," Nonō insisted, feeling it was her responsibility since she had invited him out. In her mind, if Nagato continued to argue, she'd just let him buy them. But she still didn't fully understand Nagato's personality. He wasn't the type to press a point or stick to traditional expectations.
"Then you go," Nagato replied indifferently, standing in place without moving a muscle.
"Ah~ Then, I'll go," Nonō said, almost caught off guard by his lack of resistance. Nagato's introverted nature ant he wouldn't argue against her, and whatever sense of pride he had was faint under her persistence.
"Well, I'll be waiting for you," Nagato said with a slight nod, his tone and deanor perfectly obedient.
Nonō slowly made her way to the end of the long queue, only to realize a mont later that she hadn't asked Nagato what flavor he liked.
"What's your favorite?" she shouted back, her voice carrying over the growing distance as the line stretched on.
"Just pick sothing—you know I'll eat it," Nagato called back. His tone wasn't dismissive; he genuinely wasn't picky about food. Their stable life was still new, and the mory of constant hunger during his wandering days with Yahiko and Konan lingered fresh in his mind.
"Okay," Nonō said without asking any questions and prepared to order Nagato's favorite flavor as well.
After ten minutes, it was finally Nonō's turn. She bought two boxes of red bean dumplings, her favorite flavor. They were sweet, sticky, and delicious.
The two left the dumpling shop and walked side by side down the street.
"Tasty?" Nonō took a big bite and looked satisfied, her eyes disappearing as she smiled.
"Mmm, not bad."
Nagato's eating style looked even more refined than Nonō's. He chewed in small bites, savoring the taste.
"You bet."
"Let tell you," Nonō began, "back in the Root Division, I never had ti to co out. Whenever I had the chance, I would buy a box. Those were the happiest tis for ."
She spoke as if recounting an unremarkable, trivial matter. In reality, her ti in the Root Division had been the darkest period of her life.
"Root Division? I've heard Sensei ntion it before. You must have suffered a lot back then."
By the ti Nagato ca to Konoha, Danzo had already died. He had also heard about the Root Division from Kawakaze and the others during their occasional chats.
"Well, it was very difficult. Thanks to Lord Kawakaze, we were able to escape from that sea of suffering."
"By the way, Nagato, are you also a disciple of Lord Kawakaze?" Nonō blinked, her curiosity genuine and without intent to pry.
"Yes, we were orphans that Sensei picked up in the Land of Rain," Nagato said calmly, as if ti had already healed his wounds.
He was quite content with his current life. He had loving elders and friends to spend ti with, though he occasionally missed his hotown, where he was born and raised. Even though it lay in ruins, his parents' graves were there.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Nonō felt a little guilty, thinking she had touched upon Nagato's painful past.
"It's fine, it's all in the past. At least we're both doing well now, aren't we?" Nagato didn't mind at all and even smiled at Nonō.
"Yes, you're right."
"Is Lord Kawakaze strict at ho?"
Kawakaze was already a legendary figure to ordinary ninjas. Nonō's knowledge of him was limited to rumors and a few encounters. She was also lucky to be young; otherwise, on the day he killed Danzo, she might have been one of the tragic deaths herself.
"Eh, it's okay. Sensei isn't strict at all; he's very kind to us."
Nagato thought about it for a mont. He couldn't really see Kawakaze as strict. Perhaps Kawakaze's true character was very different from the image Nonō had in her mind. If Nonō had asked about Tsunade, however, then yes—she was strict. When Nagato was learning dical Ninjutsu from Tsunade, he had endured quite a few beatings.
"I see. I thought Lord Kawakaze would be strict at ho. I heard that he has fought more Tailed Beasts than the rest of us have seen."
Although Nonō had never seen a Tailed Beast, she could tell from everyone's fear how terrifying they were. If Lord Kawakaze, who could defeat Tailed Beasts, was even fiercer, then he must be truly ferocious.
"Well, more or less." Nagato didn't ntion that he had seen Kawakaze beat the Three-Tails to a pulp right in front of him.
"So, Nagato, did you learn your dical Ninjutsu from Lady Hokage?" Nonō was curious and wanted to know more about Nagato's life.
"Yes. Sensei's wife's dical Ninjutsu is really amazing."
Nagato's praise ca from the bottom of his heart. Even at his current level, he had only grasped a fraction of what Tsunade's dical Ninjutsu could accomplish.
"Of course. Lady Hokage's dical Ninjutsu is second to none in the entire ninja world."
Nagato didn't expect Nonō to speak so highly of Tsunade. The light in her eyes was clearly visible through her glasses as she said it.
"Then I'll take you to et her soti. Maybe she can give you so pointers."
Nagato wasn't just saying that. Tsunade was more than willing to give advice to a dical-nin, though her busy schedule often made such opportunities rare.
"Really?" Nonō excitedly grabbed Nagato's arm and happily bounced in place. If she could truly get pointers from Tsunade, she would be thrilled.
"Of course it's true. I wouldn't lie to you, would I?" Nagato found her enthusiasm endearing, though he was a bit amused. Did she really think he was that unreliable? For him, arranging this would be simple.
"I'll rember that." Nonō, not being a snobbish person, didn't press the matter of when he would take her to et Tsunade. Even if Nagato had only been speaking casually, she wouldn't have minded. She was simply happy with his good intentions.
"Don't worry, I won't let you down," Nagato promised, taking the matter to heart.
"What are we going to eat?" Nonō asked, unsure of Nagato's preferences and choosing not to decide on her own.
"Don't just ask —what do you want to eat?" Nagato recalled Kawakaze's advice and wanted to be polite.
"?" Nonō had a sense that Nagato wasn't soone who liked to make choices.
"Why don't we go eat ran? Ran Ichiraku is delicious, and the portions are generous," Nonō suggested after a mont of thought.
"Okay, I've heard a lot about it. I've never been there before," Nagato agreed without hesitation.
Ran Ichiraku had beco quite famous in Konoha, with many of the village's ninjas frequenting it regularly.
"Let's go then."
"This way!" Nonō tugged on Nagato's arm, leading them in the direction of Ran Ichiraku.
"Do you go there often?" Nagato obediently walked alongside her, using the mont to get to know her better.
"Not really, just occasionally. Because it's so crowded—there's always a queue, and that's annoying." Nonō pouted as she finished speaking, looking even cuter.
"That is annoying indeed. That's why I usually don't go out to eat very often."
Nagato agreed with her sentint, though his own reason for avoiding eating out wasn't queues but that the Hatake Clan restaurant already satisfied his tastes.
As they walked and chatted, Ran Ichiraku ca into view after a few minutes. The small restaurant was packed, and the queue was already quite long.
"So many people," Nagato exclaid, genuinely surprised by the ran shop's popularity. At the sa ti, he felt a sense of anticipation.
"Why don't we go sowhere else?" Nonō suggested, thinking Nagato might not want to wait in such a long line. She didn't mind changing plans and eating sothing else.
"No, no. We're already here; we might as well try so. I want to see if it's really as good as everyone says."
Nagato reasoned that a crowd was a good sign of great taste. You couldn't expect bad food to draw this kind of attention.
"It's really delicious, so let's go and queue up. Otherwise, it'll get even more crowded," Nonō said knowingly. Taking Nagato's hand, she led him to the end of the queue at a light trot.
It all felt very natural, and neither of them thought anything strange about it.
Nagato, with a small point to prove, stepped forward to stand in front of Nonō. She didn't seem to mind and kept smiling.
Before long, more and more people joined the line behind them.
"Business is really booming!" Nagato remarked, amazed at the number of custors. He could hardly imagine how delicious the ran had to be to attract so many people.
"You're right. The longest I've ever waited was almost an hour. I almost starved to death. When it was my turn, I ordered two bowls."
Nonō complained a little but looked smug as she held up two fingers in front of Nagato.
"Haha, so how many bowls are you going to eat today?" Nagato asked, amused by her antics. He hadn't realized this seemingly gentle girl had such an appetite.
"I already had dumplings today, so one bowl is enough," Nonō admitted, looking a bit embarrassed. She worried she might seem like a glutton.
Little did she know, there would one day be a girl who ate 46 bowls—her two bowls were nothing in comparison.
"Don't hide your strength. It's a blessing to be able to eat," Nagato teased, smiling as he spoke.
He understood how she felt, having been hungry before himself. If it ca down to it, he could eat more than two bowls without any trouble.
"Really, I'm easy to feed. One bowl is really enough," Nonō hurriedly explained, speaking without much thought in her haste.
What did it matter to Nagato whether she was easy to feed or not? Realizing what she had said, her face flushed. She opened her mouth again to explain. "What I ant was that I'm not a big spender."
"No, I..." Nonō trailed off, feeling that the more she tried to explain, the worse it sounded. Her embarrassed expression only made her seem more vulnerable, almost inviting soone to tease her.
"Alright, alright. I really don't think you could bankrupt with your appetite," Nagato teased, unable to resist reaching out and giving her cheek a playful pinch.
The mont he did it, he realized what he had done. The two of them locked eyes, both stunned, and an awkward silence fell between them.
"That... I'm sorry. I didn't an to." Nagato broke the silence and quickly apologized. Whether Nonō believed him or not, he was sure it was just an impulse.
"It's okay, I don't mind," Nonō replied softly, her face now as red as a monkey's bottom.
After all, she thought, his action wasn't that bad. She had experienced worse. A little face-pinching was nothing.
"That's good, that's good," Nagato said with a sigh of relief, though he wasn't sure why he felt so happy. Pinching Nonō's cheek had felt unexpectedly nice, much softer and gentler than pinching Konan's.
Konan wasn't as forgiving—she would pinch back imdiately.
"Hey, you two, move up a little further! Don't just stand there chatting," a voice called out from behind them, polite but firm.
If it had been soone less courteous, they might have told the two to go ho to flirt instead of holding up the line.
"Sorry, sorry," Nonō quickly apologized, glancing back before nudging Nagato forward.
They had left quite a large gap in the line, forcing the senior behind them to speak up.
"Keep an eye on things yourselves," the man grumbled, rolling his eyes in obvious annoyance.
All he wanted was to grab a bowl of noodles, and now he had to endure this public display of affection. Being single in monts like this made life feel unbearable.
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