Chapter 45: Dinner
Evening.
Kurenai Yuhi arrived in front of a penthouse apartment.
After a fierce internal struggle, she finally chose to knock on the door.
Knock, knock, knock!
A moment later, a young boy's lazy voice came from inside.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
"And you are?"
Kurenai clenched her fists in anger.
Ever since the battle between Hinata and Nejiended, Naruto had been carrying his student and disappeared to who knows where.
He hadn't returned until the Preliminaries ended, simply not taking the Chunin Exams seriously at all.
Was this even reasonable?
Although she breathed a small sigh of relief at not having to provide a lap pillow for that brat anymore...
What about the rest? Being a private tutor, helping him with chores for a month... that brat actually just left? Did those bets still count?
With the thought of "getting it over with as soon as possible," she finally chose to take the initiative and come to Naruto's house.
"Kurenai Yuhi," she shouted toward the door, suppressing the anger in her heart.
"Kurenai-sensei? Is something the matter?"
"Open the door, now!"
"If you don't say why, why should I let you in?"
"I'm here to be your slave! Is that enough?!"
*Click.*
The door was opened.
Kurenai Yuhi pulled the door open abruptly.
What met her eyes wasn't the face of that annoying blonde brat, but two girls.
"Uh..."
"...Kurenai-sensei, hello."
Sakura and Ino stood at the door, their faces slightly flushed.
They had both been eliminated early and sent to the Medical Unit, so naturally, they didn't know what had happened at the exam site afterward.
Hearing Kurenai's outburst just now, they were momentarily too embarrassed to know how to react.
Inside the small room.
Naruto was lying on the bed, watching TV.
Hinata, wearing an apron, stood before the stove, her fair wrists turning slightly red in the rising steam.
The pot was bubbling; Tenten held a kitchen knife and had just put a large piece of chopped radish into it.
Everyone's gaze focused on Kurenai Yuhi at the same time.
The air was eerily quiet for two seconds... five minutes later.
Hinata brought a large pot of Sukiyaki to everyone.
Six people were squeezed into the small living room, each with a different expression on their face.
"The food is almost ready, let's eat."
Naruto picked up two bowls and filled them with rice for himself and Hinata.
Then, without any hesitation, he picked up a large mouthful of beef from the Sukiyaki pot with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Hey, I say..."
Veins popped on Kurenai Yuhi's forehead. "Why are there so many girls at your house?!"
"I brought Hinata back for dinner," Narutoanswered while chewing.
"As for the others, including you, you're all uninvited guests here for a free meal. Remember to pay me for the food after you're done."
"K-Kurenai-sensei! It's not what you think!"
Sakura and Ino exchanged an awkward glance, while Tenten coughed, trying to explain:
"Hinata invited us! We finally made it out of the Forest of Death, so we wanted to have dinner together to celebrate."
Although Naruto was the only one among them who had passed the Elimination round.
But a meal that should be eaten must be eaten.
Kiba, Neji, and Lee were still lying in the hospital, currently only able to eat liquid food.
Shikamaru went with Choji to eat barbecue, and Shino didn't like crowded places.
As for Sasuke, he went directly to Cultivate with Kakashi.
That was how this current combination came to be.
The dinner initially progressed slowly in an indescribable awkwardness.
Sakura and Ino sat up straight; while Tenten was more natural, she clearly restrained her usual boisterousness and just lowered her head to eat.
Hinata ate in tiny bites, her very breathing tinged with nervousness.
As for Kurenai Yuhi.
She ate expressionlessly, occasionally looking up at Naruto.
That gaze made one's skin crawl.
Naruto, on the other hand, was completely unaffected, eating with the most gusto; his second bowl of rice was already empty.
"..."
Finally, he was the one to break the silence.
"There's beer in the fridge. Do you want some?"
As the words fell, everyone was stunned.
"B-Beer?"
Sakura instinctively looked at Kurenai Yuhi.
"You really dare to suggest that."
Kurenai glanced coldly at Naruto.
"Since it's a celebration, there should be some sense of ritual."
Naruto shrugged; otherwise, this meal would be too uncomfortable to eat.
Tenten blinked and was the first to raise her hand.
"I want a can."
"Tenten!"
Sakura whispered a reminder.
"Don't worry," Tenten smiled, "Kurenai-sensei is here, nothing will go wrong."
Kurenai Yuhi was silent for two seconds.
"...One can each."
She spoke flatly, "No more."
Naruto had already stood up to open the fridge.
Soon, several cans of chilled beer were placed on the table.
The sound of pull-tabs being opened echoed one after another.
After the first sip.
The atmosphere clearly loosened up a bit.
The second sip.
Ino's shoulders relaxed, and she began to complain about how hard the beds in the Medical Unit were.
The third sip.
Tenten had already started excitedly recounting their experiences in the Forest of Death.
"I'm telling you! When that snake came out, I really thought it was over. Luckily Neji..."
Hinata listened intently, the tension on her face unconsciously fading.
Even Kurenai Yuhi's hand holding the glass was no longer so stiff.
She drank sip after sip.
The bitterness of the beer spread across her tongue, only to be quickly suppressed by the sweet fragrance of the Sukiyaki.
In her ears were the chatter and laughter of the young people.
Kurenai Yuhi's gaze involuntarily drifted for a moment.
She suddenly remembered things from a long time ago.
Her parents had passed away early.
Back then, she hadn't become a Jonin yet; when she returned home after a mission, what usually greeted her was only a cold lamp.
Later, her strength improved, and she lived in a larger house.
But the empty spaces in the rooms only seemed to increase.
Later on, she got used to eating alone.
Used to being simple, quiet, and quick.
Eat, clean up, and continue to Cultivate or handle missions.
Lively scenes like this had long since become something she only occasionally saw in other people's homes.
How long had it been?
How long since she had,
Sat at a table that was a bit too crowded,
Listening to meaningless but vibrant small talk,
Smelling the scent of food.
Drinking beer that didn't even taste that good.
Kurenai Yuhi lowered her eyes, looking at the glass in her hand.
Her fingertips were slightly cool.
She suddenly realized that she didn't hate the noise of this moment.
In fact, she felt a long-lost sense of peace.
"Ah..."
A thought suddenly popped into Kurenai's mind.
"When I get married and have children someday, my family will be able to sit together and eat just like this, all together..."
"Kurenai-sensei?"
Hinata's voice rang out softly.
Kurenai Yuhi snapped back to reality and found Hinata looking at her.
"...It's nothing."
She shook her head, her tone unconsciously softening, "Keep talking."
At that moment, Tenten suddenly turned to look at Naruto, who had been wolfing down his food, and asked curiously:
"By the way, Naruto, although the exams aren't over yet, if you become a Chunin, do you have any plans?"
"You don't... plan to specialize in Medical Ninjutsu, do you?!"
Naruto swallowed the beef in his mouth and rolled his eyes.
"Only girls become Medical Ninjas."