Soft. Warm. Fragrant—with a faint scent of grass.
Hyūga Akira opened his eyes in confusion.
What… is this?
Why does my body feel a bit heavy?
He looked down.
A black-haired girl was lying in his arms.
That familiar face—delicate, with a hint of baby fat—was surprisingly cute.
Akira fell silent.
A long silence.
Then an even longer silence.
His movement woke the girl in his arms.
She sat up, wearing a white camisole. One strap had slipped off her shoulder, exposing smooth, pale skin. She rubbed her eyes drowsily, then smiled brightly at him.
"Good morning, darling~!"
Akira's face remained expressionless.
He leaned forward—
And hugged Aburame Mushihime.
Mushihime blushed shyly.
"Ah… this early in the morni—AAAHHH!!"
Her words turned into a scream.
Akira grabbed her—
And slammed her backward.
Suplex!!
"Bang!"
Her head hit the floor hard.
Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out instantly.
Akira looked down at his pajamas.
Aside from some wrinkles, nothing had changed.
He let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment—
The bedroom door opened.
Natsuna stepped in.
"What was that noise—"
She had been cleaning when she heard the loud crash and came to check.
She saw Mushihime lying on the ground, barely dressed.
Silently—
She stepped back out.
And began closing the door.
Just before it shut—
A hand stopped it.
Natsuna tried pulling the door, but it wouldn't budge.
Akira pulled it open and looked down at her.
"…Did you misunderstand something?"
Natsuna glanced at the unconscious Mushihime—
Then at Akira's dark expression.
This scene…
Was really hard not to misunderstand.
A look of disgust appeared on her face—
But she quickly remembered whose house this was.
"I didn't see anything."
She closed her eyes and began feeling around blindly.
"I seem to have lost my eyesight recently."
"Do you think you're an Uchiha or something?! How do you just 'lose your eyes'?!!"
…
Fully dressed now, Mushihime knelt in front of Akira and explained obediently:
"After I came back with you yesterday, no one paid attention to me, so I went to rest in the wardrobe in your room. When I opened it, you were already asleep, so…"
"WHY WOULD YOU REST IN THE WARDROBE?!" Akira roared.
"In my bedroom, no less!"
Was this "being ignored" trait of the Aburame clan really not a bloodline ability?
This would be perfect for assassination.
Machi commented lazily from the side,
"Isn't it more your fault for sleeping like a rock? You didn't even notice someone getting into your bed."
If it were her, she would wake up the moment someone entered the room.
"…I was pretty exhausted recently," Akira scratched his head.
After returning to Konoha, he had relaxed without realizing it.
He wasn't as vigilant as he was on the battlefield.
"Wait—how did this become my fault again?!"
Mushihime muttered quietly,
"Even though you did all sorts of things to me last night…"
"Speak properly!!"
Akira's anger flared for real this time.
Black-blue flames flickered around him.
Mushihime immediately slammed her forehead to the ground.
"Nothing happened last night!"
"Heh." ×2
Natsuna and Machi both let out cold laughs.
They clearly didn't believe her.
"You don't believe me?" Akira said darkly, flames blazing around him.
"We absolutely believe you," Natsuna and Machi replied seriously.
"Nothing happened last night."
"Heh."
This time, Akira was the one who laughed coldly.
He rubbed his temples and looked at Mushihime—
Who was lying on the ground, letting out a creepy "hehe" laugh.
Akira's mouth twitched.
At that moment—
An ANBU suddenly appeared in the living room.
He hesitated slightly upon seeing the scene.
"…Did I come at a bad time?"
"Perfect timing," Akira said immediately, as if seeing a savior.
He quickly identified that this was ANBU—not Root.
The difference was obvious.
"Did the Hokage assign me a mission?" Akira asked eagerly.
The ANBU nodded.
"Hyūga Akira, jōnin. By order of the Hokage, you are to support the Sannin. This is the official deployment order. You are to depart immediately."
Akira took the order and checked it.
It bore the Hokage's seal.
"What kind of trouble could the Sannin possibly run into?" he asked.
"They were discovered by the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. They are currently trapped in Bibu Mountain within the Land of Earth and unable to escape. You are required to provide support."
"They actually went that deep into the Land of Earth…"
Akira hadn't expected them to be that reckless.
Still, death wasn't likely.
At worst, Iwa would use them as bargaining chips at the negotiation table.
The ANBU hesitated slightly, as if holding something back.
Akira immediately sensed something was off.
"Alright. I'll leave right away."
He had no intention of staying in this chaotic household any longer.
Mushihime's creepy smile, along with Machi and Natsuna's strange looks—
This was definitely a situation to escape from.
Why did it feel like he had actually done something wrong?
This was his house! His house!!
Akira ruffled his hair in frustration.
"What about me?" Mushihime asked, raising her head.
She was part of his squad, after all.
The ANBU replied in a low voice,
"This mission is assigned to Hyūga Akira alone."
"Just me?" Akira pointed at himself in surprise.
He was being sent alone into the Land of Earth?
The ANBU looked slightly awkward.
"Konoha cannot deploy too many people at the moment."
Akira's strength was undeniable—but this mission was clearly dangerous.
"Fine."
He didn't really care about teammates.
As long as there were plenty of Iwa ninja to farm.
"I'll head out now."
All his equipment was in his inventory anyway.
No need to prepare anything.
After he left—
The three women looked at each other.
"…He ran away, didn't he?" Natsuna asked hesitantly.
"No!" Mushihime said firmly.
"My dear would never be that irresponsible. Otherwise he'd deserve to die horribly—burned alive, dismembered, torn apart by five horses!"
Natsuna shivered.
That sounded more like a curse.
Machi glanced at Mushihime expressionlessly.
That kind of curse wouldn't scare Akira.
That guy could be shameless when he wanted to be.
Still—
She silently gave Mushihime a thumbs-up in her heart.
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