Chapter 148: Chapter 149 Don't Leave
"Ugh, you!" Ino was startled, and after seeing that it was Naruto, she became irritable again, "Aren't you leaving?"
"Where to?"
"How would I know where you're going?!" Ino frowned, "Let me go."
"Alright."
"Then do it!" Ino's face flushed with embarrassment and anger. Though Naruto said he would let her go, he didn't actually do anything.
The next moment, Naruto did let her go, but he didn't move away from her.
The light behind the big green tree was dim, and they stood close together, though there was still enough space between them to fit two fists.
"You're not going?"
"I was lying."
Ino could sense that Naruto was laughing, and the flower in her hand was taken away by him. His voice seemed to be teasing her, "I was just waiting here for you. I didn't go anywhere."
"Why are you explaining so much to me? Who wants to listen to your nonsense?" Ino turned her face away in the darkness. The atmosphere was starting to get to her, but she didn't want to admit it.
The truth was, she really wanted to punch this guy right now. To the point that she could abandon the atmosphere and forcibly drag this bastard in front of her into the alley and beat him senseless.
"These flowers are nice." Naruto remarked.
"Pay up." Ino retorted unhappily, "Now, immediately."
"I don't have any money." His voice was a little hoarse as he grabbed her hand in the darkness, his eyes shining brightly like they were glowing.
Ino noticed the strange atmosphere, and her heart skipped a beat. After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she spoke nervously, " If you don't have money… just… forget it. I… I need to go back now."
She tried to shrug off his grip and quickly realized her hand was held in his warm palm. Ino pretended not to feel it and lifted her foot to walk away.
"Don't leave…" Naruto's voice was low, as if he hadn't finished his sentence.
Ino waited for his next words, but they never came. It felt like an incomplete thought, stuck halfway, leaving her uncomfortable.
"Why?" Ino's heart softened a bit, but then she remembered she was still mad at him today, so she deliberately put on a stern face.
The back of the big green tree was dark, with no light to illuminate their faces. They could only guess each other's expressions through the sound of their breathing and the tone of their voices. Deprived of sight, her senses of smell, touch, and hearing became unusually sharp.
Ino could hear his increasingly rapid breathing, and her emotions began to stir as well. In the cramped, dark space, her body trembled slightly… not from fear, but from nervous anticipation.
"Things haven't been going well lately." Naruto said, his voice a little restrained, as if he was afraid someone else might hear and was trying to keep it between just the two of them.
There were still a lot of people on Konoha Street at night, with small groups of people strolling by. The sounds of laughter and chatter filled the air, coming and going in waves from the street.
Under the dim glow of the streetlamp, half-obscured by the large tree's thick foliage, a few people stopped in front of the tree, loudly chatting away.
They had no idea that two people were hidden in the darkness behind the tree, with their bodies almost pressed together and only two fists' width of space separating them. Naruto's warm breath brushed against Ino's neck as they stood there.
Hearing Naruto say he wasn't doing well felt like a knife to Ino's heart, completely melting away the anger she had been holding onto. She recalled the comments she overheard from people earlier that afternoon, and a wave of bitterness washed over her.
'Why did everyone seem to blame everything on a boy who was just trying to live his life? The adults should know better, yet they only knew how to gossip and speak ill of others behind their backs.'
Ino had wanted to step forward and confront them, to demand why they thought it was okay to treat Naruto like that. Even though she wasn't entirely sure of her feelings toward Naruto, she knew one thing for certain… she wanted him to be happy.
She hoped that the path he walked would be filled with cheers and support, not with gossip and thorns.
She still wanted to ask them why, but she knew she would likely be dismissed as crazy. As she thought about it, an absurd idea suddenly crossed her mind, 'If our roles were reversed, what would this guy do?'
'With his carefree attitude, he'd probably take advantage of the darkness, smash their houses, and then pin the blame on someone else. After causing havoc, he'd go home and sleep peacefully, feeling no guilt at all.'
'That's just the kind of person he was, always relaxed and lazy, yet with a cunning streak. Having a friend like him brought a sense of security, knowing I'd never be left to suffer alone.'
Only now did Ino realize that even someone like Naruto could uncomfortable too.
Naruto, meanwhile, was getting slightly intoxicated by the scent of Ino's soft, sweet fragrance. He couldn't even string his thoughts together properly. He wanted to say that he hadn't been doing well recently, and the mission intensity was a bit high.
For a lazy guy like him, it is better to lie at home and sleep than to go on missions every day.
But Tsunade is his direct superior, and the purpose of letting him do the mission is to improve his strength. After all, Tsunade doesn't know that a certain yellow-haired lazy guy has a system to rely on.
For a Shinobi, the fastest way to become stronger is through real combat, and no amount of theory could replace actual experience.
Tsunade understood this and acted accordingly, leaving Naruto with little room to refuse. Only when the village's backlog of missions was mostly cleared could he dare to request some time off from Tsunade.
Otherwise, Tsunade would definitely use the reason that the village is short of manpower and that he has to do some missions even if he doesn't practice, and continue to lure and pressure him to complete the mission.
Naruto's thoughts were on a completely different wavelength than Ino's. He was just a bit overwhelmed by the situation, struggling to contain his surging hormones.
So, his voice becomes hoarse, low, and rough.
But Ino believed that Naruto was burdened by too much negativity, and she thought he was barely holding it together. In a way, she wasn't entirely wrong, as Naruto did channel a lot of his stress into his more lighthearted behaviors, spending the rest of his time lying around and pretending not to care. The malice directed at him hadn't disappeared, but he had just grown numb to it.
"You said you… How-"
Before she could even finish her words, Ino couldn't help but put her free hand across her eyes, tears instantly streaming down her face.
Her uncontrollable sobs left Naruto flustered and unsure of what to do.
He was dumbfounded, thinking to himself, 'All I did was take a whiff of her scent… How could it become like this? How could she even notice that? Women are really terrifying!'
Ino's shoulders trembled as she cried, her breathing shaky, and tears streamed down her face.
"Come on, stop crying." He said nervously, "I didn't do anything, Ino, I..."
Before Naruto could finish his sentence, he felt her embrace him in the darkness.
Ino held onto him tightly as she cried, her sobs muffled against his chest, making sure no one else could hear.
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