Chapter 280: You Don't Want Others to Know, Do You?

Aokawa moved silently, positioning himself behind the sneaky figure.

As he got closer, he could smell a faint milky scent mixed with… the smell of snacks?

Hyuga Ayane pulled a small piece of dried fish from a paper bag, skillfully stuffed it into her mouth, and bit it off with a “crunch,” her cheeks bulging happily.

“So good… but a bit salty. If only I had a bottle of Ramune…” she muttered in a low voice.

Her eyes, however, kept peering into Aokawa’s house, trying to see the situation inside.

“Strange… has he not come back yet?”

“Should I use the Byakugan to take a look?”

Just as she was about to form hand signs.

Suddenly.

A slender and powerful hand reached out without warning, accurately grabbing her by the back of her collar.

Immediately after, an irresistible force pulled her back.

“Aya?!”

Hyuga Ayane let out a short shriek, sounding much like a startled hamster.

She felt herself being lifted into the air, her feet leaving the ground as her limbs flailed helplessly. The two plump rabbit patterns on the front of her clothes seemed to leap to life with her movements, and she nearly dropped the bag of dried fish in her fright.

“Who! Who dared to ambush this Young Miss!”

Hyuga Ayane shouted in a panic, struggling to turn her head: “I’m from the Hyuga Clan… I’m very strong! I know the Gentle Fist!”

“Oh? Very strong?”

A familiar, teasing voice rang out above her head: “Then why don’t you try hitting me?”

Hearing this voice, her small fists flailing in the air instantly froze.

Hyuga Ayane seemed to have been hit by a paralysis technique; her panicked expression froze instantly, then slowly transformed into an unbelievable surprise.

She tilted her head back with difficulty, her vision inverted.

What met her eyes was a well-defined face, weathered by the elements yet still handsome enough to make one’s heart skip a beat.

Aokawa held her up with one hand, like one would hold a kitten caught in the act of stealing food.

He looked at her small, flushed face, an imperceptible softness flashing in his eyes.

“I say, Ayane.”

Aokawa lightly shook the person in his hand. “What are you doing sneaking around my front door? And you even dared to break the rules by trying to use the Byakugan within the Village. Hmph! If you don’t want anyone to find out… hehe.”

“Put… put me down!” Hyuga Ayane’s face instantly turned red to the roots of her ears, and even her jade-white eyes were covered with a layer of mist.

How embarrassing!

Her gluttonous appearance had actually been caught red-handed by him!

Aokawa gave a light laugh and released his grip.

Hyuga Ayane’s feet hit the ground, but her legs were a bit weak from the tension just now, and she stumbled a bit before standing firm.

She quickly hid the bag of dried fish behind her back, straightened her wrinkled collar, and tried her best to put on the air of a dignified lady.

If one ignored the small crumbs of dried fish still clinging to the corner of her mouth, this posture of hers was actually quite convincing.

“Who… who violated the rules!”

Hyuga Ayane’s eyes wandered, staring at a stone by the side of the road as if some peerless Ninjutsu were carved upon it. “I was just… just passing by! Yes, passing by!”

“Oh, passing by.”

Aokawa crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe as he watched her with interest. “Passing by my front door, and incidentally preparing to see if anyone was home?”

“That’s…”

Hyuga Ayane stammered for a long time, unable to squeeze out a single word.

Finally, she seemed to have given up on herself.

Her originally tense shoulders slumped, and she looked up, her pure and flawless Byakugan filled with grievance and an indescribable emotion.

“Why… did you only just get back?”

Her voice was small and soft, like a mistreated little animal: “It’s been half a month.”

Aokawa was momentarily stunned.

He looked at the young girl before him.

The girl who was usually carefree and only cared about eating now had eyes that were slightly red.

The paper bag she was clutching in her hand had been crumpled tight.

“The news from the Front Lines said the fighting with Kumogakure was intense…” Hyuga Ayane lowered her head, her toe lightly kicking a pebble on the ground. “I was afraid… afraid you wouldn’t come back.”

“I finally look forward to your triumphant return, but then you’re sent on another mission. I had no choice but to come by every once in a while to check.”

Aokawa’s heart trembled slightly.

He had killed many people on the Battlefield, and his heart had long since become as hard as a stone.

But he hadn’t expected that in this Konoha Village, a place full of schemes and interests, there would actually be such a fool who would carry a bag of dried fish to his doorstep every day, just to confirm if he had returned alive.

After a moment of silence.

Aokawa reached out and gently patted her head.

It felt nice; her hair was soft and carried the fresh scent of shampoo.

“I’m back.”

His voice was very soft, yet very firm. “Scoundrels live for a thousand years. The Shinigami wouldn’t dare take someone like me; I’m the one who’d give the Shinigami a hard time.”

Feeling the warmth from the top of her head, Hyuga Ayane’s original grievance instantly vanished into thin air.

She looked up, her face once again showing that signature silly smile, her eyes curving into two crescent moons.

“I knew it!”

She gave a proud hum, then as if remembering something, she offered the paper bag hidden behind her back like she was presenting a treasure.

“Here, have some!”

Aokawa looked down at the bag.

It was a bag of dried fish that looked very hard.

“This is your condolence gift?” Aokawa raised an eyebrow.

“This is a specialty! I waited in line for a long time to buy it!” Hyuga Ayane had a pained expression on her face: “I originally planned to save it for eating during class… I’m letting you have it cheap.”

Aokawa laughed.

He reached into the bag, took one out, and put it in his mouth.

It was a bit salty and a bit hard, but as he chewed, there was a sweet aftertaste.

“The taste is not bad.”

“Right, right!” Hyuga Ayane instantly became happy, as if she had received some great affirmation. “Then eat slowly, I… I should head home too!”

After saying that, as if afraid of being teased by Aokawa again, she turned around to run.

“Wait.”

Hyuga Ayane stopped in her tracks and looked back in confusion: “What? Not enough? Well, there’s no more; I’m keeping the rest for myself.”

Aokawa looked at her food-guarding behavior and smiled helplessly: “Let’s find a time to have a meal together, my treat!”

“Okay, okay!” As soon as Hyuga Ayane heard there was food, she almost started drooling.

Aokawa saw the dried fish crumbs still hanging by the little girl’s mouth and pointed with a smile: “By your mouth.”

“Eh?”

Hyuga Ayane was stunned for a moment and subconsciously stuck out her little pink tongue to lick around a few times, but she didn’t reach it.

Aokawa had no choice but to reach out and wipe away the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

Just then, Hyuga Ayane’s little tongue happened to lick over.

Aokawa immediately felt a sensation of moisture and slickness on his finger.

Both of them froze.

Feeling the saltiness on her tongue, Hyuga Ayane’s face turned red once more at a visible rate.

“Ah! Aokawa, you bastard!”

The young girl let out a cry of shame and indignation, covering her face and rushing out of the alley like a startled rabbit, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Silence returned to the alley.

Aokawa watched the direction she had disappeared, chewing on that hard piece of dried fish.

“She really is like a hamster…”