Chapter 93: The Second Kiss

Three days later, on the morning of the forty-ninth-day memorial, Kushina entered the estate’s breakfast room carrying Naruto.

Ren was sitting at the table with a preliminary shipping manifest open beside his tea. Instead of taking the isolated stool on the far side of the kitchen island, Kushina pulled out the chair directly to his right.

Ren glanced up, but he didn’t say anything. He simply moved his teacup a few inches to the left to give her more space.

"The stool is too high when he squirms," Kushina muttered, keeping her focus entirely on settling Naruto onto her lap.

"I didn’t ask," Ren replied evenly, turning a page in his ledger.

Mikoto, who was feeding Sasuke across the table, noticed the seating change immediately. She didn’t point it out or offer a knowing smile. She smoothly directed the conversation elsewhere, asking Itachi what time Shisui was expected to arrive for training.

Shisui answered the question himself by stepping through the side door a moment later. He grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter, tossed it in the air, and told Itachi they were running late.

Before Itachi could stand, the door opened again. Izumi walked in.

This time, she was not pretending to be passing by. She carried a single, neatly wrapped bento box, and she handed it directly to Itachi. There were no extra portions for Ren or Shisui today.

Shisui took a bite of his apple, watching the exchange with deep amusement.

"You should know," Ren told Itachi, not looking up from his shipping manifest, "that accepting food from the same girl three times creates a legally binding contractual obligation."

Itachi looked down at the bento box, processing the statement with absolute seriousness.

"Ren," Mikoto scolded gently, "do not teach him contract law before he learns how to say thank you."

Itachi looked at Izumi. "Thank you for the lunch."

Izumi beamed, her cheeks flushing slightly, completely ignoring Ren’s commentary. Shisui patted Itachi on the shoulder, steering the younger boy toward the training yard before he could try to divide the meal again.

Kushina stood a few minutes later when Naruto began fussing. She carried him back toward the neighboring house, leaving the yellow blanket hanging unnoticed over the back of her chair.

Ren found it only after breakfast had ended and the room had emptied.

Before he could return it, an estate clerk arrived to remind him that the memorial procession would begin within the hour. Ren left the blanket folded beside his study door and carried it over after the evening meetings ended.

The memorial service was held later that afternoon.

White flowers lined the stone monuments, and the heavy scent of burning incense hung in the air. Ren stepped forward to place a single white lily at the base of the central memorial.

Biwako stepped up beside him a moment later. To the surrounding villagers and attending shinobi, it was nothing more than the Hokage’s wife and a prominent Uchiha businessman placing their offerings at the same monument.

"Danzo is looking outward," Biwako murmured, her eyes fixed on the monument. "Root has begun checking Orochimaru’s old medical contacts and foreign suppliers who trade in ocular medicine."

Ren adjusted the stem of his lily. "Is he moving against the hospital?"

"Root operatives are tracing medical shipments and quietly questioning logistics workers," Biwako confirmed, keeping her voice perfectly even. "He wants the source."

"I’ll give them a foreign shipping manifest pointing toward the coast," Ren replied softly. "The supplier trail will end long before it reaches Tsunade."

"Make sure it holds up to scrutiny," Biwako warned. She placed her own offering on the stone. "He has also formally requested Shisui’s service record and every training, mission, and intelligence evaluation filed under Itachi’s name."

Ren’s hand paused over the stone.

Before he could respond, the crunch of footsteps sounded on the gravel path behind them. Hiruzen was approaching, accompanied by two older council members.

Biwako seamlessly shifted her posture, stepping back slightly and offering Ren a polite, entirely formal nod of mourning. The private conversation vanished instantly.

That evening, the courtyard was quiet. Ren walked across the paving stones carrying the yellow blanket Kushina had left behind at breakfast.

He knocked once on Kushina’s front door.

She opened it a moment later. She was wearing a loose dark sweater, her red hair falling unbound over her shoulders. She looked at the blanket in his hand, then up at his face.

Normally, this was where the exchange ended. She would take the blanket, thank him, and close the door.

Instead, Kushina stepped back and pulled the door wider.

"Come in," she said.

Ren stepped inside. The house was warm, smelling faintly of tea and the mild soap she used for Naruto. He placed the blanket on the back of an armchair.

Kushina didn’t offer him a drink or guide him to the sitting room. She stood near the edge of the hallway, her arms crossed defensively, though her eyes were steady.

"Avoiding you didn’t change what I want," Kushina said. The admission was blunt, lacking any practiced buildup.

Ren didn’t offer a clever deflection. He stayed where he was, giving her the floor.

"When Minato died, everything disappeared at once," Kushina continued. "My husband. My home. The future I thought I had."

Her arms tightened across her chest.

"Then I came here, and you made everything easier. Naruto is safe. I don’t have to watch every door. I don’t wake up wondering whether someone from the council is coming to take him."

She looked away for a moment before forcing herself to meet Ren’s eyes again.

"I’m scared I’ll start needing you because I don’t want to be alone. Then one day I’ll wonder whether I wanted you, or merely wanted the safety surrounding you."

Ren listened without interrupting. He didn’t move closer or offer her an easy reassurance.

"I’m not Minato," he said. "And I’m not going to pretend the other women in my life don’t exist just to make this easier."

Kushina’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t look away. She already knew about Tsunade. Hearing Ren say it directly was uncomfortable, but it was not a surprise.

"But if you decide this is what you want," Ren continued, "I won’t hide you inside this estate, and Naruto will never be treated like baggage."

Kushina remained silent for several seconds.

Then she uncrossed her arms and stepped toward him.

It wasn’t the sudden, panicked collision from his study. Kushina kissed him deliberately.

Ren’s hand settled around her waist as he kissed her back. Her hands moved up his chest and tightened around his shirt, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them.

The kiss continued until the quiet hallway held nothing but shifting fabric and uneven breathing.

A sharp wail came from the nursery.

Kushina broke away and turned instinctively toward the sound. Naruto had woken.

She stepped back, breathing hard, and pushed the loose hair away from her face. For a moment, it looked as though she might apologize.

She didn’t.

Ren lowered his hand from her waist and moved toward the front door, leaving her free to tend to Naruto.

Before he reached it, Kushina caught his sleeve.

Ren looked back.

"Last time, I stopped because I was scared," she said.

Naruto cried again from the nursery.

"This time, my son needs me. Don’t confuse the two."

She released his sleeve and turned toward the hallway.

"There will be a next time."

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