Chapter 53: She knows

Mikoto turned away from the street, grocery list still clutched in her hand, and walked back inside her house with a quiet mutter.

"Kids these days..."

The door closed behind her.

Kael remained standing beside Hinata. She still faced the wall, shoulders tight, the damp patch on the back of her pants impossible to ignore. He watched her for a second before speaking.

"You like me, don’t you?"

Hinata’s body stiffened. She did not answer. Instead she turned her face away and took a step, clearly intending to leave without another word. Kael reached out, caught her wrist, and pulled her back gently but firmly. She stumbled half a step toward him. He lifted his free hand, cupped her cheeks, and kissed her.

The kiss lasted a long time. Hinata’s hands stayed frozen at her sides at first. Slowly, almost against her will, her fingers curled into the front of his jacket. When he finally drew back she was breathing unsteadily.

"But... you’re with Ino," she said, voice small. "So why are you doing this?"

"It doesn’t matter."

Hinata lifted her eyes and looked directly into his. The usual shy flicker was still there, but underneath it something steadier and sharper had settled.

"You’re not Naruto... right?"

Kael’s hand dropped from her face. For a moment he could not move.

How does she know that?

Hinata did not look away. "I’ve watched Naruto my whole life. The way he talks. The way he walks. The way he looks at people. You’re... not him. You can’t be."

There was no accusation in her voice. Only quiet certainty. Kael realized he could not keep pretending with her. The careful act that worked on almost everyone else had already failed.

"Who are you?" she asked.

He glanced around the open street. "Can we talk about this somewhere else?"

Hinata hesitated, then gave a small nod.

They walked to his apartment in silence. Once inside, Kael closed the door and gestured toward the low table.

"Sit."

She sat. He remained standing for a moment longer, then took the place across from her.

"You’re correct," he said. "I’m not Naruto."

Hinata’s hands folded tightly in her lap. She waited.

"I don’t know exactly how it happened. I’m not from this world. My name is Kael. I died... and when I opened my eyes I was in this body. Naruto’s body."

She listened without interrupting. Her expression stayed calm, almost unnervingly so.

"There’s something else," he continued. "A System. It appears in my head. It gives me missions. If I complete all one hundred of them, it says I can go back to my own world."

Hinata’s voice was very quiet. "And those missions... are to have sex with girls."

Kael held her gaze for a second, then nodded once. "Yes."

"And now it’s telling you to do it with me."

"Correct."

Hinata looked down at her hands. "If you complete all of them... will Naruto come back?"

"I’m not sure," Kael answered honestly. "But I think so. I think that’s how it works."

A long silence settled between them. Then Hinata reached up and began unbuttoning the top of her jacket.

Kael’s eyes widened. "Wait—what are you doing?"

"So let’s get it done with," she said. Her fingers kept moving, steady despite the faint tremor in them.

"I don’t think it’s a one-time thing. Not with you."

She stopped and looked at him. "Why?"

Kael opened his mouth, then closed it again. The exact wording of the quest sat uncomfortably on his tongue.

Hinata’s eyes stayed on him. "What? Make you my... what?"

He exhaled. "Bitch. It says to make you my bitch."

The word landed in the quiet room like a dropped stone. Hinata stared at him, completely still, the color draining from her face and then returning in a deep flush. For several seconds she said nothing at all.

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Give me power!!!