Fortunately, there is no shortage of orphans in the ninja school, and there are many children running around in the rain.

That's probably it.

Ino in the kitchen lowered her head, chopping vegetables in silence. Sometimes good memories are not a good thing, and many not-so-good memories can never be forgotten.

So much so that an unintentional remark made her feel sick in her heart. But she couldn't express anything on her face. She was too considerate and would find it troublesome when she wanted to be willful.

Even expressing grievances can be troublesome.

There was no point in discussing the issue of whether to accept it or not. Yamanaka Reino didn't take it to heart. She paused for a moment in the middle of the living room and gave Naruto a polite smile.

"That's right." She said lightly.

She became a ninja at the age of twelve, fell in love with someone at the age of fourteen, married Yamanaka Haiichi at the age of eighteen, and did not fall in love with that silent man until she was twenty-one.

Her youth was not bright, but she was very lucky.

She didn't say a word to the person she liked, so there was no beginning or end. She maintained her dignity, just like her usual style.

Yamanaka Haiichi allowed her to continue to be decent and gave her all the dignity of a noble lady. She had a happy family, a flower shop, and even the birth of a daughter was so reliable that she didn’t have to worry about it at all.

Naruto looked at that decent smile and also smiled.

"Yes."

He answered appropriately and did not say any unnecessary inappropriate words. He watched Reino Yamanaka enter the kitchen, and then heard the two people talking quietly from the kitchen.

He leaned on the sofa, not so restrained, and took a pillow and pressed it on his chest as a fulcrum. The sofa was facing the balcony, and a slender lightning flashed below the clouds.

There was a bang and thunder shook.

Naruto was completely in a daze, staring at the heavy rain outside the balcony, thinking about what happened some time ago. He wondered if Orochimaru would be very angry when he couldn't find the Death Mask, and would suffer the burning feeling in his soul forever.

Not long after, Ino walked out of the kitchen with warm cocoa, without an apron on her body. She had probably handed it over to Reino Yamanaka.

She didn't say anything, and sat directly next to Naruto, with some distance between them.

After a long time, Ino whispered.

"Thank you."

He turned his head and stared at Ino. The girl suddenly looked away, looking a little embarrassed in her hurry.

"Thank me for what?"

Hearing this, she hesitantly shook the cup that was no longer hot, and tightly wrapped her ten fingers around the outer wall of the cup. She was so hard that her finger joints turned slightly white.

"What you just said." She whispered, her voice so weak that it could only be heard within the range of the sofa, "You said you should pick me up."

"I just said it casually. After all, it can't be realized." He said frankly.

"I know." She said, holding the cup tighter with her fingers, as if she wanted to absorb the remaining heat inside, "I know everything."

"I got caught in the rain and came home soaked. There was no one at home, my father was still busy at work, and my mother didn't know where she was."

"But at dinner, my mother praised me, and I seemed to feel a little better at that time. In fact, it was no big deal, they all loved me."

Naruto handed the pillow over. Ino was stunned for a moment, then put down the cup and took the pillow.

She would curl up, as if trying to rub the pillow into her little body. Her voice would also be a little erratic at this time, and her mood seemed a little unstable.

But soon, everything became normal again.

"But thank you anyway."

"I actually don't care that much about getting caught in the rain. I just want to retort sometimes, but I always find it too troublesome and I don't want them to mention it again."

"They think it's something worth showing off, but every time I mention it, I feel a little uncomfortable for some reason. I just have no reason to tell them not to mention it again, and I don't know how to say it."

The thunder was deafening, and the floor-to-ceiling windows on the balcony shook violently twice.

Taking advantage of the moment when her voice was quiet, she turned her head and looked at Naruto. She pursed her lips and her voice was very soft, but it was different from her usual tone.

"I'm very happy, now someone can help me speak."

A smile appeared on her face, a smile from the heart.

"I like this feeling very much, and I like it very much"

Boom!

Violent thunder sounded, more deafening than before, and lightning flashed across the white light on the balcony. He saw Ino's lips moving, but the sound was completely covered by the thunder.
Chapter completed!