With a cheerful grin, Kushina opened the bento box and sat down at the table, resting her chin on one hand as she said happily, "I heard this morning that you taught that jerk from the Shimura clan a lesson, so I asked the ANBU guys tailing me and confirmed you were back in the village. That's why I brought you this lunch."
"..."
"So, you're getting along well with the ANBU," Takuya remarked as he finished washing his face and brushing his teeth. Glancing at the bento, he sat down and picked up a grilled chicken wing, taking a big bite.
Last night, after Sakumo Hatake had unexpectedly dropped by, Takuya had ended up bringing out some extra food he had prepared. But who would've thought that white-haired glutton would eat so much, leaving Takuya still hungry?
Now, this lunch was hitting the spot.
Seeing Takuya eat with such enthusiasm made Kushina feel very pleased with herself.
"How did you know I was opening the door? I was being so careful," she asked, curious.
With the giant Nine-Tails inside you, how could I not notice? Snowy was practically ready to jump out at the sensation. And besides, I was already awake.
Takuya casually tossed the chicken bone onto the table. "Before you came, Uchiha's heir was banging on my door. Woke me up, and just as I was about to get back to sleep, I heard the door open."
"Oh, I see," Kushina replied, a little embarrassed as she stuck out her tongue.
Grilled chicken wings, grilled drumsticks, grilled beef! Takuya had to admit, Kushina's bento was quite the feast. What surprised him even more was that the taste was almost identical to that of the Akimichi clan's famous grilled meat.
"This flavor seems familiar," he said as he chewed on the beef. "It's just like the Akimichi clan's grilled meat. Where did you get the recipe?"
"I bought it from the Hokage," Kushina said, scrunching up her nose in a smug expression. "That big fat guy from the Akimichi clan wouldn't sell it to me, no matter how much I offered. So, I went to the Hokage, and after promising I'd only use it for myself, he let me buy it for a hundred thousand ryo."
Takuya: "..."
The Akimichi clan probably cried themselves to sleep over that one.
They must be praying you never share that recipe with anyone.
Takuya couldn't help but give Kushina full marks for her resourcefulness. She actually went to the Hokage to get the recipe—something no one else could have managed. If anyone else had tried, they wouldn't have stood a chance.
But when the Hokage himself got involved, the Akimichi clan had no choice but to comply, making Kushina sign a guarantee not to share the recipe.
Just imagining the pitiful faces of those Akimichi fatties made Takuya burst out laughing. Kushina was really something else.
Kushina kept giving Takuya little signals, hoping for some praise, but Takuya wasn't paying attention. Instead, he looked toward the window.
Click!
The window swung open, and a blond-haired boy squeezed through, still half-hanging out of the window. The smug look on his face quickly froze when he saw the two people in the room staring at him.
"Uh, I didn't want to wake you, so I figured this way was more convenient," Minato said awkwardly, trying to explain himself.
"Minato, how could you climb in through the window? That's so rude!" Kushina scolded him, playing the victim.
Minato was instantly mortified.
Takuya rolled his eyes. You sneaked in with a locksmith, had him open my door, and even made a spare key. How is that any better than Minato climbing through the window?
"Something smells amazing!" Minato started to make excuses but was suddenly distracted by the aroma. His eyes locked onto the bento, and he couldn't look away.
It smelled like grilled meat.
"Takuya, you really know how to live it up!" Minato scolded Takuya as he reached for a drumstick.
Smack!
"Ouch!" Minato yelped, clutching his hand, which had turned red. Kushina stood with her hands on her hips. "I made this breakfast for Takuya! If you want some, go get it yourself."
"Ah! Mikoto's here?" Minato suddenly exclaimed, his eyes darting toward the door.
"What? Mikoto?" Kushina turned to look, caught off guard.
But there was no Mikoto. Minato quickly snatched the drumstick and retreated to a corner to eat it in big bites.
"You..." Kushina was furious, ready to pounce on him.
Takuya watched the two of them with amusement, enjoying the show. As for Minato's pleading looks for help?
Sorry, I didn't see a thing.
You're on your own.
After Kushina left, Minato sat there nursing his bruised face, wincing in pain. Kushina had given him quite a punch—his face still hurt, and tears were welling up in his eyes.
That girl sure hits hard.
But he had brought it on himself by tricking her, which was why she hadn't held back. Over time, Kushina had started to show signs of turning into Tsunade 2.0: If in doubt, punch it out. If one punch didn't work, hit it again.
Takuya was just grateful that Tsunade hadn't taught Kushina her super strength technique yet. If she had, and Kushina combined that with her natural strength...
Well, let's just say a lot of people would be in trouble.
"You deserved it! You know how much Kushina hates being deceived, yet you went ahead and tricked her anyway," Takuya laughed, showing no sympathy.
His laughter was utterly carefree.
"Who told you to hog all the good food?" Minato retorted, still nursing his wounds. "By the way, you're famous now, you know? That, and the whole deal with that stuck-up Jonin from the Shimura clan."
"Where did you pick up that tone?" Takuya asked, raising an eyebrow.
"From you, obviously! If you can talk like that, why can't I?" Minato shot back.
"..."
Famous, huh? Takuya wasn't too concerned. After all, not many people in Konoha really knew who he was. As for his signature white hair, that wasn't exactly rare in Konoha, so he wasn't worried about being recognized on the street.
"Takuya."
"What?"
There was something off about Minato today—he was acting all jittery. Takuya eyed him suspiciously. What could have gotten him so worked up this early in the morning?
"With a new war on the horizon, do you think we'll be sent to the front lines?" Minato finally blurted out after a long pause.
"..."
I thought you were going to say something deep, and that's what you came up with?
"Get lost!" Takuya snapped, kicking Minato out of the room. "Whether we go to the front lines or not is up to the higher-ups, not us. So what if a new war's coming? It's not like we can do anything about it."
You're worrying over nothing. Instead of stressing about this, why not think about what to have for lunch?
If the Third Hokage isn't freaking out, why should you?
No matter how intense the fighting got, there was no way it would reach Konoha. The thought of the village being attacked was just ridiculous. As for everything else, why waste time worrying?
"Are we having a group meal today?" Minato asked, his eyes lighting up as he saw Takuya opening the fridge to check the ingredients left inside.
Takuya often bought extra meat to store in the fridge, just in case he didn't have time to go shopping. That way, he could always cook something up when he wanted to.
"You're cooking?" Takuya turned to look at Minato.
Minato's smile faltered for a moment before he scratched his head. "Well, uh, I'd love to cook, you know how much I enjoy it... but my cooking isn't as good as yours, and I'm worried Mikoto and Kushina would be disappointed."
"How about we stick to the usual plan? I'll buy the ingredients, and you handle the cooking?"
"Alright, fine." Takuya thought it over and agreed. It wasn't a bad idea to get together and relax a bit, especially after their recent mission, which had left Minato and Mikoto pretty shaken up. They could use a good meal to soothe their nerves.
"Great! I'll take care of the shopping, then," Minato said, perking up. He dashed out the door, forgetting all about the bruise on his face.
"Kushina really didn't hold back. Hopefully, Minato's face doesn't swell up too much," Takuya muttered, shaking his head as he started preparing some of the ingredients. He could already guess what Minato would bring back—it was always the same stuff. In the world of shinobi, people didn't care much about gourmet cuisine, and there wasn't a huge variety of ingredients to choose from.
Is it the village's intelligence?
*****
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