Just after reaching the second floor, Naruto suddenly turned back.
Ino thought he was going to say something again. But instead, Naruto hurried downstairs to bring up the cup of warm, sweet drink.
"Do you want it?"
"No."
"But I don't drink it either. It's getting cold, and it would be a waste to leave it there."
"Let it go to waste then." Ino frowned. She wasn't sure what kind of game Naruto was playing, but she patiently continued arguing with him.
"Just take a sip." He urged.
"I won't."
Their bickering on the stairs was loud enough to draw the attention of Rino, who had changed into comfortable home clothes and peeked down from the living room on the second floor to see what was happening below.
"Come up and talk. It's tiring to stand there."
"Alright." Ino sighed and took the cup from Naruto's hand. She was about to head upstairs when she noticed Naruto watching her with a calm expression.
Reluctantly, she took a sip from the cup and then turned to go upstairs.
"Kid, can't you just come up and drink? Why do you have to ask others to bring you hot drinks?" Rino said in a nagging manner and made way for Ino.
"Oh." Ino, slightly annoyed, went into the kitchen.
Naruto sat properly on the sofa in the second-floor living room, his eyes drifting towards the kitchen. Rino had gone to the balcony, seemingly to collect some clothes. It seemed like the balcony was connected to the room without passing through the living room.
Heavy rain pounded on the windows, creating a white haze outside the balcony. The flowers on the stone ledge shivered in the cold wind and rain.
A moment later, Rino returned from the room.
Even without makeup and in casual home clothes, she couldn't hide her graceful and elegant aura. She's like a noblewoman from a drama, with every move exuding sophistication.
"It's raining too heavily." She said as she walked through the living room to the kitchen, as if she was talking to both Naruto and Ino, "The Academy is surrounded by parents."
"There were parents everywhere picking up their children. The Academy's gate had collapsed and the entrance was in a mess. Those kids who couldn't find their parents were wandering around."
"In the past, our Ino never needed to be picked up in this weather. She could handle it on her own. After all, she's a Shinobi, and even at a young age, she should be able to stand on her own."
"If the rain is too heavy, it's safer to pick them up." Naruto whispered his opinion.
Of course, it was just a casual comment, just small talk. Yamanaka Rino wasn't going to take that statement and hop into a time machine to go back to Ino's childhood to pick her up from school.
Perhaps Ino herself had long forgotten that one rainy afternoon when everyone else had left, and she was left alone, staring at the thick curtain of rain, wondering when she should run home.
Fortunately, the Academy was never short of orphans, and there were plenty of kids running in the rain.
'Something like that, probably.'
In the kitchen, Ino kept her head down, chopping vegetables in silence. Sometimes, having a good memory isn't a blessing, as it means she couldn't forget those not-so-great memories.
So much so that a casual comment could bring on a bout of inner turmoil. Yet, she couldn't show any of it on her face, as being too understanding made her feel like being willful would just be troublesome.
Even showing any grievance felt like a hassle.
The discussion about whether to pick up or not had no real meaning, and Rino didn't dwell on it. She paused briefly in the center of the living room and gave Naruto a polite smile.
"You're right." She said lightly.
She became a Shinobi at the age of twelve, had someone she liked at the age of fourteen, married Inoichi at the age of eighteen, and only at the age of twenty-one did she fall in love with the quiet man.
Her youth wasn't exactly bright, but she was fortunate in other ways.
She never spoke to her crush, so there was neither a beginning nor an end. She maintained her dignity, just as she always did.
Inoichi allowed her to keep that dignity, giving her all the respect and status a noble lady could have. She has a happy family, a flower shop, and even gave birth to a daughter, which was so reliable that she didn't have to worry about her at all.
Naruto observed her dignified smile and returned a smile of his own.
"Yes."
He responded appropriately, not saying anything unnecessary or unsuitable. He watched Rino head into the kitchen, then heard the sound of a quiet conversation between the mother and daughter inside.
He leaned back on the sofa, not feeling particularly restrained, casually grabbing a cushion and pressing it against his chest as a prop. The sofa faced the balcony, where a thin streak of lightning flashed across the sky.
Boom!
The thunder rumbled.
Naruto stared blankly, gazing at the torrential rain outside the balcony, his mind wandering back to recent events.
He wondered if Orochimaru would be very furious if he couldn't find the Shinigami Mask, as he would suffer the eternal torment of the burning sensation in his soul.
Not long after, Ino came out of the kitchen holding a warm cup of cocoa, no longer wearing her apron, which she had likely handed over to Rino.
She didn't say anything and just sat next to Naruto, with some distance between them.
After a long moment, Ino spoke in a low voice, "Thanks."
Naruto turned his head and glanced at Ino. The girl quickly averted her gaze, blinking nervously, as if caught off guard.
"Thank me for what?"
Upon hearing this, she hesitated, gripping the no-longer-hot cup tightly with her ten fingers wrapped around the outside. She squeezed so hard that her knuckles turned slightly white.
"For what you just said." She whispered, her voice so soft that only those within the vicinity of the sofa could hear, "You said I should be picked up."
"I just said it casually. After all, it can't be realized." Naruto replied honestly.
"I know." Ino said, her fingers tightening around the cup as if trying to draw out the remaining heat inside, "I know."
"I got soaked that time, came home drenched. No one was home. My dad was still busy with work, and I didn't know where my mom went."
"But during dinner, Mom praised me, and I felt a bit better at that moment. It's really no big deal, and they both love me a lot."
Naruto handed her a cushion, and Ino hesitated for a moment before setting the cup down and taking the cushion.
She curled up slightly, almost as if trying to absorb the cushion into her small frame. Her voice wavered, hinting at some instability in her emotions.
But soon, everything seemed to return to normal.
"But still, thank you."
"I wasn't that bothered by getting wet in the rain. Sometimes I just want to speak up, but it always feels like too much trouble, and I don't want them to bring it up anymore."
"They think it's something worth boasting about, but for some reason, every time they mention it, I feel a bit upset. I don't have a reason to tell them to stop, and I don't know how to say it."
The thunder was deafening, and the balcony's floor-to-ceiling windows rattled loudly.
In the brief silence between the thunder, she turned her head and looked at Naruto. Her lips pressed together, her voice soft, yet different from her usual tone.
"I'm really happy that someone is speaking up for me now."
A smile appeared on her face, a smile that came from the heart.
"I really like this feeling, and I also really like…"
Boom!
A loud crash of thunder erupted, louder than before, and lightning flashed across the balcony, illuminating everything in white. Naruto saw Ino's lips moving, but her voice was completely drowned out by the thunder.