Koyuki Kazahana lazily lifted her head and glanced at Furen. After drinking quite a bit, she was already feeling a little dizzy.
At first, Koyuki intended to reject this sudden stranger, but when she saw Furen's handsome face, she somehow swallowed her words and instead asked, "Did you just say you want me to buy you a drink?" Her tone carried a hint of disbelief.
Over the years, Koyuki had been asked out for drinks many times, but someone asking her to buy them a drink? This was a first.
"What? You don't want to?" Furen turned his head slightly.
Under the dim bar lights, Koyuki finally got a good look at Furen's face.
As a top-tier actress who had been in the film industry for years, Koyuki had seen all kinds of men, but even she found herself momentarily distracted when she looked at Furen.
"This guy… is pretty handsome…" she thought to herself.
[Koyuki Kazahana's affection for you has increased by 5%]
Noticing her sudden attraction to a stranger, Koyuki shook her head and took another gulp of her drink.
"No choice then. Since you won't buy me a drink, I guess I'll have to buy you one…" Furen shrugged, then reached for the bartender's mixer in front of him. Under Koyuki's gaze, he began preparing a drink.
Furen's technique wasn't flashy like that of a showman bartender. Instead, he focused on the quality of the drink. Nevertheless, Koyuki found his movements captivating.
After shaking the mixer for a bit, Furen poured the freshly mixed drink into Koyuki's empty glass.
Then he filled his own glass, raised it, and said, "Cheers."
Koyuki looked at her drink, lifted it, and downed it in one go. As soon as the liquid touched her lips, she noticed something different.
Although the alcohol was the same kind she had been drinking earlier, its taste had subtly changed.
What had once been sharp and biting was now smooth and pleasant. For the first time, Koyuki, who had been trying to drown her sorrows, found herself wanting another drink.
[Koyuki Kazahana's affection for you has increased by 20%]
Hearing the notification in his mind, Furen smiled slightly and refilled both of their glasses.
However, just as Koyuki was about to down her drink in one go again, Furen stopped her and said, "You shouldn't drink like that."
At this point, Koyuki, eager to lose herself in alcohol, had no resistance left, especially with such a delicious drink in front of her. She followed Furen's lead and drank with him.
"You're from the Leaf Village?" Koyuki asked, clearly tipsy.
"Yeah," Furen replied as he refilled their glasses again.
"Do you know… there's a place in this world where snow falls all year round?" Koyuki's voice trailed off as she began recounting her story—not as a princess, but as an actress who had fled her homeland.
Furen, though aware of everything she was about to say, listened carefully. Koyuki, now fully engrossed in her tale, recounted her entire journey from being a runaway princess to becoming an actress.
"The Land of Snow… haha." Koyuki let out a bitter laugh and looked at the man she had just met, murmuring softly, "To be honest… I kind of want to go back…"
In the end, Koyuki, overwhelmed by the alcohol, passed out in Furen's arms.
When Koyuki regained consciousness, she felt herself moving swiftly across the rooftops of the Leaf Village. The wind roared around her, but her head was resting on something warm.
"Don't be afraid, I'm just here to protect you… Princess Koyuki," Furen whispered softly.
Koyuki, still in a daze, was startled. "You know who I am?"
"Of course, Princess Koyuki," Furen replied, looking down at her before activating his Ice Release, turning the ground beneath them into a reflective mirror.
"Who are you?!" Koyuki exclaimed, her panic growing as she saw Furen's jutsu.
Could he be working for Doto?
"Relax, I'm not one of Doto's men. I'm someone your father, Kazahana Sosetsu, left behind to protect you," Furen said, reaching out and gently touching Koyuki's face.
[Koyuki Kazahana's affection for you has increased by 25%]
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A/N:
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