Chapter 293: Welcome, All of You
The last rays of sunset lingered in the sky.
The buildings blocked most of the light from entering the alley.
Tsunade and Kaede walked side by side, less than half a palm's width separating them.
Tsunade was on the inside of the path. She turned her head and looked at the bags in Kaede's hands.
"Let's steam that fish after all. Braising it would be too greasy and ruin the texture."
Her voice was relaxed, carrying the warm, domestic air of someone who had just finished grocery shopping.
Kaede nodded.
"All right, we'll do it your way. Scallion oil, or should we just pour the sauce over—"
He never finished the question.
They rounded the last corner of the alley.
Ahead, the streetlamp beneath his apartment had just flickered on.
Two people stood beneath its halo.
Kaede stopped dead.
His mouth remained slightly open, the rest of his sentence vanishing without a trace.
Mei stood at the entrance to the apartment building.
And beside her was Pakura.
A string of question marks exploded through Kaede's mind.
Why were these two together?
And why were they waiting directly downstairs from his home?
Mei heard footsteps and immediately turned around.
The instant her eyes met Kaede's, her gaze slowly traveled downward.
It landed on the bags of meat and vegetables filling both his hands.
Mei felt terrible.
Earlier that day at the Hokage Building, hadn't he said he needed to verify the new personnel lists from each village and had no idea how late he would be working?
And now?
He was carrying groceries home with Tsunade, chatting and laughing as they prepared to cook dinner together.
Her hand clenched unconsciously.
Tsunade noticed as well.
She didn't look at Mei, however. Her attention settled on Pakura instead.
A cool temperament. A tall, well-proportioned figure.
A woman's intuition could be terrifyingly accurate.
With only one glance, Tsunade guessed who she was.
This was the "other one" Kaede had mentioned before.
The smile on Tsunade's face disappeared little by little.
The warmth left over from shopping together froze instantly.
Pakura stood quietly where she was.
She looked at the two people standing side by side across from her.
At the groceries in Kaede's hands.
Then at the almost nonexistent distance between him and Tsunade.
She understood everything.
Mei might not have known that Kaede planned to spend the evening with Tsunade.
But because Pakura had wanted to see him, they had now collided head-on.
She noticed the panic and stiffness on Kaede's face, and regret immediately rose in her heart.
If she'd known meeting him would create this situation, she never would have let Mei bring her here.
If she hadn't come, Kaede wouldn't be caught in such a difficult position now.
Mei was the first to move.
She walked forward, her voice overflowing with apologetic embarrassment.
"Kaede, did I interrupt your time with Tsunade-sama?"
She lowered her head slightly, looking like a child who had done something wrong.
"I had no idea. Pakura-neesan said she wanted to see you, so I brought her here."
She delivered the lie without the slightest change in expression.
Kaede's attention immediately caught on the form of address.
Pakura-neesan?
The last time these two had met in Amegakure, that certainly hadn't been their attitude.
They had looked ready to fight each other to the death.
And now Mei was affectionately calling her "older sister"?
Kaede's thoughts raced.
Mei was absolutely controlling the direction of the conversation.
She was using Pakura as a shield while conveniently dumping the entire blame for ruining the mood onto her.
Kaede opened his mouth, intending to smooth things over.
Before he could make a sound, however, Pakura shot Mei a cold glance.
What was that supposed to mean? She wanted Pakura to take the blame?
Pakura immediately explained,
"I only came to discuss the villages' current defensive deployments with Kaede. Nothing else."
Tsunade stood beside them and saw straight through the entire performance.
The corner of her mouth twitched, and an almost inaudible scoff escaped her nose.
"So you came to discuss defensive deployments."
She paused and swept her gaze across the two women.
"But this is his rest time."
"He's going to cook dinner with me. This is private time between Kaede and me."
She emphasized those final words heavily.
It was a direct declaration of territory.
The boundary couldn't have been clearer. She had no intention of letting anyone else interfere.
Mei's clenched hand still hadn't relaxed.
The more Tsunade acted like the rightful woman of the house, the more unwilling Mei became to back down.
If she simply allowed the two of them to go upstairs alone tonight, wouldn't that mean she'd lost again?
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Pakura.
An idea immediately formed.
Her expression transformed in an instant. Her brows drooped, and she looked genuinely remorseful.
"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. I overstepped. I'll leave first."
She made as if to turn away.
But after moving barely half a step, she stopped again.
She looked toward Pakura, her tone overflowing with thoughtful concern.
"But Pakura-neesan traveled all the way here from another village because of the allied forces, and she hasn't even had a drink of water yet."
"On the way here, she even mentioned that her stomach was hurting a little."
"She finally got the chance to see Kaede..."
Mei looked back at Tsunade with sincere eyes.
"How about letting Pakura-neesan stay and go over the defensive details with Kaede? I'll leave by myself."
Pakura stared at her in disbelief.
When had her stomach started hurting?
This fox hadn't been satisfied with making Pakura take the blame downstairs. Now she was inventing illnesses for her out of thin air.
Pakura rejected the suggestion without hesitation.
"There's no need. Since Kaede is resting, I won't disturb him."
"I'll return to the Amegakure forces."
With that, she turned and started walking toward the mouth of the alley.
Kaede looked at her retreating back.
Amegakure wasn't particularly far from Konoha, but she must have rushed over the instant she received the message.
Protectiveness and guilt surged up inside him.
His hand almost rose automatically to call her back.
Then the corner of his eye caught Tsunade beside him, and the words jammed in his throat.
Tsunade had watched every reaction from beginning to end.
She looked at Pakura's stiff back, which was obviously forcing itself to remain cold.
Then she glanced at Kaede beside her, clearly wanting Pakura to stay but desperately suppressing the urge to speak.
If Pakura really left hungry tonight, Kaede would carry that guilt with him.
Every time he remembered this moment in the future, that guilt would still be there.
If Tsunade wanted to truly establish herself as the woman of the house, she needed the generosity befitting one.
After two seconds of silence, she spoke.
"You've come all this way. How could I let a guest leave hungry?"
She looked at Pakura's halted back and softened her tone slightly.
"Fine. You two can come along. We bought enough food anyway."
Mei's expression stiffened.
There it was again.
Tsunade had called her an outsider again!
Still, at least the goal had been achieved.
As long as she could get upstairs, she could endure that much.
Mei immediately withdrew the step she'd pretended to take and grabbed Pakura's arm.
Pakura turned back and stared at Tsunade in complete surprise.
She had never expected Tsunade to personally invite her.
Yet being received as a "guest" left an indescribable mixture of emotions in her heart.
Tsunade couldn't be bothered to study their reactions any longer.
She turned toward Kaede.
"Kaede, let's go. We shouldn't keep the guests waiting."
Without even asking which apartment was his, she strode into the building with practiced familiarity.
Kaede hurried after her with the bags in both hands.
They had barely climbed two steps when Mei immediately pressed close from the side.
"Kaede, isn't carrying all that tiring? Let me take some."
She reached for the plastic bags in his hands, deliberately trying to display that intimacy in front of Tsunade.
Kaede's entire body stiffened.
Like a thief checking whether he'd been caught, he quickly glanced upward.
The back walking ahead of him seemed to radiate a low-pressure storm.
He immediately shifted half a step away and avoided Mei's outstretched hand.
His answer was decisive.
"No need. I can carry them."
Mei's hand remained suspended in midair.
She had clearly seen the look Kaede had sneaked toward Tsunade.
Jealousy churned violently inside her.
But she knew she had already been in the wrong today and had only barely managed to earn the right to come upstairs.
She absolutely could not lose her temper now.
Mei swallowed her resentment and silently withdrew her hand.
Pakura walked at the rear.
She quickened her pace and moved closer to Kaede's other side.
Lowering her voice, she spoke with genuine apology.
"I'm sorry, Kaede."
"I didn't know this was the situation... I put you in a difficult position."
Kaede turned toward her.
Pakura's eyes were clear. She was genuinely considering his feelings.
His heart softened, and his voice followed.
"It's fine. You came all this way. We might as well eat together."
At those words, the corner of Pakura's mouth finally curved upward slightly, happiness flashing through her eyes.
Tsunade, walking at the very front, never looked back.
But her hearing was far too sharp.
Every word of that deliberately lowered conversation behind her entered her ears perfectly.
Her hand curled into a fist at her side, and her back teeth clenched once.
Very good, Kitahara Kaede.
Making little moves behind my back while I'm standing right here.
Just wait until later.
The stairway wasn't long.
Soon, all four reached the door.
Kaede shifted every bag from his left hand to his right, freeing one hand.
He pulled the key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock.
Then he pushed the door open and turned around.
Three women stood behind him.
Tsunade had her arms folded, her face expressionless.
Mei wore an obedient smile, yet the sharpness in her eyes suggested she was ready to attack at any moment.
Pakura stood quietly like an outsider, but her gaze never left him.
Three different auras. Three different sets of thoughts.
Three breathtaking women—and danger at every step.
Kaede swallowed.
He forced himself to speak.
"Welcome... all of you to my home."