Chapter 296: Next Time, Just You
Several pairs of chopsticks were placed down one after another.
At last, the meal was over.
Kaede quietly released a breath and felt the subtle atmosphere around the table.
He immediately stood, efficiently stacked the empty plates, and gathered several piles of bowls and dishes.
"I’ll wash these."
Leaving those words behind, he fled into the kitchen without looking back.
Mei watched him go.
Remain here and sit face-to-face with Tsunade?
She would rather follow Kaede into the kitchen.
At least then she might get a few moments alone with him.
"Kaede, I’ll help you."
Before the sentence even ended, she was already following him.
Pakura looked at Mei’s impatient back and more or less understood what she was thinking.
That fox was planning another little move.
Pakura couldn’t allow her to succeed.
She stood as well.
"I’ll help too. Since you’re going, it would be impolite if I didn’t."
The kitchen had never been spacious to begin with.
Kaede had only just placed the stack of dishes into the sink when two women squeezed in behind him.
Mei immediately claimed the position on his left.
Pakura quietly took the right.
Kaede stood trapped between them, still holding one plate, completely unable to move and uncertain which direction he could safely yield toward.
At that moment, Tsunade’s voice came from outside.
"Kaede, since they’re so worried about you and want you to rest, come out."
"Let them wash. Come sit down."
Kaede heard her, looked left and right, and placed the dish down.
Mei’s expression visibly stiffened.
Pakura had already turned on the faucet and begun rinsing the bowls.
Kaede said nothing.
He turned sideways, carefully squeezed through the tiny gap between them, and quickly escaped the dangerous kitchen.
Mei stared at his fleeing back.
Damn it!
Tsunade had borrowed their own momentum and broken her plan again.
Mei picked up the sponge, squeezed out a huge amount of dish soap, and scrubbed hard enough to raise a mountain of foam.
Through clenched teeth, she whispered,
"Pakura-neesan, what exactly are you trying to do? You stepped on me at the table to make yourself look good, and now you’re interfering again. Didn’t we agree to be allies?"
Pakura continued rinsing without changing expression. The sound of the water conveniently covered their conversation.
"We are allies."
She placed a perfectly clean bowl on the drying rack and glanced at Mei.
"But we’re still enemies too."
One sentence left Mei completely speechless.
In the living room, Kaede sat down far more lightly than he had during dinner.
He reached for the tea set on the coffee table and began brewing tea in an orderly fashion.
Tsunade leaned against the sofa beside him, completely relaxed.
One leg rested naturally over the other.
She casually picked up a magazine from the table and began flipping through it. Her mood didn’t appear bad.
The dishes were washed quickly.
Mei and Pakura emerged from the kitchen one after another.
Mei shook water from her hands and sat grumpily in the single chair farthest from Tsunade.
Pakura sat in another side chair, maintaining the same distance.
Kaede pushed cups of freshly brewed tea toward the three women.
A clean fragrance spread through the air.
Yet no one spoke first, and the atmosphere once again became delicate.
Pakura lifted her cup and took a small sip.
Her gaze quietly rested on Kaede’s face.
Tonight’s dinner must have been exhausting for him.
From the confrontation in the kitchen, to that deadly question at the table, to three people crowding into the kitchen afterward...
He had been walking a tightrope the entire evening, trying to preserve a fragile balance.
Pakura withdrew her gaze and looked at the tea trembling slightly in her cup.
Being able to cook one dish for him tonight was already enough.
She didn’t want to watch him spend even more energy dealing with the open and hidden competition between them.
Pakura set down her cup, placed both hands on her knees, and stood.
"It’s getting late. Konan should still be coordinating various matters. I need to go back and help."
Before anyone could react, she turned directly toward Mei, who was still lingering in her chair.
"Mizukage-sama, you should go too."
Her tone was decisive and left little room for refusal.
"Didn’t you say on the way here that there were still many details you hadn’t arranged?"
"We’re headed in the same direction. Let’s go together."
Mei’s eyes widened in disbelief.
You can leave if you want. Why drag me along?
But she quickly recovered.
Her gaze shifted toward Tsunade, who remained seated on the sofa.
Tsunade continued flipping through that battered magazine as though she hadn’t heard a word.
Mei had already done everything she could today. Continuing to stay would accomplish nothing.
Since Pakura insisted on dragging her away, she might as well take the offered exit.
Mei looked toward Kaede.
"Kaede, I had a wonderful dinner. I’ll come see you again next time."
Only then did she follow Pakura toward the entryway.
The two put their shoes on.
Before opening the door, Pakura looked back.
Her gaze crossed the hallway and landed on Kaede in the living room.
Their eyes met from a distance.
She gave him a tiny nod, a silent farewell.
Then she grabbed Mei’s wrist—Mei was still deliberately dragging her feet—and pulled her outside.
At the stairwell, Mei immediately shook off Pakura’s hand and snorted.
"You did that on purpose."
She stared at Pakura’s profile.
"You deliberately dragged me out so those two could be alone."
Pakura didn’t deny it. She simply continued walking.
Mei quickened her pace to follow and said sourly,
"Whatever. Tsunade’s private evening was ruined anyway. She didn’t win either."
After the apartment door closed, only the sound of breathing remained in the living room.
Tsunade listened until the two sets of footsteps outside gradually disappeared.
Only then did she close the magazine in her hand and return it to the table.
"Finally quiet."
Kaede sat beside her and felt his heart begin to pound.
What did she mean by that?
Was the interrogation about to begin?
Would she demand an explanation about those two women?
Or ask what that final look with Pakura had meant?
Tsunade picked up her tea and took a sip.
"Those two were pretty noisy."
Kaede froze for half a second and could only answer with a dry laugh.
"It wasn’t that bad."
Tsunade turned and looked at him with a faint smile that wasn’t really a smile.
"You seemed quite practiced at handling them."
Kaede rubbed his nose.
"When Mei threw that question at me during dinner, I almost thought I was going to die."
Tsunade merely gave a soft snort and didn’t respond.
She took another sip of tea.
Several seconds passed before she spoke again.
"I know what happened tonight was a coincidence."
"When you went grocery shopping with me, it was obvious that you genuinely only wanted to have dinner with me."
"If someone insists on shamelessly inserting herself, there’s not much you can do."
Kaede’s heart trembled.
"Tsunade..."
Tsunade raised a hand, cutting off everything else he wanted to say.
She stood and tugged lightly at the hem of her shorts.
"That’s enough. Tonight was exhausting. I should go home too."
Kaede immediately stood as well and walked her to the entryway.
Tsunade changed her shoes and placed one hand on the doorknob.
Her motion paused, but she didn’t turn around.
"It’s a shame we never got to drink the sake we bought."
"We’ll have to save it for next time."
"But Kaede..."
"Next time, there can only be you and me. No other women."
Looking at her graceful back, Kaede answered solemnly.
"All right."
Only then did Tsunade open the door and leave.
The door closed.
Kaede turned and looked at the empty living room.
The air still carried the rich smell of dinner mixed with three completely different feminine fragrances.
He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
"What an... impossible problem."