"I... I... What happened...?"
"Where am I?"
Hinata Hyūga slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was an almost unfairly handsome face.
"Mirai-sama?"
Her mind gradually cleared.
Just a moment ago, she had been talking with Mirai-sama, but then—her stomach had growled.
Loudly.
Too embarrassing!
The mere thought of it made Hinata's entire face flush red.
Worried she might faint again, Mirai quickly reassured her, "Hinata, it's nothing to worry about. There's no need to feel embarrassed."
As he spoke, he handed her a skewer of three-color dango he had just bought. "Eat a little first."
Hinata hesitated, feeling shy.
Seeing this, Mirai insisted, "That's an order."
Only then did Hinata accept the dango, and within a few bites, she had finished the sweet treat entirely.
Mirai, curious, asked, "Hinata, are you still hungry?"
Hinata unconsciously stuck out her tongue, embarrassed. "Mirai-sama, actually... I kind of snuck out today."
"So I haven't eaten anything since this morning."
Mirai glanced at the setting sun and spoke gently, "Come with me. I'll treat you to dinner."
Hinata was caught off guard.
She waved her hands quickly.
"Mirai-sama, how could I possibly let you pay?"
"I... I... I'm not that hungry, really."
Seeing her flustered expression, Mirai chuckled.
"No need to be so polite. Back when I overthrew Hiruzen Sarutobi and his regime, your father was a great help."
With that, he turned and started walking.
Hinata had no choice but to follow quickly.
Under Mirai's lead, they arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.
Ichiraku had been given an upscale renovation.
Even though Konoha had changed dramatically over the years, with countless new restaurants popping up, Ichiraku Ramen remained one of the village's most beloved eateries.
Since it wasn't quite mealtime yet, the shop wasn't too crowded.
...
As soon as Mirai stepped inside, a lively girl wearing a white headscarf ran over eagerly.
"Mirai-sama, we have a private booth ready for you. Please follow me."
Mirai nodded and led Hinata inside.
Once inside the booth, the girl introduced herself. "Mirai-sama, my name is Ayame. I wonder if you still remember me…"
"When I was little, Might Duy once treated you to ramen here. I was the one who served you back then, and you even patted my head…"
Mirai chuckled at the energetic girl. "Of course, I remember. I didn't expect that little girl to grow into such a beautiful young woman."
Ayame blushed slightly and shyly said, "Mirai-sama, feel free to order whatever you'd like. This meal is on me."
"Oh?" Mirai raised an eyebrow. "That's unnecessary. Paying for a meal is only natural. How could I let you treat me?"
Ayame quickly explained, "It's not like that. The fact that you're personally dining at Ichiraku Ramen is already an incredible boost to our reputation."
"We'll proudly advertise that we had the honor of serving the Emperor himself! People from Konoha and even across the entire shinobi world will talk about it."
"So treating you to one meal is just a small token of our appreciation."
Mirai reasoned, "But I'm not alone. There's also this young lady..."
Ayame smiled. "I can handle one more bowl of ramen. It's no problem at all."
Before Mirai could argue further, Ayame had already left the room, giving him no chance to refuse.
—
Back in the kitchen.
Teuchi wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel and let out a tired sigh.
"Ayame, there must be a lot of customers today. It's not even peak hours, and I can barely keep up."
"I'm exhausted."
"But being busy means more money, so it's worth it."
Hearing this, Ayame's expression twitched slightly. She mumbled under her breath,
"Heh heh… actually, the shop isn't that crowded."
Teuchi frowned. "Not crowded? What do you mean?"
He hadn't stopped moving for a second, already making over fifty large bowls of ramen!
The business was clearly booming—how could there not be many customers?
Seeing her father's confusion, Ayame hesitated before explaining,
"Actually, all those bowls of ramen were ordered by just two people."
"They've each eaten over twenty bowls…"
"What?!" Teuchi's eyes widened in shock. "They each ate over twenty large bowls of ramen?!"
"That's two bottomless pits eating together!"
Ayame nodded. "Yep. Sorry, Dad, I know it's a lot of work."
Teuchi waved his hand dismissively and laughed. "No worries. No matter how much they eat, as long as they pay, it's fine."
Ayame laughed nervously. "Uh, about that…"
Teuchi's heart sank.
He had known Ayame since she was a baby, and whenever she made that face, it was never good news.
"What did you do?"
"Well… before they started eating, I kind of… decided to let them eat for free… on the house…"
"WHAT?!" Teuchi nearly choked on his own breath.
So all his hard work today didn't just earn him nothing—he actually lost a fortune in ingredients?!
Seeing her father's face darken, Ayame bolted from the kitchen before he could catch her.
She hadn't expected this at all!
That little, adorable-looking girl—how had she managed to eat so much ramen?!
—
Walking along Konoha's streets, Hinata rubbed her now round stomach and let out a small, satisfied burp.
She looked up at Mirai, who was walking ahead of her, her heart filled with gratitude.
Back at Ichiraku Ramen, she had only eaten two bowls before feeling too self-conscious to continue.
As the Hyūga clan's heiress, she always had to maintain proper decorum, even at home.
Let alone when dining out.
So whenever she ate in public, she always stopped after a few bites.
But this time, Mirai had somehow seen right through her restraint. To make sure she ate to her heart's content, he had matched her bite for bite.
Whatever she ate, he ate as well.
Hinata had never experienced anything like it before.
For the first time in her life, she had eaten until she was truly satisfied.
Feeling her gaze, Mirai glanced down at her. "What is it?"
Hinata shook her head with a soft smile. "Nothing."
Mirai-sama is such a kind person—completely different from how Father described him.
If only he could always be her meal companion…
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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