"Wow! Amazing Aoba, you really have grown up."
Ino ran up and stopped in front of Aoba, looking left, looking right, touching up, touching down.
She was a full-on curious kid.
Aoba immediately had a black line across his face. Ino's hands were way too naughty.
"Ino, we're still on the street, that's too immodest of you!", Sakura pouted and came up, grabbing Ino's still-touching hand.
"I'm just too curious, I didn't expect Aoba really did grow up."
Ino reluctantly withdrew her hand, then looked up at Aoba, gestured with her hand, pouting, and said, "Aoba, you're a whole head taller than me now."
Aoba simply stepped forward and hugged Ino, pulling her into his arms.
Suddenly slipping into a much broader embrace than before, Ino was first stunned, then her eyes lit up and she snuggled closer.
Now her height fit into Aoba's arms, she felt like a little bird leaning on someone.
That feeling gave her a strong sense of safety.
Sakura, watching beside them, felt her eyebrows twitch.
Before she could react, Yugito couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Aoba!"
"Mm?"
Aoba looked up and turned toward Yugito, who had already come to stand beside him, asking with confusion, "Anything else?"
Ino, who had been curled in his arms, also looked up and curiously glanced at Yugito.
Her expression couldn't help but show surprise.
Because Yugito's outfit looked so similar to hers.
Both had long golden hair and a high golden ponytail.
And that, was exactly why Yugito felt so bothered.
This girl looked way too much like her disguised form.
Aoba must have noticed long ago. When he was playing with her earlier, who was actually on his mind, her, or this girl in front of them now?
If she was only the other girl's stand-in...
For some reason, Yugito suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, a bit like wanting to cry.
Seeing Yugito silent for so long, biting her lip and looking at him with eyes like a kitten abandoned by its owner, Aoba couldn't help but remind her.
"Samui and the others are about to go on lunch break. If you're late, you might miss them."
"You scumbag!", Yugito muttered under her breath, a voice only she could hear, then pointed at the snacks Aoba was carrying.
"My food's still with you."
"So much, can you even finish it?", Aoba asked, puzzled.
All along Yugito had been trying every snack stall they passed. The amount of snacks he was carrying could feed several people.
"I'll eat with Samui and the others later," Yugito said stubbornly.
Ino and Sakura both watched the two of them with curious, sweeping glances.
"Fine."
Seeing Yugito so adamant, Aoba handed all the snacks he was carrying to her.
Yugito said nothing, took them, and turned to leave without pausing.
After walking for a while without hearing Aoba call her back, Yugito suddenly felt a little wronged.
She'd said she liked him, but as soon as another girl came over, he didn't say a word and went to accompany that girl.
He'd just been with her, and in the blink of an eye he was with another girl.
She didn't actually dislike that other girl, but still…
Thinking that, Yugito's eyes reddened.
She picked up a skewer of dango from the bag and bit into it.
"Huh?", Yugito was slightly surprised. When she'd grabbed the dango, there'd seemed to be something else in the bag.
She opened it and glanced inside; at some point a note had been slipped in.
"What's this?"
Yugito opened it and paused. A neat line of small handwriting was written on it.
[Today is a rare time for you sisters to get together; I won't disturb you. I'll accompany you next time. Tonight I'll cook, remember to come home early.]
'Come home early…'
Reading the note, Yugito didn't know why, but the grievance she'd been feeling suddenly melted away.
The blocked feeling in her heart cleared quite a bit.
Her steps even became a little bouncier.
"Hmph! Who wants you, you scumbag. I've got Samui and the others and that's enough."
Yugito complained unhappily, folded the note and put it away, eating her dango as she walked toward the Hokage building.
———
"Aoba, who was that older sister just now?"
As soon as Yugito left, Ino squinted and started interrogating Aoba.
For an interrogation you need leverage, Ino's hand was already reaching…
She pinched a soft spot at his lower back.
"…"
Aoba was a little helpless, 'Isn't this just a girl's instinct?'
Sakura nearby, and Inner Sakura trailing behind, were also giving death stares.
"She's Yugito."
"Yugito?"
Both girls were startled. Sakura asked, puzzled, "The Two-Tails jinchuriki? Isn't she your family's maid?"
Although they'd seen her once during the Chunin Exam, it was just a brief encounter. 5hey didn't remember her looking like this.
Aoba nodded, "She's using Transformation Jutsu now. If she came out looking like her original self, it would cause unnecessary trouble."
"So you're pretty free, huh, to have time to take your maid out on a date and go shopping?"
Ino squinted, hands already twisting.
"Psst!"
"I just happened to meet her on my way home, so I kept her company."
Aoba deliberately showed a pained expression to change the subject, "Ino, did you just get back today? Was the mission dangerous?"
"I returned this morning, and Sakura came to tell me about your situation."
Although Ino knew he was putting on an act, she relaxed her grip and even rubbed the spot she'd been pinching.
"Do you want to go see the place where I stayed for three years?" Aoba suggested.
"Can we?"
"Of course."
After saying that, Aoba took one by the hand and then the other, disappearing into the streets of Konoha.
———
Meanwhile—
When Yugito arrived at the Hokage building, she happened to see Samui and Mabui standing at the entrance, apparently waiting for someone.
Her eyes lit up and her steps became even lighter; from a distance she shouted,
"Samui!"
"Mabui!"
Both of them showed surprise and looked toward Yugito,mbut what they saw was a girl with a golden high ponytail.
Before they could ask, Yugito threw her arms around them, teary-eyed.
"Samui, Mabui, I missed you so much."
At first the two had been unsure of her identity, but now they no longer doubted it.