"Anko-nee, Kurenai-nee, I'll head back first."
After finishing cleaning up with Anko, Aoba planned to leave.
Kurenai brushed a lock of hair by her ear. Just as she was about to stand, an inexplicable coolness made her instinctively press her legs together again. Forcing herself to stay calm, she said, "Mm, you go on then."
"Oh, right!"
Aoba seemed to suddenly remember something, and looked toward Anko, "Anko-nee, I took the dango from your fridge, I put a lot of vegetables in."
"Eh?", Anko, who had originally planned to tease Kurenai a bit, froze instantly.
"What did you say?"
"Without the curse mark, eating too many sweets will make you gain weight easily."
Aoba reminded her again, then added, "From now on, you need to control your diet properly."
With that, his figure flickered and he disappeared from the spot.
Anko, furious, lunged but caught only air. When she landed, she quickly rushed to the fridge.
Opening it, she saw that the dozens of skewers of dango inside had already completely disappeared. Even the instant noodles were nearly gone.
"Damn it!"
Anko looked at the fridge now full of eggs, vegetables, and beef, and tears of emotion rolled down her cheeks.
"My condolences," Kurenai, enduring her discomfort, walked over and patted Anko on the shoulder.
"Kurenai, Aoba is too cruel!", Anko threw herself into Kurenai's arms, looking aggrieved, on the verge of tears.
"Sigh!"
Knowing just how much Anko loved sweets, Kurenai patted her head, "How about later we buy some more? My treat."
Anko paused, thought briefly, then said, "Forget it, later I'll just buy a few to taste."
"Mm?", Kurenai was a little stunned. She hadn't expected Anko to actually overcome her craving for dango.
'Is this really the same Anko?'
Hugging Kurenai, Anko couldn't help sighing, "Having a boyfriend is such a hassle… huh?"
Her voice stopped for a beat, then she asked with some suspicion, "Kurenai, why is your pocket all bulging? Hiding something?"
"Eh?"
Before Kurenai could react, Anko's hand had already slipped into her inner pocket and pulled something out.
Her mind went blank, her whole body freezing in place.
By the time she wanted to snatch it back, it was already too late.
Anko raised her hand, spread it open, and upon seeing the style of the item, her expression turned odd.
Kurenai's face was red as blood. She didn't dare look at Anko, her fingers trembling uncontrollably.
"Anko…"
"Kurenai, this… this isn't from when Aoba just now… uh!"
Anko's teasing words stuck in her throat.
Because she saw that Kurenai could no longer suppress the killing intent radiating from her.
Awkward, Anko hastily stuffed the item back into her pocket, putting on a foolish look.
"Kurenai, what just happened? I didn't see a thing."
"Heh heh, things like girlfriends don't matter anymore."
Kurenai's expression was twisted, like she had been broken, and a gloomy, wooden laugh escaped her lips, sending chills down Anko's spine.
"Kurenai…"
Anko still tried to struggle.
But Kurenai immediately began forming seals, "Only the dead can keep secrets!"
"Genjutsu…"
———
After using Body Flicker to leave Anko's house, Aoba didn't know if Anko would secretly go and buy dango again while he was gone.
That was something he couldn't control. He couldn't be like a pendant, following her around twenty-four hours a day.
But if Anko showed the slightest sign of gaining weight, he would immediately find a way to slim her back down.
After all, he didn't want to face a "sweet potato" ten years later.
"I'm back… Yugao-nee, you're back from your mission too?"
When he got home, Aoba immediately spotted Uzuki Yugao sitting in the main seat.
"Aoba-nii, what about me, what about me?"
Karin, who was ignored, looked very upset.
Aoba walked over and patted her head, "Karin, how did your mission go this time?"
Karin leaned into his hand happily, just about to start talking, when Yugao cut in.
"We'll talk about that later. First, let's discuss why you didn't come home last night."
Yugao had already heard the matter from Konan, so it wasn't strange for her to bring it up now.
Konan was also looking at Aoba with a resentful gaze. Last night she had waited alone until late, even falling asleep, without ever seeing him return.
"Uh… this has to do with Orochimaru."
Aoba deliberately led with the serious part, to better divert Yugao and Konan's attention.
"What?"
As expected, Yugao and Konan's expressions grew tense.
"Oro… Orochimaru!"
Kin showed an expression of fear.
Because she had already been in this household for some time, yet had not produced a single result on the mission Orochimaru had given her.
Two days ago she had even found some things in Konan's room, but hid them instead.
Because Orochimaru would definitely use them for evil.
Now she worried that maybe Orochimaru had discovered it.
"Kin, this has nothing to do with you."
Aoba also noticed her reaction, and quickly reassured her.
He figured Orochimaru had probably forgotten he even had a subordinate living here.
Last time they met, Orochimaru hadn't even mentioned her.
"R-really?", Kin's expression eased slightly.
"Mm."
Aoba smiled, "Don't worry, with me here, Orochimaru wouldn't dare lay a hand on you."
"Th-thank you, Aoba-sama!", Tears welled in Kin's eyes, her face full of gratitude.
"Let's get to the point," Yugao pinched Aoba's waist.
He immediately snapped back to his senses, and explained, "Yesterday afternoon, I lifted the curse mark Orochimaru had put on Anko-nee long ago."
"Anko's curse mark? I remember even Tsunade-sama couldn't remove that," Yugao, as a veteran jonin, naturally knew about Anko's situation.
"Yugao-nee, did you forget I'm skilled in sealing techniques?"
Aoba reminded with a smile, "Anko-nee was unconscious for a whole day, and only woke up this morning. I was worried something might happen, so I stayed to take care of her."
"You really just took care of her, didn't do anything else?", Yugao raised a brow.
Aoba thought of Anko's words about keeping things secret, so he nodded, "Didn't do a thing!"
"Alright then, next time something like this happens, remember to send word back. Otherwise, we'll be worried," Yugao didn't intend to keep pressing.
"That's it?", Konan, who had been planning to watch some drama, looked at Yugao in surprise.
"What else?", Yugao sighed helplessly.
Even if something had happened with Anko, so what?
Looking around at this house full of people, she had long since become desensitized.
Konan herself seemed to have forgotten how she ended up living here in the first place.
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