Bang!
As soon as Kurenai snapped back to her senses, she immediately tried to close the door.
But Aoba's speed was just as fast, and he grabbed the doorknob from the outside.
Kurenai struggled to force the door shut, but how could her strength compare to Aoba's.
"Let go!", Kurenai said with embarrassed anger.
She totally did not expect him to suddenly show up at night, and even catch her halfway through… that.
She didn't actually want to do that kind of thing, she just couldn't hold back for a moment.
This bastard smelled her scent at Anko's house last time. He might have already noticed something.
'Damn it!'
She really wanted to die right now.
"Kurenai-nee, are you planning to cut ties with me?", Aoba spoke directly, "If you're planning to cut ties with me, then I'll leave right now!"
Kurenai froze slightly at his words, opening her mouth to explain.
She had no intention of cutting ties, she was just feeling conflicted recently.
She was clearly scared to see him, but in her heart she couldn't stop thinking about his face.
Before seeing this guy, she was still complaining internally that it had been so long since that incident and he still hadn't come find her, but the moment she saw him at the theater, she only wanted to run away.
Even just now… during that… the one who appeared in her mind was also him.
But before she could explain, because she froze for that moment, Aoba had already pulled the door open and forced his way in.
"You!"
Kurenai snapped back to herself and panicked at his sudden movement, taking a few steps back.
She accidentally bumped into the step at the entryway and fell onto the floor.
"Tss!"
Kurenai held her aching butt and said angrily, "You just trespassed into someone's home!"
"Ahem! I think you should go change your clothes first."
Aoba also came back to his senses after spacing out, awkwardly scratching his face and looking away.
"Change clothes?"
Kurenai looked confused, and then suddenly felt a chill on her chest.
She looked down. She didn't know when it happened, but the coat she had tightly wrapped herself in had come loose.
Revealing the low-cut spaghetti-strap nightdress underneath, something faintly visible.
Her face turned bright red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
With an "Ah!", Kurenai shot up and ran into the bedroom at a speed she had never used in her life.
If this were before, at most she would have just gotten shy, maybe even teased him back a little.
But ever since that time in Roran, when this guy revealed his feelings for her in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, her mindset had unknowingly started to change.
Aoba felt a little helpless when he saw that. After changing into slippers, he also walked into the living room.
The living room was cleaner than he imagined. It didn't have underwear and clothes thrown everywhere like before.
But on the coffee table in front of the sofa, there was a pot of liquor and a cup.
There was still a little liquor left in the cup.
'So she was halfway through drinking and then suddenly… got in the mood…'
Aoba shook his head, tossing out the picture in his imagination, then sat down on the sofa.
Kurenai was taking much longer to change clothes than he expected.
A quarter of an hour had already passed.
He was starting to wonder if she was stalling on purpose.
But it was still early, only around seven or eight. He could wait all night if needed.
Still, waiting in silence wasn't ideal. Aoba looked at the pot of liquor on the table, grabbed a clean cup, and poured himself a drink.
A strong, dense smell of alcohol. The alcohol content was probably high.
"Tss!"
His throat burned.
'Vodka mixed with soju. What kind of mixology genius is this?'
He usually drank sake with Tsunade and the others, and even then they only sipped lightly. He really couldn't handle this level all of a sudden.
"You brat, why are you drinking someone else's liquor?", Kurenai's voice suddenly came from behind.
She had indeed thought about leaving Aoba outside to cool his head, but remembering what he said about cutting ties, after adjusting her emotions she still came out.
And immediately saw him getting burned by the drink.
Which somehow wiped out her nervousness.
"I haven't really had this before, so I wanted to try it."
Aoba stuck out his tongue with a pained expression.
Kurenai's lips couldn't help curling a little, but she quickly forced it down.
'This guy is still like a kid.'
She went to the kitchen, filled a glass of water, and brought it over.
"Move over a bit," Kurenai nudged his leg with her foot.
"Okay."
Aoba took the water she handed him and scooted aside a little.
Kurenai sat down beside him without saying a word. After pouring herself a cup of liquor, she took small sips. Still no words came out of her mouth.
One person tasting liquor, one person drinking water.
The living room slowly quieted down again.
The atmosphere really was awkward. Mostly because Aoba's sense of smell was sharp, and he could still smell that lingering scent from her.
"Kurenai-nee…"
Aoba intended to get to the point, but just as he spoke, Kurenai also opened her mouth.
"I'm not trying to cut ties with you."
The identical words came out at the same time, and both froze.
Aoba reacted first, looking innocent, "Then why do you look like you really don't want to see me?"
'You idiot, you really don't know why?'
Kurenai felt irritated, but she held back her temper, running her fingers through her hair in frustration.
Since they were already sharing a seat, she might as well use the chance to talk things out.
"I don't hate seeing you. My emotions have just been a mess lately and I need to sort myself out."
As she said that, she lifted her cup and took a big gulp, grimacing afterward.
"This liquor is so strong. You should drink less. Does drinking even help you feel better?"
Just watching her gulp like that made Aoba uncomfortable.
He wanted to take the cup from her.
But Kurenai slapped his hand away, retorting, "Drinking can't make me feel better, but it can make me feel less messy!"
To prove her point, she poured herself another cup and downed it in one go.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
She choked instantly, coughing hard.
Getting hit by strong liquor like that was no joke.
Aoba quickly handed her his own water cup.
Kurenai didn't think twice and drank it immediately.
Seeing her gulp down water anxiously, Aoba couldn't help teasing her, "And now?"
"It's all your fault!"
After she recovered, Kurenai glared at him. Maybe because of the choking, her face got even redder. She then took the cup, went to refill it twice, and came back.
Yes, she changed cups.
Aoba shrugged helplessly, "Fine, it's all my fault. So why exactly are you in a bad mood?"
"Is it because you heard the sounds between me and Anko-nee that day?"
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