The commotion in the hallway brought Naruko running out of her room. Dressed in a white T-shirt with the Uzumaki clan symbol and a pair of green shorts, she looked fresh and full of energy - as always. The joy on her face at seeing me made it impossible not to smile back. There's just something about Naruko that makes you want to smile when she's around. Maybe it's her boundless optimism. Maybe it's something else.
After the usual greetings and my thanks for looking after Aika, I was waved to the kitchen table. I didn't even think about refusing - on the road I'd only managed to snack on a few pieces of bread and some cheese, and as far as I knew, there was nothing at home I could whip up in under half an hour.
For dinner, Kushina had made miso soup, and there was a bit of meat pie left. I can't say I'm a huge fan of soup - especially miso - but sometimes you have to treat your stomach to something like that. The pie, though, was right up my alley - too bad there were only three pieces left. Over tea and sweets, we fell into easy conversation, with only Aika not joining in, since she was dozing on my lap.
"So, did anything interesting happen in Konoha while I was gone?" I asked the two of them.
Nothing earthshaking, really. Kushina shared some news from Mikoto - apparently, there were talks at the top about a possible visit from the Land of Lightning's ambassador and his delegation to discuss some trade issues. Naruko, meanwhile, was complaining about Sasuke-chan who, in her opinion, had started acting way too full of herself. She didn't miss the chance to throw a little shade at the rest of her "friends," either.
That's how I found out that during combat practice, Sakura had been paired up against Kiba, and when the pink-haired girl suddenly found herself facing a guy who looked half-wild thanks to his Transformation Technique, she got so scared she actually peed a little. Honestly, the value of this kind of information was pretty questionable.
Since the conversation wasn't one-sided, they asked me how things had gone in Tanzaku. After a sip of tea, I gave them a quick rundown: "I finally managed to open a McDonald's branch, so now even merchants from other countries can try our burgers. I started construction on a shopping center, ended up playing a prince in a movie, got to know Tanzaku a bit better… but really, nothing too exciting."
"What's a shopping center?" I was expecting that question, but it turned out Kushina and Naruko were far more interested in my role in the film. Which was kind of odd, considering there weren't any movie theaters in Konoha, and the one in Tanzaku had only opened recently.
"Oh, Mom and I went to Keichi twice - once before the academy, and again last year. That's when we saw all the movies they had. I wish I could see them again. I loved The Swordsman Tooso's Journey."
Turns out, during the holidays, Kushina had taken her daughter to the capital to broaden her horizons. And I'm pretty sure they had at least two ANBU teams tailing them the whole time.
After answering all their questions about my first experience as an actor, I wrapped up with, "Well, at least now Tanzaku has a movie theater too, and if Makino-san is to be believed, one will open in Konoha next year. By the way, I didn't come back from Tanzaku empty-handed."
Under their equally curious gazes, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a scroll. Seeing the markings on the edge, I realized it was the one I needed. I really should come up with proper scroll pouches - I can't keep carrying them around in my pants forever.
"Here, a little something for you both." I handed one box to Naruko and a slightly larger one to Kushina. Normally, if the giver doesn't ask you to open a present right away, you just accept it with thanks and open it later in private. But Naruko has never been one for rules or etiquette.
"Wow, thank you, Akira-san! I'm going to try it on right now!" Inside Naruko's box was a light summer dress with a loose skirt that fell to her knees. The sleeves were short, as was the neckline, and the dress itself was a soft beige. For decoration, there was an orange ribbon belt, and at the knot two flat ends hung down, each tipped with a piece of quality leather.
On the leather, thick pale threads spelled out my surname - "Zoldyck" - in a clean, blocky stitch. But what really caught the eye wasn't the name tucked into the corner of the framed patch, it was the mark in the center - a sunburst of interlaced triangles, an eight-pointed star with a dark heart.
Yeah, after thinking about how to fend off copycats, I decided the smartest move was to build a brand. And what better brand than your own name? Plenty of famous companies - McDonald's, Ford, Suzuki, Johnson & Johnson - were named after their founders. Zoldyck sounded sharp enough to carry a mark like that.
The logo itself came to me in the most ordinary way: late dinner in Tanzaku, a greasy spoon, a pencil, a napkin. I was thinking about Naruko - that easy, relentless brightness she has, the way a room tilts toward her - and the lines I kept doodling began to stack and cross until they settled into a little sun. I cleaned it up later, kept the layered geometry, and that accidental sunburst became my emblem. [ image ]

From there it was simple - the name and the sun-star, together, everywhere. McDonald's could use a touch of polish, too. I'd keep the big "M" over the entrance - that's a brand in itself - but above it, tucked between the arches, I'd set a small sunburst to sign it as ours. For the shopping center, officially named "Silver Court," I'd had a wooden sign prepared with a thin inlay of the same star, ready to hang after the grand opening.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I glanced at Aika, who was twitching a little in her sleep. A wave of drowsiness washed over me, and I realized I didn't want to linger much longer. Besides, if I wanted to get back to training, I needed to get my routine back on track.
Kushina, of course, didn't start digging through her present right away - she just set it on one of the side tables in the living room. While we waited, she and I chatted about nothing in particular, as if that whole near-maiming incident had never happened. We'd already talked it over, and as for what conclusions the two women had drawn during my absence, well, I could only guess - or pick up on some hints if the right situation came up.
Naruko didn't keep us waiting long. She burst into the kitchen, spinning around so the skirt of her dress flared, showing off her knees and a bit of thigh.
"Wow, I didn't even notice at first. You've gotten even prettier in just a month," I said, not holding back on the compliments. After all, why else would Naruko be twirling around in front of me? Blushing, she soaked up the praise, then happily disappeared back to her room to change into her usual clothes. I didn't stick around much longer either - I stood, ready to leave.
Kushina walked me to the door, and from the way she was biting her lip, it was clear she wanted to say or ask something, but for some reason couldn't bring herself to.
"Kushina, are you free the day after tomorrow?" I decided to clear up a few things at once.
"Yeah. Why? What's up?" She nodded right away, giving me a curious look.
"Well, while I was away, I had my house in the district fixed up. I asked them to replace any boards with cracks or mold, refresh the dusty tatami, and give everything a new coat of lacquer. As you remember, there's still a lot missing in the house, so I could use some help from someone… more knowledgeable." I almost said "experienced," but when it comes to women, you have to be careful with that word. A mature woman might take "experienced" as a jab at her age, and that never goes over well.
"Oh, of course, no problem, Akira. I'm totally free the day after tomorrow, so I can help all day if you need. We'll see what's missing and pick up whatever we need on the spot." She agreed without a second thought.
"Thank you so much. You know, I've always had a pretty simple approach to decorating my own place." My apartment still looked half-empty, after all.
"Oh, don't worry about it." She waved her hand with a gentle smile. "That's normal for guys."
"Well, thanks in advance for your help. I'm sure we'll have a good time." I winked, opened the door with one hand, and with the other, holding Aika close, stepped out into the night.
****
"I thought red would look great with your hair, but there are other color options inside, too." Kushina read the little note, feeling a bit flustered.
And I wasn't talking about the dark, fitted dress with the modest slit - the kind you could wear to any fancy restaurant. No, Kushina was interested in something else. The dress was beautiful, even a bit unusual in cut, and the slit was just daring enough to catch her eye. She liked it at first glance, enough that she was tempted to try it on right away.
But what really caught her attention was the smaller box tucked beneath the dress - a bag within a bag, so to speak. The note attached to the flat little box was vague, and not wanting to wait any longer, Kushina decided to see whether her imagination matched reality.
Lifting a piece of red fabric in both hands, Kushina was left speechless.
"What…? No way." It was as if she were holding the most scandalous thing in the world. Glancing around her room, she quickly hid the fabric, which looked suspiciously like panties. Pulling out another piece, this one darker and made of a different material, she bit her lip.
*Okay, these look more like panties, but they're still pretty risqué* she thought, smoothing out the lace.
"I… I've never seen anything like these before." She remembered what Akira had said: "Yeah, in that shopping center, I'll have clothing stores of all kinds, all designed from my own sketches."
*So that's what he meant by 'all kinds of clothing'… wow* Kushina was embarrassed just imagining how she'd look in such revealing underwear, but her curiosity - and a desire to see how her appearance would change with such an accessory - won out over her sense of modesty. She'd seen herself in the mirror in all sorts of outfits, sometimes even none at all, so she was dying to know how these little scraps of fabric - she could barely call them panties - would look on her.
So Kushina tried on the first set of lingerie. Even alone in her bedroom, she felt self-conscious about how she'd look in such daring panties. [ Image ]


She didn't even take off her loungewear at first. To see how the red panties looked, she slowly lifted the hem of her long house dress, revealing two shapely cheeks hugged snugly by the new underwear. She tugged at the sides a few times, but the panties clung greedily between her curves and wouldn't budge. Still, despite the snug fit, she noticed they didn't squeeze her waist at all, and she couldn't help being impressed at how perfectly Akira had guessed her size.
Her initial embarrassment at such a bold set of lingerie gradually faded, replaced by a rush of excitement.
Seeing her own curves framed by beautiful panties, Kushina felt a surge of confidence in her own sex appeal. Just for fun, she gave her right cheek a playful slap, leaving a red mark on her skin.
"Hehe, out with the old rags." She slipped off her loungewear and quickly changed into a more… intimate set. If that red scrap could still be called panties, the next pair was really just a tiny piece of fabric on strings.
For a few seconds, Kushina tried to figure out which way to put them on - should the fabric cover the front or the back? She only got it right on the second try.
"And still, it feels a little weird." She complained, nearly naked, sticking her butt out in front of the mirror. Luckily, the material was chosen so the tension was minimal. Otherwise, the string running along her curves would have dug in, rubbing all the wrong places.
After admiring her still-youthful beauty - which, with this lingerie, seemed to bloom even more - Kushina wondered how to react to such a gift.
Raised with clan traditions, she knew every gift had meaning. Flowers could express love, gratitude, good wishes, sympathy, and so on. Giving clothes to the neighbor's kids was normal if there was a reason. Friends often gave each other clothes, too.
*But panties?!* Kushina grumbled to herself.
For women, this was such an intimate thing that she'd never even heard of a husband giving his wife underwear as a present. No one gave lingerie as a gift - except maybe a mother to her child, but that was it.
After what happened at Mikoto's house and her talk with Akira, Kushina realized their relationship had gotten much closer, but even so, she still felt there was a barrier between them. And with this bold gift, Akira had just walked right through that invisible wall and back out again, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
*So what am I supposed to do with this? If I accept the gift, am I sending him some kind of signal? But it's so embarrassing. And if I give it back, will he think I'm not interested in that kind of relationship?* Kushina paced her bedroom, deep in thought.
One thing was clear - you don't give something this intimate to just anyone.
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