At two in the afternoon.
Shiraishi went to meet Ayane as agreed.
And the so-called 'old place' referred to Shiraishi's original home, that house which was only cleaned a few times a year.
"You're very punctual, Shiraishi-kun."
At the entrance of the apartment building, Ayane, seeing Shiraishi arrive on time, stood there and smiled faintly.
"Didn't you say two o'clock?"
"That's right."
"Then what do you want with me? I don't recall giving you any important observation missions recently. So, you deliberately deceived Ruri and called me out. Has something happened?"
Ayane could use the excuse of an observation mission to deceive Ruri, but she couldn't hide it from him.
Because Shiraishi himself knew best whether he had given Ayane any important observation missions.
Although he had assigned Ayane many observation missions in the past, that was because the experiment was just starting, and many things indeed needed the Byakugan to observe.
Now, the research was already on track; ordinary experiments didn't require the Byakugan, and for things he didn't understand, he didn't know how to use the Byakugan to observe.
So he believed Ayane had something else to see him about, not a so-called observation mission.
"Can't I call you out if there's nothing wrong?"
"It's not that, it just suddenly feels strange."
"I happen to be free today, so I wanted to invite you to go shopping together."
"Are you two ganging up on me?"
Shiraishi grumbled.
He had just gone shopping with Ruri yesterday afternoon, and now he had to do it again today.
If they had another shopping need someday, they might as well go all three of them together to save time.
"What?"
Ayane looked at Shiraishi in confusion.
"No, nothing, I'm just complaining."
"If I'm bothering you, Shiraishi-kun, you can leave me. After all, work is important."
Ayane winked at Shiraishi, smiling very considerately.
"No need, work has been going quite smoothly recently. And I'm not that busy. I'm fine."
If he really went back because of work at this moment, it would be too disheartening.
Besides, with those temporary assistants in the lab, they just needed to follow the experimental steps he provided, and there would basically be no mistakes.
"Is that so? That's even better then."
"But, is there anything you need to buy?"
"Yes, I don't know why, but lately, I always feel a tightness in my chest, like my clothes inside might suddenly burst open."
Ayane tugged at her collar, saying these words in front of Shiraishi without a care.
"Don't suddenly say things like that in front of me. Be careful, I might take you seriously."
Seriously, none of them made it easy for him.
Shiraishi sighed helplessly.
"Then, shall we do a thorough inside-out examination of me now, Doctor Shiraishi?"
Ayane gently brushed a strand of bangs from her forehead, her smile pure and captivating.
When she said this, she didn't seem to realize how provocative her words were to a boy.
To some extent, Shiraishi thought Ayane was more dangerous than Ruri.
It was all his fault for setting a terrible example for her when she was a child.
Now she had learned to be bad quite well.
When he first met Ayane, she was still a pure-hearted, guileless and lovely girl.
But ever since that incident, although her appearance was still innocent and harmless, her inner essence... must have long since gone bad.
If he had known this earlier, he should have educated her in a different way.
Now, it was too late to regret.
"No."
Shiraishi felt his heart pound uncontrollably for a moment, momentarily averting his gaze from Ayane and gently adjusting his breathing.
If one were to judge her as frivolous based on her words, they would surely suffer a loss.
This was a woman who, like himself, was skilled at disguise and deception.
Completely different from the traditional personality of a Hyuga clan ninja.
Seeing Shiraishi refuse, Ayane just smiled and said nothing.
Next, Shiraishi followed Ayane's footsteps and wandered around Konoha Village.
For Shiraishi, this was merely a relaxing stroll outside. Although he didn't know why women suddenly developed an inexplicable enthusiasm for shopping...
But from a physiological and psychological perspective, there were vast differences between men and women, so he just considered this to be a meaningful activity.
The weather in late August was always muggy. Although the hottest part of the day had passed, the afternoon sun was still very dazzling.
The Land of Fire was a country with distinct seasons, and Konoha Village, which resided in this country, was naturally the same.
Due to the wartime, there were hardly any active ninjas to be seen on the streets of Konoha.
Aside from ninjas like Shiraishi who were temporarily staying in the village for special reasons, some indeed needed to remain in the village to protect its safety.
From Shiraishi's perspective, the prosperity of Konoha Village was actually quite low, but compared to the general environment of the ninja world, internal peace was already a blessing.
Ayane didn't have many things to buy, mostly decorations that Shiraishi wasn't particularly interested in.
Watching Ayane browse through the shops, she looked like a very lovely girl even from the side.
Her skin was as fair as snow, and her long, straight black hair, cascading down her back, shimmered with a dark luster under the sunlight.
Shiraishi's gaze swept around, and he soon saw a gray and white cat lazily sprawled on the opposite wall. Its languid posture made it seem as if it had just woken from a sweet dream, lifting a front paw to lick itself.
It looked completely normal.
Shiraishi scratched his head. Just as he was about to step forward, Ayane's voice came from behind him: "What's wrong?"
"Ah, I was looking at a cat."
Shiraishi turned his head and replied.
"A cat?"
Ayane followed Shiraishi's gaze, but the opposite wall was already empty. There was no cat to be seen.
"It's gone."
Now he was in trouble.
"Honestly, what's so great about cats?"
Ayane's tone was somewhat displeased.
"What, do you hate cats?"
"I wouldn't say I hate them, but I don't like them either. If I were to have a pet, dogs would be better."
Shiraishi nodded. Indeed, statistically speaking, he also preferred dogs.
The Inuzuka clan had a ninja dog shop in the village. Because the prices were much more expensive than ordinary pet dogs, and ninja dogs' food was very luxurious, very few ninjas bought and adopted them.
He could go take a look someday.
Ninja dogs... sounded cool.
Most importantly, dogs have very keen noses, which can be quite effective when needed.
"Because dog meat is delicious, but cat meat has a bad texture."
Ayane added, as if she had researched this in depth.
Hearing this, Shiraishi immediately dismissed the idea of raising a ninja dog.
He felt that the day he bought it, it would end up in Ayane's stomach.
"Where else do we need to go?"
Shiraishi asked.
"I want to buy a few new clothes. I don't know why, but I feel like I really need to change into new ones every month. They're too tight. It was the same during the last mission; I felt a tightness in my chest."
Ayane gave a wry smile, patting her chest, which already showed good developmental prospects.
"..."
Shiraishi didn't know how to respond.
He could only follow Ayane's wishes and go with her to buy new clothes.
As they walked, Shiraishi realized something was off. This road... he seemed to have come here with Ruri yesterday.
Sure enough, the clothing store he had visited with Ruri yesterday was right in front of them.
However, the person greeting customers in the clothing store wasn't Teacher Fujimura, but an unfamiliar young woman.
She was petite, with shoulder-length brown hair, and both her figure and face were very attractive.
Shiraishi remembered Fujimura saying yesterday that this was his current girlfriend's shop. Was this woman Fujimura's girlfriend?
Shiraishi glanced at her and didn't pay much attention.
"Welcome, please take your time, both of you."
The female shop owner smiled kindly.
"Okay, thank you."
Ayane nodded to the female shop owner and began to choose clothes in the store.
"Oh, by the way, Shiraishi-kun, what color underwear do you think would suit me best?"
"Why are you asking me about something like that? Just buy whatever color you like."
Shiraishi turned his head away.
"So, is white better, or black?"
Ayane paused, looking like she was seriously contemplating.
"I already said, just buy whatever catches your eye. There's no need to consider my opinion."
"So, Shiraishi-kun prefers other colors? Pinkish-white? Or a more vibrant purple?"
"Where did you get the idea that I'm expressing an opinion?"
Shiraishi looked at Ayane speechlessly.
Ayane then said with a troubled expression, "But, when we girls choose clothes, it's not always for ourselves."
Then, her smile became meaningful.
"Then white it is."
Shiraishi gave his opinion very decisively.
"Is that so? Hmm, then white it is."
Ayane asked the female shop owner to take down the set of underwear she had chosen and package it in a delicate bag.
Shiraishi, meanwhile, kept his gaze outside. This time, he didn't see a cat.
Next, he felt someone tapping his shoulder. It was Ayane.
"Shiraishi-kun, are you spacing out again?"
"I was looking at a cat."
"Then, what about my suggestion just now?"
Ayane looked at him with pure eyes.
"Suggestion? What suggestion?"
Perhaps he had missed something while paying attention to the cat. Shiraishi's face showed confusion.
"The clothes I wore for New Year's last year are a bit too small. I want you to help me look at new styles."
New Year's? Another kimono?
Shiraishi felt a headache coming on.
The Hyuga clan, like the Uchiha, were ninja clans that greatly valued tradition.
Every New Year, the women would wear extremely formal kimonos, symbolizing the old making way for the new, and participate in the clan's annual festival.
"Just pick whatever you like."
"But it's an important annual festival, how can I just pick anything? But I did find one I like, that one."
Looking in the direction Ayane pointed, it was a kimono with a white base adorned with pink cherry blossom patterns. Just at first glance, Shiraishi felt that it would fit Ayane perfectly if she wore it.
Shiraishi nodded and said, "It's quite nice. That one it is."
This time, he swore he wouldn't say anything about buying such clothes to give to a girl.
"Shiraishi-kun thinks this one is good too? Then this is it."
Ayane happily wanted the female shop owner to take down that kimono, but she suddenly clutched her stomach, her face showing discomfort.
"What's wrong?"
"I ate too much for lunch, and now my stomach hurts a bit. Sorry, could you wait here for a while, Shiraishi-kun? I'll be right back."
Shiraishi nodded without thinking much.
However, half an hour after Ayane left, she still hadn't returned. Shiraishi frowned.
The female shop owner had already packaged the kimono Ayane had chosen, placing it with the underwear, just waiting for her to return and pay.
But... why was the female shop owner's expression becoming stranger and stranger?
Was she worried about not getting paid?
Just as Shiraishi was wondering why Ayane hadn't returned, a passerby walked in from outside, handed Shiraishi a note, and said, "This is something a little girl asked me to give you earlier."
The passerby left after saying this.
"..."
A bad premonition suddenly arose in Shiraishi's heart.
He opened the note to read it, and it contained a message—
Sorry, Shiraishi-kun, someone from the clan suddenly came looking for me, and I have to go back now. Could you help me pay for the clothes first? I'll pay you back later. If possible, it would be even better if you could personally hand me the clothes during the New Year. At that time, I'll wear them for you to see, Shiraishi-kun...
Was I tricked?
That was Shiraishi's first thought.
When did Ayane's tricks become so inscrutable to him?
He shouldn't have trained her that way in the first place.
Now, problems had indeed arisen.
Under the somewhat impatient gaze of the female shop owner, Shiraishi bit the bullet and paid for both garments.
This finally cleared the dark clouds from the female shop owner's face: "Welcome back next time, you can get a 10% discount!"
Shiraishi carried the bag containing the clothes, feeling the weight of the garments inside.
He wasn't oblivious to Ayane's, or Ruri's, feelings.
For girls of this age, who were at the age of first love, it was normal for them to care about things that boys wouldn't even notice.
Their emotions were also very pure and direct.
But Shiraishi felt that matters of the heart could neither be forced, but should be allowed to take their natural course, nor could one be frivolous, but should be cautious from beginning to end.
Current affection might not be love; it could be some other emotion.
Thinking this way might seem a bit arrogant, but love, in Shiraishi's eyes, was just like that.
Everyone thought their love was unique, but in reality, it was just common stories repeating themselves.
To feel this way, Shiraishi believed he had always been an ordinary person.
To think I was troubled by such things before, how embarrassing. Shiraishi sighed inwardly.
No matter what, he wasn't a normal twelve-year-old child.
He had a mature soul, his own plans, and a deep understanding of his own life.
And these values might not align with Ruri's or Ayane's in the future.
Shiraishi didn't want to let down anyone who was kind to him.
Most importantly, they were too young... he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Pedophilia couldn't strengthen the nation or its military; it would only lead to prison.
Those sinful values deeply bound him.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do—that only applied to certain things.
The feelings of cherished people were the last thing one should toy with or trample upon.