"Excuse me..."
Sakura said, a bit reserved, then carefully stepped into the small apartment where Naruto lived. She looked around curiously, a little surprised.
Is this the home of the class's acknowledged genius, Uzumaki Naruto? The room's furnishings were simple, but unexpectedly clean and tidy, with items neatly arranged, completely different from the mess she imagined a boy living alone might have.
Logically, being assigned to a team with the admired Satsuki and the class genius Naruto, and even being invited to his home as a guest, should have been something to make her excited and joyful.
But for some reason, ever since a moment ago, that faint, chilling coldness had wrapped around her again, making her feel a shiver down her spine and as if she were sitting on pins and needles, unable to relax at all.
"No need to be polite, just make yourself at home," Naruto said with a chuckle, turning to open the refrigerator. He took out a can of iced red bean soup and offered it to Sakura. "Here, I remember you like this, right?"
Then, he skillfully took out another carton of strawberry milk—a drink Satsuki had particularly favored for a long time, almost every time she visited.
"Ah, thank you!" Sakura quickly thanked him and took the red bean soup, but Naruto's warmth did nothing to dispel the inexplicable chill.
She and Satsuki sat side by side on chairs at Naruto's small dining table. Satsuki quietly accepted the strawberry milk, sipping it slowly, her gaze seemingly fixed on the table's grain, not looking at Sakura, nor speaking.
The atmosphere became subtly silent and... frozen for a moment.
Sakura tried hard to find a topic to break the awkward silence, but every time her peripheral vision caught Satsuki's expressionless profile and the invisible low pressure emanating from her, she felt like her throat was blocked by something, unable to say anything.
"Just a moment, dinner will be ready soon."
From the kitchen came the sounds of cooking and Naruto's voice. Originally, Naruto's kitchen was in the living room, but ever since Satsuki started visiting often, Naruto had moved the kitchen to another room, as cooking smoke could be quite choking.
To alleviate the suffocating silence and tension, Sakura's gaze unconsciously began to wander around the room, trying to find some decoration or item that could spark a conversation.
Then, her eyes were drawn to an unusual object next to the bedside table.
It was a small nest meticulously constructed from soft fabric and insulating materials, connected to some heating devices that seemed to maintain its temperature. And in the center of this warm nest, prominently placed, was an... egg?
An enormous egg, about the size of two footballs, entirely white with green circular patterns on it?
What is this? Such a large egg... Is it the egg of some summoning beast? Or some special ninja tool?
Sakura's curiosity was instantly piqued, temporarily overriding that inexplicable chill. She subconsciously wanted to stand up and get closer to examine this mysterious egg.
However, just as she left her chair and leaned forward—
A hand firmly gripped her raised wrist! The force was so great that she even felt a hint of pain!
"Eek—!" Sakura was caught off guard and couldn't help but cry out in pain.
She turned her head in alarm, meeting Satsuki's black eyes, which had become incredibly cold at some point. There was no warmth in her gaze.
"Don't touch that thing... No, to be precise, don't touch anything in this room. Do you understand?"
"I... I'm so sorry! I, I didn't mean to!"
Sakura was startled by the sudden, stern warning. She trembled as she sat back down in her chair, her heart pounding.
But strangely, after being sternly warned, Sakura felt Satsuki actually speak to her, and her cheeks inexplicably felt a little warm.
A silent and awkward atmosphere once again enveloped the small dining table.
After a long while, just as Sakura thought the conversation was over, Satsuki's cold voice spoke again, still without any inflection.
"Sakura... is it. We're teammates now, right?"
"Yes... Yes, we are." Sakura immediately straightened her back, surprised that Satsuki would speak up again.
"Then, Sakura," Satsuki slowly turned her head, her deep black eyes focusing on Sakura's face for the first time.
"Do you know, if in a Ninja Squad, among the three Genin, one member unfortunately has some 'accident,' for example... dies, or suffers a'serious injury' that prevents them from continuing missions... then, what happens to that squad?"
"Huh? This, well..."
Sakura was taken aback by the sudden question. She tried to recall the relevant regulations she had seen in the Konoha Ninja Handbook,
"According to regulations... when a Ninja Squad performs missions, the basic formation must be one Jonin leading three Chunin or Genin. If... if a squad member is missing for any reason, the entire squad must immediately cease all missions until that member recovers, or... until a new member is added."
"...Tsk."
Satsuki let out an extremely faint click of her tongue. Clearly, Sakura's standard answer about "missing members" just now did not satisfy her.
The next moment, she spoke again. This time, she faced Sakura, and her originally cold eyes curved into two beautiful crescents, her lips also slightly upturned, revealing a faint smile.
However, this smile inexplicably sent a shiver down Sakura's spine.
"Then, Sakura..." Satsuki asked in a seemingly friendly tone, "May I ask, how do you personally view Naruto?"
"Naruto, you mean..."
Sakura had no idea she was standing on such a dangerous precipice, nor did she know what kind of terrifying abyss would be revealed when Satsuki's crescent-like smiling eyes opened next, should her answer be even slightly amiss!
She thought seriously for a moment, deciding to speak the truth, as this seemed to be a topic Satsuki was interested in. "Naruto is a very excellent person! At the Ninja Academy, it seems only you, Satsuki, can fight him to a draw, right? Even though you're both still Ninja Academy students, you're both so amazing, it's truly incredible!"
Of course, he is...
Satsuki closed her eyes, nodding inwardly. Naruto is the only opponent I acknowledge, one I must face with all my strength. Hmph, at least you have some discernment.
Seeing that Satsuki didn't seem to object, and even maintained her smile, Sakura felt encouraged and continued. "Also, Naruto is a very thoughtful and gentle person! I often see him actively helping classmates, even though... because of some bad rumors in the village, most of the class has some prejudice and distance towards Naruto-kun, which is just too much!"
Mm-hmm! Exactly! Satsuki's agreement grew a few more points in her heart. Those ignorant people, they don't understand anything! To treat Naruto like that, it's too much!
Watching Satsuki actually close her eyes and begin to nod slightly, seemingly agreeing with her words, Sakura's heart swelled with joy. She felt that she had indeed found the right topic, and the relationship between these two was truly very, very good!
The atmosphere seemed to have eased quite a bit, and Sakura's courage also grew slightly. She remembered some rumors from the Academy and the intimate interactions she had witnessed today, and couldn't help but ask curiously, with a hint of probing.
"Oh, and... asking this might be a bit strange and presumptuous..." Sakura's face flushed slightly, and her voice softened a bit. "May I ask, Satsuki, are you... dating Naruto-kun?"