"What?"
Anko's tears stopped abruptly. Her small face was full of disbelief. "How could that be…?"
Evan couldn't help but picture that androgynous, cold, snake-like face.
There really was no not reporting her.
That old freak Orochimaru had actually planned to drag him along when she defected from the village—
to go live a life of sleeping rough, hunted by everyone, despised everywhere.
Yeah, no thanks.
Hiding in underground labs every day like a rat was bad enough.
What worried him more was: who knew when Orochimaru might suddenly slice him open, take a bite, or just… steal his body?
So Evan decisively chose justice over ties.
He blew the whistle early and forced Orochimaru to pack up and flee Konoha.
"Why?"
Anko's eyes were filled with shock. The two most important people in her life, and this was the truth between them?
For her, Orochimaru held an incredibly deep place in her heart.
During that period, Orochimaru had given the orphaned Anko a warmth she'd never had before.
Evan's expression softened.
"Because she wanted to take you with her when she defected," he said gently. "And that's something I absolutely couldn't allow."
"A life of wandering, being hunted everywhere you go—that's not something you should ever have to go through."
In reality, when Orochimaru decided to leave Konoha, she hadn't even thought about Mitarashi Anko.
Anko's talent was decent, but only decent.
To someone obsessed with the secrets of immortality, she was barely a footnote.
But Evan said what he said to calm the girl's heart.
"I… I see…"
Anko's expression grew complicated.
So sensei had actually wanted to take her away…?
And her "big brother" had done all of this for her?
Evan could tell the timing was right.
He leaned down toward her—
"B-Big brother, c-can you… turn off the light?"
"Nope. Then I won't be able to see Little Red Bean. You're so pretty, I want to see you clearly."
"I'm a little scared…"
"Don't be."
"Ah—"
…
The night blurred into a mess of warmth, pain, and tangled limbs.
…
The next morning, in that hazy space between sleep and waking, Evan felt someone gently stroking his face.
He opened his eyes.
Mitarashi Anko was already awake—and had even changed into a fresh set of clothes. The mattress beneath him had an extra layer on it as well.
"Why are you up so early?" Evan asked.
He reached out, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her smooth, pale forehead.
Anko shook her head without answering.
Her soft, slightly wavy hair, for once, was left loose, cascading over her shoulders.
Her eyes were a little puffy, the kind of look you have after crying a lot.
She quietly kept playing with Evan's ear, fingers brushing it over and over.
A kind of "never let go" dependence was dripping off her in waves.
"I gave you everything last night," Evan said lazily. "A boy's first time is really important, you know."
He pinched her cheek lightly.
"So you have to take responsibility for me. Otherwise I'll just die in front of you."
"…Mm~"
Anko nodded shyly but with total seriousness.
Heh. Too easy to bully…
Evan grinned, leaned in, and gave her a fierce bite—
As he kept nibbling, his attention and hands started sliding lower.
Anko's face turned crimson in an instant.
Just as Evan was about to go for round two, the pain in her voice snapped him back to reality.
He lifted his head and really looked at her.
Her face was pale, brows tightly furrowed. Even for a kunoichi, there were some things the body just needed time to adjust to.
Maybe only mature women like Kushina or Uchiha Mikoto could handle being pushed too far, too fast.
Anko still needed time to grow.
Evan sighed inwardly, tamping down the rest of his impulses.
He settled for planting a soft kiss on her cheek instead.
Anko, embarrassed, quickly wiped the bit of drool off her face.
"I—I'll get up and make breakfast."
"Don't," Evan said, pressing her back down. "Let's eat out."
Soon they were both dressed and out the door.
Supporting the still-wobbly Anko, Evan led her straight to Ichiraku Ramen.
"Welcome!"
The moment they stepped in, a bright, clear voice rang out—Ayame's.
Hearing it, Evan's eye twitched slightly.
His mind went, for no good reason, to a certain old otome-style "monster girl" game he'd once played.
"What's wrong?" Anko asked, puzzled.
"Nothing. Just… nostalgia," Evan shrugged.
"Hey, Ayame! Long time no see!" he called.
"Eh? Evan-oniichan…!"
Ayame spotted him and her eyes immediately lit up. For a second, she looked like she was about to vault the counter and throw herself at him—
"Wait a second!"
A gruff voice snapped from the back.
Teuchi's head poked out from the kitchen.
He grabbed his daughter by the scruff of the neck like a misbehaving cat.
"So it's you, brat."
[Teuchi Hatred +10000]
"Uncle Teuchi, been a while," Evan said with an easy smile.
"Hmph."
Teuchi snorted, cutting his eyes at Evan, then turned to his daughter with a glare.
"You behave."
With that, he pressed Ayame's head firmly down behind the counter like whack-a-mole.
Evan's lips twitched.
I didn't come here on a ghost bike to abduct your daughter, old man. Relax.
Pinned by her father's iron grip, Ayame could only peek out with big, watery eyes, staring longingly at Evan.
The kind of "love but can't have" vibe was spilling off her.
Anko, however, didn't get mad.
Everyone in the village knew Ichiraku's girl liked Evan.
But unfortunately for Ayame, Anko had already taken first blood and was miles ahead.
Looking at Ayame's pitiful expression, Anko actually smiled smugly.
She slid closer and hooked her arm around Evan's.
"Big brother, I want the special tonkotsu ramen."
Then she deliberately shot Ayame a provocative look.
Crack.
Ayame, who had seen everything, snapped a pair of chopsticks clean in half.
Her eyes burned holes into Anko.
Too much! That tomboy actually laid hands on my onii-chan…
Evan pretended he'd seen nothing, not bothering with the silent battle between the two girls.
He had never actually gone further with Ayame.
At most, he'd tricked her into letting him "taste-test" the lipstick on her lips once.
At the time, he was just curious whether some weird storyline might trigger from Ayame.
Turned out: nope.
But ever since then, Ayame had been hopelessly hooked…
And since Evan had moved into Konoha Prison, he hadn't been coming by for ramen. It had been a long time since they'd seen each other.
"Uncle Teuchi, two bowls of special tonkotsu, please," Evan said.
"Hmph. Wait," Teuchi grunted.
Order placed, he hauled Ayame back into the kitchen with him.
When it came to this infamous young man of Konoha, Teuchi was permanently on guard.
Years ago, in a moment of carelessness, he'd walked out to see this brat hugging his precious daughter and kissing her.
He'd almost blown his top and taken the whole ninja world with him.
From then on, he swore: guard the ramen, guard the daughter.
Ichiraku's future successor was not going to be whisked away.
"Here's your special tonkotsu!"
Not long after, Ayame emerged again, putting two bowls down in front of them.
One bowl was piled high with meat.
The other bowl was piled high with cilantro.
Anko hated cilantro.
Smack!
She slammed the table. "Ayame, what's that supposed to mean?!"
"Eek~"
Ayame took the chance to flop dramatically into Evan's arms.
"Onii-chan, Anko is bullying me," she whined. "These kunoichi all have such bad tempers… not like me. I only ever want to take care of you, you know…"
Evan: "…"
That one's on me. I just wanted to fool around back then—who knew I'd turn sweet, gentle Ayame into… this.
"You get up from there!" Anko snapped, lunging forward.
Ayame's lips curled in disdain and she burrowed deeper against his chest.
"Ah! The kunoichi's attacking a civilian!"
Evan sighed, face going black. He gave Ayame a firm pat on the hip to make her move.
"Okay, that's enough. If you don't help out, your dad's going to murder me. Get back to work."
He pushed Ayame away gently but firmly, helping her evade Anko's grasp.
Ayame's face flushed.
The little sting on her hip made her tense instinctively.
He's so bad… but I like him so much…
She threw him one last lovestruck glance, then scampered back to Teuchi's side, stopping every few steps to look back.
Evan absently rubbed his fingers together.
Huh. Ayame's curves might actually be… bigger than Anko's.
…
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