Ino stepped out of the lake, her long hair clinging to her back like silky golden threads. Water streamed down her body, tracing the curves of her figure as her soaked clothes clung to her skin like a second layer. Every inch of her was outlined in sharp, tantalizing detail, the high arches of her hips, the soft swell of her chest, the tight firmness of her thighs. My eyes dragged along her hourglass figure and refused to look away.
'Damn, should I try for another round?' I thought.
"You really shouldn't come out looking like that if you're trying to stay clean," I said, unable to help the grin pulling at my lips.
She froze, then glanced at me... and just like that, her entire face went bright red.
"I-idiot!" she snapped, arms crossing over her chest, which honestly just made it worse. The motion pushed her breasts together, water dripping off the hem of her soaked top, which was now glued together to her ample breasts.
"Hey," I shrugged, hands in my pockets, "I already apologized for being rough with you."
"No, you didn't!" She replied indignantly.
I chuckled, letting my tone dip just slightly. "Do you want me to?"
Her mouth opened, then shut. No retort flew from her lips as she just pouted. Her blush deepened by a shade or two. I took that as my win and stepped forward a bit, stretching lazily. "Anyway, we should probably get going. But I can walk you home if you want. You know, since you're barely standing after our little 'spar'."
She gave me a flat look. "You want me to go home looking like this?"
I glanced pointedly down at her soaked, clingy outfit. "You did dive into a lake fully dressed. Kind of brought this on yourself, don't you think?"
She sputtered, clearly ready to fire back something mean, but then she paused and instead turned away with a glare. With swift movements, she fished into her supply pouch and pulled out a small scroll. Curious, I watched as she knelt and unrolled it. My eyes instantly locked onto the center — a bold, neat kanji:
火
My brain automatically translated it: Fire. She formed a quick Tiger seal, drawing in a thread of chakra visible to my chakra sense, and pressed her palm down against the symbol. A second later, the scroll shimmered, and a wave of heat rolled outward from the center.
I blinked. "Wait… what?"
She stood above it, wrapping her arms around herself as her clothes began to steam gently. "Basic warming seal," she muttered, still red-faced, though now from heat rather than embarrassment. "I'm not walking through the village looking like this."
I crouched down beside the scroll, curious. "How does that even work?"
She glanced at me. "Oh? The great pervert wants to learn fuinjutsu?"
"Hey, I'm expanding my education," I smirked, but my eyes were fixed on the diagram etched onto the scroll. Now that I was really looking at it, I could see the complexity hidden in the tiny script. The interwoven loops and interlocking lines around the kanji form a hidden pattern, and a similar pattern was etched along the edges of the scroll. It wasn't just ink on paper written as a common symbol.
Ino's voice softened from her earlier sarcasm as she explained. "It's a one-time fire release seal. Pre-loaded with stored fire-natured chakra, activated manually. The Tiger seal completes something like a circuit which burns the stored chakra, releasing the heat."
"So it's basically a chakra battery that explodes… but safely."
"Exactly," she nodded. "Though if your chakra ink mixture is off, or your formula's unbalanced, it might not be safe... at all."
"Like an exploding scroll..." I stared for a second longer. I need to learn fuinjutsu, especially since I can grind it for exp with shadow clones. "Huh… that's actually cool."
"Most people think fuinjutsu is boring," she muttered, stepping back as the seal's heat reached its peak. "Too much theory. Too little... boom, you know."
"But not you?" I questioned, this was different from canon.
"I like what it can do. People overlook it, but the right seal can save your life or even create an advantage to wipe out a squad." She gave me a quick side glance. "Besides, it's nice to be the smart one for once."
I smirked. "Smart, sexy, lethal — you're the full package."
"Tch." She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips twitched up slightly.
As her clothes dried and the heat began to fade, I stood up, brushing imaginary dust off my pants. "So, you decent yet, or do I have to carry you home wrapped in that scroll?"
"You wouldn't dare." She shot back
"I would if you asked nicely." I grinned.
"Asshole."
"Guilty."
We stared at each other for a moment before we started walking back toward the village together. The late afternoon sun was dipping low now, casting long shadows through the trees.
"Hey…so about earlier..." I began vaguely.
Her eyebrow arched. "Which part?"
I leaned a bit closer, grinning. "The part where you let me slap your face with my cock."
Her mouth fell open in disbelief. "You did not just say that—!"
"Four times, if I'm counting right. And technically, you didn't stop me."
"You're the worst!"
"You already said that. Find something different to complain about..." I chuckled
She fumed, her fists clenched, but then again, the blush on her cheeks made it hard to take her threats seriously.
A moment passed as I let the atmosphere build. Content to enjoy her cute expression.
"Same time tomorrow?" she asked suddenly, her voice softer as we came close to the Yamanaka Clan compound.
I blinked. "Training?"
She smirked. "Sure. Let's call it that."
I laughed. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
She gave me a quick wave, nothing dramatic, just a flick of her fingers, then she turned and walked through the gates of her clan compound. Her hips had a little more sway to them this time.
She didn't look back, likely knowing that she had won a lot more than she lost today. I stood there for a moment, arms crossed. The encounter had both its pros and cons, but I was feeling pretty content right about now.
Then the system pinged softly, distracting me from my quiet contemplation.
[New Affection Milestone Reached: Yamanaka Ino – +15 LP]
I smirked. 'Guess I'm doing something right.' Though now I had another screen to take care of.
'Now what the fuck is an affection milestone?' I thought, and a new blue screen popped up.
'Yeah, I need to go home.'
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AN: 6 Advanced chapters on P.atreon! The average chapter length increases from chapter 15 onward. -p.atreon.com/SmutWriter001