Sakura Haruno had shut herself inside her home for several days.
She took no missions and went nowhere.
She even turned down Ino when Ino invited her out for milk tea.
Every day, she moved between only two places.
Home, the ninja hospital. The ninja hospital, then home.
She was hiding.
Hiding from that man.
As long as he remained in Konoha, she felt like a mouse being watched by a cat, as if she might be snatched away at any moment.
She was terrified of running into him.
Terrified of that half-smiling look in his eyes.
Terrified of that low voice that made her body go weak.
Terrified of the way he touched her with that suffocating, overbearing certainty.
Before he left Konoha, she had decided it was best to stay far away.
That evening, Sakura dragged her exhausted body home.
She had been busy at the ninja hospital all day.
She treated the wounds of more than a dozen injured patients and had not even managed to eat lunch.
After dinner with her parents, she took an early bath.
Wrapped in a towel, she entered her bedroom.
The instant she pushed open the door, her entire body froze.
A man she could not be more familiar with was sitting calmly on her bed.
His dark golden robe had been casually draped over the back of a chair.
He wore only a dark casual shirt, the sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing lean, powerful forearms.
In his hand, he toyed with a crimson candle.
The candlelight danced between his fingers, carving his face into shifting halves of light and shadow.
"Gulp..."
Sakura swallowed.
Her legs went weak, and she trembled as she moved toward the bed.
Her toes curled unconsciously.
A shameful reaction spread from deep inside her body.
It made her burn all over. It made her want to run.
And yet she could not move.
"Sakura, you finally came back to your room to sleep."
Her mother's voice came from the doorway, carrying a hint of concern.
"You'll get a headache if you sleep with wet hair."
Sakura's throat felt as if something had clenched around it.
She could not say a single word.
Teizawa raised one finger and quietly shushed her.
He made a silent gesture.
The candlelight flickered at his fingertip, illuminating that infuriating smile.
"Sakura? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Her mother's footsteps paused outside the door.
"I... I know, Mom."
Sakura's voice was dry, like sand scraping through her throat.
She forced out the most normal tone she could manage.
The footsteps gradually faded.
Her mother's door closed.
The bedroom fell so quiet that a pin could have been heard dropping.
Sakura remained standing where she was, wrapped in her towel.
Her wet hair hung over her shoulders.
Drops of water slid from the ends of her hair and fell onto the floor.
Tap. Tap.
She did not dare move, shout, or run.
She barely even dared to breathe too loudly.
Teizawa stood and walked toward her with the candle in hand.
Firelight danced across his face.
Tiny flames reflected in those deep eyes.
He had just come from Kurenai's home.
Since he was about to leave, he naturally had to spend some time putting Sakura in her place again.
He stopped in front of her and lowered his gaze.
Then he reached out, lightly pinched the edge of the towel, and tugged.
The towel slipped down and piled at her feet.
Her fair skin and faintly trembling body were exposed beneath the candlelight.
"Let's try something different."
His voice was soft.
Soft as the night wind brushing past her ear.
At his words, Sakura gave him a smile uglier than crying.
Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Her throat felt completely blocked.
She knew it.
She had no way to resist.
Not before.
Not now.
The rest of the evening disappeared behind the closed bedroom door, leaving only the faint flicker of candlelight and the silence Sakura could not break.
...
Several hours later, the sky had gone completely dark.
Pinpricks of lamplight lit the streets and alleys of Konoha.
Faint laughter drifted from a distant izakaya.
The night wind carried the chill of late autumn through the trees, rolling up several withered leaves.
The Yamanaka clan compound stood in the southeast corner of the village.
The trees there were lush, separated from the surrounding homes by a small bamboo grove.
It was quiet enough to feel like another world.
A slender figure looked left and right as she tiptoed through the forest path.
She arrived at a secluded cluster of bushes.
Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows across her face.
Her cheeks carried a faint blush.
Her eyes held anticipation, guilt, and the particular shyness of a young woman.
She held a note in her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly.
Ino Yamanaka.
She had been eating dinner when she received that note.
The moment she saw that familiar handwriting, her heart skipped a beat.
He was leaving.
She found an excuse and slipped out.
Along the way, she hid and dodged, afraid of being seen by her clansmen.
The dignified young lady of the Yamanaka clan sneaking into the woods in the middle of the night?
What would people say if they saw her?
Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind her.
It covered her eyes.
The palm was warm, the pads of his fingers marked by thin calluses.
It covered her eyelids with just the right amount of pressure.
"Guess who?"
The voice was low, carrying a trace of laughter.
His breath brushed over the shell of her ear.
It tickled.
"Ah..."
Ino was startled at first, her shoulders shrinking sharply.
But when that familiar voice entered her ears, her heart instantly settled.
She turned around and thumped him once on the chest, her tone resentful.
"You're awful... You only know how to bully me."
Teizawa laughed and caught her slender waist.
He rested his chin against her neck.
His nose brushed the loose strands of hair behind her ear as he took a deep breath.
The young woman's fragrance mixed with the faint milky scent of body wash, slipping into his nose.
He could not help taking another breath.
"Who's bullying you?"
His voice came muffled from the hollow of her neck.
"I'm leaving. Before I go, I wanted to see you."
Ino's body stiffened slightly.
"You're leaving?"
Her voice carried a trace of reluctance.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of his clothes.
Since returning to Konoha, she had not figured out how to face him.
During the days he had been in the village, she had thought of him every day.
She remembered those absurd scenes that made her blush and her heart race.
She had thought she was only bewitched by his appearance and status.
But now, hearing that he was leaving, her heart seemed to tighten.
It felt sour and swollen.
Teizawa raised his head and looked at the reluctance written all over her little face. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"It's fine, Ino. I'll come see you in the future."
He lowered his head and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.
The kiss was so gentle it felt like a feather brushing over her skin.
Yet it made Ino's eyes sting slightly.
"All right..."
Teizawa released her, his gaze sweeping over her graceful body from head to toe. The smile on his lips deepened.
"Let's start. It's been too long since I touched you. I've missed you."
Ino's face flushed bright red.
Of course she knew what "start" meant.
She looked left and right.
At the lush trees around them.
At the faint lights of her own home not far away.
She bit her lip, her voice anxious and soft.
"Here...?"
Her nerves tightened instinctively.
This was far too bold.
Her clansmen lived all around this area.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
Teizawa had already pulled her over to a thick old tree. He patted the trunk, signaling for her to lean against it.
Ino's mouth twitched.
She wanted to refuse, push him away, and scold him for being shameless.
But when she looked into those eyes, bright beneath the moonlight, all her refusals were swallowed back down.
She could not win against him.
She could only obey.
From the moment the two of them met, listening to him had somehow felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Leaves rustled softly as the night wind passed through the treetops.
Moonlight leaked through the branches, spilling over the two of them in a haze of intimacy.
A dog barked in the distance, then the sound gradually faded.
Suddenly, Ino's voice rose in the darkness, carrying a trace of confusion.
"I think I smell Sakura's perfume."
Teizawa paused slightly.
His eyes flickered.
He thought, Is your nose that good?
Of course, he would never admit that he had just come from Sakura's house.
However, he had plenty of ways to stop Ino from asking more questions.
The leaves rustled again.
Sure enough, Ino did not ask another question.
(End of Chapter)
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