Chapter 44

Kakashi rarely attends gatherings and initially had no intention of going.

When I heard Sarutobi Asuma and Guy talking about that name.

"Okay. Tell me the address and time."

Asuma raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked at Kakashi.

He almost forgot that Kakashi was Uchiha Yuki's ex-boyfriend.

"I really want to go to Konoha's Blue Beast too!" Kai said wistfully, shedding two lines of tears, then gave a thumbs up: "My fiery youth will surely be waiting for me!"

Asma's lips twitched as he smoked his cigarette: "Speak like a human. If you have a mission, then carry it out."

Unexpectedly, it turned out like this.

He wasn't actually drunk; Kaka was just pretending to be drunk by slumping on the table in his suit.

"I'll take Anko and Genma back first. They both live in the youth hostel nearby. I'll be back in a bit." Kurenai picked one up and left without looking back. Yuki was left looking at Shikara, Tokuma, Asuma... and Kakashi.

The Sarutobi clan's territory was quite close to the village center, and Yuki took Asuma's arm.

"Isn't this Uchiha Yuki...? I'm not drunk, I can walk by myself."

Asma shook off her hand, leaned against the wall, and tripped over her own feet.

With a thud, he fell to the ground, knocking over several bottles in the process.

Snow:.......

Kakashi, feigning drunkenness: ......

Finally, Xue lifted his right arm, letting him lean against her shoulder, and wrapped her left arm around his back.

Asma remained well-behaved throughout the journey, without swaying or staggering.

Upon arriving at Sarutobi's territory, a maidservant came out and took Asuma from her.

The chill of early winter dispelled much of the effects of the alcohol, and Asuma's consciousness began to focus slowly.

She realized that it was not Kurenai Yuhi who had sent her back to her territory, but Yuki Uchiha.

He was momentarily speechless. The faint scent of flowers filled his nostrils, and the skin felt incredibly smooth and delicate against his skin.

"Hey, Uchiha Yuki!"

Xue had already walked several steps in the snow when she turned around.

Asma touched his nose: "If you have any problems that are difficult to solve, you can come to me."

"After all... I am also the son of the Third Hokage."

He rarely refers to himself as such; to be honest, he doesn't like being called the son of the Hokage.

It sounds like they only see him as the Hokage's son and completely deny his existence.

Hearing this, Xue smiled.

Under the snowy night, the bright streetlights made her look incredibly beautiful.

She said there were small white puffs of breath on her delicate lips.

"Asma, thank you."

When Xue returned to the barbecue restaurant, only Kakashi remained in the private room.

Seeing Kakashi's thin clothing, Yuki took off her coat and covered him with it.

The coat carried her scent, which Kakashi could smell even with his eyes closed.

The other woman reached out her slender body and grabbed his left arm, letting him lean on her shoulder.

Then she put her right arm around his waist and helped him up.

The journey to the Hatake residence wasn't far, and Kakashi's head drooped on Yuki's shoulder.

The hot breath he exhaled tickled her neck.

Xue settled him on the tatami mat and wiped his face and hands with a damp towel.

He suddenly reached out and grabbed Xue's hand. Kakashi opened his eyes, his face still flushed and slightly tipsy.

"Snow......"

With a soft, delicate hand in his palm, the silver-haired boy slowly raised his eyes and looked directly at the snow.

"Would you like to stay tonight?"

As soon as Xue turned her head away, Kakashi knew it.

She couldn't bear to refuse him if he showed even a little pity.

-

The snow stopped in the early morning.

After a long absence of physical intimacy between men and women, Xue felt as if her body was falling apart when she woke up.

Clothes were scattered all over the tatami mat, and a new uniform was placed next to the soft pillow.

That was left behind when Yuki lived at the Hatake residence.

After changing her clothes, Yuki went to the kitchen. Breakfast was a simple sandwich and milk made by Kakashi.

It was written on the tissue paper.

【wait for me. 】

No wonder he left before dawn; Yuki once heard Obito say that Kakashi's cooking was delicious.

Xue paused for a moment, Obito... For some reason, she recalled the tiger-striped masked man from the Nine-Tails Night.

The man had said he would kill her when they first met, but in the end he didn't.

The fiery red clouds that painted the sky were something that could be felt by the body controlled by the Mangekyou Sharingan at that time.

The other person's body was half ice-cold and half burning hot.

She lowered her eyes; she should have killed that masked man.

Even at the cost of his life...

Xue instinctively crushed the cup in her hand, the sharp shards of glass cutting her palm and drawing blood, staining the mess on the floor red.

She snapped back to her senses, and slowly, her body began to feel the sharp pain.

The departure of someone important to her was like a never-ending, incessant drizzle, silently seeping into every crevice of her heart.

It permeates, spreads, and lingers for a long time.

Who exactly is he?

Just as he said, if he really is Madara.

Then why did you help them kill the Hidden Mist ninja and save Kakashi on your first meeting?

Then she manipulated the Nine-Tails to wreak havoc in the village. Yuki really... doesn't understand.

After quickly tidying up, she returned to the Konoha Police Department through the back door of the Hatake residence.

Fugaku flipped through the documents, but his mind wasn't on them.

Yuki had files on all the Uchiha clan members in her office, and she was getting a little annoyed.

She hasn't been able to find any trace of that guy since that day.

A significant amount of the mission funds were invested, which seemed to have been completely wasted.

"Fugaku-nii, are there any members of the Uchiha clan who are not in Konoha Village?"

Fugaku closed the document in his hand and shook his head.

This wasn't the first time Xue had asked him this question.

His gaze fell on the faint red mark on the collarbone that could not be concealed by the loose collar of the snow tribe's clothing.

"Didn't you go back to your territory yesterday?" Fugaku asked.

Although he has always been tolerant of Xue's romantic relationships.

As long as the marriage partner is from the Uchiha clan, that's fine. As for romantic partners, marriage isn't necessarily an option.

The best candidate would be his eldest son, but if we're going to settle for second best, wouldn't Sasuke be too young?

Xue lowered her eyes and replied, "Yes, something came up unexpectedly."

"Itachi... he came to your house looking for you."

Yuki was a little surprised. After get off work, Fugaku had to stay at the Konoha Police Station to handle some official business, so he asked her to go back to the clan leader's residence alone first.

For several days in a row, Yuki didn't run into Itachi. Every day when she got up, Itachi had already finished breakfast and left to carry out his mission.

By the time she finished her work and returned home, it was already late at night, and Itachi was already asleep.

Even someone as oblivious as Uchiha Yuki realized that Itachi was avoiding her.

Even on this rare day off, Itachi was nowhere to be seen.

Sasuke, who was building blocks at home, finally had someone to keep him company.

Sasuke was actually spacing out when he ran to Yuki's side and put his little hand around her neck.

He bit Xue's cheek, and Xue, who had just come to her senses, frowned slightly. She turned her head to look at Sasuke, who was looking at her with a wronged expression after letting go of her mouth.

"Sasuke, your aunt will feel pain too."

Xue touched the side of her face where Sasuke's teeth marks were left, her fingertips still wet with Sasuke's saliva.

Sasuke pouted, looking a little unhappy: "My aunt doesn't play with building blocks with me, and she even quarrels with my brother."

Xue paused for a moment, then reached out and pinched Sasuke's chubby, baby-faced cheeks.

She said, "No, it's just that Little Weasel has been hiding from Auntie."

"Then Auntie can go find Brother!"

“My aunt doesn’t care about us at all, even though my brother and I both like her.”

"At this time, I guess my brother and Shisui are at the training ground."

Xue blushed, narrowed her eyes slightly, and leaned closer to Sasuke: "Who told you that?"

Sasuke, who almost let it slip, covered his mouth and backed away with an expression that said, "I will never tell."

Xue reluctantly got up and flicked Sasuke's forehead.

"Silly boy?"

Sasuke pouted, watching Yuki's retreating figure.

Waving building blocks in his hand, he shouted, "You've made up! Come back and play with me soon!"

The training ground was covered in snow, with snowflakes following the footprints of one large and one small.

They found Itachi and Shisui at the shooting range, where Itachi was practicing shuriken techniques with Shisui.

Itachi flipped the kunai in his palm into five with a flick of his wrist. As he leaped high into the air, all five kunai struck the bullseye. Shisui gave a thumbs-up in praise. Itachi smiled slightly, his handsome features accentuated by the winter sun. Yuki made no attempt to conceal her presence, and the two noticed her approach, glancing at her.

Shisui spoke first: "Senior Yuki, what brings you here?"

He walked over to Yuki's side in a few steps; the black-haired boy was about the same height as Yuki. However, given Shisui's age, he should still be growing taller. He greeted Yuki with a smile, and Yuki nodded. Itachi, however, didn't say anything, but quietly pulled the kunai off the target and put it into his ninja tool pouch. Shisui sensed the strange atmosphere between the two and wisely retreated to the sidelines.

"You guys talk first, I'll wait for Itachi outside."

Xue paused for a moment, then spoke: "Little Itachi?"

Itachi ignored her and continued performing the repetitive actions.

He only responded when Xue was about to call his name a second time.

"Do you want to make up with Kakashi Hatake, Yuki?"

I didn't call her aunt, but by her name.

Xue was unsure why; was she angry?

Itachi's talent was exceptional; he graduated from the Ninja Academy at a young age, one of the youngest graduates in the village's history. His forehead band is the best example of this, even more remarkable than his appearance. If it weren't for peacetime, he would likely have been a renowned Uchiha clan member on the battlefield. Furthermore, Itachi's first awakened Sharingan was a two-tomoe Sharingan.

Xue did not answer regarding her relationship with Kakashi.

She didn't know what the final outcome would be.

Itachi looked at her hesitant expression and slowly walked towards her step by step.

When they faced each other, the white breaths exhaled by the two people overlapped in the air.

Itachi slightly raised his head to look at her, and his words were so blunt that Xue's ears turned slightly red.

"If it's that kind of thing, I'll wait until I'm a few years older. I can do it with Yuki too, and I can do it better than Kakashi Hatake, making Yuki more comfortable."

"Isn't that right? With our Sharingan, our bodies should be even more compatible, right, Yuki?"

"So, Yuki... can you please not make up with Kakashi Hatake?"

It was something extremely embarrassing, but Itachi said it as if he were asking you what you ate.

Yuki's face was flushed, but Itachi's expression was very calm, his beautiful black eyes staring straight at her face.

Not missing a single change in expression, Itachi took her hand and placed it beside his face, then rubbed his palm against hers.

His tone was obedient, yet carried an irresistible command.

"Don't associate with Kakashi Hatake anymore, Yuki."

"Don't kiss, hold hands, or hug anyone other than me and Sasuke."

"Snow can do it, right?"

Xue turned her head away somewhat awkwardly, unable to understand what Itachi was saying.

"Well, at least until I'm able to do that kind of thing."

"Don't do it with anyone else, Xue."

Xue felt a little breathless and looked bewildered before finally responding.

"......good."