Chapter 12 The black cat climbed onto your bed and kissed you...
Occasionally, you need to travel for work, and the most troublesome thing about business trips is the transportation. The transportation level in this world is worrying. Although you are working hard to develop cars and trains, even if you really develop them, you still need to have the corresponding highways. As for the current transportation network... even in the most prosperous Fire Country, the roads are just so-so in your opinion.
Being a capitalist in this kind of world isn't so easy. All that buildup is just to show that you need to choose a good mode of transportation for your business trip. Horse-drawn carriages are out of the question; the jolting in one would make your butt feel like it's splitting into four pieces. As for other modes of transportation, well, you don't think they're any good. After thinking it over, you can only hire someone. But compared to paying someone, it's definitely more convenient to just exploit the people around you.
So you find Itachi and ask him if he wants to go on a short trip. He's cleaning your room while you ask him this, kneeling down beside your bed to make the sheets and fluffing up the pillows. He thinks for a moment, since he doesn't have any missions for the next few days, and then he says, "Where should we go?"
Last time, he happened to talk to Zhishui about dating. He thought that since you two have confirmed your relationship, you should have a very formal date. This time, you've thought of the same thing again. This is probably what it means for lovers to be on the same wavelength, he thought.
"Go to the Land of Cherry Blossoms. The cherry blossoms there bloom all year round. Just thinking about it makes me feel that the scene must be beautiful." What you didn't tell Itachi was that you also have several factories in that country. They are factories that produce essential oils and other skin care products. These skin care products are sold all over the world and are even highly praised in high society circles. This time, you are going there to conduct an on-site inspection of these factories and, while you're at it, fire those inefficient employees.
"Okay." He agreed readily, which ensured your safety while traveling and also saved you the trouble of hiring other ninjas.
That's killing two birds with one stone.
This isn't your first business trip, so you're quite relaxed. Just pack your luggage simply, and the person in charge of picking you up will prepare everything you need.
In stark contrast, Itachi was overly meticulous. He even made a list and packed his luggage accordingly. The night before you left, you glanced at his list and couldn't see the end of it. If it weren't for the storage scroll, you probably would have had to travel a long way with lots of luggage. You said, "It's just a short trip."
Itachi nodded, not at all bothered by his elaborate setup. He said, "But this is our first trip together." He had even brought a camera and film, making thorough preparations.
Mikoto and the others already know about your trip. Since you didn't mention it, it's probably Itachi who told them. During dinner, Mikoto was even jokingly teasing you, "Yeah, you should travel more while you're young. Itachi, you should have brought your camera, right?"
"I brought it."
"Ah, that's good. This way, I can record the wonderful moments of my trip."
Mikoto started talking about her trips with her husband when she was young. You weren't listening carefully. Itachi, who was sitting next to you, turned his head to look at you, his thigh touching your leg. His movements were light and airy, like a black cat rubbing against your leg to show affection. He is like that now.
You winked at him strangely, and Itachi smiled but said nothing.
There are only the four of you at the table. Sasuke and his teammates have also gone on a long trip, but they are not going on vacation. They are going on a mission and won't be back for at least ten days to two weeks.
After dinner, you felt you'd eaten too much beef donburi, so you decided to go for a walk. Your little tail followed you out and naturally intertwined its fingers with yours, making you even more puzzled. "Isn't it unnecessary to hold hands for just a walk?"
"I'm sorry," he said softly, then released his grip.
But during the walk, you can feel his gaze occasionally falling on the back of your hand. At the next corner, you suddenly stop and grab his hand without saying a word. What a hassle. He only said one sentence, but he doesn't have to keep looking at you with such a pitiful look.
"Didn't you say there was no need to hold hands?" His voice carried a hint of amusement. You said, "Because if we don't hold hands, you'll probably be sad and cry, right? Although you do look beautiful when you cry, it's just too much trouble to see you like that now."
His palm rested against yours, his inner joy overflowing.
After a walk, I took a shower because I was sweating a little. I came out of the bathroom with my body steaming. The air conditioning in the bedroom was on full blast. At times like this, you are grateful that there is still air conditioning in this strangely developed world.
Because you have to get up early for a business trip tomorrow, you should go to bed early tonight. Just as you were thinking this, you heard a knock on the door. Judging from the rhythm of the knock, you knew it was Itachi. You opened the door and asked, "What's up?"
He said the air conditioner in his room was broken, and you said he could sleep in Sasuke's room. He didn't expect you to say that. He was silent for a while before you asked him with a slightly joking tone, "What, is the air conditioner in Sasuke's room broken too? That's a bit strange, both rooms' air conditioners are broken all of a sudden."
He then confessed, "I want to stay with you."
"I need to get up early tomorrow."
The boy looked at you silently with his beautiful eyes as you leaned against the doorframe. "So, you'd better really just be here sleeping on the floor."
He grunted in agreement, laid out a tatami mat on the floor, and then seemingly obediently lay down to sleep. You turned off the bedside lamp, lay on your side, and fell asleep. In the middle of the night, you opened your eyes and found his head resting on the edge of your bed, his fingers hooked together. You knew then that all his previous promises were now void.
"Aren't you going to sleep yet? Will you be able to get up in the morning?" you ask.
"I can get up."
"Then I'm not as good as you." You pulled your hand back, turned over, and faced away from him. After a while, you sighed, patted the seat next to you, and said, "Come on up."
The black cat climbs onto your bed, hugs you affectionately, and smells the lingering scent of shampoo in your hair.
"Don't get too close, or our hair will get tangled together again," you said.
"I tied my hair up."
He came prepared, didn't he? You couldn't help but laugh, your back pressed against his chest, and you fell into a deep sleep again.
The next morning he got up earlier than you, so you can imagine that he's probably one of those high-energy people who are full of energy even if he goes to bed late.
Traveling is the most boring thing. We set off from Konoha in the morning, and when we got tired, we just found a grassy spot to sit down for a picnic. The beautiful natural environment has its advantages. Halfway through the picnic, we lay down on the grass. The thick layer of green grass on the ground was very soft under our bodies. We put our hands together behind our heads.
Occasionally, a butterfly will fly over the grass, pause briefly in your hair, and then flutter away again.
The weasel also lay down on the grass nearby. While you were admiring the scenery in your heart, he was also watching you. After a while, he sat up again, took out a camera from his backpack, installed the camera, and captured the scene of you bending down and cupping a butterfly in your palm.
There was a click, and the flash went off. You let go of her hand, and the butterfly in your palm flew away. You said, "Why didn't you tell me you were taking a picture?"
"But as I said, the scene from just now will also disappear."
He really understands the essence of a photographer's candid shots. You take the photo out of the camera, but there's no image; it's still a blank white image. You say, "If you weren't a ninja, you'd be perfect as a photographer."
"I haven't thought about these things." After all, it's only natural to become a ninja with the Uchiha name; it would be strange not to.
Vibrant colors gradually emerge from the white photograph. You stare at the photo for a while, and think, "You're quite talented in photography too."
Later, you took the camera from his hand and took a few pictures of him. It was such a waste of that handsome face; he didn't know how to pose at all, just stood there blankly letting you take pictures. You sighed, "Are you made of wood?"
But seeing his stiff movements in the photo, you find it quite amusing, a kind of discovery of his embarrassing past. You put the photo into a small album, stand up, brush off the grass clippings stuck to your clothes, and it's time to continue your journey.
When you really don't want to walk, just lean on his back and let him be your human transportation.
"One day I will make cars available in every country," you said.
Itachi has seen your car design drawings. The idea is very novel, but it's a bit difficult to put into practice. However, he believes that you can definitely do it. Although the people of Konoha think he is a genius, he thinks that you are the one who is truly omnipotent.
Aside from having a bit of poor stamina and complaining of foot and leg pain after walking a lot, he would let you sit in his lap and massage your calves to relax your muscles.
“Mingxi hasn’t been exercising lately, and her physical fitness will decline as a result,” he said.
You don't care. You have a clear understanding of your physical abilities. You know that no matter how hard you train, you can't compare to those ninjas. There's no need to force yourself into a track you can't fit into. You might as well let it go. Besides, not training is indeed very relaxing and comfortable.
"Then let's go down." You said indifferently.
The eagle knew it couldn't persuade you, so it could only continue to quietly massage you to help you relax.
This went on for many days until you finally arrived in the Land of Cherry Blossoms. It was quite an ordeal. You met up with the person in charge of receiving you and checked into a luxury hotel. Actually, it wasn't that luxurious... after all, luxury hotels in this world are not quite what you're used to.
Since it was already evening when you arrived, you arranged your work for tomorrow. After washing up, you were relaxing on the single sofa reading documents when Itachi knocked on the door. He only entered your room after hearing your response. His gaze was drawn to the letters on the coffee table. You didn't put them away after reading them, but simply left them on the coffee table, not caring whether the visitor could read the contents. After all, they were just a few letters from Bai to you, expressing concern and asking after you, with no business secrets involved.
But Itachi was still concerned, and he asked, "Whose letter is that?"
"A letter from a subordinate." You didn't even look up.
He caught the intimacy and admiration in the letter, and said with a sour tone, "It seems like he's more than just a subordinate."
"So what do you think it is?" This time you finally lazily raised your head. "He's just a child."
The boy lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
That child also loves you.
A note from the author:
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