The sun rose, and golden light streamed through the window.
The blinding brightness made Tōshirō furrow his brows slightly before reluctantly opening his eyes.
He turned his head to the side—Tsunade was lying next to him, her breaths steady and peaceful as she slept soundly.
Tōshirō hesitated, not wanting to wake her.
As for why the two of them were sharing a bed… well, that was a story from last night.
Caught up in the heat of their love, they had played around a little too much and unknowingly let time slip into the night.
Tōshirō wasn't comfortable letting Tsunade travel back to the village alone in the middle of the night, so for safety's sake, he suggested they stay at an inn.
Since they were a couple, there was nothing to be embarrassed about—sleeping together was totally normal, right?
At first, they were both a little shy, and they even had trouble falling asleep.
As for whether anything happened in bed, Tōshirō would like to clarify—it was just pure, innocent sleep. That's it.
To be honest, saying he didn't have any thoughts would be a lie.
If he really wanted to take things further, given how deeply they were in love, Tsunade probably wouldn't have resisted too much—she might have even gone along with it.
But Tōshirō chose not to.
For one, Tsunade was still quite young. Even though, in this world, kids around twelve or thirteen were considered mature—especially in this era, where it wasn't unusual for people to marry at this age—he still couldn't bring himself to do it.
And secondly, he and Tsunade had already decided that marriage was inevitable. If possible, he wanted to save their most precious memory for their wedding night.
Tōshirō carefully got out of bed and went out to buy breakfast and some snacks. But even though he tiptoed back into the room, he still accidentally made some noise.
Tsunade stirred, frowning slightly, her face clearly showing that she wasn't happy about being woken up.
She blinked a few times, her sleepy gaze locking onto Tōshirō's figure—and just like that, her grumpy expression softened.
"Good morning… are you here to cuddle with me?"
A smile bloomed on her lips as she patted the blanket beside her, inviting him over.
Tōshirō chuckled, "Are you still half-asleep? Didn't we sleep together the whole night?"
"Oh, right." Tsunade stuck out her tongue playfully and knocked her small fist against her head.
Tōshirō found her absolutely adorable. "Hime-chan, you're seriously too cute right now."
"This is a side of me that only you get to see~ Consider yourself lucky."
"Then I must be the luckiest man alive."
"Hehe…"
"Come on, get up and have breakfast."
"Nooo, I wanna stay in bed a little longer."
"You haven't slept enough?"
"The blanket smells like you, and it's really nice… I just wanna enjoy it for a bit more."
Hearing that, Tōshirō couldn't help but smile. "As much as I appreciate that, if you don't get up now, breakfast is going to get cold. And if I go buy more, it won't be hot and fresh anymore."
He grabbed Tsunade's wrist and tried to pull her up.
But a sly glint flashed in Tsunade's eyes—she suddenly yanked him back!
Caught off guard, Tōshirō lost his balance and nearly fell on top of her. At the last moment, he managed to catch himself by pressing both hands onto the mattress, stopping just inches away from her.
Now, their position was incredibly intimate.
"Let's just stay in bed a little longer," Tsunade murmured, tracing circles on Tōshirō's chest with her finger, her voice dripping with temptation.
They had been together for a while now, and Tōshirō had developed a bit of resistance to her teasing. But even so, she still managed to get under his skin when he wasn't expecting it.
"Stop messing around. Breakfast is getting cold."
"Forget breakfast—just eat me instead," she whispered seductively.
"???"
"I'm just kidding~ Your heart suddenly started beating so fast!" Tsunade placed a hand on his chest, flashing him a mischievous, devilish grin. "Could it be… you're actually embarrassed?"
"Have you been reading weird books lately…?"
"Take a guess~ If you get it right, maybe I'll give you a little reward."
"Not interested."
Tōshirō refused to let her keep leading him by the nose.
When a girl really decided to let loose and flirt, most guys wouldn't be able to resist—especially those who had been single for a long time.
Tsunade pouted like a child. "Fine, then I'm not getting up."
"Sigh... You really leave me no choice." Tōshirō sighed in defeat. "How about this—if you get up, I'll give you a kiss later. Deal?"
"Okay! I'm up!"
Tsunade agreed instantly. Her enthusiasm shocked even Tōshirō.
After Breakfast
After eating, Tsunade curled up in Tōshirō's arms, nuzzling against him until she found a comfortable spot. She then grabbed a bag of snacks, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth.
"Ahh~" she hummed, stretching out the sound.
Tōshirō: "???"
"Peel it and feed me."
"Didn't you just eat breakfast?"
Tōshirō was speechless.
Tōshirō hadn't bought the snacks for Tsunade as a post-meal treat—he had gotten them in case she got hungry on the road and had nothing to eat.
"I'm still hungry," Tsunade said, rubbing her belly.
Tōshirō chuckled wryly. "You eat like a pig. I'm seriously worried I won't be able to afford to feed you in the future."
Tsunade pouted and huffed, "If I were a pig, I'd eat you into bankruptcy."
Tōshirō nearly died laughing. With his wealth, his assets were worth more than an entire solar system.
"And what good would that do for you?"
"Of course, it'd be a good thing!"
"Oh? How so?"
"Because then, I could be the one to take care of you."
Be a kept man?
Hearing that, Tōshirō suddenly felt like maybe he didn't need to work so hard to make money anymore.
"I'd take care of you like a lazy freeloader who does nothing but eat and sleep. That way, you'd never be able to leave me."
Tōshirō: ???
What kind of twisted logic was that?
Shaking his head, he tore open a snack bag, pulled out something that looked like a potato chip, and held it up to the mouth of the little freeloader in his arms.
"Mmm~" Tsunade happily chewed, a blissful smile on her face.
"Tsunade, how long do you plan on clinging to me?" Tōshirō suddenly remembered that she was supposed to return to the village and report back. "Don't you need to go back and check in?"
Tsunade cupped her cheeks in her hands, her smile full of affection. "It's fine. Being a ninja is just a side job. My real job now is being your girlfriend."
Tōshirō sucked in a sharp breath. Damn, this is what falling in love feels like.
Tsunade, still nestled in his arms, straightened up, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned in close, a snack still hanging from her lips. "Or… are you already tired of me?"
Faced with her puppy-dog eyes, Tōshirō suddenly had the urge to mess with her. He leaned forward and skillfully plucked the snack from her lips with his own. After chewing it, he smirked, "Not bad."
"Unbelievable! You actually stole my food when I wasn't looking!" Tsunade huffed, crossing her arms. "Did you even pay for it?"
"How much do I owe you?"
Tōshirō found the situation amusing—after all, he was the one who had bought the snack for her in the first place.
Instead of answering, Tsunade suddenly leaned in and kissed him.
Tōshirō froze for a moment.
When their lips finally parted, Tsunade gently touched her lips, a playful smile gracing her face. "Thank you for your patronage, dear customer."
The two of them stayed wrapped up in each other for a while longer, but eventually, the time for their farewell arrived. If Tsunade delayed any longer, the village would probably send someone to look for her.
"I have to go now. You're not going to see me off?" Tsunade looked at him with reluctant eyes.
Tōshirō gladly accepted and decided to walk her to the outskirts of town.
They strolled side by side for a while when suddenly, a commotion ahead caught their attention.
"Tōshirō, let's go check it out! Who knows when we'll get another chance to meet like this again?"
Since it was her last request before leaving, Tōshirō had no reason to refuse. He followed her to the source of the gathering, only to discover that it was a lavish wedding celebration.
Tsunade's eyes lit up as she watched the bride in her flawless white wedding dress, a dreamy expression on her face. She couldn't help but imagine herself standing at the altar with Tōshirō one day, wearing a dress just like that.
"What's there to be jealous about?"
Tōshirō snorted. "Honestly, this is just messed up."
Tsunade nudged him. "Why would you say that?"
"You didn't hear what the wedding host said earlier?" Tōshirō began his rant.
"Look at that groom—he's old enough to be a grandfather. And the bride? She's probably barely eighteen. This old man fell in love with her when he was already in his fifties?"
"And the worst part? He actually had the audacity to make the host sugarcoat it."
"The guy stood there and let them say, 'From this moment on, love blossomed in the bride's heart. Ever since his wife passed away, the groom was drowning in sorrow, unable to pull himself together. If not for the bride's daily care and concern, he might never have found the strength to move on.'"
"So, to repay her for her love, he married her? And to commemorate the moment, he even kept a pair of shoes she gave him?!"
"Seriously? What kind of twisted buff stack is this…?"
"This is exactly the kind of nonsense that only rich people who have nothing better to do would pull off."
Tsunade elbowed Tōshirō in the side. "Why do you even care about stuff like this? Are you that bored?"
"Bored? Me?"
Tōshirō wagged a finger at her. "Listen, Tsunade, I don't have time to waste on dumb love stories. Right now, I just want to make money. What's the point of admiring someone else's wedding? I'm going to make more money than that guy!"
"And when the time comes, I'll throw you a wedding even bigger and better than this one!"
Hearing him say he was working so hard for her, Tsunade's face melted into a smile. She nudged him playfully. "Geez, you should've just said that from the start."
Then, with a happy hum, she wrapped her arms around his.
Tōshirō glanced at the groom in the distance, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Yeah, I need to make more money.
(End of Chapter)
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