Seramu arranged rooms for a few of them in the central tall tower.
This tower was both an office and a residence in one.
Even the layout of the rooms was exactly the same as the one Aoba had lived in for twenty years.
[Inside The Room]
Aoba changed into the clothes Seramu had specially prepared for him. After simply tidying up his hair, he spoke toward the bathroom door.
"I'll head out first."
"Oh."
"Okay."
From the bathroom came the voices of Yakumo and Hinata, along with the patter of running water.
On this side of the timeline, they had just spent a few days rushing on the road and had only just arrived at Roran not long ago.
Taking a bath before eating, to wash away the dust and sand.
Only, the two had come into Aoba's room again.
To be precise, Yakumo had snuck over secretly, and then Hinata followed along because she didn't feel at ease.
To save time, after Aoba had finished bathing, the two of them washed together.
If not for Aoba refusing, Yakumo would've even dragged him in together.
As soon as he walked out of his room, he saw Kurenai sitting alone on the sofa waiting.
"Kurenai-nee, so quick?", Aoba sat down beside her.
Kurenai's expression shifted a little, a faint bad premonition rising in her heart, 'Out of all the empty seats, why sit next to me?'
It wasn't that she disliked him or anything, just that she felt ever since he came back from the past, his thoughts about her seemed a little less hidden.
It made her feel flustered for a moment. Without showing anything on her face, she quietly edged away a little, trying her best to keep a calm expression.
"For a ninja, efficiency is important. Why did only you come out? What about Yakumo and Hinata?"
"They're still bathing."
Aoba suddenly looked at Kurenai in puzzlement, "Kurenai-nee, did I do something that made you dislike me?"
"Huh?", Kurenai was slightly stunned.
"As soon as I sat down, you moved away from me," A look of hurt showed on Aoba's face.
"This…", Kurenai suddenly didn't know how to explain, "That's not what I meant…"
"True, after all, I stayed in the past for three years. Kurenai-nee must still have some misgivings. I should just sit farther away," Aoba finished speaking, face full of sorrow, making as if to get up and sit on the opposite side.
"That's not what I meant," Kurenai, seeing this, worried he would misunderstand, subconsciously reached out and grabbed him, "I'm just afraid when Yakumo and the others come out, they might get the wrong idea."
"Wrong idea? Wrong idea about what?", Aoba's face was full of confusion.
The corner of Kurenai's mouth couldn't help but twitch, 'This guy is obviously pretending not to understand.'
Yet she couldn't bluntly say it, so she changed the topic, "Being back in the past alone for three years, that must have been tough, right?"
Aoba's expression also returned to seriousness, "With my strength, there wasn't really any danger. It's just, as time dragged on, I started missing Yakumo, Hinata, and Sensei…"
"Of course, I missed you too, Kurenai-nee."
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Kurenai couldn't help but cough dryly at his words, not daring to meet his gaze.
"Then we can go back sooner. If we go all out traveling, in one or two days we should be back at the village."
"No need. I'll be with you… with everyone today. Tomorrow, you can just use Flying Thunder God to return. You all can stay here in Roran and play a few days."
Aoba smiled as he spoke, "A lot of the things here are my creations. You'll definitely like them."
"R-Really?"
"Mm."
Aoba suddenly reached out and grabbed Kurenai's hand.
"Aoba?"
Kurenai was startled, then the next moment, she was pulled right into his arms.
"Kurenai-nee, these three years, I really missed you all so much!"
Aoba said with rare fragility.
Kurenai had originally wanted to raise her hand to push him away, but upon hearing his words, her hand stopped midair.
After thinking a bit, she reached around to his back instead, hugging him in return, gently comforting this fragile boy.
"It's okay, you're back now."
Click!
The sound of the door lock turning rang out. Kurenai instinctively looked toward the sound.
And saw Temari, who had just opened the door.
At this moment, Kurenai realized her face was pressed into Aoba's chest, and she was even the one actively hugging him.
Temari's face first flashed with surprise, then turned into a look of "of course."
"I didn't see anything," Mouthing the words, she shut the door again.
Kurenai felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her head, freezing her in place.
The thing she had worried about most had finally happened.
"Kurenai-nee, I'll explain to Temari later," Aoba said awkwardly.
Kurenai just looked at him silently. Even though he wore an apologetic face, this brat had definitely done it on purpose.
Only, she herself had given him the chance, so she couldn't blame him. In the end, she could only sigh helplessly.
She felt like in this lifetime, she probably wouldn't escape the palm of this shameless brat.
"I…I left something in my room," Kurenai fled back to her room.
———
Not long after, Seramu came over as well, full of grievance, now wearing a light-purple dress for casual wear.
Her eyes were slightly red, looking like she had just been crying.
And behind her was Sara, who had already woken from unconsciousness.
"Sensei!"
The moment Sara saw Aoba, she impatiently rushed over.
Then hugged him tightly, crying loudly.
"Waaahhh~ Sensei, you're still here, that's so great. I thought you'd abandoned me and left me all alone."
She had just woken up in Seramu's arms, looking at her mother, who still looked exactly the same as ten years ago.
Her whole body went numb, and she broke down crying on the spot.
Seramu, seeing this, thought her daughter was crying from seeing her again, so she hugged her too, weeping uncontrollably.
But after hearing her daughter's broken words, she realized it was all a huge misunderstanding.
So mad she immediately pressed Sara over her lap and gave her a proper spanking.
Even Seramu herself hadn't thought that after waiting more than ten years, her reunion with her daughter would be such a mess.
Luckily, Sara was mischievous by nature. After learning the truth, she still clung to Seramu, crying hard for a while, which let Seramu's emotions finally be satisfied.
Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have gotten out of bed today.
After all, it wasn't really her fault. For Seramu, more than ten years had passed, but for Sara, it had only felt like closing her eyes for a moment. Her mother's appearance hadn't changed at all.
But Aoba had disappeared.
If Seramu had looked a bit older, maybe Sara would have felt it more real.
So at present, Sara was more worried about Aoba leaving her behind.
"There, there, I'm right here, aren't I?", Aoba helplessly patted Sara's back.
Seramu, full of grievance, came up in front of him, "Now it's the two of you who are a family. I, the mother, have become the outsider."
"How can you say that? You're Sara's mother."
Looking at the resentment on her, even Aoba broke into a sweat.
"Heh!", Seramu only gave a cold laugh.
Then leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "As compensation, tonight you have to come find me alone."
"Ah?"
Sara's crying stopped at once, staring blankly at her own mother.
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