Killer B, still locked in a stalemate with his older brother Ai, was momentarily distracted by the noise behind him.
"Damn it! I wanna drink too! Omoi, you coward, you loser! Damn it!"
Ai, a battle-hardened warrior, immediately caught the slip. Over the years, he'd sparred with Killer B more times than he could count—he knew all of B's movements like the back of his hand.
"B! You dare lose focus mid-fight? You looking down on me, your big brother?!"
"Take this! My loving fist of brotherhood!"
In a flash, Ai shifted his weight and pushed Killer B's right arm aside, bringing his iron fist crashing down onto his younger brother's forehead.
Thunk!
The moment his fist connected, Ai let out a long breath of satisfaction.
"Hell yeah... that felt good!"
Killer B took the hit full force and collapsed to the floor in a daze. For a second, he thought someone had gone flying.
Huh? Did bro just… take off into the sky?
Oh… wait. No. I'm the one who fell…
Ai grabbed Killer B, hauled him up by the collar, and dumped him onto the seat next to him. Still dazed, B couldn't react as his brother scooped a full cup of wine and shoved it toward him.
Killer B instinctively clenched his jaw, trying to resist.
"Hold still, you bastard!"
But Ai wasn't about to let that slide.
He was proud of this wine—handmade, aged, and sacred to him. For his little brother to reject it? That was a straight-up insult!
"You dare refuse the wine your big brother poured for you? What, you too good for it?!"
With one hand gripping Killer B's chin, Ai pried his mouth open and forced the wine in.
The moment it hit his throat, Killer B stopped resisting.
Shit… this… this is ridiculously good!
Without another word, Killer B grabbed the glass with both hands, downed the entire cup in one smooth gulp, tilted it back and forth a few times to drain the last drops, and only then slammed the empty cup on the table.
Behind his sunglasses, his eyes were gleaming like stars.
"Damn, Ani! Pour me another, oye!"
Then he waved toward Omoi and Karui, who were still standing nearby.
"C'mon, you punks! Sit your asses down and drink! This is free, fine-ass wine, yeah! Let's go!"
Omoi hesitated. Was his teacher really pulling him into this?
Before he could figure it out, Karui had had enough. With a scowl, she shoved Omoi from behind and marched him straight to the seat beside Killer B, planting him there without mercy.
"Samui was right. You overthink everything. You're a grown-ass man from the Hidden Cloud—act like it."
Omoi slumped in shame.
Now, with six people seated at the table, only one chair remained—directly to the left of Uchiha Hikaru.
Right at that moment, the kitchen door swung open.
Mabui emerged, dressed in her linen uniform, carrying two plates in each hand, with another balanced on each forearm and elbow. Without pause, she walked over to Uchiha Hikaru's side, six dishes in total.
Hikaru stood up slightly and helped her unload the four plates from her arms, placing them carefully on the table.
His fingers brushed lightly against her skin in the process.
Mabui flinched ever so slightly. The movement was barely noticeable, but Hikaru caught it.
He smiled faintly, as if apologizing.
Ai noticed the empty seat and called out cheerfully.
"Mabui! There's a free spot next to Hikaru. Come sit down and join us!"
"You've been working your ass off lately. Take today to relax—have a drink and rest."
Say what you want about Ai, but as the Raikage, he cared deeply for his subordinates. It was for their sake that he'd risked tensions with the Hokage and personally traveled to Konoha, which is how he'd first met Uchiha Hikaru.
Mabui hesitated. Refusing the Raikage's offer in front of the Hokage's assistant might be taken the wrong way.
So she smoothed out her skirt around her waist and hips, then sat down gracefully beside Hikaru.
With a soft tone, she said, "Lord Raikage, I won't drink too much. Someone still needs to clean up afterward."
But Ai, already a few cups in, wouldn't hear of it. He filled a cup himself and slid it toward her.
"This kind of wine? You might not get a second chance, Mabui~"
"And C and the others are on duty outside, right?"
"They'll handle cleanup. I told you—today, you rest. That's an order."
As A's words sunk in, Mabui felt conflicted.
One voice in her head reminded her of her duty. As the Raikage's secretary, she couldn't get drunk like this.
But another whispered that A had just given her the green light—directly. And besides… she often treated herself to a glass of red wine at home after long days.
So… why not?
She raised the wine glass slowly.
First, she took in its aroma: a rich blend of grains, subtle florals, and fruit notes she couldn't quite name. Her curiosity got the better of her. She sipped.
The wine coated her tongue with its complex flavors—bold and strong, but smoother than any red wine she'd had. The bite was sharper, the body deeper. And the alcohol?
Much stronger.
She raised her hand to her mouth and coughed twice, trying to mask the reaction.
To recover, she leaned toward Uchiha Hikaru, pointing at the dishes on the table to change the subject.
"This one's cold-mixed beef. In the Land of Lightning, we usually eat it rare, but I had it cooked medium-rare for your taste, Lord Hikaru."
"This over here is thunderleaf—it has a very unique flavor. A bit pungent and fishy. People either love it or hate it."
She kept introducing each dish.
Hikaru tried them all. The beef was tender, flavorful—definitely something he could get used to.
As for the thunderleaf… it reminded him of something from his childhood. On the outside, it resembled Earth, though the texture was different. Still, the taste? Strangely familiar.
He gave it a try, curious.
Hmm...
It wasn't terrible—but not amazing either. Just... interesting. Definitely an acquired taste.
Between thunderleaf and the leafy green vegetable served after it—something similar to coriander—Hikaru found himself preferring the latter, especially the root. The aroma brought back memories he didn't even know he had.
Like coriander and thunderleaf, it was one of those things—some people loved it, others despised it.
Uchiha Hikaru?
He liked it.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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