Chapter 62: A Birthday and a Confession
Shinra looked at the dinner table, his brow slightly furrowed. "Why are all the dishes vegetarian?"
While he didn't dislike vegetables, a growing shinobi's body, constantly honed and pushed to its limits, required protein. A purely vegetarian meal could lead to a physical deficit over time.
"I'm sorry, Shinra," Mikoto said with an apologetic smile. "I... I just don't feel like cooking meat these days."
The memory of their recent mission—the blood, the carnage—was still fresh in her mind, casting a pall over the thought of handling raw flesh. It would take a few days for her psyche to recover.
"It's fine," Shinra waved a dismissive hand, not wanting to press the issue. "Skipping meat for a few meals won't kill me." He then dug into the food with gusto.
He had to admit, Mikoto's culinary talent was exceptional. Even a full table of vegetarian dishes was transformed into a delicious feast under her hands. By the end of the meal, every plate was scraped clean.
Leaning back on the sofa with a contented sigh, Shinra patted his full stomach. "I'm so stuffed... I think I overdid it."
"Who asked you to eat so much? You have no one to blame but yourself," Kushina teased from the other end of the sofa, looking immensely pleased.
"And what right do you have to talk?" Shinra shot back, eyeing her similarly recumbent form. "You're just as bad, lying there like you can't move. Be careful, or you'll become a fat girl. I might not want you then."
"How dare you!" Kushina exclaimed, baring her little canine teeth in a mock threat. "If you don't want me, then I'll... I'll kill you!"
"Threatening me, are you? It seems I haven't disciplined you in a while, and you're starting to get cocky." With a playful growl, Shinra launched himself across the sofa, pinning Kushina down and launching a merciless tickle attack.
"Ah! Hahaha! Stop! I'm sorry! I give up! Hahaha!" Kushina shrieked between fits of laughter, squirming helplessly.
Mikoto, having finished the cleanup, watched the scene with a soft, affectionate smile before settling beside them to enjoy the spectacle of Kushina's torment.
"Mikoto! Help me!" Kushina gasped, tears of mirth streaming down her face.
"Okay," Mikoto replied, a sly, almost black glint in her eyes that made Kushina instantly wary.
True to her unspoken suspicion, Mikoto didn't come to her rescue. Instead, she grabbed Kushina's ankle and joined in the tickling, focusing on her sensitive soles.
"NO! Hahahaha! Mikoto, you traitor! Let go! I was wrong! I surrender!"
The living room was filled with the sounds of Kushina's helpless laughter and playful pleas for a long while before Shinra and Mikoto finally relented. Kushina collapsed, breathing heavily, and shot them both a look of profound betrayal, which Mikoto had the decency to look slightly sheepish about.
After an evening of television and light conversation, the trio finally retired for the night, the horrors of the mission momentarily forgotten in the comfort of their home.
The next day, the sun was already high when Shinra finally stirred. After a leisurely routine of washing up, he found the house unusually quiet. A delicious breakfast was waiting for him on the table, but Mikoto and Kushina were nowhere to be seen.
"Strange. Did they go out?" he mused aloud.
Shrugging, he made his way to the private training ground in their courtyard to begin his daily regimen. His focus now was primarily on taijutsu and kenjutsu. He held the sealed form of his Zanpakuto, Ryūjin Jakka. As he drew the blade, the air around him grew noticeably warmer, as if he had unsheathed a sliver of an ancient volcano.
The blade itself was a masterpiece, etched with mysterious patterns, its edge gleaming with a cold light that promised to sever any obstacle. Shinra's swordsmanship style was brutally straightforward, emphasizing overwhelming power and speed, so his practice consisted of endless, precise repetitions of basic swings.
He was immensely satisfied with Ryūjin Jakka's innate sharpness. His only frustration was his inability to achieve its Shikai release. No matter how he called its true name, the blade remained inert. He had even tried to commune with its spirit, to no avail. The System had confirmed Shikai was possible, but the only other method it offered was a kryptonite-like option: spending a staggering one million exchange points to unlock it, with Bankai costing a ludicrous ten million. The price tag had sent him, a self-proclaimed pauper, running. It was agonizing to hold a weapon capable of incinerating the world, yet be unable to unlock its true power.
He practiced until noon, when Mikoto and Kushina finally returned, their arms laden with bags and carefully wrapped packages.
"What's all this?" Shinra asked, eyeing the mysterious boxes with curiosity.
"That's a secret! We're not telling you!" Kushina chirped, grabbing the packages and pulling a smiling Mikoto into the house before he could investigate further.
"Tch, I don't even want to know," Shinra muttered, assuming it was just a shopping haul for clothes or other girly things.
After lunch, he found himself unceremoniously shooed out of the house by the two girls. Feeling a little dejected, he headed to a more secluded training ground in the Konoha forests to continue his practice, the wide-open space better suiting his needs.
He returned home in the evening, his clothes soaked with sweat, ready to collapse. But as he opened the door, he was met with a chorus of loud pops and a shower of colorful confetti.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"What in the world?" Shinra blinked, taking in the scene. Tsunade, Mikoto, and Kushina stood beaming, holding spent party poppers. A banner that read "Happy Birthday" was strung across the room.
"Tsunade? What are you doing here? I thought you were deploying to the front?"
"It's your birthday today, you dummy!" Kushina exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Of course we're celebrating!"
"Mikoto and I have been preparing all day! You'd better be super grateful!" she added, her eyes sparkling.
"I pulled some strings," Tsunade said with a warm smile. "The world can wait for one day. I wasn't going to miss this."
A profound warmth spread through Shinra's chest, momentarily robbing him of words. He was genuinely moved. Without a second thought, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around all three women in a single, encompassing hug.
"Thank you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
"Shinra! L-Let me go! I'm not your girlfriend, you know! Don't get the wrong idea!" Tsunade stammered, her face flushing a bright, uncharacteristic scarlet.
Holding her a little tighter, Shinra looked directly into her flustered eyes. "Tsunade," he said, his voice soft but clear. "I like you. Be my girlfriend."
Mikoto and Kushina, standing on either side, didn't look angry or jealous. If it was Tsunade, they could accept it. They simply watched with gentle, supportive smiles.
"Y-You... How can you be like this?" Tsunade sputtered, her composure completely shattered. "I'm nearly ten years older than you! And Mikoto and Kushina are right here!"
"I wouldn't mind if it was Sister Tsunade," Kushina said cheerfully.
"I don't mind either," Mikoto added with her characteristic gentle smile.
Tsunade's shyness was fleeting. She quickly reverted to her bold, brash self, a defensive mechanism to hide her vulnerability. "You're a ten-year-old brat who hasn't even finished growing all his hair, and you've already learned how to confess to women?"
Shinra coughed awkwardly, his own ears turning red. "Ahem! So, is that a yes or a no?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track. He was only ten; his body was still very much that of a child.
"You... you really don't care about the age gap?" Tsunade asked, her voice hesitant, a flicker of hope in her eyes.
"I don't care," Shinra stated with unwavering confidence. "Age is irrelevant to me. For us, even immortality isn't an impossible dream."