After filling his stomach, Naruto left the ramen shop but didn't head straight home. Instead, he wandered aimlessly through Konoha's streets.
"You've got a lot of free time." A familiar voice sounded behind him.
Naruto turned around and saw Yugao appear behind him. She was not wearing her Anbu uniform. Instead, she was wearing casual clothes, a dark green dress.
She still had that cold expression on her face, her hair tied back with a floral clip, and she was holding a large bag of beer in her hand.
"You're not on duty?"
"Day off." Yugao's reply was curt.
"Is that so? Well, enjoy your break." Naruto nodded and pointed in the direction of home, "I'm just going to walk around a bit before heading home to sleep."
"Mm." Yugao turned around and left with the big bag.
The two exchanged nods, as they're too familiar with each other for pleasantries, and went their separate ways, one east, one west. Naruto's mind wandered, considering whether to drop by Anko's place.
'She's probably just lazing at home anyway, completely taking it easy except when she is at work.'
But half an hour later, he ran into Yugao again. This time, they met at a secluded path near the Hokage Rock. They rounded a bend at the same time.
Apparently, Yugao's destination was the Hokage Rock. Naruto hadn't planned to go there, but he just happened to walk there aimlessly.
He glanced at the Hokage Rock, then glanced back at Yugao, and her expression was still indifferent.
Once was coincidence, but twice was fate, so he uldn't just nod and move on like before.
Clearing his throat, Naruto asked, "Where are you going?"
"Hokage Rock." Yugao said, lowering her eyes and then raising them again. After a pause, she added, "Going up there to have a drink. You coming?"
Hearing this, Naruto was stunned for two seconds. He wanted to refuse, but then realized he was really free now.
"Sure."
"Then let's go together." Yugao took the lead, "Just casual drinking. I didn't expect to run into you, so I didn't buy much."
"No worries, I've got my own stash." Naruto followed slowly.
"That couldn't be better." Yugao knew that Naruto had spatial storage tools, so she wasn't too surprised by his answer.
The two walked side by side, maintaining a comfortable distance as they made their way up.
The winding path beneath the Hokage Rock twisted several times, but neither of them was in a hurry to reach the top.
Like ordinary people, they took their time, step by step. By the time they reached the top, night had fully fallen.
From the Hokage Rock, the village looked like a glowing disc encircled by strings of light.
The night wind was chilly. They vaulted over the railing and sat on the outermost stone ledge. The bag of beer was dropped unceremoniously, and two cans fell down and were caught by Naruto with his quick eyes and hands.
With two crisp pops, he flicked the caps off. At the moment when the light flickered, he handed the beer to Yugao without turning his head, and the latter calmly accepted it and took a sip.
The icy beer hit her stomach, and as the warm night breeze brushed past, a thin sheen of sweat formed on her skin.
"Ahh!" Naruto narrowed his eyes and moaned continuously.
As Yugao took a sip of her beer, she turned to glance at him. His weird noise made her hesitate to make any sound herself.
'Damn it.' A faint irritation prickled at her.
'I finally get a day off, but it was almost ruined by this guy. If I had known this earlier… forget it. Drinking alone isn't fun anyway.'
Yugao didn't have many close friends, and there were almost no one she could casually invite out during her rare breaks. Ever since Hayate's death, she'd buried herself in work.
Six years had passed since then, and she couldn't say she was sad. The man responsible was a respected elder of Sunagakure, the Kazekage's teacher, and Konoha and Sunagakure had long since made peace.
Hayate's death had been an earthquake for her, but to the village, it was just a speck of dust… a grain of sand in the grand scheme of things.
"What are you thinking about?" Naruto noticed the emotions of the person next to him and asked casually.
"Nothing." Yugao downed the rest of her beer in one go, then grabbed another can and pulled the pull ring with a snap.
"Sitting here really is the best. It's been a while since I drank up here." Naruto leaned back, supported himself on the stone pillar, and gazed at the nightscape with a smile.
"Yeah." Yugao stared coldly at the front, then tilted her head back to drink.
"You're no fun. Even when drinking alone, you won't talk." He took a few swigs, then opened another can. He glanced at her and said, "Don't you trust me?"
"No." Yugao frowned, "I haven't talked much in a long time. I don't know what to say."
"What were you thinking about earlier?" Naruto looked around aimlessly, his eyes wandering over the lights of thousands of homes in the distance, "Are you envious of others who have a home?"
Only Naruto could say something like that so bluntly. Coming from anyone else, it might've carried layers of meaning, but from Naruto, it was just a question.
Yugao naturally knew this man's character and did not take it to heart.
"Yeah."
"Huh? You actually admitted it." Naruto grinned, "The Anbu Commander is busy. Who asked you to reach this position? Just look at Kakashi and you will know about starting a family."
"He has been on missions all year round. Now that he finally stopped running around, he ended up becoming the Hokage. Isn't that a life of hard work? It's a long way to go before he can start a family."
"I don't think I'll ever have one." Yugao looked up at the moon on the other side of the mountain. The bright, white moonlight shone on her face.
"Why not?"
"I don't know, just a feeling." Yugao said casually.
"Because of Gekko Hayate?" He asked casually. He didn't mean any harm, as he was just making conversation.
It has been six years since the Chunin Exams. Time has long washed away everything and there is nothing that cannot be mentioned.
He had asked her before whether she had ever thought about revenge. Back then, her answer had been vague… maybe even she hadn't been sure.
"Partly. But not entirely." Yugao stopped, put the beer can on the ground, frowned and seemed to be thinking.
"I used to have resentment, but I never expressed it and kept it in my heart." She began to speak slowly, "Hayate died for the village, and then the village just formed an alliance with Sunagakure."
"That man is of noble status, and is the teacher of the Godaime Kazekage. As a member of the Anbu, I was supposed to prioritize the village's interests and let go of personal grudges."
"And now?" He asked.
"Now?" She laughed self-deprecatingly. "I did everything I could to get to this position. I just wanted to see if the view from the top would change my perspective. Maybe I'd finally let go."
After a pause, she turned to look at Naruto and said, "Now, I just want to kill that guy."