Chapter 57: What a Tragic Pair
Uzumaki Naruto stood outside Yakiniku Q's entrance, staring at the glass door. Anxiety twisted through him.
Should he... make an excuse and run?
While he hesitated, everyone else had already gone inside. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, steeled himself, and hurried after Hyuga Kiyonari into the restaurant.
"Welcome!"
An aproned employee approached. Naruto's body tensed instinctively, waiting for the smile to vanish from the employee's face, waiting for the look of disgust, followed by "Sorry, we're full today" before being thrown out.
But...
"How many in your party?" The employee looked at their group of six, smile unchanged.
"Just the six of us. We'd like a private room." Kiyonari answered.
"Of course, please follow me." The employee turned and led the way.
Naruto stood frozen. Did he... not recognize me?
The employee brought them to a spacious private room with a large table and embedded grill in the center.
"Please have a seat. Here are the menus."
The employee distributed six menus, one to each person.
Even now, Naruto remained somewhat dazed, staring blankly at the menu in his hands, emotions swirling chaotically.
Yamanaka Ino noticed his strange behavior. "Naruto, what's wrong? Why are you just standing there?"
"Ah... n-nothing!" Naruto snapped back to attention and quickly sat down with everyone else.
Orders placed, the employee recorded everything, bowed respectfully, and departed.
Throughout the entire process, the employee treated Naruto exactly like everyone else—purely professional service between staff and customer, without any additional emotion.
Yet this very attitude made Naruto's sinuses burn with intense sourness. Confusion, grief, relief, and pain swirled together into a huge pot of sour, bitter, astringent soup stuck in his throat—couldn't swallow it down, couldn't spit it out.
This feeling... was too unfamiliar. His heart felt like something had grabbed it tightly, then released it in bewildered uncertainty.
He'd grown accustomed to being treated differently, to the coldness and hostility. But suddenly having a place that could accept him calmly and ordinarily created an overwhelming sense of unreality.
No way—I absolutely cannot cry here!
Naruto secretly wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He raised his head, locking his gaze on Hyuga Kiyonari sitting across from him.
It was Kiyonari... Kiyonari who'd introduced him to so many friends... and Kiyonari who'd brought him to this barbecue restaurant for the first time.
Without Kiyonari, right now he'd be alone at home, waiting for instant ramen to cook.
Naruto's fist under the table clenched tight.
Food arrived quickly. Bright red meat slices and emerald vegetables arranged neatly on plates. The moment ingredients touched the scorching charcoal grill, they produced delightful sizzling sounds. Rich meat aromas instantly filled the air, making mouths water involuntarily.
"Meat's ready." Kiyonari picked up a cooked piece and called to everyone. "Eat it while it's hot."
"Let's eat!"
Naruto had been waiting impatiently. He grabbed a thick piece of beef and stuffed it in his mouth. Scalding meat juices exploded inside, burning him. "Sss-haa!" He opened his mouth wide, gasping for air.
"Idiot."
Uchiha Sasuke sighed and pushed his untouched ice-cold drink toward Naruto.
Others began eating too. Hyuga Hinata picked up a small piece of slightly charred meat, gently blowing on it before taking tiny bites and chewing carefully.
This was more of her "proper young lady" side showing.
"By the way, Ino."
Kiyonari suddenly spoke. As the host, his voice naturally drew everyone's attention.
"Spring's almost here. Your family's flower shop must be absolutely beautiful then, right?"
Mentioning this made Ino puff out her chest proudly. "Of course! Spring is when flower shops are busiest and most beautiful. We'll definitely decorate it so gorgeously people won't be able to look away!"
"Sounds amazing!" Sakura's eyes sparkled. "Ino, you have to let me visit!"
Ino waved her hand magnanimously. "No problem..."
Just as their conversation drew everyone else's attention, Kiyonari quietly transferred a stack of grilled meat into Hinata's bowl.
Hinata was taking small bites when suddenly her bowl grew heavier. She looked down, eyes widening in surprise.
Kiyonari withdrew his chopsticks and winked at her, as if saying "Don't worry, I've got you."
"By the way, Ino, since you've applied flower arrangement knowledge to fashion, have you tried applying fashion knowledge to flower arrangement?"
Kiyonari continued questioning her, keeping the conversation flowing.
"How do you understand me so well?!"
Ino's eyes lit up. She began explaining enthusiastically, even setting down her chopsticks—clearly hitting her favorite topic.
While listening to Ino's explanation, Kiyonari kept adding meat to the grill, using his peripheral vision to monitor Hinata's bowl. Whenever she nearly finished, he'd quietly add more while others weren't paying attention.
Hinata felt nervous at first, worried someone would notice.
But soon she realized Kiyonari had arranged the rhythm perfectly. Everyone's attention remained captured by various topics. No one noticed the raw meat mysteriously disappearing from the table.
Time passed minute by minute. The plates had somehow all emptied without anyone realizing.
Everyone ate and chatted, completely unaware of how many plates they'd consumed. But everyone felt satisfied.
Naruto practically melted into his chair, one hand lightly patting his swollen stomach. "Phew... so full... can barely move."
"That won't do." Kiyonari pulled four movie tickets from inside his clothes and waved them at everyone. "We've still got round two."
Naruto's attention immediately fixed on those colorful ticket stubs. He asked curiously, "What are those?"
"Movies." Kiyonari's tone stayed casual, clearly not planning extensive explanation. "Just follow me."
"Oh."
Naruto responded, his gaze drifting from the tickets. He watched everyone crowd forward discussing them, and couldn't suppress a soft laugh.
Sasuke, closest to him, immediately caught that strange sound. He turned his head. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Naruto paused. The smile on his face didn't fade—instead it softened considerably, completely different from his usual boisterous demeanor.
"Just thinking..." He looked around the circle, finally settling on Hyuga Kiyonari. "How satisfied I feel."
Sasuke glanced at him, reverting to his usual disdainful tone. "That's what you get for eating so much. Serves you right for having a stomachache."
He left the private room. When he returned, he held stomach medicine.
"Here. Massage your stomach yourself. I'm not carrying you."