A simple question made Yugito's small face light up with a bright smile. She stood up from the corner of the rock pillar, facing the sunlight.
Her smile was so pure and beautiful, coming from the depths of her heart. It was only at this moment that Kei truly saw that her hair wasn't the same golden color as he had assumed—it was actually a softer, pale beige.
Not as dazzling as gold, but gentler and warmer.
"Your hair is really pretty," Kei sincerely praised.
"Th-thank you!" Yugito's face turned slightly red, caught off guard by the unexpected compliment.
In all the years since she became a jinchūriki, she had felt very little kindness from others. Even if some people had been warm to her at first, once they learned about her identity, their attitude changed to deep-seated fear and disgust—far more intense than with anyone else.
A simple breakfast: two fried eggs, a small portion of steak along with some noodles, bread toast, and a glass of sweet and sour fruit juice.
Kei took less than ten minutes to prepare this meal, yet it left Yugito in awe. She ate so happily that her eyes narrowed with delight.
Meanwhile, Kei briefly sensed the two ANBU members outside the house—there were slight differences in their presence compared to yesterday—but he didn't act on it.
Instead, he picked up his glass of juice, took small sips, and casually asked Yugito about her daily life. Perhaps because the Eight-Tails frequently rampaged while the Two-Tails was relatively more well-behaved... Or maybe, in the eyes of the higher-ups in Kumo, the power of the Eight-Tails was far greater than that of the Two-Tails?
Whatever the reason, it was clear that Yugito was not as valued as Killer B in the village.
Their education was completely different.
From the moment Killer B became a jinchūriki, he had trained alongside the Third Raikage's son. But Yugito simply followed the standard path of enrolling in the Ninja Academy.
Occasionally, an ANBU ninja would send her some scrolls detailing jinchūriki training methods, but that was about it.
Kei could roughly guess the Third Raikage's thoughts. Perhaps he believed that, as a girl, Yugito needed more companionship from people her age. And as for the bullying and isolation from other children, he likely thought it was just because she wasn't strong enough yet—after all, children always admired strength.
In short, the Raikage was somewhat considerate, but only to a small extent. In Kumo, the belief in power above all else applied to most people. But the kids at the Ninja Academy, who had yet to experience the true cruelty of the ninja world, wouldn't think that far ahead. And empty companionship would only deepen Yugito's loneliness and anxiety.
"Thank you for the meal!"
After finishing her breakfast, Yugito put her hands together and bowed politely, her small face glowing with happiness.
"Chess? Cards? Or do you have a better idea?" Kei casually cleaned up the dishes and tossed them into the sink.
Musai had grabbed some bread early in the morning and disappeared—doing the dishes was the perfect chore for him! Well, that was the shinobi world for you—always cruel.
If you were not strong enough, people would sleep in your bed... take your kids... and spend your money!
"I-I'm not very good at these," Yugito admitted awkwardly, fiddling with her fingers.
She had never played any of these games before. In class, she had only watched from afar a few times, barely understanding the rules.
"No problem, I'll teach you. Hmm... let's try all of them and see which one you like."
Kei smiled, easing her embarrassment.
From a small box under the table, he took out shogi, Go, sugoroku, hanafuda, and playing cards.
Yugito listened eagerly as he explained the rules of each game.
Much like the future jinchūriki of the Seven-Tails, Fū from Taki, she quickly picked a game after hearing the rules once.
She chose sugoroku—a fun, engaging game that wouldn't be boring even with just two players.
Similar to the board game The Game of Life, it involved rolling dice to determine movement on a board, where various events could occur. The first to reach the goal would win.
Unfortunately, Yugito's luck didn't seem very good.
She kept landing on strange event spaces, like having to bark like a puppy, spin ten times with her eyes closed, cry and then laugh for five seconds, repeat three times, or walk like a noblewoman while balancing a book on her head... But every time, she laughed with pure joy.
The small room was filled with the sound of her bright, bell-like laughter. For her, this experience was so precious that it felt almost dreamlike—too good to be real.
Outside, the two ANBU members watching through the window were momentarily stunned.
Lively, cheerful, a little mischievous, and adorably naive... Was this really the same jinchūriki they knew? The one who always held her head high at the Ninja Academy, looking cold and proud—the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, Yugito?
As usual, Kei was the one who cooked lunch.
After a simple meal, the two of them played several different games, and Yugito never once seemed bored.
It wasn't until close to 8 PM, after they had dinner, that the ANBU ninja assigned to watch her finally knocked on the door, reminding Yugito that she needed to go home early since she had class at the Ninja Academy the next day.
Reluctantly, she turned back three times as she bid farewell and left.
Kei leaned against the railing, glancing at the ANBU who remained by his side. With a sigh, he spoke first.
"Do I need to go to ANBU for questioning?"
"No one suspects you. The Raikage is pleased to see someone accepting the jinchūriki."
ANBU operated in shifts, and by now, the team watching him had already changed. The one standing before him was the same squad captain from the previous night.
"So?"
"I heard you want your son to retire?"
"That's life. First, you accept that your parents are ordinary. Then, you accept that you yourself are ordinary. And finally... you accept that your child is ordinary... Lately... well, I'm just afraid he'll die on the battlefield."
Kei's lies rolled off his tongue with ease.
The ANBU captain followed his gaze, looking out at the buildings standing in the clouds, their lights glowing across the entire village. Hearing those words, he unexpectedly felt a sense of understanding.
He nodded slightly before disappearing in a flicker. "... At least fake your death before you leave, otherwise, you're really screwing me over."
Watching the ANBU's departing figure, Kei found himself understanding more and more why spies couldn't stay undercover for too long.
When lives intersected, new emotions were inevitably born. Even though he couldn't sense goodwill or malice directly, he could guess that someone must have vouched for him—otherwise, he would have been summoned for questioning by now.
Even so... Showing mercy to the enemy was cruelty to oneself.
Ye, whether for Yugito or for something else, perhaps "dying" really was the best option?
Thud, thud, thud, thud—
Urgent footsteps rushed toward the house.
Musai barreled through the door like a gust of wind. He took one look at his father, who was staring off into the sky, then kicked off his shoes and dashed into the living room. While gulping down water, he shouted, "Dad! What's for dinner?"
"Check the kitchen yourself."
"Am I even your real son? Just a bowl of leftovers?"
"Kid, there's something I've never told you... actually, I'm your stepfather. That year, in the middle of a heavy snowfall, I found you barely alive in the snow..."
"That explains why I get beaten six times every three days! You old— Ow! I was wrong, I was wrong! Dad, I was wrong!"
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
After receiving his father's "tough love," he obediently ate his bowl of cold leftovers.
"Dad, this morning, I checked. I can fill out the retirement application myself. I told my teammates too. I said I was going to retire and raise pigs... but they suggested I raise cows instead."
"... Fine. Do both." Kei gave him a strange look.
A kid this honest was rare these days.
"How many cows and pigs can we afford? Renting land costs money, right? Do we even have that much?"
"You really willing to quit being a ninja?"
"This morning, my teammates saw you buying flowers. Calla lilies—those are for mourning the dead, aren't they?"
"That's right."
"What?"
"Submit your application tomorrow. After that, I'll rent you land and buy you some cows."
"You still haven't told me how much money we actually have. If we can only afford one or two cows, we won't be able to survive."
"You won't starve."