Eh?!
Suddenly being pulled into the house by Kaede, both Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara froze. The thoughts of these precocious young girls took off like runaway trains.
What is Kaede planning?
He pulled her into the house so suddenly… could it be that he's about to…?
But Rin is here too! Is he thinking about both of them at once? That's way too scummy and lewd! Absolutely unacceptable!
And yet…
It is an opportunity…
Rin, on the other hand, was thinking pretty much the same thing. Her thoughts, too, flew to far-off places, leaving her looking a bit stiff and awkward.
"It's not a confidential mission, so I don't mind telling you. Just don't spread it around. My participation in the Chunin Exams is a mission assigned by the Hokage."
As Kaede walked toward the living room, he spoke casually, breaking the tense, awkward silence that had left the two girls speechless.
Kurenai blinked, stunned.
She and Rin exchanged a glance, both of them clearly embarrassed, and quickly looked away in unison. The earlier tension between them seemed to fade slightly.
Kaede caught the look between them and couldn't help but smile inwardly. If they were older, maybe he could feel some actual tension in the air, but with two girls who hadn't even reached nine years old yet, all he could think was how adorable the whole situation was.
Still, seriously, what were you two little lolis just imagining?!
Kaede walked into the living room and poured himself a glass of water. He gestured toward the fridge and said, "There's milk and soda in there. Help yourselves to whatever you want."
"uh… right,"
The two girls gradually snapped out of it. Kurenai looked at Kaede, her eyes showing a hint of surprise. "Kaede, you just said… the Hokage gave you this mission?"
"Mm-hmm."
Kaede nodded. "It's like what you already know. This Chunin Exam is practically a small war. Its outcome could even influence Konoha's negotiations with Kirigakure. Even if the impact is minimal, it's still very important. So Konoha is treating this very seriously, and I was specifically chosen to participate."
Rin was briefly stunned. "So your early graduation was part of the Hokage's plan too?"
"Yeah."
Kaede shrugged with a helpless smile. "If it weren't for this mission, I would've liked to stay at the academy a few more months with you guys."
Kurenai, still processing everything, suddenly thought of something. She looked at Kaede, eyes filled with awe. "The Hokage personally selected you to participate… does that mean your strength has been acknowledged by the Hokage?"
Rin also looked at Kaede in disbelief.
It all sounded too incredible to be true. If it were anyone else saying these things, they would've dismissed it as nonsense. But because it was Kaede, they believed him.
"Well…"
Kaede grinned. "What if I told you… Kakashi's never beaten me? Would you believe it?"
on this question, the girls were in perfect agreement.
Yes!
They believed it instantly, Kaede could totally do that!
Even if he hadn't shown off that much recently, they'd still believe him a little. But after seeing him effortlessly defeat Hyuga Homon, they had almost no doubt in their hearts.
Kurenai looked a little dazed. "So all those rumors were false… but Kaede, you never denied them…"
"Kakashi's my little brother. Do I really need to compete with him?"
Kaede smiled again. "Besides, if I'd graduated early, I wouldn't have become friends with you two. Wouldn't that have been a shame?"
Both girls nodded in agreement, the faintest blush appearing on their cheeks.
And thinking about it now…
Even while constantly surrounded by those rumors, Kaede still came to class every day with a calm and cheerful attitude. He was never affected by the gossip. Compared to the impulsive, immature boys in class, Kaede didn't seem to have a single flaw!
Falling for someone probably feels like this.
The way they looked at Kaede made him feel slightly uneasy. He coughed lightly, breaking the strange atmosphere.
If they were older, fifteen, sixteen, maybe eighteen, he wouldn't mind that kind of gaze. In a world where ninja have short lifespans, that's basically adulthood. But now, that kind of look was… a little dangerous.
Dangerous enough to rival Kaguya otsutsuki herself.
"A-ahem. I didn't expect to be visiting your house like this today. Sorry for the intrusion," Kurenai said quickly, trying to change the subject as she looked away.
Rin, coming back to her senses, looked at Kaede with admiration. "No wonder the Hokage chose you… But still, please be careful. There'll probably be some really strong opponents from the other villages."
"I'll be careful," Kaede replied with a smile. He then looked at Kurenai. "Sorry for pulling you in so suddenly, but I didn't want to explain things like this out in the open…"
As he spoke, Kaede casually glanced toward the entrance, but didn't pause.
Meanwhile…
At the door
Just as Kakashi was about to push the door open, he heard the conversation inside. Silently, he retracted his hand.
"one… two… You've finally stopped acting human, huh…"
Even though he already knew how popular Kaede was at school, this was the first time he'd seen him bring two girls home. After hesitating for a moment, he gave up on entering.
Kakashi muttered to himself.
He really didn't understand Kaede's behavior.
In Kakashi's mind, girls were troublesome creatures, especially during missions. They often held the team back. Worse, there were always those foolish enough to abandon the mission just to protect one, nearly causing failure.
Just recently, there'd been such an incident, and it had led to a huge argument, almost a fight, between him and another teammate, only resolved by their jonin instructor stepping in.
one girl was already that much trouble. Two? The trouble would only multiply.
From a certain point of view… maybe that was actually impressive.
At least Kakashi knew he could never pull it off.
But what worried him most was the direction this was all heading. If things kept going like this, Kaede might end up with a lot of sister-in-laws in the future… and just imagining having to deal with that gave him a headache.