People on the street witnessed a very peculiar scene. A short, red-haired kunoichi was constantly stabbing a tall, shirtless man all over, but the man didn't seem affected in the slightest. He only complained when the woman stabbed his pants.
"How does it exactly work?" Ameyuri asked me as she stabbed my chest for the tenth time, showing a curious expression like Haku's.
"I'm immune to physical attacks; think of it like the Hozuki clan's hydration technique, but in my case, I'm the embodiment of lightning," I explained. "Stop stabbing my pants! Do you want to have a honeymoon right here and now?"
"Tsk! You're no fun," Ameyuri grumbled as she lowered Kiba while turning her head to hide her flushed cheeks.
It had been an hour since her impossible recovery, and she was still embarrassed about how she behaved in what she thought would be her inevitable deathbed. She didn't expect to leave Kirigakure pursuing what she thought would be her last "meal" and end up miraculously healing and defecting from the village she grew up in, to join a newly established one. And least of all, to end up with a fiancé!
She had focused so much on swordsmanship and getting Kiba from a young age that by the time she achieved her goal, her personality and reputation only instilled fear or respect in the male side. Combined with her illness, which guaranteed an early death before reaching twenty-five, she had given up the foolishness of dreaming about love. She never expected to find herself in this situation...
(I couldn't find exact dates or her age before the illness claimed her life, so let's assume she's twenty-two in this timeline.)
Enel was tall, powerful, confident, and mysterious. It didn't seem so bad to have someone care for her; it was a novel feeling for someone who grew up under the Blood Mist's policy.
"I like that smile," Ameyuri touched her face, not understanding when she started smiling.
"Shut up! Give me another one of those apples," she demanded, shouting and reaching out her hand.
The sharp teeth she had grown up with had always been used to threaten and instill fear in her enemies. It felt strange to her when she told him that she liked his smile!
"Sure, dear," I teased as I handed her another apple.
It's funny how she has moments of tsundere and others where she's brutally direct.
"You!" the kunoichi could only take an annoyed bite of the apple to calm herself. The problem was that the taste of the apple reminded her of her first kiss, which made her even more agitated!
"You said we would return to the village, so why are we buying these things?" Ameyuri asked, looking at the large bag on my back.
It was very convenient that the kunoichi joined me, so I could use some of the sealing scroll money for the purchases.
"Although the village is mostly self-sufficient, due to its location, there's no way to establish a trade route with it yet, so we're missing some things."
"Where is our village?"
"I don't want to spoil the surprise," I told her, giving her a smile as I noticed how naturally she used the word "our." She was adapting quickly.
"Whatever..." Ameyuri grumbled as she finished the apple and reached out her hand again, where I silently deposited another apple in tacit understanding. She really liked my apples. "By the way, what's your position in Seimeigakure?"
"I founded it, so I guess I'm the... Seikage? Seimeikage?" I'm not exactly sure what the correct mnemonic word would be, so I stuck with Seimeikage for now.
(Is it correct, or what do you think would be the title for the Kage of Seimeigakure?)
"So you're both the founder and the Kage, not bad," she liked men with initiative and despised cowards. Knowing she would be the wife, wait a minute! "Do you intend to have multiple wives?"
"It depends on how things develop, but it's possible," I replied honestly about my personal desires as I turned to look her in the eyes. "Do you mind the idea?" I asked, interested in her reaction.
"Nah, it's normal for Kage and powerful people to have multiple wives," she shook her head, much to my surprise, before narrowing her eyes. "But I'll be the first wife, and if I'm going to have a 'sister,' I hope you're not selfish and also listen to my opinion."
It seems like I still need to adapt to this world's culture.
"I think that's fair," I agreed because I was pretty sure that unless I found a woman with a weak character, it wouldn't be a problem to get Ameyuri's approval. A relationship is a two-way street after all (especially in my foreseeable future), and I never intended to have what they call "trophy wives."
"And one last thing..." she reached out again towards my neck, but realizing that I wasn't wearing a shirt, she hung onto my neck and held my head in her hands, looking into my eyes with a promise of pain in her gaze. "If the thought of having children ever crosses your mind, you better make me your first choice, or I'll turn you into a eunuch. Is that clear?"
Damn, lady! It would be much more intimidating if her face weren't as red as a grenade when she made that declaration. How can I resist when you're so direct and sincere?
I took advantage of her position and kissed her when her guard was down. I felt her tense for a moment in surprise, but she relaxed and didn't pull away.
"I promise," I told her after a few seconds of enjoyment.
"You better!" she said in a low voice before getting off me and standing by my side as we continued walking.
I sighed in relief that she didn't think of pulling my ears!
Should I cut my earlobes to a normal size? It would only take two weeks to heal such a small wound, even less if I cauterize it with a small discharge. Hmm, I'll think about it later. The idea of self-mutilation just for aesthetic reasons never appealed to me.
Back to reality, I needed to figure out a way to get supplies without having to personally go every time to fetch them. The first thing that came to mind was using something like the summoning jutsu, which is a space-time technique. However, Haku was just starting to learn about being a ninja, and Pakura would be too busy teaching Haku. Neither of them had knowledge of fuinjutsu needed to set up a round-trip platform.
It seems I need to find and, ahem, invite an expert in high-level sealing techniques.
I'm trying a new translation program, I'll let you know if I see that it solves, among other things, the constant gender changes. You can see proof in one of the recent chapters of my HP fanfic.