Chapter 36: Indifference and Enthusiasm

"Nai, Anko," Uzuki Yugao called out, patting the seat next to her, gesturing to the two women. Being surrounded by all these men made her feel a bit out of place, so she was glad her friends had finally arrived.

"Oh, sure," Anko responded, pulling Kurenai along as they walked in, though her eyes kept darting toward Ren.

What's Asuma trying to pull here? He said this was just a simple get-together…

Kurenai remained silent, her head lowered, following behind Anko without even greeting anyone.

"Nai?" Asuma called out softly, noticing something was off with Kurenai.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"You're hurting my wrist," Anko suddenly complained, glancing back at Kurenai.

Realizing her grip, Kurenai quickly released Anko's hand, awkwardly raising her head to offer a shaky smile to the group. "I'm fine."

Without waiting for a response, she rushed over to sit beside Yugao, avoiding further attention.

Anko, finding the situation odd, sat between Asuma and Kurenai in the remaining seat. Asuma, who had purposefully arranged for Kurenai to sit next to him, felt a pang of disappointment now that Anko had taken the spot.

Ren continued to eat his grilled meat silently, not paying attention to the others around him.

"Ahem, now that everyone's here, I guess I should say a few words," Asuma cleared his throat, drawing chuckles from the group.

"I know it might seem selfish, putting this gathering together without giving everyone a heads-up."

Anko, resting her head on her hand while propping up her elbow on the low table, felt intrigued by Ren's presence but kept a casual demeanor.

"A few days ago, I was sent on a mission to the Land of Hot Water," Asuma continued. "It was a close call—I nearly died there. If it weren't for Ren, I wouldn't be here."

Everyone exchanged surprised glances, their attention shifting to Anko and Ebisu. They'd heard a similar story before.

"I know there's been some misunderstandings between us in the past, but I hope we can put all that behind us and get along from now on."

Kakashi, listening from his seat, started piecing things together. It seemed like there had been some tension between Ren and the others, but now that Ren had saved Asuma, Asuma was hoping this could be a chance for reconciliation. It was a well-meaning intention, something Asuma thought would bring everyone closer.

But...

Kakashi glanced at Ren, who was quietly eating his grilled meat, then back at the others with varying expressions.

Some seemed invested in this attempt at peace, while others appeared indifferent.

"It wasn't a misunderstanding," Genma suddenly spoke up, causing Asuma to tense.

"We were definitely in the wrong. Right, Hayate, Aoba, Raido?"

The three nodded in agreement.

"I get that you're trying to smooth things over, Asuma, but we need to acknowledge what really happened. It's not right to just brush it aside as a 'misunderstanding' and pretend everything's fine."

Asuma offered a nervous smile, unsure how to respond.

"Ren, we were out of line back then. We did some things that were way out of bounds," Genma said seriously, taking the needle out of his mouth and addressing Ren directly.

Ren paused his eating, slowly placing down his chopsticks, his expression calm.

"There's no need to apologize," he said flatly. "I didn't care to begin with."

Kakashi observed Ren's face, sensing an underlying message in his words.

He didn't say anything about forgiveness…

This guy is as cold as ever, Kakashi thought.

Asuma quickly took the opportunity to laugh, "Alright then, we can move past this now."

The tension in the air seemed to dissipate slightly, and smiles began to reappear on people's faces.

"By the way, Ren, you're really something. That Golden Binding Jutsu—I've never seen anyone use it so effectively," Genma casually continued, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, I didn't even see you form any hand signs," Aoba chimed in.

"It's just a basic technique," Ren replied calmly.

"Ren, we should spar sometime," Guy eagerly suggested, his competitive spirit flaring up once more.

"No time," Ren answered bluntly.

"Huh?" Guy looked dumbfounded.

"Ren's in the Anbu. He's usually very busy," Asuma quickly explained.

"Anbu?" Yugao looked surprised. "I'm in Anbu too. Which unit are you in?"

Ren glanced at Yugao, about to answer, but Kakashi jumped in. "He's in a special division. You wouldn't know about it."

Anko sat quietly, watching as Ren became the center of attention. Something about this whole situation didn't sit well with her.

When Genma and the others apologized earlier, she felt like she should've said something too.

But what would she even say? Acknowledging her mistakes and apologizing? It was hard to find the right words, especially when Ren had this knack for making people feel awkward.

She glanced down at the sizzling grilled meat, but despite its juicy appearance, she had no appetite.

"Nai, Are you okay?" Yugao asked suddenly, noticing how pale Kurenai looked.

"Huh?" Kurenai looked startled. As she raised her head, she accidentally knocked over a cup of drink on the table, frantically trying to clean it up.

"I'm fine, really. Just a little clumsy today," she muttered.

"Are you sure? You seem—" Yugao started to press further.

But before she could finish, the spilled drink had drawn everyone's attention. Asuma laughed, trying to redirect the conversation. "You know, we've got another genjutsu master here with us."

"Kurenai's genjutsu skills are at a jōnin level. She's preparing for the special jōnin exams right now. You two should definitely exchange techniques sometime."

Ren's gaze fell on Kurenai, instantly making her feel like she was being pierced by sharp thorns.

"Maybe sometime," Ren replied indifferently.

Kurenai stayed silent, staring down at the smoke rising from the grill, her black hair hiding her face in shadows.

"Nai?" Asuma called again, puzzled by her silence.

"…Yeah," Kurenai finally muttered, taking a deep breath. "I'm not that good yet. I'm still far from where I need to be for that kind of exchange."

"It's fine," Ren said quietly, his voice carrying a weight that made her stiffen.

"I'm only a chūnin, after all."

"Ren," Anko called out hesitantly as she hurried to catch up with him.

He stopped, turning his head slightly to acknowledge her presence without saying a word.

Anko took a deep breath, clearly a bit uncomfortable. "Listen... about what happened before... I guess I should've said something back there during dinner, but—"

"You don't need to explain," Ren cut her off, his tone calm but distant, much like it had been throughout the entire evening.

"But I do!" Anko insisted, stepping in front of him, forcing him to stop and face her. "I mean, I don't care what the others think, but I acted like an idiot before. I let things get way out of hand."

Ren simply stared at her, his expression unreadable, as if none of this truly mattered to him. Anko struggled with the silence and finally pushed herself to continue.

"I just wanted to say... I'm sorry."

The words hung in the air for a moment. Anko's eyes searched his face, hoping for some kind of reaction, something to show that her apology mattered. But Ren remained impassive, his gaze steady.

"You don't need to apologize," Ren said again, his voice cool but not harsh. "Like I said earlier, I didn't care about what happened."

Anko blinked, caught off guard by the simplicity of his response. She wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or frustrated.

"But... we made a mess of things. And I was part of that mess," she muttered, her usual boldness slipping away as she tried to find the right words. "I just want to clear the air, you know?"

Ren gave her a slight nod, as if acknowledging her effort but not engaging any further. "You've said what you needed to say. That's enough."

He turned to leave, but Anko couldn't help herself from calling after him one last time.

"Ren!"

He paused, glancing back over his shoulder.

"You know... you're kind of hard to figure out," she said, half-smiling, trying to lighten the tension. "But I guess that's not a bad thing."

Ren didn't respond to that. Instead, he turned fully and continued walking, leaving Anko standing there, her half-smile fading into a quiet sigh.

As Ren walked away, his thoughts were calm, unaffected by the brief exchange. Apologies, misunderstandings—these were just minor details to him. He had no interest in dwelling on them.

But for Anko, standing alone on the quiet street, she realized that while she'd said her piece, she still felt like there was more to figure out about Ren—more than what met her eyes.

...

The night was calm as Ren moved through the streets, his mind returning to the mission at hand. There was still much to consider, far beyond the distractions of dinner gatherings and apologies.

Ren's path was set.

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