Chapter 263: A Misstep Leads to Misunderstanding, Hyuga Suzune Gets the Wrong Idea

A guest from the Cloud Village?

I'm a born-and-bred Konoha resident!!

"Pfft~~~"

Minato, who was secretly spying from the shadows, almost burst out laughing.

He knew Takuya was helping Nawaki set up this meeting, so he followed secretly to watch the drama unfold. Nawaki had been agonizing for over an hour before finally mustering the courage to say hello, which had been driving Minato crazy with impatience.

But Nawaki's clumsy way of introducing himself had caused a huge misunderstanding.

A guest from the Cloud Village?

Hahaha, this is killing me!

I can't laugh, I can't laugh—if Nawaki finds out I'm spying, he'll kill me!

But it was just too funny.

Minato covered his mouth, his face turning red from trying to suppress his laughter. Tears welled up in his eyes, streaming down as he tried his best to laugh silently, but it was a struggle.

"No, no, I'm not from the Cloud Village. I'm from Konoha! My name's Nawaki, from the Senju clan, and Tsunade is my sister!!!" Nawaki stammered, desperately trying to explain.

Hyuga Meiko gave him a suspicious look for a few seconds.

"Tsunade's younger brother?"

"You're that silly one from before…?" Meiko finally recalled. She had run into Nawaki on the streets once before, back when she and Hyuga Suzune had greeted Takuya. Nawaki had just stood there, wide-eyed, looking like a deer in headlights.

"…"

"Pu-haha~~~"

Nawaki felt a sharp stab in his heart.

Silly?

Do I really look that dumb?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to call you silly, really," Meiko quickly apologized after realizing her mistake.

But her attempt to smooth things over only made Nawaki feel worse.

"Haha… haha…" All Nawaki could do was scratch his head and laugh awkwardly.

"I'm Hyuga Meiko, Suzune-sama's attendant. If there's nothing else, could you please leave? I'm waiting for Suzune-sama," Meiko added coldly, her tone polite but distant.

The message was clear: leave quickly, I don't have time or patience to chat with you.

"Uh… could I treat you to dinner?" Nawaki asked, refusing to give up. Even though he was starting to question everything, he wanted to at least try. If he didn't even dare to invite her, what kind of person would that make him?

"Dinner?" Meiko wasn't the type to miss subtle cues. She quickly caught on and asked:

"You like me?"

"…"

Was it that obvious?

Nawaki's face turned beet red, and he stiffly nodded his head.

"Heh~" Meiko's smile didn't reach her eyes. She even reached out and patted Nawaki's shoulder.

"Now I understand why Lord Yagami arranged for Suzune-sama to come here. So, it was all for this, and he even made sure to leave me out."

"Nawaki, right?" Meiko said, her tone serious. "You've tried hard, but let me tell you something: don't make this difficult for yourself, and don't make it hard for me.

I'm from the branch family of the Hyuga clan, and we don't marry outside the clan. Besides, I already have a fiancé, and we'll be getting married next year. Do you understand?"

It felt like something had shattered.

Nawaki's face turned pale as he tried to act normal, but he just couldn't manage it.

Minato, still hiding in the shadows, wasn't laughing anymore either. He suddenly felt bad for Nawaki.

The girl he liked already had a fiancé, and they were getting married next year. Could anything be worse than that?

And what made it worse, there wasn't even a way to fight for her.

Not knowing where to even begin digging—it must feel awful.

Takuya was still speaking seriously to Hyuga Suzune, and she was listening attentively.

After finishing his story, Takuya felt his throat going dry. It had been a long time since he'd talked this much in one go, and it was uncomfortable.

"Cough, cough. That's pretty much everything. Other than that, there weren't any other interesting incidents," he said.

"Captain, I don't think you invited me here just to ask about taijutsu problems, right?"

"Cough, cough, cough!!!"

Takuya's eyes widened in surprise.

"I was just curious. If someone from outside the clan falls in love with a girl from the Hyuga clan, but the Hyuga don't marry outside the clan, what could they do to be together?"

Was I asking this for Nawaki?

Yeah, I guess so. Might as well see it through and help him out. It'll give me something to talk about, so things aren't so awkward.

"Ah?" Suzune gasped, covering her mouth in shock. Her cheeks flushed as she stared at Takuya in disbelief.

Did the captain invite her out on purpose, patiently tell her all those stories, and then ask how an outsider could be with a Hyuga girl?

Could it be… Captain likes me?!

Suzune's heart raced wildly.

"What's wrong? Why is your face so red?" Takuya asked, reaching out his hand. But Suzune leaped back like a startled rabbit.

"I-I'm feeling a little tired, Captain. I'll head back now. Let's meet again another time," she stammered before bowing her head and quickly running off.

Takuya was left standing there, completely bewildered.

"What happened, Suzune-sama?" Meiko asked, concerned.

"Huh?!" Suzune jumped and quickly shook her head.

"Nothing, I'm just feeling a little warm. Meiko, let's go home."

Are you sure? Meiko thought. Suzune-sama, your face is so red.

Could something bad have happened in the training grounds?

The thought alarmed Meiko. Did Yagami Takuya do something inappropriate to Suzune-sama?!

"Suzune-sama, wait for me!" Meiko called, wanting to confront Takuya, but Suzune was running so fast that she had no choice but to grit her teeth and follow.

"Crap! Did I just try to help Nawaki but accidentally make things worse?" Takuya scratched his head, still confused.

The question he'd asked had been for Nawaki, but from Suzune's reaction, it seemed like she'd misunderstood.

Come on, I'm perfectly happy with my own life. Why would I go stirring up trouble with Hyuga Suzune?

Handling branch family girls is complicated enough—dealing with someone from the main family? No, thanks.

I've done my part helping Nawaki. Whether he succeeds is up to him now. As for the future... I'll just keep my distance.

After calming his thoughts, Takuya left the training grounds.

"Come quick, I think Nawaki needs some cheering up."

At the entrance to the training grounds, Nawaki sat on the ground, his eyes dull and lifeless. Minato, who had been trying to comfort him, waved to Takuya.

He had been hiding in the shadows, enjoying the show, but now that Nawaki was clearly devastated, Minato had felt too guilty to keep hiding and had come out to offer comfort.

Unfortunately, it wasn't working. Nawaki looked like he had lost all meaning in life.

"What's going on? Why is he so crushed?" Takuya asked.

"He got rejected." Minato shrugged, sighing. "Hyuga Meiko already has a fiancé and is getting married next year, so Nawaki's got no hope. And Meiko's got a good head on her shoulders, so she's not looking to cause trouble for herself either."

Well, that was that, then.

If he had fallen for a girl who was headstrong and willing to defy everything for love, Nawaki might have had a chance to push through. Maybe he could have persisted until the Hyuga clan finally gave in.

But in Nawaki's case, it was just tough luck.

For a while, Takuya didn't know what to say to comfort him either.

So, the three of them sat together in silence.

After what felt like an eternity, with the sun high in the sky, Nawaki finally stirred.

"Does this count as a breakup?" he asked, his voice hollow.

________________Bonus chapter___________

Next Bonus: 4000 Power Stones ╰ (´꒳`) ╯

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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 320+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. ಥ‿ಥ

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