Chapter 18: Apology

It was already evening by the time Ren finished reporting to Danzo at the Root headquarters.

Danzo's only response was to continue the surveillance mission the next day.

Ren returned home, and not long after washing up, Tenten showed up again. Familiar with the place, she casually opened his fridge and pulled out some leftover dango.

"You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? My mom made sushi rice, and I brought you some leftovers."

Ren, drying his hair with a towel, looked at the bento box Tenten placed on the table.

"What kind?"

"Salmon."

When Ren opened the bento box, he noticed that it had already been eaten from. He gave Tenten a look.

"Cough, I told you, I didn't finish it earlier," Tenten said awkwardly, trying to cover her embarrassment with a cough.

Without saying anything, Ren picked up the used chopsticks and started eating. He didn't seem to mind. Sitting on the chair, Tenten occasionally glanced at him while nibbling on the dango.

"It's salty," Ren commented while eating.

"Right? I thought so too," Tenten nodded, her eyes darting around.

"By the way, Ren," she said.

"Hmm?" Ren replied while focusing on his meal.

"When I came back earlier, I saw an older girl walking back and forth in front of your house." Tenten's eyes were fixed on Ren.

"Who was she?"

Ren was slightly surprised, but he continued eating. "I don't know."

Tenten thought for a moment, still holding the dango. "She seemed like she had something to talk to you about. I saw her walking around for quite a while."

"Yeah."

"Ren, do you have any close female friends?" Tenten asked, as if trying to sound casual.

"No."

"Oh." Tenten responded, kicking her legs while spinning the bamboo stick in her fingers.

The sushi rice was indeed salty. Ren suddenly stood up, went to the fridge, and pulled out a drink. He opened it and took a sip.

"I want some too!" Tenten exclaimed.

Ren handed her the drink he had already opened.

Tenten held the bottle with both hands, looked at the mouth of the bottle for a moment, and then took a sip.

"Ahh~," she sighed contentedly and chuckled to herself.

Ren finished the sushi rice, set the empty bento on the table, and Tenten stood up to clean up the box and chopsticks.

"I'm leaving now," she said to Ren.

"Mm."

As she reached the door, Ren suddenly called out to her.

"Tenten."

"Hmm? What is it, Ren?"

Ren motioned toward the drink in her hand. "Aren't you worried your mom will scold you if you bring that home?"

"Oh, right," Tenten realized. She immediately tilted her head back and downed the whole drink in one go.

She placed the empty can on the table and waved at Ren.

"Goodnight, Ren."

She closed the door behind her, leaving Ren staring at the empty can on the table, lost in thought.

"This girl has such a big appetite, she drank the whole thing in one go," he muttered.

The next day, Ren found out who the older girl Tenten had mentioned was.

As he returned home around the same time, he saw Anko lingering in front of his door.

He was a little surprised.

"Uh... Ren," Anko said awkwardly, clearly feeling uncomfortable.

"Do you need something?" Ren asked coldly.

"I... I came to apologize," Anko said, nervously scratching her cheek, her eyes darting around. She had asked around to find out where Ren lived.

Ren glanced at her, then walked past her, unlocking the door to his house.

"No need," he replied flatly.

"About the other day... It was Gekkō and the others being too rash. I hope you don't take it to heart," Anko said hurriedly.

Ren suddenly turned his head and stared at her with his deep, piercing gaze, startling her.

"Are you here to apologize for yourself, or for them?" he asked.

"Huh?" Anko was taken aback, not fully understanding the meaning behind Ren's words.

"Weren't they standing up for you? And they got hurt because of it. Is that how you talk about your friends?"

Bang!

Ren shut the door, leaving Anko standing there, frozen in place.

The street was bustling with people, the evening sun casting long shadows.

Tenten sat on the doorstep of her family's ninja tool shop, resting her chin on her hands as she watched Anko standing outside Ren's door.

Who is that woman?

She looks much older than Ren...

Did they have a fight just now?

What's their relationship, anyway?

Argh, I really want to know…

After battling with her curiosity for a while, Tenten finally couldn't hold it in any longer. She stood up and walked over to Anko.

Just as Anko was about to leave, having stood there for a while, she suddenly noticed a small girl with a bun hairstyle standing beside her.

"Hello, big sister," Tenten greeted with a sweet smile.

"Oh, hi," Anko replied, surprised.

"Why have you been standing here for so long?" Tenten asked, still smiling.

"I was just about to leave," Anko said.

"What's your relationship with Ren?" Tenten asked again.

Ren...? Does she mean Ren...?

Anko hesitated. Could she really say they were friends? Ren didn't seem to see her that way. But at this point, they weren't exactly strangers either...

Seeing Anko's difficulty in answering, Tenten's imagination began to run wild.

"Did you come here for something?" Tenten asked.

After a moment of thought, Anko replied, "I came to apologize."

"Apologize?" Tenten was surprised.

"Yes… I made a mistake," Anko said slowly. "I owe a lot of people an apology."

A lot of people...?

Tenten froze for a moment, and then her expression turned to one of horror.

Cheating?!

Anko glanced at Ren's closed door again, thinking she'd come back tomorrow, and quickly turned to leave.

Tenten, on the other hand, ran up to Ren's door and began knocking furiously.

A moment later, Ren opened the door and poked his head out. "You're going to break the door with all that banging."

"Ren!" Tenten looked at him with a face full of pity, and as soon as the door opened, she reached out and hugged his waist.

"What's going on?" Ren was confused.

"Being betrayed must feel so awful," Tenten said with concern. "But don't worry, you still have me. I'll always stay by your side."

"What are you even talking about?" Ren sighed, pulling Tenten off him.

"The woman just now," Tenten explained.

The woman... Anko?

Ren looked around and spotted Anko walking away in the distance.

"What kind of nonsense are you imagining? There's nothing between me and her."

Pushing Tenten out of the room, Ren closed the door with a loud bang.

Outside, Tenten mulled over Ren's words and let out a sigh of relief.

It's nothing... that's good...

Thinking back to what she had said earlier, Tenten blushed slightly.

What did I even say? I hope Ren didn't take it too seriously...

...

On the third day, Ren found Anko standing outside his door again.

Does this woman ever stop?

Ren thought with frustration.

"Ren!" Anko called out as soon as she saw him approaching.

"What now?" Ren asked, feeling irritated.

"I went home yesterday and thought about it. The way I spoke wasn't right, so I came today to apologize for what happened before and for yesterday," Anko said seriously.

"My friends only acted that way because of me. If you're upset, you can take it out on me. It's not their fault."

Ren stopped in front of her and spoke coolly, "Listen closely."

"Your apology doesn't matter. Whether it's about what happened before or yesterday, I don't care. I wasn't the one who suffered, and I'm not going to retaliate against you."

"Because none of you or anything you did is worth my time."

"So... you're not angry?" Anko asked.

This stupid woman, I'm insulting you, and you don't even realize it?

Ren thought, but he replied, "If you keep showing up at my door every day, I can't promise I won't get angry."

Anko sighed in relief and gave Ren a smile. "Sorry for bothering you."

Ren didn't respond, walking past her and entering his home.

"Goodbye, Ren!" Anko called after him.

Ren simply shut the door behind him with a bang.

Meanwhile, Tenten, still sitting at the door of her family's ninja tool shop, watched Anko leave with a smile, despite Ren's cold treatment. Tenten couldn't help but scoff.

"Shameless!"

"Foxy woman."