Class was about to start. Not only would Kage see her face, but so would the other classmates.
She would die of embarrassment.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have secretly used mom's stuff..."
Desperately scrubbing her face with tap water, Ino looked at her flower-painted face in the mirror and couldn't help but feel like crying without tears.
Just then, a few more figures suddenly appeared in the mirror.
"Yo, isn't this our Miss Cosmos?"
"Hiding in the bathroom, afraid to show her face?"
"So she's turned into an ugly freak, huh!"
"You guys... I'm not an ugly freak!"
Ino instantly recognized the girls, those who had bullied Sakura before.
Looks like they were holding a grudge because she stood up for Sakura.
This is bad. In her current state, they'd definitely spread rumors...
Thinking that, Ino fearfully took a step back.
"Bet you're too scared to walk out of the bathroom like that, ugly freak!"
Seeing the fear on Ino's face, the girls instantly grew bolder.
"I'm not ug—"
Splash!
No one knew where they got the bucket of water from, but the last girl threw the water, and the metal bucket, right onto Ino.
"Oops, now you're a drowned rat."
"You guys!"
Ino wiped the dripping water from her face, furious and about to fight back, but as soon as she raised her fists, the three girls had already fled to the bathroom entrance.
In the hallway, the sunlight was just right, and voices of other students echoed faintly.
'No way, I can't go out like this!'
Clenching her trembling fists, Ino backed into the bathroom again.
"Let's go. That ugly freak's frozen in place. Let's find Uchiha Kage and show him!"
Thinking of a better way to bully Ino, the girls quickly walked off.
"No, don't... you guys..."
Ino hurried to chase after them to stop them, but as soon as she stepped out, she ran into other students coming to use the bathroom. Helpless, she hid back inside.
To make sure no one, especially Uchiha Kage, saw her, she locked herself in a bathroom stall.
As long as she didn't open the door and waited until after school, surely no one would be around...
But...
Drip! Drip!
Cold water still trickled down her body.
Drenched, Ino hugged herself, shivering.
"So cold... today's just..."
Those three damned girls, she'd definitely get back at them tomorrow.
Step! Step!
But just as Ino was praying that she could somehow sneak by today, and cursing those three girls, the bell rang, and with it, a set of footsteps that instantly made her sensitive.
"Those three were definitely up to no good."
Uchiha Kage had come to the bathroom but didn't see anyone.
Just as he shook his head, ready to return to class, he noticed a bucket tipped over by the sink, and a trail of wet footprints leading to one of the stalls in the girls' bathroom.
'Oh no! That's Kage's voice...', Recognizing the familiar voice, Ino shut her eyes in panic.
But after a while without hearing anything else, she let out a small breath of relief.
Right. She was in a girls' stall. No matter how bold Kage was, he couldn't come in here...
"Why are you hiding here?", Suddenly, a voice next to her made the girl jump out of her skin.
"Ah!"
Sitting on the toilet, Ino looked up in shock, and saw Uchiha Kage leaning over the partition above, half his body visible, looking down at her from above.
"How did you... mmph!"
She had just wanted to ask how he knew she was in this stall, but realizing what was going on, Ino hurriedly covered her painted face with both hands.
Crap—
'He definitely saw me when I looked up just now!'
"Your footprints gave you away. Tracking them is basic ninja training, right?"
Looking at the dripping-wet Ino, Uchiha Kage was slightly surprised.
Wasn't she usually acting all tough and bossy? How'd she end up getting bullied like this?
———
Anyway, after understanding everything that had happened, Uchiha Kage finally managed to drag the reluctant girl out of the bathroom.
"Do I look really ugly right now...?"
Carefully tugging at the boy's sleeve with one hand and covering her cheek with the other, Ino followed behind Kage in despair.
"Kids don't really understand these things..."
Seeing the tears about to spill from her big eyes, Uchiha Kage changed his tone.
"To be honest, even without makeup, you're the prettiest girl in the whole ninja academy, both inside and out."
Uchiha Kage had personally witnessed the moment when Ino stood up to protect Sakura.
As for this current flower-faced Ino, he just found her cute.
That's why, kids really don't know anything about beauty or ugliness...
"R-Really?"
Ino slowly moved her hand away from her face. Seeing that Kage neither laughed like Sakura had nor looked at her with any strange expression, she finally relaxed.
Then came a wave of happiness from being complimented.
'Kage said I'm the prettiest girl in school?'
"Alright, this is your house, right?"
"Mm..."
So they weren't heading to class, he was walking her home...
Ino then looked up and saw her front door.
"I already asked Iruka-sensei for leave on your behalf. You can change clothes and come to class later."
Looking at the shivering girl soaked to the bone, Uchiha Kage thought school bullying really shouldn't exist.
"Thank you..."
"Ino! How dare you ruin my cosmetics like this, you must have a death wish!"
Before Ino could finish her thanks, her demon-like mother had appeared before her, along with that familiar feather duster.
———
[Yamanaka Residence]
"Ah!"
Ino sat up in bed, startled awake by the memory of her mother's feather duster. She patted her modest, but growing chest.
"So it really was a dream."
A beautiful dream filled with memories made Ino smile in contentment.
Even after seeing her ugliest side, he still called her the prettiest girl...
'Ah... that's Kage for you. That's the Kage I like!'
She hugged her soft body pillow like a lovesick girl, legs clamped tight, rolling on the bed twice before slowly calming her flustered mood.
"And that stuff earlier must've been a dream too, right?"
Getting sent to the Land of Rain during Ninja War II, meeting the Shinigami and Sage of Six Paths.
Helping a blue-haired little girl find a safe village, and going around like a savior, stopping ninja armies from raiding innocent villages.
It was way too fantastical, no way that could've been real, right?
"But even if it was real, that version of Kage was so gentle too."
Stretching lazily, she lifted the blanket, swung her white legs over the edge of the bed, stepped barefoot into her small cotton slippers, and began tying her lovely blonde hair in front of the mirror.
"Huh? What's this..."
While looking for her comb, she unexpectedly spotted something on her desk, a special Flying Thunder God kunai she'd only seen in her dream yesterday.
That was the very item Uchiha Kage had given her "in the dream" last night.
So strange... it was just a dream...
Curiously picking up the kunai, Ino examined it for a long time and finally confirmed it, it was exactly the one from her dream.
Whatever. Dream or not, she could just ask Kage...
Carefully tucking the kunai into her ninja pouch, the girl thinking about Uchiha Kage hurriedly ran downstairs.
"Ino! Help mom with the flower shop today!"
After scarfing down her breakfast, Ino noticed her mother had been watching her the whole time.
"There'll be lots of customers today. You can go out after the rush."
"Okay..."
Ino replied weakly.
"Earlier, a blue-haired girl came to the shop. She was really pretty, bought tons of flowers and even told me to keep the change. So kind and generous..."
Dragging her reluctant daughter into the shop, Yamanaka Rino began another day of endless nagging.
Although Konoha and Sunagakure were at war, at least for now, Konoha still seemed peaceful on the surface.
———
"That Hagoromo kid caused you trouble again?"
[Dream Space]
The graceful goddess lay on the bed, occasionally glancing back at the boy sitting on her back, massaging her.
She occasionally let out restrained little noises.
"Should say I caused him trouble instead. After all, I'm a bad guy."
A bad guy who wants to turn the whole world into a paradise.
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