Leaving Home

Just when the Shirogane was craving the sweet flavour of the fresh apple... Ino stuffed that very apple right into his mouth. His eyes widened... and he started gagging... most likely cussing the snickering blonde. "Inoasciacubaieiifnan!" "I can't understand you...!~" It was now the Yamanaka's place to smirk.

Miyuki glared at Ino as he took the apple from his mouth, while the blonde simply stuck out her tongue at him. Miyuki let out a "Tch..." before biting into the apple... slowly cracking a little smile. These fond moments impacted... and shaped him into the way he is today.

As Ino sees him smile, she blushes and smiles back. "I'm sorry... You must be worried about me..." As he says this, Ino gives him a doubting look. "...I truly mean it, Ino..." Miyuki grumbled, and the blonde arched her brows slightly before beaming cheerfully.

"Yes...! I was really worried about you... you big dummy. Do you even know how many months you were out for?" 'Months...? I was out for... months...?' Miyuki frowned. "I was out for months...?" He asked, and Ino nodded. "Yes, almost for two months... I was just so worried..."

Miyuki was shocked by this. 'Nearly two months...?!' The next thing, though, shook him even more. "...Tsunade-sama said you only needed to rest... but not even she could tell what had happened to you..." "Tsunade-sama's back in the village!?" Miyuki was taken aback.

Ino smiled as she nodded once more. "And guess what?! Sakura and I both became apprentices under her! I wanted to train to be such a powerful medic-nin that nothing bad could ever happen to you... I'll always be there for you!" Miyuki's heart warmed as he heard her say this...

And so his hunger for power grew... desire for power he required to uphold her smile... and the numerous smiles this village of his cherished. Power... that the pink-haired man promised him. "You became her apprentice, huh? That's Good. Is she... Tsunade-sama... the next Hokage...?"

Miyuki voiced the bitter question... and he noticed Ino bite her lower lip, a guilty, mournful expression on her face. "Yes... she became the Fifth Hokage... after..." She didn't want to continue saying because she was well aware of the Hokage's and Miyuki's bond. Like a grandparent to a grandchild.

"...I know he's no longer alive... I... saw him fall to his death... Hey, Ino... do you think Hiruzen-jichan will be upset with me since I didn't show up for his funeral...?" Miyuki lets out a false laugh before becoming utterly silent. The quiet concerned Ino, and she hastily tried to talk about something else.

"D-Do you know that... Sasuke-kun left the village...?" Seeing how her words startled Miyuki out of his trance, Ino continued. "...Naruto also left the village with Sannin Jiraiya-sama... he vowed to Sakura that he'd bring him back... Sakura... I-I'm very worried about her..."

"They both left... huh? Sasuke... that bastard... he's clouded by anger... the urge to kill his own brother... Itachi..." Miyuki paused. "...But to think he'd abandon Konoha... his village..." "Doesn't that make us quite similar...?" Miyuki suddenly says that. And, puzzled, Ino asks softly, "What do you mean...?"

"I'm going to be leaving Konoha... too." He worded it hesitantly. He knew what type of reaction the blonde would have. And, as he guessed, Ino was caught off guard... to put it lightly. She was gazing at him, a panicked look on her face, tears threatening to come out her eyes. "Why?! W-Why do you want to leave too?!"

"Leave him be, blondie... tch. Puppy love, fuckin'..." A voice murmured... a voice that Miyuki knew quite well, but Ino didn't. She immediately turned around and saw a pink-haired guy leaning against the door, arms crossed, and an unpleasant scowl on his face, which had prominent black markings.

The ferocity of the pinkhead's scowl made Ino shudder slightly, but as soon as she noticed him nearing them, she instantly raised her guard. "Who are you?! How did you get up here?!" The pinkhead answered back before she could ask him more. "You're quite a talker, little lady. The ideal option for you? Eh, Miyuki?"

"Miyuki, you know this man...?" Ino sent a slight peek at Miyuki, who nodded slowly. "Yeah... I know him. He's-" Right then, a certain Kunoichi blasted through the wall, cutting Miyuki off. She was just about to ram her fist into the pinkhead, when a crimson glow engulfed her and the debris, freezing her in place... in mid-air.

It was none other than Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage... who now had a startled look on her face. "H-Huh...?!" Ino, too, had a startled look that quickly changed to rage. "Tsunade-sama, what have you done to her?! Bring her to the ground!" Her voice sounded fearful — after all, by no means could a guy who could easily restrain one of the Sannin be some weakling.

Miyuki sighed and shook his head. "...Sukuna, please bring her down..."

...

...

"Even if I'm not a sensor-nin, I could easily feel tremendous amounts of some mysterious... chakra-like... energy flowing from this man..." Tsunade said this as she and Ino stood around Miyuki bed... meanwhile Sukuna sat upside down directly over him... which no one found strange. "Do you really have to leave, Miyuki...?" Ino repeated the real question, her tone gloomy.

"Yes... I need to become strong... and I can't do that here in this village... in Konoha. I'm behind both Naruto and Sasuke too... so... I have to..." The last words were difficult for even Miyuki to say, which made Sukuna frown. He instantly spoke up. "Tch. Are you really the one "that" man told me of...?" He then got down, glaring at Ino, closing the gap between them. "This brat has to get over this hellhole, blondie..."

"But why...?! He can stay here and become strong...! He can stay here...! Here with me..." Saying that last part in a whisper to herself, Ino cut off Sukuna. "Don't interrupt me when I'm talking, kid." Sukuna said, glaring even harder at the blonde. "...Miyuki needs to leave this pathetic... weak village..."

"I'll be taking him to a place where he can actually grow strong... given his immense potential... which this village did everything in its power to undermine. He'll emerge stronger there... more stronger than you all could ever fathom." Sukuna finished, leaving the room in an unnerving silence.

"What is this place... you speak of? And... for how long will this boy be away from Konoha...?" As she said this, Ino gave Tsunade a startled face. Sukuna grumbled, "At long last...! Someone who actually has a brain...!" before he cleared his throat. "Well, the place is named... "The Cursed Domain". I'm sure you've heard of it, blondie. Given you're from the Shikkotsu Forest and all."

Tsunade seemed startled. 'He knows...!?' "Yes... I've heard the oldest slug of Shikkotsu Forest, Sansukumi-sama, cite this place as the most fabled of all the sage regions, but wasn't that just a legend, a myth...? Is such a place truly out there...?" Sukuna cracks a grin. "It is... and as for your second question, well, you only have three years till... a tragedy strikes. So there you have it, a minimum of three years"

Everyone was dumbfounded as they stared at him. "...What do you mean? What kind of tragedy...?" Tsunade probed, but Sukuna simply shrugged. "Why don't you just wait and see for yourself, blondie?" Tsunade's eye twitched; she was starting to hate that nickname, but in the face of the pinkhead, who could easily dominate her, she couldn't even raise her voice. Sukuna looks at Miyuki, who'd been silent throughout.

He wore only a determined expression on his face, and Sukuna grinned at this. "I only came to tell you that we will have to leave right now, brat... seeing as you've finally healed... with that "release" you possess..." The pinkhead muses to himself of the last part. "...All set?" Everyone waited for the redhead's answer, especially Ino, who already had her fingers crossed.

"Alright... I'm ready to leave." Ino bolts from the room, sobs audible, as Miyuki says this. Tsunade let out a sigh. "So, you've got a little lady on your case... But, in any case, know that there is always a village supporting you... no matter how weak or pathetic." She says this while stroking the redhead's head... the final bit of which is meant for the pink-haired man, who only huffs.

"Thank you... Tsunade-sama... and..." Miyuki looked lost as he kept staring at the way Ino had left. 'Damn it... Ino...'

...

...

Like white dots on the blue canvas of the sky, fluffy clouds floated gently in the light breeze. At the well-known Ichiraku Ramen stand, there were three people present. They were none other than Nara Shikamaru, the slacker, Akimichi Choji, the glutton, and our hero, Shirogane Miyuki.

"So, why did you invite us both here, to Yakiniku Q... of all places? Don't say you're leaving as well..." Shikamaru groaned, joking at the end, but as he didn't get an answer from the redhead, he exchanged curious looks with Choji, the only other person around.

"Right on target... as always, Shika..." Miyuki chuckled. Shikamaru and Choji both raised their brows, startled expressions on their faces. "Wh-What?! Seriously...?!" Choji questioned, but the Nara was strangely silent... until he gave a mysterious nod.

"How long do you think it'll take... this training of yours...?" Shikamaru questioned, and Miyuki smiled. 'Right on line, you lazy bastard...' "Roughly three years... or a little less... I'm not really sure." Soon after, the waitress arrived with their food.

"I already know what you both like to eat... so I made the orders beforehand. Given that I'll be gone for a long time... I was hoping to have a quick bite to eat with you two morons..." Miyuki picked up a piece of steak to eat, chuckling at the end.

Shikamaru and Choji exchanged a few glances before grinning. The Akimichi even cried tears of joy... he probably was feeling too touched. After eating everything, the three were completely stuffed... which is when the Nara couldn't help but wonder about a certain girl.

"Miyuki, where's Ino? Didn't you invite her to this too...?" The Nara, scraping his teeth with a toothpick, asked. The Shirogane didn't react, instead looked down, and Choji and Shikamaru traded worrying looks. 'I'm sure he irritated her... this dense moron, Miyuki...!'

'Do you feel it has something to do with him leaving the village...?' 'Yeah, it is... that Ino just can't bear spending her days in this village without seeing her prince charming's face day in day out... What a drag...' 'You've got to agree, man... Ino really loves him, huh...?'

'Uh-huh. And I'm actually starting to believe there's something even denser than that Tailed Beast Ball... this dude!' Miyuki tilted his head, perplexed, as he watched Shikamaru and Choji make head gestures at each other. He had no idea they were talking through their minds.

'Well... I'll let them do their... stuff... I've got myself a blonde to take care of...'