Inside the exquisitely crafted bento box, a rich array of delicacies was neatly arranged, with a healthy balance of meat and vegetables. Chizhao closed it with satisfaction and placed it into her bag.
Since she was going to visit someone's house uninvited, she certainly couldn't go empty-handed.
A bento would be perfect.
After preparing everything, Chizhao slung her bag over her shoulder and left the house.
It was still the most comfortable time of day, with the scent of morning dew mixing in the air, bringing a moist sweetness.
Chizhao was already familiar with the stone slab path leading to the back mountain. She walked leisurely, heading in a familiar direction.
But just as she was strolling along, enjoying the morning scenery, an urgent shout came from behind her, growing closer.
"You guys slow down! Wait... wait a minute! Ahhh... get out of the way!"
Turning around in confusion, she saw a cloud of dust rapidly approaching her.
When she finally saw clearly, she saw Inuzuka Kiba, holding tightly onto three giant dogs, running towards her with a look of terror on his face.
"Kiba?!" Chizhao exclaimed.
"Chizhao? Get out of the way!!"
Faced with the sudden encounter, Chizhao had no time to react before a huge force violently knocked her to the ground.
"Ughhh, sorry!!"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
Chizhao rubbed her shoulder and sat up from the ground, while Kiba's figure had already sped away with the whirlwind.
Kiba also had it tough, having to walk three giant dogs with such a small body...
Sympathizing with Kiba's predicament, she stood up from the ground.
Just as she was about to reach for her backpack to tidy it, she suddenly felt her shoulder empty. When she looked down, she was surprised to find her backpack had vanished.
Recalling the scene from just now, her heart sank.
"Ah?! My bento! Did it... just now..."
At the same time, Inuzuka Kiba, who was struggling to pull three excited dogs, found a bag slung around his neck at some point.
The unstoppable speed and the tightening force around his throat made it difficult for him to breathe, and his small face began to turn crimson.
"So uncomfortable... I'm going to die..."
Inuzuka Kiba's hand, holding the ropes, loosened. Due to the dizziness from asphyxiation, he lost his footing and flew forward.
The bento from the backpack also flew out, falling to the ground with Inuzuka Kiba, the food mixed with dust, a truly terrible sight.
When Chizhao caught up, panting, and saw the scene before her, her heart sank into despair.
It's over!! My bento that I worked so hard on!!!
Her gaze then fell upon Inuzuka Kiba, who was sprawled on the ground in a mess. Chizhao had to pull herself away from the grief of the bento's demise and went over to check on his condition.
"Hey! Kiba! Are you okay! Kiba!"
Akamaru poked his head out from his clothes and barked a few times anxiously.
The three dogs, who had run far ahead, saw that their young master hadn't caught up. They whimpered and wagged their tails, circling around them.
She took off the backpack tangled around his neck, seeing that he still looked half-dead, with dark circles under his eyes.
Chizhao held his head in her arms, trying to pinch his philtrum to wake him up.
"Kiba! Wake up!"
Inuzuka Kiba vaguely felt something wet licking his cheek, and someone was anxiously calling his name.
Who is it? So noisy?
Opening his eyes, he saw a magnified dog's face in his blurry vision, with a small Akamaru perched on the dog's head.
The wide tongue was constantly licking him, covering his face with slobber.
"Ah... it's you guys..."
Hearing Kiba's voice, Chizhao pushed Haimaru away and leaned closer to Inuzuka Kiba in her arms with concern:
"You're finally awake! I was about to take you to the hospital."
Looking at the girl's face so close to him, and this strange posture of being held in her arms.
Inuzuka Kiba's cheeks immediately matched his red facial markings, turning a deep crimson.
He quickly did a carp-jump to break free from her embrace, retreating several steps. Akamaru also jumped onto his head and barked.
"I, I, I... what exactly happened?"
Seeing Inuzuka Kiba regain his vigor, Chizhao bent down to shoo away the dogs that were about to eat the food on the ground, and picked up the broken bento:
"As you can see, you just 'hit and ran' and also took my bento. Now it's all ruined."
She picked up her backpack with a pained heart, only to find that one bento inside had miraculously survived. Happily, she opened it to see that the food inside was also scattered and a mess, truly a terrible sight. Her mood instantly plunged to rock bottom again.
"Sorry... I thought I could hold them, but I didn't expect them to be so excited; I couldn't hold them back at all."
Inuzuka Kiba patted the large dog's head, then squatted down and hugged them, pressing their heads down, sincerely bowing his head to Chizhao to apologize:
"Uh, I'm really, really sorry!"
The three dogs also understood the trouble they had caused, and cooperatively prostrated themselves on the ground, wagging their tails and whimpering.
Although filled with reluctance, Chizhao still sighed and tidied everything on the ground. Then she walked to Inuzuka Kiba's opposite side, squatted down to be at eye level with him:
"I forgive you. After all, Kiba helped me before."
Looking at the girl in front of him, he felt as if it had been a long time since he had spoken to her up close like this.
The crisp chirping of birds on the branches pulled Inuzuka Kiba's thoughts back. He awkwardly looked away, at the bento box in her hand, and spoke softly:
"Is this bento you made yourself?"
She picked up the bento in her hand and smiled with regret:
"Yes, it's all messed up inside now. It can't be given to anyone else to eat anymore."
As soon as he heard that the bento was for someone else, Inuzuka Kiba immediately became interested and pressed on:
"For someone else? Who? Naruto? Or Sasuke?"
She was a little stunned by his rapid-fire questions. Chizhao waved her hand and explained:
"It's not for them, it's for an older brother. Kiba, why do you care so much?"
Inuzuka Kiba immediately tried to hide his expression, picking up Akamaru and stroking him while he chuckled:
"I was just asking casually..."
"Alright then."
Watching the girl stand up from the ground and put the bento box into her backpack, Inuzuka Kiba secretly swallowed, awkwardly scratched his cheek, and hesitantly spoke:
"Um... the bento, can I eat it?"
Her hand, tidying the backpack, paused. Chizhao looked at Inuzuka Kiba in confusion:
"Why? It's all messed up inside."
"But it's not dirty, and it's because of me that your bento couldn't be delivered. Ultimately, I'm still responsible..."
Haimaru nudged Inuzuka Kiba's body, and he immediately added:
"And I haven't eaten breakfast because I was walking them, so I'm very hungry now..."
This sentence indeed successfully convinced Chizhao. She took the bento box out of her bag again and handed it to him.
"If you don't mind, please have this bento."