Chapter 138: Eating Grapes

"Ouch!" Tsunade let out a soft, sweet cry as she covered her nose with one hand.

It turned out that Kato Mifune, seeing how adorable his little "glutton" looked, was so overwhelmed with affection that after setting down the loving lunch he had prepared, he couldn't help but reach out and gently flick her dainty, upturned nose.

Mifune smiled tenderly and said, "Stop sniffing. If you're starving, just eat. I made this especially for you at home—everything you love!"

"I heard a certain little glutton's stomach growling from outside the door just now!" Mifune finished by casting a playful glance at his girlfriend’s midsection.

Caught off guard by the flick to her nose, Tsunade pouted and whined, "Disgusting! My stomach wasn't growling at all!"

Even as she complained about how annoying he was, she couldn't help but twitch her nose, gazing hungrily at the meal before her. She was clearly delighted by the surprise he had prepared. However, perhaps she was truly famished, because no sooner had she spoken than a distinct "rumble" echoed from her belly.

Mifune chuckled, "Haha, you're right, it wasn't a growl—it was a rumble!"

"You wanted to surprise me, so why are you being so mean? Who says things like that to their girlfriend?" Tsunade’s face puffed up like a bun, and she bared her little fangs, feigning a bite at him. "It’s mine... my stomach was the one rumbling..."

"Eat up, taste my cooking. It’s all your favorite food." Mifune dodged her playful nip and urged her to dig in.

Tsunade looked at the meal she had brought from the Konoha Hospital cafeteria earlier and sighed, "What about this?"

Mifune pulled the cafeteria food toward his side and said, "I’ll take care of it, of course. Don't worry, I can definitely finish it. I won't waste any food."

"Hehe, then I’m digging in!"

"Eat up, my princess."

The two began their lunch together. Tsunade didn't eat all the good food; she made sure to eat some of the plain cafeteria meal as well, and she even made a point of leaving the two dishes she knew Mifune liked for him.

***

After lunch, before Mifune could even reach for the trash, Tsunade took the initiative to clear the table and handle the cleanup. In her own words, even if she wasn't great at cooking, she could certainly handle the other chores.

While Tsunade tidied the coffee table, Mifune wasn't idle; he washed a few clusters of pinkish-purple grapes from the fruit he had brought to serve as dessert.

Once she finished, Mifune swept her into his arms. Tsunade popped a pink grape into her mouth and asked, "Why are you so diligent today? Whenever you came over for lunch before, you never brought homemade food. You’d just buy something on the way."

"What’s with all the questions? You made me a loving breakfast this morning, so it’s only natural I make you a loving lunch, right?"

As the saying goes, a full stomach leads to other thoughts. Once satisfied, Mifune held the stunning beauty in his arms and began to let his mind wander.

"Is there really no other motive? I’m in a great mood right now; if you tell me, I might just say yes!" Tsunade said, sounding suspicious, as she fed him two pink grapes.

"Mmph, hehe, my dear wife knows me best. I want..."

While chewing the sweet grape, Mifune’s handsome, pale blue eyes suddenly shifted into a lazy, dead-fish stare. He leaned in and gently bit her earlobe, whispering that he wanted to taste a different kind of "pink grape"...

Before Tsunade could process his meaning, Mifune leaned back, pulling her down onto the luxurious sofa he had specially brought back from the Land of Feathers.

The defensive line Tsunade had guarded so strictly just last night was breached in an instant...

*Ahem, ten thousand words omitted here.*

***

"You’re the worst! I knew your 'loving lunch' was prepared with ulterior motives!"

"And you had the nerve to say it was just because I made you breakfast!"

Tsunade and Mifune were no longer in her office at the Konoha Hospital, but in the waiting room outside Sarutobi Hiruzen’s office at the Hokage’s residence. They were there, as agreed, to inform the Third Hokage that Nawaki would be apprenticing under Mifune.

As for why Nawaki, the person in question, wasn't there? That wasn't important; his older sister and his somewhat unreliable master would have everything arranged for him.

Tsunade was currently feeling bashful and annoyed. Because of her moment of carelessness during lunch, she had let Mifune easily break through the defenses she had spent all last night building. She twisted the soft flesh at Mifune’s waist while grumbling into his ear.

Mifune, having long since thickened his skin in the pursuit of his girlfriend, remained unfazed. He had been listening to her scold him all the way from the hospital, and he didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed. Instead, he feigned ignorance, asking, "Was the lunch I carefully prepared for you not good? My skills haven't regressed, have they?"

Tsunade, still feeling a bit flustered, easily fell for his rhythm. "It was good, I never said it wasn't!"

"No, I’m not talking about the food, I mean later..."

"Later? After lunch, didn't we just eat grapes together? You’re the one who fed them to me, pink ones at that!"

Mifune said these shameless words while casting his "dead-fish eyes" toward certain prominent features on her chest, finishing with a wicked lick of his lips. Before she could retort, he added, "By the way, speaking of grapes, the ones I had at noon were delicious. Tsunade, let’s go buy some more after we see the Third Hokage. They were so good, I’m still craving them."

Startled by his gaze and his suggestive words, Tsunade realized he might try something untoward right outside the Hokage’s office. She shielded her chest with both hands, only to see Mifune watching her with a triumphant, wicked grin.

Realizing she had been played, Tsunade rolled her eyes and reached out to pinch the exact same spot she had just twisted before.