Under Konoha’s Shadow

Chapter 29: I'm Going to Break His Legs

After Komiya Yuki and Yamamoto Ryusei started training together, she would eat dinner at his house. After dinner, Ryusei would walk her home.

At the Komiya residence, Yuki's parents had returned early but didn't tell her. They had prepared a birthday cake and gifts, wanting to give her a surprise to make up for their absence.

Behind the main gate, Yuki's father, Komiya Yuta, stretched lazily. "Why isn't Yuki back yet? It's almost dark."

Yuki's mother, Komiya Ayako, said, "She should be back soon."

"She's back, she's back!" Yuta said. "Quick, light the candles on the cake! And after you bring the gifts over, you can all leave." Yuta dismissed the handmaidens.

Ayako's expression turned a little strange as she saw her daughter's figure. She tapped her excited husband. "Yuta, quick, come and look."

Yuta peeked through the crack in the gate, and his anger was instantly uncontrollable. "Who is that little brat?! Why is he holding my daughter's hand?! I'm going to break his legs!"

He was about to charge out but was held back by Ayako. "Yuta, don't be so rash! Maybe they're just ordinary friends. He might just be walking Yuki home because it's late. Wait... that child looks a little familiar. That's right, isn't that the Yamamoto family's child? The one whose house Yuki eats at. I even gave him money for Yuki's living expenses. Oh, I saw him at the Ninja Academy too. He and Yuki are very close."

"So that little brat has had ill intentions all along! I'm going to expose him!" Yuta angrily tried to charge out again but was pulled back by his wife.

"What's the use of you rushing out now?" Ayako rolled her eyes at her husband. "Do you want to make your relationship with Yuki even more strained?"

Yuta fell silent. They had promised to celebrate her birthday together this year, but because there were more merchants this year, he hadn't come back in order to secure their grain supply.

Yamamoto Ryusei and Komiya Yuki arrived at the Komiya family's gate, hand in hand. Ryusei said, "Time flies. It feels like we got to your house in no time at all. You should get some rest early, Yuki."

Yuki nodded. "You should also rest early, Ryusei. Don't train too late."

Ryusei nodded in agreement. Seeing Yuki under the setting sun, he thought she looked exceptionally cute and couldn't help but kiss her on the forehead.

Seeing his daughter being kissed, Komiya Yuta was completely petrified. He never expected to receive a shock from his daughter before he could even give her his surprise. Yuta's face turned from white to green, then from green to red. His expression twisted into one of furious rage as he growled in a low voice, "Look, he's already kissed her! I'm going to go and break that brat's legs!"

Ayako said nothing, just held onto her husband tightly, preventing him from going out.

After being kissed, Yuki's face turned beet red. She covered her face and ran home. Pushing open the gate, she didn't even see her parents or the cake they had prepared. She rushed straight to her room, slammed the door, and hid under her covers.

After watching Yuki go inside, Ryusei turned and walked back.

The completely ignored Mr. and Mrs. Komiya watched as Ryusei walked away, then closed the gate, blew out the candles, and decided to go talk to their daughter.

Komiya Yuta sat alone in the living room, fuming. Ayako went to Yuki's room first to gather some intel.

She opened the door and saw Yuki completely bundled up in her quilt. "Yuki, come out from under the covers. The air isn't good in there."

Yuki threw off the quilt, her face full of pleasant surprise. "Mom! When did you guys get back?"

Ayako sat down next to her. "We've been back for a while. We were just hiding behind the door, planning to give you a surprise."

"I didn't see you when I came in." Yuki's face suddenly turned bright red, and she buried her head back in the quilt, her body squirming.

Ayako teased, "How could you see us when you ran in covering your face?"

Yuki slowly poked her head out from under the covers, her face red as she whispered, "So you saw everything?"

Ayako said mischievously, "If you're talking about the hand-holding and the kiss on the forehead, then yes, we saw it."

Yuki asked cautiously, "So you're not angry?"

"I'm not angry. But..." Ayako gestured with her eyes towards the living room. "Your father is furious. If I hadn't been holding him back just now, he would have gone out and broken your boyfriend's legs."

Yuki said with pride, "Don't worry. Ryusei is a ninja. Dad can't beat him."

Ayako poked her daughter on the head and feigned anger. "You ungrateful girl! Now that you have a boyfriend, you don't care if your father lives or dies, is that it?"

"But," Ayako asked curiously, "how did you two meet? And when did you get together?"

Yuki recalled, "The first time I met Ryusei was when I was playing with Yamashita So and the others. They got into a conflict, and several of them were ganging up on So. I couldn't stop them."

"Just then, Ryusei suddenly appeared and beat those kids away in just a few moves. At that moment, I thought he was the coolest."

"Later, he protected me in front of other ninjas, taught me ninjutsu, cooked delicious food for me, and gave me pretty clothes." Yuki went to her wardrobe, took out the Gothic Lolita dress Ryusei had given her, and handed it to her mother. "Look, Mom. This is the dress Ryusei designed specially for me."

Ayako's eyes lit up as she looked at the dress. "This is so cute."

Yuki hugged the dress, blushing. "This was my birthday present from Ryusei. I confessed to him that day, and then we got together."

"So that's how it was..." Ayako nodded, then suddenly realized something and said in shock, "You confessed? Yuki, a girl has to be more reserved!"

Yuki said with some dissatisfaction, "Reserved? If I were any more reserved, Ryusei would have been snatched up by another girl."

Ayako was puzzled. "Is Ryusei very popular? He's not particularly handsome, just average-looking."

"But he's outstanding!" Yuki retorted. "Ryusei can cook, he can write novels, he can design beautiful clothes, and he's very strong. I heard that even Uchiha Kagami and Hyuga Natsuki are no match for him."

Ayako said with a dazed look, "Hearing you say all that, even I want to marry him."

"Right? The girls in our class haven't discovered all these good qualities of his yet, but they will eventually. And..." Yuki pouted with dissatisfaction. "The way the older sisters from the Senju clan look at Liu Maoxing is like they want to eat him alive."

Ayako didn't quite understand. "Who is this Liu Maoxing? How did he get involved in this?"

Yuki said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Liu Maoxing is Ryusei's shadow clone." Seeing her mother's still-confused expression, she formed a hand seal. With a "poof," she created a clone, which then transformed into Liu Maoxing's appearance.

"Just like this," Yuki said, pointing to the clone. "But Ryusei's clone seems to have its own personality, and he lets us call him Liu Maoxing. See? Isn't he handsome?"

The corner of Ayako's eye twitched incessantly. You ninjas and your games.

Ayako said with a straight face, "Yuki, are you planning to marry Ryusei in the future?"

Yuki said with a determined look, "Mom, as long as Ryusei doesn't abandon me, I will definitely be his wife one day."

Ayako stroked her daughter's hair. "Our Yuki will surely be a great beauty in the future. How could he bear to abandon you? But you have to go and convince your father."

Yuki, wearing her Gothic Lolita dress, went out to find her father. Seeing his daughter with her cat ears, Komiya Yuta was instantly smitten, feeling that the world was a truly wonderful place.

"Dad, I want to be Ryusei's wife."

Hearing this, Yuta's face turned pale, and his heart shattered into pieces. He had fallen from heaven straight into a bottomless abyss.

"No!" Yuta objected immediately. "On what grounds can that little brat marry my daughter?"

"On the grounds that I like him," Yuki said, not backing down an inch.

"Dad, look." Yuki twirled around, once again melting her father's heart. "Ryusei designed this for me. He's also cooked for me and protected me when I was in danger. Your daughter has already found a very good person."

Hearing this, an image of his daughter getting married flashed through Yuta's mind.

"But I can't bear to part with you!" Yuta cried, hugging his daughter. Yuki also started crying. "I can't bear to part with you either, Dad!"

Watching the father and daughter crying in each other's arms, the corner of Ayako's mouth twitched incessantly. She roared, "Alright! It's not like Yuki is getting married right now! There are still more than ten years to go!"

The father and daughter's crying came to an abrupt halt, and they awkwardly separated.

Ayako re-lit the candles. "Come on, let's have a proper birthday for Yuki."