Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 128

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 128

Eiji had suddenly found himself facing moments in which not having an arm almost came off as a good thing. Almost, for half a second and with some severe concessions, but the fact stood. One such instance happened that morning while he cooked breakfast. Normally, it'd have been like any morning, but this time it was different.

It was the first time he cooked since he lost his arm, and he still did it with a smile as wires danced around the kitchen. Every thread had something to do and they all did their job perfectly. Eiji was almost positive that the whole thing was still half helped by his Cooking skill. Regardless of reasons, it was a sight to see, the scene in front of him.

And yet, he turned his gaze away, even as he continued working on the meal. It'd been a while since the last time he'd needed to look at something to see it, really and multitasking just came naturally to him at that point. Still, he'd have usually left some part of it all to the twins to keep an eye on, just in case he got distracted, but he decided to be extra lazy and make a clone to cook, mainly because the twins were busy and they'd likely need to withdraw back to his mind anyway.

"Ugh, it's too fucking early to be awake," Tayuya grumbled, blinking blearily. "The fuck are you doing up, Fearless Leader?..." She asked, before pausing and almost freezing. "The hell am I doing here?"

"Are you saying that you forgot what happened last night? I'm almost insulted," he shot back with a slight grin. A gesture that widened when he saw the narrow eyed gaze she sent his way.

"That was a godawful play to see. I'll tear the Bimbo's hair out for this," she grumbled, rubbing the sleep off of his eyes. Or tried to, at least.

"I mean, it was pretty bad," Eiji agreed with a nod. "The dancing afterwards was actually pretty good, shame that someone fell asleep," he added, drawing a slightly flushed expression from her. "Comfy, are you? You'd better be, I had to sleep on the couch."

"Idiot," she grumbled under her breath. "You carried me all the way over here?"

"Of course I did. The Suna populace was quite entertained," he answered with a grin. "Not that I blame them. After all, you were already starting to build a reputation here and then there you go, being carried like a princess, snoring for everyone to hear and-"

"I don't snore!" the girl protested, hitting him right in the face with a pillow. "Stop lying, you lying liar!"

"Yeah, I guess I'm a bit whipped," Eiji acknowledged with a chuckle. "Nobody saw you, it's fine. Now, I'm making breakfast, you want some?" He needn't have asked though, judging by the way she perked up where she sat. "Also, I appreciated the effort last night, even if plans could have gone better."

"Well, at least you know I put the effort in," she mumbled, probably not even wanting him to really listen. He did though, so he approached her and kissed her forehead. She always looked positively cute whenever he did stuff like that. With this adorably confused expression that was a stark contrast to her usual confident or annoyed expression.

"I do. Now, let's go," he said, leaving the room to go back to cooking himself. "I guess I'll have to plan the next date, huh?"

Usually, his dates with Tayuya were as simple as possible. There wasn't a lot of planning involved, since they were mostly just simple people in that regard. Just go out to eat something or maybe shopping and little else besides just enjoying each other's company and generally relaxing. It was the best kind of date, in his opinion.