Naruto: Freeloading is Great! 2 [45]

Hoshino and Hinata had been placed under strict gaylord martial law—not only could they not touch, they weren't even allowed to speak… Frustrating!

“Hey, can’t you guys hurry up and leave? Didn’t you all come here because I wanted to drop out? Well, now I have Hinata—I don’t plan on dropping out anymore… no, actually, you'd have to kill me to get me expelled now. If I don’t go to school, how am I supposed to flirt with Hinata? So, since that's settled—everyone besides Hinata, scram already.”

“...This guy, he was caught red-handed, yet he's not the slightest bit embarrassed. He's even issuing an eviction notice to us so he can continue developing things with Hinata. Are you a wild animal without any shame!?”

Ino’s impression of Hoshino reached a new low.

How could someone like this even exist? Didn’t this guy have some weird relationship going on with Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura-bro?

Even if he's hopelessly in love with Hinata right now, couldn't he at least phrase it more gently? Is there really no guilt at all?

While Ino was silently grieving for the three gaylords, Sasuke grabbed hold of Hoshino's hand.

“It’s better if you don't go back to school. Just stay home and be a good-for-nothing… Let me take care of you.”

“…Weren’t you here to convince me to attend school properly?”

Hoshino stared blankly at Sasuke. Realizing something was off, Hinata jumped out immediately, exposing Sasuke's sinister intentions.

“Sasuke! You're way too despicable! Just because you don't want Hoshino and me to be lovey-dovey at school, you're deliberately leading him down a bad path! After-school classrooms, dark warehouses, restroom stalls… these places are all great for spicing things up! Don’t try to sabotage my wonderful memories with Hoshino!”

“...What exactly were you planning to do in those obviously indecent places!?”

After yelling at Hinata, whose mind was overflowing with questionable thoughts, Sasuke kicked Hoshino’s leg.

“Why don’t you correct her perverted fantasies! What’s with that dreamy look on your face!? Stop fantasizing along with her—you’re even drooling!”

But no matter how angry Sasuke got, Hoshino paid him no attention.

Between gaylords and a perverted girl, obviously the perverted girl wins.

“Hinata, don’t worry! I’ll do everything in my power to fulfill your dreams! Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will fight for the dreams we share!”

“…Although that sounded quite manly, somehow… I don’t feel like cheering you on at all.”

Sakura-bro, thrilled by the thought of Hoshino continuing to stay home as a shut-in, now stood firmly united with Sasuke.

Exchanging a glance, the gorilla and Sasuke immediately understood: right now, the most important thing was to separate these two perverts.

Each grabbing one of Hinata’s arms, they began dragging her towards the door.

“Ino! Come grab Hinata’s legs!”

“Naruto! Now’s the time to prove your manliness—go hold Hoshino down!”

As soon as the lovesick idiot and the dumbass heard Sasuke and Sakura-bro’s commands, they sprang into action.

“Hoshino——! I'll wait for you! I'll wait until the moment you fulfill our dream—I’ll definitely wait!”

“Hinata——! Believe in me! I'll work hard to realize our shared dream! We’ll definitely achieve it together! So… so don’t leave me… Hinata——!!!”

Just as the door was about to close, the two lovesick fools shouted out their tragically melodramatic parting words.

The door shut. The final sliver of light coming through the crack disappeared completely behind the reinforced security door.

The hopeful light was now sealed off. Who knew when the two lovers would meet again?

Perhaps this afternoon… or perhaps tomorrow…

“It’s too long… That’s far too long… Hinata…!”

Unable to quickly shake off Naruto, who’d gotten serious, Hoshino could only helplessly watch as his girlfriend was dragged away by two other men.

Falling dramatically to his knees at the entryway, he slammed his fist repeatedly onto the floor, sobbing hoarsely and repeatedly crying out Hinata’s name.

“I-it was clearly just an ordinary ‘see you tomorrow at school’ farewell—so why am I strangely moved…? Did I mess up again? Did I just do something incredibly cruel? Suddenly it feels like I’m an evil villain tearing apart two deeply-in-love lovers… Uwaaaahhhhh—!”

Suddenly overwhelmed by guilt, Naruto fled, screaming.

—Ten minutes later—

Having gotten too absorbed in his melodrama, Hoshino abruptly stood up straight.

Bad, bad, bad—I almost lost myself there.

The scene of Hinata being dragged away felt too much like the cliché dramas from his previous life, causing him to unconsciously imagine himself as the tragic protagonist.

Glancing around, he noticed Naruto had vanished.

…I'll beat that interfering bastard into a mummy later.

The chain of recent events felt so surreal, he still couldn't fully process it. Not only had he discovered Hinata liked him, he’d learned she was actually a girl, and he even ended up dating the rich, beautiful Hinata…

We should be considered dating, right? We even kissed, and she'd called herself "Hoshino's current girlfriend" earlier…

I need a bath to calm down. This new place had both a bath and a nice bathtub.

Sliding open the bathroom door, Hoshino saw Naruto’s clothes in the laundry basket and a shadow moving in the bathroom.

“Damn, someone got ahead of me… No wonder I didn’t see that guy earlier; he was hiding in here.”

Remembering how Naruto had prevented him from rescuing Hinata earlier, Hoshino glanced at Naruto's clothes and smiled sinisterly.

…

Naruto, who had finally calmed down after being heartbroken by Hinata, slid open the bathroom door after his bath.

“…Eh? W-where are my clothes?”

The laundry basket was empty.

“Strange… I’m sure I brought clean clothes in here earlier…”

Confused, Naruto remembered Hoshino was still outside. With no other choice…

“Eh? Ehhhh—? Even my dirty clothes are gone!?”

Think—!

Right now, it was just himself and Hoshino in the house. And earlier, he’d interrupted Hoshino right in the middle of his "happy time."

A man interrupted mid-action would naturally feel uncomfortable, so he’d definitely need Naruto’s clothes to…!

“…He couldn’t figure out which clothes were clean or dirty, so he just took them all in a rush? How impatient is he!?”

Naruto stood frozen, utterly clothesless, until…

It should still be safe. Hoshino always spent ages hiding in the bathroom during his massages—he definitely wouldn’t be done yet.

He placed a hand on the sliding door, taking a deep breath.

“I’ll dash for it. It’s safer the sooner I go. Once I'm back in my room, I'll be safe… Alright—go!”

Whoosh—! Slip—BANG!

“Uwaa—Aaahhhhh—!!”

Naruto yanked open the door and dashed out—but failed to notice the strategically placed soap beneath his feet. Sliding several meters, he crashed face-first onto the floor.

And before he could even lift his head, a foot pressed down firmly against the back of his skull.

“Traitor, I’ve waited a long time for you to come out. You’ve messed things up for me again and again. Now… are you ready to get beaten into a mummy?”

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This is a fan translation of 火影之软饭真好吃 by 肾亏能力者 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!