"Big brother, Furin wants..." Furin's face turned crimson, instantly transforming into a blushing maiden.
Seeing Furin's flushed little face, Sasuke was somewhat baffled.
"Furin, what's wrong? Your face is so hot, are you running a fever?" Sasuke reached out to touch Furin's forehead, asking with concern.
"It's not that at all, it's just... it's just..." Furin's face grew more and more flushed.
This is awful, how is anyone supposed to say something like this out loud?! It's way too embarrassing.
By this time, Sasuke was getting anxious too. He grabbed Furin's little hand and said in a serious tone, "Furin, whatever is the matter, you have to tell your big brother. Big brother will help you!"
Things had reached this point; she had no choice but to bite the bullet.
Furin leaned in close to Sasuke's ear and whispered, "Big brother, could you feed me?"
Worried that Sasuke might refuse, Furin decided to pull out all the stops!
"Big brother, please~ Big brother is the best~ You'll definitely say yes, right?"
With that, Furin reached out, grabbed Sasuke's sleeve, and gave it a gentle tug. She blinked her large, watery eyes, pouted her lips, and looked up at Sasuke with a pleading expression.
*Oh no, that's the feeling of falling in love.*
Sasuke clutched his chest, feeling his heart pounding wildly while an indescribable, subtle sensation welled up from the depths of his soul.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth before he quickly forced it down.
Finally, after repeating this cycle several times, Sasuke seemed completely unable to control himself any longer and let out a string of chuckles: "Heh, heh, heh."
*Did I lay it on a bit too thick? I have this strange feeling that my dear second brother has gone simple-minded. Oh no, what am I going to do about my mission now?*
Watching Sasuke chuckle mindlessly right in front of her, Furin felt a wave of anxiety.
"The host doesn't need to worry, the kid is just secretly thrilled right now," the System chimed in, quelling Furin's concerns.
"Secretly thrilled? This is practically open joy! How do I get big brother to stop?"
"Simple. Host, keep pressing the attack."
"You're completely useless. Get lost." Shutting off the System, Furin remarked with displeasure.
Pondering a solution, Furin decided to awaken Sasuke's protective instincts.
That's right—when a beloved younger sister is scared of her big brother, it would definitely snap him right out of this euphoric trance.
And so, Furin initiated the "Big Brother Rescue Plan."
"Big brother, stop laughing, Furin is scared." Furin hugged Sasuke tightly, her voice carrying a slight tremble.
*Huh? He's still laughing?! Just how happy are you, kid?* Seeing that Sasuke remained completely unfazed, Furin launched "Plan B."
In a single word: waterworks. She refused to believe he wouldn't feel sorry for her.
"Sob, sob... Big brother, are you alright? Don't scare Furin like this." Furin cried a river, her tears soaking right through Sasuke's clothes.
That's right, there was plenty of water. Don't ask—it's called Hydro-Splash.
Sasuke, who had been chuckling mindlessly, suddenly froze in place. Feeling the warmth in his embrace, he snapped back to reality.
Patting Furin's head, Sasuke was overcome with shame. To think he had made his younger sister cry—he was truly a failure as an older brother.
"I'm sorry, Furin. I didn't scare you, did I?" A recovered Sasuke consoled her.
"No." Rubbing the tears from the corners of her eyes, Furin replied with a slight sob in her voice.
If you're going to act, you have to commit all the way. Furin had originally thought the Hydro-Splash skill was utterly useless.
As it turned out, using it today yielded phenomenal results! True enough, every single skill had its own reason for existing.
"Let's eat first." Crawling out from Sasuke's embrace, Furin spoke up somewhat sheepishly.
"Okay."
***
"Ah."
Furin sat up straight, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth wide, waiting for Sasuke to feed her.
Sasuke scooped up a large spoonful of rice and fed it right into Furin's mouth.
"Nom, delicious ^O^" With a single bite, Furin's cheeks puffed out like meat buns.
Utter bliss—Mikoto's cooking was truly fantastic.
Savoring the delicious food, Furin felt completely immersed in the joy of eating, and any lingering sense of shame from being fed vanished entirely.
*Eat, eat, eat, eat, eat.* Ah, absolutely delicious.
Once she was full, Furin rubbed her slightly bloated little belly, wearing an expression of pure comfort and enjoyment.
"Big bwother, I'm so full," Furin mumbled indistinctly.
"Does Furin want to eat just a little bit more?" Seeing Furin's chubby, puffed-up face, Sasuke said with a happy smile.
*My little sister is even adorable when she's eating. I wouldn't mind at all if Furin ate my share too. So this is what they mean by 'food so appetizing it makes you want to devour the person eating it,'* Sasuke thought to himself.
"Fanks, no more."
Any more and her stomach would practically burst; she couldn't possibly eat another bite. Furin firmly declined Sasuke's suggestion.
"Alright then, big brother will eat his own." Seeing Furin refuse, Sasuke said with a hint of regret.
Sasuke then opened his own bento box and glanced at the spoon he had just used to feed Furin. It still had a trace of glistening moisture on it, and Sasuke swallowed hard.
He cast a guilty look at Furin. Seeing that she was currently lying comfortably on the ground basking in the sun and paying him no mind at all, Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief.
He licked the spoon, and a jolt of energy surged through him—it was sweet. Sort of like the sweetness of an ordinary little mandarin orange.
Delicious! He had never eaten food this good before. Even though Mikoto's cooking was always wonderful, Sasuke felt that this meal was sweeter and more fragrant than any he had ever had.
Digging into the rice in his bowl with hearty mouthfuls, Sasuke was in an extremely cheerful mood.
"System, is the mission complete?" Furin asked lazily in her mind while sunbathing.
"Completed to perfection! The host is simply amazing! Your acting skills are so exceptional you could win an Oscar!"
"Don't flatter me, hand over the reward." Furin's mouth curled up slightly as she put on a stern expression.
"Alright! The reward has been issued, please check your inventory."
Looking at the pretty white dress displayed on the System interface, a sudden thought popped into Furin's head.
*Such a cute little dress, I really want to put it on and see how it looks right now. I'd definitely look gorgeous in it.*
*Wait a minute, something's wrong. Why would I even think that?*
"Host, appreciating beauty is a girl's nature. It's just human nature at work, no need to suppress yourself."
"Just shut your trap." Shutting down the System, Furin sat there on the ground looking disgruntled.
Recalling everything that had just happened, Furin belatedly realized the truth, her little face turning as red as a tomato and burning fiercely.
To think she would actually have a thought like that—only a single day had passed, and she was already getting used to her female identity? This was definitely not good.
Seeing Furin alternately sitting up in a huff and freezing in place dazedly, Sasuke felt a twinge of guilt.
*Could it be that she caught me using her spoon? If so, my image in Furin's eyes is going to be completely ruined!*
"Furin, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked with a guilty conscience.
"It's nothing, just feeling a bit worried. I feel like I'm not quite myself anymore." Furin let out a sigh, sounding remarkably worldly.
*So she didn't notice after all? That scared me to death.* Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh right, big brother. Do you have any money?" Furin shook her head, banishing the unhappy thoughts from her mind.
"Money? I do. Does Furin want to buy something?" With an air of grand generosity, Sasuke pulled out a large wad of cash and shoved it into Furin's arms.
"Whoa, so much!" Furin covered her mouth in absolute shock.
As expected of a young Uchiha heir—he's a legitimate rolling-in-wealth tycoon!
"Big brother, I won't need that much. Just 1000 ryo will be enough." Pulling a single banknote from the stack, Furin said somewhat sheepishly.
Her impoverished experiences from her past life had long since instilled in her a habit of diligence and thrift; she was just going to eat a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen, there was no need to spend money lavishly.
"Alright, Furin. If it's not enough, remember to tell big brother." Seeing how sensible Furin was being, Sasuke said magnanimously.
"Mhm! Big brother is the best~ I'm going out to play~ Bye-bye!" Furin flashed a mischievous grin, spun around, and sprinted out of the academy, completely oblivious to the fact that Sasuke was completely hooked, wearing a goofy, ear-to-ear grin.
"Heh heh, little sister is so cute." Watching Furin scamper off into the distance, Sasuke sat there grinning foolishly against his better judgment.
After chuckling mindlessly for a while, Sasuke fell into deep contemplation.
Why hadn't he realized how cute his little sister was before? He had been ignorant of how wonderful a little sister could be in his youth, treating his big brother like a treasure instead! He regretted not realizing it sooner! Sasuke felt as though the past six years of his life had gone to waste.
Still, it wasn't too late to mend the fold even after losing the sheep. Sasuke made a resolute decision: he would protect the best little sister in the entire world!