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Inside Karin's room, she huddled under the covers, clutching a book.
"Shin-sama..." Karin murmured dreamily, her face flushed an unnatural red.
"Karin, are you in there?" Hinata pushed open Karin's door and walked in, looking curiously at Karin, who was still nestled in bed.
"Ah!" Karin jumped, startled, quickly looking at Hinata and frantically hiding the book under her covers. "Oh, it's you, Hinata. What is it?"
"I ca to get you for breakfast. Are you sick? Why did you wake up so late today?" Hinata asked Karin with concern.
"No, I'll get up right away. Hinata, could you wait outside?"
"Oh, okay. Hurry up then, or breakfast will get cold." Hinata nodded, left Karin's room, and gently closed the door behind her.
Once Hinata left, Karin let out a long sigh of relief and pulled out the hidden book.
Icha Icha Paradise.
Yes, it was the very copy Shin had bought.
One day, while helping Shin clean his room, Karin had spotted the book. Curiosity getting the better of her, she couldn't resist opening it.
After that, she was hooked. She even secretly "borrowed" the book.
Shin had no idea. After satisfying his initial curiosity and skimming the contents, he had completely forgotten about it. So, he didn't notice Karin had taken it.
If Shin knew, he'd probably die of embarrassnt. This was truly a transgression.
Karin carefully hid the book again, tidied herself up, and left the room, her face still flushed. As for why she was blushing—she definitely wouldn't admit she'd just been fantasizing about Shin while reading the book.
"Are you sure you're not sick?" Hinata looked at Karin's flushed face. She looked feverish; why else would her face be so red?
"No, it's just a bit hot," Karin quickly waved her hands dismissively.
"Oh." Hinata nodded, then wondered, What was Karin hiding earlier? Hinata had seen Karin hastily hide sothing when she entered the room, piquing her curiosity.
———
At breakfast, Shin and the others also noticed Karin's unusual state and asked about it, but Karin managed to brush off their concerns.
After breakfast, Kushina took Karin out to test her progress in Sealing Jutsu. Hinata, however, was given the day off to rest. Training required balance; like a spring, constant tension could lead to snapping. Shin had given Hinata a break to relax.
Passing by Karin's room, Hinata's curiosity flared up again.
"Should I go look? No, that wouldn't be right."
Hinata felt it was wrong to pry, but her curiosity was too strong.
'Just one peek,' she convinced herself.
Hinata's curiosity wasn't small. She gently pushed open Karin's door, slipped inside, and quietly closed it behind her.
"This feels like being a thief," Hinata thought, embarrassed, but curiosity won out.
Suppressing her unease, Hinata carefully began searching. Perhaps because Karin hadn't hidden it very well, Hinata actually found it.
"Icha... Icha Paradise?"
Just reading the title on the cover made Hinata's face turn beet red. White steam, seemingly water vapor, puffed from the top of her head.
With a final thud, Hinata collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
No one knew Hinata had fainted until Karin returned later, opened her door, and found her passed out. Hinata was still unconscious.
"Hinata, what happened?!" Karin cried out nervously, rushing over to Hinata.
Karin's shouts alerted Shin and the others, who imdiately rushed over.
"What happened to Hinata?" Shin asked Karin as soon as he entered the room.
But then he saw the book in Hinata's hand, and his voice trailed off. He instantly understood how Hinata had fainted.
It was definitely from sheer embarrassnt.
Even though Shin had tried to help Hinata overco her shyness, and she had indeed improved, she was still incredibly shy.
Seeing this book must have caused her to faint from embarrassnt.
Of course, Shin didn't realize Hinata hadn't even read the contents; just seeing the title was enough to make her pass out.
"How did this book end up here?" Shin muttered quietly. Honestly, he'd forgotten all about it.
Karin, anwhile, was the most flustered, covering her face, wishing the ground would swallow her whole. Utterly mortified.
"This book..." Kushina picked it up and flipped through it, her expression instantly turning peculiar.
"...What book is it?" Tsunade asked Kushina.
"A forbidden book," Kushina handed it to Tsunade. Well, the title pretty much gave it away.
"Isn't this the book Shin-nii bought?" Konan looked at the familiar book and blurted it out, causing Kushina, Tsunade, Mikoto, and i Terumī to turn their gazes simultaneously towards Shin.
Shin shot Konan a dark look. Couldn't she have just kept quiet?!
"Shin-nii, don't tell you gave this book to Karin to read?" Konan asked Shin, shocked. Since it was found in Karin's room, Konan naturally suspected this.
"Um, no! I secretly took it from Shin-sama's room," Karin confessed imdiately, then lowered her head, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the floor.
"Karin, you took it from Shin's room?" Kushina and the others stared at Karin in astonishnt.
"This evil thing should be burned!" Mikoto snatched the Icha Icha Paradise book and incinerated it with a burst of fire, then glared pointedly at Shin.
"Truly depraved. He must be severely punished," i Terumī added with a huff.
"Um, please don't bla Shin-sama! It was my fault! I took it secretly!" Karin imdiately spoke up for Shin.
Shin looked at Karin, feeling touched. Karin really is a good kid.
"Hinata, you're awake."
Just then, Hinata regained consciousness. Kushina and the others temporarily forgot about Shin and turned their attention to Hinata.
Hinata, initially groggy, quickly rembered everything, and her face instantly turned red again.
"Hinata, please don't faint again!" Shin quickly said to Hinata, seeing her looking like she was about to pass out once more.
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