Chapter 20 Who Made Her Angry?
Steady footsteps echoed down the corridor behind them. The two turned around simultaneously and saw Uchiha's father's serious and cold face.
After a moment of surprise, Uchiha Sasuke immediately spoke: "Father..."
Haruko also greeted him, "Hello, Uncle."
Uchiha's father responded and continued walking straight ahead, bypassing them. Haruko noticed that when he caught sight of Naruto running in the backyard, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
No matter how many times she meets him, Haruko Hayama still feels a little intimidated by Sasuke Uchiha's father.
"Sasuke, you really should smile more."
"Huh? Why are you bringing this up again?"
Just then, Naruto Uzumaki, having finished his fun, strode towards them, interrupting their conversation.
Unable to contain his excitement, Naruto stretched out his bandaged hands in front of them, "Hey! Look what I found!"
"What?" Haruko leaned closer to look and saw a feather lying still in Naruto's outstretched palm. "This is... a feather?"
The feathers that covered his entire hand were as black as ink, shimmering with a glossy sheen in the sunlight, like meticulously carved obsidian, beautiful and mysterious.
Sasuke Uchiha turned his face away uninterestedly. "What's so special about this?"
Naruto was clearly dissatisfied with his answer and snorted at him, "Don't you think it's beautiful?"
“It is indeed beautiful,” Haruko Hayama complied, “and we can deduce what kind of bird its feathers are from by their color and pattern.”
"Pattern?" Naruto picked up the feather, examined it carefully for a few seconds, then frowned. "I can't see anything at all except for the black."
"Idiot, it's obviously a crow's feather." Uchiha Sasuke bluntly gave the answer.
"What? It's just a crow. I thought it would be a more powerful bird..." Naruto Uzumaki's tone dropped, looking a bit discouraged. He hadn't expected the feather he found to be so ordinary.
Haruko carefully recalled the books she had read. "It is said that crows are messengers of death, reminding us of impending misfortune."
"Misfortune?" Naruto's eyes darted around; his mind was exceptionally sharp at this moment. He pointed at Sasuke with a feather and grinned mischievously, "Sasuke, you're in for a world of trouble!"
Uchiha Sasuke retorted without backing down, "I'm always unlucky because I can't beat you."
"you!"
"how?"
Normally, Haruko would have already tried to mediate the fight, but adhering to the principle of allowing the protagonists' friendship to develop freely and harmoniously, she simply smiled and watched the escalating tension between the two.
The two men who had been silently watching her lost their temper when she didn't react. They each snorted and fell silent, which surprised Haruko Hayama.
Haruko went to help in the kitchen early in the morning, and Sasuke Uchiha nudged Naruto Uzumaki, who was still throwing a tantrum, with his elbow.
"She's been acting a bit strange lately..."
"We discovered it a long time ago."
Naruto's muffled reply surprised Sasuke, who raised an eyebrow. After all, Sasuke usually seemed oblivious, but he was surprisingly perceptive to changes in emotions and attitudes.
Sasuke Uchiha had heard about Naruto Uzumaki being ostracized by the villagers, but he didn't pay much attention to such trivial matters. Only now did he realize that Naruto Uzumaki had this background.
Is it because I often face negative emotions and attitudes that I have such keen insight?
Just as Sasuke Uchiha was starting to take him a little more seriously, Naruto Uzumaki suddenly clutched his head and rubbed it violently, "Ugh! I just don't understand! Why is Haruko unhappy?"
Uchiha Sasuke: ...
He sighed, resuming his arrogant demeanor. "I know without you saying it. You made her angry, didn't you? Go apologize now."
"Me? How could I possibly make Haruko angry!"
Upon hearing this, Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief, and he pointed at him angrily, "You're the one who made Haruko angry! How dare you try to blame me, you despicable tomato-head!"
"I told you that if you call me that again, I'll kick you out!"
Peeking in, she saw them whispering and arguing amongst themselves. Haruko Hayama, who was about to call them for dinner, thoughtfully looked away to save them some face.
They have such a good relationship.
Haruko Hayama exemplified what it means to lie through one's teeth.
Even after they finished dinner and left Uchiha Sasuke's house, the two still couldn't figure out who should apologize to Hayama Haruko.
Naruto walked beside Haruko, unusually obediently holding her hand, without looking around as usual on the way home.
In the past, Haruko would walk at her own pace, watching him sometimes run ahead, sometimes stop and fall behind her, and sometimes walk in the opposite direction to talk to her.
"Why is Naruto so quiet today?" Haruko Hayama couldn't contain her curiosity.
"Well... it's that... it's..." Naruto stammered, unsure how to begin.
During his argument with Sasuke Uchiha, his initial certainty began to waver, and he silently wondered if he had really offended Haruko in some way.
Before he could think of an answer, a cold drop fell on his golden head.
Naruto Uzumaki shuddered, looked up, and found that the sky had been covered by gray clouds at some point, and a few cold drops of water fell on his face the next second.
"Oh no, it's going to rain!"
As if in response to his words, the raindrops began to fall in increasing amounts.
"We'll definitely get soaked if we run back now..." Haruko looked around; there were no big trees to shelter them from the rain near the riverbank where they were.
Just as she was thinking about what to do, Naruto Uzumaki suddenly tugged at her sleeve. "Haruko, squat down."
Why are you squatting down?
"Hey, just squat down!"
Haruko, who was confused, still succumbed to his coquettishness. She squatted down and looked up at him, about to ask him a question, but instead met Naruto's smiling face.
Haruko only then realized that Naruto Uzumaki was standing behind her, leaning slightly forward, using his head and hands as a boundary to separate her from the rain, and holding an umbrella for her with his small body.
A few raindrops clung to his face and streamed down, sliding over his rounded chin and dripping below Haruko's eyes.
She instinctively closed her eyes, and darkness filled her completely. When she opened them again, she saw Naruto Uzumaki and his warm smile.
His clothes were soaked through, his soft hair lay sticky on his forehead, and his hands, suspended in the air, trembled from the rain, yet he still smiled brightly.
“That way, Haruko won’t get wet in the rain!” he said, his tone rising in a triumphant manner.
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