Chapter 281 Living Together
As night falls, the once lush green forest gains an eerie atmosphere.
After finding a suitable area to set up camp, Sarutobi Asuma signaled them to stop there.
Amidst the crackling of burning firewood, a blazing fire rose, illuminating the land hidden beneath dense foliage.
The three teachers took turns keeping watch at night, while the others tidied up and prepared to go to sleep.
Seeing Haruko Hayama sitting by the campfire, lost in thought, Shikamaru Nara put down his sleeping bag and sat down beside her.
Aren't you going to sleep?
Seeing him arrive, Haruko smiled and said, "I'll go back to sleep later. I'm a little worried about Gaara's condition."
Nara Shikamaru was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Don't worry. Given the brutality he displayed during the Chunin Exams, the enemy will probably suffer heavy losses themselves and won't get far."
Knowing he was trying to comfort her, Haruko forced a smile.
She hugged her calves with both hands, rested her chin on her knees, and the flames flickered in her pure black eyes.
She prayed softly, "I hope so..."
Nara Shikamaru stared at the raging flames and said casually, "I heard you two have known each other since you were little. No wonder you care about him so much."
"However, since we live in different villages, we rarely see each other."
Recalling the few times she spent with Gaara, Haruko's brows furrowed with sorrow once more.
"Perhaps... no news is actually good news."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Nara Shikamaru rested his left hand on his legs, supporting his face, and turned his head to look at her.
The stars twinkled, and the campfire, like a burst of rosy light, illuminated Haruko's serene profile in the early morning. Behind her was darkness, and it seemed as if Nara Shikamaru saw only her.
He suddenly said, "I wish I had met you sooner."
Haruko looked at him in surprise, "But Shikamaru was my first friend."
"Yeah."
Receiving the expected affirmation, Nara Shikamaru let the corners of his lips curl up slightly.
Words that sounded like a mix of dissatisfaction and boasting came from his mouth: "If those two guys next to you heard this, they'd definitely start yelling at me again."
Thinking of Naruto Uzumaki's frizzy appearance and Sasuke Uchiha's cold stare, Haruko couldn't help but laugh.
Immediately, a look of relief appeared in her eyes.
"Time flies so fast, they've both grown up so much since they were kids."
"Sasuke has started to try out the work of the police department. Although he said that he usually just patrols, it seems like it would suit him very well."
"Naruto, too. He used to talk about becoming Hokage all the time, but he talks about it less now that he's grown up. Maybe he's settled down and decided to prove himself with his actions."
Nara Shikamaru blinked slowly, his nonchalant sitting posture giving him a languid listening look.
He asked, "Why are you laughing?"
Upon hearing his words, Haruko realized that the corners of her mouth had been turned up the whole time, and she couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Because I feel very happy, happy to be living the simple yet hopeful life that I had always dreamed of."
"In the past, I was always worried about potential crises in the future, but later I found that nothing serious happened. The peace was beyond my expectations."
"I can finally calm down and start thinking slowly about what I want to do in the future, what goals I want to achieve, and what kind of life I want to live."
A serene young girl in the twilight speaks of a hopeful future.
She was unaware that she had already encountered a crisis, and that she had paid an unimaginable price, ultimately ending it all with her own life.
Living in the happiness she had worked so hard to create, she was filled with joy and envisioned a peaceful and tranquil future.
Nara Shikamaru then asked, "What kind of life do you envision?"
“Hmm…” Haruko thought for a while, “I’d like to have an interesting but ordinary job, a house that’s neither too big nor too small, and life with you all around me.”
"Looking at it this way, our life dreams are quite similar."
His smile always had a lazy, roguish air about him, but the gentle gaze he gave Haruko Hayama at that moment revealed his seriousness.
Haruko Hayama joked, "I've always remembered Shikamaru's dream. Maybe the two of us will become the two who spend the most leisurely days among our peers."
"If that's really the case..."
Nara Shikamaru, who was propping his face up with his hand, kept looking at her with his head tilted to the side. Then he raised his right hand and placed it on her head, gently stroking her smooth, black hair.
Seeing Haruko's puzzled expression, he added, "Why don't the two of us live together?"
Before Haruko could ponder the deeper meaning of his words, Shikamaru withdrew his hand, patted his pants, stood up, and went to pack his sleeping bag.
Haruko Hayama has a very sensitive personality, but she is surprisingly oblivious when it comes to matters of the heart.
They grew up together, and their aspirations, temperaments, and values were perfectly aligned.
From a rational point of view, the two of them are the most suitable people to live together.
From the remaining emotional perspective, one must rely on his years of subtle and gradual encroachment to gain control.
He had planned everything in detail.
That's why he said that no one can take it away from him.
Ignoring Rock Lee's fawning attempts, Ino Yamanaka pulled Haruko Hayama to a tree some distance away from the others.
"What a hot-blooded idiot," Yamanaka Ino muttered as she spread out her sleeping bag.
Haruko's almond-shaped eyes curved slightly. "But Li is quite cute."
"No way?" Yamanaka Ino's mouth dropped open in shock. "What cute quality does he have?"
"Hmm...adorably passionate?"
After hearing Haruko's uncertain praise, Ino Yamanaka smiled and quickly crawled into her sleeping bag to end the conversation.
The sleeping bag was still cold, seeping into my skin almost imperceptibly, making me feel chilly all over.
Yamanaka Ino lay inside, quietly watching Hayama Haruko crawl into the sleeping bag next to her.
She and Haruko saw each other less and less, even though she knew it was an inevitable result of becoming a ninja and carrying out missions.
But... there's still a bit of sadness.
The surroundings were completely silent, with the sounds of insects and birds unique to the forest mingling with the music of the burning campfire.
Apart from the teachers on night watch, everyone else had already closed their eyes in their sleeping bags.
Their sleeping bags were close together, and they could see each other's beautiful faces with just a turn of their heads.
Yamanaka Ino couldn't help but call out to her, "Haruko..."
"Um?"
"It seems like it was two months ago when we last met, right?"
"It seems so. I didn't realize it had been so long since we last saw each other."
"Um……"
Yamanaka Ino fell silent, seemingly just confirming with her how long it had been since they last saw each other.
Haruko turned her head to look at her in the morning. Yamanaka Ino, lying in the dark gray sleeping bag, looked like a bunch of white and gold poppies wrapped up in a blanket.
The bright and energetic girl she once was has now blossomed into the most graceful and elegant of all the girls, exuding charm with every smile and gesture.
Bathed in the flickering firelight, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
Haruko, do you like Shikamaru?
Haruko was taken aback. "Why are you asking that?"
******
The list of recipients of gratitude as of July 18, 2024:
grateful--
Inspiration capsules sent with the GV videos I've posted
The truth about Yang Rubing is unclear; Ke Li's wife highly recommends her and gives her a thumbs up.
Two flowers sent by the arrogant little white flower
Uchiha Grace, flowers sent by Meow Meow Meow
Jiu Youyu, the writer of Passerby A's update kick, Yancheng Mountain Island's Empera Alien, Uzumaki Rasengan, Shigetake, Yi Gu You Tai Du Wei, Sanhao Squirrel, Just Want to Stay Silent and Not Get Angry, Yi Su Yuan, Please Eat Strawberries~, Yan Yiyue, Cold and Quiet Clay Figurine, Mu Xue Shu Yu, Yuan Wei^, Yan Yu, Babu Zeer, True or False Yang Rubing, A Yu is Really C, Ci Jia's Little Rabbit's Love-Powered x3
tsuki嘉, Sliver_w, a big fan of Klee, meow meow meow, and a fan of the gift from Dalinm (generated with love x2).
Misty Purple Clouds, Old Moon, One Bite of Xia Youjie, ★★●, Piano Lacquer Maker, Lang Heqing, Early Summer. Starry Sky, You Win If You Don't Use Your Brain When Reading Novels, Eighth Day and Goodbye o, Water Yueqing Who Loves to Eat Twice-Cooked Pig Trotters, User 36469377, Yifen, Wuxi, User 26695591, Honey Loves to Eat Knives, I Don't Believe This Nickname Can Still Exist, Hey. Scattered, Grape Stewed Fish Is Incomprehensible, Flower Dust Heart, Suhe, Fusang Qin's Love-Powered Electricity
Thank you for the gifts! The author is so touched! (Ino's beauty attack ξ( ＞))
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