Chapter 289 Pure as an Insect
"...Haruko! Haruko!"
The anxious cries sank to the bottom of the sea, turning into water that enveloped Haruko Hayama, allowing her to escape from her chaotic thoughts.
Haruko struggled to open her heavy eyelids in the morning.
The first thing she saw was Nohara Rin, whose face was full of tension. After her blurry vision cleared, she could see the tear tracks on Nohara Rin's face.
"I... what's wrong with me?" She tried to speak, but her voice was very hoarse.
Seeing that she was awake, Nohara Rin couldn't help but cry again.
No one knows how terrified Haruko was when she fainted from bleeding profusely that morning.
She had just met Haruko, but almost lost her again...
Rin Nohara gripped the edge of the bed, supporting her limp body with trembling arms.
She bit her lip hard to stop herself from crying out.
Her face was streaked with tears, as if reflecting her inner world, falling in torrents that shattered the tenaciously growing flower field.
Rin Nohara's sadness is extreme yet quiet; her strong and considerate personality creates a tension in her that prevents her from even crying and causing trouble for her beloved.
But those who truly love her will only feel heartache.
Haruko forced herself to get up in the morning, her brows furrowed with worry, and she reached out to wipe away Haruko's tears.
The effect was minimal, and sensing the gentleness in her movements, Nohara Rin's tears flowed even more fiercely.
Seeing this, Haruko was torn with her own feelings, but then she made up her mind and gently comforted her.
"Lin, don't cry..."
Upon hearing the familiar address, Nohara Rin froze, and she looked up at Hayama Haruko with incredulous, her eyes still blurry with tears.
The black-haired girl's eyes were full of gentleness and heartache—she was Haruko, whom Nohara Rin had always watched, pursued, and prayed for.
Suddenly, a tear filled with both sorrow and joy rolled down her cheek, and another clear tear slid down onto Nohara Rin's tear stain.
Nohara Rin asked her in a trembling voice, "Haru...Haruko?"
"Yes, it's me." Haruko nodded and smiled at her. "Rin, don't cry, it makes me sad."
A sour feeling filled her nose, and with tears streaming down her face, Nohara Rin carefully moved closer and hugged her, slowly tightening her embrace.
Feeling the real presence in her arms, her tense nerves finally snapped. "Haruko... Haruko... Waaah... I'm sorry..."
Haruko hugged her back in the morning and gently patted her back to comfort her.
Where Rin Nohara couldn't see, confusion and helplessness flashed in the dark eyes of the black-haired girl.
A sudden knock on the door interrupted them.
"Lady Nohara Rin! We might need you to go to Konoha!"
Nohara Rin couldn't help but loosen her embrace and look towards the door.
"Konoha?" Haruko Hayama raised her voice in confusion, asking the person outside, "What happened?"
"Shino Aburame and Neji Hyuga are the most seriously injured, but Shino Aburame's physical condition is special; the worms inside him are rampant! If this continues, it will delay his treatment!"
Despite refusing Rin Nohara's suggestion that she rest, Haruko insisted on going to check on the situation.
Upon arriving at the door of Shino Aburame's ward, one could already see many insects buzzing and mingling in the corridor, which the Sand Ninja were trying their best to deal with.
The Sand Ninja who was leading the way explained to them, "There are too many insects, so we have to close the door completely."
Nohara Rin blocked the insects that were approaching her and Hayama Haruko, and after standing at the door of the ward, she carefully pressed the handle and pushed the door open.
The moment the door opened, countless black insects rushed out.
The dense swarm of insects blocked their view. Nohara Rin gritted her teeth, quickly led Hayama Haruko inside, and closed the door.
There wasn't a clean spot in the room; everywhere you looked, there were buzzing, noisy insects.
They haven't shown any aggression yet, but they're keeping themselves busy flying around everywhere.
Haruko's heart sank. It seemed that Shino Aburame's injuries were very serious, as she couldn't even control the worms inside her body.
When Nohara Rin tried to approach Aburame Shino on the operating table, the insects that had been flying around aimlessly like headless flies suddenly swarmed towards her and blocked her way, forcing her to retreat.
"No, with these bugs around, I can't get any closer!"
Nohara Rin frowned deeply, constantly thinking of a solution.
Dealing with them one by one would be too troublesome, and even more insects would get closer, but... she didn't have a suitable ninjutsu to stop all the insects at once.
"I'll give it a try."
Nohara Rin's thoughts faltered. She looked at Hayama Haruko, who had already walked past, but didn't have time to tell her to stop.
As she approached the operating table, Haruko was also hindered by the insects.
Her face was a little pale. She forced herself to hold her hands in front of her face to try to block the insects' attacks, and slowly and laboriously approached Shino Aburame on the stage.
A constant stinging sensation came from my arm, and even my cheeks felt warm from the scratches from the insects.
Despite her wounds, Haruko stubbornly approached Shino Aburame, finally managing to reach out and touch Shino's hand from among the insects.
At this moment, the insects' emotions became even more intense, and they actually formed a stream of insects that wrapped around the hand that Haruko Hayama was trying to grab Shino Aburame's.
Haruko realized that they were probably going to drain all the chakra she was using!
In a desperate moment, she shouted, "Little Black—!"
The buzzing insects did not stop moving because of her words.
Just when Haruko thought her hand was doomed, a tiny black parasite shot into the swarm like a bullet, scattering their ranks unexpectedly.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Haruko used a healing spell on her hand to temporarily alleviate Shino Aburame's injuries.
Aburame Shino, who had been in a deep sleep, regained some consciousness. His dizziness spurred him to open his eyes, his vision was blurry, but he seemed to feel warmth on his arm.
He turned his head slightly and saw Haruko Hayama desperately healing herself amidst the swarm of insects.
Several bloody marks were visible on her fair cheeks, and her tightly clenched hands were an even more gruesome sight, as if they had been cut countless times, dripping with blood.
Shino Aburame was stunned; her usually calm and uneventful inner world was now pounding uncontrollably.
There was no time for him to examine his own feelings; he used his last bit of strength to pull the rampaging insects back into his body.
The overwhelming swarm of insects surged into Shino Aburame's weakened body, causing him to cough violently a few times.
Upon seeing that the insects were gone, Nohara Rin rushed forward, casting a healing spell with one hand and grabbing Hayama Haruko's hand that she was treating with the other.
Her expression could be described as angry, but her moist eyes also made her seem vulnerable.
"Haruko, please... take care of yourself, and wait for me outside, okay?"
Even when faced with her deepest longing, she couldn't bring herself to speak harshly, her words always carrying a pleading tone.
Looking into Uenohara Rin's sorrowful, deer-brown eyes, Haruko Hayama couldn't manage a smile.
She nodded and left the ward as Nohara Rin watched her go.
Unbeknownst to her, another pair of eyes were quietly watching her disappear behind the door.
With her figure no longer in sight, Shino Aburame's forced consciousness could no longer hold on, and she closed her eyes.
From a young age, he loved observing insects.
Insects are very pure organisms; they are born, grow up, prey, reproduce, and die. Each insect has its own life cycle.
Observation and recording are his hobbies.
Humans are quite different from insects. Humans are much more complex than insects, and their psychology, behavior, and thoughts are difficult to fathom.
But one day, he met humans who were as pure as insects.
******
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