Chapter 32 Come Home With Me
The dark clouds lingered in the sky for a long time.
Uchiha Sasuke carried her on his back, despite her injured leg, without saying a word.
Haruko lay on his back, her long, wet hair clinging to them like an unresolved bond. Her arms around Sasuke's neck tightened slightly.
"Sasuke."
She called out softly, but wasn't discouraged by the lack of response. "My mom makes a lot of dishes with tomatoes, and my dad teaches us amazing ninjutsu."
"I'm good at taking care of people, I'll protect you from being bullied, I can play with you every day, and I won't argue with you."
"Naruto picks us up every morning, so how about the three of us go to school together?"
The person carrying her still didn't respond, and didn't even change their pace, continuing to walk forward on their own with their head down.
Haruko Hayama knew that he was rejecting her.
She leaned forward and pressed her head against Sasuke's pale face, trying to warm him up. "Sasuke, I want to be your family. I want to be with you."
Uchiha Sasuke stopped in his tracks, causing even the surrounding cold air to freeze.
He stood there for a long time. Haruko had already mentally prepared herself to be thrown down, but Uchiha Sasuke didn't make a sound. After a while, he continued walking forward.
"..." Haruko stopped talking, hugged him tighter, and slowly closed her eyes.
They returned to Haruko's house in silence. When Sasuke Uchiha dropped her off at the door and was about to leave, Haruko quickly grabbed his hand.
Uchiha Sasuke hesitated for a moment after being pulled, then immediately stopped, stubbornly refusing to turn around and look at her, trying hard to pull his hand back and leave.
Haruko was unusually stubborn, holding him tightly to prevent him from leaving.
Perhaps this is the last thread connecting those with tragic fates—small, yet resilient.
Seeing that she wouldn't let go, Sasuke Uchiha loosened his grip. His slender figure appeared fragile yet stubborn in the raging wind. Where Haruko couldn't see him, he suppressed a sob in his voice, opening his mouth several times before finally managing to utter a sound.
"You...have your own family."
"You have me too!"
Almost immediately after he finished speaking, Haruko's unhesitating words sent a shiver down his spine.
Immediately following was a cautious, burning anticipation.
"Sasuke, come home with me."
*
The Uchiha territory was completely sealed off, and the Konoha higher-ups arranged another place for Sasuke Uchiha to stay. Haruko and Naruto Uzumaki went to see it with him in the morning. It was a bright and spacious top-floor apartment, which made Naruto Uzumaki quite envious.
She also gave him a reason to refuse to stay at Haruko's house any longer. Knowing that he was on edge, Haruko did not force him.
However, Haruko Hayama and Naruto Uzumaki secretly conspired to have Naruto jump onto Sasuke Uchiha's balcony every morning after scouting the place, and then drag him to Haruko Hayama's house for breakfast.
At first, it startled Sasuke Uchiha. The next day, he learned how to pull the curtain and lock the window. However, after Naruto Uzumaki accidentally broke the lock while trying to figure out how to unlock it, Sasuke Uchiha gave up on locking the window.
But this didn't last long, because Naruto started to stay in bed longer.
Sasuke Uchiha paced back and forth, waiting for someone to come and pick him up. After agonizing for twenty minutes, he finally convinced himself that he was just going to check if that idiot had died at home. Little did he know that Naruto Uzumaki was simply staying in bed.
Uchiha Sasuke: ...
After dragging Naruto up with a sour face, he unknowingly became the one who had to go to Sasuke Uchiha's house to wake him up in the morning.
After school, Uchiha Sasuke was even helped by the two of them back to Haruko's house for dinner. After getting used to the lively and cheerful family atmosphere of the Haruko family, he never lost his composure and hid in his room to cry silently like he did on the first day he stayed there.
With their constant interference, Uchiha Sasuke had almost no time to wallow in negative emotions alone, and unknowingly he had already broken free from the mire of hatred.
Soon after, they faced their graduation exams.
"Those called, come to the next classroom." Iruka Umino stood on the podium, giving the students opposite him a serious look. "Also, the topic of this exam is the technique of creating clones."
Naruto Uzumaki deflated immediately. "This time, they actually tested my worst ninjutsu! Damn it!"
Although she really wanted to say that he probably didn't have any special ninjutsu, Haruko Hayama still tried to comfort him: "It's okay, Naruto. You've been practicing hard lately, so you'll definitely be fine."
Sasuke Uchiha, supporting himself with his hand, said calmly, "With his brute-force approach of not finding the right technique, he'll never pass no matter how much he practices."
"What?! I was clearly working hard! What do you know?!" Naruto slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and glared at him.
Uchiha Sasuke remained completely unaffected and chuckled, "I really don't understand idiots' training methods."
That's incredibly harsh, absolutely too harsh...
Haruko felt relieved; thankfully, she had no grudge against Sasuke Uchiha, otherwise, how could she possibly win an argument with him?
"Ahem, everyone has their own training method that suits them." Haruko quickly pulled Naruto Uzumaki back to his seat. "Anyway, Naruto, you'll definitely pass!"
Encouraged by her words, Naruto felt confident again. "Alright! Let's give it a try!"
"I really envy idiots, they're so passionate about everything they do," commented Nara Shikamaru, who was sitting behind them.
Remembering Shikamaru's averse to trouble, Haruko Hayama couldn't help but turn to him and remind him, "Shikamaru, this graduation exam is very important. You can't be as perfunctory as you usually are!"
Nara Shikamaru propped his chin on one hand, completely unmotivated, maintaining his lazy attitude, "I know, I know, just like my mom, so long-winded."
"..." Haruko didn't say anything, just stared at him.
After holding out for a few seconds, Nara Shikamaru couldn't withstand her gaze any longer, straightened up, and lowered his hands. "I was wrong. I'll definitely do well on the exam, okay?"
"Go for it, Shikamaru! I know you've always been smart!" Haruko Hayama raised her fist slightly to cheer him on.
Nara Shikamaru, somewhat charmed by her cuteness, thought, "...Idiot."
"You insulted me again!"
It's unclear about the others yet, but Haruko Hayama did quite well on her exams and passed the graduation exams in no time, officially becoming a fully-fledged ninja and even receiving the Konoha headband, a symbol of ninjas.
What she's worried about now is how she should wear this Konoha headband.
Haruko Hayama noticed early on that the ninjas in Konoha were wearing Konoha headbands in various unexpected ways.
Named by name: Kakashi Hatake, who uses the Konoha headband to cover his eyes.
Perhaps the Konoha headband could be considered a fashion item in the ninja world?
Haruko Hayama has long, straight, jet-black hair that reaches her waist. Her wispy bangs are pinned to one side with a flower hair clip. Combined with her gentle temperament, she looks like a Yamato Nadeshiko from the first year of Konoha.
Actually, this hair clip was a gift from Itachi Uchiha to her...
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