Chapter 33 The Great Swallow of Freedom and Justice
That day, Itachi Uchiha returned home rather late after finishing his mission. They had already finished dinner. When he returned, his mother got up to heat up his food.
Before Haruko could ask him anything, Itachi walked straight up to her, squatted down, took out a fist from his pocket, held something in it, and then slowly opened it under her curious gaze.
A delicate flower hair clip lay quietly in his slender, long hand, like a vibrant purple swallow blooming from his palm.
Inside the delicate, tender purple-pink petals, there are pure white buds. Each petal is meticulously crafted, as if it would sway gently in the breeze. Under the warm yellow light, this giant swallow is almost indistinguishable from a real bird.
"I saw this on my way to a mission and thought it would suit you, but I don't know if you would like it."
Seeing Haruko staring intently at his palm, Itachi Uchiha smiled, realizing she must like it.
As expected, Haruko's eyes lit up when she heard that it was a gift for her.
"I love it, it's so beautiful..." Haruko wanted to reach out and touch it, but she didn't dare to use force. It looked so delicate and fragile, as if it would break if she used too much force.
Unexpectedly, she cherished it so much. Itachi Uchiha smiled and said, "Let me put it on for you."
"Thank you, Itachi-nii!"
Uchiha Itachi moved closer, and after Haruko took off the hair clip that was holding her bangs, he raised his other hand and gently hooked her stray hairs to one side, then removed the hair clip and carefully fastened it.
"Am I pretty?" Haruko asked impatiently.
Uchiha Itachi chuckled, "Haruko is already pretty, but thankfully this hair clip suits you."
“It’s clearly Itachi-nii who has good taste,” Haruko Hayama pointed out seriously.
Hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway outside, and Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto appeared at the door at the same time.
"Brother, you're back!"
"Haruko!"
Without pausing, Naruto rushed to Haruko Hayama and complained, "Sasuke cheated!"
Standing at the doorway, meeting his older brother's meaningful gaze, Uchiha Sasuke frantically tried to explain, "Brother, I didn't! That idiot couldn't accept defeat!"
Itachi Uchiha smiled. After his younger brother made friends, his personality had become much more lively without him even realizing it, although it was because he was annoyed by them.
Seeing Naruto Uzumaki peeking out from behind Haruko Hayama and making faces at him, Sasuke Uchiha's face turned red with anger. He took a few steps forward, wanting to catch the guy who was ruining his reputation in front of his brother.
As a result, Naruto Uzumaki stayed behind Haruko Hayama the whole time, and with Haruko mediating between them, Sasuke Uchiha couldn't catch him.
"What's that on your head..." Suddenly noticing that the hair clip on her head had changed, Uchiha Sasuke stopped in his tracks.
Upon his mention, Haruko realized she hadn't yet shown off to them, so she turned around so that Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki behind her could see her.
"It was given to me by Itachi-nii, isn't it nice?"
"Beautiful! Haruko is the most beautiful girl in the world!" Naruto exclaimed with starry eyes.
At Haruko's prompting, he only lightly touched the petal before withdrawing his hand. Looking at Haruko's eyes, which couldn't hide her smile, Naruto secretly vowed that once he saved up enough money, he would buy Haruko a hair clip.
Realizing he had been staring at Haruko in the morning, Sasuke Uchiha snorted in embarrassment and crossed his arms, pretending nothing had happened. "It's clearly because my brother has good taste."
Having witnessed his younger brother's performance, Itachi's smile deepened. He waved to Sasuke, beckoning him over, and then simply extended his index and middle fingers to tap Sasuke's forehead.
"Ouch! Brother!" Uchiha Sasuke covered his forehead, feeling both confused and aggrieved.
"Sasuke," Itachi gently advised him, "If you like someone, you should say it."
Under his brother's deep, penetrating gaze, Sasuke Uchiha pursed his lips. Glancing at the two curious onlookers out of the corner of his eye, his initial courage vanished without a trace.
"Oh! Is Tomato Head going to turn into a tomato?"
"It should be said that Sasuke was shy."
"You two...don't look at me!"
Afterwards, Haruko Hayama even went to Ino Yamanaka, whose family owned a flower shop, to ask about the meaning of flowers.
"This is the Great Flying Swallow, which represents tranquility, freedom, and justice. When it blooms, the petals flutter back and forth in the wind, just like flying swallows, hence the name Great Flying Swallow."
Yamanaka Ino earnestly explained, then casually inquired, "Did Sasuke give it to you?"
"No, it was given to me by Sasuke's brother."
"!!!"
No way, she's already taken down Sasuke's family? Waaaaah, do I even have a chance...?
Undeterred, Yamanaka Ino pressed on, "Does Haruko like Sasuke?"
"Huh?" Haruko was taken aback by the question. After understanding what she meant, she explained with a laugh, "Of course not, Sasuke and I are just friends."
Now that she thinks about it, Haruko Hayama subconsciously touched the hair clip on her head.
Did Itachi know the meaning of the swallowtail flower back then...?
After learning from Sasuke that Itachi Uchiha was the culprit behind the massacre of her clan, Haruko Hayama hid this bright and beautiful swallow deep in her drawer.
She couldn't understand it, she couldn't understand how the gentle older brother in her memory could be the murderer who wiped out her clan.
Countless times, sitting quietly at her desk, slowly pulling out the drawer and revealing the Great Swallow bearing the name of justice, Haruko Hayama still couldn't understand the seemingly ambiguous meaning behind it.
Wear it if you want.
Sasuke Uchiha was standing at the doorway at some point, and his sudden voice made Haruko's action of closing the drawer flustered.
"Sasuke, I..."
Wear it if you want.
Sasuke Uchiha interrupted her and repeated himself.
Seeing that she had fallen silent, Sasuke Uchiha pushed open the half-closed door, walked up to her, and pulled open the drawer again to take out a hair clip.
He had never put hair accessories on a girl before, and now that he wanted to put a hair clip on Haruko Hayama, he could only learn from Itachi Uchiha's movements from his memories.
Gently brushing her loose bangs to one side, Sasuke Uchiha awkwardly fastened a hair clip to her glossy, smooth hair. After making sure it wouldn't fall off, he stepped back slightly.
In the silent atmosphere of grief and pain, the two held hands tightly, as if trying to support each other.
Ultimately, they were all cowards, deeply yearning for that man's care and love, yet deceiving themselves in their pain.
Uchiha Sasuke lowered his head, his eyes dull and lifeless.
That man left me with nothing but hatred and something unattainable...
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