Chapter 47 How do you view me?
"Hey! Isn't Shiro Haruko's brother? I always thought you were siblings, after all, you both have black hair and are both so pretty!" the female classmate exclaimed in surprise.
Hearing her pet rabbit being praised, Haruko proudly raised her head, "Right? Shiro is really pretty!"
"Luckily I like Sasuke, otherwise I definitely wouldn't be able to resist Haku's beauty attack."
"Uchiha-kun?"
Haruko glanced at the grumpy-faced handsome boy sitting at the back of the classroom, then at Shiro who had returned to her side, and whispered in his ear, "I still think Shiro is the prettiest!"
Bai couldn't help but laugh, and replied in a low voice, "I think Haruko is the most beautiful person in the world."
"You two..." The female classmate just couldn't stand watching the two of them talking as if no one else was around. If she were older, she would know that she was just speechless at watching a young couple.
Haku's talent was also astonishing. In a practical lesson, he fought to a standstill with Uchiha Sasuke, who was known as a genius. Although he was a bit disheveled, Uchiha Sasuke did not gain any advantage over him.
In the end, the teacher stood between the two and announced that they had tied.
After the battle, Haruko rushed to his side, "Shiro! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Bai calmly let her turn him over and examine him, and smiled helplessly to reassure her, "I'm not hurt, my clothes were just scratched."
There were no obvious wounds, and Haruko breathed a sigh of relief. "You better not be lying to me..."
A warm feeling washed over him, and Bai unconsciously raised his hand to gently stroke her cheek. "Don't worry, Qingzi."
It's no wonder that Haruko is so cautious. She has been trying her best to bring warmth to his family, but for some reason, she doesn't relax at all and instead works hard to train.
If Haruko hadn't noticed the unexpected wound on his body, Shiro would probably still be hiding it from her.
However, the results are obvious. When he first entered the school, Haku, who knew nothing, was no match for Uchiha Sasuke. Now, he can not only fight him to a draw but also make it very difficult for Sasuke to counterattack.
It's estimated that he'll be able to defeat this genius soon.
However, this is only Shiro's hope, not Haruko's...
Haruko Hayama still remembers the first time she discovered the wounds on Shiro's body.
"Shiro, are you injured somewhere?" As Shiro approached home, Haruko could faintly smell a bloody odor.
"Huh? No, what's wrong, Haruko?"
Unexpectedly, the wound that had already been treated was still noticed by her. Bai panicked for a moment, but subconsciously put on an innocent expression and looked back at her.
"..."
Haruko Hayashi was all too familiar with this expression. She pursed her lips and remained silent, her dark eyes fixed on Shiro.
The usual warm atmosphere fell silent at this moment.
After a brief standoff, Bai finally gave in and gently comforted her, saying, "I accidentally fell on my way back, and my knee might be bleeding."
"……Really?"
"real."
Shiro's eyes widened, and he awkwardly cupped Haruko's face, which was silently weeping, wiping away the tears with his fingers. "Why are you crying?"
Receiving no answer, Bai sighed, knowing he couldn't hide it from her, and went forward to hug her.
"I'm sorry, Haruko, I just didn't want you to worry."
"But... but... if you don't say anything, I'll worry even more!" Haruko Hayama retorted, her voice trembling with tears.
Feeling the trembling emanating from her body, his chest tightened, and he slowly buried his head in her neck, promising, "There won't be a next time..."
That day, Shiro learned what it meant to cherish. Because she cherished him, Shiro chose to hide it, while Haruko cried because she cherished him. This lesson in life was difficult for him to learn.
He no longer wanted to learn anything from the snow elves' tears.
＊
Through a fulfilling life of study and life, Haruko and Shiro successfully passed their graduation exams and became capable ninjas.
I don't know if the teacher saw that they got along well and took pity on them by putting them in the same group.
"But, these tasks that Kakashi-sensei assigned are so boring! They're all just trivial little things..." Haruko Hayama leaned listlessly on Shiro's shoulder.
"With our capabilities, we can only take on D-rank missions right now. Let's wait a bit longer, Haruko." Shiro relaxed his shoulders, wanting her to lean on him more comfortably.
"Won't Bai get bored?"
Bai thought about it seriously for a moment and replied, "I didn't find it boring at all. Every kind of commission has an element of training, and I want to do it well."
“Shiro has become a more mature child than me now…” Haruko sat up and patted his shoulder with satisfaction.
Bai chuckled slightly, accepting her praise, "But once I'm more mature, I'll be able to take better care of Qingzi."
"What?! I want to take care of Bai too!"
Bai poked her puffed-up face with his hand, unable to hide his smile, "Consider it a favor to me. I want to take care of Qingzi forever."
It is said that it was another teammate's reasoned argument that led the Hokage to assign them a C-rank mission—to escort the bridge-building uncle back to his country safely.
As Haruko walked down the street in the morning, she muttered to herself, "Is that old man really a famous bridge builder? He seems so unreliable."
Bai smiled unchanged and replied in a low voice, "Indeed, he looks like a drunken old man."
"Hahaha, Shiro thinks so too, right?" Haruko covered her mouth and laughed.
It's hilarious to see Bai making such innocent and naive comments about others!
But it wasn't long before Haruko stopped smiling.
Unexpectedly, the drunken man concealed the assassination attempt against them, and they were stopped on the street by a muscular man named Zabuza.
In the end, it was Kakashi Hatake who used his Sharingan to force him back; otherwise, their group would have been exposed as skeletons.
Perhaps haunted by the experience of facing a real enemy, Bai still appeared distracted when he safely arrived at the drunk man's house.
Haruko found Shiro sitting quietly in the forest in the morning. "Shiro, what's wrong?"
As she sat down beside him, Bai remained silent, watching her intently, as if trying to uncover the truth from her every move.
Haruko felt something was off and rubbed her face with her hand. "Is there something on my face?"
Bai gently shook her head, as if giving up on exploring, and turned to look at the woods directly in front of her.
Seeing that he was still listless, Haruko took his hand and comforted him, "It's okay, Shiro. You'll definitely be stronger than that muscle man in the future. When that happens, we'll conquer the world and make sure no one dares to underestimate us!"
Bai listened to her grand pronouncements and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"You smiled, Shiro!" Haruko breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. "I was so scared. I thought you were too heartbroken to get back on your feet."
After carefully observing that her worries were genuine, Bai slowly raised his hand to place her hand and asked her softly.
How do you... perceive me?
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