Chapter 61 Ethical Romance Drama
What's wrong with him...?
Even before he had any friends, he felt a dull ache in his chest. Why is it that now that he has friends, the pain in his chest is even deeper and more unbearable when they part ways...?
Ultimately, he's just like all those who make excuses to leave!
"You're just like them..."
Hearing Gaara's murmured voice, Haruko leaned closer to try and hear him clearly. "What did you say?"
"Then I'll keep you here forever!"
After shouting those words, Gaara was surrounded by sand that was many times larger than before, which rushed forward and enveloped Haruko Hayama.
Clearly sensing that Gaara was not in a good state, Haruko Hayama dove out of the Sand Stream's encirclement.
Sandstorm relentlessly pursued her, and Haruko immediately took out a kunai to fight against the sand.
"Xiao Ai, calm down!"
Unfortunately, Gaara, with a splitting headache, couldn't hear what she was saying. His mind was filled with images of his mother's death, his father's indifference, and the avoidant looks from the villagers...
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Sandflow's attack speed was too fast, and it attacked from all angles, cutting into Haruko Hayama's blind spots. She was caught off guard and her arm was cut.
Bright red blood splattered out, some of it sliding down the arm from the wound and dripping to the ground.
"Haru... Haruko!"
His vision turned crimson, and Gaara suddenly looked up at her. His consciousness was even clearer due to the shock of her injury, and all the sand he was controlling scattered on the ground.
He hurriedly moved closer to her, but then suddenly remembered his actions and froze in place.
Having finally escaped the predicament, Haruko breathed a sigh of relief and took out a handkerchief to stop the bleeding, only to find Gaara standing there, staring at his wound without daring to move.
His hands clenched tightly, his whole body trembled uncontrollably, and his panicked eyes gradually became empty.
Haruko found it amusing. "What are you standing there for? Come and bandage my wound."
With her permission, Gaara finally took a step forward, approached Haruko Hayama, took the handkerchief, and carefully covered the wound.
Even though it should be Haruko Hayama who's in pain, Gaara's lips are pursed into a straight line.
Seeing his bitter and resentful expression, Haruko teased, "You don't need to be so careful. I'm not fragile. Now you know how to be considerate of me?"
"I'm sorry..." Gaara said sullenly.
Haruko raised her other, uninjured hand, embraced Gaara's head, and held him tightly.
"I know Xiao Ai didn't do it on purpose. Xiao Ai just couldn't bear to part with me, right?"
"I also really miss Xiao Ai. If I could, I would like to stay with Xiao Ai forever. Xiao Ai is unhappy because she thinks the same way I do, right?"
"However, life is about parting and reunion, so let's look forward to our next meeting with joy!"
Seemingly having taken her words to heart, Gaara's expression calmed considerably, and the knot in his heart untied. At this moment, however, he was concerned about…
"Will it hurt if I get injured?"
Even though the wound had been bandaged, Gaara still frowned deeply. "What does pain feel like? I've never been injured before."
Haruko thought for a moment, "Pain is probably the feeling of losing vitality, right? Does Ai have someone very important to her?"
"have."
Mother, Father, Yashamaru... and Haruko, Gaara counted in his mind.
"If one day he leaves me forever, the feeling at that moment would be similar to the feeling of losing life, both of which would be a kind of tightness as if my heart were being squeezed."
By carefully observing her description, Gaara could vaguely understand the meaning of pain.
"Does Haruko... hate me?"
"I don't hate you, and I never will. I love Xiao Ai!"
After what she had seen and heard in Sunagakure these past few days, Haruko Hayama gradually came to understand how Gaara was perceived by the villagers.
He was born after taking his mother's life. In order to make him strong quickly to protect the village, his father, Kazekage, attached the embodiment of sand to his body.
Those were the spirits of the old monk Shaying, sealed inside a water-boiling pot called Shukaku.
You could say he was a monster from birth.
Born to perform magic, he is mentally unstable. To the villagers, he is not only their trump card but also a dangerous figure.
Therefore, the villagers regarded him as a monster, dared not approach him, and even insulted and despised him.
Gaara's experience is so similar to Naruto's; no one is willing to get close to them, they are always alone, and they are even forced to reflect on what they did wrong...
On the morning of the day she left, Gaara came to see Haruko Hayama off.
Seeing the pitiful little boy on the verge of tears, Haruko Hayashi smiled and handed him the things she was holding.
"This is... a photograph?"
Looking at the photo of him and Haruko Hayama, Gaara unconsciously stroked the smiling girl in the picture with his fingers.
Previously, Haruko Hayama took him to meet her parents. While they were playing together at the hotel, Haruko's mother took the opportunity to take a picture of them, capturing the moment when he shyly looked at Haruko Hayama.
"When Ai misses me, she can look at the photos. She absolutely mustn't forget what I look like!" Haruko Hayama is a little worried about her six-year-old's memory.
Gaara clutched the photo in his hand, and tears instantly streamed down his face.
"I will never forget Haruko!"
"When I grow up, I will come to find you!"
Against the backdrop of the fading white sky, the two children made promises to each other.
...
The two naive children from back then have grown into adults. They sit facing each other, reminiscing about the past.
"Later, I learned how you manipulated sand and created the Thousand Water Splitting Ninjutsu. I never thought that before I even grew up, we would have the opportunity to meet again."
Haruko, who had been chatting for most of the day, suddenly remembered what had happened that day and asked, "Why did Ai go to the ward?"
Under Haruko's curious gaze, Gaara remained silent for a few seconds before slowly revealing his true feelings: "I originally intended to kill him."
Haruko was sweating a little in the morning.
"Because he stole your attention."
Haruko was sweating even more in the morning.
"I want Haruko's gaze to stay on me forever."
Haruko was drenched in sweat this morning.
What happened? What happened?!
Isn't this supposed to be a slice-of-life drama about old friends reuniting and chatting amicably? How did it suddenly turn into an ethically-driven romance drama where an obsessive male lead falls in love with me?!
In fact, it was Haruko Hayama who was chatting the whole time; Gaara was just quietly listening to her.
Haruko managed a forced smile. She opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"Haruko!"
They were seated by the window, and outside the glass was Naruto Uzumaki, who had been lying there for some time and was staring intently at their conversation.
Thinking she had heard a heavenly voice to save her from dire straits, Haruko turned around in the morning and saw Naruto Uzumaki lying on his stomach like a frog with his eyes wide open in a comical pose.
"Cough cough! Naruto, what are you doing lying up here?"
Upon hearing her words, Naruto realized his posture was rather awkward and quickly stood up, trying to salvage his image. "I...I was just looking around when I saw Haruko!"
Knowing that he must have followed her out of concern, Haruko reluctantly waved him in.
He could at least be considered her savior.
******
The list of recipients of gratitude as of February 19, 2024:
grateful--
Two likes from Juju, three love letters, a knife (a weapon), a reminder to update, and flowers.
The boba milk tea sent by the author, Xiao Jiu.
Flowers sent without prior notice, a like, a love letter.
A love letter from Yue Xiaokui Ă—2
Aning, who loves poplar leaves and is curious about everything, gave this flower.
The authors are Xiao Jiu, Aning who likes poplar leaves, Hua Chen@, Feng Qin who loves spicy chicken noodles, whoever calls out for urine in a kettle, whoever's loud, whoever's loud, G's Meow, and Jin Xiula from Nanning who sent this for love.
Thank you so much for the gifts! The author is so touched! Xiao Qingzi is sending you all love online!
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