Chapter 8 The Wronged Little Dog
Haruko saw Nara Shikamaru suddenly fall silent, seemingly lost in thought. He seemed to have thought of something, and his earlobes flushed red. He also gave Haruko a strange look.
Haruko Hayama: ?
"This is so annoying! I'm leaving!"
Nara Shikamaru raised his voice, trying to cover up his mistake, and then quickly left.
Haruko was left alone in the empty classroom, her mind filled with questions. She couldn't figure out what was wrong with him no matter how long she thought about it.
But her thoughts didn't last long. When she saw Naruto Uzumaki timidly pacing back and forth at the door, too afraid to come in, Haruko had a strange sense of foreboding.
"Naruto?"
Startled by the sound she made, Naruto's already tense nerves tightened, and he turned Hua's face towards her in horror.
In the morning, Haruko's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she rushed to his side in a panic, pulling away Naruto's hand that he was trying to cover his face, completely exposing the bruises on his face.
Her incredulous voice rose several decibels, "Did you go to get into a fight?"
Naruto instinctively didn't want to worry her, but after meeting her serious gaze, he changed his tune, "It was that pretentious guy who provoked me first!"
"A pretentious guy?" Haruko Hayama repeated, puzzled.
Naruto Uzumaki usually teases and messes with a lot of people, so Haruko Hayashi couldn't immediately figure out who he was talking about.
"Let's treat this first, how did it get so badly done..."
Haruko reached out and gently touched his wound. After hearing him hiss, she frowned. "I knew you were bad, and you still hit me like that. That's too much!"
"ah?"
The golden retriever blinked, and seeing that she was focused on examining her wound, it pitifully decided to pretend it hadn't heard.
Fortunately, there was a spare first-aid kit in the classroom. Haruko carefully treated his wounds in the morning, while Naruto Uzumaki, who was comfortably enjoying the treatment with his eyes half-closed, completely forgot about how he had provoked Naruto and ended up getting injured.
Stroking the bruises on his fair face, Haruko couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "If you can't beat them, just run away. You've made yourself all bruised."
"The word 'defeat' doesn't exist in my life!" Naruto Uzumaki declared emphatically, clenching his fist.
The way he acted made it seem like if he were given another chance, he would definitely beat him up again.
"Behave yourself!"
The golden retriever, which had been so arrogant, suddenly felt wronged after being glared at by her.
Haruko disagreed and reasoned with him, "It's not that your spirit is bad, it's just that you will encounter many difficulties and challenges in the future, and you should put protecting yourself first!"
Thinking about the arduous growth paths of the various protagonists depicted in books and comics, and considering Naruto's troublesome personality, Haruko Hayama was truly worried about his future and fate.
She thought Naruto's serious expression meant he had taken her words to heart, but after a few seconds of silence, he blurted out, "Haruko, you're so kind."
"...Okay, then remember what I said."
"Haruko is the best person in the world, unlike them, who always look down on me and even call me a fox demon!" Naruto Uzumaki angrily waved his hand at the air. "I don't want to be friends with them! I have my best friend Haruko!"
Haruko paused in packing her medical kit, then changed the subject to cover up her embarrassment, "Why do they call you a fox spirit?"
When this was mentioned, Naruto Uzumaki became depressed. "Everyone in the village says... I'm a child cursed by a fox demon."
"Cursed by a fox demon?"
Haruko looked him up and down a few times, and apart from the beard on his face, she couldn't see anything that looked like he was cursed.
However, seeing his sullen expression, she smiled and comforted him with an admiring tone: "That means Naruto must be an exceptionally powerful person, so even the fox demon is afraid of him!"
"Huh?" Naruto suddenly looked up and met her bright, smiling eyes.
In an instant, a gentle, spring-like care enveloped him, invisible yet warm, a genuine concern he had never felt before, and his bright blue eyes were instantly filled with tears.
When faced with the gentle and soft-spoken Haruko Hayama, he felt an urge to vent all the grievances he had been holding in.
Those veiled insults, that cold indifference, those malicious jeers…
The gloom that had always shrouded him, the ugliness he had hidden behind his inferiority complex, the nightmares that kept him tossing and turning day and night... were all easily wiped away by her on an ordinary sunny day.
Hot tears streamed down his face, dripping silently onto the freshly applied white dressing, seeping into his heart and giving rise to tender buds of hope.
Haruko... is truly like the sun.
Naruto Uzumaki stared blankly into his mind, completely unaware of how heartbreaking it was to see him looking so silly and tearful.
It is like a happy puppy that has gone through hardships and setbacks and finally found its owner.
Haruko carefully wiped away his tears, and when she realized that his tears were flowing like a dam had been opened, she helplessly placed her hand on his soft blond hair and rubbed it.
A warm and intimate atmosphere wafted around them. Naruto Uzumaki held her and cried uncontrollably, while Haruko quietly patted his back.
After a long while, once Naruto had calmed down, Haruko suddenly changed the subject and asked a question.
"So who was the person you fought with?"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Still immersed in emotion, Naruto Uzumaki mumbled something, then his pupils constricted sharply as he accused her with an incredulous expression.
"Him?" Haruko was slightly taken aback, not expecting that the one who beat him up like this was Uchiha Sasuke.
Speaking of Uchiha Sasuke, he is quite famous not only in his class but also in the school. He is handsome, has a cool personality, and is hailed as a genius boy of the Uchiha clan.
He always keeps to himself; judging by his style, he shouldn't be the type to provoke or beat people up.
and……
"You guys just sparred during your practical training today, right?" Haruko Hayama recalled.
Because Naruto Uzumaki lost so badly, she didn't bring it up again. At the time, a teacher intervened, and Naruto Uzumaki, who was full of resentment, didn't suffer any injuries.
Compared to the cold-faced Sasuke Uchiha, it's Naruto Uzumaki who's more likely to provoke and cause trouble.
"Well... he's such a jerk!" Naruto sobbed, then guiltily touched the tip of his nose.
Lost in thought, Haruko Hayama didn't notice his unusual behavior. It was only after Naruto Uzumaki brought it up that Haruko realized the connection she hadn't made before.
I was so focused on Naruto Uzumaki before that I didn't really remember Sasuke Uchiha, but now that I think about it...
Aloof, genius, popular, and now in conflict with Naruto—isn't this the epitome of a protagonist?!
So maybe Sasuke Uchiha is another protagonist, Naruto's destined best friend!
Haruko's face lit up with surprise and excitement. She shook Naruto's shoulder and looked into the distance with hopeful eyes, as if she could already see the dawn of victory.
Her hope! Uchiha Sasuke!
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