Chapter 87 Chess
"It's chess," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, a little shy but also proud. "I didn't expect Biwako to know that I like playing chess."
He then realized he wasn't getting a response from Haruko Hayama, so he turned around and saw her standing there, stunned.
"Haruko? Haruko!"
“…Hmm?” Haruko snapped out of her daze, though her eyes remained fixed on the familiar yet unfamiliar gift.
Hiruzen Sarutobi placed his hand on her forehead. "What's wrong? Have you caught a cold?"
“No…” Haruko Hayama forced a smile at him.
What's going on? Why do I feel so sad when I see this chess set...?
Haruko unconsciously touched her heart in the morning; it felt empty, as if she had lost something very important.
What is it...?
Afterwards, Hiruzen Sarutobi carefully put away the gift. When he noticed that Haruko was still absent-minded after dinner, he finally couldn't help but talk to her.
"What's wrong, Haruko? You've been acting strange ever since you saw that chess set," Hiruzen Sarutobi said slowly, sounding a little nervous. "Is it... that you don't like Lake Biwa?"
"Huh? No, I really like my sister-in-law." Haruko Hayama didn't expect his guess to be so outrageous.
Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, his voice softening considerably. "Then what happened?"
"Hiruzen, what kind of life did I lead before you found me?"
Upon hearing Haruko's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi was speechless for a moment. He recalled the thin body huddled in the corner, trembling, and his heart sank slightly.
He reached out and stroked Haruko Hayama's head, asking softly, "Why did you suddenly think of that?"
"I'm wondering... if I've met anyone before..."
Who is it?
“Someone who is very important to me, someone I absolutely cannot lose… But it’s so strange, I have no memory of this. I clearly don’t remember anything from the past, so I shouldn’t have met someone like this.”
As Haruko spoke, tears streamed down her face. "But...but it hurts so much here...it feels like a huge hole has been dug out!"
Her voice became urgent, and she gripped the front of her clothes tightly, as if trying to penetrate her body to grasp that piercing, inexplicable emotion.
That day, Haruko cried a lot in the morning, and she was still sobbing even after Hiruzen Sarutobi comforted her and put her in bed.
Sleep is the best way to numb reality.
Forgot who said those words to her, Haruko Hayama, entering a dream, felt as if she had fallen into a kaleidoscope-like world.
She walked without thinking.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in the empty world.
"You really are a troublesome person..."
"My dream is simple: just be a ninja and make some money..."
"Hey, are you an idiot or something...?"
"Say something strange..."
"Such a lively little flower doesn't resemble my temperament at all..."
Haruko stopped in her tracks in the morning. She looked up and surveyed the sounds coming from all directions, sometimes loud, sometimes soft, sometimes spirited, and sometimes lazy.
Who is speaking?
That voice sounds so familiar...
In a daze, thick white smoke rose in front of her, swirling together and coalescing into a human figure—a boy with a high ponytail, about her age.
The smoke was still dissipating and gathering, seemingly about to completely dissipate at any moment.
"Who are you?"
Haruko called out in the morning, but the smoke didn't respond; it just scratched its head in annoyance.
However, the way it scratches its head is as if its hand has melted into its hair, as if it's about to pull its head out the next second.
Seeing its slightly cute movements, Haruko Hayama burst out laughing.
Seeing her smile, it wasn't annoyed at all; in fact, it seemed relieved and put its hands on its hips.
Do we know each other?
Haruko changed the subject again. She walked step by step towards the smoke, only to find that the smoke was actually taller than her when she got closer.
The smoke did not answer her, but kept its gaze fixed on her eyes the whole time.
Even though he has no facial features, Haruko Hayama feels like he's looking at her.
What happened...?
Seeing this "person" brought me an unusual sense of peace...
Haruko tentatively tried to take his hand, but the moment she touched it, the smoke dissipated completely.
She stood frozen in place, somewhat helplessly trying to grasp the last wisps of smoke floating in the air, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch them.
do not leave Me!
Ring ring—!
Haruko was woken up by the alarm clock in the morning. She ignored the still-ringing alarm and slowly sat up.
The next second, a round tear rolled down her left eye.
"That's strange. What did I dream about last night? Why was I crying..."
＊
Because of the class reassignment after graduation, Haruko Hayama rarely saw Hiruko. However, she heard from Tsunade that Hiruko was too weak and was always looked down upon by his teammates.
Haruko Hayama, bursting with a sense of justice, chose to tell Jiraiya, and then urged the truly justice-driven Jiraiya to stand up for Hiruko.
"Hiruko, you're too weak. Can you please stop dragging us down?"
"If you're at the bottom of the pack, you should have the self-awareness to stay at the bottom. Can't you just stay quietly at the back?"
As soon as Haruko and her three friends arrived, they witnessed a bullying incident at school. The victim, Hiruko, was sitting on the ground, her white robe covered in dust, looking at her teammates with fear in her eyes.
"Hey! Is this how you treat your teammates who've been through thick and thin with you?"
Jiraiya made a heroic entrance, pointing at them and beating them up.
Haruko and Tsunade followed behind to cheer him on, while Orochimaru was only forced to accompany them.
As expected, Jiraiya is the one who can pull off this kind of chuunibyou (delusional) act!
Haruko and Tsunade thought at the same time.
Because they outnumbered him, Hiruko's teammates left unwillingly, but Hiruko didn't seem very happy to see Haruko and the others arrive.
Haruko went to help him up in the morning, but sensed Hiruko struggling and resisting.
Jiraiya was still boasting, "They're so smug because they think they're superior; they have no sense of camaraderie whatsoever!"
"Exactly! We've never complained about Jiraiya, they're going too far!" Tsunade said indignantly.
"Huh?" Jiraiya exclaimed in disbelief, "When have you ever stopped finding fault with me?!"
While they were bickering, Haruko quietly asked Hiruko, "Hiruko, what's wrong?"
"No...it's nothing, thank you."
After saying this, Hiruko left in a hurry without paying attention to their thoughts.
"What's wrong with that guy?" Jiraiya was completely baffled.
Tsunade punched him, "It's because you're too blunt!"
One evening, while Haruko was training in the forest, she unexpectedly saw Hiruko panting heavily.
He seemed to have been practicing meditation for a long time; several strands of his hair were still wet and stuck to his face.
"Beiluhu?"
Haruko jumped down from the tree and landed in front of him, her sudden appearance startling Hiruko.
"What... are you doing here?" Hiruko asked after catching his breath.
"I was about to head back after finishing my training, but I didn't expect to see you on the way." Haruko Hayama said with some concern, handing him a handkerchief. "Are you alright? Were you pushing yourself too hard?"
Upon hearing her words, Hiruko pursed her lips and slapped her hand away.
Under Haruko's astonished gaze, he roared, "No matter how much I train... no matter how hard I try... I can't compare to you geniuses! I can't even compare to ordinary people!"
******
The list of recipients of gratitude as of February 25, 2024:
grateful--
Steamed Shufen's Spicy and Sour Sausage Gift: 3 Update Urging Charms, 2 Boba Milk Teas
Flowers and a love letter from a cat that doesn't crave fish.
Two flowers and a love letter from Ms. Yin, who loves soda.
Mumu Cheng sent me a like and a flower.
Two flowers sent by Raku & Sharon, from Edogawa Ranpo.
Beauty and truth are not contradictory; a love letter sent.
Aaa, a young master who loves steamed squid, is a wealthy man who enjoys the gentle breeze and loves steamed squid. Dong Ji, whose spiritual energy is depleted, doesn't want to become a flower given by Uncle Zuo.
Yun Cheyun of Ancient Desert Island, ▅▇▇●Wuwuwu, WDYHL, Xingyuan who loves home-cooked mackerel, PinkTulip, Xiao Qi is not Qi, Henghengte, Kuisen-chan A, Jin Xiula of Nanning, Tianying Butler, G's Meow, Weishang (Aotu Xiaofen), Fu Shao who loves steamed squid, Dongji who has exhausted spiritual energy, Lu Guogong who likes red grapes, Shan Qinghua Yuran, Yan Yiyue, Uchiha Sasuke's wife, Yue...., Ain's little green leaf, Debei Xiaohui, Xingchen is very bored, Yanluo, Kuchazi flew all over my face, Shi Lingyi, A Ning who likes poplar leaves, Fengqin who loves spicy chicken noodles, Qifeng Xiaokeai, sunny Mio, a cat who doesn't crave fish, please call me Meteor Lord, all the names I could think of are gone. Tu Tu Tu, Su He, Yin Shi who loves soda, a gift for love.
(Some of your names may contain special characters that the author couldn't type or that the tomato (the website's logo) couldn't display. We hope you understand!)
Thank you for the gifts! The author is so touched! Hiruko shyly makes a heart shape with her hands (,, . ,,)
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