stonecrandall Chapter 131 Aren't you going to come in and sit down?
Chapter 131 Aren't you going to come in and sit down?
"I'm sorry..." Naoki didn't know what to say, so he could only say sorry inexplicably.
Takita looked at him with some confusion, then said with amusement, "Haha, why are you apologizing to me? You didn't do anything wrong..."
As Takita spoke, he gave Naoki a cute smile, revealing his sharp canine teeth that were impossible to hide when he smiled.
"I..." Naoki paused for a second, then suddenly felt like crying.
You didn't do anything wrong...
The sentence was utterly ordinary, but to Naoki, it felt so painful, so ironic. Indeed, what had he done wrong? Why was he being forced to do these things...?
But he couldn't show any weakness now; he knew there was another gaze watching him intently from behind. He had to create some connection with Takita! Even if it was just agreeing to meet again sometime...
"Huh? Aren't you going back? Don't worry about me... I... I want to practice a little longer. I'll go back by myself later." Takita said when he saw the boy with the red umbrella still standing there, unwilling to leave.
Naoki's toes twitched, and his fists clenched tightly. He didn't know what to say next, but he couldn't just leave like that...
"I... I'll wait for you here!" Naoki didn't know what to say, so he could only express his decision in the simplest of words.
"Uh..." Takita scratched his wet hair, looked at the sky, then shrugged and said helplessly, "Okay, okay, I'll go back now. By the way, are you a ninja? You're more likely to catch a cold outside in this weather."
It's already late autumn, and especially after the torrential rain, the temperature is probably only around ten degrees Celsius... This kind of weather wouldn't be a problem for ninjas, but for ordinary people...
Seeing that the boy with the red umbrella was unwilling to leave, Takita had no choice but to temporarily put away his sword and give up his plan to continue training for a little while longer.
"Then take me home, and I'll treat you to tea."
Takita sheathed his sword, walked over to Naoki and hid under his umbrella, then realized he had forgotten to introduce himself, so he added, "Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm the head of the Hagoromo clan, my name is Hagoromo Takita, what's yours?"
Although Naoki knew that the other party was the young clan leader of Hagoromo, he still couldn't help but find it hard to believe when he saw the confident and composed expression on his face.
The other person is clearly about the same age as me, yet he is already able to shoulder the fate of a huge family?
Naoki paused for a second before reacting and whispering, "Just call me Naoki..."
He didn't even say his surname, though it was only a subconscious act.
Takita didn't press the matter much. After all, although things were peaceful now, the chaos had only just ended. Whether the other party was a ninja or not, or what clan they belonged to or what their surname was, it didn't matter to them.
After all, she had only met this boy with the red umbrella by chance. If she could make friends with him, she wouldn't be so lonely in the days to come.
“Naoki…that’s a very nice name,” Takita praised.
Although it's just an ordinary name, the boy under the red umbrella actually gave me a pretty good first impression... except for that faint sense of melancholy about him.
This piqued Takita's curiosity, but despite his curiosity, he didn't plan to ask for the time being. Everyone has their own worries, and he was no exception.
The two chatted casually along the way, but Naoki couldn't bring himself to use those well-trained conversational skills... He could tell that Takita spoke with unwavering honesty.
It was as if his words were completely undisguised and unguarded, utterly sincere. But then again... even a clan leader is simple-minded when dealing with his peers, often without any ulterior motives.
The rain was still pouring down, and Takita was soaked to the bone. A cold wind blew, making him shiver.
"Now is the time..." Naoki thought to himself, but he was extremely conflicted.
In this situation, the pre-arranged method was to reach out and hug the other person, but Naoki froze, unable to extend his arm no matter what he did...
It wasn't that she disliked Takita or didn't want to have contact with him. Rather, it was because... this deliberate, pre-arranged tactic made her feel disgusted.
Even though he genuinely wanted to make things a little warmer for Takita, the thought of their connection made him feel incredibly hypocritical...
His hand remained frozen at his side, and in the end, he didn't reach out.
"We're here! Come in with me. I'll treat you to tea and some snacks. You can rest for a bit and go back when the rain gets a little lighter!" Takita invited him expectantly, his tone as genuine as ever, without any hint of politeness.
Although it was their first meeting, the fact that the other person cared about him and brought him back brought a rare positive feeling to Takita, who had been lonely for a long time and hadn't been doing too well lately.
Naoki lowered his head slightly, his expression revealing neither joy nor sorrow. He was now consumed by self-doubt. His initial performance-driven mindset, coupled with encountering someone so genuine and unpretentious, made him feel utterly ashamed...
He's about to break down; if they continue to get along, things might go wrong.
Naoki clenched his fist, looked up at Takita with a somewhat apologetic smile, and said, "No need, thank you for your kindness, but I think I should go back now..."
"Ah...? Really, won't you come in and sit for a bit? Just stay in my room, there's no one else here." Takita was slightly disappointed, but he still tentatively tried to persuade him to stay.
Naoki gently shook his head and said in his clear voice, "Um, no need... maybe next time."
"All right..."
Since it was their first meeting anyway, Takita didn't try to persuade him to stay. He just watched with some worry as the boy with the red umbrella silently turned and walked back into the heavy rain, his figure gradually becoming blurry...
Takita stood under the eaves of the clan's gate, watching the departing figure with a sense of bewilderment, a hint of worry rising in his heart.
He felt that this guy named Naoki probably didn't really bump into him by chance, nor did he genuinely want to get close to him. But there seemed to be a little bit of truth in his pretense.
"What a strange guy..." Takita muttered to himself, his mind racing with all sorts of thoughts. "I wonder which family he's from... Oh well, we'll meet again someday."
Takita didn't take it too seriously, treating this chance encounter as just another ordinary event. He was more focused on getting back to his clan to handle the affairs of the clan.
Furthermore, Konoha Village's finances have been a bit tight lately, and Madara and the others have mentioned it, so I need to help them find a solution...
Building a village is infinitely more difficult than managing an ethnic group. And the first problem they faced was that they had no money.