I, who was determined to stay in Naruto, became the white moonlight

"…Even if we grew up together, you shouldn't have such a heavy filter."

Nara Shikamaru was not at a loss for words as he had been before. His tone was low and although he was chatting with her about ordinary topics, his thoughts seemed to have drifted far away.

Morning Haruko stared at him for a few seconds and said with certainty: "Shikamaru is worried!"

Nara Shikamaru was stunned by what she said, and his dead fish eyes became even more gloomy, "What can I worry about..."

"Shikamaru seems to be acting strange ever since he came back from the mission."

Although Haruko was busy helping Tsunade after she came back in the morning, she would not have never met Nara Shikamaru who came to visit her, unless he was deliberately avoiding her.

Unexpectedly, she still noticed it. Nara Shikamaru sighed, stood up, lowered his head, and revealed his thoughts to her.

"I know what it's like to carry out a mission, and I know in my heart that this is the world of ninjas."

"But when I saw them getting injured one by one in front of me, and even being tortured by the enemy, and I, as a team leader, was completely unable to do anything, that emotion... was really too much to bear."

"I was too naive. I thought that if we all united, we would be able to carry out the mission perfectly. It's all my fault that we ended up like this..."

Listening to Nara Shikamaru's pretended calm words, Zaoma Haruko suddenly realized that she, as a fellow Chunin, was constantly reflecting on herself for not being able to protect her teammates. How much psychological pressure must Nara Shikamaru be under as he was serving as captain for the first time?

She hadn't noticed...

Morning Haruko patted his shoulder gently, her tone frustrated, "Shikamaru, this is not your fault alone. I also have shortcomings and have not been able to be of any use. If I had been able to collect the documents earlier and help you, perhaps this would not have happened..."

“No, it’s my decision-making problem!”

Nara Shikamaru's voice suddenly became louder. He curled up slightly and held his head in pain. "It was me who underestimated the enemy's vigilance, and let the enemy escape, putting you in danger!"

When the enemy escaped, Nara Shikamaru's heart stopped for a moment, knowing that the enemy would catch Haruko off guard when they rushed to the base, and might even threaten Haruko's life, but he had no choice but to watch.

Seeing her, whom I promised to protect, fall into danger...

"During this mission, I served as a team leader for the first time, and then I realized... I am not suitable to be a ninja."

After saying this, Nara Shikamaru seemed relieved and smiled bitterly.

"Shikamaru!"

Morning Haruko turned his face over, made his eyes meet hers, and said with a stern face: "Are you going to abandon me?"

"I didn't..." Nara Shikamaru wanted to refute, but he was stared at by her clear eyes and had no way to escape.

"If you don't become a ninja, who will protect me? Who will protect everyone? It is because you are the captain that we can carry out the mission with complete confidence."

"Shikamaru is not only able to think of strategies quickly and arrange us in the most suitable positions, but he is also thoughtful. He will take care of Ino's injuries, ask others not to offend Choji, and treat everyone equally."

"I've always believed this. I'm so lucky to be Shikamaru's friend!"

Facing Haruko's tearful smile in the morning, Nara Shikamaru heard her say in a cautious tone -

"Don't abandon me Shikamaru..."

Feeling that Haruko Asahi was hugging him, burying her head in his neck and crying tremblingly, Nara Shikamaru slowly raised his hands and hugged her back.

What the hell, this idiot...

It was as if he had abandoned her before...

In the morning, when Haruko was out of sight, Nara Shikamaru let his tears fall, slowly tightened his hands, and hugged her tightly with a pious and protective attitude.

Nara Shikamaru took a deep breath and tried to make his voice sound calm. "Don't worry. If I leave you behind, my mother will be the first to beat me to death."

Haruko Zao was amused by his words and rubbed his shoulder with sobs.

"Hey! Stop wiping all your tears on me!"

"What? I didn't!"

Haruko Asahi looked up at him unconvinced, and Nara Shikamaru also lowered his head slightly and looked back with a smile.

The scene of two people smiling at each other on the rooftop is so unbearable to disturb.

Yamanaka Ino, who came to look for Haruko Zaoma, stood by the door on the rooftop, staring blankly at the scene in front of her, and her hand that was holding the door frame unconsciously tightened.

"What's wrong Ino?"

Sakura Haruno, who was following behind her, saw her suddenly stop and spoke in confusion.

When she moved a step to the side to take a look, Haruno Sakura also saw the scene of Nara Shikamaru and Hayama Haruko hugging each other.

Realizing that Haruno Sakura was still there, Yamanaka Ino quickly came to her senses and stood aside, suppressing the unclear emotions in her heart, smiled and teased her: "Haha, I didn't expect Shikamaru to progress so fast!"

"Yeah..." Haruno Sakura also came out of her daze, but couldn't help but keep her eyes on the two people in the distance.

Yamanaka Ino returned to her usual state and laughed triumphantly, "It looks like Shikamaru is going to kill Naruto in this Haruko competition!"

"Naruto also likes Haruko?" Haruno Sakura was slightly surprised.

Yamanaka Ino was stunned, "You didn't know this all along?!"

"I thought they were just good friends."

Haruno Sakura recalled that when she was in the Ninja Academy, she often saw the two of them together. Not only did they go to and from school together, but they also ate and chatted together. Most of the time, Haruko took care of Uzumaki Naruto in the morning.

If it weren't for the fact that they looked completely different, Haruno Sakura would almost have thought they were siblings.

Because Uzumaki Naruto was ostracized by his classmates at school, Haruno Sakura also noticed him, but apart from the mischievousness that all boys have, Haruno Sakura didn't understand why everyone hated him so much.

Until a girl told her that Uzumaki Naruto was a monster.

At that time, she was wondering why Haruko Hayama became friends with him.

It wasn't until I met Haruko Zaoma that I spoke to her for the first time at graduation. She came to ask me how she wanted to wear a forehead protector. At that time, Haruno Sakura was secretly excited when she spoke to her. Unexpectedly, they never had any contact again after that.

This is how it should be. They are rivals in love...

But when Haruko came to her house specifically in the morning, Haruno Sakura couldn't help but feel excited. She always remembered her and was paying attention to her just like she was.

This realization made Haruno Sakura unable to control her gaze towards her every time.

but now……

"Hmph, you ugly bastard, you're even more stupid than Naruto!" Yamanaka Ino folded her arms, "Naruto is probably still in a state of not getting wise, so I stand on Shikamaru's side."

"That's it..."

Haruno Sakura's eyes were still following the two of them, and she didn't show her usual anger even when she heard her call her ugly.

I thought that after their brief time together at the base, she and Hayama Haruko were already friends, but compared to Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto and the others, she was really just an insignificant classmate...

Haruno Sakura withdrew her gaze, forced a smile, said goodbye to Yamanaka Ino, and left.

Only Yamanaka Ino was left there. After seeing Haruno Sakura leave, she silently looked at the two people in the distance, and slowly raised her left hand to press it on her heart.

what happened……

I should be happy. My childhood playmate and best friend are together. I should be happy...

But why do I feel so empty inside...