[Hokage] Flower Time

The summer sun was shining in the courtyard, and several crows stood on the stones by the pond, curling their wings up to hide from the heat of midsummer.The tall trees cast slanted shadows in the courtyard, the leaves were still and it was a thick green.The black shadow of the eaves spread to the stone slab leading to the door.The black coat hanging on the clothesline behind the house was blown by the occasional wind.

Larger clothes belong to Zhishui, while smaller ones belong to Huashi.

"When you spend time, don't sleep here."

Zhishui pressed the top of her head, and woke up Huashi who had already fallen asleep in a daze.He hugged her body effortlessly, and while walking towards the house, he shook his head helplessly.

"Is it your brother?"

She half-opened her eyes, feeling that her consciousness was very fuzzy.Now she could barely see the forehead tie that Zhishui tied on her forehead, and the long black hair that had been left untouched for a long time.

"Brother hasn't cut his hair for a long time..." She complained in a low voice, laying on Zhishui's shoulder, reaching out her hand to touch his slightly raised black hair: "It's been a long time since I saw you, your hair is so messed up again." became straight."

She wanted to raise her hand and curl his hair like she did when she was a child, but her arm was unexpectedly heavy.No matter how hard she lifts it up, she can't touch the hair of the opponent who is close at hand.So, she simply put her hand on his shoulder, not wanting to move anymore.

She seems to have not seen Zhishui for a long time.

This task must be very hard, right?That's why we've been apart for so long.

"Brother..." She called out in a low voice, and said with satisfaction: "This time, brother won't leave again."

The other party was silent for a while, and said, "Yes."

"Will you always be with me then?"

"Ah."

"That's good." She said with satisfaction.

She suddenly remembered something, opened her eyes, and said hastily: "There are still tasks to be carried out today. The agreed meeting place is... the big tree under Hokage Building. Yesterday Lusheng emphasized it to me Don't be late."

"Hey, Huashi..."

She ignored Zhishui's call and helpless smile, jumped out of Zhishui's arms, and ran towards the door.As soon as he put on his shoes, the voices of several teammates sounded at the door.

"Hey, Huashi, who always arrives early, is late for so long. It's really rare. We still need us to find you." Yang Dou's teasing voice was the first to sound out, causing a cross to dance unconsciously on her forehead .

——How did these guys come here...

"Shut up, Lord Yang Dou." Lu Sheng leaned against the door, waving the grass stalk in his hand, and couldn't help but roll his eyes at the sky: "If it were me, I would know that today's task is to fight against Xia Tian If the sun cuts the weeds, he can't help but be late."

"Then I was late for a while, why are you two so fierce to me?"

"...Your reason for being late is 'I lost track of time because of the beauty of the painting', please, isn't that too much?"

"...Tch. I have nothing to talk to people like you who don't understand art."

Seeing the two team members and Guolinan who is in charge of leading the team standing at the door, Hua Shi was a little impatient.He hurriedly put on his shoes, put on his wrist guards and ran towards them.The three companions were standing not far away, only a few meters away from her.But no matter how she ran, she couldn't reach them.

"Speaking of which, isn't Huashi at home? It's been a long time since he came out." Yang Dou asked.

"Ah... indeed. No one is here." Lu Sheng nodded, and said, "Why don't you go to the sweet shop to find it? I know where her favorite shop is."

"Eh? That kid doesn't seem like someone who can run around..." Guolinan also showed doubts on his face.

No one noticed her existence, she could only watch helplessly as they turned a blind eye to her running, talking to herself, complaining about the summer weather and her being late for no reason.

Why can't I see her?

Inexplicable panic surged from the bottom of my heart, and finally gathered in my chest, turning into a burst of unstoppable pain.In the field of vision, the companions standing far away are getting farther and farther away, and the distance between each other is like a long river cut by the summer light, which is insurmountable.In the end, everything was returned to darkness, only the pain in the chest was still clamoring for a long time.

She moved her heavy hands, and finally woke up from the boundless dark dream.

Her body was very heavy, as if something was oppressing her body, causing her to keep falling.The pain in her chest became real, and as soon as she woke up, she frowned fiercely.The stiff fingers stretched and bent repeatedly, and finally regained their freedom.

What the line of sight touches is the rough rocky cave roof.The faint yellow light shone on it, and people could barely see the texture of the stone.

"You're awake."

An unfamiliar low voice rang in his ears.

Her body froze, and the threat of the unknown made her instantly vigilant.But her current body does not allow her to make more defensive actions, so she can only use her eyes to secretly spy on the person hiding in the darkness.

Perhaps to satisfy her desire to take a peek, the other party gradually stepped out of the dark place where she was hiding.The first thing Huashi saw was his half-length black hair that fell on his shoulders, and the slightly raised arc made her feel a little familiar.After thinking about it for a while, she seemed to have complained in a dream that he who looked like this...was not as cute as the one with slightly curled ends when he was a child.

It turned out that what she saw in the mist was this person.

Her eyes fell, and her eyes fell on the man's mask.He wears a mask that covers his entire face. No one can see the truth behind the mask. Only a red sharing eye revealed in it shows the fact that the two belong to the same family.

"You are……"

Hua Shi wanted to ask about his identity, but it became very difficult to speak.There seemed to be a flame burning in her throat, making her voice extremely hoarse.Before the words were finished, it caused a series of severe coughing.

The other party didn't answer her question, but narrated something she didn't want to know in a flat and slightly mocking tone.

"Three days ago, the Uchiha clan of Konoha Ninja Village in the Fire Country was slaughtered overnight. Except for a seven-year-old child and the two missing people, no one survived."

His words caused Hua Shi's eyes to slightly enlarge with fear.

What is he saying?

... The Uchiha clan was slaughtered overnight?Except for those few people, everyone...all are dead?

"Impossible! That kind of thing..." She subconsciously wanted to refute, but the hoarseness in her throat made her struggling words extremely broken.

"Whether you believe it or not, this is the reality." Leaning against the stone wall, the other party slowly put his black gloved hand on his arm, and said, "The murderer identified by Muye Village is the two who disappeared that night. A Uchiha clansman, the arrest warrant has been issued, and they have become the S-class traitors of the five major powers."

There was no ups and downs in the tone, but the words she spoke made her heart flutter and it was difficult to calm down.When she heard his words later, a sense of fear surged in her mind.As if she had predicted the two names that were about to be blurted out, she couldn't help but want to cover her ears with her hands.

"Uchiha Itachi, and you, Uchiha Flower Time."

Efforts to cover her ears had no effect, she still heard her name.Anxiety and shock were mixed in her heart, making her momentarily at a loss as to what to say to refute this ridiculous fact.Thousands of words of debate finally turned into a few forced words.

"not me!"

A hoarse voice, weak and lifeless.

She obviously did nothing, why did she become a wanted S-rank rebel?

However, if the clansmen are all dead, then what's the point of her being a traitor?

She thought of the strong smell of blood that night, as well as those fragmented words, and her body couldn't stop getting cold.

"There's still one person alive here."

"How could anyone survive?"

"Hurry up, the corpses are already being counted."

Those words were intertwined and overlapped in her mind, lingering, reminding her repeatedly that the nightmare of that night was real.Just like the painful wound on her chest, it definitely happened.

So...really, is everyone already dead?

The aunt who is always worried, the uncle who likes to wander around in the afternoon, Sasuke who just entered school, the gentle Mikoto and the majestic patriarch Fugaku-sama, and those clansmen who sold her freesia in winter, and in summer The person who watched her go to school with Itachi...

Are they all dead?

Is everything gone?The place where she grew up, and those clansmen whose faces are either familiar or unfamiliar...

As if all the strength had been pulled from her body, she suddenly closed her eyes, leaned back weakly, and then tried her best to suppress the tears in her eyes, trying her best to keep them from falling, so as not to let others see her fragility place.

...Why did it become like this?

She remembered that when the summer began, everything was still so fresh and beautiful.Sasuke is looking forward to the moment of enrolment, hoping that both his father and elder brother will be able to attend the ceremony.She is worrying about Itachi's birthday present this year, and Shisui tells her that she should ask Itachi what she wants.

At that time, Itachi's answer was "I want a future family".

this kind of thing...

It's no longer possible.

If what that person said is true, then Uchiha Itachi should have nothing.

"Why..." She opened her mouth slightly and said, "Why am I still alive?"

She was asking the man who saved her, and she was asking herself.