[Hokage] A rose in mourning for the summer moon

Snow is doing subtraction to the world.

Every time a snowflake falls, some of the darkness in the world is wiped away, until all the darkness is covered with snow, just like all the sorrows are replaced by silence.

I was in the corner of the cemetery, brushing the snowflakes off the steles.

Takihira's Tomb.

These four words are as boring as his own lackluster life.

"I'm really sorry that I didn't bring flowers and offerings. But in the middle of winter, the high price of flowers is really not something I can afford, so I can only ask for your understanding."

I did not kneel or bow.When this man was alive, I just talked to him casually like this. It doesn't make sense that when he is gone, I should be subject to vain etiquette instead.

"Having said that, in fact, you must welcome beer more than flowers and sacrifices, right? However, I don't intend to condone this. Even if you are gone, I don't intend to give you the privilege of drinking."

The breath becomes white, like a miniature snowstorm exhaled from the nose and mouth.The small wind and snow slowly dispersed, blurring the world in front of me a little.I thought in a trance that I was crying, but when I blinked again, I realized that the sockets of my eyes were dry and there was no tear at all.

men like this.A man like this, who drinks too much, loses all his allowance at the gambling table, wallows in self-pity and lets his daughter do all the housework, what does he have to deserve my tears?There is only a little bit of affection between us, if there is any more, it can only be hypocrisy.

"Well, I'll take my leave. I'll bring flowers when spring begins." After thinking about it, I added, "I hope you don't mind the wild flowers in spring."

I hear footsteps.The sound of vain footsteps approaching from far away, faintly stopped at the side.

The woman stood on the side, looking at me faintly.

The cold wind was blowing wantonly, and even his eyes seemed to be frozen.Sadness, hopelessness, and confusion were frozen on the woman's haggard face.

"Is this retribution?" she said suddenly, repeating, "Is this my retribution for abandoning you?"

Her breath, too, became a miniature blizzard, torn apart by the cold wind.She looked miserable, as if she was the one who was torn apart.

I didn't answer her.

As I was about to leave the cemetery, heart-piercing cries erupted from behind me.It may be her, or it may be someone else who came here to worship; after all, I am not that familiar with her voice.

——I wish I was the one who died!

The faint cry repeated itself.

I will always remember October 10th as a day.Many people in Konoha will always remember this day.Fear and death are always remembered by those who experience them.

Father died in that disaster.The woman's toddler also died in the disaster.

After that, I can't remember when I started, but I always felt the gaze of a woman.The woman who lost her child always stood silently on a certain street corner, looking at me, looking at me with her faint eyes.Then, she started to send me things, from clothes to food, even if her later husband had a big fight with her because of this, she insisted on her own way.

When someone asks about it, she will smile and say in a very gentle tone: "Since... I have thought about it a lot. I was so sorry to this child in the past, so I want to try my best to make up for her."

But when I met her eyes, I could only feel extra discomfort.It feels like countless thin needles are lined up and pierced densely, trying to penetrate into your bones all the time.

I buried the clothes she sent in the mud, and smuggled out the food she sent.I admit, I was a little scared of her.

She didn't last long.

When spring came, it was on a cold March night that my humble house received an unexpected visitor.

Uninvited guests, but not so surprising.

The woman stood quietly in the room, holding her breath, adding something to my lunch.

For strange reasons, my first reaction was not to shout or scold, but to stand for a moment in the doorway.From what I can see, the narrow kitchen is filled with vague darkness, and the open refrigerator door leaks faint light, which reminds people of the setting sun smeared on the bluestone board, like bread smeared with honey at home.

"do you know."

Ignoring her panicked movements, I said to myself, "Where the clothes you sent are buried, the weeds don't grow anymore."

This woman was also a ninja once.But she has been far away from the ninja life for too long, and even her patience and vigilance are rusty.She must have forgotten that a qualified ninja can have enough strength to protect himself even at a young age.

Or enough power to kill someone.

The detonating symbols secretly arranged in the room exploded, like a bonfire in winter and fireworks in summer.

The woman isn't dead, she's just hurt.The turmoil at night attracted other tribesmen, and the poison/medicine spilled in the bento box at the scene was enough to make her speechless.

She had nothing to say but to cry, to cry at me, and no longer had to try to hide her resentment and viciousness.She said why her child died, but I survived; she said that she finally had a happy new life, why it was so easy to break, but I can still stand here intact.

"You should die together with your cowardly and incompetent father! You, the child who stole my surname, must have also stolen the life of my child..."

Her husband declared her insane and shut her up at home.After that, until she died, I never saw her again.

If "human" is a proposition, then I probably never really figured it out.

Why does she hate me so much?not understand.

"I don't understand either," he said.

I watched the blazing fireball on the water.It was created by Itachi's powerful fireball technique just now; the orange-red flame floated on the water surface, and the water vapor evaporated and dispersed.

"Itachi-kun doesn't understand either. Even a super genius who skips a grade and can get the first place in his grade doesn't understand, so I'll just forget about it with peace of mind."

Without saying a word, the child blew out another fireball.Bigger and brighter than before.

"Itachi-kun, do you think the fish in the lake will be cooked?" I broke a reed and smashed the light and shadow on the lake surface, "If they are cooked, sprinkle salt and bake them to make them become Let's have lunch."

Itachi put down his sealed hands, and took a serious look into the lake.

"There are no floating fish," he said, relieved.

After a while, he turned his head and asked me what I was laughing at.I just realized that I was grinning, I don't know how long I have been laughing.

"I feel like I discovered Itachi-kun's secret." I said.

"Secret?" He was a little more confused, and quickly glanced at his hands, as if looking for where the secret was hidden.

"Every time you practice, Mr. Itachi will pay attention not to hurt the small animals. I noticed that the distance between the fireball and the water surface—"

I reached out and gestured.

"When throwing shuriken, I never take birds as targets. Also, one of the reasons for skipping class is because I don't want to practice with small animals, right? Now that I have learned all the skills, it is unnecessary to kill rabbits gone."

Itachi seemed to be thinking.Then, again, he avoided answering my question directly.

"The person who skipped class because he didn't want to kill the rabbit must be Xia Yue." His voice was steady, but he slightly avoided my eyes, "I have never skipped class."

"That's because Itachi-kun used the shadow clone technique... Hey, Itachi-kun, are you shy? Are you shy because you were told what's on your mind?"

He ignored my question.He always ignored questions that he didn't want to answer for granted.

I laughed.This time, I knew clearly that I was laughing.

"I haven't thanked you yet." I said, "Itachi-kun reminded me in the first place."

Zhijiang—that woman, my mother in the biological sense, the things she sent were poisoned/medicated, and it was discovered by Itachi.If he hadn't stopped me, I would have opened those carefully wrapped presents, foolishly picked up clothes with bare hands, or foolishly left vegetables and fruits, and I would have defended myself by saying that it was because I never angered food.

Itachi wanted to tell the guards, but I refused.I want to see what step Zhijiang will make.

"Originally, we were about to move out of the clan area."

"Takihira, that is, my father, he does not have Uchiha's blood. Zhie is the one who inherits the surname. Back then, his father was also regarded as an elite ninja who attracted attention in the village. Zhie's father was optimistic about him, so he made himself A daughter with mediocre qualifications married him."

"Zhijiang just followed her parents' orders, not her own will. So, after Takihira lost her arm, she couldn't wait to leave."

"Father doesn't have Uchiha's blood. After Zhijiang left him, he should have moved out. Staying in the clan will only be ridiculed every day. Uchiha is a family that values ​​blood, and how much it admires the strong and the weak. Itachi You should be very clear."

"He should have moved out, but he didn't. Every time I tried to persuade him to move out, he was impatient and said, 'A kid knows a shit'."

I continue to laugh.what's so funny?It must be that man who made his life so miserable. This incident makes people feel very funny.

"Itachi-kun," I said seriously, this time it was my turn to be too serious, "At this time, you should ask me 'why' thoughtfully."

I'm freaking out, I know it.

The kid didn't argue with me.

"Why?" he said.

"For me. Does Itachi-kun know that people like him who are injured and disabled due to performing tasks can not only receive a subsidy in the village, but also receive another subsidy from the clan. In addition, I applied for Ninja School The subsidy can add up to almost maintain the expenses of the family."

"He stayed in the clan with a stern face, just to get more of that subsidy. Anyone would laugh at him and see him as a dislike, wouldn't they?"

"I'm not touched at all. It's just an excuse to be lazy. If it's really for my own good, I should move out, quit alcohol, find a job, and live a dignified life by my own labor. I also told Been to him many times."

"Then……"

"Then he died."

When I looked up, I saw birds flying by in flocks, and their chirping made people laugh.very funny.

"There's nothing to be sad about. He doesn't know anything except crying, drinking and complaining. The so-called 'willing to be insulted for his daughter' is just his own imagination. He just doesn't have the courage to cheer up and take responsibility again. I understand. .”

On the night when the demon fox attacked the village, many people died.Many people better than him died, and their families must be very sad.It's sad when a good person dies, isn't it?

"so……"

"Student Xia Yue."

Itachi stared at me.His gaze is like the most peaceful night, silent and full of power; you don't need to see it, you just need to feel it to understand it.

"That's Sharingan." He asked softly, "When did it happen?"

"Ah, this. It was the day I was looking for me in Zhijiang."

I blinked hard, wiped the water stains off my face, and smiled at him.

"So, because of this, the clan will not let me move out. If Zhijiang knew this, he would regret it to death?" I pretended to be relaxed and said, "The super genius is overtaken by me, You must be careful gone."

Itachi is silent.

"Student Xia Yue, please tell me honestly, is someone threatening you? Who is threatening you because of these eyes, and you are not allowed to move out?" His voice contained a very serious emotion, even for As far as Itachi is concerned, it is also quite solemn.

"Is it the father?"

The father he mentioned naturally refers to Uchiha Fuyue, who is also the Uchiha patriarch himself.

"No, no. It's because I don't think there is any reason to move out anymore." I decisively denied his guess.

"Is that so?" He was noncommittal, neither believing nor disbelieving.That indifferent look made people believe that he was a person who could only trust his own judgment.

Itachi is that kind of person who always only believes in his own opinion.An occasional headache of stubbornness.

"Itachi-kun, there is one thing I haven't told you yet."

The power wrapped around the eyeballs faded, and the blood-red vision also faded away.I looked at the world from the perspective of a normal person again; the sky, the lake and the forest, as well as the child's dark eyes and condensed expression, all the colors were exceptionally clear, as if they had been repeatedly scrubbed by tears.

"Congratulations on graduating, super genius," I said.

And I will officially graduate from childhood.