Chapter 246 : Begonia
Seeing Rin's complicated expression as she left, Naraku felt like she might have misunderstood something.
However, given the current situation, even if he were to chase after her and ask, he probably wouldn't get any clear answers.
"Forget it, forget it. As long as Kakashi doesn't find out about what just happened, it's fine."
"The rest, she can think whatever she wants; it's not important."
Naraku pursed his lips, stood up from the ground, and slowly walked back to the tent, sitting on a small stool by Kakashi's bed, lost in thought.
A wind blew outside the tent, making the canopy rumble, the door and window curtains fluttered up and down, and bright sunlight spilled through the gaps in the fabric, instantly brightening the small room.
The cold wind also took the opportunity to spread wantonly, flipping over several letters on the table.
Naraku, however, was oblivious, letting the airflow mess up his hair.
Unbeknownst to him, his drifting gaze had settled on Kakashi, tracing the other's features with his eyes, over and over, until his overwhelmed heartbeat brought him back to reality.
The moment he emerged from his daze, a breeze brushed his face, and the whispering sound was like a murmur.
His heart pounded like a drum, and countless thoughts in his mind became a tangled mess, among which a line from the internal monologue he had just set appeared to overlap for a moment.
"I don't want to leave Kakashi's side."
Naraku bent down and lay on the soft mattress at the edge of the bed, staring at the clump of white hair.
After a long while, he buried his face in his arms and fell into a deep sleep... Because it would take time for Fugaku to gather the Clan Member, Naraku would probably stay at the northern camp for about three days.
By the time the golden crow set a few hours later, and Kakashi awoke from [Secret Technique: Illusory Mind Mirage Dream], there was less than a day left.
Tsunade had already planned to give Kakashi a vacation soon, and since he had been knocked out by Naraku and slept for a full day, there was no time like the present.
She waved her hand, announcing that Kakashi was free to do as he pleased until Naraku left.
Having received his "vacation," Kakashi emerged from the main tent, looked up, and just caught a glimpse of the setting sun, a sudden sense of urgency rising in his heart.
By this time tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to see Naraku.
Driven by this urgency, Kakashi unthinkingly grabbed Naraku's hand and ran out of the camp, heading swiftly towards the riverbank he remembered.
Naraku followed cooperatively by his side but was confused about what they were doing: "Where are we going, Kakashi?"
"..."
Kakashi didn't know how to explain, so he simply remained silent, focusing only on hurrying along.
Naraku would definitely not let go of his hand anyway.
The two ran for quite a while, until their increasingly hurried breaths and the tremors of their pounding hearts merged into one.
Crimson clouds filled the sky, permeating the silhouettes of birds returning to their nests, while on the ground, the youths held hands, transforming into a flowing breeze as they passed through the withered, deep forest.
When Kakashi led Naraku to a certain riverbank, the dense thickets and bushes had disappeared, leaving the surroundings strikingly empty, with only the gurgling water flowing, shattering the lingering light of the sky into countless stars.
"Look..."
Kakashi panted slightly, pointing his left hand towards the west.
At this moment, a gust of wind suddenly rose, bringing with it a hint of cold, subtle fragrance.
Naraku looked in the direction Kakashi pointed, his eyes widening involuntarily.
It was sunset.
The fiery red setting sun burned intensely, slowly descending into a tree full of blooming crabapple flowers.
Under the illumination of the setting sun's afterglow, every petal on the tree was melted into translucent glaze, wrapped in warm light and swaying in the evening breeze, emitting a rustling, dense whisper.
Just as Naraku stood stunned, a crabapple flower happened to detach from its branch, floating with the wind into his unconsciously raised palm, gently circling.
The veins of the petals were still clear in the afterglow, like the throbbing blood vessels on his hand when he had touched Kakashi's forehead yesterday.
Gradually, the evening breeze had pushed the half-disk of flowing fire to sink below the horizon.
The twilight deepened, and soon only a few scattered remnants of light drifted in the water, flickering on and off, like the uncooled, scorching tremor in the youth's chest.
Kakashi exhaled deeply, all the previous impatience and tension dissipating with it.
In its place was a kind of satisfaction akin to happiness, solidly filling his chest, even aching slightly from the fullness.
He turned to look at Naraku, his white hair swaying by his ears with the movement, and asked, "Shall we go back?"
Naraku also gazed at him with a gentle expression, the shadow at his lips moving, outlining a smile-like contour.
"Okay."
... The next day at noon.
The Uchiha of the northern front had assembled, and after Fugaku counted the numbers, he and Naraku led the Clan Member away from the camp, heading instead to the easternmost part of the Land of Fire to establish a new front line.
There, families such as Hyuga and Inuzuka would also join them as allies to jointly resist the invasion of the Hidden Mist.
With Naraku gone, Kakashi and Rin's vacation also ended, and they resumed their arduous lives as workaholics.
A month later, the two completed their mission and went together to report their results to Lady Tsunade.
Just after finishing their mission report, they saw Lady Tsunade pull out a file from a pile of folders beside her and hand it over.
Kakashi, with his dull, lifeless eyes half-open from exhaustion, resignedly prepared to reach out and accept this next mission, but Lady Tsunade pulled her arm back.
"You two have been working hard lately. I'm giving you tomorrow off."
"Hmm?"
"What day is it today?"
"Lady Tsunade is actually offering us a break?"
The two exchanged glances, both seeing disbelief in the other's eyes.
Kakashi tentatively replied, "Thank you, Lady Tsunade...?"
"Mm, go on."
"Yes."
The secretly relieved young ninja turned to leave, but before they reached the door, they heard a loud and exaggerated complaint from behind them.
"Oh, who should I find for this mission to the eastern front? What a headache..."
Kakashi and Rin paused.
"This is a mission that requires going to the very front line, to meet Strategist Nara and the Uchiha Clan Head, you know ~"
Kakashi and Rin's eyes lit up.
"We should also be able to see the legendary 'Scarlet Hunter', right? I'm really curious who he is..."
Kakashi and Rin both stepped back, speaking in unison.
"Lady Tsunade, we'll go."
"Oh?"
Lady Tsunade let out a "surprised" exclamation, then smirked and raised an eyebrow, shaking the file in her hand, and found it quite amusing to see the two people opposite her eyes follow its movement.
"Aren't you two very tired?"
"Not tired!" x2
"Really?"
"Really!" x2
"...Alright then."
Lady Tsunade lowered her head, her shoulders shaking, and with great effort, managed to suppress her laughter, not letting it burst out in front of them.
When she looked up again, her expression had already been adjusted, but instead of handing the file directly to Kakashi and them, she placed it aside, then said seriously:
"Alright, this mission isn't urgent for now. Go back, get some good rest, adjust your condition, and come find me at this time tomorrow."
...
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