In the suburbs of Tokyo, Japan, Tsuchiha Family, night.
The light from the stars rippled in the huge old mansion in the forest, like water mist and soap. It was not too late, and people could be seen walking in twos and threes on the road of this quiet old mansion.
In kimonos, clogs, and short swords, habitually dressed as samurai. In the courtyard with lights on everywhere, there was a faint sound of serene ancient Japanese Waka.
"… The river bank is clear and clear, and there is a forest of rowan trees on it.
In the dead of night, I hear a thousand birds chirping … This is my favorite song describing the scenery of the Yoshino River. What do you think, Nishida kun? "
"It is an eternal classic, and with the singing skills of the singer and the artistic conception of the performance, it is really the most classic Waka song. But personally, I prefer some short songs of the mountains and rivers …"
"I know that there is a singer in Shinjuku who sings very well. If I have time, I would like to listen to it with Nishida kun …"
This was the conversation of two men walking on the road. We don't need to understand the specific meaning, as long as we know that they are using a more elegant way to meet a prostitute, not a homosexual.
One of the two men who spoke was called Sato Buntaro, who was currently very popular among the younger generation of the Tsuchiha Family. The other man was called Nishida Naoya, who was a special agent who joined the Tsuchiha Family in recent years. He was very loyal and had recently made contributions in various tasks. Although he was still a newcomer, he was already very valued.
Birds of a feather flock together. They were both outstanding young people. Buntaro had a good relationship with him. A month ago, they worked together to do a task in a foreign place. Today, they came back and reported to the headquarters. Just now, they returned to the old house in the inner circle of the Tsuchiha Family. Along the way, they talked happily.
The atmosphere in the inner circle of Tsuchichi's residence was tranquil. Lights shone from each courtyard, and shadows could be seen on the road. Although it was a summer night, it didn't seem hot in the forest. A few young people came over and greeted Buntaro.
After turning a road, because there was a car passing by, the two men stood at the corner for a moment. Buntaro looked at a courtyard not far away for a while.
The courtyard was dark and without lights. After the death of Lord Cang four years ago, this small courtyard almost became a forbidden area of the Tsuchiha Family.
"I heard that Sato-kun and Miss Kaoru …"
"… You've seen her?"
"When I passed by at the beginning of this year, she was sweeping the yard and I saw her from a distance." Nishida Naoya smiled. "She is really a girl as clear as jade."
"Yeah …" Buntaro sighed. "Let's go."
"Did Sato-kun and Miss Kaoru grow up together?" Just now after turning around the path, Xitian asked again. Buntaro nodded.
"Childhood sweetheart." Xitian sighed. "Can you tell me something about her?"
"Interested?"
"I'm interested." He smiled and nodded. "No matter what, she's really a beautiful girl."
"Actually, there's not much to say. She's always been strong-willed since she was young. Since Madam's death, the head of the family didn't care much about her and became cold to her. Later on, she went to China and something happened. After she came back … she became like this …"
"China?"
"You must have heard of it, Nishida kun. The person who killed Azure Keeper was her teacher."
"Oh?" Nishida Naoya's eyes lit up. "That person is now …"
"He's already dead."
Buntaro smiled. "Kaoru fell in love with that person, so after she came back, she has been unwilling to contact others. Even the engagement with Takamagahara is just symbolic now.
In this state, it has been … four years … "
Just now, Buntaro lost his interest in talking about Kaoru. Soon after, the two parted ways at the intersection and went in different directions.
All the way back to the small courtyard where he lived, he sat in the corridor and looked at the starlight in the sky with a slightly disappointed expression.
Four years was enough for a person to truly mature from a young age. It was also enough for a person to truly see the gap between obsession and reality. The first time he killed someone, the first time he went to a heavily guarded place to steal something he needed, things were easier than he had imagined. This was the result of many years of hard work and training. There were also times when he was arrogant and conceited, but he gradually settled down and was able to clearly see the gap between himself and others.
He remembered that autumn four years ago, Kaoru had returned to Tokyo from China with Masanori Amami. Since then, she had lived in seclusion in that small courtyard. Occasionally, she would come out to sweep the floor and exercise. Sometimes, when the sky was still dark, someone would suddenly see her figure in the dense forest of the Moon Chi family and then suddenly disappear. Sometimes, she would go to the periphery of a place full of surveillance cameras and suddenly appear on a certain screen. Often, she would startle people, as if she was a ghost. Because of this, she filled in the blind spots of a few surveillance cameras.
In the beginning, she would go to the dining hall of Tsukichi's house every day at dawn and noon. Sometimes, when it was raining or snowing, if he was lucky, he would see the girl sitting quietly in the corridor of the room when he passed by the small courtyard. Buntaro had seen it before. When it was raining heavily, she sat in the corridor and ate the rice balls in her hand slowly. She chewed slowly and perfectly integrated with the surrounding environment.
However, this scene of her eating with incomparable care, not wasting a single grain of rice, instead of saying that she was enjoying lunch, it was better to say that she was using eating as a method to maintain her own life as much as possible.
Even though it was strange, almost everyone, more or less, had this type of impression. That kind of beautiful, almost perfect girl, every movement carried a kind and pleasing sense of beauty, merging with the entire world. However, every movement of hers was also restored to its original meaning. Every grain of rice, every piece of food that entered her mouth, was only for the sake of being broken down and absorbed, maintaining this body's continuous operation.
In this sense, she had almost become a pure animal. Even though she could make people feel that she was incomparably beautiful with every move she made, she was still very beautiful.
She didn't speak anymore, didn't converse with anyone. Her meals were sent to the small courtyard, and the time she went out also became less and less. Only occasionally would she show her face, sitting in the corridor, cleaning the courtyard, standing in the forest, gazing at the scenery of unknown places from the mountaintop.
Just like a piece of paper, at first, there were still some words, but then the words gradually faded, becoming pure white paper. Then, even the white paper itself faded, continuously becoming transparent, to the extent where even the concept of transparency was gradually disappearing.
It was as if during the process of her occasionally appearing in the courtyard to sweep the fallen leaves, the people around her were all disappearing one after another. In the end, the entire world became quiet, and even she was about to disappear.
Gradually, the feeling she gave others was precisely this type of feeling.
As her fiancé, Masayoshi Tian came a few times. Gradually, he also felt a bit helpless, most likely also powerless to do anything.
Two years ago, he roughly understood what happened in China. That night, he got drunk and rushed into that small courtyard. In front of the silent girl, he said a lot of things. Then, emboldened by the alcohol, he reached out to hug her. At that time, the girl waved her hand, extinguishing the table lamp at the side.
At that time, the first thought that flashed through his mind was that she was embarrassed, but it was his many years of training that saved him. In the next moment, his entire body was sent flying, and the wall of the house was completely smashed open. In the darkness, the girl's full strength attack was like the surface of the sea under the night sky. One moment it was calm, the next moment it was like a tsunami that overflowed into the sky, surging out violently. If he hadn't hastily used his hands to block it, this wave of power would have directly exploded in his chest, and he would probably have been dead for sure.
That night, under the moonlight, when he collapsed in the small courtyard and saw the girl push open the door, put on her shoes, and walk towards him like a silent death god, the silver light that scattered on the girl's body clearly told him that the distance between them had become a chasm that could not be closed.
Childhood sweethearts …
Thinking about these things, he stood up from the corridor and walked to the simple room. After a moment, he pulled out an old small iron box and took out an old yellowed photo from it.
Under the faint light of the stars, there were many children in the photo. Because the scene was too big, each of them looked too small, so small that it was like a place in his memory that had been washed away by time. Only in the corner of the photo could he find the girl who was not only beautiful, but also had a slight smile on her face. The photo was blurred, but he could clearly see that the little girl was indeed smiling.
The ninja training he received since childhood had always been very boring, and there were not many opportunities to take photos. This was also the only photo he had of Kaori.
The distance between him and Kaori, he thought, there was a time when it wasn't so big.
When they were both young, before Kaori's mother died, or before Kaori went to China, the distance between them wasn't that far. At that time, Kaori worshipped him, envied him, and he always enjoyed this kind of gaze. Occasionally, he would want to help her, but he always gave up because the results were not good.
Kaori was a little girl without talent. That was what he thought at the time.
Now that he thought about it, it wasn't that he didn't have a good impression of Kaori at the time. He was too arrogant when he was still a child. If he could have enjoyed that kind of gaze less, he would have really helped Kaori. If he could have faced this kind of affection clearly at the time, everything would be different now.
Life was like this. It constantly left an unchangeable mark on you. Once the mark was left, if you missed it, even if the distance between them was very close at the time, there would never be a chance to make up for it in the future …
"Sato, Sato …" In the dark, someone on the road outside called out. He thought about it and put the photo in his hand back into the iron box. He collected his emotions and walked out of the room. The person outside the yard looked like he was about to leave. "Oh, you're here. Why didn't you turn on the light? I thought you didn't come back."
"I just arrived."
"Everyone is waiting for you. You have to tell us about this operation. Haha …" The person whispered. "We've prepared a few bottles of good wine …"
Since he was young, Fumitaro had a good relationship with these people. He put his arm around their shoulders and walked towards the agreed place. He listened to the person beside him talk about the recent trivial matters. "Akino and the others can't come over. They're very busy outside. I heard that there's been some problems with the stock of Ikari Weaving Company recently. They haven't returned yet …"
Along the way, they passed by the small yard where Kaori lived. Just like the previous time, it was dark inside. There was no light. Kaori had probably fallen asleep. He thought about this and was slightly distracted.
The person next to him looked at his expression. "You still don't know about Kaori, right?"
"What?"
"You really don't know?
I thought you would know something at your level.
Kaori went out yesterday. "
"What … did you say?!"
Fumitaro raised his voice. The person repeated, "She went out. I heard that she went to Tokyo. It's been four years. It's the first time she left here. I don't know what happened. I really want to go and see … How about it?
Shall we go together tomorrow and look for her? "
*****
Alright, I admit that I went to Warcraft to take a look. I'm guilty, and I repent … (To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please go to www.qidian.com to read more chapters. Support the author, support the original reading!)