69novels Chapter 50 The Innately Kind Uchiha
Chapter 50 The Innately Kind Uchiha
Uchiha Ryo first brought Yanyun to the vicinity of Toyonosaki, and then used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a student of Toyonosaki and sneak in.
"Excuse me, is Natsume from Class C here?"
Taking advantage of the break time, Uchiha Ryo stopped someone and asked about his younger brother.
"Natsume, he took the day off today. I think he's sick."
"Sick? Thanks, classmate."
Natsume also took leave? Given his constitution, it's rare for him to get sick, so it seems something unusual has happened.
Uchiha Ryo's expression gradually turned serious, and he ran back to Aunt Touko's house as fast as he could.
Just as Uchiha Rin was about to go in and ask Aunt Touko where Natsume was, he saw Natsume slowly walking out with Nyanko-sensei by the hand.
"Eh? Natsume!"
"Ling-ge! Why didn't you go to school?"
Uchiha Ryo put Yanyun-chan down. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? I took leave. What happened to you?"
Natsume's eyes dimmed slightly. "Last night, I heard that the house in my hometown might be demolished, so I plan to go back and check it out today."
"I see...."
"But I only plan to go back and take a look. After all, now I have you, Aunt Tako, and Uncle Zi. Once I have family, I won't easily look back."
Uchiha Ryo smiled, stepped forward, and patted Natsume on the shoulder.
"Since you've already taken leave, that's quite a coincidence. Let's go... I'll accompany you back to your hometown."
Uchiha Ryo, who had initially thought Natsume had encountered a yokai, immediately felt relieved. Since she had nothing else to do today, she might as well spend some time with her gentle younger brother.
Natsume's hometown isn't in Tokyo, so they plan to take the train there and probably won't be back until tonight.
To Uchiha Ryo's surprise, Natsume's hometown was really far away, seemingly spanning almost half of Japan.
I remember Natsume once said that he was constantly being passed around by relatives before finally ending up with the Fujiwara couple.
As for why Natsume was disliked by his relatives, it was because of his eyes that could see spirits. However, Natsume did not resent those relatives who disliked him, because he had already met people who could treat him gently.
The world is never kind to people, but kind people treat the world kindly.
Compared to Natsume, Uchiha Ryo felt like a villain. No! She was a naturally kind and gentle Uchiha, okay?!
The two walked behind, while the two cats walked in front. Natsume glanced at Enyun-chan and couldn't help but laugh.
"Nyanko-sensei, can't you turn around and look at what a real cat should be like? You're way over the size limit!"
Nyanko-sensei glanced at Natsume with disdain, while Natsume smiled and took out pudding from his bag.
Nyanko-sensei: "Pudding~!"
"Gentle Natsume will surely give it to me," Nyanko-sensei thought quickly as he approached Natsume's feet. Then, Natsume opened the pudding and placed it in front of Enun.
Nyanko-sensei: "My pudding!!"
Yanyunjiang: "Not bad, not bad, really delicious."
Seeing Yanyun devour the pudding that was rightfully his, Nyanko-sensei grew nervous. He felt his status within the family had diminished once again...
Natsume chuckled and shook his head, then took out a second pudding and placed it in front of Nyanko-sensei.
"Was Nyanko-sensei jealous just now?"
"Huh? What are you talking about! I'm a handsome and powerful cat teacher, how could I be jealous of a little kitten who only knows how to act cute!"
Uchiha Ryo watched the two cats eating pudding. "Natsume, you really like cats."
Natsume seemed to be reminiscing about the past. "Seeing them reminds me of the cat I met when I was a child."
"It's a very cute cat, about the same size as Yanyunjiang, and it has a special scent."
Uchiha Ryo laughed too. "The cat I met when I was a child? It smells nice, so it must have an owner, right?"
Natsume shook his head. "I don't know. I just remember that when I was at my loneliest, that cat hugged me...it made me feel so safe."
Seemingly remembering something, Natsume suddenly raised his head.
"That wasn't a cat! I remember now, it was the monster from the tree near my old home!"
As a child, Natsume was often seen as a weirdo by his classmates because he could see spirits. He was also constantly being sent away by his relatives as a burden.
At an age when he should be playing with everyone, Natsume experienced endless loneliness. Meanwhile, the yokai in the tree seemed to be bored and often teased him.
Back then, after being tricked by a yokai, he was always very angry, but now... looking back on it, Natsume realizes that if it weren't for that yokai, he would have been even more lonely.
Although Natsume was terrified as a child, the current Natsume longs to see that person again. And to say... thank you.
As Natsume recounted his story, Uchiha Ryo seemed to understand everything.
"She really is a gentle yokai. Back then, she probably kept appearing around you as a yokai, teasing you all the time."
"Hmm... I have no human friends, but I see that monster in the tree every day. However, when I moved away, I didn't say much to that monster."
Natsume desperately wants to return to his hometown. He wants to find that yokai again, the one he couldn't understand and instead resented back then, and say... "I'm sorry."
"Are we going to find her?"
Although Natsume didn't say it explicitly, Uchiha Ryo had already figured out his younger brother's thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm going back to my hometown to find this monster, and if possible, bring her back! Brother Ling, do you want to come along?"
"Of course, I'll go with you."
Uchiha Ryo sighed. After seeing Natsume's eyes, he simply couldn't refuse.
Because Uchiha Ryo understands what Natsume has been through, he has such a gentle look in his eyes.
As he bought his ticket and boarded the train back to his hometown, Natsume's expression was one of anticipation mixed with a hint of trepidation and fear.
He was afraid that he would never find the monster again, and he was also afraid that the monster would hold a grudge against him for leaving without saying goodbye.
"After all these years, are you still there?"