Extra Story One

What does it feel like to lose a good friend?

"That depends on what kind of good friend it is..."

"She's the kind of person who might be your life partner, someone you'll probably have two children with, and someone you'll live in a small but cozy little house, with pale yellow flowers that she planted herself growing right outside the door."

"The two little ones, calling out 'Your Daddy,' chased after the kitten, occasionally tumbling over and rolling on the ground, leaving themselves covered in the scent of flowers..."

She nestled gently beside you, making you feel how full of beauty and sunshine your life is...

Hearing the voice of the unfamiliar man in front of her, Kato Osamu couldn't help but imagine a warm scene in her mind. For some reason, the first image of the male protagonist in her mind was not herself, but a vague, golden figure.

"Yes, you thought of him too..."

The man, whose features were obscured, paced quietly without making a sound. He looked up at the clear blue sky, one of the few good days in Kirigakure.

"Who are you?"

On the streets of Mist Shinobi, pedestrians came and went in an endless stream. In such a rare good weather, even in the midst of war, it seemed as if the gloom had been swept away, and their faces were filled with smiles.

The man walked slowly down the road. Kato Osamu was on high alert, his brows furrowed deeply, because the man in front of him gave him an inexplicable feeling of unease.

Most importantly, he didn't sense any emotional fluctuation in him, as if...

He looked like a dead man!

"I... I'm probably just a passerby..."

The man turned around and looked at Kato Osamu, who was staring at him warily. A strange light flashed across his face. Kato Osamu couldn't see his face clearly, but he could clearly feel that expression. A chilling feeling immediately crept into his heart.

This person... is the most terrifying and bizarre person he has ever met!

Under the azure sky, the two walked through the bustling crowd, yet they seemed to float away like air. Everyone's gaze passed right through them, their bodies subtly avoiding the places where they landed.

The vast sky stretched out before them, and the horizon seemed like a cone of time. Kato Osamu landed behind the man, as if she had fallen outside of that cone, with nothing to cling to her.

Time flew by, and it felt as if thousands of miles had been traversed in the blink of an eye. Having calmed his shock, Kato Osamu frowned deeply, watching every slight change in this small world.

He knew perfectly well that this was not Genjutsu, but he still found it hard to accept the reality.

Seemingly sensing Kato Osamu's gradually calming emotions, the man suddenly turned around. This was the first time Kato Osamu had clearly seen the man's eyes; his deep eyes were as calm as the sea—perhaps even lifeless...

Did you understand?

"I don't understand... I don't understand at all..."

"If I don't understand, then I don't understand, that's fine too..."

With a gentle wave of his hand, Kato Osamu vanished from the streets of Mist Shinobi as if he had never existed. Only the man's last figure remained on the street, and spatial ripples gradually spread as his figure slowly merged into them.

"I think you should finish some things for me..."

The man's gaze fell on the center of the Mist Shinobi, and he was gradually swallowed by the space. His last eyes, carrying a strange, eerie light, vanished completely.

In the attic of the Terumi Family mansion in his sight, on the small bed where Mei Terumi used to rest at noon, a man was lying stiffly, seemingly unaware of what was happening. Mei Terumi, dressed in a thin nightgown, appeared to be completely oblivious.

As if lost in a deep dream, the man's soft snoring continued to drift out.

About thirty years ago, in an ordinary rural village in the Land of Fire, Xu, with his innocent smile, cheered amidst the endless waves of wheat.

Sitting gracefully on the ridge beside him was a smiling young woman named Ming. Ming's family had only moved here a few years ago, but they had already completely integrated into this simple village.

"Thread..."

Xu cheered amidst the wheat fields, while Ming gazed tenderly at him from the ridges of the field, softly calling his name. This scene had played out countless times in Xu's mind.

And today, it seems that it has truly come true.

If it weren't for the villagers who were reclaiming land around the lake giving him 'you're causing trouble again' looks, he would never have admitted that he was just using this method to attract the girl's attention.

"Xu, causing trouble again!"

The rugged-looking man slapped Xu on the head, extinguishing all his enthusiasm under the scorching sun that left him speechless.

Xu lowered his head, picked up the hoe, but still kept stealing glances at the woman resting on the ridge of the field.

What he didn't know was that every time his gaze fell upon her, the woman would secretly turn her head, pretending to be nonchalant, but also quickly glancing at him.

"Your father has found you a marriage partner. In a few days, you'll go to the girl's house to let the elders meet her..."

Xu suddenly raised his head, a look of disbelief and inexplicable resistance rising in his heart. He looked at his father's aged face and Ming, who had never spoken a word to him, and opened his mouth.

He knew that Ming was already married, a woman several years older than him who was already married, and the faint feelings he had for her were something he couldn't bring himself to express.

He seemed to have no idea how he responded to his father at the time, but the days had slowly slipped by in his dazed state until that day.

Both families were very satisfied. Xu didn't know what to say, and even when her mother asked, she only gave a mumbled reply.

"That's probably... how it should be..."

Looking at the woman who was neither ugly nor beautiful, Xu forced a smile out of silence.

When he's with a woman, she remains silent, and so does he.

Time passed quickly, but Xu became more taciturn after returning from the woman's house. He no longer cheered in the wheat field, but instead buried himself in hard work.

Hot sweat dripped onto the scorching Kitsuchi under the blazing sun, but for some reason, Xu felt as if an ancient, unmelting block of ice was embedded inside his body.

He didn't even dare to look up at the woman again, feeling as if he were a traitor—even though the woman had barely spoken to him.

Everyone says he's grown up, and he seems to have truly grown up, smiling silently.

"Ming, it's me, Xu. I'd like to invite you to my wedding..."

The woman standing quietly under the tree seemed to harbor an unresolved sorrow in her heart; Xu could roughly understand that it might be due to her failed relationship.

This was the first time he had looked a woman in the eye so openly and honestly. He had imagined his first formal encounter with a woman countless times, but he had never imagined it would be like this.

"Thanks..."

Women are always sensitive; no man's thoughts can escape a woman's eyes. If they can, it must be because they are doing it on purpose.

Her eyes were bright, and the slight smile on her face seemed a little unnatural, yet it was also composed, as if the boy in front of her was just a stranger from the same village.

He turned slightly, a hint of relief in his eyes, but he still stared intently at the woman before him, as if trying to etch her face into his mind one last time.

The wedding was joyful, the parents were joyful, the villagers were joyful, the women around me were joyful, and perhaps I should be joyful too.

For some reason, Xu couldn't fall asleep. His mind was filled with chaotic thoughts. He stared blankly at the horizon as it gradually turned white before he drifted off to sleep, lost in thought.

Outside the newly built hut, in a hidden, dark corner, the air was filled with the fragrance of some unknown flower, which vanished into the darkness with the night breeze.

"Fine, perhaps I'm just not good enough..."

The days passed uneventfully, like flowing water, but things always seemed to happen suddenly—the one I once loved married someone else.

Xu tasted tears for the first time. Looking at the woman crying at the wedding, he seemed to suddenly understand the name of this taste.

"That's wonderful... that's wonderful..."

No one knows exactly what tears are, but they seem to contain the full spectrum of life's experiences.

Xu clapped his hands, savoring his youth.

Marriage seems to be the grave of everything... After they each got married, they soon lost touch with each other.

Having a child, Xu always felt as if he had forgotten something. Only occasionally, sitting on the ridge of the field, would he be somewhat dazed, let out a soft sigh, and gaze in the direction of the capital, seemingly looking at something unseen.

This went on for a long time until Ming's father passed away. Xu didn't know what was wrong with him. To outsiders, he seemed to be arranging other people's funerals like a son.

Only he himself could vaguely sense that, like the boy in the wheat fields of yesteryear, he was subtly anticipating someone's gaze.

Xu saw her, but for some reason, just like in the past, he only glanced at her from afar before quietly leaving. In the eyes of the middle-aged woman, all that remained was a back view as yellow as Kitsuchi and a deep sigh.

For the next twenty years or so, until the people around Xu had gradually passed away, Xu never saw her again.

The man lived a life of silence and solitude, but one night he woke up in a fright. He dreamt of the girl from the fields years ago, laughing and running towards him, reaching out her hands. But before he could take her hands, a violent coughing sound came from the darkness.

A sense of bewilderment crept into Xu's heart; he felt as if he were about to die...

For the first time, his aged face trembled, as if he had used all his strength to struggle out of bed. He remained silent all night, gritted his teeth, took all his savings, and staggered towards Kyoto.

It was a clear morning filled with starlight, and all the stars seemed to be guiding him, shining with their final brilliance.

As he walked, he could no longer hold back his tears. He suddenly realized that the address he had silently memorized in his heart on the day of her wedding, when he was hiding in the crowd, was still clear in his mind.

He met her, and they arranged to meet at a teahouse.

All afternoon, they talked and laughed. The two elderly people, who were already very old, seemed neither hungry nor tired. In their final moments, they wanted to tell each other about the lives the other had not been a part of.

As dusk fell, the two old people fell silent, gazing into each other's eyes, smiling for a long time, while tears fell to the ground like jade beads.

"That year I was twenty-five and still refused to marry. You were eight years older than me. Today I am seventy-three, and you are still eight years older than me."

"Your life is too stressful, and mine isn't easy either..."

Without saying anything more, Xu staggered out of the teahouse, the last rays of the setting sun behind him.

"Perhaps we were all wrong..."

As if letting go of his obsession, Ming's body seemed to hunch even more in an instant, his bony frame almost bursting out of his body.

The old lady from Kyoto passed away, but it seemed that not many people cared about the news. At the funeral of the childless old woman, there was only one other lonely old woman.

"Yes, we were all wrong..."

There was little tragedy or desolation, only a faint sentiment that seemed to linger in Xu's heart. The times were changing dramatically, but it seemed to have nothing to do with him. He simply sat quietly, leaning against her side, and slowly closed his eyes.

(This probably doesn't have much to do with the main plot; it's just that I haven't written in a while and can't remember where the story is...)

(The book isn't finished yet, but it probably won't be long. If I speed up the pace later, I'll probably use this outline-style writing for less important plot points... probably...)