CH_164

After hearing Neru's answer, Tōji didn't want to say more on the subject. "Natchi still doesn't know about Captain Kenji. Could I trouble you to go tell him tomorrow?"

"You haven't seen Natchi in so long—aren't you going yourself?" Neru didn't understand Tōji's subtle mindset.

"You go instead. I don't really want to be the one to tell him something like this…" Tōji's voice trailed off.

He knew his own contradictions—he'd always wanted to be a cold-blooded person, but never quite managed it.

"Guilt? Don't know how to face Natchi?" Neru asked, pausing between each phrase. She couldn't quite pin down what Tōji was thinking either.

But Neru knew—Tōji deliberately acted cold, but his nature wasn't cold. It was a long-term war between reason and emotion.

And from Neru's perspective, Tōji's "premonition ability" was just his word. If she hadn't spent so much time with him, she wouldn't have wanted to believe it at all.

Kenji's death had nothing to do with Tōji's responsibility.

And even if he really had sensed something, so what?

Besides—even if Neru believed Tōji wasn't lying about having premonitions, she still wouldn't fully trust something so ethereal.

"What are you thinking? I'm just busy. I already told you I'm in danger myself—I need to quiet down and think of a plan. Natchi talks so much now, nothing like he was at the Academy…" Tōji stopped walking. He'd said what he needed to say.

"That's true. Natchi's changing, you're changing, I'm changing too." Neru figured that was just Tōji's excuse, but she said so anyway.

She stopped too.

But she stopped one step ahead of Tōji, turning her face to look at him. "Whatever your reason is—I'll go tell him for you this time."

"Let's call it a day, then." Tōji was ready to leave.

"You really are something…" Neru wanted to roll her eyes. "Besides business, you only come to me with your problems—and the moment you're done, you leave. Who treats a friend like that?"

"Uh…" Tōji wasn't quite sure what she was getting at. "Thank you?"

"You…" Neru let out a soft breath. "I thought as a friend, you'd at least tell me a little about what you've been doing this past year."

"I just did a meaningless mission—nothing worth mentioning. Oh, by the way—has Natchi told you how his past year went?" Tōji asked.

"He mentioned it the day he got back—he was stationed on border patrol and ran into Kiri-nin from time to time. But he didn't say much about his own achievements—he kept talking about a newcomer, someone named Uchiha Shisui." Neru rolled her eyes upward. "It's spread all over the village now—the Uchiha have produced a young genius."

"Shisui…" Tōji murmured the name softly.

"You definitely haven't been paying attention to any of this. I hear plenty of news at the hospital." Neru sounded a little proud talking about her work. After all, this was the job she'd wanted from the start.

"You seem pretty satisfied working at the hospital." Tōji smiled too—though his mood was genuinely bad, so the smile didn't look very happy for her.

"It's alright. Forget it—you don't have the heart to chat with me. Go home and worry about your own problems!" Neru said it as if she believed Tōji could solve his crisis with a bit of thinking.

"Then—goodbye." Tōji did want to head back.

For him, the important matters weren't suited for further discussion with Neru, and he wasn't in the mood for small talk.

Neru didn't seem to mind. "Fine. Goodbye."

The two went their separate ways…

『If you can't find a way to solve it alone, you have to ask someone with the power to help…』 Tōji thought about Neru's words as he walked. 『I shouldn't keep fixating on this.'』

He still needed to figure out how to make his request for help.