Chapter 50: Ino, the stalker

Author's note: Hello my dear readers, many of you may already know what is currently happening with the official website of webnovel, since it doesn't let you read and forces you to download the app. That's why I have created a Pat reon, there I will publish all the chapters for free, of course, in the future I plan to publish advance chapters for those who wish to support me by buying a membership, but that will be in the future, for the moment I leave you the link to my Pat reon.

pat reon.com/NotPolarArtics

Without further ado, enjoy the chapter.

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Two days have passed since the chunin exam preliminaries have come to an end, at this moment, a pleasant floral scent could be felt in that place.

The place was full of flowers of different shapes and colors, and among all this was a girl with golden hair. She had a slight smile on her face as she watered the flowers.

(I should visit Hinata, maybe I'll bring her some roses as a present).

Remembering her teammate, Ino sighed, she still couldn't believe that Hinata was about to die, besides, that moment when Toru jumped into the arena without hesitation left her a little confused. Not only that, everyone saw how Toru threatened Neji, although no one heard what the boy of the Asahi clan said , but seeing the expression on Neji's face was enough to realize what was happening.

(Toru is always so unpredictable, first he threatens to do indecent things to me and now he's always protecting me, I can't understand it).

Touching her head, Ino had a lot to think about. Now that the preliminaries were over, she had to train her body and mind in order not to be defeated easily. If possible, Ino wanted to fight against Shikamaru or Naruto, since both were the weakest ninja among those who had qualified. Unlike the others, which Ino considered monsters.

(Ha~ I don't know what to think, my head hurts just remembering the preliminaries).

Sighing, Ino let her arms drop to her shoulders. However, The peace was about to be interrupted by a customer's visit.

The doorbell rang, revealing a black-haired boy. Ino recognized this boy at once, she knew him so well that she had to hide behind the counter so as not to be seen.

(Why is he here?!)

Screaming inside her own mind, Ino was in internal chaos. After seeing everything that happened in the preliminaries, she couldn't look him in the face, not after seeing him with Hinata in the hospital.

This was something she wanted to forget, since when she went to visit Hinata, Toru was there, he was sitting next to her with an emotionless expression, however, his look said the opposite.

"Hm... Hello?"

Toru's voice was heard, but no one answered the call, after all this is a flower shop.

The boy was a little confused, they had left the store open with no one to look after it, something he had never seen in all these years, though after a few seconds, a woman with brown hair tied up in a green bow appeared, she had brown eyes and was wearing the typical clothes of a housewife.

"Where is that girl?"

The woman looked around, but did not find her daughter, except for the child standing in front of the counter waiting.

"Good morning."

Toru bowed slightly and greeted, the woman was a little surprised, but with a smile she recognized the child.

"You'll be wearing the same flowers this year too."

Kindly, the woman attended to her little customer, meanwhile, hiding under the table behind the counter, Ino covered her mouth so Toru wouldn't hear her breathing.

(This year too? That means it's not the first time he's come here).

Drawing a quick conclusion, Ino peeked her head out a little so she could see what was going on, at the same time, the brown-haired woman, that is, Ino's mother was handing a bouquet of white flowers to Toru, while the boy was handing her a ticket.

Ino noticed the kind of flowers her mother was giving to Toru, after all those kind of flowers are given as a gift to people who have already left this world, in simpler words, they are flowers that are left on the graves of deceased relatives.

(Those flowers are... don't tell me that...)

Realizing it a little too late, Ino reacted, banging her head against the table. The sound of the blow alerted her mother, who approached the counter, seeing Ino, who was covering her mouth so as not to be discovered.

"So there you are."

Looking under the table, the woman saw her daughter, who for some reason had been hiding.

"Hello..."

Answering with a nervous tone of voice, Ino made sure Toru wasn't around, to her good fortune, Toru left the store the instant she received the bouquet of flowers.

(It was close...)

"Mom, I have to go, I'll be back later."

Jumping over the counter, Ino ran out.

"Hey, where are you going!"

With a vein swelling on her forehead, Ino's mother pounded on the table, still, she sighed wearily as she thought. It had already been more than two months since her daughter became a genin, but somehow, after that dangerous mission, Ino changed, now it took her much longer to put on her makeup and fix her hair.

The woman somehow understood this change in her daughter.

(It seems that now she really fell in love).

Crossing her arms, the woman took a seat near the counter.

-Somewhere in Konoha.

Hiding behind a pole, Ino was spying on Toru, it had already been a few minutes since she left the flower store, but now she was hiding, like a stalker.

(I don't know why I'm following him)

A bead of sweat slid down Ino's forehead, she was nervous, as she knew that Toru is not someone so naive as to not feel the presence of a stalker, after all that boy was spied for more than four years by a strange organization she didn't know.

Still, after all, she didn't want to end this little investigation, she was curious about why Toru bought that kind of flowers, although she was already getting an idea why.

"So it's today, huh. I guess time is flying by, so I'll gift this to you. Send her my regards."

In front of Toru, there was an old man, who for some reason gave him a paper bag with a mysterious content. This man was Shou, the owner of the bakery that Toru often visits, but there was no way for Ino to know this.

(What will be in that paper bag...? So far everything is a mystery, but considering the kind of flowers my mom gave Toru, it's very possible that he's heading to the cemetery right now).

Ino's deduction was correct, well, if you have knowledge in all kinds of flowers, medicinal plants and more, it would be easy to know the meaning of the white roses that Toru had in his hands.

After that, Ino continued to hide in every possible place, at the same time, it seemed that Toru had not detected her yet.

For the time being, she was going to stay hidden until she found out the whole truth about Toru's actions.

(He has been walking for a long time, but it seems that if he is heading to the cemetery).

Walking a little further, the trees began to surround the place, she was now in a small forest surrounding the Konoha cemetery.

At the same time, Ino was a little nervous, as she didn't know what she would see next, so in a quick and silent movement, she hid in the bushes and waited for Toru not to discover her.

(It can't be...)

When Ino realized where she was, her eyes widened in surprise. In front of her, there were dozens of tombstones, and in front of all of them were two tombstones with names that stood out more than any tombstone in that place, plus these two tombstones had different designs than the others.

The first tombstone was carved with the name of a man, but Toru seemed to ignore this tombstone completely. The name on the tombstone read 'Kitamura Kenji'.

After a few seconds in which Toru observed the whole place, he sat down in front of a specific tombstone.

What was carved on the tombstone was the following: 'Asahi Kyoko'.

When Ino saw the name on the tombstone, she covered her mouth to prevent her breath from being heard. Somehow she could tell, that name belonging to Toru's mother, after all that boy was sitting in front of that tombstone.

(I don't think I should have followed him...)

Realizing her mistake, Ino ducked her head and tried to leave, but when Toru pulled out the two daggers from between his clothes, Ino's eyes widened like saucers because of this. But apparently she misunderstood, as Toru placed the two daggers in front of the grave, after that she took the bouquet of flowers and placed it on the left side of the tombstone.

(This is like a ritual...)

With no choice but to stay until Toru leaves, Ino sat down and waited silently while looking at her teammate.

At the same time, Toru took the paper bag and from it took out two loaves of bread with fruit filling. Ino had no way of knowing this, but that fruit bread was Toru's mother's favorite.

For Toru, sweet things are a bit unpleasant, as they always make him want to vomit when something sweet goes down his throat, but for some reason, after his mother's death, he became obsessed with the sweet taste of the bread with fruit filling.

(Is he eating...?)

Seeing Toru placing a bread on the tombstone, Ino was surprised, as a second later, the boy ate another bread that was in the paper bag.

(Somehow, this is very peaceful).

The feeling that Toru gave by doing this kind of ritual, was somehow, peaceful, but also, sad, since right now, the boy knelt before the tomb, put his hands together and made a prayer.

Ino watched this with curiosity, seeing Toru do this kind of things changed the way she saw him. To her, Toru was just a quiet boy who hid his wild and controlling nature, but she was wrong, because in front of her, there was the real Toru.

With her eyes closed, her hands clasped together and her head down, Ino felt that she had misunderstood this boy for a long time. Now that she had discovered this, she didn't know how to look him in the face.

(I think I should go now...)

With a slight smile on her lips, Ino tried to walk away from the place, but a voice stopped her.

"I didn't know you liked to spy on people."

Hearing this, a shiver ran down her spine.

(Damn it! How could he possibly have seen me?)

Screaming internally, Ino sighed and came out of hiding.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Don't apologize to me, you know this is disrespectful to dead people?"

Widening her eyes at Toru's words, Ino shrugged. She hadn't expected Toru to be so respectful to the deceased.

"Yes... I know. I should apologize."

Moving closer to Toru, Ino took doing by his side, clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

(Mrs. Toru's mom, I apologize for interrupting your son. You know, Toru is always planning mysterious and shady things, but today I could see something different from him.)

Placing her hand on her chest, right where her heart is, Ino sighed.

(Toru is always protecting me, he saved me from dying that night, that's why I owe him my life, although I won't admit it in front of him, it's too embarrassing. I know I'm feeling something for him, but I'm afraid to know what will happen if this feeling grows. So much has happened in a couple of months and it scares me. I know it's a bit ironic, but I'm still the cowardly and useless Yamanaka Ino. Although if it's just a little bit, I would love to be able to be useful to Toru, I would love to be able to be useful to my team. That's why, Kyoko-san, if you allow me, can I stand next to your son? Wait... Not in a romantic way, I didn't mean it that way! I just wanted to...! Aghh!)

While Ino was having a mental argument with herself, Toru watched her teammate's final reaction, somehow she found it amusing how Ino's face was blushing.

"I'm done apologizing."

While avoiding making eye contact with Toru, Ino looked elsewhere to hide her blushing face.

"I think I have to go, I left without saying anything to my mom..."

Listening to Ino, Toru looked at the tombstone in front of him, for a moment he felt as if his mother was watching him. So with a sigh, Toru picked up the daggers from the ground and stood up.

"I will accompany you."

Walking in front of Ino, Toru put the daggers away. This made Ino feel confused, as for some reason she felt Toru was different than usual, and somehow she liked this.

"Since you're so insistent, I'll give you the honor of escorting me home."

Accepting Toru's proposal, Ino walked to Toru's side.

(That's not so bad, I guess)

Closing her eyes, Ino looked at the sky, it seemed as if the world was more colorful than usual. So, a slight smile formed on her face, a second later she hurried her pace a little so she could be in front of Toru.

"What are you waiting for, are you going to stay behind?"

With a big smile, Ino felt happy, maybe it was because she unburdened herself by telling some things to Toru's mother, but without a doubt when she was alone together with him, she felt that she could be honest with herself.