In the days that followed, Shiraishi often saw Ayane living alone in school.
She suddenly had no friends, no so-called desire for life, her eyes were empty, like a walking zombie.
This may be the real life attitude of a 'slave'.
It is estimated that in this life, it will be impossible to get out of this shadow.
Shiraishi didn't know how a girl who clearly longed for the ideal of freedom would feel after being defined as a 'slave' by her closest clan members.
But it must be full of despair and pain that is unimaginable to ordinary people.
After that day, Ayane's grades plummeted, and her class teacher Taiga Fujimura didn't say anything to her. He could only give her some trivial comfort and encouragement, telling her to study with peace of mind and not to think about anything.
Although he really wants to help his students, the tradition of the Hyuga clan will not be changed by a useless school teacher like him.
Fujimura Taiga knew this very well, and he also knew that there was no way to solve this problem even if he asked the Third Hokage for help.
These wealthy families are like small villages in Konoha Village.
Many of the rules of Konoha Village have no control over their internal affairs.
Shiraishi saw clearly.
The words of comfort were of no use to Ayane.
She can only be enlightened from another level.
Mental trauma can only be cured with spiritual medicine.
◎
Torturing your body with pain has always been a good way to distract yourself from mental numbness.
Only by using this physical pain can Ayane feel that she is truly alive now.
He is still a human being, not a 'livestock' raised by his family.
She didn't understand the meaning of her family's traditional existence, nor did she want to understand it, nor was she willing to understand it.
Although the adults kept enlightening her, saying that planting the 'caged bird' curse seal on her was for her own good and for the sake of the family's inheritance.
All her sacrifices were not meaningless, but valuable.
If that's the case, why don't the people of the Zong family sacrifice themselves? Ayane kept having this question in her mind.
The more she thought about it, the more Ayane felt like her heart was filled with a dark emotion that wanted to destroy everything.
The hatred also began to grow.
With such thoughts of hatred and anger, her fair and gentle face became a little ferocious, with a hint of ferocity, and lost the gentleness of the past.
She used the Hyuga clan's soft fists to attack the wooden stakes. Gradually, during the blows, her soft fists gradually changed their taste. There was no trace of the soft fists at all, but she simply used her fists to directly attack the wooden stakes. Vent and become fierce and hardened.
Even if the fist is broken and bleeding, and the pain continues, there is no tendency to stop.
Rather, using this pain to distract herself from her mental numbness is exactly what she hopes.
After a while, she stopped this self-harming way of venting, squatting next to the wooden stake, holding her knees with her hands, her head lowered, her long black hair covering her face, and only a slight sob could be heard.
As the sun sets, the woods are shrouded in darkness.
It's almost dark.
The air in the forest also became a little cold.
Dark green leaves fell on Ayane's shoulders, and she was still sobbing softly.
——Suddenly at this moment, the sound of slow footsteps came from the dim woods, causing her to suddenly stop crying.
"So you are hiding here, but this place is really suitable for a person to lick his wounds alone."
This voice was very familiar to Ayane, and she couldn't help but raise her head to look at the person.
That was his deskmate—Chiba Shiraishi.
A truly ordinary person.
Commoner, with unremarkable grades, average student.
That's all he has.
Although she had a relatively harmonious relationship with him before, she was now in no mood to deal with an irrelevant outsider like him.
"Why are you here?"
Instead of calling out the other person's identity with the gentle title of 'Shiraishi-kun' like before, her voice became stiff and unfamiliar.
Ayane was confused about the reason why Shiraishi came here, but there was a feeling of being spied on and discovering a secret, which made her very angry inside.
"There are many reasons, but most of them are attracted by the hatred and anger in your heart. I am actually the same as you."
A meaningful smile appeared on Shiraishi's face.
"same as me?"
Ayane was stunned, not understanding what Shiraishi was talking about.
Shiraishi walked out of the darkness, with a faint smile in his steady black eyes:
"Yes, I am just like you. I am a part of this twisted and boring village that I don't even know myself. Even the insignificant part, commonly known as the despicable things whose destiny is controlled by others."
Ayane took a breath.
Shiraishi's ordinary image suddenly became another stranger in his mind.
It was like getting to know my deskmate again.
Is he expressing dissatisfaction and hostility towards the village?
Why does he think this way?
But when Shiraishi said this, Ayane didn't know why, but her heart was suddenly filled with resonant joy.
"You're confused, aren't you?"
Shiraishi asked with another smile.
Confuse?
What are you wondering about?
Faced with Shiraishi's inexplicable question, Ayane frowned, and there was a hint of vigilance in her pure white eyes.
"Do you already feel that you are inferior to others?"
As soon as Shiraishi said these words, Ayane's chest was suddenly filled with a strong murderous aura.
This sentence had hurt her personality and self-esteem.
All the negative emotions rushed into her heart, causing Ayane to lose her mind in an instant. She quickly rushed towards Shiraishi and waved her fist hard at Shiraishi's body.
Shiraishi smiled slightly. Ayane, who was dominated by anger and lost her calmness, became weak and unsystematic in her attacks.
There is absolutely no need to be alert for an attack of this level. Bai Shi said in his heart.
Therefore, he caught Ayane's fist and counterattacked, pressing her whole body against the tree next to her, preventing her from moving at all.
The situation was reversed in an instant.
Maybe the defeat was too sudden, so Ayane immediately froze.
It was completely unexpected that this would be the result.
"Have you been hiding your strength? Why do you do this?"
Ayane came back to her senses and asked this question.
"What exactly is it? But before exploring that question, how about we talk about your business first?"
Shiraishi said in a gentle voice calmly.
"Humph, what do commoners like you know? Stop laughing so hard."
Ayane said in a voice that wanted to bite Shiraishi's throat into pieces.
What do these useless civilians know?
She was planted as a 'caged bird', and everything in her future life would be controlled and planned by those high-ranking clans.
The so-called freedom and dignity have been ruthlessly taken away from now on.
Whenever she saw the arrogant look on the faces of those Zong family members, she felt like trampling that arrogance under her feet.
Let them also try to see how humiliating and desperate it is to have their dignity and freedom being toyed with.
