Chapter 11: Forbidden to Pry Into the System's Secrets
The sunlight filtering through the leaves grew brighter and brighter; it was clear that the sun was about to rise.
Amamiya Rei's "Sun Value" was more than sufficient to withstand direct sunlight for nearly 4,700 minutes, yet he still chose not to waste it. It wasn't mere caution for the sake of survival, but the quiet habit of someone who had long learned to ration every fragment of safety he possessed. For Rei, restraint was no longer a choice—it had become instinct, as natural as breathing.
He was traveling aboard the man-made transportation crafted by Shisui. His slender fingers curled tightly into the fabric of Shisui's clothing, his slight frame trembling faintly—not from weakness, but from the deliberate pretense of it. He wore the guise of a frightened, helpless creature, because that was safer than showing his fangs.
"I can't be under the sun..."
"Could you... find me an umbrella?"
Before Rei uttered this request, he had been locked in a cold war with Shisui for a full eight hours—stubbornly refusing to say a single word until now.
Rei had finally spoken...
Shisui's gaze fell upon Rei's face. Tear-streaks still crisscrossed her cheeks, making her appear even more pitiful than usual. This was the first time Rei had ever asked for something—her voice soft, trembling, filled with fear. How could he possibly refuse her?
And besides—Rei wasn't a shinobi. After an entire night spent traveling, she needed rest.
Wordlessly, Shisui diverted their course toward the nearest town. Along the way he purchased an umbrella, and by the time dawn fully bloomed, he was ushering Rei into a quiet roadside inn.
He laid Rei gently onto the soft tatami mats, handling her with deliberate care. He didn't bother to bind her hands again—there was no need. He knew full well that Rei wouldn't attempt an escape under his watchful eye.
Watching Rei's face relax into unguarded sleep, something in Shisui's chest tightened and softened all at once. The throbbing bite wound on his shoulder reminded him to tend to his injury, but the raw ache in his heart eclipsed any physical pain.
Rei must have been furious beyond measure to have bitten him so hard.
Shisui dressed the wound with practiced hands, but a hollow ache lingered inside him.
Would Rei ever forgive him?
Could they ever return to what they once had?
Shisui didn't sleep. He remained seated at Rei's side, keeping vigil until she slowly stirred awake.
Amber light spilled through the shōji screens, painting soft gold across the quilt that covered Rei's slender frame.
From morning to dusk, Amamiya Rei slept in deep contentment. When he finally cracked open his sleepy eyes, the very first thing he saw was Shisui sitting at his bedside—radiating gloom.
"..."
Why did he radiate such gloom?
Truly—who wouldn't feel their good mood sour upon waking from a perfect, uninterrupted sleep only to be greeted by someone sitting there like a human-shaped bitter melon?
Shisui's face was expressionless, but the sorrow emanating from his eyes and the aura of grief surrounding him were inescapable, a constant reminder to anyone nearby—he was hurting.
A walking embodiment of misery.
"Rei, you're awake. Here—eat something."
Shisui immediately held out the tray of sushi he had prepared in advance.
But Rei, freshly woken, had no appetite. He slid off the futon without a word, ignored Shisui entirely, and reached for the umbrella resting against the wall.
The umbrella itself was broad, but Rei still wrapped an extra layer of opaque cloth around its edges.
Watching him fuss with the cloth, Shisui set down the sushi and spoke gently:
"If you don't eat, your body won't hold up."
Rei still didn't respond.
Though Rei lacked experience in romantic matters, he was still a man. And when it came to dealing with another man, he figured the best way was simply to treat him the same way he himself would react.
And for someone like Shisui... punishment was the only appropriate response.
Shisui lowered his gaze, realizing that nothing he said right now would earn Rei's attention.
Stepping forward, he placed his hand firmly atop Rei's, halting the motion of wrapping the umbrella.
"Why can't you be in the sun?"
His voice was firmer than before, tinged with an edge of insistence.
It gave Rei the impression that Shisui would not stop pressing until he received an answer.
"..."
Rei lowered his head, hiding the disdain in his eyes as he continued fastening the cloth around the umbrella's edges. His reply came cool and detached:
"I'm allergic to light. Overly intense sunlight could burn me."
The explanation was flimsy at best, but the world was vast and full of strange phenomena. If it could fool Shisui for now, that was good enough.
Besides, Shisui was currently steeped in guilt toward him—anything Rei said now, he would believe.
And as expected, pity flashed in Shisui's eyes at those words.
So this was why Rei's mother never allowed her outside...
Why she had taught Rei medical ninjutsu...
Because Rei could be injured at any moment.
Was this the price of awakening Wood Release?
For every gift, there must be sacrifice.
"I won't let the sun touch you,"
Shisui's vow made Rei pause mid-motion.
Rei turned his eyes toward him, glinting with mockery.
"If you hadn't forcibly dragged me to Konoha, I wouldn't need to worry about the sun at all."
Shisui flinched as if struck, his face paling. No words came—only the silent echo of apologies looping in his mind.
Rei hadn't expected Shisui to be such a man of action.
By the next day, Shisui had rented a palanquin and hired two bearers.
Compared to an umbrella, this was far more secure.
Rei was "forced" to ride inside the palanquin—carried all the way to Konoha.
During the journey, inside the enclosed space, swaying gently with each step of the bearers, Amamiya Rei's thoughts churned.
How would he evade Konoha's interrogation?
Strictly speaking, "interrogation" wasn't the right term.
Rei was entering the village as a supposed descendant of the Senju clan, and he had awakened Wood Release besides.
By all rights, Konoha shouldn't subject him to their harsher methods of interrogation.
But Rei remembered something—Konoha had several shinobi capable of directly probing another person's mind.
Could he hide his secrets from them?
Though he had a plan in mind, he still wanted to be as prepared as possible.
If worse came to worst and he was exposed, he would have Black Zetsu extract him.
After all, he and Black Zetsu were in the same boat.
Rei called out to the System in his mind—perhaps it had a solution.
After all, if Konoha truly did attempt a mental probe, the moment they entered his mind they'd come face-to-face with the System tirelessly operating within him.
Wouldn't that mean his every secret laid bare? Rei gambled that the System cared about privacy.
Hours later, the System remained utterly silent.
Rei understood.
The System didn't give a damn about privacy. He was on his own.
The palanquin soon came to a stop.
Fortune favored Rei—by the time they arrived at Konoha, it was already dusk.
The horizon burned crimson with clouds lit like flame, yet the sun itself had already slipped behind the mountains, leaving the valley steeped in dim twilight.
Shisui grasped Rei's wrist and guided him out. The bearers, task complete, hoisted the palanquin away and vanished down the road. Rei's gaze flicked toward the massive wooden gates of Konoha.
No shinobi stood directly at the entrance, but just beyond the threshold, to the left, was a raised red watchtower. Inside sat two shinobi who turned their heads as soon as Shisui appeared.
Their gazes swept past Shisui without pause—only to land on Amamiya Rei.
A flicker of astonishment flashed in their eyes at the sight of him—followed swiftly by unconcealed wariness.
Beauty such as this... was the perfect mask for a spy.
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