Chapter 9 He's a Very Mysterious Person
Tanako Hon looked at Yoruha, who had long since disappeared from sight, with a trace of lingering reluctance.
Mina Senju saw through her daughter's thoughts at once.
With a smile, she said, "Looks like you feel a little differently about this companion. What kind of person is he?"
Hearing her mother's words, Tanako Hon's face flushed red.
A little embarrassed, she said, "What do you mean, differently? Mom, what are you talking about?"
Mina Senju smiled faintly. "Hehe, then why were your eyes fixed on that boy the whole time just now? I've never seen you look at Juki like that."
Tanako Hon looked toward the road where only the streetlights were still on.
Softly, she said, "I don't really understand him either. We only just met, after all."
Mina Senju was a little puzzled. "You only just met? Isn't he in your class?"
Mina Senju had thought Yoruha was a transfer student.
Konohagakure did indeed have students who transferred in from other small ninja villages in the Land of Fire.
The Land of Fire did not have only one ninja village, Konohagakure. It was simply that Konohagakure was the largest and strongest ninja village in the Land of Fire.
Besides Konohagakure, there were many small ninja villages as well.
Tanako Hon shook her head. "He's in our class. It's just that for the past six years, I never noticed him, and I didn't know him either."
"How is that possible? You were in the same class for six years and still didn't know each other? You never even spoke a single sentence?"
"Was that child very withdrawn?"
Mina Senju found it hard to believe. Even if classmates who had studied together for six years weren't close, they should at least have exchanged a few words.
Tanako Hon turned to look at her mother and said with a smile, "No. Yoruha didn't really have much presence in class before. He had even less presence than I did."
Mina Senju looked shocked.
It was truly unbelievable. If her daughter hadn't said it herself, she absolutely would not have believed that someone's presence could be so faint.
Thinking of something, Mina Senju frowned slightly. "Could it be that child isn't very easy to get along with?"
Mina Senju was a little worried about her daughter.
In her understanding, a student with such low presence was most likely very withdrawn, perhaps even difficult to deal with.
She was worried her daughter might get hurt.
But Tanako Hon shook her head and said seriously, "No, Yoruha is actually pretty easy to get along with. I don't know why he had so little presence before either, but his personality is quite good."
Seeing how her daughter's eyes lit up several degrees more than usual whenever she talked about Yoruha, Mina Senju felt a headache coming on.
Could her silly daughter really be developing feelings?
Children in the Hokage world matured rather early.
Even though she had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy, she already understood what feelings were.
And Tanako Hon's circumstances were simply too good. Her father was a wealthy magnate of the Land of Fire, her mother was from the Senju Clan, and Tanako Hon herself was very beautiful. Although she was still young, she was already strikingly lovely.
It was only natural that some little boys would have feelings for her.
Mina Senju carefully asked, "Then how do you feel about him? Is it the same as with Juki?"
Tanako Hon was not Naruto. She knew exactly what her mother was trying to ask.
But she felt conflicted.
She had only known Yoruha for one day. Although she had a good impression of him, it had not reached the point of certainty yet.
It was simply favorable feelings, nothing more.
After being silent for a while, she lifted her head, thought about it, and said, "Not quite the same, I guess. I treat Juki as a good friend, but the way I feel about Yoruha is a little different."
"But I've only known him for one day. I don't know why I feel differently about him."
Mina Senju frowned. The thing she feared had still happened.
"Maybe it's just because you're curious. After all, you didn't know him before, so now you're curious about him. That's all, perhaps."
Mina Senju still didn't want her daughter to be casually deceived by some boy.
From Mina Senju's point of view, that concern was perfectly normal.
Her family was not like ordinary families.
Though they were not a ninja clan, they were a wealthy family. Combined with the fact that she herself came from the Senju Clan, their family was in no way inferior to many of Konohagakure's ninja clans.
They even belonged to the privileged class.
If Tanako Hon simply wanted to make friends, whether with Yamada Juki or anyone else, Mina Senju would support it.
But if real feelings were involved, then the other party's background, and what exactly his intentions were, became something well worth thinking deeply about.
Looking at her mother's tense expression, Tanako Hon smiled. "Mom, are you worried your daughter might fall for Yoruha?"
Mina Senju had her thoughts exposed and looked a little awkward.
Still, she nodded. "You know as well that our family is different from others."
"You're the only child in our family. In the future, you're going to inherit the Hon family. Your partner has to be chosen with the utmost care, to prevent any unexpected situations."
Hearing her mother's words, Tanako Hon let out a deep sigh.
"Mom, how about you and Dad give me a little brother instead? I want things a bit easier."
"Oh, this child, what are you saying?"
Mina Senju's face reddened slightly.
She truly did love Tanako Hon's father.
Back then, she and Tanako Hon's father had married for love.
Their relationship had always been very good.
Tanako Hon smiled and said, "Although I'm not sure whether I really like Yoruha, he does feel different from ordinary classmates."
"He's a little mysterious, but when I'm with him, I feel very safe."
Mina Senju heard something off in that and asked, "Mysterious? You mean he's withdrawn?"
"No. Yoruha always gives me the feeling that he's definitely far more than what he seems to be on the surface."
Mina Senju frowned. This was the issue she cared about most.
She hurriedly asked, "Do you think he's plotting something against you?"
Tanako Hon froze for a moment, then smiled faintly. "Hehehe, Mom, if that were the case, do you think I'd still have a good impression of him?"
Though Tanako Hon had a quiet personality, somewhat like Hinata's, she was not like Hinata in showing goodwill toward everyone.
She had her own mind.
If someone approached her because of her family, she absolutely would not like him. She would even find it deeply repulsive.
Mina Senju nodded.
She still believed that much. Although her daughter seemed gentle and introverted, she did have her own thoughts and judgment.
"Then why is it? Why does he give you such a mysterious feeling? He's only an apprentice ninja who just graduated from the Ninja Academy."
Tanako Hon shook her head and said, "Mom, I think he's probably already much stronger than me and my classmates."
"Oh? Is he that outstanding?"
"Why haven't I heard the Third Hokage mention him?"
"I remember all the most outstanding children of this class, but I don't recall a child named Yoruha."
As one of Konohagakure's top families, Mina Senju naturally had access to such information, especially since her precious daughter was among this year's students.