Survive in Azure Files

Then came a gentle female voice with heavy breathing: "Feng... Feng-chan, please wait... Ha... Ha... Too... Too fast..."

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw three familiar figures rushing towards me.

The energetic little guy was leading the way, followed closely by the cherry pink Yamato Nadeshiko who was panting, and further away, the sleeping beauty who seemed to be sleepwalking.

Isn't this the training department? What are they talking about? Are they catching criminals?

I was about to raise my hand to greet them, but I heard the fox-eared girl beside me whisper:

"Ah, they actually caught up with us here!" The little fox panicked, "Hey, that! What should I do? "

...So you are the target of the training department?

This also explains why the fox-eared girl was so panicked and collided with me.

"We found her! Mimori-senpai, she's there!"

Feng suddenly pointed in this direction and shouted, but then he was slightly startled because he saw me next to the fox-eared girl.

At the same time, the fox-eared girl, whose tracks were exposed, stiffened her body and twitched her animal ears. After a brief hesitation, she gritted her teeth, said sorry, turned around hurriedly and ran away.

I looked at her retreating back and said, "Hey, are you just going to leave me like this?"

The figure seemed to sway.

It is true that the world is becoming more corrupt and people’s hearts are no longer the same as they used to be.

I looked away and stood still, with no intention of chasing after him.

I knew clearly my own capabilities, so I naturally had no impulse to intervene rashly. My shouting was purely out of personal ridicule out of bad taste.

But just when I was about to say hello to the girls from the training club.

My hand was suddenly held. The little girl with fox ears came back and turned her back to me anxiously:

"As expected, as a ninja, you can't just leave the people you've implicated behind! Please come up quickly, or the bad guys will catch up with you!"

Ninja... and calling the training area a bad guy...?

It was such an interesting development that it made me feel much better.

I made a quick decision in my mind - it's too late to explain at this point, so I might as well just go with the flow and take the opportunity to figure out the causes and consequences before making any plans.

Besides, this is a rare opportunity to have a beautiful girl carry me on her back, I can’t let it go easily!

As soon as I thought of this, I immediately lay on the little fox whose name I still didn't know. After she carried me steadily on her back, she ran away.

The little fox ran very fast, turned flexibly, and moved very steadily. I could hardly feel any bumps while being carried on her back.

I couldn't help but miss the lost White Wolf.

Coupled with her familiarity with the terrain, the fox-eared girl moved quickly through the streets and alleys. After changing direction dozens of times, I turned my head and saw that the people in the training department seemed to have been left far behind.

So I took out my cell phone.

Me: Sansen, what did the girl you were chasing just now do wrong?

Sansen: Teacher, was it really you that Feng saw?

Sansen: ...Well, from your tone, I guess you are not clear about the situation yet.

Mimori: In a nutshell.

Mimori: That kid is a bad student who intends to cause trouble at the Sakura Festival.

A bad student?

Judging from their flashy dressing styles, they do look a bit alike.

But judging from the way the fox-eared girl addressed the people in the training department, things did not seem to be that simple.

There must be some misunderstanding.

"Um, may I ask what you are doing on Izuna's back? You move around so much that it seems a bit troublesome..."

The "Izuna" mentioned by the little fox should be her name.

I silently recited the name, and suddenly recalled the unsuccessful commission a while ago, but I remained calm for the time being:

"I was just playing on my phone because I was bored."

"Hey! Why is this happening?!"

Izunai shouted in dissatisfaction, and ran forward a few dozen steps until she put me down in a secluded alley. After leaning on her knees and taking a few deep breaths, she wiped her forehead and murmured:

"It should be safe here."

Then, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and pouted: "This is too much, Izuna tried so hard to help you escape, but you did something like this!"

"Aren't you the only one they're looking for?"

“It’s not like that.”

Izuna pointed out with a serious expression: "When a ninja is surrounded by the enemy, even innocent civilians who have anything to do with her will be regarded as her accomplices by the enemy and arrested and tortured... This is what I saw in the comics!"

...You said this was a comic plot, right?

The corner of my mouth twitched, and I felt that the Izumi in front of me was most likely the Izumi who sent the commission email at that time.

Why does it seem so deceptive?

"So," I wisely changed the subject, looking around and turning on the navigation on my phone, "Where did you take me... Why is it so far away from the destination?!"

"Eh! Sorry? Ah, I haven't asked you yet. Where is your destination?"

"Forget it, no rush."

I walked to the alley, squinted at the bustling scene on the street, looked back and invited: "Before that, please accompany me to the cherry blossom festival for a while."

However, Izuna fell silent for a long time before she spoke tremblingly with tears in her eyes:

"You are indeed a bad man!"

Chapter 63 Please stop bothering Izuna!

"You really are a bad man, aren't you!?"

Izumi's question was quite insightful, and I was speechless for a moment.

Choking a little at the fox's blunt words, I then asked, "Why do you think so?"

"Hmm..." Izunai's momentum weakened, and he stammered, "Because, you can walk... and you lied to Izunai and said it was a broken bone..."

"But I didn't say I had a broken bone," I asked in confusion. "I just said it hurt a lot and I thought it might be a broken bone."

Izuna blinked her innocent big eyes, tilted her head in a silly and cute way, and said in an uncertain tone: "Eh...it seems...that's right?"

"Besides, regardless of whether the injury is serious or not, isn't it an indisputable fact that you, who was rushing through the crowd, injured me, who was just passing by innocently?"

Facing my question, Izuna was speechless and blushed. Judging from her innocent reaction, she was not a bad student who wanted to disrupt the festival as Sansen said.

But that’s not entirely true.

Perhaps, there is some hidden story behind the festival; perhaps, Izuna is not as well-behaved as she appears to be; or perhaps, she has been deceived by someone.

Among them, I think the third one is the most likely.

Based on my previous understanding of the training club, it is normal for Tsubaki, Kaede, and Mimori to be regarded as weirdos based on their styles of doing things, but no matter what, they are not bad guys.

I have a feeling that the reason behind this misunderstanding is probably related to Hyakuya-do's commission.

In order to find out the truth, I thought I should try to gain Izuna's trust.

It would be even better if we could conquer her at the same time.

So I asked, “What are your plans next?”

Izuna was stunned for a moment, then hesitated and said, "Well... does visiting the festival count...?"

She was still thinking about going to the Cherry Blossom Festival, which made her even less suspicious. She might even not know what she had done.

"That's perfect." I raised my head and said in a commanding manner, "As an apology, it's your responsibility to take me to some interesting places around here."

"Ah?" Izuna asked cautiously, "But don't you have something important to do?"

"Originally there is."

I squinted at Izunai and said coldly, "It's too late to rush over now."

"Ah... I'm sorry... It's all Izuna's fault..."

Izuna lowered her head, looking so pitiful, that made me feel a little guilty.

Not to mention that I was lying, I actually hadn’t scheduled a specific meeting time with the people from Hyakuya Hall.

Even if he really missed something important, his anger would have subsided after seeing the little fox so adorable.

After all, it was just an accident.

I snorted coldly, "No need to apologize. Instead of regretting the irreparable mistake, thinking about how to make amends is what we should do now. Since you call yourself a ninja, then show the demeanor of a ninja. Think carefully about how to make me enjoy the celebration next."

After saying that, I turned around and left without paying attention to Izunai's reaction.

But I know.

How destructive would the style I displayed and the attitude revealed in my words have on a girl who dreams of becoming the number one ninja in Kivotos in a world where ninjas only exist in literary works?

Behind me, Izunai stood there, her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement, and then with a bright smile on her face, she quickly caught up with me:

"I understand! Izuna will definitely try her best not to let you down! Be patient~"

As I expected, Izumi's seemingly unrealistic dream did lack recognition from others.

This is what I inferred from the fact that she had previously asked Xia Lai to assist in ninja training, but she inexplicably canceled the commission just when I was about to ask her more about it.

So, next, I will give Izuna the recognition she needs——

"Please look over there! They're selling the specialty of the One Hundred Demons Night Parade, the fox senbei!"

Izuna pulled my sleeve and pointed at several cat and dog vendors on the street with great interest, introducing them to me one by one:

"Ah, that's the Tanuki-in Okonomiyaki that you can't miss when it comes to the Sakura Festival! And the Sakura Daifuku made with sakura petals is also delicious! These are all specialties of the Sakura Festival!"

"Oh..."

I stroked my chin and narrowed my eyes. "Not bad, I have collected a lot of information about supplies in advance. Hehe, it looks a bit like a ninja."

The pretentious and profound words made me feel a little uncomfortable, but they hit Izuna's strike zone just right.

"How could you actually start from this angle? I never thought of it before!" Izunai became excited, but she suppressed her excitement and said a little embarrassedly, "But, Izunai just participated in the Sakura Festival many times, so I naturally knew all this, and I didn't deliberately collect any information..."

I looked at Izuna in surprise. "So, you can actually observe and record your surroundings as keenly as a ninja just by instinct?"

"Ah?" Izunai opened his eyes wide and asked in confusion, "Is that so?"

"…Who knows, maybe."

I said this ambiguously, but the more Izumi thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case, and she couldn't help but feel secretly delighted.

He was so delighted that he squinted his eyes and showed a silly smile, jumping up and down while humming a song, and his fox ears and tail couldn't stop swinging back and forth.

It's so confusing that it makes me worried.

There is no other way. In order to prevent Izuna from being deceived by bad people, I have to deceive her.

As long as I can protect my students, I will do it even if it means sacrificing my reputation!

As I was thinking this, I spent some money to buy some snacks recommended by Izunai at a roadside stall. We ate while walking and the food tasted really good.

Izunai took a gulp and stuffed a Sakura Daifuku into her mouth, revealing a pure expression of joy as she enjoyed the delicious food. She had just chewed halfway when she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly increased her chewing speed to swallow the Daifuku:

"By the way, this is a rare opportunity. Speaking of the Hundred Nights Spring Sakura Festival, we have to go there to take a look! This way, please follow me!"

I had no idea how to bring this up with the ninja's praise of Izuna, so I just nodded in silence and pretended to be cool. Then, under Izuna's leadership, we arrived at an observation deck on a higher ground.

From here, you can clearly see the town. The most eye-catching thing in the distance is the cherry tree that towers into the clouds like a mountain and blocks out the sun.

All I know is that it is called the "Sacred Tree" by the locals of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

Although I had some idea of ​​its size before, it was not until now, standing at a high place with a wide view, that I really had a clearer concept.

“How could it be so big…”

Hearing my involuntary sigh, Izuna also laughed happily: