Rika was woken up by the chirping of unknown birds in the woods. "The first sight I saw when I opened my eyes was the sunlight outside the cave that seemed to be covered with a golden veil, and the silver-haired young man roasting an unlucky pheasant by the fire.

Today seems like an extraordinary day.

Rika walked to a nearby stream to freshen up, and the stream reflected the girl's melancholy face. Even if the sun is shining and the air is fresh, I can't be happy.

Simply straightened his clothes and hair, and paced to the silver-haired young man, who had just roasted the pheasant to the brim. The Ninja is out on a mission, and the Soldier Pills are one of the must-have items, and of course Kakashi has them with him - but if he lets Rika eat the Soldier Pills, the Daimyo will definitely send the Guardian Ninja Twelve to hunt him down. Certain!

Soldier food pills are simply poison to ordinary people. Even for ninjas, eating too much can have side effects.

Rika stood beside him, and her face bathed in the sun was finally much better than last night. Maybe something had calmed her mind a little.

"It's terrible." She cursed suddenly.

Kakashi looked up and glanced at her quizzically.

Rika puffed out her cheeks and looked at the morning sun in the distance, and said indignantly: "On the first day of the new year, I actually want to spend it in such a ghost place!" ”

In previous years, the Daimyo's Mansion must be a scene of gongs and drums, singing and dancing.

After she said this, Kakashi remembered that it was the beginning of a new year. Unlike Rika, Kakashi didn't really look forward to the New Year, and even the memories of attending the New Year's festival with his parents were blurred by the age. Since becoming a ninja, especially since I became a ninja, many times I went out on a mission a year ago, and when I came back, it was already the next year.

-- Children are looking forward to the New Year. Kakashi smiled nonchalantly.

"Don't complain, princess. We're going to keep going when we're full. ”

Rika reluctantly sat down: "Let me tell you first, I don't want to live in the wild tonight no matter what, especially this kind of gloomy cave!" ”

"Yes, keep going until you reach the nearest village by evening."

In the barren mountains and mountains where there is no carriage or sedan chair, all you can rely on is a pair of legs.

“…… Carry me. ”

“…… In this case, don't be willful. ”

The silver-haired ninja held out the roasted pheasant leg in front of her, and Rika bit down on it with a bitter face.

“…… My hands are not chicken legs, princess! ”

***

Bumps and bumps along the way, Rika got tired of walking, so she repeatedly played tricks to coerce and lure a silver-haired young man to be her flesh driver. In fact, Kakashi carrying her back and moving Chakra through the woods was much more efficient than dragging her feet on her own.

Finally, before dusk, I saw the smoke curling from the village in front of me.

Rika suddenly remembered something: "When someone else is around, don't call me princess." ”

Kakashi knew that Princess Rika's disappearance had to be kept a secret, and the dead fish blinked, "What's that called?" Lily of the valley? ”

"You want to die, huh?"

The first technician, who was very badly beaten, hurriedly smiled and apologized, there was already a clearly visible tooth mark on his left wrist, and he didn't want his right wrist to be doubled.

Kakashi would never have joked with Rika like that before. In the few short days since Rika was found, Kakashi felt that this princess was a little different from before. How to say it - probably because of his noble status before, the grandeur of his eyes has been much more restrained.

Suffering a little is not bad for growth.

I don't know if this counts as a blessing in disguise.

As Rika said, "When you leave tomorrow, go buy a carriage from the villagers, I don't have to walk again," Kakashi's large hand suddenly fell on the top of her hair. The silver-haired ninja's crescent eyes smiled as if she was a little relieved, and interrupted her, "Grown up, princess." ”

Rika was stunned for a moment, then stretched out her hand and compared it to the top of her head, still only as high as his shoulder, and said, "No." ”

Kakashi smiled, but didn't intend to explain, only said, "Well, it's not about height." ”

Rika threw him an inexplicable look.

Speaking of buying a carriage - Kakashi suddenly remembered a very strict question - the night before in the whirlpool of the Songyang River, several things in his ninja bag had been washed away by the river, including the Fire Country banknotes with the portraits of the previous daimyo and the Konoha bank card that saved his salary for more than ten years of missions.

In other words, these two people, the princess of the land of fire and the first technician of Konoha, are now completely penniless poor and light-stard.

Kakashi's steps faltered, and the tips of his hair were blown by the cold wind. Rika actually remembered this at the same time, and turned her head to look at him with wide eyes and a frightened gaze.

“…… I don't care, I don't want to sleep in the wild anyway. If you don't have money...... You have to figure it out! The princess of the Fire Nation pursed her lips and said willfully.

“…… I'll try it. The first technician, who had been going wrong lately, sighed resignedly, and walked with the girl beside him towards the house a hundred meters ahead.

Although the carriage could not be bought, the two of them would never have to sleep in the wilderness again. They were taken in by an old couple who had passed their prime. The old man was in good spirits, and his wrinkled face was smiling very kindly, and he even listened to the silver-haired ninja's casual compilation of passing by here in order to bring back his runaway sister, who was too weak to withstand the cold in the wilderness, so he asked for a night to be reckoned with such an obviously untrue statement.

When she heard the description of her sister who ran away from home, Rika secretly glanced at the young man beside her. - Her true brother Xiude will definitely be able to maintain the grandeur of a noble son even if he is reduced to penniless, where is the poor ninja in front of him who fools people and has clever means!

Kakashi gave her a dead fish-eyed - not to see who he had come to this point for.

Rika turned her head and snorted almost inaudibly.

The old couple's home is not big, a little simple, but it is very clean and tidy. In the back garden, vegetables are grown, and a simple pergola is built with a few sparse vines entwined around it. And the most incredible thing is that a swing was actually built in a vacant lot in the garden. The surface of the swing is smooth and clean, and you can see that people are often using it.

Obviously, there is no one else in this family except for the two old men. Just now, the old man said that they have no children and no daughters, and only their wives and their own lives depend on each other. ――It sounds miserable and lonely, but in fact the old couple does not think that they are unlucky.

After dinner, Rika sat on the swing and swayed from time to time, facing the sunset as it sank below the horizon little by little. Rika really wanted to look in the direction of the Daimyo's Mansion, even if she couldn't see the distant capital at all. It's a pity that she can't even tell the difference between southeast and west, so naturally she doesn't know which direction to look in.

――I can't let go of the fact that I started the new year in such a place.

The village is not close to the nearest town, and the villagers grow their own vegetable fields and raise poultry, and they work at sunrise and live every day, as if they were isolated from the rest of the world.

Even during the Chinese New Year, I don't feel a little lively and festive atmosphere.

Rika thought that if she lived here for the rest of her life, she would probably suffocate to death.

The old woman staggered from the house to the back garden, watering the vegetable field and smiling at the fragrance of the pears.

Rika felt her gaze, still swinging on the swing as if nothing had happened, letting her look at it.

As the princess of the Fire Country, she has long been accustomed to the various eyes that others have landed on her.

"Little girl." The old woman laughed and said, "That's not your brother." ”

Rika's heart jumped, and she just wanted to pretend to retort calmly, but she heard her babble as if she remembered some beautiful old days.

"Don't look at me as an old bone, I can see people. You're just like me and Anada. ”

"You actually eloped."

Rika was almost thrown out of the swing.

The sturdy sling rope was clutched tightly in his hand, and the corners of his lips curled uncontrollably. -- Putting aside the question of whether people are allowed or not, it is certain that this old woman is definitely dizzy.

Rika was noncommittal: "How do you see that?" ”

"Little girl, you look like the eldest lady of a rich family, that young man is accommodating to you everywhere, he must be doing things in your house, right?"

Rika smiled and narrowed her eyes: "He's a new florist in my family." ”

The old woman smiled as I knew it, and turned and walked slowly back into the house at the speed of a snail.

Rika swings with her legs dangling, her mood suddenly brightens, and her laughter is like a bell.

When Kakashi arrived, he saw such a picture.

"Is there anything to be happy about?" The silver-haired ninja asked.

Rika tilted her head to look at him and smiled very maliciously, and a big question mark suddenly appeared above the young man's head.

"Gardener-kun."

“？”

Rika told him the conversation with the old woman as it was, and Kakashi's dead fish eyes lit up: "...... Don't make up such strange lies. ”

Rika pursed her lips and squinted at him in disgust: "It's not because your words are so bad that you can't even deceive the two old people." ”

"Yours isn't much better, don't tell me they really believe it."

"I believe it."

“……”

Lixiang fell into the well and added: "It turns out that you look like a gardener." ”

“…… Say no more. ”=_=#

Early the next morning, Kakashi and Rika bid farewell to the two kind-hearted old men and continued on their way. Before she took two steps, Rika Dead Girl began to shout that she was tired, and by the way, she was unreasonable and angry: "Look at you, what kind of Konoha No. 1 technician in the ninja world is it, you can't even get a carriage!" ”

The small village where they stayed last night was all poor people, and there was only one carriage in the whole village. As a ninja taught by Konoha White Fang and Golden Flash, Kakashi couldn't do anything like the idea of beating someone's only carriage.

Rika actually understands his difficulties, but the road is far away, so she has to find something to talk about to pass the time.

Kakashi-sama shrugged like a child, "Yes, yes, it's my fault." ”

Rika squirmed her lips and was about to say something when the silver-haired ninja jerked and reached out in front of her. Rika looked at him puzzled, only to see a solemn look in his eyes.

Two seconds later, three ninjas from other villages appeared on the branches of the trees in front of them. One of them held a thin pamphlet in his hand, looked down, then looked up at the silver-haired ninja and said, "That's right, it's Konoha Hachiki Kakashi, who is known as the copy ninja." ”