Hinata's steps echoed like a rhythmic beat, Ren followed her with hands on his back.
The trio had just fooled and planted a seed in an innocent Uchiha's mind who was going to die in the massacre at the hands of their proud prodigy, but before dying, his death would be beneficial to the heiress of the Hyuga clan.
.
Ren, who had been assigned to Hinata since her birth, never ceased to be amazed by her.
He had watched her from the beginning and knew her the most. He was sure not even her father or mother knew the other side of the coin, which was one of the scariest things in the world.
Learning the Fireball Jutsu, lightning jutsus on the first try, creating a jutsu that could assassinate anyone in a radius of thousands of meters, and her skills in manipulating chakra like it was her plaything — he had watched her grow so fast.
If he remembered correctly, she hadn't cried from birth like some normal children. He knew she wasn't normal at all. He had witnessed how skillfully she manipulated two children and the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails, like it was her daily routine.
.
Just being in her presence, he had become smarter. Sometimes, he wondered if he was being manipulated by her, but he didn't know how or when.
From the age of three, she had learned how to write and speak the texts and memorized all the medical books. Sometimes, he asked her questions from books she had read months ago, and every time, the answers were correct. People took decades to learn all that stuff, but she had learned it in less than two years.
Sometimes, he wondered if some thousand-year demon had reincarnated. The sheer thought sent chills through his whole body.
.
But he discarded that idea because sometimes she behaved and acted like a child in front of her parents. Then again, he pondered if it was an act to get what she wants from them, or if she truly loved them.
The more he thought, the more his mind became a mess. If she didn't want to show her other side to her parents, then why show it to him? 'Isn't she scared of me revealing her secrets, or is she so confident that I won't betray her?'
.
Hinata's movements stopped for an instant, and she looked directly into Ren's eyes. A smile appeared on her face, and her eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint, as if saying, 'You won't.'
At this moment, Ren truly felt scared. His heart skipped a beat, and his steps stumbled. Then he heard her sweet and melodious voice, "What's the matter, Ren? You seem lost in deep thoughts. Want to tell us?" she asked with a smile.
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"N-Nothing, Lady Hinata," he quickly replied.
"Are you sure about that?" she asked with the same smile.
"Yes," he replied.
"Okay..." she said happily and walked towards the park excitedly, forgetting that she had given a mini heart attack to Ren.
Ren looked at her figure, his heart in turmoil. He was sure there was no expression on his face, so why did he feel like she knew what he was thinking?
'I know her Byakugan could see the future, but it felt like she just read my mind, or am I that easy to read?'
At first, things were entertaining, exciting, and thrilling for him when he first started accompanying her, but the more she grew, the more he felt like things were changing. He started to feel scared of her.
.
'Watching her like this makes me feel like I am living in a story, in her story. I just hope I am able to see its ending.'
Soon, they were about to reach the park. Hinata, tilting her head, spoke seriously, "The thing I asked you to do, prepare everything. We are doing it tomorrow."
"Yes, Lady Hinata," both Ren and Ritsu spoke and disappeared from there, leaving no traces of existence.
---
Hinata entered the park and seemed to be searching for someone, but she didn't find what she was looking for. "I will just play until something interesting happens."
With a pure and innocent smile, using her soft hands, she started to make an ice castle with snow.
.
The morning had just started. Due to it being Sunday today, some children started to appear in the park.
Before long, the trio of Neji, Kimimaro, and Haku appeared at the gates of the park, looking for Hinata.
When she felt their presence, Hinata lifted her hands from the castle she was making so passionately.
Looking at them, her smile became radiant. With a wave of her hand, she yelled, "BIG BROTHER, I AM HERE."
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Neji looked at her bright smile, and without any delay, he reached her. "You are here. Why didn't you take me with you?" he asked with a pout that looked cute on him.
"You were sleeping, and I didn't want you to wake up," she said with a pat on his shoulder, like an older sister.
"Hmph… you always say that and leave me alone," he didn't sway with her sweet words.
"Is my brother angry with me again?" Her words became sweeter.
"I won't do that again, please don't be angry with me, big brother," Hinata's eyes became like a little cute animal, which Neji couldn't resist anymore.
"Hmph…" he huffed, but the smile on his face didn't match his words.
.
Neji didn't care about the slightly shocked faces of Haku and Kimimaro; in front of her, he was a completely different person.
Hinata, looking at Kimimaro and Haku, asked, "Have you rested well?"
"Yes," they both nodded.
"That's good… now let's play," her excitement evident in her innocent eyes.
"What do you want to play?" Neji asked.
"Let's make ice castles."
Without any delay, the four of them started to make various shapes of castles. All of them forgot about the time; they played like the children they were, without caring about anything.
.
"Look, sister, my castle is better than yours," Neji smugly said.
"No, mine is better," Haku said, pointing towards his mini castle, and the rabbit playing around them also nodded.
"Dream on, both of you. Mine is better," she said without hesitating.
Kimimaru didn't say anything about his castle. His castle couldn't be called a castle in the first place; it was just a pile of snow.
"Tell us, Kimimaro, whose castle is better? It's mine, right?" Hinata asked him, and all eyes settled on him.
"Tell me, it's mine, right?" she asked.
"Sister, stop forcing him," Neji stopped her.
"If it isn't mine, then no one's," saying this, she grabbed a snowball and destroyed Neji's castle with ecstasy.
.
Neji was shocked to see this. He knew this was about to happen from the start. He pointed his finger and accused her, "You- you destroyed my castle."
"Haha, what are you going to do, big brother?"
"This," grabbing a snowball, Hinata's castle received the same treatment as Neji's.
"You destroyed my castle."
Grabbing another snowball, she hit Haku's castle. Haku didn't expect this, "What.. Why did you do that?"
"Because your castle was still standing," Neji enlightened him.
Soon, bickering started among them, and a snowball battle broke out. Hinata hit Neji; he hit her back. Haku got in between them and was hit by both, and Kimimaro wasn't sure who hit him, but a snowball hit him in the back.
The four-way battle lasted until the two boys became exhausted. Soon, all of them were lying on the ground.
Then they heard, "I am sure she isn't here."
.
A group of people entered the park, including Ino, Sakura, Choji, and Shikamaru.
"What if she is here? I don't want my chips to be stolen," Choji tightly grabbed his chips.
For the last month, they had been playing in their clan compounds because of Hinata; they didn't come to the ground. Today, they decided to come, and to their bad luck, the demon was staring at them.
"Look, brother, they are here," Hinata spoke while pointing towards them.
"Let's teach them a lesson," Neji stood up from the ground and started to walk towards them. He still remembered the two of their faces very well because of them; his sister had to get slapped.
And today, on the fateful day, he found them. He knew he would face punishment from the clan, but he had to take revenge for his sister.
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Pleased with her brother, Hinata hid behind him and with a cocky grin on her face, spoke, "They were bullying me, big brother, the last time I was playing in the park."
Hearing her words, Haku and Kimimaro also joined Neji. Their gazes were intense, and they approached with angry and ferocious looks on their faces.
"Run," Shikamaru said when he saw the four of them approaching. Only one white-eyed girl was enough for them, but now there were four. And they were no match for them.
Sakura, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru ran as if their lives depended on it.
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Seeing them fleeing, he said, "Let's chase them."
But Hinata quickly grabbed his hand and said, "Don't."
"But why?"
"I just want to scare them. If you beat them, the clan will punish you for such an act, and I don't want my brother to be punished. It will make me sad," her most sincere words touched Neji's heart.
"Okay, if anyone says something to you, just tell me. I will teach them not to mess with us."
"You are the best, brother," she jumped on his back, wrapping her hands around his neck. She said, "Let's go home."
.
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