It's been 5 days since I first started to learn medical ninjutsu in practical life. Everything was going smoothly without any interference. And today was the big day.
Neji was so excited and eagerly munched on his food with great ferocity to finish it quickly.
"Calm down, Neji; the academy isn't going anywhere," my mother calmly said to him.
Today was the day he was going to enroll in the academy.
Looking at him, I whispered in his ears, "Don't be so excited, brother; you will return with disappointment."
"Huh…what do you mean by that?" Tilting his head towards me, he asked in confusion.
"Nothing, nothing… So who is going with you?" I asked.
"My father and uncle are going with me," he said.
Looking at my father, with a glint in my eyes, I spoke, "Let's make it grand, father."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
I just smiled at him.
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"Are you ready, brother?" I asked him.
Nodding to me, he spoke, "You don't have to be this dramatic."
"Of course, I have to; this is, after all, your first day of the academy, and you have to be as intimidating as possible," I said with a smile.
My father and uncle, and behind them at least 30 more clan members, walked at a steady pace, hammering the ground with their powerful steps, striking fear in the hearts of nearby people. Their faces stern and stoic after all, they are going to send their best prodigy to the academy.
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"This is so embarrassing," he whispered in my ears as all the people gazed at him in awe, jealousy, and envy.
"This is the way, brother," I whispered back.
Haku-chan and Kimimaro were diligently following us without saying anything.
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His father already did the paperwork for Neji. As soon as we arrived at the academy, people started to give us the way after seeing so many white-eyed people at the same time and whispering to themselves and teaching their kids not to mess with Neji, pointing towards him.
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Putting a hand on his shoulder, I spoke smugly, "If anyone bullies you, you can tell your sister."
"Hmph…it's the other way; you should call me," he said, crossing his arms.
"You don't have to act so tough, my lovely brother," I sweetly said.
"You don't have to say that in front of others," he quietly grumbled.
Leaning forward, I whispered in his ears, "So I can say it while we were alone."
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With a huff, he ran inside, escaping my clutches. I just looked at his disappearing figure with a smile.
"Let's go," my father said, and receiving his orders, all of them started to disappear one by one; there was nothing left here for us.
"I am going to the park, Father," I asked for his permission, which he gave without any problem.
"Return home before noon, or your mother will be angry."
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"Okay, Father," I said excitedly, running towards the park, Haku and Kimimaru followed behind me.
"So what are we going to play today?" Haku asked enthusiastically. "Are we going to make an ice castle again, and please don't destroy my castle this time."
"Let's see, let's see, there might be something interesting," I said.
"When will we go to the academy?" Kimimaru asked.
"Next year," I answered him.
Chatting amongst ourselves, laughing at my ridiculous jokes, we were greeted by a sight in an alley that made me raise my eyebrows in intrigue.
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A purple-haired civilian girl was bullying another girl, and that girl being bullied was none other than my pink-haired friend Sakura.
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"Ohoho, look Haku-chan, what we have here," the three of us surrounded the two of them, blocking all of their escape.
I didn't know why Sakura was being bullied, but I never do these things to anyone, right?
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Sakura became more scared seeing me. Seeing her like this, with an innocent smile, I asked, "Sakura, why don't you come and play with us?"
But before I could ask anything, the other girl spoke in an arrogant tone, which obviously did nothing to me, "Hey, you! What's with those strange eyes? Are you friends with this big forehead?"
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"Listen, girl, I give you 5 seconds to get out of my sight," I politely asked, but as the saying goes, there is nothing like kindness in this world. "You think you are some hotshot; I will tell my father, he will teach you a lesson," she arrogantly spoke with a smirk to scare us.
*Sigh.*
'Why don't people know what is good for them?'
"Haku-chan, can you please?" I said.
Without hesitation, he appeared behind the girl, a senbon needle pressing on her neck. "Don't you hear what Lady Hinata said? You're lucky that she's in a good mood, or you won't be able to find your father when you reach home. Now scram before I count to 5," he said calmly, as if scaring little kids was his job.
"1, 2, 3…."
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But before he could finish, the girl with tears in her eyes ran away, hiding her tail between her legs.
I gave him a big thumbs up, his training showing the results I wanted from him.
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I then looked at Sakura, who was becoming more scared, but with an innocent smile, I extended my hand. "Let's go and play."
Hesitantly, she asked in a questioning tone, "Why did you save me from her?"
I looked as if I didn't get what she wanted to say. With a confused look, I asked, "What are you talking about? Didn't I say we were friends and I can't abandon my friends when they are needed? That's my ninja way," I said with confidence.
'What the fuck is going on here, and why am I spouting this bullshit,?' I couldn't help but shake my head.
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"Ninja way, what is that?" she asked, accepting my hand and standing up from the ground.
"Every ninja must find their way. Ask yourself why you want to become strong and what drives you to surpass your limits; that's what the ninja way is," I truthfully told her.
"But I don't have any, so that means I can't become a ninja," she asked warily.
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"Haha, don't worry about it; you will eventually find out, so don't let this thing get in your head," I said as if I were her best buddy.
'There is a psychological fact: when you ask someone to not think about a certain thing, their mind eventually thinks more and more about that certain thing, without them knowing.'
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The four of us walked; she was following behind me, but suddenly Haku asked in a low voice, "Why was she so scared of you in the beginning?"
"Well, I actually hit her on the forehead with a snowball, broke her toy, made fun of her, and made her cry… hehe," I giggled.
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"She can hear you," he said in concern while looking at Sakura's uncomfortable face.
"Oh, I forgot about it," I said in panic. Turning towards Sakura, I asked in an apologetic tone.
"Will you forgive me, Sakura, if I made fun of you, hit you with a snowball, and broke your toy in the future?"
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She looked at me with a panicked expression, understanding from my words that I might hit her in the future, but what could she say, "I will forgive you."
"Good, good," I happily jumped. Haku, Kimimaru, and the rabbit just looked at me.
Ignoring them, I grabbed her hand and like a best friend, I dragged her to the park.
"You're not that bad, Sakura," I spoke. She was just a child with an inferiority complex, and just a small amount of praise brought a genuine smile to her face.
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"Do you really think like that?" she asked, still not sure if I was telling her the truth or not.
"Of course," I said and started to play in the snow.
Grabbing a snowball, with a smirk, I hit her on the forehead again.
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And I could see the tears in her eyes.
"You said you will forgive me if I hit you, don't you?" I innocently asked.
"And look, I am standing here; you can hit me," I said, standing still, but she didn't hit me.
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With disappointment in my heart, I walked towards her. If she had hit me, I obviously would have dodged that and hit her back.
"I am really sorry, sorry for this time and last time. You know I don't know how to make friends, so I just tried to show you I am good at throwing snowballs, but I think you don't like that. So from now on, I won't throw snowballs at you," I quietly apologized to her.
Which obviously touched her heart. After all, I am being so good to her.
"No, no, you are really good at throwing. Actually, from the start, I wanted to be like you. You're amazing. You didn't fear any of us. Do as you please, and you are beautiful and powerful," she said at the end in a whisper.
'What? When did I become her role model?' This time I was genuinely perplexed by this strange pink-haired girl.
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A smile unconsciously started to spread on my lips. Looking at me, she asked, "Why are you smiling like this?"
"That means we are friends now, right?" I asked.
"Yes," she nodded.
"Haha, good. Now let me show you something amazing," I said in my enigmatic voice and walked towards the tree, starting to walk on its trunk as if I were walking on the ground.
Hanging upside down, I could see the stars in her eyes. "How do you like it? Amazing, isn't it?"
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She nodded like a chicken. "Yes, Hinata, you're amazing."
Returning to the ground, I asked, "Do you want to learn it?"
"Can you really teach me?" she asked.
"Haha, if you become my best friend, I can teach you many things, like this," I said smugly, and a small water ball appeared in my palm.
"Okay, then let's become best friends," her response was quicker than the speed of light.
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"So from now on, you're officially my best friend," I said with a smile.
"But remember, Sakura, you can't tell anyone that I am your best friend. You know I am the future leader of the most powerful clan in the village, and when people find out that you're my friend, they will think badly of you, that you wanted to become friends with me for some ulterior motives," I said with concern.
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"Okay, I understand," she said.
"You're such a good girl," I said, patting her shoulder.
Sakura smiled happily at my praises.
'Why are children so eager to be praised?' I thought.
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So I taught her the basics of chakra control, the tree-climbing exercises, and leaf-sticking exercises.
Once it was noon, I spoke, "Let's go home, Sakura. My mother will scold me if I get home late."
"When will you meet me again?" she asked.
"Soon, my friend, very soon," I said.
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