Chapter title- Today, he took a different path
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Alternative title - Ren is courting Death...
[words-3398]
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"Hmmmmhuhmmm," Neji hummed a melodic tune that his beloved sister always played with some instruments.
"Oh, goddamn, he is so cool," Neji heard a whisper from the corner of the classroom; one of the civilian girls was fangirling over him.
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Currently, he was in the academy, listening to the lesson on how great the first, second, and third Hokage were in their prime. 'The will of fire' was being taught to students. In Neji's terms, 'they are brainwashing them.'
"Look at his hair. They are even silkier and smoother than mine. What soap does he use? What type of food does he eat? Is there a different kind of water in the Hyuga clan? I wish I could bathe in the same water as him," the girl whispered to her friend with stars in her eyes.
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Her friend just looked at her with a deadpan expression. "Don't get your hopes too high. We can just admire him from afar, and look, even with these blindfolds, he looks majestic," the girl said.
Neji, who was listening to all of their babbling, ignored them. There was one word in his dictionary for people like them: 'pathetic.'
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Currently, he couldn't see anything due to the excessive use of Byakugan.
Practicing day and night took a toll on his eyes, and this was not the first time he experienced it. This phenomenon occurred every month, and he wasn't alone; his sister also experienced it, so he was fine with it.
But the good thing was that, after recovery, their eyes became more powerful and sharper in both internal and external vision, and they used less chakra than before.
And just like girls, both Neji and Hinata experienced their own version of the Byakugan periods.
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There was a bubble of chakra that encased three classrooms, with its epicenter being Neji. The dome of chakra was invisible to the naked eye and too thin to be felt by amateurs like students and teachers, who were being brainwashed.
Every move the students made, from their hand movements to their breathing, Neji could feel it.
After engaging in death matches with his sister on a daily basis, the dome of chakra had become necessary, almost like a part of his body.
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Then he focused on a boy with black hair in a bowl cut, he wasn't emanating chakra like the other students. His body was special, he couldn't use ninjutsu, as all of his chakra was trapped inside his body.
'Rock Lee, huh,' Neji thought, keeping an eye on the boy due to his sister's interest.
"Now that daddy will hit him harder, he will become more powerful," were the words of his sister.
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He didn't understand who "daddy" was in this context; she and her future-seeing ability were beyond him.
He closed his already closed eyes for a nap, knowing that his real training would begin once he got home.
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Some distance away, in another wing of the academy...
The innocent, pure, and cute-looking Byakugan princess, The Hinata Hyuga, sat with one hand supporting her chin, her short, neck-length dark blue hair covering her right eye.
The atmosphere around her was cool because the cool boy, Haku-chan, sat right next to her while patting a white rabbit.
Kimimaro sat to her left with a neutral expression.
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Tap
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Tap
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Hinata tapped the desk with her finger, creating a dent on the desk that clearly indicated this was not the first time she was tapping.
Surprisingly, no one was paying attention to the sound of tapping, as if nobody had heard it.
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The great Iruka turned around and looked at the trio of Hyugas. His eyes met with the visible sole eye of Hinata, and in the next moment, he ignored them as if they didn't exist in the classroom.
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"Hehe," Haku laughed with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Under the table, he reached into his bag and yanked out a white snake.
Hiss.
The snake hissed menacingly.
"What... where did you get this thing from?" Hinata asked, surprised.
"This thing was crawling around the academy, so I picked it up. Don't worry, I removed its poison," the mirthless smile was adorable on his lips.
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The same smile appeared on Hinata's face; they both knew what was going to happen next.
The snake entangled Hinata's wrist and tried to bite her hand, but one tap on its head was enough for the poor snake to go limp.
"Hehe, he is going to have a surprise when he opens his tiffin box," she looked at Iruka and smiled, her teeth showing.
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The class continued for a while. Suddenly, Hinata looked at Haku and asked, "So, Haku-chan, how do you feel when the majority of boys in this class look at you?"
"Disgusting," he simply replied.
"But hey, I am too handsome for these fools to fathom my beauty," he shamelessly added.
Hinata looked at him, wondering when he became so thick-skinned and glib with his tongue. Of course, this was obvious; he was, after all, trained by herself.
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"So, Haku-chan, do you like any girls here?" she asked and swept the classroom with her eyes.
Hearing her question, his cheeks started to turn red, a slight blush appearing on his face as he tilted his head and looked at the girl with green emerald eyes and pink hair.
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Hinata followed his gaze and stared at Sakura.
Sakura, who was reading a book, lifted her head and glanced at the two beautiful faces that were intensely looking at her.
Her cheeks reddened, and she couldn't maintain eye contact with them, so she shyly looked away.
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"Now, now, hold on a minute. You like that girl," she asked him. Sakura was the only person who knew that Haku was a boy. S
he had often visited the Hyuga clan and played with them. Hinata had taught of the girl even before the academy had started and had given her many books.
Her possessive nature started to show, her smile becoming somewhat scary.
But for Haku, whom she had raised from the ashes, she could allow it. And she knew if she said 'no', the boy would never look at the girl.
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"I want that girl if you allow me," he asked, looking down at the ground.
Hinata closed her eyes for a moment, multiple scenarios started to play in her head that were not safe to discuss with kids, and some of them were even immoral for adults.
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Her eyes snapped open, a white glow present in her eye, and a beautiful smile bloomed on her cherry-red lips.
"WE will get that girl," she declared. Both of them looked at the studying girl, and she visibly shuddered.
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Haku, for a moment, felt guilty, but the next second he smiled and nodded. "Yes, WE will," he agreed eagerly.
"So, when are we going to play with HER?" he asked with anticipation.
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"In two days," she replied. "There's a holiday in two days."
"Our home or at her home?" he inquired curiously.
Hinata's smile slightly widened as she whispered in his ear, "This time, in her room, hehe," causing Haku's body to shake slightly at her giggle.
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In the name of playing with her, they sometimes teased her, and bullied her, but they also loved her. Their relationship was strange but beautiful at the same time.
And it's not like the girl in question hated it; on the contrary, she loved it. Truth be told, her mind had surpassed the confinements of childhood.
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Hinata then looked at Kimimaro and asked, "What about you?"
Kimimaru shook his head in denial. "I don't like anyone here," he plainly replied.
All of them were mature beyond their ages. The harsh training and near-death experiences had been enough for them, and the biggest factor was being in Hinata's presence. She had taught them well.
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Her immorality knew no bounds. From a young age, she had bet with her brother, and after winning each spar, she had guided him to pique her parents so he could witness something magnificent.
But that caused Neji to be slapped every time he got caught doing something naughty.
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"Oh... so you don't like anyone here. What about in the clan? The maid assigned to Hanabi and Arya is pretty beautiful, isn't she?" Hinata asked with a kind smile.
She had caught him glancing at the maid. The maid in question was around 15 years old; the age difference between them was about 5 years. 'Maybe he had a thing for an older woman,' she thought as she glanced at Kimimaro. [img]
He didn't say anything and remained silent. He knew that if he said something, he would only fall deeper into the trap.
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"Hehe..." Hinata just laughed at him.
She then briefly tilted her head and looked at the boy who was sitting on the window seat.
He was wearing a black high-collar jacket with red stripes around the wrists. He looked cool and mysterious. After all, why shouldn't he? She had woven the clothes for him with her own delicate hands.
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'Naruto-kun,' she thought.
She then tapped her left foot on the ground, and a thin chakra thread started to move through the ground, appearing in front of Naruto.
The book opened on its own, and the chakra around the tip condensed so much that it took on a red shape, and text started to form on the blank page. "Did you miss me, Naruto?"
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Naruto's eyes lit up, and a bright smile appeared on his face. He quickly picked up the pencil and wrote, "Yes, very much."
Hinata's head was placed on the table as if she was sleeping, but there were some veins around her left eye. Her precious Byakugan was activated, and she could see what Naruto had written on the page.
A sweet smile appeared on her lips when she read what he wrote. It might look easy on the surface, but what she was doing was very, very hard.
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The red text in front of Naruto changed. "How much do you miss me?" she asked.
"Very much," he wrote excitedly.
The text changed again. "But we talked yesterday for at least one hour."
Naruto quickly wrote, "Hehe, but I want more."
"Oh, is that so?" the text changed again.
"Yep, so what were you talking to that girl about?" he wrote.
Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Were you watching me?"
Naruto's smile turned embarrassed when he was caught red-handed, but nonetheless, he replied, "Well, yeah... Kinda..."
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'My, my, look what we have here. He is becoming a stalker. I think he is on the right path. Just one more push and he will become something far scarier than a stalker,' she thought, her smile more frightening than anything else.
"Oh, I was talking about some girlish stuff. Do you want to know?" the text changed again.
"Tell me," he subconsciously wrote. He didn't know why, but he wanted to know everything about her.
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"So it's like this…" Hinata started to tell him the things she wanted to share.
'He is still so innocent. Hehe, I have a special gift for you, my little fox,' she internally smiled, remembering the book she was writing, 'Dying in Your Arms.'
The book was already complete, but it's not the time. Naruto had to grow a little more to at least understand the basics.
Texting with Naruto was another high-level chakra control practice.
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At the end of the day, when everybody started to leave for home, Hinata wrote the last message, "Bye-bye Naruto-kun, see you tomorrow."
After saying goodbyes, she looked at Sasuke with a hint of pity in her eyes. The smile on his face was going to be stripped away today.
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When Sasuke tried to stand up from his seat, "Wait, Sasuke, we have something to discuss about your academic performance. Your brother asked me to do it," Iruka halted Sasuke's movement.
Hearing Itachi's name, Sasuke's eyes brightened. "Okay, what did my big brother say?"
Hinata shook her head and exited the classroom, leaving Sasuke and Iruka alone.
"You two can go home. I have something to do," she told Haku and Kimimaro. Both of them nodded, and after discussing random things, they both ran off toward their homes.
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Hinata walked alone in the street, an ice-cream in her hand. Soon, she felt a presence behind her.
"Lady Hinata," Ren greeted her and walked beside her. He and Ritsu were assigned to her sisters while she was in the academy; she didn't want to take any risks with them.
"Is everything okay at home?" she asked.
"Yes, everything is fine," he told her.
"How are my sisters? Did they eat properly? Did anyone say something to them? Did they miss me?" she asked him with a loving smile.
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"Yes, Lady Hinata. Both of them ate properly and slept for two hours at noon, and nobody said anything to them. They were asking for your return," he informed her.
"Hehe," she giggled with giddiness. She loved her sisters too much.
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They both walked randomly, using a high-level camouflaged technique so nobody paid any attention to them.
Hinata jumped onto a rooftop, and Ren followed behind her. He followed her gaze and looked at a boy who was walking alone.
He was talking to someone, but in reality, there was no one. His hand was in a position as if he was grabbing someone's hand, but he was grabbing nothing other than the air.
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"Oh, he took a different path today," Hinata muttered. Ren didn't question how she knew which path he took daily.
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700 meters away from Hinata, Naruto walked the streets, his hand grasping his angel's hand.
"Today's talks were fun; you even told me an interesting story," he happily said to Hinata, who walked beside him.
"Hmmm," she hummed and asked, "So why did you take a different path today?"
Naruto pondered for a moment and replied, "I don't know, I just felt like it," truthfully telling her.
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"Okay then, did you want to eat something?" she asked.
Naruto looked around and saw people whispering about him, looking disdainfully at him while avoiding him.
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"Huh," Naruto felt two soft hands on his ears.
"Don't listen," he heard a whisper in his ears, and all the voices were gone. He nodded, knowing his angel was protecting him from all the bad things.
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Soon, he reached a shop. His nose flared up; a scent filled his senses. It was the first time he had seen the shop in front of him.
"Ichiraku Ramen," he read the name and unconsciously took a step and entered the shop.
He wasn't feeling hungry or anything; he himself didn't know why he entered the shop.
He expected to be thrown out of the shop, but the owner greeted him warmly. This wasn't what he expected.
"Huh… the voices are back," the soft hands on his ears were removed; his angel was nowhere near him.
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But before he could search for her, "So, what are you ordering, young one?" the old man asked him kindly, without any hint of disgust or malice.
"Huh…" Naruto was surprised, but for some reason in this shop, he felt alone.
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The old man placed a hot bowl of ramen on the table and instructed Naruto to sit and eat.
"So, what is your name?" he asked with a smile.
Naruto looked at the old man, squinting his eyes. The old man was being too kind and friendly for some reason.
"It's Naruto Uzumaki," he said.
"That's a good name," the old man laughed slightly. The atmosphere around the shop was warm and cozy.
But..
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crack
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Hinata unconsciously hit the wall behind her, causing it to crack and spiderwebs to form on it. The wall was blown away from the other side.
Ren looked at her and then at the wall, a cold sweat running down his forehead.
He looked at her visible eye, which was now hollow, filled with madness and unyielding rage.
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"H-How can he be so kind to him," she spoke, her voice filled with coldness. The sunny and friendly Hinata was completely gone.
When she looked at the old man, she felt threatened. He would snatch her Naruto from her, Naruto would not remain only hers. And things that threaten her have to perish.
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"You will not separate him from me. You will not," her right hand raised on its own, two fingers pointing at the old man.
Lightning crackled around her fingertips, and an absurd amount of pure chakra leaked out from her fingers, spinning madly.
A purple orb, the size of a 3cm diameter, spun madly on her fingertip, the lightning and chakra rotation in perfect harmony.
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Ren was sweating buckets; it had been almost four years since he had seen this forbidden jutsu. And this time, it was on a whole other level.
He gazed at the shop; the old man was happily chatting with the boy, and another person, perhaps his daughter, was walking towards her father.
Ren knew that the moment the father and daughter aligned with the jutsu, they would die.
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With each step of the daughter, Ren's heart pounded. He wasn't afraid of killing or anything, but the aftermath was a different thing.
And when the girl was one second away from her father, Ren disappeared and appeared beside Hinata. He grabbed her hand and slightly changed the direction upwards.
Swish
In an instant, the orb was gone, disappearing into the horizon. Not even the gravity of the planet affected it; it vanished into vast space.
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Hinata tilted her head and looked at Ren with her hollow eye. Ren felt a mountainous pressure on his shoulders; his hair started to blow backward, and the ground beneath him and the wall behind him started to crack.
If this continued, he would burst open and become meatpaste.
His fist was on the ground, and he was kneeling with one leg. When he lifted his head and looked at his master, due to the pressure, her hair also flowed backward.
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Then he saw something amazing: her right eye, which was always hidden by her hair, was different from the Byakugan. It was like thousands of shattered mirrors were placed in her eyes, beautiful and scary at the same time.
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"Lady Hinata, we can't kill someone in daylight; it will be bad for our clan. Think about your sisters," he said. He knew he was courting death, both metaphorically and literally.
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And his gamble paid off; the pressure around her started to lessen. He knew her sisters were a weak spot for her, but it wouldn't take seconds to backfire.
Even in the face of death, he felt excited. His back was tingling and his heart was pounding. He was once again amazed at the display of unfathomable power.
A jonin like him was subdued so easily. Imagine releasing her full power on the world, the world would feel the true terror. Everything would be under their thumb. He liked chaos, and he knew he was right beside the person who could unleash it.
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This was the second time he had countered death and seen his master in this state. The first time was when someone kidnapped her sisters, and he was the person who calmed her down. And this was the second time.
'Sometimes, I really want her to unleash her powers without any shackles… But this is not the right time… I have to wait for 6 to 7 years… but I know it will be worth it… hehe,' he thought while his head was bowed down.
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Hinata's eyes started to regain sanity, her eyes came back to life, and her hair fell perfectly, hiding her right eye.
She took a deep breath and looked at Ren. "Thanks," she sincerely said.
Ren stood up. "It's not a big deal. I was assigned to babysit you, so I am just doing my job," he said with a smile.
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"Thanks, mother," she sarcastically said. She was really grateful for having Ren beside her; he could be seen as her second mother.
Ren's eyes twitched.
"Let's go. We are done here," she looked at the Ramen shop for the last time. Yes, for the 'Last time,' important things must be said twice.
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And then they both disappeared; they had to fetch a soon-to-be orphaned Lucky kid.
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this was it, boys... the Yandere is strong with Queen...
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give your powerstones to your brother and revive the book...