I winced as the maid rubbed an ointment on my injuries and bruises.
She finally finished bowing as she exited.
I sat on my bed, leaning against the wall; fighting against Neji wasn't any easier than against Father. It's clear why they call him a prodigy.
His strikes are precise; he doesn't waste any moves; his defense is nearly impenetrable, and I don't have the time to think about where the tenketsu points are.
He fights as though I did something to him. I need to get stronger; I can't risk making Father doubt me.
It's obvious why Father decided to make him my teacher, to prove to others the so-called prodigy of the branch family is no match for the main house.
The door slightly opened as Hanabi stood there.
She stepped inside, closing the door behind her, and stared at me. Her expression was unreadable.
"Uh, Hanabi?" I said confused.
Without warning, she ran towards me, diving under the covers of my bed. She crawled under the blanket till she was sitting down next to me.
"Big sis, does it hurt?" she asked using her limited vocabulary as she pointed at my injuries.
"I can endure it; don't worry about me, Hanabi," I said with a smile. After Mum had passed away, I often visited Hanabi.
I helped the maids feed her and care for her; Hinata often helped, eager to take care of her little sister. Father never visited. Not once.
"Hanabi will be stronger then Hinoka don't have to fight so much, and you can smile more."
"Hanabi," I said without even realizing it.
"Big brother, I'll be the child Mum and Dad want, so have fun and don't worry," I had once said.
Was this how he felt at that time? Happy because his little sister cared so much, but sad that she was trying to do the job of an older sibling?
"Yes?" she asked, a smile on her face.
I reached out, ruffling her hair like always did to mine, and smiled, "Hanabi, that's my job; don't worry about me; I'll be fine as long as you're happy. Focus on learning to speak properly."
She stared at me surprised, though I wasn't sure if she really understood what I meant since she was so young.
But I had that exact reaction when he told me that; all I could think about was how I'd be happy as long as he was.
She nodded, "Hanabi will do her best," she said with a smile that reminded me so much of mothers.
She waved at me as she ran out, and I waved back.
I glanced at the clock; I still needed to study, but I had promised Naruto we'd hang out.
I winced as I got up, my injuries hurting.
"Hiiiinooooookaaaaaaa," Naruto screamed as he ran towards me.
"Hey, Naruto," I said with a polite smile as he barely managed to stop before crashing into me.
Without warning, he grabbed my hand, pulling me along.
We finally stopped. "You have to close your eyes," Naruto said, an excited look on his face.
I complied, closing my eyes; he turned me around before telling me to open my eyes.
"Do you like it?!"
I tilted my head to the side, looking at a wall that had a bunch of painted lines on it, squinting as I tried to figure out what it was.
A donkey? A lion. That looked like a tail, so maybe a horse? The other thing looked like a porcupine.
I looked back at Naruto, who was still waiting for my answer, "It's… nice," I lied, not wanting to hurt his feelings.
It felt uncomfortable, but I couldn't bear the thought of making him sad.
"I knew you'd like it; it's a drawing of us!"
He began pointing at the different parts, explaining what they were. My lips began to quiver as I desperately tried to stop myself from laughing.
"You want to laugh!"
"No."
"Liar!"
"You said you wanted to test out some ramen," I said, changing the subject. As much as I enjoyed spending time with Naruto, I still needed to study.
So the sooner we finished, the better.
"Yeah! It's supposed to be super spicy. It's at my house we can do the competition there!"
"Uh, I wouldn't want to be a burden."
"It's fine where friends after all, it's what friends do after all, right?"
I smiled I was still getting used to it, having an actual friend, "Yeah, I guess it is."
Before I knew it I was sitting in Naruto's messy apartment a ramen cup in front of each of us and a cup of water in the middle. And a poorly maid paper crown that looked like it would fall apart at any moment.
"I'm going to be the king of spicy food, believe it! I'll finish before you!"
"Is that so?" I asked picking up my chopsticks.
"Three!"
"Two."
"One!"
"Go!" we both exclaimed simultaneously.
We dug in eating the spicy ramen as fast as we could. But soon enough the spice hit.
We slowed our pace the water looking more appetizing than ever.
"You okay Hinoka, you look thirsty," Naruto said sweating.
"I'm fine," I said before taking another bite, "Are you okay."
"Of course! In fact I'm almost done!"
"Me to."
We continued to eat when suddenly Naruto's face turned as red as a tomato. He ran to the sink, completely ignoring the glass cup in front of him, as he drank directly from the tap.
I grabbed the glass cup, drinking it as I finally sighed in relief.
"Hinoka, it burns!" Naruto exclaimed, fanning his tongue with his hands.
I couldn't help myself and burst out laughing as he danced ridiculously as though it would help.
I laughed so hard my stomach began aching. I came to my senses, slapping my hand on top of my mouth.
'Too loud and improper,' that's what Mother would have said.
"That's probably the most I've seen you laugh, Hinkoka!" Naruto said with a large grin across his face. The water he had splashed on his face was dripping.
I smiled, her words vanishing from my mind. "It is, isn't it?" I asked with a slight smile.
"You should do it more!"
Maybe I would. It felt good to laugh loudly, without worrying about being a disturbance. I don't remember the last time I laughed that much, or if I had ever.
"But since you drank water first, I guess that means I'm the winner, doesn't it?" I asked, picking up the paper crown and placing it on my head as I struck what to me seemed like a ridiculous pose, "All hail the Queen of spicy food," I said with a slight teasing smile.
Naruto didn't react; had I done something wrong, was that not funny? I stepped back, reaching to remove the crown when suddenly Naruto exclaimed, "No way, the crown's mine!"
He ran towards me, and on instinct I dodged; he fell to the ground and stood chasing after me like the fall hadn't affected him at all.
Before I knew it, I was running. I didn't know why, but it felt like that was what I was meant to do at that moment.
"I will get that crown, Hinoka!" Naruto exclaimed as we ran out of his appartement,
I laughed, truly laughed, "You'd have to catch me first!" I screamed back as I ran faster, jumping and dodging through obstacles.
Naurto laughed as he ran after me.
I wasn't sure when it started. But it was somewhere between sneaking through the village, pulling pranks, and eating ramen.
Laughing became easier. Smiling stopped feeling like something I had to do at exactly the right moment.
Now sometimes I'd say something or act before thinking.
Studying! I completely forgot I was meant to!
But I couldn't bring myself to feel guilty as Naruto tackled me onto the ground. I didn't even notice my injuries, screaming in pain as we both laughed, completely forgetting about the crown I had been so desperate to protect and he had been so desperate to get.
It was funny how quickly you forgot about things when you were having fun with a friend.
Big brother, I think I finally understand why you smiled so much after meeting your friends.
And don't worry; I'm fine.
"If there truly is another life, I hope you have a good family and live it to the fullest."