Weeping

Following the riverbank, she walked slowly according to her old habit, taking in the scenery of the river at dusk.

"I must say, you really are a reckless one!" A cold, tsundere voice reached her, accompanied by the sound of slight panting.

Hui tilted her head to look at the person walking against the light. What a familiar figure; it had been such a long time.

A faint smile rose on Hui's face as she watched him. She noticed his cold, indignant gaze, but hearing his still-childish, haughty tone, she couldn't help but laugh.

Hearing Hui's laughter, Sasuke roared angrily, "Hey!"

Hui stopped teasing Sasuke. "Well, well, long time no see, Sasuke." She turned to face him, only to see him huff with that familiar arrogance. "Hmph! Who wanted to see you!"

Hui raised an eyebrow, stepped forward, grabbed Sasuke's clothes with her free hand, and tugged him along.

"Hey! What are you doing? Let go! You annoying person, what are you doing!" Sasuke bristled, trying to pull away the hand holding him, his eyes full of disdain.

"Alright, alright, let's go eat at my place today, how about that?" Hui looked back at Sasuke and let go of him.

"I used to always mooch meals at your place, and although your mother's cooking is delicious, how about you let me treat you to a meal at my place this time?" Hui shook the bag in her hand, filled with various snacks and desserts. They looked incredibly appetizing, and the aroma of the food was impossible to resist.

Sasuke felt a slight waver in his heart, but he still retorted, "You know full well you're the one who mooches every day, hmph!"

Hui didn't feel like arguing with this guy, so she smoothed things over. "Yes, yes, let's go. My place isn't far. Come to think of it, this is your first time visiting, isn't it?"

Sasuke glanced at her sideways. Seeing Hui leading the way, he started walking after her, though he felt a bit happy inside.

He hadn't expected the person he caught a glimpse of to actually be Hui. She was still the same as before, and it was worth the effort he'd spent chasing her all the way here.

However, he suddenly felt unhappy again. Hui hadn't told him she was back—was she afraid of losing to him? Yes, that must be it!

Hui clearly felt a chilly gaze from behind. She shrugged with a wry smile, not bothering to turn around to look at Sasuke. The two walked home in silence, but the moment they stepped through the door, Sasuke exploded.

The reason was simple: Naruto and Sasuke, two people who seemed to possess a natural repulsion for one another.

Naruto pointed at Sasuke with a look of annoyance and asked, "What are you doing at my house?"

Sasuke immediately retorted, "What's it to you? You loser!"

"Ahhh! Shut up! If it weren't for me... I..." Naruto struggled for a long time to find the words, finally settling for a bluffing huff. "Hmph! Anyway, I'll definitely be stronger than you in the future!"

Sasuke let out a cold, ruthless laugh. "Heh, keep dreaming."

Naruto froze for a moment, realized Sasuke was implying he was living in a fantasy, and pointed at him, roaring in anger, "You jerk!"

"You idiot!" Sasuke continued to mock him.

Naruto gritted his teeth, let out a "hmph" through his nose, and turned his head away, ignoring Sasuke.

Sasuke also lifted his chin haughtily and let out a "hmph!" through his nose as well.

Hui watched the two suddenly bickering with resignation. She couldn't fathom how two people who had barely met could start arguing, and within three sentences of seeing each other, no less.

Hui attributed it to the choices of fate and busied herself setting the table and arranging the food.

Looking at the table full of delicacies, Hui put her hands on her hips and smiled. Pretending she had made it all herself gave her a real sense of accomplishment!

She looked back at Sasuke and Naruto, who were sitting on opposite sides of the table, clearly divided. Hui rolled her eyes in silence and resigned herself to being the peacemaker. "Time to eat? There are dishes you both like. Aren't you going to try them?"

When neither of them responded, Hui felt a bit helpless. She turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke? There are tomatoes, too." Sasuke turned his head away, looking cold and aloof.

She looked at Naruto. "Naruto, don't you want the red bean paste either?" Naruto mimicked Sasuke's expression, looking equally cold and aloof.

Heh... so they were going to be like that, were they?

Hui looked at Naruto and said calmly, "Naruto, let me tell you, last time Sasuke was practicing kunai with Itachi, he tripped and fell..." At this, Hui giggled. Sasuke's eyes widened as he recalled his embarrassing moment. He lunged at Hui Youling, crying out with childish ferocity, "Shut up! Don't you dare say it!"

Hui dodged the sudden attack and looked at the bristling Sasuke, raising an eyebrow with a smile. "Are you eating?"

"Eat!" Sasuke glared at Hui angrily and sat down at the table.

Hui turned to Naruto with a mischievous smirk. Fearing that Hui would spill his own embarrassing secrets, Naruto promised, "I'll eat, really!" He also sat down obediently at the table.

Seeing the sumptuous dinner and their favorite snacks, the two lost interest in their cold war. They exchanged a huff, sat down, and began to eat excitedly, turning the meal into a competition for the food.

Hui rubbed her forehead, feeling even more speechless at the chaotic table. Ignore it, just ignore it... she chanted to herself. Just then, a chicken leg fell into the soup in front of her, "accidentally" splashing onto her face.

"AHHH!!!" Hui snapped, slamming her chopsticks down. "If you two aren't going to eat, get out!"

The two of them, still holding their chopsticks crossed over a chicken leg, stared blankly at Hui's disheveled state. It was as if flames were burning behind her. They silently pulled back their hands and ate their own food, the room suddenly falling into a silence broken only by the sound of bowls and chopsticks.

Hui angrily picked up the fallen chopsticks and turned to go to her room to change. As she left, the two glared at each other one last time, but didn't dare to fight over the food again.

A "warm" and memorable dinner slowly came to an end...

"Ah, damn it!" Hui angrily stripped off her red outer garment!

After spending a few pleasant days, Hui watched Sasuke's darkened face. Itachi shook his head helplessly; during their sparring sessions over the past few days, Sasuke hadn't won a single time, constantly being toyed with by Hui. Itachi deactivated his Sharingan and stepped forward to instruct Sasuke. "You're too impatient with your punches. You're lifting your leg before you've even found your footing..."

"Brother!" Sasuke called out, unwilling to accept it, feeling deeply aggrieved. "Sasuke, I cannot stay by your side forever. You need to grow up," Itachi said softly, looking at the resentment in Sasuke's eyes.

"Well, it's impressive that Sasuke can use such a powerful Great Fireball Technique," Hui interjected. Recalling the Fire Style Sasuke had suddenly unleashed, her gaze darkened. An indescribable sense of jealousy rose within her.

But looking at Sasuke's situation, it wouldn't be her if she didn't realize what was happening. Sasuke was likely jealous of her, too. In the past, he had his brother, who was praised by their father, standing in his way—someone he couldn't surpass. Now, there was her.

Hui stepped forward to pull Sasuke, but he turned his head, glared at her fiercely, and ran off. Hui's pupils dilated slightly as she watched him, finding it hard to believe what had just happened.

"Brother Itachi..." Hui turned to look at Itachi, seeing him staring intently in the direction Sasuke had fled. She pursed her lips. "Brother Itachi, if you have something on your mind, you should just be clear with Sasuke. He's too single-minded; he won't be able to figure out your intentions on his own."

Itachi looked at Hui quietly and said in a soft voice, "Hui, you have grown a lot, but this is not what I had hoped for." Hui stood there blankly, staring at Itachi, "Ah... ah... what are you talking about, Brother Itachi..."

"Hui, you have killed someone..." Itachi said calmly, his eyes fixed on her. A breeze blew past Hui, carrying an unusual murderous aura and ruffling the hair in front of her face. Hui lowered her head, staring at the ground without a word.

Itachi walked forward silently and crouched down, meeting her eyes at eye level. He gently poked her forehead, seeing Hui look up in surprise, tears still streaming slowly down her face.

Itachi said in an even gentler voice, "I don't want you to force yourself to be so sensible. We should be the ones worrying about these things, protecting you so that you can grow up with peace of mind, without any regrets."

Itachi paused, then continued, "Hui, you have developed a murderous aura. I don't want you to dwell on the feeling of killing; it is not a good thing at all."

Looking at Itachi, who was as gentle as water, and feeling that brotherly concern, Hui could no longer control the tears in her eyes. Her expression crumpled, and she finally burst into loud sobs, startling the birds in the forest into flight.

"I don't know... why it turned out like this... I didn't want to either... hiccup..." Hui cried for a while, then let out an involuntary hiccup. She froze, looking stunned, with an expression that seemed to say, "How could I be so embarrassing?"

Itachi looked at Hui with amusement, "Alright, Hui has always been very hardworking and will be very outstanding, but there is no need to push yourself too hard, okay?"

"Mm... mm..." Hui looked at Itachi with watery eyes, only to be poked hard on the forehead again. Hui covered her forehead and looked at Itachi innocently, her eyes full of accusation.

"Hurry and wipe your tears." Itachi smiled helplessly.

A clean handkerchief was handed to Hui. She took it, wiped her tears, and wiped her nose on it as well before handing it back to Itachi. She left him with one sentence before running off, "I'm going to find Sasuke. He's just being tsundere; he actually really likes Brother Itachi!"

Itachi looked at the handkerchief helplessly. Still just a child, after all. He watched Hui leave with a faint smile on his lips.

He finally spotted Sasuke by the lake, sitting alone on the pier, sulking. Hui walked up to his side, but Sasuke heard her coming and turned his head away early.

"Hey, in another year, we'll be going to the Ninja Academy. I wonder if you're looking forward to it?" Hui sat down next to Sasuke and said softly.

Sasuke still ignored her. "Sasuke will become everyone's goal because you are so handsome and talented!" Hui continued, talking to herself without waiting for Sasuke to answer.

"And Sasuke is the first one to learn ninjutsu. Just thinking about it makes it seem so amazing; surely many people will envy you by then." Hui continued her monologue.

"That's not true, you're not being sincere at all!" Sasuke said angrily.

Hui looked at Sasuke, who was still very angry, and chuckled softly, "There's no need for us to dwell on why others are strong, because they were once weak too. You never see what they sacrificed or what they suffered; you only see the result. Being resentful because of that makes you very immature, Sasuke."

"I know I'm slow, so even though I started training before you, you surpassed me in just a few months. Knowing that the early bird catches the worm, I decided to leave."

Hui turned her head to look at Sasuke and smiled slightly, "Because I believe Sasuke will definitely become very strong—a strength I cannot reach—I have to go seek help from others."

"But, Sasuke, you have Brother Itachi. He will always be watching over you silently because you are brothers, and he hopes you can grow as well."

Sasuke stared at Hui blankly, as if he could still see her crying—how disheveled she had been...

"Hmph, before you talk to others, you crybaby should wipe away your tear stains first!" Sasuke said coldly, turning his head away.

Hui touched the corners of her eyes in surprise, wiping away tear stains that were no longer there. Sasuke saw this out of the corner of his eye and smiled secretly, though there was no longer that sadness in his eyes. In truth, he had heard it—he had heard the sound of Hui crying...