Crying

I followed the river at an easy pace, as I always did, admiring the scenery in the evening light.

"You really do whatever you want, don't you?" came a cold, haughty voice, accompanied by faint panting.

Hui glanced toward the familiar figure walking toward her against the light. It had been so long since they'd seen each other.

A faint smile lifted Hui's lips as she watched him. She noticed the anger in his cool gaze, but his still-childish, haughty tone made her laugh despite herself.

Hearing her laugh, Sasuke shouted angrily, "Hey!"

Hui stopped teasing him. "Now, now. It's been a long time, Sasuke." She turned to face him. He gave a haughty snort. "Hmph! Who wanted to see you?"

Hui raised an eyebrow and walked over. With her free hand, she grabbed Sasuke by the clothes and tugged him along.

"Hey! What are you doing? Let go! You're so annoying! What are you trying to do?" Sasuke bristled and tried to pull her hand away, his eyes full of disdain.

"All right, all right. Come have dinner at my place tonight. What do you say?" Hui looked back at Sasuke and let him go.

"You've always freeloaded at my house. Auntie's cooking is delicious, but how about letting me invite you over this time?" Hui waved the bag in her hand, filled with all kinds of snacks and treats. They looked delicious, and their aroma was irresistible.

Sasuke wavered, but still said, "You know you freeload here every day. Hmph!"

Hui couldn't be bothered arguing with him and placated him instead. "Yes, yes. Come on, my place is nearby. This is your first time coming over, right?"

Sasuke glanced at her. Seeing Hui lead the way, he followed, feeling a little happy.

He hadn't expected the person he'd glimpsed by chance to really be Hui. She was still the same as before, and following her all this way hadn't been a waste.

But then he suddenly felt unhappy again. Hui had come back without telling him. Was she afraid she'd lose to him? Yes, that had to be it!

Hui could clearly feel the icy stare behind her. She gave an awkward smile and shrugged, but didn't turn around to look at Sasuke. They walked home in silence, but the instant they stepped inside, Sasuke flared up.

The reason was the two people who seemed to repel each other by nature: Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto pointed at Sasuke, looking displeased. "What are you doing at my house?"

Sasuke immediately shot back, "What's the problem, loser?"

"Hey! Shut up! If it weren't for me... I..." Naruto struggled to think of something to say, then finally gave a blustering snort. "Hmph! I'll definitely be stronger than you someday!"

Sasuke gave a merciless chuckle. "Heh. Keep dreaming."

Naruto froze for a moment, then realized Sasuke meant he was dreaming. Pointing at him furiously, Naruto yelled, "You jerk!"

"You idiot!" Sasuke continued to mock him.

Naruto clenched his teeth, snorted through his nose, and turned away, ignoring Sasuke.

Sasuke raised his head haughtily and snorted too.

Hui watched the two of them suddenly start bickering, helplessly bewildered. She couldn't understand how they'd started fighting when they'd barely met, or how they could get into an argument before exchanging even three sentences.

Hui chalked it up to fate and busied herself setting the table and laying out the food.

Looking at the spread, Hui planted her hands on her hips and grinned. Pretending she'd cooked it herself was so satisfying!

She turned to see Sasuke and Naruto sitting on opposite sides of the table. Hui rolled her eyes and resigned herself to playing peacemaker. "Dinner's ready! I made dishes you both like. Won't you come try some?"

Neither of them responded. Hui felt powerless and turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke? There are tomatoes, too." Sasuke turned his head away, looking aloof.

Then she looked at Naruto. "Naruto, don't you want any red bean paste?" Naruto copied Sasuke's aloof expression.

Well, they certainly weren't making this easy.

Hui looked at Naruto and said casually, "Naruto, guess what? Last time Sasuke went to practice with Kunai with Itachi, he fell over and—" Hui broke into a snicker. Sasuke's eyes widened as he remembered his embarrassing mishap. He lunged at Hui Youling, calling out fiercely, "Shut up! Don't say another word!"

Hui dodged Sasuke's sudden attack and glanced at the bristling boy beside her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you eating?"

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

Hui turned to Naruto, a mischievous smile at the corner of her mouth. Afraid she'd reveal one of his embarrassing stories, Naruto promised, "I'll eat too, I mean it!" He obediently sat down at the table.

Seeing the sumptuous dinner and their favorite snacks, the two lost interest in their cold war. After exchanging snorts, they sat down and ate with enthusiasm, even fighting over the food.

Hui pressed a hand to her forehead, helplessly staring at the messy table. Ignore them, ignore them... she silently repeated. Just then, a chicken drumstick fell into the soup in front of her and "accidentally" splashed her in the face.

"Ah!!!!" Hui exploded and slammed down her chopsticks. "If you two aren't going to eat properly, get out!"

The two were still holding their chopsticks crossed from fighting over the drumstick. They stared blankly at Hui's disheveled state, her back seeming to blaze with fury. They quietly drew back their hands and continued eating. The table fell silent except for the clink of dishes and chopsticks.

Hui angrily picked up the chopsticks from the floor, then went back to her room to change. As she left, the two glared fiercely at each other, but made no more attempts to steal food.

And so their "cozy" and memorable dinner slowly came to an end...

"Ugh, damn it!" Hui angrily took off her red jacket!

After enjoying a few peaceful days, Hui watched Sasuke scowl in frustration. Itachi shook his head helplessly. Sasuke hadn't won a single sparring match these past few days; Hui had just been leading him around in circles. Itachi deactivated his Sharingan and went over to coach Sasuke. "You're throwing your punches too soon. You're lifting your leg before you've even found your balance..."

"Big brother!" Sasuke cried out, unwilling to accept it, his heart full of grievance. "Sasuke, I can't be with you forever. You need to grow up a little," Itachi said softly, looking at the resentment in his eyes.

"Still, Sasuke can already use such an impressive Great Fireball Technique," Hui cut in. Remembering the Fire Style technique Sasuke had suddenly used, Hui's eyes darkened as an indescribable sense of envy rose in her heart.

But considering Sasuke's situation, she wouldn't be herself if she hadn't realized something: Sasuke was probably jealous of her, too. His brother, praised by their father, had always stood in front of him, someone he could never surpass. Now another person had appeared: her.

Hui stepped forward to take Sasuke's hand, but he turned and shot her a fierce look before running off. Hui's pupils widened slightly as she stared at him in disbelief, unable to understand what had gotten into him this time.

"Big brother Itachi..." Hui turned toward Itachi and saw that he was still staring in the direction Sasuke had gone. She pressed her lips together. "Big brother Itachi, if you have something on your mind, you should just tell Sasuke clearly. He's so stubborn that he'll never figure out what you mean."

Itachi looked quietly at Hui and said gently, "Hui, you've grown so much, but not in the way I'd hoped." Hui stood there, stunned, staring at him. "Uh... what do you mean, Big Brother Itachi...?"

"Hui, you've killed someone..." Itachi said calmly, looking straight at her. The wind swept past Hui, carrying an unfamiliar, murderous chill and blowing the hair across her face. Hui lowered her head and stared at the ground without a word.

Itachi quietly walked over and crouched down to meet her gaze. He gently poked her forehead, and Hui looked up in surprise, tears slowly streaming down her face.

In a gentler voice, Itachi said, "I don't want you to force yourself to grow up too fast. We'll take care of these things for you. We'll protect you and let you grow up in peace, without regrets."

Itachi paused, then continued, "Hui, there's a murderous aura about you now. I don't want you to keep remembering what it felt like to kill. It's not good for you."

Looking at Itachi, whose gentleness was as soft as water, and feeling his care like that of an older brother, Hui could no longer hold back her tears. Her face crumpled, and at last she burst into tears, startling the birds in the woods into flight.

"I don't know... why this happened... I didn't want to... hic..." Hui cried for a while, then let out a sobbing hiccup. She stopped, stunned, looking mortified at how embarrassing she was.

Itachi smiled at her. "All right, Hui. You've always worked hard, and you'll do great things. But you don't need to push yourself too hard, okay?"

"Mhm... mhm..." Hui looked at Itachi with tearful eyes, only for him to poke her forehead again. She clutched her forehead and looked at him innocently, her eyes full of reproach.

"Wipe your tears," Itachi said with a helpless smile.

He held out a clean handkerchief. Hui took it, wiped her tears, then wiped her nose on it too before handing it back to him. She left him with one last remark and ran off. "I'm going to find Sasuke. He's just a tsundere; he really likes you, Big Brother Itachi!"

Itachi looked helplessly at the handkerchief. She was still just a child. Smiling faintly, he watched Hui leave.

At last, Hui found Sasuke by the lake, sitting on the pier alone and sulking. When she walked over, he heard her and turned his face away well in advance.

"Hey, in another year, we'll be going to the Ninja Academy. Are you looking forward to it?" Hui sat beside Sasuke and asked softly.

Sasuke still ignored her. "Everyone's going to look up to you, Sasuke, because you're so handsome and strong!" Hui spoke as if to herself without waiting for his reply.

"And you're the first person who can use ninjutsu. That's amazing. I bet lots of people will be jealous of you." Hui continued talking to herself.

"Not at all! You don't mean a word of it!" Sasuke said angrily.

Hui looked at the still-angry Sasuke and smiled. "We don't need to obsess over why other people are strong. They were weak once, too. You've never seen what they went through or how much they suffered; you've only seen the results. Resenting them for that is immature."

"I know I'm stupid, so even though I started training before you, you surpassed me in just a few months. I realized that the slow and steady bird gets ahead, so I decided to leave."

Hui turned to Sasuke and smiled faintly. "I believe you'll become incredibly strong, so strong I can't reach you. That's why I'm going to seek help from others."

"But you have Big Brother Itachi, Sasuke. He'll always be watching over you, because you're brothers, and he wants you to grow up too."

Sasuke stared at Hui, seeming to see her crying, so utterly disheveled...

"Hmph. Before you talk to someone else, wipe those tear stains off your face, crybaby!" Sasuke said coldly, turning his head away.

Hui touched the corner of her eye in surprise and wiped away the nonexistent tear stain. Sasuke saw this from the corner of his eye and secretly smiled. But the sadness was gone from his eyes. He'd heard her, after all—he'd heard Hui crying...