Mischievous Naruto

Hui gave Kabuto a helpless look. He was the one who had asked her all those baffling questions, yet now he was dissatisfied with her answers. If she really had transcended everything, she wouldn't have ended up like this.

But Kabuto at least seemed less weighed down now, so Hui couldn't be bothered to argue with him. "I should get going. I won't stay for dinner today."

Kabuto didn't even look at her. "Mm."

Hui felt a little worn out. Thinking of the one waiting at home, she had to say goodbye for now. Before leaving, she asked, "Could I borrow a book?"

She had been reading the same book for days and wanted a change. Otherwise, she really wouldn't be able to learn a thing.

Kabuto looked at her and studied her for a while before asking, "Have you mastered that one already?"

Hui shrugged and answered honestly, "I want to look at something else. I'm about to fall asleep reading the same book."

Kabuto's dead-fish eyes filled with disdain. "If you can't even learn that, you're the most useless one here."

"Hey, hey, that's going too far!" Hui glared at Kabuto, but her eyes were full of helplessness. What could she do? She was at her wits' end.

"Heh..." Kabuto's signature sneer was as familiar as ever.

Still, he went into the house and came back with a book for Hui. Then he turned his blank gaze forward.

Hui shrugged, speechless, and headed out of the Orphanage with the book.

Someone saw her leaving and asked in confusion, "Hui, aren't you staying for dinner?" Everyone turned toward her at the sound.

Hui waved a hand. "I still have to go home, so I won't stay."

"All right, take care on the way!" Everyone said their goodbyes too. They all knew Hui had a life of her own and that she was different from them.

She waved to them and left the Orphanage, her heart heavy with melancholy.

With a foundation in experimentation, Kabuto was making rapid progress in Medical Ninjutsu, while Hui was advancing much more slowly. More than once, she'd seen disdain in the corners of Kabuto's slanted eyes. Fortunately, her theoretical knowledge helped salvage her image a little, but he still found plenty of reasons to criticize her. Hui had nearly started doubting her own abilities.

At least Kabuto's instruction was effective. And since she occasionally brought snacks to the Orphanage, she had won over the other children there and gotten along well with everyone.

Nonō also taught the two of them. She was much more attentive than Kabuto. Seeing how well Hui got along with everyone, and how kind she was to her, Nonō once gently ruffled Hui's hair and said, "Little Hui really is such a hardworking and adorable child."

Hui felt as though she were basking in a saintly glow, and became even more determined to master Medical Ninjutsu.

Naruto had also noticed that Hui had been working even harder lately. She still got him up early to run along the mountain roads, then, once he was exhausted, made him train in Taijutsu.

He'd been put through the wringer by Hui more than once. She trained him even more strictly than before, and she was just as "brutal" as ever, never letting him slack off for even a moment. He really thought she was unbelievably devious during training.

At least he got ramen as a reward afterward, and Hui still ate with him. Though whenever she couldn't finish, he got to polish off the rest.

Also, that Sasuke he couldn't stand occasionally came by to see Hui. Naruto wasn't jealous at all when the two of them sparred and he watched from the sidelines!

Although Hui still looked delicate, the strength she could unleash sometimes left even Sasuke struggling to keep up. Her reflexes were quick, too, and she looked incredibly cool as she controlled the whole fight.

And that Sasuke Uchiha could even use such powerful Fire Release Ninjutsu!

Naruto sighed inwardly. Was Hui looking down on him? He wanted to ask her for advice, but she had been so busy lately.

At night, she quietly read in her room and wrote down lots of things he couldn't understand. The room was piled high with thick books and all sorts of notes.

Then at noon, she'd disappear somewhere. He'd thought about following her, but he'd never succeeded. Maybe she had eyes in the back of her head.

The only thing that comforted him now was eating ramen with Hui. The moment he looked forward to most each day was going to Ichiraku with her after their morning training.

But he didn't have it easy, either. Hui had given him plenty of scrolls, and when she wasn't around, he had to study them as hard as he could. If she came back and found him slacking off—or making no progress at all—she'd turn into an explosive Hui!

Watching Hui explode again, her expression full of helplessness, Naruto chuckled.

Hui shot him a glance and turned back toward her room. Naruto silently craned his neck to watch her. Before long, she came out with a stick from who knew where.

"Naruto, let's spar. See this thin stick in my hand?" Hui looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, then immediately went on the attack.

Pain shot through Naruto's whole body, and he bolted around the house. "Hui, I'm sorry! I really have been training hard!"

Hui chased after him, still whacking him with the stick as she said, "Oh, sure. You worked really hard at sleeping all day!"

"I... I really was tired! I was practicing, and then... and then I fell asleep!" Naruto hurriedly explained. He thought Hui wouldn't listen, but to his surprise, she stopped.

He looked back at Hui, afraid she might launch a sudden attack. He was like a startled bird now, but Hui only stared at him in a daze. After a while, she finally spoke. "Naruto... don't you like training this way?"

Naruto froze for a moment and looked at Hui with a furrowed brow. "I... I can't understand the things you gave me..."

Hui paused, feeling a little lost. For the first time, she realized she couldn't easily change someone else's future. She couldn't even control her own.

When it came to Naruto, she was giving him everything he would only learn in the future ahead of time. Would that set off a whole chain of butterfly effects later? Hui didn't dare imagine it.

Hui lowered the stick and looked at Naruto, speaking more slowly. "All right. From now on, you can choose what you want to train in. I won't interfere, but you can't slack off. You still have to train your Taijutsu properly!"

A small smile spread across Naruto's face. "Okay!"

Hui sighed helplessly. Naruto would be able to go to the Ninja Academy before long. She just didn't know whether she'd still be around by then.

"Naruto, do you want to go to the Ninja Academy?"

Naruto stared at her blankly. "What's the Ninja Academy?"

"It's a school where you'll learn all kinds of ninjutsu in a structured way," Hui patiently explained.

"You mean the school Rock Lee goes to?" Naruto suddenly remembered that Rock Lee had gone there.

Hui nodded. Seeing Naruto fidget as though he wanted to say something but didn't dare, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"I heard parents have to go to the opening ceremony, so... would you go with me, Hui?" Naruto eagerly asked. He didn't want to stand there all alone.

Hui smiled, her eyes soft. "Sure."

"Hehe, I knew you were the best, Hui!" Naruto ran up to her and happily gave her a hug.

Hui was startled by his sudden move, but looking at his foolish expression, she could more or less understand how much he longed to have a family.

"Okay, put me down. I still have to study!" Hui said helplessly, patting Naruto.

"Okay!" Naruto grinned as he set her down, his eyes full of delight as he looked at her.

Hui turned and went back to her room. Naruto watched her go in, then heard her call from inside, "You have to train properly now, too!"

Naruto stuck out his tongue and went over to the pile of scrolls. He picked one he liked and began practicing.