Drowning

When she got home, Naruto was nowhere to be seen. He could be pretty mischievous, but it was strange for him not to have come back after all this time.

Hui Youling hurried back to the river. Her bad feeling had been right: several children had surrounded Naruto and were kicking and punching him. His face was swollen, and blood ran from the corner of his eye.

"What are you doing?!"

She shouted in fury. Somehow, a crowd had gathered nearby. They all watched from a distance, and now they were looking at her with angry expressions.

Hui Youling glanced at them. Some were just there to watch, while others looked as if they thought the children were doing the right thing. She knew there had to be ANBU nearby, but why would they intervene? They might even resent Naruto.

Four children were beating Naruto, and he was clearly at a disadvantage. One of them could even use jutsu, making it five against one. It was a complete rout.

Hui Youling clenched her teeth and looked toward the river, gauging how deep the water was and how far away it lay. She made up her mind.

She charged over and shouted, "Hey! You call yourselves men, ganging up on someone weaker than you?"

Naruto's face was so swollen it was almost unrecognizable, and his eyes had narrowed to slits. Hearing Hui Youling's voice, he weakly called out,

"Hui..."

He was sprawled on the ground, unable to fight back at all. When the children heard Hui Youling, their anger flared.

The boy who could use jutsu turned around, ready to deal with Hui. He glared at her viciously, but she charged at him as if she were ready to fight to the death. He froze for a moment, then reflexively swatted her away.

Hui Youling cried out in pain as the blow struck her square in the chest. Tears streamed down her face. She made no effort to resist as she stumbled backward and fell into the water with a splash.

"Help!" she cried, thrashing in the water.

The boy was completely terrified. He hadn't expected to knock Hui into the river with one swing. If she died, he'd be finished!

The children stared at the water, sweating buckets. They couldn't swim either.

Naruto's eyes widened. He struggled to get up, but fell back to the ground. He struggled again, only to collapse helplessly once more.

Hui Youling really was risking her life. If she didn't put an end to this today, they would keep bullying Naruto. So she had targeted the boy who could use jutsu, knowing he was strong enough to send her into the water. She could only hope someone nearby would save her.

"Someone's fallen into the river!"

At last, Hui Youling heard someone shout, but still nobody came to save her. Had they no conscience at all? Were they really going to let her die right in front of them?

Hui Youling was furious too. "Damn it..."

She hadn't cursed in ages. She really was going to die today!

It was still morning, and the air was cold. The water was freezing too, like ice against her three-year-old body.

Misfortune struck again. She'd entered the cold water without warming up, and her foot was likely to cramp.

But things didn't go perfectly. A sharp pain shot through her right foot, and she couldn't kick.

I'm going to die! Hui Youling sighed inwardly. She sank beneath the surface. No matter how hard she reached upward, no one would take her hand.

Drowsiness came over her at the worst possible moment. She didn't want to die. She absolutely didn't want to die.

So many things flashed through her mind. In the end, all that remained was the image of herself, small and pitiful, crouched in a corner. It was as if a faint voice whispered, You know, I really do hate it a little. This rotten Konoha... where is the sunlight, anyway? I can't see any at all.

Then Konoha would grow as dark as her vision...

Hui Youling saw her reflection in the water. Her fiery red hair was so short it was only a few centimeters long. The surface of the water seemed to recede, and her red hair blurred along with it.

The water was clear and cold. She felt that suffocating pain again, and she no longer had the strength to struggle in panic.

Had Sasuke tried to kill himself once, too? The scene from back then still lingered in her mind. She couldn't see what she looked like, but she was probably a lot like him...

No, that lake hadn't been this deep, this dark blue. The light was fading, yet not a single ripple appeared to tell her anyone was coming to save her. All she could hear was a buzzing in her ears.

"Cough!" The breath in her chest slipped free, rising as a bubble. Hui Youling was pushed into the depths, unable to grab hold of anything or float as lightly as the bubble.

She was so unwilling to die...

She closed her eyes. If she were strong enough, she wouldn't have needed to resort to this. Her body relaxed, and she slowly sank beneath the water.

With a splash, a large boy dove in and swam quickly toward Hui. He grabbed her hand firmly, pulled her into his arms, and brought her up to the surface.

"Someone's gone in to save her!"

"It's a boy!"

Splash, splash...

Water sprayed everywhere as the boy and Hui Youling surfaced.

Hui Youling had already lost consciousness. She leaned against the boy, her face deathly pale and her lips completely colorless.

"Quick, pull her up!"

"Careful!" The crowd scrambled in a panic to haul them ashore. The boy lifted Hui Youling onto the bank first, then sprang lightly out of the water himself.

They laid Hui Youling flat on the ground. Naruto desperately pushed through the crowd, only to see a beautiful woman telling everyone to give them room.

She tilted Hui Youling's head back, cleared the foreign matter from her mouth, and began giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Her movements were practiced; she must have learned first aid before. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, while the crowd watched without daring to make a sound.

Just then, a little boy darted out of the crowd and ran to the older boy, grabbing his hand anxiously. The morning air was still chilly. Water dripped from the older boy's hair onto the little boy's face, leaving him cold and wet.

The little boy glanced at the woman, then at him, furrowing his brows. The older boy gently stroked his hair and smiled warmly, not seeming to care that he was soaked through.

Naruto was frantic. For some reason, he hated himself right now. He couldn't do anything or protect anyone.

Hui Youling started coughing violently, bringing up some water, but she still didn't wake up. The woman pressed her ear to Hui Youling's chest. Her heart had started beating again, and she let out a long breath of relief. The crowd's expressions shifted too. "Let's get her to the hospital first," the woman said in a gentle voice.

Someone was about to move, but an orange-yellow figure rushed forward and scooped Hui Youling up, then raced toward the hospital without a second thought. The woman watched in surprise, never expecting him to be so desperate. Did he care about her that much?

That look in his eyes—he looked just like a child afraid of losing a loved one. That girl must mean a lot to him!

The adults standing there also watched in surprise as Naruto carried Hui away.

"It's Naruto!"

"What's he doing?"

"Taking her to the hospital..." someone said uncertainly.

"Could he be trying to hurt Hui Youling?"

"Everyone around him ends up getting hurt!"

The crowd had unknowingly turned their anger on Naruto once again. If Hui were here, she would have demanded to know: weren't you the ones who stood by and let her drown?

People who tried so hard to cover up their own mistakes were no good either!

The woman stood and walked over to the boy. "Itachi, you're soaked too. Hurry home and change into dry clothes!"

"Brother, you're still dripping!" Sasuke complained in his childish voice.

Itachi replied calmly, "Yes. I'll go home first, Mother."

Mikoto smiled gently at the two boys. "Let's go!" Itachi nodded and followed Mikoto.

The crowd dispersed too, muttering among themselves.

"They're from the Uchiha Clan..."

"Keep your voice down. I think that's the Uchiha Clan Head's child."

"That genius!"

"Yeah..."

"Ah, no wonder he's so exceptional!" someone remarked.

Naruto's frantic sprint naturally drew people's attention too.

"Doctor!" Naruto shouted as soon as he rushed into the hospital. People looked at him with disgust, but then they saw the boy in his arms, his face deathly pale.

A doctor hurried over and immediately saw what had happened.

"She's drowned! Quickly!"

Several nurses took Hui and carried her into the treatment room. Naruto anxiously tried to follow, but they stopped him outside.

"It's that person!"

"Did he kill someone?"

"They should've kicked him out of the village long ago!"

In an empty world, Hui walked alone, looking around. There was nothing anywhere. She stopped and lowered her head.

She remembered what she had been searching for!

The world quickly darkened, hiding her along with it. Something called hatred began to grow in her heart, along with despair.

Those people really wanted her dead. They wanted her gone, and she had granted their wish.

It was only her third day here. There was still so much she hadn't done, so many people she hadn't met. Someone was still waiting for her. Those fantasies and that pain tore her heart apart all over again.

"What's going on? We've performed emergency treatment, but her vital signs are fading!" Several shinobi hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

"The child is too young, and her will to live is too weak!" Another shinobi was at a loss too.

"Use the medication. Force her to wake up!"

They hurriedly prepared the medicine and injected it into Hui Youling.

Hui Youling opened her eyes in the pitch-black world. Someone was in front of her, but she couldn't see a thing. Her eyes dimmed. At last, she made out who it was: dressed in a black robe, with black feathers fluttering around him.

She smiled faintly. The world turned white, creating a stark contrast with the darkness on the other side. The two smiled at each other. They were so alike, with their upright, resolute bearing and their proud, confident smiles. Everything felt so familiar.