Itachi

A little oddball had recently been spotted at the entrance to the Uchiha Clan Compound. Every day, she waited by the gate, but never approached anyone, and no one approached her.

She stood like a statue beside the large tree at the entrance, her gaze unfocused. She only disappeared after night fell and everyone had gone inside.

At first, no one paid any attention, but after three days in a row, it was too strange to ignore. What stood out most was her unusual red hair. People were curious about whom she was waiting for.

Itachi had seen her for the third day in a row. This girl was unlike the others her age...

Yes, a girl.

When he'd rescued her, he'd seen her eyes. They weren't the eyes of a boy. And he had a strong intuition that she wasn't a three-year-old child.

He had saved Hui on instinct, without wanting anything in return or any ties to her. All in all, he felt she shouldn't know him, so when he saw her, he'd avoided her.

But Hui seemed to understand how he felt. She never bothered him, and even pretended they didn't know each other. She simply waited there in silence. Itachi had thought she'd wait two days at most,

because you could do something once, twice, but not a third time...

Yet here she was on the third day. Itachi thought that if he kept ignoring her, she would wait until he finally acknowledged her. That willpower and persistence

made him admire her,

but also put him on guard.

He knew there was no point in dragging this out. Why make her keep waiting?

Itachi walked over and asked in an even tone, "Were you waiting for me?"

Hui slowly raised her head to look at him. At last, her eyes seemed to focus. She gave him a gentle smile.

"I... thought you'd make me wait a whole week..."

She said it without much excitement.

Itachi looked at her calmly. "Did you need something?"

Hui lowered her head in silence. "Not really. I just wanted to treat you to some dango..."

Itachi stiffened. She even knew what he liked. This was getting more and more dangerous.

"Sorry for the trouble, Itachi," Hui added.

She knew Itachi could see through everything. Just as in her previous life, she could lie to anyone, but never to Itachi. He was a hundred times more mature than she was.

Itachi was surprised. The girl knew him well, yet he sensed no malice from her.

Itachi...

She'd called him that familiarly the first time they met. She knew him, and as he watched Hui lower her head in silence, he sensed a sorrow in her that didn't belong in a child. Itachi thought she might not be here for anything else.

"All right," he replied indifferently.

Hui looked up at him and smiled softly. "I'm so happy, Itachi."

At last, Itachi stopped wearing only an expressionless face and smiled softly, just as gently as ever.

Hui bought three skewers of dango and handed two to Itachi, keeping one for herself. Itachi looked at the two skewers in his hand, then down at Hui.

Hui beamed. "You can share them with your family, Itachi."

"Is that so..." Itachi murmured, so quietly that only he could hear.

Family. She meant Sasuke, right...

"Can I come see you again, Itachi?" Hui asked softly, a note of hope in her voice.

Itachi gave a quiet "Mm." Hui felt a small ache in her heart. In her previous life, even being part of the Uchiha Clan hadn't let her save him. It was as if the world were following a program set in stone; no matter how she changed things, the ending stayed the same.

Itachi saw the inexplicable nostalgia in Hui's eyes, and felt a vague unease...

The feeling that she wasn't herself...

But he wouldn't pursue it.

He didn't want to,

and there was no point...

Hui quickly finished the last dango. She'd spent all her living expenses for the month on them. She smiled helplessly. Itachi hadn't changed at all. Even knowing her motives weren't pure, he still accepted her. That was how tolerant he was.

"Thank you. I'll never regret meeting you, Itachi," Hui said with a smile. It was the most sincere smile she'd ever given. Then, without another word, she left.

Itachi watched her disappear. She was so frail he could have snapped her with ease. Was that why she'd come to see him?

The Third Hokage watched Hui's gaze gradually turn cold in the crystal ball and let out a heavy sigh.

The Uchiha Clan was also feared by the people of the village. Hui was choosing to sink even deeper into darkness. She no longer cared about the hatred of the rest of Konoha. It didn't matter to her anymore.

Though she'd said she would visit Itachi, Hui didn't go see him again right away. She didn't want him to dislike her even more.

Because she hated the fake version of herself, too...

Naruto had been left out in the sun for three days and forbidden from following Hui. The warning had been very, very stern, so he was happy to see her come back so early.

"Hui, you've had me looking at this thing for three days. It's so boring, and I still can't do it!"

Naruto complained bitterly. The Three Body Technique was really hard!

Hui took a deep breath. As expected, it was easier being around an idiot!

"Then forget it," she replied indifferently.

"But you said anyone who learned it would be a genius and could get really strong!" Naruto protested.

"We're only three years old. Be realistic. Can you even gather chakra?"

Hui slumped onto the sofa, looking unconcerned.

"How can you say that? Even if it's impossible, we still have to try!"

Naruto jumped to his feet and pointed at the scroll. "If other people can do it, so can we!"

Hui burst out laughing. Was this Naruto's spirit?

"What are you laughing at?" Naruto asked awkwardly. He seemed to have gotten a little too worked up.

Hui stopped smiling and said seriously, "Naruto, let's practice Taijutsu first. Taijutsu is one of the Three Great Ninja Arts, and it suits us better, doesn't it?"

"...Yeah, but I still don't want to give up," Naruto muttered, scratching his head.

"Mm, I know. But it's not time yet."

"Not time? What does that mean?" Naruto was going crazy. He couldn't understand Hui at all. Wasn't she the one who'd made him study this a few days ago?

"Anyway, we need to change our approach and start with the very, very basics of Taijutsu!"

"Oh..." Naruto no longer felt like arguing.

So the two little ones got up early every day and ran back and forth along the Konoha River. They stopped once the air began to warm up. And so began their search for Rock Lee.

They searched every likely training ground, and were "asked" to leave countless times, but still couldn't find him. Naruto had long since lost his temper and started shouting in frustration.

Hui watched him calmly, but she was starting to wonder too. Why couldn't they find Rock Lee? She went over the broad outline of his story in her mind and tried to work it out.

Rock Lee had only learned he was hopeless at ninjutsu and genjutsu after entering the Ninja Academy. Unable to take the blow, he'd trained in Taijutsu with everything he had. So maybe before he entered the Academy, he hadn't trained as hard as he did later. Maybe that was why they couldn't find him.

But Hui had always thought Rock Lee was the persevering type. Even before entering the Academy, he'd surely been passionate about training from a young age. That kind of drive didn't appear out of nowhere.

So he must have been training somewhere. But where? If he wasn't at a training ground, where else could he practice?

"Hui, those people are amazing..." Naruto said, having run out of things to do. "They beat us in a flash." Actually, they'd thrown them out before a second had passed.

Hui froze. How had she forgotten? This was where Konoha Ninja trained, but Rock Lee wasn't even a ninja yet. How would he be allowed in?

Then the best place would be the woods outside Konoha. He could run the trails and train there. She hadn't even considered leaving the village, so she'd searched everywhere in vain.

Though it meant leaving the village, they would only be going out through the Konoha Gate, nowhere near Konoha's borders. Surely there was nothing wrong with training outside the village?

But when she thought about it, it seemed incredible. Lee was only four, right? How could he leave the village? Wouldn't anyone stop him?

As these thoughts crossed Hui's mind, she turned and ran off. When Naruto realized no one was paying attention to him and turned around, she was already gone. All he heard was her voice coming from far away:

"Idiot, let's go!"

"Hey, Hui! Where are you going now?" Naruto hurried after her. He really, really couldn't understand what she was thinking!