The Bird in the Cage

Uchiha Ao didn't dwell on the inexplicable sense of attraction. With a gentle smile, he raised a hand and lightly patted Hinata on the head.

He had met Hinata about six months ago. It should have been the same old story of Naruto playing the hero and saving the damsel in distress, but by a twist of fate, Ao had "stolen the show."

That day, heavy snowflakes drifted down from the sky, as if the heavens had spilled a cotton sack. In the blink of an eye, they had draped Konoha in a silvery-white cloak.

Ao had waited for a chance when Sister Izumi wasn't home, then gone out especially to buy her favorite Three-Color Dango.

He hadn't expected to run into Hinata being bullied by a bunch of little brats.

When Ao saw what was happening, how could he stand by? Such a cute girl was being picked on by a few brats. His sense of justice flared, and he charged in without hesitation.

Unlike Naruto back then, he wasn't helpless and forced to take a beating.

Those brats were no match for him. In a few quick moves, he had beaten them until they were crying and running for their lives.

"Ding! Main quest issued: The Bird in the Cage Wants to Spread Her Wings."

"Quest objective: Help Hyuga Hinata earn her father's approval and gain the freedom to define her own life."

The system's prompt sounded out of nowhere. Ao froze for a moment, then instinctively turned to look at Hinata, who stood before him with a flushed face, shy and timid.

Help Hinata earn her father's approval? Ao had actually thought about that long ago. It was just that the looming threat of the Uchiha massacre had hung over him like a dark cloud, leaving him no time to worry about anything else.

Now that the system had issued the quest, it felt as if a pillow had appeared just as he was getting sleepy, giving him a perfectly reasonable opportunity.

He quickly organized his thoughts. Hinata's father, Hyuga Hiashi, was a traditional and imposing head of the family. In his eyes, the family's honor and rules came before everything else, and Hinata's past performance had apparently failed to meet his strict standards.

To change Hiashi's opinion, Ao would have to approach the problem from several angles.

"Hinata, do you want your father to see a different side of you?" Ao asked, looking at Hinata as she lowered her head.

Hinata bit her lip and hesitated. Though she didn't know how Ao-kun had learned about this, she still nodded lightly. Her voice was barely audible. "I... I do, but Father..."

"Don't worry. I'm here." Ao patted Hinata on the shoulder and gave her a firm, reassuring look.

In the original story, Hyuga Hinata was hailed as the "Princess of the Byakugan." To some extent, she definitely had considerable talent.

Besides, would Toneri have taken an ordinary Hyuga girl's fancy?

In his previous life, Ao had come up with a bold theory: Hinata had probably been underperforming because she was always hungry and malnourished.

But that was just his own speculation. He had no hard evidence.

They chatted for a while longer, until a distant voice called out. A branch-family ninja from the Hyuga Clan had come looking for Hinata.

Reluctant to leave, Hinata looked at Ao and said softly, "Ao-kun, I have to go back." Ao smiled and nodded. "Mm, go on, Hinata. Remember what we talked about."

After Hinata disappeared around the street corner, Ao turned and headed home as well.

On the way, he stopped to buy a few skewers of Three-Color Dango, thinking he'd bring them back for Sister Izumi to enjoy.

When he got home, Sister Izumi still hadn't returned. Ao put the dango he'd bought on the desk in his room and carefully arranged them in a bowl.

Then he found a sheet of white paper and got ready to plan out how to complete the main quest.

As far as he could tell, Hinata's problems weren't difficult to solve. There were mainly two:

First, Hinata was too timid and shy. She was especially nervous around her father, Hyuga Hiashi, and didn't even dare to voice her thoughts or needs. No matter how capable she was, her father would never see it.

Second, Hinata had a huge appetite. A ninja needed to eat enough to have the strength to train. If she wasn't getting enough energy, her strength would naturally suffer.

Ao was writing with complete concentration when he suddenly sensed movement behind him.

He turned around and—well, look at that. Sister Izumi had somehow come up behind him and was craning her neck to sneak a peek at what he was writing.

Ao jumped in fright. He instinctively used a scroll to cover the words, then quickly picked up the bowl of Three-Color Dango and offered it to her with a smile. "Sister Izumi, you're finally back. I bought these for you. Go on, try some."

Sister Izumi gazed at her little brother for a long moment before accepting the dango. She took a bite, her face lighting up with contentment. "Mm, just like I remember. Delicious!"

Watching how cute Sister Izumi looked as she ate, Ao couldn't help reaching out to pinch her cheek.

Taken aback by the sudden gesture, Sister Izumi quickly realized what was going on. Thinking her little brother wanted to cuddle, she stuffed the remaining dango into her mouth, then promptly pressed her face against Ao's.

"Mm... Sister Izumi, at least finish eating first." Ao didn't resist. He let Sister Izumi cuddle up to him, feeling the warmth of her cheek and the crumbs clinging to the corner of her mouth. He smiled helplessly and fondly.

Sister Izumi was busy chewing and couldn't answer. After a while, when she had finished the dango, she was still pressed against Ao's face. "Little brother, Mom seems to be looking for you."

Ao froze when he heard that. Auntie's looking for me? He didn't think much of it, just stood up and headed in the direction Sister Izumi had pointed. He wondered what Auntie could want with him.

As soon as her little brother left, Sister Izumi's gaze fell on the scroll he had hurriedly used to cover the paper.

Her instincts told her that her little brother was definitely hiding something from her, and that it probably had something to do with another girl.

Some time ago, a girl from the clan had gone to play with Ao. The next day, Sister Izumi had "taught her a lesson" and gotten a stern talking-to from Izumi's Mother for it.

Fortunately, Ao had anticipated something like this. What he'd written was in the script from his previous life.

Uchiha Izumi carefully moved the scroll aside. Before her eyes appeared a row of blocky symbols, some of which she couldn't make heads or tails of.

That only made her even more curious.

Early the next morning, Uchiha Izumi quietly got out of bed. First, she summoned a Shadow Clone to go to school in her place. Then she hid outside her little brother's room, keeping her eyes fixed on his every move.

After what felt like forever, noon finally came, and Ao went out after lunch.

The moment Sister Izumi saw her little brother set off, she performed a technique and followed him without a sound.

All the way there, she used rooftops and trees for cover, keeping a safe distance behind her little brother in case he spotted her.

Ao arrived at the abandoned training ground where he had arranged to meet Hinata.

Sister Izumi hid behind a large tree in the distance and watched her little brother meet up with Hinata.

Hinata was still as shy and timid as ever, and greeted Ao in a small voice.

"You little brat!" Uchiha Izumi ground her teeth in anger. Of course she recognized the girl opposite him: the little princess of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hinata.

She had never imagined her little brother would be seeing Hinata so often behind her back.

Watching Uchiha Ao explain training methods to Hinata with a smile, Uchiha Izumi felt a pang in her heart.