Discovering a Secret

"Big Brother Gen, why have you been looking at me so strangely lately? Is something wrong?"

Ever since we rescued Xiaojin, Hyuga Natsu had noticed her Big Brother Gen giving her odd looks over the past few days.

"Haha, no—"

Hyuga Gen said awkwardly. He withdrew his scrutinizing gaze. Whether it was true or not, it wasn't a big deal.

Come to think of it, he hadn't expected Natsu, who usually seemed so sweet and clueless, to come through so much when it mattered. Luckily, she hadn't waited around and had instead brought Hyuga Hiashi over. Otherwise, who knew what might have happened?

Hyuga Gen was curious how Natsu had managed to get the clan leader, who was busy with a thousand things, to come. But she said it had been pure coincidence: Hiashi had seen her rushing around and stopped her.

And that was how everything unfolded.

She had stepped up when it mattered, driving off the giant wild boar and python with two strikes. After that, things had gone smoothly.

Xiaojin had made it through, too. With its incredible ability to recover and Hyuga Gen's attentive care, it wouldn't be long before the bird was lively and energetic again.

What was even more shocking was that Hyuga Gen had discovered Hyuga Hiashi could actually smile. Though he'd only smiled at Natsu, it was practically like discovering a new continent.

As far as Hyuga Gen knew, throughout Shippuden, Hiashi had seemed to smile only at Hinata's wedding. Yet he'd given Natsu a warm smile. At the time, Hyuga Gen had thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

After observing them for the past few days, Hyuga Gen had realized Natsu did look quite a bit like Hiashi. And since her mother was the Main House's head maid, it was entirely possible.

Actually, this was the most natural explanation. With a head maid that beautiful right by your side, how could you not fall for her and still call yourself a man?

Speaking of which, the first time he'd met Natsu's mother, he'd been stunned by her beauty. He'd seen plenty of beautiful celebrities, but still thought none of them compared to her. Hyuga Gen didn't know how to describe it; all he knew was that she was unforgettable.

Hyuga Gen had wondered before whether Hiashi might be Natsu's father, but he'd quickly dismissed the idea. In his view, someone as stern, old-fashioned, and rigid as Hiashi wouldn't do something like that.

Now, it seemed almost certain that Hiashi was Natsu's father. He still had no proof, but Hyuga Gen was confident his instincts and judgment were right.

But was Hiashi's wife really that easygoing? Wouldn't she keep an eye on him? Had she not noticed? That didn't seem very likely, either.

Then he remembered Hanabi saying in Shippuden that she wanted to grow up to be as gentle as her mother. So was Hiashi's wife really that considerate and forgiving? Judging by the looks of Hinata and Hanabi, their mother must have been beautiful, too.

It was a shame that he hadn't seen Hinata's mother when Hinata was born. It seemed she'd fallen ill after giving birth and couldn't receive visitors.

Hyuga Gen wanted to meet this beauty, if only to find out what kind of woman could have given birth to the two little princesses Hinata and Hanabi.

At the thought, Hyuga Gen felt a pang of jealousy. Hiashi really was a bastard, two-timing women. Honestly, that was just...

Never mind. If he's Natsu's father, he might be my father-in-law someday. I'll let it go.

Hyuga Gen thought to himself that if Hiashi really was Natsu's father, he might end up being his father-in-law one day.

"Big Brother Gen? Big Brother Gen?"

"What is it, Natsu?"

"Big Brother Gen, what are you thinking about? Zhihui's been saying hello to you."

Hyuga Natsu tugged at Hyuga Gen's arm, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.

"I was thinking about Xiaojin."

Hyuga Gen answered without batting an eye.

"Sorry, Zhihui. I was distracted and didn't notice you."

Hyuga Gen smiled at Zhihui, who was standing by the wall, and greeted her.

"You've gotten prettier since I last saw you."

Hyuga Gen added. He wasn't just saying it to be polite. Zhihui had started growing her hair out, and her outfit was new and suited her well.

"N-no."

Zhihui seemed a little shy, but from her expression, it was clear she was pleased.

Hyuga Gen felt that Zhihui had made a very different impression on him the first time they met than she did now. It seemed first impressions weren't always reliable.

"Ahem, Big Brother Gen, you're playing favorites. You said Zhihui was pretty, but you've never told me I'm cute."

At that, Zhihui's face turned even redder. Hearing Natsu say that, she didn't know what to do.

"Come on, Natsu. Stop teasing Zhihui. Don't I tell you you're cute every day?"

Hyuga Gen looked at Natsu helplessly.

"By the way, Zhihui, how's the ice cream shop?"

"It's going well. We were too busy a few days ago, so we hired a few people. But summer's almost over, so I doubt we'll have many customers after that."

"Yeah, summer's almost over. But it's fine. We'll sell something else afterward."

"Something else? What kind of thing? Like ice cream?"

The two of them stared at him, their eyes gleaming.

"No, I haven't decided yet. You'll find out when I've made it."

Hyuga Gen kept them guessing, though he really hadn't decided yet.

He thought barbecue, skewers, grilled meat, hot pot, hamburgers, and all sorts of other things could work. He could probably make good money, and he'd also like to open a restaurant or something.

The food in this world really wasn't great. People mainly ate rice, followed by noodles. The dishes leaned Japanese, but they were all right, and he could accept most of them.

Still, Hyuga Gen missed the food from home. Unfortunately, he wasn't much of a cook; everything he made turned into a culinary disaster. The only dish he could manage was tomato and egg stir-fry.

Hyuga Gen planned to find a highly skilled chef someday, then use his memories to recreate all those dishes. But that could wait until later.

"Big Brother Gen, you said you were thinking about Xiaojin. What about it?"

"I was thinking that once Xiaojin's recovered, I'll sign a Summoning Contract with it. Natsu, why don't you sign one with Xiaojin, too? Then you'll be able to summon it whenever you want, so what happened last time won't happen again."

"Big Brother Gen, do you know how to sign a Summoning Contract?"

"Not yet. I'll ask the old man when I get back today."

"Okay! Big Brother Gen, bring me along when you and Xiaojin sign it. I'm curious how it works."

As for the old man Hyuga Gen had mentioned, Natsu knew he meant Grandpa Kamen.

Before they knew it, they were almost at the school gate. That was when Hyuga Gen spotted Uchiha Itachi—and, well, the two new underlings he'd picked up?

Hadn't he seen this scene somewhere before? Hyuga Gen slowly remembered. Right, Itachi wasn't far from graduating.

Would Itachi regret graduating early someday? The outside world was truly cruel. The carefree days when he could study for his youth and his dreams were precious and rare.

Maybe he wouldn't regret it. Perhaps he wanted to become someone who silently protected everything around him.