Hinata's Training

Training ground. Afternoon.

Not dawn. Not alone. Ringo stood in the center of the field, holding Boil Release mist in his hand. Just a thin layer. Golden. Under the sunlight—it looked like heat haze, warping the air. But it was not hot. It was control.

"Can I be your sparring partner?"

Ringo turned his head. Hinata stood at the edge of the training ground. She had been standing there for a long time. Her toes were together, her hands clenched before her. They had been clenched for a long time. She had been waiting. Waiting for an opening.

"Sparring partner?"

"Mm." Hinata stepped forward. Half a step. But—she had moved forward. "I want to understand how you fight, Ringo-kun."

Ringo looked at her. Not at the Hyuga clan heiress—at Hinata. Her eyes. Pupils. She was looking at him. Truly looking.

"Alright."

Hinata activated her Byakugan.

The veins at her temples bulged. She was focused. Her eyes—scanned Ringo's chakra. Three colors. Flowing. Separate.

White. Gold. And another misty gold. But not the gold in his slots—it was Boil Release. Something new. Flowing through his chakra pathways. Warm.

"Ringo-kun, your chakra has three colors. White, gold, and another misty color. It's new."

Ringo froze. She had seen it. She had seen it with her Byakugan.

"Your chakra has three colors." It was merely a description. But—it was more accurate than any evaluation.

"You can see that?"

"Mm. The white is your foundation. The gold is Wind Release. The mist is something you didn't have before. You only gained it after the Land of Waves, right?"

Ringo did not answer. She knew everything. She had been watching. From Training Ground Three, to the Land of Waves, to the infirmary. She had been there. Watching all along. He simply had not noticed. But—she had. Her Byakugan, all this time?

"Come on," he said.

The spar began.

Hinata's Gentle Fist was precise. Her palms struck points. Chakra shot from her fingertips, sealing Ringo's chakra points. But—Boil Release was there. Golden mist. When her palms passed through it, they heated up. "Your mist is protecting you."

Ringo shifted aside, and Boil Release spread outward. A ring of golden mist around him. A domain.

Hinata's Byakugan could not see through it. The chakra in the mist was too dense. Every droplet possessed its own chakra. Boil Release's chakra. A third kind.

"Your ability counters my Byakugan."

Hinata said it, but—she was smiling. The corner of her mouth lifted. You have something I don't know about. Good.

"It doesn't counter it," Ringo said. The mist dispersed. He dismissed it himself. "You don't know how I'm going to attack, right? Well, I don't know when you're going to blush either."

Hinata's face turned red. From the roots of her ears to her neck. She had already been blushing.

She had started blushing the moment he said, "I don't know when you're going to blush." Had he hit the mark?

"I-I'm not blushing..."

But her face grew even redder. An admission. An admission that he had seen it. With his eyes. Ordinary eyes. Yet—he had seen her. Truly seen her.

The spar stopped. The sun was sinking. The light over the training ground shifted from white to orange. It was almost over. But—Hinata did not leave. She stood there, her hands unclenched. There was something more important she needed to say.

"Ringo-kun."

"Mm..."

"I wanted to understand how you fight not because I was... curious."

She paused. Gathering herself. She had been gathering herself since Training Ground Three. Since the Land of Waves. Since the infirmary. So many words pressed against her chest. Like a stone. A warm one.

"It's because when you fight in the future, I want to be by your side. Not 'I want to help you.' Not 'I want to protect you.' Shoulder to shoulder. Together. I want to fight alongside you."

Ringo looked at her. At her eyes. There was something inside them. Resolve. Need. Her need to be beside someone.

"Hinata."

"Mm..."

"You said shoulder to shoulder. You've decided."

Hinata nodded. Hard. Once. Yes. A confirmation. I've decided. Not Hyuga Hinata, but Hinata. No Hyuga. No clan heiress. Just one person standing on the training ground, saying, "I want to be by your side."

Ringo did not answer at once. What was there to say? She was telling him she had already decided. She did not need his permission. I will. Was it a declaration?

"Okay."

One word. Okay. He accepted it. I heard you. You're already there.

Hinata smiled. The corner of her mouth relaxed. He accepted it. The stone was still there, but—it rested in her hands now, warm. Its weight let her stand steady.

"Will you come again tomorrow?"

"I will."

Of course. Definitely. Not "Hinata's training," but "our training." Two people. A habit. I want to.

Hinata left. The training ground door closed, and her footsteps grew more distant down the corridor. She was leaving. She had said everything she needed to say. It was enough. Enough for today.

Ringo stood on the training ground, thinking. In his mind—not synthesis formulas. Not the Ice Release Fragment. Her words.

What had been in her eyes as she spoke. A person. Not "Hyuga Hinata," but "Hinata." No Hyuga. No clan heiress. Just one person saying, "I want to be by your side."

He opened the system and looked at his slots. The Ice Release Fragment was gone, transformed into Boil Release. But—it was still there. Within Boil Release. Mist. Golden. Warm.

Haku had said, "Being needed doesn't require a reason." But now Ringo knew that wanting to protect someone did not require a reason either. It was need. He did not want her to be hurt. He did not want her to be alone. As long as she was there, that was enough.

He closed the system. Put it away. "Haku, you said being needed doesn't require a reason. Then wanting to protect someone doesn't require a reason either, right?"

He was asking himself. Confirming it. Right. The answer had been there all along.

Since Training Ground Three. When she stood behind the tree. Watching. She had been there. All along. It was her. Always there.

On the training ground, moonlight. It was evening; the sun had not fully set. Light and darkness met at the boundary. Gray. Warm. Like Boil Release. Like her. Like Training Ground Three.

Standing together.

"See you tomorrow, Hinata."

He said it. To her. She was not there, but—she was. In his heart. See you tomorrow. A certainty. Something natural.