White-Eyed Princess (1)

Iwagakure didn't make any major moves after their botched attempt to take back Hikari. The number of unidentified shinobi spotted around the village had also taken a sharp dive.

The Inuzuka shinobi could finally breathe easy after so long.

As she had promised, Tsume kept mum about Kokuo's existence, even to the Third Hokage. No, especially to the Third Hokage.

Nobody could tell what shady mischief he would do if he found out.

When the Third visited the Inuzuka compound for what he called a 'friendly visit', Tsume stuffed Hikari deep inside the compound, thwarting his attempt to meet the girl.

After numerous indirect rejection and cold smile, the old man finally gave up on direct approach.

Lately, Hikari had noticed several people following her around the village whenever she was out doing errands. She had the itch to deal with them, but those stalkers never did anything else other than observing her from afar, so she ultimately decided to let it slide.

Regarding this matter, Tsume had told her,

"It's that geezer's doing. I'm sure of it. Don't worry, the only thing he cares about is keeping the village safe. As long as you don't go berserk or something, he'll just act as if nothing had happened."

The Third wasn't a power-hungry leader. Although he had his suspicion, he also trusted the Inuzuka clan's devotion to the village. If their leader, Tsume, decided to shelter the girl, then he would leave it in her hand, only intervening when it was truly necessary.

This way, he could also feign ignorance in front of Iwagakure and the rest of the Great Five Villages. If they dared to complain, he would give them a piece of his mind!

As the excitement from the incident died down, peace returned to the Inuzuka household. The daily grind continued, with Kiba attending the academy once again a few days after the birthday party.

Just like that, another couple of mundane years passed in the blink of an eye.

Some distance away from Konoha's downtown district, partially hidden by the surrounding tall trees, stood a domed structure.

The stadium. It was a storied venue used for a great many public events. On days without any particular occurrence, however, it was practically an abandoned building.

Four boys laid on top of a grassy hill near the stadium entrance, shielded from the scorching sun by the thick foliage. One stared at the clouds, another munched on his bags of chips, while the rest were looking down the slope toward the path leading to and fro the main street which was filled with the hustle and bustle of a growing city.

They were supposed to be attending class at the moment. And yet, here they are.

"Oi, Naruto... I heard that you flunked the exam? Again?" Kiba asked, breaking the silence.

At the same time, a white-furred puppy popped out from under his coat, turning his attention toward the yellow-haired boy.

"Argh, don't remind me about it!"

The boy called Naruto suddenly got up to his feet, stomping the ground in frustration.

"It's just some stupid clone jutsu! Why can't they just let me pass, huh?! Teacher Iruka is too stuck-up, ya'know!"

"Idiot. It's the most basic of the basic jutsu! If you can't do it, then you're the stupid one," Kiba retorted.

"...Puh!"

He sat back down, crossing his arms while sulking.

"Dude, do you have to take the exam again so soon? Like, why not take it with us next year?" Choji joined the conversation, although his speech was a bit incoherent thanks to all the munching.

"No kidding. He already took it since he's, what, ten? I thought he was just messing around!" Kiba snickered.

When he returned to class after a year of sanctioned leave, Kiba suddenly got the news that a kid had attempted the graduation exam earlier than the recommended age. Early graduation was a big deal, a sign of talent, so the kids were excited when they caught wind of it.

But then, it turned out to be Naruto, that guy who couldn't even do Transformation Technique right after three years of attending the academy...

What did you expect? Of course, he failed miserably.

Problem is, the kid just didn't know what 'giving up' means. It seemed that he had spent the last two years shabbily practicing his jutsu. Yesterday's attempt was his second take of the exam.

Sadly, the result was still the same.

To be fair, this guy here had improved a lot since the first exam. His Transformation Technique and his Body Replacement Technique were already passable, but when it came to Clone Technique...

"Naruto... you and Negi, you guys are brothers, right...?" Kiba murmured.

"Stop bringing him up! He ain't got nothing to do with me!"

Ah, he went back to sulking...

That red-haired kid's case was the exact opposite. He had aced every subject in the academy and was actually capable of finishing the exam early. And yet he'd decided not to, saying that he wanted to graduate together with his younger brother.

While it seemed like a waste of potential, their homeroom teacher, Iruka, had given him his blessing. Thus, he was allowed to be exempt from class until he deemed himself ready to graduate. He just randomly showed up from time to time whenever he felt like it.

"Besides, you guys never tried the exam, right? It's hard, ya'know!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Dad said I don't have to just yet. He said it's better to wait until next year," Choji replied.

"...Too troublesome," Shikamaru responded with his usual line. "But, well, if I have to take it anyway, better to take it together with you guys."

As for Kiba, he was cleaning his ear with his pinky when he casually said, "To tell you the truth... I already give it a try."

His words earned him Choji's and Naruto's bewildered gazes.

""Eh?""

"Teacher Iruka half-forced me to try it out after class. He said I managed to pass them all. Let me tell ya, it's not that hard. It's just basic jutsu after all."

He was saying it nonchalantly, but the slight arrogance hidden underneath was too obvious to not be noticed by the lads.

"S-so, you're already done with the academy?" Naruto frowned.

"You doofus. If I'm done, why am I still here wasting my time with you guys? Mom told me to wait for another year so we can all graduate together. That's why, you still got a year, so you better train so you can pass the exam, you punk!"

"Kibaaa! You're such a good friend, ya'know!"

Naruto leaped toward Kiba, catching him off-guard with a bear hug.

"Damnit, you bastard! The heck are you doing! Let go! What if someone else see-"

By chance, a familiar brown-haired girl was passing by the path leading toward the stadium at that unfortunate moment and caught sight of the four boys. Her gaze was particularly aimed at the scene of Kiba and Naruto engaging in a tight embrace.

The two froze on their spot, while Choji and Shikamaru quickly sidestepped away, not wanting to be falsely associated with them.

"..."

Under Hikari's judgmental stare, Kiba was breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Get. Off. Me!"

Exerting the muscles he had trained for the past years, he forcefully broke the hug and pushed Naruto away from him.

"...You guys are good friends, as always... thank you for taking care of our Kiba," Hikari said as she greeted them one by one with a slight bow.

"Don't worry about it, puppy-stealing girl," Choji and Shikamaru replied at the same time.

"..."

That nickname from way back when had stuck for so long. Was that first impression so hard to scrub off? Should she just smack them in the head and reset their memories?

Kiba let out a coughing fit.

"You... about us skipping from class..."

"I won't tell Lady Tsume, don't worry."

"Great, thanks," Kiba nodded, but then he frowned while pointing at her. "By the way, that thing on your back, what is..."

"Oh, this?"

She glanced at the sack that she was carrying, which was filled to the brim with some nondescript brown substance. The sack was even taller than herself, drawing murmurs from passersby.

"A year's worth of dog food."

"A year..."

Kiba almost puked out blood.

"Why the heck did you buy that much?! Who's going to eat it?!"

"Kuromaru."

"Kuro-"

"Akamaru sometimes eat together as well. They can finish it all in a month."

"Aka..."

Ah, he could literally taste iron in his mouth at the moment.

'Mom... is this the reason why our budget is always in the red?!?'

He felt like he had stepped into a tragic family secret... aargh, he didn't need to know that! Give back his innocence!

"Anyway, I'm going home. You should go back to class."

She nimbly trotted away toward the Inuzuka compound, the sack bobbing up and down along with the rhythm of her steps.

"...Dude, she's freaking strong..." Choji murmured.

"...You got used to it."

Kiba laid back on the grass, suddenly feeling so exhausted.

---

After dropping off the sack of dog food, much to Kuromaru's delight, Hikari set off once more to buy the rest of the things in her shopping list. They had run out of detergent this morning, so she had to grab that too. Maybe get some bleach...

'I don't get it... what's so fun about shopping for detergent?' Kokuo remarked.

'They don't have detergent back in the turbulent era. Actually, I don't think we have it in the Yang Dynasty either. What a shame. If I had these kinds of stuff back in the day, chores would have been a cinch.'

'No, This One isn't talking about that…'

Didn't she say that she was a revered martial arts expert? When did she slip up and turned into a housekeeping extraordinaire? Kokuo failed to comprehend how this kid's brain worked.

"Hm?"

Her steps halted as she caught a rather peculiar sight.

"Venerable One, look over there."

They were taking the path near the stadium again, partly because she wanted to check whether Kiba and friends had gone back to the academy or not.

That inquiry regrettably came back as negative, but that wasn't the problem at the moment.

Hidden behind a tall tree was a young girl with short, dark blue hair. She was wearing a cream-colored hooded jacket and navy blue pants.

The thing that stuck out about her, however, was that pair of white, featureless eyes.

She was continuously fidgeting, sometimes peeking out of the tree to take a glimpse of the four sleeping boys. From time to time, she looked like she wanted to come out and approach them, but she refrained at the last moment, shyly retracting back to her hiding spot.

Watching this absurd scene, Hikari's lips twitched.

'This One thinks that it is, probably, a case of stalking,' Kokuo commented in a flat tone.

'...Should we do something about it?'

'Perhaps. If you're bored enough.'

"..."

Well, fine...

She used Qinggong to lighten her steps, and then took a detour around the girl. When she was right behind her target, she gave the girl a light tap on the shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"F-fuee?!"

The girl tensed up in an instant. She jumped up out of reflex, smacking her face on the tree with a loud thump.

""...""

She promptly fell on her knees, holding her forehead in pain.

"Uuu..."

'What's wrong with her?' Kokuo squinted.

Honestly, Hikari wasn't sure about the answer either.

"Are you alright?" She offered her hands. The girl blinked at her a few times before she shyly accepted the help.

"T-t-thank y-you..." she stuttered out.

"No problem. By the way," Hikari deliberately coughed, "stalking is bad. Please refrain from doing so in the future."

The girl tilted her head with a confused expression. A moment later, realization suddenly kicked in, and her cheeks instantly exploded in a fiery red color.

"I-i-it's not like that! I w-was j-just... j-just... uuu..."

She couldn't find a good explanation for her behavior. If she said that she just wanted to talk with Naruto, but couldn't find the courage to, would that be fine?

Ah, that really sounded like what a stalker would say...

In the end, she didn't know what to do, so she just looked down in shame. Tears began to pool at the edge of her eyes.

'You made a girl cry,' Kokuo snickered.

'...Good grief…'

Hikari sighed. Somehow she had turned into a bully all of a sudden.

She hastily touched the girl's eyes with her fingers, wiping those tears away.

"Don't cry, tears don't suit you."

Hm?

Those words, this feeling… it felt somewhat nostalgic...

The girl trembled when Hikari's fingers brushed on her skin, but then she slowly relaxed. She timidly looked up, allowing the brown-haired girl to finally see her visage in its entirety.

Hikari gulped.

Smooth skin and a lovely face... this girl was indeed beautiful, even at this young age. If she was to grow up a bit more, she would definitely turn into an alluring flower. That shy look only added to her charm.

"Um..."

The girl, as if possessed, caressed Hikari's cheeks, her lips parting slightly to let out a faint murmur.

"Have we... met somewhere before?"