The Girl The Monster Caught!

"Why?" – It's the question directed at Kei as he simply smiled.

"Why… you ask. Why do you throw a rock in the lake?" – Kei responded as his Sharingan stared off into the distance, not focusing at Hinata in the least.

"…What?" – A confused expression appeared on Hinata's face

"Isn't it just something you do without thinking, because you can? Perhaps with far too little thinking as to what it is you are trying to actually achieve, or just… to see what happens. Even if you know exactly what is going to happen, you just have to do it so you can see it, don't you? It's astonishing how a person's curiosity expands to even the most mundane things, regardless of how… fleeting, insignificant… that curiosity is." – Kei spoke as his eyes glistened under the moonlight, filled with curiosity and wonder.

Hinata's eyes widened as she listened to Kei, her body trembling as she looked at him, a tear falling as she spoke.

"…Y-Y-You… you did all this… just to sate your curiosity?!" – She said as Kei turned to finally look at her, his smile gone and in its place a solemn expression took place, his Sharingan burning a gaze in her.

"Hmm… It wasn't anything new so curiosity didn't have much to do with it. If I had to define it… it would be willingness and convenience. Too many mouths in Konoha, especially with the latest additions. Every nook and cranny that required a pair of hands has been filled already, leaving the newcomers with… well, nothing to do. No work, no money, no food, leaving Konoha's streets to be filled with starving people. Our reserves, no matter how large, are only designed for twenty thousand active shinobi, keeping them battle-ready for a year at most. More than 100'000 civilians would deplete them in two, three months at most, not to mention that they are still coming. It would simply be a waste, so I opted for the fastest and most convenient solution… granted, the results were also to our satisfaction so everything worked out in the end."

Hinata's tear-stained face slowly changed as anger filled her up, her chakra flaring as she looked at Kei with determined eyes.

"…You can't get away with it, sooner or later somebody will notice… somebody did notice it. Whether you accept it or not, those people were not items to be disposed of as you wished, and now… you will face what you have done, whether you want to or not. You can't hide it anymore… it is over."

"Ah yes, the little Senju brat. I have to admit though, I didn't expect something this devious from her. It's not anything too complicated but nevertheless, for her, it's quite the step up. …So, you are adamant on your stance? Against me? …You know you don't have to, right? You could simply stay beside me." – A small smile appeared on Kei's face as he extended his hand towards Hinata.

Hinata's eyes trembled for a second as she shook her head fiercely.

"I'm… sorry.'

Suddenly the atmosphere took a sharp turn, the smile on Kei's face drooping, his hands crossing in front of his chest as his Sharingan flared red, glaring at Hinata.

"And do you believe I will simply go quietly into the night? That you'll have a chance in hell of actually defeating me?"

"It's already done, the poison from today's lunch should begin to take effect shortly. Once your chakra is dispersed, you won't be able to hurt anybody… so please give up... please..." – As she spoke, Kei unworriedly started walking towards her, reaching her as she was finishing talking.

Taking her chin in his hand, Kei raised her head to meet his eyes.

"The poison is quite a nice catch, something you picked up from Neji's workplace I would assume. Though since Tsunade can cure it, she would surely know how to cause it as well, not that it makes much difference in the end. Sadly for you, I find myself with an unmeasurable amount of time, time that I rarely waste. Contingency plans upon contingency plans, layers after layers of safety nets to make sure I never fall to a disadvantage. Should even the world explode at this moment, I would still not be caught unprepared. Regardless… it seems our time has come to an unfortunate end… pity, you were a fun little distraction of a thing, pretty too." – Kei commented as he ran his hand through her hair playfully.

As his words fell, Hinata's body suddenly shook, the sorrowful look in her eyes gone and her posture suddenly straightened. Kei smiled as his hand fell to her face, wiping the leftover tears with his thumb as the girl leaned further into his hand.

"Would you look at that Ino?" – Kei spoke, mentioning Ino but still looking at 'Hinata'.

'Hinata's' eyes shuddered at the mention of the name, her name.

"Curiosity killed the cat once again. Well, in this case, Hinata was determined she didn't want to be the pet and forgot that while cats have the luxury of spending nine lives on their curiosity, humans only have a single one. At least her curiosity was satisfied… right, my little cat? Let it be another reminder of what could have happened to you all those years ago. Going around looking into others' minds is dangerous… who knows what monsters lie deep in there." – Kei spoke as the girl shuddered into his hand.

"Now 'Hinata', don't you have a mission to complete?"

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(Ino POV)

His words sent shivers down my spine. It was just one mistake… one terrible mistake. In my curiosity and my effort to impress him, I found a pit of horrors.

My father had seen how the head of the Hyuga had forged his relationship with the Uchiha patriarch, at least that was his only position at the time… but he himself couldn't compare to the backing the Hyuga's could provide, be it political or military.

If they were to be his right arm, we would be his left, or perhaps his shadow if need be. His future as Hokage was already set in stone, even if how fast he obtained it afterward was a shock, so any association with him would be only positive.

He had warned me beforehand, not to try any of our family Jutsu's on an Uchiha, as their eyes allowed them privileges… but I was curious nonetheless. How would it be different, what would I see once inside. We were roughly the same age so it couldn't be dangerous if I was to try it on him.

And so, I found him one day, determined to prove my abilities, using my family's Jutsu on Kei Uchiha… finding myself standing on an endless ocean, a giant red moon that looked like a Sharingan painted the sky red… and once I looked down… I saw bodies right under the water. All of them eyeing me. They reached for me, grabbed me, and pulled me under.

I was tormented countless times, feeling their pain, their regrets, reliving their most painful moments… He tormented me with their memories, their feelings, time after time after time after time, never stopping for far longer than my memory could keep track of. Once I was broken completely, he let me go, only for me to find out that not even a moment had passed when I woke up, when I was free of his mind.

I didn't bother to look at him, running home as fast as I could… and once I told my father, everything crumbled down, like an illusion as I was tortured once again… before being let go of… again, living quietly for a year before I opened my mouth to talk to my father… only for the walls to fall again… and again… and again.

By the time I was broken completely, I couldn't remember how many times it had been… and no matter how repetitive it had gotten, I couldn't grow used to it. The feelings of pain felt new every time. Like it was the first time I was experiencing it... so I begged for him to stop, but this time it was not during torture, so my plea reached his ears and I woke once again… but this time, it was only him, smiling as he looked at me, telling me that as long as I was a good pet, he would allow me to be happy and if I didn't… he would allow them to drag me back down.

I accepted immediately.