Chapter 15 C15
When Kana returned home, she was surprised to find Neji still there.
wrong.
She glanced back at the child's shoes in the entryway; they were facing a different direction than when she had left. It was more likely they had gone out and then run back.
"Little one, what are you still doing here?" It's already dinnertime.
Kana casually placed the rice balls she had bought on the table—that's right, this fickle woman changed her mind halfway through and gave the meat slices to a stray dog with a broken leg by the roadside.
Neji, who had been burying his head in his arms, looked up, and Kana's eyes flashed. "What's going on?"
Using two fingers to pinch his chin, I turned his right cheek to the side. The child's skin was delicate, and it had already started to swell and turn red.
It was Hyuga Hizashi who did it.
People from the main family arrived, bringing Hinata Hyuga with them.
When Neji saw his little sister shyly hiding behind the adults, he whispered to his father, "She's so cute. I want to protect her when I grow up." This prompted Hizashi, who was furious, to slap him across the face.
Kana placed her hand on his right cheek, her chakra surging to power the medical ninjutsu she was performing. Her hand, which had become icy from the cold wind, served as an ice pack.
“Little one,” he said, his face was only slightly injured and had fully healed, “nobody thinks she’s your sister. They just expect you to call her ‘Hinata-sama.’”
Neji looked confused. "Is this something I'll understand when I grow up?"
“No.” Kana looked at the calendar hanging on the wall, where only a few thin pages had been torn off. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
Kana stood up. "Let's go. I'll take you home. I'll have your father apologize to you."
The child, who blindly idolized his father, began to whine, "But Daddy is an adult..."
"Adults make mistakes too," Kana said calmly. "If you do something wrong, you should apologize."
Kana escorted Neji home, and as soon as they reached the courtyard, Yuko rushed over and hugged her tightly. Yuko's eyes were already slightly swollen from crying, but tears still streamed down her face as she kept saying, "I'm sorry, Kana, I'm so sorry..."
What's going on?
Kana struggled for a moment and pulled away from Yuko's embrace. She turned her head to look at Hyuga Hizashi beside her, but he avoided her questioning gaze. She noticed that the wooden stake behind him, which had always been used as a training tool for taijutsu, was broken. It seemed to have been kicked in half by someone who was extremely angry. The broken edge was jagged and would bleed if touched.
Kana quickly found out the reason.
Because inscribing the curse carries a risk of death, the main family feared it would be unlucky for them to die on Hinata's birthday, so they decided to postpone the date of the curse by one day. The group of main family members that Neji met this afternoon came to inform them of this.
December 28th
—It just so happens to be her birthday.
Compared to Yuko, who was overwhelmed with grief, and Hiizashi, who was angry but powerless, the person in question remained calm. She asked the system, "Can't I really kill them? After observing them for several years, they're just a bunch of weaklings. I think I can do it if I try."
The system pleaded earnestly, "You can't!!!"
When this date was chosen, the main family may not have known, or they may have known but didn't care.
However, in their eyes, Hizashi's angry act of flipping the table and passionately scolding was a challenge to the authority of the main family, so it became something that had to be done.
Kana's submissive nature became her only redeeming quality besides her face, which pleased the main family.
On the morning of December 28, the main family sent people to pick up the two cursed individuals, only to find that Hyuga Kana, who had been deemed "not worth paying much attention to" due to her "acceptance of fate," was missing.
According to the main family's conspiracy theory, Kana, who had already defected from the village and fled, had not actually gone far.
Please, she knows how much those eyes cost in other ninja villages. Plus, her defection has essentially turned all the ninja villages into enemies. At least with her current strength, she can't withstand this level of wanted status.
She simply went to keep her appointment—breaking one's word is a grave taboo.
With Itachi's permission, Kana opened the box in her hand. It was a beaded necklace. The amethyst in the center refracted a dazzling halo in the sunlight. Kana adjusted the angle and shook it, and the rainbow fell on his cheek like a beautiful flower.
She held it up to her neck and asked, "Isn't the length a bit off? How am I supposed to wear this?"
It's not actually a necklace.
Itachi took the beaded chain from her hand. Today, instead of wearing a high ponytail, she had gathered all her long hair back and tied it into a fishtail braid. He told Kana to sit still and recalled the technique his boss had demonstrated. With the Sharingan's excellent copying ability, he perfectly fastened the thin chain into her dark hair. The teardrop-shaped crystal hanging on her forehead just covered the small scar.
The gift I originally intended to give wasn't the beaded necklace. A ninja's food, clothing, shelter, and transportation all serve the mission; material possessions are all illusory, and romance is a luxury.
But when they went on a mission to the Land of Crystal, the girl, who was also a member of Team 5, patted her chest and swore on her dignity as a woman that the other party would definitely like her—Uchiha Itachi, put down that short sword you're holding!
Itachi didn't think Kana would care about these things, but whenever he met her, he would always find himself looking at the scar on her forehead, constantly reminding her of the injury he had left on her.
When she put on the beaded necklace, even Itachi had to admire his classmate's taste—it really suited her.
The boy handed her the dagger as well—the one between her and her had chipped during practice—and gave her a gentle smile: “Birthday present. Happy birthday, Kana.”
"This is so boring," Kana thought. "This world is just too boring."
In her original world, she had endless cases to handle, difficult clients to deal with, places she wanted to travel to, favorite authors and books, hobbies like playing the flute and piano, surfing and diving she wanted to try, and business partners who weren't exactly friends but shared similar interests. Her life was so full that she never had a chance to be bored.
There was nothing here, she could do nothing, and she wasn't anyone's priority, so she felt a long-lost loneliness—a fear ingrained in the bones of human beings, social animals.
“Uchiha Itachi,” she said slowly, “do you still stand by what you said before?”
I've always felt that if you can't do it, don't easily say things like "let's be friends." That's a very cruel lie.
--I see.
—So, Kana, can I be your friend?
"Always counts."
"Friends" are given priority over "partners" who are ranked lower.
Kana thought, "Humans really are very weak."
Even though they are already dead, and will only stay here for a very short time, they still can't help but crave something ethereal and intangible.
“Alright.” Kana stood up. “As a friend, I have a request—please give it your all and have a match with me!”
It sounds so familiar, really familiar.
It seems that someone once said something similar when inviting him to be their partner.
Unlike before, they are now friends.
There is no reason to refuse this request.
When I opened my eyes again, dark spots were spinning wildly in my blood-red pupils, and veins began to appear around my sclera.
"It's about to start."
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