Chapter 10 C10
Kana knew her luck wasn't great, otherwise she wouldn't have been dragged into working by the system when there were only five people left in front of her.
She deliberately took a different route to avoid Hyuga Hizashi's house when she returned to her clan's territory to avoid accidentally running into them, but who would have thought that Hyuga Yuko would make hagi mochi and come straight to their door today?
Yuko held one-year-old Hyuga Neji's hand in one hand and Hagimochi in the other. The moment the door opened, they looked at each other in surprise.
The small bamboo basket containing hagi mochi was overturned on the ground, gurgling and getting covered in dust.
Yuko practically stumbled over and knelt before her, her hand hesitantly reaching out to touch Hinata's face before pulling back to cover her mouth, her voice trembling: "Why? Hinata-sama isn't even three years old yet... it's not time... how can it be so early?"
ah?
Kana touched the bandage wrapped around her forehead and realized that she must have misunderstood.
"No..." Kana was about to explain when her eyes suddenly widened.
—Yuko pulled her tightly into her arms.
Kana: Help, help me, I'm suffocating.
A sense of rejection crept through her body. Kana reached out to push her away, but hesitated when she touched her trembling shoulder. Instead, she gently patted her back.
Pushing her away might make things worse. Let her have ten seconds to calm down, Kana thought. Just ten seconds.
Children can't really understand what's going on. Hyuga Neji, imitating his mother, also wobbled up the threshold of the entrance and reached out his arms to hug her.
Kana, who dislikes physical contact, rolled her dead fish eyes: I've really had enough today.
Kana and Yuko met more than a year ago because of their first decomposition mission.
Kana was woken up from her sleep by the system and immediately issued a warning about hiring child laborers.
While getting dressed, he asked, "I wasn't in the original story, but Hyuga Neji still survived until the Fourth Shinobi World War. Logically speaking, even if I don't get involved now, they'll be fine, right?"
However, in the end, she still went out in the middle of the night to find a midwife for Yuko, who was alone at home and suddenly went into labor.
I should also add here that Hyuga Hizashi, who took on a mission and left when his wife was about to give birth, is a scoundrel.
The head of the family who insisted on sending his wife on a mission even when she was about to give birth was Daisuke.
While grateful, Yuko naturally asked why she knew such a thing.
Without even blinking, Kana blurted out, "In my dream, a little brother kept calling out to me, begging me to save him."
System: "This is ridiculous."
Kana: "It doesn't matter."
Even if Yuko has suspicions about saving her and her child, she won't do anything to me if I do.
Because no matter the reason, it was a life-saving grace.
As Kana predicted, Yuko seemed to accept the reason and stopped asking questions. But trouble arose—Yuko used Yuko's flimsy excuse to prove that she and Neji were destined to be together, and planned to adopt her.
Kana: I refuse.
Did you hear me? I refuse!!!
It's useless.
Hizashi Hyuga, feeling guilty and wanting to make amends after returning from his mission, told his wife that he should do everything he could to get her whatever she wanted as soon as possible.
Yuko felt sorry that such a young child needed to be taken care of, and that her parents had died. Hizashi needed to use this kind of "charity" to help his wife alleviate her feelings of gratitude that had nowhere to go. The other people in the clan felt that she was an orphan with no parents and, based on their observations, had no talent or effort. Hizashi could just take her if he wanted her, and it would also give the head of the clan face.
Without consulting her, the adults held a meeting and transferred her household registration to the Hyuga Hizashi family, making her their adopted daughter—like something worthless in the pawnshop, not even needing to haggle over a price.
Kana: Speechless.
Adults are always quick when it comes to doing annoying things.
In less than a day, they packed up her bedding and took her to her new home.
There are other people under the same roof, which makes it difficult for Kana to practice all night because Yuko is in the process of breastfeeding and will come to check on her before bedtime to tuck her in.
After receiving her first reward, what she did most was sit in front of the full-length mirror every night, with her Byakugan activated, practicing hand seals one by one to control the flow of chakra within her body.
It is said that strictly controlling the tone and syllables when chanting incantations can help the magic power within the body be released correctly, but some people can use a silent wand. Therefore, it can be inferred that hand seals are essentially just to guide the correct flow of chakra within the body, and are not necessary. Haven't you seen how experts, when releasing fire release techniques, whether it's Phoenix Flower Fire or Great Fireball, just use a single "Tiger" hand seal and that's it?
But to outsiders who don't know the situation, this scene is very strange, and they would only think that she is crazy for staring so intently at the mirror.
For the sake of others, and for her own sake, Kana chose to sneak back to the now-empty old house after lights out at night to practice.
That night, I made some progress in practicing the Shadow Clone Technique without hand seals, but the price was exhaustion, since I was still only in the body of a four-year-old child.
Yuko was worried that her daughter wouldn't like sleeping in the same bed, so she thoughtfully moved the entire bed over there.
Kana had no choice but to dig out a relatively clean old garment belonging to her deceased mother and make do with it on a futon in the small memorial room where her parents' portraits were displayed. She had only intended to catch a nap and then sneak back, pretending nothing had happened, but she accidentally fell into a deep sleep.
When Hizashi, who discovered Kana was missing in the middle of the night, found her, this was the scene he saw—
The girl was wrapped in a large, adult-sized kimono, as if to ensure she could smell a familiar scent. The fabric was pulled up until it covered the lower half of her face. She looked like an abandoned kitten, curled up in a small ball on the futon in a posture of insecurity. Moonlight filtered through the thin window paper, fragmented into square pieces by the shadow of the window frame, like a broken mirror that could never be restored, reflecting a pale light that fell on her face.
Her head rested against the table leg, on which lay black and white photographs of her deceased parents, whose similar features, inherited from blood, could be vaguely discerned.
As he stared at the two photographs, he inevitably recalled some past events. He sighed, bent down, and paused just as he was about to reach out to hug her, instead taking off his outer robe and putting his clothes on.
The original plan was to find her and take her back immediately...
He created a clone to go back and send a message to his wife, while he sat beside the sleeping girl and waited until dawn.
After waking up from a nap, Kana was told by Hizashi that they no longer required her to live with them.
“But I hope you can come and talk to Yuko. At least once a month.” Hizashi held up one finger.
He crouched down and looked at her. "I know you can't accept it yet, but I hope that one day, Yuko, Neji, and I can become your family."
End of recollection —
Kana explained that she had bandages on her head because she accidentally fell while practicing at school.
—Instead of being captured by the main family and prematurely inscribed with a curse, as she feared. However, there was no need to say this aloud; it was a wound in the hearts of every branch family member that would never heal, bleeding year after year.
Yuko finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, because of this injury, Yuko had serious doubts about her statement that she "could take care of herself" and strongly suggested that she stay at their house temporarily while she was recovering.
The system was really excited. It was so convenient to get close to the task target and increase her favorability. Although it really wanted to encourage her to agree, it was as quiet as a chicken because it had just been selected.
Kana: "No."
"If you're not careful, a scar on your head won't look good."
Kana didn't care. "Anyway, no one will notice." The wound was only that small; even if it left a mark, it would be very shallow.
When Yuko heard this as she reached to touch her forehead, she was suddenly gripped by a nightmare. Her fingertips trembled with fear, and she involuntarily touched her own forehead, which was bandaged, murmuring, "Yes, no one will see..."
Unexpectedly, Yuko was unusually insistent this time, and instead of going along with her, she made her demands very firmly.
Recalling what she overheard in conversation with others this morning—"That child has always been a loner, she doesn't have any friends"—and the reminder from this injury, Yuko realized she couldn't let Kana continue to be so willful.
She didn't want to, and couldn't, let Kana live alone.
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