Naruto : Monsters

Then once she was done we'd make our way down the hill together before splitting up and heading our separate ways once we were back in the streets of Konoha.

Yeah, it was the last part that I always had trouble with.

...

It wasn't like I couldn't understand the need for space sometimes but I didn't like the idea of leaving her alone. Especially this time of year. The brat always acted a bit strange after visiting her mother's grave, almost standoffish, and wanted to spend time alone afterwards. 

And while I didn't understand why I always respected her wishes and gave her some space. Which is why she would spend the night without me in her apartment while I head back to the compound.

As worried as I was about her spending the night alone, I knew she'd be safe. She still had a guard watching over her, a bird-masked Anbu that replaced Kakashi, so intellectually at least I knew that I had nothing to worry about.

Still didn't stop me from worrying.

I had a feeling that I'd spend most of the night waking up and checking up on her with my Byakugan, just a quick peek from time to time to make sure she was okay.

Have I mentioned how much I loved these eyes?

And sure, while some people might call it an invasion of privacy for me to use the Byakugan to check on my blonde friend, I would like to point out that this was the same girl who, at the age of six, had splatters of her own blood staining the ceiling of her apartment. She hadn't even realised that it was anything strange either. God knows how much trouble she could get into at twelve.

So for her sake, along with everyone around her that she may inadvertently traumatize, I was going to make sure to periodically check up on her once I got home.

Anyway, I had originally planned to head straight home after parting ways from Naruto, maybe even sneak into the kitchen to see if I could find any leftovers to eat before bed. But as I was walking down the street home I heard the sound of a koto playing, drifting through the air of the silent street. And it was such a beautiful melancholic melody that I found myself curious to its source.

When I realised that melody was coming for this restaurant it suddenly hit me, I was starving.

Maybe it was the smell that triggered it but I couldn't understand how I failed to notice how hungry I was sooner. I hadn't had a bite to eat since breakfast, and that must have been a good fourteen hours at least, so it was hardly surprising that my stomach was threatening to eat my own liver in protest. Hell, it was more surprising that my stomach hadn't been growling like a lion even earlier.

Which is why I was stuffing my face like there was no tomorrow. I mean sure, gyudon wasn't anything like the five-star meals I could get the chief back at the compound to prepare, it was barely a step above fast food really, but sometimes it was the simple comfort food that was the best thing to eat when you were famished. And I was going to enjoy every last bite-

The bowl shot out of my hands when an elbow slammed into it, sending it flying over the counter and tumbling to the ground.

Time appeared to freeze as I was forced to watch, helplessly, unable to move, as the beef bowl tumbled end over end in the air. My eyes caught the entire event with infinite detail, the strips of meat being tossed out in all directions while the grains of rice trialled after the bowl, spilling down like water.

It was like watching a car crash, everything appeared to move painfully slow motion.

I tried to move, tried to force my hands to reach out and save it, but my body would not respond. My hands sat still in mid-air, pointlessly holding the chopsticks between their fingers, unwilling to obey my frantic commands to reach out and grab the food. It felt as I was frozen in ice, helpless to do anything more than watch as my delicious bowl of food tumbled closer and close to the ground until-

*crash*

Roars of boisterous laughter erupted from right, the group of drunken men doubling over as they howled in amusement over some joke, completely oblivious and unaware of the crime one of their own had just committed.

I stared down at the broken bowl of gyudon, it's contents splattered over the wooden floor, with a look of utter despair, feeling my heart breaking at its loss. For a few seconds I just sat there unmoving, just staring in disbelief at my lost meal as I felt a part of my soul mourn at its loss, that is until another round of laughter erupted and I felt my despair turn into a scalding hot rage-fueled with righteous fury.

A great evil had been committed this night, and someone will pay for it, dearly.

"Alright! That's it!" My hands smashed on the countertop as I stood and glared at the perpetrator, the drunkard on my right who still was facing away from me. "You, me, outside! Right now!"

"Oh?" The man didn't even bother turning around to face me, he just glanced over his left shoulder, swaying slightly. His cheeks were flushed red while his brown eye appeared to have trouble focusing as it landed on my face. His eye then shifted towards the floor and widened when he caught sight of his crime. "Oh! Did I do that? Sorry, sorry, kiddo, didn't mean to."

"It matters not your intentions fiend, only your actions." My voice was cold and formal, a stark contrast to the boiling rage that I felt filling my veins, my mind racing with possible locations I could stash the body once I was through with him. "And you have committed a grave sin this evening, one that can only be repaid with your blood."

"Hahaha, don't make such a scary face kiddo, you're beginning to look like my wife. Hahaha." The madman, for I had no doubt he must have been one to not realise that he was about to die, had the audacity to laugh at me. Well, we will see if he will continue laughing once I smashed in his kneecaps. "It's my bad, so here, let me make it up to you."

The drunkard raised his left arm in the air to signal the waiter, his other arm covered and tucked under his jacket, and once he caught the waiter's eyes he held up a single finger. "One more bowl for the kid here, put it on my tab. You know what, better make it two, the kid's too skinny, looks like he could use the extra meat on his bones."

When the waiter nodded his understanding the man glanced back over his shoulder at me, still not bothering to turn and fully face my way. "There, sorry about that but this should make things right. So forgive this old man, alright kiddo?"

I tried to continue to glare imperiously at the older man but I was betrayed by my own body, as my stomach chose that precise moment to rumble loudly at the promise of so much food. For some reason, I actually felt even hungrier now than I had when I walked in, probably because my meal had been interrupted before I was anywhere near finished.

The old man and his friends must have heard my stomach rumble, how could they not when it sounded like a beached dying whale, and they burst into peals of laughter. I could feel myself blushing at their response, my cheeks turning warm, but after shooting them a quick glare, I turned away and returned to my stool, ignoring them as I waited for my meal to arrive in peace.

Naturally, I was denied even that small comfort, I had barely sat myself back down when the old man began speaking again.

"Ho~~, what' this? Kiddo, you're a Hyuuga ain't you?" He stared into my eyes from over his shoulder before he turned back to his friends. "Hey fellas, lookie here. We got a real live Hyuuga with us."

"What do you want?" I groused, feeling too fed up with dealing with the drunkard to bother conjuring any real heat in my voice.

If there was one major downside to being a Hyuuga compared to any other Clan in the village, it was that anyone could tell you were one with a glance. Other ninjas could have blended in with a crowd if they chose to, even the Uchiha had the option of deactivating their Sharingan, at least when there were still any left in the village anyway. But we Hyuuga didn't have that option, even in its inactive state our eyes were unnatural enough that we stood out of any crowd.

"Ah, now don't be like that." He waved lazily at me with his left hand, his right still tucked into his coat. "We just have a question we wanted you to settle for us, that's all." He spun in his seat so that he now faced the counter instead of toward his friends, and almost ended up losing his balance for his effort. The man actually had to latch onto the counter with his hand to stop himself from toppling over.

His change of position did, however, grant me a better look of his face and I noticed for the first time the oddly shaped scar he had on his chin. "See, earlier me and the boys were talking about genjutsu and how it works. So with you being a shinobi and all, you could answer a few things about it for us."

"Actually I can't," I replied curtly, hoping that the annoying man would take the hint and leave me alone. "Hyuugas can't use genjutsu."

...

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