Tears welled up in Hinata's eyes, blurring her vision.
She bit down hard on her trembling lower lip, her slender fingers clutching the corner of the notebook so tightly that the paper crumpled into deep, messy creases.
She tried her best to hold back her sobs, but her thin shoulders still shook helplessly. Only now did she begin to vaguely understand why, in the first simulation, the Hyuga clan had ended up so extreme.
"Father clearly… clearly said…"
The main family, he said, bore the responsibility of protecting and carrying on the Hyuga clan. And it was precisely because the branch family trusted them and sacrificed for them that the Hyuga had survived to this day.
"So… so that was just a lie?"
Hinata's voice trembled. Clear tears rolled down her pale cheeks.
So I'm the fool who managed to lie to herself too?
…
By the time dusk fell, lanterns were already lit along the corridors of the estate.
Hyuga Hiashi finally finished the last internal clan matter on his scroll. He pressed at his furrowed brow and let out a long breath.
A whole day of intense focus left him a little tired, and only after wrapping up his work did he realize he hadn't seen Hinata once all day. He hadn't seen her at lunch or dinner either. Had she gone out to play?
His thoughts drifted back to the dojo that morning—to when he'd said, "Not bad," and Hinata's surprised, almost overwhelmed joy flashed in his mind.
Maybe… maybe he had been a bit too harsh on her all this time.
He stood up and walked outside, calling over a maid who'd been sweeping the corridor. "Where did Hinata go?"
The maid bowed her head respectfully, her voice careful. "Reporting to Hiashi-sama, ever since Hinata-sama returned from morning training, she has kept herself shut in her room and has not come out."
She hasn't come out all day…? Which means she skipped her afternoon training too?
Hiashi's brows tightened at once. He waved the maid away and strode toward his daughter's quarters with a dark expression.
He stopped in front of Hinata's paper sliding door. No light inside, no sound—just a suffocating stillness.
"Hinata."
He spoke, his voice carrying the same gravity of father and clan head as always. But there was no response from within.
Hiashi waited a moment, then forced down his rising impatience and decided to change his approach.
"Open the door. As the heir of the Hyuga main family, shutting yourself in your room all day without eating or drinking—what kind of conduct is that?"
His tone was sterner this time. Still, what answered him was only that dead, unbroken silence.
Hiashi called the maid back. "Are you certain Hinata is in the room?"
The maid replied, "My lord, I am certain the door has not been opened once all day."
Hiashi slowly raised his hand as if to slide the door open by force—but midway through, his palm stopped in the air.
He didn't know how long he stood like that. The anger in his chest slowly deflated, like air leaking from a punctured balloon.
Though they didn't speak much on a daily basis, there was no doubt Hiashi knew his daughter well. Hinata would never lock herself away like this without a reason—especially when he'd praised her that same morning.
He stayed outside the door for a long time, then finally turned to leave, leaving only one instruction behind.
"Take care of the young lady. Keep food and water ready at all times, where she can get them whenever she wants."
"Yes, my lord."
The maid nodded and watched him go.
Hiashi walked all the way to the outer hall and summoned Hinata's assigned guard, Hyuga Homon.
"Where has the young lady been these past two days? Who has she met, what has she heard?"
Homon dropped to one knee. "Last night, the young lady went out alone and was bullied by three boys on the street. In accordance with your orders, I did not intervene and merely observed."
Hiashi suddenly recalled how, during morning practice, Hinata had repeatedly looked for chances to attack him. Could… that change have come from this?
A note of expectation slipped into his voice before he could stop it. "What did she do? Did she fight back?"
But Homon shook his head. "The young lady chose to retreat."
"Retreat… more like run away," Hiashi said, the disappointment clear in his tone. "What happened after that?"
"The three boys chased her relentlessly and cornered her in an alley. One of them put a rock inside a snowball. Just as I was about to step in to prevent her from being hurt, someone moved before I could."
"The one who came was Hyuga Kiyonari from the branch family. He's the same age as the young lady, so I assume he was also out playing and happened to pass by."
As he spoke, Homon paused, the scene from last night flashing through his mind.
"Princess and knight" and all that… probably best not to tell the clan head that part…
He lowered his lids slightly, hiding the guilty flicker in his eyes, and continued evenly, "After driving off the three boys, Hyuga Kiyonari kept Hinata-sama company for a walk through the streets. Later, they went to Ichiraku Ramen for a late-night meal. To avoid disturbing them, I kept some distance, so I couldn't hear what they talked about."
Even with Homon using all the diplomatic phrasing a subordinate could muster, the chill in Hiashi's eyes almost condensed into frost.
Just picturing his daughter finding the courage to throw a punch at him because of some outsider—
Wait.
Hiashi froze, as if something had just clicked in his mind. He quickly asked, "Homon, is there any other child in the clan named Kiyonari?"
"Reporting to the clan head, there is only one."
In the dim, yellow sunlight, Hiashi's features shifted again and again in the interplay of light and shadow. Only when the sun finally sank completely below the horizon did his expression settle into full gloom.
Hyuga Kiyonari… When he'd gone to speak with the Hokage about clan matters at noon, that name had already come up in conversation.
Hiruzen had stroked his pipe, openly praising the boy, even giving him a serious reminder: "Hiashi, you must protect this child. If Danzo comes to ask for him, you absolutely must not hand him over. When he's old enough, send him to the Academy."
Hiashi didn't know why, but since it was the Hokage's personal request, he'd naturally intended to comply. He had originally planned to finish his duties and then seek out this child to ask about the situation. Who could have guessed… the brat would walk right into his life on his own!
And right now, he couldn't even touch him—even if that little brat had just stolen away the cabbage he'd been carefully raising!
Damn it.
"What kind of character and talent does that boy have?"
Homon, still bowing his head, never noticed the storm of emotions passing over Hiashi's face. He simply answered honestly, "He is of good character. As for talent, it's not clear yet. His parents died, and he has not formally trained in Gentle Fist. He is only consciously exercising and working on basic conditioning."
Hiashi pondered for a moment, then finally made his decision.
"In that case, we won't interfere for now. Increase his monthly living allowance a little. Tell him it's…"
"…from the Hokage."
~~~
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