Chapter 234: Feed Me Peanuts! Feed Me Peanuts!
Always. Always. Always...
I've always just run away.
Pure white eyes stared in alarm at the girl before her, whose expression was one of genuine confusion. Hinata wanted to flee.
She couldn't believe she'd actually said something so unforgivable to this girl.
"Something other people are desperately trying so hard to get — you got it effortlessly, without lifting a finger..."
"And you're still troubled by it, even so."
"Isn't this a winner gloating over the loser?"
Hinata couldn't believe those words had come out of her own mouth.
Because — because—
Sakura had helped Naruto. She should be grateful to her. If not for Sakura, Naruto would have suffered so much more...
But back then — back then, where had she been?
Cowering. Afraid. Running away.
If she'd genuinely loved Naruto, why hadn't she stepped forward back then, stood by his side, faced those cruel rumors together with him?
She'd been afraid.
Afraid those people would turn their hostility on her too.
Afraid that by helping Naruto, she'd have become a target for the same cruelty herself.
Someone like that — how could she possibly describe herself as having "tried desperately"?
She was a coward. Nothing more.
And now, this same coward had turned her resentment against the very girl who'd actually helped him.
"Sakura..."
Clear tears spilled from those pure white eyes.
Even eyes born with an ability far beyond the ordinary shed tears no different from anyone else's, in the end.
"H-Hinata..."
"Why are you crying...?"
Sakura fumbled, flustered, carefully wiping the tears from the girl's face.
She didn't understand it — Hinata had been fine just a moment ago. Why the sudden tears?
She'd only pushed back because Hinata had turned her accusation on her so suddenly. It had been pure instinct — that was simply Sakura's nature.
Someone annoys me, I push back.
But watching the girl before her now, crying so pitifully, every trace of Sakura's earlier irritation dissolved instantly.
A woman's tears really were the ultimate weapon against anyone — even Sakura couldn't escape that particular law of nature.
Especially from someone as gentle as Hinata.
"I'm sorry..."
Tears fell like a broken string of pearls, one after another down Hinata's cheeks. Her choked, trembling voice made Sakura's scalp prickle.
Me — Konoha's Fifth Hokage — dragging some poor little sister out to a deserted lakeside in the middle of the night and successfully making her cry?
Even while comforting Hinata, this bizarre thought inexplicably surfaced in Sakura's mind.
"It's okay. Don't cry. If you genuinely like Naruto that much..."
"We can figure something out together..."
Sakura gently dabbed at Hinata's tear-streaked face with the edge of her Hokage sleeve, her voice soft and warm as she stroked the girl's dark hair.
"Sakura..."
That was just how people were. Faced with sorrow alone, most would retreat into some corner, quietly nursing the wound in silence.
But if someone else was there — offering gentle, comforting words — the defenses one had built up would inevitably crumble in an instant.
Hearing the pink-haired girl's soft, soothing voice, Hinata could no longer hold back. Her quiet weeping broke into full sobs, and she threw herself into Sakura's arms, clinging tightly, tears soaking straight through Pinky's collar.
Feeling Hinata's trembling sobs against her, Sakura gently patted her back, murmuring soft reassurances.
Time passed, minute by minute. The night breeze drifted across the lake's surface, stirring gentle ripples.
Sakura and Hinata's reflections wavered together on the water, rocking, rocking...
Eventually, Hinata's uncontrollable sobbing finally subsided, and she lifted her head to look at Sakura, so close beside her.
A pair of swollen, red-rimmed white eyes met Sakura's own — pitiable, in a way that stirred genuine sympathy.
"Sakura..."
"You're really gentle..."
At Hinata's words, Sakura's expression softened slightly. She reached out and gently wiped away the last traces of tears from Hinata's face, speaking warmly:
"That's because Hinata is really sweet too..."
Feeling that gentle touch against her cheek, Hinata's face flushed a deeper shade of red. She lowered her head once more, gently pulling herself back from Sakura's embrace.
"What happened today — that was my fault..."
"From now on — from now on..."
Hinata kept her head down, unable to find the words.
"From now on, I'll make sure Naruto turns around and actually looks."
"I'll make sure he sees the girl who's been quietly watching him this whole time."
A hand settled gently atop Hinata's head, and her blush deepened further still.
"...Mm."
A tiny, near-inaudible hum was all the response Hinata could manage.
"So — want me to walk you home?"
"After all, if you show up looking like this, Lord Hiashi might get the wrong idea."
Sakura kept talking.
Hinata had wanted to decline, but thinking about how she'd been crying in Sakura's arms for so long — she was probably an absolute mess right now, tear-streaked and disheveled.
If her father saw her looking like this, he really might misunderstand.
"Then... I'll have to trouble you, Sakura..."
Hinata found herself unable to meet the other girl's eyes directly.
Looking at the girl before her, eyes still glistening, Sakura reached out and gently pinched Hinata's flushed cheek. Hinata offered no resistance whatsoever to this "intrusion," simply keeping her head bowed, her normally pale, delicate ears now tinged crimson.
Watching Hinata's obedient demeanor, Sakura smiled — but felt a quiet sigh rise within her.
A girl like this really wasn't suited to this chaotic shinobi world.
Still, it didn't matter much.
She had herself. And Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and the rest of them.
Sakura would, together with her companions, build a safe and stable life for people like Hinata.
Not out of any grand savior complex — just something worth doing along the way, when the opportunity presented itself.
The pink-haired girl and the white-eyed girl walked side by side through Konoha's increasingly quiet streets, vendors on either side gradually closing up shop, wrapping up another day's labor.
Hinata walked half a step behind Sakura, the two occasionally exchanging a word — though mostly it was Sakura asking and Hinata answering.
Already naturally reserved, and after everything that had just happened — though the overall outcome had turned out well enough — Hinata still found it difficult to face Sakura directly.
And yet her hand had somehow found its way, unconsciously, to grip Sakura's own.
The Hyūga compound sat near the heart of Konoha, in one of the village's most prosperous districts. Before long, Sakura and Hinata arrived at its gates.
Looking at the expansive grounds of the Hyūga estate, Sakura's thoughts inevitably drifted off-track.
A plot of land this size — once the relocation reaches here, the Hyūga clan's going to get a serious compensation payout...
"S-Sakura, I'm here..."
Hinata looked at the girl beside her, a little embarrassed.
"HINATA!"
"You're coming home THIS late, in the middle of the NIGHT?!"
Before Sakura could even respond, a deep, resonant voice boomed from the Hyūga gate.
Hyūga Hiashi.
Hinata's father.
"F-Father."
Hinata, startled at her father's sudden appearance, released Sakura's hand in an instant, like a rabbit bolting from danger.
Only then did Hiashi notice the second figure standing in the shadows of the night.
"Lady Fifth?"
His expression sharpened, and he offered Sakura a brief bow.
"It's nothing. I happened to run into Hinata while eating dinner. Hadn't seen her in a while, so we caught up a bit."
"Surely Lord Hiashi doesn't mind?"
Sakura waved a hand dismissively.
"Of course not. It's an honor for my daughter to spend time with Lady Fifth."
Hiashi wasn't about to show any disrespect toward this young Hokage simply because of her age.
In truth, even if a dog had somehow taken the Hokage's seat, the Hyūga clan would have treated it with the utmost seriousness.
Because this concerned the very survival of their entire clan. Their loyalty was to the office of Hokage itself — not to whoever happened to occupy it. They just wanted to be married to the mayor's office; who the mayor was mattered far less.
Hiashi's gaze instinctively fell on his daughter — and the moment it did, his usual composure cracked instantly.
What in the world happened to his daughter?!
Her face streaked with tear tracks. Her eyes red and swollen.
Unmistakable signs of crying.
His fists clenched involuntarily.
Those pure white eyes settled on the Fifth Hokage before him.
He'd heard rumors — this Hokage had no interest in men, and despite having reached marriageable age, showed not the slightest inclination in that direction. Always surrounded by the Yamanaka heiress, an Uchiha girl, that Uzumaki girl...
Hiashi had once, quite by chance, overheard Lady Yamanaka complaining that her own daughter couldn't tear her eyes away from the Hokage day after day — and combined with what he knew of this Hokage, Lady Yamanaka had seriously begun to suspect something about the Hokage's romantic inclinations.
Lately, Lady Yamanaka had been feverishly hunting for a son-in-law prospect...
"Might I ask, Lady Fifth — what exactly is going on with my daughter?"
Hiashi gestured at Hinata, forcing down the rising heat in his chest.
If his suspicions turned out to be correct, he'd fight to his dying breath to seek justice for his daughter!
"Uh, well, you see..."
Looking at Hinata beside her — still tear-streaked, pitifully delicate, genuinely heart-wrenching to behold — Sakura froze for a moment, wanting to explain that Hinata had cried on her own accord, nothing to do with her.
But on second thought — the dead of night, two girls alone together.
One of them powerful, influential, forceful in personality, and formidable in strength.
The other gentle, easily pushed around by anyone, and possessing both a stunning figure and lovely face.
Either I've been bullying her, or...
Sakura suddenly realized she'd stepped straight into a trap.
There's genuinely no good way to explain this...
"This—!"
"This has NOTHING to do with Sakura!"
"I cried on my own!"
Hinata, at that exact moment, suddenly stepped in front of Sakura, blocking her father's probing gaze.
Sakura: ...
Wait — little sister, I feel like you just made this worse.
And sure enough — better if Hinata had stayed quiet. The moment she spoke up, Hiashi's already-darkening expression turned darker still.
"Get INSIDE, young lady!"
Without another word of explanation, Hiashi seized his daughter's wrist and forcibly hauled her back through the gate.
Hinata, utterly bewildered as to why this was happening, was dragged away, tear tracks still visible on her face.
"Lady Hokage."
Hiashi stood beneath the Hyūga estate's eaves, turning back to regard the young Hokage. Moonlight fell clean and bright across the immaculate courtyard, but the shadow of the eaves cast half of Hiashi's body in darkness.
"My daughter has always been gentle and delicate by nature — unable to withstand your... attentions. And she is, moreover, the heir to the Hyūga clan. I ask that you spare her."
SLAM!
With a resounding crash, the Hyūga gate shut heavily, leaving Sakura standing alone in the night wind, thoroughly disheveled.
Huh?
Wait — no!
Has this man completely misunderstood the situation?!
Sakura blinked, dumbfounded, in the cold night air.
I think... my reputation just took a small, unfortunate hit...
FEED ME PEANUTS!
FEED ME PEANUTS!
Damn it! I am a leftover fighter! A LEFTOVER FIGHTER!
Keep this up and I'm about to unleash my inner cosmos!
But no amount of impotent rage would fix anything right now. Sakura had no choice but to trudge away from the Hyūga estate with a thoroughly sour expression.
Unbelievable!
I'm a warm-hearted, upstanding, kind-natured person who went out of her way in the middle of the night to walk a poor, fragile, freshly-crying girl home — and I get accused of having ULTERIOR MOTIVES?! There is NO justice in this world!
At the thought, Sakura couldn't help clawing at the empty air a few times on the deserted street.
Hm?
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she caught a glimpse of a figure...
Surely not...
A cold sweat trickled down her temple.
If a villager saw their Hokage having a full meltdown alone in the middle of the night, it'd probably become village gossip for the rest of eternity...
This...
Should I...
A flash of malice flickered through her emerald eyes.
"Who's there?!"
A faint whistling sound cut through the silent night, a small pebble materializing in Sakura's hand before rocketing toward the figure at blinding speed!
CRACK!
Accompanied by the sound of splitting stone, the figure froze in place, staring in terror at the wall beside them.
A pebble no bigger than a knuckle had shattered a brick clean off the wall, embedding itself deep inside.
If that had hit a person instead... they'd probably be dead on the spot...
But before the figure could bolt, the pink-haired girl had already closed the distance, appearing directly in front of them!
"You. What exactly did you just see?"
"Following me around in the middle of the night — are you tired of living?"
"Hm?"
Sakura grabbed the figure by the collar and yanked them out of the shadow against the wall — and what she saw made her freeze for a moment.
Brilliant golden hair tied into twin tails. A pair of shimmering, sapphire-blue eyes. Delicate, adorable features. Six whisker-like marks on each cheek — marks that, rather than looking out of place, somehow lent the girl a subtle, alluring charm. And what should have been a plain, unremarkable orange tracksuit somehow carried a distinctly bewitching quality on her frame.
"Ahh, um..."
The golden-twin-tailed girl, caught by the collar, wore an expression of pure innocence, as though on the verge of tears.
"I — I — I didn't mean to..."
"L-Lady Hokage..."
☆☆☆
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