The next morning arrived, and the sun showed itself once more.
At the peaceful look of the village, only those in major charges could know the storm that germinated in its depths.
Guards were on their duty before everyone else woke up, they were from different clans in their respective areas but most of them were from the Uchiha clan.
Since the new clan leader took measures, the resentment of the villagers slowly disappeared as the disruptive forces has to be hidden so as not to suffer reprisals.
But there were some of those who didn't let being intimidated, and stay the same as always. Those were the Hyuka-clan, and the three clans from the heads of the village advisors, although the advisors' clans tried to avoid the conflicts since it has already passed almost a year and the only news they had from the Hokage was his voice.
No one else has seen him in months.
People from the village and travelers had conjectures but every time they began to talk about that, in just a few days the topic changed and no one else talked about that.
It continued being like that for months, but the clans didn't comment; and with the perfect example of not changing in ages, the Hyuga-clan, others didn't want to risk.
The only major change that clan had was the increment of guards and the increasing protection(24/7) to every member of the main clan.
Hinata was in that list, but unlike others she could go outside just because she was with Maito Gai.
No one could go over him.
As the people begin to wake up, they continue their routine.
In the building where the clan leader lives, they wake up earlier than others.
Hinata was already dressed and was waiting in the dining room. Her expression remained flat as she didn't care about anything.
Her blue dark hair has grown in the last year and it fell on her back, scattered but not unsightly. Although she didn't care about that, she still looked cute, as a small doll.
People want to hug her when they see her, but that feeling disappears as they see her eyes.
They were quiet.
Abnormally quiet.
It didn't look sad, they just had a calm that won't bellow to a little girl.
As she was lost in her thoughts, her sister, Hanabi, arrived a few minutes later and sat in front of her.
"Good morning, Nee-san!" The jolly voice of the little girl sounded in the silent room, taking Hinata out of her mind.
"Mm, morning, Hanabi." Hinata said with a small smile.
A year has changed their relationship, at least not that distant as before.
Both sisters had to go to school.
Hanabi had her 7th birthday a few months ago.
Most kids usually begin school at 6, but since she has shown a great talent and with the previous incident she spent the previous year training at home and only in January she began to go to school. Just two months from her 7th birthday.
Being one of the princesses of the Hyuga clan made things easy to manage, even thought wasn't present for almost 2 months, they couldn't expel her and could only turn a blind eye.
This was the last week of the scholar year, and Hanabi didn't stop asking Hinata about how it was when she finished her first year.
Even though Hinata didn't answer every question, that didn't stop Hanabi as she continued.
The sisters were having a good time until the door was opened. The moment both heard it, they stopped talking and the room fell in silence again.
A man peacefully entered.
It was their father, Hiashi.
The man footsteps sounded in the silent room as he approached the main seat.
Although it didn't seem different from other seats, they know that he is the only one who can sit there.
The family was gathered, but no words sounded in the room.
...
Five minutes later, the clock marked 7 A.M and Hiashi made a small gesture hitting the table.
And as if they had practiced it hundreds of times, two people quickly entered the room with the meals.
One with the sisters' food and the other with the father's.
After they leave the plates, they disappear once again.
Hiashi didn't react while that happened. He's a man of rules.
As he began to eat, the sisters followed his example. No one said a word.
After they finished it, the sisters waited for instructions.
With impeccable manners, Hiashi finished after them.
Turning to the little sister, he said. "Hanabi, if the school doesn't have other plans, you will continue your training at home during these vacations."
"Okay, dad!" Hanabi nodded with enthusiasm. At least that was more interesting than beating up the kids in the school.
Looking at his younger daughter, Hiashi was satisfied. She has shown great talent the last years and with the guidance of him, she has progressed well.
Leaving those thoughts, he looked at her other daughter.
Hinata- he has noticed how her chakra has been increasing in an incredible amount in the last year, but he didn't ask how that happened. Only for that person, Maito Gai.
He saw what he's capable of in that incident.
But the main reason is that his daughter changed and became more taciturn and didn't seem interested in practicing with him.
He knew that even if her talent in the Clan-art wasn't brilliant as her sister and cousin, it was still good.
Leaving those thoughts, he said to her.
"Don't stray from Maito Gai, Hinata."
"Yes, father." It was as she expected, so she politely replied.
Both tacitly ignored the matter of why she didn't stay at home like her sister does.
As he gave them the permission, the sisters abandoned the room and wandered in the clan for a while before going to school.
Hinata didn't like the environment of her clan, but with her little sister insisting on walking every day at least a while, she couldn't deny it.
Everything in this place was so static, like it hasn't changed in decades. Staying in this place only makes her feel sick.
As the time passed and she got more uncomfortable, the clock marked 7:45.
It's time to go to school.
Leaving out a sigh of relief, Hinata didn't wait for her sister and left the clan.
After they arrived, they separated and went to their respective classrooms.
A moment later, Hinata arrived and went directly to her seat.
Sasuke was already waiting near it.
"Morning, Hinata-san." He greeted her, more than a year of being training together made their relationship better.
"Morning, Sasuke-kun." Having a friend and being trained together by the same master makes Hinata feel a little better.
But she didn't forget the reason why they could be friends, not even after almost a year.
As they exchanged words, the teacher arrived and the times faded.
---------
No one noticed it and in a blink of an eye, the afternoon arrived.
Hinata and Sasuke were reunited in the same park as the past year, waiting for their master.
While they waited for him, Sasuke was looking at Hinata.
After one year, Sasuke had grown to 1.43cm and Hinata wasn't far from that, with her height being 1.46m.
Even though the girls developed faster than the kids, the difference was a serious blow to Sasuke's self-esteem.
Putting aside those harmful thoughts about himself, he began to think about their progress.
His chakra had experienced a rapid growth after he awakened his sharingan and he thought that only Naruto, that beast, could be better than him at it; but how wrong was him.
He remembered how things changed after Naruto disappeared. The shy Hinata became more withdrawn and for the things his mother told him, she was having so many problems with her clan.
It continued like this until one day when he was on his way to train, he found her in a small restaurant with a bunch of bowls beside her.
He was shocked to see the pile. He knew that she had more strength than him but he thought that it was like that because of the secret recipe of Gai-sensei.
After he noticed that, he asked her why she hadn't eaten like that before and she told him that she wasn't feeling good lately so she found refuge by eating, but no matter how much she ate, she didn't feel satisfied until she ate more than a dozen of bowls.
He was curious, and with Hinata's permission, he brought Gai-sensei to know the situation. After Hinata explained the matter, he was surprised but more happy for her. So after that situation, he always prepares a bunch of food and leaves it where she only has to pick it up.
Now her chakra is more than double than Sasuke's and it continues growing.
He tried to do the same, but he only suffered from indigestion and had to abandon his fantasies.
Hinata finished her meal and confusedly looked at Sasuke, who was losing his mind.
When he was complaining about how unfair the world is(conveniently ignoring the fact that he's an Uchiha), Gai arrived and greeted them with his characteristic bright smile.
"Good afternoon, kids!" For some reason, his teeth always manage to blink no matter what the weather was.
"Hello, Gai-sensei."x2
"Haha, how are you doing? Do you have any plans for these vacations or want to continue training with me?"
"No, I don't have any plan and my mother is still busy." Sasuke replied.
"Me too, my father told me to stay with you, Gai-sensei." Hinata shook her head. She feels more comfortable when she's away from her clan.
"That's good! I'll give you special training this time!" Gai said enthusiastically, he loves to teach these kids. Even though they weren't as passionate as his disciple, they still completed the training every time.
Hinata stayed as always, she was the one who learned the most last year. On the other hand, Sasuke seemed confused as he couldn't follow their rhythm because his fighting style was totally different from theirs.
"Yes, especially you, Sasuke. I can teach Hinata, but I don't know anything about your eyes so I'll try to ask my friend to teach you."
"Is he strong?" Sasuke's eyes shone.
"Yes, of course. He's my life rival!"
Sasuke's eyes shone more intensely, he's waiting for it with expectation.
They managed to complete the basic jutsus and now they are training their chakra control. With both of them having special eyes, it was easier than the average person to learn the techniques for walking on water and climbing trees.
Even though they learned it, they didn't master them and had to continue their training.
Aside from that, Hinata has been learning to apply chakra on her body to enhance it as Gai does. She couldn't practice that much because of the risk of getting badly injured, but her progress was significant.
And Sasuke was doing the same, but he hadn't planned to do anything special like them. He does it to protect himself better as he continues his training in learning Katon jutsus, although it wasn't his main affinity, it was good enough with her mother helping him.
With his promise, he was thinking about what that Gai's friend could teach him.
"That's enough for now, let's train!"
The atmosphere was warm as they trained together and the time vanished without anyone noticing it.
----------
Hours later.
The evening arrived and they stopped their training.
The kids were exhausted, but Gai was still the same. This man didn't know what tiredness was.
"Good job today once more, kids."
Both thanked him and start to store their belongings.
When they were ready to leave and return home, Gai stopped them.
"Hinata, Sasuke... I know both of you are worried about Naruto, but you need to trust him. He didn't go away by his own initiative. We have to have faith on him and wait, it's almost a year, remember?"
"Mm, I know." Sasuke replied without any hesitation.
"...Mm, yes. I know it too, Gai-sensei, but... it has been too much time..." Hinata's voice was low. She trusted him, but almost a year without news made it difficult for her to swallow her feelings.
"Don't worry so much, kids. In two months is his birthday, we will wait until that. Maybe we can get a new one from his friend." Gai said optimistically.
After he convinced the kids, he stayed in the park.
His bright smile wasn't there and his face was filled with impotence.
He trusted his disciple, but not being capable to help him was a weight hard to carry.
"I should look for Kakashi, maybe he knows something." He whispered as he disappeared from the park.
The village remains with the same people, but not everyone is still the same.
Circumstances caused some of them to change their previous course, moving in a different direction.
...
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Thanks for reading.
Have a nice day.