Tenten was walking home, smiling all the way.
Hehehe, stupid Naruto... That's what she thought while smiling.
To be honest, this was the first time in her life that she ever had a friend. A friend who made her heart feel lighter.
Tenten's life wasn't exactly bad. Even though she lived only with her father, at least they never lacked money.
But money wasn't what she needed — she needed someone who could give her love and warmth.
No, her father did his best to provide that. It was just that he was often too focused on his work and didn't pay much attention to Tenten. As for her mother...
Her mother had already passed away. She was a chunin-ranked kunoichi and a descendant of the Uchiha clan. However, due to her illness, she couldn't become a great ninja and ended up marrying a civilian for love.
She was insulted, ridiculed, and treated as a disgrace by the Uchiha. Because of that, she cut ties with her family.
Fortunately, some of her mother's relatives still cared and would occasionally visit. But when Tenten was seven years old, her mother passed away from her illness. Tenten cried and grieved for the mother she loved so much.
A year later... that incident happened. All of her mother's relatives were killed along with the destruction of the Uchiha clan.
"I'm home," Tenten called out.
Inside the house, a middle-aged man with blond hair turned around. Seeing Tenten walk in, he smiled warmly.
"Tenten, you're back," Hito said gently.
"Hmm," Tenten nodded. "Dad, what are you carrying? Where are you going?" she asked curiously.
Tenten observed her father. He was holding a transparent package containing some soda and flowers.
"Ahh... this," Hito said, showing it to her.
"Did you forget, Tenten?" Hito asked.
"Forget?" Tenten tried to remember, but nothing came to mind.
"What is it?" she asked again.
Then she got a flick on her forehead.
Smack.
"Uhh," Tenten rubbed her forehead.
"Dad! What was that for," she complained.
Hito simply sighed lightly. "Did you forget? Today is the anniversary of my wedding with your mother... So come on, let's go visit her."
Hito started walking, with Tenten following behind.
"Hahh, I can't believe I forgot something so important," Tenten thought.
They finally arrived at their destination — the public cemetery.
After entering, they walked over to a particular grave marked with the name—
Irumi. Irumi Uchiha.
They placed some soda and arranged flowers over it.
Then they both prayed. Hito spoke about their lives and even teased Tenten for seeming much happier these past few days.
"Let's go. But if you want to stay a bit longer, I'll wait at the entrance," Hito offered.
Tenten shook her head. "No, I think that's enough."
She slowly stood up, stepping back while looking at her mother's grave. Her mother's last words echoed in her mind.
Tenten, become a great ninja.
"Yes, Mom. I've never forgotten that goal," Tenten murmured with a smile, then slowly walked away.
Her determination and efforts to become a great ninja never faded.
...
"Naruto-kun."
Naruto turned around. There stood Hinata and a small girl... Hanabi?
That was his guess, but he still asked, "Hinata, oh and... who's this?" Naruto looked at Hanabi, who had a simple and sweet beauty.
"Ah, let me introduce you. This is my little sister, Hanabi, Naruto-kun. And Hanabi, this is Naruto, my classmate," Hinata said awkwardly.
Hanabi nodded and stared sharply at Naruto.
Naruto, on the other hand, didn't understand why he was being stared at like that, but he chose to ignore it. "Hinata, did you come here to eat ramen?" Naruto asked enthusiastically.
Hinata nodded several times. "Yes," she answered softly.
Naruto smiled. He understood Hinata's shy nature, and to him, it was very adorable.
Without him noticing, Hanabi kept glaring at him with obvious displeasure.
They entered and sat down together.
"Ossan!" Naruto called out casually.
"Yo, Naruto! Long time no see!" Teuchi greeted him cheerfully.
"Hahaha, sorry, I've been busy training lately..." Naruto replied straightforwardly.
"It's fine. You're doing well. So, what would you like to eat?" Teuchi asked.
"I'll have some ramen, and they'll order too," Naruto said, glancing at Hinata and Hanabi who were already seated.
Teuchi looked at their faces. He nodded when he saw Hinata, but when he saw Hanabi, he shook his head. "Naruto, you shouldn't be dating a little kid."
Naruto choked. "Uhuk... what are you talking about, old man..." He looked at Teuchi in despair. "She's Hinata, my classmate, and that's her little sister, Hanabi. You're slandering me terribly."
"And what if Ayame-nee gets angry," he added.
Ayame angry? Teuchi looked confused, scratching his head.
Swoosh.
Naruto dodged and caught a punch. It turned out to be from Ayame.
"Ayame-chan, what are you doing?" Naruto protested.
Ayame tilted her head, clearly not caring about Naruto's complaint. But then, "Chan?"
"Ahem, I mean Ayame-nee-chan," Naruto quickly corrected himself.
Ayame gave him an annoyed look, placing her left hand on her hip, leaning forward, and whispering, "How long are you going to keep holding my hand?"
"Ahh, sorry," Naruto finally realized and quickly let go of her hand.
"Hmm, don't talk nonsense with my dad. Otherwise, I might get mad," Ayame warned with a pout.
"Nonsense? What do you mean?" Naruto smiled, pretending not to understand.
"Don't play dumb!" Ayame scolded.
"No, I'm serious... if I were really talking nonsense, you wouldn't react this strongly," Naruto said slowly, brushing Ayame's fingers.
Ayame couldn't respond. Now she felt embarrassed. Naruto was right... if it was nonsense, why would I react like this...
"Ahem, I have orders to take care of, so see you later," Ayame said quickly, running off with a slight blush on her cheeks.
Naruto wanted to laugh but held it back so Ayame wouldn't feel even more embarrassed.
"Yo, Old Man! I'm starving, so I'll order two extra meat ramen!" Naruto said excitedly.
Teuchi, who had been smiling the whole time, nodded. "Yoshh, coming right up. And you two, what would you like?"
Hanabi stayed silent, waiting for Hinata to order. But Hinata seemed lost in thought.
Naruto-kun... he looked close to her. But what about me?
"Hey, Hinata," Naruto finally touched her hand.
"Ahh, Naruto-kun," Hinata turned to him. But because of Naruto's touch, she got shy and looked down.
Hanabi, of course, noticed all of this. She saw everything and finally made her judgment about Naruto.
"Scumbag," she muttered very quietly.
"Old Man, one large ramen for me and three large ramen for my sister," Hanabi said, deciding to order.
That made Hinata even more embarrassed. Hanabi... why would she order like that in front of Naruto... what if Naruto thinks I'm greedy?
Naruto was actually a little surprised by Hinata's appetite. "Haha, I'm kind of surprised... but Hinata, everyone has their own eating habits," he said casually.
"Naruto-kun," Hinata glanced at him, and Naruto nodded, making Hinata feel relieved.
Teuchi headed to the kitchen to prepare their orders.
Meanwhile, Hanabi, who had been watching everything, still felt dissatisfied because things weren't going the way she wanted.
________________________________________
Sorry, today only 1 chapter. My stomach hurts so bad.
________________________________________