"The moment you think of giving up, remember why you held on for so long."
— Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail
--
It was morning—or maybe noon—the wind brushing through the green canopy that hung over Konoha's edge... The sun was stretching its lazy rays across the rooftops. Birds were arguing in the trees, and somewhere far away, a vendor was yelling about fresh dango like it was the greatest miracle of modern life.
Hinata adjusted the small bento basket in her hands and started walking faster. Her heart was thudding, not from nerves this time, but because she'd already been late once this week.
"Oi, Hyūga," a calm, slightly smug voice called from behind.
"Sayuri-san… you're going to Otis's too?" Hinata asked politely.
She appeared from around the corner of the street, walking with that usual confident air of hers—head up, arms crossed, like the air itself should move aside for her.
Sayuri raised an eyebrow. "Obviously. It's training day, remember? He said 'bring food if you're coming. Otherwise don't come'. You didn't forget that part, did you?"
Hinata nodded shyly. "Yes I made him lunch…"
Sayuri smirked. "Figures. I brought food too. Guess I should've known I'd have competition."
Hinata looked down. "It's not a competition…"
Sayuri smirked. "Cute. I brought steak. He'll like mine better."
Hinata puffed her cheeks a little. "He said he liked my food last time."
Sayuri laughed like an ojō-sama, with the back of her hand raised elegantly to her mouth.
"Sure, sure. And he probably told Lee he likes his hair too, just to be nice."
There was a moment of silence. Then, oddly enough, both girls smiled. It wasn't the friendly kind of smile, but it wasn't hostile either, more like an unspoken truce between two people who had accepted that the other wasn't going away.
"Let's just walk together," Sayuri finally said, brushing her hair aside. "The path's long, and I don't want to get ambushed by some wild animal… or worse, one of Lee's speeches."
Hinata covered her mouth, giggling softly. "I don't think he's that bad."
Sayuri shot her a look. "You clearly haven't been told about Youthful Fire Training Regimen, Volume 3. It's a war crime disguised as exercise."
The two continued down the dirt path, following the familiar trail toward the riverside clearing, the one Otis had turned into his personal training ground.
Their pace matched naturally, and by the time the sound of rushing water reached them, so did another sound — loud impacts, grunts, and what sounded like… cheering?
Sayuri frowned. "What the—? Sounds like a festival."
As they neared the clearing, the air shook — literally shook — with the impact of two monstrous strikes colliding. Dust and leaves flew up like an explosion had gone off.
Hinata froze. Sayuri's eyes widened.
There, in the middle of the clearing, wasn't a fight. It was a war.
Before them, two figures clashed in a blur. One was a blur of green spandex and blinding enthusiasm. The other, a towering figure, shirtless, muscles like steel, his movements surprisingly fast for someone built like a mountain.
Otis.
Sixteen years old now, and over eight feet tall. The same calm expression, but sharper and older.
Might Guy was mid-air, spinning with a kick that could have snapped a bear in half. But Otis, who now looked more like a damn mountain than a person, blocked it with his forearm like it was nothing.
Each time Guy attacked, Otis countered. And each time Otis swung, Guy dodged. The air cracked from the force of their movements.
Guy launched himself forward with a shout, "YOUTHFUL BLAZE, LEVEL FIVE!"
Otis met him head-on, blocking with a forearm again that sounded like stone slamming against metal. The impact shook the ground, sending ripples through the river beside them.
"Not bad, old man!" Otis shouted, grinning for once.
"OLD MAN?" Guy gasped dramatically. "You wound me, Otis! My heart bleeds youth!"
"Pretty sure that's just your lungs collapsing," Otis replied flatly, sidestepping another kick that split the air beside his face.
Tenten and Lee were cheering from the sidelines — or rather, Lee was cheering while Tenten was trying to keep him from interfering in the battle between Otis and Guy.
"GO, SENSEI! YOUR YOUTH IS SHINING BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN ITSELF!" Lee bellowed.
Neji stood beside them with his arms crossed, expression neutral. "You're going to lose your voice before they even finish round one."
"I DON'T NEED A VOICE WHEN I HAVE YOUTH!"
Tenten groaned. "Neji, I swear, one day I'm going to hit him with a kunai just to test how much 'Youth' can block pain."
The fight continued. Guy flipped backward, planting his feet on a tree trunk before launching himself off it like a cannonball. Otis caught him mid-air, twisted, and slammed him into the ground hard enough to make Lee drop his water bottle.
Dust shot up everywhere.
When it cleared, Guy and Otis were both lying flat, staring at the sky, grinning like madmen.
"Beautiful," he whispered dramatically. "Truly… the fire of youth burns brightly in this one."
Hinata and Sayuri exchanged a look.
Sayuri crossed her arms. "He's gotten stronger again."
Hinata nodded. "He doesn't stop training."
Sayuri smirked faintly. "Yeah, well, good for him. But if he keeps growing like this, Konoha's going to need to build taller doorways."
Hinata giggled again, her cheeks pink.
As the spar ended, Otis noticed them standing at the edge of the clearing. He gave a small nod, walking toward them while wiping sweat off his forehead with a towel.
"Morning," he said simply, voice deep and calm.
Sayuri raised a brow. "You call this morning? It's about noon."
Otis shrugged. "That's how I warm up."
Guy stood up behind him, brushing dust off his uniform. "Warm up? My boy, you nearly dislocated my hip!"
"You should stretch more," Otis said, dead serious.
Guy gasped. "You wound me again, my youthful friend!"
Tenten muttered under her breath, "He's going to start crying in about three seconds."
Guy wiped a fake tear. "No… I'm just proud! Otis, you've finally matched my physical strength. You are truly my equal now!"
Otis gave a dry look. "You said that last week too. Right before I threw you into the river."
Lee clapped like a man possessed. "THAT WAS LEGENDARY!"
Neji sighed. "You mean the part where Sensei almost drowned?"
Lee pointed at him. "He was testing the resilience of youth through water immersion!"
"Yeah," Tenten said flatly. "That's what drowning means."
The whole clearing broke into laughter
Hinata stepped forward shyly. "I made you lunch," she said, holding out the bento box.
Sayuri followed, setting her own basket down beside it. "Me too. Don't let it get cold."
Otis looked between them, clearly realizing the minefield he had just walked into. Guy leaned toward him and whispered like a devil on his shoulder,
"Choose wisely, my youthful giant."
Otis sighed. "I'll eat both."
Sayuri smirked. "You better."
Hinata smiled, relief softening her face.
As they all sat under the shade of the trees, Guy kept talking about "youthful spirit," Lee was showing off pushups, Tenten was pretending not to watch Otis eat like a literal bear, and Neji had somehow fallen asleep sitting up.
Sayuri leaned back on her hands, looking at the river. "You know, two and a half years ago, you were just a stubborn kid who couldn't even use half his chakra."
Otis chewed his food, thoughtful. "And you were an arrogant girl who thought training with me was a waste of time."
Hinata smiled too, watching the light shimmer on the water. "It's… nice. Seeing everyone laugh like this."
Lee stood suddenly, fists on hips. "THEN I SHALL CONTINUE TRAINING IN HONOR OF THIS BEST MEAL!"
He immediately started doing handstand push-ups… on one finger.
Tenten sighed. "Lee, you're going to pop a blood vessel again."
The entire group burst out laughing.
And as the laughter faded, Otis looked at all of them, something flickered behind his eyes.
Peace. Family. The kind of life his mother wanted for him.
--
Author's Note:
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