Two small figures—
Darting swiftly, moving with energy and focus.
Like butterflies fluttering through flowers, they danced across the training ground, light on their feet and full of youthful vigor.
In just the blink of an eye—
They had already been sparring for twenty minutes.
Hinata's stamina was clearly fading. Her breathing grew rapid, her steps slower, her delicate frame trembling slightly with exertion.
That was when Yoruha smiled.
He met Hinata's incoming palm with his right hand—
And in that same instant, drew his ninja blade with his left.
Whoosh!
A clean, flat horizontal slash.
Because Hinata was in mid-attack and caught off guard by the sudden shift, her movement stalled—leaving a wide opening in her stance.
Clang!
Yoruha deliberately tilted the blade upward by an inch, letting it slice harmlessly past her and strike the wooden training post behind her with a sharp clang of metal on wood.
At the same time—
He gently caught Hinata's palm, turned with the motion, and softly pinned her against the post.
"Alright," he said, smiling as he looked into her eyes.
"We form the seal of reconciliation. Physical sparring is over."
Wall slam.
Hinata blinked up at him—her face only inches away from Yoruha's.
She could feel his breath.
Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, no longer from combat, but from something she couldn't explain.
"Y-Yoruha-kun... y-you..." she whispered, her voice small and trembling.
She didn't know where to look. Her limbs froze. Her face flushed so deeply that it reached her neck.
And then—
The tension was shattered by a sudden scream from the edge of the field.
"AHHH!!!"
"Brother!! What are you doing?!"
Ino's voice.
At the sound of her shout, Hinata's entire body flushed crimson. Her eyes spiraled into dizzy circles.
Then—
She fainted on the spot.
Right into Yoruha's arms.
"..."
Yoruha looked at Hinata, unconscious and blushing in his embrace. Then he glanced up at his sister charging toward him.
He sighed, resigned.
"Ino," he said, shaking his head, "look what you've done. Hinata and I were just doing taijutsu drills. We sparred, learned from each other, and ended with a seal of reconciliation."
"But you had to yell like that, and now Hinata's passed out again. Totally ruined the moment."
Ino narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she reached them.
"Brother… how old are you?! And you're already pulling this kind of stunt?" she said, arms crossed. "Okay, fine—I do think Hinata-chan is really sweet. I can even see her as my future sister-in-law…"
Her face turned red.
"But seriously—aren't you both a little too young for this?!"
Yoruha rubbed his chin, glanced down at the unconscious Hinata, and nodded solemnly.
"Yeah... still too small. Needs time to grow."
A few minutes passed.
Hinata finally stirred awake.
Her eyes were hazy at first, still reorienting herself.
"Hey, you're awake," Yoruha said gently, helping her sit up.
"You did great just now, Hinata. I really mean it. So from now on—have a little more confidence in yourself."
Hearing his praise—
Hinata's face turned a deep crimson again.
She wanted to say something modest. Something like, "I'm not that good," or "You went easy on me."
But just as she opened her mouth, she realized—
She was still nestled in Yoruha's arms.
Her eyes went wide, her vision blurred—
And she fainted a second time.
"..."
Yoruha and Ino looked at each other in silence.
There was nothing to be done.
To prevent Hinata from passing out again the next time she woke up, Yoruha carefully passed her into Ino's arms.
As he watched them go, he couldn't help but murmur:
"What a lovely girl."
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
During those months, after school each day, Yoruha and Hinata would quietly return to that same training ground and continue their taijutsu practice together.
Of course—
To Yoruha's younger sister Ino, these "training sessions" looked suspiciously like two people secretly dating.
Still—
So Hinata wouldn't die of embarrassment, neither of them ever called it that out loud.
But truth be told—
Those three months had changed Hinata dramatically.
Her confidence had bloomed.
Her movements became bolder.
And though she still blushed whenever Yoruha smiled at her—
She had come a long way from the timid girl who used to hide behind her bangs.