Chapter 80: Hanabi, Come Join Us Too
Akiyama Makoto hadn't expected to run into Hyūga Hanabi at a time like this. But then again, it wasn't a complete coincidence. Kazematsuri Moegi and Hanabi were of a similar age, and it was after school hours. They were probably already friends who often walked home together.
Normally, even if he saw Hanabi, he wouldn't strike up a conversation, because there was definitely someone from the Hyūga clan following her in the shadows.
But things were different now.
If he had to be confronted by a member of the Hyūga clan about his relationship with Hinata, he would much rather it be Hanabi. At least when she charged over in a rage, she wouldn't open with a Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, because she didn't know it yet.
As he expected, Hanabi charged over.
She saw her beloved older sister, blushing, being led by the hand by a man, the two of them about to enter a bathhouse. The string of reason in her mind snapped. With her Byakugan activated, she assumed a Gentle Fist stance and rushed in, aiming for his weak spot.
"Let go of my sister!" she shouted as she charged.
Makoto stood as if frozen in fear, not dodging. But in reality, he had injected a sliver of Yin chakra into Hinata, snapping her out of the comfortable daze of the Yang chakra massage.
Seeing Hanabi rushing towards them, Hinata, who had often sparred with her younger sister, instinctively began to fight back.
After a few sharp clashes, Hinata had blocked Hanabi's first wave of attacks. "Hanabi, what are you doing?" she asked, confused.
"Sister!" Hanabi was both aggrieved and angry. "I should be asking you, what are you doing?!"
"Why are you with a boy... in this kind of place?!" she finished, pointing at Makoto.
At this point, Moegi had quietly crept to his side and was tugging on him, trying to get him to escape. He was a major customer at her shop; she couldn't just let him get beaten to death by Hanabi.
Makoto found this amusing. He patted Moegi's pigtails, which made her, who had been winking and making faces at him, puff up her cheeks in annoyance.
"Eh? I came here to soak in the hot spring, of course..." Hinata initially didn't understand what was happening. The next second, her entire being went into red-hot overload. She frantically waved her hands, stammering an explanation. "Hanabi, it's not what you think! I'm not going to the hot spring with just the two of us!"
"Makoto-kun lives here! He was just bringing me over!"
Moegi's eyes lit up, and she quickly added, "That's right, that's right! Big Brother Makoto is just boosting business for our shop, right, Big... Bro... ther... Makoto!" Moegi stomped on his foot, hoping he would play along with her to smooth things over.
However, Makoto wasn't actually afraid of Hanabi. He just wanted her to be a witness. He had his own words to say.
"Hinata and I are friends. I invited her and a few other friends to the hot spring today." Ignoring Hanabi's murderous glare, he said, "I was originally going to have Moegi take Hinata to get changed, but then you rushed over... So, who are you?"
Being pointed at by him, Hanabi clenched her fists again. The Hanabi of this time had a personality that was the complete opposite of her sister's. Hinata was timid and not at all like the eldest daughter of a great clan, but Hanabi was fiery and always let her Gentle Fist do the talking.
This wasn't entirely due to her personality and talent, but more because of the misplaced relationship between the two sisters. The elder sister, Hinata, in order not to let her younger sister become a member of the branch family, had held back in their duel, leading to her own crushing defeat and the loss of her right to inherit the clan. The younger sister, Hanabi, in order to inherit the clan, had to devote all her time and energy to training, even if it meant alienating her sister, all so that she could protect her in her own way in the future.
So at this moment, Hanabi naturally had to stand up for her sister, even if Hinata didn't feel she was being bullied.
"You listen up. I am Hyūga Hanabi, daughter of the Hyūga main family, and Hinata Hyūga's younger sister."
"And who are you? I've never seen you before, let alone heard of you."
Makoto smiled, his demeanor neither servile nor overbearing.
"Me...? Akiyama Makoto. An as-yet-unknown author, and currently, your sister's ordinary friend."
Hanabi's lips pressed down, clearly dissatisfied with this answer. She looked at Hinata. "Sister, come home with me. Don't be friends with this person of unknown origin."
"We can spar together, okay?"
Hanabi had thought Hinata would agree. After all, they hadn't sparred together in a long time. It was their favorite thing to do when they were little.
But to her astonishment, she saw dissatisfaction in Hinata's eyes, a dissatisfaction that she then voiced directly.
"Hanabi, don't say that. Makoto-kun is truly my friend. He has been very good to me."
"I can go back with you, and I can spar with you, but don't deny my friendship with him..."
Before Hinata could finish, Hanabi looked as if she had been struck. The rims of her eyes turned red, and she turned and left. At this moment, she felt that her sister was a stranger, and that her presence here was completely unnecessary. When had the two of them become so distant?
"Hanabi..." Hinata started to say, but trailed off.
At this moment, Makoto pinched Moegi's cheek.
"What?" Moegi said in a huff. Her friend had just been chased off in anger!
"If you can get Hanabi to come to the hot spring today, I'll give you one thousand Ryō as a reward."
Moegi shot off like the Konoha Flash. She quickly pounced on Hanabi and began to chat and laugh with her.
Makoto, meanwhile, patted Hinata's shoulder. "It's normal for sisters to fight. You don't need to worry about it."
"I can tell you are still the most important person to each other. You're just caught in a strange phase of growing up."
Hinata gave a sad smile. "You're really good at comforting people, Makoto-kun. No wonder Sakura and Ino like you so much... Ooh, I didn't say anything!" She quickly covered her mouth, having almost exposed her friends' secret.
Makoto also pretended not to hear. "Let's go. Let's head inside first. We can sit down and have a chat. I actually know a lot about the Hyūga clan as well."
Hinata looked at him with surprise and nodded. She didn't have much hope. How much could he possibly know about the Hyūga?
Makoto, however, stroked his chin, realizing he seemed to have grasped an opportunity to become friends with Hanabi as well. Simply put, it was to resolve the misunderstanding between the two sisters.
And that was a simple matter! All he had to do was get the two of them to talk things out.
Normally, the two sisters had no opportunity to communicate, but by taking advantage of the present situation and letting them face each other frankly in the hot spring, with the help of Sakura, Ino, and Moegi, what could they possibly not be able to talk about?
And if that didn't work, he would just have Ino use the Mind Body Switch Technique, and they could all play a novel game of Ninjutsu Truth or Dare.
It was just an emotional knot. How could it be harder to solve than a lack of talent?
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