Trunks clenched both hands at his sides and, without further ado, began to raise his ki, releasing a blue aura that fluttered with incredible force around him, causing the branches of the nearest trees to sway from side to side.
The force of his energy forced everyone present to shield themselves with both arms in front of them, as it kicked up a lot of dust and threw small stones everywhere.
Neji gave his sensei a serious, almost disapproving look, still covering himself due to the violent spectacle the boy generated with only his monstrous energy, which, in fact, was a tiny fraction of what he could truly do.
Gai understood, nodded, and prepared to intervene. He'd seen enough. Later, he'd have time to catch up and find out a little about this strange boy who, now that he looked more closely, didn't even have a ninja headband with him.
Asuma saw from afar what Gai was about to do, so he decided to set off with the same goal. There was no need for them to communicate.
They knew they had to stop Trunks.
The Saiyan planted his feet firmly on the ground of the training ground, causing it to crunch loudly and shatter into pieces as if it were fragile glass. His ki was gradually increasing. The pieces of rock that had cracked the ground began to inexplicably levitate around him, detaching themselves from the floor they had once formed.
What was he planning? Killing Lee? Of course not. He wanted to see what the pair of stupid jonins who wanted to make him fight without telling him anything would do, hiding it from him with a silly plan instead of explaining it to him up front.
When Asuma said his training plan had been modified by his arrival and that he'd come up with something different, he thought he was referring to the "fortuitous" arrival of Gai and his team.
Trunks wasn't thinking clearly. None of it was true, but he believed that if Kakashi had been his real sensei, he wouldn't have done something like this to him. He was starting to get suspicious.
After all, how many people could see him the way Kakashi did? Surely, to Asuma, he was just a little half-alien monster who couldn't be trusted.
"Trunks, stop! That's enough!" shouted Asuma, who had gotten up from the trunk and was only three meters behind him, taking cover and walking with difficulty in the face of the powerful blasts produced by his immense ki.
The jonin could barely stand.
"Listen to your sensei!" Gai shouted from the other side, standing protectively in front of Lee. "You can have the training ground!"
"NO!" the Saiyan shouted angrily. "Didn't you want to see me fight? Well, that's exactly what I'm going to do!"
As soon as he said that, he took to the skies at incredible speed. His burst of momentum was so violent that it knocked Lee and both jonins onto their backs, shattering the bark of all the trees and leaving a huge crater where he'd been standing. With a great crash, the rocks floating in the air began to fall due to the effect of his ki.
It was unreal. Trunks took off so fast that he disappeared in less than a millisecond. He generated an immense sonic boom with his takeoff, but in reality, his speed was thousands of times greater than that. He disappeared in the form of a cobalt beam of light, like an almost imperceptible entity.
In the blink of an eye, he was floating almost out of Earth's atmosphere. By now, the Earth was beginning to resemble the blue sphere it was, complete with its continents drawn upon it. He immediately realized how different the geography was in that dimension. Perhaps it wasn't the same planet Earth he'd come from, but something quite similar.
There, in the solitude and tranquility of what was almost outer space, he was able to calm down a bit, clear his mind. He carefully observed what, to him, seemed like a fragile and defenseless planet. Of course, he saw it that way because he had the power to blow it apart in a heartbeat, but did that then make him a monster?
It seemed a little unfair that Asuma distrusted him. He was born that way, and it wasn't something he could avoid or make cease to be a part of him.
Suddenly, he turned around, only to find himself facing an endless, black sea, in which there were millions upon millions of stars and planets he couldn't even imagine. On some, life was impossible. On others, less-evolved beings lived that had yet to coexist in harmony, like a perfect ecosystem.
But there were others where advanced, thinking beings lived, with enough technology to roam the universe at will.
That was where the real danger lay, and where beings like him must protect the small, fragile planet that lay at their feet. Not all races had to be aggressive, violent, and evil, but you never knew. In the middle of such an infinite place, it was difficult to say whether they were the strongest beings in the universe.
Last time, Beerus had taken it upon himself to prove them wrong.
Team 7 walked calmly back to Konoha. Everyone remained silent, as it was still very early and they were somewhat sleepy. Not even Naruto was his usual chatterbox. He couldn't sleep very well that night and didn't have much energy left.
At one point, Goten raised his head. Kakashi immediately noticed his gesture. None of the other genin paid attention, but the jonin knew very well that this meant the boy had detected a presence.
"Goten, is everything okay?" the silver-haired ninja asked, his hands in his pockets, giving him a scrutinizing look with his one uncovered eye. "Do you sense a presence?"
His words startled the other genin, especially Sasuke, who was always more alert than the rest and couldn't stand the fact that the tailed boy had a strange sense much more developed than his instincts.
The Uchiha had been very alert the entire way, unlike Goten, who was practically sleepwalking. But out of nowhere, the boy raised his head and once again perceived something the rest couldn't. It was a little frustrating.
"It's Trunks' ki. I'd recognize it anywhere. I don't know why, but it feels like he's fighting." He responded, somewhat alarmed. The truth was, his friend had boosted his power a bit, as if he were facing an enemy at least as powerful as Zabuza.
"And who is he fighting? Is the other presence also powerful?" the jonin continued.
"I don't think so. I can't even sense the other presence, maybe because we're so far away." Goten crossed his arms and looked down, visibly thoughtful. "It's strange. If he's really fighting someone with an energy I can't sense from here, it doesn't make sense for him to raise his ki to this point."
"Can you tell me how far away you feel Trunks' power?"
"Yeah, it's pretty far over there," little Son said, pointing west, right where they were headed, since that's where Konoha was. Kakashi noticed.
Without warning, Goten looked up at the sky, right where Trunks had shot out. "I don't know why, but he just shot out at great speed... and now he's very high up, almost in space, I'd say..."
"Perhaps they asked for a demonstration," the jonin concluded, a little calmer, but trying to hide his astonishment at Goten's statement. "Almost in space? It seems that with these kids, almost anything is possible."
Upon his return, Trunks wasn't given a pleasant welcome. Team Gai had decided to leave, but not before making it clear to Asuma that they would have to speak to the Hokage about it. (LOL, first you challenge him and now you're crying after he destroyed your student?)
The boy didn't make a good first impression with his bratty attitude toward the new acquaintances, and Gai wanted some explanations.
"Oh, how do I explain this, Trunks?" Asuma said, shaking his head and placing a hand on the back of his head. "I'm sorry if I gave you that impression, but I never imagined Gai would arrive at that very moment. I had planned a training session with you and the boys. I honestly didn't even want to put you in a fight with that guy, but I thought it would be a good opportunity. I've heard that Gai's students are more advanced than mine."
"Put him to train with us? You're crazy, Sensei! This guy is... I don't know...! I don't want him on our team, he's a threat!" She said flatly and bluntly... Who else but Ino? Everyone had thought the same thing, but not even Shikamaru had dared to speak up about it. The impetuous and confident kunoichi had no qualms about expressing her opinion, even if it was rude.
"I'm sorry, Ino, but I can't do it. Lord Hokage said that-"
"Yes, the Lord Hokage said for this monster to be with us! Does he think we're weak enough to have him on our team? That's why he put him with us, right? Because he thinks we're good for nothing!" The blonde continued, just as exasperated, both hands on her hips and her voice gradually rising.
"As far as I'm concerned, we were functioning just fine without him. Why don't you just send him with the ANBU instead? Or make him a one-person team? I don't know!"
Trunks didn't care what that hateful girl said about him. The problem was, he knew her words were motivated by fear of what she'd seen... It was always the same! He had to hide his power so as not to scare or impress others too much.
"Damn it! If I hadn't told Goten to destroy the Moon, I wouldn't be in this damn place in the first place!"
"Ino, that's enough!" Asuma scolded her in an unusually strong tone for him. The girl opened her large blue eyes in surprise; she had never seen her calm sensei speak to her like that. "It's time you learned some better manners. You're not one to question the Lord Hokage's decision, and you're not one to question mine either. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sensei," Yamanaka replied with some hesitation, her mouth twisting, but enough to calm Asuma down a bit. Given her stubbornness and conceit, it was the best he could have hoped for from her.
"Well, today's training is canceled. We don't have any missions scheduled for this week, so I want to see you here first thing tomorrow. You're dismissed." As the genin were about to leave, he stopped the Saiyan by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone except you, Trunks."
No one had the slightest interest in whatever Asuma had to discuss with the new guy. Following his orders, they set off straight back to their homes.
Ino led the way, walking faster than the others and with her fists clenched tightly. This time, she disappeared without a last glance back.
Despite his outburst, Asuma was pleased to see that the Saiyan was like any normal, average human teenager in terms of character, or at least something close to it. The blood of an extraterrestrial warrior race ran through his veins, but that didn't prevent him from having the behavior of an ordinary 13-year-old boy.
Just as Kakashi had advised in the report, they just needed a tutor to help them mold that character into good men. The jonin knew the boy wasn't a bad person, perhaps a little impulsive and rude like a certain someone on his own team.
With a slight nod, the shinobi indicated that they should sit on the same log where they had witnessed the fight. Asuma took out a cigarette and lit it calmly, without saying a word. The breeze blew the grayish cigarette smoke into Trunks's face, making him cough slightly.
"I hate it when my mom smokes. Sometimes I throw her cigarettes in the trash. But that doesn't stop her from doing it." He said, staring down at the floor, avoiding eye contact the whole time. He felt a little embarrassed by his behavior earlier.
His comment made the jonin smile, who, for once, decided to put out his cigarette and save it for later. If Shikamaru had seen that, he would have complained to his sensei about why he hadn't done it sooner when he asked him to.
"Listen, Trunks, I know it can't be easy for you to be away from home. In fact, I can't even fully comprehend it. Being in another dimension is something I could never imagine." He began slowly, concentrating on the trail of smoke coming from the cigarette.
"Yes, I would like to go home, but I have no idea if that's possible," the Saiyan replied, his head down.
Asuma couldn't blame him for his attitude either. He'd have plenty of time to do so another time. But now, he needed his support more than anything.
"You know, Kakashi said you could fly in the report, but I never thought you could fly so fast and so high. Did you even reach the clouds?" he asked with an amused grimace, this time looking up at the calm sky.
Trunks couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yeah, well, something like that..."
After a couple of minutes of silence, Asuma decided to get to the point.
"I'm sorry it was all a misunderstanding, but I want you to understand something. You have incredible power, so you must understand that it's not easy for everyone to grasp. Don't let what others think of you affect you. With your actions, you can prove them wrong, that you're not strange at all, just a little different.
You must embrace those wonderful abilities you were born with and accept them as an inseparable part of you. It is who you are. You have a gift, and as such, you must find what to do with it."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think I need to explain it to you, because only you will know what to do with your power. Basically, you can use it to destroy or to build. The former is the easiest, but easy is the path of the weak. And you're not a weak boy, are you wrong?" his new sensei said with a genuine smile.
Trunks returned the gesture, grateful for her words. "You're not as bad as I thought…"
Asuma could only laugh, remembering the sarcasm he himself had used with the boy, outside the Hokage's office.
"You may be very strong, but you have an even bigger challenge than maintaining or increasing that power. You must show everyone what you can do with it to justify why it belongs to you. That's what matters."
Asuma paused briefly, wishing he had a cigarette between his fingers so he could take a deep inhale. As soon as the conversation was over, he could resume his relaxing habit.
"I mean, anyone could easily solve problems or overcome obstacles with those abilities of yours. They could even use them to pursue selfish goals and personal interests. But you have to show the world that if you possess that power, it's for a special reason. You must prove that you can use it more wisely and properly than anyone else—and that's why you deserve it more than they do. Maybe then, people will understand why they don't, and you do. Because you were born with a gift they don't deserve."
The jonin dislodged the kunai that was still stuck in the trunk, extending it to the Saiyan for him to take. It was symbolic, nothing more. What good would a meaningless knife like that do him? The meaning behind it was that the boy was receiving a weapon from his sensei, one that his teacher was supposed to teach him how to use in combat, but that ultimately, it was up to him to decide what he would do with it.
Trunks was very young and still had much to learn. But he would never forget this day. Asuma's words would give him the strength to make the tough decisions that would come his way.
But for that, a few more years would pass. This new sensei, "the worst" he would ever have, would train him with the teachings that would make him a great man.
One worthy of the power with which he was born.
Meanwhile—
"We're finally here! I'm dying to eat some ramen, really!" Naruto shouted, pumping his fists in the air with his trademark vigor. They stood outside the giant gates that formed the entrance to the great Konoha.
Kakashi looked down, silently observing Goten's expression. Goten was surprised for the same reason Trunks had been when he first saw the ninja village with his own eyes. The enormous wall surrounding the entire village made it look more like a city.
"Oh, so you're back," said Izumo, one of the guards stationed at the small checkpoint right at the entrance, amiably. "We had quite a scare when we saw Pakkun come back without you! We thought something bad had happened on the mission."
"Well, I can't say everything went according to plan," Kakashi replied, placing a hand on the back of his head in his usual calm and carefree tone of voice. "I just hope there were no problems with the boy who accompanied him." He said this last bit with an almost somber expression, imagining that everything must have gone off without a hitch, just as Pakkun had told him.
"Are you kidding? He came with Asuma and his team! Of course, there was no problem!" the chunin continued with his friendly smile, his right side hidden behind a long lock of dark brown hair.
The guard's statement didn't please Kakashi very much. "With Asuma, you mean? What do you mean he came with Asuma?"
"Well, as you heard. Asuma said the boy was coming with him and bringing a message or something like that. He also said he would personally take care of getting him to his destination without any problem," Kotetsu, the other guard who had remained silent until then, explained as matter-of-factly as possible.
"This isn't going according to plan. How the heck did Trunks run into Asuma? I told him not to stop and talk to any strangers... unless, of course, Pakkun had something to do with this... Ahhh, I hate doing things in person! No wonder Pakkun was nervous. I knew he didn't follow my instructions to the letter, which is why he didn't share all the details."
"Fine, whatever. The important thing is that the message has been delivered," the jonin concluded, abandoning his thoughts and maintaining his complete composure.
However, what he couldn't hide was his slightly hurried pace, a product of his urgency to get to the Hokage's tower and find out exactly what had happened. His students followed him almost at a trot, except for Sasuke, calm and unfazed as ever.
Thus, Team 7 entered Konoha.
"Hey, don't you think you saw anything strange about the boy in the orange dogi?" Izumo asked the nonchalant Kotetsu, once Kakashi and his group had disappeared.
"Anything weird? Well, yeah, now that you mention it, his hairstyle was pretty strange…"
This time, it was Goten who was sitting in the waiting room outside the Hokage's office. Meanwhile, Kakashi was already inside, talking with the old man about what had happened with Trunks' message and his joining Team 10.
"Kakashi, I hope you understand the reason for my decision," the elderly Hokage said in his typically calm tone, puffing on his pipe, a habit that, by the way, seemed to run in the Sarutobi family's veins.
"Two young men with such great power are too much for a single team. They could end up unbalancing the abilities of the rest of the group. I hadn't even thought of putting them alongside the genin, but after all, they're just kids. Perhaps it's best to have them start from the beginning, so they can learn the basics of teamwork."
"In any case, his decision isn't something I can argue with," Kakashi continued, secretly a little happy that the conversation wouldn't be so long, not to mention that the mission report had already been submitted in full. "But I also don't think Trunks will give Asuma too much trouble. He's the calmer of the two, so I think he'll be easy to handle without any problems."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that..." The old man replied with his eyes closed and a wide smile, almost pleased to note, just as he had imagined, that Kakashi hadn't been able to completely decipher the behavior of both Saiyans in such a short time.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, this morning, I had to address a minor complaint from Gai in the presence of Asuma himself. Apparently, Trunks had a minor outburst yesterday and ended up making a bad first impression on his team during a brief training session." Sarutobi almost laughed at the change in Kakashi's expression, still perceptible beneath that mostly covered face.
However, he remained serious throughout; the matter was no joke.
"Apparently, Gai arrived with his team at the training camp where Asuma was with his students and, seeing Trunks's appearance, proposed a challenge against one of his students." He had to rush his story as much as possible, since the jonin's grimace indicated that he was thinking the worst.
"Luckily, nothing regrettable happened. Let's just say that the boy showed a little more than he should have, and of course, Gai came with a thousand and one doubts demanding explanations. It's not my jurisdiction to deal with these matters, but given the secret nature of it, I felt obliged to mediate."
"I should have known… a meeting between the eccentric Gai and Trunks couldn't possibly turn out well. Even more so if one of his famous challenges is involved…
That's when he understood what the Hokage meant when he said the boy had overextended himself. And that's precisely what Goten meant when he said he felt Trunks' ki rise and then ascend in less than a second, almost into outer space.
"One last thing, Kakashi," the Hokage said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Just so you know, the chunin exams are in a week. I recommend you think ahead if you want to nominate your students."
"Does that include Goten?" was the first thing he said, almost interrupting Sarutobi's warning. "As you know, he doesn't have the necessary number of missions to access the exams, and I doubt he'll be able to do it in a week."
"In this case, I think we can overlook that small detail," the old man replied with a smile that oozed pure nepotism, blowing a few rings of white smoke into the air for entertainment. "It's best to discuss this later with Asuma. I have something on my mind..."
"This is the most boring thing in the world!" Goten complained, lying on his back on the chairs with his head hanging off the edge, staring upside down, and the whole time at the door to the Hokage's office, as if by doing so, he'd be able to open it at any moment.
Soon, he began to imagine how much fun Naruto must be having, devouring that delicious ramen he'd always advertised. Just thinking about it made his mouth water, and he couldn't stop the thick strands of drool from falling to the floor. It wasn't something he was worried about; no one was watching, and even if they were, he wouldn't mind too much.
However, for some strange reason, he pictured Sakura standing right next to him, scolding him and perhaps even hitting him for his disgusting and impolite behavior. So, he straightened and sat down immediately, wiping his mouth with the long sleeves of his navy blue T-shirt, as if the girl were watching him.
Despite being in a different dimension, it was ironic that even so, he couldn't escape his mother's temper, even if it was someone else who was responsible for it.
The creaking of the door several feet in front of him alerted him. It was Kakashi, who was walking out calmly and quietly.
"What did he say to you?" he asked forcefully, giving him no time to do anything, jumping so hard that he landed right in front of the jounin. His momentum was clearly in contrast to Hatake's. Since the door wasn't completely closed, the Hokage managed to see the tailed boy from his desk just in the last moment, unable to suppress a smile at the young man's joviality.
"Well, let's just say I'm your new sensei now," he replied with obvious annoyance, running a hand through his tousled silver hair. "But Trunks will be on a different team. Five people are a lot for one group…"
With that, he lowered his gaze, imagining he saw disappointment on Goten's face or something like that. But the boy never seemed to be too bothered by anything. On the contrary, he was flashing his signature grin.
"And where are we going to live?"
"Wooow! Is this it?" Little Son exclaimed in amazement, just as he and Kakashi entered the tiny, humble apartment that Trunks had been assigned to a few days ago.
"Yes, I know it's not much but…"
"But it's great!" he exclaimed, almost shouting. "This whole place just for the two of us is great!" With that assessment, the boy began to run around, examining every corner of the house, which, by the way, he did in just three seconds and at a completely normal speed, since there was almost nothing to see.
"Hehe, you're right! This place is tiny!" He concluded, smiling, his eyes closed and his hand on the back of his neck.
Kakashi had to hold onto the door frame. He almost fell backward because the boy was so distracted and clumsy. Why was he like that? Did anyone in his family have a similar personality?
"Well, Goten, I think that's all for today. Tomorrow at 10, I want you all to meet at the same bridge where we parted ways this morning when we arrived in Konoha." He explained slowly, making sure the Saiyan understood every word he said. "I'll have a meeting earlier, and depending on what's said there, I'll give you some important information."
"And what should I do now?"
"Now? Well, I don't know, whatever you want. Just don't get into trouble. And be careful if you run into Naruto. I don't even want to imagine what the two of you would do if you got together…"
With that, the jonin disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the new tenant completely alone in the small space. Curiously, Trunks wasn't there. Right now, he was training with his team and Asuma.
"This… is… too… troublesome…" Shikamaru panted as he sat on the ground, completely exhausted from trying, for the umpteenth time, to climb a tree using only the chakra channeled through his feet.
"It's no big deal! As always, everything is too much trouble for you," Ino replied, standing up and mockingly, since, like Sakura, her chakra control was more precise than that of the rest of her classmates, and for her, the exercise was much easier.
However, the young Nara was no failure. He had managed to leave his mark with the kunai quite high, almost at the height of the highest branches, but the kunoichi was able to climb to the top on only her fourth attempt.
Choji wasn't as exhausted as Shikamaru, as his chakra reserves were much greater. That, however, didn't excuse him from being the least advanced of the group. He barely managed to climb past the middle of the ladder.
Well, there was someone much worse. Trunks wasn't even able to climb up the tree trunk, even a little. He could run on the surface of the trunk if he wanted to, but it was his inhuman speed that was responsible for that, not his ki that helped him stick to the bark.
In his first attempts, Asuma realized the different intrinsic nature of the Saiyan's energy, so he recommended that he distance himself from his peers and do only physical exercises. There was no point in demanding that he keep trying; it would lead to inevitable frustration.
Without increased gravity, it was ridiculous to do such a thing. The boy had done over 10,000 squats and didn't even notice. He moved on to several thousand sit-ups, hanging upside down with his legs from one of the nearest tree branches.
From his awkward position, he kept an eye on the kunoichi, who had taken control of the situation and was explaining to her friends the best way to focus their energies in the right direction and magnitude.
¡Craaaackkk!
Despite how strong and sturdy the branch was, it couldn't hold the Saiyan's enormous weight any longer. He ended up shattering it as if it were nothing. However, he had time to spin mid-swing and land on his feet, avoiding hitting the ground. The commotion caught everyone's attention, startling them a bit.
"Hey, Trunks, be more careful. You don't want to fall from that height," Asuma warned, sitting on a small rock, wondering how such a thick branch could have broken like that. His advice was completely unnecessary, he realized when he remembered that the boy had managed to emerge unharmed from Rock Lee's Primary Lotus.
"Don't worry, sensei, we all know that freak wouldn't have been affected by something like that," Ino said dismissively, her eyes closed, waving her hand in the air in an arrogant gesture.
Asuma could only raise a hand to his face. He wanted to say something to the reckless kunoichi, but he was tired of dealing with her attitude. She had no respect for anyone. What could he do?
Did Trunks say anything to her? Well, no, he didn't care what she thought... or at least, that's what he had to pretend to others.
He didn't like the girl's rejection in the least. He knew it was Ino's way of hiding her fears and insecurities in the face of this new situation.
She treated him that way because she was truly afraid of the unknown, which in this case was him and his powers. Therefore, her rejection was more noticeable than anyone else's, and she wasted no time expressing it, while Shikamaru and Choji at least made an effort to hide it. She had been behaving this way since morning.
Meanwhile, Goten walked through the streets of Konoha, his hands clasped behind his head. He looked curiously at the enormous number of businesses and people running around, so obsessed and focused on their own affairs that they paid not the slightest attention to him or his tail. In short, the scene looked like something out of a busy city, whose inhabitants led an extremely hectic lifestyle despite being a simple village.
He wanted to find somewhere interesting to hang out, maybe find Trunks to catch up with him. He didn't need to. Soon, he found something, or rather, someone, that completely captured his attention.
It was a beautiful girl wearing some kind of cream-colored jacket, sitting alone on a small bench with a book in her hands. She seemed to be reading it, although Goten couldn't understand how that was possible, since, unfortunately, the little girl was blind.
"Hey, do you need help?" he asked once he was standing in front of her.
The girl tore her pearly eyes away from the small book, staring straight at the floor. When she noticed the orange pants of the Saiyan's outfit, she couldn't help but blush wildly, not to mention her expression, which changed to one of astonishment and utter surprise.
"Na-Na-Naruto…" He began to stutter uncontrollably, bringing out his soft and sweet voice with great difficulty, making his speech almost unintelligible.
Goten confirmed that the girl was blind. She had mistaken him for someone else, despite him standing right in front of her.
"No, I'm not Naruto, but I do know him. My name is Goten," the boy replied with his characteristically wide, friendly smile, taking the little girl's hand and shaking it vigorously, as if to make sure she properly registered his presence.
When the girl finished raising her gaze, she realized it wasn't Naruto. For a moment, the color of his clothes confused her. Now she was a little blushing, but it was because of her mistake, which made her feel embarrassed.
"Oh, S-sorry, I m-mistook you for someone else. I m-must be more attentive." Excusing herself as best she could, she gave him a sweet smile that only someone like her could offer.
"Ahh, never mind," he replied, waving his hand casually in the air. "By the way, do you want me to help you with that? I'm not very good at reading, but I think it'll do."
Without letting the kunoichi answer, the confident boy took a seat next to her and took the book from her, ready to begin reading on the page she had it open on.
"Let's see... it says something here about a recipe for ramen... ummm... it has eggs, noodles, pork..." Young Son read with his eyes squinting. He seemed to need glasses to decipher the letters in front of him.
Despite his fluent reading, he was actually super focused on making no mistakes, and that's where his scrutinizing gaze came from.
The girl looked at him, completely bewildered, unable to understand why the strange young man had approached her in such a peculiar way. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't find a logical answer to his sudden intrusion. And why was he helping her read? Did he think she couldn't read on her own? It was a bit silly to think that, wasn't it?
"By the way, what's your name? I forgot to ask." Goten interrupted his reading without warning, placing a hand on the back of his head for his careless introduction. His mother would have scolded him for that.
"M-me? My name is Hinata Hyuga. It's a pleasure to meet you, Goten." She answered somewhat hesitantly, bowing slightly in a sign of respect.
"Hinata? That's a beautiful name! Just like you!" He said with the utmost innocence in the world, giving him that smile she inherited from her father, the same one that inspired confidence and tranquility in anyone.
Hinata couldn't help but blush at such a statement. A boy had never said such a thing to her before, so she didn't know how to handle the situation properly. She was so astonished that she found it impossible to believe the boy had approached her with the intention of flirting. Of course, that wasn't the case; Goten was simply speaking his mind without paying much attention.
"Wow, I don't understand much of what they're explaining here, but the food in the pictures looks delicious." Just looking at the images made his mouth water. Unable to control his body, the Saiyan's stomach growled loudly, unable to bear the lack of food any longer.
Hinata realized this and felt a little sorry for Goten. Judging by the sound of his stomach, she mistakenly assumed the young man hadn't eaten in days, which was why she decided to treat him to lunch.
Unbeknownst to her, she was making a grave mistake.
"Goten, are you hungry? Do you want me to make you something to eat?" She dared to say after hesitating for a few seconds, looking down and nervously playing with her fingers, at the mere suggestion of inviting a stranger over so suddenly.
However, he seemed like a sincere, kind, and somehow trustworthy person. Besides, she could put into practice what she'd read in her book that morning, all to perfectly cook Naurto's favorite dish.
As soon as those words escaped the little Hyuga's mouth, the young Son took her hand and began leading her in a random direction, holding the small recipe book under his other arm.
"Of course! Just tell me where you live and I'll take you home! You'll see how we'll get there in no time!"
"The-but.
"Careful!" Goten exclaimed, pulling her to the side, never letting go of Hinata's small hand, all to prevent the girl from stepping in the huge puddle in front of her. "Hehe, sorry about that, it won't happen again. The rest of the trip will be peaceful."
She was almost thinking she'd met a madman. She didn't understand the reason for the Saiyan's strange behavior. He wasn't that useless either; she could handle herself perfectly well. But her shyness prevented her from speaking out firmly and making him take a stand. Although she didn't care too much, he really seemed like a good guy; he couldn't be a danger.
"Goten? What the hell are you supposed to be doing?" Sakura asked when she crossed paths with them. The kunoichi was carrying a small bag with some groceries her mother had ordered. When she saw him holding hands with the shy and quiet Hinata, she imagined the boy was doing something stupid.
Her suspicions were soon confirmed.
"Ahh! Hi, Sakura! Meet my new friend, Hinata!" the jovial boy began his explanation. "You won't believe this, but she just invited me to lunch because I'm really starving. I'm helping her get home safely."
"And why are you helping her get home?" the pink-haired girl asked suspiciously, looking him up and down, expecting a huge stupidity in response.
"Don't you see? You're so absent-minded, Sakura! Hinata's blind!"
It was worse than I expected.
Both of them opened their eyes wide, unable to conceive of such stupidity. Well, it was Sakura who thought so, as Hinata was still a little puzzled by the statement.
Far from being angry, Hyuga thought it was a nice gesture on Goten's part to have cared about her and tried to help her, even though she was a stranger. Many would have done so, knowing her position and origins. Goten offered his help completely selflessly.
Sakura was a different story.
Completely stunned by the boy's implausible explanation, she dropped her bag to the floor, which, by the way, contained more than a dozen eggs that ended up in a mess.
"Goten, let go of Hynata's hand for a moment, please." Sakura spoke very slowly, trembling and clenching her teeth in an exaggerated, fake smile that tried to contain all her anger, and that the poor, naive Goten was unable to interpret, so he obeyed and even reciprocated the pinkette's "kind" smile.
¡PAAAMMMM!
The monstrous punch that landed square in the Saiyan's face sent him flying like a small, defenseless doll at high speed, slamming him violently into a wooden fence right behind him. Of course, the innocent fence ended up exploding into pieces. Only Goten's legs were visible among the wooden debris, moving spasmodically and with small tremors, as if he had died.
Hinata opened her large, pearly eyes in surprise, bringing both hands to her mouth to stifle her astonished expression.
"Sa-Sakura! It wasn't a-that big of a deal! Seriously, I didn't even…"
"Calm down, Hinata..." the irascible girl interrupted her, her breath faltering. "I know that meathead better than you do. Believe me, he's fine. He learns better from being hit!"
From among the pieces of wood, Goten finally jumped, with a small tear of pain and rubbing his sore nose with both hands, as he received the blow right in the center of his face.
"AAAYYY! IT HURTS! DAMN IT, SAKURA! Why did you do that?... Why are you so mean to me?" He uttered the last sentence in a low voice, making a small pout with his face that made him look more childish than he was.
"WHY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE AN IDIOT? HINATA ISN'T BLIND! THAT'S WHAT HER FAMILY'S EYES LOOK LIKE!" Sakura yelled, a large vein popping out on her forehead, and her eyes completely blank, as her head grew gigantic during the scolding, and poor Goten cowered in front of her. "Show me a little more consideration! She comes from a highly respected Clan, so at least you owe her an apology!"
"Sa-Sakura, it really doesn't matter," a very embarrassed Hinata chimed in, blushing at feeling responsible for the boy receiving such a reprimand. "On the contrary, I think it's a nice gesture from Goten to have wanted to help me, even though I'm a stranger to him."
"I'm so sorry," the young Son said, surprising both of them, bowing deeply to Hinata and handing her the small cookbook. "I just wanted to help. I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry," Hinata replied in her sweet voice, also bowing, then taking the book in her hands. However, she couldn't hide her astonishment when she saw the boy's face, which remained untouched after the massive blow he had received. The punishment would have been enough to break anyone's nose.
"I told you so," Sakura anticipated with a smile, seeing his obvious shock. "Nothing happened to him. He learns best from being beaten. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a few things to do," the kunoichi finished, taking Goten by the hand and dragging him off to who knows where.
"W-wait, Sakura! What happened to my food?"
"Your food?" she asked sharply as another vein popped out on her forehead. "Your food will have to wait! Right now you're going to accompany me to the market and help me buy everything you broke, you fool!"
Without further ado, Hinata watched them slowly walk away, maintaining her usual silence. From a distance, they looked like a small couple, with the girl in control of the relationship and the boy practically in tears, pleading that he didn't want to go shopping.
Maybe Sakura thought Goten's behavior wasn't the most appropriate, but as far as Hinata was concerned, Haruno's behavior wasn't entirely normal either.
Looking at them closely, she noticed something that left her stunned. As Goten shook himself free from his partner's iron grip, she could see what looked like...
"A tail? No, that can't be possible... Or can it?"
She didn't have time to check; the two had already crossed the corner. Perhaps she was going blind, despite having the best eyes in all of Konoha.