Naruto didn't look back. Not at first.
He just hopped off the fence, hands in his pockets, and kept walking. His feet scuffed against the dirt path, his mind wandering.
Not my problem. Not my fight.
Those two were older, bigger. Stronger. He'd fought bigger things before, in other lives—wolves, hawks, sharks, humans—but only when he had the power to. Only when survival demanded it.
But Hinata?
She wasn't even trying.
That was what confused him the most.
Even a worm would writhe under a boot. Even a cockroach would scatter.
Yet she just stood there.
The whispers of the other children faded behind him as he rounded the corner of a market stall. He exhaled, rubbing his fingers together absentmindedly. His nails were dirty. He needed to clean them.
Then—
A thump.
A muffled cry.
His ears twitched.
He didn't stop walking.
Another sound. A scuffle. A sharp inhale, like someone had been shoved too hard and lost their breath.
Naruto's steps slowed.
…She wasn't making any noise.
She wasn't crying.
She wasn't screaming.
She wasn't—
He turned around.
The boys were still at it, still sneering, still circling. The crowd of children was shifting, murmuring, some snickering, others awkwardly looking away.
Hinata was on the ground now.
Her tiny hands clenched into fists against the dirt, her head bowed, her pale eyes wide.
Naruto tilted his head.
Still no struggle.
Still no bite.
Why?
The answer should have been simple. She was weak. That was the nature of things. The world was built like that—he was built like that. The strong ate, the weak were eaten.
But something about this felt… different.
This wasn't just nature.
This was human.
And that made it feel wrong.
Naruto exhaled, staring at his feet for a moment.
Then—without thinking—he turned back.
Not too fast. Not too slow.
He didn't run to her. That would be stupid. That would get him beaten up too.
No, he just walked.
Walked right up to the group of kids, hands in his pockets, tilting his head slightly as if he was just passing through.
The older boys barely noticed at first, too caught up in their little game.
It wasn't until Naruto stepped just a bit too close that one of them finally glanced up.
The boy scowled.
"What do you want, freak?"
Naruto didn't answer.
His eyes flicked to Hinata, still curled on the ground.
She was looking at him now.
Wide-eyed.
Confused.
Hopeful.
…Ah.
That was a mistake.
Naruto kept his face blank. Kept his shoulders relaxed.
"Nothing," he said simply.
The second boy snorted. "Then get lost."
Naruto stayed where he was.
The first boy narrowed his eyes. "Are you deaf? Go away."
Again, Naruto said nothing.
He simply shifted his weight—just enough.
Not aggressive. Not defiant.
But enough to make them notice.
The tension changed. The air shifted.
Naruto could feel it.
Predators noticed when another animal entered their territory.
They noticed when someone didn't act the way they expected.
The second boy suddenly scoffed, rolling his shoulders. "Tch. Whatever. This isn't fun anymore."
The first boy hesitated—clearly torn between staying and keeping up appearances—but after a moment, he huffed and kicked some dirt at Hinata's shoes before turning away.
Just like that, they were gone.
Naruto didn't watch them leave.
Didn't gloat. Didn't smirk.
He just crouched down in front of Hinata, resting his elbows on his knees.
She was staring at him.
She still looked confused.
Naruto didn't say anything for a moment, just tilting his head at her the same way he did when watching a strange bug crawl across the pavement.
Then, finally, he asked—
"Why didn't you fight?"
Hinata blinked.
Her lips parted, then closed.
She fidgeted with her sleeves.
"…I…" she started softly, voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know how."
Naruto frowned.
That didn't make sense.
Fighting wasn't something you learned. It was something you did. Something that happened when you had no other choice.
Something that was natural.
"…Hn." He shifted his weight again, eyeing her for a long moment.
Hinata looked down, gripping the hem of her sweater.
"…T-Thank you," she mumbled.
Naruto blinked.
Then shrugged.
"I didn't do anything."
And with that—
He stood up.
And walked away.
Just like before.
But this time…
Naruto wasn't used to being followed.
Well, not by people, at least.
Animals? Sure. He'd had stray dogs tail him, pigeons perch near him, even a squirrel that once wouldn't leave his sleeve. But humans?
Nope.
Which was why it was so weird that Hinata kept tagging along behind him.
He walked. She walked.
He turned. She turned.
He stopped. She stopped.
It was like having a shadow with bad timing.
At first, he ignored it. Maybe she was just going the same way. Maybe it was coincidence.
But when they passed the same fruit stall twice and she was still there, Naruto squinted.
Why?
What did she want?
Was she after his food?
Wait. Did she even know he had food?
Does she think I have food?
That was worse.
Naruto wasn't stingy exactly, but he also wasn't an idiot. He barely had enough food for himself. Sharing meant less food, and less food meant hunger, and hunger meant—
He paused.
Hinata stopped too.
Naruto turned to face her.
"…What?"
Hinata flinched. "H-Huh?"
"You need something?"
Her hands tightened in front of her. "N-No…"
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"…Okay."
And he turned to leave.
Only for her to keep following him.
Naruto scowled.
Now this was getting suspicious.
Did she want something but was too shy to say?
Or—
Wait.
Was she hunting him?
Was this some new kind of game the village kids made up? Follow the freak until he gets annoyed and chases you off?
That was possible.
Naruto wasn't new to tricks. He knew how human packs worked. He'd seen it before—kids luring him into an alley, laughing like they wanted to play, only to turn on him the moment he let his guard down.
They were predators.
Just like everything else in this village.
So he stopped again.
Turned on his heel.
Narrowed his eyes.
"…What are you doing?"
Hinata nearly tripped over herself. "N-Nothing!"
Naruto didn't blink.
"Then why are you following me?"
She fidgeted. Looked at her feet.
"I—I just—"
Before she could answer—
A sharp voice cut through the street.
"HINATA!"
Naruto's instincts flared.
Something big was coming.
Not big big. Not in size.
But big in pressure.
Like a storm rolling in.
And sure enough—
A man stormed down the street.
Pale eyes.
Dark robes.
A face just like Hinata's, only sharper. Harsher.
Predatory.
Naruto stiffened.
The man stopped right in front of them, towering over Hinata like a wolf about to bite.
"What are you doing?" the man snapped, voice cold.
Hinata shrank back. "F-Father, I—"
"Why are you with him?"
Naruto watched.
Didn't move.
Didn't react.
Just watched.
Because suddenly, this wasn't about him.
This was something else.
Something old.
Something ingrained.
Naruto had seen this dynamic before.
Not in this life.
But in others.
The weak standing before the strong.
Prey before predator.
And the moment Hinata's father stepped forward—
She stepped back.
Not by much.
Not even a full step.
Just a shift. A half-inch of retreat.
But it was enough.
Because Naruto knew—
A creature that expects pain anticipates it.
And Hinata?
She was used to this.
Her father barely spared Naruto a glance. "Come."
Hinata hesitated.
Her fingers twitched.
But in the end—
She obeyed.
Like prey always did.
Naruto watched them go.
His expression didn't change.
His body didn't move.
But his fingers flexed at his sides.
Because—
Something about this left a bad taste in his mouth.
—ToT—
Naruto wasn't a stranger to death.
He'd seen it before.
Again. And again. And again.
The cycle of life and death was something he understood better than any child should.
But still—
Something about this felt wrong.
The dog hadn't just died.
It had lain there. Forgotten.
Discarded.
When Naruto first saw it, he thought it was sleeping.
Its body was curled beneath a tree, fur ruffled by the wind, paws tucked in like it had just settled down for a nap.
But it wasn't breathing.
Its ribs didn't rise.
Its ears didn't twitch.
And the smell—
The smell told him everything he needed to know.
It was rotting.
The flies had found it first.
Naruto stood there for a long moment.
Just looking.
Nobody else was paying attention.
Nobody else cared.
It was just another dead thing in the village.
And maybe it shouldn't have mattered.
Maybe he should have walked away.
But—
He didn't.
Because the sight of it—
The way it just lay there, forgotten and ignored, waiting to be erased—
It made something in his chest itch.
So he buried it.
He didn't know if dogs were supposed to be buried a certain way, or if there was some ritual humans did for them.
But he dug the dirt with his hands, pressed the soil down, and marked the spot with a rock.
There.
Done.
It was better this way.
At least now it wouldn't be left to rot in the open.
At least now—
A sharp kick knocked him to the ground.
Naruto barely had time to process the pain before a voice shrieked above him.
"You little rat! What do you think you're doing to my lawn?!"
He blinked up.
An old woman stood over him, wrinkled face twisted in fury, pointing a gnarled hand at the disturbed dirt.
"You—" She turned, yelling for someone. "Daichi! Get over here! This filthy thing is digging up my yard again!"
Naruto scrambled to his feet, dirt clinging to his hands and knees.
What?
Why?
Why was she mad?
He didn't have time to figure it out before a man—tall, thick-shouldered, reeking of sweat—stormed out of the house.
"What is it, Ma?"
The woman jabbed a finger at Naruto. "He was digging! Making a mess of my lawn! Get rid of it!"
The man's gaze landed on Naruto, then on the barely-covered mound of dirt.
His nose wrinkled.
"Damn stray," he muttered.
And before Naruto could say anything—
The man reached down, grabbed the dead dog by the leg, and hurled it into the dumpster across the street.
Like trash.
Like it was nothing.
Naruto stared.
Something in his stomach twisted.
It was gone.
Just like that.
The woman huffed, brushing her hands off like she'd dealt with something dirty.
"There. Now stay out of my yard."
And then—
They walked away.
Naruto stood there for a long time.
The wind blew.
The smell of garbage drifted through the air.
He didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Something in his chest felt tight.
It wasn't anger.
It wasn't sadness.
It was something else.
Something that made his fingers curl.
Something that made his stomach churn.
Something that made his thoughts itch.
Because this—
This was wrong.
Not in the way humans saw right and wrong.
Not in the way the villagers talked about good and bad.
This was wrong in a natural way.
In the way a tree stripped of its bark was wrong.
In the way a bird with broken wings was wrong.
Something about this world—about these people—
Didn't make sense.
He turned away.
Didn't say anything.
Didn't look back.
Just walked home.
His hands were still dirty when he got inside.
His knees, too.
But he didn't clean them.
Didn't think about them.
Because something else was scratching at his brain now.
Something else he needed to figure out.
88÷2.
The thing Mizuki had tricked him with.
The thing that had made everyone laugh.
He sat on the floor, grabbed the stub of a pencil from his drawer, and stared at the numbers.
88.
89.
A line between them.
What did it mean?
What did any of it mean?
Naruto frowned.
Thought back to the class.
To the way Mizuki had called him up.
To the way everyone had laughed.
They'd known the answer.
Or at least—
They'd known something he didn't.
He hated that.
So he stared at the numbers harder.
Tried to see what they saw.
Tried to understand.
Tried to—
His stomach growled.
Naruto blinked.
Maybe he'd figure it out after dinner.
—ToT—
Next Chapter: Awakening