gezhi…gezhi...
Ryuji Hyuga walked slowly along the road, with the wind and snow howling around him. The storm that raged yesterday finally ran out of strength before dawn, but it left a thick layer of snow covering the ground.
Thud. Thud.
Dull sounds came from far away, torn apart by the wind, yet they grew clearer as Ryuji Hyuga drew closer. All paths left by passersby were buried under white snow, and only Ryuji Hyuga's footprints remained, as if all of Konoha had been scrubbed clean overnight.
The sky, however, hung low in a heavy gray, letting through only a weak and pale morning light. It reflected off the snow with a cold and lifeless feel.
Neji Hyuga stood at the center of this white, silent world, still wearing that thin black mourning outfit. In the courtyard, his young face was blank as he hammered at the wooden training dummy.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
He had completely abandoned the techniques of Gentle Fist, using only the most crude and violent strength to throw punch after punch. Each impact made a dull sound that hurt the ears.
The skin on his knuckles quickly split and peeled back, blood seeping out and staining the wooden post in patches of dark red. With every swing, thin lines of blood flicked through the air and splashed onto the clean snow at his feet.
It was clear that the boy was once again using a self-destructive kind of training to vent his grief and anger on the silent wooden training dummy. He kept striking without pause, as if the pain was the only thing keeping him standing.
"Truly pitiful."
Ryuji Hyuga leaned against the courtyard gate with his arms crossed, looking at the unmoving Neji Hyuga and smiling. "Pointless venting. What, are you hoping I'll hug you and say, 'Stop hitting it, it's all in the past'?"
Neji Hyuga froze and slowly turned to look at him, resentment filling his pale eyes. His voice was hoarse as he spoke with hatred, saying, "What do you know? You couldn't even protect my father's body. You're just a useless waste too."
Ryuji Hyuga truly could not feel any anger toward the sulking words of a child. Still, venting rage and hatred on something that could not speak back was indeed meaningless.
"Genius of the Hyuga Branch Family," he asked with a smile. "Do you dare make a bet with a useless person like me?"
Neji Hyuga did not answer right away and only stared at Ryuji Hyuga in silence. Seeing this, Ryuji Hyuga put his hands behind his back and nodded slightly at Neji Hyuga with a smile.
"I'll give you both hands, genius of the Hyuga."
The contempt and mockery finally struck a nerve, and anger appeared on Neji Hyuga's young and calm face. He truly looked down on Ryuji Hyuga, since from that Lord Hiashi Hyuga and from his father, he could feel an ever-present pressure, yet from Ryuji Hyuga he felt nothing at all.
And yet this famous clan failure dared to say he would let him use both hands. The thought alone made his blood boil.
"You bastard!"
As the words fell, Neji Hyuga rushed forward like Xiang Ryuji, his attack instinctively using Gentle Fist. Ryuji Hyuga lightly hooked his toe into the snow, and when Neji Hyuga raised his palm, he kicked up a spray of snow into the boy's face.
For an instant, everything turned white. Neji Hyuga swung his left hand and scattered the blinding snow, only to find that Ryuji Hyuga had vanished from sight.
Almost by reflex, he struck to his right.
Bang!
Neji Hyuga guessed correctly. His palm collided with Ryuji Hyuga's raised shin, the force feeling like a wave crashing into an unmoving cliff.
The snow beneath their feet burst outward, and Neji Hyuga staggered back, dragged by the impact into two long trails in the snow. He barely managed to stay upright as his footing slid.
"What's wrong, genius?" Ryuji Hyuga lowered his leg and narrowed his eyes with a cold smile. "Can't even handle this much force?"
What just happened? It felt like the strength had been sent back at him.
Looking at Ryuji Hyuga, the contempt in Neji Hyuga's heart vanished at once, replaced by a quiet seriousness. Unfortunately, that seriousness did not last long, because the fight ended in the very next moment.
Neji Hyuga's right leg bent as if struck by an iron rod, and he dropped to one knee. Before he could even rise, a knee rapidly filled his vision.
Thump! kacha!
After stomping down and bending Neji Hyuga's right leg, Ryuji Hyuga leapt up and drove a brutal knee into his face. Amid the sound of bone breaking, Neji Hyuga was sent flying, blood spraying through the air before he slammed into the ground.
The impact shook loose clumps of snow from the eaves above. A dull sound echoed as they slid down.
"Ugh."
With his vision blurred, he pressed his right hand to the ground and tried to get up, only for a merciless foot to stomp on his wrist. The pain shot through his arm, leaving him unable to move.
"Truly useless. You only know how to hurt yourself," Ryuji Hyuga said coldly. "Looks like you don't even need this hand. Someone like you should stay in the cage and be a little bird for others to watch and tease."
"No!" Neji Hyuga cried out in shock, yet he could not pull his arm free at all.
"What's so bad about being a Caged Bird?" Ryuji Hyuga pressed down slightly and continued in a low voice. "Who are you showing that angry, helpless look to? You just think that once you're branded with the 'Caged Bird', your fate can never change, and you can only be controlled by those high and mighty Main Family."
Neji Hyuga's lips moved soundlessly, his dry mouth splitting as blood seeped out and froze in the cold air. He shook his head again and again, struggling weakly.
Bullying a child was, of course, immoral. Unfortunately, Ryuji Hyuga had no morals and would not be bound by them.
He had no time to wait for Neji Hyuga to realize things on his own. He needed to stir the desire and reckless thoughts buried in the boy's heart once more.
Thump.
Ryuji Hyuga suddenly lifted his foot, and Neji Hyuga failed to brace himself and fell face-first into the snow. His body sank into the cold ground as his breath was knocked out of him.
"Fate is a tool tyrants use to bind minds, and an excuse fools use to comfort themselves," Ryuji Hyuga said calmly as he looked down at the battered Neji Hyuga. "If you really want to resist, then crush those arrogant people under your feet and trample them hard."
"Make them taste what it means to have their dignity and freedom toyed with," he continued. "Instead of wallowing here and venting useless rage."
Huff. Huff.
Neji Hyuga struggled to turn over, his cheek pressed against the freezing snow as he gasped for air. The white breath he exhaled was instantly torn away by the wind, and tears finally spilled from his eyes.
The greatest fear of death is not the one who leaves, but the one left behind, forced to face the world alone after it passes by.