In the days that followed, Hakushi often saw Ayane living a solitary life at school.
She suddenly had no friends and no so-called desire for life, her eyes vacant, like a walking corpse.
Perhaps this is the true posture of a 'slave.'
It's likely that for the rest of her life, she'll never be able to escape this shadow.
Hakushi didn't understand what it must feel like for a girl with a yearning for freedom to be defined as a 'slave' by her closest clansmen.
But it must be filled with despair and pain beyond what ordinary people can imagine.
Since that day, Ayane's grades have plummeted, and her homeroom teacher, Fujimura Daiga, didn't reproach her, only offering meager comfort and encouragement, telling her to focus on her studies and not think too much about it.
Even though he really wanted to help his student, the traditions of the Hyuga Clan could not be changed by a mere school teacher like him.
This was something that Fujimura Daiga understood very well, and he knew that even seeking help from the Third Hokage wouldn't solve the problem.
These noble families in Konoha Village are like small enclaves.
Many of Konoha Village's regulations don't apply to their internal affairs.
But Hakushi saw through it all very clearly.
Words of comfort were utterly useless to Ayane.
He could only enlighten her on another level.
Psychological trauma can only be healed with psychological medicine.
◎
Torturing one's own body with pain has always been a good remedy for distracting oneself from mental numbness.
Only through this kind of physical pain could Ayane feel that she was truly alive at this moment.
That she was still a person, rather than a livestock raised by the clan.
She couldn't understand the significance of the clan's traditions, nor did she want to understand, nor was she willing to understand.
Even though those adults kept trying to enlighten her, saying that planting the 'Caged Bird' Curse Seal on her was for her own good and for the sake of the clan's legacy.
That all her sacrifices were not meaningless, but valuable.
If that was true, why didn't the Main Family sacrifice themselves? This question kept emerging in Ayane's mind.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt an overwhelming darkness that wanted to destroy everything.
Her hatred continued to intensify.
With these thoughts of hatred and anger, her fair and gentle face turned somewhat ferocious, taking on a trace of fierceness, losing its usual gentleness.
Using the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, she attacked the wooden stakes. Gradually, in her strikes, her Gentle Fist technique changed, lacking any of the form it once had, as she vented purely with her fists, becoming harsh and rigid.
Even when her fists were bruised and bleeding, the pain ceaseless, she didn't seem likely to stop.
If anything, using this pain to divert her mental numbness was exactly what she wanted.
Soon, she stopped this self-destructive way of venting, crouched beside the stake, hugged her knees with both hands, her head lowered, her long black hair covering her face, only faint sobbing could be heard.
The setting sun cast a shadow over the woods, enveloping everything in darkness.
It was almost dark.
The air in the forest was becoming somewhat cold.
Dark green leaves floated onto Ayane's shoulder, and she continued to sob softly.
—Suddenly, at this moment, the dark forest was filled with soft, slow footsteps, causing her to abruptly stop crying.
"So this is where you've been hiding. However, this place is indeed perfect for licking one's wounds alone."
This voice was very familiar to Ayane, prompting her to raise her head to see the person approaching.
It was her deskmate — Chiba Hakushi.
An utterly ordinary person in every sense.
A civilian, unremarkable grades, an average student.
That was all there was to him.
Even though their relationship had been fairly amiable before, she now had no mood to deal with an irrelevant outsider.
"Why are you here?"
Unlike before, when she would use the gentle title 'Hakushi-kun' to address him, her voice now turned stiff and unfamiliar.
Ayane was puzzled as to why Hakushi was here, but felt an unpleasant sensation as if her secrets had been spied upon and discovered, prompting her inner annoyance.
"There are many reasons, but more than anything, I was drawn by the hatred and anger within you. In fact, I'm just like you."
Hakushi's face bore a meaningful smile.
"Just like me?"
Ayane was dumbfounded, not understanding what Hakushi meant.
Stepping out of the darkness, Hakushi's steady black eyes held a faint hint of amusement:
"Yes, just like you, I'm part of this twisted yet oblivious, utterly dull village. Even an insignificant part, a so-called lowly entity whose fate is grasped by others."
Ayane's breath caught.
Hakushi's ordinary image suddenly transformed into that of a stranger in her mind.
It was as if she was recognizing her deskmate anew.
Was he expressing dissatisfaction and hostility towards the village?
Why would he have such thoughts?
Yet hearing Hakushi say so, Ayane inexplicably felt a resonant joy in her heart.
"Are you confused?"
Hakushi asked with another smile.
Confused?
Confused about what?
Faced with Hakushi's inexplicable question, Ayane frowned, her pure white eyes gaining a hint of wariness.
"Do you already feel inferior?"
The moment Hakushi said this, Ayane's chest was immediately filled with a strong killing intent.
These words already pierced her personality and pride.
All the negative emotions surged into her heart, causing Ayane to momentarily lose her reason, her figure swiftly charging at Hakushi, swinging her fists at him with force.
Hakushi smiled faintly, as Ayane, driven by anger and thus losing her calmness, launched an attack that was weak and without strategy.
A strike of this magnitude required no defense at all, Hakushi thought to himself.
So, he caught Ayane's incoming fist, then countered by pressing her entire body against the nearby tree, preventing her from moving in the slightest.
Within an instant, the situation was reversed.
Perhaps because the defeat was so sudden, Ayane was momentarily frozen.
She hadn't anticipated such an outcome at all.
"Have you been hiding your strength all along? Why do such a thing?"
Ayane, having come back to her senses, asked this question.
"What could it be? But before exploring this question, shall we talk about your issues first?"
Hakushi replied unhurriedly with a gentle voice.
"Hmph, what does a civilian like you understand? Don't make me laugh."
Ayane spoke in a voice as if wanting to crush Hakushi's throat with her teeth.
What could a mere civilian know?
She was marked with the 'Caged Bird,' and from now on, everything in her life would be dictated and planned by those lofty Main Family members.
The so-called freedom and dignity had already been ruthlessly stripped away from her.
Every time she witnessed those Main Family members' ever superior and arrogant expressions, she felt a strong urge to stomp that arrogance underfoot.
To let them taste the humiliation and despair of having their dignity and freedom manipulated by others.