I Found You

Have Faith

One page at a time, the papers were flipped. Her lavender eyes were scanning every page, in every book she found. But on every page she turned, she got more frustrated. There was a stack of books on her table ranging from the history of the Uzumaki clan, who were known for their exceptional fuinjutsu techniques, to the theories of fuinjutsu. All those books she had read, and still could not find the answer. Hinata sighed deeply as she was feeling lost. What other methods could she possibly do?

Her gaze shifted to the window, where the perfect blue sky in the morning was in view. She realized the library did not have the answer she was seeking for, as every book she had read mostly only mentioned the general techniques and theories of fuinjutsu, and everything else was just irrelevant.

She felt a weight in her heart. It was a familiar feeling. Facing everything by herself, shouldering everything by herself. She felt alone. Her grip on the book tightened as that feeling started to consume her. Hinata then turned her face down, at first, feeling empty. A moment had passed when suddenly, her expression changed to hopeful.

"Kurenai-sensei!"

Hinata instantly got up from her seat. She grabbed all the books and quickly put them back on their shelves. She figured out what she could do, and where she was heading next as she remembered Kurenai's words yesterday.

Those reassuring words could still be heard clearly in Hinata's mind. Somehow, the weight in her heart lessened, although just a bit.

She then walked toward Kurenai's house, only to find herself standing in front of her teacher's door, hesitating if she should knock.

'What if Kurenai-sensei's not home? What if she's busy taking care of Mirai?' she thought.

Hinata then remembered how hard she had built her confidence in the past, and how much effort she had put in her nindo. She could not go back now if she wanted to remove the seal. Finally, she knocked on the door.

A voice suddenly appeared from inside the house. It was faint and high pitched. Clearly, it was the voice of a child.

"Mommy! Mommy! I wanna open the door! Let me open the door!"

"Shh, Mirai! Mommy will open the door. Stay here," a softer and womanly voice said.

There was a brief pause as Kurenai checked the peephole. Once she saw it was Hinata, she immediately opened the door.

"Hinata?"

"G-good morning, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata greeted.

"Good morning," Kurenai answered with a surprised face at first before she smiled and asked, "what brings you here early in the morning, Hinata?"

Hinata saw the smile and the comforting look Kurenai gave. She knew she had made the right decision.

"Um, I-I have something I'd like to ask," Hinata paused for a second before she continued, "that is if Sensei's not busy! I can come another time if -"

"Oh, come in!" Kurenai interrupted before Hinata could finish her sentence. As her former team leader and teacher, Kurenai knew exactly what kind of a person Hinata was. So, before she lost any more of her confidence, Kurenai invited her into the house in a matter of seconds. Hearing that, Hinata then entered the house feeling relieved.

Suddenly, a little girl jumped onto Hinata with excitement. It was none other than Kurenai's daughter, Mirai. She reminded Hinata of the young Hanabi, where obligations and responsibilities were still absent. Perhaps, all she could think about in her own little world, was that a friend had come to play with her. Hinata couldn't help but let out a small laugh.