Meian sighed, watching the four older students groan on the ground. "Don't thank me. Even if I hadn't stepped in, they wouldn't have done much damage. They know better than to seriously hurt you—but have you ever thought about standing up for yourself?"
Hinata stared at her feet.
"Being rescued every time isn't an answer," Meian continued, his tone not unkind. "You can't spend your whole life waiting for someone else to save you."
Hinata's hands trembled slightly, but she didn't respond.
"Think about it," Meian said, and then he was gone—vanishing down the alley with the fluid grace of someone who'd spent far too much time training.
Hinata looked at the four sprawled bodies, then back down the empty path. Meian's words coiled around her thoughts like thorns. Stronger... how do I become stronger? The question gnawed at her. She had the Byakugan, the kekkei genkai her clan prided itself on, yet she still felt powerless. Still felt small.
She didn't notice Ino Yamanaka across the street, frozen mid-step outside Yamanaka Flowers, eyes wide with shock.
---
"I didn't realize Meian was that strong," Ino muttered to herself, watching the last of the older students limp away. Four of them, all Senior Academy class, dispatched in seconds. Her mind immediately pivoted to the last combat assessment. "So why did he lose to Hinata during the final exam?"
The answer didn't come, but a question took its place: Unless he let her win?
Ino shook her head, dismissing the thought. Or trying to, anyway.
When Hinata emerged from the alley, still lost in thought, Ino called out, "Hinata! Come sit with me for a bit!"
Hinata looked up, surprised, then made her way across the street to the flower shop.
---
Inside Yamanaka Flowers, Hinata settled into a cushioned chair while Ino—all of six years old—poured water with the practiced efficiency of someone who'd helped in the shop her entire life. Ino handed her the glass with a grin that immediately put Meian's stern expression to shame.
"So," Ino said, sitting down beside her with barely contained excitement, "are you and Meian dating?"
Hinata's face erupted in crimson. "Ino! Where would you get that idea?"
"I saw everything," Ino said simply, leaning back in her chair with the casual confidence of someone who'd just cracked a mystery. "There's no way Meian lost to you fairly. He threw that match."
"And then—" Ino clasped her hands dramatically, her voice taking on the theatrical tone of a storybook narrator, "—the hero appears to rescue the damsel! I was about to run out myself, but then he just... moved. So fast. I didn't even see it clearly."
Hinata twisted her hands. "Ino, please don't spread rumors. Mr. Meian values his privacy, and I—there's nothing between us."
"Then why does he let you win?" Ino pressed, eyes glinting with the sharp intelligence that made her dangerous in her own way. "Why did he show up to save you? And why are you so desperate to keep me quiet?"
Hinata had no answer. Her mouth opened and closed uselessly.
But then something shifted in her expression. The nervous energy crystallized into something harder, more focused. She met Ino's eyes directly—a rare thing for her—and her voice was steady. "Ino, just don't. Please."
Ino blinked. There was something almost frightening about the change, about the intensity in Hinata's usually soft gaze.
"Promise me," Hinata said, gripping Ino's hand.
Ino hesitated only a moment before nodding. "Okay. I won't say anything."
A silence settled between them, filled only with the soft rustle of flowers in the shop's breeze.
Then Ino smiled. "But you have to tell me—do you like him?"
The question landed like a stone in still water. Hinata's face flushed anew. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Or," Ino continued, relentless, "does he like you?"
"I..." Hinata's blush deepened impossibly. "No. There's nothing like that."
Ino squeezed her hand knowingly. She'd seen the way Meian had vanished without a second glance at Hinata. The answer was written plainly in that departure: one-sided affection, unrequited and aching. She recognized it because she'd seen it in enough Academy romances—the quiet crush that built in silence.
"It's a secret, then," Ino said gently. "Your secret."
Hinata's grip on her hand softened slightly.
"But I have to say," Ino added, her tone shifting back to conspiratorial excitement, "those kicks were incredible. The way he moved those guys without even seeming to try... so cool." She sighed, a dreamy quality entering her voice. "I'll admit, Meian's pretty handsome when you actually look at him. Not as handsome as Sasuke, obviously—Sasuke's face is almost unfair—but Meian has something different. Something... special."
Despite herself, Hinata blushed even deeper.
"You've got a good eye, Hinata," Ino grinned. "Finding him before anyone else noticed."
"Ino..." Hinata warned softly.
"He leaves right after class every single day," Ino said, pivoting smoothly. "Always in a rush. Where does he go?"
"I... I've noticed that too," Hinata admitted carefully. "He's always hurrying somewhere."
"I tried following him once," Ino confessed. "But he spotted me immediately and lost me in the market district."
The words were out before Hinata could stop them: "I tried that too."
Ino's eyes lit up like lanterns. "You what?"
Hinata's entire face turned crimson. "I—he—"
"See? You're completely smitten!" Ino laughed, a bright, delighted sound that made Hinata want to vanish into the floor.
---
Blissfully unaware of the damage being done to his reputation in the flower shop, Meian moved through the forest in practiced silence. Ino's presence in the alley had registered and been dismissed with equal speed. Just Academy students. Not worth his time.
After fifteen minutes of steady travel, the trees began to thin. He emerged into a small clearing where two figures waited.
Kakashi Hatake stood with his usual calm, a book open in one hand, silver hair catching the afternoon light.
But it was the other man who commanded immediate attention.
Might Guy was performing one-handed push-ups with an intensity that seemed to warp the very air around him. His movements were explosive, powerful, perfectly controlled. Every repetition was crisp. Precise. The kind of dedication that had nothing to do with training and everything to do with obsession.
Meian recognized him instantly.
Kakashi looked up as Meian approached, closing his book. "You're here."
"Sensei," Meian said, offering a respectful nod.
Before Kakashi could speak, Guy flashed upright with explosive power—faster than he had any right to be at that angle—and seized Meian's hand with both of his own. His grip was warm, iron-solid, and radiating barely contained energy.
"Meian!" Guy's voice boomed with genuine enthusiasm. "I'm Might Guy! Jōnin! Master of Taijutsu! And I can see it in you—that fire! That raw potential! Train with me, and I guarantee you'll surpass even me. You have the drive, the physique, the spirit—everything a true practitioner needs!"
Meian's head tilted slightly toward Kakashi, a silent question written across his face: Who exactly is this?
Kakashi sighed, rubbing the back of his neck—a gesture that suggested this was far from the first time he'd dealt with Guy's enthusiasm. "Meian, meet Might Guy. He's a Jōnin and one of Konoha's finest experts in close combat. As I mentioned before, he wanted to take you on as a personal student. I thought you'd refused, but apparently, he decided to come meet you anyway."
Guy's grip tightened around Meian's hand, and his grin widened impossibly. "So what do you say? Ready to become a true master of the physical arts?"
---