Naruto: The heir of the Hoshino clan.

Satsuki Uchiha was quite excited, to the point of rushing out of the Uchiha compound.

Satsuki was usually cautious around Shisui, especially because of the whole betrothal situation. But for the first time, she wholeheartedly thanked his existence.

Shisui had told her that Seiji's father had a bad relationship with the Uchiha clan, which was likely the reason for Seiji's initial rejection of her friendship. But Shisui had convinced him to accept her friendship, which made her very happy.

Additionally, Shisui had mentioned that Seiji had recently started his shinobi training, suggesting that she could get closer to him by becoming his training partner.

Satsuki smiled, imagining the days ahead, training and growing together. Maybe they could even go on missions together when they were older.

After a while of being lost in her fantasies, Satsuki saw the Hoshino clan's villa in the distance. Although it didn't compare to the vast grounds of the Uchiha clan, it was quite large in comparison.

Satsuki shyly approached the fence, peeking her head in to try and see inside.

There he was. At the entrance of his house, Seiji was standing on a tree trunk, his body horizontal as he looked at the ground.

"Phew, it took me an hour. It was pretty tough."

Seiji murmured with a satisfied smile. He looked like a normal, happy boy his age, a scene quite in contrast with his usual calm demeanor. This scene took Satsuki by surprise, to the point where she blushed deeply.

"Didn't he just start his training recently...?"

Satsuki was confused, seeing Seiji performing a level of training that even she hadn't attempted.

"Maybe he's just good at chakra control..."

Satsuki hesitated a bit but eventually decided to give it a try. So she entered and walked toward him.

"Hi..."

Satsuki cursed herself internally for getting nervous and not being able to continue speaking.

*Thud.*

Seiji, noticing Satsuki, jumped down, landing right in front of her. Satsuki's face ended up right in front of his chest.

*Gulp.*

Satsuki swallowed as she caught a faint whiff of Seiji's scent from his training, and she quickly stepped back, her face red.

Seiji blinked in confusion, not understanding the reason for her behavior.

"Hi... Satsuki, right?"

"Yes..."

Seiji was quite confused, as Satsuki was supposed to help him a bit with his training. Seiji thought they should get to know each other first, so the training would go more smoothly.

"So... Satsuki, do you want to talk a bit? To get to know each other better. After that, we can start training."

Seiji walked to the entrance of his house, where there were some chairs and a table, perfect for a little chat. Plus, the view was nice, and he could see when Kurenai and Naruko returned.

"Well, Satsuki, could you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Satsuki thought for a while and then began.

Seiji noticed that Satsuki seemed nervous at first, avoiding his gaze and stuttering as she spoke. However, after a while, she became more comfortable in the conversation.

Once she warmed up, Satsuki talked a lot. Maybe too much, to the point where Seiji could get a sense of the internal politics just from the occasional outbursts of the girl.

"Dad's an idiot, trying to betroth me to Shisui... he's a fool."

The complaints that kept coming up were about her father, the clan elders, the children of the Uchiha higher-ups, and so on.

Seiji started to sweat, as from an outsider's perspective, it might seem like he had manipulated the daughter of the Uchiha clan's patriarch for information.

"Alright... that's enough... now it's my turn. It's not fair if only you share... things."

Satsuki's eyes sparkled with anticipation upon hearing Seiji's words.

Seiji hesitated about what to share, as his life was generally quite uneventful, and he didn't want to come off as trying to gain sympathy.

Seiji briefly talked about the death of his parents, without going into too much detail. He mentioned Kurenai's visits, his usual routine of studying the books his father left, taking walks around the village, and his hobby of playing with his cat, Kay.

Satsuki seemed sad when she heard about his cat. Seiji tried to ask why and was surprised by her answer.

"Well, Mom told me that a long time ago, there was a really bad tradition the clan elders used to follow... they would give children a pet, and then, a few years later, when the kids had grown attached to their pets... they would kill the pets in front of them."

Seiji was shocked to hear this. For a moment, he was in disbelief until Satsuki continued.

"It was some kind of attempt to awaken the Sharingan... Apparently, they stopped doing it because it didn't always work and just caused resentment among most of the newer generations."

Hearing her words, Seiji understood the purpose behind the action, but he couldn't help hating it. Seiji was quite sensitive to such topics, especially because of his furry companion, as Kay was the only memory he had of his father.

"Can I play with your cat? Mom wouldn't let me have one because she was afraid Dad might try something similar to that tradition."

Seiji looked at Kay, who was watching them with his usual arrogant eyes that seemed to judge every action.

Satsuki spent the rest of the time playing with Kay, while Seiji watched them with a smile.

Both of them had forgotten the original purpose of Satsuki's visit: training.

'I have to say, Satsuki is quite pleasant.'

After a while, the harmonious scene was interrupted by a small shout of anger.

"WHO IS THAT...?"

Kurenai and Naruko had returned. Naruko shouted, and her face seemed filled with a sense of betrayal.

Meanwhile, Kurenai facepalmed and sighed.

"Both of them are the same..."

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