The sun had dipped low behind the trees, painting the sky with orange and violet hues as Hyuk Haruno stood alone in a clearing beyond the village limits. The sounds of the village—laughter, footsteps, conversation—were distant echoes now, swallowed by the quiet rustling of leaves and the occasional chirp of a bird overhead.
He stood still, eyes closed, breath calm. The silence was his sanctuary.
With a flick of his wrist, several kunai shimmered into view, suspended in the air by threads of chakra barely visible to the naked eye. He moved—precise, measured. The weapons snapped forward, striking targets carved crudely into tree trunks. Dead center. Again and again.
It wasn't about perfection. It was about control. Discipline.
He didn't train for attention. He didn't train for praise. He trained because there was something inside him that demanded more. To surpass. To dominate. To stay ahead.
A twig snapped behind him.
Hyuk didn't turn.
"You've been out here for hours," Sakura's voice came, cautious but persistent. "You'll wear yourself out."
Hyuk kept his back to her. "Leave."
"I'm just trying to—"
"I said leave." His voice was low, unwavering.
Silence stretched between them. Then, reluctantly, she turned and walked away, her footsteps growing fainter with each step. Hyuk opened his eyes slowly. He hadn't moved a muscle. Not even to watch her go.
He didn't need ties. They were distractions. Weaknesses waiting to be exploited.
---
The next morning, Team 7 gathered at Training Ground Three.
Kakashi Hatake was late.
Naruto complained loudly, pacing and waving his arms around. Sakura scolded him to behave. Sasuke leaned against a post, arms crossed, eyes closed, feigning indifference.
Hyuk stood apart from them all, a silent shadow beneath the trees.
When Kakashi finally arrived, he offered his usual lazy excuse—something about a black cat—and smiled beneath the mask as if it explained everything.
"Before we begin," Kakashi said, "I want to know what each of you wants. Your goals. Your dreams."
Naruto jumped in first, talking about becoming Hokage and being acknowledged.
Sakura followed with something about impressing Sasuke and becoming a great kunoichi.
Sasuke's turn was colder, darker. "I want power. To kill someone."
A tense silence followed.
Then all eyes turned to Hyuk.
He looked at Kakashi with bored eyes. "I don't have dreams," he said. "Only direction."
Kakashi blinked. "And what direction is that?"
Hyuk's answer was slow, deliberate. "Forward. Always forward."
Sasuke's eyes flickered toward him. There was something almost like recognition in the glance. Not respect—challenge.
---
Later that day, Kakashi explained the true purpose of the bell test.
"You'll be trying to take these from me," he said, holding up two small bells. "If you fail... you go back to the Academy."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "What?! That's not fair!"
"There are only two bells," Kakashi went on, ignoring Naruto's outburst. "Meaning one of you will be left behind."
Hyuk said nothing, but his sharp gaze didn't miss the meaning beneath the test.
Divide them. Make them fight each other. Evaluate loyalty and selfishness.
Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.
They scattered immediately.
Hyuk didn't go far. He perched silently in the branches of a tall tree, observing the others from above. Sasuke was already trying to sneak toward Kakashi. Sakura hesitated behind a bush, uncertain. Naruto had charged in recklessly, already triggering a trap.
Hyuk scoffed under his breath. Predictable.
He made no move to help any of them.
This wasn't his fight.
He wasn't here to bond.
He was here to win.
---
When the test ended and none of them secured a bell, Kakashi tied Naruto to a post, his usual cheerfulness nowhere to be found. His voice, when he spoke, was cool and stern.
"You all failed. Not because you didn't get a bell—but because you didn't work together."
Hyuk stood with arms crossed, unfazed. Kakashi turned to him.
"You didn't even try to help them."
"I didn't need to," Hyuk replied. "And neither did they. You only get stronger alone."
Kakashi stared at him for a long moment. "You're wrong."
Hyuk didn't argue.
Sakura looked at him, disappointed but no longer surprised. Sasuke, strangely, said nothing at all.
---
That evening, Hyuk sat on the roof of a quiet house, legs drawn up, watching the stars emerge overhead. He could still hear Kakashi's words echoing in his mind.
"Those who break the rules are trash... but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash."
He didn't agree.
But why did those words linger?
He scowled and shook the thought away.
The night was calm. Still.
But deep within Hyuk Haruno, something stirred.
Not doubt.
Not regret.
Something else.
Silent.
Unspoken.
A desire.
He would walk this path alone—no matter what lay at the end.