Chapter One
"My name is Yuuhi Kurenai and I will be your substitute teacher while Iruka is sick and -" Kurenai calmly ducked underneath the bucket of paint walloped in her direction, removed the tack from the teacher's desk chair, and stood, straightening. "And I do not have the same tolerance for pranks that your regular teacher does, Uzumaki Naruto," she said without emotion.
Naruto was staring wordlessly. He'd gone all out for this substitute teacher. No one had ever dodged two of his pranks at once before!
Kurenai walked up to him and considered him, smirking. He looked the part of the class clown - messy blond hair, a teasing grin, and brightly colored clothing. "I think… perhaps you should do every math question in your textbook, Uzumaki Naruto?"
"But - but that would take more than one day!" Naruto protested, horrified.
Kurenai leaned over until she was close to his face. "Then you had better start very quickly," she said quietly, and walked back up to her place at the front of the room.
Tenten was watching in throes of ecstasy. This kunoichi woman meant business! Nothing like the bland Suzume-sensei, who taught the proper and refined kunoichi arts. Yuuhi Kurenai wore a seductive wrap dress around generous curves; her shiny black hair curled past ruby red lips that matched the crimson in her eyes. She was not cruel, necessarily, but she was calm and considering and she didn't show emotion very much.
Tenten aspired to be like that one day.
Hinata was watching Naruto in concern. He was bent over his textbook, but was frowning hopelessly down at the first question. It was obvious he couldn't solve it. How was he supposed to finish before the end of class if he couldn't even get past problem one?
Sakura was snickering in Naruto's direction, but Ino merely watched with a smirk. It was Uzumaki's own fault; no one intelligent pitted themselves against an obviously older and stronger ninja with completely unknown abilities. She appreciated the fact that Kurenai-sensei hadn't made them all suffer because Naruto had messed up. Iruka loved doing that, reminding them all that on a ninja team one action could affect the whole group, and Ino hated it.
"So," said Kurenai, "I hear that on the agenda for today, we have a lecture in the morning and then taijutsu sparring in the afternoon?" She clapped her hands once. "Let's get started."
She lectured on ninja history for the morning, and they all took notes. Naruto was still trying hopelessly to get through his first ten problems, and Hinata kept watching him out of the corner of her eye. Finally, when the bell rang, Ino and Sakura followed all the other vapid fangirls out the classroom door after Sasuke, Shino left alone, Shikamaru and Chouji left together, and Tenten ventured up toward Kurenai with a canny and eager eye.
But Kurenai was watching Hinata. She'd just approached Naruto.
"N-Naruto-kun -"
Naruto looked up flatly. "What?"
"U-umm… that is… I don't mean to be insulting, but… do you need… help?" Hinata finally squeaked out timidly. She had short bluish-black hair, a round face, and the trademark silvery pupil-less Hyuuga clan eyes; she wore a big baggy sweatshirt and pants and her fingers played around with each other as she spoke to Naruto, her face flushed with premonitive embarrassment.
Naruto's face broke in relief. "Could you?" he pleaded.
"Y-yes of course." Hinata sat down beside him.
"Thanks, Hinata. You're really nice. Hey, no offense, but… why are you helping me?" Naruto added curiously.
"Indeed, Hinata, it is very kind of you. And why are you helping him?" Kurenai spoke up.
Hinata and Naruto both gasped and looked around. Kurenai was walking over, hands behind her back, a curious Tenten following along behind her.
Naruto looked nervous, but Hinata was remarkably serene. "I helped him because he is a comrade," she said simply, "who needed my help."
Kurenai nodded, giving a small smile, and Naruto relaxed. "You are indeed very kind. You are a Hyuuga, yes?"
"Er, yes - but, that is - I'm not particularly -" Hinata had looked down, stammering, her courage failing again.
"Your sister is clan heiress, not you," Kurenai filled in for her.
"Yes." Hinata winced and kept her eyes on her hands.
"Yet I have met Hanabi. And she does not have half the ninja professionalism that you have," said Kurenai, and Hinata looked up tentatively. Her sister was a spoiled brat, but Kurenai decided not to add that part.
"Yeah, Hinata! You rock!" said Naruto, and Hinata blushed and smiled.
"Thank you," she whispered to Kurenai.
"Hey, if you're looking to get stronger… you and I could train together!" said Tenten brightly. "I'm always looking for a new sparring partner. Girls like us have to pair up against all the silly Sasuke fangirls."
Hinata smiled. "That would be great," she said quietly, a bit shy.
"Tenten… you wanted to talk to me. What is it about?" asked Kurenai curiously.
"Well, it's just - I love seeing strong female ninja!" said Tenten, impassioned. She wore pants, a Chinese silk shirt, and brown hair in a double bun chignon; she was small and slim, she had warm brown eyes and a heart shaped face. "I'm not from a clan and I live in an orphanage, but I want to become an amazing kunoichi someday! Like the legendary Tsunade!"
"The legendary Tsunade, huh? Lofty aspirations," said Kurenai thoughtfully. "It seems to me like you could do with a bit of Hinata's humility, and Hinata could do with a bit of your strength. Perhaps you would be good for each other."
Hinata and Tenten looked at each other thoughtfully.
At last, the rest of the class came back in. Tenten decided to sit next to Hinata, who was sitting next to Naruto. Sasuke - pale, reserved, dark haired and eyed, and handsome - walked in, found his seat taken, scoffed, and went somewhere else. Sakura walked in, saw her seat taken, and she just had to open her mouth and say it.
"You had to take my spot, didn't you, Naruto? Why are you sitting by Hinata? Are the two of you finally dating?" asked Sakura scathingly.
Even Ino, the queen of icy retorts, froze as the classroom went dead silent. Hinata's face was flaming hot. Tenten thought it was cruel and tactless… but so did Ino, who was by her own admission a bubbly and flirtatious but heartless bitch.
"Wh-what?! No, Sakura-chan, no, I don't feel anything for Hinata! I want to be dating you!" Naruto stood, panicked, and blurted out the words.
Tears filled Hinata's eyes. She stood, and ran sobbing from the classroom. Tenten stood to follow her. "You know, Naruto, you have a reputation for being a moron, but sometimes you really do fit the bill!" she snapped, and ran after Hinata.
"Wha - what -?"
"She's had a crush on you since you were six, jackass, and you're the only person who hadn't figured it out yet," Ino snapped at Naruto. Naruto was stunned into silence. Then she turned, smirking, to Sakura, who'd grown quiet. "Well congratulations, Forehead Girl. You win the prize for being the only person in the class more tactless than Uzumaki Naruto."
Sakura frowned defensively at her rival. "If she wanted Naruto, she should have stuck up for herself."
"Oh, like you with Sasuke?"
"You do the exact same thing!" said Sakura, outraged.
"Yeah, because of you. Duh." Ino rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to say anything about it until you broke up our friendship and went chasing after him like an idiot."
Sakura gasped, and so did several other members of the class. That was mean even for the Queen of Popular, Ino.
"And if you don't want me to be honest to you," Ino added heatedly, "the answer is simple. Stop throwing words around yourself and hurting the feelings of defenseless little girls."
And Sakura watched the girl she'd modeled herself after - the ever popular, queen of diets Ino - walk away from a perfectly good fight and leave the room to go look after Tenten and Hinata.
She found them in the bathroom. Hinata was crying inside a stall and Tenten was knelt beside her, patting her back.
"He didn't deserve you," she said sympathetically, just as Ino walked in. Tenten glared. "What do you want, Yamanaka?"
"I came to see if Hinata's okay," said Ino reservedly.
"Oh, don't give me that, you're just like the rest of them," Tenten snapped.
"Excuse me?" said Ino heatedly. "I wasn't the one out there running my mouth like a moron!"
"... Fair point," Tenten admitted, sighing. She just resented everything Ino represented. Ino had a swishing ponytail of blonde hair and ice blue eyes; she wore a revealing little black kunoichi dress and too much makeup. She was everything Tenten was not, with the perfect oval face and perfect hourglass body.
She was a fangirl - silly, vapid, and ridiculous. She was not the serious kunoichi that Tenten prided herself on being.
"Hinata, if it's any consolation," sighed Ino, leaning against a wall, "I let Sakura and Naruto have it back there in the classroom."
"You defended Hinata?" said Tenten, surprised.
"How do you think I became friends with Forehead Girl?" said Ino, smiling humorlessly. "I saved her from bullies and invited her into my popular friends group. Serves me right. She learned everything she could from me and then broke it off with me to go chasing after Sasuke - the guy I liked. And, I mean - I had to defend my territory, you know?"
Tenten didn't know, but she was relieved that Ino at least wasn't a completely terrible person.
"I just can't believe it…" Hinata sobbed. "My own family hates me, and now Naruto-kun…"
"Why does your family hate you?" Ino asked, surprised and nonplussed.
Hinata looked up, sniffling, and smiled. "You want to hear a story?" she asked, amused and tearful. And she told the story of a little girl who was always being bullied by her family because she didn't want to hit her sister in sparring sessions, who eventually lost in a big fight against her sister and lost her place in the clan echelons.
Ino paused. "That's ridiculous," she scoffed.
"Ino!" said Tenten, outraged.
"What? It is," said Ino challengingly. Hinata's eyes were wide. "Listen, Hinata. When you fight against someone in a spar, you're helping them improve. They're actually less likely to die out on the field because of you. You're helping them survive, not hurting them."
Ino turned to Tenten.
"And you, you want Kurenai to notice you, right?" Ino was nothing if not observant. "Then the choice is obvious. You have to impress her as a ninja."
"That's… actually good advice," said Tenten, almost suspicious.
Ino sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah. My Dad may not recognize me as a Yamanaka yet, but he has ridiculously high standards. I have some of the best grades in the class. The only place I don't beat Forehead Girl is in academics. And that's because she's, like, some sort of fucking genius, apparently."
Hinata and Tenten snorted and smiled. Hinata's tears had dried somewhat.
"A pity it's wasted on her," Tenten ventured.
Ino smiled. "Yeah," she said. "It's a gigantic tragedy. She's weak, flimsy, obnoxious, and irritating. I suppose she could aggravate her opponent to death."
"Oh, that's so mean!" said Hinata, smiling despite herself, and Tenten and Ino laughed.
"So, you had advice for us. We have advice for you." Tenten stood. "I'm not going to harp on you about makeup or fashion or looking good -"
"Thank God."
"That's your own choice," Tenten continued gamely. "But if you keep dieting and exercising, Ino, you're actually going to lose strength as a ninja. You could pass out. You could even die - when the body has no fat left, it -"
"Eats away at the muscles, including the heart," said Ino, her expression suddenly shuttered. "Yeah. I know. Health is important to me… but I guess that's different. But how am I supposed to beat Forehead Girl if she's always fighting to keep the perfect body and I'm not?"
"That's where my advice comes in," said Hinata quietly. "Ino, you can date or crush on whoever you want to. But… I think it's time you let Sakura go."
Kurenai stood outside the bathroom listening as silence fell. She'd come to check on Hinata, but now the cogs in her head had begun turning. She was training for the Jounin Exam… She was due to take it in two years.
Six months before these three nine-year-old-girls graduated.
The girls all came back to the classroom, chatting.
They'd found that Tenten loved frequenting weapons shops and was a little witch in training, filled with fortune telling cards and herbal remedies. Ino was very traditionally girly; she loved shopping, helped her Mom with their family flower shop, she owned hundreds of makeup and perfume bottles, and she had her own breathy ASMR video website. Hinata loved books, music, movies, arts, and crafts - she could paint and draw, she liked singing surprisingly much for such a shy girl, and one of her favorite hobbies was flower pressing.
Then when they came back to class, they were reminded: "Taijutsu sparring out in the back field," said Kurenai. "Everyone follow me."
All the students surrounded the two combatants, who went at it without head or hand gear, stomping and clapping and cheering in a back field. Kurenai, as the teacher, proctored, judging when a fight was over. Kurenai had already decided she wanted to test a few things.
Today, the first two combatants were: "Haruno Sakura versus Yamanaka Ino!"
Ino and Sakura stood to face each other in the circle. Ino was reserved, holding back, taunting Sakura but constantly hanging back and keeping her distance. She fought mechanically, enough to put in a good showing - but, hypocritically she knew, not enough to hurt her former best friend. Sakura lashed out, unusually fiery - she wanted to prove to everyone that she was not someone to be humiliated by Yamanaka Ino!
In another timeline, when Ino and Sakura first fought, they were equals. Sakura had been fighting alongside Naruto and Sasuke in Team Seven for several months. She had blossomed.
This was not that timeline.
Sakura at last got too far inside Ino's guard and Ino lashed out in a surprised punch, cold cocking Sakura and taking her down in a single blow. Sakura fell to the ground, unconscious. "Shit - Sakura! Sakura!" Ino ran over and bent down over her former friend.
Everyone had crowded around them, and in the chaos, Ino felt a hand fall on her shoulder from behind. A soft voice. It was Sasuke's.
"Get out now," he murmured. "Perhaps you are not such a bad person or a weak ninja. In that case, get out while you can. My only goal in life is a single minded tenacity to murder one man, much stronger than I am. Even in a world where I acknowledge you, this doesn't end the way you want it to end."
The hand was removed, and Ino knelt there, her breath coming in short gasps.
Sakura suddenly jumped awake, bloody-faced. "Sasuke! Sasuke-kun! He didn't see me, did he?" She just looked so desperate.
Perhaps Hinata was right. Perhaps it was time to let Sakura go.
Ino stood. "I surrender, Sakura," she said, swallowing her pride, and everyone gasped and went suddenly silent once more. "You can have him."
As she walked away, she heard Sakura cheering behind her, heedless of her pain. In a final moment of vindictiveness, Ino never told Sakura what Sasuke had said. Sakura continued to chase Sasuke, and get nowhere, for the next two and a half years.
Apparently, he only imparted knowledge of his future to people he felt were worth it.
Ino went to join Tenten and Hinata in the crowds.
"What about all your popular friends?" said Tenten in surprise.
"I doubt they want to hang out with someone who just openly gave up on Uchiha Sasuke," said Ino, smiling wryly. The girls were glaring at her in disbelief from a distance. "What about all your guy friends, Tenten?"
"I decided it was a girls day for a change," said Tenten mischievously. "I doubt the guys'll miss me."
"And I have no friends," said Hinata simply. "I am too quiet."
"I'm hurt, Hinata," said Ino dryly. "It's like I'm not even here."
Tenten laughed. Hinata's eyes widened, and then she smiled.
"Good job, Ino," she said warmly. "I guess we both learned something today."
"That we did," Ino admitted.
"Next up: Tenten versus Uzumaki Naruto!"
"This should be easy, Tenten, impressing Kurenai." Ino smirked. "I'll be here to make fun of you if it's not."
"Comforting, Ino."
"Tenten…" Ino and Tenten looked over at Hinata hesitantly. "Kick his butt!" Hinata said, frowning fiercely.
Tenten smiled. "No problem."
She stood across the circle from Naruto. Naruto was impulsive, reckless, stupid, and weak, a unique combination. So in theory, if she just waited…
Sure enough, Naruto charged at her head-on, his guard wide open. Tenten swept his feet, elbowed him in the face, and as he fell and his face ate dirt she sat on him and pinned his arms behind his back.
"That's what you get for hurting my friend, motherfucker!" she snapped. Naruto was groaning beneath her. She yanked at his arms and he shouted; Ino was smirking and Tenten snickered.
"Winner of the first fight: Yamanaka Ino. Winner of the next fight: Tenten."
Tenten stood and as she walked away, Kurenai murmured, "Very well done." Tenten smiled proudly, and kept walking.
"Next up: Hyuuga Hinata versus Uchiha Sasuke!"
Hinata swallowed, her eyes widening.
"Hey, Hinata, you'll do fine," said Tenten in concern.
"Hinata. Remember what I said." They looked over at Ino, who was reserved again. "Fight him like it'll save his life," she said. Then she smiled. "And kick his ass."
Confidence filled Hinata. She nodded, and smiled. "Okay!"
She walked into the circle to face Sasuke, who was dark and forbidding. She had to think her way through this one. Sasuke didn't expect her to put her whole heart into the fight - he didn't expect to be fighting a Jyuuken specialist. He was also arrogant enough that he naturally expected to win. He had an ego bigger than her father's, and Hinata privately knew that was saying something.
So.
She had watched him carefully. And she knew one of his usual tricks. He knocked the fighter over and pinned them down on the first turn.
Sure enough, he flew at her, knocked her to the ground.
"Winner: Uchi -" Kurenai began in disappointment, but then she paused as people began looking closer. "Wait a minute…"
Hinata was pinned down - but she'd hit a Jyuuken strike directly into Sasuke's exposed navel. He paused, coughed, vomited up blood, and then collapsed on his side. Hinata stood.
"Jyuuken," she told the watching crowd in a small but determined voice. "I hit the victim's tenketsu points, causing massive internal organ damage. As he is now, it would be relatively easy for me to strike again at his heart, and kill him -" She arced a hand right above a silent, shaking Sasuke. "However, Jyuuken can also be used to open tenketsu back up, thus healing."
She placed a touch again to Sasuke's navel and he stopped shaking, righting himself magically.
"Hence, Jyuuken. Gentle Fist. Touches kill. It is a Hyuuga clan art," said Hinata. She turned to Sasuke. "When you attack someone so thoughtlessly, you leave certain parts of yourself wide open to assault. Do not forget this."
Sasuke nodded, looking surprised and respectful.
Kurenai smiled. "Winner," said said, "Hyuuga Hinata."
Ino and Tenten were cheering.
The three of them were walking off campus together at the end of the day, elated, when Kurenai approached them.
"Girls, you all did very well today," she said, and they smiled proudly. "I leave class after today, but I would like to continue seeing you all improve. I would like to offer you all my services as a Chuunin level private tutor - free of charge. You would go to the Academy, but be additionally trained by me in more specialized fighting arts on top of that. And you would be left the stronger for it.
"But I only offer this if I can tutor all three of you at once. Like a team."
"We don't know anything about you," Ino pointed out.
Kurenai smiled. "I am a genjutsu specialist," she said. "My father is the headmaster here. I am twenty-four years old, and working toward Jounin rank. I enjoy botany and wine tasting."
"Ah. Classy science lady," said Ino thoughtfully. "... Yeah. I accept."
"So do I," said Tenten, smiling widely.
Even Hinata was smiling. "... As do I," she said.
And so it began.
Author's Note: This is my first Rhoswen Eolande Naruto fic. I am a super-sensitive NF with an anxiety disorder. Please don't hurt me.
Other notes... this story will end with the start of canon. I plan on making the start of canon a separate book. This is a story focusing on the growth of three girls under a strong woman mentor.
Their Academy era training - kunoichi arts training, spiritual development, Academy level fighting skills - will not be covered. Those seem kind of obvious. The focus will be on the girls' interpersonal relationships, aspirations, specialized skills training, and friendship.
I didn't mean to bash Sakura in this chapter, though I guess it kind of came out that way. I do feel a bit sorry for Sakura; I'm not going to just throw her to the wolves. But in part one, she was the most obnoxious, grating female character for me, and I guess that comes out in my work. I also meant for you to feel a bit sorry for Sasuke and Naruto, poor guys.
I don't plan on changing the girls too much in basic personality or appearance. They will go through character development, but will hopefully continue to be believably themselves.
I needed Ino and Hinata to give up their crushes in order for the story to do what I wanted it to do. I'm sick to death of boy-obsessed Naruto characters anyway. A woman's life does not have to revolve around a man.