Title: Time's Paradox
Author: holmesfreak1412
Fandom: Naruto
Main Characters: Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, Hyuuga Hanabi, Sarutobi Konohamaru
Genre: Action, Epic, Romance
Rating: T
Summary: AU/AR: In which things may have happened either too fast, too slow or too differently. At seventeen, Naruto becomes sensei to the most laughably dysfunctional team ever created: a boy who wants to kill him, another who doesn't want to do that to anyone... ever and a girl whose life's ambition is to kill the only woman he has ever loved.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto franchise.
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Time's Paradox
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In which things happened with no preamble. Mizuki tricks him a little too early. Naruto passes his first genin exam and things occur too fast because that is what happens when you do not wait for your time. And the next thing you know, you lost the chance.
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Episode One
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"Uzumaki Naruto, Sensei"
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Time flies. You never know what happens after a generation.
The Hyuuga Clan downfall happens just a few months after the year's Chunin Exam concluded. One disaster narrowly averted and in the cost of the life of a revered leader and some other honoured shinobi. Konoha once again attended a large funeral of heroes, the rain pattering down as if in sync to the lamentation of lost comrades. In the middle of them was a child— a little, slender thing whose eyes now reminded Naruto's of how the villagers looked at him— because there was no one else in the Hyuuga now and what is left is only hatred. Naruto was thirteen when it happened, a chuunin for almost one year already and turning fourteen in a month. Hyuuga Hinata never was promoted in the last exams but that didn't stop her. Turning fourteen too this December and a genin for less than a year, she turns into a nukenin.
A little too early. A little too young.
The Chunin Exam of that year only produced one promotion any way, a far cry to the statistics of last year when Naruto took his own in Suna with his team and passed perhaps with not so flying colors but at least a vest to boast about when he got home. The reason he passed was only because he was consistently lucky and luck, however unpredictable was a main component of being a successful shinobi. Teamwork was the second, not-so-far-off reason why they still passed despite them probably being the most ordinary, featureless team ever. Their sensei taught them well and though his two teammates were but just offspring of civilians who wanted to have a chance on being in the hierarchy, they were just lucky enough.
To this day, Naruto thinks he has passed a little too early.
He would have taken that year's Chunin Exams had he chosen to wait and graduated in accordance to his age group. But true to his nature, he wasn't the most skilled when it came to being the most patient of people and that for some reason, his streak of luck just precipitated the moment Mizuki enticed him with an offer. One year too early. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" and the revelation of him being the fox later and boom, Iruka-sensei just chose to pass him against his better judgment. Why? Naruto never asked. Iruka-sensei had not thought he was ready yet, that is for sure but even the scarred chuunin, who saw him back then when he could not throw his shuriken properly, forgot that eventually.
Naruto became jonin at fifteen.
A little too early, he realizes now.
Naruto wonders what team would he have been with had Iruka realized the same thing that he is contemplating about now. Whether he would have been under the tutelage of the genius Kakashi and be rivals with Uchiha Sasuke in the affections of the pink-haired girl who used to be his type. They would have been the most dysfunctionally mismatched team ever: the cool prodigy and the knucklehead with the girl whose book smarts they could not use on practical battle. At least in his original team, they all were unprepared and innocent until their sensei helped them to fake it till they make it. But they would grow. Team Kakashi would have lived through in a different way that his team was never given a chance to.
His own team perished a little too early.
He never would have been in Team 10 under Sarutobi Asuma. They were too specialized, too prepared and too advanced to be considered for him. The tracking team would have been a better, more probable choice. Naruto had worked with Kiba and Shino before as a chunin and as a team, they proved to be quite unstoppable. His Kage Bunshin are a phenomenal tool in hunting down nukenin and many a time had he used them in an attempt to intercept Team 8's own defector, to no avail. Hinata left too early but she still managed to forge bonds that Kiba and Shino found reason enough not to shoot to kill. Sometimes, Naruto wonders how it could have been if he belongs to the same team as her. Whether she could have done what she had. Whether he could have seen it coming.
He fell in love with her too fast.
She was the only one who made his grief and solitude somewhat bearable. Hyuuga Hinata was on that fateful year's chunin exam, his first friend when he was one of the overseers and when he no longer has his own team to go in missions in the meantime. He was twelve, turning thirteen. She was younger. And Hinata in her splendour and title as the Hyuuga princess was the most humble and kindhearted thing he had ever had a chance of encountering. "You can do it, Naruto-kun." She cheered with a light smile when he admitted that he was nervous on being one of the pretend exam takers (and thus an example for the hopefuls) and offered her to just copy off his answers in the first stage. Hinata had recognized him right away and to his surprise, his cover was blown even before he started.
Her mask fell apart too fast.
She defeated Neji in the finals, a surprise that came to people who thought things would have happened differently because she was the weak Hyuuga princess and she was the girl Naruto encouraged before the fateful match because she looked like... she was not sure of something. Neji died in the process, the fatal blow stopping his heart and thus started a series of events that nobody would have expected.
And in the middle of it, Naruto was an unprepared chunin who never chased Gaara when he made his escape, who was not friends with Uchiha Sasuke yet, who was with the other chunins fighting the Otogakure ninja and who was not a genin hopeful like the rest of his classmates because things happened too fast and too differently. And Gaara only realized that he had to stop when half of Konoha has been razed. The Hyuuga clan fell overnight in the hands of the least expected person and the Fourth Ninja War happened in a span of one year.
And so the children of Konoha grew up too fast.
Naruto became jonin two years later.
The war ended much, much earlier than its predecessors though and if there was anything that could be a relief from time flying a little too fast, it was that. Two tailed beast joining forces to vanquish the current animosity between the great villages was enough to postpone the next bloodshed. Gaara soon became a good friend to Naruto and an even better Kazekage to Suna. And though this alliance between the two villages came a little too late and there have been a thousand dead bodies before such differences could be settled, Naruto was thankful. He came home a jonin, a war hero but by then Konoha had already lost too much to revel on victory. And he was no more than when he was the village pariah once again. No longer hated but the wariness was still there because you could have done it much faster, you know. This war wouldn't have happened. Thing could have been different. If only you were not...
Hinata would have been here...
Uzumaki Naruto came home a little too late...
...
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He would not have been able to stop Hinata from killing the Hyuuga clan off. He knows that. But the train of thought never quite obliterated itself yet because if the Hyuuga clan was never forced into extinction, Kumogakure would never have the courage to attack Konoha. And the Fourth Ninja World War never would have happened... too early, anyway.
In any case, it would have happened soon. In a world like theirs, such is inevitable. But it could have happened differently or later. Not like this when he was just a cowardly chunin who did not know much about the world they are living in. His old sensei, God rest his soul had not prepped him too well about that. It might have been better that even though he was just a genin at fifteen, at least he would have much more knowledge in hand because he chose to wait.
The office of the Hokage remained unchanged even so.
Seventeen-year old jonin Uzumaki Naruto stared at Tsunade with raised eyebrows, surprised that she was even suggesting such absurd thing. "Me? A jonin sensei?" The blonde haired shinobi scoffs, rubbing his head in honest confusion. He chuckles, uncomfortable. And the Fifth Hokage's eye twitches. He shivers dramatically in reaction. "Aren't I a little too young for that Tsunade-sama?"
If things could have been different and Tsunade still was given a choice of being her sensei's successor or not back then, Naruto might have been much closer to her in his tenacity. He might have addressed her more informally as he nagged about just taking the position he would have wanted for himself. But such thing never happened. In light of the war, Tsunade took the position almost immediately and the older blonde became an imposing, powerful authority first before she turned into a ridiculous gambling drunkard to Naruto.
Baa-chan, he thought. I would have enjoyed calling her baa-chan.
"Nobody's a little too young in this world brat." The woman snorts, golden eyes glaring at Konoha's orange miracle. The notorious man who would be everywhere at once and yet be so childish in his antics. Naruto was not corrupted by the war that he has won with his own charm yet or so it seemed. The young man grins at her response, challenging her. She sighs. "I mean, I know you could be the most immature person in the village."
"Hey!"
"But I have no choice, you see. You and I both know that we have had shortage of qualified shinobis ever since the war happened. And a new batch of academy students will become genin soon. We have to prepare them as much as possible. Who knows when the next time Kumo would try again?"
"But Tsunade-sama!" Naruto protests, looking frustrated. He stomps on his feet, sulking in the most undignified way possible. And here I thought he is one of my best jonin, she thinks. Sometimes, Naruto certainly needs more time to grow up than he was permitted to. But in the shinobi world, the luxury of time is but the will of the wisp. "I do not have much have experience in a four-man team-ttebayo."
"You have your own before."
"But not for long." He shrugs, dismissing any elaboration on that part. "After that, I mostly am the chuunin leader on my missions. And that is just formality-ttebayo. Shino would tell you that I acted more like a genin than them at those times." He cringes. "And that reminds me.. why not Shino? Or Kiba? Or Lee! Heck, even Sasuke would have done a good job."
No, definitely not the Uchiha. Tsunade groans. "You don't think you're ready yet? Those names you mentioned are of the same age as you, you know."
"Yeah but Shino likes kids even though he does not admit it half the time. Kiba and Akamaru would become a good example of teamwork. And Bushy Brows had Bushier Brows-sensei to look up on."
"And Sasuke?"
"Well, it would have been amusing..."
"Uzumaki Naruto, this is not a joke." Tsunade snaps and to her satisfaction, Naruto winces. "Your prank-pulling days are over. And though I must admit that Sasuke being a jonin teacher would be a sight to look at, there's this practical thing to think about. Kiba has his own team assigned to him already, Shino would be an academy instructor soon and I dispatched Lee to a four-month mission with his team. You are the only person who could do this."
"Tsunade-sama! I'm seventeen."
"So is Kiba." She frowns, scrutinizing him. Her amber eyes are not clouded with inebriation for once. "And what are your reservations about being too young anyway? You certainly didn't have much qualms on being a Hokage when you were thirteen back there in the war. Gaara is Kazekage now. You wanna be left behind?"
Naruto turns mum.
That is the problem. He never wants to be left behind.
But perhaps this is the time to slow down?
So you're jonin now? Interesting. I believe you can see my name in the Bingo Book now, eh? What is stated there, Naruto-kun? S-class?
Five years did a lot of things to him.
And to everyone else.
They grew up too fast.
Tsunade ploughs on, unaware of the young man's overwhelming turmoil. "As I was saying, you are the only person who can do this."
"I have the Kyuubi."
Well, Naruto-kun... aren't you supposed to be a hero?
The finality of his observation does not deter the Fifth Hokage in the least. Instead, she just leans back on her swivel chair, eyes dark and brooding as she regards the jinchuriki before her with something that resembles remonstrance. Her authority has finally resurfaced and for once, Naruto wonders whether his utter rejection of the prospect would make a difference now.
The silence stretches and Naruto shifts from his feet in awkward anticipation before Tsunade speaks again.
She obviously did not like his futile manner of dissuasion.
"Time and time again, you have proven yourself worthy of being a jonin Naruto." She intones and the stern, reprimanding expression does not waver. She keeps her stance bravely, always the woman who stood by him and who objected the elder's proposition to make him the weapon they once made Gaara as. The woman who was never afraid of him even though he almost killed her in one of his beastly rages. "I believe it is about time you realize that the Kyuubi is not part of it when I appointed you as one of Konoha's Finest."
You, Uzumaki Naruto has proven yourself to be a versatile subordinate. A man who can fit in any specialization, you are a shinobi well-versed on the act on being one and can work in any team that calls for the situation. And thus are the grounds for your appointment as an elite jonin of Konohagakure...
Naruto sighs, resigned. This is not the time to be uncharacteristically depressed, he muses. Be that as it may then. There is nothing that he can do. Sensei. Never had he thought that there may come a time...
I was told to hunt down the Kyuubi, Naruto-kun. It was nothing personal.
He banishes the sudden thought from his mind.
Taking his silence as a form of acquiescence, Tsunade tosses a few papers at the table, scattering what he now knows are files about his soon-to-be students. Leaning closer, he could see two familiar faces that he instantly recognized. He need not to look at their prominent names. Uzumaki Naruto knows them well.
He? He would be these... children's sensei?
The absolute look of horrified surprise in his youthful, whiskered face made Tsunade chuckle.
"You've got to be kidding me -ttebayo." He breaths incredulously and he realizes that it is too late to run now.
Too late.
...
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He arrived late.
Too late in fact that his students immediately showed their true colours the moment he stepped inside the godforsaken classroom. Class clown. Class nerd. Ice princess. In theory, the most interesting combination that is supposed to balance each other's temperament, skills and presents enough challenge for a tenured shinobi to run a freak show and making sure it finishes as the best theatrical performance. His team was never like this. Not at all. And he wonders this time around whether this is a good change.
"My first impression of you guys..." he says happily because that is just who he wants them to think he is. He sheepishly rubs the chalk powder that stuck on his hair, courtesy of the spiky-haired boy with the scarf. Sarutobi Konohamaru and the eraser he thought is a master prank. He still has a lot of things to learn.
He reminds me of me, he thinks forlornly. The dust in his blonde hair refuses to run out. This is exactly what I had done when my own sensei had been late. And he laughed about it like I do now because he used to be a prankster too and he understands.
Naruto wonders whether he will be as good to this as his sensei was.
"... is that I like you!" he finishes jovially, wrapping his arms around the prankster's neck in jest. The boy makes choking sounds as he tries to break free, pulling his head away from Naruto's grasp while muttering a colourful series of expletives. The jonin's chuckles on the other hand, are loud enough for good censorship.
"Ano... are you our sensei?" The bespectacled boy approaches slowly, his sleepy eyes shyly beholding the older man before them and no doubt noticing with his observant eyes that he is only slightly older than the three of them. "I'm sorry about what happened. I told Konohamaru not to—"
"Udon!" He would not have remembered the meganekko's name had it not been after a ramen ingredient. That is how undescript and common-looking the young boy is. Unlike Konohamaru who was once the honourable grandson, Udon never came from any ninja clan nor was he especially talented in any fields. It was the book smarts, Tsunade briefed him. At least there was something similar from his old team.
He uses his other arm to pull the boy into him. Udon struggles for a brief moment before opting to just blush in mortification as Naruto sang about them going to be the best team ever. It is a most ridiculous picture and he intends for it to be so. These kids have to be prepared, true. But before that they have to be the children that they are first.
He never had the chance to be.
He hears a derisive scoff from the last member of the team and he pauses at his smothering of the two boys to straighten himself up. The dark-haired girl's white eyes are fixed on them in a look that is so familiar it made him smirk to himself. So she turned out that way, he thought. Unsurprising. The one time that the genins of his year has met up, Hyuuga Neji has made quite the impression to him. The cool genius stereotype. She even dresses like him! Her brown hair cut in a short bob-cut and hitai-ate perfectly covering her forehead, the only girl in this year's Team 7 faces him fully and the resemblance takes his breath away because the last time he has seen a pair of white eyes, they were filled with the desire to just die. With emptiness that never quite matched the stories he heard about her.
You cannot kill me.
This one though is filled with determination, the same ones he saw just after the Chunin Exam finals five years ago, when the blow was dealt. The eyes of a person who can kill her own kin.
Hinata's eyes.
"Hyuuga Hanabi." He greets despite his heavy heart, skipping towards her with a grin as Hanabi inches slightly away with creased brows because that is who Naruto is. He extends a hand, somewhat remembering that this is what most nobles do upon introduction. They would have a more formal one later. Over a bowl of hot and delicious ramen. "Uzumaki Naruto, your sen—"
"Kami, are you even a jonin?" She spits out at him and Naruto is taken aback by the venom and accusation in her words. The girl's glare shoots lasers at him that even Naruto who was used to being the end of all kinds of animosity did not once experience. From the corner of his eyes, he spies Udon wincing and Konohamaru nodding his head vigorously in agreement.
Hinata was never like this, even when she was trying to kill him.
"That's right." The Sarutobi grandson agrees exuberantly, his scarf billowing as he runs towards them and steps over the desk. "You cannot even dodge an eraser!"
"Konohamaru! That's not how you talk—"
"And you're late." Hanabi adds icily, drumming her fingers in an staccato fashion that demands his attention. Naruto keeps his tongue in his cheek. "The others already left with their senseis an hour ago."
"Oh about that... You see, I was called by the Hokage about an important matter." More like informing him about this nightmare in the last minute.
"Liar!"
"Konohamaru!"
"I don't believe that for a second." Hanabi grumbles but then shrugs and pushes back from her seat. She stands gracefully, stepping ahead of them as Naruto watches dumbstruck. She heads for the door and cranes her neck upon glancing at them with an exasperated glare. "Kami, let's just get this over with. Which training ground?"
"How about we go for ramen first?" He suggests, back to the mood. He proudly points to himself. "My treat!"
She makes a sound, clicking her tongue. "Tch." And rolls her eyes whilst shaking her head. "Pathetic."
The girl walks off, leaving in her wake the three males gaping.
"I'm sorry about her Naruto-sensei." Is all the goody-two shoes Udon can offer after the episode. They are walking towards the Academy's entrance, where Hanabi stands, tapping her sandaled-foot. Konohamaru says something about stuck-up bitches and him being too hungry for anything. Naruto is almost ready to agree. "She has always been like that."
...
.
,
In the end, they chose Training Ground 9.
No ramen, Naruto sulks, sighing for the umpteenth time as he put his hands on his pockets in exasperation with the day's events. The three academy graduates arrange themselves in a semicircle in front of him, seating themselves just around the memorial stone that Naruto did adorn with flowers just this morning. His students, for that is who they are now, all stare up at him in waiting. Even Hanabi's anticipation is palpable.
Awkwardly, Naruto clears his throat.
Is this how they did it when he was just starting?
He has no idea what to do. When they did this all those years ago, his sensei just opted to play a simple game of forcing them to utilize their teamwork. And them being the most ordinary individuals ever, his two teammates immediately recognized that the only way to pass is to go against their sensei together. There wasn't any pride or honour to preserve there. His teammates had been practical and Sensei told them that that is one of the foremost things that makes a ninja.
True, his team had been nothing like this. Class clown. Class nerd. Ice princess. Different personalities and Naruto kind of likes it.
He never is much of a liar.
And by nature, he is indeed a certified masochist.
"So..." he begins, taking a deep breath. He flashes a grin so bright towards the three that even Hanabi has to squint. This man is so bright, she notes glumly. And it does not help that he has the sun on his back. "Let's introduce ourselves."
"I already know who you are." It is Konohamaru who exclaims, springing up from his position. Exactly what Naruto might have done. "But you might as well be done with yourself first. Prove to us that you are not the weakling you look to be."
A vein pops on Naruto's forehead. This brat... "Oh that..." You would find out soon enough, he resolves. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, jonin of Konoha -ttebayo. Uh... I like ramen and dislike the three minutes that I would be kept waiting for it to be prepared. My hobby is to collect cup ramen and Ichiraku coupons. Let's see... and my dream is to become the next Hokage—"
"I would be the next Hokage kore!" objected Konohamaru, his foot stomping so loudly that even Naruto winces. He sees Hanabi rub her forehead. Naruto can sympathize. "You'll see that."
"Well, go ahead then." Naruto chose to just shrug nonchalantly, not bothering to tell him about the myth of empty cans being the noisier. Or barks for those who cannot bite. He levels his tired, exasperated glare towards the loudmouth. Ogamu-sama. Hn. Was he this irritating when he was this age? "So who are you again?"
"My name is Sarutobi Konohamaru, future Hokage and the most powerful ninja in the village!" He launches himself upwards, standing on the top of the memorial stone. Naruto takes note that the boy opted not to introduce himself as the Sandaime's grandson, which would have made his chances to be taken seriously higher. "I like pretty girls and I enjoy learning new jutsus, devising pranks. I hate it when people call me 'honorable grandson'..."
Oh, that explains it.
"And tomboyish stuck-up pricks who thinks they are better than everyone." He sticks his tongue towards Hanabi. The girl just shrugs. Impressive composure, Naruto notes. "And my dream aside from being the Hokage is to be acknowledged by the village as Konohamaru, not as a Sarutobi."
"But you should know Konohamaru..." Lesson number one. We might as well take Itachi's words from his mouth. "The acknowledged one becomes Hokage. Not the other way round."
"Eh?"
"Next." He implores, dismissive.
"My name is Udon. I like Math" He pushes his glasses to his face and sneezes. The sound made the other two recoil for a moment before shrugging back as if dismissing it for the norm. Udon sneezes again. Oh. "I like reading ninja novels and learning trivias. I dislike pollen, cauliflower, dust..." And soon he is making an endless list of what he is allergic at before Naruto just told him that yes, he got that. Nothing better than a hypochondriac. "And I want to become a strong ninja someday, make my parents proud."
A very generic but realistic ambition too. He smiles at the boy, pats his head and told him that sure, he will be. Udon blushes. Naruto looks at Hanabi. "Your turn."
The girl straightens up, steeples her fingers and with a critical eye that promises his downfall begins to speak. "My name is Hyuuga Hanabi."
Ano... I am Hyuuga Hinata.
"There are a lot of things I don't like and my likes... you don't need to know about that. It's irrelevant to the subject matter."
Cinnamon rolls are my favourite! Thank you! Oh, you even brought me zenzai. Thank you, thank you.
Naruto-kun...
"So... could you tell us more than your name then?" Naruto prompts mischievously, scratching the back of his ear. Konohamaru coughs in mirth. Udon blushes. Hanabi glares.
"I want to kill someone." She continues. And he sees her clench her fist, teeth gnashing in barely restrained anger. Konohamaru says something about him hoping that is not him she is referring to. "And it's not a dream. It's a reality. It's my future."
You cannot kill me.
"And it will happen." She says and inhales. The mask is in place again as if for the moment the depths of the darkness in her heart did not just surface.
Naruto smiles sadly at her. Things have happened too fast, he thinks and he looks up at the heavens wondering whether justice has finally come for all the Hyuugas in the form of this little girl who lived in hatred too early and might come out of it too late.
"We'll see about that." He says sombrely. "Same place 6:AM tomorrow. We'll have our first ever mission. Let us just hope it will not be your last. We are one step closer to your dreams folks and let's hope we don't trip –ttebayo."
And so he vanishes with a puff of smoke.
...
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.
The real Naruto seated eating his fourth serving in Ichiraku Ramen gasps slightly as the bunshin dispelled.
He watches his reflection on the shiny bowl and reflects that perhaps this would not be too bad after all. They all are different. They all are unique in their own way. And he likes that. He likes it very much.
When we see each other, prove to me that there really is a chance for things to change. I no longer want to meet the same pathetic weakling that I am standing before right now.
"Well Hinata..." he murmurs to himself, as he always did whenever he hears her voice in his head. He must be going crazy. He must be unwell after all this paradox that he calls life. But that is who he is now. And he cannot do anything about it besides be other than who he is yesterday. Hinata's voice continues to chant in his head. "I guess you would meet your sister's Naruto-sensei soon."
He promises himself as he pays for his food that he would be just in time for tomorrow.
Just in time.
...
.
"So we make a move now?"
By far, Hoshigaki Kisame is definitely not the ugliest man Hinata has ever had the pleasure of meeting. Some others in their little band of nukenin would be more than eligible to hold that unsightly distinction. As a matter of fact, the shark-skinned Kirigakure swordsman is probably the closest to decent that Hinata would ever wish for a partner. In a way, the enormous man does remind her of Kiba and the doting, teasing way in which her teammate had once treated her.
Samehada likes the smell of your chakra. Whoah. Akamaru seems to take a fancy on you eh...
Amazing how some things could stay the same for her.
Most of the time, Hinata appreciated it.
Sasori of course, is one of the aberrations of her gratefulness despite her not so desirable situation. Hinata never had encountered a man so absorbed in the beauty of eternity and yet be so impatient about its enactment. Beside them as they trudge out of the cave that was their meeting place for the day, the red-haired puppeteer glares at the unforgiving sunrays, shielding his eyes with his sleeved arm. He mutters something about Leader-sama sure taking his time and that finally yes after so much ambling around aimlessly, they sure are making a move.
"Well, we have to find your partner first eh." Kisame points out, chuckling at the shorter man's tirade. They go into a reasonable enough pace across the forest path whilst putting on the straw hats. Hinata keeps herself behind the two other men, choosing to just listen in one of their debacles again rather than partake in it. "Or else we cannot start hunting our prey."
She sees him lick his lips in predatory anticipation, the glint in his eyes feral and ready. Hinata knows first hand what Kisame can do, what Kisame has reserved for his special victims. She shivers at the unwelcome thought, cursing her own vivid imagination. Hyuugas tend to be too observant. At the very least though, the man seems to respect her enough not to try to use it against her.
"Any news about what happened to Orochimaru anyway?" Sasori inquires, fussing about his wooden arm. The thing to Sasori is that however impressive his puppet jutsu is, he is easily vulnerable to anyone who might have the same sense as her. They might not have the same penetrating eyes but sooner or later, someone would discover his Achilles' heel. Hinata is definitely not looking forward to the day they would have to replace him because he died too soon.
"You mean ever since Hinata-san turned him down?" Kisame replies, tossing his head backwards to glance at Hinata to flash an animalistic, mocking grin. Impassively, Hinata stares back, tired of this same, old thing already. "He probably hung himself with his snakes already."
To her surprise, gloomy and eternally nonchalant Sasori found humor in that. "Hn. He should have known better." He notes, casting her an appraising look before going ahead and leading the way. For the moment as they calmly tread the path towards their destination, the silence is a comfortable one.
The five-day journey towards The Land of Spices would easily have been a bearable one if only her two companions are not so inconsiderate of human needs such as taking a break and resting. Sometimes, Hinata loathes the usual strategy of balancing teams according to what will at least not cause an anarchy. Leader-sama had been a genius on putting Kisame and Hinata together. The tailed beast without a tail and the girl who has powerful chakra but is not blessed with much. Hinata's questionable stamina had always been the source of her own insecurity, the bane of her current existence and the weakness that Kisame is supposed to cover. Most of the time, he fails to. She wonders with some doubt if she will live long enough.
She soon decides that she likes how Deidara, Sasori's prospected new partner looks. Better than when she first met the creepy Orochimaru anyway. Blonde hair, blue eyes, loud and cocky disposition. Some things do not change and perhaps she is meant to meet people who would remind her of her old friends. Come to think of it, Sasori is like Shino too. Hinata smiles at the thought. And as the Iwagakure terrorist charges at them with what seems to her like intricately sculpted grenades, Hinata steps forwards and tells her companions to stay back,
This is her fight.
Her eyes shines blue flames and for a moment as she watches the blonde-haired, blue-eyed man run screaming towards her, she is reminded that today is Hanabi's birthday, turning twelve and she probably is already genin by now under a sensei who was once a boy she knew so well, if things were done as promised.
This man makes fireworks look dangerous.
She has always loved fireworks.
By now, Hanabi would be a full-fledged ninja and probably is ready to come after her.
Hyuuga Hinata sighs to herself. It is only a matter of time.
..
.
Not a very original idea, I know but I always treat a sensei!Naruto and nukenin!Hinata sort of my guilty pleasure. And there aren't enough of them. Too bad. And I have also always wanted to have a fanfic that is actually based on the actual universe. Feel free to review and tell me what you think. And oops... I actually wrote a NaruHina.
Just to give you a heads up, I am not the type of writer who would be making a poll on which character would I have this character end up with. This fanfic was concocted with NaruHina in mind and thus no matter how it ends, there will always be undertones of the tension between them. I am trying to regain my love with NaruHina through this (The Last almost did it) so I would appreciate if we just enjoy the ship and not scare me away again. The reason I wrote this is because I want to read something like it and I do think somebody else might feel the same way.
Next up: A Shinobi Endures. More about Hanabi and Naruto being the coolest sensei.
