Hiashi sidestepped the strike with a casual sort of ease.
"You know it's useless. You know it's futile. You know you won't succeed."
Hiro knew. He also didn't give a fuck.
He looked at his small cousin, Neji. His forehead was clear, and Hiro was going to do everything he could to keep it that way for as long as possible. Even if he couldn't succeed all the way, even if Neji would get the seal eventually, even if he was a little pebble of inconvenience on Hiashi's road to douchebaggery, he'd still do it, because fuck him.
"So… why, then?"
Hiro spat at Hiashi's feet, and said the most petty, dirty, cutting thing he could think of. "No, the real question is: Why couldn't you do this for your brother?"
He saw Hiashi's blank face change into a snarl. A deep animalistic look that sent shivers down his spine. He'd never hit him before, but he knew that was about to change.
The unrelenting agony from the first strike almost caused him to lose consciousness. The other sixty-three were the worst things he had ever experienced. Both in this life and the last.
The endless blackness embraced him, and for a moment, Hiro felt like he had died for the second time.
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"Get up."
Hiro got up, body protesting in pain, and fell back down.
"Get up."
"You get up," he fired back.
"I'm standing."
Hiro turned on his Byakugan to confirm because he didn't feel like sitting up, and let out a swear. Indeed, he was standing.
"Why don't you go stand on a dick?"
"Did you seriously just turn on your Byakugan to see if I was standing."
"Fuck you, your mom's a whore."
"Ah, very complex vernacular, expected from someone of your heritage. Your attempt at insubordination was just as pitiful as your parents."
A fire filled his belly as he remembered what happened.
'I will beat the shit out of that asshole if I ever get the chance.'
Hiro climbed out of the bed, ignoring his body roaring in agony, and started walking out of the Hyuga infirmary.
"You're lucky he didn't kill you," the doctor called out after him.
"Screw off," he said back on reflex.
"I'm not joking. Hiashi won't let you slight him a second time. Don't try this again, unless you can back up your words with action."
"Whatever," Hiro said, his conviction weakened.
The man didn't even seem annoyed at the comment. He seemed more amused if anything.
"You're healed sufficiently. Now, run along to the academy, or you'll fail your exam. Again."
Hiro swore when he realized that the man was right and bolted out, slamming the door behind him.
He reached for the mark on his forehead, brushing his fingers against it. He could almost feel his anxiety take shape, surrounding and choking him. The panic building up, taking hold of his lungs and not letting him breathe.
The thing was, Hiro died, once.
He lost friends, family—everything. All he had was what this world gave him: his parents. They were the reason he was alive, and even then, they were taken away. But now there was only determination to become a ninja and escape the Hyuuga. If he lost that…
What would be the point?
Being a ninja was his only chance of escaping his family, of helping people like Neji. If he failed, it would all be for nothing, and that's one thing he couldn't handle.
"Hiro?" his head shot to the left, looking for the sound of the voice and hoping it wasn't a prick. His head kept turning, looking for a sign of anything before he felt something tug at the hem of his shirt.
He looked down, eyes landing on the person he had expected the least.
"Fuck off."
His bit down on his tongue after he realized what he said, guilt hitting his gut like a cannon ball, and that was before the tears.
"What?" she said, voice cracking. Confusion set in with the guilt, why did she give a shit about he said?
Her shoulders were shaking and it took all he had not to cure again.
"Hinata," he said, struggling to find any words that could rectify the situation so he wouldn't feel like the biggest jackass on earth.
Her sobs echoed louder and he could feel his soul being dragged to hell.
"Hey," he tried to say," I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." She didn't looked convinced, and he looked around for something, anything that could stop her from bawling her eyes out.
His eyes landed on the pouch located on his thigh, filled to the brim with deadly weapons that should never have been near a child.
He had an idea.
He grabbed three kunai out of the pouch, sharpened, since this had to look fucking cool to stop her tears. "Hinata," he said, attempting to sound gentle, but most probably sounding like Kakashi on the night of the Kyuubi attack,"Look what I have."
She looked up, curiosity piqued even through tear stained eyes, and Hiro knew he was going to regret this more than not kicking Hiashi in the nuts.
"Look," he said again, throwing the kunai up, and starting to juggle them. He almost swore again as they cut up his hands.
"Yay!" she cheered, entertained by his suffering.
'Just like her father.'
He was startled at the genuine resentment in the thought. He shouldn't hold her place and what her father did against her.
'Neji.'
The thought of what happened to Neji brought a sour taste to his mouth, he had failed him. He had failed to stop the curse mark implantation, and his cousin would pay for it.
He was brought out of his thoughts, he had missed one of the kunai and it had implanted itself in his thigh.
"Fuck!" he swore, voice laced with anger and a bit of self loathing, because who got themselves fucking stabbed?
He tried to keep quiet and stand straight, since he didn't want her to start crying again, because he wouldn't juggle kunai again.
He felt something small wrap around his leg, and he looked down.
She was applying a bandage. Her hands were clumsy, imprecise and almost made it worse. The look of intense concentration on her face would have almost made him laugh if he hadn't been in agony.
She finished, brushing her bangs away from her unmarked forehead, before looking up at him and smiling. He could feel his heart strings tear, because she looked so cute, innocent and how could he ever have a negative thought about her.
"Hiro," she said, looking meek and embarrassed at what she had done without his permission, "are you ok?"
He looked at her before grabbing her and pulling her into a hug.
"I'm fine," he said, trying to convey something, that even if she never knew, he'd never blame her for being born as the person she was, because it wasn't her fault.
It never would be.
Hiro smiled. "Thanks, Hinata."
She blushed and ducked her head, before hurrying back into the complex with a wave goodbye.
He could feel something wet escaping his eyes.
'Shit, must be the dust. '
He started making his way towards the academy. It started raining, because that was Hiro's life.
His vision was so blurred that he didn't notice the woman carrying groceries in front of him. He rammed into her, spilling the groceries all over the muddy ground.
"Shit," Hiro muttered, guilt settling at the bottom of his gut, "Look I'm really sor—"
His vision darkened as he felt her fist connect, pain exploding at the back of his head.
"What the hell you old bitch?" Hiro yelled, irritated at her and his very shitty luck. The woman took a step back before bending over and picking him up.
She brought them face to face, and the first thing Hiro noticed was her crimson hair. Long, moving, angry, as if it wanted to wrap around his throat and squeeze.
"Who the fuck are you calling old?"
She was lifting him without an effort and could handle him like a rag doll. He should've been shitting himself, but he wasn't, because he needed to get to class and she wasn't worth the extra brain power.
She stared him down, unyielding. What the hell was wrong with her?
Whatever it was, Hiro really didn't care. "Do you see any other old whores around here?"
But as soon as the statement left Hiro's mouth, he regretted it, because the aura of malice that flooded from her made his lungs lock up. He couldn't breathe, and everything was starting to get dizzy.
He should've been screaming and flailing, but he needed to get away, get to the academy and pass.
He knew what he had to do. He didn't know if it work on a girl. He had to try anyway, it was worth a shot.
Hiro kicked the crazy lady in the crotch.
"Shit!" she cried out.
The murderous intent stopped, and she dropped him, and Hiro's butt felt like it was on fire as he hit the floor. He took a huge gulp of sweet, pure oxygen before staring up at the red-headed demon from hell.
She looked more amused than pissed now. She had an odd look on her face that Hiro couldn't place.
"You got guts, kid. You're alright in my book."
Hiro was stunned at that. This lady was about about to send him to the hospital, and then she stopped?
'What the hell?'
"Are you fucking bipolar?"
She seemed to smirk at that, taking delight in the odd label, leaving Hiro even more confused.
"Oh? More insults? I thought you'd be a bit more grateful that I hadn't sent you to the hospital," the woman said, her voice a bit lighter. "You know, normally, an Uzumaki woman would castrate a male who slighted her honor."
It took Hiro all the courage he had not to shit himself.
"Holy fuck you're scary."
She smiled at that, and Hiro felt a bit more comfortable. Almost as if she wasn't going to knock his lights out and bury his body outside the village.
"You swear a lot for a ten year old."
"You sure hit ten year olds a lot for someone who doesn't like doing it."
"I don't like hitting ten year olds. I like hitting jackasses, though."
"Fuck you."
"Real charming, brat."
"Your mother's a brat."
"Real mature."
Hiro shut his mouth at that, unable to think of a comeback, his mind racing for any sort of opportunity.
He came up blank.
'I'm a fucking idiot.'
She tapped him on the shoulder, and he was broken out of his bitching.
"Now, shouldn't you be in school brat?" she asked, the curiosity very evident in her eyes.
It dawned on him.
"Fuck, I should be at the graduation test," he swore, a fresh wave of panic overtaking him.
"Why are you late?"
Hiro's hands went for his damaged body, and he regretted it. The effects of Hiashi's strikes were still very much there, and it hurt a lot.
"No reason, I just woke up late," he lied, hoping she didn't ask any other questions.
She didn't look very convinced.
"Ok," she said, "Get to it."
He looked at the red haired witch one more time. Hiro only noticed now long her demon red-hair was, reaching down to her legs.
She started dusting off the dirt on her green dress. It must have gotten there when she had knocked him flat on his ass.
'Red hair, green dress and violet eyes?' Hiro thought to himself.
'Nah, I got nothing.'
"See you around, bitch!" He started sprinting towards the academy.
"See you around, kid."
Hiro waved in acknowledgement, putting her out of his thoughts quickly.
It wasn't like she was a main character in the series.
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Hiro arrived at the academy grounds, running full speed and smashing the door open.
The entire class stared at him, breaking out into whispers.
"Hiro," Mizuki said, irritation very evident in his voice, "You're a Hyuuga, one of the most prestigious clans in the village, and you can't get to class on time."
He grumbled to himself and glared at Mizuki.
"Yeah, well, your mother's a whore!"
For a moment silence overtook the class. Everyone stared at Hiro, stunned at the words he had said.
"—did he just say—"
"—can you believe it—"
"—how could he—"
He didn't notice Mizuki until he was right next to him. He could feel Mizuki's breath, calm, collected and deadly. Suddenly, the world seemed a tiny bit more dangerous.
He whispered, and it was enough to make Hiro shiver.
"You're lucky I can't fail you now."
He couldn't help but think that they had very different definitions of fail.
Mizuki turned to the class.
"Ok," he said, sounding much more friendly than he was a few minutes ago, "since you did the written test yesterday, today you'll be doing Taijutsu with me, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu with Iruka. "
He nodded, praying for a swift death.
He waited until Mizuki had gone through the spars with all the other pupils. He was nervous, his palms sweaty, and his knees were very wobbly.
"Hiro Hyuuga."
It was his turn.
The bastard was smirking, and he wished that sometimes he didn't act like such an ass. He stared at Mizuki, hoping God would show him mercy.
His feet shifted into a stance, and it wasn't the Gentle Fist, because fuck the Hyuuga.
"You need to be able to hit me once in order to pass. Start."
At this point Hiro didn't have many options. There was no way he could take on a Chuunin, playing offense and hoping Mizuki would hold back was all he could do.
Of course that wasn't enough, because he found himself slammed on the ground in the first three seconds.
Hiro stared at the sky and wondered where it all went wrong.
He picked himself back up, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Before he could have a chance to blink, Mizuki's leg was nearing his face.
He dodged by the skin of teeth, but Hiro wasn't prepared for the next punch, right in the solar plexus. He gasped as the air escaped his lungs and his stomach felt like it was on fire.
And for the third time that day, Hiro's face met the floor.
'Fuck this.'
"Get up."
He could almost hear the smug dripping from Mizuki's voice and he had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from cursing the teacher out.
That would not help his situation.
Hiro propped himself up, still on his knees and facing Mizuki. He had an idea, but if it went wrong, it would go very wrong. At least he wouldn't die. It was an academy graduation test, no one died in these.
Well, he hadn't seen anyone die.
He closed his fist around a handful of dirt. "Hey Mizuki, you like beating kids? Pick it up from your whore of a mom?"
Mizuki was in front of him in an instant and his arm was poised, ready to hurt him. Hiro, for a split second, prayed to whoever had sent him there and threw the dirt at his eyes.
His heart thudded as the dirt sailed towards the chuunin's eyes. This was his one chance, if it fucked up, he was screwed. He'd be pouring Hiashi's tea for the rest of his life. For a moment, that awful future flashed before his eyes, and he prayed to Harambe that it would work.
The dirt hit Mizuki's eyes, and the chuunin was blinded for a moment. Hiro hauled ass and jumped up, throwing his foot towards the man's most vulnerable point.
His nuts.
He heard a shriek of absolute agony, and couldn't hold back his smile. It was about to turn into a full blown grin, but then something smacked into his head. On a scale of one to Hiashi, it was a solid angry Uchiha policeman.
He wasn't sure if he blacked out, but he could distantly hear Iruka announce the match over. Someone dragged him to a bench off to the side, and he caught sight of the red Uchiha fan.
"Be careful," the girl who brought him over said, "hit your head any more times, and you'll get even dumber."
He was too tired to respond, and when it became clear he wouldn't, the girl sniffed and stomped away.
'Bitch.'
"Hiro…"
His head snapped towards the voice, and he saw it was his other teacher, Iruka.
"What happened?"
Iruka frowned before answering, "You landed a… rather painful blow on Mizuki."
He winced at the obvious bullshit in the statement. Mizuki had wanted to hurt him, but he couldn't blame the older man, he hadn't said the nicest of things.
"Ok, so, now what?" Hiro asked, hoping he hadn't failed.
"Now? You'll be taking the genjutsu and ninjutsu portion of the test with me, since you passed taijutsu."
Hiro wasn't going to be a total screw up when it came to that test. He whistled at that, and stood up, before falling back down.
Iruka caught him before he could hit the floor.
"Easy, easy. You need to take a second, Mizuki hit you very hard."
"Yeah sure."
Hiro straightened himself and was able to stand with relative difficulty, before rubbing the back of his aching head, hoping the exams would end soon.
Iruka nodded at seeing him upright. "Ok, now follow me, Hiro."
They walked back into the Academy, through the winding halls. Iruka stopped for a moment, seeming to decide on something, and pulled him aside.
"Hiro…"
He could tell from Iruka's tone of voice that this wasn't about the test anymore. Something else was wrong.
"I need you stop taunting Mizuki about his mother. I don't know if you're aware, but his mother has been in a coma since the Kyuubi attack."
Whatever he thought Iruka was going to say, it sure wasn't that. It made no sense. Mizuki was meant to be a heartless evil bastard, and all the taunting was meant to be justified.
"Uh..."
"Hiro, will you stop?" Iruka asked, his voice sounding a tiny bit more forceful.
"Yes," Hiro said, nodding quickly, "I'll stop."
Iruka smiled at that and he felt even guiltier. "Let's just do the rest of the test here, since I know you get nervous in front of other people. You just need to perform the basic transformation jutsu, and the clone jutsu."
'I'm not a pussy,' he thought, but he would take the opportunity.
His hands flipped through the different seals. They were still shaky, because his mind was reeling at what Iruka said.
He couldn't afford to mess up, though. Hours of practice had gotten into getting the jutsu right and he still didn't know if he was going to pass. He had unusually large chakra reserves for a Hyuuga, and the Gentle Fist training might not have sharpened his control enough.
His worries dispersed as a perfect copy of himself appeared next to him. Hiro sighed in relief, the clone was healthy, lively and didn't look like the victim of a car accident.
"Well done, Hiro. You may have taken a bit long on the hand signs, but the clone looks decent. Next up is the transformation jutsu."
He would've beamed at the praise, if he hadn't known it was one of the most basic jutsu in the universe. His fingers moved into hand signs instead, this time much more stable. He let out a sigh of satisfaction as he felt his chakra cover him. It was warm, and was reminiscent of a mother's hug.
Too bad his was dead, so he didn't really know what that was like.
"Well done, Hiro," Iruka repeated, presenting him his new headband, which he'd fished out from his pocket. He let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. He grabbed the shiny piece of metal and tied the material around his head.
Hiro was a ninja now and more likely to die.
Great.
"Now, get to class and wait in your seat. I'll be announcing the teams soon."
He nodded at that, making his way inside the classroom. He sat down waited for Iruka to return, but started to get restless.
'I could screw with Mizuki again.'
At the thought of that his mind flashed with the vague image of a woman with Mizuki's silver hair. She was in a hospital bed, pale, sickly and dying.
'Never mind.'
"Class! Pay attention, I'll be announcing team placements."
Hiro frowned. If he got Kakashi, he would definitely, and he didn't know anyone else from the current era, which meant he'd be put on a random team, with a random teacher.
He waited for his name to be called out with the rest of his team, but it didn't come, and the classroom slowly emptied until he was alone.
Why was he alone?
"Hiro, your Sensei will be here in a moment. You won't be part of a standard team, you'll be an apprentice. So, you can wait outside if you want."
'Wait, what? Who the hell would want me as an apprentice?'
Without anything better to do, he followed Iruka's directions and made his way outside to wait for his mystery teacher.
In the quietness, he started hearing soft cries, and noticed someone sitting a bit away from him. He approached them, thinking that they were his Sensei. He got near them, and was about to ask them, until he realized the person was really bawling their eyes out.
Hiro stood there, very awkwardly, and started praying that this random crying woman would just go away.
"Well?" she said amidst the tears.
"Well what?"
The woman scowled at him and looked at him like he was an idiot. "Aren't you going to ask me what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" he asked, wondering what the hell was going on.
She moved so fast that she was just a blur to him, going straight for the face, hitting him so hard that he swore he flew.
Hiro turned back to her and rubbed his stinging cheek. He stared at the crazy bitch that had backhanded him. "What the fuck!"
"Can't you see I'm having a crisis?"
"I can see that you're a crazy bitch."
She turned to face him, and let out a low chuckle. The tears had disappeared. She seemed to be smiling, and Hiro could feel the dread building inside of his stomach.
"Are you Hiro Hyuuga?"
Hiro nodded, still not sure on what the hell was going on. Who was she?
"Cool! You're mine now, so let's skip the boring old test and get straight to it: I'm Uchiha Benihi, your new Sensei!"
Hiro wished for death.
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BACKHAND COUNTER: 4