Born to Become Heroes
By: tehk1w1

Summary:
AU- Born to be different, born to be special, born to become heroes –forsaken by their parents, discriminated by their peers, and shunned by the world, a group of teenage Shinobi must learn to cope with their manifesting powers and survive in a world that despises their existence. (Inspired by X-Men)

Arc One: Welcome to the World
Chapter One

Hyuga Hinata loathed these formal functions that her father forced her to attend. It was not the demure chorus of violins that bothered her, nor was it the bland tasting food that sat untouched on her plate that earned her ire –no it was everything else that annoyed the young heiress. The incredibly uncomfortable dress that she had to wear, the stiff, rigid code of formality that dictated her every action and the people –oh how she could not forget the people –was a constant annoyance to the teenage girl.

It the last of these aggravations that really upset Hinata, truth be told. She could live with wearing a scratchy, tight, puffy dress every now and then, and she practiced the etiquette of a noble everyday with her private tutor, but the people, the arrogant, snobbish, but obnoxiously wealthy people, that Hinata could barely endure for even a night. Striking up a conversation was out of the question. In the rare event that one of the older nobles would take the time to speak with someone as young as herself, it was always about the same, boring things. Politics, the economy, the Shinobi epidemic, the economy –it was all they conversed about, and unfortunately, were all things Hinata needed no further opinion on.

Of course there was no one else to talk to. The only other people in attendance were the noble's servants, but their sniveling, sycophantic nature was just as maddening.

It probably explained why she was in the bathroom for the seventhtime in the last three hours since the party had started. People would begin to spread rumors she was obsessed with keeping her hands immaculate, or maybe she had an irregular bladder. Hinata could not care less. That was all the rich nobles did. Gossip and spread rumors to add a dash of excitement into their ordinarily drab life.

She turned on the faucet and dashed some water on her face, hoping it might do something to alleviate her frustration. It didn't, but it had been worth a try.

A weary sigh escaped her lips.

To make things even worst, her father was using this stupid party as a convenient excuse to find her a suitable husband. Hinata was sixteen now, and according to her father, the perfect age to begin courting the son's of other affluent families. Deep inside she knew her father loved her, but he disguised it well by using her as an instrument to further his ambitions. The union of the daughter of the prestigious Hyuga clan and another powerful family in Konoha would create a strong alliance, and when it came to the cut throat world of nobility, one needed all the friends possible.

Her father would be disappointed when they returned to their estate later that night. Hinata had tried to speak to some of the young men to appease her father's wishes; she honestly had regardless of her absolute abhorrence towards the idea of being wed, but to no avail. All the boys present were either as terrible as their fathers, or in one very awkward instance, was not predisposed towards the female sex.

Even though Hinata had no wish to be married, her lack of success in finding even a potential suitor was somewhat demoralizing.

Hinata looked into the mirror and tried to smile. She was a pretty girl, wasn't she? She was young, in perfect shape with a slim body and a cute face. The winning combination had never failed to win her a date before, but then again, that was when she still attended public school where everyone was a commoner. But then her father had forced her to attend an affluent private school, academia for the rich and elite in Konoha. There, her dark blue hair –an uncommon but natural hair color- had earned her scorn and ridicule, and her indigo colored eyes had resulted in nothing but insults since her fast day at school.

She hated everyone there, and though she would never tell her father, she desperately yearned to go back to regular school where everything had been so much easier.

The door opened behind her, and through the reflection in the bathroom mirror, Hinata saw two young, teenage girls walk in. They stopped when they saw Hinata standing at the sink and turned away, giggling amongst themselves as if their subtlety might disguise their rudeness. Hinata groaned and decided she had been better off outside in the dining hall. As much as she detested the adults and despised the boys, it was the daughters of the nobility whom she truly hated with a passion.

Finally, Hinata could not take their annoying giggling any longer and snapped. "What?" she demanded.

"Oh, Hinata," Said one of the girls. "We didn't see you there."

Hinata glowered at the two girls, recognizing one of them as one of the most popular girls in her class. Her name was Megumi, and Hinata hated her the most.

Blonde and beautiful, Megumi was one of those brainless twits who used their looks, family connections, and willingness to sleep with anything that moved, to obtain what they wanted. She was also the primary reason why people made fun of Hinata at school. It was always Megumi who incited the rest of the class to pick on Hinata by constantly criticizing everything Hinata either said or did. It had gotten so bad lately that Hinata had flat out refused to speak anymore during class, which, naturally, only gave Megumi another reason to make fun of her.

"Maybe it's because she's so quiet all the time," suggested Megumi's cohort, and the two girls began giggling again.

"Oh yes, very clever." Hinata said dryly. She rolled her eyes, but what she really wanted to do was punch the two girls in the face. Both of them talked nonstop during school about how badly they wanted to get cosmetic surgery done; Hinata figured a shattered nose bone would be an apt enough of an excuse. However, she forced herself to stoically endure their irritating giggling. Her father wanted her to act ladylike and find a husband, not create unrest by punching out the daughter of some rich, influential noble.

She turned away from the two girls and leaned over the sink, partially because she could not stand the sight of them any longer, but primarily because her head had begun to hurt. It was just a dull ache around her eyes, but the unexpected pain surprised Hinata. She turned on the faucet and splashed some water on her face again.

"Say, Hinata," Megumi said. "Why didn't I see any boys eating at your table?"

"I know, seriously. We came with Takeda and his friends. They're all super cute and apart of the soccer team," added Megumi's friends. The two girls exchanged devious smiles. "Don't tell me you just came with your father."

Hinata gritted her teeth and would have retorted with something nasty, but the pain in her head had just intensified. From a dull ache, the pain had evolved into a sharp, burning sensation that made her eyes feel like they were on fire. Hinata began to douse her face with water, hoping the cool water would extinguish the invisible flames. She forced herself to breathe slowly, trying her best not to panic. Something was definitely wrong.

"You should try and talk with some of the boys." Megumi suggested with an evil smile. "There are tons of single guys here. Or were none of them interested in you?"

The two girls sniggered and exchanged high-fives, congratulating each other on another successful put down on Hyuga Hinata. But Hinata was not paying attention.

Fear gripped Hinata's body as the pain began radiate throughout her skull. She wanted to scream out in agony, to shout at the two girls to get help, but her body was no longer obeying any of her commands. A wave of intense nausea washed over her, and before she could stop herself, she violently vomited into the sink.

"Ew!" shrieked Megumi. "What's your problem, Hinata?"

"Hey, Hinata," said Megumi's friend. She nudged Megumi and whispered, "Hey, I think she might actually be really sick."

"Who cares?" Megumi snorted indifferently. Curious, she peered around Hinata. "What the hell is the matter with-"

Megumi shrieked in horror and backed away from Hinata, jabbing her finger at her. "Her eyes!" she screamed. "Look at her eyes!"

Terrified, Hinata looked at the mirror. Instantly, she began screaming too. Her eyes were different. The veins that surrounded them were bulging visibly, pulsating angrily as if filled to the brims with a live organism struggling to break free from the confines of her blood vessels, and her eyes themselves had mutated into a hideous shadow of their former beauty. Every trace of indigo in her eyes had drained away, leaving naught but an endless reservoir of pale, milky white.

"No!" Hinata yelled. Her hands latched onto the sink's basin to steady herself, but the moment her hands touched it, the porcelain shattered. With a yelp of fear, Hinata jumped back as the shards cascaded onto the ground.

"What's happening to me?" Hinata shouted.

"I-I don't know!" stammered Megumi.

Hinata looked around wildly, but her vision was completely messed up, no doubt the product of her eyes mutating. She could not see anything concrete anymore –anything tangible had become a transparent ghost that Hinata's eyes penetrated through like a knife. Even Megumi and her friend were no longer solid flesh, but a skeleton of bones surrounded by a mass of swirling veins and pumping organs.

Hinata took another step, but her foot caught on the hem of her dress, and she tripped towards Megumi. Involuntarily, her hand closed around Megumi's arm to catch her fall.

The last thing Hinata saw in Megumi's eyes were confusion. And then all hell broke loose.

A blood curdling scream resounded throughout the bathroom and into the banquet hall beyond. Hinata glanced at Megumi's arm just in time to see every single vein beneath the girl's skin rip apart. A geyser of blood erupted from Megumi's arm, spurting through the air and showering the bathroom in a thick mist of red.

"Megumi!" Hinata spluttered as a torrent of blood splashed across her face. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean –"

"Get away from her!" Megumi's friend shrieked. "Stay away from us you monster! You're one of them! Y-y-you Shinobi!"

"N-no I'm not!" protested Hinata. She wanted to say more in her defense, but just then the bathroom doors were thrown open and a flood of frantic nobles streamed in.

Hinata spent the remainder of the evening curled up into a ball in the corner of the bathroom. Her beautiful dress soaked in her classmate's blood, she wept. She was scared; terrified at what she had done and the monster she had become. What had happened? Was she dreaming? Was this some sort of nightmare that she would awaken from?

Please wake up. Please wake up. Hinata begged. But nothing happened. When her eyes opened, she was still in the bathroom, observing the doctors as they put Megumi on a stretcher and wheeled her away. She also noticed some of the nobles who were standing nearby, whispering amongst themselves and periodically casting a dark glance in Hinata's general direction.

Amidst the murmured whispers, the word "Shinobi" could be heard several times.

How could this be happening to me? Hinata wondered. How could she, the heiress to the might Hyuga clan, be a Shinobi?

She did not know what was going to happen next, and this frightened her more than anything else. Was she going to be put in prison for hurting Megumi? Or would she become an outcast, shunned by society like all the freaks and genetic mishaps, the Shinobi, that filled the evening news?

Because that was what she was, the exact thing Megumi had called her: a freak.

And what about Megumi? Would she live? As much as Hinata hated the girl and wanted to hurt her, she never, ever meant to kill her. Hinata began to cry again as the severity of what she had done began to seep in. She had killed Megumi. She had to have. There was so much blood everywhere…Hinata did not even think a normal human had that much blood.

Please, please, let me wake up from this nightmare.

"Hinata?"

Hinata knew that voice and it did little to comfort her. In fact, it just made her feel worst. She looked up as her father approached. His face was cold and severe. Just like it always was. No hint of compassion, no sign of any sympathy or parental concern. Not even any surprise that his daughter's eyes now looked like something out of a horror film.

No, the only thing visible on Hyuga Hiashi's face was disappointment. That was what Hinata was to him: one massive disappointment. Already, Hinata could see the gears in her father's head hard at work trying to find a way to make the best out of this travesty. Because in the end, that was all that mattered to Hyuga Hiashi: himself.

"Get up." Hiashi snapped. "We're going home."

Author's Notes:
First chapter of a brand new project I'm working on. I love Naruto, and I love X-Men, so I guess this could be best described as a hybrid of the two. Want to see how everything plays out? Make sure you check back next chapter. Oh and be sure to review. Thanks guys.