Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto.
Summary: There are thousands of worlds in this universe. In this one, Hinata grew up as a Jinchuuriki, hated by most, shy and unconfident. Naruto was raised as the Uzumaki heir, arrogant and proud. When their lives cross, they'll find that some worlds aren't so different after all.
Unparalleled
Chapter One
Its too bright…Hinata squinted, sleepily rubbing her eyes. Glancing over at her clock, she faintly wondered why it was so early…
Oh. Right.
With a sigh, she pulled herself from the last clutches of sleep and her bed, intent on preparing herself for today as best she could.
Gently, Hinata pushed open the bathroom door and found herself staring at her reflection. Uncomfortably, the twelve-year-old examined her reflection, eyes skimming over her features. Same dark blue hair, same shapeless body hidden by baggy clothes… same blank lavender eyes. Slowly, Hinata brought her hands together and formed the familiar seals.
"Byakugan."
The veins popped, and her eyes paled to a brilliant white, focusing until they glared angrily at her reflection. After a moment, her arms fell to her sides, and her Byakugan receded. In response, she began to gather her chakra, focusing it as she lifted the hem of her shirt. As she watched, a swirling design appeared, and she sighed, her stance dropping.
She was such a freak.
It was her daily ritual, for the past few months, ever since she had fully discovered… what she was.
Keeping her eyes firmly on the ground, Hinata walked along quickly, trying to avoid the angry eyes of the people around her. She hated walking around town. Absolutely hated it.
"It's her."
"What is that thing doing?"
"She doesn't belong."
"Bless his soul, but Yondaime is too gentle!"
"That demon freak doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as him!"
"D-Don't say that word. You know that-"
"She's still a demon."
Blinking rapidly, the lavender-eyed girl hurried along faster, ineffectively trying to ignore their harsh words. But something had caught her attention.
"She's still a demon."
Demon?
Demon.
Demon
Demon
Demon.
Her hand strayed to her abdomen, where she had once seen a strange design, a swirl surrounded by lettering, when she had been training. She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but when that woman had very clearly said "She's still a demon", the words seemed to mean so much more than just a spiteful name created by those who hated her. Hated her for reasons she didn't know.
Maybe they were the same reasons that prompted the name "Demon".
Hinata sighed now, remembering that day. That day it had all begun to fall together. That day she had run to the library and painstakingly looked up everything involving seals until she found something similar to the one of her belly. That day she had read about the "Tailed Beasts" and "containers" and "Jinchuuriki".
She had read about the Kyuubi.
In truth, it wasn't more than some very educated guesses and some highly suspicious coincidences, but she had finally – after weeks of research, at which point the librarian took to expecting her every day – determined that that design was more than just a decoration. And that the villagers based the name "Demon Freak" in more than just hate.
Because she was the Demon. She was Hyuuga Hinata, container of the Nine Tails.
Hinata exhaled loudly, scowling faintly. Of course, that wasn't the only reason she was a freak. Of course not.
The academy student backed away slowly, his eyes wide and fearful.
"What are you? What kind of a freak are you!?"
Hinata's shoulders hunched at his words. He had a right to be scared – she would probably have been scared to be on the receiving end of her eyes as well.
They had been sparring (something Iruka-sensei was hesitant to let them do), and she had been losing. Badly, she admitted. As he had raised his kunai for the finishing blow, she had felt a surge of chakra, and she could feel her eyes changing, her vision sharpening, the world all of a sudden becoming so much larger, as she was overcome by a dizzying feeling.
Yet somehow, she had remained somewhat upright, her eyes still trained on her opponent, who had dropped his weapon in shock and scurried backwards, putting as much distance between them as he could.
"F-Freak!" he said again.
"What's going on?" asked Iruka-sensei. Hinata felt a surge of relief. He could help. As she turned to him, she could feel her eyes returning to normal.
"Iruka-sensei!" the other boy said. "Give her detention! Tell the other teachers about her! Keep her out of the class!" He latched onto the chuunin desperately. "She's crazy! She's a freak!"
"You shouldn't-"
"My Tou-san says that you shouldn't say things like that!" A loud voice interrupted Iruka-sensei, and Hinata timidly turned her head to look at a yellow-haired boy, hands on his hips in a typical "Superhero" pose. He grinned wildly, having caught everyone's attention.
"Naruto-kun." Iruka-sensei sighed, admonishing the boy. "You shouldn't use the Hokage-sama's words too carelessly."
Oh. Uzumaki Naruto. Hokage-sama's child.
He continued to argue with Iruka-sensei and the boy who had called her a freak, but eventually, the chuunin broke it up, separating the two boys. After demanding a full explanation from both sides (one yelled loudly with numerous 'freak!'s thrown in, the other stammered and stuttered in a voice barely above a whisper), the chuunin knelt by Hinata, his eyes gentle.
"Hinata, I'm going to take you to talk to Hokage-sama about this, alright?" She had nodded quickly, hoping that if she were obedient he wouldn't punish her as harshly. "Okay then. See me after class."
Hinata's eyes shut with a sigh. Her Byakugan had been discovered about two years ago – though Yondaime-sama hadn't been able to tell her much. After she had completely humiliated herself by, first not even looking at him or addressing him properly, then squeaking out a "Hokage-sama!" and bowing profusely; he had quietly told them what he knew about her eyes.
"Your eyes, when they do that, are called Byakugan. I honestly can't tell you much more than that. I know that they have 360-degree vision and can see through objects. But their greatest tool is that they can see the chakra system." He stood, coming to stand by the nervous blue-haired girl.
"This is a great asset, and you'll likely find that it'll save your life in the future. It'll take hard work, though." He grinned boyishly at her, looking remarkably like his son had.
"Train hard, Hinata-san! I hope to see you with a Konoha hitai-ate someday!"
And train hard, she did. Throughout numerous visits to the library (which was quickly becoming a landmark in her past), she had studied the chakra systems, experimenting on herself and random people she saw on the streets. She trained herself to recognize how the chakra flowed, and to determine if those she saw on the street were shinobi or just villagers, based on their chakra systems. Countless nights had been spent training her Byakugan's distance range and 360-degree vision. But her greatest victory came when she read about tenketsus.
Hinata grimaced in response to that thought. That had been a rather painful process, basically involving her standing in front of a mirror and closing off her own chakra points. Once she had basically determined their effect, she proceeded to more late-night trainings, where she essentially mauled the practice dummies.
It had taken her months, almost a year, to develop, but finally she had created her own taijutsu style. It was still rudimentary – and, admittedly, her stance was weak – but when she concentrated, she could effectively shut down an opponent by hitting their chakra points.
Her thoughts were jolted out of their daze when she glanced at the clock. Startled, Hinata rushed to get ready, scolding herself for drifting off so easily – and on such an important day!
Today she would graduate from the academy and officially become a ninja.
--
"Naruto-kun! Get up!" The middle-aged woman bustled into Naruto's room, yelling in a panic. Sleepily, the twelve-year-old lifted his head and frowned.
"Five more minutes, Obaa-chaaa…" His voice trailed off in a snore.
"Naruto-kun!" she repeated, shaking him. "You have to get up! You're already late – the test is today! In five minutes!"
"Eh?!" Suddenly awake, he sprung out of bed, rushing around his room to find clothes.
"Hurry, Naruto-kun," she said, a little amused, as she left his room.
--
"Damn, damn, damn, why did I have to stay up late to train?!" Naruto said to himself, as he rushed through the streets. The tests had probably started by now, and he was still on the opposite side of Konoha.
"Naruto-kun! Good luck today!" A fruit-stand vendor said, lifting her hand in greeting, a warm smile on her face.
"Thanks, Nee-chan!" He grinned, waving as he ran.
"Naruto-kun! Hurry – many of the students have already been there for half an hour!" An elderly man smiled as he moved a piece on the shogi board.
Hearing this, the yellow-haired boy sped up, still cursing himself. Finally, the Academy came into view, and he sighed, rushing through the silent yard. Yanking open the door, he sped along the dead-silent halls, intent on making it to his classroom.
"Hyuuga Hinata."
As Naruto rushed into the classroom, collapsing in a worn-out pile, a blue-haired girl stood and followed Iruka-sensei into another room.
"So. You made it."
Laughing, Naruto nodded. "Ne, Shikamaru – you haven't gone yet?"
He began to shake his head when a loud yell interrupted them.
"NARUTO!" Furiously, a pink-haired genin stomped over to him. "WHERE WERE YOU?! IT'S JUST LIKE YOU TO BE IRRESPONSIBLE AND LATE FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY IN YOUR SHINOBI CAREER!"
Frowning, he withdrew slightly. "Sakura-chan…" His eyes caught a glint on her forehead. "Eh? You passed?"
Smirking, she tapped the forehead protector. "I'm an official ninja now!" Covertly, she sneaked a look at a certain raven-haired boy. "And maybe now Sasuke-kun will notice me!"
Hmphing, Naruto yelled to Sasuke, who cast him a cool look and a half-nod in return. Sighing, Naruto went to take a seat, as a newly appointed genin walked out of the room, followed by Iruka-sensei.
"Inuzuka Kiba."
As Kiba stood up to take the test, Iruka cast Naruto a disapproving look. "Naruto-kun…you're late."
"But you haven't gotten to me yet, have you?" The blond boy shot him a victory sign accompanied with an enthusiastic smile.
Shaking his head, Iruka waved Kiba into the classroom, and shut the door.
--
"I'm a real ninja now, right?"
"Good job! It's something I would expect from my son!"
"Congratulations on graduating. Mom is going to fix you something nice tonight."
The sounds of carefree celebration reached her, but Hinata closed her eyes painfully. She had graduated… but there was no one to share it with. No one who would tell her congratulations. The sting of loneliness was more acute than ever.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Yondaime-sama!"
"TOU-SAN!"
Naruto ran towards his dad, proudly brandishing his new headband.
"I did it, Tou-san – now I can protect Konoha like you do!"
Smiling fondly, he leaned down and ruffled his son's hair. "Congratulations, Naruto; I always knew you could do it."
Iruka came to stand next to him. "Hokage-sama," he said. Subtly, the robed figure glanced at him.
"She passed?"
"Yes. Her Bunshin was flawless." Iruka looked at Naruto, his smile widening. "He takes after you, doesn't he, Hokage-sama?" Chuckling, Yondaime nodded wordlessly, his gaze still on his son. "Then, I also have some news for you; because of the class rankings…" Leaning forward, the chuunin whispered the last part, eager to give the Hokage this curious piece of news. Eyes lighting in surprise, the blond-haired man looked at him.
"Are you sure?"
Nodding, Iruka smiled, retreating into the shadows with a bow.
Turning back to survey the latest genins, he smiled mysteriously, as his son rambled on about how he would become the greatest ninja in the world.
"Well, this will be an interesting setup…"
--
"Starting today, you are all official ninjas, but you are all still new genins. It's going to get harder from here. You all will be in a group of three, where you will accomplish missions under a jounin teacher."
As the new ninjas squirmed, many glancing at friends (Sasuke on the receiving end of many eagerly hopeful gazes), Iruka continued, holding up a stack of papers.
"We've arranged the groups such that overall abilities are equivalent." Smiling, as his eyes roamed over his students, gathered together one last time, the chuunin said, "I will now announce them."
Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun…SasukeSasukeSasukeSasukeSasuke
Anyone but Sasuke – ANYONE BUT SASUKE-TEME.
IhopeI'monateamwithSasuke…IhopeI'monateamwithSasuke…
"Team Eight: Haruno Sakura. Inuzuka Kiba. Aburame Shino."
"You see?" Ino said, delighted at her former friend's plight. "I'm definitely going to be with Sasuk-"
"Team Ten: Yamanaka Ino. Nara Shikamaru. Akimichi Chouji."
Groaning, Ino let her head fall against the desk, turning her head to glare balefully at the boy beside her.
"Looks like you won't be with Sasuke-kun either," Sakura said smugly. "Of course, it's okay for me; true love will always prevail!"
"Oh." Iruka frowned, shuffling the papers around. "Seems I skipped one. Team Seven: Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke. Hyuuga Hinata."
Frowning, Sakura glanced at Ino. "Hyuuga? Hinata? Who…?"
"She's that girl, the quiet one with the weird eyes." Ino gestured towards an indigo-haired girl sitting in the corner silently, ignoring the jealous glares she was receiving from every other kunoichi in the class.
Frustrated, Sakura exhaled with a pout. "Lucky – I'd like to be on Sasuke-kun's team!"
Tittering, Ino jabbed a finger towards two other people. "Instead you get bug boy and dog boy!"
"Well you're stuck with a lazy boy and a… large one."
"That's it for the groups!" Iruka-sensei said. "I'm going to introduce the jounin teachers in the afternoon. Meeting adjourned until then!"
As the rest of the genin stood, gossiping and complaining loudly, Hinata sat in silence, her eyes traveling to her two teammates. They were as different as could be; one was clad in a bright orange jumpsuit with wild yellow hair, and the other sat, indifferent to Naruto's words and the swarming fangirls.
So I'm paired with the Number One Rookie of the Year, who happens to be extremely popular, and the only survivor of the famed Uchiha clan… and a loud prankster who happens to be Yondaime Hokage's son. Them with me. The Demon Freak and the Blind Loser.
Sighing, Hinata stood, not yet ready to approach her teammates. Instead, she slipped unnoticed from the classroom and headed back to her apartment for another lonely meal.
--
"Yo."
"Are you planning on being late to the meeting?"
"Me? Late?"
"Do you know who your team is?"
"Ah… maybe…"
"Don't fail them this year. I don't think you'll be able to fail them."
"We'll see-"
"You have the Number One Rookie."
"Which means that the dead last is on my team."
"So is the Hokage's son."
"… I'll be sure to have fun while testing them."
"And if they pass…?"
"It'll make for an unparalleled team."
Xue: I'm sorry it took a while to get chapter one out. Life sucks, and Hua and I have pretty much nonexistent motivations to do anything really. Not that we don't love you! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the prologue - and even if you're one of those people that just read and don't review, thanks too. BUT we'd love if you could review briefly, just let us know if you liked it or not. Thanks everyone!
Hua: Yeah, that'd be great.
And if we don't update in a while, don't hate us. I know it's surprising, but I actually have a life. In fact, I have many problems going on right now. But you don't need to know that.
