A/N: To put it simply, this is my GenderBender equivalent of the Pre-Hyuuga Battle talking. Specifically, when Hinata was feeling a little down while Neji was trying to make her quit, and Naruto finally tells her not to back down.
#2
Title: Preliminary Exams: Hyuuga Battle
Words: 877
Characters: FemNaruto (Nariko), GuyHinata (Hansuke), FemNeji (Nami), Brief mention of GuySakura (Seiichi), Brief mention of FemKiba (Kira)
Warnings: None
Pairings: None (But depending on your perspective, it could be slight HanNari (a.k.a. NaruHina))
Disclaimer/Claimer: While the original Naruto characters do not belong to me, these GenderBender creations are mine. Do not steal them.... EVER.
'This' means Thoughts
"This" means Talking
Nariko gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, her body shaking in anger. How dare she... How dare she act as if she was so high and mighty! How dare she call Hansuke a failure when he was trying so hard! How dare she...
The blonde kunoichi felt her fury build up within her until she could barely stand it. She glared down at the brown-haired Hyuuga girl who continued to beat down her cousin with each word she said. She watched as Hansuke curled up further and further into himself as if trying to make himself as small as possible, a feat his height made difficult to accomplish.
She gripped the metal railing until her knuckles turned white as her heart burned with anger, words of her past coming to haunt her with every statement made, every syllable uttered.
Failure... Failure... Failure...
Unknown to her though, a certain Hyuuga boy was having similar thoughts.
Failure... Failure... Failure...
Hansuke felt like he could die. He felt he could be slowly burned alive and it wouldn't be as torturous as what his cousin was doing to him. He hunched his body further forward, back bent over awkwardly and his shoulders nearly reaching past his ears. His hands, clenched into tight fists, were stiff at his sides, unable to find anything better to do with them. His face was burning; he could feel it. He knew it must be far past any shade of red deemed natural and he knew why this was so.
He didn't think he'd ever felt so ashamed, so humiliated as he did right now. What was he doing here? Was he really so naive, so stupid that he thought he would be able to do this? He squeezed his eyes shut. What was he thinking? He wasn't made to be a shinobi. He knew that. He was too... soft, too kind, too trusting. (Oh god, he sounded like a girl.) He wasn't a fighter. In fact, he hated fighting. And if that wasn't enough, his height made maneuvering difficult and walking cumbersome. He constantly tripped over his own feet and nearly always managed to knock his head on some low branch or doorway. Not exactly what you'd call stealthy ninja material.
He winced as he painfully recalled one of his more recent encounters with a tree in the Forest of Death. The thought only seemed to add to the heavy weight bearing down on him, caused by Nami's words and his own self-doubts.
He had been a fool to agree to this match. Why hadn't he taken Kira's advice? She knew how much Nami intimidated him, how close to heart he took his cousin's words despite his constant attempts not to, how cruel she could really be. . . He'd known it too. But of course, he had to hope, had to believe that everything he'd worked for, everything he'd done until now would mean something, that maybe he could finally prove his worth.
But with every word that Nami said, he found that hope, that belief shattered into a million tiny shards, so much so that he couldn't even remember why he'd believed it in the first place. . .
And then, in the next split second, he was reminded.
"You, Hansuke-sama," the brunette stated coldly," are a failure." Her eyes narrowed. "And are forever fated to be one."
In that same moment, Nariko snapped.
"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP!?" the blonde cried angrily, all self-control gone from her being. "How dare you say that!? How dare you think you have the right to tell someone what they are or what they aren't!? How dare you tell him that he's a failure, you arrogant little brat!!"
Ignoring the startled look Seiichi was giving her, the female jyunnchuriki snapped her burning blue eyes to Hansuke's wide-eyed expression.
"Don't just stand there and let her walk all over you! Do something about it!" Nariko leaned on the rail and grinned at the Hyuuga boy. "Kick her butt, Hansuke! Come on! Show her who's boss! I know you can do it!"
'Nariko-chan. . .' Hansuke thought, pale eyes a mixture of shock and wonder. Slowly, his face drained of its red color and transformed back into its normal pallor. His shoulders relaxed themselves and his back straightened, returning him to his rightful height as the crushing weight of before was chased away by Nariko's words. The dark-haired Hyuuga ducked his head slightly as a grin crept across his face. 'Thank you, Nariko-chan, for reminding me... exactly why I came... exactly why I wanted this... '
Hansuke closed his eyes, feeling confidence fill his body with its power and warmth. 'I'm sorry I forgot, that I doubted even for a moment...' His eyes snapped back open revealing his family's famous all-seeing eye, veins bubbling up at the corners with a faint popping noise. 'Thank you...' And then, Hansuke slipped into the familiar stance he'd taken so many times before. Decision made, he stared down his cousin, awaiting her reaction.
A/N: There is more to come so be on the look out!
