Chapter 1: Hinata
Seven years later
Hinata shivered, and slowly stood, as the first rays of morning entered through her window. She could never sleep on those nights with full moons… Who knew when he could return? The first few times she'd tried sleeping, despite the moon's ominous glare, but whenever she closed her eyes… Hizashi would be standing there, pale and cold and distant and entirely too near. In the end, she had decided not to waste her time reaching for that which would never come, and instead used the time to train, or study, or… just to sit here, by her parents' tomb, and think. Even in death, the sculpture of Hiashi's face was still stuck in a permanent frown, whilst her mother's… Hikari had a gentle smile, and sometimes, in the dark and cold of those sleepless nights, Hinata could swear she looked almost apologetic. She'd sit here, in her father's favourite chair, and talk to them, or just listen. They never said anything, but she still heard.
"I promise, Ka-San, Tou-San. I'll find him. He… he will pay for what he did to you." They had been forced to bury Hiashi without his eyes, a grave insult to any Hyuuga, and it was obvious to all what had happened to them, who had taken them, and denied his brother sight in the afterlife. She clenched her fists, until her knuckles turned white. "So I swear, on the Hyuuga name." She repeated this oath, every month, to make sure she wouldn't forget, no matter what. Hokage-Sama had, a few nights after the massacre, tried to force his own beliefs onto her and Neji, insisting that they give up on vengeance. Baka. What would he know of loss? How could he hope to relate to what she was going through? She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the presence behind her, until it coughed.
"Neji," she said evenly, and the other Hyuuga gave a grunt of recognition.
"Talking to the dead again, Hinata-Sama?" Neji was standing before her, looking for all the world as if he had just asked her about the weather. The calm expression on his face served to infuriate her further, as he must know it would, and her eyes narrowed. More, now than ever, she could see Hizashi standing there, wearing Neji's face, tall and proud, like a true Hyuuga. He was the Heron amongst them, Neji; something made painfully clear when she was seven, and Neji eight.
"Hinata-Sama?" Neji's face scrunched up. "You wish to spar with me?" He sounded incredulous, and made no move to rise from his seat.
"Yes, of course!" Hinata snapped a bit too eagerly. "I need to be strong, to face him." She settled into a Jyuuken stance, and gave a faint smile. She had practiced all of yesterday, refining her form as best as she could, for it was difficult learning it solely from scrolls, without the example of another to follow. Neji wouldn't stand a chance; couldn't stand a chance.
As soon as he had gotten up from his seat, she sprang. A part of her recalled the incident two years ago, when she had beaten him black and blue, and he had done nothing to stop her. It was made clear, so painfully quickly, that had he wanted to stop her, he would have. He batted aside her Jyuuken strikes with ease, slipped inside her guard, and still pulled his blows, not releasing chakra at all to block her tenketsu, and not landing blows at full force. Within two minutes, he had seen an opportunity, and seized it, delivering a low chop that caused her right leg to buckle, and then for her to fall down, unable to support her own weight. He stood over her, and she had glared at him. How dare he stand there, unharmed, untouched. He had not only defeated her; he had done it so easily
"Hinata-Sama?" he bent, and held his hand out, arm outstretched, to help her up. Hinata looked at him, shocked, then lunged. Her Jyuuken strike hit him in one of the tenketsu in his arm, and the point closed instantly, the muscle swelling under the skin. Neji grimaced with pain as Hinata scrambled to her feet, and continued her relentless attack, now on an opponent that could not use his right arm effectively. He still dodged the first few of her blows, but was not as quick as before, and she eventually caught a tenketsu in his leg. After that, he was at her mercy. Not once did he cry out, though, even though she knew the blows hurt him. When she was done, all his tenketsu were sealed, though he had been on the defensive the entire time. He collapsed soundlessly, his face a carefully composed mask, and Hinata still glared at him and shook.
"You let me hit you." It was not a question, but Neji remained silent. "You let me! You could have dodged that strike on your leg. Why didn't you?" Neji tilted his head, seeing the waves of uncertainty and loathing that alternately washed over his cousin's face. "Why did you let me win?"
"Hinata-Sama. Your stance… I can show you how to improve it," he said, and Hinata turned away from him without speaking another word, stalking back to her room. She knew Neji would not be able to stand by himself, not after the spar, but… Why had he let her win? Did he want to humiliate her? Did he want to say 'I choose when you win'? How could she get stronger from that? And how did he get so strong?
She did not spar with Neji again for the next four years. It had been made painfully obvious to her – she was the head to the Hyuuga, but he was the strongest.
No, Neji was the Heron, the true Hyuuga. If she trod the path that he did… she would just become his pale imitation, and she could not let that happen.
"What have they to say, Hinata-Sama, that has not already been said?"
"It's that day again, Neji. They need me to be here." Why couldn't he see? Why couldn't he? The dead needed to be remembered. If you forgot them… They lived on through her, and the moment she let them go, they would be gone forever.
"It is also Hanabi's birthday. You were not here last year."
"No, I wasn't. I needed to perfect the Kaiten. Not everybody is as quick a learner as you, Neji." She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her call him a genius, though that was what he was. He is the true Hyuuga. It brought to mind an incident from her second or third year in the academy. Whilst Suzume-Sensei had been kind, she had not interested Hinata at all. She had been teaching the girls about flower arrangement, of all things.
The flowers looked nice enough, but what purpose did they serve? Hinata looked at the other Kunoichi. They were, almost entirely, obsessing over this, but…
"Suzume-Sensei?" Suzume glanced over from where she had been giving pointers to a pink-haired girl and her blonde friend.
"Hai, Hinata?" Suzume always had a ready smile.
"How does this help us become strong ninja?" The smile faltered, and Suzume flinched as the conversations between the other kunoichi ended, and everyone turned to look at her. A group of girls a year older smiled, and turned back to their work.
"Hinata, come with me please," Suzume said, and stood. Hinata followed after her warily, feeling the weight of two-dozen stares laden on her back. "Hinata, you must understand that Kunoichi are ninja, but they are women as well." Hinata looked at her sensei confusedly, and Suzume sighed. "What I mean is that one day, hopefully, we'll all be married, and have households to look after. The skills I teach are essential to that."
Hinata was genuinely confused now. How could a kunoichi become an effective shinobi if she focused on domestic matters? That was a civilian life. No Hyuuga could ever stoop to that level.
"Suzume-Sensei, I don't want to learn about flowers," she said bluntly. "I want to learn how to throw a kunai properly, and use Bunshin, and…"
"I know, Hinata. There are a couple of girls like you in every year." Hinata glanced ahead, at a sign that clearly marked the area in front of them as 'Training Area 10'. "There's a girl, a year older than you, who felt the same way. She comes here to train, instead of coming to my lessons." Suzume looked positively torn, as if half-knowing that this was more important that what she taught, and half-believing that it would ruin a young woman to place so much emphasis on fighting.
"Suzume-Sensei, is that her?" Hinata pointed towards a lone girl, who did not seem that much older than her, throwing kunai at targets on several tree trunks. Hinata watched, amazed, as she threw a handful, and then threw kunai at the moving kunai she had already thrown, to knock them into a path directly aligned with their targets. Every shot was a bulls-eye, except one that hit the ring outside of the centre.
"Darn it!" the girl said exasperatedly, before turning to pick up more kunai, and pausing when she saw the two new arrivals.
"Tenten, this is Hyuuga Hinata. She will be training with you from now on," Suzume said, before quickly turning on her heel and leaving. Hinata looked quickly between Suzume and Tenten, unsure of this girl she was being left with. Tenten did not look very threatening at first glance – with her hair done in two buns, she favoured Chinese-style clothing. She was looking at Hinata with the same curious glance, before slowly extending her hand.
"Hi! My name's Tenten. What's yours?"
"Hinata…" Hinata, for the first time in a long time, felt hesitant. What was wrong with her? She was the Hyuuga clan head, for Kami-Sama's sake! Surely she could handle talking to… it hit her suddenly that this was the first person she had talked to outside of the clan that was her age. Tenten must have noticed the strange look on Hinata's face, because she scampered over, quick-as-a-cat, and put a hand on Hinata's forehead startling Hinata even more. That hand was entirely too close to her eyes for comfort.
"Ne, are you okay, Hinata? You don't have a temperature…" Tenten's brow creased, and Hinata fought the urge to jerk backwards and settle into a Jyuuken stance. She's-not-going-to-hurt-me-She's-not-going-to-hurt-me…
"I-I'm fine! Fine…" Hinata blurted out, and Tenten nodded sagely.
"Ah… I see. You're just a bit nervous, aren't you? I mean… They're teaching us about flowers," she said with a slight expression of disgust. "But you want to be a real kunoichi, right?"
"Hai," Hinata did not disclose the reasons for that, not yet.
"I betcha that the boys are already being taught Jutsus, whilst Suzume-Baka teaches us how to bake cakes. That's why we need to work even harder. If I want to catch up to Neji-Kun, I'll have to work twice as hard as him."
"N-Neji-Kun?"
"Oh yeah, he's your cousin!" Tenten smacked her forehead, as if it had escaped her notice that they both had the Byakugan, so must be related. "Well, between you and me, Neji-Kun is so cuuute!" Hinata frowned. She wasn't sure she liked the direction this conversation was taking. Neji had to be focused, just like her, to avenge the Hyuuga. "Anyway, you didn't come here to gossip with me, right, Hinata?" Tenten gave her a conspiratorial wink, and looped an arm across her shoulders. Hinata flinched at the sudden contact, but stifled a cry.
"Tenten… what do you do to train?" She just wanted to train, that was all. All this… talking, it made her uneasy, and the contact with another made her want to flee.
"Oh, that's easy! I use weapons, of all types! I can throw a pretty mean kunai, but I need to increase the range, and the speed I throw it, and the accuracy as well! I'll show you if you like, how to throw a kunai right, or a shuriken. We need to be strong, y'know, not like those flower-pickers." she stopped as Hinata laughed, and a puzzled expression on the weapon-user's face slowly changed to a smile, as she laughed as well.
"Y'know, Hinata, I think we'll be friends. You and me, just like… Kurenai-Sensei and Anko-Sensei, y'know? You like cats?" Hinata nodded cautiously. She didn't know yet if she liked cats yet, after all, they were the enemies of birds, and herons were birds, and Hyuugas were herons… but she sensed that this was the right answer. "Awesome! I like cats too! We could be like the two Cat-Ninjas!" Tenten did a pose, and Hinata giggled again, though she frowned. She hadn't laughed for so long… How could this girl make her laugh so easily?
That was right, she decided now. Neji was the perfect Hyuuga, the Heron, as stoic as a statue, perfectly balanced, capable of plucking things from thin air… Hinata was like a cat, like Tenten. But Tenten liked Neji… and Neji…
"Your sister needs you, Hinata. I am not enough for her." Neji unfolded his arms, and his presence annoyed Hinata. She felt like hissing and spitting, like the stray street-cats she saw sometimes, hard and tough and half-wild.
"Hanabi is strong. She will survive without me for a single day." She started as Neji clamped a hand down on her shoulder, and turned to glare into the boy's intense stare.
"It is not a single day. You speak to her a handful of times every week. She considers herself lucky when you have a conversation with her. She cannot even remember the last time you gave her a hug. I understand your desire for vengeance…"
"No you don't! Don't pretend you do!" Hinata spat and knocked Neji's hand aside. "You did not lose your parents, Neji. You did not lose everyone dear to you!"
"I lost my father that night, Hinata. The creature that calls itself Hizashi is an enemy, nothing more. When we fight him, I will be just as capable as you. However, you must remember Hokage-Sama's words. 'Don't…'"
"'Live your life for vengeance.' I remember, Neji. I don't plan to lose my life to this." It had taken another, not just Tenten, to finally convince her of this, during their second or third training session, when the man supposed to supervise them finally appeared.
"You're a Hyuuga, right? Neji has this neat trick of his, where he blocks Kunai with his arms and legs, like knocking them away by hitting the handle! You wanna try that?"
"Well…" Hinata frowned inwardly. She did not want to be Neji's shadow, that was for sure. And yet… this sounded like a useful skill.
"Don't worry, I'll use kunai with blunt tips. Just stand by that tree, and tell me when you're ready."
"Hai!" Hinata ran, and when she reached the indicated tree, activated her Byakugan and slipped into a Jyuuken stance. "Ready!" she called, and Tenten threw a kunai. She didn't realise it would go so fast!
Hinata promptly screamed, and pushed Tenten away, and the frightened girl put her hand to her mouth, before looking around helplessly.
"My, my… You weren't supposed to get into trouble, Tenten… Especially by injuring another girl…" Tenten breathed a sigh of relief, at the sight of the ANBU that perched on the tree branch above her.
"Kakashi-Sensei! We were just training! I… I asked Hinata… because Neji… and now everything's wrong!"
"I see… Kakashi slipped from his perch silently, and landed beside Hinata, who looked at him, still-wide eyes darting franticly between him and Tenten. Kakashi; armoured and with most of his face covered, looked very intimidating. "Hey." His voice was cheery, but the single eye of his that she could see was not.
"H-Hey…" she replied tentatively.
"You took quite a blow… Hyuuga-San." Kakashi made some quick seals. "I know some basic healing techniques… it's compulsory for ANBU members… I'll just heal the cut for you, okay?"
"O-Okay…" Hinata was not thrilled with letting his hands so close to her eyes, but Tenten was by her side, seeing the indecision, and she gripped her hand tightly. Hinata's head snapped around to look at her training partner. Was she trying to hold her down? Was this all a trap? But her eyes… They didn't have any bad intention in them at all… they were just worried… Hinata closed her eyes, and made the decision to put trust in those two. There was a gentle sensation on her forehead, and then she felt the flow of blood stop, and opened her eyes. Tenten let out the breath she had been holding in, and Kakashi took a cloth from a pouch, revealing a fluorescent orange book cover. Hinata saw only a fraction of the title, 'Make', before Kakashi wiped the cloth over her cut, cleaning the blood that had already leaked out.
"Don't worry, it's disinfected," he said cheerfully, then stood. "Now, I'll be watching over you for the rest of the day, to make sure this doesn't happen again."
"A-Ano… Kakashi-Sensei… What was that book?" Kakashi froze, for the first time.
"Ah… It was nothing, Hyuuga-San."
"Was it… techniques?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"Not… exactly… Let's just leave it for now. Tenten, I think you should focus on something less physical."
"H-Hai, Kakashi-Sensei!"
"Good… Hyuuga-San, may I have a talk with you?"
"Hai, Kakashi-Sensei." Tenten looked a little put out at being left behind, until Kakashi tossed her a scroll. She unrolled it, and then hungrily pored over the forms for combat with a Bo Staff.
"Now… I'm sure you have a question… They tell me you're a quick learner…" Hinata regarded the ANBU with a critical eye.
"Why did they send an ANBU to teach academy students?" she said quickly.
"Well… they were right about you being smart… As for your question, there's a couple of answers… Hokage-Sama wants the head of the Hyuuga protected, of course… and also, Hokage-Sama wanted me to have a talk with you, about revenge."
"I'm not interested."
"Oh? Well, I was about to tell you about my revenge story, but since you aren't interested..." Kakashi gave a grin, not that she could see it under his mask, though his eye moved in the correct manner for a smile. He knew that that would interest her.
"Fine. What's your story?"
"I had a friend, a while ago, Uchiha Obito."
"Uchiha…" she almost spat the name. Since the Hyuuga Clan Massacre, the Uchihas had had almost unchallenged dominance over the Great Clans of Konoha, and there wasn't a day that that fact was rubbed in her face. It should be Hyuuga dominance, not Uchiha.
"Now, now… Obito was different. He was… funny, kind, but not the best of shinobi… The Uchihas didn't like him too much, you see – to them, he wasn't what an Uchiha should be… Years ago, during the Third Great Ninja War, Obito died… and I promised myself that I'd avenge him…" He fell silent for a moment. "It was war, after all… I didn't feel sorry for those I killed… For the most part, I didn't feel at all, and a few times, I'm afraid to admit, I actually enjoyed killing them. With Minato-Sensei, Iwa couldn't stand against us, and before long, we were actually fighting them in their homeland. Then… Irony struck. I found myself fighting a Genin team. After I killed the Jounin, those three… They were only twelve, you see… They'd just graduated from being mere students. They were just defending themselves and those precious to them. But then… I couldn't stop myself. I killed all of them. It wasn't the first time that Obito's eye cried for me, but it was the first time I realised why…" He lifted his Hitai-ate, and Hinata nearly gasped when she saw a Sharingan eye. "Obito gave this to me, before he died – I'd lost my eye fighting alongside him. It still cries sometimes, but not as much as it did during the war… What I mean to say is that being an avenger… It's not as good as you'd think. You either lose yourself to the darkness, or you realise how close you came to it… Which is nearly as bad."
"Kakashi-Sensei… This is different. It's not just a friend; it's my entire clan. And there's only one person I need to kill." Kakashi sighed, and put his forehead Hitai-ate back in place.
"I know… Just, Hinata, think on what I've said… Don't go as far as I did. Don't make this your obsession."
"Once Hizashi is dead, then…"
"That is not enough, Hinata!" Hinata blinked as Neji raised his voice. "You have no friends outside of the Hyuuga, nor have you attempted to make any. You push away everyone that seeks to get close to you. Hizashi does not control us, and fate…"
"Don't start with your 'fate' again! It was not fate that guided Hizashi that night, Neji." Besides, she didn't need friends. Tenten was a good enough sparring partner, and Kakashi was undoubtedly skilled, but she didn't need their friendship.
"Aneki? Niisan?" Hinata and Neji both glanced towards another door, where the seven year old Hanabi stood shakily. She was a small, pale thing, willow-thin and sickly, clutching a blanket.
"Hanabi-neesan, it is early. You should go back to bed," Neji said, but the younger Hyuuga shook her head determinedly.
"You two are both up, so I'm getting up too. It's my birthday, today." Her eyes flickered expectantly to the two other Hyuuga, and Neji switched, effortlessly, to a smile, which only he and Hinata could see was false.
"I know, neesan, and I have a present for you." Hanabi grinned, and waddled over to Neji, as he took a small box and handed it to the seven year old. She opened it, and her eyes faded to a neutral disappointment, though she kept the grin in place. To a non-Hyuuga, it would be nearly impossible to tell that she was not ecstatic with joy, but Hyuugas learned quickly to read faces, and more, to compare what a person said with their mouth, and what they said with their body. Right now, Hanabi radiated discontent.
"A kunai set?"
"Yes, neesan. You will need these, for when you graduate from the academy. I had them made especially for you."
"Thanks, niisan!" She looked at her sister, and Hinata smiled.
"I'll give you your present after the Academy," she said, but both other Hyuugas saw the difference between her words and actions. Neji would, undoubtedly, surmise that she had forgotten her sister's birthday again. Of course she hadn't, but it was just like Neji to rationalise things like that, to put people in the best light possible. There was no way Hinata would forget this day, her sister's birthday, and the anniversary of the Hyuuga Clan Massacre. However, she simply could not find the motivation to get her sister a present. There was training, and academy studies, and… perhaps it was foolish of her, but a small part of Hinata blamed the massacre on Hanabi. If Hinata's mother had been at the compound, and not pregnant, then she would have supported Hiashi, and they may both be here today, instead of spending their eternities in the lonely cold tomb behind her.
"Since we are all up, perhaps we should have breakfast?" Neji said, and that caught Hanabi's attention quickly.
"Yeah, niisan!" she said, perking up quickly, and she followed the elder Hyuuga towards the kitchen. Hinata looked at the position of the sun, and decided that she had time for another hour or two of training, before breakfast. Besides… Today was the day that she'd be take the Genin Test. She needed to be at her best.
"Tenten… what is it like, to graduate?" Tenten was juggling kunai, but did not pause as she answered Hinata.
"Well, it's pretty easy, actually. You have a short written exam, then an accuracy test, and then have to do some basic academy techniques." She flung two Kunai at the target behind her, and both hit it near the centre. She twirled the last kunai around her finger, before turning, and throwing it, burying it in a bull's eye.
"I… What I mean, Tenten, is… what is your team like? What's the sensei like?"
"Well…" Tenten sat down, and a large smile broke out over her face. "Neji-Kun…" She gave a small giggle. "He's impressed with me, 'cause I'm not like the other girls in our class – I actually work hard, and he respects that… Lee… Lee's a hard worker, no doubt about that. He has to be, though – he can't do any Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. His Taijutsu's pretty good, and it'll get even better, 'cause of our sensei…" She frowned. "Gai-Sensei… he's very dedicated, but a bit creepy. He must be a good teacher, though, 'cause our team's the only one from our class that passed to be shinobi. Asuma failed his team, and Kakashi always fails his teams, like he's got a grudge against kids."
"Well… I know two little kids that always need me to watch over them…" Kakashi said as he appeared in the branches above the two kunoichi.
"Gah! Don't spy on us!" Tenten threw a shuriken, which Kakashi caught with one hand.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" He didn't look up from the book he was reading, the same one Hinata had seen all those training sessions ago. She felt a bit ashamed now, having ever thought it was about ninja techniques. It had techniques all right, but not the sort any self-respecting woman should be looking at.
"That's not funny! Hinata, help me?" Hinata looked at Tenten, who did her best puppy-dog eyes, and smiled.
"Hai," she said softly, and threw a kunai of her own. Kakashi caught that, not realising that it had a string tied to its ring-handle. Hinata quickly fed her chakra through the string, and Kakashi jerked, as if caught by an electric current, and toppled over.
"That's right! You show him, Hinata! Perverts are wrong!" Hinata smiled again at Tenten's overenthusiastic celebration.
"Hey, Hinata, let's go have lunch somewhere, okay? I know you like bringing your own, but it's good to eat out sometimes, you know?"
"Hai." Truth be told, Hinata only ate the packed lunch because it was the one her mother made for her, before she became pregnant with Hanabi. It always gave her good memories, for a few moments, before she came back to reality, and the realisation that Hikari was gone, and would never return…
"Great! I know a great place, does the best ramen you'll ever have!" Hinata let the elder girl take her by the arm and almost drag her away, whilst Kakashi groaned. He'd recover soon enough from her technique, she decided.
---
"Ichiraku's Ramen…" Hinata eyed the stand with a bit of apprehension. It looked… well, it didn't look like the type of restaurant Hiashi would have approved for her to go to.
"Yeah! Old man Ichiraku's really nice, and his daughter's kind too! They give good deals to their best customers… speaking of which…" There were two people already sat there, a child and an adult, and Hinata recognised both of them. Iruka-Sensei, technically the teacher for the entire class now, though Hinata always left the sparring sessions to find Tenten. She didn't know if she'd be able to handle having to be with so many others… not after the reaction she had just with Tenten being near her.
The boy sitting there with Iruka-Sensei was another she recognised, though for a different reason.
"Uzumaki Naruto," she said quietly, but his ears twitched, and he turned to look at the two girls.
"Ohayo, Hinata! Tenten!"
"Hey, Naruto!" Tenten plopped herself next to the energetic blonde. "One bowl of Miso Ramen please!"
"One… Miso Ramen for me too." Hinata was a just a bit nervous of Ichiraku Ayame. After all, she could, if Hinata didn't watch her, poison the food without her knowing. She'd heard that some shinobi specialised in poisons, but you did not need to be a shinobi to open a container and sprinkle its contents over a meal. Thus she kept an eye on the Ramen girl, trying to drown out the background noise from Naruto and Tenten. The Uzumaki was infamous in Konoha for two things – his bright orange jacket, and his capacity for mischief. As a shinobi, he did not seem to excel in anything, whether he actually had any talent was undermined by the fact that he constantly skipped lessons to play pranks.
"Ne, Hinata? Why don't you come practice with the rest of the class, eh?" Naruto looked over Tenten's shoulder at the Hyuuga, who started at the question. There were so many possible answers… 'The Hyuuga are elite', Hiashi had said to her, drilling that lesson into her head as soon as she could understand them. 'We do not mix with commoners.' Though, she supposed, her class wasn't that common. There were children from most of Konoha's noble clans, but… the Hyuuga were the elite of the elite, no matter what.
"Hinata doesn't need to!" Tenten answered for her. "She practices with me, and I'm one of the best! Isn't that right, Hinata?"
"Well…" Hinata did not give voice to the fact that Tenten would never be as good as she could be if she did not focus so exclusively on weapons.
"Nah, nah, Tenten! I'm gonna be the best," Naruto said, all interest in Hinata gone. "I'm gonna be the Hokage one day! Believe it!"
"Hokage?" Hinata could not keep the surprise out of her voice when she said this. "You're bottom of the class, Naruto." The orange-clad ninja drooped for a moment, then straightened, face more determined than ever.
"So what? I'm gonna get stronger, and make the villagers respect me. You'll see! I made a promise, and I always keep my promises!" Naruto looked as if he would jump off his seat, if Iruka had not kept a hand on his collar.
"Hey, Naruto, I believe you, but it may be best if you start coming to class, you know? Stop with the pranks, perhaps?"
"Nah, Iruka-Sensei, they're too much fun!" Naruto quickly turned back to his Ramen, prompting a slightly bemused Hinata to start eating hers with a muffled "Itadakimasu."
Naruto… He was determined, she would admit that. Just like her, he had a dream, and would not contemplate giving up on it. However… determination wasn't enough by itself, was it? Determination without skill was useless, and would only lead to tragedy. If she fought Hizashi now, without training, she knew, however loath she was to admit it, that she would die. However, skill, even that of one such as Neji, was useless without determination. Many times, in her dreams, Hinata had seen the battle that would occur, between her, Neji, and Hizashi, and in each of those dreams, Neji stopped short of a killing blow. No, skill without determination… determination without skill… If you had one, but lacked the other, you could not succeed in your goals.
Hinata decided, as she made her way towards the academy, that she would find a balance. After all, she had a promise to keep too; a promise to each and every member of the Hyuuga clan that had died that night.
"I will keep… my promises too," she whispered.
A/N:
And the winning option, with the only two votes, is Option B: Continue from graduation. This chapter was just a flashback-fest, next chapter will cover the Genin Test and team selection, along with a brief Neji POV. I hope I did a good job here of showing how... emotionally damaged Hinata is. As always, reviews are appreciated greatly. Next update will probably be for Prodigy and Outcast, since I've been neglecting that recently, though this should get another update fairly soon, since I've mapped out the material that the next chapter or two should cover.