Ok so I'm suffering from a small case of writer's block, but I was able to squeeze this one out. Hehe.

Civilized

The next morning Hinata woke quickly, eager to get some training in. She didn't have to wait long before a soft knock sounded at the door. She opened excitedly to find Kakashi in front of her.

"Good Morning Hinata." He greeted with a crease of his eye.

"Morning Kakashi, um are you here with Naruto?" She asked looking around him slightly.

"Actually, I'm his replacement. He's really sorry, but he was sent on a last minute mission. He stressed that I couldn't be late," he chuckled, "And since you don't know me well I figured I would save you the trouble of waiting. I hope you don't mind me training you."

"Of course not!" she said happily.

"Good. So I hear you have ANBU exams coming up. I might be able to help you with that."

"That's what I was hopping for."

"Shall we get stated?" he asked.

"Oh, yes. This way." She gestured to the back of her cottage.

They started out with some simple exercises so Kakashi could get a feel for her abilities. After hours of taking it slow he became restless and wanted to engage her in real combat.

"Okay Hinata. I'm going to push you harder. You are really breezing threw these exercises. Besides, I want to see how much you've grown. Ready?" he lifted up his head band to reveal his sharingan

"Oh yea. Byakugan!" Finally she could show someone how good she had gotten.

She took her gentle fist style. Unfortunately, Kakashi knew her technique and was able to keep out of reach of her deadly hands. Their battle raged for a long while. It was frustrating.

Well, she thought, time to give him a little taste of what I've really got.

As shuriken came flying at her she thrust her palms to each. A blade of chakra attached to her hand shot out and hit them back towards him. When they hit him he burst into a cloud of smoke.

To bad it was a shadow clone.

It was then, that he decided to make an appearance behind her. But with the Byakugan she saw everything.

"I see you!" she turned in time to grab his wrist, and then threw him into a tree. As he was flying threw the air she realized it was just a clone.

Crap, he distributes his chakra evenly so it's impossible to tell which one is him! Not good.

She scanned every where. And then it hit her. He's under me!

Just as his hand shot out of the ground she jumped into the air.

Perfect timing! Doing a flip through the air she landed on a tree branch.

"Well, well Hinata. You're doing quite well." Kakashi said as he resurfaced.

Her shadow clone appeared behind him with a kunai at his throat.

"Aww. I thought I was doing much better than that." She laughed. She slit his throat and he poofed into a log. Then he was behind the real her, one knife at her neck and a hand holding her arm behind her.

"Shit!" she yelled.

Kakashi let out a chuckle, "You have no idea how weird that sounds coming from you."

"Man, you're fast. I didn't have time to react even after I knew you were there." She said as he released her.

"Heh. To be honest you did great. Not many people can keep up with me, but you certainly did. I'm impressed."

"Thanks." She said almost shyly. It was a first to be told how good she was. They jumped off the branch and headed back to the house.

"If you would like I think I can manage to get some others to help you out. To pass these exams you have to be proficient in Taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. Different people will help you learn more in each area."

"Wow. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. It's good to get active. I haven't many missions lately, which is strange; I guess Tsunade has something up her sleeve for me." He smiled under the mask.

Their training had taken most of the day so Hinata asked Kakashi if she could cook him something. It was the least she could do. Unfortunately, he declined. Apparnetly he had other plans, which she speculated involved reading his Icha Icha books. After having someone to talk to, she wasn't looking forward to being alone. So she went to bed early.

"Hinata will now be under my command. Are you sure you want that sir? Hinata is the family's successor. Missions that Genin undertake have a possibility of death." Kurenai said.

"Do as you like with her. A defect who is even weaker than Hanabi, someone five years her junior is not needed in Hyuuga…" came the strong voice of Hiashi.

At the sound of her father's voice she shot out of her bed, "Damn you!" Her breathing was unsteady and her fists shook with rage as she paced around the room.

Will I never be good enough?

The next several days passed in a blur of training. Naruto still had not returned, but Kakashi was true to his word and brought others to help if they weren't busy. She learned some taijutsu from Lee and some genjutsu from Sakura. She could feel herself getting stronger everyday. And though she enjoyed the workouts, she couldn't help but notice she might be keeping others from doing what they want to do. So she stopped the training sessions and decided to do more on her own.

The night air felt good on her skin, sending chills throughout her body. The moonlight made a small path to her new training spot. She walked along the river until she faced a small waterfall.

She leapt from the river bank to a polished stone near the fall. Emitting long blades of chakra from her palms, she practiced her movements. She sliced at the water droplets around her, trying to focus on precision.

The moon shown down on her flawless skin and gave the droplets of water a diamond-like appearance. Her body moved with the grace of a goddess executing quiet and careful movements. During this hour she could free herself of the barriers she forced up during the day. Her dance told of her loneliness, anger and most of all, her determination. As the motions increased the tears she held back became impossible to stop.

Finally as her chakra began to deplete she slowed down and walked to the riverbank to rest. She wiped away the last remaining tears.

I'm such a ninny. Why can't I ever- And then she heard a noise. She silently activated her Byakugon and scanned her surroundings. Someone was behind her; the fact that she recognized him made shock ring throughout her body.

"Hinata what are you doing out here?" Neji asked in a deep voice.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to practice my jutsu." she said nervously, "What are you doing?"

"I was taking a walk and I heard some unusual splashing sounds. So I came to investigate." He walked up beside her and sat down. "Anything I can help with?"

"No, you can't. I'm trying something new. Only I can perfect it."

"I'm pleased to hear that. I hope it works out, maybe you could show it to me some day."

"You bet I will. I still want that rematch." She smiled.

"Well let's make it sometime soon. I'm eager to see if you have changed as much as you claim." He smirked.

"Ha. The next time we fight you will look up at me from the flat of your back. I guarantee it."

"I look forward to it."

They sat in silence for a while. It wasn't awkward, but surprisingly comforting.

"If you'll excuse me Lady Hinata, I need to get going. I have an important mission tomorrow."

"Good luck." With a wave of their hands he was gone.

See. That wasn't so bad. I can be civil.

But something inside her made her feel like she didn't want to just put up with him, she wanted his acceptance. And she would find a way to get it, one way or another.