Kakahina: 13
Shikahina: 13
Itahina: 13
Sasuhina: 6
Naruhina: 6
Harem: 3
Nejihina: 5
Gaahina: 10
Keep voting!!
XXXXXXX
As the weeks practically fly by, Hinata has less and less time to herself. Not that she minds. She recalls having a fleeting moment to herself when Itachi had left on a mission and she swears she had seen a Zetsu lurking in the shadows.
With the thought of what Zetsu's appearance could possibly lead to, she oaths never again. Her mind is succumbing to her darkest fears and it is becoming desperately hard to sleep, her only remedies being the distraction that comes with training and hanging out with Naruto and Sasuke.
"You look horrible," Itachi points out when she arrives late to the Training Ground.
"Thank you." She doesn't justify herself - doesn't feel the need to, really - and allows her being to be consumed whole by Itachi's agonising training regime. Stamina and strength building aside, Hinata improves immensely.
Had she really been a child, there is no way she could have even kept up however Hinata was a late-bloomer. Her skills developed further when she grew into her teenage years, and now that she had the knowledge she did, she's more than ready to truly unlock her abilities.
Itachi pushes her to her very limits, pressuring her to expand her chakra capacity and byakugan range further than ever and she doesn't complain once. Combined with the particular style of taijutsu the Uchiha heir uses and her traditional clan taijutsu, Hinata is a force-to-be reckoned with, even if her body clams up in the middle of their sessions as her muscles aren't used to being used like that.
It takes her a whole year before she can commit to a full hour long spar without cramping up, and Itachi is impressed but he hasn't even broken a single sweat in the entirety that he has trained her.
Gentle Fist is another story. Hiashi is painfully aware that his daughter has sought out teaching from elsewhere - though he's not pinpoint positive who from - but whatever she has been doing, it pays off. Her physical capabilities were never exactly a problem, Hiashi didn't expect too much from a child, much less a girl.
But she proved to be incredibly talented - if that is what it could be called. She has Gentle Fist in the bag, her byakugan astonishingly great and Hiashi wonders if she'd be a fearsome shinobi with the way she's going.
Half a year into Itachi's training, Hiashi decides to teach Hinata the Eight Trigrams. She acts like she's confused and unsure about how to execute jutsus such as the Sixty Four Palms and Revolving Heaven but something in her eyes makes her father feel like she knows exactly what to do. Hinata even takes it on herself to secretly teach Neji who is iffy about the situation as Branch members aren't supposed to learn the Eight Trigrams.
"There's an exception for you, Neji-nii. You were born with the natural abilities to do this."
In the past, Neji had taught himself the Eight Trigrams just from mere observation. Hinata is positive he can do it again.
Unlike in front of Hiashi, she performs the Sixty Four Palms and Revolving Heaven - a little shakily, at first - under the heat of Neji's scrutinizing byakugan. She does it a second, third time to make sure he sees her every move and misses Akashi who accidentally sees her, in complete bafflement.
When she isn't training, Hinata spends most of her time entertaining Sasuke, Naruto and Neji. Although the academy is years away, she is determined to prepare them for anything. She teaches them about chakra and chakra control, demonstrating tree-walking to get them excited. Neji already knows how, it's a given, but he is happy to help teach.
While Sasuke shows efficiency in executing ninjutsu, it takes him the same amount of time as Naruto to be able to walk up a tree - if not longer. He's royally pissed that the Uzumaki twerp gets the hang of it first but he's stubborn and a sore-loser so he won't be behind for long.
Walking on water is even harder than on trees. Every day for two months, Naruto and Sasuke return home absolutely drenched and at one point, Sasuke has the honors of nursing the azure-eyed boy back to health when Hinata's heart can't take it.
Hinata begins a routine where the two meet her for morning runs around Konoha, just before she is scheduled to train with her father and in the afternoon, they play a game she'd previously thought up that is a mix of chakra control and tag. Lunch becomes a habit at Sasuke's house - which Mikoto absolutely adores - and Hinata fashions pop quizes on poisons and herbal remedies that can be located in any forest.
Mikoto is horribly amused by the Hyuga heiress, and the same time a little concerned.
Hinata immerses herself in the simple teachings of medical ninjutsu that she can find in books at the library. With her excellent chakra control, Hinata had been able to perform the simplest of medic-jutsu, like healing external wounds, headaches and even helped to seal the Three Tails when Orochimaru was a dangerous threat. It can't hurt her to expand her knowledge, especially with her plan for the future. She teaches herself to push her limits of her Mystical Palm Technique and revives multiple fishes with ease as months drag by, even healing self-inflicted wounds as practice.
Hinata gets less and less sleep. As a side effect, her cool demeanor starts to deteriorate and Itachi is the first to notice.
"You need to rest," he tells her one night.
"I'm fine. I need to train."
"Hinata, you train twice a day for hours. You won't get stronger overnight," he points out and she sighs, knowing he's right. Besides, she's had a headache for a good hour now and she wants to lie down.
Itachi turns to walk away and casts his eyes over his shoulder at her. "I'll be going on a mission for a week. I'm leaving the tomorrow evening. Please rest while I'm away."
Hinata squeezes her eyes shut and she admits quietly, "I can't." It's so quiet that he almost misses it and he freezes midstep. "I can't sl- I...I...nevermind."
Five-year-old Hinata doesn't sleep that night true to her word, she knows it's an inevitable feat. She stares at the ceiling with a heavy chest and tries - pleads her mind to be still but the memory of her kunai slicing through Itachi's forearm during a previous spar replays behind her eyelids like a broken record.
It wasn't on purpose, it had just happened. And although this was a good two weeks ago, she still sees it behind her eyelids and this is an exact reason why she doesn't sleep. Being by herself gives her time to be alone with her thoughts.
The splitting of flesh and the scent of metallic blood makes her retch and remember - oh Kami she remembers.
She had managed to avoid the nightmares with her borderline obsession with training and she was usually so exhausted from her day's work that she'd practically pass out the moment she laid down but now, her memories had been triggered and there's nothing she can do about it.
She screws her eyes closed, biting her tongue and wishing away the agonizing throb in her chest. Her brain recalls the strong smell of charred flesh and the horrified screams of Sakura and Ino rings in her ears.
"How pitiful. I expected more of Konoha kunoichi but I guess they always have been the weak link."
Hinata slams her hands onto her ears and blood draws from the pressure of her teeth clamping down on her lip.
Madara grins at Naruto who gapes and fists the dirt, his body shaking in fury. Sakura's distorted body falls awkwardly to the side and her hand claws the air in desperation. Ino flings herself halfway out of the inferno, spluttering incoherently, burned beyond recognition.
Hinata drags the covers of her head and chants the things that make her happy, hoping the trick will make it go away.
"B-bastard! Ghk! I'll...kill you!"
"Maa, maa, Naruto. Must I tell you again? I'm going to kill everyone you love, you can't possibly protect them all."
Madara's piercingly cruel eyes meet Hinata and he smirks wickedly in a way that paralyses her with fear. He licks his bottom lip slowly and leans towards her, with a frenzied, wild look in his eye. "I'll save you for last."
Hinata tosses from side to side and jolts upright, clutching her head frantically. She can't lie and say Madara isn't her worst nightmare, the demon that lurks in the shadows, her greatest fear because he is. Kami knows he is, she'll be frozen solid if she ever sees him again, enemy or not.
And at the same time that he paralyses her with fear, she hates him - loathes and despises his entire existence with her whole being. She wants to wrap her hands around his throat and squeeze until the life in his eyes fizzles out like a candle so he'll never haunt her dreams or terrorise her loved ones ever again.
Hinata whips off her sheets and stands, body drenched in sweat. She knows he'll never understand, perhaps no one will, but Hinata still finds herself outside his room, with her pillow in tow.
"Neji-nii?" she whispers into the dark, carefully prying his door open. The moonlight filters in and shows his sprawled body across his futon.
Slowly, he wakes up and rubbing one eye, looks to Hinata, surprised to see her at his door. "Hinata-sama...?"
She steps in and closes the door behind her. He, too, has been having nightmares no doubt. Most likely about Hizashi and Hinata's heart aches for him.
"Can I...sleep by you, Neji-nii?" she quietly asks and if he's stunned by her request, he masks it with a sleepy smile.
"Of course, Hinata-sama." He shuffles over and she lays beside him. Instantly, she feels relieved and rolls onto her side to face him. She gently traces the bandages on his forehead and sighs.
"Neji-nii, I'll never let anything bad ever happen to you again," she mutters, flash backs of the gruesome war weighing on her shoulders. "When I'm clan leader, I'll make things right. I'll bring the Main and Branch families together, and no one will ever have to suffer with this mark again."
"Hinata-sama," Neji murmurs, half in admire and tiredness. "You...you'll be a great leader."
The corners of her lips quiver upwards and she threads her fingers into his. "You will as well."
"Me?"
"Un." But she doesn't say anymore. His presence is soothing enough that she actually manages three hours of sleep, only waking occasionally from a five second nightmare here and there.
-Line Break-
Naruto doesn't expect to see Hinata in his kitchen when he groggily wakes up to use the toilet. At first, he thinks he's just seeing things and dismisses it with a carefree mind but when he returns from the bathroom and she's still there, he yelps out in surprise.
"Hinata-chan!"
She casts her eyes over her shoulder and smiles kindly. "Goodmorning, Naruto-kun! Pardon the intrusion, I didn't want to wake you."
"No, no, it's fine." Naruto hesitantly walks over to her and his eyes widen when he discovers what she's putting into his cupboards happen to be food. And a lot of it. "H-Hinata-chan, what are you doing? Where did all this food come from?" He picks up a packet of rice and has to rub his eyes in case he's hallucinating.
"The shop, of course. I know how much you like ramen but you really should spend your allowances only decent food," Hinata rambles, in a motherly tone. Naruto opens his mouth to protest and turns around, rummaging through his frog wallet atop the kitchen bench but the heiress stops him.
She loads the remaining items and then faces the Uzumaki, placing two hands on his shoulders. "You don't need to pay me back, Naruto-kun. I didn't spend that much money," she insists. "And besides, wouldn't it be fun if we both learn how to cook together?"
"Yeah, it will be but..." He shakes his head violently. "Hinata-chan, you've already done so much for me! Let me just pay you back."
The midnight-haired girl hesitates at the eager expression on his cute whiskered face and releases a sigh, lips tugging into a gentle smile. "Well if you really want to pay me back, then spend the day with me."
"Spend the day with you?" he repeats, taken aback from her request.
"Yes," she confirms. "Today I wanted to learn about genjutsu today, in case of emergencies, you know. Why don't ya come along?"
"Ehhh?" Naruto groans, "Genjutsu? Can't we learn ninjutsu instead?"
Hinata giggles and shrugs her shoulders. "It's fine if you don't want to learn. Sasu-chan seems to be more interest anyway. His clan is naturally talented at genjutsu anyway."
"Sasuke-teme?!" Naruto exclaims abruptly, fisting his hands. Swirling determination pools into his eyes. "There's no way I'm going to let that baka be better than me!"
Instantaneously, he darts into his room and there's a heap of thuds and bumps that make Hinata frown in concern but he reappears unharmed and dressed for the day, signature goggles on his head.
Hinata leads a bouncing Naruto to the Uchiha household where the family of four are already eating breakfast. Sasuke answers the door quickly, baked tomato still in his mouth, and he stuffs his feet into his sandals.
"Bye, tou-san, kaa-san, nii-san!"
Itachi's eyes meet Hinata's and she subtly nods her head at him - translation: I slept. He returns the gesture with a slow blink to tell her he's glad and if Fugaku were any other person he would've missed the silent exchange but he didn't. Fugaku's gaze lingers on Hinata longer than necessary until she is out of sight.
He places a bundle of rice into his mouth and scrutinizes what exactly kind of relationship his eldest son has with the Hyuga heiress. Itachi pretends he doesn't notice Fugaku's curiosity and excuses himself for the morning.
Mikoto presses a loving kiss to his forehead and bids him goodbye before he disappears in a cloud of smoke.
They stop at the library before continuing on to the Training Ground. Naruto and Sasuke are in charge of finding books on E-Rank genjutsu they can perform and Hinata silently browses a dustier, infrequently used section of the building. Her heart palpitates when she finds what she is looking for. Warring Era: Konohagakure Founders. She tentatively takes it into her hands and shakily flips to the first page.
Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were enemies bound by tradition. After the deaths of their parents and siblings, Hashirama made an alliance between the Senju and Uchiha clan in hopes of forming the first shinobi village in the Land of Fire. It inspired the formation of other shinobi villages as well.
Hinata feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand and turns quickly to meet the eyes of whoever is watching her however she only glimpses a blur of black.
"Hinata-chan, what's that?" Naruto asks when she approaches the two boys. He points to the thick dusty book that is on an unrelated topic to what they are actually supposed to be there for and raises an eyebrow.
"It's about the history of Konoha. I thought I'd take it home to read," she says and it's not entirely a lie. "Did you know the Uchiha is a founding clan, alongside the Senju?"
"Ehhh? Really?" Naruto's eyes widen in awe. "I didn't know that! Sasuke-teme, did you hear that?"
"Of course, dobe!" Sasuke says, a little snootily. "All Uchiha know that. Uchiha's are the best after all."
Naruto snorts and throws his arms over his head, eyes glinting mischievously. "Ehh? But Hinata-chan's clan have cool eyes."
"So do the Uchiha! We have the Sharingan," Sasuke defends, almost offended that Naruto doesn't know about the visual prowess his clan is famous for.
"Mm I don't know. You don't seem to strong to me, teme."
Hinata stiffens. "It's not about the looks, Naruto-kun. And besides, being underestimated can give an advantage in battle," she insists, sideways glancing at the Uchiha who's eyebrow twitches in irritation.
"But Hinata-chan, when you sparred with that guy Akashi, you looked really scary," Naruto admits, scrunching his nose at the memory, and Hinata's jaw slackens.
"E-eh? What do you mean?" she pries, confused. She remembers the one time Naruto had come over to the estate while she was still training and Hiashi had wanted her to fight Akashi. She was reluctant at first but when Akashi showed no mercy, she grew excited and Hinata was never excited to fight.
It was then that Hiashi realised Hinata had mastered Gentle Fist.
"Mmm," Naruto closes his eyes in thought and then says, "You were smiling."
-Line Break-
It's first time Sasuke argues with Hinata.
Over the years of being friends with him, Hinata has been able to pick up on habits and traits both Naruto and Sasuke possess. Naruto has the tendency to squint and hum when he's focusing really hard, and he gets fired up when someone doubts his abilities. Sasuke tends to look away from a person when he's lying and has raging jealousy issues, being an a grump when Naruto wins at something or when Hinata doesn't show him the right amount of attention.
He's a needy little kid, Hinata could laugh because she never knew that big, bad, scary Sasuke Uchiha who defected, killed Orochimaru, attempted to kill his team multiple times and plotted to annihilate Konoha is needy.
At the Training Ground, they had managed to figure out how to execute an E-Rank genjutsu that is easily dispelled by the smallest of chakra flares. Sasuke gets it immediately while Naruto struggles to grasp how it works.
Eventually, they manage to practice dispelling. And Hinata - her teachers both being genjutsu specialists - has a few tricks up her sleeve.
Sasuke gets frustrated when he finds he can't top Hinata and she's being biased towards Naruto. He knows he should hold his tongue but he doesn't.
"This is stupid, Hina! You're stupid! We don't need to know this stuff, what you're teaching us is dumb."
Hinata pauses for a moment and then faces him, a little stunned by his outburst. He stands in front of her with crossed arm and his trademark scowl on his face.
"It's crucial information for when we go on missions in the future, Sasu-chan," Hinata explains slowly, feeling her stomach sink at the fact that Sasuke is fed up with her. "Naruto-kun almost has it, just please be patient-"
"Shut up, Sasuke-teme! Don't be mean to Hinata-chan, she's trying to teach us useful stuff!" Naruto shouts a little more aggressively than necessary.
"Shut up, dobe! You can't even do it!"
"Oh yeah? So what? You can't either! So that makes us both idiots!" Naruto barks back, stepping forwards. Sasuke does the same and they grind their teeth before slamming their foreheads together, tension sizzling in the air.
Hinata sighs. She's used to the competitive rivalry between the two but it doesn't get any less annoying. She's long outgrown the thought of it being nostalgic.
"Don't put me in the same class as someone like you!"
"Haaah?! What's that s'pposed to mean?!"
"It means you're a dumb, loser who won't ever be Hokage!" Sasuke snaps, hatefully. He hits a nerve and Naruto glowers hotly.
"That's enough," Hinata hisses but they don't listen.
"Shut your mouth! I'm going to be a powerful shinobi one day, just you watch! I'm going to be stronger than you, stronger than Hinata-chan!" Naruto rages and she swears lightning fizzles in the air between the two boys.
"It's impossible! Weak people are always going to be weak!"
"Speak for yourself! You won't ever be as good as Itachi!" Naruto purposely stomps on Sasuke's ambition in retaliation, just like the Uchiha had done to him.
In a second, Sasuke throws his clenched fist right at Naruto who doesn't have time to dodge it. The Uzumaki stumbles back a few steps, stunned that Sasuke actually hit him, and then wastes no time in punching him back. Sasuke gets him onto the ground in no time. It is clear who has been trained.
Hinata immediately drags Sasuke off the bruising Uzumaki. "Quit being a brat!" she growls at him in a tone she never knew she had. The boys momentarily freeze at how serious she sounds but Sasuke lashes out either way.
She stops his flailing hand from hitting her swiftly and swings him around onto his stomach, pinning him with his arms twisted behind his back and her knee pressured into the middle of his back. He tries desperately to struggle out of her vice like grip but she overpowers him by a ton.
Sasuke then realises the difference between his and Hinata's strength.
"Get off of me!" he demands and Hinata gets up reluctantly.
Angry hot tears swim in his eyes and he wipes his dirtied cheek with his sleeve, breathing heavily. "Baka-Hina!" he shouts in her face before spinning on his heel and sprinting off. Hinata blinks, eyes wide and jaw unhinged in astonishment.
When she collects herself, she considers chasing after him but when Naruto lets out a soft moan of pain, she rushes to his side instantaneously. His cheek is beginning to swell, the skin under his eye purple and his bottom lip a little swollen.
"Just relax, it'll only sting a little," Hinata murmurs, bringing her hands over his face. Her hands glow blue as she heals his injuries completely.
"Hinata-chan, I'm sorry," Naruto mumbles quietly. She smiles gently.
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Naruto-kun," she insists.
"Sasuke-teme didn't mean it. You're not stupid at all. I bet he feels really sorry for what he said right about now."
"Naruto-kun..." She finishes stitching him up and rests her hand on his hot forehead. "Thank you."
-Line Break-
Sasuke can't help but feel his stomach churn uncomfortably when he runs all the way home. One part of him feels guilty for lashing out at his only friends and another feels angry. He roughly rubs his eyes with the back of his hand and bursts in the front door of his house, dumping his shoes immediately. He locates his father in his study working quietly on paperwork regarding the police force and holds his head high, eyes dark with determination.
"Tou-san!"
Fugaku doesn't look up.
"Tou-san...Please train me harder, teach me more! I want to become stronger, I want to be a powerful shinobi!"
Fugaku blinks at his second son's sudden outburst and casts his gaze over to a huffing, sweaty Sasuke. The Uchiha leader hums to himself and there's no doubt in his mind that something happened with the kyuubi and the Hyuga girl.
"There's someone..." Sasuke's voice grows low and dangerous almost as he clenches his fists at his sides, "...There's someone I need to beat! No matter what!"
Fugaku puts down his pen and a smirk tugs across his face knowingly. Now there's no way he can deny his growing interest in the heiress. If she shook Sasuke this much, she must have immense potential. That much, Fugaku can tell.
"Alright. Don't expect this to be easy."
