Hinata's heart was pounding. She had rushed over when the twins told her what had happened. Without really thinking, she grabbed one of their horses and rode off. Now she had just challenged a stranger who may be strong enough to kill her.

It was a good thing she arrived when she did. What would have happened to Hanabi if she didn't deflect the shuriken? Hinata shook off the thought. She had to focus on the battle now.

"Nee-chan…I-I can fight too." Hanabi stuttered a bit.

"That's unnecessary. Just sit back and relax for now. I will protect you." Hinata said confidently.

"Nee-chan! Just forget about the promise already! I don't want you to get hurt!" Hanabi protested.

"Hanabi, this isn't just about the promise. It's my duty to protect you because you're my imouto. I want to know that my imouto can continue living in the future. I want you to be able to laugh, cry, make friends and all those other things that only the alive can do. You will be an excellent shinobi but for now, let me help."

Hanabi was about to protest when Hinata knocked her unconscious.

"Itsuki, Aoi, please bring Hanabi back to town. I will manage from here.

The twins nodded quickly. They certainly didn't want to be knocked out at a time like this.

"So, you took down one of your own? Do you really think I will let her get away? After this battle, I will target her next! Let's get this over with." The enemy said without sympathy.

The twins rode off. The horse's galloping could still be heard.

"I'm sorry but I won't allow you to leave today without some injuries. You are underestimating the Hyuga clan and the power of Konoha shinobi." Hinata warned.

"We shall see about that."

The man disappeared from sight and kicked Hinata from behind. Hinata ducked and tried to counter. The man dodged and forced Hinata to defend instead of attack.

"I think you should put that Byakugan of yours to good use. Prove to me that you're just not some overconfident ninja!" the man taunted.

Hinata scowled at that last comment. Now she was pretty mad.

First he tries to attack Hanabi. Now he bad mouths both me and Konoha? I can't just let it slide anymore!

Hinata activated her Byakugan and started aiming for his vital parts. The man dodged them all well despite how fast Hinata moved.

"Better but not good enough!"

"The man grabbed Hinata's arm and tossed her over his shoulder as though she weighed nothing.

Hinata tumbled and coughed up some blood.

This is not good.

The man showed no mercy. He pulled out a small knife and raised it to her neck.

I can still fight!

Hinata swatted the knife away. She sent chakra to her fists and attacked the opponent with brute strength.

"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"

Hinata managed to attack the enemy but all he did was fall back a bit. Hinata had managed to take down the man but her injuries weren't pleasant. At this rate, she would lose!

Hinata shook her head. Now was not the time to think about that. Hinata charged the man with all she could muster.

The man fell over and dropped his knife. He got back up with a wicked expression.

"Ha…haha….hahaha!"

Hinata's eyes widened. This man had just been knocked down and yet he's laughing! She expected a reaction that was less…weird.

Hinata's pulled out a kunai and towered over him. She had better end this before he got back on his feet. As Hinata prepared to throw the kunai at his neck, the man disappeared with a puff of smoke. Hinata looked around furiously. This whole time it was a clone?

But that couldn't be right. He didn't disappear from the previous attacks like Naruto-kun's shadow clone. Also, her byakugan would have seen through that. What was going on?

Hinata spotted the man standing a few feet behind her.

All traces of crazy laughter were gone.

Hinata threw the kunai at him, but he was able to catch it with just two fingers.

This is bad. I'm running out of chakra. What do I do?

Suddenly, the enemy fell forward. Apparently, the horse she had bought from before was still here. She had just kicked him down. Now that is one smart horse.

The horse whinnied and shook its head as if saying, "Tsk tsk tsk. Was that so hard?"

"Why you!"

The man got back up and tried to grab a hold of the horse's reins. However the horse just ran away.

The man scowled and faced Hinata again.

"I'll sell that horse after I bring you down. That kind of mane should sell for a handsome amount. Also, the speed. She's quite the mare." He praised.

"You better not lay a hand on her." Hinata growled. She charged at him and started attacking.

The battle was quite intense. Though Hinata wasn't really winning, the enemy was at least starting to wear out. Hinata tried to find some possible weaknesses.

Well, he seemed to only to use taijutsu but used ninjutsu when making clones. He didn't really use weaponry and had quick reflexes. The first thing that should be done is to find the real person. Attacking clones one at a time would get her nowhere.

Hinata used her Byakugan and tried to concentrate. The real one couldn't be too far. Hinata looked around quickly. The one in front of her was obviously a fake. The real one… where could it be? Unless…

Hinata gasped. Could the real one be after Hanabi?

Hinata attacked the clone rapidly. She had to get this over with and make sure that Hanabi was okay. The clone disappeared after a few blows. Hinata rushed over to the horse and hopped on. They galloped away at high speeds.

Why? I thought I was protecting her by fighting this guy. Arghh! But I can't underestimate her. She is a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Hinata rode forth with a determination.

Please manage till I get there. I believe in you!


Hanabi woke up feeling dazed. She was riding on Yuki with Itsuki steering the reins. Aoi rode beside them. Hanabi could feel wind blasting in her face which meant that they were riding at a really fast pace. Why are they riding so fast? Hanabi thought back to her memory.

Let's see. We were attacked by two weirdos who want to take my byakugan. Hinata came in and saved me more before I could be hit by a kunai and I was knocked out by her.

Wait...she was knocked out? How could Hinata do that!

"Hey you guys, stop for a minute!"

The two brothers didn't stop.

"Are you deaf? I said to st-"

"We heard you but we chose to ignore you." Aoi stated matter of factly.

"Just stay put until we get back in town." Itsuki said seriously.

"Just stop! My sister's in trouble!"

"Yes, but if you go back, you'll be in trouble as well."

Hanabi was running out of patience. She had to help out her sister. That guy was strong, and Hinata might not be able to take him down alone. She tried to jump off the horse and run off but her legs wouldn't budge.

At a time like this?!

"Don't try to run away, your completely exhausted right now." Aoi said without facing her.

Hanabi scowled and stuck her tongue out. Why did she and Hinata have such bad luck?

Suddenly, a black shadowy figure appeared. Aoi and Itsuki slowed their horses down to prevent from running into him.

"Good, you stopped."

Itsuki's eyes widened as they all saw the man who was supposed to be fighting Hinata at the moment.

Does this mean that Hinata lost?

"Your sister is on her way over so don't worry about her. You're all out of chakra by now so resisting is futile. Give up now and I'll at least let your friends go unharmed." The man offered.

"Or how about we just beat you up?"

Hanabi turned around to see her team before her. Minori had a wild grin on her face. Satoshi and Sensei were seemed ready for battle.

"Yo, Hanabi. Sit this battle out for now, we're gonna kick this guy's butt." Minori said cheerfully as though she was positive of victory.

"You two," Sensei said pointing at Aoi and Itsuki. "Go home. We'll watch over Hanabi for now. If you stay here, you will only get hurt." Satoshi helped Hanabi off Yuki and led her to the side of the road.

"But we can go take Hanabi to the hospital now." Aoi pointed out.

"No! This creepy dude might target you guys again. If we got here any later, you all might be dead. If Hanabi dies, I will probably fail this mission and be stuck catching that stupid neko again!" Minori pouted.

"We'll keep Hanabi safe." Satoshi said plainly.

The twins hesitated for a bit then nodded. They rode off back towards town.

"Well, there goes my black mail" The man said.

"Just shut up already. We can talk through battle, not words." Minori said.

"Look who's talking." Satoshi said with an attitude.

Minori marched over to Satoshi and stepped on his foot.

"Who do you think you are?!" Satoshi said angrily.

"Your team mate! When your team mate is trying to sound cool, let them be!" Minori called angrily.

"Now is not the time for arguing! Focus on the battle!" Sensei whacked both of them on the head.

The enemy laughed at the scene.

Sensei took out a scroll. Puffs of smoke swarmed the air. As the smoke went away, Sensei could be seen holding twin swords. The swords had an elaborate design. The hilts fit perfectly in his hands. The handguards seemed to have a falcon design on it.

He charged and slashed both blades with quick agility. The enemy dodged the attacks well, but caught a cut or two. Sensei sent chakra through the blade, which gave it a blue aura. Sensei attacked furiously against the enemy. When Sensei managed to hit the enemy in a vital spot, he puffed away.

The enemy attacked from behind sensei. The two seemed to be a perfect match for each other.

Minori weaved a hand sign and sent the enemy into a genjutsu trance.

The enemy was in white room with nothing inside. He reached up and noticed he was inside an invisible cage filled with nothing. Or at least, there were walls that prevented him from moving any further. Suddenly multitudes of Minori appeared. Each Minori suddenly threw kunai and shuriken at the enemy at a non-stop rate. With no where to run, the enemy took damage.

"Ahhh, sorry but you'll have to stay there a bit longer." Minori's voice echoed.

The man suddenly felt a kick. He fell back a bit and looked around. No one else was inside this "cage". Then what was that just now? He was suddenly felt that he was brutally being beat, though he couldn't see his opponent.

"Are you wondering how you can be beaten up with no there." the Minoris asked cheerfully. "Though you're still stuck in my genjutsu, people can still attack you from outside of the genjutsu. I'm just wearing you down, just not physically is all. Don't worry, I'll lift the genjutsu when I see that you're no longer capable of moving. I'm pretty sure we'll spare your life, of course if Sensei gives his "okay"." Minori said cheerfully.

"You brat!" the enemy cried angrily. He tried to react to the attacks but couldn't hit anything.

"Well, as long as you're stuck in this brat's genjutsu, your physical body is paralyzed. Don't underestimate the power of Konohagakure shinobi, or the power of teamwork. Without help from my team, you wouldn't be as beaten as you are now. Be honored, you're the first person I got to use this genjutsu on without holding back."


"Alright, you two did great." Sensei praised when the man was knocked out.

Hanabi stared in amazement. They had taken down the man who was targeting her and Hinata. Minori's genjutsu paralyzed the enemy, while Satoshi and Sensei finished him off at. If only she had enough chakra to join in.

"How was that Hanabi?" Minori came over and kneeled down. "Impressive right?"

Hanabi nodded. She couldn't deny that.

"Hanabi, we better find your sister now." Sensei said worriedly.

"No need to worry about that."

The team turned their heads around to see Hinata riding Akemi.

"Nee-chan!" Hanabi cried with relief. She struggled to her feet and half ran half staggered over.

"Hanabi, stay still. You're hurt." Hinata said as she came off Akemi. Hinata walked over to Hanabi slowly.

"Nee-chan, I-I was useless." Hanabi murmured.

Hinata stood before Hanabi with a blank expression.

Is she mad at me or something?

Hinata pulled Hanabi into her arms. She squeezed her tight.

"I was worried that something worse happened to you." Hinata said through tears. "I-I am just so glad that you're safe and sound, imouto."

Hanabi looked up to see Hinata's relieved expression. Tears started brimming. Hanabi hugged Hinata tightly.

"I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry..." Minori said to herself.

"Idiot, you're already crying." Satoshi said.

"B-bbut...WAHHHHH" Minori cried.

"You're ruining the moment, baka." Satoshi said gently.

The sound of fireworks sounded the sky. It was now a new day and the start of the festival.

"...Pretty" Hanabi said as she looked up into the sky.

Hinata smiled. "Yes, they're beautiful, but you know, you're the most beautiful firework, Hanabi."


Alrighty, you all have been very patient and waited for this. If it wasn't worth the wait, sorry about that. If it was, glad you liked it. If it was ehhh, I don't blame you. School has been holding me back from writing. Yes, even in the summer, I'm stuck in school studying. Well, it can't really be helped now can it? Oh well. Also, I have to apologize for the battle scenes. I know they weren't great and all. And, I have to apologize if I had a bunch of grammar mistakes. My laziness has gotten the best of me. If you know Fairy Tail, I feel like Aries for apologizing this much. Blahblahblah. Enough of my big mouth.