Author's Notes: Ha-snaaaap! I didn't expect to be resuscitating this fanfiction, but Shintenshin hasn't been going so well lately... Have a chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not, nor do I have dreams of ever owning Naruto. All is Kishimoto Masashi. Viva Capitolism!
Living in the Hyuuga Estate, while being quite a nice place in its own right, was made stifling by the unyielding and tireless eyes and ears of around ten Hyuuga Head and Branch Family members who had taken it upon themselves to give Kimimaro a few stern words if he ever put a toe out of line. Every time he wandered outside of the confines of his room, there they were.
Here, an old man, his hair turning from the distinctive Hyuuga brown to a dusty grey, taking a morning walk around the inside of the wall that enclosed the grounds. His eyes would briefly pierce Kimimaro with momentary disapproval before he was on his way.
There, a young woman, who Kimimaro regularly saw preparing meals for most of the household, relaxing on the external deck of an adjacent building. She would favour him with a reserved, but friendly wave before returning her eyes to the clouds. But she would always keep him in her peripheral vision.
And always, always, Neji. Lurking around the corner of a building, leaning against a tree, or just glaring at him with thinly veiled hostility.
It was lucky that both Hiashi Hyuuga and the Hokage had allowed him to come and go, provided he was escorted. Hinata was a great help in this regard. Having know her for a few weeks now, he had decided that she was never comfortable. Anywhere. Her own home, least of all. But, her family being what they were, he could hardly blame her.
The only time she looked close to becoming calm was when she practiced taijutsu at a place she had been using for years. Even then, she seemed worried that someone might see her not living up to her family's reputation, but she could hardly be blamed for that either.
Watching her train was...interesting, but frustrating. Though the Hyuuga style was dissimilar from his own, her footwork didn't seem all that good. Jyuuken, from what he gathered, revolved around the principle of hitting a certain area on an opponent's body precisely and flooding it with chakra to damage the internal organs and cause swift death. A style that seemed totally at-odds with Hinata, but that was the fate she had received at birth, and she hit the logs with upper-body strength gained by practicing the same style since childhood.
It wasn't that she was bad- Kimimaro (a taijutsu master in his own right) simply observed her to be so. The more he watched her the more he desperately wanted to tell her what she was doing wrong. But he didn't know enough about the style to correct her so he stayed put and gritted his teeth.
It took several of such training sessions for Hinata to work up the courage to ask what was bothering him. Apparently, she had noticed his expression.
'No, it's nothing' he assured her dismissively. She looked putout for a moment, but rallied in a rarely seen show of obstinacy.
'Was...it something I did?'
'No, it's nothing' he repeated firmly.
'B-but...every time we come here...you...seem angry.'
'I'm not angry.'
'...You sound angry,' she countered reproachfully. Kimimaro was startled by her tone.
'...I'm sorry.'
'Uh-I, no- I...I didn't mean...'
'No, I am sorry. I...' he struggled to find a gentle way of putting it, failed and decided to twist the truth instead. '...Had something on my mind.'
'I...I see...' she turned back to the logs uncertainly. Didn't seem to want to practice anymore.
'I think...maybe it's time for a break.'
'Eh? Ah...ok...'
Block-block...block, counter, advance, block, counter, advance-strike-strike, block, counter.
'Good.'
'...!'
...Strike, strike-block-strike-strike-strike, retreat, strike, advance, counter, strike.
Hinata staggered backwards, breathing heavily. For some reason, the idea of sparring had come up. Kimimaro had done his best to match her skill level, but Hinata was finding it hard to guard against all of his attacks. Kimimaro had also, of course, been pulling his punches. He was afraid that Hinata would shatter if he hit her too hard. Anatomically speaking, that would never happen, but he just couldn't shake the feeling- nor could he think of a reason why he should.
The weakness of Jyuuken was almost certainly that it relied on careful, precise strikes that lost their effectiveness if they were even partially blocked. He mentioned as such, and Hinata breathlessly agreed.
Deadly as Jyuuken was when employed by the Hyuuga family, most shinobi used Goken taijutsu. From what he knew about the Hyuuga family's training, practice was usually done alone, and sparring only with other Hyuuga. Sparring against someone from outside the family would probably do Hinata some good.
A faint, irritating sensation distracted him from his thoughts. He glanced in the direction the feeling was coming from, and saw nothing. But he knew he was there. Neji was always close by.
'U-ummm...?'
'Hm?' Kimimaro was brought back to the matter at hand by Hinata- the subject herself.
'A-if...if you'd like, I...I brought some Chuuka Manjuu to eat!' she squeaked the last part quickly, trying to finish the sentence before her face became too red.
'Ah.' Kimimaro had lost track of time. It was well past noon. 'Now that you mention it...'
'P-please! By all means!'
'Alright..., then...' his hand paused, halfway to the open container he hadn't noticed Hinata carrying on the way there. He was forgetting his manners again. 'Itadakimasu.'
It was as good as it looked. The dough was fluffy, with a good hint of stickiness. The pork inside was diced with military precision, and the flavour wasn't at all overwhelmed by the other ingredients. Ginger, leek...bamboo shoot! All nicely brought together by soy sauce. It didn't seem to have much sugar in it, but that was something Kimimaro would happily embrace.
'Umm...is it no good?' Hinata was looking at him like she was about to cry, totally misunderstanding the expression that had swept over his face.
Kimimaro swallowed the mouthful of delicious pork that had sat forgotten in his mouth. 'It's good. No...'
'Eh?'
'...No, merely calling it "good" would be impolite. Truly, this must be the pinnacle of Chuuka Manjuu!' he held the half-eaten bun aloft as though trying to find a purchase in heaven for it.
He must have looked quite ridiculous.
Hinata stared at his serious expression for a few seconds. Then, she started giggling. Kimimaro had rarely seen Hinata even smile, so this was a rarer treat than the Perfect Chuuka Manjuu. He couldn't say he was entirely happy with being laughed at, though.
He felt blood going to his cheeks, also an unfamiliar sensation, and hurriedly sat back down.
'Ah- I'm sorry!'
'...You can laugh if you want.'
'No, I...umm...I've never seen Kimimaro-kun act in such a way before.'
'I just said what I felt... I've never heard you laugh, either.'
'I'm sorry!'
'Don't worry. I...I liked it.'
Hinata turned several shades redder and started fiddling with her fingers in a familiar way. Kimimaro finished his bun and changed the subject.
'Did you make these?'
'Eh? Ah-umm...Manahi-oneesama helped me...-'
'Thank you, Hinata.'
'Eh?'
He made a point of clapping his hands together in gratitude. 'Gochisousama-deshita.'
Hi no Kuni (Konoha in particular) was an interesting place. And these were interesting times to live in. Every clan in Konoha seemed to have produced someone who bore the title of "genius." Kimimaro's own clan, the now non-existent Kaguya clan, had labelled him a "monster" instead. In hindsight, Kimimaro could appreciate what a massive joke that was. They had hardly been more than murderous, half-cultured barbarians who could think of nothing but the joy of battle. The appearance of a "genius" in their clan had troubled them greatly. Here was a child they had no chance of killing if they felt like it, so they feared him. And rather than pointing him in the direction of the nearest victim and shouting "kill, kill, kill" or some such, they had stowed him away in a cage, and only let him out when the entire clan marched on Kirigakure. He had escaped capture, but the attack had caused massive anger all across Mizu no Kuni, generally directed at all those who possessed Kekkei Genkai.
Here, on the other hand, gifted shinobi were held in high regard. Even Neji Hyuuga, who carried the destiny of dying for the sake of the Main Hyuuga, was hailed as a prodigy, until his unexpected loss to Hinata Hyuuga in the recent Chuunin Exam. Still, Neji was very strong, hated Kimimaro for various reasons, and was not to be underestimated.
And, somehow, Neji had convinced Hiashi Hyuuga that they should have a sparring match. After all, since most shinobi used Goken Taijutsu rather than the Hyuuga clan's signature Jyuuken style, having Hinata and Hanabi observe the differences in technique would serve as a useful training aide. Kimimaro could almost feel the smirk Neji was wearing, and wished he had kept his mouth shut at lunch.
Neji stood about five metres away from him, in the largest clear area in the Hyuuga estate, just near the main household. Recognising some ill feelings between the two of them, Hiashi had expressly stated that it was to be non-lethal combat. That meant Kimimaro didn't have to worry about Neji "accidentally" killing him...well, he didn't have to worry so much. On the other hand, it also meant that the use of bone swords was out. It probably wouldn't do his reputation much good to start pulling out his own bones and using them as weapons anyway.
Hiashi was sitting formally on the deck nearby, and Hinata and Hanabi were sitting on either side of him. Hinata looked very worried.
With a nod from Hiashi, Neji adopted his stance and charged. The first strike was an obvious decoy, and Kimimaro batted the hand away while searching for the follow-up attack. It was a good thing he did, since the surprise uppercut strike would have neatly lifted Kimimaro off his feet. As it was, he stepped out of the attack's path and aimed a punch at the inside of Neji's now vulnerable shoulder. His knuckles came in contact with nothing more substantial than the edge of Neji's jacket, and he had to quick-step past the return two-fingered stab that Kimimaro had heard was meant to hit pressure points on the body.
The initial series of blows having yielded no contact, they jumped away from each other and began circling in that odd, instinctive manner that comes naturally to people. Neji was definitely taking the offensive, so Kimimaro decided to try and get him off-balance. But it was going to be hard to deceive the Byakugan. He was going to have to rush him with almost no warning, or Neji would be able to turn the tables on him very quickly.
While circling, Kimimaro waited until Neji began taking a step before springing into action. Neji stood on the raised foot awkwardly and had to adjust his footing, forcing him into a defensive posture temporarily. Both of Kimimaro's feet left the ground for the spinning, bone-breaking kick aimed at Neji's left bicep. As expected, Neji blocked the kick, but had to use both hands to stop the blow. Taking advantage of his posture, Kimimaro continued his mid-air spin and then stamped down hard at where he thought Neji's chest should be. In this, he was proven correct. Neji stagged back a few steps, and Kimimaro had to try to land on his feet so that Neji wouldn't recover before he did.
Several more exchanges of blows ensued before the end of the match, each combatant receiving hits. Neji made eye contact with Hiashi twice during this time, as though asking permission of something. Hiashi refused to nod his head, and eventually called a halt to the festivities, believing that the point had been made.
Neji (ignoring a few places on his body that were probably hurting) smiled smugly as Kimimaro gripped his right arm with his left, both of which were now visibly speckled with angry red spots where Neji had closed tenketsu up and down his arms without Kimimaro realising what he was doing.
The smile turned into a look of pure rage when Hinata hurried over and asked if Kimimaro was all right.
