Phoenix Fragment: a Mischief Fragment alternative
by Greylle
Reposted by TheBeardedOne
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Chapter 10: Wavering Fire
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto. This was written due to dissatisfaction with elements of his original works.
The opinions expressed by characters are not necessarily, and in some cases certainly are NOT, the opinions of the author.
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Ino made plans. She would break through Naruto's defenses. The challenge had been thrown in her path. No doubt while worrying and using his abilities, his defenses had been up despite it looking to have not been the case.
She went over the diagrams with him, unfurling the scrolls and quickly going over basic mental exercises meant to hone control. Her own attention was only vaguely on them herself — she HAD learned such things years ago and these were second nature. To her, these were the rough equivelant of those little hiragana charts with pictures of doggies and other things to illustrate the letters.
Naruto, to her surprise, seemed to get them down quickly enough. Though he was obviously VERY distracted.
"So what's on your mind that you can't concentrate?" asked Ino finally, thinking back to what he'd mumbled. "Hinata? Hinata Hyuga?"
"Yeah, she's been avoiding me lately," said Naruto.
Their knees were touching as they knelt in the grass, allowing her to get some of the emotional content from Naruto. Confusion, exasperation, affection, and a touch of pride?
"Did you say anything or do anything to her?" asked Ino. Yeah, that HAD been Hinata who had been floating overhead in Naruto's wake that morning. Maybe that meant something? Hinata had always been watching Naruto, and had not shown interest in Sasuke. Why that would be was puzzling to Ino. Not that she wasn't glad to have a lack of competition from at least ONE girl.
"There was our mission to Wave," said Naruto. "She did pretty good, managing to partially disable a jonin opponent and even keep Haku busy. Then that one gal used that jutsu. Maybe that was it, maybe there was a late effect from that?"
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Sakura Haruno was facing a distraction of her own.
(dodge, dodge, block)
She'd watched and observed, the cold empty feeling in the pit of her stomach growing as she tallied up the details.
(duck, weave, sidestep)
When they had finally landed from that flight into Wave, she had noticed how Sasuke had watched Hinata interacting with Naruto. How he had accepted a riceball from Hinata and he'd smiled just a little bit wider. How Sasuke had watched Hinata training in her jyuuken style in the morning, as Hinata wove through the kata and drills.
(spin, duck, dodge)
She had REALLY noticed how Sasuke had looked at Hinata after the fight on the bridge.
(duck, dodge, jump)
On the way back from Wave, Sasuke had glanced at or just outright looked at Hinata quite a few times.
(spin, jump to the side, block)
Sakura hadn't wanted to believe it, but there really could only be one conclusion: Sasuke was falling for Hinata Hyuga!
(dodge, weave, duck)
How? Why? Just because she had that Second Hyuga Bloodline (or so some of the other girls in taijutsu class had called it) and she was the heir of a major clan and had a major bloodline ability and such?
(sidestep, duck, zig, zag)
That was SO not fair.
(POW! Embed!)
"You seem distracted," said the jonin instructor.
"Urk," said Sakura, still conscious but aware of whole new levels of hurtiness.
Ebisu sighed and adjusted his glasses. "While it is true your chakra control is slightly above average, your skills in taijutsu are sorely lacking. Genjutsu — you know the basic dispel but that's it. Pathetic. Ninjutsu — Academy basics but you lack any sort of creativity in its use. Traps — well, you seem to know enough about that to get by. Seals are currently beyond you. While you have the precise control necessary to imbue the scribing with chakra, you lack the amount of chakra required to properly bring off the end result."
"You got all that while throwing rocks and the occasional jutsu at me?" asked Sakura as soon as she could get her eyes uncrossed.
"A special elite jonin teacher like myself must master many talents," said Ebisu, not saying anything about having pulled her Academy records after Kakashi had approached him about training Sakura.
"Ah," said Sakura, not particularly believing this guy.
"So, I shall show you the basics of a D-Rank genjutsu, and have you practice it until it becomes second nature," said Ebisu. "It is called 'Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu' or the 'Hell Viewing Technique.' It is a genjutsu that causes the victim to see the one thing they most fear at that moment. However, you should be aware of one drawback to the technique. Some people will become MORE dangerous, not less, when confronted in such a manner with their fears."
"Oh?" asked Sakura, thinking that if she got a new jutsu out of it — a little pain was easier to deal with.
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"You've got to be kidding me," said Ino Yamanaka.
"Nope, swear it's true, heard it from Sakura who's on Sasuke's team," said Shiko, holding her hand up as if swearing an oath. "I saw she looked depressed and heavily bruised so I asked what was up."
Ino glanced around her mother's flower shop as she considered what she was being told by the slightly younger girl. Shiko WAS another of the Sasuke Fanclub. She also was an Academy student still, and one who had little/no chance of actually landing Sasuke. "Sasuke is interested in Hinata Hyuga?"
Shiko nodded.
"The only girl in our age bracket who is NOT interested in Sasuke is the one who has caught his interest?" said Ino, still trying to wrap her mind around the concept of the shy little girl who had trouble saying anything in front of the class being able to get Sasuke's attention. Had Naruto actually been so pathetic on that mission that Hinata had finally gotten over him and gone after Sasuke?
"Yeah, apparently during that mission Team 7 had that took them to Wave Country," said Shiko. "Hinata apparently used her family kekkei genkai and that jyuuken to really good effect."
It was like putting a piece of a jigsaw puzzle into place and suddenly having an idea of what the picture was of. "Sasuke likes girls who are strong..."
Shiko thought about that and then nodded. "That makes sense. Sasuke's so cool, so naturally he'd gravitate towards having a strong partner. Wasn't his mother a jonin?"
"Mikoto Uchiha, yeah," said Ino.
"Ah," said Shiko, who then checked her watch. "Got to get going then."
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"So Team 7 has a love triangle," mused Ino.
"Huh? Oh, you mean Naruto's after Sakura who is after Sasuke who is after Hinata?" asked Shiko.
"You're out of the loop on this one," chided Ino. "Naruto was after Sakura. That's been a year ago at least. Lately Naruto was interested in Hinata."
"Well, Hinata was always watching Naruto," said Shiko. "Though now that Sasuke's interested in her, I'd think she'll drop Naruto in favor of Sasuke."
"I'm not so sure," said Ino, putting together a few comments from Naruto into a picture. "Apparently Hinata dropped her interest in Naruto when he was so weak she ended up defending him during that Wave Country thing."
"Well, I heard that he was somehow related to you and had some Yamanaka techniques," said Shiko.
"I'm training him," admitted Ino. "He's almost as good as me, but he has hardly ANY control."
"Oh," remarked Shiko, thinking that Ino was so prideful in her abilities as a Yamanaka meant that Naruto must be really something to get a comment like that. Which meant that what she'd heard about him being a 'Yamanaka Prodigy' must be true after all.
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Sakura would have loved nothing more than to just flop down on her bed and enter blessed sleep.
Unfortunately, her training under Ebisu required bathing and some de-stressing before she could allow exhaustion to overtake her.
And, honestly, would it KILL the man to offer some word of encouragement?
Still, after a day of working at it, she thought she had the 'Hell Viewing' genjutsu mostly down. She just had to find someone to use as a target for the practice. Maybe the next 'Find Tora' mission?
Sasuke? No. Even if he WAS looking at Hinata rather more than Sakura would prefer.
Naruto? Sakura laughed quietly to herself. Nope. If she'd heard right, that had been Kakashi-sensei's mistake during that bell test. Flash-fried Sakura was not a result she particularly wanted to see.
Shiko was eleven years old and one of the Academy students interested to some extent in Sasuke Uchiha. Her skills in taijutsu weren't too horrible, her genjutsu was terrible, and her ninjutsu was okay. Except for one area of specialization, which was information gathering. THAT she excelled at. She might have been an orphan but she had the basics of her family's secret techniques. She spent most of her time trying to recover them from barely remembered snippets from when she'd been younger.
Konoha had several eye-based clans, but Shiko's was hearing-based. She could hear better than the Inuzuka, tuning out some conversations and background noise in order to listen to a conversation halfway across Konoha. If given an enemy building and a few minutes time, she could count the number of people breathing in it.
Which, when one thought about it, made her the hub of just about any gossip to be found.
When Sakura saw Shiko leaving Ino's shop, she thought it the perfect chance to try a variance of the Hell Viewing Technique. Something light, not the full devastating attack, just a minor genjutsu like so.
Sakura watched as Shiko stumbled to a halt, staring at something in an empty alley, then go rushing off.
Sakura blinked. That had worked? Shiko hadn't looked particularly horrified, but had been quite upset. Sakura scratched her head, wondering if her impulse to practice had been wrong.
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Naruto didn't know Shiko from Moegi, though admittedly Moegi was younger and slightly more familiar. Having the girl literally run into him was a bit bad, especially as she managed to knock the box of cinnamon buns out of his hands.
"G-gomen nasai!" said Shiko, bowing once. "I — I've got to go."
Naruto stopped as the strong image in the girl's mind was practically shouted at him. Hinata... in Sasuke's arms. Kissing?
Naruto blinked a couple of times as he cleaned up the spilled cinnamon buns and the girl ran off. Was that it? Was that why Hinata was avoiding him? She was attracted to Sasuke?
Naruto considered that, having been around them all through the Wave Country mission. Could it be? He certainly hadn't gotten that impression on the bridge. He had gotten mainly confusion from Hinata and some... smugness from Sasuke?
Was that it? He'd been dumped for Sasuke? Again?
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Hiashi Hyuga paused as he overheard the servants talk. Gossip was beneath him, unless it reflected upon the Hyuga Clan of course. Since this DID, then he'd deign to listen without stooping to the indignity of appearing to listen.
Hanabi stopped when her father held up her hand, then her eyes widened as she overheard what the two frittery Branch Family girls were talking about. Sasuke Uchiha had chosen someone to replenish the Uchiha Clan with — and it was Lady Hinata?
The two gossipy girls realized at one point that they were overheard, and backed away nervously, fearing that the Head Family would take action. Instead Hiashi and his daughter simply walked sedately on to the dojo. Though both looked a little preoccupied.
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Ino saw Sakura enter and was wondering what the other girl was doing when the scent of roses suddenly increased to almost overwhelming levels. "Sakura. Knock it off."
"Figured it out?" asked Sakura.
"Yeah, you were kind of obvious," said Ino. "Genjutsu is supposed to be subtle."
"Yeah, which is why that Hell Viewing Technique doesn't work against experienced ninja, I guess," said Sakura. "So I'm trying to modify it a bit."
"Hell Viewing?" asked Ino.
"Yeah, supposedly it shows you that which you most fear, I'm trying to make modifications to it, but since it relies on the target's mind to supply details, it's not as useful against everyone." Sakura shrugged..
"I think I've heard of that jutsu, isn't there some problem with it?" asked Ino. "There was something..."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the one Kakashi-sensei used against Naruto that resulted in Pond Kakabaka," said Sakura.
"Speaking of which, now that Sasuke is after Hinata, I wonder what Naruto's going to do," said Ino.
"Don't remind me," said Sakura, shaking her head. "I'm going to have to try playing peacemaker between Sasuke's Sharingan and Naruto's hijutsu."
"Hmmm, so maybe I should make a funeral arrangement," mused Ino.
"Not helping," said Sakura flatly.
"With Shikamaru's laziness and Choji constantly eating, it's hard to credit it — but compared to your team we're gonna ace the Chunin Exams," bragged Ino. "With that sort of thing you might have your team trying to kill each other."
"Don't forget that if Hinata goes for Sasuke while Sasuke is after her, neither of us are going to get Sasuke," said Sakura.
"Not going to happen," said Ino.
"How can you be so sure?" asked Sakura.
"I checked around, not all members of the Uchiha clan have the Sharingan," said Ino. "All Hyuga have the Byakugan. So the Hyuga gift is a dominant trait, the Sharingan isn't. Sasuke wants to restore his clan, not be adopted into the Hyuga."
Sakura blinked several times. "You're sure?"
"Pretty sure," admitted Ino. "I'll ask someone more in the know about such things specifically when I get the chance, but that's what I got when I asked my uncle who handles the genealogy stuff for the Yamanaka clan."
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Naruto was preoccupied. Sasuke and Hinata? When he'd touched her mind — he hadn't gotten a hint of that before. Yet maybe that was it. Maybe that was why she had closed her mind to him?
In that case, maybe he should wish them well and tell Sasuke not to hurt her?
The carrier of the Twelve-Tailed Phoenix thought back to the encounter. That girl had been so positive.
Naruto let out a deep breath, trying to figure out what was going on. When he glanced up at the Hokage Monument, it was to try and figure out what a Hokage would do in such a situation.
Naruto realized a familiar presence was nearby after a few minutes. The red-eyed jonin (related to Sasuke maybe?) was watching him from a bench in front of a place that sold dumplings.
"Whatever hit you, it must be pretty bad," said Kurenai after a few minutes.
"I just found out that something I'd really come to rely on, is no longer there for me," said Naruto, thinking that this was an entirely new kind of pain. One he could do without.
"Yeah, after watching you for a couple of minutes, Anko got disgusted and left," said Kurenai Yuhi. "That bad?"
"A girl just saw Hinata kissing Sasuke," said Naruto. "Apparently the two 'hit it off on the way back from Wave'... what's so amusing?"
Kurenai blinked as she had thought she was doing a good poker-face. "Hinata was kissing Sasuke? Hinata Hyuga? Girl I work with on a daily basis?"
"Uhm, yes," said Naruto, realizing he was feeling mirth rolling off the jonin.
"Did this girl think to check for a henge?" asked Kurenai.
"A 'henge'?" asked Naruto. "But... why?"
"Naruto, I've known Hinata Hyuga for years," said Kurenai. "When I was a chunin, one of the jobs I received was shadowing her while she went to and from school."
"Yeah?" asked Naruto.
"If Hinata actually kissed anyone, it would NOT have been Sasuke Uchiha," stated Kurenai. "And honestly, I'd think she'd have to have been under the effect of some massive genjutsu or drugged. Otherwise she'd faint before she got to that point."
"That might have been a contributing factor, actually," said Naruto. "When we were on the Wave Mission, I was immobilized by senbon thrown by an expert. I was tired from exercises and didn't react fast enough to block them. I was down, and Hinata protected me from some mind-affecting attack."
"Really?" asked Kurenai, going from amused to clinical interest in a heartbeat. "Tell me about it, in detail."
After listening for a few moments, and another cascade of amusement that the jonin barely kept under control at Hinata's reactions under the jutsu, Kurenai nodded. "All right. I'll check for any lingering effects. If she's still under some genjutsu — I'll have her evaluated. She can't go into the exams if she's under some form of mind altering jutsu."
After Kurenai left, Naruto turned towards the stall and waited. Eventually the woman in the trenchcoat stepped out from where she'd been spying.
"My advice, brat," said the woman, radiating truthfulness. "If you like her at all, you'll let her go. Love is vastly overrated."
Watching the second jonin walk off, Naruto decided he really needed to think about this.
Naruto took a deep breath and walked up to Hinata where she sat, winded from practicing her jyuuken and having thrown herself into the training to a degree that even Kiba had been taken aback.
Naruto ignored the growl and whine from Akamaru, or was it Kiba? He ignored the muted buzz from Shino's vicinity. He focussed entirely on Hinata and felt her shields snap even tighter around her. She was refusing to look at him? So it was true.
Naruto took a deep breath. "Hinata. I've heard about it."
"Eh?" asked Hinata.
Naruto nodded and was surprised to feel a tear tracking down his cheek. Dang, and he'd wanted to be all professional ninja. "If Sasuke makes you happy and you really want him as your boyfriend, then... I won't interfere. I hope we can be friends in the future though. Goodbye, Hinata. I'm sorry to have been such a bother to you."
He felt Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino staring at him as he left. He'd done the right thing though. He'd puzzled it over and over and this was really for the best.
"What just happened?" asked Kiba, noting that Hinata had apparently shut down.
"Naruto just stated that he knew about Hinata pursuing a relation with Sasuke Uchiha, and has relinquished any claim to Hinata, citing her own happiness was more important than his own," summed up Shino.
"I wasn't aware of Hinata being interested in Uchiha," said Kiba.
"Nor was I, though there may have been something going on as we returned from Wave," mused Shino. "They did share watches on two nights."
"You dumped Naruto," said Kiba to the still-not-moving Hinata. "Well, I can't say that I'm surprised you wised up to what a loser he is."
"I think she's in shock," said Shino, examining Hinata from his vantage point. The fact that she had went rigid and still about the time Naruto had mentioned Sasuke making her happy had been duly noted.
"Yeah, what a crybaby," said Kiba. "Guy needs to man-up some before he gets a girlfriend."
"Having observed the interaction between Naruto and Hinata previously during our mutual training and then again on the bridge, I had thought that there was significant emotional bonding there, though if Hinata has indeed chosen Sasuke Uchiha as a preferred partner — it appears my skills in observation and interpretation of human interaction needs refining."
Kiba blinked and looked towards Shino. "So you're saying you thought they were in love with each other, but apparently Hinata was just playing him?"
"No," whispered Hinata. "Why?"
"Why what? You're really better off ditching Naruto AND Sasuke, if you ask me," said Kiba.
"Oh, here you are," said Kurenai as she dropped to the clearing. "I was delayed by a messenger from the Hokage, but before I deal with his task I wanted to speak to you, Hinata... Did something happen?"
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"Me and Hinata Hyuga?" asked Sasuke. "You do realize that taking mind-affecting drugs while being active duty as a ninja is pretty severely frowned on, don't you?"
"So you're denying the relationship between you and Hinata?" asked Ino.
"Absolutely," said Sasuke. "She's interested in — well here he is now. Naruto?"
"I just want to say, Sasuke, if you hurt Hinata, I'll kill you," said Naruto, before walking off.
Sasuke looked down at his ricebowl, up at Ino, over at Naruto's back as Naruto walked away, back to Ino. "What? Did someone put drugs in my ricebowl while I wasn't looking?"
"So you are in a relationship with Hinata," concluded Ino.
"You're nuts," said Sasuke, glancing at where Naruto had since walked out of sight. "Unfortunately this particular brand of nuts seems to be catching."
"So what are you going to do?" asked Ino, not completely sure about this.
"I'll have to talk to Hinata and see if she knows what's going on," said Sasuke.
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"I don't know how this ever got this far," concluded Kurenai. "Nor why Naruto took the 'high road'... Anko."
"Is that the gal who smells like snakes who is in the trees over there?" asked Kiba, pointing helpfully.
"Anko, did you give Naruto some advice by any chance?" asked Kurenai.
"Genin shouldn't be in relationships," said Anko as she landed on the ground. "And a love triangle is just plain trouble."
Kurenai nodded, making connections. "Right."
"S-sensei?" asked Hinata, looking like she was about to faint or otherwise have a breakdown.
Kurenai rubbed her forehead. "I have to take care of something for the Hokage. I don't have time for this right now. Anko, don't mess with the genin's love lives. Hinata, avoid doing anything until I can talk to you AND Naruto AND possibly Sasuke. Kiba, try to find Kakashi and tell him I want to talk to HIM too. Shino, help Kiba track down Team 7's jonin. This is escalating out of control and you REALLY don't need this unresolved when the Chunin Exams come up."
"Eh, they aren't gonna survive anyway," said Anko. "I'm in charge of the second portion you know. Odds are Team 7 or Team 8..." Anko drew one finger across her neck and grinned evilly.
"Not helping," said Kurenai. "Really not helping."
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Ino was REALLY hoping that Hinata was not going after Sasuke. Not only would this mean more competition regarding Sasuke, but now her father would be even MORE pushy about her giving Naruto a chance.
No, Ino was definitely planning on breaking into Naruto's apartment some night and finding out what he was hiding. Having her father trying to get them together was a nightmare best forgotten about.
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Blood, blood, blooooood! I thirst for it. Especially that blonde worm's blood!
Naruto blinked and followed the thoughts to their source.
"Hey, a kid," said someone nearby. "I haven't tortured any kids for awhile."
Naruto looked at the Noh-theater extra-reject. "You might want to let him go."
"Yeah? Well, I don't want to," said the theater extra, shaking the little boy. "I hate kids. Are you gonna make me?"
"You know, I really don't need this right now," confessed Naruto. "But if you don't let him go, yeah. I'll make you."
"Kankuro, let him go," said the girl nearby. "We're not to make trouble."
Kill kill kill KILL
Naruto blinked and stopped. "Who is that over there with the bloodlust? Is he with you?"
Kankuro and Temari both blinked, looked at Naruto, then simultaneously slowly turned their heads to look at where he was pointing.
"Are you the blonde I should be killing?" asked Gaara as he dropped to the ground.
Yes, yes, kill him too. Though mainly there's a blonde girl you should kill. Kill all blondes while you're at it.
"Kill ALL blondes?" asked Gaara aloud.
Kankuro looked pityingly at Temari.
Temari simply turned white and began moving backwards.
When she bumped into Naruto she glanced at him, frowned momentarily as if trying to remember something, then backed away from Gaara two more steps.
"What blonde girl do you want to bathe in the blood of?" asked Gaara. "Yes, I get it. You want her to die in a slow painful manner, but who? Really, mother, you're not being very clear."
Temari was Gaara's sister. Temari was a loyal kunoichi of Sunagakure. Temari was considering running all the way back to Sunagakure, possibly with her hands in the air and screaming. Or just running and hiding here.
The boy she was now hiding behind seemed familiar somehow, but right now the fact that Gaara had apparently decided she needed a sand coffin burial kind of took precedence.
Naruto felt the murderous presence boiling out of the boy with the "love" tattoo on his cheek. "Konohamaru? You might want to leave quickly."
The boy realized he'd been forgotten about, twisted out of Kankuro's now-loose grip, and sprinted out of the intersection as if demons were about to start massive amounts of destruction at any moment.
"Gaara, remember the plan!" tried Temari, seeing a very unfortunate and painful death in her near future.
"Killlllll," hissed Gaara.
Naruto tilted his head down a little. Thought over something he'd seen in the Yamanaka scroll. He ought to be able to do THIS.
Temari yelped as golden fire rose up around the boy she was hiding behind, then joined Kankuro in an exclamation when Gaara fell asleep standing up right there in the street.
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"Wh-where am I?" asked the little boy, looking around him at the darkness. The only thing here besides himself and dark was the Shukaku and its chains.
"FREEDOM!" said the Shukaku as it rattled the chains holding it in place. "Free to ravage and slaughter at will!"
"No," said the blond boy as he stepped out of the shadows, wreathed in golden flame. "I've been wondering what's in me. Now we'll get to see."
"I'll feed on your," the Shukaku began, then paused as something began forming in the void. "Your blood and soul will nourish... oh hell no."
Dwarfing the Shukaku, which itself dwarfed Naruto and Gaara, a bird of gold and red flame spread its wings and brought claws and predator's beak up.
Shukaku repeated the phrase that Kankuro and Temari had used in the real world.
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Gaara blinked and shook his head, then slowly turned to regard Naruto.
Naruto's glow vanished, then he took a deep breath, then shook himself as if just waking up. "Oh man. That was... tiring."
"You..." said Gaara, backing up until his back was resting against a tree. "You hurt mother."
"That thingie isn't your mother," said Naruto. "I mighta been asleep for a lot of the Academy stuff, but they DID cover some of that genetics-stuff."
"'thingie'?" asked Temari in a dry voice, almost a squeak. That Kankuro would later bring up and she would vehemently deny.
"I can't hear mother," said Gaara, his eyes never leaving Naruto. "She's... quiet."
"What?" asked Kankuro and Temari simultaneously, glancing at each other then Gaara and finally at the blond boy.
Temari fought off a sudden urge to put a sign on the boy that would read [Gaara Defense] and have the boy hang around a LOT more often.
"Mother is quiet," said Gaara again, seeming to relax some as what this meant became clear to him. "Kankuro, Temari, come with me. I'm going to get some sleep."
"WHAT?" asked Temari and Kankuro together.
"I think I can actually get some sleep," said Gaara as if faced with something of great wonder that he'd fancied for a very long time.
Temari had gotten three blocks away before she realized where she'd seen the boy's picture before.
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"Look," said Kurenai. "I understand. You yourself had problems with that when you were even younger than them."
"You call that just 'problems'?" asked Anko.
"Yes, and I certainly agree that they ARE young," said Kurenai. "It's just that-"
"Whoa," said Anko as she came to a halt. "Did you feel that?"
"The sudden feeling of danger as if something woke up and then looked for other prey?" asked Kurenai.
"That would be the one," acknowledged Anko.
"Nobody else seems to have noticed," noted Kurenai as she looked around the crowded street.
"There's an ANBU that looks staggered," said Anko, inclining her head slightly.
"This does not bode well," said Kurenai.
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"So you dumped Naruto?" asked Hanabi as she jumped behind her older sister.
"Erk," said Hinata, wondering how far the gossip had ranged at this point.
"Eh, about time I guess," said Hanabi, nodding. "You couldn't hold onto him anyway. Huh. He's got a powerful bloodline. Maybe I should reserve him?"
"Erk," repeated Hinata.
"Where's the rest of your team?" asked Hanabi finally.
"Kiba and Shino are looking for Team 7's jonin," responded Hinata. "Kurenai-sensei was handed a task by the Hokage."
Hanabi looked around the training ground. "So they dumped you here all alone? Why don't you go chase after that Uchiha boy if you like him so much?"
"I don't!" said Hinata, sounding miserable.
"Yeah right," said Hanabi, "that's why he's coming down the trail there."
Hinata blinked and looked up. Sure enough, that was Sasuke Uchiha with Ino Yamanaka trailing behind him.
Hinata blinked again. What now?
Hanabi just shook her head. Just when she thought her older sister was finally getting her act together, finding something she was at least vaguely competent at, and being able to contribute to the clan — she had to pull something like this. Hopeless.
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"He's resting peacefully," said Temari as she closed the door to the room.
"So what do we do?" asked Kankuro, beside himself. Or beside Crow at the moment.
"Gather intel?" asked Temari. "That boy took down the Shukaku in two minutes tops! How can we face that?"
"We've got orders, what can we do?" asked Kankuro.
"That boy was that kid in the briefing, the one with the bloodline," said Temari.
"Your infiltration and seduction mission was cancelled a week later," said Kankuro. "It was weird how it was dropped so suddenly, but you know how he gets if we question the Kazekage."
Temari nodded. Yes, he was their father. No, that didn't cut them any slack. No, that did not mean there was any acknowledgement of familial bonds.
"You keep an eye on Gaara," said Temari eventually. "There are too many things about this that just strike me as wrong. If anyone asks, I'm gathering intel on secondary targets."
"Which has the benefit of being the truth," noted Kankuro with a nod. After opening the door and glancing in on Gaara, Kankuro shook his head. "This is SO weird."
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"You hear?" said the guy walking up to his buddies at the bar. "That Hyuga girl dumped Uzumaki in order to go after the Uchiha."
"About time," said one of those buddies.
"I actually feel sympathy for the kid," said one of the others, adjusting his hat.
"As many times as you've gotten the heave-ho, that ain't that hard to believe," said the newcomer.
"Well, yeah," said the hatwearer. "I mean, look at what happened with their Wave mission. Boy did good. Ain't no way he's what everybody used to say — wouldn't fit at all. So he's been hated by everyone in the village, or nearly so. Goes out, does a good job, makes a few friends, gets a girl interested in him. Everything's going right. Now the girl dumps him to become yet another Uchiha fangirl? Man, that's even worse than what happened when Mika dumped me for Tatsuhiro."
The various bargoers considered that and then there were a few nods.
Temari finished sipping on her water, having used a jutsu that removed the alcohol. Very interesting. The boy had just been dumped, so picking him up might be easy.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
No, Hinata is not out of the running yet. Yes, this is a setup for a further development.
Can't have things run TOO smooth, after all.