Arc Three: Hinata's Training

Chapter 9: To Fool the Byakugan

It took Hinata the rest of that day and the one after to completely master nature transformation, but she eventually managed to turn the light on and maintain it at will. Naruto had always been very supportive, encouraging her and cheering her up whenever she seemed to lose some of her determination. If it hadn't been for him, she would have probably given up right in the first day.

"No." She kept telling herself. "That was the old Hinata, not me. I'm stronger now, and more confident. Even if Naruto-kun's not around, I'll never give up!" Or so she liked to think.

Ko, on the other hand, had barely even talked at all. He usually just sat on a random tree branch above them, carefully observing their actions. Being proven wrong by two mere rookie ninja had humbled him somewhat. The young heiress' success had renewed his faith in her and, after gladly apologizing for both his words and actions, he had, with slight reluctance, stopped trying to drag her home every day. Instead, he chose to start helping her sneak out of the compound to train without raising suspicions, taking extreme care to remain unnoticed, to avoid being spotted and followed by any other clan member. Upon arriving at the training grounds, he then allowed Naruto to take charge and teach Hinata, opting to stand on the sidelines and watch, relishing on her achievements. Perhaps all hope for the Branch Family was not lost after all.

Hinata kept improving dramatically, but only on the third day did Naruto deem her ready to learn actual jutsu. So, when she had arrived at their usual training spot with Ko that day, she'd found he had brought a couple of scrolls on elementary Raiton from the library for her to study. When saw that, she had smiled tenderly. It was clear he was taking his teacher role very seriously. Together, they had gone over the listed techniques until they'd found a D-rank that would probably suit the girl.

At the moment, Naruto smiled proudly as he watched Hinata successfully managing to memorize and replicate with great speed the sequence of hand signs necessary to perform the technique in little over half an hour.

"Well done, Hinata-chan!" He said cheerfully, clapping a few times. Above them, sitting on a tree branch, Ko smiled approvingly. "You've definitely gotten the hand seals down! You Hyuga don't rely on ninjutsu much, though, do you?"

"Well, out f-family's t-traditional fighting style is a k-kind of nin-taijutsu, b-but I guess it's n-not the s-same…" She answered, and took a deep breath to calm herself down and control her stuttering. "So apart from that, no…"

"I thought so. Well, it just so happens that ninjutsu is my favorite out of all the ninja arts!" He grinned and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. "I was told that ninjutsu is one of the most misunderstood arts. When someone talks about genjutsu, for example, people tend to associate it with secrecy, subtlety, deadly and silent techniques that can incapacitate an enemy without them even realizing, and as far as I know, they are, for the most part, correct. Ninjutsu, however, invokes erroneous images of raw power and unbelievable energy, of blasting your opponents away with gigantic balls of fire, destroying entire buildings with unstoppable currents of raging water."

"B-but isn't power important?"

"Yes, of course, very, but ninjutsu is so much more than that! I don't know if you've heard this before, but my sensei used to tell me that the true strength of ninjutsu lies not in the technique itself, but-"

"In its user, y-yes. They told us that i-in the Academy, I think."

Naruto shook his head with a slight feeling of déjà vu.

"… So the true strength of ninjutsu lies not in the technique itself, but-"

"In its user, yes. They told us that in the Academy, I think." Naruto said dismissively, looking defiantly at his masked sensei, Hare. They were both sitting on the ground in a small clearing in a forest in the Hokage Training Zone, a place that would later become their usual spot for ninjutsu practice. The tree leaves filtered the sunlight, bathing the whole area in a faint, mesmerizing green. "When are you going to teach me something relevant, sensei? I'm getting tired of these endless talks!"

Hare sighed tiredly, only then realizing what he would most likely have to put up with for the following years. "It would be faster if you were actually paying attention, brat! I see you didn't listen to anything I said. Well, perhaps a little hypothetical situation can get you thinking for yourself. Assuming, that is, that you are capable of such a feat." The boy crossed his arms and looked away angrily. "Listen up, now. Consider two shinobi, engaged in a fierce ninjutsu battle. One of them possesses remarkable chakra reserves and knows a few powerful, high B-rank or higher fire techniques. He's not particularly bright or patient, preferring to attack his opponents with his brute strength and plentiful energy, shooting away numerous jutsu until he completely obliterates them. The other one has a below average amount of chakra and knows only some relatively weak, low B-rank at best, wind techniques. As you should know by now, the Wind element is weak against the Fire one, but he is creative and cunning, making good use of his wits to strike in surprising, unexpected ways. As you see it, who would win?"

Despite the fact that many people believed otherwise, Naruto was smart enough to realize that it was a trick question. There would be no point in asking it if the answer weren't the least obvious one, the second shinobi. What he couldn't figure out was why. "It has to be Wind Guy, but why? Fire Guy would turn him into a pile of ashes!"

Hare smirked. "Looks like you're not as brainless as you seem to be, gaki. Of course that a battle can have many surprising outcomes, but here's the situation as I imagine it: Wind Guy, as you so elegantly named him, would maybe start by countering Fire Guy's jutsu by using his Fuuton to create an area of vacuum in front of him."

"Wait, what? Can he even do that? How does that work?"

"I had a feeling you'd ask that. This is exactly why a ninja's knowledge must expand beyond simply jutsu and fighting styles. You need to understand how things work. I'm sure Owl will go into further detail about this in the future, but, for the sake of this exercise, I'll give you a very brief explanation." Hare was somewhat afraid to go on, expecting the boy to quickly grow tired of all the chemistry talk it would involve, but he actually seemed to be very concentrated. "Picture a fireplace. That fire, just like all fire, needs two things to burn: the fuel, which in this case is the wood, and the oxidizer. You'll learn why and how this works later, but what really matters now is this: the fuel can be a variety of different things. In a Katon jutsu, it is chakra that plays that role. But the oxidizer is almost always oxygen gas or another oxygen-rich compound. Now, where can you find oxygen gas?"

"In the air…" Naruto muttered, realization slowly dawning on him.

"So take away the air and, consequentially, the oxygen…"

"And the fire dies! That's awesome!" The boy yelled, his eyes sparkling with pure excitement. "I didn't know you could use Fuuton like that."

"Curiously enough, not many people do. You'll eventually learn a lot more stuff which will allow you to figure these kinds of things out on your own. Don't be foolish, however. Never overestimate yourself or your abilities. Wind is still weak against fire. A strong enough fire jutsu can be enough to dissipate the chakra holding the air back and make the vacuum pocket collapse upon itself. Always remember this." Hare warned."Now where was I? Oh, right. So Wind Guy would render most of Fire Guy's jutsu useless, spending only a slight amount of chakra while Fire Guy shot countless fireballs, trying to destroy his defense. With small bursts of wind directed at the ground he would be able to propel himself, increasing his speed to avoid the fire that he could not put out. He would also lift a cloud of dust and dirt to block his opponent's vision long enough for him to swiftly move behind him. Finally, a sharp, but small blade of wind would be enough to finish Fire Guy. Provided he aimed at one of his enemy's most vulnerable spots, such as the neck, Wind Guy wouldn't even need an enormous technique. And there you go. That's how a seemingly weaker shinobi would be able to turn the odds in his favor."

"That's really cool, sensei, but what does it have to do with anything?"

"Creativity, Naruto. Originality." Hare explained, using the boy's name for once. "The true strength of ninjutsu lies on its user only to a certain extent, because the amount of chakra or the speed of the hand seals, despite being important, are not what matters most. What matters most is the way in which the technique is used. Any good jutsu has more to it than meets the eye, has more uses that your opponent might expect, and any true ninjutsu master is able to make good use of all those possibilities. It is absolutely crucial that you think outside the box, and that's why I won't only teach you jutsu. I will also instruct you on creating your own techniques, on unlocking your creativity and imagination. If you succeed on doing so, and with the help of your tremendous chakra reserves, you might very well become one of the greatest ninjutsu masters in the Five Elemental Nations."

"So the true strength of ninjutsu lies not in the technique itself, but in the way in which it is used…" Naruto repeated. "That's actually got a certain ring to it, sensei!"

"I'm glad you think so, brat. Now let's move on…"

"I s-see…" Hinata said after Naruto had told her the story. She couldn't really argue against it the way he'd put it, and it did sound logical. Still, it was strange to question something they'd taught her at the Academy.

"That's one of the reasons I decided to create my Wind Pulse technique. Not only does it dispel weak Raiton, I can also use it for many other things, like repelling light projectiles or pushing back mist and smoke, to name only a few." Naruto explained. "Don't think only your own original jutsu can have many uses, though. Even with already existing ones, you can still find and explore possibilities that perhaps not even their creators thought of!" He recalled the time in the Land of Waves when he had used the Doryuuheki to trap Zabuza rather than to protect himself. "I'm really curious about what you might come up with, Hinata-chan!"

"Dammit! This is not good!" Kakashi thought, going through multiple possible strategies and outcomes in his mind, his legs moving on their own, but in the end it all came down to one thing: He had to catch her, fast.

The treacherous kunoichi ran away from him as fast as she could. Kakashi was faster, yes, but only slightly so, and she had gotten a considerable head start, which caused the chase to go on for too long. He'd been fortunate enough to have found her that early in the morning, when most people were still sound asleep inside their homes, but some had already spotted them. Shinobi running through the village weren't by any means an unusual sight, but if one of the other possible spies were to realize what was really happening, it would doubtlessly compromise the entire operation.

The kunoichi was somewhat skilled, too. So far, she'd been able to avoid every weapon and technique the masked jonin threw at her. The problem was that to use more powerful techniques was not an option. Kakashi couldn't risk hurting an innocent bystander or damaging a portion of the village. Still, the clock ticked. With every second that went by, the odds of being found out increased. Kakashi tapped his headpiece nervously, hoping that his comrade would hurry up.

Suddenly, a blur of green burst from a nearby alleyway just as the runaway ninja was passing by. "Dynamic Entry!" Gai shouted. His foot struck her in the stomach and she was thrown back into a building. The spandex-wearing ninja seemed pleased with himself, but Kakashi knew better. She still wasn't unconscious.

"Quick! Knock her out!" He yelled, running towards the traitor as well, but those few seconds had been all she had needed. With a mocking smirk, her eyes rolled up to the back of her head, which then slumped sideways. She was dead.

As Hinata quickly found out, learning an actual jutsu was much more difficult than nature transformation. Her chakra needed to be more abundant, her concentration superior, her control more accurate. That day, the best she had been able to do was producing a few sparks from her palms.

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan! You'll do better tomorrow, I know it." Naruto had said. "Practice makes perfect, right? Just remember to never give up." And although she appreciated his support, she was surprised to discover that, at least that time around, it hadn't been necessary. Strangely enough, she didn't feel discouraged by her inability to perform the technique. Naruto had taught her that some things took time to get the hang of, that haste would only drag her down, and that as long as she believed in herself and persist, she would eventually be able to achieve her goals. Elemental jutsu were, after all, a big step for a genin her age, it was alright if she didn't succeed at first since she'd always keep trying. For the first time since she was six, or maybe seven, she found herself looking forward to her next training session with full confidence in herself. It was a weird, alien feeling, but wonderful nonetheless.

The sun was setting over the village when Hinata began her walk back to the compound. Ko had had some sort of errand to run, but she'd assured him that there would be no problem in going by herself. The streets were calm and quiet, covered in beautiful orange sunlight, and a feeling of happiness and peacefulness invaded the young girl as she made her way home slowly, taking her time to fully contemplate her surroundings. Her future seemed bright. Naruto and her were quickly becoming very good friends and his training allowed her to get stronger so she could one day make her father proud.

She greeted the guards at the gates when she reached her destination, and walked up to the door. She turned the knob lazily and pushed, coming face to face with her father. Her confidence seemed to melt away under his stern gaze.

"Hinata." He simply said. "I have been awaiting you."

"F-father?" That had been unexpected. "What could he possibly want from me?"

"I noticed you have been absent from the compound more than usual, lately. Have your days off come to an end?" He inquired, his eyes never leaving his daughter.

"N-no." The Hokage had sent an ANBU to inform Team 7 of the situation. "Kakashi-sensei was assigned a-an u-urgent mission from the Hokage. He will b-be unable to c-continue training the t-team until it is o-over."

"I see. That is most unfortunate. Then might I ask what you have been doing outside your home in these past few days?"

"I have b-been… training, father." She replied, hesitant.

He raised an eyebrow. "On your own? That does not seem like the wisest course of action. A child your age needs guidance. A sensei."

"I have a sensei. A great one." She thought, but what she said was entirely different. "Hai, f-father."

"It has been long since you last used the family dojo. Have you forgotten about you duties to the clan? It would be unfortunate to let your… skills stagnate." He gave her a look that clearly said: "I know that you are hiding something."

"N-no, father, I have n-not forgotten."

He studied her carefully, her face, her body language, her voice, for any signs that could give her away. "Very well." Were his words a few minutes later, after his examination, but the tone of his voice clearly said otherwise: "This does not end here." "Then I must insist you accompany me to the dojo. I wish to see for myself exactly how much you have improved with that 'training' of yours."

"Hinata-sama. Wake up. We should get ready to go." No matter how many words Ko spoke softly into her ear, however, she would not wake up. He gently nudged her shoulder and her eyes shot open.

"Ko-san?" She mumbled. Her entire body ached and she let out a moan as she sat up.

"Good morning, Hinata-sama. You should get ready to leave."

"… Leave?" She repeated, her mind still a bit hazy from her slumber. "Oh, that's right, Naruto-kun!" Her memories flooded back in with ease and she suddenly remembered the previous night. "Oh no… Father, he… He was waiting for me last night." Ko's eyes widened but he did not interrupt. "Ko-san, I… I think he suspects something. He asked me where I went when I wasn't home… I told him I had been training."

"Well, that is not by any means a lie, Hinata-sama."

"No… but it is not the entire truth either. I think he knows that there is something more." She gulped. "I don't know what to do."

Ko placed a hand on one of her shoulders. She winced in pain, but did not protest. "Well, Hinata-sama, I would say that is entirely up to you."

"Uh?" Was all she could say. She had expected something else from her bodyguard, some kind of advice to stop practicing elemental jutsu, to stop going behind her father's back. She had expected him to patronize her, to tell her that it was too risky, that it wasn't worth the effort, anything. Anything but that.

"Yes. If you choose to continue meeting with Naruto-san, we will just have to be extra careful not to be found out. But if you do not wish to do so, it is also alright. I could go and explain the situation to him, if you wanted me to, and I am sure he would understand. Just know that regardless of what course of action you do pick, I will always do my best to support you."

"K-Ko-san…" She whispered, tears of happiness threatening to spill from her eyes. "What d-do you think I should d-do? Is… is the training worth c-continuing? C-can I even do it?"

"I know you can, Hinata-sama, just like I know that someday you will be one of the greatest leaders the Hyuga clan has ever known." He said confidently, with no hesitation whatsoever. "I was wrong not to trust you in the past."

And so, all things considered, it ended up not being that difficult of a decision. "The training goes on."

As it turned out, however, that training session went without incidents of any kind. By the time it finished, Hinata was still unable to perform the jutsu correctly, but she showed obvious progress when compared to the day before. Furthermore, the intense ninjutsu practice also helped to improve her stamina and chakra reserves.

When she got home, however, she found her father waiting for her once more. That time he did not inquire about anything, just invited – which here meant ordered – her to participate in another training session with him. This routine repeated itself for another couple of days. She'd be woken up in the morning, bruised and sore, by Ko, and they'd leave the house separately and head to the training grounds to meet with Naruto, where they'd practice her Raiton, unsuccessfully, until the sunset. Then Ko and her would walk back to the Hyuga complex. Again, they would separate before they went in, so as not to raise suspicions. Ko would usually go around and sneak in through one of the back doors while Hinata went in through the front one, after which she would be met by Hiashi, who'd immediately drag her to the dojo for more training and a spar. To finish her days, she'd have a very quick dinner and crawl back to bed for some well deserved rest.

She soon found, however, that despite the harshness of her father, she was able to cope with that routine, with some help from both Naruto and Ko, but she lived in constant fear of her father finding out about her illicit training. A fear that would become true on the third day.

It started out as any usual day for Ko. Skilled, experienced ninjas were capable of waking up at any time they wanted without the need for alarm clocks. He'd get up earlier than the rest of his family and wake Hinata up so they could leave the complex without being seen by many people. She was the first to leave. That early in the morning, none of the clan members awake had the power or nerve to stop or question the heiress. He gave her some minutes, then left himself, under the pretext of having to run an errand. There were so many Hyuga living in the Compound that no one would notice his absence.

Hinata and Naruto usually started with some minutes of warm-up exercises, giving Ko time to stroll around the village a bit, something he quite enjoyed doing. Only when he thought the two genin were about to begin the actual jutsu practice did he finally start walking towards the training grounds. On his way there, however, he noticed something was wrong. He was a sensor-type shinobi, which made him capable of sensing the faint traces of chakra around him. And at that moment, he felt much more than just faint traces, emanating from his destination.

Intrigued and slightly worried, he activated his Byakugan and his field of vision expanded as the world lost his colors. He focused his attention on Training Ground 15, the meeting place for them and Naruto and the origin of the chakra, and realized what the problem was instantly.

Hinata was frozen in place, unable to do anything. One of her hands had instinctively risen to cover her mouth in a protective gesture and she had a terrified look in her eyes. Naruto stood in front of her defensively. Usually, the blue color of a human's chakra was soothing, relaxing for a Hyuga, a refreshing change from the grey-ness that the Byakugan caused, but it almost pained Ko to look at Naruto's.

He, like most people his age, knew about the Bijuu sealed inside the boy, and he had, of course, inspected the boy with his kekkei genkai before. He'd seen the red, demonic chakra stored deep inside the blond, but it had been different that time. It had been still, inactive, seemingly harmless, with nearly no differences from its container's own other than its color.

Now, however, it was stirring, bubbling, slowly creeping its way out of its prison and mixing with the blue one inside Naruto's chakra coils, then proceeding to pour from his body in a menacing manner, and it was simply disturbing to watch. Ko had heard tales from some fellow clan members and even some other shinobi about how, during the attack of the Kyuubi twelve years before, some Hyuga had attempted to inspect the beast with their bloodline limit only for their eyes to be burned by the malicious chakra in its purest form, blinding them permanently, a destiny worse than death in the opinion of many of his clan's members. That wasn't happening to Ko, maybe because it was just a myth or because it was sealed inside a human vessel, but it was still disturbing to look at. It was something wrong, tainted, evil, which, unbeknownst to its container, constantly tried to take over his body. Fortunately, the boy seemed to hold a certain degree of control over it for the time being, but most Jinchuuriki were known for being unreliable, unstable. It wasn't that he didn't trust Naruto, but as he saw it, the fiend inside him hadn't even begun to really try to escape. If it suddenly attempted to break out with all of its strength, would the seal resist? Would Naruto fight it?

And then there was the reason for Naruto's anger, of course. A man, with his back turned to Ko, which prevented him from seeing his face. He did, however, recognize the crest sewn on the back of his clothing: the red flame that was the symbol of the Hyuga clan.

As he approached the three people, the sounds of their arguing became progressively louder and clearer until he could actually understand what they were saying.

"–on't care what you say, you can't take her if she doesn't want to go! I won't let you!" Naruto was yelling. His clothes were dirty and his face covered in light scratches.

The Hyuga man spoke in a calmer, more controlled tone, although equally as threatening. "Is that right? And what are you going to do if I try to, demon? Fight me? Please. I have shown you that it is impossible for you to beat me. I would obliterate you."

As much as Ko hated to admit it, he had to recognize the facts: the other Hyuga man was arrogant, but most likely truthful. His clothing indicated he was ranked a jonin and no matter how skilled the boy was, such a shinobi, and a Hyuga at that, was way beyond his abilities.

Naruto snarled and showed his fangs in response, but before he could give an actual spoken remark, Ko arrived at the clearing.

"Ah, Ko." The other man acknowledged him. "You are Hinata-sama's bodyguard, are you not? Maybe you can talk some sense into this girl. She should know better than to associate herself to this kind of scum." He practically spat the last word at the blond. Ko felt his blood boil at the insult to the young boy he had come to respect and even admire, but did his best to control his emotions. It was best if the other man thought he was on his side. More problems were likely to arise otherwise. "Hiashi-sama wants to see his daughter." The oblivious jonin continued. "I take it he will be most… displeased to find out she has gone against his orders in such a manner. I'm sorry for you, Hinata-sama." His smirk, however, clearly gave away his obvious lie.

Naruto growled, still protectively in front of Hinata, but discretely looked at Ko for some kind of guidance. They exchanged looks and the message in Ko's eyes was clear. "I'm sorry, Naruto. It's over. We've been found out. We have no choice but to play along for now."

"Hinata-sama, that is enough." Ko stated. "As your bodyguard, appointed by Hiashi-sama himself, your honorable father and leader of the great Hyuga clan, I command you to come with us at once. It is unadvisable to keep him waiting too long."

"What are you going to do now, boy?" The jonin added. "Think you can take on both of us?"

"You Hyuga are all the same. I'm sorry, Hinata-chan." He said, and moved away from Hinata, who immediately understood what was going on and joined Ko.

"You made the correct decision." Ko stated. "Let's go."

"Hiashi-sama. Nomo has arrived, and he brings your daughter."

"I see. Send them in." He told the Branch Family member, who hurried out of the room to carry out his orders. A few moments later, Hinata walked into her father's study, escorted by her bodyguard and the jonin he had dispatched to spy on her.

"Hiashi-sama." The jonin bowed deeply. Hinata and Ko did so as well, albeit silently.

"Speak, Nomo. I, by my right as her father, commanded you to follow my daughter today and observe her actions. Why have you returned to me so soon? What do you have to report?"

"Hiashi-sama," He seemed to keep repeating the name. "I felt it was no longer necessary to continue observing your daughter after her disobedience had been confirmed. I assumed you would want me to stop such disrespectful behavior, so I brought her with me. I did what you ordered me to do obediently. I tailed Hinata-sama from the moment she left the Compound. I watched as she hastily headed to Training Grounds 15 to meet with one Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto Uzumaki…" Hiashi repeated, his annoyance increasing. "Refresh my memory, will you? Is that not the boy…" He searched for a way to refer to him without mentioning the demon within. "… Protected by the Sandaime's law?"

"He is, Hiashi-sama."

"I see. Please proceed."

"Hinata-sama and the boy then started what looked like a few warm-up exercises of some kind, doubtlessly a preparation for the training that would ensue. It was clear, however, that neither knew what they were doing. After they had completed those exercises, they moved on to jutsu practice."

"Jutsu, you say? What could the boy possibly hope to know about Hyuga jutsu?"

"It was not Hyuga jutsu that they were practicing, Hiashi-sama, but elemental ones." As Nomo said this, Hiashi's eyes flared with a little anger and quite a lot of shock. He had never expected such a degree of disobedience and defiance. When his daughter had started acting strange he had immediately suspected she was up to no good, but to think that Hinata, sweet, shy, obedient Hinata would be capable of disrespecting him and the clan in such a manner… "It appeared to be some sort of Raiton, judging from the sparks that were all that she was able to produce. The way they were acting leads me to believe that that was a routine that had been going on for more than just one day, but she was still unable to perform the technique correctly. After witnessing such intolerable insolence I could no longer contain myself. I revealed my presence and gently asked Hinata-sama to accompany me back to the complex."

"What? That's not how it happened!" Hinata wanted to intervene, to tell her father that that wasn't the way things had happened, that he had ordered her to go and insulted and threatened Naruto, but she knew it was best to stay silent.

"But before I could do anything, the boy immediately went feral and savagely attacked me."

"Stop lying!" Hinata screamed in her head.

"He soon understood he had no hope of beating me and instead chose to try to keep Hinata-sama away from me. I tried to reason with him, to talk things through. I asked him several times to let go of Hinata-sama, but he just would not listen."

"Lies! Lies, lies, lies!"

"Finally, Ko-san here arrived and, faced with two very superior opponents, the boy just ran away, abandoning Hinata-sama. After that, we brought her here before you, Hiashi-sama."

"Liiiiiiiiiiies!"

Sitting on the pillow on the floor of his study, Hiashi reflected on what he had just been told.

"Hiashi-sama…" Nomo said. "Excuse me for interrupting, but I carried out your orders dutifully… and successfully. May I inquire about the possibility of some sort of… compensation?"

The Hyuga Head eyed the man. Sure, he had completed the mission he'd been assigned, but Hiashi did not like him. He wasn't as foolish as to believe everything he'd been told. There had been much unnecessary boasting and some very obvious lies. The Hyuga clan was great, yes, but too much was too much and Nomo clearly needed a little lesson in humility.

"Very well." Hiashi agreed, and the jonin's mouth stretched into a satisfied smile. "You have served me well, that is true. However, I could not help but find it… intriguing that such a skilled Hyuga jonin had so much trouble dealing with a simple no-name genin." The man's smile faltered a little, not yet sure of where his clan leader was going with all that. "As such, I will give you a fitting reward. I shall personally ask the Hokage…" Hiruzen was fond of the boy and Hiashi knew it. Once he had told the Sandaime about Nomo's disrespect towards the boy he'd certainly get the older man to comply. "… And I'm confident that I will be able to get you off of active duty for a few days. During that time, you shall have the privilege of receiving harsh, intense training from one of our strictest masters." The outraged jonin opened his mouth to protest, but Hiashi cut him off. "There is no need to thank me. It was only fair." He said, which was code for, "My orders shall not be questioned." "You may go now."

"Hiashi-sama." Nomo muttered, his smile completely gone by then, and he hastily left the study.

Hiashi then turned back to Hinata and Ko. "That man may be an arrogant fool, but I would be as much of a fool if I had not seen at least some truth in his words. I am… unhappy." The two other Hyuga saw right through his understatement. "Ko, did you know of this… situation?"

That was it, then. It was over. They had been caught and there was no point in trying to cover it. Whatever the consequences, he would not allow Hinata to go down alone. "Hiashi-sama, I-" He began, ready to confess his part in Hinata's disobedience.

"He had nothing to do with it!" Hinata suddenly interrupted, no stuttering, no hesitance. "He knew nothing!"

Ko could only stare at her in disbelief then, his mouth wide open for a moment. She stared deep into her father's eyes with amazing confidence, never turning away, never faltering, not even blinking. It was as if nothing could break her ferrous gaze. "I… I can't tell she's lying!" The girl was usually such a bad liar that even non-Hyuga had an easy time seeing through her miserable attempts at deception. She blushed, stumbled over her words and was unable to establish eye contact, but this time… this time it was different. When had she gotten that degree of confidence in herself? And most importantly, she had risked herself to protect him.Ko knew Hiashi must have been at least as surprised as he was, although he didn't show it. He too seemed unable to detect his daughter's lie.

"Hinata, know your place. Answer only when directly asked a question."

"Yes, father." She complied, but held her gaze.

"Ko, is what she said true?"

"Y-yes, Hiashi-sama." He managed to blurt out, confusion etched across his face. Only a couple of seconds later did he remember to go back to expressionless, with the forlorn hope that Hiashi had not noticed his slip up. However, to his great shock, the head of the clan didn't even look at him, choosing to focus on Hinata instead, carefully searching for anything that might betray her. That was the greatest weakness of the Hyuga clan, Ko realized, even bigger than their blind spot. Hiashi was relying so much on his eyes, concentrating so much on his daughter, that he hadn't noticed Ko's stuttering, a beginner's mistake. The famous Hyuga all-seeing eyes had been fooled.

"I understand you also played a part in taking my daughter away from that boy. For that, you have my gratitude. Now please leave. I have some matters I must discuss with Hinata in private." Ko left as he'd been told without speaking another word, leaving father and daughter alone. "And now, my daughter, I wish to know exactly what went through your head. Elemental jutsu? Had I not told you they were forbidden? Had I not told you that you were not ready, not until you successfully learned the Kaiten?"

"N-Naruto-kun said that elemental jutsu could help me successfully perform the K-Kaiten…" She mumbled, her previous resolve dissipating quickly – a clear indication of the amount of work she had yet to go through – but she knew it had been a huge mistake to say that right after the last word had escaped her lips.

"And you chose the boy's word over mine? Ridiculous." He said, only a tinge of anger in his voice. "Frankly... Do you perhaps think that the boy is a better teacher than our many professional sensei? As if he of all people could teach you anything, elemental jutsu of all things. Did you even undergo nature transformation training like one is supposed to? I doubt the boy even knows what that is. He did not even test your chakra affinity! A Hyuga with Raiton, honestly…" He rolled his eyes as if the simple concept was too farfetched to even consider. "He must have thought it would be fun to have you shoot thunderbolts from your hands. This simply cannot be. You disobeyed direct orders from your father and clan leader with complete disregard for your duties as heiress. Your irresponsible and disrespectful behavior has ashamed me and the entire Hyuga clan. I must not seem soft to the eyes of my clansmen. You must be punished."

It was already late in the afternoon when Ko finally decided it was safe enough for him to go check on Hinata. According to what he had heard from other Branch Family members, she had not left her room since she'd gotten back from her father's study, not even for lunch. Some of them had even taken her food and left on the floor right by her door, but she had not seemed inclined to eat.

Ko opened the door and stepped over her could, untouched meal to go inside. She didn't do anything to stop him, but neither did she acknowledge his presence. He could see dark spots in her bed that indicated she had been crying, but it seemed like she had stopped meanwhile. She was quiet at that moment, her head buried deep into her soft pillows.

"Hinata-sama? What happened? What did Hiashi-sama say?" He sat on her bed next to her and listened to her sobs. "Are you in trouble, Hinata-sama? Did he punish you?"

"K-Ko-kun…" She mumbled, lifting her head for him to see. Small spots on her face glistened with her tears. "F-father, he… he…" She was, however, unable to complete her sentence and started crying once more. A little clueless as to what to do in that kind of situation, Ko just awkwardly put one arm around her and pulled her closer to himself. It was clumsy, but she seemed to appreciate it and calm down. After a few deep breaths, she was ready to speak again. "He s-said I was weak… a d-disgrace to the c-clan… and that I n-needed to r-realize that s-so I wouldn't disobey him a-again… So t-tomorrow he… he will s-summon the entire clan and… and… and…"

"Calm down, Hinata-sama. Take a few more deep breaths."

She stayed silent for a while, gathering what was left of her confidence and will so she could finish explaining what had happened to Ko. "T-tomorrow… he will s-summon the entire c-clan to watch… He said that a-after my little s-sister Hanabi b-beats m-me in an all out fight before e-every Hyuga in the v-village I will think t-twice before d-disobeying him again. A-and to m-make sure I have n-no choice but t-to fight with e-everything I've got… if I l-lose… no, he s-said when I lose… I will b-be forbidden f-from seeing N-Naruto-kun…"

End of Chapter 9

And there you go. The next chapter will probably be the last in this arc. While short, I hope you're all enjoying it.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who reviews this story, adds it to the alerts and favorites and even simply reads it! Thanks to you we're way over the 100k visits milestone (almost at 120k), over 800 alerts and 700 favs and even more than 100 author alerts! Thanks for all your support!

This chapter was a little tricky to write and as I find myself delving deeper into the mechanics and relationships inside of the Hyuga clan I realize I have to be very careful with the way I portray the characters. I am, however, happy that this story is proving to be a challenge. What do you think? Am I getting the Hyuga clan right? Are they too out of character? I love to hear some feedback from the readers.

Also, if you find any character thoughts that are not in italic, I apologize. The document manager seems to be having some problems. When I first uploaded the chapter, all bold and italic words were glued together into massive one-word paragraphs, so I had to format the original document, upload it again, then manually change thoughts and jutsu, and I may have missed some.

Usually, I try to answer to all reviews, but I am well aware that sometimes I miss a few. If you want to discuss the story – or anything else, really, like the Naruto manga – in more detail, feel free to send me a PM.

Bye!