Chapter 11: Of Hard Work, Part 1
This is a kind of short chapter, but it's basically the summary of what's going to happen! There will be a time skip in the story, right after this chapter. Things will definitely change... not going to say what, but they will! :P Thanks for sticking with me after what I did in Chapter 10, by the way. I promise you a happy ending! I'm uploading this kind of early, but I'm not going to be able to do this later so... yeah. To McKazekage: hah, thanks for letting me know that leaving the country indefinitely is no longer necessary! Though I do kind of suspect that Black Ops might be waiting in position to take me out...
OH! Before I forget, I've been thinking of changing the rating to M so I can write a lemon chapter... would anybody be interested in that? Review if you are... or even if you aren't. Just let me know your position on the idea.
DISCLAIMER: Don't own Naruto, 'nuff said.
By the time Hinata had been released from the hospital, her fellow shinobi had heard of both the attempted kidnapping and her horrid break-up from her four-day boyfriend. She found herself bombarded with previously-made plans for her to hang out with multiple people as soon as she left. Team Gai made plans to train with her early in the morning. Sakura and Ino made plans to give her makeovers. Shikamaru and Chōji offered for her to join them in cloud watching and chip-eating. Sasuke made no plans with her, thank God because she never really liked him, but Naruto offered to take her to Ichiraku ramen shop any time she wanted.
She had absolutely no plans of following up on any of these moronic ideas, with the possible exception of joining Shikamaru and Chōji for cloud-watching (she had always enjoyed watching the sky; she just never really had the time for it very often). No, Hinata had her own agenda.
She was going to train.
"Kakashi-sensei!" she yelled out, by luck finding the silver-haired shinobi on the street. She had heard of his alias, the Copy-Cat Ninja, and had hoped that if anyone had the slightest chance of helping her with her Wood ninjutsu; it would most definitely be him. She might not know him that well, but she hoped that she could goad him into helping him.
He turned around, his one dark eye visible. "Hmm?" he asked lazily, flipping a page in the dirty novel he loved to read, one of the Icha Icha series. She turned bright red as she remembered the one time she had tried to read one. Never again, she promised herself, shuddering at the memory of the dirty book.
"I need help. I need training," she said, gulping back her nervousness.
"So go to Kurenai," he replied, turning his complete attentions back to his dirty book. She blushed deeper as she grabbed the book out of his grasp, surprising him. She doubted anybody had ever tried to do that rather than just let him show them up.
"It's not something she's familiar with, I believe. I feel that with your Sharigan, you might be better set to help me with my particular ninjutsu problem."
Since she had taken away the Icha Icha, he was forced to listen, crossing his arms. "Alright, Hinata-sama. Let me hear what you want me to help you with."
"I need help with training to become a user of ninjutsu associated with my nature type."
"I see," he said, suddenly interested. Nature ninjutsu, from what Hinata understood, was something that even some ANBU didn't try to master, the entire training for it overwhelming and sometimes deadly if not done right. Though, she didn't have a choice. She needed to learn this… it would protect her. "And just what is your affinity, Hinata? Just so I have an idea. I presume you're a water type…"
"I can use water," she replied, interrupting him. He raised an eyebrow at her. Just a month or so ago she was this shy, polite little girl who got the shit pummeled out of her by her own cousin… are those rumors about what happened between her and the Kazekage's oldest son true?
"I presume that you mean you can use more than water?"
"Yes. My natural affinity is to Wood."
Kakashi's eye widened, incredibly intrigued with her. Well, she is special, isn't she? Kakashi wondered, looking down at the Hyūga heiress with newfound respect. Wood… a natural-born affinity to Wood… I've never heard of this before! Her strength could rival the First's… and even the Fourth's… she could become a Hokage in her own right, even…
"If I were to train you, Hinata," he said seriously, putting his hand onto his hip, "I expect that you listen to me, even when you think I'm wrong. I expect that you adhere to my wishes and my directives. And I expect that you dedicate yourself to this training, seeing as how you're not actually my student. And above all… I expect that you never tell anyone about anything we were to do. Not even Kiba or Shino can know about your receiving elemental training."
Hinata nodded. "I understand," she said before adding, "Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi smiled behind his mask at the twelve-year-old before him.
"I'm not gonna go easy on you, Hinata, just because you're the Hyūga heiress," he said sternly.
"I'm fully aware," she replied, holding out the Icha Icha novel to her new mentor. "And I honestly don't think I would appreciate it very much if you were to go easy on me." Her vigor and excitement over the idea of hard training intrigued him. His own students whined and asked way too many questions about why and how. It was refreshing to see this girl already familiar with the fact that the life of the shinobi was nothing but training and fighting, a constant cycle that would never end.
That Hyūga clan is good for something, he thought.
"Well, then," said Kakashi, taking the perverted novel from her, "Hyūga Hinata, from this day forth, I shall be your sensei! Report to me in the practice fields at five AM!"
"Yes, sir!" replied Hinata, bowing to Kakashi much like she had when she had first apologized to Kankurō for being late. She closed her eyes and thought, Kankurō… you will see… we are equals!
"Temari, I haven't seen Kankurō since the hearings. Have you seen him?" asked Gaara, slipping into his sister's quarters. She was sat on her bed, comfortably and openly reading erotic love stories. She looked up from the current book, giving Gaara a look of concern that told him that she hadn't seen him.
Gaara exhaled. "Sorry to bother you," he said, closing the door behind himself as he went off on his search for Kankurō. The hearings had been almost three days before, and he was worried of what Kankurō might've done to himself in anguish. Contrary to his tone and facial expressions, Gaara cared very deeply for his older brother, and he was worried about what he was going through. He wasn't sure of how some people really handled grief, but he had a feeling that causing themselves physical harm was a solution some explored.
Suicide, for example.
He wasn't sure if Kankurō was the suicidal type, but it was an avenue to explore. He just wanted Kankurō to be safe and alive.
But he found he couldn't find him.
"Lord Gaara, should you really be walking about unprotected?" asked a guard. Gaara blinked, confused by what the man was trying to say before he remembered… his father. The Fourth Kazekage had been murdered on his way to Konohagakure by Orochimaru, who stole his face. Since then, the elders had been trying in vain to pin some protection on the three siblings; seeing as how they were probably the best candidates for the seat of Kazekage.
"I shall be fine," said Gaara, waving off the concerns of the guard. I really do doubt someone wants to steal my face, he thought to himself, slightly amused, and I doubt I'd let them get that far before killing them… "Have you happened to have seen Lord Kankurō at any point today?" he asked, finding this his best bet to finding his older brother.
The guard wrinkled his brow. "Uh, yes, I did," said the guard, completely shocking Gaara.
I hadn't expected him to say yes! Gaara thought as he said, "In which direction did he go? And how early did you see him go?"
"Uh… in the direction of the desert, and I think it was before dawn," said the guard, thinking fully before replying to the dangerous sand-wielder before him. Gaara's brow furrowed. The desert? Why would he go there, and why would he still be out there at twelve o'clock in the afternoon? He must be burning out there.
"Thank you," said Gaara before rushing off, going to find his brother and leaving the young guard wondering what the hell was going on. Gaara was lost in his own thoughts, slightly worried about what Kankurō could possibly be doing out in the desert at high noon. While Kankurō did appreciate the heat of their rainless home, he didn't like it enough to stay out in the glaring sun all day.
So what could he be doing?
Kankurō wasn't far into the miles-long desert, only touching upon the mile border surrounding Sunagakure. Gaara was surprised to see his brother running in the constantly-moving sand, especially on the soft side of the dunes. Kankurō's face was contorted in pain, but he didn't stop moving. Gaara stood behind a wall of sand he created for himself, using his third eye to watch Kankurō's progress. Gaara watched in horror as he ran across the dunes, burning his legs in the knee-deep sand. What is he… doing?
Kankurō seemed to realize he was there, throwing a kunai near Gaara's general area, actually hitting the wall of sand in a weak spot Gaara didn't even know existed. The tip of the kunai glinted in Gaara's face pride-fully, showing him the holes in his 'absolute defense'. Gaara blinked in surprise as he let the sand drop so Kankurō could see him.
His face was sunburned and he looked beat-up and exhausted. He panted, unable to speak for a minute. He then began to walk over to Gaara, stumbling in the soft sand of the dunes. "What're you…?" he began to say, but ended up coughing instead, "What're you doing out here?"
"Looking for you."
"Why?"
"Obviously, I was worried about you," he replied. "And what are you doing out here?"
"Me?" said Kankurō, blinking against the glaring sun. All the time he'd spent in Konoha, he hadn't liked the sun there one bit. But now that he was home, he felt himself craving it. The soft sun, the trees, the rain, the indigo hair, the lavender eyes… he stopped himself, realizing his thoughts were changing completely to Hinata. "I'm training?"
"Why?"
"I dunno," he admitted, rubbing the back of his sweaty neck. "I came back and all I could think about was how scared I'd been when that guy came at me with that katana… and I realized how lacking I've been in the area of close-range combat. I can't hide behind my puppets forever, I guess." He smirked. "So I figured I might start with taijutsu. Why the hell not, right? So I come out here early in the morning and stay out here until I feel too physically exhausted to even think, just running in the sand dunes with this damned weight on my back," he said, pointing to the backpack he had filled with a total of ninety pounds in weight.
"You'll kill yourself before you get anything done," said Gaara in a reprimanding tone, pointing down to Kankurō's legs as he said, "And I really doubt that you've had someone look at those burns you have to have from running in the scalding sand."
"It's of ill consequence," said Kankurō, shaking his head. "I'll do what needs to be done."
"Why? Why would you do this to yourself?" asked Gaara, pleading for an answer. Any answer that made sense, because this? This didn't to him.
Kankurō's eyes burned with a sudden intensity that Gaara had never seen before. "Hinata deserves a man who will lay down his life if that means she'll be safe… how can I be that man if all I could do back at that arena was freeze up when someone comes at me with a sharp blade and will to kill? Especially now that Kabuto's willing to do whatever is necessary to have her for whatever thing he wants her for?" Kankurō flexed his jaw and tighted his fists. "I will be the man that Hinata deserves, even if it kills me in the end."