"Normal Speech"
'Normal Thought'
'"Talking within mindscape"'

"Tenant Speech"
'Tenant Thought (rare?)'
*"Tenant Outside Speech (probably never, just setting precedent)"*

Review Responses:

Q: "Why is Hinata so bitchy?"
A: tl;dr - I'm setting Hinata up to make actual sense, given her family, her upbringing, and her scarring childhood.

.Hinata's 'bitchiness' is an application of child psychology and internal consistency to how the Hyuuga clan operates in this setting. It's mixed with her family life beside that, and the fact .that she's come from a world of intrigue and deep meaning, down to one where words are spoken for children's ears.

.She's torn between emulating her mother's grace and kindness, and upholding the honour of her clan. She's basically getting a lot of mixed signals from every direction, .and her good intentions are being thrown in her face to boot.

.Her 'attitude' is a combination of insular royalty, maturity beyond her age and stuck with 'children', and the beginnings of realization in regards to what the birth of her .younger sister means for her.

.With Hinata as well, I wanted to show a character whose seemingly simple outside actions are constantly covering for racing thoughts and hidden emotions. In Canon, .embarrassment and shame are used to hide her 'true feelings' for Naruto, and that's... pretty much her entire character. I'd like to include that , and incorporate it into .something a bit more robust - a romance that grows from from real development and interaction, rather than a series of "aww" gimmicks tacked onto a weakly defined .character./rant

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to flood my inbox. Reviews and feedback are so helpful, both in progressing as a writer, and giving me ideas and motivation to write! If you think that something might make more sense than what I've done, or have a great idea and want to see it and I can fit it in, don't be shy :)

"There was a time when mankind feared nature more than itself.
Nature has become no less fearful since then – we have simply transcended its difficulties.
The time will come, then, for man to transcend itself – and I will be its vanguard,
soaring above on the divine winds of change."

- Tattered diary, archived
from hidden Konoha Laboratory,
(Entrance Sector E5, Room A1)

"BEGIN!" Mizuki leapt back to avoid the charging figures of Naruto and Sasuke, as they clashed in the center of the ring. 'At least I won't have to worry about documenting the brat's progress - he's gonna get his ass kicked all on his own, and he'll be out of my hands in no time!' There was, after all, no possible way he'd defeat the Uchiha prodigy.

"Watch closely everyone - this is how the rest of your spars today should look like." 'Give or take an ass-kicking.' He pointed out examples of what to do, and what not to do, in terms the children could apply to what they were seeing. "Naruto is using the standard forms from the Study of Forward Motion – you should all find it familiar, except for the height of his guard and the balance emphasis on his back foot – He's altered it to deal with opponents who are larger than him, which is pretty much everyone."

"Sasuke's form, however, is a picture-perfect example of the Intercepting Fist – an Uchiha style developed to gauge an opponent's reflexes, speed, and attack patterns. I'd say more, but Sasuke will be giving you all an example shortly."

Inside the ring, Naruto was finally beginning to see why Sasuke had been so confident in his ability. 'Every time I move, he moves with me - it's like fighting my own shadow, except it hits back!' His thoughts were cut short as his forward jab – a staple of the form - was effortlessly redirected and trapped under Sasuke's armpit.

With a twist of his heels, the Uchiha pulled Naruto into his own fist – it wasn't so much a punch, as a kuckled tackle. The movement, combined with a short lunge that brought Sasuke's knee into the crook of Naruto's own, threw the blonde off his balance and into the dirt.

Mizuki continued commentating the match to his students as the jinchuriki fell. "...and that's point, Naruto - reset!" The order was called before Naruto could attempt to find an advantage from the ground, and the blonde threw the Chunin a glare - in a real fight, getting knocked down wouldn't have meant anything to him. He could take a dozen hits for every one he put out, and still go on swinging.

Of course, Mizuki knew this, and had thus conspired to reset the match often. It wouldn't have done for Sasuke to sport a shiner or two of his own, after all. The two reset their stances, Naruto trying to think of what he could do in such a situation. 'I can't use Chakra, can't fight dirty, and can't get a hit in before Mizuki-teme resets the match... This is bullshit!"

He tried shifting his footwork – the first time he'd gone southpaw on Iruka, it had fumbled him for a moment – but Sasuke's arrogant smirk never left his face as he met the blonde's left jab head-on with his own, even as Naruto could feel the Uchiha's arm tremble from the exchange. 'At least I'm stronger!'

The thought was driven from his mind with the breath from his chest, as he found himself on his back staring at the sky. "Point, reset!" Naruto's groan was answered with a sore spot on his chest, where Sasuke had driven his right arm through Naruto's sloppy guard. "Remember class, don't drop your guard when you change stances – great example, Naruto!"

After five minutes of Naruto being tossed around like a training dummy, the children Koto had taken away returned with said Chunin. Mizuki called the match just as Sasuke was beginning to grow winded – it wouldn't do to have him break a sweat on trash. "Alright you two, break, and match!" The blonde and his opponent immediately disengaged their current grapple, one with an annoyed grunt, flexing his arm back from where it had almost come out of its socket, and the other merely breathing heavily.

"Great bout, Sasuke..." Mizuki grinned as he finished checking box after box on the record sheets - precision, style, combo, adaptability, flexibility, impact, sportsmanship - "Your assessments hinted at your prowess, but seeing your scores now, from a live spar... well, we'll see if the pattern holds when you take to enhanced forms - take a break until we sort out the pairings for today."

Sasuke smirked as he formed the Seal of Reconciliation, before he pushed past Naruto back into the crowd. The Uchiha grabbed water from one of his clan-mates as they cheered his victory. Naruto was about to march off in a fit, when Mizuki grabbed his shirt and directed his attention to a clear area out of earshot. "Head over there, and wait for me. Don't make a fuss." There was a hint of concern in his voice, which immediately put the blonde on-guard. Regardless, Naruto scuffled over to the clearing.

"Koto, I've just got to deal with an issue – I'll be back in a few minutes, start without me." Mizuki added in finger-speech, ;Uchiha, Inuzuka, hold off, wait for me.; With a nod to the other Chunin, he jogged to meet with Naruto.

"Naruto, what the fuck was that?" He didn't wait for the blonde's response – this was a tirade he'd been forming since the spar started. "Did you forget everything about what we're supposed to do this year? Now we're going to have to do some real work if you're going to pass! What were you thinking?"

The Chunin's eyes were slightly frantic, and Naruto could see a veneer of sweat forming. He was about to retort, but Mizuki cut him off - "I think Bull's been too lenient on how much you've been allowed to learn in this training, even restricted as you are." The silverette's hushed tones had Naruto leaning in close - any talk of the Anbu and he knew Mizuki meant real business.

"What part of 'Don't show your hand too early' sounds like 'Bust-a-move in the middle of your first spar'? If you'd both had use of Chakra, you would've creamed the Uchiha's prodigy - and don't you dare take that as a compliment, you little twerp - you're a freak to have as much Chakra as you do, and you wouldn't have learned jack about how to use it if you weren't such a burden on the rest of the village." The blonde took this abuse stoically, though on the verge of tears, as he waited for the point to come.

Mizuki massaged his temples as he tried to reign himself in - he knew at least one Anbu was watching, but he'd positioned himself to make lip-reading impossible, and he was specifically throwing his voice in the clearing in order to negate sound-enhancement techniques; still, it wouldn't do to slip up in the middle of a speech about slipping up.

"The only thing I have to work off of from that spar is that you lack balance and speed without your Chakra - that isn't good for us. Naruto, I don't want to know what you've been thinking these past few months, but to be clear - the purpose of our time together has been for you to pass this year. You can't pass if you don't show significant improvement, and since you didn't hold back now, you have nothing to show for later - why do you think we limited you in the placement tests? Why do you think we've been keeping you down in classes?"

His tirade was moving into full victim mode, as he began to lament over the shortcomings of others. "You can't learn fast enough to make up for this unless I pull double shifts with Iruka – and I don't know why you haven't been doing your exercises, but you should be much more agile than you are now, so we'll have to figure that out as well."

The Chunin pointed Naruto's attention to his scoring sheet to keep the blonde focused for another minute - he knew full well the way children reacted to scolding, and he also knew that Naruto had been doing all the exercises they'd assigned him. He just needed to lash out, and Naruto was a defenseless and practical target. "Your strength is coming along nicely, but now we've measured you up to the goddamn Uchiha prodigy – and you held your own long enough to tire him out. Your strength isn't going to mean shit if you can't land a hit - or if you can't get around the Probing Fist set. We'll begin training for that, and you can shore up your other weaknesses on your own."

Naruto grudgingly conceded the point – he'd always thought he was pretty fast, especially when he was allowed to use his Chakra - but fighting the Uchiha made him feel like he was covered in syrup. 'It's not like I don't do the exercises, you big bully. They just don't make me any faster.' He wasn't about to earn himself a smack for backtalk, however.

Mizuki completed his outburst as the blonde bit back tears. "Then it's settled - you'll be pulling double shifts with Iruka and I from now on - trust me, I hate even thinking about it - but I'm sure he'll agree that we won't be able to find any other way to fit your growth into an acceptable chart otherwise – if you weren't such a fuckup, it wouldn't have been a problem to keep up with the plan."

The realization of how much he'd screwed up by letting his emotions get the better of him was a heavy one – and having Mizuki slap it home with a withering rant meant it really stung. A six year old can only take so much of an adult yelling at him before something breaks; the blonde was already on the brink of tears, and Mizuki knew it. He left Naruto with a final barb. "Now try to do a little better against someone more your speed - we'll start you out with the raw civilians and see how you can progress from there."

Mizuki and a sobbing Naruto returned to the students, who'd just begun to pair off and filter out toward the sparring rings.

A week had passed, and Naruto was finishing his last few matches of the daily sparring block – now against opponents much closer to his level. He wasn't top of the class material, but he held his own against many children from majour clans.

After Koto took him out of the civilian brackets, he started to get the flow of how his battles would go - especially against the Uchiha he faced. Other students' styles were as wild and individualistic as the clans and families they came from, and he'd had no special training from his extracurricular teachers to compensate.

Oddly, it was the Inuzuka that gave him the most trouble - After fighting Kiba's raw, bestial forms, he'd assumed he'd have some small advantage, and was pleasantly surprised at how wrong that assumption turned out to be. 'I wonder if this is what dogbreath is learning right now,' He dodged another underhand swipe, his opponent's claws covered in rubber nubs to protect both Naruto's skin and their own polished surface.

The two students grinned, sharp canines glinting in the crisp autumn sun. 'It's gotta be the lunging, I can't deal with it. Even if I've got my fist coming at her, she's got a pair of freakin' claw-hands all up in my face. How do you even feint against that? I'd be ribbons if those claws were out...' Even an enemy with weapons would struggle against an opponent whose comfort zone was "inside your reach".

"Naruto, out!" Koto pulled him from a swipe that would have broken his nose, ending the match. The two bowed to each other, and Naruto went to wait with the others in his roster while the instructors finished their scores and tallies. In the meantime, gossip flowed freely, as did bragging and outright lying. If it weren't for the concerted, directed glares of the entire Uchiha section – some with Sharingan flaring - a few ambitious students might have ventured to state they'd beaten - or even glanced - Sasuke in a bout.

Naruto wasn't in the mood for boasting, however. He sat dejectedly, wondering at how he could improve enough to beat someone like the Uchiha prodigy – the two had continued their rivalry in the occasional spar, with little variation in the outcome. He was someone with the skills, talent, and family backing Naruto lacked.

'I'll just have to keep trying harder than him, that's all!' His self assurance seemed hollow, in the face of the untouchable gap between their scores – the farthest Naruto managed to push his rival to so far had been engage in the occasional - brief - trade of direct blows, until the more nimble Uchiha could disengage and return the fight to his own speed.

The sparring period over, Mizuki and Koto rounded everyone back into the 'student-blob' that allowed them to keep an eye on everything. "Back to class, everyone - we'll stop by the mess for lunch first, no running, no one leaves until everyone's got food - snap to!" With that, the group marched along the trails toward the Academy's main buildings.

Mizuki snapped the whip at Naruto's feet as the blonde hopped from square to square in what appeared to be a b-movie villain's twisted version of hop-scotch. Naruto had agreed to it because he knew Bull would be watching - and because he was determined to build up an agility base that could be deemed passable for a student that had to improve on what he'd already shown.

'It's not just talent we want, it's dedication – Konoha has no use for lazy ninjas, or ninjas that don't put out one-hundred percent, from start to finish.' Naruto glowered as he went over the memory again and again. 'I'm not lazy! I do try hard, it's not my fault stupid Sasuke is so-'

"Short steps, Naruto! If this is the best you can do without Chakra, you're going to be stuck in first year for the rest of your life!" Mizuki didn't need to mention for the rest of his, too. The whip lashed out again, a sharp crack issuing from its tip. It hit the dirt, instead of the boy, something the Chunin found slightly disappointing.

For the last week, their training had begun immediately after class had ended – Today in particular, Iruka had agreed to take on Mizuki's paperwork in exchange for a double-shift teaching the boy. Since the silver-haired instructor would be Naruto's primary sparring referee, it only made sense to have him keeping the blonde up to par.

It hadn't begun with a whip, of course - the particular method they were using now had evolved from a collection of bastardized concepts, pieced together from almost a dozen failed training procedures. The standard agility training for ninjas was through the use of Adaptive Chakra Weights, and it would have been perfect if not for the blonde's inability to control his Chakra use.

It turned out that increasing the weight to a meaningful amount drew a comparable amount of Chakra out of the boy to compensate – something outside of the blonde's current ability to control. Not only did it completely undermined the purpose of the exercise, it made him nearly immune to anything but raw strength gains from similar resistance training – something that would hinder more than help at this point.

Mizuki wasn't particularly inclined to teach the boy how to further his Chakra control if he could help it - though the blonde still had to do the leaf-sticking exercise in order to keep up with his expanding Chakra reserves - and not even Iruka was eager to spend enough time with Naruto to further his progress. Instead, Mizuki had settled on a number of stick-and-carrot routines.

Together, the blonde and the silverette had worked out an arrangement that was reasonably fulfilling for both of them. Each afternoon, Mizuki marked out an obstacle course of painted squares, each with a series of Kata that Naruto had to perform. If he performed them sloppily, or took too long, then the blonde had to contend with Mizuki's whip - being hit meant he had to start over, and sported a bruise to go with it.

However, if he finished the entire course, Mizuki would buy him ramen at Ichiraku's, something that the watching Anbu were all waiting eagerly to see. It wasn't going to happen anytime soon – if they kept this pace throughout the entire year, Naruto might squeak by on 'extracurricular effort'; until he was allowed to use Chakra in spars, Naruto was stuck with speeds even civilians could match. Still, any excuse to lay bets was a good one, where ninja were concerned.

Inevitably, Naruto's frustrations got the best of him – Mizuki's whip lashed out, and his ankle was caught. He'd completely mangled what was supposed to be a series of knock-out blows, turning the flowing, powerful strikes into a choppy series of wildly ungraceful swings. Seeing that nothing further could be done with the remaining daylight, Mizuki began to pack up, letting Naruto clean off the chalked course and collect the other various instruments they had trained with – mostly shuriken and kunai. They quickly finished their mundane tasks and parted without goodbyes.

Bull left with Naruto, and Mizuki disappeared into the night.