Disclaimer: Haha. As if.
Summary: There are thousands of worlds in this universe. In this one, Hinata grew up as a Jinchuuriki, hated by most, shy and unconfident. Naruto was raised as the Uzumaki heir, arrogant and proud. When their lives cross, they'll find that some worlds aren't so different after all.
Unparalleled
Chapter Ten
"Honestly?"
"Yes, honestly." The blonde woman looked at her assistant with careful eyes. "Call her in, it's the best thing we can do for her."
The brunette shifted and sighed. "I'll send someone for her then." She left the room, leaving the blonde alone. She sighed deeply and folded her hands together. Slowly Tsunade rubbed her forehead.
It had been just a few weeks since she had been made Hokage, since that brat of a kid had convinced her to come back to Konoha. Naruto, his name was – Minato's legacy and the most determined kid she had ever seen. It had almost been fun coming to Konoha just to see how he would fare. But… Tsunade pursed her lips and shook her head. The matter at hand was someone else, someone with just as much a sprit as him, who was being crushed and oppressed far more than he was.
"H-Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade smiled faintly and looked up. "Hinata-chan. Come in."
The dark-haired girl slowly pushed her way into the room and settled herself into the chair in front of her desk.
"Hinata… I have to ask you something."
"Y-Yes, Hokage-sama?"
"Do you love this village?"
Hinata started. What she had expected was a mission, or maybe a request to train harder, be better. Not some psychological, touchy-feely "do you love this village?". No one had ever cared that much about how she felt.
"Yes… I… I do l-love this village."
Tsunade frowned, and felt like shaking the girl (who was avoiding her gaze completely). It wasn't too often that she found someone who could actually look her in the eye and say with complete honesty what they felt. It appeared that Hinata was no exception.
"No, Hinata. You feel affection for this village. You would call it your home. You would fight for it, and you would eventually die for it.
"But you do not love it."
Hinata's heart lurched. She had absolutely no idea where this was going, what she should say or do. Did she love this village? Konoha hadn't done anything spectacular for her, but she had never felt anything remotely hateful towards it.
"I've watched you, you and Naruto and Sasuke. None of you – though perhaps Naruto – can look at me and say that you love Konoha. And I'm sorry, because Konoha does not deserve your love."
Tsunade inhaled deeply and settled back into her chair, crossing her arms and appraising Hinata fully. Hinata shifted nervously and poked her fingers together; all her old habits were coming back at full-speed in front of this intimidating woman.
"You… deserve more than this village, Hinata. So I want to give you more." Tsunade drummed her fingers, trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to say.
"How do you feel about training? Outside the village?"
Hinata's head snapped up. Training? What – did she mean leaving behind her team, Team Seven? Leaving behind Naruto and Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei? And… when she said training… Hinata had a vision, a sudden, sharp vision that knocked her back breathlessly – an image of her, older, and wiser and stronger and proud. Proud with everything she had accomplished.
Outside the village.
"Come in Hazuki."
Tsunade's voice broke her silence and Hinata turned slightly, watching as the door was pushed in, and a figure walked in.
The first thing she noticed was the reckless grin of someone who had lived her life on the edge and didn't know any other way to do so.
The second thing she noticed was her eyes.
Pure white eyes.
----------------
As Hinata retreated down the hallway, Shizune shut the door gently behind her. "Tsunade-sama…" The young woman shifted and sighed. "What did she say?"
Tsunade was silent. She looked out the window, out towards the horizon. "What can she say? I'm giving her a week. If she can think of a better idea, she'll think of it by then."
"Ano… This probably isn't the best time, but what about-"
"I know. I thought about that. And the only thing I could think of was to do the same."
Shizune's lips twisted. "But, wouldn't that be… strange? To send both of them away?"
Tsunade let out a short laugh. "They didn't choose me for my brains, obviously." The Hokage sighed and shook her head. "But honestly, you tell me what we should do. We have to get him out of this village. We have to get Naruto away from this place. Just look at him."
Shizune walked over and they both looked down towards the nearby training fields. Clearly visible, as a splotch of bright orange, was the Yondaime's son. Clearly visible, even at this early hour, was the burden of these past few weeks.
"Just look at him. He'll kill himself if he stays here any longer."
Jiraiya stood in front of Tsunade, her hands folded, the look of a Hokage already showing in her face.
"Why did you call me back?"
Tsunade was silent for a moment and then glanced out the window.
"That kid, the one that came with you to bring me back… his name's Naruto. He's Minato's son, isn't he?"
Jiraiya nodded and folded his arms. It wasn't as if that knowledge was confidential, everyone know that. Clearly she was building to something.
"I thought about coming back, you know? News travels fast, and the messengers managed to hunt me down in time. I could have been here for his… his funeral. The kid knows me, I know that. I came back a few times, to see Minato, see the village… but…
"He's hurting, Jiraiya. Every day, since we came back, I see him outside my window, and I see him training, on his own, all day. Alone. Sasuke's up in the mountains every day, learning some advanced technique from Kakashi now that he's mastered the Sharingan. And Hinata…" Oh, Kami, Hinata…
But she was dealing with Hinata already. The message had been sent and a reply received, and now all they could do was wait. Naruto, on the other hand, they could not wait on.
"Oi, kid, what are you doing here?"
Naruto turned and smiled half-heartedly. "Ero-sennin. What are you doing here?"
Jiraiya shrugged and folded his arms. "Tsunade wanted me back in the village." Smiling smugly he added, "Guess she just couldn't keep away from me!"
"Baka," Naruto muttered to himself and turned back to his training, doggedly throwing another shuriken at the target.
The white-haired man leaned against a nearby post and watched. The shuriken whizzed through the air and hit its mark with deadly accuracy, but left undisturbed by another shuriken, landing far to the right. Swearing softly to himself, Naruto tossed another one, this one landing pitifully on the ground, bypassing the post completely.
"Naruto…"
"I want you to train him."
"Me?" Jiraiya nearly laughed. But then he stopped; he had known Tsunade for years now (more years than either of them would like to admit), and there were times when she was drunk and luckless, and times when she was deadly and serious. "Why?"
The blonde Hokage shrugged. "You had some success with his dad; like father like son. And… at this time…" Tsunade tilted her head towards him and her eyes were solemn and frank. "At this time… who else can I trust?"
Jiraiya frowned at her. When she said it like that… did he really have a choice? Even he knew that there was nothing else they could do for Naruto right now.
"Naruto… what would you say to becoming cool?"
Naruto wrinkled his nose and turned to regard him skeptically. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it, turning away again.
"No really. I mean, becoming amazing. And you want to know how you'd do it-"
"No."
Jiraiya stopped and frowned at the harshness in the kid's voice.
"I don't want to be like you, Ero-sennin."
"Then what would you rather be?" Jiraiya let out a short bark. "Think about it Naruto. You told me, as you looked at the Hokage Monument, that you wanted to Hokage someday. You told me that you wanted to be someone worthy, that you wanted to protect everyone; Hinata, Sasuke and everyone else that means something to you.
"Train with me. I'll teach you, I'll help you."
Naruto grit his teeth. He knew that, had known it as soon as Ero-sennin had tried to subtly lead him into it. But he had said no; he didn't want to be led on with pity and sympathy and the memory of his dad.
"I don't-"
"What do you want then? Do you want to stay here in this village, and watch as you spiral downwards, consumed and sheltered by these walls? You won't go anywhere if you stay here; you know that. You have to overcome yourself before you can overcome any outside obstacles."
You have to overcome your father.
"Think about it, Naruto."
Jiraiya sighed heavily and frowned balefully at Tsunade. Tsunade hesitated and then exhaled.
"If you can't, or just won't because of some stupid perverted reason-"
"I'll do it."
Tsunade stopped and squinted at him. She folded her arms and nodded slightly.
"Good."
----------------
Sasuke leaned over, one hand resting on his thigh, panting. His eyes glared at the boulder in front of him, large craters smoldering with electricity-charged chakra. He had spent days up here, alone, training. Team Seven had virtually lost all contact with each other.
Hinata watched him from the side. It had taken her a while to find him, but finally she had tracked Sasuke up to the mountains. It had been days, weeks even, since they had properly spoken to each other.
They couldn't leave it like this.
"Sasuke."
He stiffened and turned, regarding her blandly. "Hinata."
Hinata pressed her lips together and sighed. She fidgeted and her fingers twisted around each other as Sasuke waited.
"Sasuke," she said finally. "Would you mind… if we talked?"
And so they found themselves, at Ichiraku, silently eating ramen.
How ironic, Sasuke grimaced as he forked some noodles into his mouth, that we're here without Naruto.
Hinata glanced at him. Ichiraku was the first place she had thought of, and she figured she might as well provide dinner to compensate for dragging Sasuke away from his training.
But, they were already here. And so she might as well do what she had wanted to do.
"Sasuke… Thank you."
He looked at her in surprise. Hinata had laid her chopsticks across her bowl of ramen and folded her hands in her lap. Her white eyes were calm and serious as she looked at him.
"Sasuke… Three months ago we were put on a team together, and since then, I have loved being with you and Naruto. The three of us… we're alike, I suppose. We're all alone, in our own way. And Naruto is lucky, but you and I…" She smiled weakly at him, and he nodded slightly, understanding what she meant.
"Together, I think we've found a family, all our own." Lightly, Hinata hopped off her stool, and laid a few coins on the table. "Oji-san, thank you."
Sasuke slowly followed suit and stood. Hinata took a step forward and then glanced back at him. The raven-haired boy paused and then followed her. Smiling, Hinata led him out onto the streets of Konoha.
"Sasuke," she said, after they had walked in silence. "Hokage-sama called me to her office today." He nodded, and had a sudden dread what she would say. A mission? But they hadn't been a proper team recently; was that what the Hokage had wanted to say? A lecture, about teamwork, maybe but-
"Hokage-sama introduced me to someone… someone else. And…" Hinata bit her lip and sighed mournfully. "Gomen, Sasuke. Tsunade-sama wants to me to train with her."
He frowned. It was a little disheartening; this almost official breaking up of their team, but it wasn't something tragic, by any means.
"Tsunade-sama wants me to leave the village."
Sasuke stopped. He turned fully to look at her, and Hinata shook her head pitifully.
"I haven't said yes yet, but I know Tsunade-sama thinks this is best for me, and, oh, I d-do want to, but Sasuke, what about… what about Team Seven?"
He was silent. Despite everything, all three of them harbored hopes to reconcile their broken Genin team. Despite everything, they knew they had been wonderful together – and happy together. Happy in a way none of them were now.
Sasuke forced himself to shrug. "Go Hinata. Do what you want."
She blinked, and her eyes reflected the uncertainty of his words.
"Sasuke-"
"Hinata. You and I are alike in many ways, but we are different in just as many. Despite everything, we are surprisingly different. Naruto is different from us in so many ways, but he is surprisingly alike. We are a team, but that doesn't mean we have to stand next to each other for the rest of our lives."
He smirked faintly and looked at her. "Go Hinata. The dobe and I will be fine."
Hinata pressed her lips together and almost felt like crying. But she knew that if she started to cry, Sasuke would look faintly disgusted and slightly worried and just a bit flustered, and then would turn away. And any minute now Naruto was supposed to come running up and greet them loudly, and he would be smiling like he hadn't smiled in what seemed like forever.
And for just a moment, they would be Team Seven again.
----------------
Naruto sat on his bed, his face buried in his hands. It had been hours since Jiraiya had told him his proposition.
Did he really need to leave?
There was no doubt that he'd become stronger if he left; despite everything, he knew that Ero-sennin was (to an extent) a strong ninja, who had trained an even stronger one (in his opinion).
Training with him…
Would be a little bit like following in Tou-san's footsteps.
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. Did he want that? He wanted to be like his father, a strong leader who could protect those around him. He wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be a figure of strength. And to do that, he wanted to be Hokage.
But did he want to be exactly like his father?
It was bad enough he looked exactly like him, but he would train with the same teacher, go on the same missions, and eventually live out the rest of his life the same… right?
What would Hinata or Sasuke say? What would his dad say?
No.
You'll never be your dad.
Sasuke would scoff and look away.
You can only be Naruto.
Hinata would throw him the sweetest smile and her eyes would know exactly what he meant.
You can only be better.
Minato would ruffle his hair and grin, because he had asked himself the same thing.
And you want to know how you'd do it? You'd do it with me.
Jiraiya would gesture towards the gates of Konoha and point towards the horizon.
Naruto let out a sigh and shook his head. It seemed that everyone wanted him out. Then he smiled, just a little, and looked out the window towards the setting sun.
So who was he to say no?
----------------
It had been a while.
Sasuke stepped across the cold, hard floors, nearly soundless in his stockinged feet. A faint smoke drifted behind him, and as he walked, he left the vaguest hint of incense in the air. The rooms were completely dark – dark to hide the bloodstains – and the sky was an inky black – instead of the blood red he remembered. A single candle glowed in the room he stopped in, throwing shadows across the floor – and across the pictures resting there.
Sasuke kneeled slowly, and carefully avoided looking too long at the pictures. It had been years now, but it still hadn't been long enough.
He kneeled to them in silence. Silence was the one thing he could give to them. Silence instead of tears. Training instead of mourning. Revenge instead of forgiveness.
But what about his happiness?
Could he be happy if he was so full of hatred? When had he decided he didn't need happiness?
It had been a long time since he had first begun to shun the light, but what scared him now was –
Could he even be happy?
Now, even if he wanted to, even if he tried, was he even allowed to be happy?
He had thought so. He had thought so for the briefest second. He had almost smiled, almost had fun, almost had been alive for something other than revenge. Sasuke thought that he had almost been happy (not that he really knew what happiness was anymore).
He had thought.
He knew now that there was no point in thinking. There was no point in thinking about what might have been, what should have been, what had been. It was pointless to think. You could only act.
And if he had acted faster… if he had begun acting earlier, then maybe he wouldn't be having these thoughts now. If he had done something earlier, then would she still be leaving?
Maybe.
Maybe he just wasn't destined to have all those things that people think they're entitled to – a family, a home, friends…
Sasuke lifted his head and looked at his mother and father through half-closed eyes. It didn't matter too much; no matter how much it hurt, he could still see their faces every time he closed his eyes. So he might as well. Whenever he thought about them, him or anyone else, he avoided using names.
Uchiha Fugaku…
Uchiha Mikoto…
…Uchiha Itachi.
He hadn't lived until that day five years ago, and he had stopped living that day. He would never have it back.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and snuffed out the candle. With a quiet sigh it went out, leaving a thin wisp of smoke trailing in the darkness, which came and dissipated just as quickly.
The moon was bright that night; round and luminous. It enveloped the village in a warm glow and cast a dreamy ambience on them.
But Sasuke stayed there, in the dark, and spent the night remembering everything he had done, and forgetting what he had learned, and knowing that nothing would ever be the same.
----------------
Hinata sighed, throwing herself on her bed.
Should she go?
Or stay?
Should she be selfish or…
Hinata bit her lip and screwed her face up. Either way, no matter what she chose, she'd be selfish. And that was something she had never been.
Should she go – and be selfish, by abandoning her friends in pursuit of her own dreams…
Or should she stay – and be selfish by clinging desperately to her friends, and continuously dragging them down?
What do you want the most?
Hiccupping, she grasped her head and let out a long, mournful sigh. It was times like these that made her resent most desperately her lack of a family. It was times like this, when she felt so lost and discouraged and confused and helpless, that she needed someone to turn to. Her fingers trembled as she tugged on her hair and remembered.
"Go Hinata."
Sasuke had told her to go, but Sasuke was looking strictly at her, and thinking strictly with the mindset he had built up for himself. Sasuke knew that, were it he, he would have immediately pursued power. And he had not thought of his own future, but her's. He had chosen for her what he would have wanted.
Take two deep breaths…
What is your goal?
"My dream is to become worthy."
Hinata smiled sadly as she quietly repeated the words she had said so long ago, back before she had really known Naruto and Sasuke, back before she had known the full extent of what she held inside of her.
They all had dreams. Hope. They all hoped for something, and wanted it more than anything. They all knew what the price was for dreaming.
And both Naruto and Sasuke were determined to pay it.
Hinata reached out and grasped the picture frame she had uncharacteristically indulged in; a simple, black wooden frame that she had taken a kunai to and carved two words into:
Team Seven.
The stylistic letters curled around a picture of the three Genin, and their sensei. Naruto, as optimistic and carefree as he had always been; Sasuke, with his half-smirk and cool demeanor; Kakashi, grinning at the camera, his visible eye closed like his other one would never be; and her. Hinata. Clothed in large, baggy coats, head tilted down, eyes just slightly upturned towards the camera.
Hinata tilted her head at the picture and closed her eyes briefly. In one quick movement, she stuck it back in its place and pushed it down.
This really wasn't helping her decide.
Leaning back on her bed, Hinata let out a slow exhale. For the past few months, she had strived to be like Naruto and Sasuke. She had worked so hard to try and live up to the standard they were setting. She had trained and cried and smiled because they were everything she wanted to be.
And now she knew.
She would never be them.
They were of a far greater quality than she was.
So the question was, if she wanted to be Hyuuga Hinata, not Uchiha-and-Uzumaki's-teammate, then what was she to do?
Should she go?
Or stay?
Or maybe she could go… and at the same time, always have a place to come back to in Konoha. And even if only Sasuke and Naruto would still be here, maybe that would be enough.
Because no matter what, they were Team Seven.
And Team Seven consisted of more than just Uchiha-Uzumaki-and-that-other-girl.
Team Seven was Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata.
She was a part of Team Seven, and they were a part of her.
No matter what.
----------------
Hinata busied herself with the dishes. She had always loved doing small busywork tasks like that – cleaning the house, cooking dinner, tending her plants… It helped keep her mind off of other thoughts. Thoughts that were decidedly more depressing.
A loud knock on her door startled her, and the wet plate almost slipped from her hands. With a soft gasp, Hinata fumbled at it, and set it down hurriedly. Wiping her hands, she walked to the door and unlocked it. Before she could open it, though, it flung open of its own accord.
"Hinata!"
She took a step back, as she realized who it was. "Naruto…?"
He paused, and scuffed his toe. His lips pursed and he smiled at her, just a little uncertainly. "Hinata… Can I talk to you?"
She blinked, and opened the door wider. "O-Of course! I mean…" She fell back, hands flying to her face as she began to hurry around the small room, picking up a few stray items and straightening piles of books and scrolls. "It's… kind of messy – but sit! Sit…" She trailed off and glanced at Naruto, who was still standing in the doorway, looking around at her small apartment.
Hinata blushed, as she remembered that he was the Hokage's son, and was used to much grander mansions. No matter how humble or simple he was, he was still used to the luxury that she simply could not afford.
He smiled at her.
"I like it."
Her eyes widening, Hinata bit her lip and looked at him incredulously. She glanced down, feeling a content smile spread across her face. She should have known.
"I'll make tea."
When she came back, and handed him a warm cup, he was already seated on her worn, second-hand couch. Lightly, she sat down beside him.
"What did you want to tell me?"
He mulled her question over in his head before sighing. "Hinata… We've been through a lot together, haven't we? You, me, and Sasuke-baka. But…" He set his cup down and rubbed his head, looking around as if the answer would appear in the plain, whitewashed walls of Hinata's apartment.
She watched him as he did this, a dread filling her. Her hands trembled, as she worried over what he might say, and eventually, she too put her cup down, if only so she wouldn't accidentally drop it.
"Ero-sennin wants me to train with him. Outside the village." He looked at her, and he was smiling, but his eyes were uncertain, as if pleading with her to tell him that he was making the right decision. "I think I'll say yes – I-I'm pretty sure I'll say yes. But… But I wanted you to know first. You and Sasuke."
Hinata exhaled. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but surely not that. His situation… now that she thought about it, his situation was very similar to her's.
"It's a good thing, isn't it, Hinata-chan? Being able to train with a great ninja one on one, and getting to go to all those different places…!"
She smiled at him softly. How could she blame him? For making the same decision she was? She was many things, but not a hypocrite. "Yes, Naruto. It's a good thing…" Her lips pursed, before she said, "Such a good thing, that Tsunade-sama asked the same of me."
"Eh?"
"Tsunade-sama… There's this woman, named Hazuki-san. She's a great ninja, Hokage-sama says, and so… And so she wants me to train outside the village with her as well."
"I'm going to train." She hesitated, and then continued. "And I think you should too. I think that you have so much and… and that… if you try… you can …" She stopped, unsure of what to say. Can what? What did she think he could do? He may not have been Sasuke's equivalent in genius or her equivalent in raw power, but he had some crucial component that both she and Sasuke were missing.
His blue eyes flashed, and for just a moment she felt that she could see Minato in them. That man who had saved them all. Maybe that was what he had – someone to look towards, and run towards, who had guided him gently and positively.
Then again –
"Hinata. We're… friends. Right? We've known each other for a few months now and… it may not seem like a lot, but…"
Then again, ever since the formation of their team, all three of them had had each other to look towards.
----------------
Sasuke really wasn't sure how he had ended up like this. Walking around Konoha, eating (they were always eating with Naruto around – somehow food got involved in every situation they found themselves in), and Naruto telling him a story about three dandelions.
"Okay, okay – so these three dandelions, they were growing in the same patch, right? And so the dandelions got to be good friends, and they went through a lot of things, like thunderstorms and hungry rabbits and weed killers, okay? But they were still there, and still together, okay? Got it, Sasuke-baka?"
The Uchiha nodded wearily. "Yes, Naruto. I got it."
"Okay! So then one day a big, uh, daffodil comes! And she says to two of the dandelions, 'You have to go away now!'. And-"
Sasuke turned abruptly, stopping Naruto in the middle of his story.
"Hinata told me already. That she's leaving to train. Naruto, if you keep avoiding the subject-"
Naruto scrunched his nose up at him. "Got it, got it. Stop avoiding the subject. Got it."
Hinata watched them silently. She had no idea how Sasuke would react. She had no idea how Naruto would react to Sasuke. It was hard enough figuring out her own heart, better yet figuring out the people around her.
"What? So you're leaving too? With – who?"
"Ero-sennin! Jiraiya! That guy who wrote that book Kakashi-sensei always carries around."
"Why would you train with him?"
"He trained my dad!"
"Fine, fine…" Sasuke backed off, reluctant to fight with Naruto right now. He had too much on his mind to do that.
This was how it ended.
He thought of everything they had been though.
Of everyone on their team, it was he who was left behind.
He thought of what they had created together.
Of everyone they could have chosen, they chose Naruto and Hinata.
He thought of who he had become thanks to them.
He was alone. Again.
Sasuke turned and began to walk off. He had never been good at emotional confrontations, and he wasn't about to start now.
Hinata stared after him helplessly. She hadn't meant to have him leave that way. There wasn't much time left – she couldn't have him leave that way.
"Naruto…"
Naruto shrugged exaggeratedly. "Eh… I'd probably screw it all up if I tried talking to him. You're better at this stuff than me, ne?" He tossed his head in Sasuke's general direction. "Hurry up."
Hinata nodded a little, and with one last glance at Naruto, hurried after Sasuke.
"Sasuke! Sasuke – wait!"
The Uchiha looked back at her, and paused, as she ran up to him. As she reached him, Hinata threw herself into a bow, bending over at the waist, much to the surprise of Sasuke.
"Gomenasai!"
He avoided looking at her. "Apologizing doesn't change anything."
"I'm sorry for that time I lost your shuriken!"
Sasuke stopped, and blinked at her incredulously. "Hinata…"
"I'm sorry for that time I tripped over the pile of leaves you raked and you had to start over! I'm sorry for that time I offered to treat us to ramen but I ran out of money and you had to pay! I'm sorry for that time I made bentos for you and Naruto and didn't know you were allergic to taro! I-I-"
Hinata took a large gulp of air before looking Sasuke squarely in the eye.
"But I'm not sorry for wanting to pursue my dreams!"
She breathed heavily, her heart racing at her outburst. As she realized what she had said, Hinata reeled back, her eyes widening with mortification.
"S-Sasuke…"
He rewarded her with a half-smile. "I'm not sorry for wanting to not break up our team," he said, in what was likely the most honest statement he'd ever made.
She smiled tremulously. "W-Well, I'm not sorry for wanting our team to be stronger." Her smiled faded slightly. "Naruto… I don't think he's sorry for wanting to become a good and proper rival for you."
Sasuke turned his face towards the horizon. "Don't," he warned, "make me sorry for letting you two go. You'd better actually learn something, whatever that dobe can actually cram in that head of his. And you… – thank you." He smirked at her before walking off.
Hinata let out a sigh. This time she felt no need to run after him. This time she could go home with a smile on her face.
This time she could walk out of the village with a calm heart and a content smile.
----------------
"Hinata-san."
She turned. Staring at her with obvious discomfort was –
"N-Neji?"
"I heard…" He was stiff as he spoke, and turned his head away slightly. "I heard that you were to train outside the village, and would be leaving soon." His eye twitched slightly, as if he had been forced into this. "I wish to speak with you."
Hinata blinked and sighed, just a little. She had never forgotten that one day, when they were training together.
"Neji-san-"
"I bear no ill will towards you, Hinata-san." His face was stiff and emotionless, but in his eyes, eyes that she knew well, she could see his anxiety.
"Neji-san… I-I think that there's a lot we need to talk about. And if… maybe… we could just… t-talk…"
"Is there? I find little use for idle conversation such as this." He gritted his teeth and looked around, looked anywhere but her. "I came only partially out of free will, as you likely know."
Hinata stared at him. She was feeling oddly courageous these days, and it surprised her. She wasn't about to question it though. Gathering herself up, she looked him square in the face and boldly spoke.
"But that still means there was free will involved."
"Very little," he replied shortly, and swiftly.
She wilted, and her shoulders dropped. There was little use in trying to persuade someone who had such ready defenses.
She wasn't done yet though.
"Byakugan."
As she looked around her with her bloodline limit activated, she spoke. "Do you know what this can do?" Despite knowing the answer to the question, she waited, and when he nodded affirmative, she continued. "It's a very powerful ability to have – but I think that, maybe, both of us are looking through each other, and not actually seeing anything. Maybe that's the problem, with having too good of an eyesight."
She held her breath. That was her limit, right there. She had no more fancy words or eloquent phrases – it was up to him now.
After a stretch of silence, Hinata deactivated her bloodline limit and bowed her head. It was useless. But as she turned to leave, his voice stopped her.
"Jyuuken."
His voice startled her and she turned back to him in surprise.
"Jyuuken. A taijutsu style that damages the chakra circulatory system. It requires the use of a bloodline limit that is able to see the inner chakra coils."
Hinata closed her eyes and smiled faintly. There was so much she had to tell him, so much that they could talk about. So much that they could share. But for now, this was enough.
"Arigatou, Neji-san."
As he walked away, she waited until he was almost out of sight before she pressed a hand to her heart and nearly collapsed on herself. That had taken more than she thought it would – and now she was curious as to who else knew that she and Naruto were leaving.
In another part of Konoha, Haruno Sakura let out a long, disbelieving wail.
"Naruto! You're leaving Konoha?" She frowned. "What about Sasuke-kun? And Hinata-san?"
Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Hinata-chan's leaving too. She's going off to train – just like me! Demo, demo… I'm not leaving yet."
She cast him a sour look. "If you're going to leave, might as well just go. Don't stick around longer than you have to!"
Naruto grinned, just a little. He and Sakura had a strange relationship. When they were younger, he had crushed on her, simply because she was pretty and had a nice smile. As they progressed through the Academy, and Sakura became besotted with Sasuke, he had backed off gracefully into an almost-friendship.
"But… Hinata… Naruto, what's Hinata-san like?" Sakura brushed her long pink hair over her shoulders and fixed him with a questioning stare. "I never really knew her at the Academy, but she seems like a nice enough girl. But – there's something special about her, isn't there?"
Naruto grimaced. Sakura had been the highest scoring girl of their graduating class for a reason (written test-wise, at least). After that mission, and after a certain period of mourning had passed, the entire team had been called into the office. Tsunade, who was still adjusting to her new position as Hokage, had given them a long, overdrawn and very obviously scripted lecture about secrecy and village policy. She had ended with a pointed glare and a threatening fist before the Sandaime had intervened.
"Don't speak of it, don't think of it, don't dream about it. No one is to ever know what happened on that mission, and if this leaks out, it'll be your heads."
"A-Ah…" Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly. "Ah, Sakura-chan… Hinata's a nice girl. She's not a bad fighter either. B-But nothing… special, I mean… Ooh! Unless you mean her eyes; her eyes are really cool. Yeah, yeah, they do this freaky thing and then she can see what you're doing no matter where you are and-"
Sakura looked at him in disbelief. Naruto she thought she knew; Naruto the clueless, Naruto the dumb. Naruto who could care less what anyone thought of him. Naruto who was all of a sudden leaving. Naruto who, when he talked of Hinata, had a look in his eyes that she had never seen before and a tone in his voice that she had never heard before.
He was nervous.
And just a little shy.
Sakura pushed her pink hair over her shoulders and smiled. Naruto was growing up and going away –
But he'd always be Uzumaki Naruto, the guy who called himself the village's Number One Most Unpredictable.
And now he was grinning, so loud it was obnoxious, and running down the street, waving and yelling goodbye, and that Ichiraku would close soon if he didn't hurry.
So Sakura smiled, and waved back, until he was gone.
----------------
"Hi-na-ta!" A loud knock resounded through the small apartment, and Hinata winced, pulling the blanket higher around herself.
"Hi-na-ta!" The voice bellowed again, and the series of demanding knocks turned into heavy, insisting thumps. The door groaned painfully before finally bending, and a thick cloud of dust rose up from where it fell.
"HI-NA-TA!"
Steeling up her courage, Hinata threw back the blanket and was about to face her intruder, when a face leaned in close to her's. Yelping, Hinata scrambled backwards, reaching involuntarily for the blankets again.
The face leered at her. "Hi-na~ta~… I found you~"
"H-Hazuki-san, p-please… n-not yet…"
Frowning, the older woman shook her head. "Sorry, Hinata. I've already stuck around here for a lot longer than I ever wanted to." She stuck up one finger. "The first thing you've got to learn about being my student, is that it's always give and take. I understand where you're coming from, so I gave a lot more than I wanted to. Now it's time for me to take."
She thrust one arm into the air, flashing a V for Victory sign. "Pack your bags Hinata! We're leaving."
----------------
"So this is it then?"
"Yeah, you're really going."
"Come back safely, Hinata!"
Hinata smiled, as the cries of her beloved friends reached her, even at their distance. Slowly, she extended one hand towards the Hokage Monument, framing the majestic face of the Yondaime.
"Hokage-sama," she said, her voice barely audible even to herself. "I promise… I'll be everything you wanted your village to be."
She sighed to herself; Sasuke hadn't come to see her off apparently. She whispered a last goodbye to her teammate, and with one last look at her home, Hinata hefted her pack and prepared to walk away.
"Hinata!"
Panting, Naruto ran up to her. Bending over slightly, he took a deep breath.
"I-I-I… I won't say goodbye!" He burst out with those words, and shocked, Hinata recoiled, before her face melted into a smile. She leaned forward and pulled him up.
"I could never say goodbye to you."
"So… So hurry up!" Though he tried to regain his cool, there was a definite blush to his face, and she couldn't help but giggle.
"Let's both do our best, okay?" Hinata beamed at him, the way she hadn't been able to for so long.
"Hinata! Hurry up!" Hazuki watched them from a ways off, a rueful smile on her face.
Blinking back sudden tears, she looked up – only to catch sight of a familiar figure perched atop the walls of Konoha, watching her.
"Sasuke-kun," she whispered, and he tilted his head forward, indicating the road before her. He was encouraging her forward, she realized, and her smile widened.
Taking a deep breath, Hinata nodded firmly to Naruto, and with one last look towards her other teammate, she began to walk away.
As she got farther and farther away from him, Naruto inhaled deeply.
"I'LL SEE YOU SOON, HINATA-CHAN!"
Hinata kept walking, walking towards their future, a smile on her face.
"Hai, Naruto-kun!"
----------------
It was his turn now. Naruto watched as the group of people gathered around him, everything lost in a sea of emotions and words.
"Hurry up and come back, you dolt!"
"Learn a ton of cool stuff and show me when you get back!"
"Write us! And don't forget about us!"
"If you see Hinata, tell her hi from everyone!"
Hinata. It was his turn to follow her now.
"Got it!" He flashed them his famous grin, and began to run after Jiraiya, who was already waiting outside the gates.
Sasuke stood at the very edge, half-hidden in the shadow of the gates. He looked up apathetically and raised an eyebrow.
"Don't get yourself killed," he said, and Naruto knew it was the closest he'd get to a goodbye. For a moment, he wanted to make a scene and cling to his teammate sobbing if only that it would annoy him. But he didn't.
Instead, Naruto kept walking, until he was just beyond him.
"Wait for us, Sasuke."
And then he ran forward, until he had caught up with Jiraiya. The blonde turned back and cupped his hands around his mouth.
"And don't do anything stupid!"
Sasuke twitched, but nodded, and Naruto grinned, and followed Jiraiya away from the village.
As they walked farther and farther away from Konoha, he looked behind him, and could still see the Hokage Monument, towering over the village. His father was there, and so was his goal.
I'll be up there, next to the greatest leaders ever someday!
Wait for me!
It was time to stop being a kid, and start growing up.
It was time to stop looking at the past.
Time had always been moving, but now it was time for him to start moving with it.
"Let's do our best!"
For now, they had to do their best, together.
And when they came back, they could be their best.
Together.
Xue: OMG PART ONE IS OVER. After, like, forever. We are extremely sorry about the long wait and beg forgiveness - but it's here, after forever, and I rather like this chapter, despite its choppiness..
So now that we've finally gotten off of our lazy butts to post this chapter, we'll be getting back on them. The past few months have been very stressful and busy for both of us, and we're going to take an "official" break in order to plan and start writing Part Two. Sorry
But thank you so much to everyone, I can't even begin to say how grateful we are! Stick with us, and we'll try and deliver :]