A/N: Welcome back! Took longer than expected. You see, I was working on a Christmas one-shot, but failed to finish by then. Then I got a desktop so I can play some games I bought but couldn't play on my laptop and got distracted by those. (I finally played Ninja Storm 4 since the anime is taking way too long to dub, so I now have a pretty good idea of what happens in the 4th Great Ninja War.) Anyway, I decided to save the one-shot for next year, though I suppose I could finish and post it soon if people asked.

Chapter 20: Inuzuka & Yamanaka vs Hyūga

The next match was between Tenten and Temari. Tenten unleashed a barrage of ninja weapons from her scrolls with deadly accuracy, but Temari would counter all her attacks, launching wind jutsu with her fan to deflect all the incoming projectiles. After emptying her scrolls, she manipulated the weapons she launched using ninja wire and used them for a second attack. But the results were the same. Temari's wind blew them away and she finished the Leaf kunoichi with her Wind Scythe Jutsu, which trapped her in a tornado. She dropped onto Temari's closed fan with multiple cuts on her body, nothing severe, but she was knocked out. Temari was the winner.

Afterwards, Shikamaru fought Kin, much to his displeasure. The lazy Nara was unable to catch her with his shadow since her teammates warned her about his jutsu. However, Shikamaru also knew about her techniques from Kiba and allowed himself to be caught by her genjutsu to make her think she won, only for him to use her ninja wire to sneak his shadow to her and catch her in his jutsu, then make her hit her head against the wall, knocking her out.

'Come on! Come on! Let it be my turn!' Kiba thought in anticipation. Hinata was hoping the same thing.

The screen showed the names of the next two contestants. "Next up, Kiba Inuzuka vs Neji Hyūga."

Kiba's enthusiasm dropped for a sec. 'Ok, so I ended up with the Hyūga prodigy. That makes things difficult, but I'm still gonna give it my all.' "Let's go Akamaru!" He barked in agreement and the Inuzuka boy jumped down, Akamaru in his jacket. Neji chose to simply walk down the stairs.

'Brr! His chakra's cold,' Karin thought as she used her sensory abilities. 'He's strong though. That much is clear.'

'Careful Kiba. My cousin's a difficult opponent.'

The proctor was about to repeat the rules when Neji spoke. "Because you are a Leaf shinobi, I will show you this kindness and give you this chance to give up. Fate has decreed your part in these exams ends here. If you fight me, you will lose this battle and I cannot guarantee what shape you will come out of it. Better to give up now then suffer humiliation."

Kiba smirked. "Trying to scare me off? Are you worried I'll kick your ass?"

Neji shook his head. "If you wish to continue, so be it. I gave you your chance."

Hayate repeated the rules and started the match. Not taking any chances, he quickly underwent the transformation of the All-Fours Jutsu and quickly feed Akamaru a food pill, before using the Man-Beast Clone technique so there were two feral Kibas. Neji activated his Byakugan and took the Gentle Fist stance. 'Hmm, I've sparred with Hinata, so I have a pretty good idea of your moves. So what makes you better?' "Fang Over Fang!" The two Kibas launched themselves and span at their target. Neji dodged to the side and the attack passed next to him. Afterward, one Kiba dashed at him while the other maneuvered around. The first Kiba swiped his clawed right hand down diagonally at Neji, who dodged. Using his momentum, however, he spins on his head and kicks at the branch Hyūga. Meanwhile, the other Kiba attacks from behind, but thanks to his Byakugan, Neji sees it coming. He blocks the first Kiba's next kick and deflects the other Kiba clawed attack. 'Damn! I knew he'd see it coming with those eyes of his, but I figured he'd be too busy with me to counter Akamaru.'

"I told you, your fate is to lose here," Neji said.

Kiba growled as he jumped back, same with Akamaru. 'Ok, prolonged close combat is definitely out, I've sparred enough times with Hinata to know that, and smoke bombs won't work because of his eyes. We'll just have to hit hard and get away quick before he can counter and wear him down. Then deliver the final blow!' Kiba signaled Akamaru using subtle handsigns only known between the two of them. Akamaru, still mimicking Kiba's appearance, nodded. They attacked at the same time, one going high, the other low. Neji dodged the low blow, but barely managed to avoid the second strike, leaving tears on the front of his shirt from the Kiba's claw swipe. Still, the hit was only cosmetic and did not damage Neji at all. However, before the prodigy could counterstrike, the two Kibas distanced themselves from him. Circling the Hyūga before striking fast again and backing away. This continued for sometime, and while neither Kiba managed to wound Neji, though there were close calls, they never took a blow either.

"Interesting tactic," Guy commented.

"I agree," Lee said. "It would seem Neji's adversary is using hit-and-run tactics to wear him down, then finish him."

"He fights like an Inuzuka, that's for sure. Working well in coordination with his partner. But it's not enough." Lee nodded in agreement with his sensei.

The two Kibas attacked once again, one using Tunneling Fang. When Neji dodge, the other Kiba raised a clawed hand and struck. But Neji blocked the attack and before the Kiba could retreat, sent a couple of strikes with two fingers to his chest before finishing with a palm strike. That Kiba went flying, and in a puff of smoke, turned back into his original form.

"Akamaru!" the real Kiba yelled as the pup fell to the ground, alive but out of the fight. "Damn you!"

"As I told you, fate has decreed you will not be a chunin this time around." Neji charged at Kiba, who tried to keep away, throwing kunai that Neji dodged. When Kiba reached the wall, Neji caught up to him and thrust his palm. The Inuzuka tried to dodge, but took a glancing blow to the side. Kiba felt the effect of the Gentle Fist, and Neji pressed the advantage, closing chakra points in his arms, chest, and legs. In the end, Kiba fell to the ground, his transformation gone and Neji turned away, heading for the stairs. "Proctor, he cannot fight anymore. Call the match."

"W-wait!" Kiba struggled to stand. He succeeded, but his legs were wobbling. "I'm… I'm not done yet!"

"Fool." Neji rushed at him and sent an upward palm strike.

"Kiba!" Hinata and Naruto shouted. The young Inuzuka was pressed against the wall, Neji's palm in his gut. He coughed up blood, and Neji let him fall. This time he wasn't getting back up.

"Neji Hyūga is the winner," Hayate called.

Naruto and Hinata jumped down as the medics performed a diagnostic. They said he had internal injuries and closed chakra points, but assured the two that he and his pup would be alright. Naruto still looked with concern. Kiba and Akamaru were his friends and teammates, and he had been hurt. He was also angry but he didn't feel himself losing control, which was surprisingly, since he assumed the fox would take advantage of any anger the blond felt like he usually did. Hinata wasn't happy about what happened either. It appeared her cousin wasn't gonna go easy on anyone, even against someone from his own village.

"Hey, I'll be fine," Kiba assured them as they put him on a stretcher. "Once I recover, I'm gonna train for a rematch!"

"Just get better you two," Hinata said with Naruto nodding as they were taken away.

Once they return to their spot in the stands Karin asked. "Is he alright? I can help, using my healing abilities."

Both Leaf genin shook their heads. "He's fine. Kiba's tough. And the medics assured us there was no major or lasting damage. Besides, you said it leaves scars on you that can't be healed, right? We wouldn't want that."

"Y-yeah. W-we don't want that."

Karin smiled, glad they were thinking of her. Back in the Hidden Grass, no one hesitated to use her healing ability, even for minor things. It seemed to be the only thing people cared about concerning her, nothing else. None cared about how the jutsu affected her, just like they didn't care with her mom. "Thanks guys." A little aways, her sensei frowned upon learning Karin had divulged that information. Though he was curious if Naruto possessed the same ability as her, since apparently he's an Uzumaki as well.

Everyone looked to the screen as it flashed through the names of the remaining participants of the preliminaries at high speed. Hinata hoped she was next, though she was a little was confident she could take Ino and Choji. Ino didn't train as much and mostly fought in conjunction with her teammates since her jutsu tended to leave her open to attack if they failed and Choji would most likely give up since he didn't like fighting comrades. And even if he didn't, Hinata was still sure she could beat him. Lee would be a difficult opponent from what she observed. He was fast and strong, but she wouldn't mind fighting him. It would be a fun match. However, Dosu and Gaara were a different story. Dosu's device would make close-quarters combat difficult, as he would be able to disorient her if she didn't take him out quickly once she was in range of his jutsu. And he was probably still mad about what happened in the Forest of Death. And then there was Gaara. She knew nothing about his abilities, only that he was a jinchūriki like Naruto, but less restrained, and managed to complete a B-rank mission unscathed. She looked at him and he looked back. A shiver ran down her spine. The look in his eyes promised death. She still remember what Kiba said when they arrived at the tower and passed by Gaara's team. He said his gourd reeked of blood. 'No matter. I won't give up! I don't care who my opponent is! I have no intention of losing!'

The names stopped. "Next match. Hinata Hyūga vs Ino Yamanaka," Hayate announced. "Please make your way down now."

Hinata jumped off the rail and landed on the ground while Ino just walked down the stairs. The two faced each other. "Ready Ino?" Ino said nothing, but glared at her. 'Geez, what's her problem? She's been like this since the start of the exams. I know I basically ignored her for a month, but still. She doesn't have to act like I performed some great sin. And she must understand why. I mean, she was saying we couldn't trust Naruto! All because of something he had no choice in and we didn't have a clue about until she found out and blabbed.' Hinata shook her head and got in her fight stance.

The proctor repeated the rules and started the match. Hinata charged but halted and got ready to dodge when Ino jumped back and formed the handsign for her family's technique. However, Ino didn't launch her jutsu yet, knowing that if she missed, she'd be open and lose. Hinata drew shurikens and threw them, forcing Ino to abandon her sign and dodge. One scratched her right sleeve. Hinata moved forward and sent a palm strike to her gut, using just enough chakra to minimize injuries. She moved to close some of Ino's chakra points but the young blond sidestepped and threw a punch. Hinata ducked her head to evade and threw another palm strike that Ino wasn't able to completely dodge, taking a glancing blow to the side. Hinata struck again and Ino was forced to block with her arm, allowing Hinata to close a chakra point. Ino rubbed the part of her arm Hinata hit. "I won't lose!" she shouted angrily.

"Wonder what's got Ino so upset?" Choji asked. Shikamaru shrugged, not having the slightest clue.

Ino kick at Hinata's gut, but the Hyūga heiress caught her foot and closed a few chakra points in her leg before releasing. Ino felt the effects quick as her leg proved to be sluggish in movement. Ino pulled something out and threw it at Hinata, who found herself enveloped in a cloud. 'What the…' Hinata started coughing and felt ill, her strength leaving her. She got out of the cloud of gas as quickly as she could.

"How do you like that? Poison gas. It won't kill you, at least not quickly. It'll leave you debilitated so all I need to do is beat you quickly and then I'll give you the antidote," Ino said as she showed her a vial with a blue liquid before returning it to her pouch. Then she kicked Hinata back. The young Hyūga tried to stand, but had a difficult time.

"Clever girl," Kakashi commented. "I wonder where she learned to make that."

"Probably her mom," Asuma said. "She was good with plants during her ninja career, from making medicine from herbs for her allies to deadly poisons for her enemies. She probably taught Ino about the effects of different flowers and helped her make this one."

"I'm surprised she would use this on Hinata. Weren't they friends?" Kurenai asked, worried about her student.

"I doubt she'll let Hinata die, though she'll probably wait until the last second to cure her if she doesn't surrender. It's strange. For the last two days, something has been bothering her. Whenever I asked, though, she'd deny it. Her father told me she did the same with him. But whatever it is, it must have something to do with Hinata."

Naruto looked down at the fight, his hands tightening around the rail and breathing heavily. He still didn't feel the fox but he hadn't noticed. All he was doing was resisting the urge to go down and help her. 'Hinata will be alright,' he tried to assure himself. 'She's strong. Stronger than Ino. Even with the poison, she'll win and be alright.'

Hinata block Ino's punch, only to have her legs swept from under her. She rolled to the side as Ino stomped her foot where she once was and barely managed to get on her feet. Ino had a hard time pursuing because of her leg that Hinata had closed chakra points in, so she formed a handsign. "Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Hinata barely managed to avoid the jutsu, but because of the effects of the poison in her body, she could not take advantage of Ino's vulnerable state, allowing the young Yamanaka to recover. "Just give up already! The poison is weakening you by the second! You've already lost, so just give up so I can give you the antidote

'She not wrong though. The poison is making this fight more difficult, so time is not on my side. Well, at least this isn't boring. But if I don't come up with a solution, I'm done for. Gotta get my hands on that antidote.' She threw a sloppy punch that Ino dodge. She just her momentum to try a backfist with her other hand, but Ino caught it. However, Hinata had planned on that and manage to sneak her hand into Ino's pouch. When the young Yamanaka saw this, she push her away, but it was too late. "I was never much of a planner," Hinata started, showing off the vial in her hand, "but I'd call that one a success." She chugged the antidote, feeling her strength slowly returning. Ino tried to punch her but Hinata caught her fist and palm struck her, causing her to stumble back a bit. "I underestimated you Ino. That really was a good plan on your part. But it's wasn't enough to beat me! This match is over! Why? Because you're in my range!" Ino tried to back away but her bad leg made it difficult and Hinata struck. "2 palms… 4 palms…" Ino could only take each blow. "8 palms… 16 palms…" Hinata started on the last 16 strikes of her move. "8 Trigrams: 32 Palms!"

Ino flew back a bit and laid on the ground. She tried to get up, but all attempts ended in failure. The proctor could see there was no point in continuing the match. "Ino Yamanaka is incapacitated. Hinata Hyūga is the winner."

"Alright! Still #1!" Hinata shouted before walking over to Ino and reopened her chakra points. "Good match," she said as she held her hand out to help Ino up. Ino merely knocked her hand aside and walked up to the stands. Hinata purses and when both were upstairs she grabbed Ino's shoulder and forced her to face her. "Ok what is your problem?" she demanded. "Don't think I haven't seen the way you've been looking at me since the start of the exams, so out with it with it!"

"You know what it's about," Ino responded.

"What? That I haven't spoken to you all month? Ino, you told Naruto's secret! To Sasuke! And you know he doesn't like him!"

"Sasuke told me he wanted to help change how the village viewed him. That he wanted to make amends for how he treated him back in the academy," Ino defended. "I guess he changed his mind when he learned about, well, you know." Their argument had started to draw the attention of some of the other Leaf genin as well as Karin. The Sand Siblings and the last Sound Genin were ignoring them. "And anyway, this has nothing to do with that!"

"Then what does this have to do with?"

"The fact that you lied to me about liking Sasuke!"

Hinata frowned. "I don't like Sasuke! I've made that clear so many times!"

"Then how come the two of you are engaged?" Ino asked. Everyone gasped, except Neji.

"Engaged? Ino, I think you're getting fangirl paranoia. I mean, I'm 12 years old for crying out loud! That kind of stuff is way in the back of my mind. And when I do decide to do that, it won't be with him!"

"It does seem unlikely Ino," Sakura said. "Besides, the only one Sasuke will be engaged with is me! Cha!" Inner Sakura added.

"Actually, it's true." Everyone turned to the older Hyūga boy in shock, none more so than Hinata. "It was decided by the elders of our clan that Lady Hinata would marry the Last Uchiha once they're both chunin or reach the age of 16. You were to be informed about it after the exams."

Naruto clutched his chest as he digested Neji's words. The woman he loved, engaged to another man. Hinata shook her head. "Impossible. I mean, yes, I can see those old farts making that decision, but they don't have the authority! Only with my father's approval can they do that and he'd never agree to that!" However, that last part was said with some doubt. 'Ok, I haven't exactly been his idea of his perfect daughter, but he wouldn't do this to me, would he?'

"Lord Hiashi has indeed approved of the marriage. There is no way out of it. It would seem that it is your fate to act as the bridge that connects the Hyūga and the Uchiha, whether you like it or not." Neji turned to leave. Lee followed, but not before giving Hinata a look of sympathy.

"Man, what a drag."

"That's an understatement," Choji said.

"So, you didn't know?" Ino asked.

"Know? I don't even want this! And I'm not gonna take it lying down! The moment I can, I'm going to father to deal with this! It's my life and he has no right to do this to me!" Hinata declared. Ino sighed with relief.

The pain in Naruto's heart lessened hearing that Hinata did not want this, but it didn't leave. Karin approached the heiress. "I hope it works out. My victory will be a lot more satisfying knowing I won because of my feminine wiles and sparkling personality." Hinata couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Um, w-what are y-you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing!" both girls quickly said, confusing the blond.
-

Alpha: (Runs to Kakashi) Hide me!

Kakashi: Huh? Oh, Naruto after for bringing the whole arranged marriage back?

Alpha: Worse. Hinata.

Kakashi: (Laughs) Nice one.

Alpha: I'm serious! She may not get mad often, but when she does... (shivers)

Kakashi: Shy, gentle Hinata? (Raises eyebrow)

Alpha: At the moment, she is neither shy nor gentle. Now hide me!

Kakashi: You do know it's useless to hide. Byakugan, remember?

Alpha: (Facepalms) Ok, new plan. Help me get to my car and I'll drive away until she cools down.

Kakashi: Can we stop at the adult book store?

Alpha: What? No!

Kakashi: Ok. Hey Hina… (Alpha covers his mouth)

Alpha: Shh! Look, I don't even know where one is! (Uncovers his mouth)

Kakashi: I do.

Alpha: How do you… Never mind! Fine, I'll drop you off, but I am not going in with you!

Kakashi: Give me money to buy one?

Alpha: Do I really have a choice?

Kakashi: Of course. You can choose not to and deal with Hinata.

Alpha: I hate you. Fine, I'll give you some money when I drop you off.

Kakashi: Got the keys and wallet?

Alpha: Right here.

(Kakashi helps Alpha get past one very angry looking Hinata and make it to a van. And that's all I'm saying about my car.)

Kakashi: Wow, she looked really pissed! Who knew she had it in her?

Alpha: Told ya! Geez, she shouldn't be so mad. It's not like she actually gonna marry him.

Kakashi: Spoil much.

Alpha: Oh please. That's as much a spoiler as saying, "In that new superhero movie, the good guys win." The only spoilers are things like how and who dies along the way.

Kakashi: Hinata alert.

Alpha: Shoot! (Drives away as Hinata launches a Lion Fist as a projectile like in the video game)