Lolliot: …I finished the chapter a day early, so please take this as a thank you and as an apology. An apology because for now, I am unable to respond to all the wonderful reviews I have gotten…and also because people have been asking me to update sooner…Gomenasai. And a thank you to all my readers, your encouragement gives me such joy. Now, please continue to read through more of Hinata-chan's journey –bows-
Chapter 21
Gomenasai
I wanted to cry, more then I ever have wanted to in my life.
Lee lay crumpled on the ground, beat up and bloody.
"Alright, time to end it," Dosu hissed. I looked at the boy who had risked his life, just to protect the likes of me. I bit my lip and stood up fiercely, flinging kunai at my enemy. He merely flicked them away with the metal device on his arm.
"I almost forgot about you," he admitted, starting to come towards me. Fear started to grip at my heart as I stood there. I was the last barrier that there was between my teammates and them.
"Alright Naruto-kun, and I'll be able to keep up," I raised my pinky. Slowly, he linked it with mine.
"I-It's a promise," he grinned nervously.
"Heh, she's not worth this," Zaku grinned, suddenly in front of me. He raised his hand and-!
"OOF!"
He was knocked back several feet by my blow. I raised my eyes, which were in a nasty glare.
"Byakugan!" I cried, my eyes having veins surround them.
"Wh-What the…?!" Zaku grunted.
"I will not let you touch my teammates!" I said firmly, and–a first–without stuttering.
"Don't…get cocky little girl!" Dosu growled, coming for me. And with my teammates behind me,
I knew I was ready.
Sakura
…Alright, I don't think I have time to explain any details right now, so here's the bottom line. My team and I were in the bushes by Sasuke's team. And, yes, we were watching the sound ninja creep up on Hinata.
"So, Sakura, come on, make up your mind. Do you wanna' help her or not?" Kiba asked again. I gritted my teeth and glared at him.
"I don't know!" I growled back, for the umpteenth time. Sure, I disliked Hinata, but I didn't want her to be killed.
"It seems like the time for helping her will be over soon," Shino suddenly commented. My attention went to the clearing. Shino was right. That Zaku guy was in front of her now, his arm raised.
BAM!
"OOF!"
If I had blinked, I would have missed it. But Zaku being on his butt a few yards away from Hinata--who had an arm raised--would have been proof enough. Her eyes finally showed and a shiver went down my spine.
I had never seen her so determined.
"I will not let you touch my teammates!" she declared firmly.
Then I realized,
I had been wrong.
All this time, Hinata had been someone who had undeservingly stolen my chance with Sasuke from me. I thought she was undeserving of his time. That she didn't care about him at all. So I was angry.
I…am so stupid.
"Hah!" she cried, fending off both Dosu and the sound girl, "Rotation!" both of them flew off at once.
She was…protecting Sasuke, with all she had.
But, even so, that meant we couldn't interfere. Unless it was ultimately necessary, I wouldn't get in the way.
Because this was her battle.
Hinata
Only Kami knows how long the fight went on. By the time it reached the pinnacle, I was almost out of chakra, and pretty badly hurt. Of course, the sound ninja weren't exactly in top shape.
"This little bitch is starting to piss me off!" the girl called Kin growled in frustration. I was huffing for breath so I could not respond.
"I agree, let's kill her now!" Zaku shouted. Then, all three of them were coming at me.
I braced myself, this was it.
Win, or lose.
Succeed, or fail.
Live, or die.
Zaku hurled a punch at me but I dodged did a roundhouse kick in his side. Then Kin spun around and tripped me with her legs. I felt myself falling but turned a bit so I landed on my hands. Using them, I propelled myself so I could kick her in the face.
The thrill of the battle ran through my veins.
I skidded on the ground from the force of my kick.
Suddenly, an arm hit me in the face. A dull pain rang through my head as I fell backwards. Then he grabbed me by my hair and pulled me back up. I didn't cry out though, I was far too dizzy.
WHAM!
Another punch and I flew back, onto the ground. My arms, though feeble, attempted to push myself off the ground. Suddenly, an unknown force pushed me back to the dirt. I soon realized it was Zaku's foot.
"Alright, time to die, you little bitch!" he shrieked.
…Pathetic.
I was so…pathetic.
I couldn't even protect my teammates. Even with everything on the line.
…I'm such a…failure.
When I opened my eyes–realizing I had shut them–I looked up and saw…
Pink?
"Sorry, Hinata, I hope you don't mind, but I don't want you dying until I can fight you again."
My vision focused and I saw the speaker grin.
"S-Sakura…san?" I mumbled.
"We'll take it from here!" Kiba smirked, obviously eager to get some action.
"B-But…" I was so confused, didn't Sakura hate me?
"Besides…I can't let you have all the good moves in front of Sasuke," Sakura winked, then turned her attention to the three ninja.
Again, why was she trying to protect me?
I, who am such a failure.
Am I really worth this?
I couldn't think much after that, so I closed my eyes and rested.
Sakura
"Who are you?" the one called Zaku growled angrily.
"None of your business, spiky!" I stuck out my tongue.
"Alright! Finally! A good fight," Kiba smiled happily, getting into a stance.
"Tell me, did either of you have a plan up to this point?" Shino asked.
…
"Ummm…"
"I thought so."
"Hey! You weren't exactly brainstorming back there!" Kiba retorted, "Plus, Sakura was the one who said we should help!"
"What?! Don't try and pin this on me, dog-boy!" I growled.
"Not that this isn't entertaining, but if you would please move. We need to fight Sasuke," Dosu interrupted. Our attention was turned once again to the three–slightly beaten up–sound ninja.
"Che, why the rush? Let's have some fun with this," Kiba grinned. I did the same and pulled my hair into a ponytail with a rubber band I had in my kunai pouch.
"Alright, let's go!"
We were evenly matched now. All three of us in individual one-on-one battles.
I was matched with Kin by chance.
Heh.
Right now, we were grappling each other, fighting for control. I could hear the low growl in her throat.
WHAM!
She kicked me in the chest, it wasn't something utterly painful, but I staggered back a bit. Suddenly, I felt her behind me. She gripped my hair.
"Maybe if you would spend a little less time caring for your hair and-!"
I cut her off as I slid my kunai through my hair. She lost her grip, and then it was her staggering back. I took the advantage and punched her in the face. She didn't get back up.
"I don't think I said you could touch my hair," I sneered.
Sasuke
Stop it!
Enough!
It's my fault, I know, stop telling me over and over.
I get it, my parents died because of me!
It was me!
My fault!
So please…no more…please…
Have you forgotten why you were seeking power in the first place? You've lost sight of what's important…Or perhaps you just want more pain?
Blue.
Blue hair.
She lay on the floor, broken and bruised.
Then…
Red.
Red blood.
Hinata
(Lolliot: In the following, things in -these- are lyrics from the song "If You'll Stay In My Past (Part 1 and 3)" by Maria Mena)
I am positive the reason I awoke was the dark aura I felt behind me. My head turned to see a dark form rising. Purple chakra surrounded it, swirling around.
"S-Sasuke…kun…"
I don't know when I sat up but I didn't care. My eyes were wide with terror. His eyes were big and greedy. He didn't look like Sasuke at all.
"Hinata…" I held my breath as he addressed me. "Who did this to you...?"
I could say nothing in response.
"Who was it?" he asked again.
"Sasuke...kun…" I felt tears start to spring to my eyes. They came from fear. Sasuke seemed to notice this.
"It's alright, it's only the power flowing through me," Sasuke answered calmly. "In fact, I've never felt better, he gave me this gift."
I don't know if that was meant to make me feel better.
"He made me understand what I am, an avenger. To follow my path I must gain power at any cost, even if it means being consumed by evil," he added.
No…no…please don't say such things…
Tears continued to fall.
"Now tell me Hinata, which one of these people did this to you?" Sasuke questioned again.
"That would be me," Zaku boldly boasted. A fool.
Sasuke's eyes fell on him with such malice it made me shudder.
It all happened in a blur really. Sasuke skidding Zaku to the ground, the sickening snapping of Zaku's arm.
I can't go into much detail for fear that I will start to retch.
"It looks like you're the only one left. I hope you make things more interesting than your friend did," Sasuke growled. He took slow steps towards him. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
"I usually don't like people whining but…for you I can make an exception. Cut yourself some slack already, believe me. You've improved from the blubbering girl I knew before."
My feet began to move on their own. I found myself running towards him. And then, I was holding him.
-I understand your need to switch the roles around-
"S-Stop…please…s-stop," I cried, tears coming again. His eyes turned back to me, they were full of irritation and anger. I was so scared.
-And despise me for the fact that we didn't last-
"Let go," he growled, his arm elbowing me a bit, a warning. Even thought it didn't have much of an impact. I felt like my chest had caved in.
-And I'll be your punching bag if you'll stay in my past-
"S-Sasuke-kun, I've been noticing that y-you...have been trying to...protect me," I didn't realize the words were true until I said them.
"Ever since this exam started, you've been trying to shield me from everything," I continued.
"Hinata!
...Go find...Naruto!"
"Hinata! Stay there, he might not be alone!"
-I understand to want to have a mature dialogue is too much to ask-
"I…Arigatou…" I whispered into his shirt, "But this time…I'm going to have to go against you."
-And I'll be your one regret-
"But please, let me protect you this time."
-If you'll stay in my past-
Time seemed to stand still, if only for a moment.
"Geez…you sure do cry a lot."
And then I felt him stumble in my arms.
"You are strong Sasuke. Here, we will give you this scroll, take it and leave us be," Dosu compromised. In a few minutes, he was gone. I looked around, Sakura's team was still here, and she had cut her hair.
I blinked.
"S-Sakura-san?" I asked. She turned to me, then she let her eyes fall.
"I'm sorry," she bowed her head. Again, I blinked.
"Eh?"
"I misjudged you terribly, and I apologize."
"…"
So confused. Then Sakura lifted her head again.
"But I still want a rematch!" she grinned. A moment, and then I smiled back.
"Oi! Should we wake him?" I turned my head and saw Kiba and Shino crowding a mumbling, sleeping Naruto.
I giggled a little.
"What am I?" My attention turned to Sasuke once more. He was looking at him arm in horror. My smile faded.
"Gomenasai."
Sasuke
"What?" her words surprised me.
"I couldn't protect you on my own. I failed you. Gomenasai," her head bowed.
It made me mad.
"You…are an idiot," I frowned.
"Eh?" her head shot up. I poked her in the forehead, teetering her off balance.
"Waah!" she fell on her bottom.
"Do you think if Naruto had come after me like you did I'd still be here?" I asked. She blinked.
"Stop beating yourself up already. You're obviously a better ninja than you give yourself credit."
Her eyes lit up then. And it sparked the same familiar, passionate feeling inside me.
…Oh.
"What? Are you gonna' keep sitting there?"
"Eh? Oh!" she blushed deep red and stood up. Though I rolled my eyes, I thought it was cute.
I…think I can name that burning feeling now. And I won't be like Naruto and ignore feelings. The last thing I want to be is like him. Although…feeling this is gonna' hurt like hell.
"Oh! Naruto-kun! You're awake," she trotted over to our blonde teammate.
Plus, I know she can't feel the same.
-I understand that you will one day love again-
Geez…if I admit them to myself that should be enough. I'm an avenger, so this will only interfere, and telling her would only end up hurting her.
-And that it's selfish of me to want to ask if you can only live off the memory off me-
If I told her I loved her, I could never forgive myself.
-So please stay in my past-