Konnichiwa konnichiwa, Planeshunter desu!
Some days I have amusing things to share, sometimes I don't. Tomorrow is Monday and I don't want to go back to work :S.
Now, with those wise words out of the way, Mystic Eyes of Reincarnation 始まります!
Chapter 29: One month to Hell (2 of 2)
In the morning twenty-nine days from the finals, Hinata put on a white yukata with momiji stamps and sneaked out after her early morning training to have breakfast with Naruto-kun. Apparently he'd come visit at lunch the day before just to learn she was having her lunches with Kakashi and Sasuke, and had left sulkily.
He wasn't at home in spite of the early hour but, fortunately, his chakra signature was like a lit beacon and she didn't even need her [Byakugan] to find him in a nearby grove. It technically was a training ground, but had been neglected for so long calling it that was a stretch. It could be the second Forest of Death if it only had… you know, deadly creatures instead of squirrels and garden spiders.
Seeing him training like crazy with makeshift targets and dummies on the ill-prepared terrain makes her frown. It makes sense, though. As much as he's reluctantly accepted anywhere when he's with his team, he's yet to appeal to the villagers by himself. In spite of the constant pranks he's infamous for, it's probably uncomfortable for him to wander alone around the village, moreso to train seriously where he can feel the people's sneers.
-"Good work today!" -She greets after a while, amused at how long she's remained unnoticed just standing there without hiding. She covers a soft chuckle with her fist when Naruto-kun trips at her words- "I think you should work on your environment awareness."
-"Yeah, I was a bit too focused there!" -He laughs embarrassed, scratching his head, and makes to go meet her before remembering he's supposed to be skulking- "What are you doing here, Hinata-chan? Weren't you busy with that bastard Sasuke?"
She sighs with amusement, surprised at her own impulse of teasing him about his behaviour. Instead, she raises her hands in peace, showing a thermos and a plastic bag.
-"I thought maybe we could have breakfast? I bring cocoa and cinnamon buns."
That leaves him at a satisfactory loss for words. His eyes slowly go from pouty to wide and before he knows what he's doing, Naruto-kun is making a fuss all around the place, trying to clear up a toppled tree for them to sit and apologizing for the neglected state of things as if it was in some way his fault.
Their chat while eating is surprisingly quiet, especially considering it's Naruto-kun she's chatting with. He's so awkward about it she takes a while to notice he's trying to subtly interrogate her about yesterday's lunch meeting.
-"We won't be seeing each other much during this month, that with everyone training separately" -She answers the unsaid question, holding back again her urge to tease. Yakumo-chan really is rubbing off on her!- "Kakashi-sensei wants to keep Sasuke-kun's training secret so they're camping for the month. I figured I could at least bring them lunch boxes and make sure they don't starve to death where nobody will find them."
-"Yeah, no shit. Sometimes they can get real weird with secret this secret that, what's so cool about their training anyway?"
-"They probably just want to make sure nobody knows what he can do." -She smiles away his pout- "How is your own training going?"
-"I don't know? Kakashi-sensei promised he'd found a great instructor for me, I'll meet him later in the morning."
Ah, that's probably Ebisu-sensei. Were things going to play in any other way, she'd recommend Naruto-kun to give him a chance. He is one of the few experts in raising shinobi after all, more than capable of making an aspirant chuunin strong quickly. But Naruto-kun is a bit of a special case, and his godfather would probably meddle anyway, so she decides to give him a present instead.
-"Naruto-kun, how come…?" -She trails off, wondering how exactly broach the subject- "How come you never use [Kage Bunshin] for training?"
-"You mean to spar? I've tried that once or twice, but they go away after a single hit, that's not very useful."
-"No, I mean… remember back on the survival test? When you knew the Oto-nin were tracking us after the [Kage Bunshin] dissipated? I looked a bit more into the jutsu after that. Naruto-kun, when a shadow clone banishes, you learn everything he's learned, so if you have fifty clones training the same thing that you…"
-"I would learn fifty times faster! How cool is that?" -He sobers quickly though- "But wait, why doesn't everybody do that if it's such a cheat?"
Now, that's pretty observant of Naruto-kun, all things considered.
-"Not everybody knows a forbidden technique like this, Naruto-kun. Even if they do, [Kage Bunshin] takes so much from one's chakra it's not a viable training tool unless you have really huge reserves."
-"So I can thanks to the damn fo…" -He mumbles distractedly, barely catching himself in time- "I mean, so I have a damn forbidden technique only I can use? Sweet! I'll call it [Ninpo - Uzumaki Shadow Training]! No wait! It was all your idea, so how about [Ninpo - Hinata Shadow Training]?"
That suggestion causes a literal blush explosion.
-"I… I think the first idea is good enough, Naruto-kun…"
Time flies as she listens Naruto-kun fantasize about his future exploits and time to go back to the compound and keep training arrives way too soon.
In her way back she's greeted by the figure of a beautiful girl wearing a beautiful pink yukata that compliments her brown eyes and long black hair.
-"Oho… Lookie here! Haku-chan in flesh and blood!"
-"Oh, Kurama-san, I see you've deigned to grace me with your presence today."
He's been spending more and more time with Yakumo, to the point where she's starting to get jealous.
-"Oh, sush brat!" -He carelessly bats her complaint away- "As if i'd miss this!"
Still wondering what about Haku has Kurama so amused, she makes towards her.
-"Haku-chan! I'm glad you could make it!"
-"Hinata-sama" -Haku fidgets uncomfortable, much to her amusement- "I must insist I don't feel comfortable with this agreement."
-"Nonsense, you look very beautiful in that yukata, Haku-chan!" -And then, with a mischievous grin- "It's not like you haven't done it before either…"
-"That was a one-time only during a life or death situation in the middle of nowhere, not a month-long exposure in the biggest and best connected hidden village in the Elemental Countries!"
-"See? You're already acting the part perfectly" -Really, he pulled his girl act with scary ease, he was prettier than her! Kurama chuckles at that- "Now let's go back, you can watch me train before I introduce you to Father. I could use some outsider's viewpoint."
Haku nods, thinking this will all be posturing for appearances' sake. They still believe Father is the mastermind behind their recruitment. Truth will be a bit more interesting, with her carefully guiding the conversation to officially introduce one to each other. So Father noticed Haku was actually one of Zabuza's men but didn't dig further, and Haku kept his belief about this all being orchestrated by him.
She just have to give the slip to a politics hardened clan head that can read her like an open book and one of the brightest minds of a generation. At the same time. Easy.
…
Surely there's no way that can blow in her face, right?
Training goes well. So well it's a bit scary, actually. Before the jump back, she had only been vaguely aware of Haku's brilliant mind from Naruto-kun's stories. Now that she sees his insight at work, she can only conclude the boy is the stuff of legends, it really was a good move to save his life. Kurama chuckles at that again, it's getting seriously annoying, but she's resolved to notice whatever it is by herself, so she's stopped asking.
-"Hanabi-sama, if I may…" -His gentle and non confrontational tone also works wonders in helping her sometimes thorny sister accept advice- "You could use less forcefulness on that kata."
-"I know" -She agrees, remembering her own troubles with that maneuver. Hanabi scowls petulantly- "From the third step onwards maybe? But it just comes out like that naturally, is hard to hold back. I had the same trouble once."
-"Maybe Hanabi-sama could picture a different routine?" -Both sisters eye him with curiosity- "As far as my humble understanding goes, that maneuver is like an avalanche. The first three steps are the rocks falling, followed by the cloud of dust it raises."
That's… brilliant! Picturing it like that is easy to let go the forcefulness of the first steps and still flow into the rest without an abrupt transition. Hanabi's looking at her questioningly, so she gives a go ahead nod. After closing her eyes and breathing deeply a couple of times, she gets in position and tries again. It's a still bit stiff, but nothing that won't go away with practice, the block is already gone. Just like that.
-"That felt much better, Hanabi-sama. I'm sure you can figure out the rest with a bit of practice."
-"Yes!" -She gets into position again, but turns towards him with a smile before starting- "Thank you, Haku-chan!"
If Hinata wasn't looking for it, she would've missed the hint of cringe on his face. Was that discomfort at the ways he was addressed or just Hanabi-chan getting to him? The boy turns at her, maybe to hide his embarrassment? Kurama chuckles.
-"And you, Hinata-sama?" -He asks without hiding his curiosity- "Your forms are near perfect already, maybe I could see you try something more advanced?"
Tables turned on her, Hinata shifts her feet uncomfortably. She doesn't like to perform advanced techniques where others can see her. It's probably just paranoia, but she can't shake the feeling she might show too much power, or get worked up and forget this or that technique were too advanced for her supposed level.
With a sigh, she gets in position. She's just overthinking, paying a bit of attention at what she was doing would be enough, and Haku is probably able to help her out too with that frightening insight of his. She just hopes they never end up as enemies.
-"[Protective Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms]"
Arching a brow, Haku produces a handful of senbon from somewhere and throw them with deadly accuracy at the gaps between threads. They get repelled anyway, her protective field isn't as basic as just the visible lines.
-"That's you personal move, right?. A powerful defense."
-"Thank you."
-"It's a shame it takes your arms to work." -Ouch, straight to the weak point- "Are the hand gestures truly necessary?"
-"The protective threads are delicate work using the hands is the only way I can do..." -Wait, why was that? She stops to think about that before correcting herself- "It was the only way I could manage."
-"I hear the Hyuuga already have an impressive defensive move, the [Kaiten]."
Hinata nods, stepping away to perform it at a safe distance.
-"The way I see it, Hinata-sama..." -He starts after a brief silence- "The [Kaiten] expels chakra from the whole body as you would normally do from your palms, while the [Protective Palm] refines the chakra emitted from your palms even further to weave solid yet cost-efficient defenses."
Hinata nods, unsure of what he's trying to get at. It was a correct analysis, if a bit basic.
-"Isn't the next step obvious? A you well said, using your hands was the only way you could manage… at the start. I'd recommend getting rid of that clutch as soon as possible."
By putting together the theories between both [Kaiten] and [Protective Palm] she could probably put up a barrier as quickly as the [Kaiten] deployed, while not depending on physically rotating her body and the considerably reduced chakra expenses of the [Protective Palm]…
-"Training the control to do that wouldn't be easy." -She answers, hiding her glee as best as she can- "But at least I'll have something challenging to do until the finals begin, thank you Haku-chan."
-"It was my pleasure, Hinata-sama."
Then he gets dragged away by an enthused Hanabi. This time there was nothing subtle about Haku's reaction, and it hadn't been a cringe but a wide smile. He was really getting in character… or Hanabi was growing on him after all. This time Kurama cackles loudly.
-"Yeah, the mini-brat has a way of growing on people like a wild fungus, doesn't she? Be careful or I might decide she's a better host!"
Hinata's smile isn't as amused at is could, maybe that would've been funnier if Kurama didn't spend so much time with his great-granddaughter already.
Hinata is getting jealous, Haku's hands are full with Hanabi and Kurama keeps finding something amusing. My, isn't this an eventful chapter? It almost makes you forget Naruto just figured out how to use his [Kage Bunshin] to train three whooping years earlier than in canon! What would derive of this I wonder? And why the hell didn't I announce the finals pairings already? It might be some subtle maneuver, or maybe I just forgot. Only time will tell!
