Okay, so this chapter is going to dive a little into Ciara's past, mostly talking about clan politics and kinship (meaning lines of relation and descent, family tree stuff) since the issues with the Hyuga have finally come up. She is not going to cry, she is going to talk about it in the most academic fashion possible (because if she let herself get sentimental, she probably would cry, and she'd be an idiot to do that in a room full of other ninja).

Warning: Flashback ahead, but it's cute, and there's a lot of hints dropped in it. Oh, and it's another long chapter too, the longest so far by over a thousand words, actually, I'm impressed with myself.

His match won, Naruto hops over, a small jar clasped tightly in his hands. I frown a little, my eyes on the jar. "What's that?"

He holds it up and shrugs. "Hinata gave me healing ointment. She wants me to use it for my wounds."

I lean back a little and look over to where Hinata is standing. And she looks away immediately, not that it surprises me. "Alright, we can use it." I hold out my hand for it and Naruto puts it in my hand. "Alright, now off with the jacket and the headband, we need to make sure that none of your cuts get infected." If Hinata wants him to use it, then I suppose that it will just save my own ointment for someone who needs it more.

"Okay." Naruto sits down in front of me, dragging off his bloodied jack and untying his headband, revealing a bunch of cuts and bruises. But I must have a pretty dark look on my face, because Naruto laughs nervously. "Come on, Ciara, it's not that bad."

I sigh and shake my head as I grab hold of Naruto's arm. "Honestly, you have no sense of self-preservation." I dab a cloth into an antiseptic, then dab it over Naruto's cuts, wiping away blood and disinfecting the cuts at the same time. "Sakura, ointment and bandages."

As soon as I drop the cloth into my lap, Sakura hands me the ointment to smear over Naruto's arm, and unwinds a roll of bandages, already starting to wrap them around the puncture marks in Naruto's arm, courtesy of Kiba's claws. Damn, I didn't think that his claws were this sharp. It's like he dug knives into Naruto's skin.

While the medics down on the floor take Kiba out of the room, Sakura and I quickly go about dabbing the blood off of Naruto, then wrapping up his injuries. He's got a fair number of them, but he should be fine in a couple of days.

When the last injury has been treated and bandaged, I sigh and smile. "There. Now, just try not to get into any trouble for the next few days, and you'll recover just fine."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Naruto gets to his feet and grabs my arm, pulling me to my feet as well. "Come on, the next match is going to be announced any second."

And like clockwork, the proctor raises his voice. "Alright, we'll now pick the names for the next match." And behind him, the electronic board starts shuffling through names again. The people left are Gaara, that guy from the Sound, Lee, Neji, Chouji, Hinata, Akito, and Hiro. And hopefully, this board doesn't get the sadistic idea to pair my teammates off against each other. But with every match that goes by, that possibility becomes more and more likely.

But this is a pairing I didn't see coming.

Oh, Hinata... I hope you'll be alright...

She's already down on the floor, having gone to see her fallen teammate before the medics could take him away. That leaves Neji to join his kin down on the floor for their match. And judging by the look in Neji's almost white eyes, this is not going to be a pleasant match to watch. There's anger there, deep-rooted, and like nothing I've ever seen before.

As the two stand in front of the proctor, Neji remains cold. "I never thought that you and I would have to face each other, Hinata."

"Nor I, brother." Hinata's choice of addresses surprises me a little, since I've never heard Hinata mentioning a brother. Then again, she didn't talk a whole lot while we were at the academy, so she might have more siblings than just the younger sister that I once heard about in passing. And by in passing, I mean I overheard a conversation one time while I was hanging out on the ceiling.

Maybe I need to stop eavesdropping on people...that's getting to be a really bad habit.

Sakura's eyes bulge. "What'd she call him?"

"B-Brother!?" Naruto looks down at the two in complete and utter shock. "Those two are brother and sister!?"

Kakashi shakes his head. "They're both descended from the Hyuga Clan, one of the most ancient and honorable of the families in the Hidden Leaf Village, not actually brother and sister."

"Okay, but they're related somehow, right?" Sakura turns to Kakashi for answers, though it doesn't surprise me that she doesn't know how the various clan systems work.

"Yes...in the way that a branch of a great tree is related to its trunk." Kakashi's eye flickers. "Technically, they're more like cousins."

"The trunk of a tree?" Naruto definitely doesn't understand it, since he didn't grow up surrounded by a clan. Then again, that might be a good thing, considering how complicated they can get.

"Yes." Lee nods calmly. "Hinata belongs to the family's main household, directly descended from the head of the clan, while Neji's family is just a side branch of the clan."

"Exactly." Kakashi agrees simply. "But, that's not the only way a clan can work, it's just one example." He glances at me, and it feels like even without the Sharingan visible, he's seeing right through me.

Sakura turns to me, hesitance in her voice. "Um...before the first exam...Sasuke asked Kabuto about you."

"He what?" I frown, since that was far from what I was expecting her to say. "And what did that guy tell you?"

Sakura gulps. "Well, he said that you...that you were the daughter of the head of the Shiryugu Clan. But..." Her voice wavers slightly. "Then he said that your clan was..."

"Dead?" My voice goes flat, though not on purpose. "He told you that my clan was slaughtered, didn't he?" She nods quietly, and I sigh. "Figures that it would get out eventually." Though it's a wonder how he knows about it in the first place. Though, he is older than us, so I guess he must have known about it when he was a kid. I take a deep breath and turn my back to the railing, staring at all of them. "Alright, then what do you want to know? My clan's structure?"

Kakashi nods. "If you wouldn't mind. It might give them a better understanding of how clans work." I frown at him, but it's not as though he's not old enough to have seen my family at its peak. He would know well what kind of people they were.

It's not the most comfortable topic, but as long as I can keep it from delving too far into my memories, and keep it technical, then I should be fine. "Alright. Luckily, it's pretty simple. We've traditionally had a main household, which consists of the clan head, their siblings, as well as all of their offspring. But, that said, if the main house starts getting crowded, the siblings of the clan head will move out into other houses on the estate, where they can have as much privacy as they want. Beyond that, most of the clan usually moves outward in the estate, with some parts dedicated to the members of certain other clans so that they can feel a little more at home."

"Other clans?" Sakura blinks, and I can just see her brain working. "You mean that other clans would live on the estate?"

"Not exactly." I shake my head. "See, members of other clans liked to marry in, so we would have large concentrations of say...Hyuga members or Nara members. My mother was half Hyuga and half Nara, and when she married my father, she moved into the main house. But as the family branched out and people started marrying in more frequently and having children, like after the village was established and clans started migrating to this region, they found that those who came from the same clan liked to live near each other, it provided a closer sense of kinship. So we had something along the lines of mini compounds within the boundaries of the estate."

"Wait, then that means you're related to Hinata!?" Naruto says that a little loudly, obviously not caring that there are two distant cousins of mine down there on the floor.

I sigh heavily. "Distantly, but yes, Hinata and Neji are cousins of mine, if you look off far enough. It's the same with Shikamaru." I glance over at him, and somehow, he doesn't seem very surprised, even though I'm sure that he's listening in on the conversation. "Anyway...anyone near my age would have automatically gotten the label of cousin in my clan, and I had no siblings of my own. My aunts and uncles were related to me by blood, with the exception of their spouses. Other than that, everyone got the label of cousin." Though there's one other thing. "But...depending on an age gap, and how close I was to them, someone who might be a distant cousin could be called aunt or uncle as a term of endearment, rather than an accurate kinship term."

Kakashi smiles behind the mask. "And that's a good lesson about the various ways in which clans are set up. That should give a little perspective on the battle we're about to see."

Sakura's eyes widen, and she looks down at the two Hyuga, still staring at each other. Though I have a feeling that Neji, at least, was listening to our conversation as well. "Still, they're family, and now they have to fight each other." She looks sad. "I feel for them...must be hard."

"Yes, but..." Lee's tone sounds ominous. "It may not be as hard as it seems. I have heard that for many generations now, there has been some bad blood between the two families."

Naruto frowns. "And why's that?"

"I have never known the specifics, but you know about the bloodline traits of the great ninja clans, like the Uchiha and the Hyuga. Special techniques and abilities unique to those families." Lee is delving into things that some clans might not want to have out in the open. Airing their dirty laundry, if you will. "The first generation of the Hyuga Clan made all sorts of rules and decrees that favor the main branch of the family. It seems some branches of the family broke these rules." That would certainly explain the abundance of Hyuga that married in, they would have been protected at home. "Anyway, it is said because of that, there has been friction between the branches of the clan."

"So...it's like this match is a family feud." Sakura's hands start to shake a little, and I can tell that she's worried. She looks to me questioningly. "Are you...worried about seeing your cousins fighting?"

I tilt my head. "I'm only worried for Hinata's safety because she was in our class. I had a lot of cousins who brought over the special abilities of the Hyuga Clan, and I have to say that I'm not too fond of what the abilities do." Mostly because they're nearly impossible to heal on short notice. That's something I learned whenever my mother's oldest brother babysat me. He had the white eyes of the Hyuga, and he would tell me all sorts of stories about what those eyes could do. And even as a kid, I soaked up knowledge like that like a sponge.

Kakashi's eyes find the field again. "Look, they're about to start." And it's about time, considering that they've been staring at each other long enough for us to have quite a rousing discussion about clan life and why it can suck.

The proctor backs away once more. "Alright, you may begin when ready."

Neji shifts first, but makes no move to attack. "Before we do this, a word of advice. Hinata, listen to me. "Withdraw now. You know you were never meant to be a ninja." His words strike her like a stab to the chest, her eyes wide with fear and pain. "You're too kind and gentle. You seek harmony and avoid conflict. You allow yourself to be easily swayed by others." Hinata tuns away at his words, but he is far from done. "Admit it, you have no confidence. You feel inferior to everyone else here. It would have been better for you to simply remain a genin. But to register for the Chunin Exams, you need a team of three people. You never even wanted to take part in these exams, but Shino and Kiba did, and you couldn't bear to let your teammates down, could you?"

Hinata bites her lip, before her soft voice grows a little stronger. "No! You're wrong! You're wrong! I wanted-" A measure of fear colors her expression."I had to find out..." Her voice weakens again, her eyes downcast. "I wanted to see if I could change..."

Rather than swaying Neji with her plea, Neji's eyes grow cold. "Hinata, you are the pampered offspring of the Hyuga's main branch." His words startle Hinata for a moment. "People can't change, no matter how hard they try. They can't run away from their true nature. A failure will always be a failure." He spits out the words callously, and it's clearly his way of playing with her mind. He's trying to use her emotions to break her into little pieces.

Next to me, Naruto growls angrily, his sense of justice not liking what he's seeing. And I'm pretty sure that I know why. So, I grab his hand, clenched tightly around the railing. "He's wrong, you know, you can definitely change who you are. You just have to really want to." Because the proof is standing right next to me. Even if no one else has noticed, Naruto is growing up, getting stronger, and can be surprisingly mature at the strangest times. Granted, those times are few and afar between, but that's not the point.

But Neji is far from done. "People are judged by their true nature. It is the way of the world. That is why we have an elite, and why there are outcasts. We can change our physical appearance, improve our skills with training and study. But ultimately, we are judged by what we cannot change. What can't be changed must be endured." His eyes grow only more malicious with each word. "We are who we are, Hinata, and we must live with it. Just as I must live with the fact that you were born into the elite of our clan, while I am from a lesser branch. I understand these things, because I see the world clearly with my Byakugan." His eyes harden further. "Despite your brave words, what you're really thinking is that you'd like to run. Run as far away from here as you can."

"No! You're wrong! You're wrong about me!" Hinata's pleas are growing desperate, and I really don't like this at all.

Now, it's not just Naruto who is holding in the urge to growl at Neji and tear his head off. I'm feeling the urge to tear him apart as well. Do you, Neji? Can you really see the world clearly? Because from where I'm standing, it seems to me that you can't see anything at all. You're lashing out like an animal in a cage, and for what? I grit my teeth angrily. This is why so many came to my family...because we would never pull shit like this.

My eyes close, because this is not something I find easy to watch.

*Flashback*

I peek out from behind Daddy's legs, watching the new family move into their house just down the hill, next to the river. "Daddy, who are they?"

Deep emerald eyes gaze down at me, shadowed slightly by locks of soft chocolate brown hair that hang over his eyes and frame his face. "Your aunt got married, remember? So her new husband is bringing his mother and his younger sister along."

"Why, Daddy?" I watch the man and three ladies with wide eyes. "Won't they miss their home?"

"We're their home now, sweetheart." He picks me up in his arms easily, closing the distance between us and the newcomers. "So remember to be kind and love them. You remember the rules, right?"

A shy smile blooms on my face and my cheeks warm slightly. "Love your family and protect them with your life!"

"That's right, my little princess." He bounces me slightly. "Now, let's go and welcome them."

"Okay!" Meeting new people is exciting, even if I would rather have Shi-Shi and Chi-Chi come to visit. But maybe these people will be as nice as my uncles.

Daddy approaches the steps to the house, smiling gently at the newcomers. "I hope that I'm not disturbing you, but I thought that I would pay you a visit and welcome you to the estate."

The older lady turns, her eyes white and wide. "Lord Shiryugu!" She bows deeply. "It is an honor to see you here."

Daddy laughs quietly. "Ryouta, please. We are family, there is no need for such formality here." Daddy smiles at them. I love his smile, it makes me feel warm and safe and happy.

Meanwhile, I'm fascinated by the three pairs of white eyes in front of me. I've seen eyes like that in a bunch of people. Some of my 'cousins' have eyes just like that. And I reach out for the younger lady, arms stretched to their limit. "Pretty!"

She blinks at me, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. Daddy notices, and he approaches the lady, holding me out a little so that I can grab onto her dark kimono. He chuckles slightly as my grip forces the lady to hold onto me, letting Daddy's hands fall away. "Please forgive her, she's only three, and I think I indulge her a little too much."

The lady with her arms round me blinks, then turns to look at me, her eyes wide. "She's beautiful..." She gulps slightly, her voice growing quiet and shy. "What's your name?"

"Cia!" I lift my hands up and fist them in her soft hair, tugging slightly. "You're pretty!"

Daddy laughs again. "This is my daughter, Ciara. She's a handful some days, but she's got a healthy curiosity that only seems sated when her favorite uncles stop by."

Aunty Mika smiles from the deck, her eyes flashing red for a moment as she watches us in amusement. "Oh, just give it a few years, and then she'll probably be begging those poor boys to teach her all sorts of things that will get her into trouble. Luckily for us, her chakra network still isn't active yet. The last thing we need is a little firebreather racing around the mountain. Gods know that one dragon is enough."

Daddy crosses his arms, still smiling slightly. "Well, we don't know that she will be. She might take after mother, after all. The four of you did."

Aunty snickers. "Yes, and you got the short end of the stick, didn't you, little brother. There's a good reason that none of us wanted to fight you over the leadership rules. Being an ANBU is a much easier job than yours."

"Yes..." Daddy rubs his head, a frown on his face. "You don't have to listen to the other clan heads whining every time one of their members inadvertently insults another clan."

"Not anymore, I don't." Her smile softens a little. "It's been seven years, Ryouta...you're doing a fine job now without our help. You're not sixteen anymore, and you don't need your big sister or big brothers to help you."

"I know." Daddy's eyes look sad for a second. Then, he grins mischievously, glancing at the white-eyed man. "Though speaking of our siblings, the three of you should get a move on. You'll never have children at this rate. I've already got a little girl of my own, and I can't blame Miyako for not having any children yet, she's barely twenty. She and Kyoshi aren't even married yet."

Aunty laughs. "Then maybe you should give our little sister a nudge. And that Uchiha had better not be getting cold feet. He'll break her heart if they don't get married soon. They may be engaged, but they still need to pick a date for the wedding. If they don't, Miyako is going to get antsy."

"And we all know how disastrous that would be. Daddy shivers. "Honestly, having four siblings who can snap someone into a genjutsu in the blink of an eye is slightly terrifying."

"It'd be more terrifying if we could catch you in one, wouldn't it?" She smirks at him, shaking her head. "But, I'll think about it. After all, Ciara is going to need a few playmates sooner or later."

The white-eyed man nods. "And it will give her good practice for her duties later."

"If she inherits my abilities..." Daddy smiles sadly. "I'm actually rather hoping she doesn't."

Aunty nods slightly. "I know, Ryouta...I know."

The adults finally stop talking, and I look back at the lady holding me, my head tilted slightly. "What's that?" I stare at her forehead, where a pretty green design stretches across it. I reach my hand up and run my tiny fingers across her skin, making her gasp. "Oh no! Did it hurt!? Was it my fault!?" Her reaction makes me sad, because I don;t want to make anyone cry. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"Shhh, shhh." She pats my back softly. "It's alright, it doesn't hurt." Tears trickle down my cheeks and I start sobbing quietly. "Lady Ciara, it doesn't hurt me...not anymore."

I sniff a little more as she dries my tears with the sleeve of her kimono. "Y-you promise?"

She nods gently. "I promise. It...used to, but it hasn't hurt me for a while."

I don't like it, this mark that hurt my new aunty. Chi-Chi showed me a way to make pain go away forever. So I press my little lips to the middle of her forehead, right at the center of the mark. "Pain, pain, go away...leave my aunty alone."

She blinks, not saying a word as her eyes widen again. So Daddy walks over and takes me from her arms. "Alright, Ciara, that's enough. Why don't we let your Aunty Mika's family unpack, and then we'll invite them home for dinner. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!" It sounds amazing. "Curry rice and soup with noodles!"

Daddy chuckles softly. "There will be a lot more than that, but I'll see what I can do. And I'll tell your uncle Kyoshi to bring Shisui, okay?"

I clap my hands eagerly. "Shi-Shi! Tell him to bring Chi-Chi too!"

"Alright...I'll tell him to bring Itachi too..." Daddy sits me on his shoulders and starts walking back up the hill. And I turn around for a second to wave goodbye to my aunty and her new family. "See you later Aunty Mika!"

And with a lazy wave of her hand, my dark-haired aunty smiles as me and Daddy disappear from sight.

*Flashback End*

"That does it!" A loud voice echoes in my ear, and I blink quickly, not realizing that I'd spaced out for a bit. "Who gave you the right to tell her what she can or can't be!?" Naruto's anger radiates throughout the room. He raises his fist and stares down at Hiata, shaking me completely from my thoughts. "Go on, Hinata! Show this guy he's wrong!" When she doesn't respond, he growls and raises his voice even louder. "Hinata! You just gonna stand there and take that!? Do something! You're driving me crazy!"

Hinata's wide-eyed gaze falls, and she looks down to the floor. But it's a bit deceptive, because she's not shaking anymore, not even a twitch. And when she lifts her gaze back up, there's no weakness to be seen.

Neji remains undeterred. "If you don't forfeit the match, you know what will happen." It's a warning that promises an unpleasant end to the match, and one that makes my left hand travel back towards my medical kit, strapped back onto my belts.

But Hinata stands her ground, her hands flashing to form hand signs, ending only when her eyes pulse with chakra, activating her Byakugan. She slides into a familiar stance, one that shows that she is ready for battle. "Defend yourself, my brother."

"Very well then." Neji's own eyes pulse with power, and he slides into an identical stance. So...it's a battle of the Gentle Fist... I remember watching some of my older cousins practicing it. I always thought that it looked so cool. But it wasn't until years later that I found out what kind of damage it does. Now, I can only look on with dread.

"Of course, it is the Hyuga style...that is why their poses are the same." Lee looks down on the battle with interest.

"The Hyuga style?" Sakura appears rather perplexed, though I don't blame her for not being familiar with it.

"It is the most effective type of taijutsu found in our village." Lee's muscles clench as emotion takes over his face. "I have said it before...I have on my team, the man who is probably the strongest genin to ever come out of the Hidden Leaf Village. That man, Neji Hyuga."

As the two of them leap at each other, discharging chakra from their palms, I look down in frustration. "I...hate this style of taijutsu."

Lee looks at me with a frown. "Why? It is a very effective style. There are none stronger."

"That's part of the reason why..." I stare down as the two continue to exchange blows, or rather, block each other's blows as much as possible, with Neji landing a few very discreet strikes of his own. "I have medical training, so it stands to reason that I would hate this kind of taijutsu more than any other."

Kakashi hums quietly. "That's because of what it does to the body...right?"

"Yeah..." I grit my teeth, my worry for Hinata increasing by the second. "Right now, I'm just hoping that neither of them manages to score a lethal hit." But in their dance of death, that might just be too much to hope for.

A couple of minutes in, Hinata slashes right across Neji's stomach, nearly grazing him with a powerful strike. And Sakura catches the motion too. "Did she get him!?"

"No way, she hardly touched him!" Naruto's hands clench the railing, his own concern for Hinata increasing by the second.

Lee frowns. "Even so, a glancing blow is enough. That is what makes the Hyuga Clan the most formidable of fighters."

"What does? What are you talking about?" Sakura's voice trembles, and I know that we're all worried for our classmate down there.

Lee's sensei raises his voice for us to hear. "Their taijutsu is a unique one that's been passed down for generations. It's not the kind of taijutsu Lee and I employ. We tend to concentrate on inflicting external damage. We use crushing blows to raise contusions and break limbs, pouncing our enemy. The Hyuga way is to attack their opponent's internal organs and the chakra network through which the chakra flows. Their way is more...subtle. Perhaps not as thrilling to watch, but it gradually takes effect with devastating results."

I clench my hands, one of which is still gripping onto Naruto's. "Healing external injuries...or even broken bones is one thing. But dealing with damage to the inside of the body, to the organs and chakra network...that's playing with fire and hoping for a miracle."

Kakashi nods. "Right. You see, you can't build up your internal organs, no matter how hard you train. Even the toughest ninja is vulnerable to this kind of attack. And there is only so much that medics can do if they lack experience, or if they can't move quickly enough."

My fingers twitch as the two Hyuga continue to battle it out on the floor, dancing around each other and shooting off chakra in all directions. "And that's why I hate the Gentle Fist so much..."

But so far, the battle would appear relatively even, and that seems to be all that Naruto cares about. "Hinata! Way to go!"

"They...attack the chakra network?" Sakura's eyes widen in awe with every movement. "These people...are amazing."

Naruto quiets his cheering and turns to Sakura. "Yeah, you can say that again." And just when I think that Naruto can't put his foot in his mouth, I'm proven wrong. "So what is the chakra network, anyway?"

I groan and bang my head against the railing. "You have got to be kidding me..."

Sakura sighs, sharing my irritation. "Don't you know anything?"

"Here, I will explain it." Thankfully, Lee takes over, saving me and Sakura from trying to pound the information into Naruto's brain. "It is the complex system of circulatory canals that distribute chakra throughout the body, similar to a person's vascular system, the veins and arteries that carry blood."

Naruto nods. "I get it, only these veins carry chakra, not blood."

"Ah...basically." Lee seems to be catching on to the idea that it's better to just let Naruto put things together in a way he'll understand. "Furthermore, the chakra network is so closely interwoven with all the most vital internal organs that they are virtually one and the same. Therefore, when the network is attacked, these organs suffer damage as well."

Naruto grins eagerly. "Wow, Lee, how'd you ever get to be so smart?"

"Idiot! How'd you ever get to be a genin!?" Sakura decks Naruto right on the head, a complete turnaround from when she was cheering for him earlier. Then, she turns to Kakashi. "But sensei, how do they know where to strike their opponent? I mean, the chakra network is invisible to the eye, right? So how do they know exactly where to land their blows?"

Kakashi's eyes flicker down towards Neji. "You're forgetting their Byakugan...there are few things invisible to those eyes. What's more, when they strike a blow, it's a little different from a normal attack. A small, but intense burst of their own chakra is released from their hand. It drills into the opponent's body, directly attacking his chakra network."

And just like that the trading of blows comes to an end, and both Neji and Hinata go in for a final blow, both of them hitting their opponent in the chest. Naruto grins and cheers. "Yeah, Hinata! Get him!"

It's like everything happens in slow motion, and we all just wait for the results of that strike. And it's Hinata who ends up coughing up blood. And Neji just looks a little smug. "That's it? That's all there is to the main branch's power?"

"What's going on!?" Naruto leans over the railing, trying to get a better look at the match. "I mean, I saw Hinata hit Neji perfectly!" Though that would seem to be contradicted by the blood coming out of her mouth, instead of his.

Not that Hinata is giving up no. She tosses Neji's hand away, ignoring whatever damage he's done to her insides, and aims another strike right at his chest. But instead of it connecting, he dodges it, slaps it to the side, and then takes hold of it, driving a two-fingered strike into her arm. Then, he pulls back her sleeve, revealing many small red dots on her arm.

Hinata's eyes find the dots, fear blossoming within those pale orbs. "Y-you mean...all this t-time, you-"

"That's right. I could see your chakra points the whole time." The venom in Neji's voice is becoming more potent by the minute, reminding me somewhat of a hissing cobra after you've stepped on its tail.

Naruto's blue eyes widen. "Huh? What is he talking about?"

"On the chakra network, there are three hundred and sixteen energy centers, or chakra points, and each are only about the size of the head of a pin. Hitting one directly can affect chakra flow, either halting it or increasing it, depending on how the attacker strikes the chakra points." Kakashi sure knows a lot about this, which probably means that I should be taking notes on it. "Theoretically, it allows a ninja to gain complete control over an opponent's chakra flow. But these chakra points...they're undetectable, even to my Sharingan eye."

Neji slams yet another strike into Hinata's chest, this one even more powerful than before, and it sends her flying several meters.

Neji takes a few steps towards her, standing far above her. "Look, Hinata, I'm completely out of your league, and that won't change. This is what separates the elites from the failures. You may not like it, but it's a fact. From the instant you said you wouldn't run anymore, your fate was sealed. You were destined for failure. And now, you're consumed with hopelessness." He take a few more steps towards her. "This is your last warning, Hinata. Forfeit this match.

Blood drips from Hinata's mouth as she rolls over onto her knees, struggling to get to her feet. "I...I...I never...go back...on my word." She pulls herself to her feet, breathing hard and blood streaming from her lips. "Because that too is my nindo, my ninja way."

My eyes widen, and Naruto's hand clenches underneath mine. He may be an idiot sometimes, but he knows those words very well. They're his. His vow on Haku and Zabuza's graves to never run away from a battle ever again. She looks up at Naruto, her eyes full of determination that I've never seen from the shyest member of our class.

Naruto trembles a little. "I had no idea...that Hinata's as tough as she is."

"She...is a lot like you..." Lee smiles as he points out the connection, even though he should be in his teammate's corner instead.

"You know...she is always watching you." Sakura points out something else that should be obvious, and yet, isn't. Then again, Naruto is hardly the most observant of people, so it stands to reason that he wouldn't notice when the shyest girl in class stares at him.

Hinata activates her Byakugan once more, ready to start this fight right back up again. But an instant after she does so, she coughs up blood and grabs at her heart. This is looking really serious. There's no telling how much damage there could be inside her body because it just doesn't show the way external damage does.

Sakura gasps slightly. "Doesn't it seem like the difference in strength makes it unfair? He's just way too strong, it's a mismatch! Seriously..."

Naruto clenches his fists, then takes a deep breath. "Go Hinata! you can do it!"

And it's his words that put strength back into Hinata's eyes and back into her strikes. She attacks Neji fearlessly, even though her attacks are completely ineffective. Even without chakra, she's not landing a single hit, Neji is blocking every one of them. Although, she's blocking plenty of Neji's strikes as well, so I suppose that it isn't quite as imbalanced as it could be. Still...there's no way that Hinata is going to win this match. As much as I would like her to, it's just not going to happen.

But, she doesn't give up, she races after Neji over and over, trying to knock him off balance. Though after another minute f their dance, Neji smacks her in the chin, tossing her off balance slightly and making her slide back several feet. The strike makes her cough, and with each exhalation, more blood comes up. So far, she hasn't lost enough for it to be fatal, but I'm worried about how much internal bleeding she's suffering from.

She doesn't stop, though, she races towards Neji once more, only to be struck square in the chest, and blood forced out of her mouth in a torrent. She collapses to the ground, falling flat on her face.

Neji looks down at her with contempt. "You just don't get it, do you? Your strikes were ineffective from the very start. You're finished." He turns away from her, leaving her lying still on the ground.

"It's too bad, but after that blow to the heart, Hinata is done." That comment might mean more if it wasn't coming from Neji's sensei.

Naruto takes his hands from the railing, after nearly crushing the jar of ointment. And I can see the anger in his eyes as the proctor approaches Hinata. "Since she's no longer able to continue this match-"

"No!" Naruto's voice rings out loud and clear across the room. "Don't stop this match!"

"Naruto! What on earth are you doing? Hinata's had it! You can see she's unconscious, can't you?" Sakura glares at him, obviously not understanding what he's trying to do at all. And while I can admire him for his faith in Hinata, I think that she should just stay down, for the sake of her health.

Of course, she admires Naruto, so her staying down was never really an option. And Naruto smiles as Hinata struggles to her feet once more. Her whole body is trembling, and it's actually rather impressive that she isn't screaming out in pain. She must be really determined to get some acknowledgement for her skills...

"What do you think you're doing?" Neji looks like he's trying to frown, but it's marred by an expression of incredulity. "If you continue to fight, you're going to die." Only if you kill her, you asshole...

Hinata moves forward while her cousin readies himself to attack. "I'm far from finished."

"Give up the tough guy act, I can tell you're barely standing." I hate to admit that Neji has a point, but there's also the fact that human determination and willpower can do a lot of things that shouldn't be possible. Naruto himself is proof of that, and it seems to be rubbing off on Hinata. "You've been carrying a very heavy burden, having been born the the main branch of the Hyuga Clan. And you've cursed and blamed yourself for being weak. But look, people can't change the way they are. That's just how it is. Just accept defeat and you won't have to suffer anymore."

"No, you've got it wrong, brother. You've got it backwards." And I agree with her, because Neji seems to be a fatalistic idiot in my eyes. "You see, I can tell...that you're the one...you're suffering much more than I. You're the one who's all torn up abut the fate of the main and side branches of the Hyuga Clan."

Those words seem to have broken a dam inside of Neji, and despite it being obvious that his cousin can no longer fight, he charges at her, intending to strike the final blow. The proctor holds up his hand in protest. "Neji, no! The match is over!"

But he doesn't listen, forcing the proctor to spring into action, sprinting towards the two Hyuga in an effort to save Hinata's life. But he's not alone. Kakashi flickers down onto the floor, grabbing hold of Neji's outstretched arm. The proctor holds a finger to Neji's forehead, while Kurenai holds onto Neji's other arm, and his own sensei wraps his arm around Neji's neck.

His sensei is far from pleased. "Neji, get ahold of yourself. You promised me that you wouldn't let this whole head family thing get you riled up!"

Neji grits his teeth, his chakra still spiked. "Why are you and the other jounin butting in? The head family gets special treatment, huh?"

Hinata coughs again, falling to her knees as more blood pours out of her mouth. Her sensei catches her, and Naruto grabs my hand as we jump over the railing and sprint towards her, along with Sakura and Lee. Naruto's voice gets a little shrill. "Hinata!" He slips out of my grip as we get close. "Hinata! You okay!?" He slides into a kneeling position next to her, so I slow down to give them a moment.

"N-Naruto?" Her breath comes out unevenly as her eyes travel over Naruto's face. "I...just...I...do you..." Her voice fades, her eyes closing from exhaustion.

I walk over and nudge Naruto aside. "Come on, she needs medical attention." He nods silently, moving over to let me sit next to her.

"Hey you, loser!" Obviously, Neji is talking to Naruto, though unlike Sasuke calling him that almost playfully, this time, it's full of malice. "I have two pieces of advice for you. First of all, if you intend to call yourself a shinobi, stop that stupid cheering of yours it's disgraceful. And second, once a failure, always a failure, you can't change that."

I grit my teeth and ignore the jabs at Naruto, passing my hands over Hinata's chest in an effort to at least make a diagnosis and prognosis before I start doing any healing. Though it certainly doesn't help to have Naruto growling and running to tear Neji a new one. Thankfully, we have Lee to run interference.

Sakura looks down at me, her eyes wide with concern. "Is she...how is she?"

Hinata decides to answer that question for me by coughing up more blood. Kurenai panics, reaching for her sweater and pulling the zipper down. But before she can move to help Hinata, I grab her arms. "Stop, I need you to give me some room."

"But-" She looks at me with confusion written all over her face.

"No buts, now back away!" Though, instead of waiting and watching to make sure that she gives me the space I need, I fling Hinata's jacket open and press my ear to her chest. She's stopped breathing! And her heart is barely beating! She's gone into cardiac arrest!

No, this is one of the things you've made sure to study. You've learned how to do CPR, so get to it! Chakra fills my hands, and I press down on Hinata's chest, pumping her full of chakra in an effort to restart her heart. I know that I've got about four minute, maybe six to get her heart pumping blood again, otherwise she really will die.

That said, I'm still going to need help. "Get me a medical team in here, now! We've got a code blue, patient is in cardiac arrest!" I need to be professional about this, but I can't forget that I'm a ninja, and I can do some things that other medics can't.

After about five pumps to her chest, I draw my hands back and weave a few hand signs. I concentrate chakra into my mouth, hoping that I don't misjudge the chakra quantity and kill her with it. Wind Style: Air Cushion! I tilt Hinata's head back and breathe right down into her mouth, my breath infused with chakra, as though for one of my wind style ninjutsu. But, I don't blow nearly the whole jutsu in, just enough to fill her lungs. Then, I press down on her rib cage, praying that I don;t break her ribs in the process, and pump down, shockwaves of chakra filling the room with every pump.

Once the air is out of her lungs, I repeat the process, over and over, a total of six times. Footsteps hurry towards us just as Hinata starts breathing again. And with her breathing again, I release the rest of the jutsu into the air and focus my energy into repairing the damaged muscle tissue of her heart. The medical team can do the rest, but her heart is what needs saving right now.

"We're here!" The medics run up with a stretcher and two of them kneel next to me. I keep my hands where they are and look up at the medical team. She's been in cardiac arrest once, but her heart is badly damaged, and she could go back in at any moment. She need emergency treatment immediately, and then a transfer to the ICU."

"Right away, Miss." I recognize one of the medics as one of the interns who attended to me when I was little, who I learned a little rudimentary medical ninjutsu from, before running off to study on my own. The other two the medics carefully extract her from under my hands, placing her on the stretcher before they start walking away with her. The third medic bows to me. "Thank you for your assistance, Lady Shiryugu. We will take it from here." Then, he turns tail and jogs after the two other medical staff.

"Hinata..." Naruto watches them disappear with her, his eyes full of pain for our old classmate. Then, he turns around, kneeling so that he can touch a puddle of Hinata's blood. He swipes his fingers through it, then rises to face Neji. "I vow to win."

I watch as determination flickers through Naruto's eyes, then I sigh and pull on his arm. "Let's go. The faster we get to the next match, the faster we get to the next round. You can have him in the finals.""Yeah..." Naruto lets me pull him away as a cleaner comes in to mop Hinata's blood off the floor.

This is why I hate that damn Gentle Fist...