AN: So let's see how this all plays out.


Naruto, eyes wide in surprise, shifted his hand slightly. Almost immediately, Sakura felt the force pulling her towards the boy lessen, inverting itself to halt her momentum. The girl dropped to the ground between her two erstwhile teammates. The three of them stared at one another.

"Umm… Hi?" Naruto said, more than a little confused. "I thought you were off training with the toad sages."

Behind Sakura, the downed beast writhed, its mask gone, but its body still functional. "What the hell is HE doing here!?" Sakura asked, pointing at Sasuke before turning to look at him. "I thought your brother kidnapped you or something."

"What? No!" Sasuke protested. "I went off to train with him because he's my brother!"

"But you hate him!" Sakura shouted, confused and more than a little angry. "He killed your family!"

"Oh yeah," Naruto murmured in realization. "I hadn't had a chance to tell you since you got back. Turns out Itachi's innocent, someone else forced him into it."

The formless beast gradually began to slow its movements, seemingly regaining some small measure of control. It slowly pulled itself to its feet, emitting a keening wail from somewhere within itself.

The three young ninja glanced over at the thing, irritated by the interruption. "I guess we should finish killing that thing, huh?" Naruto muttered. Sasuke darted towards the thing, once more glowing that faint blueish hue. The movement was almost too fast to track as Sasuke shoved his sparking hand through the creature's tentacular mass of a body, leaping upwards as he sliced the thing cleanly from crotch to head. The squirming mass broke apart in an instant, individual tendrils pooling on to the floor in a jumbled heap as they slowly dissolved, leaving behind a cluster of objects that looked unsettlingly like human organs.

"Why are you here, Sakura?" Naruto asked, hiding his eyes once more in the hopes that Sakura hadn't noticed them in the dancing firelight.

The girl turned to him, a determined look on her face. "My team was instructed to retrieve you and facilitate your safe return to the leaf village," she said coolly.

Naruto chuckled. "Well, you can go ahead and try if you think you- wait a second, your TEAM?"

Sasuke, wiping his hands clean of the residual gunk from killing the monster, looked across at the other two, curious.

"Yo," called a voice from nearby, one that Naruto had no trouble recognizing. Kiba. "Sakura," he called, approaching at a jog. "Please don't run off ahead again, it's dangerous."

Sakura cocked an eyebrow at her momentary teammate at that. "I can handle myself," the girl replied, dangerously quiet.

"I'm sure you can," said another new voice, barely audible above the crackling flames. "But we are supposed to stick together, Sakura." Shino. So that meant Hinata must be here somewhere too.

Naruto turned to face his teammate. "So," he said quietly. "The four of you were sent out to capture me?"

"Retrieve you," Sakura corrected. "It was assumed you were kidnapped and I'm not going to say any different when we get back. That way, you stay out of trouble."

Naruto sighed. "I'm not going back, Sakura. I need to do this."

Sakura shook her head sadly, trying to ignore the small part of herself that was secretly thrilled she'd be getting to fight Naruto soon. "I'm sorry to hear that, guess we'll just have to drag you home then." The girl glanced over her shoulder at the dark haired boy. "Sasuke too."

Naruto and Sasuke laughed. "Really?" Sasuke asked. "The three of you-"

"Plus Hinata," Naruto interrupted.

"Four of you," Sasuke amended. "The four of you are honestly going to try fighting me and Naruto?"

Kiba growled at this, Shino remained impassive. Sakura, for her part, simply nodded.

The two boys stopped laughing, both turning serious in an instant. "Well," Naruto murmured.

"Okay then," Sasuke finished.

Sakura saw it coming and moved to react, too slow. Sasuke practically vanished, reappearing before Kiba and planting his fist into the other boy's gut, his whole body glowing that strange electric blue. The tousle haired boy's eyes went wide, his mouth opening as the air was forced hard out of his body. The force of the blow lifted Kiba bodily off the ground, sending him sprawling some distance through the burning forest. Naruto, for his part, drew his fans from the sheaths at his hips in a flash. He drew them out to the sides and then swept them forwards, sending a massive gust of air rocketing at Shino.

The bug ninja had doubtless had some plan in the works, but his bugs were hampered by the flames and Naruto's attack was likely a further problem. The blast struck the boy dead on and sent him flying towards a tree. Fortunately, the gust also served to extinguish a number of the fires throughout the small patch of forest.

Sakura groaned, deeply frustrated. "Fine," she amended. "I intend to fight the two of you with just Hinata." As if on cue, the blue haired girl dropped from the trees between Sasuke and the still conscious, but definitely the worse for wear Kiba.

"I will be your next opponent," Hinata said, quiet and calm, tinted with just barest hint of anger as she looked Sasuke dead in the eye. The dark haired boy, quite sensibly, gulped.

Sakura turned to Naruto, her expression determined. "And I will be yours," she said, in a tone that left no room for disagreement.

Naruto sighed. "Fine, just let me put out these fires first. Don't want Shino burning to death over there."

Sakura hesitated, but nodded, waiting while Naruto quickly and efficiently used his wind to extinguish the rest of the fires. "Now then," the boy said, returning his gaze to his teammate. "Show me what the toads taught you."


Hinata struck rapidly, sending a fierce flurry of blows raining down towards the Uchiha. Sasuke used his lightning step to evade, shifting himself behind the girl and aiming a punch at her back. Hinata didn't even flinch at his speed, her hand darting behind herself to slap Sasuke's blow aside. The girl turned to face the boy, her eyes blazing with a fire he had never seen there before.

Sasuke cocked his head to the side. "Jeez, Hinata, what got into you over the last year?"

Hinata let out a single short huff of laughter. "Youth," she replied, before continuing her assault, raining blow after blow towards the boy with a precision and speed that did credit to her clan.

Sasuke was shocked. He had expected the girl to be a challenge, maybe even for her to justify using his godspeed technique. He had never even considered that she might be able to counter it. The boy was faster, he knew. There was no doubt in his mind about that, but it was a moot point when the girl moved with such efficiency, her reaction times even putting his Sharingan enhanced abilities to shame. The bout continued in a furious stalemate for almost seven seconds, during which the two exchanged dozens of blows, none of which hit their mark. Eventually, frustrated, Sasuke jumped back, changing tack. The boy began to make his hand-signs, readying his jutsu.

The girl's fist slammed into his stomach, knocking the breath from him and sending him sprawling several feet. Sasuke gagged.

"Primary lotus," Hinata said quietly, her voice calm. "Feel that, Sasuke? That's how Kiba felt when you punched him in the stomach."

Sasuke gazed up at the Hyuuga girl in stark terror. The primary lotus? If Hinata had learned Lee's technique then her speed-

Sasuke's trail of thought was cut off as Hinata picked him up off the ground by the scruff of his neck, throwing him like a rag doll towards Kiba. Sasuke landed in a sprawl in the dirt. Kiba had managed to work himself into a sitting position and was clutching his stomach, gazing down at Sasuke with a look that was something like pity.

Sasuke looked up at the other ninja, confused and scared. In a weak voice, he asked "What the hell happened to Hinata while I was gone?"


A year ago, Hinata:

The two young shinobi sat across from one another, desperately looking anywhere but at one another. The date was going… poorly. Lee had invited Hinata to accompany him to a newly opening Ice cream parlour and the girl had agreed, it had sounded like fun. The only problem, neither of them had spoken a complete sentence for twenty minutes now.

"The weather…" Lee tried, half heartedly, before clamming up once more, going a vibrant shade of red.

"Cloudy…" Hinata replied, staring at her sundae as though it might somehow rescue her.

"…Yes." The boy agreed, his voice tiny.

Internally, Hinata berated herself. After all that effort, was this all she could manage? Was she really still just a frightened little girl? The internal abuse stirred something up in the back of her mind, a memory.

"D-did you… really mean it?" The girl asked.

The boy seemed to panic, mentally reviewing their entire list of half conversations since entering the small shop. "Did I mean the weather was cloudy?" He asked, nervous?

Hinata shook her head. "A-at the tournament. Did you mean it when you said anyone could be extraordinary? That potential didn't matter?"

The nervousness faded from Lee, replaced by a fiery passion in a single instant. "Yes," he said, nodding fiercely. "I believe that with every fiber of my being. We can be whatever we aim to be."

Hinata nodded, glancing across at the boy before once again averting her eyes. "C-can you help me do that too?"

Lee cocked his head to the side, nonplussed. "What?" He asked.

"I… I don't have potential." Hinata said, her voice tiny as she tried to hold back the tears. "B-but I don't want that to stop me. I want to be stronger, faster. I-I'll do anything to get there. P-please help me, Lee!" The girl lowered her head to the table, half in supplication and half to hide her tears. Lee sat in silence, stunned.

"Is that so?" Came an adult voice from nearby.

Hinata jerked her head around, panicked. Sitting in the next booth, hidden from view by numerous pot plants, sat Maito Guy, accompanied by Neji and Tenten, both of whom were looking away, blushing.

"W-what are you three doing here?" Hinata asked, thoroughly confused. "I thought Lee told you we were meeting up here, why did you come?"

"That doesn't matter," Guy replied, his students averting their eyes in a way that suggested it well and truly did. "What's important right now is what you just said. Are you really willing to do anything to get stronger? Go as far as and further than it is possible for you to go?"

Hinata nodded, determined. "I'll go as far as I have to."

"Then it's settled!" The Jonin exclaimed, loud and proudly, seizing the girl by the shoulder and practically lifting her along with him as he made for the exit. "Come on Lee! We have to give your girlfriend here the training of a lifetime!"

What followed could only be described by Hinata as the most gruelling and yet, strangely rewarding afternoon of her life. Hinata was left broken, her entire body aching and sore. The next morning, completely ignoring the stiffness in her joints and the protests of her muscles, Hinata arose early and joined Lee and his sensei for more. When she spoke, it was about training, when she met up with Lee, it was for practice. It was after several weeks of this, the most extensive and challenging training regimen on the planet, that Hinata and Lee shared their first kiss.

It had been a year since then.


Kiba did not respond to Sasuke's question immediately. Instead, he shuddered a little. "I asked if I could train with them once," he whispered, his face going pale. "Never again."

Hinata appeared, as if from the very aether, standing over Sasuke's terrified form. "Well?" She asked. "Are you sorry for hurting Kiba like that?"

White as a sheet, the boy nodded.

"Say it," the girl said quietly.

"I'm sorry," he practically whimpered.

"To Kiba," Hinata advised.

"Sorry Kiba!" Sasuke yelped, turning his face towards the other boy, who nodded, looking equally terrified.

"I forgive you," Kiba whispered quietly.

Hinata nodded, smiling a carefree smile. "Good," she said happily. "I'm glad. Now we can take you back to the village, Sasuke."

The boy's terror vanished, replaced instantly by a cold certainty. "Not happening." He shook his head.

Hinata sniffed slightly, disappointed. "That's a shame," she muttered. "I hoped I wouldn't have to do this."

The girl's fist plunged towards Sasuke like the wrath of god, impacting with a sound like the roar of the sea against a mountainside. Sasuke glared up at the girl from behind his ghostly barrier, unflinching, before pulling himself to his feet. "Susanoo," he murmured, giving name to the ghostly ribcage that hovered all around him. "Let's get serious."


AN: Something vaguely witty and intelligent about strong female characters and wanting to do Hinata justice. All that. Woo.