A/N: Forgive me for the long wait! I got a little sick, so I had to take a few days to recover. Hope you all like it!
Time for chapter 15
Enjoy!
Hinata shivered slightly as she silently observed two distant figures from behind a tree. It was nearly midnight, but she had completed her drilling several hours previously, meaning that she had the freedom to do as she pleased until the next day. Her curfew had been informally removed after Hiashi had discovered the reasoning behind her tardiness, something the Hyuga girl was extremely grateful for. The two people she was using her new freedom to observe were Naruto and Kakashi, who were sparring in the training field, as they always seemed to be at this hour.
Under most circumstances, such a sparring session would be completely uninteresting to the Hyuga heiress, as Naruto's technique was still fairly sloppy, but this occasion was different.
'For all of the problems with how he goes about it, Naruto-kun's taijutsu is evolving. Quickly, at that' she thought to herself as she observed the blonde engage with their teacher again and again. The finer details of his taijutsu were still rough and crude, but the application of his techniques was much better than it had been before. On top of that, he was actually making attempts at defensive maneuvers, failing many of them, but attempting all the same, which was an enormous improvement from how he had been.
As she continued to observe the match, the more small details she noticed to be improved about his close-range combat. From small nuances of footwork to punching form, everything had sharpened. None of it was anywhere near perfect, but now, he appeared to be competent, which could not have been said about him even a week previously. That timeframe in which his improvement had to have taken place was what was beginning to bother the Hyuga girl as she watched him almost compete with Kakashi, who was clearly holding back, but was also not reading his orange-covered book.
'A week ago, I could have made a night out of silently critiquing his footwork alone, but now, I feel as though I myself may struggle with him a bit. How on earth has he improved so drastically?' she wondered to herself, a trace of indignation permeating the thought. She took a deep breath to calm herself down as she begrudgingly found herself becoming more and more impressed as Naruto and Kakashi exchanged leads and counters. The blonde had not won a single exchange, but he had not been blown out of the water either.
The longer she watched, the greater the bruise on Hinata's ego became. For an untrained until recently boy to have improved more in a week than she had in the past five years was a difficult pill to swallow, and it was still stuck in her throat, as she was internally seething.
'I shouldn't be angry. I have no right to be angry. But...this makes me angry' she scolded herself frustratedly. As she was having this internal crisis, somebody else joined her in watching the blonde train.
"You look perturbed" Shikamaru, who had silently made his way behind Hinata, said tiredly. The Hyuga heiress glanced over her shoulder and sighed heavily.
"What gives you that impression?" she asked. The shadow user chuckled and walked up to her left, keeping his eyes glued to the distant drilling session.
"You're shaking a little. That either means you're pissed or crying, and you don't seem like the crying type to me. Not at all, actually" he said. Hinata turned her attention back to Naruto.
"Excellent deductive reasoning, Nara-san. Would you like a medal?" she asked sarcastically. Shikamaru laughed out loud.
"You suck at hiding your emotions. Insulting me is just further confirmation" he said. The Hyuga heiress growled slightly, but took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
"What do you want?" she asked a bit more quietly. The lazy genin studied her momentarily before asking the obvious question.
"Why are you angry? You're watching Naruto, the only person outside of your family that you seem to give a damn about, on a good day at least, train. That seems like it would be a good time for you" he asked curiously. Hinata pursed her lips and exhaled through her nose as Naruto and Kakashi began to work on a jutsu of some kind.
"It isn't something you would understand with your lack of motivation" she replied stubbornly. Shikamaru sighed and gave her a bored look.
"Quite being difficult and tell me. I'm not stupid, I can empathize enough to understand whatever your reasoning is" he said. The Hyuga girl remained silent for a moment before caving and revealing her dilemma.
"His progress in taijutsu is absolutely astounding. A week ago, he was bordering on incompetence, and now he's actually a perfectly respectable striker. He moves, he pivots, he counters, the works. One week, Nara-san. One week of work with Kakashi-sensei and this is the result" she said through clenched teeth. The shadow user raised an eyebrow.
"That's a good thing, Hinata. Why the hell would his progress bother you?" he asked, well aware of the answer he was bound to receive. Hinata threw up her hands and turned to face him fully.
"It isn't the progress itself that bothers me. It's the time-frame. He has never been formally trained until now, and he's seen more growth in seven days than I have in the past half-decade! Can you not see why this angers me?" she asked somewhat loudly. Shikamaru frowned.
"So, his progress makes you angry because you aren't progressing at the same rate?" he asked. The Hyuga heiress opened her mouth to deny the question, but shut it again when she realized he was likely correct.
"Yes, that's exactly what it is. He makes me feel inadequate" she admitted quietly. Shikamaru shook his head and rubbed his temples.
"It isn't exactly the same thing, but I'm assuming that you've heard of the term 'beginner's luck'? He's never been given proper training, so he's reaping the benefits of actually learning the proper basics for the first time. Of course he's improving quickly" he said. Hinata grumbled a bit.
"Be that as it may, I deserve the improvement more. I break my back day in and day out for this, and he can't say the same. He works hard, but not in the same way" she said sulkily. In a rare moment of anger, Shikamaru's hand shot forward and seized the front of her shirt, pulling her forward several feet until their faces were inches apart.
"Oh, that's just rich. You want to talk about working hard? Just read between the lines. You see him every single morning at our group sessions, and you watch him train at night from the looks of things. Do you think he just sits around all day? He trains nineteen hours per day. He 'breaks his back' for this even more than you do, princess" he hissed angrily. He then released her and pushed her back. Hinata regained her balance quickly and glared at him.
"I've never liked you much, Hinata, but I figured you were above petty jealousy. Fix that problem if you want either my or Naruto's respect. You've almost got Naruto's, but you might lose it if you keep thinking the way you do" he said as he turned to walk away. Before he could fully exit the training field, he glanced back over his shoulder once more.
"Look, I care about the guy, and I think you do too. I watch him progress and I feel a sense of second-hand pride. You should experience the same feeling while watching him" he said as he faded into the distant night. Hinata watched him for several moments before wheeling around and returning to her previous viewing position.
'Even if you're right, Nara-san, I'll still use the exams to show you both why the future of the village's largest clan falls to me, and not you'
Naruto stretched as he walked through the streets of Konoha. It was roughly noon, and Kakashi had decided to grant him an unusual day off for unknown reasons. The Chunin exams were now eight days away, and the blonde had made substantial progress in most areas of combat, save for genjutsu, which he was completely hopeless at.
'Genjutsu is stupid. It doesn't make any sense. I won't really be needing it anyways, so it doesn't really matter in the end' he thought to himself as he walked along. After a few minutes of travel, he came across a fascinating sight.
'Is that...Konohamaru?' Naruto wondered as he watched the Hokage's grandson be dragged along by a girl around the same age as him. She had long brown hair, a hard facial expression, and pale, lavender colored eyes. The Jinchuuriki immediately recognized the girl from the Hyuga estate, where he had seen her twice.
'A Hyuga is torturing you too, Konohamaru? I guess it's in their blood' he thought to himself humorously. He then jogged his way over to the academy students, gaining their attention with his rapid approach.
"Boss! You've gotta help me! She's insane!" Konohamaru, who was still being pulled towards an unknown destination by the Hyuga girl. The girl glared at him and yanked harder on the arm she was latched onto.
"Silence, Konohamaru-san. You said that you would have lunch with me, and I will not allow you to go back on your word" she said sternly as she dragged him. Konohamaru shook his head and struggled harder.
"I told you I was hungry. I never said anything about eating with you!" he corrected frantically. Naruto struggled to suppress his laughter as he watched the children bicker.
"Man, I know how you feel. You may as well give up, kid. Hyuga woman are more than a little stubborn" he suggested. The remark earned him a glare from the girl.
"Don't generalize, Uzumaki-san. Yours and Konohamaru-san's experiences with myself and my sister are outliers, not the mean. Besides, I am far more aggressive and socially confident than Hinata-nesan has ever been" she snapped. The Jinchuuriki frowned.
"Wait, you're Hinata's sister?" he asked skeptically. The girl quit pulling on Konohamaru and nodded.
"Yes, my name is Hanabi Hyuga. Before you ask, I know who you are through my sister, whom you have greatly affected in recent weeks" she replied. Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"You make it sound like she talks about me" he said. Hanabi giggled and seized Konohamaru, who had silently been trying to slip away amidst the exchange of words, by the back of his collar.
"Oh, yes, she had mentioned you by name several times. She speaks quite...favorably of you, in case you were wondering" she said. The Jinchuuriki chuckled.
"That's a surprise. I think she's mad at me right now. Not sure why, but she was glaring at me a lot during our morning exercises" he said. Hanabi sighed and locked Konohamaru in a full-nelson to prevent any more movement from him.
"Do not worry. He ire has little to do with you as a person" she said vaguely, earning a questioning look from the blonde.
"Could you stop trying to bend me into a pretzel, Hanabi?! It hurts!" Konohamaru whined as he was held in place by the Hyuga girl.
"Then quit running away. Do that, and I will gently lead you along towards our destination" Hanabi said. The Hokage's grandson grumbled to himself a bit before nodding and relaxing, prompting the Hyuga girl to release him from the painful grip and settle beside him.
"What do you mean her being mad at me has nothing to do with me as a person?" Naruto asked skeptically. Hanabi shrugged and began to pull Konohamaru along once more.
"Ask her yourself. Although, I doubt you'll get a straight answer. She can be difficult that way" she called over her shoulder before rounding a corner with her begrudging companion in tow. The Jinchuuriki stared in the direction they had walked for several moments before chuckling and turning to walk to Ichiraku's
'No thank you. I don't have a death wish'
Kakashi Hatake was, generally speaking, a man of excellent manners. He kept his elbows off the table, he cleaned his plate properly, he held the door for women when the opportunity arose, and he used proper honorifics when the situation called for them. Today, however, he was far too tired to bother with something as trivial as etiquette. This lack of social energy was demonstrated quite clearly when he simply walked into Hiruzen's office, completely uninvited, without knocking.
The sight within was unexpected, to say the least, as the Hokage's nose was buried in an identical, orange-covered book to the one Kakashi read daily. The two men stared at each other for several moments before they came to a silent agreement to forget that either one of them had seen or heard of such literature.
"What brings you here, Kakashi?" the Hokage asked politely. The jonin sighed and sat himself down in a chair across from the old man at his desk.
"I have an unusual request regarding the Chunin exams" he said, earning a look of interest from the ancient Kage.
"Oh? And what kind of request is it? I'm in a pleasant mood, so I may be able to grant it if it isn't too ludicrous" he asked curiously. Kakashi gathered his words for a moment before speaking.
"Should my team make it through the Forest of Death, which both you and I expect them to do fairly easily, would it be at all possible for you to set a match in stone for the preliminary matches?" he asked. Hiruzen stroked his bearded chin and narrowed his eyes.
"Before I confirm or deny this request, tell me what match you would like to ensure and why" he ordered firmly. Kakashi remained silent for several moments before following the order.
"I want you to ensure that Naruto and Hinata fight during the exams" he said. The Hokage nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"As for why, I think it should be fairly obvious to you, Hokage-sama. They have differences to sort out" he said. Hiruzen frowned.
"Do they? From my vantage point, Hinata seems to be warming up to him considerably compared to where they were less than a month ago. Are you sure you want them fighting?" he asked skeptically. The silver haired ninja nodded.
"From Hinata's perspective, at least, problems need to be solved, and there's no other way to solve them than to let them hash it out in combat" he said. Hiruzen frowned once more.
"What have you seen to give you this idea?" he asked. Kakashi sighed.
"Where to begin…"
A/N: Plot development! Gotta love it. Writing Hanabi's torture of Konohamaru was pretty fun too. Hope you all enjoyed!
See you next chapter! Read and Review!