Hello!
Thanks for the reviews, keep up the replies, anything to do with the chapter would be great, I'm a learning writer, so i need teachers!
I'm currently finishing editing my first two chapters, i'll repost them soon.
Hope you enjoy it! R&R
-Inky
Hinata stared dazedly at Shino ahead of her, panting from the strain of sparring for so long. A whole hour... sparring. She had not done that in so long. Even in real battles she had only faught for minutes, each segment breaking before continuing so she could regain her stregnth and some of her wits.
But part of what Kurenai had always admired about her was her stamina. She could keep going, forever if need be. The problem was that usually she never did enough damage. It 'did' take forever for her to win against an opponent, and that was when she wasn't being torn to bits because she wasn't moving away fast enough.
As if to prove her right Shino shot forward rapidly, his expression unreadable behind the high neck and dark glasses. With a sharp gasp Hinata hit the ground and rolled, holding her stomach where he had connected rather well.
In her day dreaming she had not realized he could move so fast.
"Hinata."He stated, the worry in his voice just barely audible. Kiba too jumped from his perch in a nearby tree and walked over quickly.
"I'm okay." Hinata mumbled, pushing herself up to a sitting position, arms wrapped around her stomach, still gasping for air. "It's my fault for not watching."
Shino crouched by her, eyeing the many bruises that Kiba and himself had inflicted on Hinata's usually flawless skin. "Perhaps we should stop for the day."
"Oh." Hinata sighed, trying to regain her composure. "H-hai. If you want."
They nodded both at once and turned to start picking up the loose bits of shattered shuriken that littered the training site, just behind the trees that held the river bank up.
Hinata watched them quietly, listening to the sound of the wind through the tree branches and the river flowing ceaselessly behind her.
"Come, Hinata-chan." Kiba called, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "We'll walk you home."
Hinata studied them for a moment, pondering how she could get out of the offer without insulting them and without full out lying. Frowning slightly she glanced over her shoulder at the river and the sunset that was beginning it's beautiful decent in the distance.
"Arigato, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun. Demo... I-I think I'll stay behind. I j-just want to watch the sunset."
The two boys eyed her warily, but she did seem tired enough to stop. She had yet to move from her position on the ground where Shino had left her.
Shrugging Kiba sighed. "All right, Hinata.. we'll see you later."
"H-hai!" She smiled, waving at them as they turned to leave.
Letting out a breath once they disappeared she pushed herself up, grunting softly from the pain. Glad that no one was around she lifted her shirt up to reveal her stomach. Right where she expected there was a giant red spot. It would soon be turning a dull purple.
Wincing she lowered her shirt again, wrapping one arm painfully around her torso. Shino-kun hadn't been holding back since she had demanded that he stop. It felt degrading to have her friends hesitate to fight her with their full power.
But then again, out of everyone she knew, they would be the only ones to actually bother fighting her, even if they were giving her a handicap. Others wouldn't even bother. She wasn't worth their time.
Gloomy from the realistic thoughts she moved towards the river. She had intended to train, as soon as they vanished from view, but perhaps she would be truthful to her friends and watch the sunset... it really was a beautiful thing at that moment anyway.
Heaving what seemed to be the millionth sigh she sat down at the river bank, watching the rushing water with curiously far away eyes, leaning her chin lightly on her knee.
Her training wasn't getting any better, every day she spent with Shino and Kiba she felt Hanabi's words rest heavier on her shoulders. It was true, too true that her training with them was not helping her that much. It had already been three weeks since her tantrum at the training site on the other side of the village and she felt like she had not improved her fighting style at all.
Nothing she did seemed to help, partly because she didnt even know how to pinpoint the problem. It was like she had hit a wall in her progress, and all she could do was ram herself against it's solid brickness until something broke. As of late, only she had broken yet.
At the thought, the bruise spreading across her stomach began to throb and she leaned back, flinching with the movement.
"I can't keep going like this... Sasuke was right, breaking my body isn't going to help me get stronger." She stared up at the sky, trying to stretch out her body so the bruise wouldn't ache so much.
Sasuke had been lingering in the corners of her mind since that incident in the training area so many weeks ago. She had not since him since the latest incident in the flower shop. His temper had left her with a bad taste in her mouth and a shaking fear of his obvious disgust. No, she wouldn't ask him for help... she couldn't.
Demo who else, who else would help me and actually move me forward?
Hinata shivered, huddling into herself. No, she couldn't ask... couldn't possibly... he already thought she was weak and bothersome-
Demo...demo he did help, he did stop both times to make sure I was okay... maybe, just maybe, he's not that bad...
Licking her lips nervously the Hyuuga leaned back, letting herself fall against the roughness of the riverbank.
She'd have to think about it.
"What the hell! Dattebayo- Sasuke you baka! That hurt!"
"Suck it up." Sasuke muttered boredly, twirling a shuriken on his finger, eyeing the fox infested blonde with a superior gaze. "It's just a scratch.'
"Scratches don't GUSH blood! I'm GUSHING BLOOD! Do you bloody hear me, Sasuke-teme!?" Naruto shouted back from across the training arena, ripping off his orange jacket and pressing it hard against his stomach which was in fact gushing blood, as he had stated.
Sasuke sighed, irritated by all the shouting. He never could understand that. What was the point of yelling? It didn't make the pain any worse, nor the words to the object of irritation any clearer.
As a matter of fact, it probably made them more muddied and harder to understand, therefore insulting in a loud voice was pointless and didn't actually satisfy anyone.
He sighed again, slipping the shuriken into his pouch lazily. "I'm going." He muttered. Naruto glared from across the field, wiping his bloody hands on his blood stained jacket.
"Figures, can't bloody take responsibility for anything- dattebayo."
"Shut up." Sasuke snapped, eyeing the surrounding area thoughtfully. He had stayed far longer than he had intended. As a matter of fact, well over two hours. He had only come in the hopes of meeting one of the Hyuugas. Initially he had insisted within himself that he was only interested in Neji- because of his powerful Byakugan capabilities and the fact that if riled up enough the genuis might actually pose a good fight.
Not that it really mattered- what mattered was that he had been studying the affects of a byakugan user on a sharingan user. If he could only figure out how to block the chakra points like the Hyuuga family he might be able to render the sharingan useless..
He could render Itachi's favorite weapon useless...
But Neji was an unlikely candidate to help him learn more about the Byakugan, the only other option was of course, his younger cousin.
Who he had offered to help with training anyway... but she hadn't come along asking. Figures, she's too shy. I was right about the offer being useless.
As if the gods were smirking broadly at him in his idiocy the darkened bushes rustled suddenly. He could hardly see through the darkness. The sun had set just a few minutes ago, and it's orange fingers were still staining the sky, but that wasn't nearly enough light to catch sight of whatever it was that was moving in the shadows.
Naruto jumped, blinking at the shivering bush.
"What the- dattebayo- what is that?"
"Hn." Sasuke replied, descriptive as ever, pulling his shuriken out and flicking it at the bush.
A gasp of surprise could be heard and then Hinata of all people fell out of the side of the bush, looking up at her hand, which was trapped against the tree behind her, her sleeve pinned there by the shuriken.
"Hinata-chan!" Naruto cried, running over quickly.
Sasuke stared, feeling a wave of neaseua hit him. Lucky blow... he usually didn't miss... if he had hit her... hell, the whole of the Hyuuga clan would have-
"Gomen! G-gomen... I just didn't want to- I was worried that I would- I'm sorry!" Hinata gasped, tugging at the shuriken with shaking hands.
"Are you okay?" Naruto gasped, crouching beside her. Hinata's face was red as an apple as he reached over her and tugged the shuriken out of the tree, finally setting her loose.
Then he froze, blinking at her in surprise.
"Hinata... what are you wearing?"
The girl blinked at the way he was staring at her, feeling the heat in her face take a sudden leap to a higher dimension of warmth.
She looked back down hesitantly at the black tunic style shirt and leggings. "Oh- ano, Sakura and Ino-"
"Hn." Sasuke scoffed suddenly, making both the other ninjas suddenly remember his existence.
"What the hell! You just dont throw shuriken like that, teme! You could have hurt her!" Naruto shouted suddenly, realizing he had yet to tell anyone off for Hinata's close call.
Sasuke looked indifferently at him. "Baka, what was she doing, sneaking around in the dark with two men training?"
Hinata's face coloured a little bit more. Despite it being so dark she was sure they could see it.
"Ano- gomen! I was... I was trying to wait until you were finished so that I wouldn't i-interuppt your t-training-"
Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's all right, Hinata-chan. Just don't sneak around like that- you might get hurt." He glared at Sasuke at the last bit, earning another impassive glance from the Uchiha.
"What was it you wanted?" Sasuke enquired, wondering if anyone would notice his overly talkative character at the moment. Truth be told he was wondering if maybe just maybe she was going to give him the ace he needed to get the power of the Byakugan.
"Oh- I-I..." Hinata began, turning another shade of red. "I j-just wanted t-to know if either of you h-had seen Sakura-chan and Ino-"
"No." Sasuke replied irritably, walking over to the puzzled looking Naruto and snatching his shuriken. "They've not been around."
'Oh." Hinata blinked at him a moment, hands up to her lips.
He stared, realizing just how small she was compared to him. She barely came up to his shoulder, and his back was broader than all of her.
Petite, he realized, she's... tiny.
"Gomen." she added again, bowing her thanks. "Arigato. I'll leave you t-two to t-train then." she mumbled, turning to leave.
"Wait." Sasuke snapped suddenly, making her blink at him over her shoulder, looking confused.
"How did I miss?" he asked, frowning at the whole in her sleeve.
Hinata looked at it took, blinking mildly. "Ano- I-I'm not sure... I think I-I moved..."
Naruto smirked, giving Sasuke a look. "She's faster than you."
"Hn." Sasuke grunted, turning away. Hinata blinked at him, confused. "Arigato." she said softly again, turning to trot off into the darkness.
"She's cute sometimes." Naruto stated randomly, sounding absent minded as he gathered his things. Sasuke glanced over at him, allowing himself to quirk an eyebrow while the blonde wasn't looking.
"Hn." he grunted, then he added. "She's tiny. Should she be walking around alone?' his eyes flickered to the absent minded blonde, waiting patiently for the reaction to come, but it didn't.
"Hinata's really good at taking care of herself, she'll be fine.' Naruto replied.
"She's still hurt from her training.' Sasuke lied, finally getting the kyubii's attention. "Hm." Naruto admitted, looking in the direction Hinata had gone.
"I guess I might as well walk her. She's just looking for Sakura and Ino and I need to see Sakura..." he cocked his head and stuffed the rest of his shuriken in his pouch. "See later, Sasuke teme!"
Sasuke followed, at a slightly slower pace. "I need to see Sakura myself." he replied irritably, lying smoothly despite himself. Naruto stared. "For what?"
Shit.
"A sleeping remedy."
"Can't sleep?" Naruto blinked at him in the dark as they walked along. He knew Sasuke had every reason not to sleep, it made sense. Unknowingly the blonde was being fooled. Sasuke just needed a reason to drag the request of training out of the Hyuuga princess. He desperately needed that Byakugan.
"Hn." he replied, neither a yes or a no. Not exactly a lie... and the remedy might actually be of some use.
Just as he was replying they turned a corner to see Hinata staring straight up at the heavens right where the stars were, her head thrown back, making her hair fall like a cascade down her back, light skin glowing by the light of the just waking moonlight.
The two boys froze, caught off guard by the display of surprising character from the usually shy girl. Goosebumps rose up over Sasuke's skin, he blinked, unsure of how to react.
"Whoa." Naruto stupidly stated, making the moment vanish into thin air. Hinata turned, startled, surprising both the boys again by her stance, it was almost halfway into battle stance... she truly was fast.
"Ano-!" she began, and Sasuke could tell by the voice that she was probably blushing horribly.
"Hey... Hinata-chan." Naruto began uncertainly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, for sneaking up on you- hehe, I guess we're even."
'Oh! H-hai-!" Hinata stared wide eyed in the dark at them, unsure of what to say. Naruto too was having trouble finding something so in a moment of complete irritation Sasuke grumbled.
"Sakura. We need to find Sakura."
"Oh!" both the ninja replied. "Right!" Naruto added. "Hinata, we were just going to go looking for Sakura, and it's getting dark... maybe you should just come with and... I dunno." he drifted off, sounding goofy. Sasuke gave him a look in the dark. What a baka. He was being so bloody obvious.
Hinata stuttered out sound that might have been complying. Irritated again Sasuke began to walk away, hands in his pockets, no longer willing to wait for them. They would follow.
And they did, a few seconds later both the other ninja were running to catch up, Naruto calling after him impatiently, Hinata as silent as ghost.
God, it would be an irritating walk.
Sake wasn't good for you, he decided that the moment he put the cup to his lips and drank down the first bit, feeling it burn dully all the way down his throat. The feeling was good, it managed to completely drown out the sound of Sakura, Ino and Naruto talking loudly to his right. Hinata was sitting the closest, by some accident and sad fare of fortune. Sakura had looked like she was going to say something but Ino had jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow.
It appeared that no one but Sasuke noticed this, and even he pretended not to, so he let it be. Hinata was quieter than any of them, he preffered her there.
And also he had to figure out a way of dragging out that request...
The three loud mouths were yelling at each other, Hinata sitting there looking a little red in the cheeks and out of place. Sakura was wearing bright pink and red, Ino was wearing purple and blue, Naruto was wearing orange. Hinata was wearing black.
And beside her was a dark blue shadow.
"You've been training." He stated suddenly, deciding to go about it as nicely as he could. Hinata jumped and turned to look at him as though she had forgotten he was there. She probably had. It was an interesting feeling. Most girls didn't forget. Meeting one that did was refreshing.
"Oh-H-hai, Uchiha-san." she nodded, hands reaching up to her lips already. She was uncertain. He pondered this, obviously he made her feel awkward. Well, it was mutual, it was even harder to talk to someone who didnt talk much than someone who could chatter on like Sakura and Naruto.
"How... did you know?' Hinata enquired, surprising him with a question of her own. Sasuke chidded himself. It was a reasonable question. For all she knew he was stalking her, it was the normal thought process of any teenage girl- he figured.
"Bruises." he nodded towards her forearms and the bluish yellowing dots all over.
Hinata stared down at her own flesh, surprised by what it could tell a watchful eye. "Oh." she stated, unable to think of anything else to say.
"How is it going?" he enquired, making his mouth let the words out. It felt like walking through water, the conversation was nearly impossible. He had to push hard. He never had to push hard with girls... they dropped at his feet, for crying out loud.
"Ano.. it's.. fine." Hinata mumbled, looking down at her fingers as she pressed them together softly.
"They're not helping, Shino and Kiba I mean, huh?" Sasuke smirked, tipping his head back to gulp down another cup of sake. Hinata didn't reply but watched silently as he drank the burning liquid.
"How does it taste?" she asked suddenly, making both of them blink in surprise. Sasuke put the cup down, looking at her quizzically. "The sake?"
She nodded, eyeing the cup curiously.
He studied her a moment before taking the bottle they had left by his side and tipping a small amount into it and offering it to her. "Try it."
Silence, long silence for a moment. Sasuke's eyes flickered over her shoulder at the other three who had been arguing only moments before and were now staring at them. Hinata had yet to realize she was being watched and took the cup.
Making sure not to let her know about the watching part Sasuke leaned his elbow carelessly against the counter, looking down at his hands as if nothing had changed.
Hesitantly the Hyuuga princess put the cup to her lips and sipped it.
Sakura and Ino gaped, along with Naruto. The same thought echoing in all of their heads.
They just shared a cup!!!!!!!!
Hinata's nose wrinkled in surprise and she let out a soft cough forcing a smirk onto Sasuke's lips as she put the cup down and rubbed her nose and lips with her small hand, eyes shut in surprise.
"Ouch." she mumbled.
"Hn." He replied, trying not to smirk too broadly in amusement.
"Uh..." Ino began, looking over at Naruto, trying to figure out something to say to get the conversation going again. "So I... um..."
"I gotta go." Sakura stated suddenly, standing up. Hinata turned, completely unaware of the situation. She had had her back to the others the whole time.
"Nani? Sakura-chan... okay... I'll see you tomorrow I guess."
"Hai." Sakura replied coldly, slipping out the door.
The other four blinked after her, one confused, one bothered and two unsure of what to do.
"I should probably be heading home too..." Ino began, gathering her stuff quickly. Naruto blinked at her a moment and then sighed, downing the rest of his juice before standing. "I'll walk you home, it's on the way to your house anyway." he mumbled.
Hinata blinked at both of them, feeling suddenly left out.
"Oh... uh... bye, Ino-chan, Naruto-kun." The two blondes flashed her quick grins. 'See ya, Hinata-chan." Naruto called, waving at her before following Ino out the door.
Hinata stared after them, unsettled and awkward.
Sighing she turned back towards the counter, blinking at her hands in confusion, something had happened, obviously and she had missed it. She'd have to ask Sakura-chan about that later...
"...I-I should probably head home m-myself." Hinata mumbled, stuttering more than she had the entire time she had been talking to him.
Sasuke nodded, tipping the rest of the sake in the cup into his mouth, completely unaware of just having used the same cup as the Hyuuga heir.
"I'll walk you home." he mumbled, slipping off the stool.
Hinata stared, halfway through strapping her pouch and head protector around her waist. "N-nani? Y-you don't have to... I d-don't live very far from-"
"It's fine." he cut in, putting a few coins down for the sake.
"Uh... oh, okay." she mumbled, waiting as he gathered his own stuff and followed her out the door.
"Are they helping then?" he asked again as they started to walk. It felt different walking with her now that she wasn't on his back. Hinata blinked at the ground.
"Kiba-kun and Shino-kun?"
"Hn." he replied, eyeing her thoughtfully. Her hands were fiddling with her sleeves.
"No... they aren't."
"Hn." he said again, stuffing his hands in his pockets, waiting for her to ask.
She didn't.
Shit.
"What are you going to do?" he asked, digging around for his last strands of patience.
Hinata eyed his shoes walking beside her. What was he trying to do? This felt like an interrogation, but he had offered to walk her home. She couldn't figure him out. It was one of the most horrible situations she had been in.
"I-I... dont know."
"Hm." he said, biting the inside of her cheek. She wasn't going to ask, maybe she had even forgotten that he had offered to help witht he training in the first place. That wasn't unlikely, it had just been a passing comment and he hadn't been too happy about it anyway.
"I could help." he stated again, wondering if he really could. He didn't even know what kind of training problems she was having.
Hinata started, turning to look at him in surprise. "...ano- hai?"
He nodded, looking away, trying to figure out suddenly what kind of problems she could have and if he could use them to get the Byakugan abilities out of her- or at the very least learn the style of gentle fist.
"M-maybe.. you could." she stuttered, watching him curiously. She hadn't been strong enough to ask, that would have been terrifying, he might have turned her down flat out, but he was the one asking then maybe it wouldn't be so bad and she could consider it.
"Ano... c-could you?" she enquired again.
Sasuke almost let out a sigh of relief. Christ, that had taken a long time.
"Sure. Tomorrow?" he stopped in front of the Hyuuga Estate gates. Hinata nodded.
"Training site at dawn, then." he added, pondering just how he could figure out what her problems were. Not that it mattered, that wasn't the point of the situation.
Hinata smiled, a rare occurence he figured, having never seen it before. "Arigato, Uchiha-san." she mumbled, bowing her thanks. "Bye."
Sasuke nodded again. "Sure." he mumbled, unable to ignore just a twang of vibrating in his chest.
She smiled again as she straightened and pushed through the gates, disappearing without another word. He frowned at the closed gates, clenching his fists in his pockets. For some reason he felt like calling her back and telling her the whole thing was off. He couldn't train her.
But he decided not to. He really needed that Byakugan- maybe just to get his conscience to shut up he'd help a little bit... if he could.
For all he knew she was hopeless.
Shrugging his tense shoulders he moved off into the darkness. Hopefully he would be able to wake without a serious hangover from all the sake again.
He was hopeless.
There is the next chapter! Rough draft, good draft soon to come
Read! Review!
-inky