I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.
Just as a warning, since I am finally entering canon territory the events of the manga that do not pertain to the Hyuugas will remain true as the story progresses. So while I'm sure you all are familiar with the original series story, eventually I will be getting to post timeskip and the new stories. So if you haven't read them, you have fair warning I'll eventually get there and spoil things. I just hope Kishi finishes the current arc before I reach it. I don't want to make up an ending to that. (He has plenty of time though, lots to tell before that.)
Hinata wanted to be happy. She was scared and nervous and excited, and she so very much wanted to be happy, too. But even as she held the silver piece of metal in her hand –Konoha's emblem beckoning her to a new life she'd never dreamed of having– the lonely, dejected boy watching the rest of their class celebrating kept a firm hold on her heart.
"Hinata-sama," Isamu urged softly, "Aunt Naomi and Hizashi-sama are waiting."
"Just give me a minute," she pleaded and ran across the yard before he could stop her.
Naruto's eyes followed her as she came closer, but none of their usual warmth could be found. Envy and anger took its place. She stopped in front of the tree swing he straddled unsure of what to say to him that could in any way cheer him up.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," was all that came out.
His gaze dropped to the forehead protector in her hands and a wry grin grew in place of the smile she normally enjoyed seeing. "Funny, you were supposed to be the one who didn't get to be genin."
"Maybe . . . maybe you can talk to Iruka-sensei and take the test again," she said, though the hope wasn't strong in her voice.
"It won't help if it's the clone jutsu still," he muttered. "I can do the others, why'd he have to fail me for that one!"
He was always so full of that eternal confidence and optimism that to see it ripped away was like looking into a gapping wound and having no idea how to stop the bleeding. The looks from the parents in the nearby crowd were as good as salt to his pain. Whatever it was that made the adults hate him –because that look reminded her most of the hatred she saw in branchers sometimes– Hinata didn't understand and refused to accept. He was all by himself and now he didn't even have being genin to look forward to. Decent people would be nicer than to ostracize him more.
"I'm sorry," Hinata repeated, knowing nothing else to say that wouldn't sound patronizing. If she could give him her spot she would. Like he said, she wasn't supposed to be the one who made genin.
"Hinata-sama," Isamu called from behind her. He waited a short distance away so as not to intrude on their conversation. "I'm sorry Hinata-sama, but we need to be heading home. You're technically still on punishment today, and it's best not to give your grandfather any reason to take that away." He nodded to her forehead protector.
Hinata looked between the two of them. She knew Isamu was right, but for all Naruto unknowingly hurt her, he was still her friend and she didn't want to leave him like this.
"It's okay, Hinata," Naruto said for her. "One of us should be genin."
"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun," she replied. Hinata was about to leave with Isamu when she turned back to her friend, her eyes as serious as she could make them. "If you need anything, come by the compound. I don't care if my aunt and uncle don't like it, you're my friend."
For a moment the bitterness left Naruto's face and the smile Hinata loved returned to its proper place. "Thanks, Hinata."
"Aniki and I get off at seven," Isamu said to Naruto as Hinata joined him. "If you do come by try and make to before then. No one can sneak Hinata-sama out of the compound as well as us." Isamu offered Naruto a consoling nod before ushering Hinata away.
"Thanks, Isamu-kun, for not being mean to him," she said once they were out of earshot. She knew the twins were well aware of what happened; after all, they'd seen her the day it happened, and if Neji knew that Naruto was the one she'd been sweet on, the twins definitely figured it out, too. She was fairly sure that made Naruto high on their 'didn't like' list.
Isamu sighed and glanced back to where Naruto sat now talking with Mizuki, another one of the instructors. "Not even I can kick a kid when he's that down. Besides, I still owe him one, and I don't like being in debt."
Hinata figured the 'one' was probably telling them where she was the day Neji didn't show. Osamu had told her Naruto was the reason they found out she was there. It had helped her a lot in getting over the hurt she felt around Naruto. He might not see her as a girl, but she was still important as a friend.
"Now then," Isamu started, a smile as bright as the sun filling his face, "unfortunate events aside, congratulations Hinata-sama. Make sure you wear that with pride."
Hinata gazed down at the forehead protector still in her hands and despite the sympathy she felt for Naruto, the happiness finally won out. She was genin!
"Are you going to put it on?" he asked.
Hinata shook her head. "I just want to hold onto it for now."
"Afraid Hyobe-sama might try and steal it right off your head?" Isamu joked.
Hinata laughed (thought a part of her wasn't fully sure it wasn't true). "I just like the way it feels."
"Then you'll love the way it feels on," he said, and mussed her hair for good measure. It'd been a long time since he'd done that to her, but then again when Neji became genin the twins started calling him 'chan' again, so maybe coming of age always made people think back.
Osamu was waiting at the gate, as usual, and a confused expression crossed his face until he noticed what her hands kept safe. "Don't you know you're supposed to come home wearing that so we all know you passed," he scolded playfully once they were in earshot.
"That's what I told her, Aniki, but she didn't listen," Isamu replied, taking up his place across from his brother.
Hinata curled her arms up and held the forehead protector against her chest. "I want to hold on to it."
"Well, congratulations, Hinata-sama. Glad to see you're not as stubborn as me and Otouto," Osamu said, leaning down to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Now you better do us proud. We'll be watching you."
Hinata almost thought she saw a smirk play on Osamu's lips as he looked at his brother, but she'd quickly returned her embarrassed gaze back to the forehead protector to avoid looking at either of them. "Thanks. I'll do my best."
"Go on," Osamu said with a quick shove her forward. "Aunt Naomi and Hizashi-sama are waiting for you."
Hinata hurried to the main house as fast as she could and earned a number of strange looks from the people she passed. The twins might have been right; she probably should have put it on just to let people know she passed the genin exam. A servant quickly motioned to Hizashi's office the moment Hinata entered the house. The halls never seemed so long before. She yanked the screen door open as soon as her hands reached the wooden frame and all the joy drained from Hinata before she finished entering.
Hyobe stood in front of Hizashi's desk. Anger was etched deep in his aging face, and Hinata would be amazed if he could speak as tight as his jaw was set. Instinctively, Hinata pressed the forehead protector against her chest until she could distinguish the metal rivets on the corners through her clothes. There was little doubt what would upset her grandfather to such a degree, the same thing he'd been angry about for the last three months.
Naomi waited behind Hizashi, a warm smile countering Hyobe's scowl. "Well, Hinata, come in already."
Hinata nodded and silently closed the door. Not that she wanted to be in the same room as her grandfather, but Hizashi and Naomi's presence helped keep her gaze up and looking at them all when she wanted nothing more than to look at the ground.
"You're not wearing a forehead protector," Hyobe commented with a strange mixture of hope and censure. "Did you fail the genin exam?"
"No," she answered –pleased her voice didn't shake– and held up her forehead protector for them all to see. "I passed."
"Congratulations," Hizashi said, successfully cutting off any remaining dissension Hyobe might make. It was weird for Hinata to watch her grandfather concede to Hizashi, and she knew it only happened when the argument came up about her being genin. Whatever her uncle said to make Hyobe act that way, Hinata wished he say it more often. She preferred Hizashi's decisions to Hyobe's.
With what was no doubt another dispute about her ended, hopefully forever now that the exam had passed, Hyobe strode out of the room. Hinata could feel his eyes on her even after the door closed again.
"Don't let your grandfather spoil this," Naomi said once he was gone. "Congratulations. We couldn't be more proud of you."
Hinata stared at the forehead protector in her hands the same way she had all weekend. Unlike Neji or the twins, Hinata's genin exam had ended up before a weekend break and she'd had two days now to go over the same question she'd had when she'd first received it. And now that she had to decide, the answer still seemed to elude her.
Hinata looked at her reflection in the mirror and gingerly lifted her bangs to reveal a bare, unmarred forehead. How could she possibly wear it as it should be worn knowing what it meant for a Hyuuga to have a covered forehead? The more she thought about it the more insulting it seemed. The heir to the clan covering her forehead? Konoha's forehead protector was important to the branch family; it covered the mark in such a way that no one outside the clan knew it even existed. For her to wear it the same way when she wasn't bound by the seal . . .
And yet, she didn't want them to think she was above covering her forehead or that she wanted to shove it in their faces that she was unsealed. There didn't seem to be an answer that wouldn't leave someone offended whether she covered her forehead or not.
She raised the forehead protector to her face as it should be and stared at her reflection for a moment. Her bangs normally covered her forehead, but that was just a hairstyle. To wear the symbol of Konoha on her forehead when it was bare beneath . . . Hinata couldn't do it.
Taking the two cloth bands in her hands, Hinata carefully tied the forehead protector around her neck and tucked it beneath the collar of her jacket. It might not be how it's supposed to be worn, but it was the only way she could bring herself to wear it. And she wanted to wear it.
Hinata took one last look at the smooth metal peeking out beneath her jacket and exhaled. "You can do it," she told her reflection over and over until the girl on the other side actually looked like she believed it. This was going to be an exciting and terrifying day.
With her confidence fortified, Hinata headed out to breakfast to say goodbye to everyone. Hizashi, Naomi, and Neji were all already eating when she arrived. Hinata joined them at the table and grabbed a small bowl of rice to nibble on. She was too nervous to eat anything substantial.
"Nice fashion statement," Neji teased as he took in where her forehead protector was located.
Hinata rubbed the metal as if it might give her a better response than the truth. It didn't. Hesitantly, and after a nice big bite that made her slightly nauseated to swallow, Hinata replied, "I didn't think it was appropriate to wear normally, not with what it means in the clan. I didn't want to insult the branch family."
Hizashi and Naomi exchanged a glance with more meaning than Hinata could read. Neji might have lived in the main house long enough to not care as much as most branchers about a bare forehead, but Hizashi and Naomi had once felt that difference fully.
Naomi offered her a subdued smile. "It looks wonderful where it is."
Hinata hoped the rest of the clan thought that as well. After poking and shifting her food around enough to pretend she'd eaten something, Hinata said good-bye and headed for the academy.
Hinata had asked Hizashi and Naomi all about what would happen as a genin over the last few months. Before, she'd never cared much more than what she knew from Neji or the twins, but now she wanted to prepare herself. She knew from what they said she'd probably have two boys on her team. They said that's the way most teams were because of unequal gender numbers. Since Naruto wasn't going to be a genin, Hinata really didn't have anyone she especially wanted on her team. So long as it wasn't any of the boys who used to tease her, she'd be okay with anyone really. Okay, maybe not an instructor as flamboyant as Gai would be nice, too.
As excited as she was, nothing prepared her for what she saw when she entered the classroom that day. For one solid moment she couldn't stop smiling. "Naruto-kun!" she called, hurrying through the mingling students to the blond boy proudly brandishing a forehead protector in place of his signature goggles. "Naruto-kun, you're a genin! Iruka-sensei let you take the test again?"
Naruto adjusted his forehead protector as a smug smirk filled his warm face. "Actually I kinda saved him."
"Saved him?"
"Yeah, well, some weird stuff happened that night, but Iruka-sensei said I can be a genin and so maybe we can be on the same team together," Naruto said.
Hinata's outlook on being genin immediately brightened. If they were on the same team then Hizashi and Naomi wouldn't be able to say anything about them being friends, and –maybe– being around each other all the time Naruto might see Hinata as a girl more than a friend.
"Yeah, you, me, and Sakura-chan, that'd be an awesome team," Naruto cheered to himself.
And there went that hope. Suddenly Hinata was very glad there was usually only one girl on a team. As much as she wanted to be with Naruto, spending all that time only to watch him moon over Sakura would test the confidence she'd managed to bring back that let her talk to him naturally again.
"Uncle Hizashi and Aunt Naomi said there is generally only one girl to a team, because of numbers and making the teams even," Hinata explained, though her smile was faltering a little.
"Eh, really? That sucks," he sulked, sinking low in his chair. "Well, as long as I don't get stuck with that stupid Sasuke I guess I'll be okay. Though, you or Sakura-chan would be great, too."
Hinata tried to keep her smile up. Being lumped in with Sakura was progress, she supposed. Not great progress, but he didn't say he's rather have Sakura than her. Hinata really needed to stop thinking of Naruto romantically. Naomi promised she would one day.
Naruto continued on without noticing any of the underlying frustrations in her. "Look at him, stupid Sasuke. He's just arrogant, thinks he's better than everyone, and all the girls just love him. What's so special about him?"
Before Hinata could even offer the fact she'd much prefer Naruto's company to Sasuke's, he was out of his chair, hopped up on the desk, and staring Sasuke down just inches from his face. Sometimes Naruto was a little too impulsive for her. She wanted to wait near the desk for his impulse to switch gears, as it tended to, but a herd of girls shoved her out of the way. Hinata was starting to agree with Naruto, what exactly made Sasuke the object of every other girl's affection? Or was Hinata just weird in her tastes?
She was halfway to an empty chair to wait it out when an evil stillness filled the room and threatened to choke the life from every breathing person. Hinata spun around just in time to witness Naruto and Sasuke disengage from . . . a kiss? She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but sitting seemed like a very good idea. Yes sitting and struggling desperately to rid her mind of the image burned deep into her exceptional Hyuuga memory. You couldn't function with byakugan unless you learned to memorize things in an instant or the dual far sight and present sight would drive you crazy trying to separate. Right then Hinata sorely wished she'd never learned that trait. But as much as most of her for once agreed with the squadron of girls beating Naruto to a pulp (though her feelings weren't for Sasuke), another part of her –the hurt part that would tell Neji about it just to have the affirmation of his reaction– was laughing hysterically very deep inside her. It really was funny; after all – with Sasuke!
Naruto climbed his way into a nearby chair and tried to recover from the legion of scorned girls. Hinata attempted to go down and snatch the seat across the aisle from him, but Iruka called everyone to attention before she could get up. She listened with mild attention as he congratulated everyone and made announcements. There was only one thing any of them were interested in anymore: their teams, and finally Iruka started announcing them. Her fingers twisted the hem of her jacket until pieces of faux-fur fluff came out in her hands. Would it really be so much to ask to be in Naruto's team?
Team one. Team two. Hinata focused on breathing. Team three. Team four. Still nothing. Team five. Team Six. Her jacket wasn't going to survive many more teams.
"Team seven: Uzumaki Naruto."
Hinata's breath caught in her throat.
"Haruno Sakura."
And she sighed as dejectedly as Sakura, while Naruto practically leaped for joy next to his pink-haired crush. It wasn't meant be, Hinata thought to herself to lessen the disappointment.
"And Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka finished.
Hinata almost felt sorry for Naruto. His best and worst choices on the same team.
"Team eight," Iruka continued, "Hyuuga Hinata," –Hinata perked up again– "Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino."
Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino? Hinata searched the students until the faces matched the names. Inuzuka Kiba was the boy with the little white dog. Hinata knew that certain families, like the Inuzuka, used animals as a part of their family techniques, but she had no idea how that worked. From what she knew in class though he was as big a loud mouth as Naruto, which meant Hinata was going to have to get used to a boisterous personality after all.
Aburame Shino was the exact opposite of Kiba in the entire class. He was more like Hinata, actually. Quiet and a bit of a loner, though Hinata had a feeling that was more by choice for him. She didn't know anything specific about the Aburame family, so his skills –other than slightly above average grades– were a mystery to her.
Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. Both came from well-known families in the village, so no civilian children like Neji had with Lee. That meant all three of them probably had family specific techniques, which would make it interesting to work together. At least both of them were better than having one of her old tormentors on her team. Hopefully they were nice.
Iruka spent most of the morning going over basic orientation simply to prolong their day it seemed. Hinata knew it had to be done, but now that she knew who her team was she was anxious (and terrified) to meet them properly. When he finally called for lunch break, all the new genin slowly searched the room for their teammates, some looking nervous like her, others rueful, while even fewer looked pleased. Friendships had been split and strangers thrust together. They were entering the real world now.
Hinata took a deep breath and headed for the teammate nearest to where she sat: Kiba. It was a little amusing to see the puppy sprawled on top of his head like a stuffed animal sewn onto his hood. It made Kiba look soft and fluffy and almost welcoming. Of course the scowl on his face fixed any preconceptions the puppy put in her mind.
"Why'd I get stuck with that creepy guy?" he muttered to himself.
"He–hello," Hinata stuttered, falling into her old habits the more nervous she got.
Kiba snapped around fast enough Hinata was sure his dog should've flung right off his head, but it lay there as lazily as before no matter what Kiba did. "Oh yeah, the Hyuuga girl."
"Hinata," she corrected.
"Right, right, Hinata," he dismissed, his eyes darting between her and Shino, who waited for the majority to leave the room before standing and heading their way. When he was close enough to hear, Kiba huffed. Maybe it was just the dog with him, but it sure sounded like a growl. "I guess we should all eat together and get to know each other and stuff. There's a balcony upstairs that's a good spot if nobody's got it yet."
Not having anything more preferable, Hinata nodded. Shino simply shrugged and headed for the door. This time Hinata was certain it was a growl – and not a puppy's.
A Hyuuga could generally get a decent feel for someone after a short interaction. It wasn't a life history, of course, but enough to start building a personality reference that byakugan could expand on. Kiba was practically as open a book with his emotions as Naruto, which made him easy to read. Shino on the other hand was a bit of an enigma. Too much of his face and body was covered to get a quick read on, and the parts there were visible showed nothing but calm. She'd need to take a look at him with byakugan if she ever wanted to get a serious read on him.
The balcony was still empty when they arrived. It was a nice view overlooking the village and with the day so clear it calmed Hinata to gaze out on the peaceful scene. Kiba and Shino took up opposite corners of the balcony, neither saying anything (Shino hadn't actually said a word since they met). It wasn't as if they were all close friends, Hinata reminded herself as she sat down a few feet away and unwrapped her bento. They all ate in silence for a few minutes, each sizing up the other.
Kiba was the first to speak up. "Let's make this simple. Every team needs a leader and obviously I'm it for this one. So just follow my lead and we'll be fine."
Hinata's smile strained, but she reluctantly nodded. It wasn't exactly what she was thinking –as far as she was concerned their jounin instructor would be the 'leader'– but she didn't feel like arguing with her teammates on their first day together. Besides, as much as Hyobe might want her to be one, Hinata wasn't a very good leader yet. From his corner Shino continued eating without even a glance up.
"Why don't we tell a little about each other," Hinata burst out before Kiba could enact any of the sinister thoughts rolling around on his face. "We're all from shinobi families. We–we should find out what we all can do that's family specific."
Kiba returned to his grumbling but calm demeanor. "Fine. I'm Inuzuka Kiba. This here's Akamaru," he said, pointing to the white dog on his head. "Inuzukas all use dogs. Me and Akamaru always fight together."
"He's adorable," Hinata said, fully meaning it as a compliment.
"He's a ninja dog," Kiba snapped. "Ninja dogs aren't adorable, they're fierce."
As if to discount everything his master said, Akamaru jumped from Kiba's head and trotted over to Hinata, happily nuzzling his face into her hand to be petted. From Shino's corner a distinctive snort could be heard.
"Akamaru! Stop that! Get back here now! You're a ninja dog, not some pet!"
Akamaru whined and licked Hinata's hand one last time before slinking back to his master. She'd wondered before, but now she was certain of it; it wasn't the scolding that made him shrink, but the words themselves. Akamaru was far more sentient than a normal dog.
"Well, how 'bout you, then," Kiba griped as he plopped the little dog back onto his head.
Hinata's eyes dropped from Kiba to her bento to the concrete balcony beneath her the more they stared at her. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata. The Hyuugas have a bloodline technique called byakugan. It lets us see chakra and also perceive places outside our normal range of vision."
She was starting to get uncomfortable with them looking at her, but thankfully Shino stole away all remaining attention as he carefully set his chopsticks across his bento and set the black box down. "I'm Aburame Shino. My family works with kikaichuu," he said in a voice deeper than she would have pictured from his body. It made him sound older than her or Kiba.
"Kikaichuu?" Kiba questioned. "You mean, bugs?"
Shino nodded and raised his hand palm out for them to see. From beneath the cuff of his sleeve a couple small black bugs crawled out to roam across Shino's skin.
"Oh, seriously they're in your clothes!" Kiba gagged, dropping his lunch to the ground. "Did you have to do that right now? I just lost my appetite."
"Perhaps you need a stronger constitution," Shino remarked blandly.
"Wanna say that again!" Kiba yelled, knocking away his discarded lunch to tower over Shino.
A sweet, light laughter stopped all three in their tracks. "My, my, this is going to be an interesting team, don't you think, Hinata?"
Near the balcony door stood a woman in a white, strapped outfit and eyes redder than any Hinata had seen in the village. The friendly smile she wore belied the power her posture professed. She looked at Hinata and waited for an answer.
"Y–yes," Hinata replied quietly.
Kiba relaxed back from his almost fight, too curious to be angry. "Who're you?"
"Yuuhi Kurenai," the woman replied, holding up a friendly hand to wave. "Nice to meet you. I'll be your jounin instructor."
A woman instructor. Hinata didn't even realize how wonderful it could be until the woman was standing right in front of her. She'd prepared herself to be the only girl in the entire team; it hadn't even occurred to her she might get a female instructor. Now that she had, though, Hinata did several jigs of joy in her head. A female instructor was worth anything Kiba or Shino were like.
"So then," Kurenai started, examining each one in turn, "it looks like you three have been doing a good job getting to know each other's abilities. That's smart. Before you can fight as a team you have to know what each of you are capable of. And you're all going to need that very shortly."
"We've already got a mission?" Kiba shouted, excitement burning in his eyes like a flash fire.
"You could say that. But before we get to that, I need to ask you for your forehead protectors."
Shino was the one to ask the obvious question, yet it sounded much more serious since he took the effort to ask it. "Why do you need our forehead protectors?"
"For a very important reason that I'll tell you once you give them to me," she replied sweetly. She was hiding something, Hinata knew, but she saw no malice in the woman's face. In fact, she thought she saw hope.
Reluctantly each new genin handed over the very item that marked them as shinobi to the older woman before them. Kurenai looked over each one individually, smiling as she moved onto the next.
"These mean a lot to those who see it," she said, watching the three of them as she spoke. "These tell the village you're here to protect them. That you're willing to die for them. It's not something that's to be taken lightly or frivolously. Only a few people each year get to continue to wear these after they meet their instructors."
Kiba, Shino, and Hinata all exchanged a confused glance. Kiba stepped up, not wanting to look the coward in front of them. "What do you mean, after they meet their instructors? We passed the genin exam."
Kurenai chuckled and seemed to haze a bit around the edges. "The genin exam's only half the test. If your instructor doesn't believe you're ready, they can send you back to the academy. So let's see if you're worthy or not. If you get these back from me, you can keep them, but make sure you get all three or none will make it." Her whole body twisted and swirled into itself until nothing was left on the balcony but the empty air and three baffled genin.
"What the hell just happened?" Kiba shouted.
"A genjutsu," Hinata answered.
"A very good genjutsu," Shino amended as he stood up. "I didn't even see her make the seals."
"I know it's a genjutsu!" Kiba yelled back, Akamaru biting down on his hood to keep stable. "I mean what the hell is this crap about instructors sending us back to the academy? Did either of you know that?"
Both Hinata and Shino shook their heads. She was still trying to wrap her head around what Kurenai said. She'd finally been given the chance to be genin and she might not get it? No one ever told her that. Not even Neji or the twins. Earlier generations must get a kick out of hearing their children squirm after this instructor test, why else would they keep it such a secret.
"Dammit! They could've warned us about this," Kiba snarled. "Listen, leave it to me. Nothing can hide from an Inuzuka's nose."
Shino adjusted his glasses, and somehow the minute motion drew as much attention as Kiba's howling. "Actually, I already know where she went. I didn't like giving up my forehead protector, so I left a one of my kikaichuu on it. The rest are tracking her to the west of us."
Hinata had to give Shino credit. He didn't even have Hinata's ability to see the deception in Kurenai and he still prepared for something. Hinata wasn't sure he was anymore leader material than Kiba or her (leaders tended to need to talk), but he definitely was the best strategist in the team it seemed.
Hinata activated byakugan and searched to the west of them. Just as he said, Kurenai was on the run, two forehead protectors in her hand. "I found her," Hinata confirmed and readjusted byakugan to near sight, "she only has two forehead protectors with he– Ahh!"
Hinata stumbled back as she looked at Shino with byakugan still active. She just stood there, gawking. There wasn't anything she could do but gawk. "The–they're under your skin. Not your clothes, your skin. Inside you."
Shino idly raised his hand and looked at it. "I see, your ability lets you see through more than distance. Interesting."
"Wait, you mean those bugs are crawling all up and down inside him?" Kiba asked.
Shino sighed and pulled back the sleeve of his jacket to reveal his bare arm with small holes pockmarking his skin. From one of the holes a black bug peeked out to twitch in their direction before burrowing back in. "My kikaichuu live inside me and feed on my chakra."
Kiba furiously scratched at his arm as if bugs might appear beneath his own skin. "How much freakier can you get?"
"You wear a dog as a hat," Shino countered.
"He's not a hat!" Kiba yelled. "That's just the easiest place for him to sit."
This wasn't turning out quite the way Hinata thought it would. She didn't mean to start a fight between them; she just hadn't been prepared to see thousands of bugs crawling along Shino's chakra veins. It was still a little unnerving to look at.
"Um, we should really go after Kurenai-sensei," Hinata interrupted. "She's getting further away, and she only has two forehead protectors with her."
Kiba glared at Shino and on his head Akamaru rumbled with a high pitched growl. Shino on the other hand remained as impassive as before. If Hinata could bring herself to look at him with byakugan again she might have finally seen something beyond the glasses and high collar, but she was still a little squeamish at seeing the bugs crawling inside him. That was going to take some time to get used to.
"We should locate the missing forehead protector before going after her," Shino suggested. "If all three are important then we should acquire as many as she leaves in traps for us before going after a jounin directly."
"Hey, we decided that I was going to be leader of this team," Kiba shouted.
Shino turned away and looked to the west. "I made no such agreement."
Hinata held up her hands to try and stop the argument from going into a fight before they 'officially' made genin. "Kiba-kun, you said you could find Kurenai-sensei, can you find the missing forehead protector instead? I could start searching, but it'd take a lot of time without a general idea of where it is."
Being looked to for help seemed to mollify his ego enough for him to focus again. Kiba smirked and tapped his nose. "Nothing can hide from an Inuzuka's nose."
"It must be yours or Hinata's, my bugs still sense mine moving," Shino informed them.
Kiba glared at Shino but spun away from them to focus, turning his head as he breathed in deeply. With byakugan still active, Hinata could see the flow of chakra in Kiba's head shift and concentrate inside his nasal cavities. Akamaru leapt down from his perch on Kiba to sniff around the area Kurenai disappeared from.
"You have her, Akamaru?" Kiba asked; Akamaru yipped in reply. The smirk that curled his lips revealed canine-like fangs and was more a wolf on the hunt than a man on a mission. "You both just follow me now. Try to keep up."
Kiba leapt from the balcony and headed for the tree line to the west with Akamaru in quick pursuit. Kiba wasn't kidding when he said to keep up. He was fast. What was more amazing was Akamaru kept up with him, as small of a dog as he was. That must've been what it meant to be a ninja dog. Shino and Hinata were pushing it just to keep pace with them, while neither Kiba nor Akamaru seemed winded in the least.
Now that she had a general direction, Hinata shifted back to byakugan's telescopic vision to see what they were running directly into. Not too far ahead of them a small clearing in the trees glowed of chakra as if the grass had been cut through with streaks of blue flame. In the center of the clearing the image of Kurenai stood, but no chakra was inside her.
"There's another genjutsu ahead," Hinata warned them. "A clone of Kurenai-sensei and a lot of chakra around."
"Our instructor appears skilled in genjutsu," Shino remarked.
"A clone's just an illusion. It can't do anything," Kiba scoffed, picking up speed to barrel right into the mass of blazing chakra. "Me and Akamaru can handle a measly clone. Leave this to us."
"Kiba-kun, wait," Hinata called, but it was too late. When they sprinted ahead, both he and Akamaru easily outpaced Shino and Hinata.
"He's running right into a trap," Shino commented, and Hinata thought she heard something in his voice different from before. He spoke so little and with such an even tone, though, that it was hard to pick up on the quirks. (And she still kept sight of him with byakugan active to a minimum.)
"We should hurry," Hinata said.
Shino's only reply was to speed up.
Hinata refocused byakugan on the quickly approaching clearing just as Kiba and Akamaru arrived at it. The Kurenai clone smiled as dog and master walked deeper into the clearing, within the boundary of the chakra veins lining the ground. She raised her illusionary hands and a spike a chakra flashed through her body as if she were real only to shoot through the grass at her intruders. As fast as the chakra burst alive in Kurenai, Kiba and Akamaru dropped to the ground.
"Shino-kun, wait!" Hinata called, stopping on a branch outside the clearing. "The clone did something to Kiba-kun. Shino-kun?"
Shino was gone. The clearing was gone. Kiba and Akamaru were gone. Trees surrounded her all the way into the darkness beyond. She was alone. All alone. And the darkness was creeping closer.
"It's just a genjutsu," she told herself. "The darkness isn't real. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun are nearby. I just have to break the chakra link and end it."
. . . you can't . . . alone . . . you're alone . . .
Hinata searched the woods for the voice, but not even byakugan penetrated the creeping darkness. She deactivated byakugan, closed her eyes, and just breathed. "It's only a genjutsu. I can break it. It's only a genjutsu."
. . . trapped alone . . . can't leave . . . can't escape . . .
"I can . . ." Her body wouldn't move anymore.
. . . alone . . .
"Hinata."
Her eyes snapped open. The sun filtered through the treetops and cast moving speckles over Shino's face as he stared at her. His hand rested firmly on her shaking arm to ground her back into reality. She didn't know if it was concern hidden behind those dark shades, but his presence comforted her nonetheless.
"It's all right now," he said, looking toward the clearing. "I've deactivated the trap."
She nodded and took a breath to settle her trembling body. "How'd I get caught in the genjutsu? I didn't see any chakra this far out, and that was only a clone. It shouldn't have been able to use a genjutsu on me?"
"Not just you. We all were caught in it," he explained. Leaning past her to the tree trunk, Shino ripped off a seal tag pinned to the tree. "Where I landed had one of these, too. It was storing chakra. I bet we'll find more in the clearing."
"So the clone was there to make the seals and activate the stored chakra," Hinata concluded. "That's really impressive genjutsu. How'd you deactivate the trap?"
Shino motioned for her to follow him and they continued to the clearing. Kiba and Akamaru were both shaking out their heads when they arrived. In the center where the Kurenai clone had stood a small mound of bugs scurried back to their home carrying a forehead protector.
"What the hell happened?" Kiba asked.
"You ran into a trap," Shino commented and took the forehead protector from the bugs as they crawled back beneath his clothes. "Unfortunately, we did too."
"Then don't act so high and mighty," Kiba shouted only to grab his head in pain.
"I figured we might," Shino continued evenly, "so I ordered my kikaichuu to continue on and find the forehead protector if we did. A genjutsu affects a part of the brain bugs don't have; even if I get caught, they're immune. I figured if we retrieved the forehead protector, the illusions around it would end, which they did."
"And what if they hadn't," Kiba snarled, now pissed off and in pain.
"My kikaichuu feed on chakra. They would've interrupted the flow of chakra causing the genjutsu and freed me."
"Then we're lucky to have someone resistant to genjutsu in our team," Hinata said. She could see the chakra around a genjutsu to try and avoid it, but once caught she was just as susceptible.
"I doubt that," Shino replied. "She must know what our abilities are. If she truly wanted to keep us from getting this forehead protector she wouldn't have left such an obvious opening."
"You mean she wanted us to get it?" Hinata asked.
Shino nodded and held out the forehead protector to Hinata. "If this is another test, it's safe to assume the goal is for us to pass, not to fail."
"So let's go finish this damn thing already," Kiba growled with an excited smile burning on his face. "I gotta get back at her for what she made me see in that damn genjutsu anyway."
The muscles in Shino's face twitched in a way reminiscent of a smile but not strong enough to form one. What his face lacked, his posture made up for. He was just as ready to go after Kurenai as Kiba and the excitement she saw in them (muted as it was in Shino) was infectious. Perhaps it was simply no longer feeling that intense 'alone' she did in the genjutsu, but being with them gave Hinata confidence. She tied the forehead protector around her neck and nodded. One down, two to go.
"Akamaru, let's go!" Kiba yelled as he jumped into the trees. Hinata and Shino followed suit, though a few bugs flew out of Shino's collar to confirm Kiba's direction.
"Hinata," Shino called back, "can you see if it's another trap?"
She nodded and activated byakugan. Her vision stretched through the woods, beyond the walls of the village, and onto the river shore. There Kurenai, the real chrakra-filled Kurenai, sat against the trunk of a tree idly scribbling in a little book. Loosely tied to her wrist was a single forehead protector.
"She's at the river," Hinata informed them. "I only see one forehead protector though, and no large masses of chakra that might be a genjutsu hiding the other."
"She must have it hidden, cause I smell 'em both with her," Kiba yelled back with an approving yip from Akamaru.
"Mine's there, at least," Shino amended, earning another growl from Kiba. Hinata was beginning to wonder if Shino didn't care or if he just enjoyed annoying Kiba.
When they passed the village wall, Kiba slowed enough to match his teammates. "Spread out before we reach her, that way we can go after her from multiple sides," he ordered with excitement dripping from his fangy smile.
Shino and Hinata agreed and spread out around the woods; Kiba following the straight path while the others flanked on either side. Hinata slipped through the foliage the closer she got until she was fully concealed on the woods line with Kurenai in sight. Kiba didn't barrel in this time, both he and Shino remained hidden to wait for an opening. If Kurenai sensed them coming, she didn't let on. She lounged against the tree writing in that notebook as casually as when Hinata saw her with byakugan.
Fifteen minutes passed and no one moved. Finally Kurenai closed her notebook and stretched out against the tree trunk. Her red eyes scanned the woods as a clear song danced through the air. "Three little ninjas sitting in the trees, all too afraid to come after me."
A loud bark echoed to Hinata's left and she saw the fur top of Kiba's jacket running through the leaves. Hinata knew he was loud-mouthed, but he must be hot-tempered to fall for so obvious of an insult, too. Kurenai was on her feet before the first echo faded, and a kunai cut a path straight for Kiba.
"Puppies need to learn not to take the bait so easily," Kurenai teased.
The brush rustled where she'd thrown her kunai and out jumped Akamaru with Kiba's jacket tied around his neck. The little white dog yipped once with a face that –human or not– was downright taunting. Kurenai whipped around barely in time to dodge Kiba coming in from behind.
Kiba laughed as he skidded to a stop on all fours next to Akamaru. "This dog knows a few tricks."
The haze was about to shroud Kurenai again, but a wave of bugs descended from the tree she'd been laying under earlier like a black blanket falling from the sky to envelope her.
"I was handling it!" Kiba shouted as Shino exited the trees.
"Who finishes it doesn't matter as long as we get the forehead protectors," Shino replied, holding out a hand to recall his kikaichuu.
Hinata remained hidden in the trees. Something felt wrong. She watched the trails of chakra as the two boys argued. Even if Shino's bugs ate chakra, there wasn't enough in the mass to account for a jounin class shinobi. She followed the lingering wisps that colored the air back to Shino and a second more powerful chakra system standing behind him.
"You'd better be sure your target's there before you reveal yourself," Kurenai said.
One hand wrapped around his neck as her knee shot into his side, and with one strong twist, Kurenai heaved Shino back into the trees. The kikaichuu buzzed through the air to reach Kurenai, but she pulled out several more kunai and threw them at where Shino lay forcing the swarm to change direction to protect their home.
With Shino temporarily dealt with, Kurenai returned her attention to Kiba and Akamaru. She raised the arm with the forehead protector and waved. "Come and get it."
"You asked for it," Kiba laughed. "Akamaru! Beast Human Clone!"
Akamaru leapt onto his master as smoke hid them from normal view. To byakugan's sight, Kiba's chakra flooded out and consumed Akamaru in a mirror transformation of Kiba. The only difference Hinata could see even with byakugan was a slight hum of chakra around what had once been Akamaru. So that was what a ninja dog could do.
Hinata could hardly believe what she was seeing. Both Kiba and Akamaru-Kiba rampaged on all fours like animals and their speed seemed even faster than before. Kurenai had to work to stay out of reach. She disappeared into genjustu a few times and used a replacement technique once when Kiba got too close for comfort. Hinata wanted to help, but she was having difficulty keeping up with their movements.
How much use was she going to be to this team? Both Kiba and Shino could track as well as her in their own ways, she couldn't break a genjutsu even when she knew she was in one, and there was no way her taijutsu could match the speed or intensity Kiba displayed. Her jyuuken was only average for a Hyuuga anyway. She was just going to be a third wheel dragging them down.
"Hell yeah!" Kiba howled, dragging Hinata's attention back to the fight. Akamaru, now restored to his puppy form, ran back to Kiba with a blue cloth dangling from either side of his mouth. He'd gotten the second forehead protector. Kiba took it from his partner and sniffed. "Oh damn, it's Shino's. Where's mine? I want it back."
Kurenai stood a few feet from the water's edge. Pride and annoyance fought for control of her face, but both were quickly squashed beneath a smug smirk. With slow, sensuous delight, Kurenai dipped into her top and tugged out the last forehead protector from against her chest. The longer it too for the last of the blue cloth to leave her clothes, the redder Hinata's face burned. She couldn't image hiding something in a place like that.
"Boys are too easy sometimes," Kurenai chuckled.
Hinata turned back to Kiba, his eyes glazed over in genjutsu and a small line of blood dripped from his nose.
"Well then," Kurenai said as she tied the remaining forehead protector to the same arm as before, "the pups are out for a while, and Shino probably has a few more minutes before he wakes up, so who's going to get this last one? If no one comes soon I'll have to assume the team failed."
Kurenai was talking to her, waiting for Hinata to make a move. Hinata didn't know how she could go up against Kurenai, not after watching Shino and Kiba, but she wasn't going to let them all fail because she thought she couldn't do it by herself. That was what she wanted to change, and if Hinata didn't try now, she didn't deserve to be a genin. She just wished she had an idea how to do it.
Hinata quietly slipped through the trees looking for any kind of opening. Kurenai's eyes were alert; her posture, while appearing relaxed, was defensive; there were no openings. She'd have to get close to use jyuuken, but Kurenai was too far from the trees to make any attack stealthy. And if Kurenai was as skilled in genjutsu as they thought, she'd spot a clone in a second. Hinata knew she couldn't wait forever, but every attack seemed impossible. She'd never get close enough to grab the forehead protector.
Kurenai threw her arms behind her neck and began whistling to herself as she walked lazily along the shore. Byakugan might give Hinata insight to her instructor, but it didn't help. She could see Shino was right; the snippet of hope Hinata'd noticed before this trial started was obvious in Kurenai's face. She wanted them to succeed, but that hope was tempered by a serious responsibility. If they didn't pass the test, she'd send them back to the academy. Hinata could just imagine what her grandfather would say if she was denied by her instructor.
A flicker of colored chakra caught Hinata's enhanced sight as Kurenai paced along the shore. Hinata watched her feet carefully: the small impressions made in the soften mud; the slight pivot on the right indicating a dominant side; and then the flash of chakra under the soles of her feet as she stepped, not into, but onto the water's edge. The chakra became a barrier against the surface tension of the water keeping her from sinking. If she created the barrier so unconsciously for that little water, then surely she could fully walk on it.
The plan rolled and tumbled into place in Hinata's mind as she watched the light blue flicker of chakra come and go under her instructor's feet. She just had to get Kurenai onto the river. It was the only chance she had.
Hinata retrieved a handful of kunai from her pouch and carefully followed the trajectory of each one in her head the way Neji had taught her (courtesy of Tenten's tutelage). Hinata needed to get it right the first time; a long fight of endurance would only work against her plan. She waited until Kurenai was making her turn nearest to Kiba and Akamaru and let them fly, arcing around her still genjutsu-trapped teammates to force Kurenai back onto the water as Hinata rushed from the opposite side. There was too much distance for a surprise attack, but the kunai kept Kurenai from coming to counter away from the shore.
"Ah, there you are, Hinata," Kurenai said pleasantly as she easily dodged the first few palm strikes and jumped back further onto the river to avoid a well-aimed leg sweep. She smiled and brushed off her one red sleeve as if this were nothing more than a friendly spar. "You know you're the only one without an animal for me to think of you as. It seems wrong. I should give you one."
"I'm not very fond of animal nicknames, actually," Hinata replied. She was still main house mouse to plenty in the clan.
"Ah, too bad," Kurenai sighed.
Gingerly, Hinata placed her foot out onto the water and let the chakra swell beneath the sole. Kurenai watched with curious anticipation as Hinata's foot sunk beneath the surface for a moment and then returned to the top. Hinata braved a second foot, sinking a little further when all her weight was on the water but not to riverbed below. She studied the flow of chakra in Kurenai's feet and adjusted her own to match until she was close enough to the surface to not be slowed down by the drag.
Kurenai whistled a high-pitched catcall. "I knew Hyuugas were especially talented with chakra control, but that's impressive. Did you learn that watching me?"
Hinata nodded. "It does help to see how you're chakra moves."
"Now you just have to catch me," she heckled.
Ripples spread over the still water's surface like footprints until the entire river prickled and jumped at attention. Kurenai avoided all Hinata's strikes, aided not only by experience but also by a much more solid footing. Hinata's chakra control was good, but she'd never walked on water before, let alone tried to fight on it.
She spun to make a palm strike to Kurenai's side and ended up knee deep in water when her chakra shifted to attack. Kurenai took quick advantage of her position and raised her leg to make an end-strike, forcing Hinata to halt all the chakra in her body and sink beneath the surface. The current dragged her a few feet before she was able to ground herself and hold steady on the riverbed.
It may have looked like she'd been desperate, but this was what she wanted all along. She knew she couldn't out fight Kurenai, and Hinata didn't have Kiba's speed to out run her in a direct confrontation or Shino's bugs to flank her from behind. What she did have was an understanding of the inner coils system and the ability to hold her breath for a very long time.
Hinata waited on the bottom and watched Kurenai search for where she'd resurface. She relaxed her body and stretched her neck high to give the air in her lungs as much room to expand as possible to hold off the pressure pain a little longer. The more compacted the body, the sooner the need to exhale attacked, and she needed to stay under long enough to be properly positioned without Kurenai catching her.
The few reeds and roots growing along the riverbed served as handholds as she fought against the current to reach the spot directly beneath Kurenai. The need to exhale beat in her cheat begging to be released, but she couldn't risk letting even a little air out the way she normally would to extend her time underwater without risking Kurenai noticing the bubbles surfacing. Instead Hinata quickly made the seal for the clone jutsu and ushered her copy to surface in front of her instructor. She didn't need it to be believable to an expert in genjutsu, she only needed that momentary distraction.
The want for air burned inside her, but she ignored it. Only a few more seconds. The clone burst from the water's surface and Hinata saw what she needed. The instant Kurenai's chakra dug into the water to fortify her movement, Hinata pushed off the riverbed and landed two solid palm strikes into Kurenai's feet, dispersing her chakra and plummeting her into the water. Before Kurenai was fully submerged, Hinata grabbed Kurenai's waist between her feet, slipped her hand into the loose blue cloth around Kurenai's wrist, and shoved off with all the strength left in her oxygen-starved body.
Air never tasted so sweet. Hinata let byakugan recede as she coughed out the pain burrowed deep in her lungs. She hadn't held her breath that long since she used to do breathing exercises at the compound pond, but now she was glad she did them. The blue cloth band was darker from being wet, and she had a feeling the stinging in her wrist indicated she'd pulled something wrenching it from Kurenai the way she did, but Hinata was holding it. She'd gotten the last forehead protector.
"You know, I hadn't planned on a bath till I got home," Kurenai remarked as she climbed back onto the river's surface. Her already wild hair now shot off in a mass of wet tangles clinging to her smiling face. She walked the short distance to where Hinata treaded water and held out a welcoming hand. "Congratulations, Hinata. Let's go check on the boys before Kiba decides he wants to stay in the genjutsu."
"We passed?" Hinata asked, almost too afraid to believe it was true.
Kurenai pulled her from the water and held her up until she reclaimed her shaky chakra footing. This time Hinata didn't need byakugan to see the pride in Kurenai's crimson eyes. "Three students, three tests. You all passed better than I'd expected. I definitely never thought you'd take me onto the river."
Hinata dropped her eyes to the tapering ripples on the water and hoped her face wasn't getting redder than the fight could cover up. "I've used swimming in training before."
On shore Shino was making his way to meet them, obviously accepting there was some conclusion from their calm demeanor. He favored the side Kurenai hit in his movement and was rubbing a nice colored bruise on his neck (Kurenai had chucked him into that tree pretty hard). Hinata held up Kiba's forehead protector in success and Shino nodded approvingly.
"Congratulations, Shino," Kurenai called, "you're a proper genin now."
"That was the third one?" he asked. A couple bugs flew out from his sleeve and headed for Kiba, who was still trapped in the genjutsu. They landed on the forehead protector clenched in Kiba's hand and seemed happy, if bugs could be happy, to have returned to it finally.
Kurenai stood in front of Kiba and shook her head. A small line of blood dripped from his nose to the growing splotch on the front of his gray jacket.
"I know I made it entertaining," she chuckled, "but the boy could have some decency."
A distinctive muffled scoff came from Shino's direction, though no outward change occurred in his stoic demeanor.
Kurenai shook a warning finger at Shino. "Careful, I may use this on you one day, too."
Shino merely looked away, his ears a little redder than before.
Kurenai laughed and winked at Hinata. "Like I said, sometimes boys are too easy."
With a quick spike of chakra, Kurenai severed the genjutsu holding Kiba and Akamaru, which elicited a whine of disapproval from the white puppy who'd been rolled over on his back pawing at the air.
Kiba jumped back and searched around frantically. "What happened? Where'd they go? What's going on?"
Hinata's face went ten times redder than Shino's ears had tinted. They? Suddenly Hinata had the feeling a female instructor was going to be a double-edge sword.
"Congratulations, Kiba. You're all officially genin," Kurenai said, a motherly smile warming her expression as she looked on all three of her students.
Hinata handed over Kiba's forehead protector, an embarrassed color darkening her cheeks. "Sorry it's wet."
"You two look worse," Kiba joked as he eyed Hinata and Kurenai's soppy new fashion. He tossed Shino his forehead protector after Shino's bugs started crawling over his hand in irritation. (It was rather amusing to Hinata that Shino's bugs were a better indication of his mood than his face.)
Kurenai sat down on the grass and waved them all to join her. "Well, I'm pleased to say you all exceeded my expectations, but that was more than a test to be genin. I wanted to see how well you worked together, how you worked by yourself, your strengths, and your weaknesses. I hope that all of you were able to see the same thing."
Kiba growled under his breath a little, not wanting to admit weakness even as it stared him the face in the form of a large bloodstain on his jacket. Kurenai smirked, but otherwise ignored him.
"More importantly than that though, there's one thing I want you to understand from this test. It's the reason why each of you found someone else's forehead protector," Kurenai said to the dumbfounded genin. "When you're on a mission, it's not your life you'll be responsible for, it's each other's. You're a team and if one person's hurt, all of you are hurt. You fight for each other, that's why you had to pass this test for each other first. This team is going to become an extension of your family, and whether you like each other or not, should you ever fail to keep each other safe, you'll mourn for them as deeply as a brother or a sister."
All three sat in silence for a moment; even Kiba seemed affected by Kurenai's last comment. It was hard to imagine being so close to two boys that only that morning she hadn't known beyond than their names and who even after the test she still wasn't sure how to talk to or what to think of them. Yet she could see the truth etched on Kurenai's face like old battle scars.
Kurenai continued, her voice heavy with intent. "I have one order that will be in place until this team is disbanded. Protect each other, and make sure all three of you always come home. And that order you're not allowed to disobey."