"Hinata, don't forget to take time to replenish your soul."
Hinata buries herself in her work.
It's a coping mechanism.
She knows it.
It's not the worst one she could have.
It's also not the best.
She talks to Inoichi about it, but he doesn't tell her anything that she doesn't already know.
She misses Naruto.
She thinks about him-about what he's doing. Who he's with. If he is taking care of himself.
She hates going home to her empty apartment.
Which forces her to do other things...which poses a different sort of challenge.
She's been an introvert most of her life-so it's an adjustment to go new places. To try new things.
An adjustment, but also, kind of an adventure.
One new such adventure comes from her self-defense class. One of her two instructors, a woman named Tenten, is impressed with Hinata's progress. She tells Hinata that she can see some raw talent in her.
Talent for what exactly, Hinata doesn't really understand. But Tenten gives her a business card for Eight Gates Gym. The tagline read: "For Those Seeking the Power of Youth."
On a whim, Hinata decides to go and check the place out. Immediately she is set upon by a ginning overly energetic man in a green leotard and a smile that was impossible not to return. He calls himself "Might Guy" and she has no idea if that's his actual name or not.
He tells her that Tenten had told him about her-which is a complete surprise to Hinata, because what could Tenten have said? That Hinata can avoid a grab and do a takedown? So could half the class. But Guy insisted that she show him some moves.
Then he asks her to do a series of stances.
Then run on the treadmill.
Then more stances.
Until finally he asks her a wide variety of questions-some more personal than she cares to share-before he has her move onto a mat where she's to 'center' herself.
Hinata's genuinely surprised by how calming the experience is-by how much the breathing and the concentration clear her head. It's like the meditation exercises Inoichi had given her-except it's actually effective.
"Yes! In you, I can see the power of youth ready to explode!" Guy tells her before bowing formally and requesting that she be one of his students. He tells her that he can see in her a natural penchant for Baguazhang.
She has no idea what that is.
Guy goes over the basic principles. Hinata is already shaking her head, because she's not a fighter. The defense classes were for exactly that. She would protect herself, but only if she had to. Violence was not something she enjoyed.
Guy nods, but his grin simply widens. "As a student of Baguazhang you will first learn flexibility and proper body alignment through the basic exercises, then move on to more complex forms and internal power mechanics. Baguazhang has many forms, but each of them focuses on spiritual and mental energy. It is not about the external."
Could you kick someone's ass with it? Sure. But that wasn't really the point.
It was about learning yourself.
Centering.
Finding your core.
Hinata considers it for several days.
She wants to find herself.
Which means looking in some places she's never looked before.
She turns up at the gym the following Friday and greets Guy with one simple word. "Sensei."