My Path that Diverges

Chapter 2


I was planted face first into dirt and then rolled to my side in pain. The punch still stung on my cheek as I struggled to my feet. I watched as Shino, leaning against a tree, was slowly directing Kikaichi to swarm our opponent. Hinata, who planted herself between me and our adversary, was fighting head on in a losing battle.

We were fighting in the middle of training ground 14. It was a small clearing that held a small stream and several patches of trees nearby. Several chest high stones peppered the clearing as well. We had gone there after really leaving the Academy grounds. The reasoning was to have a quick spar to test our abilities and assess how we would handle a strong opponent.

But damn, Anko-sensei did not know the meaning of restraint. I groaned, standing up and grabbing my last set of Kunais. I moved behind Hinata, letting her small frame cover my body partially. With my left hand, I held out 3 fingers and slowly counted down, knowing Hinata would be able to see. As soon as I made a fist, I threw my Kunai with Hinata smoothly moving out of the way. Anko, between using wind Jutsu to redirect the Kikaichi and pushing back Hinata, laughed at my pathetic attempt at a surprise attack. She batted the kunai down with a single hand before elbowing Hinata in the gut, who was still off balance from moving out of the way.

I lashed out with my rope dart. Anko dodged to the side while spitting a Suiton Jutsu at Shino, who haphazardly dove out of the way. I pulled back on the rope while streaming chakra up the cloth. Moving my chakra to stiffen and loosen certain parts of the rope, I was able to wrap the rope around her hands. Her grin only sharpened into a cruel smirk. With one tug, she pulled at me. I went flying forward as her chakra enhanced pull rippled through the rope. I gritted my teeth.

"Oh shit," I whimpered as I saw her bound hands clasp into fists.

She rammed her fists into my temple with a sideways double hammer fist. I felt my back hit the ground, and I was out like a light.

A splash of water greeted me back into the conscious world. I spluttered and coughed and felt two pairs of hands on either side hold me steady. I looked up blearily as the blurry world started sharpening and saw a bruised Hinata and Shino look at me tiredly.

Shino had a bandaged cut on his temple and a swollen lip. Hinata's knuckles and arms were black and blue with her face holding reddening bruises. Given that I could barely see out of my left eye, I probably had a black eye or something and my back felt like it had pbeen danced on. I could feel the pool in my stomach, my chakra, as shallow as it had been when I first started training.

"I'm guessing it's over," I said half defeated.

Hinata gave a small sniff and an affirmative nod.

Shino let out a resigned nod before pulling me up into a sitting position. We sat in a small half circle facing the bane of our existence for the last hour, who was eating dango in front of us. Where she had gotten the sweets, I had no idea.

"Not bad, Gennin," Anko said, mouth half full of dango. "You show some promise and good teamwork already. Knowing you passed the genjutsu test was good enough, but I didn't expect you to have this much coordination at the start."

Shino pushed up his glasses. "It's not unexpected, Why? Hisahito and I spar all the time."

Hinata reached into her field pouch and pulled out a small cream canister. She held it out to me and I grabbed it to start applying to my face and other bruises.

"I trust Hinata to adapt to our fighting styles as well," I said. "She's observant enough and has seen us fight to know."

Anko nodded at the explanation before turning her eyes to Hinata. "So then, girl, what did you think about the fight?"

Hinata jolted slightly before her shoulders sagged. She looked down at her hands.

"I couldn't-"

"What?" Anko said loudly. She placed a hand on her ear and leaned forward, exaggerating her pose to Hinata. I rolled my eyes at the tactic, but she did have a point. Hinata needed to be able to look her sensei in the eye.

"Look at her, she's here to help us," I whispered quietly to Hinata.

Hinata passed the cream to Shino before meeting the Jounins eyes. "I wasn't fast enough to protect Shino-kun from the initial strikes. And I couldn't support Hisahito-kun."

She was sort of right. I reviewed the fight in my head. Anko-sensei had decided to test our skills rather than learning them through dictation. A simple spar, she said. It turned out after we agreed she bum rushed Shino and sent him flying into the trees. She set her vicious sights on the both of us and we were struggling ever since. Though we quickly coordinated our attacks, far better without communication than I had hoped, we didn't even come close to our teacher.

Anko finished off the last piece of her dango with a small shake of her head. "What else?"

Hinata looked nervously between me and Anko. I cleared my throat to add my two cents before stopping when Anko subtly waved her hand to stop me.

I bit my tongue.

"You're not aggressive enough," Anko said bluntly. "While your technique is fine, you're limiting yourself to always be in coordination with your team."

"I-" Hinata started stuttering.

"If you had attacked me on your own, knowing your team needed time to regroup, Shino and Hisahito could have coordinated. If you don't think you can, you need tools in your arsenal to get that."

Anko turned to Shino. "You're too reliant on your Kikaichu."

Shino bristled.

"If i diverted your bugs once, twice, maybe try again," Anko said. "But with how I was holding you off, you might as well have started throwing Kunai. You're one dimensional."

Anko's gaze turned towards me. "You didn't use all your tools."

"I'm pretty sure I tried as much as I could, sensei?" I said warily.

"No Genjutsu, barely any ninjutsu. I know from reading your dossier that you have more than just that." Anko leaned in. "I know you're better at Genjutsu as well."

I really didn't have time to run through any genjutsu. Hinata needed my support at close range. I winced as I applied cream to the skin under my eye. "If I had used them, it would put Hinata in danger either by me not being there or maybe in a crossfire."

Anko raised an eyebrow. "More danger than fighting a strong opponent. You said she's observant, then follow through and trust her. If she makes a mistake, make the mistake here in a controlled environment." Anko's eyes turned hard into a sharper glare. "Don't hold back like that again. When we spar like this we work out all the kinks or none at all."

"Yes, sensei," I said.

"Great!" Anko returned to her jovial self before hopping to her feet.

"You know," Anko said thoughtfully. "When I first got a team dumped on me by Hokage-sama I complained. But if it's you three I think this'll be a good experience. Don't you agree~"

I looked wearily at Shino and Hinata before we all turned to her in unison. "Yes, Sensei. Please take care of us," we said in unison.

"Daww, aren't you all so cute? Well, get up! You can start working Ninjutsu with me tomorrow. I'm still handing off some of my old work. I need to introduce you to my bestie and who will help train you on her free time off."

A blur of movement, Kurenai, the real one, appeared before us. She had a fresh smile on her face, while looking at each of us, with her eyes resting on Hinata. "Hello, Gennin."

"Hello, Kurenai-san." I spoke up, rising to my feet.

I shakily helped Hinata up. Shino begrudgingly rose on his own. We all wobbled slightly on our exhausted legs.

"I was very surprised when you dispelled my Genjutsu," Kurenai said. "How did you know?"

I cleared my throat. "Some intuition of how we were moving let me clued me into something being wrong. More hints from Shino's Kikaichi acting up as well as the civilians acting far too normal with Shinobi around. From there, I trusted my gut."

Kurenai tapped her lips. "Not bad, We can work on getting a more systematic approach to dispelling Genjutsu and casting it for that matter."

"Hey now, Nai-chan," Anko interrupted playfully. "Don't take my students away from me. I already agreed to share Hinata some." She gave a playful wink to Hinata, who flushed red and seemed to curl into herself.

Kurenai laughed quietly. "Well, I did originally request this team but some unforeseen events led me to being pulled off." She rested her hands on her stomach. My mind did the calculus. I didn't know if I should congratulate her or not. I'd probably just say something in private. I licked my lips and immediately looked for an out to change the subject.

"Are there other things we can work on other than just Genjutsu and Ninjutsu," I asked. "Our abilities, at the very least Hinata's and Shino's lend themselves to tracking and information gathering."

Anko nodded. "That'll be good. But the basics would be better to get down. Originally, if your squad is geared towards scouting and tracking we would work on detection protocols and scouting patterns. But with you," Anko reached and tapped my bruised nose. I reeled back and winced.

Anko giggled evilly.

"You change things. This team is more of a Skirmisher than a Scout team now, especially with me now leading instead of Nai-chan. More flexible too. To make sure you handle any request you get, we need you to work on all your super basic skills first. Sounds good?"

"Yes," we all agreed.

"On that note, Nai-chan, that's Kurenai-sensei to you gennin, will go with Hinata-chan to the Hyuuga clan. Going to need to work with them for the Gentle fist," Anko drawled out. "I'll go with Shino-kun to Aburame clan for their techniques."

Anko regarded me for a moment. "You're going to need extra help with that rope dart of yours.

I shrugged. "I've got some books I could read." Though my resources were getting a bit thin. I mostly copied techniques I saw with Ninja wire to manipulate the rope dart. The rest of my techniques I relied mostly on my past life.

Anko wagged her finger. "That's not as good as someone pointing your mistakes out right away." She opened up her arms such that her jacket billowed wildly. "Konoha is one team, so you need to feel free to reach out to your allies."

I raised my only good eyebrow at the gesture, but stopped after it started to hurt the other side of my face. "Understood Sensei" I deadpanned. The bruises on my face and back sure didn't feel like we were one team right now. "You got anyone in mind to help me?"

Anko gave me an exaggerated wink and leaned forward excitedly. "Just the one."


We settled into a comfortable routine with multiple senseis for the next few days. My morning routine became quite simple. I would wake up and head towards the park to meet up with Shino first. We would then make our way down to the Hyuuga clan grounds and pick up Hinata. This honestly was a huge boon for me because Hinata made it a point to wake up early and make breakfast for all of us. Simple onigiri but for me it was a feast.

This comfortable routine wouldn't last through. For a good reason, honestly, one that I was looking forward to. We would be starting D-ranks in the next week. D-ranks meant pay. Pay meant that I would be able to rent out a place for myself and leave the orphanage. While the orphanage did have some sections, sponsored by the Hokage, dedicated to graduating Academy students, long periods of stay were frowned upon. Honestly, that was fine by me. I wanted to get more privacy and any location was fine by me.

I would just need to find a place close enough to both the Hyuuga and Aburame clan. Though honestly, it may take some time. Finding an apartment to rent out on the cheap wasn't an easy task since I had no capital to begin with. It may even take months to put down a full deposit and prove that I had a stable income. One thing that didn't change between lives was how stingy house owners could be for the qualifications of their tenants. A fresh out of academy graduate just starting D-ranks did not seem like the safest option to rent out a house or apartment to.

Still, I had time, so I wasn't too worried about it. After we all met up on the training grounds, Anko sensei would lecture us while we practiced tree walking. Stuff like hand signals, code words to use in combat, portal patterns, and different formations. While we had learned simple variations of this within academy, these variations were of Anko's derivation. T

After an hour of working on tree walking, which we were all getting closer to mastering, we would take another hour to practice what Anko-sensei had lectured. It was a lot more leisurely than I had expected. Honestly, I think with Kurenai there, Anko also was a bit more lax.

Of course, one could also say she was simply giving us time to rest before the hard part. We would start sparring right after. Sometimes it would be all of us versus Anko. Other times we would be forced to hunt one of the teammates while they tried to evade. We would take turns at being the rabbit, as sensei put it.

After lunch, which was either homemade by Kurenai sensei or store bought from Anko, we would review and then train specific skills. Anko said that this time would basically be shifted over to doing d ranks and specific skills would be honed on our own time. But with the grace period, we would at least use the time effectively.

I really enjoyed the pace honestly. After the monotonous routine in Iruka's lectures, it felt nice to get deeper into these topics. I honestly looked forward to the training sessions.

However, today was slightly different. Today I got sent to a different training ground with a note in hand and instructions to go find a jounin in a green leotard. I didn't really need more info than that to know who I was going to talk to.

I went to training ground 15 with some trepidation. As I approached, I could hear the exuberant yelling of a man, followed by an equally excited cheer. What had I gotten myself into? Correction, what had Anko sensei willingly thrown me into.

I sighed as I entered the clearing. Unlike training ground 14, which was honestly not that far, there were only trees and rocks in this area. The stone boulders still were present, but more fallen trees filled the opened spaces acting like ramps or walls.

On top of the rocks, I noticed a jounin in a green leotard doing handstand pushups. A second set of green leotard also followed suit, albeit a bit slower. I walked up slowly with my note in hand, ready to grab their attention.

"Hold it," A sharp voice stopped me in my tracks.

Looking out to my right, a shadow emerged from the shades of one broken tree. Pale, pupilless eyes like my teammates greeted me. "What are you doing here?" This Hyuuga, whose name escaped me, wore a small buttoned up tan jacket. His headband wrapped tightly around his forehead, making his bangs pronounced.

I didn't fuss over the slightly harsh greeting, instead; I bowed slightly. "Hello, I am Hisahito from Team 8. Recently graduated from Academy. I was sent here by Anko-sensei to train. I think my presence should have been forewarned?" I kept my speech as formal as possible. Good thing too, as I noted the Hyuuga's eyes furrowed in confusion but the frown slightly loosen. Probably a stickler for formalities or some association with them. I vaguely remembered him being related to Hinata and having some bad blood between them.

Before my fellow gennin could respond, a brush of wind blew at my back and a loud voice boomed. "Why yes, Hisahito-kun. It is youthful that you have shown up on time and are ready to train. I am glad you are here on this joyful day."

I slowly turned around, keeping a smile on my face, no matter how weary it might be. Loud voices wore me down like none else. It was why I shied away from Kiba and Naruto.

"Hello, Jounin-san," I said as I passed him the note. "Unfortunately, Anko-sensei never told me your name or your teams." Or anything at all. I wonder how far she planned to mess with me. I grumbled in my head, cursing my Sensei's propensity to screw with us.

"Call me Gai-sensei, Young Hisahito-kun," Gai gave me a large thumbs up.

Another blur phased in and blasted another wind breeze at me. "And call me Lee, Hisahito-kun," Lee said, matching an exact copy of the thumbs up.

I bowed to both of them. "I'll be in your carry Gai-sensei, Lee-kun. And-" I turned back to the Hyuuga who had come closer. The annoyance on his face had all but disappeared, but replaced with more of a curious glance. He responded well to formality. On the other hand, maybe it took him some time to get used to Gai's and Lee's exuberance? Maybe I'm just a fresh change of pace for him?

"Neji. Hyuuga Neji," He introduced himself.

"Pleasure," I said.

"So why train with us?" Another voice came in. A feminine voice this time.

I turned back to the last member of Team Gai. A girl in a pink blouse and dark green pants, with two tight hair buns, smiled brightly at me. She was spinning a small three pole staff. A unique weapon for a Shinobi, one that required skill to use and wasn't a natural fit for most Shinobi. One would have to seek the weapon out and learn it. Ah, now it was painfully obvious why Anko-sensei had sent me here.

"If I may-" I let my voice trail off to prod a response from the girl.

"Tenten," she finished simply. Her eyes moved to my right hip where my rope dart rested.

"Then," I gave a knowing smile. "I think the reason Anko-sensei wanted me to train with your team is you, Tenten-senpai"

The older gennin smirked. "Kiss ass."

"I aim to please," I shot back before taking out my rope dart.


I yawned as I finished writing my report for the day. I handed it into the mission desk to see Anko-sensei talking to Shino.

"So, let's go ahead and talk to your Dad," She said to Shino. "Getting you on a regular schedule with your Kikaichi is just like sharpening your weapons."

"Understood Sensei," Shino agreed, pushing up his glasses. He turned to us with an almost apologetic look on his face. "I will be going on ahead. Why? Sensei and I need to discuss with my father on integrating with the hive. This will increase my control over my Kikaichi. Also, we need to discuss what ninjutsu would be best for me to learn."

"ok,"I said with a small shrug. "I'll see you later than?" We had gotten used to being dragged off by Anko-sensei to go meet someone for training. That or Kurenai-sensei coming into teach us some basic counter to Genjutsu or tactics.

Shino and Anko waved goodbye before darting over the rooftops towards the Aburame compound.

"H-hisahito-kun," Hinata called out to me.

I turned to my last teammate. She looked down at her fingers, which were tapping nervously against each other. "What's up, Hinata?" I asked.

"D-do you want to get cinnamon buns. I-I need to go home after but," She stuttered out. "I-it would be nice to-" Her voice trailed off in an almost defeated sigh.

"Sure," I said.

Her face lifted with a small smile. Her pupil-less eyes seemed to glitter with delight as she stepped forward past me, leading the way down the road. We walked in comfortable silence past the many shops. Konoha downtown reminded me of denser cities from my previous life. Multi stories building everywhere, somewhat overbearing. Each nook and cranny held multiple shops and restaurants. Something to discover every few feet if you knew where to look. It suffocated me sometimes.

The smell of fresh baked pastries filled my nose and broke me out of my thoughts. I gave a smile, similar to the one on Hinata's, as we entered the pastry shop. The bell rung and announced our entry. The pastry chef pulling out a fresh batch of bread spun slowly around with a smile. She was a larger sized woman with dark hair tied tightly in a pony tail and underneath a bandana. "Why isn't it my favorite customers," She teased. "Here again both of you, later than usual."

"We couldn't resist, Asuka-san," I said. I nodded to Hinata who stepped forward.

"Umm," Hinata's eyes roamed over the pastries. "One cinnamon bun and a Red bean Puff, please Asuka-san."

Asuka smiled, putting down the hot tray before grabbing a single bag. She deftly grabbed the pastries and put them into a single bag. Handing it over the counter, she picked up Hinata's payment in Ryo before giving the correct amount of change. "Come again you two." Asuka waved us goodbye.

I nodded in thanks, grabbing a small napkin on the way out. As we exited, Hinata split the Red bean puff into two. The red paste core gave a sweet smell. Hinata offered the pastry to me and I took it with delight. "It'll be my turn next week then," I said.

Hinata nodded, biting into her pastry with delight.

I chewed on mine, taking in the sweet taste and doughy texture. One thing that never got old in either lives were the bakeries. "Why did you want to go get pastries again this week," I asked as we walked towards the Hyuuga compound.

Hinata bit into her pastry silently for a moment, looking away.

I raised an eyebrow. "Was it because you were just craving it? I was craving it to!"

Hinata shook her head. "No, I just thought-" She paused. "I just didn't want to leave you all alone. S-since you're not going to train with Team Gai."

Ah. A smile made its way to my lips. She was worried I would be lonely. I held in a small laugh. Yeah, I guess it would make sense. I would've just taken the time to head to the Shinobi Archives. I probably would after this before going out to eat dinner. But, the company, even for a little bit, was nice. I wasn't a loner, I just didn't like a lot of people at once. Hinata knew that about me. And she knew I would be a little lonely.

"Thanks Hinata," I said. "I appreciate it."

Hinata gave me a smile as she broke the cinnamon bun into two. "We're friends." She said as if answered all my questions.

It did.

I gladly took the pastry and muched on it as we made our way forward on the path.


Over the next month, I started training with Team Gai on a weekly basis. At the same time, we started doing D-ranks. Mission pays, especially for lower rank missions, were bundled up and filed at the end of week. It was kind of like tracking your hours and getting a paycheck at the end of the two weeks. The more D-ranks you completed, the more you would get.

However, Gennin first out of academy were still on probation until their first 5 C-ranks or if their Jounin sensei deemed them ready. This meant I could only take D-ranks with my team and under supervision. There was a reason for this delay. The process of understanding mission parameters, even if it was just weeding someone's garden, became routine. Afterwards, filing mission reports properly became something we scribbled quickly.

By the time we received our first paycheck at the end of the week, I was blown away by the amount of money. 1,000 Ryo was a lot of money to me. Shino and Hinata noted the money down and simply stowed it away. I was jumping for joy.

Then I went shopping around apartments, and reality hit me. I would need at least 15,000 Ryo for a deposit on an apartment for the smallest apartment, and then that would cost me 2,500 monthly. Even if I stayed as long as I could in the sponsored living quarters of the Orphanage, I would only be able to save half the amount.

"So yeah," I panted, laying against the ground, "I'm going to have to find a place to bum around." I leaned up and caught a flying towel.

"That sucks," Tenten said, drying her own brow with a spare towel.

Team 8 had spent the last month and a half doing D-ranks and training. I had gotten to know Team Gai a lot better. Though I had yet to introduce them to my team; I had actually spent more time with them. Since my training sessions with Tenten were during the latter half of the day, it wasn't uncommon for all of us to go out to eat as a way to review and kick off some steam.

"Yeah," I said. "I don't want to ask my teammates just yet, cause I can always go to a cheap capsule hotel for a while."

Neji, who had been meditating nearby, cracked open his eyes. "You do not believe your teammates would offer assistance?"

I snorted. "No, I think they would. They would over offer help. It's kind of embarrassing, though. I don't want to mooch off of them."

Neji nodded in understanding as his eyes flickered to Gai and Lee, who were both still sparring.

"I understand the fear of over-exuberance in help," He said with a sly smirk.

Tenten and I shared a small chuckle. Neji wasn't that bad as you talked more to him. Our rapport mostly came from small one liners and very light small talk.

Tenten on the other hand was a treasure chest of knowledge. Her skill in all weapons was extremely useful, including the chakra manipulation with them. My control over shuriken and kunai, as an example, increased immensely. My rope dart technique, though I had mostly followed the training in my previous life, took on a new form with the addition of more chakra based manipulation.

"You're getting better at redirecting the rope by manipulating the elasticity," Tenten explained. "But you're too slow to do it to rapidly change course. Once someone reads the initial path, it becomes easier to dodge."

I nodded, looping my rope around my arm to store it away.

"You should try a zig zag motion," Neji interrupted.

I blinked, looking at him. He stood up from his mediation position with his arms clasped behind his back.

"That type of motion would let you move horizontally with ease, making it harder for someone to dodge based solely on direction change."

I soaked in the advice. Manipulating chakra through the rope was difficult. It was like blowing air bubbles down a long tube, difficult to get the spot you needed just right. "I'll try."

Tenten looked up at the falling sun with a sigh. "Gotta go. Dad wants me at the store for a restock. Sorry we can't go out to eat."

"No problem," I said.

Tenten hopped off to go say bye to Lee and Gai-sensei. I turned back to Neji to say my goodbyes.

"You know," Neji said quietly. "You put a lot of effort in for one whose fate has dealt him a poor hand."

"Excuse me," I quivered my eyebrow.

Neji's eyes grew hard. "I'm talking about your team. You are paired with Hinata-sama," he spat the last name out.

What was his problem? I regarded him carefully. His tone was heated. His posture was stiff. This subject he was bringing up voluntarily was heated. Voluntarily meant he had something to say, a point to be made. This was not a discussion rather a one sided argument.

In my time interacting with Neji, I honestly felt his frosty nature was more of a 'prove it to me' mentality. After sparring for several weeks with Tenten and then even him on some occasions, he had lightened up slightly. He still was difficult to handle, being a prickly personality, I thought, could at least understand his mood swings. Most of his disagreements with Lee came from a misconception on Neji's part. He held this belief that Lee lacked self reflection, being unable to understand his place and what he needed to do.

However, some wound or grudge must have resurfaced. "I am," I answered. "But before we continue, how about we walk to somewhere more private?" I thumbed behind me to Lee and Gai.

Neji nodded stiffly. I waved goodbye to Lee and Gai, who both waved exuberantly back. I noticed Gai's slightly sharper smile. He had probably heard every single word Neji and I exchanged and had a better idea of where this was going.

We walked a few paces away before Neji continued.

"You are competent," Neji said. "However, with Hinata-sama on your team, your potential and fate are limited."

I couldn't help but bristle at the comment. Part of me wanted to punch back, to make some snide comment about his perception, to defend Hinata. But, I didn't know the full context there.

"Why do you say that?" I took a deep breath as we continued deeper into the forest.

The older gennin bit out angry words. "She is weak. Too weak to befit the position she was born in."

"Born in…" My mind racked trying to figure out what was going on.

"You really don't know," Neji growled. "I know Hinata-sama's fate very well."

I shook my head. "No." I raised my hands in a placating manner, though I knew it would do little to calm the angry Hyuuga. "I'm an orphan. I'm not privy to status and other clan politics. Can you explain it to me calmly, so I can understand?" In the back of my mind, I was already dismissing him. For all that I knew about him, for as much as he helped me during training, I knew Hinata. I had spent years with her. Talking to her. Laughing with her. Sharing our fears. I had seen her train. I had seen her grow. I saw her plant herself between me and the danger that was my Sensei.

I knew I wanted that person by my side.

So when Neji said that, Hinata would only hinder me. He would have to give me nothing short of a world ending calamity to get me to agree with him that Hinata was a hindrance.

Neji explained the Main Branch and Branch Houses. He explained the kidnapping of Hinata. He explained how fate decided that his father should die and not Hinata's. Fate decided it. And all it sounded to me was a kid's tantrum about how the world was unfair and a bad family situation.

Nothing led me to believe or even have an inkling that Hinata was the cause of all of this. Just an innocent person being targeted because it was easy for Neji.

Maybe it would have been possible to convince him with words. Maybe if I gave it more time hinata and neji could work things out. Maybe I could bring in the rest of the hyuuga clan to arbitrate and work through this bad blood. But at the end of the day he was telling someone I cared about was worthless.

No. Fuck him.

My blood boiled at the thought.

When he finished his explanation, he was panting slightly. "So you see. Fate has given you a bad role. With Hinata you will never-"

"No."

"What?" Surprise jumped onto his face.

"You're wrong. Hinata isn't a hindrance."

Neji sneered at me. "You think she will not fail in the most crucial moment? You don't believe her weakness will drag you all down?"

My knuckles hurt and fingers dug into my palm. "Fuck you, Neji." I growled. "You say shit about fate and you push your beliefs on someone who has been nothing but kind to me. You don't even know her."

Neji scoffed. "What? And you do?"

"Do you?" I challenged him. "What's her favorite pastry? What flowers does she like to use for her journals? What's her favorite thing to hum when she's watching the sun go down?"

Neji seemed stunned by my questions, as if I had grown a second head.

"Yeah," I said. "That's right. Talk a big game. Talk like you know everything, but you're acting just like a bully. Prove to me Hinata actually did anything wrong, then we can talk. But right now you're just throwing a hissy fit."

Neji's glare grew deeper and his lips curled in a mad dog growl. His stoic face morphed into a raging beast. "Fine, I will prove it to you. I will go to her then. And when Hinata is broken on the ground, I will have proven her weakness."

Had he just…

A kunai was in my hand pointing at him. I could feel chakra surging through me uncontrollably. "Did you just threaten my friend?" This. This wasn't an emotion I hadn't felt in this lifetime.

Rage.

"What of it?" Neji snarled.

"You want to go to her, you come through me." I growled. "Fight me next week then, instead of the regular sparring session. I will shatter that fake fate of yours."

A mocking laugh was my answer. "Fine. Prepare yourself, Hisahito. I will not be kind, but follow what fate has decreed."

Fucking nutter. I thought to myself before shoving my Kunai in my pocket. Neji jumped away, and I stayed behind, brewing in my thoughts.


The moon was fully out and I broke myself from my thoughts. It was stupid to challenge Neji. A year of experience more than me. Been on C-Ranks and had probably engaged in numerous fights. On top of being part of the Hyuuga clan, he trained under Gai-sensei. Even Tenten, who was a prodigous weapon user, had solid Taijutsu fundamentals whereas I just started. I was behind the 8 ball in more ways than one.

But none of that made me regret my decision. I needed a plan.

I jumped into the trees and sped through Konoha. I passed over a Ramen shop, BBQ place and various others. Each of them held familiar chakra and faces. I didn't care. I kept moving towards the back side of Konoha's residential area. Far away from most of the shops, restaurants, and main streets. I was in the shabbier apartment blocks, a dense concrete jungle filled with civilians and shinobi. I only knew of this place because we were given the apartment number, just in case.

There. I climbed up the stairs of apartment complex D and went to the fifth floor. Stopping at D415, I knocked on the door several times.

A loud voice answered me. "Kami, do you know how late it is, brat? You better have a damn good explanation for why you're waking me up."

The door opened and revealed my Sensei in a baggy purple t-shirt and sweatpants. Her purple hair messily splayed around her face and only highlighted the annoyed glare pointed at me.

"Anko-sensei," I said. "I need your help for a fight."

Her eyes roamed over me once. The annoyed look morphed into an excited grin and her eyes bubbled with wild energy. She licked her lips and cleared her throat.

"Who are we killing?"


Side Story


"How'd it go?" My best friend asked me.

I blinked, snapping out of my reverie. She had finished lecturing to my- no, it was her team. "It went well, Anko. The doctors will set up a monthly check in for the ultrasound."

"That idiot showed up, too?" Anko prodded. "Tell me if he didn't, Nai-chan. I'll push a dango stick up his-"

"Asuma did show up." I sighed wearily. He had showed up sheepishly and a bit late. He said he needed to shove a d-rank onto his team before hurrying to me.

"How are they doing?" I tried to change the subject.

Anko shrugged. "They're doing better than most fresh nosed gennin. Smart too. Quick learners." She said with a small hint of pride. "Hisahito is doing a lot better, too. More motivated ever since that idiot Hyuuga under Gai ran his mouth. Only been a day and he's pushing himself hard."

"I-" I knew it wasn't my place to say but they would have been my team. "I hope they don't over push themselves. It's not a healthy thing to have that kind of rivalry within teams."

"Eh," Anko shrugged. "From how Hisahito explained it last night while we trained, it's mostly a problem on the other end. Gai's even worried about it, too. Not worry Nai-chan." Anko gave a wink. "I'm training up Hisahito real good. He'll kick that boy's ass no problem."

Not exactly an easy thing to do. Neji was lauded as a genius, and neither boys knew control. Well, maybe Hisahito was a bit more mature for someone his age. But he had been baited into fighting Neji. I was in mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I was happy that he was defending Hinata but on the other hand he was putting himself at risk.

"Don't worry too much," Anko cut in as if reading my thoughts. "I'm confident in my kids."

My kids. I gave a small smile at her possessiveness. She had complained to me for weeks when we found out that I had to pull out of active duty and forced her to take my team.

"I'll help out too," I said.

Anko gave me a concerned look.

"Only in teaching. I'll give Hisahito some tricks with Genjutsu. Who knows it might be useful vs a dojutsu user."

Anko gave a wicked grin. "Sure, it'll help with the Ninjutsu I'm teaching him as well."


Hope you enjoyed it.