CHAPTER 10 - Needs Final Review
TITLE: Bonding Over Bigotry
Kakashi was five when his father had taught him how to take in his surroundings. How to instantly take in the image of a room or the exact details of the surrounding bushes and trees. His father was a harsh teacher, but a fair one. Who taught him what he needed to learn in order to survive.
But that was back when it was just a game. He was eight when he'd really learned.
The hard way.
He'd fallen into a trap in the early days of the war, not long after his father was dead and buried. An Iwa shinobi managed to lull him into a false sense of security, his whole team falling into the trap.
This happened before he was fully re-added to Minato's team. A side mission meant to be a quick and clean introduction to real war.
It was a bloodbath. An ambush that nearly took his own life along with his teammates.
One mistake, ten seconds, seven casualties.
Seven shinobi, seven men. HIS men, who would never see home again.
Kakashi made them pay afterwards of course, not satisfied until the blood from his enemies washed away the blood of his comrades.
A single black splotch on his otherwise spotless career. A mistake he'd worked HARD to ensure it NEVER happened again.
Many tended to call him a genius, and many of those weren't too far off, but it was hard work that served him well for decades afterwards. He was efficient at it now, so efficient that it was often difficult to tune other things out and pay attention to only one thing at a time.
Cataloging which stray objects or utensils would be the most effective at slitting the jugular wasn't really necessary when standing next to leader of one's village.
One who just so happened to be called the 'Kami No Shinobi'. Years still, after he'd passed the glory days of his youth.
Hiruzen seemed relaxed as he stood by Kakashi's side. A little too relaxed, considering that they were just about to break into Naruto's apartment.
He let Kakashi do the honors, carefully undoing the several seals and traps there. He was a bit ashamed to admit that it was harder than he expected it to be. Leading to a few uncomfortably silent moments spent doing his best not to begin the day having to explain to the Sandaime how he accidentally let Naruto's apartment be destroyed for the second time.
Eventually he finished, pushing the door open, allowing both of them to safely enter, and survey Kakashi's old apartment.
He had to remind himself later to leave a note for Tori explaining why the seals and locks on the door were gone, digging in his pockets for a moment, leaving an apology in the form of a coupon to Ichiraku ramen.
Not the smoothest thing he'd ever done, but it was the best he could manage on short notice. He was sure that the ANBU would recognize the worth in the gesture. Feeble as it was.
He walked in slowly, finding himself comparing the state of the apartment with the last time he'd seen it, nearly four years ago now.
He was careful not to remember too much of that time. Recalling his reasons for gifting the apartment and his emotional state at the time was dangerous.
But he did remark the changes, noting the surprising lack of a mess. The common room was nearly bare, the only color standing out beyond the pale beige, being the various potted plants lined up on the windowsill. He walked over, careful to change as little about the room as possible when in the home as his former student.
He inspected the plants, chuckling when he recognized a few of them. Shinso and mint being among them, popular herbs used for ramen noodles.
He laughed to himself, getting the felling that he should've known. Kushina's obsession with the stuff was legendary, and Minato-sensei, although not as addicted as Kushina, certainly adopted the habit of eating the stuff far more often then not.
He smiled at the memory, doing his best to ignore the jab of pain he felt at their memory.
'Maybe it's better to remember.' He thought to himself. 'Better to remember the good times. To remind me of what I'm doing here.'
He turned to look at the other occupant of the room to find the professor studying him. His dark eyes viewing him through his bushy grey eyebrows furrowed in an unreadable glare that always seemed to unsettle him.
"Do you find it strange to be here again Kakashi-San?" He said, almost sounding concerned.
Kakashi shrugged, "A little. Although its hardly ever been my apartment. Even back then, I hardly ever used it."
Hiruzen nodded, "It's certainly livelier now. Although I believe that is only partially Naruto's doing."
Kakashi quirked an eyebrow, "I thought that Tori was going back to active duty?"
The Sandaime turned to look at him, "She told you?"
Kakashi nodded, "We talked before. About responsibilities being passed on and all that?"
Hiruzen nodded, his expression grave, "I presume she gave you that special kunai of hers."
Kakashi's eyes widened by a fraction, but he nodded. Hiruzen huffed saying nothing, but Kakashi could tell the older man disapproved. The Sandaime, when relaxed, was actually quite easy to read. It wasn't like Hiruzen had anything to fear from him, he'd proved his loyalty time and time again, serving the village as honorably as he dared.
Kakashi shrugged in a nonchalant fashion, "She feels like everyone thinks that she can't be trusted." He could understand that, better than most.
He could feel his mind drift backwards, back to when this apartment was his, back to when he approved every A or higher ranked mission he could get his hands on.
Back to when he was better known as 'Friend-Killer Kakashi' rather than 'Copycat Kakashi'.
Back to when hardly anything mattered at all.
In the present he heard his Kage speaking to him, and he cursed to himself, 'Need to wrap up this meeting quickly.'
"...potential. What she really needs are shinobi that trust her judgement and actions, without being interrogated by those she should call her comrades."
Kakashi felt his heart beat twice, and he glanced up to see the Sandaime's narrow gaze centered on him.
Kakashi winced and bowed slightly, "I, may have jumped the gun a bit. I'm sorry, it was wrong of me.'
Hiruzen leaned forwards, patting Kakashi gently on the shoulder, "You should know by now that I care for young Naruto. And I would never send anyone to him that would do him harm."
Kakashi stopped, his anger rising to the surface, "Should I?"
He regretted the words even as they spilled recklessly from his mouth. He winced again, and bowed even lower. THAT was rude, harsh and damn near insubordinate. But it was hard to stop himself.
He'd always been protective, it was probable the reason that he was so harsh to Tori. But he had an especially hard time letting go the events that led up to Naruto's attack four years ago.
He waited to the reprimand, dismissal, anything. But all he heard was a few slow steps away from him. The steps seemed to stop at the edge of the room, and he heard to voice of his Kage.
Not furious, not annoyed, and upset at all. All he heard was fatigue.
"I know you don't trust me with Naruto's safety. I doubt you trust anyone but yourself with keeping him safe after what happened." He said slowly. Hiruzen held his hands out, leaning heavy against the counter, still looking away from him. "But I promise you Kakashi. I only do what I do for the sake of the village, as well as young Naruto."
Kakashi rose, inspecting the man, 'He truly believes that.' He remarked to himself, more impressed than anything. '...Even though he knows that he can't promise me that.'
He looked the man up and down, his eyes focusing on the blood red kanji on his robes, 'Third Hokage'.
The third Fire Shadow, the leader of Konohagakure. He knew full well what it meant.
He would always remember the real Hiruzen. The Hiruzen that would always put the village first, above everything. Even those who lived in it.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." He said slowly, deliberately.
Hiruzen took another moment to turn around, eventually sitting down at the kitchen table. Kakashi followed, sitting in the chair across from him.
Hiruzen nodded, "Right. Well what do you think about your new team Kakashi-san?"
Kakashi breathed in, then out, 'On to buisness then.'
He leaned back, considering for a moment, staring at his Hokage, "As I discussed with Tori and Rei, nearly every one of their files was useless. Mostly for reasons outside my control. So I intend to go through a few training exercises first to watch them in action, and determine their strengths and weaknesses from there."
Hiruzen nodded, and Kakashi watched the man reach for something in the pocket of his robes, only to stop, frown and return his hands to his lap.
Kakashi smirked in amusement, 'So, he wants to keep his presence here a secret.'
The Hokage rubbed absently at his beard, sighing in despair, "Ah, so that is the reason for the abnormally large pile of forms and files on my desk. Permissions for the unsealing of certain documents, new types of training, among other things?'
Kakashi nodded, "My team is unprecedented in many ways Hokage-sama. I understand that my requests for certain documents may not be approved, but changing certain training methods are definitely necessary. Even so, I promise you that all of my students are in safe hand."
He nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips, "Good good. Just be careful with them Kakashi. The council of elders, as well as the shinobi council will have your head on a spike if you bring harm to the Hyuuga princess, or the Last Uchiha."
Kakashi nodded, but he had plans for them as well. The council of elders had surprisingly little power outside the clans their members had influence over. And the shinobi council rarely agreed on anything at all. Much less about something as divisive as Uchiha Sasuke or Uzumaki Naruto.
Kakashi looked his Kage in the eye, "I do worry for Naruto though. His file describes him, very differently than I expected."
The Sandaime winced hard, looking almost as if Kakashi had stuck a kunai in his gut as he nodded, "A recent change I'm afraid. From what Tori described, it seemed as if the young boy has frequent night terrors. Nothing that would cause any severe problems outside a lack of sleep. As the night terrors seem to encourage the boy to train harder and harder."
Kakashi nearly swore, but held his tongue, shaking his head in dismay, "A whole 'nother can of worms. I have, personal... experience with this kind of thing. Without help, or some kind of goal, he'll only get worse. He needs something to keep him busy."
Kakashi rubbed his masked face, he could work with this, but it seemed that Naruto was worse off than he'd initially thought.
He felt the tug on his mind, a memory, unbidden, but not unwelcome. He let it in, and was reminded of one of the few bright spots from his time as Hound. The ANBU persona he adopted to escape his grief, to escape everything Hatake related.
He remembered a particular incident involving a prank gone wrong, a destroyed cabbage stand, and a supremely infuriated citizen who demanded that Naruto be thrown in jail for his actions. A few well timed glares sent the man packing, and he was left alone with Naruto for longer than he ever had.
For nearly ten minutes the two of them talked while he waited for Iruka to come and take Naruto back to the academy. He remembered the boy's childlike, boisterous nature flow out of him like the open door of a dark cave. The door letting in light from somewhere green and beautiful, illuminating the dark, darkness of his mind.
He remembered that wide and bright smile. As well as his loud, determined declaration of a dream. A dream to become Hokage someday.
Then someone came and took him. Someone he trusted long ago, but who now was barely worth even thinking of.
He let the memory pass, and felt a new wave of energy pass through him. The will of fire perhaps, but also definitely another memory. The memory of a promise to himself, sealed in blood that was not his own.
"He's different than he was, but he's still Naruto. And I'll make sure he's trained, and protected." He said.
It was apparently the right thing to say. Because Hiruzen smiled. Wide, honest and true, the Hokage smiled at him. And Kakashi, for the first time in a long time. Felt like he was doing the right thing.
Something that he should've been doing all along.
Naruto couldn't be more disappointed if Sasuke took a dump in his ramen right in front of his eyes.
He grumbled, threats and curses on his lips as he wrenched a cluster of wiry, spiny roots from the stubborn, dry ground.
He'd long since abandoned the dull, rusty spade the owner of the field had given them, using one of his kunai instead.
He took a short break to wipe his forehead, sparing a glance at the weapon.
It was slightly bent by now, the edge definitely ruined, looking more like a spade than the actual spade he was given.
He shook his head, the irony of a weapon made for killing beaten down and ruined by being used for something below it's station, not at all lost on him.
He took out his anger on the soil, the old weeds somehow defying the edge of his kunai, 'I bet that Tori doesn't have to do missions like this.'
'Unfortunately, I am inclined to agree with you. This is a massive waste of our unique talents. I demand that you tell your 'sensei' of this offensive oversight.'
Naruto scoffed as he hacked away, sending bits and pieces of the roots over his shoulders.
"I'll do that the next time I SEE him. He bailed on us the second he was sure we knew what to do. Lazy bastard."
Naruto swiped a few more times, signing in a mixture of both relief and irritation once he was sure that his section of the yard was finished.
He stood up, dusting off some of the excess soil and dirt from his pants, the dirt darkening the burnt orange, to a near brown color.
He looked up, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sun.
He saw the two others on the other side of the gated yard, both on opposite sides. Sasuke looked nearly done, him having weeded his corner from right to left, with him now only a few feet from the fence. Hinata was only about halfway done even though they'd been at it for hours.
He frowned at the prospect of spending any more time here than he absolutely had to, but felt his annoyance flee the moment he looked a little closer at his one female teammate.
She was kneeling, her hair tied in a tight ponytail, her clan robes stained as if they were dragged across a na open field. She was repeated stabbing at the ground with her spade, hers in significantly better condition than his.
Naruto could hear her panting from here, the repeated stabs at the ground doing little to dislodge the large root from a rock hidden under the dirt.
He walked a little closer, noticing the way her body heaved with every breath. Her appearance reminding him of his own condition after he'd gone a few rounds with Tori. She leaned on her left, her stance awkward. And her face was screwed up into a grimace that seemed to be born of more than just overexertion.
He walked a little further, feeling a little awkward sneaking up in her, "Uhh, Hinata?"
Hinata flinched, and turned around, panting hard, sweat nearly dripping off of her.
Naruto's eyes widened when she turned around, the exhaustion on her face as obvious as a bug in your ramen bowl.
"Uh, are you feeling alright?" He asked.
Hinata's eyes looked from side to side, "I-I'm, um. A little tired."
Naruto nodded, 'No shit.' He thought to himself. Her skin nearly as white as the robes she wore.
He recalled that despite her being the only one with a clan to support her on their team, that him and Sasuke are nearly constantly training.
Not that Hinata wasn't, but even though he tended to hate the stuck up uchiha on the best of days, in a twisted sort of way, he knew more about him than he knew about Hinata.
Clan troubles were always a mystery to him. He watched the families of his classmates pick them up from the academy, envied their smiling faces, the loving looks and hugs they received.
He even remembered members of Sasuke's clan come to pick him up, although the identity of who they were eluded him now.
The faces never mattered, they were family, loved ones that cared for them. While Naruto had no one.
Ever since Sasuke's family was killed, he'd only ever watched the civilian kids, while Hinata just seemed to disappear in the crowd. Never seeming to be picked up by anyone that looked like someone in her family. And he definitely would have remembered the eyes of someone from Hinata's clan.
'Maybe she's alone, like me?'
He looked a little closer, her face screaming a mixture of pain and discomfort, the grimace swiftly changing to from one of obvious stress, to meek discomfort. The cause of the change probably because of his overt inspection of her.
He shook his head, snapping himself out of it for her sake, not trying to make her uncomfortable.
He scratched the back of his head, looking off to the side, "I could, help you if you want..." he trailed off, not sure if his help would be welcome.
Her face tensed briefly, as if considering saying no, but she visibly relaxed after a moment, leaning back until she was sitting, "Yes please."
Naruto relaxed too, looking over to sasuke, seeing that the uchiha was nearly finished with his own plot of harsh ground.
"Oi! Come help me and Hinata finish up. If we all work at the same time, we might be able to catch Ichiraku's before it closes."
Sasuke grumbled to himself, the distance drowning out anything Naruto might've heard.
Naruto stepped a little closer, cupping his ear, "What?"
Sasuke growled turning to glare at his teammates, "I SAID we were all given separate areas for a reason. Finish up on your own. I still have mine to do."
The Uchiha whipped his head around, turning back to his work.
Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but he knew that his words would likely just be wasted. The uchiha had been in a sour mood all day, with Naruto not fairing much better in that respect. The announcement that their days would be filled with mostly training and menial tasks and not the glorious, exciting missions they were promised certainly put the both of them out, putting it mildly.
But now wasn't the time to argue, sasuke was about as likely to apologize as Hinata was to swear.
He turned back to Hinata, gripping his ruined kunai with the intent on lending a hand, when he froze.
He sighed and smacked his palm into his forehead, "Kami, I'm such an idiot Dattebayo!"
Hinata looked alarmed and confused, but Naruto ignored her, crossing his index and middle fingers in front of him, in what was definitely his favorite hand sign.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He screamed.
At his utterance, about a dozen clones puffed into existence, each of them with a copy of his dirty kunai in their hands. They immediately went to work, the closest one taking over Hinata's spot with a grin flashed to her.
Sasuke appeared to Naruto's left, his infuriating frown on his face, "You know you could've done that hours ago."
Naruto felt his temper flare up, and he smiled at the Uchiha, taking special care to show more teeth, his enlarged canines showing, "Well I had to give you a chance to pull your own weight 'Sasuke-kun." He said, giving his best impression of Ino, pressing his face together while flashing his eyelashes at him.
Hinata sagged a bit, and Naruto turned to her, waving his hands in front of him, "Nonono, I-I didn't mean you Hinata, just the teme over there."
Sasuke crossed his arms, "That doesn't make any sense. So you meant that I'm not pulling my weight when I was already almost done?"
Naruto looked up as he noticed Kakashi approach, his eye glinting in amusement, "Lighten up my innocent little genin, Naruto just basically finished up the mission for the three of you. Perhaps I should gouge your pay and give it to Naruto for all his hard work."
Naruto beamed up at him, 'Man, maybe this guy's not so bad after all.' Naruto certainly wouldn't mind a little extra cash, certainly when it came at the expense of the so called 'bad boy' of the group.
He turned to Sasuke, who looked annoyed, but not at all bothered, "I don't care about money. Naruto just saved us from wasting any more of our time here, that's all."
Kakashi shrugged, "Fair point, let's go tell the owner of the property that we're finished here."
At that, the three of them made their way to the front door of a short, small house about a dozen feet from the freshly weeded land in his yard.
The house was surrounded by flowers, plants and herbs of all different kinds, a few he recognized as being especially good on ramen.
Kakashi knocked on the rickety old door, a faint trail of dust falling from the rough frame.
The house creaked and shook as the occupant drew closer, the door opening to reveal a fairly old man with grey hair and a decent build.
Naruto pegged him as a labor worker, or maybe a low ranked ex shinobi by the faint lines of muscle on his arms and hands. He smiled at Kakashi, "I take it the job is done then." He said levelly.
His jounin sensei nodded, "Yep, all done."
The old man smirked, "Hehe, That was fast, I expected the job to take you at least two more hours."
Kakashi leaned out of the way, gesturing to Naruto, "It was a piece of cake, thanks to Naruto here."
Naruto's eyes widened at the praise, not fully meaning the words about getting paid more for his efforts. Sasuke and Hinata still helped a lot after all. It wouldn't be fair to take all the credit.
He scratched at his head, chuckling nervously to himself.
He snapped out of it when he caught the man's look, his eyes boring into him. THAT look.
'Oh...'
He felt a mixture of hurt, outrage and frustration gnaw at him from somewhere inside, like he was picking at an old wound that refused to heal.
The man narrowed his eyes at him, his lip curled into an expression of such distaste it looked as if he was staring at the most hideous and reprehensible abomination imaginable.
Which, he supposed, to him, he was.
He glared back at the man, not at all willing to be bullied into submission by a simple looks from a shriveled up, decrepit old man.
He crossed his arms, giving the bastard the most hateful look he could muster.
"Um, Naruto-kun..." Hinata's voice took him off guard, and he glanced at her, swiftly softening his features when she flinched at the hard look he accidentally sent her.
She regained her composure quickly though, "Naruto-kun, do you know this man?"
He frowned again, turning to the old bastard with a pointed stare, "No. And he doesn't know me either."
He turned back to their 'customer' renewing his stare. After about another minute, the man just huffed to himself, and reached into his pocket to retrieve the bills in his pocket. He held out the money to Kakashi, who took them almost reluctantly.
"5,000 Ryo. Just as it was agreed." The man growled.
The man turned to go inside his house when kakashi spoke up, "Actually, that's 10,000."
The man turned on a dime, looking confused, "What, absolutely not! I was VERY clear when I..."
The man trailed off when Kakashi took a step, and something changed.
Naruto felt his fear spike at an unknown threat, and he broke into a sweat as he glanced around.
'What the hell is that?' He said, his hand reaching for his kunai pouch.
'Calm yourself.'
The sound in his head, mixed with the fear made Naruto jumps slightly, 'Your... 'sensei' is manipulating chakra to induce fear in that senile old insect. Watch, and enjoy.'
Before he could ask the fox what he was supposed to be enjoying about this experience, he saw the old man begin to shake.
His face was stretched into one of fright, the look so exaggerated it bordered on parody. His eyes were wide as he looked at the jounin, Kakashi not moving an inch since he took the step on the porch.
"I said... 10,000. As. We. Agreed." Kakashi said, just as calmly and evenly as he spoke before.
In an instant, the fear fell away. Leaving him and his teammates sweaty and panting hard.
The old man was much worse off, swaying on his feet like he was an inch from collapse, he shifted to the right, grabbing onto the outer frame of the door for dear life.
After a pause to reclaim his breath, he rummaged through his pocket for more money, eventually holding out a shaky hand to the jounin, who swiped the bills quick as a whip.
"Thank you for your generous contribution." He said before grabbing the door, and slamming it in his face.
He immediately turned around, swiftly walking away from the man's porch.
Naruto stood rooted to the spot for a second, his head trying to sort out what had just happened. After another brief pause, he snapped out of it, turning to run after his sensei.
Once he reached him, his two teammates close behind him, he turned to his sensei, "You used chakra to do that didn't you?"
Kakashi nodded without turning, "Yep, pretty handy on missions like these." He said, his tone light.
Hinata frowned, "Missions like these?"
Kakashi nodded slowly, "Keep in mind, often times, the only ones you can trust are yourself, and your teammates. Civilians will often lie, or otherwise do their best to make your job harder, and even more dangerous. Not often do they lie when the mission is still in the village, but it does happen."
Sasuke walked up, staying to Kakashi's right, his eyes narrowed, "What the hell happened back there?"
Kakashi kept walking, but slowed down to keep eye contact with the young Uchiha, "He tried to short us, but there's nothing like a little Killing Intent to keep civvies honest."
Naruto smiled, his excitement building, "Was that some kind of Jutsu we could learn?"
Kakashi quirked his head to think, eventually shaking his head, "it's not really the kind of thing you're taught. It's a lot like using chakra to make yourself stronger, or faster than regular people. If you're chakra is activated, and you have enough of it, its kind of something you learn over time."
That didn't satisfy Naruto in the slightest, his smile dropping at the prospect of having to wait.
Hinata pursed her lips, looking confused, "Did you pull a prank on that guy Naruto? He looked like he was pretty mad at you for some reason."
Naruto felt is hackles rise, but the innocent glint of the hyuuga's lavender eyes told him that Hinata had no idea about fox. He calmed down, flashing her a smirk, "A prank? All the way out here in the sticks where absolutely no one could see!? No way. It would've been a waste to prank him when there's no one out here to appreciate my genius" He said smugly.
Hinata giggled at his words, and Naruto chuckled a bit too. Sasuke let himself fall back to walk in line with Kakashi, a storming expression on his face.
Naruto looked back to the brooding Uchiha, considering for a moment the prospect of confronting him on his sour attitude, but eventually decided against it.
'Considering the stupid, boring missions we've had to do today, I don't feel in the mood to argue with the asshole anymore.'
He got to learn about a new technique coming his way someday, he got to watch that that jerky gardener shit bricks at his scary sensei, and to top it all off, he got Hinata to laugh at one of his jokes.
He smiled to himself, 'Maybe being on a team isn't all bad.'
He looked up to see the Hokage tower, and his good mood evaporated instantly. Replaced only by dread.
The air tensed as soon as they stepped foot in the room, the Hokage glaring at Kakashi with an expression the spoke of sheer irritation.
The Hokage looked straight at Kakakshi, quirking an eyebrow at him. Kakashi was nonplussed, striding forward to stand in front of the Hokage's desk.
Naruto hesitated before stepping into the room, a quick shiver running through him. He grit his teeth, glancing at sasuke, who had already walked ahead of him.
He HAD to get used to this, if he was gonna be a powerful shinobi, he was going to be taking a lot of missions, and that meant having to come to the Hokage more often than he liked.
Naruto, with some effort, walked slowly into the room, careful not to look at the Hokage, doing his best not to imagine him with a hand raised, a quick gesture to alert the ANBU hidden just out of sight to take him away.
He heard a few words being spoken, his attention blurred and distracted. After a moment, he felt his surroundings come into focus.
"...Kakashi, you must return that man's money."
His eyes widened in surprise, and he looked to his sensei who shrugged, "As you wish." He said in a tone that Naruto now recognized as the tone he used when he was going to do, not what you asked him to do.
The Sandaime groaned, "Kakashi, I order you to return the man's money. It is important that we give a good impression to all of those who pay for our services, any less, and we risk losing credibility. Paving the way for other villages to muscle us out of our business partners."
Kakashi relented, and nodded, giving a much more respectful reply, "Yes Hokage-sama."
The old man sighed, leaning back in his creaky old chair, "Anyway, good work Team 7. Four D-ranks in one day is very good for your first couple missions. You're pay is an envelope with your name on it at the bursar office downstairs."
The Sandaime glanced at them all, his eyes hovering over Naruto in a way that was dangerously close to concern.
Naruto swallowed thickly, staring back at the man he once would've called something close to family.
He locked eyes with the old man, HIS old man, unconsciously searching for something in his eyes, something he was sure was once there.
...Nothing. No warmth at all.
The Sandaime sighed, making the old man seem even older, "Dismissed."
Kakashi bowed, and turned to leave along with Sasuke and Hinata.
Naruto lingered, his body turning, but his head still turned to the old man. The Sandaime watched him with renewed interest, and Naruto nearly cringed when he saw that particular glint in his eye.
Not one of mirth or genuine care, but only the cold kind of interest reserved for a child when receiving a new toy, or perhaps a mirror image of himself when he was given a gift of a new kunai set from Tori.
Naruto turned around, and jogged after his jounin sensei, "Hey, Wait up!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was tired, but only let it show on his face after the boy had left him. He stared as the doors closed, watching as the orange form of his would-be successor's only son run from him.
Grief tore at Hiruzen, so painful was his sorrow he nearly clutched at his chest, knowing that it wouldn't help, but longing for the ability to feel anything other than pain.
He decided against it, 'For the sake of my poor ANBU guard at least.'
It is important to give them impression of a strong, competent leader after all, even if it wasn't how he felt at all.
He looked at the door again, regret weighing him down. Hiruzen managed to make a young man out of the boy he once knew. Flashes of memories flashed in front of him, the still frames of memory still fresh in his mind even after years of time separating him from the events. Yes. A man indeed, yet now he was a stranger.
He clenched his jaw, watching as the genin team disappeared behind the heavy wooden doors. Idly wondering if he could hate himself any more than he did at that moment.
Sasuke stewed over the day's events as he trailed behind his sensei, beginning to wonder if he was the only sane person on his team.
He felt his anger just at his fingertips, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. The massive waste of team was nearly over, and there was little he could do to improve his chances to test his skills in any real, or significant way.
He looked ahead to the end of the hallway, Kakashi opening the door to reveal the fading sunlight of the nearly set sun overhead.
An entire day wasted. Yet another day his brother saw the sun rise. Free from the justice he so badly deserved.
His sensei turned on them, halting the three of them just outside the building they just left. "Naruto, a question." Kakashi said. The blonde started when his name was uttered.
"How did you know that I used chakra to use that technique on the old man earlier?" He asked, his genuine tone taking Sasuke aback.
He narrowed his eyes, dialing into the situation. Sasuke could never have claimed to know Kakashi very well, but if there was anything the strange man was NOT, it was sincere.
Sasuke wasn't surprised, or even offended really. Most higher ranked shinobi were secretive to the point of paranoia, and all the older shinobi were the very best at obfuscation. It reminded him of his father, in a strange sort of way.
It was comforting at least, and it assured Sasuke that the one-eyed jounin wasn't a complete joke.
Naruto fumbled a bit, eventually just scratching at the back of his head and mumbling, "Well, I just kind of, knew."
Sasuke frowned at him, not at all satisfied, but Kakashi seemed to be, nodding, "Hmm."
Sasuke frowned even further, but by the time he went to open his mouth, the man was already speaking. "You've all done well the past few days, and the Hokage has recognized your hard work. Tomorrow will be for training only. You three have the next two days off of missions."
Hinata sighed loudly, Naruto cheered, and sasuke said nothing. Staring at the jounin, incredulity plain on his face.
The Jounin took no notice of his mood, or otherwise didn't care, continuing on. "Again, good work. Dismissed."
And with that, the jounin turned to walk the same way they came.
Hinata jogged after the jounin, while Naruto flashed a quick look to him, looking nervous, then jogged off himself.
Sasuke was left alone, which immediately raised his spirits. But it didn't raise them high enough for him to dismiss his thoughts about Naruto and the old man.
There was definitely something going on, and Sasuke hated that he didn't know what it was. The fact that Kakashi knew and he didn't only made it worse.
He shook his head, walking home as the sun crested over the horizon.
'It doesn't matter. None of it, none of them, matter either. Only one person matters.'
Same as ever.
Kakashi found himself seriously considering going straight home instead of giving that old codger his money.
It wasn't often that he lost his temper, especially in front of others, but certain recent events made Kakashi much less lenient with those that discriminated against Naruto.
He could remember the man, an old ninja from his youth. He didn't remember him until he saw his face, but by the time he remembered, it didn't matter to him in the slightest.
The look in his eyes said it all, and all the respect he may have had for a veteran shinobi evaporated. The killing intent was unintended at first, but Kakashi had learned a long time ago to never do anything halfway. May as well have a little fun, especially when it comes at the expense of someone who has the nerve to glare like that at one of his genin.
He heard the footsteps long in advance, waiting until she was directly to his left to turn to her, "Yes?" He said expectantly.
Hinata didn't miss a beat, bowing low to him, not waiting for him to stop. He did stop though, right in his tracks.
"I'm sorry for being so rude earlier sensei." She said, sounding close to tears.
Kakashi was thrown for a loop, which didn't happen too often. He retraced the steps of his memory, "You mean during the test?" He asked sincerely.
She nodded, still bowing, "Yes Kakashi-sensei. I fought and conducted my actions in a way not befitting a Hyuuga. I apologize."
Kakakshi stared, his eyes narrowing when the disturbed robes shifted somewhat, mottled pale yellow and purple bruises peeking out past her robes on her wrists and shins.
Kakashi took a mental picture, and relaxed his face a bit for Hinata's sake, "Maa Maa Hinata. Get up please, you're making me blush."
Hinata rose, but only high enough to see his face. He gestured with his hands to rise, "It's okay Hinata. If anything I should apologize to you. That genjutsu was especially nasty."
He'd do no such thing, but he did kinda feel bad about it, and from the slight nod of the head he got from the girl, he got the impression that his 'not apology' was accepted.
"You fought well, I'm confident in it's your skill in taijutsu. I promise you I've definitely fought hyuuga twice your age that performed much, much worse than you."
Hinata straightened slowly, her cheeks pink, "You flatter me sensei."
Kakashi huffed, "I don't do flattery. At worst, I lie. But I try not to do that to the people I like. I'm telling the truth, you did well."
She almost let herself smile, but wiped it from her face almost instantly, "You are most kind Kakashi-sensei, I'll see you in the morning." And without another word, she turned to run down the road.
Kakakshi stood in that spot for a long moment, thinking over what just happened, when he suddenly felt his hair stand on end.
He acted quickly, performing a quick shunshin, putting him at the top of a tree about 30 meters where he once stood.
He was about to use his chakra to do a quick chakra scan, when he remembered the quick change in demeanor, and the subtle glance Hinata made.
He moved quick, quick enough to even evade the uncanny eyes of a Hyuuga. He appeared behind the young man, who turned to him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "While the whole 'stalker-to-lover' things is indeed quite popular these days, sorry to say you just aren't my type."
The 'man's' entire head nearly erupted based on the color his skin turning into at his comment, and the young man Kakashi judged to be around 15 or 16 stammered out a response, "I-I was t-trailing Hinata-sama, not you!" He half yelled, half stuttered.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him, "How very rude of you. Am I not 'stalker bait' for you? I'll have you know that I'm devilishly handsome under this mask."
The crimson shade that overtook him darkened to an almost worrying degree, and the young man sputtered for a solid five seconds before he was able to respond. "Hiashi-sama specifically ordered my to trail the Hyuuga heiress for—" And with a loud clap, he slammed his hands over his mouth, staring up at him in surprise and shock, with a little bit of shame mixed in.
Kakashi nodded as he took a few steps back, "Yep, sounds about right." He said flippantly.
The young Hyuuga took his chance to flee, vanishing in a flurry of leaves.
Kakashi let him go, knowing all he needed to know right now, "Time to schedule a meeting with the second most powerful man in Konohagakure."
Naruto was up before the sun, not by choice of course.
Just your average, vivid, impossibly horrifying nightmare as his internal alarm clock.
He felt as a another tremor wracked his body, and a final round of bile passed his lips and into the toilet.
He panted for breath, leaning his head into the crook of his arm.
He wiped his lips, and reached out a trembling hand to flush the toilet, letting his exhausted body fall to the side, resting against the wall.
He took deep, slow breaths in an attempt to clear the gory, terrible images from his mind. His eyes wandering around the room in an effort to distract himself.
He clenched his fists, riding out the terror and anxiety he felt, knowing that his presence on his new team, elevated the logic his usual midnight training sessions from, 'inadvisable' as Tori was likely to say, to 'a really bad idea'.
He focused on his surroundings, or as much of it as he could see in the dim, moonlight lit bathroom. He shuddered when he looked past the door, spying the empty container of instant ramen on the table.
He suppressed the urge to vomit again, and let his eyes drift closed, "Damn."
At his utterance of the curse, he felt a warm, almost too warm presence swell in him, and a familiar voice echoed in his head.
'Peace, boy. Peace' He whispered.
He opened his eyes, the soft tone from the traditionally prickly demon, taking him aback.
'What's... what's wrong?'
'Nothing. Be still boy. All is well.'
Naruto stilled, the warm feeling spreading, and by the time he noticed it, he was far too weak to resist.
He could feel the emotions of the fox, their increased bond sharing the emotions the Kyuubi was trying to force on him.
He had half a mind to resist, but that half was exhausted, and it was the middle of the night in his empty apartment. With nothing but the demons of his dreams to greet him.
So he relented, leaning back against the wall, "Thanks Kyuubi-san."
He heard the fox stir, and felt the booming presence and pressure that accompanied the words from the nine-tails, whatever he said, Naruto had drifted too far to hear.
And so Naruto let the world fade away, his nose filled with the sweet, earth scent of the forest.
He was awoken by a droning, annoying sound in the background. He recognized the his sound, to his immediate frustration.
He rolled over to silence the alarm, only to feel the vertigo brought on by a sudden fall. His eyes opened, and he yelled in surprise as he hit the bathroom floor.
He didn't fall far, and his arms caught his fall. He groaned, rising to his feet slowly.
He yawned, stretching his arms up high, glancing at the clock, only to see his doom spelled out in bright red numbers.
Naruto sprinted to his room, throwing on his gear as fast as he could, "Shit!"
Naruto was halfway to training ground 11 when he saw Konohamaru around the corner.
He felt bad passing him by, fearful of the punishments he might receive if he was late.
He sprinted by, not stopping until he was at the base of the tree on the training grounds. He pitched forwards, hands on his knees, when he looked around, seeing Hinata sitting regally at the base of a tree, and sasuke, higher up sitting on a branch.
Both of them were staring, Hinata looking a bit concerned.
"Is everything alright Naruto-kun?" She asked.
Naruto's head whipped from side to side, looking around, when it hit him. He was looking for, wouldn't-know-a-clock-if-it-hit-him-in-the-fucking-face, Kakashi Hatake
He sighed heavily, "Oh for fuck's sake." He grumbled, black hatred settling in his gut.
Hinata frowned, getting up, "Naruto, what's wrong?"
Naruto held his hands up, gesturing for her to calm down, "Nothing, I just realized that I don't have to worry about Rei-sensei anymore."
Hinata gave him a sardonic smile, "Yes, it seems that Kakashi-sensei likes to take his time."
Naruto rolled his eyes, walking past her, "That's a very polite way of saying it. I prefer..." He cupped his hands around his mouth, "WASTING ALL THE DAMN TIME WE COULD SPEND ACTUALLY TRAINING!" He yelled.
Hinata giggled at him, and Sasuke threw a rock. Both equally fulfilling reactions that put a smile on his face.
He made a face at Sasuke, sticking his tongue out, and he dodged the second rock around the same time that a puff of white smoke appeared next to the tree.
Kakashi appeared with the tree to his left, and Naruto didn't hesitate to march up to his supposed, 'Jounin-sensei'.
"YOU'RE LATE!" He yelled, pointing a finger at Kakashi.
Kakashi shrugged, apparently nonplussed at his tardiness, "It couldn't be helped. I had to help a friend move some furniture into his house. After that I rushed my way here as fast as I could."
Naruto faltered, his thoughts grinding to a halt at the odd response.
He gave his sensei a look that conveyed the level of confusion he felt, "You... what?" He asked. Not quite sure if he heard the man correctly.
Kakashi nodded, "Yup. Spur of the moment thing. I had to help him, his back might've given out if I didn't."
Naruto let his hand fall to his side, every word that cameo from his mouth confusing him even more. By now Sasuke hopped down, joining him and Hinata. "I'm not entirely sure you have any friends."
Kakashi put a hand to his chest in offense that was likely anything but genuine, "Aw, that's harsh Sasuke-kun, words hurt you know."
Sasuke shrugged, "I know." He said, prompting a laugh from Naruto.
Kakashi clapped, turning to walk towards the taijutsu field, "Well, we really should get to work. Can't spend all our time lounging around, right team?"
Naruto grumbled some unsavory words under his breath, but was mostly just ready to get on with training.
He followed the jounin, with his two team members walking alongside him.
Kakakshi glanced back to them as they walked, "You know, on my walk here, I thought that the weather is just incredible! The perfect day for some taijutsu training.
Naruto's spirits lifted, 'Now we're talking!'
Sasuke frowned, "Your 'walk' here?"
Naruto turned to his sensei, "Hey, yeah! You said that you hurried back!?"
Kakashi waved them off, "Maa Maa, don't worry about all that, let's just get started. Make up for lost time and all that."
Naruto rolled his eyes, 'I like this curr of a man less and less...' The fox said.
Naruto agreed, but it didn't really matter if he or the fox liked him. The man seemed pretty strong, and as long as he could teach him how to be strong, none of his annoying little traits really mattered.
Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke stopped at the boundary line of the square, but Kakashi continued, taking a few more steps before he turned to face them.
"Now. We're here to help determine some of the things you all need to work on as far as Taijutsu goes." He raised a hand to halt a question from Naruto, "We'll get to the other bits like Ninjutsu in a little while."Naruto lowered his hand dejectedly.
Kakashi went on, "We'll all talk at the end of every bout to discuss strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between."
Sasuke scoffed, "This is assuming that every one of us has strengths to show to begin with. One of us graduated at the very bottom of our class." He said, crossing his arms dismissively.
Hinata frowned at his words, and Naruto growled, but Kakashi raised a hand to silence them both.
Kakashi turned to look at Sasuke, "You say that like you're the only one with something to offer on this team."
Sasuke raised his chin, defiance in his eyes as he stared back at Kakashi. He said nothing, but his face said it all.
Kakashi sighed, "Then I'll ask you Sasuke, what is the point of having three man teams?"
Sasuke responded after a brief pause, "For each member to work together to increase their overall strength."
Kakashi paused, then nodded, "Partially. Another reason is for each member to cover the weaknesses of the other."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his sensei, "And what if one member possesses no weaknesses, or if their skill so far exceeds the other two, that the rest of the team becomes irrelevant."
"There's no such thing as a perfect ninja. Even Uchiha have weaknesses."
Naruto's eyes flew open, and he turned quickly to look at Hinata, her face hard, betraying nothing but contempt. Naruto swallowed, 'Damn Hinata-Chan...' The words so cold, he almost thought it was someone else.
Sasuke turned his whole body to stare back at her, "There was once a time where the Hyuuga were to weaker clan to mine. If my family was still living you'd know that there was a reason for that. Excellence was once an inseparable trademark of our clan. Far better than the one trick ponies in yours."
Naruto scowled, but he was prevented from speaking when Kakashi cut in, chopping the air with his hand.
"Enough. Hinata's point has merit sasuke, a point that I will illustrate, right now."
Kakashi raised a hand, motioning for them to come forward, "Hinata, Naruto, you're up."
Naruto looked to the Hyuuga, Hinata looked shocked, and a little scared. While Naruto's mind flashed to the academy, remembering when her and Ino fought that one time.
He winced, scratching at the back of his head, 'Yeah, that wasn't pretty.'
He started to walk forwards, when he noticed Hinata trailing behind, he turned to look at her, daring himself to look into her eyes, "It's been a while since I've gone up against someone strong that wasn't a jounin. This'll be fun! Right Hinata-Chan?"
Hinata perked up, and although she didn't smile like he hoped, she gave a small nod that satisfied him.
"You mean other than when I beat you at my house dobe?" Naruto turned to glare at the Uchiha, and Sasuke matched his stare, but Kakashi gave sasuke a look that made the surly genin frown back at the jounin.
Sasuke crossed his arms, but said nothing more. Naruto gave one last glare, then turned around to head to his corner.
He remembered several taijutsu bouts like this. Most often with Sasuke, and a few others like Kiba and Chouji. Some even with his teachers...
Naruto felt a cold pit in his stomach at the thought, along with angry, dark thoughts when he thought of Mizuki. He could feel the roiling chakra there, just underneath the surface.
"Okay..." Kakashi said, snapping Naruto out of his reverie.
He looked up, and Kakashi was in the middle of them, with Hinata across from him, and Sasuke stewing over to the side.
Kakashi looked to Naruto, a serious expression on his face, "The rules are simple, and I'm sure you're both familiar with the taijutsu matches in the academy. The only difference here is the rising of aggression, and the allowance of certain types of ninjutsu, or weapons if you think it'll help."
He turned to Hinata, "No attempts at serious injury are allowed that go beyond your taijutsu's intended purpose. Think of it this way. Anything that you think might interrupt training because of injury, or cleanup, don't do it."
He turned around to face Sasuke, "No dangerous ninjutsu, or use of weapons or techniques that aren't practical for a one-on-one fight. This is intended to train you in using mainly taijutsu, we'll train for the other stuff later."
Sasuke was the only one of them that looked like he disagreed, and Naruto felt sure that he was bound to voice his objections later, but for now he said nothing.
Kakashi approved of the silence, and turned back to look at Naruto.
"Ready?" He asked.
Naruto nodded, grinning and baring his fangs.
He posed the same question to Hinata, "Ready?"
Hinata paused, then nodded.
Kakashi nodded, and leapt into the air, landing just outside the square.
Naruto smiled at Hinata, raising a fist to her, "No hard feelings, it's just training." Hinata smiled back, looking a little relieved.
Naruto smiled a little to himself, hopeful that her feelings would be the same after this match, '...Cause I really want to win dattebayo!'
He didn't really know why, maybe because Hinata seemed to magically win against every opponent in the academy. Or maybe just becasue she seemed really strong to him. He clenched his fist, and squared his legs, primed to move.
Kakakshi slowly raised his hand, then struck it down, pointing his fingers to the earth, "Hajime!"
Naruto sprung into action, and threw a hard punch meant to catch Hinata in the chest. She was fast, definitely fast enough to dodge, but not faster than Tori.
Hinata ducked out of the way, and thrust a palm out at him. He dodged, but only barely, switching his momentum to the side to throw a hard kick to her head.
She ducked, striking out with her other palm too fast for him to dodge. His balance faltered at the strong hit to his left thigh, and he pitched forwards, his momentum from the kick sending him to the floor.
He rolled, surprised to see her still standing there. He moved forwards, slower this time, keeping his hands up to block. Hinata struck first this time, punching with an open palm to his stomach.
He blocked, feeling a slight tingle in his arm, but was too late to stop the second palm.
He grunted in pain, but pushed through it to keep running, body checking Hinata.
By her yelp, she was surprised, and Naruto continued, grabbing her flowing robes with one hand, quickly lifting a leg to kick her in the ribs. She grunted and he tried to keep a hold on her, but her shoulder shuffled back as she raised a hand to strike again.
Naruto's jump brought him just high enough to let the strike pass him, and he yelled out as he raised a fist to hit her over the head.
Naruto only saw the look in her eye, the pulsing veins on her temple before he took a hard hit to the gut on the way down.
His body was filled with an energy that wasn't his own, and he lost control of his body as he flew away from his opponent.
He hit the ground with a thud, and the shock of that was just enough to knock some sense into him.
He groaned, shakily getting up as he stared back at Hinata. He grinned, about to promise some kind of rebuttal to the strike, when he saw the fear.
Her eyes were wide, the pulsing veins around her eyes were gone, her palm still outstretched as if she froze the very second the hit landed.
She was staring at him, looking shocked and ashamed. Naruto felt a little self conscious so he grunted as he rose.
'I thought I told you NOT to embarrass yourself.'
Naruto growled to himself, "Shut up." He whispered.
Naruto got up, dusting himself off, mocking surprise at her face, "Geez Hinata, I'm not made of glass. You've got another thing coming if you really think I'll be beaten just from one lucky hit."
Kakashi cleared his throat, "Actually you almost were. You were about half an inch from going over the line."
Naruto waved him off, "Ah, that doesn't count. It only counts when I'm flat on my back."
"Well, you just—"
Naruto ignored him and charged back in, Hinata jumped from the sudden movement, just barely defending from the quick jabs Naruto threw.
He remembered how she moved now, thinking back to her previous fights at the academy.
He moved quick, shuffling his shoulders and shifting his stance between his two feet to keep Hinata guessing.
He saw her eyes flicker across his form, looking at his eyes, then hips, then legs.
'That's it!'
He punched, and predictably, hinata caught it with an open palm, but the same palm was too preoccupied to defend against the kick he threw from the same side.
It impacted with her shoulder with a thud, and naruto pulled back to prepare for a counter attack, but Hinata took the hit in stride, smirking back at him.
Naruto's eyes widened, realizing that this is the first time he'd seen such an expression on the normally withdrawn Hyuuga.
He leaped back just in time to avoid a lunge that would've definitely bowled him over. The force of the open palmed strike sending a small gust of air through his hair.
They parted, breathing hard, and sweating, but both smiling.
Naruto smirked, "Told ya. Until I'm on my back, and I can't get back up, never count out Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo!"
She huffed, a merry glint in her eye, "Very well."
They both charged, and as soon as Naruto threw his first punch, Hinata landed another solid one to his chest. He expected it, and held on to her arm, grabbing at her robes again with his other hand.
Hinata yelped as she pitched forwards, and Naruto let his feet fall underneath him as he pulled them to the ground. He let his feet swing with the fall, letting the momentum carry them both as they rolled, with Naruto ending up on top.
He felt the initial rush, elated that the move went the same way that Tori did it, then felt the joy leave him as he realized that he had no idea what to do next.
He looked down just in time to see the determination in Hinata's face as she pulled him forwards just enough to get her legs underneath his abdomen, then thrusting her legs out, launching him off of her at Mach-10.
He yelled, and managed to land directly on his head, the impact seeming to echo through his entire body.
He groaned as he got up, but Hinata was way faster, and by the time he could blink, Hinata had already struck him three times, hitting his neck, shoulder and chest in a single heartbeat.
Naruto felt his body recoil and go numb at the impacts, as well as the strange technique invading his body, and he fell with a loud thud, landing hard on his side.
Naruto groaned loudly as he stared up at the sky, and gave it one really try to get up. He tried to raise his head, but stopped when he heard Kakashi speak.
"That's enough Naruto." He said in a calm tone. He looked in the direction the voice came from, and saw Kakashi looking down on him. Naruto gave a thumbs up, his breathing slowing down.
Hinata approached him from the side, sideways from his perspective, her eyes full of concern, "A-Are you alright Naruto-kun?"
He smiled, about to answer the obvious question, but a wave of dizziness overtook him, and he groaned again, much to the amusement of his tenant.
'I would enjoy watching your recent thrashings boy, if the didn't embarrass us so.'
Naruto wanted to respond, but found that the strength to do so was out of his reach, so he settled concentration his irritation at the fox into the best approximation of a mental middle finger the best he could.
The fox grunted, 'This girl's chakra is more potent than I thought, it will take time to flush it out.'
Naruto felt a sudden, but welcome influx of dark power pour into his veins, but Hinata jogged over to his side, making a few quick jabs in the same spots as before.
The chakra seemed to flip a switch in him, an electric shock surging painfully through him.
Naruto groaned, stiffly sitting up, a hand rubbing his head, "Ugh, damn Hinata-Chan, you hit hard..."
"I-I'm, I'm so sorry Naruto-kun."
Naruto flinched, and tried to turn to flash a comforting smile at the girl, but the sudden whiplash got the better of him, and his reassuring smile ended up looking more pained than he meant it to.
"No no no, that's a good thing Hinata-Chan! You're way cooler than I thought!"
Hinata's worried frown and creased brow vanished, and her face brightened a few shades of red, her flushed face even more stark against her already pale skin.
Before Naruto could ponder the reason for her reaction to his words, a curt, mocking tone cut through the air like a knife, "As if beating the dead last in our class in a taijutsu match is SUCH an accomplishment."
Naruto sighed in exasperation, grunting as he rose as gingerly as he could, holding his head all the while, "Has anyone told you how annoying your voice is Sasuke-teme?" He grated out.
Sasuke almost smiled, the expression closer to a snarl than a smile, "You're one to talk—"
"Naruto did well." Hinata praised, nodding her head.
Naruto beamed, "See teme!" He said, pointing to Hinata.
Sasuke scoffed, "Dobe. Even KIBA could've done better, but I guess the SECOND strongest clan in Konoha just isn't that strong anymore."
Naruto shot Sasuke a look, feeling annoyed and insulted on Hinata's behalf. Naruto clenched his fist, 'Just what the hell is this guy's problem?' He glared at Sasuke, "Go ahead, I'll make you eat those pearly white's of yours dickhead!"
Sasuke's smirk alone almost made Naruto's temper reach a boiling point, "Is one loss not enough for you? Just how pathetic can you—"
"You shouldn't talk to Naruto-kun like that." Hinata said.
Naruto started, turning to look at Hinata, the blush was gone, her skin pale again, and her eyes were narrowed into the most angry expression he'd ever seen on her.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, glaring back at the Hyuuga heiress, "And why not. A dunce like him will be useless once we start taking on real missions. Why he's even here is beyond me."
"I believe I can answer that."
Kakashi stepped forwards, his arms crossed, "He's here for the same reason that you're all here. To work together, and to cover for the weaknesses you have, supporting your teammates, making you all stronger as a team, and as individuals."
He leaned forwards, shifting his eyes to Sasuke, "Strange, I thought I was pretty clear about this." The man's presence seemed to darken, harden somehow as he levelled a serious stare at the 'Last Uchiha'. Sasuke didn't move, but he did lean away as if recoiling from a bonbfire. A bead of sweat trickling down the side of his head as he stared back at Kakashi.
Naruto leaned back as well, his heart beating hard as he too broke out into a sweat, 'Geez, Kakashi can be pretty scary when he wants to be.'
Their sensei leaned back and sighed, "I was gonna have a little talk with you all in-between fights, but I think I have the perfect opportunity for a teaching moment."
He turned to look at Hinata, "Hinata, are your ready to fight again.?"
Hinata started, but when she looked at sasuke, her stared hardened, her eyes so sharp it could cut diamonds. She looked to her sensei, and nodded.
Kakashi walked back, standing in the center of the square, "Hinata, Sasuke, come to the center."
Both of them walked over, Sasuke's frown melting into a grin, while Hinata maintained her severe expression.
They turned to face each other, both about seven paces away.
Naruto stood back. Excited, and genuinely curious about how this would turn out.
'If Hyuuga style taijutsu is as good as I remember their clan being, she will be victorious in this bout.'
Naruto's eyes widened, 'Really? Sasuke's a prick sure, but he's pretty good at fighting too. Hinata's dope too, but...'
The fox's voice rumble, in a way that Naruto now knew was the sound he made when the fox was thinking, 'We HAVE seen both the Hyuuga and the Uchiha fight. But I doubt that he's fought a hyuuga before.'
Naruto waited for the fox to say more, but there was only silence. He scratched his head, 'What do you mean?'
The fox growled, 'Just pay attention.' Naruto had a mind to say more, but he was more interested in what his teammates were doing.
Naruto's eyes widened, and he heard a deep chuckle from inside his head, 'And prepare yourself young one, for a show...'
Her early studies with her father had always taught her that Uchiha were arrogant, and often reckless, counting on their renowned skills and famous doujutsu more often than they should.
Glancing at Sasuke, watching him smirk at her, then settle into a taijutsu stance, she couldn't help but agree with that assessment.
Hinata focused on Sasuke, wondering what any of the other girls saw in this asshole.
He was squat in his square 'ready' stance he always used, his right hand held outwards, almost certainly his non-dominant hand, but that could always be a feint.
She studied him just like her father taught her, reading his subtle movements and gestures to get a read on the Uchiha.
His cocky grin settled into a determined glower, and he sank a little deeper into his stance, shifting his center of gravity forwards slightly. She noticed the movement, and adjusted hers as discreetly as she could.
She recalled her teaching as she always did before a match like this, the harsh repeated matches during training forcing her mind into a pattern.
She watched as sasuke moved, tracing his form as her memory filled in the blanks.
Her imagination went to work, an outline of Sasuke feinted a low kick, only to shift his weight at the last second, delivering a full force punch to her solar plexus.
Another phantom uchiha pivoted on his leading foot, flipping at an angle to deliver a high kick to her head.
A final image of her teammate leaped forwards, shifting his forwards' momentum into a low spin, the back of his heel hooking her own.
Hinata felt the blows land, echoes of prior bruises and painful blows flaring like warning signs in her head. She breathed in, and the phantoms disappeared, leaving no one but her, and her opponent.
She breathed out, and brought her hand to her face, her fingers forming the seal of confrontation, "Byakugan."
The sudden awareness brought on by her Kekkei Genkai brought everything into focus, revealing the chakra of every member of her team. Sasuke's chakra was darker than most, his chakra fluid and concentrated from years of training.
He frowned at her, his smile turning into a scowl. Hinata focused herself, her eyes only on Sasuke as Kakashi stepped into the middle, "Ready, hajime!"
Hinata watched as Sasuke 's legs moved, specifically eying his left as it came up for a kick.
She shifted to the side, letting the punch slide to his left. Sasuke's eyes went wide, and his momentum from his failed punch sent him forwards, overextending himself.
Simultaneously two alarms, each with accompanying emotions sounded loud and clear in her head. The first told her, screamed at her to thrust with both hands, the proper hand placement allowing for a variety of symptoms, depending on the certain chakra points that were hit.
It was loud, the surging anticipation and adrenaline pushing her to move, to act, but then came the fear.
It was the second alarm that blared loudest, the foul mixture of anger and fear swirling in her chest, both pushing her and warning her at the same kind.
It was enough to give her pause, enough pause to give Sasuke the time to recover, launching another attack.
It was fast, and Hinata barely dodged out of the way, using her arms to maintain her center of gravity, flowing in, and out of Sasuke's reach.
If Sasuke launched forwards, Hinata launched back, if Sasuke threw a kick, Hinata used her hands to guide the foot away from her, letting every strike be guided away from her.
Sasuke growled, "Hmph, coward. Fight me Hyuuga!"
Hinata glided backwards, shifting her direction, never letting her back completely face the edge of the square.
Her heart was beating fast, and Hinata realized that she was scared. Scared of her rising anger, the ugly, bubbling pit in her stomach that wanted to hurt the Uchiha in front of her.
She bit her lip, she wasn't a coward. True she was scared, but the fear wasn't for her, but for him.
Naruto was in awe.
Hinata seemed to glide on her feet, her hand and arms flowing like clouds in the atmosphere. She kept herself low, much lower than Sasuke, hunching forwards and keeping her hands up. And even when they weren't up, they moved smoothly around her in a dazzling dance that seemed to hypnotize him.
He watched, completely enraptured by the fight.
Sasuke was her complete opposite, staccato strikes and quick movements, all precision, and no style.
He waited, watching as they flowed back and forth as Hinata avoided every strike, not throwing any of her own.
"Interesting match huh?" Kakashi said.
Naruto glanced at the jounin, who was also paying close attention to the match. He turned this head to continue watching, "She fights weird."
"Her taijutsu style is called "Juuken" or the "Gentle Fist". It works by shutting down the chakra network using specific points where the chakra system intersects, cutting off the body's ability to use chakra."
Naruto felt his heart skip a beat, "What?" He asked, shocked.
"Yup. Their bloodline limit helps them see these points, its a big reason their clan is so respected, beyond them being one of the founding clans of Konoha."
Naruto shivered, "Scary..."
"Definitely." Kakashi said.
Naruto looked closer, and noticed how Hinata was almost miming her taijutsu style. After every near miss, or at the end of a series of blows, Hinata seemed to tap her finger, sometimes only meeting the air, but always coming close.
Undeterred, Sasuke kept fighting, and Naruto frowned, "She's not using it though..."
"Doesn't matter, she's still winning."
Naruto couldn't disagree, he could see that Sasuke was slowing down. Hinata continued to dodge, her movements were less fluid than before, but she was still just as fast.
Naruto was about to nod, but he noticed a look in her eyes, a certain panicked look that made him nervous.
He frowned, "Why isn't she attacking though."
There was a pause before his sensei answered, his voice absent of its lighthearted tone, "I don't know."
Sasuke was getting more and more frustrated with every second that passed, that much she could tell.
He was full on panting now, his breath coming in raggedly, but Hinata knew it was probably more due to anger, than exhaustion.
Hinata was breathing hard too, and she knew that she couldn't keep this up for much longer, but she still crouched, remaining ready.
She could feel it now, the ugly side of herself about to be shown to her entire team. The whispers that would be spread about her, the failed heiress who was too scared to fight the last Uchiha.
"Fight me dammit!"
Hinata sighed, it only figured that Uchiha Sasuke and her dark internal thoughts would be on the same wavelength.
She slid to the side, missing the kick by an inch, a far wider margin than last time. She dodged and dodged, Sasuke's infuriated growls and shouts getting louder and louder.
"It figures that the Hyuuga clan would teach you to cower before an Uchiha."
Hinata was silent, he could mock her clan as much as it pleased him. His words would never influence her.
"Come on! Only the weak run away like this, fight!"
Hinata skidded to a stop, "Shut up." The words poured from her mouth, her anger quickly reaching a crescendo.
She regretted stopping the instant she did it, but before she could move, Sasuke was on her.
He grabbed at her sleeve, pulling her arm down to punch her in the face with his opposite hand. Her head whipped to the side, and only reflex saved her from the kick to her head.
She raised her arm to block, and managed to pull back with enough speed to break Sasuke's grip.
Sasuke smirked again, "I don't know what's worse, being stuck with a loudmouth weakling, or a cowardly one."
Hinata's world turned a shade darker, and she felt her temper give way in a wave of anger and wrath.
She sprang forwards, but she let Sasuke throw the first blow.
He punched outwards, and she easily dodged, pressing just enough pressure to his shoulder, in just right spot. She passed him by in a flash, hearing the cry of pain and confusion in her opponent.
She turned on her heel, right behind him as she threw a punch with all the strength her small body would allow.
Sasuke turned just in time to get a full punch to the cheek, the impact sending him staggering backwards.
Hinata felt a jolt of pain run from her knuckles and up her arm, and she jumped back. Sasuke was already up, sporting a limp arm, and a welt to the right side of his face.
Hinata felt all the rage seep away, like heat in the face of a cold breeze.
She glanced off to the side for only a second before she turned away, not wanting to see the looks on the faces of Kakashi or Naruto.
Hinata took a breath, and settled back into her stance, keeping her eyes only on her opponent.
Sasuke stood panting for a moment, his face not giving anything away, and after another second Sasuke charged.
As soon as Sasuke was in striking distance he jumped, whipping is leg up, only to swing it back down on her head. Hinata tracked Sasuke, dodging the axe kick, giving her enough room to hit two crucial points below the knee.
Sasuke landed hard, his leg buckling underneath him.
A cloud of dust rose from Sasuke's prone form, and Kakashi walked over to the Uchiha.
Sasuke grunted as he propped himself up on his uninjured arm, using his leg to rise to one knee, but Kakashi put a hand on his head.
"The match is over Sasuke." Kakashi said softly.
Hinata looked over to the spot Sasuke was, and realized that he went over the line.
Sasuke growled, and Hinata was partly afraid that the angry boy would try to resume the match anyway. But sasuke just stood, leaning on his good leg, surprisingly accepting help from their sensei.
Hinata let her Byakugan fade, breathing out a sigh of both relief, and deep exhaustion. She took a step, and nearly fell, feeling a deep ache in her chest.
'What? How am I almost out of chakra?'
Hinata knew the answer to her question almost instantly, her mind supplying her with unhelpful images of her sparring with her cousin barely a few hours before.
She gasped when she felt a tug on her arm, looking to her left to see a warm, smiling face.
"I got you Hinata-Chan! You did awesome!" He yelled, a little too loud and too close.
Hinata managed to blush anyway, looking away from the Uzumaki, "T-Thanks."
She frowned and internally cursed herself for her recurring habit of stuttering, feeling even more embarrassed.
Naruto either didn't mind, or didn't notice, using his superior height help her walk to a tall stone to sit on.
Hinata lowered herself down, sitting next to Naruto, drawing even more blood to her face.
Sasuke sat last settling down with a distinctly 'pouty' expression, staring straight ahead, carding his useless arm.
Hinata felt a pang of guilt, and leaned forward to try and find eye contact with the lone uchiha, "I know a technique that should let you use your limbs again, if you'd just let m.."
Hinata trailed off when Sasuke turned his head to stare at her, looking almost certainly, uninterested in whatever she had to say or offer.
She leaned back, fiddling with her fingers, trying to imagine she was anywhere else but here.
"Sounds like someone is a very sore... loser..." Naruto drawled, a coy smirk on his face.
Sasuke only kept staring, gripping just a little bit tighter to his arm, "Don't think that just because I'm like this doesn't mean I still can't kick your ass dobe."
Hinata turned to look at him, slightly surprised, but Sasuke paid her no mind, staring at Naruto as balefully as he could.
"You're just lucky that we weren't against each other today."
Naruto smirked back, opening his mouth to reply, but Kakashi cut him off, walking back up to them.
"In a way, Sasuke here isn't entirely wrong. Since, no offense, we already know how that would go."
Sasuke's smirk turned into a grin, while Naruto crossed his arms and turned to look at his sensei, "Offense taken."
Kakashi just smiled back at him, "Noted, and ignored. Each of you have learned something today. All of you, give me one thing you've learned."
Naruto was the first to raise his hand, and Kakakshi pointed to him, "That even Sasuke can be beaten!" Sasuke growled, and Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Great, something else." Naruto looked confused for a moment, but Kakashi gave him a stare, and Naruto scratched his head, then raised his hand again.
Kakashi nodded, and Naruto spoke, a little more pensive this time, "I, I need to work on my taijutsu."
Kakashi nodded, and Hinata hesitated, but raised her hand next.
"My chakra... I need to work on my control more." She said.
Kakashi nodded at her, "I'm glad you noticed it yourselves. You'll need to last longer than two taijutsu matches if you want to progress. Your technique won't save you all the time."
Hinata nodded back at him, and then looked to Sasuke, the only one left.
Sasuke was silent, content to stare at the open air.
Kakashi waited a moment, and eventually sighed, "Make sure to come back with something Sasuke. Every shinobi, no matter how skilled, has something to learn."
He leaned in closer, "But bear in mind Sasuke, that Naruto's first answer wasn't that far off."
Sasuke flinched, growling before he turned to her, his fierce stare drawing a gasp from her, "Fix this Hyuuga!"
Hinata might normally have chafed at being ordered around like that, but her guilt made its presence known, compelling her to get up, and use her skills to reopen the chakra pathways as gently as she could.
She took as much care as she was able, but her tiredness made her normally delicate movements jerky and stiff. She pressed down on the proper spots, drawing a yell of shock and pain from Sasuke.
She winced again, drawing back to bow slightly, "I-I'm sorry, it's not supposed to hurt that much."
She looked up, but by the time she did, Sasuke was already well on his way down the trail, marching stiffly away from them. His dark form disappearing from sight within a few seconds.
Hinata frowned, her guilt amplifying by the second, 'Weakness shall not be tolerated.' She recited, the words belonging to her father.
She jumped felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Kakakshi looking down on her, seemingly smiling at her.
"He'll come around Hinata-san. You did very well today."
Her heart warmed at the praise, lifting her spirits enough to smile at her sensei, but that was nothing compared to when Naruto patted her on the back roughly, flashing his toothy grin at her.
His laid back enthusiasm soothing her like a balm, "Yeah, don't worry about Sasuke-teme. Besides, you'll have to look out for me when we fight again!"
She felt her heart jump with nervous anticipation, but she smiled anyway, "Hai."
Kakashi nodded, "Well, that was pretty much it for training today. You all have been working hard these past couple of days, so tomorrow you're all off. We'll come back to our usual training ground Monday morning."
Naruto and Hinata both nodded, and Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves, followed shortly by Naruto, who waved at her as he jogged off.
Hinata waved back, exhausted, yet also strangely energized.
She knew she shouldn't feel this way, there was always tomorrow to face, and no doubt extra training tomorrow.
But that was tomorrow, and right now, she was glad to be on team 7.