::I think I'm going to have to request a beta reader . It's hard to proof-read my own writing bcs 1. I'm dyslexic and 2. My eyes tend to skip over my errors. I would prefer someone at the sophomore/tenth grade reading level or higher. Think of this as an opportunity to read the next chappie before anybody else—the catch is I would like the proofed chapters returned asap(1-2 days) so they can be submitted in a timely fashion. The last chapter was late bcs of finals, but I'm out of school now and can write instead of study::
Jiraiya grumbled as he put away his comb. Naruto hadn't shown up, which meant the boy was probably lying unconscious somewhere after over-exerting himself. Jiraiya was inclined to just letting the boy sleep on the ground, but Hinata would give him that look. He shook his head. That girl had a powerful expression that had nothing to do with her byakugan. It was the 'I'll carve your heart out with a spoon—if you even have one, and then I'll cry' look. She never said anything, but the look was enough. He stepped out of baths and froze. Under a flickering street lantern stood Hinata and a rather chesty blond…
"Tsunade, what a pleasant surprise," Jiraiya said. Tsunade gave him a wry smile.
"Are you telling me you had no idea I was here? You've spent too much time peeping and not enough time training."
Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched. "Well you're looking awfully good for your age—" His head flew back and he fell over. Hinata gaped as Tsunade lowered her fist. "Ow…"
Hinata walked over to her sensei's side and looked down at him. The side of his face was an angry red. "With all the time you spend watching women I thought you knew more about them," Hinata said. Jiraiya reached up and touched the side of his face lightly. He sat up and Hinata backed away, reaching into her wash basket to bring out a small jar. Jiraiya thanked her and dabbed some ointment on his cheek.
Tsunade knelt next to Jiraiya and looked at the swollen cheek as it turned a less-impressive pink. She looked at Hinata. "You're a medic nin?" she asked.
Hinata blushed. "N-not really. Hyuugas don't become doctors."
Tsunade stood and helped Jiraiya to his feet. "I didn't expect to see a conformatist Hyuuga in you're company, Jiraiya. How'd you manage it?"
Jiraiya laughed. "Oh, it wasn't that hard. Besides, she's not the only Hyuuga with me. Naruto is probably still out training."
"Hyuuga Naruto?" She turned to Hinata. "Is he your brother?"
Hinata swallowed and looked rather sad a moment. "Sort of." The sky was getting darker with no sign of the blond boy. "Jiraiya-sensei, Tsunade-sama, I'm going to look for him. I'll meet you at the pub." She ran off.
-------
Tsunade and Shizune sat across from Jiraiya at their table in the pub. Each had a plate of mostly eaten food and a mug of beer in front of them. Jiraiya and Tsunade also each had an empty mug at their elbow. The female senin looked at the door as it opened, but it was just another grisly old man. "Where are those students of yours? You've been amazingly quiet about them." And I could really care less about that book series of yours, Tsunade thought.
Jiraiya took a gulp of beer. "Oh they'll come around as soon as Hinata manages to get Naruto to his feet. That boy can be stubborn, but Hinata usually gets him to bend." The door blasted open and a blond whirlwind came in. Customers looked up as the door closed again and Hinata and a scratched-up Naruto wandered in and sat on Jiraiya's right. Hinata quietly picked up a fork and knife and quick as a chef cut Naruto's meal into Naruto-bite-sized pieces before turning to her own. Tsunade eyed this with interest and watched Naruto slowly pick up his chopsticks and start to eat.
He needs a good day's rest tomorrow, maybe even the day after that. How can Jiraiya be so irresponsible about this young man's training? She flicked her hair over her shoulder and leaned on an elbow. "So, what did you mean by 'sorta' siblings? You certainly don't look much alike," she said lazily.
Hinata cast a look at Naruto, who didn't seem to have heard over the sound of chewing. Pale eyes met Tsunade's briefly before looking down. "My father adopted Naruto less than a year ago," she said.
Tsunade smiled slyly. "When's the wedding?" Hinata stiffened and turned pale, Naruto choked on the piece of beef he'd been eating. Tsunade arched an eyebrow. "What? Still bashful about it? I didn't think they married so young in Konoha anymore, but maybe for the Hyuuga it's not so unusual…"
Hinata shook her head furiously, her hair flying out like wings. "There's no engagement. The Hokage just felt that Naruto needed a family around him to…um…" she tapered off, not quite sure on how to discuss the details.
Naruto succeeded in swallowing. "The old geezer thinks Hiashi-sama can teach me to shut up," he said. The he glared into his soup. "Damned thing is I think it's been working."
Hinata blinked. Well, he had been less inclined to just blurting stuff out, but nothing that drastic. "You're still you, Naruto-kun," she said quietly, then she took a sip of her water. Tsunade smiled a private smile. She knew this kind of relationship. Hinata at least showed some interest, but Naruto seemed too tired to show interest in all but the most inescapable subjects.
"So what made you bring two students all the way out here, Jiraiya? Not training, the woods around Konoha are better for that," Tsunade said as she leaned back and took a swig from her mug. Hinata quietly ate, attentive to the conversation of the loosened adults.
Jiraiya slammed his mug down unnecessarily hard, but the action went unnoticed at the advanced hour. In this pub, such sounds were commonplace. "I'll have you know that these kids would've self-destructed if they'd had to stay in that village a day longer! Hiashi has the money to raise as many kids as he wants, but look at Hinata-chan. She doesn't have the confidence someone needs to become the head of the most powerful family in Konoha. And I'll tell you why; her father hasn't given her a smidgeon of praise since her sister leaned to walk! So I say, teach the girl something her father doesn't want her near and she'll have the strength to stand up to him and the rest of that dratted household…"
Tsunade grinned. "So you're playing the good uncle? That's a laugh, you can't be responsible for keeping your hands to yourself, let alone teaching a Hyuuga those techniques." She played with her now empty mug. "This stuff was good. Barkeeper! Another round please!" Hinata and Tsunade's companion traded looks. Perhaps another round of whatever poison was in those mugs wasn't a good idea. When the barkeeper came over with a grin and five mugs, he walked back to the bar with four of them. Hinata had managed to convince the man to let them only take one more mug instead of the whole round Tsunade had called for. Hinata stared at the mug in front of her, then she noticed the silence around the table. Looking up she found Tsunade and Jiraiya eyeing her. "Are you going to drink that, Hinata-chan?" Tsunade asked.
Hinata's knuckles turned white on the handle. "Um…no."
Jiraiya made it before Tsunade, and just as the blond opened her mouth wide to order more, Shizune clapped her hand over the woman's mouth and said, "Time to pay." Tsunade's mouth clamped shut. Shizune looked at Hinata apologetically as she and Tsunade left. Hinata managed to get Naruto and Jiraiya back to their rooms and immediately wished they had been awake enough to bathe first. I hope Jiraiya-sensei isn't too grumpy tomorrow. It is kind of my fault he drank that third beer.
-------
The next day Tsunade and Shizune headed for a quiet house where they knew old men gathered to gamble and talk about old times. There are few things that can come between Tsunade and taking a chance, and one of them is taking a bigger chance. En route they ran into a familiar trio. Tsunade first noticed the blond boy, Naruto, who seemed to be shining with energy. He should be exhausted…
Jiraiya smiled when they drew close. "Tsunade! Imagine running into you on this street," he said.
She hid the bag of money she was planning on gambling with behind her back. "Hello you three. You seem to have recovered from last night suitably well, Jiraiya."
Pervert-senin scoffed. "It wasn't that much. Have you been keeping yourself in shape, Tsunade? You know I can never tell." Tsunade's eyebrow twitched.
"I will ignore what you're emplying…" Her eyes followed Hinata's gaze and rested on a child weeping on the ground as a parent bandaged his knee. Tsunade grinned. "Hinata, how would you like to spend some time training with me to be a medic nin?" There, it was said, the proposition that could make Hinata stronger or degrade her worth in her family's eyes. It was a daring move for Tsunade to offer and for Hinata to accept.
Hinata looked at the female senin and hesitated, then nodded. "I would like that very much, Tsunade-sensei." Tsunade smiled and looked at Jiraiya.
"We'll leave you guys to your training, Hinata and I will be heading this way. See ya!" She threw an arm across the Hyuuga's shoulders and steered the girl away into the crowd. Hinata cast one last look back at Naruto before facing forward and listening to what her new teacher had to say. "Hinata, first thing you need to learn is nerve. Make a call and stick with it because you know it's right. Ah! Here we go." They entered a shifty-looking building and Hinata's eyes took a moment to adjust to the dim light. A small circle of elderly men looked up at the women who had just walked into their midst.
Tsunade handed the sack of money to Hinata and sat the girl down. Grinning at the men, the senin said, "Shall we play?"
-------2 weeks later (You can tell this is my favorite amount of time to skip.)
Naruto looked around anxiously. He wanted Hinata to show up soon so he could show off his improved Rasengan before they set out once more. The sun wasn't as warm as it had been the entire time they were there. Summer was passing its peak and heading for a gentle cooling in fall. For the past couple of weeks Jiraiya and Naruto had only seen Hinata shortly before bed when she returned. Naruto didn't like not knowing what she and Tsunade were up to. What secrets were being passed? Did Hinata ever talk about him? Recently he had become concerned with how Hinata saw him. She had very quickly become an important part of his routine, and not having her around made him feel like he was stumbling over holes in a path. Sure, Jiraiya had kept him busy the training—grinning the whole time like the sadistic pervert Naruto thought him to be—but it was the unknown of what Hinata was up to that bothered him.
Had she been taking care of herself? She was always exhausted when she returned to their inn, remaining asleep once the other two had risen to go train. Her chakra had taken on a slightly different feel as well. Naruto sensed this chakra approaching and looked up. Hinata was approaching with her pack on her back. Right behind her were Tsunade and Shizune. Tsunade nodded to Jiraiya. "Let's go. I can't let any idiot take over her training, but I also can't keep her here if you plan to move on or Konoha will come knocking. We're going with you."
Jiraiya shrugged. "Suit yourself." Naruto eyed his sensei warily. That mischievous glint was back in the man's eyes. Had Tsunade missed it?
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said. Naruto turned and smiled.
"Yes, Hinata-chan?"
She blushed rose. "Um, it's nice get to travel with you again."
Naruto nodded and said, "You too. It's kinda late now, we should get going." Jiraiya nodded and headed down the road and out of the town. They traveled hard for most of the day, then Tsunade called a halt so she could spend some time training Hinata. Naruto watched the two go off into the trees by the road and grudgingly stayed behind with Jiraiya and Shizune. After an hour, he had heard no fighting sounds.
"What are they doing?" he asked Shizune.
She shrugged. "They spend most of their 'training' time sitting on the ground staring at each other. It wears them out, so I assume it's stressful. Tsunade never did such training with me, and when I asked why she said it was because I wasn't the same."
Jiraiya snickered. "Of course not. You know that a ninja can learn techniques off anther nin's corpse? Well, Hinata can learn as much with her byakugan and the training I started her on with a living nin. Tsunade can show her the how easier this way than by word of mouth." He brought out a jug of sake and took a sip. "They should be done with that kind of training soon. Then all that comes is practice."
Naruto did some target practice on a tree and then looked at the shadows again. Without a word he walked into the brush. A minute later he found Hinata and Tsunade stretching. "Oy! Are we going to head on or what?" he said.
Tsunade cast a look at Hinata and said, "I'm going to head back, you two can spar for a time. I don't think Jiraiya is counting on moving any time soon." She left and Hinata faced Naruto.
"Do you want to?" she asked. Naruto took a step back.
"Sure." He sprang forward, meaning to attack first, but Hinata had done the same. They met quickly and jumped back after only a single clash of their kunai. Adjusting to this change, Naruto attacked again. Hinata wasn't using her byakugan, and was instead trying to keep up a purely physical fight. Naruto decided to ease up a bit and went at about half strength. He struck out at her using some of the sharp movements Hiashi had tried to ingrain into him. Hinata responded accordingly and deflected it, her left hand taking his hit as her right came between them from below. He caught the fist heading for his windpipe and grabbed her wrists with his hands to try a close-quarters kick. Her knee came up to block it as she jumped and struck out with the other leg. Naruto jumped over her head, still holding her arms. She followed to avoid being tossed and kicked out as she landed.
It was a respectable fight that would have made any amateur proud, but for Naruto it was middling. Physically he was as strong as Sasuke, but he suspected he only ever won a bout with the boy because Sasuke held back to not activate the seal on his neck. It had never gone away, and even Jiraiya had been unable to remove it. Naruto suddenly had a disturbing mental image of Hinata covered with the marks of seal, her eyes cruel.
The picture upset him so much he faltered in their fight. Hinata's hands caught his arms and squeezed. His limbs began to tingle and Naruto felt his arms go numb as they fell to his sides. When the heck did she learn that?! It's not a Hyuuga gentle fist move. Naruto dropped to the ground and kicked up. His foot caught Hinata in the chest and she flew back. He thought that would end it, but Hinata got up and rushed at him. Naruto dove to the side to try a similar move to his previous one, but Hinata followed him, grabbed him and switching their positions. When they landed, she was underneath him.
Naruto knew he was a bit heavy for this and tried to get off, but his arms weighed him down instead of obeying him. He felt blood rush to his cheeks as Hinata's breath tickled his face and certain contact points came to mind. "Um, Hinata-chan, do you think you could give me back my arms now?" he asked shakily.
Hinata gulped and said quietly, "They come back in time."
"How much time?"
"Um…"
Naruto sighed and tried to roll off, but Hinata let out a disturbing squeak that made him freeze. "What is it?" He looked into her eyes, a big mistake, because now he was caught by them.
Hinata was having a nervous breakdown with their position. "Uh, it's, you just… Your elbow just crushed my arm…" she said quietly. Naruto swallowed and looked down to the side.
"Gomen." This time he rolled the other way. Once he was on his back facing the sky, he took a deep breath. His blood was pounding in his ears and he felt out of focus. Hinata lay beside him taking deep breaths and then sat up slowly.
"Will you be okay, Naruto-kun?" He nodded.
"Yeah. I'm starting to feel my fingers again. What was that move?"
She stood and helped him to his feet as she said, "It's just one of the things I learned from Tsunade-sensei about the human body. Now I should be able to control people's nervous and circulatory systems like their chakra, but only at close range. Some ninjas are resistance to such techniques, so by using them I am gambling that my opponent is not." Naruto nodded and shook his arms and shoulders. Hinata rubbed them up and down to help the pins and needles fade before they headed back to camp for some food.
::Longer than the norm, but that's because it took longer. Even trade. Get back to me on beta reading!::
EDIT::Sorry about forgetting to put Shizune's name in the first time around… I kinda forgot it when I wrote the chapter and left it blank, then forgot I'd done so!::
