Genre: Action/Drama/Angst/Romance

Pairings: Eventual NaruHina, SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaTem, ShikaIno, possibly others. Just because someone is paired with someone now, doesn't mean they'll stay that way.

Summary: During the 3-year time skip, when the Chuunin exams are held for the second time, the lives of the Konoha Genin, especially that of Hyuuga Neji, are thrown into disarray by the appearance of a girl with luminous white eyes, carrying the name of Hyuuga Suzuki. Exactly WHO is Suzuki, and how will the Konoha gang, especially Neji and Hinata, deal with the seething hatred she holds for the very clan from which she takes her name?

Notes: At the point GWE begins, it is roughly a year and a half since Naruto has left, and the Rookie-9 are 14. That makes Neji's team 15, Gaara 14, Temari 17, and Kankurou 16. Suzuki is 14, same age as the Rookie-9. I know that some chapters, especially the earlier ones, may seem very one-character-centric in nature, but that's simply because before the plot does much forward motion, character introduction and setting is needed and there is time that is needed for that. I can't write about a character when I haven't fully delineated their current mental state/status/location/etc. My original plan was to do all of that in the first chapter, but due to the shittiness of my transitioning skills, it was simply easier to break it into parts rather then trying to do an ungainly transition from one group of characters to the next.

As always, thoughts are in italics, inner-selves talking will be in bold, and dialogue is in normal quotes.

Ghost-White Eyes

Chapter Two – Fate and Change

Summary – With the Chuunin Exams looming, Sakura is not the only one who is having doubts. While Hinata struggles to change herself and prove to the others what she is capable of, Neji delves deeper into himself in a quest for strength to surpass his current levels.

Chakra flew around the clearing, ripping new leaves off of their branches and shredding the grasses and plants. The bluish energy whirled, rushing noise increasing as the speed of the spin increased. The chakra coalesced, forming a hollowed sphere around the figure in the center of it, deep furrows gouging themselves from the land as the energy intensified. The young man in the center of the whirling chakra concentrated, gritting his teeth. Hyuuga Neji knew that at any moment his sparring partner would rain down an arsenal of weapons on him that he had to dodge. That in itself was nothing new or interesting to him. Why would it be? HE was a Hyuuga. He was certainly capable of deflecting every single one of her weapons. In fact, he could do it without even trying that hard. Because he was Neji. The prodigy of Konohagakure's Hyuuga clan, and the number one rookie of his graduating class at the academy. Because of those facts, there was very little that bothered Hyuuga Neji. At the moment, the thing that WAS bothering him the most was his seeming inability to advance. He narrowed his white eyes, the veins of his Byakugan becoming even more prominent as he strained for the power he sought.

I need more chakra. Have to concentrate. Focus. Gather the chakra and expel it, control the rotation, add more power to expand the radius…

The chakra moved faster, the borders of the sphere seeming to dissipate and reform before they began to inch slowly outwards, expanding the diameter of the field. Neji strained to hold it in, to control the chakra and keep the smooth barrier intact while still expanding the radius of the sphere.

More. More, I need more chakra. Have to focus…

The sphere's boundaries surged with energy, expanding suddenly nearly a foot outward before there was a crack and it dissipated. As the whirl of energy vanished, the dust cleared to reveal the dark-haired prodigy on hands and knees in the center of the crater he had created. Neji panted, grimacing in discomfort as he pushed himself up onto one knee, sweat dripping down his brow. He punched a bandaged fist into the ground in frustration, barely noticing when his sparring partner dropped from the trees to land beside him.

Tenten watched her pearl-eyed teammate with a certain degree of trepidation. She knew that Neji was a very proud man, not to mention a very driven one. She also knew, from the training that she did with him every morning, that he was suffering a blow to that same pride as he struggled with something that had never before been difficult for him. Hyuuga Neji had never encountered an advancement that he couldn't seem to master, especially when it was an advancement of his own abilities. He was, in a word, perfect. But not right now. Tenten hadn't ever seen the calm and collected Hyuuga lose his temper, but it seemed very like that might be what was about to happen. She sighed inwardly.

Neji…

She knew better then to say anything to him. Telling him that it was all right, that he'd surely figure it out the next time would only be met with a cold stare and abject hostility from the prideful young man. No, all that she could offer him right now was her presence. Not that he even really seemed to care for that. Tenten had no illusions about things between her and Neji. She had come to terms with the fact that, although she harbored feelings for the stoic Hyuuga, he seemed to see her as nothing more then a teammate and sparring partner. A living punching bag, if you will. Though he was always careful not to do her any lasting damage, he never held back. She smiled slightly at the thought. Of course he didn't hold back. He knew very well that she would never have forgiven him if he did. She was just as tough as he was, just as determined. And he saw and respected that. And that was how their relationship was. Tenten didn't even really know what sort of label to put to it. They weren't friends, not like Sakura and Lee were. Friends hung out, talked on the phone, did things together for fun. All that Neji and Tenten ever did was train together and go on missions. He was never interested in anything of the lighter variety in regards to pastimes. They certainly weren't lovers. Tenten supposed that the only reason people got THAT idea was because of the enormous amount of time that she and the quiet Hyuuga prodigy spent together. So they weren't friends, and they weren't lovers, but at the same time they weren't merely teammates or acquaintances. There was something else there, something deeper and more profound. A level of trust that only came from knowing each other so completely and understanding each other on such a deep level. Tenten mentally shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be dissecting her relationship with the young man on the ground in front of her.

"Neji, are you all right? We can stop now, you know. You look like you need to rest. Your concentration's faltering. See?"

She pulled a bandage out of her pocket and dabbed it at a cut on his cheek that was oozing blood. Though he had dodged all of her weapons, like always, one had apparently gotten a bit closer then it normally did. Neji's hand shot up, fingers wrapping around her wrist and pushing her hand away. Moonstone eyes locked on hers, their white depths betraying little to no emotion.

"I'm fine, Tenten. I do not require your mothering. As for training, if you do not wish to train with me anymore, I will simply find someone else."

Tenten shook her head with a slight smirk. She wasn't offended at the way he pushed her away with his somewhat gruff words. After all, it was just Neji's way. She pushed herself to her feet, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Never said I didn't want to train anymore. But don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're getting tired."

She turned and walked off, gathering up her scattered weapons as she did so. Neji watched her as she moved, eyes studying her figure. Though he certainly wasn't thinking about Tenten "that way", he couldn't help but notice the changes in her that had taken place over the last few years. She had decided that it couldn't hurt to let herself be a little more feminine, probably in large part due to the nagging she got from Sakura and Ino. Something about kunoichi and "using all of their advantages". Anyway, whatever effect their words had on Tenten, she had changed her normal pink shirt to one in the same style that was red satin with black and gold dragons printed on it, and underneath the shirt had added a long-sleeved black mesh shirt. She had traded her normal dark blue pants for black ones, and although her hair was still up in it's typical buns, she had added bao (1) to them that had trailing black and red ribbons. All in all, Neji had to admit that she looked nice like that. At least, nice in the sense that all girls looked nice when they dressed attractively. She glanced back over her shoulder at him and stuck her tongue out, tucking her scrolls back into the holsters she kept them in.

"What are you waiting for, Neji? If you're not going to train, maybe I should go and find something better to do."

Neji frowned as she went back to picking up the weapons. That was another thing on the very short list of things that bothered Hyuuga Neji; the recent change in his teammate's demeanor. He let his mind wander over the topic as he got up and brushed himself off, tucking stray strands of dark chocolate-hued hair back behind his hitai-ate. She'd always been friendly with him; far more so then he'd likely ever been to her. That in itself wasn't anything unusual. But lately, her demeanor had become even MORE friendly then usual. It almost reminded him of how Haruno Sakura used to treat the Uchiha. He shuddered slightly at the thought and mentally thanked any gods listening that Tenten was NOTHING like the pink-haired medic-nin. It wasn't that he didn't LIKE Sakura. He tolerated her, as best as Hyuuga Neji tolerated much of anything other then his teammates, but he certainly had no desire to spend any length of time around her. And he dearly hoped that Tenten wasn't starting to turn into a bunned version of Sakura. His pearly eyes studied the form of his teammate as she twirled a kunai around one finger. He smirked slightly as he saw the tenseness increase in her body. She was getting frustrated. No, she was nothing like Sakura. He let the smirk fade from his face as she turned around to face him with an irritated stamp of her foot.

"Neji! Stop daydreaming and let's train!"

He glared at her slightly, folding his arms across the front of his shirt and nodding.

"I agree. Unfortunately, I must wait for you to finish collecting your weapons. Therefore it seems rather childish and pointless of you to throw a tantrum at me when it is YOU who are keeping us from training."

He grinned inwardly as she stumbled, face red as she tried to come up with a suitable retort. He had to admit he enjoyed irritating Tenten. Especially when she did that overly friendly thing and tried to, dare he suggest it, flirt with him. He hoped that wasn't what she was trying to do. If so, it was just silly. Romantic notions were for other people. Not for shinobi, and certainly not for Hyuuga Neji.

That'll teach her to try and tease me when I'm training. She's just trying to get me to lose my focus.

This time he smirked coldly at her, taking a stance.

"Whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting."

Tenten fumed inwardly at him as she gathered the last of her weapons. He didn't have to be so…so HYUUGA-like all the time. Dispelling all of the summoned weapons that she had called up, she turned back to glance at the arrogant bastard she liked to call her teammate. She wasn't the only one who had changed her look in the last few years. Neji still wore his hair the same way, though he had moved the strip of cloth he tied it with a bit further up the ponytail so that rather then resting near the end of his hair, it was midway down his ponytail. He wore the same shirt as before, though it was now sleeveless and worn like a jacket over top of a simple black long-sleeve shirt. He had traded in his shorts for long pants, but he still wore the bandages on his one arm and leg. She sighed and shook her head. It was certainly no time to be admiring the "scenery". Taking a deep breath, she attacked him again as he spun into his Kaiten, the weapons hitting the chakra with a boom.

The girl with the white eyes looked up with a bit of trepidation at the resounding boom that echoed through the forest. Running a hand through her short indigo-coloured hair, Hinata swallowed hard. She knew what those sounds meant. She studied the faint plume of smoke that wafted up from the forests several miles away.

Neji-niisan…

The short-haired girl wasn't dumb. She knew that the noises and smoke came from where the other Hyuuga, her branch house cousin Neji, was working on his training. She trembled slightly at the thought of her older cousin. Although he had been more tolerant and less abusive of her since the first Chuunin exams, things between them had remained strained. Neji was respectful to her simply because she was a member of the Head family, not because of any lingering warmth of feeling. Hyuuga Hinata had a strong suspicion that, given the opportunity and if she weren't of the Head family, her older cousin wouldn't hesitate to make good on what he'd tried to do at the Chuunin Exam preliminaries.

"Oy, Hinata! Are you alright?"

Hinata turned around to where her teammate Inuzuka Kiba was standing, hands on his hips. He sighed and shook his head.

"Honestly, Hinata. If you keep spacing out like that, you're gonna end up in a lot of trouble. What if I hadn't noticed you'd stopped fighting?"

Hinata nodded, face slightly flushed. She hadn't meant to space out like that, it had just happened.

"Gomen ne, Kiba-kun…"

The Inuzuka boy shook his head with a grin.

"It's ok, I'm not mad or anything. I'd just feel pretty lousy if I hurt you because you weren't paying attention. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you've already got your Shugohakke, wouldn't you rather practice that instead of trying to learn this?"

Hinata paused for a moment. He did have a point. Why WAS she trying so hard to learn the difficult technique? Hadn't she already worked hard on developing her own specialized technique that only she could use? She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt for a moment, letting her mind replay the events from the following week. Thinking back, she fixed in her mind the words that had made her determined to prove them wrong.

Flashback

Hinata stood in front of her father, head up and eyes fixed on his. Though she was putting up a brave front, she kept her hands fisted by her sides to hide the trembling in them. Hiashi furrowed his brow, unsure what to make of the expression on his normally-timid daughter's face.

"Teach it to me, Father. Kaiten. I want to learn."

Hiashi's eyes widened momentarily before he cleared his throat, regaining control over his emotions. His expression stoney, he shook his head.

"And what makes you think that you are capable of learning Kaiten? That is a technique passed down through the Main family for generations. Only those who posess the strongest of the Hyuuga abilities can master it. Why would you think that you are in any way capable of it?"

Hinata frowned, faltering slightly in her resolve. Her voice betrayed her, trembling slightly as she pressed forward.

"B..but Father, I am of the Main Family, the eldest child even. I wish only for the chance to try."

Hiashi cut her off with a sweep of his hand that signified he was through talking. He got up, fixing harsh white eyes on her face.

"Enough, Hinata. Even Hanabi is unsuitable for Kaiten. What would even be the point of training a weakling who cannot even measure up to her? Remove yourself from my sight."

He turned and walked away leaving Hinata in his wake, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. But this time they were not tears of sadness. They were tears of anger. She gritted her teeth, staring down at her tabi(2)-clad feet and watched the teardrops hit the polished wood floor before raising her head to watch the back of the man down the hallway as it vanished into the distance.

Just you wait, Father. I'll prove to everyone, and especially to you, that I'm not as weak as you think I am.

End Flashback

Fixing her resolve firmly in her mind, Hinata shook her head. No, she would not back down and resign herself to always being less then others. She may not be as strong as Neji, or even as strong as Hanabi, but she would prove to her family, her father, and especially herself that she COULD change.

"Yes, Kiba-kun, I'm sure. I want to do this."

She stepped back a few feet from him and nodded her head. Kiba nodded in response and backed up some more, pulling out a fistful of kunai and shuriken.

"Whenever you're ready, Hinata."

Taking a deep breath, the indigo-haired girl closed her eyes and concentrated. Activating her Byakugan, she took a stance, one hand extended behind her, the other out in front. As Kiba waited, Hinata's body began to glow slightly with a faint blue light as she concentrated on gathering and expelling chakra. As soon as he saw her move, Kiba struck. He flung the first few shuriken at Hinata as she spun, glowing chakra whirling around her. The first one hit and bounced off, but the second and third only deflected slightly, passing through the outer part of the chakra. The last one went straight through the sphere, eliciting a yelp of pain from Hinata. The chakra faded away as the petite girl dropped to her knees, clutching one arm where the shuriken had struck.

"Hinata!"

Kiba dashed over, dropping to his knees beside her and pushing up her sleeve. The cut wasn't deep, and it had been a clean slice. Kiba sighed as he rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and a roll of bandages. He cleaned her wound as gently as he could, trying to ignore the slight hiss of pain she let out at the stinging of the disinfectant. Akamaru whimpered and nudged Hinata's elbow with his nose, as if trying to make her feel better. She smiled slightly and petted him on the head with her other hand. Kiba wrapped the bandages around her arm before tying it off and rolling down her sleeve.

"There you go. Na Hinata, let's take a break. You're not used to this and it's no good if you tire yourself out too much right from the start. How about we take a breather and have some of those snacks we brought?"

Hinata nodded slightly, watching the clouds as they rolled slowly across the sky. She murmered thanks to Kiba as he handed her an onigiri, then sat down beside her, leaning back on the grass. Akamaru curled up between them, resting his head on Kiba's chest. The dark-haired girl drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs and letting her chin rest on top of her knees. She stared out at the village down below, chin-length hair blowing slightly in the breeze. She had decided to let it grow out a bit, hoping that maybe Naruto would notice. Afterall, Sakura's hair was longer and she knew that the blonde-haired shinobi seemed to dote on his kunoichi team-mate. Hinata sighed, pushing the thoughts out of her head. She knew very well that Naruto didn't notice her in that way, no matter how hard she tried. Though she felt it was a little mean of her, Hinata couldn't help but be thankful that at least Sakura didn't return his affections. In a way, the Hyuuga girl felt she could even be thankful to Uchiha Sasuke for something. The dark-haired young man had always frightened her a bit, and it had taken her a long while to understand why a man like Naruto, who seemed so full of light and energy and happiness would consider a darkness like Sasuke to be his best friend. Hinata understood that now. She understood how Naruto felt about Sasuke, about how the onyx-eyed young man provided a driving force, a rivalry, a comparison between himself and Naruto that gave the ramen-loving boy something to shoot for, something to work towards other then his dream of Hokage. And Uchiha Sasuke distracted Haruno Sakura from ever realizing what a wonderful treasure there was in Uzumaki Naruto. Hinata sighed and dropped her head slightly.

I wonder how Naruto-kun has changed since he's left? Will he still be the same Naruto-kun as he was before? Will he notice me then, like he never has yet?

Hinata knew that Naruto wouldn't be the only one who had changed. She cast a glance to her team-mate who had closed his eyes and was dozing in the mid-morning sunshine. She and the rest of Team 8 had matured a good deal as well. Kiba had stopped wearing his hood up all the time, and changed his gray, fur-trimmed jacket for an opened black one with the kanji for "dog" in blue on the back. He kept the same shirt and pants underneath, and his hair was just as unkempt as before. Akamaru had changed too. He was now about the size of a St. Bernard, and certainly couldn't ride on Kiba's head or shoulder like he once had anymore. Hinata giggled slightly at the thought of an enormous Akamaru sitting on top of Kiba's head. The object of her amusement opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hinata…? What's so funny?"

Hinata shook her head and resumed her cloud-watching.

"Betsuni" (1)

Kiba shrugged to himself and lay back down, staring at the clouds. Or rather, doing a good job of looking as though he was staring at the clouds. Instead, he was actually watching his pearl-eyed team-mate. Hinata had certainly grown up a bit in the last couple of years. She was letting her hair grow out, and even though Kiba thought it looked really cute short, he couldn't deny that it looked good the way she had it now, in a chin-length bob with slightly longer pieces on either side of her face. Her clothes had changed a bit as well. She had traded in the tan parka she always wore for a navy blue one with cream accents on it and the swirled flame crest on the back rather then on the arms. The new jacket wasn't quite as baggy as her last one had been and gave a bit more of a hint as to what lay underneath. Kiba felt his cheeks grow warm at that thought. While he hadn't really gotten a GOOD look, he sparred with Hinata enough to know that she had matured quite nicely and was amply curved under the jacket. Though the petite girl still carried the same shy manner that was so typical of her, she was starting to loosen up a little bit. True to that, she occasionally would even wear the jacket unzipped with a mesh and black shirt underneath it. She still wore her hitai-ate around her neck and still wore the same pants and blue sandals as before, and Kiba was a bit glad. He liked the way Hinata had been, and he wouldn't have liked to see her change too much.

"Ne, Kiba-kun…"

Kiba looked up and swallowed a lump that formed in his throat as he fixed his eyes on Hinata, staring out towards the horizon with the breeze ruffling her hair.

Why don't I ever actually make a move, anyway? It's not like I don't LIKE her that way…

"What do you think Naruto-kun would say if he could see me right now? Do you think he'd be proud that I'm training so hard? Do you…do you think that he'd even notice?"

Kiba grimaced slightly. THAT was why, he reminded himself. Inuzuka Kiba had no delusions about these sorts of things. He knew perfectly well that he had little hope of ever occupying the place in Hinata's heart that was currently home to an obnoxious, loud, inconsiderate blonde with way too much energy. It didn't matter that HE was here when that dobe wasn't. Hinata didn't care that Naruto wasn't there with her. Because wherever SHE was, she carried him with her. Kiba couldn't help but see the irony in it. Because as oblivious as Naruto seemed to be towards Hinata's feelings, the tiny Hyuuga girl seemed just as ignorant of the way her team-mate looked at her. He feigned a thoughtful look.

Well, if it's dead-last, I'm sure he'd be proud of you once someone beat some sense into him and he actually NOTICED…

Of course, that wasn't what he said. Kiba wasn't the type to be thoughtless with his words. At least not where Hinata was concerned. He knew what a sensitive person she was and that she was especially fragile where Naruto was concerned.

"I'm sure he would, Hinata. I mean, Naruto cheered you on in the last Chuunin exam, right? I don't think he would change now and suddenly not see how hard you're trying."

Until Sakura walked by, that is. Then he'd forget about you and go off chasing her just like usual. Leaving you behind to cry. Even though you never cry on the outside Hinata, I know it's got to hurt to see it happen.

Hinata nodded, smiling as a faint blush coloured her cheeks.

"I hope so, Kiba-kun."

She stood up and stretched, walked a few feet away, then spun back around, hands behind her.

"Ne Kiba-kun, let's get back to training. I feel all rested now."

Kiba nodded and got to his feet himself.

"Alright, whenever you're ready."

OK, so the numbering on the notes is a bit out of order. Don't sweat it, ok?

1 – Betsuni – Japanese for "nothing much".

2 – tabi – the white socks that Japanese women wear with kimono, they usually just have two toes to them to allow for the hanao (strap) of the sandals to go there.

OK, so yet another character-centric chapter, but I hope that people who are reading this can appreciate what I'm trying to do here before the story really gets rolling. Since the story takes place during a time that hasn't been explored by Kishimoto-sensei, I therefore must take pains to lay out the setting and situation. Next chapter should start to get things rolling, at least in regards to finishing up the character intros and starting into the preparations for the exam. Yeah, I know I said I'd intro Suzuki in this chapter, but it's just not panning out quite the way that I had planned. Hopefully if not the next chapter, definitely by chapter 4. I just want to make it clear storywise that while she is certainly central to the story, she isn't really the "main" character, so to speak.

Chapter 3 Preview – While Team Gai and Team 8 prepare themselves for the exams, Team Asuma ponders their fate. How will Ino and Chouji participate in the exams now that Shikamaru is a Chuunin? And what will be Sakura's choice when the time comes to make it? As the Godaime Hokage makes her announcements as to the modifications of the exam, candidates from neighboring villages gather to try their hand at the exam. They bring with them not only their techniques and pride, but also secrets and surprises for the Konoha Genin.