Authors Notes 1) I don't own Naruto or its characters.
2) Thank you to my friend Alex for his help.
3) Constructive criticism is welcomed, as are compliments
4) The characters are 16 in the first chapter of the story. I have not seen if Sasuke's defection to Sound was successful or not. For the purposes of this story, I am assuming that it was.
Tsunade sighed as she looked out over the crowd. Nearly the whole village had turned out for Chouji's funeral. A ninja village may grow accustomed to a ninja dying in the line of duty, but it was still always difficult to see one go so young. It was even harder for her, knowing that Naruto was not receiving the same treatment. The elder council of the village had seen to that.
Naruto, they had argued, was still surely alive somewhere. It was known that the Kyuubi gave him strong regenerative abilities. The council had argued that Naruto was more than likely recovering from his injuries, and that declaring him dead would be an insult to the brave ninja. Better to simply list him as missing in action until he returned. Tsunade knew better; she had helped to design the second batch of seals that had been placed on him, and she was sure that they were fatal once activated. Primary Seal Unbinding jutsu was what Shikamaru had said Naruto had called it. Couple that with the sudden burst of incredible killing intent that all of the retreating ninja had mentioned, and there was no doubt in Tsunade's mind. Naruto had allowed Kyuubi to possess his body, sacrificing himself to tear the enemies apart. She had explained it to the council, but they had been adamant in their decision. She knew what they were doing. Not a single one of them believed that Naruto was actually alive; but by declaring he was, they prevented an official funeral and day of mourning for him. And that kept his name off of the Memorial Stone.
She still could still do it, of course. She was the Hokage, after all. It would have been easy to declare that the funeral would be held for Naruto as well. The council had very little in the way of power, after all. Generally, all they did was choose a Hokage; and even then, only in situations like when the Third died, where there was no clear successor left behind. Still, they were supposed to speak for the ordinary villagers. If she just brushed them aside, it would create a lot of hostile feelings. Also, she knew what the effect of declaring it a day of mourning for Naruto as well, would be.
The majority of the adults would protest, complaining that they had no love for the 'vile monster' or 'demon' or whatever terms they would choose to use. Naruto's friends, as well as most of the ninja sensei would be angered by the slight, although the adults would understand why it occurred. The teenagers would not however, and she did not want to see what they would do in the face of such hostility from the villagers. After news had spread of Naruto and Chouji's death, almost everyone had burst into celebration. Tsunade had not called for a festival, obviously, but when a few thousand people decide to start celebrating, it's rather difficult to get them to stop. She had received quite a few reports, however, of villagers injured during the festivities. Not because of accidents occurring during their revelry, but rather because they had been attacked by young ninja from the village. Naruto had proven willing to give his life to protect his friends and his home, as he had often declared that he would be. He would be saddened to learn that his death created a civil war within the Leaf. The funeral would be held for Chouji, and Chouji alone. Tsunade would deliver the eulogy, and she would make sure not to make any mention of the chuunin she had come to view as a brother. If only she could dodge the feeling that she was a traitor to what she held dear.
Neji trudged down the street alongside Hinata, his hands thrust into his pockets, while Hinata stared down at the street. They were returning home from the funeral, deeply saddened by the whole process. It was difficult to say what was worse: looking up and seeing the casket of Chouji; with a photo of him smiling out towards everyone, or looking up and not seeing the same for Naruto. Neji was confused as to why the Hokage had simply classified Naruto as missing and not as dead. He supposed that it was because she was so close to him. Her history was common knowledge. She had been deeply affected by the death of her brother, Nawaki, as well as that of another Konoha ninja named Dan, who, rumor had it, had been something along the lines of her lover or boyfriend. Perhaps she didn't think she could handle admitting that a third person she cared so deeply for had been killed in the line of duty. Still, he decided, it was an insult to a very brave shinobi to not properly honour his death.
"Ne- Neji… Neji-nisan?" Hinata's shaking voice drew Neji's attention away from his reverie. Her voice seemed to sound- not happy, he thought, but hopeful. "Neji-nisan, Hokage-sama never mentioned Naruto-kun's name once at the funeral, and she listed him as MIA, rather than dead. Do you maybe think that he is alright?"
Neji tried to think of some response to the question. It was because of Naruto that he had reconciled with his cousin. He no longer wished to see her suffer, and a lie could come so easily. But still, he didn't want to watch her spend the rest of her life clinging to threads of false hope, knowing that he was, at the very least, partially responsible. His head hung as he began to speak. He did not want to see the expression on Hinata's face as he told her what he was going to say. "Hinata-san, I am truly sorry to say this. I know what your feelings towards Naruto were, and I cared for him as well. When I fought him in our first chuunin exam, he showed me that our fates are not predetermined, that we can overcome what fate has planned for us." Neji smiled for the briefest moment as he remembered Naruto charging towards him. "It was impossible for him to stand back up, but he did, and ran at me. He told me that if he was fated to lose, there was no need for me to defend myself. He said he felt sorry for me, and that when he became Hokage, he would change the village laws so that the branch house were no longer slaves to the main house. I would like nothing more, Hinata-san, than to believe that Naruto will be coming back. That we will wake up tomorrow to hear him yelling about how we should all be buying him ramen since we are so happy he is home.
"But it is not going to happen, Hinata-san. He told us all to run, that nothing would be safe near him. He said that the jutsu he was planning on using would consume himself and all near him. And so we ran, or in my team's case, were carried away. After maybe five minutes, there was a chakra spike so intense we could feel it without even trying. The waves of killer intent that washed over us were almost enough to make us sick. And then, it just stopped. It disappeared to nothing as quickly as it had first arrived. I'm sorry, Hinata-san, I'm not sure why the Hokage didn't include Naruto in the funeral, but he's gone."
Looking up, he met his cousin's gaze. Her face was streaked with tears. If he had been able to, he would have taken back his words; but such things were impossible.
"I see." Hinata spoke without her usual stutter, but her voice was even quieter than normal. "Thank you for your honesty, Neji-nisan."
"It's always a shame to see one of them die so young, you know?"
The attention of both cousins was drawn to the speaker. Two men were walking past, talking with one another.
"Oh I know what you mean. I feel terrible for the Akamichi. At least something good came out of it this time, though. I can't tell you how much happier I feel now that that monster isn't a threat any longer."
"True. You know, I always expected a little more of an exit than that. It's hard to believe that the demon would just die on a mission one day."
The two villagers were completely oblivious to the effect that their conversation was having on the two young ninja they had just passed. After all, well were not speaking quietly, it was a private conversation. What business did others have listening?
Hinata's tears fell faster than they had while she had been listening to Neji. She shook as she stared at the backs of the two villagers. She did not understand why so many people hated Naruto-kun. But she resolved that, no matter what happened, she never would.
Neji, meanwhile, was nowhere near as contemplative as his cousin. Naruto had changed his life; he had given him hope. And then he had laid his life down to save Neji. There was no way he would allow the teen's memory to be slandered by two assholes who didn't understand the first thing about honour or heroism.
"Hey, you trash! What gives you the right to insult Naruto like that?"
The two villagers turned at Neji's voice. Neji had timed it perfectly; the kunai sunk into the left shoulder of the one villager, knocking him off his feet. Before the other could react, Neji was in the air right in front of him. His fist connected with the man's jaw, and Neji smiled as he felt the bones shatter beneath the blow. He may not be one to use ordinary taijutsu very often, but sparring with Lee still meant he understood the proper technique quite well. The second man hit the ground unconscious. Neji cracked his knuckles and bent down in front of the first villager he had dropped. He gently removed the man's hand from the kunai that was sunk into his shoulder, speaking softly. He almost sounded like a parent comforting a small child.
"I know it hurts, but you need to leave it in until you get to the hospital. You don't want to die from blood loss after you pull it out." Standing, Neji began to make his way back to his cousin, who was staring open-mouthed at the spectacle in front of her. "Oh, and one last thing." Neji paused, and turned his head to look over his shoulder at the villager. The veins in his eyes exploded as he activated his byakugan, and his voice was now hard as steel. "You don't want to let me hear you say such things again."
A continent away, a boy was shivering as he crouched beneath the trees. This wasn't what life was supposed to be like. Barely three months ago, he had been the up and coming genin of Clan Hisoka. And now, here he was, a fourteen year old orphan, hiding in the dark and cold. It wasn't right that he was still alive. It was his fault that his village was attacked.
A twig snapping alerted him to the presence of someone else. "Be more careful. He's got to be around here somewhere." The voice hissed quietly, barely audible from where he hid. There were two of them. At least two of them. Should he run, should he stay hidden? His hand slipped into his pocket. He felt the cool metal of his forehead protector. Sliding his finger over it, he could feel the ridge from the circle, the symbol of his village, engraved into it. Hisashi pulled the forehead protector out of his pocket. His eyes, which moments before had been watering, were now hard. He wiped the residual moisture out of them, and tied his forehead protector on. He was not running. He was a ninja from the Village of Hidden Sun. It was more than likely that he was the last ninja from the Hidden Sun. And these were two of the bastards that had destroyed his village. His green eyes flashed, the pupils turning yellow. With a howl, Hisoka Hisashi dashed out of his hiding place, towards the two ninja before him.
Akamaru whined as Kiba walked up the path. Kiba turned around to look at the dog. "Come on now, you've been here before. We both know there's nothing to be afraid of." Akamaru whined in response, before letting out several high pitched yelps. "Stay here if you want, then. We both know the Arabume are friends." Akamaru responded with several more barks. "Of course there's a lot of strange smells. They're all full of bugs. Stay if you want, but I need to speak to Shino." Turning, Kiba continued up the path, with Akamaru reluctantly following.
Reaching the door, Kiba raised his hand to knock, only to have it flung open before his hand even landed. "Kiba-kun!" A girl latched herself onto the Inazuka, arms squeezed tightly around him.
Kiba gently untangled his friend's younger sibling from his body. "Hello, Kira-chan. Is your brother in today?" She nodded, and he continued. "I suppose I can find him in the garden out back, then?"
"Yep. He's always training his bugs in the garden. That's what he calls it, anyways. He just gets them to eat all the weeds, and claims that he's done his chores for the week. I'm never able to do anything like that. The bugs all like him more than me, because he has more chakra that he can feed them. They all do what he wants when we tell them to do different things. But never mind that. How come you never come visit me, instead of my brother?"
"Well, you know. I've got missions and stuff." Kiba was well aware of the fact that Kira had something of a crush on him. She was a nice girl, but Kiba couldn't get rid of the image of all those bugs crawling beneath her skin. To say nothing of the fact that she was a little young, or that he was more than a little afraid of what her brother would do to him. He was saved by Akamaru letting out an excited bark.
"Oooh, look who it is! Hey there, boy, I haven't seen you for some time." Kneeling down, Kira began to scratch the top of the dog's head, playing with his ears. "I've been trying to talk mom and dad into letting me get an Akita, but they won't have anything to do with it. I guess that I'll just have to make do with spoiling you whenever Kiba chooses to show up. Come on, boy; let's get you something to eat." At that, Akamaru happily followed the younger of the Arabume siblings into the house, leaving Kiba to make his way around to the back yard garden on his own. He shook his head as he went. That girl was the exact opposite of Shino. It didn't make sense that they were siblings.
"Oi, Shino." The Arabume heir turned at the sound of the voice, nodding his head in greeting. "We need to have a talk, man." In response, Shino merely nodded his head to an empty patch of ground beside Kiba. Few would understand what it meant, but Kiba had spent years teaming up with him. He understood Shino's actions, and the present question perfectly. "Where else man, mooching food off of your sister. I swear, every time we come here, he whines and moans until she starts feeding him, and then he's happy as a clam. Bloody mooch." Shino crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow, prompting Kiba to continue. "Right, the reason I'm here."
He paused a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. "I'm getting really worried about Hinata. I mean, it's been almost a year since Naruto died, and I think she's still really upset. I mean, she's training every day. She says she needs to become strong like he was, and she's still using that forehead protector from Chouji's funeral. You know, the one on black cloth instead of blue."
"And?" It was the first thing Shino had said in the last few conversations that the two ninja had had. An observer unfamiliar in the mannerisms of the boy would think he didn't care about the person they were discussing. It was quite the opposite, rather. The fact that Shino had spoken the single word spoke volumes as to the great importance he placed on this conversation.
"And I'm worried man. I mean, we were all friends with him right? I know she gets upset pretty easily, but it's a little much isn't it? Like, really, it's not like they were even going out together, right?"
Shino pushed his glasses up the ridge of his nose, despite the fact that they were still covering his eyes. He sighed before speaking. "Kiba, you're not too observant, are you?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means she was in love with Naruto. It wasn't all that hard to see. She looked up to him in every way. Kurenai-sensei thinks she looked at Naruto struggling with the hatred of the villagers, and wished she could find the strength to do the same with her family. I'm surprised you couldn't smell it on her."
"Well, I thought that-" He was interrupted when Shino raised his hand. Shaking his head, the bug user continued. "I don't think there's anything to worry about, Kiba. I hope she gets over his death one day, but until she does, I don't think there's a lot we can do to make her. Rest assured, I'm keeping a close eye on her. The same goes for you, for that matter."
"Say what?"
Shino merely nodded towards the ground. "Look at your shoe." Kiba glanced down and watched as a few bugs flew off and landed on Shino, crawling up his arms to disappear from view.
"I keep watch over my friends. As long as either of you, or Kurenai-sensei, are near me, or any other member of my clan, help is always nearby. Don't worry about Hinata, Kiba. She'll be fine."
Hisashi stumbled down the trail, attempting to get away. Tears streaked his eyes as he ran. He had been alone for over a year now. He had managed to beg work on a trading vessel, and had ended up sailing across the ocean to some continent he had never even heard of. It had thrown his pursuers off his trail, but now he was even more alone than before. He had no idea how to speak the language that was being used on this continent. He had been unable to get any food for three days now, and he was once more being pursued.
Idiot, he admonished himself. He had made such a stupid mistake, accidentally pulling his forehead protector out of his pocket inside of a village. The ninja pursuing him probably thought he was a spy or something. He cringed as one of his pursuers landed in front of him. He got to his feet and took in his surroundings. One ninja stood in front of him, directly in front of a hill. There was tall grass on all sides, about waist deep. Nine more ninja stood in the grass or the path, forming a large loose circle around him. Their forehead protectors had three horizontal lines, one atop the other for their symbol; not that it mattered in any way. It's not like he was going to recognize any symbols here, he reflected.
The lead ninja spoke to him, his tone slightly threatening. Hisashi struggled to stay focused; he had to figure a way out. He fought to keep the fear out of his voice as he responded. "I don't understand what you're saying. Do you speak the language of the continent to the west of here?" The only response he got was a hand signal from the leader. The circle slowly began to close. Hisashi pulled out a kunai.
"Oi!" The shout drew everyone's attention to the hill just beyond the circle of ninja. Standing atop it was a figure covered by a cloak. He wore a plain white mask, which oddly had a small hole over the mouth. Hisashi took him in. The masked person was slightly taller than himself, about the same height as his opponents. His voice identified him as male, but it was hard to place his age. On the one hand, it sounded very youthful… but there was something else to it as well, making Hisashi instantly decide there was something strange about him. While he did not wear a forehead protector anywhere visible, his stance seemed to scream ninja. The masked figure spoke again, his tone clearly threatening, and Hisashi's opponents all seemed to flinch, several even taking a step back.
The man who had spoken to Hisashi turned and shouted at the squad, before he and seven others ran at the masked ninja. Well, there's two things decided, thought Hisashi. Eight on him, he's definitely not a normal ninja, and it looks like he's got a reputation. And secondly, only two left to fight me. His eyes went from green to yellow as the thoughts raced through his brain. They don't know who I am.
Somewhere in the back of Naruto's mind, he was reflecting that this was exactly the sort of thing for whibh Jiraiya or Kakashi would be tearing a strip off of him. His first encounter with what he suspected were Hidden Wind ninja, and he was in a fight with them. Exactly the kind of thing that he should avoid. But this was all in the back of his mind. Far in the back.
It was all coming up to the surface now. It was there every time that he fought. The anger, the hatred, the bloodlust. Behind his mask, his eyes narrowed into slits. His instinct kicked in. It was time to hurt people, torture them, kill them. Make them pay for daring to be alive and daring to oppose him. He began forming seals at a rapid pace. "Katon: Ryuuko no Jutsu!"
The Wind ninja scattered as the jutsu streaked at them, a huge gout of flame exhaled from Naruto's mouth that caught two of the ninja who had moved too slowly in their attempt to dodge. As the flame died away, the grass was scorched down to the dirt, which had become hard and cracked. All that remained of the two ninja were piles of charred bones.
A ninja appeared beside Naruto, kunai streaking towards him. The masked ninja didn't even try to block, allowing the knife to sink deeply into his right arm. As it did so, he twisted, bringing his left arm up. His claws sunk into the face of the Wind ninja, and Naruto viciously tore them across the man's face with a howl. The majority of the unfortunate ninja's face simply disappeared, torn off by the rending attack. Eyeing two ninja in front of him, Naruto began to charge, a feral grin appearing on his face as his opponents leapt away.
He paused in his attack, and whirled around to face the ninja whose face he had clawed off. A kunoichi was bent over the man, hands glowing as she attempted to stabilize her comrade. Naruto's hand came up, tearing his mask away. Arms back, he sprinted towards the medical ninja. She saw him coming, but merely closed her eyes as she continued to treat Naruto's earlier victim. Her hands glowed brighter, but nothing else changed.
Naruto slammed into her, fangs closing down on her throat. The two of them began rolling down the hill, one over the other, coming to a stop at the bottom. Naruto snapped his head back, tearing the medical-nin's throat out, and stood. Blood spilled everywhere, staining the ground around her. She stared upwards, eyes wide open. Her left hand trembled as it made its way towards her throat, still glowing slightly. Naruto grabbed the wrist with one hand, and her hand in the other. With a quick twist, he snapped the wrist, her hand facing completely backwards. He leapt away, landing back atop the hill beside his discarded mask. Bending down, he scooped it up and replaced it over his face.
Hisashi looked on at the mysterious ninja who was now down to four opponents. He had dispatched the two left to him without too much trouble, but was unsure of what to do now. He could help the masked ninja, but he had seen his first three kills, and it didn't look like he needed it. Still, he didn't want this man to mistake him for an opponent. Hesitantly, he took a few steps towards the last four of his pursuers.
The leader of the group, still alive, barked something out, and two of his remaining comrades turned and ran. The last took a step towards him. The leader shouted one word at the top of his voice, and Hisashi, despite not knowing the language, could clearly understand the meaning. The remaining ninja hesitated for another several seconds, before she, too, turned and ran. The leader glared the masked shinobi, the two of them staring each other down.
The Wind ninja was the first to act. Quickly forming the needed seals, he threw his hands forward, thumbs and index fingers touching to form a diamond. A beam of black energy erupted from his chest, rocketing forwards faster than Hisashi could make out, to make impact with his masked opponent. The mystery ninja was sent backwards at an incredible speed, disappearing from view. The Wind leader coughed once, before collapsing to the ground.
Slowly, Hisashi willed himself to approach the fallen man. He wanted to get away as quickly as possible, but he was still incredibly hungry. Hopefully, he could scrounge supplies off of the corpses. Reaching the top of the hill, he had a close-up view of the ninja whose face Naruto had torn away, as well as the corpse of the medic lying at the rise's opposite base. Fighting back bile, he bent down to inspect the two corpses near him. It took him just under a minute to search the first ninja. There were plenty of weapons, but no food. As he switched his inspection to the second ninja, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. His head turned, and his eyes went wide. He was sure that the leader's final attack should have killed the masked ninja, or at least seriously wounded him, but he was back, and charging him at an incredible speed.
A bolt of lightning shot out of the boy's body, and Naruto leapt, soaring far into the air. He angled his body to hit the lone survivor as he descended. His aim was perfect, landing square on the teenager, pinning his shoulders to the ground with his knees. A clawed hand whipped out from beneath the cloak, reaching back, ready to tear Hisashi's throat out. He stared into his victims yellow eyes, which were wide with fright.
Hisashi stared at the monster pinning his back to the ground. He was sure he would die, but every time the claw above him began to move, the body of the man, or whatever he was fighting shook, and the claw moved back. Taking a deep breath, Hisashi began to concentrate, feeling his strength building up.
Naruto was beginning to feel sick. It was a miniscule feeling, but it was still annoying. Was this kid using some sort of genjutsu or something, or was it just the effort of holding back the demonic instincts within him? Either way, he didn't like it.
Hisashi was about to make his move, he had gathered all the strength he could. He couldn't believe it. As he began to form his thoughts, the clawed hand above him clenched into a fist and descended. Hisashi's world exploded as he collapsed into blackness.
Hisashi awoke to find it was night, and he was lying on the ground. That thing hadn't killed him? How long had he been unconscious? A voice said something behind him, and he whirled around. His eyes went wide with fear. The masked monster was sitting next to a campfire. It spoke again, curiosity in its voice. Shaking, Hisashi sat up. "I- I'm sorry, si- sir. I don't know your language. I'm… I'm from the continent to the west."
The masked monster cocked his head to the side, and after a moment, shrugged. Hisashi flinched when one of its clawed hands reached into its pack, but he relaxed a moment later. It was holding what looked like dried meat. Slowly, the monster spoke a single word. "Food." He tossed it to Hisashi, who caught it. The monster spoke again. "Eat."
Hisashi bowed and spoke several words in his own language. The monster shrugged. Taking a single bite out of the jerky, Hisashi smiled and said the words again. The monster clapped his hands together and spoke excitedly. "Thank you!"
Hisashi bowed for the third time before speaking the words slowly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
After several more bites, Hisashi pointed to himself. "Hisoka Hisashi." There was a heavy pause which seemed to stretch on forever. After ten seconds, Hisashi decided he had somehow done something wrong. Finally, the monster pointed to himself. "Uzumaki Naruto."
Hinata and Neji walked down the corridor in the Hyuga family's main house. The younger Hyuga shook slightly as she walked. Her elder cousin did his best to reassure her. "Hinata-sama, you will do fine."
The younger cousin nodded, trying to allow her guardian's words to bring her a measure of comfort. Her worries still existed however. "But the last time we fought, she defeated me, Neji-nisan."
"The last time you fought," Neji countered, "was years ago, and you had not spent well over a year before the battle training with me. I have the utmost confidence in you, Hinata-sama."
Hinata smiled. This time, Neji's words had managed to reassure her. "I would still rather not fight, Neji-nisan. I do not want to see Hanabi-chan suffer because of me."
"Hinata-sama, you must do this if you wish to realize your goals. You gave me your word that when you become the leader of the clan, you will not allow the use of the cursed seal to continue, did you not?" Waiting until she nodded, Neji then continued. "If you allow Hanabi to defeat you, you will never be able to keep your word." They paused outside the entrance to the sparring chamber. "And what is your way of the ninja?"
Hinata's face grew serious once more as she answered. "To keep my promises. To never take back my words."
"Naruto would be proud of you." Watching his cousin's face once more spread into a smile, Neji allowed himself a rare grin of his own. "Now come on." Sliding the door open, he stepped into the chamber, motioning for her to follow. "Let's show your father what you're made of."
Hinata stepped into the chamber, and sat on one of the benches near the door. At the other side of the room sat Hanabi, along with their father and various other high-ranking members of the clan. Hinata was surprised when, rather than cross the room to sit with the others, he took his seat beside her. Hiashi's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but said nothing at Neji's unspoken declaration of allegiance.
Standing, Hiashi strode to the center of the room. Looking first at Hanabi and the others, and then to Hinata and Neji, he spoke. "My fellow clan members, we are here today to witness my younger daughter Hyuga Hanabi challenge her elder sister Hinata, for the title of clan heir. The match shall continue until such time as one declares they no longer wish to fight, or until I rule that the match has ended. Shall we begin?"
Before he could continue, Neji rose to his feet and stepped forwards, his voice apprehensive. "Hiashi-sama, I am concerned about this match taking place."
His uncle's eyes were cold as he glared at him. "Are you questioning my judgment, Neji?"
Neji bowed before continuing. "No sir, I am merely expressing concern that we are setting a precedent with this match. Traditionally, the eldest has always led. If Hanabi wins this match, it could be interpreted that at a later point, Hinata, or any future child you may have, could challenge her for leadership."
Hiashi nodded to the branch member. "I thank you for your concern Neji, but rest assured, this shall only happen once. No future matches to determine my successor shall be allowed."
"Thank you, Hiashi-sama." Neji waited for his uncle to nod before he turned to take his seat. As he sat he muttered under his breath. "There, now you only need to win once."
"Now then," Hiashi motioned for Hanabi and Hinata to stand. "If there are no further objections, let us proceed." He moved back to his seat before giving the command.
"Begin."
Hanabi activated her byakugan as soon as her father spoke, taking only a second to bring forth her family's bloodline limit. Hinata, however, drew a kunai, and threw it at her sister. Hanabi easily dodged it, moving out of the way of a barrage of shuriken as well. She smirked as she dodged; she was easily avoiding her sister's attacks.
Hinata wore a smirk of her own, however. Darting in, she activated her own byakugan. It was easy for a Hyuga to activate their bloodline limit while moving, but Hanabi, like most Hyuga, had viewed it as a first step. You had to wait for the match to start, but once it did, it was the first thing to do, before moving on to the actual combat. Hinata, however, had learned from training with Neji. She had not expected her projectiles to hit, but they had done their job. Hanabi had been forced back, and now Hinata attacked holding the initiative.
She swung her palm forwards, only to have Hanabi turn it away. She continued her attack, her sister blocking her blows but being unable to take the offensive. Finally, Hanabi managed to slide away from Hinata's attacks, jumping back in an effort to gain a moment of time. Pulling out two kunai, she threw them at Hinata before following them in, planning on gaining the initiative in the match in much the same way Hinata had.
Her first three strike were turned aside by her elder sister. Her fourth, however, cut through Hinata's defenses, heading towards her chest. Hinata smiled as she took a step backwards, and Hanabi's strike fell short. Neji had prepared her well for this fight, often using their matches against each other as references. When she fought Neji, he had the advantage of a longer reach, and often exploited that to avoid Hinata's attacks. Now, she was doing the same thing to Hanabi. Having evaded her sister's attack, she sent in one of her own. Rather than dodge however, Hanabi used an unexpected maneuver. Stepping forwards, she accepted the hit, wincing as she felt one of the tenketsu in her chest close, to deliver a blow to Hinata's stomach, sealing one of the points on her sister's body. Both combatants leapt away, taking a moment to adapt to the situation.
Neji chose that moment to interrupt the fight. "Hinata-sama, I suggest you remove your jacket." Hinata nodded. She still preferred to wear it. Her self esteem had improved over the years, but not drastically so. Still, Neji was right. This fight was serious, and while she had improved greatly, she did not think it was wise to handicap herself. Removing her coat, she tossed it away.
With the exceptions of Hinata and Neji, everyone's eyes widened when her jacket struck the far wall. The crash that the jacket made suggested that, while it was nowhere near the level of Lee's ankle devices, Hinata's coat had been somewhat heavily weighted.
With a much greater speed, Hinata bolted towards her startled sister. The younger girl was too surprised to do anything but defend herself. She had beaten Hinata all those years ago, and since then had been told that she was the stronger, while her older sister was a disgrace to the clan for being too weak. The realization that her older sister was not only equal with her, but in fact better, was disrupting the younger girl's calm. Hanabi felt her defense crumbling, and jumped away. As she did so, however, Hinata scored several more hits on the girl.
Hinata stood in the center of the room, waiting for her sister to re-enter combat. Rather than do so, Hanabi threw several shuriken and kunai, hoping to force Hinata to give up ground. Hinata, however, drew a kunai of her own, deflecting Hanabi's attack, and continuing to wait. Angrily, Hanabi charged in, frustration getting the better of her common sense. As she approached, Hinata shifted her feet, waiting for the right moment. She wanted Hanabi to be right… there!
"Kaiten!"
Hanabi flew backwards, to the shock of the entire room. Neji and Hinata of course, being the only exceptions. He had trained quite hard with Hinata, and as far as he knew, this was the first time she had called on the heavenly spin outside of training since he taught her four months ago. When Hiashi had announced the match, they had agreed it would be Hinata's trump card.
Hinata flew towards her sister, who was just picking herself up off the ground. This was it; it was time to finish the match. "Sixty-four points of tenketsu!" One strike hit home after the next, sealing the younger girl's chakra system completely. The attack concluded, Hinata caught Hanabi as she fell to the ground, before stepping back to stare at her father. He waited expectantly, looking at Hanabi who was struggling to stand. Finally she gave up, falling to the ground on her hands and knees.
"The match is concluded." Hiashi's voice still carried its cold tone. But it contained something else as well. Disappointment or sadness, it was hard to tell. "Hyuga Hinata remains my heir. Hanabi shall be relegated to the branch family."
Quickly, Hinata dropped to one knee, bowing forwards with one fist held to the ground. "Father, I beg you not to do this. Hanabi should not be sent out of the main family." The younger sister raised her head to look at Hinata, incredulity written across her face. Hinata rushed onwards, not wanting to give Hiashi time to respond. "I am already a chuunin of the village. My rising skill suggests I may be promoted of jounin. And then there is the constant threat of a war with the Sound village. Both of these factors will create an increase in the chance of my death. If such a thing were to happen, we will still need Hanabi to lead, and it would not do for her to have a cursed seal on her forehead." Hinata finished her speech, slightly out of breath. She continued to hold her head down, waiting for her father's response.
Hiashi stared at his two daughters on the ground, his face clearly showing deliberation. Finally, he spoke. "Hinata, you have clearly demonstrated greater capabilities than we have expected from you today. Both in terms of skill, and intelligence. You are to be thanked and congratulated. Today, you have demonstrated that perhaps you do have the ability to one day lead the clan. Hanabi, due to your sister's arguments, you shall remain within the main house. You should be grateful to her. You are both dismissed."
At that, Hinata rose, helping Hanabi to her feet. She and Neji led the younger girl out of the room. Neji slid the door closed behind them, smiling at Hinata once again. "Well, looks like you've started your goal a little early, Hinata-sama."
The twenty mourners stood in front of the monument. Konohamaru had spent months scouring the forest for a rock large enough for what he had had in mind. He had recruited Lee, and the rest of the Konohamaru Corps, to haul it up near the Memorial Stone. Kiba and Akamaru's gatsuuga, along with Shino's destruction bugs, had burrowed a path into the trees, carving out room to place the stone. Tenten had been called upon to chisel the names into it using her kunai. She had destroyed quite a few of them, along with blistering her hands badly enough that Tsunade had used a small healing jutsu on them.
Tsunade was the first to break the silence. "It was good of you to do this, Konohamaru, I may not have been able to have a funeral for him, but I'll make sure nothing happens to this monument." Stepping forwards, she knelt down to place a flower in front of the stone. One by one, the others stepped up to leave tokens in front of the stone. Flowers, the goggles Naruto had always worn until the day Iruka had given him his forehead protector. A couple of cups of instant ramen. Everyone stared at the monument, before slowly walking away, leaving only the stone, with it's message carved into it.
Uzumaki Naruto: Missing for two years on this day. Dead or alive, your friends have not forgotten you.
Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, Asuma, Shikamaru, Ino, Kurenai, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Gia, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Jiraiya, Shizune, Tsunade
Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter of the story, it was greatly appreciated. Silver Demon Fox, in regards to your question, Naruto put those seals on his body himself, for the purpose of deactivating the Fourth's seal.
Anyways, I hope I have found a way to show scene shifts. I've tried a few, but they never appear when I post the story. Hopefully the three stars (or whatever the shift-8 things are) will show up.
Please review, I'll try to keep updating at the same pace: Delais
