Because I Love You - Chasing After You

by The Flare Blade

Hiruzen knew that Tazuna's request was much more dangerous and important than it first appeared to be. He needed experienced ninja for the mission, but his hands were tied because of politics... until he sees a loophole. Using an educational project as cover, he will send two teams to Wave! A Naruto retelling with Hinata as a main character but with canon teams. (Ch1-5 revised!)

3. Chapter 3 - The Highest Stakes

Hello everyone!

Many of you should have guessed an action scene is incoming, because of Kakashi's test. Well, in my original version of the fic, I had certain intentions… and they led to all the action being in chapter 4 instead. Mostly so I could get isolated feedback on what had been my first action scene ever, as there is quite a bit going on here. Because of length and a couple other reasons, I'm sticking to the plan. But don't think that means this chapter is devoid of important content!

Anyways, this chapter will "mostly" be about Team 8. How do you guys feel about getting an expanded, different perspective on a previous scene before we see how Hinata and her friends are doing?

Key warning: Remember how I mentioned in Chapter 1 that the Hokage can be vetoed by his council if everyone disagrees with him? This setup returns to limit the power of another character. Much like with the Hokage, I'm avoiding the "council is a hive mind" trope, but I'll only cover that council's individuality later in Chapter 20.

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The Prologue

Chapter 3: The Highest Stakes (v3.0)

---

Even though he knew he didn't deserve to be called as such, Hiashi Hyuuga couldn't fight the fact that in his heart, he was a father. It was just impossible for him not to worry about Hinata after he noticed how oddly his daughter was behaving as they talked in the dojo.

If only he could act like a father as well and simply ask her what was wrong… it would have been so simple. However, no matter how much it killed him on the inside, he knew it was far, far too late to be the caring father that he had tried to be during Hinata's early childhood.

He just couldn't do anything. Not because of any interference from the outside world, no… the only thing that held Hiashi back was, almost always, merely himself.

However, there were situations where he absolutely had to act. He had a duty to protect his child from harm, and at least that was something he knew he could bring himself to do.

Thus, seeking more information, he posed a simple, almost random question about her day just to force a reaction. It was admirable to him that she tried to keep herself whole as she told him about her future training session with Kakashi, but it also hurt him deeply. He knew that her deep fear of his reaction was the only reason she didn't break down in front of him.

Hiashi soon realized that it would be for the best if he left the dojo right away. Perhaps it was the weight of his stern gaze, or even just his presence that affected her so negatively… it didn't matter. He could feel that him being there was causing Hinata enough distress to make her rooted to the spot out of raw nervousness. Forcing her to leave wouldn't end well, he was sure.

But just as much as he knew he had to leave, his instincts screamed at him that something was wrong with Hinata, that he needed to stay and protect her.

He soon found a compromise. It was a case where he had to break the rules.

Privacy was a concept Byakugan-users had grown to respect even before the Hyuuga clan's formation, and every person capable of the ability was educated from their early days to diligently uphold that value, but there was no other option.

He activated his eyes the moment he turned his back on Hinata, even before he closed the sliding door behind him to separate them—a meaningless barrier to the Byakugan, but it made all the difference for the girl's psyche.

The next ten minutes were grueling for them both.

It hadn't taken him more than a few seconds of watching Hinata trembling on the courtyard's floor after she ran away and collapsed for Hiashi to realize she was "just" having a panic attack. There was no danger to her life and, thus, no true need for his interference… but almost as if he were a statue guarding the dojo's door, he stood there, forcing himself to watch every single second of her suffering.

Those ten long minutes were but a part of his self-imposed punishment. To witness the consequences of how badly he failed at being a father, a husband, a clan head, and a human being—to torture himself with that knowledge.

He knew he deserved it.

It was a hard fight against his own body to stop himself from tearing down the dojo's door and hurrying to Hinata's side. To stop himself from being the father he wanted to be, and the father one part of him knew she needed him to be in that moment.

The father he knew he could never be… even if he were to try.

It had taken him almost five years after his wife's death for Hiashi to finally gather the courage to start facing reality once again, and even after that, it still took him months to realize how much damage he had caused and was still causing to his daughters. That, especially with Hinata, he was doing everything wrong and failing in every step of the way.

Yet, unlike many times in the past, neither his cowardice nor his fear of not being enough were what ultimately shackled him.

He continued to watch Hinata with his Byakugan until she eventually regained her strength. Slowly, she rose to her feet, supporting herself on the wall to compensate for her shaky legs—a task that her backpack full of food only made harder. She remained there only for about a minute, until a jolt of surprise shook her body and made her break into a dash.

He had no doubt his daughter had just remembered her training appointment. What he did doubt… was if she'd have the willpower to keep forcing herself to work as a kunoichi if she knew she knew about his lie.

That lie was his newest shackle. The truth he kept hidden from Hinata… as cruel as his inertia seemed, he knew that giving in to his heart's demands was the cruelest action he could take at that moment. He was already going to hurt her enough after the duel, but betraying innocent feelings on top of it?

He deactivated his eyes, shoulders sagging with a deep sigh as he, too, walked away from the dojo.

There was a limit to how much someone's heart could endure before it broke for good. He couldn't risk to push her anymore closer to that point than he already had.

Eventually, Hiashi entered a familiar hallway among the many identical ones in his labyrinth-like home. This one's only door led to his office, from where he could hear someone's voice, thanks to the door left ajar.

"What…? Why is this place such a mess? It's almost like a tornado passed through here!"

Hiashi cringed. He didn't know who was there besides that, from the voice, it was a woman… but he knew exactly what they were seeing.

"Oh no," the person gasped. "Could it be that a thief broke in!?"

Sculpting his features into an emotionless mask that had no traces of embarrassment, Hiashi began to walk forcefully so that his footsteps would echo towards whoever was in his office as a silent warning. In response, a head peeked out from the room, warily looking around the hallway until she spotted him.

"H-Hiashi-sama?!" the woman gasped, panic flashing across her features. She promptly hopped into the hallway and bowed low. "G-Good morning, Hiashi-sama!"

To his carefully hidden surprise, it was just a maid. He acknowledged her with a single nod, not stopping until he was by the door. A mere glance inside the room confirmed what the duster she held suggested: she had been about to clean his office. The cleaning cart in the middle of the room couldn't make things more obvious.

"I… I—please forgive me, Hiashi-sama," she blurted out in a trembling tone. "but I haven't finished my duties just yet and—"

"It's of no consequence," he said with a pacifying gesture, making the maid visibly relax. "This "mess", as you put it, is my responsibility. I'll handle that, and you can come later in the day to finish what you were meant to do."

With that order, he walked past the confused maid and into his office. The layout was quite similar to the Hokage's, except the room was much smaller and there were two pairs of bookshelves beside his desk, filled to the brim with books and scrolls... that is, on a normal day.

There were various empty spaces on the bookshelves, the desk was overflowing with books and open scrolls, so much that some scrolls had fallen and rolled away on the floor along with a few piles of books that hadn't fit on the desk. Considering he had always left everything in its proper place before locking up the office, he couldn't fault the maid for reacting like she did.

"Please excuse me," she said as she quickly reached for the cart and started to push it away. Hiashi paid her no mind as he went to sit in his chair, but raised an eyebrow when the maid stopped by the doorway and lingered.

"Uh… f-forgive my curiosity," she turned around, "and perhaps my ignorance, but… shouldn't you be giving start to the breakfast ceremony right now, Hiashi-sama?"

He blinked. It dawned on him that it was practically 7 a.m and he was one hour early to work, which is why he crossed paths with this maid.

"…Yes. I should."

Inwardly, he cursed himself. His lack of sleep was catching up to him if he managed to forget his duties so easily...

His brain scrambled for a solution, leaving the maid to frown uneasily over the awkward silence for a few instants.

"I need you to do something before resuming your usual duties," he said.

The maid stood straight, attentive.

"There are extremely important matters that need my attention right now. Tell my father that he will have to begin the ceremony in my stead."

"Understood. I will inform Hiroshi-sama immediately," she replied. "Would you want me to bring a plate of food here, Hiashi-sama?"

"…No. I already had breakfast."

A lie. Despite his stomach's disagreements, he knew eating would only slow him down.

The maid bowed once again and left, closing the door on her way out.

The moment she was gone was the moment his face went from the strong, icy mask of the Hyuuga clan's leader… to his real, unguarded expression of tiredness. Of someone that barely had any energy left but still had to keep going. Of someone that had stayed up until four in the morning neck-deep into books and scrolls, desperately hoping he'd find a way out…

Of someone that prayed for a miracle that, deep down, he knew was not going to come.

Without even realizing it, Hiashi brought his hand towards the handle of one of his desk's drawers. The hand hovered over the handle, tempted, yearning… but that was as far as it went before Hiashi forced it back, allowing himself no more than a gaze full of longing and sadness at what most people would perceive just as a simple drawer.

To Hiashi… it was his treasure chest.

It had been over six years since he had last opened it, but he could still remember clearly the drawer's contents: a simple photo, and the most precious of memories.

It was an image of a beautiful woman with long, blue hair, dressed in a summer kimono of the same color and in her arms was brown-haired baby girl wrapped up in a yellow blanket, sleeping peacefully. A young girl was in front of the woman, dressed in a black-and-white kimono. Though the girl's hair was much shorter, it was of the exact same color as the woman's—one of the many physical traits the two shared.

His wife, Hikari Hyuuga, and his two daughters, Hinata and Hanabi.

Behind them was a big garden filled with flowers and plants of the most varied colors and sizes, but in front of the trio was only a patch of purple sunflowers. Those had just bloomed during that summer, thanks to the dedication and love of Hikari and Hinata had put into caring for them, and that accomplishment was what led to the pride and glee reflected in their wide, bright smiles.

Hiashi knew that even if his heart had the strength to endure the sight, he couldn't open his chest and gaze upon his treasure again, which he had once displayed proudly in a frame atop his desk.

He was unworthy. And he knew… he'd never be worthy again.

Not after the last night.

Hiashi had many happy memories of the days he spent with his wife, but the one at the forefront of his mind was far from fond. It was his last memory of Hikari, when she, on her deathbed, used her last breath and her last tears to make him promise that he would never let that happen to their daughters.

He promised it. Immediately.

At the time, he thought he'd never have to do anything to uphold it, but he had been too naïve… and now, there was nothing he could do to stop that promise from shattering.

Just like he couldn't stop his brother Hizashi from sacrificing himself for his sake... and just like he couldn't stop Hikari's disease from taking her from him, he was once again a mere spectator, able to do nothing more outside of watching idly as his family was about to be ruined.

Again.

The room was engulfed by the sound of a fist crashing down on wood.

He hated that feeling of powerlessness. He had thought there was no worse feeling… but now he knew better.

Being powerless and unable to protect his loved ones from something that was completely his own fault was a thousand times worse.

And yet, he resisted. A part of him couldn't accept that was the end.

"This is no time for self-pity," he scowled as he chastised himself, closing his eyes to force back unshed tears of frustration and grief.

Looking over the chaos of documents all over his desk, Hiashi decided to invest a minute or two into reorganizing everything before diving in once again.

"There has to be something I overlooked. This is such an unusual case… there has to be something I can use."

Unusual was truly the perfect word to describe the situation.

As he had told Hinata minutes before, she and her sister had different responsibilities towards the clan due to their different positions in the line of succession. Though the heir (or heiress, in this case) had the biggest ones, as they would be groomed to lead the clan one day, the clan head's other children still had important roles to play.

He knew the possibility of actually losing her title had never crossed Hinata's mind, just as he had a fair idea of what caused her panic attack… and that's where his lie had entered the picture.

It still didn't quite register for Hiashi. The topic of Hanabi becoming the heiress had been brought up on occasion during council meetings over the past few years as she bloomed faster than Hinata, but no conclusion had been ever reached. Though the elders in the council had some common roles, they all had their own opinions and arguments for and against that measure. The topic was simply too divisive and uncertain.

As the clan head, Hiashi's opinion was the one that held the most weight. The entire council would have to be against him to overrule his decisions in any given matter… he just had never imagined it would actually happen.

Not only did it happen, it also didn't end there.

What he had been too scared to tell Hinata was that if she lost the duel with her sister—and he knew she would—then she wouldn't just lose her title.

She'd lose her freedom.

She'd lose position as a main house member and her place in the line of succession.

Hinata would be sealed.

He would have to seal his own daughter. The mere thought made his blood turn cold.

Hikari had bound him with a promise and Hiashi couldn't deny it was a big part of why he feared this outcome so much. What she had shared with him… the possibility that Hinata could be exposed to those horrors because of the exploitability of the Caged Bird Seal was an unbearable thought. It had haunted him throughout the night, single-handedly keeping him focused on his task.

But as his search yielded no results, Hiashi's mind wandered… and it led him to another possibility that scared him far more than the moment he had seen Hinata in the arms of that diplomat from Kumo.

Because he had led Hinata to see herself as the clan's biggest failure when he was by far the rightful owner of that title… he knew it. He knew how devastating a failure of that magnitude would be to her.

He didn't know if she could withstand it.

And so Hiashi kept going. He swiftly organized his workplace and he once again went to drown himself in books and scrolls about the laws, traditions and history of the Hyuuga clan—anything that could give them a way out.

No matter how many hours of sleep or uneaten meals it would cost him… it was nigh time for him to start making up for his failures.

---

"At least… I made it in time," Hinata skidded to a halt, panting heavily. "Probably..."

The girl was underneath the wooden gate that served as the entrance to Training Ground 3, doubled over as she struggled to regain her breath after running nonstop all the way from the Hyuuga manor.

Once her body recovered from that storm of horrible sensations and feelings that struck her after her father left the dojo, the first thought that popped in her head had been the very last one she had before everything went wrong: that she would be late if she didn't hurry.

Hinata would have loved to fool herself into believing that her fear of upsetting her teammates and Naruto's sensei was what pushed her forward through Konoha's streets… but no. She ran solely so she could focus on something besides the thoughts that triggered her attack, forcing herself to be too busy to linger on those thoughts.

"Ha… hahaha…"

Somehow, the notion that she had been literally running away from her own mind made her laugh, almost drowning out that dark voice in her head that finally caught up to remind her that she was foolish for trying to escape. To remind her that she was pathetic and barely handled ten minutes of running... that it was no wonder everyone wanted Hanabi to be the heiress instead of a failure.

Her logical side came to her defense, comforting her with the fact that she had been drained of her energy before she even started to run. It blamed the dark voice for that—for everything—and Hinata clung to that idea desperately, bringing her peace even if just for a moment.

She didn't stay near the gate for long, unwilling to put all that running to waste by arriving late anyway. Wiping the sweat from her brow with her hand and drying it on the hem of her jacket with a pang of disgust, Hinata sluggishly began to move.

Braving a small road surrounded by trees, Hinata soon stumbled into a familiar-looking clearing. It resembled the training ground she and her team frequented, with the only meaningful difference being a trio of wooden posts in the middle of it and a stone monument to the side, shaped in a way that resembled a kunai.

Hinata also saw that she wasn't the first to arrive. Though she couldn't make out more than his silhouette from where she was, she knew that it was Shino Aburame, one of her teammates. He was always early to team meetings, so his presence was no surprise to her.

Shino had a dark bush of brown hair and, as always, his face was mostly hidden behind his dark sunglasses and the high collar of his light gray jacket. That resulted in many people struggling to read him —a group that Hinata was sad to still see herself included. Simple brown shorts rounded out his suspicious getup, contrasting it completely.

He was standing beside one of the wooden posts, staring right in her direction. Hinata knew it was because he had sent a little, harmless bug to live with her, which allowed him to detect when she was nearby. While Hinata still wasn't totally over how creepy it was to have a bug on her 24/7… nonetheless, she was glad to have Shino in her life.

With other people, she always felt lacking from a socialization standpoint, but Shino operated in a different wavelength. He gave her as much time as she needed to put her thoughts into words, and was fully comfortable with spending time in silence if they didn't have anything to say. Hinata felt as if she wasn't failing him with her struggle to find the right of words as soon as possible like she did with everyone else... it was liberating, in a way.

She had a feeling that he was glad to have someone that was actually willing to listen to him, too, given how their old classmates found him boring and weird and isolated him for it. Shino was a sharp person, and be it a long tirade about bugs, his analysis of a book or even smaller observations about the world around them, Hinata always found he had something interesting to say and gave him as much attention as she could.

To her surprise, his behavior even extended to his reactions to her mistakes during missions or training. She had thought he'd be just like her father in that regard, but Shino was usually far more preoccupied with telling her where she went wrong, and if he could, how to fix it.

Of course, his reaction wasn't always positive, such as that time when she had ruined a D-rank mission by tripping and knocking over some paint buckets all over their client's yard… but at least he didn't berate her for her mistakes. He merely told her that she was capable of better.

It made everything sting less, at least.

When she finally got close enough, Shino nodded in greeting. Hinata barely managed a little wave in return before the sharp noise of a page turning drew her attention elsewhere.

In the shade, leaning against a nearby tree, was a man dressed in a jonin uniform, reading a small orange book. 'So this must be Kakashi-sensei…'

Glancing between the two for a moment, Hinata silently apologized to Shino and went towards Kakashi instead. Though she made no attempt to be stealthy in her approach, Kakashi was apparently too engrossed in his reading to notice her, even when she was but a couple meters away from him.

The girl began to fidget. On one hand, she knew she should greet her new sensei and show him respect. On the other, he was clearly busy and she didn't want to be a bother and have him mad at her, so how should she capture his attention?

"Yo. You're Hinata, right?"

She bit back a squeak.

Kakashi just flipped another page, eyes still glued to his book.

"Ah… y-yes."

She should've known better to expect a jonin to be so unaware.

"Hmm. Good to know."

He didn't say another word afterwards, leaving Hinata lost in the awkward silence that arose. Gulping, she began to debate with herself on what her next move would be. In the end, just to be sure, she offered him a small, rigid bow and excused herself, her voice barely above a whisper.

She left tense, hoping Kakashi wouldn't call her back and yell at her for the being insolent, but allowed herself to relax when he didn't. He truly had been as casual as his greeting suggested.

The relief allowed her to give Shino a small smile when she finally reached him.

"Good morning, Shino-kun," she spoke while disentangling herself from her backpack. She intended to leave it on one of the wooden stumps, and the process made her notice the oddly-shaped alarm clock resting atop the central stump.

She wondered if that was related to their training somehow.

"Hinata, are you unwell? You look downcast and tired. I noticed you spent some time by the gate before entering."

The girl winced. 'Do I look that bad…?'

Shino was always straight to the point. While it was refreshing to know she'd never need small talk with him, it also had its drawbacks. Especially when his bugs made him aware of where she had been and for how long.

"I… I'm fine, Shino-kun," she mumbled, avoiding his gaze. "It's just… c-clan issues. Y-You know…"

Shino didn't reply immediately and just stared. It made Hinata have a sudden interest in the grass beneath her feet, feeling as if Shino was seeing right through her.

"…I understand clan matters can be taxing, but please don't overwork yourself."

An apology was already forming inside Hinata's throat, but Shino was faster.

He whipped out a book from his jacket's pocket, offering it to her. Seeing the familiar brown and red cover caused her to smile brightly, ignited by a spark of excitement.

"Ah! So you finished it already! What did you think?" she said, taking the book—one of her favorites—and turning to place it in her backpack.

The two spent the next few minutes discussing Hinata's book. It was a romance novel mixed with a fair deal of adventure, which turned out to be the more engaging aspect of the book in Shino's opinion given how much he focused on it.

He had noticed details she hadn't and Hinata felt excited about reading her book again with a new perspective, but one thing about his analysis bothered her.

"So, um," she began, "you didn't like the romance at all, Shino-kun? You didn't say a lot about that. I… I thought you said you were open to these things?" she said, dreading that she had made a mistake.

"I am, and I found it reasonable both in pacing and development."

"…But?"

"The romance led the characters to react far too recklessly in some parts, favoring emotion over logic when they shouldn't. Particularly, the infiltration of the count's citadel—which went horribly wrong— could've been avoided entirely had they waited for the army to arrive, or at least they could've waited until nightfall. And in general, the romance was… too sugary, I suppose you could say. It's not an objective flaw, but it affected my enjoyment of the story to a degree."

Hinata's brows furrowed slightly. In her opinion, that emotion, that recklessness Shino criticized made the characters more human and relatable, while all the "sugar" he spoke of had been just perfect… but, she had to respect his views. It was a subjective matter after all.

"I… I see. Well, I'll try to keep what you said in mind next time I suggest something..."

He nodded. "It was nonetheless a high-quality story. I'd ask what you thought of my book now, but Kiba and Akamaru are approaching."

"Oh," she muttered, the small word betraying her disappointment. Not at Kiba; she had been looking forward to sharing with Shino her opinion about the book he had lent her, but alas…

It occurred to her that Kiba was late, probably by a fair margin if she had to guess from how much she and Shino had talked. 'Did something happen to him and Akamaru?'

Soon enough, they heard a loud voice coming from the training ground's entrance.

"Hey! Don't start without us!"

From a distance, Hinata and Shino could see their missing teammate, who was dashing towards them alongside his little ninja dog, Akamaru.

He reached his teammates in only a few seconds, breathing heavily.

"Hi… guys… sorry for the wait," Kiba said, panting, and received a silent nod from Shino and a quiet "good morning" from Hinata in return.

The boy wore dark gray pants and a bulky fur jacket of the same color, with the fur on the edges of the sleeves and hood being a pure white instead. Said hood also covered his messy brown hair, but it didn't hide the red fang-shaped marks painted on his cheeks—the symbol of the Inuzuka clan.

The boy's slightly pronounced canines and slit-shaped pupils gave him a distinctive feral look that had greatly intimidated Hinata before she got to know him better and realized he was a carefree, funny person that could often make her day a little brighter with his jokes or words of encouragement when the situation called for it. Though he was a little too physical for her tastes, she felt as if Kiba was always looking out for her.

With that in mind, Hinata opened her mouth to ask him if he was alright but closed it again when she saw Kakashi leaving his tree.

"Well, well, look who's finally here," the jonin said, pocketing his book. "Kiba, was it? I'll have you know, I'm not fond of people who lack punctuality."

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei… I-I can explain though!"

In the midst of catching his breath, Kiba told them about how he would've arrived in time if not for a sandwich dropping from the sky in the middle of the street and right in front of them. Akamaru, enticed by the food, had fled from his owner and almost managed to get the sandwich for himself… but a hungry street cat stole his would-be-breakfast right beneath his nose, resulting in him angrily chasing after the cat.

Obviously, Kiba had to chase his partner down as well, which consumed a lot of time according to him. The boy sent a pissed off glare at the pup as he spoke about that last part, but Akamaru never noticed. The light-furred dog was too busy sniffing around, until his nose finally led him to Hinata's backpack.

It broke the girl's heart when he turned to her with a pitiful whine, looking at her pleadingly.

"Sorry Akamaru-kun," she whispered, crouching to his level to rub his little head. "Hang in there, okay? I promise it will be worth the wait!"

Akamaru gave a small bark and his tail began to wag, making her giggle softly. 'So cute!'

While she comforted Akamaru, Kiba was finishing his explanation and looked at Kakashi uneasily.

"—and he managed to eat the sandwich before I could catch him. Is… is it going to be bad for him? Kurenai-sensei said you wanted us not skip breakfast, so…"

"Maybe. I suppose it's alright for now," Kakashi answered evasively, shrugging as he inwardly added the Inuzuka's story to his 'lame and unbelievable excuses to give when I'm late' list.

He then sat on the grass.

"Alright. Now that all of you are here, I'd like to know you three a little better before our training. Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, goals, dreams... you know, the usual."

The kids followed his lead and sat as well, but Kiba, who was sitting between his teammates, had an objection to Kakashi's proposal.

"My mom always tells me you gotta give your name before asking for other people's, so why dontcha go first, sensei?"

"Hmmm... fine. Fair enough."

In the end, his introduction boiled down to five words:

His name was Kakashi Hatake.

'Well, that was informative,' Hinata thought, feeling a mix of annoyance and worry at the man's attitude. It didn't bode well for them if he was this disinterested before the day even started.

Kakashi then motioned at Kiba for him to begin. The boy was glaring at the jonin for his shoddy introduction but dropped it in order to start his own.

"The name's Kiba Inuzuka," he declared, pointing at himself with his right thumb before using the same hand to pat his dog, who was lying on the ground right next to him. "And this little guy here is Akamaru, my ninken and partner."

Upon being called, Akamaru barked cutely at Kakashi, most likely saying "hi!" in dog speech. The puppy then jumped on his owner's lap, who, smirking, then carefully placed the dog atop of his head before continuing.

"I like my family, my friends, red meat in general, and shockingly enough... dogs! In particular Akamaru. Anyways, I really dislike cats, seafood, stuck-up jerks, those bastards from Iwa, and being bored. My dream is to be the strongest ninja of the Inuzuka clan, to protect our pack so that we never have to lose so many people like what happened in the previous war... and eventually being Hokage would be nice. My hobby is walking with Akamaru. And training, I guess," he finished with a shrug, looking nowhere as happy as when he began.

Kakashi wasn't very happy either. He remembered how the Inuzuka clan had suffered heavy casualties during the previous war, due to them being constantly needed at the frontlines to use their digging techniques to counter the defensive Earth techniques the Hidden Rock's ninja employed. He could understand somewhat how the young Inuzuka felt, having lost comrades to that same war and life in general.

'At least the kid's not devoting himself to revenge,' Kakashi thought, remembering his team's little avenger. 'I suppose it makes sense. He is too young to have suffered directly because of the war, so his feelings most likely come from being exposed to his family's hatred and loss.'

He stopped for a moment to think of something to say to Kiba… something his old sensei might have said to make the boy feel better… but in the end Kakashi gave up.

Like he had always told the Hokage, he just wasn't fit for that kind of job.

He then looked at the other male genin, and taking the hint, Shino began speaking in his usual neutral tone.

"I am Shino Aburame. As a member of the Aburame clan, it's obvious that I have an interest in bugs, however, I also enjoy reading in general, learning about Konoha's history and fighting skilled opponents. My hobbies are to help my parents find and research new specimen for my clan. I dislike those who kill bugs without a logical reason to do so, plants in general, forgetful people and bright lights. My goal is to meet and exceed the expectations of my parents and clan as a ninja of Konoha. My dream… is to one day breed a new sub-species of bugs that are able to replicate the poisonous effects and antibodies of the Rinkaichu, a rare and highly dangerous kind of bug, for me to make use of them in combat and bring glory to my clan with them, as a homage to a long-lost friend."

Pushing back his sunglasses, Shino went silent, taking a moment to remember his old childhood friend, Torune Aburame.

Kakashi could empathize with him. Taking a glance at the memorial stone that rested further back, he remembered a long-lost friend of his own: Obito Uchiha. Like the Aburame boy, he too struggled to bring forth the full potential of his best friend's special ability and memento, in his case, Obito's Sharingan.

The small brief silence was enough to unnerve Kiba, who noticed Kakashi was lost in thought. Frowning as he realized that he'd have to take the lead, Kiba nudged Hinata's arm with his elbow.

"Your turn, Hinata."

"Ah! Yes...! Um... s-sorry," she muttered, mistaking herself as the source of Kiba's annoyance. Her gaze met Kakashi's, who nodded at her, and taking a quick but deep breath, she began.

"My name is Hinata Hyuuga." That was as far as she went before dropping the eye contact. "I… I like to spend my time t-taking care of my mother's garden, c-cooking, pressing flowers and reading. I dislike… m-many of my clan's traditions… and, my dreams… m-my dreams are… umm…?"

A lump in her throat made her stop. It only got worse when she noticed everyone's eyes were on her, which turned continuing into an impossibility and practically forced her head to hang low in a feeble attempt to avoid their curious gazes.

"Did you… forget your own dreams?" Kakashi asked after the silence stretched for too long, bewildered.

Before Hinata had a chance to reply—not that she could've —Kiba began to laugh.

"C'mon Hinata," he patted the girl on the back, amused by how red she was. "Kakashi-sensei won't bite you, I promise!"

"If I recall correctly from our first day as a team," Shino began, drawing everyone's attention, "Hinata dreams of succeeding her father as the clan head, mainly in order to help unite the main and branch houses of her clan through the removal of the Caged Bird Seal."

"Sounds about right," Kiba said, his eyes falling on Hinata again. "I think you mentioned something about wanting to marry and have kids one day too, didn't you?"

The girl eventually answered with an affirmative noise that, if Kiba didn't have sensitive hearing, he might've missed.

'Not like any of that matters anymore,' she thought.

Kiba also didn't miss her unusually gloomy expression, one that he recognized from a few times where Hinata had done something clumsy and led them to fail a mission, or close enough.

It piqued his curiosity.

"Well," Kakashi shrugged, "if you two say so…"

Kakashi couldn't help but pity Hinata. One couldn't become a clan head without being considerably powerful for a jonin-level ninja, and the girl didn't seem to have the personality for the job. And if the little he knew about the Hyuuga clan's seal was true, she'd risk having her own kids sealed should she have some before dealing with that problem.

'Can't say I envy her,' he thought, getting up. "You seem like okay kids, maybe even a bit boring… but at least it looks like you three will be easier to handle than my own team," he confessed with a small sigh.

Kiba snickered at that. "Wouldn't be surprised if they are why his hair is so white," he whispered to Hinata, hoping for a reaction.

To his disappointment, it failed to sway her mood. She still looked as glum as before.

"I… I wonder how they are doing," she muttered, distractedly.

"Maybe you should start to worry more about yourself."

A ringing noise followed Kakashi's words, drawing Team 8's attention towards him. He had stood up and now held a pair of bells in his hand.

"I'm sure you guys have been told I was supposed to be teaching about ninjutsu to you, but… that's not the game we'll be playing today."

Confused, the three genin exchanged glances with each other while Kakashi tied the bells to his waistband.

"I have a simple test for you: get these bells from me. That's all."

From those words, Hinata immediately assumed that all she and her teammates would be something like hide-and-seek, as that sort of activity could truly test their abilities as a tracking squad.

…And then Kakashi told them that the only way to win was to come at him with the intent to kill, making her eyes become as big as saucers.

'Kurenai-sensei said he was strong enough to become Hokage if he wanted… how are we going to fight someone like that!?'

"The hell!?" she heard Kiba grumbling as he sprung up. "But that's not fair at all! We're only genin, remember?"

"Of course, I will be restraining myself to give you a chance."

Hinata's shoulders sagged with a relieved sigh. The test no longer felt impossible—in hindsight, it was obvious he'd hold back.

But… why did she still have a bad feeling about this?

"What is the purpose of having only two bells and both in the same place?" Shino asked as he stood up, making Hinata realize she was the only one of them still on sitting on the grass.

Blushing, she quickly scrambled to get up.

"Oh, that…? Well," Kakashi began, "it's because each person can only get a single bell. Meaning that, at best, only two of you can pass."

The clear amusement in Kakashi's sole visible eye scared Hinata, but a question tumbled out of her mouth regardless. "A-And… what if we don't?"

"You will lose your headbands. And then you'll go back to the academy for another year until you can take the genin test again. I'd usually remove those who fail from Konoha's ninja program permanently, but you three are children of clan heads so I don't expect I will be able to go that far."

Those words, delivered so nonchalantly despite their weight, made Hinata as pale as a sheet.

'If that happens then… then our team will be disbanded!'

Shaken by that thought, she then almost had a heart attack when Kiba swore as loud as a firecracker right by her ear.

"You can't do that to us!" he yelled, with Akamaru barking in support. "Kurenai-sensei would never let you!"

"Furthermore," Shino began, "we already were approved as genin by Kurenai-sensei after we graduated."

Kakashi regarded them with a raised eyebrow. "The Hokage himself agreed to these terms—it was a condition for me to be here in the first place. Like it or not," his voice took a harsh edge, "Kurenai can't do a thing about it. You are under my command now."

Shino didn't react to the commanding tone Kakashi chose to use, but the rebuttal rendered Kiba speechless. Perhaps sensing that his owner needed a bit of comforting, Akamaru leaped to him, and Kiba hugged the dog close to his chest.

'If only Naruto was this easy to shut down,' Kakashi thought. He then pointed to somewhere behind Team 8, making the genin turn.

"That alarm on that stump is set to 10:30 a.m. That's your deadline... so this means you guys have about 3 hours to get the bells from me. And one last thing, about lunch. Kurenai said you'd bring food with you, right Hinata?"

The girl started once she felt Kakashi's eye on her. "O-Oh, yes… um, I-I made bentos... t-they're in my bag."

"Excellent… in addition to what I just said, whoever fails my test will be strapped to those stumps while the others will have lunch right here, in this clearing. If all of you fail, then that'd be just me, my team, and Kurenai having lunch today. Any questions?"

"You're crazy…" Kiba growled, his voice dripping with disgust.

He didn't know, but that was an echo of Hinata's thoughts. The idea that her own food was going to be used as a torture device was a bitter pill to swallow and made girl's stomach twist.

"So," Kakashi continued, "the test will begin in a few seconds. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Three clones suddenly popped in front of Kakashi.

Before the trio could even realize what was going on, the chakra constructs lunged at them at a speed that was not at all restrained. With each clone having one of the genin in their arms, they used a Body Flicker, leaving only a trail of leaves where they previously stood.

"Oh well."

Now alone, Kakashi didn't bother to keep his thoughts to himself as he resumed his reading of the Toad Sage's masterpiece: Icha Icha Paradise, volume 4.

"Let's see if your kids are all that you said they are, Kurenai."

Eventually, the residual chakra from his dispelled clones returned to him, each from a different corner of the training grounds, and each carrying a different memory.

"And now, I only have to wait for the fun part..."

---

Disoriented by the suddenness of it all, Hinata struggled to balance herself after Kakashi's clone released her and barely managed to avoid falling on the grass.

"This is your last chance to ask me anything," the clone spoke up, watching as the girl scanned the little wooded area around them in a mix of confusion and nervousness.

Hinata was not one to question people, especially her superiors. But when she turned to face him, her next words stumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"W-Why are you doing this to us…!?"

The clone's only reaction to her distress was to raise an eyebrow. "If that was all, remember: if you can't get a bell, you're out."

He then poofed out of existence, leaving his threat to echo inside Hinata's head.

In that situation, any normal person would start to worry about their own hide, and Hinata… was no different.

For one brief moment, she feared for what would happen to her if she was stripped of her headband and demoted from her position as a genin.

The consequences of failing were clear to Hinata.

"You and your sister will duel once again. If you lose, your title of heiress will be forfeit and your responsibilities toward the clan will change accordingly with your position in the line of succession."

...Hinata knew she would lose that duel. That wasn't even up to debate. But if, before that, she returned home with the news that she was being sent back to the academy… she also knew her father wouldn't allow that to happen.

He definitively was influential enough that he could reverse Kakashi's decision if he wanted to… but this would just become the last straw for him.

He'd transfer her title to Hanabi on the spot. There would be no point in the duel.

And there would be no second chances, for Hinata was certain he'd also remove her from the ninja program entirely. Losing her headband would be the decisive proof that investing in her future as a kunoichi was a futile endeavor, and the money the clan would waste with yet another year of her being in the academy could be more useful elsewhere.

Unlike the heiress, the clan head's other children were not obligated to become warriors for their entire lives. The clan always pushed for that, for safety reasons, but these children had a different primary duty: to marry with an important person from outside the clan and help spread the Hyuuga clan's influence around the world… through a marriage contract if necessary.

Hinata felt a tight knot in her throat and cursed herself for being such a naïve moron and believing that her childish plan would work.

Her idea had been simple in concept. It relied on how, heiress or not, she and her sister would only be allowed to marry after they turned eighteen. The difference between them in that regard was the freedom of choice, which only the heir would have. Hanabi would be married off as soon as possible, and Hinata wanted to avoid that. She wanted her sister to be able to take the reins of her own future, but how could she help her?

That's where the plan came in. If Hinata could become the clan head and execute the changes the clan needed to go through before Hanabi came of age, then Hinata could simply abdicate the position and allow her sister—the one more suited for the job—to take over before anyone forced her to marry for the sake of the clan. This would let Hanabi choose her husband freely and even stay as the clan head if she so desired.

Hinata also had some thoughts about how to avoid being married off to someone afterwards but… they didn't matter.

She should've known that the clan wouldn't stand for a weak heiress, and that she wouldn't become stronger fast enough to avoid her fate.

Her dream future was now out of reach, and failing Kakashi's test would barely change anything in her life. Except… for one thing.

Team 8 would never be the same again.

She didn't want to cut ties with them. Kurenai was like a mother to her, while Kiba and Shino were her first real friends. She had a taste of what friendship meant through Hanabi and the branch house members she interacted with most often such as the kitchen staff, but those bonds were too different.

There was no "clan" ruling over her dynamics with her team… at least, not until that moment.

Hiashi's words had caused her so much inner turmoil, but now, even if momentarily, they brought Hinata some peace. Those words allowed her to take a deep breath, forget herself, and focus on what was truly important to her at that moment:

Her teammates.

After hearing them both re-state their dreams and goals in front of Kakashi, and adding that with all that she had learned about them ever since Team 8 was formed, Hinata realized that even if she didn't have much to lose here… Kiba and Shino definitively had.

She wasn't sure if Kiba's relationship with his mom was as bad as his constant whining about her "nagging" suggested, but what she did know was that Tsume Inuzuka wasn't above physically disciplining her children when they stepped out of line. Kiba had commented that he always had gone to sleep sore and bruised whenever he had caused problems in the academy or had gotten bad scores in tests… Hinata didn't want to imagine how badly he'd be beaten if he came home bearing news of his demotion.

What would actually be worse for him was how the Inuzuka clan handled the process of teaching their special techniques. One had to prove themselves worthy to the clan's loose equivalent of the Hyuuga's council, and Hinata was sure that being forced to re-do an entire year at the academy would bring a stigma that could take years for Kiba to free himself from, especially with how shaky his performance at the academy had been.

It would not only put his dream in jeopardy, but it could even lead to his death if he entered a fight that he would've otherwise won if not for his clan denying his right to improve himself.

Shino, on the other hand, had excelled at the academy and could've been their year's top student if not for his taijutsu being mediocre compared to one Sasuke Uchiha. Regardless, his consistently high performance made him notorious among his clansmen, and with that came the expectation that he'd continue to show such promising results throughout his career.

Hinata was sure that the constant pressure she felt to meet her clan's expectations was just as heavy for Shino, if not heavier because he kept up with them. Despite his stoicism, Hinata could feel that he was proud of his accomplishments, of how his clan held him in high esteem and believed he could achieve greatness.

To have so many years of hard work spent on building that trust shattered in a single blow…

Shino didn't let his emotions show but that didn't mean he was a machine. His clan's logic-driven mindset led him to suppress his emotions—that's the impression Hinata had anyway—but a balloon could only hold so much air before bursting. Unlike with Kiba and even herself, Hinata was nowhere as sure in Shino's ability to bounce back from the shame of being deemed a failure by everyone, given how drastic the paradigm shift would be for him… and it scared her.

But still...

'Maybe I'm overthinking this…?'

Hinata knew she couldn't predict the future. Perhaps she was underestimating her friends or misunderstanding their situations, but the only thing she had to guide her path…

"From this day forward, I'll be handling your training myself."

…Were her own memories.

Day gave into night, the forest turned into walls, the infinite blue sky above her became a square of darkness that loomed outside a window.

Suddenly, she was back inside her home's dojo, facing her father. The anger in his glare was so strong she was forced to look down, making her notice her clothes had changed to what she usually wore when training indoors.

"Your cousin Neji has recently graduated the academy as the best of his class. Our clansmen have been talking about his talents, but I hear no such praises for you, Hinata. On the contrary! When they talk about you, it's only to praise your sister for defeating you in spars. As my heiress and future leader of this clan, I cannot and will not accept the mediocre results you have shown so far! Is that understood?"

She almost managed to stutter an affirmative, but the lights above going off distracted her, drowning the room in pure darkness until a nearby door slid open. Her neck turned in that direction, allowing her to see the courtyard, bathed in sunlight, as well as the disappearing figure of her grandfather.

One second later and she felt a hammer smashing into her torso, flooding her system with pain and sending her to crash on the dojo's floor. Her father loomed over her with an outstretched palm hovering where she had been.

"Do you see, Hinata? Your grandfather was so disgusted by how weak you are that he couldn't even stay and watch your training until the end! He doesn't think you are worth paying attention to… and after these past few weeks, I'm starting to agree with him. Now get up! Prove me wrong!"

Though her entire being was begging her to ignore that order, she knew she couldn't. Her body was aching all over, and Hinata struggled to rise… but her wobbling legs failed her.

A chair cushioned her fall. Stars shone in the black sky beyond the window behind her father, who sat in a chair across from her. The desk that now separated them—it was his office's, she realized—did little to make her feel shielded from him, even though Hiashi's eyes no longer burned her with his anger.

The raw disappointment they conveyed froze her soul.

"It has been months, Hinata. Your sister has been improving by the day, but you? You are just as weak, slow, clumsy and predictable as when we began. I've had enough of your failures. I'll be requesting a private audience with Hokage-sama tomorrow; your training from now own will be handled by whatever jonin he has available. I have better things to do with my day than dealing with you."

The way he simply went back to his paperwork, not even bothering with a direct dismissal… somehow, it hurt her more than his words.

Her feet slowly took her out of the room, but the moment she was out Hiashi's sight she broke into a run. Hallways upon hallways blurred all around her, until she was inside the dojo again, and then out in the dark courtyard.

Hinata could barely see the majestic moon that shone among the stars because of the unshed tears pooling in her eyes. She wiped them on her sleeve with a single motion, clearing her vision just in time for her to witness the moon exploding into light and fire, blinding her.

When sight next returned to her, the sun was already dominating the skies above. But she was still in the courtyard.

"Is this truly alright with you? Hinata is from your clan's main branch."

She blinked, confused at the voice that came from behind her, from within the dojo.

"Is that… Kurenai-sensei?"

"I can ensure she will graduate if I teach her, but I'm not a Hyuuga. I can't help your daughter refine her unique abilities. Even for a genin there's always the risk of death... she is your heiress, isn't she?"

She gasped.

"No… no!"

She knew what memory this was.

"Hmph. I don't care what you'll teach her as long as it's enough for her to graduate."

Her knees betrayed her. "N-Not this!"

"All these years that useless girl has only been wasting my time."

She closed her eyes shut and her hands flew to cover her ears, but her attempts at protecting herself were futile. Hiashi's words pierced through the darkness, shattering her every defense.

"The Hyuuga clan doesn't need a failure like her staining our reputation."

"Please, s-stop…!"

"She wasn't even able to surpass her sister who is five years younger than her. It's pathetic!"

"You mean, this girl?" Kurenai asked in a strained tone.

"Yes… get up, Hanabi!"

The reminder that her sister had been training with her father that day did nothing to soothe Hinata's pain. The little girl had been so full of bruises that night, and Hinata knew she was to blame… almost as if her own hands had caused those ugly, purple marks that littered her sister's body.

"She is my hope for the future of this clan. As you can see, I cannot waste my time with Hinata any longer when my other daughter has shown so much potential."

"Stop…!"

"Now answer me. Are you going to accept this job or not?"

"…I will. Your daughter will be in good hands."

"Very well, Hokage-sama will inform you of the next steps. Now leave us! You're being as much of an inconvenience as Hinata herself."

"…"

"…"

"…"

…The memory ended. It was only natural, since Hinata remembered she had waited by the dojo's door for hours so she could tend to Hanabi's bruises once they were done training. There was nothing worth remembering before that.

Now, the only sound Hinata could hear was of her own labored gasps for air. Though terrified of what she'd find next, she dared to open her eyes.

She was finally back on Training Ground 3.

This brought her relief, yet her heart still ached, beating painfully, loudly, with the reminder that in her father's eyes, she was a failure. A waste of time. Useless. An inconvenience.

That we was ashamed of her.

That he didn't love her.

That if she died, he wouldn't care—he'd probably be glad to be rid of her.

And Hinata was glad to be reminded of those memories, however painful.

Unlike when they were twisted into the nightmares that she occasionally found herself trapped in, now they only served to strengthen her resolve.

'I can't let this happen to them,' she thought, sniffing uncontrollably. 'Kiba-kun and Shino-kun don't deserve this… this pain…'

It didn't matter that she couldn't know for sure how their families would react if they failed. If there was a risk, no matter how small, that they'd go through something even remotely similar to what she had lived…

She refused to let that happen.

Nodding to herself, she began to think. She had a goal, but she needed a plan.

'I was never any good at strategy,' she lamented to herself.

That particular failure didn't sting much. She had always been comfortable in following someone else's lead, and Team 8 did nothing to change that habit in Hinata. Kurenai tended to give them broad orders, but if deeper planning was ever required, Hinata could always count on a certain someone.

'If only Shino-kun were here to help me…'

"Hinata?"

She had never regretted a stray thought so fast.

The sounds of someone walking through a bush came from her left, and as much as she didn't want to, pure instinct made her turn towards him.

"Shi… Shino-kun?" she said, speech impaired not by a stutter, but by more sniffles. "W-What are y-you doing… here?"

"…I was unsure whether to approach you or not, but whatever was happening seems to be over. The question is, what happened?"

"N… n-nothing happened," she whispered, head hung low.

"…I would appreciate if you didn't reciprocate my concern with obvious lies. Hinata, you're still crying. And before, you were…"

Shino trailed into silence, filling her heart with dread. Her hand flew up to her face and she discovered that, yes, her tears had been real.

He must have heard her voice as well…

Sniffing, Hinata hastily dried her face and gathered all her willpower, forcing herself to face Shino and the shame of being seen in such a deplorable state.

"I… I-I'm okay n-now. R-Really…"

It sounded horribly unconvincing even to her own ears.

"What happened… w-was j-just a genjutsu so... could you… please, c-can you f-forget about this?"

Shino didn't respond. Hinata's eyes landed on the grass again.

She was lying, and she was sure he knew it. Shino would have considered that possibility immediately given the scene he stumbled upon, but the bug he had sent to live with her would have told him her chakra network was untainted… and that fact was the likely source of his uncharacteristic hesitation.

The way the silence stretched reminded Hinata of their first real interactions, when that had put her on the edge. It was jarring to return to that starting point now.

"I won't forget this," Shino eventually said, "but… I will trust your judgment and end this conversation here."

Though not what she desired, the compromise—the avoided confrontation—flooded Hinata with relief. It shone through in the grateful smile she gave to Shino then, but it wasn't enough to get rid of the weariness in her expression.

It made Shino's frown deepen slightly from behind his sunglasses. Letting go was a hard, frustrating decision for him to make, but he knew he was ill-equipped to help Hinata on his own and especially with so little context to work with. He wasn't good at dealing with people, but he could see that pressing Hinata without having a fair idea of what was her problem would only backfire.

Thus, he decided to wait and watch out for new developments and clues before making any moves such as talking with Kiba or Kurenai. Instead, he contented himself with helping Hinata up by offering his hand, which she took immediately.

They had something more important to worry about regardless.

"About your question;" Shino began, "I decided to seek you out because I wanted to discuss this test that Kakashi-sensei proposed. I have a theory, but I want to hear your thoughts on the matter first."

"My thoughts…?"

Right then, Hinata realized that she had barely pondered about the challenge surrounding the test yet. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she tried to think of something meaningful to say and… luckily, something quickly came to mind: the test's most obvious aspect.

It only confused her more.

"Shino-kun, I… I don't mean to be rude, but isn't this test a competition? N-Not that I wouldn't help you!" she blurted out in a high pitched-tone, making him raise an eyebrow, "but… w-well, I don't understand why you're here."

"I see."

Instead of giving her explanations, Shino walked a short distance away from Hinata and picked up a thin branch that was lying on the grass. With it, he began to scribble something on the ground.

"As you know, I have sent a bug to live with you and Kiba. They allow me to track your position relative to each other and myself, and this is the result I found when I tried to do that after the clone released me."

Her curiosity sparked, Hinata followed and peered over his shoulder to stare at the figure he had drawn, one shaped like the letter Y.

"We started beside each other, with Kiba in the opposite direction. This becomes a "Y" formation when accounting for Kakashi-sensei, who is on the central point. I should note that Kiba was positioned much farther away from Kakashi than us, more than twice as far."

"Huh? How weird… c-could it be because Kiba-kun is faster than us when he uses his techniques?"

"I considered that as well. Could you activate your Byakugan for a moment?

Humming in agreement, Hinata started to weave a sequence of hand signs she knew by heart until her world transformed, and all the colors that once surrounded her yielded to black. The small but bright blue of hers and Shino's chakra systems shone in that darkness, easily standing out.

Shino pointed in a certain direction. "I imagine Kakashi-sensei is too far for you to detect, but he is over there. What can you see?"

"O-Oh my… there are traps everywhere!"

Disguised pitfalls, wired contraptions tied to shuriken or thick logs, hidden flash bombs… there were traps of all sizes and shapes standing right in front of Hinata. Some were even layered on top of each other, weaved in a way where dodging the first trap would trigger the second, and others even had bells lying around as bait.

"Although my scouting abilities in this scenario are inferior to yours, I found many similar arrangements of traps obstructing the woods ahead. I believe that the entire area around Kakashi-sensei is like this, as my bugs continued to detect traps in that direction while I headed here. I strongly suspect it will be impossible to approach him from any point without having to deal with traps."

A light bulb lit up above Hinata's head. "He's testing our tracking abilities, isn't he?"

"Indeed. If we aren't able to properly navigate around these traps, then we won't even have the chance to acquire a bell."

'Well, that explains the time limit being so generous.' It made sense to Hinata, considering Team 8's purpose.

"Hinata, what is your opinion of this test now?

Deactivating her Byakugan to conserve chakra, she turned to him and replayed their discussion in her mind. It made her frown. "It's almost like we are meant to reach Kakashi-sensei much sooner than Kiba-kun. Isn't that unfair?"

"That's what I thought as well. I cannot be certain without knowing what traps are ahead of Kiba, but I do know his tracking abilities are not particularly suited for detecting and avoiding most kinds of traps, unlike ours."

"Yes, but… what does this mean?"

Shino readjusted his sunglasses. "I believe this test is meant to appear competitive, but in truth, it's a cooperative test. Tell me, have you ever heard of ninja teams with less than three members?"

"Uh... no." It crossed Hinata's mind in that moment, however, that even in the academy they were almost always split into trios for group activities.

"Exactly. This becomes even more significant for a squad like ours. If you think about each of our tracking abilities, they complement each other extremely well but only with all of them available at once."

"Then… do you think we should take this test as a team instead?"

"Indeed. I believe Kiba was delayed because of how he would already need to cooperate with Akamaru to succeed. That, perhaps, would make the true objective too obvious."

Hinata began to fidget. Shino's logic was sound and compelling, but… it relied too heavily on the premise that Kakashi had lied to them. Weren't they supposed to trust in their sensei?

"Are you confident about this, Shino-kun…?"

"To be honest, no," he admitted, to Hinata's surprise. "I'm aware my theory revolves around many assumptions. However, I am certain none of us would be able to get a bell from a jonin like Kakashi-sensei on their own, even if he were to hold back."

A small gasp escaped the girl's lips. "But if we worked together, maybe…!"

"Ah, so you see the possibility as well. Then, will you work with me? I might need help to get my point across to Kiba."

Hinata began to think, but soon shook her head at her foolishness—hadn't she made a choice already?

"Let's go find Kiba-kun, then!" she said, giving him the best smile she was able to muster.

"Thank you. However, first, we need to get through those traps. I'm sure at least those near us have been made with your Byakugan in mind, so let's proceed carefully while my bugs scout the way ahead."

Nodding, Hinata reactivated her eyes and the pair left the small clearing, intent on circling around Kakashi's "territory" until they found a good angle to approach Kiba from.

That is, until they were forced to change their plan…

---

"That was surprising, but also underwhelming." Kakashi flipped a page from his book. "For the record, I'm not talking about what I'm reading."

Kiba growled in response. It wasn't like the boy could do much else with his body almost completely buried, with only his head above the ground.

His partner, Akamaru, hadn't fared much better. He had tried to duel Kakashi even after Kiba was out of the fight, but the jonin quickly sent the dog back to his master with a kick to the gut. And to Kiba's misfortune, that resulted in Akamaru vomiting right by his face… and he couldn't even turn his head away from that mess.

'What a great day to have a sensitive nose,' Kiba grumbled in his mind, eying Akamaru's vomit with disgust and anger. 'I swear, if I ever get my hands on whoever dropped that stupid sandwich…!'

"And that," Kakashi continued, motioning towards the dog with his chin, "is the kind of thing that happens to those that don't follow the rules."

Kiba began to growl louder, watching helplessly as Akamaru tried to get up but failed due to the debilitating pain and the lack of air in his little lungs. No matter how much the boy tried to struggle, to do something for his partner, his limbs were completely immobilized underground. "Dammit…!"

"It'll be a while until your dog is up for digging you out of there, so, let me give you a thing to think about while you wait," Kakashi said, maintaining that same bored tone in his voice that only made Kiba angrier. "You might have some speed with either the Passing Fang or the Four Legs Technique active, sure, but that doesn't do you any good on an empty clearing. Your fighting style is too linear for someone at my level—too predictable. Find some cover and maybe you'll get better results."

"Whatever."

Kakashi flipped another page. "Then again, you knew that already, didn't you? It's for that exact purpose that your clan uses special smoke balls to ambush their foes, and you didn't. You also never aimed for the bells… and that bothers me," he admitted.

"Lucky you," Kiba muttered. "There's a lot of things bothering me right now and almost all of them are your fault one way or another."

Hearing that little rant made Kakashi shake his head. "So you just wanted to fight? How disappointing. You're definitively going back to the academy at this rate. Unless you want to break that kind of news to your mother, maybe you should try to get a bell next time."

"K-Keep them," the boy shot back. His blood froze at the thought of breaking that kind of news to his mother, leading to that stutter, but he didn't let that stop him from smirking smugly at Kakashi. "Who cares about your stupid bells anyway?"

The boy's overconfident tone made Kakashi's eye land on him. "…What makes you say that?"

"If we beat you then there's no way you'll fail us, so screw those bells!"

'…So close, and yet so far.' Kakashi sighed from behind his mask. "Even if what you think is true, you and Akamaru aren't beating me anytime soon."

Somehow, Kiba's grin only grew at the taunt.

"Me and Akamaru? Yeah, probably not."

It made Kakashi raise an eyebrow. However, as he noticed in that moment that Akamaru was starting to recover, he stopped himself from sating his curiosity again.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going."

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't think I was going to stay here all day long, right? That'd just be too easy," Kakashi said light-heartedly, going back to his book. "Each time one of you tries and fails to get the bells, I'll change location. If either of your friends gets here before Akamaru digs you out, feel free to tell them that if you want."

"That won't be necessary."

Calmly, Kakashi turned around to see the two missing members of Team 8 walking out of the woods. He felt Shino's eyes trained on him despite the sunglasses…but Hinata, who oddly enough was cradling a small log in her arms, was looking at something else entirely. Her face did nothing to hide her worry, and neither did her voice.

"Kiba-kun, Akamaru-kun! A-Are you alright…?"

"Don't worry, we're fine! Listen, forget about the bells, we just—!"

"Interesting," Kakashi interrupted, closing his book. He realized two things in that moment: that Kiba's use of "we" earlier referred to Team 8 and not just him and Akamaru… and, that the two newcomers came from the direction his clone had taken Hinata to.

He decided to stir the pot a bit more.

"That was a smart move, Shino, to team up with Hinata to take the bells from me. Her abilities do complement yours much better than Kiba's after all… it would be much more convenient to have Kiba be the one who fails, right?"

Even though his words made Kiba gasp and Hinata's expression shift from worry to panic—did Shino fool her? Was Kiba thinking she hadbetrayed him?—the Aburame didn't take the bait and continued to stare him down.

"...So my suspicions were correct. This test was carefully constructed to pit us against each other, but the objective is to have all of us working together to retrieve the bells. You are only trying to fool us. Isn't that right?"

"…"

Kakashi didn't answer the question.

The growing tension in Training Ground 3 made Hinata's heart fill with dread as it began to beat faster and faster. It didn't help that she noticed the corner of Kakashi eye turning up, almost as if he was smiling… as if they had been caught in his trap.

Her anxiety overcame her shyness. "A-Are we… w-wrong?"

"…I gave all the instructions you truly needed at the very beginning. If that's what you think, sure, go for it," Kakashi shrugged. "It's not my headband on the line anyway. Just remember that you don't have all day," he pointed at the nearby wooden posts, or more specifically, the clock atop one of them.

One second later, while the genin were looking away, he vanished in a pile of leaves.

She clutched the log closer to her chest. 'Could it be that we really were mistaken…?'

"Hinata, we need to assist Kiba," Shino told her, dispelling her thoughts.

"Oh, r-right!"

The two hurried towards their trapped teammate. Akamaru had already recovered and was busily trying to unbury his master's arms, and said master was cursing Kakashi under his breath, only stopping when his friends got close enough.

"What's up with that log, Hinata?"

It was Shino who answered instead, as the two crouched to help Akamaru. "Once you can move your arms, you can use a Substitution with this log to escape. We had a more elaborate plan involving this, but it ended up being unnecessary since Kakashi-sensei left and won't be here to hinder us."

Kiba whistled. "Nice thinking."

Soon enough, the Inuzuka was free to stretch his limbs and walk once again. "Man, that sucked! Thanks, guys," he beamed at his teammates.

Hinata smiled right back. "I'm glad you're okay Kiba-kun. And, um… I-I was wondering, why were you buried like that?"

"Eh," he shrugged, "I got caught by an Earth technique. Headhunter Jutsu, or something like that."

Shino scowled at that. "Kiba, he is a jonin. You couldn't possibly defeat him by yourself even if he held back. Why did you engage him alone?"

Kiba crossed his arms. "I wasn't alone, I had Akamaru with me."

The little dog barked in agreement by Kiba's feet, but Shino was unfazed. "That doesn't invalidate my point. This was reckless; you should have waited for us."

The accusation made Kiba scowl as well. "Look, I'm not dumb, okay? I was just trying to get a feel for his fighting style and such before you guys got here. I could tell you two weren't close by when I reached him," he explained, tapping his nose.

"Still—"

"Shino-kun, p-please," Hinata moved between the two boys. "N-Nothing happened to Kiba-kun… so isn't this okay?"

"…I suppose," he relented. "Nonetheless, I'm curious about how you reached him faster than us when my bugs told me you started out much farther from Kakashi than us. Didn't you have to deal with traps as well?"

"Hah, the traps?" Kiba smirked, his mood reversing completely. "I noticed some trees were rigged and such, so I avoided them all easily by going underground! It cost a fair bit of chakra but saved me a lot of trouble. Fair trade, I'd say."

"We reunited sooner than we would be able to otherwise, so I agree with you," Shino nodded. "There are still a few hours on the clock before our time is up, so let's use this opportunity to plan for the battle ahead."

Team 8 spent the next few minutes on the grass, discussing Kiba's findings and making theories and strategies.

Or that's what Hinata would have liked to say. In truth, she barely contributed to the discussion beyond keeping her Byakugan active just in case Kakashi decided to ambush them.

It only made everything more obvious to her.

'I'm really the weakest link here… Kakashi-sensei was completely wrong. Maybe my eyes have some value, but Shino-kun and Kiba-kun would be better off with each other than just with me. They are already smarter and stronger anyways…'

"Hey, Hinata!"

Somehow, she managed to stop a shriek from escaping her mouth, but the surprise was enough that she completely dropped her Byakugan.

Her vision normalizing, she saw Kiba staring at her with concerned eyes.

"What's wrong with you today? You're looking so down… did something happen?"

"Clan issues, perhaps?" Shino prodded.

Hinata was unable to look at them.

"You know," Kiba continued, his tone softening, "if something's bothering you, you can talk to us. Maybe we can help, but if we don't at least you can get it off your chest or something…? Friends are for that kind of stuff!"

Hinata smiled, touched by Kiba's offer. She wanted to thank him, but knowing he expected an answer made her too nervous to say anything coherent.

Her brain worked hard to find an acceptable excuse, but… to her surprise, her eyes were what found her way out.

"It's just… I'm k-kinda hungry…"

Understanding flashed across Kiba's face and he glanced at Hinata's backpack that was in the post beside the clock. "Oh, that's right! You made our lunch today again, didn't you? And on an empty stomach, even… ouch."

She nodded. It wasn't a lie, her stomach was bothering her. But… they didn't need to know there were more pressing matters on her mind.

Right?

"And about that," Kiba continued, "I wanted to thank you for doing that for us today, Hinata."

The confusion on her face must have been obvious, as he quickly elaborated.

"You see, I tried to track down Kakashi-sensei's smell earlier but it's all over this place! And for some reason this place also smells like dogs too… so I had no idea where to go until I smelled your food, and that's how I got here. So thanks, hehe!"

That precious, rare sensation of being useful to someone else warmed Hinata's heart enough that she giggled in response. "I'm glad I could help you, Kiba-kun."

"And I gotta say, what a smell!" Kiba licked his lips, a dreamy expression on his face. "Really looking forward to lunch today…"

"While I admit that I'm also feeling the effects of not having breakfast," Shino spoke up, "I will remind you both that we will not eat anything unless we pass this test."

"Ugh," Kiba groaned. "That's just stupid… but yeah, back to work. What were you saying anyways, man?"

"I wanted to know for how long your smoke balls last and how many you have. They will be key for our strategies to work."

"Sure, let's see…"

As Kiba stopped to think, Hinata's mind once again began to wander.

Even though Kiba had quickly agreed with Shino once they explained everything to him, Hinata couldn't help but doubt it all. 'Why would Kakashi-sensei insist on this lie? What if we are wrong and the test really is a competition… or maybe something else entirely?'

It frustrated her, because no other option came to mind and she always returned to the same theory that they should've been taking Kakashi's words at face value. She could've brought it up to Shino and Kiba, sure, but she lacked the courage… she had a feeling they'd think her silly and ignore her, or even scold her. Or something. Whatever it was, she couldn't see a positive reaction to her words, assuming she actually managed to convey her fears properly.

And so Hinata kept quiet and tried to clear her head to focus on their little strategy meeting.

There wasn't much else she could do but cooperate with them. If Shino was right, then she just had to follow their plan and everything would work out… but if he was wrong…

'I'll need to keep an eye for a chance to create an opening for them…'

She couldn't risk their futures by assuming Shino was correct. She couldn't let them become a failure like herself. If it would cost her headband to ensure they would avoid that fate…

Hinata knew it was a price worth paying. She had already sacrificed far more for someone else before, and compared to that…?

This would be nothing.

---

A/N:

I believe my decision to leave the fight to the next chapter is now justified, no?

My big goal here was to show the bonds between Hinata and her teammates. They care about her, yes… but it's not that deep yet, since they haven't been together for long. Still, Hinata's loneliness and selflessness ended up joining forces in this situation and lead to some rather unhealthy decision-making on her part. This is fully intentional.

The other big goal was to provide more Hyuuga family backstory and more of what made Hinata the person she is right now. There's a huge dissonance between how Hiashi is portrayed in his scenes and elsewhere in the story so far… their relationship is full of complex nuances. For now, this was just a taste of what's to come. I'm sure it has left many of you confused about what's wrong with Hiashi (and why Hinata didn't think she would be sealed), but you'll have to wait until Hinata's return from the Land of Waves for more on that. This includes the reason I made the scene between Kurenai and Hiashi so much heavier than the canon version—though I can say the part that surely affected Hinata the most is unchanged, which is Hiashi's core reaction to the possibility of Hinata being killed.

I guarantee it will be worth the wait! Chapter 20 is a chapter I'm extremely proud of! But for something that isn't so far away… Next up, Kakashi's fight with Team 8! Just like Hiashi was a guest for this chapter, there's a special someone making an unexpected appearance next time, but in Kurenai/Team 7's side of the day instead, which is the chapter's second half. Look forward to it!

Lastly, huge thanks to DryBonesKing, author of the wonderful and amazing naruhina fic "True Potential", for letting me borrow a small plot point for this chapter and for an arc way later on...

Well, that's it! Please, don't forget to share your thoughts with me…! Reviews are important, even for old chapters!

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Changelog:

v1.0.1 (11/16/2015)

Fixed one awkward sentence. Thank gio08 for warning me of it.

v2.0 (07/06/2016)

Fixed a few details, but mostly spent a huge time dealing with formatting and punctuation. There were too many for me not to make this a 2.0 version.

v3.0 (02/09/2018)

Many structural changes to better connect Hiashi and Hinata to their C19/20 selves and to actually have working Team 8 dynamics before we go forward.

Hiashi's scene now gives his side of his interaction with Hinata before he moves on to his office. His worries and his complex feelings regarding Hinata and his duties as a parent are introduced correctly now. He is still trying to find a way out for Hinata at this point, too… the scene was completely rewritten, basically, and is much bigger.

The Team 8 scene was fully rewritten as well, up until Kiba's arrival. It begins with Hinata having a little solo moment outside the training grounds before she goes in. Her scene with Shino actually exists instead of her retracting into her shell because she, somehow, recognized Kakashi's porn (I had an explanation for that but…), and we can see that there's a bond between the two. Kiba… doesn't have much more screentime than before so there was little to be done with him, but I believe he also comes across as someone Hinata already has a bond with at this point. Also, I expanded on some details and vagueness surrounding Kakashi's test, made Kakashi more apathetic and the reader sees far less of his inner thoughts and feelings.

Hinata's "stakes" have been modified to match later chapters as well, particularly regarding Hanabi. I also made a "flashback" of sorts that gives insight on more of her past and gives weight to her decisions now, and purposefully puts Hiashi's into question after his scene. The confrontation with Shino changed so he doesn't press her too much and Hinata doesn't reveal her thoughts—which is more in character to them. The small Shino scene from before this one was excluded and incorporated during his chat with Hinata, with extra details to Kakashi's test to make everything more logical from a "time spent" standpoint.

In contrast with the first scene, Kiba's scene with Kakashi was severely shortened with many superfluous, useless, anti-tension or awkwardly placed exposition bits removed. The part with the team united, however, was expanded for the most part, though certain details were also removed it was in exchange for a better focus on Hinata's state of mind and a bit of showcasing of Kiba's bond with her.