-1Thank everyone for their reviews! Its quite fun to respond to them individually through that cool response thing! If you were anon, "Thank you for the review!"
And to all those worried about Gideon being hugely involved and overbearing in this fic. Sorry to say but he's just my "Hmm.. Tough plot hole.. I know! Gideon can do it!" mainly cause I'm too lazy to do real brainstorming on how to do it otherwise, but I gave him a good intro/fluff angle because it made more sense to me personally. And he can't get involved much either because of Akatsuki, them being demon hunters and all! (what would you do if you were them and suddenly a brand spanken new demon suddenly appeared?) Lol see how I used the story itself to sorta downplay the whole 'powerful as Kyuubi' thing? Thought I did a good job with that one. On to the story!
Chapter 4: Drop in the water.
The night passed uneventfully, save for the dreams of Kyuubi and Naruto; whose dreams would have made Jiraiya proud. After quickly going through his normal routine Naruto bounced off too the Academy.
"You realize you're 'bouncing' kit?" Kyuubi asked with feigned innocence. "Even with the weights?" The weights were balanced properly according with his current strength. Naruto sighed when he could only properly move with just ten pounds on each leg and arm. "Don't feel bad kit. You are just a 'kit' again after all." She finished with a foxy smirk.
'Well its kinda hard not to!' Naruto defended himself, 'I am a kid again after all and need to play the part!' Naruto scowled when Kyuubi just giggled in response. 'How about you? You've been acting far more 'girly' then ever before! Especially after that Gideon guy showed up..' Naruto was shocked when he could actually feel Kyuubi blush. 'Heh, did I strike a nerve?'
Kyuubi's answer to this was most surprising, and really quite unfair. She pulled bits of Naruto's previous nights dream of Hinata up to the forefront of his mind. His reaction to them was to promptly ran face first into a wall. "Hmph." Kyuubi smirked again.
"Itai.." Naruto mumbled as he removed his face from the aforementioned wall and continued to the Academy, arriving with a few minutes before Iruka would normally arrive to begin class. When he appeared in the doorway he was treated to mixed glances of surprise, boredom, the usual uncaring, and, much to his delight, happiness from a certain lavender eyed goddess; as he had dubbed her yesterday.
"Hey Naruto," Shikamaru spoke up, breaking his normal lazy routine, "What are you doing here? Only graduates were supposed to come today."
Naruto let his big grin spread across his face as he adjusted his headband purposely, "I passed too!" Naruto might have been imagining it but Shikamaru almost seemed, pleased, by his declaration. 'Perhaps he knew more the he let on..' Naruto thought warily.
"I wouldn't be surprised." Kyuubi interjected, "He is a genius by human standards."
'Hmph.' Naruto responded as he took in the classroom. People were exactly where he remembered them sitting the first time. There were a few empty seats, only two took his interest. One was by Sasuke, surprisingly untaken by one of his 'fan club', and the other by Hinata. Naruto remembered the consequences of his first choice with a shudder. He inadvertently had shared his first kiss with Sasuke, a thought that still made him slightly green in the face; and then the savage beating that had followed from the 'Sasuke Fan Club'. 'Who knew preteen girls could all hit that freakishly hard!' Naruto winced from the memory.
"You've got to befriend Sasuke, not invoke his anger." Kyuubi pushed back the distracting memories, "Make the choice that you know will help in that and your other goals." With that Naruto smiled again and walked to the back of the class, seating himself comfortably next to Hinata.
"Good morning Hinata-chan!" Naruto greeted cheerily.
"G-good morning N-Naruto-kun." Hinata responded while her fingers once again took up their wrestling match. 'He's sitting next to me! He's sitting next to me! In front of everyone!' She could feel her heart beating a mile a minute. 'He's not embarrassed to be seen with me, even though I'm weak..' Hinata was busily trying to wrap her mind around these thoughts as a commotion from behind her made her turn her head.
"Ha! I was in first forehead-girl!" A blond haired, blued eyed kunoichi growled.
"No way Ino-pig! I was clearly in first!" A pink haired, green eyed girl responded. "I get to sit next to Sasuke!"
Hinata's heart dropped at their arrival. 'Surely Naruto-kun will ignore me with Sakura, his longtime crush, entering the room.' She thought morosely. When she turned back to Naruto however, she never expected what she saw. Naruto had his left elbow on the desk, his other arm lazily set in front of him, and his head resting atop his left hand. The most surprising part was that he was looking directly at her, in a way that made her quiver inside and caused her face to heat up. 'Is he staring at me?' She idly wondered if he knew Sakura was in the room, that thought was banished when he glanced up at the commotion the previous pair was causing but quickly returned his gaze to her. "I-is something w-wrong N-Naruto-kun?" She squeaked as she desperately tried to keep from feinting, a feeling that might be quite welcoming right now.
Naruto jerked upright when her voiced reached him, "N-no, nothing Hinata-chan." He said as he turned his attention forward as Iruka had just entered the room. Hinata could almost swear she saw a tinge of red covering his cheeks.
"First off, Congratulations again to all who passed the Academy Exam." Iruka began calling the attention of the class. "The other instructors and I have finished creating the teams. Please note that the Hokage himself, as well as the jonin instructors all had input on these decisions." Iruka cast a meaningful glance at Naruto.
'I hope I'm on the same team as Naruto-kun. I hope I'm on the same team as Naruto-kun.' Hinata mentally repeated to herself, trying to will it to happen.
She was startled slightly when Naruto leaned over to whisper an echo to her thoughts, "I hope I'm on the same team as you Hinata-chan." He said quietly, 'Although I already know differently.' He sighed mentally.
"Team Seven: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka paused when an audible 'Thump' was heard from the back of the classroom.
"Ah man I wanted to be with Hinata-chan!" Naruto whined, ignoring the slight pain in his forehead where it had connected with his desk. All eyes suddenly turned to the aforementioned girl, save for one pair; they shot Naruto a feral glare. Hinata only bowed her head deeper and shrunk into herself blushing deeply, albeit still crestfallen her desire didn't come true.
For some unknown reason Iruka refrained himself from quoting the 'Best in class put with worst in class' line and continued the team assignments. "Team Eight: Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba." Naruto barely caught the satisfied grunt when Kiba's name was called.
'Oh crap that's right!' Naruto thought slightly panicked, 'Kyuubi! I'd forgotten all about Kiba! He had a crush on Hinata!'
"Don't worry kit, I didn't." Kyuubi responded with a comforting tone. "Hinata is probably aware of that fact too, she is a smart girl after all. But remember that even though they were on the same team nothing came of it." Kyuubi giggled again as Naruto relaxed, "She only had eyes for some blonde baka who didn't notice her." Naruto would have taken offense normally but let the anger pass as he knew she was teasing him, although she was right.
"Alright that's all the teams." Iruka finished. "Your Jonin instructors will be here shortly. Remember what you've learned here and pay attention to them." Iruka was a step away from the door when he stopped and turned back to his class, he paused as he looked over them wistfully. "Be safe all of you." He smiled, "And take care of one another, that's what teams are for." With that Iruka stepped out the door.
The students were all silent for a few moments, they could all almost feel the door to part of their lives closing behind them. It was comforting, although somewhat terrifying thought. They had truly left the Academy now, Iruka wouldn't be there anymore to lecture them or guide them during training.
The moment didn't last long as several jonin appeared and collected their new students. Before Hinata descended the stairs she turned to Naruto, "D-do your b-best N-Naruto-kun." She whispered as she started to turn back, but was surprised when his hand gently grasped hers.
"We'll both do our best and never give up Hinata-chan!" Naruto let her favorite grin come across her face. "And you can trust me on that! Because its our Nindo!"
Hinata stood seemingly paralyzed for a moment, 'Did he say our Nindo!' Hinata continued to stare into his blue eyes for a few more moments before whispering once again, "Our Nindo.."
Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Well yeah.. I only came up with it because of you yesterday, so I figured it was ours!" Naruto looked up at her with concerned eyes, "You don't mind do you Hinata-chan?"
Hinata's blushed deepened as she shook her head, "N-Not at all N-Naruto-kun." Inside she was dancing, 'Our Nindo!' She heard her named called again and sadly started to move away from Naruto. "S-See you t-tonight for s-sparing N-Naruto-kun."
Before her hand slipped from his, Naruto acted completely on impulse as he brought her hand to his lips. "For luck Hinata-chan and because I believe in you. See you tonight for sparring!" He grinned happily. He imagined that a strawberry with deep violet hair would look about the same as what Hinata turned into.
Hinata nearly squealed when she felt his lips on her fingers, but blushed extremely deeply instead as she bowed then went to join her teammates. She was completely oblivious to Kiba's scowl towards Naruto or Kurenai's satisfied smirk as the newly formed Team Eight left the classroom.
Luckily for him Sakura and Sasuke had also been oblivious to the exchange between himself and Hinata as they waited for the terminally tardy Kakashi. 'Now to make sure I actually get on Sasuke's good side this time.' With that Naruto did the one thing that never would have ever been expected of the Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja.. He sat quietly and waited.
Although he was content to wait, Kyuubi however wasn't so relaxed. "Drop your kunai kit." She ordered.
'Nani?' Naruto asked confused, he'd made it a point not to scowl when she called him kit; that would only give her satisfaction.
"We know Kakashi is going to be late, you should train during that time. You've got a long ways to go as it is." Kyuubi began to explain.
'But how?' Naruto interrupted, 'I don't want to make a fuss to get Sakura and Sasuke angry with me.'
Kyuubi desperately wished she was outside so she could smack him in the head. "Slid a kunai to the floor and pick it up with the bottom of your foot using your chakra. But make sure its not actually touching your sandal." Naruto nodded slightly as he had the oddest feeling his head was supposed to be hurting right now. "It'll be good practice for focusing your chakra, as that always has been your most glaring weak point."
Naruto was about to rebuke with some line about how that was partially her fault for being inside him but bit his mental tongue. 'Maybe being a kid again really is affecting me more then I though..' He thought dryly as he did as he was told. At first he couldn't get it to stick at all and when he did, he could feel it pressing into his sandal. Using the techniques taught to him years in the future by Jiraiya and the others he met on his training trip he slowly improved. By the time Kakashi arrived, Kyuubi had him start to spin the kunai painfully slow while keeping it away from his foot but still off the floor.
Kakashi poked his head into the room to take in his new team. What he saw actually surprised him, least where Naruto was concerned. Sasuke was busy glaring out the window, pointedly ignoring the fawning Sakura. Naruto was quiet, 'That's a first.' Kakashi grinned to himself remembering all the pranks the orange suited boy had pulled. 'Wonder what's so interesting about his feet..' Kakashi dismissed this and spoke as they all looked up at him. "My first impression of you guys is.." pausing for the dramatic effect, "mixed." The three teenagers sweat dropped. "Meet me on the roof." With that he poofed away in a cloud of smoke.
Slightly later on the roof the new Team Seven gathered awaiting their sensei's instructions. "Why don't you introduce yourselves." Kakashi began, "You know, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams stuff like that."
The three teens looked between each other for a moment before Sakura spoke up. "Could you go first Sensei?"
His right eye squinted as he grinned, "Sure. My name is Hatake Kakashi, I have dislikes, I have likes. I have a few hobbies." To this Naruto swore he thought Kakashi look upwards a moment and giggled as if imagining something, "I don't feel like telling you guys my dreams." All three teenagers hung their heads, least they knew his name, that was something.. Right? "Ok Pinky, ladies first." Kakashi motioned for Sakura.
"My name is Haruno Sakura not 'Pinky'," She responded glaring at Kakashi, "I like.." she turned to Sasuke and blushed, "I don't like spicy food or Naruto. My hobbies are memorizing Shinobi books. And my dream is.." With this she looked to Sasuke and blushed again.
'Predictable but Iruka did say she had near, probably perfect, chakra control.' Kakashi sighed, "Ok blue-boy your turn." Motioning for Sasuke.
Sasuke grunted slightly before answering, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I don't like anything and dislike many things. I don't have hobbies, only an ambition is to restore my clan and kill a certain man."
Kakashi had to use all his ninja prowess not to make a spiraling whistling noise and say 'Predictable Wiieerrddoo.' before he turned to Naruto. "Ok Blondie, your turn." Kakashi motioned for the orange-clad wonder.
"Hmm.?" Naruto looked up as if he had been in conversation with someone else, "Oh sorry." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly while smiling. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen. I don't like the three minutes it takes to make instant ramen and those who waste their strength by harming others. My hobby is to learn what it is I never knew because of how I grew up and my dream is to earn the right and the respect of this village in order to become Hokage." Naruto immediately noticed several things. Sakura was actually paying attention to him, Kakashi actually looked somewhat surprised, and Sasuke looked intrigued. 'Did it work Kyuubi?' Naruto asked as he continued to rub the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yes I believe it did." Kyuubi grinned in spite of herself. "Humans are generally predictable." Kyuubi ignored the hurt 'Hey!' From Naruto and redirected his attention. "Kakashi is starting to speak again, pay attention."
'That was.. Unexpected.' Kakashi thought as he watched Naruto. "Alright now that that's over let me tell you about the Genin test."
"But we're already genins Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura whined. "We passed the Academy."
"Ahh.." Kakashi started raising a hand in a sage-like manner. "But the Academy only tests those for those who have the 'Potential' of being Genins. I get to use a test that determines if you're actually worthy of being called genins." He grinned almost evilly, quite a feat through his mask, at the looks on his pupils faces. "Oh by the way, nobody has ever passed my test before as it has a 66.6 failure rating." The teens dropped their heads in despair. "Meet me at the training field near the memorial stone and we'll do the test." Kakashi made a move to leave but suddenly stopped. "Oh! Don't eat breakfast, you'll only throw up." He grinned evilly again, how he does it with the mask the world may never know, before disappearing.
The hopeful Team Seven looked at each other momentarily before Naruto noticed the time. "Alright guys see you tomorrow!" He said before dashing off. 'Can't be late for Hinata-chan.'
"Naruto really is a baka." Sakura said as she turned to Sasuke, "Right Sasuke?" She fidgeted when she got absolutely no response. Usually he'd grunt or scowled but he did nothing but stare.
'waste their strength harming others..' Sasuke let Naruto's admissions flit through his mind. 'Didn't Itachi kill our clan just to test his strength?' Something had been itching Sasuke's mind ever since that horrible night. His mother, although an Uchiha, had never proved her strength to anyone, yet a man like his father chose her to be the mother to his children. Sasuke turned and left the roof with these newest words from Naruto stirring up more questions in his already chaotic mind.
Sakura could only glance between the two, completely lost as to what either of them could be thinking. She hung her head in confusion as she walked home alone.
Naruto raced through the village to arrive at their training time just before six. 'Whew I'm early!' His excitement was somewhat curbed when he noticed Hinata already sitting at the base of one of the logs rising to greet him. "Hey Hinata-chan! Good to see you could still make it!" Naruto exclaimed as he waved.
"G-good evening N-Naruto-kun." Hinata stuttered as she blushed deeply remembering what happened in the Academy. "I-I'm also g-glad you c-could make it." Her adorable, at least considered as such by Naruto, traits were in full swing.
"OH! That reminds me!" Naruto said as he pulled a small pack from his belt, "I got you a gift!" He grinned as he started to hand her the bag, "Be careful, its kinda heavy." He cautioned as he fully extended it to her.
"Be ready kit," Kyuubi warned, "She's going to read it as you think she's not strong enough."
'He got me a gift!' Hinata nearly dropped the bag at is surprising weight. When she opened it to see weights she looked up at him trying to control the tears in her eyes. 'So he doesn't think I'm that strong after all. I really am weak..'
Her thoughts were broken when Naruto spoke with a grin as he pulled up his own pant legs to show a pair on himself. "See I saw these green-spandex dudes running around Konoha. They was so fast even though I could see some big weights tied to their arms." Naruto finished by scratching his head and smiling sheepishly, "I figured if it worked for them then people like us should benefit a bunch!" Naruto let as much honesty and warmth flow into his next words. "I'm only wearing 10 pounds in each of them, so I put the same in yours, but don't worry! I brought more incase you needed more." He put on a pouting face, "Since you did such a number on me yesterday."
"Nice job Naruto." Kyuubi nodded approvingly.
Hinata was in near shock. 'Naruto said people like US..' Naruto had given her a present that wasn't meant to degrade her solely but had done the same to himself so they could get stronger together. And he had said he brought more weights in case SHE might be needing more not him. 'Does he think I'm stronger.. Then him!' Overload was a word that would fairly accurately describe what happened to Hinata's mind. Her answer? She started to faint. She expected the ground to meet her but was surprised when a pair of arms encircled her and the last thing she saw through the encroaching darkness was pools of blue concern.
'She took that better then I expected.' Naruto grinned as he gently lay Hinata down before removing his jacket and placing it underneath her head. He stared at her sleeping form, 'So perfect.' He sighed. 'How am I going to tell her about Kyuubi..' He asked himself.
"By being perfectly honest like you always are." Kyuubi giggled in response. Naruto just let out a breath of air in exasperation. "Don't worry kit. Neji said she's understand, that she'd feel even better because you trusted her with such a secret. And you know for a fact what Neji says, he means." Kyuubi was careful to keep her next thought from Naruto, "Just because you survived your unique life better then most would, doesn't mean you don't have your own scars." She could sense the fear within him of revealing his secret, even after all he'd gone through.
Naruto quietly awaited for Hinata to awaken, content to wait and watch the sleeping girl. That was until Kyuubi reminded him of how bad his current form was. Soon he was doing the kunai exercise again, although this time trying to do so with both feet.
'What a lovely dream.' Hinata sighed as she slowly opened her eyes. 'Naruto gave me such a wonderful gift, too bad it wasn't' her mind froze when her hand bumped into said present. 'real?' Hinata moved quietly as she took in her surroundings. Her hand was resting on the weight set Naruto had given her. Her head was resting on, after a quick examination, Naruto's jacket. Hinata's eyes widened slightly, 'Naruto's jacket? That means he isn't wearing..'
Hinata turned slightly to bring the object of her thoughts into view. He was laying on his back with both his feet in the air, kunai hovering a couple inches above them. Hinata slowly sat up, her surprise at her former condition forgotten as her curiosity of the sight before her rose. "A-Ano.. W-what are y-you doing N-Naruto-kun?"
Naruto tilted his head back to look at Hinata, "It's a chakra control exercise. Wanna try it with me?" When Hinata nodded he explained. "The final point of it is to be able to hold the kunai with its point directed at your foot and be able to spin it at will. Although you can't allow the kunai to touch your sandal." Naruto slowly moved his feet around trying to maintain control of the kunai. "And to be able to still move your legs freely." Naruto sat up quickly before spinning to face Hinata, he lifted his pant leg up to show one of his weights. "First let me tell you about the weights!" He said excitedly.
He explained that they were designed to allow the easy addition of more weight by adding and changing out small slots. And he showed her how the quick release latch worked. After that Hinata attached her own weight set and walked around a little to get a feel for them, although a bit jerkily as the weights shifted her normal balance. "Do you want more weight?" Naruto asked.
"N-no N-Naruto-kun. I'm f-fine." Hinata nodded, blushing again at the thought that she might need more then him. "A-Ano.. H-How often s-should I w-wear them?"
"I try to keep mine on all the time." Naruto grinned, "The guy at the place I bought them said that if I wear them all the time then I'd always be growing stronger. Wanna try that kunai thing now?"
As Naruto helped Hinata start the exercise, he couldn't contain the pout when she almost immediately had the kunai floating flat-sided away from her feet. "That took me three hours to get to." He voiced in a whine.
Hinata had to resist the urge to squeal 'Kawaii!' at Naruto's face. "I-I'm s-sorry N-Naruto-kun.." She started.
"For what?" Naruto interrupted her. He paused as if in thought before sheepishly scratching the back of his head, "Could I ask for some pointers Hinata-chan? I mean you've already done so well.." He trailed off as a small blush crept onto his cheeks. With a blush of her own they lay next to each other, chatting idly about the way the chakra flowed and control of the kunai. They continued practicing the exercise, the thought of sparring completely forgotten, until the sun had nearly disappeared from the sky.
"Well Hinata-chan it looks like its time to go." Naruto sighed before brightening up, "You wanna eat with me at Ichiraku's again?" He was genuinely surprised by her next statement.
"A-ano.." Hinata started, eyes downcast fingers wrestling, "I.. I.." Hinata gulped almost audibly, "I b-brought d-dinner." Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "T-there is e-extra, w-would y-you l-like t-to s-share it w-with m-me." Her voice had been almost inaudible when she started and Naruto half wondered if he would have heard her by the end if not for Kyuubi enhancing his hearing.
Naruto grinned broadly, "Of course Hinata-chan." With that Hinata moved to a small pack set by one of the posts that Naruto had previously not noticed. "I bet its gonna be great!" He said enthusiastically as she served him and herself. "Itadakimasu!" Naruto said as he began eating the assorted foodstuffs before him. 'Oh wow!' Naruto had remembered eating a little bit of Hinata's cooking but it had only been travel food, nothing in comparison to what was before him.
"She does seem to be extremely gifted in this regard as well." Kyuubi stated as she too enjoyed the flavors through the link they'd created within the seal. "So glad we figured out how to alter the seal to do that." Kyuubi laughed, "Not being able to taste any food for 18 years was not a fun experience." Kyuubi used Naruto's senses to check on Hinata, "Hey kit, I know the food is good but pay attention to the one who made it too."
Naruto was confused for a moment before he looked up at Hinata, she was looking intently at him her food untouched, seeking something with her eyes. "Hinata-chan! This is the best food I've ever tasted!" Naruto exclaimed quite loudly, nearly causing the poor girl to loose her balance in surprise. He then said a line that he remembered himself saying before, this time though he paid attention to the results, "You're going to make a great wife someday!"
'Great wife!' Hinata nearly repeated her fainting from earlier but due to her 'Naruto exposure' having been increased she was barely able to resist it. Settling for turning into a tomato while she started to eat slowly to distract herself.
After the meal was finished Naruto leaned back with a contented sigh. Naruto was quiet as Hinata carefully repacked the utensils she had brought out earlier, before refilling the cup of tea she had served Naruto earlier. "Don't tell 'Old Man' what I'm about to say." Naruto whispered in his best conspirator face, "But I think I have a new favorite cook." Hinata immediately repeated her earlier feat of becoming a tomato as the two of them sat in silence, watching the first few stars appear in the sky. Slowly the pair stood and walked back into the village. "Its kinda late, do uh.." Naruto let the blush cover his cheeks, "Would you mind if I walked you home?" He finally said offering his hand to her. 'I wish I could do more Hinata, I really do but this you doesn't know the real me yet.'
Hinata was blushing deeply as she ever so slowly allowed her hand to slip into his. 'Naruto-kun is holding my hand!' She squealed mentally as she fought to make sure she didn't faint. The pair walked in comfortable silence. Well, one was comfortable, simply basking in delight at the others proximity. The other was deep in worried conversation.
'I still don't understand it Kyuubi..' Naruto mentally sighed, being extra cautious to make certain a pleasant smile was written across his outward features. 'You say 'Be Gentle' and yet I have to so..' Naruto fought for a word to describe his thoughts, 'Forward with her.'
Kyuubi knew this was coming and was prepared for it, "She needs this Naruto, probably more then either of us know. Her whole life up till now has been expectations and failing to meet those expectations." Kyuubi let her voice fall into a more comforting tone, "Hinata desperately needs to feel acknowledged for just being her. She needs to feel that at least some of her dreams are within reach and achievable."
'But why do I have to hold back so much while reaching out so hard?' Naruto whined, 'Its just confusing..' He trailed off.
'Some scars run so deep that even time can't ever make them truly fade.' Kyuubi had to hold back the killing intent from seeping out of her towards the villagers during Naruto's childhood. "Because you are her light Naruto. She has watched you for so long, to her you are everything she is not. You try again while she accepts the failure. You make mistakes and grow stronger from them. This speech sounding familiar?" Kyuubi asked intentionally letting his memory of Hinata's words just before his match with Neji replay in his mind. Naruto could only let his mental countenance droop. "We're here to fix mistakes kit, and in doing so we need to spur the change in Hinata that started at the same time she said those words to you start much earlier."
'I know..' Naruto couldn't put anything into words, before he finally admitted the true reason for his trepidation, 'I just wish I'd done this the first time.'
"Then make sure to do it perfectly this time kit." Kyuubi tried to comfort the confused teenager, 'Blasted hormones, wreaking havoc on their minds.' Kyuubi tried to make her next statement come across as motherly, "I believe in you Naruto." She paused as she felt his spirits start to rise, "As does the girl in your hand." Kyuubi could only smile as the normal light enveloped her host.
When the pair reached the Hyuuga Area they both broke out of their respective reveries. "Thank you for the meal Hinata-chan! See you again tomorrow!" Naruto grinned before he tore off down the street, still working through his own thoughts.
Hinata cautiously held her hand, the one that was in Naruto's moments before, to her chest; relishing the warmth that lingered on her fingers. As she walked through the compound, content in her happy daze, she didn't notice the odd looks that everyone who encountered her shot her. Never before had they seen the heiress so.. Happy. Where as the girl would normally almost shuffle through the compound, she seemed to be floating this evening.
"Hinata." And suddenly the floating heiress crashed to the ground and turned within herself. "You are to spar with Hanabi, now." Hiashi's words left no room for arguments. Hinata only nodded before following her father towards the dojo, where Hanabi awaited them. Hiashi didn't allow either time to prepare before nearly barking, "Begin."
The fight was decidedly one sided as Hanabi seemed to overwhelm her older sister. If asked, and if Hinata could bring herself to answer, she couldn't attack her sister with the same intent that Hanabi came at with. Hanabi reminded Hinata too much of the one person in Hinata's life that had truly understood her. It was almost physically painful for Hinata to attack her younger sister, her heart couldn't take it. And so the match ended within a few minutes, Hinata laid out on the ground; nursing an injured shoulder.
"You are progressing well Hanabi." Hiashi rewarded her with slight praise, "You're excused for the night." Hanabi bowed before exiting the room quickly, even she didn't want to see what Hiashi would do to Hinata for her failure.
"Hinata stand." Hiashi ordered as he stood before his eldest daughter. Hinata slowly complied, her body aching as she did. "You have disappointed me again. Prepare yourself."
Hinata could feel tears fill her eyes, "I-I'm s-sorry O-Otosan." She knew what was coming, it had almost become routine. In punishment for her failure her father would attack with a single blow. If she could block or parry it she would be forgiven, if not.. 'I'm sorry..' Hinata thought again as she forced her protesting shoulder to work in order to get into her ready stance.
The moment Hinata was ready, Hiashi attacked. His blow was severe and direct, perfect form for the Jyuken style; save he did not infuse the strike with chakra. As he neared his daughter he noted her response was slower then normal but paid it no mind. Hinata barely was able to move her arms in front of herself to attempt to block, but Hiashi's size and power easily overwhelmed the child; sending her flying into the dojo wall with a sickening thud. Hiashi could see her tears flowing freely as he left his daughter crumpled on the ground, intending to see to more important matters.
Hinata lay there for several minutes before a Branch House member carefully helped her stand and guided Hinata to her room. The people who had seen Hinata earlier felt a sense of regret when they compared the visage of this normal Hinata to the shining one that had passed them earlier.
Night turns to a new day.
"Take her," Hiashi stated coldly as he watched the katas of Hanabi, "She is weak in comparison to her sister, several years her junior. She is no longer my concern."
"Hai Hiashi-san." Kurenai nearly spat, barely containing herself before turning and leaving through the door she had entered. She was startled when she saw Hinata standing there, the look on her face easily readable, 'She heard every word.' Kurenai shot a glare back towards the girl's 'father' before gently taking Hinata's shoulder. "Let's go, Shino and Kiba will be waiting for us."
Hinata followed almost listlessly as they exited the compound, barely remembering to grab her jacket and pack. Her face brightened for a moment when she remembered why the pack was slightly heavier then it normally would. 'Naruto-kun..' Her thoughts turned to all that had happened between herself and the blonde boy, 'Maybe.. I can change.. maybe.. Just a little?' For the first time since her mothers death Hinata held onto something that had become alien to her.
Hope.
A/N: Pixie: Whats with trying to be all 'serious' SR? Jeez, you sure laid it on thick at the end there.
SR: Hey! I was just trying to set the mood for that little reversal at the end! Eva! Help me out here!
Eva: I said to have Hinata gain hope, you picked how.
SR: bah, you're all against me!
Felichel: Don't say that SR, we're just trying to help.
SR: Yeah yeah I know! (chuckles) you ladies need to learn to take a joke! (SR sees the look in Pixie and Eva's eyes) uh.. .. .. Remember to review! Bye! (bolts away)
