"Will Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji please make their way down to the arena!" Hayate's voice called out, echoing inside of the building. His tone was calm, and yet Hinata knew that the man must be worried for her since she had said her name so softly. Hinata clenched her hands into fists, deciding that now was a good of a time as any.
"Sasuke-San, please watch Akihane-Chan. Sakura, would you please place this on her injuries?" Hinata turned as she spoke, handing over a jar of ointment to Sakura before she steeled herself. From behind her she heard a painful grunt, her gaze twisting to meet the glasses of her teammate Shino and the worried orbs of her friend Kiba.
"H-Hinata…you don't have to go, you know that right?" Kiba spoke softly, trying to reassure her. Hinata only smiled sadly at the boy, shaking her head as she met Shino's gaze again. Shino offered her a nod, and she turned finally toward Akihane. Akihane was gazing at her calmly, her eyes focused on Hinata's face the orbs flickered to Hinata's hammering pulse, a soft smile working over Akihane's lips.
"Go before he disqualifies you Hinata-Hime. I believe in you." Hinata's cheeks reddened, her body becoming relaxed as she heard the words. Her head angled into a nod before she swiftly turned and marched down the steps toward the arena, ignoring the calls of her teammate as he wondered what the hell she was doing.
She was determined not to fail, and so she wouldn't.
I~~~~I
Akihane wasn't worried about Hinata, and she doubted that she ever would be. Hinata was far stronger than either her or Sasuke. The Hyuuga Heiress' only problem was harnessing her power and turning it into an oppressive force. Ever since the Wave mission when they had lost a part of themselves, Hinata hadn't had such a hard time accepting she would have to harm others to protect those she loved.
Neji was still something entirely different though. For Hinata to fight Neji meant that she'd not just be facing a simple opponent. No, by facing Neji, Hinata would be fighting her insecurities and her doubts, she'd be fighting everything that held her back. This fight was important, far too important to rush into or push aside. In this fight Hinata wouldn't be able to rush it and finish quickly, she'd have to take her time and prove every single comment wrong.
"Hinata-Sama…Forfeit."
And Akihane knew that Hinata would. It was for that reason that she stepped forward, her hands gripping the railing as she raised her voice to a very surprising octave.
"Hinata-Hime, give this all that you have!" Her shout echoed across the arena, causing the Hyuuga Heiress to stiffen momentarily. The Rookie Sensei's glanced at her in shock, having never heard her voice raised in such a manner.
Akihane openly smirked, her eyes glinting dangerously as she shouted once more. "Win this so we can all go to Ichiraku after."
Hinata's shoulders relaxed and her feet shifted, her hair falling over the sides of her face as her dominant arm was extended and her other was drawn back almost in line with her side.
Another shoulder lined up with Akihane's, a bored tone echoing her rather bland one.
"If you lose this, Hyuuga, then I'm not going to let you live it down," Sasuke called out, a softer smirk crossing his lips.
Unseen, but still known to those in the stands behind her, Hinata's lips lifted into a confident smile.
Her head raised so her eyes met her cousin's. There was a certain steel to them that hat Neji feeling rather outnumbered, but still, he shifted his feet and readied to attack.
Inevitably, Hayate raised his hand before drawing it back, his shout calling out over the sudden silence.
"Hajime!"
I~~~~I
Honestly, to him, it was all rather amazing. For Yin, watching a small girl work her way through stances like this one did was amazing.
The Hyuuga Heiress that had captured Akihane's eye was truly amazing, and she was skilled with her Doujutsu as well as other areas. Of course, her opponent was a second branch member that Hinata happened to call her cousin. He was more skilled with the Byakugan than she could ever hope to so, Neji was not nearly as skilled with other aspects of being a shinobi besides Taijutsu. Hinata had switched around and worked on all her areas, not falling into the trap most of her clan did over obsessing with the Byakugan.
Even so, Neji was not nearly as skilled with other aspects of being a shinobi besides Taijutsu. Hinata had switched around and worked on all her areas, not falling into the trap most of her clan did over obsessing with the Byakugan.
Hinata's kicks were high and strong, a single ax kick sending Neji flying away and onto his back as she readied kunai in her hands to attack him with.
The boy was spouting nonsense about her being a disgrace, resorting to barbaric methods of the ninja ways instead of using their clan abilities.
Yin wanted to cry out in happiness when Hinata had simply eyed her relative with a cold gaze and thin lips before she had launched into another attack.
Honestly, if Akihane ever got rid of the Heiress, Yin was going to have to strangle his friend's legacy.
I~~~~I
The match started with Hinata shooting at Neji while gathering chakra in her palms. Her lithe and agile form was far more suited to a free flowing style that the rigid one of the Hyuugas and that was the reason why she slipped from the original stance into a mixture of the Uzumaki's Whirlpool Style and her Gentle Fist.
Her feet never remained on the ground for long, always pivoting and shifting or pushing her around her opponent as Neji struggled to keep up with her.
The boy was shocked with her speed, as well as how she seemed to weave herself through his sharp jabs and strikes while also hitting him in his chest and sides.
A hit managed to get her arm which caused her chakra to fluctuate before Hinata steadied the output and raised her leg in front of her cousin's face. Several seconds later Neji flew backward onto the hard ground, grunting as his back snapped against the stone.
Once more Hinata shifted her stance, though this time it was a loose standing one with her feet spread at shoulder length. Her arms hung almost loosely at her sides. Her chest was angled toward her opponent, her dominant arm drawn behind her.
This stance was the weaponized version she had created by mixing part of the Wind Taijutsu stance and the Academy Style.
"Y-you…Are you making a mockery of me, Hinata!? You won't even use our Clan techniques against me…how you have fallen." Neji sneered at her, his eyes narrowed in disgust as he gripped his hands into fists and sat up from the ground.
Hinata did not bother offering Neji a reply, resulting in the boy shouting at her again. "You are a failure Hinata…You represent the Main Branch and you still think that you stand so high above everyone else despite the fact you are weak!"
If Neji had actually paid attention then he would have noticed how Hinata had shifted her hands over to her weapon's pouches, but instead, he was intently glaring at Hinata's impassive gaze as she readied to attack. Kunai with wire attached to them flew at Neji, his palms barely reacting in time to knock the projectiles away from his body while he got to his feet. Hinata sent more weapons after him, her steps becoming firm as she worked her way toward her cousin.
Still, the Heiress did not bother to speak to her cousin, her mind focused more so on the comments of her important people. It was the same thing with any other battle the Hyuuga had ever fought. She had more important things to do than banter in such a fight. She couldn't afford any distraction, unlike the two that constantly supported her.
Always Hinata felt like the one that fell behind them, the one holding Sasuke and Akihane back. After countless years of leaving the Hyuuga compound in the dead of night to train, risking her safety even after the Kumo Incident, after countless days of working on one simple move or jutsu, or even after the hundreds of bruises, many that still hadn't healed completely, Hinata did not feel even a tiny bit close to Akihane or Sasuke in strength.
However, both of those people believed that Hinata was indeed as strong as them, that she had the ability to take them down with ease. Both of the two survivors believed in Hinata enough to voice it in front of the best of their age and even the Hokage. They were her motivation in this battle, the reason why she had firmed her resolve. Their support was enough for the Heiress to push herself against Neji, to strike with everything she had available and show that she wasn't weak and that in the end, she wouldn't lose. It was her promise to Sasuke and Akihane, and she never went back on her promises.
There was no way that anything would stop Hinata, not even Neji. The boy could dodge her weapons all he wanted, he could try and gain distance from her strikes and he could look for any opening he pleased, but he would not win. It was with that in mind that Hinata chose to stop showing off. She could end the battle with two of her favorite moves, two moves that were part of her own modified style. If Neji wanted her to use Hyuuga techniques, then Hinata would use her own.
She halted in her advance on her cousin, stopping nearly three meters from the boy as she focused inward.
To those in the stands she seemed simply to stop moving, but to the two with confident smiles playing across their faces, Hinata had decided to end the fight.
Neji, of course, saw an opening as Hinata's eyes fell closed. He also smirked, believing that Hinata had given up because he had made her. Unlike Neji, the Sensei's above saw something rather odd in the air around the Heiress and they all began to suspect something was amiss with the Heiress' actions. Out of all the Rookies withholding Sasuke and Akihane, Shikamaru was the only one to guess that Hinata was preparing a technique.
The others were worried and confused, one, in particular, voicing his worry for his teammate.
"H-Hinata!" Kiba shouted as he tried to understand what his teammate was doing just letting Neji strike her. He didn't realize that his shouted had just alerted Hinata to Neji's position.
Hinata's eyes snapped open once she felt Neji's hand extend with intent to hit her chest. On instinct, she shifted her feet and drew them in so she could spin around right in front of Neji. Her fingers gripped two Kunai from her pouch again, one for each hand, while Chakra began to form in beams around her weapons.
"Offensive Eight Trigrams!" Hinata shouted aloud, her kunai surrounding itself in chakra as she formed hundreds of Kunai outlines that launched from the two in her hands and spun around her like a crazed tornado. Neji was sent flying away from his cousin once his hand came into contact with the tornado. He landed flat on his back as the after-image like weapons cut into walkways and through several bars on the railings before they finally began to die down.
Two kunai shot toward Neji once Hinata had managed to aim in his direction. The weapons made him grunt when they dug into his vest and pinned his body to the ground. Hinata didn't seem to be done with her move, however, and it showed as she gathered the spinning chakra into her palms and surrounded her arms in the energy like how she had done on the bridge in Wave. Pain akin to that of needles poking against her skin registered, but the lavender haired girl ignored it.
Hinata's hair whipped across her back as she launched toward her cousin, her arm extended to punch him in the face as violet chakra faded away behind her.
Up above, Akihane closed her eyes and gripped Sasuke's hand into her own.
Hinata's fist slammed down into the ground, a large puff of dust erupting from the contact point. She bit down on her lip to keep from calling out as the pain intensified. Neji's horrified face vanished within the dust as purple chakra exploded and shattered the ground into a million pieces.
The dust didn't have time to settle again and instead was blown away with a shout. "Seal Enforcement…Eight Trigrams Bind!"
Hinata's eyes were impassive as the chakra that had flown backward rushed down her arms like a lightning did a lightning rod, the purple settling into kanji that rolled over and bound Neji as it glowed. Her lips barely even twitched as her nerves felt like they were frying.
Neji was left bound on the floor when it had all settled. Purple chakra darkened along his body into black seals that held him captive. Hinata remained kneeling beside her cousin as she panted gently and her tightly clenched right hand hovered over Neji's face.
"Winner…Hyuuga Hinata."
Hinata stood and panted as she looked into Neji's eyes. Her arms shook from the amount of chakra they had just held, but Hinata did not move to leave or even get healed.
"I'm sorry, Neji-San. I'm sorry that the Main house doesn't understand…and I'm sorry that I got your father killed. My weakness took away someone important to you, and for that, I understand why you hate me."
Hinata's lips lifted into a sad smile as she looked down at her cousin. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as a bit of blood seeped from where she had bit it during the painful moments brought from her technique.
"Just please…don't blame the Main house. They are fools, but in all honesty, they can easily be misunderstood. Don't stop fighting."
Hinata turned away after her little speech and she walked toward the stairs. Her steps were sound, and as Neji watched her go with shock running through him, he swore her shoulders were straighter.
I~~~~I
Hinata arrived beside Akihane and Sasuke with a gentle smile in their direction, earning an incline of her head from the Uchiha and a nod from the Uzumaki.
Happiness did not fail to appear when she received the responses, resulting in a care free attitude taking over her rather embarrassed one. Her cheeks heated up and she stuttered as she talked to Akihane.
"T-Thanks for believing in me…A-Akihane."
The girl opened her mouth to say that she would always believe in Hinata but instead had to pause when she heard Hinata address her by her name. It became apparent that Hinata wasn't the only one that was embarrassed when Akihane's pale skin colored pink. Sasuke rolled his eyes from his spot to the side of the two girls, .
"Way to go Hyuuga, you actually shut her up."
The Uchiha snickered, glancing toward the board to ignore the annoyed glares both females sent him.
I~~~~I
And that's a wrap. Pretty good, honestly. I had hell finishing Hinata's battle but I hope I did it justice. It's so hard to write the damn girl when she's normally fidgety but not as much because of Akihane and Sasuke's influence…and then putting her against Neji and ugh… But I felt that this was a developing point in her character, even without the relentless monologuing.
Drabble-Neji
Hinata was never the best Kunoichi.
She couldn't hit every target like Sasuke, nor could she score perfectly on her tests like Sakura.
Her little sister was stronger than her, and up until the end of her first year at the academy, she didn't have any friends.
Akihane was throne who changed her, the one who motivated her and had her believing in herself.
And yet, there was always that one small part of her that still lingered in the darkness after Akihane and Sasuke became a part of her life.
That part stayed near the back of her mind, a soft and timid reminder of not only who she was, but what she had done.
The reminder was one that dealt with her cousin Neji, a boy without a father who was cursed because of her.
Her uncle had always been kind to her, and after her mother died he stepped in to help raise her where her father could not.
It was because of their odd but close relationship that Hinata knew Neji, but it was also because of that same relationship that Hizashi died.
Neji had never forgiven her for that, nor had he chosen to forgive any other main branch member.
Facing him in the Preliminaries was possibly the only thing that changed that.
