Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.
"Kankuro." Before the black clothed Suna Genin could leave the viewing area, he was stopped by the Jonin in charge of his team. "Remember what's at stake in this match. Failure is not an option."
"Don't think I don't know that, Baki." He did not turn to face the Jonin, his eyes were focused on the Hyuga that already stood with the proctor of the preliminaries. "I've got this."
"See that you do." Baki turned his eyes from Kankuro's back to the red haired boy who stood apart from them all, his green eyes having never left any of the matches. "We both know the consequence of your failure."
Sand floated in the air around him. It reeked of the iron of blood. The consequence was clear and it would be swift. None of those that knew of the boy could say he ever wasted time. He would sooner do it quickly and move onto the next then take his time.
Kankuro spoke no words in response to Baki's own. The Genin simply adjusted the bandaged burden on his pack and headed down the stairs.
Words weren't needed when death hung in the air.
"Kurenai-sensei, may I ask a question." Shino stood next to her, the Genin was the sole member of her team still standing with her with Hinata about to fight and Kiba taken away by the Medical-nin to treat his Chakra exhaustion. He had been silently observing everything until now.
"What is it, Shino?" Her eyes stayed focused on Hinata as her opponent approached her, the black clad Genin from Sunagakure. She recognized his face, despite the paint, as the same face in the photo she had looked over only a few days ago.
'Hinata's fighting one of the Kazekage's sons…' She didn't know to be worried or not about her student. On one hand, Hinata's skills were incredible despite her timid nature and had grown by a great amount thanks to her commitment to her training. On the other hand, her opponent was Kankuro. He was one of the sons of the Kazekage. That alone was enough to make her worry. 'Don't let it get to you Hinata. I know you can defeat him as long as you stay focused on the match.' She tried to find her earlier confidence in her team but it was gone.
"Hinata's opponent makes use of the Puppet Technique, correct?" Shino's covered eyes did not leave the form of Hinata's opponent. They were narrowed in thought even if none could see them.
"I would imagine it's either that or the thing on his back is just for strength training like the weights Gai's student wore." She couldn't repress the jolt of fear that shot through her at the thought of Hinata facing someone with Lee's amazing speed.
Her student would be beaten. She could even be killed.
'All because I couldn't say no.' The image of the gentle Hyuga she found herself caring for more than a sensei should as nothing but a lifeless corpse in a morgue took hold of her mind, would haunt her tonight to matter the outcome of the fight. Hinata would be gone and it would all be because of her, because she hadn't trained her enough, because she couldn't tell her she wasn't ready for the exams. 'Anything that happens will be my fault because I couldn't tell her she wasn't ready.'
Any blood that stained the ground from the girl she saw more as her daughter than her student would be on her hands and already she felt herself nearly trembling. Only the iron will of a Jonin stopped her from allowing everyone to see the worry she held for her student.
"That would be a problem." Shino did not speak anymore. He needed to focus.
"You know, you could just surrender now." Kankuro wasn't silent once he had reached Hinata. "You Leaf Ninja aren't really ready to handle someone like me. I'm not some inexperienced kid like you. I bet you've never even gone on an assassination mission."
"N-No, I haven't." Hinata had not even activated her Byakugan yet. Kankuro sneered.
"Just like I thought. You don't need to be a Shinobi if you can't handle the thought of killing someone, of poisoning them, of slitting their throat before they have a chance to do the same to you." His hand left the strap over his shoulder and he pointed to Hinata. "Just give up now and you don't have to worry about me killing someone as weak as you. It'll be embarrassing honestly to kill a weakling like you to become a Chunin."
"…" The Hyuga said nothing but her face told them all the doubts she now had. She had let the words of the Sand Ninja join the already growing tempest of doubt in her mind if she was ready for these exams. Her mind did not drift but returned to events prior in the day. The banging of metal on metal came to her ears at the same time the words that seemed to have carved themselves into her mind began.
"You once told me not too long ago that teamwork is vital yet all I see before me, the result of teamwork, is a weak fool. She is nothing but beaten and broken by my men. I told you once that nothing, especially not that vile thing known as teamwork, could stand against my glorious Legion! Look at that pathetic girl and see why teamwork is so worthless when compared to the might of my magnificent, my unbeatable, my glorious Legion! All of you take in the sight of what teamwork creates! A weakness like no other! Nothing can compare to the folly that is a dependence on something so pathetic! Only the weaklings that pollute these lands have the audacity to band together in a vain attempt to challenge the strong of this world! All you must do to see my words are true is to look upon that beaten form below you! Look upon it and see why teamwork is so worthless against my mighty Orange Legion! All of you look and tremble as you see the future of all those who seek to use such a pathetic thing as teamwork against my glorious Legion! Look as you see the results of teamwork against the incalculable might of my grand Empire! Look and be disgusted! See weakness and know it dwells in each of your foolish hearts if you believe in teamwork! Graze upon the Praetor of a Legion and the Caesar of an Empire and know you will be squashed like ants before my might!"
'I couldn't stand on my own. I was always being protected by Kiba, by Shino, by Kurenai-sensei…I was weak. But I can fight for myself now, I can fight with my own power and no one else's! I can show him how strong I've become!'
She remembered Ino, spared from pain by Sakura, she remembered Naruto triumphing over Zaku without effort, Sasuke doing the same against his opponent, and she remembered the way he had looked at her days ago.
'I can't give up.' Wordlessly her Byakugan activated and she stepped into a Gentle Fist stance. 'I won't be weak anymore.' An image of blue eyes flashed in her mind, a handsome tanned face holding them. A smile she would never forget followed. 'I'll be strong for him.'
"You two know the rules by now. Don't aim to kill each other and the match ends either when I say so or when someone forfeits." Hayate raised his hand into the air, knowing the two were ready to fight. "Begin!" He vanished from sight just as Hinata lunged forward.
A Chakra releasing blow was narrowly dodged by Kankuro, the Suna Shinobi not wasting anytime it seemed as he let the bandaged burden he carried fall. Blue strings of Chakra connected to it before the bandages were shredded.
"I gave you a chance to live through this girl but I'm not giving you a second." Kankuro crouched, the clattering and clicking of the puppet sounding across the arena as he looked to Hinata. "I've figured out enough about your Gentle Fist style to know it's going to be useless to you in this fight."
Hinata let nothing show on her face, she merely exhaled as Chakra gathered at each of her fingertips once more. The veins the use of her Byakugan caused to bulge pulsed as she readied herself for the next clash.
"Hmm, maybe you don't know how legendary this puppet really is from the look on your face. There's a real lack of fear show I'll give you a quick history lesson." Kankuro rose back to his full height, letting the puppet float around him and move in front of him. "This is the puppet known as Crow, the same one made famous by the Sunagakure Puppet Brigade's Sasori of the Red Sand thanks to his use of it during the Third Shinobi World War." Kankuro grinned when Hinata couldn't hide the new fear her face held. It appeared the moment he mentioned the S-Rank Missing-nin. "No matter how strong you think you are, you're going to die if you keep fighting me."
The two lower arms of the puppet suddenly shot upright, the hollow inside revealed before two spheres flew forward. Hinata ducked to the side to avoid them and she made the right choice, the instant the two spheres struck the wall behind her they exploded.
"That's only one of Crow's dozens of hidden weapons and tricks." Kankuro smirked as he twitched his fingers, the puppet beginning to move from side to side in sharp jarring movements. "Do you want to see anymore or do you want to give up like you should have from the start." The puppet's mouth opened and closed, clicking filling the air. "You'll avoid more pain than you can imagine if you quit now."
"I won't give up." Hinata breathed out once more, centering herself as she briefly closed her eyes. "I will win this fight."
"Your funeral." Kankuro didn't waste time. Crow erupted into movement, dashing through the air towards the Hyuga before suddenly veering to the right, dodging her attempt to remove one of its arms with a strike. It leapt into the air before she could turn to strike it and descended on her, the segments of the fingers on each hand separating and hanging on long razor sharp wire. A twitch of two of Kankuro's finger had the arms swinging and sending them towards Hinata with a great sweeping range.
Hinata ducked underneath the razor sharp wire, jumping away from the main body as well as it tried to land on her. The fingers quickly snapped back into place with a whirling sound from within the puppet, the wire drawn back by some hidden mechanism. She lashed out at Crow, hoping to disable it once more, and the puppet avoided her with another twitch of Kankuro's fingers.
'I can see the weak points of his puppet.' Hinata avoided the puppet's wild melee attacks as Kankuro brought it in close with a dive before it swept back into the air. 'If I can strike one of them I can disable it long enough to defeat him.'
"You need to give up already!" Crow clicked and clacked as it swung back down towards Hinata, its arms and legs suddenly splitting in half and firing off. Blades hidden in the wood folded out of both halves and, in total, twelve blades shot towards Hinata from above. At the same time, Crow's mouth opened and unleashed a hail of sharp needles.
'Poison!' Hinata saw it with her Byakugan, the dripping poison covering the blade of every blade, every needle. She had no choice but to make use of a technique she had no mastery of if she wanted to win, to prove herself at last to him.
'I won't fail. I'll show him that I'm strong on my own without Kiba, without Shino!' She channeled Chakra to her hands, taking in a deep rapid breath as the barrage of needles neared her. 'I have to win this match. No matter what it takes, I'll defeat him!'
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" She threw both hands out towards the needles, releasing a wave of Chakra that send them scattering across the ground around her. Kankuro let his irritation show but the blades still descended on her, some even guided by the Puppet User if the blue strings of Chakra connected to them told the truth.
Hinata saw the approach of all twelve blades with the use of her Byakugan.
She bent herself completely backwards, her back forming a perfect arch, and onto her outstretched hands to avoid the first six blades crossing where her torso once was before she threw herself back into a flip, dodging the next three that aimed to impale her legs. The last three failed to strike her when she struck the ground on her stomach and quickly rose back to her feet.
Crow's limbless body couldn't stop her, Hinata striking the puppet's chest with a blinding number of blows. Splinters of wood and bits of metal flew as she disabled the puppet with her Byakugan guided strikes. She didn't seek to merely destroy it through, she injected Chakra into the minute mechanisms of the puppet with every blow and jammed them in place. Kankuro didn't hide his shock at the results of her attack, his Chakra Threads trying to make the puppet move but failing. It could hardly twitched, simple an immobile block of wood after she was finished with it.
'Dammit.' The Puppeteer was not renowned for his Taijutsu, he could not compare to a clan like the Hyuga who excelled at it with the Gentle Fist. He couldn't match her skills even if he wanted to as she charged him with his sole means of both offense and defense destroyed. 'This isn't good.'
"Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!" She lunged forward, Chakra leaking from her fingers as Kankuro cursed. He tried to backpedal, bring some distance between the two, but he already knew it was worthless. He wasn't fast enough to dodge or good enough to go blow for blow with her. He only brought himself a few extra seconds that he could use to think. He needed a plan, needed something to get in the way of the Hyuga but she had destroyed Crow, rendered it an unusable pile of wood chips and splinters.
He needed something to stop her, anything, and his eyes roamed over the battlefield. A Puppeteer could make do with the pieces of a puppet as much as they do with a whole puppet.
'That'll do.' A Chakra blade connected to his last hope of winning and, with a flick of his finger, he ended the match.
A single blade ripped through her from behind.
"HINATA!" Kurenai's scream came through the empty arena. It took both Asuma and Gai grabbing hold of either of her arms as she watched her student be impaled from behind. "Let me go!"
"Ha!" Hinata fell to her knees as any trace of fear left Kankuro's face and was replaced with one of triumph instead. The Chakra thread responsible for manipulating the blade into the Hyuga vanished as he looked at the destroyed Crow. He let out a mild string of curses at the sight of the puppet, it nearly ruined beyond repair. "You actually did more damage than I thought you could but this is over with."
Hinata's hands came up to the blade currently sticking through her stomach, blood staining her clothes and the ground as it ran down the poisoned weapon. Her Byakugan remained in her eyes as she struggled to remain where she was, struggle to get back up to her feet, to do something.
"I…I can't lose…" Blue eyes took hold of her mind, they were the only thing driving her now. "I…I have to…show…him…"
"Alright back away." Hayate landed next to her, laying a hand on her shoulder as the other held a cloth. "This ma-"
"NO!" Hinata shoved him away with bloody hands, somehow succeeding in rising to her feet. Her body was shaking but she refused to fall it seemed. "I-I can still fight!"
"No you can't." Hayate looked down at the bloody hand marks on his flak jacket now and sighed. "You need to get that looked at and-" The proctor turned his eyes to the smirking Suna Shinobi. "-he'll be providing an antidote to his poison to the Medical-nin."
"I don't forfeit! I'm not giving up!" Panic seemed to take hold of Hinata, that and a rabid desire to prove herself. "I can still fight!"
"It doesn't matter what you want, girl." Hayate took hold of her shoulder once more, forcing her to see only him. "You have a blade impaling you. I'm stopping this match." He didn't spend any more time with her, calling for the Medical-nin that were already rushing over to the two. One came up to Kankuro, the Suna Shinobi not at all happy but giving up a vial he unsealed from a scroll. He used the same scroll to seal away the shattered body of his puppet.
"Go with them." Hayate stepped back from her, a look to the Medical-nin stopping them from getting any closer to Hinata. His eyes softened as he looked at the girl who had so much resting on her shoulders. "There's always next year kid."
"NO!" Hinata once again shouted at him before her eyes fell down to the blade protruding from her stomach. "…I can remove it…" Her words were too soft to be heard except for two sets of ears.
Her hands shifted just as Hayate's eyes widened when he realized what she was doing. He threw himself forward just as her hand took hold of the handle and she closed her eyes.
'I never thought I would see something like this from a girl like her.' Kakashi Hatake held both of Hinata's hands out of the way in his while Maito Gai kept her from trying to thrash in the masked Shinobi's grip and do any worse damage to herself as his eyes took in her wound.
"You need to calm down before you hurt yourself anymore." Kakashi kept his distance from the blade going through her by standing at her side, shifting her hands above her head and into one of his hands. He reached into his flak jacket and drew out a kunai and it crackled when he coated it in his Lightning-natured Chakra.
"Let me go!" Hinata tried to twist and turn but Gai's grip was too strong, already several Medical-nin were hurrying to her and one drew out a needle. "I can still fight!"
"No you can't." Kurenai pressed down, injecting the sedative into Hinata before she could do anything else to make her already serious wound any worse. "It's time for you to rest."
"I-I…" Her eyes drifted shut, the Byakugan fading from them as she went limp in Kakashi's grip. His lightning infused kunai swung down and removed a majority of the blade going through her stomach, the hilt and part of the blade clattering to the ground as Kakashi handed her over to the Medical-nin.
'I'm sorry about this Hinata.' Kurenai watched as her student was put on a stretcher and carried away. One Medical-nin took hold of the remaining part of the blade and drew it out before handing it off. A cloth was pressed to both sides of her wound to keep it from bleeding any more than it already had. 'I should have never entered you into these exams.'
"We need to talk once these exams are finished, Kakashi."
"Meet me at the usual spot."
The Copy Ninja said no more to the Green Beast before vanishing from sight once more. It wasn't clear where he went to this time.
'That…that match definitely didn't go like I thought it would.' Hayate looked away from the arena, the blood, and towards where the Hokage continued to observe the preliminaries of the Chunin Exams. 'You must have a reason for being her Hokage-sama but what is it? These matches are impressive but nothing to someone who's earned a title like Kami no Shinobi. Why did you decide to stay here? Why not do what we all know you want to.'
A brief image flashed in his mind: The moment the boy named Naruto Uzumaki had declared himself Caesar. He remembered the look in the Hokage's eyes, he had turned to him for orders the moment the kid began ranting and saw something he wished he hadn't.
Sorrow. Disappointment. Guilt. Those three shined in the aged eyes of the Hokage the entire time the Uzumaki spoke and when he fought.
'That kid left after his match, his entire team is gone so why bother staying when I know none of these kids are worth much time. A few Clan Heirs and Heiresses you've already met plenty of times, a couple kids with more talent than most expect but nothing else. Every ninja in the village worth his rank knows how much of a pain the Uzumaki kid is turning out to be, the same kid we all know you won't take down like we all know you need to. Now, my question is why didn't you go after him when you left?'
"Temari of the Sand and Choji Akimichi are to come to the arena!"
AN: I like Hinata's crush on Naruto. He will abuse said crush later. I will develop her as a character. As for the fight? Could have gone either way, I had an idea that made me decide on Kankuro winning. Question for you, my reader: How is Kurenai? Reply if you'd like to.