Mayu smirked as she pulled a kunai from her weapon's pouch. Hinata stood a little ways behind her, appearing almost bored. This only added to Sasuke's irritation. She was becoming a bit like Mayu. His annoyance with this whole situation couldn't get any worse. The three of them had been at this little exercise for a week now, and he still had not managed to lay a finger on Hyuga. Right now, because of her combined abilities, Mayu was faster and stronger than he was. It was a bit unfair that he had to get pass her. Then again, she was acting like a shield and sword to prepare him for the finals.
Still, it pissed him off. She didn't have to taunt him. Well, she hadn't necessarily taunted him, but every time he was knocked to the ground, his pride was further injured. "Come on, Sasuke." Mayu beckoned him with a finger. "It's time to start thinking outside the box. Do something I wouldn't expect and perhaps you'll finally hit Hinata?" Almost snarling, Sasuke dashed across the field. Mayu narrowed her eyes and ran out him as well. Mere centimeters before colliding, the young Uchiha twirled on the ball of his right foot, moving around the punch Mayu had thrown. This movement also got him around her body. Hinata was in his sights. He had led her into a false sense of security by continuously going straight.
She wasn't prepared for his evasive movement. Sasuke couldn't help the smirk as he continued moving towards Hinata. His arm extended, fingers reaching for the Hyuga's arm. However, something thin wrapped around his ankle, causing him to trip and fall right in front of his target. Groaning, he realized that his body was being dragged away from Hinata. "That was better," Mayu commented as she continued to reel him in with the wire. "You're learning that not just speed will get the job done." She stopped pulling, and then squatted down to remove the wire from his leg. Once she finished, she tapped the back of his knee. Sasuke rolled over and glared at her. "Now, now, Sasuke, I've given you quite of a lot hints these past few days, and you still haven't figured it out."
"Shut up!" His leg shot out, hitting her jaw. The girl slid back, hissing in pain. Sasuke took this chance to tackle her to the ground. He grabbed a fist full of her hair, almost yanking it out as he pinned the strands to the ground. Mayu still tried to attack with her arms, so Sasuke pinned those down by the use of his knees. "You think you're so great?!" he shouted. "I'm the best genin in Konoha—not you!"
"I'm not-" She grimaced. "I'm not even a part of this village, Sasuke." The shinobi glowered down at her. "Does someone-" Mayu grimaced again, squeezing her eyes shut. "-need a hug? Perhaps a cookie for being the best genin in Konoha?" Stupid girl, making jokes at a time like this… She would never change. Sasuke reared his right fist back, preparing to punch. Before he could, though, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Following his instincts, he flipped away from Mayu, pulling a kunai out. Luckily, he had dodged. Hinata had thrown a flurry of shuriken his way. Damn, he had forgotten about her. There were times where she could attack, although it was supposed to be Mayu. Speaking of the girl, she was moving to her feet, rubbing her head. "Okay, you bastard," she nearly growled. "You got me, but it's not enough." She suddenly laughed out. "Hitting me without remorse… Should you be doing that, Sasuke? After all, I'm merely a civilian and a girl."
"Don't give me that bullshit!" Sasuke frowned. "You're a fighter, so I'm going to treat you like it. You being a girl has nothing to do with it." She actually smiled.
"I was only confirming something, Sasuke," Mayu said. "I just wanted to see if you were still taking it easy on me." Her pale blue eyes shifted over to the tree Kakashi sat in. "Kakashi-sensei," she called. "I believe you have assessed his abilities well enough, right?" With a sigh, the jounin closed his book. He hopped from the tree.
"I believe I have," he said. "It's time to start your real training." Sasuke blinked in confusion at the little exchange between Kakashi and Mayu. "After lunch, Hinata and Mayu will leave."
"What? Why?" Sasuke blurted. "I still haven't-"
"Don't worry. Both will return, for the same exercise, once I finish training you," Kakashi stated.
"Yeah, so get better before I come back for you," Mayu exclaimed, pointing a finger. "But don't think I'll sit on my ass for the rest of this month, Sasuke!"
"You've been planning this the entire time?" he asked. Mayu's grin told him that they had. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Well, fine… I guess."
"Oh? You sound disappointed," Kakashi commented.
"No, I don't!" Sasuke quickly protested.
"You know a quick response means lying, don't you?"
"Shut up!"
"Sasuke, you shouldn't disrespect your sensei!"
"You be quiet, too, Mayu."
"I'm hungry," she replied, causing Sasuke to give a flat look. Her blue Hyuga eyes looked back at Kakashi. "What are you waiting for?"
"Now who's being disrespectful?" Sasuke rolled his eyes as the jounin disappeared. Hinata sighed lightly before heading over to sit down at the base of a tree. Mayu sat down as well, but she sat in the same spot she had been standing. Scoffing, the young Uchiha sat as well. He saw the grin before Mayu crawled over to him. "What?" Sasuke asked after she hadn't said anything.
"Do you know how much I've wanted to fight you?" Mayu asked. This only caused Sasuke to blink in confusion. "One day, I want to fight you, in my own body, when we're both on the same level."
"… Why?"
"Because you are an amazing fighter, and I wanted to fight using our own abilities, with no one else interfering—no outside help. Just the two of us." Sasuke found himself swallowing hard. Her words caused a sense of intense anticipation. He did not understand why, though. Maybe it was her eyes. Despite being Hyuga, her eyes were like how Sakura's eyes used to look. She had been so upset that time, and then she had spoken of her own vengeance. That determined look—it was admirable. He had not seen that look in a girl's eye before unless it had something to do with their crush. This was not a crush, right? Mayu did not… like him, did she? He slid his tongue against his front teeth. That thought did not send him into a fit of annoyance and slight revulsion, as it should have. Suddenly, Mayu looked away. However, the smile remained. "So, let's plan for that, okay?" Sasuke blinked again.
"Ri-Right," he said. "At that time, I won't go easy on you."
"Looking forward to it," Mayu said.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked away from her genuine smile. She seriously wanted to fight him. Not a spar, but an all-out, no holds bar fight. Of course, it would not be to the death. They did not want to kill each other. The fight was simply to decide which of them could come out on top. Truthfully, he anticipated that day as well. No outside help, huh…? Sasuke glanced at his shoulder, wondering if outside help included this black mark he had received—that had been forced on him. The young Uchiha frowned then. This mark granted him power, but… it was artificial in a way. Sasuke, himself, had not developed it. Not to mention, using it had been a surreal, if not foggy, experience. He had felt the power flowing through him like a faucet being left on. It had overwhelmed him to the point of not thinking clearly. If Sakura had not interfered, Sasuke might have gone on his rampage, not bothering to stop until the bodies piled up. He wondered briefly if he would have differentiated between friend and foe.
The young Uchiha suddenly shuddered. He felt Mayu's gaze on him, but he refused to meet her eyes. He should not be having seconds thoughts like this. The mark had been a gift. Sasuke did not know the reason for it, but when the day came for him and Itachi to fight to death, he would use everything in his arsenal. With him, it was not a matter of besting him with his own strength. It was a matter of vengeance. No matter the source, if it helped to kill that monster, Sasuke would follow through. However… With Mayu, it would be different. On some level of his subconscious, he wanted to fight her as well. He wanted both of them to develop their abilities and pit them against each other. Ishikari Mayu was probably the only one in existence now that caused such a yearning.
Sasuke would never forget that day on the bridge. The way her eyes sharpened on her prey—deep blue and piercing. That fire she had used—unbelievably scorching and dangerous. The brutality inflicted on their enemy—an eye for an eye, she said. In those moments, she had transformed into a warrior. An avenger. Yeah. He wanted to fight someone like her. Most of the time, she had a bizarre way of acting which was somewhat refreshing, but it was that side of her that invoked feelings of kinship. On more than one occasion, he contemplated their common goals. She was on his level and proved that she could jump to the next as well. Sasuke shuddered a second time for a different reason entirely but could not and would not discern the differences. Not right now, anyway.
"Bird boy!" Mayu's exasperated voice cut through his thoughts. Finally, Sasuke turned his attention to her. "Are you alright? Something bothering you?"
"Not at all," Sasuke told her. "As long as you get stronger, sure, you'll get your chance. But I won't seriously fight against a weakling."
"Haaah… You're so confident," Mayu retorted with a roll of her eyes. Sasuke smirked. "Just you wait. You won't have to hold back." She then wagged a finger at him. "But if you do, just know that I will take away that thing that makes you male."
"What is wrong with you?" Sasuke winced, slapping his legs together.
"If you hold back against me, I'll assume it's because you think a girl can't handle it, so I'll be forced to make you a girl so we can fight on equal terms."
"… That not how it works."
Mayu only giggled. Sasuke snorted. "Ah…! That reminds me!" Her eyebrows furrowed. "Besides your revenge, you said you also wanted to restore your clan, right?"
"Why are you asking that now?"
"I was just wondering. I mean, you're so focused on your goal to avenge you clan. It must mean you're focused on restoring your clan, too, right? Who's gonna be the baby maker?" She was completely serious. Blue eyes blinked innocently as she waited for his response. Sasuke's cheeks flushed as he turned his eyes away.
"Don't be stupid!" he exclaimed. "My revenge comes first, not last! Of course, I haven't been thinking of… of how I'm going to restore the clan yet!"
"Hm…? I think that is silly." She seriously seemed disappointed with his response. "I mean, what if you were to die in the battle? Then your legacy will cease to exist," Mayu thoughtfully stated. "You have to plan for this, Sasuke." She shook her head as if she could not stand his stupidity. "Make sure to impregnate the love of your life before you go running off into a life-or-death situation!"
"Why are you even asking me about this?! Do you want that position or something?!" Sasuke grimaced as soon as he was finished. The moment he realized, he wanted to take it all back. He had not meant for any of that to come out. Mayu sat there, looking stunned for a moment. And then laughed… really hard. Sasuke's eye twitched as he watched the girl grabbed her stomach and fall forward. She even had the nerve to slap the ground, complaining that she could not breathe. A girl like Mayu… Sasuke pitied the fool who had to start a family with her. Finally, he could not take it anymore and kicked her side, causing her to roll over.
"OW!"
"If you can't breathe, then die." Sasuke crossed his arms and averted his eyes again.
"Why you little-"
"Yo!" Kakashi appeared, holding boxed lunches for everyone. Mayu's attention shifted towards him.
"Yay!" she cheered as she stood up. "Thanks for the food!"
Sasuke frowned as he watched his former teammate dance around Kakashi. Truthfully, no, he had never put any sort of thought to restoring the clan. Should he…? No. Mayu was being stupid. Revenge came first. It was the most important right now. He could not start anything else until Itachi was no longer of this world. What right would he have to do that—marry and produce heirs—without justice? The Uchiha clan could not begin again until its tarnished name was purified with blood.
"Sasuke! If you sit around too long birds will try to nest!" Mayu called over to him. "Come eat!"
"You're noisy!" Sasuke called back to her, annoyed. Again, Mayu only giggled, pleased by his reaction. "Annoying…"
0-0
With her arm stretched up high, Mayu waved goodbye. "Bye, Sasuke!" she exclaimed. The young Uchiha tried to ignore her, but he snuck a glance at the departing girls. "You better be stronger next time I see you~!" This only caused him to scowl and turn away. Smirking, Mayu ran to catch up with Hinata. "Are you ready for our training?" The kunoichi dipped her head in confirmation. "Good, let's go to the usual spot. I've been thinking about changing it a bit to help you more."
"Help me more…?" Hinata repeated. Mayu only grinned. The Hyuga did not understand. Her friend's training regime had helped immensely since they had started. The first day had been a simple spar. She believed Mayu had wanted to see her capabilities—a basic assessment. Kurenai-sensei had done the same when the team formed. The second day, and the days that followed, had been considerably hard. Mayu had told her that her body was too weak. That judgment had hurt, but Hinata knew that it to be true. Quickly, Mayu had assured that she, herself, was not weak—and any pea-brain body that thought otherwise was just a pea-brain body. She had meant physically. Hinata would not be able to stand too many direct hits in a battle—that had been the reasoning. She believed that had been the reason her cousin had managed to hurt her so viciously. And so, from then on, the training focused on her body's endurance.
It was brutal. Mayu had been relentless in her attacks. Hinata could not even defend against her. She had to take it all. Bruises, blood, and soreness was something she had become quite accustomed to. Not only that, but Mayu also made her run laps, do countless sit-ups and jumping jacks, all in an effort to toughen up her body. Of course, as she coached, Mayu had participated as well. However, since placing her full strength into her fist was something Hinata could not do, yet, Mayu usually walked away from training free of blood and bruises. It had only been a few days, but Hinata felt physically stronger than she was. What else could Mayu possibly have in store for her?
The two girls reached their designated training area. No one came to this place. It had taken nearly a whole day to find it. This had been the only place that had not looked touched by others. Mayu had observed the training ground had not been discovered, and they should use it while they could. Her unnatural twin turned to face her, still wearing that grin. "Okay, we're still going to do endurance training, but there will be something added to it," she stated. "You're going to use your voice, Hinata."
"My voice…?"
"Yes, your voice is cute, but most people won't take you seriously in the world of ninja," Mayu explained. Hinata lowered her head. "And as the future wife of the Hokage—and mother of his children—you will-" Mayu ignored the squawk of her name as though it had been a passing wind. "-need assertiveness in your voice." Hinata pressed her lips together. Mayu had a tendency to refer to Naruto as the future Hokage. She also tended to call Hinata Naruto's wife-to-be. She had always said it so nonchalantly. She truly believed that had been what the future entailed. Sometimes, Hinata would catch her mumbling something about the Naruhina movement. Wholly embarrassing, but… not unpleasant. "Even if you're not confident, having a forceful tone will give the illusion of you being confident, making people want to follow you," Mayu went on to explain.
"I suppose… that makes sense," Hinata agreed, wishing the temperature of her cheeks would fade. "But how can a person train their voice?"
"Simple…" Mayu's grin widened. "You're going to shout it out."
"Eh?"
"Yes, you're going to shout. Shout out your frustrations, shout out your pain, and shout out your happiness— you're going to do it all."
"B-But I hardly think-"
"Now, now, Hinata-chan…!" Mayu wagged her finger as she winked. "You should only argue when you know the subject better."
"Y-Yes…"
"Trust me! In one month, we won't need to switch places to let me… handle things." The girl snapped her fingers. "Now let's get started!"
0-0
It was hours later when the two of them stopped their training for today. Both were panting heavily. Hinata was on the ground, arms spread out. Her half-closed eyes stared up at the night sky. There was a full moon tonight. Mayu moved to her hands and knees. Sweat dripped from her chin. Today, there had been no breaks in the training. If she had been in her normal body, there was no way she would be able to last this long. She swallowed hard before attempting to stand up straight. Her knees wobbled, though. "Okay… I think that's enough," she panted out. "Peace out, holmes."
Before Hinata could question her words, Mayu disappeared in a puff of smoke. With her disappearance came the sudden burst of energy—at least enough energy to get home without stumbling, anyway. With a grunt, the Hyuga sat up, and then slowly stood. She was going to feel this in the morning. That was certain. Sighing, Hinata took a step forward, intending to make her way into town. Before she returned home, she needed to buy more ointment. With Mayu around, she tended to run out more often.
After searching several stores—most of them had been closed by then—Hinata finally found what she was looking for. Usually, she made her own ointment. However, with how her days were going, she would not have enough time. Sighing a bit, the tired kunoichi began her journey home. She could not wait to relax her body within the comforts of her room. For a moment, she closed her eyes. Hopefully, her father would not request her presence upon arrival again. Mayu had easily lied to him and said the Hokage would not allow her to discuss the details with him. However, since Mayu was asleep, that could be a problem for Hinata.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted movement. The streets, completely deserted at a time like this, should have remained mostly undisturbed. It could just be another person returning from training, but there was something odd about it. The movement seemed to lurk in the shadows. Silently, Hinata activated her advanced bloodline. Just as she thought, there was a chakra network in the alley. It jumped onto a roof. The Hyuga blinked, shutting down her Byakugan. She supposed whatever the occurrence, it should not be her concern.
Let's go check it out!
Hinata almost flinched. The eagerness of her counterpart startled her. She had believed Mayu to be sleeping. "I don't think that's a good idea…" Her eyes narrowed. "I have a bad feeling." A scoff was given in response. After a few moments, Mayu demanded that she perform the Clone Jutsu. "But my chakra is-"
You're fine, just do it!
With a sigh, Hinata did as she was told. Seconds later, her unusual twin appeared. She was shaking her head as if disappointed. "Hinata, if there is something you want, then you have to fight for it, okay? Don't just give up because I was forceful." Hinata pressed her lips together. "I mean it. Next time, don't let me force you to do something. Better yet, how about you convince me otherwise?"
"Yes…" she wearily replied. Truthfully, she was too exhausted to argue. Mayu patted her left shoulder twice before heading off in the direction of the alley. Hinata frowned lightly, watching her go. "Mayu-san… Is this alright?" she thought. She remained in one spot for a moment longer before turning to leave. This was okay. If anything were to happen, Mayu could easily return unharmed. Their circumstance of sharing a body made it easy to escape immediate danger. It did not matter how far away Hinata happened to be. Well, at least the length of the entire village was not a problem. Mayu had tested it. With that comforting thought in mind, Hinata began to walk home.
Once Mayu was sure her counterpart was gone, she turned her eyes to the wall. Silently, she scaled it, using the little bit of chakra she had left. If she had seen correctly, that mummy guy had just jumped to the roof of this building. Dosu, if she remembered right. There was a loud crashing noise, which caused Mayu to stop. She blinked several times. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she thought. After all, if that noise was any indication, Dosu had looked death in the eye just now. He purposely challenged Gaara, not knowing how truly foolish the endeavor had been. The girl shook her head. No! She came here on a mission. And that mission had to be carried out. It was Gaara, after all. She had made a fool of herself before, so of course she had to amend that.
With a determined nod, Mayu pulled herself up onto the roof. What she saw made her involuntarily gasp. Dosu's mangled body had blood oozing out of it. Then she spotted Gaara on his knees. The host of the one-tailed demon panted lightly. The roof had suffered a bit of damaged. She scratched her cheek. More and more, she felt uncomfortable about this situation. "Eh… Gaara-kun…?" His head snapped in her direction, causing Mayu to freeze. A murderous glare formed on his face. "I… I come in peace!" she exclaimed, throwing up her arms. "I'm not a fool like that other one!"
"What do you want?" he asked. Uneasily, Mayu took a step forward. Gaara only stared, so she continued to do this. "I will ask again before I kill you where you stand." This made her halt, mid step.
"I just want to… talk, Gaara-kun," Mayu answered. His expression remained impassive. "I want… to be your friend." She sighed out, steadying her insides. Extending friendship—that was the goal. Yes, the cutie was her favorite, but underneath the fangirl spasms, she recognized how pitiful Gaara truly was. Gaara frowned then, repeating the word friend as though he had never heard it before. Sad. "More than an ally," Mayu stated. The frown deepened considerably. "Uh… Let's see if I can explain this right. A friend is someone you can depend on—a person that you can talk to about anything at all. A friend will make you smile even when you're feeling sad. They… can help you—make you stronger. Think of them as… someone outside of your family that you get to choose. And as of now, I proclaim myself… Gaara-kun's friend!"
During her speech, she had moved forward. Now, she stood in front of him. Dropping down so that she could be eye level with him, Mayu gave her best smile. Finally, Gaara's stoic expression changed. His eyes expanded. Either her smile or her closeness had managed to get through to him. Sad. Truly sad that he had experienced neither. "Put 'er there, pal!" Mayu thrust her right hand forward. Gaara parted his lips, glancing down at the offered hand. "Oh, sorry… That's my mom's upbringing coming out." Mayu chuckled. "You're supposed to shake it." To show him, she grabbed her own hand and shook. "You try," she told him, holding out her hand again. To her utter joy, Gaara glanced at his own hands, and then imitated her by shaking his own hand. "Cute~! I wanna hug him so bad!" she thought. However, she refrained from doing that. After all, this was only their second encounter. Maybe she could wait until the third. Still, she did grab his hand and shook. "You shake my hand, silly!" She released him quickly. "Now we're officially friends."
"Why…?" he questioned.
"Why?" Mayu repeated. "Well, I like you, of course. Besides, we can all use a friend."
"You are… strange," Gaara remarked.
"Well, normal is boring, don't you know?" she replied. "Look forward to me cheering for you in your match, Gaara-kun." The girl stood up. "See you around, I hope!" Before Gaara could respond, the girl disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She had been frantically waving.
"Strange…" he repeated.
0-0
It had been a few days since that late-night adventure, and Mayu still had not taken the time to explain what she had been doing. Hinata did not really mind her secrecy, but she wished she had not popped in out of nowhere. She had been in the middle of a bath, after all. She had almost drowned because she had been so startled by the loud voice in her head. Currently, she was heading for the training spot with a bag full of fruit. Her hands were occupied completely because of the large paper bag.
The girl suddenly halted. Her eyes grew wide. There, standing a few meters away was Uzumaki Naruto, her crush. The crush that everyone knew about apparently. She swallowed hard, feeling her heart speed up. Although he looked miserable on the ground like that, having just received a punch from his female teammate, a glimpse of him still caused her heart to race. "Na-Naruto-kun…" she murmured. Quickly, she hid behind the fence. Seconds later, Sakura walked by, grumbling to herself. Once she was gone, the Hyuga quietly made her way over to the blond shinobi. "Na… Naru-Naruto-kun, are yo-you al-all ri-right?" Although, she had gotten better with her voice, thanks to Mayu's influence, she still stammered in the presence of her crush. Naruto groaned as he sat up. His eyes found the timid girl's. Squinting, he rubbed his cheek.
"Oh, hey, Hinata," he greeted. Trying hard not to stutter again, she repeated her question. "I'm fine! Sakura-chan just got a little angry, that's all. I'm used to it."
"You… You sho-shouldn't be used to some-something like that!" Hinata stated. Naruto blinked, surprised by her tone of voice. The Hyuga flushed, realizing what she had sounded like. "I-I mean, it isn't an-any-any of my bus-business. I-"
Naruto, though, wasn't listening to her attempt at apologizing. He tilted his head to the side as he continued to look at her. Hinata was a girl, right? Strong, too, if her match with Neji was any indication. He grinned, not knowing the effects it had on the poor girl. Hinata took several steps back as Naruto stood. "Sin-Since you're fi-fine, I will le-leave yo-you now," she muttered, averting her eyes to the side. "I wish you lu-luck in the Chu-chuunin Exam." She turned to go, but her wrist was grabbed. Hinata gasped, feeling her stomach flop within her. "Physical contact…!" she thought as the bag fell to the ground.
Without warning, he took her in his arms in a strong embrace. Hinata saw rainbows, puppies, roses, sparkles, and bubbles as the warmest feeling she had ever experienced overwhelmed her. And then the beautiful sight was over because she fainted. Naruto blinked, feeling the girl in his arms go limp. "Eh…? Hinata?" He shook her a bit. Finally, a groan reached his ears. The Hyuga was no longer limp.
"Sorry, Naruto-kun…" she said. "Why exactly did you hug me?"
"Oh, it's for training. The old man that's teaching me said I needed to," Naruto answered. He chuckled a bit. "He said hug a pretty girl. Weird, huh?"
"Hahaha… yeah," she replied, chuckling nervously.
"Anyway, sorry about the fruit," Naruto said. He then proceeded to pick up each piece of fruit and place them back in the bag. "Here you go!"
"Thank you, Naruto-kun."
"No problem!" He turned and waved. Seemingly about to depart, it was surprising that he suddenly halted. Naruto faced the Hyuga again, brow furrowing in thought. "Hey… about your match against Neji…"
"Yes…?"
"You… You said you were trained by the best," Naruto stated. She flinched, eyes widening a bit. "I remember that-that my teammate used to say it a lot. Well, Sakura-chan used to say it a lot. She doesn't anymore. I wondered where you heard it."
"That's…" She looked away for a few seconds. "Before… Before her accident, I was friends with Sakura-san. I must have… picked it up from her."
"You were friends…? I didn't notice," Naruto commented.
"Ah… We were not exactly close friends," she replied. "Not like with Ino-san. I-I doubt Sakura-san would acknowledge my presence now. It's fine. I accept that."
"Oh… I'm sorry she forgot you, Hinata," he said. Then his blue eyes looked downward. "She forgot a lot of things after that mission." He frowned for a moment, unaware that the kunoichi in front of him grimaced. Sighing lightly, he lifted his gaze and put on a grin. "Anyway, I'll see you around! Cheer for me at the Chuunin Exam, okay? I'm gonna beat your cousin really bad!"
"I look forward to your match, Naruto-kun," she said. His grin widened before he took off down the street, making sure to give a backwards wave. The girl waved goodbye in return. She didn't put her hand down until he was out of sight. "Jeez, Hinata, did you really have to faint at that moment?!" Scoffing, Mayu waved a hand at her face. It had gotten hot thanks to her former, unknowing, teammate. "Just so you know… your confidence training will be doubled now."
Ma-Mayu-san, no…
"Too bad! Shouldn't have fainted!"
0-0
"HOT…!" Mayu's muffled voice shouted. Hinata sighed once again. This was the eighth time her strange twin had voiced her complaints. It had been her idea to dress in this… getup in the first place. Still, here she was, complaining about it. While Hinata wore a simple blue shirt and dark pants, Mayu, in order not to be questioned, wore a long-sleeved jacket with the hood up—the drawstrings were pulled tight, which covered her hair and half of her forehead—gloves, round sunglasses, loose pants, boots, and to top it all off, a surgical mask. Hinata shook her head. She had wanted to watch the matches with her 'own' eyes, and so she came up with this ridiculous outfit.
"Mayu-san, are you sure this is what you want?" Hinata asked.
"Yes," the girl replied. "It's super hot, but I'll endure it for the chance to see the fights up close and personal!" Mayu did not notice the slight eye roll from her counterpart. If she did, she would have been proud. However, her thoughts were focused on Gaara. "I can't wait to see him again! I wonder if he remembers that we created a friendship." Suddenly, there were multiple puffs of smoke that went off in the sky, signaling the start of the exam. "It's about to start! We'd better hurry!" The two girls began to run in the direction of the stadium.
When they reached the large structure, they had a hard time finding seats. However, they finally did, and the seats were right behind two familiar faces—Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. Because of Mayu, they were noticed right away. They both greeted Hinata. However, they looked at Mayu wariness written on their faces. "Ah, this is Mayu-san. She is my friend," Hinata introduced her. "Mayu-san, this is Ino-san and Sakura-san—my former classmates."
"Sup?" Mayu greeted.
"Hello…" Sakura uneasily returned the greeting.
"Hm…" Ino narrowed her eyes. "You're not a ninja, are you?"
"No," was the reply.
"Great, another Shino," Ino muttered, turning back around.
Mayu heard the huff but chose not to respond. After all, there were things much more important than arguing. "Gaara-kun's down there!" Her eyes were focused on the red head alone, never mind the other eight participants. "Wait, eight…? Where's Sasuke?" Is he seriously going to be late? The last minute training from Kakashi should not take so long, right? Especially since Sasuke had gotten through her defenses in the training exercise. She could not believe his progress. Yesterday, he managed to touch Hinata no problem. It had only taken him a few minutes. He had gotten extremely fast. Without instinct, the Uchiha would have finished the exercise in under a minute. "Still, he was probably only using a fraction of what he could against me." Mayu smiled behind her mask. "Don't you worry, Sasuke. I'll still get stronger."
This level—it'd better increase if we're going to fight each other. Got it?
The girl almost scoffed as she remembered. Arrogant as usual. Sasuke would never change. Mayu crossed her arms, listening to the Hokage give the introduction speech. As he finished up, she overheard Sakura worrying about her teammate. Ino tried to console her. Back on the field, most of the participants were gone, leaving only Naruto and Neji. "They are about to begin," Hinata stated. She clasped her hands together and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Hey, Sakura… I understand that you're worried about Sasuke-kun," Ino mentioned. "Buy why don't you cheer Naruto on a bit?"
"Oh, right!"
"Then again, he has no chance since he's up against Neji," the blond kunoichi continued.
"You're wrong!" Hinata protested to the surprise of Ino and Sakura. The two shifted in their seats, staring back at the Hyuga. "Na-Naruto-kun has more than a chance… He will win! I know he will!" For a moment, the two only stared. Then Ino grinned cheekily.
"My, my, Hinata—didn't know you had so much faith in the idiot," she said. "Could you-" Hinata, blushing wildly, stammered out a change in topic. The match is starting, she nearly screamed. Ino only giggled as if she knew something.
"Tehe, I think I might like you, Ino," Mayu commented. Her eyes went back to the field. "Kick his fate loving butt, Naruto!" Despite being muffled, she cheered loudly for her former teammate. The blond ninja held out his fist.
"Even though Hinata doesn't need it… I will avenge her loss to you!" Naruto shouted, shocking the little group. Ino and Mayu then giggled manically, peering at Hinata with knowing gleams in their eyes.
"This… isn't good," Hinata thought, sinking down in her seat. Still, Naruto's proclamation made her heart swell. He was thinking of her. That was the best thing ever. That gave her the motivation to cheer for him aloud. Ignoring Ino and Mayu for now, she opened her mouth. "DO YOUR BEST, NA-NARUTO-KUN!" Her cheeks stained red as she settled back down. She decided to neglect the stunned faces she received.
"The training really did work!" Mayu thought, grinning. "Continue to grow stronger, Hinata-chan."
0-0