Chapter 13.
The week passed by quickly for Hinata. That little meeting with Kakashi and Sakura had boosted her determination and she was all fired up for action. Since then she'd met with Shikamaru and others, to discuss their plans for the upcoming year. Their resistance had grown more competent over the last year from a band of ex-classmates to a full-fledged movement with a number of powerful clans as their core members. They didn't have any sign to identify themselves; no fancy capes like those of the Akatsuki, no oath or initiation ceremonies – just a common goal and a simple hierarchy. Shikamaru was a good leader and a great strategist, so nobody doubted his decisions. He told them during the last meeting that he was planning something big, just to warn everyone and make sure they would be available to carry it out when the day comes. Everyone was officially dismissed until the New Year, so Hinata waited with anticipation.
Until that day, she could only train, and train she did. She worked harder than ever for the last few months. Kakashi sure was a great help in keeping her in shape. Seeing him train diligently every day for hours on end pushed Hinata to work harder on herself. And it wasn't only her who was affected by the silver-haired man's influence – Hanabi was making great progress too. The sight of her sister bragging about every new thing she learned under her husband's tutelage has never failed to make Hinata smile. Hanabi truly was improving by leaps and bounds since meeting Kakashi.
Motivated by her thoughts, Hinata went ahead to secure the training grounds. It was Friday, unlikely that training grounds would be busy, but she decided to go there early just in case.
It was a nice afternoon, even with all the residual snow it was warm outside. Having secured training space, Hinata awaited her companions. Kakashi and Hanabi would be coming anytime now. Apparently, her sister's progress was so impressive, that Father agreed to release her early on this Friday. True enough, Hinata saw a pair of them appear from around the corner. As usual, they seemed to be busy with annoying each other. Once they noticed her, Hanabi customarily went to hug her in greeting.
"It's time we start our training, Hanabi-chan," Kakashi said as soon as they were done with pleasantries, which, considering the two sisters, often tended to drag longer than necessary.
He summoned his ninken, eliciting another wave of cheerful greetings, with dogs saluting the girls this time. Kakashi sighed, resigned to wait until all eight of them got their pats and belly rubs.
"Now," Kakashi started again, sending a glare at his canine companions for their delay, "now we can begin."
He proceeded to explain the purpose of their training: Hanabi will be leading a team to carry out a simple task – defending the objective against the enemy. In her case her team was just three of Kakashi's clones, while the enemy would be played by the ninken.
"What of the objective?" Hanabi asked.
In response, Kakashi dug into his pouch, fishing a small worn out book. He tossed the book to the girl.
"You'll be protecting crucial intel," he said nonchalantly. "Keep it on you, hide it – the choice is yours."
"Are you serious?" young Hyuga asked looking at the book's familiar orange cover with disdain.
"Come on," the masked man nudged, "this book will win you the war. You should protect it with all you've got. Try to hold out for as long as possible."
With those words he summoned the clones. "Your team will consist of two genin and one chunin level shinobi," he said, handing each clone a colored headband with their designated ninja rank written on it. "Call them by their code names, which are the color of their headband."
"Got it," Hanabi replied, excited to lead a team of her own. Back home she was never given a practical task like that. It was always the boring stuff in her clan.
"Oh, one more thing," Kakashi called out. "The color of their headband also determines their abilities. Blue here," he gestured towards his "chunin" clone with a blue headband, "he is the most proficient at hand-to-hand combat, and knows several ninjutsu of water nature; Red can use fire techniques and Brown can do earth," he smiled. "You have twenty minutes to set up your base of operation and formulate all necessary plans. Any questions?"
Hanabi smirked, looking at her 'team'.
"I gotta admit, this is a pretty cool idea."
With those words, she signaled her team to move out.
"By the way, guys," she said to her teammates while they were going away, "what kind of jutsu can you perform?"
Once they left, Kakashi turned to his ninken. "Twenty minutes," he repeated, instructing them to do whatever it took to get the book.
"You know, Hanabi is right, your idea is amazing," Hinata told him, after the ninken left.
There was this weird gleam in her eyes again. Kakashi had trouble trying to decipher that particular expression of hers. Merry, but not quite happy; playful, but not really teasing. Till this day the nature of that look was an enigma to the masked jounin.
"Thanks," he made sure to reply. "The beauty of clones is that all their experiences are transferred back to the original when they disappear."
"So you'll be able to evaluate Hanabi's performance," his wife said.
Kakashi smiled.
"Exactly."
With no further talk, the two began training of their own. As per usual, Kakashi went directly to his new jutsu after his regular routine.
"Aren't you going to train something else," Hinata asked. "You've been doing your Purple Lightning for a whole week."
Sometimes Kakashi even had Yamato over to help with training. Together with the Wood Style expert they figured out the seal-breaking part of Kakashi's jutsu. Alas, the lightning part still escaped the Jounin Commander somewhat. Today Kakashi hoped to remedy that, and after he is done he would of course move on to other things.
"I will," he responded, concentrating. "I just feel like I'm going to make it by the end of the week. I'm so close…" he trailed off, absorbed with his jutsu.
Shrugging, she went to her own practice. An hour and a half of rigorous workout later, she decided to practice a jutsu of her own.
'Gentle Fist is a technique that demands perfection,' Hinata recalled her father's teachings, 'as is anything done by a Hyuga.' Never did Hinata take those words seriously until recently.
Despite her achieving a satisfactory level with the family technique, there was a special jutsu that she hadn't fully mastered yet. The Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists was a secret technique taught only to the main branch of the Hyuga clan. It greatly increases the user's range and the technique itself possesses considerable destructive power. Additionally, it drains the chakra network of the enemy upon each attack – a perfect jutsu for a prolonged fight.
Taking a deep breath, Hinata activated her Byakugan. Concentrating, she began to expel chakra from her hands until it became physically visible. Gradually, the chakra on each hand took a form of a lion's head. Hands ablaze with chakra, she launched forward and hit the nearest dummy, obliterating it on the spot. Satisfied with the result, she proceeded further, throwing punches, kicking and practicing defensive moves, until she could continue no more. The purpose of such an activity was to get comfortable with the technique, so that it feels like second nature in real battle.
'Barely twenty minutes,' she noted once she started to feel the strain of chakra depletion on her body, displeased. She could maintain the technique for twenty minutes without any chakra absorption from the enemy. Normally, when fighting an opponent, she could keep up the jutsu, as it stole their chakra every time she attacked, no matter if they blocked the punch or not. 'But what if they just dodge?' she told herself, remembering her fight with Pain. The Akatsuki leader had been evading her attacks until she wasted all her powers. This was not enough, she concluded. If she wanted to keep up with the enemy, she still had a long way to go.
Panting from exhaustion, she took a break. No point in trying to perform that jutsu now, it would only result in failure from that point. Instead, she perched down on a lone stump nearby. With her Byakugan still on, she took her time observing Kakashi. If she had nothing better to do, then she would make sure to help her husband in his training, at least.
He was still doing his jutsu, if his stance and gradual increase in chakra release from his body were any indication. It was also apparent that he witnessed her technique, for he was looking at her with something akin to amazement.
"That was a very impressive jutsu," she heard him say, which made her a little too proud of herself.
Despite getting flustered, she also always felt strangely warm from his honest compliments. Even the simplest, flattest statements sounded most pleasing when coming from his person. Perhaps it was because he was so stingy on them, but it always made her smile abashedly when he praised her.
"Thanks," she said. "I'm far from mastering it, though."
"How come? It looked pretty complete to me," he retorted, concentrating on his own jutsu.
Hinata smiled, rueful. The smile became warmer when she saw the chakra emanating from Kakashi's hands turn purple. He was really doing it. After only a week he was already at the final stages of his invention of a new technique!
"Even though I can perform it without much struggle, it is hard for me to maintain it for long," she sighed, answering to Kakashi's previous question. "What's the point of a powerful jutsu if you can't even use it in a fight?"
"That's it?" she heard his strained laugh amidst the hum of electricity his chakra took form of. Evidently, the jutsu seemed to take a lot from his concentration at this stage.
"What do you mean 'That's it?'. I'm not joking, Kakashi," she said, indignation in her tone giving way to awe at his impressive display. The lightning was such a vibrant shade of purple.
"Well," he wheezed out, suddenly stopping his jutsu to join her in her break, "in that case, all you have to do is practice, isn't it?"
Hinata chuckled. As always, he was right. Really, how silly of her to get worked up over something so simple.
Kakashi looked as tired as her, if not more. She had to remember that he also maintained his clones while doing his training. As a result, he was sweating buckets and panting heavily as if after completing one of Gai's challenges. It was no surprise that he looked ready to collapse.
"Here," she told him, handing him a bottle of water. He gratefully took it, taking a large gulp and plopping himself beside her on the grass.
"That jutsu," he started out of nowhere, "can you use it as a ranged attack?"
"You mean can I send the lions flying at the enemy?" she replied. "I don't know. They never told me that it can be used in that way, and I guess I never tried." She then looked at her husband's thoughtful expression, "Don't tell me you want to test it out!" His smirk was enough of an answer. "Not everyone is a genius to modify jutsu on a whim, Kakashi."
"You don't need to be a genius to modify a jutsu, or even to create one," he argued. "All you need is a method and some work."
"Yeah, but don't forget that some for you means a lifetime for an average person," she grumbled. 'Like me,' was left unsaid.
Kakashi then looked at her, a stern expression on his face appeared so suddenly, it almost made her jump from surprise. "Why do you always put yourself down so?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "Hinata, you are very capable and most definitely not average," he said with utmost conviction. The smile he gave her was just as assured.
She wanted to argue, wanted to tell him that he was wrong. How could she be strong, she wanted to say, if she was so obviously weak. She couldn't protect Naruto when Pain had almost killed him, not even being able to land a single hit! She couldn't fight Hanabi, couldn't fight and win, so that her sister won't have to bear the weight of being a clan heiress. She wanted to say it all, but at the same time she didn't want him to see just how pathetic she was. Although that seemed hardly necessary, as with a single look at his eyes and she had a feeling he understood. She didn't need to tell him anything, because somehow, he knew what she was thinking of. Hinata felt tears prickle her eyes. Happiness and relief mixed with sorrow and disappointment, she didn't know whether to believe her husband's encouragements or not.
"Believe in yourself," she heard him say, as if he was reading her thoughts.
She couldn't hold it any longer and the tears finally started to come down.
Kakashi stood awkwardly beside his crying wife. It was no breakdown, just a few tears of release. Even so, it felt like he was supposed to do something. He raked his brain, trying to remember how Minato-sensei used to comfort Kushina-sama when she felt sad. He knew what he had to do, but he couldn't move himself to do it. Willing his arm to move, he put what he hoped was a comforting hand on the woman's back. He could barely open his mouth to say anything, when he felt her arms circle him, her body pressed tightly against his in a hug. A moment later, and it was over. The action was so fast that he couldn't even respond.
"Thank you," he heard her say, a warm smile on her face. It looked like all the recently pent up stress had finally made itself known and she released it in a short moment of weakness. Kakashi suspected that whatever troubled his wife was still there, and she just managed to reign it in for the time being.
She sniffled, rubbing away the tears, calming down completely it seemed. Deciding to help, Kakashi splashed her face unceremoniously with leftover water from his bottle. She looked aghast for a second, but soon burst into giggles.
"You are hopeless," she told him, using the opportunity to wash her face.
"So I have been told," was his nonchalant reply. "By the way, would you like to spar? Test out your jutsu?"
"What," Hinata smirked, "want to copy it? But yeah, sure."
Apparently, her joke was taken seriously by Kakashi. Nothing surprising, she thought, considering what robot she was speaking to.
"I couldn't copy it even if I wanted. I no longer have the Sharingan, and without it I cannot copy a jutsu as easily as before," he explained. "Besides, even if I had it, it would've been extremely difficult for me, as I am guessing it requires the Byakugan to successfully perform."
Hinata sighed dramatically, with mock relief. The fact that he said 'extremely difficult' and not 'impossible' already telling her a lot about Kakashi's mindset.
"Good for me that you are always right," she teased playfully. "Wait, does that mean you can copy a jutsu even without the Sharingan?"
"Of course," he scoffed. "Anyone can learn a jutsu, it's only a matter of time. True, I was called Copy Ninja because I could copy other's techniques right on the spot on the battlefield. The Sharingan was what allowed me to do it, but my natural talent in ninjutsu was what made it so easy. Otherwise, any Uchiha could've copied a thousand jutsu if it was simply due to the presence of the Sharingan. What?" he asked, noticing the look she was giving him.
"I was just simply thinking if it is your roundabout way of bragging," she deadpanned.
"I am merely stating the facts."
"Bragging," she singsonged. "Don't worry, with me you can as much as you want."
This time it was Kakashi's turn to release a dramatic sigh. "Why don't we return to our training," he started to say, before a surge of memories from another place but same time flooded his mind. His eyes widened in amused surprise, and Hinata could even see a glimmer of pride in them.
"What happened," she asked, puzzled.
"Hanabi and guys are finished," he replied, turning around just in time to meet the sight of said girl walking towards them in the company of his trusted ninken.
"Oh," was all Hinata said, looking at Hanabi's battered form and noting the absence of any clones.
"You know, right? Boss?" she heard one of them, Pakkun, say to Kakashi. He only nodded in response.
"So, how was your exercise?" Hinata asked. She could already tell by the expression on Hanabi's face that it didn't go as well as her sister would've liked. However, Kakashi seemed pleased with whatever happened, so she had no reason to worry. What his clones saw there seemed to impress the Copy Nin.
"I lost," was all she said, before feebly prostrating on the ground.
Kakashi followed suit and sat beside the dispirited girl. "Just like her sister," Hinata heard him mutter, before he turned to Hanabi. "You did well. You shouldn't feel bad about your failure," he told her. "There was practically no way for you to win, anyway. That's why I told you to hold out for as long as possible."
"You telling me I should just accept it?" she muttered, looking at the ground irritatedly, fiddling with a few blades of grass.
"Yes." He put a hand on her head. "Acceptance is the only logical choice when something has already happened. No matter how much you wish it didn't, it will never change, so the only thing left to do is to accept," he smiled. It took Kakashi many years to realize that particular wisdom, and he hoped to help Hanabi avoid making the same mistake. "What you do after is what matters the most. You can give up," he ruffled the dark locks, "or you can draw conclusions and learn from your failure."
Seemingly annoyed by his action, Hanabi slapped Kakashi's hand away, but the action lacked any malice. Hinata smiled at the exchange. Despite acting tough, her sister craved approval from her elders and mostly from herself in the first place. Kakashi's praise was like a balm on her little sister's confidence, and Hinata knew the girl liked it. Besides, she thought, she managed to hold for more than one and a half hour.
"Acceptance and giving up is not the same," Kakashi continued. "So why don't you try again?"
Hanabi just nodded, taking the lesson to heart.
"What did I do wrong, then?" she said.
"That's better," Kakashi smiled, before taking a serious expression. "For starters, tell me what you think you did wrong?"
"Why would I ask you if I–" Hanabi was about to argue, but one stern look from Hinata prevented any further attempts at sass. "I think," she thoughtfully started instead, "I could've maybe hidden our scent? Or maybe instead of facing them head on I should've tried to run and avoid confrontation…" She then looked expectantly at Kakashi.
"Well, hiding your scent could be a viable idea, but that alone wouldn't yield result."
"I know," the girl cut off, "that's what I thought. Your ninken are very good, and obviously such a cheap trick wouldn't work in that situation!"
Said ninken puffed up their chests, taking the compliment in stride.
"Even so," Kakashi pressed on, "hiding one's scent is a basic surviving skill. No matter how dirty or uncomfortable, you must hide your scent when being pursued by enemy. Especially when you have twenty minutes of a head start."
The girl hung her head in a shameful expression.
"As for your second idea," Kakashi smiled. "It is definitely what you should've done." He then went to explain, "There were four of you and eight of them, so it was already a numerical disadvantage. In a situation where you have to protect something, avoiding confrontation is generally preferable. Moreover, your team consisted of a chunin and three genins including yourself, which is already less powerful than your average pursuit squad, that usually consists of at least jounin rank shinobi. Even assuming your enemy is the same strength as you, that still makes 8 against 4. No matter how you look at it, the odds are not in your favor."
"I see… So, do you think we should've split? Or is it better to run as a single unit in that situation?" Hanabi asked curiously, past disappointment already forgotten in face of learning.
"You tell me. Your enemy was quite close, there is more of them than there are you, and we've already established that chances of them being more skilled than you are high. What do you think?"
Young Hyuga looked thoughtfully at the ground for a moment, before lifting her gaze up towards him in realization.
"It's better to stick together," she said with confidence. "Chances are grim as it is, but at least this way we will be together."
Hinata smiled at her sister's answer. Kakashi seemed pleased with it too.
"Correct," he said, once again ruffling her hair. "You made a decision to hold a place, and your defenses should try to minimize your enemy's numerical advantage," Kakashi explained. "If you decided to run instead of holding, then you could've potentially looked at splitting up. But even that is debatable."
"I see," Hinata nodded, voicing Hanabi's understanding as well.
"You'd be surprised what kind of psychological power facing adversity together can have," he smiled, looking at the horizon. He remembered all the times he and Gai took on enemies stronger than themselves and came out on top. "More towards the practical aspect; you have four people with unique skills in your team. Would it be smart to lose that advantage by splitting up?"
"But even if I did as you say," Hanabi retorted, "we would still lose."
"Most likely," he agreed. "But you would certainly have higher chances of winning. Battle, like war itself, is a game of odds and probabilities. All variables considered, anyone would choose a way that has the highest chances of leading to a desired outcome, even if it is higher by only a fraction. You simply gain as much advantage as you can. Hiding your scent, not wasting even a second when running, setting up quick traps, choosing an appropriate formation"–Kakashi ticked the options off on his fingers–"all of that results in an advantage. Advantages accumulate, giving you an edge. Shift the balance between victory and defeat, use every opportunity. The more opportunities you use, the more will be created."
Hinata marveled at the sight before her. Here was her brash sister, hanging on Kakashi's every word. Not like there was nothing to listen to. Hinata herself felt like gaining much insight on tactics.
"Anyway," Kakashi continued, "these are just basic guidelines, but by applying them you will be able to turn the tide of the battle and save lives."
"Each enemy eliminated by me, even at the cost of my life, means one less enemy to deal with for my comrades," Hanabi muttered.
It was grim, but it was the truth. Nobody present argued that fact. Shinobi were soldiers, and unfortunately that meant that they could die in conflict.
"Alright," Hinata interrupted their study session turning into darker topics. "Let's take a break to eat, you can talk about battle strategy during the meal." Once everyone agreed, she playfully added, "And after we finish eating, our Kakashi-sensei will show us his progress with his new jutsu."
"Really?!" Hanabi exclaimed excitedly, before quickly putting an air of indifference. "I mean, I don't mind checking it out. It's Gray-hair's new technique, right?"
"I wouldn't raise your hopes up just yet," said silver haired man replied. "It's not complete."
"You say it's not complete, but I have the Byakugan," Hinata smiled, pointing at her eyes. "I saw the chakra flow in your body, it was perfect. If I hadn't interrupted, you'd probably done it already. You can do it," she reassured.
After their encouragement, Kakashi felt obliged to at least show them what he'd managed to develop so far. He knew the jutsu wasn't 100% complete. There were many nuances that can only be achieved with practice, such as increasing its destructive power or honing more precise control over it. However, Kakashi was confident he could perform it at the most basic level, which essentially was just a ball of purple lightning, not dissimilar to his Raikiri in the way it worked.
Quickly disposing of their meal, they went to see Kakashi's new jutsu. He readied himself, taking a deep breath and beginning to concentrate. A few dozen hand seals later, purple lightning coated his palm. All his lightning jutsu sounded differently, he instantly noted. The fizzle of his Shiden was completely different from Raikiri, and it was nothing like the chirping sound of the Chidori.
Hinata observed both her husband and her sister with interest. While Kakashi was running towards a large rock with his jutsu ready, Hanabi watched with anticipation. It soon turned into astonishment as Kakashi smashed the rock, completely shattering it. When it came to displays, nothing was flashier than Lightning techniques.
"Wow," she caught Hanabi mutter.
Hinata smirked, watching Kakashi play around with the jutsu, destroying few more trees until he was finally satisfied. She could see from the expression in his eyes that ninjutsu was something that brought joy to him. Even after so many years of being a ninja and copying countless jutsu, he still seemed to feel almost childish excitement when performing a new technique.
"So, how is it?" he asked, coming up to them a little out of breath.
"Awesome!" Hanabi exclaimed before anyone could say anything. "How did you make it purple? It looks so pretty!" That last remark made Hinata giggle and Kakashi's eye twitch. Hanabi, however, kept barraging him with questions.
"If you think that was cool, you should see it when I'll perfect it," Kakashi smirked, for once feeling like showing off. Not everyday you get to impress the brat.
"Bragging," he heard Hinata say, poorly disguised as a cough.
"Can you teach it to me, then?" Hanabi asked, her expression uncharacteristically shy. "When you perfect it, I mean."
The sight of a timid Hanabi was something unusual for Kakashi. He imagined her to act like this with someone like Kurenai or her father, but not him. Could it be that the girl actually did respect him a little?
"Of course, kid," Kakashi smiled. "Before I'll teach you that you'll have to learn some minor, less difficult lightning jutsus, though. Cannot start from the top right away."
That seemed to thrill the younger Hyuga. The girl was practically bouncing from excitement at the prospect of learning cool techniques.
"By the way, do you have Lightning release nature?"
"Huh?" Hanabi stopped, looking at him confusedly.
'Oh, yeah,' Hinata thought, 'she never determined her affinity…'
"Lightning release is a form of chakra nature manipulation, I am sure you know," Kakashi started to explain. "What you might not know, which I suspect is due to the way Hyuga teach their children, is that every shinobi has affinity to at least one form of nature transformation. That's why I asked you if you had Lighning release."
"So, how do I check what nature transformation I have?" was Hanabi's immediate question. "And what if I have no affinity to lightning?" she frowned.
"Affinity just determines your predisposition to jutsu of a particular nature transformation. You can still learn jutsu of other natures even if you have no affinity for them, so don't worry," Kakashi reassured. "As for your first question… I don't have it with me, but as soon as we get home, we can do the test with special paper called Chakra Induction Paper."
"I find Lightning and Fire nature transformations the easiest," Hinata chimed in, "so there is a good chance you'll have the same."
"Lightning is the future of Konoha ninjutsu," Kakashi made an offhand comment. Naturally, knowing the mysterious ways in which the man's mind worked, no one thought of disputing that claim. Even though Fire had always been the staple of Konoha shinobi. Of course, it could be just his way of extoling his favorite nature release.
Excited by their words, Hanabi rushed them home to learn her affinity.
"Oh, by the way," she said, addressing Kakashi, "I guess your affinity would be Lightning." A nod of confirmation from the man, but the expression on her face was still curious. "I know that there are five elemental release natures, so… Which ones can you do?" She remembered Kakashi's clones using Water, Fire and Earth, so she had an idea that she just wanted to confirm.
"All of them," was the nonchalant reply. "Although I am most proficient in Lightning, Fire, Earth and Water."
"That is basically all of them, you dunce," Hanabi deadpanned.
"What about Yin and Yang?" asked Hinata.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about those two," added the younger Hyuga, remembering learning about them with her tutors. A look of disbelief crossed her face, "Don't tell me you can perform them too."
The man in question just gave the two a not-so-mysterious smile, before taking out his beloved book.
"Seriously!?"
"Well, of course he does," even Hinata felt like sighing. Like there was any doubt. Even so, she felt pride swell up in her chest.
Despite looking like he was engrossed in Icha Icha, Kakashi observed his companions with a careful eye. There, Hinata had that weird look again. It was in a complete disagreement with her words, so he was at a loss. One of these days, he vowed he'll figure it out.