C's Scouting Report: The basic idea behind the story
"Is that woman really that lazy? I mean, she more or less explained her basic idea and reasons for it along the way in the early chapters, when she actually was writing down some notes. And now do I get to explain them in detail again? Unbelieveable...
Alright, fine, let's see what I can tell you here, considering that this is a particular complex topic. The absolute foundation on her idea was a simple fact: Hanabi Hyuga had gotten way too less screen time in the anime (at least up to the point she watched it - somewhere in the middle of the war). I might mention that Hanabi and Kin Tsuchi are the two characters that somehow catched her eyes the most along the way.
That led to another problem however: Hanabi is way too young to do much with her. So it's either starting late in the timeline when she got a decent age (and with that skipping on lots and lots of events that might be intresting to put her in) -or- to simple make her older and integrate her from the very beginning into the universe. And so far is this way working out, somehow.
After the character and the starting point for the story were set was the question left what kind of things this story should cover. That she is going to walk along the original timeline is no secret at all, meaning events like becoming genin, wave arc, chunin exams, etc. are most likely to be covered. Does depend on how long she is going to write on this story of course. Though the plan right now is at least another 9 months, so plenty of time to cover plenty of things.
But what to write to not simply tell the same story as the original with a simple addition of Hanabi? Well, she got inspired on the topic, somehow. I mean... I don't really see how she made THAT connection, but... her favorite Naruto fanfiction is "NBH" by "Chilord" here on the site. It's about Naruto taking Kin Tsuchi as a slave, flatly said, after the author changed one simply thing: Naruto and Shikamaru switched opponents in the chunin pre-eleminaries. Well written story, great ideas, recommendable. Give it a try, it's worth it.
So, her math kinda went this way: Hanabi Hyuga + taking on slaves = Hinata Hyuga
Totally crazy... I'm sure she spent way too much time on adult fanfiction as well. And has own unfulfilled desires, but who knows. But, yeah... that basicly wraps it up, how she got to writing this specific story. Though most following ideas were created along the way. She only has an unfinished plan covering some key events from the original and that's it. Everything else is just trying around things and see how they work out.
Scary that she got that far that way..."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A Tale of two Sisters - Chapter 15: Who needs Chapter Titles anyway?
"Hey, are you okay?" a voice questioned but wasn't really registered by the boy who was talked to. Naruto sat at his desk in the Academy classroom. He got there as very first person this morning, something that was totally not like him, and he was sitting there for over an hour already, meaning he appeared early in the morning, maybe even still at night. He wasn't really able to sleep the last two nights, his mind still on the birthday party and his encounter with C.
"Want to talk?" the voice questioned again, still not really realized by Naruto. However, he did kinda realize when a figure sat down in front of him on the other side of the desk. Looking up did he see the worried face of Ino looking back at him. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to figure if there was really Ino in front of him or if his mind was playing tricks.
Coming to the conclusion that Ino indeed was sitting in front of him was he finally answering her. "Oh, hi Ino-chan. When did you get here?"
"A good five minutes ago. I was calling out to you a few times, you know? It's so not like you to be the first in class, so... want to talk about it? The girls told me what happened and we are alone right now, being early. If you need to talk, go ahead." she gave him a reassuring smile, trying to comfort him in some way. She saw how the girls broke down while they were talking about the events and considering how Naruto reacted on that man...
He thought about it for a moment before letting his shoulders hang. "I just don't understand it... They kidnapped us, they wanted to sell us, and now is one of them here in the village and everyone seems to be okay with it. That can't be right, can it? Spooky was out there when I attacked him, doing nothing at all. He who was fighting against that man to rescue us. And the girls... I don't know... their reaction was strange as well. They recognized him, but... that's it. How can they stay so calm about that?"
Tilting her head was Ino watching the defeated form of Naruto. She never saw him that lifeless, that empty of motivation and energy. That wasn't the Naruto she knew. "You see, they said that he isn't a bad person. That it were just the wrong people giving him orders. So if he is here now and accepted by our Hokage, don't you think that he is an addition to our village if the girls are right? Aren't you trusting Hinata-chan and her judgement?"
"I do I guess. I mean, I like her and all, but she can be scary at times. Though she is always honest and that's important. But still... he tried to get us sold. Said something about me being strong once I stopped but I wasn't able to get through his defense... the whole situation is frustrating, you know?" he sighed and let his head drop on the table.
Ino rolled her eyes at that statement. "Really now, Naruto? You are what, nine years old? Did you really expect to beat a man with more than twice your experience? He complimented you, that's something, right? I thought you never give up, so don't do it. Keep on training and get stronger, like you and the girls planned to do."
"But... I... he..." Naruto sighed. "It's not fair. I got chased around the village way too often because I'm hated for no reason at all and he? He is a criminal that everybody is accepting here? That's totally not fair!"
"Look at me, Naruto." Ino demanded, smiling when he looked up from the table. "I'll tell you this once and once only, so listen good. You just need to keep on moving and prooving everyone that they are wrong with hating you. I had the girls over at my place yesterday and we... talked. If Hinata-chan is ever going to see you in that state will you most likely regret it. The scary side of her you mentioned? Well, get used to it if you ever slack off."
His eyes went wide and he paled slightly, looking at Ino in disbelief. She in return was grinning at him and lowered her head to be near his ear and started to whisper. "I only told you because we are friends. Everyone else would I simply let walk into their doom and enjoy myself watching the result. So better get back to your usual self before she is here as well."
"You are evil, you know that?" he asked in shock, looking at her in fear.
"Are you surprised?" she shrugged. "They call me the queen of gossip, remember?" she smirked for a moment. "Huh, can't believe I'm going to quote Hanabi-chan now, but... do you really believe that the queen of gossip is a saint?"
He simply shook his head. "Totally, totally evil..." he mumbled to himself.
Training Ground, after Academy
Hanabi sat in front of a flat rock crosslegged. On top of the rock were several different things she dug out of the earth, seperated into different piles containing only one part of it each. Soil, dirt, dust, stones, mud. Intensely staring on the things in front of her was she trying to figure out what to do now. "Can't believe I'm really doing that. It seems so... useless..." she spoke to herself, reaching for every pile after another, feeling how the different things reacted to her hands.
Once she was finished with that was she focusing a small amount of chakra in her hands, trying to figure out how exactly these different things acted in contact with it. What Chouji said on the party made sense to her in some way on that day. But right now was she doubting her own mind for actually trying to work with that idea of him.
She touched the different piles with her chakra induced hand and figured that the feelings were slightly different to before. That the things were reacting slightly different to her touch as well. Maybe that idea wasn't the stupidest at all. She grabbed another hand full of the ground, and inspected it, trying to see how much of each is in the ground she is sitting on. Trying to figure out how she might need to use, channel and shift her chakra to work with the ground here on the training ground. Trying...
Palming her face with her other hand was she screaming out her frustration into the air. "Why is using Earth chakra that complicated? That's even harder than all these chakra control exercises in the book." Dropping the mud she was holding was she getting angry. "You stupid earth! I show you that I don't need chakra to use you. Earth Style: Flying Stone!" she shouted angrily, picking up one of the smaller stones laying on top of the rock, throwing it aimless into a direction.
"See? I don't need Earth chakra. It's totally simple. Why can't I have another element? Stupid, stupid earth. Want to see it again? Earth Style: Flying Stone!" she vented her pent up anger on her training and the ground around her. Picking up another stone was she throwing that one aimless as well, not at all caring about her surroundings.
"I take that as hint that you won't need any help and that I shall leave? Alright, got it. But you should watch where you aim your attacks at." a voice stated calmly, startling her to the core. She looked around confused to figure out who the owner of the voice was.
When she finally spotted the person went her eyes wide. "Spooky!"
Kakashi was leaning on a tree at the side of the training ground, reading in his book as usual. He wasn't even looking at Hanabi, but held the second thrown stone in his raised hand. "I do remember having heard that name before, yes. Though I can't place it..." he said lazily.
Rolling her eyes eyes was she glaring at him after that. "You do realize that you never gave us your name, right? No point in coming out now telling that you don't like the one I gave you."
He raised an eyebrow at her and wanted to reply, when he stopped and thought about it for a moment. "Point taken. You are right about that. Anyway, I know that you are looking for me for some time now. Your sister told me the other day. Something about needing help, I don't know. I was just randomly around here when I heard you and thought I might take a look." he shrugged.
"That's so nice from y..." she was about to thank him when she understood what he actually said. "Wait a moment! You never intended to help me! How can you say you are intrested in our grow and then don't care at all? Stupid adult..." she grumbled, getting a hard to read expression from Kakashi in return.
"I don't need to be here, so better watch what you are saying. I said I would take a look, right? So how about you just show me what it is you are having trouble with and maybe am I able to give you an advice." he spoke calmly, but there was a slight hint of anger in his voice. Or was it disappointment for the disrespect?
"Okay, fine, I'll show you... Because I really need help with it..." she said quietly. Concentrating on her chakra was she slowly going through a set of handsigns Kakashi quickly realized at being familiar to him. Once she was done was she putting her hands on the ground, speaking out "Earth Style: Eathern Wall." and a small wall was raising from the earth, just to start crumble away at a height of around 30 centimeters. "See? No matter what I try or how often I change the amount of chakra it's basicly always that result."
Kakashi was watching carefully and thought about what he saw just now. "Why are you trying to learn Earth Style jutsu? Isn't your clan specialized in taijutsu and never using elemental jutsu at all?" it was the first thing entering his mind.
"Seriously?" she asked while glaring at him, venom clearly in her voice. "Do I need to remember you who I am and in what kind of situation I already was? But I'm sure that you are aware of that because you were the one to rescue us..." her shoulders slumbed down and she sighed. "Our clan's fighting style would have brought me nothing against any of these people, cause none of them ever came close enough..."
Giving her a smile was he answering. "I'm glad that you thought about that. You are right, being specialized in something can give you an advantage, but can quickly let you end on a disadvantage as well. I take it that you already checked your chakra nature?"
She was giving him a look that clearly questioned him about being serious. "Why else would I try to learn Earth Style jutsu? Of course have I checked my nature. And I was trying to figure out something when I got all frustrated..." she pointed towards the rock she was using as a kind of table. "Wanted to find out how the different parts of the ground react to chakra. But that's kinda stupid..."
"Well, you are skipping a few steps, you know? Elemental manipulation and applying it to something is usual the last one. First you need to learn chakra control and basic chakra manipulation before you should even think about elements."
"If you don't want to help me than please just say it right away." she was loosing her patience with him and got angered by the look she got. "What? You are aware which clan I'm from, right? I could easily paralyze your whole body with a simple touch with pure chakra control."
"If you would be able to get close to me that is. I think we had that topic already." she glared at him but kept silent. "Well, all I can say is that you are going in the right direction. You need to understand what you are working with and learn to apply the correct amount of chakra on instinct. Though I would check the intensity of the chakra you are using. I mean, you don't want to pierce the ground and hit the inner parts of it's body, right?" he gave her another smile and waved while he turned around and left the training ground, leaving a dumbstruck Hanabi behind.
She stood there for some minutes, her thoughts racing around his last sentence. She didn't want to pierce through the ground? Of course not. She wanted to use it, to work with it. It took a while for her to understand what he was telling her, but when she did was her first reaction to facepalm herself. "I'm trained to use a high concentration of chakra when fighting with our style to ensure that the opponent will suffer major damages. And that's all I ever did, concentrating my chakra the highest possible way... Hanabi, you are just stupid. You haven't thought about that because you never learned that it's possible to concentrate an amount of chakra with less force..."
Shaking her head at her own stupidity was she walking back to the rock she sat at before and started all over again, figuring how the different parts of the earth reacted to her chakra. This time however trying to not concentrate it too forceful. She knew that she had a long way ahead of her.
A park inside Konoha
Hinata was sitting on a bench, her eyes closed, enjoying the sunlight. It was a bit fresh outside and the wind was a light breeze, but all together was it enjoyable as long as the sun was shining. Once the Academy was over that day did Hanabi tell her to do whatever she wanted because she was going to try out the idea Chouji had and saw no point in Hinata sticking around.
She herself was thinking if she should train as well but decided against it. Her plan was to get something of her mind so that she could focus a bit better on her training once the nagging thoughts were gone. That's why she approached Naruto once the class had finished and asked him to come to this park later to talk about things. After all had they to agree on a course for their relationship, if there was one at all. Just because she had a crush on him and he in return gifted her that beautiful bracelet didn't meant that they were a couple or something. Not til they have spoken about it.
Letting her thoughts go was she focusing on nothing while waiting for Naruto to arrive. Or at least did she exactly that before her mind got pulled back to reality by a bark in her close proximity. Opening her eyes was she looking around, seeing a small white puppy standing in front of her, watching her intrested. "Oh, hello cute one. Long time no see, huh? How you doing, Akamaru?" she asked smiling at the puppy, picking him up and stroking his fur.
Akamaru barked happily and nestled himself in her lap, enjoying the affection. "Are you outside all alone today?" still stroking him did Akamaru not react to that question. "So is Kiba somewhere around as well?" getting a confirming bark on that one was she looking around her, searching for Kiba. She couldn't spot him though.
"You aren't trying to lure him to me, are you? Normally you two are not to be seperated and now are you with me just like that? You are a sly one, plotting something, right?" Akamaru licked her hand and she giggled slightly, preparing herself for her encounter with Kiba that would happen shortly. She had nothing against him and they kinda got along whenever they had to act with each other, but these situations were rare. Knowing that her sister and Kiba didn't get along was she trying to stay away and not get in between them.
It took three minutes, in which Akamaru enjoyed being stroked by Hinata, before Kiba showed up. "There have you run to, partner. You know that you shouldn't leave my side just that. What were you thinking?" he asked his dog, when he realized in which lap he was sitting. "Oh, hey Hinata-chan. Akamaru isn't troubling you, is he?"
Shaking her head did she smile slightly at him. "Not at all. I'm waiting for Naruto-kun and don't mind giving him a bit attention. I wouldn't have done anything til he gets here, so it's okay." she looked him into his eyes, the smile still on her face, when her body flinched slightly, her mind reminding her on the nightmare she had the day before. But it was just a dream, she knew that and ignored these thoughts for now.
"Ah, thanks for having an eye on him. Still, I'm not sure why he ran off in the first place. And to think I would stumble upon you because of that..." he simply shrugged. "Well, since we met by random can I wish you a belated happy birthday now. I..." he trailed off slightly, not sure on what to say as he remembered what he learned on her birthday when he joined the attack on the strange man that Naruto were fighting on the street. He scratched the back of his head.
Tilting her head to the side was Hinata watching him curiously. "Is something the matter, Kiba?"
"I, uhm... you see... well... I don't know." he shook his head, deciding to not mention anything. "Thanks again for watching Akamaru. And if you see your sister... tell her I'm sorry, 'kay?"
"Sure, I will, but... for what?" she asked confused while Kiba picked up his puppy.
"She'll know. Anyway, gotta go." he waved her goodbye and walked away, adressing Akamaru while walking, still close enough for Hinata to hear. "Why did you run away, partner? You know that mom won't be happy about that..."
Hinata couldn't help but giggle at that comment, closing her eyes again to wait for Naruto. She really was curious what Kiba meant with that. He couldn't have meant the whole situation between him and Hanabi, could he?
Another five minutes later got she pulled back to reality by a voice calling out to her. "Hey, Hinata-chan! Sorry I'm late."
Opening her eyes was she smiling. "Hello Naruto-kun. No problem at all. I just enjoyed the sun while I was waiting."
He sat down next to her on the bench, smiling while she laid her head on his shoulder. "So, uhm... you wanted to talk?" scratching the back of his head was he looking around them, figuring if they would be getting looks but was relieved that the villagers were currently paying no attention to them.
She raised her arm, showing him the bracelet he got for her. "I wanted to thank you for your present. There wasn't really time for it on my birthday..." her voice trailed off a bit but she catched herself. "It's really beautiful, I like it a lot."
"Heh, sure thing Hinata-chan. I care about my friends. Beside, it really suits you." there was a cheeky smile on his face.
"Thanks, you don't know how much that means to me. So... uhm... what does this make us now?" she asked curiously, raising her head from his shoulder to look at him. "Are we a couple now?"
Opening his mouth was Naruto about to answer, when he started thinking about it. That was a very good question. What were they? He hadn't thought about that yet and honestly had he no idea what it meant to be a couple.
"I don't know, Hinata-chan, I really don't." he shrugged his shoulders. "I have no knowledge about that topic at all."
Hinata couldn't help but giggle before she laid her head back on his shoulder. "Me neither, Naruto-kun. Guess we need to figure it out along the way, huh?" a small smile entered her face when Naruto laid his arm around her shoulder, holding her close and giving her a confirmation. 'I just hope there won't be any nasty surprised this time. Last time when we were figuring things out along the way...' she thought to herself, remembering all the things she and her sister learned about slaves while time passed.
Academy, some days later
"Alright everyone, please listen. Today will be different from our usual days." Iruka started the first class of the day. "I would like to see how much you all have improved within the few months you are in my class. That's why we will be doing a day of sparring fights that I can see your progress so far. That way can I also try figuring out if I need to focus on specific things for someone or not. Got that? Alright, then please follow me outside."
There were all kind of reactions from within the whole class, ranging from excitement to anger, hate and boredom. Some of them weren't too happy about having to fight their classmates again, others simply looked forward to showing off.
Once they reached the yard of the Academy was Iruka adressing his class again. "Okay, I'll explain how we are going to do it. I know that this is quite early, but you are allowed to use whatever you are able to. You don't have to worry about smaller injuries, we have a lot of medics at hand. However, attacks that could seriously harm the health or even cause death are forbidden. None of you is trained enough to handle such attacks with care or to dodge them. Or to make it simple: techniques with C-rank or above are not to be used. Academy technics and D-ranks are allowed. Got that?"
Getting mainly confirmation did he nod to himself. "Fine. Then let's get started. The first fight will be..." he thought about it for a moment, letting his eyes wander over his students. "Kiba Inuzuka and Hanabi Hyuga." he finished his sentence.
"What?! That isn't fair, Iruka-sensei. Dogboy tried to seriously harm me multiple times because of the last time we had to fight..." Hanabi shouted out, glaring at her teacher before flinching slightly, feeling Kiba watch her viciously.
"And I asked your sister to tell you that I'm sorry." he spat out. "However, that doesn't change anything about the fact that I'm so going to get you back for that. I'll gladly take this chance I just got." he had a feral grin on his face.
"It's just training, Hanabi. And you won't be able to pick your opponents in the future at all. Just accept it and give it your best." Iruka said, smiling at the girl who looked back at him in defiance before slumbing her shoulders.
Both of them walked in the middle of the yard, entering their fighting stances. Akamaru stood next to Kiba, giving a bark to signal his readiness. Hanabi wanted to protest again, when she remembered that this was totally legal. She was grumbling to herself, not wanting to fight Kiba and even less Akamaru.
The moment they got the signal to start was Kiba grinning. "Go get her, partner." he said and Akamaru charged forward, aiming to circle around Hanabi's right side and to attack from there, while Kiba charged head on, the grin still on his face.
Activating her Byakugan was Hanabi quickly thinking and decided to try something out. If that would fail might this fight be over quickly. She started making handsigns which surprised a few of her classmates that learned from their own clans. It was commonly known that Hyuga only fight with their own stlye, not using common jutsu at all. Meaning her handsigns were something out of the ordinary.
Checking her surroundings was she finishing her handsigns and pushed them on the ground, shouting out "Earth Style: Stepping Stones". It was basicly just a miniature variant of the Earth Wall jutsu she was trying to learn, but it might be enough right now. After Kakashi hinted her about the intensity of her chakra did she manage to raise a pretty small wall of only 40 centimeters over the last days, which she jokingly called "Stepping Stones", cause it wasn't more than that anyway. But it wasn't crumbling away, it was solid.
And it was another thing for Kiba and Akamaru: unexpected. She raised the wall in front of Akamaru who hadn't time to react and ran straight into it. It might have been different once he would be fully grown, but as a puppy was there not much he could do. A whimmer was hearable from him and Kiba shifted his run to the right, heading straight to his partner. "Akamaru! Are you okay, boy? Say something!" he shouted out, carefully picking his partner up.
Hanabi had no intention of hurting Akamaru. But on the other side did she knew that she would have trouble fighting Kiba as long as he had his dog at his side, that's why she decided to stop Akamaru first, even risking Kiba going berserk because of that. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, while she watched Kiba comforting his partner.
"Hey, this voice... wasn't that the little one?" a man walking down the street next to the Academy asked another. "What is behind that wall?"
The other man looked up from the book he was reading, checking out the area they currently were before answering. "There is the Academy on the other side of it. Or more precisely their training yard. Sounds like they are having sparring fights running right now."
"Mind if I take a look? If the little one is fighting am I actually intrested in seeing how she's doing." the first man asked.
"Do as you please. But don't complain again if you get in trouble... again. Your decision." the second answered, focusing back on his book.
Smiling to himself was the first man climbing up the wall in a swift motion and sat down on top of it, scanning the yard for a moment and then focused on the two kids currently involved in a fight. He had heard right, the one really was Hanabi Hyuga. And the other one did he knew as well, that short tempered Inuzuka boy that attacked him on sight on the street. He was intrested in how they would be doing.
Iruka's eye twitched when he saw a blonde man climb on top of the wall and sitting down. However, it wasn't forbidden to watch sparring fights of Academy students. It was more like nobody really being intrested in doing so. Though the man could have at least have asked in the first place. But Iruka kept silent about it, after all, it wasn't forbidden.
Carefully putting his dog on the ground in a comfortable position was Kiba focusing back on Hanabi, an evil glare in his eyes. "You know that I won't forgive you for that, right?" he asked in a cold voice. "But you still did that on purpose, knowing quite well that we aren't on good terms in the first place. You... you... you crazy bitch!" he hissed the last part, but it was enough for Hanabi to flinch.
Her left hand shot out to grab her scar unconscious, her eyes focused on Kiba. "Yes, I expected you to react that way, but no, I wasn't intending of hurting him. It's just that I wouldn't stand a chance against you two together in my current state, I'm totally aware of that." she sighed. "You know, life isn't fair. I know that you know about... things..." she struggled to speak about it without mentioning it. "So maybe might you be able to understand. Maybe not. Anyway... That insult was too much." she shot back angrily, both of them suddenly charging at each other.
Even with her Byakugan activated had Hanabi trouble following his movements. Whatever he did the last months it clearly increased his speed. Though if the rumours were true on what his mother did to him had he a very good reason to become faster and also get better at dodging. Channeling chakra in her hands was she trying to hit specific points of Kiba, trying to paralyze him or at least a part of his body, but she had trouble hitting him at all.
Kiba on the other side was aware of Hanabi's eyes and that she was able to see her whole surroundings with it. He remembered quite well his defeat on the first day of the Academy when she simply played with him. That wouldn't be the case this time. Dodging most of her punches was he looking for an opening and he quickly found one. Slapping the arm away that was currently trying to hit him was he also approaching her quickly out of a ducked down position, getting his claw like fingers close to her face.
Realizing that this attack would hit was Hanabi trying to backstep away from Kiba. She wasn't reacting fast enough however and were unable to keep up with his speed, resulting in him at least scratching her across the face. Looking at his smirk angrily was her vision suddenly changing slightly red and she rubbed her eye with her hand to make it better. When she started feeling a pain around her eye as well was she sure that he hit her across it with his claws and there was indeed three fine lines of blood reaching from forehead to cheek, crossing her eye. One second slower with her backstep and he might have seriously injured her sight.
That enraged her totally and she charged back at Kiba, who still had a smirk on his face, confident that now she would make mistakes and go down easily. Now was it his turn to play with her, to simply dodge her attacks, to humilate her. However, Hanabi became a bit faster then before and he had to actually parry her punches from time to time instead of dodging.
When suddenly there was a smirk on her face was Kiba about to ask what might be so funny when he realized that he couldn't move his left hand. She must have landed a hit on his wrist when he was parrying her last attack, making him growl in anger. This wasn't a friendly spar anymore and both were willing to inflict severe injuries to the other.
Most of their classmates were watching in fascination how quick both of them were, not really caring or understanding that both were serious by now. Iruka was pretty relaxed, not seeing something he needed to stop just yet. While they both started fighting serious hadn't he seen any attack so far that would result in injuries not healable by a medic.
Sitting atop the wall was C watching the fight with different feelings. While both were just kids and probably not yet strong enough to seriously harm the other was he experienced enough to tell that both had an expression in their eyes, clearly telling that they were willing to go til the bitter end. These two really hate each other.
Hanabi and Kiba both weren't paying attention to their surroundings anymore, completely focused on delivering punches to each other. Hanabi managed to land the one or other additional hit on Kiba's arm that already was partially paralyzed, immobilizing that one even more. Kiba himself was able to scratch her from time to time with his claws. Her shirt was slightly ripped on her left shoulder, thin lines of blood forming. The same on her stomach. And both of them were showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
"Hey teach!" C shouted out, getting the attention of not just Iruka but some students as well. Hinata's and Ino's eyes went wide when they realized who was sitting atop the wall and shouting. "I would stop them while you are still able to."
Iruka watched back at him, raising an eyebrow. "And who are you to tell me how I need to do my job? Everything is fine with them. There is no need to step in."
"Yeah, right, because you are so much experienced and fought in dozens of battles and know how someone looks like if they want to kill." C shot back, rolling his eyes. "Just look them into their eyes. The little one won't stop til she paralyzed his lung or heart and the boy is planning to rip her to pieces." he saw that Hinata was paling at his words with Iruka still not reacting. "See, I would love to see her dominating that boy, but if you don't stop them will I. It's too early for them to die in battle."
That finally got Iruka to act. He appeared between the two kids in an instant, grabbing the wrists of both of them to stop their current attacks. Once the scene froze was clearly visible that he acted on the last second. Kiba's claw-like fingers were just centimeters away from Hanabi's throat and her hand was close to his heart, some chakra flickering on her fingertips.
"Alright you two, that's enough. You have shown that you two have improved over these months. Now step back and calm down." he said with a stern voice.
Both kids were glaring at each other for a good minute, before they finally turned away from each other, walking in opposite directions of the yard. Kiba went over to Akamaru, picking him up and cuddling him. Hanabi walked to her sister, sat down on the ground while Hinata kneeled next to her, hugging her tight.
"And they let you become a teacher? If you can't even tell when kids are going out of control..." C said calmly, eyeing Iruka carefully.
"Who are you anyway? I never saw you before and would appreciate it if you would just let me do my job." Iruka glared back at him.
"Me? Just a random person who has lots of life experience and is concerned about some kids. Are you going to continue your little sparring fights now or is the show already over?" C stretched lazily, waiting for a reply.
Shrugging his shoulders was Iruka turning back to his class. "I'll report this issue, just that you know." he said before speaking to his students. "Alright, now you saw what emotions can do to you in a battle. Always keep that in mind and try to not let your emotions cloud your judgement. Next fight is Ino Yamanaka versus Shikamaru Nara."
The sisters weren't paying attention to their friends fight. Hanabi was still emotionally upset and Hinata was worrying about her. "Are you okay? He got you a few times real bad... you are bleeding."
Hanabi having calmed down a little was watching down her body, shrugging it off. "Nothing worth mentioning, sis. I... it's just... I can't believe I lost my temper..." she said quietly.
"Don't scare me like that ever again. You two might have killed each other... if it weren't for C who got you two stopped..." Hinata shook her head. "I don't want to think about it... to think about loosing you..."
That got her Hanabi's full attention. "Wait... C? What has C to do with all this?" she asked confused, following her sisters arm with her eyes when she pointing atop the wall. Giving her a wave was C smiling at her before focusing back on the fight that was currently ongoing. "I... didn't notice at all..." she mumbled quietly.
While they both were still talking to each other came Ino over to them, sitting down next to her friends. "Can't believe I lost against that lazy ass... You were right, Hanabi-chan, I need to learn new things as well. Can't rely on our clan techniques every and all times."
"Told ya..." she said quietly, thinking about different things and hoping that C would stick around long enough that she got a chance to talk to him.
The mood wasn't that great at all and they were all in thoughts, when Iruka's voice startled them. "Okay, the next ones will be Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyuga."
"You have to fight forehead? That's an easy one, Hinata-chan." Ino smiled at her friend.
"But..." Hinata started, but got interrupted by her sister.
"Go get her, sis. I don't want to see you loose, or else..." a small smirk crossed Hanabi's face and Hinata nodded in understanding.
"You think you have a chance at winning?" the pink haired girl asked when Hinata reached her. "You are too shy, too weak and friends with this idiot Naruto. There is no way you can beat me." a grin entered her face.
Raising an eyebrow at Sakura was Hinata pondering her words carefully before answering. "You must mistaken me for someone else. I haven't seen someone shy around here for months. And weak, I don't know. Would say I'm a good average for my age. But..." a grin entered her face as well. "You just made a big mistake by insulting Naruto-kun, Pinky."
"Naruto-kun? Are you really into this idiot? I should pity you... Sasuke-kun is the coolest boy!" Sakura exclaimed loudly, charging straight at Hinata.
'Now do I understand what Hanabi meant with Ino and Sakura always arguing about these two.' Hinata thought to herself before activating her Byakugan and getting ready for the incoming attack. She had enough time to check her close surroundings but didn't find a source of water she could use. Not that this would be a problem, she should be able to take Sakura out with her taijutsu only. Just would have been nice to show that she too was learning elemental jutsu.
Sakura aimed a punch straight at Hinata's face which she wanted to block with her own arms, raising them in front of her face. However, the punch never connected because suddenly Sakura vanished out of her sight. Jumping up just in time to avoid the low kick Sakura delivered after dropping to the ground with high speed was Hinata thankful for her eyes that were able to spot her quickly enough.
Sakura cursed and was up again, trying to hit with a follow-up attack while Hinata was still airborne. That movement wasn't too precise however and all she managed was to hit Hinata's shoulder. Landing back on the ground was Hinata loosing her balance for a second, but caught herself right away. She had to admit that Pinky was pretty quick and kinda tricky.
Turning the tables around was Hinata now attacking, trying to paralyze parts of Sakura's body, just like her sister tried before against Kiba. She started a flowing series of punches, never stopping her movements, moving gracefully like she would dance. Backstepping from these attacks was Sakura trying to find an opening in which she could land an own hit.
While these two were fighting back and forth with non of them gaining a real advantage over the other was a thought crossing Hanabi's mind. She turned towards Ino and whispered to her. "Hey, I've got an idea. Intrested in pulling a prank on Pinky there?"
She got Ino's attention right away. "Sure thing. Though you know that we aren't allowed to interfere with the battles, right?"
"Who said anything about interfering? All we need is a bucket or two full of water that we place somewhere around here that nobody is tripping. The rest will... happen all by itself. We just shouldn't be seen while we get them." a smirk entered her face.
"I don't know what this might do, but if you say we can prank Forehead that way, sure thing." Ino smiled back and both girls sneaked away from the group, unseen by anyone but C, who simply noted and ignored them. He wasn't part of the Academy, he had no need to inform anyone about what he witnessed. Plus he was curious what the two girls were up to.
Sakura lost her patience with this battle and decided to finish it. Making a single sign with her hands was she summoning three clones of herself, charging at Hinata from different directions. She was hoping to confuse her that way and to knock her out. The only problem in that plan was the fact that the close were just simple illusions, meaning if Hinata saw through them would they be useless.
Her eyes darted from left to right, taking in the changed situation. Thankfully for her eyes again was she able to see the difference between the original and the clones, who had another flow of chakra inside. However, if she played it right might she be able to use that to her advantage.
Playing innocent was she moving to defend herself from the first clone coming from her right side, casting a smirk on Sakura's face who thought she could strike now. Though when the clone was near enough did Hinata not defend and simply let the illusion slip through her body, turning in the direction of the real Sakura, her punch already on the way.
Realizing that her clones failed was Sakura quick enough to drop to the ground to avoid the punch, from there getting on distance again. "How can you be that good?" she asked, her breath heavy. "You are always that silent, there is no way you can be that good."
Hinata was thankful for this short break, her breath heavy as well. She also used that opportunity to check her surroundings again, to be sure that Sakura wasn't trying to distract her for another surprise attack. A small smile entered her face when she saw her sister and Ino placing two buckets of water on the side of the yard. "Well, actually training and not fawning over a boy might help, Pinky." she grinned slightly. "After all, yes, I like Naruto-kun, but that doesn't mean that I slack off my training. You see..."
Sakura's eyes went wide when Hinata was doing some handsigns. Backing away out of instinct was she trying to get distance between herself and Hinata, not knowing what was to come. To her own misfortune was she moving in the direction the two buckets stood, casting a small, evil smirk on Hinata's lips.
"You know Pinky, it's over now. Water Style: Bubbles." Forming a few water bubbles with the contents of the two buckets behind Sakura was Hinata still smiling, when Sakura looked at her in return, grinning herself now.
"Ha, nice try. You really think I would fall for some false handsigns? It's obvious that you just wanted to distract me. But now..." she wasn't looking behind her and she wasn't able to finish her sentence. The bubbles floating behind her splashed her, soaking her clothes and herself from top to bottom. "Eeeek!" she yelped out in surprise, trying to peel the wet clothes from her skin.
Using that moment was Hinata quickly moving forward, delivering one quick punch into the other girls stomach. It wasn't chakra enhanced or anything, just a simple hit, but it was enough to send her to the ground. "Winner is Hinata Hyuga." Iruka spoke up, watching how the girl helped the other back up before walking towards her sister, while the beaten one was holding her stomach, walking back to her classmates.
Hanabi and Ino were trying to hold back their laughter when Hinata reached them, smiling brightly at them. "Thanks for the assistance."
"I don't know what you are talking about, sis." Hanabi giggled, hugging her sister. "Well done."
"Yeah, nice finish with Forehead. Have you seen her face? Totally worth it." Ino grinned from ear to ear. "Also nice control with the water. You are really good already."
"I said it to Pinky just now, I'm not slacking off with my training. That's the whole secret." Hinata agreed.
"Okay everyone, we are nearly done for today. The last one will be Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka announced, watching the two boys stepping in the center of the yard.
The girls just realized that they missed most of the matches with their talking, but they didn't really cared. However, now were all three of them focused to see how Naruto had improved, considering his clear loose when the Academy started. On top of the wall was C still watching with interest, judging the kids for himself. After all was his main business spying and if he would stay in this village should he also know about the future shinobi. That and he had personal interest in his former victims.
"Why do I have to fight that weak idiot again? There is no way for me to become stronger if I won't be getting good opponents." Sasuke complained while getting into position.
"What the hell is your problem? I mean, beside of your stupid arrogance that is." asked Naruto in return, clearly not happy to face against the Uchiha as well.
"Right now is it you, dumbass. This will be over within a minute and then I can focus on something worthwhile." rolling his shoulder was he now ready to charge.
"Funny, I wanted to say the same." taking his staff and attaching the segments was Naruto ready to go as well.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto's weapon, not having seen it yet. Similiar reactions could be seen by their classmates, except for his few friends who are aware of his staff training. Not caring much was Sasuke making the first move, charging right at Naruto, planning to use his superior speed and strength to knock him out quickly. Just to realize that his superior speed and strength weren't that superior with Naruto being able to block the punches with his staff.
It wasn't graceful and it was clear that he wasn't too used of using his staff, but he was still able to block. That pissed Sasuke off and he started with a fury of punches and kicks, still planning to finish this battle quickly.
Being pushed into the defense was Naruto doing his best to block the incomming attacks by moving his staff up and down, left and right and he managed to block most of them. The only ones that got through and hit him weren't that painful at all, having lost speed when Sasuke tried to maneuver them around the moving staff. On the other side was Naruto trying to get the one or other hit by quickly detaching one of the outer segments when he saw an opening, but these moves were rare and he had problems hitting at all.
After a good five minutes of back and forth, none of them were really able to score any mentionable hit, was Sasuke reaching the limit of his patience. Deciding to end it now was he stepping back which Naruto was thankful for, being able to take a breath. That changed quickly however when Sasuke started to go through some handsigns.
"Sasuke, I said no jutsu above D-rank. Stop that nonsense!" Iruka said aloud, thinking that it would be enough to stop his student from using that technique.
Not paying attention to Iruka was Sasuke completing his handsigns. "Your childsplay with your stick will end now. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he said, blowing a fireball in Naruto's direction.
"Shit, I haven't even started to train on how to block an elemental attack with the staff." Naruto shouted in panic, trying to get away from the fire.
The girls were watching in fear, not knowing what to do and Iruka was in a kind of shock that his student was using a deadly jutsu against a classmate, not reacting either. On that distance would it just need seconds and Naruto would be a burning pile of ash and none might be able to stop that.
"Card Tricks: Wall of Clubs!" C shouted, bringing his card defense between Naruto and the fireball just in time. A scowl entered his face when he saw some more of his cards being destroyed. "Great, I lost more cards within the few months I'm somehow involved with this village then I did the last three years. And that right now when I'm having no supply of new ones..." he mumbled to himself before adressing Iruka. "Hey teach, you should stop doing your little fights til you are able to control your little students. Or at least have them follow your rules."
Getting out of his daze was Iruka looking confused between Naruto, Sasuke and the stranger on the wall, before absently starting to talk. "This will have consequences... you are dismissed for today..." he turned around and walked back into the Academy building, thinking about the things that went wrong this day. There clearly was room for improvements on his side.
Sasuke simply shrugged and walked away, not paying attention to anyone in his surroundings. At least did he not had to fight against that weak dumbass anymore right now. Just that he wasn't as weak as he thought. Not that he was caring about it however.
The girls were running over to Naruto, surrounding him quickly. "Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked worried, pulling him into a hug.
"I know how you must feel..." Hanabi said quietly, her nails clawing into her scar again.
"I'm okay, I guess..." Naruto answered, still not really believing what just happened. His classmate just tried to kill him. And his... his... kidnapper? Enemy? Nemesis? He wasn't sure how to name the person right now, but that person just saved his life. Pointing towards C was he stuttering. "I... he... he saved me..."
Giving them a wave when the girls looked up to him was C jumping down the wall on the streetside. He saw enough for the moment. Beside, the fights were over anyway.
Snapping out of her own daze was Hanabi realizing what just happened and who just saved Naruto. She shouted loud enough to be heard even on the other side of the wall were C just disappeared. "Don't you dare just walk away, C! We need to talk!" she was determined to finally get her talk with C, to finally get the answers she was looking for...