I woke up in the morning with energy that could rival Naruto's. A massive grin stretched across my face and my whole body started shaking, whether it was from excitement or nerves, I wasn't sure. It's probably the latter. Today is Ino's 5th birthday which means I finally get to meet the rest of the roookie 9, minus Naruto and Shino sadly. Naruto who I still haven't been able to find yet and Shino because the Aburame don't go out much. From what Ino told me, Shikamaru's, Choji's, Kiba's, and my family will be the clans going; Sakura and a few other girls will also be there.
I'm so excited to meet them and their parents, I hope I can make a good impression and make some more friends to hang around. I'm particularly excited to meet the super genius Shikamaru. I want to play him in shogi and see how I compare to the super genius...at least when he's so young. It took some time, but my father agreed to me going because I convinced him that making strong clan bonds with future leaders will help our clan thrive and be stronger with good allies, I also threw in that he could rub it in how much of a prodigy I am. I know my dad and he is so prideful that I knew he would agree just to prove our clan dominance.
I jumped out of bed and picked out a short lavender and white kimono that is easy to move in, since Ino made me promise to wear something girly. I then started a bath for myself and brushed my teeth. After finishing my bath, I put on my underwear and found mother so she could do my hair for me. She allowed me to put it into a nice high ponytail with my bangs hanging out. I got dressed and went back to my room to grab Ino's present. I was too excited to eat breakfast, so I made my parents finish eating quickly and dragged them out the door to go to the Yamanaka compound. The whole walk there, mom would look at me and laugh because I was bursting in excitement. She tried to subtly tell dad that she's glad I can still be like a child even with being a prodigy. He nodded in agreement and shared a knowing look with me since he knew I was listening. We made it to the compound and as soon as I walked in, I was dragged away by Ino.
"By Otousan, Okaasan. I will see you later." I waved laughing as Ino pulled me along.
"Hinata I'm so glad you came. Sakura won't be here for a while so I have been stuck with the boring boys, all they do is cloud watch. You can come with me to meet them and my parents who have been wanting to meet you!" Ino and I babbled about anything and everything until we reached her parents. Inoichi has long blond hair in a ponytail and blue eyes similar to Ino's. He's pretty well built and had a loving smile on his face as Ino pulled us up to him. Ino's mom looked a lot like Ino, and was smiling with her blue eyes shining in amusement at Ino dragging me along. I stood in front of them and bowed.
"Ohayo my name is Hinata Hyuuga. Arigato for allowing me to celebrate Ino's birthday. Your compound is very pretty with all of the flowers." Ino was giggling at my introduction and her parents were staring at me with small smiles until Ino's mom spoke up.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Hinata-chan. You are so well mannered and so adorable. Ino has told us a lot about you so I am surprised at your choice in clothing." I blushed and gave a quick glare to Ino who just smirked at me.
"Yeah well Ino made me promise to dress up when I told her I would be wearing shorts, and when Ino wants something, it's really hard to say no." Both of her parents laughed at us.
"Its not my fault you dress and act like a boy Hinata. Anyways, we have to go and get food so I can introduce her to Shikamaru and Choji. Byee Okaasan, Otousan" Ino said and began dragging me along again. We stopped at a table full of food and before Ino could start to get food, I stopped her. I handed her the present and she quickly opened it and squealed in happiness.
"Thank you Hinata it's so pretty. I love it! It perfectly represents all of us with the flowers. Put it on me! Put it on me!" I gave Ino a necklace with a black rose, a cherry blossom, and a baby blue tulip, each flower represented Me, Sakura, and Ino. I grabbed the necklace and put it on Ino, I'm glad she liked it. I was hoping she would. After I put it on, she hugged me tightly then turned away and started getting food. We both piled our plates with fruits and other yummy food, mine was mainly dango, and headed over to a big tree. When we got a little close, I saw the figures of two boys, I'm guessing they are Shikamaru and Choji. We made it to the tree and I had to contain my excitement of meeting some of my favorite people, I hid it behind a mask of nervousness. Shikamaru's half-lidded brown eyes met mine and I could tell he was assessing me the same way I do to others. I like him already. We had a short stare down until he broke away and laid back down mumbling something about having another troublesome woman. I giggled and looked towards Ino who was fuming.
"Shikamaru! Don't be your lazy self and introduce yourself. I told you you would meet Hinata today so make a good impression. You too Hinata, don't just have a stare down. I said you were awesome don't make me seem like a liar." She shouted at both of us. Not feeling like debating with Ino, I turned to Choji and smiled at him, resulting in a surprised and shy smile in return. I stuck my hand out to him and he shook it hesitantly and at that I sat next to him still smiling.
"Ohayo, I'm Hinata Hyuuga. I'm 4, surprisingly friends with the loudmouth blonde, I like training, watching peoples reactions to stuff, games, nice people, and food. I don't like bullies, being outsmarted, too much girly stuff, and being a disappointment. My hobby is to make up songs, train, and pick on a duckbutt. From what Ino has said, you must be Choji." He gave me a not, looking between Shikamaru and I to make sure me being there is real. From what I remember, everyone picked on him for being fat so it must be a surprise that I'm not. Honestly though he's not fat, just cuddly.I know he's the sweetest person like ever, so I wanted him to be my friend. "Anyways, I grabbed extra food and since you have some I want, I was wondering if you were willing to trade two of my bags of chips for your Dango?" At my question, Choji gave me a real super happy smile and Shikamaru turned back to me with a knowing and somewhat thankful look for being friends whth Choji. I knew he could tell I was just doing it to be friends with Choji since I already had enough dango on my plate, but Choji not Ino seemed to notice.
"Oh wow thats awesome. Let's trade. Those are my favorite chips too." We traded and Choji munched happily until his face went back to a nervous one. Ino got up to leave to go get somebody, saying she would be right back. Choji turned back to me his eyes wide and hopeful.
"Umm so Hinata-san w-would you maybe want to be friends with m-me? You're the first g-girl to be nice and not call me names." I glomped him and shouted a yes smiling then giving a smile to Shikamaru who gave me a faint one back.
"Since we're friends call me Hinata. Using a honorific like san is just a waste. Hey does this mean I get to be friends with the lazy ass pineapple too?" I said pointing a thumb at Shikamaru. He turned his head to me and gave a sure. Sweet! After a minute of cloud watching and eating, I sat up.
"This is boring, I don't know how you do this lazy ass pineapple. Hey you're from the Nara clan so you must be really smart. I'm smart too I wanna see who is smarted. Lets play Shogi. You know how to play right?" I asked taunting him at his favorite game. He sat up, scoffed, and gave me a lazy glare.
"Of course I know how to play troublesome girl. Come on Choji, lets show this girl she'll never beat me." It was my turn to scoff, but I got up and followed him. We walked up to some of the parents and Shikamaru began talking to an older version of himself, Shikaku Nara and Choji went to talk to his dad Chōza, both sets looking up at me a bit. After a minute or so, Shikamaru grabbed Choji and walked back over to me, shoji board in his arms. Shikamaru set up the shogi board and we sat across from one another. Choji looking back and forth between us ready for the game to start. I wanted to win while I could, give it a month and I know he would destroy me with ease but hopefully I have the advantage at least for the first few games. My pride would be shot to hell if I lost.
After about an hour, Shikamaru and I were at a standstill. My parents, Shikamaru's parents, Choji's parents, Kiba's parents, and Ino's parents were watching the game intently. Shikamaru played his rook where I was hoping and that gave me the opportunity to complete my Akutsu Rapid Attack Yagura strategy (thanks google) and put him in check mate. After I put Shikamaru in check mate, he looked between the board and me a few times before slumping down in defeat. I put on a shit eating grin and did a few laps singing We Are the Champions. Making all of the parents who arrived laugh at my antics.
"Damn troublesome girl. I cant believe I lost to someone so weird." I looked at Shikamaru and smirked.
"Yeah I cant believe this troublesome girl kicked your ass either!" That statement made me get a smack from my mom at my use of language. Shikamaru stood up finally and shook my hand offering to play me anytime. It was then that his parents walked up to me. Shikamaru's mother Yoshino, a pretty and tall woman with long brown hair she styled in a ponytail wearing a long red simple dress came up to me smiling. As soon as I said hi and did my normal greeting for adults, I was glomped tightly by her. She cooed at how adorable I am and my good manners and how she is so glad I put her son in his place. Then Shikaku saved me from being squeezed to death. I thanked him and told him I would like to play him someday. He didn't even look shocked, instead he was highly amused at my challenge.
"So you are a prodigy then. I thought your father might be talking you up but from watching you play shoji I believe him now." I smiled, if the smartest man alive thinks I'm special then hell yeah! I laughed at him a bit.
"Thank you for the acknowledgement, I am glad you think I am smart enough to be considered a prodigy in that aspect. I even got the cold Uchiha supremacist to train me after sparring against Itachi-san, so I know I'm a prodigy in battle. That is why I want to play shoji against you Nara-sama, I want to prove myself as a prodigy in fighting and intelligence. You are the smartest in the village and I believe Shikamaru is already on his way, a prodigy in his own right even if he's a lazy ass. Whats the point of being a prodigy in battle and knowledge if I am lacking in the skill to strategize. I want to see how well I can hold up against a true genius." Shikaku and the others looked at me incredulously when they learned about my training with the Uchiha, but then Shikaku began to chuckle. He patted the top of my head fondly.
"I never thought I'd see the day Fugaku-san would accept a non Uchiha. You really are a troublesome girl Hinata-chan. We can play shoji sometime later." I fist pumped and said goodbye. Grabbing Shikamaru ad Choji's hands I pulled them towards Ino, Sakura, and who I think to be Kiba, Shikamaru grumbling the whole way. We walked up to them and Sakura gave me a hug, stuttering a hello. Ino yelled at me for leaving her so that I could play the boring game of shoji. I laughed and let her rant at me while Sakura giggled at me smirking at Ino's yells. After she finished and forgave me, Ino began to introduce Sakura to Shikamaru and Choji. I walked over to Kiba, who was climbing a tree, and shouted at him making him fall off the tree.
"Hey girl what was that for?" He growled/whined at me. I laughed at his pout.
"Nothing, I just wanted to say hi. I'm Hinata Hyuuga, who are you?"
"Cool! I'm Kiba Inuzuka. Do you like dogs? I do. I'm going to have a ninken of my own someday and we're going to be the toughest shinobi." He said proudly showing off his canines in a smile.
"Yeah! I love dogs they are soo cool! I cant wait to see what kind of ninken you get, but you wont be the strongest shinobi, I will." I teased, knowing he's a hothead.
"You take that back, you're a girl so its impossible to be stronger than me." I laughed and the other kids looked at Kiba in pity, knowing I was going to teach him a lesson.
"Wanna test that out you sexist dog boy? Lest spar if you're not too chicken." I said getting annoyed at how he said I'm weak because I'm a girl. He and Sasuke would get along great with their idea of girls being weak. Shikamaru explained what sexist was making Kiba laugh. Kiba boasted about his training already beginning with his parents, expecting me to back off, but then grinned at me when I stayed and gave him a smirk in response. I'm so going to crush his ego and show off a bit to impress the parents since I know they are watching.
We made the seal of confrontation and in Kiba's animalistic fashion, he came running at me pretty quickly, a fist aimed at my face. I stayed in place letting him think I was too slow to move, and right before the hit landed, I flash stepped behind him and landed a blow to his solar plexus, a toned down version of a move Shisui and Fugaku have been having me learn, making him stumble but not fall. I flashed in front of him, grabbed his fist and forced it behind his back until he fell to the ground in pain. I sat on his back until he tapped out giving me the win. I released him and Kiba sprang up pointing at me.
"What the hell was that? Damn it I want a rematch." I pretended to be tired, and sent a wink to my parents who were looking at me in approval.
"I would but you're strong and now I'm tired. Maybe another day Kiba." Shikamaru gave me a look of knowing I was faking, then smirked. Because Kiba thought I was more tired than him, he seemed to be happy again and decided to keep me as a friend. Ino and Sakura came running up to me cheering.
"Wow Hinata, when you said you were strong, I wasn't expecting you to be this strong. Thats amazing, you totally kicked his butt!" Ino said proud of her best friend.
"That w-was a-amazing Hinata-chan. You are r-really strong." I smiled at their praise. For the rest of the afternoon, all of us kids, except Shikamaru who slept most of the time, played games of Ino's choice. It was fun and we all became more excited for us to join the academy together next year. Kiba was really fun to hang out with, because his wild attitude went well with mine and he never seemed to care about me being a 'fail' of a girl. He thought I was cool 'for a girl' and said that I will be the first person to get to see his ninken when he gets it. Choji was super sweet and happy to finally meet people who won't make fun of him. At the end of the day, the boys left and Ino begged for Sakura and I to sleepover. We got permission and I said bye to my parents who were glowing with pride for some reason.
(3d pov)The parents conversation
The Clan Leaders were watching Hinata in interest. Earlier that day, Hiashi informed the other clan heads about his daughter Hinata being a prodigy. He went on to explain when Hinata was walking, talking, and the harsh training she has been enduring since she was 1. Most of the parents were in disbelief and though Hiashi was exaggerating to prove that his clan is the best, a notion he implies in many conversations. It was when he let slip how he thinks she will surpass him soon, that Shikaku became interested. The genius knows that Hiashi would never say someone is better than him unless they've earned it. There is something special about Hinata Hyuuga and he is determined to see if she is the prodigy he is beginning to suspect she is, a prodigy of the levels of the great Kakashi Hatake and Itachi Uchiha. The other parents were just entertained to watch the very pretty, albeit very unladylike girl play with the boys.
Shikaku saw something different. Her mannerisms and the way her eyes were so calculating with every reaction people had to her, he knew she was smart. She acted in ways that children her age should not, but covered it up pretending to be a child. When she met Choji and offered him to trade food, Shikaku knew it was just a way to get Choji to trust her. That is not the action of a child just trying to get food, it was the action of someone who could understand what would benefit her into making him trust her. Hinata, instead of making fun of Choji for his weight like others, used her analysis to befriend him, knowing it would also help her get in the graces of Shikamaru, based off the small smile she gave Shikamaru. Shikaku glanced at his son and could tell that Shikamaru was beginning to think the same thing. Maybe this girl is a prodigy, or maybe she is just emotionally more observant than others. She definitely does not fit the Hyuuga stereotype though. All of the parents eyes were on the children, watching them have fun.
Inoichi Yamanaka was fully believed Hinata was a prodigy of generations. Being in the T&I unit, he was in charge of interrogating some Iwa shinobi last year in their attempted kidnapping of the little Byakugan Princess. He heard how Hinata, at the young age of 3, was able to fend them off and cause serious damage long enough for her father to come save her. Watching her now, Inoichi noticed how Hinata was watching and analyzing everything even as she passed it off as just having fun. From watching her he could tell that she knew how to get the reactions out of others, she was calculating and knows how the mind works, a perfect candidate to go into undercover work or his T&I unit. The one thing that baffled Inoichi was Hinatas eyes. They held love and dertermination, for what he doesn't know, but they hold an extreme sadness he finds mainly in those who are lonley. What has she been through to gain those eyes. Inoichi took a glance towards Hiashi to see if maybe Hinata is being abused, but by the proudness, Inoichi has never seen before, in Hiashi's eyes, that is not it. Even with that sadness, Inoichi decides Hinata is a kind girl who truly wants the best for the people around her.
Hiashi Hyuuga kept a close eye on his daughter. He wants her to be strong and make the Hyuuga clan prosper. As cold hearted as he is, his little princess warms his heart. She is everything he was and more. Hiashi knows his daughter is more talented than himself in the shinobi arts, and will surpass him soon enough using their clan justus. He also knows of her extracurricular training, creating her own style using attacks that he has never seen attempted before combined with the strength of Lady Tsunade, which he could not figure out how she knew that. At first he was furious at Hinata for not using the clan techniques, that was until he saw her training herself. IT is a mastery of technique that is almost impossible to pick up patterns, combined with the flexibility, gymnastics, speed, and strength it is a technique of a true master in the making. Hiashi watches as his daughter runs herself into the ground harder than any shinobi he has seen before.
She was even impressive enough to gain the favor of the Uchiha, although he does not like the idea of his daughter marrying brats like them, the reasoning behind it is sound. She thinks like a great leader one fit to be a Hokage. Hiashi watches intently as his daughter befriends two boys, using her assessments to decide how to interact to gain the favor of the boys. That is where his is most proud. Hiashi was never able to befriend people like that; in fact, he never cared to. His daughter has the skill of a prodigy but the love and emotions that are usually stripped away when being declared a prodigy. He is concerned with the weight his daughter seems to carry, it is as if she knows something he doesn't and it hurts her. HE see's it flash every once and awhile in her eyes and does not know how to help his precious daughter.
Now as all of the parents were figuring out Hinata was a prodigy, the proof came out in three stages.
The first stage, a game of Shoji, sealed Skikaku's belief. When Shikamaru came up and told Shikaku that the cute little girl challenged him to shoji, he wanted to laugh. As smart as Hinata may be, Shikamaru is the smartest as they come in terms of children. Though, Shikaku and Inoichi were both interested to see the battle to better understand how little Hinata's brain worked, especially in tough strategy situations. Hiashi was excited to watch because he believed in the intelligence of his daughter and knew that she was being underestimated greatly. The other parents were just watching in enjoyment of the cute little girl who was so eager to play a boring game for old men. Everyone watched the game in different levels of intensity. Shikaku watched Hinata's moves, Inoichi watched Hinata, Hiashi watched everyone else watch his daughter, and everyone else watched in amusement at the cute kids. Of the parents, the only ones still watching were the three fathers invested into the game. Shikaku was surprised to say the least.
He watched as the Hyuuga girl defeated every one of Shikamaru's set ups pushing Shikamaru, unknowingly into her defense formation. Her strategy was genius and after Shikamaru's final move and Hinata putting into check mate, Shikaku accepted that Hinata was a genius worth of the title of a Prodigy. Inoichi on the other hand was impressed with Hinata's tactics. She truly is a talkative, reckless, and sarcastic girl, but she also uses that to her advantage. When playing shoji, it is usually quiet, Hinata plays differently. She talks during each of her moves and acts as though each of her moves are at random, making them quickly and wildly, but when Inoichi watched her eyes, she was studying intently every possible move, she talked about nothing but her mind was fully on the game before her. Inoichi knew and still believes Hinata was cunning, a true prodigy. Hiashi watched as his daughter won against the Nara boy, he also watched the reactions of Inoichi and Shikaku. He watched as they realized and accepted his daughter was a prodigy, and an amazing one at that. Hiashi felt very proud of his daughter, but more so when he realized how, even with he pressure of a prodigy, she is determined to not let it break her into a shell of herself.
The second stage, a spar with Kiba, sealed the belief of her being a prodigy to all of the parents there. After the shocking game of shoji, Hinata was now on the radar of the parents because she was smart. Many of the parents thought the sweet girl was just a smart child, not a true prodigy. That was until she told them that she sparred with Itachi Uchiha, one of the greatest prodigies to ever live, and fared well enough to get the ice block asshole Fugaku Uchiha to want to train her. They watched more intensely as she left. The next schock for the parents came when Hiashi said that she trains with Sasuke, Itachi, Shisui, and Fugaku. He also revealed that Fugaku has arranged Hinatas marriage but she declined him saying she will marry who she wants. The parents realized Hinata must be something if the Uchiha were willing to mix clans and marry a non Uchiha with a Uchiha heir, especially a child that was so happy and loud and foul-mouthed, and that she was brave enough to tell him no.
All of the parents watched in amusement and interest as the Byakugan princess challenged the wild Kiba Inuzuka to a spar. Inuzuka were known for strength and speed, alongside their tracking and ninken, and Kiba has already been training. The parents noticed how Hinata is small compared to Kiba, and this spar would really show if she was the prodigy like her father and others think she is. Every parent watched as Kiba threw a fast punch to Hinata, and then gasped when she moved last second, in a flash step that could only come from the teachings of Shisui Uchiha. In the blink of their trained shinobi eyes, they watched in amazement as Hinata pinned Kiba like it was nothing. Her skills, even though they were barely shown, were enough in the parents eyes to convince them that Hinata Hyuuga was truly fit for the title of a prodigy.
It was 5 in the morning when I had to force myself out of bed. Why, the damned Uchiha's who train me thought it would be a good idea to wake up 2 hours earlier today to train. I'm not really sure why or how it will benefit my training but whatever. I got out of bed stumbling over myself, still half asleep. I didn't bother to do my hair, I just left it in its, somehow anime magic, perfect ponytail from the night before. I did a shitty brush of my teeth and walked into my closet. I pulled out my white training onesie thing and slipped it on along with gloves, metal guards, my thigh holster, and my sandals. I stumbled down the stairs and walked outside into the brisk early morning air and walked to my escourt for the morning, Shisui. I'm really glad I got Shisui as my escort today because he is less of a morning person than I am. I'd be pissed if someone else came, somehow the rest of my training buddies look wide awake in the morning and it makes me want to stick a kunai in their hand. I am a full on night owl and I will never understand morning people, they are psychotic. I rubbed my eyes and looked closer at Shisui. He looked dead tired and was basically a walking zombie. He took one look at me, gave a weak laugh and we walked to the training grounds.
We arrived to the training grounds and I looked towards the others with a massive scowl on my face. I was right, they look wide awake and ready for the day. Those assholes. Sasuke was laughing at me saying I'm weak and look like I'm going to sleep at any second. Itachi just looked amused at Shisui and my sleepy state. Fugaku looked annoyed at everyone except Itachi.
"Today for training, Sasuke, I have low hopes since you are not Itachi, but you need to perfect the Great Fireball technique. For the first half of the day, Itachi and I will train with Hinata, the second half Shisui you will work with her on speed. Get to work." Fugaku barked at us. Damn him, Sasuke looked so happy to train until Fugaku had to compare Sasuke to Itachi. Sasuke looked so sad when his father said he had little faith in him, it made me want to cry out for him. It's hard to watch somebody so happy get so depressed because of their father being an ass. It's not Sasuke's fault though, like he thinks it is. Itachi is special and I think Sasuke is lightning natured more so than pure fire like other Uchiha. In the past, their have been some really talented lightning natured Uchihas. If Fugaku would realize that, maybe he would lay off Sasuke and stop making him hurt so much inside.
I tried to shake my sleepiness off and walked over to Fugaku. He started my training by having me run a few laps, do some strength and cardio, go through my flexibility stretches, and go through all of my katas starting basic and moving into the advanced ones he taught me. After Itachi and I finished our individual warm ups, Itachi would instruct me on proper technique for shuriken and kunai. Even after all of his instruction, I was still bad at shuriken. I was fine with kunai and could hit the center of the target, but shuriken I would mess up every time and leave cuts in my hands. I had to throw 100 kunai inter the center with each hand before I was aloud to move on. Then I had to work my way up to holding 5 kunai in each hand and hitting the target. I still am not very accurate with this kind of throwing, which amuses Sasuke to no end because he is way better at it than I am. Then comes my enemies, shuriken. I got in my stance ready to throw my shuriken when Itachi came over giving me an annoyed look.
"Hinata you are doing the stance wrong again. How many times are you going to injure yourself before you figure this out?" I just shrugged, making him turn back into his special ice cube self. He then used his hands to guide my body through the proper movements. Gosh I feel like an idiot, I'm never going to be good at shuriken. After an explanation that only Itachi could give me, I released the shuriken and it hit the target without cutting my fingers. Forgetting my annoyance witht them, I punched my fist in the air then glomped Itachi.
"Ha take that you shuriken assholes, I finally did it. Itachi you are the best!" I cheered hanging off Itachi like a Kohala. He just shook his head at me and gave me a slight smile, returning my hug. He poked my forehead.
"Took you long enough Hime." Which made me stick my tounge out but I couldnt hold in my smile. Fugaku walked over to me and brought my mood down.
"That was bad, do it until you hit the center." I glared at his retreating back and went back to work. For the next few hours I was training with the shuriken. I'm about 50/50 with hitting the center so I'll leave it at that for now. At midday, everyone met back in the middle of the training grounds. We all, minus Fugaku who was a work now, looked a little worse for wear. Shisui handed each of us a bento Mikoto brought and we all sat down eating. I sat next to Sasuke and we talked about our training. He told me, with a huge grin, about how it took forever but he finally got the Fireball Jutsu down and now Fugaku will be proud of him. I gave him a fist bump and told him that now he will kick even more ass, resulting in Itachi slapping me for using foul language in front of his precious little brother. Sasuke was almost jumping from excitement thinking about showing his dad he finished the justu. When we were almost done with lunch I decided to speak up about Sasuke's chakra nature, it has been bothering me so much because of how Fugaku treats him.
"Hey 'tachi-san" I sid getting him to turn towards me giving me his full attention.
"Hn"
"I read about chakra natures and stuff, I was wondering if you had chakra paper to test mine and Sasuke's." Itachi looked at me questioning but then got out the chakra paper and demonstrated how it works. Sasuke and I both did it. My paper became wet then crinkled up. I was not expedting that, sweet I have a primary Water and seondary Lightning nature. Perfect combination for me. I looked over to Sasuke's, his crinkled up the burned, just like I thought. He is primary lightning and secondary fire. Itachi and Shisui looked shocked at his paper. Sasuke looked at us and got nervous.
"Hey guys is something wrong." I gave him a smile
"Nope I just wanted to prove my thought was right."
"About what freak?" Sasuke asked looking annoyed.
"Well I know you're a prodigy even if its differnt level than Itachi, so when the fireball justu was so exhausting for you, I thought you have a different primary chakra nature and fire is your secondary one. Being an Uchiha, you are able to use fire, but your main chakra affinity is for lightning." Sasuke looked smug at me calling him a prodigy but his face dropped when I said his Nature wasnt fire.
"No I'm an Uchiha, I have to have fire. Dad is going to not watch me even more." Sasuke said so sad he was almost crying. I turned towards Itachi to have him handle this. He put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and gave him a smile that is reserved only for Sasuke. Itachi poked Sasuke on the forehead.
"It isn't unheard of for Uchiha to have lightning nature, that makes it even more impressive that you perfected the great fireball technique." Sasuke brightened up at his brothers praise and gave him a huge hug, his small arms rapped tightly around his beloved Aniki's waist. Shisui threw his arm around me as a gesture of him understanding why I did what I did, we smiled at the scene. Being with them for so long, its hard for me to fathom how Itachi and Sasuke become so ruthless in the future, they are just such loving people, even if Sasuke is a cocky ass. Right as they pulled apart, Sasuke's eyes sparkling in glee, Shisui flashed over to Itachi and pulled his ponytail, then glomped him like a child, actions from Shisui Itachi hates more than anything. Itachi and Sasuke gave glares to Shisui for his antics and I snickered at their annoyance.
"All right 'tachi-chan, after that adorable moment between you two, its time to switch training. It's my turn to work with Hinata-hime since she's probably bored working with the ever cold 'tachi-chan." Shisui said with an obnoxious grin
"Hn."
"Hey don't insult Aniki, he's the greatest and that freaky girl was lucky for him to train her." Sasuke said pointing his finger accusingly at Shisui. Shisui's grin widened, and I gave a small smirk waving my hand dismissively at the whole scene.
"Yeah yeah duckbutt, your Aniki is the most magnificent person ever" I said full of sarcasm. I grabbed Shisui and we locked eyes, before anyone could reply he flickered us out of there. As soon as we made it to our area, I doubled over in laughter.
"hahaha you made them so annoyed, teach me your ways master." I said mock bowing to Shisui.
"Yes, one day my dear pupil I will help you become a master in the arts of Uchiha annoyance. With Sasuke you seem to be fine already though." We grinned at each other and laughed.
After our fun escape, Shisui made me begin my training. Shisui might be the most fun of the Uchiha in terms of his personality, but he is also the harshest coach. Nobody babies me, but with my other training, Itachi and Fugaku are hands off for the most part. They only step in when something is wrong. Shisui on the other hand is a drill sergeant. He is with me every step of the training making me fix every minuscule detail until it is exactly how he wants. Itachi is a perfectionist in every way, but he leaves me to figure out something myself unless I really need the guidance. For the most part, that works and I can solve my problems (except damn shuriken) alone. When doing body flicker though, it is very meticulous and needs precise chakra for it to be really successful. Shisui yells at me and makes me stop and repeat an action over and over, even after I've perfected it.
Body flicker also is a special process of continuous chakra unlike other jutsu so he yells at me to ensure I don't mess up and blow somebody up. It's a pretty well known jutsu, almost everyone can use it, Shisui is the only one who has it mastered to such an impressive level. Shisui makes me practice every training session we have together until I am borderline passing out from Chakra exhaustion. Its harsh and a few times I have been in the hospital from his training, for either flickering right into the trunk of a tree, using too much chakra, or getting chakra burns from not controlling it properly in the justu. Because the body flicker makes you move so quickly, sometimes you can flicker right into an attack innstead of a place to counter it, thats why it isnt used as widely. Having a dojutsu like the Sharingan or Byakugan helps with countering that. Shisui doesn't want me to rely on that though so he took it upon himself to make me practice flickering away from attacks by sending barrages of kunai and shuriken towards me. Some of the kunai are painted with a color and my training is I have to grab those while also dodging and flickering away from the other projectiles without getting hit. Lets just say the first few months of that, I was bloody and battered every day going home.
I have a good grasp on the body flicker now. I don't get chakra burns anymore and my cuts have gone down by quite a lot, but I am nowhere near the level of Shisui. He truly is a master and I don't think anybody will ever compare to his skillful use in the justu. I also know I will not master it like him, because Shisui can use it continuously and in every movement, making it his attack while I can only successfully use it in defense and for short bursts of time. I can use it to get into a place for an attack, but not as an attack in itself like Shisui does. I will never know how he makes it look like there are a bunch of himself and making them attack, he's that fast.
After finishing with my Uchiha training day, we all went back to meet Fugaku for dinner and discuss how the training went for the day. Itachi informed Fugaku about Sasuke and I's chakra natures. Fugaku was impressed with me for figuring out Sasuke's main nature was not fire, he also gave sasuke slight praise for mastering a technique that was not his main nature, as well as having a powerful nature such as lightning. I swear at his praise, I've never seen Sasuke so happy and Itachi so content. It was also at this time, so full of family love, that I informed them of my mother being pregnant.
When mom and dad told me that she was pregnant, I cried. They looked relieved at my excitement for getting a sibling, I think they thought I would be mad, but I couldn't be more happy. I finally get to have a real sibling that I can love and care for. Shisui has taken the spot as my big brother and we love each other like true siblings, but I cant help but be excited to have a blood sibling for the first time. I know I'm going to have a little sister and I cant wait. I've already decided she is going to be the little perfect princess I am not. I honestly have no clue on how to be a sister, but I love her so much already ad I will do whatever it takes to keep my baby sis safe.
Throughout the rest of my time being 4, other than the time I have spent training, I spent with my friends. After a full year of being friends with Sakura, and our constant pushing, Sakura finally broke free of her shy girl state. Now that she is more like Sakura from canon, her and Ino have made it their mission to transform me into a real girl. Everyrtime we hang out, it turns into a training camp for me to become a girl. Just to appease them, I go along with it. I've finally learned the art of makeup, how to do my hair in basic styles (I will never be able to do anything super elegant or pretty), and how to properly put on a kimono. They also got me into painting my nails. Its really fun and I love doing cool colors like red or black, which made them scream in horror of how black and red are too scary of colors for good girls. The only time's I've refused are on tea ceremonies and stuff like that, I will never ever do one again. We also find entertainment in me 'making up' songs for us to sing and dance along to. I'm starting to worry about my friendships with them because they are starting to become more and more interested in boys and we will start the academy next year which is when Ino and Sakura have their rivalry start. I don't want to lose them as friends because of Sasuke, but I have no clue how to handle the situation. For now though, thats the least of my worries. If I'm not hanging out with Ino and Sakura, I hang out with Shikamaru and Choji.
Other than Sasuke, Shikamaru is the only person my age who I don't have to define words or dumb down talking and its super refreshing. Shikamaru and I play shoji every chance we get and its really fun to play then explain our strageties. I have the upper hand of 15 wins and 6 losses so far, but Shikamaru is the toughest opponent, other than his father who I have yet to beat. Choji sits and watches us play, content with just being around us and talking. Even when Choji doesn't fully understand what we are talking about, he still is there with a smile on his face. Choji is truly the sweetest person ever and I woudln't trade him for anything. After shoji, we like to go cloud watching, and thats when Choji and I have competitions to see who can eat the most. Choji wins almost every time, except if its with dango. I never gain weight since I'm still young and my training is so harsh I burn more calories than I ever could eat. I also get to hang out with Kiba sometimes. He spends a lot of time training and working with dogs so we dont have much time together, but when we do its so much fun. Kiba is wild and crazy, and he handles my hyperactive weird self really well. We usually have competitions since his new goal is to beat me. His mom Tsume is also around when we hang out, and she seems to like me since I like dogs and have a strong personality for a woman. She especially likes when I beat Kiba, which is most of the time. It's a breath of fresh air to have breaks with training and to just be a kid hanging with my friends.
Alongside training and friends, every night I have been making plans on how I am going to make a change. I know, since gladly I am not Naruto and don't have the burden of being the child of prophecy, I don't have to change everything, but I decided to do as much positive change as possible. Since my plan with Neji and his father didn't work so well, I had to change strategies. I have written down every event I know of in a timeline to help me decide what to fix and see how it affects the timeline. I know my meddling will change a lot but at least I will have a baseline to start with. My first two things on my new plan is to befriend Naruto and make him stronger so he will be less sad and there will be less casualties. My second one has to do with the Uchiha massacre, a topic that has had me sick to my stomach trying to figure out what to do. Before any big events happen, I still have a few years to plan everything out which is the only reason I haven't gone crazy from stressing about my interference.
My birthday was fun, I got to hang out with my friends and we played games and just got to be around each other. It helped me de-stress form my life. Presents are always fun too, since I never had them in the past life. From Sakura, she gave me a set of black, red, gold, and blue nail polish as well as a coupon to get free dango for a month. Ino got me my first real ninja outfit because my onesies were so overrated: a lavender and black battle kimono with black shorts to go underneath. Shikamaru got me a beautiful shoji board of my own with each square had our names carved into them. Choji got me a newly released book on shoji strategies and a new set of my favorite mangas. Kiba got me a black bracelet with a dog charm that looked like a dog collar, and I can store chakra in it for future use if I run low or something, as well as it helping him sense me better.
Sasuke got me a new pair of fingerless gloves, that grow along with my hands and wont tear with chakra usage, they were black and had intricate vine detailing in lavender and dark blue. The inside of the gloves were also made of a soft silk and had the Uchiha crest all over it. Itachi took me to the store and helped me pick out my own weapon to incorporate into my fighting. I got a twin set of beautifully crafted daggers, the blades were double edged silver and sharp and the hilt was black with a beautiful lion detailing. Mikoto and Fugaku, probably Mikoto's idea, gave me a family heirloom, a diamond encrusted Uchiha necklace. My parents gave me new books on chakra usage and also my first real book on water style justus. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
In January, we had a baby shower for my mom. I thought it was going to be unneventful, boy was I wrong. I see Neji every so often since it is his job to protect me. He usually stays far away from me and watches. Every once and awhile I sneak out to watch him train with his father and some other talented branch members. Neji is really talented, he is learning the Hyuuga style gentle fist so quickly and learns and by the look of things he will be able to master clan techniques faster than any of the head family members I've seen training in the techniques. He's talented but he's driven by his hate of the head family, which sucks because I really want to train with him and learn the palm rotation like he's learning.
Neji's obvious avoidance of me was what made it surprising when he showed up for the baby shower with Uncle Hizashi. He didn't do a good job hiding the disdain for my family, especially me, so beofre my dad could say something to make the situation worse, I gave a hug to Uncle Hizashi and pulled Neji into a training ground to let him vent his anger on me. Neji was too shocked by my actions to react until we got to the training grounds. He turned to me, his face contorting from shock to one of the most hate filled glares I have even seen in my life. It hurt that I could make somebody hate me that much.
"What do you want Hinata-sama?" Neji spat out like my name was acid on his tongue. Losing my confidence, I put on a fake smile that seemed to falter as his glare hardened even more.
"Let's spar. You can take out all of your hate for me right here right now." Neji put on an evil smirk at that point.
"Lets spar. Ha, you are so weak. It is your destiny to lose to me, the prodigy. You are a failure and always will be, you fight for nothing and that makes you worthless. Soon everyone else will see it too."
"We will see about that wont we." Right then, Neji attacked. His attacks were quick and precise, he has real talent for a boy in his first year of the academy. I saw each hit coming, and I knew exactly how to counter, but I didn't. I let each and every hit he threw at me land. Each hit had no chakra, this was attacks of pure reckless anger, not the attacks of a shinobi. The pain was immediate and after a few well placed attacks, I began to cough up blood. Yet I did not move or fall down. I allowed him to hit and kick me as much as he wanted too. After a few minutes of relentles attacks, Neji finally spoke up. He threw punch to my face.
"Fight back are you so weak you will just stand there?" Another punch. I coughed and looked up to meet his hate filled eyes.
"If I was weak, why am I still standing?" A strong kick and a yell from Neji.
"Then FIGHT BACK you worthless girl. I hate you, you ruined everything. It is because of you father is blind. It's ALL YOUR FAULT! It was his destiny to be strong, but now he is weak. Just like you, you will always be weak when you let people push you around like me. You disgust me." His screams turned into whispers and his hate turned into sadness as he beat me. I could no longer stand up and I fell to my knees but the attacks didnt stop.
"Neji-san, I know its my fault. I'm sorry I couldn't save your fathers eyes, that is why, I will not fight back. I can beat you but I wont. That wont do anything. I will take every hit you give me, put all of your hatred into it so you can finally have room for love again. I love you, you and if this is how I show my love, by letting you beat me senseless, then so be it. I will be here until you no longer hate me." I said to him with a weak smile on my face as blood began to trip into my eyes turning my vision red and murky. I could barely make out the tears pouring down Neji's face at my statement. I could hear his breathing become so ragged, I knew he was about to collapse. Neji gave in a few more hits and kicks, I finally collapsed laying on the ground. A few seconds later, I could feel Neji lay beside me.
"H-How can you, I don't understand, Why?" He gasped out in a whisper. I reached around for his hand and held it, he didn't pull away.
"Like I said dumbass, I love you and I will let you beat your hate away until you love me too." I could feel the blood pooling around me. I should probably go to he hospital soon, but it was worth it. I felt Neji steady his breathing more, then he picked me up. I was barley conscious at this point, but I allowed him to take me to wherever he was going. I could feel him running and his arms tightening around me. He was mumbling into my hair.
"Please Hinata, I'm sorry. I know it wasn't really your fault. Stay awake. Come on, were almost to the hospital." I smiled, it worked. it felt as though a weight on my heart had been lifted now that I have Neji filled with less hate and contempt. Neji sopped and I heard faint shouting. The last thing I felt before blacking out was Neji kissing my forehead and whispering an "I love you too, little sister."
I woke up greeted with blinding white light. I looked around, allowing my cloudy vision to adjust to the brightness of the room. Damn, the white walls and gross smell, I'm in the hospital again. I tried to move, but couldn't because of the pain I felt in my abdomen. I looked at my body, I was covered in bandages. The little skin I could see was bruised darkly. Damn who would have thought letting yourself get your ass kicked by someone who hated you would hurt so bad. I heard faint snoring and looked to my left. Neji was sleeping in the chair beside's by bed. I wasn't dreaming then, he really doesn't hate me anymore, sweet! I shifted a bit, but let out a groan. Neji woke up and was quickly by my side, looking at me with a mixture of guilt and worry. He grabbed my hand tightly, I could see the glassy look in his eyes from the tears trying to escape.
"Hinata, I'm so sorry, If i wasn't..." I cut him off.
'No Neji don't do that. It was my choice and I would do it over and over again. If I didn't let you, we wouldnt be hear doing this right now. You would still hate me and say something about my destiny to be a weak failure." I let out a pained and fake laugh. Neji looked at me again, and nodded his head acknowledging that I'm right. He then pulled me into a hug, and even though it hurt like hell, I let him. All while he repeated "I'm sorry" over and over. Once he let go, I gave him a mischievous smile.
"So are you going to help me escape this hell hole?" Neji looked at me annoyed.
"No, you will stay here until the doctors say you can leave." I pouted and huffed annoyance. Stupid rule following Neji. After a few minutes of silence, my eyes began to flutter closed, until the door of my room was thrown open. I opened my eyes and saw my parents and Uncle Hizashi come into the room. My mother held Hizashi and let them over to me. They embraced me and mother was crying for how worried she was for me. Uncle Hizashi just had a pained look on his face. I looked over to father, he was fuming. I've never in my life seen him so angry. I looked at where his gaze was and it was fully on Neji. Before I could say something, dad had Neji pinned up against the wall by his throat.
"You need to learn your place Neji. You disrespect and attack the heir of the Hyuuga clan, worse you send my daughter to the Hospital. Whats to stop me from killing you right now as reparations." Neji looked down ashamed.
"Nothing Hyuuga-sama." Father turned on his Byakugan and right before he could land a strike on Neji, ignoring all of the pain I deflected the attack into the wall beside Neji. After the movement I fell to the ground, but before I hit, dad dropped Neji to cradle me in his arms. His eyes still flaring dangerously, but softened when he saw me.
"Otousan, please. It was my choice, I told Neji to take all of his hate on me so he could love again. You and I both know I let this happen. Don't hurt him, he was the one who brought me here after our little fight. Please otousan, please don't punish him." I said holding onto my dad like it was a lifeline. He looked at my teary face and I felt the anger fade. Squeezing me tighter, he mumbled into the top of my head.
"My stupid daughter, you scared us all, you scared me. I won't punish Neji, but if it happens again I can't say the same. Lets go home, I will have a nurse care for you in the compound away from prying eyes." I smiled at dad and he walked out of the room with me in his arms. Everyone followed suit and we went back to the compound where I was on bedrest.
The next event that shaped my life came from the birth of Hanabi. Throughout the last month of my mothers pregnancy, she began to look weak and sickly, she could barely do anything for herself. I didn't know much about pregnancy, but the eerie feeling I was beginning to have told me that this was wrong. I noticed the worried whispers of her nurses and midwife. My father looked more stressed and agitated then usual, especially during training when he was exceptionally cruel. I pushed my worries aside and just focused on taking care of my mom, even lessening my training to always be there for her and make sure she and the baby are ok. On March 27, mom went into labor. I ran out of her delivery room and grabbed dad. WE returned to the room and I help onto one of moms hands. Her grip was crushing my fingers, but I coated my hand in chakra and let her squeeze.
I ignored everything except focusing on mom to make sure she would be ok; I didn't hear the panicked shouting of the nurses, nor did I hear that Hanabi came out. I watched mothers face intently and I saw as her eyes began to fade. I watched her mouth moving, but I couldn't hear anything she was saying. After a particularly loud scream, I snapped back into reality. I heard a nurse say there is nothing left they can do. They all left to clean off Hanabi, leaving me, mom, and dad alone. No no no no. This can't be happening. After she finished talking to dad, who looked so broken in a way I've never seen, she turned to me with that warm motherly smile. This time, instead of the comfort I felt from it, it was haunting, emphasized with the dull grey of her eyes and hollow cheekbones. She released my hand and put it on my cheek, wiping away the tears I didn't know I had.
"Hinata-chan, my beautiful princess. I love you so much."
"No Okaachan, mommy please no." I cried into her hand.
"Shh. It's alright hime. You are beautiful, strong, smart, kind, and so talented. You are perfect the way you are. Promise me you wont change yourself no matter how much the clan pushes you." I nodded. "Protect your sister and your friends like I know you can. Don't be afraid of love, I want you to fall in love with a handsome boy who loves you. Goodbye my darling. Tell Hanabi I loved her please." Mom closed her eyes and I felt her breathing stop. I jumped on top of her and buried my head into her chest.
"Mommy please. I promise, I promise. You can't go. Stay STAY! I need you, you can't leave us." I wailed. I felt multiple arms wrap around my small frame and rip me off her body. I was thrashing screaming for my mom when I felt myself get pulled into a warm embrace. I inhaled and could smell the scent of Shisui. He was whispering words I couldn't hear, but I felt myself relax into him. I cried into his shirt for what felt like hours until I fell asleep in his arms.
I woke up and all I could feel is numbness. My mother, the one who cared for me, is gone. How do people handle this, it feels like my world has collapsed in on itself. I'm not even in my room, I have no idea where I am. Nobody is here, I am alone. Shisui came in, I must be in his room. I looked at him and blinked. He smiled but flinched away at my stare. I cant bring myself to smile, it wont work. Itachi and Sasuke came in following behing him. I still didn't ackwnoledge them, I couldn't, it hurt too much. Sasuke pushed past Itachi, ignoring his warings to stay away, and hugged me. Sasuke was borderline suffocating me with his hug, but I didn't care. My whole body was cold but he was warm. Shisui asked me if I wanted another hug. When I weakly nodded yes, I was pulled into Itachi's lap and Shisui hugged my other side. I was surrounded by them but it helped, I could feel something other than cold. We stayed like that for a bit, but Shisui knew I needed a distraction. Him and Sasuke then began to tell me about training and playing at the park. I cried a bit, but they kept talking. Then they began to talk about Hanabi. Shit Hanabi, I promised I would take care of her.
"Where is she?" I choked out, my voice raspy from crying. Someone, I'm not sure who, said she is with Mikoto. My dad left on a month long mission today, and I am staying with the Uchiha's for the time being.
"I want to see her." Itachi moved me off of his lap into Shisui's and left the room. A minute later he returned with Mikoto in tow, she was holding a bundle of pink blankets. Sasuke let go of me and Mikoto placed Hanabi into my awaiting arms. Even with my small body, Hanabi was smaller. She smiled at me and I cried, giving her a small smile back. All of the sadness flowed away for a minute, replaced with love. She's mine, my little sister. I lost my mom but now I have a sister to love and care for the same way mom did for me. I touched her cheek and her small fingers wrapped around my index finger. I can't believe she's my sister, other than our eyes, we look nothing alike. She looks so much more like mom and dad than I do. She has brown hair like they do, smaller more rounded eyes and a more circular face structure. She is so beautiful and delicate, like a piece of fine china. I held her closer to me and just watched as she looked back at me giggling. After a few minutes of her watching me, she began to cry. Mikoto rushed over to me with a bottle. I held it and Hanabi drank, slowly falling asleep in the process. Everyone left the room for us to be alone. Once she finished eating, she was fully asleep. I laid Hanabi down and crawled next to her, going to sleep myself.
When I woke up, I felt arms around me. I looked in front of me and Hanabi was still sleeping. Shisui was on the other side of Hanabi, sleeping with his arm behind my head. Carefully, I turned around and saw Sasuke sleeping and hugging me from behind. Itachi was sleeping in a chair next to the bed. A warm feeling enveloped me, I am so lucky to have them.
The next week went similar. I wouldn't speak unless its to ask about how to care for Hanabi, every day I would do nothing but take care of her. Each night, I would sleep with Hanabi, and throughout the night they would all join me. The pain was still there, but the distractions and love they provided me with helped me begin to feel. The second week of being there, I had a surprise. When I woke up in the morning, instead of my normal bedmates, I had many more. Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Ino, and Sakura all joined me in my room sleeping in various places. As soon as everyone noticed I was awake, I was bombarded with hugs. The pain began to fade a little bit more, the numbness inside of me was gone. It was at this time that I decided to train again.
I trained harder and more dangerous than ever to fulfill my promise to protect the ones I love. Every night I would return to the Uchiha compound bloody and bruised worse than any of my other training sessions. The physical pain helps with the mental pain. Training was the only time I would be away from Hanabi. After a few weeks of this, I still was silent, but my eyes had some of the gleam return. One day, my father walked through the compound and took us home. He said nothing to me, he couldn't even look at Hanabi. I knew the death was hurting him, but I never thought I would see him so cold to me. When we got home, Neji came up to me and hugged me. He lost his mom at a young age too, so he knows how I feel. I was comforted with his presence and the knowledge that he can understand me. Neji spent the night with Hanabi and I. In the morning, dad walked into my room and woke me up for training. He still didn't acknowledge Hanabi. Neji told me he would care for her while I was gone, so I left for training.
Training with dad became miserable. He would yell and call me pathetic, he would push me to the point of needing a doctor to stay on watch every night. It was like he was purpose pushing me away to hate him. I've never felt so unloved and miserable. Any of the love that used to be in fathers eyes was completely gone. I no longer was aloud to hang out with my friends, the only things I could do were train, make my plans, and care for Hanabi. The only light I had was Hanabi, and my drive for my dream to protect everyone was the only reason I could keep going. I noticed that as long as I kept attention on me and away from Hanabi, father wouldn't try to hurt her. This is how my life went until late August, when it was time to start the Academy.