Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Chapter 13

Resolve

Whether it had become a hobby, she didn't know. But Hinata didn't have much to do on her own while Sasuke was away, so she always found herself at the balcony watching the sun rise from below. And with all the pain and disappointment the crystal had brought upon her, she still found it in her palm reflecting the sun's brightness.

She saw her friend on his way to start his day. She hoped that he would turn around and wave. "Heh..." Just the thought of him waving to her made her smile. Sasuke-kun wouldn't do that in public. Her finger was rubbing her crystal as her head was slowly facing the ground.

Oi, Mitsu!

"Huh?" She lifted her head up and looked at the figure that was supposed to be on his way to the training grounds. "Sasuke-kun?"

She saw him, with his signature smirk, lift his arm up and wave with his free hand. Unconsciously, her hand imitated his action which made him turn around and disappear in a poof.

She felt another smile bloom on her face. But it quickly fell from all the unwanted memories streaming through her head.

"We found traces of tears as we examined her, and the breakdown must have caused the stitches to pop like that, which also caused a tiny damage to her spine from the quick movement plus her already wounded front. Her recovery may really vary, depending on how she heals physically and emotionally."

And to her luck, other bad news came along that day.

Just don't bother coming back, no, don't you dare come back after you dishonored the pride of us Hyugas! Hanabi will take off from where you never started.

Hiashi-sama! You can't be serious! She's your daughter!

She brought her knees close to her chest and hugged them. Oto-sama...

Don't refer me as that again!

Her eyes shut down in hopes that the memories would stop, but they simply continued. By squeezing the illuminating object in her fist, she wondered if that was what caused all those unpleasant moments to roam free.

Now that she was reminded of how severely she was hurt during the battle, she recalled a time where Sasuke told her about her crystal receiving all its' chakra back from Yoroi and how her chakra should have returned to her body by now. She dug her face between her chest and knees.

Truth is, she hadn't felt any sudden burst of chakra. Let alone seen a sky-like chakra float around Konoha looking for its' owner. She never told Sasuke-kun. She saw him as a friend and yet she felt that he wouldn't give a damn about what happens to her the minute they won't have to share the same room again.

A picture of Naruto popped into her mind as she dug her face deeper between her chest and knees. N-Naruto-kun. Thinking back to what Naruto taught her, she raised her head. That lesson was: not to give up.

Even though she wasn't a Hyuga anymore, or temporarily absent from Team 8. She was still a Guardian, and she had responsibilities as a Guardian, too. She stood from her seat, walked in and opened the closet that held onto the remains of her ninja attire from the fight with Yoroi.

"N-Not the best s-start..." Her eyes wandered around the closet until it locked onto the combination that not only looked good, but might fit her as well.

When she approved of her new appearance for the 5th time in the mirror, she headed out. She made sure that her route to the woods wasn't filled with people, and that they wouldn't recognize her.

She must admit while looking down, she never thought she would reveal this much in public. But then again, she came from a Clan who prioritized pride and image.

When she had picked a spot where nobody could possibly hear her, she brought her crystal out. She gulped as she saw every person, who she felt, disapproved of her worth as a ninja on that crystal. She shook her head and stretched her arm out.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and spoke the magical cry.

"Unlock..."

Blast!

Hinata was left to roll on the dirty ground in confusion. "Wh-What was th-at...?"

As she got up, she examined the the place for any potential enemies. She resumed her goal on unlocking her Armor. Hopefully it won't happen again...

She took her crystal, stretched her arm out and spoke the enchantment. She felt a light warming her face, so she opened her eyes and found an energy ball before her. She was sent flying on the ground once again.

She cleared her face from the dirt and proceed on continuing her fight for her Armor. She sucked her tears in as she glared at the gem stone before her.

"Let me unlock my Armor...!"

"Orochimaru-sama, how did the deal between you and Sasuke go?"

The snake Sannin was rotating with the glass of wine between his fingers. "I must admit, interesting character. He got potential but," he stopped the glass, "there's something that's hiding."

"Hiding? What could that be?"

"I don't know, but we know that the Yin Guardian is living with him at the moment. Kabuto, I want you to bring her to me. Alive."

"But, with all due respect Orochimaru-sama, isn't it too early to already kidnap the Yin Guardian?"

Orochimaru smirked, "well, a part of her is here already. Why not bring the rest?"

Kabuto nodded and bowed before he made his leave.

For a 12-year old, the apartment seemed a little bit too much. At least in Kabuto's eyes. The medical ninja made his way in, and sensed nothing so far. He went upstairs, opened the door to the bedroom and felt played when there were none to be seen.

"Where is she?" As he took a step into the room, his feet touched upon shirts and shorts that were a bit too small for any of the two to wear.

"What?" He took a piece and searched the room. Where could she be? The grey-haired ninja examined the whole flat before coming to conclusion that none were home.

He reported back to his master and received an annoyed hiss. "She must have gone somewhere, I don't know where. She wasn't to be found in the central of Konoha, either."

Orochimaru lay the empty glass down and stood from his seat. At first he found it odd considering that she clearly wasn't ready to face the scroll in her current state. "The test. That's it. Kabuto, I have another plan." This time he gave a devilish grin.

"Finish it off!" Kakashi ordered as the climatic battle between Team 7 and a clone of his was coming to an end.

"Hai!" Naruto dashed towards the clone with a huge shuriken in his hand. Both he and Sasuke jumped into the sky, with Naruto being a tad higher than Sasuke.

The Kakashi clone performed the same hand signs that would make thunder surround his hand. His was taken by surprise when Sakura appeared from behind and launched a Water style jutsu and splashed it all over him, electrifying him.

While the clone was distracted, Sasuke performed his Clan's infamous fire style jutsu: Great Fireball Jutsu. By the sound of fire, Naruto spun the shuriken so that it would melt with the fire and threw it towards the Kakashi clone.

All three of them assembled in a line as their combo succeed and the clone disappeared in a poof. They collapsed on their knees in unison, all of them sighing in relief over their first and last victory.

"That was the greatest I've ever seen from you all. You really deserve a clap on the shoulder." Kakashi smiled from seeing the seriousness in their faces even from their victory. Especially Sasuke, for a guy who doesn't like anything he was pretty good at team working.

"Are... we ready for the test?" Naruto asked. And probably on behalf of them all.

Kakashi nodded proudly. "You're ready."

Even though they were officially ready for the test, everything seemed awkward between Team 7. Sasuke decided to waste some time before heading home.

I have one last thing say. I don't assume that your sensei has told you yet.

The Uchiha had his suspicions with Orochimaru. He knew everything about the crystals and who the current bearers of Yin and Yang crystals. He said that it was a Guardian thing to know that, but that was just stupid even if it came from a Sannin.

Everything was so messed up at the moment that the only thing that could keep Sasuke's mind away from all that was Hinata. Even if she tended to be a little bit too talkative. Sasuke smirked. He closed his eyes, inhaling the fresh breeze.

That baka.

Sasuke's eyes opened from the loud thumb and a familiar cry. What?

He followed the sounds of a body rolling on the ground. He felt his feet walking faster, to the point where he found himself running as that familiar voice belonged to none other than the girl he had in mind not so long ago. He felt blinded for a minute as he pushed his way past the bushes.

He made his entrance to the field and saw Hinata scratched from head to toe. He made his way to his childhood friend. "Hinata."

He swung his sword across the field, sending a mighty wind through the area. As he heard no sign of struggle, he turned around to find Hinata losing consciousness.

"Oi, Hinata!" He knelt down, and lightly shook her. "Oi, what happened?"

Hinata could barely keep her eyelids from sliding down. The last thing she felt were gentle hands holding her close, and a voice that spoke with a worried tone. She managed to get a blink of the person who had found her, she couldn't recognize him at all... Her hand reached out to the person's hand and smiled before she passed out. Kurai-kun...

Sasuke gently put her on his back and started walking until a ray of light caught his eye. "Hm?" He saw Hinata's crystal illuminating. He took it up and no damage had been made on it. He flashed himself back to his apartment.

His body shone blue as he opened the door to his bedroom. "Huh?"

He felt Hinata's body flinch, she was waking up. She insisted on taking over from here so he let her down. He didn't let her do anything until she explained everything.

"I... I was just training..." She told him about her resolve this morning and that she would get stronger on her own until the Guardians were finished with their tests. What caught Sasuke's ears were that she wasn't stuttering through it all for once.

"I'm fine, you don't have to worry about anything. They are just minor scratches."

Sasuke moved from her mouth to her new... look? Though he owned all of it. He may not know Hinata Hyuga so well, but he knew Mitsu. And Mitsu would never reveal her stomach or let a top embrace her busty chest. And the shorts, revealing her feminine yet well-sculpted legs...Her body could seem like an overly soft teddy bear, but when fully displayed, it could melt your heart. Kami, her body was out of the ordinary.

Sasuke grew a wide smirk across his face which confused Hinata until she realized how exposed she was in front of him, a guy. A guy, who she had shared the same bed with for at least a week now.

Her pale face reddened, her body started to panic which took Sasuke by surprise until her leg kicked his crotch. "Ah~ S-S-S-Sasuke-kun!"

"Y-You...!"

"G-G-G-Gomenasai~!"

Thank you for reading once again ^^ Hope you enjoyed! :3