Chapter 6
Naruto felt old. He had returned to his house to find a summons from Old Lady Tsunade, and he carefully read it before reacting. Nee-chan had taught him, perhaps, a modicum of patience.
"What does Baa-chan want now?" he wondered out loud, stowing the note.
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Hinata approached the rice paper door with trepidation. Now was when she was going to prove to herself who she was. Had she changed at all and learned to be confident in her self, or was it all a sad dream that existed only in Naruto's presence? Was she who she thought she was, or had Naruto simply made her that way?
Head bowed, she slid the door to the right, entering the room and closing the door before looking up at her father. Hiashi sat stiffly. Actually, Hinata thought, he did everything stiffly. To his right and left were the Eldest and the Head of the Side Branch respectively.
She walked evenly to the small cushion in front of the three and sat on her knees, as was proper in their company.
"Hyuuga Hinata," Hiashi started, "you have been summoned here because the Hokage feels you should test to be a Jounin." Ah, so that's what prompted all of this.
"As you know, the clan's honor is paramount for every Hyuuga. Especially those of the Main Branch. That is why I wanted to ensure, before you attempted the Jounin exam that you would not... repeat your performance during the Chuunin exams." Hinata winced internally, but showed no outward signs of emotion to her father. She waited silently, meeting his gaze, for him to continue.
"To this end, we have decided that you shall fight Hyuuga Hanabi in a private match which will be attended by the entire Hyuuga clan and the Hokage." At this, Hinata could not restrain her reaction entirely. She was surprised, and a bit upset. He was placing her in front of the whole clan to see if she would get unnerved.
"It has also been decided that this match shall determine a point of constant trouble in your... absence..." Hinata didn't like where this was going. "The winner of this match shall be the true heir to the Hyuuga clan."
Hinata's eyes went wide. Her father was going to commit one of them to the Side Branch. Not someday, but now. An internal conflict began within her immediately. She had no desire to become a Side Branch member, nor to let down her clan and her father. But her father had just placed her in a very cruel position. She was required to either send her sister to the Side Branch, or forever become a servant herself.
She wasn't certain which was the worse outcome.
"As you wish... father." She said it shakily, and after a nod from Hiashi, rose to leave the room, her head spinning. This wasn't at all what she had been expecting. One of them was always going to be committed to the Side Branch. And though it was most often the younger sibling, that wasn't always the case. Somewhere in her mind, Hinata felt like she could understand her sister's resentment a little better. It had never occurred to her that she was the reason for her sister's probable fate.
Heading to her room, she realized something: her father was forcing Hanabi to hate her. In her father's mind, if Hinata truly was the heir of the clan, then she should be the one to send her sister to the Side Branch. It was a superiority thing to him, she knew.
But no... he certainly didn't think that she could defeat her sister. Then what her father was really trying to do was put her in her place. Punish her, once and for all.
These sorts of events always occurred a week after they were announced. She had seven days to contemplate and mull the future of her and her sister. It was six and a half days too long...
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"Uzumaki Naruto, reporting, baa-chan." Tsunade looked up and scoffed. Why had he gone through the trouble of reporting like a normal ninja if he was going to call her "baa-chan"?
"As a chuunin, you have certain responsibilities, Naruto." He rolled his eyes at "the R word" Tsunade noticed. "One of these responsibilities is leadership. You have four months until the initial Jounin matches. Over that time you will spend some of each day training your leadership abilities to match that of a Jounin."
"Alright! I'm going to lead my own missions! Woo hoo!" Naruto jumped up and down in excitement.
"Ah, not exactly." Tsunade grinned mischievously as she pulled out a crisp document. "You are going to teach for the first two months, Naruto. We have an opening at the Academy which needs filling, and you will be the one to fill it." Naruto groaned loudly.
"I'm gonna be teaching a bunch of little twerps at the Academy?! But that's a waste of my time! How will I be able to train myself while I'm teaching!?"
"You won't. That's the point. You're not training your ninja abilities with this assignment, Naruto. You are training your leadership abilities." Naruto complained loudly, but Tsunade held up a hand until he quieted. "Aren't you even curious what you'll be teaching?" He stopped and considered that for a moment. He was kind of curious what she had felt he could teach.
"I guess."
"You will be teaching about the West. Culture, people, and...." she paused for effect. "Fighting style." Naruto perked up. Was she saying what he thought she was?
"Are you... talking about the Shino-Tsu-Hiko?" Tsunade nodded.
"That is precisely what I am talking about. You spend three years learning it yourself. I do not expect that we will be able to come remotely close to duplicating your training quality or experience, however I feel that exposing our young soon-to-be Genin to various fighting styles, particularly those as unique as that of the Kaze, will help them."
"But what about those who are naturally more inclined to the Shina-To-Be? I only know half of the art, and not nearly as well as... Nori..." he trailed off.
"A problem I have already considered and solved. Hinata will teach the class with you, and you will give a brief overview of both forms, and partner training." Naruto looked significantly more keen to teach "the twerps" now. "There are some things to remember however.
"First, you may not teach the class expecting the students to become at all proficient in the forms. This is more for them to think about than to truly practice. Nor may you actually teach them partner fighting.
"Second, after the class is over, and this assignment is finished, you may, if you wish, teach willing students to better understand the forms. But only after, and only if it does not interfere with your other duties.
"Third, at some point I would like you to instruct some fellow chuunin and jounin in these forms. This will most likely come after you have completed your Jounin Exam.
"Fourth, I think it goes without saying that given this assignment, you are to practice and refine your proficiency in this art continuously. If it is not already part of your daily training regimen, it is now.
"Finally... Naruto, you may not even try to teach any of the Nine Principal, nor may you attempt to teach intention." Naruto was silent. He wasn't considered the brightest among his peers, but he wasn't an idiot. He had been expecting the last condition.
"May I teach them of the Nine Principals?" Tsunade stared into his eyes for a few moments.
"If that is all you do." Naruto looked around the office, then back at his orders.
"When do I start?" Tsunade smiled.
"You will start immediately after Hinata is finished with her duties to the Hyuuga. It should be about a week or so. In the mean time, I expect you to create a lesson plan." Tsunade smirked. "With Hinata's help of course." Naruto looked visibly relieved. He didn't even know where to start with teaching... he'd taught himself a lot, but how to explain it to others...
"Anything else, baa-chan?" Tsunade glared at him for a moment.
"Yes. I am still expecting the full mission summary. I will be waiting for that at the end of the week as well." Naruto nodded, rose, and proceeded out the door without so much as looking back.
Hiashi will not be pleased, she thought. He wanted Hinata to abandon the Shina-To-Be... and now she will teach it.
Tsunade smiled. Oh, the wonders of being Hokage.
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The next few days were busy for Naruto. Hinata told him about Hiashi's proposal, and had to hold Naruto back from going to give Hiashi a piece of his mind. Needless to say, neither were pleased with the situation.
They decided to get the mission report out of the way first, and after a short while, Naruto suggested that he work on it himself.
"Hina-chan, I have no idea how to do a lesson plan, but I know how to do a mission report... why don't I take care of the report, and you can write the lesson plan, then when we're done we can each look over both to make sure we haven't missed anything." Hinata nodded and set to work. It was the sort of logical, reasoned thinking that many in the Leaf didn't think Naruto capable of.
But Hinata knew the truth was that he simply felt it unnecessary to reason something. If he knew it was right, it didn't matter to him how he knew, and he had never felt that it should matter much to anyone else either.
With two days until the match with Hanabi, they were finished with both documents, and Naruto was expressing concern about how Hinata would fare in the fight.
"Hina-chan, you haven't seen your sister in three years. Who knows how far she's progressed." Hinata simply shook her head. Strangely, she had no doubt.
"No, I am not worried about being unable to beat her," she told him. "I just... I don't know if I can send her to the Side Branch... you don't understand what it means. I'm sentencing her to give up her dreams and aspirations." Naruto frowned.
"But what about you? You'd have to give up everything too..." He grumbled. "When I'm Hokage this is the first thing I'm changing..." Hinata smiled.
"Naruto, even as the Hokage there's nothing you could do to change this... it hasn't been changed for hundreds of years." Suddenly she sat up. "But maybe things don't have to change!" Naruto looked at her confused as she smiled widely and cuddled down onto the couch with him.
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It was today. The day. Hinata rose confidently. She couldn't afford any doubt today. Besides, she wanted to be convincing. She wanted to show her father how wrong he was.
Hinata combed her hair slowly, running her hands through it, loving the feel. She was different now. She wasn't the same person that left. Truthfully, she felt more self-confidence now, having returned to the village than at the end of their mission. Somehow, coming home to face all the reason's she'd had low self-confidence only served to make her more sure of herself. She could feel herself changing, becoming a different person. A person more worthy of Naruto... and more worthy of herself.
She would not start this morning with forms and a workout. As was tradition within the Hyuuga clan, she would spend the morning meditating. At noon, the match would begin. And she was intent on making the outcome undeniable.
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Naruto rose before the sun, nervous. He wasn't able to eat much, his stomach just didn't feel like it. He didn't doubt Hinata's abilities. Not even for a second. It was her father that made him uneasy. Hiashi wasn't trustworthy to him. All of the qualities that life had taught him were dishonorable and dangerous he saw in that man.
Who was to say that Hiashi would play fair.
He decided that the only thing he could possibly do to get his mind off of the afternoon would be to train. Hard.
Grabbing his training outfit, he headed out. Ramen sounded like the only thing he could eat right now... the perfect start to the day.
"Itarashyaimase!" Ayame shouted out happily. "It's Naruto father!"
"Oh?" the old man came over to great his favorite customer. "Heard that your Hinata has a big day today." Naruto grinned maniacally.
"She sure does! She's gonna be amazing today!" The older man smiled.
"What can I get you?"
"One pork, ojii-san." The man tipped his hat and headed to the back to prepare the order.
"Hey, Naruto!" He turned his head and immediately broke out into smiles.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto ran over and gave the man a hug, but he didn't jump on him or hang on him as he had in the past. Naruto was far too big to do that.
"I heard you're going to be a teacher at the Academy for a while!" Naruto smiled confidently.
"Yeah! And I'm gonna be teaching about what I learned while I was gone with Hina-chan." Iruka smiled fondly at his former student as they both sat down back at the counter.
"Are you going to be watching today?" Naruto nodded. For a closed match, everyone seemed to know what was going on.
"Tsunade-baa-chan is going to bring me with her to make sure I get in." He gave Iruka a thumbs up.
"Do you think she's going to do well?" Naruto nodded emphatically.
"I know she will."
As Naruto ate and spoke with his former sensei, the morning lengthened, and as Naruto trained after, it wasn't long before he made his way back home to get ready for the match.
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I will make Naruto proud. Hinata thought to herself. I will show father how he is wrong. I will show the whole clan how they are wrong, just as me and Naruto showed the Kaze.
"Hinata-sama," a servant beckoned. She looked at the man. He had the caged-bird seal on his forehead. He could not fly free. "The match is about to start. This way please."
She rose, her long traditional clothing falling loosely around her. Underneath she wore her fighting outfit.
Hinata followed the man slowly to the arena. For the first time in her life, Hinata felt absolute confidence. She didn't want to defeat her sister, she was going to.
The servant stopped at a pair of double doors and bowed. She turned and thanked him, then slowly opened the doors, walking through with her head held high.
The Hyuuga estate had a rather large arena, but it was rarely used. For traditions sake, it was never used for practice or sparring, and thus had very little utility to the every day. Now though, it had hundreds inside. Nearly all were Hyuuga, though some were other people of importance.
She searched the crowd, looking... there. She saw Naruto waving and smiling, and allowed herself a faint smile before steeling her face and proceeding to the center of the arena. Removing her traditional garbs, she handed the clothing to another servant as she stood in her spot, waiting for her sister.
By tradition, the opponents always entered the arena oldest to youngest, no matter their stature.
Hanabi came in looking every bit as confident. She certainly had more practice with it, Hinata thought to herself. Hanabi took her place, handing her traditional clothing to the servant, then looking her sister in the eye. They stared at each other, unblinking, as their father rose to speak.
Hinata searched for something, some hint, in her sister's eyes, but her father had trained Hanabi well. Hinata saw nothing.
"Fellow Hyuuga and distinguished guests, I present to you the future of the Hyuuga clan.
"Today we shall determine which of my daughters shall lead this clan honorably, and confidently as the heir of their father's position. The match will proceed until one is no longer able to fight." Hiashi was silent for a moment before turning to his daughters. "May you fight with honor and dignity befitting your place in this clan."
Hiashi sat in his seat, and the arena was deathly silent as the referee cam out between them.
"Hinata-sama, are you ready?" Hinata nodded promptly and curtly.
"Hanabi-sama, are you ready?" Hanabi nodded as well, her eyes never leaving that of her sister's.
"Very well. Begin."
Immediately Hanabi and Hinata activated their Byaakugan, rushing towards each other in a flash. Hanabi sent several graceful strikes at her sister, but Hinata easily parried them, sweeping her sister's legs out from under her.
Hanabi fell backward, spring-boarding off her hands and back on to her feet. Hinata took her stance... the ready stance of the Shina-To-Be, and stared at her sister.
A quiet murmur began to go around the crowd. They all knew Hinata had been away, but for a Hyuuga to compete in this arena and not fight in the Jyuuken stance was absolutely unheard of. Hiashi looked as if he had a lemon in his mouth. Hanabi smirked.
"So brazen. No wonder father wants to make me heir." Hanabi rushed forward once more, kicking high to force Hinata to duck. She threw her body weight around and quickly jumped behind her sister, striking to her torso, intent on incapacitating her immediately. But when her palm got there, Hinata was gone.
Hanabi continued in one motion and rolled to the side as her sister came from right next to her, hands flowing and striking in a manner that was foreign to her. It was even more impressive than it had been while Hinata practiced, though it was hard for Hanabi to appreciate it as she tried to avoid the blows.
Hanabi disengaged, staring at her sister.
"Very well." Hinata watched as her sister began a process she had only seen a Hyuuga go through a few times in her life.
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"What's happening?" Naruto asked Tsunade quietly.
"Hanabi is about to use the Spirit Kaigi Jutsu." Tsunade said softly... she had only seen it once. "The Hyuuga know that the Jyuuken is not enough to defeat some enemies, and developed the Spirit Kaigi Jutsu as a way to defeat the toughest opponents. I had no idea Hiashi had been teaching it to Hanabi."
"How does it work?" Tsunade turned to the blond-haired boy.
"The Jyuuken works by combining the Byaakugan with a fluid form of taijutsu to close the chakra points of an opponent. The Spirit Kaigi Jutsu works on the same principal, except in envelops the entire body in a layer of chakra by giving the user very precise control over the Eight Gates."
"You mean like with Lee and the Lotus?" Tsunade shook her head.
"No. The Primary Lotus works by forcing open the gates and flooding your body with chakra. The Spirit Kaigi Jutsu allows you to control the gates, which lets you move faster, or fight stronger, or be smoother. It can even allow you to heal faster, it all depends on which gate you open, how much, and where you direct the chakra.
"It requires an extraordinary amount of control and discipline. It is also only taught to the main branch." Naruto's eyes went wide.
"But they don't know if Hanabi will be in the Main Branch yet!" Tsunade gave him a look.
"Clearly, Hiashi never intended for Hinata to be the heir. As soon as she left I'm sure he dismissed her as a possible heir and began training her sister." Naruto glared at the back of the man's head.
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Hinata was shocked at first. This was a statement by itself. Hiashi had chosen who he wanted to be the heir, and the proof was right in front of everyone. The mere fact that Hanabi was using this technique told everyone that not only did Hiashi choose Hanabi to succeed him, but he had so little faith in Hinata that he had not even waited for any sort of official confirmation.
She glanced at her father. He was staring at Hanabi with such a large amount of pride and respect. He didn't even glance at Hinata for a moment. To him, she didn't exist. That was the statement this made.
The old Hinata would have broken right there. It was such a slap in the face, that she actually faulted for a moment, not sure if this entire thing was simply a charade. Did her life have no meaning?
That was when she caught Naruto's eye. He was just the opposite. He was staring with pride and affection at her. He didn't glance for even a moment at Hanabi. No, her life had meaning, and she was going to prove it.
She turned back to Hanabi. Her sister was done preparing... her eyes no longer had pupils, they were simply white.
"What do you think, Hinata? Quite impressive, isn't it?" Hinata closed her eyes and summoned up all the chakra she possessed. She'd never done this in a fight, and she wasn't going to take and chances. She gathered her chakra, all of it, and pleasantly found that she had more power than she thought.
She took her chakra and placed it in her center, curling it, swirling it into a tight ball. More chakra, curling tighter.
Ten breaths breaths then focus on the goal.
Hanabi stared at her, almost curious.
Set your intention. I'm going to overpower her. I'm going to completely dominate this match until she can fight no more, and leave no doubt.
Choose your principal.
Power. She was going to become and exude power.
Unwind it and go.
Hinata exploded from where she stood, and her sister, stricken with shock, almost was hit by her initial onslaught. Hanabi called upon The Gate of Opening and directed the chakra to her legs and arms, concentrating so that she could move fast enough to block and parry the blows coming from Hinata.
From the sidelines everyone was in complete confusion. What was happening? Hanabi had been about to unleash the clan's ultimate technique, and Hinata had suddenly... changed. Tsunade looked at Naruto questioningly.
"What is that?" Naruto looked on in pride. Hanabi was now blocking each of the blows, but could not get off any attacks of her own.
"That," he said fondly, "is Intention. Judging by her strikes she chose the principal of Power." Tsunade turned back to the fight.
"I see."
Hinata meanwhile was in a blur. She could feel the chakra, and surrendered her actions to it. The energy coursed throughout her body, and she stared at her sister, determination rising. She was going to close Hanabi's chakra points, and then it would be over.
Hanabi felt it first on her arms. She sent chakra so that she could parry and block, but her arms were becoming less and less responsive. Hinata was closing her chakra points.
After seconds, she could no longer use her left arm. Unable to stop the torrent of blows, the loss of her arm was more or less the end of the fight, as Hinata swiftly closed all Hanabi's chakra points on her body, leaving her helpless to fight back.
Hinata stepped back as Hanabi collapsed on to the floor. She looked at her little sister before closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath. The crowd could almost see the power itself ripple off of Hinata as she let the chakra unwind completely, and let go of her intention.
"Winner, Hyuuga Hinata," the servant declared. Hinata walked to the center of the room, as was customary, but the room remained deathly silent. She bowed to the crowd.
"I hope I have made you proud, father." Hiashi looked like he was completely dumbfounded. He nodded faintly to Hinata, before turning to the servant.
"Take... Hanabi... to have the Caged-Bird Seal applied..." He didn't say it with any sort of confidence or conviction. It sounded as if he was in a dream-like state.
"No, father." Everyone in the room turned to Hinata. Hiashi regained his composure and looked livid that Hinata would contradict him in front of the entire clan. "As has been the tradition in our clan for many years, the Caged-Bird Seal is applied once an heir takes their seat, not when an heir is chosen. With due respect to your ever wise judgment, I put forth that Hanabi should be treated as all other non-heirs before her: caged only once I take my place."
There was a loud mumbling among the crowd as they realized she spoke the truth. Hiashi looked at once relieved and furious.
"You speak wisdom, my daughter," he said purposefully. "As I would expect of the heir of the clan." He said it with such cutting quality that it came as no compliment. "Take Hanabi to treat her injuries. This match is over."
Author's Notes: Alright... so... chapter six... it's only been about nine months.
Honestly I'm sorry. I love writing. It's one of the few things in this world that truly bring joy into my life.
Unfortunately it isn't something that brings food into my life.
For the last nine months I've been working very hard because I've been having some problems paying the bills and putting food on my table. What kind of problems? The kind where I only eat twice a day, where I drink lots of water to make my stomach think it's full, etc. Ramen, sadly, is not as good as Naruto thinks it is when instant.
Why do I tell you? Certainly not because I'm looking for pity. Everyone has things that go wrong. Lots of people have problems with bills and such. I tell you because you deserve to know why I haven't been writing.
If I ever stop, if I ever go without updating, it isn't because I've lost interest in the story, or because I don't feel like writing any more, it's because I can't. It's because my mind is simply too preoccupied to sit down and create something coherent and worth of your reading.
Things were much simpler when I wasn't an adult.
Anyway, all my whining aside, I would very much appreciate it if you told me what you thought of this chapter. It really makes the effort worth it to know that your writing doesn't go unappreciated.