Chapter 7
Hinata collapsed into Naruto's arms, as they fell onto his couch. Following the match, Hinata had acted the part, being every bit the heir she was. It was grating, tiring, and nerve-racking. It didn't feel like who she was... she knew how to be that person, but it wasn't the same as being that person. They'd left at the first chance, and gone straight to Naruto's house. Hinata was drained.
"Are you alright, Hina-chan?" She curled up in his arms. It felt as if the world was pressing in on her, and Naruto's arms were stopping it.
"Yeah," she said faintly. Naruto frowned, though Hinata couldn't see his face in her current position, slowly stroking her hair.
It was difficult for him to understand what she was feeling. They'd gotten to see a lot of clan dynamics up close with the Kaze, and it was certainly an enlightening experience, but it was something else entirely to have that expectation and that weight on your own shoulders. Naruto could certainly grasp what it was like to be expected to fail, but to have each failure count for so much for so many... it was a difficult thing to get.
But Naruto didn't have to understand the feeling to know that Hinata was in fact not fine. He felt a certain comfort being with her that he hadn't felt in his life before their trip, and with it came a sort of understanding.
"Hina-chan... tell me what's wrong..." Hinata sank further into his arms, hoping the bad feelings would just go away.
"It's so hard," she said softly, "going out there and doing your best, knowing that it means nothing to all the people watching. A lot of people are expected to fail... but to have the things you do succeed at mean nothing... it hurts."
Naruto nodded, not knowing how to respond. So he just held her, his arms wrapped around her protectively, as if he himself was going to keep the bad feelings away. Hinata, for her part, felt that that's exactly what he did.
:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::
"Yasu, Miki needs you." Sora was miffed to say the least. Yasu was getting better, much better. She was eating regularly, doing things other than staring off into the distance, and had even begun training once more. Yet every so often she slipped into a sort of shell, wherein she was once again helpless to perform even the most simple tasks.
And it was a tad annoying.
"Miki's hungry, and she won't shut up!" Sora loved Miki... she just didn't like the way she acted sometimes. She ran her hands through her hair as she waited for Yasu to respond... they were spikes now. Bright blond spikes.
Yasu looked out the window as if she hadn't heard a word Sora had said, then after a few moments seemed to return, and faced her old friend.
"Sorry... memories..." Sora bit her tongue as Yasu walked past to go help her daughter, and sighed. This was becoming a very taxing situation.
Not only was living in her own house becoming a very stressful thing, but she actually found herself longing to return to Konoha of all places. A place she'd swore she'd never willingly stay again.
Just thinking about the village brought up thoughts about Kakashi, and her... parents... The only people she really considered her parents.
It was funny the way life turned out. The very things she'd run away from were the things she wanted desperately to run towards now, and yet as fate would have it, she couldn't. At least not yet.
Walking into the library, Sora pulled down a scroll. It was a very special scroll for her. On it was all of the work and research that she'd done on her own for Naruto. He didn't know about it... she'd never told him... but she was determined to help him overcome the obstacle that was keeping that demon in check.
Naruto was determined to become Hokage, and if he was going to, he was going to have to find a way to make sure that he could control the demon chakra and still defeat powerful opponents. And right now, that was something he just couldn't do.
Baka-san... I'll help you reach your dreams...
:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::
The next day felt much better for Hinata. She was the heir, for good, and she had proven her worth to herself, her father and her people. Yes, the world had realigned itself it seemed.
"Hinata-sama." She turned to look at the speaker, her face falling as she saw Hanabi, head bowed, in a long traditional robe. Hanabi had called her by name... she was acting like a servant.
"Hanabi... I will not let you treat me as if you're a servant. One day father won't be head of the clan, and when that day comes I will be very upset if you act like anything but my sister." Hanabi looked up at her vacantly, then smiled slightly.
"Hai... Onee-chan..." Hanabi paused for a moment, remembering why she'd come. "Father wishes to see you." Hinata rolled her eyes, rising to head off and see what was going on. "Nee-chan..." Hinata stopped and looked at her sister, still standing in the doorway. She looked unsure. "I'm... sorry... for the things I said... during the match." Hinata shook her head.
"There is nothing to forgive."
Hanabi moved out of the way as Hinata whisked out of the room, walking purposefully to see her father. She hadn't spoken to him since the match, and if she was honest with herself, it hadn't been long enough. Sliding the door softly, she entered to find Neji and Hiashi sitting. Waiting.
"Please sit, my daughter." Hinata didn't like the way he said that. It was far too warm and soft. She took her seat as requested and waited for him to begin.
"Congratulations on your success yesterday." Hinata bowed her head quickly.
"Thank you father."
"It was a fine display of your talents." Hinata bowed again, knowing that this couldn't be why he summoned her. "I was, however, sorely disappointed at how weak you looked during the match yesterday. Your sister was clearly the superior." Hinata stared at her father, furious. He was baiting her...
"I do not understand father."
"That I believe." Hinata ignored the slight. "You see, Hinata, your sister fought well, and showed what a true warrior of the Hyuuga can achieve, even so young as she is. Yet you... you showed only that a few cheap tricks taught by others can confuse and corrupt even the most talented of us." Hinata's mouth gaped. Even she had not expected her father to take it this far.
"Perhaps the Jyuuken should be trick-proof," she said evenly. Neji looked at her with wide eyes, clearly amazed at what she'd said. Her father looked at her sourly; he was not amused.
"Indeed." He paused and glared at her for a moment. "Neji here believes that the fight was not proper however, and has requested to fight you himself. To show that the Jyuuken and its perfection are not something to be ignored." Hinata glanced at Neji, though his face was inscrutable.
"I see," she said.
"I whole heartedly agree, and thinking on the matter felt that it was foolish to decide the heir based on a performance such as yours where the Jyuuken is completely ignored." Hinata didn't like where this was going. "So you shall fight Neji. One month from now. And should he defeat you, I shall consider your performance against your sister corrupted. She will take your place."
Hinata was stunned. He was desperate for her to fail. For some reason, he seemed very highly invested in Hanabi's success, and her own failure.
"As you wish... father..." Hinata rose and quietly left the room. She had another match; another test. And this was not a test she was sure she could pass. Behind her the door opened again, and Neji emerged, looking ruffled.
"You scum," she spat at him. He stopped, completely dumbfounded that Hinata would say such a thing. To be honest, she was surprised at her own nerve, but the truth was that she could think of no other word to describe what Neji had done. "I hope you're happy."
"You misunderstand," Neji said defensively. He looked around, then quickly pulled Hinata away, toward a more empty part of the compound. "Your father... lies..." Hinata didn't know what to think of that. Making such a plain accusation of Hiashi was something Neji surely would not do lightly. "I had no such desire to fight you."
"Then what of what he said?"
"It... was a fabrication of the circumstances. Hiashi came to me." Hinata could see where this was going. "He demanded that I fight you. He said... he said it was for the good of the clan that I do so... that I was the most talented user of the Jyuuken the clan had seen in a generation." Neji lowered his head slowly, staring off into nothing.
"I must admit, the compliment was quite amazing. I had never hoped to receive such praise from Hiashi. Yet... by now I know that Hiashi does not know how to give an honest compliment." He looked back at Hinata, placing a hand on her shoulder. "For him, they are mere tools with which to motivate and reward people that do his bidding. And so I continued to refuse."
"Then why?" Neji looked down again, and his eyes began to water. Hinata was startled.
"He... he threatened... to use it..." Hinata was confused, until Neji reached up, and slowly removed his Hitai-ite. The Caged-Bird Seal. "Please forgive me, Hinata-sama. You have no idea the suffering this mark means."
"I understand," she said softly.
"I will not be able to hold back," Neji told her, retying his cloth. "Hiashi will be able to tell if I give anything less than my full effort. You will have to be better than me." Hinata's eyes dropped.
"I do not think that is possible." Neji smiled.
"You are stronger than you believe." She looked up and smiled weakly.
"Perhaps."
:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::
Hinata put her hair up and grabbed the papers. The talk with her father was still on her mind, but she was going to have to move past it for now. Her and Naruto were teaching their first class today.
The students they were going to teach, they had discovered, would be testing for their Hitai-ite in two months. None of the material they were going to cover would help them pass, but it was important all the same.
She left the Hyuuga compound caught up in her own thoughts, automatically traveling to Naruto's house. Within minutes, she found herself at his door, as if by magic, and knocked lightly. There was a hustling behind the door, and she could hear Naruto shuffle quickly, probably cleaning up some of the mess around the place.
When the door opened, Naruto stood smiling. He was wearing a well cut brown tunic, below which he had a cream colored shirt. His pants were loose, and black, and he was wearing gloves to match. Hinata blushed... it looked very handsome on him.
"I'm almost ready to go, Hinata. Come on in." She closed the door behind her as Naruto dashed around the house, looking for something.
"What did you lose?" she asked him curiously.
"Ummm..." he looked at her sheepishly. "My, uh... my Hitai-ite." Hinata groaned, her face falling to her free hand. He was absolutely incorrigible.
"Naruto..." she said, more to herself than anything, as he dashed around the house frantically.
"Found it!" he called out from the living room. "It was next to the couch." Hinata rolled her eyes.
Gee, imagine that... right next to where you sleep...
He put on the leaf insignia quickly, pausing for a moment, then turned to face her.
"Ready!" he exclaimed. She smiled. His quirks were what made him so lovable.
They left promptly, already running a little late, and as they drew near to the Academy, Naruto began to think back. It seemed as if it was so long ago... had he really been trying to make a Bunshin here nearly four years ago?
The pair swiftly navigated the halls, and in moments found the room they were supposed to be teaching in. Naruto reached for the door.
"Naru–" Hinata was cut off, as Naruto opened the door, and a single, dirty eraser fell lightly onto his head, chalking his blond hair. The class burst into laughter, and Hinata smiled fondly, as Naruto looked around for the culprit before chuckling himself.
"You're late!" one of the students in the back called. Naruto got a sudden inspiration.
"Yeah, well, you see there was this tree, and it was stuck in a cat... no wait..."
"LIAR!" Naruto grinned. It was nostalgic for him.
"I am Uzumaki Naruto, and one day I'm going to be Hokage!" He peered around the class, smirking. It looked as if there were maybe twenty students in the class.
"Umm... I'm Hyuuga Hinata." She glanced over at Naruto. He was just staring around the room. Rolling her eyes at him again, she walked over to the chalkboard and began to write.
"You will address us as Hinata-sensei and Naruto-sensei. Who can tell me what this class is about?" A few hands shot up as Naruto came back over by the chalkboard. Hinata pointed at one of the students. "Please state your name then give me an answer." The boy rose confidently. He had dusty brown hair, and a wicked looking smile.
"My name is Amenaka Daisuke and this class is about the West." He sat down. Amenaka? Naruto thought to himself. Where have I heard that before...
"Right," Naruto said. "But the West is a big place, so we're going to focus a little more on the clan we know most about: the Kaze. The West itself is a very different place than here. There is a lot more lawlessness, yet in someways things have a more defined order to them.
"The Kaze are a fairly unique clan. They practice no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. Or at least, they didn't."
"You mean like the Hyuuga?" a girl in the back asked. Naruto shook his head.
"No, the Kaze don't treat chakra the way we think about it. It is not something they mold and shape through conscious effort. Instead they use it by a process that is directly related to their fighting style."
"Yes," Hinata volunteered, "they do not think of chakra as being separate from the persons or the actions. To them, it is not something to be distinguished from say the skin."
"That's really confusing," a boy near the front said. "That would make fighting really hard." Naruto shrugged.
"Hey, if I can understand it, you can understand it."
Hinata and Naruto launched into a long lecture about the basic politics of the West, and the current beliefs on the Kaze. They had prepared the lesson well, and Naruto didn't feel lost at all. Having it all planned out, it was like anything else he practiced.
At the end of the class, Naruto handed out a sheet of paper with some text on it.
"This is your assignment. We want you to write up a short essay on three things about the West that we could adopt here to improve the East. Next time, we'll begin teaching about the Shino-Tsu-Hiko and Shina-To-Be fighting styles... the Taijutsu of the Kaze."
The students spilled out of the classroom, anxious to continue the day. Naruto walked over to the chalkboard of the now empty class and helped Hinata clean the board off.
"Alright. We did pretty good!" Naruto exclaimed. Hinata smiled.
"Yeah, I'm happy that it seems to be going well." She stared at Naruto for a moment. She still needed to tell him about Neji and her father. Naruto, perceptive to her moods, noticed her apprehension.
"What's the matter, Hina-chan?" She looked out the window. Things were a lot more complicated now than when she was in the Academy.
"My father is forcing me and Neji to fight."
"WHAT!?"
"He threatened Neji... I have to beat Neji in a match, or my father is going to reverse the outcome of my match with Hanabi." Naruto growled, clenching his fists. This was enough... he was going straight to that bastard and teaching him a lesson. Hinata placed a hand on his arm. "It's alright, Naruto-kun."
"How can you say it's alright!" Naruto shouted. There was the slightest hint of moisture at the corners of his eyes. "You don't deserve this..." He said it softly, almost to himself. Hinata hugged him, burying her face into his chest.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun. That means a lot to me." They held each other for a while, neither quite sure how long, until finally Hinata pulled away slowly. "I'm just going to have to beat him." Naruto looked her in the eye, then nodded in approval.
"When are you supposed to fight him?" Naruto asked.
"One month." She smiled at him. The look on his face made her feel like anything was possible.
Author's Note: Wow. You guys are REALLY understanding. Not one. Not a single review berating me for being nine months late on my last chapter. I must be writing for the best audience ever, because I know my writing isn't good enough to get that kind of response.
Honestly I expected at least a few people were going to tear me apart for taking so long...
This chapter came MUCH easier. Now, I want to address a few things that were brought up. One reviewer posted a thought saying that DameWren had intended "Twice Shy" to be a mostly romantic story, whereas "Two Halves" had been a mostly adventure story.
Here's the part that's going to get me flames, but that people need to understand.
This is not DameWren's story. Wren gave the story away. She moved on to other things. She left it. From here, this is my story, for better or worse. I'm more than happy to hear suggestions... focusing much more on Naruto and Hinata's relationship is something this story is going to do, but not because Wren planned it that way... rather, because I planned it that way.
The reason I bring this up is simple: if you are reading this story expecting what Wren would have written, you will be disappointed. No, not because I'm being different for the sake of it. I could write twice as well as Wren, and it still wouldn't be the same story. I don't want my readers to be disappointed. So please, we all knew Wren. She was an amazing talent, and I don't claim to be any better than she. However, if you don't read this while getting to know me, the new author, the person getting the story out, you're always going to feel something is missing.
I'm not the same as Wren... I'm different. But different isn't bad, (necessarily). I want my work to stand on its merits. I don't want people to like it simply because it's part of a story that everyone thinks fondly of, I want them to like it because it's a good story. And it won't be if everyone is reading and replying to Wren and not me.
(Again, I'm not upset with the reviewer that brought this up, it just brought the idea to my mind.) Anyway, this note is more than long enough, so go ahead and review, and let me know what you think.