Chapter 8

"That's right, Hina-chan." Naruto looked on with pride. "Swirl it really fast." She was holding a water balloon in her hand.

"How long did you say you spend on this?" Naruto avoided eye contact.

"Uhhh... a couple of weeks..." Somehow Hinata felt like he was lying for her sake, but she couldn't be sure.

Her and Naruto had spent the last three days training together after they finished teaching their classes. To Hinata's surprise, Naruto was taking to teaching like a fish to water. At first he'd been puffed up at the chance to be in charge of others, but now he seemed to genuinely find interest in instruction. Even more astounding, it was causing a drastic change in the way he approached things.

He was already shouting much, much less; even though his shouting now was down from when they left the village with Sora all those years ago. It seems that it hadn't taken him very long to conclude that he'd never be a great teacher if he intimidated or angered his students.

Naruto also seemed to take special care to make sure that all the students who were having trouble got helped before moving on. To him, it was the mentor he never had being "dead last". It was something that was just part of who he was.

But perhaps most drastic was his thought process. When forced, Naruto had always been a very logical thinker on the battlefield, creating some very elaborate strategies, or at the least very creative. But it had never extended further than that, almost as if it was taxing for him to think like that.

The truth, Naruto knew, was that things often had trouble holding his attention long enough for him to think logically about them. By the time he needed to apply any sort of logic, Naruto had already concluded what was right, and he didn't often care why it was right.

Teaching was nothing but the why however, and even in the few short days they'd been teaching he'd found that the whole process of teaching was helping him learn to slow down enough so that he could think logically, and not just about teaching.

Naruto smiled inwardly as Hinata swirled the liquid faster and faster. She was getting very good at this.

He thought back to last week when Old Lady Tsunade had given him the teaching assignment. He'd scoffed at the idea that teaching Academy students would help him be a better ninja, but only minutes later he'd thought about it more closely.

Iruka seemed like an excellent ninja, and he was good at teaching. Kakashi wasn't necessarily good at teaching, but he'd accepted the assignment of Team 7 and their training and done fairly well. And Sora's "100 Techniques" training really had helped him become a better ninja in the end.

Naruto was more impatient than average, but he wasn't a fool. These people had all told him something was true, and then shown him that it was, and he supposed he should start trusting their judgment.

"Ne, Hina-chan, whip them around in different directions. It helps." Hinata nodded, then turned back to her hand, concentrating intensely.

Naruto turned back to his scroll, brush in hand. The thing was, if Tsunade-baa-chan was right, just like Sora had been, then he was woefully behind in an important area of being a good ninja. And that's why, unlike the Naruto that had left, he stood in the field coaching Hinata on a new technique while he made his first scroll of Ninjutsu, instead of practicing his punches and kicks.

That was one thing he saw about all great ninja. They seemed to develop their own techniques, and people acknowledged them for it. Thinking to himself, he felt he was experienced and strong enough to create his own first-class jutsu's now, and so that's exactly what he was doing.

Hmmm... but where to start? Kakashi made Chidori, Naruto thought. And that's kind of obvious. Like a fist of energy. Impossible to use without a Sharingan. My dad... he made Rasengan. That's a lot less obvious, and a lot more powerful. It's also more efficient, because the chakra swirls so fast.

Naruto sighed. This was more difficult than he'd imagined.

Then there's all the elementals... I only learned the basics from Nori and Nee-chan. Maybe I'll ask Kakashi or Jiraiya about them. Naruto blinked, looking at the scroll. Of course, there's non-combat jutsu's like the one's my mother made for the scroll of 100 techniques...

So many possibilities...

Alright, let's go through them: Elementals, Non-Elemental Combat, Non-Combat, Medical, Summoning, Sealing, Illusion, Modification... But what was his strength? Naruto frowned. He actually wasn't sure he had a strength.

A loud pop from in front of him drew his attention and he saw Hinata staring surprised at a wet hand. He broke into a huge grin.

"See? I knew you could do it." Hinata returned his smile.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. The advice you gave me about the chakra swirls really helped." She looked at him hesitantly. "What comes next?"

Naruto opened his pack and pulled out another balloon.

"This one only has air inside. It's the same idea, but it's harder to burst it." Hinata took the balloon with a sigh. He knew how she felt... this series of exercises could be infuriating. "You can do it, Hinata-chan, I know it!" She nodded and began concentrating.

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Kakashi whipped past the landscape. He didn't know where it was precisely, and he only had a week and a half to locate what he was looking for, and that was including the time that had been a lotted to his "official" mission.

Hmmm... Naruto certainly learned a lot from Sora-chan... He jumped from branch to branch almost lazily, despite his blinding speed. I definitely miscalculated with him. She's going to kill me when I see her. He glanced up at the sunny sky. Maybe I can tell Jiraiya about it and he'll write another book...

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Naruto walked with a hop in his step. The training session with Hinata had gone pretty well, and he was excited about creating his own jutsu and helping Hinata become stronger. She'd left with Neji, who'd been asked by Tsunade to retrieve her. Evidently the Hokage wanted to discuss something with her.

"Welcome back, Naruto." He looked up into the trees and saw a mane of white hair.

"Ero-sennin!" Jiraiya grimmaced at the greeting.

"I thought you'd have grown out of that by now, seeing as you'd been enlightened to the ways of the woman." Naruto frowned. Whatever "ways" Jiraiya was thinking of, he was sure it wasn't anything he'd thought about Hinata. "You were teaching her the Rasengan."

Naruto's face blanked instinctively. It was something that he did now, automatically, when confronted by someone who knew more about you than you did about them. Suspicion... but it was purely instinctual, and after a few moments, Naruto simply felt curiosity.

"And?" Jiraiya hopped down from the tree, standing in front of his former charge.

"Why? It was the Fourth's technique. What purpose does teaching Hinata serve?" Three years ago, this exchange would have confused him. The question didn't make much sense. Jiraiya had no real reason to ask the question he did, especially the way he did.

But this was not three years ago, and Naruto was not confused. Methods of Interrogation: Non-Violent Approaches. It had been part of Sora's mandatory homework, and it laid it out very clearly: the easiest way to get an answer out of a comrade was to ask a question which was both unrelated, and a non-sequitur. It confused them into giving a long answer where they went off on a tangents, and got them in the habit of answering your questions quickly, expecting to have their own answered at some point as well.

"What do you really want to know, ero-sennin?" Jiraiya stared at Naruto, unblinking. The boy was very, very different. And much, much smarter. He smirked.

"Why did Sora agree to train you?"

Ah, so that's it.

"She is famous for being a lonesome soul, and Tsunade told me that she initially refused point-blank. Yet, as soon as she found out your name... she couldn't resist." Jiraiya smiled much more warmly, he wasn't interrogating any more, he was having a conversation with a ninja who he apparently needed to treat as more of an equal. "I'm curious... and so is Tsunade."

Naruto sighed. Perhaps it had been a dream to think he could keep this all bottled up forever. He'd thought about it for hours upon hours. Would he claim The Fourth as his father? It's not as if they looked that different. He wasn't exactly the same, but few people in the Leaf had blond hair. He was actually surprised no one had pieced it together... especially considering the discovery of The Fourth's will while he was away...

"What was The Fourth's name?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya paused, unsure if Naruto actually wanted to know or was simply interrogating him.

"Minato. He went by no other name, that is simply who he was." Jiraiya waited. Surely that wasn't the only question Naruto was going to ask.

"Was he from the Leaf?"

"No." Naruto nodded. He wasn't exactly surprised... no blond haired, blue eyed clan to come from around here.

"Where?"

"I do not know." The Toad Sage paused. "I came across him while I was away on a mission in the mountains to the west. He was an infant, alone and crying in a pile of burning rubble. I don't know who he belonged to or what had happened, but he was the only one alive." A silence fell between them.

"And then?"

"And then... I brought him back to the village. I didn't raise him as a son, he was raised by the whole village under the watchful eye of the Third. He was very well liked even before he became Hokage." Jiraiya tried to read the look in Naruto's eyes. "Perhaps the relevant question is if you are from the Leaf."

Naruto sighed again. He wasn't really sad, it just sort of felt empty. He was learning things about his father that Sora couldn't fill in, but it all told him everything he'd known before: no relatives, no family, no past. How to answer...

"What did the Fourth say?" Naruto asked. "When he brought me to seal the Kyuubi in." Jiraiya could find no answers in Naruto's face, even as the boy asked what was obviously an emotional question.

"That he had just retrieved you from somewhere in the west, that you were from his clan, and that you had no past." Jiraiya frowned. "He said you had only a future, and that that's the only thing any of us could hope to have." There was another uncomfortable pause. "I assumed he had found the people he'd belonged to, though I've never been able to locate them since."

Naruto closed his eyes. So that's what they'd thought. It seemed reasonable actually; Minato had come from a far away place with no past, and Naruto had appeared from a far away place with no past. Thinking they belonged to the same clan was certainly a plausible explanation. Jiraiya was his sensei though... perverted or not, he deserved to know.

"Minato had a family name." Naruto looked up, staring Jiraiya straight in the eye. "It was Uzumaki."

Jiraiya wasn't exactly blown away, but the slow realization of what that meant hit him.

"You weren't of his clan, you were of his blood." Jiraiya said it almost amused. As if he was stunned he'd had to be told it was so. A sudden, honest smile of affection spread over Jiraiya's face. "He used his own son to save the village. He truly was an amazing man."

Naruto was staring down at the dirt. If only the damn fox hadn't come... he'd have everything he'd always desperately wanted. Naruto suddenly wished that Hinata was there to wrap his arms around. A thought suddenly dawned on Jiraiya.

"How did Sora..." He searched for the words. "Why did she know?" Naruto thought carefully. Not all of this was his story to tell.

"She knew my mother." Jiraiya nodded slowly. That made sense. What an odd twist of fate that she would later train under Tsunade.

"I see." A long silence spread between them.

Coming back to the village wasn't like he'd thought it would be, Naruto now realized. Not only did he not know all of these people as well as he had, but he knew others very well now also. He knew more about the larger world, he knew about politics and history. In a way, he felt he was no longer a child. As if that innocence was gone from him. He could immitate it, but it was a charade at this point. After all, he had killed a man. Torn him to pieces...

"Should I tell Tsunade?" A good question, Naruto realized. She was the Hokage, he couldn't very well keep it from her. Although... Sora was sure going to get an earful once Tsunade realized what she knew.

"Yeah, that is why you were asking, right?" Naruto looked at the man, his eyes almost level with Jiraiya's now.

"Well," Jiraiya seemed to ponder the answer. "I was a little curious..." He suddenly became very serious. "You should be very proud. Minato was one of the finest people I've ever met." Jiraiya closed his eyes in a look of annoyance. "And one of the only other people to call me ero-sennin."

"WHAT?!" Naruto just about jumped at this. "See, I told you you're a pervert!" Jiraiya just smiled.

"Hey kid." Naruto looked at him expectantly. "Sometime you and me will go have some sake and I'll tell you all about your dad." Naruto smiled broadly.

"I'll hold you to that, ero-sennin!" Jiraiya waved as he dashed through the trees.

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"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Hinata stood rigidly in front of the desk, and Tsunade waved dismissively for her to relax, before turning to Neji.

"You may go Neji." He nodded curtly, smiling at Hinata briefly before walking out the door. It made Hinata feel a little warm inside. Neji had never worn true, friendly smiles on his face before she left. She was glad he had been able to find some peace.

"I've read your report–" Hinata made to protest, but Tsunade immediately raised her hand. "I know that you must have done most of it," she said with little doubt.

"Ano... Actually, Naruto-kun wrote most of it. I looked it over to make sure he didn't miss anything. I was working on our lesson plan." Tsunade wore an expression of clear amazement on her face.

"Well I'll be damned. Looks like Sora actually did hold up her end of the bargain." Tsunade shook her head and turned her attention back to Hinata. "Well, I suppose that doesn't matter. The reason I wanted to talk with you is because there were some things I'd like to know that weren't in the report." Hinata waited patiently.

"Mainly, from the looks of it, you guys learned a lot about Sora's past. I don't see any of that in the report." Hinata shifted uncomfortably.

"With respect Hokage-sama, if there is something you don't know about Sora you should ask her." Hinata's voice became very small. "It isn't our place to reveal such things."

Tsunade fixed Hinata with a very calculating stare. Dear God, first Naruto actually wrote this report, and it's an excellent report... then Hinata tells me to stop being a coward? Tsunade couldn't read Hinata's face. What they HELL did Sora do?!

"I see." She looked down at the papers and shuffled them a bit, trying to formulate her next sentence. "I'm trying to figure out how to get Sora into the village, and I'd hoped that understanding her better would help. I appreciate your point though. Perhaps there are other ways."

"Hokage-sama, I think Sora will join the village, even if it takes a little while." Hinata smiled fondly. "Naruto-kun did a pretty good job of changing her mind." Tsunade nodded.

"Yes, well... I've thought that about Sora before myself, and turned out to be wrong. I'm just not sure if this time is any different." Hinata nodded confidently.

"Trust me, she'll be back."

Just then a breeze came for the window and the two women looked over to see Jiraiya sitting on the sill. He half smiled at the two before hopping down.

"When you get a moment, Tsunade." She nodded, turning back to Hinata.

"Thank you for your help, Hinata. Good luck against Neji." She bent over so that her mouth was right next to Hinata's ear. "I'll make sure Hiashi doesn't do anything too rash." Hinata smiled wryly, not sure if Tsunade would be able to live up to such a promise.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Hinata bowed briefly, before turning and leaving. Jiraiya had such a peculiar look on his face.

I wonder what he needs to tell her?

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Hinata combed her hair slowly. With such long hair, it was essential that she combed it every night before she went to sleep. She sighed, smiling. Naruto had been very adamant about how much he liked her hair long, but she honestly liked it that we as well at this point. It felt elegant, and beautiful, and everything that she hadn't been before she left. The hair stretched halfway down her back now.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a knock came from her bedroom door.

"Come," she said curiously. It was a bit late for someone to be knocking. The door opened to reveal Neji. She smiled. "What do you need, Neji?"

"I came to talk about your father... and the match." She motioned for him to sit, and he did, folding his legs under himself.

"Why? What is there to say?" Neji looked uncomfortable.

"Hiashi-sama is... misguided. I do not know why he feels the way he does, clearly it is something before our time, but he more and more each day becomes obsessed with the clan and it's place in Konoha. It is beyond the point of his position. It has become unhealthy." Hinata wasn't sure she liked where this was going... she'd already seen what a Branch Revolt could do to a clan...

"Neji..." He paused and looked at her, obviously still uncomfortable.

"I do not know the details of your mission. You seem to be such a different person, Hinata-sama. Wiser... stronger... I do not know if leading the clan is your calling, but I am certain that Hiashi must... curb his enthusiasm." Neji took a deep breath. "Hanabi is a good Hyuuga, and she is not heartless or mindless, but she lacks vision. She is too easily manipulated... she is what other people make of her. That is why it is vital that you become heir." He held his breath for a moment. "At any cost."

"What is it you're saying, Neji?"

"You must defeat me, and it must be convincing. It must... convince Hiashi of your worth." He took a deep breath again. "If you fight me with the form you learned he will credit nothing to your performance. We will accomplish nothing. You will simply infuriate him further." Hinata still wasn't sure where he was going with this, but the feeling of dread was growing.

"I don't understand Neji, what are you trying to say?" The Hyuuga looked at her pleadingly.

"You must defeat me, without using the Shina-To-Be." Hinata shook her head.

"But that is impossible. The Jyuuken is far too difficult for me and I'm not well trained enough in it to do that. I don't know any of the clan techniques." She mumbled a bit, looking down. "If I fight with the Jyuuken the match will be a joke." Neji's hands rose off his knees, and Hinata looked up as he slowly removed his Hitai-ite, revealing the green seal on his forehead.

"Please Hinata, you must defeat me without using the Shina-To-Be..." His eyes were pleading with hers and she registered shock as she finally comprehended what he was saying.

"No," said simply. "I refuse." Neji set his leaf insignia on the ground.

"You must. It is the only way. It is for everyone's good."

"Father won't accept that, it would be even more of a cop-out than using the Shina-To-Be." Neji shook his head.

"No, Hiashi would see it as strength. Backbone. The ability to take your place in the head family and defeat the branch family the way the branch family is to be dealt with. If anything, it would show him that you respect the traditions." Hinata stated shaking, as if she had a shiver.

"B-But... Neji..." She was desperate... anything... "I've never activated it before... what if I do it too strong?" Her voice caught in her throat and suddenly became very small. "What if I... kill you?" Neji looked as if his muscles were very tense.

"Then I will have died helping my family and my friends." Hinata started to cry.

"My father is nothing to die over." Neji stayed firm.

"But my nindo is. I do not want to see this clan, this family become what it is becoming." Hinata shook her head.

"No, I won't do it." Neji looked down sadly, relaxing in a slump.

"Then... then I'm not sure we'll accomplish anything..." Hinata suddenly felt very angry.

"I am the clan heir!" she nearly shouted. "And when we fight, I will make sure that everyone knows it!" Neji looked at her in awe. In that moment, he thought that's exactly who she was.

Author's Note: A few quick notes here. First, I'm looking for a beta. I know a lot of people would like to help beta this story, but unfortunately it would be almost useless if you don't compliment the things I'm not so good at... I consider myself better at editting than writing, and I can sort of do it while I write, but I'm not nearly as good at editing my work as I am at editing other's work.

So, at the bottom of this note is an editors test. A bit unorthodox, I know, but bear with me. I'll be looking for two people: one to catch semantics and conventions... spelling, word choice, phrasing, order to information, organization, etc. This is the sort of editing people expect from an English teacher. The second will be a story, character and flow editor. I want them to let me know if someone is too far out of character, if something doesn't make sense, or if it conflicts with something I've written before.

Both editors are welcome to provide both types of feedback, but I would really like to see two people who each have separate strengths.

Next, I want to let everyone know something. I have this story charted. In fact, I "wrote" this story a year ago... the plot, the events, etc. It's probably going to end up somewhere in the 30 chapters area... close to 150,000 words or so. To give some perspective on that, "Two Halves" was approximately 160,000 words, and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is about 500,000 words. But everything is planned already, down to certain specific conversations I've already written that belong in chapters 20-30. I'm more than willing to listen to suggestions, and I will change things if I get a better idea, but for now, all the good ideas I've heard in reviews touch on stuff I'm already planning. :) Yay me.

FYI, there are three basic arcs to "Twice Shy". The first is simply titled "Hinata's Struggle", and we're almost exactly in the middle of it. The second is titled "Jounin Exam", though a lot more than the Jounin exam happens during that arc. The third is... secret. I couldn't even type out the title without giving away part of the ending unfortunately... The third is by far my favorite arc though, the second is the most angsty, and the first is the most difficult to write, (no question).

Third, I really wanted to thank you guys. In the last two chapters, I could have come across self-righteous or annoying, but people responded well. I'm also floored by the amount of positive feedback I've received about the quality of my writing. I have a style that is close to J. K. Rowling's which lends itself well to imaginative fiction, but even so I was very flattered at what people have had to say about my work. One day, I really hope that I can publish my own original work. Thanks for your comments.

Finally, I wanted to clear up some continuity issues. (I really need to stop these LONG author's notes). I will be incorporating non-destructive elements of the current manga. That would be, Nanashi's true name (Kushina), The Fourth's real name (Minato), and Sasuke's defection pre-timeskip. I will also include some aspects of Akatsuki. I will NOT include the Uchiha backstory, Sage Mode, etc. Itachi was cast as far too evil and ruthless during Two Halves for me to pull that stunt, and I have my own directions so far as Naruto's development as a stronger fighter. You'll just have to wait and see. (Damn, this author's note is almost a page...)

PS: I know the fourth's real last name was Namikaze, but in Two Halves, Dame wren already specified that Naruto got his last name from his father... so for this story Minato's last name will be Uzumaki.

Editor's Test (email corrections to: jordan [dot] ledoux [at] gmail [dot] com):

Hinata had been up for about an hour sorting through the things she'd brought with her. She'd looked them over for a few moments that night she'd returned, but hadn't really had the chance to go over them and decide what to do about it all.

She smiled faintly as she pulled out the very first pair of hair sticks that Naruto had bought her. For some reason, they still seemed the most precious to her. Standing, she pulled her hair back, wrapping it around into a proper bun before securing it with the sticks. Glancing over at the mirror she faintly thought that she enjoyed her hair like this as much as he did, before returning the rest of her things to their places, and heading out the door.

Neji was on a mission, and so her training in the Jyuuken form could not proceed for at least a few more days. But that was no excuse for her to not practice at all. She pulled one of the familiar doors open, stepping out into a training court yard the Hyuuga compound boasted.

I know there might not be much to edit here. It is a bit short. Just give it your best shot if you're interested, even if it's just commenting on what the text does. You challenge is to give me a feel for your grasp of the job an editor does. ^_^