Chapter 11

Pre-note: I can't believe that after so much study of Japanese, and how far advanced I am with the language, I made the stupid and silly mistake of substituting aru for iru. "Arimasu" is to exist, or to be, but only for inanimate objects. "Imasu" would be the correct word for the sentence in the last chapter, meaning to exist in an animate sense. Seriously, that error is seppuku worthy, (or at least would draw indignant and surprised remarks from my Japanese teachers).

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Hinata stared at the cup on the kitchen counter in front of her, half filled with water. Well, some might say it's half empty. She blinked, her eyes straining against the fatigue she felt and the single, slightly flickering light that she had on over by the sink. Tomorrow…

Hinata looked up at the wall clock. Well, actually today…

"What'cha doin' up so late…" Naruto asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes. Hinata smiled. She'd lied to her father, claiming that the night before the fight she would need to sleep outside the house to prepare mentally. Although strictly speaking, that wasn't a lie… she had just implied that she meant on her own.

Instead she found herself sleeping in one of the spare rooms at Naruto's house. She'd wanted to be close to him tonight, because she didn't know how the fight was going to turn out. If anything, she'd hoped sleeping here would help put her at ease. No such luck.

"Can't sleep…" she said softly. "Too nervous."

Naruto looked over at the clock, then back at her.

"Hina-chan, it's past two. You need to rest." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to his chest. She sighed contentedly as the warmth of being held in his arms spread rapidly across her body. She could feel his warm breath on her neck.

"It's not fair," Hinata whimpered, her voice cracking slightly. "I don't want to be the head of the clan. I don't want to fight Neji, or send my sister to have that terrible seal put on her." She sniffed a few times as Naruto held her tighter, her back conforming to his chest. "I don't want to worry about what the clan thinks or what my father thinks, or how every little thing I do and say can affect so many people."

"I know, Hime." Naruto ran his hands over her stomach and gave her a kiss on the head. "Raoul didn't want to be the Reifujin." He paused for a moment. "Maybe that's what means that you're the right person for the job though… that you don't want it."

Hinata smiled and sighed.

"Sounds like something Sora would say…" A comfortable silence fell between them, pierced only by their own thoughts.

"I miss her," Naruto said softly. Hinata looked up, behind her at Naruto's face. He wore such a sad expression.

"I do too," Hinata said. "She'll be here soon though, I know it." Naruto nodded, grinning.

"She'd kill me for having you over tonight." Hinata blinked at Naruto before smiling sheepishly.

"It's not like we haven't spent the last three years sleeping in the same house…" Naruto chuckled.

"Yeah, but she wouldn't care. I'd get a week of Silence no Jutsu…" Hinata smiled.

"Naruto…" He looked down at her. She seemed hesitant, and shy… she hadn't acted like that in a while. "Do you think it would be okay… if we slept in the same bed tonight?" Her face was a deep red by the time she finished, and Naruto took a few seconds to register what she had said.

"Sure!" he said enthusiastically, then seeming to startle at the volume of his own voice he quickly continued. "I don't want you to think I'm some kind of pervert…" She smiled nervously.

"No, nothing like that…" she looked down for a moment at the counter, before turning in his arms to face him. "I just… I'd like to fall asleep in your arms…" Hinata, if it was possible, blushed even deeper, although Naruto began to sport a blush of his own.

"I think I'd like that…" Naruto said quietly. They slowly walked off to Naruto's bedroom, both knowing that a big day was ahead of them.

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Naruto awoke with start. Something was missing… he felt alone. That's right, Hinata slept in his bed last night. Naruto looked around, not seeing the blue haired girl anywhere.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto called out. He heard noise outside his door, and it opened moments later to reveal the girl of his dreams, fully dressed for the day. She smiled.

"I have to go early today, because of the fight. You'll be there, right?" Naruto yawned and smiled.

"Do you even have to ask?" She smiled at him, then left, closing the door gently behind her. Naruto rolled onto his back, arms behind his head, giving a contented sigh.

"Well… I guess I gotta get to work too." He got up and began to dress.

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"What do you want?" Shikamaru asked lazily. He was lying on his back staring as the clouds passed by. Naruto, who had just walked up the small, grassy hill, had stopped as soon as Shikamaru spoke.

"I have a favor to ask," Naruto said. Shikamaru looked at the blond with a sigh.

"Why do you need a favor?" Naruto shook his head.

"It's not for me… it's for Hinata." Shikamaru sat up and considered what favor Hinata could possibly need that she wouldn't ask herself.

"Sounds like a lot of work," Shikamaru said dismissively. Naruto broke out into a grin.

"Yeah, but I know you're a good friend Shikamaru." The lazy boy smirked as he looked back up at the clouds.

"Maybe that's my problem," he said jokingly. Shikamaru slowly got to his feet with a sigh. "So where are we going?" Naruto's smile grew.

"Well first we've got to get some more people." Shikamaru sighed.

"Figures… more work."

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"You're late," Tsunade said, annoyed. Kakashi didn't show any reaction.

"Sorry, Hokage-sama." Tsunade closed her eyes, scoffing.

"You're over a week late."

"Sorry, Hokage-sama."

"Just why are you late?" Kakashi stopped looking straight forward, instead meeting Tsunade's gaze. There was no lying to the Hokage.

"I was meeting with Sora, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Whatever the reason, she hadn't been expecting that. Further, she couldn't ever recall explaining anything about Sora to Kakashi… and even she didn't know where it was Sora was staying.

"I see," she said calmly. "How do you know her?" Kakashi hesitated.

"I can't explain… I made a promise to The Fourth…" Tsunade suddenly realized what he was saying. Of course! This fits perfectly with what Jiraiya discovered about Naruto.

"I know about Nanashi and the Fourth, and I know about Naruto." Kakashi couldn't hide the surprise on his face at that statement. How had she found out?

"I see."

"Jiraiya found out from Naruto. Only him and me know." Kakashi nodded. "So you know where she is staying then?"

"Yes."

"Any chance you could tell me?" Kakashi looked pained. Tsunade felt a bit guilty at putting him in this position.

"If… if it is to help Konoha survive, I will of course tell you, but otherwise… I would prefer to not… if that is okay…" Tsunade nodded.

"No, it isn't critical." She searched Kakashi's mostly hidden face for answers. "Do you think she will come?" She was surprised at how emphatically Kakashi nodded.

"I am sure of it." Tsunade looked down at her papers.

"Well, if you are not busy for the rest of the day, I'd like to invite you to watch something special." Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow.

"Oh? What is that?" Tsunade smirked.

"An entire clan being proven wrong."

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Naruto and Shikamaru stood outside the door, waiting.

"Do you think he's not home?" Shikamaru shook his head.

"No, he's home, just being lazy." Naruto shrugged and raised his hand to knock again, when the door finally opened.

"Naruto," Kiba said. "Shikamaru." He looked between them. "What's going on?" Shikamaru sighed.

"It's troublesome, but Naruto needs to get all of us together as a favor to Hinata." Kiba looked at Naruto with a cautious look.

"Hinata, huh?" Naruto nodded. Kiba made a sound something like a growl. "I don't understand why she liked you. And she always liked you!" He looked back into his house for a moment before sighing and grabbing his jacket. "Alright. I'm always willing to help Hinata." Naruto smiled.

"Thanks Kiba. You're an important friend of hers." Kiba nodded, waiting for Akamaru.

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Hinata breathed in deeply. Meditation exercises had been so difficult for her before she left. On reflection, everything had been difficult before she left. Except for loving Naruto.

She let her breath out.

She was sitting cross-legged in the clan shrine, preparing for her match. If she was going to beat Neji, it would be only because she successfully used Intention with the Jyuuken. Something she had yet to accomplish.

But so much was riding on this… she was afraid that Neji might do something stupid. He had been adamant about her using the seal on him, but she had refused time and time again, saying that she was the clan heir, and would not be bound by other's decisions. Where was that confidence now? Where was her resolve?

"I see we have more in common now, Hinata-sama." She opened her eyes, looking to her right where Neji was sitting in a similar position. She had been meditating with such focus she must have not heard him enter. "Have you changed your mind about your strategy?" Hinata turned forward again, closing her eyes.

"I have not." Neji closed his eyes to begin his meditation.

"I see."

Hinata was not sure how much time had passed, but as always, she somehow just knew when it was time to stop her meditation, and quietly got to her feet, noticing that Neji was no longer in the room.

As she left the shrine, she heard her name in the hall and turned to see Hanabi.

"Nee-san," Hanabi started. "I just wanted to tell you… good luck." Hinata smiled at her little sister. It had been very rare that Hinata had felt older than Hanabi, mostly because of skill differences, but life was something you experienced, and after her many adventures with Naruto and Sora, Hinata felt the older sister.

"Hopefully I won't need luck," Hinata said. "But, thank you. It means a lot to me." Hanabi began to leave, but Hinata put her hand on her sister's arm. "Hanabi… I won't let them seal you." Hanabi smiled, a truly warm smile.

"For that, nee-san, you'll need all the luck in the world."

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Sakura heard a knock at the door, and strode over, wondering who it could be. She opened the door to find Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Lee, Tenten and Shino standing.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked. Naruto smiled.

"I need to ask you a favor for Hinata," Naruto explained, as he had with each of them. Sakura smiled. It was just the sort of thing she'd like a boy to do for her.

"What's the favor."

"Today she's fighting Neji because her father is trying to get her kicked out of the main branch," Kiba said with obvious distaste.

"But we're going to the match to cheer her on!" Naruto finished, getting a nod from Shino and a thumbs up from Lee. Sakura looked at Tenten.

"What about Neji?" she asked pointedly. Tenten looked very serious.

"Neji wants her to win," she said. It was obviously something difficult for her. "I trust her to not harm him if she does win." Sakura smiled. Somehow this whole thing seemed romantic. Like a display of chivalry.

"Let me get dressed."

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Hinata stood outside the arena, her skin crawling. She could hear the crowd inside, and it was much noisier than her fight with Hanabi. I should be getting used to this… This is the third time in two years I've fought in front of an entire clan.

"They're ready," one of the servants informed her. Her traditional clothing fell loosely, and she hesitated before pushing the door open. Neji stood in the center of the arena already, having entered first being the eldest.

She walked calmly over to her place, staring forward, before discarding her robes to a near by Hyuuga, and looking at Neji. His face was expressionless, but his eyes seemed sad somehow…

"You can do it Hinata!" She heard the shout from the stands and turned her head, and nearly spilled tears. Naruto was cheering for her near the top row. But it wasn't the cheering that brought tears to her eyes; next to him were all their friends… Shikamaru, Sakura, Ino… Lee, Tenten, Shino… they were all there. She looked at Naruto's face. Had he brought them all for her?

Looking across the rest of the crowd she saw Kurenai and Tsunade, and even Kakashi was with them. In fact, it seemed as if this fight had drawn lots of interest, and looking at her father's face it seemed it was a little unnerving to him.

"Fellow Hyuuga, guests..." The crowd became silent.

"Today one of our brightest Hyuuga warriors shall show us all what it means to be Hyuuga, and how the Jyuuken is truly performed. Neji is well known as being one of the best Jyuuken users in a generation, and today we shall see him and the main branch demonstrate the depths of our capabilities." He turned and faced the contestants.

"May you fight with honor and dignity befitting your place in this clan." They both bowed, and the referee came out, just as before.

"Neji-sama, are you ready?" Neji nodded.

"Hinata-sama, are you ready?" Hinata also nodded.

"Very well. Begin." Hinata dropped into a Jyuuken stance, which caused the crowd to murmur. She was going to fight Neji in the Jyuuken style after practicing another style for three years?

Neji launched at her, delivering clean, fast strikes that Hinata was only barely able to block. He was trying to weaken her response before he used the Eight Trigrams technique… He really was going all out.

But she could see it in his face, in his expression… he did not want to win. Even now, he was hoping for her to form the single seal and bring him to the ground in utter agony.

Hinata forced chakra into her arms and blocked low, throwing a counter-punch high, forcing Neji to jump back. Her increased chakra reservoirs and control were allowing her to deflect his blows, but she hadn't been able to take the initiative yet.

Neji paused for a moment, as if to study her, then launched into another attack, this one faster, but with less power. He was trying to wear her down even slower by going so fast that she couldn't block. But her training had taught her something even better than blocking: dodging. Why use force and effort to stop an attack when you could just avoid it all together?

Hinata slid to the side and sent a powerful Jyuuken strike to Neji's arm, only to have it deflected by his other palm as he swirled suddenly in a great vortex of chakra.

"Kaiten!" Hinata was thrown back and had to roll in order to land on her feet. She should have expected that.

Neji charged once more, this time he was almost nothing but a blur, and while Hinata was blocking his blows, she felt as if it was only a matter of time before Neji overpowered her.

"C'mon Hinata-chan! I believe in you!" The crowd had been mostly silent, so the declaration had been obnoxiously loud to everyone else there. Most of the Hyuuga turned and looked at the blond ninja.

His face… Hiashi said, looking at the boy. That look he's giving her… He turned back to see an empowered Hinata throw Neji off once more.

"Hinata," Hiashi said, causing both of the contestants to stop, and everyone to refocus on him. "Do you love him?" If anyone had been talking before, they weren't now. The arena became deathly silent. Hinata nodded.

"I do." Hiashi looked back at the blond.

"And you?"

"How could I not love Hinata-chan!?" Naruto asked, annoyed. Hiashi turned back to the field.

"I absolutely refuse," he declared firmly. "You are not to see this boy any longer." Naruto was about to launch into a loud protest, when he felt a large killing intent come from the field.

"I would never let you control that, father." Hinata talked with a calm voice that betrayed her anger more than any shouting ever could have. "You have no more control over that than you do the rivers flowing towards the ocean, or the clan once I take your place."

The Hyuuga's present gasped at the statement. That was a direct challenge of power to the head of the clan, father or not. Hiashi paused for a moment.

"I will concede that I have little power over such things once I relinquish my place to my heir, however, if you are not that heir, you will have the seal placed, and as long as you wear the seal, you will obey that command." Hinata shot a look of pure venom at her father, and was surprised to see a look of open hatred cross Neji's face as well, if only for a moment.

"So then it depends on who is heir," Hinata said. Hiashi nodded.

"That depends on this fight. Continue please." Hiashi returned to his seat, and Hinata and Neji faced each other once more. He pleaded with her silently once more to use the seal. But could she?

If that is the choice, Neji or Naruto, how do I choose? She looked up at Tenten. How is what I feel for Naruto worth more than what she feels for Neji? How is that fair?

She wasn't sure what to do, until she remembered a conversation she'd had with Sora while they were at the house.

* * *

"What is it Hinata?" Sora asked. Hinata had just walked in with a troubled look on her face.

"How do you do it? How do you always know the right thing to do?" Sora frowned. She certainly would never say she always knew the right thing to do.

"I don't," she said plainly. "I just never accept that my only options are bad ones." Hinata looked at her questioningly.

"What do you mean?" Sora became very serious, and bent down so that she was eye level with Hinata.

"Hinata, many times it feels like you have to choose between a bad choice and a worse choice, but I've never believed that." She smiled. "Neither does Naruto. We both believe that you can make your own destiny if you are truly intent on it."

"But how?" Hinata thought back to her father and sister. "How do you make a new path?" Sora's smile disappeared.

"Never give up. Never let someone else tell you it's impossible, Hinata, because as long as you do that, it never will be."

* * *

"Destiny…" Hinata muttered. Neji cocked his head.

Did she say what I think she did?

Hinata closed her eyes and began to take deep breaths. Everything depended on her winning, and nothing was going to stop her from that. Focus on the goal. Naruto…

Pull up the chakra, and set your intention.

* * *

"Are all the different principals of intention the same?" Hinata asked. Naruto was spending the last six months before they returned trying to teach her intention.

"No, each is different. Chakra is the energy of everything, and in lots of ways it kind of has a mind of its own." He posed thoughtfully. "Nori told me that chakra was almost like a living thing, and yet… not. Chakra can be evil, or good. And I suppose it has intentions and such.

"But…" Naruto stopped. "He warned me of the nature of each of the different principals of chakra. But he warned me against ever using one of them unless it was to protect a special person… I guess chakra knows when you're lying or something." He gave a goofy grin. Hinata giggled, giving him a warm hug.

* * *

Love. I love Naruto, and I'm going to prove it to everyone. I'm going to forge my own destiny through that love.

Unwind and go.

Ripples of chakra flowed off Hinata and she seemed to fly to where Neji was. He quickly used Kaiten, only to be tripped by a Jyuuken strike moments later.

She hit me through the Kaiten!

Neji jumped back quickly, preparing as she rushed forward. The blows and blocks were entirely different. It was as if she understood the Jyuuken on a level no person ever could, as if it were a part of her being.

This must be what intention truly is…

Neji put everything he had into the fight, getting hit a fair amount, but landing a few blows of his own. It seemed entirely different now.

The crowd was looking on in amazement. It was almost like what Hinata had done in her fight with Hanabi, but the form was clearly that of the Jyuuken. Hiashi looked on in stunned silence, unable to figure out how Hinata had accomplished such a feat.

How much do I really know about my daughter?

Hinata struck Neji's shoulder, closing a tenketsu, only to have one of hers in her forearm closed. She jumped back, still radiating chakra. Neji jumped back as well. This next strike would decide it. One of them would be defeated.

They rushed at each other, both shouting, preparing to strike, and as they did, the chakra flashed brightly, forcing everyone to look away. The sounds had stopped. Someone was down. Looking down on the field as the light subsided, everyone saw Hinata, eyes closed, standing over an unconscious Neji. She took several deep breaths before releasing her chakra.

Looking up at the crowd, Hinata suddenly felt very naked, as if she were being studied by every person in the stands. Looking over, she noticed Neji lying down and rushed over, checking to make sure he was alright. Good, just unconscious.

What happened? Right before the last strike, he had much better position. There's no way he missed. She thought about the strike for a moment, before a realization dawned on her. He'd flinched. He'd purposely missed the last attack. She wiped a tear from her eyes. Thank you Neji.

"Father," she said, standing again and walking towards the place where he sat. "I am the heir. Do not further test me, as I find it insulting. Am I not your daughter? Am I not strong like an heir should be?" Her anger was giving her confidence to say the things she must.

Hiashi, for his part, was wearing an expression approaching something close to shame. Perhaps he'd lost sight of the things that were important, as Hinata had told him not that many nights before.

"As you say, it is quite evident. You are the heir." There was of course no other response. The crowd finally allowed themselves to applause, and Hinata smiled. She had chosen her own destiny. Hinata turned to the crowd and bowed.

All of their friends in the stands were cheering, and Hinata smiled sheepishly up at them.

"Yeah! You showed 'em Hinata!" Sakura shouted. Ino was right next to her to chime in.

"Way to show them how strong you've become!"

After a short while, people began to leave to arena, and Hinata went up to see Naruto and her friends.

"Great job!" Lee shouting, giving his good-guy pose. Everyone there was anxious to talk to Hinata, since because of her training they'd had few chances so far to do so after her return.

After a few minutes of conversation, Hinata spotted Naruto, looking at her from behind Kiba, and walked over to give him a hug. Naruto smiled and wrapped his arms around her, drawing some teasing jeers from their friends.

"You," Hiashi said walking over, pointing at Naruto. The two quickly jumped apart. "You are joining us for dinner tonight." The happy expression and color drained from his face at once.

"Y-Yes, Hiashi-sama." All of them were silent as they watched Hiashi walk away, the arena now practically empty.

"Well," Shikamaru began, "what would you like your tombstone to say?" Naruto grumbled.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Hinata told him. He looked at her smiling face and couldn't help but feel better.

"I hope you're right."

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There they stood, outside of the dining room, ready to enter, and Naruto was more wound up than he'd been before the showdown with the Kaze. Fighting for your life was one thing, but having dinner with your girlfriend's father?

"There's nothing to worry about," Hinata said reassuringly. Naruto was still nervous.

"Your father's… frightening." Hinata laughed. "I'm serious!" Hinata rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad." She straightened out his clothes, dusting them off. "There. Let's go." Naruto opened the door they'd been standing in front of, allowing her to enter the dining room, before closing the door behind him. The name tags for them were near the head of the long table, though only three spots were set.

With some feeling of impending doom, Naruto noticed that Hiashi's place was at the head, right next to both him and Hinata.

"I don't know what to do," Naruto said. Hinata smiled.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine."

It was only a few minutes before Hiashi entered the room, and quietly sat in his seat. Within moments, several Hyuuga entered the room with plates containing a variety of foods. Naruto for a moment forget his predicament as he contemplated the delicious meal ahead. As soon as the food was placed and the servants left, Hiashi turned to Naruto.

"You may help yourself." Naruto cautiously grabbed some of the main course, a duck dish it seemed, before dishing up Hinata a portion of the same food. She quietly thanked him. Hiashi watched like a hawk, paying attention to every little thing the boy did. To his surprise, Naruto made sure Hinata was taken care of before he moved on to the next dish, until each of their plates were taken care of.

As Naruto sat back in his seat, he turned to look at Hiashi, and quickly realized that now him and Hinata had full plates, while Hiashi's was empty.

"Ah, excuse me Hiashi-sama, I should have offered you as well." Hiashi waved his hand before reaching for the duck – his favorite.

"It is nothing." Hiashi finished putting the food on his plate quickly, and took a bite, allowing both Hinata and Naruto to finally dig in.

"So tell me," Hiashi began. "What makes you think you would be a good husband for a clan heir, Naruto?" Naruto swallowed the bit in his mouth before grinning, while Hinata blushed at the implication of his question.

"Well I'm gonna be Hokage, and that's just the kind of person that would be good for any kind of clan heir." Hiashi smirked.

"What makes you think you'll be Hokage? Many try and fail… many better ninja's than you." Naruto's face became very serious.

"It's in my blood." The statement was slightly chilling, and had many possible meanings. Was he referring to the demon? Surely that would work against him, not for him. "Each of us can make our own destinies if we try hard enough," Naruto said. "And whatever my faults, I've never been accused of not trying hard enough." Hiashi nodded, not wishing to argue.

"True." They ate in silence for a few moments, before Hiashi spoke again.

"Tell me about your training," Hiashi said simply. Naruto instantly broke out in a smile. This was a much more comfortable conversation.

For the rest of the dinner, Naruto and Hinata gave Hiashi a detailed account of their adventures with Sora, and some of the things they learned. Hiashi got a sour look on his face when Hinata told him about Sora encouraging her to abandon the Jyuuken, but was genuinely interested in their account of how they used it against the Kaze.

Of course… certain things were omitted. Hinata probably would have lost consciousness if she'd explained any of her and Naruto's time together as a couple, even though it was entirely innocent. It just wasn't something that Hinata wanted to recount to her father over dinner. Naruto seemed to understand this, and avoided the topic as well.

And while Naruto was forbidden to reveal what happened with Kisame, he could give a general idea of the fight. Several things impressed Hiashi; from Naruto's will to protect Hinata, to Hinata's ability to summon that Sora had taught her. Afterward, he felt slightly foolish for his quick judgment of Hinata's abilities.

Soon, dinner was over, and the three found themselves at the entrance of the clan compound. While not exactly enjoyable, it hadn't been nearly as bad as Naruto had feared. As he stood at the gates of the compound, the night over, he even found the courage to give Hinata a hug and a kiss on the cheek, much to Hiashi's amusement.

"Good night, Hina-chan."

"Good night, Naru-kun."

He slowly disappeared around the corner, heading home.

"I must admit, he is not anything like he is described," Hiashi said, still staring down the street.

"I've found many things in life are like that father." Hiashi looked down at his daughter.

"Watching you fight Neji with such resolve and passion made me realize something Hinata." She looked up at him surprised. "True power comes from within… we are all taught that as part of our Jyuuken training. But what if the power from within conflicts with what is external?

"After the fight I went to look at some of the old scrolls on our form. I don't know why, but I felt like I should. It was while going over this principal that I haven't heard since I was learning the Jyuuken all those years ago that I finally saw what it was you were saying." Hiashi sighed.

"There is more than one way to attain true power, but more importantly, there is more than one kind of true power to attain." He looked up at the darkening sky. It had been a long day. "You are the heir… I will not contest that any longer. But I am your father, and I am the current clan head, and you must respect that.

"What you said at the arena was disrespectful and uncalled for." Hinata frowned. "However, my actions were in some sense also uncalled for. Because of this, I will not hold any of those against you, and I hope you extend me the same consideration.

"The Jyuuken is our family's pride, Hinata. You cannot so blithely discard it. But I recognize that there are other kinds of power and pride. You may continue to date Naruto, and you may take the Jounin exam." He looked down at her, an odd expression in his eyes. "I hope I can understand you one day… Hinata…" He turned and began to leave.

"And," he said without stopping or looking back, "you do remind me of your mother."

Hinata stood silent and stunned as she watched him disappear into the clan house. A huge smile broke over her face.

Author's Note: Well it's only about four months this time, so consider yourselves lucky!

Actually, I really am sorry… I hope this chapter makes up for it. With this we are now done with the first arc of the story, and will enter the second arc in the next chapter. The next arc is going to be angsty, so be prepared.

As for what I've been up to? Trying to start my own business actually. Living is expensive, and I'm tired of living at other people's whims. Ironically, starting your own business means you live at the behest of others even more…

In that vein, you can visit the site for my new Web Development Firm at www [dot] heliumdesigns [dot] com. Not that I'm asking you to have me build a website, just that you can see some of the stuff I do for a living.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please let me know what you think by hitting the review button directly below.