Hinata vs. Neji—round two!
"Hinata, your mother and I have noticed that you've been staying out late. Is there something going on?" asked her father.
"No father… I get so caught up in practicing that I completely lose track of time," replied Hinata.
"If you've been practicing so hard, then why don't we put that to the test? Tomorrow you will go against your cousin Neji," said her father.
"But…!"
"If you truly have been training, then you should have no problem defeating him in battle."
"Yes…father…" said Hinata worriedly.
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"Hinata, what's wrong? You don't seem yourself…" said Kage.
"Father wants me to fight Neji again," said Hinata.
"Oh no…" said Kiba.
"What happened last time?" asked the three demons.
"The last time Neji and Hinata fought was during the Chuunin exams; he would have killed her if the Jonin hadn't stepped in to stop him," explained Shino.
"But you've grown since then. I fully believe this time you'll win," said Flow.
"Don't worry Hinata. Remember, you have a power Neji can't beat Byakugan or no."
"I don't know…" said Hinata nervously.
"Hmm…perhaps today's training should be slightly different…" mused Kage.
"Uh-oh…I don't like the look in Kage's eyes…" said Kiba.
"I have an idea. Why don't we pit them against themselves?" suggested Flow.
"Perfect. Prepare to fight yourselves!" said Scar.
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Flow, Scar and Kage opened the doors to an alternate plain. Awaiting them were three others…who looked exactly like Hinata, Kiba and Shino! However, their personalities were completely different to their own. Standing beside the other shinobi, were Kage Scar and Flow in their natural form.
"If you can beat your other half, then you can beat almost anything. And since Hinata has to fight her cousin in the morning, we'll cut training short today. You may begin when you're ready," said Kage.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" said Shino.
"Um…I don't want to fight myself…" said Hinata nervously.
"Too bad. You're going to fight me whether you like it or not, so deal with it!" said the other Hinata coldly.
"Woah… that Hinata is…" said Kiba in shock.
"More confident in herself? Why shouldn't she be? She is the half that had been locked up inside the one you know all this time," said the other Shino. (I'm going to call the opposite version of Kiba, Shino and Hinata by their names spelled backwards.)
"Let's get this over with…" said Shino. The two boys fought their other selves in battle (and tied); Hinata, on the other hand, was too shy to fight herself. So Atanih took the fight to her!
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"Please, I don't want to fight you!" said Hinata upset.
"And you wonder why Neji kicked your ass during the Exams. You're too soft!" said Atanih irritably. Her Byakugan was already active and she attacked relentlessly.
"Hinata, if you can't defeat yourself, how do you expect to survive against Neji?" sighed Kage.
"I'll…I'll try Kage," stammered Hinata as she attempted to defeat herself.
"Hey, you guys want to recover while watching the girls fight?" asked Abik.
"Sure." Kiba shrugged.
Even though Hinata fought her hardest, her other half was still beating her. (And her 'sight' wasn't much help because the other half could use it too!) Hinata wasn't about to give up; she continued fighting even though it was clear that her opposite was stronger.
"That's enough for today, Atanih. Hinata has to fight Neji again in the morning," said Kage.
"I know that, but she'll never beat him at this rate!" protested Atanih.
"Training's over for today guys! We'll pick up the day after Hinata's bout with Neji. Rest up for tomorrow!" said Scar.
"I'm sorry Kage… I tried my best but I still couldn't win," said Hinata upset.
"Don't fret over it. You're just not used to standing up for yourself is all. We'll try again after your fight with Neji, okay?"
"Okay…" said Hinata sadly.
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'If you want, we can spar while you sleep,' said Atanih.
What…?! How are you…?
Once you meet your other half, a connection is established and we can chat whenever we want. Or, if you allow it, switch places with one another during battle.
What happens when we do that?
Your wounds heal, but only for the first switch. If we switch back, the wounds remain. It's some sort of deterrent for switching places too much during battles.
I think I can understand that. But how can that help us defeat Neji? He's better with the Byakugan and he has the 64-palms jutsu! If he uses that we'll lose for sure!
Not quite. There is a way to make his attack inert, but you'll have to trade places with me in order to pull it off.
Why?
Because I'm the only one of us who knows which points to hit. If we tried to do it with you in control with me telling you which ones, Neji would be able to block us.
Okay… I'll let you handle Neji and his jutsu. But what happens when they realize that I'm not myself?
I'll just say that I've had it with Neji and his snide comments on how weak we are. Or tell them that we're repaying him for that stunt he pulled during the Chuunin Exams.
I think they'll believe that more easily that the first one.
"I see you and your other half have been talking. Just make sure you don't space out too much in front of the clan," warned Kage.
"Hai…!" said Hinata; her mental conversation with her other self cut off.
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The next morning, Hinata faced Neji once again in battle.
"Let's make this quick," said Neji bored.
"You may begin when you're ready," said her father. Hinata instinctively activated her Byakugan after Neji did so himself. He started with a charge, which Hinata saw coming and ducked before he could hit her with the Gentle Palm. After several strikes from Neji (none of which actually made contact), his patience had drawn thin. He prepared to use the 64-palms jutsu. Hinata saw her chance and immediately let Atanih take over.
Hinata/Atanih struck Neji eight times before his jutsu could activate. Neji didn't feel any change in his chakra at all; he assumed that her attacks were pointless. He tried again to use his jutsu, only to find that he was unable to summon the necessary amount of chakra needed.
"What's the matter, Neji? Can't use your Sixty-Four Palms?" said Hinata amused.
"What…what the hell did you do to me?!" growled Neji angry and confused.
"Nothing much. Unless you count the fact that I rendered your Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms completely inert for three days," replied Hinata coolly.
"How?! Your attacks didn't even affect my chakra flow!" stammered Neji.
"Not noticeably, cousin. I hit eight specific points so you wouldn't be able to use your jutsu. I'm not completely helpless Neji," snorted Hinata. Neji tried to attack her in anger, only to find himself in the dirt.
"Impossible! There's no way you could know which points to hit to do that!" said Neji in disbelief.
"Consider it my way of repaying you for that stunt you pulled in the Chuunin Exams," said Hinata irritably.
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Hey Hinata, do you mind if I try a jutsu I made while you honed our 'sight'?
Sure…just try not to kill Neji.
I'll try…though I'm not making any guarantees.
What does your jutsu do?
Well, I was never able to perform it correctly because there was no connection to each other. But after you and I fought yesterday, I was finally able to perfect it. I hope Neji can handle fighting me on my home turf!
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"How? How can you have grown so strong so quickly?!" said Neji surprised.
"The greatest fight that any shinobi has to face is a fight with themselves. If they can overcome that, they can achieve almost anything."
"How can you fight with yourself? That makes absolutely NO sense, Hinata!" Neji retorted.
Hinata made a series of hand signs and said clearly, "Kage Kagami no Jutsu!" (Shadow Mirror Jutsu.)
It took a second for the jutsu to take affect. One moment Neji and Hinata were fighting in their usual plain, the next they were in the shadow world. The world where Hinata's other self was locked up inside her dwelled here, as did the other half of everyone else.
"Hinata…what have you done?!" said Neji in shock.
"You know how a mirror reflects images? Well, welcome to the other side of the mirror," said Atanih.
"Atanih, how did you…?" said Hinata surprised.
"What the…two Hinatas?" said Neji surprised.
"You're in my world now, cousin. And the Hinata you know is standing beside me. I am the part of her that was locked within herself. Now it's time for you to meet your other half!" said Atanih.
"You called me, Atanih?" asked a familiar voice.
"Hello, Ijen. Doesn't he look familiar?" said Atanih pointing at Neji.
"What the hell?!" said Neji as he realized that the person in front of him was himself!
"I told you that you're in the other side of the mirror, Neji. You thought I was kidding, didn't you?" said Atanih amused.
"Atanih can be quite literal minded sometimes," said Ijen with a laugh.
"Um, why is your name Ijen? And why is hers Atanih?"
"They're your names spelled backwards of course. Naruto's is Oturan and Sasuke is Ekusas," said Ijen.
"So everyone in our world has a double whose name is their own spelled backwards?" said Neji.
"Exactly. And a good majority of the time, their personality is the polar opposite of their own as well."
"I'd love to meet Lee and Naruto's opposite," said Neji.
"Can't… the only way you can see someone else's other side is if they are present as well," said Ijen.
"And once you meet your opposite, you can talk to them whenever you want," said Hinata.
"I think it's about time we finished this little fight, don't you, cousin Neji?" said Atanih.
"Why not…?" shrugged Neji. The battle between the two went on for an hour (around half an hour had passed and they returned to the normal world) and in the end, Hinata was finally able to beat Neji!
"It seems you truly were training Hinata…" mused her father.
"I have to ask, but who taught you that trick with the mirror thing?" Neji asked.
"That wasn't my jutsu actually… it was mirror half's jutsu. She was also the one who disabled your Eight Trigram Sixty-Four Palms," said Hinata.
"Hey Hinata, you did it!" said Kiba impressed.
"Or was that Atanih, your mirror self's doing?" asked Shino.
"A bit of both. She disabled his Sixty-Four Palms jutsu and I did the Gentle Fist on Neji. So how long have you been there?" asked Hinata.
"Since the battle began. Tenten and Lee were here too," said Shino.
"Hinata, why did you allow your other half to fight?!" said Kage irritably.
Because, Kage, she wanted to help me prove I wasn't weak.
"YOU DIDN'T NEED HER HELP TO DO THAT!!!!"
She is a part of me, so I thought she should fight with me.
"You humans are so…so foolish sometimes…"
Kage, why were you so upset that I let Atanih fight with me?
"The mirror world has certain…problems with its occupants. Those who dwell there are not only the opposite of the other in personality and techniques, they're also almost always the opposite when it comes to good and evil. In other words, you are the Hikari or Light half, she is the Yami or darkness side of you."
Wait…do you mean she's my EVIL twin?!
"That's one way to look at it, but yes."
I don't believe she's evil. I trust her.
"It will lead to your undoing if that is true," said Kage with a sigh.
Thank you for trusting me.
(This ends the chapters that feature Hinata. The next chap focuses on Haruto and Naruto!)