Nothing Is Easy In Konohagakure
The day began well for everyone, even Kiba and Shino, who were still uncertain whether or not the other thought of the 'outing' as a date. They spent half the day, awkwardly glancing at each other, bumping into each other then coughing, and having strained conversation. Akamaru was eyeing this all in disdain, unsure of what to do in order to force the two together.
Finally deciding on a perfect way to force them together, Akamaru deviously snuck behind his master's legs and nudged him towards Shino. Kiba, whose reflexes were only good with some sign of warning, flailed and grabbed onto the nearest thing—Shino. They stood there, in the middle of an open square, Kiba clenched onto Shino like a helpless woman.
Behind the collar, Shino smirked. He wrapped his arm around his waist—lower than he had to—and pulled him up, Kiba blushing all the while. Shino was also blushing a light pink, but it wasn't as obvious behind the tall collar.
"Are… are we agreed that… this is a date?" Shino asked, unsure of how to phrase the question.
"Uh-huh…" Kiba answered dumbly, nodding his head in affirmation.
The people in the square, who had all been watching intently, applauded while Akamaru barked a few times out of pure happiness, feeling the excitement from his master.
"Let's go somewhere quiet," Kiba suggested with a small smile as he noticed that Shino was uncomfortable. Shino nodded in reply and clenched the bag containing the sushi slightly tighter as they made their way through the square.
----
Naruto honestly didn't know where to take Hinata. He thought that the date really should be romantic, but at the same time casual. He was not clever in the romantic department, so in the end he decided on a simple lunch. He wasn't sure if going to Ichiraku's was a good idea, since they had been there so many times before, but he really didn't know of another restaurant that would allow the Kyuubi container to eat in their building. Him stepping inside might send the customers into a riot, after all.
Naruto was immensely relieved when he realized Hinata did not mind that they were eating at Ichiraku's, and also happy that she was content talking about jutsu and missions.
In the middle of her bowl of ramen, Hinata excused herself to the restroom to 'check her makeup', to which Naruto replied that she didn't need any automatically. Hinata giggled lightly and shook her head, saying that she never needed it worse.
She stepped inside the restroom and took off her jacket. She turned on the cold water and ran it over her hand until her hand was numb. She pressed it against her now bare shoulder, which had been throbbing for the past fifteen minutes. The throbbing slightly subsided, and Hinata knew that that was as good as it would get with just a cold hand. She took out her compact full of makeup base that was her light skin tone and began to reapply it around her face, making sure that all signs of any fading bruises were gone. Surprisingly, her father had yet to invent something that she needed to be 'punished' for since her last beating days ago.
Meanwhile, Ichiraku's owner leaned against the counter and smirked. "So, when are you going to ask your friend on a real date?"
"We are on a real date!" Naruto protested.
Ichiraku paused, mulling it over. "Then act like you're on a date, Naruto," he advised with a wink, before walking away to take another customer's order of pork ramen.
When Hinata arrived back at her seat, Naruto stood to pull out her chair for her, only to realize that they were on a barstool. He sat back down in a flowing motion and rubbed the back of his head nervously. Hinata smiled softly at him and slowly ate a bite of noodles.
"Why do you always wear your jacket?" Naruto asked suddenly, startling Hinata, simply out of pure curiosity.
'Does he know…?' Hinata asked herself worriedly, before answering, "I suppose I am self-conscious…" she explained, using her old reasons for wearing the jacket.
"Ah. Yes. I thank you for reminding me, Naruto-kun," Shino said from behind him. He turned to Hinata, who had the look of a deer in the headlights. "Hinata. Take off your jacket," Shino commanded, just as he had the night before.
"Oi! What're you trying to do?" Naruto demanded, swiftly moving in between Hinata and Shino in an offensive manner. Hinata obviously did not want to comply, and Naruto was damned if he was going to let Shino just command his (did I just call her mine?) Hinata around.
"Naruto-kun, please, do not make a scene of this. I believe that you will be most interested to find out what lies beneath the jacket," Shino said.
Naruto, taking his statement the wrong way, clenched his hands into fists, beginning with, "Why, you bastard…"
"Stop!" Hinata shouted, shocking everyone. It was rare for Hinata to speak so loudly, and when she did, she meant business. "I… I'll take it off…" she said, finally submitting to Shino's 'request'. "But not here," she said, noting the number of people at Ichiraku's.
The three of them nodded. Shino was evaluating the situation, wondering how hurt Hinata could be if she could hide it; Kiba was deathly silent, unable to fully comprehend what was going on—though he had a good idea; and Naruto, who had no idea what in the world was going on, nor why Shino wanted Hinata to take off her jacket, was extremely anxious, curious, worried, and confused.
They walked behind the ramen bar, questionable looks from the customers. The owner yelled at all of them to stop staring at his most valued customers, and they silently complied, knowing that the owner was loyal to his 'most valued customers', even if it meant losing a little business.
They stood in silence as Hinata unzipped her jacket, telling herself over and over again that it was better that they know. She slipped her jacket off, now not worried about holding back any winces or signs that she was in pain. The jacket fell to the ground, and Naruto and Kiba gaped at what they saw.
The bruises were now a sickly green color, though some still retained the deep purple color. There were no scrapes or scratches, as the Juken did not inflict such wounds. The bruises, however, covered such a large area that Shino and Kiba felt bad for not noticing.
"What is the cause of this?" Shino was the first to speak.
"M-my punishment in-involves Ha-hanabi h-h-hitting me…" Hinata explained.
"So… so that means… that these bruises… are because your father commanded your little sister to beat you?" Naruto asked, his fists back to clenching together.
"H-hai…" Hinata answered back shyly.
"That bastard!" Kiba and Naruto yelled out simultaneously.
"How can he do that to his own family?" Naruto demanded heatedly.
"How can her little sister do that to her, even if her father tells her to do it?" Kiba continued.
The two of them continued ranting on together, adding parts to each other's sentences and finishing statements or threats. After they let out a good deal of steam by yelling at each other about her father and her predicament, they finally stood in front of her breathing heavily.
"What can we do about it?" Shino asked her, just barely keeping his cool.
"Nothing…" Hinata answered back sadly, yet truthfully.
"Bullshit! There's always something we can do!" Naruto yelled. Kiba nodded in agreement, both their faces set into a similar look of displeasure.
"Th-there really is nothing we can do…" Hinata replied, shaking her head.
"In regards to preventing it, she is right," Shino said slowly, wording his sentences correctly. "But, Naruto, I believe that you have a good friend who is a medical ninja…? Perhaps she may be of assistance. Hinata will, of course, still have to deal with taking the damage, but that does not mean it cannot be healed."
"Yeah! Yeah! Sakura-chan will help! C'mon!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing Hinata's wrists roughly. Hinata winced, for she had a few bruises on her wrists where Hinata had hurt her during a block.
"Naruto, be more careful!" Kiba yelled at him.
"Oh! Sorry, Hina-chan!" Naruto apologized while rubbing the back of his head and looking down, annoyed that he could not remember to be gentle with someone who is injured.
"Yes, and perhaps we should walk as well…" Shino suggested. "It will not be a hard matter to find Sakura, and it is best that Hinata gets there feeling the least amount of pain as possible, rather than rushing her there and worsening her injuries," Shino explained.
----
The first place they checked, luckily, was where Sakura was. The library, which was on the way to the Hokage tower and the hospital, was so empty on the Saturday afternoon that it was very easy to distinguish Sakura's whispering curses to the silence of the library. After only a minute of quickly explaining the situation, Sakura came rushing towards Hinata, dropping the stack of books onto the table and sitting her down at a 'reserved' (as the librarian jokingly called it) table, and made Hinata, once again, take off her jacket.
Sakura frowned when she saw the state of her arms, and told her to hold still as she healed them. Sakura used the chakra to strengthen the skin underneath the bruises, which was about the best she could really do. They weren't as sore anymore, nor were any parts of her body throbbing. Shino and Kiba were secretly impressed with how long Hinata underwent that pain without saying a word about it, but did not say or show anything on the matter.
Hinata and Sakura talked gently to each other as Sakura worked, for the exercise was a simple one. Kiba, Shino, and Naruto exchanged worried looks from the table opposite them, pretending to read.
Finally, when Sakura finished healing Hinata, Hinata and Sakura walked over to the three of them.
"She'll be fine, and she'll feel minimal pain. She's agreed to come see me after her beatings, and I've agreed to start training her on medical nin training," Sakura explained. Naruto and Kiba offered supportive grins, and Shino nodded in reply. The bruises were now only light blotches, and looked much less worse. If she wanted to, she could simply cover it up with makeup.
"Arigatou, Sakura-san. Thank you for all you've done, and I'm sorry for troubling you," Hinata said, giving Sakura a small bow. This extreme politeness threw Sakura off for a moment, before she frantically waved her hands back and forth.
"Oh, no! Don't worry about it! I'm glad to do this for you. Drop the formal crap, and use chan, okay?" Sakura ordered lightly.
"Hai, Sakura-chan," Hinata said brightly.
"Besides, I'd do anything for Naruto's girlfriend," Sakura teased with a nudge, holding up her pinky to signify girlfriend.
Hinata blushed deeply, while Naruto smiled brightly enough to light up a cave.
----
Training the next day was rough. Not only did Team Eight induct Naruto as a part of their training group, but also Sakura was also inducted in order to overlook Hinata's training, practice her own, patch up the boys after sparring and such, and to work on sparring. Hinata would also spar a little in between her training, just to keep her form and to take a break in between her medic training.
Hinata was, not so surprisingly, good at medical training. She did, after all, had chakra precision as good as Sakura's, though it wasn't as evident because she did not stand out as much as Sakura did. Sakura tested her chakra precision by both having her climb a tree with no hands, and having her to walk on water. She was able to do both without giving it any effort, which amazed Sakura. Even she had trouble walking on water.
Kiba and Shino spent the entire time sparring with each other, now no longer worried about inflicting flesh wounds upon each other, for Sakura could, and would, easily fix them. Naruto spent the vast majority of his time working on his jutsu, which was beginning to look like a chakra whip, and sparring with either Hinata or Sakura. When he sparred with Hinata, he helped her to work on improvising as he could do easily, and when he sparred with Sakura, he'd help her work on her basic strength, which would enhance her chakra-enhanced strength.
Akamaru would switch off with Kiba in sort of a tag team match, leaving breaks in between spars that would last up to forty-five minutes for them all to relax, walk around, and then start back up again. Kurenai oversaw all of them from a tree every now and then, correcting things and offering tips to everyone every now and then.
Hinata made lunch for everybody, including Akamaru and Kurenai. The lunches were so big that Naruto had to help her carry them when he picked her up in the morning, a job that was no longer left up to Kiba. Kiba now, instead, picked only Shino up, and spent the first hour or so of the day with his new boyfriend, while Naruto and Hinata also got some special morning time. Both pairs were moving slowly in regards to physical relations, but they were learning more and more about the other, and falling more and more in love with them as the time wore on.
Often times, after Hinata and Naruto began spending so much time together, Hinata and Naruto both found themselves predicting how the other would react to a statement, or even something they'd say or wonder about. Shino and Kiba already knew each other very well, but were now having deeper conversations, now that Shino was saying more than what was necessary, making comments about his opinions rather than adding facts to a conversation. Kurenai was even getting closer to Asuma, and was actually starting to admit she was dating him, rather than denying it.
Sakura was basically the third wheel in three different relationships, Naruto and Hinata's more than the others. She was still single, and it seemed would remain that way for a long time. Hinata considered asking her if she was lonely, but she could already predict the answer, and besides, Sakura was probably still in love with Sasuke, even though he had been killed years ago.
Neji was watching them from a training area not too far away from Naruto's and the others, making sure that Naruto and Hinata didn't get closer than talking or holding hands. It was hard to tell, because it was purely the state of their mind and their emotions, but Hinata and Naruto were definitely developing a strong bond. Every day, he reported back to Hiashi, and awaited new instructions. Hinata had yet to tell Naruto of the marriage, and it seemed that the marriage had slipped both Shino's and Hinata's minds.
For a long time, the punishments didn't happen. Hinata had almost completely forgotten about them, when one night, Hiashi called her to the training room. Hinata had vastly improved since her last beating, but it wouldn't be evident until she was actually put against Hanabi.
Hinata dressed in her usual training clothes, took a deep breath to prepare herself mentally for the brutal beating, and made her way to the training room in which she knew she'd be beaten, once again, to a pulp.
She walked to the middle of the room, standing opposite Hanabi. Hanabi had a fierce look on her face that plainly said she didn't really want to do it, but she wouldn't hold back. They gave each other a half-hearted bow and both initiated the Byakugan before beginning. Hanabi moved towards Hinata swiftly, flattening out her palms and sending the chakra through to her hands. Hinata stood back, getting into a defensive move automatically as Hanabi charged her. Hanabi swung her arm at Hinata, and Hinata dodged it by a half a centimeter. The chakra, however, still managed to inflict internal damage to her left kidney, bruising it slightly.
Hinata swung back, surprising Hiashi slightly, for his daughter never had the chance to take a swing at Hanabi. Hanabi flung herself backwards, completely avoiding the attack. Hinata waited until she jumped to move closer to Hanabi and pushing her palms forward, sending a surge of chakra at her sister. Her sister, since she had only just landed, was unable to dodge the attack, and fell over.
It was the first time Hinata had been able to hit Hanabi. Neji resisted the urge to smirk, applaud, cheer, or show any signs that he was proud of his cousin. Hiashi's frown became even deeper and more malicious as he raised a hand, signaling to stop the match.
"Finally, it seems that Hinata is able to overcome someone five years younger than herself. Perhaps she can overcome a Branch member, now?" Hiashi asked, before turning to Neji. "Go," he commanded. "And don't hold back."
That fight would have lasted as long as the fight between Hinata and Hanabi, except Neji was the one winning, and Hiashi told him to continue to fight her, even when she was lying on the ground, unable to move.
"But, she—" Neji began to protest.
"Now, Neji," Hiashi commanded, beginning, just barely, the curse seal's effects.
Neji doubled up in pain, tears welling up just behind his eyes. The curse seal's effects stopped just as quickly as they had ended, and Neji was certain he had no choice but to continue to attack Hinata.
Hiashi finally allowed him to stop after Hinata was unconscious.
A/N: Well, not as much of a light-hearted chapter as I wanted, not at all. xP Oh, well.
I have a calendar of when I'm going to be putting out chapters on my stories. If you're interested in seeing it, go to my profile and click my homepage. If you click on the calendar when you get to that page, you'll see the list.