I been slacking. I know. Ill leave the AN till after the chapter. Enjoy!
Deep pants and gasps bounced off the rock walls. A tense silence only punctuated by an occasional noise of air being greedily inhaled. A step, and then another until the patting of feet against rock now overtook the silence. The owner of said feet was catapulting forward towards a hunched figure partially shadowed by shade of an overhang stone.
The hunched figure stood shakily to his feet before planting himself into a more firm stance, bracing himself for the inevitable impact he knew that was going to come. Sharp eyes narrowed further as energy began to collect in his hand, swirling blue energy that gradually grew into the shape of a ball. Vivid blue eyes clashed with red and black ones.
"Don't count me out yet teme!" Naruto cried out as he lifted his attack, Rasengan, to meet his dark haired opponent's own attack, Chidori.
The two energies met each other with a loud crack, trembling against one another fighting for dominance. Sasuke's sharingan twirled rapidly as his teeth gritted together. He knew he was stronger than this. He just had to push through. Pulling the little energy he had left, it surged up his body through his arm increasing the power of his attack.
Naruto's eyes briefly flashed red with black slits, the kitsune within him pushing to the surface unable to accept the looming defeat. Red energy encased the blonde hair boy, circling his Rasengan. Then a bright light erupted between the two fighters, both eyes widened in surprise as their colliding attacks resulted in an explosion.
Sasuke cried out as his body flew through the air, crashing roughly into the ground several feet from the impact of attack. The ground gave from the pressure of his body sinking below him leaving the Spirit Detective lying in a small crater. His entire face was scrunched up in pain, muscles twitching in an attempt to numb the pain. On the opposite side of the explosion Naruto's body propelled in a straight line slamming his back into a tree. Several pieces of the tree splintered under his weight creating a large crack where his body impacted. He vaulted face forward onto the ground with a cry of pain.
On the sidelines, Hinata Hyuuga shifted restlessly. The only reason why she had yet to run out and check on each male was because no one else had. Sakura watched casually from beside Hinata, attentive, but showed no indication that she was concerned. As for their trainer…the Hyuuga demon trailed her eyes over to the form of Kakashi who was sitting underneath a tree reading that book once more. He didn't even seem remotely interested in the well being of his students.
Eventually coughing from the hole in the ground floated into the air. Hinata's heart did a small flip as Sasuke's form gradually crawled out of the crater. He looked a little worse for wear but he was still very much alive. Whining from the other side of the field arose from Naruto, who shakily pushed himself to his knees and then to his feet. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips and the tension in her body with it. Sakura gave her a knowing smile and gently patted the dark hair girl on the shoulder.
"You'll get used to it. They fight hard but they would never kill each other. I'd kill them both," the psychic quipped earning a smile from the Hyuuga. She admired Sakura's strong personality.
The two boys eventually made their way to the rest of the group. Naruto flung his body onto the ground landing on his back. He stretched out his limbs with a hiss and scrunched up eyes.
"Neee Sakura could you help me?" He whined.
Sakura rolled her eyes but proceeded over to the Blonde. She knelt beside him holding her hand over his body. After a moment a green glow surrounded her palm & warmth filled Naruto's body as the healing took effect. The cuts slowly began to mend themselves and the bruises gradually faded. Hinata watched in awe, still fascinated by the powers that these three displayed. She wished that she had the ability to mend like Sakura, rather than destroy.
A small frown creased her brows as she looked down at her own hands. Her clan was supposed to be some of the strongest in Makai. For their heir to be so weak compared to others was unacceptable. She would have preferred to be gifted the ability to heal. She wanted to make a difference in a positive way.
Something lightly struck her between the eyes. Her white orbs crossed for a moment before straightening clashing with dark eyes. Sasuke's finger was retracting after having flicked her in the forehead. His mouth was downturned in disapproval as though he knew her thoughts. Hinata was finding as time passed Sasuke always seemed to be able to get her to focus on the positives and not the negatives. He never said anything, but was always able to tell when she was having a low moment and able to snap her out of it in his own way. His silent support was a reassurance.
A soft smile shyly made its way across her face. Sasuke quirked a brow in question, before turning his attention back on the training grounds.
"Are you alright Sasuke-san?" In the course of their training somehow she felt comfortable enough for him to go from 'Uchiha-san' to 'Sasuke-san'
Sasuke scoffed as though it was a stupid question. He was Sasuke Uchiha, of course he was alright. If ANYONE was going to put him down for the count it certainly wouldn't be Naruto. He crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head towards their other two teammates.
"Better than the dobe," he responded with a slight smirk.
Naruto predictably attempted to scramble to his feet in order to launch a verbal attack on the Uchiha, but Sakura shoved her still green glowing hand against his chest successfully pinning him to the ground. Naruto opened his mouth to protest but the sharp look Sakura gave him caused him to wither under her glare and pout in silence.
Hinata let out a small giggle. She had never seen people so comfortable with each other. Everyone in her family was so formal, she wasn't familiar with the ease this group worked with, the underlining love that was so obvious. It warmed her heart. They were like siblings almost. Her expression turned slightly somber at that thought. She wished, Hanabi, Neji, and she could be like that…
Kakashi had apparently finally decided he had read enough for the day and made his way over to the group. He had barely taken to training them yet, he tended to read his book a under a tree somewhere. Sasuke had taken role of leading training and like Naruto had warned, he was a 'slave driver' training them until their bodies gave out. If Kakashi wasn't going to do his job, Sasuke decided he would. Hinata had definitely improved until his tutelage. She was faster, her reflexes quicker, she no longer hesitated as much as she used to. So she was grateful she Sasuke's guidance but she couldn't help but be curious about what skills Kakashi possessed that Koenma-sama deemed him worthy of becoming a teacher to his golden trio and a Hyuuga. Despite Kakashi's nonchalance however, with Hinata's Byakugan she caught him observing them rather than reading his Icha Icha on more than one occasion. It seemed he had seen enough or got tired of his book, because now he chose to engage them.
"We're going to do something different today," Kakashi held up three bells "The objective is simple. Take the bells from me."
The puzzlement on all of their faces was evident. No matter what Koenma said about this man, it was hard pressed to believe he could take the four of them on. Hinata tentatively raised her hand to speak.
"Kakashi-sensei, there are only t-three bells but four of us…:"
Kakashi smiled behind his mask, his one visible eye crinkling.
"Correct. Four of you, three bells…Ahh, I almost forgot. There is a catch. Whoever doesn't take a bell will not have dinner tonight."
This time Naruto did jump to his feet in outrage. They hadn't eaten anything all day and the training they were doing was burning up the energy they did have. Sakura's brows creased in thought trying to work out the purpose behind this exercise. Sasuke looked unimpressed, almost bored. All the while Hinata was observing their sensei. They couldn't underestimate him. Her Byakugan had allowed her to see there was more to this man than he was letting on.
Out of seemingly nowhere, Kakashi produced an egg timer. His fingers turned the dial until it wouldn't go anymore. Once satisfied on the setting, he placed it down on a knee high rock.
"You have one hour. If no one catches a bell, no one eats. Good luck."
With that Kakashi disappeared before any of them could blink.
"Well this is obviously a team exercise. I think we need to sit back and ana-"
"Every man for himself!" Naruto cried out running after Kakashi's reiki energy.
"Wha-Naruto wait!" Sakura roared, her brow ticking in annoyance. She turned towards Sasuke. "Sasuke, you understand what-what!?"
Once again Sakura went ignored, Sasuke's lips had curled into a competitive smirk and with a burst of reiki surrounding him he followed the same path Naruto went leaving the two females of the team alone.
Sakura groaned and shook her head "Idiots…" Emerald eyes rolled over to the Hyuuga, Sakura smiled apologetically and shrugged. "I guess its every man for themselves. Good luck Hinata-chan."
Hinata returned the smile, "Good luck Sakura-chan."
They both dispersed leaving a cloud of dust and the steadily ticking egg timer.
Kakashi was curious to see how the four performed this challenge. No one had yet to complete it & while he was mildly impressed with the talent these young beings had, there was more to life than being the strongest. Sometimes in battle you had to use cunning, and teamwork. He learned long ago in his line of work that there was something more important than power & status. He just wanted them to learn what that something was as well.
The wind ruffled his hair. He stood in an open clearing simply waiting. Eventually they would attack, & by what he knew about the group, he was well aware Naruto, being the brashest of the group, would make a direct attack. Sakura and Sasuke would sit back and observe before attacking. Hinata was a bit of a mystery, she was somewhat secretive about her techniques so he relied on the little knowledge he had of the Hyuuga clan's abilities.
There was a rustling to his left, but he pretended not to notice. He felt a surge of energy and suddenly he was surrounded by five Narutos. They attacked simultaneously with a melee of punches and kicks. The Narutos' growled in frustration as somehow Kakashi evaded everything thrown at them with one hand.
"Fight back!" They yelled amping the power of their attacks.
Kakashi flipped away from the group of Narutos. He reached behind him instantly making the Naruto's tense. Slowly he pulled out a book, his Icha Icha paradise. The Naruto's eyebrows twitched intensely.
"You can't be serious!" They exclaimed, outrage on their face.
"Well I'm almost finished. So I figured this would be the perfect time to do so," Kakashi responded, flipping his book open and raising it to eye level. "Let's continue. "
"I'm going to make you eat that book!"
The Naruto's launched once more at Kakashi. This time, one of the Naruto's vanished as Kakashi unoccupied hand stuck out. In quick succession, one by one each of the Naruto's disappeared in small cloud of smoke. While he didn't look like much, Kakashi was highly skilled in Taijutsu. As Kakashi disposed on the last Naruto, the real Naruto jumped from behind with his hand outreached towards the bells. Kakashi turned slightly and grabbed Naruto's arm swinging the blonde in from him. Naruto stumbled forward as Kakashi released him but gained his footing quickly. He wasn't fast enough however as Kakashi was squatting behind him, he had clasped his hands together with the two pointers aimed towards Naruto, a maniacal gleam in his eye.
"One thousand years of death!"
There was deathly silence, and then a bloodcurdling scream erupted from the forest echoing through the mountain causing several groups of birds to fly into the air.
Naruto's body went flying several feet away, his hands clasped over his butt before landing in a heap on the ground.
Kakashi stood to full height looking quite satisfied. He flicked his wrist, opening his book to the last page he was on. However, before he could submerge himself back to his reading material, he felt a surge of energy to his right.
Sasuke's cheeks filled as a prelude to his attack. He brought two pinched fingers to his lips before he exhaled, a large stream of fire erupted from the Uchiha's mouth forming a fireball catapulting towards Kakashi. Kakashi appeared mildly impressed before he quickly reacted. He too raised pinched fingers to his lips, cheeks expanding before releasing a jet stream of water that collided with the fire.
They both cancelled each other out, steam forming a thick fog over the area obstructing all sight but a few inches beyond one's face. Kakashi came to a standstill. His visible eye squinted before closing as he took to merely listening. He was now forced to rely on his ears rather than eyes. "This should make things a little more interesting…"
A barely there high pinch whistle cut through the air. Kakashi's arm shot up with energy covered hand knocking a senbon off course from its path towards his head. Three more came at him from different directions that he fended off with ease. The attacks weren't trade marks of any of his students so he was unable to determine of whose angle this was.
Suddenly he heard a light jingle. Startled he looked down only to have his eyes clash with white ones, veins pulsing with power around them. Byakugan. Kakashi realized too late that Hinata's Byakugan gave her an ocular advantage. The senbons were a distraction to mask her moves so she could get close enough. She was crouched to the ground. Her face held determination and one bell was clutched between slender pale fingers. Kakashi didn't pursue her as she kicked off the ground with a back flip and retreated back into the fog of steam.
"Smart girl," He acknowledged.
"Have to get rid of this!" Sakura's voice sounded somewhere off.
Kakashi jumped as the ground rumbled before collapsing in large chunks. Pieces flew through the air dispersing the steam fog at last. Kakashi's brows rose in surprise, he knew Sakura was strong, but he wasn't aware of the extent. One blow to the body with one of those fists would be the end of anyone. He arched his body to avoid the large pieces as he fell back to earth.
Sakura jumped in the air to meet Kakashi, her fist destroying any large rocks in her way. Kakashi attempted to gain some control while free falling but taking to avoid being hit by rubble was making it difficult. Sakura was upon him, her fist thrust towards his chest. With the little control he had he turned his body slightly avoiding the blow. Her other fist followed, this time on target. Kakashi poured energy into his hands to brace them for Sakura's blow. Both hands were needed to fend off just one of her fist. Her reiki control was very impressive. His hands shook under the pressure under her fist. So focused on fending off one, he left himself open for the other and before he could angle himself away once more Sakura managed to barely catch a bell between two fingers. They landed on the ground, Sakura rolling away holding the bell to her chest.
"Chayaaa!" She cheered jumping up from the forest floor. She pumped her fist in the air "Don't underestimate me!"
One bell left. He was curious whether Naruto's sheer dumb luck or Sasuke's intellect would prevail in getting the last bell.
"Rasengan!" A cry from above alerted him to the presence of the fox demon.
Kakashi raised his head towards the sky, 3 Naruto's with small but clearly powerful balls of energy swirling in their palms each. The 3 Naruto's crashed into the ground narrowly missing Kakashi who skid in a crouched position a few feet away from the small crater the attack caused. Two of the Naruto's disappeared in clouds of smoke while the 3rd re-composed himself. Swinging his body to face towards Kakashi, frustration written clearly Naruto scowled.
"Dammit! So close!"
Kakashi stood erect, his form laid-back unusual on the battle field.
"Have you decided to get serious?" Kakashi quipped.
Naruto was very easy to provoke. His moves lacked any technique, coupled with a hot head and he was more or less an easy opponent. At least for someone like Kakashi. There was an immense amount of raw power surging underneath Naruto's skin, but it had to be refined.
Suddenly a mischievous smile spread across the fox demon's face. That was intriguing.
Naruto charged head first again, engaging Kakashi in hand to hand combat that seemed almost too easy.
"Kakashi-sensei" Naruto breathed out between the pants of his exertion, "Did you know in the last chapter of Icha Icha-"
Kakashi's eyes widened as realization washed over him at Naruto's intention. He was going to ruin the ending of the book for him! When he was so close to finishing it! The boy truly was a demon. Before Naruto could continue Kakashi used both hands to cover his ears, Naruto took the slight opening and made a snatch for the bells only to come up short a mere centimeters. Kakashi retaliated quickly. Lifting a leg in front of him, his foot came in contact with Naruto's chest. He kicked off pushing the Blonde away, his body twisted in a back flip allowing him to land a few feet away allowing adequate space between them.
"Dammit!" Naruto cried out in frustration.
Kakashi cautiously lowered his hands, still wary that the fox might try and ruin the ending of his book. He had to give the young male points for creativity. Unorthodox but effective in getting him to lower his defenses, if only for a second. Rustling in the tree to his side reminded him that there was another opponent to watch for. Sasuke didn't keep him waiting for long however, a large shuriken tore through the tree top towards the silver-haired man. Though large the shuriken was slow and Kakashi was able to easily avoid it.
"Have to say I'm disappointed Sasuke, "Kakashi lightly teased the dark male he watched drop from the tree looking none too pleased at the jab.
"You shouldn't be," A voice appeared behind him.
Kakashi whipped around. Much to his surprise Sasuke's was holding the final bell. It didn't take long for Kakashi to realize what had just transpired when he saw Sasuke's sharingan activated. The Uchiha had taken advantage of Naruto's scheme and used the slight opening to cast a genjutsu over him. The shuriken and Sasuke in the tree hadn't really been there. Kakashi had underestimated the Spirit Detective. Very few demons and spirits had the ability of genjutsu and it was unheard of in humans. His ignorance in regards to the extent of Sasuke's abilities had been his downfall.
The older man raised his hands in defeat.
"You've passed."
"I'm going to starrvveee. Sakura-chan will you please share?" Naruto whined, his eyes shining with unshed tears.
Sakura glared at him and turned her body to shield her food from Naruto's line of sight.
"No way Naruto!"
Naruto fell on his back with a groan. His stomach rumbled angrily causing the fox demon to wince, eyebrows knitting together in frustration. A little ways from him Hinata watched in concern, she chewed her bottom lip in concern mentally debating whether she should take initiative or not and help her teammate. Finally coming to a conclusion Hinata swallowed her nerves and rose to her feet.
"A-ano…Naruto-kun, you can have mine?"
Naruto's face instantly lit up and he jumped to his feet bounding over to meet Hinata halfway. He looked like a big child with the excited grin on his face. Hinata felt her face get warm. A red hue spreading across her cheeks. No one had ever looked at her like that. It was so bright.
"Do you really mean it Hinata-chan?"
Hinata merely nodded holding her meal out to the hungry demon. Naruto reached out but was suddenly thrown to the ground by a kick in the side. Sasuke stood next to Hinata over Naruto, now holding both he and Hinata's bentos, looking at Naruto like HE did something wrong! Naruto pointed an accusing finger at his dark-haired teammate.
"What was that for teme!?"
"For being an idiot," Sasuke easily countered. He dropped his bento on Naruto's lap, much to the confusion of both Naruto and Hinata. "I don't want this. You can have it."
Naruto looked at him suspiciously for a moment. He wouldn't put it past Sasuke to try and poison him, but then again he needed him for the tournament. After a moment of internal debating, Naruto's stomach growled prompting the demon to just throw caution in the wind and eat the bento. He had an iron stomach he was sure could handle any poison.
Sasuke turned towards Hinata, face impassive as ever.
"I'll share with you," he said plainly as though it was the most normal thing in the world.
Hinata's cheeks grew into a deeper red. Somehow sharing food seemed very intimate…But she wasn't completely against the idea. After all Sasuke had been kind enough to give Naruto his food. She was sure Sasuke needed more substance than her.
"It's o-ok…I don't eat much. You can have it"
Sasuke's brows furrowed slightly but he didn't respond.
Naruto remained oblivious to the interaction, too immersed in his food to pay much attention to his surrounding. Sakura, however, watched the whole exchange curiously. It seemed this act of kindness was either a rarity or completely out of character,
Kakashi suddenly appeared before them. He clapped his hands together a few times, gaining the attention of the small group.
"I think we're ready to move on to the serious training now. Congratulations."
"You've been wasting our time!" Sakura furiously yelled pointing an accusatory finger at their sensei.
"I thought you needed to work on your teamwork a bit. A fighter who sees his comrades as dispensable are worse than scum."
A silence washed over them as they allowed his words to sink in. A somber mood settled in the air as they learned just a bit more about the man their sensei was. Each of the group looked at Kakashi with a bit more respect.
A few moments later they returned to their food, or at least everyone but Hinata. She didn't mind really, she wasn't that hungry and felt good in being able to help out her teammate if only just a little. The Hyuuga kneeled to the ground, maneuvering into a seating position leaning back on her palms. Her milky white eyes stared into the slowly changing sky, what was once crystal blue was now bleeding into a mix of orange and reds. It would be dark soon.
There was a movement beside her. Curiously she diverted her vision from the sky to the side of her. Much to her surprise, Sasuke had settled into the grass beside her. Close enough for her to acknowledge, but a comfortable amount of personal space. He held out a pair of chop sticks toward her, a roll of sushi stuck between the two. Hinata's heart did a small flip when she realized he really met to share with her. A small but warm smile graced the Hyuuga's lips. She reached out and gently plucked the piece of sushi between her fingers.
"T-thank you, Sasuke-san." Despite his exterior, Sasuke was a good person.
"Sasuke."
At her confused expression, he rolled his eyes and dug his chopsticks into the bento once more.
"Just Sasuke. No San." He said with finality, popping a baby tomato into his mouth.
Hinata fidgeted. With the amount of respect she held for Sasuke, it just felt wrong to address him so informally. However, if that is what he wanted than she would attempt to do so.
"S-Sas…" her cheeks were beginning to turn a light pink, and it could have been her imagination but it looked as though there was a bit of amusement on Sasuke's face from her discomfort."Sasuke-kun…"
"Close enough for now I guess." Sasuke responded the edge of his lips quirked up in barely there smirk. Once more, he held out another piece of food to the demon. "Eat. If you don't eat, you can't train."
Hinata nodded, grateful that he didn't press the issue. The rest of their meal passed in a comfortable silence.
"Ha!" A loud thud resounded through the forest interrupting the silence that comes with the night. It was followed by a similar sound, and then another until it became almost steady rhythm
Hinata's chest rose up and down in deep breaths. Her heart was beating rapidly and yet she seemed far from stopping. Her opponent was one of the training logs that had been set up. It was efficient for basic training. Again her hand cracked against the rugged surface of the log, three more followed in quick succession. She hissed after the last series of moves, slowly raising her hands to eye level and observed her palms. They were an angry red color, ripped skin allowed bits of blood to smear her skin. The Hyuuga's brows drew into a frown.
"I'm not going to be able to do anymore tonight…"she thought sadly with a sigh.
"What are you doing?"
Hinata's head whipped towards where she assumed the voice had come from. She had correctly guessed who it was before even laying sight on him. Sasuke stood before her with a quirk eyebrow, in one hand a sword at his side. Hinata's cheek bloomed into pink although she wasn't sure why. It wasn't like she knew he came to train here this late.
"I wanted to do some more t-training…"
"Hm…"Sasuke responded noncommittal making his way over to another training log."I wish Naruto and Sakura was that diligent."
"T-they work very hard too t-though," Hinata couldn't help but defend. She practiced more because she felt she was behind the most. "I just have to w-work harder."
Sasuke remained silent. He had taken his sword out and was now examining it. He appeared bored with the conversation now. After a few moments of silence, Hinata decided it was probably best to return to bed. She turned to make her way back, but Sasuke's low voice stopped her.
"Why did you join this team, Hinata."
Hinata turned back to face him. It was almost as though he hadn't said anything at all. He had taken to slowly sharpening his sword. Briefly Hinata wondered how many lives it had taken. She knew he had spoken though. Everything she wanted to say flashed through her mind, but she couldn't seem to find the right words. Finally she spoke.
"Y-you saved me. I am g-grateful and glad I-I can be of s-some use…but I a-also want to prove that I'm worth something…to myself…to my family. "
Sasuke paused in his actions. His dark gaze settled on Hinata. He looked contemplative for a moment before redirecting his attention to his sword. A shadow seemed to fall over his face.
"If you constantly seek the approval of others, you'll always end up disappointed." His voice had a slight mocking tone to it covering something that underlined it.
"Maybe…but I f-feel if I work hard enough, they'll have no c-choice to acknowledge me…" Hinata countered. She knew that Sasuke was probably right, but she wanted to stay optimistic about her situation. She needed to.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted.
Silence settled upon them once more. Sasuke seemed deep in thought. Hinata debated whether to ask her question or simply let him be and take her leave. Eventually curiosity won the internal debate. "Why did you enter, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke didn't answer for a while. Hinata believed that maybe he was choosing to ignore her now. Maybe she had crossed boundaries she wasn't supposed to. She clasped her hands together in her anxiousness only to wince in pain, she had forgotten about her damaged palms.
"I have to kill…that man," Sasuke said quietly.
His task was left forgotten as he seemed to descend into deep thought. His hands formed tight fists and his eyebrows fell into a deep frown. Hinata began to worry as the time stretched. Cautiously she made her way over to his hunched form. He didn't seem to notice her, a distant look in his eyes.
"S-Sasuke-kun…" She inquired gently. Her hand landed softly on his shoulder. Sasuke instantly caught her wrist, more on reflex than anything and once again his attention was on her and not somewhere far away. Sasuke's shoulders sagged, as though he held a heavy weight on his shoulders.
"You should go to bed. And have Sakura heal your hands in the morning."
Sasuke released her wrist and stood. He made his way to a training log and eased into a fighting pose. Though Hinata wanted to stay, for what reason she didn't know, she realized that it was best if she took her leave.
Throwing one more look over her shoulder, she was beginning to understand that under Sasuke's cool exterior… something dark was lurking beneath it.
This chapter has been a long time coming. It's actually been mostly written except for the fight scene with Kakashi. For some reason that was giving me a lot of trouble and I'm still not completely satisfied but I know you guys are ready to get to the Dark Tournament! The speed of the fic will start picking up from here, next chapter the group will finish their training, hop on the boat to the Tournament, deal with some not very pleased demons, introduction to some of the other teams, and The first round of the tournament.
Till then!