Author Notes: I'm glad you all seem to like the new chapter. It's been so long since I had updated it I couldn't be sure if everything with entirely in sync with the previous chapters, so *phew* about that one.
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Naruto Sempai: Chapter 8 – Naruto's Secret Training
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It was all Hinata could do not to peek at the contents of the scroll Naruto had entrusted to her as she walked home. It felt like the most unnatural thing in the world as it sat in her hand, as though she had to investigate it.
'His personal training secrets' she repeated mentally. Just what did that even mean? Was she holding the very information that separated him from the academy class? Was that what he gave her? Or was it some secret ability he had developed in secret?
A thousand other questions whirred around in her head. All the while she had to resist looking at it. That was one of the two only things he had asked of her. He had trusted her with it. She had to respect his wishes, even if it was the most tempting thing that had ever been put in front of her. She snuck a glance at her hand. There didn't seem anything special about the scroll itself. In fact it seemed kind of mundane. But of course it would be. No one would be likely to notice it if it looked like something common.
After what felt like hours, she finally made it home. And managed to set away the scroll into a drawer, where she planned to keep it out of sight for the rest of the night. Still before closing the draw, she found herself locked with an intense stare with the inanimate object. As though if she did so long enough she could absorb it's contents mentally, without breaking her promise.
"No" she whispered to herself, firmly closing the draw.
For the rest of the evening she found her vision flicker towards her room. All the while wondering what it was that was contained within it. She was so excited at the idea of finding out she found it was literally consuming all of her focus. She didn't even notice that the sun was still setting when she decided she was 'too tired' to stay up, much to the puzzlement of her sister. Inevitably she endured several hours of tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep. Every once in awhile she sat there, eyes wide open, pondering what answers awaited her in the morning. It wasn't until she began to reflect upon what she had accomplished so far, her body remembering how tired she was from which, that she managed to calm down enough to actually fall asleep.
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Hinata's eyes flickered open. The sounds the of birds chirping outside hadn't even started yet. She was about to permit herself to roll back over and claim more sleeping time before a single word grazed her mind
'Scroll'
In and instant she was sitting bolted upright. Her eyes fixed intently upon the draw which the 'artefact' rested. Slowly she got up, and moved towards it with the utmost care as not to make a sound, as though it would flee should she make one. Pulling the draw open, there it sat. She found herself paralyzed with excitement and nervousness. Despite her curiosity she found her body unresponsive, all the while the little voice in the back of her head chanting
'Go on, go on, go on…' Slowly she took the scroll. Her fingers practically trembling as she slowly opened it, revealing its contents. She began to read what was written, instructions that Naruto-Sempai seemingly detailed while in the process of either learning, or perhaps mastering the art himself.
After she finished reading it she lowered the scroll, allowing the idea to sink in. Her brow furrowed in slight confusion at the idea, her mind trying to put the pieces together.
"…Really?" was all she could comment.
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Naruto stood waiting for his apprentice to make her appearance. She was due to arrive any moment, and given her state when he last saw her, she would have memorised the scroll by now. It was just as he was supposing this did he hear the footsteps of her running to meet him. He turned to look at her with a small grin.
"So you can overcome a genjutsu of that level?" He asked, with a faint smile.
"Yes, Naruto-Sempai. My Byakugan have always been helpful against Genjutsu" Hinata answered.
"And you no longer have any problems with the clone jutsu?" Naruto quizzed
"No, not anymore" she answered with a smile of her own.
"That's good. Now, I next presume you have read the scroll I leant you?" he asked with a smirk.
"Yes, but I don't fully understand it, Naruto-Sempai" She confessed
"Don't worry about that. It'll come together as you develop into it. Trust me, does it sound like something I would do otherwise?" he asked cheekily. "In fact Don't answer that, but instead just trust me." He added, as an after thought. His expression changed, the smile lowered, but didn't disappear, as he brought up the seriousness.
"I won't lie Hinata, this training is not easy, and will be more physical taxing than our past training. I have raised your levels of Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Ninjutsu and ranged weaponry up to a passable standard. However the truth is I have also been watching Uchiha Sasuke. His Taijutsu is more advanced than we can likely reach in the time frame going at the rate we were. This is your best chance to best him lies in this training." Naruto paused.
"But of course, this particular typing of training is a different route to the one you have been following. Do you want to try this, or would you prefer to put faith in your old methods?" He asked.
Hinata couldn't answer back without giving it thought. Obviously, she knew her previous training. Though slow she also knew it was working. But she felt what Naruto-Sempai had said, that her progress of catching up in this matter could be too slow to reach Uchiha Sasuke in the remaining time. But then trying out something new like this was a gamble. But even so, her mind flickered back to the words that had captivated her at the time
'My Personal Training Secrets'
"Hinata" Naruto said, getting her attention "Let's get an Ichiraku's while you think about it, yeah?" He said with a grin. She smiled back and nodded.
'Of course, Ichiraku's…´she half laughed mentally. Even in the short time she had been around him, it had immediately become obvious he loved his Ramen perhaps a little too much. None the less, it was nice to have one once in awhile, she thought to herself. But she knew she couldn't stomach one nearly as often as he could.
"Naruto-Sempai?" She asked, after than had seated themselves. Naruto looked up, rather than verbally responding to her
"Is this training how you train currently?" Naruto glanced upward as though supposing.
"I guess so. I mean, I was using this predominantly during up until I became a Chuunin. Since then I've had to develop other styles. This style is great, but there are some things it cannot do. However, at this stage it should hold several advantages, as this styles weaknesses lie down a more advanced path, nothing any genin can pull. Even Sasuke" he explained. Hinata looked at the table in thought. It probably was worth doing this. Naruto had suggested it after all, adding on the weight of the feelings of his trusting her with it. How could she not?
"Then I think… I would like to try it" she said quietly. Naruto looked up from his newly arrived noodles, with a grin.
"Fantastic" he commented, "But please realise that this training however it might seem, will be more physically taxing than our previous training." He made sure the point out, his voice cautioning, but sounded more concerned than anything. He didn't assume she would take anything lightly, but even so.
"I will do my best, Naruto-Sempai" she replied, with a small smile. He grinned back at her.
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Hinata's hands were still shaking. In fact even her arms were, even her legs. Her using neat hand writing far more resembled Kiba's today. Which actually resembled a ink-spider hand crawled across a page. As little sense as that expression made, it seemed to come together nicely when she looked at her paper. She flexed her hand, feeling the burn. Perhaps she had been over doing it with her Gentle Fist training. She would have to train without releasing the chakra for a few days it seemed. While that made for very poor practice via comparison, if she wanted to stand a chance at recovering, it would just have to be like that,
"Problem?" Sasuke asked without looking at her. She blinked at him
"Ano, no, it's nothing. I-I just was pushing myself a bit hard last night" she explained. Deciding to leave out the details that her hands had felt like they had a severe case of the 'pin and needles' since she had woken up this morning. Just holding her pencil at this point was proving to me somewhat painful.
After a further pause, Sasuke returned to scribbling something down, apparently satisfied with her answer.
She went back to her own paper and began to finish off what she hadn't already finished. Naruto had been gone for nearly a week due to a mission. But fortunately he had left her with a strict and rigorous training schedule. His not being there did slow things down somewhat, however, the new training was proving difficult to adjust to, which made her wonder if his being there would truly have such an impact after all, even just thinking about it causing her sides to ache, and her legs to stiffen as though she'd just finished another session of training.
"You know you shouldn't push yourself too hard" Sasuke said absently, without stopping what he was writing "When you muscles aren't at 100% you are getting a reduced effect from any training you might do, since even if it feels like you're doing your best that's just the lactic acid, your limits aren't being reached and your muscles aren't being developed."
Hinata paused what she was doing, and could only sit there looking at him with a slightly confused expression.
"You didn't think I didn't notice did you?" He asked rhetorically.
'Did he find out about Naruto?' She inwardly gasped, almost horrified by the idea. More so because that would mean she had been lying to him about not knowing more. After all, it was Sasuke that reached out to her.
"I saw you training three nights this week." He commented. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief "You really push yourself, Hinata" He added on, quieter.
If she didn't know better she would of taken that as a 'Sasuke-compliment'. She smiled at his words.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun" she said, with a slight bow of her head. He merely grunted.
"Just don't over do it, you won't improve enough to be an ally if you're levelling yourself to exhaustion"
For the second time in as many minutes, Hinata found herself rendered speechless. Sasuke rarely spoke. And when he did it was only about an objective, in her experience either ninja theory, or the mystery that was Uzumaki Naruto. But right now, he seemed to be speaking out of concern, even hinting that perhaps, just perhaps, on some level he was thinking of her as some sort of an equal. In the future albeit, but none the less. Sometimes, he seemed to go out of his way to over perform in their classes as though it was an attempt to distinctively yet silently claim no one in their class was his equal.
All of which made him completely out of character right now, at least to her mind. She was half tempted to poke him, to see if a genjutsu or transformation technique would be dispelled. But she thought better of it. Instead diverting her eyed away from him back to her own paper. But she was no longer writing. In her mind she couldn't help but think;
Exactly was what it that Sasuke was thinking?
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Deciding to take Sasuke up on his advice, if only partially. She reverted her training from her schedule, if only for the night, to use muscles she hadn't completely burnt out yet. So tonight she opted to practice her kunai and shuriken throwing, and would finish up with genjutsu theory. However boring she couldn't deny the only times she had felt this exhausted before were the two times Naruto had insisted upon her resting. So she inwardly concluded that Sasuke was probably right, and she wondered if Naruto would agree. She could take up the schedule again after one night. If she had any measure of luck it wouldn't throw her off completely.
'8/10' she thought to herself. She could do better than that. Of course she could. Her average had improved to about 80% up from mid sixties. But these targets weren't even hard. She couldn't keep missing like that anymore. Even beyond the genin exams. She had her own standards she felt she needed to reach. By being a Genin, meant you were a real ninja. The lowest rank was irrelevant. As a ninja of Konoha, no, as a ninja of the Hyuuga, she had to really reach for new heights. What was it Naruto said to her?
'Warrior of the Hyuuga indeed´ she smiled to herself. That was it. She recalled how happy that kind of praise made her. No one, not even her family had said such a thing. Of course the clan was one of elites, a standard she was a long away off. But, if Naruto said it, that was something she could believe in. She did it once, and that was a fluke. Now she needed to learn to summon those levels of skill at will.
'9/10… I can do better!'
She continued until the sun was starting to set before she head unfamiliar voices and laughter coming from behind her. Determined not to get distracted; she continued. But as she missed the laughter grew louder, it even seemed exaggerated. She refused to turn and look, though it felt the voices were directed at her. She threw again and missed, the laughter came again. She couldn't resist, but turn to see three people leaning against the building talking amongst themselves, but also clearly watching her. She didn't recognise any of them, but she decided it didn't matter and continued with her practice.
However everytime she missed, they seemed to find it funny and didn't hold the manners to keep quiet about it. Within minutes they began making disrespectful comments.
"Shouldn't you be in a kitchen?" one of them called out to her. She gritted her teeth, and threw again.
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't let that walking failure make me food! Geez, they sell her cooking in the poisons store, most toxic thing in there" They howled at their own comments. Their incessant comments and laughing was causing Hinata to miss more and more.
"Seriously, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a boat. Is that really all Konoha ninja have? What a bad joke"
Hinata had to stop. However much her confidence had been improving she felt her resistances crumbling. But she didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Just as she was about to hurried walk off, she heard the sound of a thud and a grunt
"What the hell" one of them said. She turned again, her vision had just started to blurr in her battle against her tears. But she could just make him out.
"S-Sasuke-kun?" she asked no one in nothing more than a whisper
"Well I hit you, though given the size of a the target perhaps I should try something I could actually miss." Sasuke shot, flicking up a stone, before catching it again.
"Why you little shi-"
"What are you clowns doing here, this is our turf, and you're not a part of us" Sasuke demanded, cutting clean through the larger genin words. The three snickered
"You don't even know?" One of them laughed. "Man, between 'Misses' over there, and captain clueless here, I don't think this will be anything at all to worry about"
Sasuke scanned them for some sign as to why they were here. All he could tell was they were Cloud ninja
"Look at him, looking for a clue. Idiot kid. Besides you know you're goibng to pay for that little stunt to defend your little 'girls' honour." He said pausing, glancing at Hinata "Least I assume that's a girl"
The three advanced toward Sasuke, who held his ground.
Hinata felt powerless but to watch as Sasuke was about to get attacked.
One of the three drew a kunai. Another swung his hand, extending a baton he had apparently been hiding.
"Wow, wow, wow" came a familiar voice. Hinata felt her heart skip a beat. The next thing she saw was Naruto drop down from seemingly no where.
"Jesus, these idiots are like roaches" one the Cloud ninja groaned. Naruto smiled, and carried on walking towards them
"What do you want?" one of them spat
"Hey, can I just? I'm gonna just…" he said as he quickly but smoothly took the Kunai out of the boys hand. What was surprising was it wasn't by force, as though the boy half let him. "Thanks" Naruto beamed, tucking the blade away in his own pouch. All of a sudden the group reacted
"Hey! That's mine" the boy cried, snatching the baton off his allied, and making to swing with it. But before she even knew what was what, Naruto was holding that too
Snap
He broke it in half on his knee
"You could take an eye out with that!" he exclaimed in a half mockery, yet serious tone "Now you can't have the stick. Now YOU just wait!" he said, pointing to all three. Who were so dumbfounded they could only stare. "I'm Busy!"
He strolled up to Sasuke
"So, antagonising three genin ninja?" he asked, as though he was talking to an infant "Look, I'm all for defending honour. I like my honour. Why wouldn't I? And I praise you for helping out a friend, Uchiha-san. But pick your battles. You know, 'a ninja assesses a situation before…' yada yada. Now, go home" he said, his tone remaining casual filled with his usual energy until the last two words, which were unmistakably serious. Sasuke's own expression broke somewhat after being called 'Uchiha-san'. Like Hinata, he didn't expect to hear anything like that.
After a slight scowl, Sasuke complied.
"Hey you can't get away th-"
Naruto watched him leave before turning
"You were told to wait!" he said, point at them with the same wide eyes Iruka would give a naughty student, as he walked past. He smiled at Hinata, who at this point was standing in relative disbelief at the situation.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his concern clear. Not trusting her voice, due to the knot still in her throat she gave a stiff nod. He paused before nodding back "Alright, let's go somewhere"
"IF I might interrupt!" The large one called out, angrily. Naruto turned.
"Yes! Sorry fat-fella" he apologised
"Shut up!" He cried
"You broke my weapon! Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Hah, well that's the question" Naruto laughed, soaking in the irony that he asked the very question many people sought an answer to
"I am asking you who you are you god damn brat!"
"Oh, well that's just rude" Naruto said, as though he was genuinely disappointed. "No, now you don't' get an answer." He said turning to walk Hinata out
"You THINK we're going to let you walk away." One shouted
Naruto paused with a sigh. In the next instant there were a dozen clones, all shoo'ing and escorting the three ninja creating a commotion between the two parties. The original put an arm around Hinata and lead her in the opposite direction. As the commotion died away, Hinata felt Naruto give her should a slight squeeze
"Don't worry about them Hinata-chan. I'll see they get what's coming to them the proper way." He said without looking at her. "Let's get something to eat" he suggested
"I-Ichiraku's?" Hinata forced out, followed with a cheeky smile.
"Duh, what else is there?" Naruto teased, with a grin of his own.
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Sasuke couldn't move his mind from the scene. He had stayed in range until he saw the clones ushering the Cloud ninja away.
'Uzumaki Naruto… Really? Who are you?' he mentally asked, as he looked up into the darkening sky.
He was certain that was going to end in violence. By his own causing, he acknowledged, but it would have been worth it. Three of them; kicking some one down who was not only weaker than them, but who was trying to improve?
He couldn't stay calm at that. And he had often thought of himself as quiet a cooler tempered individual. Perhaps no one could.
'Except Naruto' he thought automatically. Sasuke gritted his teeth. Even now he wanted to kick those ninja's asses. By the looks of it, Naruto probably could.
'So why didn't he!'
He stopped in his tracks, and looked up at the sky.
'Why is it in the world, the people with power cannot be trusted with it. While those without are doomed to suffer?'
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"So I take it you've been following my schedule?" Naruto asked, before blowing on his steaming noodles. Hinata nodded.
"Everyday except today" she admitted, but before she could continue he spoke up first.
"Your body was in pretty bad shape then?" he asked, only glancing at her.
"Yes, like the times before when you insisted I took a break" she reasoned
"Good. Initiative. Hold on to that, it's an unfortunately rare trait" he commented in a weary expression.
"Hey, Naruto, you know you don't get the date discount anymore. I'm surprised you're still forcing her here all the time" Ayame said from behind the counter. Hinata's face began to glow. Naruto noted this, and chuckled. Apparently this one time 'fib' was going to haunt them.
"I know, but we're just so happy here. Right Hinata-Hime?" he teased.
Smack
"Oh… opps?" Naruto commented looked at the unconscious girl. After a pause he shrugged and pulled over her bowl, loading a few noodles with a cheery whistle.
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Author Notes:
Enjoy your Saturday my minions. Did I say minions? I mean readers!
So, Next episode I will be having Hinata ask a question to Naruto. So for those of you who have an idea for a question you have review to ask it. If not it will be my favourite out of the ones going currently!
P.S come ooonnnnnnnnn, I get so many Reviews AND PM's that just say something like
"Good stuff, Moar plux"
If you're going to bother you might want to have a little more to say? Just a ickle sprinkle of an opinion? Hmmmm?
Ja Ne!