Hey, I'm back with the next chapter :D
First of all thanks to fullmoonlonewolf, kapurisudesu, imaywritesomeday and terfa. Wolf gives you all a cookie :P
Also to my beta reader (and my sister) LifeBehindTheCamera.
If there are any mistakes let me now and I will fix them ASAP. Also I am welcome to any ideas people have.
Okay now onto chapter 4
"I can't believe we have to paint the outside of a house!" Kiba complained for the fifth time and we hadn't even reached the house yet.
'Why do I feel so irritated? I've never felt this edgy or annoyed.' I think as my eyes quickly dart around the path ahead. 'Kiba's complaints aren't helping either.'
"Kiba." We all look at Shino. "Quit complaing."
"I will complain as much as I want!"
My fists clench as I fight to numb my emotions. I try to make my mind go blank.
Just keep one foot in front of the other.
Step.
Step.
Left.
And right.
My mind flickers back to when I last though this way. I miss a beat as i force the memory to stay back.
"Kurenai Sensei, why on earth do ninja's have to do such crappy missions?" I fight down the urge to strangle him for his ignorance. "This stuff isn't for ninjas. Perhaps losers like Naruto, but me and Akamaru a ready to kick some rouge ninja butt."
"Kiba." Hinata gasped almost inaudibly when he put down Naruto.
"Well prove you are that good by doing an excellent job on this mission." Kurenai said, you could tell her patience was wearing thin as well.
"How on earth does painting show we can take down a ninja? We are ready, just give us some criminals and we can bust open their heads."
My shoulders tense and I can no longer fight my anger.
"You don't know the first thing about death. Whether it's at your hands or someone else's." I say, my grey eyes turning icy cold. Before anyone can reply, I quicken my pass so that I am a bit ahead.
My eyes widen slightly behind my sunglasses. Here was a girl who just reached Kiba's chin telling him that he knew nothing of death. Saying the longest sentence we've heard out of her. And her eyes; so dark, so cold, it even sent a small shiver down my back.
"How the hell did that come out of Shorty?" Kiba asked, coming out of his own shock.
"She has witnessed death before." I state. There was no question about it. Perhaps she has even killed herself, at least that what her words indicate.
"Okay, you guys aren't supposed to know this but Tsukiko actually graduated last year. Though she lost her team, and even her sensei on a mission. That's why she is so... herself." Kurenai said in a slightly hushed voice.
"Oh." Kiba's said his shortest sentence.
"Poor T-tsukiko." Hinata whispered barely audibly.
My eyebrows knot in thought. If we weren't supposed to know than you wouldn't have told us straight out. You would have waited till we practically guessed it. That is unless this is a lie to cover up something else.
I look at the girl ahead of us. You can see many faint scars that would have developed over years. Also that kanji isn't a normal thing. The red kanji for blood actually glints like it is made from real blood.
My eyes narrow in suspicion.
I inwardly sigh as the lie is accepted by my team.
Finally we arrive at the house. "Okay, here is the gear." I say handing a storage scroll to Tsukiko knowing she can use it.
After focusing her chakra on the rolled out scroll, four cans of paint and paint brushes as well as a single ladder appear.
"Okay, workout how you're gonna do this than get stuck into it. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can do some training." I say, leaving them to their own devices as I watch.
"Let's break the wall into four sections. Top, middle high, middle low, and bottom. The top two can share the ladder." Shino says as he uses a sick to draw in the dirt. "I will take middle high."
"I-i-i will do the b-bottom." Hinata stutters.
"Middle low works for me." Kiba grinned and Akamaru barked from his head. "Sorry buddy, but I won't need your help for this one. Go chase a rabbit or sit with Sensei. We can train later."
A whining Akamaru leapt down to the ground and ran into the surrounding forest area.
"That leaves the top for Tsukiko." Shino says and all three sweat dropped as they noticed the shortest was painting the highest bit.
"I-i-i could do the t-top if y-you don't want to, T-tsukiko." Hinata stutters, only wanting to make it easier on the girl who has had a hard time.
"I don't care." Tsukiko's cold voice drove away any happiness that was in the air.
"Th-then I will do the t-top." Hinata decides.
It turned out only Hinata needed the ladder to reach her section of the wall. After an hour and a half they had all but finished when Akamaru burst out of the bushes, chasing rabbit that was bee lining straight for the ladder. Dashing around the ladders legs, the two four legged creatures knocked it off balance. Hinata was clinging on tight as Kiba and Shino jumped out of the way of the falling ladder.
"Hinata, jump off." Kiba shouted at his squealing teammate. Suddenly the ladder stopped where it was. Everyone looked to the shortest member who was still painting with one hand while the other held the ladder in place. Tsukiko finished her section before giving the ladder enough of a push to stand back up right. Immediately Hinata climbed down to the ground just before her legs gave way.
"Hinata, are you alright." Kiba asked as he helped her stand back up.
"S-sorry th-that i'm being a b-burden." She stutters. "I-i-i will finish m-my last bit."
But when they turned back to the wall Tsukiko was doing the final stroke needed to complete the house.
"So you guys are finished. Well let's go report to the Hokage so we can do some training." Kurenai said as she walked over to her team.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
'Who knew drills got so tiering.' I think as I continue to hit the log with the palm of my hand. A bead of sweat rolls down my forehead and my breath is heavy.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
"Alright, you can have a five minute break. Then we will continue for another half hour." Kurenai-sensei called to the three of us. I look at my squad as my breath comes back to me. Kiba and Shino are only slightly out of breath.
"Don't be the weak link in your team." I wince as my father's words run through my mind. "Don't be a burden to them. They don't need the extra weight."
I sigh and look down at my hands. Soft and weak. Not tough and strong like my father's, like my sister's. I shake my head in an attempt to get rid of my thoughts.
"Kurenai-sensei, shouldn't Shorty be back from the small job the old man gave her by now?" Kiba asked.
"I don't know. Now let's continue." Sensei says as we reluctantly get back up.
Hit.
Hit.
Hit.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
For the next week we had no missions, only training. Sometimes Tsukiko was there, sometimes she wasn't. When she was, she never seemed out of breath.
'Why must I be the weak link? Why must I be the burden? The dead weight? Why!'
"Byakugan! Gentle fist!" I charge at Kurenai-sensei. Attempting to hit her chakra network, but she evaded every strike.
"Come on Hinata. You can do this. Now try and hit me." Sensei says in her usual kind voice. I try harder but I don't want to hurt Sensei, I aim for the minor charkra flow. But she continues to dodge my attacks. Soon the five minutes is up. Now she fights back.
My defence weakens as I tire and soon it's over. She has twisted my arm into an arm lock. I can't move away as she places the flat side of her kunai against my throat. She lets me go and my knees give way, collapsing on the ground as my shoulders tremble slightly.
"I-i'm sorry." I whisper as a tear rolls down my cheek. "I'm s-sorry f-father that I am w-weak. I'm sorry Sensei, Kiba and Shino that i-i-i am a burden. I'm sorry Naruto that I-i-i am a piece of d-dead weight that continually st-stutters. I'm sorry."
My tears roll down my cheeks and onto the ground as I whisper to myself. I gasp as a hand grabs my arm, pulling me to my feet. My tear filled eyes look at them. Tsukiko?
She pulls me away from the training grounds.
"T-tsukiko, w-where are y-you going?"
"Do you truly see yourself as a burden?"
I gasp and take a step back. 'Sh-she heard me.'
"I-i-i'm the o-one who always st-stuffs up. I-i'm the o-one who is the m-most tiered after t-training. I'm the o-only one who c-couldn't hit S-sensei." I stutter with my eyes down casted. There is a sudden sharp pain in my lower back. My world goes black.
You don't know how much I wanted the cliffie, but it seemed too short. And so the chapter continues.
I feel a dull ache in my lower back as I come to. 'What happened?' Then I remember talking to Tsukiko and it comes back. 'Why did she knock me out?'
I slowly sit up on the rock littered ground. Opening my eyes, I start to wish I hadn't woken up. I am on the edge of the thin cliff ledge that juts out over a pitch black canyon (like the plank on a pirate ship). 'Why am I here? What's going on?' I feel my heart start to panic.
"So you're finally awake." My head whirls around to look a Tsukiko. She is standing on the other end of the ledge; the one attached to solid ground.
"T-tsukiko, w-what is th-this?" I stutter.
"You are to fight me. Each time you move forward or hit me, you get farther away from the cliffs edge. Each time you step back or I hit you, you get closer to the edge. You're fighting for your life Hinata. But as extra insentive, you're also fighting for someone else's." I follow he gaze.
"Naruto." I gasp. Over farther, a knocked out Naruto is hanging of the edge by a single, thick rope. At the base of the rope stands a shadow clone of Tsukiko with a kunai ready to cut the large, woven thread.
"Each time you step back or I hit you, a single thread of that rope will be cut until he falls to his death. One last thing, if you fall, he falls. Now you know the stakes, it's time to fight." She slips into a taijutsu stance as I scramble to my feet. 'She is insane! Does she care about anyone's life?'
"B-byakugan!" I stutter as I slip into my clan's fighting style. As soon as I'm in my stance she becomes a blur, landing two punches on my shoulders and a kick to my stomach that sends me a step back. 'Crap! I need to fight back, or Naruto will die!'
I steady myself and prepare myself as another barrage of punches and kicks come my way, though this time I almost land a hit on her. This continues; she attacks and I defend, sometimes hitting a minor charkra point.
Suddenly my foot steps back only to have ground give way underneath it. I drop to the ground to avoid falling backwards off the edge. I stay low as her kick lands where I was five seconds before. I glance over at the rope holding Naruto up and see it's two thirds cut and threatening to snap by itself. 'I have to fight back, even if I hurt her. I have to save Naruto!'
I stand back up, a new determination in my eyes. No more defending, no more running, no more hiding. I slip back into my stance. Suddenly I am in full attack mode. Landing as many hits as I can, not afraid to hit major charkra points. I still cop a few hits, but slowly I drive her backwards.
I hit the main charkra point that shuts down her charkra network when suddenly the cliff face over a canyon turns into the grass clearing of training ground sixteen. Also Naruto and Tsukiko's shadow clone are nowhere in sight. I look around in bewilderment. 'That was all a genjutsu?'
"When placed under high pressure, some great ninjas crumble, while others unleash their true potential." I look at Tsukiko. "You are strong Hinata Hyuuga. You are no burden."
Then she jumped off into the tree. For the second time that day my knees gave way and tears slowly trickled down my cheeks. I look up at the sun with a smile. "I-I'm not a burden."
Okay another chapter complete. Wasn't that nice of Wolf to help Hinata out, not exactly how a normal person who go about it, but still kinda sweet.
Anyhow, I'm back to school now (DAMN IT!) so the next chapter my take a while.
Well adios until the next chappie.