Please excuse spelling/grammar/everything mistakes... it's two in the morning, but I really just wanted this thing out there, ya know?

Dammit, I fucking hate this editing program. It won't let me bold Prodigals, or other stuff in this introductory piece, so just imagine that some things are bold, some things are italix, etc.

Prodigals

Feral Panda Chick

Rating: T

Pairings: NaruHina (definite), AsuKure (definite), NejiTen (definite)

I still want input: SasuSaku or NOT SasuSaku?

Yuugito looked down into the gaping maw of the volcano.

Are you kidding? Going on the assumption that that is real lava, I don't stand a chance! And her proficiency in all of the elements – how that happened, I can't fathom – means my lightning-style jutsu will always be weaker to any of her elemental jutsu.

…maybe that's the problem. I'm thinking too much like a Kumogakure shinobi, and less like the bounty-nin that I am now. I need to be more out of the box, more spontaneous… truth be told, I need to be more like Naruto-kun.

"Naruto-kun…" she mumbled out loud.

She had searched out Naruto only to ask him about a jutsu on which she was working. Really. That was the only reason. No ulterior motive whatsoever.

Okay, so maybe she wanted to see the man she secretly loved and adored with all her heart, but other than that, no other ulterior motive.

Currently, he was showing her how to modify her special jutsu to use it to its most effective level.

"Now, brace your body for the impact," Naruto said, placing steady hands on her shoulders as the jutsu hit. The ground rumbled and she nearly fell over but for the reassuring pressure of his hands.

"That was great, Yuugito-chan! He told her with a grin. "That's a really impressive jutsu – did you invent it?" She nodded, sweating a little, but flush with his praise. "Alright, once more and we'll call it a day, all right?"

She performed the jutsu to near perfection – only she had siphoned too much chakra into the attack. The after-shock was so great that they both tumbled over, her landing on top of him rather provocatively, a precious few inches from his face. She gazed into his eyes deeply, and found only confusion – not what she was looking for. Pressing her curves closer to him, she waited from the proper response. Tears stung her eyes.

Nothing.

Finally, she leaned down toward his face, so that they were barely an inch from the other.

"Naruto," she demanded huskily. "Kiss me!"

There was silence.

He understood now, his expressive eyes filling with sadness before he looked away from her guiltily.

"Yuugito…"

"What?What?!Please – please tell me! Naruto… I… I-I… love you!"

"Yuugito…"

"We were both jinchuuriki once – I would understand you so much better than h – so much better! I care about you so much it hurts…" she ended in a strangled whisper, unable to meet his kind, blue eyes.

"Yuugito, you are an amazing girl."

Her heart broke in two at the way he said those simple words.

"You're gorgeous, brave, smart, and sweet. Any sane man would be crazy about you."

"What about you then?" she asked, desperately hoping.

"'Sane' and 'Uzumaki Naruto' should never be used together unless separated by a 'not' – you know that."

Well, that was that. The man she had spent the last two years or so devoting her life to didn't return the feeling. So she had made it her goal to test the woman who had clearly captured his heart – this Hinata.

She went around, subtly inquiring about the former Hyuuga.

She was shy.

She was sweet.

She was loved by everybody.

She had been missing for six years.

She hadn't even been around for Naruto! What could he possibly see in her? All this time she, Yuugito, had been giving subtle hints of her love for him, and all of a sudden this girl had all his affection. It was totally unfair. Not only that, but she was also a powerful shinobi – stronger than Yuugito, anyway.

I may as well go out with a bang, then.

Fearlessly, Yuugito jumped onto one of the protruding crags of volcanic rock. Hinata raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Well? I'm waiting."

Her perch was on the other side of the rim, directly opposite of Yuugito. The blonde instantly began to run around the crater to her before suddenly leaping out onto another rock that was not part of the rim and flinging ten kunai at the startled Hinata. The Konoha kunoichi ducked quickly – only one stray kunai sliced her cheek – and sharply slid her hands against each other. The ground rumbled, and Yuugito nearly lost her balance and tumbled into the lava.

Gritting her teeth against the heat – after all, she had been raised and had lived most of her life in Kumogakure, a much colder village than Konoha – Yuugito used chakra to stick to the sides of the volcano and rushed up to meet her opponent. She leaped toward Hinata with a kunai raised, attempting to engage her in battle. Hinata countered with simple hand movements, but there was an approving glint in her eye.

What is she playing at? I just don't understand this woman!

When a lunge took Yuugito too far, Hinata bent her leg sharply and shoved her foot into the other woman's stomach with tremendous force. The breath left her in a whoosh and she sped toward the opposite edge of the volcano.

However, when she should've cracked her skull against the rock, Yuugito rebounded effortlessly, flipping in the air and landing on all fours on the side of the volcano like a large cat. Her hands flashed through hand seals too fast for the average ninja eye to follow.

"Doton: Earth Disruption!"

The ground rumbled threateningly and Hinata's eyes widened. Damn! The volcano will –

The ashes and smoke reared up out of nowhere, fogging out of the volcano. They clouded Hinata's vision and choked her breath. Next, the lava reared up dangerously. If she wasn't careful, it would s-

LEFT.

Yuugito had used her distraction to charge in from her left side, and was now punching, kicking, and otherwise injuring her as much as possible. Suddenly she disappeared and Hinata heard, a ways off: "Earth Disruption! Earth Disruption! Earth Disruption!"

Stupid girl! She's not the only one next to the volcano!

Finally activating her Byakugan, Hinata moved faster than anyone could see, smoke or no, and struck Yuugito in order to move her out of the radius of the lava flow she had caused. Hinata, having acted in haste, realized that she had knocked Yuugito out.

Well, I don't know if she's worthy of Naruto-kun… but I believe she's surpassed her village of origin in terms of general goodness of heart. Too bad I didn't have more time to test her…

"Fuuton: Shadows Disperse!" A huge wind moved to blow the smoke and ash away from the spectators and high into the heavens. Next, Hinata bent down to the ground and began to hum softly. She hummed a song known only to the most ancient of elemental beings, a song that had been taught to her by the Gobi. The lava slowly calmed and began to recede as the spectators began to realize what had happened. A coughing Shikamaru cleared his throat loudly to announce the winner.

"Winner: Hinata!"

The bottom of the volcano opened like the maw of a giant beast to gobble the lava back into its depths, and the rock that had formed the craggy shapes of the crater lowered itself into the ground, led by a hand as gentle as a new mother's. The victor watched dispassionately as the medics carted Yuugito away.

Hinata began to leave the battle arena with an air of composed confidence, flicking her hair over her shoulder nonchalantly. The audience cheered wildly for her as she left, and Hinata turned to the loudest-cheering section (the Rookie 9, naturally), blowing them a self-satisfied kiss and a wink. She could hear Kiba's loud, barking laughter as Naruto tripped and fell on his face.

"Next match: Moegi versus Daichi!"

"Good luck, Moegi-chan," said Hinata kindly, patting the young kunoichi on the shoulder. She couldn't manage any words in return – just a weak nod.

Daichi, the sand ninja, brushed by the two of them, purposefully jostling Moegi in the process.

"Don't worry, little Leaf ninja. I'll send flowers to your hospital room in apology."

"Don't listen to him, Moegi-chan. That's just a scare tactic. Use your head and you'll be fine." Nodding a little more firmly this time, Moegi walked slowly down to the battle arena.

Ten minutes later, the match was over.

A joyous Moegi bounded up the steps, flushed with victory. Hinata shook her head, smiling. Daichi had dug his own grave when he underestimated a Konoha kunoichi.

"Be sure that you send him flowers, Moegi-chan."

Next up was a match between two Leaf ninja, Shigeruki and Konohamaru. Shige hadn't really stood a chance; Konohamaru was something of Naruto's protégé, and had been under his guidance for a quite a while. Given the talent and power of the blonde ninja, it should come of no surprise that he won his match hands down. Shigeruki, to his credit, had clearly performed to his best, but was dragged off to the hospital immediately after Shikamaru pronounced the match over in Konohamaru's favor. Naruto could be heard cheering loudly in the stands.

Then it was Sasuke's turn. The sand ninja, Masato, was as impassive as he was.

"I have a feeling that this match will be… boring."

"Why do you say that, Hinata-san?"

"Because both of them are cold, unfeeling people. Their match will be very sedate… very strategy-based… with very little talking."

"Do you think Sasuke-san will win?"

Hinata laughed; the sound was like pealing bells. "Of course I do, Konohamaru-kun."

Down on the battleground, it was very quiet, as Hinata had predicted.

"I will try to end this quickly, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "That so?" A smirk tugged at his lips.

Schiiiing.

Masato had drawn a long, wickedly-sharp, strangely-curved blade out of a summoning scroll. He brandished it with precision and deadly grace. Sasuke pulled out his katana (rather plain-looking in comparison) in an answering move.

"So it will be a battle of swords, then."

No sooner were these words out of Masato's mouth than Sasuke attacked. Hinata, watching lazily from her perch, was reminded, as she often was when watching Sasuke, of a large cat. One that always seemed to hum with a sort of dangerous charm, but one that really came into his own while fighting.

Again, as she had predicted, Sasuke soon won the match fair and square, but very quietly. Hinata yawned languidly. This was turning out to be quite boring.

"Last match of this round: Hyuuga Hanabi versus Uchiha Sasuke! As per rules, there will be a short, ten minute intermission on Sasuke's behalf."

Hinata stood silently as Hanabi walked past her with all the arrogance befitting a Hyuuga, not even pausing to sneer at her former sister as she traipsed down to the arena where the medics were looking over Hinata's partner in crime. Slowly, as not to reveal any of her worries, Hinata moved toward the edge of the fighters' box and caught eyes with Sasuke. He was looking straight at her.

Go easy on her.

Why?

She's my sister.

The feeling's not mutual.

I don't care.

What if I don't want to?

Sasuke!

Your sister's a bitch. And you could take her down in a second, but you let her walk all over you.

I'm supposed to watch out for her!

You can't watch out for her all the time. It's time for Hanabi-chan to come back to earth.

He looked away, ending their silent conversation. To anyone who had been watching, it looked like they were simply staring at each other, but in reality the subtle little movements they made conveyed an entire conversation.

Crossing her arms over her chest angrily, she perched herself on the ledge of the box and decided to watch the entire match very carefully; she would be sure to use all of his own moves and strategies against him in their match-up.

She slowly came to, head hurting like hell.

Where am I?

"You're pretty pathetic as a ninja, you know? I think you might the worst ninja I've ever met."

Oh. Right.

"This is a truly pointless match. You have no chance against me. Especially because you were so unnecessarily vindictive toward your sister. Many people are quite protective of her – and I am among that number."

She sneered. He was certainly talkative today, wasn't he? "You're exactly right – many are protective of her. But why anybody would bother is beyond me."

"That's true. She doesn't really need protection."

She had gotten her ass royally kicked by some orphan Uchiha in less than two minutes. Father would be furious.

"Look at the way I toy with you, Hanabi-chan. And you know what? I possess a small fraction of Hinata's power. Against her, you wouldn't last ten seconds, let alone – how long have we been going now? Forty-five?"

What a humiliating defeat! And in front of everyone! There was no way she was making chuunin now. She would have to wait another six months – that is, if her father would let her go to a foreign village to attempt the exam again. It might be yearsuntil he would let her try again, lest she embarrass the Hyuuga name so thoroughly.

She glared around at the hospital room with furious tears until someone knocked on the door. Rubbing her hands across her eyes hastily, she quickly checked her reflection in the window before calling out, "Come in."

Hyuuga Hiashi stepped through the door.

"Hanabi. We need to talk."

"The second round will commence in five minutes!"

Hinata really, really really didn't want to fight Moegi. The girl was sweet and innocent (mostly) and emotionally fragile. She didn't have Sakura's resilience, at this point; she would most likely take a loss hard and hold it close to her heart for a long time.

"Hinata-san!" Moegi called from across the box. "Could I speak to you?"

"Certainly."

They walked off to a separate corner for a little privacy… not that it would do much good. Sasuke's hearing was impeccable.

"Hinata-san… I know that you are an amazing kunoichi and that you could beat me in a second –"

"Moegi-chan, you shouldn't –"

"No. We both know it. But I know it especially well. I've done my job. I researched all my possible opponents in the last month. I paid special attention to that Nii Yuugito because she knew Naruto-kun… and people who know Naruto-kun well are usually formidable opponents. I was impressed with what I saw. But then I was watching your match. You were toying with her, Hinata-san. Toying."

"Moegi-chan, I hope you don't think any less of me because of –"

"No, no, that's not it at all! I was even more impressed by you – how you let her think she had won, and how you gave her a chance to prove that she had potential. But I knew that I only could've beaten her with all my strength, knowledge and cunning, so when you just totally beat her like she was nothing, I knew. I knew that against you, I didn't really stand a chance. However, since we would seem to be fighting next, I'd like to ask you a favor."

"Anything, within reason."

"I would like for you not to baby me. That's happened to me all my life. At first my father and my brothers always used to coddle me, because I was the baby. In the Academy, many of the male teachers coddled me because I was female. And now, my teammates and my sensei coddle me because I'm a kunoichi, not just some guy shinobi. I just want for you to take me seriously."

Hinata was thoughtful for a moment. She's quite more mature than I thought. "I'll tell you what, Moegi-chan. Think of this match as… training-Think of it as a test for me to gauge your abilities. And another time, you can work on the actual beating me part. Is it a deal?"

Moegi smiled brightly, pleased by this suggestion. "So, might you consider instructing me sometime?"

"It would be my pleasure."

"First match of the second round: Hinata versus Moegi!"

The crowd cheered their willingness to watch the bloodshed, but they were sorely disappointed. Hinata let Moegi exercise her talents for the judges as opposed to actually fighting her, so that she might get a better chance at chuunin. Hinata, after all, had nothing to worry about, and felt sort of sorry that these people who were actually at the chuunin level were fighting people like her and Sasuke. The match ended with a simple knockout by Hinata, who was sure to cause the minimal amount of pain.

"Second match of the second round: Konohamaru versus Sasuke!"

Some cheered for Konohamaru and some booed for Sasuke, but the crowd definitely got going to usher those two to center stage. No match yet had had such a high rate of intensity (on Konohamaru's part, anyway) and crowd interest. The grandson of Sandaime and the last sane Uchiha was a match-up to be remembered. If only Sasuke wasn't well above Konohamaru's level, the match could've ended more spectacularly. Konohamaru, however, did put up an amazing fight, forcing Sasuke to use some of his more powerful attacks. He was very impressed by the boy, not that he would ever admit that out loud, especially since Naruto had been his semi-teacher.

"Ladies and Gentleman of the Godaikoku, the final round of the Konohagakure Chuunin Examination is about to begin! Today, our final match will be between two shinobi of the Leaf – Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke!"

The crowd went wild at the Godaime's pronouncement.

"Sasuke and Hinata, please report to the battle arena immediately!"

The cheering increased. Sasuke and Hinata looked at each other and started to walk down the stairs quietly, arms linked.

"You know what to do, right?"

"You've only been bothering me about this since forever. I don't think I am physically capable of not remembering the plan."

Hinata's glare was self-derogatory. "I know, I know. But I'm just –"

"Excited? Want to show off, then? I never pegged you as the exhibitionist type."

"Not like you could understand this… but I want people to stop thinking of me as the same little girl. It really pisses me off."

They had reached the now-familiar battlefield and split ways, standing about ten feet away from each other.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Sasuke, a hint of his ever-present arrogance rising to the surface.

"Yes… just promise me one thing."

"Hm?"

"Let's rock this shit."