How Things Change:
Chapter VII~ The Academy
Four Years Later, Hinata Age 11
"Kakashi-niisan…do I really have to do this?" Hinata asked quietly with a frown on her face.
Kakashi sighed; he had already been over this with her.
"Yes, Hinata, you do. You do want to become a full-fledged Shinobi, right?"
Hinata nodded her head. "I do, but—"
"No buts. You're not even going to be there that long. It's just going to be for two years. Almost everyone else will have been there for four when they finally graduate. You're one of the lucky ones. And anyways, you know the real reason you are needed in that classroom. It's a mission for you, and you'll be paid well for it," Kakashi said. "My birthday is coming up…you wanted the money to throw me a surprise party, right?"
He grinned.
Hinata's eyes narrowed.
"…how did you know that?"
'Shit, I blew it. Why does this always happen?'
"Uh…would you believe me if I told you it was an educated guess?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"No," Hinata answered. "It was Kurenai-neesan, wasn't it? She got drunk again and told you, right?"
"Um, well…"
"How could she!? She promised not to tell!" Hinata huffed angrily. "She ruined the surprise! She always does this!"
Kakashi couldn't help but to laugh at her antics.
"It's not funny, Kakashi-niisan!" she whined.
"Yeah it is."
"No it isn't!"
"Mmhm."
"No!"
Hinata crossed her arms, stuck her tongue out at him, and then turned her back to him.
"You're a big meany, you know that?"
"I've been called worse," Kakashi said with a grin as he tried to hold back his laughter.
"Whatever," Hinata said with her back still turned to him.
Kakashi's eyes softened as he looked at her. It was nice seeing Hinata act like the child she was, even if it was only going to be for a brief moment. He was one of the few people that saw that childlike side of her. To almost everyone, but a select few, she looked as if she wore an emotionless mask; she did not smile, and she did not laugh. Her true emotions couldn't even be seen in her eyes—the so called 'windows to your soul'—because of the Genjutsu she had to wear over them on a constant basis. She carefully controlled what people saw in her eyes, and in her body language. She had become a pro at hiding her true self from outsiders, and it was not easy for her to let people in. When it came to forming new relationships, she was cold and detached.
It was going on four years since she learned of the demon she contained, and in that time she had changed. She was still soft spoken and respectful, but it was like pulling teeth to get her to open up to new people, especially to children. Every time they tried to push her toward making friends with kids her own age, she flat out refused. Kakashi still couldn't fully understand why she hated dealing with people who were her own age, even after Inoichi tried to explain it to him.
According to the Yamanaka clan head, Hinata refused to interact with children because she felt different than them. While growing up, she hadn't interacted with other children much, and so she felt as if she didn't belong with them. There was her, and then there was them. After the attack, he explained, it worsened.
That was another reason why it had been decided that she would enter the academy.
Kakashi knew that Hinata could probably be instated as a Genin—Chūnin even—without graduating from the academy, but he had decided against it. Both he and Inoichi thought it would be a better idea for her to join the academy and get placed on a team with kids her own age in the hopes that she would begin to open up to them. It was a gamble, they knew, but they still hoped it would turn out for the best.
After talking to Minato and Kushina about it, they had agreed and gave Hinata the mission they were planning on giving to an undercover ANBU. They knew it would be easier to get Hinata to agree to the Academy if she thought her main purpose was a mission.
The thought of Kushina and Minato caused Kakashi to sigh.
Hinata treated the aspect of friending both Minato and Kushina worse than she did when it came to children. One wouldn't have even realized that the progress she had started to make with them, when Tsunade returned, had ever existed. Around them she always kept her true self locked away, she did not trust either of them.
They had lied to her for years.
For seven years of her life, they had lied to her. It was the ultimate betrayal to know that Kushina, the one who was supposed to be like a sister to her birth mother, had kept everything from her. The fox residing in her had been a huge blow, but so had been the fact that her father had been alive and well for her whole life. At first, when she heard that, she was angry at him; however, when she came to know that he hadn't even known she existed, she forgave him. Part of her was angry at her birth mother for keeping her a secret from him—had she told him, none of what she went through might have happened—but mostly she was angry at Kushina and Minato. They could have told Hiashi about her after her mother died, but they had not. They stuck her in an orphanage where she was surrounded by people who shunned and neglected her. And it was because of that, that she was attacked.
While Hinata had distanced herself from Minato and Kushina, over the years, she had grown closer to Hiashi. She wasn't as comfortable around him as she was Kakashi, but he was one of the few who saw her true emotions on occasion. He begged her forgiveness, even though it had not been his fault, and she gave it to him. He hadn't even known she existed, so she could not continue to blame him for not being there for her. And he was her father, her family. All she ever wanted was a family, and now she had it.
She refused to let him go.
Her two most important people were Kakashi and Hiashi, though part of her cared for Kakashi more. He was her savior, after all. But even so, Hiashi still was very important to her and it made her sad that she couldn't see him more than a few times a month for training.
"So," Hinata said dejectedly, "does this mean I can't tag along with you anymore?"
Kakashi nodded, understanding what she was saying.
"Sorry. But you don't have to worry, I am not going to be going on very many missions anymore as we were mostly going on them for practice for you."
Hinata had been training vigorously for the last four years, building her skills. She had been a quick learner once she got the basics for chakra control down (which took almost a year in itself). According to Kakashi, she was at low to mid Chūnin level, and it was because of that that she and Kakashi had done some missions together. Kakashi was still considered to be on inactive duty, but Minato wanted Hinata to get some real world experience, so decided to throw him some C to B rank missions every once in a while. It kept Kakashi busy, and helped Hinata hone her skills at the same time.
Not many people knew that, of course. No one even knew she was as strong as she was. Her training, and the missions she were sent on because of it, were a classified secret. Only those involved knew.
"Okay…" Hinata said as she nodded; knowing that Kakashi wasn't going to be leaving her behind made her feel much better.
However, that didn't stop her from becoming a nervous wreck.
Hinata sighed, realizing she couldn't put it off any longer without being late.
"I guess I better get going…"
Kakashi placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and smiled with his eyes closed. "Tell you what...if you try your best at the academy, we'll finally start your elemental training."
Hinata's eyes lit up; she had been waiting for months to begin that phase of her training. Kakashi said she should be at least mid Chūnin level to begin as that was the norm. She was desperately hoping to have a lightening affinity like Kakashi.
"You really mean that?"
Kakashi nodded his head and said, "Yeah, we'll test for your affinity today. Sound good?"
Hinata nodded her head vigorously. "Yes!"
"Alright, you should head out now. Have fun, Hinata…and try to make friends, ok?"
Hinata paused with her hand on the door knob as an awkward silence filled the room.
"…I will try, Kakashi-niisan," she finally said as she left the house.
Kakashi sighed while shaking his head.
No she wouldn't.
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The walk to the academy was a quiet one.
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there weren't very many people around and about. It was early, and most people were still asleep. Most shops wouldn't even start opening for another hour or so.
The few people she did see out, however, avoided her and watched her cautiously. She could almost feel the tension in the air as she passed by a family that had gone for an early stroll. She couldn't stop the pang that she felt in her heart as the family glared at her, while pulling their child away.
It hurt. She would deny it with all she had, but deep down, it hurt.
Ever since she had been adopted by Kakashi, the villagers seemed to avoid her more. She assumed it was because they were a little scared now; she wasn't just a 'nobody' anymore. She was part of the Hatake family, and most importantly, her adoptive guardian was one of the strongest Jōnin in the entire village, not to mention he was really close to the Hokage. They had a sound reason to be a little afraid.
If anyone tried to mess with her, they would be messing with Kakashi, and if they messed with Kakashi, then they—
Well, no one liked to think about what would happen if The Fourth got involved. Again.
Everyone in the village had heard stories about Dai Takeshi, the man who had attacked Hinata years ago, and everyone knew that only a few days after to incident, he had been miraculously found dead in his cell, with no traces of who had done it. Because of that, it had been ruled a 'natural death'. However, even though there was no evidence, it had been obvious as to what had happened, and no one wanted to risk it happening to them. So, to make sure of it, no one bothered Hinata. She was not shooed out of shops or restaurants, she was not overcharged, and she was not yelled at any longer.
Their cold looks never changed, however.
No one could get in trouble from just glaring at her. The Hokage may disagree with the looks, but legally they weren't doing anything wrong. They were just looking, after all. There was no harm in looking.
Or so they thought.
Inwardly their looks of disapproval hurt her, but outwardly they would never know that. She would not let anyone see the pain she felt under their cold looks. She was closed off, and she was okay with that. She had everyone she needed, why make more of a hassle for herself by adding to it?
She had Kakashi and Hiashi. She even had a baby sister, though she had yet to meet her. However, even though she had never met her, she couldn't help but love her. And she swore that, when she was strong enough, she would not only protect herself from her father's clan, but also protect her sister. She would never let something as bad as what happened to her, happen to Hanabi.
She also had Kurenai, Anko, and Gai. They had protected her when she was hurt, and had helped her train to grow stronger. She didn't trust them as she did Hiashi and Kakashi, but they were still very important to her. Anko had helped with the investigation of the attack, Gai had protected her along with Kakashi when she was in the hospital all those years ago, and Kurenai had taken care of her after Kakashi had almost lost his life from a training accident. One day she promised to return the favor and protect them.
And lastly, she had Shizune, and Tsunade. While she had been angry with Tsunade initially, she had finally let the anger go. It took almost three years, but Hinata had finally found it in her heart to forgive her. Without Tsunade, Kakashi would have died, and how would she have reacted if her own brother was taken away from her? So, even though it was hard to do, she had let her back into her life. And because of her and Shizune, Hinata was able to drastically improve her chakra control and had even started learning the basics in Medical Ninjutsu, something she was very interested in. If Kakashi ever got hurt again, she wanted to be able to save him.
'Your looks mean nothing to me anymore…' she thought as she ignored everyone who looked at her coldly.
It was a lie and she knew it, but she would continue to lie to herself about it. The lie kept her heart from shattering under those icy looks.
Hinata shook her head to clear her mind as she made it to the academy. She didn't have time to be worrying about what others thought about her.
She had a mission to complete.
Hinata dropped her head, and brought her hands in front of her as if she were trying to hide from the world. It wasn't hard, seeing as she preferred to walk that way and only didn't to look strong in front of the people who hated her. Altering the Genjutsu that concealed her Byakugan, she was able to put a bit of fear and insecurity in her eyes. Again, it wasn't hard, seeing as those feelings were usually present in her eyes behind the Genjutsu anyways.
She was to look weak. She would be the failure of the class, even though she was probably stronger than everyone there, minus the teachers. So, even though she hated to look so weak around others, there was nothing she could do. Looking frail and weak had been a requirement for the mission.
Hinata soon made it to the classroom, and she was nervous, but she denied it. They were just kids, what could they do to her? They couldn't hurt her…right?
Steeling herself, she turned the knob and forced herself to walk through the door.
Upon stepping in, Hinata couldn't help but sigh in relief.
The room was almost empty.
.
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Kakashi thought that he'd have a quiet and relaxing day reading his favorite erotic novel, after Hinata left.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
After about ten or so minutes, he couldn't stop himself from feeling extremely anxious. It was the same feeling he always got when he had to watch Hinata be put into dangerous situations on missions.
Kakashi slammed his book shut, and began pacing.
Would she be okay?
Would she try to make friends?
Would they treat her alright?
Would anyone like her?
"Ugh! All I am doing is worrying!" Kakashi yelled out to no one.
Becoming an older brother had been the hardest thing he had ever been through, and that was saying a lot coming from an Ex-ANBU.
Throwing his day clothes on, he hurriedly made his way out of the door, hoping a nice long walk would help calm him down. He was in such a hurry, that he hadn't even remembered to bring his prized Icha Icha novel along with him, and, anyone who knew Kakashi, would know that he was never likely to forget it, unless there was something wrong with him. However, Kakashi hadn't even noticed it was missing.
The air outside was warm and the sun was bright, but it did little to calm him. He couldn't get the thought of Hinata out of his head.
Without realizing just where he was going, he soon found himself standing in front of Kurenai's small home.
Shrugging, he banged on the door. Even though it was early, he thought maybe having a drink with her would be enough to calm him.
A minute passed, and nothing happened.
'That's odd…Kurenai is usually awake by now…'
Kurenai was one of the odd people who actually liked being up before dawn, even on her days off.
As he banged on the door once more, a smirk soon found its way onto Kakashi's face. He could clearly hear the scurrying going on, on the other side of the door. Kurenai wasn't alone, and she wasn't with Anko—her best girlfriend— either. The person with her wasn't even female as he could tell by the smell and sound of them.
Kurenai was very secretive when it came to relationships. She didn't like people prying into her love life, as she felt it was her business and not anyone else's. While Kakashi could admit that that was true, he just couldn't bring himself to just let it go. Not this time. He had to get back at her for that time she had set him up on a blind date with that transvestite…
"I know you're in there, Kurenai, just open up!" Kakashi yelled out to his friend, hoping to embarrass her.
Another couple of minutes passed by before Kurenai pulled open her door, an irritated scowl on her face. She was not happy to see Kakashi. And the amused look in his visible eye pissed her off even more.
He was doing it on purpose.
"Do you know how early it is? Today's my day off. We can drink later!"
Kakashi couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt your…rest," Kakashi responded, putting on emphasis on rest for good measure.
Kurenai's face blushed crimson.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Kakashi…"
"Oh, you don't? Then tell me, when did you start to smoke?" Kakashi asked as he pointed behind her.
Kurenai's eyes winded as she turned around. Sitting on her coffee table, laid a lit cigarette.
Kakashi smiled as he heard Kurenai curse. He had won.
"Why don't you just leave me alone?!" she spat venomously.
"You know why I can't, Kure-chan," Kakashi said as he invited himself in.
And just like he knew it would, Kurenai turned and yelled, "What have I told you about calling me that, Kakashi?!"
She hated that nickname he had given her.
Kakashi ignored her and just continued intruding into the house.
"You can come out now, Asuma," Kakashi called to the man he knew was hiding in the bedroom.
Even if he hadn't heard him from outside of the door, his scent would have given him away.
A snicker came from the room, as the door opened. And just as Kakashi expected, Asuma walked out.
"Well, I guess I'll just be on my way now…" he pulled Kurenai into a hug and gave her a long, lingering kiss on the lips. "We'll have to do that again sometime."
Kurenai gently pushed Asuma away; she was embarrassed that Kakashi was there watching what was happening.
Asuma didn't take it badly, however; he knew what Kurenai was like, and he knew she was embarrassed. So, instead of going in for another kiss like he wanted, he decided it would be best just to leave. Kurenai would call him when she wanted to spend time with him.
As Asuma made his way out of the house, Kakashi was able to catch a glimpse of the bedroom. A perverted giggle formed in his throat when he saw what state it was in.
"Well it seems you two had a really, really good time, right Kure-chan…?"
Kurenai couldn't help but groan. She would never hear the end of it.
Soon her fist found its way to Kakashi's skull as her voice rang out for all of Konoha to hear.
"PERVERT!"
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Hinata's relief was short lived as a man, Hinata assumed to be the teacher, turned to her and smiled kindly, though Hinata could see it was forced. He hated her—well, no, not hate. Hate was too strong to describe what she saw within his eyes. He disliked her, and was slightly afraid.
"Ah, you must be Hatake Hinata? I'm Umino Iruka, and I'm the head instructor for the class."
Hinata nodded meekly, with her head downcast.
"G-good m-morning, Umino-sensei," she stuttered quietly, with a blush on her face.
Iruka's mouth fell opened in shock, which did not go unnoticed by Hinata.
"Please, call me 'Iruka-sensei', it's whatever else calls me…" he said quietly.
Hinata nodded her head. She could hear the uncertainty in his voice.
"O-okay, Iruka-sensei."
Now she saw confusion in his eyes…and regret? She couldn't tell exactly. He was expecting her to be different, to be evil…but that thought was crushed with her act.
'Good…' Hinata thought with satisfaction.
At least she was doing something right.
"Hmhm," Iruka cleared his throat to cover up his surprise, "well, feel free to take a seat anywhere, class won't begin for another thirty minutes."
Hinata nodded once more, and hurried to get a seat in the back; she hated it when people sat behind her. Luckily for her, the class wasn't full and it was easy for her to grab a seat in the right corner of class.
She was one of only four children in the class. Everyone else would arrive within the next half hour.
'Hmm…that boy must be the Uchiha. And who is that one sleeping? The Nara, possibly? And the one eating potato chips next to him must be the Akimichi—'
Hinata was taken from her thoughts as a boy spoke to her.
"You're in my seat."
Hinata blushed, angry at herself. The boy was so quiet she hadn't heard him come up to her.
"Um, I-I'm so s-sorry!" Hinata managed to squeal out. "I'll m-move if you w-want…?"
The boy, who wore a large white jacket and dark shades, eyebrows rose. Hinata couldn't read his eyes as they were covered, but she assumed she would see confusion in them.
"No," he began. "That won't be necessary…"
He then pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.
Hinata sighed inwardly. She was hoping to get a seat by herself.
However, Hinata soon found out that she basically did have a seat to herself. The boy next to her hadn't tried to talk to her since sitting. He was very quiet and reserved, and she liked it. She kind of hoped he would sit next to her every day just so no one loud and talkative could take his place.
'He must be the Aburame heir…'
The Aburame's for the most part were known for being reserved.
Over the next few minutes, the room began to fill. It was quite easy for Hinata to spot the clan children from the non-clan children.
'I know that's Yamanaka Ino because of the pictures Inoichi keeps on his desk, not to mention the fact that she looks a lot like him. And the one with the dog has to be the Inuzuka, and that pink haired girl must be one of the few non-clan children in the class...'
It was really strange to have a class with so many clan children, especially the heirs. Normally they tried to break them up, but for this class they wanted to try something different. Technically even she would have been considered an heiress, if it weren't for the fact that her father had to give up his parental rights to protect her. Hinata knew she was part Hyūga, but she never considered the clan to be her own. Not after what was told to her about them. She despised what was done in the Hyūga clan, and really hoped her baby sister could grow up to change it like her father wanted her to.
Before Hinata could think more about her father's clan, a loud screech from the pink haired girl filled her head.
"Ino-pig, get out of that seat. I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"
Hinata sighed, allowing her mind to wander from the cat fight that was going on. It was going to be a long two years, especially since there was an ulterior motive for her joining the class. There was a traitor in their midst, according to one of Minato's most trusted spies, and it was her job to weed them out and make sure no harm was to come to any of the clan heirs. No one was completely sure just who it was, but it had been narrowed down to a handful of academy teachers. Iruka and Mizuki from the class she was in, and Ami—the weapons instructor— from across the hall.
Another minute passed before the sound of the bell ringing was heard. Hinata brought her attention back to Iruka and noticed that another man had joined the room, and was staring straight at her.
'Mizuki…'
His eyes were cold, calculating, and unlike Iruka, held hate and malice toward her. It was hidden behind false kindness, but Hinata could see it. Nothing could hide from her eyes.
Hinata narrowed her eyes, though it was hidden by the Genjutsu.
'I have a bad feeling about him…'
Before she could think more about it, Iruka welcomed the class. Hinata noticed that he seemed to be looking for someone who wasn't there yet.
'The class looks pretty full…is there still some more students coming?' she wondered.
Hinata was brought from her thoughts when she realized Iruka was talking about her.
"Class, we have a new student joining us today—Hatake Hinata—and if you all could make her feel welcome it would be much appreciated…"
He didn't sound too enthusiastic about it, and she doubted he really meant it. He still didn't trust her, even if he didn't completely hate her.
A round of "Welcome, Hinata" had followed the announcement.
Iruka then turned from the class, and began writing on the board. Hinata noticed that some of the children were staring at her. She assumed it would happen; it was pretty strange for someone new to join a class that had started two years earlier.
Slowly, much to Hinata's relief, the eyes turned from her and back toward Iruka for the lesson.
"Today we're going to go over—" Iruka began.
Before he could finish, however, the smoke from an active smoke bomb filled the room.
"Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, reporting for duty," a loud voice filled the room.
Once the room cleared, Hinata could make out a boy with blonde, spikey hair standing in the front of the room, with a wide smile lighting up his face. He looked exactly like his mom, except for the hair and eye color. That he got from his father.
No one told her he would be in the class.
Hinata raised her eyebrows upon noticing what looked to be faint whisker like scars on both of his cheeks. They had to have been new since she didn't remember seeing them from that one time she had met him while still in the Orphanage.
'I thought I was the only one to have them…how did he get them?' Hinata mused in curiosity.
Though Hinata soon realized that while she was born with her marks, his were caused from a Kunai.
'I wonder who did it...?'
Iruka, who was annoyed with Naruto's antics, turned toward him with a scowl on his face.
"Go find your seat, Naruto! And stop making such a scene; you're making a bad impression for our new student! You're the Hokage's son for crying out loud, start acting like it!"
Naruto frowned. He hated when people said that. He was more than the Hokage's son, and he wished people would see that. But no, they never did. All he ever got from people were his father this, his father that. He swore he would prove to people he wasn't just his father's son and that he was Naruto, his own person.
As he walked to take his seat, Mizuki whispered to Iruka, "Don't you think you're being a little hard on him? He didn't really do anything too bad today. It could have been worse. He could have thrown paint balloons into the classroom again…"
'A prankster…?' Hinata didn't expect that of the Hokage's son.
Hinata couldn't help but watch Naruto intently. He grew up a lot differently than she expected. She expected someone well behaved like he was when he was younger, and already Chūnin, at the very least. If she had paid more attention to Kushina and Minato she would have realized that they never pushed his training so he could have a semi normal childhood.
As Naruto continued his way to his seat next to the Uchiha heir—Iruka must had made both Ino and the pink haired girl move away from him—Hinata could see that his eyes were full of determination, but also a lot of sadness. This confused her.
Why would he be sad?
He had two parents who loved him, not to mention he was the Hokage's son, like Iruka had said. The villagers probably treated him like a prince—like royalty— so just what was he sad about?
Hinata couldn't help but take an interest in him; even though he was related to the two people she distrusted the most. But even she could see he had nothing to do with it. He was just a kid; he had nothing to do with his parent's lies and deceit. If she blamed him for what his parents had done, she would have been no better than the villager who blamed her and her mother for the Kyūbi's attack.
Still, she didn't plan on talking to him. Just because she didn't blame him, didn't mean she wanted to become his friend; she didn't want to befriend anyone in the class. But she had to find something of interest in class as she knew she would be bored if she did not. So soon it had been decided that she would figure Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto out.
'It's not like I have anything better to do…' she thought with a sigh.
These next two years were going to drag by.
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When Hinata returned from her first day at school, Kakashi could tell she was drained.
"So how was it?" he asked gently while holding an ice pack to his head.
"Boring," Hinata shrugged her shoulders, before noticing that Kakashi looked completely beat up, "…you messed with Kurenai-neesan, again, hmm?"
Kakashi nodded, "I probably shouldn't have gone so far, but…it was worth it."
He smiled happily.
Hinata shook her head in disbelief. Only he would be happy after getting beat up by Kurenai.
"Anyways, did you figure out anything of interest?" Kakashi asked, changing the subject.
"No, not yet. Both teachers seem professional, though both of them dislike me—no surprise there. I haven't been able to meet Ami yet as we aren't supposed to practice our weaponry with her for two more days," Hinata paused, trying to remember if she had forgotten to add anything. "Well there is one thing, but it's only a gut feeling. There's something about Mizuki that I don't trust."
Kakashi frowned, "Well, keep an eye out on him, but make sure you pay attention to the other two teachers as well. Okay?"
"I will," Hinata said with a nod, before remembering something else she wanted to ask. "Why didn't you tell me their kid would be in the class?"
"I didn't think it mattered…" Kakashi trailed off.
"It doesn't, I was just wondering..."
Kakashi smiled and ruffled her hair. He was glad to see that she didn't blame him for what his parents had done. Maybe she'd befriend him, though, he doubted it.
Hinata looked up to Kakashi and asked, "Hey Kakashi-niisan, how did he get those scars on his cheeks anyways? That one time he was brought to the orphanage with Hokage-sama, he didn't have them. They're almost identical to my marks, except mine are birth marks..."
Deciding there was no harm in telling her, he said, "You remember when Kumo accepted our treaty two years ago and sent their head shinobi to sign it?"
Hinata nodded; how could she forget? Hiashi had told her the story of how Hanabi had almost been kidnapped that day.
Seeing her nod, he continued, "Well, the head shinobi had brought with him an elderly man who we all thought was just a witness to the signing of the treaty since that is a common practice, and because of that, he wasn't really paid attention to. Anyways, during that time, Kushina had been sent out on an important mission, while Minato had been busy getting everything ready to finalize the treaty. Because Naruto was with his Nanny, and most ANBU were busy supervising the festival, he wasn't under the constant guard he normally was. During that time, the elderly man we all thought was harmless, had snuck away and had kidnapped Naruto."
Hinata frowned; so he had almost been kidnapped that night like her sister?
Continuing, Kakashi said, "Once Minato had found out Naruto was missing, it had been fairly easy to find him as he had a seal placed on him. However, before Minato had arrived, the man had slashed those scars you had seen into Naruto's flesh using a poisoned kunai in hopes of using it against Minato. He wanted to use Naruto as bait to get a powerful scroll from the Hokage, and he thought poisoning Minato's son and offering the antidote in exchange for the scroll would do it. He didn't think anyone in the village would be skilled enough to find an antidote in time—he hadn't realized Tsunade was back, you see—and thought that if he used it as a threat it would get him what he wanted. So, because his threat didn't faze Minato, he had been taken out almost immediately upon his arrival. And, just like Minato knew, Tsunade was easily able to save Naruto. The only thing she wasn't able to get rid of were the scars."
"But why did he cut whisker marks, though? Couldn't he have just poisoned him without doing that?"
"Yeah, he could have. But after interrogating him, we found out that he had seen you at some point while in the village and, for some strange reason, loved how the whisker like marks looked to the point that he wanted to replicate them."
Hinata nodded, not understanding why anyone in their right mind would like how hers looked; she hated them. "Was this before or after Hanabi had been kidnapped?"
"It happened the day before." Kakashi said. "The reason you never heard of it is because of how fast it happened. Naruto had only been gone fifteen minutes before Minato had found him and Minato had decided to keep it quiet since it turned out that the Kumo head didn't even realized it had happened."
"Wait, so the two incidents weren't related?!" Hinata asked in surprise.
"That's correct. It was just coincidental timing. Turns out that on the way here he had killed the actual witness and took his place without the Kumo nin suspecting a thing."
"Hmm…" Hinata said, not sure of what else to say. So instead of continuing on about it, she smiled and asked, "So when are you going to test my chakra?"
Kakashi could slap himself, he had totally forgotten. It wasn't really that big of a deal, however. He had what he would need to test it. He could figure out how to go about the training later.
"Uh, now if you want…" he trailed off, hoping Hinata wouldn't realize he had forgotten.
Hinata's smile grew, "Okay!"
Kakashi stood, and led the way to their training area. As he was walking, he pulled a small square of parchment from his holster. Hinata was confused. It didn't look like anything more than an old piece of paper.
"What's that?"
"This," Kakashi said holding it up, "Is a special type of paper that will tell us what your affinity is."
Hinata then watched in fascination as Kakashi molded a bit of a chakra, causing the paper to crumple almost instantly.
"Lightening, I take it?" Hinata answered, already knowing what his affinity was.
Kakashi laughed, "Yeah. Now you try."
Kakashi handed her a new piece of paper.
Hinata grabbed the paper tentatively, afraid she would rip it.
"Alright, now concentrate a little bit of chakra into that."
Hinata nodded and did as she was told.
Kakashi's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what had happened. Or lack of what happened.
"Is this one broken?" Hinata looked up, and asked curiously.
The piece of paper didn't react at all to her chakra.
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Minato was just about to finish up the last stack of paperwork on his desk, when he heard a pounding on his door.
"Minato-sensei!"
Minato raised an eyebrow, "Come in, Kakashi….what's so urgent?"
Kakashi flung open the door and exclaimed, "You won't believe what just happened!"
"What do you mean?"
"I was testing Hinata's affinity, and look what happened!" Kakashi held up the paper he used to test hers.
Minato didn't see where he was going.
"This was the paper she used! It didn't react to her chakra at all. I even retested her to make sure. And after that one didn't work, I used it myself and it worked perfectly for me!"
That's when it clicked, and as it did, his eyes widened.
"That only happens when…"
Kakashi nodded.
A frown found its way onto Minato's lips.
"How can this be? The Uzumaki clan didn't have a Kekkei Genkai, so that must mean…"
"Someone in Seiko's line wasn't a full Uzumaki or someone in Hiashi's wasn't a full Hyūga."
"I doubt it came from Hiashi's side," Minato said, thinking about how strict that clan was and that non-Hyūga marriages had only started to take place within the last twenty years, "it would have to be on Seiko's side."
Kakashi nodded, "So what am I supposed to do?"
"Well, seeing as this is an unknown Kekkei Genkai, we're probably best off not trying to teach her how to use it as it could be disastrous, especially if she cannot control it. For now, start teaching her a basic technique of all the elements, to determine which affinities she has. It'll be easier for her to learn the techniques that are more suited for her chakra type. Just make sure she does not combine them after you guys find out. Elemental Kekkei Genkai can be extremely dangerous, as you already know. I'll see about finding more about this bloodline limit after you find out which affinities she has."
Kakashi nodded.
"I'll see you later, then!" he yelled, as he poofed out of existence.
He had only been a shadow clone.
Minato sighed. Things were getting more and more complicated.
Minato was about to finish the last of his work—Kushina was expecting him for dinner— when another knock sounded on the door.
'Good, that must be Itachi…'
"Come in."
Minato was glad to see that he was correct.
"Good evening, Hokage-sama," Itachi said with a bow after he entered the office.
Minato nodded, before he noticed the look in Itachi's eyes. He soon realized that he was not going to like what Itachi had to say.
"…bad news, I take it?"
Itachi nodded his head once, causing Minato to sigh.
"Just how bad is it?
"Two thirds of the clan is leaning toward a revolt now."
Minato cursed. That wasn't good.
"Are you positive?"
"Yes."
Things just were not going as planned. He had hoped he could end it peacefully, but he was starting to come to the realization that that wouldn't be the case. If it kept up, extreme measures were going to have to be taken soon.
"How long do we have?"
"From what I've gathered, they still are not ready to go through with it. It will be another year, at least."
Minato nodded. It could have been much worse.
"You're sure it won't be for a year?"
Itachi nodded, "Yes. I got that information straight from Shisui."
"I see," Minato said. Hearing who the information came from erased all of his doubts; he and Itachi trusted Shisui completely, and all information they had gotten from him in the last four years had turned out to be true. "You can go now, then."
Itachi nodded and began making his way toward the door.
Before he left, however, Minato remembered something he wanted to ask him about, "How is the team going? Are they still giving you trouble?"
Itachi shook his head, "They are not. I had to prove myself to them, and that took a while, but they finally trust me as their captain."
Minato smiled, happy Itachi wouldn't be having any more trouble. He had been promoted to Captain two years ago, and his team had been far from being accepting. The older, more experienced ANBU didn't like that their Captain was so young and inexperienced. Minato couldn't blame them. Some of them had been in ANBU for years without getting promoted, and then came Itachi who made Captain within a few years. He had understood why there had been some unrest.
"That's good to hear."
Itachi nodded, before asking, "Is that all you need, Hokage-sama?"
Minato nodded once, "Yes, you're free you go."
As soon as the door shut, Minato slouched back into his chair, feeling exhausted.
"Today just isn't getting any easier," Minato mumbled with the sigh. "But at least I don't have to worry about anything bad happening while I am out of the village…"
Minato was leaving in two weeks to finish trade negotiations with one of their allies.
"Well, I guess I should finish up now—" Minato's eyes widened.
A fresh stack of papers had appeared on his desk. Minato looked up as his secretary quietly made her way out of the office.
"But I was so close to being finished!" Minato yelled at her with tears in his eyes.
Kushina was going to be pissed he missed dinner. Again.
End.
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Hinata's second bloodline is an actual bloodline in the manga, not a new one I created/one from anime fillers. It's pretty dangerous to use around people, comrades and enemies alike if it isn't controlled properly. I wonder if anyone can guess what one it is without knowing the two affinities she has…
Also, Hinata won't really be able to use it until part two because no one can teach her how to control it.
One last thing about the whole second bloodline is that I have no idea what would happen if someone with two affinities tried to test their chakra the same way someone else would, but this made sense to me. Hinata has two elemental affinities, both equally strong, and it just made sense that normal chakra paper wouldn't work for her since she doesn't have only one affinity like most ninja. It basically confused the paper, ultimately leading to it not reacting at all.
The story about how Naruto gained his scars will come up again later from Naruto's point of view. I'll probably write up a little bio of the rogue ninja who had kidnapped Naruto, later.
If anyone is curious about what the ages are for people right now, they are as follows:
Naruto/Sakura/Sasuke/etc.- 10
Hinata/Neji/Tenten/Lee- 11
Itachi- 15
Iruka- 20
Anko- 22
Kakashi/ Gai- 24
Kurenai/Asuma/Mizuki- 25
Shizune- 26
Minato/ Kushina/ Hiashi- 39
Tsunade/Jiraiya/Orochimaru- 49
Once we get to Academy graduation, all ages will be what they are in canon, except for Hinata (she'll be 13 at graduation, instead of 12), and Minato/Kushina (their actual ages aren't known, so I put them as the same age as Hiashi).