The song is human by skye sweetnam. I chose this because of the main line "We're only human seperated by our thoughts" a lot of the Hyuuga's and Uchiha's are compared to each other and similar but each person is different. Hanabi and Hinata grew up in the same circumstance yet Hanabi is rude, determined and cold while Hinata is shy, nervous and polite.
A/N: I know most of you have probably noticed my updates aren't as daily any more. It's because of moving. My guess is that once school starts I'll update maybe twice a week? I hate monthly updates so I'll try to do my best XD ...So we've hit 20! Wow. In canon around episodes we are in about the same spot in chapters. Guess what that means? DUN DUN DUN DUN! It meaaans... The Chunin exams are coming up! Hopefully I don't disappoint, so without further a.. *forgets rest of saying* The chapter! :D
I lied ^.^... there's more. Last chapter I mentioned a side story about Laura? I posted it's first chapter.. (not really a chapter.. it's short) yesterday and it's on my profile so if you were interested in her character go read about her life! :D NOW.. enjoy :D
Shinobu POV
"I'm proud of you all. You've improved in speed and endurance.. when I got you it might have taken three and a half days to make that trip and we just made it in two and a half." Kurenai smiled.
"Haha, that's because we're always training. We're going to have the strongest team in Konoha." Kiba exclaimed and Kurenai grinned along with the rest of the team. Their teamwork never had many faults but it had still managed to improve. Kiba had recently switched from claiming how strong he was going to get as an individual to how strong they were going to get as a team.
"Y-ya!" Hinata smiled, giggling as Akamaru pounced on her. Shinobu tried to hold her smile but it wouldn't last.. she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't getting strong enough.. it was her first big mission and she'd done well.. but she also messed up a lot, broke the rule of letting emotions through on a mission and was now severely lacking sleep. No doubt Sasuke was doing better than her.
"Sh-" Kiba started.
"I'm fine." She quickly cut him off, not wanting the pity party.
"Ok.. sorry." He sighed.
"Alright.. well we should go report this to Hokage-sama.. then we can start your training with Anko." Kurenai smiled half-heartedly. Secretly hoping Kakashi was having a better time with his Uchiha.. there was a long line of missing-nin from their clan and though she believed Shinobu would do that, she was noticing a quick decline in her mental health.
The group walked in silence, making it's way towards the Hokage's tower, Shinobu wondering if Naruto was at home waiting for her. The chunin guarding the doors smiled and waved them in and it wasn't long before they were standing in silence in front of the Hokage as he read the papers.
"Seems like it may have been a bit higher than intended.. good job. You should be free of missions for a short while.. may I speak with you at 20:00 Kurenai?" He asked while filing the papers away.
"Yes, sir." She bowed before leading the team out. Shinobu personally thought they should be given time to rest before training but it was probably Anko's idea to do other wise. For some reason Kurenai seemed to comply with whatever the woman wanted. Shinobu meant to look into it but never really had time.
Shinobu grinned as the team passed team Kakashi. The team looked worn out but Naruto grinned and Waved. Sakura rolled her eyes and looked away, her rivalry with Ino always stopped any friendship there. Sasuke let out a small curious glare. Kakashi had his nose in his book so she didn't catch his eye. As they were walking away she could hear the Hokage talking and her eyes widened.
"They had a jonin mission? That's so not fair!" Kiba complained, even Kurenai looked shocked.
"Ya.. let's just be thankful they lived.. we had the better mission anyway.. we didn't see anyone die." Shinobu mumbled.
"Aaah! You're back! I can't wait to get started on this!" Anko shouted, giving a grin that resembled the Chesire cat once they reached the training grounds.
"Don't rush them too much. They only started the strength training a couple days ago." Kurenai sighed, worried for her team.
"Oh, they'll be fine. I don't think they'll be pansies, they're all from great clans after all. Hyuuga, Uchiha, Inuzuka, Aburame. You've got the power-house team. I'm simply making a partnered Ino-Shika-Cho dynamic for them." Anko grinned, fiddling with a dango stick in her mouth.
"Just be careful.." Kurenai sighed.
"Ya ya.. just be quiet while I lead things here. They'll have it down in no time, maggots or no maggots." She laughed. Kurenai rolled her eyes but said nothing.
"So to start off with I need to know whether Shinobu intends on learning this as a boy or a girl, it makes a difference due to weight." Anko asked, pacing in front of the nervous genin.
"Whatever makes me stronger." Shinobu muttered, wishing they could start training, just because she thought they should be given time off didn't mean she wouldn't take advantage of the new higher up. She had planned on training at home anyway.
"I think you should learn most of it as a girl, but we'll teach you some of the boys technique so that you can pair with them if need be. Happy, maggot?" She grinned. Shinobu nodded, knowing it would be hard work but she didn't really care.
"I think the primary teams will be Kiba with Shino and Shinobu with Hinata. Simply because the eye jutsu's will do wonders in your pairing and both of you boys can create clones. You need to work on fleas with Akamaru though." Anko chuckled.
"I've been training them.. they won't attack Akamaru, they recognize his chakra." Shino explained quietly earning an approving nod from Anko. "Shinobu will learn to partner with all of you so that her place on the team is validated. She is the only non-tracker on this team. Hinata, you will learn mostly with Shinobu but your side partner will be Shino. Kiba, your main partner will be Shino, your side partner will be Shinobu. Shino and Shinobu, you will learn with everyone." Anko explained.
"You're telling us all of this.. but you're not telling us what we're learning." Shinobu sighed.
"You will fight as one unit.. almost as one body but in reality you will just become so in synch that you will appear as one super fighter. You will train with your main partner the most because once you know each other perfectly, your taijutsu is one of your greatest weapons. Then you will work with side partners, your side partner will not be as good but it will be better than normal pair taijutsu." Anko explained. "Eventually, you'll end up combining jutsu.. this will come more into play later on though so I can explain that once you've gotten the taijutsu part."
Shinobu's mind was reeling along with the rest of team eight. A partner.. combining jutsu? How could she possibly combine Sharingan and Byakuugan.. it didn't sound possible.. if it was.. it would be the ultimate eye technique. She stole a glance towards Hinata who looked equally nervous with the whole idea.. she was probably afraid of letting Shinobu down.. but they already knew each other well.
"Hinata.. don't worry about it.. you won't let me down.. we'll simply make each other stronger." Shinobu smiled, trying to reassure her.
"T-thank you.. I'll try my best." Hinata smiled, shakily, in return.
"Haha, we'll." Shinobu grinned. Kiba grinned as well. They were the confident people on the team. Shino was confident. but not out loud. Kiba and Shinobu were the ones to raise spirits.
"So.. how do we start.. getting in synch that is." Shino asked curiously.
"Simply, every moment you will be making for the next week must match your partners. You aren't allowed to move unless they do. You will do your strength training together and you will stay with each other.. I know this may cause problems but I have talked to Hiashi and he is fine with having Shinobu stay with you temporarily provided she takes a sworn seal not to try anything or something like that." Anko smiled.
"Fine with me." Shinobu grinned, making eye contact before moving her foot and watching Hinata quickly following. Watching each others movements. It looked silly, like a dance with one person a beat behind at all times. It was a lot harder than it sounded.
"Oi, no doing that maggotts!" Anko laughed at Kiba and Shino. When Hinata and Shinobu turned around they saw bugs retracting from Kiba's shoes. It looked like Shino had tried to keep them in synch with the bugs walking for Kiba.
"Why not?" Kiba asked, not really understanding.
"Because then it won't be him bonding and being in synch with you, it will be his bugs." Kurenai explained, pulling out the poles and setting them up for when the team got to that point. She knew this training was odd, eventually everything went in synch, your thoughts.. your breathing. At one point when she trained with Asuma they started waking up at the same time and having nightmares at the same time. It was odd. You had to trust your partner with your deepest secrets and thoughts or it wouldn't work. That part worried her. Shinobu had some dark thoughts though Kurenai believed she could do it with any of the other three on the team. Kiba and Shino seemed like an odd pair.. she was praying they began to trust each other more. She personally would have picked Shino and Hinata then Kiba and Shinobu.. but Anko must have had her reasons.
She watched with a small proud smile as Shinobu and Hinata counted the number of sit-ups they were on, trying to say it at the same time. Kiba and Shino quickly joined in and all four were doing sit ups and counting at the same time. It almost looked like someone placed a mirror on each side of one of them. She was thankful.. she hadn't gotten overly cold guys or guy obsessed girls. Just four young kids who had their hearts set on proving themselves and protecting their villages.
When the group finished their training for the day they lay sprawled in the grass, enjoying the feel of letting their muscles rest. Shinobu's whole body ached.. but she knew it was a good ache.
"So I've informed Hiashi that you'll be joining them today. For you two your two weeks will be in the Hyuuga compound. For Shino and Kiba, I've talked to both of your families and while Tsumi swore some horrible things if any of the dogs got fleas they agreed. You will spend the first week with the Inuzuka's. The second will be in the Aburame compound. They all nodded as they were dismissed before attempting to wave at the same time and walking off in different directions.
"So.. Hinata.. what's the Hyuuga compound like?" Shinobu asked, oddly excited.. she had never stayed with a family before.. they were all family.
"T-they're strict and very protective. It f-feels divided.." She whispered honestly.
"That must be tough.. but isn't it good enough to have family?" Shinobu asked.. she wasn't trying to be rude.. but she wanted to know. She'd never had a family besides Naruto so she didn't know. Thankfully Hinata realized this.
"Well.. I am v-very thankful to have them.. but most of t-the time they d-don't feel like family.. they either treat me like a queen because they're branch members.. or they treat me like diry.." Hinata whispered.. slightly shocked at her own lack of stuttering.
"I guess that does make sense.. hopefully your stuttering will end when you're not nervous around me anymore." Shinobu smiled. Hinata couldn't help but smile back, Shinobu felt like a friend.. she wasn't nearly as nervous about failing or being judged or not being good enough around her.. but she didn't want to fail her as a partner.. they would both do their absolute best.
Shinobu smiled, letting Hinata in. It was fairly clean since they had both been gone. There was random noises coming from down the hall but it didn't bother her. Hinata on the other hand looked horrified.
"W-what is that?" She squeaked.
"Just Naruto, he just got back today too. He's probably unpacking and getting ready to go eat and train." Shinobu grinned, leading the way to her room which was thankfully clean. She quickly unpacked and repacked for the time she'd be in the Hyuuga compound. She made sure to keep all of her clothing appropriate. She made sure to get all of her training weapons and leave anything seriously dangerous behind. She didn't want to appear as a threat.. not that she was much of one.
"S-shinobu? C-can I ask something?" Hinata mumbled quietly.
"You just did." Shinobu grinned, but nodded for her to ask anyway. Hinata giggled and was about to speak when the door burst open.
"Shinobu-chan! We're out of ramen!" Naruto pouted, not noticing Hinata, who was turning bright red. Shinobu grinned sheepishly at the scene.
"Well, you're going to have to do the grocery run this time. I have a training mission. I'm staying at the Hyuuga compound for the next two weeks.. Sorry Naru." Shinobu sighed, lifting the bag. She hadn't spent any time with him recently and honestly she missed him. She felt all of her bad thoughts disappear when he was in the room. His warmth melted them away. He had that effect on everyone. She never did understand how people didn't like him.
"Oh.. that sucks.. well good lu- hey! Hinata-chan! What are you doing here?" He asked, noticing her standing to the side in horror. "Are you alright.. you look like you may have gotten sick or something." He quickly ran out of the room before running back with a stuffed animal. "Here Hinata! It's stuffed dog and it double taskes as a hot water bottle. It helps when you're sick. Shinobu can show you how to use it.. hey.. does she know yet Shinobu?" Naruto asked, rambling on as Hinata stared at the dog in her hands, not moving an inch.
"Ya. My entire team knows now. So it's Kurenai, the Hokage, most of the jounin, you, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino and Hinata." Shinobu smiled listing them off, it was starting to become quite a long list.
"So Shikamaru and Choji don't know yet?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope. I haven't talked to them really. Not recently anyway." Shinobu explained. "Anyway, money is in my dresser if you need it. I'll see you later!" She smiled, dragging Hinata behind her.
"You like Naruto?" She finally squealed once they were far enough away.
"W-well. I-i-i-i-i.. u-um.." Hinata stuttered, still in a daze with the dog in her hands.
"That's adorable.. he's kind of oblivious though.. you should really tell him. I can for you if you want." Shinobu grinned, temporarily forgetting all of her issues.
"N-no!" Hinata quickly protested.
"Alright alright.. I'll leave it be for now.. but you're my first female friend you know. I'm gonna end up setting you up eventually." Shinobu smirked and Hinata looked like she was about to faint.
"I sense the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Shinobu sighed in a dramatic tone, mocking how Ino talked when Shinobu had heard her talking about Sasuke or herself. Hinata smiled shakily, obviously not used to this kind of thing.
When they reached the compound they were greeted by two older women who bowed to Hinata and Shinobu. Shinobu wasn't sure how this all worked so she bowed back to be polite. Both of the women broke out in smiles.
"We have to meet with father first, then I'll show you where we'll be staying." Hinata whispered, losing her stutter for a brief moment. Shinobu nodded following her. She soon found herself in a yard where she watched a young girl go flying into a wooden beam, an older man standing there as if nothing had happened.
"Father.. I'm back." Hinata announced. The man looked over and nodded before making his way over to the younger girl.
"We will break. Go rest." He stated, the girl looked ready to protest but simply glared at Hinata before storming off.
"Father.. t-this is Shinobu. We'll be training f-for two weeks.. A-anko-sensei told you?" Hinata confirmed, trying her best not to avert her eyes. Hiashi meanwhile was glaring at Shinobu.
"Hyuuga-sama. Thank you for allowing me to stay. I will try my best not to be a hindrance." Shinobu stated with a straight face, bowing and focusing really hard to keep her posture up.
"Yes.. I was informed your teammate would be coming to stay with us. I was unaware that it would be male.. I've changed my mind.. you will not be doing this." Hiashi growled at Shinobu.
"S-sir.. I am a girl." Shinobu stumbled. She was so used to using the genjutsu that she was almost uncomfortable walking around as a girl.. it made her self-conscious.
"Excuse me? Do you think I'm unintelligent?" Hiashi asked, eyebrow raised.
"No sir.. I am using a genjutsu.. I forgot to take it off because I'm so used to using it, sir." She explained dropping the genjutsu. She was wearing a simple kimono. She thought it would be more appropriate. Hiashi activated his byakuugan before quickly nodding.
"I apologize then.. you will stay in Hinata's room... I really don't see the point of this though.. I apologize in advanced if she slows you down." Hiashi nodded slightly in acknowledgement before going to move away.
"S-sir.. if you don't mind me saying. Hinata is a very strong girl. I believe she will help strengthen me as I will her." Shinobu said, her confidence was wavoring slightly but she couldn't allow herself to say nothing.
"You may be in her team.. but I am her father and this is my roof. Do not speak back unless you wish to be escorted out. You are to be treated as a branch member while you are here." Hiashi stated before disappearing. Shinobu sighed.
"Sorry Hinata-chan.. that was uncalled for on both ends.. I'm sure you'll do great." Shinobu smiled half-heartedly.
"I-it's a-alr-right." Hinata smiled. Her stuttering coming back full force.. it was no wonder she never broke the habit. By the time they had reached her room they had received several bows and waves. Shinobu found it unnerving. Inside her room there was a small dresser with a mirror attached to the top. On the side was a neatly folded white robe. There were two beds set up and a small lamp in the corner. The room itself was really plain.. but the view from the window showed forestry and a small pond.. it was beautiful.
"So.. here's the beginning of training.." Shinobu sighed, sitting at the same time as Hinata. They had agreed to start bowing together along with everything else from now on but they had excluded bowing earlier because Shinobu didn't want to accidently insult Hiashi.
"Y-ya.. hopefully it will go well." Hinata smiled.
A/N: So most of you have probably noticed the slower updates. I am two days away from my moving date and my fingers are bleeding from learning Guitar. I am spending a lot of time writing lyrics as well.. I want to be a performer.. an inspiration to others. I want to help others through hard times with my music and I want others to recognize me.. that is my goal in life. That and to take care of my family.. it has me torn because I am taking medical science but I know once I hit university I will either be crazy busy and insanely in debt or I'll need to drop one or the other. Music reaches the most people and I would die to be in a band and get popular enough to be heard, specifically by one person I wish to get a message to. I do art in all forms but music and dance always takes the front seat. I know I won't make a life out of writing and drawing and even though it's a loved hobby it needs to be put to the side sometimes. Lucky for people who seem addicted to this story I am a great juggler and seem to manage once or twice a week at least anyway. So enough about my life and on to your reviews :D
namine23: Yay :'D thank you XD and new reviewer! Yes!Yes. I'm a fan of Falling in Reverse. Ronnie Radke is so inspirational to me. I want to perform like that one day XDD I'm an artist in all terms of the word :P I'm a vocalist, a keyboard player, flute player, I draw manga / anime, I write stories, I do contortion and I dance. I am just getting into lyric writing.. the only issues is I'm terrified to give up school for art. I'm on my way to getting into med school is it's like.. ugh.. I hope I can juggle both.. that and find a band XD Oh boy.. with all the Craig Mabbitt Ronnie Radke fighting going on between fans STILL I'm almost afraid to answer that question XD I do, I like Escape the fate now and then. They managed to make some pretty good songs "Ten miles wide, the flood, The guillotine (2)" and Ronnie himself wished the best to them even if his album is a lyrical thumbs up. They're friends now.. so ya. Like 'em both :D Along with black veil brides and fall out boy. lol XD wow I just talked a lot about myself.. sorry about that :D Thanks for the review XD loool. Do you like both?
XxInuzukaxX: (chapter six): Woot :D Signed in. I'm glad you liked it and haha, that's what I thought. Thanks for the review.
(chapter eight): I feel successful XD I made someone smile. Yay. I like cute moments, sadly I'm not too good with them.
Alli ate Sora-Sorry Roxas: No, drowning is most definately not healthy :P Yush, emotions O.o *thinks of weird saying* "You're always sitting in a bottle of emotions.. if you never let any of them out, you're sure to drown" LOL made that up on the top of my head.. I may end up using that.. O.O I'm glad you like my OC's background.. I figure every character is a person and every person has lived a life. It's harder to write someone's character when you know nothing about them so I quickly learn little facts. Like the fact Laura hates pizza because when she moved to the konoha area all she had was frozen pizza. XD
DutchyPuppy: Haha, awesome new adventure! omg LOL flying penguins XD Ya.. :/ Akio was awesome. We won't forget him. XD Thank you for your review.
DialACow: (Chapter 1): I can easily imagining Fugaku doing such a thing, unfortunately not everyone agrees. But everyone has their own opinion and I can respect that. She wasn't completely alone, her mother was with her for a time. She also had Ayame and Tseuchi but some children at such an age do live on their own in different places so I find this sad but believable :P Thank you so much for your review :D I'm glad you've continued reading and enjoy it :D
(Chapter 14): I know the language was a little weird but I wanted to make sure that the barrier was for the readers as well as the characters, unless you're like Hinata and speak both. By the time you read this you'll have found out that Shinobu "outed" herself not too long after this review. Her team is understanding and the story itself brought forgiveness along with their love for Shinobu as a teammate and friend :DBtw, Kurenai knew from the beginning that Shinobu was female. Thanks for another review :D I'm so happy you're still reading. (All in one day too? wowza!) Thank you :D
ThePhoenixOfTears: Haha, ya.. see that was a twist that I had for later on but felt it necessary to reveal due to the fact the I was going to lose a reader for something that makes perfect sense and I have it well thought out :P I told you I could imagine you forgiving him, I fully expect you to as time goes on but who knows, I could be wrong. What guys try to kill Shinobu? Oh, no, they were after Akio, Shinobu was simply defending him. Ya, no romance XD Only T-Swift and Naruto? Hurm. lol. Similar yet different, you like country then? See I'm a fan of the black veil brides, naruto, shugo chara, fall out boy, kaleido star, falling in reverse. etc. I'm a post-hardcore anime lover lol. I like the songs by BM. I won't put Mirror on Hiatus. If anything it will be Illusion and Two Roads. (I love how I talked about everything getting busy then posted a side story. fail.) It's ok, I normally understand your reviews XD Certain bugs, like spiders, make their own homes by bodily fluids. The bugs are simply creating a plaster like substance to fix the whole so they only need to paint over it :D They definitely are a good team XD Haha, it means exactly what it says, everyone is disliking him so no one gets in trouble for attacking him in broad daylight. Those eyes bug me... I personally dislike going out in public with out a friend because people tend to look at me funny :/ I just hate the feeling of being judged. Haha, persistent is an understatement. XD Gaara is known as a demon.. that enough is a reason for fear but they are a tough team who gives off killer vibes. Plus I can easiler imagine Gaara killing someone if they tried to attack. Haha, ya, the little girl was sweet XD ANKO TRAINING! I am really looking forward to this XD I love the idea of partners as well as a team. :D Haha. 100, they are ninja. I have to do 100 sit ups every day if not more and I do 100 push ups but in 25 reps. Hinata is strong but her clan's style of fighting is more about accuracy than power. Alex is freaking out because he thinks Akio might not be gay. :P I somehow make everyone feel forgived or loved at one point or another along with hated. Every character will have moments of good and bad XD Haha, those comments. I have no clue how I'll bring him back but I'll find a way XD or multiple ways. *brain goes into overdrive* The marriage may or may no happen depending on if Alex tells Akio.. I actually have a rather sad Idea for this all xD I will work on a mirror chapter before this gets posted. (I am moving today so it'll be later but I'm trying my best XD) Thanks for the review! :D
