Diverges 3

Here we go!

I spun around a palm strike and dashed in for a counterattack. Slashing downwards with a kunai in my left hand, I threw my rope dart with my right. My opponent pulled back gracefully and shifted her shoulder, letting the rope dart fly harmless over. I surged charka through the rope pulling it back. It flicked backwards at twice the speed. The cloth on her jacket got caught onto the dart and tugged her forward. I pushed forward and placed my kunai at her throat.

"I-i Yield," Hinata stuttered out. She looked down, shoulder sagging and fingertips tapping against one another in a nervous staccato.

I collected my rope dart, trying to control my breathing. "It was a good fight," I said. "Were you able to see my rope dart on the way back?"

Hinata paused for a fraction before giving the slightest of nods. "I was able to see it. B-but, I couldn't react to it in time."

"Ok," I said. That meant Neji would be able to see it and dodge it. Or worse, go in for a counterattack. My normal methods of using attacks from behind wouldn't help. Maybe the only way really was to do a misdirection attack from the front.

"Hisahito-kun," Hinata murmured, still looking down at her feet. Even with the sweat dripping from her hair, shoulders heaving from the blood pumping rapidly in her veins, she still spoke quietly.

"Yeah, Hinata?" I waited.

"A-are you s-sparing with me," Hinata's stutter turned with full force. "B-because you're fighting N-neji-nii-san."

She still calls him Nii-san. I thought of the irony of this all. She still respected him even if he thought so low of her. It only stoked the fire in my stomach more. For all the wisdom I supposedly gained from my first lifetime, for all the patience I held, none of that mattered when he insulted the ones I cared about. The ones I knew to be good people. Yet, I knew Hinata wouldn't want me fighting on her behalf.

"I'm sparring with him, yes," I said. "But only for training. I just wanted to provide a better-" I paused, thinking of the right word to describe our upcoming fight. "Challenge to him." I nodded to myself.

"I-i see." Hinata whispered. She looked down at her hands before letting out a long sigh.

I took stock of our surroundings for a moment. We had settled in quite nicely to training grounds 14. The rocks became a great way to practice using cover. The trees helped us learn Tree climbing and we had already started to work on water walking. The amount of chakra control required was quite difficult. But, luckily Hinata could literally see how the chakra was being formed at the bottom of our feet. She could help us direct and figure out what would work and how to repeat it. All of that had been her idea.

The thought of it made me shake my head. Unworthy of her position she was born into? No, here was a girl who was cast down from a cliff she had no choice in choosing. She climbed herself out of it. Without the help of her family.

"A-h, Hisahito-kun." Hinata prodded again.

"Yeah?" I ripped myself from my thoughts.

"D-do you need any more help?" Hinata asked. "For your spar. Do you need my help?"

I gave a small laugh and a smile. She truly was kind. "It's ok, Hinata. I'm fine."

Hinata's pale eyes winced before nodding slowly. She probably thought I was dismissing her. In a way, I was. But it was because I didn't want her to be involved with Neji, at least not yet. I had to beat some sense into him. Anything less would be dangerous to her and Neji. Should he try anything against my teammate? I would make it my mission to end him.

"Are you done with your spar?" A police voice entered.

I turned to my left and saw Kurenai, waiting patiently in front of us. Her stomach was slightly bulged and her bandages wrapped looser around herself. She made no mention of her pregnancy, so I saw no reason to bring it up. Team 8 merely silently acknowledged it and moved on.

"Hinata-chan, please go help Shino with Water walking. He's quite nervous about getting wet." Kurenai let out a small laugh.

Hinata gave a bright smile before bowing quickly and then rushed off towards the river where Shino was. My other teammate was looking dubiously at the water. He only reached out to put his foot down lightly, before taking it quickly out when it wouldn't stay on top of the surface. I turned back to Kurenai whose face took on a more somber tone.

"You've got 4 more days," She said.

"I know. I'm preparing the best I can."

"It's not that. I know you're putting in the effort. But I think it's also time to look into other avenues as well."

"Genjutsu?"

"Yes," Kurenai smiled. "I've read the reports, you have the aptitude for it." She motioned me to sit down.

I sat cross-legged in front of Kurenia, nursing my sore wrists. Luckily, Hinata had been holding back in her strikes. If I had been in more pain, it would be difficult to concentrate on the lesson. Though having experience against a ruthless Gentle Fist user might have been a good learning experience.

"You're thinking about integrating genjutsu in your fight?" Kurenai sat down on a nearby knee high rock.

I blinked. "Ah yes Kurenai-sensei. Sort of"

"Sort of," she raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate"

"Byakugan, from my understanding, is a visual enhancement that can see chakra," I explained. "Putting a genjutsu will at least cause some interference against it at the start."

Kurenai let out a small laugh. "That's true with all genjutsu. However I know you understand more than that. Have you heard about the concept of creating a story genjutsu?"

I nodded slowly. That genjutsu had been in the archives. "A benign genjutsu that shows images based on the memory of the users. Sort of like a stage play. However, it's ineffective because the user's emotion heavily distorts the genjutsu. Making new events appear or old events get twisted."

"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "However, the key is that genjutsu is kind of like weaving a stage play or story. Depending on the objective. Some genjutsu are for lowering one's guard. Others are to distract. Others cause fear. In all cases, Genjutsu are more effective when the target's guard is down. Though some Genjutsu ignore guards all together and need special tools to dispel."

That all made sense. However, the majority of Shinobi used Ninjutsu and fell back to Taijutsu. Genjutsu specialists were rare, only fuinjutsu specialists were rarer. "So why then Is genjutsu not normally used during combat?"

"Like fuinjutsu it requires setup time" Kurenai said simply.

It made sense. Genjutsu required putting a theater of the mind in place. Imaging your target as an actor in the play and figuring out how they would react. Then write the Genjutsu to guide them to your target effect. And for most genjutsu, this was all before you wove it. For example, a sleep genjutsu would cause them to feel sleepy. They would use images or sensory manipulation to move a person to sleep. If the target's guard wasn't prepared for it, then their body would succumb to the genjutsu and go to sleep. However, the sharper one reacted, the less effective the genjutsu was. I had some grasp on this initially. It was why I never really bothered with Genjutsu unless it was at the start. It was too hard to predict how someone reacted in the middle of the fight. And someone who was paying attention to you could see your hand signs. That meant when you casted the genjutsu they were already preparing for something.

"More than that, while fuinjutsu if you're competent enough you can create the same effect regardless, genjutsu is high personal." Kurenai explained. "Either to the user or the target. What type of genjutsu us most effective us based on a number of factors and there are always trade offs"

I scratched my head in confusion. I had never thought of it this deeply. If the premise or rather the source.

I wondered out loud. "Does that mean strength matter?"

"Does the strength of the genjutsu pattern, good question? But that depends on how you view genjutsu." Kurenai gave a faint smile. "Are you viewing it as a hammer to smite someone like a ninjutsu or a cloth to cover one's eyes or smother them? Because that more than anything defines the strength of a genjutsu"

I furrowed my brow.

Kurenai cleared her throat. "I'll clarify."

She held up three fingers. "Let us say that the more personal an idea is to the target, the more it is easier to influence. For example, Konoha is personal to me. So doing a Genjutsu revolving it would allow my mind to fuel the Genjutsu."

She pulled down one finger. "Then let us say Purpose of the genjutsu was to make me betray Konoha. Or give access to a place I know to be secret. This makes the Genjutsu's suggestion or distraction extremely difficult. Because the purpose is foreign."

She held up her sole finger. "Finally, Chakra. Based on the relationship to the target and the purpose, more or less chakra is needed. The easier the suggestion, the more personal the idea, the less chakra you need to make it effective. Like Ninjutsu you want to only use the exact amount of chakra for each genjutsu. However," Kurenai shrugged slightly. "Genjutsu is not an exact science. It is more of an art of manipulation and understanding psychology."

This. This changed everything I thought about genjutsu. I sat back, dumbstruck. I had some skill in it from the academy simply because of my visualization. I could picture myself in different situations and extend that to my target. I had always thought that the stronger the chakra or technique, the harder it was to break through.

But if i understood what Kurenai sensei was saying, it was more than that. The idea itself and the fundamental source, both of them affected the strength. The intention of the genjutsu also affected its effectiveness. Hell, even how wide or concentrated the genjutsu affected its potency. For example, if I wanted to manipulate Naruto to eat ramen, all I needed to do was drive his hunger. The idea to eat ramen was something Naruto did on an almost daily basis. The source of the idea was extremely personal to Naruto. The intention to push him into doing an action he most likely would do made it effective. Therefore, one would barely need any chakra to cast the genjutsu and it would be one of the strongest in the world. All one needed to do was have a clear picture of what they wanted to accomplish and manipulate the scene to their liking. The concept was so simple. How did no one talk about this more?

I looked back up Kurenai, words unable to slip through my slack jaw.

She gave another laugh. "Finished digesting? I'm sure you have lots of questions".

"I-" I nodded furiously. "I'm just guessing, but does that mean if we know little about a target that we can never target them with an extremely personal idea that originates from the source? I assume that if we even used them as a source, the genjutsu would affect them more on an emotional level, giving them a more effective distraction. "

"In most cases, yes. A personal genjutsu is harder for your target to divoce themselves from. Creating a better distraction. However, most of the time we will not know our opponents unless we have a dossier to work with. But that doesn't mean a severe emotional genjutsu that is non-personal to the target has no use." Kurenai paused. "If the emotions of the genjutsu originates from yourself and onto your opponent."

I rubbed my eyes still running through the possibility in my mind. There were other possibilities for this as well. "So rage, anger, pain," I listed off. "All of this can be projected onto the opponent if you are actively feeling it or can recreate it."

"Relaxation, laughter, camaraderie, and even arousal," Kurenai added. "All of those are emotions in the tool box and experiences we can draw from our own lives to project onto others. That is the next layer of Genjutsu. The Genjutsu projection of genjutsu makes it more like seals. They can work on almost any target. Much more difficult, not nearly as effective, but portable."

I took a moment to look back Hinata. She was helping Shino train on water. Holding him slowly, up as he regained his shaky balance on the water. Anko laughed at them from the side. Hinata held a small shy smile as Shino looked uneasily at his feet. I wanted to throw in a jab at Shino, tease him about the water. I wanted to go talk to Anko-sensei about what I learned and share with Hinata.

Instead, I turned back to Kurenai and clenched my fists. "In my fight then, I would need to weave something personal. Most likely it will need research but the suggestion should be to remember or act as a distraction for me to gain an advantage."

"If your intention is to distract," Kurenai said. "Then it can start even simpler than that."

I quirked my head sideways in interest.

"A simple blur could start." Kurenai clasped her hands over her stomach. "That would cause immediate distraction, and remember, even the best shinobi need time to dispel genjutsu. The normal release method, which I am sure he knows, is a very efficient method but takes up time to build chakra, as you know. That time can be used to your advantage. Casting another genjutsu after he has dispelled is what we call chaining. And Layering is when we put multiple Genjutsu on top of each other in the first place, making it harder to dispel."

"I understand"

"Good," Kurenai started rummaging through her side pouch. "Now that you have an understanding of how Genjutsu are versatile we can start with the simplest but probably the most effective instinct to have. Care to guess?"

"Always have a Genjutsu on the target," I said.

Kurenai gave a wide smile as her eyes dazzled with excitement. "Very good. As I've stated, there are far more complicated arts relating to this like battle weaving genjutsu, genjutsu that have delayed triggers, weaving genjutsu through ninjutsu, but for now let's start with chaining genjutsu."

Kurenai pulled out 3 scrolls from her pouch. "Now, there are many ways to cast a genjutsu eachwe identify with patterns. As the pattern becomes more intricate, the harder and higher rank the Jutsu. We'll start with two basics before I hand you a b rank one."

"Thank you, Kurenai-sensei," I bowed my head in gratitude.

Kurenai-sensei paused looking between me and Hinata

"I'm sorry for putting you through this."

I looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When… when I was taken off active duty and team 8 was transferred under Anko at my request, I had told Hokage-sama to take you into the group." She let out a small sigh. "I felt your skill set and your presence would do them both good."

Both of them. Somewhere in the back of my mind, those words confirmed that Konoha monitored us.

"Sensei, I don't mind," I gave a shrug. "Hianata and Shino are my friends. I would have had to deal with this bad blood with Neji anyway."

"Have you told them about your spar?"

"No, I don't see the point. This is my decision and my problem with Neji. I don't see the point of making Hinata worry or Shino get angry on my behalf."

"Even if Neji's ire is targeting Hinata?"

"It's a one-sided ire. Hinata is too nice to have a problem with Neji and even that is a problem I'm more worried about."

Kurenai smiled."I'm glad then. Very glad I chose you on this team."

"Thanks Kurenai-sensei. For what it's worth I'm happy to be here…" I paused "Though, I kind of regret sparring Anko-sensei all the time."

"I heard that Hisahito! That's another round of sparring now!" Anko yelled from across the training grounds, from her tree branch watching over Shino and Hinata

I groaned in pain while Kurenai laughed at my expense.

We trained for another hour on genjutsu before Anko-sensei pummeled me into the ground.

"Well, I guess we should stop here," Anko said, leaning over me with a cheeky smile.

I panted while giving a pained nod, lying on the ground.

"You did good." Anko knelt down, pulling out a small canteen and placing it on my forehead.

The cool metal was nice to the skin. I grasped it, uncorking it from my prone position, and greedily gulped the cool water.

"Thanks, Anko-Sensei," I said. The water was nice, but the training had also been good.

"You're almost like Kurenai," Anko's voice held a slight seriousness that I was unaccustomed to. It was like seeing Hinata not stutter often or Shino go on a long rant. It happened, but it was rare enough to make me pay attention.

"What do you mean, sensei?" I said, sitting up. "Other than the genjutsu that is?"

"It's exactly the genjutsu that makes you familiar. And I'm not talking about the talent for it," Anko said. "Your imagery or imagination comes from your genjutsu, how you're able to visualize other people's perspectives and fuel Genjutsu, that is more than just knowledge of genjutsu." Anko's voice held a confidence in it.

"I've trained in…" She paused as she searched for the words. "Psychology, information gathering, stuff like that." She nodded to herself. "At least that's what I was doing for the last few years before Nai-chan dumped you all on me." Anko took her canteen back and screwed the cap back on. "I know a lot about people from observation, and you're like her. You dissociate yourself when it comes to social problems and situations often."

I blinked. "Kurenai-sensei dissociates?"

Anko-sensei winced slightly. "It was her coping mechanism." Anko sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Anyway, I've noticed you doing the same thing when you're lost in thought. You lose distance yourself as if you could easily shed your own body. And when you are angered, you try to fix whatever caused it. Instead of working through the emotions with your dissociation, you push until the fix becomes an obsession"

I guess that fits. She read me like an open book and even had author notes. But, I couldn't exactly explain it without going to the crazy ward of Konoha Hospital. "Sensei, I don't really know how to-"

"It's fine," Anko interrupted me. She reached out and flicked me on the nose. I reared back at the sting and rolled my eyes at her impish smile. "It's fine," She repeated. "But know that if you need to talk, I'm here. You're mature for your age. A bit too much for a kid. Know that you're not the only one with baggage."

"I-" I tried to argue. Tried to say I was fine. But I knew it was all crap. Maybe I still had yet to fully embrace this life properly. "Thank you, Anko-sensei."

She reached out and pinched my cheek. I feebly slapped at her hand; my swipe missed. "Later brats," she said as she stood. "Go home safely now."

She disappeared in a shunshin.

I sat there for a while taking in her words. If my dissociation had been obvious to her, could others have seen it? Could those monitoring me have seen it as well? Maybe that's why Kurenai wanted me here? To be grounded by-

"Hisahito-kun"

I looked to my right and saw Hinata and Shino looking down at me. I forced a smile onto my face. "Hey, what's up?"

"Do you want to go eat?" Hinata asked.

I blinked again. What was with all these surprises?

"Um-" I started to think of a good way out. I needed to train more. The fight with Neji was only a couple more days, and I needed all the practice I could get. I could rest the day before and review theory. But, that meant I needed to push myself before then.

"We should go out to eat," Shino interrupted, holding his hand out to me. "Why? Because, you are obviously training extra. It is important to keep your strength up. How do we know? Because, you are working one on one with both Kurenai-sensei and Anko-sensei on things we haven't see you train on."

I gave a small laugh. "You caught me," I shook my head, grasping his hand. I pulled myself up with his help and staggered onto my feet.

"And," Hinata added. "We would like to talk too."

My eyes snapped to her. But, her own pale eyes didn't flinch at my gaze. "Ok," I said. "Where'd you want to go? I mean, what's open this late?"

Shino pushed up his glasses. "Ramen."

"Ramen it is then," I agreed.

We steadily worked our way down the street towards the closest Ramen place we knew. We walked in silence as I tried to think of ways to explain the situation. They had obviously caught on to my extra training. How to explain I was fighting Neji for Hinata, without her even knowing. Did she even need to know or would it cause her more stress? Shino would probably be aggravated too. It would add more fuel to the fire and they needed to focus on training so we could start C-ranks.

I scratched my head as I let out a long sigh.

"You are frustrated?" Shino asked. "Because we are inquiring about your extra training? Do you feel like it's your personal business? "

"I-" I shook my head. "No, no it's not my personal business. It just feels awkward to talk to you about."

"Is it because you feel you're behind," Hinata asked. "I-its not that. You're s-strong. You got us out of the genjutsu."

I shook my head. "Look, It's only for a few more days. And then I'll explain it."

"You're training for a fight then," Shino saw through me. I couldn't contain my surprise and looked away. But, it only served to confirm it for them.

"W-who are you fighting?" Hinata asked.

Shino quirked his head as he walked next to me. "Is it one of our former classmates? Kiba maybe?"

I paused, looking forward. I didn't want to lie to them. I didn't want to mislead them. How would they react now? How would they even feel about me fighting-

"It's Neji-nii-san, isn't it." Hinata whispered.

My head snapped to Hinata as my eyes met hers.

"You said earlier," Hinata's eyes locked to mine, unflinching. "You were sparring me to be a better challenge to him. You're fighting him seriously for some reason."

No half truths or misdirections could escape my lips. Even if they could, I wouldn't let them. "I am."

Shino stiffened and slowed his pace. "Neji," He paused. "From the rumors I have heard, is very strong."

"I know," I said, not taking my eyes off HInata, whose eyes bore into me.

"Yet you're still fighting him," Shino said. "Not sparring. Fighting. Fighting for a reason. Why?"

"Something to do with us." Hinata finished. Her hands clenched together and shook slightly.

We stopped in our tracks in silence.

The streets of Konoha were silent at this time of night. Most of the street lamps were in full bloom. Civilians had all but deserted the streets. There were only a few Shinobi roaming the rooftops. Most shops had closed for the night, with only street stands still open. We were the only ones on this street under a single flickering street lamp. Honestly, the light felt like a spotlight on me.

"He-," I licked my lips. "Said something I didn't agree with."

"About me." Hinata said.

The weight of the word yes dragged my eyes down. I clenched my fists at my side trying to fight the bubbling rage at the memory. The sneer on Neji's face. the mocking tone he held, and the contempt he had, all of it angered me.

Shino stood closer. "You're doing this because he spoke badly about Hinata."

"That's how it started," I murmured; I felt too weak to resist talking. I rubbed my face rapidly in frustration. Anko-sensei was right. I was obsessing over it. Forcing myself to distance myself from Hinata and Shino.

"He said some really nasty stuff," I explained. "About me and Hinata. I just-" I shrugged with a helpless look at my teammates. "I just couldn't stand for it."

Hinata looked down, her hands at her side. Her fists clenched tightly. "I don't want you to fight." Though her voice was low it was like steel. She looked up, her brow furrowed in frustration. "Neji-nii-san, Hisahito-kun, both of you are important. I don't want you both to fight."

"I know," I said.

"If he did say something unsavory," Shino said. "I don't think this should just be your fight."

"Shino-kun!" Hinata gasped as she looked at him with shock on her face.

His Kikaichi buzzed angrily. "My teammates, no my friends. I will not take slights towards them lightly." Shino said, his voice low.

Hinata shook her head in obvious frustration. "No, we shouldn't be doing this." She looked at me pleadingly. "Why? Why are you doing this? Is it out of pride? Is it some sort of obligation to protect me? I- I don't care about any of that."

I couldn't help but stare at the girl in front of me. I couldn't help but wonder how Neji didn't see this strength. When she felt something was important to her, she planted her feet and wouldn't move. I had never really seen her like this ever. But I guess this was the first situation of its ilk.

"I'm not doing this," I said carefully. "Out of pride. Or even obligation."

"Then what is it?" Shino asked.

I looked between both of them and took in a deep breath. "I- I learned a long time ago, that I had a choice in everything I did. No matter the situation, no matter the crazy circumstances, I had a choice. That choice is important to me."

I looked at my hands. This second life. How crazy it was. But, everything I did in it was with my eyes wide open. And because of that…

"He told me, I shouldn't associate with you. HInata" I explained, looking up at her. Her eyes didn't waver in their gaze but I could see the small pain in them. "He said I was doomed to fail because I had you as my teammate. That fate had dealt me an unwinnable hand and I should fold and move on."

I shook my head. "No matter how I look at it, I chose this. I chose to accept this team. I chose my friends. I chose them for my reasons. I choose to stand by them, by you both. That isn't because of fate, circumstances, or anything other than my freedom. My freedom to choose. And if he thinks my choices will lead me to failure and it's out of my hands, I will fight to prove him wrong."

As the last of my words split from my mouth, I found myself out of breath. My chest pounding as my heart tried to break free. I looked at both of them trying to see if they understood. Understood how important that in this life, in the second chance I had been given, that I chose everything I did. I could've not been here. I could've gone a different path. But, I was here. And the path I walked was mine alone.

Hinata wiped her eyes and Shino looked away before pushing his glasses.

We stood there silent under the stars, sky, trees, and single street lamp. Team 8 just stood staring at each other for awhile.

Hinata was the one to break the silence. "Hisahito-kun, Thank you."

I nodded, not trusting my throat anymore.

"Thank you as well," Shino added.

Hinata gave me a shaky smile. "We're a team then. And I think we both choose to help you win your fight."

My heart continued to thrum in my chest and yet my shoulders felt lighter.

"We can talk on the way to the Ichiraku Ramen," Shino suggested.

"Ok," was all I could manage.

We walked together down the path discussing as team about strategies and plan for my upcoming fight.

This was my take on Genjutsu and why it's rare to see Genjutsu masters. I really think there's untapped potential in figuring out the mechanics of Genjutsu. It can't always be "overpower" the genjutsu with chakra. Nor do I think the nuances of each genjutsu has really been explored. It's something similar to sealing where I think a system could really help flesh out the potental of genjutsu.

What do you think?