Hinata met up with Kiba at the arena as promised after accompanying Natsumi. He found some empty seats besides two Chuunin that Hinata recognized as the fake Genins way back at the start of the Chuunin Exam.

"To think that kid actually made it this far," the one with a bandage strapped over the middle of his face and the bridge of his nose said.

"Yeah. But someone who made it this far with luck alone won't get any further. That Natsumi kid, that is," his friend wearing a bandana replied.

"She has an opponent that's way too bad. She can't beat a person from the Hyuuga clan."

Hinata had a look on her face that was half a glare and half a heavily disapproving look. Why couldn't anyone in Konoha ever believe in Natsumi or even give her a chance? She felt like the only people who did were those who lived outside of Konoha, such as the people of Nami no Kuni. Natsumi had a bridge named after her because she raised the hopes and spirits of the people there. Them, the Ichiraku family, the Hokage, Iruka, and herself. That was all. If even the Chuunins of her village looked down on Natsumi, she briefly wondered if Kakashi, a Jounin and her instructor no less, had done the same as well. She was not sure about Jiraiya, but at least he stuck with his word that he would aid Natsumi for the preparatory month leading up to the final matches. Either way, she would stay her tongue because Natsumi looked up to both men. ...Then again, it was not as if she would say anything bad about them because she was too timid to say such things if asked.

Kiba had also overheard the Chuunins' comments about Natsumi and grinned. He too had done exactly that and got the surprise of his life when he lost to her. Sometime after the preliminary matches, he noticed that Hinata had gotten a little less friendlier with him. While she did not avoid him or stop talking to him, he noticed that she stopped smiling whenever she did. That made their interactions awkward on his side because he knew he had offended her in some way. Kurenai saw this and gave him a subtle hint that he would react the same way to any of his other friends if they talked badly about Akamaru. After thinking about it, he realized what he had done and quickly apologized to Hinata. He was very glad when she accepted it. Akamaru suddenly warned him about an unfamiliar smell and Kiba spotted an ANBU in the arena. He grew suspicious, wondering if something had happened to warrant the appearance of an ANBU member.

***Break Line***

"You look like you want to say something," Neji said in an arrogant tone as he and Natsumi took their starting positions. Natsumi only held out her fist as she glared at him furiously. It was the fist she used to swear victory over Neji.

"I told you before... I will win!" she declared. In response, Neji silently activated his Byakugan.

'Her eyes tell me that she's totally confident in herself. She is not hesitant at all,' he thought as he inspected her for any nervous ticks and gestures. Satisfied, he took his stance. "That makes this better. When you find out the true reality, I will enjoy seeing your discouraged eyes."

"Stop chattering and let's begin!" she smirked confidently at him as she lowered her fist.

"Now, first match... Begin!" the proctor declared and the crowd cheered wildly.

Neji slowly shifted his foot forward slightly, content with waiting for Natsumi's actions. She responded by throwing three kunai in rapid succession. He grabbed the first out of mid-air and used it to knock away the second and stop the third in its path. He quickly discarded it in favor of meeting her reckless charge towards him. He easily brushed aside her wild punch, causing her to lose balance. Before he could take advantage of that, she recovered with a reverse roundhouse kick which he blocked and created some distance. She rushed towards him again and attacked with a flurry of punches which he lightly parried so that none would hit him even as he stood perfectly still with only his arms moving. When she tried sneaking in a kick to his head, he still parried it successfully.

Deciding it was time to make his move, he swerved around her next punch and pulled her in by her sleeve. The look of worried shock on her face pleased him as he sent a small burst of chakra to her lungs. He did not want to end the fight too quickly by targeting her heart. He needed to teach her a lesson about reality first. He could tell she was trying to resist the pain by trying to stop herself from coughing out blood. As his fingers moved to close a tenketsu in her shoulder, she moved at the last split-second, causing him to miss it. Nonetheless, he had done internal damage to her shoulder. He retook his stance as Natsumi rolled backwards to safety, panting as she gripped her injured shoulder.

"Now you understand you have no chance at winning," Neji said, speaking as though he had known it all along.

"That was just a test to see how strong you are," Natsumi retorted with a confident grin and stood up. "The real battle starts now," she said as she placed her fingers into her favored seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" She created four clones who then drew kunai from their own pouches, ready to strike.

"But there is only one real one," Neji concluded after finding out that his Byakugan could not reveal which was the real Natsumi due to the even amounts of split chakra.

"Don't act so tough!" all the Natsumis mocked him.

"Come, if you wish," Neji challenged.

"Hey!"

"Don't."

"Underestimate."

"Me."

"Got it?" Each of the five Natsumis spoke separately, completing a sentence when combined. The clones charged forward, boxing Neji in despite not landing a hit. When it seemed like he was wide open, the real Natsumi ran in and landed a vertical kick on Neji's chin... or so it seemed until he back-flipped to safety without a scratch on him.

"Damn it! We'll get him on the next try!" Again they tried to box him in but this time he went on the offensive. The first two that went in received kicks for their efforts, one being dispelled from the hit. The other two came from behind and without even turning to face them, he grabbed their arms and pulled them forward past him, stopping their attempts to stab him with their kunai. He then delivered a Juuken strike to their chests, dispelling them both. He calmly walked to the last clone who was struggling to get up. He picked her up by her tracksuit and with a swift jab to the neck, dispelled her too.

"I believe you are very close friends with Hinata-sama. You should have known what the Byakugan is at least capable of and that an attack from behind is pointless. Become Hokage, eh? That's impossible if this is all you can do," Neji taunted her. "I can figure out a lot of things... with these eyes. Your talent is determined when you are born. In other words, everything is predetermined at birth."

"Why... Why do you always try to label things like that?" Natsumi asked in her growing anger.

"Then are you saying that anyone can become Hokage if they try hard?" he shot back. She had no reply to that. "Only a few are chosen to become Hokage. Look at reality closely! Those who become Hokage are born with that fate. It's not something you can become because you want to. It's already determined by fate. People are different. They can only live in the indisputable flow of life. But there is just one fate that everyone possesses. And that is death."

"So? So what?" Natsumi held out her fist that was once dirtied with Hinata's blood and her own. "I don't give up so easily! Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" This time, an army of clones appeared around her. A large number of them charged forward, making a ring around Neji while a few of them engaged with him directly. Neji easily handled them with his superior taijutsu despite being outnumbered. He could tell from Natsumi's poor taijutsu that the way she fought would only interfere with herself if more of her joined in the fight so it ended up mostly one-on-one with rapidly switching targets.

"I told you that I'm not that stupid," Neji told her as he disengaged from combat and sprinted far too fast for any of the clones to catch him as he ran towards the back of the horde of clones. 'I already know...' he thought victoriously as he spotted the one Natsumi standing away from the clones. '...which is the real one.' He charged towards her and jabbed the tenketsu closest to the heart, assuring his victory. "The one who attacked the least because she feared her tenketsu would be hit... The more you attacked me, the more that one stood out. You're the real one." The clones popping around him only served to prove him right. "That's why I told you it was useless," he said as the real Natsumi slumped over. He was answered with soft chuckling.

"I told you... not to come to conclusions on your own," she said before the 'real' Natsumi popped, surprising Neji.

"Could it be...?" He turned around when his Byakugan saw two Natsumis jumping towards him from behind. 'She was a step ahead of me, and made one of her clones stay back?'

"I've been attacking you full force from the start!" one of the Natsumis shouted as she landed a punch on his cheek successfully, or so she thought. A blue outline of chakra surrounded him and she was blown back with a powerful force. "What was that...? A Juuken technique...?" She was sure that was no jutsu. She left him no time to perform any hand seals, and it definitely was not the Kawarimi. It had to be a Juuken technique.

"Did you think you had won?" Neji asked snidely as he stood in the middle of a crater of his own making.

"Damn you! Don't underestimate me!" Natsumi quickly summoned more clones to surround him. She was not sure what exactly he did and she was determined to find out so she could figure out a way to get around it. "Damn it..." she cursed as she and all her clones were blown back after another failed attempt at attacking him. All her clones were dispelled too. At least now she knew it completely protected him from any direction at the same time.

"This is the end. You are within range of my Divination," Neji said with a tone of finality. Within his mind's eye, he could envision himself standing at the center of a Yin-Yang symbol within two outer rings with kanji around it, and Natsumi was within the rings. "Juukenhou: Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou," he called out the name of his latest attack as he took on a new stance.

Whatever it was Neji was trying to do, Natsumi could tell it meant big trouble. It had the feeling of a match-ending attack all over it. If it hit her, it could spell her defeat as well as the breaking of the vow she swore to both Hinata and herself. She had to do something to stop it, and she knew it would lead to a huge amount of trouble, but...

"Hakke!" Neji shouted as he charged towards her, intending to finish the match once and for all.

'I'm sorry, Hinata-chan,' Natsumi mentally apologized to her best friend. 'But I have to do it! Or else I'll be breaking a promise I made to you! I don't go back on my word! Because that's my ninja way!' Just as Neji approached to start his attack, he was shocked when his fingers made contact with her arm and completely missed any tenketsu, only resulting in minor Juuken damage. He thought she had been hurt enough to stop her from moving as he prepared this attack. Now that it was disrupted due to her abrupt movement at the last possible second, Natsumi finally managed to land her first clean hit on him which was a palm thrust to his gut, knocking him back.

'What did she do?' Neji wondered as he rose from his kneeling position when he was hit. He knew she was sloppy but that hit was hard. It was far stronger than he had expected from such a sloppy fighter. He was more surprised by the sharpness of her movements than the fact she landed a hit on him, a ninja with vastly superior taijutsu.

"Well, what do you know! I guess copying Kakashi-sensei's style really did work!" Natsumi said loudly and nervously. Mentally, she was trying to find any excuse she could come up with so that she could justify using Juuken in front of every spectator which included Hinata's father and younger sister whom she had spotted when she was looking at the spectators before her match. Her Jounin instructor was the first thing that popped to her head and out her mouth. Now she needed to follow up with the excuse she was using. But what did Kakashi do that made her think of him first? She had to remember!

"What?" Neji was slightly befuddled by that randomly spoken sentence. He could not and would not believe that a random spark of a memory helped her to avoid one of his deadliest attacks. It had to be something deliberately done. "Are you implying that Hatake Kakashi has something to do with you stopping my attack?"

'Actually, no,' Natsumi answered mentally with a sweat-drop. Now she was starting to panic. Why did she think of Kakashi first? She had to find a reason so she could finally use her version of Juuken which was copied from Hinata. ...Wait, that was it! Now she remembered why she thought of him first! Her refreshed memory reminded her of the time he fought against Zabuza the first time and copied everything he did with his Sharingan. That was a perfect excuse for her to use. "Maybe," she replied, changing her initial mental reply. "You see, I recalled a time when Kakashi-sensei fought against someone and copied all his moves on one of my team's missions. He was called a monkey for that. So I thought, why not be a monkey myself and try to copy the Juuken? I don't have the Sharingan to help me copy it but I sure can try!"

"So you recalled your instructor's fighting tactics and applied it yourself. It may have saved you once, but it will not save you again," Neji said. "I welcome you to attempt to copy the Juuken. I will shatter your pale imitation of me."

"Why would I copy you?" Natsumi made a disturbed face at him. "I'm a girl, if you haven't noticed. Why would I copy a guy when I can copy a girl who knows the Juuken too?" When she saw the look of realization on his face, she smirked widely. "Henge!" With a puff of white smoke, she transformed perfectly into Hinata with an inactive Byakugan. "Let's fight, Neji-nii-san," Natsumi spoke with Hinata's voice, but the honorific Hinata used for Neji was filled with mockery. Neji's Byakugan-active eyes widened in shock when Natsumi got into Hinata's Juuken stance perfectly.

***Break Line***

"No way!" Sakura gasped when she saw Natsumi perfectly mimicking Hinata.

"Can she really pull off what Hinata herself did when she fought Neji?" Ino exclaimed in disbelief. "Even the original lost to him!"

"Are you serious?" Shikamaru questioned Natsumi's judgement even as he gripped the rail anxiously from the competitor's side of arena to view the match.

"You've got to be kidding me! You're going to copy Hinata?" Kiba stood up from his seat in sheer shock.

Hinata was also in shock at Natsumi's decision as her hands flew to her mouth, but not to cover her coughing fits that were resurfacing. The close calls Natsumi had were stressing her out far more than she liked even though Natsumi had promised her victory.

'Natsumi-chan, don't! If you do, we will both be...!' she thought in no small amount of panic. Natsumi may have had come up with a plausible excuse to copy the Juuken but if she performed too well, which she definitely could after years of coaching from Hinata herself, even that excuse might not be able to prevent an interrogation from the Hyuuga clan.

'This is bad. Does Natsumi have no other options but to do that to win? Besides using the Kyuubi's chakra, is that all she has left?' Kurenai thought, a nervous sweat trickling down the side of her head.

"Well, this is a shocker. I didn't predict this coming at all," Asuma chuckled in amusement, not noticing Kurenai's nervous expression. "Unpredictable ninja indeed."

***Break Line***

"Very well. Come and show me how well you can imitate Hinata-sama and the Juuken," Neji beckoned, returning to his original stance. He looked forward to wiping the smug smirk off Natsumi's face which he privately thought looked completely wrong with Hinata's image. He could not imagine the timid and shy girl smirking like that. That, and the battle cry that came with Natsumi charging in. Instead of attacking with palm strikes and thrusts, she was replacing them with punches. "Are you mocking Juuken, or is this the best you can imitate it?" he asked as he counter-attacked. To his surprise, she deflected it away exactly like a Hyuuga would in her situation by slapping his forearm to the side so his palms made no contact with any part of her, not even a graze.

"You haven't seen anything!" she said as she went for a gut punch but it got parried. She immediately swerved to the side to avoid a Juuken strike to her shoulder area and ducked under a follow-up attack. It was really quite ironic because Hinata had mentioned on one of their Juuken training sessions that Natsumi looked a lot more focused when using Juuken. Her imitation of it was actually impressive when compared to her free-styling taijutsu which was terrible. Natsumi credited her efforts to Hinata because she was the one who taught her in the first place. Since she had someone to help her, her Juuken was inevitably better than her own brand of self-taught taijutsu.

Neji was getting increasingly confused. Despite his Byakugan revealing Natsumi under Hinata's image, his fighting instincts were screaming at him that he was facing a more aggressive 'Hinata' who was throwing punches instead of using Juuken. He could clearly tell that Natsumi was not as flexible as his cousin within the first few exchanges of blows and that the punches were replacing the palm strikes, but her defense was almost as solid. She parried his attacks just as well as Hinata did during their preliminary match.

'Is this genjutsu? No, it can't be,' his thoughts were in slight disarray even as his attacks missed due to perfect Juuken parries by Natsumi. "You... This is no mere imitation. How long has Hinata-sama been teaching you the Juuken?" he demanded, the answer becoming clear once he sorted out the information he gleamed from their renewed fight. He had closed the tenketsu on Natsumi's arms but that had little effect because she was throwing punches, not injecting her chakra into his system to deal internal damage. He blamed his instincts for that mistake because it had confused Natsumi for Hinata numerous times due to how uncanny their Juuken forms and styles were and received a punishing body blow each time it happened. His efforts had sealed her ability to use any ninjutsu she had but it might not have been worth the trading of blows. His ribs and body were already feeling sore after taking said blows.

"We've been sparring and training together for years! It's easy for me to copy Hinata-chan's movements!" Natsumi replied but avoided giving him a direct answer. Whenever Neji successfully closed a tenketsu in her arms, he faltered for half a second because he forgot who he was fighting. That pause gave her enough time to land a quick punch on him in retaliation. She inwardly cheered at the success of her impromptu plan which was to confuse him by using Hinata's image. She knew the Byakugan could see through any Henge she tried, but she still placed her bets on the very small chance it would work and it paid off generously. The price of getting her ninjutsu sealed away was worth the amount of blows she would not have landed on him otherwise. Her arms burned from the internal damage she had suffered due to Juuken hits she had not parried or deflected correctly but she pushed on. She had a promise to keep and she would not give up until she saw it fulfilled!

***Break Line***

As the dance of real and fake Juuken continued in the arena, Hiashi watched with great apprehension. Despite his neutral expression, he had been surprised by Natsumi's tactics as well throughout the fight. Natsumi transforming herself into Hinata was no surprise as he knew about their friendship years ago from Kou's reports but Natsumi using the Juuken, as modified as it was? It was downright appalling. Hanabi did not seem to realize this as her face showed great surprise that a non-Hyuuga could imitate the Juuken so well. She never considered that it could have been taught by a Hyuuga directly. He thought the same as well at first, believing it to be a plan Natsumi came up with on the fly. It was not until she parried Neji's attacks exactly like a Hyuuga would did his apprehension appear.

To think that Hinata, his daughter, with her utter lack of confidence and self-esteem, would actually dare to break one of the Hyuuga clan's most important laws. If he had not seen it himself, he would not believe a single word of it even if the Hokage himself told him. Hinata was not and had never been a rebellious sort unlike her friend. When pushed hard during her arduous training in her youth, she would often run to her room crying rather than persevere. He was even more disappointed when Kou reported an incident about how three boys had bullied her after she accidentally bumped into them and dropped their ice-cream. She had already apologized for her mistake sincerely, but they were not satisfied. Rather than defend herself from being assaulted, she caved in and allowed them to abuse her. To make matters worse, she was completely capable of fending them off at that point in time. As dissatisfied as he was with her back then, that incident was what made him decide that Hinata was not a worthy successor to the Hyuuga clan.

Was this her way of showing just how upset she was with life at home? At him? Was he overly stern and strict? Yes he was, but not to the point of being unreasonable. Both his daughters were put through the same harsh training and Hanabi could take it without complaint. Since he decided that Hanabi would be a more suitable successor, he turned his attention to training her instead. He largely ignored Hinata but as long as she kept up her own training, he would not bother with her. Even when she graduated to be a Genin, he told Kurenai that he was unconcerned with the possibility that she might die, citing that the Hyuuga clan had no use for a weak successor. He said all those harsh words in complete earshot of Hinata whom he knew was there. That made him sound like an uncaring bastard of a father, but was he really one? No he was not, but he would not show his soft side of his to anyone, not even to his own family.

Hiashi knew and acknowledged that Hinata severely lacked the drive to succeed as the successor to her clan, but he had never viewed his daughter's talent or potential as useless. He still believed she was capable of great endeavors. At the same time, he accepted that she was far too kind a person to be suitable for the life of a ninja. Hinata radiated kindness like her late mother and his late wife, the greatest examples being her unyielding friendship with the village pariah and her acceptance of Neji despite knowing of his hatred for the Main House. He did not want to taint her greatest quality and that played a huge part in why he largely neglected her training. He did not want her to suffer and wanted her to grow up to be a kind and loving wife and mother to her future husband and children. She admired her late mother greatly and wanted to be just like her, and so did he. He did not believe going through the career of a ninja would lead to that future. He had already given her more than enough training to defend herself if needed to.

But this... How was he going to protect her from this highly scandalous situation? Before he could think about it any further, someone's violent coughing fits broke the silence of the arena. Without even turning to look, he knew it was Hinata. The injury to her heart had not healed yet. He had read the doctor's reports on her condition after her elimination from the Chuunin Exam and could easily guess that it acted up again because she had gotten too worried and panicked for her friend and possibly about the revelation that her friend was taught Juuken as well.

"HINATA-CHAN!" Hiashi heard his daughter's voice cry out from the middle of the battleground. Hinata's fits had thoroughly distracted Natsumi as she looked towards his daughter's direction with extreme worry. Such an amateurish mistake. How could anyone take their eyes off their opponent like that?

"Idiot! Don't look this way!" a boy's voice from Hinata's direction yelled. It was Kiba, he believed. It was a warning that came far too late as Neji took advantage of the unintentional distraction by his daughter and successfully performed the Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou on Natsumi, sending her to the ground in a crumpled heap and dispelling the Henge she had on.

'So... A member of the Branch House is going to surpass a member of the Main House...' Hiashi thought in slight despair. The Main House member in question was not Hinata, but rather Hanabi. Just from this display, he could tell Neji was already far better than Hanabi would be when she reached his age. Hanabi, who was five years Hinata's junior, was already better than her older sister. So what did that say about Neji? There was nothing else to call him but a genius and a prodigy. If no-one could defeat Neji and make him reconsider his fatalistic point of view of life, how was he ever going to be able to tell the truth?

***Break Line***

"I hit all 64 tenketsu in your body. You cannot stand up anymore," Neji declared to Natsumi who was nothing more than a quivering body.

"Damn it..." she groaned as she tried to force herself to move.

"Mortifying, isn't it?" he taunted his fallen opponent. "You are on your knees against a power you cannot face, finding out how truly powerless you are. It is only an illusion that hard work makes dreams come true."

His words were barely heard by her as she fought to stay conscious. This hurt so much more than the time Hinata closed the tenketsu of her chakra core. Her vision was blurring badly and her body was not cooperating with her will and thoughts. She refused to give up trying, especially not when Hinata, who took a direct blow to the heart, did not surrender to the same opponent. With the image of her best friend standing strong despite her fatal injury and the vow she swore on their blood, she renewed her efforts to move. This time, her body obeyed but with great difficulty. She pushed on despite the severe numbness of her body and finally made it to her feet.

"This girl... It can't be," Neji was visibly shocked at her persistence. The technique he had just used on her was supposed to paralyze an opponent completely by shutting down their chakra flow via closing 64 major tenketsu, yet she was still able to stand just seconds after getting hit by it?

"I told you that I don't give up easily," she said.

"Stop fighting. It's going to be the same even if you continue. I have no grudge against you."

"Shut up. Even if you don't, I have one against you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Why... Why is it when you're so strong... When you have eyes that seem to say you know everything... Why did you mentally attack Hinata-chan like that when she was trying her best!"

"So you are fighting to avenge Hinata-sama's loss?"

"It's more than just that! I'm asking why you did that in the first place! You could have won against her fair and square!"

"That has nothing to do with you."

"You ridiculed Hinata-chan and labeled her as a failure. I don't know what happened between the Main House and the Branch House, but bastards like you who call other people failures, especially to Hinata-chan, will have to deal with me."

"Very well, I will tell you since you seem to care so much for Hinata-sama... About the Hyuuga's fate of hatred!"

Neji proceeded to tell the story of the cursed seal of the Branch House and how it symbolized a caged bird as well as a symbol for those who were bound within an inescapable destiny. He undid his hitai-ate and showed her the cursed seal branded on his forehead. It was engraved on him when he was four. It happened on a particular day where there was a huge event when the Kumogakure head ninja was sent by Kaminari no Kuni to Konoha to conclude an alliance treaty. It was also the exact date of Hinata's third birthday. He turned to look directly at Hiashi while explaining that his father, Hizashi, and Hiashi, Hinata's father, were identical twin brothers and that Hinata's father was born first. That made him a Main House member and Hizashi became a Branch House member. On Hinata's third birthday, the cursed seal was engraved on him and he became a caged bird.

"Why do they have to do that? Why separate the Main House and the Branch House?" Natsumi asked. Hinata had explained what the cursed seal did to the Branch House members but she refused to answer the questions Natsumi had just asked Neji. She hoped he would answer in Hinata's stead.

In his words, the cursed seal was the absolute fear of death that the Main House gave to the Branch House. When activated by a secret seal only known to the Main House, it easily destroyed the brain cells of the targeted Branch House member and could easily kill them as well. The seal would only disappear upon death and sealed up the Byakugan's abilities. The Hyuuga clan had the most unique Kekkei Genkai and there were many who were after its secrets. The cursed seal meant the Branch House only lived to protect the Main House and it did now allow them to go against the Main House. It was an efficient system to protect the Byakugan forever. That system was what led to an incident that had Neji's father killed by the Main House.

On a night some days after the event of the alliance treaty, Hinata was nearly kidnapped by someone. Hiashi caught up to the perpetrator immediately and killed him. The perpetrator turned to be the head ninja of Kumogakure who had just signed the alliance treaty. It was apparent at that moment that he came to Konoha to steal the secrets of the Byakugan. However, due to the death of the ninja, Konoha was blamed for breaking the treaty and handed an unfair demand. A war almost broke out because of that. Konoha wanted to avoid a war, so they made a secret agreement with Kaminari no Kuni. They wanted a Main House member with the Byakugan. In other words, the dead body of Hiashi. Konoha agreed to that and war was averted. It was all thanks to Hiashi's double, who died to protect him, and that was Neji's father. Hiashi and Hizashi were twins with almost the same strength but when they were born first and second, their fates were sealed.

"And in this match, your fate was decided when I became your opponent! Your fate says that you will lose to me. That, I can guarantee," Neji concluded the tragedy of his life.

"You don't know that until we actually fight!" Natsumi refused to accept defeat. Neji quietly retied his hitai-ate as he waited for her. "I don't know how tough you've had it with your dad getting killed a long time ago but you've got the wrong idea by using that alone to decide fate is predetermined."

"You are hopeless," he replied before rushing in to finish her off with a hard palm strike to her chest. He did not need to use the Juuken any further. All her body's tenketsu were sealed, so any further usage of Juuken was a waste of chakra on his part. All that was left was brute force. "Proctor. It's over." He spared a glance towards his fallen opponent and scoffed. "You failure."

"Don't run away..." Natsumi groaned as she stood up again. "I'm not running away. I'm not going to take back my words... That's my ninja way."

"I've heard those words from Hinata-sama. She must have borrowed them from you," Neji smirked at the realization.

"She didn't borrow them! That's our ninja way from the start! I won't lose to a guy like you... A coward who blames everything on fate and other crap!"

"You know nothing. Don't lecture me," Neji finally had enough of Natsumi's lip. "People are born carrying an unchangeable fate. To carry a seal that can never be removed... A person like you will never understand what it means!"

"No... I understand," she replied sincerely. She was carrying the seal containing the Kyuubi and it could never be removed otherwise it would be free to rampage once again. "So, what about it?" she smirked at him. "Look at me with those eyes that can see everything. Do you see that I'm lying?"

"This girl...!" he strengthened the intensity of his Byakugan and saw no signs that she was lying.

"Stop acting cool. You're not the only special guy here. Hinata-chan was suffering like you. She's from the Main House, but she tried her best to change herself because no-one would acknowledge her. That's the determination she had, and she fought you even after she was injured so badly. That goes for you, as well. The Branch House is supposed to protect the Main House, yet you did that to Hinata-chan when it was only an exam. You were trying hard to fight against fate, weren't you?"

"All 64 of your tenketsu are closed. How are you going to fight now? You won't be able to use your Chakra for a while," he did not rise to her scathing words. He activated his Byakugan to receive her challenge however. "In the end, you are going to follow the same fate as Hinata-sama."

"Shut up! Stop talking as if you know everything with that Byakugan of yours!" she snapped. "Why are you aiming to hurt Hinata-chan so badly? What did she ever do to you?"

"She has done nothing," he answered truthfully.

"Then why? She even looks up to you like a brother!"

"Am I supposed to be touched by that gesture? It was her fate as a child of the Main House that started the chain of events that killed my father. She is just as responsible for his death as much as Hiashi-sama."

"What...?" Natsumi could not believe what she had just heard. He was blaming Hinata just because she was born into the Main House? Because she nearly got kidnapped when she was only three? When he perfectly knew she could not even defend herself? Natsumi could not understand. How was it Hinata's fault she was the target of the kidnapping schemed by that Kumogakure ninja? How was Hinata even involved in the decision Konoha made to send Neji's father as a body double? She was a victim as well. She did not do anything to...

And then something suddenly clicked. Natsumi had only just realized that Hinata's childhood... almost ran parallel to her own. They were both blamed for something out of their control. They had been the undeserving scapegoats for the anger of others. Then another thing clicked. Hinata probably had been the bigger scapegoat. Natsumi had no-one to turn to when she felt things were getting too much but Hinata did. She had family to turn to and yet... her own father would not support her and Neji was the one that turned her into his personal scapegoat to vent his hatred towards the Main House on. Having a family that hated and refused to support her... That was worse than having no-one there to help from the very start. Natsumi could easily imagine how lonely Hinata had been when the people who were supposed to be there for her did not want to... How many tears had Hinata shed over the years in a place where she did not have her to cheer and encourage her? That was not what a family should be like! Family was there to love and support one another! Not be an alternate version of her own childhood!

"Don't screw around with me..." Natsumi snarled, unaware that a feral growl left her throat. Even if she realized it, she would not have cared. Deep in her soul, a metaphorical pot was spewing out boiling anger and hatred for those that had caused Hinata pain. And the one that caused her the most pain... was Neji. The bastard that was standing right in front of her with a smug look on his face. She was going to wipe it off his face. But first she needed to restore her chakra. Her seal was already reacting to her immense anger so she needed very little focus to reach for its prisoner. 'Damn fox! Give me your chakra!' She could feel the Kyuubi awakening and granting her his power as demanded. Before her connection to her seal ended, she remembered the promise she made with Hinata that she would try to get along with him. She put aside her anger for Neji to send a final message to the Kyuubi. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to ask for your chakra like that. ...And thanks.' Just before she ended her mental connection with the seal, she could have sworn she heard a dismissive snort. She genuinely meant her gratitude because she knew without the Kyuubi's chakra, she would be unable to win against Neji and fulfill her promises to Hinata. She just could not afford to lose in this fight.

"The chatting ends here," Neji said, returning her attention to him with her anger and hatred returning full force as well. "Proctor, I intend to kill her. If you're going to stop me, stop me whenever you want." He then noticed Natsumi putting her hands into a seal to gather her chakra and screaming in exertion. "I told you it's useless. I hit your tenketsu. Why do you fight against your fate that hard?"

"Because you called me a failure," she replied in a cold fury as the Kyuubi's chakra flared and reopened all her tenketsu as it went through her chakra coils, returning her vitality as well. Neji watched in stunned shock as his Byakugan revealed red chakra running throughout her body. He reeled back when the chakra seemingly formed a ferocious fox's head at her chakra core.

'It's wrapping around her... What is that? Is that really chakra?' Neji wondered as he watched the Kyuubi's chakra lash about wildly while it surrounded Natsumi before stabilizing around her as a flame-like aura.

"More importantly than calling me a failure... YOU HURT HINATA-CHAN!" she dashed towards him at a breakneck speed.

'Her speed increased! And her eyes! What in the world is going on?' Neji panicked as he narrowly avoided being socked in the mouth. His body involuntarily shivered when he looked at Natsumi's red hate-filled eyes. "What does Hinata-sama matter to you?"

"She means everything to me! And I won't forgive bastards who hurt her the way you did!" she growled as she attacked him relentlessly. "Because she got kidnapped means she killed your father? She was only three! She couldn't even defend herself! All she ever wanted was to be family with you! But all you ever do is hate her when she has done nothing but be kind to you! You even tried to kill her!"

Neji countered with a Juuken hit to her arm when he parried one of her wild punches but was stunned when she did not seem to even register that she got hit. In his growing panic, he almost failed to react to a lunging kick. He crossed his arms in front of him just in time to put up a hasty guard. However, it was still strong enough to blow him all the way across to the other side of the battleground. It might as well have been a direct hit. Whatever that chakra she was using was, it seemed to act like some sort of chakra armor. His Byakugan had seen how his chakra failed to inject itself into her chakra coils when he had hit her arm. When he released his guard, she was already rushing towards him with such speed that the ground crumbled beneath her every step.

'This isn't good! I need to start the Kaiten...!' he realized he could not react with anything else. He drew his kunai to aid his Kaiten as it was likely his chakra could not overcome her weird chakra. The kunai met Natsumi's fist, and an explosion of dust and debris erupted from the impact. It was strong enough to shake the entire arena like a miniature earthquake as the dust cloud covered the scene of two bodies crashing violently into the ground. When it cleared, there were two craters near each other. Natsumi was standing in one of them, the aura around her gone and her eyes back to normal. She had used up all the chakra she took from the Kyuubi in that one punch. Neji was in the other crater and flat on his back, unable to move. He did not need to activate his Byakugan to see her standing victoriously in front of him.

"I don't know about the Hyuuga's fate of hatred but if you think it's impossible than don't do anything," she told him solemnly. "After I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuuga clan for you with Hinata-chan's help. Stop complaining about fate and saying how it can't be changed. You're different from me. You aren't a failure."

"Are you satisfied now that you have avenged Hinata-sama's loss?" he asked as he started to reconsider, for the first time, about his belief in unchangeable fate as he stared at the clear blue sky overhead.

"I was never fighting to avenge her. I was fighting for the promises I made to her. I was fighting for my best friend," she replied. "If you don't want to follow your fate of serving the Main House, then I'll protect Hinata-chan for you. And..." Natsumi paused to turn and glare directly at Hiashi. "If you and her father don't want to be a family for Hinata-chan, then I'll be her family! That's a promise, and I never go back on my word! Because that's my ninja way!" She barely heard the proctor announcing her as the victor and the thunderous cheers and applause. It was not until Hiashi nodded ever so slightly to acknowledge her words that she tore her eyes away from him and finally registered the cheering for her victory. A huge smile broke out on her face as she started prancing around and cheering alongside the spectators.

It was such a great start for Natsumi too. She beat Neji, fulfilled all her promises to Hinata and was incredibly pumped for her future matches. She never expected the day would end with Konoha being invaded, her fighting off Gaara and his monster within and the Third Hokage killed.

***End of Chapter***

Differences

Neji reveals that he knows Juuken techniques that are supposed to remain only within the Hyuuga Main House.

Canon: After getting blown back by the Kaiten, Naruto gets hit immediately by the Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou.

My Version: Natsumi manages to avoid Neji's first attempt of the Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou by converting her usual free-styling taijutsu to the Juuken.

The moment when Naruto decides to use the Kyuubi's chakra.

Canon: Naruto boasts that he can still continue the fight despite feeling no chakra in him. He then remembers Jiraiya's lessons and rudely demands for the Kyuubi's chakra.

My Version: Natsumi seeks out answers as to why Neji abuses Hinata. When she learns that he hates her because of 'fate' and not due to anything she has done to him, her anger boils over. In her anger, she rudely demands chakra from the Kyuubi. After she receives it, she remembers her promise to try and get along with him and thanks him for the chakra.

The end of the match.

Canon: After they both crash, Neji manages to get out of his crater and stand in front of an immobile Naruto in his crater. He gets careless and gets nailed by Naruto who has dug underground to ambush him, revealing that the Naruto in the crater is a Kage Bunshin he used to hide his tunnel entrance.

My version: After they both crash, Natsumi is the one standing victorious in front of Neji. He is unable to stand after the crash because of the numerous hits she has landed on him before their final clash. She's still standing strong because she took more chakra from the Kyuubi than Naruto because of her increased anger, taking less damage than Naruto did.

Extra Scene 1: Natsumi remembers the first fight between Kakashi and Zabuza during their mission to Nami no Kuni and how he copied Zabuza. She uses that memory as an excuse for her usage of Juuken. She also transforms into Hinata as she tries to bluff that she's only copying Hinata and trying to hide the fact she was taught.

Extra Scene 2: Hiashi figures out that Hinata has taught Natsumi the Juuken and wonders about his daughter and his parenting methods.

Extra Scene 3: Natsumi fights more violently once she receives the Kyuubi's chakra than Naruto does because she's furious at Neji for his abuse of Hinata. She tells him that if he doesn't want to protect Hinata as his 'fate' dictates, then she'll do it for him. She turns to Hiashi and tells him that if he wasn't going to be a family that Hinata can turn to, she'll be her family.

***Break Line***

The fight is done! To avoid defeat, Natsumi is forced to reveal her Juuken skills to the spectators which include Hinata's father. Neji and Hiashi both figure out Hinata has taught her the Juuken when Natsumi's mimicking of the Hyuuga-exclusive taijutsu looked far too accurate to be copied on the fly or by sight alone despite her modifications. Unfortunately, her usage of it sends Hinata into a huge panic and it triggers a relapse. It distracts Natsumi and she gets hit by Neji's strongest technique. She then calls on the Kyuubi's chakra to counteract its effects and win the match.

Honestly, the ending of the match in canon just does not sit well with me. Not taking anything away from Naruto and his efforts in the match, but Neji being taken down in two hits? One if you don't consider the final clash and the crash that follows? I don't agree with that at all. Not to mention that one hit Naruto lands is not Kyuubi-powered at all. Neji is the most powerful Genin in Konoha at the time. I just cannot accept him going down in just one hit in this fight. So I had Natsumi land a few hits during the real versus fake Juuken showdown before the final clash to justify Neji's defeat.

The scene with Hiashi is to humanize the man a little and not make him seem like a total bastard. He really isn't according to canon, but he does take things too far on occasion. Most of the stories I've read so far that have Hiashi all make little to no attempt to point out that he is not a heartless person, only showing and magnifying the cold and cruel side of his personality, sometimes excessively so.

I'm skipping the fight scene with Gaara because I feel it's more for his sake than Natsumi's. At the end of their fight, it's just her convincing him to trust in Temari and Kankurou and that love and friendship are what leads to true strength. My focus has always been canon scenes and how they might be if Naruto was a girl. Another reason is that the second main character in this fanfic is Hinata, so I'm not inclined to write every single important scene or fight if I feel it's completely void of either girl's presence. So in the next chapter, we begin the Search For Tsunade Arc. Please look forward to it because Hinata will begin to be more active now!

I look forward to getting more readers who like this story! Do Follow/Favorite/Review this story, and big thanks to those who are kind enough to do so!