Hyuga Compound: Day…
A few days after Jin intervened with the bullies, the snow had melted as the temperature warmed meaning it was time Hinata trained with her father once again. Off to the side, on the wooden walkways of her house, her father's identical twin and his son stood.
Her father's twin, Hizashi, would look exactly like Hiashi if not for the caged bird seal on his forehead. His son, Neji, had already entered the academy by this point. He has fair skin and long black hair with the featureless white eyes almost every Hyuga has.
His attire consisted of a beige-colored shirt, a dull blue shirt beneath that, and mesh armor beneath that. He also has dark brown shorts, blue shinobi sandals, and wrapped bandages around his right arm, chest, and right leg. He too had the caged bird seal.
As Hinata trained with her father, even as he held back, it was simply too much. She's trained with him for years at this point with such little improvement to be had. In truth, these spars were just too intense for her. Like always, she was knocked down and injured multiple times.
Every time, Hiashi ordered her to stand once more. This last time he did so, it took Hinata more than 90 seconds to stand. That coupled with her huffing and puffing pathetically made the head of the main branch irritated to the point he couldn't trust himself to hold back like he wanted to.
"That's enough." Hiashi sighed. "You are dismissed Hinata."
Hizashi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hinata has never shown this tenacity." The head of the Branch Family noted. "She would have given up or even began crying; however, today is wholly different. While she is sniveling and wet eyed, she has been digging through the pain. Could it be that Kettou member's influence?"
Despite the reasoning, Hiashi was not as impressed with the tenacity on display as Hizashi had been. Even before this noticeable change, the head of the Branch Family did not think Hiashi was handling her training correctly.
"Still, I'm not in much of a position to voice that." Hizashi noted. "Even as head of the branch family, that means nothing in this matter. Of course, this isn't really Hiashi's fault. He would not act this way if not for the oppressive Hyuga system that puts us into this caste."
Putting it into context like that only made Hizashi's heart warm with respect and pride as he gazed upon his niece. In the face of the hardships this oppressive system brought, today she hung on and endured. Even as Hizashi and Neji thought it was over, Hinata was not done.
"Father, please give me another drill." Hinata squeaked, pushing against her normally demur attitude.
That stopped Hiashi at the door to their mansion. "You are too weak to go further today. We shall continue tomorrow."
Hiashi then walked in, and once she was certain he was gone, Hinata finally collapsed to her knees crying as she caught her breath. Getting up repeatedly had been hard, and her father's cold, unimpressed glare only made it more so.
Despite that, she felt as though she'd accomplished something. Just as Jin forced those boys to run from him, she had gotten her father to leave while she could still train. Unlike every time before, her father had given up before her.
Hinata managed a small smile as she whispered, "I won."
Not long after she spoke that to herself, Hinata felt a hand pat her head. The young Hyuga was surprised as she looked up to see her uncle over her smiling. While inappropriate for a Branch Member to do this, Hizashi was thinking more as a family member in that moment.
"Congratulations on your win today." Hizashi stated. "If you would like, I believe there are some pointers I could give you on your form."
Hinata's eyes widened, and she excitedly nodded. The kindness and warmness her uncle spoke with made her feel like he could tell her anything, and she'd take it just fine. In fact, in this moment, he reminded her of Jin.
"Neji, get over here." Hizashi motioned for his son who came right over. "I would like for you to display the Gentle Fist as I direct it to help Hinata understand exactly how she could improve."
"Uh, yes father." Neji stated surprised.
It was a sudden turn of events that had never happened prior, yet Neji found himself happy it was happening. Thus, Hizashi had Neji display what Hiashi had been attempting to teach her this lesson.
Given Neji's aptitude for their clan's Taijutsu, he displayed the correct movements, and Hizashi informed Hinata where she had been going wrong. The younger Hyuga found it easy to follow along and understand what she needed to work on.
The single moment of reaching out led to these three bonding. Even Neji, who was beginning to foster some level of hatred for the Main Branch after receiving his caged bird seal, began to realize they weren't all bad. In fact, there was no real difference between them as he thought.
Kettou Residence: Morning…
Roughly 5 years and 4 months since arriving in Konoha (Jin: Age 5)
Today, Jin was refamiliarizing himself with hand seals and the combinations his father had shown him. While he felt proficient in them, at this point, he continued to study in hopes of becoming ever better. He heard the front door of the apartment open and close.
"Mom? Dad?" Jin called out.
"It's us." Shuro called out. "Stay there for because we have something to tell you."
His father's tone of voice sounded happy yet apprehensive.
When they came to the doorway, Jin asked, "Was everything alright with mom?"
His parents had to go to the hospital since Anko was fatigued and was rather nauseas lately.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Anko assured him. "Turns out there was a good reason why I've felt the way I have."
"Listen Jin, the Medical Shinobi who checked Anko told us that she's pregnant." Jin informed. "That means in roughly eight months, you're going to have a sibling. More specifically, she will be here roughly a week before you're supposed to enter the academy."
"Wait, I'll be a big brother?" Jin asked.
He had no idea what being pregnant was or how it happened, but he certainly knew the concept of siblings.
"That's right." Anko nodded. "How does that make you feel?"
"I didn't think I'd get a sibling, but I'm excited to be one." Jin declared with a huge grin.
That was relief for Shuro and Anko since they weren't certain how Jin would take the news. Now, their apprehension was gone leaving only happiness.
"That's great because the fact that we're going to have a new family member means we'll have to move into a bigger place." Shuro stated. "I'm fairly certain I can snag one closer to our usual training grounds."
"That sounds awesome, but I do have some questions." Jin stated.
"What would they be?" Anko asked.
"How does being pregnant give me a sibling, how did mom get pregnant, and what does pregnant mean?" Jin asked.
Shuro and Anko shared a look.
"We'll tell you about it when you're older." The former ruffled his hair. "Just for now understand that Anko's stomach is going to expand, she should go to the hospital one week before you start at the academy. Then, she'll lose the large stomach, and your new sister will be here."
Jin thought he understood and decided to accept what he'd been told. Especially since it seemed these questions were awkward for his parents.
Hyuga Compound
In the past four months, thanks to her uncle and cousin, Hinata was becoming stronger while her technique improved. Due to these aspects, Hiashi was starting to catch her up to where she should be. Such progress saw the elderly easing their critical eye of her future as the clan head.
Of course, they weren't going to simply leave everything at that prompting Hiashi to give more streamless physical training. Even with this new form of demand, Hizashi and Neji were usually there to help the girl as they had been.
All this training gave her steady growth physically, mentally, and emotionally. With every day that passed, she noticed her prior shyness disappearing. Even then, she was still a quiet sort who liked her peace and kindness from others.
Beyond the walls of the Hyuga Clan or Kettou family, Konoha had welcomed an ambassador from the Hidden Cloud to their village. This was a big deal as Konoha and Kumo had been at war prior. Given how sudden this all seemed, was peace really on the table?
Hyuga Mansion: Night…
As Hinata rested peacefully within her room, a figure dressed in all black, with a black shawl covering his face, moved stealthily into the room from the window. He quietly approached Hinata before snatching the Hyuga from her bed.
Hinata's improved growth and training didn't make her as easy a mark as the figure might have assumed. She was more prone to acting in these situations resulting in a startled and unguided gentle fist nailing the man over his left kidney and blowing it apart.
No matter how tough the Shinobi, the inner body could not easily be trained. Given her assailant had assumed her weak, he took no precautions to prevent this. All of this is to say the figure collapsed to the ground yelling in agony yet still alive.
This brought every Hyuga running to the heiress's room with Hiashi's first instinct being to secure his clearly startled daughter. "I got you."
Those three words were spoken with a gentleness Hinata had not heard in years. Upon the first Hyuga sprinting down the hall, Hiashi's demeanor turned cold as he pointed to the figure writhing on the ground. His shawl had fallen revealing him to be the Kumo ambassador.
"Shut down that man's Chakra Points to ensure he does not escape." Hiashi ordered, and the Hyuga immediately enacted it. "Then, get him to the Anbu."
Hokage Office: Couple of Days Later…
Not long into the next day, Konoha's Interrogation Division got the truth straight from the ambassador. Kumogakure had wanted a genuine treaty with the Leaf, but they also saw an opportunity. The ambassador had been tasked with acquiring a Hyuga child.
Unfortunately, he had attempted to abscond with the wrong child leading to his capture and a violation of the treaty. It wasn't as simple for Kumogakure as redeclaring war since they wanted it to stop as much as the Leaf. This put Hiruzen in a rather favorable position.
Hiashi had been informed of this which only made him wonder why he was called to see the Hokage. He thought perhaps he would be allowed to decide this false ambassador's fate. That seemed to be the most likely outcome. If that were the case, it would be death.
As Hiashi walked into the office, Hiruzen smiled. "Thank you for coming Hiashi."
Hiashi nodded respectfully. "Of course, Lord Hokage."
"I'll get right to it." Hiruzen stated. "Your daughter, Hinata, has proven herself a prodigious talent among the likes of Itachi and Shisui Uchiha. Snuffing out a devious plot of a foreign land makes her a hero to Konoha. That is why I am considering your daughter for a special honor."
With that, all prior thoughts about this meeting were thrown out the window as Hiashi began to understand what this was about.
"Your daughter did technically defeat a powerful enemy Shinobi while granting Konoha a great deal of bargaining power with a foreign country." Hiruzen continued. "As such, I see no issues with awarding Hinata with the rank of Genin at a ceremony to be held in a few days."
Even though he began to see that this is where the Hokage was going with this, Hiashi was still shocked to hear it. Above that emotion, there was an immense amount of pride. Such pride was tempered by the fact that for as well as Hinata was doing now, she wasn't really Genin level.
"Ultimately, it is not my decision to make." Hiashi knew that if the Hokage saw fit to award the rank of Genin, then only that person receiving it could really deny it. "I will inform her."
Hyuga Mansion
Hiashi found his daughter and informed her of the opportunity. While he couldn't outright deny her this, he could still advise his daughter.
Before he could voice any of the reasons,he would advise against accepting, Hinata spoke up quietly. "Father, I can't accept Lord Third making me a Genin right now." She knew full well that her defeat of the Cloud Shinobi had been an accident. "It wouldn't feel right."
Hiashi again felt pride in his daughter as he gave immediate support. "You do not have to accept the offer; however, you will still need to attend the ceremony. When you do go up, simply thank the village on behalf of all the Hyuga. It is a simple act that would make the clan happy."
Upon coming to this decision, Hinata had begun thinking of a way to refuse the headband correctly, and her father had just provided it. "Ah, thank you for the advice."
Leaf Village: Days Later…
Excluding any Shinobi on a mission, those too sick to attend, and/or anyone who shouldn't be in large crowds, all of Konoha had turned up to see this ceremony. A lot of people in the younger generation were rather ecstatic at what they thought would happen today.
Someone from their generation being granted the rank of Genin without entering the academy was seen as cool. Of course, Hinata was there dressed in a Yukata. Eventually. Hiruzen took to the front of the crowd and projected his voice.
"Today, we gather to celebrate a young lady who has proven herself a prodigious talent among the likes of Itachi and Shisui Uchiha. She snuffed out a devious plot of a foreign land making her a hero to Konoha. That is why today I offer Hinata Hyuga the rank of Genin."
Everyone cheered as Hiruzen produced the headband and Hinata took to the stage. Once she reached the Hokage, the young Hyuga managed to project her voice in a calm, genuine tone while still somehow sounding quiet.
"Lord Third, thank you for considering me worthy of Genin, but I cannot accept." Hinata informed. "Defeating that Shinobi was an accident. One I am glad happened because it allowed me to help Konoha as the Hyuga have always done and will always do. Even though I turn this down, the Main and Branch Families sincerely thank the village."
Hinata was unaware of it, but the way she phrased it made the Branch Family feel appreciated while irritating some of the elder Hyuga. As for the rest of the village, they were shocked with most expecting the power greedy clan heads to take such an offer.
What they got was a sweet, genuine display of honesty from the Hyuga heiress. To many, she had looked and sounded like an angel. As such, already, a nickname was spreading in the form of the Leaf's Lavender-Eyed Angel.
At that moment, in the crowd, Hinata caught sight of Jin standing with two other purple haired people. She assumed they were his family. She could hardly focus on them as Jin stared up at her with admiration. It felt good and even made her heart skip a beat.
Training Ground
Roughly 5 years and 6 months since arriving in Konoha(Jin: Age 5)
With Anko growing unable to leave their new home, due to carrying a baby, Shuro and Jin were often alone at the training ground. Of course, they never left Anko by herself as Kurenai came around to stay with her. Still, both were starting to miss having her with them.
Still, things changing now meant the changes that came with Jin attending the academy would be easier to stomach. Speaking of change, Jin had been inspired upon seeing someone his age almost make Genin. He now wanted to be strong like her.
As such, he'd spent the last two months pushing to finally complete the Tree Climbing Exercise to his father's specifications. Again, he couldn't make it out here every day, but the days that he did, Jin worked hard at it among the various other things he learned.
Sure enough, this day he finally managed to convey mastery to his father's liking. Jin could effortlessly walk all around the tree and underneath the branches. Finally, he could run up and down it all with barely any concentration.
"Alright, you've finally succeeded in the second exercise." Shuro declared.
"Awesome." Jin let himself drop from the branch he was under and flipped to land on his feet. "Alright, what's the final Chakra Control Exercise?"
"With the prior two well under your belt, I don't imagine this will take nearly as long with the limited times you currently train." Shuro motioned for Jin to follow him to the nearby water, so they both moved on over. "The last exercise is Water Walking."
"Whoa, we can walk on water?" Jin asked in amazement.
"That's right." Shuro made the hand seal to focus his Chakra before performing the exercise. "Tree Climbing is all about building up Chakra in your feet and maintaining a steady rate of discharge. That same rate can apply to any stationary object.
Surfaces like water are always shifting meaning you'll need to constantly adjust your rate of discharge to walk atop it. Once you can perform this, practically any Jutsu you try should never be far out of reach."
Once he completed this, they could start working on their clan's bloodline, and Shuro felt he'd finally be able to tell him everything concerning their clan.
"Alright, let me give it a try." Jin declared.
He made the hand seal before walking out onto the water. While at first it seemed he'd have that initial failure that preceded the prior two, this was marked with a form of success. He managed to stop himself from truly sinking into the water, but his feet were still under it.
"Look, I almost got it down already!" Jin celebrated.
"Seems you really took from the prior two exercises." Shuro smiled. "Still, you got some work to do especially to reach the standard I want you at."
Konoha Hospital: Evening…
Nearly 6 years since arriving in Konoha(Jin: Age 6)
On the dot, one week before Jin was to enter the academy, his mother mentioned something about her water breaking. This resulted in the family going to the hospital and Jin having to wait while Shuro accompanied Anko. All he knew was that his baby sister would be here soon.
Jin still had no idea what the hospital had to do with his new sibling and still didn't know much about the word pregnant. Regardless, he passed the time by marking one side of a ryo coin and keeping track of how many times he could flip it on that side.
Eventually, after hours of waiting, Jin was approached by of the nurses who guided him back to the room. His mother was sitting up in a bed cradling a baby girl while his father stood just to her right.
Both were smiling before Shuro looked up and beckoned him over. "Hey Jin, come meet your baby sister Ume Kettou."
Jin approached Anko's bedside and looked at Ume. Her eyes were closed; however, she was clearly awake by the way she seemed to fidget and make sound. Back when he was told, Jin had been excited at the thought of being an older sibling. Seeing her now only reaffirmed that.
"Hello Ume." Jin remembered how gentle Shuro could be with Anko, so he placed a hand on her face. "I'm your big brother Jin."
His touch seemed to calm the girl's restlessness which only made Shuro and Anko smile.
Konoha Ninja Academy: Day…
6 years since arriving in Konoha(Jin: Age 6)
Today, the incoming students and their parents/guardians stood within the academy's courtyard.
Hiruzen stood at the entrance, with the various instructors, as he gave a small speech. "Those of you who will enter the academy tomorrow now have a lot of work ahead of you. As you walk the path of the Shinobi, I expect great things and know you will do the Leaf Village proud."
Even as Jin respectfully kept his eyes closed, he could only smile. While he's trained before with his parents, that wouldn't make him an officially recognized Shinobi like them. Now, he was finally taking the next step towards that by joining the academy.
Kettou Home: Late Evening…
Jin was ensuring everything he needed to bring to the academy was ready when Shuro entered his room. If he had to wager a guess, he'd just come from putting Ume to sleep. He also recognized his father was apprehensive.
"Hey Jin, are you ready for tomorrow?" Shuro asked.
"Yeah, I've been ready to enter the academy for a while now." Jin smiled. "With everything you and mom have taught me, I'll be sure to do you both proud."
"I know you will." Shuro nodded with a small smile before sighing and walking over to his bed deciding he had to get it over with. "Why don't you take a break and have a seat with me. There's something I resolved to tell you the moment you got into the academy."
Jin approached. "Are you going to tell me Anko is pregnant again?"
Jin wouldn't necessarily mind another sibling, but it was really a shot in the dark. Considering his father and mother had told him together, he couldn't entirely buy into his own question. It was just merely the only thought that came to mind.
"No, she's not pregnant again." Shuro patted Jin's back. "Listen, you know I love you, right?"
"Of course." Jin responded with no hesitation. "Dad, what's this about?"
"Okay." Shuro took a deep breath. "Jin, you know how you see me as your father?" Jin nodded a little uncertainly. "I was taking care of you not long after your birth, and Anko came around not long into it." He shook his head. "I'm starting to ramble, but this is really hard to say."
"Dad, no matter what you have to tell me, I can take it." Jin assured him.
"I hope so…" Shuro muttered before deciding to be concise. "Jin, those stories I told you growing up, about the Shinobi, nurse, and their children, are true. Without disrupting your childhood, I've told you everything about our parents."
"Those stories…" Jin was shocked as he attempted to piece things together. "Wait, our biological mother died giving birth to me while our biological father sacrificed himself? T-That means you and I really come from a clan that can summon monsters from our spirits?"
"I didn't want to burden you with anything growing up, but it's the truth." Shuro nodded. "Our last name, Kettou, is that clan I've told you about through the stories. Our parents met their ends, and I've raised you since. Jin, they cared about both of us an awful lot."
Jin went silent as he processed this new information alongside what he had known to be true. It was a lot to come to terms with, but Shuro said nothing as Jin deserved this much. Whatever he decided, Shuro would accept.
"I guess I know who my biological parents are." Jin was slowly speaking his conclusion before becoming firm in what he decided. "They were great people I'd have loved to know like you got to." He then turned to Shuro. "The things is, I don't know them beyond what you told me.
I'd love to see them as my real father and mother; however, I can't because I've always had a great dad who found me an amazing mom. Even though you're really my brother, I can't see it that way. Even learning the truth, you're still my dad."
Shuro teared up at that before Anko, who'd clearly been listening in, entered with tears in her eyes as well. Before Shuro could tell her that she agreed to let him handle this alone, the dango lover pulled both boys into a group hug.
That squashed any further conversation as they simply had a nice moment. It had been difficult for Shuro to tell Jin the truth, but it ultimately worked out. Even if Jin couldn't see his biological parents as his real parents, he still felt lucky to have been loved by two sets of parents.
As I said last chapter, I placed the events of the Hyuga Incident a little later in the timeline, and this is what I decided to go with based on Plus Ultra Man's What if Hinata was on Team 7. As this here is an OC story, I'm going to tell you this right here. I am not going with the traditional four-man squad. Considering Hizashi Hyuga is still alive, and Neji is getting plenty of extra practice helping Hinata early on, he will become a Chunin before the rookie nine get assigned squads.
That means my plan for teams upon graduation is as follows. Hinata will join Team Guy which will consists of: Guy, Neji(Chunin), Lee, and Tenten. Team 8 lead by Kurenai will be: Kiba, Shino, and Sakura. Team 10 led by Asuma will be: Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino. Team 7 led by Kakashi will be: Jin, Sasuke, and Naruto(Raised by Jiraiya). My current plan is one more chapter on Jin as he starts in the academy. Then, a full chapter on Naruto & Jiraiya. Finally, time to start the series after.
Guests: went insane and reuploading stories never goes over well in terms of attracting attention. Maybe one day in the future I'll repost them, but that is not today. Sorry.