Team Gai gaped at Neji. He agreed? Neji never associates with anyone that he deems as a weak link. It was certainly a new change. Of course, that was not to say that Hachi was weak but for him to accept a stranger this quick was surprising. Team Gai watched in silence as the tension rose between Hachi and Neji.
These two were completely opposite forces. It would be interesting to see the two in battle. Gai thought. His bushy eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. He was beyond excited to see what this match would bring out in both his student and Hachi.
Gai knew that Hachi had nothing against Neji; he was too strong and he was a natural genius. Hachi only had an affinity for some aspects of the ninja arts. They were too different. They were from completely separate worlds. To see such a clash would be most entertaining.
Neji would crush Hachi. Gai was certain, but he wanted to see the fight through. Hachi was unpredictable. Just that fact would be enough to set those two together.
Hachi smirked. This was finally a chance to assess Neji's abilities. Hachi knew that Neji was the strongest person on Team Gai just by the arrogant way Neji carried himself. Everyone in Team Gai was cautious with Neji, and Hachi knew why; Neji was strong. Neji scowled at Hachi's overflowing confidence.
Hachi was nothing to him. He is only using Hachi for his own benefit. Neji could only get more agitated at the way the corners of Hachi's mouth had tilted upward.
Confidence… What a loser. Neji thought; however, Neji knew that Hachi needed to be even more arrogant and cocky. He needed Hachi to be overflowing with energy. That way, Neji would not only be able to assess Hachi's true abilities, but also take his energy.
Neji knew that he was only a bird trapped in a cage, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To have limitless energy means to be free—at least—that was how Neji thought of it.
Hachi works best when he is overstimulated with emotions. That was what Neji figured out during his match with Tenten. He was so overcome with the thought of training with them, that it motivated Hachi to go above and beyond his natural skill set to take down Tenten. Even Neji, who had a fatalistic view on destiny, knew that Hachi had bent the rules of fate to his favor for that one match.
Neji was surprised at the outcome of the fight but never showed it. Tenten was clearly more skilled than Hachi. There was no physical evidence that Hachi was strong. He had more bone than meat on his body. His eyes showed no promise. Yet, Hachi was ultimately the winner of the match and the reason was clear: the difference in ambition.
If Tenten had Hachi's drive, Tenten would have easily won that match. Her skills weren't something to be looked down upon; however, Tenten had no reason to fight with such strong resolve. It wasn't a life or death situation and there was no real benefit for her losing or winning. Tenten didn't have a real justification to win other than her pride and her pride wasn't enough.
Hachi, on the other hand, had a different resolve. For some reason, Hachi fought as his life depended on this one match. Neji couldn't figure out why. Sure, Hachi said that his sensei sucked, but was that truly the reason Hachi fought so hard?
It didn't make sense. No one should be trying this hard, just to train with his team.
Neji wanted to find out about Hachi through this fight; he needed to find out about Hachi through this fight. He was going to figure out Hachi Kobayashi if it was the last thing he did. Hachi might be the key in freeing himself from his cage and he would never let that opportunity slip by right in front of him
"Just a taijutsu match, deal?" Hachi said, breaking the silence that enveloped the training ground once Neji got lost in thought. Although he was smirking on the outside, the nagging worry of Hachi's body grew. He still hadn't fully recovered from his embarrassing push-up session, but he couldn't back out now, now that Neji accepted to train with him. His body throbbed every now and then. It was a constant reminder to not overdo it, which Hachi had a feeling he would completely ignore.
"Deal," Neji said firmly. He got into a ready stance; a signal for Hachi to do the same. Hachi's muscles ached at the minimal motion. He bit his lip back from showing any sign of weakness. He didn't need to win this fight; he knew he couldn't, but his pride was the source of downfall for Hachi.
"Come on then, Hyuga boy," Hachi called out, gesturing with his fingers to provoke Neji. Neji sneered at the useless action but flew forward to attack anyway with his Byakugan activated.
Hachi barely dodged the oncoming attack because of his fatigued body. He caught a glance at Neji's eyes and surprise overtook him.
"Woah, what the fuck is with your eyes?" Hachi exclaimed. While he was merely intrigued, the tone of Hachi's voice seemed to ridicule Neji's appearance, ultimately riling him up.
"What is with your eyes?" Neji spat, turning on his heels to change the trajectory of his arms to where Hachi stood. Hachi couldn't dodge. He wasn't fast enough, even with chakra flowing to his legs. Neji's palm collided with Hachi's shoulder and he could feel the entire arm go limp.
Hachi looked nervously at his arm, trying to at least move his arm. He shook it with his other hand, but to no avail, there was absolutely no perception from his left shoulder to the tips of his fingertips.
Neji watched with amusement at Hachi's reaction. "It's no use, you won't be able to use your arm for the remainder of today." Hachi heard Neji's words but refused to acknowledge them. His arm will be a liability at this rate. If he moved his body too fast, the arm would fly around and he would have absolutely no control over it.
Hachi took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He couldn't lose his composure at this slight setback. He didn't need to win against Neji.
Hachi began unzipping his jacket, surprising everyone on the field. What was he doing? No one could tell what Hachi was doing as they silently watched him. Hachi shoved his arm into the body of his jacket and zipped it back up so his arm wouldn't bother him anymore. He wrapped the sleeve of the jacket around his waist and tightened it to further restrain his arm from moving.
Neji just watched in confusion. He couldn't move his body; he was too curious about Hachi's reaction.
After Hachi finished wrapping his arm up, Hachi motioned again with his fingers for Neji to come at him. Neji didn't waste a second and raised his palms again to strike Hachi, but Hachi was ready this time. He wouldn't let down his guard. It would be death in a real battle and it was Hachi's fatal mistake.
However, Hachi had slowed down tremendously since the first fight with Tenten. Anyone with eyes could see it. Hachi had been fighting the entire day since eight in the morning. His muscles cried out at every motion and he was only standing because of the numerous amounts of drugs that coursed through Hachi's veins. It was a miracle Hachi was standing.
Neji got closer to Hachi and they both got ready to engage in close combat. Neji threw the first attack and tried to land a palm on Hachi's other shoulder to stop this fight once and for all. Hachi maneuvered out of the way, twisting his body just slightly so Neji's hand would graze over Hachi's jacket.
Neji was quick to thrust his other hand out to block off Hachi's movements. Hachi saw through Neji's attack and blocked Neji's other hand by throwing it off its course with his forearm.
The two exchanged violent chakra-enforced strikes with each other, but neither fully landed a complete blow. Hachi was too quick for Neji to land an attack while Neji had too strong of a defense for Hachi to breakthrough.
Hachi dropped to the ground to swipe Neji's ankles, but he simply saw through the attack and jumped slightly. With his weight on his hands, Hachi launched himself upwards to land a kick towards Neji's face. Neji's eyes saw all and he turned his body to the side to avoid the kick. He used Hachi's moment of ascent and latched on to Hachi's wrist to throw him to the ground.
Hachi fell head first and almost ate the dirt, but he caught himself with his hands and flipped forward so the force didn't strain his wrists. Hachi had his back to Neji for a second, but he already knew his mistake. A second was far too long of a time in the shinobi world. He tried to turn around quickly so Neji didn't have a chance to attack him, but Neji was already behind him.
Neji launched his palm towards the middle of Hachi's back. Pain erupted and spread like fire throughout Hachi's back. Nothing could stop the fire from raging on, not even the huge amount of sweat that Hachi had accumulated throughout the day. The force from Neji's attack made Hachi lose all the oxygen within his lungs. He quickly jumped away from Neji to gain distance.
Hachi tried to breathe, but the force and shock from Neji's attack completely paralyzed Hachi's lungs from working properly. Hachi could only gasp and claw at his throat. Neji didn't wait for another moment for Hachi to catch his breath and mercilessly shot himself towards Hachi, closing in the gap that Hachi tried hard to maintain.
Black dots danced around Hachi's vision and he knew he was screwed. Damn… Neji swung his palms at Hachi once more, but Hachi just jumped out of the way, not being confident that he could block the oncoming attack. He tried to regain the distance that he once set.
A minute had flown by and Hachi still couldn't breathe. His lungs screamed for air, but it was futile. Knowing that he only had about two more minutes before he passed out, Hachi dug at every single plan he had in his brain to take down Neji. He needed more distance between the two of them, but every time Hachi ran, Neji followed closely.
Hachi's face was red from the lack of oxygen, but he didn't care. Hachi's competitive nature kicked in from the second Neji paralyzed his left arm.
Without a second to spare, Neji was in front of Hachi again with his palm ready to strike the final blow. He pushed his palm out while Hachi dropped to the ground. Hachi saw an opening in Neji's defense and charged up chakra towards his feet. He swung his feet in a roundhouse kick and landed a strike on Neji's hip. Neji quickly saw the oncoming attack but was too slow in completely blocking it and flew several meters from Hachi. Hachi used this chance to create more distance between him and Neji. While Neji used the few seconds to recover from Hachi's hip-cracking blow, Hachi sprinted away.
Only the sounds of ragged breaths rang throughout the training ground. The tension in the air was thick. The rest of Team Gai watched in stunned silence.
Dust had flown up from the duo's match and once it settled, Neji and Hachi were left staring at each other intensely. Hachi had found himself up in a tree and Neji looked up at him with a scowl. While it was a pointless thought, Neji should never be looking up at Hachi. It was an insult to himself.
As if they read each other's minds, in an instant, they rushed towards one another at the same time. Both had chakra fueling their legs. A trail of dirt followed the two as they closed in on each other.
Gai watched his student and Hachi battle in what seemed like a deadly dance. While they were fighting against each other, they could read each other's movements so perfectly that they seemed more like friends than enemies at the moment. Gai had never seen such a baffling thing. Hachi and Neji have never met before today, but they synced up flawlessly. This kind of thing shouldn't be possible. Gai shouldn't be witnessing such a phenomenon, but here he is: watching Hachi and Neji battle gloriously.
Hachi had used the moments from when Neji was recovering to untie his sleeve and unzipped his jacket. With nothing to restrain his arms, they whipped behind him as if it was nothing more than fabric when he started dashing towards Neji. Only a few more seconds before Hachi was fully unconscious.
As Neji and Hachi got closer to each other, they both had their fist ready to attack. Hachi couldn't hear anything but his heart pounding throughout his head, reminding him of his limited time.
His vision narrowed down to Neji and Neji alone. He didn't know if it was the lack of oxygen or the adrenaline and drugs fueling his body, but he started to get severe tunnel vision. The wind whipped around Hachi and even with his hair in his face, he could only see Neji's form closing in on him.
The closer the two got the louder Hachi's heartbeat. Neither Hachi nor Neji could hear the onlooker's shouts of concern. They continued forward, unable to stop their bodies now that the potential energy had built up so far.
Hachi counted down the seconds to his demise. They were only a few meters apart now and still getting closer. At the last moment, both Neji and Hachi firmly planted their feet and heels to the ground.
Three… They fiercely twisted their hips to create the right momentum.
Two… Hachi's left arm flew forward and Hachi's inner elbow whipped around Neji's neck while Neji's fist connected with Hachi's jaw.
One… Both Neji and Hachi flew backwards at each other's force. Lee and Gai raced towards them. Gai quickly caught Hachi before he collided with a tree and Lee stopped Neji from sliding further away from the scene.
Gai checked on Hachi's condition and was relieved to see that Hachi was finally breathing freely. Coughing broke Gai's inspection of Hachi and he swerved his head to look at his other student. Neji's body shook as he hacked profusely and he released his Byakugan to control his breathing.
"Are you guys okay?" Tenten exclaimed, worry practically dripping from her mouth. Neji could only nod as he coughed frantically. Hachi's arm had wrapped around Neji's throat and almost crushed his windpipe. He wouldn't be able to breathe properly for a couple of minutes. It must have been payback for Neji's first attack.
Tenten nodded in confirmation towards Neji and turned her gaze to Hachi. Since there was no response, Tenten's concern grew before Gai-sensei replied for him.
"He's just knocked out, but he's completely fine. Just overexerted himself." Tenten sighed in relief. She at least wanted her new training buddy still alive by tomorrow.
"Hmph, serves him right." Neji huffed at Hachi but soon broke out coughing.
Hachi didn't win. Hachi would never win against him. His skills were far too great, but Hachi's masochistic strategies were greater. It pissed Neji off.
Hachi purposefully used his paralyzed arm and risked snapping it to get back at Neji. Hachi's arm could have been broken off at the elbows, but he didn't care and followed through with it anyway. Instead of using his right arm, which was perfectly fine, he purposefully used his injured left arm. It pissed Neji off. But he couldn't do anything about it.
Neji breathed heavily both in anger and at Hachi's failed attempt to finish him off. Even at the end of their fight, Neji couldn't figure out Hachi. He didn't understand Hachi's thought process, but he wanted to learn.
While Neji didn't understand anything about Hachi, he could still read every movement made by Hachi. It wasn't a coincidence that the two moved in sync with each other. It wasn't because Hachi and Neji both understood each other. They moved perfectly together through sheer willpower alone. Their thirst for knowledge in one another made them susceptible to any new information about each other.
If Hachi had thrown a punch, Neji would quickly calculate it and store this knowledge into his brain to counteract it in the future. If Neji slammed his palm towards Hachi, Hachi would dodge the attack initially and figure out how to block it for the future. This was how they fought; this was how two opposite forces fought.
Yin and yang push and pull. Hachi and Neji pushed and pulled.
Neji punched the ground, startling his two teammates.
What is wrong with him? They both thought with concern etching on their faces again.
Neji was frustrated. Who cares if they fought perfectly in sync? It didn't matter. Neji's end goal was still unfulfilled. He couldn't understand Hachi's motives at all . He needed to see Hachi's unrelenting energy and resolve, but he couldn't see shit.
His eyes that were designed to see everything and anything caught nothing at all. Neji pointlessly turned on his Byakugan again. Maybe… just maybe he would be able to see something he missed since last time.
His Byakugan saw nothing new. He only saw Hachi's unconscious body with a few chakra points blocked, nothing more. No… No , he wanted to see something. He needed to be able to see.
Neji unconsciously grabbed a fistful of dirt and his body shook. Tenten tried to soothe Neji, although she didn't know from what . She pat Neji's back and he recoiled sharply, making Tenten stop her actions. She dropped her hands down to her waist and stared with a dejected expression.
Neji was desperate. He wanted results and he wanted them now . He wanted to know what it was like to be free like Hachi, but he couldn't figure it out. He was still trapped in his stupid cage, with his stupid seal, like a stupid bird.
"Hey, cheer up. You won, didn't you?" Lee tried to bring the mood up and cut the tension within the air. Neji could only glare at Lee. He didn't understand. No one would. Neji got up from the ground and turned away from his team. He would train alone, like he always did. He left to go to a different part of the training ground and left his team to wonder what was going on.
Gai stared at Neji's retreating back. Neji was still being his brooding self. He looked at Hachi who was sleeping in his arms with no sign of getting up anytime soon. He needed to find Raido quickly.
"We'll end the training session here. I'm gonna take Kobayashi-kun back home." Gai said and his other two students nodded in response.
"Take care, Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted at Gai's disappearing form and Gai replied with a thumbs up.
"We should tell Neji that training is over for today," Tenten said to Lee and they both headed over to where Neji ran off to.
When they found him several meters away, he had activated his Byakugan again and started taking out his anger on a poor tree stump. Occasionally, his Gentle Fist was interrupted by a coughing fit which only annoyed Neji even further.
"Hey Neji," Lee chimed in once Neji took a small break from fighting his tree stump. Neji looked up at him, "Training is finished. Gai-sensei left to bring Hachi back home."
Neji grunted in return and turned around to train again. It didn't matter if Gai-sensei was gone. What mattered was that he needed more training.
"Well, see you tomorrow then," Tenten said and Lee also said his farewells.
"Bye…" Neji said quietly, but his other teammates heard it and smiled slightly.
Gai needed to find Raido Namiashi. He had left the training ground with Hachi in his arms and searched throughout the village to find a certain tokubetsu jounin. He raced around the multiple training grounds that littered Konohagakure, but it seemed to be useless. If it came to this, he would need to go to the Hokage, but he didn't want to bother him.
Gai didn't know if Hachi was staying with someone or if he was living alone. It would've been so much easier if Hachi told him before he passed out.
Gai glanced down at Hachi while still running around the village. It seemed that Hachi wasn't suffering too much from external injuries, just the punch from Neji and his left arm which he used as a weapon without a second thought. Gai chuckled slightly at Hachi's thought process. No one would use their own body parts as Hachi does. Gai was sure that Hachi did that because it was paralyzed and he couldn't feel the pain of his own actions.
Gai could see it now. Hachi was no genius in the ninja arts like Neji is, but he could certainly learn. The pure potential that Gai saw in Hachi was incredible. Gai was never one to be possessive or materialistic, but when he saw Hachi, he knew that he needed to keep him.
This type of potential was something that only Gai can work with and he already had experience: Rock Lee.
Lee was someone that he had cultivated from below the dirt. Hachi might be better off than Lee was when he first started, but Gai could tell. Hachi's potential is something that could be easier to crush than wet paper. Gai needed to start training Hachi now otherwise the untapped potential would crumble away.
Gai was determined. He needed to talk to Raido Namiashi immediately. He knew Raido was a capable shinobi. He is a tokubetsu jounin. One doesn't become a tokubetsu jounin by lounging away on a couch, but Hachi was now his student too.
He won't give up on him, now that he has his hands on Hachi.
"Gai?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. Gai quickly turned around at the familiar chakra signature.
"Kakashi, my rival! How are you doing?" Gai asked in an excited manner, almost completely forgetting about Hachi that was unconscious in his arms. Kakashi looked down at Hachi's unconscious figure and his eyes widened.
"What are you doing with him?" Kakashi demanded. His tone completely took Gai off guard. His usual carefree voice was replaced with deadly poison.
"You know him?" Gai asked, lifting his arms with ease to gesture at Kakashi. Hachi's weight seemingly not bothering Gai in the slightest.
"He's under my care for the time being." Kakashi was careful to not reveal too much. Who knows what Gai would do if he knew that Kakashi was raising a child?
"Ahh, I see. I was going to see Raido since I heard that he was his sensei, but I can't find him anywhere."
"And why are you with him instead of Raido?" Kakashi questioned. Depending on his answer, someone will die, whether that be Gai or Raido.
"Kobayashi-kun found my team and me first. He said that his sensei sucked so he wanted to train with us. He was training with one of my students, but they went overboard. As you can see." He lifted Hachi's body once more to gesture towards Kakashi. Kakashi nodded and hummed.
"I see." Was all Kakashi said. Hachi just ran away from his training. Kakashi was afraid of this since the beginning since Raido was an extremely strict individual.
"You know, he has potential." Gai started suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Kakashi acted dumb.
"You know what I mean," Gai said. "He's got huge potential in becoming a great ninja."
"I know… He beat Raido." Kakashi replied, making Gai's jaw become slack. Hachi beat Raido Namiashi? A tokubetsu jounin that specialized in assassination? He couldn't believe his ears. This news only excited Gai even further.
"Hey Kakashi, let me teach him." Gai said quietly. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Since when was Gai so enthusiastic to train someone?
"Why?"
"I want to see Hachi bear fruit. He's an interesting fellow. I want to see him grow under my wing and see what kind of bird he grows into." Gai's eyes seemed to light up in determination, making Kakashi sweatdrop.
"I don't have anything to do with that. If you want to train Hachi, you have to talk with Lord Hokage and Raido."
"Fine." Gai seemed to burn with passion.
"Just hand over the kid so I can go home," Kakashi said, getting tired of the pointless conversation. Gai quickly, but carefully, dropped Hachi into Kakashi's arms. Kakashi adjusted his arms so that Hachi wouldn't fall.
"Well, I'm gonna go and find Raido and Lord Third. Bye, my eternal rival." Gai finished with a wave to which Kakashi could only sigh in response. "Oh, and try to feed him more alright? He's a stick. He won't be able to become a ninja at this rate."
The small comment ticked Kakashi off, but he couldn't do anything as Gai disappeared without a trace. He knew. Hachi was malnourished. Hachi was nothing more than a living corpse. Hachi was dying.
Kakashi knew it all, but he could only do so much. Hachi said so himself, that he can't eat too much at once otherwise he would die. Kakashi sighed. He would have to increase Hachi's food portions slowly but surely.
He turned to go home with Hachi in his arms. He looked down, wondering just what had happened for Hachi to be completely unconscious without a sense of any danger. Kakashi shook his head. He would ask Hachi thoroughly when he woke up in the morning. For now, home was the first and only thought in Kakashi's head.