Scarlet Justice - ep. 07
"Kissing Sunflowers"
Today we are outside at one of the Leaf's many training fields. An obstacle course has been set up. It looks to be easy enough to deal with...certainly nothing compared to running with Midori-nee.
"Alright, today's your first major test of the year," Iruka-sensei says. It's a warm morning, usual for the Leaf. "The obstacle course ahead is part of a race between two teams each, running in pairs against each other. As a special treat for today, the winner will also get a prize! We're going to be ranking everyone based on times."
The class murmurs amongst themselves before Iruka-sensei calms them down.
"The overall winner is the pair with the fastest time through the course. Ideally, you'll cross the finish line together. But your final time will be determined by when the last member of your team crosses the line. That means you can cross the finish line separately, but it's to your benefit to keep pace with each other. This is about endurance and teamwork. You need to run two laps for this," he says as he holds his fingers up. "Go to the end where the flag is, activate it with chakra, then run through the course again towards the starting line. Because of the nature of the course, you'll skip the very first obstacle on your return trip and focus on getting to the finish. That means you do the low nets once only. Got it? Any questions?"
"Yo, Iruka-sensei! What's the prize gonna be?" Kiba Inuzuka asks. His dog Akamaru barks from on top of his head to punctuate the question.
"That's a secret. Work hard and you'll find out what it is."
"Can we share the prize with someone?" Sakura asks.
"Maybe. Can't say for sure. Okay, pair up. You all know each other by now, so pick a good partner."
This challenge seems to be about efficiency. I don't see anyone in particular I want to pair up with, though. Unfortunate...I do have options.
Naruto is filled with energy...but he's a complete idiot. Sasuke is strong in many areas, but he's not much for teamwork at all. Shikamaru...no, that was a dare that I couldn't stomach taking at this point. He is an unbelievable sort of character.
There is one person. I'll try...I don't expect much, but there's no shame in failing at this point. I am already alone as far as the class is concerned.
I walk over to Hinata, the girl who was always nearby in homeroom. She is standing alone, pressing her fingers together.
"Lady Hinata," I say as politely as I can. There is an irritation at having to pander like this to mere children.
Oh. But she wasn't laughing on that day, was she? I remember now. She was...sad. Not pitying me. Genuinely sad.
"Ah? Um...t-there's no need for formalities, you know?"
"I see. Then just call me Lili, if you'd like." I feel like it would make sense to connect with her, even if it's just this one time.
She nods quickly. "I-I can do that...did you need something from me...?"
"I'd like to be your partner for today."
"Oh...um..." She looks across the field towards Naruto, who is trying to court Sakura unsuccessfully. She and Ino are instead fighting over Sasuke again. Hinata was always looking at Naruto for some strange reason...I don't know what she sees in him, but it has to be something to make her that jittery.
"I understand if you would like to be with someone else," I say. She snaps out of her thoughts to look at me.
"N-no...it's not that. I'd like to join you. I mean...if you would join me," she says quietly.
"I appreciate that. I think we will make a good team," I reply.
She stares at me a moment before smiling. "Yes. I...feel the same, Lili."
I politely return her smile.
Now that we are paired up, the competition can begin in earnest.
"Begin!" Iruka-sensei shouts, sending the first of many pairings off. The times are predictably slow. From what I can see...
The high wall is meant to be climbed using the chakra on our feet, and we can't peek beyond it to see what's on the other side. Most of us are going in blind, which is an effective enough test.
Naruto gets stuck with Choji, and they run against Shino and Shikamaru.
"Let's get this over with," Shikamaru says in his usual bored tone. I want to slap him.
"Get ready to lose!" Naruto shouts back. Choji pats his stomach and takes up a runners' stance beside Naruto.
"Ready...begin!" Iruka-sensei shouts. They take off quickly enough...for academy students.
Was everyone really this slow?
The pairs crawl through sand under low nets as the first obstacle. Choji's round frame causes problems as Naruto scrappily moves ahead. Shikamaru and Shino move at a steady pace. Naruto leaves his partner in the dust and moves to climb the wall...
...then falls on his head shortly after. Right. His chakra control was horrid. Shikamaru and Shino cruise to the other side, making it back on the return trip as their opponents barely make it up the wall. I can hear Naruto yelling like a madman as he races around.
Well after Shino crosses the finish line, Naruto jumps over the wall on his return trip. It looks like he's miscalculated the height of his fall and makes a painful landing, rolling to the finish. Hinata lets out a small gasp and slowly moves towards him.
"Ah...a-are you alright, Naruto?"
"Ugh...fine..."
"O-okay."
I still don't see what's appealing about him. Iruka-sensei palms his face in frustration.
After Naruto and Choji post the slowest time of the day (no thanks to Choji), it's Sasuke's turn. He's paired with Kiba and Akamaru.
At the signal, Sasuke and Kiba take off, looking much faster than the others - though it helps they're facing two nobodies near the bottom half of the class. Sasuke is focused on the course, Kiba is focused on showing up Sasuke. It ends up working out as they blaze ahead to the day's fastest time. However, I note that Sasuke's chakra control isn't close to immaculate either. Interesting for the supposed class number one. He seems to pick up on my scrutiny and glares in my direction, startling Hinata. I ignore him and walk to the starting line.
Hinata's nerves have suddenly settled, and she looks determined to make this count. Ino and Sakura on the other side of us have put away their grudge to take on a mutual enemy.
Me.
How intriguing.
"Begin!"
I take off with Hinata. As expected, she's not nearly as quick, so I adjust my pace. We're neck and neck with the other girls after crawling through the sand. The wall is coming up, and from my knowledge of the Hyuuga...
...good. Easily done. Sakura and Ino are no slouches either, keeping pace with us as we run up the wooden wall. But if I've gleaned this information correctly...
"Hinata, jump."
"Yes!"
We hit the top of the wall and see it immediately - a smattering of logs forming a descending staircase, and ringed with barbed wire on the sides. I hop down from log to log, hearing Hinata follow as I hit the ground. Taking a moment to glance back, I can see that her face is flushed.
The pace was too much right now. I've gotten well ahead of myself.
There's a sizable gap between my team and the others. If we keep up this pace, fastest time might be within our grasp. On the other hand...Hinata isn't looking the best. Perhaps it's time to slow down, even at the possible cost of victory.
"I-I'm...o-okay..."
She doesn't want to let me down. She wants to try her best. I remember being looked down on the past few weeks. I remember feeling humiliated. I remember being bullied, and left out, and mocked for merely being different.
I will not fall into the trap. I will not be like the others. I am different.
And so, I will reward this girl's faith in me. No matter the cost.
"We're going to slow down."
"B-but..."
I grab her by the wrist gently. She stares at me in confusion as we jog together, panting and flustered.
"You're my partner. I will not let you get hurt, and I will not leave you behind. We will fight, together."
"Lili..."
"Let's take it slightly slower. Our pace will bring us back in line with those two, but it will be fine. We still have a return trip, remember. We have to endure, and we have to focus. Understood?"
She nods as we continue running, slower this time. I feel we are at a suitable pace and let go of her wrist, letting her run freely beside me. Sakura and Ino are pulling even with us through the straightaway. It would have been nice to run a faster time, to assuredly win.
But this is more important.
The next obstacle coming up is a large, deep-looking basin of water. I can't see the bottom. Hinata and I come to a stop, and I take her hand in mine.
"Ready?" I ask.
"Yes," she replies confidently. It's a side of her I've never seen before, and I'm glad to see it. Not just because of the competition, either. We lag a bit behind our rivals as we water-walk, but the focus is on keeping an even pace with each other. We cross, move ahead, and reach vertical bars over a small chasm.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
Hinata is a quiet girl. But quiet doesn't mean weak. We tear through the bars, making up time, and then drop onto a rope suspended over a bed of wood chips. Seems benign, but any manner of traps could be inside. No reason to risk it.
"Faster?" I ask my partner.
"I can do it...I think..."
I take it as a yes and nod. "Follow my lead." We move lightly across the rope, feeling each other out and synchronizing the bounce as best we can. Leaving the rope, we see the last portion ahead is wall jumping over a pit before we reach the flagpole in the distance. As I take my first step, I understand what is happening...the walls are slippery even with chakra adhesion, and we can't remain still for too long. Hinata and I use our strong chakra control to bounce through and to the end, where the flag is. We touch the base and flow chakra into it to register our lap time.
"Now...back to the start," I say.
"Please follow me this time," Hinata says. She makes a single seal with her hand. "I don't know if this will truly help, but...Byakugan!"
Her eyes seem a bit brighter and veins have popped up on the sides of her face. So this is the Hyuuga bloodline limit...capable of seeing in a complete circle around the user. Rather impressive.
Hinata easily jumps ahead and does the wall jumping section as I follow. She still seems a bit winded, but now she's definitely leading me.
We're well ahead, but she's going faster...right.
This isn't just a head to head. This is about total time.
She wants the win like I do.
We reach the top of the first wall, and I decide to go for it. With a big leap, I pull Hinata into my arms while in the air, calculate the landing, and hit the ground with one roll to go across the finish line.
"L-Lili...ah..."
I look at her apologetically. "I'm sorry. I wanted to win this one."
Her blush is bright, but she nods anyways, giving me a tender smile. "I understand...m-me too..."
I set her down and wait for the results.
Sasuke and Kiba eventually win by a second.
The prize is two vouchers for free barbeque.
We return to the classroom and go through some short lessons before being dismissed for the day. A warm bath would be nice once I made it home.
"L-Lili..."
Hinata bashfully presents me with a bottle after class is dismissed for the day. Her head is pointed downwards.
"Hm? What's this for?"
"It's...um, I noticed you like milk a lot, s-so I brought some from my home...it's specially fortified milk..."
"Hm." I take the bottle from her politely and bow my head. The cap comes off, and I drink.
I drink down the whole bottle in one go.
It's really delicious.
"I thought...y-you worried about it too," she says. I wonder what she means. Then she crosses her arms over her chest, and I understand completely.
"Yes. I do. You're the same," I say.
She blushes and nods. "Do you think...if I grow, that he'll notice?"
"No," I say bluntly. "He's an idiot."
"Oh..." She deflates at that.
"But there's more than that at your disposal, Hinata. Don't give up."
"Yes...I won't. Thank you. Um, Lili?"
I lick my lips and scan the nutrition label before answering. "Yes?"
"Are you...also doing it for a guy you like?" She presses her fingers together again. "Um, I mean to say...is there anyone you like?"
"..." I think on it a moment. It would be a tough question. I'm young, rich, and was raised in a heavily patriarchal household, even if my father wasn't around to directly enforce his will. I lived a life that taught me that a good man, a good and wealthy man at least, was the holy grail. Legacy was important. Prestige was important.
That much is understood.
Midori and Luna kissing was super hot.
That much is very well understood.
I know where my priorities lie. Clearly.
"I like girls," I say bluntly. "No interest in boys." That is not a lie. I have never paid attention to men as much as I did women - I know Luna's three sizes and when they change, for example. Was I simply too young to know better? Possible. But unlikely. This didn't feel like a phase...if it was, then it must have been a very long one.
This is one "gift" I don't resent my father giving me.
"O-oh...um...okay." Hinata seems a bit taken aback, but it's natural.
"I don't think I'm into anyone here, either," I add. "No offense to you."
Hinata blushes and shakes her head. "I-I'm not offended by that..."
"Okay." I turn my head to her, giving her a wink. "You're still very cute, you know. I'd date you."
"Ah? Eh? Lili...?" She's short-circuiting. Oh, she's precious.
"I'm going to head home for now. Thank you for the milk, it's very delicious. I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata. Oh, and well done today. You were a wonderful partner."
She nods furiously as I leave, speechless as her face has turned bright red.
I wasn't lying to her. She's incredibly cute.
...and incredibly fun to tease.