Hinata of the White Lotus

Anticipation

The morning of the tournament.

Hinata supposed she should be nervous. No, there was no question about it; She was nervous. Yet she was also strangely excited. This might be the first time she felt something even close to this emotion while knowing she was walking into battle.

That was in no small part thanks to her promise with Naruto. She would win her fight against Gaara, earn Neji's respect and set him free from his hatred, and then she would fight Naruto. Win or lose, she would be content with the result. She just had to believe in herself long enough to make it to that stage.

That was why she was here now, back in the eight-trigrams realm. She had finally gotten comfortable with the dark atmosphere, and she would admit it; Kali gave pretty good pep-talks when she felt like it.

"Was it really okay with you though?" Kali asked, thinking about something other than psyching Hinata up for her fight. "I thought you wanted to continue spending time with Asura's reincarnate? So why didn't you two keep training together?" Hinata and Naruto had parted that day after looking in the library for any scrolls on the wood release… and had agreed not to meet again until the day of the tournament. Today.

"Of course I wanted to see him." Hinata admitted, knowing the past her could have never said something so bold. "But there was no point to our promise if we continued to train together." That was also why Hinata hadn't asked Kali for any additional information about Asura. She wanted their fight to be fair.

The trip to the academy had ultimately been fruitless. There was no information about the wood release or any such techniques that they could find. Hinata proposed that perhaps the information was somehow forbidden, which had seemed to give Naruto an idea. She didn't know exactly what he was planning, but she preferred not to know for the time being. After the tournament today, she could ask him.

"Well, at least you're more honest about it." Kali shrugged, apparently not bothered either way. Her only goal had been fostering the connection between Asura and Naruto, which Hinata had done. Not that she understood why that was important.

Hinata still knew far less about Kali than she wanted to, especially considering the proportionate amount of information that Kali knew about her. But she trusted her; they were in one way or another the same person, after all.

"That aside, your training has gone pretty well considering the short timeframe we've had." Kali said. "It's far from ready for what you'll eventually face, but in the context of today's tournament, it should be more than enough."

"If today's tournament is the least of my worries, I'm terrified of what you have planned for me to fight in the future." Hinata smirked at her previous life. Only in this space could she be this open. It was like she was allowing Kali to influence her more and more. Yet the moment she stepped back into the real world, she returned to her meek, reclusive self. At least, for the most part anyways. More and more, she was able to push past her shell.

"You should be." Kali said, no humor in her tone. It was only for a moment, before her usual humor returned. "But that's for later. You'll have plenty of your own perils to stand against today. Let's not worry about too far ahead. After all, I'm just a spirit from the past. Even I don't know what the future really holds for you."

Hinata had a lot she wanted to say, so much so she didn't even know where to start. However, before she could say anything there was a throb of pain right in the center of her forehead. A sign she had come to recognize as someone from the outside world calling to her.

"Good luck today." Kali said, having sensed it too. She smiled at Hinata, the two of them having enough of an understanding of one another now that it conveyed everything they needed to say.

"Next time I come back, let's talk about you for once." Hinata gave one final wave, not waiting for a response. She allowed her true consciousness to take over. Closing her eyes briefly in the eight-trigrams realm allowed her to avoid the headache when she opened them back up in the real world.

As her eyes snapped open, she found herself back in her bedroom. Leaning down in front of her, was her little sister.

"Nee-sama?" Hanabi asked, making sure Hinata had transferred back safely. "Is everything okay?" There had been a couple times early on when Hanabi had interrupted Hinata's meditation that led to her experiencing terrible migraines that would last for hours. The more used to going back and forth between realms that Hinata got, the less frequent such an occurrence was.

"I'm fine, Hanabi." Hinata assured, smiling softly to sell the effect. She stood up slowly, stretching her stiff muscles. Another routine she had developed after spending hours at a time inside her deep meditation.

"I came to wake you, because your team is here." Hanabi said as she watched her sister. "Just like you asked." She seemed eager to please her, a facet to their relationship that hadn't quite existed before. Hinata couldn't say she disliked it, but she was also a little worried about where the urge was stemming from. For now, she was just happy to spend any time with her.

"Thank you." Hinata reached forward, rubbing her sister's head affectionately, eliciting a small giggle from her as well. Ever since the talk they had shared with her father, the two of them had become closer than ever before. Certainly, there was still some awkwardness as they navigated how to act around one another after years of having to put up a cold exterior, but it hardly seemed like such an obstacle anymore.

The two of them set out together, walking the short distance through the clan compound. Before they even reached the final turn there was a bark of excitement and the sound of nails scratching on wood. Akamaru bound around the corner, leaping at Hinata and into her outstretched arms.

"Good boy." Hinata giggled, scratching the ninken behind his fluffy ears and earning a satisfied growl. It had been a while since she had seen the dog, and the rest of her team for that matter. She had started training more with Kurenai again, but she hadn't met either of her other teammates. Shino was busy with his own training and Kiba had apparently gone out on a special excursion with his big sister. Now they were finally about to be reunited for the first time since the forest of death.

"Yo, Hinata!" Kiba greeted her the moment she turned the corner, holding up his hands to call Akamaru back. The dog immediately leapt from her arms, bounding towards his master and jumping up to rest inside his jacket.

"Hinata." Shino greeted stoically, same as he always was, his expression impossible to read behind his dark shades. Standing just behind them was their teacher, Kurenai, hand and her hip and smiling gently down at them all.

They were the same as always.

"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun!" Hinata jogged up to both of them, wrapping them in a light hug. "I've missed the both of you." She said honestly. Things for her had been so busy lately that she didn't realize how true that was until just now. This was her team though, almost like a second family. She was truly glad to see them again.

"...Likewise." Shino responded, adjusting his glasses. If Hinata didn't know any better she would almost say he was embarrassed.

"You alright, Hinata?" Kiba chuckled, patting her on the back to return the hug. "I heard that you managed to beat Neji in your fight, but I didn't expect you to seem so… much more open?" He didn't have the words to describe her, but even from this brief greeting alone he realized she was different.

Her team may have been the same, but she was not.

"She's found her confidence." Kurenai said. Unlike that moment in the hospital, when she had regarded her student with cautious uncertainty, she was now full of overwhelming pride.

The two of them had talked, and Hinata had told her about the Nichiren Byakugan and how it had been the result of her trying to change herself. There was a lot she couldn't tell her, but Kurenai seemed to realize that and accept it. Instead, she was happy for her student. Not because she had this new power, but because she had started to believe in herself.

"Well I dig the new you." Kiba didn't question it either. He must have heard about her new eyes, but they hadn't actually had a chance to talk about it yet. "Still… I would have loved to see the look on Neji's face when you beat him." He had already been knocked out, having lost to Naruto in the bout before.

"It was quite the sight." Shino said, having actually been there to witness the fight. Like Hinata, he was also a contender in the upcoming tournament and there was a possibility they might stand against one another. They both had other fights to get through before that, however.

"We should head out." Kurenai interrupted their brief catch-up, checking her watch to verify the time. "We can continue to talk on the way, but it won't do to have two of the contestants be late." There was a chorus of agreements from her team, before Hinata turned back to her little sister to wish her farewell. She bent down to give her a hug, but as she stood back up, her father appeared in the hallway.

"Hinata. A word." He said, nodding apologetically to Kurenai for continuing to hold them up. Hinata nodded, moving a little closer to her father so they could talk in semi-privacy. He paused, almost awkwardly, as he looked her up and down. Then, he smiled softly and once again with that pride she wasn't used to seeing. "Hanabi and I will be watching you. Fight well." That was all he said, and it was all she needed.

"I will, father." She bowed to him, not out of fear like before, but genuine love and respect. It felt like there were still a lot of things they had to air out between them, but for now they had found some semblance of peace with one another. Yet another thing she would have thought impossible before she had awakened the Nichiren Byakugan.

"Good luck! Nee-sama!" Hanabi cheered her on one last time, before then taking her place next to their father. They both bowed, not just to Hinata but her team as well. With that, the four of them set out towards the arena and the fights that would finally allow Hinata to show the world how much she had been able to reshape herself.

The boys walked ahead, Kiba seemingly coaching Shino on strategy and more importantly, how to appeal himself to the audience. Not that she was sure Kiba should be the one giving such advice, but she wouldn't dare say that to his face, even now. As the two boys chatted, Kurenai and Hinata fell into pace behind them.

"Things seem to be going well with your family." Kurenai noted. She was one of the few outsiders that knew a little about the inside affairs of the Hyuga clan. She had looked after Hinata for a long time now, since her rights as the Heiress had been revoked. Yet even she hadn't been privy to what really happened that day.

"We're working our way through it." Hinata answered, not seeing any reason to hide anything further from her teacher. "My father is coming to watch me fight today. I don't want to disappoint him." That much had always been true, but the reasoning had been different. Before, she was afraid of his disappointment. Now, she just wanted to see him look at her with pride as he had been these past few weeks.

"You won't." Kurenai assured, before her own look darkened. "I'm just making sure, but you have some kind of plan, right? Your opponent is that Gaara of the Sand, after all." The two of them had borrowed the recordings taken during the preliminary fights and had watched the playback of Gaara's battle against Lee. The footage had been grainy and Lee's movements too fast for the camera's to properly track, but Hinata had gotten a good idea of the proceedings.

Lee had opened up to five of the inner gates, a feat that put him easily on the same level as a Jonin. Yet even that hadn't been enough. They also left him weakened afterwards, giving Gaara the chance to crush his leg and arm. It was very likely he would never perform as a Ninja again. A fate that just as likely might await Hinata if she went blindly into today's fight.

"I know what it is I must do." Hinata answered, although it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. Even with the confidence she had been fostering over the past couple weeks, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread she had for what was coming. In a way, this was going to be her first real test under pressure. Certainly, she was more bold than before, but that had been under mostly stress-free situations up until now. She was about to see how strong she had really become under actual life-and-death combat.

"We'll also be cheering for you." Kurenai said, nodding ahead to Kiba and Shino as well. "And if things look bad, just know that none of us would hesitate to jump in to help you." Hinata did know that, but she hoped it wouldn't come to it either. Nevertheless, she was thankful to her team. They had supported her all this time, even when she was weak and unconfident. That was all the more reason why she had to answer their faith now.

Time passed by all too quickly, and before any of them knew it, they were in front of the arena.

"Kiba and I are this way." Kurenai said, nodding her head towards the audience entrance. Meanwhile, the competitor entrance was just in front of them. "Good luck, both of you. I'm proud to have you as my Genin team." Depending on how Hinata and Shino performed today, there was a very real chance they wouldn't be a Genin team anymore, if one or both of them received a promotion.

"Do your best!" Kiba cheered for them, shouting loudly enough to draw unwanted attention from the other passersby. "One of you better win this whole thing, you hear me?" Akamaru gave a yip of agreement, pushing them both to go beyond. With those final words of encouragement, the two of them departed, leaving Hinata and Shino alone.

The atmosphere around them was heavy. They were both traditionally the quiet type, preferring to let Kiba do most of the talking. So when it was just the two of them, there was scarcely any dialogue to be had. Yet neither one of them ever felt that was awkward, and instead enjoyed the presence of someone in a way just like themselves.

This time was a little different. They weren't just teammates anymore, but rivals that might have to fight one another. So even though they both preferred the quiet company of one another, there was a conversation that must be had.

"Shino-kun…" Hinata pushed herself, doing her best to be the one that could start such a conversation. "Good luck in your matches." She said, truly meaning that. If they both won their first two matches, then they would meet in the third and final round. In the past, Hinata had no doubts that Shino was the strongest member of their team. But now…

"I also wish you luck." Shino said. "The truth is, I'm looking forward to seeing your new powers and even moreso, I hope to test myself against them." Most people didn't know it, but Shino had a competitive streak that rivaled Naruto's own. "Let's… both fight with everything we have." It was funny. Shino's words were encouraging, but his tone was completely flat. Even as he turned to face Hinata and extended his arm for a handshake, the entire action seemed entirely business-like, rather than the friendly gesture he surely intended it as.

"Yeah." Hinata giggled and took his hand all the same. She liked Shino just this way, because even if most people might misunderstand him, she knew exactly where he was coming from. They were a team, after all. The result of today's matches wouldn't change that, no matter what.

The two of them entered the arena side-by-side. As they walked out onto the field, the sounds of the audience above easily traveled down to the arena and battered their ears. The excitement was palpable and it set every one of Hinata's nerves alight. This was the true challenge she would be overcoming today. Not just fighting her opponents, but doing it while people from several nations, including her own, watched them.

These fights didn't just determine their chance at a promotion. It also affected their village's reputation. The missions they would receive and the prospects for future alliances rested on their performances. Not to mention all her peers and seniors would also be in attendance, people she would have to fight with on the field one day would be evaluating how she fought and acted under such pressure. There was far more pressure than just the issues of family she had been focused on up until now.

Yet that was unquestionably the most important thing to her. Hinata looked up at the crowds, starting from the very top. The Hokage and Kazekage sat side-by-side, the leaders of their respective villages. The Hokage was an old man, whom Hinata respected dearly. He was always kind to her, and what's more he seemed to have a soft-spot for Naruto, making him one of the few who did. That alone was enough for her to trust him implicitly.

The Kazekage she knew nothing about. Subconsciously, she had already activated the Nichiren Byakugan to increase her field of view and get a better look at the leader of an allied village. He was as intimidating as his son, who Hinata would be fighting. Yet there was hardly any other information to be gleaned from here.

So she lowered her attention to the other attendees. Her father and Hanabi hadn't yet arrived, but she had no doubt they would be here soon. There was still time before the matches. She found Kiba and Kurenai had already taken their seats, next to Shikamaru's team and their teacher. Kiba was already shouting and waving down at them, but Hinata didn't have the courage to wave back in front of all the other audience members.

She scanned a little further and finally found him: Neji was also in attendance, next to his remaining teammate, Tenten. As impossible as it was considering the distance between them, Neji and Hinata locked eyes. There was a silent conversation between them, where he reminded her of that promise she made to him at the hospital; She would defeat Gaara. Only when she did that would he hear her out. That was the only way to begin to set him free from their clan's baggage.

She nodded at him, reaffirming her promise for victory. Then she turned to the arena itself. It was mostly flat, patches of dirt and grass covering up the majority of the field. At the edge of one corner was a small patch of trees and a small pond. Then there were the tall walls all around them. All of this was available for them to take advantage of. Although she doubted that her opponent would make use of any of it.

Gaara of the Sand was strong enough that he didn't need such tricks. Hinata turned to look at him. This was the first time they had met since the hospital, but he seemed just as much deranged now, if not even more unhinged. He was glaring up at his father, not even aware his opponent had entered the arena. It would seem they also had a complicated past, to which Hinata could relate. But she quickly shook off the thought. Trying to humanize her opponent now wasn't going to help her fight him. She needed to see him as an obstacle to overcome, nothing more.

He was next to his two teammates, the both of them fidgeting nervously in his presence. She had seen the same thing in the forest of death. They were scared of him, yet they were supposed to be allies. If even his own village was so afraid of him, how was she supposed to not be?

That was fine, because she had time to get her emotions in order before her match. That's right, as the first round was going to be Naruto-

"Hey! Hinata!" Naruto called out to her just as her vision finally landed on him. He was waving exaggeratedly at her, a huge grin splitting his face. Next to him was Shikamaru, the two keeping their distance from the sand trio. A Konoha Jonin that Hinata didn't recognize appeared to be the proctor for the exam.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata greeted as she walked up to them. She and Shino took their place next to their Konoha allies, maintaining the distance to their rival village. "Shikamaru-san." She also greeted, all four of them having been former classmates.

"Yo." Shikamaru greeted back, far from enthusiastic. It appeared he had the jitters, trying to sink into his shadow in order to hide from the audience. "Thanks again for the save back then." He glanced sideways at Gaara, but it was barely noticeable to anyone aside from Hinata.

"Where is Sasuke?" Shino noted the absence of their final classmate who should have also been in attendance with them. It was unlike him to be late, so even Hinata had no admit it was strange that he wasn't here yet. Not to mention he was supposed to fight in the very first round of the tournament.

"My opponent, Dosu, isn't here yet either." Shikamaru glanced towards the entrance of the arena that Hinata and Shino had just come from, but there was no sign of anyone else coming as of yet.

"Ahem." The Jonin cleared his throat, earning the attention of not just the Konoha Genin, but the Suna as well. "Name's Genma." He introduced. "I'll be the proctor for this exam… and there's been a slight change in the line-up." He pulled out a piece of paper, holding it up for them all to see.

Shikamaru made a grunt of surprise, and it was immediately apparent as to why. His opponent, Dosu of the Sound, had dropped out. This left only eight participants. The rounds were mostly unchanged, Shikamaru just having one less fight now, which he was no doubt thankful for. Dosu had been the third opponent Kiba had warned Hinata against in the preliminaries, so she was also secretly thankful to see he was no longer an active participant. Although she would admit she was worried about the circumstances surrounding his sudden removal from the roster.

"What about Sasuke?" Naruto asked, noting that the two of them were still scheduled for the first round of the tournament. Yet he was nowhere to be seen and the fights were scheduled to begin at any minute.

"If he's not here in time, he'll be disqualified." Genma said, simple as that. While it was true, this would mean Naruto could be pushed to the next round, there was no way this was how he wanted that to go down. Hinata knew that he wanted to prove himself against Sasuke more than anyone else in this tournament. Even his promise to fight her was secondary to that. That was why she expected him to look worried, but that didn't seem to be the case at all.

"He'll be here." Naruto declared, seemingly having no doubt in his teammate and rival. It was good to be confident, but Sasuke seemed determined to test that confidence to the limit as more time passed without him showing up.

Soon, Genma told them all to line up straight and face the audience to present themselves. Even still there was no Sasuke. The Hokage gave a speech, addressing the crowd in a slow, drawn out recount of the history of the exams. It would seem even he was trying to buy time for the last Uchiha to arrive. Yet still there was no sign of him.

The Hokage finished his speech, and the tension among the crowd seemed to mount. They were impatient for the tournament to begin. And starting things with a disqualification was hardly going to be a great way to begin the proceedings. Sasuke was also a favorite to win the whole thing, so removing him was going to kill any goodwill the audience had for the other fights.

There was a flash of light from a mirror or something high up in the crowd. Then again. Hinata realized after several seconds that it was some kind of coded message, but she didn't know enough to read the code or decipher the message's contents. Genma seemed to have gotten something out of it, however, as he nodded and took a step forward. As he did, he rested a single hand on her shoulder.

"Uchiha Sasuke has not yet arrived." His voice boomed, loud enough for the whole crowd to hear. There were immediate gruntles of discontent in response, but he didn't seem to mind. "Ordinarily this would mean he is disqualified, but we have decided to give him a little more time and instead move onto the other fights of the tournament first."

Hinata's heartbeat picked up pace. That could only mean-

"Instead, the first fight of the tournament will be Gaara of the Sand vs Hyuga Hinata." Genma announced. The discontent from before was immediately replaced with excitement. Hinata's fight against Gaara was the most hyped-up match of the first round. The Hyuga Heiress vs the son of the Kazekage. What's more, Sasuke's fight was still promised to them. The decision was all around well-received. Almost, anyways.

Hinata wasn't ready.

She thought she had been ready, but in reality she had still believed she had a little time to prepare herself. That was no longer the case and she was about to begin the biggest fight she had ever participated in.

"The two of you stay here." Genma continued to give instructions, but Hinata barely heard him. "The rest of you, make your way to the waiting room up top." The two sand siblings immediately began to make their way over, not even glancing at their teammate. The other Konoha Genin didn't leave quite so quickly.

"Good luck, Hinata." Shikamaru thumped her back, but his expression showed how terrified he was for her. He had been there in the hospital and all three of them had nearly died standing up to Gaara. Now she was standing against him alone.

"Hinata." Shino stopped briefly as he walked past her. "You've gotten strong." That was all he said, but she knew it was his way of being encouraging. He wasn't just referring to her power, but the way she had also interacted with her team this morning. He knew she was different from before and believed she would surprise them further still.

"We're still meeting in the next round." Naruto said last, once more extending his fist. The same way he had the last time they had parted. Even though Sasuke hadn't arrived yet, he still believed that he would. And he also believed they would stand against each other before this was all over.

"Yeah…" Hinata responded to all three of them. She bumped fists with Naruto, before then nodding to Shino and Shikamaru. With that, all three of them departed. Hinata had several minutes before they would reach the waiting room, which was all the time she had to mentally prepare herself.

"Don't sweat the big stuff, kid." Genma whispered to her, his mouth barely moving. "I won't let anything happen to you." He no doubt knew what had also happened to Lee, probably having watched a copy of the same video Hinata had seen. So he knew what to look out for. If the battle went south, he believed he could help her.

Hinata wasn't so sure. In the first place, she didn't want this fight to go down in a way where she was going to need saving. She wanted to win. As Hinata took her stance opposite of Gaara, she focused on that one single desire.

Win.

She told herself this over and over again like a mantra. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she looked straight ahead and into the eyes of her opponent. His eyes threatened to kill her. Her eyes promised him that she wasn't going to lose. The two of them were ready.

"Hyuga Hinata vs Gaara of the Sand." Genma held up his hand, sensing the combatant's willingness to fight. All other sounds disappeared. No one dared even breathe. The first and most anticipated fight of the tournament was on.

Genma's hand fell.

"Begin!"