Chapter 13: Dueling Fates - The Heiress Comes Out of Her Shell!
"If you hear a voice within you saying you cannot paint, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."
Vincent Van Gogh
Hinata fell to the ground again, her entire body soaked in enough sweat to fill a bucket, her muscles screaming and twitching from the many hours of training she had endured. She had always envied how excited her classmates were for the weekend - the early day on Saturday, the completely free day Sunday to do whatever they pleased. She wasn't so lucky - every moment of daylight not spent in the academy, and even well in the moonlight as on this occasion, she spent in this dojo with her father.
"Get up." He ordered coldly. She was propped up on all fours, focused entirely on the ground, grateful that the sweat covered up the tears falling down her face. Slowly she struggled to her feet, facing the man once again.
"I first performed the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms when I was a year younger than you are now. Hanabi has already mastered Thirty-Two Palms, and will likely master the Sixty-Four before she starts the academy. You are a month from graduation and have yet to successfully perform the Thirty-Two." Her father spoke in a tone filled with hard, crushing disappointment.
"Y-y-yes, f-f-father." She agreed, cursing herself once more for her stutter. She shakily resumed her stance, turning to face the training bag she had been practicing on under her father's watchful eye.
"Stop stuttering. It does not do for a Hyuga to stutter, much less the Hyuga who should be heiress. The strikes need to be completed at the same speed or faster than the series prior, or the purpose of the assault is lost. Again Hinata - sixteen strikes, in a maximum of one and a half seconds. Do not fail again." He warned.
"Y-yes, father." She replied, wincing as she could not quite get the words out smoothly. She took a deep breath before stepping forward into the bag. "Two palms!" Two quick strikes, not even taking a full second to deliver. "Four palms!" Four more, perhaps a second to deliver. "Eight palms!" Eight now, managed a touch slower than the four. Dread filled her being - she knew she would fail here too. "Sixteen palms!" She delivered the blows as quickly as she could, not even aware of the time, only aware that she needed to move as quickly as possible.
As she delivered the last strike, the bag flew backwards ten feet, slapping against the floor with a noticeable impact as gravity once again claimed it. She turned to her father, hoping against all hope. That feeling died a quick and pitiable death the minute she met his eyes.
"Two and a half seconds." He sighed, shaking his head mournfully. "Truly, it is a curse that Hanabi is my second daughter - that Neji was born to Hizashi instead of me." The girl felt her heart break again, as it always seemed to when given these chances to make her father proud. "Stay here and stew in your failure, Hinata. Perhaps that will give you the motivation you need to be less of a shame upon the clan." The man turned and left the dojo, slamming the sliding door behind him.
Hinata sank to her knees, exhausted arms hanging uselessly at her sides. Tears streamed openly down her face, mixing with the sweat and hitting the floor in massive droplets. Her father was right - she deserved to feel this way. But he was undoubtedly wrong about how it would affect her.
She would never be more than a disappointment, a failure. She felt it throughout her being, that she couldn't be the heiress her father wanted. She would instead feel the pain of being a disappointment until the day she died, and that would be her penance for her failures.
As Neji would say, it was her fate.
If there was anything Neji Hyuga strived to do, it was to be cruel to his cousin. In his own twisted view of the world, it was his right to make her feel suffering and guilt for the circumstances of their births, for the fact that he was stronger than her in every way yet doomed to live his life in subservience to her and the rest of the main branch.
So, it was unsurprising that his thought process was geared towards picking the opponent that would hurt her the most. She cared for both her teammates more than herself, that much was clear, so he knew he could hurt her worse by defeating one of them than if he were to beat her down as he had countless times in spars with their clan.
It was also fairly easy for him to determine which teammate's defeat at his hands would hurt more. Her obvious admiration for the blonde loudmouth was apparent to him, and he, more than anyone else present, seemed to hate the way Neji viewed the world. In return, Neji found himself detesting the Uzumaki's blind confidence in the ability of one to choose their fate.
Add in the fact that the branch member had really not appreciated the bloody nose he had received a week prior, and his decision was easy.
"That loudmouth blonde. He's the one that was so convinced he could protect you two failures that he tried to start this bout a week ago. I owe him for that." The Hyuga genius said cockily, smiling viciously.
"I was really hoping you'd pick me." Naruto replied, his grin like that of a fox staring down a rabbit that had no idea how much danger they were in.
"Blondes do have all the fun, right?" Kakashi jested, walking over to join his student's side.
"Lucky you." Sasuke noted dryly. "I guess I'll take the green one and Hinata can take Bunbun or whatever her name was." All present knew the avenger knew Tenten's name, which seemed to only enrage the girl further if her growing tick-mark was any indication.
"Yosh, I am most excited to test my flames of youth against the top rookie!" Lee said, his eyes seeming to turn into miniature flames at the prospect of a challenge.
"No." Neji cut in, surprising everyone around them. "You said we get to pick the matches. It is more advantageous for us if Lee were to fight Hinata and Tenten the Uchiha."
"But, Neji -" Lee began to attempt to argue, but was cut off.
"Use your head, Lee. My cousin is likely the weakest of them, as you are in our team. On top of that, you and I have had plenty of taijutsu-only spars. You'll be far more prepared to handle the gentle fist, especially since she is at a much lower level than myself." The boy explained.
Lee looked a bit put-out, but quickly rebounded. "I will endeavor to ignite my flames of youth in a most joyous match then! Even if she does not equal your genius, I am sure the heiress of your clan will provide an excellent battle!"
"And I can guarantee you'll know my name after I'm done with you, pretty boy." Tenten growled, leveling a glare at Sasuke that he returned with a patronizing smile.
"I look forward to a friendly spar, Lee." Hinata said politely, and was given back a thumbs-up and gleaming smile in return. The heiress couldn't deny she was somewhat happy that her match would be lacking the animosity that brewed in her teammates' bouts.
"It brings me great joy to see my team facing this challenge from the team of my eternal rival as a unit!" Gai cheered, tears of joy rolling down his face. Then he smiled slyly, looking towards Kakashi. "What do you say we make things a bit more interesting, Kakashi?"
"Oh? What did you have in mind?" Kakashi asked, his interest piqued.
"If my students take two of the three matches, you have to get a matching spandex suit and wear it everyday next week!" The green beast challenged, eyes burning with intensity.
"Kakashi in skin-tight spandex all week? Think you kids can throw your matches for me?" The group turned their attention to a nearby tree and saw Anko standing there, munching on a stick of dango.
"Good to see you, Anko. I thought you said you had to work this morning?" The cyclops asked, feeling himself smile beneath his mask at the sight of his… 'Lover? Girlfriend?' He wondered to himself. '... My Anko. Is she mine? Huh.'
"That chunin I've been working on all week sang like a bird the minute I walked in the door. I think I may have broken him yesterday, I was just having too much fun messing with him. A good lesson to everyone not to mess with blonde idiots I've gotten fond of." The woman replied, her smirk sadistic and her tone oozing self-satisfaction.
"Wait, do you mean Mizuki?" Naruto asked, his eyes growing wide. So much had happened in the prior week that he had forgotten to ask the Hokage what had ultimately happened to the rogue instructor.
"Yeah, I think that was his name. I spent most of the week calling him "Bitch Boy". Taking away their names really helps to dehumanize the prisoners when you're trying to break them down." The woman shrugged.
Naruto snickered. "That's pretty funny. Thanks for messing with him. That beating I gave him felt light."
Anko rubbed the back of her head. "Actually you beat him pretty badly. We had to wait a couple days for the worst of his injuries to heal before we could even start on him."
Naruto only laughed harder as Team Nine took a couple of steps back, not so much afraid of the blonde as they were suddenly worried about his mental stability. Even his own team was looking at him with a bit of surprise. After all, the boy was forgiving to a fault, and the idea that he could actively wish further injury on someone was surprising.
But it was Mizuki. And as far as that man was concerned, Naruto had a general attitude of "fuck that guy specifically". Which Anko had, many times with many things not intended for that purpose, not that the blonde was aware of the dirty details. If he had been, he would've likely turned green - the worst things the young boy could think to inflict upon someone was a vicious beating. Well, he could also think about how much social isolation and ostracization from one's peers could hurt, but he wouldn't inflict that on anybody, even Mizuki.
"Jeez, what did Mizuki do to get you so mad?" Came a gruff, young voice from the other side of the clearing. The group turned to the new unexpected arrivals, spotting teams eight and ten, led by their sensei, entering the clearing. It was Kiba who had asked the question.
"He lied about stuff and got me to do something dumb. I guess it all worked out since I learned how to make clones though. What are you guys doing here?" The blonde replied to his canine-inclined comrade, scratching the side of his head in confusion.
"We felt this was a good opportunity for our students to see what they can expect when we start cross-training as a group tomorrow, in regards to what Kakashi and Gai teach." Kurenai explained.
Before any more conversation could be had, another person joined the group. "I hope you don't mind my joining the party as well, so to speak." Hiashi said as he came from the other side, walking at a leisurely pace to stand behind Team Seven.
'I wasn't expecting this to turn into prime viewing.' Kakashi thought, turning his eye to the sky, fully expecting that the Third was watching through his crystal ball. "Glad to have you. I'm sure you're interested in seeing how Hinata and Neji perform. There's actually been a change to the fight." The cyclops quickly brought the new arrivals up to speed on the new one versus one format that involved both full teams.
"So Hinata's got Gai's mini-me, huh? Should be a fun fight." Anko noted as she walked up to the group. Deciding to test exactly how committed the scarecrow was to actually dating her, she decided to be bold. Standing on her tip-toes, she gave Kakashi a kiss on his masked cheek. "A show before dinner? You really know how to spoil a girl."
Gai's eyebrows, despite their massive size, somehow managed to disappear into his hairline as his jaw dropped. Asuma's cigarette had fallen out of his mouth, and Kurenai was covering hers with both her hands as she looked at the two with both shocked and happy eyes. Hiashi simply smiled warmly at the display, though there was still some surprise in his eyes. "Kakashi, are you and Anko -" Gai began to ask.
"Yeah, you can say that. We, um… We have a date tonight." He thought for only a second before sighing and shaking his head ruefully. Who was he kidding anymore besides himself? If there was an issue, he was sure the snake mistress would let him know. Besides, people expected him to be an evasive, obtuse dick. It would certainly throw them off if he was upfront about something for once. "She's my girlfriend." He reached out and patted her head, hoping the gesture looked affectionate and not as awkward as he felt.
'OHMYKAMIHESAIDITHESAIDITHESAIDITTOALLOURFRIENDSINPUBLIC!' Anko's mind screamed as she released a high-pitched happy noise that could only be described as a squee. She barely noticed Hinata flash her a happy thumbs-up.
"Wait, I thought they weren't dating." Naruto whispered to Sasuke, not at all seeming to understand the difference between a stage whisper and the actual thing.
"Evidently, that changed." Sasuke replied, not bothering to whisper back.
Gai quickly picked his jaw up off the floor and gave his rival a proud thumbs up. "I am glad to see you're finally attempting to light the most passionate and youthful flames of all, Kakashi!"
"... Thank you?" The masked man replied, attempting to use his degree in Gai-isms to interpret that particular statement.
"And of course, you are welcome for my role in bringing you both together. I am certain that without your impressive victory in our drinking contest last week, you would have lacked the confidence to confess your feelings!" The green beast continued, smiling with satisfaction.
"Yeah sure, we can go with that." Kakashi agreed while nodding, as if he felt it were equally obvious. He gave Anko a look that suggested it would be easiest to go with this explanation, not that she was paying much attention, still in a state of utter euphoria at being publicly claimed by the jonin as his girlfriend.
"So, my eternal rival, what will be the consequences for me in the unlikely event your team claims the majority of matches?" The taijutsu specialist went on, returning to the idea of their bet.
"Oh, there's a bet?" Asuma noted, his eyes interested as he pulled another cigarette from the pack to replace his dropped one.
"Yes, if Gai's team wins the majority of matches, I have to wear a green suit like his all next week." The cyclops explained, his tone vaguely humorous despite how much horror the idea held for him. He was glad he still had complete faith in his team.
"I am simply waiting for my rival to accept my proposal and name his price should his team emerge victorious." Gai explained, smiling with plenty of confidence.
"How about this: you have to go a whole week without using the word "youth" or challenging me to a contest when my team wins." The copy-ninja suggested.
Gai blanched, clearly not liking the terms. After a moment, he nodded begrudgingly. "I am sure my team will preserve my right to mention the flames of youth. They enjoy my noble speeches!"
"Too true, sensei!" Lee agreed.
"Think we should forfeit our matches for the week of peace and quiet?" Tenten whispered to Neji, actually going unnoticed unlike a certain loud blonde.
"Tempting, but there's too much at stake." The boy replied tersely, annoyed that there was now a silver lining in defeat that he would admit held quite the allure.
"Just checking."
"Hey, it's good to see everyone and all, but can we get to the matches? I feel like I've been waiting, like, way more than a week for this!" Naruto groused, almost trembling with excitement and energy.
"Calm down, Naruto, you'll get to bloody Neji's nose again soon enough." Kakashi said, appeasing the boy. "Besides, you'll want to get comfortable. Feels right that your match should be last."
"Oh come on!" The blonde protested. "Why?"
"Dramatic tension." Kakashi breezily replied with an eye smile. In truth, he was more concerned with the idea that, while he had plenty of faith in his team, Neji could win. Naruto had grown a great deal in the prior week, but taking on a genin considered strong beyond his years, who also factually had the advantage in age and experience, not to mention reach, was a tall order. The last thing he wanted was for Hinata and Sasuke to lose heart should they watch Naruto suffer defeat before fighting. Having faith was not the same as being unprepared for every possibility, after all. "Now who should referee?"
"I can take care of that if you'd like." Another booming voice cut in. A massive plume of smoke erupted in the center of the group, sending all the experienced jonin present into combat-ready stances. "The greatest referee you could ask for - the man who battled Hanzo the Salamander, the Sage of Mount Myoboku, a man with no enemies in the North, South, East, or West!" The smoke began to clear, revealing a massive man with spiky long hair that went down to his claves, clad in a red and green haori and standing in a kabuki pose atop a disinterested looking toad. "The illustrious writer and member of the Legendary Sannin - Jiraiya the Gallant!"
The reactions were mixed. Naturally Kurenai and Anko both gave him unimpressed looks, both familiar with the man's penchant for perversion. Asuma, Gai, and Kakashi were all shocked to see a living legend amongst them, especially given that he was almost never in the village. Out of the adults, only Hiashi was unsurprised to see the toad sage, although he hadn't expected the man to pop up out of nowhere.
Some of the genin, like Choji, Lee, and Kiba, were simply confused, while Sakura and Ino looked at the toad with some disgust. Some students like Shikamaru and Sasuke recognized the name from their history lessons, completely surprised to see such a notable figure show up out of nowhere for a bout between genin. And then there was Naruto, whose reaction was the most unexpected.
"Jiraiya? Jiraiya of Konoha? The writer?" The boy shouted excitedly, surging to the front of the group and standing in front of the toad. "This is so awesome, I can't believe I'm meeting you! I love your book!"
For how emphatic the action felt, Kakashi thought it would have been appropriate for the sound of his hand hitting his face to echo across the village.
Kurenai turned her head fast as a whip, shooting the scarecrow an incredulous glare. "Kakashi, surely you didn't let your student read -"
"Context, Kurenai. Context." Kakashi mumbled through his hand, feeling a migraine coming on. "It's not what you think."
Unfortunately for everyone present, Jiraiya immediately got the same idea as Kurenai. 'My godson… Have you read Icha-Icha?!' The sannin thought to himself, feeling his face warp into his standard perverted grin. Even more so than the rest of the morning, he hated himself for not meeting the boy sooner. 'All the perverted things we could have done together over the years… Running from hot springs is so much more achievable when you have a research assistant to trip!'
"Indeed I am! It's so nice to meet someone your age with such fine taste in literature." Jiraiya replied boisterously, laughing to punctuate his statement at the end. "So, what was your favorite part? The scene in the hot springs with Makoto and Sumire? Or perhaps the scene with Orihime in Lord Tatsuya's chambers? No wait, I know. It was the beach chapter, right?"
The blonde boy looked at his elder queerly, not following him in the slightest. "Um… I don't know what you're talking about? There wasn't an Orihime or Sumire or any of those people in the book." Then he smiled again. "But my favorite part is when Naruto is fighting those enemy shinobi in the woods and thinking about the world of peace he wants to create, ending all wars and conflict and bad stuff, ya know?" The boy looked to the side bashfully. "My name is Naruto too, so I like to imagine that I'm the one fighting them, but like an older me."
Slowly Jiraiya's expression morphed into one of complete shock as he realized Naruto wasn't referring to Icha-Icha, but rather to the sannin's first published work, a book that underperformed so badly in sales that he had immediately switched over to erotica. A book he hadn't thought of in years, since his student had read it and decided to name his son after the main character, who Jiraiya himself had named after a ramen topping of all things.
"Hey, I hope I'm not being rude or anything, but could you sign my copy?" The blonde asked, producing a small brown book with a creme square on the cover. "Anywhere you like - it's the first book I ever read that wasn't super boring!"
Snapped out of his shocked stupor, Jiraiya slowly began nodding. "Uh, yeah, sure. I'm glad you liked it. It's not my best work, but my student loved it." He quickly fished a pen out of his pocket, taking the book and signing the inside cover. "I'm surprised you were able to find a copy. It came out years ago and didn't sell well."
"I found it on the clearance rack at a bookstore in the village." The blonde stated proudly, not recognizing that the book being on the clearance rack wasn't necessarily a good thing. Taking back the book, the blonde held it as if it were treasure - so, for him, a bowl of ramen. "Wow, this is so cool! I can't believe I get to meet one of my heroes and beat up Neji on the same day!" He didn't notice the mentioned Hyuga's left eye start aggressively twitching.
'... His hero?' Jiraiya thought to himself, feeling as if a weight made purely of granite and guilt were suddenly pressing against his chest. He did his best to avoid a pointed look from Kakashi. "Oh, come on now." He replied to the boy shakily. "I'm no hero just for writing a book."
"But it's an awesome book!" The blonde stubbornly argued. "I've already read it twice, and I don't even like reading. I wanna be just like Naruto in the book when I grow up - gutsy and cool and strong enough to protect his comrades and people who can't stand up for themselves!"
The sage's eyes glazed over as Naruto was replaced by a different blonde, older and stronger but with the same spikey hair and blue eyes. 'I would like my son to grow up to be like the main character of your book. You know, he kind of reminds me of you, sensei.'
"That's… I'm really glad you enjoyed it." The sannin finished lamely, a lump firmly formed in his throat, trying to free himself from memories good yet painful.
'If I didn't know any better, I would think he was doing this on purpose.' Kakashi noted mentally, inwardly grinning as his student unintentionally and completely made the sage feel like a terrible person. Which was fitting, as there was a good argument he was a terrible person for how he had let the kid down.
"Not to interrupt, but what brings you here, Jiraiya?" Hiashi asked, smiling slightly while internally wincing at the masterclass in guilt-tripping Naruto was unknowingly giving the sannin. Still, as he remembered his conversation with the Third at his home several days prior, he had to acknowledge that it was well-deserved.
"Oh, uh, I'm in town right now. The Hokage wanted me to come pitch in with training the newest batch of genin. Something about them having a lot of potential." The sage explained.
All the jonin sensei reacted accordingly, looking surprised to varying degrees before excitement took hold.
"Is it a good thing that some weird old toad guy is going to be training us? I feel like I'll catch warts or something." Kiba groused, before getting whacked upside the head by Sakura.
"Show some respect, Kiba! That's Lord Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin, known as one of the strongest ninjas Konoha has ever produced!" The girl chided, before turning her attention to Jiraiya. "You were teammates with Tsunade Senju - is it true she could punch the peaks off of mountains?"
"Well, I never saw her do that, but based upon how easily she's broken my bones it wouldn't shock me." The sage snorted, still clearly focused on his interaction with Naruto.
"This is an amazing opportunity for you kids." Asuma noted, knocking Shikamaru on the shoulder and causing the boy to straighten out his posture ever so slightly. "I know he looks like a goofball, but Jiraiya trained the Fourth into the legend he is today."
The entire group of children all turned their attention to Jiraiya again, many of them now morphing their expressions from confused to wide-eyed with awe. It was well-known that the current generation venerated the Fourth similarly to how Jiraiya's generation had viewed the legacy of the First Hokage, so this detail immediately caught the attention of those who paid less mind during history lessons in the Academy.
'Wait…' Naruto thought, and then his eyes went wide. 'The Fourth and I like the same book?' Then a bit of sadness took hold as he realized that the Fourth had liked the book. Still, that small connection to one of his heroes made him happy.
"Indeed, I am overwhelmed with joy at the chance for my students to show their stuff and have the chance to catch the eye of such a legendary shinobi!" Gai celebrated, pumping his fist in the air as he imagined all three of his students riding toads into battle.
"Indeed, to have a match refereed by the teacher of the legendary Fourth Hokage - I can feel my flames of youth burning to new heights! May Hinata and I battle first, Lord Jiraiya?"
"Just Jiraiya is fine, bowlcut. And yeah, sure. Assuming I am the referee?" The white-haired man waved off the question, looking to Kakashi for confirmation.
"I don't see why not. Rules are simple - anything goes. Lethal attacks are allowed, between Jiraiya, Gai, and myself, we should be able to make sure nothing ends up fatal." Kakashi explained the rules, making eye contact with each genin fighting. "When Jiraiya says stop, you stop, or I make you stop. Are we all understood?"
Each genin nodded in confirmation. The scarecrow smiled with his eye at the group, enjoying the cocky grins exchanged between Naruto and Sasuke. As Gai's team went to the other end of the training grounds, the cyclops pulled his students over for one last chance at a pep talk as the suddenly sizeable crowd of spectators made their way several paces back from the general area, taking seats in the grass or finding places to stand as they prepared for the show.
"You three certainly like the idea of making this hard on yourselves." The jonin sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I won't lie to you, Gai's trained his team to be pretty strong for genin. I was surprised he held them out of the most recent chunin exams based upon what he's told me."
"Well yeah, but you've trained us like crazy this past week. I know we can win!" Naruto protested, looking absolutely famished for a battle.
"I'm not too worried about it." Sasuke shrugged. "She's supposed to be some kind of weapons guru, right?" He rolled his shoulders. "I'm pretty good with ninja tools too, and I'm sure I have the edge in close range."
"I'm glad you're sure of yourselves boys, and I do believe you both will win, but don't let confidence turn into arrogance." Kakashi warned, before turning his attention to Hinata.
The girl looked uncertain again, biting her lip and refusing to make eye contact with anyone present. "Sensei… I'm not sure I can win this match. Lee is older and more experienced, and I'm just… Me." It had been easy to be confident at the ramen stand earlier that morning, but now, moments away from her battle, all of her self-doubt welled up again like a poisonous sludge filling her very being.
"Hinata, just you will be plenty. In fact, I like your odds because you're you." The copy-nin replied, patting her head encouragingly. "Do you remember what Neji said when he insisted you fight Lee?"
"He said that Lee would be best suited to fight me because of his experience with the gentle fist." Hinata noted, sighing heavily at being reminded that her opponent was far more familiar with her style than she was with his. As that sullen thought ran through her head, she realized what her teacher's point was.
"But you don't fight with the traditional gentle fist anymore, do you?" Kakashi continued, feeling his smile grow as he saw the comprehension on the girl's face.
"... No, I don't." She agreed, her smile growing. It didn't quite equal the cockiness and confidence of her teammates as that simply wasn't who she was, but it was certainly a far more assured expression. She now knew that the advantage her opponent thought he held could be turned around into a weakness.
"You got this, Hinata!" Naruto assured her, placing his hand on her shoulder and smiling wide.
"I'm inclined to agree." Sasuke confirmed, smirking at her confidently. "You've gotten stronger since we first sparred, and you beat me plenty. I wouldn't be nervous against this guy."
The girl's smile grew even wider at her teammates' words. "Thank you both - I promise to make you proud!"
Meanwhile on the other side of the arena, team nine was having a bit less heartwarming of a team meeting.
"If you can't beat my failure cousin, you'll prove yourself to be doomed to an even more depressing fate than I had initially realized, Lee. Don't mess this up." Neji warned, glaring at his teammate, his expression hard.
"I can assure you Neji, I will make this a most youthful victory for our team!" Lee placated, his gaze focused across the field on the small girl that was to be his opponent.
"Jeez Neji, have some faith in us. Why are you worried about Lee taking on the weakest of them when you were about to take on all three?" Tenten questioned, looking exasperated with the behavior of her more reserved teammate.
"Indeed, it is most unyouthful to have such little confidence in your teammate." Gai agreed, for once completely serious.
"Tch." Unable to argue, the branch member clicked his tongue against his teeth in annoyance and looked away.
Gai returned his attention to his apprentice. "Now Lee, Neji is right in saying that you may have an advantage due to your familiarity with the gentle fist, but remember that young Hinata has been trained by my eternal rival. He is known for having an exceptionally diverse skillset. You would do well to be mindful of the possibility for her to pull out unexpected tricks not usually employed by members of her clan."
"Understood, sensei!" Lee confirmed, his smile growing hungry. "I will admit, while I know I can defeat Neji with enough work towards my goal, I am eager to fight a member of the Hyuga clan closer to my current skill level."
"I know you will make me proud, Lee!" Gai replied, smiling wide and giving the boy an emphatic thumbs up. "Now go get it!"
The boy gave a smile and thumbs up in return before making his way to one end of the open field, Hinata having taken her place on the other side of the field, the veins bulging around her eyes signifying that she had already activated her byakugan.
"Alright kids, keep it clean." Jiraiya warned, taking a large leap back. He still seemed clearly distracted, but his eyes were focused on the bout. "Fight!"
Instantly Lee shot forward as if out of a cannon, clearly anticipating that Hinata would do the same. He had only a second to process that she stayed stationary, seemingly ready to react but making no move of her own, but regardless he pressed on, determined to take the offensive.
'Fast!' Hinata mentally gasped in the split-second she had before he reached her. As he approached, he launched into a flying kick aimed for her head, crying "Leaf Whirlwind!"
She bent back at the waist, letting him sail over her, quickly pirouetting to the side to avoid the spinning kick he launched as soon as he landed. He came to a standing position and rushed towards her again, still on the offensive.
As he reached the girl, he attempted to throw a direct kick to her head, which she smoothly ducked. He followed that up with a flurry of punches and blows, all of which the heiress deftly dodged and deflected, dancing through and around the ferocious assault. Despite the ease at which she was dodging, she had yet to launch a blow.
After a couple moments of the stalemate, the two separated, jumping back to their sides of the field and appraising each other.
"You are quite the nimble and skilled fighter, Lady Hinata!" Lee complimented, the sun glinting off his teeth as he grinned widely.
"And you are… Very, very fast." Hinata panted, her lungs screaming for a break and grateful her body was no longer moving at its highest speed.
"There's more where that came from!" Lee replied, surging forward to launch another assault. The heiress continued to evade his strikes cleanly, but once again did not go on the offensive.
"What the hell?! Hinata's dodging Bushy Brows left and right - why doesn't she attack?" Naruto complained, watching the fight with close attention.
"Look closer, Naruto." Kakashi replied, his eyes clinically dissecting the battle between the two genin. "She's dodging, but just barely."
The blonde peered closely, squinting hard as his eyes tried to keep up with the fight. He saw Lee throw another punch, which Hinata again side-stepped. This time he noticed that the older boy was spinning into a high-kick faster than he could track. The heiress again dodged cleanly, but had to attempt to avoid a low-kick that her opponent managed to make seamlessly part of the motion of his prior attack.
"Oh crap." The boy gulped loudly, realizing the problem. "He's not giving her any time to attack."
"Exactly." Kakashi confirmed with a nod. "She's doing an excellent job of keeping up with him, better than I could have expected if we're being honest, but her openings are non-existent."
"I noticed that, but I don't get why Hinata doesn't just trade blows. With how the jyuken works, Lee will be at more of a disadvantage if he loses the functionality of a whole limb than she would be taking a hit." Sasuke chimed in, intensely focused on the fight with an expression that, at first glance, would seem cold and analytical. However, Kakashi and Naruto had gotten good enough at reading him in the last week that they were able to catch the concern in his eyes.
"You would think." The cyclops agreed. "But pay closer attention to Lee's strikes."
The two boys keyed in a Lee right as he threw an ax kick that would have planted their teammate face-first into the ground. The demure girl sidestepped the attack, but upon collision with the earth, the green-clad boy's heel formed a small crater, maybe only a foot in diameter and a couple inches deep, but still noticeable.
"Lee's got massive power behind each strike - not that I'm surprised by that." The scarecrow continued explaining as both boys looked at him with alarm. "The way Gai has conditioned his body, he's one of the few people who doesn't have to sacrifice power in his blows to ensure they're thrown at the highest speed possible. It seems Lee has benefitted from that same conditioning."
"So it's not just Lee that would be debilitated by even just one connected blow. Hinata could be done too." Sasuke grunted, displeased by the new information. He had to acknowledge that currently, he was likely the weakest on his team in pure melee combat. If he had fought Lee as he had originally suggested… He'd likely already be on the ground, unable to create enough space from the older boy to try and use some of his ninjutsu to even the odds.
Naruto didn't say anything, but his fists clenched tight. After a moment, he nodded confidently. "Hinata's got this."
Kakashi eye-smiled at the blonde's confidence in his teammate. Inwardly however, he was starting to get worried. At the end of the day, most shinobi battles were decided by who landed the first, and usually decisive blow, and Lee was giving himself far more of an opportunity to land that strike. On top of that, he knew the boy was weary of palm strikes after having Neji as a teammate for so long.
'You have to find a way to strike, Hinata. I believe in you.' He thought to himself, absently noting that his fists, much like Naruto's, were clenched tight.
"Stop your belly-aching, boys. Girl's gonna be fine." Anko chimed in. All three males looked in her direction with varying levels of concern, to which the woman responded with a shit-eating grin. "She hasn't even used half of what I've taught her yet."
Hinata was starting to grow weary of dodging her opponent, but the simple fact was he was far, far too fast for her to do much else. Every time she dodged an attack and looked for an opening to strike, he was seamlessly moving between strikes and throwing his next punch or kick. It was an overbearing pressure, and the girl was simply not equipped to win a battle of endurance. She was sure she would slip up before her opponent, sweat beading her brow and her limbs screaming for rest while he looked no worse for wear.
Something had to change, or she would undoubtedly lose the fight.
"Now remember girlie, while dodging is all well and good, you need to be able to counterattack. How do you counterattack?"
"What do you mean, sensei?"
"I mean don't limit yourself. You counterattack however you can take advantage of an opening. I know the gentle fist focuses on punches, or palms or whatever, but in a real fight, well… A punch, a kick, your elbow, knee, head. Hell, bite a fucker if it lets you win."
The heiress ducked another blow, a roundhouse kick, and saw her opportunity as she slid forward and past Lee. Now behind him, she leaned forward and twisted, executing a perfect backwards hook kick and catching him in the side of the head with the back of her leg. Continuing to spin with her momentum, she launched the boy in the direction she had slid, sending him rolling across the training grounds as he made painful contact with the dirt.
"Hell yeah - kick his ass Hinata!" Naruto cheered. The girl took the opportunity given by her drawing of first blood to shoot her crush a shy smile.
"Damn, didn't know the quiet weird girl could move like that." Kiba whistled, and he was promptly smacked upside the head by his sensei. "Ow, Kurenai!"
"Stop underestimating people, Kiba. Your pride will be the death of you." She chided, a small smile on her face as she looked pridefully at the girl that would have been her student. "That quiet girl has more strength that you realize." Inwardly, she felt as if her insides were uncoiling as she saw what she had hoped for was the case. 'I suppose that lazy scarecrow is the right teacher for her, if he managed to get her this far already.'
'Certainly not the way a Hyuga fights, but inarguably effective.' Hiashi thought, barely managing to keep an uncharacteristic shit-eating grin off his face. 'The elders will hate it… Good job, Hinata.'
"Lady Hinata!" Lee called from the other side of the makeshift area, coming to a stand after his brief interaction with the ground. He had some blood running down the side of his face where it had contacted the ground, but his legs were steady underneath him. "Would you be able to indulge a question of mine before we continue?"
"Just Hinata is fine. What would you like to ask?" The girl responded, enjoying the brief respite from the high-speed taijutsu exchange.
"You do not fight as I expected." The boy explained, his head turned slightly in confusion. "Neji has always been direct and gone on the offensive early, whereas you have been patient and waited for your opportunity to strike. I have also never seen him incorporate a kick into how he fights - I did not even account for the possibility of a strike, as I believed I was out of your reach. Yet you two both employ the gentle fist - so how could such differences exist?"
Hinata smiled softly, shaking her head. "I think it would do you well to remember that you are not fighting just a Hyuga - you are fighting me, Hinata Hyuga, student of Kakashi Hatake and Anko Mitarashi. There are many differences between how Neji and I fight." Dropping into her combat stance and with a surge of confidence, she beckoned her opponent forward. "Would you like to see more of these differences?"
Lee smiled wide, not at all put out to discover that he had been approaching this fight incorrectly. Instead, he seemed even more enthused as his eyes took on a fiery quality. Dropping into his combat stance, he paused. "Before we resume, may I ask one more question?"
"You may." Hinata replied, feeling her grin grow. For once in her life, she was genuinely enjoying a fight. So often she had been put in circumstances with her family where she was fighting people she was unwilling to harm, but had no issue harming her. In the academy, she had been head shoulders above the other girls in taijutsu, and as a result won most fights quickly, especially when one considered that they came largely from civilian families without the training she had received.
For the first time, she was on equal footing with an opponent, and shared a mutual respect with them. As a result, she was enjoying testing the results of her training the past week against Lee.
"Would you consider yourself a genius?" Lee asked.
The question stopped Hinata short, and she tilted her head in confusion. "Why do you ask that?"
"I am curious if I am up against another person who was naturally gifted. You see, I am not someone who was born with talent. I lack the ability to use ninjutsu and genjutsu, leaving me with only taijutsu at my disposal. Therefore, I am no natural genius - rather, I strive to be a genius of hard work." The boy monologued, explaining his circumstances. "You lack ego. I hope I do not cause offense, but you seem gentle, truly so. Kind in a way I have never seen in my interactions with any member of your clan. I struggle to see how, with such a harmless disposition, you could be as dangerous as you have proven unless you are naturally talented. But perhaps you have worked to overcome that, instead of being a hidden genius."
"So, are you a genius like Neji, or are you a genius as I aim to be?"
Hinata looked at him for a moment, considering the older boy's question. After a moment, she shook her head gently. "I am no genius, but I don't think I'm quite like you either, Lee. I've been shown that if I believe in myself, I am stronger than I realize. At the same time, I am able to keep up with you now because of the work I have put in under my teachers. "Genius" is an overused term, and success is possible regardless of the gifts you are born with. I don't particularly care who is and isn't a genius. I simply want to be everything I can be, and support my team."
Lee was surprised for a moment by her answer, but then smiled again and nodded confidently. "You have your own kind of genius then, one supported by belief in yourself and your teammates. I find that quite commendable." He then turned and faced his teacher at the end of the field, who was watching the exchange with rapt attention. "Sensei! I have a request."
Surprised by being called out in the middle of a fight, Gai blinked before answering. "What is it, Lee?"
"I wish to fight Hinata to the fullest of my capabilities. Please, may I remove my restrictions for the duration of the fight?" The boy requested, bowing so low at the waist that his head could have touched his feet.
'He has restrictions in place and he was moving that fast?!' The collective thought was had by just about every mind there.
Gai pursed his lips, clearly unsure how to respond, but was broken out of his considerations by Hinata. "I also ask that you allow this, Jonin Maito." She spoke respectfully and with as much decorum as possible. "Lee has proven to be a respectful opponent, one I would take pride in defeating. It would be considerably less of an achievement if he is restricted in any way."
The jonin looked surprised at her words, but then his face morphed into a grin even more jubilant and ear-splitting than could normally be expected. He stuck his nice-guy pose, the sun glinting off his teeth. "If that's the case, who am I to get in the way of such a youthful display? Take them off, Lee!"
"Thank you, sensei!" The boy rose from his bow and reached down to his leg warmers, pulling them off to reveal a set of weights.
"Oh shit." Kakashi whimpered, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Of course Lee had already started weight training.
"What's wrong sensei? Naruto asked, looking at Lee's legs with confusion as he undid the straps on his rather unassuming leg weights. "I mean I guess he'll be a bit faster without the weights but they aren't that big."
"Looks can be deceiving Naruto." The cyclops replied, eyeing the weights dubiously. The real question now was, how long had Lee been using weights?
The boy stood, holding each weight on either side of him, and flicked his wrists to toss them to the side. There was a loud crash as the weights collided with the floor, and two massive clouds of dust were kicked up, stunning the majority of the spectators. When the dust cleared, it revealed two small craters, each about Jiraiya's height in diameter and maybe half a meter deep.
"Very deceiving. Thankfully, it seems like he's still on the beginner's level." The jonin continued, sighing heavily. "Hinata still has a solid chance here."
"Yeah? I mean yeah!" Naruto agreed, confidently at least at the end. The copy-nin exchanged a look with Sasuke, and an unspoken fact was acknowledged between them.
Hinata could certainly still win this battle, but her odds just nosedived.
Hinata tried her best to maintain her composure as the weights impacted the ground far harder than they logically should. She really did. But the sight was so unexpected that her eyes still widened ever so slightly. Thanks to her byakugan's enhanced vision, she saw Neji smirk with satisfaction as he seemed to pick up on the reaction.
"Ah, that is so freeing!" Lee exclaimed, throwing a series of punches and kicks into the air at such a fast pace that the heiress actually had trouble picking up the individual limbs in motion. "I have worn those weights every day, even while I sleep, for just over a month now. I am excited to test the full results of my training! Are you ready, Hinata?"
The girl felt only the slightest bit of hesitation, and immediately felt ashamed of it. She was committed to proving to herself, her team, and her father that she wouldn't back down anymore, wouldn't think of herself as lesser than. So she straightened her back and nodded confidently. "I am."
She then doubled over in pain as his fist planted itself in her gut. Before she could even attempt to rebound from the impact, he was behind her, delivering a roundhouse to her side that sent her flying across the training grounds.
As she flew through the air, she was able to register shadows and light shifting before another limb hit her chest, driving her down into the ground, the momentum shift leaving her even more disoriented than just the impact alone.
She bounced to a stop like a stone skipping over the surface of a lake, gasping for breath as her entire body screamed in pain. The girl was surprised that she wasn't immediately set upon by her opponent again. She took a moment to gather herself, and then slowly began to clamber to her feet.
As she turned, she saw the expressions of her classmates and teammates. Most were absolutely shocked at the speed exhibited by the senior genin. Shikamaru had a strange look in his eyes, as if he were picking apart a riddle. Naruto's expression was set in a worried grimace, while Sasuke's lips were pursed as his eyes shone with concern. Even her sensei's lone eye revealed worry for her despite how impossible he usually was to read with his face so heavily covered.
"You are quite the impressive opponent to stand after such an assault." Lee said, standing perfectly still around ten meters from her, arm behind his back, hand held out open-palmed in front.
"And you are too honorable to not take advantage of this opening." The girl shot back, though her tone was lighthearted and a touch grateful. She did see with her activated bloodline limit her cousin scowling deeply at his teammate.
"I felt it was right and honorable to return the favor after you caught me unawares earlier." The boy replied, pouting slightly.
"In that case, I appreciate your thoughtfulness." The heiress replied, trying to keep her tone light and hide her discomfort. "Your training certainly does seem to have its benefits."
"Indeed, the difference just a month has made is astounding. My sensei truly knows how to stoke the flames of youth in any pupil." The green boy agreed. "Shall we resume? Or are you too injured to continue?"
The girl attempted, as unpleasant as it was, to feel her body and the damage caused. She felt a stabbing pain in her side that got worse when she breathed - a cracked rib? Maybe broken? 'If I'm going to win, I need to end this quickly.' She had no illusions that now, hindered as she was, that she could keep up this pace. 'But how…?'
Naruto's fists were clenched tight, arms at his side, as he grimaced in the direction of his teammate. He saw her look back at him and take in his expression, and he saw her eyes fall. A strange and powerful feeling bubbled up in his chest, and he realized he couldn't worry about how she could possibly win right now. That was her job - it was his to believe in her.
The feeling kept rising, making his throat feel like it was swelling as if he was about to spit out a fireball like Sasuke, before it ripped out of his mouth. "HINATA!"
Instantly he felt every eye on him, but he didn't care. He was solely focused on the pale lavender eyes staring back at him, her head fully turned in his direction. "Don't give up! I know you can still win this - you're too damn strong and you've worked too damn hard to give up now!"
He noticed her cheeks turn slightly pink, not atomic red like she got sometimes but rather a very light color, like someone has brushed her face with pink chalk. And then she broke out into a massive, ear-splitting grin directed right at him. For the first time in his life, Naruto himself turned scarlet red at the expression.
'Oh-ho. So she can press his buttons too.' Jiraiya noted, struggling to keep his face impassive as his instinctual turn to a lecherous grin began.
'I had hoped it would not be until her teenage years that I had to worry about boys in my daughter's life.' Hiashi lamented sullenly, though he would admit at least he had little to object to in her choice of crush. 'Son of my former teammate or not, I will kill him if he hurts her though.' He pointedly ignored the hypocrisy of him worrying about Naruto of all people hurting his daughter, or anyone the boy cared about for that matter. He then remembered Jiraiya was present. 'And I will definitely kill him if he does anything at all.'
Hinata breathed deeply, emptying her mind. Naruto was right. She could do this. She was allowing doubt to creep into her mind again, she was second guessing herself like she always had, but she had committed to leaving that small voice in her head behind.
'He's too fast, too strong. You don't have a chance.' The voice objected from the darkest corners of her mind.
'As Naruto would say… Shut the hell up.' She thought back. The pain in her side became nothing but white noise. The heiress felt as if her entire being was shifting. Naruto believed in her, just like she had always believed in him. She would not disrespect that by not believing in herself. 'If I lose here, it won't be because I doubted I can win. I can't keep playing defensively. Time to end this.' She knew what technique she had to use. It was not one she had planned on, not one she had practiced at all since becoming a genin. But it didn't matter that she had never performed it successfully. She knew how to - it was only her lack of belief in herself that had held her back all those times her father had tried to teach her.
But how would she get in reach? Lee would recognize her intent the moment she assumed the stance, even if he would never have seen it from Neji. He wouldn't let her get close knowing how dangerous a traditional strike of the gentle fist was, and she wasn't going to out-speed him.
'Remember girlie, a snake doesn't strike until it knows it will hit. Observe your opponent. Look into their eyes, get them focused on trying to understand your intentions. Trying to predict your next move. Move smoothly, leave them unable to tell what you plan. Don't be aggressive - get close to them without a single bad intention coming from your body. Leave them wondering if you're a friend. And when you're balls deep fucking their mind, that's when you attack.' Now it was Anko's voice speaking to her, explaining how a snake fought, and what she could learn from it. A snake tried to avoid a fight - it ended a battle before its opponent realized the danger they were in.
'He can't know what I'm doing until I'm already doing it.' She realized. 'But how?' Then it hit her - she was Hinata Hyuga. She remembered what Lee had said just a moment ago - that she seemed gentle, harmless. People didn't see her as dangerous, people didn't see her as someone who would strike, who would go on the attack. They saw a shy, kind little girl who didn't like hurting anyone.
Much like when Lee had assumed he was fighting a traditional user of the gentle fist, she hoped it would be his undoing.
"Lee." She said, as softly and kindly as she could while still being audible to her opponent. She threw a quick sad smile in the direction of her team - she had to make her opponent assume she was ready to admit defeat. He looked at her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. The Hyuga began walking forward slowly. She was not in her combat stance, her arms limply by her side as if she were walking through Konoha in the evening. Lee watched her carefully, clearly not sure what her intentions were but still on guard. She felt her body begin swaying slightly to each side as she walked. A pleasant smile worked its way onto her face. She stared deeply into Lee's eyes, her expression friendly and welcoming.
'I'm not faster than him. I'm not stronger. He's better at taijutsu than me. My only chance for victory is to hit him decisively, when he is least expecting it.' Hinata wasn't actively thinking these thoughts. Her mind was empty, but a new voice, different from the one that had always tormented her, spoke softly, and most importantly with complete confidence. 'My only chance is to, for once, make the way I am viewed work to my advantage.'
The green boy's muscles relaxed as she drew closer, his eyes confused. He wasn't staring at her body anymore, trying to predict where a strike was coming from. He focused entirely on her face as he tried to understand what her intentions were. The training grounds were silent as all eyes focused on her - nobody knew what she was doing. Innocent little Hinata - surely she couldn't have aggressive intentions when acting so kind, so calm, so casual?
'You never know if a snake is actually dangerous or not. Most people look for signs, a tail rattle, hissing. But there's plenty of serpents that are disarmingly pretty, pleasant to look at, to where people lower their guards. That's how people get poisoned.' Anko again. Nobody believed she was dangerous. She was small, shy. Who would take her seriously?
Five meters away now. Lee had no idea what to expect. She could see that his guard had gone down - was she still fighting? Was she still dangerous? Or was she approaching to concede due to her injuries and shake his hand? What was she -
Instantly her entire body moved at once, only a meter away, taking a mighty step forward towards her opponent. Her expressions stayed disarmingly pleasant as she struck, hitting two tenketsu points before Lee was even able to raise his eyebrows in shock. "Two palms." She didn't shout, but instead said it in a soft voice, as if she was wishing someone a nice day. "Four palms." Another mighty step forward, four more strikes, as fast as the first two. Her opponent was reeling back now, crumpling before her. "Eight palms." Another forceful step forward as Lee was pushed back by her blows, eight more strikes. Now Lee was trying to cross his arms to guard, but his body was shutting down.
"Sixteen palms." Another might step - was she moving faster than before with each series of strikes? She was only vaguely aware at how much her side was screaming as she threw the strikes blindingly fast, faster than she thought she was, but the pain held no sway over her now.
"Thirty-two palms." Another step, Lee was now off his feet in the air, suspended by her blows, the sixteen strikes coming faster than she had ever dreamed she would be capable of. His eyes were spread wide in pure shock as she assaulted him - her plan had worked. He hadn't expected an attack at all from the shy, gentle girl.
She had always struggled with this technique in training with her father, always second guessing if she was performing it correctly, slowing her movements with her uncertainty and inevitably failing to meet his expectations. But there was no doubt in her mind that she could do this - that she could push further, further than her father had thought her capable, than she had thought herself capable for so long.
"Sixty-four palms!" Her voice finally rose, a triumphant shout. Had she ever even attempted to complete sixty-four palm strikes? It didn't matter - she knew she could at this moment. Taking another mighty step forward, she threw thirty-two strikes in quick succession, as fast if not faster than she had completed any series of the first thirty-two.
As she surged forward with her last strike, she thought of all the times she had doubted herself. Doubted her worth, her dreams, her talents, everything. All those moments melted away as Hinata Hyuga changed before the eyes of every spectator. Her last blow connected, and Lee went flying back, tumbling and turning, kicking up dirt and dust as he slowed, coming to a stop at Neji's feet, completely immobilized.
There was a pause as everyone watching tried to comprehend what had just happened. Lee had been winning. He had the upper hand, he had the superior abilities. Nobody outside of her team had truly expected little Hinata to win, and even they had started to become poisoned with doubt. And now, because of everyone doubting her, except herself and the person she looked up to most…
"Winner, Hinata Hyuga!" Jiraiya announced, raising his hand to decide the match.
Her smile grew again, then turned into a grimace as she felt all the pain in her side she had been ignoring all at once. The sensation was so overwhelming that she felt her knees give out, and she began to fall to her side. Before she could hit the ground, she felt a body next to her catch her and break her fall.
Turning her head up, she was met by those endless blue eyes that occupied all her dreams. "Naruto…" She sighed, feeling herself turn slightly red. But she was too tired to be embarrassed right now. Instead, she simply leaned further into him and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of comfort she received that dulled the pain in her body.
"Hinata." He said. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, but his tone was different than usual. It wasn't boisterous, it wasn't overly-excited. It was a soft tone, one filled with care and thick with emotion. She met his eyes and saw in them something she couldn't quite place that made her entire body feel light as a feather and her heart race. "That was the most awesomest thing I've ever seen. I'm starting to think you're the most amazing person I've ever met, ya know?"
A small smile made its way onto her face as she closed her eyes again, allowing her mind to protect her from her injuries with blissful unconsciousness. This was, without a single doubt, not that she had any left, definitely the best moment of her life.
Guess who's back, guess who's back, danana...
Sorry guys. Love how this chapter turned out, but it was a bitch to write because both fighters have kits that boil down to "these hands and the chip on my shoulder" right now so I struggled fleshing it out. Then life stuff happened and it took all the energy I could have put into overcoming that block.
So Naruto won the Neji sweepstakes - a lot of people wanted Sasuke vs Lee and Hinata vs Tenten, but when I tried that angle I realized those are terrible matchups for Team Seven and it would be difficult to actually have them even make it a fight without giving them plot armor, so I went with Sasuke vs Tenten and Hinata vs Lee. And even then, Hinata only won this fight because Lee is a bit naive and Anko trained her. Without Anko's influence, Hinata can't get in close to end things and loses.
Been waiting for that Jiraiya scene for forever. I love shoving their own shit in people's faces, which is probably why Kakashi is a favorite of mine.
The fight itself was mostly about Hinata having her moment rather than the action, but I hope it was still engaging to read.
NaruHina content writes itself when those two are on the same team.
I was going to wait until I had chapter fourteen done and give y'all a double update, but I'm not sure if I'll have it done by Halloween and I promised myself that would be the latest I'd update, so I've decided to release this one now since I really do love it when all is said and done. Hope y'all enjoy, please review!
As an aside, I recently found some old stories of mine from my teenage years publishing fanfiction. They're not up anymore, but I do have a Fallout story that I actually wouldn't mind returning to. It would be a side thing to help me work through writer's block when I'm struggling here, and I have some major revisions to do, but if I published it would some of y'all be interested? Let me know.
And remember - I am the herpes of fanfiction writers. I'll always be back, even if I've been gone so long y'all forgot I existed.
On that lovely note, until next time!