The little Hyuuga couldn't see.
Kakashi knew that. He'd checked for himself. And even if he hadn't checked, then the guilty look on Shikaku's face in the hospital room when he saw the bandages covering the girl's eyes would've been enough.
Yet Kakashi found himself doubting his assessment as he watched the Hyuuga effortlessly navigate the early morning traffic of Konoha's streets, dodging street merchants and civilian children alike with the same ease as the Nara beside her.
The more Kakashi watched the girl walk, the more suspicious he became; adaptability in the field was one thing, but this was something else entirely, and Kakashi was determined to find outwhat.
When they finally reached one of the more remote training grounds he'd reserved for them the previous day, Kakashi planted himself two feet in front of the girl and her Nara shadow and narrowed his eyes.
"The premise of this apprenticeship was to teach you to fight blind." He informed the girl bluntly, not seeing much point in beating around the bush. "But if you really needed my help, you'd have needed my help to walk through the streets, too."
He watched the words hit the Hyuuga, witnessed the moment what little of her expression was visible under the bandages shuttered and her signature, faint as it was, also vanished.
For a moment, Kakashi wondered whether he was even going to get an answer, but then the girl sighed, shoulders slumping, and uttered a quiet 'S-Shikamaru?' and Kakashi barely had the time to process the non-sequitur before the Nara rolled his shoulders and muttered a quiet 'troublesome', but obligingly stepped forward.
He met Kakashi's gaze then and held it as a black line suddenly appeared between him and the little Hyuuga, then proceeded to grow, stretching from a barely-noticeable thread to a thick band the width of Kakashi's forearm.
Kakashi could only stare at the shadow for a second, momentarily stupefied, before his brain kicked into gear and supplied him with the only likely conclusion.
"I thought you could only make peoplecopyyour movements." He pointed out, while inwardly reviewing every moment since they'd left his apartment that morning as he tried to figure out when the Nara had managed to snag the Hyuuga with his shadow without Kakashi noticing.
"I modified it." Shikamaru replied easily, shrugging loosely, like modifying decades-old Clan techniques was just something he did casually. "My shadow's a conduit, after all."
He glanced at Hinata then, something almost teasing in the words, and Kakashi turned his attention to the girl just in time to catch the tiny ghost of a smile that quirked her lips before he focused back on Shikamaru, realisation settling like a noose around his neck:
The kid had turned the Shadow Possession into apuppet master'sjutsu.
The irony of the move was not lost on Kakashi, particularly considering what the last puppet master the kid had encountered had done to his teammate, and Kakashi felt his reluctant respect for Shikaku's spawn grow ever so slightly.
Then another thought struck, and Kakashi felt dread pool in his stomach as he turned to the Hyuuga once more, and though she couldn't see him, she must've sensed the shift in his demeanour because she tensed visibly.
"Did you agree to this?" he asked sharply, his mind running through ten different nightmare scenarios of what a motivated Nara with aninvisible puppet jutsucould get up to.
At his words, some of the tension in the Hyuuga's shoulders left, but the downward curl to her lips told Kakashi more than enough about what she thought of his question.
"Of course." She replied, and it wasn'tquiteoffended, but almost. "I trust Shikamaru."
Inwardly, Kakashi wondered whether the Nara realised just how exclusive the list of people he now belonged to truly was.
"Plus, Hinata can break it whenever she wants." Shikamaru added, and while the Hyuuga had seemed insulted at Kakashi's question, the other teen sounded almost pleased.
Kakashi turned to Shikamaru then, meeting the Nara's flat stare with his own raised eyebrow and found himself unable to say whether the kid realised the undertone of his actions or not. Though, judging by the way the Nara held his gaze and jutted his chin out, defiant and unapologetic, Kakashi was willing to bet that Shikamaru knew perfectly well what he was doing, and more than that, had no plans to stop anytime soon.
It spoke to just how much Hinata trusted the boy to willingly turn herself into a marionette. And it spoke to just howinsanethe both of them were to not allow something like the Hyuuga losing her sight to become an obstacle.
Trust the stubborn genius Kakashi suddenly found himself in charge of to find herself an even more stubborn genius for a partner.
"You won't be able to use it during the Exams." Kakashi warned them, knowing better than to argue against their methods.
"We know." Shikamaru replied, even though the remark had been aimed more at the Hyuuga. "But that's your job, no?"
Part of Kakashi wanted to laugh, but the other, louder part, wanted to sate his curiosity first. "Then why?"
"Call it training wheels." The Nara shrugged, glancing briefly at the girl, a complicated expression flashing through his eyes. "Until she learns how to navigate by herself."
"Alright." Kakashi allowed after a few seconds, and got to watch as the tension he hadn't even realised was riddling both of the teens' shoulders fully melted away. Then, he turned to the Hyuuga, ready to initiate step one of theStick It to Hiashiplan.
"How good is your sensing?"
Thanks to Hinata's familiarity with Elemental ninjutsu, teaching the girl to use Earth Release to sense footsteps had gone much smoother than Kakashi had expected.
Then, once Kakashi had realised that the Hyuuga had learned to counteract his ninjutsu by watching hishand-signsinstead of his chakra fluctuations, teaching her to sense ninjutsu had also been a walk in the park.
Yet it didn't solve the problem of projectile weapons. Or taijutsu.
The Hyuuga might not have been a traditional Hyuuga, but she was still aHyuuga –taijutsu was always going to be her strongest skill. And yet, when Kakashi had tried to spar with the girl like he'd seen her spar dozens of times, the experience had been not unlike fighting an Academy student. All of the girl's usual grace and reaction time seemed to have gone along with her sight, and while the Hyuuga had done marginally better against Shikamaru, it had been enough for Kakashi to feel the first flicker of doubt.
Yet, in the end, it had taken Shikamaru less than two days to find a solution.
"The Kaiten." the Nara had muttered at some point while running through slow sparring with Hinata, and Kakashi had long since decided against asking the Nara whether he was actuallyallowedto be with them. "Is there a way of doing itwithoutspinning?"
.
"Without the spin, I just…. release the chakra like a field around me." Hinata had offered, her words hesitant, as if trying to follow Shikamaru's thought process and coming up short.
"Can you sense what enters the chakra field?" the Nara had pressed, and the girl had disengaged from their spar, her frown apparent as she thought the question over.
"I…don't know. I never tried it."
Wordlessly, Shikamaru had also stepped back, eyes intent on the Hyuuga as if having forgotten that they weren't the only ones there.
His mistake.
Taking the 'you won't know until you try' approach a little too literally, Kakashi had lobbed a shuriken at the girl's back, putting barely half of the usual strength he would have behind the projectile. And while both teens startled when the projectile had appeared within a foot of Hinata's left hip, the girl managed to clumsily redirect it and knock the shuriken out of the air with a hastily-grabbed senbon.
Shikamaru had turned to stare incredulously at where Kakashi had been perched, but Kakashi only had eyes for the expression of awed disbelief on the Hyuuga's face as she clutched her senbon.
"We can work with that." He'd announced, raising his voice to carry, and watched as the disbelief on the Hyuuga's face morphed into grim determination.
The Nara, seemingly also noticing the change in the girl's demeanour, took it upon himself to be the voice of reason, "Won't it take too much chakra to do consistently?"
And Kakashi could understand the concern; the Hyuuga was a girl and had all the natural drawbacks that came with her gender. More than that, she was a girl who, until recently, had had the equivalent of a chakra-sucking parasite attached to her coils.
Yet his understanding of where Shikamaru was coming from didn't change the fact that the Nara's worries were counterproductive to Kakashi's goal of makingHinatabelieve that she could pull this off.
Becausethat, more than the sensing, more than actually learning to fight blind, was going to be the biggest hurdle in getting the girl ready for the Exams.
Because somehow, unfathomably, Hinata believed Kakashi, and she believedinKakashi.
The challenge was always going to be getting her to believe inherself.
"Luckily, her incredibly unorthodox way of meditating means that her reserves are unusually big for her age and gender." Kakashi had returned, keeping his tone intentionally bland even as he shot the Nara a warning glare. "The trick now is less about avoiding chakra exhaustion, and more about teaching her how to maintain all three sensing techniques without getting overstimulated by the sensory input."
"Can you do it?" Shikamaru had demanded, though he'd schooled his expression and inclined his head in wordless acknowledgement of Kakashi's silent rebuke.
And Kakashi had smiled, wry and grim and humourless, and tapped the hitai-ate that covered the gift that should've never been his.
"If anybody can, it's me."
(Kakashi had known that it wouldn't be easy. He'd known that it would be overwhelming. He'd considered telling the Hyuuga to drop the Earth jutsu in favour of focusing only on the modified Kaiten and the ninjutsu sensing, or focus only on the modified Kaiten and hope that she wouldn't come up against any ninjutsu specialists. There were only four ninjutsu specialists competing, after all.
He hadn't planned for the girl's stubbornness.
Or her high pain tolerance.
The first time she'd passed out, the Nara had panicked, but Kakashi had just instructed him to grab a bottle of water and a protein bar and sat by the Hyuuga's side, waiting for her to come to. Then, he had to scramble out of the path of her vomit, the nausea brought on by overwhelming her senses to such an extent not passing even with her brief bout of unconsciousness.
"You asked me to help you. And I am. But I need you to tell me when you're in pain, or the whole apprenticeship is off." He'd told her once she'd wiped her mouth and drank some water, his tone making it clear that this condition was non-negotiable.
"It's not painful." The Hyuuga had corrected, then immediately winced, her hand flying to her head before she guiltily aborted the motion. "I just feel- bloated?"
Kakashi had worked with many sensors over the course of his career – he knew exactly what the girl was referring to, even if he'd never experienced it firsthand.
"Can you keep going?" He'd asked her bluntly, getting a sharp side-eye from Shikamaru. "If the nausea gets too much, drop the Earth jutsu."
The girl shook her head, then seemed to immediately regret it. "N-no, I can. I need to be prepared for the Exams."
"You can't fight with a migraine." Shikamaru had butted in, the first words he'd uttered since the Hyuuga had passed out. "And your disappearing trick won't work if you're covered in vomit."
Kakashi hadn't even had time to restrain his double-take at the Nara's bluntness, shooting the teen a disbelieving look, but the Nara's attention was wholly focused on Hinata, who, in turn, looked torn between stubborn annoyance and resignation.
"…Can you tell me about the candidates, again?" she'd requested eventually, and Kakashi had understood the reason for the Nara's sharpness when he caught Shikamaru's soundless sigh of relief at the question.
Well.
This was…familiar.
Kakashi had turned to the Hyuuga then, taking in her mulish expression, sweat-soaked blindfold and pale complexion, and wondered whether this was how Minato had felt whenever Gai had tagged along to their training sessions.
Minato had been a prodigy himself; pushing limits came with the territory. He'd taken Kakashi at his word more often than not, even when he really shouldn't have, even when Kakashi had only been standing thanks to sheer bullheadedness.
In retrospect, Kakashi knew that Minato had been far too young when they'd been assigned to each other, and Kakashi as a teenager had hardly been forthcoming.
That was also why Kakashi had understood – even if he'd hated it, even if it had grated against his very being – but he'dunderstoodwhy Sasuke had been assigned to him. The Sandaime had assumed that Kakashi's predisposition to gamble with his wellbeing would mean that he'd be able to spot that same lack of self-preservation in others.
But Hinata wasn't like that. She didn't wear her need to prove herself on her sleeve like Sasuke, didn't wrap her indifference around her like armour like Kakashi had, didn't bury herself in books and scrolls for days at a time like Minato had.
Hinata was like Rin.
She worked silently, on her own, in the shadows, avoiding the limelight. She put her head down and worked and worked and didn't stop until she either couldn't anymore or she achieved the unthinkable.
Kakashi hadn't paid it much heed back then, but he remembered the mix of reluctant amusement mixed with grudging respect on Minato's face whenever they'd get to the training field and find Rin already there, teetering on the brink of chakra exhaustion and surrounded by critters drenched in her chakra signature. He hadn't seen the point at the time, hadn't understood the dedication to medical ninjutsu of all things when Rin would've been better off working on her taijutsu.
At least until he was walking home from a mission he should've died on with the unthinkable implanted into his head.
Kakashi had glanced at Shikamaru thoughtfully, not surprised to find the teen already looking back, and wondered whether the teen's insistence on being with them during this apprenticeship stemmed not from his mistrust in Kakashi, but in Hinata's ability to be honest about her limits.
If it proved to be the latter, then, well. He'd joked that the Hyuuga-Nara duo could be a good hunter-nin squad the first time he'd seen them fight together, and he had yet to change his stance on that.
But this had been the first time he'd realised that the full scope of the term 'partner' might one day apply to the two.)
Kakashi wouldn't say he'd planned for them getting interrupted, but he hadn't exactly ruled out the possibility that Kurenai would not take the apprenticeship, such as it was,well.
So when Hinata went from loosely running through taijutsu spars with Shikamaru, to suddenly stifling her chakra, scent, and disappearing from sight before Shikamaru's punch could land, Kakashi wasn't exactly surprised when her team burst from the treeline not two seconds later, the Inuzuka at the head while Kurenai brought up the rear, livid crimson eyes finding Kakashi's as soon as she skidded to a stop.
"An apprenticeship?" she demanded, the word sounding uglier than many a curse Kakashi had heard from her over the years.
"Hello to you too." He returned, intentionally blasé, while absently casting his chakra around in search of the little Hyuuga.
"Don't bullshit me, Kakashi." Kurenai hissed, and though the anger was taking centre-stage, Kakashi could also see betrayal in her expression and tried not to wince. "You couldn't have told me?"
To Kakashi's great surprise, another voice interjected before he could even think about how to respond.
"Like you told her about her shrink?" Shikamaru drawled, coming to stand beside Kakashi, not quite companionable, but definitely drawing a clear line between Team Eight and the two of them.
Kakashi saw Kurenai's attention shift to the Nara and watched as realisation dawned, crimson eyes widening at whatever she read in Shikamaru's less than pleasant expression.
"It wasyou?"
"Who else?" the Nara returned, andoh,if Kakashi had thought the kid had been givinghimthe cold shoulder over the last two weeks, it had nothing on the icy look the Nara was now directing at Team Eight. "Not so fun when someone keeps something from you, huh?"
Kakashi only managed to bite back a startled snort because he felt a hand curl into the back of his shirt that was decidedlynotthe Nara's, and the shock of the little Hyuuga managing to sneak up on him while he wasactively looking for heroutweighed the incredulous, petty joy he felt at Shikamaru's quip.
"Don't talk to sensei like that." The Inuzuka snapped, his nindog growling at his side, the puppy Kakashi vaguely recalled seeing around now standing at the teen's hip-height and growing every day.
"Like what?" Shikamaru shot back, eyebrow hitching up. "Like she's an adult who should've known better?" he didn't look away from the Inuzuka so he missed the way Kurenai winced at his words, and Kakashi didn't stop him from twisting the metaphorical knife further. "She is and she should have."
Silence fell in the clearing, if silence could be used to describe the non-stop low growl coming from the nindog and the low but unmistakeable agitated buzzing of the Aburame's kikaichu. Then, Kurenai sighed, some of her anger visibly evaporating.
"Why the apprenticeship, Kakashi?" she asked again, though this time, she only sounded resigned and curious, the earlier hurt and indignation carefully hidden.
"I needed a month away from the Village to prepare her for the Jounin Exams." Kakashi explained, not feeling the need to lie, and he valued Kurenai enough as a friend to add a quiet; "It's nothing personal."
But Kurenai seemed to be stuck on the first part of what he'd said, her eyes wide and filled with disbelief. "She's still taking the Exams?"
"Sure is."
Kurenai scrutinised him then, crimson eyes flickering over what little was visible of Kakashi's expression, and Kakashi watched as her brow furrowed and her voice, when she next spoke, was careful and measured, as if she was trying very hard to keep what she was really feeling from being heard. "I can't decide if you forgot what the Exams are like, or if you know something I don't."
Ah. Kakashi should've predicted this the first time he'd heard Kurenai refer to her students as her 'kids'.
"Tsunade was ready to promote her to Tokubetsu barely a month after you got back from Kumo." He told her evenly, keeping his expression serious and his book in its pocket. Then, to fully drive home that this was down to Kurenai's selective vision when it came to her student and not Kakashi's misconception of what was and wasn't possible, he added; "Your student managed to replicate the Nidaime's Total Dark technique as a fresh chunin. If she'd been part of our generation, she'd have been field-promoted months ago."
Kurenai's expression shuttered then, a mix of anger and frustration passing through her eyes before she locked it away.
"You think I don't know that?" she demanded, and there waspainin her voice that made the Aburame shoot her a concerned look, but Kakashi reckoned he understood its source. "But Kakashi, she'sblind. And Hinata has many talents, thank you for reminding me, but sensing isnotone of them."
Kakashi resisted the urge to sigh, closing his eyes briefly when he felt the hand tangled into the back of his shirt tighten and shake, and when he opened his eyes again, it was with his signature bullshit smile in place, and he saw the exact moment Kurenai realised her mis-step.
"Then you'll get to say 'I told you so' in three weeks." He told her cheerfully, then reached for Shikamaru's shoulder and wrapped his other hand discreetly around Hinata's wrist. "But, for now, if you don't mind, I have an apprentice to track down."
And so saying, he whisked them away in a sealless Shunshin.
"Want to tell me what that was about?" Kakashi asked as soon as they came to a stop after the seamless rapid-fire Shunshin that proved to Hinata exactly why she'd decided to emulate the man's fighting style over two years back.
'wasn't ready'She managed to sign, feeling the way her hands trembled from the adrenaline of seeing her team again and not sure if her signs were even legible, but unable to bring herself to speak just then.'I'm sorry'
"Shit." She heard Shikamaru curse, and Hinata could do little more than turn in his direction and hope for an explanation as to the reaction.
"They're your genin team." Shikamaru sighed, not addressing his reaction, but Hinata had an inkling that it had to do with the return of her signing. Then, she jumped when she felt Shikamaru's hand settle on her upper arm, but quickly relaxed, finding the light pressure to be grounding. "While it's true that you're closer than most teams, you have no obligation to them outside of the missions you might get assigned together."
Hinata winced, raising the hand further from Shikamaru to sign;'I love them',the defence instinctive and wrenched from her very core.
"I know." Shikamaru huffed, sounding like he didn't just know but alsounderstood. "And that makes it worse, doesn't it?"
A noise escaped her then, the words striking deep, becauseyes, it did,it did make it worse.
Because she knew her team loved her too, andbecausethey loved her, they should have known better.
In the light of allowing that thought to finally register, of allowing herself to feel not just the sting of the betrayal but also the heat of the anger and the weight of the sadness, Hinata could do little more than squeeze her eyes shut and lean forward, letting her foreheadthunkagainst Shikamaru's shoulder as she fought back the tears the realisation brought.
And Shikamaru just sighed again, accepting the weight, letting Hinata cry herself out, neither speaking nor moving. For a while, the sound of Hinata's hitched breathing was only occasionally interrupted by birdsong or the familiar sounds of Kakashi setting up camp, and the silence allowed her to calm her breaths and lock the memory of feeling her team again, of hearing Kurenai's concern and Kiba's protectiveness, in the very corner of her mind until she could go through it with Ka- with someone from Psych.
"S-sorry." She whispered, pulling away from Shikamaru's shoulder and lifting her sleeve to wipe her face.
"No harm done." Kakashi announced, and Hinata jumped, the man's voice coming from far closer than she'd expected. "But take the rest of today off, and try to focus only on the Exams. I don'tactuallywant to prove your sensei right."
"You've had your month." Tsunade began, staring at Kakashi as the man slouched in her office. He'd arrived on time, which had been her first shock, but an even bigger shock was the fact that the Hatake actually looked like he'dsleptover the last month, a rarely seen looseness in his shoulders. "Still think she can do the Exams?"
"I do."
"You took this seriously." She pointed out, narrowing her eyes. "Why?"
"Almost two years ago, Shikaku told me that the kid would need my help with her jounin promotion." Kakashi replied, and Tsunade allowed him the non-sequitur, trusting that there was a point he was leading to. "I'm not known for my magnanimous nature. Any help I offered would have to be earned. And Hinata earned it."
"Good to know." Tsunade drawled, still not fully following, and gave voice to the thought that popped up at the Hatake's unusual praise. "Do you plan on keeping the apprenticeship after the Exams?"
"The apprenticeship was only ever about getting us both off the missions roster." Kakashi returned, blunt and unapologetic, though Tsunade was surprised when it wasn't followed by his usual dismissive shrug. "I have no need for a protégé."
Tsunade scrutinised the man then, wondering what had gone on in the month the three had been away but reckoning that she was going to get her report soon enough. Still, she couldn't resist from pushing a little more: "I've heard that she fights like you."
"That's more of an inside joke between her teachers than anything intentional." Kakashi dismissed, but it was the speed at which he shot her down that confirmed that it was indeed more than just rumour.
"If you say so." Tsunade allowed, letting this particular line of questioning go without further fight as she focused on the main purpose of calling the Hatake into her office. "This meeting was more to let you know that after the Jounin Exams, I fully expect you to go back to your genin team. The Iwa Exams are less than a month from now, after all."
Kakashi sighed, and Tsunade was certain that if he'd had any less self-restraint, he'd have winced, but all he said was: "I'm aware. My ninken bring me updates on the kids' progress."
Tsunade couldn't help her raised eyebrow, but obligingly waved the man out of her office, more than aware by now that she wouldn't be getting anything more out of him on that matter. "In that case, you're dismissed. I'll see you in the stands tomorrow."
Despite Kakashi's vote of confidence, Tsunade hadn't actually expected the little Hyuuga to reach the combat section.
But the girl made it through the capture evasion section in the Forest of Death.
Then – somehow – through the tracking and field interrogation sections.
Then – with almost concerning ease – through the torture resistance section.
When Tsunade saw that the Hyuuga had made it to the final twelve of the seventeen who had started, she wondered whether Kakashi hadn't been onto something.
She'd already privately decided that, regardless of the girl's performance in the combat section, she'd be walking out of the Exams with a promotion to Tokubetsu, and the sight of the girl, a little worse for wear but considerably better than some of the others around her, solidified that decision.
But then, the combat round started, and the Hyuuga won her first match-up.
Then her second.
Then her third.
Her fights weren't flashy. If anything, the kid's moves reeked of brutal efficiency and the sort of ruthlessness Tsunade rarely saw outside of war-time, but Kakashihadproven that the Hyuuga was willing to use lethal force in a spar.
It stood to reason that she wouldn't hesitate to do so in an actual Exam.
But then again, most of the people watching didn't have the context Tsunade did. All they saw was the Hyuuga's forehead, bared due to the matted blood in her hair pushing her fringe up, and the seal that was missing the twin hooks that typically surrounded the X of the Caged Bird seal.
And since the Hyuuga had not bothered to remove the bandages from around her eyes, andTsunadehad not bothered to silence the rumours of who had had a hand in sending Hyuuga Hotaru to the deepest cells of T , it wasn't difficult for those competing to put two and two together.
To most watching, Hyuuga Hinata was a fourteen-year-old girl who was beating shinobi twice her age while not only blind, but also having lost her dojutsu barely two months prior to the Exams.
On paper, Tsunade knew that there was no way the girl should've ever made it this far.
And yet.
When the Hyuuga finally lost her fourth match-up, Tsunade had the oddest impression that the room breathed a collective sigh of relief. Especially considering that the girl immediately doubled over and vomited, stumbling as she cancelled whatever technique Kakashi had taught her to get her through the Exams, her hands trembling so much it was visible from the stands before she passed out straight into the arms of one of the medics who had swarmed onto the field as soon as Ibiki had declared the victor.
("Notatechnique." Kakashi had told her afterwards, once all the contestants who'd made it to the combat round were in the hospital wing and sleeping off the stress of the last three days. "Threetechniques. Concurrently."
Tsunade had blinked at that, needing a few seconds to process the Hatake's words. "…What?"
"Earth Release to sense ground-based movement, chakra-sensing to catch and counteract ninjutsu, and a modified Kaiten to visualise the space around her."
"In amonth?" Tsunade had demanded, incredulity and something else making her voice jump an octave. "Hatake, that shouldn't have been possible."
"I might have forgotten to tell her that."
And there had been little more that Tsunade could have done in that moment other thanstareat the Copy-nin, disbelief and something not unlike apprehension stirring in her gut.
"The med-nin did say the kid had a migraine by the time she finished throwing her guts up." She'd muttered, the pieces falling into place though not helping her in the slightest with the wariness that had been quick to join the disbelief at Kakashi's words. Then, she'd shaken herself off and focused on the more important matters. "Has she checked if any of her vision has come back?"
And Kakashi had startled, shooting Tsunade a half-assessing, half-guilty glance.
"…I don't think she was aware that was a possibility."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me.")
Jounin had been her goal.
It had been her goal since she'd woken up in her twelve-year-old body and realised that, even if this lifedidprove to be an elaborate illusion, she couldn't allow second chance at life to go the same way as her first had if she wanted to keep her word to Neji.
So she'd set her sights on jounin, worked to find a way around the seal in the meantime, and gave herself over to the process.
Yet, standing in the Hokage's office with five of the other contestants who had made it through the Exams, holding her new flak jacket with a white-knuckled grip, it didn't feel real.
She'd never expected to actuallysucceed.
In her first life, she'd been older than she was now when she got her promotion tochunin. Now, here she stood, one of seven to have passed the Exams and received the coveted rank of jounin.
Hinata had been ready to take the dismissal and follow the others out the door before the Hokage's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Hyuuga, hold on a second." Tsunade called, and Hinata stilled, feeling the other shinobi in the room filter out. Once the door clicked shut, the Godaime didn't bother mincing her words. "I need to check if any of your vision has come back."
Hinata's heart skipped a beat and she turned towards the woman slowly, not sure what her expression was showing but certain that it wasn't good. She heard Tsunade mutter a quiet curse, then a tired; "Shizune, get the lights and the blinds."
Then, unexpectedly gentle fingers were pulling at the knot of her blindfold, and Hinata held herself perfectly still, not daring to so much as breathe while Tsunade worked the blindfold and the bandages off her face.
"This is why you don't run away from the hospital." Tsunade huffed as she pulled the last of the bandages off, lightly flicking the back of Hinata's head in chastisement. "The bandages weren't there because your eyes are completely destroyed, but rather to let your eyes sort themselves out following the destruction of your dojutsu. The Hyuuga and Uchiha dojutsu often interface with the optic nerve – overuse of the Sharingan can cause loss of vision just as overuse of the Byakugan can do the same. It stands to reason that the destruction of your dojutsu by the seal would've messed with your vision, but what I couldn't be sure of in the immediate aftermath was the extent of the damage. Hence, the bandages."
"That's- Nobody told me that." Hinata choked out, feeling her head go concerningly quiet. "Nobody told meanything."
Tsunade sighed, quiet but weighed, and Hinata snapped her mouth shut, tamping down on her chakra at the same time when she realised she'd been unconsciously leaking KI.
"That trick of yours sure is something." Tsunade muttered after a beat, her voice hoarser than before, then she cleared her throat and stepped away. "Try opening your eyes."
Slowly, Hinata obeyed, all the while trying to keep her expectations to a minimum.
This had been the purpose of her month with Kakashi. She'd managed almost two months without her sight. It didn't bother her if she wouldn't ever be able to see didn't.
She hissed as she finally blinked her eyes open after two months with the blindfold, even the little bit of light that filtered through the blinds stinging her sensitive eyes. Blinking through the tears, she cast her eyes around the room, hoping desperately to be able toseeher surroundings.
"I'm going to pull back the curtain a little." She heard Shizune murmur, and then more light flooded into the office, and even as Hinata yelped in pain, she realised that she couldseethe light.
She wiped at her eyes in frustration, heedless of the pain and the tears, and finally took in what she could see of the office.
The edges of her field of vision were blurry, far more so than what she remembered from before, and the blurriness wasn't clearing up no matter how much she blinked. More concerning, however, was the fact that there was nothing where her peripheral vision should've been.
"Use your words when you're ready." She heard Tsunade say, and Hinata whipped around to where the voice was coming from, coming face-to-chest with the Godaime, prompting her to squeak once she realised that the woman was standing far closer than Hinata had expected.
Slowly, all the while hoping against hope that the blurriness around the edges would clear up, Hinata stumbled her way through describing what she could see in the office, trying her best to not let the lump in her throat cut off her words.
"Ah." Tsunade finally sighed, and Hinata tracked her form as the woman made her way back to her desk and sat heavily, briefly putting her face in her hands. "What you described matches up with permanent damage to the optic nerve. You can ask the hospital for a pamphlet on 'glaucoma' if you want."
Hinata tried to process the words, but they meant little.
"I'm sorry for not telling you that there was the possibility, no matter how slim, that your vision might not be fully gone." Tsunade offered, dropping her hands and lifting her head to face Hinata. "But we haven't had many sources for data of long-term effects of seal activation, so it was impossible to tell whether your optic nerve was permanently fucked or only damaged, and I didn't want to give you false hope."
In the part of her mind that wasn't vibrating at the prospect of being able to exist in the world without a permanent migraine, Hinata appreciated the Hokage's consideration. The rest of her mind, however, was focused on one thing and one thing only:
"Is- is it treatable?"
"Curable, no. But manageable." Tsunade announced, and even through the blurriness, Hinata could see the way the woman winced when Hinata immediately deflated. "But, Hyuuga, you got jounin whileblind. I don't think this is as big of a handicap as you're imagining."
Hinata didn't know how to say that being combat-ready was not her main concern.
So she said nothing.
When Tsunade realised that Hinata had nothing more to say, she sighed.
"Congratulations on your promotion. It was well deserved." She offered, and despite the words, the regret in her voice was palpable, though Hinata had no idea what could've caused it. "Good luck with Headship."
Hinata startled, gaze snapping to the woman in shock. "I h-haven't beaten my F-Father yet."
Tsunade smiled then, wry and secretive, and shook her head. "My mistake. Dismissed."
And as Hinata stumbled out of the office, only remembering that she hadn't even bowed once the door shut behind her, she couldn't help but wonder what the Godaime had meant.
She made her way down the stairs almost dazed, her brand new flak jacket clutched tightly in her hands, only to freeze once she stepped out of the Hokage tower and her gaze landed on the small group that stood a few metres from the building.
Genma, Yugao, Hana, Namiashi-san, Shikamaru, and his sensei were gathered outside, all clearly waiting for her, expressions a mix of pride and surprise. Overwhelmed, Hinata turned to Genma, the man still feelingsafeto her even with all her complicated feelings about her hospital stay. Upon noticing her wide and no doubt panicked eyes, Genma stepped forward, his proud grin becoming softer, though no less fond.
"Hey, princess." He greeted quietly, and Hinata's breath caught on a sob at the familiar address. "Ibiki told me the good news. Congratulations."
Hinata's eyes roved over the group, touched and torn in equal measure. Her team's absence was conspicuous, as was Kakashi's, but the fact that Genma had still seemingly managed to gather a group for the sole purpose ofcongratulating herwas enough to bring tears to her eyes.
"Come here," Genma beckoned, clearly catching her reaction, and Hinata didn't hesitate once the man opened his arms, all-but throwing herself into the hug and burying her face in Genma's flak jacket and dropping her own in her haste to throw her arms around the man's waist.
After that, she was being passed from person to person, getting hugs (from Yugao and Hana) and head-pats (from Asuma-sensei) and handshakes (from Namiashi-san) until she landed in front of Shikamaru and froze, unsure.
But Shikamaru just smirked, his hands never once leaving his pockets, and tilted his head. "Vision fully back?"
Hinata shook her head, feeling her shoulders loosen at the familiar bluntness. "N-not fully; no peripherals."
"Hm." Shikamaru hummed, the smirk playing around his lips gaining a pleased slant. Then, Hinata felt his shadow catch hers, and she raised her gaze to meet Shikamaru's, noting the mischief in his dark eyes.
"Don't try to break it this time." He ordered, then turned on his heel and started heading down the street, Hinata mirroring his movements through the shadow connecting them, the rest of the group following behind. "You didn't get a celebration dinner for chunin, so you're not getting out of this one."
Hinata made a sound of alarm and yanked at her chakra before the thought even registered, but the shadow binding her to Shikamaru didn't even flicker. This time, Shikamaru's grin was full of self-satisfaction and schadenfreude, and it didn't take Hinata long to see why:
Even from the distance, it was easy to spot Team Ten and Team Seven squabbling by one of the larger tables in Yakiniku, as well as the more subdued but no less present Neji and Kakashi.
But Hinata's eyes were glued to the familiar sunglasses, furry hood, and raven hair, her team's presence around the table making her breath catch in her throat. She felt her heartrate rise, but before she could make a serious effort to get out of Shikamaru's technique, the teen caught her wrist, and when Hinata turned her head to look at him, she was surprised to find his expression unusually serious.
"Jounin at fourteen is a feat, so dinner is non-negotiable." He murmured, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard. Then, his grin gained a mean edge, though his eyes were still warm and honest. "But the moment you want your team gone, just say the word."
And, somehow, that was enough.
"Okay." She breathed, trying to release the tension along with her exhale and push the last time she'd been around her team out of her mind. "Okay. I-I trust you."
She kept her eyes on Shikamaru instead of the road, so she didn't miss the way his face lit up in pleasure at her words, and that, more than anything, served to banish all remaining doubts from her mind.
There was no reason she should be more scared of dinner with her friends and mentors than she'd been of the Jounin Exams.
Right?
Kurenai watched Hinata interact with her peers, wondering whether this was how Tsume felt every time Kiba left home and came back a different person.
Hinata had always been quiet, so it wasn't surprising that the girl was content to sit and observe her peers' antics rather than get into the middle of them – whatwassurprising was the quiet confidence that now radiated from the Hyuuga.
It was the sort of understated self-assuredness that proved to Kurenai, more than the girl's new hairstyle or the pristine flak jacket carelessly thrown over her shoulders, that the Hinata she was looking at was a completely different girl to the one who had been assigned to her genin team two years ago.
Not to mention the fact that her and Hinata were now of the same rank.
"How the hell did you manage to get a month off missions?" Naruto suddenly demanded, jerking Kurenai out of her thoughts, and when Kurenai refocused, she found him pointing an accusing finger at Shikamaru, though the grin on his face belied the accusative tone. "We haven't had a break since the first Chunin Exams!"
And- now that the boy had brought it up, Kurenai realised that she was curious, too. Shikamaru had been there that one time the boys had convinced her to track Hinata down, but it had taken all of one stilted conversation with Asuma to realise that he'd been therethe whole time.
"It wasn't a monthoffmissions. It was a month-longmission." Shikamaru drawled, smirking at the blond, and Kurenai saw Kakashi snap to attention, visible eye wide, looking for all intents and purposes like a hound on a trail.
"What do you mean?" the Uzumaki frowned, tilting his head, and Kurenai was grateful for the boy's inquisitiveness because she, too, wanted to have an answer to this question.
"Kakashi was in charge of organising the Exams." Shikamaru replied, looking around the table like this should've been common information before he focused on Hinata, who'd grown tenser than a bowstring. His next words were addressed directly to Hinata, his earlier smirk morphing into something softer. "Dad had figured out I was gonna go with you regardless, so he asked me to make sure Kakashi didn't reveal any information that wasn't widely available."
Kurenai couldn't help but give the Nara props when she realised why he'd directed the second part of his explanation to Hinata; the way the girl relaxed at Shikamaru's words would've been obvious even if Kurenai hadn't been watching her body language since Hinata had sat down.
And then Kakashi let out a breath that sounded like a mix between a sigh and a snort and muttered a wry; "Inoichi. Of course."
Shikamaru smirked, inclining his head. "Yeah. Uncomfortable as hell, but it got the message across."
Kurenai stilled once it dawned on her what the Nara was referring to, but the Uzumaki was still confused. "I don't get it."
"His job was to tattle on your sensei if Kakashi showed favouritism." Genma explained bluntly, drawing a quiet laugh from Asuma and a nod from Shikamaru.
Kakashi though never looked away from the Nara, and Kurenai could see the hints of an incredulous grin pulling at the man's lips beneath his mask.
"You sneaky brat." He finally said, his voice sounding like he was torn between laughter and the desire to reach across the table and smack the teen.
But Shikamaru just grinned, lazy and self-satisfied, and inclined his head with a drawled; "Thanks." and Kurenai couldn't help but see the echo of Asuma in the boy.
"So what's the plan now?" Sakura asked suddenly, and when Kurenai turned to the girl, she found her with her chin in her hand, eyes not on the exchange between her sensei and the Nara, but on Hinata, scrutinising the girl with a mix of wariness and curiosity. "Will you still take missions with your team now that you're jounin? Or is there something else you want to do?"
Kurenai didn't miss how Kakashi, Genma, and Asuma all tensed at Sakura's first question, no doubt wondering whether they were going to have to deal with Hinata pulling a runner at the reminder of the rift with her team. But the Hyuuga just sighed, absently fiddling with the chopstick rest while she gathered her thoughts, far calmer than Kurenai had expected her to be.
"My Clan's inheritance is set at jounin." She told Sakura quietly, but Kurenai had no doubt that all but Choji and Ino were fully engrossed in Hinata's answer. "Now that I have the rank, I intend to challenge my Father for Headship."
The silence that fell after that announcement made Kurenai understand just how used she'd become to Hinata's simple approach to the unthinkable; she only had to look around the table to realise that her and Genma's instinctive nod and 'that makes sense' expressions werenotthe standard.
"I didn't think you ever wanted to be Head, in the Academy." Sasuke pointed out from Sakura's other side, frowning at Hinata, and Kurenai was briefly surprised by the boy's participation before she realised the likely reasoning.
"I still don't." Hinata agreed, the corner of her lip twitching in what Kurenai knew to be a wry smile, and she watched it grow when Shikamaru snorted softly at her bluntness. "But I can't allow my Father to remain Head."
"So you'll, what? Challenge him, choose a replacement, and abdicate?" Sasuke pressed, staring at Hinata like he was waiting for the punchline, but Hinata just nodded.
"Essentially." She confirmed, then glanced at her cousin, something hard as steel flashing through her eyes before she turned back to Sasuke. "I'll reinstate Neji-nii-san and my sister as Hyuuga before I step down, but yes."
Before Sasuke or Sakura could say anything else, Hinata's cousin suddenly stood up from the table. But instead of walking off, like Kurenai could guiltily admit that she'd expected, Neji walked around the table until he was standing behind Hinata, then gestured for her to stand.
Hinata stood, not hiding the slight wariness to her motions, and for a moment, the cousins just stared at each other, Neji seemingly warring with himself while Hinata seemed content to wait him out, expression patient if a little confused.
Then, nobody missed the startled squeak the girl let out when she was suddenly pulled into a hug, Neji's arms wrapping awkwardly around her shoulders and squishing her face against his clavicle in a move that couldn't have been comfortable, yet Hinata didn't say anything, clearly too startled to react.
The realisation that the hug looked so awkward because it was very likely the very first time Neji had ever initiated one nearly threatened to break Kurenai's heart. The sight of Hinata's hands slowly rising to ball into the fabric of Neji's shirt, the same way Kurenai had seen her hug Genma more times than she could count,didsucceed in making tears rise to her eyes, and that was before Neji opened his mouth.
"I don't know how to thank you." The teen murmured, his voice muffled by Hinata's hair but still audible. "Youdied."
Hinata had turned her head so her face wasn't completely pressed to Neji's chest, and as a result Kurenai could hear her initial sigh as well as the heart-stopping response that followed.
"And I'd do it again." Hinata whispered, the words quiet but sure, and honest to a fault. And then, as if singlehandedly orchestrating a revolution wasn't enough, as if freeing the entire Branch House from the seal wasn't enough, as if literally dying for her cause wasn't enough, the girl proved that she would never be considered as a typical fourteen-year-old by adding a sage: "You can thank me by living well."
It was early evening by the time Hinata finally bid farewell to her friends and made her way to the Hyuuga Compound. She was tired, but she knew that she could not put off the confrontation any longer, especially if she wanted to finally allow herself to rest.
She'd allowed Namiashi-san to escort her to the gates of the Compound, accepting the man's simple explanation that while he knew that she didn'tneedthe protection, her assorted mentors would feel better if someone walked her home, and he'd been the only one of the adults to have abstained from drinking during the celebration dinner.
"You did something incredible." Namiashi-san told her once they arrived to the gates, the first words he'd spoken to her since they'd left the restaurant. "Regardless of how it goes with Hiashi, I know that Hizashi-sensei is grateful for everything you've done until this point."
"Thank you, Namiashi-san." Hinata had managed to respond, the sudden praise taking her off guard. "It was the least I could do."
"No." The man corrected, gentle but firm in the same way that Genma was, though there was something heavier in his eyes as he met her gaze. "It really wasn't."
And then, not waiting for Hinata's response, he turned on his heel and walked off, leaving Hinata to gather herself and make her way into her Compound by herself.
Before approaching the gate guards, Hinata made sure to fix her flak jacket and the headband that now held her fringe up and away from her forehead, the latter an almost absentminded gift from Shikamaru while Hinata explained the significance of the different seal designs that showed whether the seal was active, used, or dissolved.
Shikamaru had argued that she should show what she'd sacrificed to free the Branch House, and Hinata hadn't been able to think of a good enough reason to refuse.
So now she stood before the gates to her Compound, her forehead bared to display the teal X on her skin that let everyone know that her seal had beenactivated,not dissolved.
Her revolution had cost her the Byakugan, and part of her sight.
Hinata had been prepared for it to cost her life.
It was with that thought in mind that she approached the gate guards, aware that far too much time had passed since her last visit to the Compound to not need to announce her presence.
Upon spotting her, the guards stilled briefly, then one disappeared while the other stepped out of the booth by the gate and bowed.
"Good evening, Hinata-sama. Please come with me." He greeted, and Hinata tensed, not having expected the formal greeting.
Upon entering the Compound, Hinata was surprised to find several of her Clansmen stepping out of their homes and the dojo and looking towards her, and the sight of so many bared foreheads on those she knew had once worn the same type of coverings that Neji had threatened to bring tears to her eyes.
"Hinata." A voice called, and Hinata turned her head to see her father coming down the stairs, though she couldn't quite see his expression. "I hear congratulations are in order."
Hinata blinked, not quite understanding, then saw the meaningful way her father glanced down at her flak jacket and she felt her face heat at having forgotten.
"Thank you, Father." She replied, grateful when her voice came out far more stable than she felt. The need to ask about the guards' behaviour and their unexpected audience itched at her, but she bit her cheek and opted to wait her father out, having learnt that silence was often far more effective than direct questions.
"You said that you would challenge me for the position of Head once you made jounin." Hiashi announced, drawing the attention of their clansmen with his words, and Hinata didn't miss the many startled expressions at her father's uncharacteristic bluntness. "Seeing as you have now reached that milestone, do you plan on following through?"
"I do."
"You are this confident that you will defeat me in combat?" Her father asked, and Hinata forced herself to incline her head.
"I am."
"What are your plans once you become Head?"
"I plan to reinstate Neji-nii-san and Hanabi as Hyuuga. Their punishment was disproportionate to the crime they committed." Hinata replied, having grown surer of her decision after Neji's reaction during the dinner. "Then, I plan to remake the Council of Elders and allow the Clan to choose their new Head."
She didn't miss the murmurs that swept through the gathered crowd at her announcement, nor Hiashi's frown.
"Choose the new Head?"
"I am fourteen-years-old, Father." Hinata reminded the man, managing a wry smile. "I am aware that I am not a good candidate for Headship."
"You are a jounin, are you not? And my firstborn." Hiashi rebutted, and Hinata had never thought that she'd one day find herself in the situation where she was discussing her suitability for Headship with her father, and he'd bein favour.
"If there is no more Main and Branch family, then there should be no reason for birthright to matter." She told the man simply, having discussed her stance on the matter at length with Shikamaru. "And I may be a jounin, but there is more to being Head than being a good shinobi. I believe that the Head of a Clan should be wise and fair, and I am neither."
"And yet you still intend to challenge me." Hiashi observed, though it sounded like it was just that – an observation.
Still, Hinata felt the need to reply: "I do."
An unreadable look passed through Hiashi's eyes, but it was gone before Hinata had the chance to try and identify it.
"Speak your challenge, then."
Hinata took a deep breath, realising that a lot of her work over the last two years had been building up to this very moment.
"The Branch House should've never been sealed. Main House members are just as likely to die in the field and lose our dojutsu." She began, addressing Hiashi but making sure that her voice carried. "If the seal was to be anything other than a means of oppression, then it should've been given to every member of the Clan, no matter the House."
Hiashi didn't say anything in response to her words, so Hinata took another shuddering breath and carried on.
"I have learned of your reasons for not acting to remove the seal. And while I was…touched that I meant so much to you, I cannot forgive you for not doing anything to stand up to Grandfather and put a stop to the sealing."
More whispers now, and a far more identifiable expression in Hiashi's eyes – grief and guilt.
Taken aback by the latter, Hinata stumbled over her next words, arguably the most important words she'd ever speak to her father.
"And s-so, as a jounin of Konohagakure and your firstborn, I challenge you to combat for the position of Head of the Hyuuga Clan." She announced, forcing herself to meet Hiashi's gaze. "Do you accept, Father?"
There was a moment of silence as Hiashi simply looked at her, and then the closest thing to a smile Hinata had ever seen on her father's face began to pull at his lips.
"I do not." He replied, and when Hinata's brain processed the words, she felt her stomach drop out, but Hiashi didn't stop. "You made chunin in Kumogakure, and jounin while blind. I have no reservations about your combat abilities. More than that, you have proven more with your actions over the last two years and your words just now than you ever would in a fight against me."
And then, when Hinata was doing her best to pick up her jaw off the floor and realise that it looked like she wouldn't need to battle her own father for a position she didn't even want, Hiashi finally smiled fully. He stepped forward then, and while Hinata flinched when he first raised his hand, she was shocked when it landed on her shoulder, and she found herself blinking up at her father in confusion, feeling like everything she'd believed in over the last two years had just been flipped on its head.
"I refuse the challenge because I see no need for it." Hiashi told her quietly, and there was no mistaking the pride in his voice nor the warmth in his eyes. "I hand over my position of Head peacefully and voluntarily. May you be wiser and fairer than your predecessors, daughter mine."
Once Hinata finally made it to her room, newly named as the Head of the Hyuuga Clan, she expected to finally be able to rest.
She pressed her back against the closed door and slapped her hand over her lips to muffle the sob that threatened to escape.
She'd done it.
After two years, the Caged Bird seal was no more, and she was Clan Head and in the position to ensure it would never come about again.
She let the tears escape, let herself shake with the mix of shock, adrenaline, and the startled, disbelieving laughter, unable to believe thatshe'd made it.
And then she nearly screamed when a toad suddenly appeared on her windowsill, hopping through the open window and onto the desk before it made its way over to her and brandished the leg with a message strapped to it.
Once Hinata unrolled the message, her hands shaking all the while, there was only one line written within:
Meet me in the Senju blood room at midnight tonight; there's someone I'd like for you to meet.