Hinata was very much an early riser.
Some people joked that she brought the sun after her when she woke, with how consistently her rise was followed by the sun.
She rolled out of bed and flicked the lights on.
She slid the door open and locked eyes with her father.
"You're up. Good. I was going to come find you myself."
"Go to the training hall, right? I'll be there in a minute."
Hiashi nodded, and turned away.
She stretched, and changed into more comfortable clothing before flickering into the hall.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"Yes," she bit out.
He lurched forward, a finger already reaching for her heart.
She slapped his strike away and countered.
He leaned out of reach and snapped back, blow after blow coming her way.
The two continued to dance around each other's attacks, deadly strikes always barely missing their targets.
"You're getting much better," Father commented.
She jumped back from a kaiten and took a breath. "Of course. I'm trying not to die, after all."
She struck out, and father wove behind her, and pressed a palm on her back.
A surge of chakra pulsed out, and she slammed into the floor.
"Get up. You must be better than this."
She staggered to her feet, the sensation of pain still fogging her perception and rendering the world into blurry images.
She blinked away tears and assumed a fighting stance again.
He pushed out, and she could see it this time: a column of pure chakra approaching fast.
She made the same motion, and pushed out.
The two waves crashed against each other and dissipated.
He dashed in, and she saw a faint outline of eight trigrams.
Father began to strike, and Hinata forced herself to keep up with the barrage of blows.
The "Eight Trigrams" family of techniques was a series of techniques where each set of blows- two, four, eight, sixteen, and so on- were completed in the same amount of time as the previous, resulting in an exponential increase in speed throughout its completion.
Two, four, eight, sixteen- she thought, while slapping the strikes away.
Thirty-two, Sixty-four- she magnified her own speed to match him, chakra flowing out of her, almost like she'd activated one of the Eight Gates.
Unlike what she'd thought, Father did not stop at the standard sixty-four strikes, and continued.
She blocked with reckless adrenaline pumping through her body.
Chakra, like a shield, helped deflect his blows, but she was still overrun.
With a silent roar of defiance, her perception slowed even further.
Flow. That is the secret behind the Gentle Fist.
She pushed Father's arms away and pushed her hand to his heart.
At the same time, he'd placed his palm on her temple.
They both withdrew their hands, and Hinata hit the floor.
Hiashi sat down, and a branch member set down a tray of tea.
He accepted a cup of tea and took a sip before turning back to her. "That's the first time anybody has ever been able to block my version of the Eight Trigrams. I suppose that's good enough."
She smiled a little bit.
"You need more battlefield experience. All your talent is no good if it's only good in the dojo."
She waited for him to continue.
"So, I will allow you to take missions once again. You'll also have my recommendation for promotion, so you can challenge yourself even further."
She smiled and bowed. "Thank you for the opportunity, Father."
That's a lie. Even I can tell that this was only ever something to control me. It seems like he gave up on trying to bend my will, which means...
She focused on Hanabi, still asleep in her room.
She's next.
Father rose, turned, and left.
She barely caught movement at the edge of her vision, but there was nothing there.
Hiding in the underbrush, a tiny puppet's eye clicked.
—
A group of about a dozen Jonin stood in the room, all watching her earnestly.
"So, Hinata, I've received a recommendation from your father to promote you to Jonin rank. We will now administer your examination," one said.
She nodded, and the jonin placed his hand on her head.
The chakra flowed in, and she relented to the Genjutsu.
—
Hinata waited in a spacious hall, tapping her foot repeatedly.
Was it enough?
She shook the traitorous thought out of her head, as if the mere thought of failing would cause it to come to fruition.
Either way, it doesn't matter.
"Enter," a member of the Promotion Branch said.
She opened the large doors and every gaze in the room turned to her.
It's not just the promotion council, she thought.
Renowned Jonin, representatives from major clans, the Hokage, and other important figures were all in attendance.
The Hokage stepped forward. "Everyone, be joyous and celebrate. It's the promotion of a new Jonin."
Everyone in the room began to clap and her eyes widened for a brief moment before she regained her composure. "I'm grateful for this honour."
Father stepped towards her. "I present you with your new uniform."
She accepted the folded-up vest and cloak and kneeled.
"Now, you will be expected to undertake the powers and responsibilities of your new rank. These will include a bonus to your monthly stipend..."
She tuned him out, still shaking slightly.
She looked straight at Father.
Alright, now how do I get rid of him?
People who are legal adults or Jonin are allowed to legally adopt orphans or those with absentee parents.
To protect Hanabi, I must kill him.
"... I believe that is all. Please report to the mission desk to both finalise the paperwork and to receive your first solo mission."
She nodded, and flickered away.
—
Hinata flicked her hair out behind her, knocking the enemy Sound ninja prone.
"You should've brought a healer," she said, before stomping on his face.
She had little more than a moment before she jumped back from a burst of lightning.
"Hinata?" Sasuke asked. "The hell are you doing here?"
"I could say the same to you?" Chakra flooded back into her eyes.
"I came here on an order. Are you really going to fault me for that?"
She settled into a stance. "No, but I'm curious. Come at me, Uchiha."
Sasuke sighed, a long-suffering noise.
Lightning coiled around him. "Sure, why not." He shot forward, fire wrapping around his fist.
She wove around the attack and jabbed twice.
Huh? I can't close his chakra points?
The fire in his hand formed a handle, then a staff, then the blade of a polearm.
She sent some chakra his way in a genjutsu.
Huh. Never thought you'd use a naginata.
Fuck off! He roared back. It's a glaive, for fuck's sake! Why the hell does everyone give me shit for this?
He swung the glaive, and a wave of lightning shot out from it.
She leaned back before snapping forward, lashing out at the flame.
Where she touched, the flames dispersed.
Sasuke grimaced and jumped back, electricity coursing around his hand.
He swung his arm and electric needles shot out of his hand.
He's going for my tenketsu?
She dug her heels into the ground, and spun.
The needles glanced off the sphere, but Sasuke charged in and punched it and she was sent flying backwards.
How?
The electricity around him flared twofold, and he charged towards her.
How did he get this strong?
Hinata pushed her palm out, and he was sent skidding back to the floor.
He grinned.
He's not even trying, look at him!
He pointed two fingers at her, and she saw chakra build up in his arm.
That won't work.
Lightning flooded out of his fingers, and she moved to destroy it with a well-placed lion fist.
The lightning jumped into her chakra network and she screamed.
Sasuke swung his glaive next to her throat.
"Well, that was pretty fun. You should diversify your skill-set. It'd be a much closer fight if you could actually do something at a distance." He stabbed into the ground, and the glaive disappeared. "Oh, by the way, next time you find someone with that jutsu, you have to release the energy, because it'll shred your chakra network. You can probably feel it right now."
He touched her arm, and Hinata could feel the electricity fade.
That's... a Gentle Fist technique! Did he copy it while we were fighting?
"So, anyway, see you around, or something." He flickered away.
She struggled to her feet and grit her teeth.
"Piece of shit," she muttered.
Well, at least I've got some time to recuperate. That fight took almost everything out of me.
Was there always such a difference between us? She wondered. I couldn't land a single good hit on him.
Even back then, he was always a step up.
Maybe he was right... but it's hard to accept.
She picked herself off the ground and started to run.
I've spent my whole life dedicating myself completely to the Gentle Fist. To think that all of that effort would be misplaced...
She shook her head.
No, it was worth it. I just need to get even better.
—
"I see that you've stepped up your training by quite a bit," Father said. Hanabi trailed behind him.
Hinata turned away from Neji and bowed. "Greetings, father."
"You know, I'm impressed. I thought that you'd abandoned the clan teachings. To think that you'd be so devoted to taking up our art."
She smiled. "I will do what is necessary to keep our honour alive and well."
Father chuckled. "Good."
I'm still not ready to match up to him.
Sayuri stepped into the room.
"Hinata. I was looking for you," she said.
"Oh. Greetings, Sayuri. Do you need me for anything right now?"
She pulled out a book. "Yes, actually. Can you follow me?"
Hinata smiled. "Of course."
She was led to an empty stairwell, and Sayuri set up a small barrier.
"I didn't know you were able to use fuinjutsu," she commented.
"I lived with Naruto for years. Of course I know how to use it," she commented. "Anyway, I heard that you fought Sasuke. Is he alright? I mean, I can talk with him anytime, but I don't see him at all."
What? How? Are they sending summons? Is it some other method?
"He was well. I'm ashamed to admit it, but he wiped the floor with me," she slumped into the wall.
Sayuri pursed her lips. "Well, it's good to hear that he's doing well by himself. And in your defence, I'd probably do just as bad in a fight against him as you did."
"That's a cold comfort." She rested her arm on her knee. "Do you want to know what he said to me?"
Sayuri shook her head. "Let me guess: 'you should change your fighting style'?"
"You too?" she asked.
"I swear, he's always got the least tact in a fight," Sayuri muttered to herself. "But I have to agree. You have a very well-known and well-documented fighting style. You've leaned into it to the detriment of other skills, like your ninjutsu."
Hinata bit her lip. "So are you telling me to stop?"
She rolled her eyes. "Obviously not. As far as a foundational fighting style goes, the Gentle fist is probably one of the best you could have. I'm saying that it might do you better to expand your skills, not deepen your mastery of what you've already got."
"But I'm still not good enough at it-" she spat out.
Sayuri held her hand. "Listen. You're already a master at the Gentle fist. It'll take you years of practice to completely perfect it, but it'll take you a few months to get the fundamentals of jutsu down and combat-ready."
"Let's say I go along with it. Who should I go to?"
Sayuri pressed a piece of paper into her palm.
"That depends entirely on you."
---
"It's been a while since we've gone on a mission together," Hinata said while stretching.
Sakura laughed. "Just remember to keep up."
"Of course. I'd die before I got shown up by you."
The two charged out of the gate.
The wind rushed through her hair, and she smiled.
I'm eager to see if there have been any improvements.
The two stopped when they reached the city gates.
"State your business, Konoha ninja."
The guard's shoulder band had the symbol of Tea Country emblazoned upon it.
Hinata tossed the mission scroll at the guard. "We're here on official business."
He skimmed over the notes, nodded, and stepped to the side. "You two are granted permission to enter."
The two stepped into the city.
"Say, Hinata, have you ever been in the big cities like this?"
"...Once," she admitted.
Sakura turned to her. "Oh? When was that?"
"It was when we signed the treaty in the Capital."
Sakura's face fell. "Oh..." she trailed off.
She waved it off. "It's not your fault."
The two finished the walk in silence.
"Ah, are you the two ninjas that I requested? Please come inside," the man gestured.
A servant poured all of them some tea. "So, since you've read the overview, I'll cut to the point: a group of my employees have recently been ambushed by a group of ninja. I want you to join in and find out who is behind this."
"Takedown and interrogation, then. When should we go?"
The man pointed out the door. "They're going to depart in three minutes. Arrange a plan, or something, I'm not the expert here."
"I wish some clients knew that," Sakura muttered. "Would make a lot of things way faster..."
Hinata smirked. "Alright. We'll find out what happened to your workers."
—
"This is boring." Hinata looked up from her book.
"That's true, but I don't think that saying it out loud is necessary."
Sakura swayed back and forth. "We've been sitting in this carriage for days, Hinata. I'm starting to go a little crazy here."
Hinata raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe a lot crazy here," she sheepishly amended.
Hinata activated her byakugan, then smirked.
"Five hundred metres ahead. Are you ready?"
Sakura grinned in response.
—
The chunin from Waterfall had no way of knowing what was coming. It was supposed to be a simple mission: destroy the tea harvest of a wealthy merchant to the benefit of a client.
After Gato's death, and the subsequent destruction of his transportation monopoly, hundreds of merchants were testing their luck in being able to provide supply routes and goods to nobles.
And time and time again, those routes were ambushed and sabotaged, leaving the merchants empty-handed.
This was meant to be one of those times.
So when the ninja saw a streak of pink and black flash across the sky, he brushed it off as a figment of his imagination.
A second later, he was pinned to the ground, paralysed.
The pink-haired one's hand glowed.
"Alright, we're going to ask you a few questions."
—
"Job well done," Sakura said, wiping her hands.
"It could've been much cleaner," Hinata commented. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."
Sakura laughed. "Of course! Whenever you need it."
The two walked away from the mission, talking the whole way through.
—
A man sat on the ground in a vast grey expanse, littered with holes.
Well, it wasn't like he could see any of it, really. It didn't bother him.
"So that's the Hyuga, huh? How interesting," he said.
Next to him, the gears in a puppet's eye whirred.
----
Hello again!
Coming back this time for a much-needed Hinata focus chapter.
Don't worry, Sakura will get her time to shine, eventually.
It's a little bit short this month, because I was really struggling to finish on time (thank you, deadlines).
I was still able to make it though, which is quite the relief.
No points for guessing who is in the epilogue, by the way.
Please comment and vote! Internet numbers make me really happy!
And if you don't have anything you want to comment, just leave a :) down here!