[Training Ground Forty-Four - The Tower / Hours Later]
Haku watched with a smile on his face as his wife bottle-fed the orphaned tiger cub while it was wrapped in a light pink blanket with pink roses stretched into it with dark red thread. The two of them were relaxing on the spectator rafters, waiting for the next part of the Chunin Exams to being.
Wait. Allow me to explain what happened that brought to this point.
After arriving at the Tower - Tigress activated the scrolls while Haku held the sleeping cub in his arms to keep her warm; when the seal of the two scrolls was set, Zabuza in all his glory appeared before them, congratulating the two of them for surviving the Forest of Death. So far, only two teams had passed the trial - The Duo of the Mist and the Sibling Trio of the Sand, the youngest of which locked eyes with Tigress as if he was telling her that he had his eyes on her; she merely smirked at the notion. When they settled, Tigress asked Zabuza to go to the Inuzuka Family Clinic and purchase some formula that was best suited for an orphaned tiger cub, a pink blanket, and a baby bottle. Zabuza left and Tigress waited with her husband for the other teams to get there.
Team 8 soon came, somehow managing to collect two scrolls. They locked eyes with Tigress and Haku; Kiba growled at them, Shino sent them a silent glare, and Mori...she didn't do or say anything. She just looked at the ground.
When Zabuza returned with what Tigress asked for and 2 bento lunches for his students, the married couple settled down to relax until the rest of the teams came and the real fun could begin. While she sat calmly and silently, Tigress was getting excited. This was the moment she planned for - stage one in her Revenge against Konoha.
"I can feel your blood rushing with excitement, My Cub. This is the moment you have been waiting for, is it not?" - Hantei purred from the depths of Tigress' Mind, causing the girl to smile even wider.
'It is, Lady Hantei. The only way that could make this better is if I face off against Naruto or Neji in my round; I will enjoy giving them the same hell they gave me.' - Tigress purred back.
"I have to say, this...'confession' will truly destroy them." - Hantei said.
'I hope it does.' Tigress said once again as she finished the bottle for the tiger cub.
"Talking to Lady Hantei again, Tigress?" Haku asked as he sat next to his wife with a smile on his face.
"Yes. I'm just excited is all. I've waited a long time to get here and now that I am here, I can hardly wait to see what I shall accomplish." Tigress said as she adjusted her arm to set her palm on the cub's stomach so she could drink comfortably.
Also, what do you think we should name the cub, Love?" Haku asked he looked at the little creature with a paternal expression.
"How about you pick a name, Haku-Kun? You're the one who found her." Tigress smiled back.
Haku thought for a while before he looked at Tigress and said, "How about Kōri (氷 = Ice)?"
"Kōri? That means 'Ice', right Love? Why that name?" Tigress asked out of curiosity.
"Her eyes remind me of a frozen field and her fur is as white as freshly fallen snow; well, if she was pure white but her stripes are lovely too," Haku explained with a smile, earning him a kiss from his wife.
"I love the name, Haku-Kun." Tigress said as she set down the empty bottle and began patting the back of the newly named Kōri until she gave a tiny burp before she snuggled into the blanket in Tigress's lap. Tigress rested her head on Haku's shoulder and the two of them watched the sleeping cub.
"Does this mean my first grandchild is a cat?" Zabuza asked as he looked at them with his arms folded, leaning against the wall.
"It would appear so." Tigress chuckled before she relaxed; she was going to need all the energy in the next few hours.
[Hours Later]
The rest of the teams along with their teachers and the matches were given. Tigress watched with her arms folded and never turned away from the arena.
The First Match was between Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado: That match was in someway interesting - it showed just how much Sasuke had fallen off his rocker. Yoroi was able to get him down and take a good amount of his chakra before his Uchiha Pride flared up and he did a bootleg very of Rock Lee's Dancing Leaf Shadow, he called it Lion's Barrage. It managed to defeat Yoroi, stroking the Uchiha's Ego once again; after the fight, Sasuke walked back to the rafters and spoke to Kakashi about something before he stood next to his teammates but made sure to glare at Tigress, she didn't give a damn and that pissed him off further.
The Second Match was Zaku Abumi and Shino Aburame: Once again, the calmness of Shino and his loyalty and trust in his bugs proved to best yet another opponent. If only he was that loyal to her...maybe she wouldn't have left. Oh, who was she kidding? She was still going to leave. Shino agreed with anything if it meant he could keep the piece of something.
The Third Match was between Misumi and Kankuro of the Sand: Kankuro managed to secure victory for himself with his puppeteering skills; annoying as he may be, he is a skilled puppetmaster, Tigress made a brief note to keep an eye out on him.
The Fourth Match was a real treat for Tigress: Sakura Haruno vs Ino Yamanaka, the 2 former best friends of the 'late' Hinata Hyuga. The three of them were close, but the obsession the 2 girls had over Sasuke put a major strain on their relationship and Hinata was caught in the middle - choose one best friend and betray the other, she couldn't...she wouldn't choose and they discarded her instead. Tigress watched as the two of them secured their headband protectors around their foreheads before the battle began but the cunningness of Ino managed to trap Sakura with chakra infused strands of her hair and preformed a Mind Transfer Jutsu upon her; Ino - masquerading as Sakura - was about the forfeit using the Haruno's Body but Naruto called out to fight it and that's exactly what happened. The other presence inside of Sakura kicked Ino out of her head; the strain on Sakura's mind and the chakra consumption of Ino caused both girls to KO, ending the match in a Tie.
The Fifth Match was a brawl between the Weapon Mistresses - Tenten of the Hidden Leaf and Temari of the Hidden Sand: While Tenten's arsenal of weapons was interesting, Temari played it smart, waiting for all 3 moons on her fan to show before she sent Tenten's strongest move right back at her in a cyclone of wind. When Tenten came crashing down, Temari caught her; or rather, she embedded the tip of her fan into Tenten's back before throwing the unconscious girl to the ground, securing her victory.
On to the Sixth Match - could Shikamaru Nara and Kin Tsuchi enter the ring, please? This is way Shikamaru was and still is known as the Smartest of the Genin, he used Kin's String Shadow, as thin as it was, to capture her in a Shadow Possession Jutsu. He took out 3 kunai and she did the same & when the two of them threw the daggers, Shikamaru leaned back to dodge, Kin smirked thinking she would dodge the attack too but what she failed to realize that the wall behind her was Shikamaru's plan - Face meet wall. Wall meet face.
When Match Lucky Number Seven hit, Tigress was completely entertained, it was time for the hounds to fight - Naruto Uzumaki (Her Former Crush) vs Kiba Inuzuka (Her Former Teammate): The match was all fangs and claws when Kiba fed Akamaru and himself food pills to increase their beastly attributes and Used the Human-Beast Mimic Technique for Akamaru to take the form of Kiba and for Kiba to take the mind of a beast. Their combined jutsu - The Fang Over Fang - proved to be a problem for Naruto but when Kiba started barking about him becoming Hokage Naruto made it clear that he wasn't gonna let that happen. Naruto made a plan and it fell through - Using a smoke bomb to cloak himself in the Fang Over Fang, he turned into Kiba but Kiba sniffed him out and struck him - that was Naruto's chance - Naruto switched the transformation to look like Akamaru and in his confusion and rage, Kiba struck the other Kiba, who also turned into Akamaru. Naruto took this chance to release his jutsu and struck Kiba, who now realized he was out a partner. Naruto began a jutsu but Kiba tried to get behind him to take him out...Naruto farted...right in his face...and it stunned him. Naruto made 6 clones and with him, make a barrage of his own. With the Uzumaki Barrage, he defeated Kiba and won the match.
Tigress smirked at the thought of Naruto showing that he had some brains in that Ramen Addicted head of his.
"Onward to the next match," Hayate called out. All the eyes darted to the monitor and when the two names popped up, Tigress felt her smile widen like it never has before.
Neji Hyuga vs Tigress
[End of Part One]
[Wait...]
[You know what...]
[I'm not ending it here, my readers deserve good content, they shouldn't have to wait for it.]
Tigress's claws opened and closed, her bones cracking in excitement as her blood began rushing. She grabbed the rail and was about to jump down when Zabuza placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him.
"Remember, Tigress. No killing." Zabuza reminded her.
"Don't worry," She began as she pulled out her sword from her sash and handed it to Zabuza, "I have something worse in store for them." And with that, she leaped down to the stone floor of the arena, coming face-to-face with the prodigy of the Hyuga Clan.
"Are both fighters ready?" Hayate began before Neji held a hand up to silence him.
"Before we begin, there's something I want to say to my opponent," Neji said as his eyes locked with the mask of Tigress, who folded her arms, waiting for him to speak. "Do you believe in destiny?" Neji asked her; Tigress flicked an ear at him.
"In some regards, I believe that everyone has a destiny or they can choose to make their own. What's your point?" Tigress asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Then you must understand you have no chance of victory if you face me. Destiny has already deemed me the victor so if you are as smart as you appeared to be in the Test Exam when we first began, you will forfeit and save yourself the embarrassment of losing to me." Neji said with his voice dripping in arrogance.
"And what makes you think Destiny deemed you the victor of our encounter? Did she visit you in your sleep and say "You are destined to defeat The Tigress of the Mist when you face her in the 3rd Stage of the Chunin Exams"? Was it written in the stars last night? What makes you think you're better than me?" Tigress asked, her defiance slightly angered Neji.
"I am a Member of the Hyuga Clan. The Byakugan is unmatched, I can easily defeat you." Neji insisted. Tigress smirked.
"You think I'm afraid of your Kekki Genki? Let me tell you a little secret," Tigress's smirk grew into a Cheshire Cat Grin, "I've faced off against your kind before...I was not impressed." Those words confused Neji and the audience. what did she mean she 'faced off against one of his kind'? Did she fight a Hyuga? A Byakugan-User?
"What nonsense are you speaking?" Neji demanded. Tigress held up one finger.
"Let me ask you something: Do you believe fate will allow two people to meet...if a third linked them together?" Tigress asked.
"A Third?" Neji asked.
"A Person who left an imprint on the lives of 2 people who never even met, but due to that person, those people are fated to meet. In our case, we were linked by a third, Neji Hyuga." Tigress's grin began to make Kunerai nervous, something she was saying wasn't right.
"Who is this third who linked us?" Neji asked with narrowed eyes.
"Why...It was your darling cousin. The Heiress you are have been looking for - Hinata Hyuga." At the mention of her name, every one of the Hidden Leaf Village gasped. How did Tigress know Hinata? Did she know where she was?
"My Cousin? You...You know where she is?!" Neji barked as he took a step towards Tigress, obviously looking aggressive; this is what she hoped for.
"I know this - She can never turn home again." Tigress purred.
"And why is that?! Tell me! Where is Hinata?!" Neji demanded with a yell.
"Because...A Dead Person can't walk." Those words landed a weight on the hearts of everyone in the room, eyes widened, breath shortened.
"What...What did you do?" Neji whispered.
"If it's hard for you to understand in cryptic, I'll say it plainly: Your Cousin is not coming home because she is dead and I know she is dead..." Tigress reached into her pocket and pulled out a familiar item; it made Neji's heart freeze...
It was his Aunt's Tiger Pendant Necklace. The same one she gave to Hinata before passing away. The one Hinata took with her before she left.
"Because I'm the one that took her life. I killed Hinata Hyuga." Tigress said as she held the pendant high by his chain for all to see. The room was so quiet that a pen could be heard dropping from the hall outer ways but that silence broke with an angered roar.
"MURDERER!!!"
[End of Part One Huh, two chapters in one day, not bad, Amaterasu. Not bad,]