Chapter 8: Arc 1: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 

I kicked my feet in a rhythmic cycle, back pressed to my soft bed. I wasn't used to having so much energy, and I definitely wasn't used to having nothing to do with all the newfound vitality. I was… bored. Yes. That.

Should I run about screaming youthful nonsense? I shuddered at the thought. No. Never that.

I wasn't sitting here for nothing, though. Normally I'd be training at this time, or at least meditating. But today was different. Today was the day Hinata was to show up for our first sparring session, so of course I was looking forward to it.

I vibrated with energy, with no avenue for release. I was eager. I was boored.

I stared at my roof in contemplation, if I squinted, really looked deep, I could faintly see circles. Circles that looked like targets. I fingered a shuriken in contemplation.

As tempting of a prospect as it was, luckily—for my dads' sanity— I instinctively zoned in on a familiar comforting presence as it entered my range.

Of course, I sped out my room, and bound down the flight of stairs in a single leap. I almost ran into my dad—it was a near thing— but instead I ran into and through a brittle log of wood that appeared from within a wisp of thin odourless smoke.

I got to the door as she prepared to knock, "Hey Hina!"

"Hello Ino," she greeted me with stifled undertone of mirth, one felt but not seen or heard. She glanced back at her pale eyed companion and slightly nodded. Said companion left with nothing but a bow, "Father gave his approval, as long as I'm escorted back before dark."

Her tension seemed to bleed away as the Hyuuga escort left.

"No problem. I'll guard you with my life," I responded seriously and she reached a hand into my hair, and removed a stray leaf or three.

Dad walked up behind me, "Ah. This is the Hinata I've heard so much about?"

"Ah, yeah. Dad, meet Hinata. Hina, meet dad."

"Greetings, Yamanaka san," she responded with a formal bow.

Dad responded in kind, "Welcome, Hyuuga san. Any friend of Ino is a friend in this house."

"Ahh no need to be so formal; Just call him uncle Inoichi, or old man, Hina."

She accepted my request with a lighthearted giggle, "Then thank you uncle Inoichi."

The Hinata of but a month ago would've politely refused, and put on airs; I internally pumped my fist at the progress made.

Dad smiled amiably before turning to me, "So you'll be sparring today, correct?"

I responded with an energetic nod, "Yeah. She's really fast, and really good."

He raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

His question had multiple meanings—as most things did with shinobi. I dismissed his concerns with a wave, "Of course I can trust her, she's my friend, dad."

I felt gratitude and compassion radiating from Hinata at my admission, for some reason. I always reassured her of our friendship, but she'd always be surprised and touched when I did.

"Alright. If you're sure," he stepped away, and headed to our meditation room.

"Hmm… Do you want to relax first? Or get right to it?" I asked eagerly.

Hinata responded easily, "I have no preference," but I could feel how tense she was, and how her dread rose at the prospect. Hrm.

"Right to it then," I bounced on my feet, as I lead the way to to our training grounds.

She giggled demurely, "You're so excitable, Ino."

"Ah… yeah," I said sheepishly as we walked through the halls, "I'm just looking forward to training with you is all."

She responded with a hesitant smile, "I'm glad."

 

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We faced each other on the field, and with a bow, she eased herself into a loose stance.

Her hands were relaxed, legs spaced evenly to allow for freedom of movement. Her breathing was even.

We started at an even pace, both intent on probing each others' capabilities. I deflected her light strikes as she did the same to mine.

It didn't take long for me to come to an annoying realization.

Occasionally when I'd deflect a jab, I'd see her intent to follow up and strike— but it never came. In that moment, she wanted to strike. It was instinctive, her body urged her to move. Willed it so.

She did not.

At first, I assumed it was a feint of some sort. Some sort of mind game. After a few times, however, I realized that it must have been hesitation. She had the instinct—it was trained into her I assumed— but for some reason, she stopped herself from following through.

She went against her own training.

Why?

I became more lax and I deliberately left openings. I allowed myself to slow down, I tripped myself with my own footwork, but the expected attacks never came. Not once.

Puzzling.

We still traded jabs, but they resulted in nothing. I willed myself to not deflect one, to allow it to hit my shoulder. It did nothing. It was a simple palm strike.

She wasn't even using the Hyuuga Juuken. I felt a flare of irritation as I stopped in my tracks.

There's a reason for this, Ino.

She's not insulting you, Ino.

"Hey Hina," I must have let something in my voice show my irritation, so I took a few steadying breaths to calm down, "Why aren't you taking this seriously?"

She looked chagrined, "Ah… I am…"

I shook my head, I could literally feel her guilt, shame and hesitation.

"You're not, you're… hesitating or something."

We stared at each other in consternation, before I continued, "We're friends right?"

"Of course," she responded immediately, but I could feel the cracks start to form in her confidence.

"Then…" I stopped myself. I had to be careful here. There was a reason for this. There had to be be. I wanted to ask why, to be direct. I wanted to bulldoze through it. That was how I always operated. It always seemed to work for me.

But… she seemed so fragile.

She isn't Sakura.

That realization hit me like a punch to the gut. They may have had a single point of similarity, but they couldn't be further from each other if they'd tried.

Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides, skin painted pink with exertion. She painted a frustrated picture, and I heard her speak without her mouth, Please don't abandon me.

I winced. She isn't Sakura, Ino. Don't fuck this up.

My usual methods… I wasn't stupid enough to think they'd be a good idea. They may work, but I could see how they'd cause friction between us. Friction that could last forever.

I took a mental step back, "Okay, let's talk. What's wrong, Hina?" and a physical step forward as I gently took her hand in mine, and eased the tension out of her fists, and into a loose palm. I could feel her hope fight a three way war with hesitation, and resignation.

"Hey, it's okay Hina, it's me."

She grasped my hand like it was her lifeline.

Like a sailor in a storm, grasped his only remaining oar. Like a starving child with a solitary slice of bread, she gripped my hand in desperation.

Kami, I almost ruined this.

"I…" she flinched, but I squeezed her hand in support, "I just didn't want to hurt you."

My mouth immediately went to say "That's all?" But I stopped myself cold.

It was times like these that I remembered that even though I'd constantly included her in conversations, constantly sought out her opinions, constantly dragged her on outings in the village, she still had deep self-esteem issues.

I knew today meant a lot to her. It had to have, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed—unless… she felt pressured?

Hrm.

My read was that she wanted to help, but fought herself every step of the way.

This was more than just self-esteem issues, then.

Was it just her nature? I wouldn't be surprised, Hinata was surprisingly… gentle, for a shinobi. That would be a serious hurdle for any aspiring shinobi to overcome. It just didn't mesh well with the job, and didn't mean good things for ones' life expectancy.

I knew that. She should know this. She should know this and yet…

Graduation wasn't that far off. After graduation… the kid gloves would come off. Our training would step up, and not far from that, we'd have to undertake missions.

Missions that would involve a lot worse than simple jabs.

This was a hurdle that had no business existing. It was one that… really shouldn't have existed for any clan heir. Any competent trainer shouldn't have even allowed it to take root.

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I wanted to know how she got to this point. How she managed to learn tools for killing, without any of the intent behind it.

I wanted to find her instructor and yell at them—even though I knew it'd likely cause a diplomatic incident.

I wanted to beat them into the ground for letting this persist.

But maybe… maybe it really was just her.

Maybe she stubbornly held on to her beliefs.

Maybe she was too pure for this world.

And… I had to paint her black.

I sighed.

I'm sorry, Hina.

"Hina… I'm sorry but, you know that it's inevitable, right?"

She nodded gravely.

"One day, you will inevitably take a life," I didn't think her complexion could get more pale, but it did, "We all will. I'm sorry."

I gave her hand a comforting squeeze. I didn't know how to deal with this, really. It was expected for clan heirs to be… somewhat desensitized to hurt, and inevitably death.

We'd been instructed in how to turn the enemy into a them. View them as less than human. It wasn't an infallible method but it'd help us not hesitate when the time came.

Defeat meant letting your village and family burn, after all. There was no greater impetus.

I think… I had to wean her off of this. Get her used to fighting in a safe environment. Get her used to attacking with the intent to hit. Maybe not to damage—not immediately at least. Baby steps.

I'll do all I can.

"Alright, how about this," she looked up at me, unshed tears pooled in her eyes, and I winced, "Aww, come on Hina. Don't let tears mar that pretty face," with a finger, I wiped her closed eyelids clear, "There."

Without preamble, I stepped back and pulled up my shirt, exposing my midsection to the world, and her eyes widened, "Right here bright eyes, hit me."

Anxiety overtook sadness and resignation, the kind of anxiety that felt like tingles in your abdomen. The kind that made one tremble. It made it hard to speak, hard to think.

My own legs grew weak as it washed over me. It was that heavy.

She reacted differently. She just… stopped. Shut down.

What.

Her mind went eerily silent, and I looked down at what she kept her eyes locked onto— my exposed stomach, specifically my budding abdominal muscles.

"Oh yeah, I noticed they'd starting coming in recently. Cool right?"

I was nervous, I didn't think they were cool, not really. I'd always thought muscles made girls look ugly, but I'm not sure how much of that was due to Sasuke's apparent preferences.

Luckily for my fragile ego, she nodded dumbly, "Y-yes. Very cool."

I grinned. Okay, she wasn't all gone, "Come on Hina."

I nudged her towards the target. Specifically, my stomach.

She squirmed, but had nowhere to run to, as I grasped her palm tightly.

Eventually, she came to a conclusion, and her determination rose, "Okay… I'll try."

"You sure?"

"I will," she nodded shakily, as she willed herself not to squirm.

I was glad for it. I'd started to think I made a mistake, and pushed too far, too fast. I didn't know what the root issue was, so I was fumbling around in the dark, for the most part. I could feel her emotional responses, but that was only an aid, unless I forcefully dug deeper.

I wouldn't do that to a friend, though.

"Okay, no time like the present. 3, 2, now!—"

"—Ha!"

The veins around her eyes bulged and she reacted immediately with a palm directly to my abdomen.

It hurt. A lot.

Having a Tenketsu forcefully closed was a pain that I'd never felt before. I could literally feel my Chakra Pathway shudder from the blow, and the afflicted area felt weak. Fragile.

Attempting to channel Chakra through there brought nothing but a debilitating pain. My body wanted to avoid even touching it.

It was the kind of pain that made me want to curl into the fetal position until it went away.

Damn.

She didn't pull her punch at all.

I focused on the lingering anger that I felt, and that helped me will myself to not even grunt. To not make a sound.

This was important. I had to show her that I wasn't hurt. I had to show her that I could be trusted with receiving her blows. To not bend and break.

I wouldn't shatter.

She needed a rock, and I had to be that rock.

I pushed past the distraction that was my aching abdomen and grinned, "You did it."

Her wide eyed gaze flitted between my abdomen and my face rapidly, before settling on my face, "I did…"

I felt pride for my friend. This was only the first step, but it was an important one. It was a step that she should've taken years ago. One that she should've been guided down. I don't know much about training heirs—and children alike— but even I could tell that something went wrong there.

I grit my teeth, "Now do it again."

"Wha—"

"Again!"

She did it again, hitting a different Tenketsu this time.

It didn't hurt any less.

In fact, having them both closed put pressure on all the others, somehow. I felt squeezed in my own body.

I rapidly channeled my Chakra, in an attempt to massage the points open. The pain only flared up worse, but I persisted.

Maybe I didn't think this through.

"Again!"

I fought back a wince as she hit yet another Tenketsu, this time on my hip.

Oh Kami, this had to stop.

"There," a grunt left my mouth unbidden, and her eyes widened at the sound, "No, no. That wasn't so bad, right?"

I could feel my resolve weaken as she whimpered, but I pressed on. I had to. She had to get past this.

"Hey. I'm okay, Hina. Look, I already got one Tenketsu back open. It's okay, see?"

Her Doujutsu flared open and the veins around her eyes bulged again as she inspected me, and I watched her emotional state carefully. She seemed to be calming down somewhat, which was good, of course.

"See?"

She nodded hesitantly, "Mmm."

I stretched, willfully ignoring the pain that flared up as I did so. I had to put up a brave front, after all.

"Ready to try again?"

She nodded, a bit shakily, but I could feel her resolve strengthen slightly, so I pressed.

"Go!"

Now, I wasn't a glutton for punishment. I wasn't a masochist. So this time, I was ready.

My arm dully ached as I deflected her blisteringly fast direct strike to the side, and she instinctively rolled with the momentum, and followed up by rolling in place, and backhanding a Tenketsu in my shoulder before freezing in her tracks.

Yep, this was going to suck.

"Great!" I grinned through the pain, this one hurt just as bad as the others did, "I knew you could do it, Hina."

She gave me a hesitant smile as she calmed herself down. Kami, her emotional state fluctuated so much.

We started at a slow pace, which ramped up as much as I could handle, with a minute or so in between rounds. By the end of the session, the best I managed was deflecting three strikes before getting hit.

Progress never sleeps.

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