-Amegakure-
"Thank you for your purchase, Shi no Tenshi-sama. Come back soon" Said that man behind the counter as he watched Toru leave the store.
Toru had discovered this candy store the first time he was able to go out to explore the village. Now he would go in from time to time to buy some bread with fresh fruit filling.
It's already evening, the candy store was already closing, so, before it closes, Toru took the opportunity to buy the last of what was left on the counter. Although the bread did not have the same taste as the one he used to buy in Konoha, it was enough to alleviate that abstinence he felt after so many years without eating that sweet that Kyoko liked so much.
"It's raining again, huh..."
Adjusting his hat and taking a loaf of bread out of the paper bag, Toru wondered when will it be that this will all be over. When will be the day when he will have the peaceful life again together with his teammates and his sensei. It's nostalgic, but it's something that won't come true, at least Toru thinks so. He faithfully believes that nothing will ever be the same even if he returns to Konoha.
'Hm... Ajisai and the girls must be right in the middle of the survival test at the moment. I imagine Ino and Hinata are there too. Ha~ Am I really getting that worried? Right now they may already have suspicions of the Jinchūriki present at the test. If there aren't any, I can simply go out together with Konan and search for them to capture them. However, that won't happen until Ajisai sends Okaminaru with the information. In any case, I must prepare myself... I'll eat this first'.
Walking leisurely through the rain, his body slowly disappeared into the cold buildings of that place.
-Country of the wind-
The sand enveloped her body, running through every nook and cranny until it reached her arms. Trish smiled and looked at her opponent. A pretty girl with pale skin and moon-white eyes. The veins around her eyes swelled and her hands lit up with chakra light.
"Satetsu: Sunaken [Iron Sand: Sand Fist]"
Following Trish's orders, sand gathered in her arms, turning into sandy gloves with spikes on the knuckles.
Hinata noticed that Trish was no ordinary shinobi like the others. There was something strange about her, as she somehow had a ninjutsu similar to Gaara's, only she seemed to have modified it quite a bit.
"Kunoichi of Konoha. Your white eyes tell me you're from that Hyūga clan that's been talked about so much. I'll have to be careful... if you touch me I'll be dead. So I'll kill you before that happens!" Trish knows the most influential Konoha clans. The Uchiha clan and the Asahi clan are two clans Trish has done quite a bit of research on and the Hyūga clan is no exception.
She knows how the Hyūga fight, so for her, fighting Hinata is extremely easy. This led her to jump into the attack without a second thought. She quickly appeared in front of Hinata, charging a powerful punch with the sand gauntlet.
Hinata instantly raised her palms, hit the ground hard with her right leg and threw a slap in the air. The chakra in her hand shot towards Trish like a wave of wind. The attack was about to hit Trish's chest, but....
"Uh?
Hinata's eyes took in the entire surroundings in less than a second. Trish disappeared in front of her as soon as the wave of chakra was about to hit her. This was obviously something that left her confused. However, Hinata tried to calm down and concentrate. There's no way Trish could have moved so far away as to be out of her field of vision, I mean, Trish is still here, but there's no way of knowing where she is.
There's just sand and some cactus everywhere. Everything is dark too, so Trish could be hiding nearby. Still, if she had been hiding, Hinata would have easily spotted her with her Byakugan. That's why a memory from the chūnin exams two years ago came to her mind.
"Sand... the ground has sand on it."
Hinata at that very moment looked under her feet, it was then when a voice whispered in her ear and a female silhouette could be seen behind her thanks to her Byakugan.
"Surprise, Hime-sama!"
Boom!
A crack and the thud of a punch at full power echoed in the empty, cold desert. Sakura and Ino, as they were about to fight Trish's companions, watched this as if the world was in slow motion. They watched as Trish punched Hinata so hard that she sent her crashing to the ground, sending her rolling for several dozen meters as her body was slammed into the ground as she bounced and rolled to a stop at last.
"Hinata!"
Ino and Sakura tried to run to help Hinata, but Josuke and Rohan stopped them.
"We haven't even started our fight yet and you're already running away? No, no, no, no, no. Miss blonde, you broke my katana that cost me so much money. I'm mad at you, so I'll beat you a little" Josuke sighed and fixed his hair. "I know you're not weak, so we'll have an honorable duel."
Meanwhile, Rohan stopped Sakura and looked at her silently before raising his hand in the air pointing at the stars with his index finger.
"The world is a blank sheet of paper. I will write a good story with your blood. Get ready, broad-fronted woman."
Although Sakura was offended by this comment, there was no time to get mad at this guy. She had to get to Hinata's side and heal her before Trish hurt her.
Likewise, while this was going on. Hinata was lying face down in the sand. There was blood pouring from her head and the light in her eyes had gone out. She was in a state where she was conscious, but could not move her body. She was out cold, she would be unable to do anything to defend herself or attack. She could simply await her fate.
Trish walked to where Hinata was lying. She held her wrist in pain and sighed. "God, what a hard head you have. It's even scary. Ha~ my sand glove cracked" She feels shocked. Hinata's skull was tough enough to crack the iron sand glove. No doubt she was a pretty strong girl, but it was all over.
Hinata could see Trish approaching. Her vision became blurry and she could feel the blood trickling down her forehead. Her head hurt quite a bit. It was as if her skull had cracked due to the blow... sadly this is real.
'I... am weak...'
For two years now, Hinata had been relentlessly delivering. There wasn't a day when she wasn't training. Always training, never stopping. Hinata firmly believed that she was getting stronger, she believed that she was getting strong, after all in a short time she surpassed Neji who in the past surpassed her. However, that was not enough.
She now lost. It only took one blow for her to be knocked out.
'I'm weak... I'm so weak...'
With what little strength she had, she tried to get up, but her body was unresponsive.
'Toru... Toru...'
Her weakness drove her to think of him. She had hoped that Toru would come to save her; like a prince saves his princess. She had that wish. She wanted to see Toru back by her side.
Toru was the only one who didn't treat her badly just because she had such "ugly" eyes. She wanted to be next to Toru, the boy who never rejected her like the world had rejected her. For Hinata, Toru is that light that illuminated the darkness in her life. But he is no more.
Her weakness will prevent her from bringing the boy she loves back.
'Toru... come back... don't leave me alone...'
Hinata opened her eyes again. Trish was in front of her, crouched down looking at her curiously. She watched this girl without saying anything.
'She's...she's going to kill me? She'll kill me... I won't be able to see Toru again... it's all over... I... I couldn't do anything.'
Hinata closed her eyes and remembered....
-Eight years ago-
"I wish I had eyes like yours" Hinata remembered those words as she walked back home.
A mysterious boy saved her. A boy who didn't look at her with disgust, fear or as an inferior person. He simply looked at her... with such a peaceful expression that showed no ulterior motives.
'He said... he likes my eyes?'
Little Hinata's face turned bright pink. She felt happy that someone had said something like that to her. A boy told her that he likes her eyes, eyes that normally make other kids feel disgust or fear, but he was different, he said something she always wanted to hear.
This made her a normal kid, right? Now she's just like everyone else? Will she be able to have friends?
'I want to... talk to him again...'
Hinata wasn't allowed to leave the house alone. Normally she never went out, but that day she ran away. Thanks to that, Hinata met the mysterious boy. She thought that if she ran away again she would see him again. So without hesitation she went out.
She walked all over Konoha in the middle of the snow. She looked at everything and everyone who crossed her path sheepishly. Her search wasn't going to work, this was taking too long. But if she wanted to see the boy again, Hinata thinks she must be patient.
So, the day goes by normally. It is already getting dark. Hinata is afraid because it is already quite late and she has not returned home. She is worried and regrets having made that decision.
She walked back home looking at the ground, but then....
'It's... it's the...'
She saw the boy she was looking for so much. That boy who was reading a book alone under a tree in a park. However, even though she had seen him, he hid behind a post and watched him silently. She watched him for ten minutes, almost without blinking.
After that, Hinata began to spy on the boy until that day... the day the boy realized he was being stalked by someone.
The rest is history.
-Back to the present-
Hinata clenches her fists tightly. There are tears running down her cheeks, which fall and mix with the sand on the ground. Until a moment ago she felt weak, so weak that she couldn't even move. She felt pathetic for being defeated in one blow.
She can't bring Toru back if she continues to be so weak.
The veins around Hinata's eyes swell up again. She sighs and opens her eyes. She sees Ino and Sakura fighting against Trish's teammates. It looks like Ino and Hinata are winning.
The enemy starts to retreat because of the monstrous strength Ino and Sakura have. In fact, almost the whole place was full of craters due to the strength of these girls.
In a single second, Rohan uses ninjutsu that turns Josuke and him invisible, but it doesn't work as Ino punched the ground, causing Rohan and Josuke to bounce and fall head first to the ground.
Hinata is watching, they are winning. 'Why am I still lying here' A soft smile forms on her lips. She had forgotten due to her mind being filled with negative thoughts. It was time to grow up... she was no longer the same girl from two years ago. Hinata had grown up.
It's no use shutting yourself away and crying over what you've lost. Get strong and get it back! Take back what you've asked for, take back what you love so much!
Hinata gets up from the ground with difficulty. There is quite a bit of blood coming out of her head. She feels pain all over her body and is about to faint, but she stands upright.
Still, this left her shocked. Trish thought Hinata was dying due to the blow she received, but she was walking in the direction of Sakura and Ino. Although she was staggering due to the pain, she seemed to be doing quite well after the heavy blow she received.
"Ino... Sakura-san..."
Feeling everything getting blurry again, Hinata touched her face. As she gets closer, she has some hallucinations of Toru helping her walk. It feels nostalgic and somehow sad.
'I... I can handle this'
Hinata shook her head. She sighed and then a voice was heard.
"You stood up, huh. You're amazing. I thought I broke your head, but here you are. Do you want to continue our fight? My friends will at some point be outnumbered by those two girls. So, let's get this over with quickly since I need to help them."
Looking up at the sky, Hinata said, "I will finish this...I will finish what I started...I will fulfill what I promised..." After that, she looked at Trish and raised her guard. Trish did the same and smiled, as she thought it was very cute that a girl had such an unbreakable will.
"Satetsu: Sabaku no Sōshiki! [Iron Sand: Desert Funeral]"
Trish slammed her fist on the ground and columns of sand rose up around Hinata. Josuke and Rohan smiled at the sight, as this confirmed that their leader would now fight for real. This jutsu is the most lethal jutsu Trish knows how to use, one that allows her to move quickly in a given range using the sand pillars.