Chapter XX
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"Urgh! It's not fair, why did Sensei pair Sasuke with Hinata? I wanted to fight that smug Uchiha myself!." Naruto grumbled immediately upon hearing the announcement but his complaint fell on deaf ears.
Ino shook her head, eyes locked on the two still figures in the sparring arena below. "Look at them both, Naruto. They're dead serious - this isn't just practise."
Yumiko nodded contemplatively. "Yeah, I can understand Sasuke having that intense look - because that's just his usual . But Hinata also seems unusually determined to win this time."
A teasing lilt entered Ino's voice. "It looks like she's trying to complete the cycle started by her brother by defeating the other Uchiha. Don't you think so?"
Yumiko scoffed lightly, a hint of Uchiha pride flashing in her eyes. "Hmph, we'll see about that. Don't underestimate the Uchihas." Though her relationship with Sasuke was a little strained, she wouldn't root against her own clan even if Hinata was a good friend of hers.
Within the arena's bounds, Sasuke and Hinata had already taken their stances, with their dōjutsu activated .
"You should surrender," Sasuke stated flatly. "I won't go easy on you."
Hinata's pale eyes didn't waver. "You don't need to. And I won't either."
A heartbeat of silence passed before their sensei's booming voice rang out. "Begin!"
Instantly, Sasuke exploded into movement, his fists cutting through the air as he closed the distance in the blink of an eye and punched towards her.
Hinata, however, wasn't caught off-guard - flowing like liquid mercury, she deflected his vicious punch with a Gentle Fist parry before lashing out with a counter-strike aimed at his liver point.
The Sharingan whirled as Sasuke twisted his torso, barely avoiding the blow. Without missing a beat, he dropped into a low leg sweep, but Hinata leapt back just in time to evade being grounded.
Seizing the moment, Sasuke rapidly wove hand seals before exhaling a massive fireball . Hinata's eyes widened as she executed a flurry of mid-air backflips, the searing flames licking at her heels.
'She read my chakra moulding,' Sasuke realized grimly. 'Direct ninjutsu is too predictable if she can anticipate it. I will need some distraction.'
As Hinata landed, rebalancing herself after dodging the fireball, Sasuke erupted in a ball of smoke.
'Body Flicker Technique!' Immediately realising what it was she quickly raised her guard up, eyes widening as he reappeared right in front of her, launching a roundhouse kick right at her face.
Her first thought was to dodge by jumping back a few feet away - but her instincts started ringing as soon as that thought appeared in her mind. Trusting her gut, she didn't dodge and used her elbow to tank the powerful blow.
THUD!
Hinata grunted, wincing in pain as her whole arm creaked from the force of Sasuke's kick. But it was the right call - just a few feet from where she would have dodged, an orange stream of fire blasted the ground, scorching it.
'He used the smoke from Body Flicker as a distraction to create a clone while I was too focused on the position he would appear and used that to ambush me,' she thought grimly, realizing his plan. He was more cunning than she thought, if not for her instincts, she would have lost right away.
But fortunately for her, his ploy had failed, and now he had to pay the price. Seizing her golden opportunity, as he didn't have the time to back away, Hinata palmed her hand tightly and struck with surgically precise timing, slamming right into his solar plexus. The chakra-laced blow launched Sasuke across the other side of the arena, where he crashed into the wall.
"Oh damn! That must have hurt. Are you sure this is just an academy spar and not some life and death battle? They are going hard," Kiba muttered, a shiver running down his spine as he watched the intense exchange.
Shikamaru cracked open one lazy eye to observe the fight. "Are you sure these two don't have some kind of grudge against each other? The way they're going about it. It seemed a little unnatural."
Sakura waved a dismissive hand. "That's bullshit, Shikamaru. You really think the gentle Hinata would hold a grudge against someone?"
The Nara genius didn't look convinced. "Well then why else would she be fighting with such intensity? This doesn't seem like just eagerly wanting to win to me."
Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but then faltered. Frowning slightly, she admitted, "I...guess I'm not totally sure either. Hinata has always seemed so kind and gentle."
What they didn't know was that the reason for their intense fight was linked to their respective siblings.
For Hinata, she was upset ever since a certain feeling had taken root in her after witnessing her brother kiss with the Uchiha girl. She couldn't quite name the emotion that welled up within her - something akin to jealousy, yet more complicated. Hinata had never experienced such sensations before. But seeing her brother's impressive victory over the Uchiha girl, she felt strangely annoyed by the competent display. Not because her brother won but how good the fight Yumiko had given.
The only way Hinata could think to purge this puzzling feeling was to outperform her by defeating Sasuke, her twin brother.
As for the Uchiha prodigy, a singular driving force consumed his focus: he had to win, no matter what. Sasuke's urgency was stoked by the learning that his sister Yumiko had unlocked her Sharingan's second tomoe before him. He couldn't bear falling behind his younger sibling.
All those years of ruthless training, enduring their father's scorching expectations - it would all be for naught if Sasuke couldn't prove his superiority now. His dream of one day killing Itachi and restoring the Uchiha clan's honour wouldn't even start if he couldn't surpass his sister..
Back to the fight.
The dust settled, as Sasuke slowly rose to his feet, the metallic taste of blood lingering at the back of his throat after he crashed into the wall. He quickly assessed his injuries, calming himself as he noticed the damage wasn't too severe.
"Argh!" But a sudden grunt of pain escaped his lips as an excruciating sensation lanced through his chest. His chakra network felt disrupted, pathways jostled from Hinata's precise strike.
Damn it...my fireball jutsu is unusable,' Sasuke realized grimly, feeling the disruption in his chakra network. It would take precious time to realign and restore proper flow - time he didn't have.
Onyx eyes bored into the Hyuga girl's pale, pupil-less gaze across the arena. For now, he was limited to taijutsu. But to overcome the Byakugan's insights, Sasuke would need to apply the Uchiha's signature condensed, precision style.
A heartbeat passed as he took a steadying breath, calming his thundering pulse before dashing across the floor towards Hinata, ignoring the aching pain in his chest.
Whistle!! " Good Pain Resistance. Sasuke Boy! Keep going." Their sensei said laughing. Even he felt interested and excited seeing their fight.
Originally he should not call out in the middle of the fight or show favour to one. But…well who cares, propriety be damned.
Hinataa remained rooted, pale eyes tracing every potential strike zone even as her lithe frame wove between Sasuke's blows. Her palms deflected and parried, but she was hard-pressed to find an opening to counter against the hard assault.
'He's keeping the distance closed,' she realized, deftly avoiding a hooked fist that sliced the air where she'd been. 'I can't establish my usual Gentle Fist range!'
Feinting high, Sasuke instead delivered a devastating uppercut, forcing Hinata into a hasty backwards handspring that left her airborne and vulnerable for a split-second.
Using the opportunity, in one fluid motion, he grasped a kunai and charged again, hurling a spread of shuriken to keep Hinata off-balance as she landed from her maneuver.
Seizing the opportunity, Sasuke fluidly drew a kunai and hurled a spread of shuriken to rob Hinata of any chance to righther footing upon landing.
The Hyuga's eyes widened gravely, seeing the projectiles converge on her vulnerable position. 'I didn't want to expend this so soon...' But she had no choice. Focusing intently, she centered herself. 'You can do it, just like Mother taught.'
'First, stabilize with chakra in the soles of your feet,' her mother's lessons rang out. 'Then let it spread throughout your body's tenketsu points. Hold it there...and release in a controlled,but explosive release and at last SPIN!!'
[Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!] she called out, expelling her accumulated chakra in an explosive rotation just as the shuriken barrage converged on her position.
The sharpened projectiles clanged harmlessly off the whirling vortex of her defense. Her chakra dome deflected the shuriken in a deadly cyclone, redirecting them back.
Sasuke, mid-dash towards Hinata, was caught off guard when his own shuriken came whipping back . Eyes widening in shock, the Sharingan's heightened perception kicked in just in time. He was barely able to react, twisting his body to evade the bulk of the returning projectiles now that he was perilously within their trajectory.
Thankfully, the Sharingan's kinetic vision allowed Sasuke to react, albeit barely. Whipping out a kunai, he managed to deflect two of the returning shuriken. However, one found its mark, slicing through the flesh of his left forearm . A low grunt escaped his mouth as blood began trickling down.
In the stands, Yumiko's eyes widened at the defensive spectacle. "What the hell was that?" she blurted, gaze flicking to Hinata then her cousin Tatsuya.
"The Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven," Tatsuya explained calmly. "A secret technique passed down only to the main Hyuga family line. By emitting a precise rotation of chakra, it can repel virtually any attack."
"Whoa, amazing!" Naruto shouted, eyes sparkling. "Hey Tatsuya, teach me that awesome defense too! I want an ultimate move like that!"
Sakura rolled her eyes, smacking Naruto's head. "Are you deaf? He said it's a secret clan technique, you loudmouth! There's no way he could teach it to you."
Tatsuya mentally chuckled at Sakura's hubris as Naruto was more than capable, but he let it be for now and didn't interrupt.
"That defensive burst looked incredibly taxing though," Ino noted with concern. "Hinata's gasping - her reserves must be running dangerously low after that."
Yumiko nodded grimly. "An absolute defense, but at a heavy chakra cost. I doubt she can use it again."
"It was a calculated gambit against Sasuke's tactics," Tatsuya said. "Those shuriken were infused with lightning chakra. If they struck, not only would Hinata suffer wounds, but the numbing effect would disrupt her chakra control."
"Lightning chakra?" Naruto's eyes went wide with admiration. "I didn't even notice that!"
"Without a dojutsu's insights, most chakra applications remain undetectable at your level," Tatsuya explained. "Hinata likely saw it, which is why she burned through her chakra for that defense."
From the sidelines, Shikamaru sighed. "One injured, one drained. Logically, they should just surrender at this point."
So typical of a Nara," Ino said, rolling her eyes lightly. "Always looking for the most efficient solution with no regard for entertainment.
"Tsk, Who wants entertainment?" Shikamaru said before returning to his nap, Though a small glint in Shikamaru's eye revealed he was still watching intently.
Within the arena, Sasuke clutched his numb, bleeding arm with a grimace. 'I can't afford to lose!'
Across from him, Hinata gasped raggedly, struggling for air as sweat matted her brow. Her chakra reserves were utterly depleted. This was her last chance. 'I won't lose!'
With determination set in their eyes, the two took a shared, steadying breath. Then, as if acting on the same cue, they launched towards each other in a furious sprint.
Sasuke clenched his right fist tightly. His left arm hung uselessly at his side, numb. As he had one final blow to give.
On the other side, Hinata extended her palm, channelling every last dreg of chakra in a final, make-or-break strike.
The two closed the distance in a blink, One punch and One palm clashing at each other.
THUD
- x - X - x -
Five Hours Later...
"You really went all out there, huh?" Tatsuya said with a curious glance at Hinata as he gave her a piggyback ride home. "I've never seen you go that hard in an academy spar before."
Hinata didn't respond at first, her head lolling slightly from sheer exhaustion after depleting her chakra reserves. Finally, she mumbled, "I still lost though..."
Tatsuya could hear the disappointment lacing her tone. "So what? You pushed yourself to your limits today. That's something to be proud of."
"But I couldn't beat him," Hinata insisted, sounding dejected. "All that effort and I still came up short against Sasuke."
"Hey now, none of that," Tatsuya chided gently. "This was just a spar, not some do-or-die battle. You'll get plenty more chances to test yourself as you keep growing stronger."
Hinata fell silent after that, seeming to mull over his words as they bounded across the rooftops towards the Hyūga compound.
Truthfully. He hadn't expected Hinata to go so hard to win a simple spar that she would push herself to the brink of complete chakra depletion.
While Hinata couldn't claim outright victory, she'd undoubtedly pushed the Uchiha to his limits.
'Don't tell me she's trying to take Naruto's place as Sasuke's biggest rival,' Tatsuya chuckled inwardly at the thought.
As for the rest of the day's spars, there wasn't much noteworthy to recount. They'd run through the standard rounds until time expired and their sensei called it.
It was on the journey home that Hinata suddenly broke the silence. "Umm…brother? Can I ask you something?"
He glanced sideways at her neutral expression, so neutral that it seemed faked. "What's on your mind?"
"Well..." She hesitated briefly. "Do you...like Yumiko? As more than just a friend, I mean?"
Tatsuya blinked owlishly. "What? Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"
Hinata's tone remained measured, but Tatsuya detected a subtle undercurrent beneath her words. "I couldn't help but notice you two seeming quite...enthusiastic together today."
Tatsuya let out a good-natured groan. "First Hanabi suspects me with Ino, now you're reading into things with Yumiko?"
He trailed off as Hinata averted her eyes. "I...may have also seen you two...um, share a kiss earlier?"
A chuckle escaped Tatsuya's lips. "Oh..that. Well You've got it all wrong! After our spar, Yumiko was just tending to a cut on my cheek when her legs seized up from exhaustion. She stumbled right into me - our faces merely colliding by accident."
Realization dawned on Hinata and her cheeks burned red. "O-Oh! I shouldn't have assumed then..."
Tatsuya gave her an affectionate nudge. "No worries, little sis. Though speaking of assumptions..." A teasing lilt entered his voice. "I will admit, I do like Yumiko very much."
Hinata's head whipped around, eyes widening. "Wha--?!"
"As a friend, that is," Tatsuya finished with a wry grin. "We're quite young, after all. Anything beyond platonic friendship would be a bit...premature, don't you think?" He couldn't develop that type of liking towards her without essentially having a label of pedophilia printed on him, even if it's a different world with some cultures where even younger marriages happen. They have to be at least 16 years old before he could consider anything about it. Until then, they were just kids.
Hinata seemed to deflate with relief at his clarification. "Oh. Yes, of course you're right."
Ruffling her hair, Tatsuya chuckled again. "We've got plenty of time to worry about those kinds of entanglements later. For now, let's just go home, I am quite hungry you know?"
- x - X - x -
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