Ino
“Hey, Hinata, do you need some help winning Naruto over? Because I can totally get him to see you’d be better for him than Sasuke ever could be.”
She shakes her head, the unneeded recent memories flashing back in her head at the very mention of it, “No, I don’t need any help there…I don’t really like him anymore, not after what he said about not wanting to mate anyone from my clan.”
Ino glances over to her for a brief moment as they make their way through the village to see Lee in the hospital, “Naruto is capable of change, though. He visited me yesterday to tell me he was sorry for thinking I was overreacting, exaggerating, or trying to make problems whenever I called out alphas and betas for being sexist. He has a better understanding now of sexism in our society and culture, which is great… I’m not sure if he can learn that people are not their clans as quickly, but he is capable of learning it so there’s no need to quit on him now.”
Hinata almost wants to scream out of pure frustration to her response.
It doesn’t matter if Naruto changes his ways, it doesn’t change the fact that he spoke to her in a way that was no different from Itachi when he wrote all Hyuugas off as being sexists because of Neji’s actions.
Having had time to take this all in and speak to her sensei about it, she’s come to realize a few things about herself that she has decided to no longer deny as much as she used to.
“Ah, actually Ino…after what happened at the exams, I spoke to my sensei at length about this stuff, you know, since she’s a fellow beta and I figured she’d be the best person for me to go to.” with all of the courage inside of her, she lets the omega in on her recent revelations, “My sensei and I spoke about what Naruto said, as well as my feelings on him before and after that. She said…um…please don’t be angry with me when I say this, but she said I was using Naruto as a sort of replacement for Deidara.”
This was not a lie. Naruto wasn’t the only one learning things when the exams were over. Hinata had a lot to deal with as well afterwards.
Unlike Naruto, she was able to process things quicker and as such, came to a conclusion that she needed to speak to her sensei for help with this instead of Naruto who mainly ranted to Iruka. Also unlike Naruto, she knew she couldn’t turn to her clan for help with this issue since it would be explained through a tainted lens of conservatism that she didn’t believe in herself, and as such she knew she had to go to Kurenai for any decent guidance.
“Sensei, I’m so sorry for bothering you but…I…I need to talk to you about something.” Hinata had said to her, making the young woman glance her way in worry as they exited the forest area after the exams were officially announced to be on hiatus.
“What is it, Hinata? Is there something you need to tell me about Neji?”
Hinata couldn’t blame her for thinking that, but, “No, it has nothing to do with Neji…it’s to do with Naruto.”
Kurenai gave her a look that let her know she could continue on now while they were alone, “Um…ah…I have a crush on Naruto—at least, I did, but I don’t know…he said some awful things about not wanting to mate anyone from my clan because of our views on omegas and it hurt a lot more than I thought it would.”
Her sensei was nothing but kind and comforting to her as she went to stand beside her, “I’m sorry, Hinata. Rejection like that hurt, especially from someone you’ve crushed on for so long. Don’t worry, over time, you will get over him and find someone better for you.”
“That’s the thing—I lost all interest in him when he said that.” Kurenai’s interest piques as she continues on, “It sounds wrong to say because I’m sure Naruto could grow and change from that mindset, but it hurt too much when he said it. I cannot ever be with anyone willing to say such things without getting to know me first. Here I thought he’d be like Deidara; kind, gentle, accepting, and nonjudgmental, but in the end, he was another Itachi, telling me no one like Deidara would want to mate someone like me.”
“Tell me Hinata, if Deidara had never left the village, would you have ever crushed on Naruto?”
Her head snaps over to her sensei’s side, the red eyed woman reminding her, “I was a young beta too once, I know how this goes. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but did you ever have a crush on Deidara? If you did, why? I remember that kid being nothing but hostile and bitter. What good was there in him, really…”
“Don’t say that about him, sensei! He was amazing to me and the only one who could break my heart by not being here anymore!”
Kurenai had never heard Hinata snap like this before. Usually she’s so reserved, shy, and quiet about everything to do with herself. As such, she does all that she can to listen to her, “I never would have crushed on Naruto if Deidara hadn’t left the village. He was so amazing, sensei—he was so much more than his beauty. I know you remember him as being nothing but hostile and bitter—but that’s the worst take to have on him. He was a misunderstood omega who received nothing but hate and backlash for standing up for himself and others whenever they faced discrimination. He may have become bitter and hostile towards the end, but that wasn’t his fault…it was the fault of the village and the society here that made him have to be so defensive and jaded all the time.”
She smiles, tears nearly lining her eyes, “He was nice to me, he didn’t care that I was a Hyuuga, he always accepted me as is. He didn’t mind making me things with his jutsu and he never hid his truest smile from me whenever he did. His ability to never give in despite the world around him telling to, his willingness to work so hard to be taken seriously as a human being in a society that didn’t see him as such…it was inspiring to me. I only work as hard as I do and do all that I can to better myself as a ninja so I can one day make him proud of me when Ino brings him back.”
Kurenai gets it then, connecting the dots on her own out loud, “Naruto has some similar qualities there as well…an omega treated poorly by those around him, who worked hard to better himself to be the sort of person he is today. His hair and eye color are rather similar to Deidara’s, but everything about Naruto is far brighter than Deidara color wise…personality wise as well, I can say.”
Hinata looked to the ground as she said, “Hinata, I think the real reason you lost your feelings for Naruto so quickly and easily was because you were using him to replace Deidara all along in your heart. When he said what he did today, you must have subconsciously realized then that Naruto would never be Deidara because he was too much of an Itachi for you to ever look past. You built up an image of him in your head that was supposed to be Deidara 2.0 but in the end, he could never live up to that image because Naruto isn’t Deidara and he never will be.”
“I hope you learn from this, Hinata. It’s better to give yourself time and space to heal from Deidara’s disappearance. Instead of forcing yourself to replace him to deal with the hurt inside, try to allow yourself time to grieve his absence and move on from it in a healthy way. Only then will you ever be able to find happiness with someone else.”
Ino almost tripped on her own feet when she heard this. Immediately, she was in front of Hinata, her eyes wide as she spoke with a certain bewilderment she had never seen from the omega before, “Deidara? As in my brother Deidara? Why would you need to replace him?”
“Because, as strange as it sounds…I actually had a crush on him for the longest time, long before I ever did for Naruto. I only forced myself to move on to Naruto to better ignore my hurt over losing someone as beautiful and wonderful as your brother. My sensei helped me see that and I’m glad she did because now, I feel no anger or hurt anymore after what Naruto said to me at the exams. All I feel is a certain peace I haven’t had in years.”
This was revolutionary for her to hear. She never knew of anyone else but Itachi having a crush on her brother. Everyone else always called him so many awful names for standing up for himself that she always assumed no one else had any interest in him. To learn Hinata has for what sounds like years now is mind blowing.
“I…I didn’t know anyone else outside of Itachi did.” is all Ino can say at first, but then Hinata chuckles, catching her further off guard, “What’s funny? Is Shikamaru trying to sneak out of his training again?”
Hinata shakes her head, a hand over her mouth as she speaks through strained breaths, “No, it’s not that! It’s just…the look you’re giving me right now, it’s reminding me of this time when Deidara received a compliment from me, and he couldn’t take it well since he had never been complimented on anything except for his looks. It’s not a bad thing—I don’t mind remembering the good times of him. It makes me happy now, instead of sad.”
Hinata does walk around her as they approach the hospital, leaving Ino to once again almost trip over her own feet in shock to what was said—wait, not only said, but expressed by the normally reserved Hyuuga girl.
On her end, Hinata is smiling as she feels a certain pride in being more open and honest with anyone, especially Deidara’s sister.
It makes her think back to what Kurenai had said to her when she asked her yesterday, “What should I do to make my feelings better known when I do find someone who I will like more than Deidara?”
“Simple: don’t deny your feelings or hide them. You have to be assertive without being forceful like Neji was to Lee. If you make more obvious overtures that aren’t creepy, then you will be find out if they are interested in you or not. If you want to be really bold, then ask them out on a date yourself and see where it leads. I know it can be scary to do, but you have to at least try if you want to get anywhere with any person in the future.”
Immediately upon entering the hospital, the girls are met with the sight of Hiashi Hyuuga, the alpha man frowning until he saw the two girls together, “Hinata, what are you doing here? There’s no one from our clan that’s injured and needing medical service here.”
“No, father, I’m here to see Rock Lee.” Hinata knows what her father thinks of the Yamanaka clan—he never did hide his disdain for Deidara well back when he did live in the village—and she knows he might say something incredibly rude when he finds out she’s here with Ino to see Lee.
“Odd…you two are not friends. If you were, I would have known by now since you do tend to talk about those you spend time with.”
Oh great…quick, she needs to come up with something before he says something horrible to Ino and a bad fight breaks out in public!
Then he approaches them closer, his byakugan almost activating as he spoke more slowly than before, “I was told by Lee’s sensei that no Hyuuga is allowed to see him today. Mind telling me how you can see him when I’ve been told I cannot?”
It is not the best lie she could come up with, but it works for what it’s worth, “Ino is his friend and I’m here with her before we go out on our date.”
Hiashi deadpans to her in response to the shockingly random news, “…You are going on a date with the Yamanaka omega? The one who wasn’t ruined enough by their liberalism to run away with some murderous alpha?”
She gulps down her fear, not missing a beat in her reply, “Yes, I am. I…ah, please, don’t be too shocked when I say this father, but I do like her, and she did accept the offer to a date with me later on today. She wanted to see Lee first though and since it’s g-gotten so dangerous lately for omegas to go out alone, I figured I’d come with her to see him.”
Ino knows a few things about the Hyuuga clan from what Deidara had told her: old fashioned, sexist, conservative, wealthy, and prestigious. Hiashi is the head of the main branch of the…he also had been the one who was most convinced of Deidara’s guilt in everything he was accused of ever since he left the village.
She may not know too much about the clan or how all it works, but she does know Hinata would not lie without good reason. She’s never been the type to do that, so she will do whatever she can to help her with this when she’s being grilled by the suspicious alpha, “I will have you know my family’s ‘liberalism’ as you call it is what allowed me to have the strength to make it as far as I did in the Chunin exams before they were put on hiatus. Also, I am going out with Hinata later on today. She’s a kind, gentle beta who’s far better of a person than Neji will ever be.”
Hiashi’s gaze never wavered from Hinata and he speaks to her as though Ino isn’t there, “Dating someone from the most reckless clan around…Hinata, do you truly not know any better?”
“I…father, that doesn’t r-really matter. What matters is I am finally not running away from my feelings any longer. Can’t you be proud of me for that?”
The head of the main branch gazes into his daughter’s eyes and though he does despise the omega she’s going on a date with…he knows it’d be worse to stop her now.
By traditional standards, Hinata should be dating by now and plan out a mating before she hits her first beta rut. If she doesn’t, then by clan standards, she will be seen as far more inferior than she was in the past in comparison to Neji, who is already being applauded by both branches for his assertiveness in marking Lee on the hand before anyone else could forcibly mark him on his scent gland.
His daughter has never shown interest in anyone either to top it all off. Neji never hid his attraction to Lee; anyone in the clan could tell right away he had strong feelings for the omega. Hinata though…her crush on Naruto felt more forced somehow in a way Hiashi could never pin down. Knowing she moved on from it so quickly after the exams were put on hiatus only served to prove him right on how forced it was.
If Hinata ever wants to be taken seriously as the next head of the clan, then she needs to start doing the proper thing for betas and alphas her age in the clan: showing interest in dating and mating omegas. This will prove she is assertive and capable of accomplishing whatever it is she sets her mind to in the eyes of the clan.
As much as he loathes Ino Yamanaka and her entire clan…he cannot see this going anywhere, realistically speaking.
She’s her brother’s sister; there’s no way Hinata would actually want to mate someone as miserable as that! Even if she did, he wouldn’t let her without an actual fight between them over the issue, something she should know by now given how many times he’s told her this.
With all of this in mind, he backs off for now, allowing his daughter to make the first mistake in her life that he hopes she will learn from in a way that isn’t too hard, “I see you two are being sincere about this and while I do not approve of you dating someone from that clan, I will allow it for now since you do need to date if you ever want the clan to take you as seriously as they do Neji.”
“I understand, father.” she pauses, throwing out the formality in her goodbye to ask, “Why are you here anyway? Neji isn’t a member of the main branch.”
“I am here to see the mark he left on Lee. If it is the mark I have been told it is, then I won’t be able to remove it from him like the hokage wants me to. If it is that mark…I will have no other choice but to inform his clan and work out a deal regarding his mating with Neji.”
Hinata isn’t the least bit shocked by this, though she does want to see Lee’s mark for herself now to see if it is the one he can remove or not. If not, then…well…all she can say is, ‘poor Lee, his mating life won’t be easy’.
Ino, on the other hand, is biting back her outrage at what she’s heard. The only reason she can right now is because Hinata is a Hyuuga and she would be the one to know if Hiashi can remove it or not. As much as she wants to chew out Hiashi, she won’t. She can’t really if she wants to help make a plan with Guy sensei to keep the head of the main branch away from Lee for as long as they possibly can until they find some way to remove both marks from his hands. If they can do that, then surely Lee will be spared from having to mate anyone. Then the exams can resume and he can keep his freedom to be a great ninja by using taijutsu only.
“It’s nothing to worry yourself with too much, Hinata. If Neji does mate this omega, then all it means is he was simply more assertive and driven in his goals to find himself a mate like a proper Hyuuga would.” Ino was about to comment something about that when he decided to walk away from them, “Have fun with your date, but remember—an omega from a clan like that is meant to date, never to mate.”
She was about to really rip into him, but Hinata stopped her by grabbing her hand and leading her further into the hospital to see Lee, “I’ll see you at home, father. I’ll be sure to treat Ino well, like a proper Hyuuga would.”
She knows Ino wants to say something to her father, but that’s not what is best for her or Lee. She needs to calm down or else whatever it is she wants to do to help Lee won’t work.