Teach what thou Knowest
Lee groaned as he sat up.
"We can't have a mission! My youthful spirit is being sucked by this evil flu. I will not succumb!" Ten Ten and Neji rolled their eyes at Lee's antics. They were used to it by now. Their sensei did the same thing, which encouraged Lee to no end. And, although they wouldn't have it any other way, a break for the chaotic exuberance was welcome. Except that while Lee was fainting in the street, they had received a new mission together. Lee's fever was quite high and Tsunade wasn't letting him out of bed for another two days. She was especially careful with Lee due to his surgery. She knew that even years after a surgery, Lee could develop complications in his bones. Now they had to go and ask Tsunade to give it to someone else. Ten Ten caught herself before she could sigh, Lee was looking depressed enough already.
Naruto ducked as he tried to reason with the irate creature. He had tried to teach it tricks without success, other than Jiraiya's laughter. Takamaru was determined to be a forever stalker that did nothing to help in battle. Naruto sighed as he tried to ration it out. Sitting down, he tried to think of another approach. Takamaru, curious why he had stopped, landed on a branch near the blonde head and cocked his head. Naruto looked at him and chuckled.
"I couldn't train academy students, how do I think I'm going to succeed with you?" He heard Kyuubi's chuckle but ignored it. He had asked the fox for help, but the fox had only grown silent and told him that his only experience with hawks had been painfully mis-handled. He refused to elaborate. He did watch for amusement. Naruto looked at the hawk.
"What am I supposed to do with you?" Naruto sat down with a huff. He had been exercising for over three hours and was slightly tired. He turned his head when he heard a slosh and a thump. He saw his water bottle next to him. Looking up, he saw the hawk preening on a closer branch. He smiled his thanks at the hawk and took a drink. As he looked at his water bottle he thought about the hawk and himself. He stood.
"Takamaru, wanna play a game? I saw some other kids play it in the academy. You toss a kunai to each other. We should start with a stick because neither of us has ever played before. What do you say?" He looked at Takamaru, hoping he wasn't making a fool out of himself. He knew that if his teachers had treated him like he was stupid, he'd get mad. He wanted to give this a try.
Takamaru and Naruto were tossing kunai an hour later.
Neji sighed softly as Ten Ten opened the door to the Hokage's office. She had just told them to enter. Neji walked in after Ten Ten and was surprised to see his cousin in the room. Tsunade pointed for the two chunnin to take their seats.
"I am aware of Lee's illness. Thus for the purpose of this mission, Hinata will be joining you. Her teammates have been out of the missions for nearly a month now and I believe it is time she went out into the field. I daresay she's probably getting bored." Tsunade finished that with a smile. Hinata bowed her head quickly.
"N-no Godiame-sama, I've been training hard, I-" Tsunade stopped her before she could say anymore, as her excuses tended to be long and stuttered still. Neji and Ten Ten nodded to Tsunade as she continued.
"You will have today and tomorrow to prepare. Make sure you brief Hinata. Dismissed." The three chunnin filed out of her office and, after a stop at the hospital to tell Lee, they went to the training area.
Jiraiya found Naruto and Takamaru in a field panting. He walked across the field as he asked which one won. Both combatants raised their hand/wing. Jiraiya chuckled as Naruto shot at the bird screeching.
"You did not win!" Jiraiya sat back and watched them frolic.
Hinata sat on the log as Ten Ten explained the mission to her. It would take several days, which meant she had to settle the dispute in the council to her satisfaction with her father. She didn't mind. She was anxious to be in the field again. She had been training with Mui the last month and she wanted to get out of the village even if she wasn't going to test any of her new skills. She had told Kiba and Shino that she had a new skill to train so they had allowed themselves to play catch up and it turned out to be more catch up with then they thought, thus they were out of commission for two months, one left. Thus except for an emergency, her team wasn't leaving the village.
This mission was a transport mission. They had to go, get the scroll and deliver it back to Konoha. It was Class B due to the sensitive nature of the information. No problems anticipated though. They trained for most of the afternoon to make sure they were in sync. Hinata went home early to talk to Hiashi and Neji went with Ten Ten to talk with Gai.
Neji sat at dinner with Hinata. Hiashi was in a meeting tonight and Hanabi was at a friend's house, thus it was just the two of them. Neji looked at his cousin as she ate. She had been quiet all day, all month really. He realized that he hadn't been home much either.
"Hinata-sama, how has the council meetings been going?" He nearly winced. He had wanted to bridge the gap between him and his cousin but it seemed wider than ever. She looked up and smiled weakly, catching the gulf between them.
"Just fine. We're discussing elections for the next session. We must have our decision reached by next month." Neji nodded and continued to eat. Hinata tried. "How is your training going?" Neji nodded.
"Just fine. I'm looking for a new way to use chakra, but it is still in the beginning stages." Hinata smiled as she ate. This was awkward. Neji looked at her. "Do you think the mission will difficult?" Hinata nodded slightly.
"A challenge will be a welcome change from training." Neji nodded at that. Both had the same thought.
Ouch
Hinata did her stretches early the next morning. She had decided to see if she could do more training with Mui before they met as a team. Mui's element was water as she was teaching Hinata how to use it. Hinata had been using water as her element most of her life anyway, with her water dance. The only difference is that now she was trying to use it as opposed to it just happening when she was relaxed. Mui had given her some sort of test with paper and it said she had both water and wind elements. Mui said usually people only had one element but just shrugged and said they would have to find someone with wind to teach her later. The water usage would have demonic energy and thus Hinata would have to control it better as to not let it spin out of control. Mui was very happy with her progress. Due to her time as a child, she could naturally interweave her chakra with the water.
They headed for the river. The sunrise was just starting. As they walked Hinata continued in the task of convincing Mui to let her tell Naruto about her. This was an old argument. Eventually Hinata would win, but she had a feeling it would take a lot of cajoling first. Mui seemed upset more then genuinely afraid. She had gotten her to agree to tell Neji in a few weeks after Mui interacted with him more. The problem was they weren't interacting with him. How am I supposed to convince her my cousin can be trusted if I never see him?! She pushed the idea out of her mind as she arrived at the wide part of the river. She loved this spot. She and Naruto had spent part of a morning here and she had shown him a version of her Water Dance.
-Flashback-
Turning slightly, she saw Naruto off to one side. He was just staring at her. She blushed as she looked down and tried to get her thoughts under control. He looked so gentle. She didn't know how to describe it. He looked content, but not like he was content but like he saw content and was happy it was in front of him. Suddenly she reviewed that thought; he could have been watching her. She enjoyed her times in water. She did feel content. She looked at him and re-opened her connection with him. He felt happy, if a little confused and startled. Hinata looked at him. He was looking at her slightly confused. She realized he must also be feeling her and her sudden change in focused might have felt confusing to him. She smiled and allowed herself to feel happy at his presence. She saw him smile again. Scooting to one side, she gestured to his seat next to her. Naruto eyed her a moment as if she were crazy. Apparently he decided otherwise because soon he sat down next to her. Hinata smiled at him slightly.
"Wh-wh-what are you doing out here, N-N-Naruto-kun." She cursed herself as her stuttering return full force. It had been wonderfully absent of late but now that they didn't have something dreadfully important to tell each other, it decided it should return. Naruto looked at her a moment. She felt some trepidation and guilt from him but he responded with his usual smile.
"I decided to come and see what you were up to, Hinata." She blushed and looked down at her toes. Inside she jumped for joy at the idea. She felt relief coming from him. She decided Naruto was more confusing when you took his internal emotions into account. They were often quite contrary to his face. She glanced up at him and he scooted closer to her, or rather further inside the umbrella. She noticed him eyeing the drops with annoyance.
"Ano, Naruto-kun?" He looked at her. "D-d-do you not like rain?" Naruto shook his head a little.
"Kyuubi keeps me warm so I don't get cold, but the rain is still cold. It's kind of like sitting in the sun then getting an ice-cube dropped on your back." He shuddered. Hinata giggled slightly. Hinata handed him the umbrella and stood. He looked at her confused, but she stepped away and stood in the rain.
"Th-th-then you should use the umbrella, Naruto-kun." He started to shake his head, but before he could form a proper protest she spoke up, "Oh n-n-no, I d-don't mind. I like the rain actually." She held out her arms and twirled to show him. She allowed herself to feel the rain against her face and on her hands. She saw him relax, probably when he felt her true enjoyment.
"Ne, Hinata, you really like the rain?" She nodded happily. Then something occurred to her.
"N-Naruto-kun, I have something I can do with the rain." Naruto perked up. "D-demo, I haven't done it in years. B-b-but I think I remember." He nodded. She stood in the rain and closed her eyes. She went back over her years, back to when she was a young child, just before her sister's birth. She remembered the feel, the excitement, the motion. Slowly she began to move. It was similar to the Jyuuken, but not quite. It was a mix of that and her personal style. Naruto's eyes went wide as he saw the water begin to follow her hands in their dance. It followed her movement like it was an orchestra and she the conductor. She danced around, gracefully twirling and dipping, her eyes closed. Naruto felt nothing but utter joy from her. He liked this side of her. When she finished he stood.
"Sugoi..." He was nearly breathless.
-End Flashback-
She came here to practice and for the feeling that Naruto was here. She could feel him still asleep. He had sent her images of him playing with his new "friend". The hawk had a mischievous sense of humor that she recognized from Naruto. They would be good friends and she was anxious to meet him and to introduce Naruto to Hoshi. Speaking of the fox, Hoshi was back at the compound asleep. She wasn't taking the fox this time. Hoshi had hissed and refused dinner when Hinata had explained to her that she didn't think it a good idea to add two new teammates to a squad when she was already different from Lee in what she could and couldn't do. Hoshi wasn't pleased but understood, Hinata hoped.
She began to train, stripping down to her black shorts and top. Ever since Naruto had caught her, twice, she had been a little more careful. She started her standard dance. She was barely halfway through it when Hoshi joined her. Hoshi lay on her stone on the bank of the river and curled into a ball and dosed lightly. Hinata finished her warm-up and began the form she had finished the day before. Halfway through that Hoshi got up abruptly, indicating another visitor. Hinata sighed as she switched modes to find the person nearby. Hoshi was on guard but not hissing so close but not dangerous, like Shino or Kiba.
Hinata started as she located the person a lot closer than she thought. Hinata whipped a thread of water out to wash the intruder into the river, she had done this to Kiba several times. Shino was polite enough to announce himself before he got here. She was wrong on both accounts as she changed the flow to pull her cousin off the bottom of the river. Sputtering, he knelt on the bank. Hinata knelt next to him.
"N-N-Neji-ni-kun, are you okay? I'm s-so sorry, you startled me." Neji looked at Hinata's worried eyes. She wasn't tapping her fingers together but he could guess it was close. The habit had been laying off once she started in the council, thanks to Konoha eleven, minus one, meeting nearly once a week. One of the goals of that, besides having fun as friends was to help each other with problems like Hinata's shyness.
"Hai, Hinata-sama, I'm fine, its okay." Neji was trying to stop her from worrying. He sputtered a little more before sitting up and started wringing his shirt out. "I guess we can ease up on the security around you. You obviously can take care of yourself." He was chuckling, hoping to relax Hinata. She smiled slightly, but her worried look didn't leave.
Unknown to Neji, Hinata had another conversation going on that she was worried about.
We could tell him now!
No, I still can't trust him.
He's my cousin!
He beat you up because of your father, who was having nothing to do with you at the time.
I forgave him for that.
I haven't known him personally long enough.
You don't know him at all until you give him a chance!
He might have sensed the demonic energy, you said he was friends with Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki?
DON'T YOU DARE HOLD THAT AGAINST NARUTO!
It isn't Naruto I have a problem with.
Then why can't I tell him?
That question always quieted her. Neji stood and looked at the river as Hinata forced herself out of her mind. Neji sighed and looked back at her.
"So, Hinata-sama, what were you doing out here?" Hinata looked at the river as she chose her words.
"Practicing a new form is easier near water for me. Water is relaxing." Neji nodded and looked over the river. He was quiet for several moments, during which Hinata was wondering if it was worth it to try to find another portion of the river to practice at this morning. She was petting Hoshi as she thought. Neji broke her out of her thoughts.
"Would you..would you like to...well..hearmynewideaforaform?" Hinata had never seen Neji nervous before. She just stared at him a moment before what he had actually said filtered through and she tried to process it. Finally she gave up and gave him a questioning "Ano, what?"
"Would you like to hear my new idea for a form?" Neji spaced his words out purposefully this time. Hinata nodded, smiling now. She hoped that with enough time she could convince Mui to accept Neji. She also wanted to be involved in what Neji was working on, if only to understand her cousin.
Neji swallowed as he stepped onto the river. He hadn't shown this to anyone yet, not even Ten Ten, though she knew he was working on something. He knelt on the water, using his chakra to hold him, and placed his palms to the surface of the water. Gently he pulled them, pulling a stream of water with them. When he got to a standing position, he held it for a moment before releasing it. Panting, he looked at his cousin. Hinata's eyes were frozen wide.
Hinata was thinking hard. He has water as an element too! It is the natural element for anyone with my gift of the Byakugan. Hinata saw his problem immediately. She closed her mouth, having realized it was left open, and stepped onto the water gently. Unlike with Neji, she made light ripples as she walked because she was mixing her chakra with the water and using the current to hold her up as opposed to her chakra on the bottom of her feet. She reached Neji as he spoke.
"So, what so you think?" Hinata smiled and placed her hand on his.
"Instead of bringing it up, try a full circle." Moving his hand, "Bring it up and then back, then down." Neji looked at her, surprised.
"Why would that help?" He didn't mean for it to sound so harsh. She did flinch slightly though.
"A-a-ano, the water flows, so it doesn't want to simply stop in midair, it wants to keep going, ne?" Neji glared down at the water and did as she suggested. The water did follow his hands better this time. Halfway through his second try, Hinata's hand joined his and he felt her chakra brush his into the water. He lost his concentration in his surprise.
"What are you doing?" Hinata jumped back.
"I-I-I'm sorry, I was trying to help your ch-chakra integrate with the water, Th-that's all." She bowed with another soft apology and stood off on the bank. Neji sighed in frustration. He didn't want to intimidate her, he was just confused. He looked at Hinata in time to see her bow slightly.
"I-I should go." He didn't have time to protest as she left in a quick walk. Hoshi seemed to glare at him as she followed her mistress.
Neji watched her go sadly. He let his chakra go and he sat on the bottom of the shallow river. It barely crested his chin. He frowned as he thought. What could he do? When he closed his eyes he felt Hinata nearby. Opening his eyes, he searched for her chakra but only found trace amounts. The confusing thing was that it was in the water. He reached his arms out to feel the water. Hinata's chakra permeated the water.
He sighed. That was what she was trying to help him do. He had helped her similarly when he was helping her with Juuken form. How was this different? He studied himself. She had touched his hands, check. Molded his form, check. Made suggestions, check. He had been snappy, check. Why? He looked over his feelings more closely, he had learned to do this when meditating. After a couple minutes of searching his feelings, he finally realized that he had never had someone try to teach him before. He had always figured it out himself. He didn't know how to handle being taught, being told how to do something before he could figure it out for himself. He sighed and resolved to handle this better. He got out of the water and followed his cousin's footsteps.
000
Hinata had walked back towards the village but decided not to go back yet. Stopping and turning towards the river, she sat on a rock on the bank. Hoshi crawled up into her lap as she stared into the water. Hinata looked at her friend.
"Hoshi, what do you think?" Hoshi looked up at her. "It would be nice to have someone else who can understand the water, to talk to. I thought we had become a family. Maybe that isn't what families do?"
No, you did right dear.
"Then why did he get mad?"
First, neither of you had ever had a family in this sense before, he might be as confused about what it means as you. You will have to find your own definition of family.
"I guess we didn't really have a family family growing up."
Exactly, also, he has learned his entire style on his own.
"So Neji-ni-kun may not have ever had a teacher besides the academy."
"That's right." Hinata whirled around to see Neji behind her. Hoshi was standing next to her, staring at Neji, but not growling. Neji sighed softly as he sat next to Hinata. "I did learn Juuken on my own. But, I should be able to learn from you as well. You learned from me." Hinata smiled
"Aa, I'm glad you helped me with my form." Neji looked into the water.
"I'm sorry I reacted the way I did." He stood and faced her, bowing. "Hinata-sama, will you please teach me?" Hinata turned bright red as she hopped up. She hated when people bowed to her. Waving her hands.
"N-n-no, th-th-that's alright, You don't have t-t-to. Pl-pl-please st-t-top." Neji looked up at her, confused. As she stepped back, she tripped and fell towards the river. Even as Neji reached out to grab her, the water rushed up and cradled her to her feet. She looked at Neji to see his eyes wide. Gently she smiled and held her hand out for him to take.
As she pulled him onto the water, he felt the river's current even out in their area. When they stopped in the middle of the river, Hinata sat down. Neji gently did so, mindful of keeping his chakra steady enough to keep him above the water. He focused his attention back to Hinata as she sat and waited.
"What do I do?" Hinata smiled at the question and walked him through melding the water and his chakra.
Naruto sat by the morning fire eating breakfast. He was enjoying the vague feeling of happiness from his bondmate. Over the last eight months or so the two had been communicating nearly every night. Sometimes it was exchanging adventures, and sometimes it was other topics like the clan or martial arts and the like. It had taken a couple times before they had gotten the hang of the communication, but now it was easy. They also discovered that if they wrote it on a piece of paper and sent the other an image of that picture it still worked. (A/N For the background on this link please see "The Last Week")
Naruto had already known that Hinata was shy, strong and smart. Over the past months he had been gone he had found her to also be inquisitive, funny, and resourceful. She had been working on her style for a few months now and she had started incorporating her element into it like he had with Kyuubi's element. He wondered out that would work between them. Fire and water were very different elements that rarely mixed well.
Oh well, he would discuss it with Hinata later tonight. For now, he wanted a session with Jiraiya. The old man promised to teach him some things about genjutsu and he couldn't wait.
It took Hinata was trying to convince Neji to release his chakra on his body and allow the water to hold him up.
"The water isn't solid, Hinata-sama." She smiled.
"It doesn't have to be solid, simply constant." Neji looked at it skeptically.
"Water is water, even at a constant flow all it can do is move me, not keep me still." Hinata sighed then, with a thought, smiled mischievously.
"Ano, Neji-ni-kun, are you sure about that?" Neji looked at her suspiciously a second before a sliver of water streamed up his leg and in a twirl he was up-side-down. He opened his eyes to see his cousins dancing eyes right in front of him. He was being held stationary by his feet so his eyes were at the same height as his cousin's eyes by a stream of water the width of his arm. She had a hand in the beginning of the stream, supposedly feeding it chakra. Neji looked at his cousin in awe, and a little bit of fear. His cousin spoke then in her slow, melodic voice.
"This thing masters all things
Forest, bees, birds, trees
chews on iron, gnaws on steel
grinds hard rock into meal
kills kings, destroys town
and brings high mountain crashing down"
Hinata set her stunned cousin down gently on the water as she kept him up. She knelt in front of him.
"This thing helps all things
field, mice, fish, rice
cools lava, polishes stone
brings things to parts unknown
feeds kings, saves town
everywhere life is found"
Neji knelt on the water, watching his cousin. She was smiling gently as she intoned the wisdom that felt older than either of them. His eyes were wide. Her face, the position, her kindness, it was familiar. A dream he had had nearly every month came back to him.
-Dream-
He was floating with his eyes closed. He could feel their eyes on him. Hiashi-sama, the council, fate; he could feel them damning him. He would look up and see their feet. He tried to move, to defend, but he just floated there. He felt himself falling. He landed on his hands and knees. Looking forwards, he saw the feet of his clan's main family. He tried to stand and look at them but a council member shoved his shoulders down harshly, nearly putting his face into the dirt. Everyone laughed. He looked at the ground in embarrassment. He heard someone walk up. He recognized her hesitant steps. Hinata-sama. He gritted his teeth in humiliation. She had been hurt so much because of him, now it was his turn to hurt. He waited for her harsh words, cold tone, and unforgiving strike. He saw her turn to her family. They dispersed as if by some invisible signal. She was merciful to allow him privacy for this humiliation. She turned to him. He clenched his eyes and felt her hand.
She used her soft hand to lift his chin. He looked into her lavender eyes as she lifted him from the ground to stand before her. He saw her smile at him. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he saw Naruto. Naruto went to Hinata and they walked away. He began to follow when something caused him to turn around. He saw Ten Ten behind him, waiting. She reached for him. He stood there frozen. She touched his face and his muscles unclenched. She cooed in his ear and he forgot his trepidation about his family. He placed his hand around her waist as her hands felt his neck. He pressed against her as she whispered in his ear.
Then she shoved him away. He looked at her in confusion, then he saw the council member. The palm was at her chest. It would have killed him if she hadn't shoved him away. Hinata-sama came running up. She shoved him away from the member of their clan's council and got hit herself. He watched as they died, doing nothing. Darkness surrounded him.
-End Dream-
Neji bowed his head, looking at the water. He started. The water! He was on top of the water, without his chakra holding him up! He looked back at his smiling cousin in shock. Hinata had been waiting for him to realize this. His surprise was so comical that she started giggling. Neji looked at his cousin as she giggled in amusement. He smiled at the sight of her being so carefree.
Finally, Hinata got herself under control and sat in front of Neji. She wanted to help him, not tease him.
"First, try to feel the flow of the water. All it's currents as it passes under us. It is similar to meditation. Water flows back and forth, push and pull." Her voice was soothing, like when he taught her meditation. Slowly he felt himself sink into the felt
Nice.
Safe.
Home.