Chapter 15

Yeah, the fights during the chuunin exams are a bit boring, but there will be changes. The only one that won't change is Hinata VS Neji since that's an especially important fight. I also updated the cover art and I really like it, it's simple and conveys the emotion I was going for.

15

"We will begin the fourth match!" Hayate announced.

Ino tensed up at the names on the screen. Yuzuki gave her an understanding look and stared at them. Haruno Sakura against Yamanaka Ino, two ex-friends fighting against one another. She didn't know if the blonde could fight against her. There was too much history between them.

"I believe in you."

Ino looked towards her cousin and saw the small smile being sent her way. She could easily say that she was privy to the inner workings of her mind, she may not know everything, but she knew that those smiles were her genuine smile. She had such understanding and sympathy in her eyes and smile that it hurt. She blinked and gave her cousin a smile back.

"Right, I have to get back at her for those glares she's been sending you," Ino grinned.

"Please don't," Yuzuki huffed, "Win because you can, you are the better kunoichi."

That was true, especially on paper. Sakura spent more time fantasizing over Sasuke then training and when she did train it was half assed. Ino headed down to the arena and Hayate looked over both girls, he remembered that the match had ended in a draw, but he wondered if that might change. There was a fire in the blonde's eyes that wasn't there before.

"I never thought I'd be fighting you, Sakura," Ino stated.

Sakura took her hitai-ate off from behind her ears and tied it around her forehead. Ino did the same, that meant that they were taking each other seriously. She wanted to fight for her cousin, for the girl who believed that she could win without any fault. She had never paid attention to her, but that was going to change. She looked towards the man who was proctor and gave him a meaningful look, he seemed a bit confused before understanding.

"Those two fighting against each other is annoying," Shikamaru sighed.

"It Ino gonna be alright?" Choji questioned.

"I think so," Yuzuki stated, much to their surprise, "But then again I might be biased, the mission I went on with team seven left much to be desired of Sakura's attitude."

"How bad was she?" Shikamaru asked.

"I can't say anything about the mission," She huffed, "But the Sasuke-kun's do grate on the nerves."

"Be nice," Kakashi chided as he lightly bopped her head with a fist, "That is my student."

"I was just saying she needs a dose of reality," She muttered as she rubbed at the top of her head.

"Right now, I have no intention of fighting over Sasuke-kun with you," Sakura announced.

Kakashi watched as the reborn woman turned to look at him before motioning with her hands. He hadn't been expecting the divine intervention to vindicate the woman's words. He felt the need to pinch the bridge of his nose. Leave it to her to have someone or something on her side when it comes to his student.

"If you two fight, you won't be gentle," Shikamaru commented, "There'd be no holding back on your end."

"Who'd win in that match?" Choji asked.

"Yuzuki," Shikamaru answered before yawning, "She'd hold back against Ino to make it a fair fight."

Kakashi wondered about that, he looked at the expression on her face and realized the boy was right. Family was important to her, and she'd fight to protect it. It was sweet on her end and he saw the stink eye she was giving him. She had a feeling that was what he was thinking.

"You have no chance with him," Sakura smirked, "I'm much stronger than you so I don't even need to be concerned."

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Ino ground out, "Don't get ahead of yourself."

"Sakura is going too far," Naruto gulped from his spot, "Ino has really scary eyes."

Kakashi was about to say that the pinkette wasn't the type of person to brag about her skills, but she had changed since the mission from wave. She seemed to harbor an anger towards those that came from clans, except for her Sasuke-kun, and was looking for a way to show that she was stronger than them. He looked towards the reason behind that and noticed that she was half awake.

Sakura moved first and Ino narrowed her eyes, the pinkette was trying to use shadow clones to distract her. She jumped back and tossed kunai towards the other girl. For once, she wasn't letting memories and emotions cloud her judgement. Green eyes widened, and the girl jumped back. The blonde almost let a smirk appear on her face, but kept her focus. She wanted to make the belief that Yuzuki had in her have meaning.

"You actually seem to be trying, Ino-pig," Sakura mocked.

Ino ground her teeth together and pushed off from her spot in a sprint. She brought her fist back and slammed it into the pinkette's face. Sakura looked like she hadn't expected that, it was like she wasn't expecting her ex-friend to take her seriously. She hit the ground and looked up at the panting blonde.

"Sakura is getting beaten down there!" Naruto exclaimed.

"She's not holding back," Shikamaru commented, "Just what did you say to her?"

"I believe in her," Yuzuki replied a slight smile on her face, "Sometimes, that's all someone needs to do their best."

She knew that better than anyone. She couldn't help but think back to Genma and Hayate, who believed that she could win and be promoted. She wanted to prove them right, and she understood why Ino was fighting to her fullest. A boy with a bowl cut decided to move where he stood and took a spot next to her.

"They are both fighting to their fullest," He commented.

Ino quickly ducked a punch sent her way and returned it with a kick. Sakura went down once again, but got up with her arms trembling. It was admirable that she was trying so hard. A kick sent towards her head made her head snap back as blood began to trail down from her mouth. She had bit the inside of her cheek.

It was different, and Hayate was glad for that. He didn't want to stand through a ten-minute fight where it ended in a draw. He looked towards the blonde kunoichi as she refused to relent in her attack and punched the other girl in the stomach. Just what the hell did Yuzuki say to her before she came down to fight?

"I've never seen Ino act like this," Choji commented, "She might win."

"Yeah," Shikamaru nodded his agreement.

"I never doubted her for a minute," Yuzuki huffed before changing to a teasing tone, "You guys should believe in her more."

"Lay off, Yuzuki," Shikamaru grumbled as he shot her a look.

"When did you get this much strength?" Sakura grounded out, "There should be no way that you would be stronger!"

"I have someone that believes in me no matter what," Ino answered truthfully, "And you've always been mean to her."

"Ah," Sakura rolled her eyes, and something was uttered from her that made the blondes eyes widen.

Everyone looked at the pinkette in surprise and turned towards a frozen Yuzuki. Kakashi watched as the railing under her hands broke from the pressure she had put on it, he was about to move her out of the area to cool down when Ino finished the pinkette off with a chakra laced punch. She did pay attention to her cousin when she trained, and picked one or two things up about chakra control.

Sakura went flying and hit the wall. She fell and it revealed a small crater surrounded by cracks. She was out cold and Hayate knelt near her to check her vitals. As angry as he was with the specific name she called his student, he had a job to do.

"Haruno Sakura is no longer able to battle, Yamanaka Ino is the winner," He announced and Ino's shoulder slumped in relief and slight grief.

"She's no monster…" Ino softly stated, "She's not emotionless either, don't ever say anything like that about her again."

"An emotionless monster?" The boy with the bowl cut questioned, "Who was she referring to?"

"The girl you're standing next to," Naruto quietly replied, "Yuzuki-chan and Sakura don't see eye to eye, but to call her a monster…"

It was rare to hear him be so quiet. He hadn't cheered for his female teammate, and her words had angered him to his core. Ino hurried back to the viewers area and grabbed onto her cousins left arm. Hinata stood there for a few seconds before grabbing onto the dirty blonde's other arm. Together they both dragged her to the bathroom.

"Wait, I wanted to watch the next match," Yuzuki softly tried to argue against being dragged away.

When they entered the bathroom, she tensed when arms were put around her shoulders and she was brought into an embrace. Hinata watched as her eyes went wide with panic and wondered when was the last time she had been hugged? She joined in and it felt like hugging a statue.

"You don't have to keep it in all the time." Ino informed their cousin.

It seemed to break something down in her and something wet hit her bare shoulders. She looked at the other's girls face and noticed tears slowly rolling down her face as she finally allowed twelve years of grief and even more years of loneliness to take effect. Her arms shook as she returned the hug and clenched at the purple fabric that made up Ino's uniform. Her sobs were silent, but the obvious shaking of her shoulders was enough for them to tighten their hold on her.

"We should head back, the next match might be starting, and I don't want anyone to miss it or get disqualified," Yuzuki muttered, her voice slightly nasally.

"R-Right," Hinata agreed.

"You go on ahead, I need just a few more seconds with her," Ino told her with a smile.

Hinata hesitated at the door before nodding and heading out. Ino looked towards Yuzuki who was giving her a questioning look, it was the most emotion that she had seen on her face before. She dug around her kunai pouch for something and brought out a deep blue ribbon.

"I know you hate your hair, and I'll happily cut it after you reach chuunin," Ino told her, "But just let me have one chance to mess with it."

She removed the girls hitai-ate and quickly gathered the long strands into her hand. With quick movements she braided the hair and tied it using the ribbon. The forehead protector was tied around her neck, and they left the bathroom together. They returned just as a match was called. Nara Shikamaru against Kin Tsuchi.

"Did we miss the last match?" Ino asked Choji.

"Yeah, a girl named TenTen went against the Suna Kunoichi and was decimated," Choji answered, "Oh, you okay, Yuzuki?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Choji," Said girl gave a small nod.

Sakura was back with the spectators and, though she stood next to Naruto, was being made into a pariah. If the look on her face was anything to go by, she was sour about losing and she had been laid into by Kakashi. The silver-haired jonin had made sure that she knew that her behavior was unacceptable. Yuzuki gathered it only happened because the other jonin sensei, Hayate, and Anko were around.

Honestly, she was glad that no one forced her to apologize to her. She wouldn't have taken it well. Her emotions were all over the place at the moment and she needed to focus on gaining control of them. She barely reacted as the pinkette moved to use the restroom.

"I'm sorry about what Sakura called you," Naruto said.

"Don't be, you have no control of her actions," Yuzuki quietly told him.

"Yeah, but she made you cry," He pointed out and he watched as she blanched at that.

"Don't go around advertising that!" She almost yelled at him.

Kakashi let out a barely audible chuckle at the sight. Leave it to Naruto to be the one to cheer her up, he really was full of surprises. He watched as the adult reborn child let out a sigh and sent the sunny blonde a thankful look. It was like she wanted someone to treat her like normal, and not like glass. Most were going to do the latter due to the red rimmed eyes.

"Let's go Shikamaru!" Ino cheered for her teammate.

"He's got this, he always won when we played shogi together, his strategy is insane," Yuzuki said, "If anything it should end in less than ten minutes."

"I know better than to take that bet," Ino chuckled.

Yuzuki gave a tiny smile at that and watched as Shikamaru controlled the fight. He had figured out her attack. She watched as a small sliver of his shadow slithered across the floor and towards her. She tugged on the end of her braid in thought as a slight smirk appeared on her face. He won in the laziest way possible, by making her slam her head against the wall.

"The winner of this match is Nara Shikamaru," Hayate announced, there was slight amusement on his face.

"Way to go Shikamaru!" Ino cheered out in glee.

"You rule!" Choji yelled out.

"You won in the laziest way possible," Yuzuki informed the teen as he rejoined them, "But I wasn't expecting anything else, well done."

"A moment," A woman with long dark hair said to her and she seemed surprised.

"Oh, uh, sure," Yuzuki nodded.

Hinata gave the smallest of smiles as the taller teen was led away by her sensei. She had asked the older woman to say something to her. She knew that she was surrounded by men all day, though apparently one was a mother hen, and didn't have a woman to lean on. She didn't have someone to help with feminine training. To help with her emotions when she needed it.

"Are you sure your all right?" The jonin asked Yuzuki.

"Yes, I think I'll be fine," Yuzuki softly said, "I jut wasn't expecting her to come out and say such things."

"Have you ever been hated before?"

"She's misled, she started to realize her own shortcomings and is trying to push that anger onto someone else, but to refer to me as an emotionless monster is a bit much."

"You have some excellent control over your emotions, more than some jonin I know, it unnerves those younger than you."

"I know."

Yuhi Kurenai looked down at the girl in front of her and noted the way that she held herself was closed off. She was hunched over in a way to deflect the emotions sent towards her. It was a far cry from the confident young lady who had stood before the Hokage. So much damage had been done because one jealous little girl spoke before she thought.

"You aren't fazed by much, are you?" She asked.

"Oh no, not you guys too," Yuzuki quietly said and her posture returned to normal, "Why does everyone ask me that?"

Kurenai let a smile slip on her face and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. That got her attention and she stood up straighter. She was curious, that was easy for her to see. It was nice to see.

"Stay here and try to gather your emotions," She quietly ordered, "You'll need to be at your best for your fight."

"Thank you, Sensei," Yuzuki bowed and the jonin left.

Yuzuki took a seat on the floor and leaned against the wall. She was left to her own devices, but she welcomed the solitude to gather her thoughts. She brought her tachi to her hands and gently twirled it in her hands in thought. It was a lightweight sword, something that would be able to channel her chakra. She went into lotus position and placed it on her lap as she tried to center herself. Calming the mind and her chakra was the best course of action to try and gain some semblance of control.

"I'm sorry," A single apology rang out and she felt her eyebrow twitch.

"I could be the better person and accept it, but your attitude won't change," She commented as she opened her eyes, and decided to be rough with the girl in front her she needed to get a message across, "Even with whatever epiphany you came to in the forest, you didn't change."

"Who are you-''

"I'm someone who trains hard each and every day to have the strength to protect those I care about!" Yuzuki shouted at the pinkette and the girl backed up as though she had been struck, her eyes wide, "Whereas you became a kunoichi to be with someone who couldn't care less about you, what, do you think that chasing after him will get him to like you? Do you think that being a ninja is some kind of game?"

"How dare you!" Sakura yelled back.

"No how dare you," Yuzuki's voice went soft and the girl backed up even further, "This line of work took my parents from me, to see you treat it as some kind of game is insulting! Either clean up your act or stop being a ninja, that is your ultimatum because if you don't you will get your teammates killed."

Sakura's eyes were wide, and tears began to gather in them, but Yuzuki didn't feel any sympathy towards her. Too many times had she seen people like Sakura go home in a body bag, too many times did she see their squad members go the same way. Her pale eyes were hard, and Sakura felt that she was right in her assumption.

"You proved me right, you just aren't emotionless, you're heartless," She muttered.

"You are so lucky that the rules prohibit fighting without it being an actual match," Yuzuki informed her, "As it is, you need to walk away."

"Or what?" She pushed.

Yuzuki brought her hand up and gently slapped it against the wall, palm down. The wall cracked from such a soft hit and that brought the pinkette to her knees as she stared at it. Yuzuki stood there with an unreadable expression on her face.

"You are out of your league," Yuzuki informed her, "And you always will be."

She turned and left the girl to her thoughts. Guilt began to rise as she wondered if she should've been that harsh with the pinkette. She walked through the door and looked to see Naruto standing there. She looked down towards the left and he let out a grumble.

"That was pretty harsh, Yuzuki-chan," He grumbled at her.

"People don't give you enough credit sometimes," She quietly told him, "You were able to figure out why I said what I did without asking."

"I'm sorry about your parents," He quietly said.

"Don't be, they…they weren't the best," She admitted without meaning to.

He blinked at that as she went to see who was fighting. Her eyes widened at the sight of Neji fighting against Hinata. Her mouth hung open slightly before she grasped onto the railing next to the boy with the bowl cut. He almost jumped in slight shock at her sudden appearance.

"This is the worst possible match up, he's going to try and kill her," Yuzuki stated and all eyes turned to her, "The Branch family has such a vendetta against the main house, did no one take that into account when putting the names into the program?"

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"Someone tried to kidnap Hinata years ago, the specifics are a bit of a clan secret, but he was killed by the clan head," She replied, "When the enemy ninja asked for the clan head's body as retribution, Neji's father was sent instead…they were twins."

"No wonder he's angry at the main family," The boy with the bowl cut muttered.

"Ah, I forgot to ask who you were," Yuzuki quietly said, barely even looking at him, "I'm sorry but I can't look away from this fight, as a member of the clan I must interfere if he goes too far."

"It is all right; I am Rock Lee!" He introduced and she blinked at how loud he was, "It is nice to meet Neji's cousin!"

"Wait, does he talk about me?" She asked in surprise, "Not many people know that I'm related to him."

"You both have the same eyelashes and facial shape," He explained, "Neji respects you, but he never says why."

She listened to Neji's spew of fate and began to clench her jaw. Hinata was one of her precious people, she wasn't going to stand by as he insulted her. She reached towards the railing and two pairs of hands made sure she didn't grab it. Apparently she had broken it enough for that day.

"Would you shut up Neji!" She shouted at him and both Hyuuga in the arena turned towards her, "Who are you to say what she can and can't do!?"

"Stop deciding things about people you idiot!" Naruto joined in, "Kick his ass Hinata!"

"Not going to lie, that probably motivated her more than me," Yuzuki stated with a frown.

Neji couldn't help but be annoyed by the two of them. He hadn't expected much from the orange wearing blonde, but he expected more from his cousin. His usually cool and calculating cousin had turned that gaze onto him and he watched as the veins around her eyes began to show and pulsate with her anger. She knew what the mission was for clan members that weren't part of the main house, they were to protect the heiress no matter what.

"So, you aren't going to forfeit," Neji said as he saw the look that Hinata was giving him, "I'm not responsible for what happens."

"I will not run away," Hinata informed him with a frown, "Let us fight, Neji-Nii-sama."

"Fine," Neji sighed.

They both slid into the juken stance and Naruto looked towards Yuzuki, who had the exact same style of fighting. He thought it was a bit strange, to fight with one's palm.

"Ah, the Hyuuga style," Lee stated, "It's the exact stance."

"What is the Hyuuga style?" Naruto asked.

"Konoha's strongest taijutsu style," Lee answered, "It is why I said that the strongest Konoha genin was on my team, it's Hyuuga Neji."

"I can barely keep up with them," Sakura muttered as she returned from the hallway.

Hinata and Neji looked like they were dancing more than fighting. They were both trying to shut off the other's tenketsu points, but were negating their attacks, at least on the surface. Yuzuki narrowed her eyes and noticed that he was landing hits. Hinata was barely grazing him, he was faster.

"Did she miss him?" Naruto asked.

"Barely, she simply grazed him, but a graze can be enough," Yuzuki answered.

"The taijutsu that lee and I use causes damage to the body by breaking bones, it does outer damage," A man that looked like an older version of Lee said, "The Hyuuga styles causes damage to the chakra system, and it can destroy the organs."

"It is called the gentle fist style, or rather juken," Yuzuki added onto the explanation, "It requires extreme chakra control, and neither are slackers in that division, but Neji is in the ninety-third percental while Hinata is in the ninety-two."

"Does a whole number count?" Naruto questioned.

"I've risen from the ninety-fifth to the ninety-eighth," She answered, "Yes, it counts. You can only raise your percental from training, mastery of the juken brings about mastery of chakra control."

Everyone quieted down and watched as Hinata gained the upper hand for a few minutes before Neji wrestled it back with ease. The amount of skill was apparent, much to Yuzuki's annoyance, and Hinata was losing. A hit to her chest caused blood to spill from her mouth. Her body tensed as she watched to make sure she wasn't needed to stop the fight. She looked towards Hayate and he sent her a look that clearly said don't even try to step in. He wondered what he was planning but knew that if she wasn't allowed to step in, then everything turned out all right.

"He's won," She unhappily grumbled.

"How can you say that?!" Naruto yelled at her.

"He's blocked her tenketsu points and has hit one of her major organs," She calmly answered and he watched as she went to grip the railing, "If she gets hit like that again, it could kill her."

Hinata hit the floor and slowly got back to her feet. She spared a glance towards Naruto before looking back down at Neji. She was ready to fight again, but a pain in her chest caused her to faulter. The genin around her began to mutter in slight worry about their fellow rookie.

"You can do it, Hinata!" Naruto cheered.

Hinata seemed to gather some courage from that and began her attack, it ended with a hit to the face. She backed up again and tried once more. Yuzuki felt her eyes widen as she took another hit to the chest. She fell forward and hit the ground. Hayate quickly moved to end the match so she could get to a medical team faster.

"Continuing is impossible and thus-"

"Don't stop it!" Naruto yelled out, cutting him off.

He inwardly cursed at that and turned towards Neji. He was going to stop the boy before he even had the chance to move towards his slowly standing cousin. The boy had a darkness in him that was worrying, but it wasn't as bad as Sasuke. He moved forward when Hinata said the one thing that set Neji off. He had a hold of the boy by the back of his shirt and was quite glad to have someone who used juken under his tutelage.

"The match is over," He informed the teen.

"She needs a medic!" Yuzuki yelled and she activated her byakugan to see a small group of chakras heading towards the down girl.

She moved forward as Naruto jumped down to see if she was all right. Hinata was carried away and Naruto made a promise to beat the snot out of Neji and she couldn't help but to agree with that. She looked towards the screen and wondered who was going to go next.

Gaara vs Lee.