Confrontation - 1

Hinata laid back on the soft grass. Strands of her indigo hair were plastered to her face with sweat, and a cool breeze herded clouds along up above, relieving her somewhat. She was glad that her father was not around to see her so disheveled.

The Hyuga heiress glanced over to her left, where Naruto lay a few feet away from her. He, contrary to her state, was far from tired. He hadn't protested when she had asked for a break from their training, he had only grinned and then plopped down to the ground, talking up a storm.

Naruto's voice soothed her but it didn't lessen her worry that in only a few days he would be facing Neji in the final rounds. Naruto had spent a majority of the month training with his team. He visited Hinata in between sessions to get some inside pointers on how to not get slaughtered by Jyukken.

Her cousin though, she had warned him, was an entirely different level than she. Everything she had shown him would be twice as fast and twice as powerful when he faced Neji.

Naruto told her that was a load of crap, and then went on to asking if the Byakugan could be disabled by a good ol' fashioned eye-poke. Slightly frightened, she had admitted it was possible, but he should refrain from trying it.

From the expression he wore she feared that he was even more inclined to attempt.

"So when he says, '64 palms', is it really 64 or is he just saying that?" Naruto continued on, recalling her warning of it earlier and he delighted in how she could so easily answer all of his questions.

"Well, 64 is the usual minimum for that technique…" She replied quietly.

He shuddered, 'Minimum, huh? Makes you wonder about the maximum then…'

After a minute he recalled another topic of interest, "And that spinning-thing he used in the preliminaries, how does that work? Can you use it?"

"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation forces chakra through all of the tenketsu in a person's body, creating an ultimate defense that cannot be penetrated. And…only the most skilled of ninja can use it." Hinata summed up the overall gist of it, being she herself had never been able to perform it.

"Then I shouldn't have any problem with that!" Where some people found his explosive confidence ignorant and annoying Hinata found it very endearing.

"It is very difficult to learn and master but…maybe we can accomplish it together." She wasn't about to discourage him, perhaps he could pull it off.

"It's worth a shot!" He nodded, appreciative of her offer, "Hey Hinata-chan, why's Neji so driven to be ahead of everyone anyway? I thought he'd be happier since we stopped him from getting that seal."

Hinata frowned in thought, wondering about the answer herself, "Neji-niisan believes that the only way he can prove he is truly beyond the Branch House is if he becomes the next head of the Hyuga clan."

"Why would he do that? People already know how great he is!"

"I…I don't think he even knows why he wants to do it." She said softly, "His ambitions are still unclear to him, as if he never had to think about them because they were already provided for him."

Naruto nodded, understanding, "So it's his identity then, isn't it? He isn't trying to figure things out for himself. He just acts on opportunities that show up."

Hinata eyed him for a long moment; curious as to how he could understand how Neji felt.

The blonde boy smirked, noticing her wonder, "I know that feeling, well, the opposite of it really. I know I want to be Hokage. I decided on it myself…but…I don't get many opportunities to strive for my dream. I need to make do with what I have."

She smiled at him, proud. She had chosen well when she had trusted all of her hopes in him.

"Naruto-kun, you're right. The Branch House…they know the same feelings that you described. They know what it is like to go without certain privileges." Hinata spoke at length, "My heart is with them because of that."

The blonde boy sat up, ruffling his hair, and she watched him inquisitively from her spot on the grassy lawn. So far no other Hyuga residents had stumbled upon them, but it was only a matter of time before others ventured into the garden.

"May I…tell you something?" She asked softly. Her eyes followed the trails of cirrus streaking through the sky.

He nodded half yawning, "Sure."

Hinata closed her eyes for a moment, wondering what to say. Perhaps now was the time to confide in him all of her secrets, after all, he had been the first person to actually listen. He was the first person to actually understand her feelings.

Though rushing things could ruin it, so she decided to start small and work her way up. She was still a world away from having the courage to profess her true feelings for him.

"When I was young, my mother became very ill after my little sister was born…" Hinata began, and Naruto's eyes immediately shifted from the surrounding greenery to her saddened face. He feared he knew where this story was going.

"She was always so close to me. She told me to smile even when things around me were dark and lonely. She died and I remember how sad my clan was after that…but I still tried to smile." Hinata recalled; her voice strangely distant, "The Branch Family was very sad after that. It was because she was always so kind to them."

Naruto lowered his eyes, sharing in the loss. He himself had never known his mother, though when he imagined her she had always been very beautiful and compassionate.

"I remember when she used to take me to this garden when I was small. She would have me help her pick flowers." Naruto was surprised to see her smiling when she spoke, "We used to leave the flowers all over the wing of the Branch Family. It always made them so happy to know that the Main Family still had love for them."

Her voice wavered for a moment, "A-After my mother died…I did that once on my own. I was so glad that it still made them happy even during a time like that."

Naruto folded his legs, listening intently. He could tell she had more to say.

"But when my father caught me he told me never to do it again. He said it wasn't the proper thing to do…" She paused, "But I know he didn't want me to do it because it reminded him of her, and he was so unhappy without her. Maybe I should d-do it again…because it always reminds him of my mother and I don't want him to forget her."

Hinata glanced over to Naruto, who had gone eerily quiet. She noticed him discretely rubbing his eyes with the back of his sleeve. She hadn't meant to make him cry.

"When I was little, I never did stuff like that." Naruto announced, composing himself, "Now I kinda wish I had."

Hinata sat up as well, interested in his reaction.

"When I was younger…I hated everyone. I didn't care about anyone else's feelings because they had always ostracized me. I never cared about the feelings of people who were cruel to me." It had been a long while since he had recalled his days before living with Gaara and Haku.

"I was always alone…always sad. I never had a family, not like you do." Naruto did his best to keep bitterness from dripping into his tone.

"W-What happened to your parents?" Hinata asked quietly; it had always been a question burning in the back of her mind.

"I never met them." He answered honestly, "I was an orphan from day one, I guess."

Hinata sniffled. His reply certainly had cleared up a few things. She wished that hadn't been the case.

"The only people who ever understood what I was feeling were Haku-kun and Gaara-kun," Naruto surmised and then added, "And Sasuke too, I think."

"Neji-niisan understands that feeling too, Naruto-kun…"

Naruto turned to her, startled, "Why would he?"

For a moment, she felt as if she had said too much, "It isn't m-my place to say…"

"I want to know," The blonde boy frowned, "I want to know why he is the way he is!"

Hinata stared at him for a long moment. He had a right to know, she decided. Naruto would be the one fighting Neji in the last part of the exam. Maybe he would be able to teach him a lesson, or two or three.

"Neji-niisan….his mother died when he was born, so he was always very close to his father, my uncle Hizashi." Hinata began, staring at her grass-stained knees.

"Oh yeah! I remember him!" Naruto recalled his very first visit to the Hyuga compound, as well as running into Neji and Hinata's fathers, "He was a pretty nice guy, actually!"

"Neji-niisan's heart was broken after his father's death."

"What?" Naruto turned to her in shock, "You mean he…?"

She nodded silently and Naruto felt guilt wash over him. He hadn't known about Neji's losses, nor had he particularly cared about them until know.