Genin Takedown - 11

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

To her opponent's greatest astonishment, three shadow clones formed beside her, looking just as fierce as their creator, 'She must have learned that from Naruto! He is the only other genin capable of the jutsu!' It was frustrating enough to admit that he could not discern the real Hinata from her duplications because her chakra was so expertly distributed.

"Go Hinata-chan! You've got this!" Naruto's cheers were borderline screaming as he hung off the edge of the rail. Sato was also raving nearby.

Both Lee and Tenten were pleasantly surprised alongside their mentor, not expecting Neji to be caught off-guard by his cousin.

Kurenai smiled broadly, flashing an appreciative glance to Naruto.

'I will do my best!' Hinata moved in perfect coordination with her clones as they encircled Neji, countering and delivering relentless slaps of Jyukken. Four pairs of Byakugan eyes surrounded him, searching for weaknesses. To her shock, he was able to dodge many of the strikes from her clones even while attacking.

'It won't be long before Neji-niisan disposes of my kage bunshin...' She noted, evading a jab that might have knocked her out, 'I must do this quickly!'

Hinata and her clones leapt back, preparing to regroup. Neji fell back into his first stance, totally calm and expecting her next assault.

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Hinata cried as all of her clones closed in again with blinding speed.

On her own, Hinata scarcely used the Divine Sixty-Four Palms, having only accomplished it once in front of her father; but had found after training in secret with her shadow clones, it was made all the more devastating when coming from all directions. Neji could certainly see the attack, but that did not mean he could counter it.

"She...she's really got him..." Naruto mumbled in awe as the clones synchronized their attacks with Hinata, each focusing specifically on 16 different tenketsu all at once. Gaara stood beside him, equally amazed.

"Hakkesho Kaiten!"

Tenten flinched involuntarily as Neji rotated, creating a 360 degree shield of chakra that blew apart the shadow clones instantly, forcing Hinata back as well. Tenten knew better than anyone how painful it was to be knocked away by the Hyuga prodigy.

The Hyuga girl stumbled away from the crater Neji had formed and called on her Byakugan again, still not defeated. Distantly she could hear Naruto hollering from above, making her more bold.

'I can do this! I see it now! I've found my way!' Hinata steadied her footing as Neji retaliated with powerful blows that were much more than small slaps of Jyukken.

Her evasion was faultless as she dodged away from his strikes, desperately trying to deliver her own, but with little success. Hinata's silvery white eyes burned with a determination akin to Naruto's, 'I will keep going! Neji-niisan is fighting back now! If I wear him down...'

Neji hadn't fully expected her to be so fiery in her attacks, but he knew that if the match persisted he would be forced to harm her more than what was necessary, 'I will end this match now.'

Blocking her assault, Neji landed an uppercut that had sent her reeling, frantically trying to regain balance. He seized his chance to finish her, knowing that she would have done it no differently, "Kaiten!"

It was a weaker rotation that was enough to position her in the air, where he struck her solar plexus expertly, watching as her eyes fluttered in reaction to the mind-numbing pain. He backed up; watching as she stumbled again, stunned, and tumbled down with a soft thud.

The silence of the observing ninja hung thick in the air, even leaving the Hokage to speculate the meaning of the bout.

Neji's Byakugan deactivated with a mere blink of his eyes, "Don't you see, Hinata-sama? Your place as a leader of our clan was determined long before this match."

Hayate frowned, not very much a fan of the Hyuga's brutal fighting style. He looked over to Hinata who was crumpled over in anguish, staying very still.

He cleared his throat, "The-"

"Don't you dare call this match!" Naruto howled from his place on the balcony, furious, "Not yet! It's not over yet!"

Hayate gave the crazed boy an incredulous look before looking to Hinata again, where she had miraculously staggered to her feet, wiping the blood that was smeared on her mouth. Neji's eyes narrowed as they fell upon her shuddering form. He believed that a wise person would admit defeat when their bodies could no longer continue.

His cousin was not nearly so wise.

The proctor remained silent but did not back away. It was clear the girl would not last much longer.

Hinata coughed, flecks of blood polka-dotting her jacket. Her eyes remained fixed on her cousin, open to a new truth that she had discovered while fighting him, "N-Neji-niisan..."

The other Leaf genin were astonished by her endurance.

"Neji-niisan...I know now what I f-fight for; why I am a ninja..." She held her sides, her shoulders were quivering in pain, "I need n-nothing more than my nindo: to n-never give up...but you, Neji-niisan," Her eyes were glassy, "Do you even know what you're really fighting for?"

He said nothing, because in truth he didn't. Neji had never questioned the fact that he had been training tirelessly to become the heir of the Hyuga clan since his father's death, but it had never honestly been something he himself had wanted, not entirely.

Once Hinata stumbled again, Hayate called the match without being interrupted, "The winner is Hyuga Neji."

Naruto and Sato had moved simultaneously, abandoning the balcony for the floor below. Hinata lay in agony on the floor, coughing up many more red spots onto her jacket.

Gai sighed heavily, having predicted that the fight was fairly one-sided, no matter how formidable Hinata may have become. Even Lee had not yet defeated the Hyuga prodigy. Lee stood quietly beside Tenten, watching Neji with an unspoken dream as he left the main floor.

Tenten averted her eyes from Hinata when Naruto kneeled down beside her, and she wondered if her teammates would have been as concerned for her if she had been defeated in her match.

Her insides churned in horror as she sent her greatest sympathies to Hinata, the one with whom she could relate, 'Neji you...you really don't know what you're fighting for do you? She's right about you. You fight simply because you can, not because you fight for those you care about...if you care for anyone at all.'

Hinata felt humiliation creep over her as Naruto settled beside her, looking enraged, "N-Naruto-kun, I'm s-sorry. I thought that if I c-could change-"

"Whoa wait, Hinata-chan, what do you think you're apologizing for?" He grinned at her, trying to ignore the blood she was covered in, "You were amazing! I didn't even feel this proud winning my own match..."

A smile of relief settled on her face, "I'm glad..."

Her white eyes drifted closed shortly after and Sato smirked down at her, glad she had given her cousin a run for his money, "You did awesome, Sunshine."

Naruto made sure to advise the medic-nin to take extra-good care of her as they prepared to escort her to the hospital. He looked up to Neji, his blue eyes wide in anger, 'I can't believe he did that to Hinata-chan! Even after she helped him! She was his friend and he shot her down! I...' He grimaced, 'I will win! I'll beat him and make him see what it's like to struggle!'

"Yo, Naruto-kun, I suggest you head up now. My fight is next!" Sato smiled at the blonde haired boy, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, right," Naruto hadn't noticed Sato's name had appeared on the board readout, "Just don't screw up you crazy idiot."

"Uh...sure."

Lee's congratulations to his teammate was prompt and a bit shaky, "Neji! As expected your skills are yet unequaled!"

The Hyuga offered him an imperceptibly raised eyebrow before turning to Tenten. He had at least anticipated her to grin mischievously at him or rant about some observation she had made of him, but she said nothing.

Tenten stood silently beside Lee, disturbed by what she had witnessed. Her eyes were trained on Hayate, determined to pay Neji no mind. Neji found it dissatisfactory, 'It isn't like her to ignore me. She's being irrational.'

Displeased, he settled beside her, for once missing the approving words she often gave to him. Gai on the other hand, was just as responsive as Lee, "Neji, my prodigy! Well done! That was a splendid display of your youthful abilities!"

Neji frowned as Tenten remained quiet. Her silence indicated that she was nowhere near approving of what he had done.

And it was something he regretted, if only a little.