Inheritance

Round Two - Concluded

Uncomfortable silence hung heavily in the air, a leaden sheet across each and every Genin's shoulders. Only Gaara to Naruto's eyes seemed unaffected by the ending of the fight between Hyuuga. Kiba and Sai were fighting below but it seemed all too much like background noise to Naruto's own thoughts and feelings about what had happened previously. Sai and Kiba had no animosity, were both shinobi of Konoha; and whilst Naruto would normally be all too interested in seeing Kiba go up against Sai's unique brand of apparently ink-based ninjutsu, the safety of a bout between comrades gave him - and others it seemed, casting his eyes around at the others in the tower's arena - space to think.

Family was complicated, Naruto knew. It was hard not to notice that, with how often spouses fell out, how often parents and children argued and such. Hell, Naruto had grown up in a village where a member of it's most prominent families murdered everyone but his own brother for reasons beyond the comprehension of just about anyone. Still, he had never actually experienced it. Had never actually fallen out with a member of his own family, or had a chance to develop anything close to a deep-seated resentment. The closest to betrayed he had ever felt was knowing it had been his own father that had sealed the demon Fox within him. But for all Naruto might have wanted to hate the man for all the anguish that had brought him, he understood the man's motives. Doing what he did to protect the Village resonated with Naruto in an incredibly meaningful way - he only would have liked a say in the matter, even if his answer would have been less.

How on earth did it get to the point where there was enough hatred between children of a family - cousins - that one would put aside loyalty to the village and their oaths as a shinobi of it to near enough try and kill the other? It was unfathomable to a boy who's most precious assets were the people who had allowed him into their lives and recognised him in even the smallest of ways. Neji's attitude was clearly one borne of a difficult life, but the blame was surely in the wrong place. What the hell had happened that Neji was so desperate to strike out at any aspect of the Main Branch of his clan that he could reach - even if that meant killing close family who couldn't possibly have warranted that kind of treatment?

Naruto was furious with Neji for his actions, but found it difficult to maintain that fury when it was so closely intertwined for the pity he realised he felt for the Hyuuga.

A glance up revealed Kiba laid out flat, pinned by a giant ink tiger, Akamaru being carried around the room by the scruff of his neck by a beautifully drawn eagle. From what Naruto had seen it had begun a close fight, Kiba's relentless assault keeping Sai on the back foot. But he was tired from the forest, and barely recovered from his injuries. All Sai had to do was weather the storm and finish the job competently. The Inuzuka forfeited the match, but took the loss like a champ, extending a tired hand to his opponent. Sai took it, and for the first time Naruto felt there was a tinge of genuine emotion behind Sai's blank facade, indecipherable though it was. The two retreated to the stands, and the next pair were called causing Naruto to blink in surprise.

Ino vs Sakura.

Now that was an interesting match-up, though not so much because of the ninjutsu that would be on display. The two girls had a rivalry that stretched back from almost before Naruto had known them that was as fierce as just about any animosity between himself and Sasuke. On the surface it seemed to be an incredibly petty struggle over a childish crush, but he had spent too long trying to capture Sakura's attentions to not be aware that the water that ran under that particular bridge were far deeper than a fight over a boy - let alone one like Sasuke. Personally, part of him wanted to support Sakura like he would have done at the Academy, but the thought made the rest of him uncomfortable.

He had changed. His entire perspective on his own life, his dreams and his self-worth. He had always been aware that the beatings, berating and bullshit that Sakura had sent his way were wrong of course. But the part of him that on some level believed he had deserved it had been irrevocably changed by the events of his graduation. He had discovered who he was, what he was meant to do. People had seen him for who he was and accepted that and now the unresolved issue of how Sakura had behaved towards him and his cheerful acceptance of it conflicted uncomfortably with the person he now was.