Rabbit Princess [Gaara] [1]

☾ 28 ☽

"Please begin the match," Gekko said as he walked over to where Hinata and Neji were standing. Tsukiko watched as Neji immediately moved into his stance, his feet set in position. His structure was impeccable, just like Hiashi. He looked at Hinata.

"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hinata-Sama," Neji spoke up, causing Hinata to look at him. "Give up. You're not suited to become a ninja. You are too kind. You seek harmony and avoid trouble,"

Tsukiko frowned at the thought of that. Why is that necessarily a bad thing? Tsukiko herself preferred harmony and peace over trouble and conflict. It was understandable that a Ninja has to fight but why go looking for it when you could be a kind person?

"And you just go along and follow someone else's idea," Neji continued. Hinata looked away, clearly troubled. "And... You have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine to remain a Genin. But you cannot register for the Chunin Exam unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers from Kiba and your teammate... And the truth is that you are taking this exam unwillingly, am I wrong?"

"You're wrong! You're wrong..." Hinata replied rather timidly. "I... I just... Wanted to change myself, so I willingly..."

"Hinata-Sama, you are indeed a spoiled child from the Head Family," Neji said. Tsukiko frowned deeply. Now, that was just rude. Hinata was not a spoiled person...

"What...?" Hinata asked as she looked over at the older boy immediately, clearly getting extremely bothered by what Neji was saying, hitting every sensitive spot.

"People cannot change," Neji told her. "A failure is a failure. His personality and power will not change," Did he not see how Naruto had changed for the better? Did he not hear how people put him down and he worked his way up?

"Now, that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard," Tsukiko muttered. Next to her, Naruto was quite as angry as her as he listened in. Tsukiko could understand that.

"People cannot change, so that's why terms like 'Elites' and 'Failures' exist," Neji continued. "Everyone judges you by how good your face, head, abilities, body shape and personality are. Those things cannot be changed. People suffer to their limits and live. Just like how we can't change the fact that I am from the Branch Family and you are from the Head Family,"

"What is he going on about..." Tsukiko muttered, shocked. Naruto was now shaking. How could someone be so spiteful? What really happened between the two branches? There has to be something...

"My Byakugan has seen many things," Neji said. All this was crumbling Hinata's mental strength. "That's why I know! You are just trying to be tough. You are really thinking about how you want to leave this place right,"

"That's not true!" Hinata replied quietly. "I really want to..."

"Byakugan...?" Sakura asked as she glanced at Tsukiko. Apparently, Naruto had no idea that Tsukiko had it too (Tsukiko face-palmed). Lee just looked confused.

"It is said that if you look at the origin of the Uchiha Clan, they come from the Hyuga Clan," Kakashi said, attracting attention of the four Genins. "Byakugan is one of the Kekkei Genkai that the Hyuga Clan has... And is a special eye similar to the Sharingan. But if you look at its ability of insight alone, it exceeds the Sharingan. As you have seen on Tsukiko, of course,"

"You have Byakugan, too?" Lee asked, surprised as he looked at Tsukiko. The white-haired girl nodded rather awkwardly. "Are you related to the Hyuga Clan, too?" Tsukiko shrugged.

"Byakugan," Neji said, activating his Kekkei Genkai and staring right at Hinata, who looked anywhere but at Neji until he addressed her. "You can't fool my eyes. You moved your eyes to the top-left corner after you felt my pressure. This indicates you are recalling a past event, a harsh past of yours.