Chapter 3: The Pact Of Team 8
I
Hinata awoke from the strange dream she had. Perhaps it was nothing more than a dream, as the remnants of sleep started to part away from her eyes like veils and she began to envision the morning greeting more clearly. When she awoke, she went into the breakfast nook to sup and that was when she met Neji (his thirteen year old self, rather than the older ghost version of himself) in her dream.
“Good morning…Neji-nii-san,” Hinata said softly.
“Good morning, Hinata-sama,” Neji said, looking at her with quicksilver eyes that seemed to miss nothing. Her heart leapt in her throat when she realized that Neji was staring at her more intently than usual. Was there something on her face?
“Er…” Hinata said, before Neji walked closer and held her hand.
“Your chakra has changed,” Neji said. He didn’t use his Byakugan, though Hinata felt that Neji sensed something was amiss.
“Training,” Hinata said timidly, though Neji looked at her with a look in his eye that indicated that he did not believe that training alone established such amazing results. “Er, please keep this a secret from everyone?”
Neji nodded, before saying, “You have my full confidence, Hinata-sama.”
Hinata nodded, before she smiled at her cousin. She wouldn’t tell him her secret yet, though she was sure he had many curiosities and questions about her unlocked meridiens. Perhaps Hinata should learn how to suppress her own overwhelming chakra channels so that other people wouldn’t get suspicious of her newfound power. Ghost Neji made sure to ensure her of hiding her presence, which was a natural thing for the mousey ninja to do. Yet, Neji could still see right through her guise anyway, either through knowing Hinata for so long or Neji had a fine tuned sense of paranoia that geniuses have when it comes to a danger sense.
Of course, Neji would never think of his friend Hinata as a threat or someone to be eliminated or disposed of, though Hinata was sure that her newfound abilities could make many allies—plus enemies. Though with this power in mind, she would use it to save people rather than flexing her weight around.
“Hinata-sama,” Neji said in a low conspiratorial tone towards her while Hinata leaned forward to cup her ear against his lips, which whispered. “Be careful.”
Hinata blinked, before she nodded. She wondered if Future Ghost Neji possessed current timeline Neji or something like that, though Hinata merely saw the cousin that she loved and respected with all her heart in front of her, feeling a tight squeeze in her chest that he was real and standing before her.
But apparently, in the future…
Hinata’s smile faded from her lips.
“You’re worried about something,” Neji noted, to which Hinata nodded. “Well, as I said you have my full confidence, Hinata. But make sure that you don’t hide any emotional wounds or traumas that you may experience. I’m…here for you. You know that.”
Hinata nodded.
“Thank you, Neji-nii-san.”
Neji walked in step with her s she made her way towards the gardens, where her mother used to tend and play in. He kept a silent vigil over her as Hinata sent some prayers and consolation towards her mother, praying what she should do or say. Neji didn’t begrudge her this, and understood that Hiashi didn’t like Hinata going into the gardens to talk with her mother or acknowledge her death, though he said nothing about it. As said, she had Neji’s full confidence, and she knew that she couldn’t find a braver or more loyal friend than that.
Hinata smiled.
She was truly blessed.
That’s why she was determined to save Neji, should it come down to it. She needed to go about her day and do the duties that were expected of her within the Hyuuga clan, but she had so many questions that she wanted to ask Future Ghost Neji as well. She could only access Future Ghost Neji through his dreams, and she wondered if Future Ghost Neji could impact the current Neji that was living beside her in this reality, though that was another question she would have to ask another time or something.
Though this thought of dreamscapes and ghosts and the Dimensional Bar would’ve been something hard to believe at first, and in fact, Hinata was having a difficult time of believing it herself. Though right now, before she thought of using her powers to keep her chakra presence hidden, Neji was able to see through her chakra suppression and see that she harbored more energy and power than she had before. Were Meridiens something that were invisible to even the Byakugan, and only something that the dead can see and touch and sense? Hinata didn’t know, but Future Ghost Neji unlocked something within her that made her stronger, and to be honest, the implications of such power scared Hinata.
What if she changed?
What if she wasn’t responsible enough with this power?
What if she made a mistake…
No, she wouldn’t think of that right now. Right now, her priority involved spending her time with her family and accumulating the training that she needed to wield the power that she wanted to help protect those that she loved. Which included Naruto-kun, Neji-nii-san, her team, all of Konoha village.
She would save them all, as long as she had this power.
II
When Hinata performed her duties in the Hyuuga manor, she met up with her team. She hid meridiens and new found chakra abilities, though Kiba and Shino were her two most trusted teammates. They knew something was different. It flattered her they payed attention to a wallflower like Hinata. Shino observed something while she performed her training exercises.
“You’re more confident,” Shino murmured, nodding to her while Hinata struck the training dummy.
Her Byakugan vision enhanced and allowed her to determine the best areas to strike, and she jabbed all the vital points with 100 percent accuracy. She hid this accuracy during the actual training underneath her mentor Kurenai Yuuhi. Though Shino caught her training afterward, seeing she struck the right targets and vitals to subdue an enemy. He knew that Hinata aimed to incapacitate, not kill, though even so, this precision and accuracy displayed on the dummy’s vital points meant Hinata knew what she was doing.
“I knew you could do it,” Shino said with a warm smile.
Hinata blushed as she stammered and stuttered in confusion.
Stop it, Hinata.
Save that reaction for Naruto-kun, wouldn’t you?
“T-Thank you,” Hinata said quietly, before Shino offered her a sip of soda from a vending machine, to which Hinata accepted gratefully. “Shino-kun…I feel I can do it now. To work hard and…become as good as Neji-nii-san.”
Shino nodded. “You’ve improved, Hinata. I’m rather impressed. Of course, after observing Neji Hyuuga, who has optimal fighting stances, I know you’re matching his movements more.”
Hinata blinked. She was comparable to Neji-nii-san?
“Well, Neji-nii-san can still teach me a lot,” Hinata said shyly, before Shino took a sip of his own soda and crumpled the can.
“Hinata! Shino!” Kiba called out to them, and Hinata turned her head to face the dog user Shinobi and his animal companion Akamaru. “Yo! There’s something really cool I want you to see.”
Hinata nodded politely, knowing Kiba usually came up with exciting things to do while she and Shino would go along with Kiba’s antics. Though Kiba’s enthusiastic and puppy like determination were amusing and Hinata truly loved and cherished her team as well. She wondered—were her teammates involved in the climactic war? She would protect her team as well, these two precious beans who supported her and protested against people calling her weak. They supported her even when she lagged behind and brought them down, or so Hinata, felt, but they never gave voice to such complaints and accepted her. This time, it would be her turn to watch their backs.
Kiba showed off his Dynamic Marking technique, to which Shino scoffed and said, “I’m impressed at the ingenuity but disgusted by how you’re doing things, Kiba.”
“Hey, come on,” Kiba said as he held Shino in a half held hug. “It’s a novelty! Something I’ve trained Akamaru to do to keep someone’s scent if they try to avoid me in battle! You can call me a genius!”
“You surely hold me in awe,” Shino said, to which Hinata giggled at their banter with one another and she held both their hands.
“Shino-kun, Kiba-kun,” Hinata said brightly. “Do you want to go to the park?”
“Yahoo!” Kiba said, pumping his fist in the air. “The park sounds great! What do you have planned, Hinata?”
“Well, I was thinking of picking flowers for my mother,” Hinata said with a soft smile. “And then I wanted to spend time in the outdoors and training some more there.”
“Are you sure it’s not to spy on Naruto?” Kiba said with a teasing grin on his face, to which Hinata immediately reddened. “Hey, at least you’re not fainting everytime he’s mentioned or when you see him. That’s progress!”
“Kiba, don’t tease the Hyuuga Princess,” Shino said, to which Kiba laughed and Akamaru barked.
“Should I call her Hime-chan instead of Hinata, then?” Kiba said in a slightly flirtatious manner, and Hinata reddened a little as well. What was up with Kiba and Shino today?
“You guys, Hinata said as she nervously licked her lips while she did so. Both boys then held Hinata by her hand, and Hinata was comforted by their presence and warm demeanors towards her. As Kiba jokingly said, she was the Princess of Team 8, and they handled her with care like she was delicate porcelain. Though upon her recent request, they started to train rougher with her instead of holding back like before, and they respected her wishes and Hinata found herself growing more from her training.
After they went to the park, they trained and practiced katas and moves to help refine their techniques. After a long, hard day of training, Hinata then found herself resting underneath a training dummy and taking a light nap, where she eventually delved into the world of dreams once more.
III
Hinata slumbered while she finished training with Team 8, and she found herself in the Dimensional Bar again with Future Ghost Neji.
He was washing a glass and wiping down dishes and the counter tops while he noted that Hinata appeared before him in her psychic imprint form. Neji smiled towards her in greeting, before saying, “How was your training session?”
“It went well,” Hinata said, looking down and poking her fingers together. “Better than I could’ve hoped.”
Neji nodded in satisfaction, before he offered her a sweet drink concoction with a little umbrella perched in it.
“Drink this, this will revitalize your energy and make your chakra element take on an interesting element. First is your dominant element. And secondly you’ll be working on the other chakra affinities as well. This one focuses on the Wind based chakra, hence the green-ish blue color.
Hinata took a sip of the drink, before she brightened. “It has a refreshing taste to it…I feel that my chakra is getting stronger after drinking it, especially with that particular elemental affinity.”
“As with the Wind Element, you will gain more speed and mobility in your movements, though if you apply an element creatively in your chakra, you’re able to do many things with just one element alone if you learn to push it past it’s limits. This is a special privilege granted to you, Hinata-sama. I will train you in this dimensional space so that you can become a Shinobi that will be respected and have the power to change fate and the world.”
“This power,” Hinata said shyly. “I…I don’t know if I actually wanted to be a Ninja. I was much happier supporting people on the sidelines and making medicinal salves and whatnot to help them. Even if I do have all this power now, I want to use it to help others. So I think that…instead of displaying my strength. I will use my power in the shadows, and do things to help other people discretely and indirectly so that I can help change their fate.”
Neji smiled, before he nodded towards Hinata. “That is perfect, actually. Know yourself and your limits, and if you must perform your work in the shadows, that is valid as well. I know that you weren’t the type who wanted to pursue glory or power or fame or anything like that. Your kind and gentle nature was enough to help soothe the presences around you. There is a kind of power in just being yourself, despite all the power that you’re harboring within you right now, to become stronger. Your own strength has always been your kind nature, which your father once dismissed as a weakness and timidity. But I believe in you fullheartedly, Hinata-sama. Remember that.”
Hinata nodded, before she took another sip of her drink. “Thank you, Neji-niisan. I hope that I can help ease whatever burdens that you may have. I know that, our past relationship had been a little rocky, but we’ve been able to overcome that and become confidantes and friends to one another. I just hope…that I can be a source of strength for you as well. Or if I provide a listening ear to your troubles, I’m willing to do that too.”
Neji chuckled, before saying. “I find that I don’t have any worries or regrets having done what I did. I know that you will do everything in your power to save me, but know this, Hinata-sama—you don’t have to change the outcome of my death. I’m not placing that burden upon you. I just want you to have the strength to defend yourself from greater forces and enemies that are conspiring to manipulate the Space Time Continuum.”
Hinata cocked her head to the side.
“Space Time Continuum?”
Neji nodded.
“This might be a matter that is involved with the Gods, I’m afraid. Though I’m not privy to the conversations of Gods, I think that I do have some small influence on the way trajectories are made and whatnot. I think that influencing you, because I have a strong connection to you as a psychic imprint from the future, tethered me to you. I can become your eyes, Hinata-sama, and make you see the spectral and supernatural things.”
“Being able to see things like Ghosts and everything,” Hinata murmured, looking towards Neji with a newfound determination in her eyes. “Is it possible that…I can see…Mother?”
Neji smiled at Hinata. “She loves your very much. In fact, it was your Mother from another temporal timeline that sent me to you, actually, and told me to unlock your meridians. My time may be spent in that other world, but I can help make a difference in another timeline in the temporal loops that have spawned from one event—The Great Ninja War. You have more power and influence than you realize, Hinata, and it’s important that you continue to guide and act as the conscience for Naruto.”
“Naruto-kun…” Hinata said, holding a hand to her chest as she did so. “I’ve always admired him, always. But I also admired you too, Neji-nii-san, for being so strong and smart and powerful in our clan. I hoped that one day…maybe I could catch up to you, and be your equal.”
“Hinata, you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone,” Neji said kindly. “You don’t have to prove yourself to me. You’re fine as you are. I’m only giving you these extra perks of power because I thought they might help you on your journey of influencing the future and making a different outcome for the worlds that have happened.”
Hinata steeled her resolve, before she nodded and took Neji’s hand within her own. “Please, Neji…whatever you do, please keep on watching over me. And watch over yourself as well. He’s younger than you, but he is an aspect of you as well. I hope that…I can be able to save you, Neji-nii-san. Please wait for me in the future…and in the future…I will buy you a drink, and we will share a bottle of fine wine together.”
