Rock Lee's return to the balcony was a silent one. Leaping over the railing, he landed softly next to his teacher, Gai. Gai turned and smiled, then patted the boy lightly on the shoulder.

Lee looked over to Neji, who had returned to his spot on the wall. He almost looked like he was sleeping, but he cocked one eye open and probed Lee's eyes. Lee caught the message clearly. Did you know?

"I wish I had your eyes, Neji…then I could have won without taking off the weights." Counterattacking was a dangerous business when you didn't have the eyes to follow the opponent well. But the true key to the match had been a trick Hinata had pulled that never would have worked on Neji.

Neji looked at Lee with slight disappointment. "Baka. You should have known something was wrong when she started jabbing all of a sudden."

Lee looked incredulously at Neji. Did I not just win? Why is he picking me apart? "And how was I to know the difference? Should I have let her hit me?"

Neji considered it and shut his eyes again. "You're right. It's pointless at your level."

Lee balled his fist in anger…

What If: The Lavender Lotus Brawl
Part 3: The Aftermath of Hurricane Hinata
by Yondaime-dono
Hyuuga Hinata was emotionless.

That wasn't true, she decided. So many different ones were floating around in her mind that she couldn't choose just one.

She was happy because she'd fought with every ounce of ability she had.

She was sad because even that hadn't been enough.

She was frustrated, because she realized there was a moment there where she could have knocked him out if she just pressed her advantage just a bit further…

And yet, she was proud…because it was a cleverly-calculated gamble that had gotten her to that point.

Looking back over the fight, she realized that was what had gotten her that far. Lee had been content to dodge her attacks all day, until he reached a point of confidence. His reflexes were great, but his eyes often didn't see her attacks until it was almost too late. For that reason, he didn't trust his eyes, and was attempting to build confidence in his instincts about what she would do for her next attack.

She had simply pressed on, hoping to stop him from putting her on the defensive, and praying that his stamina wouldn't last. Considering the power she put into every thrust, that wasn't a good gamble.

When she finally started to get tired, she had felt the opening sooner than he had seen it. She saw his legs turn as he prepared to counter, and she made effort to duck beneath his roundhouse kick.

Now, however, she was the one off balance, and he would more than likely keep kicking until her footing failed. She had to do something to get the offensive back. As he landed his kicking leg on the ground and prepared to snap the other leg up and beneath her defenses, Hinata struck. It had been a hasty attack, made in desperation…two fingers flying through the air as fast as she could make them, straight past his right eye. When she struck again with her right hand, aiming for his left eye, he dodged and stumbled back.

The panic in his eyes then was clear for the world to see, and she continued jabbing. Lee was making every effort to dodge every one of her attacks, jab or not, and that made it clear that he did not have the eyes for this battle. Hinata realized the repercussions quickly; this boy couldn't see the chakra coming from her fingers…nor could he notice its absence. Her jabs, pure Gouken finger taps, where just as formidable to his eye as the Jyuuken palm thrusts she'd thrown the entire rest of the match.

She quickly learned to incorporate them into her style, feinting and jabbing to keep him off balance, and going for the gold with her Jyuuken thrusts. The jig would be up once she hit him with a jab, so she made certain not to until she had a golden opportunity to floor him.

It had worked out well, she concluded, but if she'd only gone after his airborne body to finish him off, the end might have worked out differently. But how angry could she honestly get about a victory she almost stole…especially considering she'd almost given it up by default?

Happiness won her over in the end. She had just fought on a stage of her peers, and even though she hadn't won, she had certainly shown her ability. She couldn't ask for anything more.

The one thing she could (and would) have hoped for was given to her freely. Hyuuga Hinata climbed the stairs back to the balcony and froze. At the top of the stairs, a blond-haired boy wearing an orange jacket sat, dangling his legs over the balcony railing, and turning to face her with a smile. "Aa—there she is, little miss whoopass!"

Hinata blushed, and climbed to the top. She stood there, her back to the stairs, as they continued to talk.

"Do you plan to become Hokage, Hinata?"

Her eyes went wide. To hear that question from Naruto…what did it mean? She spoke as honestly as she could, hoping truth would serve her well. "No, Naruto-kun…I have no desire to become Hokage."

Naruto looked her in the eyes and flashed a big goofy smile. "Good! I'd hate to have to fight you for it Hinata…you were like a tiger down there!"

Hinata focused her eyes on her hands and pressed her index fingers together. She might have been a tiger down there…but up here was a different story.

Aburame Shino stood a bit away from Naruto and glanced at his shy partner. He wanted to congratulate her, but he knew better. This was her shining moment, and he wasn't going to shorten it. Enjoy it, Shino told her in his mind, knowing what would happen soon. Enjoy it while you can.

Mixed opinions dominated the majority of the rest of the room. Why had that fight ended? Had Hinata's spurt of excellence come to an end simply because she'd gotten tired? Did she turn chicken? Or did Lee tell her something that the rest of folks simply missed?

"Why wouldn't she at least take the chance? She fought that long and hard just to give up?" Yamanaka Ino mused aloud, entirely confused by how abruptly the battle had ended, just when it looked like it was going to get interesting.

Haruno Sakura sighed. Even though Hinata lost, she'd had the best showing of any woman in the room…and considering nearly every other kunoichi had faced another kunoichi, that said a lot. That just made her quitting make even less sense. "Maybe her confidence just left her…" It was that Hinata, after all…maybe she had glanced up to the stands at the wrong time.

Ino laughed. "You mean you think she lost her nerve?" She paused, and then continued, "Although…it is Hinata…"

"Now wait just a minute!"

Both girls turned at the sound of this new and manly voice entering their conversation. Rock Lee stood a couple of feet away, and his eyes witnessed to his anger.

"Hinata-san fought honorably and gave her all on the battlefield! I will not stand and listen to you insult her…no matter what her reasons were." Lee's eyes burned, and he glared at both of them. Sakura didn't dare look him back in the eyes, but Ino stared at him.

"I'm not insulting her…at least I'm not trying to. It's just that Hinata…well…she has a history of being shy and passive…"

Lee's eyes shifted to Sakura's for a moment. She turned and faced him with a gasp, looking panicked like a deer in headlights…and Lee tore his eyes away. "She wasn't like that down there…"

Lee balled a fist and pumped it into the air, voicing his opinion for all to hear. "Know this! Today, Hyuuga Hinata has changed!"

Across the room, Uzumaki Naruto's fist pumped into the air. "THREE CHEERS FOR HINATA!"

Yuuhi Kurenai caught on quickly. "HIP HIP!"

Everyone else was caught so off-guard that only she, Gai, Kakashi, and Naruto yelled. "HOORAY!"

Rock Lee jumped in next. "HIP HIP!"

"HOORAY!"

Shino came in next. "Hip hip!"

No one heard him.

Naruto yelled as loud as he could, filling the silent gap. "HIP HIP!"

"HOORAY!" Nearly every Leaf ninja left in the room had yelled at that point, including Hinata herself. Neji and Sasuke leaned against the wall, arms folded and eyes closed, simply riding out the emotional wave that brought on this cheer…

…and Sand and Sound alike remained silent and awkward. It suddenly became clear to them just how outnumbered they'd become. Baki, caretaker of the Kazekage's family and Jounin of the Sand, frowned. The Leaf genin hadn't looked too impressive to this point…but something seemed to change now. The energy in the room had shifted…no Leaf ninja was nervous anymore. Instead…

Baki glanced to his left and saw Gaara's hands trembling. But…was that nerves, or something else? Either way, it didn't bode well.

Plans would have to be discussed soon. Carefully…

Uzumaki Naruto was oblivious to all of that, however. He was too busy celebrating. Naruto looked over to his friend and smiled. "You have changed, Hinata...for the better."

Hinata looked into his eyes. They shimmered with respect and awe, and his words rang in her ears. Her eyes locked with his, and she felt herself begin to drown in blue. "Th--Thank you, Naruto-kun."

They stayed silent for a moment, just smiling at one another, and then…

Hinata checked out for the night. As her eyes rolled back, she fell backwards…down the stairs…

…and into the waiting arms of Kurenai-sensei. Naruto's eyes searched hers, looking in confusion at her. It was almost as if she'd known the girl was going to faint…she was there before he'd even realized what had happened! Naruto found his voice again. "Did...did Fuzzy-eyebrows hurt her badly?"

Kurenai shook her head and fought back a chuckle. The protectiveness in Naruto's voice was just too cute, considering the nature of the situation. "Too much attention for one day," Kurenai declared. "She'll be fine in a few minutes."

Hyuuga Hinata had indeed changed. But some things were destined to stay the same.

END

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