In A Time When Kunoichi Didn't Exist

Hinata stood nervously next to the others. She glanced at them, gauging their emotions wordlessly. Naruto seemed excited, though he was giving her worried glances; Kankuro and Temari had the same confident and haughty look about them; Shikamaru looked as if he really didn't want to be there; but the most scary look was the one Gaara was giving everyone. He almost… no, wait, it was definite—he wanted to be there, he wanted to hurt them all. Badly. Possibly kill, in fact. But, if Hinata wasn't mistaken, one person was missing…

"Dosu will not be participating," the man in front of them said, chewing on his senbon wordlessly as he surveyed what was most certainly the youngest group of potential Chuunin in… forever. "And it seems that the Uchiha is forfeiting, as well…" He muttered with a sigh. Just at the moment that those words issued from his mouth, a man came up to him and whispered in his ear.

The man nodded and dismissed the messenger. "Okay, we'll wait for the Uchiha brat, since so many people came to see him," his tone was almost sarcastic, as if, even though he didn't know Sasuke, he already annoyed him. "And, since his fight was first, it now gets bumped to the last in the first round. Shikamaru, Temari—you two are up first. Oh—and, not that it really particularly matters at this point, but I'm Genma. I hope you all survive," he introduced himself and walked off, before turning to address the crowd.

"The first fight will be Shikamaru Nara against Temari of the Sand!" he called, and the crowd booed. Shikamaru sighed, and Hinata felt almost as if she could read his thoughts—it was screaming the word 'troublesome', with undertones of 'it's not like they really want to see a two-bit ninja compared to Sasuke' and 'why do I have to fight a girl?'

The other Genin walked to the set-aside area and most of them leaned against the railing, watching intently to see how the fight would go. Naruto casually stood beside Hinata, though he didn't utter a word of greeting or acknowledgement at the start of the fight.

Halfway through the fight though, Naruto sighed. "Looks like this fight is based on strategy…" he complained.

"Yeah… Shikamaru is definitely a genius," Hinata commented, watching in awe as Shikamaru set up a trap using only his shirt, a kunai, and the wind gathered from Temari's fan.

"Hey, um, Hina—Naru-chan?" Naruto began, almost calling her by her real name, but catching himself just in time. However, Hinata was still worried someone might have heard—but a glance around the box confirmed that it seemed as if no one, in fact, had heard his slip-up.

"Hai, Naruto-kun?" she replied after she finished checking everyone.

"We can still be friends after the fight, right?" Naruto asked nervously.

Hinata smiled softly and nodded firmly. It really was cute that he'd ask such a question, after all.

The fight finished a few minutes later, Temari emerging as the winner due to Shikamaru forfeiting, though really, if he had wanted, he could have probably come up with a way to finish her off quickly.

"Naru of the Sand against Naruto Uzumaki," Genma called out, and Naruto exchanged looks with Hinata.

"Good luck," Hinata said gently, and Naruto repeated the same. Naruto held out his hand for her to shake, unsure of what really that sort of situation called for, and Hinata took it before pulling him into a quick, haphazard hug.

----

They stood across from each other, staring intently into each other's eyes, as if willing the other to speak, or even simply move. Genma signaled for them to start, and without a second thought, Naruto immediately formed the seal for the Kage Bunshin.

Soon, many Narutos surrounded Hinata. They were all lined up along the wall, while one was still in Naruto's original place. The Naruto in the original place signaled for the other Narutos to run forward and attack Hinata at once.

Hinata quickly formed the seals for a small fireball jutsu, spurting out the fireballs as she turned over and over again in circles, turning in more than one circle to ensure that she had destroyed all of them. Soon, Hinata was standing alone in the arena, the one she thought to be the original Naruto gone as well.

'A distraction…?' she thought to herself before a rumbling was heard beneath her. Hinata jumped to the side automatically, Naruto erupting from the ground below her, carrying a kunai in each hand. Hinata whipped out a kunai as well, for that was all she could take out so quickly, and blocked the barrage of attacks Naruto was throwing with the one kunai.

A few minutes of hand-to-hand, close combat made Hinata realize very quickly that there was no possible way she could win the fight with just a kunai. She formed a few left-handed seals, using her right hand to hold the kunai and block Naruto's attack.

"Hinata—these seals are meant to only be used with one hand," Uzuki began, handing Hinata a new scroll.

"One hand?" Hinata parroted, somewhat surprised.

"Yes. One hand. They are no where near as strong as two-handed seals, but it should at least get you into a position to use two-handed seals and win," Uzuki continued. "Now, what this first one does is conjures a very small burst of flame, and it can only be used by people with very precise chakra control. Even then, it is very difficult to learn…"

Hinata opened up her palm, and the thinnest line of fire flew from it, burning her skin, but managing to catch Naruto's jacket on fire. He dropped his kunai in shock, and began fanning at the flames.

If it had been a real fight, one she was willing to kill for, Hinata could have easily lunged forward at that moment and slit her opponent's throat. It would have been a simple task, really—lunge, slash; mission completed.

But, of course, that wouldn't be right. Hinata began forming seals for a caging jutsu, and just barely had completed the seals when Naruto had finally quenched the fire. He quickly formed the seals for the Kage Bunshin, much faster than Hinata could finish the seal for the caging jutsu, and all Hinata ended up catching was a Bunshin. She released it immediately, grabbing a kunai from the ground that Naruto had previously discarded.

She used the kunai and stabbed a nearby Bunshin, knowing that Naruto wouldn't place himself so far in front in the first wave of attacks. She used the kunai to defend herself, twisting this way and that to successfully stab the oncoming Bunshin.

'Seems as if the drills Uzuki has me do have been paying off…' Hinata mused to herself as she continued to twist and whirl. Though, even with how fast she was going, it was simply impossible for her at her current level of taijutsu. She was soon overcrowded.

As the Bunshin began piling on top of her, Hinata quickly formed a few seals. She twisted around, the Bunshin having covered her back and legs entirely, the weight too much for her to push off. She blew out a large gush of fire, burning the Bunshin and making the ones in that direction disappear with a poof. This took away three-quarters of all the Bunshin.

She flipped back onto her feet and sprung backwards. Naruto was in that group of Bunshin—somewhere. In order to win, she wouldn't have to kill him, but she would have to injure him quite badly.

Naruto noticed that she was about to use another fire jutsu, and noticed how long it took her to form the seals. He instructed all of his Bunshin to take out their kunai, as many as they could hold, and fling them at Hinata. While they did this, Naruto crawled behind the crowd of Bunshin, far enough away to be out of reach of the fire. Just as Hinata finished the last of the seals, the Bunshin threw their kunai at her.

The flames were only alive long enough to just barely kill the Kage Bunshin and heat up the kunai that were flying towards her. Hinata jumped backwards, though not very fast, and she managed to fall down on her backside. Naruto stopped, freezing, and watched her.

She was having trouble getting up, and she was obviously under chakra exhaustion. She looked dizzy, as if she was about to pass out.

"Naru, I'm not going to do this anymore. Give up. You can't win… You have a limited supply of chakra. I don't," Naruto muttered gently.

"Iie, Naruto-kun. I'm not giving up. You'd… you'd have to finish me off," Hinata replied.

"Shut up! Just give up!" Naruto commanded.

Hinata ignored his comments and calmly began forming jutsu seals. Naruto recognized it as a fire jutsu, and got out of the way. Hinata turned towards him and shot flames at him, just barely singing the blonde boy.

Hinata fell to the ground from chakra exhaustion, all her energy having been spent. Naruto lunged forward, a few burns apparent, and caught her before she landed on the ground. Genma gave them a 'what's between them?' kind of look before declaring the winner to be Naruto.

"Can I wait in her room before my fight?" Naruto asked the medic nin. The medic nin seemed taken aback for a moment, but he nodded, as all Hinata really needed was rest.

----

Hinata slept for nearly two hours—and, surprisingly, the first round was almost finished with its last fight. Hinata slowly awakened, shocked to see Naruto sitting beside her, simply staring at her, looking… angry.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," she muttered weakly.

He managed a smile. "Hello, Hina-chan," he said gently. Hinata blushed at the nickname—had he just come up with that?

"Have… have you just been sitting here the entire time?" Hinata asked weakly.

"Yeah… Oh, the medic nin said to have you take this," Naruto suddenly jumped up, picking up a few pills and a glass of water. Hinata sat up and nodded, accepting the pills with a soft thanks and popping the pills into her mouth before downing the entire glass of water.

A sudden BOOM was heard from outside. Hinata bolted and looked at Naruto, the pills having already restored her strength. Her eyes were filled with desperation, shock, and realization.

"Naruto-kun! Suna is attacking!" she cried out, and Naruto sat there, gaping at her.

"… Are you coming with me, or going with them?" he asked her as he stood up.

"I'm with Konoha," she said firmly, allowing Naruto to pull her out of the hospital bed. Naruto smirked at her happily, before wordlessly dashing out of the room.

Almost as soon as they threw the door open, Uzuki was there, blocking any attacks that happened to fly her way. "So, he knows?" Uzuki asked after a short length of time. Hinata nodded.

"Try not to have to fight any of your old friends, Hinata. And you, Naruto-brat… Protect her with your life, you got that?" Uzuki asked firmly. Without even giving him time to answer, Uzuki ran off, obviously tackling mainly Sound nin.

"Let's go," Naruto said with a firm nod. Hinata and Naruto ran forward, fighting off the Sound and Sand nin, protecting their village—together.

A/N: Sorry for the chapter getting out so late--my internet has been screwy. I'm even sorrier for the corny last line.