Heart of the Wolf

Chapter Sixteen: A New Team

Silently, they walked down one of the long cold hallways of the Hyuga compound. Hiashi led the way, Hinata and Kiba were still holding hands in the middle, and Neji took up the rear.

Kiba felt Hinata slightly shaking through his hand and realized, there was only so much comfort he could truly give her. He squeezed it, making her look over at him. Even though he didn't know what was going to happen, he smiled over at her. She managed to give a small smile back. Whatever it was, they would face it together.

They were so lost in each other, they almost ran into Hinata's father who had stopped.

Hiashi slid open a door and peered over his shoulder at them, his face void of emotion. "This way." He motioned them to enter before him.

Hinata swallowed nervously and followed Kiba into the room. Someone was sitting at a table. The person rose when they walked in.

Kiba was surprised to say the least. "Sensei?" What is she doing here? The question burned in his mind, but he bit his tongue. He would find out soon enough.

Kurenai, who was dressed in her Jonin outfit, remained silent. She spoke up when Hiashi entered the room with Neji. "Mind telling me what I'm doing here?"

Kiba could tell his sensei wasn't very happy by the tone of her voice, and evidently she didn't know why she was here herself. This was getting interesting.

"Let's all have a seat and I'll explain everything to you." Hiashi tried his best to placate her.

Kurenai eyed Hiashi for a moment before taking a seat again. She never did care for the man. He seemed too cold for her taste, much like the compound in which he lived. If it wasn't for the Hokage ordering her to come here, she would've never stepped foot in the place.

Everyone took a seat, Hiashi sitting at the head of the table. He looked over at Kurenai on his right. "I heard about the recent loss of one of your students. You have my condolences."

Hiashi said the words with such a deadpan expression, Kurenai wondered if he meant what he spoke. The Hyugas were harder to read than anyone else she encountered, which was a little unsettling to her.

"Miyuko was a great kunoichi." Kurenai looked across the table at Kiba, whose head was tilted down. "She knew the dangers of being a Leaf ninja, but faced them anyways. She will never be forgotten."

"Which leads me to why you are really here." Hiashi took a deep breath. "I want you to consider my daughter, Hinata, as a replacement."

Kurenai and Kiba were slightly taken aback by the comment and Hinata gasped.

"Father." Hinata jerked her head toward him. "How could you suggest such a thing? I never went to the Ninja Academy. I'm not even a Genin."

"Oh, but you are," said Hiashi, making them look even more confused. "When you were younger, I tested you myself. You passed the Genin exam I gave you."

Kiba looked at the shocked girl by his side. "Hinata, do you remember your father ever testing you?"

"Yes," Hinata said in disbelief. "But I thought I failed. Father stopped training me after that." She turned back to him, hurt in her eyes. "Why father? If I passed, why did you cast me aside?"

Hiashi's eyes softened. "I had to, Hinata, for your sister's sake."

"What does that mean?" Kiba couldn't keep the anger from his voice. All Hinata ever wanted to do was become stronger, and her father prevented that from happening.

"The Hyuga Council demanded that Hanabi be branded with the Cursed Seal. I managed to hold them off, but I had to come up with a way to save her somehow. So, I stopped training Hinata and told them that her younger sister was stronger and would be the next heir. They couldn't touch Hanabi, if that were the case."

Kiba stood up, angry. "So, you make Hinata suffer instead. That was your solution?"

Hiashi's pale eyes narrowed. "You don't have children yet; therefore, you can't possibly understand."

Kiba clinched his teeth together before curse words came flying out.

"Kiba." Kurenai shot him a warning look. "Sit down."

He released an agitated breath and obeyed his sensei.

Hiashi continued. "I was trying to save both of my daughters, but saving one was causing me to lose the other. Hinata was miserable. Anyone could see that. So, I allowed Neji to train her, continuing where I left off. In the back of my mind, I knew the Hyuga Council would see how strong she was and question Hanabi's leadership. That's why I had a back up plan already in place."

"A back up plan?" Kurenai questioned.

"I had a feeling Hinata and Hanabi would be ordered to duel one day, and I knew Hinata would lose on purpose."

Hinata's eyes widened. How could her father know such things?

He answered her question. "Just like me, she wouldn't be able to sit idly by while the Cursed Seal was placed on Hanabi. So, I went to the Third Hokage when he was still alive and registered Hinata as a back-up or replacement ninja should the need ever arise. As a Leaf ninja, the Hyuga Council won't be able to touch her either."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Kiba still couldn't understand.

Kurenai, however, knew exactly where this was going. "As a Leaf ninja, it is the Hokage's duty to protect her."

Neji, who had been sitting quietly all this time, finally spoke up. "The Cursed Seal is placed on the branch family when they are very young for a reason. It's so the body can slowly adjust to it."

"What would happen if they placed it on Hinata now?" Kiba had to ask.

"One of three things," Neji replied. "She could be fine and go on living her natural life."

"What are the other two?" Kiba demanded when Neji grew silent.

Neji was reluctant to talk about it. "At the age she is now, Hinata could suffer brain damage and be reduced to a vegetated state or worse.. she could die from rejection of the Seal."

"I'm relying on you, Kurenai, to save my daughter." Hiashi fixed his gaze on her. "If she is part of your team, Hinata cannot be harmed."

Kiba stared at his sensei like she held the universe in her hand.

Kurenai stared back at him. In fact, it felt like everyone was boring a hole straight through her except for the young girl, who was shyly looking down. Oh, no pressure, she thought comically to herself. But she didn't have much of a choice, now did she? Tsunade knew she wouldn't be able to say 'no'. "Welcome to Team 8, Hinata. We'll meet in front of the Hokage at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Everyone relaxed, except for Hinata, who snapped to alert. "Yes, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata felt weird calling her that, but it was something she would have to get used to.

"Thank you." Hiashi bowed his head.

Kurenai gave a nod back. Then, she looked over at Kiba, who had a grateful look plastered on his face. "It's getting late. We should go."

Kiba stood up with his sensei, but before he left, he addressed the older gentleman. "Lord Hiashi, I was wrong about you."

Hiashi gave him a silent, yet questioning look.

Kiba closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head. "Here I thought you were a cold, heartless, jerk of a father.."

Hiashi grimaced and Neji's mouth dropped open in shock.

Kurenai stared wide-eyed at her student, hoping no more degrading adjectives would come flying out of his mouth, while Hinata hid a smile.

"..but, you're actually a good guy," Kiba finished, unaware of everyone's reaction.

Hiashi stared at him. He didn't think saying "thank you" would be an appropriate response.

Hinata immediately stood up. "Um.. father. If you don't mind, I'll walk them out."

He gave her a nod of approval.

Hinata pulled on Kiba's arm and quickly led him to the door with Kurenai.

When they left the room, Neji looked across the table at his uncle. "You know, if this didn't work, you still had one more option left; having Hinata marry into a different clan."

Hiashi huffed. "I was saving that as a last resort, Neji." He rubbed his temples. "And, after hearing Kiba speak, I'm glad I didn't use it." He dropped his hand, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. "Though, I have a feeling it will happen some day, whether I like it or not."

The next morning, Kurenai, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino met in front of the Hokage. Tsunade smiled across her desk at Team 8. "The meeting went well last night, I take it."

Kurenai wasn't falling for it. Tsunade knew what the outcome would be, even though she pretended not to. "Yes, it did."

Tsunade took a folder from Shizune, who was making sure all the paperwork was in order. "As a new team, you must learn to work together. I'm going to start out easy on you.."

Suddenly, the door to the Hokage's office flew open and an older man came bursting in. It was the elder of the Hyuga Council and he looked far from happy. "Just what do you think you're doing, Tsunade?"

The blonde frowned. "Well, I was trying to talk to my team before you barged in uninvited."

The councilman walked up to her desk. "I demand that you dismiss Hinata as a Leaf ninja. Hiashi concocted this plan with the Third Hokage behind the Council's back. It's disgraceful!"

A low growl escaped Kiba's throat and he was about to say something, but Tsunade beat him to it.

"What's disgraceful is you trying to tell me what to do." Tsunade glared at him. "You should know, if the Third was for it, than I am too. I've always followed in Sarutobi's footsteps, and I'm not about to stop now. It was a waste of your time coming here."

It looked like the man's veins were going to pop out of his head. "The last time a Hokage tried to interfere with a clan, things didn't go so well."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat?"

The man swallowed nervously, finally realizing who he was talking to. "Take it however you want. But know this, you haven't heard the last of me." He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

Hinata looked down. Things at home weren't going to be easy from here on out, but then again, they never were.

"Don't worry, Hinata." Tsunade noticed her reaction. "I've had to deal with old cranks before. It's nothing new."

Shizune chuckled. "Yeah. She's been around a long time herself, so she knows how to deal with them."

Tsunade gave her assistant a cold stare. Age was a forbidden topic around her.

Shizune's laughter died in her throat. "Um.. I'll shut up now."

After the meeting, Team 8, including Akamaru, who had been waiting outside, headed for the training grounds to test out their compatibility.

Shino fell in beside the new girl. He cleared his throat. "Welcome to the team, Hinata," he said in his montone voice. "I'm sure you will fit in just fine."

Hinata smiled over at him. "Thank you, Shino."

Kiba, who was on the other side of her, gave the Aburame an inquisitive look. "I hope you're not flirting, Shino. You know Hinata is already taken, right?"

The bug user's cheeks turned a light shade of red.

"Uh oh," Kiba joked. "I'm going to have to keep my eye on him, Hinata. He might try to steal you away from me."

Hinata began to blush as well. Being the rookie of the team, she knew what she had to look forward to.

Further along, Kiba stopped and grabbed Hinata's arm. "Oh, I almost forgot something."

Kurenai and Shino continued on, knowing they would catch up.

Kiba had a bemused look on his face. "Close your eyes."

Hinata was suspicious, but did what she was told. She felt something being tied around her.

"Okay," he said. "Open them."

Hinata opened her eyes to see a Leaf headband hanging loosley around her neck. She grabbed it and stared down at her own reflection in the shiny metal. A sense of pride washed over her and a smile slowly spread across her face. "Thank you, Kiba."

He smiled at her. "Your welcome, teammate."

All of a sudden, Akamaru nudged Hinata and she stumbled forward into Kiba's arms.

"Akamaru!" Kiba acted like he was going to reprimand him. Then, he looked down at Hinata and smiled again. "Good job, boy. Good job."

The dog barked in agreement.

Hinata giggled as Kiba leaned in for a kiss.

A/N: Thanks to all that have read! I left this story open for a sequel, so if you want one, Let Me Know! And, if you could, please tell me what you thought of the story overall or what you'd like to see if I make a sequel. I'd really like to hear from all of you. (Sequel is now up. Please check it out.)

Also, thank you so much to my reviewers. Especially those that reviewed almost every chapter. I don't single out, but you know who you are. :) I literally fed off of them. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart. They meant so much (you don't even know).~Ren