บท 20: Side Story - 1.1 The Beginning of a Downward Spiral

In the Ninja Academy, several ninja classes for different skills such as Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and weapon handling are held. Of course, aside from the 'traditional' ninja classes, there are a few special classes as well, one of which is the Kunoichi Class which every girl at the academy must attend.

In the Kunoichi classes, girls are taught about other cultures and skills such as flower arrangement, tea ceremony, etiquette, and dance along with other similar skills as knowledge and mastery over these skills can help them blend in during an infiltration mission.

After spending the break time with Sasuke in the storeroom, Hinata made her way to the Kunoichi class. Since the Kunoichi Class is a must for all the girls, so just like Hinata, the other girls of the second year were also making their way to the Kunoichi Class in groups of twos and threes. Among these groups was a group of three girls by the name Suzuki Yumi, Nakamura Emi, and Sato Aiko.

Walking through the corridor, Sato Aiko murmured in a gloomy tone, "I have already decided that I can't take it anymore… I am going to show her…"

Suzuki Yumi was surprised, "You? Are you serious about this, Aiko-chan?"

Before Yumi finish, Aiko interrupted her, "I don't care… I'm going to teach her a lesson."

As they were discussing, suddenly, the third member of the group, Nakamura Emi pointed at the end of the other corridor, "Yumi-chan, Aiko-chan… Look over there…"

Both girls turned their gaze toward the direction pointed by Emi, where they promptly recognized the person, they had been discussing. She was alone and probably making her way to the Kunoichi Class just like them.

Aiko uttered the girl's name word for word as she stared at her back, "Hyuga Hinata…" Then a wicked smile appeared on her face, as she spoke to her two friends, "You two… come with me…" and quickened her pace to quickly approach Hinata.

Yumi and Emi looked at each other, and then with a nod, they quickly followed Aiko.

"Hinata-chan~" Hearing her name being called, Hinata stopped and looked behind in confusion to see who called her name. She noticed three girls approaching her, 'Huh?' She was certain that she had never spoken with either of the three girls previously, so she did not understand why they were suddenly calling her name and coming toward her.

While Hinata was confused, Aiko, Yumi, and Emi came running toward her, and Aiko called out, "Hinata-chan!"

"Yes, Sato-san?" asked Hinata with doubt and surprise. Taking into account that the two sides have never communicated with each other before, it was very surprising for Hinata to be directly called by her first name, and that too with the 'chan' honorific. Except for her late mother, no one has ever used that honorific with her.

Aiko certainly noticed the doubt and surprise on Hinata's face; however, she did not care. She stepped closer, perhaps a little too close, and slung her arm around Hinata's shoulder as she poked in the waist, and asked with a grin, "I saw it earlier… you went out of the classroom with Sasuke-kun, right? Where did the two of you go? What did the two of you do alone? Yumi-chan and Emi-chan are also curious… right?"

Both Yumi and Emi took a cue from Aiko's expression and nodded with bright eyes, "Yes…!"

"That–…" Hinata hesitated and looked down. She is reserved when it comes to talking about Sasuke and what they did. Moreover, she is not allowed to speak about that place to anyone.

Upon noticing Hinata's hesitation, Aiko narrowed her eyes for a moment, but she quickly reverted back to the previous grin and said with a pout, "Muu… Hinata-chan… you are such a naughty girl… keeping Sasuke-kun all to yourself, people are not very happy about it, right?"

Yumi and Emi agreed with Aiko, "Yes… everyone is going to hate you if you keep Sasuke-kun all to yourself…"

"But… But… I don't…" Hinata tried to refuse in a panicked tone. Let alone doing such a thing as trying to keep Sasuke all to herself, she hadn't even thought about such a thing.

Aiko cut her off in a dark tone, "From now on, either stay away from Sasuke-kun or watch your back because I am going to make your life hell for trying to take away Sasuke-kun from us…" then she retrieved her hand and said goodbye in her previous voice, "See you in the class, Hinata-chan~" and left for the Kunoichi Class with Yumi and Emi.

Hinata stood there stunned, confused, and a little horrified.

Kunoichi Class

"As I have explained numerous times, information is the most important tool for a ninja, and only with the right information can we successfully gain an edge over the enemies… Again, information gathering is not easy either, or there are different methods employed for this task. Blending in as a Geisha is one of the most effective methods for a Kunoichi to gather information in high-class gatherings and courts. So, today we are going to talk about what a Geisha is, what's expected of them, and what things to take into consideration while posing as one…" explained Instructor Suzume, then she started to write the twelve important points that a Kunoichi must take into account to blend in as a full-fledged Geisha on the blackboard.

While Suzume was writing on the blackboard that the other girls in the class were copying in their notebooks, Aiko looked at Hyuga Hinata's back with gloom. She then tore a piece of paper from the back of her notebook, wrote something on it, put a stone pellet inside it, crumpled it into a paper ball, and then threw it at the Hinata.

Crash!

The paper containing the stone pellet hit Hinata in the neck, shocking her, "Whaaaa!"

Suddenly, the entire class looked at her in confusion. Instructor Suzume stopped writing on the blackboard and turned around and questioned her, "Do you have any doubt, Hyuga Hinata-san?"

Hinata quickly shook her head, "No, I was just… a little shocked, I apologize Suzume-sensei…" and looked down in embarrassment.

"Alright… be careful next time…" nodded Instructor Suzume as she continued where she had left off.

On the other side, Hinata also recovered and looked down. She noticed a crumpled paper lying between her feet and picked it up. She could feel the small stone pellet inside it. Upon opening the paper, and putting aside the stone pellet, she noticed something written on it. She turned it over and as she read it, her hand trembled for a moment, and she dropped the paper.

'White-Eyed Freak!' That's what was written on the paper.

Of course, she had already guessed the identity of the person who threw it, but just to confirm she looked back and saw all three of Suzuki Yumi, Nakamura Emi, and Sato Aiko signaling her to stay quiet otherwise they would kill her.

Hinata looked down sadly thinking to herself, 'I don't even know them until today.' As for their doubt about keeping Sasuke all to herself, she just wanted to express her gratefulness to him for what he did for her when she was sad.

The rest of the class continued in the same manner. Whenever Instructor Suzume had turned her back, either one of Suzuki Yumi, Nakamura Emi, or Sato Aiko would throw something at Hinata. Sometimes a crumpled paper, another time, an eraser, a stone pellet, or directly call her names such as 'White-Eyed Freak,' 'Ugly Eyes,' 'Byakugan Monster,' or 'White Skunk' et cetera.

Of course, some of the other girls in the class noticed Suzuki Yumi, Nakamura Emi, and Sato Aiko targeting Hyuga Hinata, however, they either indifferently ignored it, or laughed at her and called her names along with the others. They were all taking out their frustration upon her. Similar to Suzuki Yumi, Nakamura Emi, and Sato Aiko, they are also unhappy with Hinata because she is the only one who gets the chance to sit with Sasuke and believes that she is trying to keep Sasuke all to herself.

Hyuga Compound

After the day at the ninja academy, as Hinata was being taken back to her home by her caretaker, she looked at the streets with a distracted expression. Hyuga Kō noticed that she was acting a little out of place, so after pondering for a while, he asked, "Hinata-sama, did something happen at the academy?"

Takenaback by Kō's sudden question, Hinata hurriedly shook her head, "Nothing."

Kō pursed his lips. He can be sure that something happened but unless Hinata speaks about it, he really has no method of finding out for a while. Understanding this, Kō shook his head and decided not to pursue the matter.

Soon, the two returned back to the Hyuga Patriarch's mansion, and Kō bowed lightly, "Then I will see you tomorrow, Hinata-sama."

Hinata nodded lightly, "Hmm." And walked inside.

As soon as she returned, a small figure with brown hair, the same pure white eyes as her, and a smooth forehead hurried toward Hinata, and buried herself into her warmth, "Hinata Nee-sama… welcome back, I have been waiting for you!"

"Hanabi-chan…" Hinata uttered her name with a warm smile as she returned the hug. Whatever was on her mind was pushed at the back of her head.

"Shishishi…" Hanabi grinned, she looked at Hinata and begged with a bright smile, "Let's play ninja…"

Hinata's smile faltered and she apologized, "I am sorry Hanabi-chan, I cannot right now…"

Hanabi pouted with puppy dog eyes, "Ehh? Why? Come on, just for a little while!"

Before Hinata could explain, Hyuga Natsu wearing a maid apron over her Kimono walked over and stopped Hanabi, "That will not to Hanabi-sama, it's time for Hinata-sama's training with Hiashi-sama… she must not keep Patriarch-sama waiting…" and added with a smile, "I will play with you…" then she bowed to Hinata, "Please be on your way, Hinata-sama."

Hinata nodded lightly, "Thank you Natsu-san…" then she spoke to Hanabi, "I will see you later, Hanabi-chan," and made her way to the training hall.

Watching Hinata leave, Hanabi struggled, "No! No! Nee-sama!"

On the other side, having disappointed Hanabi, Hinata sighed, "I will play with her after the training." Then quickly after changing into the training gear, she arrived at the training hall.

After knocking on the door, Hinata walked inside. Three individuals were already waiting for her in the training hall. Two adults and a child a year older than her. Hinata bowed to the two adults, "Ojii-sama, Otou-sama…" She was about to bow to the child as well but feeling the adults' dissatisfied gaze, she retrained herself, and nodded lightly, "Neji-nii-san…"

The two adults nodded rigidly, "Hmm…" Meanwhile, Neji gave a noncommittal nod with an indifferent expression on his face, after which Hyuga Hiashi spoke to Neji and Hinata, "Let's start the training."

Neji and Hinata stood at the center of the training hall and started the training. The training was simple, Hinata would constantly attack Neji using Gentle Fist while Neji would defend as her sparring partner. Hiashi would give Hinata the necessary advice to improve upon her mistakes.

At some point, a small crack in the door had appeared from which the little Hanabi watched Hinata carry out her training for a while. She watched Hinata for a while with adoration, then got tired of it and left.

Two Hours went by instantly, Hinata was covered in wounds all over and breathing heavily meanwhile there were no signs of injury or ragged breathing on Neji.

Haaaaaa!

With a sharp war cry, Hinata tried to land a palm strike on Neji's chest, but her hand was fended off by Neji as he landed a palm strike of his own on her chest causing her to stumble and fall in agony.

Watching them, Hiashi sighed, "That would be enough for today… Neji-kun, you may leave for your personal training."

"Thank you very much," said Hinata with a bow.

Neji returned the bow lightly albeit begrudgingly to Hinata, Hiashi, and the elder then turned around and left the training hall. Along with Neji, the elder Hyuga also left the training hall leaving behind only Hiashi and Hinata.

At this time, Hiashi picked up a wooden Shinai from the bokken stand and spoke to Hinata in a deep voice, "Now begin!"

"Hai, Otou-sama!" nodded Hinata and took her stance then she pounced on Hiashi, albeit with some hesitation and nervousness.

Hiashi brutally swatted her away using the Shinai causing her to fall on the other side of the training hall with a Thud! and shouted, "Where are you looking? What are you thinking? Why is there hesitation in your eyes? Start again!"

"Hai!" Once again, Hinata got up and dashed at Hiashi–this time keeping her attention on Hiashi and the Shinai–she delivered the first palm strike which he easily side-stepped and then swung the Shinai in his hand, only stopping it at a hair's breadth before it hit Hinata, "That would have been your death! Focus on the intent and take into account as many possible responses from the enemy as possible for the second step! Start again!"

"Hai!" And so, the same scene continued to repeat for the next two hours until Hinata was completely drained and barely had an ounce of energy left to continue, only then did Hiashi put down the Shinai, and said, "That will be it for today."

Using all the strength she could muster, Hinata got up and bowed to her father, "Thank you very much."

Hiashi nodded lightly, "Hmm…" and then left the training hall as Hinata collapsed back on the floor staring at the wooden roof with a pained and saddened expression. She was about to fall asleep then and there because of the exhaustion, however, Hanabi's earlier words came to her mind, 'Let's play Ninja…'

Thinking of her little sister, 'Hanabi-chan…' Hinata got up and despite how tired she was, she went to Hanabi's room.

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