章節 22: Chapter 22: Sealing

I was rushing toward the arena, hoping I hadn't missed Naruto or Hinata's matches. But as I arrived, I saw Neji wounded, and Hinata even more so. Just then, Neji began to run toward Hinata, preparing to strike a fatal blow.

As I sprinted toward Hinata, I spotted Naruto out of the corner of my eye, also rushing toward her. Just as Neji was about to hit Hinata, Naruto managed to grab her. My vision was blurring as I kicked Neji, sending him flying. As he managed to get back on his feet, I was about to stab him when Kakashi sensei caught my hand. I was about to attack Kakashi sensei when I heard Hinata's voice.

Hinata: "H-Hinoka… don't…"

Upon hearing Hinata's voice, my vision abruptly returned to normal. I walked over to her and took Hinata from Naruto's arms. Before I walked away with her in my hands.

I was sitting with Naruto in the hospital waiting for Hinata to wake up when she finally did, she wouldn't look either me or Naruto in the eye as Naruto told us about all the matches we had missed. Hinata suddenly started crying.

Naruto: "Hinata, are you okay?"

As she clenched her fists, she said, "I couldn't win, and I was losing so badly that you and Hinoka had to come to my rescue... I failed the Chunin Exams."

Naruto: "Hey, Hinata! I'm going to beat Neji in the next round for both of us! So just focus on becoming stronger!"

Hinata gave us a faint smile before Naruto and I left so she could rest. Not too long after, Naruto and I went our separate ways as I made my way back to the Hyuga compound.

As I entered, I saw Haku and Hanabi having a Taijutsu spar. As soon as they saw me, they stopped, and Hanabi ran up to me.

Hanabi: "Hey, big sis! Did you see that? I can keep up with Haku better!"

Hinoka: "Yeah, well, firstly, you specialize in Taijutsu, and you have the Byakugan while Haku doesn't, and he's holding back, not to mention not using his Kekkei Genkai."

Hanabi turned around and looked at Haku as she said, "You're holding back? I'm not a little kid! So why are you treating me like one?!" before running off.

Haku: "Did you have to tell her? You know she only wants you to acknowledge her."

Hinoka: "Yeah, but I bet I'm not the only one she wants acknowledgment from."

Haku: "What do you mean?"

Hinoka: "It's not important. Did you find more things on sealing jutsu?"

Haku: "Yeah, I left them in my apartment."

Hinoka: "Okay, thanks."

I headed to Haku's apartment and got the books, scrolls on sealing jutsu before heading to a place to practice.

I practiced for a few hours before heading home. When I got back, I saw Hanabi practicing alone.

Hinoka: "Hey, Hanabi."

Hanabi turned her attention to me as I asked, "Can I talk to you?" She nodded and sat next to me.

Hinoka: "Let me get straight to the point, do you like Haku?"

Hanabi's face turned red as she slowly nodded.

I sighed and said, "I don't know if it's just a phase or something, but I don't really care, I just wanted to know. See ya! Oh, and don't stay up too late training."

The next day, from my knowledge, Naruto would be training with Jiraiya and Sasuke with Kakashi-Sensei, so I decided to go train on sealing jutsu and ninjutsu. And once it was late, I went back home. I woke up the next day, and Haku followed me as I did the same thing while waiting for Gaara at the location. After a few hours, I felt three chakras approaching me, so I stopped as Haku and I climbed a tree.

Temari: "Are we sure we can trust this girl?"

Kankuro: "I don't know, but let's at least hear what she has to say."

Gaara: "Yes, she is interesting."

Haku and I jumped down from the tree as I said, "Hey, you actually came."

Kankuro: "So why did you call us here?"

Temari: "And who's the boy behind you?"

I turned around to Haku and said, "He's a friend of mine just here in case anything goes wrong."

I then turned my gaze to Gaara as I said, "Hey Gaara! The reason I actually asked you to come is so I can help you sleep peacefully."

Temari and Kankuro: "What!?"

Gaara: "Hinoka, you can really do that?"

Hinoka: "Yep! I want to seal that one tail well."

They all looked shocked as I gave Gaara a smile.

Hinoka: "All you need to do is sit in front of me, take your shirt off, and gather your chakra in your stomach. You can trust me."

Gaara sat down and did as I said. I brought out a paper, a brush, and ink. I dipped the brush in ink before I started to write on a paper. I placed the paper on Gaara's seal and coated the fingertips of my left hand with chakra.

Hinoka: "This will probably hurt a lot," I said before running my chakra through it. Gaara let out a terrifying scream. And after a few moments, he stopped. And I finished.

I looked at Gaara as he had fainted; I tried to stand up but almost fell as Haku caught me.

Haku: "Are you okay?"

Hinoka: "Yeah, I probably shouldn't have used so much chakra yesterday and today knowing I was going to perform a sealing jutsu today," I said with a faint smile. I then turned my gaze to Kankuro and Temari as I said, "He'll wake up in a few days, he should be able to sleep well now."

Temari: "Why did you help him?"

Hinoka: "Because I consider him a friend now, and I always help my friends."

Saying that, Haku and I left.