Iruka closed a book with a sigh, his shoulders slumped as he sat in his seat. He was finally done grading all of his student's tests. Piles of books and different scrolls laid scattered in front of him, loose sheets of paper he'd written on, talking about plans for new assignments and lectures for the class. Different folders containing grades for the students and any notes he had written for them to take home to their parents. Most of the warnings about their child failing.
Iruka got up from his chair, stretching his legs out as he walked towards the window, his hands clasped behind his back. It was a beautiful bright sunny day, but outside it was barren. Not a single person walking around the academy, not a single kid running around the playground, not a single teacher in the other classrooms buzzing around and grading their tests. Almost everyone was in the arena, watching the first match of the chunin exams. 
Iruka let out another sigh. So their opponent is Neji. Iruka thought, watching as a couple of birds pecked at the ground. Some were gathered in the playground, perched up on top of the slide like they owned it. Iruka's mind was on the match.  These final rounds are nothing like the preliminaries, as (Y/N) will soon find out. Iruka held his arms behind his back, his fists tightly clenched. I bet (Y/N) has had to keep Naruto in line through the whole exam. Iruka thought with a small smile, Of course, Sakura wouldn't go easy on him either. Iruka shook his head, those two. (Y/N) and Naruto. Once the village's pranksters, now the most promising young shinobi of the hidden leaf. It takes me back, remembering how young they used to be. Iruka thought back with a smile, looking up at the sky. They must have just turned five.........

"Naruto, hey, Naruto!" I shouted, banging my fist on his window. "Are you in there, lemon head?!" I growled, Naruto opened the window quickly, staring at me angrily. "Stop calling me that!" Naruto shouted back, his hands on his hips. I crawled through his bedroom window, falling down on his bed. "Call you what?" I asked with a grin, Naruto crossed his arms, "You know what!" Naruto grumbled, "Oh, you mean, lemon head?" I laughed, chanting his nickname out. "Lemon head, lemon head, lemon head!" I repeated it over and over again, proudly marching around his bedroom. "I said stop it!" Naruto cried out again, "You're acting like a baby!" I shouted back, "No! You are!" Naruto crossed his arms, "It doesn't even make sense, lemon head." Naruto said, shaking his head. "Of course it does," I nodded, Naruto looked back over at me. "It's cuz your hair's as yellow as a lemon," I explained, sticking my tongue out at him. "It's not!" Naruto pouted, "Is too!" I shouted back, "Is not!" "Is too!" "Is not!" "Is too!" "Is not!" "Is too!" "Is not!" "Is too!" "Is not!"
I clenched my fists, "Just shut up already!" I shouted, punching Naruto square in the jaw. He fell over on his side, landing on the bed, holding the side of his face. "Why are you so mean (Y/N)?" Naruto sniffled, rolling around on the bed as he held his jaw.
"Whatever. You called me here for something important, now, what is it?" I asked, my hands on my hips as I looked down at him. "The sun's going to be setting soon, I'll have to get back home quick. So, hurry up and tell me." I growled, starting to get annoyed by Naruto. "Well, I wouldn't worry about that." Naruto said, sitting up on the bed with a big grin, he had completely forgotten about the punch. "What do you mean?" I asked, sitting down on the bed next to him. "Well, tonight," Naruto paused, grinning ear to ear. "We're going to go outside!"
"Wait, you mean, going outside past....." I gulped, whispering as I looked over at him. "Past the curfew?" I looked at him with wide eyes, he nodded back at me with a laugh. "Yeah!" Naruto said with a grin, pushing up his goggles with his thumb. "But....." I paused, looking Naruto in the eye. "But Iruka-sensei said that there were......monsters out there at night!" I said startled, Naruto crossed his arms. "You don't actually believe that, do you?" Naruto said with a grin, "Iruka-sensei's just trying to get us scared so we won't go outside." Naruto nodded, "Well, I guess, but what if Iruka-sensei finds us? He's gonna get super mad." I thought out loud, "Then we'll have to avoid him!" Naruto nodded, "I guess......"
I said, looking back out the window. The sun was setting. In about twenty more minutes, it would be night time. The bright oranges and deep purples of the sky were calming, I looked up at them for some comfort. "All right." I agreed with a nod, 
"It'll be fun, lemon head." "I told you not to call me that!" "Call you what, lemon head?" "Shut up!"
It was around nine when Naruto and I snuck out of his house, carefully walking down the dark back steps. Naruto held a bulky red flashlight, shinning it around like a detective, I stayed close behind him. "Are you sure about this, Naruto?" I asked, whispering over his shoulder. "Yeah. There's nothing scary out here. Iruka-sensei's a big fat liar!" Naruto shouted, nodding with a grin. "Yeah, you're probably right." I nodded as we continued to walk down the alleyway.
Everything looked a bit different at night. Deep shadows cast by far away lanterns rolled through the alleyway, a deep purplish hue hung over the walls as I and Naruto continued through. The deeper we got, the darker it was. Naruto waved the flashlight around with a shaky hand, I stood close behind, holding my hands together as I walked on with shaky legs.
"What?" I called out, my voice echoing. "When did......when was there ever a wall here?" I stepped to the dead end, tapping the wall with my hand. It was solid. Naruto scratched his head, "Yeah. We always come down this way to get to main street. What the hecks going on here?!" Naruto shouted, looking at the wall angrily. 
"Naruto.........(Y/N).........." A voice hissed from behind us, Naruto squeaked, holding his mouth shut as the voice rung, bouncing around the alleyway. "Naruto..........(Y/N)!" The voice called again, but this time louder. Naruto and I kept facing the wall, shaking wildly. Naruto let out a loud, shrill scream as he quickly jumped over the wall. "HEY!" I shouted, flinging myself over the wall, chasing after him. 
We ran like there was no tomorrow. Naruto had started crying midway through, tears and snot left sideways trails as he ran, panting for breath. I was too scared to think, just running alongside Naruto, neither of us had a plan as to where we were going.
Naruto started to slow down, out of breath, he stopped in front of a large tree. We had already run out of the main parts of town, edging closer to the forest. Only a few buildings stood around those parts. Naruto had wiped his face on his sleeve, sweat, tears, and snot drenched it. "I-Is it s-still there?" Naruto asked, his legs shaking. I turned my head around,
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, turning around on my heel, I ran in the opposite direction. Naruto didn't even bother to look behind, he just chased after me. 
Heavy footsteps chased after us, Naruto started to cry again. I wasn't thinking about where I was going, heading towards a small apartment building. Naruto followed close behind, a sniffling mess. 
I started banging on the door, "Iruka-sensei!" I cried out, Naruto was close by my side. The door flung open, I fell into the apartment, landing on Iruka, he fell over on the ground. 
"What the---!" Iruka shouted, Naruto and I landed on his chest. I jumped up to my knees, pointing back at the open door. "Iruka-sensei! T-There's a-a monster!" I shouted at him, tears were starting to well up in my eyes. Iruka looked towards the door, shaking his head. He put a hand on my shoulder, "(Y/N), there's nothing there." Iruka said with a sigh, sitting up on the floor. "B-But!" Naruto shouted, he placed a hand on the top of his head. 
"What were you two doing out this late anyway?" Iruka asked, squinting his eyes down at us. I pointed to Naruto, "It was his idea!" I shouted, sniffling. "What?!" Naruto gulped, "N-No! It was (Y/N)'s idea!" Naruto said, pointing back at me. "No, it wasn't!" I shouted back, "Yeah it was!" Naruto put his hands on his hips, Iruka sighed. "You two are always doing this....." Iruka mumbled, 
"Giving you a hard time, Iruka?" A voice called out from the door, Sarutobi looked in with a smile. "Lord Hokage!" Iruka said startled, Sarutobi smiled down at him. "These two are quite the handful." Sarutobi nodded, heaving a loud chuckle. Iruka scratched the back of his neck with a smile.
Afterwards, Iruka lectured Naruto and me about how dangerous it was to go outside at night, and for the next few months, I teased Naruto for crying.
Iruka leaned back in the chair, resting his feet up on the table, a small smile on his face. 
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Kabuto knelt down, looking at the arena with a grin. He held a mask in his palm, kneeling over a corpse of an Anbu member. His glasses shinned in the sunlight.
"Put on a good show for me, will you, (Y/N)?" Kabuto wondered aloud. The crowd kicked up again, screams and shouts roaring in the distance, "You know, I've got a tough job to do. And, I'd like to be entertained while I'm doing it." Kabuto stood up, a devilish grin on his face. 
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My eyes flared to life, glowing a deep orange hue. A warm feeling came from my neck, but I ignored it with ease. Neji tried to raise his arms, but I was already on him.
I sent a strong punch down towards him, Neji's eyes widened as he threw himself to the side, my fist grazing the side of his face as he tumbled out of the way. He quickly got ahold of his footing, raising his arms back up as he took his stance, his Byakugan activated. A small smile crossed my lips.
I bounced off my heel, charging at him again. I threw another punch, the back of Neji's hand slapped my arm away in a flash. I turned sideways, throwing another punch the opposite side, Neji quickly blocked that as well. He was moving as quickly as I was.
I sent a kick up, aiming towards his chest. He bounced my heel away, I my other foot, spinning back around for another attack. 
"(Y/N)! Watch out!" Sakura shouted from the stands, for a split second, I turned my head away when my name was called. Neji's palm ed out towards me, I fell back to dodge, his palm grazing my shoulder. I stumbled down to the ground, holding onto my burning shoulder. It started to turn numb.
"(Y/N)!" Sakura screamed, holding her hands over . Ino's eyes were wide as she stared down, her legs shaking slightly. Hitting a chakra point directly can affect chakra flow, Ino thought, biting down on her bottom lip. Either halting or increasing it, depending on how the attacker struck the chakra points. Ino's fists clenched as she saw me on the ground, 
I looked up at Neji with gritted teeth. Neji looked down at his hand, I missed. He thought, shocked. He tightened it into a fist. I can't let this go on any longer. 
"Ha! Is that all you've got?" I called out, standing up with a grin. Neji's eyes widened. I moved my shoulder, a small pop sounded from it. If I get too close, he can turn off my chakra. I thought, looking over at Neji. 
"Alright." I faced him, "I'm done playing around." I said, clasping my hands together in a seal. Neji shifted slightly, 
"It's time too----" "Hssssss......." Kale gave a low hiss, I looked down at him. "Uh.....just a sec!" I shouted back to Neji, waving towards him. He tilted his head slightly.
I knelt down, Kale dropped to the dirt looking up at me. "What is it, Kale? I'm kind of in the middle of something here!" I whispered down to him, Kale shook his head. "What do you mean I can't?" I asked, hanging my head down. "I've been waiting to use the Daigan for so long. It's what we've been practising!" My eyes were wide, waving my hands around in the air.
Are they talking to a snake? Neji thought, curiously looking over at me. I thought it was a necklace. It stayed so still. Neji thought as he looked down at Kale bobbing his head up and down.
"Well.....I guess you're right. It'd be a bit overkill. But....." Kale cut me off with a loud hiss, "Okay, okay! I won't use it." I sighed, "But then, you're going to have to do what I say."I pointed down at him, he nodded. "Alright, alright, so here's the plan." I nodded, bending down as I whispered to him.
I should forfeit this match. Neji thought, looking down at his fist. I can't fight (Y/N).......I can't bring myself to do it. Why? Neji wondered, his brow furrowed. (Y/N), you----
"Now!" I shouted, Neji snapped his head up, looking to where I was. But I was already gone.
I had sunk down into the ground, Kale slithering by my side. I gave him a small nod, he shot up from the ground. Neji saw Kale shoot up from behind, I kept underground. Clapping my hands together, I made a couple of quick hand signs.
The rock around me moved in closer, circling around my arms. I grinned as I looked up. There's no way you can attack me with all this rock. 
Sakura's eyes widened as she saw Kale jump out from the ground, a small smile on her face. That's using your head, (Y/N). That'll confuse him. 
I shot up out of the ground, catching Neji by surprise. I threw down a heavy fist, the rock smashing down into the ground, sending a rumble through the arena. Neji quickly dodged, "You're not going to land a hit attacking like that." Neji said, shaking his head. "Oh, yeah? Think again!" The clone shouted towards him, the rock fists starting to crumble apart as it turned back into dirt, rolling back down to the ground.
Neji's eyes widened. Rock clones. Neji thought, looking around at the different clones, rising from the ground. I see. Quite clever. They've distributed their chakra evenly among them, so that even my Byakugan can't pick out the real one. 
"No matter." Neji called out, "You can't hide for long." Neji said, shaking his head. 
"Oh, yeah?" All the clones chanted out at once, "Let's see about that!"
The five of them charge towards him at once. Some wielding kunai, others surrounded by stone as they charged towards Neji. I shot up from behind, flinging a sharp stone towards him.
Neji dodged with ease, the tone hitting a clone. It shot through it, melting down into the mud. Neji bounced off of two others, kicking his legs through them. His eyes widened as the burst to mud, trapping his legs down to the ground. I stood in front of him, my hands on my hips. 
"They got him!" Sakura gasped, looking down from the stands. Ino smiled, looking down with her.
"Looks like it's over for you." I said with a grin, making Neji sink down lower in the mud with my chakra, I stopped when it covered his arms. He didn't try to struggle.
Neji closed his eyes, his chest slowly sinking down into the mud.
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The Kazekage shifted a bit in his seat, his hand tapping impatiently on the seat's armrest, the Hokage looked over at him suspiciously. 
Kazekage kept his eyes down on the match, not faltering his glance. He seemed to not notice Sarutobi's glance. Sarutobi collected his pipe from his lap, loosely holding it between his lips as he lit it again, letting his thoughts collect.
Rasa would never act so hastily. As soon as he came to sit down, I could tell something was off with him. Sarutobi squinted his eyes over at him, rubbing his chin  as he thought. 
But he wasn't given much time to think.
A loud booming noise echoed from the arena, Sarutobi snapped his head back around to look, Rasa clenched his fists.
Hinata cupped a hand over in surprise, her chest tightening as she leaned forward, she started to cough in her hand, shaking silently.
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I fell backwards as Neji collided with my chest, the back of my head hitting the ground with a small thud. Splatters of mud and bits of sharp rock flew as Neji jumped from the ground, a surge of chakra hanging thick in the air. 
Neji pounced on me, pushing me back down onto the ground, his hands on my shoulders as he hovered over me, I gritted my teeth as I looked up at him.
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"Hey, Hinata," Kiba turned his head around to her, Hinata's started coughing violently, crumpling down on herself. "Hinata, what's wrong, you okay?" Kiba asked, looking down at her shaking form.
"What?!" Ino screamed, shouting over Hinata's coughs. "(Y/N)!" Sakura gasped as she looked down at me. Kiba sat still, watching Hinata get worse. Drops of blood leaking from .
As the crowd responded to Neji's sudden jump, the surprised gasps and shouts started to drown out Hinata's desperate wails. Kiba looked down at her, an odd smile graced his lips.
What if Hinata died? Kiba thought, watching her suffering. I saw how close she and (Y/N) got, Kiba's heart started to beat faster, what if Hinata's trying to take (Y/N) away from me? What if Hinata's trying to....change (Y/N). What if Hinata's trying to steal (Y/N). I can't let her. I can't let Hinata have (Y/N). Kiba reached a hand down to her, Akamaru let out a loud whimper, jumping off of Kiba's shoulder.
Kiba reached his hand closer to Hinata's neck, his eyes widening, "Hinata...." Kiba whispered, his voice buried under the crowd. "Hinata.....should....die.....die.....die....." Kiba started to chant the word as he saw the perfect opportunity, Akamaru started to bark at Kiba wildly, standing on the seat between Kiba and Hinata.
Akamaru pushed Kiba's hand away with a low growl, Kiba looked down at Akamaru with a dark look. His eyes changed to a cold, sharp glance. Far from the Kiba that Akamaru knew. 
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"Stop....." Neji whispered down at me, his palms digging into my shoulders. I gritted my teeth as I felt my arms go numb. I gave a loud hiss, "Get off me you bastard!" I screamed, kicking Neji in the stomach, but he stayed on top of me.
"Stop this....." Neji said with a sad look, "I have nothing against you----"
"Ha! That's touching! You're gonna make me cry." I spat back up at him, "Believe me, I've got plenty against you." My lips burned as I took a line out of Naruto's book, staring angrily up at Neji.
"I don't understand...." Neji began, "Oh, you don't? And here I thought you were Mr. Know-It-All!" I shouted, raising my face up to his, my arms motionless on the floor, feeling only starting to come back to them.
"You don't remember what you did to Hinata?! You don't remember how you beat her down, tearing her down when she worked so hard to get here?!"
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Kotetsu snapped his head around as he heard Akamaru start to bark, a pool of blood formed on the floor below Hinata. "What is it?" Kotetsu shouted, trying to talk over the crowd. Kiba looked up at him with an aggravated glance, Kotetsu didn't notice.
"What's the matter? Why....." Kotetsu noticed the blood dripping from her hand, he stood up, putting a hand on her back. 
"Let me have a look at her." 
A voice called out from behind Kiba, Kiba snapped his head around. A member of the Anbu stationed around the arena came down, Kiba gritted his teeth, "She's fine." He growled back at him, 
"It's alright, you can trust me." He put a hand on Kiba's shoulder as he turned to Hinata, Kotetsu's eyes widened as he bent down to her. 
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"That doesn't concern you." Neji's voice grew sharp again, a shadow crossed over his eyes. "You mocked Hinata, calling her a failure! All that stuff about 'the great Hyuga clan', what a bunch of crap!" I shouted up at him,

The Anbu member carried Hinata up the stands, resting her down onto the higher platform. Akamaru followed, and then shortly after Kiba. 

"It doesn't give you the right to call her a failure. That's what I have against you!" I clenched my fists, shouting up at Neji.

The Anbu member but his hand over Hinata's chest, his chakra pouring into her. "Hey! What are you----" Kiba began, he cut him off. "Don't worry. I'm a doctor."

"Fine." Neji began, "As you're so interested, I'll tell you about it." Neji clenched his fists, I glared up at him from the ground, desperately trying to move my hands.
"For generations, the main household of our clan has practised a secret ninjutsu. Known as the curse mark jutsu." Neji spat out each word like poison, I squinted my eyes up at him. "Curse mark jutsu?" I wondered, Neji closed his eyes.
"The curse mark is the symbol of a bird locked in its cage. It's the mark of those who are bound to a destiny they cannot escape." Neji explained, his voice calmer and slower. He stood on his knees as he reached to behind his head, untying the thick headband around his forehead. He held the leaf village symbol in his hand tightly, loose bandages and pieces of his hair flew around in the wind.
I looked up to his forehead with wide eyes. "Is.....is that....." I whispered, looking up at the teal manji symbol, two identical lines before and after it. "So that's your curse mark." I said, looking up at him.
"I was four years old when the leaders of my clan branded this symbol on my forehead with their curse mark jutsu.
On that same day, a great celebration took place in the hidden leaf village. After many years of war, a peace agreement had at last been reached with the Land of Lightning, and they had sent the head Cloud ninja to sign the peace treaty and join in the celebration. Everyone was there to welcome our old enemies. Every Genin and Jounin in the leaf village. 
Only one clan was absent. The Hyuga clan. Because this was the day on which the heir to the main household was to turn three.
It was lady Hinata's third birthday." Neji paused, turning his head around to the stands. I followed his gaze silently, sitting up on the ground as I listened to him.
"Her father, Lord Hiashi Hyuga, is sitting up there. he and my father, Hizashi, are twin brothers. And yet, he entered into the world first, so he is the head of the family, the first born." Neji's anger sparked through his words, his brow furrowed as he talked about Hiashi,
"While my father, his twin brother, is banished to a lesser branch of the family. It was then, on the day the heir to the main household turned three, that the curse mark was put on me and I was made a bird in a cage, by my own uncle."
"What's the point of it all?" I asked, Neji looked back at me. "Why have different branches of a family, it doesn't make sense. And then the curse mark," I crossed my arms, "Not saying my families perfect, but at least I was given a curse mark for a reason." I mumbled, giving a small shrug.
"I can assure you of one thing," Neji began, "It's not simply for decoration. 
You see, this is more than a mark that we wear. It is also the instrument by which they keep us in our place. We live with the fear that they will use this curse mark to kill us any time they wish. 
Fear, that is what we live with. And we live with it every day, only in death are we free from it. This is how the power of the Byakugan is kept sealed away. 
Only the Hyuga possess the secret of this unique form of kekkei genkai, and of course, there are many who would steal it from us. That is why we exist. It is the purpose of the branch family to defend that secret, and to serve the keepers of that secret, the main household, obediently and without question for the rest of our lives. That is our destiny. 
Or was......." Neji paused, his voice turned soft. "Until that night.....they went too far." Neji clenched his fists, anger burning up inside of him. "When they murdered my father." 
My eyes widened as I looked up at him, Neji kept his eyes closed, trying to keep his anger down. I kept silent as I listened to him,
"One night, someone entered the main household and abducted lady Hinata.
Lord Hiashi quickly caught and killed the man. And who was this intruder? Stealing through the shadows in the dead of night, wearing a mask over his face? 
It was none other than the head Cloud ninja of the Land of Lightning, the man who had just signed an alliance with us. It was obvious to everyone that he was after the secret of the Byakugan. But the Land of Lightning professed shock at this willful murder of their ninja. They claimed that the Hidden Leaf Village was in violation of their treaty, and they demanded recompense. 
Things got worse and worse, until it looked like war would break out anew. The Leaf Village wanted above all things to avoid a war, so at last they made a deal." Neji paused, 
"A deal?" I asked, my voice silent as I looked up at Neji. "A life for a life." Neji began again, "The Land of Lightning demanded the death of the person who had slain their ninja. If there was to be peace, Lord Hiashi must die. 
The Leaf Village accepted their terms." Neji started to squeeze the metal symbol of the Leaf, the metal starting to creak as his hand shook. 
"And so, to advert a war, a man was killed. But not Hiashi." Neji was visibly shaking with anger, 
"My father was killed in his place, in order to protect the main household!" Neji's anger broke as he shouted, his milky white eyes tightened, the Byakugan striking up veins around his eyes, they burned with fury. 
"Only in death was my father finally free of this evil curse mark. 
They were so much alike, twin brothers, but their destinies had been determined long ago, when one was born a few seconds after the other." Neji looked back up at me, our eyes meeting.
"And this match is the same. Your destiny was decided the moment I was chosen as you opponent."