He coughed, and the metallic coppery taste of his own blood filtered into his mouth. 'What on earth? There's no way she managed to hit me that hard?' He thought to himself for a moment.
He then realized what she did, she had combined the Juuken with that hard kick, it usually wasn't possible, since rapid muscle movement deteriorated the chakra control necessary for the fighting style to actually have an effect and not just be wasted chakra but Hinata had managed to do it to some degree, it didn't have the complete power of a precise Jukken but it was strong enough.
He grit his teeth, Hinata had always been weaker than he was, he refused to admit defeat infront of her. Fate would not allow it. He was the prodigal Hyuuga, the one who had been granted the greatest Byakuugan abilities in the Hyuuga clan in over a century he refused to admit defeat.
He rushed forward again, and the two continued to trade blows with the Jukken Neji's raw skill was better than Hinata's but Hinata's lithe and flexible form allowed her to even the playing field.
What Neji did next however, caught her completely off guard.
"Kaiten!" He yelled, she was standing barely three feet from him and therefore received the hit full force. She was launched to the far wall where she hit the cold stone with a sickening crack of her skull striking stone..
She struggled, standing on shaky limbs, shaking the cobwebs out of her mind. She then looked as Neji took a stance that she had seen many times. "You are now in my field of divination." The Hyuuga prodigy spoke coldly.
Hinata didn't have any time to respond before he rushed her. She wouldn't survive it, damage had been delivered to her stomach, her diaphram and her liver one wasn't too much of a problem, but all of them combined along with Neji's next attack, she could very likely die from the stress placed on her body..
Hinata's hands moved by instinct, reflex and survival were all that moved her. She'd seen this technique, knew it top to botom, because she'd faced it before, knew where he would strike, what he would do.
Her hands moved.
She blocked Neji's first strike, then his second, third, fourth, fifth-
Neji, felt his eyes go wide, this was completely unheard of…a technique that could defend from the Hyuuga's most devastating attack?
He grit his teeth, as his attack ended. He leapt back, and saw Hinata, fall to one knee as she gasped for breath. A few of his attacks had gotten through, one of the last one's striking the shoulder, which left her arm completely useless.
He rushed forward again, in his anger, and in his underestimation of her strength in her current state he left himself open.
Hinata however caught it, in his next strike, all she had to do was divert the attack, and she would then be able to strike him in the chest, no doubt giving her the victory but also, it could kill Neji.
Naruto noticed this as well.
Time seemed to slow down as Neji approached her. She heard his footsteps, saw his the chakra in his palm as he approached her. In the end…she couldn't do it.
She lowered her hand and closed her eyes, before Neji's attack, hit her, just above her heart.
She fell back, and hit the floor with a dull thud.
Unmoving.
Everyone stayed there, stunned at the turn of events.
But none more so than Naruto. He had seen the opening, he had seen her see the opening…
Why didn't she take it?
Why did she…let him win?
"Announce my victory proctor." Neji stated coldly, spitting out some blood that had collected in his mouth. "She wont be getting up."
Naruto's hand, which had been gripping the railing tightly, dented the metal bars by the force of his grip. He could not explain this…emotion?
He was angry?
But why?
Was it because…he was confused? Or because…he had failed his mission? Or…
Because the Hyuuga…Hinata…was now dead?
Impossible…such attachments were not meant for a Shinobi, he would not allow himself such a foolish emotion over…a mission.
He released his grip and calmly exhaled.
But he felt himself take a sharp intake of breath, as the girl's eyes weakly opened, and she began to struggle in order to stand again.
Neji, who had been making, his way up the stairs, turned at the sound of coughing, and the splattering of blood on the cold stone.
"Why do you stand? You'll really die if you push yourself anymore." He drawled, hiding his surprise that she was still standing. "Your fate decrees that you will lose to me."
Hinata took a deep breath before she spoke, her voice was strained, painful even. "There…there is…no such thing as fate…so…stop hiding…behind it…coward."
Her words, though spoken softly were heard through the entire room, that now seemed so much colder than before.
Neji's eyes, lit up with fury and he rushed at the girl, fully intending on ending her life.
In a simple blur of red and black, Naruto appeared between the Hyuuga, prodigy and Hinata, catching his strike easily, half an instant before Gai had his arm around the boy's throat in a headlock
Naruto shoved the boy's hand away away and turned just in time to catch Hinata as she fell forward. Her legs not having the strength to keep her standing.
Naruto felt detached from his body as he stared at the girl. Why had she taken the hit? Why did she allow herself to fall to such a state? She could have won. Preserved herself.
He didn't understand, and even as the medics took her, his eyes, hidden by shadow shined with the silent question.
'Why?'
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