Fading Light

Chapter 11: Against the Hyuga

We arrived at the tower a day later. Asuma greeting us with a proud smile.

"Not bad you three." He chuckled. We waited a few more days before the exam ended and all the teams that passed were there. Everyone from our graduating class was there. Sasuke was looking across from the other squads at me, but I ignored him. The strange power he wielded in the forest...the black markings everything about it sent shivers down my spine. I zoned back into the Hokage's speech when someone interrupted to explain that there was going to be a preliminary round to narrow down the finalists. A screen appeared from the wall.

"The matches will be decided at random." The proctor explained. The first match was Sasuke versus another Leaf Village shinobi. While he did win, that strange power had started to take control of him again. After the fight Kakashi took him away.

Finally my name had appeared by the most esteemed member to come out of the Hyuga Clan, Neji.

"Amaya and Neji come down." He had graduated a year before us and I knew he was strong. I walked down the stairs, walking to stand face-to-face with him. "I have the authority to stop the match at any time. If you're both ready you may begin." I jumped back as he took his stance.

"Scared?" He mocked with a smirk.

"Hardly." I spat back. I didn't want to use the Sharingan yet. I wouldn't last long in a drawn out fight. I made the fireball hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The fireballs went straight towards him. His movements were flawless as he dodged all the attacks.

"Is that all you can do?" I glared at him. "One of the last of Uchiha. You're nothing more than a joke to one of the Leaf Village's greatest clans." This drew me over the edge, the Sharingan appeared. My body moved instinctively, he was standing still. I knew there was a weakness to the Byugugan. I went behind him, punching him into the wall. "Wait you know about--" I didn't let him finish I went to make my genjutsu hand signs, but he appeared in front of me quickly, slamming his hand against my chest. Blood coughed out of my throat. "Not quick enough." I smirked, finishing the hand signs. He froze as the effects of the jutsu started. I backed away as my chest flared up in pain. My mouth filled with blood. I looked up at the proctor as Neji broke the genjutsu.

"I give up." I stated as I collapsed to my knees. My chest continued to hurt as blood continued to fill my mouth.

"Amaya!" Shikamaru and Choji jumped down to me. Asuma following as the medical ninja started coming to assess my injuries. Neji's hit must have damaged one of my organs. I coughed up some blood on to the floor in front of me.

"Were you trying to kill her?!" Choji yelled at him.

"Choji, its fine. If I had wanted to dodge it I would have." I muttered. The medical ninjas started assessing my body.

"She's got a collapsed lung, one of her ribs puncturing the other." That would explain why it was getting harder to breathe. They took me away on a stretcher, Neji watching me go the whole way, but instead of having a smirk on his face he had one of concern. What I had shown him with the genjutsu was enough for him to understand that I wasn't as weak as he thought I was.

The pain had become too much for me and I eventually passed out.

~

When I came to I was in a hospital bed, Shikamaru and Choji standing there.

"Choji...Shik..." I cut off coughing slightly as my chest burned.

"Hey don't try to talk yet, you're fresh out of surgery." I gave them a small nod. I pointed at a notepad on the table beside my bed, Shikamaru getting the picture and handing it to me with a pen.