Haruto spent the time growing and reviewing his strategy (he sincerely doubted it would be as good as whatever Shikamaru had cooked up for his match). Satsuki still wasn't anywhere near the stadium when the second match startedand he was starting to grow worried. On one hand, he was concerned as to what would happen to her, wanted to see her again no matter the circumstances, on the other hand, he didn't want her to fight against someone like Gaara. Talk about conflicting.
But those conflicts ended when someone bumped his shoulder. He turned, excited, his worries pushed away for now as he inhaled the familiar scent of wood, fire, land after rain and still that slightest scent of strawberry milk. She'd changed as had he. He took in her new appearance, attire eagerly.
She wore mesh leggings (which only reach below her knees) and on her forearms. She wore a black tight-fitted dress with lilac outlines, fire painted the ends of her dress and a dark blue jacket patterned with lilac fire. Belts criss-crossed her waist, holding up pouches of many pointy and dangerous things. The standard black sandals and fingerless blue-black gloves. Nice.
"So…" he waggled his eyebrows. "Who chose your clothes?"
"Sensei did, he said I was too unappealing." The way she put it implied that she'd tried to kill Kakashi for what he'd said. She looked taller than before, her skin peachier with a healthy glow and she radiated a far more confident and powerful aura than before; her chakra crackled. He took a rose in handy and presented it to her.
She scowled, obviously, she had no love for flowers. But, at least, this time, she did not throw it away or step on it. She examined it critically, watching it as the red submitted to the yellow. "Kakashi said my primary nature is lightning, not fire."
"Learned something new?"
"Don't be blown away, Senju."
"Don't count on it, Uchiha."
"THIRD MATCH: SENJU Haruto VS HYUGA NEJI!"
"Don't go easy on him."
He winked. "See you at the last match?"
Her superior smirk was enough of an answer.
***
Haruto offered Neji a strained smile as they entered the arena. Despite being rivals, he didn't want to come off as rude and snobbish as the Hyuga prodigy.
"So… anything you want to tell me before we battle?" Haruto asked, sincerely curious, not taunting. But Neji took it the wrong way. As usual. He scowled, assuming the Senju was mocking him.
Sighing, Haruto brought his hands together, forming the seals with practiced ease. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Six clones poofed into existence, they traded nods before they charged the Hyuga, trying to assess his skills even though Haruto already knew in terms of taijutsu, he was unbeatable.
Haruto decided against using the Hiraishin seeing as Neji, though was skilled and could see everything, wouldn't be fast enough to counterattack his teleportion technique. He supposed he'd just just the Shuunshin Jutsu to evade the guy's attacks.
Neji's eyes narrowed but he didn't take his eyes off the clones, and with fluid slaps, distributed them all. Haruto winced slightly, feeling a little of their pain as the clones dispersed, their memories and whatever info they carried flowing back into him. He considered his next moves carefully, staring at Neji with pity but he couldn't help the proud smugness.
With his speed, the Hyuga was nothing.
"Quantity would never beat quality," stated Neji flatly. "it does not matter how many of you there are, I can still beat them. If that is all you have, you are fated to lose. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, like everyone else, your abilities are predetermined from birth. Your fate had been chosen even before you were born!" With that said, he charged,
Haruto's eyes widened. "Jūho Sōshiken!" Haruto grunted, but he blinked in surprise when he saw Neji's hands shrouded by identical lion head chakra as he slammed his fist forward. Haruto went skidding backwards from the attack.
Neji's eyes narrowed coldly. "You are not, but a boy hiding under the past fame and glory of his clan. It seems that fate has other plans with the Senju Clan, for giving them a heir such as you."
The smoke caused by the attack cleared, giving the audience a show of Haruto's body crumbling into wood. "Hey, you, watch your mouth. Don't insult my clan." Neji's eyes widened; the Senju had slipped into his blind spot! Dammit, he cursed inwardly, how did he find out? Did Hinata sell him out? He wouldn't put it past his cousin.
Roots gripped Neji's ankles, slowly crawling up his body, trying to encase and suffocate him. "Jūkenpō Ichigekishin!"
"Whoa!" Neji watched with little satisfaction as Haruto was sent flying by the sheer force of his chakra expelled in large amounts. Haruto stood, dusting himself off, rolling his golden eyes. "Man, you don't have to go all out."
"I acknowledge your strength, Senju. You are born into a clan full of powerful nins, you are fated to be strong just as I am."
Haruto grounded his teeth. "You said it like I never had to lift a finger to reach where I stand now! Are you insulting my hard work?!"
"No," replied Neji calmly. "Hard work does not matter, unlike how Lee puts it. He and Hinata are fated to be losers, born failures. It didn't matter how much they wanted to win, they were fated to lose to us from the very beginning. Everyone is different; they can only live in the indisputable flow of life and walk the path that fate has been laid out before them. But there is one fate that everyone possesses, one we all share and fate would ensure we reach, that is death."
Haruto was impressed . This guy was seriously emo, even Satsuki didn't talk about how everyone was supposed to die. She just wanted to kill some guy, for vengeance; they never talked about the certainty of death, and how inevitable it was. They just… lived, loved, laughed and fought for tomorrow.
"That's why we fight, why we struggled, everything is to live, to see tomorrow!" Haruto truly felt pity for the guy. He'd dug around for info on Neji and Ero-sennin's network of spies had gladly provided about the history between the Kumo and the Hyuga Clan and what happened to Neji thereafter. He felt sorry for the guy for losing his dad like that and forced to be enslaved, but that didn't mean he had to go blame everything on everyone! Did the guy not see how his teammates and sensei care for him no matter how harsh and cruel he was? "When I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuga Clan for you, I promise!"
"Your promises meant nothing to me," spat Neji as he charged again, eyes narrowed in anguish and hate. It reminded Haruto of Satsuki for a moment, but her eyes, even at their most hopeless had never been so dead, there was always that determined Will of Fire—Neji had none, he'd lost hope, but Haruto was determined to reach out to him.
"It's not a promise, it's a fact!"
"Shut up! Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!"
Neji was stunned when his attacks didn't hit true. Haruto flickered in and out of existence, before he landed close to Neji, right in his face. "All that talk about fate, did you know that fate would have you losing to me? You're just using fate as an excuse, to hide behind your anguish and pain!" Haruto's eyes softened momentarily. "I understand how it feels like to have a seal on one person, not of our own will. But you're giving up just like that? Your teammates are willing to help you, if you'd just reach out to them. Hinata-chan wants to change things for you too, that's why she's striving to be stronger… I am doing the same too."
Neji did not get the chance to say anything as Haruto's fist connected with his jaw and the next thing he knew, his back had hit concrete and was still going. He felt blood ooze from his head and pain screamed in his head, he struggled to stand but he failed to do so. Dimly, the Hyuga heard the proctor proclaiming the Senju winner and the crowd's wild cheers.
He didn't bother looking at them. Only at the bird in the sky, flying forward, unbound, unsealed but free.
"Don't let fate rule you, Neji, break free of her bonds."
Haruto gazed down at him kindly, and when Neji squinted, seeing the Senju's silhouette against the sun, he thought he saw the late Yondaime—a man he deeply respected and considered a hero—smiling down at him.