ACoBaC Status: Indefinite Hiatus. I haven't given up on this, but I'm far to busy IRL at the moment, and while I'd love to say "I'll be able to start writing again on X date," the fact is that I've done that before and by the time X date rolled around something new had come up to fill the time I thought I'd have free. I do intend to finish the story, but any promise that I'll have the freedom to write at a definite time in the future would be a lie, not only to you but to myself as well. Sorry if this wasn't what you were hoping to read, but my responsibilities to my obligations and future have to come first. Best wishes to you all, and thanks to those that took the time to review.

Plagiarism: I’ve been reading long enough that I often can’t remember without effort if a specific jutsu or idea was part of the original canon or part of fanon, let alone where I first saw it. When I am aware that I’ve borrowed something from another fanfiction author, I’ll give credit at the bottom of the chapter it occurred in. If you see something that you think originally belongs to another author, please PM me and let me know. If I agree (even a vague memory of reading or it’s on my alerts), I’ll amend the chapter straight away to include the appropriate credits.

A Cage of Blood and Circumstance: This is the story that came out of nowhere. I usually don’t read self-inserts, too many Gary/Mary Sue protagonists who wake up in their new universe, go from an unskilled nobody to the most powerful being on the planet in a ridiculously short timeframe. They often are one of the main characters, change the personality and behaviour of the person they inhabit drastically, without thought or care for the reactions of those around them.

Sure, the idea of the Narutoverse is superficially cool, who wouldn’t want those abilities? It’s a bit of a different story though, when you consider the realities of a ninja’s life. What I’m trying to do with this story is show what happens to an OC Insert that realises the safest thing to do would be study at the Academy, fail the final exam and train to have some self-defence skills in her own time while working as a civilian. The problem though, is that the daughter of Hyūga Hiashi would never be allowed. She is stuck in a cage of blood – the expectations of her clan, and circumstance – she knows the magnitude of the threats that are coming. All this, and she has no way at the moment to directly change things. Public contact with Naruto would not be accepted by Hiashi so she must work from the shadows once she gains some freedom of movement – to get this she needs to be an exemplary Heir. Left with nothing else, she works to improve her own abilities using what advantages she has.

One of my biggest sources of enjoyment in fanfiction is the progression of the character’s skills and the mechanics of the Magic/Chakra/Whatever system the author chooses to use. There are few things I hate more than seeing a training plan created with lots of interesting ideas, only for the next chapter to begin, “Two years later, XXXX returned, Grand Ninja F*master of everything.” He then crushes through the opposition with a couple of training flashbacks, gets the girl, the end. I like detail and as much realism as possible and this will have it.

Hinata will be far better than canon in this story, because she has all the resources she requires to succeed in canon but is unable or unwilling to take advantage of them. With an adult mind in a child’s body though, one that is used to not feeling chakra and so is far more sensitive to its location and state/movement it is a different story. In addition, knowing the calibre of future opponent is a massive training incentive. Given these advantages and the extra training given to the Heir, she will surpass Neji within the year, and continue to widen the gap throughout the academy.

Things like arm length and strength due to larger frames will not be discounted, and experience is one of the most vital factors in this story. Learning Taijutsu solely from a scroll is virtually impossible and Kata practiced without an opponent will fail if taken into battle. Sometimes there will be epic battles, but a lapse in attention can get an A-rank powerhouse killed by an average Chūnin in the first exchange. Type matchups will also be important – a Genjutsu user against the Sharingan or Byakugan is at a great disadvantage, and it will be played that way.

At the time she graduates, Hiashi or Kakashi would crush this Hinata in seconds in head-on combat if they took her seriously. No matter how talented, age/skill and experience/treachery will almost always defeat youth and power. To the best of my ability, there will be no bashing, although some characters such as Orochimaru and Hidan will remain Complete Monsters, however they got there.

Brief Timeline – Hyūga Clan the year prior to the abduction.

December

27 – Hinata’s Third birthday

January

3 – Hinata taught to unlock Chakra

10 – taught the leaf sticking exercise

April

27 – Hanabi’s Birthday

May

26 – Hinata’s mother dies from ongoing complications from the birth

July

3 – Neji’s Fourth Birthday

4 – Neji sealed with the Caged Bird Seal. Hizashi angered as Hiashi previously agreed to try to avoid it but grief-stricken at the loss of his wife he falls back on duty and tradition as supports, insisting on applying the seal.

November

3 – Hinata taught the leaf floating exercise. Teaching was delayed by sickness and death of her mother combined with her lack of motivation and Hiashi’s grief leaving her to her own devices, causing her to spend the majority of her time with Hanabi.

21 – Hinata begins Byakugan training before her chakra control is at sufficient level, driven by Hiashi’s realisation that she is behind where she should be, he turns up the pressure.

December

1 – Abduction Occurs.

N.B. There was concern that Hanabi is supposed to be 6 years younger than Hinata, not three and a half. This strains my suspension of disbelief as that would mean her mother lived two years past the abduction at least, apparently doing nothing to fix the psychological damage resulting from the incident. Also, that would suggest in my story that she was attending the academy before Hanabi could talk, and yet still convincingly lost in spars? She should have been able to pick Hanabi up by the back of her collar and hold her away if that was the case. It’s in things like this that the serial nature of the original manga shows through as details for secondary characters were not well thought out. This way, there is a reason behind Hizashi’s intense anger at Neji’s sealing so it makes more sense – if it was a foregone conclusion, he would still be angry but likely have been resigned to it much earlier. A prior agreement with Hiashi that was ignored after his wife’s death holds together better and makes Hiashi less a two-dimensional monster and more a real person making mistakes in his grief.

In any case, as it says in the summary, this is an AU – things will be different, but don’t hesitate to raise any concerns you might have and I’ll do my best to answer them.