I do not own Naruto. SasuHina would have happened if I did.

This story starts a few weeks after the Fourth Shinobi War. So Hinata and Sasuke are about 16-17 years old(?)

Enjoy and please review xx

Drifters

Chapter I - The Head of the Hyuga Clan

The sky was blue and beautiful even if it wasn't cloudless. It was only the start of spring after all and it was only starting to get warmer. The birds chirped and the people laughed and merrily chatted and she could hear it all. All the sounds outside flowed into her room together with the soft breeze through her open window.

The house and room she grew up in, the same in which she learned how to stand on her two feet and where she spoke her first words suddenly felt cold and empty as she sat on her bed staring down at the newly sharpened kunai that lay on her lap.

Her renowned albescent eyes stared with hopeless sorrow. She wondered if today was going to be worth it. When the sound of children laughing passed through her windowsill and into her room, she wondered if she could just run away. Her family didn't have much hope for her anyway, she knew it. She'd been disappointing her father ever since she was a child and what more had she to lose if she were to disappoint him just one more time? Because Hinata Hyuga was exhausted. She was so tired of trying to live up to her clan's standards. She was tired of having people look at her as the elder daughter of the Hyuga main branch who had her title as the heir snatched away from her by her younger sister.

They wouldn't ever believe her if she told them that the title of the heir doesn't matter- never mattered to her. However, it was the truth. Her sister- who she adored to bits, had always been more fitting for the role as heir out of the two. Being a ninja and of service to the village she loved was all she ever asked for. She never asked to be the leader of a clan. Years ago, when the her title as the heir was withdrawn, she would admit that it had hurt her but it was mostly and almost completely because of the utter look of disappointment on her father's face. That day, even though a part of her breathed in relief over the fact that she would no longer be bearing the burden of an entire clan on her shoulders, the look on her father's face made her want to crawl into a hole and never show her face to anyone ever again. But it passed and soon enough, it stopped mattering to her.

All of that could change today and she didn't want it to.

So as she sat on her bed in deep thought, fully dressed and equipped in her fighting gear, her sensitive and highly trained ears almost missed the sound of the lightest intake of breath outside her door.

She instantly knew who it was.

"Come in," she said gently, "Hanabi."

There was silence for a moment before the doors of her room slid open.

Hanabi stood on the other side, with her hands behind her as she looked down at her bare feet.

Hinata mustered up a smile. "Come here," she said. "What's wrong?"

Hanabi remained quiet and unmoving and Hinata patiently waited. She would come around.

Sometime later, Hanabi finally looked at her smiling elder sister whose smile faltered when she saw the frown on her face.

"Hanabi wha-"

"I don't want to do it," she probably didn't mean to sound so harsh but that's how it came out. That's how she spoke, in general. It was difficult for her to not sound like she was trying to start a fight every time she opened her mouth but that was just her. It was intentional. She didn't mean to be rude.

"Do what?" Hinata asked, gently because that's how she was. Soft and gentle.

Hanabi slowly walked into the room and towards her bed. "I don't-" she said slightly shaking. When she stood in front of Hinata, she added, "I don't want to fight to you."

Hinata smiled again, "I know."

And then Hanabi was kneeling on the floor. She rested her head on Hinata's lap. They stayed like that for a while, Hanabi's head laying on Hinata's lap as Hinata softly combed her long brown hair with her fingers. Hanabi spoke after what felt like hours later and this time she was so soft- just barely above a whisper, "I don't want to be the heir, Onee chan."

These words shocked Hinata. All these years, she'd watched her sister train with their father, she witnessed Hanabi get stronger than she would ever be at her age, she watched her receive her training and proper grooming to take on the role of the clan head in the future from the elders and not once did she complain. She'd always believed that her sister wanted to be heir to the clan. She thought she was happy. She understood that she wasn't really given much of a choice but Hanabi never objected or even showed signs that it wasn't what she wanted.

"What do you mean?"

Hanabi's arms went around her sister and she sniffed. "You can have it, Onee chan. I don't want it. I never did and I don't even deserve it anyway."

She placed both her hands on either side of her face and Hinata tilted her sister's face so she could look at her. "Don't say that. You're a strong ninja, Hanabi. You deserve it. You're brave and your Byakugan is better than most adults even at your young age."

"But you're stronger," she said, tears escaping her eyes, "I know you are, Onee chan. You're the only one who is strong enough to keep the clan safe and you're strong enough to bring changes into the clan. It's what Neji-nii san always believed too."

Hinata felt the painful tug at her heart at the mention of her deceased cousin. Neji would always be her hero and guardian.

"I just want to be a normal ninja and graduate from the Academy and join the Anbu," Hanabi said softly, as if she were afraid of being judged. She refused to look her elder sister in the eye.

This revelation slightly shocked Hinata again. It was the first time Hanabi had ever said anything about what she actually wanted. All this while, Hinata believed that her younger sister was content with the path the clan had chosen for her. She felt bad because she had failed to understand Hanabi and never even asked her about any of it.

She buried her face in Hinata's lap and she whispered, "I don't want it. I don't want to be the heir." Hinata stroked her hair and Hanabi kept whispering the same thing over and over until one of the Hyuga helpers' finally interrupted them to inform them that it was time.

Time for the battle.

The battle of the heirs.

-o-

The fourth shinobi war had ended not very long ago. Konoha was still recovering from the aftermath of the war but there was peace among all the nations now and there wasn't much to worry about anymore.

Weeks after the war ended, in the Hyuga compound one morning, Hiashi Hyuga joined his elder daughter for tea in the garden. This never happened before. Not once.

Hinata was very surprised but due to years of training, she was able to mask her shock and stiffly smile like a true Hyuga would.

She poured him a cup of tea and they sat in silence for a while.

Without looking at her, Hiashi spoke after a while of sitting in silence, "Although I have always wished for you to be less gentle and fragile," Hinata took a deep breath and held it. Was this going to be another one of those conversations where her father would belittle her to the weak elder daughter? She mentally and inadvertently started preparing for it. "But I am glad that you're the way you are. I'm glad that the cold and old ways of the Hyuga wasn't able to break you. You're my first born and I wanted it to be you- to take my place as the clan head. I still do."

Hinata could only stare in hidden shock. The breath she'd been holding disappeared and suddenly she felt like she was choking because of lack of oxygen. But of course she didn't in real, she controlled herself and stayed composed. This was the head of the Hyuga clan. She had to stay composed and respectful even if he was her father.

It was too much for her. She swore that she was imagining things. Perhaps somebody had used a transformation justu to turn into her father as a cruel prank. This isn't real. It cannot be. Father would never say something like that to me. He hates that I'm too gentle and weak, she thought sadly but she was afraid to open her mouth.

There was silence once again. The Sakura trees were gently swaying in the soft breeze and Hinata watched in silence, fully convinced that her father hadn't said anything at all.

But he spoke, again.

"You're strong, Hinata. So much stronger than your sister. I believe that your Byakugan has surpassed every Hyuga's- mine included. You should know that the elders have too much say in clan matters and on that day- I knew you would win." Hinata knew he was referring to the day years ago when she and Hanabi were made to fight- the day she lost the title of the heir to her younger sister. He continued, "Nobody can take the title of the heir from you. You know you would win too if only you weren't worried about hurting your sister."

Hinata stayed quiet. She couldn't be sure enough- confident enough to say that she could've won that fateful day but she knew that she held back. She didn't want to hurt her little sister even if that meant giving up the title as heir and living with humiliation for the rest of her life.

Once again, there was silence. Hinata wasn't sure if she should speak and even if she did speak, what was she to say? Her father was behaving rather unusually.

It was her father who spoke first, again. "Your sister- she's strong too but she's too much like me," he said looking forward at the massive Hyuga garden. "The elders will eat her alive and these century old Hyuga traditions will never change."

Hinata looked at her hands that were starting to shake on her lap. It was strange and her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt nervous. Why was he telling her all of this? Why did any of it matter anymore?

There was silence yet again. The sun was starting to set before their eyes and the current clan head and his elder daughter sat on the porch of the main house and watched the members from the lower Hyuga branch scurry about, going on about their duties such as, watering the garden or drawing the curtains and preparing for dinner as the night came closer. She relaxed when the soft breeze blew past her hair and she was finally able to breathe right.

Hinata's palm started to feel less sweaty and her heartbeat slowed down to normal. It felt like hours had passed and she almost forgot that she had company until her father spoke.

"I hope you know," he said, once again breaking the silence that was starting to comfort them, "despite of what it may have looked like all these years and despite of how I may have treated you, I am very proud of you."

And once again, Hinata's breathing became irregular. With her eyes widened in utter shock, her head turned to look at her father who was still looking ahead. His features calm and proud as she always remembered. He stood still, as if he never spoke and for a moment she wondered whether she had just imagined it all. Perhaps years of yearning for those words from her father's mouth was finally making her mad and she was starting to hallucinate.

But even as the ever present self-doubt gnawed at her insides, she knew that her father had indeed just said that he was proud of her and suddenly, she wanted to cry.

Tears prickled at her eyes and she put in a lot of effort to hold them back. Instead, she turned her head forward and looked where her father was looking- at the setting sun. The tiniest smile slipped upon her lips.

"The elders and I- everybody in the village saw you fight during the war, Hinata," he said and she was never great at reading people- especially her father, but she thought she heard a hint of pride in his voice. "The elders were very impressed and they're beginning to re-think their decision."

Hinata gasped. "Father, surely you don't mean-" she spoke for the first time since her father intruded her peaceful tea time. Not that she minded, it was just rather... unusual.

"Yes," Hiashi said before she could complete her sentence. "We have decided that you are fit to lead the clan."

Hinata didn't know what to make of it. Her heart picked up again and her palms got all sweaty. Would her father shun her if she were to tell him that she didn't want to lead the clan- that she'd never- even as a child, ever wanted to one day lead the clan? Would her clan abandon her and mark her with the seal if she told them that she was content with not being the heir?

A moment later, she finally found her voice again, "Wha-What about Hanabi?"

Finally, Hiashi turned to look at her. The first time he actually looked her in the eyes since he'd sat down. Hinata looked back at him, waiting for an answer. She failed to notice it before that day but he had certainly aged quite a lot. Hinata saw that years of stress and the burden of the elders and the clan in general had worn him out. She could see hints of exhaustion in her father's opal eyes.

"You're not going to be the clan head without fighting her for it, Hinata," he revealed and once again, Hinata stopped breathing. "The elders aren't going to so easily make you heir again even though it was your right as the first born. You had proven yourself unworthy years ago and it took a lot of contemplating to arrive at this decision."

"But father, I- I," I don't want to fight Hanabi. I don't want to be the heir, she wanted to say but the words wouldn't form. Because even though she was so much stronger and braver than she had been all those years ago, she still wasn't brave enough to say something like that to her father. She realised that even now, after all these years and after all that'd happened, she was still afraid that she would disappoint her father and she felt sad for herself.

"Do it, Hina," her father said gently and Hinata couldn't stop the big chunk of tear from rolling down her cheek at the use of the nickname he hadn't callied her in over a decade. "Do it for me, your sister... for Neji and for the future of the clan. Change the old and cruel ways of he Hyuga. Fight for us."

Hinata refused to look at her father with her face all red and wet from tears. For a brief moment, Neji, her beloved cousin who died trying to protect her- the same person who trained her when her father refused to, crossed her mind and she had made her decision then.

She looked forward at the almost disappearing sun with tears still rolling down her face and she nodded her head. "For Neji," she said.

-xx-

Author's note?

Hello, this is my first fic and I am nervous. I realise it isn't that great but I have convinced myself that I will get better as the story progresses.

SasuxHina is my secret ship that nobody knows about. I honestly feel like they would be so good together but I also love Naruto so I have no complains about the canon pair (even though a small part of me bleeds for SasuxHina)

Please review and tell me how you like it so far and whether or not I should continue.