i.

The strands of DNA that hold the Byakugan the Hyuuga family are strong and not easily replicated during conception, just as those that hold lives together aren't easily forged over night.

The first birth always had the strongest kekkei genkai. Hiashi and Hizashi were no exception.

Mere seconds had created a chasm between two people who were genetically and physically identical. Whereas Hiashi was cold and condescending, Hizashi was warm and optimistic.

They were both strong.

Hiashi lived through his Byakugan. Hizashi lived through his heart.

It was rumored that Hizashi was stronger than Hiashi; that it was easy to mistake the first born for the second without the jinjutsu when they were still equal, but the patriarch had silenced them.

Forcefully.

The farce (though still speculated about in the lower branches of the Second House) that Hizashi was the edlest and true heir had been banned from their lips, though the torment and resentment that Hiashi had endured as he grew older consumed the ideas of what he had been taught about right and wrong, and only through his brother's sacrifice did the shell begin to falter, and through his own introspection did it harden and thicken to outside intrusions, especially towards his daughter as he viewed her the reason for his brother's death (a folly he'd soon have to com to terms with).

It wasn't until the truth of what happened on the night of their conception, whispered on his father's deathbed, just days after his brother's death, did Hiashi feel the true levity of the Hyuuga World on his shoulders.

He'd have cried if he had anymore tears to spare.

Hanako placed Hinata atop the small red-lacquered bridge crossing the waist-deep river running lazily in the summer heat. Small insects skimmed across the water chirping and buzzing, birds nestling down in their straw homes sent out their final songs of requiem.

"The Byakugan has many blind spots, Hinata. Do you understand?" Her mother peered over the landscape the landscape as it turned red amidst the sunset.

"Yes," she lied. She hadn't understood much of anything these last few days. The whole compound had been draped in black, after her uncle had been placed in a large wooden box and buried deep in the deep dark ground where the Hyuuga before her lay. Her aunts told her that he was going to sleep forever.

Her father simply told her Hizashi was dead, a dark baritone adding a new edge to his voice.

Neji never looked at her the same way again and Hinata had begun to miss their staring games that only ended when she smiled or he passively waved without his hand ever fully leaving their resting place on his thigh.

"Your Byakugan can only see 359 degress. Your heart can only see one. It is up to you, Hinata, to find out how to see full circle." They sat in silence for a moment as Hinata tried to understand what was being said -to he. It was a while before she spoke, her muted curiosity getting the best of her.

"Mama, what's the mark on your forehead mean?" Hinata whispered. Hanako rested her cheek on Hinata's shoulder, becoming silent with her own introspection.

"More than you could ever understand," her mother breathed int the setting sun, and Hinata, not knowing whether she was supposed to hear, watched as the blood red sky slowly turned into a misty purple, and Hinata had a childish fear that it was his blood draining away (and Hinata never quite got over the idea that it was something Neji should've seen and not her.)

All Hyuuga women are strong, the aunt's often murmured. The replication of the Byakugan, often, did not go well.

Hinata's mother had only suffered eight months with her first child, and it was always considered an omen that Hinata had been coaxed to cry.

Hanabi had been born after nine months and two weeks. She had set the room in disarray with her screaming. There was no doubt about her strength and Hiashi had noted this as Hinata fidgeted under his nonchalant gaze.

It was awhile before Hinata's mother had stopped bleeding.

And when she stopped bleeding she stopped breathing.

Hinata didn't cry at her mother's funeral. Hiashi was her eponym. Not only did she take part of her name but she took part of his personality as well. Just as he had done at his brother's funeral, Hinata had watched with somber respect as her mother's ashes were placed in a plot reserved for members of the second house married to the birds of the Main Cage.

. Hyuuga women weren't allowed the pleasure of tears.

There was no blood in the sky as Hinata stood on the red-lacquered bridge, alone.

Her father stood under the shade of a large pine, silently, and decided that was Hinata's battle to fight for herself (he lay awake that night, wondering if this had ever been about Hinata, or just himself).

As she grew older, Hiashi noted with much disdain, that Hinata was becoming the soft and gentle person his brother and wife had been. Silent, and bashful, and lacking the eagerness to kill that most ninja had, Hiashi began ignoring Hinata, and trained Hanabi to be his true prodigy, and despite the fact that Hanabi often showed the tendency to grow into a gentler version of himself, he quickly reprimanded her, inadvertently berating Hinata to try and motivate her into a higher position. He didn't want to become the failure those snide remarks from his childhood had predicted, which had long since set a flaw in his plan: upon trying to please everyone, one would often overlook the upside to unwanted qualities.

There were few times when Hinata's meekness and silence were imperative.

Her father would often leave for hours at a time, and come back in a very soft and relaxed mood and he would often shut himself into his study until his disposition reverted back to normal (though the more these ventures carried on, Hinata had a harder time discerning which side of him was true, and almost felt sympathy for him having to live a secret personality).

Hinata was presented with an opportunity and she seized it.

No one had known (or acknowledged) that she was back from her mission and she could move freely, as most would assume her tardiness to effortful training (that most of the main house would still call useless). She had meant to go in search of Kiba or Shino who'd understand her docile taps on their door as in invitation to dinner or the training grounds or whatever idea they had placed in her opinion. She found her father, as she sat perched on a slanted roof overlooking the lower part of the city that had started to become speckled with bright lights in the setting sun. She had just jumped onto the railing of the balcony to dash through the adjacent hallway when she saw him. She pressed her body deeply into the wall as she tilted her head slightly and peered at her father. He was leaving an apartment.

Her breaths stilled as she saw the slight figure of a woman step out.

Her father paused slightly and spoke softly; the only indication of their conversation was the subtle movements of his lips. The slow beat of the blood thundering in her ears deafened her, but no matter how hard her efforts, she couldn't close her eyes. She watched as Hiashi grabbed the young woman's arm and pulled her closer, the two bodies becoming discernable in her blurry vision.

He kissed her. It didn't have the normal intimacy that Hinata had noted through the other adults of Konoha. It was a stolen kiss, done in secret and without any repercussions.

She didn't cry.

It was easier to pretend not to see at all.

AN: Totally unbetaed. I'm yet again rewriting this. I'm back after about two years to finish what I started. I am looking for betas and if interested either comment or PM me.