Disclaimer: I am not Masashi Kishimoto.
Talking Back
Summary: The first time Hinata talked back to her father, her mother died. Clearly, it was not a good day for her.
Hinata felt anxiety coil in her stomach the moment she woke up, ruthlessly reminding her of the day's obstacle: her first day at the Academy. Before… Hinata had always looked forward to entering the academy; meeting people outside of the Hyuga clan was as sweet and rare as being allowed to have dessert after dinner. But things were different and as Hinata got ready for her first day, she realized how little she wanted to leave the clan compounds. She couldn't, not today. So instead of meeting with the branch member escort at the entrance of the compound like she had been instructed to the previous night, she made her way towards her mother's room.
Ever since Hinata's mother had fallen incurably ill, the Hyuga compound had remained hushed and solemn. Hinata had noticed the atmosphere the day her mother lost the ability to speak. Everyone was quiet, holding their breaths for the inevitable funeral. People looked down sadly whenever Hinata walked into a room, and treated her delicately, as if she were a thing of glass. It was the change in the way people treated her that forced her to realize the truth: she was losing her mother.
The tension in the house had risen so sharply in the past few weeks even baby Hanabi had felt it; these days she was still and silent most of the time, which was very much unlike her. Hinata had taken to spending almost every moment she could with her mother. Nobody stopped her. Even her father had stopped enforcing her strict training schedule in the past week. So, Hinata was not surprised when no one interfered as she made her way towards her mother's room. She could not possibly go to the Academy at a time like this; the others understood.
Just as Hinata placed a hand on her mother's door, it opened and her father stepped out, looming over her.
"What are you still doing here?" Hiashi said. Hinata could not stop herself from stepping away from him and staring at the ground.
"I'm visiting Mother," she said, her fingers pressing together with a nervous energy.
"You will be late for your first day at the Academy, and I do not want you tarnishing the Hyuga name with your tardiness. Besides," his voice faltered for a moment, "your mother is being attended by a medic at the moment."
He was going to make her leave, Hinata realized. And she would not be able to see her mother again until well into the afternoon. Her gaze lifted from the ground and she frowned at her father's unreadable eyes.
"N-no," she said. She forced her hands apart and to her sides. Her father's expressionless face slipped, and he crossed his arms.
"Excuse me," he said, "what did you just say to me?"
"I don't want to go to the Academy today. I want to stay here!" Hinata said in a shrill voice, sounding more like the young girl she was than she ever had before. Hiashi's cool expression was gone. His hand raised swifty, but instead of hitting her, the slap of his palm hitting the wall behind her resounded loudly.
His words were incoherent and his breath turned forceful: "You dare talk back- at a time like this- your mother deserves quiet in the house, why I'll-"
Hinata barely had time to register her fear when the door opened again and a medic nin stepped out.
"Hyuga-sama, I...I regret to inform you that your wife has passed," said the medic.
Most of Hinata's brain ceased to function at that moment. She stopped seeing those around her: her father, the medic nin, and soon after others who walked around her like water breaking around a rock. She didn't hear the sounds of comfort and pity, or the sharp noise of a door being slammed soon after Hiashi walked away. She just stood, replaying the words in her head. Passed, as in, passed away, as in dead. Passed, passed, passed. Mother, passed away.
The young girl stumbled back and collided with the wall, falling to the floor. When her mother was rolled out of her room, surrounded by medical equipment and medical jutsu scrolls, the world exploded in sound and color. Hinata stared at the outline of her mother's body, covered in a white sheet, with horrible fascination as it passed, memorizing its shape and the sound the bed's wheels made on the wooden floor. She, like everyone else, watched in silence.
Someone brought Hinata her little sister, perhaps thinking the girls could comfort each other; only they could understand what the other was feeling at that moment. Only when Hanabi pressed her small hands against Hinata's cheek did Hinata realize she was crying. Hanabi seemed deeply unsettled by the wetness on her finger and began wailing.
"Shh, you need to be quiet," Hinata said in a small voice, "don't raise your voice- or- or talk or-"
She was unable to continue speaking. A little while later, someone came to bring Hanabi and Hinata back to their respective rooms. Hinata tried to head outside, to get to the Academy, but was insistently led to her room. Hinata wanted to protest (she was going to ruin the Hyuga name!) but felt too afraid to do so. Instead, she meekly allowed herself to be brought to her room, not saying a word when asked if she wanted anything, and gave up on making it to the Academy for her first day.
A/N: So I love Naruto, but I have a lot of problems with the way women and girls are written. Here is my attempt to add some depth and complexities to these characters who have so much potential. I will not be straying very far from canon, I'm really just trying to fill in the gaps. This will be chronological-ish. I'm focusing on the girls' childhood years for now.