He always liked her eyes.
Most people thought all Hyuuga eyes were the same. A true statement, but only in the same way that all brown eyes are brown. There were different types of brown eyes. Light brown. Dark brown. Honey brown. Golden brown. Hazel-y brown. Almost black.
The same was true of Byakugans.
There were the ones that were almost purple. Grey ones, like Hanabi's and Hiashi's. Lavender- like Neji's own. He didn't know where he got them from... maybe his mom.
And then there were hers. From pictures he knew that her mom's were the same.
Most Byakugan eyes had some sort of tint to them, but hers were white all the way through until the outer edges, which became almost- almost lavender. Not quite. They almost shone, too. But they weren't lavender or purple or grey. They were white.
Pure white.
After he saw the picture of Hinata's late mom, he always felt a little more compassionate when he saw Hiashi. He wondered if Hiashi, too, saw in Hyuuga Haruki's eyes the same pure shining white quality that he saw in Hyuuga Hinata's.
Hyuuga Haruki had died at an early age, earlier than she ought to have. Just after Hanabi had been born.
This, Neji knew, had forever altered the Hyuuga clan. It's said that no one appreciates something until they lose it.
Well, no one appreciated Hyuuga Haruki until after her death... which had probably been caused by the clan leaders. No one knew for sure except the clan leaders, who stuck to their story. Her death was likely to have been due to her rather controversial views regarding the Branch members. Or at least, they had been controversial under those clan leaders.
And so, she died due to a tragic mishap.
Several things were discovered afterwards: One, that Haruki had had an amazing way with the children of the Hyuuga compound. She had managed to calm them and teach them manners. The kids who came after, like Hanabi who had hardly known her mother, had proved to have a Hyuuga stubborness about them that made them absolutely untamable.
And two, Hyuuga Hiashi had loved his wife. Consequently... her death had made him furious.
Neji had found out these things from the kitchen cook, who (oddly) thought he was the most adorable thing ever.
She liked to tell him that the Hyuuga heiress was looking to change things and a good way for her to do so would be to fall in love with her Branch member cousin.
When she aired this opinion- which happened often- he told her it would never happen.
But he always knew he wished it would.
Hinata picked up the picture of her mother. She liked to look at it.
She missed her. Often. Maybe if she hadn't died... her dad might not be so sad and angry all the time.
Her dad liked to compare Hinata's eyes to her mom's. When she was younger and the family had been more torn up, she had thought that maybe her eyes were the only good thing her dad saw in her.
When she had gotten older and the wounds had healed a little, she realized that wasn't true- that maybe her dad was just looking for hints that his wife had existed and was frustrated when he couldn't find them. But he had become kinder towards her as the years went by, and she had gotten stronger as a result of it. Or maybe it was the other way around, but she liked to think of it that way.
There was a smudge on the picture, though. Hinata wiped it off, but her keen chakra-sensing abilities, honed over the years by many missions, sensed a chakra about it that was very familiar.
But what on earth would Neji-nii-san be doing with her mother's picture?
She picked it up and took it with her to her room, because the comforting, happy smile of her mom was second to only one thing in making her happy and warding off any nightmares she might have.
Neji-nii-san's presence.
Shining white eyes closed, dulled by pain and blinded by blood- a dull thud as a body collapsed to the floor-
Neji woke up suddenly at 3:52 am, asking himself only one question that he already knew the answer to.
Why did that always feature in his worst nightmares?
In the drowsy logic of someone who has just woken and is having trouble discerning between reality and dream- or nightmare- he decided to go see the picture again. It looked an awful lot like Hinata, and he wasn't about to risk checking on her in the middle of the night. He wasn't some kind of stalker. Just worried.
Just had one of those psychological needs to check on her, prompted by a nightmare. Perhaps the picture would help soothe his fears?
He doubted it, but he needed something...
And he couldn't be found creeping up to the Hyuuga heiress's window in the dead of night. It would look really inappropriate, and he'd probably be killed on the spot by a guard.
Or- this was worse- what if she woke up?
No, best to just visit the picture of her mom. It looked like Hinata as she was now (Aunty Haruki always looked very young for her age), and the current heir didn't care for having her picture taken, so there weren't that many of her.
Carefully hiding his chakra, so as not to wake anyone up, especially as he walked by her room, he made his way through the Hyuuga halls to the main room, which belonged to Hiashi and Hiashi only.
It was the one place in the house that had a picture of Hyuuga Haruki. He of course remembered her from when they were all younger. She had been a kind, caring person. Sort of like a mother, but he hadn't known her long enough or been old enough to miss her for more than a few months.
But the main thing was she looked absolutely like Hinata, down to the shy smile and blush and indigo hair. Same hairstyle, even- long and straight, with bangs and two chopped strands hanging down by her ears.
Maybe it would help just a little.
Always the light sleeper, thanks to many years of being guard for team missions, Hinata awoke when she sensed a chakra presence outside the door.
It was expertly hidden, but to someone like Hinata who knew it like her teammates and her sister's and who often would sit around trying to find this particular chakra for no reason other than she just wanted to know where he was at, it was easy to sense.
It almost- almost disappeared as it walked by her room, but she knew better. There was only one person in the Hyuuga compound with that signature. She just wondered what he was doing awake.
He had certainly been acting odd around her lately. And he always looked so tired... the dark circles under his eyes made her worried! Nii-san shouldn't be losing so much sleep! It was bad for him!
And- more odd- why had traces of his chakra been on her mother's picture?
She decided to find out, and, impulsively bringing the picture with her to ask him, she got up.
When Neji got to Hiashi's study, he went straight for the picture that was on the desk.
Or rather, ought to have been there...
He stood there, feeling mildly puzzled for a moment. It had been there the last time he'd come in here, to tell Hiashi that the important visitors from Suna had just arrived and he'd been feeling mad about being reduced to messenger boy...
But that wasn't important! Where was the picture?
Staring at the desk, he found himself aware of a presence outside the door... watching him with the Byakugan...
He knew that presence... and he knew, more so than anything else at this moment, what the color of the Byakugan watching him was.
Pure, shining white.
The door creaked open.
Neji was standing there looking rather puzzled in his pajama pants, scratching his head and frowning at the desk when Hinata got there. She clutched the picture of her mom tightly to her chest.
He whirled around just as she pushed open the door. She found it amusing that his hair was untied and stuck out a little in every which way. Even better, it fanned out when he spun to face her. The dark bangs fell across his face again and he didn't bother to push them away.
"Hinata-sama," he said softly.
Neji spun to face her and managed to croak out her name. His hair fell in his face, but he liked it there. Hyuuga Neji was no coward, but sometimes he felt most comfortable with something to hide behind.
"Nii-san- I was worried," she said haltingly.
Well, at least he got his answer on her well-being.
"I just..."
Words deserted him at that moment, though.
She was clutching the picture.
"Just what?" she asked curiously.
"Just wanted to..." Now or never, he told himself firmly. He took a deep breath and started over. "I worry about you. Sometimes. Nightmares- you know..."
She squinted at him, still clearly drowsy. As he was. Maybe he could get her to believe this was a dream?
"You have... nightmares about me, nii-san? That make you worry?" she asked, curiously.
He nodded, feeling somehow like a little kid. Not his favorite feeling.
She came forward tentatively.
He looked so... cute, standing there, head bowed a little bit, pouting at the ground.
"You have... nightmares about me, nii-san? That make you worry?" she asked.
That had to be the sweetest thing she'd ever heard.
He nodded.
She couldn't help herself.
She had to hug him.
She came forward with an odd look in her eyes.
Neji had no idea what was going on until she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him.
"Uh- Hinata-sama-"
"Nii-san," she began.
Hinata began a sentence.
But she just... couldn't find words. She knew- she knew what she wanted to say- and that was that she loved Neji more than anyone else, and not to worry about her.
Words did not come, though, and so she just held him closer.
"Hinata-sama," he whispered again.
It really is hard to think when the girl of one's dreams is squeezing one very, very tightly.
He continued. "I- I worry about you- and tonight- I just... I needed to see you- make sure you were okay."
His arm- where her shiny, pure white eyes were- was feeling rather wet. Geez, he hadn't meant to make her cry!
"I didn't want to go to your room- in case you woke up, or something."
Words came to him now, although haltingly.
"But I guess you did anyway- anyway, I just wanted to see that picture of your mom. Since it looks like you.. I saw it earlier today-"
"That's why-" she said, and sniffled.
"That's why traces of your chakra were on it," she gasped.
"Huh?"
"That's why I had it, nii-san," she whispered, still burying her face in his chest. "Because traces of your chakra were on it."
"...Oh," he said.
That made sense, in a silly sort of way... She smiled.
"So... why did you take it?"
He needed something- did she just think of him as a cousin?
"Because..." she said, and then shook her head. "Tell me why you were looking at it."
"I told you already. She looks like you."
She shook her head again.
"No... why did you- why did you want to see a picture of me? Why, nii-san? Not just that, but everything."
"I'd rather not. Maybe we should just go back to bed now."
"No." She said it forcefully.
No- they couldn't just leave this moment. Not now! Not with her hugging him as closely as she'd wanted to for ages. Ages!
He couldn't just leave her here now. Not when she was so close to telling him what she had always wanted to-
She cleared her throat, gathering up the courage.
In all honesty he wanted to tell her, too.
He opened his mouth to tell her, but he heard her clearing her throat first, and let her talk.
"Nii-san- you should have tried harder to suppress your chakra," she said quietly. "I know it better than anyone else. It woke me up." She took a breath again, but before she could talk, he began to.
"I love you," he said suddenly.
There.
She relaxed against him, and their arms moved so that he caught her and was embracing her tightly.
"I love you, too," she said.
They stayed there like that, for a moment.
"So tired," he murmured. She gasped.
"Ah! I'm keeping you awake, aren't I? You just wanted to check on me! I'm so sorry, nii-san!"
"No, no," he said, face buried in her hair. "No... I like this."
Then Hinata had an idea.
She pulled him over to the couch, and sat down on it, motioning for him to sit next to her.
"Why don't we sit here for awhile?" she said. He sat down next to her. "And if we fall asleep," she said, smiling up at him, eyes shining as always, "sweet dreams."
And they were.
The End.
Yeah, a little bit anticlimactic there but I just needed something to blow off steam before the AP Human Geography HuGe Final Exam That Basically Determines Matsuri's Fate...
No. But it is really, really huge. If I pass it, it counts for college credit. Crazy, huh? A freshman (in high school) earning college credit!
So... please review! (It'll cheer me up if I fail. WHICH I WON'T! Right? Right?)
Goodnight!