Konnichiwa! This fic ia a NejiHina, don't like, don't read. And for all the bakas crying incest right now, stop it and open google( Or Bing, if you're like me and love Windows too much for your own good)

step 2- Type the term 'cousincest'

step 3- Read what shows up

Last time I checked, the results definitely were something along the lines of," Cousincest is but a SLANG used in modern English, and a liason between cousins DOES NOT qualify as incest as their offspring have a very NORMAL 96% chance of being perfectly healthy humans".

So like I said above, if this pairing bites your ass the wrong way, DONT READ IT, AND FIND SOMETHING ELSE THAT SUITES YOUR PREFERENCES BETTER.

THERE. GOLDEN RULES of Fanfiction.

Whew! Moving on on a more progressive route, this is going to be a sombre, angsty story, and is going to be divided into 3 parts. TPATH explores the kaleidoscope of diverse emotions that rise to the surface when life makes sure that ' It wasn't love, but almost...', and the actions it leads to, the feelings and opinions you suddenly find yourself possessing in the midst of the fray. The first part mainly focuses on the relationship of Neji and Hinata in their childhood years, and how it went from childish innocence to unreasonable and unprovoked hate and disgust on Neji's part. It finally shows him coming to terms with himself and heeding the voice deep down within him, that had always told him that Hinata was more easily loved than hated. And that's just the first part, so buckle up for one hell of an emotional tsunami through the full story. I expect it to reach 10K words by the end.

Love you guys, and stick with me, UPDATES WILL BE QUICK!

MORE REVIEWS,FOLLOWS,FAVES etc.= MORE STORIES, MORE EFFORT AND QUICKER UPDATES.

If you're a NH fan already, enjoy. If you aren't, prepare to be converted. Not too many equations between the two in this chapter( they're still kids) but there's a hell lot of it to come. This chap's a bit slow, but slow starts are quite common, the base has to be set properly for the rest of the story to take off.

Alright then, enough chatter, and let's get going!

In that book which is
My memory...
On the first page
That is the chapter when
I met you
Appear the words-
Here begins a new life.
- Adapted From La Vita Nuovita

THE PRODIGY AND THE HIME

He was 4. She was 3
" Who is that girl, otousan? She is cute. And her daddy looks just like you..."
Innocent words uttered what will seem like eons ago, oblivious to what the future would bring.
" She Is the Heir, Hyuuga Hinata-sama. You are to be her protector." His father had replied with a distant look on his features.

An hour later tears were flowing down his cheeks, while he held his head in his hands, fingers caressing the new searing green brand on his forehead.
"What is happening? Why? It hurts so much", were the first coherent thoughts his four year old mind was able to make sense of, once the pain had reduced to a dull throb.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Still 3. Still 4.
" He was so young..."
" His boy is only four"
" How cruel..."
Empty words from meaningless condolences resounded through the winter's night. Neji kneeled by his father's coffin, unable to understand how fate could be so unrelentingly merciless with him. The snow laden winds outside the mourning hall blew in through the ornately tapestried curtained door, chilling him to the core. An hollow, empty feeling beginning to traverse him, refusing to dispel.
Your father died to protect the Main Family. He was the heir's protector, it was his duty. He remembered his mother's words the day before, before she had slumped into a corner of the room, heavy sobs wracking through her limp body.
He was far too young to fully comprehend anything other than the death of his father. He quietly grieved.
Listening to the panicked fluttering of the mourning lantern outside until it fell on to the porch, too weak against the winds, it felt like the world was mocking him.
He never noticed a young girl standing alone outside pick it up and place a few pebbles inside it's folds before hanging it up on it's rightful place again, this time stronger to face the world.

~.~.~.~.~.~

She is 11. He is 12

He stood in a secluded wooded area near the training ground 10. He had newly graduated from the academy as top rookie, and had been placed in Team Ten under Maito Gai. Neji saw her walking home from the academy on the path by the woods, her timid head bowed and fingers fidgeting with each other. Her family wrecked mine... This realization had gradually hit him as he had grown older. He hated her. Hated the fact that he had to protect her. Hated that he could end up dying a dog's death for her sake, the way his father had died for her's. The main family was the at the root of his misery. Her very existence had condemned his free will.
" Neji! Where are you? Gai-sensei is here."
Tenten's cries halted the savage 'observation' of the Hyuuga girl. He shook his head at the weak form walking on, before turning away and heading back to the grounds, where two overly hyper men in viridescent spandex and a rather exasperated girl with bunned hair were awaiting him.
His hate for her was completely unwarranted, for it was no fault of hers. At the back of his mind, he knew this, and yet his conscience subtly chose to ignore the harsh ramifications of that fact... He had enough on his plate.

~.~.~.~.~.~

She is 13. He is 14.

" I advise you to give up and go home, Hinata-sama. Before you get very hurt..."
"...Neji-niisan..."
It was the second part of Round two at the Chuunin exams. The winner of that match would proceed to the finals. The rules were such that killing was allowed if a give up or "maita" was not given on time to attest submission.
Fate had crossed Hyuuga with Hyuuga to battle to the end. They stood facing each other in the combat area. Gekko Hayate, the referee, quietly watched on as the two Hyuuga grasped the reality of what occur minutes from then.
" Truth be told, Hinata-sama, you are just a spoiled brat of the Main house." Every syllable he spoke in that low intonation was laced with the truest macabre. "You could never even begin to imagine what real helplessness is; like a child left out to the wolves, like a moth drawn far too close to a flame... Never mind, you'll know soon enough now... You came here only because your teammates wished to take the exam, not out of your own desire. Am I wrong?"
"You're wrong! I j-just...I..."
He looked her straight in the eye; while a network of purple-blue chakra infused veins began to slowly inch in to form and heavily stand out around his own orbs, framing them terrifyingly. His opalescent irisises contracted, pupils far more pronounced- It was the famed Byakugan in all its glory.
" These eyes of mine have seen many things, Hinata-sama. The kind you could never even think of. They know that you suffer. And now, it is clear that you are afraid. The way your trembling hands try to shield your person, the way your pupils dilate, everything- an aura of pure cowardice encapsulates you. And most of all, the way you have observed your current situation and already deduced that you may die right here... Am I wrong?"
" P-please... I-I only-"
"Oh, save those excuses for the dogs that serve you back home. The fact of the matter remains that you are weak. A disgrace to the Hyuuga, a slap in the face to your Main family. You deserve the harsh answers you receive, because you have failed your father. A person like you is to be heir, to be superior to the likes of me? That goes to proves that I do not have a say in my fate, because of you and your accursed line. But..."
Neji smirked, a look of what could only be described as a promise of death in his expression, and Hinata's eyes pooled with fresh tears.
" What happens here, is going to be entirely in my hands. You know that, Hinata-sama. The fate you suffer here shall be fully deserved, as you are unable to even defend yourself against a Branch member! That is all the Soke views me to be. Of course they will have quite conveniently forgotten by now that my father, your uncle, gave his life to protect your father's. Too much for their precious brains to recall, eh? Not a soul will validate my abilities, preferring to label the cause of your defeat to save face in Konoha to be 'unforeseen and faultless errors' by their precious heiress, instead of the truth that you are weak, and I a prodigy!"
" Neji-niisan! Onegai...no..."
" Prepare yourself to face the inevitable, you cowardly-"
" HEY! You stop that RIGHT NOW!"
Uzumaki's furious reproach resounded across the hall.
" You have no right to judge her, you complete BAKA! Hinata, say something, its making the people watching angry. BEAT HIM UP!"
Silence.
What a noisy kid.
Almost instantly, the way the girl stood changed. Her head dipped, eyes hidden beneath low indigo bangs; and her shoulders stopped wavering. She was still.
" Arigato, Naruto-kun", she thought, before raising her head, tears gone and her own bloodline limit fully activated. There was not a trace of apprehension in those lavender-white orbs; body poised in the traditional Hyuuga fight stance.
I've never seen her with eyes like that.
" Let us fight, Neji-niisan!"
" So be it."
Swathes and bursts of luminescent chakra emanated as blow after blow of Jyuuken was exchanged. A clash between Byakugans, a battle of blood on blood; call it what you may- something like this was never seen twice, Neji unrelenting and Hinata never backing down.
The Byakugan showed it's true awe striking abilities as a dojutsu, as spectators stared breath taken at the display of this almost transcendental form of hiden taijutsu.
And that was when he struck, an action that brought so much irreversible destruction to both.
" 8 trigrams! Sixty-four palms!"
She froze, letting out a gasp of pain after the first blow had been delivered.
" Four palms!"
She stumbled backward.
" Eight Palms!"
Her hands dropped limp to her sides.
" Sixteen Palms!"
Her Byakugan wore away. Her eyes rolled backward, lids dropping.
" Thirty-two palms!"
Somehow, she still remained standing, but her bruised hands tried to shield her chest from another visceral attack, face contorted in anguish.
"Sixty-four Palms!"
She coughed up blood on the back of Neji's wrapped hand, which was poised dangerously at her neck having finished the last of the brutal assault, before finally falling backwards, eyes closed and mouth bleeding.
He calmly wiped his knuckles, not sparing her battered form as much as a second glance before turning back and remarking almost casually," Hayate-san, this fight is over."
The jounin proctor ignored the chills traversing his spine at having witnessed such a senseless display of power by a boy towards his own cousin, and cleared his throat.
"Um...Alright, shoshan- Hyuuga Neji."
"W-wait..."
The atmosphere of acceptance that had settled in the wake of her loss changed into one of utter disbelief.
Hinata slowly clambered off the ground onto trembling knees, gasping for air and coughing in the attempt.
" H-Hinata...How?" Kurenai, her jounin sensei, exclaimed, looking on over the shocked faces by the stands.
Neji glared at her. " Hinata-sama, you cannot fight anymore. I have blocked all of your 361 tenketsu, completely jamming your chakra system. If you cannot use chakra, you cannot fight. You shouldn't be able to stand. Go home, this is not the place for mock bravado."
She let out a grim smile, and shook her head. " I have suffered a lot, Neji niisan. More than you think. But I do not go back on my word, and most certainly not in front of those I admire".
She spared a glance to the balcony and gently smiled at Naruto, who stood watching with his mouth hanging open.
So she likes him, Neji understood.
" And t-that is why I shall f-fight until I am unable to, knowing that I have done enough".
He shot her a truculent stare." This one act of courage isn't going to change you. The reality remains that I am strong, and you just suffer. So-"
"I-I think that y-you are w-wrong niisan."
Hinata struggled onto her feet, still coughing, and said, looking the intransigent boy in the eyes," Y-you are t-the one caught between the m-main and branch house, b-because of your abilities,not quite branch but not main either. A-and you no longer know w-where y-you should belong. And that is w-why you suffer, even more than me. That, is the reality you cannot hide, nii-san".
There was utter silence.
Shock had momentarily silenced her opponent.
The calm before a storm.
And then it began.
"Why you-" He screamed, and hurled himself toward her, hand raised, murder in his kekkei genkai.
" Stop!" Hayate called out frantically." This match has been already been called!".
The boy, blind with fury, ignored him.
There was a sudden explosion and a cloud of thick smoke engulfed the scene.
The spectating shinobi gasped when it lifted, for there stood Hyuuga Neji, restrained by four jounins; Hayate's palm at his forehead protector, Kurenai clutching his left elbow, Gai with a headlock round his neck and Kakashi tightly grasping his forearm which was dangerously close to Hinata's throat.
"Neji, you made a passionate promise to your team that you wouldn't argue about the Main family. So revere your youthful spirit and keep it." Gai, his sensei, rasped against his ear.
" Release me! Why must the Main family get special privileges?", He struggled against his restrainers.
Kurenai, with her ruby-like gaze unbenevolent , gave him an ultimatum," There are no "special" privileges, this fight has been called; and attacking after that is illegal. You have already won; show some dignity and honour the abilities of your opponent, it is unbecoming for someone from a clan as honourable as yours to do otherwise. Compose yourself now, or you shall be disqualified and this match declared void."
He loosened against his bonds, and shut his eyes, breathing laboured.
"Hinata!", the crimson eyed kunoichi gasped, for the girl had fallen to the floor again, and was convulsing; coughing and spluttering blood, the scarlet fluid splattering her clothes and the floor.
Kurenai rushed forward and knelt beside her, Kakashi close behind, and put two fingers to her pulse point.
"It's shallow", she said, turning to Kakashi. "Get the medics NOW!"
The masked jounin hurried away, and Hinata's teammates rushed down to her side.
The Hyuuga victor stood by forgotten, and his eyes shot open, searching for the one he'd so decisively ruined.
Hinata lay sprawled on the stone floor, blood surrounding her like a satanic halo and staining her worn gear.
Had he gone too far?
The first wave of penitence hit him like nausea.
Why am I bothered? She has brought nothing but misery to me, the impudent girl.., he tried to reason with himself, but in vain, as a horrible, sinking feeling engulfed him as he watched her small, limp form being carried onto a stretcher by two men in medi-nin suits.
" It is hard to predict anything right now; the child is critical. Pray for her, we shall have our head medics on her case immediately", he caught one of them telling Kurenai.
What had he done?
His remorse ridden emotions abruptly came to a halt, for then Uzumaki Naruto insulted him, and touching Hinata's blood which had fallen onto the floor, pointed a fist at him, and exclaimed, " I swear on what happened here today that I will beat you in the final rounds! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and this is a promise, believe it!"
He did not take the rookie he believed to be a talentless dropout seriously, and boy, would he regret it...

~.~.~.~.~.~.

Always 13. Always 14.

It was the day after the chuunin exam finals. Grief had settled on the Land of Fire. The sandaime Hokage had perished at the hands of Orochimaru, sacrificing his life to protect his village. The S-class rouge nin had orchestrated the Konoha crush, a dubious unsuccessful plan to destroy the leaf village; a snake-like shinobi who had no human left within him. His subordinate, Yakushi Kabuto and him, had secretly assassinated Suna's Kazekage, taking his place and conning his people into the invasion. The country, the village and the state of clans were affected and in chaos, but strangely, his life had never been more clear.
He'd been defeated in the finals. The blond jinnchuuriki had triumphed. The chances of that had been ridiculously against him, and yet he had won. And the words he had said to Neji before that had changed his life forever.
" All I know is you're being a little bitch, Neji... I can and will prove you wrong. All this fate and destiny talk is SHIT! You're supposed to be a genius, aren't you? THEN ACT LIKE ONE!"
And then he'd succeeded; cementing the proof to his beliefs. Defying sky high odds against him, against all the stereotypes of being a dropout and village idiot the world had labelled him to be.
Defying Neji.
And in that moment, he knew..
Suffering wasn't indomitable.
He had been liberated by loss.
Destiny didn't matter.

~.~.~

END OF PART 1

A review would be nice, my loves. See you next chapter!

Yours truly,

ByakuganProdigy