Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing. This is fanfiction so it's to be expected. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.
Hinata Hyuuga was blind.
She couldn't see anything. It was only the faint thumping of her heart that reassured her that she was still, in fact, alive. She could see nothing. Just pure black.
It was disconcerting for her, especially considering the fact that she was part of a family that possessed a dojutsu that relied heavily on sight.
'Where am I?' She struggled to see anything. Anything. Alas, it was to no avail.
She pursed her lips. "Hello?" She called out. Her voice remained an unheard echo in the vast space of darkness. "I-Is anyone there?" She bit her tongue at the stutter.
She directed her chakra flow to her eyes in an attempt to activate her Byakugan. Only darkness greeted her. There were no chakra signatures except her own, nor any objects located within her entire range. It was as if she was in a cave of endless black.
There was no point in searching for what wasn't there. Instead, she pondered on how she ended up here...wherever 'here' was.
She took a deep breath and skimmed through her most recent memories. The last thing she remembered was...
Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito stood on top of the Juubi's husk. Wood rained down on the Shinobi Alliance Forces.
"There are too many!"
"We'll just have to evade them!"
They danced around the wooden spikes, but still many fell. The shinobi waited with baited breath for the Kyuubi's power to return.
Orange rimmed eyes opened. "Thanks Neji! I made it into Sage Mode." Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, hurriedly created his personal technique, the Rasenshuriken, and threw it at the incoming wooden projectiles. The Uzumaki hurled two more Rasenshurikens in quick succession. He fell to his knees, his breaths coming in quick pants. Hinata ran to his side and sent a few wooden spikes about to impale him in another direction with a quickly executed Air Palm.
One of the Juubi's limbs swiped the battle ground. Hiashi Hyuuga used his chakra to push away the attacking limb with the help of a few Doton users. The offending appendage hovered in the air, stakes pushed out of one of the 'fingers', and wood rained down once more in a pin-pointed attack aimed at the blonde Jinchuuriki.
They're fast, Was Hinata's only thought. Without another moment to spare, she ran in front of the Uzumaki and braced herself for her inevitable impalement.
(In an alternate universe, Neji was able to save them at the cost of his own life. But in this universe...He was too late)
Wood impaled the Hyuuga Heiress, stopping just at the nick of time from reaching Naruto. Blood dripped down the tip of the wooden spike, rivulets gathering at the tip of her toes. Blue eyes widened in disbelief. Naruto stared down at the pooling blood. He wouldn't dare admit it, but he was scared. So utterly scared.
"N-Naruto-kun..." Naruto slowly lifted his head, tears streaming down his face without his knowledge. Blood dribbled down Hinata's chin. "A-Are you alright?"
"Hinata..." The name passed his lips unconsciously. 'Why?' He asked himself, looking at her rapid paling face. 'Why did she risk her life for him...again?'
"A-Are you alright?" She repeated her question again, disregarding the blood slowly clogging her throat. Her vision was blurring and she knew she didn't have much time left.
"Yes, I am." The Uzumaki asked, a new wave of tears fell down his cheeks. "Why? Why did you do this?"
Hinata gently smiled at him, her hands cupping his face.
(Unaware that her smile sent spikes into Naruto's chest. Her smile was so much like his mother's, Kushina's, it was brimming so much love-love that Naruto had always yearned)
She repeated what she told him when she fought Pein. "Because...I love you." She spoke with the most amount of confidence she could muster. She felt her vision darken and her arms go limp. She fell forwards, Naruto catching her. She felt herself choking her own blood. She couldn't see but she could still vaguely hear voices.
'Gomenasai, Hanabi-imouto...' She silently wept at the prospect of never seeing her younger sister again. 'Gomen...everyone.'
She could hear her father, cousin, team mates and friends calling out her name.
"Hinata!"
"Hinata-sama!"
"Hinata-chan!"
"Medic! Someone heal her!"
She felt warm chakra engulf her torso. Sakura. "I-I can't." Sakura's broken voice rang. There was a sudden lull in battle, but it could've been just Hinata's imagination. "I can't heal her. G-Gomenasai, Hinata-chan." She could hear the soft dripping of tears on her skin. She could hear empty promises saying that she'll be alright-that she'll survive.
She knew they were nothing but lies.
But the most prominent voice she could hear was Naruto's. He was saying her name over and over again, desperation tinged his voice.
"Please come back..."
She could feel the warm sensation of tears falling down her face. It was heartbreaking and near unbearable for her to hurt her loved ones even if she didn't mean it. "Gomenasai..." She whispered to the air.
The ground suddenly slammed down, shaking her out of her reverie. She stumbled. "What-" She didn't get to finish her question as another slam made her lose her balance and use her right hand to steady herself.
'What's going on?'
Something pushed her one step backwards. Then the force became stronger; she went back a few steps. Suddenly, a force repelled her back, making her skid across the floor. She lost consciousness for a short moment as her head landed on the floor with an audible crack!
The next thing she knew was that she was suffocating, her breaths coming in rapid succession. She forced herself to assess the situation. She lifted her hands and let out a squeak. Her hands were tiny!
She clenched her teeth and ignored the strange detail. She was inside something. Hinata tried to push her way out to no avail. The texture, on the other hand, was rough and-
She was suddenly pulled out of her confinement. She looked around with wide eyes taking in the scene in front of her.
The moonlight provided enough illumination. It cast a soft glow on the Hyuuga Compound. She could hear the crickets in the night. Her father knelt on the ground beside a Kumo ninja. The ninja was dead.
Dread curled in Hinata's stomach. The face of the ninja was one that haunted her dreams quite often when she was younger. She took an involuntary step back.
What was going on?
She dared to take a glimpse at the discarded kunai, lying hazardously on the floor. With shaky fingers, she reach toward it and hesitated when her fingers grazed the handle. She bit her lower lip and steeled herself. She grasped the kunai and lifted it to scrutinize her reflection.
She nearly dropped the weapon in shock. She was the exact image of her three year-old self. Her short-cut hair, chubby cheeks and small stature. Why hadn't she noticed it before? She felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her white eyes and felt all the blood rushing out of her. 'Kaa-chan...'
"Hinata-chan," Her mother's soft yet firm voice rang in her ears. "It's okay. You're safe now."
Hinata felt tears dribble down her cheeks. She wasn't supposed to cry. She didn't want to. But the melodious voice of her late mother brought forth all her repressed emotions. "Kaa-chan..." She whimpered out.
She felt the warm embrace of her mother. She was lifted up."I'm here for you."
Hinata threw her arms around her mother's neck. She clutched onto her as if she was a lifeline. She didn't ever want to let go. "Kaa-chan..." she mumbled once more, tears still continuously running down her face."I love you..."
"I love you too." If anything, her mother clutched her tighter.
Hinata reluctantly pulled away and observed the scene behind her, her breath hitching every now and then. More Hyuugas had arrived and were discussing things quietly.
"Ko-kun," her mother called out. A young boy about seven years of age came forward. He was dressed in a pale yukata. "Please bring Hinata-chan to her quarters." She set Hinata down and smiled. The smile tugged Hinata's heart.
She missed her mother so much.
"Hai!" The young Hyuuga stood straighter and held out a hand to Hinata. Hinata paused before placing her hand inside Ko's. They walked in an awkward silence to the Main House.
It was only then that Hinata questioned things. She was supposed to be dead and yet...Why and how was she here?
Hinata stared at the ceiling of her room.
Her room was bare aside from a few fixtures, her bed, desk and closet being one of the prominent ones.
She was cocooned in a warm blanket. She couldn't hear anything aside from the soft chirping of the crickets and the faint rustling of leaves.
The Hyuuga compound was eerily silent despite what had occurred only mere minutes before.
Hinata sat up, her blanket sliding off her body as she did so. Her eyes drifted towards her window. A black blanket painted the sky, sprinkled with blinking diamonds. It was calming, gazing at the night sky that is, for Hinata.
She recalled something her mother had told her. "The darkest nights produce the brightest stars." It was a simple statement which held a beautiful meaning.
Sometimes when Hinata felt down, she'd study the stars and reflect on that one sentence.
It reminded her of Naruto Uzumaki, her long-time crush turned to love. Despite the pain and suffering he had to go through-despite how horrible he was treated-he still managed to persevere.
Instead of letting himself fall into hate, he turned that hate into love. Even when nobody believed in him, he kept going.
His determination led him to become one of the Leaf's saviors.
The village pariah turned savior. Ironic, wasn't it?
Hinata was happy for him, she really was. He deserved it. Especially after everything he'd been through.
Hinata had always been weak, her father said so. She didn't know what she would have done if she was stuck in the blonde boy's shoes.
Which brings her back to her current dilemma.
She already used her Byakugan to check if she was stuck in a genjutsu. She tried wounding herself by falling 'accidentally', thus scraping her knee, on the way to the Main House. The small injury was healed promptly by one of the Branch members.
She was sure she died.
There was only one possible although not plausible, but considering how she ended up here...
It was just a fleeting curiosity that led her to researching the topic in the Konoha Library. She never meant anything by choosing to read those few-and she means very few-books.
She didn't really think that such a thing was possible but considering her current predicament.
She plopped down on the bed and resumed her staring at the ceiling.
Something curled in her stomach. She felt slightly nauseated and was certainly overwhelmed.
Hinata believes that this situation was more suited for the Uzumaki...or anyone really. Anyone else other than her.
She wasn't strong like Naruto or her team mates. She wasn't a genius like Neji or Shikamaru. She wasn't confident like Ino or Sakura. She wasn't an amazing shinobi like her peers.
She was just...Hinata.
She was nothing special. So why? Why was she here? She didn't even know where 'here' was.
She felt her eyelids slowly lower as exhaustion took its toll on her young body. She'll find out where, and more importantly when, she was after a good night's sleep. She could already feel her thoughts go hazy. There was no point in thinking with a barely functioning brain, after all. So she let sleep embrace her and resolved to face her problems the moment the sun greets her face.
She let out a disbelieving breath.
Time travel, huh?
NOTE: Hinata jumped to the conclusion that she time traveled because first of all, her nerves were still frazzled considering the fact that she died and was somehow magically alive, not to mention younger. Secondly, she just decided it was time travel because sleep deprivation makes you think over things hastily.
She'll be able to think better in the next chapter, if you're wondering. Also, since Hinata's mother's name was never specified, I want to know what name is preferable for her. If it's fine, I'd prefer to go with the name 'Hitomi' (Beautiful virtues; Pupil of the eye).
A/N:
This is my first fanfiction on this site.
I'm not really the best writer out there so I would totally appreciate it if you send me insights and comments on my writing.
I just want to warn all of you that my update schedule isn't really the best. I'm one of those writers that update only when inspiration hits them.
I don't mind flames. Just please, let it be constructive.
That's all. Ja ne!