Broken Memories
Slap.
His hand slammed against the skin of her face hard enough to draw blood.
He turned her head away and gritted her teeth at the scream that threatened to escape her.
"They'll come back for me,"
His laugh, mocking and uncomfortably loud exploded on her ears.
"They won't come, little girl." She could hear the smile on his face. "Your pathetic teammates were barely alive when they escaped. They are probably lying at the side of the road bleeding to death. No one will ever come for you."
He laughed again and turned around, closing the door behind him and leaving her alone in the darkness.
"C'me on Hinata!" yelled Kiba from across the field.
"I'm coming!" she replied, hurrying. A soft smile crossed her face while she tightened her hold on a small picnic basket. Shino walked silently next to her. She could hear the usual humming sound that was always with him. From the corner of her eye she was able to make out the form of a kakaichu settled on her shoulder.
She laughed softly when she saw Kiba throw himself to the ground with an annoyed expression.
Stopping, she raised her face to meet the sun. She felt the soft sunlight on her face and smiled.
Yes, it would be a peaceful day.
She groaned when his knee made contact with her face. Her vision exploded into whiteness and there was a faint ringing sound on her ears.
She couldn't move, couldn't defend herself. The chains stopped her. She was helpless and he knew it.
She felt bile coming up in her throat. She spit out a mixture of blood, saliva and bile at the feet of her aggressor.
He screamed something incomprehensible at her before throwing her another blow. This time darkness filled her vision and she welcomed it like the old friend it had become.
"Will you help me nee-chan?" Hanabi smiled innocently at her older sister.
Hinata grinned softly as she stood up and held back a groan. Her father had 'trained' with her earlier that week and her body still resented it. But she wouldn't disappoint her five year old sister. Still innocent, still pure.
"Of course, Hanabi-chan."
Hanabi smiled brightly and dimples showed on her small chubby face.
"Great! Let's go, nee-chan!"
She tugged at her and led her through the white Hyuuga halls to the outer training grounds.
"Come on, nee-chan, you're too slow." And with that said Hanabi broke into a run, her older sister trailing after her.
Hanabi's happy laughter broke the silence in the Hyuuga household. And Hinata couldn't think of a better sound.
"She's dead. She was killed. The mighty Hyuuga heir couldn't handle one of our chunnin." His voiced mocked her. He leaned in, his face inches from Hinata's. His mouth smelled like food and beer. Her stomach grumbled for food.
"That's not true."
"Really? And how can you be so sure, little bitch?"
"I promised Hanabi I would help her. She has grown so much she hardly needs my help anymore." A bitter laugh escaped her. "I can't let her down."
"You've finally lost it, haven't you? Such a pity. At least I enjoyed breaking you." Another laugh, another breath of food made her remember the dinner he had that day. And with the loud bang of the door closing, he left her.
And she smiled in the darkness.
"Like this, Hinata." Kurenai said patiently while she repeated the hand signs of the genjutsu she was teaching her.
Hinata's sharp eyes took in every movement of Kurenai's hands before forming her own.
"Very good, Hinata. Now, remember you have to focus on the image you're creating. I usually think of a field of red flowers. I think something with water would fit you better, considering your affinity. Imagine it. A river, a lake, whatever you want."
Hinata closed her eyes and focused. A few minutes passed before she made the hand signs and whispered the genjutsu.
Soon Kurenai found herself sitting on the shore of a calm lake, surrounded by grass and trees. She smiled approvingly.
"Well, done Hinata! Open your eyes and see for yourself."
Hinata timidly cracked one pale eye open before opening the other one. A bright smile lit her face and she hugged her sensei.
"T-thank y-you, K-Kurenai-sensei."
"I just told you what to do, you did the rest. Tomorrow we'll move on to more complicated genjutsus ok? I'm sure you'll learn them in no time."
A small blush colored Hinata's face.
"T-Thank y-you. I-I h-hope not to disappoint you."
"You could never disappoint me Hinata. Now come on. Let's go eat something."
"They must be on their way now."
"They are dead! Your sister, your pathetic excuse of teammates, everyone is dead! I told you!" he screeched at her, reaching over and slicing her arm open. "They're dead, stupid bitch! And they'll never come back!"
The sun was slowly setting against the horizon and the mission was finally over. Hinata was covered with mud and her muscles ached, still a sense of accomplishment filled her as she remembered the happy faces of the family they'd help.
Laughing quietly behind her hand at Kiba's antiques, he followed their teammates back to the village. "Today was a nice day." She said, forgetting her stutter over the familiarity she had with her sensei and teammates.
Kiba kept on whining about having to wash the mud off but Shino turned to look at her.
"I wouldn't classify it as a special day… but yes, it was a good day." Shino gave her one of his rare smiles, that even though she couldn't see it, she heard it in his voice.
She sighed contently and continued the way to their village.
A smile crept to her chapped, cracked lips. "It was a good day with you."
The man shoved the bland ball of rice into her mouth. It was too fast and Hinata ended up coughing most of it into the floor.
A cold metal cup was forced against her lips. She was still coughing but somehow managed to swallow a couple of times before it was taken from her. The man laughed at her feeble attempt to breathe while coughing and left.
Slowly her breath returned to normal and she stared blankly ahead with empty eyes, lost in her memories.
The breeze was soft as her mother reached to caress the petals of the lilies. She smiled sweetly and Hinata smiled with her.
Her chubby, small hands tried to mimic the graceful movements of her mother's slim hands but failed. She accidentally ripped some of the petals off.
Hinata stared at the petals on her hand with tears in her eyes, but her mother surrounded her with her arms.
"Mommy, I killed the pretty flower."
"No honey you didn't. You just have to be a little more careful with them but you didn't kill it."
She smiled sweetly and blinking the tears away, the young Hyuuga heiress smiled shyly.
"They'll come for me." She whispered, closing her eyes. And enraged scream and a blow were her answer.
Her mother gently guided her smaller hand to water the flowers. She smiled knowing that even though she had hurt the pretty flower, she could still help it get better.
Her mom let go of her hand suddenly when a cough racked her body. The little girl dropped the watering can.
Hinata looked at the older woman with fright in her eyes as she coughed into her hand while clutching her bulging abdomen with the other..
"Mommy?"
"I'm fine, honey." She answered when she could speak again. "I'm just a little tired. Let's go, dear."
She took her hand and guided her back to the mansion, leaving the water can behind, water dripping from it.
Drip… Drip… Drip… Drip…
And the sound of the drops of her blood echoed in the empty cell. One after another…
Somewhere in the back of her mind she recognized the pain. She recognized the angry words of the man that came every day to her cell. She recognized the all too familiar metal breaking into her skin.
She decided to ignore it all. After all, he would leave soon and she would be alone again in her cell of eight feet by eight feet.
So she closed her eyes ignoring the chills that caused her to shake violently and yet feel hot and almost suffocated.
She could feel the cold, hard floor against her skin but she was also in the soft, comforting sheets of her bed. She felt the iron chain on her arms and legs but she was also free and laughing on the training grounds. The room was dark and damp and still she felt the kiss of the sun on her face.
Flashes of her past filled her and she let herself slip away in the memories…
A voice broke the calm silence in her cell. A familiar voice.
"She's here! Akamaru can smell her."
"Move back! I'll open this." A strong female commanded.
Light entered the room. She didn't move. What for? It didn't matter anymore.
"Holly-"
"HINATA!" Strong male arms surrounded her, hard yet gentle hands surrounded her. She could smell earth, sun and blood. Someone sobbed. "We thought you were… we didn't… oh my god…"
"Someone's coming." A second male voice interrupted.
"Shino, take care of it." The female answered.
"The risk is too great. I believe it would be better if we get her out now." A serious voice answered.
Two soft clinks and the restrains were gone. She fell to the floor. The same sun smelling man carried her.
"We'll take you home, Hinata."
"Kiba, I already told you to stop trying to drag Hinata and me into your mess."
"Aw, c'me on guys! Where's your spirit of adventure?" the dog user whined.
"I can assure you it is most definitely not here, trying to steal something from a highly known jounin. Besides we have a mission." Shino deadpanned.
Hinata only smiled at her friend's antics.
"Stay with me Hinata. Don't give up now." A soft voice called her.
She tried to open her eyes to see the owner of said voice but her eyelids wouldn't move. Finally she managed to open them but blinked several times when the light hurt her now unaccustomed eyes.
The metallic smell of blood filled her nostrils. She could hear anxious voices around her but couldn't understand the meaning of the words they spoke.
At last, she managed to make sense out of the blur of colors in her eyes. It was a pink haired woman working over her with glowing hands.
Pink… Sakura…
The woman saw her open eyes and gently settled a hand on her forehead. "You're safe Hinata but don't leave ok?"
Vaguely understanding her, she tried to nod but that brought a fresh wave of pain to her. She settled for closing her eyes.
And as soon as it started, it was over.
"Her heart rate is dropping! Move now!"
"Kiba, behind you!" she shrieked a warning.
Her friend managed to twirl around fast enough to stop the kunai. Throwing it back at the ninja that had tried to hit him, he got back into the fight.
They were loosing. Slowly but surely, they would loose. They would die, because of her.
The leader of the ninja had made it quite clear he was only after her. If she let herself be captured, there was a chance they would let her teammates go.
Shino was panting under his high collared jacket and Kiba was breathing harshly, like Akamaru.
She made a decision. She wouldn't let her friends die because of her.
She leapt onto the trees, making sure she got most of their attention by throwing a kunai with a paper bomb to a nearby tree. Just as she turned around to run she caught a glimpse of a kunai imbedded on Shino's shoulder and a katana heading to Kiba's middle section.
Trying to convince herself that they would be safe once the ninja got her, she turned around and ran.
Consciousness welcomed her once again and she could see a blur of greens and browns from her position in the arms of a man. She couldn't see his face. There were so many shadows. So many…
"Don't you dare leave me now, Hinata Hyuuga!" the fierce voice broke her out of her stupor.
She blinked again. She couldn't see his face but she knew the answer to that.
Where would I go?
"Almost there, almost there…" the man started murmuring like a mantra.
"They're catching up on us!" Another male voice interrupted.
The man cursed under his breath and suddenly they were flying, running, stumbling…
Hinata slipped out of her captor's hands just to be caught again by a bigger bulkier man. She screamed when she saw the blood on the man's katana.
Kiba…
She screamed and screamed… until a rush of pain and light dragged her down to blackness.
Gentle and careful hands touched her.
She felt light behind her eyes. It wasn't the confusing swirl of colors but it bothered her. She heard quiet voices and a soft hand on her forehead. The air was cleaner and softer.
The voices faded and she let herself open to look at the owner of the hand.
The same bright shock of pink with worried green eyes staring at her. She couldn't find her voice.
She knew it meant something but…
Pink… trees…
"Easy, easy."
She tried to talk, to speak, to ask but her voice refused to make a sound. The woman smiled kindly and said something.
Her words were confusing and she really couldn't understand them. Her head was throbbing and couldn't grasp the meaning of the pink haired woman's words.
She could only make out a little phrase. Rest now…
Maybe next time she would remember what was so important about the sun and insects and pink.
Maybe next time I'll remember what happened to nine years of my life…
A shadow crossed her vision and suddenly a child was in front of her. She had the Hyuuga porcelain skin with big pale eyes but a shade of brown in her hair that wasn't from the Byuakugan holders' clan.
She stood there, studying her with curious eyes and a frown on her brow.
"Daddy told me you're my aunt." She said out of nowhere. "He said you could help me. I'm not very good with the traditional Hyuuga fighting style. He told me you could help me." She repeated.
She paused, a scowl setting suddenly on her mouth. "Some of the elders say I'm a failure. I try very hard but…" she trailed off and suddenly Hinata was reminded of herself with the same lost and ashamed expression on her face.
This girl reminded her of herself. This isn't a memory… The thought crossed her mind. This was real. Not another fevered hallucination. The first one in years that wasn't a way for her mind to escape the horror of her capture.
She had been afraid that this, that all this happiness was another fevered dream of her broken mind. That she would blink and be back to that damp cold cell, so she did nothing. She sat there staring out the window, waiting for the chains and the pain and the memories to come back. But they didn't. And now she understood why.
Something lit inside of her, somewhere deep inside her. "You are not a failure." Her voice was rough for the lack of use. "You're different. We are all different."
She raised a hand and cupped the cheek of the sad girl.
"You're special." She said, determination burning in her eyes. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Neji entered the small room, expecting to see his catatonic cousin sitting next to the window as she had done for the last week and stopped mid-step.
Hiromi, which always hated her taijutsu classes, was standing next to Hinata, mirroring her slow and careful movements with eager eyes.
As Neji watched, he saw Hinata's bonny, thin hands reach out, gently correcting Hiromi's stance and praising her fast learning. A grin broke out into his daughter's face.