. . . . . Strength
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Ever since she was old enough to stand on her own two feet and perform the basic katas in preparation of learning their family's time-honored jutsu, Hanabi was extolled as being strong.
She saw the unspoken end to their praises; they wanted to tell her that she was strong—stronger than her sister, who was born five years before she even existed. At the tender age of three, she saw how her father treated her more favorably than his eldest. And she knew it was because of her abilities.
Her desire to be loved drove her to practice harder. When the time came for the two Hyuuga daughters to face off in battle, she had little hesitation in kicking her older sister down, knowing that Father would be proud of her, and consequently, be ever more disappointed in Nee-chan.
But that was okay. As long as she was loved and accepted.
It didn't matter that even though she lost their fights, Hinata was the one that would come to her and show her the mercy of healing whatever wounds she had accumulated during the hours of training they were both subjected to.
Hanabi reasoned that she never asked for Hinata to bandage her cuts and scrapes. She did that of her own accord.
She knew that it was only because of her physical abilities that their father and Elders thought she would make a better Hyuuga leader and it was only because of these thoughts that her forehead remained immaculately smooth. And as much as she craved her father's attention, she had no desire to become the leader—only the fear of being branded and forgotten.
Hanabi ignored the fact that her stomach churned so uncomfortably at the thought of knowing what her sister's fringe might cover if she were to be stripped of her birthright.
She also turned the other way when she overheard the Elders mention to her father, on her sister's twentieth birthday, that Hinata was the perfect age to be wed.
It didn't matter that even though Hinata was naturally far less skilled as a ninja, she felt the need to protect Hanabi from the Elders' demanding ways when Hanabi proved to be more rebellious than they would have liked.
When she came home from her first mission as a chuunin and had needed to kill in order to save her teammate, she didn't need to say anything. She didn't want to think that the look in her eyes gave it away to her all-knowing sister before Hinata wrapped her arms around her thin frame and pulled her close just as one single traitorous tear shamelessly fell to the floor.
· · ·
It wasn't much of a surprise, after Hinata's twenty-first birthday came and went, that the current esteemed Hyuuga leader thought a duel between his two daughters was long overdue. So, on a day which should have been marked with festivities, well-wishes, and a showering of presents, Hanabi stood on one end of the Main Family's dojo, meeting her sister's gaze, unwaveringly.
If the sixteen year old was surprised by the determination that stared back at her, she didn't show it.
They had went through the same training, in order to hone their skills to best suit the close combat style of the Gentle Fist. But the differences in technique could not have been more jarring. The elder was graceful and swift, while the younger was assured and calculated.
It wasn't lost on Hanabi that she was doing most of the offensive while Hinata spent the first half of their battle weaving around her strikes. Hanabi wondered if Hinata was attempting to tire her out—to lure her into a false sense of security to be able to land the final blow.
No, a part of her mind dismissed that thought as quickly as it had appeared. Hanabi knew her sister. Hinata would never do something as sly as that, especially not to her own sibling, and in front of their father, no less. Even though the role of a ninja was to throw away honor, Hinata wouldn't bring herself to that level.
Perhaps Hanabi didn't want to admit to herself that she knew her sister so well, so instead reasoned, Even if she tried that, there's no way she would succeed. Nee-san's stamina doesn't outlast mine.
Suddenly, Hinata began to counter her attacks and Hanabi would be hard-pressed to say she didn't worry about, of all things, losing.
Hanabi saw an opening at last, almost out of the corner of her eye, and went for it. Hinata had forgotten to protect her side—how silly of her.
Even though it was her own attack, she hadn't expected her sister to crumple to the floor—had she really infused that much chakra into her hand?—and it came as so much of a surprise that Hanabi stood, paralyzed, in the attack formation while their father—and Elders—looked on stoically.
"The victor is Hanabi-sama," one nameless Elder announced and normally, Hanabi would've felt smug and proud, much like a kitten that had stolen all the attention. But this time, it felt wrong.
Maybe it was because of when Hanabi caught sight of her sister's face, she looked so determined that Hanabi thought that she would not accept defeat and ask to continue the match.
Instead, Hinata stood and bowed towards the council.
Hanabi then noticed how eerily quiet their father was being—not that he was a loud or talkative man by any means, but he would at least have spoken a comment or two by now.
Then, "Hinata."
The aforementioned raised her head.
"You know what this means."
"Yes, Father."
A pause. Hanabi never knew her father to be hesitant in anything. "I am sorry." She noted to herself the pained sincerity lacing his voice with a sinking feeling in her gut.
"So am I, Father." Hinata's eyes hadn't lost their resolve from earlier but suddenly, Hanabi realizes that the rest of her sister seems so burdened. She gives Hanabi a small smile before leaving the room, still clutching her side.
Hanabi waited until they all knew she was gone, most likely in her room by then. "Father, what do you mean? What has happened?" She was quite sure that Hinata hadn't managed a serious hit, but her stomach felt rather pained all of the sudden.
Instead of Hiashi answering her, the nameless Elder from before spoke, "Did no one inform you, Hanabi-sama?" She turned her head to him. "This match would decide which of you would stay in the Main House, which, by default, make the victor the chosen heir—in this case, you, Hanabi-sama."
No one, not even Hanabi, knew how she would react but the last thing expected was that she get violently sick on the very floor that her sister had fallen on, moments before.
A/N: So, instead of studying for my 8AM psych test tomorrow, I decided to look through some past drabbles. I haven't posted anything in years, and this honestly was born because I wanted to use the word "extol." I love the Hyuugas in general, and even though we haven't seen much of Hanabi, I don't think she'd be completely heartless as most stories portray her. This was my take on it (which honestly deviates from how I usually see Hanabi and Hiashi). I don't have any concrete ideas to continue this, but I don't think the "ending" is good enough to call it a oneshot. I'd really appreciate any and all feedback! Thanks for reading.