Hinata screwed her eyes up against the warmth and light on her face before unwillingly opening them. The morning sun shone through the cracks in the roof of the cave that she had spent the night in, and she was grateful that it was not raining, thinking of what a horrible wake up that would have been. She sat up, taking in her surroundings- the remnants of last night's fire, her pack lying near her and the walls of the cave, with more light pooling in from the cave's entrance. The sight was all too familiar- Hinata had spent almost every night like this for the last... she didn't know how long. She had lost track of time within a few months of abandoning the village, or more accurately, her clan. She had also lost count of the number of times that that memory haunted her dreams and she was beginning to consider it some kind of omen. oHinata made her way over to her bag and lifted out the ANBU mask she used to hide her face. The ANBU mask that was not hers...

The pressure to select a husband was mounting. Every night, Hiashi requested Hinata's presence in his office and asked her if she had selected someone to marry yet and every night the image of Naruto's face flitted briefly through her mind before she told her Father that she had not. He would remind her of the limited time she had left before the choice would be taken out of her hands. Every night, she bowed and thanked her Father before taking her leave. On this night however, her Father stopped her.

"Neji joined ANBU today. I suggest that you congratulate him before he is allocated a mission."

Hinata turned. Her Father had not looked up from his work as he spoke but out of respect, she bowed her head, replying, "Yes, I will."

Straight after leaving her Father' study, Hinata made her way to Neji's room. She hesitated for a moment before knocking. "Come in," he called and Hinata let herself in.

Neji stood next to his bed with an ANBU mask held in his hand, as though he had just taken it off his face. "Hinata-sama," he said, bowing as he saw who it was.

"Neji-niisan," she replied with a bow and then straightening, revealed a brilliant smile. "I just came by to congratulate you on getting into ANBU. My Father just told me."

"Ah, thank you," he answered, transferring his gaze back to the mask. "It's meant to be a hawk," he commented holding it towards her and she stepped forward, taking it from his outstretched hand. "Ironic, don't you think?" he pressed, making Hinata feel uncomfortable. She examined the mask in silence and heard Neji sigh when she offered no response.

"I heard you're taking over the clan soon," he offered. She neither confirmed nor denied this, irritating him though his face did not show it. Ordiniarily, he'd be happy with the silence between them- it suited them both but if she was to become the head of the clan, she would be pre-occupied with clan duties and he was going to be deployed on ANBU missions for most of the foreseeable future and so this could be the last time they would speak for a long time. "But you've to marry first?" he pressed.

Hinata stiffened but didn't take her eyes from the mask. She wondered... Neji? Surely the council would accept Neji? Of course they didn't love each other but he would be away on missions a lot so it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience to him... But then she reminded herself how inconsiderate it would be of her- taking away even more of his freedom and choices. She sighed. "Yes, but if I haven't made my choice by the end of this month, the council will choose for me." Hinata put the mask on her face at that moment so she did not notice Neji fisting his hands by his side, angry for his younger cousin's fate. She was too pre-occupied with the fact that behind this mask, she could be anyone she wanted to be- she didn't have to be Hinata Hyuuga.

"It suits you," Neji's voice broke through her reverie and she looked up at him, grateful to the mask for covering her blush. Once she was sure her blush had faded, she removed the mask and asked Neji to have tea with her, to which he agreed.

They talked in the kitchen for an hour or so before heading to their separate rooms. Hinata began to pack a bag with all the sorts of things she would need for a mission. She wrote a quick note and made her way to Neji's room lifting the ANBU mask and replacing it with the note. She bowed in the direction of Neji's sleeping form, only mildly regretting adding the special powder she had made to induce sleep to his cup of tea.

Getting past the guards had been easy because it was not uncommon for Hinata to go out training in the middle of the night and once outwith the range of the Byakugan, she had broken into a run for the village gate and never looked back. What happened the next morning was completely left to her own imagination...

Hinata found a tear crawling down her face at the memory and she wiped it away fiercely putting the mask on and preparing for a new day.