I picked up a blade of grass and tickled Neji's arm with it.

He twitched violently, doing his best to ignore me and maintain his composure. Watching him try not to squirm made me smile.

"Yasu," Father scolded me without looking.

I instantly dropped the blade, and went back to meditating.

Father brought us out to the backyard to teach us to meditate. It was supposed to help us learn to focus our chakra early, so that training with chakra and chakra points later would be easier, but I couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes.

I clasped my hands together and concentrated, focusing on the constant buzz of chakra circulating within my body, and managed to distract myself trying to manipulate it for almost a minute before I got bored again.

I opened my eyes, and discreetly reached down, quietly gathering a handful of grass. Then I threw it all at Neji.

He sneezed loudly as grass swept past his face and settled on his shoulders. He shot me the most unamused look possible, and then picked up his own handful of grass.

I raised my eyebrow in silent challenge, and could only blink away the grass on my eyelids. I picked a piece of grass out of my hair and held it between two fingers, inspecting it. Then I met his eyes. It was on.

Meditating was forgotten. Before I knew it, we were running around the small section of grass that hadn't been cleared out for the training area beyond it, chucking grass at each other.

Father sighed, but when I managed to sneak a glance at him while Neji was gathering more grass he was smiling warmly at us. I dodged before my twin could take advantage of my distraction.

We missed each other ninety-nine percent of the time.

Eventually I flopped down on the ground, out of breath, and a moment later Neji flopped down next to me.

I turned my head to look at him, and I treasured this moment. I wanted it to last forever. I wanted him to be this happy and playful forever, but I knew it wouldn't last, no matter how much I wanted it to.

My good mood faltered. I feared the future, for me and him. I abruptly grabbed his hand, and ignored his curious gaze.

I promise… I wrote on his palm, but then stopped. I considered finishing the sentence, but then decided against it, dropping his hand.

Promise what? He silently used a finger to write on my arm. It tickled, but I didn't stop him.

I shook my head, avoiding his gaze.

I promise not to let you die. Is what I didn't say.

How could I tell a four-year-old that he was going to die in fourteen years?

I feared Hinata Hyūga's third birthday.

But I couldn't hide from it.

I knew the day had come when Natsu woke us up early and dressed us in the formal black robes that Father always wore, claiming that it was a special day for the future leader of the clan.

There was nothing I could do to stop this. All I could do was to cling to Neji's hand and try not to cry as we were ushered out of the house.

Father met us outside, and I saw heavy sadness in his eyes as he looked at us. Then he turned his gaze in the direction of the main house, and for a brief instant I saw burning resentment, and pure hatred. His fists clenched, and the sudden change in him shocked me. I was so powerless. I squeezed Neji's fingers until my hand hurt, accidentally drawing his attention. He noticed the look in Father's eyes, even if he didn't understand it yet, and his smiled disappeared.

The closer we got to the group of Hyūga gathered in the middle of the compound, the heavier each step forward felt.

Neji looked at me with concern when I started to lag behind, but I couldn't meet his still-innocent eyes. He didn't fully understand what this meant, and it was another thing that I couldn't tell him.

I swatted tears away before anyone could see, and followed Father as he led us to the front of the crowd. Hinata stood directly across from me, hiding behind her father, Hiashi Hyūga. Members of the main house surrounded her, while the branch house surrounded me and Neji.

"Happy birthday, Hinata." Father said formally, and everyone around us echoed him.

I tried to mimic the Hyūga around me and keep my expression carefully neutral.

Father bowed, and we all bowed with him.

"I think that young Neji and Yasu should join us in celebration of Hinata's birthday." Hiashi announced.

No.

"Of course." Father responded, straightening stiffly. I felt a trembling hand on my back, and then Neji and I were being gently pushed forward.

We stopped in front of Hiashi and gave him another quick bow. He nodded once and turned away, leading the way back to the main compound.

I swatted another renegade tear away with my free hand, hoping no one other than Neji had seen. Neji squeezed my hand, frowning at me. We followed Hiashi and a few of the elders into a small house. The group of Hyuga that had gathered dispersed behind us, returning to their daily activities. Hinata and her mother went a different way.

Please, no.

Hiashi stopped in the middle of the room, and beckoned us closer to him. "Kneel." He said once we were in front of him. Of course, he didn't explain what was about to happen. We knew, or at least were told the basics of what the caged bird seal was. I glanced at Neji.

We knelt.

Hiashi crouched down in front of Neji, and one of the elders stepped forward and came to a stop in front of me. The others were in a half-circle behind Hiashi, silently watching what was about to happen.

I wanted to cry.

Hiashi put his palm against Neji's forehead, and the elder mimicked the action for me.

There was a moment's pause, and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting, trying to imagine what it would feel like. It was instant, like a knife was being shoved through my forehead. Heat wrapped around my head and seared my thoughts, turning my brain into mush. I couldn't hear anything past the screaming. I thought, but couldn't be sure if I was crying.

My vision went while as the pain spread down to my chest and arms. I would've said anything, done anything, to make it stop. Fainting was a small mercy.

A flash of pain woke me. I dug my nails into my hair, and opened my mouth to scream again, but nothing came out. My throat ached. The pain was gone in an instant, leaving me panting and crying. I pulled my knees up to my chest, shaking as I realized what just happened.

They were testing the seal.

I bawled like the four-year-old I physically was.

No one stopped me.

Eventually, I managed to push myself up and was too tired to be terrified when I found myself staring up at Hiashi. He was looking down at me with a tiny shred of… sympathy? I blinked once and it was gone, and I was mostly-sure I imagined it. My head felt strangely heavy as I looked around, and noticed that everyone was staring at me. I blinked again. They were waiting for us to get a hold of ourselves.

Neji.

I glanced down. He was still curled on the ground, his hands pressed against his head. I wanted desperately to reach out and hug him, but the main house was watching our every move. I straightened, and stared at the door, not looking at anything or anyone. I felt a spark of resentment flare to life, and I realized just how easy it was to spiral down into it.

I counted to one-hundred and twenty before Neji stood next to me. I snuck a glance at him, and saw that the childish innocence was gone. I knew it would happen, but it was a different thing entirely to see it for myself. I had to look away or I would start crying again.

Hiashi looked over us, nodded once, and then went outside. He came back moments later, this time with Hinata. She kept a hand on his robe, practically pressing against his side. Hiashi pushed her forward once she was in front of us.

It was like I was hit with a tidal wave of bitterness. I tried to shove the feeling away, but I couldn't. I needed time to think about what just happened, to clear my head. I couldn't blame Hinata. It was her fault as much as it was mine for being born. Hinata didn't choose this.

But right then, at that very moment, I truly hated Hinata Hyūga.

Especially because we both knew why she had been brought here. In fact, Neji had figured it out first. He was already bowing. I quickly bent forward to join him, staring dully at the ground. My hair fell around my face, dripping with sweat, but I didn't dare move.

I counted to ten, and then slowly rose.

Hinata stared at us, but she looked lost, like she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say or do.

Hiashi shifted into our view, glanced over us, and then simply turned and left. I wondered if that meant we were supposed to follow him. I hesitated for a second, and then stepped forward. When no one stopped me, I walked around Hinata and left, Neji close behind me.

It was dark. We'd spent the entire day receiving the caged bird seal. The door opened before Hiashi could knock, and Father was there, staring at his brother. I quickly looked away from the anger in his eyes and slipped inside without a word.

I went straight to my room, and crawled into bed, curling up and facing the wall. I heard it as Neji climbed into the space behind me. We hadn't slept together since we outgrew the crib. He didn't make a sound, but I could feel how badly he was shaking.

I turned around and squeezed him, unable to hold it in anymore. I quietly cried into his shoulder. He shook harder, but he never cried.

I only looked up when I noticed a shadow in the doorway and saw Father for a second before he turned and walked away.

When I woke up Neji was gone.

I found him in the bathroom. He stood in the mirror, tying a bandage around his forehead. I blinked at him. "Are there any more?" I asked hoarsely.

Neji tied off the bandage, and then picked a roll up off the sink that I hadn't noticed before, silently holding it out to me. I took it and moved to stand next to him.

I couldn't take my eyes off the caged bird seal. I brushed the tip of my finger against it, but it was smooth, as if there wasn't anything there at all. I grit my teeth, fighting back tears, and quickly tied the bandage around it so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

The door closed, and I glanced over at Neji as he came back over to me. He wrote along my upper arm. Because it was an extremely slow way of communicating, we only used it when we didn't want anyone else to know what we were saying.

I first started writing on Neji when we were learning to write, after I ran out of paper to write/draw on. I hadn't meant for it to stick. At first, we couldn't understand each other at all.

Did you know what would happen?

He didn't include the question mark but I assumed it was a question.

I was surprised when I shouldn't have been. Neji was considered a genius for a reason, and based on how badly I reacted the day before, it wasn't a stretch to guess that I somehow knew. I quickly tried to hide my reaction, but he'd already seen. It was pointless anyway, since I was basically an open book to Neji.

He hesitated. Why didn't you tell me?

I turned to face him, sighing. I responded along the length of his lower arm. Would it have made any difference if I did?

Neji didn't answer, because we both knew the answer was no.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who followed/reviewed this story!