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Chapter four

She saw her sitting quietly in front of the window, holding her left shoulder absently with the other hand. Hinata was watching a pair of butterflies swirling in the air outside, too lost in her thoughts to feel Hanabi's presence in her room. She only realized she was being watched when the girl purposely hit the bed with her foot to catch her attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you enter." Hinata excused, rising from the floor. "I was just getting ready to leave for my training. Are you coming?"

"No, I'm afraid I have some other things to do before that. Who are you going to spar with today? I heard Shino and Kiba were sent on a mission this morning."

"I guess that means I'm going to be training by myself." she smiled.

"Why didn't you come for breakfast?"

"Gomenasai, I got up late. How's Neji-san?"

"He left before breakfast. Tsunade sent him to Ame with some business. He said he should be back in two or three days at most."

Hinata nodded slightly and moved her hands to untie the obi in order to replace the kimono with her ninja outfit. Hanabi stepped towards her sister, pushing her hands away to help her undress. The older girl concealed a smile. Her little sister was always unpredictable: she could be a very nice person, an angel willing to help those in need, and in the next moment she could turn into a blaze, destroying everything in sight. Just like her name, she was beautiful and gained smiles and admiration from everyone around her, but she was dangerous to get close to.

"Done." the girl simply said , removing the heavy garment and putting it on the bed.

"Thank you, Hanabi-chan."

"I have to go. I'll see you later."

She watched her younger sister leave her room and an uneasy feeling crept into her heart as she let the silk robe under the kimono fall to the ground, revealing her porcelain skin to the sun. Her old ninja clothes seemed strange to her after a few weeks of wearing only heavy, prestigious kimonos but the feeling of freedom they gave her was undeniable. Therefore, after putting her ninja sandals on, she ran on the balcony and took a deep breath, then jumped on the grass.

--

Hinata looked at her bruised knuckles as she took off her jacket and tied it around her waist, the t-shirt she was wearing enabling her to move more freely. She drank some water form the bottle she had taken with her and wiped the sweat off her forehead, resuming her kicking and punching the training dummie. She had seen him coming, but the sound of his voice filtered between her gasps for air made her jump slightly in surprise.

"Mornin', Hinata."

"Shikamaru-san!" the girl smiled, looking at the lazy genius of Konoha, who had recently become a jonin, just like the others who were once in their class at the Academy. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Came to watch the clouds." he sighed deeply.

"But... Shikamaru-san" Hinata said, looking at the sky above. "There are no clouds today."

"Exactly." he replied with a yawn as he stretched, looking around for a place well hidden from the sun.

Hinata noticed the dark sadness reflected in his eyes and sat next to him under a tree, embracing her knees. Shikamaru lay on the grass with his arms bent under his head, eyes closed, sighing again.

"Mission gone bad?" she asked, watching some leaves floating a bit in the air before landing in a puddle of water. He opened his eyes and looked at her in a friendly way.

"No, it's about one hell of a blonde."

Hinata chuckled, wondering whether he was talking about Temari or Ino, but he made that clear for her immediately.

"That sand girl is worse than Ino and if I think better, she's worse than my mom, for kami's sake..."

"Come on, Shikamaru-san, she can't be that bad!"

"She's not bad, she just... so troublesome! From her point of view, I never do anything right! I can't even walk her to the gate of the village properly because she says I walk too fast or too slow..."

"But you do like each other, don't you?" Hinata smiled, slightly blushing.

Shikamaru considered her for a few seconds, not knowing what to say, but the faint scarlet appearing on his cheeks spoke aloud. They both burst into laughter at the same time and he seemed to have cheered up, even a little, which made her happy. She thought about Naruto and her feelings for him, feelings so old that reminded her of the days at the Academy, when she couldn't even look into his eyes. She really missed those days.

Later, Hinata and Shikamaru both left the training grounds, heading in opposite directions. She was going back home, while he was going to Tsunade's office for a new mission. She hadn't had a mission in such a long time that she almost missed that too. For some reason she thought about Neji and wondered if he was okay, at the same time putting a hand on the place that still hurt on her shoulder. A soft breeze blew gently through her long hair, tousling her bangs, bringing a scent of cherry flowers from afar.

Thousands of miles away, the same sweetish scent distracted Neji from his guarding one of the most important business men in the Land of Rain, remaining behind for a few moments, until the man turned around and gave him a strange look. The ninja watched some cherry blossoms letting their petals driven by the soft wind into some puddles on the main street of Ame and saw tiny raindrops making ripples on the clear surface of the cold water. It took him great effort to be able to break from the strange feeling he had about what his eyes gazed at thoughtfully and when he turned back to the one he was supposed to protect, he saw a warm smile on his lips and raised a brow inquiringly.

"I must say that you are a very pleasant surprise, Neji-san." the business man chuckled lightly. "I was told that my bodyguard was a very serious and strong ninja, a most dedicated jonin, but it seems that even the steel hearts can be melted sometimes."

"What do you mean, Okinawa-sama?" the pearl-eyed boy asked calmly, but curious.

"Neji-san... are you in love?"

It was Neji's turn to chuckle at the question, catching up with the surprisingly friendly man, who seemed to be used to telling things straight from the shoulder.

"Gomenasai, but you must be joking me." he said, with some sort of a smile curving his pale lips. "Such things are a waste of time. How did you come to this conclusion, if you don't mind?"

"You were looking at those sakura petals as if your last breath depended on them and the moment they touched the water you appeared to be in the middle of a dream. I'm sorry I woke you up, Neji-san. Although you say you have never experienced such 'waste of time', I must tell you, dear boy, that you don't know when the greatest illness of all knocks you out. The more you try to run away from it, the more it will look for you. Trust me, it's a battle you can't win. I should know better."

Neji remembered with another smile that he had to accompany Okinawa for his one-day visit to Ame because his wife was the sister of the Mizukage and she had come to visit her brother. Okinawa must have loved his wife very much to leave all his bussiness at home and join her on such a trip, risking his life, for he was a very popular man and not few were those who wanted him dead. That was why Neji had been assigned to stay with him. The last thing he had expected from his man was this discussion about love.

"Are you cold? You're pale as a ghost! Let's go have some warm sake!" Okinawa suggested, not waiting for the boy's answer, but walking along the main street, apparently with not a care in the world. Having no other choice, Neji followed him, thinking that some warm sake would be perfect for his current state of mind.

Back in Konoha, at the Hyuuga mansion, Hinata had finished bandaging her hands to protect her bruised skin and was waiting patiently for two maids to finish adjusting her kimono. It was nearly time for lunch and she didn't want to be late and stay hungry until dinner, so as soon as the two managed to tie her obi properly, she hurried downstairs, where Hanabi gave her a little smile from her seat at the table. What surprised the older girl was the silence in the dinning room and as she descended on the stairs, she realized that there was no on else at the table except her younger sister.

"Don't stare like that, it's rude." the little one scolded her playfully. "Before you ask, yes, we'll be alone at lunch today. The reason is that they went to assist at the first chuunin exam this year and they won't be back until later. Would you like to have lunch outside? The weather is beautiful!"

Hinata smiled with her characteristic blush, unable to think of a better way to interract with her sister. Things between them had gotten pretty tensed lately and now they seemed to lighten up. She could wish for nothing more.

However, nearly half an hour later Hinata stopped with her hand in the air, while taking a delicate piece of fish to her mouth, obvious by the way the chopsticks danced in the air nervously that she was shivering. Hanabi gave her a slightly worried look:

"Are you okay? Perhaps a little bit cold? It's colder than I thought out here." she said.

"I'm... okay." Hinata whispered, putting the chopsticks in her plate and entwining her fingers in her lap. Hanabi tried to looked where her sister seemed to be staring, which was the cherry tree in the garden, which had come out in bloom that morning. The flowers performed a complicated waltz in midair, gone with the gentle wind under the girls' eyes. With every caress of the invisible hands, flowers shivered in the air, the sun alone not enough to keep them warm on their way to unknown lands.

"Let's go."

Hinata started and looked at her sister, who had risen from the floor and was taking off her sandals. The older girl blushed.

"W-where?"

"Come on. Get those shoes off and let's go play under the cherry tree, like we did when we were little!"

She didn't wait for an answer, but grabbed her hand and pulled her on the grass, forcing her to discard the shoes and follow her bare-footed on the grass, both running towards the cherry tree, who now looked like the middle of a snowstorm. Eventually, they both ended up rolling on the grass, laughing loudly in the fresh air, forgetting about the chilly air and the fact that they were ninja or Hyuga clan memebers. No one could see them. Even if that happiness was not going to last, those moments would remain in their memories for ever, unchanged by the great flow of time.