If you go away
Chap 4: I'll always be with you (part 1)
There they stood. He was suspicious the moment the air began changing its rhythm. Neji stood beside hinata and held her tight by the arm and signaled her to silence her voice. Sound of the wind howling through the atmosphere and bits of scattered leaves and dirt swayed a little when an unexpected gust came blowing down on them. His grip tightened around her arm. Hinata felt her heart racing from the tension.
He hurriedly pulled her behind him.
"Byakugan" neji whispered as he quickly performed the hand seal to activate his 'white eyes' and scanned the area. Something in one of the trees caught his attention.
"Oh, it's her." neji exclaimed plainly as he turned towards hinata.
"Eh? Who is it neji-niisan?" hinata asked nervously as she began performing the hand seal to activate her byakugan but congested when neji stopped her.
He lightly pushed her hands down with his and assured her it was nothing important. Neji and hinata began walking again but the atmosphere surrounding them was more intensified. As they were walking, hinata felt uncomfortable and troubled. She would look at her neji nii-san every now and then apprehensively. As for neji, he wore that freaking expressionless face like he always did, but somehow, hinata felt as if he was in deep absorption about something.
Hinata stopped and reached out her hand and clutched onto his sleeve. Hinata looked up at neji. Neji halted and turned his head and stared at her wide-eyed and stunned.
"Erm...a...ano, are you alright neji-niisan?" hinata asked him timidly. Without realizing that the both of her hands tightened their grips, on his sleeve as well as the shopping bag which she was carrying.
"Eh? Oh… Yeah… Yeah, I'm just a little..." his sentence was cut short by a small sharp object slicing through between him and hinata. Neji hurriedly pushed hinata and plunged himself forward onto her. Causing them both to tumble onto the rough ground. Neji grabbed hinata's body and quickly rolled on his sides continuously as more shuriken came flying rapidly towards them.
As the final shuriken came flying towards them, neji swiftly took out his own shuriken and flung it directly into the oncoming one.
The sound of metal shuriken clashing against one another echoed through the park as the lights of the lampposts began lightening up one by one. Soon, the whole park was brightened up by the lights.
There she stood. Her hair swaying freely as the evening air blew passed her long dark raven hair. Her right hand swirling a shuriken mockingly and the other placed onto her left hip. She looked at him through lavender eyes, filled with hatred and disgust.
Neji quickly got back onto his feet and pulled hinata up gently before both of them converted their attention towards the freaking attacker.
"It looks to me that you've not learnt your lesson" she spoke coldly, directing the sentence towards neji.
"How many times must I tell you?"
"Get your filthy hands off my sister!" hanabi demanded angrily. Hanabi speedily dashed towards him as she performed the byakugan hand seal, activating her byakugan and hurling shuriken constantly at neji. He straightforwardly evaded them.
"Stop hanabi! Please stop!" hinata screamed hesitantly. Trying urgently to get to her sister who was obviously arrogantly ignoring her big sister's words.
"Hinata-sama, please move aside, I'll finish this quickly" neji ordered hinata callously as he lightly pushed her to the side. Hinata tried to stop him but neji ignored her too and went straight towards the center of the area.
Hanabi stopped right opposite him and positioned her body into the "gentle fist" style. One hand upfront and the other placed abreast her chest and both legs stood apart, signifying her readiness to attack.
"I've warned you didn't I? If you ever lay a finger on my sister again, I'll kill you" hanabi exclaimed fumingly.
"Ha…hanabi, neji-niisan, please stop!" hinata cried.
Once again, her words failed to get through to the two hot headed hyuuga.
Hanabi dashed forward towards neji and directly rained punches for his chakra holes but neji effortlessly dodged her attacks. She scanned for a venerable opening all over him but none came to view. She continued launching punches all over him, focally for his crucial chakra holes, but neji just simply slapped her hands away.
"How the hell am I suppose to hit him! I can't even lay a finger on him! That jerk had dodged every move that I've NOT even land on him…" hanabi thought tentatively.
"You may be a hyuuga genius but you're nothing in comparison to me hanabi-sama" neji sneered.
Hanabi discontinued her attacks and looked up towards neji, panting breathlessly. She stared at neji with eyes that stated hatred and disgust.
"Don't you ever compare me to someone like you! You maybe one of the brilliant ones of the hyuuga clan but unlike you, I am way higher than you. To the eyes of this family, you're nothing more than just a measly branch house member" scoffed hanabi.
The moment she finished her sentence, the whole atmosphere changed. Hinata viewed neji from the distance and felt as if a huge sword had just been stabbed into her. It seemed that neji was infuriated. The air surrounding him was not calm anymore. Hinata felt it.
Unable to keep his cool any longer, neji hastened towards hanabi in full force. Hanabi readied herself in a different position. She prepared herself in the jyuuken hou style and performed the Hakke Rokujuuyonshou. Neji countered the chakra needles with his Hakkeshou Kaiten but it was too late.
There, in between, without the two idiots realizing it, was hinata. She had run forward to stop the both of them but they were too caught up in their combat to hear her pleas nor noticed her protests. Hanabi's hakke attacks flung chakras needles through hinata's vital chakra holes and neji's attack sent her flying across the pavement with bruised body parts…
"Hinata-sama? Hinata-sama…!" that was what hinata heard before losing her conscious.
Hanabi was seating right beside the window. She had opened it to let some air into the room. The surroundings outside was still damp and the rain continued pouring down over the compound. She gradually converted her gaze towards her sister.
"Onee-san always loved the rain. I wonder why… I hate it when it rains" hanabi thought inwardly as she silently admired her elder sister.
Hinata blinked her eyes slowly before she opened them and looked at the person next to her. Hanabi felt happy and relieved when her sister had regained her conscious. Unexpectedly, hanabi went up towards her onee-san and gave her a hug. Hinata was surprised.
"Onee-san, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to hurt you!" hanabi cried apologetically as her embrace tightened. Hinata flinched because her whole body was hurting unbearably but she remained silent.
"Hanabi-chan, it's alright. Please don't cry." Hinata assured her younger sister as she tenderly stroked her back. Hanabi felt ashamed but she too felt overjoyed that her sister had actually given attention that she existed.
After all this time, hinata had actually exchanged words with her. Hanabi felt peaceful whenever her elder sister was with her but she was never good at expressing her contentment. They rarely met but when they did, hiashi-sama would be around and that created an uncomfortable atmosphere for them to communicate.
Father always advised her not to be near 'the weaklings' as they were nothing more than just trouble and hanabi knew too well who he meant. Her elder sister. Hanabi wanted greatly to be and to feel the love of her gentle onee-san. Her mother was gone and the only female who she'd preferred communicating with was with hinata onee-san.
Hanabi gently released her grasp from hinata and resumed to her upright sitting position. Hinata just gazed at her younger sister with eyes filled with understanding and love.
"So… how have you been?" hinata asked hanabi cagily.
"I've been fine onee-san. I came back as fast as I could the moment I returned from my training" hanabi responded.
"I see, that's great. Erm... You've sure grown hanabi-chan...Just lik.."
"Onee-san, why were you with neji?" hanabi asked warily.
"Eh? Oh… I… I wa…I was going out wit…" hinata tried to come up with a good explanation.
"onee-san, tell me the truth. Do you like him?" hanabi asked, more grudgingly.
"I mean, why? Why him of all people? Don't you remember when he tried to kill you! Of all people, why him! He's like a completely different person from you… don't you fear that he'll kill you the moment he'll marry you?" hanabi asked hinata hastily through teary eyes.
"He shouldn't have the right to marry someone like you! He's nothing more than a member of the branch fami…" hanabi exclaimed angrily.
"That's not true. Not true…neji-niisan changed. He's not like that anymore. Neji-niisan had changed. He's very kind towards me nowadays. He promised me. He promised…" hinata muttered apprehensively.
"Neji-niisan would never break his promises." Hinata finished.
"Don't you just get it? He's marrying you so that he'll be the leader of the clan. Not because he loves you! He's neji! What can you expect! I don't want you to suffer onee-san!" hanabi retorted defensively.
"Hanabi… that's not true. Neji-niisan has changed, something in me tells me that he has...he has changed. Please hanabi, don't misunderstand nii-san...nii-san is... nii-san is..." cried hinata as tears began trickling down her cheeks.
Hinata felt cornered. She never felt so confused since the last time she did. That was three years back and it was he who concealed her from her despair and took it away from her. Hinata just realized that after all these while, she never did ask neji if he'd love her...she was so blinded by the idea that if 'I love him, he'll love me'..Did he or didn't he?
"Onee-san… please don't go away…" hanabi cried softly. Her head lowered down, directing it towards the floor and hiding her tears, streaming down profusely, from hinata's view.
"…hanabi…?" hinata staggered.
"Onee-san, don't leave…don't leave me please. Firstly, chichie wouldn't allow me to be near you. Now that jerk low-life branch house member neji's gonna take you away from me…this is not fair...not fair...JUST NOT FAIR!" hanabi cried.
All of a sudden, hinata's door swung open and hiashi-sama came in, followed by neji.
gedembol notes: hello people, hey I apologized for not continuing the story earlier on was too packed up with other stuff lately and I've been kinda upset lately. Sorry sorry sorry, anyway, please enjoy the story. It'll be continued soon!