A/N: Danger is creeping up on Hinata…
miz: Hinata has that mark imprinted on her in Chapter 1 and she usually wear the head protector over her forehead to hide the mark (Chapter 4). That's why Kiba and Shino felt that something was wrong ^^ Neji didn't see the hickey but Tenten is up to no good in this chapter~
Imperial Dragon: Neji is engaged to Tenten because he is of marriageable age ._.
Deidara Luv3r: Yeah, Sakura and Ino provide comic relief xD
Fairie Illusion: Glad you like it :]
Awesomeness02: Yeah, it's so sweet ;P
ChocStraw: Thank you for reminding me about the eyes. I totally forgot about it and your review inspired me. So there'll be a shy moment for Hinata here~
in your dreams as well: Here's the latest chapter :D
Danger
The night was warm and heavy. The few cotton clouds scudding across the sky were lit up by the faint moonlight. Neji found himself followed by a very distinct half moon. Dogging his every step like some appointed guardian, the moon appeared to be involved in this conspiracy to capture the heir's heart. The streets were desolate as Neji trudged on. His footsteps rang hard against the pavement while he ignored the pair of heels clicking against the cement behind him. Another passerby.
Abruptly, the person behind Neji knocked into his back. "Gomenasai." The voice was like golden wind chimes. Although it wasn't a deliberate collision and more of an accidental bump, Neji couldn't forgive the person. It's not like there were no streetlights. Shouldn't we look ahead when we're walking?
Neji broke into one fluid turn. "Okay. You see—" He began and broke off short when he could distinctly see the culprit.
The culprit was a lady. Neji's eyes roamed over her face and body. She was certainly beautiful, with her finely curved figure and her rich indigo locks; all the innocence and purity of youth was reflected in her gentle black eyes. He noticed how the moonlight was reflected on her indigo colored hair, how her shining eyes sparkled like stars, how her lips were like red carnations. What a striking resemblance to Hidaka!
Neji was struck dumb with her appearance, as one astonished, and had not a word to say.
The person before Neji was like a picture of how Hidaka would look like in a dress.
A female Hidaka.
"I wasn't looking ahead because I was lost and I kept looking around for any street signs. It's dark and I'm s-scared… I'm sorry."
Even the way she stumbled over her words reminded Neji of his protector.
"N-No, it's okay. Are you new in Konoha? I haven't seen you before." Neji spoke as soon as he recovered from his surprise but the disbelief lingered in his mind. How could two unrelated people look so alike?
"Hai. I just arrived here in the morning. I'm currently staying at an inn. By any chance, do you know where is it?"
"Do you mean the Konoha Inn?" The lady nodded her head to Neji's question. "It's not far from here. I'll bring you there."
"Arigatou!" She clapped her hands in delight.
A brief silence passed over them as they fell into step with each other and were walking side by side down the pavement. Between the gusts of wind, every sound seemed horribly magnified; the crunching of their feet on the leaf-strewn path was deafening.
"So…" Neji broke the awkward silence.
"Hinata."
"Huh?" Neji stared at the lady with confusion evident on his face.
"I'm Hinata. What's your name?" A smile was dancing across her lips as she spoke.
"I'm Neji."
"Hajimemashite!"
"Nice to meet you too."
"So, what are you doing here at this time?" Hinata leaned with interest towards him.
"I'm about to head home." Neji simply replied and took a few steps away from the lady, ensuring that there was some distance between the two. She sure is curious. Does she behave like that to every person she meets for the first time? All these thoughts were driven from his head as he quickened his pace.
Hinata had been nervous to the extreme, and that, combined with her natural clumsiness, must have been the cause of what happened. Sakura and Ino knew that Neji would definitely passed through the secluded street in order to return to the Hyuga house. Hence, they deliberately waited in ambush at an inconspicuous corner so that Neji would not notice them. When Neji strolled past them, Sakura and Ino pushed Hinata towards him. Hinata, who was not accustomed to high heels, collided with Neji. She internally cursed herself for being a klutz.
"Here's the inn." Neji's voice brought Hinata back to the present moment as they stood before Konoha Inn.
The inn was beautiful and tall so was the surrounding buildings. There was a fountain in the junction, a round fountain spraying water in the shape of a dandelion gone to seed.
"If that's all, I shall leave."
"Matte!" Hinata tugged at Neji's sleeve just as he was about to leave. Neji turned around to face her with a quizzical expression.
"Neji-sa—Neji-kun, why don't we find a place to chat?" Hinata mentally slapped her forehead for almost letting the cat out of the bag.
Neji's eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed in thought. A questioning look. He couldn't have discovered it's me, could he?
All of a sudden, Hinata winced in pain and rubbed her right eye. It was the pair of contact lenses. Sakura and Ino had urged her to wear them so that Neji wouldn't find out that she was from the Hyuga Clan. Hinata felt uncomfortable wearing them because she had no experience whatsoever but for the sake of keeping her identity a secret, she persisted.
"Is something wrong?"
"Just some dust in my eye. That's all."
"Let me see it." Neji approached her, brushed her hand aside and inspected the sore eye. He then blew lightly at her eye to alleviate the pain, unaware that his gentleness caused an explosion of butterflies in Hinata's stomach and a blush to invade her cheeks. Neji-sama is as kind as ever…
"Much better?"
"Y-yeah. Arigatou."
After ensuring that Hinata's eye wasn't aching anymore, Neji glimpsed at the darkening sky, realizing that it was way past his expected time of arriving home. "Gomenasai but I have to go now." Neji gave Hinata a small smile, turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Hinata alone in the empty street.
No matter how much Neji tried to distract himself with other thoughts, the image of the female he met minutes ago kept reappearing in his mind. Why does she look exactly like Hidaka, minus the fact that it's a she? Even the way she acted was similar to Hidaka. Having the same politeness and all. He couldn't stop himself from caring for her when dust got into her eye. Perhaps, it was the resemblance to Hidaka that caused him to automatically react to her distress. The sole thought in his mind then was to help her. But…
Did she almost call him "Neji-sama," the way Hidaka usually addressed him? Or maybe she was just trying to say "Neji-san". Hmm… Are they twins? But it couldn't be. Neji knew that Hidaka only had a younger sister but that was all. He had never heard of Hidaka having a twin or any other siblings.
So why were the two alike?
"Great job, Hinata-chan!" Ino cheered.
Hinata smiled shyly at her friend's encouragement. A wave of yet more tender joy escaped from her heart and went coursing in warm flood along her arteries. She had performed two great feats today. One was to dress up as a girl in front of Neji-sama and the other was to call him "Neji-kun". Both were first-time experiences for her.
"But it seems like Neji-kun isn't attracted to you at all…" Hinata listened to Sakura's observation in worried silence.
"Don't worry. He needs more time. We'll try it again in a few days." Ino said in an assuring tone as she pushed Hinata towards the public restroom. "Why don't you change back first? Before anyone realizes Hidaka is gone." Hinata meekly accepted Ino's suggestion.
Unnoticed by the three girls, a certain jealous fiancée had been keeping an eye on them, well hidden in a corner. She was just a stone's throw away, allowing her to hear the whole conversation clearly. Wild flames of jealousy swept through her heart while a spasm of anger shook her. Her fists clenched but she resisted the urge to strike the impostor. If she reported this juicy news to them, they would make Hidaka's, no, Hinata's suffering increased by tenfold.
"Are you certain that you heard correctly?"
"I'm positive that everything I reported is absolutely true."
"Okay. You're dismissed for now. We'll summon you if we need anything."
Tenten bowed her head and left the room.
The relative silence in the room was only interrupted by the hushed whispers. The elders were discussing in groups of twos and threes as to what they should do.
"Hizashi must not know of this. If he knew that Hidaka was actually a girl, he may carry out what he actually planned years ago. To marry a lowly branch house member to the heir. He will definitely endeavor to achieve his goal of fostering strong ties between main house members and branch house members. To promote equality." The most experienced elder spoke with the ring of command; his words spelled authority to everyone.
Another round of muttering enveloped the room as nods of agreement were reflected on all the elders' faces.
"But first, we should find the doctor that helped Hiashi's wife in the childbirth process to confirm Tenten's report. If the report is valid, we will have to annihilate Hidaka at all costs." The experienced elder was always the voice of reason.
Hizashi pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He had been fully occupied for the past few days with the clan's business. Just a few minutes ago, the elders informed him of more tasks for the following weeks. Hizashi protested, well aware that these tasks weren't urgent but they insisted that he finished them as soon as possible. If they didn't appear sincere, he would have thought that they were trying to keep him busy.
"Hizashi? Is that you?" A woman around his age approached him, causing Hizashi to stop short in his tracks.
"Uh. Do I know you?" Hizashi raised an eyebrow, clearly not recognizing the woman.
"Have you forgotten? I helped one of your clan members to give birth. It's me. Doctor Suzuki."
"Doctor Suzuki?" The name brought memories boiling to the surface. Doctor Suzuki had frequently visited the Hyuga clan because at that time, Hiashi's and Hajime's wives were pregnant. Hizashi recalled the day he proposed his plan. A memory that he wanted to forget because of his failure in pursuing his dream.
Noticing the distressed look on Hizashi's face, Doctor Suzuki patted his shoulder. "Daijoubu?"
"I'm fine. It's just that I thought of some unhappy things."
"Oh…" She could not finish, lost for words and lapsed into silence.
"Why don't we have dinner together?" Hizashi offered, noticing that it was really late and that he was starving. It would be an opportune chance to catch up with old friends, though they weren't really close.
"Sure!"
The two then entered the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. After ordering two bowls of ramen, they had small talk about how they've been and what they've been occupied with. Doctor Suzuki had left Konoha for a few years to pursue better medical techniques and had returned here recently as an even more accomplished doctor.
"So how's the girl?" Doctor Suzuki randomly asked while eating.
"What girl?"
"Hinata-chan. The child that I helped to bring into the world." Violent joy surged through Doctor Suzuki as she reminisced. Every detail of the surgery was etched upon her memory. "In fact, that was my first surgery. I'll never forget it. I remembered that I was so nervous but everything was worth it when the baby girl giggled at me. Oh, she was so adorable! I think that in the midst of bringing her into the world, I formed an unbreakable connection with her. After all, I'm the first person to see her. By the way, do you know why Hinata-chan's father wanted me to change her gender on her birth certificate? He only said something like his child will be in grave danger. I couldn't reject him. He was begging me, like literally. Even her name had to be changed."
Hizashi wasn't paying her much attention except for the words "Hinata-chan" and "baby girl" which his ears automatically absorbed. He assembled the information he received about the girl piece by piece. Doctor Suzuki saw Hizashi's reaction, saw the sequence of expressions passing across his face almost too quickly to identify. Blank shock, disbelief – and then dawning joy.
"Excuse me but I have some urgent matters to attend to." Hizashi gave her a nod and swiftly exited, not bothering to finish his meal.
As soon as Hizashi left Ichiraku Ramen Bar, a group of menacing men entered the place. They narrowed their eyes at Doctor Suzuki, surrounded her and dragged her out into a secluded spot.
"Oneesan, the bathroom is available," Hanabi informed Hinata. Having just bathed, Hanabi's dark brown hair was still wet and her long bangs hung in streaks in front of her eyes.
"I'm coming." Hinata gathered the necessary toiletries and gave her sister an affectionate smile as she passed by her.
When Hinata disappeared from the room, Hanabi sat on the futon, dried her hair with her towel and hummed her favorite tune. Suddenly, cries of distress and moans of pain could be heard. Hanabi tilted her head reflexively in the direction of the bloodcurdling cries of terror, threw her towel on the floor and darted out of the room.
Pale fear assailed Hanabi at the scene before her. The scene spoke volumes of what happened: a masked man was attacking her elder sister.
Hinata's struggles were feeble as the masked man forced her to the ground. She was a strong girl but he was far stronger, his muscles bunching under his shirt as he pinned her. He landed a blow in her stomach, causing her to scream as pain shot through her stomach. Involuntarily, she coughed up the crimson liquid that stained her clothes. Unable to move a muscle, Hinata's breath was labored and she lingered close to death.
He was standing with his head thrown back, legs slightly apart, like a conqueror putting his foot on the neck of the conquered. Those night-black eyes were hot with triumph. Then, he put the defeated in a sack and hoisted it on his back.
Hanabi, who was dumbstruck the entire time, now forced her arms and legs to move, to protect her sister. "Who are you? Put oniisan down!" Hanabi, though not proficiently trained in the ninja techniques, dashed at full speed at the attacker without hesitation.
In response, the masked man ran with incredible swiftness towards the fortified walls encircling the Hyuga house. He effortlessly jumped onto the top of the wall and disappeared into the darkness.
Neji walked slowly down the corridor as if under a cloud of sufferance. His mind was still working at top speed in an attempt to unravel the mystery of Hidaka's look-alike. It was impossible to set down the innumerable crowd of thoughts that whirled through that great thoughtfare of the brain. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a dark brown head disappearing down the corridor quickly. It was his father. On second thought, he felt that his father, who was more experienced, might have solutions to this problem. Thus, he chased after his father who seemed to be in a hurry because his pace did not slow down one bit.
Find Hiashi.
That was the sole thought in Hizashi's mind when he heard the news from Doctor Suzuki. All he needed to do now was to confirm what she said. It only took Hizashi half an hour to return to the Hyuga house but he was already panting. Well advanced in years, Hizashi's stamina was not as good as before. After taking a deep breath to calm his breathing, he entered Hiashi's room.
"Hizashi, what are you doing here at this time? It's already night time," Hiashi asked, evidently surprised at the arrival of the Head of the Hyuga Clan at his humble abode.
"I need an honest answer from you, Hiashi." Hiashi was taken aback by Hizashi's serious tone. Whatever it was that Hizashi wanted, it seemed to be of utmost importance.
"Is Hidaka female?"
Hiashi's jaw fell open. He floundered around in his head, trying to remember how to close it. "W-What are you saying? That's ridiculous. Hidaka is my son." He pronounced each word completely, deliberately putting emphasis on the last word.
"I met Doctor Suzuki. She told me everything. Hinata. That's her real name, right?"
"Huh? Uh…" Fear and a sick sense of dismay swelled Hiashi's throat and cut his words off. He couldn't even think of a refutation.
Images ripped through Neji's mind as they crashed upon him wave after wave.
An image revealed the time when he placed his hand on Hidaka's forehead to measure his temperature and Hidaka immediately flushed, a crimson shade appearing on his cheeks.
Another image displayed the time when he was topless at the resort and told Hidaka to go to the onsen. On that occasion, Hidaka stammered more than usual while the pink patches on his cheeks glowed brightly and intensified.
One image portrayed the time when he gave Hidaka a piggyback ride. When he heard Hidaka's erratic pulse, he chuckled under his breath, ensuring that it was inaudible so Hidaka couldn't hear him. At that point in time, he thought that his protector was probably nervous.
The final image depicted the scene a while ago, the same image that was swirling in his mind for the past few minutes. The female Hidaka.
So Hidaka is Hinata. And Hinata is Hidaka. The two are one. The same person. How could I have been so stupid, not to discover this sooner?
He was delirious with elation. His heart beat with delight. He was throned on highest bliss. A smile of pure ecstasy spread across his face as he felt the entire burden accumulated over the years being lifted off him, all the entangled knots were being unraveled. Finally, he could confirm his feelings bravely.
"Otousan! Oniisan was kidnapped by a masked man!" Hanabi shouted as she came running towards Hiashi. The edge of panic in her voice was unmistakable.
Glossary
Arigatou: Thanks
Hajimemashite: Nice to meet you
Matte: Wait
Daijoubu?: Are you okay?
Read and review please! The next chapter will be the last chapter xD
