Thank you rcr ,Seshura, Endy's Girl and Blue Quartz Foxy for the reviews of the last chapter. It is good that Neji cares - even if he can be a bastard. And hey, Seshura, I read a little about Bipolar disorder and my brother thinks I have it. I have to admit, having nine symptoms in one and ten in the other, really does give him some ground to say, but if I was, I'm sure I'd be on meds already. As I'm not, I'm perfectly healthy, and, as I got Neji for my Naruto character test (I really couldn't help taking it. Lol), he can't be either. ;-) First time a reviewer made me look something up. Thanks. Anyway - next chapter.

NARUTO!

"What are you doing?"

Hanabi dived from the window sill, dropping the bag to the floor and spilling its contents. He glanced at the revealed medicines and herbs.

"You are not ill." He stated, simply.

"Get away from her, you monster!" She yelled, yanking him away. He let himself be pulled to his feet.

"What do you care? You hate her; correct?"

"When no one's looking, we're allowed to be sisters." She glared, taking Neji's previous seat and Hinata's hand. The seat was warm, he must have been there a while. "If you've touched her, I swear-"

"All I did was bring her here. However, I don't think that she should be without medical help." He turned, contemplating leaving. But would she really get the help she needs if he did that?

"She's been through worse." He could not help but feel that was a dig at him. He ignored it.

"How often does…this…" He refrained from gesturing, keeping his arms firmly at his sides. "Occur?"

"It hasn't been this bad for a long time." There was a pause. Before Hanabi questioned: "Why are you still here?"

"I am curious as to what you intend to do."

"I will make her remedies and give her medicines and she shall heal."

"Those supplies will do nothing for her. She's weak, injured and she's in pain."

Hanabi's head was close to vicious as she shook the negative. "No. She is strong. Strong in spirit and mind…and body." She mumbled the last part, as if she shouldn't have been saying it.

"Hinata isn't physically strong." He showed no emotion, it was, after all, merely a fact.

"She's gotten better." Hanabis voice rose, scolding him. "Don't call her weak when you know nothing. She trains all night when no one's watching and she can do things even you would never think of." For the first time, Neji saw mild admiration in the young Hyuuga's eyes. "But she won't show him. Not until it's inescapable to do so. Not until it's worth something against him."

"Then…why act so weak?" The idea to do so was preposterous to him. "Why carry on being pathetic and looked down upon with disgust?" His spite for her rose a little with his own words.

"Because." She was scolding again. Really, he was supposed to be the oldest and was acting like a wronged child, she thought. "If he knew, he'd want her to fight back harder. You should know Neji, what happens when a person fights back against someone wanting to hurt them."

"Has he done this to you also?" Neji asked, once again ignoring her insinuation.

"She won't let him." Hanabi turned back to her sister and used the bandage on the side table to soak up some moisture on her sweaty forehead.

"Then how do you know?"

"I've seen him. I always did think she was weak; before then."

"What happened?"

"She fought back. She tricked him and got me away. It was my fault. Mom was dead and I said some things that I probably shouldn't have. Dad was angry and I think, a little drunk. Usually it was Hinata he got angry at and hit, and I was fine with that, but, that time it was me. She actually reminded me a little of Mom. She stood up for me, right between us and didn't hesitate once. She just said: 'People have their own ways of dealing with grief; this is hers.'" Hanabi chuckled a little.

"I've heard that somewhere." His brows knitted.

"It's what Mom used to say to Dad about you. Well anyway. The next day she was lying here, like now…only somehow worse. She flinched so violently. I had never seen her so unemotional."

"How long-" He hesitated. Her mother had been dead a few years now. That meant before their match. She had said that he was suffering more. She had seemed so sure of herself. Yet how could that be true? "How long ago was this?"

"She was eleven."

"The stuttering?" It was more of a statement. The stuttering had definitely worsened in that year. He had put it down to another failure of the Hyuuga Heir. She had been entered into the academy and was only attending for a few weeks, when it flared up in full force. An inability to communicate with others, another weakness he could bask in.

"You noticed?" Either shock or hope glimmered in her eyes, but her voice gave nothing away. Hanabi was so much more harder to read than her sister. "She'll be pleased."

He cringed inside. "Not for the right reasons." It was just another excuse to hate her and a larger target he could aim at.

"But you care now right?"

He was silent.

"If you tell anyone, I'll kill you."

He looked down at her sharply, again mopping the older girl's forehead. Why? Why did he never care to notice? He was so focused on his own revenge that he was blind to all else. Briefly, an image of the traitor Sasuke flashed in his mind, and he hated it. Here he'd been waiting for her to break, to watch with a smile as she fell and something inside of her died, and yet, it was impossible. She had broke a long time ago.

Each day the innocent stuttering. Each morning the devoid shell. Each morning she was putting her broken pieces together, and each day it seemed that she had done it wrong somehow. She was overplaying her role, showing the world that she hadn't changed. But she had. This Hinata wasn't the shy girl he once knew. She was a girl clinging to anything pertaining innocence; everything she once was. The reason to hate her suddenly seemed so insignificant.

He walked to the upturned bag and gathered the things together, taking them to his little cousin. She was still a child in so many ways; entrusting him with something he could easily abuse. She smiled. A shadow of a smile, and definitely not Hinata's. He was helping. He supposed he did care. He was positive that no one had got so many conflicting emotions from him before.

He walked around to the other side of the bed and Hanabi passed him a towel. He took it and as gently as he felt he could, took the job of dabbing her forehead. They were letting him in and it felt…strange, to willingly be a part of something. A silence ensued as they both took a moment to look at the disturbed sleeping form, both Hyuuga's thoughts on how they helped what lead to this point. A rustle from Hanabi, before she breathed deep and with so much emotion, sighed:

"I hate him."

NARUTO!

Is it me or was that so angsty? I hope nothing was disappointing, but I though, like a bonding thing and a little history on how we got here was needed. Oh and someone wanted a longer chapter a little while back, so - present! This part is set about 10-15 minutes after the last one. And I don't think I put a disclaimer for this story anywhere, so:

Disclaimer: I own a bed, T.V, P.C, clothes and food. Other junk around my house probably counts too, but unfortunately, none of it has anything to do with Naruto.

PS: I had no time to proofread, sorry for any mistakes.