I thank LexKixAss for letting me steal her twins for my story. As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.
Hyobe watched the family eating breakfast together in the next room. So relaxed —relieved. They'd been through difficult times, but survived. Mother, father . . . sister, brother . . . as perfect a family unit as any in the village. As indistinguishable as any other family. Too indistinguishable. He'd fought so hard to keep them separate, yet even he was having difficulty remembering three of them didn't belong in that house. Neji, too skilled; Hizashi, too capable; Naomi, too loving. They would have made the perfect clan head family. But only one of them belonged in that family, and if even Hyobe struggled to keep them apart, then the clan was forgetting as well.
His decision to train Neji didn't help matters. But the boy had taught himself too much already. Hyobe couldn't let such talent go to waste. He also couldn't risk the branch family believing they could learn such techniques on their own. Hyobe had to maintain that those techniques could only belong to those of main family blood. Neji was unique, but that he came to Hyobe in need of help at least displayed to the clan that the techniques were dangerous and must be taught. That he was technically of the main family bloodline (only one generation out) added to the rarity of his case. Though, in truth, he needed little direction on the basics. Neji may have been concerned, but he'd taught himself very well. He would excel under Hyobe's guidance. And with that tutelage more in the clan would choose to forget that under his forehead protector Neji still bore the seal. They wondered why he was not heir.
If Hyobe left such thoughts to brew the division between main and branch would fade, and no matter what that happy family in there thought, that division had to be maintained. Branch could not be main, and though he'd intended to wait, Neji's revelation now forced Hyobe to remind the clan —and himself— who the heir was.
Whatever pleasant chatter that had drawn smiles to their faces turned to nervous silence as Hyobe entered the room. He stood apart from them, not belonging, as he was meant to be.
"Father," Hizashi said, his voice neutral but his eyes guarded. Beside him Naomi rested her hand on Neji's, the only child she had in reach. It was a defensive instinct, a maternal one.
"Hizashi, Naomi." Hyobe nodded to each in turn. "I need the main house cleared out of all branch family for the next week."
Hizashi and Naomi shared a glance before Hizashi stood and attempted to usher Hyobe back into the other room. Hyobe did not move.
"Father, what is this about?" Hizashi whispered so the children wouldn't hear.
When Hyobe answered, it was loud enough for the entire room. "As I said, I need the branch family cleared out; that includes you, Naomi, and Neji. I'm sure Hinata and I will manage on our own for a week."
"Father," Hizashi pressed, still silently imploring Hyobe to speak as softly as he did. "What is the meaning of this? Hinata's still recovering. She doesn't need you stressing her like this."
"There is one thing that only Hinata is allowed to learn," Hyobe said, pushing Hizashi aside with an unimpeded gesture. "I'm getting older and the opportunity has presented itself. I need privacy to teach her."
Fear filled his son's eyes. Fear and the need to protect as Hizashi looked on the confused girl still sitting at the table. "No," Hizashi said, "she's too young. She's not ready for that. Father, let her heal, give her a few more years. Not even Hiashi learned it until he was eighteen."
"And if Hiashi were here to teach her, I would. But he's not. I'm the only person who's left to teach her, and as much as I'd like to think I'll be here forever, I can't risk it." Hyobe moved to stand behind his granddaughter and felt her stiffen when he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now, gather what you'll need. I expect the house cleared by lunch."
As much as Hinata wanted to go be with the others as they reluctantly did as ordered and began packing up what they'd need for the week, Hyobe held her back with him. It wasn't so much a gesture for her or Hizashi, Naomi, and Neji (they wouldn't break the family bond because of such a show). It was for the servants running about preparing the house, the branchers who had gotten so used to Hinata being part of that family. It was for them to return to the branch house and tell what was happening and remind the clan who the only legitimate heir would ever be.
"Do you know what I'm going to be teaching you, Hinata?" Hyobe asked once the house was empty. It was the first thing he'd said directly to her.
Hinata nodded but refused to look up at him. Once again unable to meet him as she should. "The only thing Uncle Hizashi can't learn is the seal."
"That's correct. Every branch child must be sealed between the ages two and four, depending on the development of their chakra pathways. And in one week, Izumi and Kenji's first born, Ran, will be sealed. She is two years old. I guarantee you will never forget her for the rest of your life, because you will seal her."
"Me?" Hinata finally looked up to him, lips trembling ever so slightly. She was too young he knew, but he had no choice.
"Unless I feel the attempt would cause harm to the child, yes. Ran will be your first sealing."
Hinata gripped her chest as the fear moved past her face and filled her whole shaking body. It was what he had feared, what he had tried his best to fix, but it seemed only experience would help her.
The head of the family bowed to no one, but as heir she was by right his equal and so Hyobe knelt down so she could not look away from him. "You think me cruel, Hinata, and you would be right. I have been cruel to you. Demanded much and censured your failures. Part of that was because you needed to excel and weren't. But I also needed to harden that softness in you that everyone else loves so very much. The seal separates us, not only for those who wear it but also for those few of us who must place it. We must be able to withstand all the branch's resentment and anger and still remain strong, because they need someone to hate. They need a person that they can direct all that anger about the seal towards, and who better than the person who takes their child from them and causes it pain.
"Right now you aren't capable of that. And I fear this is going to be exceptionally difficult for someone with such a tender heart. That is one of the reasons I have tried to get you to accept cruelty. But you never did. You let it fester and grow like a cancer inside you, weakening you. And if you can't harden yourself against one person, over the decades the clan will slowly eat you away to nothing."
Unable to turn away, Hinata dropped her gaze and curled into herself. Distancing herself from him and his words. She didn't have the disposition to lead. She wanted too much for people to like her. How would she ever take a child from his parents and seal him?
Hyobe sighed and stood up again. "If you were anyone but the heir you would be . . . wonderful."
Hinata looked up —slowly, as if she couldn't believe what she heard— and on her face was surprise, uncertainty, and an expression he'd never witnessed before: hope. If only she weren't heir.
"You are kind, compassionate, and have the ability to forgive even the most egregious wrong against you without holding hate in your heart. If you were anyone else, those are traits to be commended, but they are not traits for a clan head. I had hoped you'd eventually take after Neji with the way you idolized him when you were young, but as you got older . . . I thought giving you to Hizashi was better; I had forgotten how to be a father, having spent so long thinking only what was best for the clan. I thought a child raised in a family would be better for the clan. But perhaps I shouldn't have brought them to the main family, then the temptation wouldn't be there."
"Temptation?" Whether it was from one of the first compliments he'd ever offered or the honesty he had to give her to prepare her for the sealing, Hinata didn't pull away from him.
"The temptation to see you as one of them, because you would be the perfect second child and Neji the ideal heir. Besides being skilled, he has the practicality and resolve to handle the pressures and difficult choices that are demanded of a clan head, while you have the compassion and empathy to temper his judgment with mercy. That is the ideal sibling pair for the main family. And the more you both fit those roles, the harder it is to not want those roles to be filled. Neji may be what the clan needs as a future leader, but it's not possible, and it's important everyone remembers that. Those who bear the seal cannot command it. It's time you are seen as the heir."
Hyobe motioned for Hinata to follow him through the empty halls. "The seal that you are aware of, that the clan knows, is only half of the sealing. The branch family receives the seal that can be activated, but the clan head receives one as well, the one that activates it."
"But the main family is never sealed," Hinata said.
"Not all seals remain visible once placed," Hyobe explained as they entered his study. "If all it took to activate the seal was a hand sign it would be a liability. A second seal is passed from clan head to heir that connects them to the branch's seal. That is what allows the clan head, and the clan head alone, to activate the seal."
He led her to a large ornate trunk and opened the lid. Placing his palm against the underside, Hyobe released a short burst of chakra that seeped into unseen cracks in the wood. He pressed lightly on the revealed panel and felt it give. Inside rested an old scroll, as old as the Hyuuga clan itself. Chakra filled lettering protected it from prying eyes should it ever be taken from the safety of the clan.
"Only someone bearing the seal given to the clan head can open this scroll," he explained, motioning for Hinata to kneel before him. Carefully he removed the physical seal, while the unseen chakra yielded to his own and allowed him to unroll the aged parchment. "This is the only written teaching of the seal. Once you are made clan head it will be your duty to keep this and teach it to your first born. We will be going over this meticulously, because even the slightest error in placing the seal can cause immense pain or even harm to the child it's being placed on. Pain is a part of the sealing, but we try to limit that to only what can't be avoided."
He turned the partially unfurled scroll so that Hinata could examine its contents and waited for her reaction. She was quiet, but she was always quiet; that alone told him little. The tentative curiosity in her gaze was surprising, as was the small glimmers of recognition when she came upon a facet she understood. But there was something in the tenseness of her face, the slight biting of her lower lip that kept her from leaning closer. Finally, without daring a glance up at him, she asked, "How much does it hurt?"
"More than any clan head wishes to inflict on his people. Some will scream. They all will cry. You must prepare yourself for that, because you must be resolved. You cannot show them pity or empathy. If they see those, all it will make them do is wonder even more why you aren't stopping it. It will cause them to hate you more. At least when we are resolved they understand this is for a purpose: to protect the clan."
With a gentle touch, Hinata edged the scroll open wider. She still refused to look at him. "Will mine hurt?"
"Some. Not as much as the branch's; it enters different pathways," Hyobe answered, modestly pleased she wasn't recoiling. He observed her interest in the scroll scrupulously. There was still hesitation, but that was an emotional reaction: the repulsion gained from living too closely with the branch family. But sneaking into her eyes was a more intellectual interest in the mechanics laid out before her. Hyobe hadn't expected that. "Do you understand any of what this scroll says?"
Gingerly, Hinata nodded. "It's showing the pathways in the brain that it connects to. Parts enter through byakugan's main pathways, the rest enters . . ." Hinata opened the scroll further, her brow furrowed in confusion, as if it were a question on a test she knew the answer to but couldn't fully remember. "I understand why it enters into the occipital lobe, since that's the primary pathway that feeds byakugan, but why does it connect so strongly with the brain stem? None of the visual cortex is located there."
A slight, unexpected smile formed on Hyobe's face. Hinata, he remembered, had been trained by Yumi for a while in basic medical jutsu. She'd studied her mother's books like they were holy. Her jyuuken and her leadership may be lacking, but Yumi's teachings had unintentionally prepared her to learn the seal. She'd probably have the dexterity and precision needed to place it as well. He had expected her to resist and fight learning the seal, and yet on an almost academic level she appeared intrigued. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but —perhaps— it was a start.
"Do you know what the brain stem does control?" Hyobe asked, all censure gone from his voice.
Hinata looked up, not at Hyobe but searching her memory. "A bit of motor function . . . movement . . . but mainly vitals . . ." Hinata nodded. "Yes, the brain stem controls breathing and heart rate."
Hyobe didn't need to answer her question. The realization widened her pale eyes and she retreated from the scroll. What curiosity that had been gaining power in her countenance vanished beneath the horror of the seal once more, or perhaps it was the disgust that she'd been interested in it.
"That's how you can kill someone with the seal," she whispered.
Hyobe nodded. "That's right. That's the part of the seal that the clan head can activate. The physical pain occurs where the seal itself is placed, but the actual damage is located in the brain. A short burst is only temporary pain, prolonged activation ultimately leads to destruction of the brain stem, which controls vital functions of the body."
"Isn't there any way to have the seal without the pain?" Hinata pleaded, her gentle weakness asserting itself better than any of the confidence she needed.
With measured intent, Hyobe moved the scroll closer to her and continued to unroll it. "As you will learn, Hinata, there isn't."
Isamu looked at the clock for the twentieth time in the last hour; for some reason time just refused to move. Osamu leaned back against the gate wall, eyes closed, though Isamu knew his brother wasn't sleeping. He just wasn't in the mood to joke around today; neither was Isamu, really. They did their best to be the clan's sense of humor at times, but when the entire clan 'wasn't in the mood' it was hard to stay chipper. The reason for the clan's seriousness didn't help any, especially for them; they knew Hinata too well. They cared about her too much not to wonder how it would affect her — change her.
Isamu sighed and checked the clock again. It hadn't changed.
"Stop worrying so much. It's only been three days," Osamu chided lightly, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"I'm not worrying," he lied.
Osamu snorted. "You've been fussing and fretting like a little old lady."
Isamu muttered beneath his breath and shifted to look out at the empty road.
"Case in point," Osamu continued. "You need to relax a little. We can't do anything to help her until it's over."
"Do you really think anything will be able to help her? Sealing someone at her age? You really think she's going to be able to handle that?"
Osamu opened his eyes finally and gazed toward the main house. "I'm more worried what Hyobe-sama will do if she can't go through with it. I mean can you imagine Hinata-sama taking a kid from his parents?"
"So in other words she's damned if she does and she's damned if she doesn't," Isamu joked, though it was a bitter jest.
Osamu shrugged. "Like I said, nothing we can do until it's over."
He knew what his brother said was true, but for all their ability to stand guard all day, the twins weren't inactive people. When there were problems they preferred to do something about it, not just stand there and watch. Osamu had a bit more patience at least. This waiting didn't suit Isamu at all.
Isamu was checking the clock for the thirtieth time when Osamu inhaled a deep hiss. "This will be interesting."
"What?" Isamu asked, craning his head around to see what his brother did. It made him cringe.
Heading straight for the gate were Kiba and Shino, Akamaru padding along at their feet. They'd heard from last night's watch the two had come by to see Hinata. The guards hadn't told them what was going on (that was clan matters), but no doubt a second refusal was going to raise some questions.
"Hey," Kiba called out as Akamaru trotted ahead to sniff around just inside the gate. The pup did it every time they came by, searching for Hinata's scent amidst the numerous Hyuugas coming and going each day.
Osamu held out a casual hand to stop them from crossing into the compound, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry guys, Hinata-sama can't see anyone today. Actually, she won't be seeing anyone for the next few days."
"What the hell's going on in there?" Kiba huffed. "Why can't we see her?"
"Is she in any danger from her wounds?" Shino asked.
Isamu swore Kiba's ears actually perked up at that. "Wait, she said she was healing?"
"Hinata-sama's healing fine," Isamu corrected before they had a couple angry dogs on their hands. "Clan issues are going on right now. That's it."
"Clan issues?" Shino repeated.
"Yeah," Osamu said, "And I'm afraid that's all you're getting from us. If Hinata-sama tells you, that's up to her."
Kiba growled and shoved his hands into his pockets. "When's that gonna be?"
"Saturday," Isamu said before his brother could offer a more vague answer. "Be here about noon."
Osamu quirked his brow at Isamu but remained quiet until Kiba and Shino reluctantly departed. "Do you really think that was a smart move? Hinata-sama might not be up to visitors."
"And you think she'll want the clan? Even Neji or us? We might not judge her, but we know what it means. They don't. They won't care what it means to the clan; they'll only care about her."
Osamu shook his head and chuckled to himself. "You just couldn't wait till it was over to help her?"
Isamu smiled. "I'm a very impatient person."
For the first time, Hinata truly surprised Hyobe. She may have hated the seal and a certain level of revulsion never left her face, but she was talented with it. Yumi's medical training had given her an understanding of chakra pathways beyond a normal jyuuken user, and when she wasn't directly studying the part that was activated, Hinata showed genuine interest in the intricacy of the seal's design. After the first day she even began asking him questions without fear softening her voice. Of all he expected her to show an aptitude in, the seal had been low on his list. Hyobe had to wonder if even Hiashi had taken so well to learning it; his son had been skilled no doubt and older than her, but the seal required a certain delicacy which Hinata excelled at. He had not praised her so much in all her years of training as he did that week.
That was perhaps why he resisted so much as the week progressed. Hyobe had intended to place the main family seal on her early in the week, to get it over with as it were, yet as she opened up to his teaching he continued to push it off. He knew once he placed that seal, once she remembered that it would be her duty and her right to inflict pain on her clan if needed, all that willingness she showed, the ease with which he finally interacted with his granddaughter, would disappear. And the father who'd lost one son and pushed the other away —the grandfather unable to show care to a girl not up to her title— did not want the short time to end. For when they left that house, back to the ever-watching eyes of the clan looking to him to know how ready their heir was, the familial bond he'd sacrificed once before for the sake of the clan would again be gone, and all the praise he had for her now would be forgotten in the wake of her deficiencies.
But their seclusion was limited, and too soon he had to finish what he'd begun. They had to return to the clan, and the good of the clan always came first. Yet he was right. The openness she'd finally offered him faded along with the seals on her skin and the pain he inflicted. She rubbed her skin, not as if it hurt, but as if something terrible was beneath it and she wanted it out. Because of her age, he told himself . . . because he would have no other chance . . . because she deserved to hear it just once in her life . . . he knelt before her, took her face in his hands, and kissed her on her forehead. A single grandfatherly gesture to last a lifetime. "I am sorry. I had envisioned such a different life for you."
Hinata looked him in the eye, so rare an act it silenced him. "I'm sorry I didn't live up to it. I've been trying."
"I know," Hyobe said, standing up and returning the distance between them that had been welcomingly absent that week. "Unfortunately trying isn't always an option for you. And today is one of those days. Today you must succeed in being the heir to the clan. You must be resolved to do what must be done. You cannot shirk this duty. You cannot cry before them and ask their forgiveness. The child must be sealed, and you must show them in your every action that you are competent to do it with as little suffering as you can offer. And Hinata," —he smiled as he gazed down on the nervous girl beside him— "you are. You can place the seal; now convince them."
"What do I say to them?" Hinata asked, her gaze pleading with him to tell her some magical way to make this better.
"Most won't expect anything said. They know why they've brought the child there and they know what it will go through. Just ask for Ran to come with you. Show her strength, so she can trust that you know what you're doing. Any show of uncertainty will frighten her and worry her parents." Hyobe pushed Hinata's back so she stood up straight, head raised. "Do not look down. Silence your face. When they look at you they shouldn't be able to read anything. Just take Ran by the hand and lead her to the sealing room."
Hyobe watched her with an un-shown anxiety. The sealing itself he was confident she would be able to do, but facing the family —taking the child— that was what he feared would break her. The first sealing is always an ordeal, but if she didn't hold her own against them, the clan might not learn to trust her in the sealing. It was hard enough for them to trust her to lead them one day, but if they feared for their children tensions would rise.
"If you have trouble keeping calm, put your hands behind your back and fist them," he suggested, having no magic to offer other than distraction. "Focus all your tension there to keep the rest of you stable."
Hinata nodded. There was no point in drawing this out any longer. He'd already received word that Izumi and Kenji were on their way; they should be arriving at any moment. The sooner they began, the sooner this event would be over. He motioned for Hinata to follow him through the empty halls that would soon be bustling with servants again. Hyobe had been prepared to help Hinata through a relatively routine exchange of the child, but before they even opened the door leading to the front he knew this was going to be anything but routine.
"No, I didn't agree to this! This is not what you told me!" a woman's voice screamed from the yard.
Hinata looked up to him, confusion in her already nervous eyes. Hyobe hardened his face, holding her back until she took a deep breath, put her hands behind her back, and did the same. It wasn't perfect, but at least she wasn't cringing. So long as she didn't turn around and show everyone her hands shaking they might just get through this.
Beyond the shoji doors waited Kenji, Izumi, and Ran. The hysterical voice they'd heard from within belonged to Izumi, an out-of-claner who'd married in, and the near-frantic woman clutched her daughter to her chest as if everyone around her was trying to rip them apart. Beside them Kenji struggled to keep his wife calm, fear leaking into his eyes with every word she screamed.
"Kenji, Izumi," Hyobe said, hoping to at least not agitate her anymore.
"She is not taking my child," Izumi snapped, taking a step back as they emerged.
Kenji's terrified gaze flashed to him before reaching out to plead with his wife. "Please, Izumi, you know she has to be sealed."
"No!" Izumi shrieked. "I agreed to a lot when I married you, because I knew how much this clan means to you, and I agreed to this idiotic sealing because you said it was necessary to protect the clan —that she'd be in more danger without it— but you told me she'd be sealed by the head of the clan, by someone who knew what they were doing. I will not let her be a test for a child who's never done it before!"
Ran whimpered and cried in her mother's arms; the woman didn't even realize she was making it worse for her daughter by fighting it. This was more than he'd intended Hinata to have to face. Hysterical families were rare, but even long time clan heads had to tread carefully to keep the entire branch family from blowing up because of it.
"Izumi, if I thought Ran was in any danger I wouldn't let Hinata do this."
She glared at Hyobe with the kind of open hatred only those married into the clan dared show him. "I don't care. I'm not letting a child do this to my daughter. You do it or I don't hand her over."
This was not going well. No parent wanted their child to be the first an heir seals, but Hinata's age made it even more difficult. Normally an heir didn't learn until they were nearing the age to take over the clan; whatever their actual abilities, they at least look competent to handle the task. It was easy to understand why a parent, especially an out-of-claner who didn't fully understand Hyuuga traditions, would find her age disqualifying no matter her actual skill. Kenji must have agreed, since though he attempted to calm his wife, he was not willing to take the child from her. He didn't want Hinata to seal her either.
Perhaps learning the seal would have to be enough of a demonstration for the clan until another child, a fully Hyuuga child, was ready for the sealing. A transfer was difficult enough, but the parents gave them willingly. If he forced that girl from her mother's arms there would be backlash from the branch family. The branch might think he enjoyed flaunting his power over them, and yes he had the right, but sometimes it was better to avoid the conflict.
"I can do it."
Everyone's eyes fell on the girl he hadn't expected to speak a word. Hinata stood, back straight, arms relaxed at her side. Her face was beautifully blank, only the slight contracting of the muscles in her neck betrayed the tension she felt.
"I'm young," she said, her voice surprisingly even, "but I know the seal. I understand it and I can place it. Please trust me. I'll take care of her."
Hyobe waited, watching the family's reaction. Izumi didn't appear to have much faith in Hinata's assurances. Kenji, however, examined Hinata very cautiously. His eyes stayed low, passing from Hinata to his daughter still clinging in Izumi's protective hold. That uncertain gaze finally settled on Hyobe — an unspoken question being asked. Is she ready?
Hyobe answered with a short nod, leaving Kenji to stare his options down. With soft words and tender hands, Kenji held his wife close and whispered in her ear. She shook her head and her face screamed more than her voice, but Kenji slowly pulled his daughter away.
"Trust me," Kenji said as their daughter screamed and cried in his arms. He stepped toward Hyobe, but a quick glance from the old clan head reluctantly turned him to Hinata.
"Kenji, please," Izumi called, her body rigid.
Hinata raised her arms to take the child from him, not a muscle shaking with weakness. "I'll take care of her."
Hinata couldn't run. She had to walk, calmly, with a study stride. The clan was watching. She had to . . . she had to maintain. And she had to get out. Get away. From everyone . . . from their eyes.
And yet the compound seemed to go on and on. With people she didn't want to see her. Neji . . . Naomi . . . Hizashi . . . her family . . . she wanted her family but she couldn't look at them. Because she was blank, and she had to remain blank or she'd break down in front of the entire clan. To get out she'd have to see more she didn't want to. Isamu . . . Osamu . . . they were so good to her. She didn't want them to see her. They were all branch and she . . . wasn't. She wasn't.
Hianta stopped short of the gate and simply stared for a moment. A pleasant yapping got louder as Akamaru bounded for her, so happy to see her after what she just did. Hinata slowly picked him up, running her fingers through his soft white fur.
"Hinata, it's about time," Kiba called from the gate.
She didn't look away from him. All her focus was on him and Shino as she walked, faster and faster toward them until she was there and past and running away with Akamaru still in her arms. Their screams and footsteps followed her, but she had to get away from the compound as fast as she could. Because just looking at them made her feel safe, and she wanted so much to just let go of the control she'd forced herself to maintain up to then.
"What the hell is going on?!" Kiba overtook her and forced her to stop, immediately backing up. "Wait, why are you crying? What's going—"
"What did you do now, Kiba?" Shino questioned when he caught up.
"I didn't do it. She was like that."
Hinata clung to Akamaru until he whined in her arms, small paws pressed against her chest. She couldn't stop the tears now that they'd started, not after holding everything in for so long. Seeing Izumi protect her daughter, taking Ran and not being able to even comfort her. "She kept screaming, 'Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!' the whole time. She screamed and cried, and he had to hold her down just so I . . . so I could . . ."
Shino and Kiba exchanged a nervous glance before Shino asked, "What's happened?"
"He— I— She was only two and I . . . I sealed her."
"You mean . . . sealed?" Kiba motioned to his forehead.
She nodded, staring, begging them not to hate her the way the branch family would. Pleading for something she couldn't name, but was there —somewhere— with them. "I told them I'd take care of her, but I didn't. I put the seal on her and I couldn't even tell her it would be okay, because I knew it was going to hurt. I knew it wasn't going to be okay for her. Nothing I did helped. Nothing stopped her screaming. I just had to do it. And he praised me. He praised me for doing a good job, and I liked it because he never praises me. But it was for that! How can I look at them now? Any of them."
Not knowing what else to do, Hinata dropped her head against Kiba's shoulder and wept. She just wanted to stop feeling like the monster in the story.
"Let's go."
They both turned to Shino. "Wh—what?"
He looked west, towards the village line. "I need to train. It would be better away from here, and I could use help. It may even take until the final matches."
"Yeah," Kiba agreed, quicker than she'd ever seen them agree before. "Yeah, you can't do that without us. Let's get out of here. Right, Hinata?"
That was it. That was the something she wanted. Escape. Even if it was just a short time —a day, a week— it was enough. She needed to get away.
"Let's go."
Hyobe was used a certain level of tension between himself and his son's family, but when they returned to a house empty of their would-be daughter it was downright hostile. They were not as pleased by Hinata's accomplishment as he was. But then they were branch. They wanted to keep her thinking she was the same as them. To know she finally understood the necessity acting main family was more than he anticipated. Her quick departure was unfortunate, though not unexpected. He knew it was going to be hard on her to accept the sealing, but had he known what it was going to be like, Hyobe would have done the sealing himself. A first sealing should be as routine as possible, not the difficult families or the children that fight the entire time. It just made Hinata's ability to control herself that much more impressive. It also made her need to get away and release everything she'd suppressed that much more understandable.
It was nearly dinner time when one of the gate guards came in. Hyobe never cared much to tell them apart, though he kept tabs on them here and there since Hinata had a passing friendship with them. He needed to make sure their well-known antics didn't do anything to embarrass the main family. The young man's gaze quickly dropped when Hyobe looked on him, though the nervousness he showed made Hyobe follow him to Hizashi's study. It had been more than the anxious respect he normally received from the branch family.
Neji was with Hizashi, and neither was pleased to see Hyobe enter behind the guard.
"Is something the matter?" Hizashi asked with political precision, his eyes on the guard but his attention on Hyobe.
The guard bowed and kept his head low once he straightened. Judging by Neji's slip of confusion the act was more for Hyobe than Hizashi. "Aburame Shibi came by to inform us that Hinata's team has left the village to help his son train for the chuunin exam. He did not say when they intend to return."
"But Hinata's still healing," Neji said. "She shouldn't be out of the village."
Hizashi rubbed his temple with two fingers, an act of exasperation more than aggravation. "I'm sure she knows what she can and can't do. Still—"
"Leave her be," Hyobe ordered, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "You were correct, Hizashi, having something outside the clan may be very good for her right now. Give her time to collect herself."
"She wouldn't need time if you hadn't forced her to seal someone," Neji snapped before Hizashi could stop him.
"Neji," Hizashi started, but Hyobe held up a hand to silence them both.
"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't forgotten your place, Neji. Your stunt with main family techniques has made it difficult for the clan to remember who the heir is. It was necessary everyone be reminded only Hinata can and will be heir. Perhaps it's time you remembered you're branch and started acting like it."
Hyobe left the shocked faces of his family behind. Neji was a grandchild to be proud of, without question, but the clan had to come first. And roles had to be maintained, no matter how harsh they may seem.