As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

I know it's been a while. I've been very seriously focusing on my original work this last year and haven't had the time to work on this. But I never really forget about it.

Neji stopped at the edge of the rubble mound and watched his little sister carefully peel away layer after layer of debris from the already three-foot-deep hole she stood in. Byakugan hadn't revealed anything of value trapped in the debris, yet her sight appeared transfixed on something beneath her that he apparently couldn't see.

"Hinata," he called before jumping up to a few feet away so as not to disturb the careful balance of her work.

She glanced up at him, frowned, and returned to her search.

"Hinata," Neji tried again, his voice imploring. "I know the decision isn't what you wanted. But it's the right choice, and we have to be united. Sasuke—"

"Sasuke has to be dealt with by Konoha. I know. It's the best way to prevent war with Kumogakure. I understand the reasons. It's why I agreed, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Neji squatted down in front of her, arms balanced on his knees, and studied his sister. This was the woman who once stopped a fight with a hug, who endured the guilt of causing him pain for the chance to end her clan's pain forever, who wanted to be part of a family more than a clan. He'd thought it was that alone that made her resist and detest what needed to be done. That it was her soft heart and her connection to Naruto that made her one of the last to agree to hunt the Uchiha. Yet there was something more in her voice this time that gave him pause.

Kumogakure. Sasuke wasn't the first problem between Konoha and Kumo. It wasn't even the first to affect them personally.

"It can't be easy for you to accept killing someone from Konoha to appease Kumo, rogue or not," Neji said.

Hinata kept her face down as she sifted through the debris. "That doesn't matter. We can't allow war to start because of one person. Maintaining the peace is more important."

"Then why won't you look at me. What don't you want me to see?"

Hinata set down the broken table leg she'd pried loose and took a deep breath. Her entire body seemed to contract and relax along with her. She faced him, byakugan still active from her search. "I know you're trying to help me, Neji-niisan, but I need to figure out my feelings about Kumogakure for myself. This isn't something you can fix."

Neji held a hand out to Hinata, which after a moment she took as the offer of silent comfort it was. She was right. He wasn't a god to magically fix everything around him, as much as he might want to. And despite all that Kumo's actions had affected her life, neither of them had talked about what happened the day she'd been taken. Neji didn't need byakugan active to read the confusion on his sister's face.

"You know I'm here for you if you need to talk. I'll always be here for you." That was a promise he wouldn't break again.

The smile that almost reached Hinata's lips twisted down into a frown, her brow furrowing deeper as he stared at her. "What do you mean by that?"

Neji cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean, what do I mean? I'm here for you whatever you need. I'm your big brother. It's part of my job."

Hinata shook her head, but didn't release his hand. "That's not what you meant when you said you'd always be here for me. I know you too well, Neji-niisan. You can't lie to my sight that easily. What aren't you saying?"

It was Neji's turn to look away. He should have been more careful while her byakugan was active. He didn't want to burden her with his decision until things had calmed down in the village.

"I've decided that once this situation is resolved and Konoha recovers enough, I'm going to return to the clan, permanently."

The sides of her face smoothed as byakugan faded in her shock. "No. Why would you do that? You love being a shinobi."

Neji closed his eyes and in the blackness flashed the image of Hinata's body in his arms—broken, empty, lifeless eyes staring up at him. A phantom that lived in the darkness of his heart. No matter how hard he tried to forget, that face haunted him.

"You died because I wasn't here when you needed me. I'm not going to allow that to happen again. Next time I'll be here to protect you."

"No," Hinata said with a command in her voice that echoed of Hyobe. "I won't allow it. You don't belong trapped in the clan. Not for my sake. It's not worth wasting your life and skills."

Neji was more stubborn than Hinata, and he made his choice while her body was still cold. "I won't let you die again. Any price is worth protecting you."

Hinata took his other hand into hers and waited until he looked directly into her eyes. Conviction and pain shone like candlelight in the darkness. "I don't need a shield to stand in front of me anymore. I need my brother to trust me to protect myself."

"You didn't though. You went and died, because I wasn't there."

"I died because it was the right thing to do. Konoha survived because I died. Isn't that just what we all decided? One life in exchange for the entire village."

"That life didn't have to be yours!" It shouldn't have been. He was her shield and her sword. The price should have been his to pay.

"Yes, it did." Hinata's voice softened to force him to listen carefully or miss her words. "You weren't there. That's not your fault. I don't blame you for not being there to protect me. But you weren't there to witness the village being destroyed. You didn't have to create a wall of chakra around you just to keep buildings from crushing you. You didn't see the desperation and death all around. And then have this one glimmer of hope appear. It was as if Tsunade-sama herself stood there defending the village.

"Everyone knew we couldn't fight Pain. Naruto-kun was the only person left who had chance and when he fell it was as if the village lost a lifeline. No one went to help him, because we were already broken. All I could think was what Uncle Hizashi told us the night of the Uchiha massacre. When the clan and the village is at its worst, the clan head must be the one to stand in front of the danger and sacrifice the most to protect them. Naruto fought like a hokage protecting the village, and it's the clan head who must be the first to answer the hokage's call."

Neji heard her words but the meaning burned like fire inside him and he tried to bury the flames before they consumed him. "If I'd been there, I'd have fought with you. You didn't have to die."

Tears glistened in Hinata's eyes, but she fought to keep them from falling. "Neji-niisan, there a difference between fighting with me and fighting for me. I don't want to be that girl again, hiding behind you and letting you fight my battles. And if you come back to the clan with me, that's what's going to happen. We're at our worst when we're alone in the clan together. You'll want to protect me, and it will be so easy to let you. It feels safe and familiar to have you standing in front of me, but I don't want that for either of us. I'm happier when you stand beside me and show me the way so I can walk it myself. Trust me to be the woman you always told me I could be, even if it means you might not be there to protect me."

Neji focused on breathing in and out to keep his emotions from spilling out of control. He couldn't let her go, yet he had to. Hinata was his sister, his future clan head, and everything she'd always wanted to become. If he protected her life the way he wanted to, the way he felt he should, he'd also take away every chance for her to prove herself. A sword and shield didn't stand on their own. They were wielded only when someone needed them, and only Hinata could choose when to do so.

"I don't want to lose you again, Hinata." Neji brushed is fingers down her cheek, tears escaping his control as the phantom face that tormented him fell over her bright, living one. Two futures with no certainty.

"I don't want to die again," she said, her own control lost at the sight of him crying. "But we can't go back to how we were as children. I'd rather you to be proud of the woman you helped me become. That means even though I'll always need you, we have to lead our own lives. You with your team, and me with mine, accepting all the risk that comes with that."

Neji shook his head with a resigned smile and rested his forehead against hers. "Why did you have to learn to be such a good clan head?"

Hinata laughed through her tears. "There was a time no one thought I'd figure it out at all."

"I did," Neji said with no doubt in his voice. "So really, I can only blame myself for this."

Hinata closed her eyes and relaxed into their awkward embrace. "Thank you, Neji-niisan."

They remained like that for a while more before Neji finally stood and released her to a future he couldn't control. "What exactly are you doing in a hole of rubble?" he asked as a way to let go. Hinata was Hyuuga; she'd understand.

Hinata wiped the tears from her face, not pressing the subject any further. "I'm looking for a picture. It's about a foot down still."

Neji cleaned his own face and took a moment to look around. A distancing mechanism, but he could use a little distance. He might have been forced to agree with her, but it would still take time to process what that meant. "This isn't where most of the compound ended up."

"Not one of mine. I haven't tried to find any of mine, yet. It's been harder to go search the ruins of the compound. This is for Naruto. He's probably not going to like any of us once Sakura tells him what we decided. But he had this picture of his team in his apartment, and I figured if he had to let Sasuke go, he'd at least want that back. It won't help, probably, but it's something."

There was his sister, trying to bring comfort to those in pain, even when she knew the hurt is the only way to move forward. She really would make a wonderful clan head one day, and he'd be there—by her side when she needed him.

"Care for some help?" he asked.

Hinata smiled. "Always."