Hey guys… I know it's been a while. I went overseas for a couple of weeks and didn't have my laptop with me, and I've started back at uni now too. I'm doing a masters in law, a diploma in music, and working this semester, so I'll be doing, like, 90 hour weeks and time is just not a thing. I'll try and get out new chapters whenever I can, I just beg that you can continue your wonderful patience with me xx


Chapter 15 – hold it to the temple

Hinata Speaks.

I don't like feeling vulnerable. The aikido helps with that. Neji and I train for at least an hour per day, and since the attempt on my life I train harder, faster, pushing myself to limits I never knew I had.

Neji lands a kick on my side, throwing me off balance, and I fall to the ground, winded. The pain is intense, and I clutch my ribs, gasping for air.

"That shouldn't have landed, Hinata," he says, crouching down to be eye-level with me. "You're too good for that. What's distracting you? Are you okay?"

I look at eyes that are so like mine, and find I can't tell him what's on my mind. Which is a first. I've always been able to confide in Neji, no matter how embarrassing or tedious or sensitive the subject. "I… nothing," I say, allowing him to help me to my feet. "Just thinking. It's nothing important."

Gaara started guarding my floor four days ago, and I've barely thought of anything else since. I can't get him out of my head, and it's frustrating. Maybe I'm just desperate for human attention. I've barely seen my friends in a month. I saw Ino five days ago at the library, but apart from that I've had only Neji and Tenten for company. And as much as I do love them, the repetition gets dull.

I miss Sakura. I never thought I'd form a genuine attachment to her, but she quickly rose to be one of my closest friends.

Upon entering Konoha, father gave me a list of people to befriend – people who would help us defeat the Uchiha, if it came to blows, which it will. Sakura, being Sasuke Uchiha's girlfriend, was on that list. It became evident very quickly that Sasuke, and by extension Sakura, knew very little of the inner-workings of the Uchiha Corporation.

But I couldn't quite bring myself to drop that friendship. Sakura's too good, too loyal, for me to want to give up. And though my father has discouraged it, I have told him that it'd be odd if I didn't make friends in Konoha. And through Sakura, I made so many more friends. I met Ino, and despite the fact that she's obnoxious to a fault, I grew very close to her. And I met Naruto, who I won't deny to having had a little crush on. I even became sort-of friends with Sasuke, though Neji didn't like that one bit (we could never truly become friends, considering our family's rivalry. We both knew that and neither of us begrudged each other for it). And considering Fugaku's apparent unwillingness to involve Sasuke in his family's affairs, I saw no genuine threat in retaining the acquaintance.

"Hinata," Neji says, breaking me out of my reverie, and I colour as I look back at him. "Are you sure you're alright? You keep losing focus."

I smile reassuringly and get back into position, mirroring his stance. "Just thinking. I miss my friends. I wish I could see them."

He looks surprised for a moment, then drops his arms and runs agitated fingers through his hair. "Hinata," he says, allowing a little pain to filter into his voice. "I can't… you know I can't -"

"I understand why," I assure him quickly, dropping my arms. "I don't blame you. I just… it doesn't stop me from missing them." I give him a half-hearted smile, ignoring the feeling of lead pumping into my heart.

Neji sighs and goes to get a drink of water, passing me a bottle in the process. I hold it in my hands, feel the condensation pool in the crevices of my fingers, and force back the tears that have risen, unwelcome, into my eyes. "The Demon has remained silent for over a month, Neji," I say, quieter and less confident than I intend. "Surely… if I were a priority… surely we would've encountered it again by now? I just… I can't stand being in this building anymore. I'm so tired of being scared all the time. This isn't living, Neji. I'm just… I'm just existing here." I choke back tears, frustrated at how childish they make me feel. The heir to the Hyuuga Clan shouldn't cry. The heir to the Hyuuga Clan should be strong, calm, steady in the face of adversity.

Neji wraps me in his arms, and I allow myself to sob into his chest, feeling my legs give out a little beneath me. He rubs soothing circles into my back, letting me spill my emotions into his shirt. "I'm so tired, Neji. I can't sleep anymore. Th-the nightmares just keep getting worse. This c-calm before the storm is like s-sandpaper on my nerves. I'm s-so stressed and anxious and I k-keep trying to hide it because I need to be strong but it's so h-hard. I d-don't want to d-die. I'm s-so s-scared. Why m-me? What d-did I d-do? Why d-doesn't the D-Demon g-go after my f-father? A-and what if th-the D-Demon does c-come after m-me again? W-what if y-you can't p-protect m-me? W-what if i-it's t-too s-strong? Y-you know what th-the D-Demon did t-to the S-Senju. Th-that was a whole C-Clan of p-people. There w-were m-more of th-them th-than there are o-of us. And the D-Demon and I-Itachi t-took out a-all of th-them in a s-single n-night! T-two m-men against h-hundreds of S-Senju, and th-they c-came out on t-top. W-what ch-chance do we s-stand? If the D-Demon has ch-chosen m-me to b-be its n-next v-victim, h-how m-much l-longer d-do I h-have?"

"Hinata," Neji says sternly and shakes me a little. "Calm down."

I struggle to get control of my breathing, trying to get that embarrassing stutter back under control. It's a testament to my stress that it's re-surfaced.

"Calm down," he repeats, a little more gently this time. "I know how terrifying this is. I do, I truly do. And if the Demon shows its head again, I'll be ready. I'll die before I let the Demon touch you again. Shh, it's okay, everything will be okay, just breathe, it'll be alright."

I work to get a hold of myself before speaking again, trying to swallow that stammer. "W-we…" I take a breath and let it out slowly, getting my nerves back under my control. "We don't even know what the Demon looks like. How can we be ready for it if we don't even know who it is?" I say the words slowly, tasting each one before releasing it into the air, desperately trying to calm down.

"Tenten's working on it," says Neji, and I'm surprised by the news.

"Since when?" I ask, looking up at him.

"Since shortly after the attempt on your life. She didn't want to say anything and scare you, but she's been trying to hack into the Uchiha's database for weeks to try and get those files. They have some strange encryption that stops her from getting through, but she's getting there slowly. If she can find just one photo, or a name, or something, we'll get it, and make sure it can never hurt you again."

"Are you sure you can beat it?" I ask before I can help myself. I don't doubt Neji's abilities, I just don't know what the Demon's are.

"I think that if anyone stands a chance it's Tenten and I," he says with attempted confidence, and I see through his façade in a moment.

"I want to know how to protect myself, if I have to," I tell him, stepping away.

He looks confused and says: "You're already a master at aikido, Hinata. Very few could stand against you."

I shake my head. "That's not what I'm talking about. I want to know how to shoot a gun. I want to make sure that nothing can get close enough to hurt me."

Neji shakes his head and walks away from me. "No. It's too dangerous. Do you know how many people shoot themselves by accident every year? No, Hinata. It's not going to happen. I'm not dedicating my life to keeping you safe, only to have you shoot yourself in the head by accident. It's not happening."

"Neji," I protest, feeling my emotions flare. "If I have you or Tenten train me then I couldn't be in better hands! How could I hurt myself with two of the best weapon experts as my teachers?"

Neji just shakes his head. "Shit happens all the time, Hinata. No. I've said no. Don't ask again. Now go take a shower, it's lunch time."

Dejected, I grab my towel and head towards the shower.


I exit the training room in a huff, annoyed and frustrated with Neji. Gods, I know he's right, but I know I am too. I need to know how to protect myself from a distance. I don't want the Uchiha to be able to get even slightly close to me. And as good as I am at aikido, it's not going to help me against a gun.

The guards who litter the hall stand to attention as I pass them, and I look at them from the corner of my eye. I don't know any of them, and yet I'm expected to trust them with my life. Could they be Uchiha?

Could they be the Demon?

I shudder just thinking about it.

Neji is waiting for me at the end of the hall, and he doesn't say a word to me as I stalk past him; he just watches me like a hawk, his eyes boring holes into the back of my head.

Tenten's in the kitchen, making some ramen for lunch, and she eyes me curiously as I walk towards the lounge room. I can't tell if Neji has told her about my request, though I assume he has.

A breath of air escapes my mouth as I flop onto the couch, arms crossed, brows knitted together in annoyance. I know I'm acting like a spoilt child, but Gods I'm so bored and frankly, a little emotionally volatile right now. So much so that not even my father could un-slouch my shoulders.

So lost in my reverie, I don't notice Gaara move over towards me.

"Bad day?" he asks, sitting on the couch opposite me. I watch as Neji moves closer upon seeing my interaction with Gaara, and I pointedly ignore him.

"Neji won't teach me how to protect myself," I say loudly and petulantly. "He thinks I'll hurt myself like I'm some irresponsible child."

I can see the confused look on his face, but I don't explain further. Just keep my arms crossed and slump further into the couch.

"But haven't you… mastered aikido?" he questions, a furrow worrying his brow.

"Yes. Because aikido is going to be so helpful when some lunatic fifty metres away is firing a gun at me," I retort, looking towards my bedroom door.

"Surely a bullet-proof vest is going to be more helpful than anything in that scenario," he replies, his voice calm, and that irritates me because he's also right and God can't someone just be wrong for once?

"I want to learn how to shoot a gun and Neji won't teach me because he thinks I'll hurt myself," I tell him, shooting Neji an accusatory glare from my peripherals, and he chooses that moment to interject.

"I don't want to train you, Hinata, because there's no need for you to learn. Tenten and I are with you at all times, we can protect you."

"But what if there's a situation where we get separated?" I shoot back.

"There won't be," he says, his voice even and steady.

"But say -"

"There won't be," he interjects, his voice venomous, and I know I've started to cross a line.

I turn towards Gaara. "Come on, back me up here. Knowing how to shoot a gun – knowing how to protect myself – is important, right?"

"Hinata, I have not dedicated my life to keeping you alive just so you can shoot yourself by accident," Neji says, his voice raised. "Gaara, you of all people must know how dangerous a gun can be!"

I see a flash of knowing light up his eyes like a shooting star before they dull back to their usual seafoam.

"Neji coming to me for backup?" Gaara jokes, stifling a laugh. "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help."

Neji glares at him, and Gaara holds up his hands in surrender. "I agree with both of you!" he says. "Yeah, Hinata, I reckon you should at least know how to shoot a gun, even if you don't use one. But Neji's the boss. What he says goes. And guns are really dangerous. It'd be ridiculously ironic if we all spent all this time trying to keep you safe only for you to kill yourself by accident. Ultimately the decision's not up to me. It's up to Neji. And Neji says no, so that's the end of it."

I narrow my eyes at him, but before I can begin hurling insults at him for daring to take Neji's side instead of mine, Tenten's walking over with a bowl of ramen in her hands.

"Lunch!" she says brightly, desperately trying to diffuse the tension, and I allow the subject to drop.


More of a set-up chapter than anything, this. I've got my plan pretty much finalised, which is nice. Now I just have to write it all!

Thank you to the beautiful people who left a review last chapter, it's appreciated more than words can describe. Nothing motivates like a review, and I love hearing from you all :)

Much love, Alia xx