The Reincarnate

Chapter 2

Once again, Hinata found herself in the darkness.

This time it felt a little more familiar as she turned around and once again faced the mysterious girl- Otsutsuki Kali, as she had called herself.

She was a little older than Hinata, her medium-length blue hair tied back in a short pony-tail. She was dressed in the traditional robes of a Shrine Maiden, an old profession rarely seen in modern times. And she was floating several meters off the ground, legs crossed and hands resting on her knees.

"Welcome back." Kali greeted cheerfully, completely unlike anything Hinata was capable of. Was this girl… was she really supposed to be one of Hinata's previous lives?

"Why… am I back in this place?" Hinata asked, glancing nervously around the pitch darkness again. To be honest, the entire atmosphere set her on edge. It was like the only thing that existed in this world was the Eight Trigrams Diagram and these two girls.

"We should have a lot more time to talk now." Kali answered. She appeared undisturbed, but then again this place also might have been something like her home. "I told you last time, but your heart was in serious trouble when we met. You pretty much fainted right after the fight concluded. Although I would wager your life isn't in any danger. We'll leave your physical body to the experts on the other side to heal you the rest of the way."

"My heart." Hinata lifted a hand, placing it over her chest. She frowned as she recalled the fight. Even before she had unlocked her new eyes, Neji had been trying to kill her it would seem. His bitterness was far worse than she had imagined. And her awakening these new eyes seemed to only make things worse. "In a way, isn't he right to hate me?" She couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"Hmm… I'm afraid even I don't have a good answer to that one." Kali replied. She was still smiling, but it was bitter now. "On the one hand, the eldest daughter of the main clan inheriting my power certainly reeks of that unchanging fate he hates so much. However, the fact it was someone like you that inherited these gifts might also be what allows him to break free from that same fate he fears so much."

"W-what do you mean?" Hinata quickly pressed the point. Was there truly a way she could help Neji?

"Don't worry. Just be yourself and eventually you two will find your way." Kali answered vaguely. "The fact that you're already thinking about him this much means the path to reconciliation exists. You just have to give him time until he's ready to walk that same path beside you."

"Oh…" Hinata sighed, trying and failing to hide her disappointment. Of course she knew it wouldn't be that easy. Magic eyes weren't enough to just make someone like you. In her case, they were only going to have the opposite effect. However, the fact that Kali seemed so sure that things would work out was heartening to say the least.

"More importantly than that, there are some things I'm going to have to teach you while we have time here." Kali said. "Our chakras have almost completely merged now, which means the next time you draw on my eyes, I'm going to be less a conscious figure of the outside world and even more of a shade. The only way we're going to be able to communicate is when you meditate and enter this area from now on."

"So you mean you're not going to be able to help me in battles like last time?" Hinata asked. If it hadn't been for Kali's advice then there was no way she would have been able to know how to strike those natural tenketsu. Kali had also been the one absorbing natural energy so Hinata didn't need to.

"That's precisely why it's important you learn these things from me now." Kali said, sounding rarely serious. "This is now your power just as much as it is mine. You can think of me as a teacher, but you have to learn to fight for yourself. Otherwise, you really never will truly earn Neji's respect. Or Naruto's for that matter." Hinata's cheeks tinted red at having her crush's name brought up, but she couldn't deny that it was as good a motivator as any.

"I understand." Hinata gulped, fighting down all her fears and trying to remind herself of that same strength she had when fighting Neji. That feeling of confidence she had when Naruto was the one watching her. If she was going to do this, she needed to be able to call on that power of will on her own.

"Good." Kali smiled again, her face looking much more natural that way. Hinata was again reminded of how different they were and couldn't help but wonder why that was.

"Will I be like you one day?" Hinata asked, not able to stop herself. The words just tumbled out of her mouth the moment the thought hit. Yet to her surprise, Kali merely laughed, her beautiful voice ringing out like a bell.

"You're fine the way you are, Hinata." Kali assured her. "Reincarnation doesn't quite work the way it's written in your books. I'm more like a ghost, my chakra clinging to new hosts and while it's true that it does have some influence, you are still yourself."

"...I see." Hinata mumbled, not sure whether she was disappointed or not. On the one hand, she would have liked to be more like this girl one day. So confident, cheerful, and completely unlike herself. Yet at the same time she was relieved, because it meant the small change she was able to make was truly her own strength. Not because she was destined to be like her past life.

"We'll have plenty of time to get to really know one another as you learn to enter this place at will." Kali seemed to sense her conflicting emotions, but for now didn't address them. "In the meantime, let's begin your training."

Following Kali's instructions, Hinata did just that.

It was impossible for her to say how much time had truly passed. It felt like it could have been a couple hours or it might have been several weeks. In the first place, such a space as where Kali existed didn't seem to operate under such concepts as the passage of time. Even if it did, it was incredibly unlikely that time flowed the same rate as what she was used to in the first place.

Since this also wasn't Hinata's physical form she didn't become tired or feel the stress of physical exertion. Instead she was able to devote herself entirely to the training without need for rest.

Eventually, her real body did call to her. Hinata felt a spike of pain shoot through her head. It was so intense it caused her to wince and she dropped to her knees, the training momentarily forgotten.

"You're waking up." Kali noted matter-of-factly. "That sharp pain you felt just now was your consciousness catching up with the knowledge you've gained while in here." It was hard to tell where exactly she was looking, Kali's eyes fixed firmly into the darkness as if able to see something Hinata couldn't.

"Am I ready?" Hinata wondered, nursing her head as she stumbled back to her feet. While it was true she had felt like she'd made serious progress, the more it was that she learned the less it truly felt like she knew about these new abilities.

"You have the basics. For now, that's enough." Kali assured her. "Just focus on your exams and changing yourself. We can worry about everything else later." That was good enough for Hinata. She was grateful to her past life, but she was glad that she was also going to be allowed to live her own.

The chance to show how much she had changed was now.

Just as Hinata resolved herself to that, the world around her faded away. It was a strange transition, the blackness of the void replaced by a blinding glare. Followed by an overwhelming sense of vertigo. It took Hinata's brain several seconds to realize she wasn't standing as she had been in the void, but in fact laying down in a hospital bed. The blinding glare had been the white walls of the hospital room, impossibly opposite of the darkness she had been surrounded by until now.

"Hinata!" Sitting to her right was her Jonin-sensei, Kurenai. The moment Hinata's eyes had opened her teacher had jumped to her feet, leaning over her young student and placing a comforting hand on her forehead. "Are you okay?" She asked, red eyes full of worry.

It was nice. Having someone this worried for you. In a way, it was what having a mother must have felt like. Hinata barely remembered her own birth mother anymore. She had passed away a long time ago. Yet Kurenai had always been here for her. That was why… Hinata felt bad that she couldn't tell her the truth.

She looked behind her, but the figure of Kali's shade wasn't there. Nor could she see the flow of Natural Energy at the moment. This meant her Byakugan was simply in its normal unactivated state for the moment. That would make things easier for now.

"I'm fine, Sensei." Hinata pushed herself up, finding her body somewhat sluggish but otherwise capable of simple movement. "What happened after I passed out?" She didn't miss it as Kurenai's eyes narrowed suspiciously, no doubt having noticed that Hinata's ordinary reserved manner had somewhat rescinded. Hinata was far from the picture of confidence, but there was something in the very air around her that felt different now.

"Before that, we need to talk about what happened to you at the end of the match." Kurenai said, just as both Hinata and Kali knew she would. "Your recklessness in charging Neji head on aside, that power you had…"

"I'm sorry, Sensei." Hinata averted her eyes, looking down at the sheets that still covered her legs. Even with the small confidence she managed to grab a hold of, she didn't have the courage to look her teacher in the eye and lie to her. "I… It felt like I really found my confidence. When Naruto-kun cheered for me, it really felt like I could do anything." That part was at least true. "The next thing I knew, I was able to just… I don't know how I did that." She didn't want to lie like this.

However, Kali had told her not to tell any outsiders about her existence. She had been very adamant about keeping the true nature of these events hidden. In time, Hinata would be able to tell Kurenai and her team about the Tensei-Byakugan, but she had to do it in a way that felt natural and in a way that kept the existence of Kali herself a secret. The best way to do that for now was to feign ignorance about the whole thing.

"...I figured as much." Kurenai sighed. To Hinata's surprise she appeared to buy the lie without hesitation, leaning back in her seat and staring up at the ceiling. "There's no way you would know what happened, after all. When I tried to talk to your father about it, he started acting strangely. I don't know the specifics, but it sounds like he'll explain some of it to you later."

Hinata felt her pulse quicken at the mention of her father. Of course, she was going to have to address him sooner or later, but she was far from looking forward to it. Their relationship was… strained- to put it simply. Hinata had been stripped of her title of heiress and the position given to her younger sister. But while Kali had forbidden outsiders, her family was another matter and perhaps the only people she could truly talk to about this.

For now, however, she had other things to focus on.

"Kurenai-sensei, what about the exams?" Hinata asked. She didn't even know if she had been properly pushed onto the next round or not. True, she had won her fight but the circumstances around it had been unusual to say the least. She also wanted to ask about Neji, but that was also going to have to be dealt with along with the other family matters.

"Right, the exams…" Kurenai shifted uncomfortably and for a moment, Hinata feared the worst. "You passed. There was some debate about what to do with you, since we had tried to end the match before you displayed that power, but in the end it was determined that no significant interference from outside had interrupted. So you were determined to be the winner." That much was a relief to hear. Hinata would have her chance to prove herself further.

"However…" Kurenai continued. She then told Hinata about the last two rounds of the exam. Kiba had specifically warned Hinata to withdraw if she got matched against one of three people. The worst happened and she got matched against Neji, the first of those three. However, the remaining two had been Gaara of the Sand and Dosu of the Sound.

His warning had been spot-on. Gaara had fought Lee and in a terrifying display of power had crushed an arm and a leg. It was likely that Lee would have to retire from his career of being a Ninja. Choji had fought against Dosu in the last round and while that result had been tamer, it still ended in Dosu's victory. In other words, both the people she had been warned against had made it to the next round as well.

"Hinata." Kurenai's breath caught, but she willed herself to finish speaking anyways. "The matches have been decided… and your first opponent will be Gaara of the Sand."

There it was.

Once again, the worst possible outcome. Even with her new eyes, could Hinata possibly win against such a terrifying existence? No, it was too early for her to have those thoughts. She would fight. That was what she had resolved herself to do against Neji, and it was what she would do this time too.

"I understand." Hinata stated simply.

"Hinata!" Kurenai jumped to her feet once again, glaring down at her. "You heard what I said, didn't you? What he did to Rock Lee? You can't seriously mean to go through with the match?" It was just like before. No one truly expected her to fight. Even if she had managed to change herself a little in that last fight, it hadn't amounted to anything in the eyes of those around her.

"I will fight." Hinata said. Softly, but firmly. In response to such silent conviction, Kurenai couldn't possibly deny her. Instead, she fell back into her chair and lowered her head.

"You're right…" She sighed, voice laced with worry. Just like any mother would be. "Even if you wanted to withdraw, there would be pressure to ensure you remained anyway." For a moment, Hinata didn't understand what she was talking about. The next sentence cleared all doubt. "The eldest daughter of the main branch of the Hyuga Clan vs The Kazekage's son. The draw of such a match-up is too much. It'll be the most promoted fight of the whole exam."

Hinata hadn't even thought about it that way. True, she was the eldest daughter, but she wasn't the heiress. Not anymore. Yet even so, the Hyuga were still considered Konoha's greatest clan and she had never been branded with the curse mark. It wasn't really any kind of surprise when you thought about it that the fight would end up being the talk of the town. Yet another source of pressure for her.

"So… what are you going to do from here?" Kurenai asked. "I'll be happy to continue training you for the exam. Shino is going to receive training from his father. However… I don't really know anything about your new powers just yet." The offer made Hinata smile, but it quickly faded as she was forced to shake her head.

"Thank you, Sensei. However, I also have to speak with my clan." In truth, she planned to rely on Kali for further training, but she couldn't say that. Despite her worries, Kurenai nodded readily enough, but her frown only deepened.

"You'll really be okay speaking with your father?" Kurenai asked. She knew better than anyone how difficult it was for Hinata to approach him. Yet it was something she had to do. After facing down her cousin, and knowing she would soon also face Gaara. Talking to her father hardly seemed so scary anymore.

"Yes, I'll be fine." Hinata said. And somehow she actually felt like she believed it.

Shortly after that, the doctor arrived and Hinata was given permission to leave the hospital. It wasn't like she truly had any injuries, as she had already begun healing during the battle itself and the expert skills of the Medical-nin insured she was more or less in perfect health. It had only been unexplainable exhaustion that caused her to sleep for three whole days. She knew it was because her chakra nature itself was changing, but they couldn't have possibly known that.

Kurenai accompanied her most of the way to the clan compound. On the way, they didn't talk anymore about her eyes, the clan, or the exams. Instead they talked about simpler things, such as past missions and their team. As if to forget about all the craziness that was happening around them. It was times like this that Hinata loved her teacher for the most. She always knew how to make her feel at ease, even when her life around her was in turmoil.

Their time together was all too short, as this was the real world and not the stasis void like where Kali existed. Kurenai left her, but not without promising to have a team meeting later in the week. And thus Hinata was left alone, standing at the entrance to the clan compound.

This was technically her home. Yet she never truly felt at home here. It was more like she was an outsider than someone that belonged. She knew this was all in her head, which was all the more reason why she had to push herself now. To take the next step on her continued evolution.

So without dawdling, she strolled inside the compound. She couldn't exactly say it was with any great confidence, but it was better than the skulking she usually entered with. However, the moment she crossed the boundary, something rocketed into her stomach and knocked the air from her lungs. For a moment she panicked, thinking it was some enemy attack.

"Nee-sama!" Hanabi called, revealing the true identity of her supposed attacker. Her little arms wrapped tightly around her big sister's back, holding her tightly. "I heard you got injured fighting Neji-nii-san and father's face got really scary when Kurenai-sensei came to talk about you. I thought something terrible might have happened…"

"Hanabi…" Hinata felt a warm smile cover her face, and she returned the hug, albeit far more gently. "I'm okay. Sorry for worrying you." This was the true relationship these sister's had. Despite the fact Hanabi had been made the heiress in place of her big sister, Hinata had never resented her for it. And in return Hanabi had never thought less of her sister for stepping down from the role.

Having said that, it was rare for Hanabi to be this emotionally affectionate to her big sister. Of course, these were also unusual times.

"So long as you're okay." Hanabi buried her face in Hinata's chest, her voice coming out muffled. "I guess I'll forgive you." It was hard to see with her face covered, but Hinata could've sworn she saw her blushing. In the end, they were sisters after all.

"Hinata." A colder voice called from further down the hall. Hanabi and Hinata quickly disentangled from one another, standing straight and facing towards the source with neutral expressions.

"Father." They both greeted in unison, bowing to him. When they returned to an upright position he nodded simply, not bothering to acknowledge the display of affection he had just witnessed. Instead he turned and started to walk away. For a moment, Hinata thought that would be it.

"Come with me. Both of you. There is much to discuss." He said, his back still to them. His voice wasn't particularly loud, but the severity of his command was undeniable. There was no refusing him.

In the first place, Hinata had already planned to talk to him. However, she hadn't expected Hanabi to be involved in those talks. It wasn't like she wanted to hide anything from her sister, but she didn't want to worry her further either.

"Let's go." Hanabi said, her voice lacking the previous warmth it once had. Her face too was arranged into perfect neutrality. Yet despite that, she waited for her sister, not taking a single step until she was sure they were going together. Somehow, that small gesture alone was enough to put Hinata at ease.

Having Hanabi here for these talks wouldn't be such a bad thing, she decided.

"Yeah." She took her little sister's hand in hers and the two of them followed after their father together. Hanabi missed the first half-step, taken off guard by her sister's uncharacteristically bold sign of affection. She recovered quickly enough, but couldn't quite mask her small smile, even when they entered the room their father was waiting in.

He sat at the end of the tatami room in traditional seiza-style. Next to him was a small stack of scrolls, their contents unknown, but Hinata was sure she hadn't seen them before. The two sisters sat opposite of their father without making a sound, waiting for him to speak first.

"Hinata…" Hyuga Hiashi began slowly, almost carefully. It was the first time Hinata had ever seen him weary, perhaps even slightly frightened. "How much of your fight with Neji do you remember?" He asked. It wasn't where she expected the line of questioning to start, and she found herself wondering if there was some hidden meaning to it.

"I umm… I remember everything?" She asked, more than answered. As far as she knew, there wasn't any particular part of the fight she was forgetting, but then again she wouldn't know in the first place if she had forgotten.

Her father's face was grave now. Not the usual serious stoicism, but much more deeply troubled. It was impossible for Hinata to know what he was thinking, but even Hanabi seemed to pick up on this strange tension, her entire body shivering next to Hinata.

"Kurenai tells me you displayed a strange power during the fight… Can you show me?" He probed, almost cautiously. Hinata knew immediately what he was asking. He wasn't looking to see the destructive power of when she struck the natural tenketsu, but simply activating the Tensei-Byakugan should be enough to meet the burden of what he was asking.

She nodded, closing her eyes and focusing. Just like Kali had taught her, she began pulling in the natural energy of the world around her. It was only enough for her to begin the process. Once she started, the shade on her back should be able to handle the rest. This was because the act of moving at all would interrupt the process, but the shade itself didn't need to move. So she could fight freely, while the shade maintained the balance of natural energy her body required to stay in Sage Mode.

That was what Kali had called it: Sage Mode. By tapping into this special mode, her Tensei-Byakugan should awaken automatically. Supposedly it took a high level of chakra to safely use such an ability, but Hinata didn't have such reserves. At least, she hadn't before her chakra and Kali's merged. Now her reserves should be more than enough.

Hinata opened her eyes and to her relief, the natural flow of the world's chakra was visible to her. She had managed to awaken the eyes on her own. With the three-hundred-and-sixty degree vision of her awakened eyes, she could see the shade of Kali hanging to her back like a ghost. Its shape was even more ghastly than before, and Hinata knew she wouldn't be able to communicate with this thing.

"Nee-sama…" Hanabi gasped, looking up at the change she had undergone. Hinata glanced down at her and saw her own reflection for the first time in the reflection of her sister's eyes. Her Byakugan at first looked normal, as she didn't even have the veins around her head pulsing that most Hyuga did when using their ocular powers. Instead, the only slight difference was the small white petal designs in her normally blank irises. It almost looked like a blooming lotus.

It was without a doubt the exact same as Kali's eyes.

"So you've finally awakened to your power." Hiashi sighed. Hinata's head snapped to attention, all her focus returning to him.

"Finally?" She asked, confused about what exactly he meant. Did he mean to say he knew about this? That shouldn't have been possible though. No one else could see Kali or her visage hanging off Hinata's back, not even her father's ocular prowess should have been strong enough. So he couldn't have possibly known she was Kali's latest reincarnate before now.

"This… is the third time you've used this power, Hinata." Hiashi said slowly, as if dancing around the subject. It was almost like he was afraid of her and what her reaction might be.

"Third time?" Hinata parroted, trying to make sense of what he was saying. She racked her brain, but couldn't recall any such incident. That was when it hit her. That was the purpose of his first question. He asked her if she remembered the fight, because this same thing had already happened twice before. Only she didn't remember either incident.

"I thought as much." Hiashi nodded, reading the emotions as they flashed across her face. "I shall now explain those first two incidents, although they will be difficult for you to hear. Please listen to me calmly until the end." Something in the back of her mind screamed out in protest, telling her to quit listening. Yet she ignored those voices. She wanted the truth, she needed to face it.

"The first time was on your third birthday." He said. That was all he needed to say, for Hinata already knew the rest. That was the day her father killed that Shinobi from Kumogakure. The incident that led to the death of Neji's father.

"The truth is, I did not kill that man." Hiashi said bluntly. Brutally. "Hinata, you killed him. With the power of the Tensei-Byakugan, you struck him down before I even arrived. By the time I found you, he was already dead." No, no, no. Hinata tried to shake her head. Tried to verbalize her denial.

If this was true… then the one that was actually responsible for the death of Neji's father was her.

Yet her father wasn't done.

"The second time was the day we chose Hanabi as the heiress to the Hyuga clan." Hiashi continued, despite the pained expression already warping his daughter's face.

"That isn't what happened…" Hanabi forgot herself for a moment, beginning to interrupt until the words died on her tongue. "I won the fight that day… didn't I?" She held a trembling hand to her head, eyes shifting in and out of focus.

"I'm sorry." Hiashi closed his eyes and looked away from them both. "We asked a contact from the Yamanaka clan to alter your memories, Hanabi. The truth is, that fight never concluded because I had to intervene when Hinata lost control. This time I saw it with my own eyes, confirming what I knew must have happened to that man from Kumo."

"That can't be!" Hinata shouted, unable to control herself. "I would never hurt Hanabi!" Knowing that she was the root cause of Neji's father's death was one thing, but at three years old there was no way she could have predicted that outcome. Yet to imply she would willingly use such a dangerous power against her own sister. It was beyond imagination. She wouldn't believe it.

As if to confirm this for both of them, Hanabi once again threw herself around her sister, wrapping her in a tight hug. Neither one of them cared that they were in front of their strict father, at this moment they needed to be there for one another. And in a rare show of love for his daughters, he didn't reprimand them for it.

"Of course, I don't believe you had any intention of harming her." He said. "That is simply how difficult the Tensei-Byakugan is to control. Your body wasn't developed enough to handle such power yet and it went out of control. In the first place, I am at fault for pitting you two against one another."

"Why did you do it!?" Hinata, for the first time in her life, yelled at her father. "If you suspected I had this kind of power, why would you put Hanabi's life in danger like that!?" She intended to keep yelling, yet her father's reaction killed any further words she had. Because for the first time in his life, he prostrated himself before her.

"I am sorry, to both of you." He said deeply, earnestly. "In truth, I hadn't expected the power to manifest in such a way. I made a mistake. The fault lies entirely with me." In the face of such an upfront, heartfelt confession, Hinata felt all her anger dissipate into nothing. In the first place, she wasn't someone that could stay angry for long. She just wanted answers.

"That wasn't the first time I tried to bring out the power of your eyes." Hiashi continued, returning to his usual sitting position. "I was especially hard on you during training in order to try and draw it out. However, nothing I did succeeded. So I thought to maybe try something more… extreme. By pitting you against your sister with the title of Heiress on the line, I thought maybe the pressure would trigger some kind of response. In the end, I got exactly what I wanted. But I hadn't been prepared to pay the cost. Ever since, I've never known how to properly face you."

There it was. This whole time, Hinata thought her father had been disappointed in her. That he had passed the right to lead the clan onto Hanabi because she was too gentle, too weak to properly carry out the duties. When the truth was simply that he was afraid she was the one disappointed in him.

"Does that mean the only reason I was made the Heiress was to match with those memories?" Hanabi asked. "If that's the case, Nee-sama should have her title restored."

"That's not possible." Hiashi shook his head. Hanabi opened her mouth to protest, but he was quick to explain. "The real reason I wanted to confirm Hinata's powers is that in the first place, the wielder of the Tensei-Byakugan has a different duty to uphold. That is why you will be the clan head one day, Hanabi. Not because Hinata is unfit, but because she has her own destiny."

"What even is this Tensei-Byakugan anyways?" Hanabi asked, looking back up at Hinata's changed eyes. She had yet to let go of her sister, the two of them clinging closely together.

Hinata decided to explain it to her in as much detail as she could, leaving out only the most complicated parts. She told her all about Kali and everything she had learned about over the past few days. During the course of her explanation, they were both able to calm down a little and some semblance of order was returned to their small family meeting.

"I think… that about covers it?" Hinata looked to her father for verification and he nodded.

"There's quite a bit more to it yet, but you can hardly be expected to have all the information yet yourself." He said, patting the scrolls next to him. "That is why I prepared these. All the information our clan has about the Tensei-Byakugan is recorded in these scrolls. They are a secret to everyone except myself- and now you two." He handed one of the scrolls to Hinata and she read the title on the side.

"Nichiren-Byakugan?" She asked, this being the first time she saw that name.

"This is what we call the Tensei-Byakugan to those we do not wish to divulge the true nature of the eyes too." Hiashi answered. "Within the clan compound it is fine to call them by their true name, but with your team and Sensei, I ask that you call them by this name. It is in keeping with Kali-sama's wishes that the nature of her reincarnation be kept a secret."

"I see." Hinata nodded, glad to have this information. It had been right to talk to her father first before telling her teacher even part of the truth. Even if she did feel bad about it.

Before anymore could be said, Hanabi suddenly stifled a yawn. It was at that moment that Hinata realized how much time had already passed since their conversation began. It was getting late and yet it felt like there was so much more they had to talk about.

"Let's end here today." Hiashi said, as he seemed to be thinking the same thing. "We can always continue this conversation another time." He nodded to them their permission to leave, but Hinata didn't move just yet. In the past she would have fled at the first chance she had, but not now. She finally felt like she understood her father a little.

"Is… has Neji-nii-san come back to the compound yet?" Hinata asked. Her father's eyes widened slightly, but otherwise he kept his composure. "I have to… no, I need to tell him the truth about that day. And about these eyes. He needs to hear it from me." She knew this was stupid. What she wanted was to make up with Neji. Telling him both of these things were more likely to make him hate her even more. Yet she couldn't help but feel it was the right thing to do.

"He hasn't returned." Hiashi admitted, shaking his head. "When he does, I shall go with you. There is something I would like him to see after hearing what you have to say." She was surprised to hear her father's proposition, but contrary to how she thought she would feel, she found it reassuring. Such a thing would have been impossible even so long ago as earlier today.

"Thank you, father." Hinata bowed. With that, she got up to leave. Hanabi stood up with her and they started to leave together, once more linking hands.

"Hinata." Hiashi called just before they left. She turned to him curiously, surprised to find his stern expression gone completely. Instead he was smiling at her gently, his expression unreadable. No, she had seen this face before, just never directed at her. "I'm proud of you… and I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you until now. It wasn't my… no, nevermind. That's all."

Hinata didn't respond with words, but she did give him one last deep bow before leaving the room. As she and Hanabi walked down the hall, her sister clung closer to her than she had in a long time.

"Nee-sama…" She said with a yawn.

"Yes, Hanabi?" Hinata asked, smiling warmly down at her. They had always been close, but there had been that wall there. A wall created because of false memories. But that was gone now too.

"Can I…" Hanabi hesitated. "Would it be alright if I slept in your room tonight?" She asked delicately. Hinata was surprised for a moment, but her smile returned bigger than before.

"I would like that." She said.

Chapter End

AN: Welcome back to the next chapter.

Mostly exposition this time. I played a little with the backstory of the Hyuga clan and Hinata's early life, changing some of the details while trying to mostly maintain the events themselves. When I was planning this story, I actually had several ideas for exactly where I wanted to start it. That includes the incident with Kumo when Hinata was three and the battle to determine the Heiress. In the end, I felt both of those were too early.

I also debated about starting things the night of the Genin graduation so I could play with team formations or even starting it during the hunt for the scent bug filler arc as other possible options. In the end, the fight against Neji ended up being the one that fit best for what I'm going forward with. Just a little bit about my planning process, for those maybe curious.

Thanks to everyone for reading! Hope to see y'all next time too.