* * * * * * *8

He thought he would never feel uncomfortable. But he was.

He was in a house he never thought he would ever sat in again.

He was in a room he never thought he would ever step in again.

But here he was, in the Hyuga Main Family's heir practising room. And it reminded him of that time. That time when his father and he used to attend Hinata-sama's training. It reminded him how he was always fascinated by the tiny girl's awkward moves and punchs. And how they used to be like a real family.

He lowered his eyes.

But there was also that day. That day when his father tried the unthinkable...and got hurt. The fear, the anger, the helpnessless he had felt that day shot up in his body.

He straightened his head.

That was a long time ago. It should be forgotten.

Yet he couldn't help but remember as Hiashi-sama sat beside him, like his father used to do.

They looked the same, they sat the same. They even had the same presence.

They were brohers after all.

Just like he and Hinata.

Maybe that was the reason why he could now sit in that same room...to attend Hinata-sama's training again.

Or rather practise fight.

He turned his attention back to the two opponents.

Hanabi-sama was still launching at her older sister's body. She delivered series of punchs that look a little violent and awkward in a way. And once again, Neji caught himself remembering three years old Hinata-sama's training with Hiashi-sama.

But the two sisters didn't have the same fighting style at all.

Hanabi-sama seemed a bit too agressive in Neji's opinion. Which showed that even if she had mastered the Gentle Fist moves, she still lacked control. She was wasting energy. She seemed too passionate.

Neji took a quick glance at the man besides him.

Hiashi-sama's attention hadn't slackened a bit since the fight begun. Neji wondered why the man had accepted that fight in the first place. Was he expecting Hinata-sama to lose? Or did he only want to show the girl how capable Hanabi-sama was? Well, maybe he was curious to see who between the two girls was the stronger one.

Come to think of it, he too was.

Hinata blocked another of Hanabi's tentative to sneak under her guard. She had stopped stepping back.

Neji's eyebrow shot up.

Now the real fight was starting.

He saw Hinata's face harden, soften and finally take the expression of deep concentration.

He knew that look.

He smiled.

The older girl took a step forward and gently threw her open palm at her sister's arm. The other dodged and took a step backward. Hinata walked towards her, hands in front, giving few taps here and there as her arms moved graciously across the air. As Hanabi answered those with direct strikes, Hinata calmly blew them away, her moves coordinated, making the fight look like an impromptu of a ballet.

Neji's eyes widened a little in realization.

The girl had gotten stronger. Much stronger than he would have expected.

Not only was she leading the fight, but it didn't seem to affect her that much. She wasn't sweating a tiny bit. She wasn't panting like she would have normally done at all. It wasn't only the advantage she had on her sister because of her height, it was more than that. It was the result of an intense training. Because she wanted Hiashi-sama to acknowledge her strength. She wanted him to acknowledge her.

No wonder Naruto had cheered for her that day.

They were the same.

He jerked out of his thoughts as Hanabi let out a small cry.

Hinata will definitely win.

He turned to Hiashi Hyuga.

His fists were clenching the white fabric of his clothes.

His body was tense.

His face wore a deep frown.

Though wondering what could have upset this man reputed for his total self-control, he managed to divert his attention back to the fight.

Hanabi-sama looked in pain. She was fighting hard. But she was also being beaten. And until now, Hinata-sama had made no attempt to nail her down on the tatami.

The rules were simple: they were not allowed to use anything besides taijutsu. For even if it was a fight, it remained a training fight.

He was still trying to figure out when would Hanabi admit her defeat when she suddenly stamped on the ground. She was wearing a frown on her face. Just like her father.

The younger girl joined her hands, closed her eyes and started to whisper something he couldn't catch.

Hinata stood there, looking at her with genuine curiosity. 

There was a dim almost imperceptible light around Hanabi's joined hand. Little by little it became more visible, though still blurry, then it turned into a golden glow.

Neji arched an eyebrow.

Why was she gathering so much chakra? What did she intend to do?

Next to him, Hiashi-sama had relaxed...as if relieved.

Hanabi flew at her opponent. She thrust her right palm forward, barely missing Hinata's waist, then lowered her left hand to catch the other girl's knee. She was shorter compared to Hinata. No wonder she was aiming for lower parts of her body. 

Before he realized it, his brows had knitted together.

The fight was getting dangerous. If Hinata-sama kept on being soft with her sister, she wouldn't make it.

Hanabi's mouth curved into a smile as she finally hit her sister's thigh.

Neji's mind became alarmed.

Of course. She knew. She knew Hinata-sama's main weak point: she was too soft. Both in the inside and in the outside. That was the reason why she had spiced up the fight so suddenly. She knew as soon as things were getting though, Hinata-sama would retreat and surrender. He knew it perfectly, because several times in the past had he taken advantage of that weakness of her. Several times until...

He looked at the older girl's face.

Deep concentration.

She would not fail this time. She would not surrender this time.

And this was enough to make him believe in her.

"I got you." Hanabi said.

She had caught both of her sister's wrists and kept on gripping them.

Hinata shook her head.

Hanabi frowned.

Her eyes widened as she looked down.

Hinata's naked feet were emitting a strange gleam. A white gleam.

"...chakra...?" Hanabi blurted out.

Hinata raised her right foot and delicately touched her sister's leg just as she pushed Hanabi's hands away.

The younger girl fell on the tatami.

Hinata bent down to her.

"Are you alright...?" she asked.

A cold glare was all she received as an answer. Before Hanabi's hands hit her.

She stumbled some steps backwards and clutched on her now internally injured knee.

Hanabi promptly stood up to hit her again but her blow was blocked. Instead, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. As she launched at her sister again, she received another tap on her right arm.

Her leg couldn't take it anymore. She collapsed on the floor.

Hinata slowy approached her, careful not to put too much weight on her knee.

That was when a hand roughly pushed her on the shoulder.

She took some steps back. Pain was obvious on her face.

"How dare you." came the icy voice.

Her lips parted, but never uttered a word, as her assailant came to her.

She clumsily avoided his hand, backing everytime he would try to touch her.

But he was faster. And she was hurt.

Neji blinked at the turn of events.

The training fight had turned into a fight between father and daughter. He hadn't realized when Hiashi-sama had left his side. Only when Hinata-sama was almost sent flying on the wall did he notice Hiashi-sama had interviened. He looked furious. The way his hands slashed the air was showing it.

Neji knew why he was angry.

He was angry because he had seen his expectations shatter right in front of his eyes. He had believed Hinata-sama would fail, like she used to do. He had believed she would lose to Hanabi-sama like she did so many times in the past. But he had been proved wrong. And it angered him.

Neji understood that. He understood his anger, because he himself had felt it in the past. He understood one would try to vent his fury on someone else, someone one holds responsible for whatever happen.

But he couldn't stand the idea of someone hurting Hinata-sama.

No matter who it was.

Neji blocked the hand aimed at the girl's body.

White furious eyes glared at him.

He hardened his gaze.

"This is none of your concern, Neji." the man warned.

The boy kept silent.

"This is a training session, don't you interfere." he hissed.

"You're hurting her, Hiashi-sama." he stated.

"Out of my way."

"Neji-niisan, don't..."

"No."

Veins instantly scarred both man's and boy's face.

He avoided a powerful gentle blow coming towards him. But he could prevent a knee to get him in the stomach.

He coughed and clutched his belly.

"Neji-niisan..." Hinata called behind him.

"I'm fine." he stood up.

More blows were delivered to him. He blocked some. He received some.

His body was hurting, in many aeras. Hiashi-sama wasn't soft on him.

He knew the fight was serious. After all, he had pissed him off and was disobeying his orders. And he knew Hiashi-sama couldn't stand people disobeying him.

But Hiashi-sama was wrong.

Neji dodged the man's palm once again.

His body suddenly heated up.

He had unconsciously started to gather chakra around his body.

He had no time to think about it.

He grabbed the man's hand and drew him towards his body. Surprised, the man firstly didn't offer any resistance. That was before his eyes widened as he understood.

"Kaiten!" Neji announced.

Air became thick. Pressure increased. Chakra burst.

Hinata covered her face from the strong draught.

As the room became quiet, she lowered her arms to look around her.

Neji still stood in front of her. Her father stood few steps away from him.

Neji knew it was foolish.

He didn't want to ruin the training room, so he had executed his attack with less than eighth of his power. He knew it must have feel like a vague little caress on Hiashi-sama's body. Nothing much. He knew the man was at least ten times stronger than him. He knew he could seriously get hurt if Hiashi-sama wanted.

But he felt he had to stand him.

He wouldn't apologize to him. He wouldn't go away. He wouldn't retreat.

Because he knew he was doing the right thing.

"I told you not to interfere. And you're disobeying me Neji."

He gave the man a sharp look.

"Just like Hizashi..."

The man raised two fingers in front of his mouth.

Two pairs of eyes widened.

"Otousan!" Hinata shouted.

"Otousan, don't..." Hanabi called.

Neji didn't utter a word.

He removed the head band covering his forehead, revealing the seal.

His features hardened with determination.

He took a fighting stance.