Calm Waters

Standard Disclaimers Apply

A/N: Hi! This is my first Naruto fanfic so please be nice! The pairing is NejiHina because I noticed that there aren't a lot of them out there. Yes, I know it would be sort of like incest but its just fan fiction…and also if you look at the Hyuuga family and their obsession with bloodline, it kind of makes sense in a way. Besides they are super cute and interesting to write together! This is for Cookie6!

PS: If you must flame me, flame me about my writing style and not me personally. I'll probably bawl for a week if you do! LOL! Thank you for all the reviews! I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the support! Hopefully, this chapter will not disappoint.

Chapter Two:

The training grounds were empty except for one small figure.

She was tiny, petite and slender, her hair cut short. It was obvious she was intent on her training but her movements, although naturally graceful, still lacked the precision and strength of a true ninja.

Her movements seem more a dance than anything else, even though every time she would hit the target, bits of bark would fly off at the impact of her hands.

After charging into a tree, delivering a vicious kick and somersaulting backwards to land on her feet, the figure stopped, panting as she slowly crumpled to the ground, her stamina drained, her energy gone.

Hinata panted harshly, hearing the wild beating of her heart and the roar of her blood singing in her ears.

She wanted so hard to be strong and she trained so hard to be better.

She would never be the strongest but that had never been her goal. She knew no matter what she did, there was always someone who was going to be stronger than her.

Her goal had started out as a desire to be accepted by her family.

To be loved and deemed worth of the name Hyuuga.

But that was before.

Now, all she wanted was to be strong for her own sake.

To prove to herself that she was not weak.

Hiashi Hyuuga would never see her as anything less that a disappointment. Hanabi was the only one he saw now and a small part of Hinata sometimes felt relieved that she no longer had to try and live up to her father's impossible standards. She was very proud of her sister, Hanabi.

Hanabi who was younger, smaller and yet so much stronger than Hinata herself.

How embarrassing, her father had spat at her, as she stared down at the floor that day Hanabi had beaten her.

Hinata had looked up and seen scorn and disappointment in his eyes.

And yes, hatred.

Hatred because of all the people in the world to be born weak and useless, why did it have to be her?

His daughter.

Hinata looked down at her hands.

They were small.

She was weak.

She touched the bruises on her arms. It had been almost a week since cousin Neji had spoken to her last, but the marks he had left on her were still there, the eggplant color of the bruise a shocking contrast against her pale white skin.

She bit her lip.

He'd wanted her to ask for help…but if their relatives from the main house saw him hurting her…would they even do anything?

Hinata knew no one in her family cared for her.

Not really.

No one cared for her except her cousin Neji.

But that was when they were younger.

Time passed and hey both grew up and now he hated her too.

She had Shino and Kiba, Akameru and Kurenai-sensei but it wasn't the same.

Hinata had always wanted Neji's approval.

She'd always wanted to see him smile at her again like he used to.

Why hadn't she cried out when he'd hurt her?

Because she felt like it was her due.

All the hatred her released on her, all the harsh words and cold glares…she deserved them.

Her family hurt him, his father died because of her, she felt as if whatever he did to her was her due.

It was her penance for taking away everything that was important to him.

If I could change it all I would.

If I could disappear I wouldn't even think twice about it

Just so you would smile again

Just so you can be free

She could never hurt him even though he made her so mad sometimes because of what he said about her.

There was a brief time when she hated him back, in her own quiet way, because of all the mean things he'd said and done to her.

At the Chuunin exams when she had gotten up again and again and kept on fighting even though he was slowly crushing her physically, she had seen the pain in his eyes even though he had tried to hide it.

He was strong…but like her, he was hurting as well.

And he was hurting because of her.

Because she had been born and she was weak and because of her, his father had died…

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered to the ground. She had tried so hard to tell him those words. To apologize for all the things he had been through and overcome.

She had wanted to say the words but had found her throat closed up as the guilt and sorrow overwhelmed her.

The memories of her Neji-niisan when they had been younger had flooded through her mind.

He was always there to protect her and to smile at her.

Every after her training session with her father, a young Hinata would be laying on the ground bleeding and breathing hard and wondering why she could have been born into a family who didn't put so much stock in strength.

She would be fighting tears and losing.

And he would come with a smile and help her up, clean her up…and he would make her smile because he was always smiling.

Hinata hadn't known that inside, he was also going through pain himself.

She lifted a hand to her forehead. What would it feel like to be branded with the seal? If she could trade places with Neji, she would have in a heartbeat. He deserved so much better.

"I'm so selfish…always thinking how poor and sorry and weak I am…but I never took the time to notice you were hurt to, did I Neji-niisan?"

There was a time when he would smile for her and just for her, just so she would smile back at him.

Hinata wanted to smile at him, smile just for him, just so he would smile back at her.

She wanted to see it again, his special smile.

His smile for her.

Neji…
A/N: Any thoughts? I'm sorry if this sucked. I'll try to do better next time…or do you guys think I've done enough damage and should just stop before this fic gets any worse? (Grins sheepishly) please review!