Chapter 2

Book at bedtime

Hinata was sitting in the kitchen reading a book.

She laid her hands on the table turning pages with a concentrated look on her face.

She was hardly able to remember what she was reading.

It had been a while since she had last seen her cousin. It almost seemed like Neji had been avoiding her for the last month. Whenever she had seen him, she had managed to look into his eyes bravely, and even thought the strength in her eyes had been faked, he seemed to have believed her to be stronger now. Hinata had nearly forgotten her fear of places Neji might have found her alone. She hadn't told her family about the incident on the road from the training field, mostly because she'd been afraid of her father's reaction. She had mentioned Kiba about Neji's actions, but since Neji seemed to have gotten scared, she had told him to hold his horses. Now her life seemed to on back on track.

Until the door got knocked.

Hanabi walked past her to open the door.

"Hello Hanabi", she heard Neji's voice saying "Is your sister home?"

Hinata was quickly awaked from her daydreams.

"Hinata!" she heard Hanabi yelling, "Neji onii-chan is here to see you!"

She was already running to her room.

"Hello dear cousin", Neji said, "Where are you running? I know this is your day off."

Hinata stopped and turned around.

"He… hello, Neji", she forced herself to say, "What… what are you doing here?"

All her fears came back to hunt her, stroke her down like a lightning.

She saw Neji smiling and placing his hand to Hanabi's shoulders.

Hanabi turned to look him for a moment, then turned back to look her older sister.

"Are you not feeling well, sister?" she asked, "You look so pale."

"What are you doing here, cousin?" Hinata asked with her voice shaking.

Hanabi didn't see him smiling. She was too concentrated to look Hinata's sweaty face that she ignored the hands of her cousin when Neji patted her shoulders.

"I only need to borrow a book of yours, Hinata", he said, the one you are keeping in your room."

His lips silently formed the words "Hanabi…isn't …stronger…than…me"

"Our books are in the living room," Hanabi said turning her head to smile for her cousin.

Neji smiled back.

"Not this one, Hanabi, this is the one she read last night before going to sleep."

"How do you know?" she asked.

Hinata was unvoiced.

Neji's lips formed a smile, then the words "She's thirteen years old, have you no heart?"

"Let's just get the book and then I'll be going", he said, "You do look awfully pale, Hinata, like you'd be haunted by a ghost or something. I'll leave you to rest in a moment."

Neji moved past Hanabi, walked to Hinata and placed his hand on her back.

"You don't want me to start a fight, do you?" he whispered.

"You... youwouldn't dare to hurt my sister, you bastard", Hinata whispered back without moving an inch, "She's dear even to our father. You would like to remain in good terms with him, wouldn't you?"

"Right now all I care about is how to get you into your room without having to hurt your sister. She's very dear to me too, you see. Very dear…"

Hinata used her byakugan to see her sister who was standing behind their backs, not very far away. The girl was shaking, obviously noticing that something was wrong. Hinata was shaking too, mindful of the fact that her sister was now using her byakugan to see through Neji's back how he used his centle fist to cause painto Hinata breaking the blood veins on her back.

Hanabi obviously saw the huge bruise that was starting to form on her sisters back.

Hinata forced her scared and shaking legs to move towards her room as Neji started to push her back again.

"You are a smart girl, Hinata" he whispered right before the door closed behind them.