Disclaimer: We all know who owns Naruto, and it isn't a six foot one inch tall gaijin with just over shoulder length black hair. So, let's get on with the story, shall we?
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#Mind Speech#
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Hinata awoke the next morning and cleansed herself. She dressed in her funerary clothes and exited her rooms. As she walked down the hall, she noticed instead of the cut eyes and snickering, there were bowed heads, and murmuring, most likely of the fight last night. It was still unreal in her mind, that her body was used as somewhat a puppet by an actual goddess.
As strange as it sounded, Hinata believed it. There was no other way that she would know about foreign deities, or explain away the black energy, that she could now feel coursing in her body. She reached out to it and felt it, and coaxed a little of it to the tenketsus in her eyes. If she had thought this through more, she wouldn't have done so while walking in the hall. The result was all together different from the Byakugan.
Instead of seeing all around her, she saw straight ahead, without any peripheral vision, this startled her, but when she looked at someone, there was a scale above them, some leaning to one side, some to the others, but none of them were balanced. With a gasp, she bade the energy back down and away from her eyes.
Trepidatiously a young maid from the branch house approached her, being prodded from behind. "Hinata-sama, are you alright?" came the timid, frightened voice.
"A-ano, I am. I am sorry to have worried you." She searched for a plausible reasoning for her actions. "My friend's funeral is today, and it is hard upon me."
The maid slightly nodded, "I understand, my lady, I had a friend that was killed when the Sound and the Sand attacked. I was out of sorts for days, if not weeks." The maid moved closer and spoke quietly to Hinata, so that she alone could hear, "I mean not to out step my place, ma'am, but the pain doesn't truly go away, but it does lessen. It does help if you talk to someone about it, though. If you would like, I could be that person, since I understand some of what you are going through."
Hinata placed her hand upon the maid's arm, "I think that I would like that. May I ask your name?"
The maid nodded, "It is Yori."
"Yori, who are you working with?"
"I am working with Mai today."
Hinata turned around and saw the older woman. "Mai, Yori will be with me as my entourage today, please go and have someone else assigned to help you on my orders." Hinata paused remembering the woman, Mai, was always kind to her. From time to time, she would make comments about how much like her mother Hinata was, "Make it two people and you may take the rest of the day off once you are through with your assignment." Turning to Yori, "Do you have clothes appropriate for funeral wear?"
Yori nodded in disbelief, "Hai, Mistress, I do."
"Then please go prepare, and meet me in the dining room. We shall go out after I am finished with breakfast," instructed Hinata.
Yori bowed to the Hyugga heiress and left quickly. Hinata turned around and began to walk towards the familial dining room.
#Very well handled, daughter of my spirit. #
Hinata smiled at the praise, #Thank you, my goddess, I did but what I thought was right, and at this time, I feel that I do need someone with me. #
Hinata could see Nemesis in her mind, walking beside her, #Last night I taught you a lesson in administrating justice on those that are deserving of punishment. Today, you demonstrated that you already know how to reward those that are worthy of kindness. #
Hinata opened the door of the dining room and entered. She turned around, closed the door, and turned back to the table. She saw her father sitting, bandaged around his arm and throat. She moved to the table and sat in her normal position, to her father's right. Hanabi was already sitting across the table from her, on his left. The look from her sister was odd.
The look was not the normal condescending look of contempt that had been ingrained into her, but one of revulsion and bordering on hate. Again, Hinata reached to the black energy and brought it to her eyes. With Hanabi in front of her Hinata couldn't help but see the scales over her head. They were overbalanced to the extreme and not towards the same direction as Mai or Yori. Willing the energy to return to its source Hinata broke the silence, "Father, I hope you are well, and not to injured to carry out your part of our bargain."
"Do not fret, Daughter, I will carry through with it."
As Hinata nodded and continued with her meal, Hanabi slammed her hand upon the table. "How did you trick Father like that? There is no way you could have beaten him! You can't even beat me, Loser! How could you make him do something like this? He will be disgraced!"
#Child, if you wish… #
#It is okay, there is a proper time and place for all actions. #
Nemesis nodded in Hinata's mind's eye, # You have accepted more of me into your countenance than I had hoped. I am very pleased in you. #
Hinata smiled at the praise from the goddess, but then looked dead-on towards her younger sister, "And if I had made it a challenge for leadership of the clan, then what? I would be at the head of the table, and you would have a seal upon your forehead, dear sister. Is it that you are angry for what I did to Father, or the fact that you could never hope to come close to accomplishing it? Is it you that you are angry at for allowing such a weak person to do something that you will never have a chance to do?"
Hanabi growled and stood up; she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. After watching her leave the room Hinata turned to her father, "Otou-san, there is one thing that this clan lacks. It lacks humility. I would suggest that you work on that, or the consequences could be… horrible."
The rest of the meal was finished in silence. As Hinata finished, Yori was allowed into the room and knelt, waiting patiently for her mistress to indicate that she was ready to leave. Taking her father's grunt for permission to leave the table she stood and left the room followed by Yori.