It had been a shock for all the Rookie Nines that they were nominated to apply in the Chuunin Exams. The recommendation had especially affected Hinata Hyuuga. Just as Kurenai relayed the news, Hinata almost broke down crying when her mind flooded with just all the horrific possibilities that may occur. She almost dared not even tell her father, that was until Neji was the one to tell him instead. Of course, he saw this as an opportunity to humiliate the main branch as he is sure Hinata will fail the first round.

"Hinata, you've done well to already be nominated for the Chuunin Exams," her father said as he invited her to his office after dinner.

As best as her fragile mind could take she held her head high and forced herself to speak without a stutter, just as she had practiced for hours from the day before. "Thank you, father." She had already been punished enough times to know what was to come if she acted as she usually does. 'Weak and pathetic,' her father would often describe her stuttering and fidgeting.

"I hope that you will not disappoint me during the exams."

Hinata clenched her fists. As always, her father had already decided for her without a choice or even a discussion. "Y-Yes, father." This time her little speech impediment slipped out as it was much harder to control now that she had to focus on keeping her emotions at bay and prevent any tears from falling.

He gave a sharp look at her small mishap to warn her not to do it again. "You may leave now. Be sure to learn all the katas I've shown you by next week."

"Yes." She gave a deep bow. "Have a good night, Father."

Just as she slid the door shut from the entrance of her father's office, she shakingly leaned her back beside a wall and let out a deep breath out of relief she was finally out of his menacing presence. Now that that is over, she just had to return to her bedroom. Though it's not always that simple. At this time, Neji would be walking back to his room after his exercises in one of the household's training grounds. Unfortunately for her, the area just so happened to be in the opposite direction from her room so crossing paths with her cousin was bound to happen. She had to hope that Neji had already retired for the evening during the talk with her father. The meeting, including the news of the Chuunin Exams, had already mentally drained her out and she did not think she will be able to handle any more than that.

Apparently, she had hoped too soon. She had smiled when she noticed the corridors were empty. Quickly, she walked to her room, relieved that she would finally be able to relax.

Her smile instantly vanished. Instead of being greeted by the comfort of her room, her body was instantly chilled by the sight of Neji sitting on her bed.

"I suspect that you are to enter the Chuunin Exams?"

She immediately looked down her feet when she realized she stared too long from the shock of his unexpected appearance. "Y-yes," Hinata barely managed to say. He gave the same look her father gave her. The same cruel, cold stare that looked down upon her as if she was nothing but a lowly child.

Hinata flinched when he led out a taunting chuckle and lifted himself off the bed to approach the door. Just as he was about to pass her, he placed a hand on her shoulder that instantly tightened when she was about to step aside. "You're a failure. Just because you have already been recommended to try the exams does not mean you're not the weak, pathetic, lowlife you still are." With his one hand, he harshly shoved her to the ground. "Don't forget it."

His words made Hinata's heart clench in pain. All her life she has been constantly berated by her father. But now Neji, the one with whom she had been the dearest friends, also felt the same. She knew that tears were a sign of weakness, believe her, she has been constantly reminded of that from her family, but the news of the exam, the pressure, the expectations and the insults finally broke down her emotional defences. Just as Neji was about to leave he had caught sight of her now falling tears that she had hopelessly tried to stop since her meeting with her father. She had hoped that he wouldn't have noticed and would be out of her room by then but of course, nothing can escape the Hyuuga eyes.

"Huh? Are you crying?"

In pure desperation, she wiped her wet cheeks and profusely shook her head in denial. "No!" But the fear of what he will do to her began to kick in her mind and cause her to spill tears even more.

Neji crouched down in front of her and firmly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Why are you crying?" He asked in a mocking tone. Hinata was about to reply when she was then caught off guard by the sudden softness she found deep within his eyes. Neji gently wiped her tears with his other hand. No matter how she looked it, Hinata saw the same Neji years ago that treated her with the same kindness. She didn't want to say anything to ruin it. Maybe, just maybe, if she just kept quiet he go back to being the same boy she once knew. She remembers a time long ago when they would sneak off from the Hyuuga compounds to a nearby flower field near the woods. They would laugh, make flower crowns, pretend they lived a fairytale with her as the princess and him as the knight, truly enjoy each other's company as there was no one else. There, they can ignore the unfair division of the Hyuuga family and finally act like children. Then, once they are caught and scolded by their parents, they would comfort each other and lull themselves to sleep. Hinata almost smiled at the memory, despite the situation she was in.

However, the reality isn't a fairytale and wishes don't come true. It never does. Once again, the cold, calculating look reentered his eyes. "You don't deserve to cry." He began to ramble, his grip on her chin moving to her neck. Neji pushed her down on her back and trapped her in between his knees. "Are you part of the branch house, Hinata-sama?" He specifically emphasized the 'sama' in pure mockery. His hold began to tighten as he went on, causing her to gasp for air. He knew full well that she wasn't going to use the seal against him, nor even report his assault and he took complete advantage of that. After all, 'the weak will suffer what they must.' "Do you have this mark? This god-forsaken mark?! Has your father sacrificed his life for you?!"

Hinata could not- would not stop him. The hold she had on his arms in an attempt to stop him limply dropped to her sides. As she further listened to his rants, the turmoil she felt inside her exploded with regret. This was her fault. Neji's loss, anger, fate- it was all her fault and she can't do anything about it. The least she could do is help him release his stress. That is all she can do and she will gladly do so. If this is the price for her mistakes, she will face it head-on. She smiled to reassure herself that this was what she deserved, even if she was on the brink of death by his hands.

Neji gasped and suddenly moved back which caused her to immediately cough and gasp back the air she was prevented from breathing in. "You… weak-"

"N-Neji?" She called his name to question his abrupt fallback.

He clenched his fists and seethed, "Why don't you ever fight back?!"

"I-I…"

"Why?!"

"I just want… to help you…"

Neji's angered face faltered but immediately returned back. "You are not fit to be the heiress." Just as he said that he stormed out of her room, leaving Hinata crying on the floor in pain, too physically and mentally tired to even more.

—

It was late at night when she was stirred awake by the feeling of her body being moved from the ground she was too exhausted to move from. Neji held her with each arm behind her back and knees and carried her to her bed. "I'm sorry," she heard him repeat over and over again. She would have said something but she struggled to even fight off the sleep that was quickly taking over her mind again. The last thing she remembers was being tucked in and feeling his body lying next to hers, his arms wrapped gently around her as if to cancel out the harsh grip he had on her neck just hours before.

—

Sasuke felt conflicted. Now that he admits to himself that he- dare he say, 'likes' Hinata Hyuuga- he didn't really know how to actually deal with his feelings. Every time he glanced at her, he felt his head muddling up and his heart pounding so hard that he almost thought he was sick. He wanted to get away from her as far as possible but at the same time, the idea of doing so felt wrong. For some reason, the idea of staying close to her, talking to her, even holding her, felt more appealing to him even if it made him feel confused and stuffier than before.

Despite his feelings, because of his own training for the Chuunin Exams, he now had less time to spar with Hinata. For the first few days, he managed to arrive at their usual training spot just a few minutes late but recently the few minutes became 30 and then to hours. However, even with his tardiness, Hinata always waited for him, silently, stoically, obediently. She always gives him a shy smile when he arrives when really, she's supposed to be angry at him like any normal person. He felt his heart thump even harder- which is why he felt even crabbier that he had less time with the girl. To her dismay, she was the one that had to deal with his pent-up frustration.

After their short spar, the two sat on a bench to rest before leaving to their homes. She tried to scoot away from him to have some space between them when he sat a bit too close to her than she had expected but stopped when she felt his fingers lightly brush over hers. After a few moments of hesitance, he had finally placed his palm over the top of her hand that slightly trembled under his touch due to nervousness. They then sat in awkward silence as she dared not to question his sudden touch.

Hinata fidgeted the hem of her jacket with her one hand that was free. "Um… Uchiha-san… Thank you for sparring with me again today."

His heart seemed to have thumped even louder than before. "What?" Distracted by his recurring condition, Sasuke answered with a bit too much force that came out sounding harsh. Whatever was happening to him, he desperately wanted for it to stop.

"I-I mean-! Y-you must b-be very busy because of the e-exams b-but you a-always m-manage to have the time to c-come here f-for me… So… t-thank you." She rambled, afraid that she had somehow fouled his mood.

"Shut up. Who said I'm doing this for you?" Sasuke wanted to clasp his mouth shut. Just what on earth was he saying? "And stop with that awful stuttering too." Who was he kidding, he loved how she spoke. It was soft, quiet, so different from the unruly high-pitched squeals he would hear from other girls. It was just that the words just suddenly formed out of his mouth before he is even able to stop it. He glanced at the girl and felt the annoying thumping of his heart increase ten folds by some odd reason of her saddened look.

"O-oh… I'm sorry…"

She tries to move her hand out of her hold but he quickly caught on and clenched it tightly. Hinata always had the tendency to avoid instead of actually confronting her problems so he stopped her before she actually does run away. He was not going to let her leave, not yet. Not when he was on a high this much.

—

Hinata desperately wanted to leave. Before, she had thought she and Sasuke were becoming closer friends. Though that idea soon was abandoned after his recent insult.

'Maybe he does hate me…' she gloomily thought. She could only pray she doesn't do anything stupid to have him hate her even more. Now keeping Sakura's promise seemed harder than she thought. She was going to start a little small talk about the pink-haired girl but seeing how he was in a seemingly foul mood didn't seem like the right time.

Knowing how she even failed to do the task she promised to Sakura made her spirit even worsen. Another day will have to suffice.

"You know I do waste a lot of my time for you."

Hinata peeked at him through her bangs that had fallen over her eyes when she tilted her head down to hide her expression. She silently agreed, knowing full well the sparring they do weren't exactly helping him improve his skill when hers were clearly mediocre at best.

"How are you going to repay me?"

"R-repay you?" She repeated his words. Sasuke looked back at her with a smirk.

"I don't exactly get any benefit from our meetups if you couldn't tell so I'm not doing this for free."

"W-well… what would y-you like?"

"I want-"

"Hinata-sama!"

His answer was cut off by someone's call of her name. Sasuke contorted in rage from the interruption and looked to see another Hyuuga approaching towards them from the training park's entrance. He resisted the urge to throw his kunai at the sudden intruder when he saw Hinata bolt up and greet him with familiarity.

"N-Neji-nii-san, w-what is it?" She bolted up from her seat in hopes it was quick enough that he didn't see their physical contact.

"Hiashi-sama wants you to come home immediately for a meeting," he answered back. Thankfully, he didn't catch their held hands but he did, however, notice Sasuke's intense glare that clearly indicated he wanted to fight. Neji returned the scowl with a look of disgust from the lack of respect, unknowing that he was looking at an Uchiha, a clan with the same status he is in. "Hurry or he will surely punish you again."

Hinata panicked at the possibility. "Right." She turned back at Sasuke and gave a hasty bow. "T-thank you a-again, U-Uchiha-san."

Neji's eyes widened at the surname. He would have never guessed the meek Hinata would be hanging out with the infamous Uchiha. Surely the boy was just manipulating her of something. The older Hyuuga sighed knowing that that is possibly what is actually happening. When will the stupid girl ever learn that no one wants to be with the weak? She should be grateful even he himself was sparing a glance at her. With one last sharp look towards the Uchiha, he led Hinata out with a hold around her back to the upper part of her arm.

Hinata gave one last quick wave and followed Neji's lead, leaving Sasuke fuming by the disruption of his plans.

What about him? Who was the other Hyuuga? Was he that easy to leave behind?

That was when Sasuke realized, he liked having her attention only on him.

A/N:

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I realize because of this one review (which I am grateful for opening my eyes for) I made Sasuke a bit too mature last chapter so pls for the sake of this story just pretend that Sasuke and Hinata's interaction near the ending did not happen LOL. I tried to make Sasuke more like a kid again this time so hopefully, that shows in this chapter. I really should plan out my stories bruh. Neji will be a love interest but of course, Sasuhina will be the main focus. I'm just thinking if I should make Neji dark as well or not.

For that Guest that gave me a long review that I reread 10 times because I love it so much: Thank you for the Neji info omg I love him even more now. God if only Neji didn't die.. I would have liked to see more screen time of him and hinata together. And WOW I had no idea of sasuke's thoughts on hinata from the novel. thank you for the valuable info. honestly It's so sad that sasuke and hinata never had any interactions anywhere except for that one scene in the anime when she calls his name

Bonauditeur: thank you for reviewing every time I update, i get so happy. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter!

So the reason behind this slow update is because I was beast modeing for school. I realized I'm not doing too well in my classes rn so I went into the study grindset. But you know what, idc anymore LOL. I got into another good uni yesterday so like I don't even know why I'm trying rn bruh. But idk if I don't try I just feel real dumb so maybe I'll go beastmode again. Don't worry I'll write a lot during March Break.

Also I've been reading a lot of angsty hinata ship fics and I was wondering if anyone can recommend me some more? Like just some juicy, heart-clenching, sad, angsty fics that's going to make me cry.

Here's some I really recommend:

Ikigai by Lanse

Under the Yoshino Tree by The immortal sage

Becoming an Uchiha by College n Curls

Marriage in the Sand by danyel

My One In A Million by Renoa Heartilly

Possession by Rogue Daffodil

and more so ya um pls give me more to read.

If you check my twitter ( moonalllie) ( /moonalllie/status/1499662309861507073?s=20&t=8R3gZerxiLROM6MsylCGKg) I drew a scene from this chapter so check it out.

Ok bye mb for the long note.

Hope you enjoyed and pls review!