Note: This story starts during Neji's and Hinata's battle during the Chuunin Exams. The rest takes place years later.
"Must be a fight to settle the quarrels then." Sakura said, the bruises from her match with Ino still evident on her face. She glanced back into the crowd as did Naruto, both looking down upon Hinata who was still staring intently at the ground as though she found something interesting to stare it. On the other hand, Neji stood across from her peering through her with eyes that clearly showed no emotion although most people knew how deep the upcoming battle really was.
"The battle is about to begin," stated Kakashi and the two as well as Lee faced the front, their hands gripped on the guardrails.
"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hinata-sama..." Neji started, staring at the Hyuga family successor with pure animosity. Surprised, Hinata shot her head up and her mouth started to tremble. He stared at her with bitter distaste but she couldn't help but be terrified of the branch family member before her.
"Give up. You're not suited to become a ninja," he laid out flatly. Hinata said nothing, just looked back at him with her body trembling with unrivalled fear.
"You are too kind. You seek harmony and avoid trouble and you just go along and follow someone else's idea."
Hinata bowed her head in shame as Neji continued to mock her.
"And...you have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine to remain a Genin. But you cannot register for the Chuunin Exam unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers from Kiba and your teammate and the truth is that you are taking this exam unwillingly."
It was like poison to Hinata. She swallowed those words and her insides started to melt and bubble. Not from anger, but from the mere fact that his words were true. She wouldn't accept it though; she wouldn't let his mind games get to her although her body contradicted her thoughts.
"Am I right?" He simply asked, his voice lowering to a hiss.
"You're wrong! You're wrong..." She shook her head and clenched her hands together, placing them on her chest. "I...I just wanted to change myself...so I willingly..." She didn't know what to say. It was a lie but she couldn't accept the fact that Neji's games were morphing her into some terrified child.
'Kurenai paced slowly towards the shoji screen, dressed in her regular jounin apparel. She heard pants from the other side and reluctantly opened the door, revealing a tall man with the same pearly eyes as the young girl that lay helplessly before him.
"Stand up, Hanabi." He ordered, his voice stern that showed no hint of affection or remorse. He had a green shirt draped over him under his white yukata and has both hands gripping a long wooden weapon of some sort of ancient martial arts. The girl in front of him heaved in heavily, her long flowing hair draping over her and a kunai held out in front of her pointing towards the opposite wall.
Kurenai stood there, waiting for the young girl to stand up while the man's face suddenly showed quite a bit of impatience. The girl struggled to stand up and this didn't go unnoticed by Kurenai. She wobbled with every miniscule movement but the man simply stood there, his eyes not wavering in the least.
"Hinata will now be under my command," Kurenai stated, her attention and eyes shifting to the man in front of the struggling little girl. "But are you sure you want that, sir?"
He slowly shifted one pupil to her general direction, his mouth morphing in a frown. He said nothing while she waited for a response. She decided to continue,
"Hinata is the Hyuga family's successor. Missions that Genin undertake have a possibility of death."
The man bowed his head lower, his face suddenly showing an angry expression which Kurenai didn't like at the moment. "Do as you like with her." He growled, his hair moving slightly as a gust of wind passed the three from outside. Kurenai forced herself to look up at him. Her worried-ness had leaked out and now she felt compassion for Hinata. She knew that the Hyuga was a noble and prestigious family and that the third Hokage was proud of the family...but did Hinata's father have to go as far as disowning her because of her lack of confidence and capabilities?
The girl that was wobbling tried to stand up, her hand instinctively setting on her thigh for support as the other hand with the kunai shook uncontrollably. She breathed in and out, trying her best to control her lungs. After realizing that she was panting like a hungry dog, she placed the other hand on her thigh to try and level herself out.
"A defect who is even weaker than Hanabi, someone five years her junior..." A strange type of seriousness appeared in his eyes as he spoke. "...is not needed in Hyuga."
Kurenai shifted her head to the side as her hands shook with the urge to strangle the man before her. She wouldn't of course but she wished that the man would at least recognize that he had a daughter, not a defect. Kurenai bore through him with utter disgust and she swore she thought that he had cracked a grin.
The small girl stood up completely, her face strong with determination. She pulled the kunai out in front of her, its tip pointing at her sensei and also her father. She had started to control her breathing even though it was still evident that her father had pushed her to her limits.
"Are you done talking?"
Kurenai said nothing because she knew that if she opened her mouth, nothing respectful would come out of it.
"Then be gone. You are a bother." He said, closing his eyes and waiting for her to exit.
"Sir," she responded. She turned around and exited the decorated room. She abruptly stopped and turned to her left, surprised that Hinata was standing right there, her body leaned up against the shoji screen. She didn't look happy at all-- in fact she looked like sadness had consumed her entire self. Kurenai had nothing to say.
No words or actions could heal the wounds that Hinata had.'
Hinata looked away from Neji. Should she listen to Kiba and quit? She didn't know what to do and the thought of fighting him alone frightened her greatly.
"Hinata-sama, you are indeed a spoiled child from the head family." Neji calmly said.
"What..?"
"People cannot change."
Hinata pulled back slightly as those words began to echo off the walls of the arena. They started to eat away at the minute bit of confidence that she had conjured up and now she was beginning to believe them. Everything was starting to make sense: She was a nuisance to everyone around her and she needed to be dealt with. She cannot change and thus everyone around her will become stronger, leaving her to rot in her own state in denial. She needed a way out. Someone who would unlock her cage and set her free.
"A failure is a failure. Its personality and power will not change."
Naruto had heard all of Neji's speech and was sickened. He deemed it lame and wished that Hinata would stick up for herself. He grunted and clenched his fists, mumbling words to himself.
Neji raised his head and opened his eyes, showing her the eyes which proved that they were both of Hyuga decent. "People cannot change, so that's why terms like 'elites' and 'failures' exist. Everyone judges you by how good your face, head, abilities, body shape, and personality are. There are things that cannot be changed. People suffer due to their limits, and live. Just like how we cannot change the fact that I am from the branch family and you are from the head family. My Byakugan has seen many things. That's why I know!...You are just being tough. You are really thinking about how you want to leave this place right now."
Tears streaming down her face, Hinata yelled, "That's not true! I really want to…" She stopped when Neji put his legs apart, his hands clasped into a position similar to the statue placed on the edge of the arena.
"Byakugan!"
Hinata shook violently. She was on the verge of fainting and she felt doing just that was probably the best option. Her body did not allow it though; it wanted her to face him even though she detested it. She put one hand up to her mouth, looking off to the side.
"You cannot fool my eyes. You moved your eyes to the top left corner after you felt my pressure. This indicates that you are recalling a past event. A harsh past of yours. After that, you moved your eyes to the bottom right. This indicates you are imagining physical and mental pain. In other words...you imagined your old self and predicted the outcome of this match from past experiences." Neji concentrated, pumping more chakra to his bloodline limit.
"A prediction that says you will lose!"
Tears swelled up and stood on the very edge of Hinata's lids, her hand up in front of her touching her lips. Nervousness and uneasiness had taken over her body and she was unable to move.
"Don't label people like that, you idiot! Beat him up, Hinata!" Naruto screamed, his fist clearly in front of him insinuating his point. Kakashi, Sakura and Lee stared at him as though he had grown a second head but he continued his declarative rambling nonetheless.
"Hinata!Why won't you say something back! It's making the people watching get angry!" Naruto had caught everyone's attention now. Hinata bowed her head down in shame but took his words into consideration.
The sudden pregnant silence started to suffocate everyone.
Hinata, with a renewed courage, inwardly thanked Naruto and looked up, causing Neji to glance back in surprise.
"So you're not going to give up? Don't blame me later on." He immediately resumed his regular facade.
I don't want to...Hinata thought, run away anymore! She started hand signals and whispered Byakugan. Veins appeared around her eyes and her new posture earned a gasp from Naruto. With her legs slightly parted, arms outstretched and eyes full of determination, she stated what she wanted to do.
"Neji-nii-san, let us fight."
They stood apart from each other, one breathing heavily while the other stood upright, a few sweat beads falling from his head. Hinata looked at Neji and was prepared to continue the fight although he had attacked her heart and her arm with the Jyuken, blocking the tenketsu which caused the chakra to stop circulating. Unbeknownst to her, her heart had already started it's internal bleeding and even though she spat out blood with every few breaths, she was determined to win--in front of the person she admired.
"I can tell with those eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuga family. You cursed your powerlessness and blamed yourself. But people cannot change. This is destiny. There's no need to suffer, let yourself go."
Hinata shook her head, the blood on her chin sliding gently off her bruised face. She whispered, "You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. Because I can see that you are suffering more than me."
"What?" Everyone seemed to notice that surprise that snuck into Neji's distinctive features.
"You are the one who is confused and suffering inside the fate of the head and branch families." Hinata calmly finished, her voice becoming weak and unstable.
Neji growled and lunged at her, the urge to kill her right then pulsing through his veins. Everyone's shouts fell upon deaf ears as Neji ran towards the immobile girl. Kakashi, Gai, and Kurenai stopped him right in his tracks, grabbing his arms to stop him from his rage.
The fight was over but the battle had just begun.
"I'm sorry to call you in during this harsh time," Hiashi said, placing his tea on the kotetsu in front of him, "but this is a matter of utter importance and now is the only time to take care of it." He looked across from him where Neji and Hanabi sat, his eyes scanning over their figures.
"Is it that important, Hiashi-shishou? Konoha is in the midst of being attacked." He peered at his shishou, unable to comprehend the look in his eyes.
"Are you doubting my decision?" Hiashi growled, ready to teach the boy a lesson. He hadn't forgotten what his brother, Neji's father, had done for his sake but that wasn't a good enough reason to give him lip.
"No Hiashi-shishou. I am sorry."
Hiashi responded with a grunt, sipping more of his green tea.
The tense air that loomed over the relative was intoxicating but Hanabi felt it was better than the harsh words she had received from her father earlier. But she had an uneasy feeling. Something bad was going to happen but she couldn't pin point what it was...just yet, that is.
"I heard from Kurenai-san that you fought Hinata today. Am I correct?"
Neji merely glanced up at Hiashi and blinked once before staring at the cup that sat on the kotetsu.
"I also heard that you used the Jyuken and Byakugan in combination. Further more, is it true that you attacked Hinata's heart, causing her to go through ventricular fibrillation?" He calmly said, catching the attention of the young Genin.
"Is that a probl--"
"You may be a genius and you may be the strongest of the children in this family but you are a branch member! I am indeed sorry to say this but no matter how strong you become, your sole duty is to protect the main family!" He roared, causing Hanabi to nearly leap into the air from the tone of his voice.
"We were chosen to fight. I fight to win. I do not give remorse to those who challenge me no matter who they are." Neji stood up, intent on leaving so that he could continue to protect his village that was currently under attack. Hiashi stood up also, shoving a hand out in front of him and gesturing for Hanabi to stand beside him.
"You are to protect the head family members--even the defect..."
That sentence alone caused Neji to halt mid step.
"...and under no circumstances are you to kill a head family member. Hinata is now in the emergency ward and has undergone extensive surgery to survive. Although I do not accept her as my daughter, she is a head family member and therefor needs to be protected. Your chuunin rank can wait."
Neji seethed, his fists clenching together as Hiashi motioned for him to turn around.
Hiashi sighed, whispering dejectedly, "I'm sorry Neji but you must learn your lesson." He tapped Hanabi's right shoulder and she knew what to do. With a simple hand sign, Neji was forced to the ground as a horrid pain shook his body. He suddenly had a massive headache and, in reflex, grabbed his head, tearing off his headband to reveal the pulsing family seal.
His hatred towards the main family had just gotten deeper.
TBC