Hi everyone. Hope you enjoy this next chapter. Thank you to those who are taking the time to review and PM. Make sure you check the post script for some technical information I thought would be helpful in addendum.

Beki took a shower in her hotel room and changed into clean clothes. The Hyuga wouldn't expect her to arrive all dolled up after being dead for four years but Beki felt she shouldn't track dirt around their house. She glanced in the mirror, taking in her still startlingly cadaverous appearance. Her white blouse draped over her shoulders like a shroud, the tuxedo slacks matching the shirt's sober formality. Beki brushed her hair in a fruitless attempt to give herself a livelier appearance. At the end of it all, Beki still looked like a warmed-over corpse, but one with fantastic hair volume. She gave herself a smile to practice. "Hi, Hina chan."

Would it still be okay to call her "Hina chan"? By now she was probably some esteemed and dour matron. "Lady Hyuga" would sound more appropriate, "Lady Hinata" a la Neji would also do if Beki felt like being a little more familiar.

It was with these thoughts Beki took off into the night. Somehow, the streets of Konoha were slightly more familiar after dark. Robbed of some of her sight, Beki's muscle memory took and guided her by an internal compass she was previously unaware of. As she drew closer to the Hyuga compound, déjà vu struck her so intensely Beki almost experienced vertigo. She was fifteen again, walking side by side with a giant of a man. An oni in full armor, casting her in his black shadow despite the late hour and lack of streetlights. Beki was trussed up like a turkey in the Asou ancestral kimono, stumbling in her geta through the unfamiliar streets. The possibility of ruining the delicate attire terrified Beki, but not as much as the prim and proper family awaiting her. At the time, it had felt like being forced to walk to the guillotine. The tiniest portion of that fear and anticipation tugged at Beki now, but she wasn't fifteen anymore. There was no oni guarding her, no delicate princess dress, and no armor to protect her. To be honest, she didn't even feel like "Beki" anymore. "Beki" had died somewhere in a block of ice four years ago. This girl, no, this woman, was Haruka: the Embered Maiden, daughter of the Asou and the Tsukimori. She could be walking into the mouth of hell itself right now and it would barely register. That tiny blip on the frightened scale would only happen because in hell, Beki could be forced to relive her horrors again.

Beki raised her hand and knocked on the timeless Hyuga compound gate, an introduction mentally prepared for whatever new Hyuga face awaiting her on the other side. The gate was unceremoniously thrown open to reveal Hinata, standing there with an expectant look on her face. She looked the same as always, just with somewhat matured features. Her cheekbones were more pronounced and her hair was cut to a practical shoulder length bob. The moment their eyes met, Hinata's face blanched as though she were face to face with a ghost. Her jaw went slack and her lips trembled at Beki's appearance. Falling back to her ambassador training, Beki dropped into a bow suited for greeting an heiress. She opened her mouth to spout an automatic statement but before the words hit her lips, arms were around her. Hinata forcefully pulled Beki into an embrace. It yanked Beki out of her bow and it pressed her into Hinata's chest with her head on her shoulder. Hot tears splashed against Beki's neck as Hinata sobbed:

"When Neji told me you were alive I didn't believe it. Even when I saw you in the market I wasn't sure. But it's you. It's really you. You're alive!"

Beki had been steeling herself for this encounter. After the shock of meeting grown up Konohamaru and the disappointment that had been her reunion with Neji, Beki was prepared to hurt again. It would be perfectly natural for Hinata to be completely different after all this time, too. Cold, hard, and distant from four years of life experience. That was Beki's mistake. She should have known if there was ever a constant in her life, it was Hinata. At the familiar warmth of her hug and the lavender scent of her shampoo, Beki relaxed into Hinata's embrace. She wrapped her arms around Hinata's waist and buried her face into her neck. Hinata squeezed Beki tighter and for the first time since she came back from the dead, Beki truly felt like things were going to be okay. No matter how hard she fought them Beki's tears refused to stay contained. The two stood there quietly crying for a few moments.

Hinata's emotions were plain, the same way Konohamaru's had been. To her, Beki had died four years ago and had left Hinata with no closure; there was no body to bury or a funeral to hold. Beki imagined the pain her friend had felt having to pack up and clean out the room Beki had lived in for all those years. Beki's quiet crying turned to sobs as her imagination ran wild. Whether she had meant to or not, Beki had hurt Hinata.

"I'm sorry," Beki said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Hinata pulled away shaking her head. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for." She cupped Beki's face in her hands with a complicated expression. Her lips were fighting, the corners tugging up and down as they tried to decide on a smile or a frown. Tears still fell freely onto her cheeks but the bright sparkle of Hinata's eyes looked happy. "Look at you, though. You don't look like you've had a decent meal in months."

An involuntary laugh escaped Beki's mouth and she clapped a hand to her lips. Hinata gave her a confused look. "What did I say...?"

Beki shook her head and smiled. "Sorry. It's just...you haven't changed at all. I come back from the dead and you get on my case about not eating enough."

"Can you blame me?!" Hinata puffed up with frustration and put her hands on her hips. "You look like you've lost almost twenty pounds. You're skin and bones!"

Beki shrugged. "I mean, I couldn't exactly eat after going four years without food. They had to ease me back into it. Even then, they couldn't exactly give me curry udon."

"Well, we'll need to fix that," Hinata took Beki's hand and brought her inside the gate. Just based on immediate appearances, nothing within the compound had changed. The buildings and landscape were untouched. Beki could physically feel her heartrate slow. After having to deal with all the changes in Konoha it was nice to encounter something that had been untouched by time. Hinata watched as Beki slowly took in the familiar scenery.

"What does it feel like?" Hinata asked. "Could you...could you feel time passing while you were in the ice?"

Beki shook her head with a frown. "No. I literally woke up and thought I'd been brought to a hospital right after the war." She glanced at Hinata. "I mean, I figured I was pretty messed up. I thought I had died. It made sense to me that I had been in a coma for maybe a week or two."

"All the changes must be unsettling," Hinata tucked her hair behind her ear. "I can't even think back to what town looked like four years ago. I guess that's because I've been here through the whole process." She shuffled uncertainly. Although she had closed the gate, Hinata had made no move to lead Beki anywhere within the compound. Something told Beki there wasn't a big welcome party for her in the main house. "Where have you been staying since you got back?"

"At the inn my dad always used," Beki blinked. "Wait. No, it's a hotel now I guess. Anyway, that's where me and my mother have been staying. I wonder how things are going with her and Kakashi," Beki bit at a hangnail and glanced up at the night sky. "I didn't see her all day and she hasn't come looking for me, which is really unlike her."

"I would imagine they have a lot of catching up to do," Hinata offered. "Plus, I wonder how this is going to work out legally for you two."

Beki shook her head. "I've already accepted that I lost my job as ambassador. On top of that, I can't work as a shinobi ever again." Hinata cocked her head and shot Beki a concerned look. "Shoulders," Beki raised her arms as high as they would go, level with her waist. "I can't rotate them or raise them higher than this, which means no kanabo."

"What about your Maiden powers?" Hinata asked. "I heard from people in the Third Division you awakened some kind of weird new power."

Beki shook her head again. "No go. At least, I don't think I can safely. They had to do a kidney transplant on me."

"The stress would be too much?" Hinata glanced off towards her house and then back at Beki, as though she were expecting someone.

"I wasn't given directions not to or the reasons why its risky, per se," Beki explained. "But as a Tsukimori, as part of my kekke genkai my organs are conditioned to withstand the heat."

"So with a transplant," Hinata grimaced.

"They would probably just fry," Beki sighed. "I...I have a lot I'm going to have to work through over the next," Beki thought for a moment, considering how long it had taken her to get over losing her father. That was intense grief. Losing a loved one was insanely painful but that ache dulled with time. This situation would be different. Beki was technically grieving herself. Whereas with losing her father she was bothered by occasional reminders of him and would have to work through some of that grief again, the reminders of her disability would be constant. Every time Beki saw shinobi in action, any time she needed of open a door or a jar by herself, she would remember that she was broken now. There was no telling how long it would take Beki to overcome that pain, if ever. "However long this takes me."

Hinata's eyes were on her house again. A figure stuck their head out of the door and Hinata waved to them. Beki had slowly started to feel like she was encroaching on some previous plans. "I know it's late. You don't have to feel obligated to put off your life just because I'm back. I can come back tomorrow-"

"Nonsense," Hinata spoke with her usual pleasant tone, however there was a commanding note that gave Beki pause. "You won't be coming back tomorrow because you're sleeping here tonight."

"What?" Beki blinked in shock.

Hinata gave her a look that was her best attempt at righteous anger. "As if I would let you keep sleeping in a hotel when you just came back from the dead. You are going to go to that inn, grab your things, and come right back home."

Beki was dumbstruck, so much so her jaw went slack. "Hina chan..."

The initial deal that had brought Hinata and Beki together, the arrangement Seiichiro had struck with Hiashi all those years ago, was long expired. Even then subsequent arrangement after her father's death, where the Hyuga circled protectively around Beki, could never be expected to extend past her demise. They all had lives that had moved on without her and those deals had all been struck with people who were somebodies. Seiichiro had been an ambassador of renown, Beki had been an ambassador herself. She was coming back to them a nothing; a no one. Not to mention that in essence, Beki had just been someone to keep Hinata company until Naruto got home. Naruto had come home and now the pair were probably married. Beki wouldn't be surprised if there was a tiny little Uzumaki tucked away in a crib in the house. It was completely insane to Beki that with all those facts considered, Hinata was acting as though Beki immediately moving back in was the only logical course of action. Then again, what could Beki expect? Hinata was loyal beyond fault and protected those precious to her ferociously. All Beki could do was throw up her hands and sigh. The heiress would have her way.

"Hinata, what if my mom isn't there? What am I supposed to do?"

"Tell the people at the desk to let her know you're here with me," Hinata said in a matter of fact tone. "That, or we'll send word to the Hokage in the morning where you are. I know Konoha looks big, but it's still that same small town where news travels fast."

While they talked the figure that had been peeping out of Hinata's house had run down the path towards them. When Beki remembered to notice, Neji was already on them.

"Sorry, I had just been finishing up in there," Neji was nearly out of breath. Not from exertion, but from his heart racing so quickly from excitement his body confused it with intense exercise. "Are we ready?"

"We?" Beki looked between the Hyuga in shock. "What does he mean by 'we'?"

"Neji noticed you were having trouble with your arms earlier," Hinata explained. "So we went ahead and took care of setting up your room for you. You won't have to lift a finger. We also thought it would be a good idea for him to go with you to your hotel and bring back your belongings."

"It really isn't that much," Beki scratched the back of her neck, a flush coming into her cheeks. "It's literally a duffle bag. I can just go grab it-"

Hinata cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "It's after dark. It wouldn't be safe for you to wander around at night, especially when you're injured and unfamiliar with the streets."

"Okay, okay, you win," Beki grumbled. "Let's just go get this over with so you can feed me and tuck me in."

"Keep it up with that attitude and I'll give you a bath and force Hyuga medicine on you," Hinata wagged a finger. "If you think that you get to die and come back and there won't be changes around here, you're wrong."

"What kind of changes?" Beki furrowed her brow. This had been such a bizarre turn of events. Beki had gone from feeling lost and alone to being smothered by an overbearing mother. It was such a massive change she was having trouble keeping up with processing it.

Hinata shook her head and ushered the pair out of the gate. "We'll discuss all this later. You're back. We have time for that now."

The gate closed behind Neji and Beki, simultaneously casting them out into the rest of the world and isolating them. All Neji had wanted since Beki appeared was to get a chance to talk to her one on one, without interruptions. Now that they were finally alone, Neji was at a loss for words. Where would he start? Suddenly there was so much to tell her. It was a heavy rainstorm building up in the wash, filling it to the brim and threatening to break the dam. Beki had immediately started walking and he fell into step beside her.

"You know, I can really take care of this myself," Beki offered. "You don't have to tag along. It's just a duffle bag."

Neji shook his head. "Hinata's right. It's not safe for you to be out on the streets by yourself at night." Neji shuffled uncomfortably. "Besides that, I wanted to be alone with you."

Beki folded her arms self consciously as they walked. After the disappointment of their earlier encounter, Beki didn't want to get her hopes up. Neji probably just wanted to explain the whole situation about his new fiancé.

"Who have you run into since you got back?" Neji asked. He figured it would be rude to jump right into all his emotional baggage. Beki looked exhausted and by the way she carried herself, she was in pain. After their earlier run in, Neji wanted to avoid hurting her as much as possible.

Beki counted off on her fingers. "You, Lee, Konohamaru, and Hinata," Might as well get it over with, Beki thought. Pull off the band aid and start the tricky part of the conversation. "And your new fiancé. She's cute."

Neji let out a frustrated sigh. "She isn't my fiancé, Beki. We're betrothed."

"What's the difference?" Beki asked.

Neji kept his eyes ahead. "I didn't ask her to marry me. It was arranged."

"So you're telling me you aren't all that close?" It was cool now that the sun had gone down. Neji's body was radiating warmth as always, subconsciously attracting Beki closer.

"No," Neji automatically put an arm around her shoulder. The sudden involuntary movement surprised him. It was incredible how Beki's return instantly kicked in all his old habits. All the years of being around Beki and the behaviors he had developed to meet her needs had merely been dormant. Her physical presence triggered them to start back up on their own. She didn't pull away from the contact, leaving Neji to wonder if her acceptance of his behavior was the same. Then again, he imagined that for her this was only perfectly natural. It had probably only seemed like a month ago that the two were together like this. It was Neji and his four-year gap that were making this awkward and unnatural. "We aren't that close. Miyu is a good person and would probably make someone else very happy."

"But not you." Beki rested her head on his shoulder.

"I've felt guilty about it. It isn't Miyu's fault there was always someone else on my mind." Neji opened the door to Beki's hotel. The two walked in silence until they reached her room. Beki unlocked the door and held it open for him to follow her in. Neji watched Beki as she moved around the room collecting her belongings and stuffing them unceremoniously into her bag.

"It doesn't look like mom came back," Beki said, half to herself as she zipped up the bag. Her mother was notorious for traveling light and this adventure was no exception. Yuki had left nothing behind in the room, not even the scent of her perfume. Beki stood at the side of the bed, giving the room one last once over. She was fairly sure she had grabbed everything. "Well, I think I got it all-"

Beki began to turn but was stopped by arms wrapping around her. Neji's arms were long and completely encircled her: one around her waist and the other across her chest. "I still have a hard time believing that you're here." Neji said softly into her ear. "Can we just stay like this for a while? Everything makes more sense when I'm holding you."

Beki could feel him trembling. It wasn't just his hand or his arms, it was his whole body. Try as she might, Beki had no ability to understand what Neji was going through. It was easy to call the emotions by their names: grief, pain, joy, relief, fear. Everyone had felt each of those at some point, Beki not excepted. But just like Hinata, Beki hadn't been there for Neji. She hadn't see what he had gone through, hadn't felt each unique experience as he did. The closest she could come to him was when her mother came back from the dead. Beki didn't know Yuki, though. She had been too young to really miss her. Beki had wanted a mother, of course, and had lost out on having one. As confusing as this was for her, though, Beki knew she should do something to comfort him.

As gently as she could, Beki pried herself out of Neji's embrace. He stepped back as if struck. "I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed that was okay-"

Beki climbed up onto the bed on her knees and turned around to face him. He watched with an almost fearful expression as she raised her arms, inviting him into her embrace. Neji cautiously followed her up onto the bed and buried his face into her chest. Carefully, Beki lowered them both down on the bed. As she stroked his hair, Neji's shoulders began to shake and Beki felt his tears through her shirt. "Neji," she said softly, followed by a long silence. Beki didn't know what to say. She hurt because he hurt but lacked the words to convey anything meaningful.

Neji gripped onto her tightly as though she might sink through the bed and disappear. "I looked everywhere for you. For almost a week I helped the recovery unit look for bodies. No one had seen the ice floe anywhere. I eventually collapsed and they took me away with the last of the Konoha forces that were pulling out. Everyone told me you were dead and it was all my fault." He was clutching her so tightly it was painful but Beki bore it. He needed this. To be honest, she needed this, too. No matter how much she told herself otherwise, Beki needed Neji. His physical presence alone was a comfort but being there for him and helping him was making her own burdens seem lighter. "I never ever would have let you do that. Part of me...I almost..." She watched as he burrowed himself into her stomach and fell silent.

"I love you, Neji." It was all Beki could say. It was all she had wanted to say all along but everything and everyone had kept getting in the way.

"I love you, too," Neji's voice was muffled by the fabric of her shirt. "Please don't think I replaced you. I could never replace you. I would have been perfectly happy just living out my days alone until we could be together again."

"Your family set it up?" Beki asked.

Neji nodded. "Miyu is the girl they originally wanted me to marry. My family was respectful enough to give me time to grieve. They left me alone until about six months ago when Hiashi made the arrangements."

"I mean, I can't blame them. You are a catch," Beki's weak attempt at humor drew a groan from Neji.

"Maybe before. I haven't...I haven't been a 'catch' for a long time, Beki," He scooched his way up until he was alongside her, his arms wrapped around her torso. "I never thought I was going to feel happy again. My entire life was just this drab, gray dream I was dying to wake up from. Now that you're here I can't feel sad anymore." He smiled and cupped her cheek in his hand. "It's like I was stuck in a storm that was never going to end and here she is, here's the sun."

The sight of his smile broke Beki's heart in two. She loved him so much it made every bone in her body ache. After waiting so long and worrying so much, everything was going to be okay. They were together again. She leaned in and kissed him passionately on the lips, lacing her fingers through his hair and wrapping her legs around him. Neji reached up and held the back of her neck. His touch sent waves of electricity across her skin. Beki closed her eyes as Neji kissed her. The sensations were familiar. The way he kissed her was the same, as well as the way he tasted and smelled. Lying together in bed like this, Beki could almost convince herself that nothing had changed. The way their bodies moved in unison, the push and pull as they began to remove their clothes, was just like before. Neji slid away from her face and began to nibble at her neck as he unhooked her bra. Beki ran her hands over his chest and arms, savoring the ripples of his muscles as he moved. Her hands slid across his shoulder blades and she stopped. What had once been pristine, smooth flesh was now jagged with scar tissue.

"What's this?" Beki asked as she opened her eyes. Neji was hovering over her, enclosing them both in the curtains of his long hair.

"War wounds," Neji said automatically, his expression unreadable.

Beki ran her hands across the entirety of his back. Everywhere she touched was cross hatched with old smooth scars and ragged fresh ones. Beki sat up, gently pushing him off her so she could get a good look at his exposed torso. What Beki had felt on Neji's back was reflected on his front. Neji's chest, ribs, and stomach were covered with scars. "Some of these are new, Neji." He averted his eyes as Beki ran her fingers over a nasty one across his chest.

"Those are from missions," Neji offered.

"Missions!?" Beki scoffed. "These aren't the sorts of injuries you get from normal B and C rank missions. What kind of missions were you taking?"

"Just whatever I could get to distract myself," Neji said.

"To be up against shinobi skilled enough to land these sorts of blows on you, you must have been taking A rank and dangerous bounties, Neji," Beki narrowed her eyes. "I can't imagine it was for the money. So what was it? Were you getting a thrill off the adrenaline rush, or," Beki's eyes widened with realization and her hand fell away from his chest. "You were trying to get yourself killed."

Neji sighed and shrugged. "Do you have any idea what my life was like after you died? Day after day, everyone acting sorry for me and asking me how I was feeling, reminding me nonstop that I was never going to get better. The only thing that could have made me whole again would be you. As far as I knew, you were never coming back. My life was a living hell and I just wanted it to stop, but I could never kill myself. That would be cruel and disrespectful to my family. So instead I focused on the fact that I'm a shinobi. I have skills and training that allow me to help people. Being on dangerous missions kept my mind off things somewhat. It put the pain on the backburner and let me feel a little useful again. That, and if I were to die in the line of duty then I would get to be with you again and my family could remember me as more than just a sad sack. It was a win-win"

Beki's blood turned to ice at the idea of Neji putting his life in danger intentionally. "A win-win? How is you dying a 'win-win'?"

"Look, Beki, if I went out on a dangerous mission and I died, then I was lost in the line of duty and I would be remembered respectfully. If I survived, then I would have accomplished my mission and brought my village and my family honor and prestige. Either outcome would have been beneficial, really." Neji explained.

"How long were you doing this?" Beki knit her brows.

"Until Miyu made me stop," Neji folded his arms. "About four months ago."

Beki's hand shot to her stomach and she sighed. "Well, thank God she did. If she hadn't stopped you and you had died, you would have left the baby without a father."

"Well, I obviously won't take such high-risk missions once we have children," Neji began but Beki inhaled so sharply he jumped. "What?"

"I got so wrapped up in being with you I forgot to mention something kind of important," Beki's heart began to race as she watched his expression. Beki wished she could set time in slow motion once she gave him the news. That way she could watch every micromovement of his face and analyze his response. "Neji, I'm pregnant."

Neji furrowed his brows in confusion and then let out a small chuckle. "Was that your attempt at a joke?"

"From before the war." Beki explained. "That's one of the reasons it took them so long to bring us out of the ice. They had to find a way to save me and the baby."

As she spoke, Neji watched her face. Before she had finished he activated his Byakugan and examined her. He scooted in closer and took her hips in his hands. Neji's Byakugan was so well trained he never would have needed to adjust Beki's viewing angle but the news shook him so hard he forgot that fact. He stared down at the tiny life developing inside Beki. It was nearly an inch long with tiny buds for arms and legs. It's central nervous system, spinal cord, and brain were almost developed. There were suggestions of a face and it's head made up the most part of its body.

"How far along do you think I am?" Beki asked.

Neji shook his head. "I have no idea. The baby...it doesn't even look like a baby yet."

"They only thought I was a month or two in, so that makes sense." Beki was watching Neji as he looked at his child for the first time. "So no way to tell what it is yet?"

Neji looked up at her with a look that was a mixture of awe and terror. "I'm going to be a father." He deactivated his Byakugan and took his head in his hands. Neji had been on his knees but the realization knocked him on his rear. He crossed his legs and put his elbows on his knees. "How did I not notice it before? When I was looking at you in the market...or before the war I should have known. I should have seen this sooner. I didn't notice it at all. I didn't even think to look..." He buried his face in his hands and his shoulders slumped. "My God, I let you go off to war with my baby in your belly. I almost got the love of my life and my child killed-"

"Shh," Beki waddled over on her knees and pulled his head to her chest. "That's all over. We can't go back, we can't change anything, we can only keep going forward, right?" Neji reached up and put a hand on her stomach comfortingly. Beki stroked his hair as they shared this landmark moment and the gravity it held on their futures. "I've been thinking about names. I know that's weird, right? It's too early along to even know if it's going to be a boy or a girl yet, but it's literally half of what I think about. The other half is mostly you and then how nauseating just about everything smells-"

"Marry me." Neji was staring up at her intently, his face set in grim determination.

"What?" Beki blinked.

"I asked you to marry me." Neji clarified.

Beki laughed. "You do realize we are technically already engaged?"

"This time it's for real, Beki. No formalities, no betrothal. I want you to marry me now." Neji's gaze was so intense it was making Beki slightly uncomfortable.

"You remember you're currently supposed to be marrying Miyu, right?" Beki asaked.

"Do you think any of that matters to me now?" Neji took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together. "Beki, I love you more than anything. You were my everything. I would have given anything to save you, to be with you for the rest of our lives. Now you're carrying my child. I can't think of anything in this world that could keep me away from you now."

"Wooden stakes?" Beki cocked an eyebrow and Neji glared at her. "Too soon?"

I know I rarely do post scripts but I just wanted to address a question here some of you may have been thinking about. I had a good question last chapter about if Hinata would know Beki was pregnant or not because she had used the Byakugan while she was in the market. This is one of those situations that the canon kind of fails us. In regards to chakra, the basics we are told is every living being has chakra. Kishimoto never really spent time on technical aspects like when it happens in utero; the only confirmation we have is that right before a baby is born they have their own chakra (Naruto and the other jinchuriki were transplanted as babies, so by that point they have a fully developed and independent chakra system). Beki is very early on in her pregnancy, at max 3 months, and I imagine all babies develop slightly differently. By the end of the third month, a baby's entire CNS is fully developed. From what's been described to us the chakra system sounds very similar to the CNS. That early on, all the systems are either just developed or just beginning to develop (like the digestive and sensory systems). I would imagine that a baby has to develop a chakra system before it can produce its own chakra and before that, it would just borrow from the mother the way it does just about everything else (babies literally strip calcium from their mom's bones so leeching chakra isn't a far stretch for me).

Secondly, at this stage babies are incredibly small. At the second month, they're about a quarter of an inch long and by the end of the third month, they're an inch long. In regards to the capabilities of the Byakugan, we know that they don't activate it and suddenly process everything that they're seeing. They have to look for things (think Hinata looking for a bug in the rain, the rain interferes with the Byakugan's ability so she really has to search for it). My thought process is that if they don't know to be looking for it, something that small that isn't even producing its own distinct chakra yet would not catch their attention. Extremely good question, though. I love stuff that makes me do my research and fill in those canon gaps.