Her hands were bloody and her eye was swollen. Fatigue caused her arms to shake when she tried to raise them into a fighting stance and her legs were wobbly. Her brown jumpsuit was ripped and torn. Across from her, her father stood with his arms folded and the same disappointed expression on his face that he wore after one of their training sessions.

"That will be enough for today," he said, turning to leave the room.

Hinata gulped. "Father, please," she said. "I can still fight." Lord Hiashi paused to look over her, his eyes scanning her quickly. He bowed his head as if he were grieving.

"You cannot. Your stance is weak and far too open. Your chakra reserves are also depleted. You've had enough today." He walked towards the shoji doors and as he stepped through, Hinata's father said, "And so have I."

A few Branch members rushed to her side, slathering in cloths drenched in ointments to soothe her wounds. They were quiet as they worked on her. All Hinata wanted was for someone to whisper some words of encouragement in her ear. But all she heard was the shifting of feet and the cloths rubbing her skin.

When they had finished, they ushered her to the door. Outside, her loyal and ever-present bodyguard, Kō, was waiting for her. His face flashed to concern when he saw her.

"My lady, are you alright?" he asked.

Hinata stared at the ground, summoning the strength she needed to hold back her tears. The little lady sniffled. "Yes. I just want to go to my room," she softly. Kō Hyūga's eyes gave his sympathy but his lips did not.

"Yes, my lady."

When they'd arrived at her bedroom, Hinata's bodyguard gave her a gracious bow and left her inside. She walked slowly to her bed, stopping as she started to pass by a mirror. She looked less beaten now but her clothes betrayed what had happened. Sighing, she continued to her bed and climbed into it. Hinata grabbed her ankles and pulled her knees up to her face as she stared out of the window to the training yard. From here, she could watch other Hyūga clan members practicing their Hiden taijutsu, the Gentle Fist. She missed her old room, where she could watch the cherry blossoms bloom and fall in the garden. Her father had moved her away from there when her sister Hanabi had been born, giving it to her.

Watching the others will help you to improve, her father had said.

Nothing had helped her to improve. She'd watched her older cousin Neji train with Main house members in the yard and how strong he'd grown. Her father would often watch him with her uncle, Hizashi. Neji had entered the yard now, and he began to spar with the Main house members. Her uncle and father watched him intently, and they looked like they were sharing words. Whatever they spoke of, it seemed to make Hizashi visibly stricken with joy. Neji dispatched his opponents in a swift series of moves and Hinata was amazed at how strong he was.

He's only a year older than me, she thought. She watched as her father greeted Neji with a dip of his head. Father probably wants to train him.

He was strong, fast, and a quick learner. She'd heard whispers around the compound that he had the potential of a genius. He knew how to fight, and he was good at it. He was barely nine years old and Hinata knew that he was in a league of his own compared to her. She didn't like to fight or even engage in confrontation. The isolation she was subjected to as a result of her clan heritage had made her shy and generally apprehensive of people. She much preferred her own company or at most, Kō's. She'd been terrified to meet the Hokage and his youngest son she'd been promised to by her father.

But, when she saw the boy, the shy fear she felt wasn't normal. While the Hokage's face had been stern and severe like her father's, his son had a soft innocence to his eyes when he looked at her. It made her feel...different. She couldn't wrap her head around the sensation. She hadn't seen such kindness in a person's gaze towards her since her late mother. This boy didn't know her, but he seemed to genuinely care about her.

At least she thought he did.

It was hard to make those determinations. Hinata was almost viewed as royalty in Konoha and the gift of her birth was also a curse. She often wished that she could be like other children, playing and enjoying time with their friends instead of being subjected to brutal training sessions every day, regardless of the previous day's injuries. She'd been embarrassed to hold an audience on her birthday when she'd been beaten and ridiculed earlier in the day. Her cheeks stung too much from the covered bruises on her face for her to truly smile when she greeted the guests that came to pay tribute to her. And still, she had found a way to do so for this Uchiha boy.

No, Sasuke, she corrected herself.

The next few days after her birthday proceeded as normal. She was woken up early in the morning by Kō, dressed, and brought down to the dojo for training. For the first two days, she sparred with her father but found him much less engaged and critical of her skills. He seemed to be looking through her and not at her. When their last session ended, Lord Hiashi folded his arms.

"Tomorrow, you will have another sparring partner. Make sure that you are mentally prepared," he said. He left in eerie silence and Hinata stared at the floor.

Day and night passed. When the sun rose, she followed the same routine, but when Kō came and retrieved her this particular morning, there was an unmistakably grave expression on his face. It was pitiful and sad and it caused Hinata to feel some degree of apprehension towards heading to training. Her heart began to pound in her chest, and she drew shallow breaths into her lungs. Even as Kō walked her down to the dojo and slid the door open, Hinata could hear drumming in her ear. She stepped out to the mats, but her bodyguard encouraged her forward to the second set of doors. Her eyes widened when stepped outside and saw her father and her cousin, Neji. He was wearing a brown jumpsuit like she was and his forehead was wrapped in bandages.

Is he here to spar with father with me? Then she remembered what he had told her yesterday. That meant that her partner was Neji now? Initially, she felt a sense of relief as she walked up to stand next to him. Then a cold, slithering dread traveled down her spine as the number of eyes on her grew. It looked as though he had brought the entire Main house out to watch them. Kō left her to stand next to Neji, bowing at her father and then disappearing into the crowd. They both stood before Lord Hiashi, who sat on his knees with his head dipped. When lifted his eyes to look at them, Hinata felt uneasy again.

"Now that the two of you are here, allow me to explain why," he said. "The Hyūga clan is at an impasse. Never before has our bloodline's strength flowed this strongly through the veins of a Branch member." Lord Hiashi's pale eyes had a glow in them when he looked at Neji that floated from pride to disappointment when his gaze fell on her. "To preserve our clan's strength, I sought out our elders in order to petition them to allow me to make an unprecedented move and declare him my heir. However, at their behest, a match between you two was arranged for them to see."

The fear was crippling to her now, stiffening her entire body.

"Fath–" she started to say.

"What happens if one of us wins?" Neji asked. He was standing tall and looking her father directly in the eye. No other Branch member would dare aside perhaps her uncle.

Lord Hiashi met his stare. "If Lady Hinata should win, her status as the heiress to our great clan. However, Neji, if you win, then for the first time in our people's history, a Branch member will be moved to the Main house and made the heir of the Hyūga." There was an audible gasp and a few murmurs among those in attendance and Hinata could feel people looking at her.

"The bloodline is stronger in a Branch member than Lady Hinata?"

"This isn't right. A Branch member cannot govern our clan."

"The poor child. She's shaking."

Hinata could feel her knees rattling together. Her nails dug into the palm of her hand so tightly that she thought she'd draw blood. She could still hear people talking about her, their words drifting on the wind like the snow flurries that had begun to fall.

"Lady Hinata," Neji said. The girl dared to look up at her cousin, but she found no sympathy in his eyes. Only determination. "I'm sorry." He dropped back into a Gentle Fist stance and activated his Byakugan.

Hinata gulped and glanced at her father, but his eyes were closed and his head was bowed. He's given up on me, she thought. Everyone seemed to. What was the point in even fighting? What did she have to prove?

"Father, I can't..." she whispered, her voice quivering. Her father's eyes shot open, and he glared at her.

"You will." His voice was as cold and final as death and Hinata could feel tears welling in her eyes. Her shaking hands opened to expose her palms as she faced Neji, and she dropped her hips into fighting posture. She lifted her eyes and looked at her cousin. Her Byakugan activated as tears flowed down her cheeks.

The two began to slowly circle each other, repeating the motions Hinata had done in her sparring matches with her father. They closed the distance between them with creeping and careful steps before they touched the back of each other's hands. Hinata could feel the power radiating from Neji and could see the massive swirl of chakra inside him. Father is right, she thought. Their first exchange was a series of hand slaps, testing speed. Neji tried to get past her guard and hit her in the stomach, but Hinata managed to fend off the blows easily.

He jabbed forward again, aiming at her face. Her body nearly reacted on its own, moving out of the way and countering with a chop towards Neji's throat. He batted her attack away and took a step forward, changing his stance. Hinata tried to back up as he came closer but was too slow. Neji was almost inside her guard as he attacked, his open palms aimed at her chest and neck.

Hinata swirled her hands in front of her, twisting Neji's arms and exposing his own stomach. Straining, she tried to put effort into her attack. Her cousin pivoted around her and Hinata could see him aim a strike at her back. She wasn't fast enough to move out of the way and found herself face-first in the dirt. She got to her feet as quickly as her body would allow. Neji hadn't infused any chakra into his attack so none of her tenketsu had been affected. It still hurt though and as she eased back into a proper fighting stance, she found it harder to hold it. It wasn't anything that she couldn't handle. Her father had seen to that.

The two children approached each other again, aligning their feet as they closed the distance. Neji attacked first, this time with increased speed and ferocity. Hinata could see the chakra radiating from his hands. She did her best to follow him, pivoting on her back foot and trying to match his blows. The Hyūga pair danced around each other with Hinata's moves growing sloppier and slower as time went on. Neji continued to press her, wearing down her defenses as he chopped, clapped, and jabbed at her arms. On their final exchange before separating, Hinata felt as if she were simply flinging hands. The numbness began to set in, and she traced her eyes over her arms, gasping softly to herself at what she saw. Nearly half of the chakra nodes in both of her arms had been shut down.

Every time he blocked... Hinata threw her eyes down. She'd been careless. Neji had only been testing her in their first exchange of blows and once he'd determined her strength, it was easy for him to best her. She tried to raise her arms and rebuild her fighting stance, but her father spoke.

"I've seen enough," he said, the disappointment in his voice almost palpable.

Hinata didn't hear from her father or get escorted for training with him any longer and the young girl didn't leave her room. She watched the snow flurries turn into massive, swirling flakes that covered the training yard and painted the land and sky of Konoha gray and white. Days passed and her father was absent. The only member of her clan that visited her was Kō and even his appearances were brief. Her bodyguard would arrive with her meals and after giving her a mournful glance, disappear without a word.

That changed one night. Hinata was staring out of the window watching as the clouds rolled past the moon, alternating shadow and light on the snow. Kō knocked on her door again and the young girl sighed softly.

"Come in," she said. The door slid open and the sweet smells of cinnamon rolls hit her nose. Hinata turned and saw that Kō had a tray in his hands with her favorite dessert alongside a bowl of sekihan, sticky rice steamed with red beans. Her smile was reflected on Kō's face, and he bowed as he set the tray in front of her. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I thought that you'd appreciate having your favorite foods, Lady Hinata," her bodyguard answered, raising his head to look at her. "Tomorrow is a special day. Lord Hiashi has put forth your enrollment into the Konoha Academy for shinobi and you'll begin in the morning."

Hinata hesitated to celebrate, instead raising her tiny hand to her mouth. For all her life, her father had never made any mention of her being admitted into the Academy as his focus had been on training her to be the heiress to the Hyūga clan. But, that's over now, she thought solemnly. She nodded slightly and began to pick at her food. "If that's what Father wants," she said.

"Lady Hinata," Kō whispered, still maintaining his smile. "This is an opportunity for you to interact with other children your age and perhaps even make friends. Lord Fourth's son will be in the same class as you as well."

This made Hinata's cheeks begin to burn. Sasuke? But if he saw her every day in class, he might see just how much of a failure she was. Just like her father did. She took a bite of her cinnamon roll and the sweet taste eased the anxiety she felt in her mind. Still, her body language betrayed her and Kō had been around her for far too long not to notice.

"It may take some time for you to adjust, but everything will be fine. There's no need to worry, my lady," he said.

But that was all Hinata did as she waited for the dawn to break. Sleep and rest evaded her while pain embraced her with every toss and turn in the bed. She watched the sun lift over the horizon and its yellow-orange light chase away the darkness. Today, Branch members came to her room and took her to a private bathhouse where they scrubbed her and lathered her body in scented oils. After her bath was finished, one of the women escorted her back to her quarters and helped her to dress.

Hinata picked out a muted pink kimono lined with wool. The Branch woman selected a cream scarf from her closet and wrapped it around her neck. "The snows are still heavy, my lady," she explained. "You must stay warm."

The woman had been right, Hinata saw. The thick flakes fell in blankets from the sky, melting on the top of her head when they landed. Kō shielded her from most of it with an umbrella while they walked. Despite the heavy snowfall, business in the village seemed to still be ongoing. Lanterns were lit in front of the stores and more people than Hinata had ever seen before were in the streets. She shrunk next to Kō when the villagers looked to be getting too close to her. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and the Hyūga heiress blushed as she pressed against him.

They continued walking until Kō stopped and said, "We've arrived, my lady." Hinata looked up and saw the large red and orange domed building with black kanji that read "fire" inscribed on the front of it. Kō led her inside and when he opened the door, Hinata saw rows of children talking amongst each other while their parents stood behind them off to the side. Her bodyguard leaned down next to her. "Stand with the other children, Lady Hinata. I'll be right here," Kō said.

Gulping, Hinata wanted to refuse and beg him to stay with her but Kō didn't give her a chance to object and moved into the crowd. Shuddering with fear, the girl walked forward with her hands pressed to her chest. The other children kept talking as she weaved through them and the only thing that drowned out their conversations was the drumming of her heart in her ears. She'd never seen most of them before and the sudden shock of meeting new people was causing her to begin to hyperventilate.

Hinata stopped in the middle of the crowd, the cacophony of noise burrowing into her head. One of the boys standing next to her turned to give her a look then nudged another boy. "Look at her eyes," he said, his gaunt face hidden by brown bangs.

His friend stared too and smirked, green eyes shimmering with mischief. "They look like bowls of milk," he said, snickering. "I think she's a Hyūga. You a Hyūga?"

"If you are, show us your Byakugan," the gaunt boy demanded. Hinata dipped her head.

"I-I...n-n..."

"Wow, she can't even talk," the green-eyed boy said. "Guess she got sent here to learn." Hinata wanted to sink into the floor or fold in on herself. If she could disappear into a puff of smoke and return to her bed then sleep until the end of eternity, she would. She wished she could run away. She wanted–

"Hey," a voice called. The boys looked forward and Hinata followed the sound. Her eyes widened when she saw Sasuke Uchiha standing in front of them. He wore a high-collared black shirt and khaki shorts, a stark contrast to the formal wear she'd seen him in before. But his eyes were still the same and when they looked at her, she could see the kindness in them. That kindness disappeared when his gaze returned to her bullies. "Leave her alone."

Frowning, the gaunt boy folded his arms, and he looked as though he wanted to speak but his green-eyed friend pulled on his shirt. "We're about to start," he hissed. The skinny brown-haired boy scoffed and started to move further down the line. He turned and scowled at Sasuke before he disappeared into the crowd.

When they were gone, Sasuke looked at her. "Are you okay?"

Hinata dipped her head and stared at the Uchiha's feet so that he wouldn't see her blushing. "Y-yes. Thank you," she said. When she stood up straight again, Sasuke smiled and Hinata couldn't hide how red her cheeks were.

She was saved by the voice of the Hokage. "Good morning," Lord Fugaku said evenly. He was dressed in his full Kage garb, excluding his hat. Behind him, two Konoha shinobi stood with proud smiles on their faces. "I congratulate you on your admission into the Academy. The path you have chosen is truthfully a hard one, and you must dedicate yourself to growing strong and wise so that you embody the Will of Fire. I have great expectations of all of you and I know that you will make your family and your village proud."

Hinata noticed that Sasuke's eyes were staring intently at his father as he spoke as if his words were aimed directly at him. When Lord Fugaku had finished, he walked past the group of children and Hinata caught him spare a slight glance at both her and Sasuke. The Uchiha boy almost beamed from that simple acknowledgment while Hinata felt herself shrink under the Hokage's eyes. The way that Sasuke looked at Lord Fugaku, she could tell them he respected him. Nevertheless, there was something about the Hokage that felt familiar and made her feel anxious and uneasy. As he exited the building, Hinata tried her best not to stare as he vanished into the swirling white of the snow.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Sasuke asked. She came to herself and noticed that the rest of the students had begun to separate into their classes. Quickly, she nodded her head. The raven-haired boy smiled at her and reached for her hand. "Come on," he said. "We're in the same classroom." Sasuke's hands were slightly bigger than hers but soft. His eyes glimmered with excitement that was almost infectious as he led her through the hallway to their room.

They were a little late but their instructor didn't seem to mind. He organized his seating arrangements by gender which meant that Hinata and Sasuke couldn't sit together. She did sit as close as she could to his row, giving nervous glances his way as their introductory lesson proceeded. She paid attention as much as she could but noticed three boys sitting behind Sasuke were talking and pointing at him and her. It was the skinny brown-haired boy and his green-eyed friend with another short and chubby child with long black hair. Sasuke seemed to ignore them for a while until their instructor turned his back to write on the board.

Then, he glared at the boys, and they were quiet again.

The rest of their introductory class went by quickly. Because the snow had begun to pick up, they were released early so that they could get back home before a projected blizzard. Hinata followed her classmates out into the lobby and watched as their parents and older siblings came to pick them up. As the crowd of children began to dwindle, the young and former heiress grew more anxious. With every swing of the door, she expected to see Kō's kind face peek through, but she was disappointed each time. It wasn't like him to not be available for her when he was needed.

Before she could begin to worry, she saw Sasuke round the corner. There were a few scratches on his face, and he had changed out of his clothes into an all-black outfit and a dark blue bubble coat. What was he doing? Training? His eyes widened in surprise when he saw her. "Oh, Hinata, you're still here?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "K-Kō hasn't come to get me yet." Sasuke looked outside through and window then rubbed his chin.

"The snow seems like it might be slowing down a little." He turned to Hinata and said, "I could walk you home if you want."

The young girl's heart paused. "No, y-you don't have to. If Kō comes and I'm not here, he'll be worried."

"But, if you wait too long to leave, the snow might pick back up and you'll be stranded," Sasuke pointed out.

Hinata considered his proposal for a moment. "Won't your parents be worried about you in the storm?"

"Probably," Sasuke admitted. "My mother would be more upset if I left you here alone, though." He headed towards the door then turned and smiled at her. "So, are you coming?" For the first time perhaps in her life, Hinata felt no sense of apprehension or anxiety.

She simply said, "Yes."