Steam rose from the heated basin as women from the Branch family gently scrubbed her body with sponges and lathered her in oils. She'd been shivering in Kō's arms when he brought her home and her faithful bodyguard delivered her to the bathhouse, ordering that she be looked after. The hot water and soothing scents helped to calm her but it wasn't the cold that had her shaking.

The adrenaline hadn't left her body yet, spreading through her like an advancing blizzard. She had been able to do nothing but stay still and stare at the tree. The relief she'd felt when Kō had arrived in the forest had been overwhelming. Sasuke had always been so sweet and kind to her, walking with her in the snow and making her feel safe for those brief moments. But any amount of softness he had faded when they had been ambushed by the bullies, and they had mentioned his brother. The switch was shocking and Hinata saw just how strong and quick Sasuke really was. He moved completely differently from his sparring match against the blonde boy Naruto and it was almost as if there was someone else inside him, commanding his mind to operate under a separate will.

This stayed with her as she was bathed, the sponges and cloths running over her body in a soothing rhythm that eased the tension in her mind. They massaged shampoo through her hair, slowly and deeply. She felt the cold wash away, replaced by the heat of the rest of her body. The women hummed a melody that almost made Hinata fall asleep. Before she could though, the bath was drained, and she was lifted out of the basin to be dried and dressed.

When the women had finished with her, Kō arrived to escort her through the halls of the compound. She knew the direction they were headed like the back of her hand and was unsurprised when the sliding shoji doors revealed her father kneeling in his chambers. His milk-white eyes turned to her as she entered with her bodyguard, who dropped to one knee when they were finally in front of Lord Hiashi. Another man stood at her father's side, his grey hair slicked to the back, exposing a wrinkled face. His eyes were barely open but Hinata could see the milk-white pupils of the Hyūga peeking through. She'd never seen the man before, and he wasn't dressed in any of the traditional garbs of their clan but the resemblance the elder had to her father was striking.

Hinata flinched under Lord Hiashi's gaze as he looked her over. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No, Father," she said, struggling to keep eye contact.

"What happened?"

Hinata looked at Kō. Her bodyguard kept his eyes down and did not return her glance. Gulping, Hinata spoke. "I w-was walking home with...Sasuke...Uchiha." She waited for her father to say something, but he instead nodded for her to continue. "S-some boys from our class c-came out of the forest. And they...they..." Her voice was quivering now.

"Speak," her father commanded. The old man at his side looked down at him and Lord Hiashi sighed with a furrowed brow. "I just need to know what happened."

The girl nodded and gave a quick glance to the elder. Did he correct Father with a look? "They said rude things to Sasuke because h-he stopped them from teasing me at school. Then, he...fought them. K-Kō and Sasuke's brother came before anything bad could happen."

Her father and the elder exchanged glances. "So, the boys didn't touch you at all?" Lord Hiashi asked.

"No," Hinata said.

The elder sniffed. "Good. There would have been a price to pay otherwise."

"A price?"

Lord Hiashi shot Hinata a fierce glance, and she immediately fell silent. The elder nodded and said, "In the old days, a commoner within the village causing harm towards a member of one of the noble clans would be cause for imprisonment or execution depending on the severity of the offense."

"We are not in the old days," Hinata's lord father answered evenly.

"I'm well aware," the elder retorted. He shook his head and returned his attention to Hinata. His eyes squinted as he looked at her. "You and this Uchiha child are close, I assume?"

She felt her cheeks burn. "He's...my friend."

"I see," the elder said with a hint of a smile. There was a brief moment of silence before he said, "Have you told him anything about our clan? Or your status within it?"

Hinata quickly reflected in her mind on their many walks from the Academy to the compound. She remembered squealing as a snowflake fell on her nose and how Sasuke had laughed then the freezing wet spot off with her scarf. She thought about earlier in the day when they were standing together waiting for her opponent to be chosen for her sparring match. She felt a chill go down her spine. Sasuke called me "heiress", she thought. She'd almost admitted to him that she had been disinherited by her father but Iruka-sensei called her away. Had she actually confided in him about that, she had no clue what would happen.

"No," she replied.

"Very good," the elder said with a nod. He licked his lips. "Lady Hinata, it is imperative that you withhold any secrets about our clan from outsiders, even from those that we call our comrades. The Hyūga and Uchiha are allied but that union is predicated on all of our secrets being kept safe." He turned to her father and sighed softly. "I've heard that it was Lord Hiashi's decision to disinherit you and place his brother's son next in line as heir of the Hyūga despite his Branch status. If the Uchiha discover this, then there is a great risk that our alliance will falter and our village's stability will be affected. Do you understand, child?"

Hinata noticed her father squirm with irritation, but say nothing. Slowly, she nodded. "Yes, sir."

Lord Hiashi let out a sharp exhale. "Kō, escort Lady Hinata back to her chambers."

Her bodyguard stood up straight and bowed. "Yes, my lord." Hinata mirrored his action and followed Kō through the shoji doors. Lanterns lit the hallway and in the dead quiet, their footsteps seemed to echo. When they'd made it to her room, Kō opened her door and let her pass. A few moments of silence came and left before the Hyūga man cleared his throat.

"My lady, if I may speak to you?" he said. His voice sounded grave and frightened her. She nodded slowly and her bodyguard stepped quietly into her room and closed the door. He bowed at her feet. "Lady Hinata, I apologize for not being there for you today. If I had attended to you, you would never have been put into that position."

But, you couldn't. As faithful a protector as Kō was to her, he was still ultimately the assigned bodyguard to the heir of the Hyūga which Hinata no longer was. She knew that he'd spent the past weeks since her disinheritance guarding Neji. His return now could only mean that her cousin had been determined to be strong enough not to require a constant watch or that someone else had been chosen in Kō's place. "It's not your fault," she said. "And Sasuke was there."

The Hyūga man's face twisted a bit. "We may be allied with them, but you must be careful around that boy, Lady Hinata," he said. "The Uchiha are dangerous."

Her mind flashed to the anger she'd seen on Sasuke's face and the way his chakra had gone cold. The violence had scared her but the change she saw in her friend had shocked her more. Perhaps because she shied away from confrontation, it was hard to understand how he could switch so quickly. But, in the end, he'd done what he did to defend her. And... "S-Sasuke didn't do anything that you wouldn't have."

Her small voice came out stronger than she'd anticipated and her cheeks felt hot with embarrassment. Kō's eyes widened then his face settled into a smile. "Yes, my lady. You're right." He titled his head a bit. "It's very clear that you're fond of him and from all accounts, he seems to feel the same about you. But, you have to make sure that you honor the word of the Elder."

"Kō," she ventured. "Who was that man?"

The man hesitated and said softly, "The former head of our clan and...your grandfather."

That explained why he looked similar to her father and why a glance from him seemed to make Lord Hiashi flinch. She'd never heard of her grandfather or seen him within the compound until today and there had been no moment, even during their training, that he'd ever received a mention. And Father seemed...annoyed by his presence...

"Oh," she replied. "I've never seen him before."

"Ah...well, Lord Hiashi defeated and replaced him as head of the clan when I was still a child. According to clan tradition, if a head refuses to resign when their heir is of age, then the heir can challenge for the role."

"What happens if one of them loses?" Hinata asked quietly.

Kō licked his lips and dropped his eyes. There was a brief pause before he sighed and said, "Their chakra points are permanently closed and they generally live in exile away from the clan. But, your grandfather and father's arrangement is different. He began to come around again shortly after the inc..." he paused then said, "the installment of Lord Fourth as the next Hokage."

Hinata blinked. So he must have been hidden away from Hanabi and me all this time, she thought. If he still had connections to the clan, then he had to have been kept up to date with all the current news. Which means..."The 'secrets' that he talked about...he was meant Father making Neji his heir, right?" Her bodyguard paused a few moments, then nodded. Hinata gulped before saying, "Why did he say that if the Uchiha clan finds out about that, the village would be...in trouble?"

"My lady," Kō sighed. "It's a difficult and complicated thing to explain to you. It goes beyond just Konohagakure."

If it's that important, I have to know. She didn't say anything though, losing the fervor she'd accidentally loosed before. While she stared at the floor, she heard Kō sigh.

"You must never reveal that I've told you this," he said quietly. This made her more frightened. She didn't want to know anything that would get Kō in trouble but before she could speak, her bodyguard continued. "Four years ago, there was a talk between Lord Third and a representative from Kumogakure to end the war that we were fighting. A peace was negotiated between our two villages and this 'Head Ninja' was allowed safe passage back home. However, there was some treachery and..." He fell silent at the sound of footsteps approaching. Hinata saw the veins protrude from around his eyes as he activated the Byakugan briefly before quickly reverting back to normal.

Her room door slid open and Hinata saw a small figure holding a stuffed bunny toy in her arms. Large, milky eyes blinked then looked over at Kō. He fell to his knees again to bow.

"Lady Hanabi."

"Hi, Kō," the little girl said before looking at Hinata. She wiped her eyes and yawned. "I had a bad dream, big sister. Can I get in your bed?"

Smiling, Hinata nodded. "Okay." She looked at Kō and gave a nod, giving him leave. Their eyes locked for a few moments before he finally dipped his head and disappeared behind the sliding door. Hinata helped Hanabi into her bed and her little sister laid on her then glanced at her face.

"Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you," Hinata replied, brushing her sister's hair out of her face. "What was your bad dream about?"

A mischievous smile crossed the girl's face. "I didn't have one. I just wanted to see you," she said proudly. The older Hyūga chid shook her head. Hanabi was three years old with only a few months until her fourth birthday. She and Hinata were opposites. The little girl was already supremely confident and more outspoken than her elder sister had ever imagined being. She'd begun her training as well and either her father had softened his touch his youngest daughter or Hanabi was capable enough to dodge him. Hinata had noticed the favoritism when her sister had been given her old room. No part of her was upset and she assumed that so long as her father redirected his attention to her sister in a more positive manner than he had with her, everyone would be happy. Even still, Hanabi found a way to try to spend time with her.

Only three years old. Hinata remembered what Kō had said about the events four years ago. Hanabi snuggled against her and the former heiress began to trace back in her mind. Kumogakure had the cloud-shaped emblem on their headbands and when she'd first learned this fact, she thought that the clouds looked familiar. But when Kō spoke, a small image formed in her head of a man with that headband standing over her.

Hinata looked around her room and saw the sun necklace that Sasuke had given her. She reached for it, grabbed it from her dress then clutched it close to her chest as she stared out of the window. Hanabi cooed soft snores and Hinata quietly hummed the song of the Branch women that bathed her, watching as fog and snow slowly descended on the land again.