A/N: Sorry for the delay in updates, everyone. I caught a cold over the weekend and have been recovering.


"You called for me, Father?" Hinata's timid voice made him turn. He looked his oldest daughter up and down, silently scrutinizing the way she seemed to shrink into herself, clasping her hands together and not quite meeting his gaze.

"Hinata, as you know you're turning sixteen this December." His voice rumbled. "And as you know, Prince Sasuke turns sixteen today."

"Yes," she nodded unsurely.

"For years, the Uchiha and Hyuuga have been… not quite allies, but not quite rivals." He continued, pacing about with his hands folded behind his back. "For years, we have been back-up in case they needed assistance. Our bloodlines are both great, although some may argue that ours is greater. No one has ever intermarried between the clans, although there have been many before us who have planned to - and have failed, whether due to fate or to war."

"Father?" She quietly implored. The look in her eyes clued him in to what she was putting together.

He nodded appraisingly at her astuteness. "The king, Fugaku, has contacted me with a request: he wishes to unite our clans in marriage. He has asked to betroth you to the prince in hopes that our clans will grow closer together."

For a moment, she stood stock-still. The words 'marriage' and 'prince' echoed in her brain, stunning her into silence. Her heart began to beat faster, and it simultaneously ached. Immediately she thought of Naruto, and her eyes were downcast to the floor.

"Father, must it be me?" She asked imploringly. "The honor is great, and I'm flattered to be considered a bride for the prince - but wouldn't Hanabi be a better match?"

This proved to be the wrong answer, and she stood meekly as her father began to glare at her, stalking closer to tower over her.

"As heiress of the Hyuuga clan, it is your duty to do whatever means necessary to lead us to greatness," he hissed angrily. "Hanabi is only eleven, and the prince cannot be crowned without a wife. The king and queen simply cannot wait for her to turn sixteen. It must be you."

"Y- yes, Father, of course, I'm honored to be Prince Sasuke's bride," she quickly agreed, bowing her head submissively. "May I be excused to think this over?"

He leaned back, his face still twisted in anger. For a moment, he stared at her bowed head, before he shook his own and dismissively scoffed, "Go then, child."

She bowed at the waist and scurried away. As soon as she was out of sight of her father her legs began to wobble, and she collapsed against the wall with a deep sigh, raising one hand to cup at her heart. It was still beating rapidly in her chest, and the spike of adrenaline still rushing through her veins was utterly dizzying.

She walked, much slower this time, to her room, where she gently closed the door and flopped (in a rather unladylike fashion) onto her bed. She buried her face into her pillow and began to sob.

What was she to do? As much as she respected Sasuke, she did not want to go into a loveless marriage, and she was certain he didn't either. Her heart belonged only to Naruto - if she couldn't be promised to him, she didn't want to be promised to anyone. She could trust no one else.

Her heart was breaking with every shuddery sob that escaped her.

A few minutes into her weeping, her door gently opened, and Hanabi poked her head in with a concerned face.

"Hinata-nee-san, what's the matter?" She asked softly, shutting the door behind herself and approaching the older girl's bed.

Hinata looked up, wiping her teary eyes with the back of her sleeve and sniffling. "Oh, Hanabi - I didn't mean to disturb you, I'm sorry."

"No, I heard Father yelling about something, so I decided to see what was going on." She shook her head and hugged her older sister. "What has you so upset?"

"I'm… I'm being betrothed to the prince," Hinata explained, letting out a shuddering breath. "Just before his nineteenth birthday, we are to be married."

Hanabi was quiet for a while, but finally sighed and asked sadly, "Does this mean we won't be able to stay together anymore?"

Hinata's heart broke even more at her sister's devastated expression. She hugged the girl tight and whispered, "I don't know, Hanabi… I don't know…"

"Please don't leave, Hinata-nee," Hanabi was pleading, her pearly eyes full of tears. "I don't want you to leave me too."

"Don't leave me, Onee-san..."


Hinata awoke with a start, inhaling sharply, eyes fluttering open as she called softly into the darkness, "Hanabi...?"

Only a second later, she realized where she was and clamped her mouth shut. She could hear Karin's soft snores a couple of feet away, and she noted that she must've awoken later than planned if it was so dark.

Slowly, she got out of the sleeping bag and put on a pair of shoes that had been set out for her. She strapped on the sandals and slipped out of the tent.

"Lady Hinata?" A quiet voice nearly made her leap out of her own skin. She squeaked, jumping as she caught eyes with an older man with ginger hair sitting just a few feet away, nasty-looking scars clawed up and down on one side of his face. His pale-green eyes were kind, and her initial alarm cooled somewhat when she looked into them. "Oh good, you've woken up. Ayame-sama was getting worried."

"I- I'm fine," she stuttered, placing a hand over her racing heart. "I just needed to get some fresh air before I try to go back to sleep."

He nodded sympathetically. "The river is that way," he said pointing to the right. "Just follow the trail."

She nodded to him, muttering a "Thank you" before she hurried off.

She followed the trail for a ways until she heard rushing water, and her shoulders relaxed as a small river came into view. She hopped down to sit beside the water and sat back, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her face in them.

The first thing her thoughts ran to was the face of Naruto, his bright countenance darkened by sorrow. She could imagine with perfect clarity his face if he were to see her now: the soft downward curling of his lip, his saddened eyes creased, his brow furrowed. She could practically hear his voice as if he were a few feet away: Why, Hinata? Why would you do something so selfish? Why would you hurt your family this way?

She found it hard to swallow past the lump in her throat, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. No doubt word of her 'death' had gotten to her family now. Her poor sister… Hanabi wouldn't take this well. The girl had practically idolized Hinata, even though the title of heiress had been passed down. They were as close as sisters could be; Hinata was always the first one Hanabi would go to if she had a personal question or a deep secret she needed to tell. And in turn, Hinata would hold her close and whisper to her. She would whisper little details about their mother, her demure smile, her gentle aura, her grace and kindness. She never held their mother's passing against her, because although she'd lost her mother, she'd gained Hanabi - in losing a pouch of golden coins, she gained a chest of treasure.

Hanabi was still so young. Only fourteen now, as a matter of fact, and the de facto heiress of their clan. So bright, so cunning, a genius just like their father was. She definitely took after their father more; with others she had a tendency to be cool and calculating, like a snake observing their prey before striking. No doubt this would be a heavy asset in her future with clan politics. Hinata had always been too caring, too trusting to even think about deceiving someone. With Hanabi, this came almost too naturally - it often scared her, observing the young girl years prior. She had an uncanny ability of manipulating people, but to her relief, Hanabi only used that gift in coaxing extra dessert on holidays and in persuading their father into doing little things for her. If she weaponized it, the shinobi world would definitely have a force to be reckoned with.

With Hanabi came Neji. Oh, Neji. She missed her cousin so badly it physically hurt to remember his face. She was looking forward to a future with him and Tenten, his wife, in her life. About a week before she left, Neji had visited her at the palace with the news that Tenten was finally expecting a child. She'd been ecstatic for the weapon mistress; they'd been trying for a couple of years to conceive, and finally she was getting a chance at a baby. She was so certain that she was going to spoil Neji's baby rotten; they'd become closer in recent years, and he'd already divulged that she was to be the godmother if anything happened to either Tenten or himself. It was an honor that had made her cry in the visitors' hall. Even now, it brought new tears to her eyes. She would never know that baby. She would never see their face, never hear their voice, never even learn their name. For all she knew, Tenten could miscarry or worse - and she knew that the couple deserved this baby like they deserved happiness. She would not be physically able to be there if worse came to worst, like she'd promised to a week prior.

She sniffled, pulling a handkerchief out of her robe pocket and blowing her nose noisily. She breathed a chortle when she thought of what her father would say, witnessing her making such an unladylike noise. Surely his face would've pinched together just so, his eyes narrowed with quiet judgement. He'd never say anything, of course, but she would know.

She sighed deeply, folding the handkerchief and putting it back. She hugged her knees to her chest once more. What was she doing, getting all of these fond memories of her family when she was the reason they were suffering? Was she so selfish as to mourn the passing of good times when she was the expedient of their abrupt demise?

The king's benevolent face flashed through her mind for a second, and she shivered. If there was one man she hadn't wanted to stir up, it was him. The change in Sasuke's father had been gradual; before anyone knew it, he was making decisions that he probably would have rallied against some five, ten years ago. First it was superiority for the Uchiha among clans, then it was unchecked police aggression among minorities, and now attacking villages for their rebel sympathizers. Now, she dreaded what he would do in retaliation. If the stories of families dying and their children being imprisoned were true, then her saviors were in great danger just by harboring her. Karin had risked her life today just by bringing up the idea of escaping; she hated to think that her cherished friend was continuously putting her life on the line just for her . She would be imprisoned, beaten, interrogated, killed - and yet she walked with her head held high, as if it were a gilded badge of honor.

Her expression darkened, and she glared with all of the hatred that she could muster into the water. Why had she allowed herself to be used? Was she too timid, too trusting, to be wary of the dangers of navigating the political world? Her father had once admonished her for being too hesitant to strike - now that his words came rushing back to her, she realized with sad clarity that, of course she'd missed her chance. She could have done many things: negotiated a way out, escaped when she had a chance, perhaps asked the king to send someone else first. But she had taken her burden meekly like she'd always been taught to do, as a high-born woman of the Hyuuga heritage. She'd always had a choice, but she'd squandered it unknowingly. Maybe that was why Neji had hated her so much in their youth. While he was locked into one life alone, she could have chosen several lives, had she taken up courage - and instead of seeing her world for what it was, she had imagined prison bars trapping her into a straight path, locking away all other options before she had a chance to contemplate them. Instead of her being caged, she was free - and the one whom she'd thought was on the other side of the bars was still trapped in them.

She caught sight of her own pale moon eyes in the water and remembered. Their clan eye. The Byakugan.

Theoretically, she could seal it away - as was tradition for some members of the lower branches to do. Neji himself had one such seal across his forehead. It was a means of control over the lesser branches, used to punish if out of line. It was extremely painful, as he could attest to. More than once in her old life she'd had to plug her ears to try and drown out the screams of agony of her clansmen, but to no avail. If one died, their kekkei genkai died with them. It was a precautionary measure, in case unsavory types like the long-lost Orochimaru stumbled upon the body of a Hyuuga and decided to study their eye. Of course, there were seals that could seal away her eyes without the brutish use of That seal, but at this point, she didn't think she knew any.

Of course, there were bound to be sealing masters in the rebel faction. But nobody had ever sealed away one of the sacred Eyes, and there were bound to be side-effects. Would she go blind? Would she lose her chakra level along with it? If she were to seal it herself, she realized that she would be of no use to her saviors if she was blind and/or powerless - and the guilt began to settle in again. She refused to be useless. She refused to drag them down with her. This time she would help on her own terms, like she'd always dreamt of doing. She would be the confident woman that her father had always hoped she'd be.

As a plus, the Byakugan could be a trump card, in case they ever had to go toe-to-toe with anyone from the big clans of Konoha - she didn't recall any Hyuuga ever defecting, nor would any Uchiha. Already, they would have an advantage of a hidden Byakugan wielder and master of the Gentle Fist. She would be an asset out on the field, and she knew they knew it too. She wasn't a healer, like Karin, but she could fight - her father had trained her up well.

She shifted, and as she stared into the water, a few strands of silky midnight hair fell into her face, the tips brushing the water's surface.

Her long, beautiful hair, said to be exactly like her mother's had been. She took the strands into her fingers and studied them in the light of the moon. It had once been said to be one of her best qualities, aside from her demure nature and her graceful fighting style. Hanabi had always gushed about how pretty her hair was, and had always begged her to let her brush it out or put it up in different styles. Her lips twitched into a morose smile. Mikoto had adored her hair too. The older woman had spent hours sitting with her over tea, giving her tips and telling her about her many misadventures in her own youth that her own beauty had gotten her into. She was articulate and had a way of drawing you in, and Hinata had spent those hours sitting there enthralled at all of her stories of fighting. Beautiful she may be, but at one point in time, Mikoto had been a fearsome warrior.

She'd been determined to keep it short in her much younger years, as a rumor had spread around the girls of the capital that Prince Sasuke adored girls with long hair. She'd seen many a girl race among themselves trying to grow out their hair the longest, to be the shiniest, to be the prettiest - and she was one of the only ones who had had no interest in such a silly thing. That, and she wasn't after the heart of the prince - ironically, she was after the heart of Naruto, his best friend and brother in all but blood. She had watched as Sakura and Ino, two close friends, squabbled with each other over whose hair Sasuke would like more, brushing it almost obsessively and fighting to see who would get the better hair care products, the finer silken ribbons, or the best styles to show off its length. Sakura had been in love with her hair, and indeed, it was beautiful. A pale strawberry-blonde that shimmered with streaks of her mother's golden hues. Hinata had agreed that it was quite a sight. For a time, she'd been considered one of the most beautiful girls in Konoha, even among the great clans. As the years dragged on, however, Sakura's family grew poorer, her enthusiasm lagged behind, and eventually she'd all but given up on impressing the prince and instead focused on being a close friend. She was seen less in Hinata's company, and when she did meet with her, she was noticeably smaller, with less youthful chub and a more sunken-in, tired appearance. Eventually, they stopped seeing each other at all - and the very next that Hinata heard of the girl, she was dead.

The news had made her blood run cold. Sakura was one of the kindest girls she'd ever known, with a loud cheerfulness to rival Naruto's in intensity. She was fierce in her love for her friends, as her childhood troubles with bullying made her vow to never mistreat those that were deemed beneath her. For a while, she had stood up for Hinata, a 'pale-eyed freak' among the local children. Ever since Hinata had met her, she'd almost never seen the girl seriously upset, unless it came to her childish feud with Ino in later years. Hinata had found a kinship with the girl in their supposed unrequited love for Naruto and Sasuke respectively. And when she found out she'd died, attacked by rebels and drowned in Morino - a part of her heart died with her.

Ever since that day, she'd begun growing out her hair in memory of her, a hope that something in her would live on. Ino had chopped more than half of hers off in anguish for their friend, and had been slowly growing it back with Hinata as a way to keep Sakura's memory alive between them. That was when her reputation of beautiful long hair began - and honestly, it was a little exhausting, if not downright insulting.

She'd not been trying to appeal to others when she made her decision; she was simply honoring the memory of a dear friend - and yet the one of the first things people noticed and commented on upon meeting her was her hair. She heard the whispers of other girls that, now that Sakura had died, one of her biggest rivals for the prince was gone, and now she could grow it out. Now that only Ino was left (and the prince had made it clear that he didn't consider her a suitor), she would have an easy shot at the throne. Those factors had almost been enough to make her cut it off at her shoulders again - but she resisted. She liked it when Hanabi begged her to brush through it. She liked it when she and Ino got together to discuss potential hair care. She liked it when she could look into the mirror with confidence, knowing that she could be the difference between someone being cut down and that someone being lifted up.

But now… now that that life was over, she was at a loss as to what to do. She was tired of it being one of her only identities. Now that she was finally free from wandering stares, she had the freedom to do whatever she liked with it. The only question is what?

She fingered the soft strand and frowned at its lavender shine. If she was going to be a rebel, she didn't want to be a burden. If she was going to do anything, then she may as well start anew. A new Hinata, one that would be infinitely better than the old.

A tradition sprang to mind, one of this very thing. If a clan woman was sent away in disgrace from her family, there usually came a period of atonement. At the beginning, the woman would cut her hair to her shoulders as a symbol of cutting away the old life that had led to her disgrace, and by the time the atonement period was over, she would come back anew. Certainly this applied to her current predicament. If she had said no to marrying Sasuke, she would have started the atonement period much, much earlier, anyway.

Her lips pressed into a grim line, and she pushed the strands back over her shoulder and peered into the water. Her own worried face stared back at her.

"Tonight, everything starts anew," she thought to herself, closing her eyes. "For myself, and for my family."

She opened them and reached for an inner pocket in her robe, one that contained one of her greatest treasures. She pulled out a kunai knife with a sunflower carved into its grip, with her name carved beside it. Her eyes softened at the blade. It had been a birthday gift from Tenten this past year, one that she'd made herself as one of her many hobbies. Hinata had adored it and kept it immaculate. She'd never used it for anything, well, until now.

Anger began to simmer in her chest, and she gripped the handle, her knuckles going white. Because of this, Tenten may have to separate from Neji, or at the very least their child would not be able to have the life of security and comfort that came with the clan name. In escaping her problems, she had also left Neji and Tenten no escape from the scrutiny of the rest of the clan - gone was she, and gone too was their future happiness.

Slowly, she rose the blade to her hair. She knew what she was doing was stupid, and she could very well mess it up. But she grit her teeth, gripped the hair tight, and with one quick motion, she sliced through it.

Locks of hair fell gently to the earth as she cut, the tears burning her eyes and dripping into the water. With every slice she mourned the death of her previous life.

Shhk . "Goodbye, Hanabi."

Shhk. "Goodbye, Father."

Shhk. "Goodbye… Naruto-kun."

When at last she was done, she watched as some of her hair floated silently down the stream. She pocketed the knife once more, and she watched the moon suspended in the brightening sky, pulled downward towards the horizon. She didn't know what the exact time was, but she ventured that it was close to sunrise.

A soft twilight breeze rustled through her shortened locks, and their soft tips brushed against her face. She smiled, closing her eyes and inhaling the crisp forest air. Pine and evanescent hints of wildflowers sharply entered her nose and she stood there for a few moments, just taking in the comforting scent.

Princess Hinata was dead.

Hinata Hyuuga was soon to reawaken, birthed with the dawn of a new day.


It was a bright, sunny day at the palace. Hinata's parents had been invited with some tea with the king and queen, and they'd sent the little girl out to play with the prince and his friends.

The older prince Itachi had been kind enough to show her to the back gardens, where she now observed the other children sitting close together, picking flowers and talking. She hid herself behind the pillar with uncertainty; would these children pick on her, like the common children did? She spied the prince's unmistakable cowlicked black hair and wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat.

She watched them for a while longer, until a girl with strawberry hair just past her shoulders announced that she was going to go by the rose patch. As she came closer to Hinata's hiding place, the girl got a good look at her. She was pretty, with hair that framed her heart-shaped face and big turquoise irises. She hummed, sauntering closer.

Then she stopped. She peered around the pillar curiously, and Hinata squeaked, drawing away.

A smile bloomed across the girl's face, and she stuck out her hand. "Hi! I'm Sakura. Do you wanna pick flowers with me?"

Hinata blinked, eyes darting from her hand to her face and back again. "U- um… I…"

"What's your name?" She asked instead.

Hinata felt her face burning with embarrassment. She whispered, "Hi...nata…"

"That's a really pretty name." Sakura chirped.

"Thank you…" she mumbled back, shyly. "Yours is pretty too…"

"D'you wanna pick some flowers for Mikoto-san with me?" Sakura repeated, gesturing to the rose patch. "Itachi-nii-san said we shouldn't pick the roses, but I was gonna give her dandelions anyway."

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" A boy's voice hollered, and the Hyuuga cringed. "What's taking you so long?"

She whirled around right quick and huffed, "I'm just talking, Naruto!" She turned back to Hinata, her gaze more empathetic. "I'm sorry 'bout Naruto… sometimes he's too loud."

"We've met before," Hinata quietly pointed out, poking her fingers together.

"Oh, have you?" She perked up. "Great! Then I don't have to introduce you! I know how much that sucks. I still hate meeting new people, but thanks to Ino I'm getting better!"

She found it easier to relax around Sakura. She felt some of the tension leave her shoulders as the girl rambled.

Gently taking Hinata's hand, she maneuvered her out from behind the pillar and near the roses. "Look at all of these dandelions we can pick! Oh, sorry- do you like dandelions?"

"They're okay," the girl shrugged. She caught an eyeful of a yellow azalea patch nearby and pointed them out. "Those are pretty too, though."

"Huh?" Sakura looked over and nodded. "Oh, yeah! Ino's always going on about those - her family owns a flower shop, so she knows a whole lot about flowers."

A soft smile crept onto her face, and she picked one of the flowers. She studied it for a moment before she looked up, seeing Naruto come over. A blush pinkened her face, and she looked away.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" He greeted with a big grin before noticing her. "Oh, hey, it's you! Hi again! Uh, what's your name again?"

Sakura let out a soft sigh. "Seriously, Naruto? You meet someone and don't even remember their name?"

Hinata shook her head. "N- no, it's okay. Um, I'm Hinata."

"Right, Hinata!" He snapped his fingers and knelt beside her. "It's cool to see you! How are you?"

"I'm f- fine," she stammered, face going even hotter as he leaned in closer. She held up the flower and continued, "I- I picked this… do you want it?"

"Huh? Oh, sure!" He took the flower from her hands and squinted at it. "This is, uh…?"

"It's an azalea," Sakura supplied.

"Right, azalea." He nodded. He grinned at the girl. "Thanks, Himawari!" He gave her a hug, and that was enough to send her fainting into his chest.

"E- eh?!" Sakura exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"I just hugged her!" Naruto defended, holding her up by her armpits. Her head lolled forward. "What do I do?"

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, venturing closer to them.

Sakura whirled around. "Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun hugged Hinata-chan and she fainted!"

"Let's take her to Kaa-san," he suggested. He glanced over at the blond with a frown. "Since you made her faint, you can carry her."

"What?" Naruto grumbled. "Aw, c'mon…"


A/N: Please tell me what you thought!