Nothing is perfect by itself. That is why we are born to attract other things, to make up for what we lack.
-Masashi Kishimoto
-Present time-
Shikamaru yawned discreetly, leaning against the wall of the interrogation room, blinking tiredly to focus his eyes. When the blur in his vision was gone, he groaned internally, sneaking another glance at the trio next to Hinata's bed.
What a drag.
Their eyes were closed, as they had been for the past few hours. They had been unbelievably still when the Mind Search process had began, but over time, had relaxed.
Shikamaru had been keeping a close eye on Neji, Sasuke and especially Ino.
This was not the first time she had taken someone with her into someone's mind, but it unsettled him nonetheless. Despite all her exaggerations, this method was more dangerous as compared to the normal one.
Up until the first hour, everything had gone normally, only an occasional gasp or hiss escaping the three Shinobi.
It was normal. Often, when Ino invaded the mind of a person, she was privy to not only their memories, but also their emotions.
When something happy was going on, her face would be glowing, a tiny smile taking over it. Other times, she had a disgusted look, lips curling in a sneer as she discovered all the dirty secrets of her enemies.
The stronger the emotions of the owner of the memories, the stronger a Yamanaka felt them.
It was because of this Shikamaru knew that the memories they were going through right now were no good ones.
At the beginning, the faces of the occupants of Hinata's mind had been pale. Shikamaru could also decipher a tinge of anger within their expressions.
However, soon, that had changed, their face softening to what he assumed was surprise, wordless shock at whatever they had been seeing.
Shortly following that had been gentleness Shikamaru didn't think he'd ever seen on his teammate's face, the Uchiha and Hyuga wearing strained grimaces, their shoulders tense.
Happiness had been there too, that had made Ino's skin light up, and she had sighed happily, the faces of other two eased into understanding. It had been enough to make Shikamaru relax enough to slouch even more against the wall.
At one point, her face had turned bright red, and Shikamaru would have thought that she was about to pass out of Chakra Exhaustion, had Neji and Sasuke not followed.
He had just been about to activate his Shadow Manipulation to pull them out, when he heard a...squeal?
Even he had been stunned into silence for a second. However, soon, both Neji and Sasuke scowled, face burning brighter a growl erupting in the Uchiha's throat.
He had been questioning what all that was about-
Ah.
It didn't take long for him to discern which part they were at, especially when Ino pouted, her grin fading. He almost felt bad for the males with her. Almost, because they had brought this upon themselves.
Following that had been pained grimaces, and slow exhales, a disbelieving air hovering over them.
In muted silence, the hours passed by, and Shikamaru noticed Ino grow paler, almost fearful look on her face. There was even a horrified gasp at one point, a sign enough to put Shikamaru on edge once again.
Then, Ino began crying. No sound escaped her lips, but the tears fell all the same. Beside her, Neji and Sasuke had gone as pale as chalk, eyes tightly clenched shut. Neji's jaw was locked and Sasuke...Sasuke was rasping, panting as if it was hard for him to breath.
He had shared a look with Tsunade, who had nodded seriously. Just as she had been about to pull them out, the Mind Jutsu broke.
Shikamaru's eyes widened, as the three snapped back to reality, collapsing to the ground in a heap.
And then, suddenly, Ino was bawling. Not crying or sobbing, but bawling like a child. Neji was staring at the ground in disbelief, blankly taking in the fact that they had returned.
Shikamaru had just been about to greet him, when a sharp gasp broke him out of his thoughts. Sasuke was clutching his chest, one hand fisted in the ground, the other in his shirt as he panted, a hoarse sound escaping him with each breath.
On closer look, Shikamaru noticed the sweat on his face, trailing down his cheeks and dripping onto the floor.
It took another minute for him to realize that Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke was crying.
Uchiha Sasuke was also having a panic attack.
In his bewilderment, he simply stared, gobsmacked, as a blonde blur rushed past him.
A second later, Tsunade crouched next to Sasuke, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Shikamaru also snapped into action, going to comfort Ino as she continued sobbing, her shoulders quaking. He slid an arm around her, awkwardly pulling her closer. She latched into him immediately, collapsing into his embrace, her tears wetting his shirt.
He ran a head over her head, patting her back to calm her. It seemed to work, as she began to quieten. Sighing in relief, Shikamaru looked over at Sasuke and Tsunade.
The former Hokage's lips were moving as she said something to him. However, he didn't seem to hear her, continuing his panting.
When Tsunade forced him to look at her, he pushed her away. He fisted one hand in his hair, pulling hard enough that Shikamaru winced. Then, he raised his other hand, his fingers curling.
He slammed it back on the floor, the blow making a dent into the sharp marble tiles below. Blood splattered across the pristine white, just as the Uchiha himself leaned over, still lost in his...whatever that was.
His mouth opened.
"YOU IDIOT!" The raw scream that followed was inhuman, tearing itself from the deepest, darkest part of his soul.
Shikamaru flinched, unknowingly tightening his hold on his blonde teammate. He barely noticed that Ino had suddenly stopped, now staring wide-eyed at Sasuke.
The Uchiha in question sunk to the ground even more, letting his head slump onto the floor. He was breathing heavily, forehead resting against the cool marble floor.
His hands relaxed slightly, before clenching again.
"You absolute fucking idiot." He rasped out, thought this time more quietly than before, voice breaking at the end.
His whole body was trembling, sweat trailing down his forehead. Shikamaru half-expected him to have caught a fever.
What the hell happened?!
He felt nails digging into the skin of his arm, and he looked down to discover the culprit was Ino. She was also staring at Sasuke. Her face was still tear-stained, when he noticed fresh tears fill her eyes.
Slowly, she looked up at him.
"He was crying too." She whispered softly, and Shikamaru felt his breath catch.
He had a good idea who 'he' was, but he asked anyway.
"Who?"
Her eyes were still focused on Tsunade as she calmed Sasuke down.
"Itachi." She replied matter-of-factly.
Shikamaru stiffened, not knowing how to react to her talking so casually about a mass murderer.
But, more was his confusion at her words.
Crying?
It only reminded him of how Sasuke had reacted to Kazue in the Hokage's office, and once again, Shikamaru thought of Kakashi.
Just what are you hiding, Lord Hokage?
He made a mental note to talk about it later, before focusing back on the Uchiha. He faintly noticed as Ino began trembling in his arms again, watching as Sasuke punched the ground again.
More blood splattered across the floor, and Ino's hold tightened on him. She shook him slightly, and when she spoke her voice was thick with tears and her eyes full of them.
"Shika," Her voice cracked, and she looked up at him, "Shika, help him."
No sooner had she said that, Sasuke began coughing, fisting his hand tighter in his hair, the other clenched in his shirt. He panted like an animal, sweat and tears trailing down his face, as another strangled sound escaped him.
And then, he was falling forward, his eyes rolling back into his skull. Tsunade caught him just before his body made contact with the floor, having knocked him out before he went ballistic on them.
She disappeared out of the room, presumably to take him to another room for a check up. Shikamaru felt a weight on him, and be looked down to see Ino collapsed in his arms.
Her face was tired and tear-stained, eyes lined red, and he realized just how low her Chakra was. Clearly, the whole process had done a number on her, and she was feeling the effects now.
He picked her up, before standing. Just as he was about to leave, his eyes landed on the Hyuga male in the room. Shikamaru and forgotten that he was there too.
He hesitated for a second, wondering if he should leave him alone and if Neji needed medical attention. As if reading his mind, the Hyuga looked up at him.
"I'm fine." He answered swiftly, "You should take her home."
He stood up, though with the support of the wall and floor. Shikamaru stared at him for another second, before nodding stiffly. Then, he was gone, making way towards Ino's apartment.
He made there in record time, stopping in front of the door. He let his Chakra fluctuate, unable to ring the door bell to inform Sai.
A few seconds later, the door opened, the place man greeting him with a frown. His eyes widened slightly, taking in the unconscious woman in his arms.
Wordlessly, he stepped aside, letting the Nara enter. Stepping into the house, Shikamaru walked towards the couch in the living room, before laying his teammate on it.
Sai followed him, kneeling next to his unconscious girlfriend, placing a pale hand on her forehead.
"Passed out from Chakra Exhaustion." Shikamaru informed him, not telling anything about the crying because of the confidentiality of the mission.
Sai nodded quietly, watching as Shikamaru stepped back.
"Take care of her."
The pale man gave a strange, comforting smile before nodding again. Satisfied, Shikamaru left, going to inform Kakashi about the turn of events.
Back in the apartment, Sai gently took Ino in his arms, making may to their bedroom. He laid her in the bed, covering her up with a blanket, knowing she would be much more comfortable there.
He sighed, before settling in bedside her, feeling the strange warmth bubble up in his chest, as it always did when he was with her.
Content. It was content, according to the book he had read all those years ago. He had read, but Yamanaka Ino had been the one to make him understand.
He inhaled deeply, before relaxing, letting the familiar darkness consume him.
Neji was in the Hyuga Compound, laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind.
A day had passed since he had returned, and he still didn't know what to say, or how to feel.
When he had planned on going into Hinata's mind, he hadn't been expecting any of the pain, the love, he had seen.
Honestly, he didn't know exactly what he had been expecting. He didn't know what he had wanted to achieve by looking into the memories.
He had convinced himself that it was because he wanted to confirm what Sasuke had told him about Uchiha Itachi.
Not only had the truth behind the Massacre been confirmed, but Neji had found the real reason he had wanted to go. Now, it occured to him that he had wanted reasons. Reasons to blame someone else for Hinata's abandonment.
He had blamed himself for so long, and he was tired of it, of punishing himself everyday, of looking in the mirror every morning only to curse at the man that stared back.
And, now that he had found the truth about why she left, he had began blaming others. Itachi, the most of all.
Aft first, he had believed that the Uchiha had tricked his innocent sister into accepting him, or done something as evil as his reputation and actions.
But, now after knowing the truth of it all, after knowing everything...he didn't know how to feel.
Neji knew darkness and loneliness; it was staring at the cold walls of your room, stewing in anger and jealousy at the existence of people whose life was easier than his.
It had been the only thing he had known for a long time, until Uzumaki Naruto had knocked him off his feet by making him realize what a selfish prick he had been.
What he had failed to realize that there were people in this world who had it much worse than he ever could. Naruto had helped him realize that, and his teammates had helped him understand it.
His Chakra, for instance, had been something he had always taken for granted, not even thinking twice of the people who didn't even have that.
Meeting Lee and Tenten, who had huge dreams of becoming great Shinobi, but had been unable to achieve them for a long time because of Nature, had made him realize just how lucky he was to at least have a roof on his head.
Both his teammates were a force to be reckoned with, but Neji knew them better than anyone. He knew the thoughts that went through their heads when Lee saw other shinobi doing Ninjutsu effortlessly, or when Tenten stared at Sakura as the pinkette healed a patient.
He knew they felt bitterness, no matter how miniscule, at being so wrongly wronged by the gods.
After all, what had they done to deserve such a fate?
Looking at them, Neji always felt the guilt clawing at him for the person he had been, and the things he had said to them.
Their lives had been difficult as it was; they were the outcasts and the leftovers, who no one had wanted.
They already knew what they lacked, and he had been nothing but a jerk by reminding them of it everyday, bringing them down repeatedly just so he could see them fail and rub it in their faces about how right he had been all along.
Now he realized that they were stronger then he could ever hope to be, because regardless of the way he had treated them, they had still forgiven him. They had accepted him for the jerk he was, and even helped him be better.
And he...at the end, he had repaid them by reverting back to his old ways.
The anger he had once felt at Hinata as a kid, was because he hadn't known the whole story, the whole truth of what had happened. History was repeating itself now, because he had once again jumped to conclusions, despite not knowing the whole story.
Once again, he had began believing that no one suffered as much as him, when Hinata had left. That it had been unbelievably selfish of her to chose the Uchiha over her village--over him.
It hadn't occured to him that even without knowing the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre, Uchiha Itachi still had it worse then him.
Being hunted throughout the Five Nations, just for existing was a difficult life to live.
The sacrifices Itachi had made for the sake of this village--for the sake of people like him, like Neji--just made it worse.
It was a life Neji couldn't imagine, and it had made him realise something else too.
As much he had needed Hinata in his life, there had been someone who had needed her more. Someone who had cherished her more than he ever could, someone who had welcomed the light she had shone upon their darkened world.
Unlike Neji, Uchiha Itachi had known how undeserving he was of Hinata, and that had made him never take her for granted, never underestimate the importance of her in his life.
Until the very end, he had only thought of protecting her--her and the child he had fathered.
That was another thing Neji didn't know how to feel about.
He placed a head on his head, pressing his fingers into his temple, trying to ease the headache that had built up.
A knock broke him out of his thoughts, and he sat up, feeling his heart lift a bit. However, he frowned when a Hyuga servant entered. He raised a questioning eyebrow, just as the woman bowed before him.
"It is time for lunch, Neji. Will you be eating with everyone else, or would you rather it be served in your room?"
Neji grimaced, a small inaudible sigh of disappointment escaping his lips.
He had been expecting Tenten to open the door. Usually, she was quick to come to his aid, but maybe his stunt with Sasuke really ticked her off.
He pursed his lips, letting his mouth curl into a tiny smile, he chuckled drily, remembering everything she had said to him the last time she was in his room.
Turns out she was right all along.
It wasn't really a surprise. When it came to emotional stuff, she always was.
Neji thought about it for a second, making up his mind. Turning back to the servant, he schooled his features into indifference.
"Bring it to my room. And please be quick about it. I have some important business to attend to after lunch."
The woman nodded, before walking out.
Soon, the lunch was served, and Neji made sure to eat it as soon as possible. As the servant returned to clear the plates, the bowed before him again.
"Lord Hyuga requests your presence in his study today."
Neji paused in his movements, cold dread crawling its way up his spine. It always did when Hyuga Hiashi was mentioned.
He still found it hard to believe that he would attack Hinata in the open, with several witnesses. Things would have gotten really ugly had he not been Clan Head.
Knowing he would have nothing good to say, Neji shook his head.
"Tell him will be dropping by this evening. I have somewhere to be in a few minutes."
The Hyuga servant bowed again, before leaving to do as she was told.
Feeling that most of his Chakra had been restored, he grabbed his jacket, before quickly moving out of the Compound.
He tucked his hands deep in his pockets, walking briskly past the streets, towards the familiar cream-colored building.
He took out the spare key to the apartment, unlocking the door before entering.
He quietly closed the door behind him, tiptoeing towards the living room where he could sense her barely-detectable signature.
He inhaled deeply, feeling the warmth of the apartment diffuse through his body and into his cells, the restlessness from before coming to a screeching halt.
He always felt a calm wash over him when he visited.
He entered the living room, taking in the sprawled form on the couch, it's long hair pooling on the couch, a few strands dangling off the edge.
Neji admired her for a moment longer, before taking a hesitant step forward.
The brunette looked up, blinking in surprise when she spotted him. Then, she smirked knowingly, sitting up, her smug look making him want to smother her.
Tenten felt the satisfaction well up in her, as Neji took few more steps forward.
About damn time, idiot.
She tipped her head in mock respect.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Neji's eye twitched, but he said nothing. After a while had passed, he sighed, sifting from one foot to another.
"You were right." He finally bit out, having to force the words past his throat.
Tenten, however, wasn't as merciful as she looked. Especially with him. She wasn't going to make anything easier.
She tilted her head to one side, placing a hand next to her ear.
"What was that?" She taunted, "Don't think I quite heard you correctly."
Neji grinded his teeth, his fist clenching.
"I said you were right." He swallowed, "About everything."
She sighed dreamily, clasping her hands together.
"Aren't I always?"
Then, the satisfied grin from her face vanished, taking in his strained expression, and she could only guess at the burden of unspoken words that laid heavy on his shoulders. She scooted to the side, just as Neji took a seat beside her.
"Tell me." She stated calmly, as he sighed.
Two words, just two of them, and they had the power to make him unravel completely.
He didn't waste another second before speaking his thoughts.
THERE WE GO!!!
So, since y'all were wondering about how everyone else was feeling in the present, I decided to change of the structure of the story a bit.
So, now we are back in the present, and there are going to be actual flashbacks instead of the past. Or maybe, I might switch between the past and present. Haven't decided yet, but I hope you like it either way!!
Now, onto the questions!!.
By SenketsuFangirl: Hmmm...let's see. In the chapter where Hinata's Byakugan vision was revealed, the conversation began with her saying that it could go up to 100 or even 1000 metres.
I didn't say anything about this being the maximum distance a Hyuga can see. Since, she could already see up to a thousand metres when she was 13, canonically, it increased to 10 kilometers, when she was 18.
I assumed it would reach about 15 to 20 km by the time she was nineteen. And, since she also received an abundance of Hamura's Chakra, it increased even more until it reached about 25 km(since the more Chakra a person has, the farther the can see, because then they would be able to provide more chakra to their eyes, while making sure their other organs received enough of it too.)
To answer your second question, Hinata is 19, while Itachi is 21. I decided to increase the age of all of Konoha 12 by two years, so throughout the flashbacks, all of Rookie 9 are 18-19.
Now, for the timeline to make it easier to understand:
-Hinata was 19 when she met Itachi.
-The whole past takes place in the course of about One month and one week, after which Itachi leaves.
-The previous chapter of the past took place three weeks after Itachi left, so about two months since their first meeting.
-Hinata leaves Konoha after another month passes, so one month and three weeks after Itachi leaves. (this will happen in future chapters.)
-So, from the moment Hinata and Itachi met, about three months have passed, after which Hinata leaves Konoha.
(And I'll add here, that since I said, that I was going to be stretching the timeline a little bit, the Fourth Shinobi War will happen much later then it does in the manga and anime, and it hasn't happened yet when Hinata leaves.)
-Doing the math, Hinata gave birth when she was twenty.
-And since Kazue is four currently, Hinata is also 24 in Part One of the book.
Phew, that was fun to do. Be sure to ask anything else that might be confusing!!
Sorry for the confusion and I hope that helps!!
Until next Monday, ENJOY!!
-Your cool author.