A/N Sorry this one's so short - was having a writer's block.

NORMAL

DREAMS AND MEMORIES

Neji entered the Hyuuga compound silently, trying not to draw attention to himself. But his efforts were in vain this time. Hyuuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga clan was waiting for him, arms crossed, his face unreadable as always. Neji stiffened involuntarily. "Can I do something for you, Hiashi-sama?"

"You can explain why you attacked Hinata today."

"Because I was angry with her." Neji knew it was pointless to lie.

"Did she fight back at all?"

Neji blinked in surprise. That was not the question or the reaction he had been expecting. "More than I had expected."

"Really?" Hiashi asked. "That is surprising. What kept you from…finishing what you started?"

"Yakushi Kyiara, a genin stopped me." Neji answered while trying to figure out what was up with Hinata's father. He was acting almost disappointed that he hadn't actually killed Hinata. He might've if Kyiara hadn't stopped him, though he had only gone there to pay her back for what Hinata and Kyiara had done to him the day before.

An angry look came into Hiashi's eyes. "Yakushi Kyiara? I thought she - oh, yes. I heard that one of the mission teams earlier this week found a genin who was once part of Jounin Genma's instruction. Is this her you are speaking of?"

Neji nodded, still trying to puzzle out what Hiashi was trying to say, or not saying was more like it. Scowling, Hiashi turned away. "Next time, finish what you start, Neji."

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Neji yawned as he headed back to the Hyuuga compound after a day at the Academy. He had been going there for only a few months and found most of the classes boring and beneath him, but forced himself to stay away and at least keep up the pretence of paying attention to the teachers.

A startled yelp made Neji halt abruptly at an intersection. What sounded like the same person cursed. "Why you little-- How dare you strike me?"

Neji heard the sound of a brief struggle which was followed by the unmistakable sound of braking bone. A muffled scream of pain in a voice that Neji had no trouble recognizing brought him out of his indecision to interfere. He charged down the alley where the voices were coming from. Someone shouted, "Hit her again!"

The sound of a booted foot coming into contact with a body echoed up the alley to Neji's ears. "Hold on, Hinata-san," he whispered.

Reaching the darkest part of the alley, Neji spotted four genin his age in a ring around two more children; one standing, one curled up on the ground. The one who was standing had blood all over his clothes. Neji's heart stopped, fearing it was Hinata's blood until he saw the boy's nose was bleeding heavily. In front of him, curled up around her right arm, was Hinata.

Furious, Neji leapt in back of the four creating the ring around the boy and Hinata, throwing them bodily out of the way. They didn't come back.

The boy whose nose was bleeding whirled around to face Neji. "What do want, Hyuuga Branch boy?"

"Leave Hinata-sama alone," Neji ordered.

"What if I don't want to? Do you see what she did to my face?" he shouted, pointed at his nose. "No, I don't think I'll leave her alone."

Instead of answering, Neji grabbed the boy by his shirt and threw him down the alley. "Now get the hell out of here, before I break something else for you."

"I'll get both of you later." the boy spat before running to the end of the alley and out of sight.

Once Neji was sure he was gone, he turned to his cousin. Hinata was kneeling, still holding her right arm against her body. Dropping to his knees next to her, Neji gently put his hand under her chin and lifted it up so he could look into her eyes. Blank eyes as pale as the moon were filled with tears. He cupped her cheek. "What happened, Hinata-sama?"

She sniffed. "Please don't call me sama, Neji-niisan." she said softly.

"What happened?" Neji repeated.

Hinata averted her eyes. "I-I was headed home after c-class when those boys dragged m-me back here and started h-hurting me. I tried t-to fight back but-" she started to cry. "Th-then they h-hit my arm. I think it's-"

"Shh," Neji whispered soothingly, pulling his younger cousin into his arms. "It'll be okay."

"N-Neji-niisan, I'm frightened."

Neji stroked her hair, trying to control his anger. "Don't worry. I'll make sure none of those boys ever hurts you again."

Hinata clung to his shirt. "Not of th-them. Of my father."

Neji tightened is arms around Hinata, as if trying to protect her from everything she was afraid of. "Don't worry," he whispered in her ear. "I will always be there for you."

He gently led her home to the Hyuuga compound. In the courtyard her father was waiting for them. "Hinata, I thought I told you to come straight home. Where were you?"

"I-I was-"

Hiashi interrupted her. "Forget it. Just come here and we'll work on your Byakugan fighting. Though I can already tell I'm wasting my time."

Hinata gave Neji a frightened look before stepping away from his support, trying not to favor her injured arm.

"Today I want you to fight Neji." Hiashi motioned Neji forward.

Neji shook his head, ignoring Hinata's signal to keep quiet. "Hiashi-sama, I refuse to fight Hinata at the moment. The reason she was late is because she was attacked on the way home. She broke one boy's nose, and for that he broke her arm. She is in no condition to fight right now."

Hiashi's eyes remained as cold as ever. "And she needed you to get her out of the position she got herself into." he glared at his daughter. "You should've been able to get yourself out of those positions by now, Hinata. You are an embarrassment to our clan. You will fight against Neji right now. And you, Neji, will fight her normally. What will she do if she was injured on a mission and still had to fight using Byakugan? I will be watching both of you."

Slowly, Neji walked to the center of the courtyard with Hinata. "Just do what he says, Neji-niisan." she whispered to him. "My arm feels better now. I don't want you to get into trouble with Hiashi-sama."

Neji could tell she was lying about her arm, and also knew that she was right about him getting into trouble if he didn't go half-way hard on her. Instead he vowed to use as little chakra as he could. At least Hinata wouldn't be hurt nearly as bad when she got hit.

They both activated their Byakugan as it started to rain. Neji blocked Hinata's strikes easily, though he let a few past to show Hiashi that Hinata was better than he thought. Hinata, however, was having a harder time than usual. Unable to block with her right arm, she resorted to using only the left and moving out of the way as often as she could. Neji glanced quickly over at Hiashi; he was scowling.

Suddenly, pain erupted inside of his head. Neji screamed in pain. Hinata started to go to him when Neji attacked her, hands glowing with more chakra than he had ever used on her before. His hand made contact with her chest. As quickly as it came, the pain vanished, leaving Neji panting and on his knees.

"Next time, don't hold back." Hiashi said as he turned away. Neji looked up to see Hinata stumbling into her room and close the door. On the covered walkway outside of her door, was a pool blood, and his bandage-wrapped hands were drenched in blood.

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"NO!" Neji sat bolt upright, sweating and breathing heavily. Shakily trying to calm his body down, he held his hands up in front of his eyes. They were covered in blood.

With a strangled cry, he leapt out of bed. He looked at his bandaged hands again; the blood was gone. The blood he thought he'd seen was just a memory.

He sat up on his bed, head in his hands. He had forgotten about that memory he had just dreamed; of the promise he had made to his cousin. But that didn't matter anymore. Yes, Hiashi-sama had given him the scroll his father had written for him, and he no longer blamed his uncle for his father's death. But he could not forgive Hinata's weakness in everything. She was the shame of the Hyuuga clan, and didn't deserve to be the heir; Hanabi did.

Neji clenched his fists. If everyone could see that she was so weak, why did they so vehemently defend her? Why did her teammates, Kurenai-sensei, Naruto, Kyiara and some of the other genin care so much about her? What was so special about his cousin that they could see that he and the other Hyuuga clan members could not? And why did she still seem to love him and call him elder brother after all he had done to her?

He had no answers. Glancing at him clock he realized it was pointless to go back to bed. Dressing quickly, he left. Passing Hinata's room he stopped. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door. No answer. Quietly, he opened it and peered inside. The bed had not been slept in that he could tell.

"She's in the hospital."

Neji jumped and turned around, silently berating himself at allowing someone to sneak up on him. It was Hanabi. "In the hospital?" he repeated.

"You put her there, Neji-kun." Hanabi reminded him. "Why would she be able to come home so soon, even after Kyiara healed her?"

Neji shrugged. Hanabi pressed on. "And why were you looking for her, anyway?"

He shrugged again before bowing to her and leaving. Why was he looking for her? He didn't know why himself.