Hinata's mother's name is never given in canon. Until someone gives me information otherwise, Hinata's mother will be referred to by the name Yui, written with the kanji "維", meaning 'supportive'. Neji's mother will be referred to by the name Haruna, written with the kanji "春奈", meaning "springtime, apple tree".
Yin and yang in threes make eight trigrams:
Heaven, earth, fire, water, thunder, mountain, lake, and wind.
Eight trigrams in twos make sixty-four hexagrams.
The second hexagram: earth over earth, the Receptive.
Hinata is two weeks old and no longer cries constantly.
The Lady Hyuga has recovered from her illness- at least, she no longer coughs and her skin is cool to the touch- but still her pallor persists. She has lost a good deal of weight and has dark shadows under her eyes. She is too weak to get out of bed without help, and is prone to dizziness and headaches.
Her continuing weakness dismays the clan. The recent death of Hizashi's wife just after childbirth has not been forgotten. If Haruna, sturdy and full of life, could succumb to illness, what chance does the quiet, small Lady Hyuga have in making it through the month?
The more cynical of the clansmen mutter, far from Hiashi's earshot, that at least she gave them an heir before kicking the bucket.
But as days go by, she shows no signs of worsening (nor of improving).
Every day, she asks to see her daughter.
Reluctantly, the doctor agrees, and Hinata's crib is moved to the Lady Hyuga's room, just beside her bed.
That's when Hinata stops crying altogether. She gazes up at her mother with sleepy white eyes and occasionally blows bubbles or smiles a toothless grin. Mostly though, she's quiet and contented, happy to suck on her toes when she isn't sleeping. She has just a tuft of silky black fuzz for hair and long, long, eyelashes.
Naturally, her mother just knows she's the most beautiful baby in the world.
Neji is just over one-and-a-half years old.
He has mastered the art of walking and moves at great speed around the garden whenever he is permitted to. Unlike Hinata, he has no personal attendant or bodyguard and no mother. Similarly to Hinata, his father is frequently too busy to look after him. With most everyone else busy with reconstruction, he is more or less on his own.
It is a chilly afternoon in January. Light snowfall dusts the ground.
Neji doesn't like the cold.
On the edge of the courtyard, a door is cracked open.
Neji approaches, cautiously. The crack is too narrow for even a toddler like him to maneuver his way through into the room. He doesn't like that- it's cold and he wants to go inside, but he isn't allowed in any of the training rooms. He pushes on the door, hard.
It slides enough to the side that he slips and falls through the opening, landing heavily. Thump.
"Who's there?"
"Ow," Neji says disconsolately.
A woman Neji recognizes only dimly is sitting up in bed. She is very pretty, with long, dark hair that falls around her shoulders. An adult would see the dark circles under her eyes and the unhealthy paleness of her face and conclude that she is recovering from illness, but Neji is only one-and-a-half, and illness is not something he has experience with.
"Is that- Neji?"
He nods and pushes himself up unsteadily, toddling over to the side of the bed.
The woman smiles. "Did you come to see your baby cousin?"
Neji doesn't know what she's talking about. There has been talk of a baby, but Neji pays more attention to the dragonflies in the garden than he does to the adults' conversations. Baby is just a word for something he has never seen, and it didn't interest him much.
He's interested now.
"Yes!" he says emphatically, nodding.
"Come over here," she whispers, beckoning him. "I'll lift you up so you can see in the crib."
Obediently, Neji holds up his arms to be picked up. Her arms shake a little as he hefts him to her knee, but she is not yet weak enough that she cannot lift a child.
On the far side of the bed, Hinata sleeps in her wooden crib.
Neji leans over, watching in fascination.
"That's Hinata. She's your baby cousin," the woman says quietly, smiling. "Can you say hi?"
"Hi," Neji breathes.
Hinata scrunches up her face and yawns. Then she blinks up at her cousin sleepily.
"Hold out your hand," whispers the woman.
Neji lowers his hand into the crib, giggling when Hinata's eyes follow his finger. Then Hinata bats weakly at the air with her hand, and he moves his hand closer to hers. She grabs his thumb and he squeaks in surprise.
"She likes you," the woman says. "And no wonder- you're the closest thing she's got to a big brother, aren't you?"
Neji smiles.
After a moment, he tries to pull back his hand, but Hinata won't let go. Her fist is surprisingly strong, and Neji isn't much stronger. He frowns and tugs again.
"All right, Hinata," says the woman, laughing. "Time to let go of cousin Neji."
Hinata is placated with a corner of her blanket in place of Neji's finger and settles back into her crib, eyes slipping shut easily.
"Night night," Neji whispers.
"Good boy," says the woman fondly. "Now, give her a kiss and then it's naptime."
He leans down and kisses her forehead clumsily, then accepts a similar kiss from the woman- Hinata's mama, he guesses now.
He's heard that babies come from mamas. Even he comes from a mama, it's just that his mama is dead. Papa took him once to a pretty meadow with flowers, and said that was where mama was. Neji didn't see her, but Papa knew everything, so he was probably right.
"All right, off you go. It's time for you to go eat, isn't it?"
The dinner bell is ringing.
Neji will not remember that day.
He won't remember leaning over the edge of the wooden crib in the dark room. He won't remember his aunt's cool hands and smile and soft, gentle voice, and the kiss on his forehead. In fact, this is the last time he will speak to his aunt for several years. When he sees her again, she will be a stranger to him, and the circumstances will be less pleasant.
He won't remember Hinata.
He won't remember reaching out a hand to touch her soft black hair. He won't remember the way she grabbed his finger and held on tight and didn't want to let go.
In the dark, where no one told them they weren't allowed to be friends.