Love's Misconstruities
Chapter 14
After her match with Hanabi, her father had yelled at her. He had been quite displeased when his daughters returned home, both wearing bandages. He'd promptly inquired as to what had happened and they mistakenly gave a truthful response, sending him into a rage. At first they thought that he was concerned for their well-being, and maybe he was, but he had a strange way of showing it.
While he was disappointed in both of them for receiving injuries, Hinata received the brunt of his wrath since she was his heir and had managed to take a beating from her little sister. He didn't seem to care that Hinata had escaped with far fewer injuries than Hanabi. Even one scratch seemed to be too many for him. Hinata apologized profusely, but to no avail. Hanabi even tried to stand up for her older sister a few times but Hiashi wouldn't have it. It only caused him to start in on her for her failings. Finally, he turned back to Hinata to lecture her on never sparring with any of the other Hyuuga members without his direct approval again, save for Neji whom he already allowed.
Neither of them understood why he was so particular about with whom they practiced, but perhaps it was his own strange way of seeing that they did not get hurt. Either that, or he was trying his best to hide his daughters' weaknesses from the rest of the clan. Hinata even wondered if perhaps the reason her father was so strict about their sparring, especially in cases like this where his two daughters fought each other, was because he feared that they would get it in their heads to fight to the death so that they could eliminate the other as a rival for the successor's seat. Such an idea was preposterous to her, but she knew that to her father, it may not be.
It was public knowledge that Hiashi hadn't placed the restraints on his second-born, Hanabi, like he was supposed to. If he had, she would have become a branch family member and any chance she would have had at becoming the next successor would have been eliminated. Hiashi's justification was that, should something happen to Hinata, she would be needed to assume her older sibling's place. ...Not that he helped to keep Hinata safe either though, allowing her to join Team 8 and embark on some very dangerous missions over the years. Still, given this, it made Hinata wonder why it was that he seemed to care about her safety now. Perhaps he did have some faith in his eldest daughter. Though he was also concerned with Hanabi's condition, he seemed more upset with the fact that Hinata had been hurt, or 'allowed herself to become injured at the hands of someone younger and less experienced that herself,' as her father had put it.
Truth be told, Hanabi was indeed stronger than Hinata had anticipated and she'd had to resort to attacking her kentetsu. Her younger sister would be fine in a few days, but their father was not appeased by the facts. Still, after he'd finished his tirade and sent them away, they'd shared a small grin behind his back.
Hanabi felt she'd finally grown closer to her sister. They were in the same boat now, and she was grateful that she was no longer alone. She knew that their father was fickle at times; one day he would give her praise saying how he wished she could succeed him...the next he would talk about how well Hinata had done on a mission, how she was bringing honor to the Hyuuga clan with her efforts, and that he would be proud when she assumed her rightful place. Then there were days when he was pleased with neither one of them and longed for a way to make Neji his heir. Those days were more frequent as of late. But after her match against Hinata she felt more at ease. She wasn't sure why, but she could feel that her older sister was not only testing her, but also trying to prove something to herself. Was she trying to prove that she was more deserving to be the heiress than her younger sister? ...Somehow, it just didn't seem that way. Her eyes were more desperate than that. Either way though, Hanabi was able to feel her determination and knew that, no matter how badly she disappointed their father, that Hinata was the rightful heiress and would do her best not to let the family down. She was determined to become stronger yet, and it inspired Hanabi to try her best, too...not because she necessarily wanted to impress their father, but because she wanted to become more like her older sister.
Shortly into the battle it was clear to Hinata that she had the upper hand, but her sister was growing much more rapidly than she had at that age. Hanabi was also very persistent and so, without wanting to hurt her too badly, she had decided to disable her. Still, though she was proud of her sister's accomplishments, she was resolute in what she needed to do. 'I must work harder. I have to. I don't want to be useless…not to Father, not to the clan, not to the village…not to Gaara… Maybe when Neji-nii-san returns from his mission I can ask him to spar with me if he has time. Until then…yes, until then I must keep busy. I have to… Otherwise, I'll just freeze up and cry. I refuse to do that. I don't want to be that weak anymore…'
It was two days later when Neji came back. Hinata had been told by one of the servants of his return and headed straight to his room.
While usually calm, collected, and neat, Neji's door was wide open as he quickly dumped the contents of his bag onto his futon and began repacking it.
"Neji-nii-san," Hinata called.
"What is it, Hinata-sama? I'm in a hurry."
"What's…what's going on?" she asked, the question of sparring now far gone from her mind. She had never seen her cousin quite so rushed.
"A new mission."
"But…but you just got back!"
"Hokage-sama's orders. Team Gai is leaving for Suna immediately."
"Suna?! Then, you're going to be reinforcing Team Kakashi?"
"You already know about the situation, then?" he asked, slinging the bag onto his shoulder and turning to face his cousin.
"…Hai… Neji-nii-san, please. Please, you have to save him."
"Him? You mean Gaara?" he clarified, carefully watching the young woman before him ball her fists as she tried to keep her composure. She had tried to keep herself from thinking of the situation and had been okay enough until now, but being confronted with it again caused her to struggle with her emotions. "…You still care for him. After all this time," he stated. She simply nodded. "Even though he and Sakura-"
"No, that was… We must have misunderstood! Sakura-chan said there was never anything between them."
"What? But-"
"Please, Neji-nii-san, please… Save him. You have to. I… Hokage-sama wouldn't let me go, so… I'm sorry… I'm sorry to ask this of you."
The taller boy stared at her a moment, dumbfounded. It had been a long time since she'd allowed herself to be seen in such a weakened state in front of him. For her to be reduced to this, he knew how much this meant to her. "I will do what I can," he replied, darting off before his younger cousin finally broke into tears.