Title: Things that could have happened had Hizashi been the older son

Author: Runespoor
Rating: T
Summary: alternate version of the previous event. In which I'm marginally nicer.

8. chuunin exam – take 3 - alternate version

"My team needs a Sky scroll. What is yours?"

Kiba stared dumbly at the older genin, blinking a few times as he tried to wrap his mind around the question. Where did that come from? They were supposed to defend their scroll, like hell they were going to go around and answering people's questions about it!

Not that Kiba thought the older team was going to fight them for it – they were Konoha genins, and Hinata and that stuck-up jerk were family – but there might be people listening in. Some enemies couldn't be detected by the Byakugan; who'd ever suspect an ant crawling up your leg? Not Kiba if he hadn't met Shino, that was for sure.

He was huffing with indignation when he saw Hinata's small form hunching under the other's watchful gaze.

And then lightning struck him.

Hinata called him Neji-sama. Hinata was a Hyuuga.

Kiba frantically searched through his memory for anything, anything that might let him understand what was going on, cursing himself when he found nothing, nothing.

Nothing in more than a year with Hinata, nothing in a year spent trying to surprise a laugh out of her, nothing when he tried to get her to stop training, you're hurting yourself, not a word to explain why sometimes she had to leave early or to miss a day of training, nothing but the vague, all-purpose knowledge that it was 'Hyuuga stuff'.

And that had been enough, and he'd never pried – even when he wanted to, and occasionally he had wanted to, like the time they'd planned for a dinner in town with Kurenai-sensei and Hinata had excused herself just the day before – because usually he didn't think to see anything special about it, just clan stuff; and when he wanted to protest he never even broached the subject when she was there, because she'd just look down, looking sad, and Shino never did, of course he didn't, and Kurenai-sensei never did either, and Kiba knew if she let Hinata's absences go unquestioned there had to be a good reason.

She might not have a choice.

The thought was halfway there, rising like bile in his throat, when Hinata's soft voice answered.

"E-earth, Neji-sama." She stumbled a little on the first word.

She might get in serious trouble if she lied.

Hinata was the one carrying the scroll; Kiba remembered her picking it up and placing it in her pouch. It was Sky.

It was lucky that Kiba was too shocked to hear Hinata actually – answer, even if he'd understood she couldn't do otherwise, because then he didn't start, as he surely would have if he'd caught on before. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shino start a little, almost nothing, and he was pretty sure he'd only been able to see that much because they'd been teammates for a year.

The Hyuuga heir gazed at Hinata a few seconds more; instinctively, Kiba tensed up.

If he called her a liar, if he insisted, then Konoha genin or not, and Hinata's family or not, Kiba was ripping him a new one.

She had made her choice, and Kiba'd stick with it no matter what. Akamaru let out a grumble of acquiescence. Peripherally Kiba was aware of the jerk's teammates, but neither of them looked like they wanted to get involved in any of this. If anything, they were looking more horrified than Kiba himself.

But he didn't. Instead, he merely shrugged, before turning to face the general direction of his teammates. It was as if the thought didn't even cross his mind she might not be telling the truth. As soon as he did, Hinata sagged – like a puppet whose master had let go of the strings.

"I h-hope you find the scroll you're looking for soon enough, Neji-sama," Hinata continued, almost startling Kiba out of his skin.

What was she doing?! He wanted to gesture frantically at her to drop it already, don't push your luck, he'll get suspicious.

Amazingly enough, he didn't even spare a glance her way while he was scattering the tell-tale signs a genin team had rested in the clearing.

"Hm."

It was like Hinata had ceased to exist now Neji wasn't looking at her anymore.

Kiba bristled. He didn't say anything; he didn't trust himself to keep control of his temper – not enough to keep the altercation from turning into a fight, and not enough to keep his wits to him if he was fighting Neji; he couldn't endanger the team's chances, and he couldn't attract the guy's attention back to Hinata.

Hinata slowly turned back; her head was lowered. Kiba and Shino fell into step next to her as she walked toward the bushes through which they'd come into the clearing. From behind him only came the sounds of Neji's putting things away. From the sounds of it, his teammates were still frozen on the spot.

That was a conversation he wouldn't have been looking forward, he thought, but then he couldn't imagine being in a team with that Hyuuga asshole at all without trying to kill him.

They walked through the forest on foot for a few more minutes, Kiba was too distracted, busily replaying the scene in his mind, to pay much attention.

"You could have got into trouble."

Kiba was shaken out of his thoughts by Shino's abrupt statement. His teammate was as unreadable as ever behind his sunglasses. Kiba looked at Hinata, awaiting her answer as well, honestly curious as to why she'd have taken such a risk, against her own – family wasn't a word he'd use about the Hyuuga anymore.

Now he'd seen the enslavement in the Hyuuga, his imagination was more than happy to fill in the blanks – which he'd already have known, his conscience said, if he'd been a better friend.

Not that he wasn't grateful she hadn't given the heir their scroll, course not, but… she'd gone against her clan. And from what he'd heard his mother grip about, things he hadn't understood at the time, the only more dangerous thing Hinata could have done was going against the village.

"I know," she said.

She was a little pale, but Kiba had never seen her looking that determined.