Glass
Many see her as the castaway of the Hyuga Clan. For those who know her story, it is a tragic one. Her father all but disowned her, her cousin-her supposed protector-tried to kill her and the Council frets over the future of the clan, scouring the bylaws for any loophole to get them out of the mess of an unfit heir. And while many will recognize it is unfair to compare her to the clan's prodigy, her ninjutsu could only pass for competent.
Because the overall consensus within the clan and the village is that she is too nice, too kind and sweet to bear the burden of clan politics. She is trying, some would say, but she cannot possibly meet these unrealistic expectations. Her nature is like glass and she should be protected from the brutality of clan politics, not thrust into its fray.
And so the elders ignore her when they discuss political maneuvers or the economic climate, thinking she is more interested in her garden or staying hidden.
And the villagers would speak candidly with her with warm familiarity and not with the distant, cold politeness afforded to more prominent members of her family. She was more like them anyway, especially after the way that heartless father of her's treated her.
She was not a threat, everyone thought, and that was exactly what Hyuga Hinata wanted them to think.
It was a game. How much can she hear, how many secrets can she glean before they realize she's in the room. It was surprisingly easy. It helped that she continued to blush easily at the slightest provocation and when caught off guard-which was quite frequent in the early stages of the game-she would stammer helplessly. It took the edge off of any potentially tense situation when they suddenly take notice of her and are obligated to bow to her in respect. They hated it, she could easily tell, and she would use that to her advantage, pretending to leave the room in a fit of discomfort before they can ask her how long she was there.
'Weak,' they would think.
That was fine, she thought, surprised at her own level of comfort because what she was doing was very dangerous. It was best if they continued to think that way for as long as possible.
And so it was not long before she developed a perverse, almost shameful thrill in the deception.
She wasn't clumsy by any stretch of the imagination but she found a well-timed drop of papers or equipment was a good distraction for those who were more hostile and mean-spirited. It gave them something to laugh at or turn their nose up in contempt. In other cases, playing up her shy nature got her better results from those who felt sorry for her and found her fumbling questions endearing but otherwise harmless.
It was terrifying how easy it was to manipulate the people around her but it was also exciting; to set aside empathy for jaded cynicism for only a moment.
It was harmless, she reasoned when her conscience started to make a fuss. She could stop whenever she wanted to.
It was just becoming increasingly hard to deny that she didn't want to stop.
Her personality overshadowed the fact that she was remarkably intelligent. Her tutors often compared her to her father, Hyuga Hiashi, who scored off the charts in assessment tests but who conditioned himself to suppress most outward displays of emotion after early childhood experiences made it vital that he do so.
Thus, when commenting on her father, people would recall his calm, aloof manner and his sharp, calculating mind. Nothing seemed to rattle him or catch him by surprise. He accepted things as though they were always part of his careful planning and that, among other things, was what made him a brilliant leader.
So he was not surprised-at least, not outwardly when Hinata's tutors eagerly showed him her latest test results. Not only did she score off the charts, in some categories, she scored higher than he did: mathematics and analytical thinking to be exact.
He allowed himself a brief show of paternal pride-a quick quirk of the lips-before he filed the information away for later use. He also made a point to watch his daughter more closely and thus became aware of her game.
"How very interesting," he murmured to himself thoughtfully, reassessing the parameters of his own game. "Surely, we can put this to good use."
~ TBC ~