~Give Me Love~
~Interlude~
Hinata was six. She stood in the courtyard of Sky Castle, practicing her aiming with her very first bow. Her practice bow was made of yew, the arrows tipped with suction cups instead of points. It was very dangerous for a cupid to prick their finger on their own bow, so the young cupids required this safety practice. It was a very good thing for little Hinata, as she was very, very bad at holding her bow.
Her father Hiashi leaned against a column a few meters away, watching as his precious Hinata ceaselessly dropped the arrow every time she attempted to load it.
"No, Hinata. Not like that. You have to hold it upright, fingers stiff," Hiashi advised, becoming more and more disappointed at his daughter's inability to learn.
Hinata's mother gently glided beside Hiashi, and wrapped a delicate arm around her husband's. Her enormous golden wings trailed behind her like a veil of ribbons. Similar to Hiashi's wings, this was a sign of the highest status among cupid society.
"Is she improving at all, dear?" A heavenly voice chimed.
Hiashi's grand wings ruffled in disdain. The mother need not question him any further.
"Surely she will eventually...she is so young to start her training."
Hiashi folded his arms. "She is the royal Hyuga princess...it is of utmost importance that she hones her skills to a level worthy of her family name."
The mother signed gently and gazed at her child, who had wandered up to the couple, dragging her bow behind her.
"Mama, I'm tired and my arms hurt. May I have a cloud drop pudding?"
Hiashi was about to scorn her, but the mother held up a hand to halt his words. She knelt down to her child and held her chin with her finger.
"You've done a very good job today, Hina-chan. You may go ask the cook to make you a pudding."
"Can you make me the pudding, mama? You make it better."
The mother giggled softly with her silvery bell of a voice.
"If you insist, my darling."
~o~
Hinata was twelve. She was playing in her room when her father called her to the main hall. Standing beside a pair of custodians was a young, mysterious cupid with a smooth, solemn face. Hinata's mother was standing gracefully beside her father, and looked to Hinata as soon as she entered the room.
"Ah, Hinata. Come here and meet your cousin, Neji. Certain circumstances have brought him into our care, so he will be staying with us from now on."
Hinata curtsied with her usual noble courtesy to the young Neji, to which he reciprocated with a deep, professional bow.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Neji-san," Hinata quietly chirped.
"And you as well, Hinata-sama." His expression remained mostly neutral.
Hinata's mother's voice rang out as she spoke. "Hina-chan, why don't you show Neji around the castle? You can show him all your secret hiding places."
Hinata's eyes brightened, then she dropped all her courtesies and grabbed Neji by the hand before leading him off into the corridors. Neji looked mildly alarmed, but went along for the ride regardless.
Hinata's mother chuckled as the two went out of earshot, which is when Hiashi turned to her with his usual scowl.
"Neji comes to us under such tragic and unfortunate circumstances." he stated with an aire of distaste on his tongue.
The mother's smile faded as she turned to him. "The poor boy...to lose his mother in such a way...he must be heartbroken."
"Not as heartbroken as my brother," Hiashi muttered almost inaudibly.
~o~
Hinata was thirteen. She stood in the garden, aiming her newly crafted golden bow at the target before her. While she was no longer in danger of pricking herself, she still had so much trouble aiming. Her first arrow hit the tree behind the target, her second landed in the grass a meter before it. Her third didn't even leave the bow before clattering on the ground.
Neji approached her from behind, as silently and gracefully as a forest elk.
"May I have a shot?" he asked.
Hinata sighed and handed over the bow. "Sure, go for it. I'm so sick of training."
Neji elegantly loaded the bow as if he was born to only do such a thing, pulled back, and fired. His arrow landed precisely on the bulls-eye. Hinata sunk to her knees.
"Ugh! You make it look so easy! How did you do that?!"
"You're worrying about it too much. If you spend all your time focused on the bow, you'll never find your target. Here, let me show you."
Neji lifted Hinata to her feet, the placed the bow in her hand. He adjusted her arms and her stance, guiding her carefully.
"Now, take a deep breath, focus on the bulls-eye...and...fire!"
The arrow went whizzing through the air, and landed one ring away from Neji's arrow. Hinata's eyes widened in disbelief, then she floated in to the air with glee.
"I did it! I did it! I hit the target!"
As she embraced Neji, a figure watched them from afar. Hiashi cracked a smile.
~o~
Neji was eighteen. He was strolling about the castle corridors as he often did when he needed to think, when he overheard the murmurs of a conversation in the other room. He floated over and pressed an ear against the wall.
"Neji is one of the finest archers I have ever seen for his age. He completed his Rite in only three days. Hizashi must have trained him extremely well."
"It's true. I'm so happy to have him here...Hinata has improved so much since he began training with her."
"He's like the son I never had. If only he had been born to the main branch."
Neji pressed his ear hard against the wall.
"Let us not forget our daughter, Hiashi. Hinata is the rightful heir to Sky Castle and watcher of Konoha. We cannot break the royal heritage. Hinata will be fine, now that Neji is helping her."
Neji clenched his teeth.
~End of Interlude~