Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews! I'm happy you guys liked it so much! As a holiday gift to you, readers, here is the next chapter! Merry Christmas!

Two of Us

Chapter 1:

Transparent as the wind with fingers as soft as the breeze that caresses my tears.

After Mother's death everything changed. The world suddenly turned dark. The familiar memory of her lying on the futon in Father's arms brought painful nightmares every time Hinata recalled it.

---

The liquid poured into the cup fluidly. It's green content matched the exact green tea Lady Hotaru adored. The handle of the pot; however, had an unsteady hand maneuvering it. No other person was supposed to know about tonight's management of the medicinal tea as Hiashi settled the pot onto the stove. His eyes stared intently at the white packet beside the white tea cup on the counter.

Nevertheless Hiashi was desperate to save his wife. He had attained the ingredient from a trusted source who secretly ordered the medicine to be transported to Hiashi's home this morning. After hearing of its replenishing quality to the ailing body a few weeks ago, Hiashi eagerly wanted to test this medicine tonight when all the branch servants were gone from his home. Tomorrow, Hotaru would tend to the Compound's garden once more. The garden would always remain Hotaru's place of comfort. During her illness, his increased visits to the garden were so that he could feel her peaceful aura that he missed dearly.

"Father…"

Hiashi quickly snapped his head in the voice's direction. Hinata rubbed her eyes tiredly as she looked at him.

His voice felt strained by the ineffable scene his daughter was witnessing. He couldn't shoo her away harshly—not when her pale eyes stared at him innocently.

Hinata walked toward her father. Standing next to him, her presence offered Hiashi some comfort as he finished preparing the concoction. He opened the white packet and poured the green powder into the green tea. The green powder elusively integrated with the green tea color.

Hinata curiously watched her father's unusual display of secrecy. He was usually very calm and forthright. But at this moment, he seemed uncharacteristically nervous. A few seconds passed and Hiashi continued to stare at the tea cup. His thoughts amuck as he processed every step he had taken to achieve his desired results. His hopes felt unreal, yet exciting. Very soon Hotaru would feel better.

"What is that green stuff, Father?" Hinata tugged on his yukata. It was always the branch maids who prepared Mother's tea, medicine, and meals. She looked up at him curiously.

"Hinata, be quiet. You must promise me not to let anyone know what I am doing." Hiashi raised an index finger to his lips as he stared down at his five year old daughter. He sighed slightly in frustration as he noticed her fallen expression," This will help your mother." He gently pushed Hinata away and ordered her to sleep. Hinata turned her head with one last look at her father's back moving opposite of where she stood and down the hall where her mother slept isolated.

"Hinata-sama, what are you doing?"

Hinata gasped. Pushed against the wall, a strong hand grabbed her wrist to pull her away from the stairs. Wincing from the pain, Hinata was about to scream until she saw the face of the assailant.

"N-Neji-" gasped Hinata, staring up at her six year old cousin. His facial features were strong just like his father, Uncle Hizashi. "W-what y-you doing here?"

Branch members were forbidden to enter the house of their leader without permission. It was the middle of night and no visitors were allowed. Neji should not be here. His strong hand continued to pierce her pale skin, ignoring her whimpers of pain for him to stop.

"Please…stop it." One of Hinata's hand tried to pry his hand off her shoulder; however, Neji remained unmoved. Instead, his grip only tightened. "Y-you not s-supposed to be h-here." Hinata stammered the words. Her words failed to exhibit the anger she wanted to express.

"I came to see Aunt Hotaru." Neji's voice lacked the assertiveness she was used to hearing from him.

Hinata lowered her gaze. "I…I can't let you. Father is w-with her."

But it was too late. Neji soon disappeared after her comment and Hinata's eyes widened at how fast her cousin was. He was fast, skilled, and smart. Hinata could not ignore the main house's growing disappointment that she could not perform on par with her cousin. His unmatched abilities revealed how much the Elders favored Neji over her. How much everyone relied on Neji to carry on the Hyuuga brilliancy while she remained the weak and useless heiress.

Biting her lip, Hinata followed after Neji. She would not allow him to enter the room. By her father's orders, she would fulfill the obligation of letting no one find out what her father was doing. She nearly tripped running through the kitchen and into the dark hall. Quickly gaining balance by touching the wall, she squinted her eyes to catch a glimpse of Neji's body turn a corner. A few more steps and he would find her ailing mother.

"N-no…s-stop Neji-niisan." However, Hinata's plea did not reach him. Disappointment filled her as she heard the sound of a sliding door.

Her father's chilling cry reverberated through the walls.

---

"Uncle Hiashi, you killed Aunt Hotaru."

How could Neji say that to her father? Standing next to her cousin in disbelief, Hinata stared shockingly at Neji's ruthless expression. For such a young boy, he was perfectly trained in the art of hiding his emotions. She tried to extract some sort of anger from his face, but there was none. His face remained robotic and emotionless as he stared into the room.

Hinata turned her head to look at what had caught his attention, and she froze at the sight before her. She struggled to establish the sight before her eyes.

Father held onto Mother whose pale eyes were wide open and lips covered in blood. There was no sign of her breathing or consciousness.

Hinata screamed.

"How…could this happen?" murmured Hiashi. His attention remained on Hotaru's blank expression, running a finger down her pale skin. "Hotaru…wake up."

Tears soaked his cheeks and dripped down his chin. To Hiashi's horror the 'medicine' had the adverse effect of what he had expected. Hotaru had coughed up the tea a minute after drinking it. Now he could only recall the way she naturally greeted him politely before this mess occurred. Her kind eyes and warm hand that reached out to him in the desire for comfort. Now she was limp in his arms; the life gone from her.

"You." Neji turned to Hinata coldly. "You allowed your father to kill Aunt Hotaru. You both will be tried by the Konoha court."

Hinata shivered from his cold words. "B-but Neji…" The eerie coldness consuming Hinata intensified. She didn't understand why he was saying these things. Her arms covered her shaking shoulders. Why would the court try us? Father never want to hurt Mother.

"Your crime is treasonable. You will no longer be the heiress after this, cousin." There is also no reason for me to address you formally, traitor.

Hinata watched Neji brush pass her heartlessly. Stepping back from the force of his shoulder pushed against hers, she tried to ascertain the situation. There had been no tear or sadness shed in his eyes. His words were quick, blunt, and unkind; ruthless and scarring to a child with no sense to react to his biting words. He found the perfect words to crush her. Did he really come to see her mother?

Hinata looked at her father, but he was in his own set of mind; ignoring her, and continuing to hold Mother, Hinata fought back the tears. She had been criticized many times for expressing her emotions too much.

For much of her life, Hinata did not understand what it meant to be an heiress. She wanted to cry and run to her mother so many times when her father yelled at her. But she was restrained from such action. Each morning she awoke to a regimen of duties to fulfill: Greeting the Elders, attending school, and studying the history of previous Hyuuga leaders extensively at home. While other Hyuga children played, she was forced to exercise her mind. The secrets of the Hyuugas would one day be entrusted to her and one day she would lead the clan into higher heights than her ancestors. Such was the fate of all Hyuuga leaders—to surpass and uphold the Hyuuga way of life. Tradition was the fruit of their labor; excellence, the path to their achievement. Failures were seen as only a measure of one's own incompetency.

As a Hyuuga one was taught to hide emotions to keep others mystified at what lay behind the face.

People will walk over you, Hinata. They will treat you like dirt if you do not hold your dignity intact! Her father's words pierced her soul many times, driving a stake into her mind. Hinata loathed the fact that she was unable to be tough in front of adversity. She had seen disappointment too many times from the people around her.

Father was crying so much.

Hinata took small steps toward her parents. Her fingers trembled as she neared them. Finally with no strength left to continue, Hinata fell to her knees and wept.

No one yelled at her for releasing the tears.

This feeling of helplessness was unbearable. She wished that she could finally hold her emotions together at a time like this. Yet it was flightless.

The pain increased within her. The sound of her heart pounded like drums in her ears. She clutched her chest in order to quell the pain, but she struggled to breathe properly. The results left coughs and mournful yells.

---

"Under the Konoha judicial system, do you have any last words?" The judge trained his eyes on the defense table at Hyuuga Hiashi.

The slouched figure failed to look up at Konoha's respected judge Danzo. His pale eyes stared at the floor and his arms folded behind him. His long silky ebony hair looked oily and dirty. His melancholy expression remained in the same trance state during all his trials. There seemed to be no words that could infiltrate Hyuuga Hiashi in the past six months.

Investigations, interviews, and the search of his home provided the police with all the evidence to convict him. The powder and his fingerprints in the kitchen were all his. No one besides himself and Hinata were in the kitchen the night Hotaru died. Neji was the witness. Thankfully, Hinata was spared from this torment as she had no idea what lay in the green tea. Even though he had no idea that he had given his beloved poison, Hiashi wished he had not acted so passionately. Such passionate feelings were bound to bring a Hyuuga down. He should have been more objective and less influenced by his emotions. He had lost control that day, powered by excitement and greed for his wife to return healthy.

Now he lost everything. His wife, children, and pride.

Danzo grunted, his eyes narrowing at the pitiful sight. A Hyuuga who lowers himself like this. "Without further words, the jury finds Hyuuga Hiashi guilty for the negligent manslaughter of Hyuuga Hotaru. Hyuuga Hiashi will be sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment in the Konoha Prison."

The crowd spoke in hushed voices. One of Konoha's most respected men had committed a despicable crime and would now pay for his punishment in prison for much of his life. Much of the whispers centered on the justice settled for his actions, the status of his children, and the lingering aftershock.

"Your daughters will be placed under the care of your brother Hyuuga Hizashi."

Hiashi's eyes widened at Danzo's words. Looking up from the floor, he turned his head to gaze around the room for his twin brother. From the opposite corner of the court room Hizashi stood with a stern expression. Hiashi's eyes widened frightfully.

"Brother…"

Hizashi turned away from his gaze and started to walk out of the court room.

"Brother! How dare you trick me!" Hiashi's voice rang through the room angrily.

"Guards, get him down!" Danzo bit his lip in irritation.

With one leg over the railing separating him from the crowd, Hiashi struggled to escape the grasps of the police officers holding him down.

"You killed Hotaru!" Angry tears filled Hiashi's eyes. "You gave me the poison! Why do you not admit it, Brother? Stop! Let me go!"

"Get him down!"

"Just because you couldn't be the leader, you wanted to ruin me! Don't you dare hurt my daughters! Judge, arrest him!" Hiashi's yells intensified as the arms around him pulled him to the ground. Shouting for help, his arms clawed at the male faces and his legs kicked up to push them away.

"Enough Hiashi! Your actions are intolerable in my court! Take him away! Your accusations against Hyuuga Hizashi have already been proven inconclusive!" Danzo sighed in frustration. Hizashi, you should have poisoned your brother also. Danzo reverted his eyes to the entrance of the court room where Hizashi had stopped to hear Hiashi's cries.

Hizashi, this will all be for the best, won't it? An old man like me understands the life of politics and men who vie for power.

Danzo smirked and turned his face away from Hizashi's back to focus on the flailing former Hyuuga leader.

Therefore, I expect your allegiance in the future.

---

"C-can I hold her, Neji-niisan?"

Neji turned to Hinata with eight month old Hanabi in his arms. Hyuuga Hiashi's home was empty save for the three of them. Today, Hizashi had ordered Neji to stay with his two younger cousins.

"Neji, this will be the last time you see them. Make sure they go nowhere."

Hinata flushed red from his staring, but endured the uncomfortable silence in her sister's nursery room. Walking up to him, Hinata stretched out her arms.

"Here." Neji placed Hanabi in Hinata's arms gently and exited the nursery room. Hinata's pale eyes glued to his back.

There was an unexplainable look on his face.

Hanabi's gurgle noises withdrew Hinata from her thoughts as she smiled down at her little sister.

"Do you think we'll see Father today?"

---

"Where are we?" A young Hyuuga branch maid held Hinata's hand tighter after Hinata posed the question. It was dark and getting colder. Hinata's eyes looked puzzlingly at the houses around her.

"I was ordered by Hizashi-sama to take you and your sister to this address."

She had never seen the houses around them before. The people gathered outside talked in low voices that she couldn't hear what they were saying. There was a fan symbol on each house she saw. This was a curious neighborhood. Hinata increasingly felt frightened to be left alone with her infant sister.

"Now listen!" The branch maid hastily pulled Hinata into an alley. The maid shakily bent down on her knees. Hanabi slept peacefully in her arms. "Take this white envelope with you and give it to anyone you see inside that house okay?" She pointed to the isolated house down the street with a red lantern lit outside. Solid rock walls surrounded the home. "Do you understand, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata nodded slowly, her eyes confused by the words. "W-why do I go there?"

The maid released her hand from Hinata's and ran her hand down Hinata's short, silky ebony hair. With a sad smile, she kissed Hinata on the forehead. "You're so young, but you have such strong courage. I pray Hiashi-sama lives through this and return to you both."

Hinata's eyes widened. Her hand rose up to grab onto the maid's arm tightly. "Father? Where is he?"

The branch maid fought back her tears. "He can't come get you right now, Hinata-sama. But he will later. You have to believe he will come back, okay?"

"If I don't believe, will he not come?" Hinata looked down at her feet, her cheeks red. She was scared and nervous of the task before her. The house looked so big and unfamiliar. Her legs shivered from the thought of what may be inside. The maid's hesitant voice also added to Hinata's insecurity.

"Yes." Once Hinata stopped believing, all hopes in her father would diminish. The maid surmised that the poor girl would lose faith, especially in the people who were to take care of her and Hanabi from now on. The maid gently placed Hanabi in Hinata's arms. Staring at Hinata's face one more time, the maid immediately turned away and ran off.

Hinata shouted for the maid's return, but the people's whispers around her only increased.

"N-no…don't go…" Hinata wept. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she watched the maid's figure disappear in the darkness. Her cries grew louder with each second that passed. The cold breeze grazed her wet cheeks. "Mother…Father…"

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading and please leave a review! Best wishes for the new year!