"Again." The sharp voice of Lady Hyūga cut through the silence of the dojo.
"Yes, Lady Hyūga." Himawari coughs, pretending not to notice the cruel smirks of her clan cousins as she staggers back to her feet to face the might of the Head of the Hyūga, Aunt Hanabi.
'I can do this,' the thought runs through her head on repeat as she readies herself yet again, dropping into stance, waiting for the silent signal to begin the match again. 'I can do this.'
The girl is flat on her back again before she realises it, a terrible pain spreading through her chest. Quiet whispers break out at the back of the crowd watching the Lord Hokage's second child attempting to spar with Lady Hyūga. Himawari swears she can hear the Branch children laughing from outside, revelling in her pain and inadequacy of performing Jūken to the clan's standards.
"She's just like her mother." She hears one say from behind the safety of the dojo walls. The shame that has been welling in her stomach since her first defeat intensifies with the ill words she hears. She closes her eyes and pretends she hadn't heard them too.
Lady Hyūga does nothing to silence the children. She has never admonished any of the Branch clansmen when it comes to insulting the former heiress to the clan, her elder sister. That animosity seems to have extended to her as well.
For a moment, Himawari stays where she has landed, trying to right herself in her head before attempting to right her body. 'I can do this. I can do this.' The miniscule voice in her head is fading away faster than ever. If she could just land one strike against Lady Hyūga, then maybe, just maybe-
"That is enough." Like the harsh frozen winds of the far north, Lady Hyūga's voice cuts through quiet murmurs, silencing everything in the dojo, Himawari's dwindling self-confidence included.
Lady Hyūga stares down at her from across the floor, her face void of any emotion. It's impossible for the girl to not see her mother in that blank face.
"You are done for today. Now get out."
Himawari hobbles out as fast as her bruised legs can carry her, head down and ears closed to the callous remarks on her poor form, her lack of perseverance, the disgusting Uzumaki blood that runs through her veins that have sullied the Hyūga linage and more insults on her mother's name she pretends that she never hears.