By the time morning came and Mitsuki knocked on her door, Hinata had barely fallen asleep. She hadn't slept more than a few minutes the entire night; it was going to be a long day. She hoped she could maybe take a nap during lunch and breaks between classes.

Mitsuki helped her wash up, dress, and take off her gauze in favor of the sunglasses. She could see more light than before and was happy that her sight was to return by tomorrow. Her heart clenched when she remembered—though she desperately tried not to—that her lost sight was the reason couldn't see her mother for the last time.

Hinata missed her mom dearly. She thought about her often, even though part of her wished to just forget as the pain was too great.

Neji greeted her at her front door. "Good morning, Hinata-sama. Are you ready?"

Hinata smiled at him. "Good morning," she replied. She said goodbye to Mitsuki and left the compound doors with Neji. Once they were shut she gave him another smile and requested that he wait here a moment with her.

"Hinata-sama, why are we waiting here?" Neji asked her at the five-minute mark.

"We are… waiting for Sasuke. He wanted to walk with us," she replied.

"Sasuke Uchiha? I didn't know you two were friends."

"Y-yes. He came to see me often at the hospital and brought my schoolwork to me. His older brother…is my fiancé."

"That's right. My father informed me of your betrothal to the oldest Uchiha. Have you met him yet?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes, he is very kind to me. He'll make a wonderful friend." Hinata tilted her head. "Sasuke is almost here." Another moment passed and Sasuke was rushing around the corner with his school bag.

"Hey! Sorry, I'm late. My mom made me eat all of my breakfast," he sighed. He looked at Neji warily and Hinata took that moment of silence to introduce the two currently staring at one another.

"Good morning. Neji-san, this is Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke, this is my cousin Neji Hyuuga," she said. "I hope you can both become friends as well, even though Neji is a year above us."

The two sized each other up for a moment before bowing quickly to one another. It was quite apparent that they didn't like each other, but was willing to be civil for Hinata's sake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Uchiha-san. Hinata-sama's schooling is very important so please try not to be late again," Neji said politely.

Sasuke just barely held back an eye twitch. "The pleasure is mine, Hyuuga-san. Hinata and I are at the top of our class, so you needn't worry about such things. She is very smart," he replied. Neji smiled tightly at him and Sasuke lifted one side of his mouth in a small smirk.

"Let's…Let's get going to class now," Hinata said, feeling the tension between the two. She wasn't sure why they seemed to not like one another; she'd hoped they would be friends as well. She knew she just needed to give it some time.

They spent the walk in a tense silence and Hinata wished she was anywhere but here. She was exhausted from the lack of sleep, excited to be learning from Iruka-sensei again, and also sad to have to deal with people again. Most of her classmates were loud and hardly talked to her, but she was excited because Sasuke had promised to introduce her to some of his friends. She was hoping they wouldn't find her creepy as the others did. Hopefully, with her eyes covered, it won't be a problem for now.

"We are nearly there, Hinata-sama," Neji announced.

Hinata nodded. "Yes. Only thirty more steps to go," she said.

Sasuke grinned. "You really do count everything, don't you?"

Hinata giggled. "Well, of course."

Neji huffed a bit at seeing Sasuke produce such a reaction from his cousin before smiling over at Hinata. "That's really awesome! It must've taken a lot to get everything down," he praised.

Hinata blushed. "Thank you, Neji-san," she said. She stopped right at the gate and turned to Neji. "Thank you for walking with me."

Neji beamed and bowed. "It was a pleasure, Hinata-sama. I have extra classes after school today so I will be unable to walk back with you. I apologize."

"There's no need to be sorry! Please, do your best and I will see you soon," she assured him. Neji ran off and she turned to Sasuke. "Starting from here, begin counting your steps and the turns you take."

Sasuke nods seriously and counts in his head as they walk. Because of her lost sight and Sasuke counting, they don't notice the girls glaring at Hinata.

"This is so tedious, how do you do it?" Sasuke groaned.

Hinata smiled. "I like counting so it's never been a problem."

When they made it to their classroom, Sasuke's friends were already there along with Sakura and Ino who came early to get a chance to sit next to Sasuke.

"Hinata!" It was Naruto.

Sasuke discreetly led her to the group. "Use your inside voice, Naruto! She isn't hard of hearing," Sasuke scolded.

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled. "I'm real glad you're out of the hospital, you know!"

Hinata blushed and bowed her head. "Thank you so much, Naruto-san."

Sasuke sighed and started introducing his friends. "This guy over here is Kiba Inuzuka and his dog Akamaru. He's as loud as Naruto," he said, starting from their right side.

"Hey, Hinata. Glad to see you're okay!" Kiba said before playfully shoving Sasuke's shoulder.

"H-hello. It's… a pleasure to meet you," she said softly.

"This is Shikamaru Nara, the laziest and smartest dude you'll probably ever meet—he just doesn't really apply himself."

"What's with the introductions?" Shikamaru mumbled before sighing. "It's good to meet you, Hyuuga."

"Nice to…meet you as well, Nara-san." Hinata felt her face getting hotter. She remembered their faces well, but it was like meeting new people all over again with her missing sight.

"This is Shino Aburame, our silent bug boy," Sasuke said.

"...Pleasure," Shino said after a moment.

"Likewise, Aburame-san."

"You already know Naruto, so that just leaves Choji Akimichi."

"Hi, Hinata-san. I'm glad you're safe and out of the hospital!"

"Th-thank you so much, Akimichi-san," Hinata said. "I…I hope we can all be good friends, everyone." She then bowed politely to everyone.

"You don't have to be so formal, Hinata!" Naruto assured her.

Sasuke sighed, "It's the way she was raised, idiot. Don't put her on the spot."

"It's…it's okay, Sasuke. I hope to be familiar with everyone enough to…not be so formal," she added.

"I'm gonna take a nap before class starts," Shikamaru yawned. "I'll see y'all at lunch." He immediately fell asleep upon sitting at his desk.

The rest of the group had a small conversation and helped Hinata with what she missed out on, aside from Shino who silently observed his friends and the newest addition. She wore shades just as he did, but she didn't always and it made him curious about why. He tilted his head as he waved at her, raising a brow when she didn't even seem to see him.

Sasuke noticed and discreetly murmured what he saw to Hinata.

"Y-yes, Aburame-san?" She said, looking in his direction but he could tell it was slightly off.

He had observed Sasuke helping her. "It was nothing," he said. He figured she was hiding it for a reason and decided not to address it. He was impressed that she seemed to get by well without her sight. How long has she been without? He remembered her wearing those shades the day before the attempted kidnapping. He deduced that the enemy figured out her handicap and used it to their advantage.

Sasuke kept an eye on the Aburame but contributed to the conversation where he could. At seeing Hinata's smile, he couldn't help but feel relieved that she was making friends.

Hinata's senses went off and she took a large step forward, right into Naruto's personal space, just before she was to be shoved aside by Sakura and Ino who were now clinging to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun! Sit next to me today!" Ino said.

"No! Sit next to me!" Sakura said from his other side. Hinata winced at the volume of their voices and felt for Sasuke.

"Uh…Hinata?" Naruto said. She quickly realized how close she was to him and instantly backed away.

"I-I apologize! I was just…moving so I didn't get pushed," she quickly explained.

"Pushed?" Ino repeated, overhearing her apology. "Just who did you think was going to push you?" Her voice sounded tight like she was trying not to let her anger show but was failing horribly.

Hinata turned to Ino and remained quiet for a moment. "I didn't…mean to imply you were doing it on purpose, Yamanaka-san. I apologize."

"Whatever," Ino said curtly.

Sasuke removed himself from both girls' grip. "I'm sitting with Naruto, sorry." He went to his spot by the window and dragged Naruto to sit next to him before any of the girls shoved their way into that spot.

Hinata, at being turned so much, had to figure out where she was in the classroom before she could find her desk.

"Hyuuga-san," Shino said suddenly from her right. "Please allow me the pleasure of walking you to your desk."

Hinata blushed and thanked him. She ended up only being a few steps from her desk. "Th-thank you so much," she told her new friend.

"You just looked lost. No need to thank me."

She understood then that he figured out her sight was gone. She sighed at herself, feeling disappointed with herself for letting another person figure it out. Hinata felt she needed to work harder than ever before.

She never mentioned it when she tripped more than usual today or when her shoulder was roughly bumped in the hallways. She hoped she was just imagining it.


After her training with her father, she asked him if she could go train with Sasuke out at their private training grounds at the edge of the village. Hiashi agreed and sent Ko along with her.

"Hinata-sama, are you leaving?" Neji asked as she was led out of the training room.

"Neji-san, welcome home! Yes…I am going out. I hope we can start training together…soon," she replied, smiling widely at him.

"I hope so as well. Be safe," he told her.

"Yes. Train well!" She said. She decided not to wash up first since they were just going to get dirty again. She sat almost impatiently as the doctor cleaned her wounds and bandaged her up. She was a little slower today since she had not been able to train in almost a week, and she was hit a bit more today. There were no serious wounds, but they were sore and tender.

"Hinata-sama, are you ready?" Ko asked her. She was just strapping on her shoes by the front door. She nodded and took his hand as they walked outside.

Sasuke was already waiting in front of the compound gates. "Hey, how did training with your dad go?" He asked.

"I was a little slower today, but it was okay," she said. "Were you able to train with your father today?"

Sasuke huffed and that told Hinata all she needed to know. "So where's this training ground?" He asked.

"It's near. On the outskirts," she explained. "Ko-san will guide us there and watch over us while we practice." They followed Ko as he led them.

"He's staying?"

"Sasuke-sama, Hinata-sama was nearly kidnapped almost a week ago; she must be guarded at all times. I will be her protector until Neji-san has completed his training and Hinata-sama has graduated from the academy," Ko explained.

Sasuke took this information in carefully and finally understood what Hinata meant by Neji being her protector. He sighed inwardly at the thought of Neji being there at all times in the future but accepted it as he was protecting Hinata. Sasuke could get along with him…possibly.

"I understand," he said.

"Ko-san knows what I am helping you with today. He assured me that we can train together so long as we don't use our doujutsus."

"That's not gonna be a problem," Sasuke said. "When are you supposed to train with Naruto?"

"When my sight returns. He told me earlier that you're going to be joining us," she replied.

"If you don't mind."

"Not at all!" She said. "I really can't wait to see everyone again."

Sasuke hummed and they stayed walking in silence until they made it to the Hyuuga's private training grounds. It ensured privacy with tall wooden walls. Sasuke was amazed when he walked in at the size of it. There were multiple targets and training poles around the grounds, in the middle was a spot cleared out for sparring, and there were plenty of trees to practice chakra control and espionage skills.

"This is awesome!" He exclaimed. "Do you practice here often?"

"Not as much as I'd like to since father has to be near the main house for meetings. But he's permitted us to use this with Itachi-san."

"Itachi?"

"...Yes," she said, tilting her head in confusion. "Did he not tell you he was going to guide our training?"

"He didn't say anything," Sasuke said.

"I hope I didn't ruin any surprise. Please act as though you don't know for now," she pleaded.

Sasuke grinned. "I won't tell him," he assured her.

"Thank you. So, we will start on these targets right here. I bought extra weapons so please choose the one you're most comfortable with." She set down her pack and opened it up, revealing shuriken, kunai, and senbon. "We'll eventually get to all of them."

Sasuke picked up the shuriken and took his place in front of the targets.

"Hit the target over and measure the time it takes to hit as well as the sound it makes when you do. Memorize as many details as you can. Once you feel ready, Ko-san will blindfold you," Hinata explained. She felt her way toward the targets, felt the size and found the middle, and counted her steps back until she was next to Sasuke. Her chosen weapons were both kunai and senbon. "Let's begin."

Thump after thump after thump was the only sound in the training grounds along with the occasional grunt. Hinata stopped once she finished and went to check if she succeeded in hitting her target where she wanted to. "A bit off," she mumbled. "Not being used to these targets is no excuse."

"You okay?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, I was just checking."

"You're really good at this. Do you think I'll be just as good?"

Hinata smiled. "It takes time, but yes. I believe so."

They continued hitting their targets, only sometimes stopping to talk about form and their past experiences with weapons training. When Ko reminded them that the sun would be setting soon, Sasuke decided it was time to try it blindfolded. He felt nervous as Ko tied the piece of cloth over his eyes.

"This is a little…frightening," he admitted. "How do you do this?"

Hinata fiddled with her hands. "It's still frightening, but I have to just… bear with it until my sight returns. Being scared doesn't change the situation, so I can't let it…stop me," she explained.

Sasuke was mildly surprised at her wisdom but figured it was an eldest-child thing. He took a deep breath and began throwing his shuriken. He was shocked by how difficult it really was to measure by sound and memory. One of the shurikens sounded like it hit the tree the target was on and Sasuke grimaced.

"Let's go again," Hinata said, feeling around to collect the weapons. "It seems that only one hit the tree." She handed them back to Sasuke. "Take another deep breath, calm yourself, aim, and go for it."

He nodded and tried to collect himself. He knew he had to start from somewhere and this was it. Sasuke got into position and threw them again. This time, two hit the tree. He gritted his teeth and tried to keep from getting angry.

Hinata collected them again and handed them back. "Again," she said.

They went on and on until Sasuke could hit the target with all the shuriken.

Frustrated, Sasuke pulled the blindfold off. "That was terrible," he said. "I was terrible."

Hinata began collecting all their weapons. "You did well."

"You think that was actually good?" Sasuke said, exasperated.

"Yes. You did much better than I did when I first started," she explained. This made Sasuke feel a little better and then guilty. He helped Hinata collect the weapons.

"...Thanks," he mumbled after a while. Hinata smiled at him but said nothing as they packed up.

"Itachi-san will be back tomorrow, yes?" Sasuke nodded. "You must be looking forward to it. Hanabi is still only a few weeks old, but I hope she can one day look up to me as you do to your brother."

"Have you been okay, you know, about your mom?" He asked.

Hinata sighed softly as she thought about the fact that she wouldn't see her mother again. Part of her was thankful for having been blind as it was easier to not acknowledge the fact that her mom was gone. Now, tomorrow, she would have to face reality and would no longer be able to hide in the darkness of her overstrained eyes.

"I don't think I will ever be, but I'll always do my best. Thank you for asking," she replied. "It almost seems taboo in my household, but I understand my father is mourning as well."

"It sounds difficult, having to be so stoic all the time."

"It is my clan's way."

The Uchiha were fierce and emotional in their own way. They could have explosive tempers and almost obsessive behavior, but stoic was never something that they could pull off. Even though his father liked to believe that he was as stoic as Hiashi Hyuuga, it really just looked like he was angry. And maybe he was, Sasuke thought, at me for not being as talented as Itachi.

He shook that thought away and focused on walking his friend back to her house.

"Yeah, that still sounds hard. And I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you don't seem like them," he admitted.

Hinata smiled a little to herself. "I know, and I hope to stay different and help them to become different as well."

When she's to lead the clan and help Itachi lead his, she hopes she can change their mindset on many things, but mostly about the branch family being less than others. It was something her father had brought up to her a few times now; he expressed a great desire to break the stigma of their clan, that no one was to be seen as less than others. This was something she shared with him.

"Hinata-sama," Ko warned.

Hinata bowed her head in acknowledgment. "I had fun training with you, Sasuke," she said.

"Me too. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'll try not to be late tomorrow morning," he said. Hinata smiled and expressed the same excitement.

That night, sleep came easier as she'd only gotten a few minutes the previous night, but it was a fitful sleep. She kept having short dreams about being abducted or tortured in Kumo. She was sweating profusely and couldn't seem to get comfortable. She berated herself for not being able to move past what had happened.


I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! We're so happy to see people favoriting/following this story and we hope you all stick around!

One of the things I've struggled with when writing this story is making sure that the characters fit their personalities. They're similar to canon but their differences come from the changes we've made. We constantly went back in forth in trying to make sure we got it down as well as possible. I think they fit great! Though we didn't come to the bullying trope easily, we thought it was the right move to make. It made the most sense no matter which angle we looked at it.

Chapter 11 is when we hit the 1st time skip, so I hope everyone is looking forward to it!

-hina

NEXT UPDATE: 03/18/23