Hinata tucked the last picture into the envelope and took a deep breath. She hoped that Hidan would be discrete, but then again, if she wanted discrete, why on earth did she think that he could help? In all honestly, Hinata just didn't know who else she would tell. She couldn't break Neji's heart like that, and she wasn't even sure if she was right.
For so long, no one had a motive. Business partners had alibis and no suspicious calls or payments, old friends turned sour, all had more against her father than her uncle, and as far Hinata knew, her grandfather's will that was presented had both sons on it. The police scoured their lives looking for someone who would have attacked the two brothers, but that was under the assumption that one didn't turn on the other.
Did her father get his injury by killing Hizashi? Did Hizashi fight back? Did Hiashi kill his own father too?
Why did the lawyers that were involved in the will not come forward? Hinata should have checked. Would Hizashi have written up the will? The witness, then? Surely Hizashi wasn't the one who wrote it and the witness?
Hinata was trying not to process it so she could go about her day and look her father in the eye like normal. It was good she spent many years avoiding his eyes, so it didn't look strange now.
Could she really believe her father killed a man… or two? Hiashi was a cold man and an inactive father, but how did she so quickly believe him to be a murderer? Without a second thought? Was it just because of Hidan? Was she completely overreacting? Why did he hide those documents? Why else might he hide those documents? Was there another valid reason?
Hinata searched for some other explanation, but she was coming up short, and her heart was heavy with implementations. Hiashi took in Neji after his father died and raised him. Took all three kids to Hizashi's memorial every year. Kept his picture on the wall. Was all that an act?
Should she get out of the house? How could she leave Neji behind? She couldn't tell him. Would he even believe her?
What could Hidan do about all this? Nothing, but she had no one else to go to. Who could you talk to about a murderer other than a murderer? This was a bad idea.
The last image was double-sided, numbered two and five. A card with 'murdered' on one side on 'help' on the other. The whole message was, 'My father murdered my uncle. What if he knows I know? Help?'
Hidan read the line over and over, wondering if he was reading it wrong, but why else would she be so cryptic? What was he even supposed to tell her? Hinata sent him the message in parts to keep the secret, so he couldn't exactly give her advice. What would he even say?
Do what he would do?
Hidan wasn't sure the little bunny he pictured was capable of revenge murder, but hell, people did crazy things. Hinata had alluded to her father being a cruel, unloving bastard, but she always insisted that he wasn't abusive and he was just cold. Hinata was just too respectful to call him what he was, a prick, but Hidan had always thought, 'Fuck that guy.' In fact, he even wrote it a few times, he was sure, and he hoped it would make her laugh because she didn't scold him for it.
This was different. Hinata didn't just accept that he was a bastard. She went from thinking her father was just not a hugger to thinking he had killed his own brother and then got away with it.
Was she scared? Did she even have anywhere to go if she didn't feel safe? Her childhood friends had all moved away, her sister was in another country, and her only other close family lived with her.
Was this why she told him? Because she didn't have anyone else to turn to? He was a shit last choice. What the hell was he going to do from here?
Hidan looked across the prison yard at Deidara doing his usual pitch to someone.
Maybe Hidan could help her.
Did Hidan think it was a joke? Is that why he didn't write back?
Hinata picked at the corner of her folder as her class quietly worked. This whole thing was just sitting on her soul and leaving a pit there. Part of her wished that she never looked under her father's desk, but was living with a murderer obliviously better?
Could she even talk? Hinata was sitting, waiting for a murderer to write her back.
When Hinata realized that it had been twice as long as Hidan had ever taken to send a letter back, she realized how heartbroken she felt, thinking if that was the last time she would ever hear from him. The pit in her stomach grew by the day because she didn't know what to do. She didn't know if telling him was a good idea, but she never imagined that it would be his breaking point.
Should she send another letter? Maybe Hidan just got in trouble at an inconvenient time. If she sent a few, would they send them back and tell her that he couldn't receive them, and not that he just wouldn't?
Maybe a letter would come tomorrow, and he just forgot. Maybe he was just spending time trying to sneak his advice back, or maybe he spilled everything in his letter, and it was confiscated, and the police would be at her door tomorrow asking why he thought her father was a murderer.
Hinata sighed, trying to keep the anguish off of her face. Kids could feel your pain, and they thought it was their fault. She couldn't put this on their little innocent hearts.
Hinata could barely bear it on hers.
Two more letters, nothing back, not even a note from the prison. How many should she send before giving up?
Hinata watched her hair floating in the water around her as she sat in the bath until the water went cold. She had spent so much time over the last few years sending her letters. Maybe she sent too much of herself and spent too much effort there.
Her friends moved out of town, her sister took school out of the country, and Hinata couldn't even leave the house she grew up in. She taught at the school she went to as a child. Became a primary teacher instead of doing more education for a professor position. Didn't go out to find a date. Didn't push to get her own place because she worried about her father's health.
Hinata couldn't blame any of that on Hidan and their letters. She could blame all that on her not having any ambition. She was sure her father would.
What did she do about her father? Hinata couldn't keep waiting for Hidan to make a decision. She didn't even know what she expected him to say. Maybe a joke. Maybe a rant. She just wanted Hidan to try to make her feel better so she didn't feel so alone.
Like he had before.
Hinata felt a shiver go up her back. She had to get out and get dressed. And go back to pretending everything was normal.
"Did you go back into my office?" Hiashi snapped at her suddenly over breakfast.
"No, sir." Hinata lied.
Why did he suddenly think she had, days later? Did she put it back wrong? Hinata's heart rate shot up, and she forced her eyes to look back down at her plate to hide the uncomfortable feeling gnawing at her stomach. What would he do if he found out she knew? Would he try to rationalize it? … Would he try to scare her into keeping the secret?
Hinata had never thought her father was capable of violence. Hiashi never needed to strike her to get his point across. He never even tried to raise a hand to her, and she had always pointed to that as to why she couldn't complain about her childhood, but the handprint on her arm from where he jerked her up was telling a different story.
Hinata knew how her Hizashi was found, and if she was right, Hiashi was capable of the worst, and if he could do that to his brother, it wasn't a stretch to believe that he could do it to the daughter that he didn't even like.
Hinata never thought that she would be so happy that Hanabi wasn't calling to keep up with her, but she wasn't sure if she could lie to her face and say everything was fine. She felt like the absolute worst person for keeping this from Neji, especially as he continued to care for Hiashi, but what was she supposed to say? How did she tell Neji that the man he was grateful for taking him in and raising him was the reason he was orphaned?
Hiashi's stare bored into her. She could always feel it. "Stay out of my office."
"Yes, sir." Hinata picked at her food.