Author notes: There is a little bit over four years between the last chapter and this one. Amaya is now seven years old.

Amaya spinned around, avoiding an assault from her father. Then, she fought back, trying to hit him. She was trying her best to use his silhouette to guide her and figure out his weak spots, the main chakra points to hit. She was getting better at sparring against him and actually landed hits, so her father had removed the lights he once had installed on his training clothes to represent points to hit. He claimed that if an enemy was to attack the village, they wouldn't wear bright clothes with sparkles on it. She needed to know how to defend herself. While he was right, Amaya found it very difficult to figure out his movements and avoid his attacks. Sometimes, she embarrassed herself by fighting in the void, her opponent being the other side of the room, arms crossed and waiting to see when she figured it out.

When it was not her father training her, it was Neji or Hanabi. But Neji was less and less free to help her out, nor wanted to. He had his own ninja headband now, and his sensei, Guy, was very demanding regarding training. So was the clan. Which meant that when Neji was done following both Guy Sensei and his father's schedule, he was too exhausted. Or he didn't have time because there were cats to chase or fences to repair. Amaya was disappointed. She adored training with Neji. He was strict in what he wanted her to achieve, but patient in showing it. Just like her father.

Hanabi was much less patient with her. While she was her best friend, she wasn't easy on her. Even though Hanabi was younger than Amaya, she was better at fighting because she didn't rely on only shadows and lights to see.

Amaya was finally able to catch her father's arms while attacking completely randomly. It was a quite dark rainy day, making it harder to navigate for her.

"Good job Amaya," a timid voice said at her right, where family sometimes stand to watch. Since when was Hinata there?

Amaya suddenly found the courage to persevere. She wanted to impress her cousin. Show that she improved, too. She spotted a movement at her left, her father was preparing his next move, but Amaya dodged and fought back by kicking with her feet, followed by her palm in his chest. Then another hit, this time intending to shut a chakra point down.

She landed the hit, because she heard her cousin's voice whispering, "Nice job!"

Amaya focussed on her next move, but suddenly she felt a burst of chakra around her eyes, and felt like she could feel her heartbeat in the veins in between her eyes and ears. But what stunned her was that suddenly, the room she was standing in felt clear. The lighting was funny. It was all in black and white, mostly white, but very different from her usual color faded vision. The detailing was extreme. Amaya started shaking, she didn't understand what was happening. It was overwhelming.

She turned around to seek reassurance for her father, and suddenly, she noticed his silhouette. Canals of pale blue lights all over it, with visible dots alongside. She frowned. This enhanced vision… was it the Byakugan? Did she do it?

She could see her father's shocked face. It was the first time she noticed a freckle on his neck. She started crying. Her vision had drastically degraded when she was a child and she didn't remember what her father looked like. She felt like she discovered him, exploring every inch of his body with her eyes. She turned her head and noticed Hinata and Lord Hiashi were also looking at her. Staring even. It was shocking how Hiashi and Hizashi looked alike. Amaya was used to recognize their slightly different voices.

She already felt some excitement. She could discover the surroundings if she wanted now. Know when there was a sudden obstacle before her cane reached it. Did she even need it now? She wanted to run in the village and never deactivate her Byakugan now. Though she knew it was currently draining her chakra because she wasn't used to using it and dosing correctly yet.

"Amaya?" her father said. "It seems you activated your Byakugan. What do you see?"

"I… I feel I can see clearly for the first time in years, father…" she whispered, holding back joyful tears. "There are no colors, but I see details of the room, of your faces, who is there and your chakra networks."

"I don't want to freak you out, Amaya, but we know overusing the Byakugan can cause temporary or permanent damage to the eye. Considering they are already weakened, I'd prefer you don't use it for now, because I know you'll be very tempted to."

Amaya's shoulder dropped. What? She finally got to see something and he was immediately banning it? Could she at least try for more than five minutes?

"No! Let me have a bit of fun! I won't use it too much, I promise!" Amaya said. She didn't know what her limits were yet, but if it drained her too much, she'd stop.

"Turn it off, I'll try to get an urgent appointment with your ophthalmologist and then depending on what she says, we'll talk about it again. I don't want you to prematurely become blind, Amaya. Your mother once overused her Byakugan in war time, and trust me, she almost lost her vision, and she was starting with a perfect one, which you are not."

"If you struggle to have the appointment, Hizashi, I'll knock at Dr Hyuuga's door myself and have her visit you," Hiashi suggested.

Tears of joy changed for frustration. Amaya ran to the door and slid it open before trying to slam it close. "It's not fair!" she screamed before the Byakugan deactivated. Her cane was still in the training room. Too bad, she'd have to find her way home without.

Her father caught up before she reached the front door, gave her her cane back, and briefed her mother on what happened. Why? Why did he ban her from using the jutsu? And told her mother? Couldn't he see that the Byakugan was just what she needed? Amaya decided she didn't care about his opinion. He wouldn't know if he wasn't around! She'd use it from time to time, when she's alone.

She went into her bedroom to cry. While trying to turn on the light standing on the side table, her hand caught a book she placed there. The one Neji read to her the other day before he left for his first mission outside the village. Because she didn't see well at all, not even big prints – her teachers had tried – most of her school work was done verbally. She desperately wanted to learn how to read.

Curious, she tried activating the Byakugan, wondering if it'd help. But how? She hadn't quite figured out what happened earlier. She tried focussing her chakra as much as possible to her eyes, recalling in her mind the feeling she felt just as it happened minutes ago.

Please work Byakugan. I want to use it again

Her vision changed once more. But as she flipped the pages, hoping to discover what was written in it, she noticed that she started to see through the book, the patterns of her chakra network in her legs. She sighed. It was useless to try to learn to read this way.

She heard footsteps approaching her bedroom and immediately tried to deactivate the Byakugan before being caught.

"Amaya, your father just told you not to use it, you're immediately disobeying him? I know you're disappointed and want to use it, I get it. I do."

It was her mother. Amaya miraculously succeeded in returning to her normal sucky vision as her mother sat on the bed, her hand resting on Amaya's leg.

"I just want to know what it's like to see, just for one day! Then, I promise I'll be good. I didn't even try to see how far I could see, I just want to know what is around me, here."

"I wish I could let you, sweetheart. But there is danger to using it. I prefer having Dr Hyuuga's opinion. You can't use the Byakugan all day, even Hiashi wouldn't be able to. So if it worsens your vision and does so permanently, what will you do? Will you regret it? Do you really want to go blind earlier than what could be just because you're reckless and not careful?"

Amaya sighed, head down. She knew her mother had a point. They didn't know if her disease made her eyes more vulnerable with the use of the Byakugan. What Amaya's limits were could be much lower than the limits of other Hyuuga who just awoke their Byakugan.

The next day in the afternoon, Amaya had an appointment with her ophthalmologist. She was reluctant to go. What if she was told she couldn't use the Byakugan? She liked her doctor, but she feared the tests they'd do this time. And her decision regarding the usage of the Hyuuga's main ability. Amaya was frustrated. Most parents in her clan were happy about their children activating it. But no, mother and father were stressed now!

As they were walking towards the hospital, Amaya's cane in front of her to avoid any obstacle her parents wouldn't notice, Amaya heard her brother's voice. He was supposed to be on a mission, he was back? Since when?

"I didn't remember Amaya had an appointment," Neji said, now next to them. With the lighting, Amaya was able to distinguish that Neji was leaning on someone. By the stranger's height, Amaya assumed it was a jonin.

"Amaya activated her Byakugan, we're here to check it out with Dr Hyuuga," her mother whispered. Her parents wanted the information to remain secret for now, considering she could be told not to use it. It led Amaya to wonder who was in front of them.

But as soon as she questioned it in her head, the man supporting Neji talked.

"Neji, do you want to go with your family, or I will accompany you?"

"As you wish, Guy sensei. My ankle is probably just sprained. I shouldn't be in the hospital very long anyway."

"Are you okay, big brother? Does it hurt a lot? Stay behind me, I don't want to hit you with my cane."

Amaya had a tendency to hit people on her way, because some didn't make her space to pass. Most people were nice about it, but some people yelled at her. Neji was always patient when it happened, but if he was injured, Amaya didn't want to risk worsening his ankle.

"I'll be fine. Tenten had plenty of painkillers I used, and Guy sensei helped me to walk back to the village. I'll be alright in a few days I'm sure."

"Other than your injury, did your mission go well? It was your first outside the village, after all," their father said.

"Let's talk about it later, okay?"

They were at the hospital now, and the ophthalmology department was not in the same section of the hospital as to where injured ninjas went. Their father decided to stay with Neji, despite his protests. Amaya didn't mind. She didn't feel she needed both her parents with her. Besides, her father worried way too much about her, usually, so she preferred having him with Neji. This way, he wouldn't convince Dr Hyuuga that using the Byakugan wasn't a good idea. And it made Amaya breathe with more ease.

She didn't have to wait very long before her name was called. She was asked to sit in a chair, and Dr Hyuuga conducted the usual examination of her eye, humming along to a song on the radio as she proceeded. Amaya teared up as the ophthalmologist sent a flashlight directly in her eyes.

"I don't see any changes with her eye physically since her last exam a few months back," Dr Hyuuga said before addressing Amaya directly. "Have you used your Byakugan a lot since yesterday?"

Amaya shook her head. "Mother and father asked me not to until we saw you."

"Okay, that's a wise decision. Your mother told me on the phone that the description you made of the vision when activated seemed to be a normal Byakugan state. I'm happy to hear about it. Now, considering how helpful it could be for navigating around, I'd like you to use it this week, five minutes maximum every hour you are awake, depending on your capacities. It doesn't have to be five minutes at the time. To get acclimated to it, to test how much you can use it. Then, we'll meet next week, and I'll do the same exam again. Depending on the results, I'll give the go to use it or not in the long term. You haven't used it enough for me to observe anything. If it goes well, then I'll reevaluate in a month, but let's not go too far ahead. And if anything weird happens, if your vision deteriorates, even slightly, you stop using the Byakugan immediately."

Amaya nodded, a big smile on her face. She was about to explore her surroundings now. Not very long at the time, but she still could use it!

The next morning, Amaya had training with Hanabi and intended on using the Byakugan for the first time in a sparring situation. Hanabi likely had heard the news from her father or sister, but it didn't matter to Amaya. They would be fighting as equals for the first time.

But as she was on her way towards the training grounds, she heard her father's and uncle's voices. A quick look with her Byakugan, they were in Lord Hiashi's office, but the window was open. They were talking about Neji, and Amaya was curious what it was about. They had no reason to have their Byakugan activated nor to suspect she was spying, so she approached and hid under the window.

"Neji sprained his ankle while on his first C-ranked mission, so he won't be training this week. They ran into a little bit of trouble, but he and his comrades managed."

"What happened?"

"They had to escort the Suna ninja responsible for the next Chunin exam, as they were returning home. They were near the borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind when they were attacked. By another Suna ninja."

"Will it affect our politics with them?"

"According to Neji and Guy Sensei, it was both Suna ninjas fighting only. An accusation of stealing a lover or something like that. So it won't have any impact on us, Neji just happened to try to protect his client and got injured in the middle of it all. There was nothing political about this, the Suna ninja was just in our land for another mission when their paths crossed and their hateful feelings toward each other were too instinctive to ignore."

"Okay. As long as Neji is not in too much pain from it, that's great. Passing a first C-rank mission is good for a squad's confidence. Is it still going well with his sensei?"

"Neji doesn't talk much about his team, but it seems to go well. Guy sensei is very rigorous, so I believe Neji will do well in this squad, he's used to it."

"Alright. As much as I like talking about Neji, I didn't bring you here to talk about it. Amaya can start using her Byakugan for now. That's good news. Keep me updated next week if it stays. Her health is my concern as well."

"I will, Hiashi, do not worry. You are often there when she trains with Hanabi, so I need to keep you in the loop. I trust her doctor to make the best decision and to let us know if she sees anything concerning."

"You know I fully trust her abilities as well. Now, let's go back to Amaya. The other year, you refused the tutor I suggested, claiming she'd slow Hanabi down and that Amaya needed to socialize with other children, to make sure she'd make friends despite her disability. I know you won't change your mind about it. But since she is turning eight soon, I was wondering if you were keeping her in the regular school, or if you'd send her to the academy."

Amaya froze. She loved her school and a few friends she made there. But two of her friends were switching to the ninja academy, and Neji and Hinata had gone through that curriculum as well. Neji was already a genin, and Hinata was meant to graduate soon as well. But Amaya was nervous about going to the academy. Could she belong as a visually impaired girl, in a school meant to train future ninjas? How could she keep herself safe at school or even worse, as a genin, if she could barely use the Byakugan? It couldn't be a good idea. No one would want her in a three-man squad. It was difficult enough to make friends in the regular school without getting bullied, surely she'd be at the academy.

It got tense in the office. Her father got mad at his brother to even suggest Amaya became a ninja.

"Hizashi, calm down. I never said I wanted Amaya to become a ninja. She should not become a genin, I agree it'd be too dangerous for her life. Please hear me out. Even though we train her to defend herself, the academy teaches the basics of a lot of things. General target practice, taijutsu, some ninjutsu like cloning, very basic medic knowledge. It's all things that could be beneficial to Amaya. it could come handy if she ever travels with us for political matters, or if the village is attacked by who knows who. Just think about it. Our clan abilities alone could not be enough."

"I'll think about it. I want to protect her. I'll discuss it with my wife, and maybe Amaya herself. She struggles so much already in school, do you really think an academy teacher would think outside the box and find a way to accommodate her? I know Neji's teacher wouldn't."

Amaya felt stressed, but she was getting late to meet with Hanabi, so she couldn't stay there and think about it now. But she felt tense. She understood her uncle's worries, but she feared the academy was too demanding. She couldn't even read by herself!

Hanabi was waiting for her, and Amaya started to feel excited. She could use the Byakugan for five minutes during their training, so she had to use it to her advantage, and not waste it. If her father gave about 20% of his abilities when they were sparring, Hanabi usually went almost to the max, and Amaya always struggled to catch up. Maybe it would change soon, if the doctor gave the permission.