Thank you for the warm response!
After the news, her father dismissed her early, claiming he had to see the Hokage immediately. That night, Hinata could not sleep. She might be only seven, but she was intelligent enough to understand the gravity of what had happened.
The Uchiha clan, the only clan in the whole of Konohagakure that could rival her own, if not surpass it, was gone. In a single night, only one member of the clan managed to wipe out the entirely of it. Hinata never went to the Uchiha district, barely even left her own compound if not for the academy, but she knew that in number, the Uchiha were as many as the Hyuuga, possibly even more. Just the thought of her own compound littering with corpses was enough to make her sick and her eyes water and itch.
And the only survivor of such massacre was her classmate, Uchiha Sasuke, the most popular boy in her class.
Honestly, Hinata never spoke to him. She had difficulties even getting two words out of her mouth in front of her female classmates, less of all with the males. And Sasuke was always so far away. The few times she took a moment to look at him, she couldn't help but awe at his ability. He was the best in their salon, both in academics and with training. But he was, in some sense, like her, always alone, though Hinata could see his loneliness was an election unlike hers, who simply lacked the courage to make friends.
Like it always happened when she was faced with her nii-san, Hinata was intimidated by the aura of confidence and expertise the boy possessed. It was for that reason that she barely paid attention to him, preferring to look the other way, to a certain hyperactive and ostracized blond.
Hinata bit her lip, turning in her bed, wondering how Sasuke was faring. He was the only survivor of his clan, possibly even witnessed his parents be murdered, and the culprit of it was none other than his older brother. Hinata could barely understand it. Her heart was neither strong nor mature enough to relate, but she only knew it was something horrible, something that would mark him for the rest of his life. Would there ever be anyone who could understand him? Who could relate and offer comfort to the boy?
She did not know, the only thing she knew was that she felt sorrow. That her heart was squeezing painfully in her chest. That breathing was difficult. And that unbidden tears were running down her cheeks, staining her face and her pillow, while she kept thinking, over and over, about that poor boy who in one night, found himself completely alone in the world.
And if she was feeling like this, she couldn't even begin to imagine what Sasuke was feeling.