"Now that I think about it… Hinata-chan, what was that Rika and the others said about your eyes being powerful?"
As lunch time was coming to an end, Sakura asked, face curious, what had likely been in her mind for a while now. Hinata bit her lip, closing her bento box and sweeping some stray leaves that had fallen on her lap. It wasn't like she didn't want to answer Sakura's question but… but talking about her eyes always made her a little uncomfortable.
But Sakura-chan wouldn't judge me. She even defended me back there…
She was beginning to wonder, though, if Sasuke was wrong and her clan and its doujutsu weren't as well-known as he had said. It could be. After all, as a member of another doujutsu clan, it was more likely for him to know than any of their other classmates that didn't belong to any clan.
"Mmm, my eyes… they are called the B-Byakugan, and they belong to… to my clan. The Hyuuga clan."
"I gathered that, but why are they powerful?" Sakura asked, a bit impatiently. Hinata frowned.
"Doujutsus are… they are ocular jutsus that when activated… they a-allow the user to perform u-unique jutsus. My clan's doujutsu… the Byakugan… it allows us to see beyond what o-other people can… far distances and… and the chakra pathway too…"
"The chakra pathway?" Sakura's mouth opened in a small o in surprise. Hinata nodded, a bit flustered. "Amazing! And this is something only your family can do?"
"Yes… a-as far as I know, I mean."
"Ah! That makes me so envious! It would be nice to be able to use jutsu with my eyes" Sakura used her fingers to separate her eyelids and focus her gaze on Hinata, causing a small giggle to escape the other girl. "You know, at first I thought you were just born with those eyes… I mean, obviously you were born with those eyes, but is it because of your Byakugan? Is that the reason they look like moons?"
"Um, that's how it is" Hinata smiled, and Sakura pulled down her hands, letting her eyes rest.
"Can you show me?" she asked, folding her hands under her chin. Hinata blinked. "The jutsus you can use with your Byakugan. What do you do with it, exactly?"
"Ah…" Hinata glanced away, fidgeting. It wasn't the time or place, but even if that wasn't the case, the Byakugan activated… would Sakura be perturbed by it? She didn't think anything of it since for her it was just part of her, but someone outside her clan could find it a bit… disturbing. And while Sakura was fine with her eyes as they were, would she still be when she saw the veins rising against her skin? She was afraid to find out what her reaction would be.
"No?" Sakura said when she didn't receive an answer, looking a bit disappointed when Hinata shook her head.
"I'm sorry… Sakura-chan. M-Maybe next time?" she tried, only for Sakura to sigh dejectedly.
"Alright, I get it. Sorry for asking" Hinata felt bad for letting Sakura down, but before she could say something to make her feel better, the pink-haired girl straightened, taking a look over her shoulder with a surprised expression. Curious, Hinata turned around, and felt her breath catching upon seeing the person approaching them.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved happily as he ran over to them, his smile blinding. He stopped right in front of them, or rather, Sakura, and joined his hands behind him while looking at her with brilliant eyes. "Sakura-chan, how are you?"
"Ugh, Naruto" Sakura crossed her arms and looked away. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I saw you when I was coming back from the bathroom, so…"
"Eww! I didn't ask for that! I was asking why you came to bother me again!"
"Ah, well, that's, because…" Naruto fidgeted, a bit flustered by Sakura's dismissive attitude. Hinata looked at them, also feeling a bit taken aback by it. Compared to how she was with her just a minute ago, the contrast between the Sakura that was her friend and the Sakura now was amazing.
"Actually, I found this on the other side of the playground, and…" slowly, Naruto pushed his hands forward, showing a pink-colored bento box that was slightly dented on one side. Hinata had not realized that he was holding it until then. "And I've seen you with it before, so I thought you might have lost it… and I cleaned it and…"
"That's mine!" Sakura exclaimed, taking it from his hands abruptly. "Why do you know that? You're observing me again, right? I told you to stop! It's embarrassing!" she complained, hugging the bento to her chest. Naruto raised his hands in defense.
"I wasn't doing anything creepy, I swear!"
"Please stop doing that, ok? And talking to me as well! I don't like it! Especially when I'm with my friends!" saying this, she gave Hinata a small glance, causing Naruto to finally realize she was there.
"Hey, Hinata-chan! I didn't notice you before!" he greeted, smiling. The shy girl smiled back, unsurprised his focus had been completely on Sakura to the point he unwittingly ignored her, but just when she was about to greet him back, Sakura took a step in front of her, as if to protect her, and grabbed her hand with the one that wasn't holding her bento.
"Don't talk to her so casually! You're bothering Hinata-chan!" she admonished the boy. Then, turning to Hinata, she tugged on her hand and stirred her on the other direction. "Come on! Let's go before the bell sounds!"
Because she was so taken aback, Hinata had no time to react until they were already away. When she looked back, she couldn't see Naruto anymore. Feeling slightly angry, she quickly pulled her hand away from Sakura's, surprising her.
"Hinata-chan?"
"T-There was no reason for y-you to t-treat Naruto-kun like that" she started, closing her hands into fists, looking at Sakura with reproach. "H-He only w-wanted to give back your b-bento box and t-talk to you, y-you didn't have to…"
"Wait… Hinata-chan, are you… are you angry?" Sakura asked, her eyes big, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hinata nodded, looking at Sakura straight in the eyes so she would know she was serious. "But… why? It's Naruto! Naruto's not…"
"H-He was just trying to help and be f-friendly! N-Naruto-kun only w-wants to be your f-friend… h-he's a little loud but he's a g-good kid, so please...!" in that moment, the bell sounded, and Hinata realized she had been rising her voice without noticing it. A bit ashamed, she glanced down, but continued regardless, "please treat him better than that. T-Too many people are so m-mean to him already… you don't n-need to be one of them…"
And with that said, Hinata walked off, not looking back to see if Sakura was following her or not. Later on, in class, the two of them were silent throughout the lesson, and didn't speak to each other for the rest of the day.
When Hinata returned home, dispirited by her fight with Sakura, she found her room a mess, with food spread on the floor and the bag she had put Neji's onigiris in torn beneath it all.