She saw Neji by chance, alone on one of the training grounds surrounding the village. It was late at night.
It was uncommon to find him somewhere outside their compound, especially at this time of day. Or at least, it was for her. Hinata knew how hard he worked every day, although she had rarely, if ever, had occasion to observe him. This was because, every time she did, he would notice her immediately and stop what he was doing before glaring at her and abandoning the place.
She was amazed he had not yet seemed to notice her, and so Hinata decided to observe him for as long as she could.
There wasn't anything specific she needed to do here. She was planning on training as usual and, if she ran into Sasuke as she tended to, spar for a while before conversing a bit. So, she had time to spare, and for that reason she hid behind a tree, head poking out from the side of the trunk, and watched her cousin as he trained.
It was the usual Hyuuga training, the one she had been so stubborn into doing years back, neglecting most if not all other forms of training until Sasuke called her out on it. Except, when it came from Neji it looked completely different. There was a fluidity and elegance to his movements as he reduced the wooden dummy to smithereens that she simply lacked. His palms were also in perfect condition, so unlike her own as she used to practice on the same dummies. As they became even now.
When was the last time they even spoke? Hinata couldn't remember. Ever since that day he had come to look for her at the academy, when Sasuke had found out about their true relationship, the interactions between the two had grown scarcer and scarcer. Even though she had resolved to never give up, even though she had almost gotten into a fight for it with Sasuke…
But it was so difficult. He ignored her even more now, going out of his way to avoid her. Hinata had, at most, tried a few more times, but all her attempts at bridging the distance between the two had been met with violence, her carefully prepared bentos on the trash or worse, staining the floors and walls of her bedroom.
She didn't know what to do. She truly had no idea what she could do to have him hate her a little less, to allow her to try to take his hand and become his friend.
Maybe it was all in vain. Maybe she should truly give up. So much time had passed, and Neji remained the same, unwilling to listen to her, to be less hostile, to…
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Hinata's ears perked at the familiar words. She stood to attention once again, seeing, astounded, as her cousin performed the technique that was supposed to be exclusive to the members of the main family perfectly. He was so fast, eyes narrowed and determined…
Without thinking, she gulped, remembering her father teaching her that same technique only a month ago. She was, of course, clumsy and slow, but she was sure she could do it with time. She could…
Where had Neji learned that? When it was supposed to be a secret to anyone not belonging to the main family?
"Surprised?" his voice cut through her thoughts, sending a shudder down her spine. She gasped, stepping away from the tree and inevitably exposing herself… not that she was doing that good of a job at hiding.
"N-Neji-nii-san…"
"You thought I didn't notice you?" he turned around, his long hair swaying with the wind, the white bandages around his forehead looking even brighter under the moonlight. He narrowed his eyes, raising one hand to massage his neck. "Honestly, I thought I made it clear I do not like being watched… especially by you."
"I-I…" she stuttered, taking another step back even though he hadn't moved at all.
Neji scoffed. "Did you like that, Hinata-sama? Seeing how much better I am than you?"
Hinata stopped backing away, his words cutting directly to her heart.
"No one taught me that technique, as it's reserved only for the likes of you" his lips curled upward in a disdainful gesture. "But I still managed to learn it through observation alone."
"Observation…?" Hinata's eyes widened. The speed at which the technique needed to be performed to be effective was enormeous. For someone to learn it by simply observing…
"How far along are you with the technique, Hinata-sama?" he continued, voice taunting. "How much faster have you advanced with the head of the clan teaching you himself?"
She didn't answer, and that was enough for Neji. He turned around, walking towards another dummy, but not before throwing some last scathing words at her; "leave. Go train that technique. Maybe in ten years you'll finally be able to do it halfway."
Hinata stayed a little more, before finally walking away, a feeling of heaviness settling in her chest.