Naruto 1. Chapter 1

**I Hate That I Love You**

**Chapter one**

Hinata simply stood by the grave, allowing herself to be played with by the wind blowing softly over the cemetery of the Hyuuga clan. Hanabi stood by her side, unwilling to go against the shinobi code and cry, not even for the death of her beloved father. Hinata was not crying only because she still couldn't believe the mighty Hiashi Hyuuga was dead. Everything had just happened so fast... one day he was talking to her about her obligations to the clan as its heiress and the next day his corpse was being carried by a few shiobi back to the village. She felt like an orphan, even though the entire clan was there, at the funeral. 

Next to her, Hanabi stared at the coffin which was soon to be covered with earth, shaking almost visibly and she could see the rage burning in her little sister's milky-white eyes. Unlike Hinata, she had always looked up to her father, somehow worshipping him in a way the shy heiress never could, but now he was gone and that good for nothing older sister of hers was going to be the head of the clan. Hanabi had always considered herself to be better than Hinata, therefore, truly fit to be the heiress of the Hyuuga clan. Actually, anyone was better than Hinata and it was not a secret to the clan members, but they couldn't replace her with someone else unless she gave up her position. 

No one moved. No less than sixteen pairs of pearl-white eyes stared humbly at the ground, the bravest daring to glimpse at Lady Hinata from time to time, whose facial expression was devoided of any feelings at the moment. Random thoughts ran through her head and she wished she were anywhere else but at her father's burial. It was too painful to think that the entire Hyuuga clan was now her responsibility and the thought of resigning haunted her the most. But the most indicated person to take her place was Hanabi and she was still too young for such great responsibility, not to mention that she was still a genin. Hinata didn't want to burden her little sister with something she wasn't capable of doing even if she was older.

"Lady Hinata."

The voice seemed to come from afar, but when she turned around to see who was calling her, Hinata discovered that the maid was standing right behind her. 

"Y-yes?" 

"Neji-sama is here. He is waiting in the main hall."

Hinata gulped. As Hiashi's older daughter, it was her responsibility to greet the guests and for a moment she was greatful that she had an excuse to leave the cemetery, even for a few minutes, to accompany her cousin there. However, it was Neji she had to accompany, Neji the shinobi from the Hyuuga branch family who despised the main family and mostly her for being weak. She sighed deeply and adjusted her simple, black kimono, with a silver dragon embroided on the dark silk and the Hyuuga symbol on both the upper arms of the garment.

Hanabi gave her a quick glance when she left and a small frown darkened her face. Perhaps leaving Hinata alone to deal with Neji was not such a good idea, but there was nothing she could do now that her sister had gone into the mansion to greet him. Feeling some sharp looks upon her, she went back to her staring at the grave in complete silence while playing nervously with the hem of her silver obi.

Hinata hurried along the long corridors inside the mansion, trying not to let Neji wait too much because it was not polite to make a guest wait. She almost tripped over her own feet because of the uncomfortable and heavy kimono, but the maid catched her in time and helped her regain her balance. The heiress muttered some excuses and inhaled deeply to regain control over her breath as well. The maid followed her silently until they both reached the main hall and Neji stood up, bowing slightly as a sign of respect towards Hinata. 

"I am very sorry for the death of Hiashi-sama, Lady Hinata. I am very honoured that you have invited me to the funeral today." 

She could easily tell it was a lie by the way the corner of his mouth went up a little as he spoke, but the maid didn't see. After all, that was the point of his little speech. He probably wouldn't have expressed his feelings like that if she hadn't been there. Hinata nodded in reply and spoke in a small voice: 

"You may leave now, Aiko-san."

The maid quickly disappeared, leaving the two alone. Hinata tried to look anywhere but in his eyes, although she knew he was looking at her in that contemptuous way. Once he made sure no one could see or hear them, Neji slowly stepped towards her, with a cold glare fixed upon her. Hinata knew he would insult her again and she waited for the harsh words to fall upon her, knowing that he wouldn't make her wait too long.

"Well, look who's here. The heiress herself has come to welcome me to her father's funeral. What an honour indeed." he mocked icily. 

"I-i am s-sorry I made you w-wait for so long, N-neji-san!" she stammered out. "I a-am glad you could m-make it."

"How could I not be with the main family in such hard times?"

Again, his tone betrayed his true thoughts but it was meant to be that way. Hinata nodded and bowed politely: 

"A-arigato gozaimas. I-i know you h-had to c-cancel an important m-mission to come."

"Nothing is more important to me than this family."

Hinata noticed that he said "this" family instead of "my" family and it hurt even more than the tone he used. He would have never dared speak like that in front of someone else, because everyone reported such acts of disobediance of the members of the branch familiy to the elders of the main family and the result was the activation of the curse on his forehead. 

"P-please follow me, N-neji-san." 

Neji nodded and she turned around, going back through the corridors she had come to meet him and leaving the mansion and the imposing garden behind as they followed the metalled alley down a small slope towards the cemetery. Hinata prayed she wouldn't trip over her kimono again and make a shame of herself in front of him, because he intimidated her so much she couldn't bear the thought of falling in front of him. Luckily, she made it back to her place next to Hanabi without such unfortunate events and Neji remained behind a group of younger Hyuugas from one of the branch families. Hanabi watched him furtively when she had the chance, because the elders didn't miss a thing. 

The old members of the main family looked at the young man as well, somewhat pleasantly surprised of the beautiful and strong shinobi he had become, because they hadn't seen him in almost two years, since the chuunin exams. They knew he had become a jonin meanwhile and that made them a bit displeased with Hinata's skills as a kunoichi, because she was still a chuunin and she had also passed the chuunin exam later than him. One of the elders sighed. She must have been the weakest Hyuuga ever and now she was the head of the family. Luckily, she would realize she wasn't good enough and give up her title. Although younger, Hanabi would have been a better choice as a heiress.

After the funeral, everybody went back into the mansion for dinner and the elders decided that Neji could join them too, an invitation which he accepted in an undertone, although politely. Hinata took her place at the head of the table, with her sister sitting next to her. Now she knew why Neji had accepted the invitation so faintly: he and some other branch family members sat at a separate table. She couldn't think of a lower form of humiliation and bit her lip, blushing in embarassment. She felt guilty for being in the main family, who treated the others like that. Hanabi seemed to notice and nudged her under the table, giving her a short, inquiring glare. 

Hinata looked down and blushed even more, also feeling Neji's intense glare falling upon her like the weight of the world. She glimpsed at the elders, who discussed random problems at the other side of the table, not throwing a look at the other table, where the branch family members sat, all silent and bitter. A wish to change that suddenly blossomed in her heart and the fact that as the head of the family, she was able to make such dreams come true, encouraged her to keep being Lady Hinata, although she had no idea how she was going to speak about such delicate problems to the elders, in the council. Unobserved, Hanabi was staring at her sister, who hadn't looked so serious in her entire life. Her eyes were quiet under the long, black lashes, but the way they merged with the rest of her face gave her an uneasy feeling. She seemed to be up to something.

"Hinata, are you all right?" she asked, a bit unsure about how to approach her. 

"What? Oh! Y-yes, Hanabi-chan! I-i'm all right!" the old Hinata replied, blushing again as she smiled back to her little sister. "I-i was just t-thinking that the food isn't s-salty enough." 

Hanabi raised a brow in disbelief, but gave Hinata the impression that she believed her and agreed with a nod while giving another quick glimpse to Neji, who seemed to have lost his appetite and was now listening to the other branch family members. She resumed her eating, and realized that her sister was right and the food really seemed tasteless. 

"_It must have been my imagination._" she thought, playing with the food in her plate. "_Hinata's not good enough to be the head of this clan. There must be a way to make her resign and save the family. I will talk to her about this tonight. Luckily, she won't be strong enough to refuse me. What am I talking about? She never was!"_

The dinner was over soon and the guest started to leave one by one, until Neji bowed respectfully in front of the elders and used his speeches again to say goodbye in the way a member of the branch families should. Just like with the other guests, Hinata had to see him to the exit, but as he seemed to know the way, she simply followed him closely, gazing at the clean wooden floors. He ignored her completely all the way to the exit, as if she weren't there, but after he put on his ninja sandals and was ready to leave, Hinata spoke in a small voice and bowed: 

"T-thank you for c-coming today, N-neji-san." 

"I see that you know your true place, Hinata. It's good to know that you're aware you owe me that much for you to bow in front of me. It was a _pleasure_ to come here today, _Lady_ Hinata." he said calmly, but in a bitter voice. "Sayonara."

Hinata watched him leave and suddenly felt the kimono even heavier than it was because of the rich silk. She leaned on a wall in order not to fall on the floor and be unable to get back on her feet before other guests decided to leave and found her lying there. It hurt her so much that the relationships between the main family members and the branch family members were so strained, especially Neji's, who only shared a small part of his hatred and contempt with her, because she was the only one who wouldn't tell anyone. And all she could do was feel sorry for him because she was too weak to do anything. Hinata found herself torn apart by her own contradictory thoughts: she could resign and be just a normal Hyuuga (the weakest that is) or she could accept being the head of the family and change some things around there, although that could make the elders angry with her. As Neji's silhouette was engulfed by darkness, Hinata made her decision. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto & Co. (I forgot to put it in the first chappter).**

**Chapter two**

flashback

_"What?! But... Hinata, I thought you never wanted to be the head of the clan! W-what made you change you mind so suddenly?" _

_"I don't know, but don't worry, Hanabi-chan. I __**will **__take care of this family."_

end of flashback

Hinata lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her determination was different this time, perhaps because of the huge decision she had made and that would influence her entire life. Poor Hanabi looked so confused a few hours earlier, when she had told her that she was going to be head of the clan... She knew everybody feared she would fail as a leader, and to be honest, she feared it as well, but indeed, she felt she owed that much to the members of the branch families... mostly to Neji. Hinata knew what she had to do and she was going to talk to the elders the very next day, because it was a matter that could no longer be ignored. 

She knew that a few years after his father's death, Neji had rented an apartment close to the centre of the village and that he was still living there, paying the rent with a part of his monthly jonin salary. It must have been hard for him to live like that while the members of the main family enjoyed themselves in their big mansion. Hinata wanted to convince the elders to allow him and other branch family members to live at the Hyuuga mansion, but she wasn't sure who was going to be harder to convince: the elders or Neji? 

The next day, Hanabi saw her sister leave the room where the meeting had taken place and seemed to have ended abruptly by the way the elders spoke between themselves, all more or less revolted. The girl entered the room and the men stopped talking and looked at her as she took a low bow and gave them what they wanted to hear:

"I am sorry I couldn't tell you earlier. I wasn't able to convince my sister to resign last night. I don't know what was in her mind, she seemed so determined and..."

"Of course she did." one of the elders cut her off. "She wants to bring branch family members to live here, starting with Neji! None of us agrees with that, but it seems that she has taken her role seriously and she is going to make a few changes around here."

"Well, another change like this one and I'm going to have a stroke!" another one snapped. 

Hanabi had been taken aback and was trying to regain control over herself before any of those talking fossiles noticed that she had turned a bit red. Bringing Neji to live there was not one of her sister's brightest ideas, but it was favorable for Hanabi, who had had a secret crush on him ever since the chuunin exam in which he had fought against that annoying blond. She left the fossiles argue and went after her sister, trying to find out if there was anything else she had in mind, but a maid told her that Lady Hinata had left the house a few minutes before. 

_"Where the hell is she going?" _Hanabi thought, going back to her room for some peace and quiet. 

Hinata walked slowly on the busy street, sighing as she thought that perhaps it would have been better if she had changed into some more comfortable clothes. She wore a gray kimono, with golden fireflies swirling over the clear surface of a water drawn on the beautiful material, and as always, such garments were rather uncomfortable, making her feel heavy. Luckily, it wasn't a sunny day. She looked for the building where she knew her cousin lived and spotted it not very far away, on another street, close to the main one. 

The hostess, a chubby, but otherwise very nice woman, greeted her happily. 

"Hello, my child!" she said. "Oh, you must be Neji-san's cousin, Hinata! He told me so many things about you, dear! Come, have a seat here, with me. I was just making a cup of tea. Are you looking for him? Oh, dear, silly me, of course you are! Why else would you come here? But Neji-san never has any visitors and I was a bit surprised that you came here to see him!" 

Hinata smiled politely and sat at the table. Neji had told his hostess about her?! That sounded so strange, knowing that he hated her so much and that the woman seemed to have heard positive things about her. 

"My name is Momoko." she said, also sitting at the table after placing a small cup of tea in front of Hinata. "Neji-san is not here at the moment, he left half an hour ago, but he should be back soon. He only went to buy a few things he needed."

"I see. Thank you for being so nice to me, Momoko-san. I didn't know Neji-san told you about me." Hinata smiled, blushing slightly, but trying not to stammer when speaking his name. 

"Oh, well, he seems to consider you rather unfit for the life of a ninja, but I think that as a woman you appeal to him and it's not hard to see why! You're gorgeous, young lady!" 

Hinata's face turned red at the words "appeal to him" and the hostess bursted into laughter, sipping some tea from her cup. Neji couldn't think of her like that, could he? He never looked at girls, not from what she knew about him, and he always treated his kunoichi comrades as ninja, not females. She couldn't even imagine Neji speaking well of her or even think of her as a woman, not as a failure of a kunoichi. Momoko smiled gently to her and the girl smiled back, tasting the tea, but she couldn't hide her sadness and the woman caressed her cheek sympathetically.

"What's wrong, dear? Did I upset you? Don't mind me, I'm just an old hag talking a lot of trash..."

"No, Momoko-san, it's not that." Hinata said softly. "Well... you know he's from the Hyuuga clan. Unlike him, I am from the main family and he hates me for that. I couldn't imagine him speak something nice about me."

"You poor thing! But it's not your fault! Neji-san..."

"Good morning." 

Hinata's cheeks turned deep red and she bit her lip, but Momoko acted as if she weren't even talking about him. Neji glared at his cousin for a moment, then acted naturally, and even gave a little smile to the hostess. The woman grinned and offered him her seat at the table, but he refused politely and looked at Hinata, who felt guily for talking about him earlier and couldn't even look in his eyes.

"If you will please excuse us, Momoko-san, it looks like Hinata would like to tell me something."

"Of course, dear. I'm going to visit my friend, Tsunade-sama today. If you need anything, you know where the keys are, Neji-san." 

"Yes, Momoko-san, thank you." he said, watching the woman as she left the building and disappeared in the steady stream of people walking on the street. After he made sure no one could hear them, he turned around and glared at Hinata, but she could tell that he was tired by the way his hate seemed less focused upon her than usually. "What are you doing here?" 

"I n-needed to talk to you about s-something, N-neji-san."

He sighed and went to the stairs, stopping to look back at her.

"Are you coming or not?" 

Hinata blushed and nodded, hurrying after him on the stairs up to the second floor, where his apartment was. Neji unlocked the door and allowed her to enter first. She was pleasantly surprised by how tidy the place was, despite the fact that he was a boy and boys used to be less concerned about such things. He opened a door and told her to wait for him in that room, which was a very well-lit living room, painted in yellow, with only a couch, a tv and a table on which several scrolls lay unfolded. Neji soon joined her, bringing some lemonade for them to drink and sat on a chair, in front of the couch, to have a better look at her. 

"What do you want from me, _Lady_ Hinata, that is so important that you had to come all the way here to speak to me _personally_?" 

"N-neji-san... as the head of the Hyuuga clan I have t-taken a decision in what c-concerns you. Initially, it was meant for all the b-branch family members, but the elders d-din't even want to hear about it. I-i was only able to make them agree over your situation." 

His face darkened as if suddenly realizing what she was getting at. Hinata stopped for a moment, considering his expression. 

"You will live with the m-main family, at the m-mansion, from now on, N-neji-san!" 

"What's the use of my being at your mercy?" he replied in a cold tone. "Do you want to humiliate me even more, Hinata?" 

"N-no! I want t-them to respect you... you are t-the strongest member in the Hyuuga clan and they shouldn't treat you like that!"

"I don't need your mercy." 

Hinata was shaking visibly and was on the point of bursting out into tears, although she had promissed to herself she wouldn't cry. Neji looked away at the sunbeams dancing on the floor, filtered through the branches of the trees in front of the window. 

"It's stupid of you to feel guilty for their mistakes. I don't blame you. Why can't you leave things the way they are?"

"B-because... N-neji-san... you have a family! You don't have to live like this!"

"Yeah, I know it's hard for you to imagine how someone can live like this when everything he has is a name, a cursed seal that could kill him any moment and his strength as a ninja. Those like you, who were spoilt and had nothing to worry about became weak ninja."

"I don't want to leave things the way they are!" she suddeny snapped at him, unable to hold back her tears anymore. "It was **my** decision and if you consider yourself less spoilt and a member of the branch family, you will not disobey me. I've learned those hand signs a long time ago and although I've never used them before, I can do it right here and right now!" 

Neji smirked and pushed Hinata back on the couch when she jumped on her feet. The girl stared at him and bit her lip in frustration. 

"Why don't you try? Kill me now and you'll have one less thing to worry about, _Lady_ Hinata." 

Hinata allowed her hands to fall lifelessly in her lap and tears fell down her cheeks. Neji wiped one of them with his hand, but no matter if that was the most gentle move he had shown her, his icy gaze convinced her that he hadn't changed his opinion about her. She bit her lip and forced herself to use the hand signs and activate the cursed seal, however she stopped. 

"I d-don't want to do this, N-neji-san. Please respect my decision, if not as the head of the family, then as your cousin. You're right. The main family owes you a lot of things. P-please let me try to make things straight!" 

"You can't."

Hinata looked into his eyes and he snatched her wrist, pulling her close to him until they were just inches away from each other's face. She felt her heart pounding in her chest because of the deep glare in his eyes and made another sudden decision, voicing it in a whisper only he could hear.

"If I can't repair anything in ten months... you can take my place as the head of the family. But you have to play by my rules until then." 

Neji tightened his grip on her wrist, not enough to break it but quite enough to make it hurt. Hinata whimpered slowly, squeezing her eyes shut as the pain shot through her forearm. 

"Are you sure you're ready to take the risk?"

She nodded, looking into his eyes again. Neji let her go and stepped back, becoming just as cold as before. Hinata brought her aching wrist to her chest, holding it in her other hand as she watched him, waiting for a clear answer. The sun hid behind a bunch of clouds and he looked at her again, but the look he shot her made Hinata shiver. 

"Fine." he said, in a threatening voice. "I will come to the mansion tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three**

Hanabi stared at her older sister, unable to believe that she had managed to convince Neji to live under the same roof with the main family. Hinata sat on her bed with her hands resting quietly in her lap as she looked at a specific point located somewhere on the tatami rugs. After leaving Neji's apartment she had been acting so strangely, to the point of saying hello to Naruto without blushing or stuttering at all. Hanabi brushed her sister's long, silky hair, hoping she would get more information about her meeting with Neji, but Hinata's deep silence was somewhat annoying and no matter how hard the girl tried to make her let out a sound by pulling at her hair purposely, it seemed as if the other girl was lost in another world. Finally, Hanabi lost her patience and asked in a quavering voice:

"How did you persuade Neji to come here?"

"I asked him nicely." Hinata said, unusualy cold.

"I doubt Neji replied nicely since this decision of yours is not something he would normally agree with. Did you use the cursed seal?"

Hinata shook her head slowly. She wasn't going to tell Hanabi that she had threatened Neji to use it and almost did it eventually, but that wasn't the problem. Perhaps using the cursed seal would have been a better choice to force him to follow her orders. She pursed her cold lips and stood up, straightening some invisible folds on her indigo kimono. Hanabi threw the brush on her sister's bed and followed her out of the room.

"Aren't you going to do something about your hair, Hinata?" she asked, a bit scared that her sister wouldn't tell her anything more.

"No, Hanabi-chan." the girl smiled. "Thank you, but I want it loose today."

Hanabi stopped in the middle of the corridor as Hinata continued to walk towards the exit to the garden and she glared at her older sister, biting her lip in irritation. She stood there for a while, even after Hinata walked out of the house, thinking about what she could do to make her sister give away her secrets to her. The elders had told her to keep an eye on the heiress and try to make her speak, but even if it had worked before, now it seemed there was no use trying.

"Hanabi-sama!" a voice called her innocently, making the girl turn around and look at the 7-year old maid that bowed in front of her before she continued, in the same small voice. "Neji-sama is here to see Hinata-sama!"

Hanabi glared at the little girl. Normally she wouldn't have reacted like that in front of the child, but Hinata's attitude had pissed her off and hearing her name was a punishment. Fortunately, she only sighed and pushed little Chiyo aside, hurrying down the corridor to the other side of the house, where Neji was waiting. On her way there she made sure she looked good, even if she didn't wear a kimono at that time of the day, but her training outfit. She stopped for a moment to examine herself in a wall-sized mirror and glared at her own reflexion. She knew her features were not as delicate as Hinata's and that her skin was not as soft, but she still considered herself beautiful. The girl remembered that Neji was waiting and turned away from her reflexion, running to the main hall. Her cousin was looking outside the window and appeared not to notice her at first, but he knew she was there.

"Ohayo, Neji-san!" she said, giving him a little smile.

"Good morning." he replied in an indifferent tone, glancing at her. "Sorry if I interrupted your training."

Hanabi tried to hide the faint blush painting her cheeks, unable to notice the lack of interest in his voice. Little did Neji care about interrupting her training, but she was too concentrated on him rather than on what he was saying to notice.

"N-no! Not at all, Neji-san! I was just getting ready to leave when Chiyo told me you came... to see my sister." she added quickly, fidgeting and playing nervously with the hem of her shirt.

Neji turned away from the window, facing Hanabi instead and looking straight into her eyes as if he wanted to read her thoughts. She was able to hide her blush from him by turning on her heels, but mentally called herself stupid a few times in a row.

"Well... shall I take you to her?"

"If you don't mind." he said with the same coldness.

Hanabi released a small sigh and led him to the exit through which Hinata had left for a walk in the garden.

"She's in the garden, but you'll have to find her yourself. I'm afraid I'm already late for my training. Bye."

Neji nodded slightly, noticing the sudden change of attitude, but he didn't care too much about it so he entered the garden, using his byakugan to find Hinata without much effort. Feeling that she was being watched, Hinata rose from the bench and headed towards him up on the alley. His first thought when he saw her walking in the morning sunlight was that she looked strange in that kimono. Almost everything around her was green, except for some roses hidden in the bushes along the alley, so she looked like a midnight butterfly wrapped in the indigo silk. She bowed slightly in front of him, trying to smile, although he knew how hard it was for her to do that in front of him. He seemed to have a certain influence on her, one that prevented her from doing such things that expressed happiness or content whenever he was there.

"So, you're all alone for the morning." he stated, having noticed with the byakugan that there was no one else on the estate except the servants.

"Hai." she replied. "They've all gone to a meeting convened by Tsunade-sama."

"How come you didn't go with them? After all, you are the head of this family now."

"I... had some w-work to do... I c-couldn't leave. Besides, the m-matter didn't concern our clan. I t-think Tsunade-sama wanted to t-talk to them about the alliance treaty with Kumokagure." she stuttered.

A sudden shadow darkened Neji's face and he looked away from her. Hinata realized and covered her mouth with one of her procelain hands, but quickly let it fall to her side and looked at her cousin.

"N-neji-san... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

"Shut up." he cut her off sharply.

Hinata blushed and saddened at the same time, remembering that it was an alliance treaty with Kumokagure that had ended with Hizashi's death years ago. She walked silently next to him, leading him to his room, which was, like all the other personal rooms, upstairs. The corridor was rather dark at that time of the day, because there were no windows, only doors, and they had to walk to the very end of it, because Neji's room was the last one, next to Hanabi's and face to face with Hinata's.

"Here it is." she said lowly. "Lunch is in three hours. You can go wherever you want until then. I will come and take you to the dinning room at one."

"Why bother? I can walk on my own feet to the dinning room."

"I-it's not that!" she blushed again. "Well... the elders weren't very happy to hear what I have decided about you... so it w-would be better if you stayed close to me for a while."

"I'm not a child anymore, but if you feel better treating me like one, I don't care. Do as you please."

The old men on the other side of the table tried to look as normal as they could, although any idiot could see how strained they were just by the dirty looks they shot towards Hinata. But it was not her they were glaring at: it was the person who sat to her left. Hanabi glanced at Neji, who had barely touched the food, while her older sister pretended to eat as she was actually playing with the chopsticks. They hadn't had such a quiet lunch in years. The girl soon lost her appetite as well and abandoned the chopsticks in her plate, folding her hands. She caught glimpses of curious gazes or offensive looks, but it was not those looks that pissed her off the most, it was the fact that no one had the courage to express their true feelings.

_"This family sure is going to the bad..." _she thought while making threatening faces at a young Hyuuga who sat next to his grandfather, close to the elders. _"Bunch of hypocrites."_

Neji appeared not to notice any of those things, although he knew quite well everything that was going on around him. Hinata couldn't wait for the damn lunch to end and she felt so ashamed that she was gripping the soft material of her kimono in tight fists in frustration, under the table. Hanabi turned her attention to her cousin, but she remained vigilent, unfortunately for some. The elders kept whispering to each other, shaking their heads or pursing their pale lips as they listened to others. The girl heard someone mention either "Hiashi" or "Hizashi", but when one of the men turned his head towards them, she knew immediately that it was about Neji's father they were talking about. She had never thought her respect for the clan would suddenly drop to almost nothing in one hour.

A loud thud made everyone stop gossipping and they all stared at Hanabi, who had risen from her seat, with both hands on the table: the same hands she had used to make silence. Hinata's cheeks turned pink and Neji didn't pay much attention to his little cousin's outburst, although he listened to what she had to say.

"That's enough." she said in a bone-chilling voice. "I'm afraid you've gone a little bit too far with this "branch family" mania of yours and to be honest, I've had enough. With all due respect, I don't think you are treating Neji-san properly. He is a member of this clan, just like us, and if you can't respect him, then don't expect me to stay here and say nothing!" Hanabi hissed, glaring at her sister for a moment. "Stop seeing him like a member of the branch family and admit that he is the strongest shinobi in the Hyuuga clan, and perhaps even the entire Konoha! He deserves your respect." she breathed out angrily.

Hinata rose and looked at Neji, who did the same thing and they both left, while Hanabi continued her argument with the other members of the clan. None of them said anything all the way upstairs and if Hinata's face wasn't so flushed, no one would have ever suspected that something bad had happened. He reached the door to his room and held his hand out for the doorknob, but his cousin's quavering voice made him stop.

"I'm sorry. I didn't t-think things would turn out t-this bad!"

For a moment, there was nothing but silence and Hinata thought he wasn't going to reply. However, she barely had time to dodge his unexpected attack and he still managed to hit one of the chakra points in her shoulder, making her fall on her floor holding her left arm with her other hand while staring at him. His byakugan was fixed upon her mercilessly.

"Stop saying you're sorry. To be honest, I don't give a damn on your being sorry." he snapped at her, holding her by the front side of her kimono. "You brought me here, I'm the one who should be sorry for being stupid enough to listen to you! I don't care what they think about me. I hate them just as much as they hate me and we all know that, so stop acting like a loser and for the sake of your title, stop making fun of yourself."

Hinata bit her lip as tears stung her eyes and she could do nothing but lower her head, hoping that he would release her. Neji let go of her kimono and caught her by the wrist instead, pulling her back on her feet easily. He adjusted her garment himself and then turned away, closing the door behind him just when Hanabi appeared at the other side of the corridor, surprising her sister staring at the door of his room, with her mouth still slightly open and her eyes still wet. And as if Neji's little outburst hadn't been enough, Hanabi was on the point of errupting herself by the way she walked and slammed the door of her room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks everybody for your reviews and for enjoying reading this story just as much as I enjoy writing it.**

**Chapter four**

She saw her sitting quietly in front of the window, holding her left shoulder absently with the other hand. Hinata was watching a pair of butterflies swirling in the air outside, too lost in her thoughts to feel Hanabi's presence in her room. She only realized she was being watched when the girl purposely hit the bed with her foot to catch her attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you enter." Hinata excused, rising from the floor. "I was just getting ready to leave for my training. Are you coming?"

"No, I'm afraid I have some other things to do before that. Who are you going to spar with today? I heard Shino and Kiba were sent on a mission this morning."

"I guess that means I'm going to be training by myself." she smiled.

"Why didn't you come for breakfast?"

"Gomenasai, I got up late. How's Neji-san?"

"He left before breakfast. Tsunade sent him to Ame with some business. He said he should be back in two or three days at most."

Hinata nodded slightly and moved her hands to untie the obi in order to replace the kimono with her ninja outfit. Hanabi stepped towards her sister, pushing her hands away to help her undress. The older girl concealed a smile. Her little sister was always unpredictable: she could be a very nice person, an angel willing to help those in need, and in the next moment she could turn into a blaze, destroying everything in sight. Just like her name, she was beautiful and gained smiles and admiration from everyone around her, but she was dangerous to get close to.

"Done." the girl simply said , removing the heavy garment and putting it on the bed.

"Thank you, Hanabi-chan."

"I have to go. I'll see you later."

She watched her younger sister leave her room and an uneasy feeling crept into her heart as she let the silk robe under the kimono fall to the ground, revealing her porcelain skin to the sun. Her old ninja clothes seemed strange to her after a few weeks of wearing only heavy, prestigious kimonos but the feeling of freedom they gave her was undeniable. Therefore, after putting her ninja sandals on, she ran on the balcony and took a deep breath, then jumped on the grass.

--

Hinata looked at her bruised knuckles as she took off her jacket and tied it around her waist, the t-shirt she was wearing enabling her to move more freely. She drank some water form the bottle she had taken with her and wiped the sweat off her forehead, resuming her kicking and punching the training dummie. She had seen him coming, but the sound of his voice filtered between her gasps for air made her jump slightly in surprise.

"Mornin', Hinata."

"Shikamaru-san!" the girl smiled, looking at the lazy genius of Konoha, who had recently become a jonin, just like the others who were once in their class at the Academy. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Came to watch the clouds." he sighed deeply.

"But... Shikamaru-san" Hinata said, looking at the sky above. "There are no clouds today."

"Exactly." he replied with a yawn as he stretched, looking around for a place well hidden from the sun.

Hinata noticed the dark sadness reflected in his eyes and sat next to him under a tree, embracing her knees. Shikamaru lay on the grass with his arms bent under his head, eyes closed, sighing again.

"Mission gone bad?" she asked, watching some leaves floating a bit in the air before landing in a puddle of water. He opened his eyes and looked at her in a friendly way.

"No, it's about one hell of a blonde."

Hinata chuckled, wondering whether he was talking about Temari or Ino, but he made that clear for her immediately.

"That sand girl is worse than Ino and if I think better, she's worse than my mom, for kami's sake..."

"Come on, Shikamaru-san, she can't be that bad!"

"She's not bad, she just... so troublesome! From her point of view, I never do anything right! I can't even walk her to the gate of the village properly because she says I walk too fast or too slow..."

"But you do like each other, don't you?" Hinata smiled, slightly blushing.

Shikamaru considered her for a few seconds, not knowing what to say, but the faint scarlet appearing on his cheeks spoke aloud. They both burst into laughter at the same time and he seemed to have cheered up, even a little, which made her happy. She thought about Naruto and her feelings for him, feelings so old that reminded her of the days at the Academy, when she couldn't even look into his eyes. She really missed those days.

Later, Hinata and Shikamaru both left the training grounds, heading in opposite directions. She was going back home, while he was going to Tsunade's office for a new mission. She hadn't had a mission in such a long time that she almost missed that too. For some reason she thought about Neji and wondered if he was okay, at the same time putting a hand on the place that still hurt on her shoulder. A soft breeze blew gently through her long hair, tousling her bangs, bringing a scent of cherry flowers from afar.

Thousands of miles away, the same sweetish scent distracted Neji from his guarding one of the most important business men in the Land of Rain, remaining behind for a few moments, until the man turned around and gave him a strange look. The ninja watched some cherry blossoms letting their petals driven by the soft wind into some puddles on the main street of Ame and saw tiny raindrops making ripples on the clear surface of the cold water. It took him great effort to be able to break from the strange feeling he had about what his eyes gazed at thoughtfully and when he turned back to the one he was supposed to protect, he saw a warm smile on his lips and raised a brow inquiringly.

"I must say that you are a very pleasant surprise, Neji-san." the business man chuckled lightly. "I was told that my bodyguard was a very serious and strong ninja, a most dedicated jonin, but it seems that even the steel hearts can be melted sometimes."

"What do you mean, Okinawa-sama?" the pearl-eyed boy asked calmly, but curious.

"Neji-san... are you in love?"

It was Neji's turn to chuckle at the question, catching up with the surprisingly friendly man, who seemed to be used to telling things straight from the shoulder.

"Gomenasai, but you must be joking me." he said, with some sort of a smile curving his pale lips. "Such things are a waste of time. How did you come to this conclusion, if you don't mind?"

"You were looking at those sakura petals as if your last breath depended on them and the moment they touched the water you appeared to be in the middle of a dream. I'm sorry I woke you up, Neji-san. Although you say you have never experienced such 'waste of time', I must tell you, dear boy, that you don't know when the greatest illness of all knocks you out. The more you try to run away from it, the more it will look for you. Trust me, it's a battle you can't win. I should know better."

Neji remembered with another smile that he had to accompany Okinawa for his one-day visit to Ame because his wife was the sister of the Mizukage and she had come to visit her brother. Okinawa must have loved his wife very much to leave all his bussiness at home and join her on such a trip, risking his life, for he was a very popular man and not few were those who wanted him dead. That was why Neji had been assigned to stay with him. The last thing he had expected from his man was this discussion about love.

"Are you cold? You're pale as a ghost! Let's go have some warm sake!" Okinawa suggested, not waiting for the boy's answer, but walking along the main street, apparently with not a care in the world. Having no other choice, Neji followed him, thinking that some warm sake would be perfect for his current state of mind.

Back in Konoha, at the Hyuuga mansion, Hinata had finished bandaging her hands to protect her bruised skin and was waiting patiently for two maids to finish adjusting her kimono. It was nearly time for lunch and she didn't want to be late and stay hungry until dinner, so as soon as the two managed to tie her obi properly, she hurried downstairs, where Hanabi gave her a little smile from her seat at the table. What surprised the older girl was the silence in the dinning room and as she descended on the stairs, she realized that there was no on else at the table except her younger sister.

"Don't stare like that, it's rude." the little one scolded her playfully. "Before you ask, yes, we'll be alone at lunch today. The reason is that they went to assist at the first chuunin exam this year and they won't be back until later. Would you like to have lunch outside? The weather is beautiful!"

Hinata smiled with her characteristic blush, unable to think of a better way to interract with her sister. Things between them had gotten pretty tensed lately and now they seemed to lighten up. She could wish for nothing more.

However, nearly half an hour later Hinata stopped with her hand in the air, while taking a delicate piece of fish to her mouth, obvious by the way the chopsticks danced in the air nervously that she was shivering. Hanabi gave her a slightly worried look:

"Are you okay? Perhaps a little bit cold? It's colder than I thought out here." she said.

"I'm... okay." Hinata whispered, putting the chopsticks in her plate and entwining her fingers in her lap. Hanabi tried to looked where her sister seemed to be staring, which was the cherry tree in the garden, which had come out in bloom that morning. The flowers performed a complicated waltz in midair, gone with the gentle wind under the girls' eyes. With every caress of the invisible hands, flowers shivered in the air, the sun alone not enough to keep them warm on their way to unknown lands.

"Let's go."

Hinata started and looked at her sister, who had risen from the floor and was taking off her sandals. The older girl blushed.

"W-where?"

"Come on. Get those shoes off and let's go play under the cherry tree, like we did when we were little!"

She didn't wait for an answer, but grabbed her hand and pulled her on the grass, forcing her to discard the shoes and follow her bare-footed on the grass, both running towards the cherry tree, who now looked like the middle of a snowstorm. Eventually, they both ended up rolling on the grass, laughing loudly in the fresh air, forgetting about the chilly air and the fact that they were ninja or Hyuga clan memebers. No one could see them. Even if that happiness was not going to last, those moments would remain in their memories for ever, unchanged by the great flow of time.


	5. Chapter 5

**I've always associated the eagle with Neji (I don't know why, so don't ask). You'll see why I'm telling you this. **

**Chapter five**

She heard a scream and recognized the voice instantly, even though she hadn't heard it in a long time. Her heart pounded mercilessly in her chest, sending cold chills down her spine and her stomach coiled painfully. The fear had her body and mind in a tight grip; she knew something bad was going to happen and she also knew she couldn't stop it. Hinata gasped, trying to move, when the second horrible scream came from somewhere in the darkness surrounding her. Finally, her muscles allowed her to stagger on her feet and eventually fall, but she got up quickly and started to run, determined to find him. When she finally stopped her only reaction was to let out a scream of shock and horror at the sight.

"NARUTO-KUN!"

Hinata stood there and stared at the bloody corpse of the blond she had had a crush on since her early years at the Academy. She let out another painful scream as she burst into tears, afraid to go closer because of the creature that stood on his dead body triumphantly, with blood on its sharp beak. It looked at her with bloodthirsty golden eyes, but not like it was going to kill her as well. The dreadful eagle seemed to be looking at her as if saying "Now that he's out of the way, you can finally notice me."

"Naze..." she started, her voice quavering because of the sobs she couldn't control. The bird tilted its head to the side, considering her barely audible question. It let out a sharp sound, emphasising the look in its eyes. Hinata wiped the tears off her cheeks and held out her arm hesitantly. The bird flapped its wings and left Naruto's body, landing gracefully on the girl's arm, but its sharp claws sank in her fleash, making blood stain her clothes. She bit her lip and whined, however, she had the strenght to look into the murderous eyes.

Hinata woke up from the nightmare, kicking away the sheets stuck to her sweaty body, shivering still because of the feeling those golden eyes had given to her. She jumped out of the bed and put on her dressing gown, feeling thirsty and confused. She hadn't had such a terrible nightmare since childhood, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again for the rest of the night. She left her room, closing the door silently behind her. It was barely 2 a.m. and everybody was sleeping (even the two elders who suffered from a little insomnia; she could hear them snoring).

However, she jolted in fear when she saw a dark silhouette at the end of the corridor and had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop an instinctive scream because she realized it was Neji. Hinata exhaled slowly, her heart making so much noise that it was imposible for Neji not to hear in that deafening silence. She could see him smirk for a moment and recomposed herself, straighening her back as she said in a small voice:

"Welcome b-back, N-neji-san."

"Scared you?" he asked lowly, piercing her eyes through the darkness.

"I-i didn't e-expect to see you here at this hour. You've j-just arrived I suppose?"

"An hour ago." he replied.

Hinata breathed slowly as her heart stopped pounding like crazy. Of course, he wasn't sleeping because he must have taken a bath to relax his muscles after such a tiring mission and she realized she was right, because his hair was still a little wet.

"H-have you eaten anything?"

He shook his head slowly, his gaze not leaving her eyes for a second.

"Well then, you m-must be very hungry. Let's go to the k-kitchen and I'll fix something for you to eat."

She didn't wait for him to agree, but headed towards the kitchen. Neji decided to follow her eventually, having to admit that he was a little bit hungry. If it hadn't been for Hinata's generous offer he would have waited until breakfast, because he was also too tired to get himself something to eat or wake up a servant to do it. He watched her as she filled a plate with food and put it in front of him, then sat quietly at the table, in front of him.

"You don't have to stay with me." he said. "It's late."

"No, it's all right. I c-couldn't go back to sleep anyway." she replied with the ghost of a smile flying over her lips as she remembered the look in the bird's eyes. Neji stared at her for a moment, then looked back at the chopsticks in his hand.

"Nightmares?"

Hinata felt the usual invisible brush painting her cheeks red and lowered her head, nodding slightly. It was just a casual conversation, a simple exchange of short sentences between a surprisingly non-sarcastic Neji and his nightmare-haunted cousin, Hinata, at almost 3 a.m., in the kitchen. The lack of contempt, the contemp he usually treated her with, was probably a result of his being tired after the mission, but there was something almost... serene in his eyes, something that had never been there before. Or perhaps she hadn't noticed until then.

"What are you looking at?" he asked, not raising his eyes from the plate. His voice made her neither start or experience any other negative response from her body, but she gave him a little smile instead. Neji tried to place that smile somehow, but it was unusual for Hinata to smile at him for nothing, considering how he treated her most of the time. She had developed an instinctive fear of him, which had grown even bigger after the chuunin preliminaries. He had expected that from her, however, the fact that now she was smiling to him instead of stammering out a reply seemed out of place.

"How was your mission, N-neji-san?"

He smirked. No matter how hard she tried, her lips couldn't utter his name without stammering.

"Nothing special happened." the shinobi replied.

Hinata kept the same smile on her lips, however her thoughts drove her back to the dream she had had and how her heart threatened to break through her chest at the sight of Naruto's bloody corpse. And that eagle, the winner in a battle she had not seen, but heard - the last moments of it. She couldn't undertstand the meaning of it, but now that she thought better, she hadn't seen Naruto in a long time. Perhaps it was time she went in the village to see her old friends. She felt Neji's stare fixed upon her almost questioningly and she looked back at him, an awkward silence falling upon them like a heavy curtain.

"I ran into Naruto on my way back." he said, not even thinking about looking elsewhere but in her eyes.

"Y-yeah? W-what did he say?" she asked, unable to deny the feeling that sent cold shivers down her spine.

"He asked about you."

Hinata blushed, playing with the soft material of her dressing gown.

"R-really?" the girl whimpered. She wouldn't have been surprised to see the eagle in her dream sitting casually on Neji's shoulder.

"No."

She stared at him in confusion, wondering why he was playing with her like that. The disappointment of knowing that he hadn't actually met Naruto on his way back home occupied a less important place than her curiosity.

"B-but... N-neji-san, why did you lie?"

He didn't give her any explanation. Normally she would have asked whether he had lied about meeting Naruto or Naruto asking about her, but she seemed more interested in his reasons for lying. Hinata watched him getting up from the table and knew she wasn't going to get an answer from him. Perhaps it wasn't so important after all. She followed him out of the kitchen and towards their rooms, upstairs. As she had expected, Neji returned to his normal coldness, wishing her "Good night" in a somewhat formal tone. And there she was again. Standing alone in front of his door in the darkness, staring at it as if wanting to see through it. Of course, the byakugan would have enabled her to do that, but its use was not permitted on the Hyuuga estate for reasons of privacy, unless in certain circumstances.

Her voice still echoed in his mind after he closed the door and leaned on it, staring outside the window through the darkness. He only heard the door of her room close one or two minutes later, which was a long time for someone to realize that there was nothing else they could do but go back to their room and try to sleep. Neji sighed, tired as hell, falling on his bed with his face buried in the soft pillow. He could have left Ame later that morning, after a night of good sleep, but no, he had to rush all the way back to Konoha just because he wanted to be home sooner. Now he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to go to Tsunade's office and write a report about his mission first hour in the morning. Perhaps he could avoid all that. With another heavy sigh, he got up from his bed and slowly walked towards the door, opening it soundlessly and making sure no one could see him.

Since knocking at her door wasn't such a good idea in the deep silence, he opened it and quickly moved inside her room, allowing her to sense his chakra so that she wouldn't scream or kami knows what else. Hinata was in her bed, reading a book at the light of a lamp on her bedside table. She closed her book and looked at him, with the usual blush spreading on her cheeks. Neji was a bit embarrassed himself about having to enter her room like that, but he was too tired to think of any other option. Luckily, she seemed to understand, asking him to tell her what was wrong with her pearl eyes. He approached her bed and still stopped two metres from it, speaking in a low voice.

"Gomenasai." he murmured simply. "I came because I need a favor." Explaining everything to her was going to be a nightmare and he was ready to go through it when she cut him off gently.

"You don't n-need to explain yourself to me, N-neji-san. Please tell me what you want me to do."

"Don't... tell anyone I'm here. Tsunade-sama ordered me to report to her as soon as I get back, but I won't be able to do it until this afternoon."

"Okay. Now go get some sleep." she smiled lightly, the same strange smile she had curved her lips into earlier.

Neji nodded and murmured a "thank you". He didn't know how he got back in his bed, curled up in a ball with the sheets spread everywhere around him. He felt as if he were drunk from the lack of sleep and the only way to get better was to sleep and sleep... and sleep some more. Hinata remained with that smile on her lips long after he was gone, perhaps even after he fell asleep, walking her eyes over the lines of the book, but not reading. Just... recognizing the words written there. Her thoughts were completely random and she didn't even realize that most of them were reviews of the time spent with Neji that night. No dead Naruto, no bloodthirsty killer eagle. Just her and Neji.


End file.
