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runespoorTitle: Things that could have happened had Hizashi been the older son (or: a cage is a cage is a curse, Dammit.)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
runespoor7
Rating: PG-13
Summary: series of unrelated drabbles/ficlets. So far, drabbles include various flavours of implied Neji-Hina-Naru combinations, but it's really Hyuuga centered gen with occasional cameos of other characters.
Notes: just so you know, this was born out of my getting infuriated whenever it starts being said that Hinata would be happier in the Branch House. Rather than risking incoherence before my screen every time I came across the idea, I thought I'd play with it. :p
1. meeting one's team
The new team was sitting before their sensei, who'd been listening, each in their turn, to what they'd said, and what they hadn't. The Inuzuka boy was going to be a pain, and Kurenai was very glad that she hadn't been the one in charge of ninja-breaking him, but she was convinced that the only actual problem she'd have with him would be not to reduce him in her mind as 'just another loudmouth'. The Aburame would be interesting, depending on his opinion on teamwork, and friendship, and professionalism; so far Kurenai could only congratulate herself that she wasn't freaked out by bugs.
That left the little Hyuuga girl. The Hyuuga, Kurenai corrected herself. The girl hadn't even spoken yet; Kurenai should know better than to mindlessly typecast people without thinking.
She motioned toward the girl that she could introduce herself – the last one to speak. Hinata nodded, the movement letting Kurenai catch a glimpse of the hitai-ate behind the genin's fringe.
Her voice was quiet, almost dreamy, when she first spoke.
"I like… training when the sun is just rising. I don't like carrying the tea tray," her lips twisted into something of a grimace. Then she suddenly hardened. "My goal is to prove no-one is born to be a slave."
Kurenai regarded her student for a moment, taking in her defiance and the tilt to her chin – peripherally noting the boys' frown, Kiba's broadcasting of his puzzlement and Shino's acknowledgment of the perplexity.
"That's a worthy goal," she commented.
2. ninja academy
Not making much noise was a skill every ninja developed to the highest level. It was Hinata's humble pride that she wasn't any noisier than them, though she'd never gone to the shinobi academy.
On some days, she stopped in her chores and watched Hizashi and Neji-sama going at their exercises, watching Neji-sama's moves, how fluid and graceful and purposeful, her breath suspended to his fingers, catching in her throat when she missed a move – he was so fast and she wasn't trained as a ninja. She couldn't watch for too long though, so after a while she went back to her duties, discreetly deactivating her Byakugan as she did so; not many civilians in the Hyuuga used the bloodline, Hinata didn't like attracting attention.
Hizashi would stare at her when she left, eyes searching for the small shape unaware of his awareness, her hesitating steps and frail back reminding him so little of his dead brother. Neji was focused on his training; Hizashi would think protecting his brother's only daughter from the hardships of life as a shinobi was the least he could do, and he'd be pierced by a pang of guilt.
Then he'd turn back towards his own son, and the differences he could see between Neji's calm self-assurance and Hinata's timid weakness would only reassure him in his opinion.
2A. ninja academy – continued
From afar Hinata thought it was a small boy but as she came closer she saw that he must be her age, and when he looked up she didn't know what to be dazzled by first, bright blond hair, clear blue eyes, or the whisker marks stretching on his cheeks. She felt immediate sympathy at that. Hinata's own mark was hidden under her fringe, but she always felt something for the people she saw who had their own tattoos. Her favourite were the swirls adorning the cheeks of one of the boys.
The boy had a somewhat mulish expression on his face, and two bruises on his chin and his temple.
Hinata wondered if she should pretend she hadn't seen him, but he picked himself from the ground and dusted his clothes, an orange jumpsuit the likes of which Hinata had never seen. On anybody else it'd have been awful, but the boy was already so bright that it suited him. She was surprised by the thought, but she imagined Neji in this outfit and refrained a giggle.
The boy looked straight at her, and Hinata squirmed. She wasn't really used to being the focus of someone's attention, and certainly not of such intensity. She shifted her grip on the bento. She should go; she'd be late. But she couldn't go because the boy was looking at her and leaving would be impolite.
"Hey, you're a Hyuuga, right?" He squinted at her.
"I mean, you've got the same eyes as Neji – yeah, 'course you're a Hyuuga. He's training in the backyard by himself, can you believe that? Teachers let 'em go early and he works – I think he says it's because that what's he's supposed to do, man, if Iruka-sensei ever let me out early I sure as hell wouldn't do the same thing I'd do if I were still in class, not that I really know him cuz he's a year older than me but that sounds like the kind of thing he'd do, I mean Neji, but yeah, you probably know him better than I do. By the way, how come you're not in class too? They let you out early too? I'm out cuz I ditched the lecture. So! You're in what year?"
Hinata, who'd been listening with the impression that for the first time in her life she'd come across someone who spoke the way she thought, with too many things running off in every direction and without a break, started a bit at that. She hadn't believed anyone would think she was a student at the Academy. She felt herself blush a little.
"I-I'm not at the Academy." Then, because she felt her presence here deserved an explanation, she justified, "I'm only bringing Neji-sama's bento. We were late this morning."
The boy stopped in his rearranging of his trousers and tilted his head to the side, frowning. "You don't wanna be a ninja?" He seemed testing; not aggressive.
Hinata stopped.
He was staring at her. His eyes were very blue. "I'm gonna be Hokage when I grow up, so I need to know people who aren't ninjas because there aren't only ninjas in the village-" he sounded like he was repeating something he'd heard but wasn't entirely convinced by "-and old man Ichiraku doesn't count cuz he's old."
She took her time considering what he'd said. Hinata wasn't training to be a ninja, but she lived in a shinobi village and Hizashi-sama was the leader of the clan, and Neji-sama was his heir, and he was very talented. Hinata still wasn't sure whether she should mention that she'd witnessed how this boy's technique had misfired (it had looked that way to her; when she'd seen Neji performing something similar at home, the end result hadn't looked the same) but she felt she should say something.
"You can't ditch classes if you want to become the Hokage," she pointed out, aware that she might be overstepping her boundaries.
The boy's face took on a sulky expression. "Yeah well I'm bored – and anyway you're not a ninja so you can't know what it's about!"
He glared at her, pouting. Hinata hunched her head between her shoulders, hands convulsing on the bento, eyes on the ground.
"I'm sorry," she said feebly. "You-you're right, I'm not qualified…"
"You're not," he said crossly.
She forced herself to glance up toward the whisker marks. They were what encouraged her to talk.
"The hand gestures you were making earlier," she said very fast, "when Neji-sama makes them at home the fifth one looks the same as the second one." She stayed put for a moment. What she really wanted to say was 'maybe that could help', but she didn't want to say 'you're doing it wrong'.
She didn't dare look up. She felt miserable about saying that – it wasn't her place, she didn't know anything about that, she didn't want him to think she was a know-it-all – but if there was a chance it could help the boy then she had to say it. It wasn't as if the knowledge would ever be useful otherwise.
He was only silent for half a second. "…Oh. Oh! Hey, hey, I think you're right! Thanks!"
Then she looked up; he was grinning and – vaguely bouncing. He didn't look at all ashamed that she'd seen him after he'd failed.
"We've been working on that for two months, I can't believe I never realised what I got wrong! An' you did it just like that!..."
He stopped rocking on the balls of his feet and squinted at Hinata again. His whiskers took an inquisitive angle. "Y'know, I think that's useful for a ninja." He nodded once, decisively.
Hinata's heart started to beat faster and she mechanically tried to wipe the sudden clamminess of her palms on the cloth covering the bento.
The bento!
She jumped with horror. "No, I'm late – I'm sorry, where did you say Neji-sama was training?"
The boy with the whisker marks was already going through the hand gestures, slowly, as if to make sure he could chain them the way they were meant to. "Backyard," he said. "-and hey, come back whenever you want, t'was great talking with you!"
Hinata was hurrying – she shouldn't make Neji-sama wait, he had classes after lunch – but she recognised the boy's enthusiasm. She'd never felt it for herself, but Neji-sama felt as fiercely happy when he mastered a new technique.
2B. ninja academy – continued again
The heir of the Hyuuga was training under the supervision of his father when the door of the dojo slid open on a nine-year-old girl who wasn't carrying a tea tray.
Neji was concentrated on his kata and so didn't notice, or didn't pay attention to the irruption, but Hizashi did, and he turned toward his niece, wondering what could push the girl to disturb them.
Hinata rarely did; she was a solitary child who seemed to most enjoy peaceful, serene pastimes and atmospheres.
Hizashi knew her calligraphy to be remarkably fluid for a child her age, and her flower arrangements were commendable; he was glad that he'd chosen this lifestyle for her, in harmony with her personality. It was a bit too early to think about the future, but Hizashi had hopes of arranging a nice marriage for her, to some gentle, understanding Branch House shinobi who could get a post within Konoha, for instance as an Academy teacher. She'd like that.
He nodded for her to approach.
She bowed at slightly longer a distance than would be considered appropriate. This time, Neji paused in his kata and moved a few feet away to let her come closer, but he didn't start again, instead gazing at her with some curiosity. Inwardly, Hizashi nodded in approval.
"Did you want something, Hinata?"
Hinata didn't look up at all. It was quite unusual for her not to give some indication she'd heard that she was being talked to.
Hizashi frowned.
He could only hope the problem wasn't linked to Hinata's errands out of the Hyuuga compound. He'd known that the Kyuubi boy had talked to her several times over the course of the last few weeks, but he hadn't paid much attention to it – when, he chided himself, he really should have. He'd believed that Hinata couldn't and shouldn't be entirely sheltered from the outside world, and he still believed he was right in sending her out, but the Kyuubi was a special case.
If this turned out to be somewhat related to the Kyuubi tormenting her, he'd have to take it before the Hokage. Hinata was a civilian; ninjas were there to make sure the Kyuubi couldn't take advantage of those who couldn't defend themselves.
He broke the train of thought when Hinata took a breath before she started speaking.
"I – I want to become a ninja."
Author:
runespoor7Rating: PG-13
Summary: series of unrelated drabbles/ficlets. So far, drabbles include various flavours of implied Neji-Hina-Naru combinations, but it's really Hyuuga centered gen with occasional cameos of other characters.
Notes: just so you know, this was born out of my getting infuriated whenever it starts being said that Hinata would be happier in the Branch House. Rather than risking incoherence before my screen every time I came across the idea, I thought I'd play with it. :p
1. meeting one's team
The new team was sitting before their sensei, who'd been listening, each in their turn, to what they'd said, and what they hadn't. The Inuzuka boy was going to be a pain, and Kurenai was very glad that she hadn't been the one in charge of ninja-breaking him, but she was convinced that the only actual problem she'd have with him would be not to reduce him in her mind as 'just another loudmouth'. The Aburame would be interesting, depending on his opinion on teamwork, and friendship, and professionalism; so far Kurenai could only congratulate herself that she wasn't freaked out by bugs.
That left the little Hyuuga girl. The Hyuuga, Kurenai corrected herself. The girl hadn't even spoken yet; Kurenai should know better than to mindlessly typecast people without thinking.
She motioned toward the girl that she could introduce herself – the last one to speak. Hinata nodded, the movement letting Kurenai catch a glimpse of the hitai-ate behind the genin's fringe.
Her voice was quiet, almost dreamy, when she first spoke.
"I like… training when the sun is just rising. I don't like carrying the tea tray," her lips twisted into something of a grimace. Then she suddenly hardened. "My goal is to prove no-one is born to be a slave."
Kurenai regarded her student for a moment, taking in her defiance and the tilt to her chin – peripherally noting the boys' frown, Kiba's broadcasting of his puzzlement and Shino's acknowledgment of the perplexity.
"That's a worthy goal," she commented.
2. ninja academy
Not making much noise was a skill every ninja developed to the highest level. It was Hinata's humble pride that she wasn't any noisier than them, though she'd never gone to the shinobi academy.
On some days, she stopped in her chores and watched Hizashi and Neji-sama going at their exercises, watching Neji-sama's moves, how fluid and graceful and purposeful, her breath suspended to his fingers, catching in her throat when she missed a move – he was so fast and she wasn't trained as a ninja. She couldn't watch for too long though, so after a while she went back to her duties, discreetly deactivating her Byakugan as she did so; not many civilians in the Hyuuga used the bloodline, Hinata didn't like attracting attention.
Hizashi would stare at her when she left, eyes searching for the small shape unaware of his awareness, her hesitating steps and frail back reminding him so little of his dead brother. Neji was focused on his training; Hizashi would think protecting his brother's only daughter from the hardships of life as a shinobi was the least he could do, and he'd be pierced by a pang of guilt.
Then he'd turn back towards his own son, and the differences he could see between Neji's calm self-assurance and Hinata's timid weakness would only reassure him in his opinion.
2A. ninja academy – continued
From afar Hinata thought it was a small boy but as she came closer she saw that he must be her age, and when he looked up she didn't know what to be dazzled by first, bright blond hair, clear blue eyes, or the whisker marks stretching on his cheeks. She felt immediate sympathy at that. Hinata's own mark was hidden under her fringe, but she always felt something for the people she saw who had their own tattoos. Her favourite were the swirls adorning the cheeks of one of the boys.
The boy had a somewhat mulish expression on his face, and two bruises on his chin and his temple.
Hinata wondered if she should pretend she hadn't seen him, but he picked himself from the ground and dusted his clothes, an orange jumpsuit the likes of which Hinata had never seen. On anybody else it'd have been awful, but the boy was already so bright that it suited him. She was surprised by the thought, but she imagined Neji in this outfit and refrained a giggle.
The boy looked straight at her, and Hinata squirmed. She wasn't really used to being the focus of someone's attention, and certainly not of such intensity. She shifted her grip on the bento. She should go; she'd be late. But she couldn't go because the boy was looking at her and leaving would be impolite.
"Hey, you're a Hyuuga, right?" He squinted at her.
"I mean, you've got the same eyes as Neji – yeah, 'course you're a Hyuuga. He's training in the backyard by himself, can you believe that? Teachers let 'em go early and he works – I think he says it's because that what's he's supposed to do, man, if Iruka-sensei ever let me out early I sure as hell wouldn't do the same thing I'd do if I were still in class, not that I really know him cuz he's a year older than me but that sounds like the kind of thing he'd do, I mean Neji, but yeah, you probably know him better than I do. By the way, how come you're not in class too? They let you out early too? I'm out cuz I ditched the lecture. So! You're in what year?"
Hinata, who'd been listening with the impression that for the first time in her life she'd come across someone who spoke the way she thought, with too many things running off in every direction and without a break, started a bit at that. She hadn't believed anyone would think she was a student at the Academy. She felt herself blush a little.
"I-I'm not at the Academy." Then, because she felt her presence here deserved an explanation, she justified, "I'm only bringing Neji-sama's bento. We were late this morning."
The boy stopped in his rearranging of his trousers and tilted his head to the side, frowning. "You don't wanna be a ninja?" He seemed testing; not aggressive.
Hinata stopped.
He was staring at her. His eyes were very blue. "I'm gonna be Hokage when I grow up, so I need to know people who aren't ninjas because there aren't only ninjas in the village-" he sounded like he was repeating something he'd heard but wasn't entirely convinced by "-and old man Ichiraku doesn't count cuz he's old."
She took her time considering what he'd said. Hinata wasn't training to be a ninja, but she lived in a shinobi village and Hizashi-sama was the leader of the clan, and Neji-sama was his heir, and he was very talented. Hinata still wasn't sure whether she should mention that she'd witnessed how this boy's technique had misfired (it had looked that way to her; when she'd seen Neji performing something similar at home, the end result hadn't looked the same) but she felt she should say something.
"You can't ditch classes if you want to become the Hokage," she pointed out, aware that she might be overstepping her boundaries.
The boy's face took on a sulky expression. "Yeah well I'm bored – and anyway you're not a ninja so you can't know what it's about!"
He glared at her, pouting. Hinata hunched her head between her shoulders, hands convulsing on the bento, eyes on the ground.
"I'm sorry," she said feebly. "You-you're right, I'm not qualified…"
"You're not," he said crossly.
She forced herself to glance up toward the whisker marks. They were what encouraged her to talk.
"The hand gestures you were making earlier," she said very fast, "when Neji-sama makes them at home the fifth one looks the same as the second one." She stayed put for a moment. What she really wanted to say was 'maybe that could help', but she didn't want to say 'you're doing it wrong'.
She didn't dare look up. She felt miserable about saying that – it wasn't her place, she didn't know anything about that, she didn't want him to think she was a know-it-all – but if there was a chance it could help the boy then she had to say it. It wasn't as if the knowledge would ever be useful otherwise.
He was only silent for half a second. "…Oh. Oh! Hey, hey, I think you're right! Thanks!"
Then she looked up; he was grinning and – vaguely bouncing. He didn't look at all ashamed that she'd seen him after he'd failed.
"We've been working on that for two months, I can't believe I never realised what I got wrong! An' you did it just like that!..."
He stopped rocking on the balls of his feet and squinted at Hinata again. His whiskers took an inquisitive angle. "Y'know, I think that's useful for a ninja." He nodded once, decisively.
Hinata's heart started to beat faster and she mechanically tried to wipe the sudden clamminess of her palms on the cloth covering the bento.
The bento!
She jumped with horror. "No, I'm late – I'm sorry, where did you say Neji-sama was training?"
The boy with the whisker marks was already going through the hand gestures, slowly, as if to make sure he could chain them the way they were meant to. "Backyard," he said. "-and hey, come back whenever you want, t'was great talking with you!"
Hinata was hurrying – she shouldn't make Neji-sama wait, he had classes after lunch – but she recognised the boy's enthusiasm. She'd never felt it for herself, but Neji-sama felt as fiercely happy when he mastered a new technique.
2B. ninja academy – continued again
The heir of the Hyuuga was training under the supervision of his father when the door of the dojo slid open on a nine-year-old girl who wasn't carrying a tea tray.
Neji was concentrated on his kata and so didn't notice, or didn't pay attention to the irruption, but Hizashi did, and he turned toward his niece, wondering what could push the girl to disturb them.
Hinata rarely did; she was a solitary child who seemed to most enjoy peaceful, serene pastimes and atmospheres.
Hizashi knew her calligraphy to be remarkably fluid for a child her age, and her flower arrangements were commendable; he was glad that he'd chosen this lifestyle for her, in harmony with her personality. It was a bit too early to think about the future, but Hizashi had hopes of arranging a nice marriage for her, to some gentle, understanding Branch House shinobi who could get a post within Konoha, for instance as an Academy teacher. She'd like that.
He nodded for her to approach.
She bowed at slightly longer a distance than would be considered appropriate. This time, Neji paused in his kata and moved a few feet away to let her come closer, but he didn't start again, instead gazing at her with some curiosity. Inwardly, Hizashi nodded in approval.
"Did you want something, Hinata?"
Hinata didn't look up at all. It was quite unusual for her not to give some indication she'd heard that she was being talked to.
Hizashi frowned.
He could only hope the problem wasn't linked to Hinata's errands out of the Hyuuga compound. He'd known that the Kyuubi boy had talked to her several times over the course of the last few weeks, but he hadn't paid much attention to it – when, he chided himself, he really should have. He'd believed that Hinata couldn't and shouldn't be entirely sheltered from the outside world, and he still believed he was right in sending her out, but the Kyuubi was a special case.
If this turned out to be somewhat related to the Kyuubi tormenting her, he'd have to take it before the Hokage. Hinata was a civilian; ninjas were there to make sure the Kyuubi couldn't take advantage of those who couldn't defend themselves.
He broke the train of thought when Hinata took a breath before she started speaking.
"I – I want to become a ninja."
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Date: 2007-02-21 08:43 am (UTC)Don't you know? Some people are just born to be slaves. *snerk*
Hizashi's kinder than his brother mainly because a) his child is a ninja-prodigy, so here's a brand of bastardness he doesn't need to develop b) his perception of Hinata is necessarily very different from Hiashi's perception of Neji. And he screws up because, like Hiashi, he doesn't seem to realise that taking decisions away from people (Civilian!Hinata, not telling Neji about how his father died) =/= fire-proof way of making them happy/content/whatever. (What did we learn today, children? That's right, playing God with people doesn't work! People aren't puppets.)
I'm not sure I'll continue the 2nd ficlet-verse specifically, because originally I wanted to make it Teh Original AU in which Hinata's very ninja-ness is taken away from her, and then I bleaed myself out so bad I wrote the two other parts as possibler continuations. And when Hinata goes and ruins Hizashi's neat plans for her, well, it seemed like a good place to stop, since it had gone full circle.
I know. I can't believe I wrote almost NaruHina. (I don't like reading/writing NaruHina because they're so sweet. There's no tension! There's no desperation! There's no urgency! Where's the interest?.. Besides, I ship NejiHina and NaruSakuSasu like there was no Titanic.)
Well, I've got other ideas, at least...