Shogi

“Why the hell did you throw the match Hinata?” 

Pupiless white eyes stared directly into angry onyx eyes as she tried to free her hand from his tight grip

“Y-You’re hurting my hand Sasuke” 

His eyes softened a bit before he quickly released her as though he touched a scalding iron blade

“Sorry bout that, but still answer my question”

Sasuke Uchiha cornered her while she was on her way to the training grounds to meet up with her team to train for the upcoming chunin exams.

At one point, what seemed like a lifetime ago, they were actually friends. Before her mother’s death, before the Uchiha massacre, the youth of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga were well acquainted with each other, whether it be through clan meetings, clan rivalries or simply finding comfort in knowing that your clan was not the only old, stuffy, mind draining clan in Konoha.

“Why do you think I threw the match? H-Hanabi won fair and square” she said stubbornly

Hinata was easy to read for those who knew her well and Sasuke was no exception

“I’m not stupid Hinata, heck even Neji knows let her win” she flinched when he brought up Neji. She and her cousin had not been on good terms since his father passed away, but it seemed as though he and Sasuke still remained in contact with each other to a certain degree

“I know what I’m doing, its for the best” she sighed internally, starting to get a headache just thinking about it

“Best for who? They’re still gonna keep treating you like shit and Hanabi doesn’t even like you!”

Ouch

He was right to some extent, could she say for certain that Hanabi didn’t like her? Probably. She couldn’t remember the last time she and her sister had a conversation that wasn’t about training, but she still wasn’t going to admit that he was right

“She’s still my little sister Sasuke, I would do anything to protect her” she murmured while poking her fingers together

While her mother was still pregnant with Hanabi, Hinata made a promise to her that she would always look after Hanabi, be the best big sister in the world and train beside her. After her mother passed away in circumstances Hinata still could not wrap her head around, everything around her crumbled, but being the person that she is she made sure to keep her promise to her mother, no matter the consequences 

Sasuke seemed taken aback by her statement, not because he was surprised that she felt that way, but because it struck his heart like a lightning bolt as it reminded him of a certain someone

A certain someone he wanted to kill

Bile rose in his throat and he clenched his fist, trying to get his emotions under control. It wouldn’t be fair to lash out at Hinata due to what he felt towards that traitor 

“But- ugh fine I’ll drop it…for now. Let’s go, I’m meeting my team at the training grounds too”

They walked side by side towards the training grounds, as they got closer Hinata could feel the scrutinizing gaze of Sasuke’s pink haired teammate on her.

“Well take care Sasuke” she said as she hastily left his side, doing her best to avoid confrontation with anybody from her year group. Truth be told she did not have many friends and right now she was trying her best not to make anymore enemies. So far she only had one friend, well at least she thinks she’s her friend. Miko Hyuuga, one year older than Hinata and one of the handful of medics in training in the clan, who so graciously healed Hinata’s injuries everytime she trained with her father or grandfather present. Miko was only allowed to pursue the medical field because she was blind in one eye and both the clan and Hokage deemed her unfit for regular shinobi duties. Then there was Kiba and Shino, but they recently became teammates and she wasn’t sure if they considered each other friends just yet. 

“Well there’s our little genjutsu genius” Kiba teased her as she approached. 

Shyness overtook her as she put her hands to cover her cheeks in an attempt to hide how red she got from his compliment 

“N-no I’m no genius” 

“You were the only one who broke out of sensei’s genjutsu and freed the rest of us” Shino stated

“But I didn’t even mean to”

“But you did” Kurenai approached them, overhearing their conversation. She rested a hand gently on HInata’s shoulder and gave her a light squeeze “I suspect the Byakugan has a natural resistance to genjutsu, but it seems like nobody has ever discussed that with you” Hinata shook her head in embarrassment “I assume the elders of your clan are aware of this but for reasons unknown to me hasn’t shared that bit of information with the younger generation. Anyways now that we know I can use that information to develop a specialized training plan for you, it wouldn’t be productive if I train you the same way I plan to do with the rest of the team”

Kiba snickered as he came to a sudden realization, Akamaru barking and wagging his tail in glee “Hey Hinata that means you could actually be decent competition for that Uchiha bastard whenever he awakens his Sharingan and learns how to do genjutsu”

Shino nodded his head in agreement but Hinata came to a realization that would unknowingly change her life from here on

The Byakugan has a natural resistance to genjutsu. 

So that means the Byakugan can naturally counteract the Sharingan

I didn’t even have to train with genjutsu to break out of it

She thought back to the Uchiha massacre…was it even possible? Could the strongest people in her clan match up to Itachi at the time?  Her father was deemed the strongest at that time, he still is, but on that horrid night she distinctly remembers that most of the shinobis from her clan, including her father, were sent on a week long mission outside of Konoha, a few hours before the massacre took place.

That means the massacre is much deeper than just Itachi…

Kurenai watched the blushing face of her little student disappear in the blink of an eye at Kiba’s statement. In the span of one second her face went from surprise to horror to the blank Hyuuga canvas she’s seen from others from the clan, but never from Hinata until now. Kurenai would’ve missed it if she wasn’t an experienced jounin. She felt sick to her stomach as she wondered if she just opened Pandora's box for her little student. 

Training wasn’t as intense as expected, Hinata wondered if their sensei was giving them a treat today by making them do a less exhaustive regime. 

“Woohoo that’s ma boys!” Tsume Inazuka’s voice filled the training ground as she watch Kiba and Akamaru spar with Shino from a distance, as the match ended she finally approach the team 

“Hope these boys aren’t giving you too much trouble Rei, if they are then you know where to find me” she said proudly while eyeing her son

“Mom stop it you’re embarrassing me” Kiba whined as he buried his head in his jacket

Kiba’s mom is so loud Hinata thought to herself

But it's so cute that she came to cheer him on a thought that made her chubby cheeks puff out with glee

As much as she hated to admit it, she did  feel slightly jealous of her teammates when she saw Kiba’s mom cheering him on or yesterday when Shino’s father personally delivered homemade lunch to the team. Her father probably didn’t even know who was on her team to begin with

She was lost in her own world for a moment until she heard Akamaru bark

She saw Tsume’s hand going directly for Kiba’s head. Without even realizing it, her body moved on its own as though it was a natural reflex, placing herself between Kiba and his mother

“Stop!” she shouted “K-Kiba didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t hit him” she squeezed her eyes shut, preparing to be on the receiving end of Kiba’s mother hand

Tsume took a step back in shock and slight confusion “Huh? No kiddo I wasn’t gonna hit him, I was just gonna pat his head” Tsume gently patted Kiba’s head “See its ok,I’m not hurting him”

“Pat his head? B-but why?” Hinata stared at Tsume and Kurenai, waiting for further explanation to this action that was foreign to her

“People do it as an action to praise someone, so Kiba’s mom is doing it so show that she thinks he did a good job” Kurenai explained quickly 

“To show he did a good job” Hinata murmured to herself. She raised her right hand, closed her eyes and gently patted her own head a couple times “You did a good job Hina-chan” she whispered to herself

Her mood instantly lifted as she realized she liked that new action “Wow it really does work sensei! I have to show this to Miko” she said as she happily walked off patting her head some more

Kurenai locked eyes with Tsume for what seemed like an eternity before she felt the head Inazuka grab her arm before she had a chance to speak. In a low but stern whisper she warned her “I know what you’re thinking Kurenai but don’t mess with the Hyuuga, just look at what they did to Hitomi, they’ll ruin you in the blink of an eye”

Her brows furrowed in disagreement “I can’t sit back and do nothing, I’ll talk to Lord Third”

“Ha! You think that old fool and his pals don’t already know? I’ll say this once and you better listen for your own sake, if they could turn a blind eye when the matriarch of the Hyuuga clan died then they can easily turn a blind eye for you…for any of us. So don’t go sticking your nose where you don’t belong”

Kurenai held her tongue, not wanting to start an argument with Tsume

Luckily for Hinata, Kurenai was quite a stubborn kunoichi