A strange new life

“You’re not her,” Hiashi said again, spittle flying from his mouth.

Hearing that hurt in a way I never thought it would. I lowered my head. “But what if I am?” I whispered.

What if I was, indeed? There were a lot of things I didn’t know. There was a gap in my memories from when Hinata was taken to when I woke. I knew those memories weren’t gone, but repressed. Did I want to remember? A shudder ran through me. No, not really.

“Why do you think I’m not?”

My question was a whispered thing that I barely heard myself. It was the one thing that still didn’t make sense to me.

“You think I wouldn’t recognize my daughter’s chakra signature?”

I hadn’t expected an answer; my head snapped up when I got one. His Byakugan stared inside my soul.

I took a deep breath.

“You know chakra theory,” I said, still looking into his eyes. “Of course you do. You are a Hyuga.” I pushed my chakra through my leg and into the wooden floor, forcing a small tree to grow by my side.

I heard a gasp somewhere nearby, but didn’t break eye contact. “Tell me then, what would happen to your chakra signature if I grafted into you the bloodlimit of another?”

Creating that small tree took much of my remaining chakra, but that was fine. It would be worth it if I could change his mind.

Hiashi’s gaze never left me, but the intensity lessened. His face twitched. There was this moment when I thought he would relent, but he scoffed.

“I’ve seen the reports,” he said, face hard again. “You’re nothing but a clone. Don’t try to deny it.”

I looked at Shisui. That one was for him. What was this report Hiashi was talking about?

“Hiashi, I believe the information was leaked to antagonize the Hyuga clan. We hadn’t had the chance to validate the report when you were informed about it.”

Hiashi’s eyes finally left me to stare at the Hokage. I expected him to argue, but the clan head chuckled.

“You know nothing,” he spat. “You think I’m talking about the laboratory and the bodies she burned? I’ve known about it since she was found seven years ago. I’ve been forced to endure this thing parading as my daughter for seven years.”

What was he talking about? I hadn’t known about the clones until the mission. I looked at the Hokage, bewildered. Shisui, for the first time, looked at a loss for words. It was clear he had no idea what Hiashi was talking about.

Hiashi took the Hokage’s silence as a victory and turned again to me. “You’ll accept.” Chakra started to build again. “Or you won’t leave this place.”

“Are you crazy?” Ino yelled. “She’s Hinata!”

“Quiet, Yamanaka, unless you want your pitiful clan to be declared an enemy as well.”

Shit, shit. This wasn’t good. I stepped in front of Ino. I didn’t want her clan getting into trouble because of me, and I wouldn’t let Hiashi hurt her.

“Hiashi, this is—” Shisui started, but Hiashi cut him off.

“Stay out of this, boy.” The scorn in his voice was palpable. I couldn’t believe his courage. I wouldn’t dare talk to Shisui like that. “This doesn’t concern you.”

I pressed my back against Ino, pushing her away and trying to tell her, without saying anything, that she should leave. Ino grasped my jacket instead.

Hiashi’s chakra rose.

If that is how he wanted things to go, I was about to teach him a nasty surprise. I could take him; I just couldn’t let him touch me.

My hand hovered over my pouch with the explosives, chakra primed and ready to use.

Explosions were, after all, a girl’s best friend.  

If everything else failed, I could flee. I had my beacons stored away.

Not that I would. No way in hell I would leave Ino here alone. No, maybe I could. Shisui was here, and he wouldn’t let Hiashi hurt Ino, but I didn’t want to abandon her. That was a line I wouldn’t cross.

I scanned the room, trying to plan. I’d need to worry about Hizashi and Mom. I had no idea what they would do if a fight broke out, but I was hoping Shisui would side with me.

Hiashi took a step toward me, and all hell broke loose.

I was low on chakra, but this wasn’t a fight I could win by spamming jutsu. If fighting Neji in close quarters was dangerous, engaging in a fistfight with Hiashi was assisted suicide.

Out popped a clone, who grabbed Ino and dashed backward, pulling the blonde away.

Ino tried to resist, but she wasn’t strong enough to break from my clone’s grip. “Hinata, no!”

Threads exploded around me. I had a plan. If one could touch Hiashi, I could use Ino’s jutsu to immobilize him.

Shisui, somehow, was in three places at once. He hadn’t used a jutsu. He was in front of my clone and Ino, between Hizashi and Hiashi; he was closer to Mom. But to my dismay, he wasn’t stopping Hiashi.

Hiashi saw the threads; of course he did. His Byakugan was the best counter to invisible chakra lines. He ducked and waved between the threads. I threw kunais at him, trying to block his path. They weren’t the explosive ones. That was too dangerous with Ino this close.

It didn’t work. Hiashi was fast. He blocked or deflected my weapons, moving closer. His approach felt like something inevitable.

Which meant I had no choice.

I was more than aware of the others in the dojo, the chakra bundles from outside. Mom and Hizashi, observing, waiting.

I pumped my body full of chakra, summoned clones that swarmed Hiashi while I threw as many ranged weapons as I could.

Like I thought he would, Hiashi spun, white glowing chakra swirling in a sphere shape.

My clones hit the barrier, the force spinning them away from Hiashi. It wasn’t just that; somehow, Hiashi hit every clone strong enough for them to disperse.

Would this ever end?

I pushed away all doubts. He started. I was going to finish it.

I counted the milliseconds. The white chakra dome started to disperse, and I flickered again, moving in the same line as that small area at the back of the neck above the first thoracic vertebra. When Hiashi stopped spinning, I was at his blind spot.

Before he could move again, I threw the kunai, one of my best.

I saw the weapon flying. I calculated the trajectory, completed the path in my mind. I wouldn’t miss.

Shisui was everywhere at the same time. He was in front of me; he was between me and Hiashi, he was deflecting my attack; four of him were around Hiashi; he was blocking Hizashi and Mom; he was defending Ino.

The kunai he deflected hit the ceiling. The explosion shook the whole dojo and created a crater.  Warm sunlight spilled in from the hole.

“Enough,” all versions of him said at the same time. His eyes were red, but thankfully, not Mangekyo red.

I landed, took a step back to catch my balance. Pieces of wood fell around me from the exploded ceiling.

Hiashi’s eyes were wide, glaring at me and at the hole in the ceiling.

No one moved until someone did; a person who, even with all the commotion, hadn’t done or said anything.

She walked around Shisui, not minding the Hokage’s red eyes following her movements. Mom’s steps were heavy. Her eyes were fixed on me. I tore my gaze away from the clan head, watched her approach.

“Hinami?” I heard Hiashi’s question.

Each step she took toward me was like a stab. Her face was a blank mask. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

She stopped in front of me, eyes looking into mine. I swallowed. An eternity passed. She smiled, and her hand caressed my cheeks gently. She fell to her knees, pulling me into a tight embrace.

“I’m so sorry, my precious daughter,” Mom said into my hair.

The pain was unbearable now. My throat hurt, my eyes stung. My hands shook, but I didn’t move; I couldn’t.

Chakra flared behind Mom. The force of it was so great that Mom’s hair and clothes moved. “Hinami!?”

Mom patted my head one last time before getting up. She stood between me and Hiashi.

“I let you do what you wanted, and I hated myself ever since.” Her chakra also flared; I could see the telltale signs of Byakugan on her face. “For seven years, you prohibited me from looking for her. For seven years, I obeyed because you told me it wasn’t her. I believed you.”

Mom glanced my way, her face softened.

“You think I wouldn’t recognize my daughter?”

“What are you doing?” Hiashi barked.

“What I should have done long ago,” Mom answered. Then she spoke to me without taking her eyes away from Hiashi. “Go now, my baby.” Her voice was full of something I couldn’t place. “Can I visit your apartment later?”

It took me a moment to parse her question, but when I did, I nodded. I would like that, I think, even if my head was a mess right now.

She then addressed Shisui. “I apologize for the poor display, Hokage-sama. Please don’t take it to heart. My husband’s heart never healed after our daughter was taken from us.”

Shisui nodded. He walked toward me and led me toward Ino. I placed my hand on her trembling ones. Gently pried away from her hands the exploding kunai and put it in her pouch.

“Think nothing of it,” Shisui said. He put a hand on our shoulders and guided us away.

I guess the whole almost-death battle was just business as usual?

We left, and Hizashi followed.

Outside, a crowd of white-eyed, Byakugan active shinobi stared us down. A gesture from Hizashi didn’t calm them, but no one attacked.

When we left the dojo, there were sounds, voices, chakra explosions, and what else I couldn’t say. I was feeling a bit guilty now, even if I knew none of this was my fault.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Hizashi said, reading my mood. “No matter what happens, it isn’t your fault.”

Then we were out, the gates of the Hyuga compound clacking closed behind us, putting a physical barrier between us and the mess inside.

We walked in silence until the compound disappeared from view.

I looked at Shisui. In a very unhokage-like gesture, he shrugged. “Please visit me tomorrow, Hinata-san. There are more things I need to discuss with you.”

I nodded. He gave Ino and me a shallow bow before disappearing like he had never been there. There was no puff of smoke, afterimage, or chakra buildup. He just disappeared. So unfair.

My gaze moved to Ino, who was still looking a bit frazzled. She walked up to me and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her.

“Do you still want to talk?” She asked, giving me a way out. I nodded.

“If you still want to know,” I said.

Her head still on my shoulder, she nodded. “Mom knows I’ll go out with you tonight.”