Seeing the Moon [EDITED ✔️]

I. Her Passion ✔️

The moon shown bright that night as dew sparkled on the grass like tiny fallen stars. There was a peaceful silence that overtook the surrounding area, casting away any dark energy within the vicinity. Hinata silently exhaled as a gentle breeze blew past. It made her short bangs sway in the wind. The young Hyuuga heiress adorned a thin, pale blue nightgown that stopped inches above her knees. She sat atop the roof directly above her room and stared up at the starry night sky.

A near nonexistent frown appeared on her face as she thought about her day today. She sat next to Kiba during class and ate lunch alone beneath a tree in the courtyard. The entire day Sakura and Ino fought over Sasuke as well as made plans to go shopping later; Kiba talked animatedly to Akamaru and sometimes Hinata; Shino stared off into space; Choji and Shikamaru shared a bag of chips; Naruto ranted a mile a minute to Sasuke while the latter would add his input every so often between bites of tomato. When she got home, her father was waiting patiently to begin their training while Hanabi bounced silently beside him.

"Tou-san," whispered Hinata softly.

Their training session had gone the same as it had for years now. Ending with Hinata laying flat on her back an hour in on the verge of coughing up one of her kidneys. But this time felt different from the rest. There was an intensity in Hiashi's eyes that had never been there before. He moved like the wind and attacked with the precision of a cobra. The entire time Hinata could sense her father's mind was elsewhere but did not speak up for fear of further aggravating him. Afterwards, Hiashi would usually carry Hinata's pitiful body back to her room so that one of the branch members could tend to her but this time he didn't. Instead, the clan leader stalked through the gates of the clan entrance without a backwards glance.

Dinner that night was spent in somber silence, the conversation being between silverware and plates. Hanabi had spoken a couple times but Hinata's mind was too preoccupied with their father to listen. The look of hurt on the younger Hyuuga princess's face went unnoticed while the elder daughter picked at her food.

Tou-san, what is the matter? pondered the Hyuuga heiress.

Hiashi had been on edge for a while but it was only showing now. As quiet as the girl was, she learned to be very observant. Instead of working on her confidence and building her conversational skills, Hinata cultivated her already sharp perception. She could feel that something was wrong and yet there was little being done to rectify the problem. There was no use questioning her father when she knew she would not be presented an answer. It was the natural way of the Hyuuga to be secretive and very selective on who received certain information. Even Hinata and Hanabi were left in the dark of most things despite them being main house members. If they were meant to know something then they would hear it directly from their father.

But still, this fact the Hyuuga princess had grown up knowing did not sit well with her. Not this time.

"Hinata-hime," someone addressed.

Hinata jumped, clutching her chest as she stared wide eyed down at the branch member looking up at her from a hallway window. She blushed automatically and closed in on herself. No more was there a serene look on her face. The girl's shoulders were tense and her fists were balled tightly. "Kemchi-kun," spoke Hinata in a slight panic. "I-I didn't frighten you, did-did I?"

The young branch member chuckled with a slight smile. "I think I'm the one who frightened you, Hinata-hime." The blush on her face turned from rosy pink to deep red. "Apologies, hime. I was just curious seeing a figure above your room while I was passing. Is there something the matter?"

Hinata hurriedly shook her head. "No. No. Everything is fine, Kemchi-kun."

Kemchi was a year older than Hinata like Neji. He had long, light brown hair that fell at his waist and fair skin. He usually had his hair in low ponytails over his shoulders with his curse mark proudly displayed across his forehead. His soft lavender eyes matched the paleness of his yukata. Hinata was quite fond of Kemchi. He always made time to speak to her whenever he wasn't busy doing lowly tasks and encouraged her to keep training whenever she was discouraged by her father's critical yet factual reprimands.