Chapter Text
He felt himself being carried away, while a strange breeze crossed through his entire body all at once. All his eyes could see were mere blurs, no solid shapes. His hair was heavily stuck to his head, its weight even becoming a hindrance after a while. But he couldn't move it away; his hands refused to listen, his fingers didn't even twitch no matter how much effort he put into that.
All his senses caught on was coldness, the pair of strong arms holding him being forgotten by his subconscious; it was as if his skin was covered by cotton, anything that could touch him blocked by something he couldn't comprehend at all. A voice was calling his name, with raw pain in every letter pronounced- but he was too tired to even turn around and look up, his eyes already blind and nothing but darkness surrounding his soul.
What happened was not a mystery; He ended up fulfilling his fate as a Side Branch member, dying for one of the heiresses... but well. He couldn't change it now, could he?
Now, Neji just waited for the light that some say appeared in death. His chest lowered one last time before he allowed death to take him in a long,long sleep, the final rest that would finally set him free from all the pain that he had felt all his life. Would his father be there waiting for him, or there truly was nothing else after death? Not much time would pass before he found out.
The light that Neji had been waiting for invaded his gaze as if it were gentle morning rays, as if he was resting peacefully, tucked on a bed. There was coldness surrounding him, but not an uncomfortable coldness; more like a Winter breeze entering through an open window, and he could have sworn he saw curtains moving alongside the wind.
"Good morning," the brunet heard someone say, a voice that was familiar for his ears but he couldn't pinpoint quickly; it wasn't a tune Neji could ever forget, his soul knew it well. Yet it was impossible... Right?
Neji opened his eyes, intrigued by what he heard, by whatever it was that he would find in the afterlife once he woke up. At first, he thought that the man in front of him was his uncle, but - his uncle did not have gentle eyes, and he was a stranger with the mere act of smiling just because he could. Hiashi never woke him up; he barely greeted him inside of the Compound when it was time to share breakfast, why would he be right in front of him now? And why was he covering his forehead? It wasn't like he had something to hide. Unless...
Possibilities were low, but a truth had to be said; he was already in the hands of death, in a permanent rest that would never be changed unless someone decided to use a forbidden jutsu on his dead body. If it wasn't Hiashi, only one person in the whole universe could have that voice, that face that the brunet had known since he was born.
"Dad?" the younger Hyuga mumbled with doubt in his voice, looking at the man with caution, ignoring how high-pitched his words sounded and how disgusting it made his soul feel. He saw the man's patient, tired smile- one that only he could do, the one that hid his worries for his small child who barely knew how to read by then. "It's you... It really is you."
"Yes, my dear son. It's me," Hizashi replied, petting the top of Neji's head while laughing softly at his odd words. The older Jounin didn't expect the surprise hug from his son- his arms were too short to wrap him completely, yet the small brunet hugged him as tightly as it was phisically possible for him to do. He could sense desperation coming from him, as if either of them would fade away at any second without any kind of clue.
"Dad, you- you are alive."
Hizashi looked at him, slightly confused by his words. He was too young to know what death was, yet... Neji was a smartkid. If he knew he was a boy since being able to talk( or even before then), he definitely picked up more terms from a book or two. Everything had been alright the previous day, but now something had changed in the boy. The man decided not to question his child, simply returning the embrace in an attempt to comfort him from whatever had happened.
"We're both alive, Neji," he exclaimed, smiling at the child, who had tears on the edge of his eyes. His smile became smaller as he cleaned his son's tears, that kept falling and falling without hm making any sound at all.
As if he had experience in masking away sadness, even though the child hadn't cried since he was a baby. Nothing made sense.
"I... I must be in the afterlife," Neji continued, sobbing. The kid refused to let go from his father, who tried to comfort his crying with gentle caresses on his hair, which always seemed to be the solution to his problems. And there was no exception then.
Hizashi was once again confused by his son's words. He noticed he was talking with different ones than usual, words that he had never used in his short life; another important detail was that his voice sounded full of relief and joy, in a new way. Not like when he found a long lost toy, just- instinct told the man that something odd was happening that morning, and every single thing led him to the same conclusion. Had his child had a terrible nightmare? Even then, the sudden changes would still have no clear explanation.
"I don't know what you're talking about, son. We're both alive." He decided to let Neji talk at his own pace, not forcing him to explain how he was acting or what was going on inside of his head. The Jonin then smiled at him again, after noticing his tears had finally stopped. "Breakfast is getting cold. Come on, Neji, it's time to get up."
"This is so weird..." Neji mumbled, separating himself from his father to look at everything with a mix of confusion and wonder in his lavender gaze. He soon saw a pile of small, neatly folded clothes on the border of his bed, and grabbed them to change himself in the bathroom without saying a word; no matter who was with him, the brunet just had grown used to that small habit.
Whatever had happened once the spikes hit his body was strange , to say the least. The Hyuga still couldn't believe he had been sent to the past, as... Well. One replays their whole life once they die, the rumors said. But he shouldn't be able to remember he actually died, or even be able to have enough consciousness to interact and speak with the past world.
Was this a chance to change things around? Had the spirits, as Tenten used to say, simply decided to be merciful to the Jounin? If that was the case, maybe... Maybe he could save his father. The date of his death had been carved into his memory, he just had to plan something out in the following days. Maybe this was an illusion from the death veil, of his dying brain, but he had some hope of being able to change things around all on his own for once. He wasn't going to give it up away that easily.
What exactly was in need of change was uncertain as of now. The curse mark wasn't in his skin yet- Hinata wasn't three years old, then. But the snow outside told him that her birthday was around the corner and, with that time limit in mind, Neji started to strategize how to save his father as he brushed his long hair.
(And if some nostalgic tears fell from his eyes, Hizashi said nothing.)
~
'How does a child act?' was the only question on the young Hyuga's mind, as he sat with his father to look at the snow fall almost eternally from the gray sky. He didn't know what to say. What to do, apart from sitting silently on the floor, watching the snowdrops dance with the breeze in an unknown and silent melody he didn't know.
Neji crossed his legs, with a frown forming on his face. He had already screwed it with his intense emotions- Hizashi probably suspected something, but was too nice to ask directly. He always waited for him to reach out first, and that was something he appreciated more than anything else. Maybe his dad was just doing it again, waiting for him to speak up, explain everything-without him even realizing, his parent's calm gaze fell on him, and Neji gulped out of instinct.
"What's in your mind, son?" the Jonin asked, smiling softly. He always tried to use masculine words when referring to Neji no matter what, and the boy felt joyful every single time. "It's the first time you see snow. I thought you would be more... Excited."
"Ah, I... I am!" Neji replied while getting up, bitting his lower lip to hide how awful that damned squeaky voice of his made him feel. "It's just, it's cold. I don't wish to fall ill for touching it. That's all, dad, really."
Hizashi stared at his child, noticing how tense his body was without even focusing on him for long. That was the weirdest thing that happened that morning, apart from the strange words- he never saw his son like that. He always felt joyful and calm, not... tense. It was something that would probably fade away once they put the curse mark on him and so, Hizashi never had the heart to not allow him to enjoy his temporal peace; it was too cruel, but he sometimes saw the other Side Branch members not allow their children to be themselves at an earlier age(or, ever).
The Clan as a whole was cruel, sometimes, but there was nothing he could do to change it. All that the Jounin could do was soothe the pain whenever it appeared on his kid's heart.
"Neji, you don't need to lie to me", the man whispered, sighing. "You're my son. I won't get angry at anything you tell me, okay?"
This seemed to get Neji's attention. He looked at his feet, pouting, and sat again by his father's side. His hands played with wild strands of his own hair, with no words coming out of his mouth at all; Until he inhaled deeply and looked at Hizashi again, his gaze seeming serious as it never had been before. All that morning had been weird, and the Jounin was getting worried his child had fallen ill with something strange. Or perhaps, things were a bit more complicated than he expected.
"... I died, dad. In a war," Neji admitted, his voice barely a whiper as to not alert anyone that may be listening without invitation. "This is an afterlife of sorts, I assume. I don't really know what's going on."
"That's..." Hizashi mumbled, not knowing what to say about the new information. He knew his kid wasn't lying based on his body language, but... They were never completely sure a new war wouldn't start at any moment, but- Neji was just four . Had Konoha sent him to die being this young? He would never forgive Hiruzen or any other Hokage if that happened.
"I was a Jounin. My teacher was Maito Gai," the younger Hyuga continued, trying to make his point. Giving more details so his father would trust what he was confessing, so he didn't think it was a project of a vivid imagination or an odd dream. "I know who the Jinchuriki is. And I know I'll be marked with the Cursed Mark by the end of this year, and how much it hurts when activated."