Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hinata knew the seal had worked when she woke to the sun high in the sky. 

The sky was a baby blue and cloud-filled. The sun beat down on her bruised and blood-crusted face, shone in her pale eyes. It was such an odd thing to notice the sky first. She was still bleeding sluggishly from her side, where one of White Zetsu’s branches had caught her, and her left eye was slowly swelling shut.

But the sky was so blue, it was so bright. Hinata hadn’t seen the daytime since she was fifteen and fresh on the frontlines of the war, since before Kaguya and Madara had plunged her world into an eternal night.

It was such an out-of-place thing, a glaring difference, that Hinata began to cry. Tears slipped from her eyes, her byakugan dormant for the first time in years. The sun shone on her face, the sound of birds and wind in the trees of the clearing she’d woken in. It all told her that she was alive, that the earth was active in a way that she never thought it would be again.

It told her that her world was gone. 

So beneath the morning sky, Hinata allowed herself a moment of grief that she could never let on the battlefield. Her body ached, and her friends’ blood still covered her hands. Even without looking, she knew the old, battle-worn kimono she wore was stained as well, with so much that Hinata couldn’t tell you whose was the most prominent.

Another chirp from a bird that had long since died steeled Hinata’s resolve once again. She couldn’t waste her time crying over a world she had already lost. The last Hyuuga had a mission from her Kage to save this one.

Breathing in deeply, she ignored the ominous creak of her ribs with practice brought only with an abundance of experience and pushed herself to shaky legs. Blood dripped over her swollen eye, and she assessed the damage with a blank, weary expression. The only ones she knew should be treated were one broken and a fractured rib, a terribly sprained ankle, and the still bleeding slash on her side.

Hinata had sustained worse and lived. She will not allow these last petty attempts from her enemies, before the seal had activated, to be the ones that kill her. With that said, Hinata tensed her shoulders and limped her way to the nearest trail.

She needed to know precisely when and where she was and how different this world was from her own.

✧✧✧

Five months after she’d awoken, Hinata discovered there was a flaw with being sent back. Besides the spirits of her dead comrades weighing heavily on her shoulders and the knowledge that nothing may be the same in this possible parallel universe she had landed herself in, was the fourth shinobi war had been so devastating, prominent in casualties and the very change of reality. During the everyday life of shinobi in this age, it was difficult to pinpoint the events that could cause the catastrophic fallout leading to the third shinobi war compared to what had started her own.

If nothing else, she knew to search for signs of the elder Uchiha still lurking in the shadows, for signs of that useless plant and his counterpart as she traveled the shinobi nations as discreetly as possible.

It wasn’t hard. If anything, Hinata was concerned with how easy it was to move from country to country. But perhaps she was a harsh judge, considering her sneaking and infiltration had been put to the test by a deranged goddess and one of the most powerful shinobi known to walk the earth.

She rarely came into contact with people. When she did, she was under henge after henge to hide her recognizable Hyuuga features. She was sure to have brief conversations with civilians and kept an excellent friendly disposition to learn of the world she now resided in.

There were no significant differences yet that Hinata had found yet. It was sometime before the third shinobi war. The tensions in each country she entered were high but not high enough that she was worried. The Hyuuga knew that the most accurate way to gauge where she was in the timeline was to infiltrate Konoha, where she could recall the events of her village before and during the third war more accurately than others.

Hinata had been through Fire Country since she arrived, familiar enough that she could blend in better than anywhere else, no matter how much of the earth had become the battlegrounds before now. Enough to estimate when she was, all without entering the center of the blood-stained grounds of Konoha.

She’d gathered enough information. Coasting along on nothing but empty emotions and repressed grief, eyes on the mission and ignoring the alivealivealive world around her, Hinata set out to finally make a change.

“ Byakugan. ”

✧✧✧

It doesn’t take long for her to appear in bingo books, to rise from a mere D-rank bounty to make some quick cash to an A-rank kill-on-sight. Honestly, she finds it insulting that she’s only considered an A-rank.

Her lack of hitai-ate doesn’t incriminate Konoha and fire country, but her distinctive Hyuuga features give her the moniker of the “rogue Hyuuga” anyway. Perhaps it’s the appearance and quick rank jump that intrigues Konoha, or maybe the head of the Hyuuga clan is insulted by the thought of a bastard Hyuuga child with the byakugan unsealed and available to have her eyes harvested for sport.

No matter the reason, seven months after her awakening in the past, two after she’d finally given up on henges and started collecting bounties of her own, Konoha sends their first nin after her. She’d expected that.

She didn’t expect it to be Uzumaki Kushina.

Chapter Text

She’s younger than I thought she would be, is Hinata’s first thought, and it’s true. The Uzumaki woman could be no older than 18 at the most.

And Hinata knew it was stupid, but she thought she was face to face with Karin for a moment. Tears build at the back of her eyes at the trademark shade of red that she’d only ever seen on the girl. Even months later, seeing it again was like a punch to the gut. 

Teeth catch the inside of her cheek to refocus her. She was ridiculous, crying over a shade of hair . Sucking in a deep breath, the now bounty hunter gives a fake smile that falls flat, “What can I do for you, Shinobi-san?” She asks, and Hinata is under no illusion that the Uzumaki doesn’t see her hand clutching the kunai pack on her hip.

Kushina doesn’t indicate that she’d seen the movement; however, “Good morning, Hyuuga-san.” The redhead’s cheerful voice bounces as she nears Hinata’s sitting form, “Do you go by Hyuuga-san?” 

“What?” Hinata blinks, the question so unexpected that her grip on her pack slackens slightly.

Kushina tilts her head to one side, long ponytail slipping over her shoulder, “Do you go by Hyuuga-san? Or do you have another last name you use?” A smile lights up her face, and she bounces ever closer, crouching so she’s eye-to-eye with Hinata’s pale ones, “Or do you have a first name?”

An eyebrow twitches in her bafflement, though her expression stays relatively flat otherwise, “Hyuuga is fine.” Kushina’s head straightens, her smile so familiar it aches deep within Hinata’s bones, “...Of course, I have a first name.”

“Can you tell me?” Her eyes are wide and earnest, and Hinata is so confused . Nobody had asked her name once she revealed she was a Hyuuga; everybody called her Hyuuga. This was the oddest interrogation encounter she’d had with a shinobi from this time. “My name is Uzumaki Kushina, dattebane! I’m a jounin of Konoha!”

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!”

Her heart aches.

“...Hinata.” She mutters, keeping her wary gaze on the kunoichi. It wouldn’t be the first time a nin had played friendly to try and take her bounty. Hinata was not naive enough to believe Konoha would be different because it used to be her village. A shinobi village will always be a shinobi village.

Kushina settles across from her, tucking her feet under her so she sits on her knees, “How old are you, Hinata-san?”

Though her hand is practically attached to her hip pouch, Hinata feels her shoulders begin sloping, “...Sixteen.”

“Wah! You’re younger than me,” The Hyuuga startles at the exclamation, “You’re already a higher rank than me.” Kushina is pouting now, and a smile twitches at the corner of her lips, “Aha!” Hinata jumps again, and Kushina gives a triumphant grin pointing to her face victoriously. “You smiled.” 

Her grip falls from her kunai pouch completely, and Kushina’s face remains completely open, smile stuck firmly to her face even as her hand drops from pointing. The Konoha hitai-ate glints in the morning sun, and Hinata sees a blond boy with a hope for peace even as he dies in her arms. She blinks, and in front of her is Uzumaki Kushina once again.

“A-ah…” Clearing her throat does nothing to remove the lump from it, “What can I do for you, Uzumaki-san.”

“I’m here on behalf of Konoha’s Hokage, who speaks on behalf of the Hyuuga Clan within Konoha,” Kushina’s eyebrows furrow as she speaks, “A very complicated process, but the Hyuuga wish to extend an invitation to bring you within their walls. By extension, Konoha, so Hokage-sama would also like to invite you.”

Hinata can’t help but feel that there is an easier way to explain and extend this invitation .

“Gah, I told them they should have sent someone else for this. What did he say?” Hinata watches in subtle amusement as Kushina squeezes her eyes shut and smacks the bottoms of her palms into the sides of her head a few times, “Hang on, I got this, I know this… Hokage-sama would like to invite you as well…. ” She repeats in a mutter, and her blue-gray eyes snap open with a gasp, “I remember! Since the Hyuuga are within the walls of Konoha and would like for you to meet with them to discuss clan business, Hokage-sama would like to give his own test to know if you are safe for the village.”

Hinata knows that Kushina probably wasn’t supposed to tell her she was considered a threat to the village, but the way she “extended the invitation” was so familiar, that all Hinata could do was give a small, soft smile.

“Ah, I’d be happy to meet with the Hyuuga clan and the Hokage.” Her gaze becomes hard, “As long as I won’t be exempted from leaving.”

“Of course!” The Uzumaki looked as though the idea hadn’t even crossed her mind, “I don’t know about the Hyuuga because that’s clan business, but Hokage-sama said nothing about keeping you in the village if you didn’t want to be there. I mean, you’re not a citizen of Konoha, and you haven’t wronged our village in any way. So, I don’t see how he could keep you there in good conscience anyway.”

That response, the pure faith in her words, solidifies how young Uzumaki Kushina is and how little of Konoha’s horrors she has seen. The unadulterated confidence in her village’s leader, the firm belief that Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn’t keep a child threat in Konoha if she didn’t want to stay. War hadn’t yet fallen on her shoulders like it had hers, and that, no matter how foolish it may have been, was what convinced her.

“Okay.”

✧✧✧

Konoha’s walls almost bring Hinata to her knees. 

The walls were aflame, smoke filled the endless abyss of dark sky above her, and she could smell blood, hear the screams of the people within, and the laughter of White Zetsu as branches caught fire and were sent further into the village.

“Uzumaki Kushina, registration number 007310, returning with Hyuuga Hinata, BB alias ‘Rogue Hyuuga.’”

They fly past the open gate and head straight to Hokage Tower. The village itself is nearly enough to bring Hinata crashing down.

Her home is in ashes. Hanabi screams, and she’s not fast enough. Naruto is bleeding, and Hinata can’t see through her tears as he pulls her into the seal and screams as he pours every last bit of chakra he has. Her friends are dead, her family is dead, everyone is deaddead deaddead -

“Welcome to Konoha, Hyuuga-san.” Sarutobi Hiruzen greets, and Hinata catches her breath before she can gasp as she realizes they’ve landed in the Hokage’s office through the open window, “I hope that Kushina-chan hasn’t made your trip too difficult.” He gives her a smile.

Face to face with a man who died long ago, Hinata feels nothing but absent shock as she takes in how young the man is compared to his final stand years ago. It isn’t anything profound, just fewer wrinkles and less gray in his shorter hair.

She bows quietly, hands clutching each other tightly, “Hokage-sama.”

Hiruzen nods and motions to his right, where a familiar man stands, “This is Hyuuga Hideshi, the head of the Hyuuga Clan.” Her grandfather gives barely a nod, face stern with an expression that Hinata has seen enough to recognize as discontent, “Kushina-chan, thank you for your help. You’re dismissed.”

Kushina looks between the three of them a few times before sighing and giving her Hokage a straight bow, a smile to Hinata, and a look at Hideshi before leaving.

The ANBU in the room barely flicker within Hinata’s chakra senses, but she notices them there anyways. “Uzumaki-san said that I was requested for this meeting.” She absently pulls her fingers with the other hand, “Can I ask why?”

Hiruzen interlocks his fingers over his desk before looking to the Hyuuga next to him, “Yes, Hyuuga-san came to me with your entry in the Bingo Book, requesting to have you brought to the village to join.” Hinata’s eyes flicker between the men, “Both the clan and Konoha.”

Hinata hums.

“It would be irresponsible of the Hyuuga Clan to let a Byakugan wielder roam freely unattached to the clan. Bastard or not, it is undeniable you are a Hyuuga.” Hideshi’s response is curt, and Hinata’s nails dig into the palm of her left hand, “I have a few questions.”

Blood fills her mouth as she bites her cheek to keep herself from growling at the man. Her fingers twitch, but her expression does not change, “Ask your questions, Hyuuga- sama .” The honorific sounds acidic as it falls from her lips, though her tone remains uninterested.

“Have you always had the Byakugan?”

“Yes.”

“Which of your parents was a Hyuuga?”

“My father.”

“Where is he now?”

Her father is screaming, and his face is wrong without the Byakugan. She cries and cries and cries. She pleads for something to save him. She begs Madara to let him go.

Her words were never enough.

“Dead.” Her voice is flat but thick with grief, giving Hideshi an appraising look.

The man gives no sympathy, but she can see Hiruzen frown. The Hokage cannot interfere in clan politics, even bastard ones.

“How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“What is your full name?”

“Hyuuga Hinata.”

“Mother?”

“Dead.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

Hanabi is limp in her arms. Neji’s screams fill her ears. Naruto is shouting reassurances even as he bleeds out across from her. Sakura is crying as she holds Ino’s crumpled and disfigured figure. Kiba bleeds as he hugs Akamaru to his chest. Shino’s kikaichu cease their buzzing.

“No.”

Each question burns memories into Hinata’s brain, and she ignores how blood begins to drip from her palms onto the polished wood floor of the Hokage’s office. She ignores everything but the questions, treating it as a mission report instead of an interrogation.

It makes the questions more manageable. Even if the memories persist.

Chapter Text

"Again, as much as I hate to repeat it. You are obviously a Hyuuga, no matter how… diluted." Hideshi says, and Hinata restricts the urge to raise an unimpressed eyebrow, "So I would like to formally invite you to join the Hyuuga clan."

Hinata stares, grip finally going slack and releasing her hands from their caged position against each other. A clan… Hinata hasn't had a family for so long - painpainpain, please, it never stops- "I will agree to formally join the clan, and the Leaf," She is sure to never remove her gaze from Hideshi's eyes, "Under the condition that I remain unsealed. I shall choose to remain a mercenary if that isn't an option."

Her grandfather's eyes narrow, and she imagines that if he had pupils, they would be slit with rage, "You think you have the right to dictate how I do and do not deal with bastard clan members?" She does not flinch, even as he uncrosses his arms to glower down at her more petite frame, "You believe yourself to be above the main house?"

"I did not come to you seeking sanctuary within your walls." Hinata is sure to restrain herself from snarling at the man, " You requested I make the trip to hear out your request to join the clan. The seal is non-negotiable ." Otou-san please- Neji no- I'm sorry .’forgetsrysorrysorry- "There is nothing you can say that will change my mind. Either I remain unsealed and join the clan, or I remain unsealed, and you have a bastard Hyuuga running around sullying your good name ."

His glare burns into her own, but Hinata remains unbothered. Her grandfather's stare used to terrify her as a child. She used to wonder how her father could look him in the eye and refuse for Hinata to be sealed even as she fell from the position of the heiress. But as she stares her young grandfather in the face, she understands it is much easier to defy somebody you hold no respect for than to fight anybody else.

Hyuuga Hideshi grinds his teeth for a few more moments before, "Fine. You have yourself a deal. You shall remain unsealed."

The vine holding her heart in a vice-like grip begins to loosen, and Hinata nods once before returning her attention to the Hokage," Is there anything I need to do before I can join the village, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen strokes his beard with a hand lightly, almost unconsciously, "Normally, you would be admitted to T&I for further questioning. But as Hyuuga-san has already asked most of the standard questions, I suppose all that's left is to assign you probation and keep an eye on you as you integrate into the village." He leans forwards onto his desk lightly, "Standard probation for Shinobi-level aspiring citizens is 3 months, but as I'm sure I can trust the Hyuuga with watching you when you are in the compound, yours will be 2 months unless proven it needs to be extended."

She takes a deep breath, hyper-aware of the eyes on her person as the Hokage continues.

"We'll hold an assessment for your skills in a week and see how you are getting along with the village itself." Another smile graces his face, "If that is all, I'm sure Hyuuga-san will show you the way to the compound."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Hinata bows once, "Thank you for having me."

Hideshi looks her up and down, sucks on his teeth irritably, and scoffs as he passes by her, "Keep up, Rogue ."

✧✧✧

The clan compound is similar enough to when Hinata was a child that the route to the room where the Elders wait is a set of hallways so familiar that she's sure she could walk backward from the gates with her eyes closed and still get there early enough to hear the Elders prat on about her being a disgrace to the clan.

Now they have another reason to tell that to her face, years ahead of the time she'd been born, all under the guise she's a lowly branch member's bastard. Hideshi is seething in the way only a Hyuuga can tell, with tense shoulders and pale white eyes staring straight ahead even as Hinata, an A-ranked Bingo Book kunoichi, follows behind him. She knows it's meant to be a slight toward her, a show not of trust but to tell her that he does not think of her as a threat.

Nine times out of ten, a Main House Hyuuga's pride is what gets them killed. Hinata knows this just as well as the blood that stains her hands when she closes her eyes.

"I've brought the rogue with news of the agreement." The small circular room the Elders sit in seemed much more prominent when she was a child. There are more Elder seats filled as well, she idly notes as Hideshi speaks, "The rogue, who has stated her name to be Hyuuga Hinata, has agreed to join the clan under the condition that she remains… unsealed." The last word escapes his throat as though it pains him, and the Elders bristle indignantly.

"You believe yourself important enough to ignore the traditions of a clan older than you?" One of the oldest women spits, and Hinata passively passes her eyes over her; this woman is dead by the time Hinata is born, "Foolish child, do not put your arrogance above the Hyuuga name."

The man on her right, face wrinkled and covered with scars, scoffs, "As expected of a bastard child living outside the clan." A moment of silence as the other old men and women in the room stew in their contempt for the girl before them before he speaks again, "Well? Speak, girl."

The tone does not phase Hinata, who had dealt with much more imposing figures than a couple old coots who believe themselves above the others just because they've survived within the safety of the clan compound for fifty-plus odd years. "As I'd said to Hyuuga- sama ," Again, the honorific escapes her lips surrounded by acid, "I did not come to the clan seeking sanctuary. I did not seek you out to escape the world of a mercenary. You asked the Hokage to seek me out, to formally extend an invitation I never asked for. If the disgusting slave seal you wish to place on those you deem lesser than you is non-negotiable in my joining the clan, I will return to my life outside your walls. I will retain the name of Hyuuga for myself only."

An Elder slams his hand on the table before him as the others explode into a furious conversation, "ENOUGH!" He shouts, and the room quiets in an instant. Hinata can see each pair of eyes focused on her with an eerie livid intensity, " Retain the name of Hyuuga for yourself ." He repeats incredulously, "That name belongs to this clan. You have no right to it if you do not belong to the clan yourself."

"I am nothing but a tool for the main house. I belong to them, with no thoughts for my well-being." Even as their clan dies, Neji has a rueful smile, "But I never belonged to you, Hinata-sama. We were never a means to an end for you." An angry tear slips down his face, and a bitter laugh scrapes itself out of his throat as the compound around them burns, "I wish we had enough time to see how it would end."

"I belong to no one." Hinata spits, and it is the first time a flicker of emotion has allowed itself to peek through her blank demeanor, "I am a Hyuuga, even if I am not a clan member. I was born a Hyuuga, and I will die a Hyuuga, no matter your thoughts on my birth, my living, or my death. No love is lost for a dictatorship that uses members they are meant to protect as cattle for slaughter. I feel nothing for a clan who will brand their children as soon as the youngest main house member is at an acceptable age."

You will never understand, Hinata. You are better than them all, Hinata. If you do not shape yourself to perfection, we will seal you. If you do not become the perfect heiress, we will seal you. We own the branch house, you foolish girl. You will not die for a possession .

"I refuse to be sealed." She finally reiterates, "If that means I refuse the clan, so be it. "

The man at the center of the circle of Elders, whom Hinata recognized as the great-grandfather she had never gotten to meet, speaks for the first time, "So be it." She hears a hint of warmth in the man's voice, "Hyuuga Hinata shall not be sealed. As erected by Head Elder Hyuuga Ryuji and Clan Head Hyuuga Hideshi, effective immediately."

A smile twitches at the corner of her mouth when the other Elders and Hideshi only glower with a muttered offense.

Chapter Text

Hinata was never fond of how the Hyuuga lived, even as a child. 

She remembers the first time she had seen the seal used on a clan member; she couldn’t have been older than eight or nine at the time, and the boy her grandfather had used it on was even younger.

 His cries had haunted her sleep for weeks afterward.

It was also sad to see how frivolously it was used in the past. Hinata had yet to see the main house activate the seal for something as petty as a child knocking into an elder like they often had in her time. But she does not let her guard down.

By the fourth day staying within the Hyuuga compound, Hinata has wholly exhausted her patience for the snide comments she receives when she passes by. Each time she meets eyes like hers, Hinata sees a different face choking on their own blood in a burning village.

When the day marking her first week within the village finally arrives, Hinata is too happy to escape the compound and return to the Hokage’s office, even if she’s escorted by Hideshi.

“Hello again, Hyuuga-san.” Hiruzen’s greeting is marginally warmer than when she’d first arrived within the village behind Kushina a week ago, “How have you been finding Konoha?”

Hinata smiles genially, aware of Hideshi’s eyes on her back, “I’m sure I’d be finding it wonderful, Hokage-sama, if my gracious hosts would allow me to explore it.” The Hokage raises an eyebrow at the Hyuuga head behind her in a silent question. 

“Oh?”

“She is unsealed.” The man gives as an answer, “The thought of a Byakugan wielder wandering without it is… unsettling to the elders.”

“If you don’t mind me saying,” Hiruzen starts, maintaining steady eye contact with the man behind her, a glint in his eyes that is somewhat familiar to Hinata, “You are unsealed yourself, Hideshi-san.” Hinata can recognize a Kage speaking to a citizen of their village well enough to know that the Hokage is not asking for an explanation.

She can’t see him, but Hinata likes to imagine she knows the expression on Hideshi’s face anyway, “That’s different, Hokage-sama. She is a young and inexperienced bastard branch member.”

“I’ve lived sixteen years unsealed and maintained my Byakugan.” Her voice is filled with steel, even if her expression is pleasant, and she doesn’t turn to acknowledge the Clan Head behind her at all, “I’m an A-classed nin, Hyuuga- sama . I have a higher rank than you at more than half your age.”

That gains her a twitch of the lips from the Kage across from her, “Allow her to be exposed to the village, Hideshi-san. She cannot be tested before then.” He turns his eyes to her, “Hyuuga-san, we’ll meet again next week for the pre-assessment.”

A bow from Hinata and an agreement through gritted teeth from Hideshi ends the meeting.

✧✧✧

Logically, Hinata should have expected something like this from what she’d heard from Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-sama when they’d had too many drinks under the stars. Just on the edge of hopelessness and reckless enough to risk dying for a few glasses of good sake. But instead, when Uzumaki Kushina appears at the gates of the Hyuuga compound to give a tour of Konoha after finding out that she had basically been under house arrest, Hinata stared for a good moment before finally leaving with her.

“Hello again, Hinata-s a n.” Is the greeting she gets when she emerges, Kushina dragging out her vowels just so, “I heard you hadn’t had the chance to explore the village yet, so I’ve come to your rescue ‘ttebane!”

A light hold on her upper arm is already pulling her deeper into the village, “A-Ah, yes.” 

Kushina showed no sign that she’d heard the underlying surprise in Hinata’s voice, “The first place I’ll be showing you is the best place in Konoha, Ichiraku’s ramen stand!” Kushina’s feet skid in the dirt when she suddenly stops, pulling the younger to a standstill, “Do you like ramen? Have you ever had ramen ?” A genuinely horrified gasp escapes the woman beside her before Hinata can open her mouth to respond. The redhead grabs her shoulders and shakes her back and forth, “Oh my god, Hinata-chan, why didn’t you say anything? I have to fix this, you poor soul, never having-” 

There’s not enough time to register the sudden change in the suffix, there are tears in Kushina’s blue-gray eyes, and Hinata’s getting dizzy from all of the shaking when it abruptly stops. Blinking rapidly to remove the stars from her vision, the girl finally processes the image in front of her with mild amusement.

Kushina is still saying something about how Hinata has been deprived, legs dangling in the air with her body utterly slack as a blonde man behind her holds the girl in the air by her armpits, his arms fully straightened as he gently shakes her from side-to-side to jostle her into listening to him. “Kushina-chan, why are you harassing innocent civilians on the street again?” Sighs Konoha’s Yellow Flash and the future fourth Hokage, his tone suggesting this isn’t the first time he’s come across this scene, “I thought we talked about this.”

“We did?” Kushina blinks in confusion as her boyfriend sets her down, spinning to face the taller blonde just in time to catch his exasperated look, “ I mean, we did. Of course, we did. I knew that. ‘Ttebane.” She gives a resolute nod and smiles brightly at Minato, whose gaze softens immensely, “Pretty Boy, meet Hyuuga Hinata-chan. Hinata-chan, this is my boyfriend, Pretty Boy.”

Minato sighs good-naturedly, resting his forehead against Kushina’s for a second before giving her a sheepish smile, “Namikaze Minato. I’m happy to make your acquaintance, Hyuuga-san.”

“You as well, Namikaze-san.”

His nose wrinkles just slightly, “Please, call me Minato. Everyone does.”

“Minato-san, then.”

A clap brings their attention back to where Kushina stands, looking between them with a smile on her face, “Now that we’re all acquainted, we have a mission to introduce Hinata-chan to the best thing the world has to offer. Ichiraku Ramen.”

Hinata only catches the end of Minato’s expression, but she can sense the pure fond exasperation he gives off in waves, “Of course you do. I would love to help, but I ,” He points to himself and pats Kushina’s head with his other hand, “Have a group of genin to teach. I’ll see you later, Kushina-chan, Hyuuga-san.”

He disappears, and Hinata blinks when Kushina is suddenly pulling her along again, “Alright, to Ichiraku’s we go!”

✧✧✧

Eating ramen with Kushina makes Hinata realize that she is pretty socially stunted. She knows that she was timid during her younger years, a shyness that she’d been forced to grow out of on the battlefield, and in a society not yet war-torn, Hinata learns that she is pretty hopeless in social situations. Much of the conversation is one-sided and run by the older girl beside her, many of Hinata’s replies being limited to hums and shakes of the head. 

The Hyuuga had forgotten how little she knew how to navigate a conversation.

“Did you make any friends living on your own out there, Hinata-chan?” Kushina asks twelve and some bowls of ramen later, waving to a much younger Teuchi as she leaves payment at the counter, “Is there anybody you have waiting to hear from you?”

Another quiet hum slips from her lips while they make their way through the streets of Konoha at a leisurely pace, “No.” A few kids laugh joyously as they rush between the two, squeals following in their wake, and for a moment, Hinata sees a boy with red triangles on his cheeks as a rowdy blonde shouts after him instead, “...None.”

Hinata doesn’t see the slight frown on the older girl’s face as they walk or the sad glint in her eyes, but she sees the smile Kushina gives her when she nudges to get her attention, “Well, you do now. Us kunoichi gotta stick together, y’know?”

“There are only four kunoichis anywhere near our age that graduated the academy,” Ino complains, putting her arms back on the rim of the onsen behind her, “So we’ve gotta stick together, y’know? The boys can fight for the best ninja or whatever. We’ll be there to take the title together.”

Hinata smiled, even if the idea of her being named the strongest ninja was inconceivable.

A tiny, barely-there smile slips onto her face, the first genuine one that Kushina had seen the Hyuuga give. Though it was small, barely an upper tick of her lips, it was filled with soft, sad grief.

It made Kushina want to cry and smile back, all at the same time.