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It was late in the afternoon when Hizashi returned to his home. He tried to be quick with his steps, not wanting to waste a single moment.is child was waiting for him, and he couldn't make her upset.
After all, they were going to celebrate her birthday that night. He didn't want to disappoint her as she had been looking forward to that day for some weeks.
The ninja had all the groceries he needed in both hands, maneuvering them with skill. They wouldn’t be having dinner with the rest of the Clan tonight; Hizashi would cook herring soba, his kid's favorite food. She didn't know about that surprise at all.
When he got to the compound, he could see from afar that She was searching for him through the window. When She spotted him a smile creeped onto her face and she ducked down, hiding inside of their home as if nothing had happened.
As he reached the front door, it slid open to reveal his little girl standing there staring up at him. She didn't bother to wait for him to set aside the groceries before jumping in to give him a hug. Her arms were too short to wrap around his body, but she still wanted to try, giggling softly in the attempt.
"Dad, you're home! Hello!" she said, helping Hizashi put the groceries on the table after their embrace. Her smile was huge. "Welcome home! I missed you."
"Hello there, sweetheart. I missed you too," he exclaimed, caressing his daughter's hair with all of the softness of the world. "I came here as quickly as I could. Your birthday is the most important thing of this day."
His child brightened up, excitement leaking from her entire body.
"Yes! I'm, um..." her smile dropped into a pout as she looked down at her hand and began, counting with her fingers in silence, until she opened her whole hand. "I'm five now! I'll be an adult in no time."
"There's a long way until that happens, little one. You have to be eighteen for that," Hizashi commented, taking the needed ingredients from the bags, and saving the rest in the cupboards. "Here, this goes in the fridge. I'll prepare something delicious for you, so, could you put the cheese there?"
"Of course! I'm strong, I can do it."
The girl did a gesture with her arms, as if she were showing muscles, and her dad couldn't help it but chuckle at that. His daughter smiled and saved everything, waiting patiently for the food to be finished.
When she realized her plate would be filled with her favorite food, she made a funny noise that couldn't be described, out of pure joy. Her dad was a good chef, and they almost never had herring soba when they ate with the rest of the Clan. Cooking was part of the celebration, and maybe the kid would join in future years.
"Is it reeeady?"
Hizashi inhaled. Of course she would ask that when the dish was her preferred one. His daughter was smart, but she still didn't know how to control her impulses very well yet.
"No, my child. I just turned on the kitchen. Please be patient," he exclaimed, caressing the girl's hair as he talked. With a smile, he continued. "Now, it's going to take awhile. There's something I had to get, but I forgot where I put it... It's a carton box, you see. Maybe you can find it."
Her face brightened up, and she immediately forgot about the food. The child was already able to use the Byakugan, although it could only be done for about ten seconds before a headache appeared.
It was enough. She ran towards her room, and Hizashi could hear the squeak of joy she let out.
"Dad! Dad, I love it!" his daughter exclaimed, running towards him without wasting any second. "It's so cute!"
In her hands, there was a plushie with the shape of a white dove. It was pretty big, and fluffy. The girl hugged it as if her life depended on it.
"I'm happy you like it, my sweet girl. Keep it safe, will you?"
His daughter nodded enthusiastically, and didn't let go of her new plushie while they had dinner.
~
After eating the food, the child was strangely silent. It was weird; usually, she’d clap at her father for his cooking skills, and give him a big hug. He would be lying if he said he didn’t miss that.
"Is something wrong, my dear?" Hizashi asked, observing her with nothing but patience in his eyes. She made a little pout, closing her hands as fists, not saying anything for a while.
And then, when they were cleaning the plates, she talked once again. His daughter seemed to have taken a while in picking her words.
"Dad, can... Can I tell you a secret?" the girl mumbled, looking at her feet. That was a strange gesture coming from her.
"Of course, my sweet girl. You can tell me anything you want,"her dad replied, gently caressing his daughter's hair.
She inhaled deeply, but no words came out of her mouth. Instead, the child started to play with her fingers, doing a little pout while her gaze was focused on her dove plushie.
"Take all the time you need, sweetheart," the man said, with a gentle smile decorating his face. "I won't get mad."
"Well, it's my birthday, and... Can you do me a favor? Could you, um..." The girl interrupted herself. Her voice changed to the softest of the whispers. "Could you call me Neji? I... I don't like being a girl."
That surprised Hizashi, although he tried to hide it, by keeping a neutral expression. Instead, he placed his hand on top of his daughter's, keeping his voice calm. Anyone could be eavesdropping, so it wouldn't hurt to be more careful with his tone.
"Oh, is it a joke?" he mumbled, tilting his head to the side. "It's not a funny joke, my child. You shouldn’t joke about those things."
His daughter seemed angry now, she even raised her voice. She was acting a bit weirdly, but the whole situation was strange in general.
"No, it's not a joke! I... I'm a boy, dad. Or something like that…" his child said, finally looking him in the eye. Hi– no. Neji only had certainty in his gaze, and a tiny smile. "You're a boy, so I thought I should tell you first. You always understand me!"
Hizashi froze. His daugh– His son became worried, holding his hand in an attempt to comfort him without words. It was nothing wrong. But the only thing that the adult could think was something from the past, back when he still was considered a part of the Main Branch, with no cursed seal on his forehead. Before his own brother revealed a huge secret of his own.
He had committed the mistake of trusting on the wrong person, back then. In whispers, he had admitted a crush on a certain blond boy of his class, and Hiashi told that to their father.
The pain of the mark of his forehead was still lingering in his skin, decades later.
"Dad? Did I make you sad? I'm sorry... Forget what I said."
Hizashi looked his son in the eye. Carefully, he hugged him, as if the gentlest breeze would blow him away.. Neji hugged back in silence.
"No, my sweet boy. You didn't say anything wrong, I... I'm so happy you trust in me enough to tell me that," the man said, with softness in his voice. He could feel tears forming at the edges of his eyes. "I'll call you Neji from now on, and... We'll find a way to make everyone else do the same, if you want."
"Yeah, I'd like that! Thank you so much, dad! You're the best," his son exclaimed, tightening the embrace. "I love you!"
"I love you too, sweetheart."
Changing Neji's legal papers would be hard, extremely so. But if it made his child happy, Hizashi would do anything in his power to help.
After all, his brother still owed him a favor or two. Writing over some documents would be no trouble for the Clan Head, the problem was what they would tell everyone without directly outing Neji. They just needed a story to cover their tracks, which was going to be quite hard…
Nothing that Hizashi couldn't do, though. He would try even harder just for his son.