日向導 - A Hyūga's Guide

Chapter Thirty Seven: Remnants

She had to stand up and excuse herself for a moment. Hinata pushed herself away from the table and left him sitting there with Sora as she made her way outside. They've barely begun discussing where he was and what happened. She had made an observation, and the severity of what she was about to hear had shocked her. He was right about her piecing together the answer. How could she not?

The doll that followed him around was hard to come by; the white hair and pale eyes — that resembled the Byakūgan almost freakishly — with equally pale skin and thin pink lips were unmistakable. It was modelled after an Ōtsutsuki; or was it one? She had seen it during her stay at the village, maybe not the exact model, but the other maids there looked somewhat similar to each other.

Hinata looked up at the afternoon sky, tears forming in her eyes at the thought of the Uchiha Clan being in cahoots with the people possibly responsible for the death of her own family, or if not, they captured her cousin and kept it a secret. Toneri's words about not knowing about the Hyūga Massacre made her even more angry. He knew, and he lied.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke approached the house to see her standing on the engawa looking distraught.

He only came by to eat lunch before he returned to his father's side to resume his usual duties. He didn't expect her to be there, or to be holding back tears, so he was on high alert instantly.

"You can't go inside." She stood in his way.

"What? Why? Did something happen?" He held onto her shoulders as he stared at the closed door curiously. "Someone's in there." His eyes narrowed.

Hinata nodded sadly, "if you step in there, you'd be angrier than I am. I don't want you to be." She whispered.

"Who's in there, Hinata?"

"Sasuke...Is your family ready to go to war on my behalf?"

"What?"

She stepped to the side and motioned for him to open the door. Sasuke peered down at her for a second before his hand rested on the panel. He hesitated, now scared to face whatever or whoever was on the other side that had reduced her to tears. The door opened slowly and he made eye contact with the man sitting on the other side of the table with someone else at his side. He couldn't exactly tell why it would upset her until the mechanoid human turned to face him.

The Ōtsutsuki crest was sown into the yukata, and even without it, its looks were a textbook description of an Ōtsutsuki.

"What is going on here?" He stepped into the house.

"That's my cousin." Hinata followed him and reached for his hand so that he would not lash out in any way.

"Your cousin is dead. Your family is dead." His grip on her hand tightened.

"No." She leaned against his shoulder with her eyes closed, "he's here, Sasuke. He's here and he has something to tell us, and it has to do with that puppet at his side."

"There's no way you believe—"

"Wouldn't you if your brother came looking for you? I know Neji's chakra signature, I know it's him, but it's not him. They...They hurt him."

"Who hurt him?"

"Is the answer not obvious?" Neji finally spoke up. "It's nice to meet you again, Sasuke."

"Again?"

"Oh, you might not remember me very well...I used to train with your brother." His glass eyes moved lifelessly as he looked at where he assumed his cousin and her husband stood. "I was just telling Hinata about..."