I don't own any characters you happen to recognize...Masashi Kishimoto does I think.

"Talking" actions flashbacks poem line

Cracked Glass

When Hinata is a good girl, she is very, very good.

Neji walked into the cell, sans pointy objects, dangerous weapons, and sticks. Hinata, once downcast, was all smiles and with an obvious stutter.

"Neji-sama, you k-kept your p-promise."

A smile graced the younger Hyuga's features, a rare treat.

"Hinata-sama, I always try to keep promises if I can. You wanted a story this week, correct?"

She'll wear pretty dresses or play hostess at tea. Give you a tour or family history.

"You sit on the bed, will you? I need to remember which one I meant to tell you this morning. I have so many after all."

The smile widened and Hinata bit down on her mittens to prevent it from spreading, although her eyes had suddenly lit up in anticipation.

Hinata loves to dance and sing, lets her voice ring through the bars of a cage. She seems so young and yet so old. That's why the key remains locked away.

Hinata's fevered whisper echos around the cell.

"Our childhood, Neji-ni san, please? With onee-san and father?"

Neji nods once, and Hinata bounces in her place on the bed.

"You should visit Hanabi-sama. Hinata asks for you."

"Never. I made a mistake of thinking of her as my equal once, but I won't again."

"Like all great stories, this begins with once upon a time. A little girl named Hinata wanted to play outside, but her father wouldn't let her."

He leaves out the academy, the ninjutsu, the gentle fist style she learned so long ago. Naruto is left out of the story with gaps between events and lies becoming larger.

"Hinata argued with her father and eventually went outside anyway, taking little sister Hanabi with her in the bright sunshine."

"Run Hanabi! Your life depends on it! She's already taken out members of the main branch!"

Hiashi's eyes are glossed over and dull, a grim reminder what his father looked like after the exchange.

" The two played together in the bright sunshine all day long, heedless of their father's orders. When they were tired, Little Hanabi and Big Hinata basked in the glow of the sunset"

The drizzle and clouds blocked out the sun, and Hinabi reflected the mood. Neji's eyes glanced towards a dying fire in the distance, the sight of Naruto's charred body burned into his memory. Hinabi isn't alright, having witnessed her family destroyed by a possessed Hinata. Hinata herself was speaking in riddles, talking about various events as though she was twelve years old again. No stutter at all, and Naruto in every other sentence.

"Hanabi went to bed, and Hinata went to bed, and in the morning, father acted as though no argument ever took place. The end."

Milky grey eyes gave him nightmares every night, the destruction of the compound nearly traumatic enough to have Neji quit the elite forces.

When Hinata is bad, she is very, very bad, and that's why no one can find her.

"Will father visit s-soon, you t-think?"

Neji hesitates and then replies with, "No, I don't think so. He's very busy running the compound, remember Hinata-sama?"

The twinkle fades from Hinata's eyes as she realises he won't come this week either.

"That's alright ni-san. He has a l-lot of responsibilities."

"I'll see you next week Hinata-sama?"

Hinata jumps up from her place to escort him out of her small cell, asking if he'll bring Naruto-kun with him. Neji doesn't respond, but she's sure he'll come through for her.

And she doesn't want to come back.

The guard let him out of the metal cage, something he'd never thought he'd see Hinata in. Their fates were reversed, with him flying free and Hinata in a cage. As he passed the ruins of the compound estate, he headed towards Naruto's grave, about to tell the deceased a story.

-/-fin-/-