Illusion - Everyone thought that I was weak and fragile, ready to shatter at any moment... that was the illusion I kept up but they were wrong...

Illusion

Never judge a book by its cover...

Yet everyone broke that rule, when it came to the example of me.

I suppose it was because of many factors. I was physically weaker. I was soft-voiced. I had a gentle nature.

All those contributed to the fact that everyone thought that I was delicate, a porcelain doll that could shatter at the slightest disturbance.

Everyone, even my teammates underestimated me.

Inuzuka Kiba, he acted the part of the overprotective brother but I didn't need his protection, not that he knew... Whenever we sparred, he would refuse to hit me to hard because he was afraid that I would break. It wasn't just him; Yuuhi Kurenai and Aburame Shino would be the same.

In the missions, all they needed me for was my Byakugan but truly they had no use for it. Shino could scout with his bugs and Kiba and Akamaru had their sense of smell. But they only asked me to check the surroundings to give me something to do.

If faced with battle, one of them would always stay near me, incase I got attacked. They thought I was unable to defend myself.

No one knew who I really was. No one would even have accepted me as different.

To them I would always be Hyuga Hinata. The unwanted heiress of the Hyuga clan. A physically weak kunoichi, whose only specialty was making ointments.

Sure she knew the Juken style but even that was weak. She barely even knew the other techniques of the Hyugas. Even her Branch House cousin knew the techniques of the Main House. Even her sister who is five years her junior surpasses her.

Everyone assumed that since I was physically weak, that it meant that I was emotionally weak as well. Almost no one would insult me, fearing that silent tears would fall.

That wasn't true.

My tears dried up a long time ago. Ever since I was five and Hanabi was born, I knew I held no place in my father's heart any more. He had a new daughter to dedicate his time to, one with allot more potential than me.

My tears hadn't fallen since then.

Yet no one realizes, they simply continue to believe that as long as they treat me gentle that I wouldn't cry. They didn't want to give me a reason to cry.

To tell the truth there were many times I wanted to cry because of them.

I wanted to be treated as an equal. I wanted to be treated like everyone else. I was sick and tired of being treated politely, fragilely as if I was a time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

But that was the illusion they created and continued to weave around me.

That was the illusion I sought to break.

"Why are you crying?"

"My tears dried up a long time ago. They haven't fallen since."

"Your eyes may not have cried but instead your heart continues to weep instead."

My heart crying instead... it is because the illusion refuses to shatter...

The End

2006-01-05 - Illusion published.
2011-02-13 - Slight update to replace line breaks.

-Demeterr