Truth Well Hidden

Neji's Pain

A small child, only two years old, sat on the floor as he played with toy blocks as his father sat to the side, watching him indulgently.

This child was Hyūga Neji, the son of Hyūga Hizashi and nephew of the clan head Hyūga Hiashi.

His mother had passed during childbirth, leaving her husband to raise their child on his own.

Neji, at this point, was innocent. He only knew a few words and understood little about his clan. He understood even less about the inner workings of his clan; about the branch family system, the seal of the caged bird, the heir of the family or even his own place in the Hyūga clan. He did know that his father and uncle's powerful eyes could see things that his normal ones could not, but that was about it.

"Neji," Hizashi finally called after some time.

"Tou-san!" the little brunet squeaked in response, surprise causing him to knock over the tower he had built with his blocks.

Instead of being upset over his fallen masterpiece, the small child stood up on his stubby legs and waddled to the other end of the room before kneeling at his father's feet.

Hizashi nodded and stood, gesturing for his son to do the same. The man then held a hand out for Neji to take, which he did eagerly. He could not help but let out a small chuckle at how gleeful the child seemed to be to have been called from his toys. It would have been strange for him since other children did not share the same sentiments, but his son had always preferred playing with his father over any toy. He was quite proud of it, he would admit, and would even brag to his friends about it at times.

Needless to say, they were all quite jealous. One such example was Inoichi, who had looked so very betrayed by the discovery. He had assumed that all children preferred their playthings to their parents, but he had been informed otherwise on an occasion when he was complaining to Hizashi about Ino being so engrossed in playing that she did not even notice him trying to speak to her. It was quite upsetting for the young father.

"We are visiting your uncle Hiashi and his family in the main house, Neji," Hizashi informed the child.

Neji cheered internally in delight, a grin forming on his face.

He loved Hiashi-oji-san and Hisana-oba-san. They were always so nice to him, treating him almost as though he was their own child. Hiashi may have seemed cold on the surface, but he was really just a big fluffy marshmallow once you melted the frosty exterior. It was not difficult for baby Neji to do. All he did was coo and gurgle nonsense while looking at his uncle.

Hiashi did not stand a chance against his brother's adorable son.

Then there was Hina-chan, his amazing little cousin who was way better than any other baby.

It may just have been Neji's biased opinion, but Hinata always seemed to understand what people were saying. Even as a tiny one-month-old baby, she had understood words. When she needed anything, she would cry. As soon as the adult understood what she wanted, however, she would stop. Other babies never seemed to do that. The parents had to check the diapers, see whether their child may just have wanted attention and then see whether the baby was hungry. For Hinata, you just needed to slowly list the items one by one. As soon as the person reached the particular one that she needed, she would immediately stop crying to simply stare at you reproachfully.

His father simply found it cute, but Neji thought that his little cousin was just very smart.

Hina-chan was the bestest baby ever. Neji's opinion was probably slightly biased, but he was positive that it was true. Hinata was very special. She was clever and perceptive even though she was still very little. Honestly speaking, Neji admired her.