[An Ocean of Memories][Backstory Log]
Characters: Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata (as children)
Rating/Warnings: PG/Violence
Location: Port Royal, some years ago.
Summary: The day Hinata got a special mark on her back, she and Neji had gone tidepooling and gotten in somewhat over their heads...
It had been the first really nice day of the spring, from what she could remember. Hinata had been sick for most of the winter, locked indoors and confined to her bed. Most of her childhood had been that way. So when she had begged her father to let her go out, to spend the afternoon on the beach watching the ships as they came and went in the port he had been understandably reluctant, not to mention busy with important matters pertaining to the families business. But it was hard to resist those large, lavander eyes of his 7 year old daughter, so he eventually gave in under one condition: that her older cousin go with to watch over her.
The little girl had been ecstatic over this. She loved going down to the shoreline, and was even more excited to have Neji coming with. It was hard for her not to like him, he was the closest in age to her, and also in distance. In all the traveling she did with her father, Neji and her uncle were always nearby. Tugging on his arm and using her little girl charms, she had pestered and pleaded with him the entire way to the beach, skipping ahead at times and then running back to egg him forward.
Neji had balked at first; he'd been engrossed in a book his father had just brought him, a book on the martial arts that had come all the way from China, and hadn't wanted to leave it to play with his younger cousin. Though he liked her; she had been his only playmate save for the servants' children for as long as he could remember. She was timid most of the time when they were out with their parents, hiding in her father's clothes while he stood boldly beside his own father as they did business with whoever the Hyuugas were going to see that day. He was a whole two years older than her, which he felt gave him some kind of authority at least over her well-being. His father had told him often enough that that was what he was responsible for when he was with Hinata; he had to keep her safe.
"Hinata-sama!" he called, running to catch up to her, his stormy-gray eyes very serious and, at present, somewhat fretful over the fact that she insisted on running ahead of him. "Wait for me!" Neji jogged forward, reaching forward to grab her hand. "Uncle Hiashi will be mad at me if I let you get too far ahead!"
"But niisaaaaan..." she whined softly back as he grabbed her, forcing her to slow down and stay with him. "You go too slowly. And father only gave us two hours." In reality she still didn't understand the concept of time. But two hours didn't seem like much to a little girl who'd been kept out of the sun and fresh air for so many months. But Hinata didn't like to upset him. She thought he spent far to much time scowling and looking much to serious. The rest of the way through the busy streets she kept to his side, holding his hand and blushing at the people who stopped them to ask how their parents were or simply comment on how sweet she was. Once the cobblestones turned to sand however, she broke away from him quickly to run down to the waters edge and pull her shoes and stockings off so that she could dip her toes in properly.
He sighed in a way that would probably remind her of her father (he'd always tried to model himself after either his own father or his uncle, especially his uncle; the man seemed so important, and even Neji's father looked up to him) and took off after her, running easily down the sand on light, swift feet, before he pulled her shoes and socks out of the reach of the waves and took off his own. "Hinata-sama," he called, grabbing her hand again. "Don't run off like that." He looked out to sea with what he and the other boys had decided was a wary, seaman's eye. "The tide's dangerous here." Actually, he had no idea if it was or not, but it sounded menacing and important.
"Just stay real close in, okay?" he said, giving in to his own desire to wade in a bit. "Not past your knees, and keep close to me."
She looked back at him, eyes wide and nervous. They had been warned before leaving to be careful. Though winter never really came to Port Royal, the seas became rough and unsafe during those months. It looked alright to her, but she nodded just the same. Not that she could go much further, still wearing her pretty frock and certainly not dressed for bathing. She couldn't go as far as Neji either, he being several inches taller then the pettite girl. After a bit she tugged her hand free again so she could lift her skirts higher, squealing in delight as the waves washed in and splashed against her legs, wandering off just a little from him as she stopped to look for shells and dig sand fleas out along the waters edge.
They stayed there happily for a time till she turned to him, knowing that they would probably be leaving soon and asked him if they could go exploring along the rocks. "I want to see if there are any fish in the tide pools. Please can we go look, niisan? Please?" Hinata gazed up at him with those big, sad eyes of hers, little fingers fidgeting and knoting into the front of his shirt as she stuck out her lower lip into an adoreable pout.
Oh, damn, she was pulling the face on him again. Every time she did it, Neji vowed that it would be the last time he gave into it, but even he wasn't immune to her charm. Besides, there might be interesting things in the tidepools. Fish didn't interest Neji, but sea urchins and anemones and little crabs did, and so he huffed in nine-year-old annoyance and said, "Fine. But put your shoes on, I don't want your feet to get cut on the rocks. They're real sharp." Wading out of the water, he brushed sand off his feet and stuffed them back into his shoes. The salt dried out his skin, but he didn't care as he ran to the first of the big, dark rocks and climbed onto it, looking out over the rocky tidepool area. The tide was low, lucky for them; there were lots of little pools that were teeming with life.
One of Neji's tutors had taken him down here once and showed him some animals, telling him fancy Latin names for them as well as the common names. Maybe he'd be able to impress Hinata with that. Climbing down the side of the rock, he waited for Hinata so he could hold onto her when they walked around.
You wouldn't think that two years would present such a difference in height, but the fact remained that Neji had taken after their fathers, tall and graceful, while Hinata had gotten more of her mothers side, being small and delicate. Added to the fact that she often only had one hand to grip with, the other busy holding her skirts out of the way of her feet, and it made for slow going for her. The older boy, though obviously annoyed with her, still waited patiently as they made their way out to one of the better pools finding it filled with sea cucumbers and starfish. They spent quite a while there, looking for sand dollars and some of the more interesting things, not realizing how long they had stayed. Hiashi had told them two hours, knowing that the tide would be coming in by then. The children had stayed too long though, and before they new it the ocean was coming back, washing up in big waves over the rocks and gushing around their legs.
"Neji-nii..." she whispered to him after a particularly big wave had crashed not far from them, sending water almost up to her knees. "I'm scared..." She was clinging to him, holding tightly to his hand as she tried to keep her dress dry, the cold water causing her teeth to chatter.
Neji bit his lip, looking over the rocks as they became visible again as the wave receded. They were slippery now, the sea lettuce and other algae covering them making the path back to the sand treacherous. Still, he went slow as he could, keeping a tight grip on Hinata's hand, and moving them forward a few steps at a time. "It'll be fine," he said with a tiny smile. "We'll just have to go slowly, that's all."
To be honest, he was scared too; he could brave the cold water and walking around on the rocks, but Hinata was a girl, and girls weren't as strong as boys. And then there was the fact that if Hinata got hurt, he would be in big trouble and probably be hit by his father, if not his uncle as well. Waiting as another wave crashed on the rocks by them and the water swept up past their legs, he held on tightly to the rock and Hinata, and as it receded, he moved forward again. "Just feel out a good foothold with your feet," he said, stepping across a deep pool slowly and getting his balance before leaning over a bit to help his cousin across.
She was looking for a foothold, but her legs didn't seem to be long enough to reach all the way across to where her cousin now stood. Feeling around with her foot, she found something to stand about halfway across. It was only big enough for one foot, and was already submerged beneath the water in the pool. "Neji..." she whimpered, looking around for another way to get to his side. "I don't think I can make it over there..."
Hinata was fighting not to cry, knowing somewhere inside that it wouldn't do her any good. But she was small and cold, and each wave that washed in came higher and higher on her. The water was making her clothes heavy, and the shoreline looked further and further away with each passing minute. Sniffling a little, she started inching her way along the edge of the pool, thinking she saw a shorter route. What she didn't realize was that she was actually heading towards the edge of the jetty they were on and closer to the raging waters.
Neji tugged on her hand. "Hinata, not that way," he hissed. "Come on, just balance where you were standing and then step across, it'll be fine. I've got you." He stretched a little more, grabbing on to a little protrusion of the boulder next to him that was as good as a handhold, and gasped as a wave washed across his legs and kelp brushed it before being pulled back toward the ocean by the retreating of the water. "Right now, Hinata, as soon as the water's finished moving, it'll be okay, I promise." He wasn't sure of that, though; the water was getting higher and higher on them with every wave, but it was too risky to swim with the waves here, given how sharp some of the rocks were.
The last wave was pulling more then just the kelp, catching hold of her skirts and pulling the dark haired child out with it. Hinata squealed a little, grabbing his hand tighter with both of hers to keep from being ripped away. Nodding, she tried to make her way back, but the water wasn't retreating as much anymore. Instead it was covering the rocks in foaming swirls, making it hard for her to see what was solid and where it dropped away beneath her. Thinking that it was finally safe, she moved forward, reaching with her foot for that little step she had found before. But it was then that the large wave came up, hitting her hard from behind and catching her completely off balance. Her legs swept out from under her, she was tossed past her older cousin, her hands scrambling to grab onto him, to the rocks, to anything as it started trying to suck her back out over the edge and into the surf.
Neji tried to grab her, but his hands were slippery from the sea water and the seaweed, and she slipped through his hands. "Hinata!" he screamed, reaching for her--anything, her hair, her clothes, her hands, something to keep the sea from taking her. He lost his footing too, though, and slipped forward with a splash; his ribs connected with the rock she'd been trying to find to jump across to him, and he cried out in pain, then dismay as he felt the water begin to recede. Immediately, he was pulled out towards the sea beside his cousin, and without thinking he put out his hands, trying to grab onto her again.
His hand connected with Hinata's body and he grabbed her skirts, holding onto her tightly and trying to kick and not hit the rocks. "I've got you!" he said, and when the next wave rolled in he swam forward, riding the crest a short distance. "You've gotta swim with me, Hinata!"
She tried. As hard as her tired little body would let her she tried. Her father and uncle had been sure to teach her how to swim starting when she was only three. "You never know when you'll unexpectedly end up in the water." they had said. She had never expected them to be so right about that. Hinata fought hard to keep up with him, kicking as best she could with the layers of fabric binding around her legs and pulling her under. Whenever she tried to let go of him enough to stroke with her arms she'd slip beneath the waves, sucking in salt water. Clinging to Neji, it was all she had the strength left to do.
"I'm sorry... niisan" she cried to him. Her body stung where the rocks had scraped her legs and hands raw and the salt now burned. She was tired and numb from the cold, and her chest hurt more with each gulp of water. The shore was so close, but it didn't seem that Hinata was ever going to make it there.
"Don't give up," he muttered, hauling her along with him. "Just keep swimming, I'm sure Uncle Hiashi will have sent someone out by now to get us. But we've gotta get to shore." He talked and kept talking to keep himself up, too, although every time he opened his mouth more seawater seemed to get in, weighing him down and making him cough and sputter. "C'mon," he whispered, and kicked, even though his little nine-year-old body was drained for strength. All they had to do was get far enough ashore that they could be safe and rest a bit. Grabbing onto a rock that was still above the water, he pulled them up above the water a bit and gasped for breath, spitting out water.
It seemed like he could hear shouts from men on the shore, and tried to call out. Even if they weren't his family, they could still help get them out of here. But all he could manage was a croak; he grit his teeth and kept moving, trying hard to keep Hinata's head above the water. Again he lost his footing though, and they slipped sideways into a rock. He did cry out at that, and the voices seemed to move closer again. "Almost there," he whispered, and forced himself to try and get up.
Hinata had lost what little breath she had left when that wave slammed them back into the rocks, causing her to draw in more seawater as they started to slip under again. She felt the grip around her tighten though, pulling her back up and pressing her against them. There was warmth behind her, and a familair voice in her ear. Somewhere in the spinning of her head she realized it was Neji there. He hadn't let go of her yet. She could hear the other voices now as well, and found she had enough strength left to hold on, as long as he was still there with her. "Don't let go..." she whimpered to him, trying to pull him close and keep her grip. "I'm scared... don't leave me"
"I won't let go," Neji promised, still half-walking, half-swimming them to where the rocks were low enough for them to get over. He could feel the water stinging cuts on his feet and on his shoulder where they'd slammed into the boulder, but ignored it. He was a boy, he had to be strong enough for them both. Even so, the strength he'd rallied was waning, and the waves were becoming bigger and bigger as they washed up to shore. Just a little farther, he told himself. Just a little bit more, and whoever's there will see us. He tried to keep his grip tight on Hinata, even though his arms were shaking with tiredness. How long had it been since they'd started back? It felt like hours, but it was probably more like twenty minutes. He gasped for air, the next wave lifting them up off the rock he'd been standing on completely and putting him back down with no footing. He struggled to tread water and move back to where he knew there was another rock. His legs were getting tangled in Hinata's skirt, but at last he was able to shakily balance on another submerged rock. "Almost there," he rasped. "Almost there."
It was there, not much, but there was something somewhat solid beneath them. It was still too deep for her, but they'd managed to make it to a somewhat shallower area. And there was yelling coming from somewhere, the sound of people rushing into the water for them. Hinata was too sick to tell where though, so she just held on, clinging to her cousin. It wasn't much longer before they were on top of them, pulling them off the rocks and apart, causing her to shriek in terror, screaming for Neji to come back to her. She flailed desperately in their arms, convinced she was going to die, that it was the waves carrying her back out to sea.
As the hysterical girl was placed on the ground she began to cough and sputter, eventually retching loudly, attempting to rid her body of all the seawater she'd inhaled. Exhausted and feverish from her ordeal, she finally collapsed into the sand. She barely responded to the men who were hovering over her, trying to make sure all the water was pumped out of her lungs. She didn't even notice when it was her father grabbing her, calling to her frantically and pressing her to his chest. Her milky eyes were fixed on Neji, watching as he too was pulled from the sea and tossed ashore.
He heard his cousin's screams and even though he'd collapsed on the sand too, the moment he'd been pulled from the water, he turned over and tried to crawl over to her to make sure she was all right. One of the people he knew was his Uncle though, standing near her, and instinct caused him to curl and cower away from the man. He knew he was in trouble; it had been his responsibility to make sure they got back on time and all right, and neither of those things had happened, and now Hinata would likely get sick from being exposed like this and it would be all his fault. Whimpering, he stared wide-eyed up at Hiashi, even as his father wrapped a blanket around him to keep him warm.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, coughing up seawater every few minutes. "I'm sorry I didn't get her back in time, I'm sorry she's hurt, I'm sorry..." He squirmed in his father's arms, pushing his face into the familiar chest, somewhere he felt safe. "M'sorry..."
Hinata couldn't recall what happened after they'd been pulled out of the water. Having blacked out on the beach, she didn't come back around till she was in bed. Laying on her stomach, sweating profusely while her chest burned. There were the voices again, and her father watching from the corner as bandages were changed and salves applied. Their words made no sense to her addled mind, and she was too weak to do anything but lay there and shiver, coughing occasionally. There was a burning sensation on her right side, combined with a loud buzzing that made her head feel as though it was splitting.
She passed out again, waking up dressed and tucked into the blankets. There's a doctor at her side, muttering something about pneumonia and forcing her to drink some god awful medicine that makes her gag and choke. There's hushed words with her father, that they may still lose her yet. Before they can slip out, she calls to them, asking what happened to the other. "Please... can I see niisan? I want to see Neji-nii..." The poor girl can't understand the scowl that crosses her fathers face, nor the way he suddenly storms from the room, slamming the door behind him.
Neji shivered, even though he'd been changed into warm, dry clothes. But he still felt cold, terror at what was going to happen to him gripping him tightly. Hizashi had given him a thorough dressing-down, and had hit him, but there had been an undercurrent that told Neji his father was more afraid that he would lose Neji than he was actually angry that they'd been out longer and that Hinata was sick. And he was still sniffing, wrapped in a blanket.
The door opened. It was his uncle...the head of the family, who was certainly not as charitable as his father. After all, it was his daughter who was sick with pneumonia, and as the blows fell, that was what Neji told himself. It was his fault; he had shirked his duty as a branch house member, he had not protected the main house's daughter, and so he deserved every punishment that befell him for this. When Hiashi finally left, Neji waited a good ten minutes before slowly and painfully climbing to his feet. He would take care of the bruises and cuts himself. After all, he didn't deserve any sympathy.
It was several days later that Hinata was finally lucid enough to understand what happened. Her fever had finally broke, much to the relief of the household, but she was still weak and sick. Breathing still labored, skin still raw and painful to lay on. But no matter how much she asked, the only answer she ever received about her beloved cousin were nervous glances and unconvincing words to 'not worry herself about it.' It wasn't until her uncle Hizashi had come to see her that someone finally listened.
"Please..." her voice barely more then the sound of breath moving past her parched lips. "Please let me see Neji-nii. Please tell me he's ok..." tears slid down her flushed cheeks as she begged him, her request broken by frequent coughing spells, until finally he couldn't stand the pathetic display and gave in.
Wary, Neji followed close behind his father as he walked down the halls of the main house toward his cousin's room. Even though the branch house was well-appointed--nobody carrying the Hyuuga name would ever be seen in threadbare clothing or in a poor living situation unless they were disowned--the main house was far more opulent than Neji was used to, and it made him nervous. Although that could have been due to the fact that his father was ushering him along with great urgency. When they reached Hinata's door, Hizashi looked up and down the hallway before pushing it open and pushing Neji in quickly before entering himself.
Hinata looked so small and pale against the white bed linens, Neji was at first afraid that she was dying and Hizashi was taking him here to say goodbye to her. But then he saw the healthy color that had been washed out by the golden glow of the lamps--the windows were tightly shut to guard against anything in the air. Standing awkwardly at the food of her bed, Neji fidgeted with the carpet with one toe. "Hello, Hinata-sama," he said, keeping his head down respectfully.
Pale eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice, and a small smile found it's way to her lips. "Niisan" she whispered, reaching out with a shaky, bandaged hand for him. "I... was worried."
He smiled a bit, shy. "I worried about you too," he said. "I heard you were ill for a long time. I am glad you are better." He looked up a bit, shifting his weight. Some of the bruises from the beating, and the cuts on his feet from the rocks, hadn't healed just yet, and he was a little uncomfortable standing for so long. Although he couldn't sit down comfortably yet either...
She managed to sneak her fingers out, slipping one or two of them through those closest to her bed side. "Thank you." was all she had left to say to him, grateful he'd kept his promise to her. Worn out from such simple conversation, she closed her eyes and slept again, delicate fingers still holding his, hoping to keep him by her side just a little bit longer.
Rating/Warnings: PG/Violence
Location: Port Royal, some years ago.
Summary: The day Hinata got a special mark on her back, she and Neji had gone tidepooling and gotten in somewhat over their heads...
It had been the first really nice day of the spring, from what she could remember. Hinata had been sick for most of the winter, locked indoors and confined to her bed. Most of her childhood had been that way. So when she had begged her father to let her go out, to spend the afternoon on the beach watching the ships as they came and went in the port he had been understandably reluctant, not to mention busy with important matters pertaining to the families business. But it was hard to resist those large, lavander eyes of his 7 year old daughter, so he eventually gave in under one condition: that her older cousin go with to watch over her.
The little girl had been ecstatic over this. She loved going down to the shoreline, and was even more excited to have Neji coming with. It was hard for her not to like him, he was the closest in age to her, and also in distance. In all the traveling she did with her father, Neji and her uncle were always nearby. Tugging on his arm and using her little girl charms, she had pestered and pleaded with him the entire way to the beach, skipping ahead at times and then running back to egg him forward.
Neji had balked at first; he'd been engrossed in a book his father had just brought him, a book on the martial arts that had come all the way from China, and hadn't wanted to leave it to play with his younger cousin. Though he liked her; she had been his only playmate save for the servants' children for as long as he could remember. She was timid most of the time when they were out with their parents, hiding in her father's clothes while he stood boldly beside his own father as they did business with whoever the Hyuugas were going to see that day. He was a whole two years older than her, which he felt gave him some kind of authority at least over her well-being. His father had told him often enough that that was what he was responsible for when he was with Hinata; he had to keep her safe.
"Hinata-sama!" he called, running to catch up to her, his stormy-gray eyes very serious and, at present, somewhat fretful over the fact that she insisted on running ahead of him. "Wait for me!" Neji jogged forward, reaching forward to grab her hand. "Uncle Hiashi will be mad at me if I let you get too far ahead!"
"But niisaaaaan..." she whined softly back as he grabbed her, forcing her to slow down and stay with him. "You go too slowly. And father only gave us two hours." In reality she still didn't understand the concept of time. But two hours didn't seem like much to a little girl who'd been kept out of the sun and fresh air for so many months. But Hinata didn't like to upset him. She thought he spent far to much time scowling and looking much to serious. The rest of the way through the busy streets she kept to his side, holding his hand and blushing at the people who stopped them to ask how their parents were or simply comment on how sweet she was. Once the cobblestones turned to sand however, she broke away from him quickly to run down to the waters edge and pull her shoes and stockings off so that she could dip her toes in properly.
He sighed in a way that would probably remind her of her father (he'd always tried to model himself after either his own father or his uncle, especially his uncle; the man seemed so important, and even Neji's father looked up to him) and took off after her, running easily down the sand on light, swift feet, before he pulled her shoes and socks out of the reach of the waves and took off his own. "Hinata-sama," he called, grabbing her hand again. "Don't run off like that." He looked out to sea with what he and the other boys had decided was a wary, seaman's eye. "The tide's dangerous here." Actually, he had no idea if it was or not, but it sounded menacing and important.
"Just stay real close in, okay?" he said, giving in to his own desire to wade in a bit. "Not past your knees, and keep close to me."
She looked back at him, eyes wide and nervous. They had been warned before leaving to be careful. Though winter never really came to Port Royal, the seas became rough and unsafe during those months. It looked alright to her, but she nodded just the same. Not that she could go much further, still wearing her pretty frock and certainly not dressed for bathing. She couldn't go as far as Neji either, he being several inches taller then the pettite girl. After a bit she tugged her hand free again so she could lift her skirts higher, squealing in delight as the waves washed in and splashed against her legs, wandering off just a little from him as she stopped to look for shells and dig sand fleas out along the waters edge.
They stayed there happily for a time till she turned to him, knowing that they would probably be leaving soon and asked him if they could go exploring along the rocks. "I want to see if there are any fish in the tide pools. Please can we go look, niisan? Please?" Hinata gazed up at him with those big, sad eyes of hers, little fingers fidgeting and knoting into the front of his shirt as she stuck out her lower lip into an adoreable pout.
Oh, damn, she was pulling the face on him again. Every time she did it, Neji vowed that it would be the last time he gave into it, but even he wasn't immune to her charm. Besides, there might be interesting things in the tidepools. Fish didn't interest Neji, but sea urchins and anemones and little crabs did, and so he huffed in nine-year-old annoyance and said, "Fine. But put your shoes on, I don't want your feet to get cut on the rocks. They're real sharp." Wading out of the water, he brushed sand off his feet and stuffed them back into his shoes. The salt dried out his skin, but he didn't care as he ran to the first of the big, dark rocks and climbed onto it, looking out over the rocky tidepool area. The tide was low, lucky for them; there were lots of little pools that were teeming with life.
One of Neji's tutors had taken him down here once and showed him some animals, telling him fancy Latin names for them as well as the common names. Maybe he'd be able to impress Hinata with that. Climbing down the side of the rock, he waited for Hinata so he could hold onto her when they walked around.
You wouldn't think that two years would present such a difference in height, but the fact remained that Neji had taken after their fathers, tall and graceful, while Hinata had gotten more of her mothers side, being small and delicate. Added to the fact that she often only had one hand to grip with, the other busy holding her skirts out of the way of her feet, and it made for slow going for her. The older boy, though obviously annoyed with her, still waited patiently as they made their way out to one of the better pools finding it filled with sea cucumbers and starfish. They spent quite a while there, looking for sand dollars and some of the more interesting things, not realizing how long they had stayed. Hiashi had told them two hours, knowing that the tide would be coming in by then. The children had stayed too long though, and before they new it the ocean was coming back, washing up in big waves over the rocks and gushing around their legs.
"Neji-nii..." she whispered to him after a particularly big wave had crashed not far from them, sending water almost up to her knees. "I'm scared..." She was clinging to him, holding tightly to his hand as she tried to keep her dress dry, the cold water causing her teeth to chatter.
Neji bit his lip, looking over the rocks as they became visible again as the wave receded. They were slippery now, the sea lettuce and other algae covering them making the path back to the sand treacherous. Still, he went slow as he could, keeping a tight grip on Hinata's hand, and moving them forward a few steps at a time. "It'll be fine," he said with a tiny smile. "We'll just have to go slowly, that's all."
To be honest, he was scared too; he could brave the cold water and walking around on the rocks, but Hinata was a girl, and girls weren't as strong as boys. And then there was the fact that if Hinata got hurt, he would be in big trouble and probably be hit by his father, if not his uncle as well. Waiting as another wave crashed on the rocks by them and the water swept up past their legs, he held on tightly to the rock and Hinata, and as it receded, he moved forward again. "Just feel out a good foothold with your feet," he said, stepping across a deep pool slowly and getting his balance before leaning over a bit to help his cousin across.
She was looking for a foothold, but her legs didn't seem to be long enough to reach all the way across to where her cousin now stood. Feeling around with her foot, she found something to stand about halfway across. It was only big enough for one foot, and was already submerged beneath the water in the pool. "Neji..." she whimpered, looking around for another way to get to his side. "I don't think I can make it over there..."
Hinata was fighting not to cry, knowing somewhere inside that it wouldn't do her any good. But she was small and cold, and each wave that washed in came higher and higher on her. The water was making her clothes heavy, and the shoreline looked further and further away with each passing minute. Sniffling a little, she started inching her way along the edge of the pool, thinking she saw a shorter route. What she didn't realize was that she was actually heading towards the edge of the jetty they were on and closer to the raging waters.
Neji tugged on her hand. "Hinata, not that way," he hissed. "Come on, just balance where you were standing and then step across, it'll be fine. I've got you." He stretched a little more, grabbing on to a little protrusion of the boulder next to him that was as good as a handhold, and gasped as a wave washed across his legs and kelp brushed it before being pulled back toward the ocean by the retreating of the water. "Right now, Hinata, as soon as the water's finished moving, it'll be okay, I promise." He wasn't sure of that, though; the water was getting higher and higher on them with every wave, but it was too risky to swim with the waves here, given how sharp some of the rocks were.
The last wave was pulling more then just the kelp, catching hold of her skirts and pulling the dark haired child out with it. Hinata squealed a little, grabbing his hand tighter with both of hers to keep from being ripped away. Nodding, she tried to make her way back, but the water wasn't retreating as much anymore. Instead it was covering the rocks in foaming swirls, making it hard for her to see what was solid and where it dropped away beneath her. Thinking that it was finally safe, she moved forward, reaching with her foot for that little step she had found before. But it was then that the large wave came up, hitting her hard from behind and catching her completely off balance. Her legs swept out from under her, she was tossed past her older cousin, her hands scrambling to grab onto him, to the rocks, to anything as it started trying to suck her back out over the edge and into the surf.
Neji tried to grab her, but his hands were slippery from the sea water and the seaweed, and she slipped through his hands. "Hinata!" he screamed, reaching for her--anything, her hair, her clothes, her hands, something to keep the sea from taking her. He lost his footing too, though, and slipped forward with a splash; his ribs connected with the rock she'd been trying to find to jump across to him, and he cried out in pain, then dismay as he felt the water begin to recede. Immediately, he was pulled out towards the sea beside his cousin, and without thinking he put out his hands, trying to grab onto her again.
His hand connected with Hinata's body and he grabbed her skirts, holding onto her tightly and trying to kick and not hit the rocks. "I've got you!" he said, and when the next wave rolled in he swam forward, riding the crest a short distance. "You've gotta swim with me, Hinata!"
She tried. As hard as her tired little body would let her she tried. Her father and uncle had been sure to teach her how to swim starting when she was only three. "You never know when you'll unexpectedly end up in the water." they had said. She had never expected them to be so right about that. Hinata fought hard to keep up with him, kicking as best she could with the layers of fabric binding around her legs and pulling her under. Whenever she tried to let go of him enough to stroke with her arms she'd slip beneath the waves, sucking in salt water. Clinging to Neji, it was all she had the strength left to do.
"I'm sorry... niisan" she cried to him. Her body stung where the rocks had scraped her legs and hands raw and the salt now burned. She was tired and numb from the cold, and her chest hurt more with each gulp of water. The shore was so close, but it didn't seem that Hinata was ever going to make it there.
"Don't give up," he muttered, hauling her along with him. "Just keep swimming, I'm sure Uncle Hiashi will have sent someone out by now to get us. But we've gotta get to shore." He talked and kept talking to keep himself up, too, although every time he opened his mouth more seawater seemed to get in, weighing him down and making him cough and sputter. "C'mon," he whispered, and kicked, even though his little nine-year-old body was drained for strength. All they had to do was get far enough ashore that they could be safe and rest a bit. Grabbing onto a rock that was still above the water, he pulled them up above the water a bit and gasped for breath, spitting out water.
It seemed like he could hear shouts from men on the shore, and tried to call out. Even if they weren't his family, they could still help get them out of here. But all he could manage was a croak; he grit his teeth and kept moving, trying hard to keep Hinata's head above the water. Again he lost his footing though, and they slipped sideways into a rock. He did cry out at that, and the voices seemed to move closer again. "Almost there," he whispered, and forced himself to try and get up.
Hinata had lost what little breath she had left when that wave slammed them back into the rocks, causing her to draw in more seawater as they started to slip under again. She felt the grip around her tighten though, pulling her back up and pressing her against them. There was warmth behind her, and a familair voice in her ear. Somewhere in the spinning of her head she realized it was Neji there. He hadn't let go of her yet. She could hear the other voices now as well, and found she had enough strength left to hold on, as long as he was still there with her. "Don't let go..." she whimpered to him, trying to pull him close and keep her grip. "I'm scared... don't leave me"
"I won't let go," Neji promised, still half-walking, half-swimming them to where the rocks were low enough for them to get over. He could feel the water stinging cuts on his feet and on his shoulder where they'd slammed into the boulder, but ignored it. He was a boy, he had to be strong enough for them both. Even so, the strength he'd rallied was waning, and the waves were becoming bigger and bigger as they washed up to shore. Just a little farther, he told himself. Just a little bit more, and whoever's there will see us. He tried to keep his grip tight on Hinata, even though his arms were shaking with tiredness. How long had it been since they'd started back? It felt like hours, but it was probably more like twenty minutes. He gasped for air, the next wave lifting them up off the rock he'd been standing on completely and putting him back down with no footing. He struggled to tread water and move back to where he knew there was another rock. His legs were getting tangled in Hinata's skirt, but at last he was able to shakily balance on another submerged rock. "Almost there," he rasped. "Almost there."
It was there, not much, but there was something somewhat solid beneath them. It was still too deep for her, but they'd managed to make it to a somewhat shallower area. And there was yelling coming from somewhere, the sound of people rushing into the water for them. Hinata was too sick to tell where though, so she just held on, clinging to her cousin. It wasn't much longer before they were on top of them, pulling them off the rocks and apart, causing her to shriek in terror, screaming for Neji to come back to her. She flailed desperately in their arms, convinced she was going to die, that it was the waves carrying her back out to sea.
As the hysterical girl was placed on the ground she began to cough and sputter, eventually retching loudly, attempting to rid her body of all the seawater she'd inhaled. Exhausted and feverish from her ordeal, she finally collapsed into the sand. She barely responded to the men who were hovering over her, trying to make sure all the water was pumped out of her lungs. She didn't even notice when it was her father grabbing her, calling to her frantically and pressing her to his chest. Her milky eyes were fixed on Neji, watching as he too was pulled from the sea and tossed ashore.
He heard his cousin's screams and even though he'd collapsed on the sand too, the moment he'd been pulled from the water, he turned over and tried to crawl over to her to make sure she was all right. One of the people he knew was his Uncle though, standing near her, and instinct caused him to curl and cower away from the man. He knew he was in trouble; it had been his responsibility to make sure they got back on time and all right, and neither of those things had happened, and now Hinata would likely get sick from being exposed like this and it would be all his fault. Whimpering, he stared wide-eyed up at Hiashi, even as his father wrapped a blanket around him to keep him warm.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, coughing up seawater every few minutes. "I'm sorry I didn't get her back in time, I'm sorry she's hurt, I'm sorry..." He squirmed in his father's arms, pushing his face into the familiar chest, somewhere he felt safe. "M'sorry..."
Hinata couldn't recall what happened after they'd been pulled out of the water. Having blacked out on the beach, she didn't come back around till she was in bed. Laying on her stomach, sweating profusely while her chest burned. There were the voices again, and her father watching from the corner as bandages were changed and salves applied. Their words made no sense to her addled mind, and she was too weak to do anything but lay there and shiver, coughing occasionally. There was a burning sensation on her right side, combined with a loud buzzing that made her head feel as though it was splitting.
She passed out again, waking up dressed and tucked into the blankets. There's a doctor at her side, muttering something about pneumonia and forcing her to drink some god awful medicine that makes her gag and choke. There's hushed words with her father, that they may still lose her yet. Before they can slip out, she calls to them, asking what happened to the other. "Please... can I see niisan? I want to see Neji-nii..." The poor girl can't understand the scowl that crosses her fathers face, nor the way he suddenly storms from the room, slamming the door behind him.
Neji shivered, even though he'd been changed into warm, dry clothes. But he still felt cold, terror at what was going to happen to him gripping him tightly. Hizashi had given him a thorough dressing-down, and had hit him, but there had been an undercurrent that told Neji his father was more afraid that he would lose Neji than he was actually angry that they'd been out longer and that Hinata was sick. And he was still sniffing, wrapped in a blanket.
The door opened. It was his uncle...the head of the family, who was certainly not as charitable as his father. After all, it was his daughter who was sick with pneumonia, and as the blows fell, that was what Neji told himself. It was his fault; he had shirked his duty as a branch house member, he had not protected the main house's daughter, and so he deserved every punishment that befell him for this. When Hiashi finally left, Neji waited a good ten minutes before slowly and painfully climbing to his feet. He would take care of the bruises and cuts himself. After all, he didn't deserve any sympathy.
It was several days later that Hinata was finally lucid enough to understand what happened. Her fever had finally broke, much to the relief of the household, but she was still weak and sick. Breathing still labored, skin still raw and painful to lay on. But no matter how much she asked, the only answer she ever received about her beloved cousin were nervous glances and unconvincing words to 'not worry herself about it.' It wasn't until her uncle Hizashi had come to see her that someone finally listened.
"Please..." her voice barely more then the sound of breath moving past her parched lips. "Please let me see Neji-nii. Please tell me he's ok..." tears slid down her flushed cheeks as she begged him, her request broken by frequent coughing spells, until finally he couldn't stand the pathetic display and gave in.
Wary, Neji followed close behind his father as he walked down the halls of the main house toward his cousin's room. Even though the branch house was well-appointed--nobody carrying the Hyuuga name would ever be seen in threadbare clothing or in a poor living situation unless they were disowned--the main house was far more opulent than Neji was used to, and it made him nervous. Although that could have been due to the fact that his father was ushering him along with great urgency. When they reached Hinata's door, Hizashi looked up and down the hallway before pushing it open and pushing Neji in quickly before entering himself.
Hinata looked so small and pale against the white bed linens, Neji was at first afraid that she was dying and Hizashi was taking him here to say goodbye to her. But then he saw the healthy color that had been washed out by the golden glow of the lamps--the windows were tightly shut to guard against anything in the air. Standing awkwardly at the food of her bed, Neji fidgeted with the carpet with one toe. "Hello, Hinata-sama," he said, keeping his head down respectfully.
Pale eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice, and a small smile found it's way to her lips. "Niisan" she whispered, reaching out with a shaky, bandaged hand for him. "I... was worried."
He smiled a bit, shy. "I worried about you too," he said. "I heard you were ill for a long time. I am glad you are better." He looked up a bit, shifting his weight. Some of the bruises from the beating, and the cuts on his feet from the rocks, hadn't healed just yet, and he was a little uncomfortable standing for so long. Although he couldn't sit down comfortably yet either...
She managed to sneak her fingers out, slipping one or two of them through those closest to her bed side. "Thank you." was all she had left to say to him, grateful he'd kept his promise to her. Worn out from such simple conversation, she closed her eyes and slept again, delicate fingers still holding his, hoping to keep him by her side just a little bit longer.