The morning in the Hyūga compound was always quiet.
But the kind of quiet Hinata woke up to was not peace—It was absence.
Her little home was small and well-kept, but cold. No windows faced the gardens. No flower petals scented the air. The cushions were too stiff, and the air held no warmth.
She sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Kuro stirred beside her, one good eye blinking open.
"Another day," Hinata whispered.
She moved carefully through her morning routine. The scroll Kurenai had given her—the Genjutsu—lay folded beneath her pillow. She tucked it into her sash.
As she left her little home, she paused beside the old teacup shelf near the door. Her hand brushed across the top, where dust had begun to settle. She used to leave fresh leaves there. She once heard her mother would brew tea every morning.
But no one had touched the cups in years, she looked at kuro and told her "Maybe I should invite Kiba, Shino and Kurenai-sensei over for tea sometime." She said with a slight smile at the idea. One Kuro approved with a low bark.
She left her house thinking about the things they would do today with team 8 and there she heard in the distance. Voices echoed in the corridor.
"...Poor thing," one branch family servant whispered as Hinata passed. "She used to be the heir."
"Now she's just a ghost. You know what they call her, right? The fallen princess."
Hinata froze for a second. She didn't look back. She didn't say anything. Just lowered her gaze and kept walking.
Outside, the sun was rising. She didn't notice its warmth.
'Fallen princess.' As if they expected her to shatter. But all she ever did was fall… and land quietly.
Those words didn't sit well with Hinata... She looked at Kuro at her side and told her in a low voice "Maybe I can't do the tea thing here, but I can definitely do it somewhere else."
<<<< o >>>>
The training fields buzzed with energy.
Team 10 was already assembled—Ino stretching dramatically, Shikamaru half-asleep under a tree, and Chōji munching quietly on a rice ball. Asuma leaned nearby, arms crossed, chatting with Kurenai.
Hinata arrived with Team 8. Kiba was already grumbling about being late. Shino gave a subtle nod.
Kuro trotted beside her, tail calm, ears alert.
"Team 10 and Team 8 will train together today," Kurenai announced. "First, observation drills. Then sparring."
The observation drills came first.
Hinata noticed the smallest details—Ino favoring her right foot, Chōji's breathing pattern, the subtle tilt of Shikamaru's posture even when 'sleeping.'
Kuro caught scents before Akamaru did. Shino's kikaichū mapped wind patterns around the trees.
Asuma raised an eyebrow. "This is a solid group."
Kurenai nodded. "They're starting to move with their own rhythm."
Then came the sparring rounds.
Hinata stepped forward when her name was called.
Her opponent: Chōji.
He smiled kindly and bowed. "I'll be gentle."
She bowed back. "I'll try my best."
The match began.
Chōji advanced with steady, deliberate steps. Speed wasn't his strength—power and stability were.
Hinata moved in a wide arc around him, her quarterstaff held low and ready. Calm and focused, she studied his stance, waiting.
In a sudden flash, she split in two—two Hinatas darting in opposite directions, circling Chōji.
"Clone Jutsu," Shino murmured, adjusting his glasses.
Chōji clapped his hands together, molding chakra, and expanded his right arm with practiced ease. "Partial Expansion Jutsu," Ino whispered. "He's trying to corner her."
Both Hinatas responded like mirror images—using their staffs to vault upward, one leaping over the attack while the other closed in with a flying kick.
Chōji deflected the kick easily—only to realize too late that it had no weight. "A feint," Asuma said, watching closely.
The real Hinata emerged from his blind spot, staff poised. But Chōji reacted quickly, inflating his body into a round sphere. "Expansion Jutsu!"
The impact sent her flying—except it wasn't her. A wooden log clattered to the ground.
Hinata reappeared behind him, low and swift. She swung. Chōji spun, blocked the strike, and collided with a nearby tree as he returned to normal size.
"Quick," Asuma noted. "But he overcommitted."
Leaves rained down.
Chōji narrowed his stance. "Alright. Let's see if I can tag you."
With a grunt, he expanded his arm again—fast, wide, relentless. Hinata ducked just in time, but the gust forced her back.
He advanced. Hinata burst into two again in a puff of smoke, repeating her approach.
But this time, Chōji noticed something.
The falling leaves.
One clone moved through them naturally. The other… distorted their path.
"Gotcha."
He pivoted and slammed his arm down on the true Hinata, just as the other clone vanished into mist.
The earth shook. Hinata barely escaped, flipping back with strained breath.
"You're good," Chōji said, stopping his advance. "Better than I expected. But don't underestimate me."
Hinata nodded, catching her breath. Then she wove hand signs—fast, subtle.
A Genjutsu settled.
Chōji blinked. The world twisted. Sound became warped. Smells overwhelmed him. His fingers tensed, unsure.
Hinata didn't strike. She reappeared beside him and tapped his shoulder with the staff.
The Genjutsu lifted.
Chōji blinked again. "Wait… what just happened?"
He hadn't been outmatched in strength. Not overwhelmed by speed.
She had vanished from rhythm.
On the edge of the field, Asuma whistled. "That's… not a style I've seen before."
"She's not strong yet," Kurenai said, "but she's clever. Her control is improving. Now she's using clone and substitution without the need for hand seals""
Michel crossed his arms, next to the tree, watching with a mix of pride and caution
"Still unrefined," he thought. "But each movement has a purpose now. She's learning her own rhythm."
Chōji scratched his head. "I didn't see half of what you did."
Hinata bowed, cheeks flushed. "Thank you… for the match."
Under the tree, Shikamaru stirred.
Kuro had snuck beneath him and snorted loudly in his ear.
He bolted up. "What the—?"
Ino giggled. "She's got good timing."
Shikamaru frowned. "Figures. Even Hyūga dogs are troublesome…"
Michel laughed softly. "Good girl."
After the match, Hinata sat under a tree with Kuro curled at her side.
Ino walked over, holding a bottle of water.
"You know… I never figured you for a quarterstaff kind of girl," Ino said.
Hinata smiled faintly. "I… didn't want to hurt people. It's… gentler. But that doesn't mean I won't fight. It just means I'll fight… differently."
Ino paused, then nodded. "That's kind of cool, actually."
As the sun dipped lower, the teams began to disperse.
Asuma lit a cigarette, Kurenai waved her students off with a short speech. Kiba and Akamaru raced ahead, arguing over a bone. Shino disappeared in the direction of the insect hives.
Hinata lingered.
Kurenai approached her quietly. "You did well today."
Hinata hesitated. "Do you think… Can I really become stronger? Even like this?"
Kurenai smiled. "You already are."
Hinata looked down. "They call me the fallen princess."
Kurenai didn't flinch. "Then rise as something no one expects."
<<<< o >>>>
Later that night, back in the Silver World, Hinata trained in silence.
Clones, substitution, staff flow—Kuro watching closely, then joining in the motion.
Michel observed from the edge of the dojo he built for her.
"There's still pain," he thought. "But she's learning to move with it."
She paused, looked at him, and smiled.
"Thank you," she said.
He said nothing. But smiled back. This wasn't just a place to train. It was where her true self rehearsed. So that in the waking world, she could begin to live it.