5th Tenketsu ~ What have I done?

[twinlionfists]

She woke up from her nightmares in a sweaty heap, breathing heavily and trying not to cry. All she remembered was having the scene of Neji's death play over and over and over in her mind. It was a struggle for her to not bury her face in her hands and to let the tears flow. Something that she hadn't been able to do at that time, considering that they were in the middle of a war.

Although, that was the last memory she'd had from the war before she was whisked away to Luceti. Which was probably where she was again.

That thought had her looking around rapidly, eyes wide as they took in her surroundings. She was lying on a bed in a room that wasn't her bedroom in the apartment she shared with Sakura-san. In fact, it wasn't any place she was used to.

She was still in her regular clothes of flak jacket, pants, sandals and fishnets, which was reassuring, but left her with a bad taste in her mouth. She slid from the bed to look out of the lone window of the room she was in and seeing only trees. She couldn't see anyone or thing of interest when she activated her Byakugan. In fact, she couldn't see anything in the five kilometers that even her Byakugan allowed her to see. Nothing but trees.

"Where am I?"

She pushed open the door to the shack and stared at the forest with a disheartening sigh. It was going to be a long walk back to the village. She reached for the journal she could feel resting in her pocket on the side of her pants when memories of another time, another her began to flood her brain. Images of her fighting with Chouji-kun, strangers, telling such horrid things to Lee-san, waking... She couldn't even think about that without her face going such a deep red colour that she was feeling dizzy.

She fell to her knees when they gave out on her, trying desperately to not throw up. She couldn't believe that she'd been like that. It was...completely not like she was at all. It was a nightmare, but they were far too vivid to be anything but real. She had been...so unlike a Hyuuga. She'd insulted her clan, her father, her beloved cousin, her friends. There was no way that she would ever be able to make it up to anyone.

Slowly, she used the nearest tree to pull herself to her feet and started walking in any direction, her Byakugan activated the entire walk back to Luceti, adjusting her course every once in a while. While she walked, she tried to think about ways to make it up to those she offended. It was a long trip, made even slower by her heavy heart keeping her from being able to use her ninjutsu skills to make it quicker.

The list was quite extensive: Naruto-kun, Kushina-san, Namikaze-sama, Lee-san, Neji-niisan, Ino-san, Saori-neesan, Chouji-kun, Aang-san, Yu-san and others that she'd hardly met before. And her clothes...they'd been so revealing and out of character.

How was she going to be able to face those back there? 

It wasn't like she would get out of it. Hyuugas faced up to their burdens and paid back their debts owed. And she was determined to pay them back when she made her way to Luceti. Starting with her cousin and his teammate.

[OOC: Hinata will be visiting everyone to apologize. If she doesn't know where you live, she'll write you a message over the journal. Please comment in the subject to let me know if it will be a journal reply or a visit to you. Thank you!]

Comments

How about an interception on the way back?

[teachingpeace]

Nagato was one of those that by no means felt she owed him an apology, as he'd managed to get along with her well enough while she was... not exactly herself. Thus, while he'd wondered why he hadn't seen her recently, he hadn't been incredibly concerned, just keeping an absent bit of attention out in case he spotted her so he could see if she was more herself yet.

Thus it was that when he felt someone at the edges of his senses while doing forms to one side of the village, he slowed his motions, then headed that way. Simple enough then. He could say hello and take note of her mindset on his own, and it wouldn't seem odd.

Still, he hadn't realized she was prone to wandering so far.

This works out!

[twinlionfists]

She wasn't too far from the village before she could feel the eyes of another upon her. By that time, she'd gotten most of her self-hatred and self-pity under control. She knew what she had to do and she was determined to do so.

Seeing Nagato-san right away made this a little less difficult. She hadn't been...too terrible to him. At least she hoped her memories weren't false about their interactions.

She took a deep breath, deactivated her Byakugan (keeping from wincing before him from the eyestrain), and gave him a deep bow. "N-nagato-san, I am glad to find you well."

eeeexcellent.

[teachingpeace]

He blinked at her reaction, then inclined his head slightly in a nod of acceptance to her gesture. He hadn't expected it, but that didn't mean he would ignore it. Still, it seemed to be something of a return to her normal state at least.

"Hinata-san. You as well seem far more settled than last time I saw you... if nervous."

I'm assuming she'll want to see Neji in person XD

[screw_fate]

It was more or less an ordinary day for Neji; as winter approached and the temperature dropped, he spent less time outdoors, but he still made at least some time each day to walk the village, just taking it in, looking for anything that might be changing over time, looking for any people he might encounter.

When he caught sight of his cousin, he paused. She looked like she was back to herself, if body language was anything to go by, but he still hesitated before approaching her, alert in case she showed herself to be the aggressive (and rather insulting) other she'd been before.

"Hinata-sama?"

Of course!

[twinlionfists]

Her cousin was someone she'd abused in only a few comments, and it was....Degrading to think what she'd said to him. The sight of him hesitating before her was painful.

Especially since she'd been trapped in nightmares of his death during her time away.

"N-neji-niisan, I..." She bowed to him deeply, hoping that her flaming face and trembling hands could be hidden with that action. "I owe you many apologies for the way I behaved."

[screw_fate]

"Ah," he said simply, regarding her. "You've returned to yourself, Hinata-sama." There was relief in his voice, and something else -- forgiveness. His wariness relaxed, and he stepped forward, reaching out a hand to her. "I was concerned for you." Far more than that, really -- but her display of regret was deep enough that he didn't feel the need to rub salt in the wound by reminding her just how insulted he'd been.

if she'd check for him at the bakery?

[savedtheworld]

Aang is at the bakery, quietly whipping up some goodies. Now that Rapunzel's gone, he's wound up inheriting it. So he's been spending more time there to try to compensate for her absence. It's sad to face his absence - the loss of a friend so dear to his heart, so soon after losing Sokka and Korra. But he faces it. And he plays one of Rapunzel's records as he works. He's a bit more down than usual, but he's trying to keep an upbeat attitude, with some humming and jostling to the music as he does his work.

She definitely would, but it would be after a while.

[twinlionfists]

Out of everyone that she'd interacted with, Aang-san was actually one of the more pleasant conversations she'd had. At least, she hadn't insulted him. Too badly anyway.

She stopped outside of the bakery to watch him for a moment, trying to gauge his mood. There was something off about him and that made up her mind for her. She took a few swift steps up to the door and opened it swiftly.

"H-hello, Aang-san." She attempted a small, but friendly smile. "How are you doing?"

As long as it works!

[savedtheworld]

His face does brighten a bit at the sight of Hinata. "Hinata! Well - now that I see you, I'm doing pretty good!" It had been some time since he'd seen her - he had worried. "How are you?"

Easy enough for her to be found.

[windandrain]

Saori, thankfully now back in her normal body as of that morning, was not difficult to find at all. She was at home, though when she felt Hinata's approach she bristled slightly and stood up. If the girl hadn't been returned to normal then she really didn't feel up to the challenge of dealing with the crass, rude child. But all the same, Hinata is met at the door, and when the change in wardrobe is taken in, Saori's demeanor warms by degrees.

"Hello, Hinata. Come in, come in."

So true....

[twinlionfists]

"S-saori-sama...I...I am very sorry for the way that I behaved before," she blurted that out as soon as the door was opened and the goddess was in her sights.

Hinata was aware of the things she said and the way she'd behaved around the woman who'd been nothing but kind and sisterly to her since the strange event that made them family. And she's ashamed of herself for being like that. Even if she hadn't been her, she was still responsible for her behaviour.

And her actions weighed heavily on her.

she's so bad at hiding.

[windandrain]

Saori shakes her head at the apology and reaches up her hand, gently resting it on her younger sister's shoulder and pulling her forward into an embrace. She understood quite well what Hinata was going through, having had her own inner monster brought out the previous spring, something that still brought twinges of remorse out in her.

"Hinata, dear child. It's alright. I'm not upset with you, though I was quite worried. It's...good to see you normal again, though."

[niceguypose]

[At the apartment, the door to Lee's apartment is already open, and a bar is currently set up within the door frame. Lee is using said bar to do chin-ups, counting to himself as he does so, now in the 300s. He's managing to break a sweat.]

[twinlionfists]

[The sight of Lee-san working out shouldn't surprise her, and if she were honest, it doesn't. But seeing him so shortly after arriving on the floor of their apartment building has her a little out of sorts. She'd been hoping for some time to gather her wits about her, to figure out what it was she wanted to say to her cousin's teammate.

She'd insulted him beyond measure. Not only had she called him names, but she'd impugned his honor, inferred things about him that were completely against his nature.

Even apologizing wouldn't make that better.]

A-ah, Lee-san... I...uh, I did not think I would find you here.

[...]

I mean that I did not think that I would find you out here in the hallway.

[niceguypose]

Ah-! Hi-Hinata-san!

[Panic immediately crosses Lee's face as he sees Hinata there. He immediately releases his hold on the bar and drops to the floor, wincing and groveling at all fours.]

I apologize profusely! I did not mean to offend you with my actions and I swear that I was not trying to look at your in any inappropriate way. Please, forgive me!

[sand_lost]

Despite the gap of time since he had seen many of those that had gone through the Chuunin exam with, there were certainly some of them that stuck out. The Hyuugas fight was one of those that stuck out well in his memory. It had been a violent, bloody, fight. And that was the type of thing he remembered.

Of course, she had been there to fight in the army too, but there, it was a little harder to keep track of anyone. He recognized that uniform though, just as easily as he recognized those activated white eyes.

It meant she was an ally, and this far out in the woods, it only seemed appropriate to approach her.

"Hyuuga." He greeted, her first name had never been remarked in the first place, and it made it rather hard to remember it now.

[twinlionfists]

She started at the sound of the voice, a part of her unable to relax even when she realized who it was. When they were younger, he'd terrified her. He'd been cold and uncaring. His siblings hadn't been much better at the time, but at least here in Luceti Temari-san had been... well, not approachable. She hadn't attacked Hinata without provocation at least.

As for the war, Gaara-sama was now Kazekage of Suna, one of the greatest allies that Konoha had known, and a good friend to Naruto-kun. That didn't make it any easier.

"Kazekage-sama," she said as she gave him a small bow of her head as he grew closer. "I... Please forgive me. I had no idea that you had joined us here in Luceti."

...and then I remembered that I was going to tag you. OOPS.

[origami_ninja]

Konan wasn't terribly concerned about Hinata's behaviour, beyond hoping that the girl wouldn't unintentionally alienate anyone who didn't realize that she was behaving drastically differently than how she normally behaved. She'd seen enough Mallynaps to make an educated guess as to what had happened, and hadn't been offended by the attitude Hinata had given her. Briefly, she'd thought that perhaps Hinata was just acting, but in their short conversation, it had become apparent that Hinata seemed to think that everyone else had gone crazy instead.

When she spotted Hinata in what seemed like more characteristic attire for her, she couldn't help but feel a little relieved for her, though. The Malnosso's experiments never seemed to serve much purpose, nor had she ever seen an experiment that actually benefited the subject in any way.

"Hello," she greeted quietly.

Shhh, I will take all the tags, no matter when they come.

[twinlionfists]

"K-konan-san!" Another person she'd been rude to, but not terribly so. It helped that they had only had a few conversations before. There would be less to repair, if she was honest with herself.

However, that didn't mean it wasn't worth the effort of attempting it!

"I... I apologize for the way that I behaved the last time we met. I...was not myself, but that is no excuse for it."

[medicalpunch]

Sakura would be easy enough to find, tending a small plant set in the window of their apartment living room, the door to the apartment left invitingly ajar.

She looked up as Hinata came to the door, and a slight flash of caution showed in her body language for a moment; while Hinata hadn't been more than dismissive of her, compared to what others had gotten, it was still enough to make her wonder. But as soon as she had a moment to see how Hinata was moving, what her body language communicated, she relaxed.

"Hinata? You're back?"

[twinlionfists]

She'd been so rude, so horrid to Sakura-san the last time she was here. But the way that her friend reacted let her know that she hadn't taken it to heart.

"Y-yes, I am, Sakura-san. I would like to apologize for my previous behaviour. I...I was very rude to you and the others."

[believeit]

[There's a knock at the door and they aren't really expecting anyone to show up, so once it opens up a bit there's a certain blond with a curious look on his face.]

...Hinata?

[He opens it up properly, taking a step back. The curious look turns to one that looks more like apprehension though, because considering last time she was over....]

Hey.

[twinlionfists]

[It had taken her the entire walk back to gather up enough courage to visit the Uzumaki/Namikaze home. But she knew that it had to be done. This is where her first offenses had taken place.

However, when Naruto-kun oepns the door and looks at her as if expecting her to attack him, she flushes in shame before bowing her head.]

I...He-hello, Naruto-kun. Are...are your parents home as well?

This is admittedly sort of placeholder-y

[rashness]

[ Well Rin only got up earlier this week! But when he opens the door to see Hinata there he hasn't seen her in a while (even before he went to sleep) and she looks as shy and normal again... at a glance! So he's excited to see her, and thus animatedly, tail wagging and everything, claps his hands on her shoulder! ]

Oh, Hinata!

[twinlionfists]

[Everyone was touching her. If she hadn't grown semi-used to it during her nearly seven months there, she would have stepped away from Rin's enthusiastic greeting.

But, if she was actually honest with herself, she was happy that he was happy to see her. And without recriminations.]

H-hello, Rin-kun. I am glad to find you home today. H-how are you?