When the exhausted Hinata returned home in the evening after a long shift in the hospital, she was honestly a bit surprised that she was not greeted by a full gathering of angry and prissy elders trying to stare her down for killing one of their own. She was half of the mind that their pride was going to override their common sense in this situation.
Instead, everything looked normal. Well, except for the air of unease and worry permeating the entire clan compound. The branch house members she passed by on the streets looked at her with barely hidden expectation, awe, and worry.
Hinata guessed that the happenings of this afternoon had already spread throughout the clan, and now everybody knew that she had killed a main house member to protect a girl from the branch house. The people from the branch house had never had somebody protect them in this way. Hinata's father might stand up for them to some small degree, but he would have never resorted to killing somebody from the main house for their sake.
Hinata had also turned out to be very strong. Strong enough to throw her weight around and have her way. With a small sigh, Hinata realized it was not surprising that they were pinning their hopes on her.
It was still exhausting to bear the brunt of their silent expectations. So, for now, she let it out of her mind. She just wanted to hug and cuddle her sister for an hour.
At least the main house members deliberately avoided her. There were none of them on the streets, but thanks to her Byakugan, Hinata was keenly aware that they watched her with rising trepidation from their residences as she walked through the streets.
Hinata was grateful for their apprehension of her. She had spent long hours treating injured ninjas. She had sawed off ruined limbs. She had removed damaged eyeballs. She had sewn torn innards together. She had stitched severed fingers back where they belonged. She had stopped the hearts of those in too much agony and no hope for quick enough treatment to save their lives.
She had even castrated one of her patients whose crotch area was half-ruined, and to ensure his survival on her operating table required drastic measures.
Sage, she was exhausted. Maybe not so much physically. Ren's training was more physically exhausting. Maybe not chakra-wise. Her chakra reserves started filling back up as the day progressed, and she used only the bare minimum necessary to heal well.
But mentally, she was done for the day. The clan elders don't know it, but the fact that they did not try to ambush her with their incessant complaints when her mood was already this sour probably saved them from her pulling Itachi on them.
When she started learning how to be a medical ninja, she thought she could treat everything with that green-glowy hand technique. That it would be easy and simple.
It was not.
Today was the first day when Hinata understood why somebody like Tsunade might have wanted to leave it all behind and just go traveling around the world.
As Hinata neared the door to her house, the door was opened by a servant from the branch house who quickly bowed.
Glancing at him, Hinata slightly smiled with a quick, "Thank you." before she took off her shoes, leaving them in the hall, and headed toward her sister's room.
Halfway through her journey, she suddenly stopped and turned toward a closed door to her right, peering through it with a small frown.
For a moment, nothing happened, but then the door opened, revealing a stressed Hiashi staring directly at her with a strange mix of pride and disapproval.
"Father." Hinata nodded in a greeting.
"Hinata." Hiashi grunted out in his usual even voice that betrayed no emotion.
The two stared at each other for several seconds, the atmosphere around them growing quite awkward.
"We need to talk." Noticing that Hinata's body language spoke of her consideration to simply leave, Hiashi eventually decided to break the ice and opened his mouth first as he beckoned her inside the room.
With a slight irritation shining in her eyes, Hinata stepped forward, already aware that she was not going to enjoy the upcoming conversation. But Hiashi was still her father, no matter how estranged they were.
Hiashi closed the door behind her before taking a seat behind the table in the room, while Hinata also seated herself opposite him before he could offer it.
She watched as Hiashi's eyebrows slightly furrowed at the slight, but this house was her home, and she would be damned if she needed to ask for permission to sit down in her own home.
There were so many rules of behavior and manners to be upheld in this house that living in here was already highly unpleasant for her. She really didn't feel like playing some sort of quiet power play game with her father right now, on top of that.
She inwardly scoffed. And Ren wondered why she preferred to stay with him. Yes, the sex was nice, but with him, she was free. If Hanabi hadn't existed, Hinata would have been tempted to leave the clan long ago.
"I have heard you have saved your sister from being kidnapped by Kumogakure." Hiashi said with a pinched look after another stretch of silence between them.
"Yes." Hinata hummed her agreement, and Hiashi very slightly shuffled in his seat. It was the only indication of his nervousness.
But his face stayed impassive as he gave his daughter an acknowledging nod and evenly said, "I am proud of you. You protected your family. You did well."
Hinata hummed but didn't say anything about the matter. If she had been two years younger, Hinata would have been beaming in happiness at that lackluster, half-hearted praise. Now? She couldn't care less.
She was slightly happy about the acknowledgement, but that was about it. She only hoped her father would pick up the pace so she could get to her sister faster.
"I also heard about your actions during the invasion. Many people confirmed that you decimated the main Otogakure attacking force." Hiashi's tone was still impassive, but Hinata could easily see the small quickening of his heartbeat or the trickle of barely visible sweatdrops forming on his forehead.
She inwardly narrowed her eyes. Her father was... afraid? Of her?
No. Not of her, Hinata realized. He was afraid of this conversation. With that realization, Hinata inwardly groaned. It became obvious to her that he was using the standard tactic of good news first to soften the person for the bad news. He was dishing out praise to her to make her more pliable to agree to whatever was coming next.
"You protected your village. You made your clan proud." Hiashi continued before he hesitated for a second and properly looked Hinata in the eyes, "You made me proud, daughter."
And Hinata could see he meant it. But there was still something else to come next, so with no small amount of exasperation, Hinata said, "Okay."
The easy acceptance of his praise left Hiashi speechless and floundering for a moment, much to Hinata's hidden amusement. He wanted a stronger reaction to know how to proceed with the conversation, but Hinata was not going to give him that.
The corner of her lips turned up into a small smirk, something Hiashi noticed, if the twitch of his right eye was any indication.
Suppressing a vexed sigh, Hiashi gathered his composure and impassively spoke, "And I also have heard of the incident in the Hyuga compound earlier today." Despite the lack of emotion, his words somehow still conveyed that he thought the situation grave.
When Hinata said nothing in her defense, Hiashi continued. "You shall apologize to Hitomi Hyuga's family. Sincerely. The invasion had barely ended, and you made a mistake born out of an emotional outburst. They will understand that."
Hiashi said that with the finality of an order, but contrary to his expectations, Hinata just chuckled and easily said, "No. I will not." with a shrug.
Hiashi raised his head from the document on the table and blinked in a silent shock. Hinata was unruly, but she never refused a direct order from him. Even after the debacle with the clan elders, Hiashi still thought he had enough influence over her as her father to make her listen.
Finding out that it was not the case felt like a gut punch to him, and for a moment, he could only stare, utterly flabbergasted at his daughter's audacity.
"Hina-" He finally spoke once he got out of his funk, only to be cut off by Hinata.
"If I apologize now, the clan elders will lose all respect they have for me, and they will not respect me again unless I show I am willing to slaughter half of their numbers." She said, her defiant stare just daring Hiashi to say she was wrong. "It will show I can be... managed."
"... You must have a good relationship with the elders and the main house. You are going to be the future clan head. Surely, you can't mean to rule the clan through fear." Hiashi tried to reason with his daughter.
The elders were necessary. They managed a large part of the clan's activities. They kept it going. And a clan head needed them. Hinata had to be on reasonable terms with them. Showing her power and making them respect her was fine. Making them understand that she is the person in charge was fine.
But murdering somebody from the main house was a step too far. The elders were not going to let this go lying down. The main house was not going to let this go. Hitomi's family was not going to forget, and one day, they would have a chance at revenge.
Hiashi was not naive enough to think that they would restrain themselves for the clan. In his mind, it was highly important that Hinata mend these bridges before they could completely collapse.
For the sake of the clan and its future.
Hiashi even considered a betrothal between Hinata and Hitomi's brother to appease her family, but he knew his daughter would not easily agree, so he didn't bring that up.
"And why wouldn't I rule through fear?" Hinata amusedly asked, giving her father a weird look. "What is so bad about it? Didn't Uchiha Madara rule his clan through fear?"
Hiashi froze at that, but despite that, his mouth opened in protest.
But Hinata was faster, "Didn't Hashirama? As lovable as people like to say he was, his fluffy personality was not why he managed to unite so many different clans."
Hiashi closed his mouth, having a hard time finding a proper rebuke for Hinata's words because his daughter didn't give him even a second to gather his thoughts.
"Didn't Tobirama do the same, too? Don't you and grandfather also rule through fear?"
Hiashi snapped to attention upon hearing that last remark, and he instantly started protesting, "No! I-"
"Oh, stop with the bullshit, father. The branch house is kept in line through the fear of the Caged Bird Seal. You have no right to lecture me about ruling through fear." Hinata scoffed and rolled her eyes at the floored Hiashi.
The difference between them in this argument was that Hinata had spent countless restless nights thinking about all these problems and some nonexistent solution that would please everybody in her clan.
Her father? He barely considered it an issue.
It was only normal that she had prepared arguments while he was left speechless to defend his position.
And when somebody can't win through reason, they can always get angry.
"You are a Kinslayer, Hinata!" Having had enough of his daughter's stubbornness, Hiashi smacked his fist against the table, his impassive face giving way to an angry expression.
"You may think you will be able to scare everybody into behaving, but that is far from the truth! You killed somebody of your blood! How many Hyuga do you wish to kill to accomplish your goals? Will it be worth it? To weaken our clan for your childish aspirations!?"
Hiashi breathed hard as he finished his rant, staring at Hinata with hurt and anger written all over his face. Of all the things he expected his daughter to do, Kinslaying was not one of them.
He truly regretted letting her apprentice under that blasted chunin. It was the biggest mistake of his life.
"How is this any different from all the bastards who used the seal to kill somebody from the branch house, saying that their hand slipped?" Hinata quietly asked, but her tone was firm. And when Hiashi didn't volunteer a proper answer after a few seconds, Hinata let out a small scoff. "Well, my hand also slipped. My bad. I am sure Hitomi's family will understand."
Hiashi's face darkened, "You think this is a game?"
Only to suddenly find a senbon stuck deeply in his shoulder. His instincts flared... but he found out he could not move an inch. His body locked up and refused to listen to him.
"Maybe." Hinata lowered her hand back into her lap, looking straight into her father's surprised, wide eyes. She could feel several chakra signatures flaring all around the clan compound, aware that the elders were keenly observing this conversation.
But they were going to do nothing. She might have gotten her father via an ambush, but with her speed, he wouldn't be able to react even if he knew it was coming. And the elders were all experienced ninja who were going to realize this.
They knew they had no chance against her. They knew she was willing to respond to dissent with force. They were not going to do anything.
"In this clan, the main house members treat the branch house members badly. You spout that we are family, but the truth is, most of them are treated as nothing more than our servants." Hinata calmly said and smiled, "If this is a game, I am just playing by this clan's rules, father."
"I am the first S-class ninja this clan has produced since the founding of Konoha." Hinata spoke as if she were describing the weather, "And since the elders alongside the people from the main house are incapable of listening to reason, desiring to keep things as they are while using tradition as their shield, then I am just going to act according to their example."
"If the branch house is below the main house, then I, as an S-rank ninja, am above the main house. I dare anybody to disagree. I will deal with them in the same manner as the main house deals with any disagreeing voice from the branch house."
If Hiashi could, he would have taken a shuddering breath upon hearing that. Instead, he only grew very pale, and horror found its way into his eyes.
Hinata reached out and took a photo from the table, looking at it. Her eyes softened as they fell on the image of her mother. "I learned that kindness is insufficient to change the clan." She resignedly said. "The only thing the elders are going to listen to is power."
She raised her eyes and looked at her immobilized father. She knew this stunt was most likely going to cost her his love. But it wasn't as if she felt there was much love between them. If he loved her, he had a weird way of showing it.
No. Hinata couldn't bring herself to care. She was always going to ensure her father survived and had a content, if not happy, life. He was her father. But she wasn't going to be swayed from her path by him.
Foolish as Ren had called it, this was the path she had chosen.
Having said her piece, Hinata no longer needed her father restrained. With a flick of her finger, she yanked the senbon from her father's shoulder with a chakra string and watched him tense for a moment, preparing for an attack.
But that was just an instinctual response. He relaxed quickly enough, and with a defeated face, he sourly muttered, "The elders are not going to like this."
Hinata shook her head and gave him a sad smile. "And what are they gonna do? Scold me?"
Hiashi opened his mouth, only to close it as his shoulders slumped. He wanted peace. But now, that was no longer an option. Not with Hinata set on this path.
But in the end, she was his daughter. And that decided his course of action for him. His eyes glanced at the photo of his late wife in Hinata's hands, and his heart clenched.
Hinata thought that power was all that mattered, but Hiashi knew otherwise. The elders were going to strike back. Eventually. And they will make sure it won't be a question of power.
As he dismissed her, he just hoped Hinata was prepared for it.