Neji finished preparing himself, having carefully put on the kimono alone. He called out for his mother first.
"Kaa-san!"
Silence. She always answered.
He called for her again, a little louder. "Kaa-san!"
Confused, he went to her room and began to knock.
*Knock*
*Knock*
*Knock*
"Kaa-san, it's time to go see Tou-san for the last time," Neji said, smoothing out his kimono.
But there was no response. A cold prickle of unease made him activate his Byakugan. Through the wall, he saw his mother's form lying on the bed, blankets pulled up. Peering deeper, he saw the dark, tired rings under her eyes and the restless energy of someone who hadn't slept.
He saw that she was awake but pretending not to be. Not wanting to push her, he deactivated his Byakugan. "I... I will go first, okay?" he said softly to the door.
Neji left the house and walked toward the Main Hall where the funeral ceremony was being held. The moment he was gone, his mother, Hinoka, emerged from her room. Her eyes were swollen and red, her face pale. She looked like an apparition, her long hair hanging over her face like a shroud.
"I'm sorry, Neji," she whispered into the empty house.
As Neji walked, a heavy, unsettling feeling grew in his chest, making it hard to breathe.
'Why do I feel like this?' he thought, shaking his head to dispel the dread. "Today is the last day I will see Tou-san. I must not think of anything else."
When he arrived at the Main Hall, he stood outside, waiting for the casket to be brought out so it could be carried through Konoha, a final show of peace for the Kumogakure shinobi.
Minutes later, the pallbearers emerged. Neji activated his Byakugan, his vision piercing the wooden casket to fix on his father's face one final time. He held that image until the procession moved far out of his range.
As the casket disappeared from sight, he looked up at the sky, blinking back tears.
Around him, the other Hyūga, especially those of the Branch House, watched him with palpable guilt, their pity a heavy weight on his shoulders. Unable to bear their whispers any longer, he deactivated his Byakugan and turned for home. He didn't want their sympathy.
He slid open the door to his house and removed his sandals. "I'm back, Kaa-san," he announced.
The silence that answered was deeper and more absolute than before. The bad feeling returned, coiling in his gut like a snake.
With each step deeper into the house, the feeling intensified, a suffocating pressure. As he neared the kitchen, he saw them first, a pair of feet, motionless, hovering just above the floor.
His body began to shake before his mind could fully understand. His eyes traveled up, taking in the rope tied to a ceiling beam, and then the lifeless form of his mother. Her head was tilted, her eyes wide open and staring directly at him.
He froze, his mind utterly blank, shattered by the horror before him. Then, a single, clear thought echoed in the void, not his own, but her voice.
"Neji, look at me."
The thought broke him. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees, a silent scream trapped in his throat. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be real.
A torrent of memories crashed over him: his mother's kind smile, the sound of her laughter. The agony only intensified as the ghost of his father materialized in his mind alongside her. In the span of a breath, he relived every cherished moment, every bond forged and then shattered over those four short years.
A profound, suffocating silence descended upon the house. It was hours before Neji could move, the weight of it pressing down on him until he finally stirred. His gaze traveled upward, taking in the horrifying sight of his mother's body, suspended and still. He forced himself to his feet, turned his back on the nightmare, and whispered a broken farewell.
"Bye...Kaa-san"
Mechanically, he walked outside. His eyes were vacant, reflecting a soul-deep numbness he had never known. When a Side Branch member spotted him and made to keep his distance, Neji's blank eyes locked onto him. "I need your help," he stated, the words devoid of all feeling. "My mother killed herself."
The man stood frozen, utterly shocked.
A few hours later,
A small group arrived to remove Hinoka's lifeless body and begin preparations for her burial in a separate building. Neji waited outside, resting his back against the wall. His eyes were blank, lost in the prison of his own thoughts.
'Why didn't I trust my gut? I should have known she would try something like this.'
He looked up at the sky, his teeth gritted so hard his jaw ached.
'Are you entertained now? Whoever authored this miserable story, I wish I could strangle you with my bare hands, you and everyone who bears witness to it. What did I do to deserve this? I've tried to live a good life, and this is my reward?'
Neji lashed out at the unseen forces, tightening his fists until his knuckles turned white. It was easier to rage at the heavens than to place the blame on his mother or his father. Their decisions had led them here, and that was a pain too profound to touch.
Slowly, he slid down the wall and crumpled to the floor, covering his eyes with his right forearm. Tears finally began to fall as the unbearable truth crashed down on him. He could have perhaps survived the loss of his father alone. But to lose them both, to be left completely alone just after finally knowing the love of good parents… it was a devastation beyond words.
"This isn't fair," Neji murmured to the empty air, his voice a broken whisper.
When the preparations were complete, Neji followed the small procession to the Konoha Cemetery. The irony was not lost on him; this was his first time outside the Hyuga compound, yet he had no capacity for wonder at the world he found himself in.
At the gravesite, a hole was already dug. They lowered the plain casket into the earth and covered it with dark soil. The few attending Hyuga members watched as Neji stood motionless before the new tombstone engraved with the name Hyuga Hinoka. Beside it was the equally fresh marker for Hyuga Hizashi, erected just the day before.
They did not speak to him, deciding it was better to let him grieve alone. As they departed, one man, Hyuga Sei paused. With a guilty expression, he walked past and offered a silent, brief pat on Neji's shoulder before moving on.
Neji stood there for long minutes until the sky, as if sharing his grief, began to weep a soft, cold rain. He stared at the two stones, the physical proof that his parents were gone.
Then, he squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, a hollow, uncontrollable laugh was torn from his throat. He locked away the memory of his loving parents deep within his heart, sealing it behind a door of hardened resolve.
"Here I thought I could live a normal life," he whispered to the rain, covering his face with a hand. 'I was so naive. No reincarnator gets to have a normal life in a world like this.'
"I forgot about that," he muttered, the realization crystallizing into a single, unshakable purpose. 'Strength. Strength is the only thing that matters.'
Before turning to leave, he spoke one last time to the graves. "Thank you for everything." And in the silent vault of his mind, he made a vow: 'And if it is within my power, I will find a way to bring you back.'
With that, Neji walked away. The boy who wore his heart on his sleeve was buried in that cemetery alongside his parents.
The one who emerged was a vessel of pure determination, focused on amassing power not as a goal, but as his only reason for being. He had meant it before, but now, the words were etched into his very soul.
Few minutes later,
Neji returned home. He walked inside, and with each step, memories threatened to overwhelm him, but he forcefully shook them off.
His path led him to his parents' room. He began searching for anything that could aid his training.
There, he found a scroll labeled For Neji. His hands were steady as he opened it. Inside was a final message from Hizashi, written before his death.
From your father:
[ Neji, I have no excuses. I'm sorry. I should have been the stronger one in the past; I should have made myself clan head. But I know you don't care about that.
Everything your mother and I know is contained in this scroll. Please, don't be a pathetic man like me. Be better. Be greater. I have always loved you, my precious son.
And to you, my love Hinoka, please take care of our child. ]
Neji exhaled slowly, willing himself to hold back tears. But there were none left to cry; he had exhausted his supply. Instead, he committed every word to memory, treasuring the message.
He unsealed the rest of the scroll, revealing a collection of jutsu from his parents' personal arsenal.
"Thank you," he whispered. Before leaving, he meticulously cleaned and organized the room, then closed the door firmly behind him.
He moved to the kitchen, his hunger a dull ache. There, he found a covered plate of food, the last meal his mother had cooked for him. Stuck to the fridge by a magnet was a note in her handwriting.
[ Neji, I'm sorry. I cannot live without your father. I am not strong enough to bear the pain anymore, and I can no longer look at you without feeling overwhelming guilt. I know this is hypocritical, but I still want you to live a good, long life. If you need to blame anyone, blame me. Love, your mother ]
Neji closed his eyes, fighting a fresh wave of sorrow that threatened to breach his resolve.
But he was still hungry. He decided to eat every last bite, a final act of respect to avoid wasting her gift. Yet, the familiar, loving taste of her cooking was too potent. Despite his hardened heart, tears streamed silently down his face as he ate.
"Thank you, Kaa-san," he murmured to the empty room.
When he finished, he cleaned the plate, put everything away, and retreated to his room. Sleep was not an escape, but a necessary recharge. Tomorrow, his real training would begin.