A Week Later - Tsubaki's POV

The doctor looks at my eyes again and nods. "You should be able to use your Byakugan again with out any pain or trouble." The doctor says to me.

I nod in thanks and I hold onto Hina's hand as she sleeps. "Why hasn't she woken up yet?" I ask him.

"It takes time to heal." The doctor reassures me and he leaves the room.

Kurenai walks in and sits across from me. "Tsubaki, go home and take a long bath, eat something healthy, drink some tea and get some much needed rest. I'll let you know immediately if something happens with Hinata." Kurenai says to me.

I frown. "I don't want to leave my sister." I whisper.

"I know, but you have to be healthy too." Kurenai says to me. "And you only have 3 weeks left to train and get ready for the final exam." Kurenai adds.

I sigh. "Please tell me immediately if anything happens with Hina." I say to her and she nods.

"I promise I will." Kurenai says to me.

I nod and I go home, staring at the ground.

"Tsu-"

"Don't, she doesn't look like she wants to talk to anyone."

I look up to see the twins and I walk over to them.

"Are you on your way home for the first time in a week, Tsubaki?" Hiroko asks me.

I nod. "Kurenai wouldn't let me stay." I say to him.

"Well you do need to bathe and eat at some point. And considering your going to the finals as well, you have to train." Hiroto says to me.

"That's what Kurenai said." I say and the twins nod.

"Will you be ok by yourself?" Hiroko asks me.

"Honestly?" I ask them and they nod. "I just want my sister to wake up." I say to them.

"She still hasn't?" Hiroto asks me surprised.

"The doctor said it takes time to heal." I say to them as my eyes fall to the ground again. "I'm really worried about her, she's always been the fragile twin." I whisper.

"Well, we'll walk you the rest of the way home, and then you do what you gotta do." Hiroto says to me and I look up to see grin on his face.

I nod and the two walk home as they try to talk to me, but I don't really feel like talking.

They take me to my door and they grin at me and I nod.

I go inside to hear the sounds of verbal fighting and I listen to here Sensei and Father arguing about me.

I open the training room door quietly and I look at them.

"Tsubaki is a lot more than what you think she is, she's a caring student, she's incredibly strong both emotionally and physically, she isn't a burden to my team at all." Sensei growls.

"She was learning medical nin-jutsu correct? She could have learned faster so she could have healed her own sister." Father says to him.

"Everyone learns at their own pace, and we happened to get busy with missions." Sensei defends me.

"She shouldn't be a ninja if she doesn't take her training seriously." Father says to him. "Neither should you or the rest of your team." Father adds.

"My students all worked hard to get where they are. Tsubaki has worked the hardest. She went through the entire second exam with hurting eyes, because she trained herself too hard the night before, she hasn't given up on these exams or her sister." Sensei says to him, a little bit more than annoyed.

I feel tears prick my eyes and Sensei finally notices me.

"Tsubaki?" Sensei asks worried.

"Everything is fine, Hina isn't awake yet though, Kurenai made me come home to bathe and eat." I say to him and Sensei nods.

"Tsubaki, you haven't trained all week." Father scoffs.

"The doctor told me not too." I say to him. "My eyes needed to recover, and he had stitched up the stab wound I gave myself, correctly." I say to Father as I look at the floor.

"Go take care of yourself Tsubaki, Hinata will still be there when you get back." Sensei says to me and I look up at him and I nod.

I go to my bathroom and I start a bath.

I brush out my hair as I wait for it to fill, and I strip and get into the hot water once its finished filling.

I relax to the hot water and I wash my body off.

I wash my hair thoroughly too and after an hour I get out of the bath.

I dry myself off and I get changed into a white t-shirt and black leggings.

I go to the kitchen and I make myself something to eat.

I sit at the dinning room table, just pushing around my food, no appetite at all.

"You shouldn't play with your food." Hanabi says as she sits on the other side of the table, directly across from me.

I just stare at the plate. "I don't feel like eating." I say and she nods.

"Well you have to, you don't want to starve right?" Hanabi asks me.

I sigh and push my plate over for her and she looks confused as I get up.

I go outside and I start to train.

"Tsubaki, don't push yourself needlessly." Sensei says as he sits on the porch watching me.

"I'll be fine Sensei." I say to him and he looks a little concerned, but I continue to train anyways.

After a couple hours, I stop for a small break and instead of Sensei sitting on the porch, its Father.

I push my bangs behind my ear to get them out of my face.

I sit down quietly on the porch for a break and I look up at the sky for a while.

Hina, wake up soon.

"You should stop sulking about your sister." Father says to me sharply.

I quietly scoff as I look away from him. "You don't have the right to tell me that, when your still mad about Mother and Uncle Hizashi." I say to him as I get up.

I go inside and I get changed into a clean white t-shirt and black leggings and I go back to the Hospital.

I pass Neji as I go to Hina's room.

"Tsubaki." He says to me and I stop.

I turn to look at him. "Good Afternoon Neji." I say to him with a small nod.

Neji looks me in the eye. "How is your sister?" Neji asks me.

I frown. "She hasn't woken up yet. I was on my way back." I say and Neji looks surprised. "If you'll excuse me." I say to him and he nods and I go to Hina's room.

I see Kurenai, Kiba, and Shino sitting in various places of the room.

Akamaru is the first to notice me and he barks and jumps on the floor and walks over to me.

"Tsubaki, I said I'd let you know if anything changes." Kurenai says to me.

I just sit down next to Hina with Akamaru on my lap. "I can't stand my father sometimes." I say and Kurenai nods, understanding what I mean.

"Akamaru really likes you, Tsubaki." Kiba says to me.

I pet Akamaru as he sleeps on my lap. "I don't know why." I say and Kiba nods.

I just watch over Hina.

Hours later, I feel a hand on my head as I sleep, its a gentle hand.

I open my eyes to see Hina awake, its just the two of us.

I hug her immediately. "Hina." I cry quietly and she just gently hugs me.

I bury my face into her neck.

"Tsubaki, are you ok?" Hina whispers, I nod into her neck and she pets my head.

"Please don't worry me like that." I say to Hina quietly and she just continues to pet my head.

I sit back and I look her over and she just gives me the same gentle smile as always.

"H-How long was I asleep for?" Hina whispers.

I move her bangs a bit. "A week." I say to her quietly.

She looks at me surprised but she mulls over it. "Please don't be angry at Neji-Nii-San." Hina says to me gently.

I shake my head. "I'm not, I knew he'd do something like this to one of us." I say and Hina nods.

She gently cups my cheeks and wipes my tears away. "P-Please don't cry Tsubaki." Hina says gently.

I lean into her hands, missing her touch whenever I'm upset. "Please be more careful next time." I whisper and Hina nods.

Hina moves my hair out of my face and she pets my head gently.

In the morning, I have my head on her lap, half asleep when people walk in.

"Hinata!" Kiba says surprised.

Akamaru barks as I lift my head and Hina smiles gently.

Kurenai calls a doctor as Shino and Kiba talk to her, while I just keep my head on her lap.

The doctor comes in and checks on her. "Well, she'll be able to go home in a week or two." The doctor says to me.

I nod in thanks and Hina just pets my head.

I rest my head again, able to sleep a lot more peacefully.

"Get some rest Tsubaki." Kurenai says to me and I hum quietly.

I fall asleep, feeling more peaceful.

Kurenai's POV

"You know Hinata, Tsubaki has barely left your side since you got out of the operating room." I say to her and she looks at her sister.

"I-I'm not really surprised. T-Tsubaki would do anything for me or H-Hanabi." Hinata says gently as she pets her sisters head. "S-She always has been w-worried about me, I-I'm not as tough a-as she is." Hinata says to me.

"I'm not sure she ate." Kiba says to her.

Hinata looks a little worried.

"But she has slept." Shino says to her. "Not exactly as peaceful as this though." Shino continues.

Tsubaki's POV

I wake up to coughing and I look at Hina worried and I get her a tissue and she coughs.

I then get her some water quickly and once her coughing fit ends, there's blood on the tissue, but I help her drink the water.

"Thank you Tsubaki." Hina says to me after she finishes.

I pet her head gently as I look at her worried.

"You need to eat something Tsubaki." Hina says to me.

I shake my head. "Not right now, I'll eat before I train tomorrow." I say to her and she looks worried. "You need to rest some more." I say to Hina and I help her lay down again.

"I'm not tired." Hina says to me quietly. "Can you sing me something?" Hina asks me.

"You know I don't sing." I say to her as I sit on the side of her bed, holding her hand.

"But your voice is beautiful." Hina says to me. "Please, you know the song." Hina says to me.

I look at her puppy eyes, and I sigh. "Ok." I give in and she smiles. "For your ears only." I say to her and she continues to smile.

I pet her head lightly.

I Do Adore by Mindy Gledhill

Everything you do it sends me
Higher than the moon with every
Twinkle in your eye
You strike a match that lights my heart on fire

When you're near, I hide my blushing face
And trip on my shoelaces
Grace just isn't my forté
But it brings me to my knees when you say

Hello, how are you, my darling today?
I fall into a pile on the floor
Puppy love is hard to ignore
When every little thing you do, I do adore

We're as different as can be
I've noticed you're remarkably relaxed
And I'm overly uptight

We balance out each other nicely
You wear sandals in the snow
In mid-July I still feel cold
We're opposites in every way
But I can't resist it when say

Hello, how are you, my darling today?
I fall into a pile on the floor
Puppy love is hard to ignore
When every little thing you do, I do adore

Finding words, I mutter
Tongue-tied, twisted
Foot in mouth, I start to stutter
Ha, ha, Heaven help me

Hello, how are you, my darling today?
I fall into a pile on the floor
Puppy love is hard to ignore
When every little thing you do, I do adore

I move the hair out of Hina's face as she falls asleep.

I kiss her forehead and I get up, then someone knocks on the door.

I walk over quietly and I slide the door open gently and I see Neji.

I look up at him and he sees me, and he's a bit surprised. "Shouldn't you be resting?" We ask each other at the same time.

I look back at Hina, and she looks ok for now, so I walk out into the hall quietly and I close the door with gentle fingers.

"I was sleeping." I say to him and he nods.

"I heard Hinata woke up." Neji says to me.

"Yeah, yesterday night." I say to him. "Why aren't you at your own home sleeping?" I ask him.

"I was training." Neji says to me.

I nod. "She's not mad at you." I say to Neji. "We both knew you'd do this during the exams, to one of us at least, I was more prepared though." I say to him.

"Are you mad at me?" Neji asks me.

I look up at him. "No." I say and he looks even more surprised. "If I've learned anything from raising myself and my sisters after Mother died, its no use getting angry, it just leaves me more burnt out in the end than usual." I say and Neji sighs.

"You should drop out of the Exams if your not gonna train this month." Neji says to me.

"No." I say and he looks at me in the eyes. "I may not be training as much as usual because of my sister, but I'm going to go through with the exams. I'm gonna be Chunin." I say to Neji, strength coursing through me. "I love my sister, and if I end up fighting you, I'm gonna be the one to win." I say to him and he tchs.

Neji scowls at me. "Your destiny will stay the same, your not gonna get better than me, and your not gonna make Chunin this year." Neji says to me annoyed.

I roll my eyes. "Destiny isn't something to toy with and talk about." I say to him as I remember Mother fighting with Grandpa about me no being in the side branch because I'm a twin.

I look at the door for a moment and then I look at Neji.

"Why are you here? I know you have a deep seated anger for the main branch. You wouldn't visit of your own free will." I say to Neji.

"Your Father wanted you to come home so he sent me." Neji says to me.

"You can tell him that I'm not leaving my sister unless her Sensei is here to watch over her." I say to Neji calmly and I go back inside the room.
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