Grow

He had left her a child. Little more than a slip of a girl with a tremble to her voice, she had been everything that he expected her to amount to. Demure, shy, full of grace but lacking in the things that made a person whole: pride, confidence, strength. While so many others had advanced, grown beyond the flimsy shells that had been provided for them at birth, she alone remained still and unchanged.

It hadn't been his concern. At thirteen, he was a youth bent on proving his worth to himself; he had only just begun to change the tide of fate that had battered and beaten him for so many years. A new sort of blinders had been placed around his eyes. He had been focused, intent, determined to become more than he had ever been told that he could be.

Those people whose presence and skill he had taken for granted before became his closest friends and respected comrades in those two years. He learned from them the valuable lessons of humility, kindness, and unwavering grit. An apt pupil, he had grasped their lessons with greedy hands and held tight to them, learning all that he could and more in the precious little time he had.

He had grown, he had wisened, he had attained true strength. He had crossed the threshold of his village a man with fewer lines on his brow and fewer scars on his heart. Finally, he had begun the metamorphosis that the others had begun so much sooner than he. He could look at his reflection and see a proud man with no misplaced arrogance, no unfounded confidence.

Truly, he had become someone that his father would have been able to stand straight and say with clarity, "That is my son."

She had changed as well.

In truth, he had not expected it. Upon his return, the image of his reserved cousin had been imprinted on his mind, and he had expected her to be precisely the same. How shocked he had been to discover otherwise.

No longer did she walk with her eyes downcast, her fingers tangled helplessly before her. There was no stutter to her voice when she addressed him, and her shoulders never slumped inward as if she expected to collapse at any moment. Her eyes, which had before always swum with fear or unease upon seeing him, were calm and peaceful.

The contained grace with which she had always moved hadn't changed, but it seemed more fluid somehow, as if she had finally found her equilibrium. Her smiles were open and honest, true to the emotions that she felt, though never reckless. She had poise, elegance, but a modesty that became her very well.

He realized when she laughed that this persona of hers had always existed, but it had been beaten down ruthlessly by harsh hands and unforgiving words.

He had left her a child, and she had somehow become a woman. They had sparred, and she had nearly bested him. They had conversed, and she had participated, known more than he about some topics. They had simply sat in silence and enjoyed the peace that could be found between two people without needing to say a word.

When her father had addressed her, she hadn't backed down, hadn't folded into herself and mumbled replies. She had tilted her face toward him and spoken to him in her quiet, gentle voice and not once had he detected even slight shaking in her hands, knees, teeth.

She had taken Hanabi to the training center and showed her techniques, nudged her along when necessary, scolded her lightly when the girl had been tempted to give up. Tea had been served after sparring flawlessly and pleasantly.

Somehow, she had found herself.

Truly, his cousin, the girl he had despised and dismissed those years ago, had become someone he could admire. He strove to find the inner peace that she made seem so effortless, aspired to accomplish as much as she.

He had made her his ambition, and she would never know.

Written fordonnakitsune's request for a 'macho' Hinata on the Liverjournal community 'hyugacest'. I tried to make her strong in her own way, but I don't think she's macho, exactly.