Chapter 2: A Wish And A Vow To Protect
Hinata found herself in a dream that was too vivid to be a dream. All she knew was that was transported into a dimensional space when she fell asleep that showed her many visions and portals which she could traverse. She didn’t step through any of them, and there was no explanation provided about what they were. Hinata wondered if she were under the illusions of Genjutsu or perhaps the famed Sharigan, though once Hinata eliminated those two options from her reasoning and suspicions, then she decided that this wasn’t a dream, because it was a physical space that allowed her to interact with it in a way that dreams didn’t allow you to.

She conjured up something in this dreamscape of hers, which was a picture of a book that she read when she was small and recalled memories of her mother’s voice reading her a soothing bedtime story to her. She looked through it, flipping through the pages, and marveled at the pictures and illustrations within the pages that revealed a heroine going on a grand journey to dispel the curse that was placed upon her—that she was afflicted with a demon that wanted to take over her soul.

Hinata wondered if an exorcism needed to be performed on her, if she was having crazy visions such as this. Was this a possible mutation of the Byakugan? How come she was never informed of this? Hinata took a few calming breaths, before she looked through one time stream portal and saw a vision of something that struck her heart cold—a vision of Naruto being attacked.

Hinata saw an older version of herself propel forward and move to defend him from the attack the unknown man was hurtling at her, though before it stuck her fair skin, she saw that Neji moved to protect her and Naruto—and eventually was impaled. The vision of his death played out before her, and Hinata knelt down and sobbed bitter tears as her cousin was put to rest.

“That vision you saw,” an older vision of her cousin said, looking at her. “Is what comes to pass in one temporal Time Stream. I live on in this space as I have some things I must fulfill, but I don’t regret my choice of protecting you and Naruto.”

Hinata looked unsteadily towards her cousin, an older version of him, and she asked. “What is this place?”

Neji put a hand against the construct of the house that she made in her mind and ran a finger against the paneling and walls. “A reality marble that you’ve constructed and lies between the various spaces between worlds. I lived out many lifetimes as a spirit from my original world, but eventually a calamity happened where I was stranded in this void as a bartender towards souls who drift this way.”

“B-Bartender? In a space between worlds? What do you…”

“You managed to catch a glimpse of this space between worlds in your sleep—the dream of Death. So, Hinata-sama. I ended up in this particular temporal time stream where I would watch over you.”

Hinata, now twelve years old, looked at Neji, then thought about her current thirteen year old cousin who was still very much alive. However, when this thing in the future transpires…he would be dead. “Is there…anyway of saving you?”

“You do not have to save me, Hinata-sama,” the older Neji said with a fond smile on his lips. “I did not come here to place that burden upon you.”

“Why did you do this, then?” Hinata whispered.

Neji stared at her with quicksilver eyes, before saying, “No, I came because I wished to see your face again, even if you are another incarnation of the Hinata-sama that I once knew. The old world that I’ve known—is gone.”

Hinata’s hands clasped to her mouth, tears streaming to her eyes. Though she knew that Neji and herself had a better relationship now thanks to Naruto and it seemed even in the years when they grew older they had a close relationship, Hinata still felt she should maintain a strong aura. Didn’t Neji devote himself to training her to become as strong and never giving up like Naruto? That was her ninja way, she had declared, after watching and emulating Naruto all these years. And yet…

“Neji-nii-san…” Hinata said as she sniffled a bit, while Ghost Neji began to wipe away her tears gently. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

Neji then started to shake a drink and got her a sweet drink that frothed and fizzed. Hinata looked at it curiously, before Neji said, “It’s non-alcoholic for you. It’s sweet because I know you have a fondness for those kinds of things.”

Hinata drank some of the drink that Neji offered her, and suddenly she felt something flare inside of her. Her chakra started to grow inside of her in a seeming maelstrom, and Hinata looked towards the older version of her cousin curiously. “This drink did something to my chakra. How?”

Neji smiled, before bowing a bit. “Think of it as a gift of sorts. Because you’re able to see this Space Between Dimensions, you will also bear a responsibility, should you choose to take it, to help prevent a war from happening.”

Hinata put a hand to her mouth, wondering what Neji was talking about. This seemed like her suspension of disbelief was being torn apart, but a War? In this time? It could be possible, in the future, but…

“When?” She said in barely a whisper.

Neji nodded, before he recounted the details of the future that he has seen. Everything that happened. Hinata listened to his story, laughing and crying at some parts, and eventually weeping inconsolably when Neji died and sacrificed himself for Hinata and Naruto’s sake.

“Neji-nii-san,” Hinata whispered, wiping her tears away with a jacket sleeve. Is there any one else I can meet in this bartender dimension or whatever?

Neji nodded, before smiling. “There will be some people who will meet you in this Dimensional space between worlds. I’m the first person that you meet, because I have a blood tie to you, Hinata. But there will be others coming to this space soon…and the ghosts of those who have perished will help train you to becoming stronger.”

“But why me?” Hinata mouthed. “Why someone like me to bear this power?”

Neji preened his long hair unconsciously, before saying, “Because you have the Future Sight. You can appear in the Time Anomalies and Streams. You have the power to change fate, Hinata-sama.”

II
“You can save lives, Hinata,” Neji pushed a drink toward her from the bar where he wiped down glasses and served drinks in this strange place. “Though of course, I believe in changing destiny.”

Hinata leaned forward. The mahogany paneling shone a cherry red-brown and the wine rack in the back stored thousands of aged wines and drinks Neji could mix and blend together in the various concoctions he made for his mysterious power-enhancing alchemy. She trailed a finger against the paneling, casting her gaze down.

“Was Naruto-kun the reason?”

Neji’s lips quirked a bit and adjusted his hitai-ite. “Naruto did teach me something. Fight to change the world…and prepare for the Great Ninja War in the future.”

She supposed the strange power of this mysterious bar was born from traveling the Temporal Timelines and Dimensions. However, Neji couldn’t manifest his physical body again. She knew her cousin should be capable of it, though as of the moment, he yielded no desire to.

“B-But who will believe me?” Hinata mused and sipped from the drink, finding it sweet. “And if I change the timeline overly much, wouldn’t that mess up the grand order of things?”

Neji cleared his throat. He drummed his fingers on the tabletop where he served drinks, then tapped his index finger as though in rhythm with the swirling dervish in his mind. He hummed in thought as he preened his long hair, probably deliberating his answer. Hinata knew Neji played with his hair when particularly thoughtful.

“It’s hard to say. Yes, there will be uncertainties and projections that may make the original outcome from before worse…but if you can save people…if you had a chance to…wouldn’t you?”

Hinata clasped her hands and prayed to whatever Deity out there someone would hear her whispers for a better future. Neji sensed her distress and made his way to the dessert plaques where various displays of strange looking confectionary she couldn’t find in the Fire Country of her world were displayed.

The tantalizing smell of sweets like chocolate, vanilla, strawberries, and other confections wafted into her nose. The floral decorations of frosting on a sponge three-tier dessert and squares of chocolate and peach and strawberry cake widened her eyes in delight. Pirouettes and cream puffs and eclairs glazed with chocolate and cream stood on display as well, along with chocolate chip double stuffed brownies making Hinata’s mouth tremor and water as she thought about the stress of becoming a literal goddess to save everyone.

Neji gave her a plate of cake that tasted like strawberries. Hinata ate in small bites as she listened to Neji talk about the events that occurred in the War in his Temporal Timeline. Hearing about the events caused Hinata to gasp and cry at some parts, and feel a fierce sense of protectiveness toward Naruto, her family, and Konoha village as the villains who ransacked their home sought to destroy it and bring about the war.

Hinata wiped her eyes as she sniffled, before wiping her nose with a handkerchief.

A Hyuuga woman doesn’t cry ugly, she remembered her father remarking once. Hinata tried so hard not to show her tears but hearing about the heartache and suffering everyone went through, including the trauma Neji went through with his own grieving and death, tightened her chest. She continued to eat in small, careful, calculated bites, though even the sweet taste of sugar and strawberries hadn’t been enough to comfort her after hearing this news.

“Though hearing about…the heartache Naruto-kun experiences…the losses he feels over the years. I want to…ease his burden…his suffering.”

Neji glanced toward the ceiling, contemplating something. Hinata imagined he recalled the fight Naruto fought against Neji, defending Hinata’s honor against her before belligerent cousin. Despite this, Neji would then become her greatest ally and supporter.

“Sometimes from suffering comes a resilience that isn’t taught in indolence or luxury.”

Hinata tugged at a jacket sleeve, before saying, “He became so strong through that suffering and never gave up.”

Neji’s lips quirked.

“You obviously have spent a lot of time observing him and learning from him.”

Hinata nodded, shuffling on her stool in the bar and crossing her legs.

“Of course. I’m…always watching…”

“I want you to keep on watching him and learning from his example, but I also want you to forge your own path and destiny too, Hinata-sama.”

Hinata stared at the drink Neji kept pushing toward her. “Can I…really change fate as you say?”

“Naruto has his own destiny he must fulfill, but you will become his perfect partner in all things.”

“That makes me…very happy to hear. That he didn’t break and wither even under the pressure of all those traumas and heartaches. But I don’t want to be a perfect partner…I just want to be by his side and love him for who he is.”

“That’s why you must demonstrate your power,” Neij said simply. “You had the potential within you. The Hyuuga clan actually sealed your meridians because you had a very sickly constitution as a young girl.”

Hinata blinked. It sounded unusual, though she knew Neji was a trusted source of information. She didn’t sense any lying from the elder Future impression of her cousin, but…

“I…was not aware of this?”

Neji cleared his throat, before he explained this strange concept known as meridians.

“Though after my death, I’ve noticed that I could open up those pores and chakra channels to flow with more chakra and energy to increase your capabilities.”

“Meridians?” Hinata said curiously.

Neji nodded. “Meridians are channels that have seals on the inside that unlock a greater power within. The Byakugan has its secrets, and you’re privy to those secrets, Hinata-sama.”

“But…I don’t know anything about this…”

“I will guide you along the way and send you through a training space that will help you become stronger. Though it will be a hard and long path that might wear on your soul and change you into a completely different person.”

“Change me…from who I am? In a good or bad way?”

Hinata’s heart fluttered a couple of beats, wondering what lay in store for her: should she choose to take on this mission that a future ghost of her cousin told her?

Neji’s eyebrows furrowed, a melancholy droop at the corners of his mouth and a somber reflection in his eyes that glinted from the overhead light in the well-lit bar. Through some emotional sense, like the twang of a violin string, Hinata sensed a tremor or vibration of guilt in Neji putting such a huge responsibility on a twelve-year-old girl. He wanted to protect the past incarnation of another timeline cousin without a physical body of his own. He spent his time in the Temporal Time Streams wandering them until he found the right Singularity that would lead to a path where the Ninja War didn’t happen.

“I’m not sure if the changing of fate should happen, if it brings you such sorrow and suffering. But knowing your gentle heart…your wish to help…to make things better…you wouldn’t say no to this. Naruto has and always will be your inspiration. He is your guiding star.”

Hinata nodded. Even sensing the tremor in the clear lake of Neji’s mind rippling with a sense of disturbance in his usual calm and stoic facade, Hinata knew Neji’s meditations deliberated about these Temporal Timelines. He learned, eventually, that one isn’t a solitary creature, and one relied on the friendship and companionship of those around you to better achieve your goals.

Hinata had a complicated relationship with Neji, which started off as an innocent childhood crush (just kid stuff, though eventually the animosity grew between them and wouldn’t be mended until Naruto pummeled some sense into Neji). While Neji was a calm and cool person now from the smiling and kind childhood self she remembered, he did devote himself to her, and seemed happy to train and protect her.

“I’ve…always been watching…Naruto-kun…all these years…”

Neji nodded. Hinata wondered how Neji always sensed how she felt when she couldn’t feel it herself. He wasn’t exactly emotionally demonstrative, or maybe he just knew Hinata better than other people—diving into the psychological depths of one’s psyche in ninja warfare was a specialty he learned, especially in their battle in the Chunin Exams.
He hurt her then, and she seemed to sense a bit of misted pain in his eyes while he reflected on memories, probably some not so pleasant, about their past with one another. Though Hinata forgave him for all his past actions against her. She was not the type to hold grudges, though she was certain Neji would work hard to pay off whatever self-perceived sin he committed against her.

“I know, Hinata-sama. Anyway…I’m here to watch over you. No matter what. No matter what path you take. Though, if destiny changes and I’m alive again…”

Neji paused, before noticing Hinata finished her drink. He poured another refill for her, almost overflowing to the top, though to be honest, Hinata thought she might’ve had her fill though it wasn’t in her to refuse a sweet drink offered to her, so she decided to suck it up and take the second drink, though it might be a strain on her bladder later.

“There were some regrets I had lingering after my death. Yes, I saved you and Naruto. I would do it again if I must. Though what I regretted most was…not being around for them.”
Hinata perked. She wondered who Neji was talking about. There were delicate checks and balances when it came to restoring Timelines and Singularities to their proper order, but there was something precious they had to protect too. Who in the future must they defend from someone manipulating the various Timelines and Singularities?

“Who?”

“You’ll eventually see in the future,” Neji said with a mysterious smile. “Though don’t you think it’s about time that you’ve passed the Trials to overcome the gates to unlock your meridians?”

“What must I do?” Hinata whispered.

Future Ghost Neji activated his Byakugan. “Don’t be frightened. You might feel some pressure being unleashed, though once I’ve activated the blocked merdians, you chakra will increase by tenfold.”

Hinata nodded, before Neji then unlocked the blocked pathways to the meridians that would lead to her chakra flow, unleashing an abundant amount of chakra in the meantime that impressed Hinata. Neji hummed in satisfaction.

“There’s quite a lot of preparation that must be done before you’re finally able to face the calamity that is going to happen in the future.”

Hinata poked her fingers together, before she asked shyly. “Neji…how long have you been waiting in this dimension space by yourself?”

Neji smiled. “I wasn’t just by myself.”

Hinata cocked her head to the side.

“Who was with you? I don’t see anyone else…”

“The others haven’t come out yet, but they too, will come to greet you.”

“Are they…remnants from the war?”

Neji nodded. “Maybe you’re able to change their destinies if you wish to, though casting judgment on the souls that pass through the Dimensional Bar is something I feel you’re fit to do, Hinata-sama.”

“Casting judgment? On souls?” Hinata said, while Neji nodded again while he ushered her further into the inner sanctum of the Dimensional Bar.

“There are some people you’ve yet to meet,” Neji said, corraling her into the room, sending her into a little dining area where he put another drink on the table for Hinata. “There might be some unfamiliar faces as well.”

Hinata settled herself into the booth where patrons had their drinks and meals served in the little dining and bar area Neji setup in the Interdimensional Afterlife. Though Hinata had to constantly remind herself her cousin was still alive and well—though a time would come when she would change fate or destiny for her cousin.

She shed some tears over Neji sacrificing himself for her and Naruto, though Hinata reasoned to herself, if she had the power to become stronger and change the fates and destinies of others, then she would use this newfound power to help rewrite the narrative that said these people had to die.

She would do it, no matter what.

Though she could potentially change from all that power.

Could she still keep her kind and gentle personality even after she had strength that rivaled against Kyuubi or the Tailed Beasts? Could she push herself further to higher heights and dimensions that would make her become a literal goddess?

Neji kept on pouring her another drink, and Hinata sighed and accepted. Though really, three drinks in a row without a break in between.

I’m too old to be wetting the bed, so I guess I’ll get up. Wait. Neji-nii-san? Not another drink! My dignity as a Hyuuga depends on it!