Hinata gently opened the door, took off her shoes in the entryway, and stepped barefoot onto the cool wooden floor. She walked inside slowly.
"Is something the matter?" Hyuga Hiashi sat at his desk, a document spread out before him. He turned his head and looked at Hinata as he asked.
Although Hinata had performed poorly in her last match against Hanabi and he had indeed been angered at the time, the family's focus had since shifted to Hanabi. Still, Hinata was his eldest daughter, and he had watched her grow up. He had devoted a great deal of time and energy to her over the years. Setting her strength and talent aside, he still felt affection for this gentle, timid girl who was always so shy.
"The results of this month's exams are out." Hinata walked up to him, her hands neatly at her sides, and spoke softly.
"What place did you get?" Hiashi asked calmly, without much expectation on his face.
He knew everything there was to know about Class 1 of the 4th Grade, where Hinata studied.
That class was full of exceptional students. Aside from Uchiha Sasuke, the talented orphan who had survived the night the Uchiha Clan was massacred, most of the other top students were heirs carefully groomed by their respective ninja clans to become the next clan heads. None of them were ordinary.
The Hyuga Clan was one of Konoha's most prominent families, but Hinata wasn't like Neji, who had been able to defeat everyone in his class from the moment he enrolled. She usually hovered around the middle of the rankings—not bad, but never outstanding.
Hiashi didn't need to guess. Hinata had probably placed somewhere in the middle again. Since the family had already decided to focus on training Hanabi, he would