The face reflected in the mirror, framed by a deliberately cold expression and the gradually taking shape Caged Bird Seal, began to overlap with Neji's memories of his father, Hizashi Hyuga... no, they were almost identical!
Hiashi and Hizashi were twin brothers, and their faces had always been extremely similar.
Now, with Hiashi deliberately suppressing the easy composure unique to the Main Family and painting on the Caged Bird Seal, Neji found himself momentarily seeing his long-dead father instead-the man whose gentle demeanor had always carried a hidden pain in his memories.
Neji stared blankly, forgetting to speak, forgetting his questions.
Time seemed to turn back at that moment, or perhaps to twist.
As he watched his "father" paint that mark of humiliation and suffering onto his own forehead in the mirror, an invisible hand seemed to clench around his heart. Heartache, pain, shock, confusion... emotions surged through him, nearly making him lose his footing.
He had never seen his uncle like this, nor had he ever imagined that he would "see" his father as he had been in life this way, so close, in an imitation almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Hiashi focused on the strokes of his brush, seemingly oblivious to Neji's shock.
Only when the final stroke was finished, leaving a complete, lifelike Caged Bird Seal on his forehead, did he put down the brush and study himself carefully in the mirror for a moment.
The "Hizashi" in the mirror had ice-cold eyes, and the Cursed Seal on his forehead was painfully conspicuous.
Hiashi slowly turned his head toward Neji, who stood rooted to the spot, his pupils trembling.
Now, he deliberately lowered his voice as well, stripping away its usual steady authority and adding a rasp and chill that suited his attire. He even subtly