"Why d-do you wear that mask?" she asked softly and he pulled the mask away from his face once more. She watched him with childlike curiosity. "What happened to your eye?" she asked and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I was in an incident..." he said and she stared at the empty socket in wonder. "You're the first to not get disgusted by it." he said and reached to move the mask back over his face, but she pushed it away once more.

"You look like someone I know..." she said softly and he tilted his head and watched her with curious eyes. "Do you like this friend of yours?" he asked and she nodded. "He's really cool and I just... I just..." she began softly but sighed. "You just what?" he asked and she frowned. "He's so smart... I could never compare. He can walk up trees already, isn't that cool?' she asked and he nodded. "Does he know you like him?" he asked and she shook her head. "I'm t-to scared to talk to him like Izumi does..." she said softly and he offered a small smile. "Don't worry, I know how you feel. I had a friend I really liked, but I never got to tell her because I was scared." He said and she watched him carefully.

"What happened to her?" she asked and he frowned. "She passed away recently..." he said and Ivara frowned and hugged him lightly. "I'm sorry you lost her..." she said and he watched her as she pulled away from the gentle hug. "You should tell your friend that you like him, that way if anything ever happens... you'll never regret it like I do." He said and she tilted her head to look back at him. "You think so?" she asked and he nodded. "I'll tell him then... just not yet." She said softly and he ruffled her hair.

"You're a Hyuuga right?" he asked and she nodded. "You can see in the dark?" he asked and she shook her head. "I don't have my Byakugan yet." She said softly, rubbing her arm in embarrassment. "Well that's ok, I didn't awaken my abilities until I was about eleven or twelve." He said and she frowned. "I want to make daddy proud and waken my Byakugan but I don't know how." She whispered and he nodded. "Follow me out of the tree then, I might be able to help." He said and she crawled out from the cave of roots after him. He sat cross legged on the ground and motioned for her to sit in front of him the same way.

"Alright, so what I'm going to have you do is concentrate your chakra, alright?" he asked and she nodded. "You Hyuuga have abnormally great chakra control from a young age, so I need you to follow my instructions very carefully." He said and she nodded. "Usually when someone can't awaken their Doujutsu, it's because there's a block behind their eyes." He said and she listened intently. "Alright, so... close your eyes and picture all of your chakra rushing towards your eyes." He instructed and she fisted her hands and concentrated fully on that.

"Once you can picture the chakra moving through your eyes in your mind, try and make it actually move there." he said and she took a deep breath. He watched her carefully and smiled softly. He leaned forwards and placed his fingers right beside her eyes but not too far back on her temples. "Focus the buildup of chakra right here and hold it." he instructed and she did as he told her. He felt the veins pulsating beneath his fingers and he resisted the small smirk tugging at his lips. A grin broke out over her lips as the veins hardened under his fingertips.

"Can you see me?" he asked and she made a move to open her eyes but he clicked his tongue and told her no. "Keep them closed and tell me what you see." He said and she did as she was told. He could see her eyes moving under her eyelids as she looked around. A frown touched her lips as she reached towards him. Her fingertips brushed over the left side of his chest. "Your heart beats fast..." she whispered and he watched her fingers as they trailed up to his mask. Her fingers dug their way under his mask to his temple and she puffed out her cheeks as she tried to do something.

He furrowed his brows but once the pain hit he hissed and clutched his mask. "I'm sorry..." she whispered frantically, but after about thirty seconds the pain subsided. He removed his hand from his mask and he looked her in the eye... her Byakugan shimmered like silver. He blinked and looked around. Everything was so much clearer than it had been before. "Thank you." He said and she opened her eyes, but she slipped backwards and hit the ground softly. "Forgive me. I cannot allow you to fully remember me." he whispered as he stood. He took one last glance at her and sighed. "You will help me later." He said and vanished with the wind.

:-:-:-:

Ivara sat up and blinked. It was dark. She stood and looked around her. She blinked and focused her chakra. She couldn't remember who told her to do this, but it worked. Her enhanced vision outlined all the trees and animals of the night. She could see everything. She could see the chakra of the animals, the trees, and even the chakra residue within the Earth's surface. She smiled brightly. She did it! She awakened her Byakugan.