The Head of the Hyuga Clan

By Liayso

Summary: Hinata Hyuga has been training her whole life for this moment, the day she becomes the head of the Hyuga clan. Leading such a grand family, making the hard decisions a clan head has to make, protecting and guarding every single member… every bit of Hinata's strength, will and courage will be tested to its limits. A Hinata/Hyuga clan centered fic. (Slight Naruhina)

Author's note: Hello there! This is a Hinata/Hyuga clan centered fic. I've always felt that the Hyugas were underused and undeveloped in the manga/anime, which is why I'm writing this fic. Some things you need to know for this fic are that Hinata and Neji are in their early to mid 20's, Kakashi is the Hokage, and Konoha and the other ninja villages have defeated Madara and all the other evil ninja villains. Oh and since Hanabi's character has no real characterization in canon (as of yet), I've taken the liberty to characterize her in a certain way that I hope you all will find interesting and believable.

Now, onto the story!

Chapter 1: Hiashi Makes a Decision

Hiashi Hyuga stood in the clan dojo, staring up at the banner containing the Hyuga family crest of the sun with the flame, as he waited. He would be the first to admit that he was wrong about his eldest daughter, Hinata. When he had begun training her at the start of her childhood, he did not see any promise in her. Hiashi had thought that his daughter would not amount to anything great, but now he realized that he was wrong.

By the time that Hinata had graduated from the academy, Hiashi had given up on training her and focused more on his younger daughter, Hanabi. He had given up on Hinata.

She had not.

Hinata had continued her training and pushed herself to become stronger. Little by little, day by day, Hinata had increased her strength, speed, and skill as a result of all her hard work. Hiashi had not noticed at first but her development as a competent ninja became more and more apparent over the years. Slowly, Hinata gained respect from her fellow exacting Hyuga family members. However, it was not until the time when Hanabi first took the Chuunin exams that Hiashi realized that Hinata had surpassed his expectations of her a thousand times over.

Hanabi had been thirteen years old, and Hinata had been eighteen and recently promoted to jounin level. Hiashi had been told that his younger daughter had performed brilliantly during the first two parts of the exam. When it came time for the third part, the final matches, Hiashi had expected Hanabi to exhibit the same brilliance as before. But that was not what happened.

Faced off against the late Third Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru, Hanabi had suffered an upsetting defeat. It was the first time that Hiashi had seen her fail. It was the first time that Hanabi had failed at anything, and it had shamed Hanabi so much that she ran away from home. Hiashi and the Hokage had sent out a search party to find her, but they were unsuccessful. It is difficult to locate someone who has a near 360 degree field vision and an ability to see hundreds of meters in distance.

It had been Hinata and her fellow Team 8 members, along with Neji, who had finally found Hanabi. When Hiashi had learned this, he expected his daughter and nephew to be dutiful and bring Hanabi back straightaway. Instead what he got was his eldest daughter giving him a lecture. Hiashi recalled that moment with a proud smile upon his face. It had been an eye opener to him.

Hiashi sat in his office, looking over clan matters and paperwork when there was a knock at the door. He looked up to see a branch member named Koh slide open the door.

"My Lord Hiashi," Koh began, "Lady Hinata has returned with news of Lady Hanabi."

"Bring her in," Hiashi said.

Koh stepped aside to let Hinata in. She gave him a smile and politely excused him from the room, saying that she would like to speak to her father in private. He nodded and bowed to both Hinata and Hiashi before leaving. Hiashi stood up and stared at his daughter with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well, where is she?" he demanded.

"She is safe."

"You are not answering my question!" Hiashi said angrily. "Where is Hanabi? Tell me now!"

In the face of her father's growing anger, Hinata managed to remain calm and stood straight, looking him in the eye.

"I can't tell you because she does not want to see you at the moment."

Hiashi could not believe it. His daughter was defying a direct order from him.

"That is ridiculous. I am her father and yours as well," he reminded her.

"Yes, while that may be true, you do not know us as a father should know his children," Hinata said gently. "You don't understand us well, Hanabi especially."

"I know my daughter," Hiashi insisted.

"No," Hinata said, shaking her head, "you don't." She paused and then glanced down, mustering up her resolve. "The Hyuga family has always been marked by greatness and achievement. There is no room, nor any toleration, for failure. Hanabi knows that. She saw what happened to those who failed, the ostracism they experience," she said, referring to herself, "and she did not want that to happen to her, which is why she has worked so hard all her life."

"And what is wrong about that?" Hiashi asked.

Hinata looked back up at him with a new light to her eyes that held strength and confidence. "What is wrong is that she trains and pushes herself not because she wants to improve herself, but because she is so afraid of failing, of how you and the rest of the family would view her if she did."

Hiashi was taken aback by this. He had not realized that his youngest daughter had this type of insecurity. Hanabi had never shown any fear of anything, not even when she was a small child.

"So much is demanded and expected of Hanabi," Hinata continued. "I imagine the burden of it overwhelmed her. Hanabi may be strong, but you forget that she is still human, with fears and insecurities like the rest of us."

"Are you saying that it is my fault that Hanabi ran away?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, not at all Father. I merely wish for you to understand why she did. When Hanabi is ready, she will come back home. But until then, please respect her wishes and wait for her."

With that, Hinata bowed respectfully to her father, turned, and left the room.

That day his daughter had spoken with such conviction in her voice, something Hiashi had never witnessed for himself in her. There was no stutter, no meek intonation, nor a sign of her faltering or running away. When it came down to something important, or someone she cared about, Hinata's true strength shined as brightly as the sun. After that day, Hiashi opened his eyes and began to see his daughters for who they really are.

Hanabi came back to the Hyuga compound a few days after Hinata's talk with Hiashi. The reunion was awkward at first, but the presence of Hinata and Neji helped to ease the tension. Hiashi had expressed his pleasure at Hanabi's return in his stoic way, and she had bowed respectfully and dutifully. But after that day, Hiashi began to see his younger daughter's true self emerge.

The first thing he noticed was the change in Hanabi's personality. Instead of the quiet, respectful and stoic daughter Hiashi thought he had, he found that Hanabi was actually a bright, sometimes cheeky and sarcastic, girl who was full of life and fire. She also seemed to delight in teasing her older sister and cousin. Hiashi found this unnerving at first, but he saw that his daughter was far more comfortable and he learned to accept her this way.

The next change that he saw in Hanabi was her taking up the sword. It was understandable that Hanabi would be interested in the art of the sword with her jounin sensei being the purple-haired, sword-wielding, former ANBU member Yugao Uzuki, but no one had thought that she would prefer it to the Hyuga Gentle Fist Style. A few of the elite Main family members expressed their immense displeasure at this but Hinata had reassured them that Hanabi was still practicing the family arts:

"She hasn't stopped her Gentle Fist training. Neji and I can attest to that," she had said with some pride for her younger sister.

That comment had peaked Hiashi's interest and he soon found out that Hinata and Neji were training Hanabi as well as helping each other in their own training. One day he had stumbled upon Neji and Hinata drinking tea together after a spar session. He hid behind the corner of a building and listened to their conversation.

"You have improved immensely, Hinata," Neji said, taking a sip of his tea.

"Thank you, but I'm still nowhere near the level that you and my father are at though," Hinata replied.

"Yes, that may be so, but you are well on your way to achieving that level and even going beyond that."

Hinata gave him a gentle smile. "You don't have to be so nice, Neji."

Neji shook his head. "I am not saying this to be polite, but because it is true. You improve each time we spar. At the rate you are going, it won't be long until you beat me in a fight."

Hinata seemed pleased at that, but she looked down into her tea cup, gripping it tightly in her hands. "What about my father? Do you think that someday I will be able to defeat him in a fight?"

Neji finished his tea and gently set down his cup on the tray sitting beside them. "If you keep up with your training, then yes, I do believe that someday you will beat Lord Hiashi."

"Thank you, Neji, my brother," Hinata said, smiling into her tea cup as she took another sip. She let out a soft sigh. "I just hope that my father will give me a chance to prove myself against him."

"He will," Neji told her. He reached for the teapot on the tray to pour himself more tea, but only a couple of drops fell out the spout. "It appears that we have finished the tea."

Hinata did not comment on how she had only drunk one cup and he many. Instead she smiled and asked, "Would you like for me to make another pot?"

"Yes, that would be favorable," Neji said, returning her smile.

The two of them got up, with Neji carrying the tea tray, and left the Hyuga training area.

Hiashi remembered that day very well. It surprised him, how close his eldest daughter and his nephew had become, and the addition of Hanabi to their group made the bond between them even stronger. The three of them seemed to have come together within the Hyuga clan. Hiashi had not seen a more united group within the clan throughout his lifetime. Hyugas in general were independent. Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi were as independent as the rest of the family, but they gave support to each other if it was needed. That kind of relationship was something that the entire Hyuga family needed, and Hiashi knew that there was only one person that could bring all the Hyuga clan members together.

The door to the dojo opened. Hiashi removed his gaze from the family crest and turned to see Hinata enter. She bowed before speaking.

"I was told that you wish to see me, Father."

"Yes, there is a matter that you and I must settle, Hinata," Hiashi said.

"What kind of matter?"

Hiashi again turned towards the wall scroll that held the family crest of the sun with the flame. "A clan matter. I have watched you become stronger and stronger over the past few years, as a ninja and as a person. And I am very pleased with how much you have grown."

"Thank you, Father," Hinata said, emotion building within her. She wanted to say more, but Hiashi held up his hand so that he could continue.

"I have been thinking about the clan lately. The times have changed and everything will keep changing. The clan needs to change as well in order to keep up. And I believe that only you can enable that to happen."

Hinata looked up at her father expectantly, wondering where this was going to lead to.

"That is why I have decided to step down and appoint you as clan head," Hiashi said, turning to face his daughter.

Hinata's eyes widened and her bottom lip dropped. "Me?"

Hiashi nodded. "Yes," he told her. "But there is something that you must first do in order to become the new head of the Hyuga clan."

"What must I do?" Hinata asked.

Hiashi activated his Byakugan, the veins around his eyes sticking out. He got into the ready stance of the Hyuga Gentle Fist style, with his palm open and facing Hinata.

"You must defeat me," Hiashi told his daughter.

And then he attacked.

Please leave a review. It will motivate me to write more. ^_^