Title: Girl of Light
Summary: A necklace and a bracelet were pretty innocent stuff to give a girl for her twelfth birthday, right? Wrong. For Hinata, it means a secret she never knew she kept, a group she didn't know she belonged to. For Hinata, it means she was a Girl of Light, now and forever. Girl of Light, sun creatures, she was just one step away from trees and flowers. Good to know. Follow her on her adventure! Strong Hinata! NaruHina!
Pairing: Naruto/Hinata
Genre: Romance/Adventure
Rating: T
~ ! ~ ! ~ ! GIRL OF LIGHT! ~! ~! ~
The day was bright, the day was beautiful, and the day was hers. Nothing could dim the wide, huge smile on Hinata's face; nothing could take away the joy at being twelve. She was almost an adult, by all normal standards, of course. She smiled impossibly wider, nothing, not even her father's constant reminder of her worthlessness, or her sister's daily reminder of her genin exams, could stop her joy.
She stepped outside, and was almost blinded by the sun's bright, hot rays. It seemed as if it was shining especially for her. She laughed, and made her way to school, stopping every now and then to pick a flower and luxuriate in its wonderful scent. Everything seemed so wonderful today.
"Don't you look happy today!" came an unfamiliar voice, undoubtedly female from its pitch and tone, from behind her.
Hinata whirled around, activating her Byakugan, and getting into her family's traditional stance, while the woman just laughed.
"Relax," said the woman. "I am Yuuni."
Hinata dropped her stance and stood there, Byakugan activated, looking at the woman, staring into the depths of her being, thanks to her eyes. 'The woman' could hardly be more than sixteen, but looked and sounded more mature. Hinata could not detect any hostility from her chakra network, but remembering her kidnapping, left the Byakugan on. It was better to be safe than sorry, in any case.
Yuuni took a step towards Hinata who quickly got back into her stance.
"Would you chill?" Yuuni demanded. "If I wanted to hurt you, I'd have done it ages ago!"
That statement did nothing to appease Hinata, but only affirmed her belief that Yuuni was a female devil-incarnate who wanted her eyes and her pockets. Moving to strike Yuuni, Hinata put all she had, every skill she had, in the strike aimed at Yuuni's shoulder.
Yuuni just sighed and dodged. She continued dodging until Hinata, sensing her attack was fruitless, stopped.
"Who are you?" Hinata asked in a firm, determined voice; the first thing she had said to Yuuni.
"Thank Kami! She talks!" Yuuni said sarcastically. "I am Yuuni Yamanaka, and I've got to speak you."
Hinata relaxed considerably. "Yamamaka?" she asked, taking in the blonde hair, and the familiar eyes. "You're Ino's sister?"
"Why do people always assume that?" Yuuni muttered under her breath. "No, I'm her cousin," she said this more audibly.
"What do you want to speak to me about?" asked Hinata, getting to the whole point of the conversation. Since it was obvious Yuuni didn't want her pockets, she was ready to cooperate.
Yuuni checked her wristwatch before replying. "It's already too late. Go on to school. I'll meet you under the mango tree, by the stone bench in the Academy playground during your lunch break."
Hinata nodded and turned, continuing on her way to school, when once again Yuuni stopped her with her words.
"Happy birthday, Hinata Hyuuga," she said.
Hinata whirled around to ask how she knew that, but Yuuni was nowhere to be found. In her place was a box, wrapped in shiny purple paper. Curious, Hinata opened it, gasping in pleasure at its contents. There was a handmade bracelet, gleaming in all colours of the rainbow. The bracelet was twisted in many places, making it seem like an infinite number of bracelets. It seemed iridescent in the bright morning sun. The next of the treasure in the box was a golden necklace, with a jade leaf pendant, glowing in all its extraordinary beauty.
Shaking her head at what was obviously one of life's many mysteries; Hinata packed both the necklace and the bracelet into the box and continued her walk to school.
~ ! ~ ! Lunch Break ~! ~ !
Hinata sat down on the stone bench under the mango tree with a sigh of pleasure. She had not taken breakfast, and all through her morning classes, had been looking forward to lunch. She opened her bag and brought out a plate of rice, and a foil-wrapped slice of cake she had made the night before.
She had barely finished the first spoon of her rice when Yuuni appeared. Shifting to make room for her, Hinata offered some of her lunch to Yuuni, who politely declined, bringing out hers. They ate in companionable silence until Yuuni, rubbing her hands together after her meal broke it.
"Now to business," she said.
Hinata nodded, then remembering what happened in the morning said: "Thank you for your gift, but how did you know today was my birthday? I've figured out how you knew I was a Hyuuga, pretty hard not to; seeing the eyes and all, but how did you know today was my birthday?"
Yuuni ignored her, and started her tale.
"A very long time ago, way before Konoha was created; the whole world was in peace and order. The little corner of the world that concerns this story was ruled by a great and wise woman, the beloved Queen Amina. She had two identical sisters, as she was a triplet. Being the oldest, the throne and crown automatically went to her when her father died, leaving her sisters to act as her close and personal advisers.
"This suited them, because they loved each other, and did everything together, even to the extent of vowing to die together. This was a broken vow, as with great sorrow, Queen Amina buried her sisters, who had been killed in a robbery while she was away. Overcome by grief and a burning need for vengeance, she stepped down from the throne, handing the mantle of leadership to her youngest sister's oldest daughter. Leaving the kingdom, she traveled far and wide, until almost giving up hope, she stumbled into a cave."
"What happened then?" Hinata interrupted, enthralled by the story.
"Don't interrupt me," said Yuuni. "Anyways, on the walls of the cave were old drawings, old even at that time. They were images of an era before that, when people used to worship the sun. At that time, there were certain steps taken for a person to become connected to the sun, gaining its infinite knowledge and strength, and these were detailed on the walls.
"Queen Amina went through those steps, gained knowledge and strength, and finally had her revenge. In respect to her late sisters, she promised not to use her powers ever again. She got married, had a daughter and died in childbirth. The girl received the power at birth, as it was now part of her mother's genes.
"Over the years, Queen Amina's descendants have scattered, but those who have the power know how to contact each other. And I have made contact with you."
"Made contact with me?" Hinata asked, bewildered. "I am one of them? I am one of you?" At Yuuni's nod, she spluttered. "But I don't have any powers!"
Yuuni smiled. "I know that."
Hinata's face fell. It was bad enough that she was a failure in her own clan. Now, she had been told she was part of a super powered group, and she was the odd one out.
"I also know that you are twelve, the year when the powers start to show," she continued. "Put on your bracelet and necklace."
Hastening to obey, Hinata put them on, and then gasped out, partly in surprise, but mostly in pain, when both the necklace and the bracelet grew impossibly hot against her pale skin.
Standing, Yuuni extended her right arm, showing for the first time an identical bracelet to Hinata's. "Welcome to the Girls of Light, sister."
Hinata tried to say something grave and sober to suit the moment, as she grasped Yuuni's hand. "So, Girls of Light, no boys, huh?" was the only thing she could come up with.
"That's a story for another day." Yuuni said, laughing. "Same time, same place, tomorrow, be there. Take care, Hinata."
Hinata nodded, watching as a girl who was now more than part of her life turned and walked away, stopping only to glance at the miserable form that was Naruto. Shaking her head, Yuuni walked on, while Hinata went back to class, a secret coursing through her veins.
~ ! ~ ! Girl of Light ~! ~!
End of Chapter 1
La-la, I'm back now, with a huge burst of awesomeness! But don't mind me, let's talk about the story! You like? It's pathetic that there are very few strong Hinata stories out there. So I decided to write mine. I see Hinata as a very unique character, and I want to portray her as such.
Reviews, as always, would be joy.
Love,
Hyacynthianna~!