Disclaimer: I don't own it. There aren't any characters that I created. This all belongs to its respective owners.
Can you say 're-write'? I can~! I can't find the owner of the Doujinshi that inspired this story; in fact, I can't even find the Doujinshi. Not on Google, DeviantArt, or PhotoBucket.
The fire was everywhere, spreading quickly through the close knit houses of the Hyuuga clan district. No one, except Neji, could quite figure out how the fire began, it could have been anything. They didn't know if it was done on purpose or by accident. A child practicing a fire Jutsu or an arsonist exacting revenge, no one knew for sure. All that was known now was fire. Hot, bright, orange, yellow, blistering fire, which ate everything it, could get its grubby, flame, hands on. It was ravenous.
Currently, Hiashi Hyuuga was ordering every clan member he could set his immediate scary sights on to use their Byakugan to find the rest of the clan and the biggest fire filled sections. That's when he saw his, now Jounin, nephew Neji.
"Activate your Byakugan and help me locate Hinata and Hanabi." Hiashi ordered the genius brunet. Neji, of course, complied with his worried uncle and did just that. They covered each other's, extremely tiny, blind spots.
"Hanabi-sama is a few hundred yards behind you Hiashi-sama, but I am unable to locate Hinata-sama." His voice was bland while the corners of his mouth turned downward in an annoyed frown. He ran a sweaty, bloody hand through his long and, surprisingly, unbound hair. 'Where did I…?' he couldn't remember where he had placed his very last hair tie or how he had severely wounded his hand. He was worried that there was no feeling in his hand.
"You go find her and I'll grab Hanabi!" Hiashi shouted over the shouts of his panicking clansmen at Neji. Hiashi was so worried that he had broken his normal blank and frosty facade and had shown his extreme concern for his only daughters. They departed.
"Father!" Hanabi shouted, quite relieved to see her dad. Hiashi did not answer her call; instead he picked his youngest child up and took off faster than Kakashi from Gai during a terrifyingly weird challenge that included stealing Dango from a very homicidal Anko.
Meanwhile, Neji did as he was told and ran back into the fiery hell hole that used to be a clan house. He activated his Kekkei-Genkai, the Byakugan, and searched for Hinata once again. Through many, many, many fire ridden corridors did he, finally, find Hinata. She was allowing the fire to surround her as she cradled her knees to her chest. The fire was inching closer and closer to her. She didn't seem to care, and that scared him. What exactly was she doing? Was...was she angst-ing!? No, no, no, no, no it had to be his imagination...right?
The fire had gotten within an inch of Hinata's very flammable festival kimono. Fear filled the pit of Neji's stomach with a heavy, sickening, hot and cold feeling. He crossed his left arm over his nauseous midsection for a moment; he was sure he would loose his dinner. With his bloodline limit still activated he noticed that Hinata seemed to be crying a little bit. He wasn't very good at comforting people...this was going to be tricky.
His beige, unsecured, shirt flapped about his back as he ran. Pushing chakra into his legs he sped up his pace to reach Hinata before the fire would have a chance at devouring her. That would be a painful way to go. Not to mention dying in a house fire would be humiliating for any self-respecting Shinobi.
He burst through her sliding doors and into the waiting fire that surrounded them and latched on to consume them. He calmly put out the tiny flames that licked at his shirt and pants. Hinata didn't seem to even notice he was there. She was to busy feeling sorrowful and semi-suicidal.
"Hanabi…" she whispered sadly. 'I can't believe she said that...I thought we had grown closer over the years. I guess I was wrong...'
"She's safe." Neji spoke, he had heard her pity filled whisper. Hinata turned her head so sharply that Neji was sure she had given herself whiplash because of it.
"W-what?" she seemed so surprised and stunned. Neji gave her a flat look before stating, in his 'you total idiot you annoy the crap out of me' voice.
"I am not repeating myself." He held out his hand for her to take so he could pull her to her feet. She stumbled and winced a little bit. He then noticed the gash on her skinny ankle.
"What happened?" she looked at the wounded appendage before giving him a one worded reply.
"Glass." She noticed the blood on his left hand. "What about you?" he seemed to remember just at that moment that it was there.
"No clue…" he thought about it for a second. "Could have been when I was near the kitchens." Sneaking food. "The stove blew up." Hinata nodded her head in understanding. She grasped his shoulders and allowed her self to be lifted onto his back. Hinata jumped a little when the building started to moan and groan as it cracked and popped in the fire, just ready to fall. Neji, still holding Hinata's hand, pulled her quickly down the corridors of the fiery house. The fire, once again, began licking at Neji's loose, flapping shirt, as he sprinted towards the exit pushing chakra into his legs to move faster, and to jump higher over the hungry flames.
When they exited the building, it collapsed; it had too much fire damage to stay standing and it was old anyway. 'Just in time', was the collective thought throughout the groups of main and branch families sitting in a humongous semi-circle covered in soot and slightly charred.
Hanabi ran to her sister's side and sobbed hysterically into Hinata's robe. She thought her big sister was going to die.
"I'm sorry Nee-Chan! I didn't mean what I said! I don't hate you! Please forgive me Hinata!" Hinata patted Hanabi's brown head and cooed loving and forgiving words into her sweet baby sister's ear.
"I will always forgive you, Nabi-Chan! Don't ever forget that!" Hinata told the twelve year old Genin. She started squeezing the breath out of Hanabi's lungs. Somehow Hanabi got out of the death grip her sister had on her.
"Thank you big sister." Hanabi then, walked away with as much poise and dignity as a slightly blackened and singed Hyuuga Kunoichi could.
Hiashi nodded to his eldest daughter, patted her on the head, and dipped his head slightly to Neji, before walking away as well and leaving the two in each other's company.
"Thank you for saving me Neji-Nii-san." Hinata blushed cherry tomato red in shame and stared quietly at the ground. She couldn't believe she had to be saved again. He probably thought she was a weak burden once more.
"Idiot. It's my job to keep you out of all the trouble you attract." She looked up to see her cousin standing with his hands on his hips looking a bit annoyed. Hopefully he wasn't annoyed enough to give her a noogie. She hated those...with a passion.
"I'm sorry!" she bowed over and over in apology. His eye twitched. "Will you let me bandage your hand Nii-san?" Neji rolled his eyes but agreed.
Together they walked to one of the surviving houses and got all cleaned up, and Hinata got a hated noogie for apologizing again.
That was life though.
I hath fixed this piece of crap~!
~kaori and Yoshi!