The Twenty-Seventh Day of December
Summary: It was the twenty-seventh day of December—just another regular day, according to Hyuuga Hiashi. It didn't matter that exactly sixteen years ago, his first child was born. Perhaps the ghosts of the past Hokage could help him have a change of heart. NaruHina. AU.
Disclaimer: The characters, setting, situations, etc. from the Naruto manga/anime belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Prologue
Hiashi Hyuuga was working on some paperwork when he heard his eldest daughter's soft footsteps stop before the sliding door to his office.
"Father," her quiet voice floated through the paper of the shoji. "Forgive me for interrupting. May I speak with you?"
"Enter," he commanded distractedly, as he continued to read through a scroll. With gentle care, the shoji was slid open to reveal a young woman with long, midnight-blue hair dressed in black Capri pants and a lavender jacket. Hiashi did not even look up as he heard quick, silent footsteps make its way towards him.
"Good morning, Father," she greeted. Finally, he raised his head to see his daughter bowed before him.
"What is it you need, Hinata?" He watched as she straightened her back but kept her head slightly bowed down.
"I…I wanted to remind you that I would be gone all day, Father," she said almost shyly.
"I remembered," he said indifferently. "What time will you be returning?"
"I'm not sure, Father. But I'm certain I would be returning late. Perhaps after midnight."
"Very well. Neji will be with you, correct?" he asked rhetorically. "Remind him that you are in his care and that he is not to return home without you."
"Yes, Father," she said meekly. Then she took a deep breath and raised her head. Her eyes met his. "Father, would it be all right if I brought Hanabi with me?"
"Did she express any interest in wanting to go?"
"W-well," Hinata stuttered, her courage starting to fail. "No, she didn't. B-but I was going to ask her after getting your permission."
"Nevermind, Hinata. If she wanted to go, she would have asked me herself." Hiashi knew that was a lie, and he knew Hinata knew it as well. Hanabi would never admit to wanting to attend a festive gathering like that, especially when she knew that their father would prefer she trained instead. "Is that all?"
Hinata tilted her head down dejectedly, breaking their eye-contact.
"I…Well…." Hiashi watched as she struggled with her words. Then she sighed hopelessly. "Yes, Father. I will leave for my party now."
"Go," he commanded, and he caught the hurt look on Hinata's face before she turned and walked out of the office.
Hiashi felt a twinge of guilt. After all, he knew why Hinata looked hurt, why she really came into his office that morning: She wanted him to acknowledge her Sixteenth Birthday. Hiashi sighed and pushed the guilt aside. There were more important things to worry about, like the paperwork that lay in front of him.
As usual, Hiashi retreated to his bedroom at around 10:00 that night. By 10:30pm, the lights were turned off and he was lying in bed, ready to sleep. But just before sleep overtook him, his ninja senses were alerted to something amiss. He sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. Suddenly, his room began filling with thick fog. Remaining calm, he activated his Byakugan to find the intruder who was causing this, but the chakra that filled the fog hindered that attempt. Just as he was about to get out of bed, something wrapped tightly around his torso, his upper arms, his wrists, and his ankles and pulled him back onto his bed trapping him there.
"Release me!" Hiashi yelled angrily. He struggled against his bonds to no avail. "You will not get away with this! Guards! GUARDS! GUARDS!"
Laughter filled the room. Hiashi could discern two separate male voices. He tried to pinpoint their location, but it was no use. Their laughter was coming from all directions.
"No one can hear you, Hiashi-chan," one of the voices said jovially. The fog suddenly dispersed. And there, standing by Hiashi's bed looking down at him with twin smiles were the First and Second Hokage.
TBC
A/N: Yup, I'm going to attempt to write A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) based Naruto fanfic. Don't know if it's been done before, but oh well. Please review.