A/N: This is the new story that I've been working on when I wasn't working on Believing- which you should all go read. Right now. It's at 7 chapters currently, but there'll be 8 on Friday most likely around 8ish since I'm finishing the chapter around 5 that day and editing it the next three hours since I'm… a very disorganized person when it comes to writing since my brain is on step 7 in the story when in the actual story… I'm only on step 2 in the story. So it takes me a while… which I will make up for by making it as awesome as possible :D
Anyhow, this story is something that I had a few daydreams about and then I finally decided to write it out… and it's turning out fantastic- in my head, anyway. So without further ado, I give you… Once Upon a Wild Dream!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto- or Reimei no Arcana, a manga that I got this idea from that I absolutely ADORE! So yes, this is what Naruto would be like… if I was able to combine the two. Hopefully it'll be as amazing to you guys as it is to me.
Once Upon a Wild Dream
Chapter One
Foreboding
Harsh panting filled the air and I struggled to quiet my breathing to no avail. The more I tried to stay quiet, the slower I ran and the better the chances were that they would catch up to me… Instead, I ran faster, and the pants became much more prominent. Sweat began to drip drown my brow but I wasted no effort in whipping it away. Every motion was key to survival- there could be no error. The sounds of the forest began to increase in volume, breaking me out of my concentration regarding my breathing. Growls of fierce, massive beasts followed my every step. High screeches of anger and despair drove themselves into my ears. Small whimpers came in tune with every step I took. The soil under my feet began to get more entwined and littered with vines and roots. Every so often I would stumble upon one and my heart would stop, waiting for the tingling sensation on the back of my neck to tell me that it was all over. Never giving myself the chance to completely fall on the ground, I would quickly reach out to steady myself and then press on. There would be no pauses, no slowing down no matter how tired I became.
Finally, I could see a blue, hazy light in front of me. Pushing myself to run faster, the branches that I had been able to duck and weave around before began to scrape against my skin. I gasped each and every time they nicked me, flinching whenever a cut was prodded with a curious branch poking out of an unusual place in the tree. Still, I kept moving, never daring to glance backwards, only looking forwards. It was not what behind me that mattered- I had dwelled on it for too long. No, now it was what lied in front of me that would help me. I was running from the past that I had created from my actions, and the only way for me to figure a way out… was to look forward.
The blue, vague lighting ahead of me became closer… much closer. 'Just a few more feet,' I thought to myself, a slight shred of hope weeding itself into my heart. Taking those few last steps forward, I crashed through the foliage of bushes in my way and dropped to the ground. Taking in big gulps of air, I looked around, searching.
The clearing was completely bathed in moonlight. Stone covered all of the clearing, clumps of grass peeking through the cracks. Broken towers were at each corner, empty and cold ever since they had been deserted. In the middle of the clearing in front of me stood a stone shelter, having only three walls and a roof. The wall that was missing wasn't completely gone- a three foot piece of it remained, varying in height at every part. I peered into the darkness, knowing that someone should be there. A smile lit my face as my gaze landed upon a shadowy figure of a stocky build. The person was definitely male- the size of the torso and forearms, as faint as they were just being shadows, were definitely of male proportions.
"You're here!" I breathed out in a sigh, trembling as I stood up.
Stumbling towards the figure, I reached out towards them. Their pale hand reached towards mine, a star shaped scar on the back of their hand calming me with the familiarity of it. Grasping their hand, I was abruptly pulled forward over the three foot wall and into their arms. Drugging warmth invaded my system, and I realized that even though I had been running and sweating, I was still extremely cold. It wasn't much of a shock considering it was winter, but not realizing that I was cold surprised me. It was as if my body had gone numb and rejected any signs of temperature changes. My shivering began to slow down, and my eyelids drooped.
"Thank you for helping me-" I started to say before I felt a sharp pain in the middle of my chest.
Gasping, I stumbled back from the person, clutching at my chest, tripping over the wall and falling backwards over it. My legs stayed hooked around the wall as my back ached from landing on the ground. Shifting onto my lower arms, I took my hand off of my chest. Warm liquid trickled in between my fingers. Lifting my hand, I stared at it dazedly in the moonlight. It was completely black, dripping the dark liquid onto my face. Glancing down at my chest, the dark liquid had spread completely over my chest, changing the pure white of my dress to a dark and sinister black in the lighting. I had been stabbed. Lifting my head back to the shadowy figure, I moved my lips to ask one last question.
"Why…?" I whispered, tears falling down my face.
The figure started to answer me, but my vision quickly faded from gray to black and then I was no more.
::-::
Lurching off of the bed, I gasped loudly into the early morn. Sweat matted my hair to my face and I pushed the dark locks aside. Panting, I looked about myself wildly, taking in my surroundings. I was in a bed- my bed, I thought- with light blue sheeting and butterfly imprints stitched into it. The walls were the same color as my bed, only they had white lilies painted on them instead of butterflies. On the other side of the room was a large desk with a black wooden brush and an antique, intricate hand-held mirror. A silver, iron chair sat before it, a cloak draped across the back. Behind the chair was a set of double doors which led out into the hallway-both white in color. To my right was a large, six foot dresser which was opened slightly as it could never close. A pink piece of fabric poked out of the opening. To my left was a small, dark blue chest with a silver lock. Intricate carvings of faeries and merfolk covered the chest. The floor was the same white that it always was. Glancing behind me and noticing that the drapes were still closed, I sat up and opened them, sunlight streaming in from the outdoors. Quickly opening the windows as well, a blue jay hopped up onto the sill and chirped to me a sweet good morning. Smiling, I grabbed the bowl on the table next to me that was full of seeds and placed it on the sill. The blue jay hopped over and began to eat its breakfast and I sighed.
Yet another nightmare… This would be the fifth time I've had this dream- it's become more frequent, I thought to myself. Lately I had been having the same, reoccurring nightmare. I still hadn't figured out who the person was or why they killed me; they just did. I had had the dream about a month ago. At first, it had only happened that one time. Then, a couple weeks later, it occurred again. Thinking nothing of it, another week passed… and I had the dream again. The past three nights in a row I have had that same nightmare. I could also feel something coming on the horizon- something was going to change. I could feel the electricity in the air, tense and alert. Danger was heading my way.
A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. Glancing up I pulled the sheeting onto me more instinctively. "Come in," I called.
The door opened and in walked a brown haired maid. Her hair was in a familiar pair of buns upon her child-shaped head. Her brown eyes peered at me warmly. Her skin was slightly tanned from working outside a lot, and her black and white long-sleeved, long-skirted dress hung off of her body. Upon her feet were dark, worn leather boots. I smiled at her.
"Good morning, Tenten," I said softly.
"Good morning, Hinata-hime*," she replied, making her way over to the dresser.
Opening it, she clucked her tongue at me and shook her head. "Just how do you manage to get so many clothes in such a short amount of time?" she asked me, smiling all the while.
"Father always wants to dress me up, and you know how he hates it when I wear the same thing twice within a month, so… he took me shopping again yesterday evening," I explained as she pulled out a sky blue dress with a white bodice.
"Ah, that is true. He gets so uptight about your family's image, doesn't he?" She walked over to me and lifted the covers off of my body, pulling me out of bed.
"Well, we are the prestigious Hyuuga Clan," I replied, sighing softly.
Hiashi Hyuuga, my father, was the ruler of Northern Konoha. He was a rather… materialistic ruler. Although he was a very fine leader, his first priority was his family's image. We had to look, act, talk, and behave like the royalty we were. We were not allowed to mingle with the locals nor were we, apparently, allowed to wear the same clothing twice a month. I was the child that he was the least fond of- not only was I not a strong, willful Hyuuga, but I would go out of my way to talk to commoners- as he put it- and look after them. To him, I was much too kind-hearted and gentle to be a true Hyuuga, but since I was his first born and no one had challenged my right to the throne, I was his heir and he was, for lack of a better term, stuck with me.
"True, true- please suck in and hold it for a few moments," Tenten said as she tightened the strings on the corset, nearly crushing my ribcage.
I winced and struggled to hold in the pain-filled gasp that attempted to burst out from between my lips. Feeling a slight bit of pride when it didn't, I lifted my arms above my head and slide into the dress Tenten had chosen for me to wear today. It was one of my finer dresses, so I assumed we had to go address the public or interact with someone from outside the castle today.
"So, what am I expected to do today, Tenten?"
"You're meeting with your future hu-… with someone that Hiashi-sama* so desires you to meet," Tenten quickly corrected herself, fidgeting slightly.
I frowned slightly at Tenten's abnormal antics. This person that I was going to meet… I wasn't allowed to know who it was before I arrived. Whoever this person was… apparently Father believed that if I knew who it was I would find some excuse not to come. Not knowing who it was and not being allowed to know had piqued my curiosity, something Father used time and time again to get what he wanted out of me. Sighing, knowing I wouldn't be able to get out of this I walked over to my desk and sat down, picking up the brush and the hand mirror.
"What time shall the guest- or guests- be arriving?" I asked, hoping I could get an answer to this, at least.
"In about an hour; Hiashi-sama wants you to arrive in the throne room in ten minutes for a quick debriefing. Neji-sama will be there as well," Tenten tacked on as an afterthought.
I sighed again. Neji, although he was one of the kindest people here to me next to Tenten, was not someone I wanted to be with in the same room as Father. Neji is my cousin; his father died when he was four years of age. Father took him in and we had been raised as brother and sister ever since then, but Neji… was always someone who believed that destiny could not be changed. He would constantly talk about the destiny of himself and others around him, saying that people were born to do certain things in life, to be certain people in life, and nothing could change that even if you could foresee what was to come. Father also believed in that whole-heartedly. While I wasn't particularly in agreement or disagreement with their ideals, having them spout the same thing over and over again for a long period of time was quite… grueling, even for someone as obedient and patient as myself.
"Alright, then." I quickly brushed out my long, dark, indigo locks and left them hanging at my back, reaching mid-waist.
Glancing in the mirror, I quickly put my bangs into place. They reached my eyebrows and the ends framed my face. My skin was flawless and reminded me of porcelain- pretty, but fragile and easily broken. My eyes were the same lavender color as all the Hyuuga clan, palest in the middle and darkening slightly at the edges- the only sign that could show that we had pupils. My eyes were either hated or loved- there was no one that was indecisive. They were such a rare, unique color that most were either afraid of or in awe of. The Hyuuga Clan's eyes were said to look into the souls of people and based on that, we were able to predict their future. It was something that has been said for generations, but I doubted that it was true.
Standing up, I turned and headed towards the door, Tenten rushing forward to hold the door open for me. I smiled at her, and murmured a quick "thank you" before heading out into the hall and towards the throne room. The halls were completely tiled in black and white- and very spacious. The walls went at least fifty to sixty feet high, and only the first four feet were in black tile, the rest was white. The flooring was patterned similar to that of a checkerboard, alternating between black and white. Every ten feet or so there was either a painting on the wall or a statue and a table at each, blue hydrangeas in a light purple vase below the painting or next to the statue. I very much adored the style of our castle- it was light, royal, and simple. Of course, even though it was simple didn't mean it wasn't expensive. I didn't even want to think about what each painting cost, let alone the whole castle.
Striding down the hall at a quick place, I turned at the fourth door on the left, knocking softly against the white wood. There was a rustle of fabric on the other side before the door opened and a servant girl, in the same outfit as Tenten, bowed her head and held the door open for me to enter. Nodding at her and smiling- though I doubt she could have seen it considering her eyes were closed and her head was still bowed- I walked into the throne room and headed towards Father.
The throne room was decorated exactly like the halls, only at the end there were five blue and gold throne chairs at the far wall instead of a never ending black and white expanse of space. The tallest, and most intricate, chair was the one in the middle, which my father sat at. Beside him on the right was his current wife, Meien, who wasn't my biological mother. She was Hanabi, my younger sister's mother. Meien had the traditional dark- in her case, black- hair and lavender eyes that all Hyuugas owned, though her hair was much shorter than the norm. Her eyes were fierce yet kind as she gazed upon me, her white, flowing, elegant dress embroidered with lilies flowing about her. She was just as pale as I was and could have easily passed as my own mother.
My father cleared his throat, a signal that he was slightly irritated with the slow pace I had walking up to him. I blushed slightly and increased my pace, taking in his expression to see what kind of mood he was in. His dark, chocolate brown hair was pulled back from his face and hung to his shoulder blades. His face was completely blank, as were his lavender eyes, which were slightly darker than mine. There were a few wrinkles up on his face around his mouth and eyes- crow's feet and laugh lines, although I've never heard him laugh in my whole life. It seemed as though he wasn't extremely irritated with me… yet.
Standing before them, I put my hands at my sides and held my chin up high, knowing it was what my father would want to see. Instead of a flicker of approval in his eyes that I had expected to see, there was a flicker of uncertainty before he masked his emotions again. He motioned for me to come sit at his side with a flick of his wrist and I quickly moved forward to do so.
I thought he was going to talk to me before our guests arrived…? I thought, confused. Unless he still plans on doing so, but he never has me sit down next to him and then talk to me- he thinks it ruins our image. I was sure he was going to have me memorize something to say… My thoughts trailed off as the servant girl opened the door yet again and Neji quickly entered, not sparing her a single glance which made me frown slightly. Neji usually at least gave them a slight nod as recognition, even if they didn't see it…
As he got closer, I noticed that he was unusually anxious; he was frowning in displeasure and his eyes, the same color as mine, were clouded over and it appeared that he was in deep thought. His face was slightly paler than usual- almost the same color as mine. His dark hair- the same as that of Father's- hung in a low ponytail behind his back, a little higher than mid-waist in length and was slightly unruly as if he had been in a rush to come here… or he hadn't been paying close attention. He wore a white, high-collared silk button up shirt and the traditional black tights that all royalty wore- or at least, for the men. His dark, indigo colored cloak was unbuttoned and hung off of his shoulders, though a quick shrug of his shoulders fixed that. On his feet were extremely expensive and shiny onyx colored black boots. Father motioned for him to go sit down as well, without saying a word. Biting my lip, I wondered if it would be alright if I asked what was going on, but quickly decided against it. If Father wanted me to know, he would have told me- or at least shown me through action. Neji walked over to me and sat beside me, still not completely focused on what was going on.
We waited tensely in silence for a few moments before I heard the clack of steel-tipped boots against the ground outside of the room. Fidgeting slightly and earning a disapproving glare from Father, I watched the door. The guests are earlier than they were supposed to be… I thought as I watched the servant open the door yet again.
In walked three figures dressed in dark cloaks. The one on the left was the tallest, with a very dark red cloak- almost black in color… as was Neji's, and the other two guests, though the colors that they were tinted in were different. The one in the middle, the smallest of the three figures, had a dark green tinted cloak. The one on the end, average in height, had a dark brown colored cloak. They all walked forward and knelt at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the throne.
Father stood up and walked forward slightly, dressed the same way as Neji- only he was slightly taller. He gazed upon the three figures for a few moments before he spoke. "Rise, and take off your cloaks," he commanded, his voice cold and harsh.
They quickly did as they were told and I looked at them, shocked. They were all princes of the other kingdoms. On the right was Sasuke Uchiha, his raven hair and red eyes with black tomoes a dead giveaway. His skin was slightly paler than mine, if that was even possible, and his expression was completely black. He- as all the other men in the room- was dressed in the same outfit. The Uchiha Clan ruled over Southern Konoha.
Their closest allies were the Shibaku Clan of Western Konoha. Gaara Shibaku stood in the middle, his vibrant, jagged and slightly lengthy crimson hair the only color in the room that stood out immediately. His pastel green eyes were empty and outlined in black. On his forehead was the sign for "love", in red on the left corner. His skin was slightly darker than mine- almost like Neji's when he wasn't so… stressed out.
Next to him was the Hyuuga Clan's closest allies- the Inuzuka Clan. The brown hair and black eyes of his almost made him seem like he was an ordinary local or a servant, but the red marks under his eyes said differently. They were straight, fang like markings going from his eye down to the middle of his cheek. They started of thick and thinned out at the bottom. His skin was tan and he wore a smirk on his face… and what looked like fangs poked out from his mouth. His hair was spiky and covered his forehead, but he seemed a little anxious and then I heard the bark outside the door. Oh, Akamaru must be waiting outside… Father doesn't care much for animals, I thought, feeling a pang of sympathy.
"Now that you are all here, I would like to formally announce why you are all gathered here today," Father started, putting his hands behind his back. "You are all here, Princes of the four main, vast kingdoms, as suitors."
I felt a knot form in my stomach and a chill go down my spine. I… don't this is going to be good for me. I feel very… uncomfortable. Something's going to happen- my thoughts went cold as I heard Father's next words.
"You are all going to attempt wooing my daughter, Hinata-hime, for her hand in marriage."
I, never in my entire life thus far, have ever heard a silence as deep, tense, shocked and angry as the one that followed my father's words.
::-::
Hime- Princess
Sama- A form of respect referring to someone much higher in rank than you. Hiashi-sama would, in English, be translated into something close to Lord Hiashi.
A/N: And there it is! :D The start of my new, amazing story! This is going to be so much fun to write… Muahahah! Ah, the suspense that… is far, far in the future as I am currently thinking too far ahead of myself. Any who, please review/rate/ask for a story/tell me how bad this is… something. Anything. I want to hear from you all! Your reviews are my inspiration, the more they are, the better quality of my chapters and the more… interesting and lengthy the plot might get. I'll probably only update this story once a week- I'm pretty busy with Believing and I want to leave time to respond to reviews, make stories upon requests and, of course, read other author's stories… So yeah. Busy, busy. Any who. That's right. REVIEW PLEASE! :D
