Guardian's Wings
Chapter 2: Safe Haven
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't take over 50 chapters to address issues that could at least deserve a chapter or two.
When Tsunade entered Naruto's apartment after his clone gave her the directions, she was a little surprised to see more of Naruto's clones apparently doing chores. Two were sweeping the floor of his apartment in an attempt to clear away the dust on the floor, one was in the process of cleaning the few dishes that were in the sink, two were engaged in clearing out his refrigerator and household of trash, including the used ramen cups that littered his floor, a trio of clones were apparently cleaning the bathroom, and two were taking two baskets full of clothes to the complex's Laundromat for some heavy-duty cleaning. The tenth Naruto, who Tsunade was hoping was the original, walked up to greet her in his usual boisterous tone. "Baa-chan, you're finally here!"
Despite growing a tick mark at her nickname, she was a little more concerned for his emergency call here. "Look, Naruto, while I think it's great that you are cleaning up after yourself, unless this is an actual emergency, I need-"
"But it is, Baa-chan! Follow me!" Naruto stated while he led Tsunade into his apartment. She had to admit it was a quaint little living space. There was a potted plant that looked well kept in the kitchen area, which was the first room that was seen when you walked inside. A small table and two chairs made up the furniture inside the kitchen, with a refrigerator, a stove that looked overused, and a microwave oven that looked practically unused, were the only appliances. A small sink completed the kitchen. To the right was the small hallway that divided off into the bathroom and shower and the bedroom.
Tsunade followed the blond Genin to his bedroom. Apparently the bedroom was currently the only part of the household not engaged in a form of spring cleaning. Naruto made a motion to open the door, but hesitated. Tsunade could see the conflict going on in his eyes. She waited for a few minutes for Naruto to try and summon the courage to show her what was behind the door before she got impatient. "Naruto, either you open that door or I will be forced to fine you for filing a false report." It was more of a request than an order, since she didn't know just what was going on with her fellow blond or why he seemed uncharacteristically hesitant.
After waging a war in his mind, Naruto reluctantly agreed and led the female Hokage into his bedroom. What Tsunade saw stunned her; there on Naruto's bed was the Hyūga heiress-she wasn't aware of the girl's circumstances yet-with a pair of wings growing out of her back. She spent the next minute trying to release any form of genjutsu that may have been placed on her as a prank. When the Godaime realized that the wings were in fact real, she was slightly stunned. Granted, this was not the strangest thing that she had ever seen-that honor went to a chorus line of dancing toads on her 21st birthday courtesy of her perverted teammate-but it was quite unbelievable. She walked over to the girl, who was apparently resting, and noticed her condition. She turned around to Naruto, who began to explain how he saw her being attacked by a small mob and brought her here, since he didn't quite know how the hospital staff would react to a human with wings. "Naruto, I will do what I can; though truth be told I have never seen anything like this before. That said I need you to leave the room. I may end up having to try and take some of her clothes off in order to check for other injuries. So, unless you want Hinata-chan here to think you are a pervert or something, I'm going to have to ask you to leave for now." She smirked as Naruto had a blush that was a deep shade of red and fled out of the room faster than Orochimaru in a hawk sanctuary. She chuckled a bit as he left before turning her attention to Hinata.
For starters, Tsunade checked up on her wings, seeing as how they were the part of her anatomy that held the most interest. She checked Hinata's back where the wings came out to see two unique characteristics: one was the fact that there appeared to be flaps where the wings could enter or possibly fold into the body, and the second was what appeared to be part of a seal that was deteriorating slower than normal. The seal, from what Tsunade could tell, was the kanji for "wings," with what appeared to be half of a set of runes surrounding the kanji in a circular formation. She assumed that whatever caused the seal to activate was probably the reason that it was beginning to fade. Acting quickly, Tsunade brought out a camera from her kit and took several pictures of the seal. A camera was standard on any in-village medical kit because most cases inside a village were for abuse or some other crime, so cameras and other such supplies would be needed to document abuse or other significant findings.
After taking documentation of the seal, Tsunade checked out Hinata's other injuries. Thankfully, outside of some bruising on her arms and legs, as well as a few cuts and shallow stab wounds, her injuries were fairly minor. Remarkably, her wings seemed undamaged, if only a little dirty. Tsunade guessed that somehow the wings could act somewhat like a shield for Hinata, but as to how they didn't have a scratch on them she didn't have a clue. Tsunade scanned Hinata's body up and down to check for any sort of broken bones or other injuries, occasionally stopping to heal a nasty wound or to heal some of the bruising after documenting it in her medical report. After doing this, she moved on to Hinata's head and neck to check for head trauma. That is when she noticed the bruising on the left side of Hinata's face and neck. It was uncharacteristic of the rest of her injuries. By the looks of things, she was forcibly grabbed by the neck and harshly slapped across her face. These injuries were not consistent with a group beating. They looked more like injuries Tsunade had seen with cases of child abuse.
"Just what the hell happened to you, Hinata?" Tsunade asked to no one in particular. After a few more minutes of checking injuries and recording things down, Tsunade recalled Naruto, who had finished cleaning his apartment up as best as he could. Tsunade didn't know how he would react to what she had planned, or for that matter what she was going to do about all this, but she needed to take things one step at a time.
"OK, gaki, I fixed her up as best as I could. Now, I'm not entirely sure what's going on here with your little friend, but for right now, she needs to stay here."
"What!?! B-b-but, Tsunade-baachan, what am I gonna do? I-I still have to meet with my team, do missions, and all the rest of that kinda stuff! I can't just abandon my duties as a ninja!"
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Naruto, just shut up and listen." After he quieted down, she continued. "Look, I assume you didn't bring her to the hospital due to her wings, right?" Even saying it seemed off for the fifty year old Hokage. Naruto nodded. "In her condition, she probably isn't going to be moving very far for a while. She is going to be sore for a while, and whatever caused her to grow those wings obviously took a lot out of her. She will probably tire easily and be kinda hungry when she gets up and about. I am not sure I want very many people around right now, especially since some of the injuries she had don't look like they came from whatever beating she took at the hands of that mob you witnessed. I will do my best to keep people from harassing you as best as I can, but right now she needs a friend and she needs a place to stay away from prying eyes. I can cover for you as far as your team is concerned, and if money is an issue, I can help you there myself. I would assign this as a mission, but it would be classified as an A-rank and I can't assign an A-rank mission to a Genin by himself."
She forestalled any other arguments by holding her hand up. "Besides, when she does wake up, you will probably need to calm her down. Chances are she will be very confused and scared over what is going on right now. Just try to be patient with her. Either Shizune or I will be by sometime tomorrow to check up on her to make sure that she is healing properly. If I can find anything that might explain what is going on, she will be the first to know. Other than that, the only people that I expect will want to know what is going on will probably be her team and yours. So, unless it is someone in that group, or unless it is someone you trust, please keep them out and not let them see her like this. Do you understand, Naruto?"
He simply nodded his head. He was a little unsure about taking care of Hinata, not because he thought she was a monster, but because he had never had anyone in his home before, let alone a girl. Plus, he wasn't entirely sure that Hinata would want him around. Why should she, when she could barely stay conscious enough to have a conversation with him? Not to mention that she would turn red just by looking at him. He probably always did something embarrassing around her and it got her mad enough to turn her face completely red! But, the "old hag" as he so affectionately called her, had a good point. If the civilian reaction was anything to go by, something like this would be a little too much for most to handle. "Don't worry, Baa-chan, I promise nothing bad will happen to her while I'm around! You know me! I never go back on my word, because that is my nindo, my Way of the Ninja! Dattebayo!" Tsunade ruffled his hair and went straight back to her office. She had some serious planning to do and some evidence to look over. She most likely also had a perverted seals master to talk to.
Hiashi Hyūga sat in his office thinking about the day's events. After the initial shock of what happened died down, he and the other elders tried to track down the former heiress, but with no luck. They would have used the Byakugan to search, but every building that had been built since the time of the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had been enhanced with materials that prevented the use of the Byakugan to see into buildings and such. Apparently, the general population was unnerved by the idea of a large group of people that could see through walls. 'As they should be,' thought Hiashi. It was the belief amongst many in the clan that, with the Uchiha and Senju clans only having one member left in each family, that the Hyūga were the most powerful clan in Konoha. As such, they were entitled to run things their own way, with no interference from outsiders. It was part of the reason why the clan had almost always been at odds with the Hokage as of late; the clan was always seen by others as pushing the boundaries of their authority. Hiashi himself had been at odds with both the late Sandaime and Yondaime Hokages for his clan's actions, especially the use of the Hyūga Main Family's Cursed Seal Technique. Both the Third Hokage and the Fourth Hokage felt that the use of the seal, while having practical purposes, was borderline torture for the abuse it could be used for against the Branch House.
However, none of that even registered in Hiashi's mind. What filled his thoughts were a sense of betrayal, hatred, and anger towards his late wife, Sango Hyūga. It was considered law in the clan that either you married within the Hyūga clan or you married a civilian with no ties or history of being born into any other clan. One of the biggest fears the Hyūga had was the possibility of either loosing the Byakugan to another clan by having a child with another person that was not a Hyūga by birth or marriage. The worst fear, however, was having the Byakugan tainted by another clan. It was feared that, if there was a child between two people with one being a bearer of the Byakugan and the other either having a different Kekkei Genkai or a Hiden jutsu, then the parents would run the risk of diluting the Byakugan, thereby tainting it. There would be the possibility that the Byakugan would be considerably weaker than someone of "pure birth." If that were to happen, then it would be possible to pass the tainted eyes to their offspring and continue to taint the clan until the Byakugan was all but useless.
However, Hiashi had chosen not to have a marriage from within the clan, for he feared inbreeding more than he feared outsiders. That is what drew him to Sango. She was a no-name peasant who was not known to have any sort of family history with any known clan. She was a beauty and kind to a fault. He fell deeply in love with her, and married her five years before the attack of the Kyūbi no Yōko. Two months or so after the attack, she gave him a daughter, which they named Hinata. However, it was after his second daughter's birth, the birth of Hanabi, which exposed a dark secret that Sango had managed to keep from Hiashi all that time.
Flashback: Four weeks after Hanabi's birth
Hiashi walked towards the bedroom of his beloved wife, Sango. He had been out of town on important business for the birth of his second daughter, just as he had been for the birth of his first daughter. He was looking forward to watching his wife with his child in her arms. However before he opened the door to the master bedroom, he noticed an unusual glow coming from the room. Hiashi quickly tried to unlock the door, but only made it in after the glow had long since faded. When Hiashi opened the door, he was met with an unbelievable sight. There stood his wife, slightly sweating…with a pair of wings growing out of her back. Lying in the crib next to the bed was his four week old daughter Hanabi. Acting quickly, Hiashi knocked Sango unconscious and took her away into a deep part of the woods outside Konoha.
When Sango awoke, she was met by the sight of her husband brandishing the family katana. She was scared out of her wits, primarily because she knew what was coming and knew that she could do nothing to stop him as long as she was restrained and had her tenketsu sealed. Despite that knowledge, she did her best to try and calm down her raging husband. "Hiashi-danna, what is the meaning of this?"
"You know damn well what this is about, you bloodline whore," Hiashi practically spat. "You lied to me! You told me that you had no Kekkei Genkai! You said you were an unnamed civilian with no ties to any other clan! I want answers, and I want them now!"
Sango was in tears at this point, especially after Hiashi dropped the use of her name and 'koi' and instead chose to start throwing insults at her. A few were leaking out of Hiashi's eyes as well. "I gave you my heart, I married you, and I even shared the same bed with you. Do you really think you could have kept this a secret for that long!?! Answer me, Sango!" Hiashi raged.
"I lied because I loved you, Hiashi!" Sango yelled. "I was in love with you, but I knew your clan would never have let you and me be together if they knew about my abilities. I knew what your clan rules said, so I kept my secret in the hopes that you would never find out. Please, forgive me…"
Hiashi was having a hard time keeping his composure. Here was his wife, someone who he gave his whole heart to, someone who he shared his most precious moments with, a monstrosity of nature. Her bloodline barely even made her human! How could you hide a pair of wings? Hiashi was torn; here was the love of his life, and by her own actions he would have to be the one to remove the stain from the clan. "You know very well what I must do, Sango…"
"Before you do, Hiashi, I have two favors to ask of you; consider it my last request, as a person and as your wife," Sango said as she began to realize that these would be the last moments of her life on Earth.
Hiashi nodded. He may have hated things right now, and he hated his wife-no, this thing in front of him-with a burning passion, but he would at least be honorable enough to grant the last requests of a soon to be dead woman. "First, Hiashi-kun, answer me this; if things were different, had you not been the head of the clan, had you only been another member of the family, had you known my secret, would you still go through with all of this? Would you have stood up for our marriage, our courtship, and the births of our children? Would you still love me?"
Hiashi's answer was swift. "Had I known your secret, I would never have courted you. I cannot say if I would have still loved you, but as the Head of the Clan, I need to do what is best for it. I cannot and will not risk the Hyūga dōjutsu for something as flimsy as my ill-begotten love for a monster like you. I would have followed clan tradition by killing our first-born on the spot and killed you for your possible taint. You know that." Hiashi's tone was as ice cold as the frozen lands of Yuki no Kuni. "You are a mistake of nature-"
"Any more so than any other Kekkei Genkai makes you a mistake? Hiashi, you-"
"SILENCE!" Hiashi's declaration was short and to the point. "I will not be lectured by the likes of you! You have no right to talk of the Byakugan like that. It is now considered the ultimate dōjutsu in this village, even in the world! It will not be threatened by the likes of you. Now, you have one last request, before I carry out your punishment."
Sango knew that nothing she said now would ever be able to change Hiashi's mind. One of his biggest faults had always been his supreme loyalty to his clan first and all others second. If he had to choose between the clan and the village, he would always rule in favor of his clan. Her only regret now was that she wouldn't be able to say goodbye to either one of her daughters. "You are not the man I married, Hiashi Hyūga. You are a monster that masquerades as a man. You simply destroy anything that doesn't fit in with your world view. However, if any part of the man I fell in love with is still in there, then I have one last request to fill. Please, do not let my daughters suffer for my mistake. Please, let them live!"
Hiashi was torn. On the one hand, by clan law Sango and the lives of her children were forfeit. She no longer had a say in the matter as to what would happen to them. On the other hand, this was the love of his life, and as such, he did need to carry out at least one of her requests. "Very well, I will grant you your last request. However, if either of your daughters show signs of your cursed bloodline, I will be forced to correct my mistake, is that clear?"
Sango nodded. She hoped one day, her daughters would forgive her for not being able to keep her secret a bit longer to be able to be there for them. She had a feeling that things were going to be very rough for the both of them, and she knew that no one would help them. 'I am so sorry. Hanabi-tan, Hinata-chan, I hope you find it in your hearts to forgive your foolish mother one day for all the pain I am about to cause you…' With that, Hiashi charged his wife with his katana, channeling chakra into it, and beheaded Sango Hyūga. He then whistled for two members of the Branch House that were waiting on his signal. "Dispose of the body. If you repeat even one word of what happened here, not even the Inuzuka hunter-nin will be able to find your wretched corpses." With that, Hiashi left the clearing with a heavy heart.
End Flashback
Hiashi creased his brow in fury. No one was to know of what happened that night, and it was to never be spoken of again. After the incident, he began increasing the severity of Hinata's training before giving her up as a lost cause and putting her training under the care of Kurenai Yūhi. Then this mess happened. He knew what he would eventually have to do, and he only hoped that it was only Hinata that he would be forced to eliminate. He could handle her loss; Hinata was a failure anyway. However, he knew that he could be forced to also eliminate his other daughter, Hanabi. He would have to wait and see if she developed the same bloodline as her mother. For now, though, his first priority would be to find Hinata…and finally eliminate her stain on the name of Hyūga.
Tsunade came back to her office and immediately sent the photos that she collected to the ANBU Crime Scene Investigation Department for development with an S-class ranking on them, meaning that she would be the only one to see them or anyone who exposed what was on those photographs to anyone would be immediately executed. As she was waiting for the photos to develop, she was in the middle of discussing her findings with her old teammate, the Village's Madness Jiraiya. After the photos developed-it didn't take all that long since it was of such a high classification-Jiraiya and Tsunade, with help from Shizune, poured over every detail trying to figure out what was going on with Hinata.
"Well, Tsunade-hime, I can't really tell you much about this. This seal is not something I have ever encountered before. If it was on her, then it was either a clan seal, in which case it would have stayed with whatever clan she got her wings from, or it was a newly created seal that has never been documented. In either case, I can't say I can give you much info about this. Sorry."
Tsunade shook her head. "It's not your fault, Jiraiya. To be honest, I don't quite know what is with those wings. It was like they somehow where able to protect the girl from the majority of the damage she would have received. Not only that, look at these," she said as she held up the photos of the bruising on her neck and face. "These are not consistent with a mob beating; these are more closely related to bruising patterns we see on abuse patients. Someone slapped her, hard, and strangled her with one hand. It is a miracle she is even alive."
"But, Tsunade-shishō, who would do something like that to someone like Hinata?"
"I'm not entirely sure Shizune; someone had it out for the girl. I would have interviewed her when I checked up on her this afternoon, but I felt that waking her up in her condition would only aggravate the situation. For now though, we need to figure out just what is going on…" Before Tsunade could continue, there was a knock on the door to her office. "Just wait a minute, please! OK, whoever this is, we do not speak of what is going on with Hinata, got that you two? The last thing we need right now is to have a swarm of people gossiping about all of this, got it?" The room's other two occupants agreed. The last thing Hinata needed right now was a ton of publicity.
"OK, Enter!" Tsunade commanded to whoever was on the other side of the door. The door opened to reveal Neji Hyūga with a giant scroll strapped to his back and what appeared to be a large black file under his arm. "Hokage-sama," Neji greeted with a bow.
Tsunade was a bit curious as to the nature of Neji's visit and decided to tread cautiously. Right now, her instincts were telling her to be extra cautious around the Hyūga clan right now, what with everything going on for Hinata right now. "Neji, what brings you here this evening?"
Neji stood at attention. "Hokage-sama, I have come here to ask for a favor." Granted, that wasn't the best way to answer the Hokage, but Neji decided to continue on anyway in the hopes that he could explain himself better. "I recently found out about Hinata being banished from the clan. Unfortunately, whatever circumstances that incited this decision have been covered up by the clan. I do not know what exactly is going on, but as soon as I returned from practice today, Hiashi-sama commanded me to rid the compound of Hinata's things. That is what this scroll on my back is for; it contains Hinata's things, which I sealed into the scroll for easy storage. The file I am carrying was given to me by a member of the Main House. Apparently it is a file on Hinata, though what it contains is anyone's guess, since it has a blood seal that only Hinata can open. Since I do not know where Hinata ended up, I ask that, if you know where she is, that you give these things to her as they are rightfully hers. I cannot, in good conscious, simply dispose of her things like yesterday's garbage."
"Alright, I will do that, Neji. I do know where your cousin is, but right now her status is classified information on a need to know basis. I cannot go into details, but if you wish to find out, I can arrange things so that you and your teammates would pair up with her team to do some errands for the person that is taking care of her right now. It would be classified as a D-rank mission, but I can explain things more tomorrow. Does that work for you?" The Legendary Sucker asked.
"Of course, Tsunade-sama."
"Good, in that case, I will see you and your team tomorrow afternoon. You are dismissed." With that, Neji returned to the Hyūga compound with a contemplative look on his face. 'Hopefully, I will be able to find out what is going on with you, cousin,' Neji thought as he walked out of the tower towards the Hyūga compound.
Hinata woke up at some point in the night. She couldn't tell what time it was, since she couldn't find a clock anywhere. It must have been late, since the full moon was out already; the moon was back-dropped by a clear night with the stars shining brightly. She was going to panic about being in an unfamiliar room, when she realized two things. First, she was still fully clothed, so nothing too bad had happened yet. Second, she noticed the picture on a windowsill in the room. It was a picture of Team 7. 'Oh no, Kami please no, please let this just be a horrible nightmare…' she thought as panic began to set in. She was hoping against all hope that this wasn't the place she was thinking it was.
Her hopes were dashed when she heard a familiar voice behind her, one that would make her go weak in the knees on any other occasion, but right now filled her with dread. "Oh, Hinata, you're already up," was what was heard from her crush, Naruto Uzumaki. Hinata couldn't take it; she was trapped in the bedroom of her crush with no possible escape, with a pair of wings growing out of her back. So, she did what came naturally to her. "GO AWAY!" she screamed as she went to the corner of the room and wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her shoulders while her wings closed around her, looking like a cocoon of feathers. The sound of crying could be heard as she attempted to shrink into the corner of the room.
Naruto was a bit shocked at her outburst, but knew that Hinata needed reassurance right now. Tsunade did say that she would probably be scared out of her mind when she got her bearings and that she would need a friend right now. He may not have known Hinata all that long, but Naruto knew what it was like to be an outcast for something beyond his control. Not only that, but seeing Hinata like this, for some reason, it hurt Naruto. The way see seemed so small and fragile, the way her tears seemed to claw at his heart, the way that her sobs felt like a million blazing kunai stabbing into the core of his being, even the way she shivered like she was in the middle of a blizzard seemed to hurt him. He had never felt like this for anything before. It was as if a crying Hinata was a cardinal sin against Kami; it was as if seeing her so scared and alone defied all the known laws of nature in the most cruel way possible. He needed to rectify the situation. He needed to, somehow, help Hinata through her pain. Slowly, he walked over to her and got on his knees in front of her. He slowly pushed aside the wings to look at Hinata. "Hinata, it's OK. You don't have to be scared."
"N-n-naruto-kun, please. I-I-I-I don't want you t-t-to s-s-s-see me li-like this," Hinata pleaded in a voice Naruto almost had to strain to hear. She didn't want to hear the accusation in his voice, or the hatred, disgust, and all-around loathing that was sure to follow. Her heart was beginning to shatter, knowing that her crush could never accept someone like her. After all, how could he accept a freak like her? He had his sights on Sakura; how could Hinata compete with someone who was normal? The tears were flowing freely now, knowing that Hinata would never be able to do the things that she wanted to do: tell Naruto how much she cared about him, help out her former clan, or even become a mother.
What Naruto did next shocked the former heiress; Naruto pulled her out of the corner, placed her on his bed, and hugged her. "It's OK, Hinata, I'm here…" For Naruto, he was trying his best to calm her down as much as he could. All he knew was that he had to keep talking and hopefully, he could see a part of the Hinata that he knew was still there. "You don't have to be scared of me."
"B-b-but, I'm a f-freak, a m-m-monstrosity, a-a-a m-mistake of K-kami-sama!"
"You are not any of those things, Hinata. You are a kind person, a friend, and a human being just like me. So, you have wings, big deal! We're ninja; we've seen plenty of weird stuff. I mean, I've ridden on a gigantic talking toad and fought a guy that could turn into a giant sand raccoon-thing, for crying out loud!" He said this in a tone that would warm the heart, or at least elicit a giggle, from most anyone that heard it. "Anyone that thinks you are a freak, a monster, or anything like that can kiss my furry orange ass!" Even in her distraught state, Hinata smiled a little bit. "There, that's the Hinata I know!" He said with a satisfied grin.
Hinata looked up to Naruto with an analyzing look. She was checking for any sign of deceit, or any sign of disgust in his eyes or anywhere else in his body language. She saw no deceit or disgust in his cerulean orbs. All she could see was full understanding and total care. She was amazed. He not only didn't think she was a freak, he even wanted to be around her. She practically threw herself into his arms and cried into his shirt, clutching his chest as if her very life depended on it. For the next half an hour, the two Genin stayed like that, one trying to pour out all of her frustrations and fears, the other trying to take on the burdens of the first to ease the pain. After she calmed down, Naruto continued to hold her, as she was slowly but surely becoming more tired.
"You know, Hinata, you could probably tell me how you got like this, but I think we can wait until tomorrow. I'll, uh, leave you to have my bed. I can sleep in the living room or something." With that he made a motion to leave the room.
"N-naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned as he made to leave the room. He turned around and asked if there was something she needed. She supported a minute blush on her cheeks. "Um…c-can I ask you f-for a f-f-favor?" she asked cautiously, in the hopes that she wouldn't be overstepping on Naruto's generosity and kindness. He asked her what she wanted in a curious tone. "I wanted t-to know if…if you would share the bed w-with me tonight?" She quickly looked away, embarrassed that she asked and ashamed because she was afraid that either Naruto would think she was some kind of wanton woman or would not want to be so close to someone like her.
However, rather than be off-put by the suggestion, or even offended, Naruto looked confused. "A-are you sure, Hinata? I mean, I wouldn't want you thinking I'm some kinda perv or something. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't do something like that to you in my sleep, but I don't want you to feel awkward around me." Hinata looked at him in wonder. Why would she think that?
"I-it's nothing like t-that, Naruto-kun. I-I just don't want to…feel alone tonight." She quietly finished. It was silent for about a minute before there was an added weight to the bed. Hinata looked around to see Naruto crawling into bed, lifting the covers, and inviting Hinata in. She climbed in, and immediately hugged him and rested her head on the crook of his neck, her wings covering the both of them with the blankets resting on top. "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun…" she said as she drifted off to sleep.
Naruto laid there for a while as he watched Hinata sleep. She would occasionally shiver and whimper in her sleep, signifying that she was having a terrible dream. This would cause him to wrap his arms around Hinata and try to hold her close. As he held her there, he was struck with how right everything felt. For some reason, holding Hinata like this felt as natural as breathing. Naruto was confused by what he was feeling, but whatever it was, he thought it felt right. He looked down at the sleeping form on top of him and made a promise. 'I promise you, Hinata, even if the whole village turns its back on you, I won't abandon you. You are too good a person to let down and see you like this. That is a promise of a lifetime.'
Author's Notes: Well, that's Chapter 2. I hope you all enjoyed. Now, I said that Hiashi had his reasons for feeling the way he did, right? Well, I hope you could understand them. Yeah, I know that this makes the Hyūga look like the Uchiha, and that's the point! It is my firm belief that, for as powerful and wealthy as the Hyūga are, it amazes me that they didn't follow the same path as the Uchiha when they became top dogs. Only time will tell just how far their treachery will go…
I know the seal was a bit lame, but I honestly couldn't' figure out how to make the seal something that didn't look like a Hyūga clan seal. More will be explained about it when the time comes to explain Hinata's new Kekkei Genkai. For now, you will have to wait and see.
I am also curious as to why people keep telling me to write longer chapters. Each one tends to be at least 3,000 to 5,000 words long. I am not going to be writing a 10,000 some odd long chapter for anything. I would just be droning on at that point. As for updating soon, I will update when I can, since I cannot write fan fiction all day long; I do have other responsibilities like college homework and things. I will update when I have time. I'm sorry.
Finally, to address any other concerns, Hinata was attacked by a mob because people thought she was a monster, not an angel. The only "Angel" I've seen in canon was Konan, and that was in Amegakure. I have my doubts that the people of Konoha would feel the same way to a person with a pair of wings sticking out of their backs. People fear what they do not understand, and sometimes that leads to violence.
As always, leave a review and send me a message if you have any questions or things that you don't want to put in a review. Ja ne!
Definitions:
Baa-chan: Affectionate way of saying "Grandma"
Gaki: Brat
Nindo: Rule that a ninja lives by, such as never going back on your word
Nidaime: Second
Sandaime: Third
Yondaime: Fourth
-Danna: Husband
-Koi: Love
-Shishō: Master
-Tan: Baby talk version of Chan
Yuki no Kuni: Land of Snow
Please Read and Review.
