a/n:
oh, thank you all very much for such kind reviews! It makes me reaaaaaaaaalllly happy! As your reward, I hereby give you chapter 3! :)
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.
Chapter 3: A moment of Freedom
Years have passed, and Hinata was already twelve years old. Her dark blue hair was still short with bangs covering the unusual violet seal on her forehead and she was wearing a yellow kimono with red obi. She was seated on a Zabuton in her bedroom, silently praying with an Omamori between her hands. She was very excited this day… at the same time, very nervous and worried. Whenever something troubled her, she always asked for God's guidance for her prayers will be answered by Him, as what Maeko told her. First, she thanked God for answering her first wish, which was being given a chance to get out of the compound even for one day. Ever since her fifth birthday, she was never allowed to go out of the household nor go to school due to untold reasons. Her father also stopped training her all of a sudden and she didn't know why… She had always tried her best to fulfill his expectations, but whatever she did never pleased anyone in the family. At least, there were still people who accepted her.
Hanabi, her younger sister, and Maeko.
Since Hiashi stopped training her or involving her anything with the Hyuga affairs, it was Maeko who built her up and trained her. But, not in the same way as Hiashi. Whenever she asked why she did this and that, Maeko would always reply "You have a different role, my child. Just do what I say and you'll discover it when the right time comes."
In her caged days, it was Maeko who trained her while Hanabi was the one who tells her about what was happening around the mansion. She already accepted it… that her father never looked at her the same way as Hanabi. That he never acknowledge her as his daughter because she was weak and under qualified to be the heiress of the clan. The only hunch she could formulate on why Hiashi always kept her locked in her room was because she was weak and useless to the family. Her freedom was taken away from her… that's why every single day, she always prayed to be free. And having the chance to go out the house and walk in the village was enough for her.
That day had finally come…
Her other prayer was about her cousin, Neji. Because of him, her father allowed her to go out. Because this day, he was going to have a match for the finals of the Chunin exams and she, Hiashi and Hanabi were to go and watch him. She prayed for his protection and well-being, and she was thankful to have a natural born genius cousin. She also prayed for Neji's opponent for she knew that there was no way that both of them would not get hurt.
"Hinata-sama. It is time to go. Hiashi-sama and Hanabi-sama are waiting for you at the front gate." A servant said behind her shogi door.
Hinata opened her pale Hyuga eyes and kept the Omamori in her Kimono's pocket. "Yes, I am coming."
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After some seconds, Hinata had reached Hiashi and Hanabi. As usual, her father was still stoic, not even paying attention to her arrival.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Otou-sama." Hinata greeted politely.
"Hello, nee-chan!" Hanabi smiled at her.
Hinata smiled back, but she didn't receive any response from her father.
"You look really beautiful in your Kimono, nee-chan!" Hanabi said with a bright smile.
Hinata blushed, "R-really? Th-thank you…" she said.
"Put this on. Do not let anybody see your face until we reach the stadium." Hiashi gave her a white Haori and walked out of the household.
"Yes, father…" Hinata replied and did as she was told. She covered herself with the Haori and soon followed Hanabi and Hiashi out of the compound.
It has been a very long time since Hinata walked in the streets of the village. Villagers and Shinobis were very busy talking about the Final matches. Children, middle-aged people and old folks talked about strong ninjas… and she was happy to hear Neji's name coming out from the mouths. She felt so good walking again in her beloved village.
"Hyuga Neji will surely win!"
"Yeah! I'm looking forward to see his match! Especially Uchiha Sasuke's match!"
"This is going to be very exciting!"
Uchiha… Hinata had read about that clan before. It was three years ago when Uchiha Itachi massacred the entire clan, leaving only one survivor. Maybe Uchiha Sasuke was the said survivor of the clan. Somehow, she felt sad for him. He lost his whole family in such a young age… was he ever happy with his life now that he was left alone by his loved ones? She hoped he was.
"Hey, look! That's Hyuga Hiashi, right? The Head of the Hyuga clan?"
"Yes, that's really him! But, who's that one with the Haori?"
"Are you stupid? That's Hyuga Hiashi-sama's daughter!"
"Huh? But I've never seen her before. And why does she have to cover her face? Is she burned or something?"
"Well, she's not a ninja. And there were rumors around that she was not qualified to be a ninja because she was ill. That's all I know."
It can't be helped. Hyuga Hiashi was a well-known person in the village. Of course, the villagers would gossip about him… and since it was her first time going out of the compound with her father, she expected them to say something nice or bad about her. Hinata could take their criticism… but Hanabi could not. Before the younger Hyuga could lose her temper on the villagers, Hinata already stopped her before she could cause a commotion.
"But, sis. Are you okay with this?" Hanabi furrowed her brows.
"Let them be, Hanabi-chan. It's all right… and we can't do anything to disgrace father's name." Hinata whispered to her younger sister, "Let this go, okay?"
Hanabi sighed in defeat, "Fine."
It took them some minutes to reach the stadium, and once they entered the place, it was the very first time that Hinata had seen a very huge crowd. She stared at them in awe behind the covering of her Haori. She didn't know that so many people would watch her cousin fight in the arena… she never knew that Neji would be known all over the village. Also, Hanabi told her that Ninja from the other villages would also come to watch the duels.
It was so amazing to be a ninja.
That's what she thought.
Hiashi led his daughters to a special seat, away from the commoner's section. And Hinata was given the permission to take off the Haori.
When Hinata took off the Haori, she immediately roamed her eyes to search for Neji. She quickly spotted him in the arena and she formed a bright smile on her face. "It's nii-san…" she said to herself.
Neji soon spotted the Main family seated on the special section. He was not surprises to see Hinata with them, since he was the one who requested for Hiashi to bring her along. It has been a long time since he last saw her… She was always locked in her room and he didn't have the chance to see her ever since her fifth birthday. He felt somewhat contented when he saw her looking at him.
So, he could not afford to lose. The Main Family was there to watch his match… he cannot lose in front of Hiashi. But he should have cleared something to Hinata first before she could make her own conclusions. If she was thinking that he convinced Hiashi to let Hinata watch the match because he cared for her, then she was wrong. He had other reasons why he did that. And caring for her was not even near to his real reason.
Soon, the matches would begin. Before the proctor could start with the rules, there was a blond-haired boy came in flying from the entrance. He landed with his full body sliding on the ground as everyone in the stadium looked down to him.
"I… made it." The blond-haired boy whispered to himself.
"Tsk. So troublesome. How lame can you be?" the one with the pineapple hairstyle commented.
Hinata stared at the newcomer in awe. She blinked her eyes several times. She wondered who that Ninja was. Was he Uchiha Sasuke? Or was he Neji's opponent?
"Do not worry, everyone! Uzumaki Naruto-sama has arrived and I will prove to all of you how strong I've gotten, dattebayo!"
It seemed that chances answered her wonderings. The energetic ninja down the arena is named Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto grinned at the crowd and made a peace sign with his fingers. But, it's as if a tumbleweed flew around the stadium, indicating an awkward silence. The crowd doesn't seem to go along with him.
"Hey you. Fall back in line. We're about to start." The proctor named Genma said sternly.
Naruto did what he was told.
Later on, the matches proceeded. And the first duel was Hyuga Neji against Uzumaki Naruto.
"You're a failure. No matter what you do, you cannot change yourself. There are people who are born to be a Hokage, there are people who are born to be great Shinobis and there are born with natural talents. On the other hand, there are people who are born weak and useless. The failures cannot be successful… that is their destiny and no one can ever change that."
Neji said to his opponent, Uzumaki Naruto. It was not hard to determine who was in disadvantage or in advantage. The Hyuga prodigy was not yet even breaking a sweat while his opponent was already breathing hard and sweating too much. Naruto had already taken so much damage from Neji.
Hinata's heart clenched when she heard Neji's words. She knew… she knew that she was included in there when he said "failure". Indeed, this was the very first time she had seen a duel. At first, she was very excited and happy because Neji was being consistent with his fight. She saw him use the byakugan, the gentle fist, the kaiten and other Hyuga techniques that she was never able to learn. She was amazed by how strong Neji had become and comparing herself to him doesn't seem right. Because to begin with; Neji was a natural born genius and she was a failure. But, she accepted that fact a long time ago. And she had the same belief as him. She also believed that "Failures are forever failures."
But, as the fight continued, she never thought that it would lead to this. She never thought that Neji would lecture Naruto about destiny. She was confused… she's supposed to be happy by seeing Neji having the great advantage of winning the match, but, she felt the other way around. She felt hurt when she saw Naruto struggling with his fight with her cousin. She didn't know why…
She didn't know why she suddenly felt that she wanted for Naruto to win.
"I don't believe you." Naruto talked back, "We… we are the ones who make our own destiny! Anyone can change! A failure can be a genius if he works hard!"
"You're wrong." Neji said. "Look at Lee. For all these years, he worked hard to be strong. But what is he right now? He's not sure if he can ever walk and be a ninja again due to the injuries he got from his fight. Even with hard work, your fate will not be changed. I'll tell this to you again… a failure is always a failure. No one can change their destiny." He reached for the back of his head and untied his forehead protector to reveal the cursed mark on his forehead.
"With this… I can see your destiny."
Naruto intensely glared at the seal on Neji's forehead. "What's… that?"
"In the Hyuga clan… those who belong to the Branch Family has this cursed seal. There will always be discrimination in our clan because those who are in the Main family hold our destiny and our life." Neji said, "The Main Family… doesn't have any ideas how the Branch Family suffers under them. Like what happened to my father. He was a strong ninja, a great candidate to be the leader of the clan. But, he was seconds younger than Hiashi-sama, and not being the first born means he is going to be put in the Branch family. My father… he was a great ninja. But what happened to him? Despite being a well-respected and noble ninja, he was still under the Main Family's control! Because of a certain event, he was said that he volunteered to offer himself to those ninjas who wanted to steal the Byakugan. But, I never believed that bluff… I know, he was just forced by the Main family to sacrifice himself to protect the Byakugan!" Neji shouted and then he glared towards Hiashi, Hinata and Hanabi.
"I hate the Main Family… I hate them so much." He said in his gritted teeth. He then turned back to Naruto, "Can't you see? I, too, even if I am called a genius… my fate is still not controlled by my hands. I can't do anything to change this cruel fate! And this will still lead on to the next generation. It's not only me… but it's all of us! We can't decide our own destiny!"
"Just shut the hell up! What you are saying is trash! We… We are the ones who own our lives! We make our own destiny! When I'm Hokage… I'm going to change it all. I'm going to change everything in the Hyuga clan so no one will ever suffer again!" Naruto shouted on top of his lungs and then a red chakra began surrounding his whole body.
The two contenders clashed once more. This time, the fight got fiercer. It was Neji's turn to keep up with Naruto's new power.
Naruto's words made a huge impact in Hinata. Slowly, Hinata couldn't help it but stand up from her seat.
"Nee-chan?" Hanabi stared at her.
It appeared that Hinata didn't hear her sister at all. Without caring for the people around her, she walked towards the railing of the section to have a better view in Neji and Naruto's fight. She was flabbergasted. She was too stunned to take her eyes off Naruto who took so much of her attention during the fight.
"I'm going to change everything in the Hyuga Clan so no one will ever suffer again!"
Naruto's firm voice echoed in Hinata's mind. She didn't know what she was feeling… she felt something extraordinary towards the blonde-haired ninja. Could it be… Could he be the one to change everything in her family? Could he really be the one to stop everyone's suffering?
A teardrop suddenly rolled down Hinata's cheek. She abruptly felt a warm and comforting feeling inside her body and she didn't know where it came from. It's as if there was a new energy came in her system and gave her a temporary cure for all her pain. It was so warm, and she wanted to feel this warmth forever.
"Uzumaki… Naruto…" she gently whispered his name.
It was a brief moment when Naruto heard a gentle soft voice of a girl. He didn't know where it came from… but when he was clashing weapons against Neji, a certain yellow figure from the audience took his attention. When he leaped up to attack Neji, his blue eyes briefly saw a girl in a yellow kimono, watching them with tears flowing out of her eyes. Her eyes, it was the same as Neji's. But Naruto had never seen that girl before.
He brought his focus back to his opponent and took note of the girl's presence as he fought with the Hyuga prodigy.
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"The match is over. Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"
Hinata felt very delighted when she heard the victor's name. She inwardly cheered for him as he sent flying kissed to the cheering crowd.
Naruto cheered for his victory. This was the very first time that the crowd cheered and was happy for him. So, he went all out in expressing his joy for their cheers for him. But, as he ran around the arena, the maiden he saw earlier during his fight was still there, looking at him. He stopped for a moment and looked up to her and he noticed her wipe tears from her eyes.
Who was she?
When Hinata noticed his gaze fixed on her, she couldn't help but blush. No one had ever looked at her like that. As her response, she just smiled at the lad.
I've never seen her before… who is she? Naruto thought to himself.
"Hinata…-sama…?"
Naruto heard Neji's weak voice from his side. He saw him placed in a stretcher and was carried by the medics.
Naruto blinked, "You know her?"
"She is Hiashi-sama's eldest daughter. She's from the Main Family." Neji replied.
"Oh, I see. I never knew that… Hanabi-chan had an older sister." Naruto said as he stared back at Hinata again.
Neji wore a softer expression on his eyes when he looked at Hinata, and then back at Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto… I have underestimated your skills." He began, "All my life, I've been a fool… believing that we can never change our destiny. But, because of you… I was able to realize my mistakes. I was able to realize that I'm not the only one suffering in our family. I was not the only one suffering under the Hyuga's cruel fate. You may not know Hinata-sama… but compared to anyone else in the family, she's the one who suffers most." He paused and looked directly at Naruto's eyes, "It's a embarrassing to say this but… I believe in your words, Naruto. I believe that we make our own destiny. And I believe that someday, the fate of the Hyuga will be changed."
"When I'm Hokage, I will definitely work on that. I won't let anyone else suffer anymore, dattebayo!" Naruto said.
Neji closed his eyes and a small smirk formed on the corner of his lips as he was being carried away by the medics. "You surely are interesting, Naruto."
When the medics were finished treating Neji's damages from the battle, the Hyuga was left alone in the recovery room, sitting on a bed. His bruises and wounds were already bandaged and he recharged his energy.
Suddenly, Hiashi came in the room when the medics left. Neji didn't expect Hiashi to come there.
"Hiashi-sama…"
"Neji… you've done well with your match." Hiashi said.
Neji looked down and didn't reply, embarrassed that he lost in front of the leader's eyes.
"I think… it is time for you to know the truth about your father." The Hyuga leader said and handed Neji an envelope. "That is… the scroll that Hizashi left before he died. Everything is written in there."
Neji looked at Hiashi in the eye, he then accepted the scroll and opened it. He didn't waste time in reading the content of the letter… his father's handwriting… his father's last words. In every word he read, his hands trembled and when he was finished reading the letter, he held it tightly in his hands and closed looked up the sky.
Hiashi immediately knelt down and bowed lowly at Neji, "I apologize for everything, Neji. I am very sorry for hiding the truth from you."
Neji's eyes widened when he saw the Hyuga leader bow down to him, "Hiashi-sama, please lift your head." He said. He already forgave the man… and he wouldn't want to bear that hatred again.
'Father… I would control my own destiny. I hope to never lose again and… I will keep my promise. I will protect Hinata-sama with my life.'
a/n:
that's it. our favorite hero finally shows himself!
Do review again! Thank you!
The following chapters after this are far longer. ^^
VOCABULARY
Omamori- Japanese amulet
Ohayo gozaimasu- good morning
