Chapter Four: Goals
Chapy four. We're moving right along, aren't we?
I am... for lack of better words, quite excited about this one. But, really, it wrote itself. I just started with one simple thought and here it is. Please, tell me what you think. I've come to realize that, not only are a great bit of people reading, but they are favoriting as well. I thank you for this, very much, but, reviews are nice as well. I always love to know what is good about my writing and what could use a lot of work.
(I seem to get off track at times and I sincerely hope that this chapter is not one of those that does lose purpose in the whole story of Sobokusa.)
So, no more delays, and I'm sorry for the long wait for this one. So... We shall be on with it... NOW. (Kind of.)
Disclaimer: Do you know yet? Naruto is not mine. But it shall be. Oh... it will. (Naruto is Masashi Kishimoto's and is in no way owned by me, including the characters. Though Sobokusa, its plot and its wording is mine and mine alone.)
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I went unconscious to my thoughts, glaring down at the midnight blue sheets, so close to the color of her hair, and I felt the power; the chakra force itself into my eyes. My temples became tightly riveted with pulsing veins, straining to keep the clear, abnormal vision in my line-pupiled eyes.
The dull human hearing of my ears could not find the thumping of Hinata's gentle steps as she continued farther down the hall. But, opposed to my hearing, my sight reached with ease beyond excellency. The ability to see straight through objects was a prized feat, of not only myself, but of all the Hyuuga.
My byakugan swept fervently through tens of blurred walls before my attention came to her frozen form, and I calculated her distance just at forty-three meters, nearing the edge of my range. She stood rigid at the entrance of the bland kitchen, just before she stepped out onto the veranda and I watched her intently as her gaze met mine, though she could not see me as I could her.
It was unsettling, her staring back at me was though she knew I was watching. And, slowly; steadily, her hand came to her face, two fingers extended, touching her lips, white in my vision. The kunoichi's expression was thoughtful, and yet dazed. She stood just longer, letting her lips part as if to talk before she circled back around, reaching for the sliding door and exiting quickly.
Hinata stalked with ease out of my fifty meter range and I glared, absorbed at the spot where she walked from my exceptional view, fighting to let go of the image and maybe even symbolism before I let the veins fade into smooth skin around my eyes once more.
My teeth connected, clamping stiffly together in my mouth as the muscles in my jaw protested at the stinging twinge throbbing just below my earlobe. I exhaled and ignored my faulty human hearing when the breath sounded shaky. I cursed my ears as they sold me false sounds of weary weakness.
Letting my balance fail me, gravity plucked me from the air to the cushion of my bedding. I laid in silence, my pallid eyes staring unblinking at the caramel varnish of my ceiling, searching it's flat surface for the answers that escaped my reason.
Answers of and for what, my mind told me not.
I moved my hands behind my head, my legs crossing each other at the ankles, eyes half-lidded as I let my mind drift to things not unknown to me.
Missions were becoming little and far in between and my stay around the compound was, in retrospect, becoming longer and more pronounced. I suddenly felt the need to be away from the confining walls of the Hyuuga residence. To breathe fresh air not tainted by the lungs of the high seated Main family.
I grimaced at the though. How had I actually left myself to live under the same roof of the very people whose existence had caused my misery? Their deceit and lies continuing to flow freely from their mouths like water from a leaky faucet. Scoffing loudly, I watched the illusion in my mind. They stood before me now, each on their hands and knees groveling for all they were worth, their tales ringing in my ears as I closed my eyes sharply as if to silence them from wasting their breath. If only they knew an ounce of what I felt; of what I'd been through, maybe then they could understand my feelings toward them.
Hinata as well. Running around in a world that she saw was all rainbows and ponies. People scattered here and there to bow to her will at a moments notice. She lived in peace; slept great at night seeing the world from candy-coated glasses. Everyone happy; all smiles as she waltzes into the room.
I question if that was really how she wished to view the world. A child's world, it was, and nothing more than a quickly fleeting dream.
They all slept comfortably in their beds at night. Living on top of the world, so high on their horses that they thought even gravity could never bring them down.
And, yet, I have left myself to their piranha teeth, standing in the same spot as my father had, my feet obeying master's command without conscious force to run from it; to fight back. And, I had made the bed I slept in with no way of undoing the folds and creases of the permanently tucked sheets.
I could only help but not feel tied to the hip by Hinata, following her father's order as protector, though I could not save her from her failures; the many she faced. I was grateful that that much was untouchable by the safety wall I had become, so unseen by myself, even as I had clearly watched it happen, stepping before her to barricade the way.
Was it I who felt obligated to stay under ties? By whose wish and whose command? Surely it was not I.
Fa..ther...? Father...
"Do you see there...?" The man's voice asked of me, I rested my hands as the base of my head and took a long gaze at the night sky, my pallid eyes following his finger as it traced lines into a cluster of stars. "That is the Big Dipper."
I turned my head in my hands, my cheek falling into my palm, facial expression bland as I looked at the man to my right. "Otou-san, why are we just staring at the stars? Did you not promise me a spar tonight?" I asked impatiently, though I kept a straight respectful tone to my father.
His identical irises met mine and I did not look away, riveted by the softness they both held. "If you go through life oblivious to everything, will you notice anything? No matter what it may be, Neji, even if you strive just for one goal, do not lose sight of everything around you. Especially not someone or something you hold dear to you."
My eyes wondered still over the wrinkling plans of his so human skin. But, he was a man of no age to me; immortal in his son's eyes, never able to leave the face of this earth. But, would life be life if all good things did not come to an end?
My eyes found their way to the glittering sky above once more, unaware of the future and it's tragedies, and I kicked my feet, one crossing the other at the ankle. "But, stars are not important to me."
Something just short of a cough echoed to my right, but I did not stray to see what it was. It grew louder with time and carried easily into the wind as I lie still, eyes dancing in around the clouds that blocked my view. Out of the corner of my eyes, my father's body rocked violently, his torso jerking him into convulsions.
As it fell into a wheeze, I listened harder, a smirk lighting my lips as my father began to form words instead of mocking laughter. "My son, the stars are important to everyone. Even if you do not know it. The things you hold before you, these... simple 'stars' that we call them, they are our past." His voice was incredulous as I looked back over the sparkle specked blanket.
I felt my brow furrow, a deep frown creasing into my forehead. My lip raised as if to scoff harshly, but I would serve no such disrespect the man who began my life. "How are twinkling specks our past? They are not even near us, how are we all related to such things so far away?"
A small child's hand blurred my vision of the tail of the Big Dipper as I thrust my hand before me for emphasis, each of my fingers stretching to grasp the shining pin-points of light; to curl around them and pull them into my chubby hand's grasp. "They are mere dots, Otou-san."
"Mere dots, they may seem, but what you see as you look at them is all in the past. The distance is so great that as we look at them now, the light that they shine for us is years upon years old, dear Neji." His voice was calm and soothing; the voice of a wise man who knew the world and all its cruelties.
I understand more now than I ever could have at such a tender age.
My brow wrinkled again as I tried to comprehend his reasoning. I nodded once shortly glaring at the little spots as it began to piece together. I pulled my dimpled hand back from the chilled night air. "But, why is it so old, this light they give off now?"
"Easily - it takes years to travel the great distance to here for our eyes to see. I bet that the light you see now is the light for the exact second you were born." I couldn't see him on such a perfectly dark evening the way I could see him on a clear day, but I new that as he spoke there was some special light in his eyes, and it came from the past, just as the glow of night did.
My gaze lingered, blinking absently as I soaked in the depth of his words, try desperately to grasp his morals to no avail. At that time, I remembered wishing I could have - even if just a small share - a part of what he knew; what he'd seen and felt. Just to know what he's been through.
Wouldn't it come all too soon? And I wasted a child's life seeking and lusting for things that I should not have, and it came faster than I should. Had fate blessed me so harshly with the wish that I asked? Given me my wantings and harsh worldly knowledge wrapped neatly with a bow on top?
My father's face slipped from my memory, fading into the distant past as though he never were. The thought of him was so far it seemed as though it was never real; his voice, the one that I had heard countless times, its sound lost forever in the wind of the ever-churning world. Now a man of no place but drifting through the heavens.
Running, galloping feet sprinted down the hall, hurtling almost clumsily closer and closer to my door. I listened half-hearted as they footfalls came and stopped briefly before the threshold, eyes closed from the sorry world around me, enjoying the utopia of mind.
"N-Niichan...!" A once soft, gentle voice to my senses forced loudly, panting in at erratic pace that had kept time with each step. She had already busted through my door and I listened to her pleading voice as earthly thoughts found me again. "Niichan! Otou-sama! I-It's Otou-sama!" The dark haired kunoichi burst fervently.
"Hinata-sama," My eyes widened in understanding as I rose to seating position, my stern voice mirroring my fiercely piercing eyes as I flung myself swiftly from the floor. Shinning crimson shown black across her delicate, snowy pale hands, running the front of her clothes, as well. The metallic substance melted each of my five senses, activating the adrenaline into my system in a breadth of time.
"Please, tell me what has happened, Hinata-sama." I said, managing a calm front. I found my hands fixed firmly on her shoulders, milky orbs hard on her hands as I watched them convulse vigorously.
"Neji," Whispering almost inaudibly, she dropped the honorific and I winced at the angry plainness of the word from her mouth. "Otou-sama... He was... on the ground, lying in blood... His blood..." The heir's pearly irises glazed over, lost in another space and time as I gazed bleakly back at her.
'So... much...' Her mouth formed, lacking the wind of her childlike voice.
The pungent taste of metal lingered, still fresh in my mouth.
Night turned brightly to day, pricking my adjusted sight painfully. The sun rained scorching down from perfectly overhead and white; sweet and innocent, blurred my vision. I glared, squinted through the shocking light at the blank, unblemished ivory just before me. My eyes searched desperately, hurrying to find anything to focus attention on, proceeding over the blank color repetitively.
Chromatic flavors came to my eyes, ebbing at the edges of my vision as if I looked through a scope and was now pulling back into the iridescent life.
Dark, luscious blue accented the pallid color beautifully, stark and lovely against the chalky sun-washed surroundings.
I stood tall and proud over a crowd; no, a gathering of people, so much like me, yet so different in all their rights. Their facial features mirrored mine - all smiling in excitement up at me as I glowered down in awe at them - and the girl who stood in front of my chest, her wistful irises glowing madly as she gazed lovingly up to me.
The blush of her cheeks was stunning in contrast to her ghostly skin, only more evident in the beaming rays, her silvery eyes eliciting tears, albeit happy. I saw this, looking to her beautiful pink lips, the corners of them unashamedly lifting, hinting her joy, were parted and growing red with anticipation. Words began to echo in my ears. Her rosen lips moved slowly, carefully forming one sweet word without hesitation.
'Yes.'
"And do you, Hyuuga Neji, take the Hinata as you lawfully wedded wife...?" A man's voice said into the shell of my ear, directly to my right. Words failed me and I could not comprehend the events.
Angry, furious pulsing red had filled my sight until it was bleached a brilliant white, splintering my orbs sharply.
"I..." The sound was but a whisper of wind, and no one but the two people closest to me could here it. I felt my brow crease, frowning thickly as my mouth unhinged, just slightly agape. It was a rush, the disappearance of a possible adrenaline-filled fight to the honeyed surrounding of where I now stood.
My blood cousin, beautiful in the flawless white wedding gown, staring up at me blissfully, her skin flustered a dashing pink, gorgeously grinning through her crystal tears, played the part of the blushing bride to impeccability. It was sinful for her to be so...
My lungs began to collapse on me, and I realized I had held my breath for far to long, my heart racing crazily, pulsing rapidly in both of my ears, my hands fading slowly from feeling, clamy and cold.
In an unexpected short moment, spots, flaming in circles, brighter than the sun itself cleared the sight of my cousin before me.
White-washed sight fading in and out, I heard multiple gasps as the ground rushed to me me.
Black, silent darkness. Still, dead, soundless night.
...Welcome.
Carmel varnish attacked my pupils as my eyes flashed through the midnight black into the dawn of day. My hands clawed at the covers that lay across my chest, my breathing regulating after holding dearly to one breath, pulse blasting in both of my ears.
I forced myself up, glaring at the wall across from me wide-eyed as my fingers curled around the edges of my sheets. I flipped them from over my legs and watched as they landed in a heap at my feet.
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Stepping out into the mid-day sun, I felt the instant wave of heat knock the breath from me. My eyes adjusted wearily, focusing on the empty courtyard beaten profusely by the scalding rays of the giant star above. My feet carried me forward and I stood at the edge of the veranda, soaking in the orange light as I closed my milky irises from the harsh glow.
Skin tingling from the exposure to the warming star, I fell back into the shadows of the wooden-paneled walkway and tread to the gate of the Hyuuga compound, sidling my one-strap pack on my back. I put on my black sandals, straightened my robe as I stood, and exited through the gate.
Walking toward the sun, the rays blasting down into my line of vision, easily handicapping my sight as I continued through the thick throng of Konoha people. The Market was forever busy each morning, and I could just see the silhouettes of the people before me as I squinted through the blaring light.
And, my shadow followed groggily at my feet.
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I had been seeking an end to my bewildered state, searching endlessly for something that I could not find elsewhere, but here. Around my own blood.
And, this was my battle; my confrontation with fate.
My pack fell from my fingers, tickling the tips as it dropped to the dry ground. I listened to my feet thud dully on the sparsely grass-covered ground, my arms stiff at my sides as I strode further into the training ground clearing. I did not pay any mind to the kunoichi to my left as I emerged deeper into the clearing, though I felt her eyes timidly on me.
I could feel her following me, her white irises shyly lapping at my side; my tied hair billowing out behind me from the wind, and she watched as I became in line with her, across the way, her attention heavy on both of my feet.
I placed my hands before me, palms forward, as I glared intently at Hinata, my eyes focused solely on her own as she stared back in mild horror. Her eyebrows up turned her two lips parted sweetly in a question.
"Niichan...?"I watched her mouth the single word, her eyes dropping to watch the swaying blades of green at her feet as she felt the rage of my eyes directed on her.
"Was it not you, Hinata-sama, that had asked for a spar?" I asked indifferently as her pallid irises found mine once more. Her expression changed easily to confusion as she searched my face for answers that she could not seem to find. She nodded sharply once, one strand of her hair falling from its position across her narrow shoulder.
A smirk touched my lips and I did not bother to push the emotion from showing across my face. "Ne, Hinata-sama?" I whispered to myself.
My balance shifted quickly, my toes digging into the dirt for leverage as I bent my knees in a defensive stance. I was dully aware of her eyes widening fractionaly as I charged at my dark haired cousin. Her milky orbs could only just focus on my hasty movements, barely keeping up with my body as I sped toward her. She was not expecting the breakneck speed.
As well, she was not expecting the pain.
An ear-splitting hiss echoed off the trees about us, richocheing painfully back to my ears as my flat palm struck her diaphragm, a hollow crunch jarring my locked arm. Unphased, I blinked blankly as her body crumbled limply ten feet from her original position at the end of my limb, the feeling of her tight abdomen fading from my thoughts.
Seconds ticked rapidly by and I froze, regulating my labored breathing, watching intently as her head jerked up, an arm reaching across her stomach in an effort to hold in the breathtaking, pounding burn.
Hinata'slegs pushed her back, kicking her a short distance away from where she had landed to bring her back against a tree. I watched, some emotion bubbling inside that I hadn't felt since my father's passing, as she feebily attempted get to her feet using the trunk as stability. One droplet of red pressed through her lips, settling in the corner of her mouth before she wiped it with her sleeve, using that hand to push off from the tree.
She panted pathetically as she looked, hurt beyond anything physical, back at me, her eyebrows upturned in pain as the droplet became as swallow of liquid in her mouth. "N-Niichan..."
"Isn't this what you wanted?" I asked harshly, my own brow creasing in anger. "This? To spend time with me, Hinata-sama?"
The kunoichi looked at me in horror once more and I dropped my stance, my fist balling at my sides, as her eyes glowed in fear. I chuckled darkly at her frightened expression, watching my lamb as the lion took a step closer to his prey.
I stood before her now, just five feet from her and the tree at her back. "This is the time with me that I will give you, the only time of mine that you deserve, and yet you waste it as a child would waste his pay on candy." I lashed out, feeling the somehow unnecessary sting of my words.
I sprinted before her, my forearm pressing her closer to the trunk by her neck. She swallowed slowly underneath my radius and I glared at her fiercely, this time without the distance to mask my hate; my anger; my pure white-hot rage.
The heir squeaked softly, mewling like the crying baby she was and I smiled in contempt at the noise. Her irises shot back at me, panic weeping from the corners in beads of salty moisture. I rose my arm, dragging her back up the bark of the tree and she whimpered pitifully again, all her weight held my my one arm at the throat under her jaw.
My eyes searched both of hers, flicking back and forth between the two. "And this is all you'll ever be worth; a sniveling pup dying on the ground."
My arm retracted and she fell to the ground with a muffled thump. I stepped back, turning from the sight of her crumpled body left in a pile, her irises reading fading fear as she stared blankly at the sky from her limp position, the pain-forced tears running to disappear in her long hair.
This was never what my father intended of me, I knew. I felt he wished me to be a good son, regardless of position, we were all blood, and should be treated as family, but, there was always a hypocrite in the family, wasn't there? It was a dying wish that would; could never come true for me.
But, I was not losing sight of my goals, and there was no one that I held dear, at least.
My pace was measured and I carelessly stalked from her presence to grab my pack, rustling material crackling at my back.
Wind whistled by me, the forced air blowing into my shoulder and neck, though I felt nothing. My suspicions were confirmed as I heard a thud from the other side of the clearing, my attention focused on a black, shinning object, its sharp point projected deep into the skin of a tree.
My head flashed around and I glared monstrously at the daring, dark haired kunoichi just twenty meters from me. She stood again, this time away from the tree on her own, her left hand still grasping her broken rips, trying fulitly to push the pain away. Her right hand dangled at her side, fingers together in a fist and her midnight locks were perfectly soft in a frame around her face.
I could hear her grasping for air slowly through her nose, and as she looked at me, her eyes no longer contained the fear that had drove my senses mad with adrenaline, but instead it was replaced with mild anger; defiance and furious misery. Her teeth clamped together and her eyes met mine for a split second.
And she whispered.
"Ready?"
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For those who don't know, and who may be wondering, the Byakugan is said to only reach a max of fifty meters of distance. I'm fairly sure that my information is correct, but if I am wrong, and you feel that it is your duty, do tell me other wise.
So? Was it in the least bit captivating as I would hope that it was. I'm so happy that this is the longest of my chapters. I was hoping that I could force out just a little more because I wish to make them longer for you. I don't like when things end so quickly, so I'm doing my best to squeeze out a little more each time. I'm really glad that its not as much of a stretch as I would have thought it would be.
As always, tell me what you think. Need improvements? Moremisspellings? Something that just doesn't add up? Neji/Hinata OC? I would especially like to know about the ending... I'm kind of if-y on it.
And, one more side note. Since school will be starting back for me on Monday, I'm not exactly sure when I'll be able to update. I'm fairly sure not as frequently as I have been lately. As well, I might already be starting another one of my paring fics to alternate between. If I only get to update once a week, I will post a chapter for both. I'm sure I'll be able to manage, I'm chopped full of idea's at the moment and am ecstatic to get start on something else.
So, will it be DeiSaku or ShikaSaku? (Two of my other current favorites. =]) Which will you choose? Do tell, do tell all.
I really hope that you enjoyed it, its getting down to it and I'm excited for the ending. (In all honesty, I don't even know how it will end. The next chapter will be action packed, and please excuse my horrible fighting scenes. (Though I will improve on it as I write the next chapter.)
-Eureka-chan.