Someone once asked how Hiiragi and Higure looked like and what clothes they wear etc. Hiiragi is long haired like Neji, with Tenten's brown eyes. In combat, he wore usual Jonin vest, with Tenten's huge scroll behind him. At home he wore high collared white chinese long sleeved shirt and black pants most of the time. Higure has short brown hair and Hyuuga eyes, wearing Neji's post time skip attire in combat, and a long sleeved shirt and maroon pants at home. Hatsuka has long brown hair and Hyuuga eyes, wore bright colored clothes, usually a short sleeved T-shirt and short pants. In combat or outside, Neji and Tenten wore their post time-skip clothes while at home they both wore either Yukata or Kimono.

Hiiragi's kanji is written 「柊」, Higure's kanji is 「日暮」, and Hatsuka is 「葉束」.


Chapter IV

Paper Bag


I was a little girl alone in my little world
who dreamed of a little home for me

Pricilla Ann – I have a dream


Lights flickered from a single lit candle. It wasn't like the house had no electricity, it was the preference of the head of the family tonight. The reason wasn't anything romantic as well. Sakura knew her husband didn't say it out loud, but it was solely because their son was sleeping soundly in the very same room, head on his mother's lap. Sasuke remained silent as he read the report from his subordinate that would be filed tomorrow, at times adding things or correcting some statements with his own pen. His writings filled the gap between the silence. A low, almost inaudible scratching of pen on top of paper.

Sakura stroked her youngest son's hair.

"The Hyuuga Gathering doesn't seem to go on well."

Sasuke didn't give a single indication of listening to his wife's words. However, Sakura continued.

"Hinata said the Branch will refuse any kind of meeting other than the one concerning their demand."

"Stubborn fools."

Sasuke's eyes didn't even leave his report as he said it. Sakura couldn't resist a gentle smile.

"Said a stubborn someone."

A small smirk made its way to the sole Uchiha survivor's lips. He still didn't let his eyes go off his report when he replied, "I have no say to that statement."

The silence that came after his chuckle was a pleasant one, one that Sakura would gladly be into without feeling alone at all. The young one murmured in his sleep, slightly moving when his mother stroke his head gently. Suddenly the scratching of the pen on the paper stopped. Sakura who was previously kept on looking at her sleeping son, turned to look at her husband—only to be greeted by a pair of dark eyes that looked straight at her.

"Sasu-"

"A stupid clan governed by stupid people," his deep voice was nothing more than a hiss but his cold, hard, iron heart was projected without fail in his words. "If they turned out to be nothing more than a nuisance to this village, they'd better be gone forever."

With these hands, if need to.

Sakura couldn't suppressed her smile. He used to be nothing more than an avenger.

Naruto brought him back to Konoha, convincing everyone that he has changed, that he would bring no more malice to the village he once almost destroyed. Everyone knew he was strong, though, insanely strong at that, with both Rinnegan and Mangekyou Sharingan in his disposal. However it was also true how he protected the village from Madara along with Naruto, how he paid the price for what he had done. He would never to leave the village anymore though, he was to be in Konoha and protect the place. If he ever turned back on the hidden village ever again, Naruto has vowed to be the one to kill him. Something that fortunately doesn't seem likely in the future.

Because the avenger had something more than revenge right now. Something more to protect rather than memories.

Sakura had an ample enough reasons to take pride for that something.

"Naruto is part of that stupid clan as well now, Sasuke-kun," Sakura gently put her hand on top of Sasuke's fist. Sasuke snorted.

"Exactly why the clan's stupid now."

Sasuke's dark sense of humor could be pretty amusing. Sakura's laughter stopped though when the dark eyes slowly moved to the sleeping Uchiha by her lap. They used to be hard and impenetrable, however the woman could see beyond the glass, the emotions that were inside now.

He just had too much love in him. As deep and as much as those love, the hole that would appear would be just as big and just as consuming. If Naruto should the one who protect Sasuke from plunging himself to the darkness, Sakura knew the way the situation was now, she would be the one to prevent that darkness to be created.

Their family was now the greatest part of that love.

So great it was that her husband seemed ready to crush a neighboring clan for having a dispute they all had nothing to do about just because that dispute had the potency to wreak the serenity his family is having. Sasuke wouldn't even let a fly touch his sons. Perhaps he would even use Amaterasu on a mere fly.

"The rouge ninja band on the south is reportedly moving towards Konoha," Sasuke had his hand stroking his youngest son now. He stopped after the first stroke though. "There has been too many flies around."

"Sasuke-kun..."

"One wrong move from those Hyuuga..." The dark eyes gleamed. Something Sakura grown fond of. "... and they will never be able to say they are the strongest clan in Konoha anymore."

His hand was on her chin when he hissed again.

"They never are from the very beginning anyway."

If there was anything unchanging from Sasuke, it would this same pride that made Sakura fall over and over again. Even his arrogant rough style fits too well she wouldn't trade it with anything else.

.ooOoo.

Higure took out the list of ingredients his mother had told him to buy. One of his hands was already full with a paperbag filled with vegetables but it seemed he hadn't bought the main ingredients yet. Oh, the wonders of how mothers work. Higure could never make heads or tails on how mothers could always plan ahead like this. It also wasn't something a Shinobi school could teach, it just seemed innately inherent as someone become mothers.

At least based on his observations as he spent his years surrounded by his mother and her friends that seemed to be the case.

Yamanaka Ino, apparently, possessed quite high of a skill in that.

"3 kilograms of beef, 4 slices of salmon, 3 packs of shrimps... missed them all."

Kaa-san, seriously, how are you planning to bring all of this alone if you buy it by yourself? And now how am I going to do it?!

His day off suddenly turned into a training.

His mother had a sudden mission today and so was his father. He was left with his sibling at home. Hiiragi had a paperwork to do so he volunteered to look after the house and after that fetch Hatsuka from the Academy, which left Higure to buy the ingredients for their dinner. Their mother promised to get home before dark to ensure the food safety of the family though. And that simply means Higure had to finish his chores or else he probably would have several weapons hurled at him tonight.

"I am sure the meat seller is somewhere around this... part..." Higure looked around, finding himself a little lost in the Konoha Shopping district. As always, people walked here and there in this district and finding a shop between a dozen others always be a challenging task. His eyes itched. Byakugan. Ah, there you go.

"Oh, hey, isn't this Higure-kun?" big burly bearded meat seller gave a big smile when he saw Higure appearing in a flash in front of him, both hands supporting a big paper bag stuffed with vegetables. "Out on an errand for your mother?"

"Yes, Ojii-san, can you get this... list for me?" Higure moved his whole load to his left and handed the list with a smile. Vegetables sure was heavy, he quickly supported the paper bag with both hands again. The seller laughed, "Sure do! You seem to get you hands full with all of those though, my Son."

"Honestly, how could Kaa-san do this on regular basis?" said Higure exasperatedly, having both hands on the paper bag again. This was even heavier than his usual muscle training. "Wait, Ojii-san, you wouldn't happen to know Kaasan's trick, would you?"

Their family has been this seller's frequent shopper. The meat seller even knew Hiiragi when he was still a toddler. The seller laughed and said, "Well, well, whenever she buys this many things, the Weapon Mistress merely seals everything in her scroll! I don't see that often from the other ninja so I guess your mother is one with quite exceptional skill to be able to do that."

SERIOUSLY?! Higure sweatdropped. Sealing something isn't as easy as it sounds, and look at the amount of these! Kaa-san literally has to seal every single vegetables in this paper bag as well so the seal she made must be hella complicated!

Of course, even Hokage-sama acknowledged her expertise in weapon and fuuin-jutsu. Who knows that being a shinobi could help you in things like buying groceries.

Maybe Higure should ask Hiiragi if he knew how, his brother was the one that inherited their mother's style of fighting anyway. Talk about convenience.

"Here, your meat, salmon, and shrimp, Higure-kun!"

"Thank you, Ojii-san!" Higure grimaced when he realized he had no free hand left. "Gomen, Ojii-san, would you put those meat inside the paper bag, please? As expected I am still no match for my mother."

"Sure, sure, Son. Here, there you go!"

"Thank you! Well, then, I should-"

"Hey, isn't this Higure-kun?"

Higure didn't need to turn his back to know who was talking but he did anyway for the sake of courtesy. It was a fellow male Hyuuga, a Branch family member a few years older than him, Hagane.

"Good day, Hagane-san!" Higure's face was almost totally covered by the paper bag and the pile of groceries so it was only a glint of his eyes that Hagane could see beyond it but it was fine. They both could see each other past that obstacle anyway. "Otsukaresama! How's your mission doing?"

"It ended fine, it was nothing," Hagane raised his shoulder. He then cringed at the amount of groceries Higure was holding. "But look at you now! What is that, a whole year worth of groceries?"

"Ahahaha... well, my family are big eater," answered Higure sheepishly. He fixed his grip on the paper bag. "Are you shopping as well, Hagane-san? The shopping district sure is-"

"Higure-kun, look at that pile you are having. Are you feeding an elephant?"

"Ah, Hayato-sama! Otsukaresama deshita!"

Higure tried to bow but he couldn't thanks to the groceries. The one who came was a Main family member, Hayato. The teenager walked closer towards Higure without even looking at Hagane, who also didn't say any kind of greetings what so ever. Hayato didn't even seem to bother though. Or more like, he didn't even bother looking at Hagane.

Rigid tendon. Increasing pulse.

"As always your family eats a lot, huh. What is that, because all of you used up chakra so much?"

"Ahahaha, it isn't like that, Hayato-sama. My family are big eaters, just like that."

Racing breathing. Fist clenching. Blood rushing.

"Are you shopping as well, Hayato-sa-"

"Sama, sama, sama, sama!" Hagane's voice suddenly thundered. Hayato closed his mouth, his transparent eyes narrowing. "Why are you calling him with such high honorific, Higure-kun? He didn't do anything worth of such suffix!"

"Hagane-san, that isn't-"

"What's with you?" Hayato turned to face Hagane straight on, both hands on his hip. "I don't think I have done anything to you to deserve such kind of hostile reaction."

"You guys don't even think that what you have done to us since your birth is a form of disrespect, being snob as you all are," Hagane clicked his tongue. "Demanding respect from us Branch members, demanding us calling you like some lord. Do you still think of that as 'having done nothing'? You didn't even greet me, just because I didn't greet you first like a "Branch" should."

Hayato had his jaw tensed by Hagane's statements. He narrowed his eyes again.

"Listen, I do not want to continue this needless arguments," He had his hands in fists now. "I will apologize for not greeting you, however I will have to ask you to apologize for what you have said about the Main Family as well."

"Why? Because what I said was the truth?" Hagane scoffed. "You have to accept that you are born a snob, Hayato-kun."

Hayato clenched his fists tighter, his eyes gleamed dangerously.

"You watch your mouth, Branch."

"Look who's barking. Just a Main Family mama boy."

"YOU-!"

The next thing happened in less than a second. The paper bag filled groceries was high in the air... and suddenly Higure already had his right hand gently deflecting Hayato's Jyuuken styled hand and his left leg already hit a kunai in Hagane's hand, sending it flying to a nearby wall. Hagane moved to make a backhand punch with his other hand but Higure parried with his free left hand, Hagane's fist stopping just inches away from Hayato's head. Their movement froze.

All three's Byakugan were activated.

"Please stop this fight, we're in public," said Higure, breaking a smile. Hagane's fist trembled as it struggled to overpower Higure's arm. "It wouldn't be good to our family name... right?"

Hagane was about to say something but Hayato withdrew, deactivating his Byakugan as he did so. Higure also loosened his stance, smiling as he deactivated his Byakugan as well. Hagane, though, even if he then put down his fist, still had his Byakugan remained activated.

"You Main Family-"

"Higure-kun is right, the villagers are looking at us," Hayato said coldly, his translucent eyes suddenly turned impassive. He then turned his back. "I don't want to smear Hyuuga's good name just because of some nonsense quarrel like this."

"Non-sense, you say?! We the Branch-"

"Maa! Maaaa! Hagane-san, please," Higure stepped in between them, smiling as he tried to intercept Hagane's advance. Hayato, on the other hand, ignored everything and kept walking, hands in his pocket. "Please calm down, every one is looking at us! It isn't good for Hyuuga to be seen quarreling between brothers like this in public. Please, calm-"

"Brothers? I never think of those bastards as one," Hagane finally deactivated his Byakugan, although his anger was still apparent. "Why are you defending them, Higure-kun? You're a Branch as well, you are supposed to understand!"

"Hagane-san, family do not pit against each other," Higure smiled. "This kind of quarrel is to be solved in the Gathering. Please, calm down for now."

"HA!" Hagane finally turned around. "Gathering. Elders panicking when their authority is threatened. It is nothing more than Main's play! I'm outta here."

Hagane walked away, leaving an air of anger around him as he walked past the crowd that had just begun to take notice of their fight. Higure gave out a long deep sigh, before he then realized something.

"AAAAAAAAAA! OH CRAP, My groceri-"

"Kaa-san will be angry if she knew you almost ruined a week worth of groceries, Higure."

Higure quickly looked up to the roof of a nearby shop where the voice came from and shouted in delight, "Aniki!"

Hiiragi had the paper bag safely in his hands. He only gave a short, brief smile before passing—or literally throwing—the paper bag to Higure down below. The later gave a shriek but caught the heavy load nevertheless, giving out an audible groan.

"ANIKI! What if it ripped?! Can you imagine the trouble—"

"I am going to fetch Hatsuka from school, see you later."

"Wait, Aniki—"

But he was already off. Higure gave a big loud sigh, grabbing the paper bag tightly in his arms. He knew what that meant.

Not here. This isn't something to be talked about in public.

It would be lie to not feeling the eyes of some of the crowds that still lingered around. The fight was fast, only some of the villagers realized that there had been a fight, however, it wasn't easy to shrug off those eyes. Especially not when some of them are accusing eyes. Higure suddenly loathed having able to see them, even when he was supposed to not be looking.

"You're a Branch as well, you are supposed to understand!"

It seemed like the conversation at dinner tonight be long and heavy.


to be continued


Otsukaresama = good work/thank you for your hardwork. A phrase you say to someone after they finished a job or after they do something. Otsukaresama deshita is the longer, more formal version of the same phrase, in past tense. (other more casual variations may include: "Otsukare!" "Otsukaressu!" or, to a subordinate: "Gokurousama", or in casual: "Gokurousan!")

Author's Note: Hi there, long time no see. Too long, even (lol). Many things happened along the way, IRL has been keeping me away from my fics and it was kinda hard to get back on track. I was about to continue my P4 fic but it turned out it seemed finishing THIS fic is way easier than that P4 one, Wish. It was a little complicated to write so I withhold it for a while. The most complicated would be Beasts of Souls though, and with time, I think I will make a considerable change to the fic so it will take even longer to update.

Also, having read all chapters of Naruto until the latest, there is nothing that I can say but... how disappointed am I at its development. It turned repetitive and dull, with women merely act as love interest with no empowerment. Of course, you all may say the opposite to this, but this is what makes me turned negative on Naruto.

Rest assured however, my love to my fic remains the same. Call me narcissist, or stupid, or whatever, but I choose to remember Naruto shaped by the better fanfic writers I met here. Hahahaha. Some have better fleshed out characters.