04 - Changes
Hanabi was at the Hyūga dōjo, nervous, not knowing what her father was thinking with this. As he arrived, she saw how Hiashi arrived alone, no main branch elders. 'What just happened... and the elders?' On the other side, Neji arrived with the secondary branch elders and Clan members, entering the dojo through the secondary door, as the norms said. When Hiashi sat down, he said, his pristine face matching with a strong voice:
"We begin today's training. Neji, step forward."
Neji, still not knowing what was happening, stood forward, beside Hanabi. He saluted with a reverence to him and then to her. Hiashi said:
"Begin the combat."
Hanabi saluted and prepared her stance, and when Neji stood on his own, Hiashi commanded:
"Neji, give her the treatment you gave Hinata on her first Chūnin exam! It's an order!"
Neji, intimidated by this command, didn't know how to react. Hanabi was Hiashi's favorite daughter, but after yesterday's scene, he didn't know anymore what was on his mind. He gulped, but then Hiashi stood up:
"Will you disobey a direct order, Neji Hyūga?"
Hiashi was serious, and he rarely used that stern tone idly. Neji had no other choice: he had to make Hanabi suffer, and a lot. Remembering everything he did to Hinata in the past wasn't pleasant, even less when he already learned to appreciate and love her disappeared cousin; but Hiashi could hurt him deeply if he didn't comply, so, for his own sake, Hanabi had to suffer.
"Begin!!"
Hinata couldn't believe that Naruto was standing before her, and that he was actually happy to see her:
"Hinata, you came!
Hinata still couldn't believe she had Naruto in front of her, talking to her, interested in her. This had to be some sort of deception, so she pulsed chakra on her eyes. There she could see those two colors she loved so much: natural blue in his heart and supernatural red in his gut. 'It's him!!'
"Um, Na-Naruto, where are we?! A-are we, um, d-dead?"
Naruto chuckled and scratched his hair:
"Well, it's kind of unclear to me yet. Perhaps my gramps can explain it better."
Hinata loved how Naruto could always keep a smile on his face, no matter the situation. She actually loved his smile, as it gave her confidence. She actually decided to speak her heart out:
"I, um, I-I was waiting for you, there at the Leaf..."
Naruto blushed at these words, something that surprised Hinata:
"Really?" Hinata nodded, eye-smiling: "Wow... I..."
Hanabi was on her own feet, beaten up, and on the other side, an also beaten-up Neji kept his stance. Hiashi had seen the fight so far and demanded:
"Neji! More ferocity! Now!"
Neji couldn't stop, as Hiashi had already placed his hand in the hand sign that activated the Caged Bird seal. Hanabi was scared again, as much as Neji was, but seeing how he focused again in combat made her try and endure more... yet, she didn't have enough fuel in her soul, and Neji attacked her with his hardest attacks, ending up on her knees, beaten up.
Hiashi made a sign for a tired and still confused Neji to get close to him, all while a beaten-up Hanabi watched. Hiashi made hand signs and slammed the teenager's forehead with his index and middle fingertips. Neji felt a rush of chakra to his head, and he began coughing and vomiting a black liquid, until he could recover his breath, and then Hiashi said:
"Neji Hyūga, welcome to the Clan Hyūga."
Hiashi allowed Neji to look at a mirror in the dōjo, and the young Hyūga noticed two things: his vision was enhanced, and the Caged Bird seal was gone for good. He didn't know what to say or do, he just kneeled and bowed in reverence to the Hyūga Patriarch, but Hiashi just said:
"No more differences between our family. Fear led us to planting these seals, and fear made us weak."
The secondary branch members bowed before Hiashi, and Hanabi didn't know what to say or do, until Hiashi claimed:
"Hanabi, stand up. Your training continues until every single Hyūga has fought against you. Who's next?"
Hanabi claimed:
"Father! You're treating me like Hinata!!"
"Shut up and fight! Masahiro Hyūga, you're next!"
Naruto walked beside Hinata, watching how the clueless Team 10 followed Tsuki towards their destination:
"C-Can't they see us, Naruto?"
Naruto shook his head, a mischievous smile mixed with a small pink tint on his cheeks:
"I could kiss you right now and no one would ever notice it, Hinata!"
Hinata blushed red-wine, her stuttering returning and her faint spell about to happen, when she was covered by his arms and kept on her feet. The blush didn't lower a single degree, but his words soothed her:
"I was just joking, Hinata! I'm not going to kiss you!" This actually disappointed her a lot, and Naruto corrected, realizing his error: "Well, at least until you want me to-"
Hinata closed her eyes and instinctively reached his lips with hers. Naruto blushed, yet the sensation of that kiss was something that not even Jiraiya's smut novels would ever describe accurately. If it were for him, he'd stay there forever, even when he didn't actually expect this to happen with her, instead with a certain pinkette... but this was real, honest and full of intention and feelings, and he appreciated it by slowly letting go of her and looking deep in her lilac eyes:
"Wow... this... this was new for me... a-and I, um, I liked it..."
Hinata was in bliss, and she smiled, her blush lowering a little as she said:
"I-I've been waiting... my whole life, Naruto, um, t-to do this... and it was even better than what I imagined..."
Both kids parted the hug and looked at each other. Perhaps this could work, perhaps not, but at least she would try it, and Naruto would try it as well...
Hanabi was already tired, and seventeen Hyūga ninjas from the secondary family were beside Neji, their foreheads clean. As Hiashi saluted them and gave them a rather calm nod, he turned to Hanabi and said:
"Return to your room, Hanabi; we'll talk later."
A tired and upset Hanabi stood up and left without even saluting, and Hiashi simply looked at her. He then said to the rest of the Clan:
"I have killed the main branch elders, and now I have killed the secondary branch of the family. I am putting my trust in all of you, as Patriarch of this Clan, in order to bring more strength to the family; I truly hope you won't disappoint me, as I'll also put my greatest efforts into not disappointing you."
Everyone kneeled and bowed down in a thanking gesture, and a rather serious Neji said:
"We'll keep working for the sake of the Clan, and if any member steps out of the line, I'll gouge its eyes out."
Hiashi nodded and dismissdd everyone, who actually felt a lot of less weight and anger over their shoulders. Then, he left to Hanabi's room, and noticed that she was about to leave, escaping through the room's window. He ran to the room and grabbed her backpack, pulling her back into the room:
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Hanabi, out of fear and wrath, replied:
"I'm not tolerating this humiliation anymore!! I'm not such a disgrace! I'm not Hinata!!"
Hiashi slapped her face with the back of his hand, throwing her to the floor:
"At least Hinata was strong enough to endure all the punishment we gave her and keep a smiling face the next day, efen if it wasn't meant for us!" Hanabi's eyes opened wide, even while crying: "At least Hinata was capable of offering her services to the Clan members and care about every single one of our needs! At least Hinata could find happiness in her most miserable moments, and find relief for her pain without losing her faith on us! At least Hinata was a decent heiress!!"
Hanabi asked, cracked:
"But, she was shy, weak, coward, helpless, simply hopeless! Why is she better than me now, all of a sudden?!"
Hiashi stood in front of her and said:
"A good Clan leader isn't the one who is the strongest in it, or the most skilled, or the most ambitious, the bravest or the smartest one! Judging a Clan leader by these traits is not only unfair, also it is useless!"
Hanabi replied with wrath:
"Then the elders who chose you as patriarch of the Hyūga were wrong by choosing you!!"
Hiashi was calming down:
"Perhaps, but now the elders aren't alive to regret their choice anymore, and they're not here to oppose the vision I've got about the subject." Hanabi was about to claim when Hiashi continued: "I might recite you the stories of every single Hyūga patriarch so far until the one who imposed the Caged Bird Seal as an obligation of the Clan, but it might be useless. So, I will just resume everything with these words. A true Clan leader isn't the strongest one, but the one who is willing to always put his strength in service of the Clan. A true Clan leader isn't the most skilled one, but the one who is willing to offer whatever few skills he might have in service of the Clan. A true Clan leader isn't the most ambitious one, but the one who is willing to conciliate his clanmates' ambitions and needs for the Clan's sake. A true Clan leader isn't the bravest one, but the one whp can swallow his fears and stand still when the Clan needs it. A true Clan leader isn't the smartest one, but the one who can accept assistance from his clanmates and offer wisdom and virtue."
Hanabi was confused; after all, Hiashi himself was the one who actually asked her to always search for perfection, and now he asked her to be like Hinata, the most imperfect Hyūga in the Leaf's history:
"You're asking me to become... weak, Father..."
Hiashi looked at her and said, disappointed:
"I should have known that you wouldn't know that. If you cannot truly understand my predicament in a year, I will name Neji as my successor."
Hanabi was upset with this, but Hiashi left the room, and before closing the door, allowing her to see him shed a tear, he said:
"Hinata cried in loneliness, suffered and endured beberating and humiliation for a whole decade, yet she never ran away from danger and always faced every situation, even if she knew she would lose. That's why I still considered her as my heiress until now. Good night."
End of chapter 4