Chapter 12

Thump.

Hinata whipped her head towards her bedroom door.

"Who is it?" She shouted, adrenaline rushing about her body in an instant.

No answer.

She frowned, and activated her Byakugan, something only the Main family could do in the Hyuga courts. She saw nothing in particular; just a maid walking towards her room and… was that a kunai stuck onto her door? Quickly, she scrambled over to study the piece of metal which had abruptly landed onto her bedroom door. From the angle it had dug itself into the wood; she could tell it had been thrown by someone high above, likely from the roof or in the midst of a leap. She also noticed that the kunai was not the only thing stuck onto her door; in fact, the kunai was merely there to pin up a piece of paper. She carefully wrapped her finger around the cool metal and tugged the kunai out of her door. Studying it, she recognized it almost immediately.

It was Neji's kunai; a gift from Tenten on his 18th birthday. She had personally created this kunai, starting from the pointed blade to the very last detailed scale of the dragon which twisted itself around the handle. Hinata remembered watching the weapon mistress working day and night, carving the piece of metal into perfection, just in time for the prodigy's birthday. The Hyuuga boy never used it; not because he found it useless, but because he found it too precious; although he didn't like to admit to that.

Hinata turned her attention to the piece of paper in her other hand. She realized Neji's writing, but was confused by the message he gave her.

On the smooth parchment, Neji had drawn two symbols and written 6 numbers.

The first symbol was simply an arrow pointing downwards.

That was it.

Underneath that, were the numbers:

8, 12, 3, 142, 199, 200

Below all of this, was the last symbol. It was a strangely familiar image to Hinata. It was the image of a vortex, a line which curled itself inwards into a circle, getting smaller and smaller as it reached the center.

She frowned. What in the world was Neji trying to tell her? She stopped a maid walking past.

"Excuse me." She said, reaching out to tap the maid on the shoulder. The maid lowered her head so that she was staring at the floor, apparently embarrassed by her politeness.

"Do you know where Neji is?" Hinata asked, ignoring the fact that the maid was avoiding her gaze.

"Neji sama left for a mission not long ago." The maid replied, keeping her head down.

"Oh… Ok then, thank you."

The maid bowed so low, Hinata wouldn't be surprised if she had managed to graze the tip of her nose onto her knees. She turned back into her room, keeping her eyes on the piece of paper. Perhaps Neji had hidden something on the floor, thus the arrow pointing downwards?

Hinata walked back to where the paper had been pinned and circled the floor near it. She got onto her knees and knocked on each piece of wood. They all sounded the same; solid. A few more maids had apparently walked by, as they gasped, seeing their mistress crawling around on the floor.

"Hinata sama! Is there something wrong? Have we missed something while cleaning the…"

"Oh, no, no!" Hinata exclaimed, quickly standing up, as she flushed a little herself. "I was er… nevermind. I'm alright." She assured them. The maids glanced at one another.

"If you need anything, Hinata sama…"

"I… I'm fine." She repeated. The maids bowed again and left her; glancing back worriedly as if she were abnormal. Hinata straightened herself. Ok, so maybe Neji hadn't left anything hidden underneath the floorboards then.

Knock knock.

This time, the noise was coming from inside of Hinata's room. What could it be now? She rushed back into her room and heard the knocking again. It was coming from her window. She opened the curtains, and what she saw almost made her faint.

"N… Naruto kun?" She breathed, flabbergasted at the blonde's sudden appearance.

"You shouldn't be sneaking in like this! If father sees you…" Hinata whispered, as she opened to let a very wet Naruto in.

"That's why I have to sneak in!" Naruto replied, jumping off the windowsill. He walked to the middle of her room and shook his head like a dog, water droplets flying in all directions. Hinata giggled.

"Naruto kun, what have you done to yourself? It's not even raining!" She exclaimed.

"Ah, Hinata chan, I've been training by the waterfall!" He said proudly.

"Sh!" The Hyuga smirked, warning the blonde to keep his voice down. He gave her a foxy grin, and she blushed. Although she had managed to get over her stuttering around him, he was still her weakness.

"I… I'll go check if Neji has some dry clothes you can borrow." She said, leaving the suddenly feverish room to the cool outdoors.

When Hinata returned, she saw Naruto standing there, topless. She almost dropped the clothes in her hand as she felt another wave of heat rising to her face.

"I hope you don't mind, Hinata! But these clothes are starting to smell funny." He laughed, not realizing what he was doing.

"That's f…fine." Hinata mumbled, trying not to stare at his toned body.

Suddenly, something caught her eye, and Hinata forgot everything; even the fact that her crush was currently standing half naked in front of her. She rushed over to the blonde boy, knelt down, and put her hands onto his abdomen, studying intently the symbol drawn onto his skin,

This time, it was Naruto's turn to turn pink.

"H… Hinata!? What the…"

"Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed. "What is this?" Naruto followed her gaze towards his own body.

"Oh, that?" He scratched his head. "It's a cursed seal. Apparently, the Yondaime left it on me when he sealed the nine-tailed fox into me. I've had it for as long as I can remember." He answered.

"Why? What's wrong?"

Hinata stood up and motioned for Naruto to come nearer. He walked over to her; she showed him the mysterious note Neji had left her.

"Look at this, Naruto kun." She said. "Neji left this on my door just before he left for a mission. I have no idea what he wants to tell me." Naruto frowned and scratched his head.

"Eh?" He half laughed to himself. "That looks awfully like the seal on my body."

"Maybe it's something about you." She suggested. "Do these numbers remind you of anything?" Naruto frowned at the piece of paper.

"Ah, could it be… 8 inches?" he breathed.

"What?" Hinata asked.

"Well, it's pointing down…and, but 200!? That's a bit... no it can't be…"

"Naruto kun, what on earth are you talking about?"

"I think Neji is trying to suggest his penis is bigger than mine." Naruto retorted, pouting.

"Naruto kun!" Hinata squealed, blushing a furious shade of crimson. "I...I don't think… Neji wouldn't use this kunai just to…"

"Huh? Oh, yea, you're right." He agreed, noticing the significant weapon.

"Then no, I've got no idea."

Hinata sighed and flopped herself onto her bed.

"I wonder what he's trying to tell me…" she whispered.

"That's so like that bastard." Naruto replied, picking the clothes Hinata had brought and putting them on.

"Wouldn't it be much easier just writing it?"

"I think Neji has a reason for putting it in a code."

They remained in a comfortable silence for a while, until Naruto finished putting his clothes on.

"Hey, do you want to go for some ramen?" he exclaimed. "I'm really hungry."

Hinata bit her lip. Maybe going out for a while would help clear her head.

"Sure."

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"I never knew about this part of town!" Naruto said happily, as he and Hinata walked out of a restaurant.

"Me neither." Hinata smiled. "We'll have to come here again."

"You bet!" He cried. "But er… Hinata?" he motioned for her to come closer.

"Please don't tell Teuchi I've eaten somewhere else other than Ichiraku."

"I won't." she promised.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction.

"Now which way to take you home…" he muttered, looking from left to right.

"That sign says the main street is straight ahead, so…" Hinata stopped midsentence.

"Ah, you're right." Naruto agreed, "Shall we?" he offered her his arm, but was surprised to see she was not listening. An odd, startled look was plastered onto her face.

"H…Hinata?" Naruto asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Naruto. I think we've misunderstood Neji's note." She whispered.

"So…no penises…"

"No, Naruto! It's not down, it's straight across!"

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto, look at that sign. What does it say?"

Naruto studied it for a few seconds, and then suddenly, his face fell in realization.

"Oh." He said. Hinata nodded."

The sign was made of smooth wood, with the words "Main Street" and an arrow pointing downwards carved upon it, indicating the main street was 'straight ahead.' Neji's note had not mean 'downwards', but 'straight across'.

"So, Hinata, what is across from your room?" Naruto asked.

"The Hyuuga Library.

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Temari was leaning against a large tree when they arrived.

"Neji." She acknowledged, as the team slowed down to a stop. He nodded back in greeting. Neji scanned his radius for eavesdroppers, while Shikamaru wasted no time and began informing her with the plans.

"This is a simple drawing of Ouran Bridge and its surroundings." He began, illustrating into the dry dirt. He drew 6 'x' marks onto the drawing.

"Basically, we will arrive 10 minutes before the designated time, and each of us will hide ourselves in each of these positions" he pointed at the x marks.

"Temari, you will be here, behind this bush. You will be the first to take action. When Neji signals you, you will confuse them with your Dust Wind. Because we don't know who Arisa is and what she can do, Neji and I will stand back and analyze while you attack long distance. We will compromise from there. Neji and Lee will mainly be in charge of Orochimaru because of their sensitivity in speed. The rest of us will be on Arisa."

Temari nodded once, and Shikamaru quickly wiped away all traces of his drawings.

"Shall we go?" Kiba asked.

"Let's." Temari replied.

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"Hinata, I never knew you guys had a library." Naruto said in the darkness. "This place is pitch black, where's the light?"

"We never really come in here; it's full of ancient Hyuuga scrolls and stuff. There's not light in here, its and old building. We'll need a candle. I think… yeah, here." She shoved a long wax candle into Naruto's hands and lit it with a match she seemed to summon out of thin air.

"Hold on to it, and don't drop it." She warned.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I don't need a candle. I have my Byakugan." She smiled. "Anyhow…" she took out the crumpled piece of note and studied it.

"8, 12, 3… I think I understand. Come here."

Hinata led Naruto through a maze of long wooden shelves which stretched themselves from floor to ceiling. They were all filled with thick, dusty volumes, and every corner and turn they took looked about the same to him.

"Here." Hinata breathed, stopping at a particularly large shelf standing alone in a clearing. "This is shelf number 8."

"Now… 12th row… 3rd book." She murmured as Naruto watched her from behind. She climbed a ladder and ran her fingers across the 12th row, stopping at a particularly large and thick, white, tattered book. She pulled it out and for a moment, she still looked confused. Suddenly, Hinata gasped, and the colour drained from her face.

"Hinata, don't scare me like this. What's wrong? What book is that?"

Hinata shoved the book back into its place, and descended the ladder. She seemed dizzy, and grabbed onto Naruto for support.

"Hinata! What book was that?" Naruto exclaimed, worry thick in his voice.

"Th…that was the Hyuuga Clan Manuscript, Naruto." She whispered.

"Yeah…ok…whatever that is…" he gripped onto her arm to steady her.

"It's… I think I…Tenten… but I don't understand… Who?"

"Hinata, please just tell me what's going on." Naruto grumbled. Hinata took a shaky breath,

"I…I'm sorry, Naruto kun." She apologized. "You see, the Hyuuga Clan Manuscript is a book of rules all Hyuuga Clan members must obey. It was written a long time ago, by the Hyuuga elders."

"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed. "That book is massive though! How many rules are in there?"

"Two hundred."

"TWO HUNDREmphffftt…"

"Shhh!!" Hinata clapped a hand onto his mouth.

"Phorry…" Naruto apologized. Hinata removed her hand.

"So…Neji wants you to read the book, or what?" Hinata gave the note to Naruto again.

"I don't need to read it." She grimaced. "I've learnt the whole book off by heart."

"WHAT! I mean, what!" he whispered when he received a look from Hinata.

"That… that book is fucking huge though…"

"Every Hyuuga has to when they reach the age of 5." She shrugged. "Anyways, that's not the point. I think Neji wants to point out those three rules out to me." She pointed at the last 3 numbers on the note.

"142, 199, and 200…?" Naruto scratched his head. "Well, what are they?"

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The Hyuuga Clan Manuscript

Rule 144: "A Hyuuga shall never give his Byakugan to someone who does not belong to the clan. If a Hyuuga shall violate this rule, the result is the death of him and the given."

Rule 199: "If the leader of the Hyuuga clan happens to die because of violation of any of these rules, his or her family is also banned from the position as well. The next candidate in line shall take their place."

Rule 200: If any Hyuuga shall violate any of the rules stated in this book, he or she must be executed, despite his age, sex, status, or position. It is also a great crime to help, encourage, or support any Hyuuga which is planning on or has violated any of these rules, and execution shall be expected from anyone who does so

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- indicates offspring of the above

+ indicates spouse of

The Hyuuga Main Family:

Hyuuga Hiashi

- Hyuuga Hinata

- Hyuuga Hanabi

The Hyuuga Branch Family According To Rank:

Hyuuga Hizashi (deceased)

- Hyuuga Neji

Hyuuga Hiromi + Hyuuga Matsuo

- Hyuuga Hayao