AN: Heya guys! So it's been forever, I know, I know haha. I 've been busy, trying to study, trying to get a job, trying to not drink too much coffe XD
In the next chapter, Sasori will actually show up, albeit it was really not planned but I'm just so impulsive lmao. In case it's not obvious, I'm planning on taking this story to hell and back, so buckle up buttercup. I really don't know what else to write here, except for a slight warning. This chapter is really long, and I certainly hope it's not too boring, because I had so much fun writing it. I hope there's not too many errors in it haha
Songs for this chapter: Gimme Love by Joji, High Hopes by Joji, Who Is She? by I Monster.
Happy reading! Xoxo
Chapter 7
Naivety? No, Just ignorance. None of it willful though.
Crystalline manor was the name of the large mansion the elders lived in. It was also the place where festivities happened, though those didn't happen very often. At least not in Hinata's lifetime. Either that, or she wasn't invited. Which was also a possibility…
She had only seen the place from afar, as it was sealed off from the rest of the compound. The estates of the main family was of course closest to it, but even members of the main family were not permitted to enter its grounds without an invitation from the elders themselves. Those were the rules, rules that even the clan leader would have to follow.
The hard line separating Crystalline manor from the rest of the Hyuga compound, was a small -albeit dense- forest with a winding stone road leading through it. Of course it was glazed with ice now and so they had to thread carefully as to not slip on the cobblestones.
Hinata briefly glanced down at the woman's hands, resting on her arm. She raised her dark brows at the sight, emitting a small gasp.
"Eh?" was all that came from Yua but Hinata didn't spare her a glance.
Her ivory eyes were glued onto the silvery, scintillating ring the pinkette had on her finger, her ring finger of course. It was a massive gem, very much looking like a pure diamond. The hefty stone was shaped in a pointed and elegant tetrahedron.
"I can't believe I haven't noticed this before… Are you betrothed?" inquired Hinata, looking up at the older woman.
Hanazoe Yua gave her a radiant smile, all peaches and roses.
"Ah yes, the wedding is due in July," she answered, glancing down at her ring.
"Congratulations," the Hyuga clucked, briefly wondering who the lucky man would be.
Maybe it was that Ren guy?
"Who is it?" she prodded, keeping her smile sweet.
That conversation between the pinkette and the Tanaka girl flashed before her and she couldn't help but contemplate the possibilities. Her mind ventured back to the event and she realized that Retsu had indirectly revealed who her fiance was.
"How awful of him to not to assist his fiance when he could do it so easily," she had said, talking about that strange man, Ren.
Her attention swiftly shifted back to the older woman, who seemed very dreamy.
"Oh, he's amazing! Such a wonderful man, truly so- so," she rambled on, tripping over her words, her cheeks growing more and more red, "He's handsome, powerful, intelligent, very charismatic, very protective, he's just perfect for me, he's like my other half!" she went on, utterly lovesick, adoration so clear in her eyes.
"Oh alright, okay…" giggled Hinata, looking at the pinkette, a little bit surprised.
She reminded her of a schoolgirl with a crush… A pretty major one at that.
"He sounds like a handful…" she continued, "What's his name though?"
Yua halted her babbling, blinking a couple of times, as if she was returning to the present from cloud nine.
"Oh," she let out, it sounded like she was hesitating, "His name is Igarashi Ren, and I actually met on my 17th birthday, directly after I returned from Konoha," she then continued, nodding her head as if she had decided upon something.
"I'm very happy for you, it seems that you two have known each other for quite some time then!" answered Hinata with a supportive squeeze to the woman's arm.
"Oh yes, It was actually quite controversial though, back in the day…" Yua conceded, looking at her with a coy smile.
"Really? How so?" queried Hinata.
"Well you see, it was quite the age-gap between us. He was 25 when he wanted me to come away with him and get married. But it was all so rushed, I felt like I wasn't ready, besides it wasn't even legal at the time," the pinkette explained, a rather nostalgic look coming over her.
Hinata gave a small laugh, she could actually relate to this quite a bit with her current situation… It was for the best that she didn't tell her that though.
"It sounds rather romantic to me actually, but I'm sure it must have been quite stressful at the time," she said, cocking her head to the side.
Yua looked down at her ring, her smile never leaving her red lips.
"Oh yeah it was romantic but... stressful at the same time. Curiously enough, Ren doesn't stem from aristocracy, not even a little bit. But he is a skilled businessman and very good with connections, he has even more status than my parents," she went on to say, absorbed in her musings.
"Oh, yeah that is very impressive," clucked Hinata, raising her brows in amazement.
Very impressive indeed, so much so that it was practically unheard of… And therefor, Hinata took that with a grain of salt. Igarashi Ren would have to have something more to him besides money and connections, in order to have such a status within a system determined by blood and family.
Eventually upon passing through the little forest, they came upon a rather gothic-looking black palisade. It literally towered before them with menacing-looking spikes at the end of each iron pole, looking near impenetrable.
So even the entrance looked everything but welcoming… The big gate was girded at the top, its black bars decorated with the same pointed spikes. Behind the sturdy fence, which stretched on for miles and miles, Hinata could spot a snow-covered hedge with a circular entrance in it.
It seemed to be the entrance to a pretty massive hedge maze.
"Had I stumbled upon this anywhere else, I would almost certainly believe vampires lived here…" remarked Hinata, eying the obsidian spikes, inwardly judging the design.
An amused chuckle escaped Yua's lips. She fished up a black key from her corset and stuck it into the hefty lock, the only part of the gate that seemed to be off normal size.
"Just by looking at those spikes alone makes me think of all kinds of horrors," commented the pinkette, glancing up at the pointed objects of question.
The gate gave away a long, loud clonk, upon being unlocked. Yua placed both her hands on the two handles, turning them and pushing the gates open. It gave away a jarring, ear-splitting creek that only seemed to intensify the more she pushed.
She saw Yua visible flinch and grimace at the sound, seemingly deciding that the gate did not need to be opened all the way. She slipped inside and nodded at her.
"Come along and brace yourself for more haunting shrieks, as I need to close it again…" said the yellow-eyed woman.
"Music for my ears," joked Hinata, entering after her.
She closed it again, albeit, now with more force. The obsidian gate loudly complained all the way, until it was locked with the same decisive clonk. Yua turned to her and placed the key back in her corset, her smile all peachy.
She hooked her arm into Hinata's again and lead her towards the circular, neatly trimmed opening of the long, wide hedge.
"Blimey, this really is a ginormous labyrinth," she exclaimed, taking in all the side entrances and the winding passageways.
She just felt disoriented from looking at it all… Yet Yua seemed terribly sure of herself, her step never faltering as she lead her by her arm down multiple pathways, turning corner after corner.
"Not to worry, I know the exact way!" she beamed.
They turned another corner and came upon a long path, a straightforward one.
"Are you sure? I can just activate my byakugan-" offered Hinata, somewhat skeptical.
How would anyone be able to memorize all this? Unless they came here on an almost daily basis… which she doubted Hanazoe did.
"Oh No! Wait and see, I just pick the path that feels right, you'll see eventually," she chirped, looking at her wide smile, a skip in step.
She seemed awfully excited for a pair of hedges. Even though this was a woman in her thirties, she seemed almost like a teenager. Curious, easily excited, seemingly innocent, not gullible and naive, but… Something of the sort.
"Okay…" mumbled Hinata with a tense smile, hoping she was right.
It was really dark now, she noted looking around.
"We need some light though," said the Hyuga and simultaneously, her hands began to pulse with chakra.
Yua looked down to take in the bright, azure glow emanating from the Hyuga's hands, illuminating their pathway.
"How beautiful," she sighed, looking up at the snow-covered walls of the towering hedges.
The pulsing chakra made the snowflakes shine like glistening sapphires.
"Yeah," agreed Hinata, admiring the lightshow, "What color is your chakra signature?"
Yua's head boggled slightly, looking at her with a queer stare, as if she hadn't quite expected the question.
"It's…" she hesitated, "I used to really like it," she almost mumbled out in a child-like voice.
Hinata creased her brows, she seemed off again, like before… Honestly, this is a woman in her thirties, not a little girl. Was she aware that she sounded like one? Was it deliberate? The Hyuga couldn't quite figure her out, but her obvious gloom made her pity the woman.
"Show me please," she carefully suggested, angling her head to catch the woman's amber eyes.
They seemed quite far away, yet present at the same time.
"If you insist."
She hummed in concentration, looking down at her white hands. Hinata could feel a potent, swirling, energy pulsate from them, way before she saw anything of relevance. She dimmed her own blue light, squashing it down and restricting it close to her fists. Now it just looked like she had two pairs of neon blue gloves on.
In that moment, small rays of a bright rosy light began to pop up from her hands in all directions. Her white skin seemed to implode from within in a pretty magenta shimmer. Hinata looked on in awe.
The magenta grew more and more, engulfing her hands completely and illuminating the white hedges in a neon pinkish color, making the icy flakes twinkle like bright, pink stars.
"Beautiful," whispered the Hyuga, her glass-like eyes reflecting the magenta glow like mirrors, watching in wonderment at the shining snow.
She looked back at the noblewoman to be instantly surprised.
At the center of the lightshow, where her hands should be, a pulsating golden luminescence could be seen. It really was pulsing, like it was alive. The beating of a heart, or the flickering of a flame, whatever it was, it wasn't too keen on the concept of stillness.
"I- I'm not sure..." began Hinata, finding her voice, "If it should look like that."
Hanazoe Yua's luminous golden eyes snapped over to hers, holding her eyes in a steady grip.
"I know…" she breathed out, before glancing back at her lit-up hands.
Her red lips stayed open as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Hinata acutely picked up on her uneasiness, her hesitation. She squeezed her arm in support.
"It's still beautiful though, it may be uncommon to have two colors but surely, you cannot be the only soul out there," she cheered, "I'm almost jealous-"
Hanazoe Yua stiffened up like a board, staring at her in barely concealed terror.
"You should not be!" she nearly shouted at her, her voice, hoarse and shrill.
Hinata wasn't prepared for that, she promptly released her arm and reared back in shock. As if she'd been burned. Yua's anger melted away instantly, leaving behind a deep-rooted regret, her face falling into dejection.
"I'm so sorry Hinata-san, I- I don't know what flew into me," she hurled out, the light dimming down around her hands before being snuffed out completely.
The woman and girl were left in darkness, aside from the faint, faint glow from Hinata's blue hands.
"It's just that-" Yua tried again, almost desperately so when the Hyuga didn't answer, "I- My chakra signature, I- I just liked it better before…" she trailed off, her shoulders slumping as if she had given up on trying to explain something altogether.
It wasn't a good enough reason to scream at her, but Hinata could tell that there were a lot of things the pinkette wanted to say. But for some reason, she seemed unable to.
The Hyuga looked at the pinkette with pity in her snowdrop eyes, she had a forgiving nature but only to those who actually seemed to need her forgiveness.
She reached out and grazed her hand over her arm, leaning in close to the woman to give her a one-sided hug.
"You don't have to speak about it," she said, squeezing her cold flesh, hoping it would somehow warm her up.
Then she got an idea. Her hands became brighter, the azure chakra dancing around them once more, vibrating from her hands in warm waves. Yua looked at her, her eyes big and she somehow managed to look even younger. Doe-like in a way, a sad smile on her lips, a crease in her brows.
"I'm sorry…" she offered, again.
"I know, let's go now, because I know that chakra can't save us both from hypothermia," the Hyuga jokingly answered, leading her away.
The pinkette laughed at that and before long she took the lead, because it became apparent that Hinata had no clue where to go.
# # #
Crystalline manor reeked of old money. Old memories. How strange was it, that certain places seemed to have a certain vibe... It felt as if the walls were talking to her, not in words, or even sounds. But in feelings, vibrations almost.
Hinata would have discarded her thoughts then and there, as they sounded like such nonsense. But the full-body shivers that ran through her body, spurred on by this strange aura that the manor emitted, it seemed all too real.
It was actually Kurenai who had told her, that certain places where extreme things had happened, would leave an echo of that energy behind. A vibe, which would explain the legends of haunted houses and other such things. It would explain why you could walk into room, where there had just been an explosive argument, and feel it in the air.
Now it wasn't like Hinata believed that Crystalline manor would adhere to this theory, but it did make her contemplate it, silently so. Because this place seemed alive, in every sense of the word. Albeit it was mind-boggling.
The hallway they had entered into, was extremely big and at the end of it, an enormous, swirling white staircase took shape. The marble walls were white as well, pure ivory with elegant silver and gold-framed mirrors on them.
There were portraits there as well, old ones made with oil paint, showcasing her Hyuga ancestors. She could not stop staring at them. No one was smiling, not even with their eyes. They all looked terribly serious. Pallid, stony faces, donned in their finest jewelry and silk.
Hanazoe Yua led the awe-struck girl by the hand and she barely paid any mind as to where. Right now, she was too busy looking up at the dangling chandeliers that hung from the ceilings.
The chandeliers looked to be made up of diamonds, having some sort of Jutsu activated on them, making them shine in a gentle, red light. Like rubies. The crackling of a fire caught her ears and she looked away from the chandeliers to take in the room Yua had led her into. It seemed to be the sitting area.
A big, wide fireplace was carved out of the wall, grey marble, equipped with a roaring fire that seemed to change colors from time to time. Probably enchanted with a jutsu as well, the flames went from orange, to red, to purple and blue, discreetly so. A big sofa was situated in front of it and two armchairs at its side. All of them black in color.
She was surprised to see Hanabi sitting in one of them, reading from a scroll, wearing one of her finest green and gold kimonos.
"Hanabi?" Hinata said, walking up to her little sister.
The younger Hyuga stirred and looked up, a grin exploding unto her little face.
"Finally! I was so bored, the butler won't let me go upstairs and I've explored this whole floor already!" she blurted out, putting away the scroll on the glass-table next to her.
She was practically jumping up and down in the armchair, filled with excitement.
"How long have you been here?" asked Hinata, sitting down on the armchair next to her, on the other side of the class-table. "And which butler?" she added, looking around in the oval room.
It was only them here, along with some statues, portraits and dreary-looking plants…
"He's not here right now dummy," scoffed her little sister, "I've been here for half an hour, and I am very disappointed so far!"
"I can understand that, I would be angry too if I were left alone for so long without any snacks," remarked Yua from where she leaned on the edge of the fireplace, the changing colors dancing over her fair face.
Hanabi's eyes lit up like a lighthouse.
"Snacks?"
The pinkette's smile only grew, turning foxy. She raised a brow and pushed herself off the fireplace, walking back to the hallway.
"Hashimoto!" she called, her voice echoing off the walls.
There was silence. Then the sounds of footsteps, coming down the stairs.
"My lady?" asked an elderly man in a black suit, appearing at the entrance of the sitting room.
"Take Hanabi-chan to the kitchens, she may eat whatever she wants," curtly commanded the noblewoman, looking over at Hanabi.
Hanabi practically shot up out of the armchair, running up to two people.
"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Yua-sama!" she squealed, giving the pinkette a hug from the best of her ability, given the fact that the child only barely went up to her bodice.
Yua laughed and patted her head.
Hinata could feel her eyes rolling at the scene. But she was a bit impressed, somewhat curious that Yua had the authority to practically give away the elders' food like that...
"Oh and, Hashimoto? Make us some tea while you're at it," added the older woman, before the butler disappeared down the hall with a rhapsodic, starving child running around him in half circles.
Yua returned to her shortly, sitting down in the armchair in front of Hinata.
"Your sister is very wild," she remarked with a sigh and a laugh.
"If you like her, you can keep her," answered the Hyuga, with a scoff.
Yua shook her head, a wide, toothy smile on her red lips.
"I have my own and believe me, she's more than enough."
Hinata cocked her head to the side.
"You have a sister? How old?"
Yua leaned back in her chair, glancing over at the dancing flames, her hair once again glowing magenta.
"She's 14, her name is Sogetsu," she answered.
Hinata silently did the math in her head, her lips pursed in thought.
"So I guess a lot of things happened when you were 17," the Hyuga commented after a while.
Yua barked out a pearly giggle, looking over at her with a beaming physique.
"Oh yeah, it was the most hectic year of my life," she gushed, "Sogetsu was born in the fall of that year, quite some time after Ren had come into my life. We went back to Kusagakure to see her of course," the pinkette continued.
The flames changed from orange to red, making her eyes look like molten lava.
"Do you see her often?" asked Hinata.
Her smile turned lopsided.
"Not really. I haven't been much of a presence in her life at all. Though I saw her before I came here, I went to Kusagakure to visit my family you see," Yua explained, shrugging her shoulders.
Hinata tried not to seem overly-curious, holding back the questions that ran marathons around her head.
"Maybe you and Ren can move to Kusagakure one day, so you can be with your family more," suggested the Hyuga, leaning back in her armchair, it was actually quite comfortable.
"Maybe one day," was all she said back, her eyes far away, zoning out again.
Though this time, she wasn't as somber.
They both perked up at the sound of footsteps, looking over to see the butler, carrying a tray with their cups on it.
"Green tea, my ladies," he declared, serving them one after another.
"How's Hanabi-chan finding the kitchen?" asked Yua the elderly man.
He gave a sigh, "She's eating everything in sight, I'm afraid we won't have anything left for breakfast," he retorted and Hinata couldn't quite tell if he was joking or not.
Though Hanabi usually had quite the appetite for sweets…
"Very good," laughed Yua.
Soon they were, once again, left to their own devices. Hinata lightly blew on her steaming tea, taking a careful sip.
"It's a shame that our families grew apart. Really, we used to be more tightly connected in the past. I think it fell apart somehow, someway right before my parents' generation," suddenly said Yua out of nowhere, as if she was musing aloud.
Hinata glanced up at her, admiring the gentle sheen of her hair.
"I-I know next to nothing about our family's history, though I'm sure that must have been pretty obvious by now," conceded the Hyuga.
Yua gave her a grin, nodding at her.
"It was pretty obvious from the start… Do you want me to tell you about it?"
She nodded, trying to not seem as eager as she felt at that proposition. Lady Hanazoe took a sip of her tea.
"We used to be very close back in the day, though it was a very long time ago… As I said, right before our parents generation. But anyways, we used to exchange heirs and heiresses, for them to learn from the other clan and bring that knowledge home, sharing cultures and celebrations," she detailed, her eyes flickering around, probably mimicking the activity of her brain.
It was like she was telling a story. Yua suddenly met her eyes, cocking her head to the side.
"Hinata surely you must know that we share quite a lot of blood? You and I are distant relatives. Of course your clan is very particular about breeding with other Hyugas in order to preserve your Byakugan. But that can lead to disaster in the long run, so the Hanazoe clan used to be the bloodline they would fall back on from time to time, to reboot the genetics. This went on for generations, millennia even, which led to our clan having a good amount of Hyuga genes," she explained, sounding a bit proud.
Hinata just sat there and allowed her surprise to dance across her face, just as the flames did.
"Oh my... that's a very interesting, really remarkable piece of history, right there," she admitted, realizing that she didn't even know what to say.
That is, until a question started to form in her mind.
"Sharing blood like that, would you say that it's pretty common for aristocrats to do that, I mean, I know that there's a culture for it. My own parents' marriage was an arranged one after all…" Hinata spoke, drinking her tea in thoughtfulness.
"Oh, definitely. Noble bloodlines tend to mix, more often than not. In a way, we are all interconnected through blood and share many ancestors. Therefore the noble clans of each and every country have a rich common history," informed Yua, drinking her own tea, "I can still remember all the parties I used to go to, and still do. Everything from birthday parties of distant cousins, to just random celebrations."
The pinkette was about to take another gulp of her tea when she froze. Her eyes narrowing in some strange contemplation. Then, her amber eyes snapped up at her, zeroing in on the Hyuga like a hawk would.
"It is so exclusive, so trans-national, that not even war could hinder aristocracies from gathering in any form they wished to. Of course, nothing can stop family from being together after all. The state does not have the power to interfere in private affairs, or well, at least not those involving the rich and powerful," she chuckled, albeit Hinata could not understand what was so funny.
In actuality, this set of some alarm bells, as she allowed the information to filter through and sink in.
"But... if a bunch of noble families, stemming from countries and villages at war with each other, how would- I mean what- That must compromise national security and major ways! Wouldn't it?" she exclaimed, staring at the older woman, mouth agape.
She sniggered into her tea, her magenta tresses, moving only slightly as her shoulders shrugged.
"I don't know, you tell me, Hinata? Give me some perspective, as someone who grew up outside of this elite bubble."
Hot confusion and maybe even some irritation stirred in her stomach.
"Elite bubble? The Hyuga is an elite clan last time I checked-" she began, her words being swallowed up by the sharp laugh exploding out of the pinkette.
She reared back, staring at her in visible chock.
"Oh yes, the Hyuga name bears more weight than mine, your clan is elitism in a nutshell…" she asserted, putting her tea down on the table at her side, all with a decisive "Clang".
She leaned forwards in her chair, it looked like she was getting ready to teach her a lesson.
"Yet you and your sister have remained unaware of the culture that the rest of the aristocracy are fostered through. Hiashi has kept that from you, kept you from going to any parties, any festivities, you haven't even been introduced to your distant cousins, never mingled with the rest of your class. As you so graciously put it yourself, You know next to nothing Hinata. Your upbringing is a shielded one and very different from mine. In that manner, you truly do have an outsider's perspective," she divulged, her voice sharp, her eyes intense.
Her hands, placed on the armrests, started to make tapping noises on the leather. Hinata had never realized before how long her nails were, or how sharp they looked.
"So I'll ask you again," continued Hanazoe Yua, her voice rich with authority, "Would national security be compromised or not? Oh and do keep in mind that, the aristocracy is in fact, the ruling class. So if there were sensitive information to be shared and passed around, surely they would have it."
She wanted an answer, the energy of expectation simmered through the air. The young Hyuga suddenly felt cold sweat drip down her back, her eyes unable to look away from her yellow gaze. She knew the implications… the rabbit hole she was leading her down into.
"I-" she uselessly began, trying to find her voice, "I don't know…"
But she did know, it was written all over her face. Yet it was difficult to put it into words, because that made it all real.
There was a pause, something seemed to falter in Yua's expression. Her eyebrow ticked, her lips thinning out in a straight line. For a second there, she actually seemed rather pissed off.
"That's not a very eloquent answer," she breathed out, her narrowed eyes, becoming even more narrowed, "But I suppose that's why you said it."
The Hyuga remained mute, biting on her lip.
"Because what's the alternative? A mild ego-death? Realizing the world is dirtier than you think? That it doesn't function the way you were brought up to believe? That there is an invisible hand making moves behind the scenes, higher agendas, deeper agendas," the pinkette went on and on and by now, she was beginning to look cynical, her voice patronizing and acidulous.
Hinata stayed silent, she honestly didn't know what to say anymore, she couldn't possibly admit that this person had a point. She just couldn't do that, much less say it out loud. So she held her tongue, staring at her with big, opal eyes, wide like saucers.
She told herself, that she needed more information before she could form an opinion.
So another silence stretched out between them and Yua leaned back with a sigh. Hinata leaned back as well. Though she tried to, she couldn't quite tear her eyes away from the woman.
What she had just said… felt like a slap to the face. What even was democracy anymore? Really?
"I know you are cross with your father, I know you're angry with him," she suddenly said, looking off into the fire, "But think of it this way: He kept you and Hanabi from us for a reason."
Two yellow eyes moved away from the fire and stared directly into hers.
And that's when she felt it.
It was like a fizzle in the air, something electric. Like a wavelength, emitting from the woman, wading straight through her systems. It pricked her skin, as well as her insides.
Her tongue became heavy like lead, her thoughts disorganized in nothing but a loud, tumultuous roar. She choked on all the things she wanted to say, choked on the air in her lungs, or lack thereof.
Hanazoe Yua stared at her, eyes instantly perilous and becoming all the more wider. Wide to an extreme degree, beyond intense at this point-
DANGER.
"Wha-" was all she that trickled out of her, a strained gasp.
She needed air, but this- the air in this room felt like poison. She couldn't- Her head started to pound and with trembling hands, she dropped her tea, holding her aching cranium for dear life.
A sudden thought pierced her mind, "Was her tea poisoned?"
Veins of muscles, uprooted themselves around her eyes. Her byakugan was activating on its own accord and telling her to flee. As she looked at the pink haired woman, still sitting so calmly in her armchair, everything in her body told her to run. Every muscle tensed up, every hair stood on end, adrenaline entered her bloodstream in an instant.
She watched in perplexed horror, as Yua's eyes widened to even more degrees. How was that even possible?! The pinkette suddenly rose from her seat, her unhinged eyes never straying from Hinata's frightened face.
Appalled and afraid, she stared at her golden eyes. In that instant, her black pupils slowly seemed to morph. Change. Transform. In the blink of an eye, they went from round orbs, to thin, vertical slits.
Nausea hit her like a truck and before she could do anything about it, vomit rose in her throat, like a scream would.
Instinctively, her hand went over her mouth and she persistently swallowed down the foul, tart stuff.
Without further ado, Hinata got to her feet and sprinted out of the room, her legs and feet strong with chakra. Her byakugan vision lead her to find her sister within short seconds. Hanabi just stared up at her in confusion, as she practically stomped into the kitchen.
She was sitting by the table, eating chocolate cake. The butler on the other hand, was in the other room, quickly coming their way. Hinata wasn't exactly being quiet. She went over to her sister and ripped her out of her chair.
Hanabi screamed and she could hear people coming down the stairs and now it was really getting hectic. Panic gripped her all over, her heart jumping up to her throat.
Holding her sister by the arm, she hauled her with her and nearly catapulted them out of the kitchen. As they appeared in the hallway, she could see that Yua had not left the living room. The pink haired woman stood with a purple fire roaring behind her, actually smirking at her.
At the bottom of the stairs, three elderly Hyuga's stood, staring at her like she had spawned a second head.
"What's the meaning of this?!" exclaimed the woman of the bunch and Hinata could see that she had activated her byakugan as well.
They all had. Acutely aware and alerted to the activation of the bloodline limit within their home. Frankly, Hinata did not give a crap about the three Hyuga elders. It was lady Hanazoe she wanted to get away from.
"We're leaving," she nearly snarled, maintaining her byakugan with vigor.
She needed to keep an eye on Yua, at any length. Literally.
Hanabi struggled in her grip but that only served to tighten it. Without waiting for an answer, Hinata spun around and ran out the door.
As soon as she got out, she picked her sister up and pumped even more chakra to her feet. Hanabi remained stiff as a board, frozen almost as they surged through the wind. They disappeared into a cloud of smoke, only to reappear at the other end of the labyrinth, because fuck that maze.
Yua just watched them go with air of indifference, her smirk slowly fading from where she was standing at the window. It had all been a rush, albeit a confusing one. The control she had felt was something that could make anyone an addict. But she hadn't scared off the Hyuga for the mere thrill of it.
A deep, buried part of herself, still cared for the girl. Hence why she had refrained from looking too much into her mind, she didn't deserve to have her privacy invaded in such a nasty manner.
At least not yet.
So she had decided to give her a warning. She was only going to get this one chance, to look beneath the surface and subsequently follow her gut.
The progression of this will be interesting but then again… Ren would not be pleased. Then again, what Ren didn't know, couldn't hurt him. Not that it was in his character to get "hurt" either way...
# # #
As soon as they reached the main estate, Hanabi furiously fought her sister, trying to get out of her grip. Hinata released her without much resistance, her byakugan scanning their environment for any sign of threat.
The only ones nearby were the two of them. Yet she refused to deactivate the bloodline limit. Her little sister just stared up at her, enraged and shocked.
"W-What's wrong with you?!" she all but roared in her face.
"I don't know," was all Hinata said back.
The angry child sputtered, flabbergasted.
"I'm going back to apologize-"
Hinata shook her head wildly.
"NO!" she shouted at her sister, bending down and taking her by the shoulders, "I don't want you near that place ever again, You cannot see Hanazoe Yua, EVER AGAIN," she harshly shouted, drilling her point into her, and this time, Hanabi's anger melted away into alarm.
"What- Why are you so afraid?!" she bombarded, tears in her voice.
Hinata fell silent at that, biting her lip, swallowing thickly. She couldn't fully grasp why she was afraid either, she just was. Something… something had set her off. Something she felt before she saw it. But when she saw it, it somehow made it all abundantly clear.
Either her tea had been poisoned, or she had been the victim of particularly nasty gentjustus, or both. She felt fine though, besides the fear that still coursed through her veins.
Despite this, she couldn't possibly explain any of it to her sister. Hanabi would surely, never ever believe her. And she would instantly tell her father, which would do doubt, lead to even more trouble.
"Because of something I saw," she whispered, knowing she could not say more than that.
Her Byakugan picked up on Reiko-san before the older woman rounded the corner. She had Neji-niisan with her.
Great.
Hinata clenched her jaw and once again, took her sister by the arm. She met up with the two Hyuga's, dragging her sister with her. Reiko-san just stared at her in shock at how roughly she was handling the girl. Neji pretty much mirrored her expression, he looked even more shocked than the maid.
"Hinata-sama, what in the world-" began Reiko, though her sentence fell apart when the young Hyuga abruptly pushed Hanabi into her arms.
"Take her to her room and place two men outside. She cannot leave her chambers, no matter what."
It came out as a fluid command, stone cold. Hanabi gave a gasp, staring up at her in dismay.
"It's for her own good," she added, albeit her voice still remained as cold as before.
Reiko just had disbelief written all over her pale face.
"Now wait just a minute here-" the older woman began, holding Hanabi's shoulders.
"It's an order!" she almost screamed, feeling so fed up with this whole evening.
Neji gave a surprised laugh, hinging on a gasp.
"Order? On whose authority?" he challenged, crossing his arms, his white eyes wide but somehow narrowed at the same time.
Doubting her, as he always did.
"Mine," she practically snarled at him.
Neji's mouth fell open, his dark eyebrows creased into a knot. He didn't expect something like this from his cousin, not even close.
"You can't just do what you want Hinata, you should know that by now," he seethed, drawing his lip back in a sneer.
"Last time I checked, I'm still the bloody heir to this clan. I stand higher than all of you, especially you Neji," she growled out, her tone filled with nastiness that seemed so unlike her.
It surprised even herself… and not to mention her cousin. Whose surprise quickly simmered into fury.
Neji looked almost ready to explode, his cheeks blooming in rage. Yet he did not speak, something was holding him back. She paid him no mind and looked over at Reiko-san.
"If you don't do as I tell you, I will make Hanabi sleep in my room tonight-"
Hanabi loudly disagreed with that, as she knew she would.
"NO! I want to sleep in my own chambers, please I'm okay with having guards outside, I don't need to-"
Hinata managed a hollow smile at that, interrupting her sister's distressed maundering.
"Good," she quipped.
An uncomfortable silence stretched out between the four people. In the end, Hanabi was fidgeting so badly, it almost looked like she wanted to go to the toilet. She grabbed Reiko's apron and tugged on it.
"Let's go to bed…" she muttered, avoiding her big sister's eyes.
Reiko-san still kept her white eyes on Hinata though, her gaze heavy with scrutiny.
"Hinata-sama, maybe you care to explain some things tomorrow, when you have… calmed down?" she suggested, formally, almost carefully.
"I- I can tell you about it tomorrow, Reiko-san…" she answered, looking down in what might have been perceived as defeat.
But oh was it not so, her mind was turning and twisting with ways to… to just handle everything. To process everything. The older woman, the woman she knew so well, placed her soft fingers under her chin, nudging her head up. Hinata took in her worried, sensitive eyes.
"Good night little lady," she sighed, patting her cheek.
The young Hyuga would have cried then and there, but she held back her tears with a decisive effort. It was painful.
Reiko-san and Hanabi took their leave, the little child casting glance after glance over her shoulder. She was worried too, thinking back on the heavy words her sister had said. What was it that she had seen? And why had she been so afraid of Lady Hanazoe?
With the fading of their footsteps, only Hinata and Neji were left, standing in the snowy gardens, outside the main estates.
"What happened?" her cousin asked, seemingly a bit calmer, yet he had a certain edge to his tone and his patience was wearing thin.
Hinata wanted to leave and lock herself into her room. But she knew she needed to- to warn him somehow. Maybe she needed to ventilate a bit as well.
"You… You know Hanazoe Yua?" she hesitatingly began, searching his eyes.
In those white orbs, there was a flicker of recognition.
"That chick with hair pinker than Sakura's? Yeah I've seen her around," he drawled out with a smirk that didn't reach his eyes.
Not that Hinata would pick up on it, but her cousin, despite his setbacks, was trying to calm her down. At least a little bit. He had never seen her, looking this alarmed, almost threatened, in a long time. Perhaps never. It wasn't like her at all and he knew there had to be a good reason behind it.
"Don't trust her and don't leave Hanabi alone with her. She has ulterior motives, none of them good. She acts kind and sweet, but-" she swallowed thickly, not really knowing how to continue, her voice began to shake, "Neji-niisan I don't care if you believe me or not, Just please don't leave Hanabi alone with her, under any circumstances."
Neji looked at her with an incredulous sheen in his white eyes. His mouth fell open, albeit nothing came out. It seemed as if he did not know what to say. At all. Except for the obvious questions he so clearly had on his mind. On his tongue.
"What did you see?" he asked, seriously and suspiciously at the same time.
Hinata looked away, blinking rapidly. She couldn't possibly tell him what she actually saw… He would never believe her. No one would. The young Hyuga took a deep breath, trying to integrate the horrid fact that she was alone in this. Heck, she didn't even know if what she saw had been accurate or not… Maybe it had just been a trick of the light? Maybe a genjutsu, put there to throw her off?
"She…" Hinata slowly drew out, trying to gather her thoughts, "She insinuated that her family and other noble clans are involved in criminal activity of some sort," she continued, thinking back on their conversation.
Just the way she had just casually revealed the shady meetings of the nobility, even during war-time, it was just… despicable. Beyond corrupt, showcasing at an obscene amount of confidence, why else would she be so comfortable speaking about it?
Maybe Yua was convinced that she would get away with it, probably because she's gotten away with other stuff. Such a pattern would no doubt, be fostering a sense of "I can do it all".
Neji still had his mouth open, albeit it was a bit wider now. He just stared at her with big eyes, his dark eyebrows shooting up in bewilderment.
"You-" he sputtered, no doubt wanting to say a lot, "You have to be more specific, this is a pretty heavy accusation-"
"I don't know how to be more specific than that! She literally just confessed to me that noble clans that she herself is affiliated with, would have pirvate parties and meetings, even when their respective countries were at war, obviously compromising national security-" Hinata burst out, already feeling more and more stressed out.
Neji Suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her up against the wall, not too harshly though.
"Shh! If anyone hears this- this talk, I don't know what will happen…" he hissed, his byakugan activating itself and scanning their surroundings.
Hinata bit her lip, trying to be patient. After a few seconds or so, the veins around her cousin's eyes faded away as his bloodline limit deactivated itself.
"So, no one's near," he began, fixing her with a serious stare, "Even if all of this is true, your reaction is totally unwarranted. Hinata, you looked scared, the way you were acting with Hanabi, it's like you genuinely feared for her safety, as if you had just watched Hanazoe Yua kill someone in cold-blood. It just doesn't make much sense."
Hinata shrugged his hands off, which was still glued to her shoulders. He let her go without complaint, awaiting her answer.
She could not tell him, she knew that. Telling him the whole truth would just make him disqualify everything she'd said up to this point.
"I- I don't know how to explain it. It was just her overall vibe that changed, her eyes- seemed cold and her demeanor just rubbed me the wrong way. I was so incredibly uncomfortable, it felt like she could see right through me. It actually activated my byakugan, without my direct consent," she cautiously explained.
This made her cousin's eyebrows draw low, his mouth falling open again. He looked bewilderment at that last statement.
"Wait, so your byakugan activated itself automatically?"
Hinata nodded, "Yes."
He crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed in thought.
"For such a thing to happen, you must have genuinely felt threatened, it's the only way…" he said in puzzlement.
"Yes, I know, and I did feel threatened as well, hence why I left Crystalline manor with Hanabi," responded the heiress, crossing her own arms.
A heavy silence stretched out between them. Neji seemed heavy in contemplation, thinking over her words, letting them sink in. Hinata could almost see them, crawling under his skin and spinning his thoughts into a frenzy.
"We should… We should keep this between us. Don't tell Reiko-san tomorrow if she asks, which she probably will," he eventually breathed out, staring into her eyes.
Hinata released a sigh of relief at that, happy that he came to the more favorable conclusion on his own.
"I will figure something out," she assured her cousin, who nodded sternly at her words.
"I will snoop around for more information on Hanazoe Yua in the meantime," he went on, causing concern to twist around in her belly.
"Please be careful…" she drew out, "And remember what I said about Hanabi, don't leave her alone with that woman."
"Sure," he sighed, albeit he rolled his white eyes.
Neji adjusted his headband somewhat, biting his lip. His eyes darted back and forth, between her and the ground.
"Hey, who was that guy from new years eve?" he suddenly asked, his brows creasing even more in judgement this time.
Judgement and suspicion. Hinata would have blushed but this time, the only emotion she felt was a clear-cut annoyance. Everybody wanted to know the same damn thing and here her cousin was, acting as if she had committed some great sin. She didn't need his judgement.
Though it would beneficial for her if he stayed quiet about that incident and kept it from Hiashi… She didn't quite know how to buy his silence on that one though.
"Just a guy, no one important. Besides, he's not in the village anymore," explained Hinata, shrugging her shoulders, maybe trying a bit too hard to sound casual.
Neji's nose scrunched up like a rabbit's would. It was almost cute, if he hadn't looked so obviously disgusted.
"You two seemed quite close, don't you have his name or anything?"
"His name is of no interest to you. This is my private business and it's literally nothing compared to the bigger picture here. Lady Hanazoe literally confessed to me that she was involved in a criminal enterprise and you wanna know who I was snogging with in an alleyway? You really need to sort out your priorities," she asserted, keeping her voice sharp and steady.
She would not butcher this by stuttering, no way in seven hells. She needed to appear as confident as possible, to cover up the fact that she didn't know what to do in this situation. She couldn't possibly tell him that he was the same person as her secret admirer, because then the age difference had been too much of an issue to deal with.
Mainly because it was illegal.
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I was just worried?" he muttered out in return, obviously ticked off by her, his scowl etching itself deeper in his face.
"You have nothing to be worried about, aside from what we just spoke about," Hinata answered with a sigh, trying to sound a tad bit softer, "I'm heading off to bed now."
Her cousin raised his dark brows, his mouth falling open in a "Are you fucking serious" look. She just raised her brows back at him, sending an "Oh yes I am," look back at him.
They separated not long after that, or rather she did, walking away before he said anything further. Surprisingly, he let her go this time, though she knew she wasn't off the hook so easily. He would probably push her for more information on Sasori at a later date.
Even though she had seemingly established some sort of agreement with her cousin, Hinata still doubted if telling him had been the right decision. But it wasn't like she had a choice in the matter. After all, she needed an explanation for her actions…
As soon as the young Hyuga entered her bedchambers, she closed and locked the door with the utmost precision. Her hands went through the motions as her mind wandered. She performed a sealing jutsu, which she promptly placed on her door.
It was a jutsu Sasori had taught her. It wasn't anything too complex, but it was good enough to alert her if anyone was touching the door while she slept. It would buy her enough time to figure out what to do.
Hinata sighed for what felt like the 30th time that day. She had felt unsafe in her home a myriad of times, but it had never been this prevalent before. It literally felt like a wolf was on the prowl around the estate and maybe that was the case.
Her tired feet carried her over to her bed, kicking off her shoes on the way. She fell headfirst into her pillow, snuggling up to it with her knees pressed up against her chest. She was valiantly trying to come to terms with a part of her that felt so utterly betrayed and tricked. Feelings stemming from the fact that Yua had, in some ways, gained her trust. How much of her behavior had been an act? How much of it had been manipulated, all in order to project a convenient personality...
Hinata contemplated the woman. It was pretty uncanny how she went from one mood to another in an instant. Before, she had seemed very warm, kind, relatable, innocent almost. Only for all of that to go south back at the manor, it had derailed pretty quickly.
An almost violent shiver ran through her, her thoughts remembering those yellow eyes. The only explanation for her pupils to just suddenly shift like that… it had to be a genjutsu. There was no other explanation and it was so obviously there to scare her.
In hindsight, she felt rather stupid for falling so easily for such a trick. Why had she been so alarmed in the first place? And why was she still somewhat shaken-up after the whole ordeal? It wasn't like Lady Hanazoe had hurt her… Hinata sighed, feeling her headache expand to new levels.
She hadn't been hurt by this woman, yet her body reacted as if she had been.
Had she been manipulated? In some ways, she probably had. Yet, in other ways, she wasn't so sure. Yua had seemed pretty genuine about at least some things and Hinata found it hard to believe that she had faked all of it. Her words could be taken with a hefty grain of salt, but her forlorn expression and the emotion on her face in some instances, that seemed more real.
This much was certain, lady Hanazoe was complex and probably had more than a few skeletons in her closet. Hence why she didn't want Hanabi near her.
She dreaded her next encounter with pinkette. Which is why she put her alarm at 6 o'clock, determined to avoid as many people as possible.