Chapter Two: Books and Trials
The bell rang.
The three of them walked out of the school, Neji a bit ahead initially. Neji had a thing where he was always walking just ahead unless he had some very good reason not to. The reason for it was a matter of some speculation by those he knew him. But Tenten, who knew him best, had the best idea of it.
Neji was the sort of person who feels they are cut out for greater things than what has been bestowed on them. In Neji's case, it had driven him to work hard at perfecting his techniques when other people were having fun. And because of his upbringing in the Hyuga. It was a very proper and traditional clan; he was professional for his age.
All this had led Neji to being quite a bit better than most people his age, and he knew it. Few things feed the ego, like thinking you are better than everyone else and being right. Thus he'd always felt his place was, in some sense, at the head of any given group. Which, of course, was half the reason he had so much trouble with his family.
"Well, detention is over!" cheered Naruto.
"Yes, which means I will have to face my Uncle and the Elders," said Neji with a sigh, adjusting his pack. It was cloudy above them now.
"You want me to come?" asked Tenten.
"No, don't bother," said Neji. "Nothing you say will make a difference, and they'll probably be annoyed by it."
"I meant as a witness," said Tenten in concern. "I mean-"
"It probably won't come to that," said Neji. "And whatever they do will be perfectly legal anyway."
"What makes you think something is going to happen?" asked Naruto.
"My family is divided into Main Clan and Branch Clan," said Neji. "The Branch Clan wears a slave mark that allows them to be legally killed at any time. Or did you not know?"
"I did know, but that doesn't mean they'll cause trouble over this. There was no damage," said Naruto.
"Main Branch is obsessed with tradition," said Neji. "The fools are terrified of losing their power, and they've never missed a chance to remind people of it.
"I'm a common target because I could have been the heir.
"It is why they pit me against Hinata."
This was not strictly true.
Not everyone in the Main Branch was quite so bad as Neji was making out; in fact, many of them had a similar opinion to him. Neji had fallen into the trap of regarding an entire group of people as one entity with a single viewpoint. I expect quite a few of them would be only too happen to do away with some of the traditions.
But it's a funny thing about ancient traditions that they are very hard to change. Even when there is a very good reason to, and they are hardest to change when very powerful people lose their power by changing them.
"Right, well, good luck with that," said Tenten.
"I'll need it," said Neji, walking off. "I only hope I don't run into Lee."
As a point of fact, he did run into Lee, but Lee knew enough about Neji's family situation to let the matter pass. There was no challenged duel, and he asked Neji if he wanted him there. To which Neji firmly declined, much as with Tenten.
But in the meantime, Naruto watched him go. "Don't you want to go after him?"
"Neji doesn't really like being followed without permission," said Tenten. "And he has X-ray 360-degree vision, so, no point in even trying to do it." And she turned to walk off.
"Where are you headed?" asked Naruto.
"To the training ground. I want to practice some kunai. You?" asked Tenten.
"Well, I was planning on going to the library," said Sakura.
"The library again?" asked Naruto. "Don't you think you ought to do some real practical training to get powerful?"
"I like reading books. And knowledge is power," said Sakura.
"Can it block kunai?" asked Tenten.
"Well, books can, I guess. But that's not the point," said Sakura.
"Then what is?" asked Naruto.
"Follow me, Naruto, and find out," said Sakura.
And Naruto didn't usually get invited anywhere at all. So he opted to follow after Sakura because no one had been quite so nice to him for a long time. At least not in the Leaf. The two ended up going to the library and finding it almost empty. I'm afraid that people in the Leaf didn't read as much as they ought to in those days. But the library was still there with many histories.
"So um, Sakura, this book power, what is it?" asked Naruto.
Sakura did not have the answer to that question, of course. She read books because she liked reading them. But she was also too proud to ever admit that she didn't know the answer. So she settled for not giving an answer in a way that sounded impressive. "Isn't it obvious, Naruto?
"Muscles aren't everything. If you know a lot, you can use that to gain real power."
"How?" asked Naruto.
Sakura floundered for a bit there, especially since she hadn't been expecting Naruto to ask such an obvious question. "Well... let's say you want to blow up a bridge, but you've only got a little bit in the way of explosive tags. If you know how the bridge is built, you can do it much more easily."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," said Naruto. "What if you don't know how to set explosive tags and a book can't tell you?"
"How many books have you read, Naruto?" asked Sakura, which was about as artful an answer as she could give.
"Not all that many," admitted Naruto.
"Well then, you should work on that before you pass judgment," said Sakura. "Oh, and don't talk too loud in the library. You'll disturb people."
And they went into the library and began reading. Actually, Sakura began reading, but Naruto meanwhile sat in a chair and observed. As he did, he stood up and made his way over to a shelf Sakura had not seen before. She wondered if it was recent, but Naruto picked out a book.
"A book of spells for one who reads," read Naruto.
"Do you think that kind of thing works?" asked Sakura, standing up.
"Maybe, maybe not," said Naruto. "Let's have a look at least."
Sakura took the book and saw it had an image of a beautiful tree upon it with roots going deep into the earth. It had the most beautiful golden leaves, and there was a blue sky above it. While Sakura much preferred technical manuals. She was so impressed by the picture; she opened it.
And she read the first pages; "Reader beware. The spells within work to the last spare.
"But he who reads them does so at their peril.
"Chant the incantation and face the danger.
"Or shut the tome and remain a stranger."
"That uh, sounds pretty hardcore, Sakura," said Naruto. "You sure you want to try one?"
"I never said I was going to try one," said Sakura, but of course, she did. "But if you insist, I guess we can.
"Look, it's probably a myth. I'll pick one that would be harmless enough if used. Like this one, a spell to conjure up snow.
"Icy cold, or nice and warm,
"Let snow fall, and fire fail.
"This isn't very good poetry."
And then, all the lights flicked, and a sort of wave of chill emanated from the book. Then it passed them by. Looking out the window, Sakura saw snowfall descending out the window.
"What?" said Sakura.
"It's snowing out there! I've never seen anything like this before!" said Naruto. "You want to go outside?"
Sakura blinked. Then she raced over to the librarian. "...Can I check this book out."
"It's not a library book," said the woman.
Sakura blinked and then shrugged. "Oh.
"Thanks, let's go."
And the two of them raced out of the library as quickly as they could. The two of them now saw that there was a steady falling of snow around them. Sakura raised a hand upwards to the sky and felt the snowflakes on her hand. Already it was beginning to pile up on the sidewalks, and kids were running in it.
"This is amazing," said Sakura. "It really did it."
"Why don't we tell Neji and Tenten about this?" asked Naruto. "There are bound to be lots of rooms in the Hyuga Household."
"I don't want to show the Hyuga this. We might never get it back," said Sakura. This was a justifiable fear, I'm afraid. Ninja Clans can and did somewhat nasty things to survive in those days. And if Sakura had revealed that she had such a book in the house, they could have claimed it as their property.
Very few people would have questioned it, even if they didn't believe it.
"Then lets at least tell Tenten and Neji about it first," said Naruto.
"Alright, fine," said Sakura thinking. "But I want to drop this book off first. It could get damaged or misplaced. Let's stow it at your apartment; my parents might stumble across it.
"No using it without the others there, though."
"Okay," said Naruto.
And they hurried off to Naruto's apartment as quickly as possible. Entering it, Sakura noticed the door was unlocked. And the sink was filled with dirty dishes, and no one had swept up around the place for ages. Sakura remembered that Naruto had no parents to show him right from wrong or anything else.
It was a bit of a miracle he'd turned out as well as he did.
"You ever clean up in here?" asked Sakura.
"Not all that often," admitted Naruto. "Who have I gotta impress."
"Cleaning up is for your benefit, not guests," said Sakura. "If you have a messy living space, it affects your thoughts. You should try to unclutter this place."
"Could you help me with that?" asked Naruto.
"Maybe," said Sakura. "But we ought to stow this book first. Then we'll talk to Tenten and Neji and-"
Then there was a knock on the door. Sakura put the book on a desk outside of the view of the door. Quickly she grabbed a broom from the closet and began sweeping up while Naruto opened the door. Best to have another reason for being here.
"Yeah?" asked Naruto.
Outside their door, there was a Hyuga; you could tell by his blank eyes. He was young, perhaps twenty or so, and had a passive look to him. Not bad, but not brave. "Are you Naruto Uzumaki?"
Naruto frowned at him, for he had met this one before. "I remember you. You're that guy who pulled Hinata away from me while I was getting beaten up?"
Ko narrowed his eyes. "The highest priority of the Branch Clan is protecting the Main Branch."
"Such a high priority that you didn't dare pick a fight with a bunch of untrained children," noted Naruto.
"They were not attacking her when I pulled her away," said Ko. "Would you have me beat mere children to a pulp?"
"Right, they were beating me up because I tried to help Hinata," said Naruto.
"I was en route to help her even then," said Ko. "I had only just found her."
"You've got X-ray 360 vision," said Naruto. "And Hinata was like, eight and being accosted within sight of a public road. How could you not find her? I found her in like, ten seconds, and I wasn't even looking for her.
"And if she ran away, it was on the Branch Clan's watch, wasn't it? How hard can it be to keep track of one kid when you can see through walls? I mean, Iruka-sensei keeps control of me without a Byakugan. And I'm way better at troublemaking than Hinata-"
"Silence!" said Ko before striking Naruto across the face. "I am a member of the Hyuga Clan, and your better. You should be honored that Lord Elder sent me to speak to you."
"...You don't hit anything like a girl," said Naruto after a moment. "Sakura punches way harder than this."
"Naruto," said Sakura, shocked at the scene. "Maybe you should let me handle this."
"Fine, fine, you talk to him," said Naruto.
"I'm sorry about Naruto," said Sakura, going up to Ko. "He hasn't really had a very good upbringing; I was just helping him out here. How can I help you?"
Ko took on a very proud look. "I am here on behalf of the Elders of the Hyuga Clan. They would get your testimony on the events that happened in the academy earlier today."
"Why do they need my testimony?" asked Naruto. "Iruka-sensei-"
"The Elder has personally requested you and Sakura as witnesses," said Ko. "There are others, but you are among them. If you accompany us, you will be paid."
"Um, I don't need pay," said Naruto quickly. "But if you guys want us to come, I was heading out that way anyway."
"Yeah, um, lead on," said Sakura.
And they headed out behind Ko.
Sakura remembered that incident. Hinata had run away, and all the Branch Clan had been out searching for hours. In the end, Naruto had picked a fight with three bullies and gotten beaten to a pulp. And a Branch Clan member, Ko she guessed, had arrived as it started happening. Or so she'd heard the story go.
The incident raised the general opinion of Naruto in the class. Before, he'd been known as a trouble-maker, but nobody had hated him after that. But Naruto had raised a good point? Was it really possible that the Branch Clan had failed to find Hinata all that time? Or had they simply been pretending to look and hoping something bad happened to her?
Sakura imagined a future where Naruto saved Hinata from bullies. He got her home before the Branch Clan. They'd have been in absolute disgrace and disciplined for sure; it would be obvious. So they might have had someone on hand the whole time to save Hinata, just in case someone else found her.
Not that she could prove any of this.
"What's wrong?" asked Naruto.
"Nothing," said Sakura. Best not to gossip about this kind of thing. "I just hope the snow doesn't continue indefinitely. You don't think it'll just keep snowing forever, do you?"
"Um, I think it's stopping right now," said Naruto, looking up. "Some coincidence."
"Well, maybe how you think affects the spell when you cast it," mused Sakura in a low voice. "We can test something else later."
They went to the Hyuga Clan, and as they did, Sakura kept getting a mental picture of Ko watching from the trees. Hidden as three guys kicked and beat a young girl, and Sakura saw an evil smile on Ko's face. No, no, this was ridiculous, Naruto might be good at asking questions, but he'd been out of line.
Sakura didn't know Ko, and she wasn't going to pass judgment.
Soon they came to the doors of the Hyuga Clan, and Hinata, a demure black-haired girl in a fur coat, was sitting down. She stood up. "Oh, Naruto, Sakura, you're here. Um... you might want to clear out.
"Ko, why did you bring them here?"
"I was ordered to get their testimony by Lord Elder, Lady Hinata," said Ko, voice kind as he led them into a front room. "Our sole purpose is to serve the Main Branch in any way. I cannot disobey the elders, whatever my personal feelings. Please, both of you wait here."
And then he disappeared.
"What happened?" asked Naruto.
"After the incident in the school got out, the Elder Hiashi called a meeting. The Elders wanted to investigate and sentence Neji," said Hinata.
"Sentence Neji?" asked Naruto. "But he didn't do anything."
"I know, but-" began Hinata.
But at that moment, out of the door came a thick-bodied man with brown hair. He had the eyes of a Hyuga. No Caged Bird Seal was on his head, and he narrowed his eyes. "Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno?"
"Um, yes?" asked Naruto, feeling a bit awkward.
"You were present during what transpired and were blamed for Neji's actions," said the Elder.
"Well, um, I guess," said Naruto.
"Well then, Ko was correct. I believe your voice ought to be heard here; follow me. We have already begun," said the Elder.
"Is this really necessary, Elder?" asked Hinata.
"The disruption earlier today must be addressed, Lady Hinata," said the Elder. "Harshly, if it is needed. The Branch Clan cannot be allowed to disgrace the family name." And he led them to the meeting room. "Wait here, Naruto Uzumaki." Then he led Sakura to one side. "A word?"
"Yes," said Sakura, feeling a bit unsure.
"I understand that you are a model student who was inconvenienced by today's events," said the Elder.
"Well, yes," said Sakura. "I ended up in detention for the first time ever."
"In that case, I must ask you to spare no detail. This is an opportunity that cannot be missed," said the Elder.
"Um, okay," said Sakura. "Can I get something to write on? This is going to take a while?"
"Of course," said the Elder.
Sakura quickly got to work writing it all down. She was the sort of person who enjoyed being consulted and with an eye for writing reports. So soon enough, she'd filled pages and pages and was nowhere near done. Naruto paced back and forth as she did and looked up to Ko. "Um, shouldn't Tenten be here? I mean, she was with Neji-"
"Neji's accomplice is of no concern," said Ko simply. "The Lord Elder is concerned with our clan, as he should be. It is his burden." And he had such a tone of sincerity that Sakura almost believed him. Yet something made her feel it was feigned.
No, she shouldn't think badly of him.
"He uh, seems really deadset on getting Neji for this," said Naruto to one side.
"I heard there was some sort of blood feud in the Hyuga Clan a while ago," said Sakura. "But that ended ages ago when Hizashi um, well he was sacrificed to appease the Cloud Village. But there was going to be a war otherwise, and we didn't have the power to beat him.
"Either way, I'll give my testimony as they want."
"Yeah, I mean, why would they grab us out of nowhere if they didn't want us to give honest testimony," said Naruto, looking up. "He must be really concerned with the truth."
And soon enough, they were led into a wide room with a high ceiling. On the one side were a few dozen members of the Main Branch. On the other were nearly a hundred members of the Branch Clan, all ramrod and watching. At the front sat Lord Hiashi, and to one side was a younger girl, Hanabi Hyuga, Hinata's younger sister.
And before them was Neji, kneeling with narrowed eyes.
"How long, Neji, will you try our patience," said the elder. "You continue to deny your guilt and foster the blame onto others. Over and over, you present yourself as merely in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the damage done to that suit of armor has caused great shame upon the Hyuga Household.
"Admit your guilt, and your punishment will be lesser."
"Why is Hiashi just letting him do that?" whispered Naruto to Hinata.
"Father is the head, but he must yield to the elders," said Hinata. "They have authority over internal matters. Disobeying them would be a serious breach of tradition.
"He is the judge, but if the opinion is swayed one way or another, he might be forced to make a verdict."
"I have already given a full account of my actions, Elder," said Neji. "Anything more would simply be procrastinating."
"So be it," said the Elder. "But you were not the only one present. I have found two who were present, two of who your actions victimized. Naruto Uzumaki, come forward."
Naruto stood up, noticing that the Elder seemed to be already convinced Neji was guilty. "Um, well, I saw the kunai knock over the armor. And I got blamed for it.
"Then Tenten came in and admitted that she threw the kunai against Neji's objections. I'm really surprised you didn't invite her yourself. I mean, she was the only person with Neji when the kunai was thrown.
"Anyway, the armor got knocked over, but um... it withstood a full-scale battle with Sarutobi Hiruzen, so it didn't get a scratch. Then we spent the afternoon repairing the window and armor using mend jutsus.
"It's all fixed now.
"And I probably would have been a lot worse off."
Absolute dead silence fell over the entire room. All eyes turned to the Elder. Suddenly the man ran forward, grabbed Naruto by the scruff of the neck, and hoisted him up. "Out! Out foul demon, you will not bring your deceptions in here!"
"What did I say?!" said Naruto as he was thrown out the door into the snow.
More silence. Hiashi paused. "Elder, now that you have driven out your first witness with screaming and curses, we could see your second."
The Elder halted. "Yes, as you wish, Lord Hiashi. I had thought he would provide a reliable testimony, but it is clear the Fox Demon seeks to sew discord.
"Sakura, come forward and shed truth."
Sakura nodded, glad to have the chance, and pulled out her binder. "Alright, then.
"I have written up as detailed a report as I can at short notice. It's six hundred pages long and has testimony from Hinata and Naruto, as well as myself.
"At approximately 12:00 AM, a kunai was thrown through the window of the upper story of the academy, on the east side. It shot through the hall and collided with a suit of armor. This suit of armor was specially designed for a legendary samurai named..."
And so the Elder stood there, waiting as the minutes ticked by. He looked at Ko with an appearance of disguised fury. Sakura described every possible detail she could remember. Hiashi looked to Hanabi, who shifted, and Sakura continued to talk.
"Upon entering, Tenten, last name unknown, remained in the background for some time. General blame fell on Naruto. I admit that I too was-" Sakura continued for a bit. "Iruka Umino then noted Neji Hyuga looking through his locker."
And after a few more pages, Sakura took a sip of water and continued. "...lastly, Tenten is the most accomplished marksman. So I believe his story."
Someone had apparently fallen asleep. Hiashi looked to the Elder, who shifted uneasily. "...Are you finished?"
"Yes," said Sakura.
"In light of the testimony, the lack of any harm done, I am inclined to let this pass," said Hiashi. "I would prefer not to have to assemble the clan for this again, however." Sakura guessed that it was directed at more than just Neji.
"Thank you, Uncle," said Neji.
"You may go," said Hiashi.
It was dark out when Neji and Sakura came out to the steps. Naruto was sitting there, looking out over the snow. Then Neji started laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked Naruto.
"You don't get it. One moment," said Neji, chuckling.
"Well, what's the joke?" asked Sakura.
"The main purpose of this trial was effectively intimidation," said Neji. "My public humiliation was supposed to intimidate the rest of the Branch Clan. But none of it went as planned. You see, the Elder first had Hinata testify, expecting her to make a damning statement on me. However, she more or less just said what you said. So instead, he pulled you too in at the last minute."
"But why would we help?" asked Naruto.
"Because he completely misjudged you," said Neji. "The Elder hasn't walked the streets of Konoha in years.
"He knew your record, and he knew that you had a bad reputation. So he automatically assumed you'd take the chance to lie and hurt me on his behalf."
"Well, what about me?" asked Sakura.
"I think he noted you were of common blood. You got detention in the situation and assumed you'd do the same," said Neji. "You've just made him look ridiculous in front of everybody."
"Is that really something to be cheerful about, Neji?" asked Sakura.
"I'll take what I can get," said Neji.
Tenten came forward at this moment. "Hey, Neji! Did everything work out?"
"Yes, everything has worked out better than expected," said Neji.
"Right," said Tenten. "Can you help me with some trick shots?"
"I'll be right there," said Neji.
"Can we come?" asked Naruto.
"If you want," said Neji. "I believe I could show you a few flaws in your taijutsu."
Naruto smiled. "Right."
The book could probably wait for a little while. It wasn't going anywhere. But looking back, Sakura saw Ko being punished severely by the Elder.