-𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙚
chapter 1

"...𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦; 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩."

—2 years ago

"Fumiko," A familiar voice spoke.

"Fumiko, wake up."

After a short pause, the voice spoke again. "You know what day it is, right?"

She recognized the voice as her mother's.

It was the day before Fumiko's birthday. To be exact, she would be turning 4. Birthdays were an annual occurrence, but there was an underlying reason this day would be so important for her. Her 4th birthday would mark the beginning of her training; something her father had promised to help her with. But there was also another tradition practiced around the 4th birthday; a dark tradition that would change her life forever. It was a tradition that was prohibited from speaking about to any member of the branch family who hadn't undergone it already.

Fumiko was still too young, blindly unaware of this. Her soul only yearned for aspiration, with a childlike bliss to the harsh truths lurking behind the world. The girl held an unwavering innocence; she had yet to learn about the darkness of her clan.

"Mother?" She opened her eyes, finding her mother seated comfortably next to her. Her mother smiled while gently placing her hand on her daughter's, lifting her fingers until they clasped together. But there was so much doubt held behind her mother's seemingly innocent smile.

Although Fumiko inherited from the branch family, she held many privileges that other clansmen weren't as fortunate to have. Her father was the advisor to Lord Hiashi. And although her mother wasn't a Hyuga through lineage, she was able to secure these privileges as well. Thus, they were granted with a modest sense of authority and status within the lower branch. Their safety, though limited as progeny of the branch family, was held with deeper significance and security. And despite their hardships, their family, loving and kind, was something that many children weren't as fortunate to have. It was the one thing she took for granted.

In the summer morning, rays of sunlight crept gradually through the windows and illuminated the household. Hours after she had woken up, she spent most of her time getting ready to leave for the village. Fumiko slid the door behind her, walking out of her bedroom and towards the nearby living room. Her mother had woken her up to run some errands around the village. They had intended to leave by noon.

"Fumiko, we're leaving now." Fumiko was met with a voice from behind her as she entered the living room. Her mother gently waved upon noticing her as she watered the plants in the living room for decor. "You'll behave yourself, right?"

"I'll behave, I promise." Fumiko stood placidly beside her, with her arms folded and gaze focused on the window beside her.

"But be careful out in the village, ok?" her mother urged.

Fumiko responded by silently nodding her head. As she followed her mother towards the entrance of their household. her eyes darted to a small portrait on the windowsill. Out of curiosity, she leaned on her tiptoes to reach the windowsill; her small, delicate hands reaching to grab the portrait.

"Leave it," her mother said, noticing Fumiko beside the windowsill. She carefully grabbed the portrait from Fumiko's reach, placing it back where it belonged. "We have to go now, Fumiko," she said calmly, with a subtle impatience underlying her tone. "I don't have time for this."

Before Fumiko slid the door to exit the household, she turned around, noticing her mother lift the portrait from the windowsill. For a moment, she held the portrait warily in her hands, gazing at the portrait with a profound expression. She stood there silently, waiting idly for a prolonged hesitance before reaching towards the windowsill, carefully setting the portrait in place. She then walked towards Fumiko to leave the household, sliding the door behind her.

By noon, they had arrived at the village. The townsfolk were gathered around in crowds of people, filling up the sidewalks nearby. The sky was masked by a dense concentration of clouds, and a tainted, dark-grey hue coalesced with the atmosphere. The clouds began to cover the sun, overcasting a shadow and fainting the ray of sunlight. It was likely to rain soon.

As an outsider, her mother stood out in the clan. Unlike the rest of the Hyuga who possessed the soft, lavender eyes of the byakugan, she held obscure, mysterious dark eyes instead. But here in the village, she fit in perfectly, resembling the common looks of any ordinary civilian.

Fumiko, along with her mother, visited one of the markets nearby. The small, peasant building was defined with lavish glass windows and adorned with an array of lanterns. She held out her purse, holding a decent amount of money from her pocket. Her mother purchased an item from the shop, and left covertly after she payed the owner.

At this time, it was nearing the afternoon. As they walked away, she noticed the unwelcoming gaze of a fellow clansman; a young woman with a cold glare. The woman looked at her with disgust. Her cold, pale eyes were set directly on her mother. She didn't even bother to say a single word, and yet her gaze said everything.

"Fumiko," her mother silently voiced to her. Her tone was barely above a whisper.

"What is it, mother?"

"We're leaving now."

Her mother's smile faded into a stern expression. Fumiko could not help but wonder of the intention behind the woman's gaze. Perhaps, it was because her mother was an outsider? What she couldn't realize was that it was something much deeper than that; much more complex. Fumiko looked up at her mother, who had gently tugged on her hand as they discreetly walked off. And yet, what Fumiko didn't notice was that her mother seemed to be more wary of the commoners than of the woman herself.

Fumiko soon turned 4 the day after. Her birthday was on July 31, where she celebrated with her family in the comfort of her home. It wasn't her actual birthday she was excited about, rather what would result from it; her training. The following day, however, her training was delayed. Her parents were busy, and Fumiko was left by herself. It was already starting to get dark. The one thing her mother told her that day was to stay safe in her room. In fact, as Fumiko remembered it; she had deliberately warned her out of concern.

But what could possibly happen?

Fumiko disregarded her mother's warning. Out of boredom and defiance, she wandered around the main household. Carefully monitoring every step she took, her footsteps were subtle and controlled. She was eventually lead to a narrow hallway, where her gut feeling was urging her to turn back. But her curiosity led to the best of her. She slid the door open, being cautious as to not make any noise. Fumiko then carefully slid the door back behind her.

She ended up in one of the many corridors of the main household. She immediately caught on to a faint noise, presumably of footsteps.

"Hello?" she called out. "Anyone there?" There was no response. Her voice merely echoed across the hallway, without even the slightest background noise to be heard. She eventually came to assume that the noise was only in her head; that she was imagining things. She turned around, deciding to go back to her room.

But that's when she heard it.

A loud voice, yelling and screaming in agony, echoed inside the main house. The sound of the voice was petrifying; through the muffled tone, the nameless echo through the hallways enunciated the pain, struggling, and suffering of the voice. It was horrifying for even an adult to hear, let alone a child.

And almost instantly, chakra began to surge towards her eyes until they activated for the first time. Her veins protruded, and her eyes intensified with a fierce, purposive glare. She had activated the Byakugan.

Her eyes were exposed to a profound sense of clarity enhancing her vision. Her vision was intensified to an extraordinary depth; she could see through every corridor, every hallway, and every chakra pathway. Finally, as Fumiko narrowed her sight, her gaze focused to identify the source of the voice. And at that moment, her eyes widened, her body trembling in fear.

She was absolutely petrified by what she saw. To her horror, she witnessed the torture of one of her own clansmen as the cursed seal on his forehead stayed activated; the seal that was possessed by every member of the branch family. As the seal stayed activated, his hopeless screams echoed across the corridors nearby. He violently thrashed around in pain. And then, all of a sudden, the screaming stopped. There was no longer any emotion or even a sense of consciousness in his expression. His eyelids lowered until they shut completely, all movement in his body suddenly came to a halt, and he finally collapsed onto the floor.

He was... dead.

And at that moment, a new fear was instilled inside Fumiko. Her heart filled with a profound sense of anxiousness; her limbs trembled and her disquieted gaze fluctuated in a quiverish pattern, unable to focus. She turned around hastily as her movement was distilled with a frantic alarm. Before she had the chance to run away, her movement was instantly quelled by the sound of subtle, nearby footsteps.

It was within that day that she was faced with the harsh reality; the dark truth underlying the honor of the Hyuga. Her family's status was meaningless; as long as they remained a member of the lower branch, their fate would be the same. Her destiny was predetermined from the moment of her birth, where her life would be defined solely in regard to the main branch. And if she defied, she would be faced with the inevitable fate of death.