Notes:
Ah, finally. I've actually started to write something up again. Just so you know, I do not own Naruto, or the manga, or the anime. I'm just some poor obsessed fan.
Now. It may not seem like it, but I'm aiming for this to be a shounen-ai fanfic. The girls of the series will be sneaking around, trying to figure out whats going on between the guys—Don't worry, stuff will happen between them in Chapter 01. This is just a prologue.
---
She had almost forgotten...
Almost forgotten the huge wooden gates before her and the enormous white wooden banner that hung above them. The black, stylish but bold characters, ever so carefully hand painted upon it. It all seemed to boom down upon her.
"HYUGA"
It had been two years since the Chuunin Exam, two years since the attack upon Konoha and Uchiha Sasuke had been narrowly rescued from the hands of Orochimaru.
Hyuga Hinata was fifteen years old now, as were most of her companions in Konoha. Winter was just settling upon the Hidden Countries and a fresh layer of snow had been laid out upon the land and its markings. Her Father wished to see her again, after all these years. She remembered the day when Kurenai-sensei had called her from her dormitory, informing her to return to Hyuga for Christmas.
Hinata, at first, wanted to decline. She was too adapted to spending her Christmases in Konoha. She was away from her friends now and was back with her family...
Anxious as always, the frail girl walked carefully to the gates before her, a shaking hand knocking against them. In an instant, two wirey figures appeared at either side of her in a small, but sudden, poof of gray smoke. Guardians.
"A-Ano..." Hinata's index fingers instantly rose and touched one another. "I am...Hyuga Hinata.."
The guards seemed to glare at her a moment. Twins, they were, both tall and radiating with feminine elegance and intimidation despite their male gender. Each had long dark hair and carried two ordinary eyes, both forest green in colour. They were not of Hyuga, nor did they carry any visible weaponary, not even a shuriken or kunai holster. The twin on the right of Hinata extended his hand, taking her small, pale face in his palm, raising it so he could see her appearance with better ease, triggering an instant reflex of fear in the young Genin.
"A-A-Ano..."
The other twin turned to his brother who still held Hinata's face firmly in his grasp.
"Her eyes seem genuine. She can easily perform the Byakugan."
He instantly let go and together they dropped to their knees in unison.
"Forgive us Hinata-sama, we had to make for certain you were who you seemed. I am Kida and this is Kodo. Stewards of the Hyuga Clan."
Together they lowered their heads. Hinata smiled as genuinely as she could and nodded quickly. "A-Ah, is that so..? - That is alright then."
~~~
It was nice to be in her own room after so many years in the Konoha village. Though simple, it offered many fond memories of her past. Small stuffed animals and a single set of dolls were aligned upon a towering bookcase next to a bright wooden desk, placed neatly with a book, a lamp and a wooden case of pencils and calligraphy pens.
It would not be long until her Father summoned her.
Quickly she peeled off her coat, her body armor and slipped into an old lavender yukata, the same yukata she wore when she left, she recalled. Hesitantly she fell into bed, covering herself within the thick blanket, closing her eyes for a few hours rest.
~*~
The snow fell lightly as the village of Konoha bustled not so strongly with activity. The signs and advertisements that aligned the streets were covered in white powder, as were the walkways and streets. The more popular roads were aligned with slush as elderly old men shoveled it away, grumbling as youngsters passed them.
Business was slow today as Yamanaka Ino stared boredly out the glass doors leading into her family's floristry. It was Christmas for goodness sake. No one buys flowers at Christmas. Only old people.
But this was disproven as a figure entered the room. One of the last people that Ino expected to see...
"N-N-Neji!?"
Hyuga Neji looked up to Ino with ivory eyes, his black hair dusted with snowflakes as he brushed off his coat in the doorway. "Yamanaka Ino." He spoke plainly.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" she asked loudly, almost falling out of her chair. She was still attempting to comprehend what Hyuga Neji, the past Konoha Number One Rookie, the solitary being who nearly killed Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata in the Chuunin exam with his ruthless combat style was doing here. But here he was. In a flower store.
"I'm here to buy a flower. Is that odd, considering that you work in a floristry?" he stared at her coldly before turning his attention to a flower stand, browsing some lilies.
"...I...guess not." Ino sat back down before clearing her throat, watching the boy like a hawk. A smirk eventually crossed her face as she stared suggestively at him. "Ohh, who's the flower for?"
"That is none of your business."
Pfft. That's just like him, thought the Kunoichi. Close-minded and stubborn.
The boy of Hyuga's branch family drew a daffodil from a stand, staring at it carefully from all angles before walking over to Ino, placing it carefully on the table. "I would like this."
She scratched her head thoughtfully and began wrapping it in some fancy paper. "Hey, its Christmas. You can have it for free, for whoever it's for." She grinned brightly at the boy as she handed the flower to him.
Neji hesitantly took it, his gaze unfaltering from her as he nodded his head respectively at her. "Thank you, Ms.Yamanaka."
He turned away from her, the flower nestled protectively in his arms as he walked out.
"Hrmmmm.." Ino smirked. "Maybe Tenten or Sakura will know..."
Hastily, she scribbled down 'Back in thirty minutes' on a scrap piece of paper, hurling it on the desk next to the cash register before putting on her coat and rushing out. As she ran down the street, she wondered why she cared, why this was important to her. She shrugged it off. This could be interesting in a way. Hell, it was Christmas. Anything would be interesting.
Ah, finally. I've actually started to write something up again. Just so you know, I do not own Naruto, or the manga, or the anime. I'm just some poor obsessed fan.
Now. It may not seem like it, but I'm aiming for this to be a shounen-ai fanfic. The girls of the series will be sneaking around, trying to figure out whats going on between the guys—Don't worry, stuff will happen between them in Chapter 01. This is just a prologue.
---
She had almost forgotten...
Almost forgotten the huge wooden gates before her and the enormous white wooden banner that hung above them. The black, stylish but bold characters, ever so carefully hand painted upon it. It all seemed to boom down upon her.
"HYUGA"
It had been two years since the Chuunin Exam, two years since the attack upon Konoha and Uchiha Sasuke had been narrowly rescued from the hands of Orochimaru.
Hyuga Hinata was fifteen years old now, as were most of her companions in Konoha. Winter was just settling upon the Hidden Countries and a fresh layer of snow had been laid out upon the land and its markings. Her Father wished to see her again, after all these years. She remembered the day when Kurenai-sensei had called her from her dormitory, informing her to return to Hyuga for Christmas.
Hinata, at first, wanted to decline. She was too adapted to spending her Christmases in Konoha. She was away from her friends now and was back with her family...
Anxious as always, the frail girl walked carefully to the gates before her, a shaking hand knocking against them. In an instant, two wirey figures appeared at either side of her in a small, but sudden, poof of gray smoke. Guardians.
"A-Ano..." Hinata's index fingers instantly rose and touched one another. "I am...Hyuga Hinata.."
The guards seemed to glare at her a moment. Twins, they were, both tall and radiating with feminine elegance and intimidation despite their male gender. Each had long dark hair and carried two ordinary eyes, both forest green in colour. They were not of Hyuga, nor did they carry any visible weaponary, not even a shuriken or kunai holster. The twin on the right of Hinata extended his hand, taking her small, pale face in his palm, raising it so he could see her appearance with better ease, triggering an instant reflex of fear in the young Genin.
"A-A-Ano..."
The other twin turned to his brother who still held Hinata's face firmly in his grasp.
"Her eyes seem genuine. She can easily perform the Byakugan."
He instantly let go and together they dropped to their knees in unison.
"Forgive us Hinata-sama, we had to make for certain you were who you seemed. I am Kida and this is Kodo. Stewards of the Hyuga Clan."
Together they lowered their heads. Hinata smiled as genuinely as she could and nodded quickly. "A-Ah, is that so..? - That is alright then."
~~~
It was nice to be in her own room after so many years in the Konoha village. Though simple, it offered many fond memories of her past. Small stuffed animals and a single set of dolls were aligned upon a towering bookcase next to a bright wooden desk, placed neatly with a book, a lamp and a wooden case of pencils and calligraphy pens.
It would not be long until her Father summoned her.
Quickly she peeled off her coat, her body armor and slipped into an old lavender yukata, the same yukata she wore when she left, she recalled. Hesitantly she fell into bed, covering herself within the thick blanket, closing her eyes for a few hours rest.
~*~
The snow fell lightly as the village of Konoha bustled not so strongly with activity. The signs and advertisements that aligned the streets were covered in white powder, as were the walkways and streets. The more popular roads were aligned with slush as elderly old men shoveled it away, grumbling as youngsters passed them.
Business was slow today as Yamanaka Ino stared boredly out the glass doors leading into her family's floristry. It was Christmas for goodness sake. No one buys flowers at Christmas. Only old people.
But this was disproven as a figure entered the room. One of the last people that Ino expected to see...
"N-N-Neji!?"
Hyuga Neji looked up to Ino with ivory eyes, his black hair dusted with snowflakes as he brushed off his coat in the doorway. "Yamanaka Ino." He spoke plainly.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" she asked loudly, almost falling out of her chair. She was still attempting to comprehend what Hyuga Neji, the past Konoha Number One Rookie, the solitary being who nearly killed Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata in the Chuunin exam with his ruthless combat style was doing here. But here he was. In a flower store.
"I'm here to buy a flower. Is that odd, considering that you work in a floristry?" he stared at her coldly before turning his attention to a flower stand, browsing some lilies.
"...I...guess not." Ino sat back down before clearing her throat, watching the boy like a hawk. A smirk eventually crossed her face as she stared suggestively at him. "Ohh, who's the flower for?"
"That is none of your business."
Pfft. That's just like him, thought the Kunoichi. Close-minded and stubborn.
The boy of Hyuga's branch family drew a daffodil from a stand, staring at it carefully from all angles before walking over to Ino, placing it carefully on the table. "I would like this."
She scratched her head thoughtfully and began wrapping it in some fancy paper. "Hey, its Christmas. You can have it for free, for whoever it's for." She grinned brightly at the boy as she handed the flower to him.
Neji hesitantly took it, his gaze unfaltering from her as he nodded his head respectively at her. "Thank you, Ms.Yamanaka."
He turned away from her, the flower nestled protectively in his arms as he walked out.
"Hrmmmm.." Ino smirked. "Maybe Tenten or Sakura will know..."
Hastily, she scribbled down 'Back in thirty minutes' on a scrap piece of paper, hurling it on the desk next to the cash register before putting on her coat and rushing out. As she ran down the street, she wondered why she cared, why this was important to her. She shrugged it off. This could be interesting in a way. Hell, it was Christmas. Anything would be interesting.