Chapter 2

The training grounds were right on the outskirts of the village of Konoha. Battered tree stumps could be seen, used for the practices of taijutsu. Others were a little charred or worn from different ninjutsu. As Hanabi entered the compound at the first signs of dusk, she couldn't see the figure of her sister anywhere. She frowned but made her way over to one of the tree stumps. She leant on it, waiting for her sister with an angry and impatient expression on her face. Her kunai holster was strapped securely to her right thigh and her pouch was full of small shuriken. If Hinata wanted to fight her right there and then, to prove who was truly stronger, she would definitely win. She was not weak. And she'd be damned if her sister thought she was! Hanabi clenched her fists and glared at the ground, as if it were its fault for all the anger and pain she felt.

Moments later she sensed a familiar presence behind her. She didn't bother acknowledging her sister as she appeared from the forest beside the training grounds. When she looked up, her eyes widened in shock.

Hinata had tied her hair back and wore her leaf forehead protect around her neck as she usually did, but her clothes, her clothes weren't that of the Head of the Hyuuga clan, but one completely black, with a black silk belt. She had long crosshatched sleeves over which she wore a black tunic, which had six scroll compartments. She wore trousers not dissimilar to that of a jounin. With the remainder of her legs wrapped in bandages. She wore black sandals rather than the blue she was normally seen wearing. A kunai holster was strapped to her thigh and her silk black belt held a pouch for her shuriken. Strapped to her back was also a fine silver sword, its handle had a single opal encrusted into it.

She was dressed like a member of the Branch Family.

"This was made for me several years go." Hinata told her sister with a small sad smile.

Hanabi could only look on, too shocked for words.

Hinata drew out the sword on her back. Though it was silver, it reflected the sunset and made it look on fire. And Hanabi had a distinct feeling that if it were drawn out in the moonlight, it would look like the sharpest spike of ice.

"This sword is a wonderful piece of weaponry. Tenten-san's father is a truly talented blacksmith." Hinata said as she admired the sword. "He can make the sharpest and toughest of blades," Hinata flipped the sword and caught it deftly in her left hand, "and make it as light as a feather for one of the physically weakest Hyuuga's." Hinata smiled and held the blade, handing the handle of the sword to her sister.

Hanabi looked at it and feeling quite timid all of a sudden, gently took the handle of the sword. It truly was light, similar to Tenten-san's kunais. Hinata stepped back and watched as her sister marvelled at the sword. Hanabi's eyes wandered to the opal stone.

"Opal's are meant to be unlucky." She said frowning a little. Hinata only nodded.

"Branch House members are quite unlucky, don't you think? That's why our elders thought that the opal would be a fitting symbol for them." Hinata said, turning to face the sunset. Hanabi eyed the stone warily.

"Neji-niisan, although he is not fond of using weapons in battle, he has a lovely shuriken windmill, opals dotted around the centre. I saw him practice with it once, and it looks quite beautiful flying through the air." Hinata commented. "Although he is thankful for Tenten-san's father for making it for him, he hates what it symbolises."

Hinata sighed. Hanabi looked up to see the saddened look on her face. She suddenly looked a lot older than she should have. Hanabi handed Hinata back the sword, and Hinata strapped it to her back once more.

"I don't know if you've noticed Hanabi-chan, but the Branch House is considerably larger than that of the Main House. The only reason that they haven't overwhelmed the Main House is because of the curse seal." Hinata said, turning to face the sunset. Hanabi frowned again. What was Hinata getting at?

"I really do love my family. I'm proud to say that I'm from the Hyuuga clan of the Hidden Village of Konoha. And if I were to lead the clan, I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be even half as good as the past Heads. I wanted to be strong like Otou-san, but even more, I wanted to be as strong as you." She chuckled a little. "In fact, I think it's because of you I tried so hard and even became a jounin." Hinata said, her eyes still taking in the sight of the sun sinking over the horizon. Hanabi remained silent.

"I always knew that you would make the better leader. I would train as hard as I could between missions, and when I came home, I studied the old family records. But I also made a startling discovery. And when I looked at our family tree, it confirmed my thoughts."

"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked, still confused. Hinata tore her eyes from the sunset and faced her younger sister. Her eyes were sad again.

"To date, every member of the Main House has one sibling. That sibling would be the younger of the two, and also a member of the Branch House." Hinata said solemnly, looking at her sister. Hanabi's eyes widened, her mouth opening a little.

Hinata took out a scroll from one of the scroll compartments on her tunic. She bit her finger allowing some blood to flow. She let the blood drop a little onto the seal binding the scroll. The scroll immediately loosened and Hinata unwound it. It turned out to be a small section of the Hyuuga family tree. Hanabi made out on the family names and once the scroll was fully opened, she saw her own name at the very end, along side Hinata's. Both their names were faintly written compared to the other names.

"The names written in black are that of the Main House. Those in red are that of the Branch House." Hinata explained. And sure enough it really confirmed what Hinata had told her. Their father, Hiashi had black ink to his name. And their uncle, Hizashi had red to his. Neji's name was in red below Hizashi's name.

"Why isn't my name in red?" Hanabi managed to say, albeit in a shaky whisper, looking directly at her sister. Hinata looked at her younger sister. She managed a small comforting smile at her sister.

"Being the Head of the family is hard work. You have to confirm decisions made between members of the family and the elders also. But it seems like we Hyuuga's just have to have some ratty traditionalist elders." Hinata smile melded into a frown. She sat down on the ground beside her sister.

"Otou-san is the most caring man I've ever known. There were times when I thought he was heartless as a child, but I guess he has a cruel-to-be-kind nature to him as well." Hinata laughed a little.

"He was grieving a lot after the death of our uncle. He felt an overwhelming wave of guilt for making Neji-niisan fatherless. Ever since that day, Otou-san has been fighting to dissolve the rule that makes the youngest sibling a Branch House member." Hinata said her eyes a little distant.

Hanabi's fist clenched again. The ground beneath her finger crumbling to dust.

"Otou-san hated that this should be the fate of his youngest daughter. He loved you so much Hanabi-chan. He fought long and hard with the elders but it seemed that they wouldn't get rid of the rule. They spouted out some rubbish about protection." Hinata said. Her eyes became distant again.

"One night, I came home from a mission and I heard father arguing with the elders again. About trying to rid the rule. But they were being difficult and wouldn't see through his argument."


Hinata peeked through the doors, keeping her chakra levels low so that she wouldn't be detected. Her father was once again sitting on a lone cushion, head bowed as he pleaded with the elders to break the second sibling rule.

"Bringing about this rule has only caused grief between our families. The curse seal is not necessary anymore." Hiashi argues at the elders.

"Hiashi-kun, this was explained long ago to you. Why do you persist on dissolving this rule? It's for the protection of our bloodline. We cannot let the secrets of the Byakugan go and that is why our Branch Family exists." One of the bearded elders replied calmly.

"Please, I beg you to rid our family of this rule. You saw the despair it brought upon Hizashi-kun. And now Neji-kun is without a father. That boy will grow up hating us. I would rather have the Main House and the Branch House unite as one, like we were before, those many years ago."

The elders sighed.

"I know that the curse seal cannot be removed from them now that it has been place. But if we stopped the barrier forming now, between Hinata and Hanabi-"he started.

"So you wish to spare your youngest from the curse seal? Are you that selfish?" Another elder started. It was known throughout the Hyuuga clan that the bond between Hiashi and Hanabi was strong. Although it was cruel to say, and that he would never admit it, many were sure that he definitely showed strong favour for Hanabi over Hinata.

"Hiashi-kun, Hanabi-chan is a wonderfully strong little girl. And we have no doubt that she will become great. If we give her the curse seal now, she would protect the clan greatly. Her physical skills are amazing; she's talented in taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjustu. Her traits make her a suitable Branch House member. However, she lacks the certain disposition to become the leader. She is easy to anger and we've noticed that she has an uncanny knack for holding grudges." An elder to his left said.

"Hinata-chan is a calm girl. She's level-headed, serene and wants peace among the family. Her shyness makes her endearing. Although she lacks in confidence right now, we thoroughly believe that she will become a confident leader of our clan." The elder paused for a little while, letting a smile come to his face. "We believe in you Hinata-chan, you can come in."

Hinata widened her eyes, cheeks flushed she slid the doors open and bowed her head respectfully. She sat down on the cushion by her father. She took one look at the troubled expression on his face. She had never seen her father look so troubled. His face was creased with worry. But she still saw the determination in his eyes.

"If I may…" She spoke shyly. The elders smiled at the young girl and nodded so she could speak.

"As nice as it is to have the blessings of the elders to become Head, I think you have spoken too kindly of me." She said, her face flushing again. Hiashi looked at his eldest daughter. Though a little red in the face he saw the determination on her face and her eyes showed an undying love for her family. He could see that her confidence was definitely growing.

"I declare right now, that I refuse to be head of the Hyuuga clan." She said confidently, looking straight at the elders. They looked back at her shocked. She let a kind smile show on her face.

"I was never a leader, unlike Hanabi. She has so much skill as a shinobi that make up admirable traits as a leader. My friend, Shikamaru-kun who was an examiner during the Chuunin exam told me how she displayed leadership qualities during the events. As for Hanabi-chan's personality, she's young right now. And if she were to become Head, I'm sure she would mature wonderfully."

The elders looked at her again. The bearded elder shook his head and started to talk again.

"Hinata-chan, we understand that you want to defend your sister, but you are firstborn. It is your duty to become the Head of this clan. Not Hanabi-chan's." He spoke.

"If you were to become Head and she to become a Branch Member, I'm sure things will work out to be considerably well." Another elder said.

Hinata narrowed her eyes. Feeling a little angry at the elders. They were so adamant on everything. She could understand why her father was having such a hard time getting through to them.

"If you make Hanabi-chan a Branch House member, I swear on the blood that runs through these veins, that I will refuse ever becoming Head of this family." Hinata said her voice deadly serious, the polar opposite from her usually shy one. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough Hinata." Her father said, his voice sounding low. Hinata shook her head not letting the argument go.

"Hanabi-chan is the better candidate for the head of House. I will take her place as the Branch Member." Hinata announced.

A dead silence ran through out the room. Every single eye on Hinata, who looked back determinedly at them all. Hiashi was so shocked at the announcement that his daughter made. Was she really like this all along? He suddenly felt as if he didn't know his eldest daughter at all.



A/N: Whee! This was a fun one to write. I'd like to thank those who review last time round. It was nice to know what you all thought. I know some of you expected to see a battle between the two sisters (and I was awfully tempted to write one too) but I think this version works a little better. I was originally planning to make this fic a one-shot. But I'm too impatient to write this all out as one. So it's been chapterised!

Once again, any comments, criticisms, questions and queries are fully appreciated!