Okay, I've decided to update every Monday and Thursday. The end. :) Enjoy!
Iron Threads
Chapter Two:
Heiress
Three months passed by and, Hinata and Lee learned to deal with heartbreak. There were far too many things to be done, students to teach, friends to talk to. People who knew them best knew that neither was extremely happy. There was no time to collect the pieces of their broken hearts. There were just far too many shards and no time to find them all. Hinata found herself extremely busy in the next few months. Hiashi, her father had fallen gravely ill and needed constant medical attention. She found herself running much of the household in his stead.
Despite juggling the responsibilities of teaching her team and running an entire clan, the Hyuga heiress always made time to have her training session with Lee. However, as her father's illness grew worse, she found herself being pressed for time and cutting the sessions a little short. She sat at her father's side one Wednesday afternoon, as the nurse administered his medicine. This was usually the day and the time she and Lee would spar, but she felt her father needed her help more. Lee would understand. Hiashi glanced at the clock and sighed.
"Isn't this the time you and Neji's old teammate would have your training session?" her father asked. She blinked in surprise. He knew about her training with Lee? She nodded in response.
"He's going to be upset if you're late," Hiashi continued. Hinata looked down at the tatami mats.
"With all due respect Father, you need me more," she answered, "Lee won't miss me."
There was a knock on the door. Hinata opened the sliding door to see who it was. Hanabi was standing in the doorway.
"Yes, sister?" Hinata asked, "What seems to be the trouble?"
The younger Hyuga girl smiled, "Oh, nothing's the matter. It's just Lee-san is here to see you."
The Hyuga heiress gasped slightly and turned to her father. He smiled a little.
"Looks like you were wrong," he told his daughter. He gave her permission to leave and the two girls went to the receiving room where Lee and Neji were talking. As Hinata entered, the two boys turned to greet her.
"Are you ready to train?" Lee asked. Hinata was still a bit surprised that he had even bothered to come.
"But my father needs me…" she began.
"We won't leave the compound," he explained, "We can move our training here for the time being."
Hinata smiled and nodded, "All right, then I'm ready."
"Well, looks like I finally get to see how you got so fast," Hanabi said, putting a hand on her hip, "I knew you were training with Lee-san, and I've seen the fruitage of your work. I just want to see what you two did to improve her speed so much."
"Like you'd need to see it, you're already fast enough," Neji said, "But I'm also slightly curious as to how Lee got so good at dealing with injuries inflicted by the Jyuken technique."
"Simple!" Lee said, "All we both did was work really hard."
"That's all," Hinata added, "We're not prodigies like you two, we had to work to get what skill we have."
The group went out to the training grounds. Neji and Hanabi took a seat in the veranda and settled down to watch the fight. The two friends got into their fighting stances.
"You know, training just isn't the same if we don't start it out with the 'nice guy' and 'nice girl' pose," Lee said. Hinata shook her head.
"Not in front of Neji and Hanabi…" she replied. Neji's eye twitched a little.
"'Nice girl' pose?" he mumbled. Before he could contemplate it more, the two rushed for each other with surprising speed. Lee expertly blocked Hinata's Jyuken attacks. This was not to say that Hinata was doing badly at all. In fact, Neji and Hanabi had to activate the byakugan in order to see their movements. Finally, she managed to break through his defense. However, in breaking his defense, she was also opening herself to his offensive attacks. These she blocked rather effectively, even though it was clear that Lee was the faster of the two. They stopped their close combat enough for the two of them to catch their breath.
"That was impressive," Neji commented. Lee smiled and gazed at Hinata.
"Why don't you take off your weights?" he suggested. Hanabi blinked in surprise and Neji smiled and shook his head.
"I don't believe you two," the eldest of the three Hyuga cousins said.
"Weights!" Hanabi exclaimed, "She was moving fast enough as it is, and she was wearing weights?"
"It's an old martial arts training technique. Gai-sensei tried to get Tenten and me to use it, but we didn't need it so much. Lee needed every minute of training he could get, so he took the idea and ran with it. Hinata has always had trouble with speed. I'm sure once she told Lee, he probably suggested that she use weights as well. It seems to have worked for her."
The Hyuga heiress took off the weights hidden beneath her black pants. Hanabi winced as they hit the ground.
"That heavy?" the younger girl commented. Her older cousin nodded.
"Lee's are heavier. And he probably won't take them off," he added. Hanabi crossed her arms.
"That's not fair to him," she said. Neji snorted.
"On the contrary, it's for Hinata's safety. Lee would move so fast, he might hurt her seriously by accident," he explained. Hanabi turned to sparring pair with interest. No wonder her sister had beaten her so easily after about a year or so of training with Lee.
Hinata's fists flew and her hits were making their mark. It was clear that now she was the faster of the two without her weights to hold her back. Lee held his own, this was clearly more for his benefit than hers. Lee's goal was to defeat Neji, and part of doing so involved getting used to blocking and recovering from attacks from his rival's taijutsu style.
Hinata jumped backwards quickly and lunged forward, palm poised and aimed at his heart. Hanabi was a little alarmed by the violence in her sister's attack. Such a damaging move during a sparring session hardly seemed Hinata's way. Neji on the other hand grinned knowingly. Lee crossed his arms in front of his chest in time to absorb most of the attack. Hinata took a few steps back and rolled her shoulders.
"Nice block," she said. Lee flexed his arms a little and smiled.
"Thanks," he replied, "You've gotten even faster. Looks like you'll need more weight soon."
Hinata got back into her fighting position.
"If I become too fast, you'll never be able to dodge my Sixty Four Points technique," she told him.
"If you become too fast, then I'll just have to be even faster," Lee answered. The two stared each other down. Hanabi finally realized why these two became friends. Even though Naruto had given Hinata the gumption to never give up, she didn't have the skills needed to beat her or Neji. It was during Naruto's two year absence, during which Hinata got to be better friends with Lee that her sister's abilities had increased dramatically. Naruto had given her the drive, Lee had given her the necessary skills to keep going. The blonde had moved her heart, the taijutsu specialist had actually gotten her to move.
Hanabi would never forget the day Hinata beat her with relative ease. Hinata had looked down at her panting form with intense eyes, they burned with a fire she had never seen in her sister before.
"I won't lose to you any more," Hinata had said pointedly. Hanabi felt the weight of those words, even as the intensity in her sister's eyes had died down and the older girl helped her to her feet. Hinata was still soft spoken and sweet, but her will was like iron. Her fists while gentle, were damaging. The Hyuga heiress was not a force to be ignored.
Seeing her sister now, as she and her friend showed strength that was beyond Hanabi's ability, made the younger girl resolve to be even stronger. It was then she turned her attention to the other side of the training grounds. She nudged Neji and pointed. They both were astonished to see Hiashi sitting placidly in the shade of the veranda.
"I hope he sees what I see," Neji said, "Hinata is like a silent storm. She will roll in quietly and start out peacefully, but once aggravated, you will hear her thunder and feel her lightning."
The sparring session continued at a fast pace. Hinata finally wiped the sweat of her brow and Lee cracked his neck a little. They met at the center of the Hyuga training grounds and shook hands.
"Nice work today," she said. Lee smiled and nodded.
"You weren't so bad yourself," the taijutsu specialist replied. Hiashi finally made his presence known to the sparring duo by coughing a little. Hinata rushed over to her father and kneeled at his feet. Neji, Hanabi and Lee did likewise.
"Thank you very much, Hyuga-sama, for allowing me to use your training grounds," Lee said bowing. The clan leader nodded.
"So you're Neji's teammate. The one whom he trusts so much," the older man said, "After seeing your skill, I can see why he'd leave you with his most important duty."
Lee bowed again, "Hyuga-sama flatters me too much."
Hiashi turned his white gaze to his daughter. Hinata looked down at her knees.
"That was a very impressive fight Hinata," Hiashi said. Hinata blushed and kept her eyes fixed on her folded hands in her lap.
"Father is far too kind," she replied. Hiashi smiled slightly and tousled her hair a little. That was one of the only public forms of affection Hiashi would bestow upon his child. Hinata raised her eyes to meet his and she smiled back.
"I'm tired," the clan leader said. Hinata was instantly at his side, helping him to stand. As she helped her father walk back to his room she looked over her shoulder and grinned back at Neji, Hanabi and Lee.
"Good bye, Lee! See you tomorrow!" she cried. Once the three were out of sight, Hiashi leaned heavily on Hinata. He was getting weaker by the day, there wasn't much the doctors could do for him. The clan leader looked into his daughter's eyes. Fairness and strength, that was what he saw, like he was staring into the blind eyes of Justice herself. He would leave the clan with a good leader. He took his daughter's hands in his.
"Hinata…I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused you," Hiashi said, "I only did what I thought was best."
Hinata's eyes didn't darken, or tear up. Instead she held his hand tighter and looked into his eyes.
"Father, you don't know the hurt that you caused me," she said, "But I think…knowing what I know now, and going through what I've gone through, I should thank you for what you did. I would never have gotten the strength I have if you just let me slide by. Although I question the severity of some of your decisions, I…I think I understand…"
Hiashi smiled. There was no question. If he died on that very day, the clan would be just fine.
Hiashi didn't die that day. He managed to hold out for a while and died a few weeks later. Hinata once again became preoccupied with arranging a funeral and having her father's body cremated. His death brought all sorts of people over the house offering their condolences. It was the tradition in Konoha. Unless you were a Hokage, only your family and very close friends would attend the funeral. Everyone else would stop by in funeral garb and offer words of comfort. So many people came by in their black kimono, Hinata's head started to spin. She continued to receive person after person, day after day. Most visits went by in a blur, however a few stuck out pointedly in her mind.
Her former teacher, Kurenai, along with her husband, Asuma as well as Hinata's old genin team showed up. Kurenai was expecting and was about six months along. Asuma had become an ANBU, and was joined in the ranks by Shino and Kiba. The five of them shared laughs, and stories, but most of all, Kurenai was worried about Hinata's well being. The past four months had been rather trying for her former student. It was kicked off by the loss of her true love to another, her father getting sick and finally, her father's death.
"Is the clan going to adopt you as their leader on top of all the other things going on in your life?" her teacher asked.
"Of course," Hinata said, "Although I'm sure it won't be without opposition."
"Opposition!" Kiba cried, "Who ever tries to oppose you better get ready for a fight with me and Akamaru!"
Shino's expression was unreadable as always, but he adjusted his glasses and said, "I don't like getting mixed up in other clans' businesses, but for you, I'll break my own rule."
"You guys are so sweet," she said. Kurenai elbowed her husband rather harshly.
"Ah, yes, I would also be willing to offer my help in Kurenai's stead," Asuma added. Hinata giggled and thanked the older man for his offer.
"How is your baby, Kurenai-san?" the Hyuga girl asked. The older woman patted her rounded stomach.
"It's fine. The doctor says it's going to be a boy," she answered with a smile.
"Have you decided on any names?" Hinata inquired. Kurenai opened her mouth, but Kiba interjected.
"She's naming him after her best male student of course," the younger Jounin declared. Asuma simply smiled.
"Whom we all know is Shino," he finished. Kiba glared at the older Jounin and started grinding his teeth in anger. After another half an hour of aimless chatter, they bid Hinata good bye and made way for the next guest.
Another visit she remembered clearly was the one she had with Naruto and Sakura. She felt her heart become pained seeing them together. Hinata was in so much emotional confusion, she didn't say much upon their arrival. Sakura had taken her hand and told her how sorry she was for her loss. Hinata looked up at the pink haired girl, unable to decide whether or not to cry and leave the room or stay and tough it out. There must be something else she had to talk to them about. Yes, yes there was. Even in her most emotional state, she couldn't afford to forget this. Hinata sighed and gazed intensely at Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, this is one of the few times I will have to address you as Hokage-sama. What I wish to speak of you with is of a grave nature," she said. Naruto's usually jolly features hardened with the severity in her voice. Sakura also became rather solemn.
"You vowed that when you became Hokage, you would change the workings of the Hyuga clan," she continued, "I'm asking you now, Hokage-sama, do you still hold to that vow?"
Naruto broke into his characteristic grin, "Of course I do. Whatever help you need Sakura and I will be willing to supply. Believe it!"
Hinata smiled. Same old Naruto…
"In fact, I've been talking with my committee about a new law I want to pass," the Hokage informed her, "The finer points have to be worked out, but it's to the effect that it will be illegal to put curse seals on innocent people. This will directly affect your family, so be prepared for anything."
Hinata closed her eyes and felt a peace settle over her. She bowed to Naruto.
"Hokage-sama has already done much to help me and ensure the happy future of my family," she said.
"We've got to be leaving soon, sorry our visit was so short," the blonde apologized, "Please stop by and visit us sometime."
"Take care of yourself, Hinata," Sakura said as they got up to leave, "I don't want to see you in the hospital."
They left, leaving her duties to her family filled, but her heart strangely empty.
Finally, there was her visit with Lee. Most of it had been rather silent. Or rather, she was silent, while Lee talked. Hinata wanted to talk, but she was so tired and Lee was the last visitor of the day and she didn't want to turn him away. The sound of her best friend's voice made her very calm and she couldn't help but rest her eyes a little. Lee stopped mid sentence and Hinata's eyes snapped open. The older boy smiled at her as she blushed in embarrassment.
"Hinata, if you're tired, I could go home and see you tomorrow," he said. She shook her head.
"No, stay. I want you to stay." she told him, "How could I pass up the opportunity to finally see you in something that isn't in some shade of green?"
Lee had to laugh at that. He had come to visit her in his black funeral kimono, just like everyone else.
"But honestly, Hinata, you've been working yourself too hard lately," the older boy told her, "You know it's too much when even I have to admit it is so."
Hinata sighed, "And there's only going to be more work from here."
"You have quite a legacy to live up too," he commented. She sighed. What a legacy. A divided family, one claiming dominance over the other through pain and force. Was this the tradition they expected her to continue? The dark haired girl got up.
"Come with me," she said opening the sliding door. Lee followed her lead going out into the evening air. Hinata was so tired walking through the red light of the dying sun, she felt like she was in a dream. Unconsciously, she wrapped her fingers around Lee's bandaged wrist, leading him through the compound. The two of them went out to the family burial grounds, not far from the garden. She placed her hand on her father's gravestone.
"There he is, my father," Hinata said softly. She sat on the ground in front of it and Lee did likewise. She then glanced at another gravestone at the other end of the burial grounds.
"And there would lie my Uncle Hizashi, Neji's father," she added. Lee's eyes darkened slightly.
"Neji told me about him," he said. Hinata shook her head.
"You know," Hinata began, "My father hurt me so much. I was such a failure in his eyes. For most of my life I thought I could never measure up to what he wanted. I finally realized why he was so hard on me. He wanted me to be strong, to know suffering so when I become clan leader I would know how to keep my clan safe and happy. I would be strong enough to make tough decisions the way he did, and do the one thing he wasn't strong enough to do."
"And what was that?" Lee asked. Hinata never answered. She had rested her head on his shoulder and fallen asleep.
Hinata became clan leader shortly after her father had died and the appropriate mourning period had passed. She went through the ceremony to be officially declared clan leader and took her rightful position. The dark haired girl was anticipating hard work from the beginning but she didn't know in what forms it would come.
First there was the issue of how she dressed. Although she loved the white Hyuga robes, they were hardly practical for anything else except looking pretty, especially that of the women. While Neji could wear his traditional robes on missions as he often did, Hinata found that wearing the white kimono was cumbersome and restricted her stride. Her Genin team declared she was very lovely in it, after one day of chasing after them in those long robes she never wore them on missions with her team again. This caused the clan elders to be upset with her.
"It shows you are ashamed of the Hyuga household by not wearing the traditional garb," they told her at one of the family meetings. Hinata informed them of the impracticality of her kimono for missions, which only earned annoyed murmurings from the older women. She was branded a "radical and rebellious soul." They may not have liked what she said, but this time they couldn't ignore her. The clan leader decided not to wear her robes unless it was a special occasion and that was her choice. They couldn't make her do anything.
The second issue was about whether or not she was going to be married. For the time being, with her heart in a state of disrepair, she decided not to pursue the idea of getting married. The clan elders instantly suggested several distant Hyuga relatives she could marry. She politely declined all of them, she was hardly in the mood for even appeasing them by meeting any of the men for dinner. Finally, in a last ditch effort to marry her off to a family member, they suggested Neji. This she refused right up front.
"I love Neji dearly, but he is like a brother to me, I could hardly move myself to marry him," she said when the suggestion was made at yet another family meeting, "Besides, he's already quite taken with Tenten."
An older woman clucked her tongue at her response, "Love has almost nothing to do with marriage."
Hinata smiled politely and dismissed the family. In a conversation that she later had with Hanabi, Hinata told her sister that while love may have had nothing to do with other marriages in the Hyuga clan, it would have everything to do with hers.
The third issue that came up was about her Genin team. The three youngsters were deemed an "unnecessary responsibility" added to Hinata's already full plate. It was true, running a family took a lot of hard work, but the team was hardly a hindrance. In fact, she rather adored those kids, they had such potential. Mikamura Yuji was naturally inclined to distance attacks, his accuracy was deadly. She was starting to teach him how to use senbon. She had no doubt he would make a great tracker nin someday. Takahashi Reiko was a medical genius for a girl of her age. Hinata often sent her to Sakura for extra training. Then there was Akiyoshi Kyo, whom she dubbed the "Naruto" of the group. He was hotheaded and loud and settled most things with his fists before trying anything else. Kyo was frequently sent to Lee in order to be knocked down a peg or two. Really, these kids were amazing and she wanted to have a hand in their development as ninja. The family scoffed at this, saying they were just children, and what could they possibly do?
To prove they were wrong, she sent her team on a special mission, which actually had a lot to do with her family matters. She gave her eager Genin the assignment early one morning.
"You have a very important mission," Hinata told them, "In one week, Hokage-sama will have a very important scroll to send to me. You are to report to his office at exactly seven in the morning one week from now. You will then bring the scroll to my room."
"Piece of cake," Kyo said. Hinata smiled. It was just like Kyo to underestimate the situation.
"You are not to look at it, or let anyone see what's inside," she continued, "And you have to sneak through the Hyuga compound undetected to bring me the message. As you know, we Hyuga can see everything."
It was then that Kyo fell silent. However, Hinata could see Reiko and Yuji formulating a plan already.
"You will have two allies in this endeavor. My cousin Neji, and my sister Hanabi," Hinata added.
Yuji raised his hand, "But Hinata-sensei, we have no idea what either of them look like."
Their teacher only smiled, "Use this week to gather information from them and about them. Your assignment is given, I'll see you in one week."
With that she dismissed her team. Hinata was more worried about them then she should have been. The message from Naruto would be about the law he was going to pass. If the family saw it before the meeting, she would be in trouble. A week passed and she hadn't heard anything from her Genin.
The day the scroll was to be delivered, she took a personal day to hole herself up in her living quarters. One of the perks of being clan head was that you got several rooms dedicated to yourself. It would usually be for your spouse and children, but currently, the only other person who stayed there besides Hinata was her sister. A knock on the door to her chambers brought Hinata's worst fears to light. Reiko was being shown to her room by two Hyuga.
"Hinata-sama, we caught this rat sneaking around the compound," one of them said, "Would you care to explain this?"
"Ah…yes, come in…" she answered. Hinata closed the sliding door behind the three. The dark haired girl couldn't help but smile. She truly had a gifted bunch of Genin.
"Nice work you guys," she said, "You fooled them."
The two Hyuga turned into Kyo and Yuji in a puff of smoke.
"How'd you know it was us?" Yuji asked. Hinata winked and Kyo handed her the scroll.
"You guys may have actually changed the history of this family. I will have a maid escort you out," she said, "Tomorrow we'll have a party."
The three kids cheered and left the room with a servant. The white eyed girl sighed. Her team had done well, their trial was over. The trial for Hinata, on the other hand, was just beginning.
Later that evening, Hinata stood outside the sliding doors in her white kimono. On the other side of the doors sat her perturbed family, no doubt upset about Naruto's new law. She knew that her entire life was leading up to this moment. She had lived sorrow, despair, fear of never being able to live up the expectations to her family, and rejection. It was this that moment that her father had garnered her for. Hinata had gotten a taste of what it was like to be a branch family member, and she knew that tonight it would end. Or at least start to. Neji stood beside her, his curse seal clearly showing.
"Are you ready, Hinata?" he asked. The younger girl gazed up at him, and her eyes rested on the seal. Her eyes grew sad and she ran a finger over his forehead and nodded.
"I'm scared, but I'm ready," she answered. They entered the room together. Hinata and Neji sat down at the head of the table as the counsel of elders stared at her whispering angrily. She sat down and the room rested into silence.
"Hyuga-sama, have you seen the law that Hokage-sama has passed?" one of the more elderly Hyuga asked. Hinata nodded.
"Yes, I have," she said, "He has banned the use of curse seals on people who are not legally deemed criminals. And I agree with it."
"No more curse seals? What will happen to the Hyuga clan? How will we keep the branch house under control?" another interjected. Hinata raised a hand to quiet the arguments that were beginning to rise.
"A house divided cannot stand. We cannot repress an entire half of our family. From this day forward, not another Hyuga child will be given a curse seal, and no one will be permitted to activate one," she said firmly, "It's time we stopped treating half our family like criminals. And for what? Our protection? We all should protect each other, not because of some destiny or a curse upon our heads, but because we're family and we have the same blood."
"You obviously have not had any encounters with the more murderous side of the branch house," a middle aged Hyuga said. Hinata's eyes narrowed. Hyuga Hyunda was the person who had spoken. He always seemed to make it a point to push her buttons by pointing out some inferiority she had.
"On the contrary, I have. One of them even tried to kill me," she answered. Hyunda looked up in alarm, embarrassment and shock. He then jumped up.
"Who? Who was it! I'll kill them right now!" the Hyuga declared. Hinata's jaw became set.
"It doesn't concern you," she said sharply, "Besides, use of curse seals is illegal. You will be punished."
"It was Neji wasn't it!" Hyunda continued. She stood to her feet and held her arm out in front of her cousin.
"If you dare hurt him!" Hinata cried. It was too late, the older man was already beginning the signs for the seal. Neji's eyes widened for a moment before he doubled over. Hinata knelt by his side as he started to cry out in pain from the burning sensations radiating through his body.
"Leave him alone right now!" the Hyuga clan leader shouted, "Or so help me, I'll—"
She didn't have to finish. An ANBU appeared out of no where, grabbed the older man's wrist and snapped it harshly.
"I think you should listen to Hyuga-sama," he said, "She's only trying to abide by the Hokage's orders."
Hinata smiled as she rubbed Neji's back. Even though he wore his ANBU mask, she could tell Shino apart from anyone.
"I was about to inform you all that I'm having ANBU stationed at our house until we can get this matter straightened out," the clan leader looked up and gazed coldly at every person in the room, "Branch family, just because you are liberated doesn't mean you can kill us out of revenge. And main family, don't try anything funny, because there will be consequences. A lot more than just a wrist can be broken."
Hinata rose from beside Neji and headed toward the door. The Hyuga elders were rendered speechless as she walked past them all, face frozen in a mask of kind indifference, her robes trailing behind her like a sighing wind. It was as though she had become a goddess carved out of ivory. Captivated by her retreating form, all eyes in the room followed her to the door jamb. Two servants opened the sliding doors and she turned to face them all.
"The clan leader has spoken," she said softly as she left the room.
Concrit is still needed/wanted. General reviews are appreciated as well, though.
kristen: There isn't a lot of LeeHina out there. I can understand why, but it's fun to explore. I'm a crack pairing whore sometimes…
Funky Platypus: I like giving crack pairings their day in the sun. This one was just too cute not to try. I want to write a SakuLee next, I have an idea of what I want…I'll warm up to any pairing eventually.
Anime-Dudette: Anko rocks the house. Besides it's too cliché to make the main female character catch the bouquet. It's far too obvious, so give it to Anko. Because she's cool.
