Chapter 11: Advanced Bloodline: The Byakugan
It was past 7 at this point, where Sakura and Hinata were still in mid-project. It was a surprisingly hard assignment, meeting all the guidelines their teacher had set. "Hmm. How are we going to tie this in to the presentation?" Sakura asked, holding up a sheet of information printed off from the Internet.
"Uh…let's put that with the others near the end. It d-doesn't really fit anywhere else," Hinata spoke, writing down what still needed to be done. "H-how long is it so far?"
"It's almost 2 pages." With a nod, her blue haired friend went back to writing. The day was getting to long for her liking. All she really wanted was to go home right now and make some hot chocolate in the microwave and sit down in front of the TV. Scratch the microwave hot chocolate idea. It was better to use the kettle anyway. But getting back on track. "Now would be the perfect time to curl up on the couch and drink hot chocolate," she voiced her opinion.
"Yeah," the other agreed, not pausing from her work.
"The weather really gets to you," Sakura said to no one in particular, once again getting distracted from her work. She went to the window and observed the gloominess outside. The rain hadn't let up since they'd gotten home, and didn't look like it was stopping any time soon either. A flash of light blinded her vision for a split second, sending shivers down her spine. "I really hate lightning…"
"I-I'm going to turn this off. Last time we kept a computer on during a storm it completely shut off," Hinata said shutting down the machine. She joined her friend by the window.
"You know what I just noticed?" Sakura asked, breaking the silence between the two. The other shook her head. "There is a lot of water on the ground." Sure enough, there was. They may have been on the second floor, but if the water level was about to completely swallow the bushes in their garden, there was a serious water issue happening. "How am I ever going to get home…"
That was it. That last comment had done it. The Hyuuga could no longer hide her fidgetiness any longer. Well, more then normal anyway. "Um…t-there isn't t-that much rain. Y-you're over doing it j-just a bit."
"No. You're underestimating that. Look! There must be at least a foot. I could swim home, if it wasn't October and if it wasn't thunderstorm-ing," she spoke sarcastically, "I can't step outside like that."
"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Hinata asked quietly, then instantly regretting so.
She met emerald eyes, the owner with her best smile plastered on. "Can I please stay over? I mean…it's Friday and…"
It was that point where the other wasn't listening. No, staying over wasn't the greatest idea, nor would it please her cousin or her father in any way. Then again, she wasn't the type to throw someone out and say swim home, especially to a friend. She really needed some confidence for her birthday.
"…so you see how in need I am at this point so please?" she clapped her hands together, hoping that her minute-long rant convinced her."
"Uh…" words and Hinata never mixed very well together. "I…" and she saw the pleading look in her friend's eyes. Oh hell, she needed to learn to say no once in awhile. "I'll go talk to my father." Sakura almost squealed in delight, as she watched the silent female exit the room, and continue down the hall.
If there were a top ten list of what she hated, this would be ranked up there with words. He may have been her father, but he could also be one of the scariest people alive. Funny how she found the genes were passed the wrong way, and onto her cousin rather then she. But that wasn't scientifically possible…was it? Anyway, back to willing herself to push open a door.
"F…Father?" she reluctantly put her head through the door. He was sitting at the table, newspaper open. He looked up, with the pale eyes that the entire family possessed.
"Something troubling you?" he asked.
"Well…you see," can I just crawl into a hole and die, was more of the implication, "t-there's a-a bit of a p-problem with the weather…" she said quietly. He waited for her to continue, used to the fact that his eldest daughter was charisma-deprived. "There's a lot o-of water out…a-and there's a lot of lightning. A-and I still have a friend over. A-and what I'm trying t-to say is that…shereallyneedstostayoverbecauseshecan'tgethome." Well at least it had come out. Not exactly understandable, but out.
Her father sighed, getting what she'd just said. "Hinata," he started calmly, "you know we can't have that. You know better then to ask me that." His eyes were closed, arms folded, as if contemplating a tough situation.
"B-but Father! You've s-seen outside…how…how…" she sighed, trying to force more words out.
"How can we send her home, is what she wants to say," Neji said, having heard the whole conversation, and decided to make an entrance. "She'll find it rather suspicious if we say she can't stay and has to find a way home in this weather. I wouldn't be surprised if she's even remotely curious why it's an issue to stay until 8. In case you haven't noticed, it's rather early."
"Neji, if I want your impute I'll ask for it," his uncle replied curtly.
The two didn't speak for a moment. "I'm sorry, please forgive me, Hiashi-sama. I won't speak out of turn again." Then he leaned against a wall and sat down.
"N-Neji nii-san is right, though. I-I'd be a bit suspicious too, if I w-was in her position," Hinata said to her father.
Now what could he do? Hiashi rubbed his temples, deciding upon the situation. "Alright," he gave way, "but I expect no slip ups from you two. Do what you must, but she must not know, is that understood?"
"Yes sir!" they both bowed, and turned to leave. The Hyuuga siblings nodded to one another, both knowing exactly what had to be done, and parted their separate ways.
When Hinata returned, Sakura was still working on the project. "Ah, Hinata-chan! So I can stay right?"
"Uh…yeah," she replied with an uneasy smile.
"Hinata-chan, are you okay? You look paler then normal," the other asked worriedly.
"Um, I feel kind of sick. I-I know it's early, but I think I need to sleep," she said, sitting on her bed. "I'm sorry to skip out about this, Sakura-chan."
"No, no! I completely understand!"
In the next ten minutes, Hinata had unrolled a futon from the closet, which would serve as Sakura's bed, (since she insisted Hinata use the mattress because of her sickness). She'd handed Sakura an oversized T-shirt and sweats, since she highly doubted her friend would want to sleep in the school's uniform.
"S-so you realize if you need anything j-just help yourself," Hinata said, once out of her bathroom, changed in her nightclothes. Sakura nodded.
"I'm going to work on the project a little bit longer, so I'm going to keep the light on."
"O-okay, goodnight then."
"Yeah, you feel better, hear me?" the blue haired teen nodded, and threw the covers over herself, and her head facing the wall. Sakura gazed at the clock on the wall: 8:15. Sighing, Sakura picked up the phone on Hinata's desk and dialed home. She explained to her mom the dilemma, which her mom totally understood since this place had a lot of flash floods…apparently.
So around a half an hour later, their project was all finished, Hinata still quietly sleeping, and Sakura now completely bored out of her tree. She went into the bathroom, and slipped on the borrowed clothes, and fixed her hair into a messy bun using on of the elastics lying on the counter. She sighed looking into the mirror. "Wanna do something?" she asked it. The reflection mimicked her. "I take it as a yes then. Alright, let's play," she told it cheerfully. She made a fist, "Rock, paper, scissors." A pair of scissors showed in the mirror. "Rock, paper, scissors."
This went on for some time until Sakura finally gave up, since her reflection was stalemating her every move. Then again, she'd be written off as retarded for trying something so stupid. Stepping back out of the washroom, she silently exited the room, into the illuminated hallway. There was no one moving around. It felt rather eerie; to walk alone in a big house, and know that no one was there. It was like something out of a horror movie minus the music saying "the psychopath is coming to get you!"
She was in the main foyer, the marble floor cold even through her knee-high socks she was still wearing. Now she needed a conversation piece, and no, her inner self wouldn't do. Simply because she'd bring up some embarrassing situation and then she'd blush like crazy and that's when someone popped up asking why.
So she sat on the spiral staircase, waiting. Just waiting…for something, anything! But not the shiver that ran down her spine. The usual feeling she got when someone was watching her. That was the horror movie part saying: 'the camera person can see you but you don't know where he is! Bwahahahaha!'.
Her green eyes looked left, right, back, up…even down to check if someone was peering through the floors. At this point she was just paranoid if she looked below. But in all seriousness, she didn't see anyone. Maybe it was just being in the big house, remotely alone that gave her the creeps.
Alright, so now what was there to do? Punch something? No, breaking others' properties wasn't exactly a good thing. How about talk to her reflection in the marble. No, if someone were to come down she might get kicked out for being an idiot. How about run around the staircase until she was dizzy. No, again, it'd look like she was an idiot. How about sit there and be bored? Yes, that sounded like a plan.
Weren't sleepovers supposed to be fun? With stories…and popcorn? Speaking of which, her stomach growled. Sakura always needed a snack before attempting to sleep, most days. So then came the mission of finding the kitchen. Hey, Hinata had said to 'help herself' right?
So what seemed like three years later (but Sakura assumed it was just a bit less then that), she found double doors, that she'd recognized from when Naruto had dragged her down there once, insisting she help him search the place for ramen.
The countertops were spotless, courtesy of the staff, which were also no where to be found. On it were the small appliances, toaster-oven, blender, kettle, microwave…she'd just step away from that one now. Moving onto the cupboards, if she recalled correctly, the glasses were…here. She pulled one out. Now wandering to the fridge, she was in awe at how many buttons there were on it. It looked like the microwave keypad…better not touch them then. Opening the door, the frigid air blew upon her figure. She pulled out the first liquid, which happened to be water, and filled the glass.
Replacing the container inside the fridge, she drank her drink slowly. The lights flickered slightly. Oh great, she was inside the kitchen, there was about to be a blackout, then she'd be stuck there until she could find her way again.
The lights were flickering more frequently now, almost with every clap of thunder. She was getting edgier now, turning towards the counter and rested her cup upon it. 'It's okay, it's just a storm. No one's going to waltz in here with a knife and stab you and our blood will run through the cracks in the floor and soak…bad topic to start thinking about.'
That feeling of uneasiness returned. Someone was for sure watching her, no, more like behind her. Sakura tensed up, not daring to move, as the sound of soft breathing continued. 'Oh. My. God. I'm. Going. To. Die.'
The hand on her shoulder was what pushed her slightly over the edge. "Kyaaa!" she screamed, and instantly covered her mouth and tried to calm the racing heartbeat inside her chest.
"Sakura, what are you doing here?" a familiar voice asked.
"Neji-kun! That's been the second time you've scared me half to death. Now I've used up another one of my 11 lives," she breathed a sigh of relief.
The Hyuuga decided not to question the '11 lives' thing. "Sakura, you really shouldn't be wandering around here you know. It's already 9:30."
"Really? I've been wandering for an hour?" she didn't get a response back. "Anyway, I was thirsty, and Hinata told me I could take anything I wanted. So here I am."
The grip on her shoulder tightened. "Don't turn around," he warned. He could see her confused look, even not facing her. "Trust me. Just don't."
"Neji-kun, you guys have been acting weird lately. Is there something—" the lights flickered again, and then completely shut. The room was engulfed in darkness. Sakura placed her hand over his, since she couldn't see anything as it was, and it simply was something to cling to. "Oh. My. God. I'm. Going. To. Die." She said out loud this time, and using his hand, located the arm and clung to it.
"…No you aren't," he said plainly. At least she couldn't see in the darkness.
"Yes…yes I am. Someone save me…" she said, not letting go. At least it wasn't Sasuke, who'd tell her to bug off and cling to someone else.
A hand patted her head, "It's alright, little girl. No monster is going to eat you."
"That isn't funny, Neji," she cut out the honorific this time around, "I-I'm just scared of lightning, is that a crime?" Another clap of thunder, this one being unusually loud, to send Sakura jumping in surprise, knocking them both to the floor. "Oops…" she said blindly, feeling around for where her clinging toy was. She didn't need to fumble too much, since the lights flickered on again.
The light blinded them both temporarily again. Neji recovered first, still sitting on the floor. Oh crap…
"Neji-kun, I'm sorry, you alright?" she asked, and it was her turn to place a hand upon his shoulder.
He flinched at her touch, hiding his face from the light, "Sakura, leave me alone."
"Eh?" it hadn't sunk properly. He really was acting strange. "What's the matter with you suddenly?"
"Didn't you hear me? Leave. Me. Alone." His words were harsher this time around. But the hand didn't budge from it's place. "Are you deaf? Why won't you leave?" Shakily, Sakura retracted her hand, and placed it over her mouth. "What?" he asked, looking into her eyes. Wait…her eyes? Double crap.
She forced the temporarily lost voice back into her throat. "Y…you…you're eyes…they…they…" it was something she'd never seen before. It was so…surreal to be true. Could this possibly be…an advanced bloodline?
His normal cross expression was nothing compared to this. His eyebrows tilted as far down as they'd go, making the eyes look much narrower. On either side of them, the veins were sticking out, like some horrible adrenaline kick gone wrong. "What?" he snapped, which made him all the much scarier at the moment. "Scared, are you? Don't lie, it's clearly written all over you face. Well, what are you waiting for? Get going." Each sentence was laced with venom.
"N…Neji-kun…is that a-a bloodline?" she had calmed down a bit, but still not entirely sure how to handle the situation.
"Hn. What do you know about them? And not that it's referred to like that anymore. It's called a curse to society." She didn't say anything in reply. "Why are you still here? Can't you see this is not natural? Don't you hate it?"
It was scary to see Neji like this, truly it was. And she hadn't even known him that long either. "What makes you think I hate it? I was…just a little startled, that's all." Sakura pushed back loose strands of pink hair.
He turned his back towards her. "Because it's written off as a curse. Because society hates it," and he continued the last part quietly, "because my mom hated it…"
Sakura froze again. Now what was she supposed to say? "Imagine not knowing your father had a blood limit, and then the child too. What would you think if your small child had my eyes?" he continued his commentary, angrily spitting out the words.
"I…" she really hated these kinds of situations. Everyone seemed to have something wrong with their past, and they all had to go bring it up to her to make her feel ten times worse then she already did. "I'm not sure…"
"Growing up knowing that your parent left you because of the hideous way you looked. And it isn't just my side of the family either. Take a look around who lives here." Neji inhaled deeply, stopping his talking, for he'd said more than he wanted. "Whatever, just get lost."
Arms slid loosely around his torso, and he tensed at the contact. No one had dared try that with Hyuuga Neji before. "I don't exactly know what to say," she began softly in his ear, "I can't say I feel your pain, because really I probably have no idea how it feels. But…just because a few people hate it, doesn't mean others do as well. Seeing you back there first startled me, a-and I was scared." His eyes found the floor very interesting. "B-but underneath that bloodline-thing, you're still the same person I've known. So why would I give up on you?"
The thunder was suddenly quite calming. "Get off," he said monotone, pushing Sakura away. He got up from his position on the floor, and dusted off his clothes. He extended a hand to the rather hurt looking female. His eyes weren't on her though. "You coming? I don't have all day."
Sakura's mouth turned into a smile, as she used the hand to pick herself up, and follow him out the kitchen. She looked like a lost puppy following its master.
"It's called the Byakugan," he spoke after some time.
"Huh?"
"The eyes…it's called the Byakugan."
"Oh…I see."
Before she knew it, they were in front of Hinata's door. He rapped lightly on the wood. "Hinata-sama?"
There was a shuffling noise heard inside. "N…Neji nii-san? Is that you?"
"Of course it is…can't you see me?" he asked pushing open the door, Sakura quietly following. "Hinata-sama, you can get up now. She already knows."
And if it was a shock to see Neji's expression, Hinata's was a billion times freakier. The usual soft features were also frowning, eyes that looked almost ready to kill. Something that didn't fit her personality too well. She swung her feet off the bed and to the floor, and looked at the two. "I-I'm sorry you had to find out like this, Sakura-chan," she said quietly, "it's not something we like to t-tell people."
"Yeah, I got that part," she said, siting down on the futon and closing her eyes. This was probably all one big dream. She'd wake up and probably have to go take a nice cold shower until reality came back. No, this was reality. A scary reality that she just couldn't see. "It must be terribly hard, for people like you."
"M-maybe more then you know…" the Hyuuga female said quietly.
"Oh no. Everyone knows pain of some sort. No one lives a life that's all fun and games. Even the people who you never see frown. I often thought about how worthless I was." The two siblings gazed through the Byakugan towards her, since it was a new side to Sakura they'd never seen. "In middle school I had zero self-esteem. I was such the biggest wannabe you'd ever seen."
"Hey, it's Haruno. Look at her, she thinks she's so great, with that pink hair of hers. God she pisses me off," a girl spoke to her friends in the hallway.
"You're telling me? Not to mention that forehead. U-g-l-y! The least she could do is cover the damn thing!" another agreed.
"Oh Sakura-chan!" the third called out to her, drawing the shy girl's attention, "is it just me or do you look more unhappy than usual? Don't tell me your forehead swelled to the size of a watermelon again!" The three 13 year-old girls laughed.
Sakura swallowed hard, and turn away, walking as fast as she could down the hall. But that was normal. Everyday she'd come to school, get teased, go home, and then the cycle would repeat all over again. And just when she thought changing a new school would be a good idea for her, the 3 people she loathed the most did too. It was a conspiracy…
The teachers didn't even bother to call her name during attendance anymore. She was the only person with hair that stood out so much. Just push her into a crowed and you could automatically tell her apart. This treatment was getting old. It was only a matter of time now until she snapped.
"I wonder what Haruno would look like with black hair…" one of the boys' mused to his friend. Great, it was even catching on the guys now. It was always: pink hair this, big forehead that. Shy girl this, bully-magnet that. So it was nearing the day, when small Sakura would snap.
After school one day, she'd gone into the drug store and pulled a bunch of things from the shelves into a shopping basket. Tomorrow, she'd show them what Haruno Sakura was really made off.
The next day, her mom stopped her from leaving. "Sakura, honey, what on earth are you wearing?"
"It's Halloween, Mom," she said and left.
It was nearing the end of October, and a new student was always a strange sight to see. Her long, jet-black hair was tied high on her head, swinging back and forth as she walked. The school uniform was mandatory, but there wasn't anything about wearing red and black striped socks now, was there? Not to mention her eyes stood out, with all that red eye shadow. And had anyone seen that much metal jewelry in their life?
"Outa my way, idiot," the new kid pushed a girl to the side.
"I-I'm terribly sorry," the other said, frightened. Served her damn right too.
"You'd better be, bitch!"
It wasn't until class when things started to get weird. "Haruno?" the teacher called, looking for that absent head of pink hair.
"Are you blind, Sensei?" a girl at the back of the class asked, her green eyes raging menacingly. "I'm here, or maybe I just look different."
Sure enough, the new kid wasn't really that new at all. It was shy-girl-Sakura, dressed like a punk. A punk with a bad attitude.
"Uh…I'm sorry, Haruno," the teacher said passively, and continued the attendance while the rest of the class murmured things about her new look.
"Shut up! The lot of ya!" she spat, with bad grammar. This sure wasn't Sakura, oh no. Maybe she had an evil twin…
After school, the raven headed girl slammed her locker shut, and proceeded down the hall. "Hey, wait a second, Sakura…chan," the three girls ran up to her. "About this morning, we forgive you. Why don't you hang with us tomorrow? We'll over look that you—"
A slap to her face had rendered her shocked, and the others to back away. "Like hell I would. Why should I hang with you lowlifes?" and took her leave. Little did she know, three other people were watching the scene.
Outside the building, she sighed. Time to lose the attitude. It was getting rather annoying. Why did it come like this? Why did she have to act like a delinquent just to be noticed in a semi-good way. "Hey, punk!" a voice called out. Looking around, there were students her age, three of them. The blond girl had called out.
"What?" Sakura snapped.
She walked over, arms folded across her chest. She'd never seen this girl before, despite they went to the same school. "No need to get fresh with me, punk. I've just never seen anyone quite like you before."
"So?"
"So nothing. No need to be uptight, punk, I just wanted to talk."
"Humph. Well that's a first. Aren't you scared of me?"
Now that was a first, the blond was actually laughing at her. "Like I'd be scared of a punk like you. You wouldn't stand 5 seconds against me," she challenged grabbing a handful of raven hair, decreasing the space between them.
"Hey, hey, nee-san," one of the others spoke, "don't get into a pointless fight." The other observed silently.
"It's not pointless if she want to…hey! Hey! What are you doing?" the blond asked uncomfortably, as the girl in front of her began to sniffle, and tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "What kind of punk are you that cries?" she asked a bit nicer this time.
"The kind that isn't," the other said truthfully, "I hate pretending like this. It's so stupid." And then she let tears silently fall down her cheeks. Just showed more people how weak she was.
"Temari," the silent redhead spoke, "let her go." She obeyed his order, and backed away. "You," he said putting his head at her level, "what's your name?"
"It's…Sakura."
"I see," was all he said in reply, "Temari, Kankuro, let's go."
"But Gaara! You can't be serious. You want to just—"
He held up a hand and silenced Temari, "You," he said, once again referring to Sakura, "see you tomorrow morning. Be yourself." And he walked away, the other two giving her a final glance before following. So was the day she met her 3 best friends.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that…no matter what problem you may have, or no matter if your situation seems rather hopeless, there's always someone willing to overlook it. Sure I was a bit shocked at your Byakugan, but it doesn't mean I don't like you guys any less." Explaining that story took a lot more effort than she'd have liked.
"S-Sakura-chan…"
"Ah, anyway, enough with this serious talk. I say we forget the whole thing and go to sleep," Sakura said lying down, not really caring what the siblings thought at this point.
"Sakura," it was Neji, who spoke before exiting his cousin's room, "thanks."
"Uh…sure?" she replied, but he was already gone. And when she turned to face Hinata, she was already out cold also. Maybe she really had been sick. Being the only logical thing left, Sakura turned off the desk lamp, and the room engulfed in darkness once again. But at least the thunder had subsided.
Sakura was already pacing the room when Hinata woke up. "Uh…sorry, Sakura-chan. You could have woken me up, you know." She was back to her normal passive expression.
"Nah, it's alright. I'm always up at this hour doing nothing."
"Um…about l-last night, can we…um…"
"Huh? Last night? What are you talking about, Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked in an exaggerated tone. When her friend timidly smiled back, all she gave was a wink, and the two headed down to breakfast.
They'd gotten into conversation, (well, Sakura anyway) with Hiashi about the strangest of little things. Who said that the Hyuuga head was anything like the children? No one, well, it was weird where they got their personalities then.
"Hinata, you have practice this morning," her father reminded, and she nodded her head. "Neji, I want you to walk Sakura here home."
"Oh, no really that isn't—"
"Yes Sir," he agreed, without a choice.
After saying goodbye to everyone, the two walked silently on the path. "So everything's back to normal in the morning…"
"Yeah, it seems to appear an hour or two after the sun goes down, and goes away at dawn. We don't have much control over it," he said.
"I see, well, thanks…for walking me home and all."
"What time should I pick you up Monday?"
"Huh?" Sakura turned around before entering the gated property, "Neji-kun, I don't want you to feel like you owe me for keeping this secret of yours. It's no big deal."
He sighed impatiently, silver eyes fixed upon her, "What time?"
"I'm telling you. Don't think you owe me." She unlocked the gate and stopped again. "I'll be ready at 8. We can take the path to school," she winked, and skipped back into her house. She left him standing there, pondering one thought.
'She sure is one strange girl.'
AN: Wait, just one thing before I start these notes here: -insert loud and long scream- ok, I'm good now. Sorry, all the Sakura and Neji in this chapter made me sort of frustrated. It's not them separately, just together that drives me nuts. Haha, I even wrote it…
Anyway moving on, sorry this chapter took so long to write. I had like zero inspiration these past 2 weeks, and I've been working on another story that I'm going to post soon, eheheh…did anyone but me think I had a few Fruits Basket moments in here? I noticed that after I reread this a bit. Oh well.
Ah, 10 points to whoever thought the Byakugan would be coming up this chapter! And, I really think that BBKarateGrl should get an additional 10 points for her idea about the werewolves! That line made my day! XD I was very tempted to change it…but no! maybe my next fantasy fic (if I ever write one).
Omg! There was no Sasuke in this chapter! T.T I MUST make it next chapter…if I remember…but the horror! So starts a slights NejiSaku thing! (read the first sentence of my AN to find out what I think of that) anyway, did you notice, I put the Sand Sibs in…just cuz people were bugging me, and I felt like they needed to be included. God, long chapter. It's important to the story later on, but since it took me forever to write I hate to think it's a little too long…meh.
Nest chapter: Neji and Sakura actually walked to school together! Some people take that news better then others. And what's up with the edgy Tenten, and the over-jerky Sasuke? Plus a better outlook on what Shikamaru really sees Ino as…