A new dawn
On the other side of the village, once the rays of a new day break at dawn, she opens her eyes. Body aching, sweat drops along the hairline and head dizzy. Another one of those terrible nights had passed.
Ever since the war ended, she had been getting these twisted and dark dreams. Voices of horror screaming along the shadows of her dreamscape, people appearing and disappearing. Chaos. Individuals running all around her.
Looking in front of her, there is her father and Neji. Looking behind her, a tired Naruto, panting.
One moment she watches behind to make sure that Naruto is okay and safe. He is down panting, but safe. They're protecting him.
The next, as she turns back to check on the front lines, the image of Neji getting impaled colors her dreamscape with the dark horrors of the moment and the blood of his sacrifice.
The screams intensify. Their loudness is deafening. And in all those moments a high pitch starts sounding inside her brain, while the entirety of the dreamscape goes entirely dark again. It gets bright for a brief moment when Neji reappears in front of her, on Naruto's shoulders. Then the eyes lose their gleam.
The Hyūga genius' light gets extinguished. And with them, the one all around. All there remains is that high pitched sound. It's frequency increases until she no longer can take it. Feels as if her head is about to explode. In the next moment she wakes up.
This time, she is lucky. It's the morning of a new day.
But there were few instances when she woke-up at night. It was yet too soon for her to put this to rest. This torment. This ache.
What's a week and a half in front of a trauma for a lifetime? Not too much anyway.
She breathes in and gets herself out of the bed.
The image of the dead Neji still haunts Hinata's mindscape. Even if her eyes are open in the light of this world, the darkness of the other still haunts her. That packed with the sleepless nights ever since the war had finished and they buried Neji, took a tool on her. More than she realized.
Because as soon as she left her room to go out on the porch to get herself some fresh new air and begin a new day, Kō couldn't help but notice her worn-out expression.
"Morning, Hinata-sama!" he greeted, bending towards her in sign of respect. "Is everything okay with you this morning?" he asked.
She didn't even reply for a minute because for a moment there it took time for her to realize another presence was next to her, talking. She just looked up, out in the open, at the sky. And it looked like she wasn't even present there.
But somehow, at the end of Kō's question, she realized that someone was speaking to her.
She turned to her left and saw him.
"Oh, Kō! Good morning," she said, bowing in return.
It was a habit of hers. Even though she was supposed to be the heiress and didn't have to do it, Hinata did it. She was never the type to act like she was above anyone.
Probably one of the reasons she was initially deemed as not fit as the next leader of the clan. They needed a hand of iron and hers was made of silk.
Seeing that she didn't quite register the question, Kō posed it once again.
Hinata excused herself and said that yes, all is well, there was nothing to worry about.
But the fact that she was still wearing her black attire ever since Neji's funeral dictated otherwise. She wasn't well, though she tried acting like she was.
Memories of his teachings and the time they had spent together roamed a lot through her mind ever since his demise. Today, too.
Their relationship had never been easy. On the contrary. Everyone remembers how theirs started. United by blood but divided by hatred.
Until the day they had to fight. Even a little while longer, until Neji had fought Naruto. Since then, a small change had happened.
It took a while for them to repair those broken links between the two.
Neji had returned to their quarters and tried to make somewhat of a peace with them. The upper class of the Hyūgas. The main branch. The one she was part of. Despite being outcasted, she somehow still benefitted from being part of one.
Unlike Neji, who used to be part of the secondary branch. The one whose destiny was to protect someone like her. From the main branch. That's why when he got back, she didn't dare to ask too much of him. It somehow felt… wrong. The awareness of all the implications made her hesitant.
Until the day that Neji himself came to her and offered his help. When he tried to understand why she did what she did, when attacking head on that Pain criminal.
And for the first time, she decided to open up to him, and tell him the truth. That she did it because she cares deeply about Naruto and wants to be powerful enough to protect him.
She was honest in how she tried to learn the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists by herself. And yeah, she kind of managed to master it but… the only reason she did so was because, well, unlike him, the Hyūga genius wasn't flowing into her the way it had done with Neji.
The Eight Trigrams 64 palms or any formation of that technique was totally out of the question, as well as the Heavenly Rotation. Her footwork had always been so poor. Those were the words that her father had always said. They resounded in her head at every step she took.
You could very well say they were her personal trauma. The same way Neji's always been made to serve them after what had happened between their fathers. His own trauma.
Yet, there he was. In front her, ready to offer her his help despite everything that happened between them. How far did his kindness truly went, she remembered wondering back then.
That's why, now that she was in front of the porch looking at the sky and seeing those birds fly freely, being remembered of all those good deeds Neji did for her and all the things he helped her accomplish, Hinata couldn't help but wonder one thing: did they truly offer in exchange the same courtesy to him? The same kindness? Or were they just content with getting back to the comfort of their old ways?
Sure, Neji was received back to the Hyūga compound, and they did say that starting there on, he will be treated like a second branch person no more, but did they truly do that?
At the end of the day, he died to protect them. He died fulfilling the duty of a second branch member.
So how did they truly change? Or was it all a mirage?
Going through that world of dreams, for some reason made her question all those things from reality now. And she was so much immersed in those thoughts that she didn't even hear her own father greeting her until he had to raise a bit his tone to make himself heard.
The sound of his voice travelled inside her head, making her realize how spaced-out she was. The thrill down her spine from that realization pulled her back to reality.
"Father!" she said.
"Yes, Hinata, it's me!" Hiashi replied. "Are you okay? Are you having bad dreams again?" he asked.
"No, it's okay" Hinata said, as her eyes moved to the other side of her father's posture. She didn't want to worry him, nor was she in the mood to talk too much.
Hiashi could see she was lying. He felt an impulse to make her tell the truth, but he quickly inhibited it. It was still too soon, maybe. Still a week and a half since everything had happened.
He tried to change the subject to something else.
"Aren't you going to change your clothes into something more…" he said, realizing that he has no word for comparison. He wasn't good with these things. What word would've been proper now? Ugh, to hell with this, it wasn't easy.
Luckily Kō was there, behind them and helped Hiashi out.
"We got you a nice new costume Hinata-sama! Me and Hanabi-sama went to the market the other day and also visited our personal tailor and had some new attires done. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to show it to you."
"I… I'm sure that's the case. Thank you, Kō!" Hinata said, bowing.
Hiashi started walking in front of them, heading towards the kitchen.
"Come, let us all have breakfast!" he said.
"I'm afraid I'm not hungry!" Hinata said to her father. Hiashi stopped and turned.
"You will come to the kitchen and you will eat! I've been patient with you until now to let you mourn his death. We all do! But deteriorating your health like that isn't going to help anyone!" he said, with a sharp tone. His voice commanded the entirety of the landscape. Hinata looked at him. She frowned. Hiashi did too. For a while they stood there and watched each other intensely.
He was trying to be understanding. He really was. It was enough to deal with the fact that Neji was dead. Having her falling ill wasn't what he wished for.
It ate him alive that his nephew had to die in that wretched war. He had wanted to truly bring change to their clan ever since his brother's death. And he wanted his son to be the symbol of that change.
Yet, in the end he failed.
Ever since that fateful night he was taken from them, Hiashi thought about how much he wished it would've been him instead of Neji.
But it didn't. Life took the young offspring, instead of the old, almost rotten branch.
On the other side of his doubts and guilt, his daughter was now being quite difficult, refusing to cooperate for her well-being. And above everything else, she wasn't the little kid that one could command.
She was a young lady in full bloom. One that had just went through a war as well, but glooming into this state wasn't something beneficial to one's mental, nor physical health.
He knew this all too very well. But before he could say anything else, a unit of Hyūga ninjas came forward, towards the porch where he, Kō and Hinata were.
They stood next to each other, parallel, as they saluted Hiashi and asked for permission to report.
"Go ahead!" he commanded.
"Sir, the conclusions of the preliminary investigations are finished!" one of them said.
Hisashi's eyes turned sharp. One could literally tie their surroundings with them if intended.
"Very well! Please half of you head to our council chambers, and the other half call the elders. Tell them it's urgent!" he said.
He then went down the stairs not before commanding Kō to take care of Hinata and make sure she's going to eat. Afterwards, he headed directly to the council chambers, as serious matters had to be discussed.
"Understood!" Kō replied. He turned towards Hinata.
"Hinata-sama, please…" he pleaded not only with his tone of voice, but eyes as well.
But Hinata was not really having it today. She sensed something was out of the ordinary. One minute her father belittles her for not eating, and the next he just storms out of there to the council chambers?
What was that all about? It surely must be something extremely important.
"Kō, what was that just now?" she asked. For the first time in a week and so, her interest got peaked. She couldn't put her finger on it, but somehow, in some way, she could tell something was off.
If you were to ask her, it couldn't have been more obvious? What was it so important that her father didn't even think about twice? More important than his nephew's own one-week burial ceremony that he knew she was preparing for and promised to help.
And especially now, after the war that had just passed. It's supposed to be peaceful. Yet, there are Hyūga members that are coming around with reports? Reports for what?
If there were normal reports, something that had to do with the war, they should've gone to the Hokage. Not to their headquarters. At least, that would've been the normal course of things.
That's how it usually is. For as this much she knew from her ninja career. Maybe she wasn't the top genius in the clan, but she knew about procedures and protocols.
So instead of going to the Hokage, they were gathering inside their own council halls. Which was clear: this was a matter of internal issues.
But what issues could there be hitting now the Hyūgas, right after the war?
Hinata couldn't help but wonder.
As soon as the sun hit her windows, Sakura's eyes cracked open. Her interrupted sleep from last night totally made its presence felt on the body, but as a medical ninja it was nothing that she couldn't deal with.
All she had to do was send a rejuvenating type of chakra through her body and she felt like new. So right after that, she headed towards the bath where she did her morning ritual. Once she was done with it and put her new clothes, she was now ready to start this newer day.
She went to her wardrobe from where she took the new pieces of clothes. Much didn't change. She still preferred black shorts because she loved being flexible. But this time she decided to replace the upper vest she usually wore with a turtle neck, sleeveless red type of mini-dress mixed with blouse.
She had it in her hands and right before she put it on, stopped a bit to look at the symbol on the back. Her family's crest. The image right before her eyes changed to the one from the night before, when she had fought with her parents. Sakura sighed. Her job wasn't an easy one that's for sure. It was taking a greater toll on her than she initially thought.
"The mind is a wonderous thing, isn't it?" Sakura's own made her think. Which in return spiraled her back to the dream she had the night that had just passed. She clenched her teeth as she remembered. No. That shouldn't be a thing to start her day with. So, she took one more breath and pulled her turtleneck dress over her head. Then, she pulled her hair out, combed it and after she was done, left her room.
It took only a few steps down the stairs for her to be in front of the kitchen, where her mom and dad were sitting. She headed directly to the exit door, where the footwear was. Sakura wanted to put her boots as fast as possible, when her mother's voice followed her from the kitchen.
"Come and eat your breakfast, Sakura, it's all served!"
"I'm sorry mom, I can't. I have to be at the hospital really quick. Today we're attaching Naruto's prosthetic hand so I must be there early for the preliminary investigations and I'm already late!" Sakura responded back to her mother.
As she looked back to where the second boot from the pair was, when she was done putting it on and ready to go, Sakura sensed a presence behind her. She turned around and faced her mother.
"Here," Mebuki said. "I thought you might say that so I packed you both breakfast and lunch."
As much as Sakura was a difficult child, well, she was her child nevertheless so it's not like she would stop caring for her now, just because a fight. Especially after what Kizashi had told her the other night. There was a lot of information to take in and a lot of variables to calculate. But her daughter did have to deal with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki so surely that must've been a great toll on her, besides the whole war in itself.
All that was necessary for them was to hear the name and feel shivers down their spine, and their souls freezing. Having to actually fight her, too, in the war that had just passed? Just how much can one take?
So instead of staying mad at her daughter and chastising her, Mebuki tried a different approach.
"Thanks… mom!" Sakura said, totally surprised. Looking in her mother's eyes she was intrigued to find out she didn't find that typical look of hers. That which cuts you soul deep without having to say a word. That which lets you know you are chastised for more years than your whole lifespan.
The one from today was different, and Sakura didn't know exactly how to react to that. So, before this situation spiraled into another, she quickly put on her jacket, took her mother's food pack and got out on the door.
Behind her, Mebuki stood watching, as her daughter took off, letting out a prolonged sigh.
As soon as the door closed, she returned to her husband, who was waiting for her in the kitchen. Once she was there, Mebuki stood down on the other side of the table from her husband, facing him.
"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki you said, huh?" she asked with a saddened and almost fearful look.
"Yes," Kizashi confirmed. "That's the name that came out our daughter's mouth last night when we talked," he said, as he dropped the paper he read every morning on the table.
"What are we going to do now?" Mebuki asked her husband. They knew very well that name. It was the legacy they were left behind with, despite trying to avoid the ninja world as best as they could.
"Well, from what Sakura said, she was sealed again and there's nothing to worry about," Kizashi replied. He didn't get to say his ifs and buts, because Mebuki cut him short.
"If someone in this era already unsealed her, then the secret is most likely out and someone might attempt at doing it again."
"Well, yes. I mean, from what Sakura told us there weren't many who found this out because we were all trapped in that dream state," he said.
"I told you it felt extremely off for it to have been simple dreams," Mebuki said. "Unlike all the other dreams that we usually have, this one was something else. As if someone built the dream world that we were in, instead of it flowing like the streams of a river of light that paint the scenery of your mindscape and you're the one who swims in it."
"You and your way to describe dreams, " Kizashi commented. His wife always had this way to talk about the dream world. But it was a normal thing if you were taking into consideration the legacy she came from. To him it was truly endearing.
"Well, me and my way is what it's going to keep us safe. But anyway, that's not the point now here. You know what I mean," she said as her eyes deepened into her husband's ones.
Kizashi sighed and looked to his left, on the window, at the clear blue sky.
"You're asking if we should tell her anything, right?" he asked, as his as his heart got a bit heavy.
This would be a difficult situation. Was it time to tell their daughter what had been entrusted to them? But she took the ninja way, so that was a hurdle in their path. They had a vow to uphold.
Sure, if they were to think about this, it's not like they totally fulfilled that vow, as they got a bit in contact with the ninja world as well. After all, they were both genin. The bare minimum level of a ninja.
But that was done by them with a purpose in mind. They agreed to do that for that sole scope and nothing more. Other than that, they vowed to stay away from the ninja world as much as possible.
But it seemed that no matter how much they tried to run from it, the ninja world was catching-up to them.
"We need to at some point anyway," she said. "You know what has been foretold. When the name of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki will be named again the world, that day shall come."
"I guess we have no choice, eh?" Kizashi said, looking back at his wife. For a moment, they both fell silent.
As Mebuki and Kizashi wondered about their dilemma, on the other side of the town their daughter was pondering herself over her own issues.
As much as she was trying to run away from it, the thought of her fight with her mom and dad from the other night, and even more so, the reason, didn't leave her mind. Especially if connected to the dream she had had the night that had just passed.
She couldn't shake that feeling of helplessness she had felt the night before. What was it more that she could do, anyway? Her mind carried her once again to tensei ninjutsu and Byakugou. Like the night before, she felt that somehow the answers lie there. But… how would she explain to her master her sudden interest in such unorthodox techniques? Especially given how tensei ninjutsu was in violation of the very rules of medical ninjas?
All these dead leads frustrated Sakura to no end. So much that she almost bumped heads with her good friend Ino on the street she was walking towards the hospital.
"Oi, Sakura!" Ino shouted at her before the collision. She reacted and instantly got out of the way.
"Oh my, Ino! I am so sorry, are you okay?" Sakura asked her friend. She realized how deep lost in her thoughts she had been for her to not observe the world around her.
"I'm fine. But are you, thought? That's the question at hand here" Ino said. It didn't take a sensory ninja reading to tell that Sakura's mind was off to somewhere else. Somewhere so far that not even her readings could trace her.
"Mmmhm," Sakura replied, putting up her ever-knowing fake smile. "Just a bad sleep night, nothing more, nothing less," she quickly dismissed it.
"But what about you, Ino?" she asked. "How are you handling everything?"
And she was sincere when she asked this. Her friend's dad had died in the war. She didn't even want to imagine the pain her dear friend must've felt.
With that question in front of her, it was now Ino's turn to smile through the pain. Of course, hers was different than Sakura's. Ino owned her feelings unlike her friend. Sakura was harder to crack, though. You had to let her come to you rather than come at her and try to force things out. Well, unless you were Tsunade. She was a different story altogether.
Ino sighed before answering her friend as she gathered her thoughts. How was she? Well… not great, not terrible, if she were to think about it.
"I'm trying my best to go through all of this. I can't say I'm doing wonderful, but I know for a fact that Shikamaru is worse than me, so I'm trying to be strong for him," Ino said. The burden that fell on his genius mind in the war wasn't an easy one. Having to be the witness of your father's death but not having the time to even mourn over that, well… the grief hit differently. Especially after the whole story with Asuma.
"Maybe it's easier for me due to my clan's abilities. I know how the mind works and thanks to our medical ninjutsu classes, I can help alleviate a bit of the pain, but for Shikamaru it's different," she added.
"Not to mention, that dreamworld we were all trapped under…"
She smiled for a short while, in a bitter sweet way. Sure, it didn't hit her that hard after she woke-up because her father's death helped her get the needed closure, but still… for a moment in time there, everything was perfect.
"Yeah, I don't know how that is but from what I'm hearing from the medical reports, there are a lot of people that were left with mental scars," Sakura said. "I don't know from personal experience since, you know… But from what others told me and I read in the reports, it seemed to be the perfect world. I can't imagine how it feels to live that perfect world and then have it stripped from you."
"Well, I guess that if you're not reconciled with certain parts of you, yes, it can have that effect on you," Ino said, thinking about her father's words before he died.
"Yeah, I guess…" Sakura said as her look fell on the ground.
"I guess you can count yourself lucky, because looking at you right now, you seem to have some things you aren't reconciled with, eh, forehead?" Ino teased her, in order to try and ease whatever thoughts she was having.
"Oh, no, no, no," Sakura said, trying to excuse herself. But could she really hide that well in front of her best friend? For some reason, her mind took her back to that daunting dream from last night.
"Sakura, it's me you're talking to… so before I call you out to your face, you better pick yourself-up and tell me on the road to the hospital, where it seems we're both going this morning, what's really been bugging you, okay?" she said as she took her friend by the elbow and dragged her along.
"Ino, wait!" Sakura tried to protest as she was being dragged by her friend. But Ino was having none of it today. So, she kept dragging Sakura along her as she required some answers.
"Okay, I'll let you go to the council hall if you promise me you're going to put on that new attire we bought for you," she said to her sister. Clear tone, with no reminiscence of joke or deceit in it.
"Hanabi-sama!" Kō protested when he heard the younger Hyūga sister's proposition.
They were supposed to do something else, and this had just escalated to totally different levels then what Hiashi had ordered them to.
"Is that a promise Hanabi?" Hinata ignored the servant's plea looking her sister straight in the eye.
Hanabi replied with a question that was really simple and straight to the fact. She asked her sister if she had ever lied to her. And looking back to the history between the two, Hanabi was right. She never lied her sister.
On the contrary, between the two of them she was seen as the more reliant one anyway.
"Fine, let's go then!" Hinata said, while in the background Kō was protesting against their agreement. But on the other side, it did get Hinata out of her state, so this wasn't exactly a bad thing either.
However, it was very well-known that when Hiashi calls for a council meeting, there's a reason.
A reason and a secrecy to it…
Back to Hinata's room, she waited patiently until Hanabi returned with the attire. It didn't take long for her sister to come back.
"Okay, here it is, put it on!" the younger one said, as she waved at her sister to get up from the bed. Hinata complied to it and put on the suit. Then Hanabi pulled her to the mirror.
"What do you think? I thought you needed something that takes you out of your comfort zone. You always hide in those clothes of yours. So, I thought it's time for a change," she said as Hinata looked in the mirror, her eyes scanning the whole attire from top to bottom.
"I hope you like the little detail I put there," the younger Hyūga said, referring to the placement of the metal band.
"I think it's fitting you best now, since you can proudly stand as a ninja that fought in the great war."
Hinata didn't know what to think. She was somewhat amazed and nicely impressed at the same time. A feeling of warmth suddenly started to build itself from her stomach up to her heart.
She and Hanabi always had a somewhat colder dynamic in their nature. Not because they necessarily wanted it so, but since she was outcasted by her father for not being able to uphold the clan's duties, all that fell on Hanabi.
And for better or for worse, Hanabi tried to raise up to those duties. But to do so, left very little room for the relationship between her and her sister.
However, things slowly started to change within the clan after Neji's death. In such a short while he managed to bring them closer. Or at least the two of them.
Sure, Hanabi had her issues with everything that had happened within the clan, but she was as much aware as her sister, and possibly even more than her, that it wasn't their fault. Neither hers or Hinata's. It was just that destiny had played in such a way.
When the war hit, as the appointed Hyūga heiress, Hanabi was ordered to stay back home. And she did. And while she was there, she had some time to reflect about certain intricacies of her family. And then, when the Infinite Tsukuyomi hit them, she got to see the perfect world: a world where she, her sister and their mother were together.
So, in the day after Neji's burial, it made her think… For as much as she tried to hide it, it was her desire to live a long happy life next to their mother. She wanted none of this, if she were to be truthful to herself. But when her sister couldn't fulfill that task, she rose up to it. She had always been the spunkier one anyway. So taking on a role that required toughness wasn't such a hard task for Hanabi.
But behind all that spunk, all she wanted to do is live together with her mom and sister, outside of the entrapping laws of her clan.
She realized she missed Hikari more than she let herself feel all those years. She didn't get to remember her too much, for Hikari Hyūga had died before she could form long lasting memories about her.
She was a mere child. And much wasn't known about their mother. Well, more than the fact that she died on the battlefield one day, and that's how they ended up fully under their father's training.
Often times, when alone at night, Hanabi had wondered if life would've been different if their mother would have still been alive. She imagined them playing together, and doing all kinds of simple, domestic things. The basic needs of a human relationship.
That's why when Neji died, Hanabi was reminded once again of her mom and those deepest desired she had buried. And the only one alive from those deep desires that were shown to her in the dream, was her sister, Hinata.
So, she wanted to make sure she won't live a life of regret, because Hinata was close to be gone as well. That's when Hanabi decided to change her approach. To get closer to her sister and cherish the time they still have together in this life.
And that's how she ended-up buying the costume that they were both now looking at.
Hinata turned towards her sister.
"Hanabi, thank you!" she said, as the next moment ended-up in a hug between the two. Hanabi felt surprised at first, but then, she smiled warmly and hugged her sister back.
"Now, let's get you to the council hall," she said as she released her sister from the embrace.
"But you're going to have to promise me one thing," Hanabi told her sister. Hinata nodded in agreement.
"No matter what you hear there, it stays there, okay? You know how serious those businesses are to father."
Hinata nodded once more, as Hanabi enforced the idea. Then, they headed towards the council hall within the compound.
As soon as they were there, Hanabi opened the door, followed by Hinata. Upon seeing the two Hiashi's frustration levels raised when he saw who she was accompanied by. Hinata shouldn't have been there.
Hanabi? Yes, she was the next heiress in line, and she had all the right to be there as all the matters concerning the clan, she had to know it.
But Hinata? Yes, she was allowed to get back to the Hyuga compound, but other private, internal affairs? Hinata didn't have clearance for them, still.
"Please, proceed with the debates," he said as he headed towards their two daughters. Once he got near to them both he discreetly asked both what were they doing there.
"I have all the right to be here father, and Hinata is here because well, frankly she deserves to be there as much as any of the others. After all, she's your daughter, too and she's served with you in the war as well, didn't she?" Hanabi replied on a polite tone. But her words cut deep with the truth.
Being hit with such a blunt force left Hiashi speechless for a moment. Hanabi was right. Hinata did serve in the war and they had fought alongside each other. Maybe it was time to release even more of those tight rules they had, but this would only bring problems with the High Council.
"Father," Hinata interfered on a gentle tone. "Me and Hanabi agreed with one thing: no matter what I hear here, stays here."
Hiashi sighed.
"Fine, you're allowed to stay, but please, keep a low profile. We're discussing a very precious matter right now," he said. "And I need all your understanding," he added, with so much conviction in his tone.
Hinata and Hanabi both nodded in agreement and took their spot among the other participants to the meeting.
"Everyone, please take your seats," an elder man pleaded, next to which Hiashi got seated. He then continued to speak.
"As you all know, we called you here because we have worrying news. Independent reports conducted by our fellow clan members have shown us a disturbing fact: we have a wielder of Byakugan eyes outside of the clan," the old man began to speak. People's faces betrayed shock despite trying to maintain their composure.
But how so would probably be the question on everyone's minds since the only time the Byakugan was in danger of being stolen was back years ago when Neji's father had to be sacrificed in order to preserve its secrets?
"As it was confirmed to us, there was a person in the war that had just passed, in the personal guard of the Mist country that possessed a Byakugan."
Someone in the crowd asked where that person currently was, but since the war had ended not such a long time ago, reports of casualties were still being updated, and it took time until the news got to all the state members of the Alliance.
"He is presumed dead, because his last known location was at the Central Intelligence HQ along with Yamanaka Inoki & Shikaku Nara," he confirmed. "As we all know, that was obliterated by the biju ball from the Ten Tails. However, we cannot be certain as his name wasn't yet found on the victims' list".
As the old man talked, Hiashi couldn't get a certain idea out of his mind. He replayed all the events in his head, all the battles he was part of and the fights. In none of them a Byakugan was lost. None of them, minus that one time…
"Don't tell me that…" Hiashi's mind started wandering, as tension raised inside his veins at the realization. It couldn't be!
But the medical reports from back then said that given the injuries and the way of death, there wouldn't be a possibility for the eyes to be removed. So yeah, it wouldn't be any way for that Byakugan to be that one.
As he was dwelling on those thoughts, Hiashi found himself being brought back to reality by his older daughter's loud protesting voice.
"There's absolutely no way for you to do that!" Hinata yelled, as she got seated from her chair.
The old man's look frowned and his cold look fixated her.
"Hiashi, what is she doing here?" the man asked unflinched.
"Hinata! Stand down right now!" Hiashi commanded. In the back, Hanabi tried to pull her sleeve to stop her, but Hinata refused.
"You want to keep that horrendous practice although you were talking the other day about stopping it as a sign of respect towards Neji's sacrifice?" she yelled. It was unbelievable what she was witnessing.
She had thought that after this war that had just passed and the small steps they did as a collective over the years, getting rid of the curse seal was something that was finally going to bring them all even closer.
Sure, after Neji was accepted again within the Hyūga compound, things didn't change overnight. But they did small steps that were meant to show good faith from both parts.
Neji was allowed to train with the other members of the clan. He was so good that he ended-up training them. With time, his council was welcomed whenever they had to go to different meetings.
Neji got to grow as a great diplomat within the clan. It was for that precise reason that he was outside of Konoha when Pein had attacked. Because Hiashi had decided to take him in a mission where diplomacy was mostly needed.
Slowly, he and Hinata got closer so that when the war called them, they decided to fight side by side, as over time Hinata grew to feel very comfortable with him.
But if it was one thing that Hinata despised the most, a thing she often kept inside her due to being afraid to speak up, was what had happened to him. The fact that he had to bear the symbol of his suffering on his forehead for his entire life.
That's why when she heard now that the council decided to cancel the decision to not use the main family's curse seal technique she snapped.
She wasn't sure herself where that power came from, but she just erupted.
"All their lives, the members of the Hyūga second branch have to live with that curse on their shoulders. We don't even let them spread their wings for first time they get them because as soon as they have it, we cage them within the confines of these stupid rules you've all made!
Did you for a second put yourselves in their place? No, you didn't. Because you had the luck to be born just one second sooner than them. As if that's how the value of a life is decided!"
Hiashi was in shock, as frustration took over him due to his daughter's disobedience.
He had tried to be a better father to her. When she was not deemed as the heiress, instead of caging her too, he decided to send her away so she wouldn't have to suffer the reprisals of not being able to raise to the task.
In his own way, without any help, support or a warm word from his better half, he tried to shield her as best as he could. That was the promise he made to Hikari when they married. That was the sole condition she had in order to accept.
She was from the main branch too, but being closely related to people from the secondary one, she witnessed a lot of suffering because of the ways of the clan. So, when the had to marry, she said yes with one condition: that her children wouldn't have to go through that no matter what. And that they would fight together to make that happen, if it ever came to it.
Only that she was taken from him too soon, and was left to raise the two alone. He did the best he could and knew.
That's why when he managed to bring her back into the compound, he was happy. But, of course, certain protocol had to be accepted. You don't change millennial old traditions in one spring.
Which was why now her rebellion was a shock and frustration to him.
"Hinata sit down!" Hiashi said.
"No, I'm not!" she replied.
Hiashi felt his blood starting to boil. She wasn't going to make this easy, right? Especially in front of the elders, who so many times had reprimanded him for his soft ways.
"I'm not going to stand here and pretend like everything is okay, while you stain Neji's sacrifice with your decisions!" she continued. The next moment found Hanabi yelling at her.
"Hinata, you promised me something, remember?!" her sister said. "How can you break your word like this?"
"The same way they are doing it!" she yelled back, pointing towards the long rectangular table where the members of the High Council were seated.
"Sister, you don't know everything so shut-up!" Hanabi yelled back.
"I don't even want to know, because no matter what it is, it's an excuse to put innocent people under great distress, under the excuse of some greater good or whatever!" she said, as she took some steps back, to head towards the exit.
"I don't even know why I thought for a second that there must be something good that can happen here," Hinata said, while her tears filled with eyes. The next moment, she got out the door, slamming it behind her.
Hanabi stood behind her, while all the other Hyūga members in the council hall were looking towards where she was.
"Father, I'm sorry for bringing her here," Hanabi said disappointed. Her voice was low, as to betray the regret that you could find in it. Regret at her earlier decision to try and start build a relationship with her sister, while fulfilling her responsibilities as the heiress.
"What does she know, anyway? She's always like this. Runs away, while I am left with the burden," Hanabi thought to herself as she swallowed the pain and tears that wanted to explode from inside her.
But she did what she always did. Bury them away inside herself, and hollow her heart, so she can fulfill the role she had to. One that shouldn't have been hers to begin with.
On the other side of the council hall's door, Hinata stormed out and went directly to her room where she picked up her ninja bag.
She took it and then headed straight to the exit of the Hyūga compound and even though he tried, not even Kō could stop her.
She let him know briefly as she passed by him that she's going to Neji's grave and that she doesn't want to be disturbed.
On the road towards his grave, she stopped by Ino's flower shop. Ino wasn't there, but her mom was.
She greeted the woman, asked how she was doing and asked for a sunflower in a pot. The two exchanged deepest condolences with one another for their losses, as Hinata headed to the exit.
Then the next stop was at Neji's grave. Once there, her body along with her mind relaxed.
She realized the frenzy she was in until few moments ago and even she got surprised at this new found power.
S he didn't know where it came from and how she could muster it, but in a way, she was glad that she was able to.
She took a deep breath and lowered the pot with the sunflower on top the grave. Then, she got to the other side of it.
"I won't let them do this to your memory!" Hinata said, clenching her fist as she placed it on top of her chest. She looked back to where she placed the flower, thinking about Neji.
"You've done so much for me, it's now time for me to do for you. For your memory…" she said, with the utmost certainty in her voice.
