Dutiful Eyes

By Stormlock

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (Insert a witty joke here if you like.)

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After eating and drinking some tea prepared with the herbs Neji had purchased, Hinata had almost immediately fallen asleep once more. She awoke later that evening to the ministrations of a nurse checking up on her eyes. Since Hinata was awake, the nurse figured that it would be as good a time as any to give her a lecture about her eyes. Hinata went red as the nurse went along, explaining how dangerous it was for a child to attempt to use the Byakugan. Without proper control it was entirely possible to permanently damage or even blind oneself. Hinata had known the basics of this, that she really shouldn't have done what she did, but since the nurse was also telling her more advanced things about how the Byakugan worked from a medical standpoint, she actually didn't mind the lecture. She also learned some simple techniques to help her recover faster after she demonstrated her control for the nurse. After the nurse did some more advanced techniques herself to alleviate the pain, she was ready to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow Hinata-chan."

The nurse hadn't dropped her title until then. Hinata wasn't really offended, but while she was asleep she had a rather disturbing dream about losing her position as heir and being forgotten. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know what responsibilities she might have or who might want to take advantage of her now that she was technically head of the clan.

"Don't forget my title Hanako-san. You could get in trouble."

Although Hinata had said it in a kindly way, this time it was the nurse's turn to turn red and be embarrassed. She quickly bowed and left the room.

Hinata decided she needed to speak with Hizashi about her new position. After washing up and putting on some less comfortable, more dignified clothing, she left to track down Hizashi. She was eventually directed to one of the sparring rooms, where she found Neji practicing his form while his father sat with a stack of paperwork.

"Good morning Hizashi-san, Neji-kun. Is it alright if I watch for while?"

Neji bowed and Hizashi nodded his head before answering.

"Of course Hinata-sama. Stay as long as you'd like."

She watched Neji train while his father did paperwork, occasionally offering advice and answering questions for his son. After Neji finished his set of exercises, Hinata realized he was probably two or three years ahead of her in his taijutsu training. She'd have to see about practicing with him later; most other children were either behind her, or too old and distant to be willing to honestly spar with the heir of the clan. She mentally corrected herself. I'm the head of the clan now.

"Hizashi-san, I wish to speak to you about my new position."

Hizashi looked up from his paperwork, once again surprised at her initiative. There were a lot of three year olds that didn't even remember the more respectful honorifics, and this one wanted to know about how to rule a household.

"Neji-kun, I think that's enough practice for this morning, maybe you should go and-"

Hinata recognized Neji being sent off for her privacy once more and interrupted.

"Hizashi-san, I don't mind if Neji-san listens. In fact, it would probably be helpful if I had him to talk to about things. I can't always be interrupting you, I'm sure you're very busy.

Hizashi realized that he would, in fact, be very busy handling the paperwork that was normally his brother's job, especially the extra paperwork involved with the transfer of responsibilities. It would be cruel to leave Hinata to fend for herself completely, she obviously couldn't discuss such things with her peers, being only three years old. He at least trusted Neji, he was very responsible. He also realized Hinata probably would want someone to talk to about her father. He knew Neji could keep the secret, so he might as well let him know too.

"I suppose you are right. In that case, Neji-kun, come sit with us. Hinata-sama, with your permission, I would also like to tell Neji-kun about what happened to your father."

That caught Hinata off guard, surprise registering on her face for a moment before returning to its usual portrait of serenity.

"Y-yes Hizashi-san. I'd appreciate that."

Hizashi gave Neji much the same explanation as he had given Hinata, but this time emphasizing how much he and Neji were indebted to Hiashi. Hinata found herself blushing at the praise of her father and how much Hizashi felt he owed her because of him. Of course, she couldn't really say she didn't deserve such treatment without dishonoring her father, so she kept quiet. When he finished, she realized Neji saw her a bit differently, and seemed to have a sense of purpose.

"I promise to serve her well father."

Hizashi merely nodded at this, trusting his son's moral sensibility.

"Now I'm sure both of you already understand this, but it bears mention nonetheless; you two are the only ones I've told this information to. It is to be a carefully guarded secret, so you are forbidden by the Hokage himself from discussing this matter with anyone who doesn't know. Those being simply us three and the Hokage. You must promise me to never to reveal this secret."

Neji and Hinata looked at each other for a moment before turning to Hizashi and answering together.

"We promise."

Hizashi took a deep breath and did his best imitation of a teacher giving a lecture. He really wasn't the lecturing type. "Good. Now with that taken care of, I can begin to explain Hinata-sama's position. Obviously this is an unusual situation, normally an heir has already been trained for years in advance for their responsibilities and the new allocation of duties has been decided beforehand. However, there are rules in place for circumstances like this. Since this situation is sudden and Hinata-sama is too young to properly lead the clan yet, a 'Speaker' must be elected to manage affairs on her behalf until she is seventeen years of age. There is currently some debate as to who it should be. I'm one of the candidates and the acting Speaker at the moment due to my close relation to Hiashi, however a permanent one is to be selected tomorrow and I may very well be replaced. The decision is left to the council, and they are of varied opinions about Hiashi's goals and mine, so it is very difficult to know who they might choose. I'm most worried that they might decide on elder Hiamaru. He is a good friend with many of the council members but I wouldn't trust him to lead the clan at all. He is very easily manipulated and could easily make conflicting decisions on behalf of vocal parties and leave the clan in disarray. However, I have little say in the matter." Hizashi realized his was going off on a probably biased tangent and caught himself.

"What about me?"

Hizashi's brow furrowed for a moment. He thought he had done a good job of explaining. "What do you mean Hinata-sama?"

"I want you to be Speaker on my behalf. I trust you to act on mine and my fathers best interests."

Hizashi was a little taken aback again. She wanted to personally influence the decision? He respected her of course, but he doubted even the heir would have much if any clout with the council at the age of three.

"I appreciate the support Hinata-sama, but it's a decision left to the council. I'll be sure to explain to them how you feel."

Hinata was beginning to realize that a three year old child in fact, had essentially no responsibilities whatsoever. Any influence she had would simply be based on the fact that she would eventually be the leader of the clan. Until then she had no direct power. Which meant that someone else must have power over her. She must have a new guardian now that her father was gone.

"Hizashi-san, who is to be my guardian?"

Hizashi flinched at this. He wanted to be Hinata's guardian. Needed to really, if he was to do his best in fulfilling his oath to Hiashi. He couldn't trust her raising to anyone else. But of course, this matter was also steeped in political meaning. He had a little more clout when it came to this, but not much.

"That is to be decided primarily by the Speaker after he is elected."

While Hinata kept her composure, Neji bristled at this and decided he had to say his piece.

"That is grossly unfair. Hinata-sama should have a say in the matter. She shouldn't be shuffled off onto a bureaucrat like some trophy!"

Hinata went red again seeing Neji so angry on her behalf. He had always been nice to her, but since her father had died he had been behaving like an older brother for her, which she appreciated deeply.

"I agree Neji-kun, but again, I have little say in the matter. Since it is a much more personal matter Hinata-sama's wishes will be considered, and I can speak on her behalf as her father's closest relative, but ultimately neither of us can make the official decision, or even veto it. Hinata-sama; who do you want to be your guardian?"

"You of course Hizashi-san. My father clearly had a great deal of trust in you, and I've never seen anything to make me believe it was misplaced. Umm, assuming you don't mind. . . I suppose you might be too busy, and you already have Neji-san so I would understand if-"

Hizashi cut her off after she started to turn red again.

"Don't be absurd. Of course I want to take care of you. I wouldn't have sworn to Hiashi I'd raise you if I hadn't meant it."

"That settles it then. I must see to it that you become Speaker."

With that she left the room. Hizashi was too startled by the look in her eyes to say anything or to follow her. It was the same look he had last seen on Hiashi's face before he fell unconscious. The look of absolute confidence without a hint of fear. He wondered what the fate of whatever poor soul she was going to fix that gaze upon next would be.

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Hinata knew exactly what she had to do in order to have Hizashi elected as Speaker. She just wasn't sure how difficult it would be. After asking one of the older (And upon hearing the question, extremely puzzled) family members when exactly tomorrow the Speaker election meeting would be held and eating a light supper, she headed back to her room to think.

She would have about 24 hours before the council was held. She would have to speak to them before the decision was made. She decided that the sooner the better given what her reasoning would be. She wanted them to have plenty of time to ponder her words. She decided to approach them at lunch tomorrow. That gave her only the rest of the night and next morning to prepare.

First, she picked out what she would wear. Being the heir, her closet was filled with formal wear for every occasion, however, most of it was crafted with the intention of making her cute, for showing her off as the adorable daughter of the clan leader (Most of it was also didn't fit her any more, since she was only three and the clothing was generally designed to be as perfectly fitted as possible). That obviously wouldn't do. She needed to intimidate them. She remembered an outfit she had worn recently when she went with her father to visit an ANBU squad about something three weeks ago. It was a stylized dark kimono with a number of interesting modifications that made it resemble a shinobi outfit. It was actually fairly comfortable as well, which she realized was also important. It wouldn't do to look constricted and uncomfortable in front of the council. They'd no doubt jump on her at the first hint of weakness. As an extra touch she decided to wear the same black earrings she had worn at her father's funeral. At the time she had been too numb to object, but she always thought it was absurd when she was forced to wear earrings 'so she could look all grown up'. Now she was thankful for the option to look a bit more mature. And if any of them remembered her wearing them at the funeral (and there was a good chance they would with the scene she had made) reminding them of that day and who exactly she was the daughter of would give her an extra edge.

She needed every edge she could get. Tomorrow's events would impact the rest of her life and the entire clan very heavily. She had to go all out.

After dressing herself in the kimono (another bonus of its design, she'd be able to surprise everyone with it without having to be helped to dress in it) she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes reminded her of her father. She thought of the different ways he talked to people. Sometimes he was simply friendly with them. But usually he had a very reserved, calm look. Like he wasn't really a part of the conversation and it wasn't really him that was ordering people and making decisions. As though he were just relaying the facts of reality. But, on rare occasions, usually when someone was being particularly stubborn, his voice became even more detached, but his eyes changed completely. Instead of being disinterested and cool, they had a particular focus, like he was watching something, waiting to react to something he knew would happen..It had always reminded her of a cat just before it pounced.

As she thought about what she was going to do tomorrow and how she couldn't allow herself to fail, she realized her eyes had that same look to them in the mirror. Suddenly she felt she understood her father's eyes completely.

Next she decided to practice speaking. She changed back to her former attire and left the house to a small, mostly unused training area towards the back of the compound. It was a small soundproof room meant for training one's hearing, or remaining silent. A tiny bell rang when she opened the door; someone had forgotten to put it back. It was simply hanging off the side of the sliding door, so she detached it and put it back in the cabinet with the rest of the equipment.

She began practicing what she would say to the council, mentally editing her speech as well when she noticed things about it that she wanted to change. The room had excellent acoustics, since the entire point was to amplify and make noticeable any sounds the trainee accidently made while attempting to be silent, as well as make confusing the source of any one particular sound if a dozen bells were ringing at once. It suited her purpose perfectly, and before long, she felt she was matching the fearless, confident tone her father was so well known for. She stopped herself before practicing too much; she didn't want to make her voice raspy for tomorrow. With that done, she left the small room and found Neji, and asked him to help her with her taijutsu. She hadn't been practicing much lately, having to attend far too many formal occasions..Since she primarily wanted to practice her forms and balance to help her appearance tomorrow rather than spar Neji didn't have to worry about hurting at all, so he dove right in. After a couple hours she felt markedly refreshed in her training and had even learned a few new things. She thanked him and headed back to her room to meditate for an hour and performed the minor healing technique for her eyes she had learned that morning before going to sleep, which was free of any unsettling dreams.

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When Hinata awoke the next morning she checked the time and realized she had overslept somewhat..That was fine though, since she felt well prepared anyways. When she looked in the mirror she was happy to see the bruising was now almost completely gone, leaving only a minor shadow around her eyes. She would have to thank Hanako the next time she saw her; she hadn't expected to recover so quickly. After performing some exercises to help her wake up and eating breakfast, Hinata headed back to the sound training room and practiced speaking some more. Confident that she had memorized not only what and how she was going to say when she spoke to the council, but a number of replies to things they might say to her, she returned to her room and meditated until it was time to get ready.

She pulled out the outfit she had selected the previous night and put it on, including the earrings, and checked herself in the mirror one last time.

"Father, I won't fail you. I'll make sure our clan is always 'in the sun'."

She reached the room she knew the council would be eating in just before the food would be brought out, as she had known she would. The Hyuuga kept very strict schedules about such things. The only people eating there were the council. Normally Hiashi and Hizashi ate with them as well so that they could all discuss their duties together, but Hizashi was still swamped with paperwork, and so couldn't be there.

The council looked very surprised to see her there, which wasn't surprising. Hinata never ate lunch with them, since it was mostly political and managerial discussion that didn't concern her, and the food they ate didn't appeal to her much either. Fortunately, they were all sitting on the ground eating on a low table, so all 12 council members could see her very clearly. One of the council members finally wiped the dumb look off of his face and broke the silence.

"Good morning, Hinata-sama. What brings you to lunch today?"

"I'm here to talk to you about the election of the Speaker tonight. You are going to elect Hyuuga Hizashi. He is the only one whom I trust to work in the best interests of my father and the Hyuuga clan."

The council members once again had dumb looks on their faces, but this time one of the more arrogant members recovered more quickly.

"Hinata-sama, with all due respect it is our decision and not yours as to who will be the Speaker. I don't know what Hizashi told you but-"

Hinata cut him off before he could finish, just as she had practiced. Her emotionless voice chilled the council.

"Council member Hidara, you would do well to remember that although I am not yet of age to rule the household personally, one day I will be. Until that point in time, I expect the clan to be well cared for in my stead. Hizashi is the only person qualified for that task."

"I'm not sure you-"

Here came the hard part, Hinata had never had to bluff anyone before. If Hinata had seen herself in the mirror for what she said next she would have been frightened herself. Even her father's eyes had rarely had such obvious predatory confidence in them. She cut this reply off even more effectively than she had the last.

"Additionally, although it may be fourteen years before I am designated the official head of the clan, I can assure you it won't take me anywhere near that long to learn from the Hokage the technique to activate your seals that is my birthright. Especially if I find the clan to be endangered by poor leadership. I will not allow my father's sacrifice for our clan to be in vain. I suggest considering my advice very carefully council members."

With that, Hinata spun about and left them in stunned silence as she headed back to her room to utterly collapse. The servants later noted that the council had eaten very little of their lunch that day.

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AN: And that's the end of the prologue. Waiting on feedback to continue. Therefore, please review, etc.