House arrest
A young lady in a dress kimono walked down the outside halls, looking at the landscaping of the view. She seemed stressed and restless, her strides grew wider, and she could see that someone has come through the front gate.
It was the perverted sage, Jiraiya, one of the sannin, and someone was in his arms. She looks so familiar to her; she drew closer to get a better look. In her haste she nearly tripped on her kimono's hem. She sprinted to the familiar person who was lying in the sannin's arms.
"Hinata-neechan!" Hanabi ran up to her sister who was sleeping soundly in the arms of Jiraiya. "Did you abduct her!!! She can't be outside!" Hanabi tried to take her sister from him, her long sleeves becoming a nuisance and she was about to rip them off before Jiraiya had his say.
"No, I didn't abduct her… She woke up a while ago and Tsunade let her go." He looked down at the sleeping woman. She snored softly and tugged on her sister's arm that was on her abdomen.
"Why would she let her go so early?" Hanabi thought the old woman finally cracked and went out of her way to say she was insane. She tried to visit her sister at least a couple of times. But only people who have been properly vaccinated when they were born could even be in the same room as her.
Hanabi didn't receive this treatment. Nobody from their generation did, the vaccine was considered obsolete when they came up with a new one, Tsunade's doing.
"Tsunade knew she wanted to see her family badly. A bit of a motherly telepathy that woman." He laughed and walked on into the estate.
"She knew that Hinata wouldn't have stayed even if she was told to. So after she let Hinata go she asked me to follow and take care of her. Considering the large amount of all the perverts and junk in the area she said I was at least the most trustworthy." They both laughed at the joke and entered a large room.
"Spread a futon and get a pillow. She'll need to rest for at least a couple more hours." Hanabi obeyed willingly, she was treated as the heir ever since Hinata got in a coma, and even so she didn't mind doing things for others. She just wasn't used to it.
"Damn it! I get mad every time someone brings up how Hinata got like this. If that guy wasn't already…ARGH I wish I could pound him." Hanabi brought her fist to her palm and growled.
Her princess heir exterior was totally ruined with that. She was a tomboy in reality, but she still dressed a little girly picking up after her sister.
Hinata stirred with Hanabi's outburst. Hanabi immediately calmed down and sat next to her sister moving Hinata's hair away from her face. She never realized how much she loved her sister until she was gone.
"Hinata-neechan…" Jiraiya left them alone, passing by some familiar faces and leaving the compound.
"Hanabi-sama what's going on?" Neji asked from the outside of the bamboo door, kneeling on one knee and bowing his head, he waited for her to answer. He could hear Hanabi's sniffs and sobs, he had always thought of her of such a head-strong girl, so hearing her must mean something horrible must have happened.
He stayed in his position waiting some more. He heard her attempts of starting her sentence, which were weak and timid, nothing like her strong personality. After more squeaks he could hear her muffle herself in her long sleeves.
"Hi-Hinat-ta- neechan…" His head jerked up, why speak of her now after 5 long years? He realized then that this was not Hanabi's room, but a room for the sick and injured. Hinata was already sick and injured there was no need for her to move rooms unless…No he wouldn't think about it, not about Hinata's death.
"Hanabi-sama, why are you in this room?" He hoped Hinata's dead body wasn't laying there so that they could seal her byakugan, he hoped that she wasn't in there…
"Hinata-neechan i-is in h-here…" He gulped, his throat becoming dry, he choked back the burning coming to his eyes. "S-She woke up earl-earlier!" Hanabi collapsed her upper body onto her sisters, tears sinking in the blanket. Neji entered quickly without permission and took in the sight he saw.
"I-I'll go inform Hiashi-sama of this discovery. Meanwhile try not to hurt H-Hinata-sama" He stammered on out of the room and went to get Hiashi. Neji was…glad that Hinata was alive, why not after five long years? He tightened his fists thinking of the person who caused her to miss the prime years for a ninja's life.
Neji stood outside of the head of the family's bamboo doors, he knelt down as before and he was acknowledged to come inside. The man was sitting down on a cushion in front of a very well made table. He set his tea aside and waited for Neji to report from his mission.
"Neji, how was the mission?" He asked, unknowingly to him that his first born was sleeping a couple rooms away. Neji paced himself so he wouldn't give the aging man a heart attack.
"The mission was successful and my comrades have proved themselves worthy for the team. I also will be captain from this day forward for the 1st blue anbu squad." He lifted his left sleeve to show his uncle the new tattoo design they have given him.
The sign was more of a swirl commemorating the 4th hokage for saving the village time and time again with his forward thinking in the past. They had changed the anbu levels to colors instead of numbers, for more of a code so outsiders wouldn't know the ranking of some ninja.
"Excellent Neji, you are an outstanding achievement to this clan. I'm…glad to have you protect the heir of the family." He played with the cup in his hand and swirled the tea, seeing a floating tea leaf he wondered if Neji getting an upgrade to his status was his good luck. Yet he was wrong, for his good luck will be known shortly.
"Hiashi-sama, I also have information on your daughter." Hiashi raised an eyebrow.
"I just finished talking to her but a moment ago, Neji. What is it about Hanabi?" Neji shook his head. A gut feeling was developing in Hiashi's stomach.
"Hinata-sama is awake…and she's in the compound." Hiashi had his byakugan activated to search for his daughter, he the deactivated it when he found her. He silently stood and began walking across the room to the bamboo door.
Once he passed Neji he spoke, "Neji you are excused." but Neji stood there waiting for Hiashi to leave the room. As soon as Hiashi left, Neji followed after expecting to see his uncle's back as soon as he reopened the door. But to his surprise he didn't see his uncle.
Neji looked both left and right of the outside hall, but he was no where in sight. Neji laughed and sighed at the same time. His uncle had just run to his daughter's side, Neji never knew he had it in him.
Hiashi entered the room and saw his two daughters. One crying her eyes out in joy that her sister was back, and one was suffering from lack of oxygen; he softened his eyes on Hanabi and Hinata.
"Hanabi, get off your sister. She can't breathe that well, please give her some space." Hanabi had not noticed her father come in, so she straightened herself out and rubbed her eyes using the back of her sleeves. Her father gave her a handkerchief and sat next to Hanabi.
"Who brought her to you?" Hanabi stopped crying, but her sniffles were still present.
"Jiraiya…sama" Adding the suffix to make herself sound respectable in front of her father.
"He was the one who told you that she had woken from her slumber?" Hanabi nodded, ridding herself of the hiccups she once had. She wondered why he wasn't thinking why Hinata was here instead of sleeping in the hospital, but she thinks he understands Tsunade's predicament.
Neji entered the room a second time. Watching Hiashi for his command if need be. He sat opposite Hiashi on Hinata's left side, where the husband should be on such situations due to the rings that bind them. But Neji didn't care at that moment, whether he was married to her or not, he wanted to be by her side.
They sat there for a moment, after a while they excused themselves at different times. Hiashi and Neji had to leave do to important matters, but Hanabi stayed since she didn't have anything else of importance other than to watch her sister.
Meanwhile…an angry Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru were left at the gate. They were refused entry because they didn't have an appointment with any of the Hyuuga's, usually they didn't need invites. But that was five years ago, they didn't ever visit the Hyuuga estate after Hinata was in the hospital.
They walked off, though Kiba was sure he smelt Hinata's scent at the gate. They continued their walk to go train.
The next day Hanabi was going crazy that her sister wasn't awake yet. She was yelling orders at servants to bring water, medicine, and plenty of other things. She was stuck in a long traditional kimono again, she didn't love it nor did she hate it. This was the one day she wanted to where it in her 5 years without a sister.
To say the least she looked like the heir, but she would rather go out on missions then being cooped up in a huge complex. She always secretly trained early in the morning or when her father wasn't home. Her hair had the usual cut, but her bangs were pinned back most of the time.
Hinata didn't dream of anything, she was more relaxed, but she had a lot of bed sores. As she slowly opened her eyes she heard whispers and saw a pair of white eyes almost exactly like hers over her head. Hinata was disoriented, she had low blood pressure, and is always nicer when she wakes up…Hanabi had always remembered this.
"Who are you people?" Hanabi didn't care if she didn't remember her right then, she was just so happy that her sister was awake. "Hinata-neechan!" She jumped on her sister and cuddled into her arms.
"Hanabi?" She held her sister tightly and exhaled a deep breath. She looked around her and saw many servants, female and male, sniffing their eyes out for their mistress's awakening.
"Ano…I'm back everyone." She smiled warmly at them and they broke out in tears. The first thing she noticed was that Hanabi was crying. Her tough little over-accomplished sister was crying. So Hinata was truly missed, from even the staff of the household. She couldn't wait to see her father.
"What's going on here!?" Neji burst into the room, a huddle of servants surrounded Hinata's futon; he couldn't see her and thought that maybe the worst might have happened.
"Make way Neji-sama is coming through." A young small servant who looked like she was enjoying her job of pushing people away stated. Hinata's eyes were barely half way open but she still smiled at Neji anyway.
"Neji-niisan…" He was even more handsome than she remembered him to be. His hair straying away from his face, giving him a rugged look, but still he was elegant with himself. He looked like a complete gentleman, and he was wearing a uniform that Hinata guessed to be a newly improved anbu uniform.
Was she always this beautiful? Neji thought as he sat next to Hinata on her left again. Hinata brushed Hanabi's hair with her fingers calming her down like her mother used to. "Hanabi calm down…I'm alright." Her voice was soothing to Neji's mind, reminding him of the timid girl from back then.
"One of you please inform Hiashi-sama of Hinata's awakening." They nodded, but before any of them could leave Hiashi popped into the room. He seemed like he was well aware of the situation, what had he been doing all this time?
Spying on his precious daughter of course! The whole night he couldn't sleep a wink, his stress levels were on a high. He thought of a solution to his troubling thoughts though.
"Hinata, how are you feeling?" She smiled at him.
"Fine, Oto-san," she brushed Hanabi's hair again "just a little hungry." Hanabi was falling asleep, but woke up when she heard her sister's humble plea.
"Get her food quickly! She hasn't eating anything but the IV stuck in her arm for 5 years!" With that the room scrambled and gave them some silence. Hanabi plopped back into her sister's arms whish for Hinata to continue her mantra on her head.
"Hinata, I know it's a bit sudden…but will you resume being the heir to this clan as you did 5 years ago?" Hanabi turned her head from Hinata's lap. Hinata's eyes were filled with a decision, but she also held her voice.
"Well, I will if Hanabi is willing to give up her position." Hanabi smiled, her puffy eyes wrinkling.
"Of course Hinata-oneechan, I've wanted to get stronger and being cooped up in this house isn't that pleasant." She pulled at her kimono, "wearing these things isn't that comfortable either." Hinata chuckled.
"Then I accept." Neji was proud that he was Hinata's protector once again.
"As expected from you…there is no need to train anymore. All you have to do is find a respectable husband." Hinata was startled for one, she didn't want to stop training. Even if her physical ability was hard to improve, and also that her muscle sores were hard to get over.
"Don't worry, you may train with Neji on certain occasions…if ever…Also you must stay confined in this house till further notice." Hinata was about to retort, but gave up. Her father was a very protective one so she will obey his command and stay within the Hyuuga premises.