Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
"What do you want, kid?" One of the two men guarding the entrance to the Hyuuga Complex gruffly asked Ichiraku as he approached the compound.
"Ano…my sensei told me that I should meet with Hyuuga Hanabi after training today." The two guards snickered.
"Do you have any idea how many people come by saying the same thing? Half the people in Konoha would give a lung just for two minutes of Hanabi-sama's time." Ichiraku nodded.
"Makes sense…can I make an appointment, then?"
"Sure," the larger of the two said with a chuckle, "her next available appointment should be sometime next month." Ichiraku sighed, turned around, and began to slowly walk away.
"Say, what's your name, kid?" the smaller of the two asked.
"Uzumaki Ichiraku…why?" Ichiraku turned around and found that the guards' eyes were the size of saucers. They began frantically whispering to each other, but as soon as they noticed Ichiraku's eyes on them, they jumped back to attention.
"On second thought…I think she can make time. Go on ahead."
"You mean it?" Ichiraku asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I mean it. Now get in there before I change my mind, Ichiraku-sama."
"Yatta!" Ichiraku shouted. He ran past the guards and through the gate of the complex. It wasn't until he was a good way inside that he realized the suffix that the man had given him. Intrigued but too preoccupied to go back and speak to the guards again, Ichiraku filed the matter away for further questioning
"Uzumaki Ichiraku…" the shorter of the two guards mused with a slight chuckle. "I wonder what he wants with the Chief?"
"Baka," the taller chastised as he smacked his colleague on the head. "He obviously inherited it…"
After wandering around the complex and looking wide-eyed at the opulent décor for a few minutes, Ichiraku was confronted with a problem. He didn't have the slightest idea where he would meet this Hanabi. He went around the entire complex, looking for any clues, but discovered nothing. Having lost hope that he'd ever find Hanabi, Ichiraku sighed deeply and walked towards the rear of the complex, where he'd seen a small koi pond with a few nice benches around it. He plopped down in one of the benches and watched one of the koi swim in lazy spirals. The scene was very tranquil, and Ichiraku was one step away from dozing off, when all of a sudden he felt something sharp and metallic press against his neck.
"You're clearly not a Hyuuga," said a cold, masculine voice behind him. "I don't know how you got in here, but if you do not state your name and your business here immediately the only way you will be leaving is in a body bag." Ichiraku gulped and slowly brought his hands up so that they were visible to the man.
"M-my n-name is Uzumaki Ichiraku. I c-came because my s-sensei told me that I should meet with H-hyuuga Hanabi." Ichiraku felt the pressure of the kunai on his neck decrease slightly.
"Did you say…Uzumaki?" The voice asked, its accusatory tone now questioning.
"H-hai." The pressure was relieved completely, and Ichiraku turned around to see his assailant kneeling.
"Gomenasai, Ichiraku-sama," the man said. "It won't happen again." Once Ichiraku saw the man, he immediately identified him as ANBU. He was wearing a bird-shaped mask that was artfully decorated with red and green swirls, and that covered his entire face so that only his eyes showed. He was also wearing a white hooded cloak, signifying that not only was he ANBU, but the ANBU Captain. The hood was down, revealing the man's long, brown hair.
"Ano…it's okay. Just…why is everyone calling me sama?" Ichiraku asked. The man stood up.
"I think I should let Hanabi-sama explain," he said. "Follow me, I have a meeting with her anyway." He stood up and began walking away.
"And if I may say so myself, Ichiraku-sama," he added, "when you stutter you sound very much like your mother." Ichiraku was too surprised by this statement to formulate an answer, and instead silently followed the ANBU Captain as he entered a grandiose building. The two of them removed their sandals.
When they approached a sliding door, the man pulled off his mask and quietly slid the door open. He entered the room and promptly kneeled. Ichiraku entered behind him and followed his example.
"Neji-san?" A feminine voice asked. "What is the meaning of this? This meeting was supposed to be confidential." Ichiraku looked up. Sitting behind a wooden desk was a woman with indigo hair and lavender, Hyuuga eyes. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties, and was wearing formal white robes.
"Hanabi-sama," the man, now identified as Neji, began, "this boy is your nephew." There was an eerie silence following this statement. A second ticked by ever so slowly, then five seconds, then ten seconds. Finally,
"NANI?" Both Hanabi and Ichiraku exclaimed at once.
"She's my aunt?"
"He's my nephew?" Neji nodded.
"Ichiraku-sama is the son of Naruto-san and Hinata-sama." Hanabi nodded.
"He does have her hair…although it sticks up, just like his…" Ichiraku pulled down a fringe of hair and noticed that it was the exact same shade as Hanabi's.
"I'm guessing that my ka-san was pretty important, right?" Hanabi nodded a second time.
"My sister was the Hyuuga Clan's heiress before she got married." Ichiraku's eyes practically bugged out of his head.
"Clan heiress? As in, she would've been the head of the entire Clan?" He scratched his head. "Then…wouldn't that make me the new clan head?"
"The Clan Elders decided that, by marrying out of the clan, my sister revoked her title as clan heiress. The title was then passed down to our father's, Hiashi's, second child, me." Hanabi conveniently left out the fact that the elders had adamantly refused to allow the status of Clan Head to pass to the container of the Kyuubi.
"I see," Ichiraku said. This explained why Neji and the guards were calling him sama before.
"Now, why did you want to come and see me?"
"Well, today was our genin test, and when I was trying to focus chakra to my eyes in order to see my sensei better from far away, I felt this pain. My teammate told me that she saw veins around my eyes pop out, and that my eyes turned really weird-looking."
"Hm…" Hanabi nodded knowingly as she observed Ichiraku with a critical gaze. "Try sending chakra to your eyes again." Ichiraku molded some chakra and caused it to flow through his chakra circulatory system and up into his eyes. He put a little more chakra into it, and all of a sudden he saw the now-familiar flash of white light, although it was slightly less painful than before. He looked up and noticed that he could see right through the wooden desk, walls, and floor, and even was able to see though Hanabi's skin and into her chakra network.
"There's no mistaking it…" Hanabi muttered. With more volume, she said, "Ichiraku, it seems as though you've inherited the byakugan, the Hyuuga Clan's kekie genkai."
"I have a bloodline?" Ichiraku asked excitedly. Hanabi nodded.
"The byakugan allows you to see a person's chakra network. It also allows you to see in greater detail, gives you a 360 degree field of vision, and a 50 meter radius."
"Whoa…that's so awesome…" Ichiraku muttered.
"Of course," said Hanabi, "you will need someone to teach you how to use your byakugan. Neji-san will be instructing you."
"Nani? Demo…I can't…I've got ANBU duties…" Neji sputtered.
"Tough," Hanabi growled. "Besides, Ichiraku's got training and missions as well. The two of you will simply have to work out a time to practice together. Besides," her face softened. "It's the least you could do for Naruto-san and Hinata-sama." Neji nodded.
"Very well."
"Good. Now, Ichiraku, could you please excuse us? I do need to discuss several things with Neji-san." Ichiraku nodded.
"Hai. Ja ne!" He left the room, put on his sandals, and took off towards home.