Beginning -開始
Nothing was known about the real origins of the Hyuugas except for a few oral traditions passed down through generations. There was however one written account which upon the clan's request was sealed away in Konoha's vaults. The said record was part of the chronicles written by the official scribe of the Uzumaki clan (by the patronage of Mito Uzumaki) who lived during the time of Konoha's founding. According to the scribe's journal, the first Hokage Hashirama Senju had befriended a strange clan leader by the name of Hajime Hyuuga. He was described as a man of tall stature with long flowing mane and white silvery eyes, nothing more was known about him except that he had travelled with his kin and servants to the Land of Fire from a faraway place. The scribe, in his fervent scholastic pursuit to create an archive for the young thriving village had requested several times to have an audience with the mysterious man but was repeatedly denied. It was not until Hashirama Senju had banished Madara Uchiha from the village when the elusive Hyuuga leader for unknown motives, finally agreed to see the scribe.
The meeting was quite revealing as it shed light on some significant aspects about the clan's legacy which according to Hajime, "Hyuuga" which means "towards the sun" are descendants of Howori, son of Ninigi no Mikoto and KonohanaSakuya-Hime, which to some extent had explained their deific-like dojutsu. It was also hinted in the scribe's writings that the Hyuugas held great powers that came from their divine lineage but the most intriguing revelation of all was the mention of a prophecy:
"A Two-headed dragon will die but its flames will burn brightly from the fan of a red-eyed man"
Nothing else had followed as the rest of the record was declared destroyed during the successive wars that afflicted the village.
A sinister figure seated in a high throne partially hidden in the shadosw had finished reading a withering ancient piece of scroll, the document bore the Uzumaki clan seal, a proof that it was written by an Uzumaki clan member. The figure crumpled the parchment as it almost instantly turned into ashes in his fist.
A menacing leer pursed his lips, "At last I found them"
Summer was over and the colors that surrounded Konoha had turned into the lovely hues of fall. It had been months of gruelling training for Hinata who toiled tirelessly with the help of her mentor and family.
She now faced her opponents for sparring; calmly she took her stance and gracefully weaved her arms to create the destructive force of a maelstrom.
The swirling mass dangerously swerved by Tokuma Hyuuga's side who narrowly avoided the attack from the kunoichi before him. She was about to go for another offense when she felt another movement, Ko Hyuuga was about to lunge from behind while Tokuma simultaneously charged in front of her, a chakra barrier immediately came up and prompted the attackers to distance themselves. She mobilized again to capture the person at her rear and with one sudden jab at the back of his neck he instantly slumped on the ground and lost consciousness.
She quickly spun around to pursue the remaining opponent, this time she waited until he was trapped within her trigram range thrusting him with all 64 blows from the palm technique and finishing the assault using her twin lion fist.
The spectators of the match were visibly impressed among them Hiashi who was accompanied by the elder Hyuuga and Hanabi who smiled proudly at the outcome of her sister's match. Hinata hurriedly ran towards an unconscious Ko, she lightly poked his nape and the man came to again with fluttering glazed eyes.
She placed a hand on his chest "Are you all right?" her old guardian gave a faint smile while the elder Hyuuga who was watching hawk eyed whispered to Hiashi "You have to do something about that, she's too soft" the elder pointed out. Hiashi merely observed as her daughter helped Ko while a slightly dazed Tokuma approached them.
Both of the defeated Hyuuga men gave praises to the heiress who turned crimson faced from blushing, they were happy with the outcome of her training.
The elder Hyuuga seemingly disappointed left the courtyard, Hiashi followed the elder from the corner of his eyes before focusing back on Hinata while Hanabi went to join the two men in praising her sister.
"Onee-san, we should have a match later!" she sang, Hinata beamed at her and nodded. Hiashi fought the urge to show his growing admiration for his eldest daughter, he wanted to openly applaud her but his role as clan leader came first. It was unfortunate that he had to maintain the serious demeanour to everyone including his own children. But one day he hopes…
"Hiashi-sama" a gust of wind swished beside him as the presence of another person came to his attention. Hiashi cocked his head to see a masked man wearing a full length white hooded cloak. It didn't take too long for him to understand who the person was, the voice may have become brusque but the chakra signature was familiar to him.
"The Hokage requests for your presence, she needs to see you now" Hiashi merely gave a nod and the man vanished as quickly as he had appeared. The Anbu's visit wasn't left unnoticed by Hinata, she glanced at her father to see him already leaving the compound.
"Hiashi" the Godaime called out as the clan leader entered the newly constructed meeting room. The other council members had already arrived while representatives from the other noble clans also took their places. Hiashi sat beside Shibi Aburame, who politely nodded at him. After the members had all settled, the Hokage began addressing her audience
"Konoha's restoration is almost complete but we need to discuss on some pressing matters, first: restoring normal trade relations with other villages, second: the jinchuriki treaty among our allies, Third: re-establishment of Konoha's military police and.. most importantly: we need to address the growing concerns of the Daimyos"
An elder woman seated beside the Godaime continued "The Kages of the allied shinobis have all confirmed attendance for the conference which will take place in the next two days, trade will be in the agenda and the finalization of the treaty to outlaw the use of Jinchuriki in all five shinobi countries will be the main highlight"
"And what about the other countries? Have they been consulted" mentioned a council member but before the elder women could speak, another member replied
"We all know the dangers that a jinchuriki is subjected to, we need to end this cruelty once and for all. The bijus were sealed by the fourth Hokage in the mystic scroll before he was released from Edo Tensei, we only need to keep it that way" murmurs erupted within the council, Tsunade cleared her throat to hush the room
"Which brings us to the issue of the daimyos, they've expressed their weariness towards shinobi wars especially the last one and they believe that we've been quite irresponsible in using the bijuus' powers" the Godaime hurled an unpleasant truth at the meeting, the damages of the war had extended beyond the shinobi realm and their civilian allies were now criticizing them.
"And what about Kurama and Gyuki?" inquired one who referred to the remaining bijuus still contained by jinchurikis.
"Ah yes," started Tsunade who seemed prepared for the question. "The Bijuus made a pact and willingly agreed to be transferred to the mystic scroll for containment after the passing of their jinchurikis."
"The solution seems too simple, what if we have another rampaging jinchuriki or worse another missing nin or S-ranked criminal who decides to take control of the bijuus again" a worried voice said which evoked memories of their experience from Akatsuki and Madara Uchiha.
The Godaime raised an eyebrow at the question. "I am confident that Naruto is more than capable to handle such possibilities and the Raikage has expressed the same opinion about his brother." The Hokage's statement seemed to have made a placating effect which she took as her cue to move on to other issues
"As a sign of our commitment with the daimyos, I'm sending Hiashi Hyuuga and Chōza Akimichi to see daimyos on the same day as the Kages' conference, their meeting will take place in the fire daimyo's palace" Hiashi and Chōza glanced at each other upon hearing the announcement.
"And as previously conferred, Konoha's military police will be re-established in the Uchiha district" a moment of uncomfortable silence engulfed the room before someone finally broke the stillness
"Is it really wise to place this institution at the Uchiha's again?" whispers erupted as one of the council member brought up the infamous clan name.
"We've been through this many times, the Uchiha was pardoned. Part of his reintegration process is to actively participate the village life " an elder man beside the Hokage had spoken this time, a sense of impatience rung in his voice on the continuing debate about Sasuke Uchiha since his return to Konoha.
"He's right, the Uchiha deserves a chance. We can't revert to our old repressive ways, Konoha has been plagued by too many avengers and outcasts because of its self-righteousness" added the elder woman.
"The military police is not a one man show" The Godaime waved a thick file which she briefly skimmed through before addressing back the council
"The jounin exams is only a month away, it will be a perfect opportunity to start recruiting, I have here the recommendations for establishing the military police" the godaime lightly threw the file in front of her
"I will be assigning several senior jounins to supervise its formation and I expect everyone's support on this" she said adamantly, her tone of voice matched the expression on her face that nobody dared opposed her.
"Hinata! Sai!" a burly Morino Ibiki called out. The former ANBU operative and the Hyuga heiress stood before him waiting for orders. There was no immediate threat since the war but the kages' conference was in two days and the Tokubetsu jounin wanted to be cautious.
"Hyuuga, check within a ten mile radius of the village for any suspicious activity, we've already swept the area recently but I want another round done" the jounin then turned to Sai who merely looked back expressionless.
"Sai, check if the sensors around the village are in place and be careful not to trigger any of them, we already had a nasty accident yesterday" a sneer played in his lips which disturbed Hinata, she heard about this man's sadistic streak.
"Report back to me in an hour" Sai disappeared in a flash while Hinata leapt towards the opposite direction. It was not a difficult task but it took a bit more time as she carefully tried to avoid the sensors that Ibiki mentioned.
She hurriedly moved and arrived at a densely wooded area, the sound of a snapping string alerted her which was followed by the sudden barrage of exploding kunais coming her way
"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" Hinata deflected the weapons but as soon as she ceased spinning, someone had sprung from behind and a kunai was pressed against her throat.
A shuriken whizzed pass her and felt the grip of her attacker loosened. She hastily escaped and turned around to see the figure of a man whose identity was concealed by a long hood. She swiftly attacked with the air palm technique but the enemy had drawn out a katana and repelled the force of her offense with a single swing of the blade.
Hinata was startled with her opponent's power and decided to attack again when she felt another strong presence nearby
"Uchiha-san" she whispered as she found Sasuke unsheathing the sword of Kusanagi from his back, he moved swiftly towards the opponent who vanished and materialized on top of a tree while the Uchiha re-emerged beside him and swung his blade which was blocked by his opponent's sword. The hooded man hastily disengaged himself and reappeared on the ground, the Konoha shinobis were closing in and he understood his detriment. He took another step back while his body became seemingly translucent as he sank into the earth to escape.
Hinata's gaze shifted to the Uchiha whose eyes were red from his Sharingan which then promptly turned black as their eyes met each another. The Uchiha's countenance was stoic as he glared at her, he was about to speak when a group of jounins suddenly arrived.
Ibiki came to them while two cloaked Anbus discreetly hovered behind.
"What's going on here Hyuga?" Ibiki's harsh tone drilled into Hinata ears, his glance shifted to the Uchiha who was replacing his sword on his back. Hinata explained the details to the Tokubetsu Jounin.
Ibiki narrowed his eyes as the kunoichi finished recounting the incident and silently pondered "Either this man was careless or he deliberately triggered the traps" he turned to the Uchiha when Sai abruptly appeared beside him. The ex-Anbu and the Uchiha both showed the same impassive reaction in their faces, they studied each other for a moment before Sai addressed Ibiki
"One of the sensors has been purposely activated" he said in monotone
Ibiki gritted his teeth and cocked his head towards the Uchiha again while one of the Anbus whispered to Ibiki who merely nodded.
"Hyuga, you need to come with us" the Anbu grabbed her lightly in the arm as the other flanked in her other side. Hinata became baffled but sensed the other Anbu's familiar charkra and willingly conceded. The Uchiha gave another glimpse at her direction before they whisked her away.
The konoha emissaries had arrived in the Fire Daimyos's palace and were graciously received by their host. The envoys came wearing the formal robes of their respective clans; Hiashi was elegantly draped in an all-white Kimono with the Hyuga insignia flanking each side of the upper area of his Haori while the Akimichi clan leader wore a similar outfit in maroon color, each of them was trailed by a subordinate who were also in formal wear.
The daimyos of the five shinobi countries and the metal daimyo had attended the meeting; they were accompanied by their advisors and vassals who silently observed from behind.
The Fire Daimyo with his customary elaborate diadem etched with the symbolic three red flames sat at the end of the table, his lidded eyes were peeking from behind his silk fan when his pupils suddenly animated as he caught sight of the arriving people.
Hiashi and Chōza bowed respectfully as they entered the room, the daimyos were well aware of their guests' nobility and all stood up to reciprocate the salutation.
"Welcome Hyuuga-sama, Akimichi-sama" greeted the Fire Daimyo as his vassal ushered the new arrivals to their seats.
"It is our honor to be here among such fine rulers" replied Hiashi as they took their seats.
"It is our pleasure to be in the company of Konoha's noble clans" said the fire daimyo who seemed pleased the Hokage had sent nobles instead of the regular council members of the village. Politics was in play at that moment and the fire daimyo did not waste the chance to display his country's powerful citizens.
"We understand that the conference is being held to strengthen allegiances among our countries" said the bespectacled lightning daimyo who wore a similar elaborate headdress as the fire ruler.
"We want to ensure a clear direction towards restoration and peace for all nations" Chōza answered this time, the daimyos were already briefed about the details of the Kages' conference but welcomed the assurances from the Konoha envoys.
"Oh? Is that so? I hope this is not some shinobi rhetoric that would lead into one of your little wars again" all attention had turned towards a raspy voice that came from a man at the far end of the table.
"Now, now my Lord I'm sure our allies mean well" the fire daimyo said as he attempted to ease the situation after the earth daimyo openly uttered his disdain. The fire ruler then anxiously began fanning himself as the situation rather escalated quickly.
"With all due respect, I will speak plainly of this matter Hyuuga sama, Akimichi sama" this time it was the water daimyo who spoke, his brows were furrowed as he clasped his hands together below his chin.
"We have been enduring shinobi wars for a very long time now and quite frankly we are very exhausted from them" everyone paused for the Konoha representatives to respond, the fire daimyo peered at the two clan leaders waiting for their reaction.
The Hyuuga leader anticipated such outbursts and replied in a polite manner "We understand your concerns and this is the reason for the Kages' meeting, it's a step to prevent such wars from occurring again and although war is waged for various reasons and at times inevitable, in the end we all have the same desire for peace."
"That remains to be seen Hyuuga-sama" retorted the earth daimyo
"I believe the shinobis must have surely learned their lesson after everything that happened" The Konoha entourage had found unexpected support from the metal daimyo. Unlike his counterparts, he was much younger and gave an impression of authority akin to a warrior than a civilian ruler. Hiashi had felt a strong presence earlier from him but kept his observation low profile.
The Hyuuga leader regarded the metal ruler who upon becoming aware of the Hyuuga's observation returned back the gaze whilst another pair of eyes, this time, from the daimyo's subordinate, also stared at him from behind his lord. There was something unsettling about them that made him wary but their quiet exchange was soon averted when the fire daimyo spoke
"We can't foresee the future and we have no choice but to hope for the best. The allied shinobi leaders is finalizing the Jinchuriki treaty as we speak; I personally take this as a sign of their serious intent to straighten out these issues"
"Ah, but you see my lord this treaty has no meaning if one of them decides to nullify it" said earth daimyo as he inserted himself again in the discussion
"Our respective Kages have already given their assurances" the wind daimyo chimed in as the other leaders grunted in agreement, "They have our confidence" added another one
But the earth daimyo made a knowing leer as he dramatically tapped his fingers before slowly tilting his head towards the clan leaders "I'm glad to know about the strong faith that everyone has here for their kages but wouldn't it be prudent if we have some sort of guarantee?" Hiashi's eyes narrowed, "Finally his real motive"
Chōza whispered to Hiashi's ear then regarded the earth daimyo before speaking "It would be most appreciated my lord if you can explain more about this guarantee that you refer to?"
"It's quite simple, the jinchuriki scroll must be in the safekeeping of a daimyo to prevent any shinobi from using it again for their own schemes" murmurs erupted in the meeting but the two Konoha delegates remained impassive.
"This is not a simple object that can be kept without fear of great danger" said the fire daimyo while the others silently shook their heads in agreement
"I believe we can make a compromise by placing the scroll on neutral grounds and the shinobis will only be responsible for guarding it"
The Konoha envoys considered the suggestion by which the Akimichi replied "Very well then, we'll forward your concern to the Kages and hopefully a solution can be reached immediately"
Hiashi stifled his disappointment as they urgently travelled back to Konoha, he already sent an advance notice to the Hokage about the additional conditions of the daimyos. Their attendance was originally meant for formality, a way to appease their patrons as the Kages themselves have already consulted their respective daimyos but the earth ruler's rants have greatly altered the situation.
The Five Kages were all seated in a round table discussing the programs of the conference when a soft rapt in the door interrupted them.
"Tsunade-sama" the jounin announced himself before approaching to whisper in her ear. The godaime merely nodded and dismissed the jounin.
"We have news from the daimyos" her face visibly grave as she turned to the other Kages.
"This is an important treaty not just for the five great shinobi countries but for rest of the shinobi world. I'll be damned if anyone tries to ruin this!" she thought to herself and broke the news to the others.
Dusk was in the horizon as Hinata headed back to the Hyuuga compound from her training with Kurenai. She quietly mustered on her conflicting thoughts about the recent events with Sasuke and the Anbus. The ex-avenger unexpectedly made her intrigued about him after all these years of being invisible to her as she was undeniably invisible to him, yet that one single encounter when he saved her seemed to have strangely change her view.
"Perhaps it's just curiosity about people" she mused, recalling her sightless devotion to Naruto which made her oblivious about the other interesting things that surrounded her. She mentally made a light-hearted comparison between the Uchiha and herself and realized how much they actually had in common. She smiled at her own foolishness because she knew deep down that there won't be anything else that would transpire between them except for camaraderie at most. And then there was the Anbu interrogation, another encounter that had unexpectedly thrilled her, not so much as their monotone questions and formidable behaviour towards her but the excitement of their life, something she had missed to experience because of her own tunnel vision.
She was about to reach the compound when an idea came to her, "Perhaps Neji nii-san won't mind if I speak to him about it" that night at the celebration she decided to ask about joining the ANBU.
Hinata had reached the village center and found it swarming with people some of whom were from the other allied shinobi countries who came to celebrate the forging of the junchuriki treaty, not far from where she stood was the Hokage's balcony where the Kages would be appearing later that night for the official announcement.
A worried look came in her face as she waited for Neji, she was also starting to feel uncomfortable with the increasing glances thrown her way which unknown to her were elicited by her breath-taking beauty that evening. She had donned a burgundy kimono splashed with beautiful autumn-colored flowers while her midnight blue mane was swept up as a simple golden Bira Bira Kanzashi gracefully hung in her head.
"Hinata!" a familiar voice came from behind, Hinata turned around to see her friends. It was Tenten who called her out, accompanied by Ino and trailing not far behind were Naruto and Sasuke. Hinata felt herself blush as the two girls went near her; both kunoichis were also garbed in traditional clothes.
"You look beautiful!" complimented the weapon's mistress who had her hair down instead of the normal twin buns.
"Hinata, this is wonderful! Where have you been hiding all that charm" gushed Ino who gaped at Hinata from head to foot while Hinata beamed at them and was about to reply when she was interrupted by another familiar voice
"Oi Tenten! Ino!" shouted Naruto as he came closer to them with Sasuke, the two were in their plain clothes unlike the others.
"Come on Sakura-chan is waiting for us at Baachan's office! What, Oh Hinata? Is that you?!" the Uzumaki's ogled in surprise.
Hinata's face became a deeper shade of crimson "Yes, it's me, hello Naruto-kun…Uchiha-san" Naruto looked at her before breaking into a wide grin while Sasuke and Hinata briefly stared at each other. "Interesting" Ino thought as she caught the scene between the two, she smiled knowingly at the unmistakable glint of interest in the Uchiha's eyes.
"Are you alone Hinata? Would you like to join us? We just finished our guard duty and we're picking up Sakura-chan" said Naruto cheerfully
The heiress turned to search for Neji once more "I'm waiting for Nii-san but I still don't see him anywhere"
"Oh, don't worry he's coming" Tenten then pointed out to an approaching boisterous Lee and Gai in matching green kimonos followed by a serious looking Neji in dark blue robes.
Lee had spotted their group and left Gai who became preoccupied with another jounin, he ran towards them and stopped to admire Hinata's appearance like everyone.
"Wow, Hinata-san if my heart didn't belong to someone else, I would…"
"Exactly what would you do Lee?" Neji hovered behind his ex-teammate who immediately sensed the threat in the Hyuuga prodigy's tone.
"Ahh…" chuckled Lee as he rubbed the back of his head when he faced Neji
"I think it's wise for you to keep your ideas to yourself Lee-san" another friend had joined them to the obvious delight of Ino
"Sai-Kun" Lee called out, the pale-skinned ex-Anbu stood smiling and like Naruto and Sasuke he wasn't dressed for the occasion.
"I'm sorry I was late, glad I caught up with you, shall we go then?" said Sai while the Yamanaka linked herself to his arms making the ex-Anbu's cheeks turn red.
"Let's go then!" urged Naruto happily as he steered the group towards the Hokage tower and everyone started moving except for the two Hyuugas. Neji gazed at Hinata who smiled and nodded at him, he grinned back at her as they wordlessly decided to join the group.
The night went on and the friends exchanged light banter among themselves, Hinata enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere while she held on to Neji who had given his arm to support her as they walked along with the others. She would throw occasional glances at her friends and always found the Uchiha staring back with an irritated look. Sasuke rarely spoke to anyone and only uttered either grunts or what Hinata could surmise as "friendly insults". The group waited for the Kages announcement nearby the podium, Naruto was having a lively discussion with Lee when Sakura nudged him in attention, the Kages had finally appeared. The five leaders were wearing their Kage robes and hats, everyone awaited in rapt attention as the Godaime Hokage of Konoha took a step forward to deliver her speech
"I want to take this opportunity to welcome and thank everyone for coming here to Konoha. Once again the allied shinobis have shown unity and camaraderie towards a common goal of attaining peace, I'm very proud and honoured to announce on behalf of the other Kages that we have officially signed the Jinchuriki treaty!" a loud applause erupted from the audience. Naruto pumped his fist in the air while all his friends joyfully surrounded him, they understood how much this treaty meant to him as one of the last shinobis to ever be jinchuriki.
More cheers came when all the kages had stepped forward beside the godaime, followed by the roaring explosions of the colourful fireworks in the night sky.
The two Hyuugas treaded the lonely street leading to the compound; they had left the celebration early after receiving instructions to return home soon. Hinata would usually walk behind Neji but she now clung to him for balance due to her wooden clogs and robes that she slightly raised to prevent it from touching the ground.
A gust of cold autumn wind blew and Hinata's body shuddered, Neji instinctively put an arm around her and moved her closer to him
"Nii-san…" she started as they continued along the street
"What is it Hinata-sama?"
Hinata pondered a bit on how to open the discussion but knowing how perceptive Neji was, she decided the best way was to tell him outright
"I'm thinking about joining the ANBU" she said without preliminaries.
Neji immediately stopped on his tracks and turned to look at her "What?"
"I said…"
"I heard what you said Hinata-sama, that's not what I meant, why on earth would you want to do that" he started walking again and guiding her along with his stride which became noticeably quicker. She became quiet for a while as she tried keeping up with him until she missed a step and twisted her ankle.
She suddenly fell in a sitting position while the hem of her Kimono splayed on the ground, Neji quickly bended down beside her "Hinata-sama I'm so sorry, are you okay?"
"My foot…" she moaned softly. Neji slightly drew up the edge of her kimono to see the torn bands of her clogs and started lifting her to his arms
"Nii-san…what are you doing?!" protested Hinata as Neji carried her bridal style, she saw the broken clogs left on the ground as he started to move
"I'd normally carry you on my back but with what you're wearing now, I don't think that's possible" a blush crept in Hinata's face a she recalled that incident when she sprained her foot and Neji had insistently carried her on his back.
"At least we can move faster" smirked Neji who briskly increased his steps as the Hyuuga compound loomed nearer.
Hinata carefully studied his face and decided to bring up the subject once more "I'm sorry Nii-san, but I will become Anbu" Hinata felt the tightening grip of his arms around her body.
"Hinata-sama" his eyes was angrily staring at her, something she hasn't seen in a very long time. She closed her eyes in regret and suddenly sensed the warmth of Neji's forehead resting against her own temple. She opened her eyes and saw his intense gaze; their lips were so close that she felt the heat of their collective breaths.
"Please…"he whispered almost inaudibly while Hinata remained speechless. The sound of movement from the Hyuuga's compound door broke their private moment; Neji gently inched away from her face as he continued to carry her quietly.
One of the maidservants had opened the door but remained impassive at seeing the strange circumstance of their heiress and the prodigy. Neji reached the corridor and laid Hinata down while he took out her injured foot and massaged it tenderly.
"Wait here" said Neji as he left for a moment and came back with a few items in his hand. He sat down and started applying some salve on Hinata's injured ankle.
"It's ok Nii-san, I'll take care of it later" the prodigy seemed to have ignored her as he gently wrapped the foot with a bandage
"Nii-san" whispered Hinata, totally lost at his cousin's odd reactions.
Neji extended a hand to her "That should be fine for now. We should hurry, Hiashi-sama is waiting for us" Hinata took his hand and walked with a slight limp while Neji placed her hand on his arm for support.
They wordlessly walked to Hiashi's office as both were lost in thought for the nameless awaken feelings between them.
The sound of the sliding shoji door caught the clan leader's attention and saw Neji entering followed by Hinata who surprised him with her exquisiteness. He regarded his daughter who was now the very semblance of his late wife, the Hyuuga heiress and prodigy stood side by side in front of him which fleetingly evoked memories of his past.
"Father, welcome home" greeted Hinata followed by a quick bow which Neji also did.
"Hiashi-sama, I hope everything went well with your meeting with the daimyos"
"It was fine but this is not why I asked both of you to come here, sit down and come closer" The two sat as Hiashi undid the parchment to reveal the image of two identical dragons which had the symbols of water on one while the other had wind. Neji took a closer look and realized that it was a summoning contract.
"These are the twin dragons of the Hyuuga, Hizashi and I have used them during our early years until the two of you were born"
Hiashi had pointed the dragon with the wind character to Neji "this is Hizashi's" and indicated the one with the water character to Hinata "And this one is mine. The contracts are binding even after death, but I was able to convince the dragons to pass on the contracts to both of you"
The two young Hyuugas were astonished as they wordlessly studied the scroll. Hiashi instructed them to sign and draw blood from their index to use for marking their prints, Hiashi checked the scroll after they had finished and made an intricate hand seal, the contract glowed and disintegrated before their eyes.
Hiashi abruptly stood up and motioned them to follow him in the courtyard
"Now summon them" ordered the clan leader
Hinata and Neji glanced at each other and nodded, they went through the summoning routine and simultaneously hit the ground with their blood stained palms
"Ninpo Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" the sky suddenly darkened as swirls of clouds began to form a bright circular portal, two flashes of light came down in lightning speed, one was glowing white while the other was blue .
The two young Hyugas were mesmerized when two huge dragons hovered before the clan leader
"Hiashi" called out the blue dragon, it's voice was fierce and seemed to echo from the very depths of the earth.
Hiashi bowed before the glowing creatures."Ryujin-sama" he acknowledged the blue one before turning to the white one to pay his respects "Fujin-sama"
Hiashi raised his head and faced both dragons, he then presented the two youngsters beside him "This is Hizahi's son Neji and this is my daughter Hinata. They will carry on with the contracts"
The white dragon studied Neji "I feel great strength in this one, even more than Hizashi" Neji flinched at the mention of his father's name as he bowed before Fujin while the blue dragon had swooped down towards Hinata seemingly about to attack her but the dragon came to a sudden halt and floated inches away from her, his flaming eyes burned intensely as it stared right into her white-lavender ones.
Hinata remained undaunted as she slowly curtsied "It's an honor to meet you Ryujin-sama"
"How brave of you Hime" replied the dragon as it started to encircle and surround her with its strong energy. The portal had opened again as the blue dragon floated once more before Hinata.
"I will see you soon Hime" it said before racing into the portal with the white dragon, completely vanishing in the illuminated night sky.
The unnameable is the eternally real, naming is the origin of all particular things
-Lao Tzu-
Footnotes:
Hajime Hyuuga– an original character, the leader of the Hyuugas credited for the clan's settlement in Konoha. Hajime which means "the start, the beginning" A name I choose because I thought it would be suitable since he's the "first" Hyuuga leader in Konoha.
Howori /Hoori – a Japanese mythological figure from the mythological story Ebb and Flow, son of Ninigi no Mikoto and KonohanaSakuya-Hime.
Ninigi No Mikoto – Japanese mythological figure, grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu.
KonohanaSakuyahime – Japanese mythological figure, the daughter of the mountain god Ohoyamatsumi, wife of Ninigi No Mikoto. She is also the goddess of Mt. Fuji and all volcanoes.
Blue Dragon/Ryujin-sama – an original character based on the Japanese mythological figure Ryujin/Ryojin also known as Ōwatatsumi who was teitular god of sea. Father of Toyotamahime or better known as Otohime who is the wife of Howori/Hoori.
White Dragon/Fujin-sama – an original character based on the Japanese mythological figure Fujin who is the god of wind.
Bira Bira Kanzashi – a traditional Japanese hair ornament composed of metal strips attached by rings to the body of the ornament so that they move independently, pleasantly tinkling (which is sometimes accentuated by additional bells) or long chains of silk flowers called shidare
* As Kishimoto derived some major aspects of his Naruto characters from Japanese mythological figures, I thought it would be good to expand the same idea by incorporating the mythological background on the Hyuugas since nothing was mentioned in the manga/anime about their origin.
*Please refer to Japanese Mythology literature for further reading.