"And that is when I came to you."
Neji slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath and turned to face Lord Hyuuga. Lord Hyuuga's faced reveled nothing, he simply stood there staring not a Neji but through Neji. The silence was nerve racking Neji didn't no what to think. Even Hoyta shifted nervously, but Lord Hyuuga's face remained unchanged within the silence of the small hospital room. Finally Hoyta broke the silence.
"My lord, my diagnosis is complete." Lord Hyuuga remained frozen, not acknowledging Hoyta's comment what so ever. Hoyta stared at Lord Hyuuga for a moment then continued. "Neji's chakra system did take great damage, however the only sight of major damage happens to be around his heart." Neji placed his hand on his chest remembering his enemy's final strike. He had never felt such pain in his life, and yet form the outside nothing looked wrong. Such was the signature of the juken.
"He must have been toying with me the entire time. His attacks were pointless; he blindly threw attack after attack hitting virtually nothing. There wasn't even reason to dodge after a while……until the final attack. That attack was a level of juken that I have never imagined." Hoyta shook his head.
"That's not the issue at all. Quite the contrary really." Hoyta turned away form Neji and looked out the window. "While you do have a few juken related injuries, they are all minor at best." Hoyta paused for a moment trying to find the words to explain the complex matter. "The injuries around your heart were….similar but it was to crude. Even the most basic juken attack is more precise then the damage you have received. However the damage inflicted is almost three times as effective as any juken attack. Only the most advanced juken would even come close to matching this type of damage." Lord Hyuuga finally broke his statue state and turned to Hoyta.
"Enough!" Both Hoyta and Neji merely glanced up at Lord Hyuuga in disbelief. Hoyta nodded and vanished. "Neji, rest and get well." Neji slowly nodded. Lord Hyuuga turned his back to Neji and faced the closed doorway. "Do not speak of what you just told me to anyone." Lord Hyuuga opened the door and slowly walked down the hallway.
A thousand thoughts entered Neji's head. Nothing seemed to make since. Suddenly Neji's wounds became apparent. He cringed in the pain of the unseen scares he now bore. Sleep welcomed him and Neji embraced it.
In the Hyuuga's estate Lord Hyuuga sat quietly in his candle lit meditation room. Hoyta appeared before Lord Hyuuga. Lord Hyuuga's eyes met Hoyta's. Both ninja's pale eyes had no show of emotion. The silence intensified the raw emotion within each ninja's mind. Hoyta's patients grew thin.
"My lord I don't understand." Hoyta's once emotionless eyes now held concern, but Lord Hyuuga remained unmoved. "I haven't seen anything like what the boy has contracted, no one in the Hyuuga medical corp has. I can treat it but because of its unknown nature we can't be sure of anything. Normal juken attacks damage ones chakra system by causing tears in the tenketsu, but even with my byakugan the tears were barely visible. If I couldn't see the rips in the tenketsu who knows what else I missed. This could be slowly killing him! He need to know what might be ahead of him." Lord Hyuuga raised his hand to silence Hoyta. The ninja halted his words and stood at attention.
"Hoyta you do not understand the gravity of the situation." Hoyta's eyes narrowed. "Neji will be fine. You may not have seen anything like Neji's injuries, but I have." "Hoyta's feelings finally broke his front.
"Then why didn't you say anything? Why are we keeping this a secret? My lord this is a human life not" Lord Hyuuga cut him off.
"Don't you think I know that! I...I'm sorry Hoyta. This isn't your fault." Lord Hyuuga placed his hand in his hands and sobbed.
"Lord Hyuuga what is really going on? If this a second ninja attack we need to alert the village." (Remember this story takes place shortly after Orochimaru's attack on the Leaf village.)
"Believe me when I say the village has nothing to do with this. They don't need to know, the village has enough on its plate, and with out a hokage……" Both ninja stood a few moments in silence in honor of the late hokage. "Hoyta you have no idea what this attack means. It would be better if I just showed you." Lord Hyuuga stood up turned around to the back wall of the estate. Lord Hyuuga closed his eyes and reopened them with the activation of his byakugan. Then Lord Hyuuga set in motion a long series of hand signs. With the last sign he clasped his hand together. Then Lord Hyuuga raised his hand and pointed up with two fingers, then slid his fingers down the wall leaving a black line. He then pulled back his arms into a stance and trusted a two finger jab at the center middle of the black line.
Suddenly all along the back wall symbols and seals in black ink appeared, followed by a thick black line that formed around the perimeter of the seals. A flash of light briefly lit the dark room and where once the strange symbols were now there was a doorway. Inside a lone torch fastened to the wall illuminated a small area within the door reveling a few stairs.
Lord Hyuuga said nothing but began to ascend to stairs and then motioned for Hoyta to follow. Hoyta approached the doorway hesitated then slowly walked through. As soon as Hoyta entered the doorway the wall began to rebuild itself closing the doorway. Hoyta glanced behind him only to see the old stone wall of the estate. Lord Hyuuga was already out of sight and form down the corridor said "Quickly Hoyta!" Hoyta snapped back to reality and quickly walked down the stairs.
The silver haired ninja slowly walked down the hallway lit by orbs of white flame floating along the sides of the hall. At the end of the hall was a large door made of a black metal. The silver haired ninja now at the door stood at the closed door in an inhuman silence. At last the silent ninja request was answered. A presents fill the hall. The white flame withered and died. The hall became pitch black without the gray light of the unnatural flame. Then a rumbling shook the doors and a booming voice spoke.
"You have done better then I ever imagined……enter!" The huge doors slowly opened and the ninja entered the inner sanctum beyond the black doors.
