Authors note: First of all, thanks to the people who have read my story.
Here are some background info on my story: Chapter 1 was set close to the end of the 3 year period before Orochimaru could transfer his soul. All of the Konoha 12, save the team formerly known as seven, are now chuunin. Gaara is the Kazekage, but no attempt was made to kidnap him.(I needed Naruto to stay with Hinata during the last 6 months) Tsunade is still Hokage and Jiraiya is still a pervert.
DISCLAIMER: The following is a story of fiction created using elements not belonging to the author. These aforementioned elements belong to their respective owners. Any similarities with people's names, places, events, and/or stories by other authors, either living or dead, are purely coincidental.
Hyuuga Hiashi sat at the head of large table. He was presiding over the Hyuuga council of elders meeting. These 'meetings' were suppose to be were the head of the family along with his advisers would discuss over clan business and matters. As head of the clan, Hiashi had an obligation to be in these meetings.
Over the years, however, Hiashi has began to dislike, even loath these conferences. What once was an honorable and dignified assembly had now become nothing more than a group of withered old men who spent most of the time bragging about the clan and degrading the other families in the village. Of all the times he had been here Hiashi could only count on his fingers the times the council had actually discussed what was best for the clan.
'What is best for the clan…'
These six words were also things Hiashi loathed. For so long he had done things that were supposedly 'in the clan's best interests', things that this very council had 'recommended' him to do. In the end it did little good for the clan, and cost him a great deal of pain.
'I've had enough of this.'
Hiashi cleared his throat to get the attention of the assembly.
"Council members, forgive me but I must take my leave of this assembly. There are some important matters I must attend to."
He was about to walk away when a voice protested.
"Hiashi, you are amongst the council of elders. Is it not here where we discuss matters of importance to the clan? What other things must you attend to?" The council leader, who also happened to be Hiashi's father, said.
"Father, you of all people must know of my duties besides being the head of the Hyuuga clan. I have a daughter to look after."
"But isn't miss Hanabi in the academy today?" another council member asked.
"Hanabi is not my only daughter."
At this statement, murmurs went flying through the room.
"Why must you trouble yourself with her, master Hiashi?" a third council member spoke.
"Yes. She is nothing but a weakling. That girl is not worthy of the Byakugan nor the name Hyuuga, much less the title of heiress."
"Her abilities as a warrior are inferior to the standards of our family. Her own younger sister could best her. Worse, she had been socializing with the demon child, and has even become its lover."
"She is nothing but a shame to this family. It would be better if she were to be disposed off…"
Before the councilman finished his sentenced, several kunai went past his head. The assembly looked to the origin of the projectiles and saw Hiashi with his arms held out.
"Hiashi, what is the meaning of this? How dare you strike at you own kin?"
"I should ask you the same thing, father."
"What are you talking about?"
"This council dared to suggest the assassination of my own daughter in front of me and yet you still have the audacity ask me what the meaning of this is?"
"Watch your tongue! You are speaking to the leader of the council of elders and your father."
"And you are talking to the leader of the clan and the father of the girl you are trying to kill.
For too long I have been listening to this council's courses of action, and it has brought no good to the clan. The only thing that your decisions have attained was the death of two of my family. I will not let history repeat itself anymore. I will not let you take my daughter away from me.
If anyone of you so much as causes a hair on Hinata's head to stray, I will personally end your lives."
Hiashi begun to walk towards the door.
"And one other thing. From this moment on, the Hyuuga council of elders is dissolved."
Tsunade looked at the stacked of papers on her desk. She had though she had made some headway in finishing her paperwork, but now she knew how wrong she was. They seem to just go on forever in a self restacking stack. She really needed a shot or two right now.
The door in her office opened…
"Master Hokage…"
The owner of the voice was cut off when a table lamp went passed his head.
"Damn it, kid! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"
It took the slug sannin a few minutes before recognizing the voice. She looked up and instead of a blonde, orange clad boy, there was a young man with his hair in a ponytail and a bored look on his face.
"So…you don't want to be called Hokage?" Shikamaru said in an irritated tone and holding the lamp he had caught before it hit him.
"Oh, its you, Shikamaru." Tsunade said as she sat back down. "Sorry about the lamp. I was expecting…"
The Hokage trailed off for a moment. She had been expecting Naruto to come through those doors and, in his same loud and boisterous self, demanding a high level mission or brag about the one he had just accomplished. It had been a week since he was buried, but she was still expecting him to pop up at any moment, as if nothing had happened to him.
"You shouldn't be expecting him to drop by. It's too troublesome." The young man said as he put down the lamp on the table.
The Hokage sighed and wiped a stray tear from her eye. She knew the chuunin was right, but it was really hard to do it.
"Forget about it. Anyway, why are you here, Nara? Aren't you supposed to be on a day off?"
"Yeah well, I wanted to drop off something."
"What?"
"This."
The shadow manipulator then took off his flack jacket and put it on the Hokage's desk.
"Shikamaru, this is your chuunin vest."
"Yeah, and I'm returning it."
"What? Why?"
The lazy ninja sighed.
"Do I have to spell it out? I'm quitting."
"Quitting?" the Hokage said in disbelief. "Why are you quitting?"
"I just don't want to be a ninja anymore. It's far too troublesome. Maybe I'll just raise the family deer herd. At least then I'll still be able to watch the clouds."
The Hokage was speechless for a moment.
"But, we need you. You're our best strategist. We need your skills now more than ever. And we can't afford to lose another ninja. What do you need to stay? I can give you a bigger salary if you want."
Shikamaru lowered his head.
"Sorry, master Hokage, but my mind is made up now."
It was a quiet day at the Hidden Village of Konaha. Even more, in the cemetery of the Hidden village of Konoha. In this hallowed place lay a great number of the village's former populace, most of which were ninja.
In the 'Hyuuga section' of the cemetery, Hiashi stood in front of two graves. To his left was the grave of his brother, Hyuuga Hizashi. To his right was that of his wife, Hyuuga Yuki.
The story of his brother's death was well known. Everyone in the clan knew of it, even some people outside the family. Hizashi died in place of his brother when Hiashi killed a Cloud emissary to prevent the kidnap of Hinata. Even though the clan head disagreed with the decision of the council, the group of elders still had their way and substituted Hizashi's head for Hiashi's. This resulted in the lost of his brother, an enlargement in the rift between the main family and the branch family, and the enmity held by his nephew for the former.
Not as well known was how Hiashi lost his wife, Yuki. Official reports said she died due to her body becoming severely weak after childbirth. Hiashi knew otherwise. It wasn't her body that was weakened, but it was her will to live.
Whenever he closed his eyes, he would still see Yuki's smiling face. Her pale white skin, her lavender eyes, her night blue hair. He knew Hinata inherited much from her mother, both physical and emotional aspects. Just like her daughter, Yuki was such a shy girl in her youth. And just like her daughter, she was looked down upon by the other clan members because of her passive nature.
She was perhaps even worse than Hinata. At least his daughter had the courage to talk to Naruto. Yuki, on the other hand, couldn't even look at him. Even so, Hiashi loved Yuki greatly. She was his best friend and confidant in their youth. She had healed many a wound of his, both physical and emotional. She had soothed his tormented mind and broken soul when Hizashi died.
Hiashi wanted nothing more but to grow old with her. Alas, it was not to be so. Hyuuga Yuki was to die before her husband. She was to die a broken, bitter woman.
And it was once again caused by the intervention of the council of elders.
At that time Hiashi was on a trip. The council, tired of how appalling Hinata's progress was, confronted Yuki. They blamed her for how weak the heiress was, seeing that she herself inherited a weaker version of the Byakugan. Yuki courageously defended herself the best she could, saying that they had no right to insult either the heir of the Hyuuga clan or the wife of the clan head.
To this the council responded than she was not the wife of the clan head, but merely the vessel from which a stronger generation would come. Her only purpose was to produce children who were suitable to be members of the Hyuuga. They also told her that Hiashi would surely take a new wife to replace her if should couldn't bear a suitable child.
When Hiashi returned, he paid no mind to his wife's friskiness that night. After all, they had done it whenever he would return from a mission. Nine months after that, Hanabi was born, and it was then that he noticed something was wrong with Yuki. She had begun turn paler and thinner. A few days later, she suddenly collapsed. Hiashi called on the best doctors in the village, but not one of them could tell what was wrong. It was as if her body was just giving up.
Hiashi never left Yuki's side. It pained him greatly to see his beloved wife be that way. He waited for her to awake from her slumber. She did soon after, but it would not be a joyous moment.
Flashback: 12 years ago
"Hiashi…"
The Hyuuga head quickly went to his wife's side and took her hand in his.
"I'm here, Yuki."
She looked at him with clouded eyes. Her face held an empty expression and had but a mere shadow of her beauty.
"Hiashi, how is Hanabi? Is she healthy?"
"She is fine, Yuki. It's you I'm more worried about. What's wrong?"
Yuki did not answer his question.
"It is good to know that she is healthy. At least I was able to produce a suitable heir the second time around."
"Wha…what are you saying?"
Yuki tuned away and looked up to the ceiling.
"I am nothing but a slave to the head of the clan. Nothing more than a vessel to carry his children. My only role is to produce children to carry on the bloodline."
Hiashi was both confused and furious.
"That's a lie! You are my wife and I love you. Who told you this nonsense?"
Yuki shook her head slowly. Tears slowly fell from her eyes.
"I am only a slave. I was never your wife. I…never…had…your…love."
End Flashback
Yuki died then and there.
Without his wife by his side, Hiashi began to slip into depression. Finding out the true circumstance of Yuki's death didn't help either. He thought himself week for not being able to protect his wife. From that moment on, he became obsessed with ensuring the clan was at their strongest. He pushed his daughters harder. He did this under the pretense of preventing them from meeting the same fate as their mother. He wanted them to be strong, both in body and in character. What he didn't know was that he was doing to his children the exact same thing the council did to his wife.
His constant ridiculing of her progress had caused Hinata to loss confidence in her self, almost to the point of questioning the purpose of her existence. She had come to see herself as nothing more than a disgrace. She was feeling the same emotional burden that was laid upon her mother.
Both father and daughter would have spiraled down this self-destructive path, had it not been for the intervention of another.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Flashback: 3 weeks ago
Hiashi sat at his desk looking over some papers. It was another day like any other; a day of paperwork for the Hyuuga clan head.
Soft footfalls were heard outside his door. Activating his bloodline, he saw it was his eldest daughter, Hinata. She was wearing her usual clothes, a white jacket over her fishnet body suite. Curious as to where his daughter was going, he called to her.
"Hinata, I would like to speak to you."
A few moments and the young heiress entered her father's office.
"Y…yes, father."
"Where are you going, Hinata?"
"I…I was going t...to go out a…and train."
Hiashi raised a brow.
"Training? Why don't you use our own training grounds?"
"W…well, I…I already agreed to t…train with a f…friend, father."
Hiashi looked at his daughter. Both his ninja and parental instinct said she wasn't lying.
"Very well, Hinata, but I expect you to be home by dinner."
With a bow, she left.
Hiashi looked at where his daughter was standing but a few seconds ago. She had been doing this for almost two months now, going out to train with friends. At first he assumed that she was training with his teammates. But when he asked Hinata's comrades and teacher, they didn't know where she was. He also tried her other piers, but they too did not know.
The clan head would have been furious at his daughter for lying about her whereabouts, if not for Hiashi seeing visible improvement in her for the past few weeks. Her combat abilities were slowly becoming at par with her sister, Hanabi's. It was obvious that Hinata was now quicker and more agile, and had better stamina than before.
Curious as to who was training with his daughter, Hiashi stood up from his chair and prepared for a little espionage.
'Besides, this paperwork is giving me a migraine.'
And so here he was, on top of a nondescript building, shadowing his own daughter. He was keeping his distance, making sure she was just at the limit of his Byakugan range, which itself was quite substantial. As Hiashi watched his daughter weave through the throngs of people, he began to wonder what Hinata was doing in this part of the village. The shinobi training grounds were at the other side of town.
Hinata soon stopped in front of a small noodle shop.(AN: 3 guesses which ) The girl behind the counter gave her a warm smile as if she knew the Hyuuga heir well. The shinobi bowed in greeting and sat on a stool. She looked like she was waiting for someone. Soon enough, a blonde, orange clad young man came running to the shop.
"Hinata!"
Hiashi went wide eyed and slack jawed as he watched Uzumaki Naruto walk up to Hinata, sat down beside her and ordered ramen for the both of them. Soon they were merrily chatting and eating away. What would have been rage at his daughter went flying out the window. The Hyuuga head was now more occupied with his daughter and the fox boy's 'date'.
'What are they doing together? Are they on a date? How long have they been going out? Have they gone intimate? WHY AM I FINDING THIS OUT ONLY NOW?'
While Hiashi was playing twenty questions with himself, the two finished their meal and began to walk towards Training Ground 7. He silently followed them. They reached the training area but continued towards the surrounding forests. At this point, the father was having a bad feeling about the situation. His daughter with a young man in the middle of the forest with no one around; it just raises questions.
The two soon reached a clearing. The Kyuubi container then turned to the Hyuuga heir. Even thought they were out of hearing range, Hiashi was able to read the movements of their lips.
"Are you ready, Hinata?" Naruto asked with a solemn look.
"Uh…I…uh…yes." Hinata answered, slightly red cheeked
"Don't be nervous. I'll be gentle."
"A…alright, Naruto"
Hinata began to take off her jacket. Assuming that they were going to do what he thought they were going to do, Hiashi began to speed up, intent on preventing his daughter from being defiled.
He, however, ground to a halt when Hinata dropped her jacket. A cloud of dust erupted from where the piece of clothing hit the ground. When the dust settled, the jacket was in a small hole, Hinata was in a Jyuken fighting stance, and Naruto was nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, what seemed like a thousand Naruto's came charging at Hinata. The young woman just stood her ground. When the first Naruto came close enough, she drew out her hand and lightly touched his chest. That one promptly exploded into a cloud of smoke. Two more came from behind, and were similarly dispatched.
This went on for a few more minutes. Hinata weaved through the ocean of Naruto's smiting anyone that came close. Hiashi was surprised at what he was seeing. How did Hinata become such a proficient practitioner of the Jyuken Ryu? This was the first time he had seen her daughter fight so well.
Another Kage Bunshin was soon dispatched. At this one of the Naruto's gave a signal and almost half the remaining shadow clones took to the air. Then all of them produced four kunai or shuriken in each hand, eight for each clone. They simultaneously through their weapons at the Hyuuga heir. Hinata didn't move from her spot.
Just as Hiashi was about to move in again, Hinata twisted her body to the left and began to spin the other way. Soon a spinning dome of charka encapsulated the girl, deflecting the projectile weapons thrown at her back and hitting several shadow clones. The whirlwind that was produced blew more clones back, causing them to hit trees and disappear.
Hinata stopped spinning just as the rest of the clones dropped to the ground. Now it was her turn to be on the offensive. She began to run through the sea of Naruto's, taking those that were in her way. She came to one particular Naruto and began her assault.
"Two strikes…Four strikes…Eight strikes…Sixteen strikes…Thirty two strikes…Sixty four palms of the hand!"
The targeted Naruto was sent flying several feet back, while the rest exploded into smoke. Hinata promptly fell to her knees, her exhaustion very apparent.
Hiashi looked on at his daughter.
'Kaiten, and the Sixty Four Palms of the Hand. How did she learn these techniques? I have yet to teach her and Hanabi even the basics of those moves.'
His attention went back to the two teens. They were quiet for a few minutes, until Naruto began to laugh. Hinata laughed as well, as she wobbly walked up to, and plopped down beside the blond boy.
"That was great, Hinata." Naruto said out loud.
"T…thank you, Naruto." Said Hinata shyly.
"You know, compared to Neji's, your sixty four palms are more painful."
Hinata blushed at the comment and snuggled close to him. Feeling the girl, Naruto slipped his arm underneath her and pulled her closer until she was lying on his chest.
"You look tired. Why don't you take a little nap."
"Hmmm." Came the reply. A few moments later, the girl had already fallen asleep.
Moving slowly as to not wake her up, the fox boy sat up and took off his jacket. He then folded it up and put it under the sleeping girl's head to serve as a pillow. He then stood up and walked a few steps away. When he reached the edge of the clearing, Naruto looked back at Hinata, then turned his gaze to the trees.
"You can come out now. I know you're hiding somewhere."
Hiashi was surprised when Naruto called out to him. He did not know how he knew he was close by. He was watching them with his Byakugan and he was sure his chakra signature was hidden very well. Either way, his cover has been blown. He might as well confront the fox boy. He had questions as to his daughter's improvement.
The Hyuuga head leapt from his branch and landed in front of the genin.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Hyuuga Hiashi."
The two regarded each other with a heavy air of animosity between them.
"I see you've been training with my daughter." Hiashi said in a cold tone.
"Yup! It's really fun sparing with her." Naruto said with his trademark fox grin
"I thank you for the assistance you've given Hinata. She's improved substantially under your tutelage."
"Yeah well, people always improve if you give them some encouragement and not run them to the ground every moment of their lives."
Hiashi's eye brow went up.
"Are you trying to imply something?"
"You bet I am!" the boy shouted with his finger pointing at the man in front of him. After a moment Naruto's expression changed. "What's imply?"
Hiashi almost fell over at the sudden question. He decided to let is pass.
"Tell me, Uzumaki, how long have you been training with my daughter?"
The boy looked like he was under deep thought. "Well, we've been doing this for about six months now."
"Has she been practicing Hyuuga techniques for six months?"
"Nope. She started doing the Kaiten and the Sixty-four palms just last week."
'Seven days? It took her almost a third of the time it took Neji to master those techniques. Incredible, but how…'
"How could she have mastered those techniques?" Naruto said, as if reading the man's mind.
Hiashi kept silent. The boy continued
"You must be thinking, how could she have been such a powerful warrior, when she looks so weak and frail. That maybe true. Even I sometimes become afraid that Hinata is the overexerting herself. But Hinata is strong. There is a power within her that exceeds even the most powerful of your Hyuuga clansmen. In fact I think, no, I believe that if ever the nine tailed fox were ever to return, she would be the only one in this village who could stand against it."
Naruto looked back affectionately at the sleeping girl. Hiashi's face remained passive.
"I don't believe you."
Naruto looked back at the Hyuuga head.
"I don't believe that Hinata such power as you said. She has always been weak ever since I first trained her. Her sister Hanabi, who is four years younger than her, could best her hands down. I have yet to see any evidence of this power you speak of ."
Naruto only smirked and shook his head.
"Bearers of the all seeing eyes and you can't see the obvious."
Hiashi's brows furrowed as he looked at the boy.
"Do you want to see the reason why you can't see Hinata's true power?"
The genin threw him his forehead protector.
"Look at it. What do you see?"
The older man looked the at the object in his hands.
"I see the symbol of the Leaf."
"Look harder. Look at the metal, not the symbol."
Hiashi did so. The metal was riddled with scratches but was polished well. On it he saw a blurry image of…
"Myself."
"And that's your answer."
He looked back at the boy.
"You are the reason why you couldn't see her power. All you see are her flaws, her failures. You couldn't see her determination and spirit. You couldn't see how an excellent medic nin she's become. You couldn't see how she's been getting better even before I began to train with her. And if you can't see the obvious, how can you see the hidden."
Hiashi looked at the forehead protector a bit more and threw it back.
"I still do not believe you. Please tell my daughter she is still expected before supper."
At this Hiashi began to walk away.
"I know about Hinata's mother."
The man stopped.
"You know, I use to envy Hinata. She was rich. She had a big house. She had a prestigious name. But much more, I envied her because she had a family. Even with all the things she told me about the Hyuugas, with the seals and division and all, I thought it couldn't be that bad.
But as I got to know her better, I began to pity her. All her life she carried a great burden on her shoulders. The esteemed name she had also impressed on her expectations she couldn't meet all at once. Even though she was trying her hardest, those around her did nothing but ridicule her, just because she took longer to learn. Her achievements were belittled, or worse, disregarded.
All because a man couldn't put the past behind him and had to take out his anger and frustration on his daughter."
Naruto lifted his hand and pointed at Hiashi.
"The Hyuuga aren't a family. You people are just a bunch of arrogant, self-centered, prestige obsessed bastards who happened to have the same last name. Wild dogs treat their family members with more compassion."
The clan head stood unmoved for a moment. He slowly turned to Naruto.
"The methods of our clan seem barbaric to you. And because of this you want to change the Hyuuga.
I know for a fact that you never knew your parents, Uzumaki, so let me tell you something. Things aren't as simple as you think they are. A way of life that has lasted for decades could not be se easily changed. The way a family like ours works is more difficult and complicated than you think."
Naruto met Hiashi's gaze.
"How could it be difficult to believe in your child? How complicated could it be to love your daughter?"
At these words Hiashi had a flashback.
'I…never…had…your…love.'
It was then he began to wonder if Hinata felt he didn't love her. For so long he had laid on his daughter such hurtful words. He had treated her as if she was a nuisance. He had chosen to favor Hanabi, and instead ignore his eldest. He had ignored her achievements. He had all but disowned her.
It was then he realized he was doing to her the very same thing the council did to his wife.
'All this time I had thought I was helping Hinata become a stronger person. But now I realize I was doing the exact opposite. I have been the very cause of my daughter's weakness. I have been a fool.'
"You love my daughter, don't you?"
Naruto looked back at the sleeping Hinata.
"Yes."
Hiashi lowered his head and turned around.
"I pray she will always have you by her side."
At this he began to walk away.
"What about you?" Naruto called out "You're her father."
"I've lost the right to be Hinata's father the moment I stopped believing in her."
In a yellow flash, Naruto appeared in front of Hiashi.
"Let Hinata be the judge of that."
At that moment, Hinata began to stir and wake up. She kneeled up when she saw who was staring down at Naruto.
"F…Father?" a pale faced Hyuuga heir said.
Both men looked at the girl.
"Hinata, you're awake. How was your nap?" Naruto said with a grin on his face.
Hinata couldn't answer the question. She was too busy wondering why her father was here and too afraid of what he was thinking right now.
"Daughter, this young man has told me you have been training with him for some time now."
Hinata kept her head down.
"Y…yes, f…father."
"Even though the council and myself told you in the past not to socialize with him."
"Y…yes, father."
Hiashi was silent for a moment.
"Hinata, from now on you are to no longer seek out Uzumaki Naruto to train with him."
She knew it. Now she could no longer have any quality time with her beloved Naruto.
"Uzumaki Naruto…"
Now her father was forbidding him from ever seeing her again.
"…from now on I am handing my Hinata's training to you, seeing she has improved considerably under your tutelage."
Hinata's snapped up and looked at her father.
"If you choose to train in this location again, you are to escort my daughter from the estate to here and from here back to the estate. Is that understood?"
"Sure!" Naruto said with a grin and the patented 'nice guy' pose.
"I will leave you now to your training then."
Hiashi had walked a few steps when he stopped again.
"One more thing. During training Neji is to accompany and watch over the two of you."
"WHAT?" Naruto cried out, "Not Neji, he's absolutely no fun at all!"
"My decision is final."
With that, Hiashi left a grumbling Naruto and a still bewildered Hinata.
End Flashback
He had remembered during one of the Chuunin exams that Naruto had promised to change the Hyuuga. He could safely say that the young man did.
From that day on the relationship between father and daughter had improved. The Hyuuga princesses now trained side by side. Their duels had become close ties. Hinata had even began to study the removal techniques for the Caged Bird Seal. The hurtful words turned on her had disappeared. Now none doubted she would be a suitable, if not excellent heir.
That is, until tragedy that occurred a week ago.
Hiashi looked again at the two graves. These were the people he had lost because he had made himself to blind in his surroundings. He lost Yuki because he didn't see how those around her treated her. He lost Hizashi because he didn't see how much the division of the clan has destroyed his family.
"Hizashi, Yuki, I know I have been too blind to save you. I would not be so anymore. I have lost you two, but I will not loose Hinata. I will do what must be done…
…what is best for the clan."
Next Chapter: A look at our broken princess.