Aviculturist

At the age of twelve, Hyuga Hiashi became the youngest leader in the history of the Hyuga Clan. The sudden death of his father left him emotionally and mentally ill-prepared for the position but he had promise. All the elders recognized the gifted qualities and potential of the young child. He only lacked experience.

But most importantly, he was still only a child and it was difficult to hold his attention on adult matters for very long. For one, he missed his brother terribly and was prone to melancholy as a result. Combine this with his sharp intellect and the stubborn pride of the Hyugas and one would have better success moving mountains than getting the young, lonely leader to go along with anything he didn't feel like doing.

At the recommendation of the master advisor, the council assigned junior advisor Hyuga Hachirou as the child's tutor. He wasn't much of a shinobi, in fact his Byakugan was considered low grade, but he was smart and remarkably patient. If there was anyone who could deal with the unusual circumstances of a child leader, according to the master advisor's recommendation, it would be Hachirou.

From Hachirou's standpoint, he had no idea where this confidence in his abilities came from. He did not have children of his own nor had he ever expressed interest in working with them. He strongly suspected that the true reason behind his assignment was that nobody else wanted to deal with the child.

It was sad, really, he thought as he watched Hiashi once again neglect his school work to stare out the window. The child certainly could not be blamed for his difficult circumstances and yet the elders seemed exasperated with his slow adjustment whenever Hachirou gave his weekly progress reports. He had no doubt that Hiashi had picked up on this, explaining the increasing difficulty in motivating the child to stay on task. Something had to change.

"Hiashi," Hachirou began as he closed his book, "let's take a walk outside."

Startled, Hiashi shook himself from his musings and looked at him with a guilty expression. "I haven't finished my schoolwork."

"You can finish it later," the tutor replied reassuringly. "There is no point in staying here if you're going to be distracted. The walk will clear your mind."

Hiashi blushed and bowed his head with a fretful look. "Are you going to tell the council?" he asked in a whisper.

Hachirou sighed sympathetically. This child truly felt alone and without friends. He held out his hand, "Tell them what, my lord?"

He could tell that Hiashi was still dubious but interested in the turn of events. He looked at the hand and then Hachirou's face with a curious expression.

The tutor decided to press his advantage. "Perhaps we can pay Hizashi a visit. I hear he has recently returned from a mission. I'm sure he has lots of stories to share with you."

The mention of his brother removed any lingering hesitation. Hiashi smiled brightly as he accepted the offered hand. "He likes the training fields by the river. Can we go there first?"

"Of course, my lord," Hachirou replied with an encouraging nod.

As they made their way outside, Hiashi racing ahead in his excitement, Hachirou hoped he was doing the right thing. It was a spur of the moment decision but one that made sense to him the more he thought about the task set before him:

One must first allow a child to be a child.

~ TBC ~