*These next 3 chapters are technically, one chapter…I just decided to separate them because there is a bit where it returns to the present. It's basically just for the sake of continuity, and to stave off confusion. Anyway, I don't have much to say about it, but we do finally find out the origin of the mysterious "Chifuyu"! And the Lord said, "LET THERE BE FANFICS!" …Hurray for blasphemy! Anyway, please, enjoy these next "3" chapters.
Notes: Hyuuga Hibari is an OC Branch Family member, and one of Neji's distant cousins. Hyuuga Hisae is Neji's grandmother (a.k.a. the mother of Hizashi and Hiashi), and a member of the Main Family, also an OC.
WARNING: Any medical knowledge that Kaiser attempts to portray is actually butchered information that she received from high school level Anatomy, high school level Psychology, and the Discovery Channel.
I sincerely apologize to any med students out there who spend this time laughing their asses off.
Chapter 6: Past—Neji
Neji was heading toward Hyuuga Mansion, and he did not like it one bit. After he had married Lee, the Clan's Elders had decided (against Hiashi's wishes) that Neji would be exiled from the Hyuuga Clan. His Byakugan had been sealed in a way which allowed him to use it, but made it impossible for him to pass it on to his children, and for that, Neji was glad. His children would never be slaves of the Main House. Still, he was no longer welcome in the mansion. The people of the Branch House were as kind and hospitable as always, as were Hinata, Hiashi, and Hanabi, but no one else of the Main House regarded him as more than a household pest. Neji's decisions had deprived them of his "precious genetics" after all.
With a sigh, Neji continued on. Hinata had come to his and Lee's apartment, explaining that her father wished to speak with him about something. It was a personal matter, and the man wished to speak to Neji about it in private. For Neji's uncle, his study in the mansion was the best place.
Still, Neji hated the odd stares he was given when he entered through the front, so he decided instead to take the entrance to the Branch's part of the mansion instead.
It was summer. The grass and leaves could not have been greener. Neji was about to enter the mansion through a sliding door near the garden, but a soft sound made itself known. This noise was so heartbreaking and miserable, but what could it be? Then, Neji knew: someone was sobbing.
The brunette went instead to the door where the crying was loudest. Cautiously, he entered. "Excuse me, is everyone…" he trailed off. The source of the crying was a young woman sitting on a futon, with a bundle in her arms. She was wearing a kimono used primarily for sleep and looked so very pale and shaken, weak, almost dying.
Neji stepped closer, only to find that he was staring at one of his cousins Hyuuga Hibari. He knelt down next to the futon, attracting her attention. Hibari was a fairly young woman, but still almost ten years Neji's senior. She had long dark-hair and the whitest of eyes, the brightest eyes in the Hyuuga Clan, easily.
"Oh, Neji-kun," she managed through tears. "I didn't realize you were here." Neji nodded.
"Why're you crying, Hibari-nee-san?" Her beautiful eyes met his.
"I…Well, you see, Neji-kun…I…like your father, got into a relationship with someone…who was not in the Clan…" Neji nodded, having a bad feeling about what was coming next. "It was a man…by the name of Yamanaka Inosuke. We…were not allowed to be married, but we decided that we wanted to raise a child anyway. I became pregnant, and…gave birth earlier today to a baby girl." Neji smiled at her.
"That's wonderful, Hibari-nee-san. Is that her?" Hibari nodded, also smiling, though tears were still streaming down her face. She handed the bundle to Neji, who took it tenderly. Everything about the brunette seemed to melt as he held that baby, his expressions, his gestures; everything became so much softer, gentler.
"Hello," he whispered. The baby blinked up at him with stunning white eyes. He looked up at Hibari, "She has your eyes," he murmured. Hibari nodded, but her smile soon fell, as the blanket wrapped around her child loosened, revealing something that no Hyuuga mother would wish on her child.
Platinum blond hair.
Neji's eyes widened considerably. He looked back to his cousin who began to sob brokenly.
"Why couldn't she have been born like you, Neji-kun!" she cried. "My baby! Oh God, my baby!" Neji's heart ached for the woman, for any Hyuuga borne from a parent outside of the clan would be killed, should they inherit any other clan's features. Platinum blond hair was a trademark of the Yamanaka clan, but on a Hyuuga clan woman's baby, it was as good as a death sentence. "She's so beautiful, Neji-kun!" Hibari continued. "How can they take her away from me just because of that?" Neji again nodded. Had the brunette been born any other way, he too would have been killed at birth.
"She deserves none of this," Neji whispered. "If only there was something I could do…when do they plan to take her?"
"The midwife has gone to fetch Hisae-sama as we speak." Neji cringed, knowing full well that with his severe and merciless grandmother on duty, there would be no chance for that poor innocent baby. There had to be something he could do. But Neji was no longer part of the clan; he had no rights whatsoever to oppose the decision. He was an outsider after all…
Then, it hit him.
"Hibari-nee-san, I want you to write a letter stating that you will leave your baby in my care. They have no rights over me, or my family, so she would be safe with me."
"Neji-kun! I could never ask you to do such a thing. Having a baby at your age?" Neji shook his head.
"Please, Hibari-nee-san, I want more than anything for your baby to survive. Here." Neji grabbed a pen and paper from the nearby desk and gave it to Hibari. Meticulously they worded her statement, leaving no loopholes for the Elders to play on. Finally, she signed the statement, as did Neji. Hibari handed Neji her baby.
"Neji-kun, I want you to take her as far away from here as you can. Promise that you will make her happy. Please." Neji nodded, smiling.
"I promise, but don't act like you'll never see her again. We'll only be across the village." But Hibari shook her head.
"Neji-kun, you know as well as I do what it means to give birth to a 'deformed' child." Neji's eyes widened.
"No!" he cried. Hibari simply nodded.
"It's okay, Neji-kun. As long as my baby is safe, I will die proudly." Tears began to fall from Neji's eyes, but Hibari just kept smiling. She opened her arms, embracing Neji, her baby, and her fate all at once. "Be good for Neji-kun," she whispered to the baby girl, lightly kissing her head. "Goodbye, Neji-kun, I can't thank you enough. Now, hurry;" she looked back to the door, hearing footsteps, "Hisae-sama's coming!"
Neji got up and began to walk away. He stopped only for a moment, turning. Hibari was smiling, and the brunette tried to burn that proud, kind image of his cousin into his memory. Hibari feared neither pain nor death. That would be how Neji remembered her.
And then he ran. He ran as far and as fast as he could, forgetting about his meeting with Hiashi. There were more important things now: the baby in his arms.
It was raining out. He had to get the poor thing somewhere warm.
He ran, never looking back.
