I don't own the Naruto license or any of the related characters. I just use them to feed my sick mind with their adventures.
Hinata was awakened by distant noises that night. It took her long seconds to realize that most of them were screams, the rest were a mixture of muffled din and distinct shock. Straightening up on her futon, she rubbed her eyelids with her fist and her clear eyes came to rest on the full moon illuminating her room with a bluish glow. Reflecting its light on the bare walls of the room, it allowed anyone to move about without the need for lighting. The little girl got up and headed for her door, intrigued by the noises that seemed to be growing louder outside her family's estate.
She was surprised to find that most of the members of her clan were also awake, almost all of them standing in one of the manor's inner courtyards. They were whispering to each other, looking worried but not raising their voices or panicking. Hinata approached a group of women who had hastily put on their kimonos, their hair, usually coiffed in a tight, elegant bun, now hastily rearranged. The little girl gently tugged at the oldest woman's outfit. The old woman turned towards her, recognizing Hinata and smiling tenderly, but her eyes remained worried all the same.
-Hinata-sama, you should be sleeping at this hour. Would you like me to take you back to your room? The older woman kept her voice low, so Hinata wasn't sure what she'd heard.
-Kaede... I heard a noise, why is everyone here?
Suddenly, everyone around Hinata started shouting, pointing at something in the sky. Following their movement, the little girl caught sight of an immense orange glow that completely obliterated the moonlight for a few brief seconds. Goosebumps ran through the little blue girl's body as she tried to swallow her saliva in her now dry throat. In the distance, she seemed to hear new, almost animal-like cries, sounds of pain and techniques that Hinata was unaware of.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by powerful arms that lifted her up, Kô, her appointed bodyguard, had taken her in his arms.
-Miss Hinata, you can't stay here, it's too dangerous. I'll take you back to your room.
-Ah, where's Father? Why isn't anyone sleeping? And what's happening in the village? I'm afraid...
As she comforted herself as best she could in the man's arms, a shrill siren sounded in the night, drowning out the surrounding tumult and causing the little girl to cover her ears with her palms. In spite of herself, her breathing quickened, and soon all around her the adults were panicking too. One man, older than all of them, raised his voice despite the siren's din.
-Everyone stay calm, those who can't fight must go to the family bunker, the rest of us must go and lend a hand to our hokage and clan leader. Go now!
Hinata was entrusted to Kaede, her guardian, who had to reach the battlefield somewhere in the village. Any family members allowed into the bunker were mostly children, the elderly or pregnant women. She found her little sister Hanabi also in the arms of an adult. The 2-year-old baby couldn't understand what was going on, and tears were streaming down her cheeks, now red from crying. Hinata tried to comfort her as best she could, singing her a nursery rhyme as they settled into the deepest part of the bunker, where they could be safest. They were wrapped in a thick blanket to protect them from the biting cold of the night.
All around them were worried faces, some saying prayers, others sobbing softly, the cries of a baby echoing somewhere out of Hinata's sight. She felt her little sister snuggle up to her a little more, resting her head against her shoulder, and smiled in return; her little sister was really very cute, and she hoped that their relationship would remain good for the rest of their lives.
All around them faces were worried, some were saying prayers, others sobbing softly, the cries of a baby echoed somewhere, out of Hinata's sight. She felt her little sister snuggle up to her a little more, resting her head against her shoulder, and smiled in return; her little sister was really very cute, and she hoped that their relationship would remain good for the rest of their lives.
Still, they'd have to survive the night.
Hinata felt shivers run down her body, and rubbed her arms to get rid of the goosebumps that had appeared. She berated herself for having had this thought and tried to reassure herself. You'd have to be mad to attack Konoha, there was the Hokage to protect them all and Hinata was sure that her father, her family and all the other clans in the village would lend her a hand, wouldn't they?
Wouldn't they?
She didn't know many people outside her clan, but she regularly heard her nurses and the other members talking about it. Some were more famous than others, some fought with animals, which made Hinata dream a little, imagining herself accompanied by a hawk or a weasel. She found it hard to believe when it was explained to her that a family could grow and inflate their bodies to become giants, or that someone could enter her mind and take control of her body. What frightened her, however, was when older distant cousins told her about a clan with blood-red eyes that could burn you alive with black flames that never went out, scorching everything in their path.
It took Kaede a long time to calm Hinata down, explaining that it was just a legend and that no one had seen it with their own eyes. In spite of this, the little girl had nightmares in the following nights that she couldn't get out of a flaming trap and ended up being eaten alive by a black fire.
The light from the torch projected onto the walls surrounding them, making shadows dance like a puppet show she might see at festivals. The young Hyuga curled into herself, thinking that if she went back to sleep, it might all be just a bad dream? Exhausted, her eyelids gradually closed of their own accord and she was swept off into a dreamless dream.
A dream Hiashi Hyuga would have liked it to be. Her wounds and the unconscious bodies around her proved otherwise. The day had begun well and had gone off without a hitch, but the night and its shadows had brought its own share of problems. And it wasn't just any trouble, it was the Uchiha. The clan leader cursed them inwardly as he tried to get rid of his opponents. He was accompanied by members of his clan on whom they could rely, but the opponents were able to maintain a decent distance to avoid the Hyuga's techniques.
Out of the corner of his eye, the man had a close-up view of the hokage's tower, the sounds of fighting and a great deal of chakra reaching it, but for the moment Hiashi had no way of getting there... He dodged a sideways attack and hit an assailant who had gotten a little too close with one of his techniques, throwing the dark-haired man against the wall of a nearby building. The Hyuga now turned to the other Uchiha and rushed at them...
In the Hokage tower, Fugaku Uchiha now stood before his destiny. Sarutobi, the third Hokage of the name, stood straight in front of Konoha's view, hands behind his back and pipe in his mouth. He didn't seem in the least concerned by the Uchiha's arrival in his tower. A dawning rain suddenly appeared, wetting everyone's clothes, and Sarutobi tapped his pipe to extract the now unusable tobacco and let it fall to the ground.
-Fugaku, began the old man. I have only one question, and it's up to you to answer me or not. Was it you?
The head of the Uchiha clan understood what the elder in front of him meant, after all, that was why his clan had found itself in such a bad position, rejected and criticized by everyone, wasn't it? Fugaku closed his eyelids over his red eyes, despite the coup d'état he was orchestrating with the other members of his family, he still felt respect for the one he already considered his predecessor.
-The Uchiha clan... Has nothing to do with the attack of the nine-tailed fox demon on Konoha.
Sarutobi merely lowered his head, a small chuckle making him shake his shoulders.
-I guess I won't be the only one of Konoha's leaders to die tonight, then? Fugaku, the old man took a very serious turn then. Promise me you'll take care of Konoha like you do your clan. If you don't, I'll be forced to come and haunt you and I don't want to, I'm a tired old man you see?
-I can't promise you that, and I'm not afraid of the dead," retorted Fugaku. Konoha will surely go through a heavy crisis after your death, and the surrounding countries will no doubt declare war on us, but we're ready. I'll restore this village and my clan to the glory they deserve.
-I see. Then do what you must.
Fugaku felt nothing as Sarutobi's head hit the ground, just like those of the village elders, those who had been fomenting behind the hokage's back, manipulating him like a puppet, he didn't need them. He felt rage and hatred, however, when he finally managed to cut off Danzo's head, giving eternal rest to all the members of his family whose eyes had been stolen.
This night would be the night of a new era...
The era of the Uchiha.
An introduction that I hope you'll enjoy, as you're bound to have questions that will no doubt be answered in the chapters to come... Thank you for reading and don't hesitate to let me know if you're in a hurry for the next chapters.