A/N: Please, all mighty corporate overlords do not sue me, for I do not own Naruto or any other song or media references in this story, all rights belong to Daddy Kishimoto Musashi senpai.

Chapter 2: Seed in the Darkness Part 1

Fear is the best way to describe how I feel at the moment. Uncontained fear as I watched in absolute horror my once bright light of a sister now lying in a pool of her blood; her body is roughly three meters away from me on the hard floor. It does not take much to assume that she is no more. I stare in absolute shock and despair at the scene as my tears flow freely down my face and sobs rack my body. The shock was so much that nearly lost control of my legs and fell over. But before I completely lost it, another realization hit me as I look closer at the now lifeless corpse of Hanabi. "A s-stab womb..?" I muttered. "A s-s-stab womb in t-the chest!"

Who could've done this? To her, my sister who's barely passing the two-year mark. I look around frantically in the dimly lit void, seeming as if torches were lighting the place but only their light was visible. My heart starts to pound relentlessly as anger starts to take over my body. "Where am I? Is this real?" I shouted in desperation. I looked down at my form to see if I was in some bad dream that I had to wake up from, then I paused as the brewing anger left my body to make room once again for fear and horror.

Blood. Blood was on my hands, and it was at that moment that I saw the bloody kunai laying at my bare feet. "Oh…oh…oh no," I whispered as a new stream of tears began to flow. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" My loud sobs and wails of despair can be heard echoing across the nothingness as I realize that I was the one who killed my sister. I was the one who took her life. I was the one who took away another chance to see her again, sleeping in that same uncaring way that could brighten up my entire week. I was the one who took away the chance to see her grow into a bright and beautiful person with that I could one day share secrets with, together. It was me who destroyed the opportunity for us to seek refuge with each other in a world that is so lacking warmth. In a clan that is so uncaring, we would've been there for one another as sisters are supposed to be.

I collapsed to my knees as my whimpering continues to reverberate around me as my body shakes uncontrollably. "Weak." Someone said behind me. Hearing this, I instantly turn around to see….nothing…..nothing but darkness. I stare with tears running down my chin and dripping onto the hard, cold floor. I then start to hear footsteps come closer and all of a sudden my vision goes dark and my body goes numb.

Hyuuga Compound: Hinata's Room

I woke up startled with my body soaked in sweat as tears are running down my face, my blanket sprawled out and slumped halfway off my bed. I look at my hands and see that they are normal and not covered in blood. I took a deep shuttering breath and then wiped away the tears. I then got up, pulled my blanket back onto the bed, and went to my bathroom to freshen up. Upon arriving in the bathroom, I looked in the mirror, red and puffy eyes staring back at me as I gently rubbed the rest of my tears away. "What…what was that?" I asked as I continue to calm myself. I then turn to my side to my slightly opened curtains and see that the morning sun was barely beginning to rise, the day seeming like it would be slightly cloudier than yesterday. I then turn to my alarm clock which read '6:23'. "I still have 30 minutes until breakfast and roughly two hours to get to the academy," I said as I got ready to do my bathroom rituals to try to relax after that nightmare.

Hyuuga Compound: Hinata's POV

Im walking down the hall at a sedate pace to sit with the rest of the clan for breakfast before I head off to the academy. I take multiple deep breaths to steady my thoughts so I can come to terms with what has happened. I near Hanabi's room as my head blanks out and my heart stops, memories from that nightmare come back to haunt me. I pause in my journey, looked around, swallow a lump in my throat then move to open Hanabi's room door as quietly as possible. It is still early and once Hanabi is awakened from the sleep that she so desperately cherishes, not even the Shinigami can stop her righteous fury. I let out a soft, somber chuckle as I imagine the entire clan's main house and side branch, kneeling on their knees with their legs and arms tied up and their mouths tapped as a cranky Hanabi yells and beats each member with her blue teddy bear while hell flames burn in her eyes.

I stifle another chuckle at that image as I slowly open Hanabi's door to see a strange but somehow not surprising sight. Hanabi, my sweet little dem-... I mean sister is currently holding her favorite blue teddy bear which is nearly her height in a tight choke hold as she loudly snores in her crib, all while her mouth is chomped down on the poor bear's ear. I muster up all the willpower I have to prevent myself from bursting out laughing as I once again slowly close her door to let her rest.

After closing her door, I take a step back into the hall as I let out a quiet breath and wipe away fresh tears that started to flow. "Hanabi, you are the only one that can bring me a smile in this house. From all of the fear that grips me, your my savior from that darkness, if I lost her like in that n-night-..." I pause in my whispered speech to prevent myself from breaking out into sobs. I look around to still see the hallway clear. I take another shuddering breath and declare, "I am weak, far too weak, but….I will grow stronger…I have no choice but to get stronger...so many lights have been taken from me…I-..I will not lose you…I will grow stronger to protect you Hanabi…and to change our clan's traditions that threaten us and hurt everyone. I do not want to see that image again. I do not want you to go through the same pain I go through. It's so, so sickening what everyone calls me and what our father does to me." I take another calming breath as I realize their someone walking down the hall.

"B-Brother Neji, hello!" I slightly studdered out in surprise at finally seeing someone else awake. Neji only glances at me with contempt in his eyes; "Lady Hinata." He greets me with a slight coldness as he walks past me in the direction of the dining hall. I stare at his retreating form as he gets further away. "I will change our ways…not just to protect Hanabi, but to unite everyone under one house..one branch..everyone can and will finally be free of this curse...especially for Brother Neji. That's my new ninja way. I will do this, even if I have to die." I stated in a whisper as I see Neji round the corner of the hall, not knowing the long and arduous road ahead of me, one of those obstacles is the one who just passed. "But first…" I said as I took a calming breath and adopted the best stoic expression I could muster, along with straightening my back. Full of newfound determination, I start on my way toward the dining hall.

As I am making my way to the dining hall I couldn't help but remember something. That something is that I have been seen as weak by the rest of the clan, not just Neji or my father. From the lesser-known servants of the side branch all the way to the clan elders; they mostly all see me as nothing. If I want to make change, I not only have to grow stronger as a person but that strength that I gain needs to be used to get the respect of the clan. I think longer about how can I start to gain respect; as I near the double doors to enter the dining hall, an idea hits me with the full force of Naruto's smile and then I pause. "If I gain the respect of my father, the clan head and highly respected, it would be easier to gain respect from the rest of the clan," I whispered quietly.

With that thought, I glanced at a nearby mirror that hangs over a small desk to the left of the large mahogany doors. I check my posture and straighten out the light beige sweatshirt that I have taken to wearing when going around the village or to the academy. After my self-pestering, I look at my face to see staring back at my shoulder-length black hair with a purple tint and bangs covering my forehead along with pearly white eyes with a slight lavender tint that once held self-doubt now showing fierce confidence, confidence that took many years to finally manifest after all that has happened in my short seven, nearly eight years of life. Confidence that took me having to endure years of pain and scorn and finally seeing my sister's corpse covered in blood on the ground, even if it was a nightmare. With this new feeling, I turn and walk my way into the dining hall with my mind set on one thing, "to gain strength, no matter what, no matter how tough the path may be, I will gain strength, then respect, and after respect…" I said under my breath with as much fervor as I could muster as I walk through the doorway and see the bustling servants as they serve breakfast. "Change will follow, or everyone will follow my change."

Hyuuga Compound: Dining Hall

Hiashi was sitting at the end of the large table in the seat designated for the clan head. He looks up as he sees his eldest daughter and he freezes in shock. His daughter, Hinata, whose eyes once held so much fear that he couldn't help but look at her in disgust, but now, now her eyes held nearly unshakable courage which was made even more shocking when he heard her utter in a quiet but commanding voice the phrase, "Change will follow, or everyone will follow my change."

Hearing this, Hiashi widens his eyes slightly as a shiver goes down his spine. He's seen that face before. He's seen those fierce eyes before. Indeed those eyes and that erect posture belonged to his now-dead wife, Katomi. The woman he fell in love with some time during the last shinobi war. "Those eyes…" He thought as he then narrows his eyes in contempt, "Hm, what has got that weakling so frazzled, as if she would do anything important, she struggled to learn the basics in the gentle fist, her body is not fit for the style as was her fate to be pathetic. How could someone, who barely manages to learn the basics of what makes a Hyuuga, do anything more than be anything more than a failure of a Hyuuga? Better yet, what…does…she….think…she…is… doing…with those eyes?" He said in thought with rage as he watches Hinata make her way to her seat at the table a few seats down from his left.

Neji was already sitting at the table with his eyes close when he heard someone utter under their breath to his right side, roughly four meters away, "Change will follow, or everyone will follow my change." He opens his eyes slightly and looks to his right as Hinata walks into the room with a stone face that does not belong to someone like her. 'Hm, you will make no such change you feeble little girl, fate has decreed that you shall die as nothing more than a failure.' Neji thought coldly, as he turns back to his food currently being placed in front of him by a branch house servant.

Ko Hyuuga, a branch house jonin shinobi and Hinata's bodyguard, was finishing his chat with Hitaru, a fellow branch house member and a close friend when he heard those words said by Hinata in a quiet tone. "Change will follow, or everyone will follow my change." Ko and Hitaru turn to their left and see Hinata making her way toward their side of the table to an empty seat to Hitaru's right. They watch in stunned silence as Hinata walks past them with an amount of determination they have never seen in her all while giving Ko and Hitaru a warm smile in greeting, as she made her way to the empty seat. Once she passed, Ko and Hitaru look at each other in shock and silently question with their eyes, 'What happened to Hinata-sama?'

Hinata finally sits down with grace and glances at her father who stares back at her with coldness. Hinata, with a now stoic face, manages to stay firm and kept her gaze at Hiashi's eyes, peering into his soul for a moment before turning to the plate of food now being served to her. This adds to the brewing anger inside of Hiashi, "Foolish girl, portraying yourself with eyes you are not strong enough to own, it is only but a mask you wear now to hide your pity." He said in his thoughts. As the food has been finally set, the Hyuuga clan gives their thanks and then starts eating in a quiet and dignified manner, unsurprising for a clan of their stature. Upon finishing, Hinata gives thanks along with the others, then the rest of the clan including her, part for their daily duties, as she and Neji make their way back to their rooms to collect their things to attend the academy. Ko bids Hitaru farewell then turns to see Hinata leave as Neji follows a few seconds after. Ko then follows after a few more members leave, trailing behind Neji from a good distance.

On her way back to her room, Hinata feels someone grab her shoulder. She turns around to see Neji, glaring at her with a blank face. "You think someone as pathetic as you could make any change?" Hinata, stares back with an equally blank mask, not portraying any internal hurt from such words coming from somebody she used to be so close with. Hinata doesn't spare Neji any words, shrugs his hand from her shoulder, and starts walking away. Neji, feeling anger that he was ignored like he was nothing, speaks out slightly louder than necessary, "You will be nothing more but slightly above being a servant, a slave, one who is only slightly above a slave is still pathetic!" Hinata, hearing this, nearly falters in her walk, however, she maintains a straight posture, not giving into Neji's taunts as she continues towards her room, leaving a seething Neji in the hallway. Ko watching this from several meters away only could quietly sigh in frustration at Neji's comments.

Konoha Ninja Academy Classroom: First Year

As Hinata arrives at her academy class, she looks around and sees that not many have shown up yet outside of a certain sleeping pineapple-haired boy, a black-haired kid with hair as stylish as a duck's ass, who also seems to be a 'pole-up-the-rectum' connoisseur like members of her clan, and a few civilian kids. Seeing this, Hinata makes her way to her seat, only to be slightly startled as she just now notices a quiet kid with a coat and glasses. "H-hey Shino." She greets with a slight sweat drop, only to get a slight nod from the said quiet boy sitting a few seats to her right on the back row.

As she is sitting and waiting for the rest of the class to file in, she contemplates the steps needed to gain notoriety amongst her clan in order to see to it that her goal comes to fruition. She knows it is going to take much more than to just gain respect in her clan, she will also have to gain influence outside of her clan. "If I am liked outside of my clan it will make it easier to gain influence in the clan. Perhaps I can gain so much influence, that I would be able to get the Hokage on my side, if I'm in a tough spot, I could rely on his help." Said Hinata in her thoughts. "But it would be even better if I gain support from other clans in the village." She thought as she glanced around at the students currently in the room. She then starts to make a mental summary of the clan kids that she was introduced to on the first day of the academy. "Shino Abarame of the Abarame clan. Perhaps the best assassin clan in Konoha. He has basic knowledge of his clan's techniques and will likely become powerful in the future, although he's kind of weird." She said in thought.

She turns to glance at the black-haired brooder extraordinaire. "Sasuke Uchiha of the famed Uchiha clan. If anything he would be a rival due to the historically tense relationship with the Uchiha clan and my clan in competing to be the strongest clan of Konoha. Im not sure if he has his Sharingan, but that could be a problem if he is able to copy my moves. He may be strong but he also seems to not care too much about others. And….I got a bad feeling about him…I can't understand why." Hinata then turns to the slumbering pineapple-haired boy and stops herself from giggling out loud. "Shikamaru Nara of the Nara clan. Experts when it comes to trapping an enemy and strategy but from what I heard, all of the men are lazy geniuses and the wives are violent. If that's true, Shikamaru would be a great ally, but an even worse enemy. However, he clearly is the laziest in the room. He also is close with that other boy, Choji, right?"

As Hinata finishes her analysis on Shikamaru, a, *ahem, big-boned boy walks into the room munching on chips as if it were going out of style. Following him in the room, was a boy with a hoodie on and a cute little puppy on his head with his hands behind his head in a somewhat cocky fashion. She turns to see said, um, thiccc boy give a greeting to Shikamaru, then sits next to him as Shikamaru goes back to sleep. "Choji of the Akamichi clan, Father told me that they are the physically strongest clan in Konoha. He has potential and seems to be fiercely loyal to his friends, but where does he get all of those bags of chips?" She wonders as she then turns to the boy with said puppy on his head, "Kiba Inuzuka of the Inuzuka clan. The best trackers in Konoha I am told. Also loyal to their friends, however, Kiba along with his clan has a reputation of being cocky and arrogant." Hinata inwardly scoffs at the explanation she was told by her father a few months ago when learning more about the other clans of Konoha. 'Arrogant huh? Coming from him that's rich.'

Time goes by as more civilian kids enter the room. All of a sudden, something happens. Something…unusual. Something that seemingly started at a distance but seems to be getting closer. Hinata, feeling a disturbance in the force, questions in thought, "Is that an earthquake?" All of a sudden, her question was answered when two girls, one blond and one with pink hair, bust into the classroom with all the grace of Choji doing kabuki. "IM FIRST INO PIG!" Screeched the pink-haired girl. "CAN IT FOREHEAD, MY TOENAIL WAS AN INCH FASTER!" Said the blond girl. Hinata sweatdrops and sighs," What in the holiness of the holy log are they screaming about?" She inwardly questions with a wince at their bickering. "SASUKE KUUUUUUUUUNNNNN! Screeched both simultaneously. Hinata looks at them as if they were insane, then sighs looking at the pink-haired girl she analyzes, "Sakura Harano, I don't know much about her but she's from a civilian background. Her, um, friend, Ino Yamanaka though is from the Yamanaka clan. Famous for their mental-related jutsus and abilities. Although they both seem to now have some sort of rivalry over Sasuke for some reason." Thought Hinata as she sees the two fight to sit next to Sasuke on the other end of the back row near the window. Hinata looks away but does a double take looking at Sasuke, "Was that a storm cloud above his head?" She asked internally with a massive sweatdrop, then glances out the window to see a nearly clear blue sky with a few white clouds.

Hinata blinks, blinks again, then blinks once more, and then turns away to forget about everything that has happened whilst she heard a quiet, "troublesome" coming from Shikamaru's direction. She quietly chuckles at Shikamaru's comment then lays her head down on her arms to wait for their sensei to arrive only to hear Iruka sensei activate his 'big-head-jutsu' to shut up the bickering girls. Hinata got startled by the unexpected appearance of Iruka and groans, "troublesome," she says in a whisper while nursing an incoming headache. On the other side of the classroom, Shikamaru along with the rest of the Nara clan back in the Nara clan compound, sneezes, "Troublesome, I should sue whoever that is for copyright infringement but that would be too much work, what a drag." He says as he struggles to stay awake after the classroom quiets down. A few more moments pass as Iruka calms down as he gets his lecture prepared, grumbling about "Loud-mouthed brats" and "Giving extra homework to those Kami-damned fangirls". Hinata sighs as, once again the classroom is thrown into a frenzy. A tick mark quickly appears on Hinata's forehead as she glares at the next person who will get a juken strike up where it would be, 'not so gentle', only to see a certain blond, orange-wearing knucklehead burst into the room. "SORRY, IM LATE IRUKA SENSEI!" Iruka, nearly frothing out the mouth and definitely not paid enough for this shit, gets two tick marks on his forehead and then quickly reactivates the dreaded, 'big-head-jutsu' to shut Naruto up, chastizes him for being late, and then gets him to sit down.

Hinata sighs and giggles slightly at the antics of Naruto, "This is gonna be a long day." She said, not realizing how true her words are, for that after school, her training session will be slightly delayed due to members of the famed and pristine Hyuuga clan, running about the village to get their, now pink, underwear and panties unstuck from the trees all around Konoha.

End of Chapter

A/N: Hola, I just want to say that I did not expect anyone to actually read this or want to read this fanfic considering that this is my first fic on an account with 0 followers, literally a little over a week ago I was just a nobody who no one knew existed. With that being said, I'm very thankful that at least someone actually paid attention to my work, especially at such an early time. I thought it would take many months or even years, if ever. In terms of any reviews, as long as it is constructive, I will try my best to read it and apply it to my work. Also, I am aiming to upload a chapter on this site and on Wattpad once a week every Thursday or Friday. If I do not upload a Chapter, I will provide a reason and a date that I will likely upload.

I am not aiming to abandon any of my work, at least without some kind of explanation, most likely needing to take a break for mental health reasons. In terms of the first chapter, I was aiming to establish the relationship between the main characters involved including Hiashi, Hanabi, and the Hyuuga clan. I was also trying to establish a bit of internal conflict from Hinata's perspective to add depth to her character so I can then build on that in future chapters along with further development on her relationship with the clan. For Chapter 2, I wanted to start working on Hinata's mindset to get her set up for the future in terms of what motivates her and what will help develop her character. I am aiming for each chapter to be roughly 3000 or 4000 words so I will try my best to write in a way that is entertaining and shows character depth, growth, and shortcomings, but I sometimes may not be able to do all of it in only 3000 or so words, at least at my current skill level, hence why an arc may likely span more than one chapter. And for the most part, I will write roughly 3000 words per chapter because of time constraints due to life outside of fanfiction writing.

Seriously, even one person reading this outside of myself makes me feel much better. Outside of my immediate family, I do not socialize much, especially after the pandemic so it helps a lot. Also, if there are any formatting errors or words that would've been bold or italicized but they are not, that is due to me still trying to get used to 's admittedly out-of-date site user experience and formatting. I'll try my best to quadruple-check every sentence to make sure everything is the way it should be. Well, I'll be getting going, later.