Densetsu no Yonnin (The Legendary Four) - Chapter VII (Rework in Progress)
Disclaimer: Naruto originates from Masashi Kishimoto, not me.
(Hospital – The Next Morning)
Exhausted green eyes opened to a white-tiled ceiling. Confusion filled Sakura's mind as she moved her eyes around. She figured she was in the hospital, but she did not know why.
Sakura tried to sit up, but her efforts resulted in intense pain shooting through her body. She hissed at the feeling and stopped trying to move her body. Instead, she moved her head since it was the only body part that wasn't in dull agony and gasped at the casts and bandages that were on her body.
'What the hell? Why am I in casts?' Sakura wondered to herself. She closed her eyes and began to think. 'Come on, think. What happened yesterday? I got home, mom got mad, I told her off, she got mad some more, and now I'm here... wait.' Sakura knew she had most of the answers. However, she felt that she was missing one vital piece of the puzzle, and for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what it was. Sakura let out a sigh and rested her head against the pillow. She decided to find out this mystery later.
She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a whimper nearby. Sakura raised her head and found to her right, Hinata lying down on a bench sleeping. The part that concerned Sakura was that she was shaking, whimpering, and whispering. Whatever, she was dreaming about it couldn't be good.
Since she was a good distance away, Sakura couldn't hear what she was saying, but she managed to make out phrases like "Too weak", "Can't see", and "I'm sorry". Sakura didn't want Hinata's mind to continue to torture her, so she tried to wake her up.
"Hinata," Sakura called.
Hinata didn't respond and just continued to shake where she lay.
"Hinata," Sakura called again this time louder.
Hinata's shaking stopped momentarily but resumed shortly afterward. Fortunately, it was not as bad as before.
"Hinata!" Sakura shouted but that proved to be a bad idea. Her voice cracked at that last shout, and she started to cough.
Thankfully, though, Sakura's call snapped Hinata out of her nightmare. Her eyes slowly opened and looked around in confusion. The confusion left her face and was replaced with concern when she saw Sakura coughing and her wrapped up state. "Sakura-chan! What happened?"
After Sakura managed to ease her cough, she looked to her friend to answer. "I... I don't know actually," Sakura revealed.
Hinata became confused at this information. "You don't know?" she asked, and Sakura nodded her head.
"Yeah, all I remember is going home and arguing with my mom," Sakura explained.
"Can you remember anything after that?" Hinata asked.
Sakura shut her eyes and strained her brain to think over last night's events, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember after the argument with her mom. "No. I can't remember anything after that," Sakura answered.
"Oh...," Hinata mumbled, dejected at not being able to help her friend.
"Hey, do you know where Naruto and Sasuke are?" Sakura asked when she noticed that their blonde and noirette friend weren't present. When she didn't receive an answer, she raised her head to look at Hinata. She became curious and concerned when Hinata had shrunken in on herself with a depressed expression.
Sakura's question caused Hinata to think about Naruto, and subsequently, about the small fight she had with him. She remembered the pain in his eyes when she tried to renounce their friendship, which only made her feel worse about hurting him. 'Even when I try to help my friends, I only hurt them. I'm just a burden,' Hinata mentally berated herself.
"Hinata?" Sakura asked, which brought Hinata out of her self-loathing, "Are you okay?"
"O-Oh, I'm fine," Hinata replied with an attempt at a reassuring smile.
The fake smile only made Sakura even more concerned. "Are you sure," she pressed.
"Sakura-chan, I'm fine," she replied with more bite than intended and a more strained smile.
'I probably shouldn't press the issue,' Sakura decided. "Okay," she relented and rested her head against the pillow.
The duo lapsed into a long silence with Hinata sitting on the bench and Sakura staring at the ceiling deep in thought. She knew that something was up with her friend, and her unwillingness to talk about the issue made the pinkette even more concerned. Well, even if she didn't want Sakura's help, she was still going to help her.
Sakura also thought about the problem regarding her injuries. She had no idea what happened, though she had a small feeling in the back of her mind that she could ignore. She felt as if she should know what happened, but something was preventing her from remembering.
The silence was broken by the door to the room opening. The two girls looked up to see their favorite blonde and noirette standing in the door frame. They were also not empty-handed as they each had an item in their hand; Naruto was carrying a box of cinnamon rolls, and Sasuke had a get-well soon card as well a bag of breakfast onigiri.
The boys' faces lit up when they saw the girls. "Hey, you're awake!" Naruto cheered with a large grin while Sasuke had a small smile. They walked in to join their friends, Sasuke closing the door behind them. "Sorry about leaving you here. We went to get some cinnamon rolls cause we figured we'd need them," Naruto explained as he walked to a table and set down the deserts.
"I also got you a get well soon card," Sasuke stated as he walked to the table next to Sakura's bed and sat down the card there.
"Thanks, Duck-butt," Sakura replied.
Sakura's words of gratitude caused the smile on Sasuke's face to momentarily grow before what she said registered in his mind. He grimaced, "Will anything I do get you to stop calling me that."
Sakura grinned at the almost pleading look on Sasuke's face. "Nope," she replied in a cheeky tone. Sasuke sighed; he should have known that it was a pointless endeavor.
"Are you two done so I can give Sakura her food," Naruto asked in an impatient tone as he held two napkins, each with a delicious pastry on it. Behind him, Hinata was slowly eating one cinnamon roll of her own.
"Okay, loser. Don't get your underwear in a twist," Sasuke mocked as he took the food out of Naruto's hand.
"Don't make me knock that onigiri out your hand," Naruto responded which caused Sasuke to glare at him with a blank expression... somehow.
"Do it, and I'll punch those whiskers off your face," Sasuke threatened with a tone as blank as his face. The two stared at each other before they burst into laughter shattering the brief tense atmosphere.
"I swear, jackass, you act like onigiri is a gift from the gods," Naruto chuckled. He stopped chuckling when Sasuke and Sakura gave him equally blank stares. He soon realized what they were implying and scowled. "That's different: ramen actually is a gift from the gods." When the stares didn't change, Naruto stormed over to the other side of the room, got his own cinnamon roll, and sat next to Hinata, all the while grumbling about friends who don't know how great ramen is.
Sasuke and Sakura both sighed at the same time at their friend's antics. "Hey, wait a minute," Sakura spoke when she realized something. This only caught Sasuke's attention; Hinata was slowing and absently eating her cinnamon roll and staring at the floor while Naruto was still grumbling and simultaneously eating his pastry. "How am I supposed to eat? I can't even move."
"Oh, that's where I come in," Sasuke explained. Sakura's suspicions were confirmed when Sasuke tore off a piece of the pastry and held it up to Sakura's mouth.
Sakura's eyes widened, and a small blush grew on her face. The reason as to why she did not know. "W-what?"
"Well, how else are you going to eat?" Sasuke questioned, confused at the pinkette's stuttering.
"I-I mean, are you sure you can't you get one of the other two to do it?" Sakura offered.
"Hinata's not thinking straight right now, and Naruto's...," he trailed off to look back at the blonde and saw that he was still muttering while eating. "...still being an idiot," he explained and ignored a shout of "I heard that".
Sakura mulled over Sasuke's reasoning and decided that he was right. Still, she couldn't stop her heart from doing a thunder impression. "Okay," she relented before Sasuke raised the cinnamon roll up to her open mouth. Sasuke dropped the piece and Sakura ate it with previously absent enthusiasm. "Hey, that was great. Can I get another piece?" she asked.
"Sure," Sasuke smiled and gave her another piece. She once again ate it with gusto and before she could ask, Sasuke had another piece ready. He also ate his breakfast onigiri at the same time.
When the quartet finished their food, they all sat in silence. Heavy tension spawned between the four of them as they were hesitant to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
"So...," Naruto was the first to speak. "What the hell happened yesterday?" The blunt question caused Sasuke to facepalm, Hinata to flinch, and Sakura to give him a curious look.
"Way to beat around the bush," Sasuke muttered.
"What did I say?" Naruto asked.
"Let me do the talking," Sasuke stated, and Naruto stood down. He would have protested, but the serious look Sasuke gave him squashed the urge to do so. "When me and Naruto got done with our training, we went to your house Sakura." The statement shifted Sakura's attention to Sasuke. "You left your textbook, and we were trying to give it back to you."
"Speaking of which, we need to go get it," Naruto stated, which turned Sakura's attention to him. "We kind of dropped it," he explained with a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Why did you drop my book?" Sakura asked. Normally, she'd be irritated at one of her books being damaged, but she was more focused on hearing about yesterday's events.
That question wiped the grin off Naruto's face, and Sasuke became more serious. "...When we found you, you were laying on the ground in front of your house. And... you were in horrible shape," the blonde explained as he looked at the floor. This snapped Hinata out of her daze as she looked at the boys in confusion.
"Understatement," Sasuke added as he clenched his fists. "You had so many injuries that I had a hard time looking at you. It looked like someone beat you up." he scowled and pierced the floor with his glare at that last thought. Naruto clenched his fist as well. Hinata covered how mouth in shock. Unnoticed by the other three, Sakura flinched and grit her teeth as a quick pulse of pain racked her brain. "After that, we brought you here and we've been here ever since." Silence reigned over the quartet before it was broken by Sasuke speaking again. "Sakura... what happened to you yesterday?"
Seeing the concern in Sasuke's, Naruto's, and Hinata's eyes, Sakura tried once again to remember what happened yesterday. Her efforts did not bear fruit. "...I don't know," she mumbled in disappointment.
This statement confused the other three, and they all looked at Sakura. "You don't know?" Sasuke questioned, with unintentional irritation.
Sasuke's tone and the gazes caused Sakura to flinch again before she scowled. "I don't know, okay!" Sakura almost shouted at the three causing them to stumble back. Pain once again hit her throat, but she ignored it and continued, this time at a lower volume. "I don't know what happened. All I remember is coming home and arguing with my mom." Unnoticed by the others, Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the statement. "After that, everything gets all blurry and then there's nothing. It's like there's a wall blocking me from seeing past that point." Sakura's voice was now a whisper. "No matter what I do, I can't remember what happened after."
Silence once again permeated the room as Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke mulled over her words.
"...Well, if you can't remember, then there's no point in asking you about it," Sasuke spoke which caught everyone's attention.
"Wait, we're not just gonna let this go, right?" Naruto questioned.
"Of course not," Sasuke scoffed. "There's just nothing we can do about it right now," he explained, and Naruto nodded in understanding. 'There's no way, I'm letting whoever did this get away with it,' Sasuke silently vowed as he clenched his fist.
Silence once again descended on the quartet before it was broken again. This time it was by the usually energetic blonde. "So... Now that we got Sakura's story, what about you, Hime-chan?" he spoke calmly, gaining the bluenette's attention. "What happened to you yesterday? Why were you walking around in the woods? Why did you try to end our friendship?" he asked, much to Sakura's shock. "And why were you crying in your sleep?"
Seeing that all the attention was on her, Hinata began to fidget. "I-It's r-really not a b-big d-deal," she tried to placate the other's worries, but her shifty eyes and trembling voice only made them more concerned.
"What do you mean not a big deal?" Naruto asked. Sasuke and Sakura both had the same question.
"G-Guys, really, I-it's o-okay. I don't w-want to b-burden you with my p-problems," Hinata tried to get them to let the issue go again.
However, Naruto was having none of it. "Why do you keep saying that?" he unintentionally growled. "You're not a burden. Why can't you see that?"
Hearing the growl from Naruto caused Hinata to flinch. She looked up to meet his eyes and was taken aback by the anger in them, but also the hidden concern. She looked at the other two and noticed that Sasuke and Sakura both had the same looks of concern. Having those three pairs of eyes staring back at her, Hinata's walls finally crumbled. She bowed her head until her hair shadowed her eyes.
Seeing the gesture, Naruto began to get even more worried. 'Crap. I think I took it too far,' he thought. "Hey, Hinata," he called, but she didn't respond. He tried to talk to her again, this time walking over to her "If you don't want to tell us, that's-," Naruto stopped himself from continuing when he heard quiet sobs coming from Hinata. Taking a closer look, he noticed that Hinata was shaking, and tears were running down her face. "Oh, crap," he muttered. To salvage the situation, he wrapped Hinata in a hug and started apologizing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pressed the problem. It was none-."
"No, no," Hinata cut him off before he could continue. "It's all right. I should tell you guys about what happened anyway," she replied, embracing the warmth that her blonde friend provided.
To the surprise of both, another pair of air wrapped around them. Hinata and Naruto looked up and saw Sasuke giving them both a hug, though he was pointedly looking away from them. The other two just smiled at Sasuke's reassurance and relished in the group hug. Meanwhile, Sakura watched this with a longing expression, and she cursed her inability to move.
After several minutes, the trio released themselves from one another. Sasuke and Naruto gave Hinata expectant looks, and Hinata got the message. "...I guess I should start explaining.
(Several Minutes Later)
The room was silent after Hinata finished her explanation. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all frozen in shock, and Hinata stood more relaxed than before. The tension in her wasn't completely gone, but a weight definitely lifted off her shoulders.
"...Your family banished you?" Sakura questioned in disbelief.
Hinata stayed silent but nodded her head in reply.
"And they sealed your eyes?" Sasuke questioned. His body was shaking as he imagined the powerlessness Hinata must be feeling, and what would happen if that was him.
Hinata's reply was another silent nod.
"Those bastards!" Naruto shouted, practically shaking the room with his volume. Sasuke and Hinata jumped back at the outburst, while Sakura only flinched. "How could they do that?! How could they just kick you out and leave you to fend for yourself?! You're only ten! Did they even give you a place to live?!"
Hinata didn't answer Naruto's question, but her gaze shifting to the floor was all the answer he needed. Naruto growled and walked to the hospital room door. "Naruto, what are you doing?" Sasuke questioned while up to stand behind the blonde.
"I'm going to teach those assholes a lesson," he growled, getting shocked looks from Hinata and Sakura and a frown from Sasuke.
"Naruto don't be an idiot," Sasuke warned as he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Let me go, Sasuke," Naruto demanded, but Sasuke didn't release his grip.
"Naruto, you're really gonna try and confront the entire Hyūga clan?" Sasuke tried to get Naruto to see reason.
"What am I supposed to do?!" Naruto whirled around and shouted at Sasuke. The noirette took a step back in shock and a little bit of fear. Not due to Naruto shouting at him, he was expecting that.
It was that Naruto's eyes briefly flashed red with a slit pupil.
"Hinata's family was already being a bunch of jerks to her, and then they go and do this to her." Sasuke stayed silent as Naruto continued his ranting. "She is the kindest and sweetest person I know! She didn't deserve that! Hell, she probably didn't do anything, and they just kicked her out for no reason." Naruto lowered his voice, so the last sentence was spoken is a low growl. Seeking to confirm his suspicion, he turned to Hinata and asked her, "What was their bullshit reason for kicking you out?"
All Hinata could do was shake in fear when she was shown this new side of Naruto. She had never seen Naruto like this before. All those times the villagers treated him poorly; he had gotten used to it, so he was simply irritated. The times his classmates would make fun of him; he would just ignore them. His reoccurring arguments with Sasuke; that was just friendly banter.
This was the only time she had ever seen Naruto truly pissed off.
It took Hinata a little while to get her mind back on track, and when she did, she finally registered the question. "...They banished me because they found out that I showed the jūken to you."
The room was dead quiet after that sentence.
The other three were once again frozen in shock at Hinata's claim. Sakura and Sasuke felt pits in their stomachs. They were the ones that helped her create that style, so they were partly to blame for Hinata's situation.
However, the one who felt the worst was Naruto. His anger was completely gone and all he felt was disgust at himself. He was the one who suggested this idea and encouraged Hinata to go along with it, so he felt that Hinata's situation was entirely his fault. How could he have ignored this possibility? He should have known that her family was going to find out eventually, and now her family abandoned her.
Because of him.
Naruto fell to his knees and stared at the ground. He ignored the concerned exclamations of his friends and Sasuke's attempt to snap him out of his daze by shaking him.
'It's my fault...' and similar thoughts ran through Naruto's head. A pit formed in his stomach and a knot formed in his throat. Naruto raised his head to look at his friends and they were surprised to see tears threatening to fall out of his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
That was all Naruto said before he bolted out the door and down the hall.
"Naruto!" his friends shouted after him, and Sasuke ran out of the room after him. Naruto didn't stop running even after he got outside the hospital. Sasuke tried to catch up to him, but he would always evade the noirette's grasp just as he was getting close. After several minutes of Naruto weaving himself in and out of crowds and Sasuke chasing him down, the two lost sight of each other.
Sasuke heaved a sigh of frustration and clenched his fist. Since he had no way of finding him, he turned around to head back to the hospital. 'Don't beat yourself up, Naruto. We're all to blame for this.'
(With Naruto)
Freak.
Monster.
Demon.
These words echoed inside Naruto's head as he ran through the village to get away from Sasuke. All the while, the villagers' glares and harsh comments pierce through his brain like a bullet. Usually, he would just shrug off the hateful gestures, but now that was all he could hear.
He once again wondered if the villagers were right about him.
Naruto didn't know how long he ran. Eventually, the need for oxygen overcame him and he stopped to catch his breath. After his breathing evened out, he looked up and noticed that he was in a park. But not just any park. It was the same park that Hinata liked to take walks in. Sometimes, the quartet would take a stroll through the park and admire the peaceful atmosphere.
The serene scene, however, only served to remind Naruto of how horribly he messed up. 'Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!' Naruto crouched on the ground and gripped his scalp. He clamped his eyes shut to deny any tears an exit from his eyes. 'How could I do this to her. I shouldn't have pushed her. We should've just found another way to help her train. And now, her family kicked her out... And now she hates us... Is that why she said she didn't want to be friends with us.' Naruto's thoughts continued to descend into self-deprecation and his heart constricted in emotional pain.
Naruto was literally knocked from his depressing thoughts when someone bumped into him from behind. He was knocked to the ground, but he caught himself before his face hit the concrete. He turned himself over and scowled at the perpetrator. It was a middle-aged man with brown hair and white pupilless. The man didn't react to Naruto's angered visage which only enraged the blonde further. He was about to shout at the man to watch where he was going, but the man spoke first.
"Apologies, Uzumaki-san. I was not looking where I was going," he spoke, shocking the 10-year-old boy. He was further baffled when the man held out his hand to help him up.
Naruto stared at the hand for several seconds; wondering if this was some elaborate trick or something. 'Why would someone from the Hyūga clan bother to help me up.' he wondered.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I merely wish to help you up," the man reassured the frozen blonde. Naruto stood frozen for several more seconds before he hesitantly raised his hand and with the man's help, got to his feet. "There. Now I must be on my way. Again, I apologize for my actions," the man stated and walked past the blonde, his face transforming to a blank expression as he did so.
Naruto stared at the retreating man's form in disbelief. He expected the man to ignore him or sneer at him for getting in his way. But the man apologized and helped him up. He even used his name when addressing him. He never thought anyone outside of his close friends would show him any decency much less someone from the Hyūga clan.
Naruto snapped out of his daze when he realized the man was walking away. "Hey, wait!" he shouted after him.
The man turned around to face Naruto, his neutral face not wavering. "How can I help you, Uzumaki-san."
The shock at hearing his name come out of the man's lips didn't last long for Naruto this time. "You're from the Hyūga clan, right?" Naruto mentally slapped himself for his stupid question.
The only change in the man's face when he asked that question was a quirked eyebrow. "I am. Why do you ask?"
Naruto answered bluntly and without hesitation. "I want to talk to the clan head."
The man's face finally changed from neutrality to curiosity. "And why do you need to talk to the clan head?"
Naruto once again didn't beat around the bush. "I need to talk to him about what he did to Hinata."
The man's eyes narrowed at the blonde's admission. Naruto began to sweat as the man started to exude and dark aura around him. Strangely, though, it wasn't an angry aura, it was a protective aura. Naruto shook in fear at the man's presence, but his gaze did not waver in the slightest.
After several more moments of the man exuding a dangerous presence and Naruto quaking in his sandals, the aura vanished. Naruto released a breath he didn't know he had been holding and caught himself before he fell to the ground.
"I'm listening," the man stated, catching Naruto's attention.
"Huh?" was Naruto's eloquent reply.
"I'm Hyūga Hiashi, the clan head," the now revealed clan head stated.
Naruto's eyes widened in realization. 'So, this is Hinata's dad,' he thought.
"Here, let's have a seat on this bench," Hiashi offered as he gestured his hand to a nearby bench. Naruto accepted the offer with a nod and the two sat down on the bench. A tense silence permeated the area. Hiashi was waiting for Naruto to start talking, and Naruto was fidgeting while trying to find the right words to say.
'Crap, crap, crap! This was a lot easier in my head.' Naruto's original plan was to shout the clan head off while the clan head cowered in fear. However, those plans fell apart when he was faced with the man's intimidating presence. He also showed Naruto public decency, so the boy didn't feel that shouting at him was right.
"You want to talk about my daughter."
Hiashi's statement broke Naruto out of his internal debate. He turned towards the man and gave him a hesitant nod. "Yeah."
"And how she was banished from the clan." Naruto frowned at Hiashi's blunt statement and his seeming disregard for his daughter's well-being.
"How can you do that?" Naruto questioned in a quiet voice.
"I beg your pardon," Hiashi asked, though he heard what the boy had said.
"How can you just sit there and say that like it's nothing," Naruto repeated, louder this time. "You kicked Hinata out, and you're saying it like it's not a big deal. How can you do that?"
Naruto stopped speaking and waited for Hiashi to respond. However, the Hyūga patriarch remained silent. Naruto grew agitated at this.
"You're even taking a stroll through the park like it's a normal day. Did you even check on her to see how she was doing?" Naruto questioned.
Hiashi still remained silent which agitated Naruto even more.
"Hinata told me what her family is like," Naruto stated. The only indication of Hiashi's surprise was slightly widened eyes. "She said that her family is split into two houses, and one house treats the other like crap with a seal. They're basically slaves in their own family. She also told me that her family is horrible to her. They're always trying to force her to be something she's not. They're brutal in spars and don't bat an eye when she gets injured. They call her weak and a shame to her family. Hell, I think probably the only one who's not an asshole to her is her sister. But even though her family treats her like crap, she still wants to help them. What kind of people would hate someone like that?" After finishing his rant, Naruto turned to his best friend's father.
A passive face and a sealed mouth greeted Naruto's eyes. The metaphorical volcano that represented Naruto's anger finally erupted. He jumped up from his seat and started shouting in Hiashi's face.
"Damnit! Why are you being so quiet? Why are you not saying anything? Why are you just sitting there like an idiot?" Hiashi still kept quiet, and Naruto literally growled at him. "How can Hinata care about someone like you. How can she still care about her family after all the things they did? You guys don't even know how she's acting right now. I went to see her yesterday, and when I saw her, she looked dead inside. And then she kept going on about how she's weak and a burden. And she didn't want to be friends with us anymore. We've been friends for two years, and she wanted to just end it." Naruto's rant lowered in volume as he continued, and now he was sitting on the bench again. "How can you do this to your own daughter. Do you even care about her? Do you even love her?"
Silence reigned between the two with the only sound beings the various animals in the park. The silence was broken by Hiashi, and the man's words surprised and baffled Naruto. "Yes, I do love her."
"Then... then, why!" Naruto regained his previously lost fire, but he wasn't shouting at the Hyūga patriarch. "Why did you banish Hinata from the clan. Why did she have her Byakugan sealed? She didn't deserve that, so why?"
"She would have faced a worse fate if she wasn't banished."
That statement made Naruto pause. "What...? What are you talking about?"
"The Byakugan is the Hyūga clan's prized dōjutsu. They are called the "All-Seeing Eyes" for a reason. And my clan prides itself on having that dojutsu. So much so that we'll even use that pride as a punishment." As Hiashi, spoke Naruto listened with rapt attention. "When a clan member commits a serious crime, such as revealing clan secrets-," Naruto flinched, but Hiashi ignored it. "We punish them by sealing away their Byakugan. My clan values our kekkei genkai so much, that to them a Hyūga without a Byakugan is not a Hyūga at all. Those that have been sealed are treated as subhuman by the rest of the clan, including the Branch House. You know how the villagers treat you, right?" A pit formed in Naruto's stomach, but he nodded at the question. "That same thing would have happened to Hinata if she stayed in the clan."
Naruto's body froze at that information. His mind conjured up an image of Hinata crouching on the ground with tears spilling out of her eyes. Surrounding her was her entire family, and they were all looking at her with disdain. As if she was the most disgusting sight imaginable. Snide and hateful remarks bombarded the small girl, and all she could do was cry harder. All the while, the purple hooked cross on her forehead glowed.
Naruto shook his head to dispel the horrifying imagery. "What no that's not fair. How can her clan do that? They can't treat someone like crap just because they don't have some fancy eyes."
"Unfortunately, that doesn't matter to them," Hiashi sighed. "If a Hyūga doesn't have a Byakugan, they are seen as powerless, whether they were born without it, or it was sealed."
"But, but..." Naruto's mind struggled to process the new information. As if to desperately figure out a way around fate, an idea popped into Naruto's head. "Wait, you're the clan head, so why didn't you just order them to not seal her."
"I'm afraid I couldn't. It's not-," Hiashi started.
"Bullshit!" If Hiashi was surprised or offended by the outburst, he didn't show it. "You should've just told them to buzz off. You're the leader, so they have to do what you say."
"It's not that simple." Hiashi could see the desperation in Naruto's eyes, but he didn't hold back the ugly truth. "I'm not going to explain since you probably won't understand but remember this: You can only be a leader if people are willing to let you lead them."
Naruto didn't know why, but those words resonated within him. He didn't understand what those words meant, but he felt that he would in the future.
Naruto slumped forward in his seat as the weight of Hiashi's words became too much. "I'm sorry, Hinata. I shouldn't have told you to show us the Jūken. No wonder you hate me. I'd probably hate myself, too," he mumbled absently, unaware that he that Hiashi was still there.
"Did you do it on purpose?"
That question snapped Naruto out of his thoughts. "What?"
"Did you mean to get Hinata banished from the clan?" Hiashi's gaze bored holes into Naruto.
Naruto quivered from the intensity of the gaze until he processed the question. "No!" Naruto shouted; all nervousness disappeared. "I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to help Hinata get stronger. I didn't think this would happen. But I guess that should've been obvious. I'm such an idiot."
"I don't believe that she hates you," Hiashi spoke catching the blonde's attention.
"What? Why would she not?" Naruto questioned.
"She's not the type to hate someone," Hiashi informed.
"But-but she has to hate after I did this."
"You said so yourself. Even though her family belittled her all the time, she still loves us and wants to unite us." Hiashi's statement stopped Naruto from his self-loathing. "You haven't treated her horribly, and you made one mistake. I doubt she'll hate you after that."
Naruto took a moment to think over Hiashi's words. Looking back, he realized that she never hated anyone who did her wrong. Usually, she would just apologize and move on, even if she was in the right. So, she wouldn't hate him after he made one mistake. Granted it was a huge mistake, but that still wouldn't result in her scowling every time she saw him. "Okay, I see what you're saying."
Hiashi nodded his head at Naruto's agreement. "Also, if she's in as bad a state as you say she is, she'll need support from her friends."
Naruto widened his eyes in realization. "Crap! You're right. She needs me. I can't just sit here!" Naruto jumped up from his seat and was about to bolt away but stopped before he launched himself toward the hospital. "Thanks for the talk. I really needed it." Those were his final words until Naruto transformed into a blur that shot off toward the hospital.
In a rare moment, Hiashi smiled at the retreating blonde. 'You have some wonderful friends, Hinata.' The smile faded as he thought his next words. 'I apologize for not being with you, but after all that I did, I don't deserve to see you.'
(The Hospital – At the Same Time)
"Did you find him?" Sakura asked after Sasuke returned to her hospital room.
"No, I didn't. I lost him in a crowd," Sasuke answered with a sigh as he plopped down on the bench next to Hinata.
"I hope Naruto-kun is okay," Hinata mumbled.
"Why did he run out, anyway?" Sakura questioned.
"I think I know why," Sasuke spoke. "He probably blamed himself for what happened to you, Hinata."
"What?" Hinata's eyes widened at this information, "Why would he blame himself?"
"It's because he's the one who came up with the idea," Sakura spoke gaining the other two's attention. "It was his idea in the first place, so he must think that he's responsible for your family abandoning you."
"But...," Hinata trailed off as her gaze wandered to her feet, "He wouldn't have come up with that idea if I wasn't so weak."
'What is it gonna take to get you to stop saying that?' Sasuke thought to himself. Sakura also shared the same sentiment.
"I should have told him I wasn't worth it," Hinata mumbled.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Hinata when she said this. Sakura would have done the same if she could.
"You all shouldn't have wasted your time on me," Hinata started to shrink in on herself.
Sasuke clenched his fist and Sakura would have done the same if she could.
"It would probably be best if you all stopped being friends with me." That last statement finally broke Sasuke's patience.
"STOP SAYING THAT!"
The uncharacteristic outburst from the noirette got a jump out of Hinata and a barely noticeable flinch from Sakura.
"What is it gonna take to get you to stop saying that?" Sasuke growled. "You're not weak and you're not a burden! When are you gonna get that through your head!"
"And what do you mean 'stop being friends with you'?" Sakura questioned after Sasuke. "Why would we want to do that?"
Hinata was now a quivering mess, but she still answered the other two. "B-But, I'm just a weakling. If we stayed friends, I'd only hold you back from your dreams."
"Hinata, listen to us: you're not a burden-," Sakura started but was interrupted by a shout from the bluenette.
"YES, I AM!" The outburst from the usually quiet girl shocked both Sasuke and Sakura. "My family said it every day since I could remember. Why would it not be true?" Sasuke and Sakura were about to reply but a new voice beat them to the punch.
"Because they're just a bunch of assholes who don't know what they're talking about."
The three occupants turned, or at least tried to in Sakura's case, to the door and found a familiar energetic blonde standing in the door frame. His face housed a frown, and, in his hand, he clutched a blue ribbon.
"Naruto-kun...," Hinata trailed off when she saw him.
"Hinata, I'm going to tell you something that Jiji told me," Naruto spoke as he walked towards her. "If someone doesn't care about you, then you shouldn't care what they think about you. Most of your family doesn't care about you, so you shouldn't care what they think about you."
"But Naruto-kun, they're my family-," Hinata tried to reason.
"That makes what they did even more horrible. I may not know what having a family is like, but I know that you aren't supposed to treat your family like that," Naruto spoke as his gaze swept over his friends.
"Naruto-kun-"
"Also...," Naruto started as he clenched his fist and struggled to meet Hinata's eye. "I'm sorry for telling you to show us the jūken. I should have known that we couldn't have kept it a secret forever."
"It's not all your fault, Naruto," Sakura spoke, and Naruto turned his head toward her.
"Yeah, we should have known, too" Sasuke explained, and Naruto turned his head to him.
"Yeah, but it was my idea," Naruto stated, and he turned to face Hinata who was staring at the floor. "I'm sorry, Hinata. I promise you that I will never do something like that again. To any of you guys," Naruto gestured to Sasuke who stood silently, and Sakura who lie silently before focusing back on Hinata. "And I swear to God, I will remove that seal. I don't care if it can't be done, I'll figure out how to do it." Hinata didn't have to look Naruto in the eyes so know that he was completely serious. She didn't even have it in her to voice her protest. Sasuke and Sakura could also feel the conviction, and they both smiled at their favorite blonde.
"But until then..."
Hinata then felt something being wrapped around her head. She looked up and saw that Naruto had taken the blue ribbon in his hand and tied it around her head so that it covered up her seal. She looked up at her forehead and back to Naruto who just gave her a foxlike grin. His eyes were closed so he missed the blush that crept onto Hinata's cheeks.
"I figured you didn't want everyone seeing it. So, I bought that ribbon on my way here."
Hinata had no words to describe what she felt at that moment. She didn't know whether to be depressed at his supposed wasted effort or be joyful at his thoughtfulness. In the end, she just settled for wrapping Naruto in a tight hug.
Naruto was startled by the action, but so returned the embrace. He looked to the side and saw both Sasuke and Sakura smiling at him. Then he got an idea. He slowly maneuvered himself and Hinata over towards the other two and pulled Sasuke into the hug. Sasuke once again pointedly looked away from them. Sakura was also not left out of the tender moment. They couldn't hug her, so they settled for placing their hands on her shoulder.
'If your family wants to hurt you, Hinata, they'll have to go through me first,' was Naruto's final thought.
A/N: Another chapter finished.
Thanks for reading.
Unfinished Date: Feb/27/2022
Finished Date: Mar/23/2022