Halcyon: often used to describe an idyllic time in the past that is remembered as better than today.
One always knew when springtime arrived on Daija Mountain because the air would be tinted with the scent of flowers and filled with sounds of critters waking up from their winter hibernation. The faint chills of winter continued to linger in the morning but by the time the sun reached its peak at noon, it would create the perfect spring day. Springtime was Hinata's favorite season, especially on Daija Mountain. On these perfect spring days, she would lie on her back with her eyes closed under her favorite oak tree and let the sunlight filter through the tree leaves and dance across her face.
Her state of relaxation almost made her forget about her current situation, but a flutter of familiar chakra close by would bring her back to reality. An average-height man with short, silvery white hair appeared from the shadows. Once the figure was within speaking distance of Hinata, he lowered his body by kneeling down on one knee in front of her with his head bowed.
"My apologies, Hinata sama, the convoy is scheduled to arrive tomorrow and Hamura sama would like a word before you depart."
"Hmmm..." murmured Hinata at the man's request without opening her eyes, "Tell him that I'll come by later."
The man nodded acknowledgment of her order and disappeared into the shadows once more, Hinata sighed deeply and covered her forehead with the back of her hand. It was hard to get back to her state of relaxation after the man's brief appearance and his reminder of her departure tomorrow. A convoy was sent by the Hyuuga Clan to escort her back to Konoha, a place that she hadn't set foot in for the past fifteen years. At one point of her life, Konoha was a place that she longed for but now it was a place that filled her with dread.
Her memories of Konoha and her family were close to non-existent as she was only five years old when she was sent away to live with Hamura on Daija Mountain. Her family had made an offering to Hamura, the eldest Hyuuga child of the main branch would be in the care of Hamura till the child reached the age of twenty and at that time, the child would be returned to the Hyuuga clan. During this time, as long as Hamura did not kill the child, he was free to experiment on the child as he pleased.
Those early years of living on Daija Mountain were truly a nightmare, she was just simply too docile and timid. From the age of five to ten, she was in a constant state of pain, she was force-fed various types and amounts of poisons and antidotes so he could observe its reaction with the Hyuuga blood. Depending on her reaction, Hamura would also attempt to create elixirs to strengthen her body so he could continue experimenting on her. After five years of near-unbearable pain, she chose to end her agony by taking her own life.
The kunai felt heavy in her small hand as she raised the blade to her neck. She even remembered the pressure of her skin as she slit the blade across her carotid artery. The feeling of blood rushing out from her wound as an intense pain took over her senses, freeing her from all the other pains in her tiny body. Her lips had curled up in a peaceful smile, thinking about how pretty the bright red blood looked on her hands. However, death wasn't on her side. She had woken up with bandages around her neck and Hamura stroked her head and smiled down at her.
Hamura had fed her a rare mixture of manjushage , fuji and mamushi venom that pulled her back from the brink of death. After her near-death experience, the composition of her body had changed, she no longer felt pain or effects from poisons and antidotes that she consumed. Her newly acquired immunity to poisons fascinated Hamura. Perhaps, it was due to this fact, that he started to feel more akin to her existence. It was that very year when he decided to take her under his wing and began giving her lessons on poisons and antidotes.
Once she was freed of the constant pain, it was as if she could think clearly again, and along with Hamura's influence and teachings, her personality changed from docile and timid to one that was pensive, guarded, and somewhat callous at times. Her change was so gradual that she only eventually realized how much she changed and how much power she wheeled when no servants or subordinates of Hamura's sect dared to disobey any order she gave. The tickle of pleasure she felt when she said jump and the reply that she received would be how high.
As the years passed, she allowed herself to get accustomed to the power and position that she held on Daija Mountain. His trust in her grew as he saw himself in the ways she conducted herself, eventually, he showed her his years of research on poison and seals and even allowed her to observe his dissection of bodies. Hamura had even encouraged her to start the study of her own blood, a project that he supervised and advised her on. It was completely baffling how poisonous and miraculous her blood was. When her blood was used on a healthy person, depending on the amount, it could potentially kill the person in question. Yet, when her blood was used on a person who was near death, it had the power to pull people back from the brink of death.
Hinata had gotten used to a life where she was unbounded by rules or etiquette and she only had to care about her whims and fancies as long as she abided by a certain set of rules that Hamura enforced, the whole Daija Mountain was her own personal playground. She nearly completely forgot that her last name was Hyuuga and the obligations that were attached to being a Hyuuga. Then everything that she wanted to forget caught up to her with a vengeance. The day after her twenty birthday, the Hyuuga clan had sent the scroll inquiring about her return to Konoha. Hamura had only shrugged and tossed her the scroll and told her to take care of it herself. She had asked Kurenai to burn it but another scroll came the next week and the week after that.
Eventually, Hinata had to reply as the Hyuuga Clan had threatened they would bring the whole clan to Daija Mountain to personally retrieve her if Hamura insisted on breaking their pact agreement. It was only then, that Hinata picked up a brush and wrote a short letter about how sick and frail her body was from an unexpected illness and asked them to push her return to spring of the next year. The Hyuuga Clan had reluctantly agreed to the delay but emphasized they would come to claim her on the agreed date no matter what state she was in.
Hinata threw the scroll into the fire after reading their reply, the scroll signified the start of the countdown to her return to Konoha. All winter, her impending return to Konoha plagued her mind, she couldn't find any enjoyment in her usual winter activities. Even the new pastries that Kurenai had painstakingly prepared had left a sour taste in her mouth, Hamura was no help either as he already started to make requests for her to send him Uchiha and Uzumaki clan's blood samples for his research.
Hinata had considered various ways of gaining her freedom, she thought about faking her death but the Hyuuga Clan would want a body that she was unable to produce...at least not right now. She thought of hiring mercenaries to dispose of the convoy on their way back to Konoha but she couldn't risk the Hyuuga Clan finding out it was her who hired them. Hinata had a vague idea of the Hyuuga Clan's intentions for her; once she returned, she was to be used as a placeholder before the clan's intended heir took over.
Knowing the Hyuuga Clan, the elders would eventually sell her off to a Daimyo for an alliance as a way to dethrone her because they thought of her as docile and weak. The elders might think they were doing her a favor, by arranging a favorable marriage for her as compensation for all her years of being a hostage on Daija Mountain. If the Hyuuga clan truly wanted to compensate her, they should set her free from the Hyuuga Clan's obligations and let her live her life as she pleased.
Hinata slowly opened her eyes and admired the little pricks of sunlight through her fingers. She should be used to this by now, it wasn't like this was the first time that she was being ripped away from a place she called home. The corner of her lips shifted up slightly when a familiar chakra prickled in her peripheral vision.
"Come out, Kanna," she ordered without a second thought. A small figure dressed in brown miko-style robes appeared behind a tree carrying a basket of freshly picked strawberries, looking slightly guilty after being caught. "Hinata sama," greeted the child with her head lowered, Hinata finally decided to hoist herself up into a sitting position. The child stopped in front of her and held out the basket of strawberries to her. Instead of accepting the basket, she pushed herself off the ground to a standing position and dusted off her clothes.
"Go and give the strawberries to Kurenai and ask her to make it into a jam, fresh strawberries won't survive the journey," instructed Hinata as she walked away without sparing a second glance at the child, the child nodded quietly at her instructions, her hand tightening on the basket as she watched her departing back. Disappointment came off her in waves, usually, Hinata would taste a few pieces of fruit and allow the child to sit by her side as a reward for her offering.
Her steps slowed and she turned her head slightly to call out to the girl, "Don't forget to pick the grapes in the summer, I'll need them to make wine in the fall." The girl looked up suddenly joyously at her mention of a possible return in the fall time, "Yes, Hinata sama," replied the girl smiling before running off. Although she knew what she just said was a flat-out lie but sometimes, lies can't be avoided, her intention was not to cheer up the child but more so she would feel useful, and being useful was often enough of a distraction from the reality of separation.
[AN: This story has an irregular update schedule.]