Hinata and the others stopped in front of a mansion. It was a traditional japanese home, just like her home back in the village but it wasn't as big as the Hyuga compound. Hinata spotted a sign next to the gates of the mansion, it read 'Kirishima.'
They entered the mansion and were greeted by an orange-haired man. He must be Jugo the other two talked about, Hinata thought. He started smiling as he spotted Sasuke. On the other hand, Hinata looked around the big courtyard. The pavement, they were walking on, was made up of fine stones and there was this big garden on the left side of the main house. New leaves in the trees could be seen as they rustled in the wind and the flowers were in full bloom as the wind carried their fragrance around the whole courtyard.
The fragrance of flowers reminded Hinata of her mother and how she did gardening in her little garden. That was her mother's favourite thing to do. When Hinata was little, she always helped her mother and watched her take care of the flowers like they were her small children. That thought brought a small smile on her lips. She looked up at front as the orange haired man approached them.
"I thought you won't be coming this year," said the man as he greeted them. Hinata had seen that man before. But where...? She couldn't remember.
"Well things happened and we ended up here," Sasuke said as he nodded his chin in Hinata's direction. Hinata noticed that and focused her attention on the man in front of her. The man greeted her as he also smiled at her.
"I am Jugo. It's nice to meet you, Hinata Hyuga."
Hinata looked surprised that he actually knew her name. She asked, "How do you know my name?" she said a little curiously.
He chuckled lightly and said, "I saw you and your friends during the war. You are a good fighter."
Hinata only smiled at him. Hinata was actually surprised that he remembered her after this long. Hinata snapped out of her thoughts as Jugo gestured to them to come inside.
He opened the door that led to a hallway with many doors at the either sides. They slipped out of their shoes and entered the hallway. Jugo led the way as he stopped in front of a door and slid it open.
"He is here, Kirishima-san." Jugo said as he bowed. They all entered the room and saw a man in his late forties was sitting down in front of a tea table as he sipped from his cup. When he saw them, his eyes lit up and a big smile made its way to his lips. He stood up and went to Sasuke.
"Oh Sasuke. My boy," said the old man happily as he patted Sasuke's back and went on, "I am very glad that you could make it. When I got your letter saying that you won't be coming, I was really saddened."
Sasuke bowed in respect as a small smile tugged on his lips. Hinata was surprised to see Sasuke bowing in front of a man and smiling. He didn't even do that for Kakashi. The Chief of the village must be important to Sasuke, Hinata thought in her head.
The chief's attention went to Hinata and he smiled at her and asked, "Who is this young lady, Sasuke? Her eyes indicates that she's a Hyuga." He said as he strocked his chin in thought.
"Hello. I'm Hinata Hyuga. Nice meeting you, sir." Hinata introduced herself as she bowed in respect as well. The man nodded at her and asked them to sit down.
The maids brought some tea and refreshments as they sat around the table. Sasuke and Hinata sat side by side in front of the Chief. Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo sat against the wall at their right. They all talked about some random stuff, about the village and the festival, Hinata aslo told them about her team and friends.
Kirishima was a nice person and a good chief who looked after his people and village, and took care of them like his own family. He wasn't anything like her father. They were completely opposite. After some time, Kirishima turned to Hinata and curiously looked at her.
"I have been thinking...," he began, "Are you Hiashi's daughter?"
At that they all stopped talking and looked at Hinata who was again surprised as she nodded her head slowly and said, "D-Do you know my father?"
"That means I am right! You really are his daughter." He said as he laughed at his successful guess. He went on, "He and I were good friends when we were young. We trained together, afterall."
"Trained? What do you mean?" asked Hinata as she had bewildered look on her face. Sasuke also nodded his head as he also wanted to know how the Hyuga head and the old man knew each other.
"Eh? You don't know? Didn't your father ever told you the stories of his youth?" asked the man. Hinata lowered her eyes as she shook her head no. Kirishima sighed and clapped his hands together to get her attention.
"Alright! I'll tell you then." he grinned and Hinata smiled.
"So we first met when we were genins. I belonged to a small shinobi village near the Valley of the End. I met him when I was training alone in the woods near the village. He was traveling alone. We became quick friends as we both liked to train alot and we were both heirs to our respective clans, and we had a lot of similarities too. I told him everything about my family and he told me about his. He actually had lied to his parents that he was going to visit some family members so they could teach him more about the clan and his special eyes. But in fact, he just wanted to travel around because he got tired and bored from being an heir. He was a rebellious child." He stopped and laughed as he remembered his time with his dear friend.
Hinata was having a hard time accepting that he was actually talking about her father. The Hiashi that Kirishima spoke of, he was a complete stranger and different from the Hiashi she knew. When she was a child, she'd always ask her father to tell the stories of his time when he was a young boy, although the one she wanted to know about was when her parents met for the first time. She asked her father many times to tell her but he always gave her a cold look and turned away.
He continued, "He also told me that he was reasearching about a seal that his family practiced. He wanted to find a way to reverse it but saddely he never found a way. He said that his little twin brother needed his help and he feared that one of his children might one day be subjugated to the same fate like his brother. But in the end he couldn't do anything. We spent four years traveling and training together. And then he had to return home and take his position as the heir and later the Head. He completely changed after he took the responsibility of a leader. He became a great leader but he wasn't the same man who I befriended once." His voice turned sad as he looked at Hinata. He noticed that there was no seal on her forehead. He sighed in relief.
"You are lucky that you are his firstborn and heir or otherwise your eyes would have been sealed too." He gave her a warm smile but Hinata was shocked and found herself saying as she breathed out, "I am not his heir anymore."
She touched her forehead and an image of Neji appeared in her mind as he looked at her with so much hate and dispare in his eyes and the seal evident on his forehead. She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. She looked up at the others and found them staring at her with pity. But when her eyes landed on Sasuke, she didn't see pity in his eyes, it was something different, she couldn't figure out that emotion but it clearly wasn't pity and a warm feeling spread inside her heart.
"What's with the long faces?" said a female voice as she suddenly appeared in the room with a poof, startling them slightly. The girl had long blonde hair and brown eyes. She had training attire on.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Misaki? Don't appear like that out of thin air. One day you might kill me with a heart attack." Kisihima said as he laid his hand over his heart. The girl, Misaki, giggled and said, "Sorry, Uncle, I couldn't stop myself when I heard Sasuke's in the village. So I wanted to rush over here as soon as possible." She rubbed her neck sheepishly.
Her eyes roamed around the room and landed on the Uchiha who was looking at her with his usual blank expression. Misaki grinned as they made eye contact. She rested her one hand on her hip and with the other, she pointed a finger at the Uchiha, and said confidently, "I challenge you for a duel! And when I win, you'll be my date for tonight!"
"Here we go again," muttered suigetsu as he sat against the wall, crossing his arms. He really didn't know what girls saw in that pathetic excuse for a human being. He should be a stone statue instead. Suigetsu clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Karin smirked at her challenge, she knew that there was no way that Sasuke would lose to the likes of her and she soon entered the land of daydreams in which she and Sasuke disappeared off to the golden sunset.
On the other hand, Hinata was just staring at the girl, she looked younger than Hinata. She resisted the erge to roll her eyes at the blonde girl as she too was Sasuke's fangirl. She didn't know why but it kind of bothered her to know that he had a horde of fangirls following him wherever he went. She shook her head to clear her mind and looked up at the door as it slid open.
A young man with black hair stood there, a sword in hand as he pursed his lips when his eyes landed on Sasuke. He had same training attire as Misaki. He gave Sasuke a glare which Sasuke returned with his own, and then averted his gaze to Kirishima. He bowed and came inside. He then glared at Misaki as she averted her eyes and looked at her feet.
"I have been looking for you. You vanished in the middle of our training," he said in an irritated tone. Like a teacher was scolding his student. Misaki laughed nervously as she tried to reason, "I thought the training was over!"
"3 laps around the village! Now!" he ordered as he crossed his arms. Misaki had a pained expression as she whined, "Come on! I've already done that in the morning! And I have to get ready for the the festival too!" The man didn't budge. "Now!"
Kirishima laughed and said, "It's okay, son. Let her off today. You can resume your training tomorrow."
"But father, --" he began but was cut off by the elder.
"That's enough now, Kirito. We have guests here." He said calmly as he gestured towards Sasuke and Hinata. Kirito again glared at Sasuke but offered a smile to Hinata which she returned politely.
"My name is Kirito," he introduced himself.
"Hinata. Hinata Hyuga." He nodded with a smile.
Then his father stood up and called out for a maid to escort them to their rooms since it was late and they also had to attend the festival too. Hinata was really excited to see the festival too, it had been a long time since she attended one. She couldn't attend the Rinne festival which was a few months ago because of a mission. Hinata halted in front of a room and the maid informed her that it will be her room for the next three days.
"Rest well, Hyuga-san," said the maid, her name was Ayako, and she went on, "I will come in the evening with your kimono and will be escorting you to the main hall." She finsihed and bowed.
"If you need anything, I will be just down the hall."
"Thank you," Hinata said with a smile. Ayako left and Hinata rested for a while then got up to take a bath. Not long after, Ayako came with few kimonos in her hands and some other accessories. She spotted a purple kimono, her favourite color, and instantly fell in love with it. She dressed up and applied some light makeup. She tied a few strands of her hair with a flower hairpin.
She stood before a mirror and looked at her reflection. The kimono was exquisite and was really matching with her lavender eyes. It was plain purple infront but at the edges, gloden flowers and fireflies were embroided there and at the back, was a big flower printed on it, with a dark purple and golden belt around the waist. She smiled looking at her reflection and was really excited to go outside and enjoy the festival with others.
The maid, Ayako escorted her to the main hall where others waited for her. As soon as she came inside the hall, all the conversations halted and they all looked at her in awe. She looked around and everyone was present there. So she was late, she thought.
"Um... Sorry for keep you waiting," she apologised, feeling a little nervous under their gazes.
"Wow... Hinata-chan, you look so pretty!" said Misaki as she came to her looped her arm around Hinata's. She was also wearing a kimono, hers was a red one with a golden belt around the waist and golden flowers printed all over her front and back.
Hinata smiled at her and said to her, "You look pretty too, Misaki-chan."
"Thanks," she said sheepishly.
Suigetsu whistled as he saw Hinata and before he could say anything, Sasuke shot him a glare to shut his mouth which he quickly obliged and kept quite.
However, Kirito stepped forward and said to Hinata, "You look lovely like an angel, Hime." Hinata blushed at his compliment and muttered her thanks. Then she spotted Sasuke standing there, with a black and dark blue yukata. He looked as handsome as ever. Hinata's eyes widened at the thought and she shook her head slightly as a blush creeped up to her cheeks.
She looked up Sasuke who was facing towards the doors, not looking at her at all. She didn't know why but she was a bit disappointed that Sasuke didn't say anything, but she shook it off and soon they all were outside to go and enjoy their evening.
She was at the front of the group with Misaki as she led the way happily. Little did she know that the Uchiha's eyes never left her as they made their way to the glittering lights ahead.