Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Diplomacy ❯ Breaking Point ( Chapter 19 )

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Hyuga Hiashi left the Hokage’s office feeling very uneasy. Something in her manner, as he reported the success of his mission, seemed very off. Instead of being pleased, Hiashi detected a large amount of anxiety. It was carefully hidden, only someone with a Hyuga’s training in body language would detect it. Nor was it only the Hokage. Others he passed by looked away, less skillfully hiding their desire to keep away from him. As if they wished to not be the ones to speak to him.

His uneasiness increased tenfold when, as he left the building, he saw the man waiting for him.

“Makoto?” Hiashi asked.

“Hiashi…” Saruwatari nodded in response.

“Hospital?” Hiashi asked. Saruwatari shook his head.

“Then tell me on the way to the manor!” Hiashi said as he suddenly began running towards his home.

The Hokage, the other ninja. The unease he felt at their reactions failed to compare to seeing the grief in Saruwatari Makoto’s expression. That expression, on a man whose very career was in controlling his emotions meant only one thing. One thing that forced Hiashi to ask himself just what had happened while he was gone.

Hiashi received his answer as he ran for the Hyuga manor as fast as he could go without Makoto losing him. When he reached his home, he wasted no time with greeting those who were at the gate, or even the customary report to the clan’s elders. Instead, he ran through the house. Climbing steps and charging through halls until he reached the door he sought. His running ended only when the door he had tried to open failed to move at his pull.

“It’s no good.” said a voice.

“She’s locked herself in.” said another. Looking around, his youngest daughter and the Mist ninja, Tsurukawa, were sitting down on the floor on either side of the door. Hiashi examined the door more closely, using the Byakugan. It was, indeed, locked from the inside. Along with the room’s normal locks, Hinata had placed charms around the door and walls of the room. The charms were a sealing jutsu. The papers on the door created a lock maintained by Hinata’s chakra, which rendered it very difficult to open without a lot of force. Hiashi also recognized some as charms that could block the Byakugan's view of a room, used within the Hyuga manor and without as a means of keeping those with the Byakugan lacking the proper clearance from seeing what was inside the space the charms surrounded. As a result, there was no seeing beyond the charms themselves.

“Saruwatari told me what happened. Has she been in there since?”

Tsurukawa nodded.

“It’s been days.” Hanabi reported, “Right after she was treated for her injuries, she came back here and locked herself in. Chi-nee and me have tried to call out to her, but it’s like she can’t hear us.”

“It’s probably more accurate to say that she’s being stubborn.” Tsurukawa corrected Hanabi.

“You’re only saying that because we made that bet.” Hanabi told her.

“I made that bet because I think it’s true.” Chie retorted.

“Bet?” Hiashi asked. It was Tsurukawa who answered.

“I was trying to lighten things up a bit.” she answered, gesturing to Hanabi, “After the first day she started to worry.”

“I see.” Hiashi replied, taking another look at the charms. They seemed well made. He couldn’t see inside the room beyond the charms themselves, the ones on the door also, in addition to a lock, had a barrier preventing physically breaking down the door. He placed a hand on the door and began to manipulate his chakra towards it. With a nod he brought his hands together in front of him and began weaving a long and complex series of signs. By its end, Hiashi shouted “Kai!” and slammed both hands against the door. Instantly Hiashi found himself able to see inside, and the door slid open as easily as it normally did.

Tsurukawa and Hanabi were on their feet at once, but Hiashi raised a hand to stop them.

“I know you are concerned. But I wish to speak to Hinata alone, first.”

Hanabi bowed her head and stepped back. Tsurukawa looked ready to argue, though.

“I have no intention of berating her, or scolding her, or punishing her.” Hiashi assured the girl, “You needn’t worry.”

The girl looked unconvinced, but stepped aside nonetheless. Hiashi walked inside. He saw Hinata sitting at a desk in the study she had appropriated. Her head was resting on the desk which was littered with papers and brushes. Hiashi saw the girl was fast asleep which, judging by the dark marks around her eyes, was badly needed.

Hiashi examined the room as well as his sleeping daughter. It wasn’t hard to deduce what had happened. Hinata had taken this room as quickly as possible, sneaking out and leaving it only when the needs of her body (food and the like) absolutely demanded it. Otherwise she remained here, working, neglecting meals and sleep as she did whatever it was she was so determined about. Hiashi looked over the girl’s shoulder to see what she had been reading and let out a gasp.

Spread around Hinata’s head were scrolls and books detailing information on paper charms and curses. Hiashi realized these were what Hinata had used to learn to seal the doors and room off. But, more shocking, were the curses. Before he could think more on that, Hinata began to stir, awakened by Hiashi’s gasp. She released a gasp of her own when she saw her father standing over her.

“F-Fath-”

“What is this?!” Hiashi asked, perhaps more harshly than he’d intended, because Hinata had recoiled slightly at his voice.

“They-they-they’re… about curse marks…” Hinata said.

“You’ve been in this room for days… studying these…?”

Hinata nodded. Hiashi didn’t ask why. He knew what had happened. The reason was obvious.

“Hinata…” Hiashi began, but Hinata cut him off.

“Don’t.” she said, her head bowed, “Don’t tell me to stop. I don’t want to disobey you.”

“And you would do that, wouldn’t you.” Hiashi said. He wasn’t asking her. He knew it was true. She nodded. She said nothing. Thanks to Saruwatari, Hiashi knew where her mind was focused.

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Hinata, Hanabi, and the other eight Hyuga remained motionless, still caught in Taiki’s final Hebi no Nirami. Gradually it wore off, and movement returned to them all. The Hyuga elder and those with him ran to the heirs to make sure they were safe. Hanabi assured them she was okay. Hinata ignored them. Her gaze drifted to the body of the man that had just died. The man she had just killed. Hinata fell to her knees and vomited.

“Nee-san!” Hanabi cried, running to her sister’s side. Hanabi saw the tears running down her face.

“No… I didn’t want…” Hinata sobbed.

Hinata suddenly grabbed her sister into a crushing hug.

“I swore I’d never use that jutsu…” she said as she held on to Hanabi.

Hanabi was at a loss, she could only hug back. Hanabi had never seen Hinata like this. Crying and trembling, seeking any support she could get.

“Nee-san…” Hanabi said, thinking of something, anything, “Y-you did what you had to. If you hadn’t… I would… we would…”

“Enough!” snapped a voice. Hinata did not respond. She clutched Hanabi, trembling. Hanabi looked into the face of the eldest Hyuga. The man looked down at them, a glare of contempt focused on Hinata.

“We watched your battle with Taiki while we came here.” he said, “I had thought that you put up an admirable fight, Hinata. But to learn that you could have finished this at any time you wished and did not… You hesitated when you had the means to finish this quickly. You allowed this situation to escalate far beyond what you were capable of preventing. You are a disgrace to this clan!”

Hinata suddenly stopped trembling. She stood up and faced the elder. Hinata stood straight and tall. Though tears continued to run down her face, her eyes were not those of a crying girl. None present had ever seen such a look on the gentle Hinata’s face before. The icy glare she gave the man before her would have frightened a lesser man. Her voice did not raise when she spoke next, yet it carried to every Hyuga present loudly and clearly.

“A disgrace? I am a disgrace? For what, precisely? For keeping to my ideals? For trying to find another way? For wanting, above all else, to spare my cousin? For not doing so only as the very last resort? Tell me what is so disgraceful about not wanting to spill the blood each and every one of us shares!”

The Hyuga elder stood there, outraged beyond response. Hinata did not let up.

“You are right, though. This whole affair need not have happened as it did. There was a time, perhaps, when maintaining the two families within the clan was a necessary evil. But I can not see that the time is still here. Yet we persist in keeping our clan divided. In bringing suffering to our own. It was these ways, and the tragedies they caused that brought this all about!”

“How dare you?!” snapped a woman among the Hyuga, taking over for the old man. She brought up her hand to slap Hinata only to have her wrist grabbed by another. A young man who was of the Branch family.

“Let me go!” she ordered.

“Not if you insist on harming Hinata-sama.” the man replied. The woman brought her hand back to her side, rubbing her wrist where it had been grabbed. Hinata herself was momentarily surprised, as well, until the woman spoke again.

“The ways of the Hyuga are the most ancient in Konoha. Who are you, girl, to question these ways?”

“I am the heir of the Hyuga clan.” Hinata replied, “And not only do I question them, I intend to change them!”

“What did you say?” the woman shouted.

“Did you not hear?” Hinata said, “I said I will change the Hyuga clan!!”

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“You meant every word, didn’t you, Hinata.” Hiashi said, again not a question.

“I did. The clan can’t continue like this. It will only cause more heartbreak. More tragedies.”

“That is why you have locked yourself in here since coming home. Why you’ve researched curse jutsu.” he looked at some of the papers on Hinata’s table, “You realize removing the Juin from a member of the Branch is impossible.”

“But adding a mark to another is not.” Hinata replied. Hiashi looked Hinata in the eyes.

“Do you mean to say-”

“What I’ve studied isn’t a way to remove a Juin, but how to perform one. I’m going to create a new mark, one every member of the clan can bear with pride! Maybe I can not do anything for the Branch Family today, but future generations needn’t walk that same path. When I lead this clan I were merge the two families into one!”

It was rare for Hyuga Hiashi to have no response. Never had he seen this fire in Hinata’s eyes, it seemed to emanate from her very soul.

“You are determined, that it is true.” Hiashi said to her, “But mere determination alone will not be enough. Just creating this new Juin alone will not be enough. Those entrenched in the old ways far outweigh those who would wish reform, and you made enemies of most all of them with your declaration that night.”

“So…” Hinata said, her eyes retaining that fire, “Are you saying it’s impossible, then? That I should give up?”

“I am merely saying,” Hiashi replied, “That to bring changes to this clan will require an individual of great talent. Someone with the skills necessary to unite people, salve old wounds, and stay calm in the face of heated beliefs. Someone who is prepared to fight an endless and losing battle while maintaining the will to succeed. It is no easy task. I tried to be this individual, but I failed.”

“Father…” Hinata gasped. Hiashi was quiet for several moments.

“However, Hinata, you may well be the one capable of bringing about that change.”

“What?!” Hinata replied in shock, “No. That’s not true. Don’t say such things… I can’t take it… how can you say them to me? I’m a failure. I swore I’d never go back on my word! I swore I’d never use the Juin to kill! I swore I’d find a way to keep Taiki-nii-san and Kiriko-nee-san alive! I failed! Nothing I said could change their minds… I had to break my promises… I had to kill Taiki-nii-san with the Juin!”

“Hinata…”

“And… ; and… I’d do it all again! If I had to… if I had to do it over, I wouldn’t do anything differently!!”

With that confession Hinata could no longer hold her emotions in. The tears she had released only for those moments on that night began to flow again. The tears she had kept back by putting all her focus on her work, ignoring the attempts by others to coax her out of the room, stopping only when her body required her to rest or eat. Hinata cursed herself as the tears she had kept back in the faces of those who had angered her, in front of those who were concerned for her, now released themselves before the man whose respect she craved most.

“I’d break my promises! I’d kill him again!”

To Hinata’s surprise, he embraced her and said nothing as Hinata cried. No words were exchanged as she sobbed into Hiashi’s shirt. Minutes passed before the crying subsided, with one last hiccup, Hinata pulled herself from her father’s grasp. She looked up at her father, expecting the stern look of a man who could withhold his emotions easily looking back at her. She was not disappointed, but beneath that stern expression, Hinata realized he.

“Hinata…” Hiashi began, holding up a finger to stop her reply, “Your sister was placed in danger. You fought with all your heart to protect her while also holding onto your Nindô. From what I was told you did not waver once, not even when you were forced to choose between you family and your beliefs. Even now, you’re seeking to make amends for what you see as your failure.”

Hinata stood there, taking her father’s words in.

“I can not tell you if what you have done is right or wrong. My only advice is that if you indeed feel guilt for what has happened, then you must find some way to atone. I believe you are already on that path as you seek to change that which caused so many so much pain. Hinata, I meant what I said, you can become the one who will change this clan for the better. You’ve already made several important steps without even realizing it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you been eating, while locked away in here?” Hiashi asked, a hint of a grin on his face.

“Yes. There’s been food left by the door periodically, but what does that-”

“That is proof of what I say. I am certain that, if I were to ask the elders of the Main Family, they would say the ordered no food sent to you. They would have attempted to starve you out of hiding.”

“But then who?” Hinata asked looking at the plates of eaten food left around the room.

“Who prepares the meals of this household? Who takes them to the high ranked members who will eat them?”

“The Branch Family…?!” Hinata asked in surprise. Hiashi nodded.

“Your efforts to prevent death have touched many, Hinata. I told you that you had gained the enmity of many of the Main Family’s elders. For the same reasons they feel antagonized, the majority of the Branch Family, it seems, have chosen to place their loyalty with you.”

She wanted to deny this. To wonder how they could feel that way when she had killed one of their own. But she understood. She understood what her father was saying. She had had the power to finish it all quickly and ruthlessly. She had withheld it. She had kept others from using it themselves.

“I will do it.” Hinata swore, “I will change this clan! I will make it better! Stronger! More than a clan! A true family!”

To Hinata’s surprise, Hiashi was smiling. With a nod he began to walk out of the room.

“I will leave you to your work then, Hinata. I will ensure nobody disturbs you, so please leave the door open. Your friend and sister have been worried for you.”

“Yes, sir.” Hinata replied, making a note to apologize to Chie and Hanabi.

“And one more thing.” Hiashi said, stopping at the door and turning to face Hinata once more, “‘I will change the Hyuga.’ Did you know another person once spoke those words?”

“Huh?” Hinata asked in confusion, “I, I didn’t.”

“Then let me tell you now. He is a boy about your age, one of your old classmates in fact.”

Hinata stared at her father.

“I tell you this, because I think you will be more determined knowing you won’t be alone in your battle. I will do what I can, you will have Hanabi and the Branch Family as well. But, in the end, I think it will please you most to know our future Hokage will be on your side, as well.”

With that, Hiashi left the room. Hinata stared at him as he left. Surely he didn’t mean who he thought she did.

“Nee-san!” Hanabi cried wrapping her arms around her sister.

When Hiashi left, he left the door open, letting Chie and Hanabi slip through and confront Hinata at last.

“He didn’t chew you out did he?” Chie said as she walked up to Hinata.

“No, everything’s fine.” Hinata assured her. Indeed it was. Mostly. The guilt for what had happened in the woods still pulled at Hinata, and perhaps always would. But her father was right, if what happened bothered her so, the best thing she could do was make amends for what she had done. As Hinata allowed her friend and sister to drag her outside for fresh air, Hinata’s mind for one more moment dwelled on what her goal now was to be.

For Taiki-nii-san, Kiriko-nee-san, Shunichi-kun… I will become a strong leader for the Hyuga, and do all I can to prevent this kind of tragedy from ever happening again.