4 Chapter 3 (1/2)

The building inside was not as what I was expecting. It was built to look like a traditional aristocrats house or in my case; my home. Despite some modern touches here and there, it was dominantly of a traditional style and I was amazed by this. I presumed that an old clan such as them must have upheld some old traditions. There was a sound of water running into a pond, some birds chirping happily, insects were buzzing in the background, I felt right at home. The Hyuuga compound was situated quite far from the main city so the peace it offered must have been a gift for them. I was intrigued by some thudding sound of a consecutive fist hitting a body from the other part of the house. I followed Hiashi towards the sound and I had found that it was from two girls sparring. As I took in the scene, I noticed a boy was standing upon a tree in a distance from them. When Hiashi and I reached them, the two of them bowed at us.

”Welcome home, Tou-sama,” the girls said in unison. Hiashi nodded at them when they rose.

”Hinata, Hanabi. This boy will be living with us from now on. He will be your brother,” Hiashi said while motioning at me. I grinned and bowed at them.

”My name is Hikari. It is a pleasure for this one to meet both of you,” I said happily and the boy walked towards us with his eyes narrowed. Suddenly, the little one hugged me tightly.

”Welcome home, Oni-chan! My name is Hanabi,” she said while grinning widely and the other one bowed at me.

”Welcome home, Hikari-Nisan. I am Hinata,” She said. She was timider when compared to her little sister. The boy, on the other hand, was still had his narrowed eyes at me. I held out a hand to shake him but he refused to take it. Instead, he bowed towards me.

”My name is Neji. Welcome home, Hikari-sama,” he said monotonously. I suspected a hint of hate and disdain in his speech by I dismissed it.

”I would appreciate it if you would refrain from calling me that,” I said while still holding out my hand. When he rose, he looked surprised that my hand was still held out to him. Speechless, he shook my hand but soon afterwards, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, a body flicker technique.

”He was always this way. Please do not be offended,” Hiashi said. I told him that it was okay.

”I wanted to introduce you to the clan in a meeting tonight during dinner,” Hiashi continued.

”If you say so,” I said slowly while giving him a silent look.

”I hope you aren't planning to reveal my identity,” I said to myself.

Hiashi just smiled and nodded minutely. He then went inside the house to make preparations for tonight.

”Ne, Oni-chan. I never saw you before, where do you live?” Hanabi suddenly asked. I couldn't help but remembered my old home with Mother and Aino. I missed them so much. I managed to luckily recover immediately right after that sudden pang of sadness.

”I came from far away but I have no place to return to anymore,” I said to her. She was about to press out some more information when Hinata closed her mouth leaving Hanabi screaming wordless distress.

”Come, let's finish our training,” Hinata said while she smiled at me. I guessed that she knew that the subject shouldn't be pressed on. I returned her smile as thanks.

”May this one watch you two spar?” I asked.

”Awesome, I can't wait to impress you Oni-chan!” Hanabi said while cracking her knuckles. I took my seat on a porch near the spot they were sparring. During the occasion, I didn't realize that I was too focused on analyzing their fighting style, something moved at the corner of my eyes and I jumped.

”You got a habit of spacing out when you are too focused on something,” Hiashi said, chuckling to himself. He was already sitting beside me and I laughed along with him, his assessment of me was correct after all.

”Hanabi is showing more promise when it comes to the choice of being the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan. Hinata is too soft and kind,” Hiashi muttered under his breath, not wanting to disturb the sparring.

”This one concurs with Hanabi's skills but this one has a good feeling that Hinata was suppressing her ability. I guess that she doesn't want to hurt her sister,” I commented. Hiashi paid no mind at my words but I understood his reasons. A parent must always have set a certain amount of level for their children to uphold. I knew it because Mother always expects the best of me. More so in his case, he was choosing the heir of the clan.

”Do you interested in learning about our Hyuuga's taijutsu?” Hiashi suddenly asked and my interest piqued.

”What's taijutsu?” I asked.

”Taijutsu is a technique employed by the shinobi for close-quarters combat situations,” Hiashi explained.

”Oh right, the style is slightly similar to what this one was taught but it is more refined than mine,” I explained back.

”You were taught by your mother, right? I am curious, to what extent are your skills,” Hiashi commented. I suddenly remembered those times she spent training me with her arts and knowing that I couldn't experience it anymore, I felt sad.

”I would be honoured if you would like to teach this one the Hyuuga's taijutsu,” I said. Hiashi's lip twitched upwards for a slight smile.

”This honour would be for me, Hikari-ouji. I will have to gauge your skills first,” he said with a hint of proudness, ”Neji, come here and spar with Hikari.”

Hinata and Hanabi stopped their spar due to the fact and looked at us, puzzled.

”Tou-sama, are you going to make Oni-chan hate us? Neji-Nichan will hurt him,” Hanabi grumbled. I walked towards them and rustled Hanabi's hair and bend down to match her height and grinned.

”It's okay, I should do this if I wanted to be a strong Oni-chan for Hanabi-chan,” I affectionately said. Hanabi's face went profusely red in embarrassment as Hinata smiled at me.

I looked ahead and I found that Neji had already taken his stance waiting for me. I noticed his eyes were brimming with anger and hatred. The girl was still retreating when I took my stance and activate my Byakugan. I saw Hiashi raised his eyebrows at my stance, I could only assume that he must have recognized it from somewhere. I couldn't think more because Neji had begun his attacks on me. Every blow his delivered looked like it made contact but I was deflecting it at the last minute within the proximity of my body. That had irked him, he then proceeds to attack me with a much more precise gentle-fist attack which was also been nullified by me. He then crouched to a low stance and muttering some words. Chakra was building on his palm and his eyes glinted with determination. This must have been the clan's secret technique. Unbeknownst to him, such a technique was already easily read and nullified for a pair of Byakugan unwatered by reproduction.

”Tou-sama, stop this. Oni-chan will be killed,” Hanabi begged and on the verge of tears. Hiashi did not make a move as he just knew the outcome of this spar. I decided that I should beat Neji in his own game. While Neji began his final technique, I was moving so fast towards him. I hit him with my mother's version of the gentle-fist technique, precisely evading his chakra points. The blow sent him flying back but I immediately flickered to his position so that I could stand him up. I held out my hand at him.

”You fight like a woman,” Neji said, gritting his teeth and no doubt he was sore from my attacks. He knew that if I hit his chakra points during my attack, he would be dead.

”What can I do about it? I had my mother for a teacher,” I grinned at him. What was more surprising was Neji smiled as he reached my forearm so I helped him up. I noticed that he was still shaking from receiving my blows.

”Your strength, on the other hand, is off the charts,” He said. I laughed nervously because this is partially my fault. I had forgotten that I must hold back some of my strength but I got too excited to do so. I put his arm over my shoulder and walked him towards what it seemed like the still-gaping crowd. I placed him gently on the porch where I was sitting previously.

”Are you going to be fine? This one apologized for my misdeeds,” I inquired.