Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 3, 2011 7:28:39 GMT -5
It was that time of the year again, and Hisako was going to spend the day like she did every year for the past twelve years. She sat on the front porch of her family's home and stared at the road and the people who walked along it. Like herself, her parents did what they did every year which left her alone in the house to watch her fellow clansmen walk about the compound. Hisako looked down at her feet. Happy birthday, Kaemon. Usually around this time of year Hisako would spend her day just feeling numb and bumbling around. Before she didn't really have anyone to spend the day with and try to forget about the brother she had never known but this year was different. She had her new friend, Neji, and a cat (who was also named Neji). The now fat cat sat curled up on her lap, deep in sleep. Sadly his warmth and quiet purring wasn't as much of a comfort as she thought it might be. What she really wanted was for Neji to pop out of no where and distract her from the current disaster with another one that was looming. There was that, the little issue of trying to figure out what had happened at the festival. The entire situation felt very Sasuke Uchiha-esque and yet such an accusation could ruin the poor genin's reputation if she was wrong. Everything that had happened since then felt so sketchy, like she couldn't quite trust her own analysis of any situation she had been in since then. However, it seemed that Neji was being kept busy with his new team and so she'd not seen him in a few days. Maybe I should have gone with my parents to the cemetery...
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Post by hyuganeji on Dec 3, 2011 7:56:49 GMT -5
Neji Hyuuga sneezed at that very moment. He had woken early and finished some training. After a quick bite to eat and remembering his team had the day off he decided to check Hisako. He had not seen her since the festival and knew that he needed to. She had seemed shaken, and between his new skills and focused training regimen he had failed to see her for a few days now.
He was walking towards her family home when he had sneezed and now he was working on walking through the small empty area as he crossed the center of the complex and one of the gardens. He made his way there and saw her on her porch. He could practically feel her depression from where he stood. He noded to her as he came nearer with a smile," Long time no see Hisako-chan..."
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Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 3, 2011 8:47:16 GMT -5
"Long time no see Hisako-chan..." Hisako looked up to see the man she'd just been thinking about approaching her. She forced herself to smile and tried ot act like nothing was wrong. She gently shook her cat, Neji-the-cat, awake. "Look, Neji-cat, it's Neji-human," she cooed to it. The cat was annoyed at be awoken from it slumber but was even angrier to see the other Neji there. His ears laid back and he hissed at Neji before scampering back into the house. "Huh. Weird. He likes everyone else but not you..." Hisako watched her can scamper off but then turned to look at Neji. "What brings you out to my house? Don't you have little genin to teach or something? I was afraid you'd forgotten about me..."
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Post by hyuganeji on Dec 5, 2011 3:42:39 GMT -5
He frowned reading her body language and the forced nature of her smile. Also he could detect, unless he was mistaken, a hint of jealousy? "Why my dear Hisako-chan, you sound as though you missed me hanging around so often. I must say," His eyes softened as he smiled at his friend," I would rather be here with you any time." He had precious few friends outside the rookies and his team, and even then he was barely able to claim much on them personally.
He gave her a small frown as he neared her though,"May I join you? We have much we must discuss, but first I would like to ask what has you in such poor spirits..."
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Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 5, 2011 4:06:21 GMT -5
"Why my dear Hisako-chan, you sound as though you missed me hanging around so often. I must say, I would rather be here with you any time." Hisako looked up at Neji and stood slowly. "Of course I missed you. You are my only friend, after all," she said casually. Hisako took steps towards her front door, thinking that Neji would follow her. The things she wanted to talk about were hardly front porch material. Talk or treachery, confusion, and possible insanity were topics better suited inside over a cup of green tea. But Neji verged off topic by introducing the only other thing that could be more stressful than his student and the man who had possibly made him the next Uchiha Sasuke. "May I join you? We have much we must discuss, but first I would like to ask what has you in such poor spirits..." Hisako stopped walking and glanced back at him. "Yeah," she answered the first question and opened the door for him. "Come in..." Once they were inside and had slipped off their shoes Hisako walked into the rest of the house, twisting her hands together all the way. At first she didn't really answer his question about being in poor spirits. She had no real reason to be in poor spirits after all. It's not like she had known the kid... For a moment she fought everything back as she usually did and tried to focus on an easier topic. But for whatever reason something in her broke and her mouth rebelled her. "Umm..." her voice was unusually tight. "It's Kaemon's birthday...and...umm...the anniversary of his...ummm...d-death," the next part she spoke quickly as if saying it faster would make it any less painful or humiliating, "I mean...I'm n-not upset about it. I didn't even know him. He never really was a person..."
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Post by hyuganeji on Dec 5, 2011 4:21:32 GMT -5
Neji realized quickly by her clipped answers that he had been right in guessing her turmoil, but he had been too blunt approaching the topic. He listened as realization hit him and he gently placed his arms around her. It was not romantic, it was not a boy hugging a girl, I was a friend offering solace and a safety from the obvious discomfort he had brought onto her.
"I am sorry Hisako."
A simple statement that conveyed many meanings. Sorry she had never known her brother. Sorry she had this pain all the time. Sorry she suffered her parents mild insanity over ths. And mostly sorry there was so little he could do to help.
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Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 5, 2011 5:02:22 GMT -5
"I am sorry Hisako." What? Hisako felt his arms come around her in a hug. Her body stiffened up initially as if it were an attack from some kind of foreign thing. She couldn't think of the last time she'd been hugged. The Hyuugas weren't much of the hugging sort, least off her own corner of the clan. And what was worse was that she was so used to showing a stiff upper lip about it. If anything could be said about Hisako is that she at least was able to keep certain feelings at bay. What ever thing that usually held off those feelings had cracked and let Hisako admit the problem but it cracked further with the hug. Her arms moved by their own volition and held onto him tightly. She didn't want to look Neji in the eye so instead tried to smother herself with his shoulder. she held her breath but as she let it out it was more of a heave and shook her entire body. Shit. Why am I crying? "...They treat him like he was their child," she whispered. "Like, he was alive. He never was. What's wrong with me? What is so wrong that my parents love a ghost over their living child?" It was true, very true. If her parents were given the choice between Kaemon and Hisako without a second thought they'd pick their son. Hisako wanted to stop talking but like a broken dam things kept leaking out. "I wish that there was a moment, even in passing, that my parents would have loved me. And I wish that stuff would stop happening around here! Can't Konoha have a single moment of peace without something going to hell?"
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Post by hyuganeji on Dec 5, 2011 5:14:39 GMT -5
Neji felt her return the embrace and let himself be her shelter in the storm, all the while glad she couldn't see the anger flaring as he heard her sorrows. He had issues with Yusei before now but this was ridiculous. He shouldn't be able to get away with this at all. He let himself be carried away with her rant and at last she came to the most recent of her troubles, with which he fully agreed:
"I wish that there was a moment, even in passing, that my parents would have loved me. And I wish that stuff would stop happening around here! Can't Konoha have a single moment of peace without something going to hell?"
He chuckled dryly, feeling her against his lightly rumbling chest as he told her in a soft but very caring voice,"Konoha is a ninja village. If we aren't under siege, being infiltrated, or having psycopaths loose then we are clearly not doing it properly." His voice grew a touch more sympathetic as he added," Your father loves you, but his loss has blinded him to the wonderful woman he has as daughter. Try not to hate them, they both love you more than we know." He hoped to Kami that they proved him right.
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Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 5, 2011 5:32:58 GMT -5
"Konoha is a ninja village. If we aren't under siege, being infiltrated, or having psycopaths loose then we are clearly not doing it properly. Your father loves you, but his loss has blinded him to the wonderful woman he has as daughter. Try not to hate them, they both love you more than we know." Hisako disagreed but nodded slowly at that. "Ok," she said and took a deep breath. It was time to move on to other things. Hisako did not want to talk about her family anymore. Still she held onto him, not really sure how to break the hug and keep face. For some reason Hisako had it in her mind that if Neji saw her face it would be another level of defeat that she simply was not ready to face quite yet. "Umm...so...I think we may have a bigger problem on our hands than my family. I can't be so sure about it, though, so you have to promise me not to act on whatever your first impulse is..."
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Post by hyuganeji on Dec 5, 2011 5:44:19 GMT -5
He could tell she was still upset, but simply nodded and allowed her change subjects. He almost wished he hadn't. He gave her a quick pat on her back, gently, and said,"Shall we sit? I can make you tea?"
He was over his head, but he wanted to at least try to do something for the girl who had done a fair deal for him.
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Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 6, 2011 20:36:02 GMT -5
((And what, pray tell, has she done for him?))
"I will not have you make me tea," she told him. "You are a guest in my house, it would not be right." There was that, and she wanted to try to keep some dignity given the situation. The quiet time in the kitchen would give her a chance to regain composer. Hisako turned away from Neji and began to walk towards the dining room where the table was. As they did she attempted to wipe her eyes in a way that was discrete. Despite the fact that she was a ninja this proved to be somewhat difficult. The room was small and boxy and had few personal touches. There were no pictures hanging up or decorations of any kind. The only thin on the walls were shelves and an ink painting with the clan's symbol on is and some calligraphy. However, the table was covered with books, papers, and food wrappers. It looked oddly like Hisako's personal room, messy. Which made sense seeing as how Hisako had set up camp in the dining room after her parents had left early that morning. How it had gotten so dirty so fast was a bit of a mystery. "Sorry about this..." she used her foot to push off some of the stuff so there was room for the two to sit. "I'll get some water boiling and then we can talk about what I saw at the festival..." While the girl went into the kitchen and started to boiling water for their tea Neji-cat appeared out of nowhere and began to eye Neji's long hair with mischievous eyes.
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Post by hyuganeji on Dec 7, 2011 11:39:41 GMT -5
((Well, you saved my butt in the hospital, you helped me out during the tournalent thread, the list goes on))
Neji had seen her adamant and yielded the situation. He caught her wiping her eyes, but left her alone. This was no time for teasing judging by the gray cloud he could imagine hanging over her head. He gave the room a quick scan and saw that it had fallen into a type of personal kind of entrenchment. He smiled slightly when she apologized and waved it off. He knew that she had a rough time with certain things. He sat in the offered chair and when she spoke of the festival he felt his mouth twitch out of its smile. "Of course, take your time."
He was painfully oblivious of his other host of sorts. Had he noticed the cat he may have put himself out if its claw reach as they had some real wars between each other, though he was usually not allowed to retaliate and he usually would glare at the smug thing being rescued by Hisako.
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Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 7, 2011 16:15:03 GMT -5
Neji-cat grinned and got low to the ground. His prey was oblivious to his existence and his evil intentions. The cat had been spoiled by his new owner and he had grown rather protective of the young women. That, and his name sake was making himself an easy, easy target. The cat crawled towards Neji's hair, coming up behind him. Neji-human's hair swayed slightly, tempting the cat's hunter instincts. Neji-cat stayed still, his eyes following the end of his hair, waiting for the right moment. When the moment was right he pounced and dug his claws and teeth into the end of Neji's hair and pulled with all of his might. *** Hisako pulled down two cups from the top cupboard for herself and Neji. I bet Neji-cat would like some milk... At that thought she grabbed a shallow bowl and set it beside the two cups. In a desperate attempt to forget about the fact that she was about to tell Neji about some concerns that she had about his student she began to grow impatient about the reaching the appropriate temperature. She paced about the kitchen, willing the water to heat faster but with little luck. Eventually when the water had reached the perfect temperature she poured it into the little strainers that each cup had over top of it that were full of the leaves. Again, Hisako found herself being impatient with the steep time. To occupy her time she poured the milk for Neji-cat and set it onto the little tray along with the snacks and cups of tea. When the tea was done she casually tossed the strainers with the leaves in them aside without much of a thought as to where they landed. With the platter in hand she entered the room...
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Post by hyuganeji on Dec 7, 2011 17:51:31 GMT -5
What she found upon entry was Neji chasing chasing te feline around the living room. "I've had enough of you!" Neji called to cat, who still had a small clump of his torn out hair in his mouth. Neji chased the cat all the way around the living room twice before noticing Hisako and pausing as the cat and ninja bothfroze and stared back at her.
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Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 7, 2011 18:21:26 GMT -5
Hisko stopped and stared at the two Neji's running around the room, jumping over the mounds of books and the cushions as Neji-human chased Neji-cat. All the while Hisako's eyes narrowed and a blood vessel on her temple and hand bulged. After passing her two times both the cat and the man stopped running. Neji-cat spat out the hair and stared at Hisako with big, cute eyes. When the girl's expression did not soften he ran up to her and began to rub his body on her legs and purred. "Neji...please take a seat. You can explain why you were chasing my cat later," her vocie sounded deadly as she set the tray on the table. She set her cup at her place and put the snacks in front of her. "And neither one of you will be getting your milk or tea until I see better behavior." She then sat down and took one of the snacks and put it into her mouth. Neji-cat rushed up to her and began to rub up against her side and sliding his body under her hand to force her to pet him. "Neji," Hisako tried to get on topic as she nonchalantly gave her cat his milk (having given into his cuteness), "I need to talk to you about Nara Hikaru. I fear that someone has gotten to him..."
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Post by hyuganeji on Dec 8, 2011 11:50:51 GMT -5
Neji sighed as he looked at the antics of the cat. He knew that the little furry beast had its way most of the time, but he still disliked it immensely. He cautiously sat and ignored the cat, even as Hisako gave it the milk in the saucer. He ignored the cat for the most part, but even he sweat a bit when he felt the tone of her voice when she had told him he could explain about the cat chasing scene she had come upon. He folded his hands neqtly and rested them on the cluttered table, though his eyes mostly ignored the mess and focused on his friend as she said,"Neji, I need to talk to you about Nara Hikaru. I fear that someone has gotten to him..."
Neji's mind whirred into action, remembering the short conversation after the festival (If he stretched the definition of conversation) and their recent training. Hikaru definitely seemed guarded and was mildly hostile towards what he considered the upper class, but he also knew the boy came from one of the stronger clans himself and was acting a touch hypocritical in that sense. He focused intently on his 'girlfriend' and asked her as he read her body language,"What did you see Hisako-chan? I understand that the pair of you got lost in the crowd while I was trying to find you at the festival. Something happened then I assume?"
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Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 8, 2011 14:54:38 GMT -5
Hisako glanced down at her tea as Neji's entire demeanor changed. She gripped her cup tighter than what was necessary. While his mind worked on already planning his steps she was planning her words. "What did you see Hisako-chan? I understand that the pair of you got lost in the crowd while I was trying to find you at the festival. Something happened then I assume?" "It is not so much what I saw, Neji, but more what I heard." She raised her eyes to look at him and chewed her lip nervously as she tried to make sense of some things she had suppressed in order to not have to hake sense of them. She couldn't wait any longer so began to tell him what she knew. "I saw Hikaru leave the festival and some man followed him, that is why I left you to follow him. I am kind of at a loss as to what happened then since I was so far behind, but the man who followed the boy had a brief confrontation and then left after another man appeared a the tombs. I have never seen either one of these men's chakra before, I do not think they were from the village. The boy was not in a battle with anyone and I decided to wait for you to come before I made my presence known. If the boy needed me to I would have helped him, but things changed." Hisako cursed herself for not stepping in earlier. At the time the move made sense, she didn't want to jump into a situation where she would only provoke violence. She had wanted back up, but maybe if she had only stepped in sooner the boy wouldn't have been in that situation. "The man spoke to Hikaru...." Hisako closed her eyes and tried to reproduce in a coherent form the fragmented conversation she had over heard. "The man told the boy he could join Kirigakure....with some kind of curse mark...or die. I tried to listen but parts of it I just couldn't understand but I understood that much. I was preparing to help the boy, even without you, but the boy started to speak. The man's voice was much louder and deeper than the boys so I could hear him but I could not hear anything that Hikaru said. The next thing I heard was the man say 'Good' and put his hand on the boy's face, say more words, and then leave. I didn't know what to think, or say, or do. I was so confused so just went to the road, met Hikaru, and pretended I didn't see anything. I don't even know if it is what I think it is. Maybe I misunderstood or didn't hear the entire story..." Her last words were rushed, sounding as confused as she was, but she added. "Remember, don't act on your first impulse. Please..."
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Nara Hikaru
Experience Level
http://narutoeternity.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=villains&thread=7819&page=1
Posts: 49
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Post by Nara Hikaru on Dec 8, 2011 20:57:55 GMT -5
A dark Figure listened to their Conversation. It's name was Tosen. It was one of Hikaru's shadow mimicires. Tosen was very skilled in Subterfuge. He had been sent to watch the Hyuuga compound, because apparently, Master Hikaru was suspicious of the Hyuugas.
Tosen had been watching Neji's house for a few days now. In fact, Hikaru had sent out almost 100 mimicries to watch all of the Clan compounds in Konoha. But Tosen was the best.
He knew the Hyuugas could sense Chakra with their eyes. So, Tosen's first action was to shift into a stone, and cut off his Chakra radiation. Perfect disguise.
Tosen would rather have been with his family, but Duty calls, and Master had a mission. It would only be for a few more days until master moved to Kirigakure. Until then, Tosen would watch.
Tosen had been eating a lizard. Then, Tosen heard his master's name. Interested, Tosen moved closer.
"The man told the boy he could join Kirigakure....with some kind of curse mark...or die. I tried to listen but parts of it I just couldn't understand but I understood that much. I was preparing to help the boy, even without you, but the boy started to speak. The man's voice was much louder and deeper than the boys so I could hear him but I could not hear anything that Hikaru said. The next thing I heard was the man say 'Good' and put his hand on the boy's face, say more words, and then leave. I didn't know what to think, or say, or do. I was so confused so just went to the road, met Hikaru, and pretended I didn't see anything. I don't even know if it is what I think it is. Maybe I misunderstood or didn't hear the entire story..." "Remember, don't act on your first impulse. Please..." Tosen was shocked. So then, the Hyuugas knew more than Master had predicted. He had to get back to Master. Tosen immediatley got up, formed into a falcon, and began flying.
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Post by hyuganeji on Dec 9, 2011 11:47:28 GMT -5
Neji sat stock still, not moving a muscle except to close his eyes. This is eerily similar to what Rama attempted with the removal of my cursed seal and Sasuke did. But for the child to go to Kiri when he had no other option made sense. I am woefully unequipped to handle seals. And from the sound of it the older man used a form of fuinjutsu to ensure Hikaru's loyalty to Kirigakure. The best I can do is try to dissuade him or tell Tsunade-sama about his recent actions. I am not certain the best actions to take, but I will not confront him directly. It would allow him a chance to escape the village with only myself and Hisako aware of his defection. That just leaves... He opened his eyes and gave Hisako a small smile,"I see. We have no other choice but to inform the Hokage I am afraid."
Neji sorted the details in his mind. Sure there was a lot of circumstantial evidence, but a Hyuuga utilizing the Byakugan can give visual evidence. And if Hikaru chooses to be difficult he will probably be handed over to Ibiki and Anko for interrogation. He really was not comfortable sending anyone to that pair, especially a student. But at this point Hikaru was not a student: He was a flight risk and a danger to the safety of the village. The Nara wouldn't want their clan secrets out, and Konoha wouldn't want the boy changing alliegences. This was for the best, and the only real feasible solution.
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Hyuuga Hisako
Experience Level
Konohagakure (Chuunin)
If you suppose your speech is normal your impediment is listening
Posts: 192
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Post by Hyuuga Hisako on Dec 9, 2011 14:54:13 GMT -5
Hisako's stomach did turns inside of her abdomen. They knotted and untied themselves painfully as she watch Neji's face. What would he think of her? Would he think she was crazy? Be angry that she didn't speak up sooner? What would he have her do? Every kind of possibility ran through her head and she dreaded all of them. Why had she even told, then? Oh yeah, it was her duty as a shinobi of Konoha, what a pesky thing. "I see. We have no other choice but to inform the Hokage I am afraid." It felt like her heart tightened up in her chest. She reached over and grabbed the sleeve of his robe. "Is there any other way?" she asked. "You are his teacher. He looks up to you...Maybe you could talk him out of it. If the hokage gets involved that means that things could get out of hand fast. Why can't we just have this stay between the three of us?" ((I think it's Nara-kid's turn to post. If he doesn't want to respond he should tell us...))
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