𝐅𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐨 𝐇𝐲𝐮𝐠𝐚 | ᶠᵃᵗᵉ

𝟸 | ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ

-𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙚
chapter 2

༺═──────────────═༻

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 held a private meeting that day. Not a single soul outside that room knew what had been discussed, but considering the meeting was held for close to an hour, it must have been important. The clansmen were nearly inaudible between the clammers and layered voices, but a few muffled sentences were able to be made out:

"This is outrageous!"

"Our clan is the pride of the Leaf village—"

And then, silence. The clansmen each bowed their heads out of due respect— to a figure that was largely obscured by the surrounding backs of the Hyuga— and slid the door to the room shut as they headed out.

As it seemed, the meeting had ended. But instead of heading back with the rest of the Hyuga, one of the clansmen had decided to consult a certain someone individually.

That someone ended up being Fumiko's father.

"Fusāki, I'd like to speak with you," a voice said. A figure appeared from the shadows; a set of pale, lavender eyes glimmering in the dark.

"Yes, lord Hiashi." It was her father who answered the voice.

"I'm assuming you know of the crisis amongst our clan, correct?"

"That is correct."

"Ever since the beginning of this war, the Hyuga clan has declined drastically in terms of numbers, and therefore by power as well. Do you understand how this affects our reputation?"

"Yes," the voice answered simply.

"But recently, I've been keeping an eye on your daughter. Last time I recall, her name was Fumiko, wasn't it?"

Her father seemed taken aback by this. "Just what are you trying to say?"

"I've seen her potential. In fact, it's undeniable she'll grow to be a powerful shinobi. But of course, that all depends on whether she has the person to train her."

"I'm aware of that. And?" her father asked.

"You fool, what I'm trying to say is that I think it's time I begin handling her training. That is, if you'd let me."

For Hiashi to have this much faith in a member of a lesser branch was considered absurd. But at this point, at a time of near desperation for status and honor, a decision like this could be seen as acceptable by the clan's standards. Almost acceptable.

"Do you think I'm not capable enough to train her myself?" her father asked.

The voice let out a laugh. "Just think about it; if the girl can grow up to eventually become a prodigy of the Hyuga clan, she could make up for our recent disadvantages. Isn't that what you'd want?"

There was a moment of silence before the voice spoke again. "But, as you are a member of a lesser branch, I do require one condition to be met before this can happen."

Her father paused for a long moment before finally speaking again. "Fine. I'll agree to it."

━━━━━━━━━━━

-1 year later

At just 5 years old, Fumiko enrolled in the academy. Due to the war, some of the more talented students were allowed to enter a year or so early, due to the increasing demand for shinobi. Yet it was almost unheard of for someone to enter any earlier than that. Her peers were naturally curious of her because of this; which granted her unwanted attention.