Hikari; The Forgotten Otsutsuki

Chapter 3

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 was 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 afterward, 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.