The Awakening of the Infernos

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Thoughts/Fantasies/Dreams/Indentions

Calling out Jutsu/Inner Sakura/Kyuubi talking to Naruto in Mindscape

Kyuubi talking regularly (Naru in Mindscape)/Indention/Serious Yelling/Stating Jutsu

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I, sadly, do not own Naruto or any other anime characters that may be mentioned in this fanfiction. If I did then I would've made a certain couple (coughcoughNaruHinacoughcough) get together a long time ago!

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Hinata Hyūga was, what you would call, special. She was special because she was very different from all of her kin of the notoriously famous Hyūga Clan. And in this clan, upholding perfection and regality with a stiff demeanor was everything.

And that's where the difference of Hinata and her family begins.

Hinata did not like the empty coldness that her kinsmen displayed towards others, rather, she preferred to show her kindness and respect to any and all people, no matter if they were big or small or came from a background that was not as regal as her own. And although she was shy and timid, Hinata did her best to show her clan that having kindness in your heart did not make a person weak; but gave you a much better purpose to strive forward towards your goals.

However, the esteemed elders of her clan did not like Hinata's opinionated ideas of strength and would always reprehend her in the most humiliating ways. They would call her horrid names, set up matches against unfair opponents, and generally ostracize her until she gave in to their ideas and beliefs of what it means to be a true Hyūga. And her father, Hiashi Hyūga—esteemed head of the entire Hyūga Clan—did nothing to thwart the elders cruel mistreatment towards her.

But despite what people said about her, Hinata still didn't give up on her morals.

She truly believed that she could change what the elders, the Main Branch of the Hyūga, and her father's stubborn denial that kindness was a strength rather than a weakness. And with that fiery resolve is where we find our heroine in the story...

Everything was pitch black.

She looked at her surroundings, her movements slow and meticulous like a hollow puppet being controlled by the pristine white strings that was owned by another force. And when she forced herself to look down, all she saw was the pure white sundress that she was currently wearing and the dark sea of midnight underneath her small form.

Like the ripples of a rock breaking the surface area, her feet created white ringlets in the black water and she watched them spread far and wide in the dark abyss that she was currently residing in.

The girl slowly sat on her knees and stared at herself in the water. She was very young looking, she looked no older than seven or eight years old, and she had pale lavender eyes that were strangely pupiless, dark indigo short hair that was cut in a hime-cut, and a round child-like face that blatantly showed her innocence.

Who am I...? She thought as she robotically lifted up her arms. She blinked in surprise once she saw slim white strings that were tied securely around all of her fingers and arms. The bluenette looked up and saw that the strings reached all the way up in the pitch black sky until she could no longer seem them.

Why am I here...? All of a sudden, a swirling vortex appeared in front of the little girl until it calmed and began to show pictures inside of it. As she approached it, the girl gasped in surprise as soon as her eyes laid upon the ovular object. It was as if a rush of information had suddenly burst forth from the ovular vortex and pierced through her skull before settling in her brain. Past and present events filled and took reign of the young girl's mind until she blinked rapidly to get rid of the haziness and cobwebs that seemed to have taken root in her cerebellum cortex.

That's right... The bluenette thought as she slowly stood up and looked around her once again. This time there were more of those ovular vortexes, but this time they took the form of large circular mirrors that played back the girl's memories. My name's Hinata... Hinata Hyūga and I'm eight years old... Hinata walked tenaciously past the mirrors, occasionally glancing at them and looking at her memories with mild interest. My Tousan is Hiashi Hyūga, the patriarch of the Hyūga Clan... and my imōto[1] is Hanabi Hyūga, a heiress just like me... The Hyūga heiress suddenly stopped in front of a mirror and stared at the memory with lifeless pale eyes.

It was the memory where her mother died.

Hinata watched herself cling and cry onto the lifeless body of her mother, her father right beside her as he cradled the head of his deceased wife, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. Her mother had died a little over a year ago, she had died from a rare bloodline disease. and the memory was still fresh in her mind.

My Okāsan, Hiroko Hyūga, died when Hanabi was only a month old and I was only seven... Hinata slowly turned away from the memory as she continued to trek down this seemingly endless void of darkness and memories. Why am I here...?

"You're weak!"

The little heiress flinched at the sudden voice but she still continued to walk forward. There was something about that voice—about that hatred that seemed terrifying familiar. How did I get here...?

"You're such a disgrace to the Hyūga name, it's sickening!"

"Why does such a weakling like you even exist!"

Hinata flinched again, but this time it was for a different reason. I remember... I remember now... Her walking began to quicken into a brisk trot as the hateful voices grew louder. The mirrors around her began to fall from the black sky in slow motion as the voices grew louder; they all broke and crashed all around her yet she did not hear an inkling of the carnage.

"A little outcast like you doesn't even belong here!"

"You're trash and you will always be trash!"

"You will never be great and it's time that you accepted that fact, you bitch!"

I remember now... I remember why I'm here, how I got here... The eight-year old's brisk trot turned into a jog before shifting into an all out sprint as she tried her hardest to escape the hateful voices. The mirrors began to fall faster but she paid them no heed, she only focused on running. It was all she could do. I'm here because I need to get away... I need to run...

"Fate has decreed that you will be weak and I will be strong. No one can escape fate's grasp."

Run... Her little legs pushed themselves even harder, her breath was labored and her eyes watered but she did not stop. Run...! Hinata saw a light at the end of the falling mirrors and she blindly ran after it. As she moved closer and closer towards the mirror, the voices and whispers of hate and despise lessened and grew fainter. Run! The bluenette had ran into the white light and she didn't look back into the darkness, she was too afraid to.

...

A gasp. Hinata quickly sat up before she began to cough and wheeze with all her might. She tightly gripped her shirt as she coughed, her lungs felt as if they were on fire and hot ambers of it pressing tightly against said air sacs. Her lavender eyes scanned her surroundings despite the fact that her vision was very hazy; and she realized that she was outside of the compound and in front of a tall metal gate.

The little girl was heavily confused as to why and how she had gotten here, but the memories had suddenly come forth like a geyser that had finished its one-hundredth year of stagnation.

"Th-That's right..." The eight-year old rasped in a thick and broken voice. "I-I had r-ran away fr-from home a-after failing th-the sparring match... a-again..." She remembered the horrible names that the Elders had called her after she had lost the match against a chūnin Branch Member, how they jeered and taunted at her inexperience. They even went so far as to humiliate her by beating and busing her after her loss when she was still so sore and exhausted. She had wanted to tell her father about the rough exchange, but she was too frightened of the Elders and what kind of punishments that might have had in store for her if she tattled.

So she had kept her mouth shut and only told her father about the sparring match an how it went. Although it did little next to nothing to better her self-esteem. He had told her in a rather clipped tone of how her taijutsu skills in the Jūken were subpar compared to that the Branch Member's and how she would drag the Main Branch's name into the mud if she didn't shape up and quickly.

And then I ran away after that... The tiny bluenette thought, her big lavender eyes prickling with tears. She sniffled as she wiped away her tears and choked back on her sobs, she wouldn't cry—she couldn't allow herself to cry. Now that she was finally away from that horrible house, if you could even call it that.

Hinata stood up shakily on her feet and sneezed as she looked up at the snowing sky. It was the middle of winter in Konohagakure no Sato, and the village had been receiving a hefty amount of snow despite it being smack dab in the middle of the Land of Fire. "I-I w-w-wish I had b-brought a jacket with m-me." The heiress grumbled as she sneezed again. She was wearing her training clothes which consisted of a black, mesh-shirt with a fishnet shirt underneath, some black durable pants that reached a little over her knee, and blue sandals that everyone seemed to wear in the village.

"Do you see her?!" A voice called rather loudly. Hinata squeaked in surprise at the sudden loudness and she quickly hid behind a tree to avoid being spotted. She knew that she would be in trouble once her clan had found out she went missing, but she had no idea that anyone would be looking for her!

The little eight-year old peeked hesitantly from her temporary hiding place and her heart nearly leapt out of her chest at who she saw. It was two Hyūga, but not any Hyūga, it was her bodyguards and caretakers Kō and Tokuma. Kō and Tokuma, like many of the Branch Member family, actually liked and cared very deeply for Hinata than their richer counterpart of the Main Branch family. They believed that the little bluenette would make a great leader for their clan, with the right incentive, and hopefully she would be the leader that would heal the rift in the family that has been apparent for over hundreds of years—by removing the accursed Kago no Tori no Juin(Caged Bird Cursed Seal) forever.

Kō Hyūga was a man of average build and height who had brown hair, which was short and in backwards spikes. He had featureless white eyes like most of the Hyūga did (apart from Hinata and her mother), and his nose was broad and well-defined. He wore the Konoha shinobi standard uniform which included the standard unisex blue sandals, a green flak jacket and a forehead protector, or called hitai-ate[2], with the village's insignia that he wears like a bandana.

Tokuma Hyūga, on the other hand, was a few years younger than Kō but he was just as skilled as he. Tokuma had shoulder-length, spiky brown hair with two long bangs framing either side of his face and the white eyes that were inherited by the majority of the Hyūga Clan. He also wore the Konoha standard getup and he too wore his hitai-ate in a bandana-style as well.

"No I don't!" Tokuma tsked as he jumped from canopy to canopy in the forested training ground. "Hinata-sama! Hinata-sama! Are you here?! Hinata-sama!" The chūnin hollered as he whisked away into the forestry.

"Tokuma!" Kō called after his antsy younger clansman. "Don't be so hasty! We'll find Hinata-sama in no time, she couldn't have gotten far. O-Oi, Tokuma! Are you even listening to me?! Tokuma!" The two men disappeared as soon as they came, making said girl they were looking for heave out a sigh in relief.

Hinata was a little happy that her clan was looking for her, but she was still frightened of going back to the compound (A/N: For obvious reasons of course... damn elders...). "I-I'll be gone f-for a-a-an hour," the girl reasoned with herself, her teeth chattering because of the sudden build up of the icy winds. "th-they won't be too w-worried th-then. I'll b-be b-b-back before they kn-know it... y-yeah..." The little bluenette looked around hesitantly before she made a break for the gargantuan metal gates. The Hyūga heiress was awed by the sheer height of the gates that seemed to range from being two to three stories high; and within them held a large forestry that was much thick than the ones in the training grounds.

The little Hyūga went up towards one of the several double doors and saw that there was an opening that she could slip through. But the question was, could she do it? All the lavender-eyed girl had known was the Hyūga Compound and everyone in it—and despite all of the abusing, ridicules, and abandonment, Hinata still considered that place to be her home.

Sh-Should I do it...? The girl thought as she thumbed the gated door. Should I really runaway from home...?

"Hinata-sama?!" With a startled "eep", the little Hyūga quickly squeezed herself through the slitted opening of the door, and ran as fast as her little legs could take her into the mysterious forest. Little did she know, however, that this was a dangerous and perilous place filled with death, destruction, and agony. Our little bluenette had entered the infamous Training Ground Forty-Four, or known by it's other name: the notorious Forest of Death.

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Hinata wheezed as she continued to run through the forest of white. The snowfall was picking up, the air was becoming much thinner, and the north winds were constantly lashing out at the poor girl's small form. She didn't know how long she had ran, she had forgotten as it had felt like an eternity—but she knew that she had to run, to runaway from all of her problems, her doubts, her fears... her family...

She suddenly cried out in surprise once she lost her footing and she felt her body painfully roll down a hill that was very rocky and bumpy. "Gah!" She screamed as she landed heavily on her arm, a painful snap echoing throughout the enclosure of trees which signified that she had broken her arm. The bluenette sobbed softly, her head laying softly against the cool and unforgiving earth, her body worn and ragged from running. She was tired, cold, and now hungry if the rumbling of her stomach was anything to go by.

I hate this... Hinata thought as she squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears and snot dribbled from their individual outlets as they proved to be visual evidences of her sorrow and anguish. I hate this..! The young shinobi aspirant slowly opened her eyes only to be greeted with white nothingness as her vision was now clouded and indescribable. The fall had not only broken a limb, but it had also disoriented her, making her judgment unclear and rocky.

The lavender-eyed heiress felt her fatigue slowly catch up with her as her cloudy vision slowly began to darken. O-Okāsan... Gomen... And with a final flutter, the bluenette closed her eyes once again, slipping into the dark comforts of unconsciousness.

Little did she know, however, that there was a silhouetted figure that was watching her every move.

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Here again... The little eight-year old thought sourly as she looked around in a disgruntled manner. Hinata had found herself, once again, back in the dark void and midnight sea; however, it seemed a tad different now. The black skies were now a dull, ashen grey and the aura that permeated about this place seemed a little more tolerable and less... malicious...

The lavender-eyed girl groaned softly as she stood up and began to, yet again, explore the strange plane. There were no mirrors this time around, just the midnight sea, the grey skies, and the occasional black clouds that would drift languidly in the grey sky. It was like a whole other world, a world that existed only for her to be used by her—however, it was frightening and very much terrifying, but it was beautiful and righteous in its own right.

Hinata smiled as she saw another black, misshapen cloud. It resembled a duckling. "I-It's not so b-bad here." The girl sighed to herself as she saw another cloud roll by; this time it resembled a cinnamon roll. "It's v-very... nice o-once you g-get u-used to it."

"We are glad you think so, human, because this is our domain." A chilling, yet powerful voice boomed behind the young girl. Said girl instantly whirled around to face the mysterious entity, her white sundress twirling as she did so.

The mysterious entity was a creature with four limbs, two arms and two legs, and it was shaped like a human toddler yet it did not look anything like one. First and foremost, its skin was completely red, like the embers of a fire place or a spectacularly lit ceremonial bonfire. Its eyes were elfish and completely white and they carried no irises or pupils in them. Also, it did not have a nose but it did have a mouth with an elongated fang poking out and over her bottom lip. And although it did not have normal human hair, the creature did have a head of crimson flames that flared wildly atop its small head. Nevertheless, the most bizarre thing about the creature was despite it having a human toddler-like body. It was only about a foot tall. Maybe a little over a foot.

Hinata watched the surreal being fly up and over in the grey skies before it ultimately settled for circling around her head. The creature examined her with as much curiosity as she had—and as she tilted her head, the creature would follow her example and do the same. "Who are you, human?" The creature suddenly asked in a gentle bell-like voice, signifying that this being was a female. "We have never seen one so small of your kind enter this place. Are you lost, human?"

Hinata, although a bit unnerved by the strange creature, replied to the creature's question nonetheless. "N-No I'm—I-I mean I'm—I-I-I..." The eight-year old took in a deep breath before she started once again. "M-My name is Hinata H-Hyūga of the H-Hyūga C-Clan. It's a p-pleasure to m-meet you." She bowed respectfully towards the creature, who only lifted a non-existent brow but did not comment on this action. "A-As for why I a-am here, well... I-I am running a-away from my h-home."

The crimson creature circled around the bluenette once before she landed right in front of the girl. Realizing how much taller she was, Hinata quickly sat on her knees as she faced the creature and awaited her response. "We do not understand," the she-beast said in an almost frustrated tone, "we were taught that familial bonds is basic common sense amongst the human species. You humans cherish you bonds, do you not? If so, why have you run away from your bonds, human?"

Hinata bit on her bottom lip as she thought about that question. It wasn't that she couldn't answer it, it was that she was a bit uncomfortable explaining it. Sensing her discomfort, the she-beast did not pester the tormented girl any further and patiently awaited her response.

The bluenette sighed before she began. "I-In the h-human race, f-f-family is a very important p-part of our lives. H-However in some cases, f-familial bonds c-can turn for the worst a-and in some cases i-it can worsen s-so much that th-the bond breaks and the f-family is torn apart." She chewed on her lip once again before she began. "As f-for why I have r-run away, well my f-familial bond is j-just like the second bond b-but it is cl-close to breaking."

"We see..." The she-creature said as she rubbed her chin in thought. She suddenly clucked her tongue before she smiled at the timid girl. "Well then, human, you are a very strange one. We have met your kind a great many times before, but we have not met one who is so tormented and yet can be so sweet." The creature suddenly chuckled, her laugh was soft like the clinking of wind-chimes in the spring. "As compensation for your explanation, we will tell you our name and provide you with two pieces of information. Do you accept, human?"

Hinata nodded vigorously. Her father had always taught her that even the tiniest bit of information can help to save the fate of an entire nation. No matter how small, information is still information, and it has the power to even change the tides of war.

The she-beast laughed heartily at the heiress's enthusiasm. We could learn to like this human... "We are called by many names in many different realms, human, but in this realm in particular we are called Ume of the Bloodless Flames. However, we would appreciate it if you called us Ume for short." Ume said with a large grin upon her lips. Her elongated canines shown even more as they glinted in the pale light that was granted by the grey skies. This only served to unnerve Hinata even more.

"Now as for your rewards in order," Ume cleared her throat before she began. "Your first informational piece is of what species of summons we originate from."

The small girl tilted her head in confusion. "S-Summons? Wh-What are th-those?"

"A summon, human, is a type of creature that can be used only by a ninja and they can be used for either combat, reconnaissance and infiltration, or tracking." Ume said as she sat down cross-legged, as if she were preparing for a long explanation. Which in this case, she was. "And it just so happens that our race, the Hioseigyo-ju Clan[3], is apart of this ritual. We are a proud and noble race of summons, and we exemplify the perfect warriors in war and in combat. And not only that, but we can be able to take on the form of either man, beast, or spirit."

"R-Really?!" The bluenette beamed with excitement, her hands clasped tightly against her small chest. "C-Can you t-turn into a human, r-right now?!"

The crimson she-creature nodded. "We can, but we must warn you; while we can take on a form that is similar towards a human's, it is not quite human. Do you understand, little one?" Said little one only nodded in response.

The she-beast took in a deep breath as she closed her glossy eyes. The air shifted around her, becoming hotter and more thick as she concentrated. It continued like this for only a few more seconds until the Hioseigyo-ju suddenly flew up high into the grey skies before she was completely engulfed in a sphere of red hot flames. Hinata watched in awe and morbid fascination as the creature of fire was surrounded by flames, flinching as she felt the heat of the crimson spheroid, before it suddenly dispersed and revealed a small girl whose height and build looked to be around her own.

The girl had red skin that turned crimson once it travelled towards her hands and feet—and she had long, glossy midnight hair that reached her mid-back. Speaking of her feet, she appeared to have no feet in the first place! Instead of human feet and toes, Ume had the hooves of either a horse or a goat or any four-legged mammal that had hooves. She also had a long crimson tail that had a large bushel of black hair at the tip (A/N: Think of a lion's tail guys), and two large ashen grey horns atop her head that curled backwards like a ram's.

Her face was beautifully angular, this time she did have a nose that looked much like a humans', and elf-like eyes that were slanted to give her a ferocious look to her otherwise beautiful face. Her eyes had also changed but it seemed to be the most oddest yet terrifying thing about her in this demonized form. Instead of having the whites of the eyes like a human normally had, her eyes had the color black that made up her eyeballs. And although she did not have any pupils, her irises were completely white instead of having a distinct color that almost every mammalian creature had on the planet.

Ume wore a type of long loincloth that fit snugly around her small hips as it covered her modesty, and she also wore a type of metal bra and armored shoulder-plates that were donned on said body parts. It was a very scantily clad type of wear that made the innocent bluenette blush indefinitely. "This is what we look like it our demonized form. We hope you are comfortable with us in this form, yes?" The little she-beast inquired as she landed in front of Hinata with a soft clack of her hooves as they met the supposedly hard midnight sea.

Hinata could only nod with a vibrant blush on her cheek. Even though Ume was an entirely different species than her, a summon no less, the eight-year old could say—without a doubt—that her new companion was very beautiful. Even if she did look like a child.

Ume smiled, showing her sharp fanged teeth. "We are pleased. Now as for your second and final piece of information, we will tell you about this place in which we currently reside in." The she-demon sat cross-legged as she landed on the floor with a heavy plop. "This is the inter-spatial astral plain in which separates a living organism from their bodies and puts them in a spiritual state in between the plains of reality and of consciousness."

It was true that Hinata was only but a small child but she was very smart for her age. While she may not have the vast knowledge of a Nara or of a certain pink-haired girl, she was a very close third to them in rank. "S-So what you're i-implying is that my s-soul has b-been s-separated from my body and now I-I am in a plain between r-reality and the great be-beyond?! Like l-limbo[4]?!" The bluenette squeaked in a very high octave voice. She looked to be close towards passing out at the information.

"Hai." Ume said in a monotone, however she was very surprised and impressed by how quickly the human girl could pick up information in dire situations. Interesting... We will need to have a conference with the Elder Lion soon... This girl could be the one... "However, unlike limbo time does pass in here. And rather quickly, we must add. This is way many of our kind does not perform this jutsu with many mortal beings such as you, human, not only is it draining of nature energy but it is a rather ineffective one, if we must say."

"I-It's dr-draining?" Hinata asked, worry etched onto her round face. "Then wh-why did you p-perform such a jutsu? A-And on me? And what i-is N-Nature Energy?!" The little bluenette had many questions for the apparently powerful summon, she had no idea why Ume was here and what purpose she had for being here.

The crimson she-beast simply chuckled before she reached out a clawed hand towards Hinata and, despite her flinching, ruffled the Hyūga heiress's hair. "Despite being a fairly small and weak creature, you sure do have a lot of questions, human. Well then, the answer to the first two is because you seemed in dire straits when you stumbled onto our territory in the forest, human. We felt compelled to help you, however we haven't the foggiest idea why we have done so—but we do not regret our decision. And for the last question, we—!" The horned girl suddenly snapped up and peered in a random direction that was the dark enclosure. Her molten white eyes narrowed as they leered into the darkness before she slowly turned around towards the perplexed Hinata. "We are sorry, human, but it is time for you to go back."

"G-Go b-back?! H-How?!" Hinata squeaked as she was suddenly hoisted up before she was unceremoniously slung over Ume's shoulder.

"There seem to be other mortal beings that have congregated around your body." Ume huffed gruffly and she adjusted Hinata as she walked in a straight line that led to, seemingly, nowhere. "By Hioseigyo-ju law we can no longer keep possession of your spirit when other living entities have interfered with the victim—I mean guest's mortal body." The she-beast suddenly muttered some strange words that the bluenette had never heard, before a heavily chained chamber door appeared. The summon gently set Hinata down before she walked up to the door before tapping the chains. The restraints instantly shattered under her touch, filling Hinata with awe, envy, and admiration.

Ume opened the door and in it was a blinding swirling vortex that sent winds to lash out against the Hioseigyo-ju and heiress's small bodies. Hinata winced at the violent winds but was distracted when Ume clapped a firm hand onto her shoulder.

"Take this." She said as she handed her a small paper. The little eight-year old blinked as she stared at it, it had strange scribbles on it that she did not know of or what it could have possibly said. "This is fuuinjutsu seal." The she-beast explained. "This will glow when the time comes and the Elder Lion summons you. He is the Hioseigyo-ju Clan's patriarch, however he follows the rules and regulations of the Ancient Ones. When this seal glows, apply a bit of chakra and you will appear in our summoning realm of Hono-no Kyuden Island[5]. He shall answer any of your questions that you may have about us and gift you with a reward if you chose to accept his offer."

Hinata looked at the little slip of paper before she looked back up at her new companion. "W-Will I s-see you again Ume-san...?" The bluenette had fresh tears on the rims of her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She no longer wanted to feel weak anymore, especially in front of one that she could consider a friend.

Ume smiled at the child, her eyes also growing sad. "We shall if you accept the Elder Lion's summons, if not, then we are afraid we shall not meet again. However," the summon said as she grabbed the petite girl's shoulders in a firm grasp, "we wish for you, human, to grow stronger even if we are no longer there. And when the time comes for the summoning and you choose to accept, we will help you in another means to make you stronger. Do you accept, human?"

Hinata nodded vigorously. Even if others did not think so, the little girl would always try to get stronger by any means necessary. She lived for the thrill to one day surpass all of the greatest Hyūga fighters and to gain the acknowledgement from her father. It also helped that she might get a friend if she accepted the offer. "I-I a-accept! A-And if you d-don't mind," the bluenette said as she shyly looped and tapped her index fingers, "I-I-I would a-appreciate it if you c-called me by n-name, Hinata H-Hyūga."

"Very well then, hum—we mean, Hinata." The two girls smiled before they turned towards the door that held the pathway back to consciousness. "Good luck and have heart, Hinata." And with that, Ume pushed Hinata into the swirling vortex before disappearing in a spontaneous flash of fire.

The little bluenette yelped as she was pushed into the blinding white vortex. She was surprised by the speed she was falling, it was like she was tied to a jet by a single thread of rope as the flying machine travelled at Mach speed. It was amazing that she could see let alone breath but she was determined, she had her very own mission to do and she would not fail.

I made a promise...! The girl thought as she stared straight ahead as she fell. She held her arms close towards her body and feet pressed against each other, this seemed to increase her speed as she shot off like a rocket. I made a promise to Ume-san and I have to keep it...!

"We have met your kind a great many times before, but we have not met one who is so tormented and yet can be so sweet."

I must get stronger...! I must get stronger...! She could see a blue opening in the distance. The winds seemed to become stronger and they wildly slashed at her body, creating cuts and gashes along her white dress and lithe body. I-If I do...!

"We wish for you, human, to grow stronger even if we are no longer there."

If I do...! No, when I do...! The opening seemed to grow bigger as she fell closer towards it. She could feel the heaviness of heart again, something that she realized that she could not feel before when she was in Ume's special plane. She blinked the tears out of her eyes and she roughly wiped her eyes with her hand before she focused their concentrated gaze towards the incoming blue opening. When I become stronger, I'll get even more stronger to show everyone... everyone that I am no longer weak!

"Good luck and have heart, Hinata."

A gasp and a jerk, that is how Hinata Hyūga came back to the world of the living. The little girl tried to scream but her voice was muffled as she felt harmful electricity invade her body and shoot through her nerves, overriding them and reprograming them to only make her experience pain. The nerves that hurt the worst were the ones that were around her lungs and heart since that was were the horrible jolting sensation had originate from. She did not know what had happened or why she was being electrocuted, but she did know one thing.

It hurt.

The bluenette thrashed her limbs around as she tried to fight off the slight pressure that was on her chest, the pressure that had invoke this horrible pain onto her unsuspecting body. However strongly she thrashed, kicked, and swiped—she could not seem to escape the sudden force that had been applied to her shoulders before shortly being applied to her legs. It seemed that people were holding her down, quite forcibly she noticed, but that only seemed to frighten her more and reinforced her desire to escape.

Where am I...?! She had thought once her brain cells had finally healed from the torturous infliction of the sudden electric force. The little heiress had noticed that her vision was very hazy, even hazier when she fell unconscious in the Forest of Death, and she could only make out various colors and blobs in her temporarily impaired vision. The blobs, however, seemed much more prominent and closer to her person and she did not like that she couldn't make out who they where.

If there was one thing that Hinata feared the most, it was the unknown.

Wh-Who are they...?! Why are they here...?! She did not know and at the moment she did not care either. The little Hyūga could see that one of them was coming even closer towards her, if her blotchy vision could make any of it, so she took that opportunity to swipe at it with her nails once it got to close and celebrated internally when she saw it reel back.

However her victory was short lived when one of them had stuck a needle into her restrained arm, entering an unknown liquid into her veins. It was very fast acting as it made the girl's attack weaker and weaker with each passing second until she finally stopped.

Hinata watched as the blobs move away as her vision become even more useless. Her eyelids became even heavier, her breathing slowed, and her heartbeat decelerated once her adrenaline simmered down before becoming still.

I'm so sleepy... Why am I so tired...? The girl blinked owlishly once before her lids completely closed and enveloped her in the familiarity that was unconsciousness. So... tired... Okāsan...

…

Hinata moaned as she sluggishly opened her eyes. She would've sighed at how many times she's been unconscious thus far but her throat was way to dry for her to even exhale. Her body had felt as heavy as stone this time around, and she realized that she could barely move let alone sit up.

I guess that liquid that they must've injected into me was very potent... Speaking of which, just where am I...? The eight-year old blinked rapidly to get the blurred clouds out of her eyes and the cobwebs out of her brain. As her vision cleared, she was shocked to find herself staring up at a pristine white ceiling that held a foreboding sense of familiarity. To confirm this fact, the little girl groaned in pain as she slowly turned her head to the left of her. She sighed as she saw an IV Unit and Heart Monitor hooked up next to her and looked down to see that a respirator was tightly strapped to her mouth.

I'm in the hospital... Hinata was a bit depressed as she was confused. She was depressed because she would be a regular patient at Konoha's Central Hospital due to her supposed "sparring" practices, if you could even call them that. And she was confused because she had no idea how she had ended up here.

The Hyūga heiress jolted in surprise once she heard a loud crash in the room. She turned her head to see two nurses staring at her with shock and disbelief, and one seems to have dropped the food tray that was apparently for her.

"C-Contact Hyūga-sama right away!" One nurse said to the one that dropped the tray. "Tell him that his daughter, Hinata-sama, is finally awake!" The other nurse nodded, albeit slowly, and hurriedly rushed off to complete her task. The first one was immediately by Hinata's side and began to carefully examine her as she fired off questions one after the other.

If she wasn't in soo much pain, Hinata would be thoroughly flattered by the worry that this nurse was gifting her. "W-Water." The bluenette rasped in a weak voice. She winced at the sheer discomfort that talking seemed to do for her. It felt as if she had swallowed molten lava and her tissues were destroyed beyond repair, but they still were willing to move as she tried to speak—only to result in her blackened throat to tighten and rub against itself she she tried to form words.

"O-Of course! Of course!" The nurse bowed humbly before she rushed out of the room before returning a few seconds later with an empty glass. The medical assistant then ran towards the faucet and filled it to the brim with water. She carefully made her way over to the out-of-commission heiress and set the glass down on the counter next to them before she began to help Hinata sit up in her bed.

"Here you go Hinata-sama, sorry for the wait." The nurse cooed gently as she helped the girl drink her fill as she could not lift up her arms. The timid girl drank thirstily at the water and sighed internally as it cooled her dry and burning throat and innards. She requested more water and was finally satisfied after three more cups (A/N: Man she must be really thirsty! I would've peed in my pants by then! n_n).

"Th-Thank you." The girl said weakly before she coughed violently into her hand.

The nurse patted her back soothingly as she cooed words of comfort to the introverted. "P-Please Hinata-sama, you mustn't speak. Your throat is still very dry and it can take a while for it to heal after your supposed "seizure" that night."

"I-I'm fine," the girl coughed a few more times before she managed to get it under control. "B-By the way, what happened to me...?"

The medical aid seemed very wary but relented anyway. "A-A few night ago, some of your clansmen had found you unconscious in the Training Ground Forty-Four sector. They had no idea how you managed to get into that horrible place but they were very horrified once they found you in the state that you were in." The nurse clasped her hands against her chest as she recalled that night. It seemed to have frightened her, and this was what made the little bluenette very nervous. "A blizzard had suddenly occur out of nowhere and that particular place, Training Ground Forty-Four—the Forest of Death—had received the worst of it."

Hinata's lavender eyes widened in shock and in fear at the nurse's words. She couldn't believe that she had escape from her home to an even more dangerous place. If that forestry held "death" in it then it must have so because of what lurks within it... right?

I'm just glad that I didn't run into anything that would have killed me in that place... Hinata thought as she gave a small sigh of relief. Besides Ume-san of course...

"Your body had suffered a severe case of hypothermia and you wouldn't wake up no matter how many times either the medical ninja or your clansmen prodded or shook you. Your clansmen wouldn't give up however and offered to carry you themselves since they would be able to get you to the hospital faster." The nurse seemed to smile and the little girl wondered if she happened to be there at that time. "You were in critical condition, your heart palpitations were weakening with each passing moment but it was absolutely amazing that it hadn't stopped during the blizzard. You were alive but you were slowly dying."

The Hyūga princess just stared at her with those big doe eyes that she was known by. To be told by someone else how close you were to dying, it was absolutely surreal and it was nothing that she had ever experienced before until this moment.

Hinata forced her arm, slowly of course, to clench the fabric that was above her heart (since she's wearing a hospital gown and all). She could feel her heartbeat through her fist, and it was as what she had always known it to be. Strong and true. I-I almost died...? The girl thought as she stared at her fist that was above her heart. Then why don't I feel scared...? Now most people would've absolutely freaked out or have been stunned into silence if they were ever told that they were close to dying. Hinata, however, was not like most people. Where they felt scared, hysterical, and frightened, she was calm, collected, and accepting.

Is it because I wanted to die...? The girl shook her head. While her short life may have been crappy, she would've never wanted herself to die because of it. She would feel depressed, sad, and lonely sure but, never suicidal. No... I think it was because Ume had talked to me like she was going to see me soon, that I was going to live... that's why I feel so calm...

The nurse continued her explanation, completely unaware of the young girl's internal thoughts. "Many of our personnel were there as we tried to warm you up, we even had to put you in one of our emergency chlorintine baths just to get your temperature to at least decent. And when your father had gotten news that you were hospitalized, he was an absolute wreck! In all my years as a nurse, I have never seen a person go berserk over patient before, much less a Hyūga!"

"T-Tousan was w-worried?! A-About m-me?!" Hinata squeaked in surprise. The little bluenette's sparkled at the prospect of her father being worried and concerned over her being. In all her years, she had known her father to be a cold and calculating person who only cared about the welfare of the clan. But when her mother was alive, Hiashi was a much different man. He loved and cared for both Hinata and her mother, and he wasn't afraid to admit it despite the stuffy traditions of her clan. She even remembered a few times when he smiled at her when her mother was still alive.

"Oh goodness yes!" The nurse beamed before she suddenly leaned towards Hinata with a hand raised to her mouth as if she was telling the bluenette a juicy secret. "I heard from a few doctors and nurses that Hiashi Hyūga-sama had broken the double doors at the front of the hospital and demanded to know where you were. When the receptionist and a few other doctors wouldn't let him pass, I swear that he was going to blow a fuse! The situation got so bad that your father knocked a few personnel unconscious once he barged through the halls without permission! We almost had to request the Hokage-sama to send some ninja to help restrain him!" The woman seemed to laugh at the rumor and Hinata couldn't help but giggle as well. When she imagined her father causing a ruckus and fighting with various doctors with a large vein on his forehead, it made her stomache ache with joy and laughter.

"Th-That surely doesn't s-sound like T-Tousan." The bluenette giggled as she slowly wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Well then, you really won't believe it when I tell you this!" The nurse suddenly grinned. "When he finally found us with you in the Cleansing Chambers, two floors under this one by the way, he went stark-raving mad and demanded to know what we were doing with you. When we told him, he then commanded us to let him attend the entire procedure! We were going to refuse him at first but we quickly changed our minds when he threatened to use the Jūken (Gentle Fist)[6] on all of us!" The woman shivered as remembered how mad the man was, she should know since she was there, and she knew that his rage-filled face would haunt her in her nightmares for a while.

Hinata couldn't help but blush for two reasons. One, for feeling elated that her father cared soo deeply for her that he would threaten lives if need be (which she wouldn't condone of corse but it's the thought that counts), and two for her father being unnecessarily frightening and angry towards the people who've tried and have saved her life. "Th-Then what h-happened, Nurse-san?!" Hinata's nurse was a fairly ordinary woman, with and average height and build of a civilian woman with hazel eyes and medium-length black hair that stopped at her shoulders. She wore the standard nurses' uniform—hat included—as well as the standard blue unisex sandals. The most distinguishing feature about her was the beauty mole that was under her left eye.

"My name is Yamada, Hinata-sama. Yamada Kokonosuke." Yamada then turned somber as she continued with her tale. "Once we had clothed you and brought you back to your room, we noticed that he began having irregular heart palpitations, and they were very reoccurring which worried us. Your heart would either beat too fast or to slow, so we had to use the defibrillator on you." She then pointed towards the machine which was laying on a moving cart in front of her bed. The cart held other various medicinal things, including scalpels, saline bags, a blood transfusion kit, and needles.

"And once we had stabilized your heart, you began to breath easier and we assumed that you would be fine. However we were wrong." Yamada sighed as she ran a hand through her locks. "You had awoken randomly and we were amazed by your recovery rate. Most people who have been revived by the defibrillator don't outwardly react until a few days later. Nevertheless, you began to act very strangely and started to outwardly attack us when we came to close; and that's when we had to restrain you and put you under sedatives since you listen to reason. Your father wanted to try to talk to you before we had to result to a more drastic means, but that proved futile when you scratched his face and started screaming out of nowhere. As a result, we put you under sedatives but it seems like it was too much since you have been unconscious for nearly five days now."

"S-So that blob I s-swiped at... was T-Tousan...?!" The lavender-eyed girl muttered under her breath in shock. She didn't realize what Yamada had said until a few long seconds later. "W-W-Wait! I-I've been a-asleep for f-f-five days now?!" She screeched in astonishment. She had no idea that she had slept that long, it felt as if that day had happened yesterday.

Yamada nodded. "But you should back to normal in another week or so Hinata-sama, until then we would like to monitor your heart and mental behavior during your recovery period." She was about to say more when the door was slammed so hard that it nearly flew off of its fringes.

"Hinata!" Said girl's eyes widened. She knew that voice anywhere, the voice that filled her with strength, anguish, fear, awe, admiration, and depression. It was the voice of her father.

And low and behold, there he was.

Hiashi Hyūga was a man of tradition as he was very stern and strict in the Hyūga way. This was especially true towards Hinata since he gifts her with arduous training, and rarely compliments her performance; which soon resulted in her retreating into a shell of timidity and shyness. However cruel he may seem, Hiashi truly did care for Hinata and her baby sister Hanabi as he had hoped that with him being stern and strict with an air of coldness that his eldest daughter would adopt this method and become a great successor for the clan. He had long, dark brown hair, and featureless white eyes like most of the members of his and Hinata's clan. He wore a very traditional, loose fitting robes with a long-sleeved, brown haori with black shinobi sandals.

"T-Tousan!" Hinata, although a bit nervous, was genuinely happy to see her father. She knew that she should be mad for what he said to her, but she couldn't find it in her heart to do so as she was a kind and gentle being. No matter how many times he would push her away, she would always be there to love him.

Imagine her surprise when she felt like she should be the one to push her father away due to her being trapped in his bone-crushing bear hug.

"T-Tousan," the daughter of the Hyūga wheezed as she tried to claw at her father's arms that were locked firmly around her petite body. "I-I can't... breath...!"

"Gomen..." The eight-year old halted her struggling. Her eyes had stretched so wide that one would have mistaken her for using the Byakugan. That word, that simple word rendered the girl speechless as she witnessed, for the first time in her life, her father do something completely foreign.

Her father Hiashi Hyūga, the esteemed patriarch of the Hyūga Clan, was crying.

Hinata tried to speak but found that she couldn't due to her throat becoming unexpectedly dry. However, she didn't need to.

"Hinata," Hiashi began in a somber voice, surprising the eight-year old of his sorrowful tone of voice, "I never... I never meant to drive you away, I never wanted that—not even in my most terrifying of nightmares would I ever want you to think that I..." He gave a shaky sigh. "... that I would betray you in favor of the clan or of the Elders."

If Hinata was surprised before then she was absolutely shocked now. Hinata, and as well as most of the villagers, knew that Hiashi Hyūga always focused on the betterment of the clan and all of its affairs. He was a clanhead who seemed to only centered his discussions, meetings, and affiliations around the Hyūga Clan; and was only worried if something politically, financially, or physically involved the Hyūga Clan and only the Hyūga Clan.

"H-Hinata, I know that I am not the best father," he suddenly belted out a bitter laugh, "I wonder if I should even be considered—no, that I should even deserve a worthy title such as that." Hinata watched as he lifted his head from her shoulder and her heart squeezed with sadness at his broken visage. His normally stern and confident pale eyes were filled with anguish, sorrow, regret, and guilt all rolled into one. They were bloodshot and red and trails of tears had stained his cheeks, showing that, he too, had a breaking point. And that breaking point was apparently her, his kindhearted eldest daughter.

His face was sullen and he had a hollow smile as he looked into her eyes with his own, his large hands enveloping hers and his thumbs running themselves along her knuckles. "Hinata, when-when your Okāsan died, I felt as if my world was crumbling all around me. I-I didn't know how to raise you or Hanabi by myself as I have always had Hiroko-chan to help me with you. So when... so when she passed away, I didn't know what to do with myself let alone provide for our two daughters. And for the first time in a long time, I was scared."

The timid bluenette felt tears stinging her eyes but she refused to let them fall as her father began to talk about her mother and bare his soul to her. Hiashi had never told her much about her mother, only little bits and pieces. But now that she was hearing it straight from the source, she now saw that when her mother died, a good half of her father went with her as well.

"So as you grew I noticed that you l-looked exactly like H-Hiroko, Hinata." His voice cracked at this. "Kami, you look so much like her that it's scary Hinata. And when I thought that there was a possibility that you might turn out like her, I thought that I would lose you the same way I did her." Hiashi chuckled. "You must think that your Tousan is pathetic huh? I wouldn't blame you if you hated me, because the way that I have been treating you these past years, I don't deserve your love."

Hinata shook her head vigorously at this. She wanted to desperately refute his claim that she hated him; and although she may have felt emotions similar to it, it was nothing more than childish anger not hate. She opened her mouth to say her feelings, but was shushed once her father pressed a finger against her lips.

"But Hinata, know this," Hiashi continued despite his daughter's struggle to speak her mind. He then firmly grasped her hands and brought them close towards his face. He then placed her cool palms against his cheeks and choked back on his sobs as he tried to go on. "N-No matter what the circumstances may be, no matter how many forces are against us, I will always love you." Hinata gasped at the confession. "I do and will put you and Hanabi above others and the clan because you two are my precious daughters and you mean so much more to me than all of it. A-And if I had to choose between the two of you or the clan," Hinata waited for his answer with bated breath, "I would choose you girls every single time."

The timid heiress could no longer hold her tears anymore. She finally let them loose and sobbed her little eyes out. He cries of joy, her cries of sorrow, her cries of anguish, her cries of anger, and her cries of frustration all carried themselves loudly across the room and ringed with truth.

Hinata forgave her father now that all of her doubts and fears were cleared.

But first...

"T-Tousan," Hinata sobbed as she wiped her eyes with her hands. Said man looked at his daughter expectedly only to reel back in pain at the sudden affliction upon his right cheek. He couldn't believe it. His daughter, Hinata Hyūga, just slapped him in his face!

"Hinata... what—!" He began but was cut off by yet another slap. This time on his left cheek.

"BAKA!" The little heiress screamed, her fists tightly clenched by her sides as she stared at her father with angry, puffy red eyes. "D-Don't you know... I've always l-loved you Tousan! I've never once hated you in my entire life, why would you ever think that?!"

"But Hina—!" Another slap.

"Y-You're a great leader and a great father, Tousan. I-I've always looked up to you and I've admired your strength and sure you can be a bit harsh towards me, but the me inside has always known that you were doing it to make me stronger. I j-just didn't see it until now." The little girl suddenly reached and linked her arms around her father's neck as she nuzzled her head against his warm chest. "Y-You're my Tousan because Kami-sama blessed you to me. I'll love you forever and ever no matter how many times you push me away, ne?"

Hiashi smiled down at his daughter and promptly returned her hug. He was very happy that she accepted him but he was also a bit disturbed by her anger; it was something that he's never seen before and it instilled a little fear into him. "Don't worry Hinata-chan," the patriarch said as he rubbed his daughter's back, "I won't push you away anymore because Kami-sama has blessed you to be my kind and sweethearted daughter."

The two were in their own little world as they shared an embrace, making the nurse tear up at the beautiful father-daughter seen.

Aww... Yamada thought with a happy smile on her face as she held her hands against her heart. That's so sweet...! I guess even Hyūgas can be compassionate when they want to be...

"You there, nurse." Hiashi suddenly called as he looked towards her direction.

"H-Hai?!" Yamada suddenly squeaked as she felt the room drop twenty degrees as Hiashi focused his stare on her small form. A dark cloud had shrouded his frame and a shadow had fallen over his eyes as is stare quickly changed into a lethal glare in a nanosecond.

"You tell anyone about this event and I will personally hunt you down and kill you. Do I make myself clear?" The powerful shinobi said in a cold and ominous voice that shook the woman to her very core.

Yamada nodded so hard that she could feel a few of her vertebrae pop out of place. "H-Hai sir!" Kami-sama, please give me strength...!

The little patient, however, had no idea what was happening as she was too busy enjoying her father's tender embrace.

Next time on Two Sages, One Destiny: The Hioseigyo-ju Summoning Contract! You Are Now A Sage-In-Training!

Long, long, long, long, long! TOO LONG! Fuckin' 21 pages son, represent!

Okay I'll stop! Anyway, hey you guys it's me! You're beloved talented, awesome, extraordinary, and sexy empress of fanfictions: The Open-Eyed Day Dreamer! Howzit goin?! Now I know what you dudes are thinking

Where in the hell have you been?! :C

What's taking your fanfictions so long, eh?!

Are you dead or something?!

And to answer them in order: I've recently gotten back from vacation! Everyone needs a load off once and a while.

My fanfics take so long because I don't have a lot of dazzling idea that would explode your brains and eat your guts.

And the last one, yes I am dead... OF NOT WRITING FANFICTION BABY! WHAT WHAT! Even I don't get what I just said XD LOL!

I bet you guys are wondering, what is this new fanfic of yours, Oh great and Mighty Empress Dreamer! Well, it's my new one that is called: Two Sages, One Destiny. I no, I no, I no... I write a lot of fanfictions and I never seem to complete them! You guys think I'm some female version of Leonardo Da Vinci huh?!

I might be the reincarnation of him, you'll never know! (o 3 o)

But seriously dudes and dudettes, the reason why I write so many fanfic is because I love to have new idea that are just like BOOM! POW! WHAT?! And I try to adapt my stories so you awesome readers can enjoy it too! I live for you guys (well not really but it's the thought that counts right?! n 3 n)!

With that said, thank you guys for reading and if you guys have any questions, ideas, or the like then PM my lovely lovely readers!

Until then, remember to Keep On Dreaming!

imōto[1]- "Little sister" in Japanese.

hitai-ate[2]- "Forehead Protector", it is a type of band that all shinobi personnel wear along their body parts to display to the others what type of village that they are affiliated to.

Hioseigyo-ju Clan[3]- (original made by me!) A type of summoning clan that are only restricted towards beasts who are made of fire. Since Hioseigyo-ju means "beasts who control fire" in Japanese, it only makes since that these beasts are made of fire.

limbo[4]- A plane that is between reality an the world of beyond of the living. In religious texts it is the place where your soul travels to after you die to await Judgment day to either receive a verdict of going to Heaven (up) or Hell (down).

Hono- no Kyuden Island[5]- (original made by me!) "Hono-no Kyuden" means "palace of flames" in Japanese, however in my fanfiction it is where the Hioseigyo-ju Summoning Clan reside. Basically it's like Mt. Myouboku but for flame-beasts. And it's on an island. Of fire.

Jūken (Gentle Fist)[6]-is a form of hand-to-hand combat used by members of the Hyūga Clan. It inflicts internal damage through attacking the body's chakra pathway system, subsequently injuring organs which are closely intertwined with the area of the network which has been struck. To do this, the user surgically injects a certain amount of their own chakra into the opponent's chakra pathway system, causing damage to surrounding organs due to their proximity to the chakra circulatory system. Even the slightest tap can cause severe internal damage, hence the name "gentle" fist.