Hinata walked down the dark hallway of the ancient Hyuuga basement where all the records were kept. There was a something that she just had to check out. Something had stuck out in her mind and she just couldn't shake it. It was a dream, but not just a dream. It was almost real. The dream had a frightened feel to it and a voice had echoed in her head.
“I am the fire that burns in the night.
I am the hope, the dreams of all who came before me.
What seems to be will never become.
What seems to see will see forever.
My heart mourns the power struggle of the great two.
My heart searches for the truth in the dark fire.
Remember the fire of the future.
Remember Hyuuga Haruyo, head of the Hyuuga clan.”
That was all the voice said. Hinata didn't understand any of it, nor did she know who Hyuuga Haruyo was. Long dark hair with a purplish sheen swayed slightly as she walked, her lavender eyes searching for the door that she needed. At the in of the hallway she finally saw it, covered in spiderwebs. Or at least she thought they were spiderwebs. When she got closer to them she noticed something strange about them. They seemed to shine brighter than a regular spiderweb. In fact, they almost seemed to glow.
Hinata activated her Byakugan and saw what she had suspected. There was a seal written in chakra on the spiderwebs. It was one that she recognized her father had used before when sealing up some important documents. She place her hand on a symbol that looked like an odd shaped kanji symbol that she didn't recognize and pushed chakra through it like she'd seen her father do. The seal disappeared and the spiderwebs fell to the ground in a pile of dust.
As Hinata reached for the handle she felt a hand touch her shoulder and jumped into the air in fright, letting out a rather loud surprised squeak.
“Hinata-sama, what are you doing down here? I've been looking for you everywhere. Your team is here for practice,” Neji said calmly, not seeming to be surprised at all that he had surprised her.
Hinata turned around to face Neji and he removed his hand from her shoulder.
“Gomen Niisan. I was just looking for something. I forgot they were coming today,” she said quietly with her head facing the ground.
Neji tilted his head to the side in curiosity and looked at the door behind her, noticing that the seal had been broken.
“What were you looking for in the old records?” he asked.
Hinata shook her head and continued to look at the ground.
“It's nothing. I shouldn't be down here,” she squeaked out and walked quickly passed him and back the way she came to go meet her team.
Neji stopped her though, grabbing her wrist as she passed and refusing to let go.
“You've already broken the seal so you might as well go in,” he said.
She turned and looked up at him, tears in her eyes like she'd been on the brink of crying because for some reason she wanted to enter the room very badly.
“Really?”
Neji nodded.
“I'll go in with you and help you look. Just let me tell your team that you will be late for training. I'll be right back,” he said as he let go of her wrist.
Hinata nodded and Neji walked away slowly to inform Hinata's team that she wasn't coming. She would apologize later and explain what was going on. Well, she would try to explain but she wasn't sure if she could. She didn't really know why she was there, only that if there was any record of Hyuuga Haruyo that it would be in that room. She couldn't stand the wait any longer and decided to enter the room without waiting for Neji and pushed open the door. It was heavy and didn't budge easily but she managed to get it open.
She peered carefully inside, seeing the walls covered in shelved that contained ancient scrolls that were caked in dust. Each one had a name and a number on it and Hinata looked carefully for the one that she sought. If Hyuuga Haruyo did in fact exist then one of these scrolls would have her name. She knew this because when her father told her about this room several years earlier he said that every clan head kept a journal of their experiences in a set of scrolls. Finally Hinata found what she'd been searching for towards the back of the room. There were several scrolls with the name Haruyo on them and they were numbered in chronological order. However there was one that stuck out to her. In addition to the name and number on it there was something else.
“Hyuuga Haruyo, number three. Dark Fire,” Hinata read out loud.
The words 'Dark Fire' were said in here dream.
“My heart searches for the truth in the dark fire,” she repeated to herself the line that contained those words.
“Your heart searches for what?” came Neji's voice from the doorway.
He'd returned and walked into the room to where Hinata was. He looked at the scroll she had in her hand and read it silently.
“Hyuuga Haruyo, I think I've heard that name before,” Neji said thoughtfully.
Hinata eyes lit up instantly when she heard that and she looked at him anxiously.
“Really? Who was she? Was she really a clan leader?” she asked anxiously.
She realized that she'd just spoken very loudly and quite out of character for her in her excitement.
“Gomen Niisan,” she said, returning to her normal quiet self.
Neji laughed slightly and shook his head.
“I don't remember exactly. We should ask Hiashi-sama about her. He would know who she is,” he replied, unable to remember what he'd heard before about Hyuuga Haruyo.
Hinata nodded and began to follow Neji out of the room while still carrying the scroll. She hoped that her father wouldn't be angry with her for going into the record room without permission. She hadn't meant to do anything that he would disapprove of, but she just really wanted to know what her dream was about. She hadn't even expected to find anything and though it would confirm that it was simply and dream that her subconscious had made up in her sleep.
The two Hyuuga's walked up the stairs and back into the main area of the Hyuuga compound. They made their way to Hiashi's office and entered after knocking. Both of them bowed and sat down.
“Is there something the two of you wanted?” Hiashi asked without even looking up from the papers he was going over.
Neji decided it would be best for him to speak since Hinata seemed to be frightened to speak up.
“Hiashi-sama, would you tell us about Hyuuga Haruyo. We found this scroll and Hinata-sama would like to know more about here,” Neji said respectfully.
Hiashi's head jerked from from the papers and looked at the two of them, Neji making eye contact and Hinata staring at the ground in embarrassment while still holding the rather large scroll. Hiashi nodded and turned fully away from his papers.
“I don't know what gave you the idea to go down into that basement but as the heir to the clan you have a right to know, Hinata. Hyuuga Haruyo was the leader of the Hyuuga clan at one time. She was actually the clan head who brought our clan into Konoha about eighty years ago. She's also your great-great-grand mother. For anything else you want to know, just read that scroll. It'll tell you plenty,” Hiashi said with his usual stern look on his face.
Hinata looked up, surprised that she hadn't been lectured on going into the basement without permission or told to return the scroll to its original position. She carefully opened it and began to read with Neji looking over her shoulder.
My name is Hyuuga Haruyo and this scroll is the most important one I will ever write. It contains the tale of the beginning of Konoha though my eyes. I know that everyone will have forgotten the truth by the time that anyone takes the time to read this, but the truth must be recorded about Konoha's founding. Senju Hashirama, the Shodai Hokage, and Uchiha Madara, leader of the Uchiha clan were both men whom I knew very well but their friendship was a fragile one that eventually broke. I only hope that by writing down this history that the future will not repeat their mistakes for this is the story of Konoha as told by Hyuuga Haruyo...
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Story notes: Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter notes: This story takes place shortly after the founding of Konoha but this first chapter is a prologue that takes place when Naruto and the others are in their twenties. It is my take on what happened between the first Hokage and Uchiha Madara. This contains spoilers for the latest manga and I will add stuff from the new manga every week.