I stood in front of the Hyūga estate for a solid minute before doing anything.
It was not because of fear.
Okay.
Maybe a little.
The place was massive.
Tall walls wrapped around the compound, pristine white wood polished to perfection, guards standing watch near the entrance with the sort of posture that screamed, 'we could kill you before you blinked'. The entire estate practically radiated money and intimidation.
Compared to my house?
Yeah. Not exactly a fair comparison.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and exhaled slowly.
Damn, was I worried to death!
Why did this worry me almost as much as when Hanzo appeared?
Probably because this was Yukino's family. And families were complicated. Especially clan families. Especially Hyūga clan families. ESPECIALLY the Hyūga clan's main family!
I stepped forward and one of the guards immediately straightened. "State your business."
"I'm here to visit Hyūga Yukino."
The guard's expression didn't change as he spoke. "Name?"
"Shirokumo."
That got a reaction. Subtle. But there.
The guard blinked once, exchanged a glance with the other, then stepped aside. "…Lady Yukino is expecting you."
Lady...
Right.
Clan stuff.
I tried not to think too hard about it as they led me inside, thankfully, without any apparent issue.
The Hyūga estate was stupidly beautiful. Clean stone pathways and genuinely perfectly trimmed gardens. There were several small ponds reflecting sunlight all around as I walked through what seemed to be the garden area, and to the side I could see training grounds where branch clan members moved with sharp, practiced precision.
Everything looked orderly and controlled. Too controlled. Like breathing too loud might get you disowned.
I hated it already.
Eventually, I was led to one of the inner courtyards. And immediately stopped as I felt two gazes watching me.
I glanced up saw them jump down in front of the gate leading to the courtyard, early twenties, identical faces, long dark hair and pale eyes. Hyūga.
One stood with his arms crossed, expression sharp and cold. The other looked calmer, but there was still scrutiny in his gaze.
Ah.
The twin brothers. Hiashi and Hizashi. Canon characters to boot!
This was definitely going to suck.
"You're Shirokumo," the sterner one said.
Not a question. A statement.
"Uh. Yeah." I looked at them all innocent.
Silence. They just... Stared at me like they were judging a criminal. Probably evaluated my entire bloodline in five seconds.
"Her friend." The calmer twin finally spoke. "You are the one who escorted Yukino back."
"Escorted feels generous," I muttered. "More like desperately kept her alive."
The sterner brother narrowed his eyes. "You were careless."
I blinked. "…Excuse me?"
"You allowed her to be injured."
Something ugly stirred in my chest immediately. I was already unstable. Already exhausted. Already carrying enough guilt to sink a village. And this guy decided now was the time?
I slowly frowned. "Allowed?" I repeated as the courtyard suddenly felt colder. "She nearly died protecting me," I said quietly. "You think I wanted that?"
The harsher brother stepped forward slightly. "You failed to protect a Hyūga heiress."
Oh.
Oh, I really didn't like him.
I laughed once. Short, sharp and entirely humorless. "Right." I nodded slowly. "That's what we're doing?"
The calmer twin narrowed his pale eyes. "She returned barely conscious," he said. "POISONED! If not for Lady Tsunade, she could've been left a cripple. Perhaps even dead!"
"She returned alive," I snapped back. "And I did my best to stabilize her until we got to Lady Tsunade!"
Silence. The courtyard suddenly felt smaller, as if the air itself had tightened. I could already feel it happening, that pressure in my chest. That ugly thing. The same feeling that showed up whenever I remembered blood on the ground.
The memories of that day flashed in my head...
I exhaled slowly through my nose.
No.
Not now.
Not here.
The sterner twin crossed his arms. "You were careless. USELESS!"
I stared at him. Actually stared. "Careless?" I repeated quietly.
"She is one of us heirs to the clan. The sole female heiress of the Hyūga Clan," he continued. "And yet she nearly died under your watch. In some pit within enemy territory. It would've been a shame to our entire bloodline."
Under my watch? These fuckers...
"You think I don't know that?" I shouted at them as I took a step forward. "You think I haven't replayed it day in and day out?"
My voice lowered. "She nearly died protecting me. I haven't stopped THINKING about it since!"
The other didn't budge. "Then perhaps," he said coldly, "you should have been stronger."
"What Yukino spoke of you seems to have just been the gentle rose-tinted fascinations of her tender heart. I'm severely disappointed," the calm one said.
Oh.
Oh, I really didn't like these guys.
Something snapped in my head and, I could feel it throbbing like a migraine.
I tilted my head slightly. "You know what I think?"
They perked up as I grinned wide and sharp.
"I think if either of you were there instead of me..."
I paused, then looked them dead in the eyes.
"...you would've let her die."
The temperature dropped instantly as the calmer twin's expression hardened and the sterner one moved.
Fast. Really fast. No warning. No Byakugan. Just pure Hyūga arrogance.
I could practically hear the generic Murim dialogue in his head, given this clan's whole aesthetic.
His palm shot toward my chest. What you'd call a teaching strike. Disciplinary. Probably intended to humble me.
Unfortunately for him, I had problems and intended to humble his ass instead.
Third Gate—Open.
The world exploded into motion as chakra surged through my body and the ground cracked beneath my feet. My heartbeat thundered. The Gates Chakra flooded through my muscles as heat filled my body.
The twin's eyes widened.
Too slow.
Way too slow.
Steel wire snapped from my sleeve instantly, wrapping around his wrist in a blur.
Gotcha.
I yanked. Hard.
Momentum betrayed him immediately as I broke his balance. And before he could recover, my knee slammed upward into his stomach. The sound echoed through the courtyard as air left his lungs. His body folded violently like a kitkat bar and a strangled cry escaped him as his feet actually lifted from the ground.
Okay.
Maybe I overdid that.
Slightly.
But he bloody deserved it for trying that shit on me right now at this specific moment.
The second twin moved instantly, impressively enough his shock lasted less than half a second.
Byakugan.
Veins bulged around his pale eyes granting him the superhuman perception infamous of their clan.
He saw the wire.
Saw the tension.
Saw the chakra flow.
And his hand blurred forward.
Tap.
A precise chakra-infused strike.
My wire snapped.
"…What?" I muttered.
He severed it like it was nothing.
Oh.
Right.
Byakugan bullshit.
He came in immediately.
Palm strike.
I jumped back with shuriken flashing from my fingers.
Three.
Five.
Eight.
He then stepped in front of his brother. "Rotation!"
Chakra erupted outward and a spinning dome spiraled into existence, my poor shuriken never stood a chance. They were simply deflected in all directions by the rotating chakra field.
Worthless bits of metal.
The grounded twin was already breathing again. Fast recovery, huh? How annoying. Really annoying.
I clicked my tongue. Fine. You wanted to play?
Let's play.
Hand signs blurred.
Chakra surged.
Tiger Seal.
A single shuriken rested between my fingers and lightning bloomed across my fingertips. Crackling and violent as the metal trembled. Electricity coiled around it like a nest of angry wasps as chakra seeped deeper into the weapon. The air distorted slightly and the shuriken hummed whilst building charge, building pressure.
I let go.
But it didn't fall.
The shuriken hovered in front of me.
Floating.
Electromagnetic force holding it steady as lightning kept crackling even more violently around it.
The twins paused.
Finally, they looked concerned.
I raised my hand in a finger gun shape pointed directly at them. "…Oh, this one's mine," I muttered and my thumb pulled back.
"Lightning Style: Shuriken Railgun!"
BOOOOOOM—
Thunder exploded across the estate and the shuriken vanished. No, it launched faster than the human eye could perceive. The courtyard shattered beneath the recoil. Stone cracked. Air screeched and the projectile crossed the distance instantly.
Too fast for normal reaction.
Too fast for almost anyone.
But...
Byakugan bullshit.
The twins moved together.
Perfect synchronization.
"Rotation!"
Twin spirals erupted.
The lightning-charged shuriken entered the vortex between them and twisted around one of them, turned around the other, and redirected.
My eyes widened. "…No bloody way in hell..."
The spinning chakra sent the damn thing straight back at me!
"SHIT—"
I moved.
Barely.
The shuriken screamed past my head.
A burning sting crossed my cheek.
The outer wall behind me exploded apart as white wood shattered and stone cracked. Dust erupted into the sky as a single drop of blood slid down my cheek.
Okay.
That was terrifying.
Actually terrifying.
Fuck, I'M terrifying!
They used my thing against me! My own Jutsu! What is this Full Counter bullshit?
"…Alright," I muttered, breathing harder now. "These guys are bullshit."
Hand sign.
Poof!
Three shadow clones appeared beside me instantly.
The twins straightened, one rubbing his stomach. The other already preparing stance.
Nobody spoke anymore now.
Just intent.
Tension.
The kind right before everything got stupid.
Then...
"ENOUGH!" A female voice cut through the courtyard like a blade.
Everything froze as my head turned instantly.
And judging by the way both brothers stiffened, they already knew exactly who that voice belonged to.
"Would both of you stop being annoying?"
Seeing the source, I immediately forgot whatever irritation I'd been holding.
Yukino sat in a wheelchair near the sliding doors, looking significantly better than the last time I saw her.
Still pale.
Still recovering.
But alive.
Awake.
Smiling.
I hadn't realize how much tension I'd been carrying until the moment I saw her being okay.
God, she actually looked so... Beautiful...
...