𝐅𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐨 𝐇𝐲𝐮𝐠𝐚 | ᶠᵃᵗᵉ

1 | ᴘʀᴏʟᴏɢᴜᴇ

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In the summer morning, rays of sunlight crept gradually through the windows and illuminated the household. Fumiko slid the door behind her, walking out of her bedroom and towards the nearby living room. Her mother had woken her up to run some errands around the village, as they had intended to leave by noon.

"Fumiko, we're leaving now." Fumiko was met with a voice from behind her as she entered the living room. Her mother gently smiled upon noticing her as she watered the plants in the living room for decor. "You'll behave yourself, right?"

"I'll behave, I promise." Fumiko stood placidly beside her, with her arms folded and gaze focused on the window beside her.

"But be careful out in the village, ok?" her mother urged.

Fumiko responded by silently nodding her head. As she followed her mother towards the entrance of their household, her eyes darted to a small portrait on the windowsill. Out of curiosity, she leaned on her tiptoes to reach the windowsill, her hands reaching to grab the portrait.

"Leave it," her mother said, noticing Fumiko beside the windowsill. She carefully grabbed the portrait from Fumiko's reach, placing it back where it belonged. "We have to go now, Fumiko," she said calmly, with a subtle impatience underlying her tone. "I don't have time for this."

Before Fumiko slid the door to exit the household, she turned around, noticing her mother lift the portrait from the windowsill. For a moment, she held the portrait warily in her hands, almost with an unreadable expression. She stood there with a moment of hesitance before reaching towards the windowsill, carefully setting the portrait in place. She then walked towards Fumiko to leave the household, sliding the door behind her.

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By noon, they had arrived at the village. The townsfolk were gathered around in crowds of people, filling up the sidewalks nearby.

As an outsider, her mother stood out in the clan. Unlike the rest of the Hyuga who possessed the soft, lavender eyes of the byakugan, she held obscure, dark brown eyes instead. But here in the village, she fit in perfectly, resembling the common looks of any ordinary civilian.

In fact, it was considered a taboo to even consider marrying outside of the clan. This was especially enforced onto to the main family, where the Hyuga strictly married within their clan to avoid their bloodline being diluted. But because the branch family were considered to be of lesser importance, they were generally given more lenience when it came to marriage. But it wasn't without heavy condemnation that her mother was allowed to wed into the clan.

Fumiko, along with her mother, visited one of the markets nearby. Her mother held out her purse, holding a decent amount of money from her pocket. She purchased an item from the shop, and left covertly after she payed the owner.

At this time, it was nearing the afternoon. As they walked away, she noticed the unwelcoming gaze of a fellow clansman; a young woman with a cold glare. The woman looked at her with disgust. Her cold, pale eyes were set directly on her mother. She didn't even bother to say a single word, and yet her gaze said everything.

"Fumiko," her mother silently voiced to her. Her tone was barely above a whisper.

"What is it, mother?"

"We're leaving now."

Her mother's smile faded into a stern expression. Fumiko could not help but wonder of the intention behind the woman's gaze. Perhaps, it was because her mother was an outsider? What she couldn't realize was that it was something much deeper than that; much more complex. Fumiko looked up at her mother, who had gently tugged on her hand as they discreetly walked off. And yet, what Fumiko didn't notice was that her mother seemed to be more wary of the commoners than of the woman herself.

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Fumiko soon turned 4 the day after. Her birthday took place on a humid day in July, where she celebrated with her family in the comfort of her home. It wasn't her actual birthday she was excited about, rather what would result from it; her training. The following day, however, her training was delayed. Her parents were busy, and Fumiko was left by herself. It was already starting to get dark. The one thing her mother told her that day was to stay safe in her room. In fact, as Fumiko remembered it; she had deliberately warned her out of concern.

But what could possibly happen?

Fumiko disregarded her mother's warning. Out of sheer boredom and defiance, she wandered around the main household. Careful not to raise any attention, she monitored every step she took. She was eventually lead to a narrow hallway, where her gut feeling was urging her to turn back. But her curiosity led to the best of her. She slid the door open, being cautious as to not make any noise. Fumiko then carefully slid the door back behind her.

She ended up in one of the many corridors of the main household. She immediately caught on to a faint noise, presumably of footsteps.

"Hello?" she called out. "Anyone there?" There was no response. Her voice merely echoed across the hallway, without even the slightest background noise to be heard. She eventually came to assume that the noise was only in her head; that she was imagining things. She turned around, deciding to go back to her room.

But that's when she heard it.

A loud voice, yelling and screaming in agony, echoed inside the main house. The sound of the voice was petrifying; through the muffled tone, the nameless echo through the hallways enunciated the pain, struggling, and suffering of the voice. It was horrifying for even an adult to hear, let alone a child.

And almost instantly, chakra began to surge towards her eyes until they activated for the first time. Her veins protruded, and her eyes intensified with a fierce, purposive glare.

Byakugan.

Her eyes were exposed to a profound sense of clarity enhancing her vision. Her vision was intensified to an extraordinary depth; she could see through every corridor, every hallway, and every chakra pathway. Finally, as Fumiko narrowed her sight, her gaze focused to identify the source of the voice. And at that moment, her eyes widened, her body trembling in fear.

She was absolutely petrified by what she saw. To her horror, she witnessed the torture of one of her own clansmen as the cursed seal on his forehead stayed activated; the seal that was possessed by every member of the branch family. As the seal stayed activated, his hopeless screams echoed across the corridors nearby. He violently thrashed around in pain. And then, all of a sudden, the screaming stopped. There was no longer any emotion or even a sense of consciousness in his expression. His eyelids lowered until they shut completely, all movement in his body suddenly came to a halt, and he finally collapsed onto the floor.

He was... dead.

And at that moment, a new fear was instilled inside Fumiko. What she had just witnessed had shook her to her very core— shattering the illusion of safety she had previously been sheltered by. There was only one thing on her mind right now: run. She turned around hastily as her movement was distilled with a frantic alarm. But before she had the chance to run away, her movement was instantly quelled by the sound of subtle, nearby footsteps.

It was within that day that she was faced with the harsh reality; the dark truth underlying the honor of the Hyuga. Her family's status was meaningless; as long as they remained a member of the lower branch, their fate would be the same. Her destiny was predetermined from the moment of her birth, where her life would be defined solely in regard to the main branch. And if she defied, she would be faced with the inevitable outcome of death.