Dutiful Eyes

By Stormlock

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (Insert a witty joke here if you like.)

AN/Summary: My first fic. AU based on the concept of Hyuuga Hizashi not hating the main house. First two chapters will be a bit of a prologue, and will be somewhat angsty as a result. If thats a turn off you can skip to the third chapter once it's up. Wrote the first two chapters before getting any feedback, going to wait on writing the rest until I get some so I know where I'm at.

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"They have demanded your corpse Hiashi, upon threat of war." Sarutobi's eyes were distant as he spoke, reflecting on the weakness of his country that had allowed this to happen. Where had he gone wrong?

Hiashi's eyes blazed. Just one hour ago they had tried to kidnap his daughter, and now they dare demand compensation for the death of their spy?

Hizashi let his thoughts spill out in angry broken speech. "Can they really be serious? It's obvious what occurred! They have no right to demand anything! Do we really want 'allies' like that?"

Of course, they didn't know if the Cloud country really expected their demand to be met, or if their threat of war was purely a bluff. Byakugan users were spying on their 'conversations', but instead of speaking, they were using some sort of unfamiliar hand signal system. Attempts to decipher it were being made, but it was unlikely they would learn the system in time for it to matter.

Hiashi calmed down and thought about the rest of his clan. The rest of his village. He thought about his precious daughter. There was only one option.

"You know the situation Hizashi. Not only is our village among the weakest currently, it is perceived as the weakest outright. If we let our village slide into a war now, not only will we be further crippled, but our exact strength will be revealed. It could mean the end of Konoha. We must ally ourselves with as many countries as possible and bide our time until our strength is restored . . . we can't afford to pick a fight while we're still limping from the Kyuubi's rampage. If this is the only way, then we'll have to give them what they want."

Hizashi's face screwed up in frustration at his brother's emotionless explanation of the situation. "You've always been too noble for your own good . But you seem to have forgotten what they really want . . . This whole thing is obviously a setup to get their hands on some of the famed Hyuuga eyes; first Hinata's and now yours. So we can't give them your corpse anyways. Give them mine instead. They won't know the difference, and the seal will protect our clan's secrets."

Sarutobi nodded gravely at this.

"He's right Hiashi. Without the Hyuuga clan Konoha will be crippled anyway. We can't give away your clan's secrets."

Hiashi fumed again. He had probably displayed more anger this night than he had in the past 20 years. "That is unacceptable Hokage-sama. I refuse to let Hizashi be sacrificed in my stead. I won't play god with the lives of my family!"

"That's not your decision to make, brother. We must do what is best for Konoha and the Hyuuga clan. Sarutobi will surely agree with me." Hizashi looked resolved, without a hint of uncertainty. It was a moment of unusual calm for him, as he awaited his death.

Hiashi turned to his brother with a solemn look in his eyes. Hizashi recognized it as the same look he gave people who ended up within his Hakke before raining 64 strikes down upon them to seal their fate. "Sarutobi knows every jutsu in the village. He can perform 'that' seal on me. Besides, things might get complicated down the road if Hyuuga Hiashi is heard to be still alive leading his clan."

Hizashi's eyes lost their calm as he sensed his reasoning dissolving. "I won't just let you die! The clan needs a leader Hiashi!"

"Then take care of Hinata for me. See that she makes the clan proud."

"Hiashi!"

Hizashi began to lift his hand to grab his brother, but before his hand got above his waist he fell to his knees, eyes locked on Hiashi's right hand, bent into a seal he'd nearly forgotten about until his son had been branded that morning.

"Make her worthy of a Hyuuga's pride Hizashi."

"Damn it Hiashi . . . " and with that, Hizashi slipped out of consciousness.

Sarutobi sat with the same distant look in his eyes, this time wondering how well he had really known the Hyuuga Clan all along.

"What makes you think I won't simply render you unconscious and render your decision as irrelevant as Hizashi's?"

"These eyes see more than just chakra Hokage-sama. I can see you wouldn't really force me to outlive my little brother."

Sarutobi could only nod before beginning the Hyuuga's cursed seal jutsu.

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The funeral for Hyuuga Hiashi was held two days later. A hidden village was always accustomed to death, so preparations for a funeral could be made very quickly and efficiently. The exact details of Hiashi's death were kept secret of course. Only Hizashi, Sarutobi, and the involved Cloud-nins knew the truth. Everyone else in Konoha was simply told that Hiashi had died a noble death to protect them. Few people bothered inquiring further. Secrets were just a part of life in a hidden village. In this case, they were a part of death too.

Hinata stood next to Hizashi and Neji near the front of the gathering, her eyes fixed on the ornate gold and ivory coffin her father rested in. Hyuuga custom was that the body itself remained hidden. Hinata's three year old mind was spinning. How could her father really be gone? She had seen him during her birthday, just two days ago. He couldn't really be dead. He couldn't really be sealed in that cold box forever. She looked up at Hizashi and imagined him as her father instead. She imagined her father's peaceful eyes in place of Hizashi's, his confidence overwriting Hizashi's sorrow. She pretended the seal wasn't there. She so desperately wanted to see her father again. Just one more time.

"Hizashi-san . . . "

Hizashi turned toward Hiashi's heir and legacy, impressed by her calm features. She had completely broken down yesterday when she was told that her father was dead of course. But she had brought her emotions under control with eerie speed. He supposed it was a trait of Hiashi's. Odd that he didn't possess that trait, although he was Hiashi's twin. Since yesterday Hinata hadn't cried, hadn't even been frowning. She resembled an ice sculpture.

"What is it Hinata-sama?"

"I need to see him. I want to see my father one last time."

Hizashi sighed. If they actually had Hiashi's body, he probably would have let her see it after the funeral, when nobody was around. He never cared much for traditions. He didn't despise them either. He could understand the premise, and it wasn't ridiculous to him. It had its purposes and served the clan well. But as far as he was concerned, traditions only needed to be upheld when they were noticed. Breaking rules when nobody would notice or be affected wasn't a crime. But he didn't have Hiashi's body anyway, so he decided to hide behind those rules. Hinata was far too young to know the truth.

"I'm sorry Hinata-sama, it's tradition that nobody see a Hyuuga after they die. Not even we can break that rule."

"But . . . just once. Just for a moment. I have to see him."

"I'm sorry Hinata-sama. You can never see him again."

Hizashi knelt down and hugged his niece. She even felt like a block of ice. He'd sworn yesterday over Hiashi's body that he'd fulfill his last wish before it had been given over to the Cloud. It was the least he could do. Hiashi had given his life up for Konoha. Given up any chance to see his daughter again. Hizashi would spend his life fulfilling Hiashi's wish in return.

"I have to."

Hizashi leaned back and rested his hands on her shoulders. He saw an odd look in her eyes. A determination seemingly out of place on a three year old child.

"I can't do anything Hinata. . . ."

"Then, I will."

Hizashi felt her steel under his hands as she turned away from him toward the coffin. The hairs on the back of his neck raised as he felt her nearly humming in her black silk kimono, and his remaining hand flinched away.

"Hinata-sama . . ."

Disbelief coloured Hizashi's features as he saw her bring her hands up to her face in the familiar Hyuuga way. Suddenly Hinata's eyes lit up with the faint white glow of a technique she wouldn't use again for another 4 years.

"I must see- Byakugan!"

Everyone gathered at the funeral had been politely ignoring the child's technically forbidden conversation. She was after all, only three years old, and her father had died very suddenly. Additionally, she was the Hyuuga heir. It would be unseemly to upset her further. However, hearing her shout out that word and her obvious intention caused the whole gathering to break out in murmurs and gasps. First of all because it was forbidden to see the body of a dead Hyuuga, and second because she was only three years old; it was utterly impossible for her to perform the required technique to use her eyes that way.

"Its... empty! He's not even inside! Where is my father Hizashi?!"

When she shouted that, most of the gathering calmed down somewhat. Obviously she had simply failed the technique. Which also meant that she hadn't actually seen Hiashi's body, and therefore wasn't summoning any curses or ill luck or whatever they had thought she would have brought down on them by seeing his body.

Hizashi, of course, knew the truth of both of these facts, and if his face had been coloured by disbelief when she had begun the technique, he was now in absolute shock.

She really used that technique at merely three years of age? The Hyuuga are said to be the holders of the leaf's most powerful taijutsu style, but we've never had such a prodigy as this. Even the Uchiha's Itachi prodigy didn't manifest his eyes until he was six. Hiashi, your daughter won't just make the Hyuuga proud, she's going to leave the world in awe.

Hizashi was about to ask Hinata to come with him so he could explain (Which he realized he would have to do much sooner than he had planned) to her why her father wasn't in the coffin, but instead he had to catch her, because the young Hyuuga heir had just fainted.

No surprise there, she must have sapped nearly all her chakra to pull something like THAT off.

Hizashi smiled when he looked down at her face. It was peaceful once more.

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Hinata didn't wake up until three days later. Sunlight bathed her room, casting small rainbows across the floor through the assorted prisms she kept in her window. As she awoke, she realized that her eyes hurt. She lifted her hands to rub them and felt that the edges were swollen. She glanced at the mirror across the room and saw her reflection in it. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were surrounded by bruising. What happened to me?

Memories came flooding back to her. Her birthday. The kidnaping. Her father. The funeral. The coffin. It all hit her at once

"No! Father!"

Neji bolted into the room from across the hallway, his legs in an aggressive stance, eyes darting about the room looking for an intruder. Hinata had screamed those exact words the night she was kidnaped, but by the time he had reached her Hiashi had already silently dispatched her attacker. It then occurred to Neji that Hinata was awake.

"Hinata-sama, you're awake! Are you alright?"

Hinata partially regained her composure and looked over at Neji.

"Y-yes. I'm alright. I'm sorry for screaming like that."

Hizashi was next into the room.

"Are you both alright? Is everything ok Hinata-sama?"

Both of the children turned to Hizashi and nodded firmly. Hinata apologized again, this time somewhat more fervently, realizing how much she had just frightened both of them.

"Neji, go to town and get some fresh herbs for Hinata-sama. The first batch has dried up somewhat."

Neji nodded and quickly left the room, closing the door behind him. He realized that normally a servant would be sent for such a task, so obviously his father wanted to speak to Hinata alone for some reason..Of course, that didn't mean he didn't still need to go and get the herbs, so he got ready and left the compound to perform his chore.

Hizashi stepped outside her room for a moment, explaining to the approaching guard that everything was fine, and sending for a servant to bring some food and water for Hinata before stepping back inside and closing the door.

"You can have something to eat and drink in a minute Hinata-sama, but before anything else, I want to apologize to you. I was going to wait until you were six before explaining this, but since you already found out yourself, I'll have to tell you what happened to your father now."

Hinata studied Hizashi's features, hoping for some sign of good news, seeing none.

"Is my father really dead?"

"Yes."

Hinata fought to control her voice. The reality of her father's demise was finally settling on her, absolute in it's truth. She felt cold.

"But, then why was the coffin empty?"

"We weren't able to keep his body. It was taken by the country of Cloud."

"What? Why? Why would they steal father's body?"

"They didn't steal it. We gave it to them. They demanded that Hiashi die and his body be given to them as part of the peace treaty."

Hiashi decided not to mention the fact that they had made that demand as compensation for the shinobi Hiashi had killed. That part was pretty much a lie anyway; they just wanted the Hyuuga secrets.

Hinata's head was spinning. Her father hadn't even died fighting? He had been sacrificed?

"The Hokage had father killed for that reason? I don't understand. Why father? Why would the Hokage agree to such a thing?"

"First of all, the Hokage didn't demand it of your father. We had planned to use my body instead. As Hiashi's twin and a branch member, it was my responsibility to take his place in such a situation. However, Hiashi refused to let me die in his place. He said he couldn't sacrifice me to just to save himself. I tried to stop him, but I wasn't strong enough."

"As for why the Hokage agreed to the terms in the first place, all three of us agreed that we couldn't ignore them. Fire country is in a very fragile political situation right now, and if a war had broken out, Konoha could very well be annihilated. Your father was willing to die to avoid that war, to protect you and everyone else in Konoha. What was said at the funeral was no lie; your father died for a very noble cause. We all owe our lives to him."

"Hizashi-san. . . what were my father's last words?"

Hinata closed her eyes and remembered her father. If she couldn't see him one last time, she could at least hear him in her mind."

Hiashi's twin realized why she had asked, and did his best to be at peace, for just that one moment.

"He asked me to raise you to protect the us in his place. He said 'Make her worthy of a Hyuuga's pride Hizashi.'".

Tears welled up in Hinata's eyes, but her voice held true.

"I will be father. I swear I'll make you proud. I'll make everyone proud of your daughter. And I'll protect Konoha to my last breath."

As Hizashi looked down at Hinata's fierce eyes, he thought to himself that she was already worthy of anyone's pride. He wasn't going to let anything change that. No matter what, he'd fulfill the wish of his brother that had died for him and for everyone he cared about.