"I-I don't have a-a t-tousan and (sob) kaasan a-anymore," she cried as she fell to the ground on her hands and knees. Beads of sweat began to roll down Naruto's body as he realized that once again he had made things worse. He then began to search his brain for something that might help. The only thing that he got was from some T.V. show he had seen once. Deciding to try it out, Naruto sat down on the ground and brought her over so she was crying in his lap. He then began to gently rub her back with one hand until she calmed down a bit.
"All better?" he asked. Slowly she lifted her body into a sitting position and, with a light blush, nodded weakly. "So…what's your name?"
"Hyu," she started, but stopped herself. "Hinata."
"Nice to meet ya Hinata," said Naruto in an upbeat voice hoping that it would catch. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Now, can you please tell me what happened?"
"M-My kaasan went to the h-hospital because s-she was having a b-baby," said Hinata. "She left with my t-tousan, but only he came back. H-He then pulled me into office as soon a-as he c-came back. H-He didn't say a-anything to me as he sat down a-and signed a fancy p-paper. H-He then called someone e-else in and t-told him to have it b-brought to the H-Hokage. When I a-asked h-him what was going o-on h-he said that my k-kaasan had died while g-giving birth. T-Then h-he told me to leave b-because the p-paper he had signed l-legally d-disowned me from the clan."
Now, please remember that Naruto is a six year old. He also lives by himself. The only things he reads are coupons for ramen and training scrolls. So his first thought was a bit understandable. What does legally disowned mean? That thought echoed through his head until his tenet heard it.
"You BAKA!" said the Kyuubi. Well, he only yelled the baka part. "Let me put this in terms you might understand. Her mommy died and now her daddy has decided to throw her on the street like garbage. IS THAT SIMPLY ENOUGH FOR YOU?"While Naruto couldn't hear the Kyuubi, he did somehow manage to figure it out.
"Don't worry Hinata, he's just a jerk," said Naruto. "How about we go see the Hokage? I'm sure he'll know what to do." Naruto then got up and then held out his hand to help Hinata. Hinata started to reach out to take it, but then she pulled back.
"W-Why are y-you being so n-nice?" she asked. "A-Am I really t-that p-pathetic?" Tears began to reform in her eyes.
"No," said Naruto quickly. "I just wanna help. It has nothing to do with how strong or weak you are." Then he remembered something that the old man had once told him. "Besides, Ojisan says that those who are truly strong know when to ask and accept help." Hinata hesitated for only a moment before taking his hand.
While this was going on, Hiashi was sitting with the Hyuga elders as his late wife's will was being read.
"And finally," read the elder, "I wish that my daughter, Hyuga Hinata, be well taken care of. She is my treasure and I wish for her to be safe and happy."
"Is that it?" asked Hiashi. The elder simply nodded. "Then all shall be done except for the last part." At this, the elders began to whisper to each other for a moment. Then, one of them spoke.
"Hiashi-sama, surely you know that our laws law's clearly states that we follow the last wishes of…" He was then cut off when Hiashi held up his hand to silence him.
"She asked that Hyuga Hinata be well taken care of," he said in an uncaring tone. "However, shortly after my wife's death I disowned the girl. There is no longer a Hyuga Hinata in this clan so I am no longer bond to that last wish."
The council stared at Hiashi while (most of them) doing their best to hold back their disgust. It was true that many felt that Hinata was weak; however they also wouldn't dismiss the fact that she was still a little girl and had time still to grow. There was also the issue of their image. To those outside the clan they were seen as a heartless, cold, and yet powerful clan. Hinata seemed to be a breath of fresh air that slightly improved their image with her warm and kind nature. Hiashi, however, felt that their old image was fine and that as long as they were powerful nothing else mattered. Lastly, what if Hiashi's newborn daughter died due to illness? They would have no one to replace her with.