Helping Hyuga's

The problem with the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi had long since come to realize, was it's strict adherence to primogeniture. The eldest child inherited all, regardless of competence, even when the difference between birth orders could be measured in seconds as in the case of Hiashi and his twin brother, Hizashi. The elders of the clan would have him believe that it was the will of fate. The Gods made their will clear, sending the child they intend to inherit the clan into the world first.

Alright, but in that case, why was Hinata his first born?

Hiashi had sired two children with his late wife, both of them daughters born years apart. The could be no mistake, the Gods had sent Hinata before his beloved Hanabi, but if it were their will she rule, then why did they make her so inept?

Hinata was unworthy of ruling the Hyuga clan by almost all metrics.

As far as being a shinobi went, she lacked talent. She was too slow to properly utilize the gentle fist to it's maximum potential. Hanabi had been thrashing her older sister regularly since she was four and Hinata was seven.

Hanabi was a prodigy, one that would do the Hyuga clan credit. She was at the top of her class at the ninja academy. The only reason she hadn't graduated was because of the Third Hokage's reforms in the wake of the Uchiha massacre, which forbid early graduation. Hiashi didn't doubt that once she graduated, she would rapidly shoot up the ranks and overtake her older sister.

Hinata lacked the proper mindset to accomplish much of anything, be it as a ninja, a clan head, or even a house wife for a noble family. She stuttered and stammered. She caved in at the slightest hint of adversity. She lacked poise and grace.

Hanabi had both, and more besides. She never stuttered, she carried herself as a Hyuga ought to, with her head held high. She looked equally controlled at a dinner party meeting suitors as she did on the training field. No matter where she was, she brought honor to the Hyuga name.

Hinata pined after the container of the Nine Tailed Fox, a talent-less dead-last that only got the tutelage of one of the three sages thanks to the demon sealed in his gut. Hanabi forged alliances with the Sarutobi clan by befriending the heir.

One of his daughters was more worthy than the other, and it wasn't his eldest.

For many years, close to a decade now, Hiashi looked to the future with quiet despair. He wished to replace Hinata with Hanabi, but his hands were tied. Clan tradition dictated that the eldest must inherit, and not even the head could overturn that. There was no way out.

Unless there was.

Hiashi looked at the young man sitting across from him with the same blank neutrality that he used when meeting with all courtiers. In all honesty, he had little hope for this meeting and had only given this stranger an audience because it was the normal thing to do. When it came to matters of this magnitude, it was in his best interest to leave no stone un-turned.

"Speak," Hiashi commanded brusquely. Given how unimportant and normal the other male looked, Hiashi saw no reason to lengthen the meeting with courtesies. If this man was wasting his time like he thought he was, then it was in his best interest to hurry this along. If it turned out that he had something useful to say, then Hiashi could always offer him a reward afterwards.

For a second, the strangers smile faltered, clearly displeased with his treatment, but nevertheless he spoke. "Greetings Lord Hiashi," he began, "I am Izuko, and I come here with a proposal. Your eldest daughter, Hinata, is a failure in the shinobi arts, is she not?"

Hiashi felt a pang of annoyance. Given the issue that Izuko was supposed to be solving, one would hope that the moron would familiarize himself with the facts of the case before coming here. If her had then he would be able to answer his own stupid questions. Hiashi didn't deign to answer.

Smile disappearing entirely, Izuko gave up his showmanship and tried again, "Right. Well, Hinata is a failure at being a ninja and I can't imagine you're too happy about that. In fact, it is normal for both you and the clan to be very displeased about this, given that for a clan head of a ninja clan, being a ninja is pretty integral. Given the prodigy your younger daughter has turned out to be, I can only imagine you would prefer her to be in charge as opposed to Hinata. To that end, I have a proposal geared towards that."

Unable to suppress his skepticism, Hiashi replied, "I would love to hear this proposal. One can only wonder what a-" Hiashi made a point to glance sharply at his guests clothing, "-commoner has seen that has escaped the entirety of the Hyuga clan elders, and well as the clan head. You're not telling me anything I don't know and haven't contemplated. Either give me a solution or go."

A mixture of impotent anger and humiliation swirled in Izuko's dark orbs for a brief second before clearing. Looking Hiashi in the eye, he began to speak, "Give Hinata to me. Let me keep her, and make Hanabi your heir."

Hiashi let out a disbelieving "Excuse me?" If this commoner meant what he thought he meant...

The Hyuga's were a clan in possession of a bloodline limit, and as such they needed to be vigilant in its defense. There was too high a risk that if someone were to capture a member and have a child with them, then the bloodline would slip out of control of their family. The countermeasures that they implemented to prevent this was truly ****, going up to and including the cursed marks they placed on branch family member.

The idea of just giving his heir, a member of the main branch, to a commoner for no specific reason was the most absurd thing he had ever heard.

"It is normal for me to get Hinata because I am the one that came up with the idea," Izuko state calmly with a shallow smile, a stark contrast to the giddy one he had when he first walked, "Any plan seems ludicrous without any context, Lord Hiashi. Your desire for a coherent plan in ten words or less is rather constraining. May I actually explain my plan?"

For a second, Hiashi considered saying no out of sheer pettiness. Such behavior was unbecoming of a Hyuga, however and so he nodded instead.

Inclining his head in a brief nod of acknowledgement, Izuku said, "My thanks."

Taking a moment to let the silence rest, he began again, slower this time, choosing his words with great care. "I can only imagine that as a father, you do not want either of your children to be sent to the branch family. You may accept it as a necessary evil to protect your bloodline, but you don't truly want that.

"You are aware, I trust, that if you were to disown Hinata and make Hanabi your heir, then that is the fate that awaits Hinata? And given that it is normal for you to not want that for your daughter, there are three criteria's for any plan to meet your standards. Firstly, it gets rid of your unworthy daughter as a candidate for clan head. Secondly, it appeases the clan elders and is widely accepted by the clan at large. Finally, it keeps both of your daughters out of the branch family while still protecting the Byakugan."

Hiashi had to acknowledge that Izuko's summary of his desires and the larger politics at play were concise. He hadn't offered a solution yet, but Izuko certainly had demonstrated a level of understanding about the situation Hiashi didn't expect from him. For the first time, Hiashi considered he may have been wrong. Perhaps he did have an idea as to where to go from here.

"And the solution?" Hiashi asked, masking his excitement.

Izuko merely continued to smile his placid smile. "A switch that follows tradition and upholds primogentiure. Instead of Hinata taking over the clan, Hanabi does, but Hinata's eldest child, your grandson/grandaughter byway of your eldest, takes over after her. Effectively, Hanabi rules as regent for an incompetent head, before relinquishing control as soon as Hinata's child comes of age.

"This neatly avoids all the pitfalls previously established. It keeps Hinata from ruling and leading the Hyuga clan into destruction, it upholds primogentiure which appeases the elders, and finally it keeps Hinata out of the branch family.

As to why you should give her to me? Well not only is it normal for me to get her for coming up with this wonderful plan, but I can also assure you that it will keep her, and the Byakugan, safe. Given Hinata's lack of talent for the shinobi arts, I will be using my new authority over her to withdraw her from the shinobi forces. She will remain in the center of Konoha, where she can't be captured by foreigners as easily as she would be if she were out on a mission."

Then, just as Hiashi opened his mouth to object and say the elders would never accept this plan, Izuko hastily added in, "It is normal for the elders to be okay with this plan. And the rest of the clan. And the village. World at large, really."

It sounded like he was just adding in different groups as he thought of them, but Hiashi let it slide as his objections melted away. Thinking about it at large, he realized that Izuko was right. Everyone would be fine with this plan.

Everything would be fine. Hiashi gave his assent.