The Hikari Clan

The stern and harsh deserts of the Wind country were always the home of the Hikari clan. That, at least, is what the clan’s own history tells. The truth, however, is slightly different. Contrary to what the clan’s historians might tell you, the clan’s formation was far from spontaneous. It all started with one man, Gyoushoku, the ruler of a small tribe of roaming nomads that populated the area around where the border between the Fire and Wind countries is today, before the formation of most villages. Slowly roaming across the lands, often doing deeper incursions into both of the countries’ territory, the tribe lived off mainly from trading with other tribes and clans. Taking advantage of the less than common merchant profession as well as their own mobility, the Hikariki tribe delivered foodstuffs, cloths and other products from village to village, taking their cut with each transaction – which, even if life was tough for nomadic people, permitted them to live well and enjoy the best pleasures of life, when they stopped.

However, even with wealth and fame for their speedy and safe deliveries, the tribe never settled done. Those with a more pronounced romantic tendency would say the nomadic life was in their blood, riding on horses with the wind on their hair, the road beneath their feet, the sunset on their tanned backs. More realistic – and perhaps well informed – people, however, would attribute this insistence merely on their leader, Gyoushoku. His inability to settle down – in more ways than one – was almost as renowned as the tribe’s couriering and mercantile abilities. Facing each day like a fresh beginning, Gyoushoku refused to stay in the same location two days in a row – or sleeping in the same bed on consecutive nights. It was not unexpected, then, that by the time that the great leader passed away – long after the tribe was dissolved due to inner conflict and tribulations regarding its future -, his offspring were deeply rooted into the villages, conglomerations and townships that surrounded the border. But these children were not regular children. Through time, most of them – though not all – came to exhibit a similar trait, in different degrees. At times of rage, emotional stress or life-threatening situations, some would have their skin would shimmer, as if shining with a brilliant, dazzling white light, while others could burn their attackers with a single touch of the hand. Some, even, seemed to be able to see in the dark, like a lonely wolf in the faint moonlight.

Even though the origin of these abilities had to be something present within Gyoushoku that was passed on to his children, this fact was utterly ignored, all things considered. Perhaps, it was due to the fact that most of these bastard children knew no father and, sometimes, not even their mother could readily identify the one who had spawned them. Time passed and the children – those who survived -, turned into men and women. Their abilities remained largely unexplained and, most of the time, mostly hidden, for fear of reprisal from the commoners. Tales of Ninja were starting to appear here and there but, whenever these special people with unspeakable powers were spoken of, their tales were followed by death, destruction and woe. Hoping these traits died with them, the children of the great Gyoushoku kept them secret, unspoken of their whole lives. But those who had dared to birth children of their own were quick to find out just how wrong they were, for whatever had awakened inside of them the day they were born, had come to stay. Time passed and, with it, the Ninja became more and more established. The dark connotations that were initially assigned to them blurred slightly and their influence spread – and so did the rivalry between Ninja. Clans were no longer strictly built of people related through blood and bond, but rather of people with the same goals and ideals, often led by someone with the powers of Chakra.  These clans, when clashing with one another due to opposing ideals and plans, would often rely on the strength of those who could muster the power of the elements, augment their physical strength, or possessed the innate ability of weaving complex illusions around their adversaries. With the Ninja in high demand due to the growing conflicts, the descendants of the Shousenki tribe lord did not remain unseen. Rounded up and taken from their dwellings – children, women and elderly alike – by a single clan, they were taken for the purpose of being utilized in a long-lasting blood feud.

But they were not ready yet. As they had done before with other people they suspected of having potential, the warmongering clan held the descendants in captivity until their purpose could be fulfilled, forcing the innocent unsuspecting relatives to exhibit their raw, crude power until they passed out from exhaustion and, later, went as far as compelling them to breed amongst them, in an attempt to purify their seemingly unrelated talents. Inhumane or not, their techniques worked. With each passing generation, the traits seemed to strengthen, and the possessors of these abilities became able to gain full control of their powers. A new breed of Ninja was born – those who could control the light around them and manipulate it to their will.

Sunshapers, they were first called, and their abilities were highly coveted by those inside the warmongering clan that had long taken them hostage. Power struggles began over who held control over more resources, inside the clan, and with the Sunshapers being no more than a resource themselves, the soon found their lives on the line. The first ninja villages appeared, as clans merged together to form stronger, bigger institutions and, inside the clan, civil war broke out. In the midst of the chaos, the Sunshapers saw their first chance in generations – tamed and prisoner to the other clan, they had been silently plotting their revenge. As three warring factions arose and battled each other, the Sunshapers rebelled and, using their new powers, obliterated the already weakened factions, gaining their own freedom. Severely distrusting of others, the Sunshapers kept to themselves and, after a short period of wandering, found themselves establishing their own small village in the midst of the Wind Country’s harsh desert, relatively close to one of the extremely uncommon oasis. They had named themselves the Hikaru clan.

Though life was hard, in the desert, and food didn’t come by easy, they managed to life in their secluded fashion. Passing mercantile caravans would often stop at the small town and, there, trade food and other necessary products for clothes and draperies, pottery and ceramics, arts which the clan had grown to excel at, as it was one of the many tasks that befell upon them, during their captivity. Trade routes would soon be established with Konohagakure, a village which had been formed not too long ago, and this allowed for an easier living, even in the desert. However, this period of prosperity would not last. Tired of barely making a living in their desert-enclosed township, the clan decided it was time to leave the area. Forgetting their roots as well as their past, under the lead of a particularly narcissistic man, the Hikaru clan quickly grew prideful over their ninja abilities, as well as their heritage. Casting out the once derogatory meaning behind it, they quickly got to rename themselves as Sunshapers, Lords of Light and Children of the Sun. Their sense of self worth raised, they took it upon themselves to ensure the world knew of their power and their capabilities. Foregoing their crafts and arts and leaving their humble yet stable town, the clan as a whole enlisted itself as a mercenary organization, taking up any and all requests, no matter how bloody they seemed to be. No doubt, they earned their name in history – but not as a powerful clan. Rather, they quickly became known as one of the greediest and underhanded clans, doing everything in their power to further themselves.

The harsh world of wars and open conflict, however, was long gone, as were the terrible connotations regularly attributed to Ninja. In the age they now lived in, Ninja were seen as proud warriors, risking their lives and well being for the safety of their home village. Alas, the new direction the Hikari clan had taken, in hopes of bringing themselves out of a difficult living condition, only worsened it for them. Seen as nothing more than thugs and dishonored mercenaries, task requests handed to them became scarce and, at points, nonexistent. Having abandoned their village in pride, no Hikari clan member dared to return and admit defeat. Rather, they endured and struggled to stay alive, as a unit. Their Ninja, starved and weakened, were no more than pushovers. Their artisans, demotivated and with overflowing stocks, stopped producing and crafting. The clan’s name and epithets were forgotten, becoming no more than mere mentions occasionally voiced by their exalting historians, while telling story to the youngest Hikari clan members. Powerless, weak and hungry, the clan disbanded, spreading out to the corners of the land. No more was the Hikari clan, born in the light of a single man, and deceased in complete, unacknowledged darkness.

Today, Hikari clan descendants capable of exhibiting the bloodline are extremely rare. Forced to intermingle with the locals, as they scattered in the wind, the offspring of the former clansmen became diluted and weak, the bloodline vanishing as nothing more than history. However, once every few generations, the reports of a child capable exhibiting an effulgent skin, as brilliant as the very sun, will resurface.