Blood on the Door
Chapter 1
Hinata gasped at the scene in front of her. The door was hanging loosely off its hinges and, as her pale eyes became accustomed to the darkness, she could make out three long, dark red strokes painted onto the wooden surface. "Neji-niichan!! Neji-niichan? Are you there?" she called out, her voice pitched about half an octave higher than usual. The only reply was a deeper silence still. Hinata activated her kekkei genkai.
Byakugan!
She searched the small apartment with her eyes but couldn't see any signs of life. She stepped inside and let out another horrified gasp. The walls, floor and ceiling usually so clean were streaked and splashed with blood. Kunai and shuriken littered the floor and broken shards of glass glinted like jewels. A table a little further in was slashed, broken and lying on its side. As Hinata walked towards the table she stumbled on something. A person's leg. She fought back a scream.
It might not be Neji-niichan. Neji-niichan wouldn't go down that easily. It might not be Neji-niichan… she thought desperately as she scrabbled and pulled at the debris of whatever it was that had fallen on the person. As the last few pieces fell away the body was clearly visible and clearly dead. But just as clearly not Neji. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever her thoughts had been telling her, she hadn't been able to rid herself of the terrifying mental image of Neji's body lying on the floor. His body, broken and bleeding; his face blank and expressionless. Hinata shuddered involuntarily and leant on the wall for support. Sometimes, the vividness of her own imagination scared her.
---
Neji opened his eyes. His body felt heavy and limp. All he could see was blackness, stretching far into the distance. He tried to activate his Byakugan but found that his chakra was completely drained. His head throbbed. He shook his head to clear it and to try and remember what had happened. That was it……They had come for him. So it must be Them who had him imprisoned.
Wait, but that fight didn't use up this much chakra, so why am I drained? He thought, puzzled. His head gave another throb, straight across his forehead, where his cursed seal mark was. Hinata-chan… He tried to lift a hand to his head but found that he couldn't move at all. He was bound by something, but he couldn't feel any chains or ropes against his arms. He tried to move again but met that same resistance. It felt like a chakra string but not in a string, a chakra field or cell. Neji could feel a mixture of chakra in the field, the main chakra felt very familiar… That's just like them! Draining my chakra and imprisoning me in it! he thought, annoyed. A door into another room opened somewhere close-by and a blinding chink of light hit him full in the face. A voice from the doorway ordered someone indistinctly to do something to do with 'the hostage' and Neji felt something hard and heavy collide with the back of his head. Stars erupted before his eyes and his consciousness slid, slowly, into blackness once again.
---
Hinata turned round and ran out of the apartment. If it really was Them who'd got Neji, she needed to tell someone. She ran to where her father, Hiashi, was usually to be found at this time of day. "To-san!" She called as she ran. "To-san! Something's happened to Neji-niich…er…Neji!" Careful, Hinata, careful! She thought to herself. You know what to-san would say- Neji-niichan is from the branch family after all! She got to the end of the corridor without meeting anyone. She blinked "Huh?" I guess I just missed him or something…I'll go back and check. She walked back, looking around carefully with her still-active Byakugan, and saw something half way that made her heart skip a beat.
Her father was lying face down in the entrance corridor to the Hyuuga estate in a pool of his own blood. He wasn't dead, but the fact that he was so badly injured was terrifying enough. Hyuuga Hiashi, THE Hyuuga Hiashi was injured?! Hinata shuddered at the thought of what his attacker(s) must have been like. Several medic-nins gathered as she watched and prepared to take him to the hospital to be treated. One of them saw her standing there and walked towards her. It was Shizune.
"Hinata, did you see what happened?" Hinata shook her head. "Have you seen anyone in the estate today who wasn't a Hyuuga, or was acting oddly?"
Hinata shook her head again. "No," she replied. "But I think whoever attacked to-san must be the same one who took Neji."
"Nani?!"
"I'll show you." With that, Hinata lead Shizune to Neji's room so that she could see the wreckage. Shizune let out her breath in a low whistle when she saw the state of Neji's apartment.
"When did you find this? Did you hear anything?"
Hinata shook her head yet again. "I came to see Neji just now and found his apartment like this. Then I went to search for to-san to tell him and saw him lying injured at the entrance. Then you and the other medic-nins arrived."
"I'm sorry, you'll find this hard, but you and your sister are going to have to be questioned by Tsunade-sama. She'll want to know of anything at all, any small clue as to who it might have been who attacked Hiashi-san and Neji-san."
Hinata's only reply was a small nod. She walked with Shizune in silence to Hanabi's room. It must have been Them. She thought. It was Their mark on Neji-niichan's door and only They would be strong enough to take him and to injure to-san that badly. Hinata looked up at the sound of Hanabi's voice.
"Onee-chan? What's happened? Why's a medic-nin here? Onee-chan, what's going on?"
"To-san's been attacked" Hinata replied quietly.
"NANI?!" the younger girl screamed.
"…and Neji's been taken- by Them" Hinata finished, ignoring her sister's reaction.
"THEY were here?!" Hanabi said, eyes wide, "They were here and took Neji? You're not serious are you, onee-chan?"
"Do I LOOK like I'm joking?" Hinata replied, almost angry- her sister's shrill voice wasn't helping her cope with the situation.
"No, but…"
"You and Hinata need to come with me to Tsunade-sama." This was Shizune, her tone calm but not cold. " She'll want to know if either of you have any ideas as to what happened."
Hanabi looked at her older sister, "onee-chan?"
Hinata nodded and turned to follow Shizune out of the door. Hanabi stood up and ran after them.
