Author's note: This is my first fan fiction. Expect a hell lot of drama, romance, some emotional and sad parts, with a dash of humour….. and voila ! Hope you like it and please review. This chapter is sorta emotional. _

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a land far away named Konoha. It once was a happy country under the rule of the Sarutobi dynasty, until a man named Danzo along with his soldiers slaughtered the royal family taking the crown for himself, plunging the land into chaos and disorder and war-torn.

" And they all lived happily ever after "

Not.

Little did they know that the age of darkness was coming to an end, and it was all thanks to our valiant, honourable, brave,…. Hinata?!

The sun had begun to set in the horizon, painting the sky in so many colours of red and orange, each mixing with each other.

A young man with long, black hair tied in a loose pony tail gazed at it with his lavender, pupil-less eyes while he laid on a bed.

He let out a nerve wracking cough and covered his mouth with his hand. His body shook uncontrollably, but that was nothing compared to how he felt when he saw the blood on his hand. He cursed.

" I don't care if I have a fatal disease, I promised Hinata's father that I would take care of his daughters. That is exactly what I'll do, dying or not" he muttered to himself, trying to give himself a pep talk.

"Neji ", a sweet, bell- like voice came from the entrance of the cottage. It was filled with worry.

"Hinata " Neji started, only to collapse onto the bed one more in writhing agony.

She rushed over and pressed a wet cloth to his forehead. She started to talk to her cousin soothingly. She bit her lip, his face was covered in sweat and his mouth was contorted into a grimace. If only she had some money….

She glanced at the clock, Hanabi would be coming home soon. She stood up slowly and walked unsteadily to the kitchen when she heard a loud banging on the door. Neji stared at the door in alarm, Hinata walked to the old, worn door and opened it, revealing a fat, bald man with a baby like face in a soldier's uniform picking his nose. Her eyes narrowed. What the hell?

He straightened up when he saw her and handed over a parchment with the king's seal on it. She took it tentatively and began to sweat. The king?! They didn't do anything wrong! She blanched. Was it because of Hanabi's prank last week? Surely, the king couldn't be angry just because Hanabi slipped a whoopee cushion under one of the nobles seat at the banquet. How did he know?! Her fingers trembled as she held it and gave the soldier a weak smile.

" Say, you're pretty cute." The soldier smirked, leaning in. She blushed and stared at her feet. " How about it? You, me, and a nice picn-"

Heck no.

He wrapped his fat arm around her and whispered in her ear, causing her to gasp slightly in surprise , only to stop abruptly when he caught sight of Neji's death glare. He shuddered and backed off, much to her relief, " I'll see you later" Hinata scrunched up her nose. God, please no. Neji's glare intensified. The soldier started to sweat and squeaked in a high- pitch voice. "Or maybe not". He ran as fast as his fat legs could carry him.

Hinata let out a sigh of relief that he was gone. Phew. She gave a stern look to Neji who was beaming with satisfaction, but in the end her 'glare' was replaced by a happy smile. She gave the parchment to him and let him read it.

Please don't let it be about Hanabi. Please don't let it be about Hanabi. Please don't let it be about Hanabi. Please don't –

Neji read the paper with an expression less face, but his eyes were full of anger, sadness, shock. He hissed, "Stupid, damn war!"

Hinata felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. The war? It was true that the war between Konoga and Kirigakure was leaving the country in poverty. Many were starving, homeless. She thought that being on the outskirts of the country, they could be safe . How stupid.

Neji looked at her with a pain stricken face, "They want to recruit me as a soldier"