Disclaimer: I did not, do not and will not own Naruto, whether in this life or the next.
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Caged Freedom
Chapter 1: Flashback
He stared into the mirror. It was, as yet, still dawn. Little sparks of imp's fire were splattered all across the sky, courtesy of the Sun. Soon, they would be gone, enveloped by the all encompassing sun but for now, they glowed in all their tiny pink glory, trying, and succeeding, to enjoy the little bit of time they were entitled to. The morning dew glistened a little on the neat, trimmed lawn, reflecting as one, the darkness of the night before and the light of a new day, all in all, a very enchanting colour.
This spectacular scene, Nature laid in vain before the eyes of a boy. His pale white eyes glistened out at him from the mirror, returning his calm and controlled gaze. There he was, all ready for practise, yet……
Slowly, albeit hesitantly, he raised his hands and undid the hitai-ate that covered his forehead. He placed them gently on the floor beside him, now completely revealing the thing upon his forehead. His jaw tensed and a look of unknown hurt glazed Hyuuga Neji's famed Byakugan. It didn't take much for one to notice that he hated the mark that had been branded on him 12 years ago. Hated it as he had never hated anything before. His stoic face crumpled ever so slightly as his control slipped, colouring his handsome face with a multitude of emotions. Regardless, the unrelenting mirror reflected that mark, still as green as the day it had been branded upon him, a well defined cross that stained his forehead. A cross that trapped him for life.
Flashback:
"How much is this?"
"1000-ryo"
Neji watched, his eyebrows arched into a quizzical bow, just beneath the hitai-ate that covered the sign upon his forehead. The silence grew as Tenten slowly, albeit hesitantly, took out a small, dainty little pouch from the folds of her shirt. The pouch was exquisite, silvery white with a finely embroidered golden dragon upon its side. As Tenten's slender fingers stretched and dug a hole into the small little pouch, Neji watched, his famed Byakugan clouded in frustration and anger. 'Stupid Tenten', he thought. 'This deal is way too much. How can she even go through with this?!' Regardless, he made no move to stop her as her small, smooth brown hand gently closed upon a large wad of money.
"Here you go! 1000-ryo."
The merchant's piggy little eyes widened and literally glowed at the holy appearance of the money. His genuine, albeit leering, smile got even wider, a row of yellow, rotten teeth now completely visible from beneath his thick, puffy lips. His breath then staged a grand entrance as they came out in puffs, completely and utterly destroying the sweet smell of the morning dew and forests flowers that were wafting their way. His hand involuntarily twitched as he watched the money edge slowly but surely towards him. Then, as Tenten's hand neared his own, as if unable to contain the impulse, he bridged the gap between hand and money and snatched Tenten's money from her hands. As he fingered the money gleefully between his thumb and index finger, he shoved a cage at Tenten and before she could utter another word, he had already packed up his things and ran with a very youthful speed such that even Rock Lee couldn't match.
Neji's gaze had shifted ever so slightly from his team mate to the thing she was holding. In the cage, was a bird. Such a bird as was never seen before on the surface of this earth. It resembled a phoenix, with a long sweeping tail, intelligent beady eyes and an arched, proud head. However, while phoenixes were covered in bright and golden feathers, this bird was different. Its plumes were of a dazzling, beautiful, pure white, so much so that it seemed to give out an ethereal glow. It clicked its beak impatiently as its eyes stared listlessly out of the bars of its cage, towards the glow of the morning sky. Then, it opened its beak and let out a faint, low cry. Its voice was cracked, parched, yet, Neji could recognized something very familiar about it. Looking at the bird, he had immediately sensed something, an indispensable feeling of caged sadness, clinging to the bird like some kind of depressing fog, diminishing its beauty all at once. Its eyes followed the sparrow's flight towards spring, in perhaps another part of the world. It look at their wings as they flapped, up and down, up and down, such a simple motion that carried such meaning and care freeness, such a feeling of freedom such that it would never ever get to taste, whether in this life or the next. This was exactly how he felt 3 years ago, before that fated battle with Uzumaki Naruto during the Chuunin Exams, and still felt now, sometimes, when he sat in his room all alone, looking at the sign upon his forehead. The sign of bird with a caged bird. One that would never even get to dream of freedom, what more get to taste it.
Tenten stretched out her index finger and slowly pushed it into the cage from between the bars. She had not felt anything. The bird's previous cry had not affected her in any way. All she could see was that it was a very beautiful bird that she had just bought with 1000-ryo of her own hard-earned cash and had thus earned, at the very least, the very humane right of touching it. As her slender finger was just about to come in contact with the soft, white feathers atop the bird's head, suddenly, with one swift, fluid motion, like the one a snake uses to catch its prey, graceful, yet deadly, the bird snapped its head around and clamped its beak down on her hand.
"Ouch! That hurt!"
The next moment, the bird was lying limply in the cage, legs apart and head bent down towards the bottom of the cage. Its glassy eyes were now spiritless and lifeless. There was a dent upon the snow white feathers above the area where the bird's one-second-ago-still-beating-heart was. Neji quickly withdrew his fingers from the cage, both of them still glowing blue from the remnants of chakra from his attack. Slowly, he relaxed his stance and deactivated his Byakugan. Then, he turned tails and fled into the thicket that was, thankfully and very conveniently, located just behind the row of stalls, a small smirk on his face.
"Hyuuga Neji! You had better Jyuuken out 1000-ryo in hard cash!"
Flashback End
The door slid open. Another Hyuuga walked noiselessly into the room and announced in a loud, formal, deep tone of voice, just exactly the kind that Neji knew and hated.
"Lord Hiashi requests your immediate attendance at his chambers."
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This is my first fanfic.
So, please, please, please, please, With cherry and cream and cookie disease, reviews!
