Chapter 1: Behind the Mask
The city of Konoha was surrounded by darkness. The stars hung over the city in beauty as the tall trees swished about with the wind and made their own music. Amongst the tall, green trees were Konoha's Japanese-inspired buildings that stood towering above the smaller, local buildings like giants among men. The lights from the many glass lanterns which hung from wires among the streets made Konoha dazzle in radiant beauty. The glass from buildings reflected the lights and the trees' wax leaves simply shone with brilliance as the stars above rained down their own light, causing the city to shine like a sun on earth. The city of Konoha was beautiful.
As the night drew on, lights of homes were being turned off. People began to fall into a deep slumber. Peace befell Konoha. Outside of the city, however, was a different story.
Outside of Konoha, in the thick forest known as the Hidden Leaf, stood two lone figures atop a grand tree. One figure, with the physique of a female, stood adjacent her male counterpart. The female wore brown twin Chinese buns atop her head and a long, red scarf around her neck. Like the male, she wore a black, full body ninja gi with white armor on her chest and black Kung Fu shoes. The female also wore a mask, unique in style, to hide her entire face. The mask looked like the face of a panda. The nose was black and the eyes had two large, black circles around them. Side markings could be seen on either cheek; both sets were styled like cryptic red vines.
The male wore clothing similar to the female, but unlike her, he wore no scarf. Instead, sharp gauntlets which stretched into dangerously sharp claws on his fingers, almost like a bird's talons, could be seen on his arms. He had long brown hair which fell like straight silk from his head and well below his lower back. Also unlike the female, the male wore a mask resembling the face of a bird. The mask bore a large beak in place of the mouth area, and the markings of the cheeks were painted a light green.
As the two stood in silence, watching Konoha with great intent, their backs turned to the dangers hidden in the Hidden Leaf, a soft rustle was heard behind them. The female was first to react. She turned sharply to face the potential threat. A Kusarigama (Japanese chain-scythe) once hidden began to swing high above her head. The male, whom had simply turned slowly as if already aware of the presence, poised himself in a fighting stance, ready to face his challenger.
The two stood like that for some time before a group of human like shadows jumped from a branch lower than their own, and soared high above the pair. Upon closer inspection, the figures were clearly not of this world because each bore no face and held no detailed human traits. It was as if the beings were indeed of the shadows.
Like the crack of a whip, the female and male sprung into action, separating from one another. "Night Walkers," reported the female more to herself than to her partner as she threw the weighted portion of the chain at one of the shadowed figures.
"Hn," the male said as he pulled one of his arms back, palm facing the enemy flat, before jumping up to their height and pushing it forward. The male's strike landed on one Night Walker, sending a straight shot of air through its body, and hitting a Night Walker behind it. Both shadows exploded into clouds of smoke and sparkles.
Then the male did a quick spin in the air with both hands facing outward. Almost immediately, several nearby Night Walkers exploded just before the male landed back on his branch.
"Good one," the female cheered as the male landed and gave her a thumb's up, "Now watch me!"
The weighted portion on the Kusarigama chain wrapped itself around one Night Walker. The female then jerked the chain forward before spinning around, causing the Night Walker's body to spin in a large circle, slamming into numerous Night Walkers on its cycle. Each Night Walker exploded before the chained Night Walker was released. "Now you die!" The female shouted before throwing the sickle at the Night Walker, slicing it in half. The Night Walker erupted into dust and sparkles.
"That's all of them," the male said.
The female, who had retrieved and hidden her Kusarigama, placed a hand on her forehead and looked into the sky, "The sun will be rising any minute now."
"Then tonight's mission is over. Let's head back to Konoha City," the male said, "We will place the masks back in the shrine after we get back in the city." The female nodded before chasing after her male partner, who had leapt from the branch.
Inside Konoha City dwells a shrine cared for by the Hyuga Clan. It is said that the shrine itself was once home to thousands of spirits, and that only one shrine maiden and priestess were ever able to calm the many spirits. As time went on, the maiden and priestess both began to age. The spirits, realising this, began to gain power over the holy duo. Although they were all friends, the maiden, priestess and spirits were in a raging internal war with one another. Before long, the maiden died from power depletion, and the priestess was quick to devise a way to seal the spirits. She decided that by sealing the spirits into several different masks would forever lock their powers away. Thus, these masks held untold powers which only few could harness. Before she died, the priestess left the Hyuga Clan, the maiden's family, with the responsibility of securing the masks for all the years to come.
A petite female with long, navy blue hair and pale skin knelt before the shrine and prayed. She prayed for future prosperity, and good health for her friends and family. She prayed for the homeless to find shelter, and for the years to come to be in good deed. Never once did she pray for herself.
As she prayed, small lights flickered about her. They danced with her hair as the wind lifted it from her back. The lights raced around her and spun in joyous circles. Before long, they grew in size and began to take the form of butterflies. The female did not notice this, for she was too busy praying to the gods and shrine spirits to heal the world and protect Konoha. It seemed that the more she prayed, the larger the butterflies got. That is, until they all combined and took the shape of a bird with large wings.
The bird of light perched itself behind the girl, never once making a sound as it stared silently at the shrine. The silence was peaceful as the girl prayed, and the bird was glad for it. It did not wish for anything to disturb this serenity.
Then, the bird's head turned sharply towards the trees surrounding the shrine. A presence of comfort filled the area before the bird turned back into small lights and flew into the shrine.
The crackle of a twig rang high throughout the area. The girl, who had finished praying, stood abruptly. She looked frantically about the area, but could see no threat.
As she turned back to the shrine, a boy with hair as blond as the light from the sun's rays stood before the girl with a wide grin. The female let a small shriek come from her mouth before she fell backwards onto the ground, "Eep!"
"Oi, Hinata," The male said as he helped the female stand, "Are you okay?"
Hinata, the female who was praying before, silently blushed before bowing her head. "Y-Yes Naruto-kun, I am okay," more red painted her face as she saw the boy's face get closer to her own.
"Are you sure you're okay, Hinata-chan? Your face is getting super red," Naruto, a boy of pure obliviousness, stated as he placed a hand atop her forehead, "Do you have a fever?"
At a loss for words, and stricken with embarrassment, the female simply shook her head before pulling herself away from the target of her affection. She then took a step back, allowing herself a chance to breathe.
"If you say so, Hinata-chan," Naruto said as he placed his hands inside his pockets before looking back at the forgotten shrine. "What were you doing out here," he asked as he took a moment to stare openly at the building.
"I-I was pray-." Hinata stuttered, but before she could finish her sentence, the loud clacking of boots was heard behind her.
Both Naruto and Hinata turned to see a blond female strutting toward them. The female had flawless skin and long bleached blond hair that, like Hinata's, went well past her waist in a plait. Her eyes shone like sea foam. Her face was model worthy as a graceful smile took hold of her face.
"Hinata, Naruto," she called as her boots clicked louder.
"Oh great, loud-mouth is here," Naruto said as he rolled his eyes. Hinata slightly giggled.
"Where have you been, Hinata? I've been looking everywhere for you!"
"She was praying at the shrine, Ino," Naruto said.
"Whatever," the blond, Ino, said before grabbing Hinata's hand and dragging her away from Naruto. "We have to go! It's the first week of school, and before you know it, summer will be here! That means a lot of parties, which also means those new outfits! New outfits mean a bunch of shopping, and we both know what that means."
As the girl was rambled on, both Naruto and Hinata silently conversed among themselves. Again, the shrine was deserted.
The masked duo watched in silence as Naruto, Hinata, and Ino walked away from the shrine. With the stealth and grace of trained assassins, they landed where Hinata had stood. The female slightly knelt to the ground and dragged her gloved hands along the surface. "Did you see that, Hawk?"
The male did not move as he stared straight ahead. "Yes, she has begun to develop portions of the spiritual essence."
"It won't be long before she is with her own mask," the female remarked with a sort of mocking tone. "You must be feeling proud, huh, Hawk?"
"Hn," He said as they began to ascend the stairs to the shrine.
Upon entering the shrine, the duo separated. The female went into the leftmost portion of the shrine, behind a large wooden pillar. There, she grabbed a scroll that hung almost like a decoration from a rope tied around the wood. As she unrolled the scroll, sutras began to float about her in all forms and colors. When the scroll was fully opened, the female took off her mask.
Her face was one that was clearly favored by the gods, much like Ino's. She had sun-kissed skin and chocolate-colored eyes that promised of mischief. Her face was soft and angled. Her lips, like rose petals, were plump with small laugh lines to escort them. Her cheeks held a natural, pink blush. Her brown hair with the short fringe angled her face, giving her an adult appearance.
"Tenten, are you done," asked a male voice from the other side of the large shrine.
"Hai, Neji," the female called as she raced out of the left side of the shrine. As she ran, her clothes began to fade to dust. In their place was comfortable sleepwear. The female, Tenten, wore an oversized green shirt that slid slightly down her right shoulder. She also wore black basketball shorts and her hair hung in a bouncy ponytail at the back of her head. On her feet were pink flip-flops.
When Tenten made it to the entrance of the shrine, a male with long, brown hair and eyes as white as snow met her. His skin was pale as the moon, and his face held a sort of feminine aura, although he was clearly a male. His face was sharp with an aristocratic nose. He eyes, although seemingly large because of his lack of pupils, were sharp like that of a bird. He wore a simple white t-shirt and gray pajama bottoms. His hair, although long, was in an intricate plait starting from the base of his neck and ending at his middle back.
"Tenten," the male began as he stared down at the female before him. There was a small, comfortable silence between the two as their gazes met once again without the masks.
The lights that once illuminated Hinata now danced in abundance about the two, as if glad to see them once again. Every so often, pure lights of butterflies would fly just over Neji's head, but never straying from his presence.
Taking his hand and giving it a slight tug, Tenten smiled up at Neji. "Come on, we have to go home before Hinata gets worried. You are, after all, supposed to be looking after her and her little sister."
Neji, although not moving his mouth once, gave Tenten a smile of the eyes before leading them both outside of the shrine. Then, almost immediately, his eyes took a more serious appearance as the two once again stood where Hinata, Naruto, and Ino had.
Tenten, picking up on the shift in mood, sighed. "I'm sorry, Neji, but it has to be done. You know that if we don't, she will-,"
"I know," Neji said hurriedly, cutting Tenten off, "Just make sure to inform the others tonight. Judging by the size, this has to be done before next week."
Tenten nodded silently. "I'll have them prepared before Wednesday." Taking out her phone, Tenten began typing a message. "I'll make sure both Sasuke and Sai are present. I believe they will be the most useful to me."
"Good."
Raising an eyebrow, Tenten smirked knowingly. "I'll make a point to inform Wolf as well."
"Hn," Neji simply nodded. "Friday night will be when you shall strike."
Before turning her back, Tenten gave a sad look towards Neji. "I really am sorry, Neji." Then, like the wind, she was gone.
Looking up at the fading large moon, Neji sighed. His hard eyes momentarily turned to pools of icy water. "I am too."