A/N: Ok, this may seem a little weird at first, but I promise it will all make sense in the end, so please bear with me.

Disclaimer: I've been forgetting to do this with my other stories...I do not own Naruto.

She ran faster and faster, not caring that the branches were tearing at her clothing and skin and the fan strapped against her back was bruising her. She only wanted to get away. She had to get away. She forced herself not to look back. It would do no good to have her fall now.

A kunai flew past her head, startling her. She nearly tumbled to the ground, but managed to regain her footing.

Her heart began to pound. There it was up ahead! Just a few more feet and she would be safe!

With shaking hands, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a necklace, ring, and bracelet. She hurried over to a smooth stone, and tried desperately to fit the jewelry into the small grooves carved into it. The ring and bracelet weren't too hard, but she was trembling so badly when she had to put the necklace in that she dropped it.

She began to search frantically for it. She knew that this was her only chance for survival.

"Looking for this?"

She bolted upright. Her eyes widened. "What do you want with me?"

"Are you really that ignorant? You should know by now what I'm after." He held up the necklace.

"You'll never get what you want! I'll make sure of that!" She spat out, her words laced with venom.

"Oh, you poor thing. Are you really going to be able to stop me? We both know who is the stronger of us two."

"No." She whispered. "If I have to die to prevent you from doing this, then so be it!"

"Foolish girl. You can't stop me."

"We'll see about that!" She reached behind her and unclasped her fan from her back.

"That fan is useless on me. I know all the tricks."

He was right. The only thing she could hope to do was stall him long enough for help to come. That is, if help was even coming at all.

"It's all I have. Get ready to meet your defeat, Hajime!"

Hajime laughed. "You have lost your mind, Tamako. There is no way you can win against me." His black eyes glittered.

She shivered and swallowed hard. She had to finish him off quickly. Opening her fan, she raised it above her head. "This is..." She stared in horror at the empty spot before her. He had vanished!

"I'm right behind you."

Tamako stiffened as she felt his hot breath on the back of her neck. "You will not win."

"You just keep telling yourself that, Tama. But...I have already won..."

The woman felt a sharp pain in her side and realized that he had slashed her with a kunai. "You...betrayed me...Hajime..."

"Yes."

"I thought...you cared for me..." She gasped. Another kunai to her other side.

"I did, at first. But when I discovered what you were hiding, I had to have it."

A kunai to her arms. Her legs were next. "Hajime, I-I love you! Please, it's not too late to stop! You can still turn from this path you're walking. Please, come back to me..." She begged, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Never. You hid your secret from me. That shows that you do not trust me or love me."

"I was to keep it a secret. The only way you found out is by following me!"

"It's no longer a secret. And when I finally get my hands on it, I'll become the most powerful man in the world!"

It was over for her. She felt the sting of metal slicing her leg muscles. She fell to the ground, unable to move. Staring up at him, her eyes shone with tears. "What have you become?" She whispered. "You are not the man I fell in love with. He was kind and gentle. But you are cruel."

"The man you knew is no longer around, Tamako. This is who I am now." Hajime smirked and walked over to the stone. "I will come back to finish you. Right now, I must get what I came here for."

"No! You must not go through with this!" She shouted. "It will not accept you! You are not from my clan!"

"Shut up! You're just trying to scare me away. It's not working." He carefully placed the necklace in its rightful spot and stepped back.

The ground shook as a part of the rock wall surrounding them shifted apart, revealing a dark cave.

"I will see you in a few minutes, Tamako." He cautiously stepped inside. When nothing happened, he smirked and continued to wander further and further into the darkness.

Tamako bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to lose Hajime. But it felt like she already had. She just hoped that he changed his mind before he reached the inner room of the cave. She knew what would happen if he didn't.

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Hajime held his breath as he exited the corridor into a spacious chamber. The ceiling was high, and carvings decorated the walls. In the center, there was a raised platform.

He eagerly hurried up the stairs and read the inscription carved on the top.

"Walk in the narrow way
Of the light and do not stray;
For if you do,
Judgment shall be upon you."

He blinked. "Walk in the narrow way of the light?" He glanced around, but could only see darkness. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Suddenly, the cavern began to shake. The ceiling began to collapse around him. A deafening roar was heard. He trembled in fear. What was happening? Was he going to die?

The tremors ceased just as suddenly as it had started. Hajime could see the light of the moon shining down upon him, but it wasn't white. It was red.

He stumbled backwards as the shadows around him began to move. They engulfed him, surrounding him completely. He screamed and lost consciousness...

When he awoke, he felt...strange. Dark. Evil. He moved his limbs to make sure they still worked. They did. But then he noticed something. The shadows moved, too.

But he was supposed to be able to control the light, not the dark. What had gone wrong?

Hajime hurried back the way he had come. He had to get answers.

Tamako was right where he had left her. Of course, she couldn't move at all. He grabbed her by the front of her kimono and yanked her close.

"What is wrong? Why can I control the shadows?"

A tear slipped to the ground. "Walk in the narrow way of the light and do not stray; For if you do, judgment shall be upon you."

"Yes, I know that! I read it!" He snarled. "But what does it mean?"

"You did not walk in the light. You betrayed me. You were willing to do anything for my clan's power, even kill me. You did not live a clean life. You are not even sorry about what you have done." She closed her eyes. "Judgment will come for you and your family. The name Nara will be forever hated in the Country of the Wind. In Suna, people will curse you because you have betrayed one of their clans. You and your descendants will be shamed. The mark of your betrayal will be the shadows you control. People everywhere will know what you have done." Her breathing slowed.

"Don't you dare die on me! Tell me how to reverse it!" He shouted.

Tamako merely smiled. "There is...no way. You brought this...upon yourself, Hajime. This is only the beginning...of your judgment. The rest is yet to come. And...it will be worse..." She weakly lifted a hand and brushed it against the side of his cheek. "Oh, my Hajime, if only you had...listened to me..." Her eyes closed. Her hand fell limp at her side.

The clouds covered the moon, which had gone back to being white.

"No." He whispered. "No. NOO!" He screamed, tormented. He shook her lifeless body violently, hoping that she would wake up and tell him it was all a nightmare. But she didn't.

Voices.

He heard them all around him. He looked about wildly. One, two, three...fifteen men. All from Tamako's clan.

"What have you done?" They cried out. "You have betrayed us!"

"I-I didn't." He stuttered. "Someone else was here. He-he attacked Tamako. I came too late to save her."

The men looked at each other. One walked forward. "There is one way to discern if you are telling the truth." He held up a hand. A ball of light formed at the tips of his fingers. The other men did the same.

Hajime stared in horror as his shadow began to shift, reaching out toward the men and retreating.

A cry of outrage sprang up from the group.

"He shall suffer judgment!" The leader spoke. He walked over to Hajime and lifted up his sleeve. With two fingers, he traced the kanji for betrayal on the skin of his left shoulder.

"Now everyone who sees this will know what you have done. Now leave this country and never return."

Hajime collapsed to the ground, unable to believe what had just happened. His life was ruined. His name would be a mockery among the villages.

But worst of all, the love of his life was dead. He had killed her. He buried his face in his hands and wept as rain began to fall...

If this was the beginning of his judgment, he didn't want to see the rest...

A/N: Hajime means "beginning", and Tamako means "jewel child." Tama means "jewel."