The shadows bubbled and writhed, folding and wrapping over themselves. They moved like liquid and flowed like the wind. The Hyuga courtyard was alive with the frogs of the pond. Crickets chirped, and the occasional ruffle of a bird's wings were what the clan fell asleep to every night.

The shishi odoshi's thud halted the shadow in it's silk movements across the grass. It wiggled, something like a shudder, then continued on, slipping over the lip and onto the porch that surrounded the inside of the garden. Like clockwork it passed three doors, and stopped at the forth, it's tendrils reaching like little fingers up the walls and down the door opened only enough that a slip of paper might slide through.

The shadow crossed the room, moving over the sleeping figure in the middle of the room, sending an unusual chill down his spine as it crossed. He pulled the blanket closer to his chin, never waking. The shadows collected in the corner of the room, sinking even further into the darkness, less out of place. Outside, the shishi odoshi's slam every 30 seconds was affecting the shadow. With each slam the shadows twitched and spasmed for a moment, then calmed, returning to their silky movements, the tendrils folding over themselves.

Yellow eyes peered out from the unusual blackness, unblinking and piercing. The shadow watched him sleep, the rise and fall of his chest, and the infrequent roll. The moon high above did nothing to illuminate the shadow as it was darkness, it's yellow eyes a portal to truth.

Neji stirred, a rustle outside. He quickly propped himself up on one elbow, pulling the kunai out from under his pillow. Footsteps. They were soft, barely detectable. He nodded, slipping the weapon back and setting his head back down. Hinata visited the pond at night, every night. Neji had never once bothered to step into her business. Either it was respect, or he just didn't care. He didn't even know. But as he relaxed again, his elite senses screamed that someone else was in the room.

He pulled his kunai again, shifting out of the blankets, crouching, holding his weapon in a position that could easily be offensive and defensive. He scanned the room, and saw nothing amiss. Maybe he was just a little stressed? Just back from a difficult escort mission and his nerves were still frayed. After a few minutes he shook his head, letting his knees touch the ground, but still staying alert.

Then he heard it.

It was a mix of a man and a woman. A child and an elder. The voice could be one, but none and was impossible to pinpoint.

"You snore."

Neji's muscled tensed, becoming rigid as he stood quickly, still groggy from sleep. His breath catching in this throat as he watched the shadows out of the corner of his eye shifted. A laughter made his blood run cold.

"Show yourself." he ordered.

Silence, and all the shadows looked the same. On the second scan two yellow orbs in the corner caught his attention. He crouched, aimed at them. They were deep, bright and held a light that would have normally been snuffed out by the intence darkness surrounding it.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"You're afraid." the voice said softly. "Afraid that all you have, all you've worked for, your life, is a waste. Like it's been handed to you. You are where you are because of the sacrifices your father made for you. Your father regretted ever having a child. Bringing him into a life in which he was cursed. A life where he would know no freedom."

The lump of sadness that collected when someone was about to cry caught in Neji's throat at the mention of his father. He was a strong ninja, but that one little thing was the weakest brick in his wall. He ground his teeth, "Why do you think you could even begin to understand?"

The laughter again. The hair on Neji's arms stood on end, his skin crawling. The eyes closed, opening a little farther down the wall.

"Oh Neji..." it whispered his name.

Another shiver ran down his spine, his blood like ice. Neji took a deep silent breath, his head clearing out the cobwebs of sleep. He shook his head and asked again,

"Who are you?"

The shadow was silent, staring at him, boring into him like they knew every secret he had. But Neji's guard never dropped. The yellow orbs disappeared, appearing above him on the ceiling. The voice filled the air,

"Or is it that you are afraid all you have will be taken from you? Taken because you're a Branch member. Taken because you arn't as good as you could be. But what is it that you DO have little Hyuga?"

Neji held his kunai in a death grip, keeping his heart from racing as the shadow's tendrils creeped across the ceiling. A small pop and the shadows started to drip downwards towards him, thick like paste. He took a step backwards, feeling the wall against his back. The shadow stretched from the ceiling to the floor, pulling thin. It pulled free from the ceiling, the impact with the floor bouncing it back up to eye level.

It took a humanoid shape, it's tendrils reaching out towards anything they could. The yellow eyes centered in what Neji assumed was the head. What could have been a smile spread across the face, no teeth, just like the shadow had ripped itself in half, tendrils still connecting the lips. Light shown from deep inside, farther down, somewhere in the chest.

Neji's eyes scanned the figure, his mind racing, trying to sort this all out. This... thing, knew so much about him. He was preoccupied with his thoughts he didn't see the tendrils forming a hand. When his eyes focused he shifted backwards, pressed agains the wall, he was vulnerable and had no where to go. The tendrils formed a hand with defined fingers and the dark fingers drew dangerously close. He closed his eyes, biting back the thoughts of how pitiful he was.

And they stroked his cursemark. He opened his eyes slowly, watching the smile and the yellow eyes. Whatever, or whoever this was, had an air of tenderness about them. Something that most ninjas lacked. But there was still something about it that bothered him deeply. The attention of the eye never left his face. Analytical and unwavering. The tore holes in his defences and made him want to build it back up, but at the same time slump against the wall and stop fighting.

So he did. The brush of the fingers on his curse mark melted him. His knees buckled and he hit the floor with a thud, staring off into space with a trancelike gaze. The shadow crouched, it's tendrils brushing his skin, the chuckle filling his ears, enveloping him. The shishi odoshi slammed against the stone outside and the shadows twitched. Neji snapped out of his dreamlike state and cocked his head to the side, watching the shadows spasm.

When they stopped a small smile crossed his lips. The shadow cocked it's head to the side in a facade of confusion at his smile, blinking at him. Neji's smile broadened. And he cleared his throat,

"I know now." he nodded, "I know who you are."

The shadow nodded, "You think so?"

Neji nodded slowly, thinking to himself, confirming it all in his head. He rose slowly to his feet, pulling his hair back into a ponytail. The shadows moved lightning fast, catching his hand.

"Don't."

It's whispers in his ear were like silk creeping across his brain. Melodic and soothing, calming even. It made him want to forget everything he knew and such sink into the darkness. He took a deep breath, composing himself, forcing his knees to stop shaking.

"Why?" he whispered back.

The shadow moved away slowly, drifting like a leaf in the wind. The smile ripped across it's face again, showing the light deep within it's chest,

"I like it down."

Neji shook his head, holding it, confused. The shadow moved closer again, the tendril sparking electricity across his skin. It moved close and Neji's muscled tenced, freezing up and refused to move no matter how much he silently screamed. Lips formed instead of the demented smile and pressed themselves against his. The same sparks of electricity. He shifted to back away, confused and honestly a little frightened, the shadows wrapped around him.

He couldn't move, and the lips were steadfast against his. The cogs in his brain groaned, ground together, then clicked back together. The shadows. He couldn't move. The shishi odoshi. All of it. He had had a suspicion, and he was right! The warmth of the voice, and how it was reassuring and calming.

Shikamaru Nara.