By RequiemofDementia
Prologue: The Beginnings
Thirteen years ago.
The head of the Hyuuga family raised his head slowly, the three members of the branch family slowly moving ahead of him. Around them, the snow was stained red with the blood of the dead and the dying, white wisps slowly rising from the corpses, as the cool air met the hot blood. Four members of the Hyuuga branch family had died here, against but one member of the Hitomi.
To say that the head of the Hyuuga family was displeased would be an understatement. He had known that this would be costly, but it was also necessary. Even now, he did not care that so much death had come to the branch family. They were to die to protect the head family, after all. He was ashamed, however, that it had taken only one Hitomi to kill so many.
His stride was unbroken, as he continued to walk. The door into the Hitomi house was broken open, hanging on one hinge and gently rocking in the faint breeze. Inside, results were far more to his liking. Several Hitomi littered the floor, and not a single Hyuuga among them. The head of the Hitomi family himself was there, struggling for breath. Over a dozen kunai pierced his body in different locations, and yet he stubbornly remained alive.
"Innocent," he whispered softly, his breath tasting like blood to him. He knew one of his lungs was punctured, and he was not much longer for this world. His eyes narrowed faintly. "Hyuuga." The word was spoken as a curse. The head of the Hyuuga family, however, simply looked him over. "Why?"
"You know as well as I do," Hyuuga spoke softly, finally. "You have always been a threat to us, and we can no longer tolerate that." The cold eyes of his enemy did not waver as his gaze met the man's, but Hyuuga could no longer care. He had finally won. "You are dead now, Hitomi. You, your family, your line, ended. The plague that you have laid upon Konoha is no more."
Hitomi raised his head, as if to speak. Hyuuga humored him, moving closer slowly. It was not until he felt the warm mixture of saliva and blood upon his cheek that he realized what the Hitomi had been planning. He straightened slowly, a strip of cloth slowly wiping the filth from his face, a single nod of his head ordering a member of the branch house to end the Hitomi's life.
After he was sure his face was once more clean, Hyuuga continued along his chosen path, through the household. The branch family had done their job well. Not a single member of the Hitomi had survived. Or so he though. It was not until one of the branch members opened the door to one of the bedrooms that his error was revealed. A Hyuuga corpse sprawled across the bed, the window broken open, and a pair of small footprints disappearing through the snow.
The only thing that kept him walking was the fact that he needed to protect his sister. Death had come to his home that night. He had seen his mother and father slaughtered. It had been all he could do to get his sister, such a young girl, away from the house, towards safety. They would be following, but he could not protect her for much longer. He was weak.
Each step was painful now. The battle with the assassin that had been within his sister's room had left him with several broken bones, one of which was within his leg. But he could not stop. Every time that leg moved, he felt waves of burning pain spreading through his body. But he would not stop.
There was more then his sister's life at stake. There was a potent destiny at stake. She had to survive.
Her eyes slowly opened, peering up at him. "Shinzui Nii-San, what is happening?" His eyes met her honey gold eyes, and he felt tears threatening to rise.
"Sleep, Airen," he whispered softly. "Tomorrow is a big day."
Three months ago.
The butterfly flittered about her, and her eyes followed it happily. Ohira Yume was supposed to be training, but as her sensei had not yet arrived, her time was her own. She lay, stretched out in the long grass, watching the beauty of the small, winged insect. Its bright colors were inspiration to her, on this heavily overcast day.
Thankfully, however, the rain had not begun. If it had, she would have been forced to choose between running to her home and finding shelter, but not seeing her sensei this day, and running to her sensei's home, facing the risk of remaining locked out with him not home. All in all, it was far easier for her to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature around her. And enjoy them she did.
Until the morning stillness was shattered by a scream. She jerked up as she heard it, a loud, piercing scream coming from the direction of the village. Like all those who received the ninja training, her reflexes were quick, and her sandaled feet were racing over the grassy field as she ran. What was going on? As she drew closer, she realized that the scream had come from the direction of her sensei's home.
The scene she arrived on was like one of her nightmares. Her sensei, the closest person to her in her life this far, body sprawled upon the path towards his home, his clothing red with his own blood. Crouching by him was a pink haired girl, her eyes showing the shock she felt at this sight. At the foot of the path, a man with a large sword stood calmly, facing three adversaries. Two were young men, one dressed all in black and the other in orange. And between them stood a man she knew by sight, the honorable, if eccentric, Hatake Kakashi.
"Sensei!" Her word pierced the battle, the orange clad boy actually looking in her direction. She did not notice, and if she did, she would not have cared. She ran passed them all, and dropped to her knees by her sensei. She was too late. His eyes were no longer the kind eyes of a loving mentor, but the glazed over eyes of the dead.
The sounds of the battle between her sensei's murderer and the three Konoha ninja raged behind her, as she slowly begin to stand. And at that moment, as her hand grasped the hilt of her katana, a peal of thunder shook them all. She turned slowly, her eyes narrowing as they fell upon the murderer, fat drops of rain beginning to fall. Everyone was frozen in suspense.
"DIE!" Her scream was loud, filled with hate, as she began to race down the path. The Konoha ninja's leapt out of the way, as she approached them, her blade singing as it was drawn from its sheathe, only to meet the murderer's own blade with a loud clang. The enraged gaze of the girl met the cold eyes of the killer, and the battle began.
Each stroke fast, blade parrying blade, sparks spraying off at each connection. The murderer was experienced with his sword play, but she was as well, and she was mad. He was frantic as he tried to keep her back, each swing of his blade with the purpose of defending his body from her rapid, furious attacks.
He was not fast enough. His large blade came up to push her own away once more, and she rolled her wrists expertly, the direction of her attack changing slightly, just enough to slip in passed his guard, a deep cut scored along his side. He slipped back, warm blood flowing with the cool water along his skin now. Her chest heaved from exertion, but she did not let up. As he backed away, she followed, relentless.
Another shower of sparks, as his blade once more parried her own, but she stepped forward, against the force of the blow. Her knee connected with the exact spot she had cut, and he grunted in pain as he fell back. The backswing of her blade cleaved through him, and his body fell to the ground.
Where it shattered apart, into several large chunks of wood. For a moment, she stared blankly, wondering what the hell had happened. The voice of Kakashi roused her from her stupor. "Replacement technique," he whispered softly. The girl whirled, eyes alert, but there was no longer any sign of the man.
"Where?" she practically screamed, her rage still pumping through her veins with her heart's blood. "WHERE?!" None of them had the answer, however. The man had vanished. She lowered herself into a crouch, slowly wiping her blade clean on the grass. He was gone, yes, and they could not find him.
Yet.
Author's notes.
Sometimes, sisters can be a good thing. Although the constant "Write more story write more story," can get more then a little annoying, it does keep one motivated to keep writing (to stop that nagging little voice). Of course, I am greatly enjoying my writing once more.
For those of you who don't know already, if you don't like my original characters, don't read. I don't respond well to flaming. I kinda don't respond to it at all, actually. :P
For those who do like, read, review, more coming, enjoy, and so on and so forth.
Airen, enjoy. :) And stop asking for more. XD