This is my story...it may not be a fairy tale but it is my life.
My name...is Neji Hirosaki and this is my story… it's been three years since I last saw my family, three years without hugs and kisses, three years without any friendly smiles. The time now is 1:39 am. I've been hiding in an uncomfortable treetop for 2 days now, twisted into a position that has made my spine and legs go numb, being hunted for a mission that I took
Even so, I have no regrets for what I have done. I want people to understand the road that led me here…
A small boy was hid behind an old tree trunk, giggling with excitement. An older boy with spiky hair and a big grin ran out of the bushes and towards the little kid. He scooped him into his arms and said "Hah! Got you Meji!" and hugged the little boy to him. Meji squirmed and laughed in the older boy's arms and said, "Don't you think you're a little too old to hug me bro"
"Nah, you'll always be my little brother" the older boy said happily, as he laughed and ruffled his little brother's hair.
"Dinner is ready!" shouted a lady at the door. She wore a long orange skirt and had her hands on her hips as she called to her two sons.
"Awww, Mom can we have just ten more minutes?" complained Meji while playfully punching his brother.
"No Meji, you've been playing with Neji for an hour now, I think your brother needs some rest," snapped his mother.
After hearing the ring of a small bell, she turned around and headed back into the house, leaving Neji in charge of getting his little brother to eat dinner against his will. Neji quickly scooped Meji back into his arms and carried his brother towards the house. "Let me go!" Meji cried, kicking and fighting Neji all the way into the living room.
"What's going on here?" asked a man. This man sat in an oversized leather chair, comfortably attired in a black shirt, with his bare feet propped up on the coffee table. He looked up from his book titled The Black Bingo Book: Konoha's Top Wanted Shinobi Criminals at the two boys, his short, bristly black hair shining in the sun. He looked like the kind of person that laughed a lot, mostly because he was also the kind of person who had experienced death, been so close to death that it almost became a part of him.
"Meji doesn't wanna have dinner," explained Neji, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Let me go bro, I wanna show dad something!" Meji said while squirming out of his brother's tight grip. Neji finally let Meji go so that he could show his dad what he had learned.
"Bro taught me a new jutsu today," Meji said with a burst of laughter yet a bit of pride. He believed himself to be on the verge of greatness and brilliance, as most young children do, and he also had a smirk on his little boyish face that suggested there was a bit of mischief involved in the ninjutsu lesson his older brother had given him.
"What's so funny?" asked his dad curiously while watching both his sons giggle with the knowledge of something that he had yet to see.
"Perverted No Jutsu!" Meji shouted and turned into a sexy brunette, complete with wispy clouds of smoke to cover his full nudity.
"What the hell?!!!" exclaimed his dad, as he glared at Neji as if to scold him for teaching such a perverted trick to his younger brother.
Neji started to laugh when his dad glared at him; it seemed that neji had only taught his brother that jutsu on purpose to get his dad into trouble...trouble that walked in, trouble in the form of their mom.
"What's that!" she shouted as she pointed at the naked brunette standing surrounded by little wisps of smoke, right in the middle of the living room.
Shocked and a little dismayed, their dad responded quickly with a laugh and said "It's Meji, blame him," only to have his youngest son look at him and say in the sexiest voice "Madara Sama"
Neji quickly grabbed his little brother, not having realized that he would take the new jutsu so far as to make his dad look like an adulterer, although he found it rather funny and a little clever for such a young kid to trap his father, an accomplished and world-renowned ninja, with such a trick as that.
"But Neji, isn't this the reason for the jutsu?" asked Meji while transforming back into his child-like body.
"Yeah this is good, but man are we gonna get grounded," Neji said while laughing his arse off.
The brothers looked into the living room to watch their mother beat up their father for having stared at a naked girl, quite astonished to see their dad, who was once rumored to be the greatest ninja there ever was, be slapped around by their mother.
"Dinner is ready!" their Mom called while dragging their dad into the dinning room.
The boys sat opposite each other, and snuck glances full of amusement at each other for the rest of dinner. They used all their energy on not laughing out loud at their father, which was a hard task to complete since their father's left cheek was swollen and he continually rubbed his bottom where their mother had kicked him repeatedly. Eventually they couldn't hold it in any longer, and the soup that was in their mouths went splattering everywhere once they finally laughed out loud. Their father only glared at them, although they could see that he too was holding back his own laughter, and their mother simply pretended that nothing had happened.
"So what's new Neji?" his mother asked without breaking a sweat, still kicking their father for not sitting up straight at the table.
"Erm...nothing much. Itachi taught me a new trick today," Neji said while trying to get his food down his throat without laughing or choking.
Meji started to laugh when he realized how much his brother and his dad looked alike, only to be scolded by his mom for not finishing his veggies and for not wiping his mouth.
"You know son, that Itachi kid is pretty talented, you should invite him over someday," his dad said, cutting up his steak with a razor sharp kunai, since normal knives were not good enough, and besides, according to Madara, they weren't as cool.
His mother asked, "So how's Konoha doing"
"Well, the 3rd is still inventing new jutsu's and erm… Jiraya sama is still at the lake, peeping at women in their bathing suits," Neji laughed.
After dinner it was time to go to bed; Neji and Meji shared a room so they were all tucked in and ready for their "traditional" story time.
"Yay! Story time!" Meji excitedly wiggled with joy in his bed.
"Come on Dad! One more story of your battles," Neji said, trying to convince his dad to tell them. His stories were always full of suspense, honor, and real war. They were true, and they were lessons that Neji could use in the real world. But most of all, he loved his father's stories simply because they were his father's, because he was happy just to listen to his dad, and because he was proud of his father.
"Alright, let's see…what story should I tell today?" said their father while sitting down on his rocking chair.
"It was 5 years before Neji was born, the 3rd sent me on a mission to Iwagakure to find out where they were planning to attack Konoha from… WHEN SUDDELY…" his father paused for dramatic effects and let his eyes grow big as if what he had seen back then was the most incredible thing any human being could behold in their lifetime, so naturally Neji and Meji wanted to know.
"OMG! What happened" Meji interrupted his dad, with his mouth open and dry with anticipation. By just looking at him, you could tell that his little imagination was running wild with images of beasts, giants, monsters, demons, or enemies. His mind was restless in its generation of possibilities.
"Well...I saw...a GIANT glowing fox, with an even bigger tail, a tail so strong he could crush half a country in a single flick of it. He looked like he was almost made completely outta fire, his eyes glowed with the pure evil of hell...I had never seen such a beast, so I carefully made my way over to it...and..." their father paused once again to build up the suspense.
"AND???" The 2 boys stood up from their beds, wide-eyed and practically drooling from their dropped jaws.
"And…it's time for you boys to get some sleep," their mom came in, spoiling their chances of getting to know the end of the tale.
"Tomorrow night, ok guys? Now go to sleep," their dad managed to say before being dragged out of the room.
"Wow, dad really is courageous. Do you think we will be grow up to be like that too?" Meji said as he looked over at his brother with eyes full of imagination and wonder.
"Yeah I guess so, we are his sons," Neji replied proudly.
It started to rain, and Neji was stealthily traveling through the trees, trying to get away from someone or something…
""He's over there!" shouted a hoarse voice in the background.
"Crap they found me..." Neji said to himself while jumping from tree to tree, wearing his straw hat and his black cloak with red clouds floating on the cloth, symbols of the rebel life he had been leading. It seemed he couldn't outrun the man that had been chasing him. A man dressed just like him, stood in his way and grinned evilly, and Neji realized he had no choice but to confront him.
"Where are you going Neji?" the man said with a twisted grin.
"Itachi, you were like a brother to me and you have betrayed me! Why?" Neji shouted.
"...It's simple...You're the enemy" Itachi said with an emotionless face.
Neji realized, as he stared into the sharingan of Itachi, that the days when his childhood was simple and pure were long gone.