A Black Dawn

By: Notnerd24

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto! But some of the characters are mine….;)

Prologue – Isoya's Farewell

Cold sweat dripped down my forehead as I narrowly dodged three hari. However, four hari were thrown by my assailant, and much to my discontent, the fourth penetrated my thigh. I hissed in pain, but pulled the thin needle out of my flesh. Damn grass ninja…I growled in my mind.

The enemy opted to use the light-weight needles that were barely visible to the naked eye. Of course, I should be better off. My father, Neji Hyuga, had given me a pair of glasses to enhance my normal and byakkugan sight. And at that, I still had the byakkugan in my arsenal. No, I need to save my chakra in case this battle gets worse…

I nodded to my inner thoughts and squinted. The chakra-infused glasses didn't have near as much accuracy of the byakkugan, but they worked well enough to tell me that my assailant was hiding somewhere about thirty-five meters to my east. But that just wasn't enough.

I sighed and performed the familiar handsigns to activate my byakkugan. I needed to win this battle, no matter what my inner-self said. Veins surrounding my eyes suddenly popped out, nearly pushing my glasses off of my nose. With one fluid movement I pushed them back to their original place. In a matter of seconds I spotted my attacker. He was hiding behind a thin tree, surrounded by thick bushes and hedges.

Calculating our exact distances apart, I reached into my weapons holster and pulled out a kunei. I gathered enough strength in my arm to send it soaring through the air and straight through the center of the tree, severing my opponent's spinal column.

I sighed in content, but gasped when I noticed the bushes behind me shaking. I was too late, by the time I reached back into the holster on my leg and pulled out another kunei, the newcomer had revealed himself.

"Matsuo, what are you doing? I about killed you!" I snapped as my team mate stepped towards me, a look of intense horror on his face. "Matsuo, what's wrong?" I asked, sliding the knife back into its holster.

"Yamashita, it's Isoya," He whispered.

Without a second thought, I raced into the bushes, allowing my byakkugan to lead me towards my friend. Isoya Ayuma was the third member of Team Shikamaru. The three of us had been genin together, and somehow managed to all pass the chunin exams. We shared bonds that I never even knew could exist.

Shaking of the thought, and the slim possibility of tears, I hurtled towards the spot where I could see my Sensei, and Lady Sakura. The body that Lady Sakura was attempting to heal was definitely that of Isoya's.

"No!" I screamed as I broke through the brush seperating Isoya and me.

Shikamaru turned away from Isoya and Lady Sakura and caught my shoulder in his firm grasp, not allowing me to go any further. Almost immediately, I sunk to my knees and felt my chakra level grow dangerously weak.

"Turn off your byakkugan, Yamashita." Shikamaru-sensei murmured.

I complied, feeling the veins sinking back down, and my eyesight growing weaker. Behind us, a swift movement signaled the arrival of Matsuo, who collapsed beside me.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" I asked softly.

Matsuo turned away, tightening his face, fighting the inevitable tears. I would be doing the same, if I actually had that strength to cry. My body was numb, and I felt breathless. Isoya's usually smooth chocolate-colored locks were matted with blood, and her glasses were fractured in one lens. I stream of blood slid down from her mouth, beginning to form a small crimson pool. Her body was broken and bleeding, and the movement signalling her breathing was becoming lighter and lighter, until it was gone.

Lady Sakura pulled her palms away from the girl, and looked away. Though he tried to hide it, I saw a single tear slide down Shikamaru-sensei's cheek. Matsuo was hunched over, sobbing. And I felt the sudden urge to vomit. My dry mouth tasted sour, and my eyes burned.

"Who d-did this?" I stuttered.

"Don't worry yourself with this, Yamashita. The ninja that killed her are long gone. It seems…Grass and Waterfall ninja have joined forces, and soon, I fear that other villages will join them to destroy us." Sensei rambled, trying to stray away from the topic of Isoya's killers.

I nodded, deciding not to pry. From his statement, I was able to make the asumption that Isoya's killers were from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. Clenching my fists, I looked away as the tears finally began to fall.

Well, thanks for reading! Review, please :D I'll be posting more soon.