A/N: This is my first ever fanfiction so be courteous yet feel free to review! I'll be doing my best to follow the storyline though I will admit it now, things will be different and things may have been misinterpreted on my part or I'll have wrote something the wrong way! This storyline came purely from my imagination and with the help of a friend/co-writer, I'll be trying to tell a story with points as close to the actual story as much as I can. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, which I'll probably be most of the time, and I'd love to hear your input! This first chapter is...I don't know, some have said it's boring others thought it was okay..let me know! Also...I'm not very good at conversation between characters in a story so bear with me! It'll get better I promise!

Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto or its characters.

The Hyuuga Clan was in mourning, they were angry, they fell into despair, and most of all, they were apprehensive. The last main house heir stood stiffly in front of them before sinking down to her knees. The clan elders looked amongst themselves and watched her behavior carefully. A silver pin holding back a severe bun winked at them as they passed to give their bows to her and the headstones that belonged to her family. No other piece of jewelry was seen on her and the white linen dress she wore fell lightly around her. Women of the Hyuuga clan sank down to their knees also and held her small hands in theirs', before bowing down and rising again and moving on after curt bows were given by their husbands.

"Setsuna," A voice pulled her back to reality and the heiress looked towards the voice. A stiff, and cold hand pressed between her shoulder blades as the woman ushered her to stand and follow those of the main house while the branch house paid their respects.

Later, some from the village came and with them, whispers. As the second female child of the Hyuuga patriarch it was not often they saw the petite child outside of her family home and the academy where she had graduated from at age 7. They talked quietly amongst themselves but she knew.

"Disappointment. Coward. Weakling."

With their eyes so focused on her, many lowered their heads in reproach when she began walking away from the gravesite. There was a fierce expression on her face that could kill a man yet she walked as if no one bothered her. Members of the Hyuuga clan fell into step behind her raising their chins and glaring at those whispering. Someone walked beside Setsuna and would occasionally mutter heated remarks towards the others.

"I would like to be by myself for now." The girl stated and turned the opposite direction of the pathway that lead to district and began walking at a brisk pace. The woman from earlier held her hand up to stop the procession from following and said, "My niece is not to be bothered." The command was accepted with curt nods from the others and they continued walking.

There were shivers ransacking Setsuna's body as she walked. The sun had begun setting and the night air had begun to chill yet the shivers came from the anxiety of being alone. Without her clan members, Setsuna would have nothing to protect her from the words of those present. Pointed glances from the village people had made her heart beat faster in anger before making it collapse in despair. Out of desperation she had gone towards the training grounds outside of the town and eventually she had gone even past that to the forest that was glowing orange and gold with the sun.

With the shivers continuing Setsuna began to run, she was unsure of where she was going or how she would get back, but she ran. The trees and shrubs decorating the forest floor passed by slower than they would have if she had used her chakra to run faster but this natural exhaustion that came from exerting only her body felt better. At some point, her hair had loosened from the pin holding it up and thin strands danced across her face as she ran. The sun was done setting by now and only the moonlight allowed her to make her way through the trees.

Cold, icy water splashed up against the girl's legs and she buckled in the waist-deep water breathing heavily. To a passerby they gulps of air she took into her lungs would sound like sobs but Setsuna could not cry any longer. Yet, she still willed herself to let the tears and sobs escape her body though it was futile, she could only gasp for air. Panic shot through her body when she realized she was immersed in water and the gasps turned quickly into curt shouts filled with horror. Rivers of water pouring from her attire weighed down heavily on Setsuna when she tried to make her way back to shore quickly. She tripped more than once and after the third time she began to crawl.

On the shore, she could feel shaking shooting through her body and small gasps escaping from her that happened frequently yet never seemed to supply enough air. The panic she felt while in the water had opened the door for memories she had wished to seal away and her hands pulled at her hair and her nails scraped down the sides of her body as she heard the cries for help and felt the heat of the fire against her skin. Desperation filled her silent screams while she sat there reliving the deaths of her family.

After an eternity of waiting for the end of the panic attack, Setsuna's heart quieted and the shivers came from the crisp night air and water-logged clothing rather than anxiety. Stiffly, she reached up and pulled the silver pin out, letting her navy blue hair unravel and settle between her shoulder blades. She looked down at the silver piece in her hand and clenched her fist quickly until she saw the small line of blood escape it. In anger, she hurtled the pin at a nearby tree and stared at the newly protruding piece of metal coming from the trunk.

The sound of fabric rustling diverted her attention briefly as she stood. Mud covered the bottom of what once was white like a water color painting since the skirt was still wet. Near her right shoulder bright red decorated the area from the stab wound near her collar bone and she could guess that the slashes across her back had opened also. Indifferent to the mess, Setsuna simply let scoffed at the stains and went to the tree.

When her fingers wrapped around the cold metal she paused and decided then to keep the pin there. Her arms were limp at her side and she began walking again. Near the tree was a wall of rocks without crevices or cracks and was too steep to climb anyway. Lightly, Setsuna traced her fingertips across the wall and she closed her eyes. Soon vines began to grow alongside the walls and she opened her eyes to see shrubbery growing on the sides. Curious, Setsuna continued to walk alongside the wall until the vegetation grew so dense that the rock on the other side disappeared.

She laid her palms on the wall and began blindly stirring vines and leaves covering the wall behind them. Truthfully, she hoped to find an opening or something of the sort and her fingers prodded gently. Nothing. Dejectedly, she removed her hands after a while and let them fall to her sides again. Fatigue was beginning to take a toll on her and Setsuna decided it was time to return home.

Two dark eyes stared back at Setsuna with surprise in them and both froze with shock. The two did nothing but stare at each other for a few moments. The one with dark eyes seemed genuinely frightened by the girl in white standing before him. He took in her bedraggled appearance and all color seemed to drain from his face.

"Ghost," He muttered to himself before almost barking out, "Konichiwa!"

The shout shocked Setsuna and she took a step back to stabilize herself while releasing a sound parallel to a squeak.

"Gomennasai!" The boy practically shouted before dropping down to a 90 degree bow at the waist. Again, silence filled the air as the two held their stunned stances. Slowly, the boy began to straighten up his postured and dared looked into white eyes surrounded by a dazed expression.

"Ummm…"
"Ehem…."

The two looked at each other awkwardly before Setsuna remembered her disheveled hair, and muddy and bloody attire. Quickly she reached up to comb through the tangled mess on top of her head before trying to straighten the unkempt dress. With an angry sigh she settled for wrapping her arms around her body.

"I'm-I'm Setsuna," She said, "Not a ghost." She added as an afterthought with a small smile.

"Ah-Gomen." The dark eyed boy replied and he lifted a hand to rake through his hair while grinning sheepishly. With that grin, Setsuna could feel her ears warm and for once, felt relieved that her hair was covering the half blush.

"You know-" The boy started again interrupting Setsuna's thoughts, "we're in the forest and all and it's dark so nobody is usually out here this late…." He stopped at the girl's expression. "Wait! I didn't mean that you look scary or anything, what I mean is I never see anybody here and-" Frustrated he stopped and looked at the girl slightly angry at himself. Setsuna had begun to wrap her arms tighter around herself when he began explaining himself and the real reason she had come out here made its way into Setsuna's thoughts. Her family. Her dead family.

The boy on the other hand looked towards the smaller girl and grimaced the moment tears seemed to escape her eyes. Observing her he saw that the dress she wore was obviously made for mourning and was now covered in dirt and mud near the hem while the torso had splotches of dried blood on it. Concerned he took a step for and tentatively asked, "Are you um, okay?"

"Hai," Setsuna shakily answered and felt the warmth in her ears turn to fire.

"I-" He tried again but paused when the now crying girl collapsed to the ground. Feeling confused and worried about what to do he suddenly stated, "Don't cry!" Mentally slapping himself for his stupidity a blank expression appeared on his face as he struggled to figure out what to do.

Setsuna on the other hand was in the middle of an argument with herself about her current predicament.

"Stop crying!"
"Finally you're crying."
"You're crying in front of a stranger…."

Finally her tears stopped coming and Setsuna looked up to a confused stranger without expression or color in his face.

"Ano-" She started and took a step forward looking at the dark eyes while waiting for life to come back into them.

"Are you um-"

"I'm fine!" She called out before he finished and she lowered her head slightly ashamed. The air became so thick with tension and discomfort it could be cut with a blunt knife.

"You know, you look fine, not scary or anything if that's…..what you were um, thinking." The boy cleared his throat and another hopeless look shot across his face while he tried to explain himself yet again. He gestured at himself and her blindly while doing so and a small laugh escaped from Setsuna. Surprised, the beginnings of a smile appeared on the boy's face as she lifted her hand to cover her mouth embarrassed, "Sumimasen." She said quietly and a laugh escaped from behind her fingers. When she saw him return the smile she relaxed almost immediately and lowered her hands.

"This is…..odd," She remarked looking around.
"Yeah…." His smile faded just a bit before his eyes looked past hers towards the shrubbery on the cliff walls. Puzzled, Setsuna also turned her head and looked into the distance. The black-eyed stranger let out a puff of breath as he addressed the smaller girl.

"Listen, I'll tell you a secret." He looked at interested white eyes, "If you go down this pathway you'll find an opening to paradise." Perplexed, Setsuna looked back at the way she had come from and started to argue but the boy continued. "The entrance is up a bit high so I don't think you would be able to find it, since you're a bit shorter."

"Show me." She silently asked and looked at the boy. A slight grimace shot across her face as she realized how rude her request must have sounded and began to apologize when he suddenly nodded. Gesturing for her to follow him, he started to walk in the direction Setsuna had just come from.

"Oh yeah, my name's Obito."