Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

Warning: Blood/Gore

Note: Thank you for the review Angul345! I really appreciate it! Also thank you to the favoriters and followers!

Chapter 2

The path leading towards the ceremony location was riddled with people, both servants and Clan members. Matsuri made sure to stay out of their way, if not, one or more would run into him by the time he would make it to the seating area. Just then, someone pushed past the six year old, making him stumble to find his balance. Matsuri threw a small glare at the retreating back before going on his way again. He was early it seemed. Only a few Clan members were seated on the over stuffed pillows that littered the area in front of the stage.

Matsuri quickly made his way up to the front row. He didn't sit in the middle though. Instead, Matsuri trudged over to the outskirts of the front row. His parents would be near the middle but he knew that he'd be told to move if he tried getting any closer, they'd probably just sneer at him the whole time. At least this way he wouldn't be extremely miserable while being there.

Soon after that, the rest of the clan arrived and the ceremony began.

The ceremony was formal. It was stuffy and long with a lot of words that Matsuri didn't really hear since all he could think about was that he would no longer be able to see his sister every single day. He was trying hard not to let the tears fall, but even so, his vision rippled with unshed tears. Biting his lip seemed to help, so Matsuri did that every time he felt them begin to overflow.

That was when he noticed that his sister was looking at him. When he'd first seen her sitting there with Kou, he'd hardly recognised her with all of her make-up and kimono, but her eyes were the same. Those eyes had softened and her red lips twitched into a small smile for him.

Just for him. She then turned back to the priest.

And just like that, Matsuri's relaxed a little. She would always be thinking about him even if she didn't see him. That's all he needed.

What seemed like an eternity later, the ceremony finally concluded and the majority of the Mori Clan dispersed to the seating area for lunch and to celebrate.

Matsuri caught his sister's eyes once more, and he made sure to smile for her before she turned to Kou.

It was a beautiful ceremony. One that MAtsuri was sure he would never forget.

oOoOoOoOoO

Matsuri faded into the shadows of a bush as he watched Kou lead his nee-chan to the head table that they would be occupying. Matsuri himself didn't want to go, he would be regulated to the most isolated table and snubbed by the rest of the clan for the rest of the day. It was a given. Maybe if he were still naive about things, he would have gone, but not now. He'd learned his lesson long ago.

Instead, Matsuri turned towards the direction of his house and started walking. He made sure that if he spotted anyone, that he would hide behind something so that he wouldn't be seen. Once in his room, Matsuri reached up to his hair and let his long, blue hair loose. It fell in waves, a few strands knotted together. He took his brush off of his desk and quickly brushed out his hair, before gathering it up again and placing it in a low pony tail. The ones that were a bit shorter and couldn't be confined with the rest, framed his face.

That done, Matsuri shed the robe and replaced it with loose, dark grey pants that were tapered near the bottom. A semi tight, black shirt with long sleeves, followed. The shirt was also tapered at the wrists so the sleeve ends wouldn't interfere with movement of his fingers. That done, he took out a sealing scroll(he'd bought it secretly from a trader when he'd snuck into the market area), and put all the Clan scrolls he'd found in it before placing the sealing scroll into his pouch. He made sure to tie the pouch securely to his hips. It wouldn't do for him to lose it, and he couldn't really leave them behind. If he left his room for long, he always took the scrolls with him because his father liked searching his room for inappropriate objects. Matsuri never knew what he meant by that so just in case it happened, Matsuri kept the scrolls with him. He didn't want to loose them to his father. If he ever found out about them, he'd probably be punished.

Spotting the plate that held his dango, Matsuri reached for it and took one othe the yummy treats. Taking a bite, Matsuri hummed in satisfaction before swallowing his mouthful. The sweet taste always made him smile. Dango was also his sisters favorite treat. It reminded him of her.

He'd take a couple with him as a snack.

After a quick scan for his favorite boots-they were flexible so they were easy to run and climb in- and his bow- Matsuri left his room and headed for the wall just behind their house. His family lived on the outskirts of the compound, near the forest that surrounded the village. It was one of the farthest houses from the compound center and nobody would see him climb over the wall.

A quick look around the yard showed that it was empty. It would be safe for him to leave without being spotted. He darted to the wall and made his way to the tree that was growing against the wall.

The little boy still remember the first time he'd done this. It had been scary, climbing the tree in the middle of the night. He'd thought that his heart would burst out of his chest when he'd slipped more than once that night. And when he'd gone over the wall, he'd fallen flat on his face. Not the best experience in the world, but it had made him determined to get better. And he had. Now, he never got scared when almost slipping. He trusted himself to be able to land on his feet.

Matsuri scrambled up the small tree, his fingers slipping every little while when his grip wasn't secure enough. Once he was on the highest branch, he jumped the few feet to the wall. After a few second of trying to find his balance, he dropped to the other side without falling flat on his face. After making sure that his bow and arrows had stayed in place on his back, Matsuri took off. He jogged away from the wall and went a ways into the dense trees where he knew that nobody else would go.

It was surprisingly quiet in the forest that day and it made Matsuri frown in puzzlement as he made his way over roots and around boulders. Usually there were birds and squirrels all over the place either watching him or darting away for cover. There was nothing of that sort.

He shrugged and kept walking. It was probably the noise from the compound making the animals skittish and scarce.

After ten minutes going full speed through the forest, Matsuri finally made it to his secret spot and swiftly strung his bow. Shooting at random targets would be a good way to keep his mind off of things. He still had to concentrate hard to hit the bullseye. Someday he'd be able to do it at a glance but until then, practice would get him on the right track.

Matsuri reached for an arrow and took aim for the target at the very top of the tree twenty meters in front of him. He had other targets already placed all over the clearing but he hadn't been able to hit the dead center of that particular one yet.

After taking a slow breath, Matsuri pulled his arm back. He made sure that the arrow and string were held firmly in his fingers. After a quick correction of his aim, Matsuri let the arrow fly. The boy tracked it with his eyes as the arrow flew straight at the tree. It struck the top of the trunk, three inches away from where he was aiming.

Matsuri frowned as he brought his arms down, eyes darting from the arrow to his target. He was closer than before but it still wasn't dead center. With a huff, Matsuri picked up another arrow. He aimed and let the string slip from between his fingers.

The arrow slammed into the target. This one was closer to the middle but still a little off. Matsuri turned to his next target, feeling content with his progress on that target. The next one was farther away and in between two trees. He grabbed an arrow, brought his bow up, aimed, pulled his arm back, and let go. The arrow hit dead center. Matsuri couldn't help but let a grin slip onto his face.

He was getting better. When he got eight dead center out of ten, he'd move onto something else. He knew that his clan used to have shinobi(though he didn't know why there weren't any right then), maybe he'd try shuriken or kunai.

Or maybe he could try a sword, though he doubted he could learn it without a teacher or someone to show him the basics. No one in his Clan would do it and he hadn't heard or someone that knew sword skills in the small village…

Matsuri sighed as he picked up another arrow. He already knew that he wasn't going to stay in the compound. When he was older, he was going to disappear. The only one he would regret leaving behind would be his nee-chan. But she'd probably already have her own family to worry about by then... She'd miss him and he'd miss her but he couldn't stay in that place. Maybe he would stay longer if she was there... but…

"She's leaving, so stop thinking of what if's..." Matsuri muttered, then he gritted his teeth as he locked on another target.

Someday he'd be able to leave and find his own precious person, and he would never look back.

OoOoOoOoOoOOoOoOo

Climbing over the wall towards the compound was harder than climbing towards the forest. There weren't any trees next to the wall for one. The first time Matsuri had gone over, it had taken him a bit of searching to spot anything. Luckily, he'd found an area where there were holes big enough to place his fingers and toes in and scramble up. They were small, so no adult would be able to use them. Whom-ever kept the wall fixed up must not think that they were a problem just yet.

Matsuri headed to the spot- after taking a minute to eat his second to last dango. When he got there, everything was quiet. The animals were still spooked it seemed. He quickly found the six small holes, each about two feet apart from each other. The one closest to the ground was just above his stomach. The boy took a running start, jumping so that he could stick his toes of one foot into the hole. At the same time, his right hand was placed flat on the wall while his left reached for the third hole. The hard part done, Matsuri scaled the wall nimbly. When he got to the top, he straddled it, and took a break as he cast his gaze over the compound. Surprisingly, there was absolutely no movement. It wasn't dark yet and no lights were on but the sun would be setting soon so there should be at least some movement to light the lanterns surrounding the compound.

"That's weird..." Matsuri mumbled, frowning. Quickly, he jumped down from the wall and sprinted in the direction of the celebration area. When he got there, he stopped cold in his tracks.

Red stained the white table cloth. Splashes of the crimson color were splotched in every direction that he looked at.

Blood.

Matsuri felt his own blood run cold. As he glanced from one area to another, trying to make sense of anything he saw, Matsuri noticed something odd.

There was blood in the middle of the area. It was in a circle with triangle in the middle.

That was when he recognized that the shapes on the ground were the bodies. Dead bodies littered the area. Matsuri knew they were dead because there was no way that anyone would be alive with holes in their chests.

He vaguely registered his mother and father a couple of yards away from him.

Why hadn't they run? Where was his..."Nee-chan!" Matsuri gasped out loud, he felt his heart constrict. After looking around, he noticed that she wasn't there. Maybe she had gotten away? He took off in the direction of her new house. On the way there, Matsuri could see more blood circles and bodies. He only stopped long enough to see if any of them were his nee-chan. None were. Maybe she had gotten away?

His heart was in his throat, and Matsuri pushed himself to run faster. He could feel the pounding in his ears, and the way his breath left his lungs. By the time he spotted her kimono, Matsuri's breathing was ragged and harsh.

"Nee-chan!" She was face down on the ground, just in front of the few steps to her new house. Another body lay a few feet away, but Matsuri only had eyes for his sister.

Matsuri saw her head snap up and a look of horror cross her face. "No! Run! Matsuri, run!"

Matsuri stumbled to a halt, eyes widening as she cried out, a stain of red spreading from her chest. He saw her mouth the word 'run' one more time before her eyes drifted shut.

"Nee-chan!" Matsuri cried in horror. He ran, but he didn't run away, he couldn't do that. Instead, he ran towards her. "Nee-chan!" Dropping to his knees, Matsuri reached out to touch her face. Her face bloody, and she wasn't moving. Sobs escaped Matsuri's throat. "Wake up! Nee-chan!"

"Ah, what have we here? I thought I got all of you." A voice from Matsuri's left said in amusement. "Jashin will be pleased with one more."

Matsuri's head snapped to the left, his eyes wide, tears running down his face. His hand was still touching his sister's still warm face.

"Young, aren't you? Hmm, that's good." The man smirked, and all Matsuri could see were his teeth. He was smiling. Why was he smiling?

"You monster!" Matsuri cried out. "Wh-why? Nee-chan..."

"Nothing personal kid." The man's grin turned crazy. Matsuri was glad that he couldn't see the rest of his face.

With one last glance at Masako, Matsuri ran. Maybe if he lead the man away, someone would come and help her.

"You can run, kid, but you can't hide!"

Even if it was useless, he had to try. He had to. Masako was his precious person, his only precious person. He had to protect her any way he could.

Matsuri darted back the way he came, his legs pumping, taking him as far and fast as he possibly could go.

Never once did he think that he'd gotten away though. Every little while, Matsuri heard the monster chuckle. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stick for breath, Matsuri darted behind the Clan Temple and felt something connect with his shoulder, knocking him to the hard ground.

Another voice, gruffer than the first spoke. "Found you."

"Hey, no fair! I found her first, she's mine!" The one from earlier appeared at that moment, and Matsuri tried to crawl away but the second man stepped on his back and pushed down, pinning the small boy to the ground.

"Finder's keepers. Beside's, you got that last bitch."

Matsuri grunted in pain as the foot pushed down harder, making it hard to breath. His hair tie had disappeared during the pursuit and his long blue hair was tangled and streaked with blood.

His sister's blood.

"She was too old. This one though..." Matsuri could hear the smirk in his voice and he couldn't help but tremble in pain as the man pushed down again. He could feel the tears gathering in his eyes and trailing down his face. "This one will make Jashin happy."

His sister…

"Beside's other one is dead and I found this one first."

Dead.

Dead..

Dead...!

Nee-chan…

Matsuri screamed out in anger.

His chakra exploded.

He screamed again, this time in pain. Matsuri's world turned black.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What the hell is that!?"

"An explosion? Is it them?"

"Let's go."

Four figures disappeared through the trees while the other six erased any signs of their presence before following behind.

A/N: Reviews? xD