CHAPTER 2

Kouta was young but he loves his wife. He was sure he loved her since the moment he met her at a meeting between old families of the surrounding lands. His family, alongside hers, had been around before the formation of the Nation's borders during the Warring States era. And their families kept an amicable relationship throughout the years. Masami's family were renowned for their knowledge of medicinal plants and other assessment of things. While Kouta's family were primarily farmers and to a less extent, merchants. That clearly changed when his third uncle - Yakihiko Kurohara - founded the city of Yama no Basho, his family obtained prestige with how the town turned out to be.

Kouta was not even close to be in the line of succession to be the Lord of the clan - they took the honorific of clan after the founding of Yama no Basho. Meanwhile his Masami was the ninth in line. They weren't prominent in their families but that was no problem for them. They took their jobs in their farm like fish to the water. The two of them were a team, always supporting each other.

Kouta loves his wife, loves her more than anything, including their daughter. When both learn they were going to have a baby, he was nervous, afraid and excited; full of joy and pride. He was going to be a father, and the beautiful human being that was his wife was going to be the mother of his children. He couldn't ask for more. And sometimes, while working, when the sun was at its zenith, he let his mind drift just thinking of their future baby. How they'll learn how to work, how wonderful they'll turn out to be.

That was until she was born - Kaguya. He blamed no one but himself, he knew somehow that it had been his fault; he wasn't sure how but it had to be. No way he would put it on his wife, much less their daughter.

The kid looked nothing like them. Too pale, her hair and skin alike. And those milky, unseeing eyes. He asked around and he was told that although unusual, there were people without pupils. Kouta didn't ask how that was possible.

But what bothered him the most was the reaction his wife had on the small miracle in her arms. She didn't looked at Kaguya like a mother did with their children - he still remembers how his mother used to look at him and his siblings. No, the way Masami looked at the baby was something he had never seen before. If he was more knowledgeable, he would have the words to say what it was, but he didn't.

He continue working day in and day out, trying to find the normalcy that once their small household had. He had asked his wife for another child. Another chance, not a mistake, a voice in his head told him, but never said it himself. Masami refused vehemently, saying that Kaguya was more than enough and no other would compare.

Suddenly, working everyday felt like a chore. Waking up in the mornings felt cold even when someone at his side - No, not someone, his lovely Masami at his side. He felt more and more tired after each day.

Kouta started looking at Masami's child - No! Their child, theirs! - From time to time. It took him long to notice what felt wrong about the child. She didn't cry, never. He stills remembers his loud and passionate siblings and cousins. Obnoxious and bright. His family was a large one, he wanted to have a family of his own, but the longer it went by, and it felt like he lived with a stranger and her baby. Or maybe it was him who was the stranger, he wasn't sure of much, lately.

Maybe, he thought at night, when everything came crashing, if that pale monster disguised as my daughter wasn't here, maybe we'll be happy again. And when he is alone, he punishes himself for such thoughts.

Masami knew of her husband's jealousy. The man wasn't part of her family or heritage, meaning he was blind to the true meaning of their daughter's - goddess - existence. She remember a time when she had no real worries, only meant to keep the tradition of the family alive. Have some children to make sure there more people that worship the truth and learn the family's secrets.

Now, none of that mattered. No one mattered. Through the letter exchange between her mother and uncle, she only confirmed what she knew, the miracle came with the announcement of preparation for a new age.

But Masami knew Kouta was becoming a problem. She loved him so much, when she was naïve and her biggest role was being a loving wife and a working partner. She couldn't love him anymore, Kaguya had her heart completely as well as her devotion. And she didn't love him anymore, he was just incapable of noticing.

He was getting thinner, his eyes were sunken in and his hair more and more meager. They weren't even 30 and she could see some grey hairs on his head. Meanwhile she looked brighter than ever, her hair was shinier and her smile more radiant. Masami knew, she knew it was her daughter - her rabbit goddess - blessing her.

Masami didn't have time for him anymore.

Kaguya learned how to walk just a few days ago. She learned before any baby she knew, but that was a sign of who she truly was. She wasn't babbling like other babies, but the way Kaguya looked at her with her milky eyes, Masami knew she was paying attention to all that she said.

She would be the greatest mother a goddess could have. She would be perfect and nothing will stop her. Not even Kouta.

Time went on and tensions grew stronger between the nations. Disputes due to the clash between ninja contracts, disputes over border definitions by the Daimyos, demands by the civilians; trading and more. When Konoha was established, the other nations rushed to follow their example creating only confusion and fueling resentment.

Not everyone was ready for that sort of change, and while the First Shinobi World War was fought because of ninja's nature, it seemed the second one would be fought due to the negligence and incapability of some of their leaders. There was already bad blood between shinobis, they were only waiting for excuses, and after what happened last time, they were preparing for the inevitable.

Three years later, the small farm felt like a place outside reality. A place outside the rest of the world, an in itself, its three inhabitants lived in two different worlds. The two adults never spoke to each other, hardly looked at each other, while the young infant seemed out of place next to them.

Kaguya had been a quiet child, so quiet in fact, that she only spoke to her mother in whispers. She hardly left her mother's side, and that was due to the fact that her young woman never left her daughter alone for too long. She always held her, always patted her head and always cooed to her, telling her sweet and loving things.

It seemed like every time Kaguya tried to pry herself from her mother, she would start panicking and muttered at a fast, incomprehensive pace. Masami had left her nails and hair grew with the years. Sometimes her nails would cut her daughter's skin. She'll leave handprints on her arms and Masami's hair was tangled while she made sure her daughter's was pristine.

The husband, looked and acted more like an animal than a human. He was smaller and skinny to the bone. He would whimper and moan every so often all while holding his body like he had a cold. There was hardly any hair in his balding head and stress marks filled his face.

They had cut any contact with the outside as time went on, only keeping to themselves. The neighbors rarely, if ever, saw them anymore. Not meeting with others actively. But on Masami's part, she kept contact with her family through a messaging bird.

It had been a normal day for the three of them. Kouta worked on their small crop while Masami brushed Kaguya's hair while gushing over the child. Her chores tending to the chickens had befallen to Kouta.

Then dinner came. While both Masami and Kouta ate stale food and the same one as all the other days, Kaguya was given foods with spices and made with care. Everything was the same as the last year, but something in Kouta finally snapped. He first let a howl of frustration. The two others stopped and looked at the man, Kaguya recoiled from the noise.

"Enough!" He tried to say, but is sounded more gibberish, "Pale demon! Monster! Masami, my love, my sweet, why do you let that devil corrupt you?" He wailed incomprehensibly.

Kaguya hid behind her mother, not knowing what was happening, never had she seen the man that lived with them acting like that. She was scared.

Masami started growling and shout at an equal tone. They were both yelling at the same time, motioning and pointing at each other. They weren't humans anymore, only rabid animals ready to pounce at one another. Kaguya let go of her mother and hid in her's and her mother's room. Behind the drawer.

The shouts then became grunts and thumps. It sounded like they were throwing things. It went on for minutes until Kouta let a screech that made her tremble. Silence followed and Kaguya closed her eyes not knowing what was happening.

"Kaguya, my darling sweet Kaguya." The loving voice of her mother held an edge to it, which only set the little girl's alarms off. "Come Kaguya, come my sweet." She dared to look, only to see red.

Masami was in front of her, a wide smile on her face and her clothes were covered in so much red. Kaguya wanted to stay away, but her mother embraced her firmly, like the times her mother was scared of her leaving telling her that the world needed her.

Kaguya felt something twisting in her stomach, but held it back, "We'll leave my sweet. My family is waiting, it's time. It has to be-" The ramblings of the woman continued as she pack some clothes in a traveling bag. The woman left the room and returned with food stored on the bag, then she grabbed the girl and left the farm in the early night.

Before leaving the house, Kaguya saw the man lying on the floor, there was red all over him, she couldn't recognize his face, it was gone.

Through the darkened fields and dirt roads, Masami carried her daughter in her arms tightly while the traveling bag in her back swayed left and right with every step. She had decided then, the moment Kouta finally lost his mind, to take her daughter to her family compound, to finally start the teachings and guide her daughter towards her destiny. She was forming some ideas on how to get there; the roads to take, the breaks to rest. First, she'll have to get to Yama No Basho to rest for the night away from someone that might recognize her; to clean herself and then have everything prepared for the journey.

She wanted to yell, scream and shout her lungs out; claw her face in the maddening irritation that she was feeling. How dare that man threaten her daughter, her goddess. Foolish, pitiful excuse of a man wasn't even able to stop her, her! It had been so long since she held a blade in order to harm someone and yet, the man was defenseless. And for his divine subordination he faced a fitting punishment, although by the fiftieth stab, she was tired.

"Mama…" her goddess spoke. The sweet soft voice that was dedicated only to her made all her worries and concerns go away. She stopped in rapt attention.

"What is it, my sweet?" she said breathlessly, ready to obey whatever command she received.

"Where… are we going? What… what happened?" She sounded so small and vulnerable, then again she was still a child, in need of the proper guidance to lead all.

"We're going to meet our family. They are waiting for you. We all are." Masami couldn't contained the glee in her voice. Finally! Kouta had been a disgrace but she took the opportunity that had been presented to her in the moment, and took it.

She could only imagine what her family, her cult, would react when finally seeing their beacon of light in the flesh. Generations long forgotten and they will finally have the privilege to witness a paradigm shift.

"I see."

There was nothing else to say, her goddess approved and Masami, like the humble servant she was, continued her trek into the darkness of the road and to the town.

The night was dark, the clouds had covered the moon and the dim lights of the distant farm were starting to fade away. The night was cold and quiet, unnervingly so. It took them a total of three hours for them to finally reach the outskirts, Kaguya had fallen asleep and Masami could see the glowing lights of the night of Yama no Basho, but something gave her pause when she had a clear view of the place.

There were buildings on fire and several screams filled the air. Yama no Basho was being attacked.

Masami's eyes went wide, she turned around in panic and headed to the woods. Any roads were now a deathtrap for any poor bastard. Masami had to slow down, her straw sandals weren't meant for walks in the absolute darkness of the forest, and she did her best to stumble away without falling.

The air of the night was now chilling. Feeling shivers down her spine, the disheveled mother decided to find a place to hide. Walking aimlessly right now seemed foolish, so after straining her eyes she found a tall tree and using its root she dropped the bag and hid, still cradling her daughter.

The fact there was no noise beside her daughter and her own breath, felt so surreal. There were only shadows throughout the forest and Masami was unnerved.

It had to be shinobis, the culprit of the attack. She had been warned in her exchanged letters, but she paid them no mind. And now of all moments! But she was feeling lucky, she was carrying supplies and her daughter. If the attack was another time, they would've been sleeping in their house, unaware of what was happening. So in a way, Kouta had served for something, after all.

Damned shinobis! Only bringing pain and destruction. She was seething, she couldn't wait for her daughter to give this world the eternal peace it needs.

She couldn't tell how long it passed by. The silence and the lack of light only made the experience to drag on, clawing at her mind, driving her to the edge.

The shadows began to fade as the rays of the moonlight filtered through the clouds, and with it came the shinobi. There were two of them, clad in nothing but black with their faces covered. The only thing different was their hitai-ate in their foreheads.

"Are you sure? I don't see anything." One of them said.

"I'm telling you, I'm sensing someone around here," the second one hissed. "I felt them just outside of the town heading this way."

"Really?" The first one said sarcastically, "Then why are we just coming here? Why can't you find them now, hm?"

"Shut up, Ryuji!" The sensor type ninja snapped, "It doesn't matter. Be useful for once and help me find them."

Masami felt her daughter stirred awake from the noise, "Mama?" Before the girl could continue, Masami placed a hand on the girl's mouth to stop her from talking, but it was too late. She noticed the shinobi turning their head towards them.

"Come on out!" Came the voice of the ninja.

Masami shut her eyes, they had been discovered, but Masami was sure that if she was lucky enough, Kaguya could make it unharmed. "Stay here; not a sound."

She stood up, the men looked at her and jeered.

"See? Told you there was one." The sensor remarked.

"I guess you are not as useless, Ryota. Come on, kill her and be done with it."

"Kill her? Don't you think we can do something more… rewarding? We found this bitch in the middle of nowhere like a… haystack in… a…"

"A needle in a haystack you moron. Honestly you're only good at sensing, and you struggle with that as well."

The sensor was shaking with uncontrolled fury, "Do you have a death wish, bastard? If you are such a coward, leave then. I'll have her myself." The other one just shrugged, turning around and walking away. Ryota simply chuckled and walk closer to her. "You don't look so bad. What are you anyway? A beggar, you surely look like one. Not that it matters, mind you."

He was close enough for Masami to be able to see his eyes, dark with no light in them, there was death in those eyes. He put s heavy hand in her chest. Seeing the opportunity, she rose her arms slowly as to not alert him. She put a hand in his shoulder and the other on his masked face.

"Please," she said timidly, "As long as you let me live."

The man laughed at her pleas, "Sure, you'll have to do a good job."

"That's no problem," Before the man could react, Masami clawed his eyes; her long nails went deep into his sockets, his screams reminded her of Kouta. She bit her tongue the moment she felt a piercing pain hitting her abdomen, she put more pressure. He stab her again and again, but Masami didn't relent. Soon enough Ryota gave out first, both falling on the ground.

"Mama!" That voiced kept her conscious. She pushed herself enough to see her daughter running towards her. The light of the moon made her glow, it truly was a divine sight.

"Kagu-Kaguya…" Her voice faltered. She saw her daughter's white, pupiless eyes. There were tears falling from her face. Her daughter was beautiful, she was a proud mother. Kaguya was holding her tightly saying something she could honestly not hear. She really felt blessed at that moment. "I… love you so much, my, my… daughter… I'm so sorry. You…"

Kaguya saw her mother through her tears, Masami's eyes looked more focused and aware than in years. And those eyes held love exclusive for her. Then, Kaguya saw her mother's eyes going blank before closing them. She begged and begged for her to wake up to no avail.

"What the hell?!" Ryuji appeared after hearing the yelling, to find his 'comrade' dead alongside the woman and… a little girl paler than death itself, as if the sun was a concept so alien to her that it simply didn't exist for her, next to the two bodies. He knew Ryota was pathetic, but dying is such fashion was another level. He shook those thoughts out of his mind, he had a job to do.

He pull out his kunai, walking towards the girl he didn't notice the invisible energy surrounding the area, swirling and wraping itself around the girl; his lack of sensory skills defined his final moments.

Kaguya felt that familiar tug in her gut, it always felt like some sort of whisper, a constant presence in herself; like her lungs filling up with air, or the beat of her heart. But now that tug felt like an itch demanding to be acknowledged by her. It felt so natural just to pull and push it. She saw the man coming closer. Kaguya was devastated seeing her mother, but she was also furious at the people that hurt her. The anger was turning into rage, her hand felt on fire, pointing at the man, she concentrated and she let go.

There was a sudden distortion in the air between them, and before Ryota knew, his entire being was turned into a mangled mess of meat and bones. Crushed by the air itself and the pressure the girl created.

Kaguya saw this and breathe hard. This was so much worse than the man at home, or the man that hurt her mother. This man was completely gone, and it was because of her. He had turned into a pile of mushed meat, blood covering the trunks of the trees. The girl was feeling sick at the sight; the pull went back to her, but she could feel it more than before. Her head was hurting and her eyes were on fire. She shut them, putting her hands in them trying to ease the pain. After a few minutes it calmed down.

Kaguya embraced her mother for a small eternity, letting her tears rolled down her face until she couldn't cry anymore. She noted she fell asleep at some point, so she stood up deciding to find someone to help her. Her mother mentioned family but Kaguya was clueless. She had nowhere to go.

The light of the day was filtering through the morning sky, accompanied by the morning chill. Kaguya was shuddering but kept walking until reaching the road and heading to town.

By the time she reached it, the fires had been put down, there were corpses of civilians of all ages throughout the streets. One or two people were alive, all sobbing for the loss of their loved ones. Kaguya reached the center of the town, were a small pile of civilians laid on top of another. She could only stare, lost in her mind.

At some later moment someone got in front of her line of view. It was a young woman with a gentle smile. She had soft blonde hair, radiant green eyes, alongside a vest and bandana in her forehead. She had her hand extended towards Kaguya. "Hello, I'm a shinobi of Konoha, we've come to help."

I swear this wrote pretty much itself. It took me two days, probably a record for me (the last chapter doesn't count)

So, I'm throwing this to the air: The first time I wrote this back in November, I had Kaguya (which her name was going to be Kimiko) having a little brother and her father acted like a protective figure that sacrificed himself fighting the bandits (yes, bandits, not shinobis. There was a reason for it, I swear.) But now that I included the entire Followers of the Moon concept, things changed… a lot. Hehe. Hope you like it.

EDIT 06/20: Fix A LOT of missing words and some punctuations. And wrong words (like finding, instead of fighting... yeah, that happened.)