Chapter 2: I feel watched, I turn around and there's no one !

After a week, her mother went back home; her brother didn't tell anyone anything, but she could still feel his hateful glare each time they would meet in a corridor. She started a very dull life; wake up, shower, eat, go to school, go home, eat, sleep. And then it went on and on. Naruto came back from his mission and kept recounting how he beat that guy, Haku, and how he saved the teme (Aka Sasuke). Only Kakashi noticed how depressed she seemed; but he couldn't do anything.

Tsuky had a hard time pretending she had given up to the clan's will. Each time her mother ordered her something it would take all of her willpower not to argue back and to simply nod and comply with her wishes.

She didn't give up on training, though. Under the cover of painting team seven while training, she watched them and learned as much as she could. She would then practice what she learned, but only when her brother was away on a mission. She was pretty careful with that; she didn't want to get caught and let her efforts go to waste.

Her life finally grew a lot easier one day; after she left for school, she was called in the principal's office to learn her brother had been killed on a mission. Even though she felt sad, because she still cared for him, she couldn't help but feel a little relieved; she could train more.

During the whole funeral, she kept her gaze down, shedding a few tears. She knew he didn't deserve them; he never cared for her, but still. He was her brother; that much couldn't change.

After that day, her mother grew more distant with her. She seemed depressed, and let Tsuky do almost everything, apart from training. She looked like she didn't care anymore.

So, Tsuky spent even more time with team seven and the other genins. She could train every day, now that her brother was no more. And she was quite happy with that, because when she asked Naruto to spar with her, she managed to beat him.

It went on until her fourteenth birthday; Sasuke left, Naruto too and Sakura trained under Tsunade. Tsuky was still in the painting school; she kept training, but more and more it became clear to her she couldn't progress anymore, not without the help of a sensei. Tsuky was depressed; she kept practicing and learning new jutsus through books of her clan, but as Naruto was the only one who knew about her secret training, she had no one to spar with; she didn't trust anyone enough to share her secret. If Sasuke had stayed, maybe she would have told him; but he was way too obsessed with power to even listen.

Tsuky sighed as her kunai reached her target in the middle. She didn't know what to do anymore; she was in a dead end. She practiced several more jutsus before gathering her belongings to head back home; she needed to find new jutsus, but she had already read every books in the library of Konoha; she had to find particular ones: those her clan kept hidden. But that was a whole different story; if someone were to catch her looking at those jutsus, she would be killed. She had no right to see them.

However, she knew she had to. She wouldn't back down. She had already gone too far.

She entered her house, and set her weapons back under the bed. She ate dinner, went to bed and waited for night to come. At about three a.m., she went to the training room, which was unused since her brother's death. She removed a portion of the mat and went down the stairs leading to the most precious secret jutsus of her clan. Removing several sealing jutsus, she eventually reached what she was looking for; the hidden jutsus, which only the Nowhara could use. She was extra careful; girls weren't allowed to become shinobi, and were strictly forbidden to see those jutsus. What she was doing was even worst than training in secret. She made a quick copy of several scrolls, and left the hidden library to go back to her room. She hid the scrolls beneath her mattress; she would look at them while training. She smiled widely; she had just entered the most protected area of her clan, copied several hidden jutsus and left unnoticed. Seriously, either the library lacked security, or the clan greatly underestimated her. She slowly drifted to sleep; I can't wait to train tonight… (Remember it's three a.m., so technically yeah, it's tonight and not tomorrow)

Several hours later

Tsuky left the school and went to retrieve her weapons; she was about to experience the hidden jutsus. After she got them, she run to her secret training spot, hidden in the middle of the forest. There, once she was certain she was alone, she sat on the grass and began to read the scrolls. She grinned; that truly was a lot funnier than the regular jutsus.

Like this one: Yuki no jutsu: Kori no iki (Snow jutsu: breath of ice) which allowed the user to breath ice and froze everything; or Himitsu no jutsu: Tamashi no kagami (Hidden jutsu: mirror of the soul) which creates a real clone of the opponent, who is as strong as him and think the same; and since it has no feelings, it makes quite a tough opponent. This one was quite creepy; she had tried it on herself and realised the clone created revealed the hidden feelings of the one on whom it was used. She had faced a version of herself with lifeless eyes and a tear-strained face; she had quickly cancelled the jutsu, unable to stare at her true self. She had remained quiet for several minutes, acknowledging what she had saw, and completely oblivious to the red eyes watching her every move with deep interest (Any idea who he is ?)

After a while, she read the other scrolls she had brought with her, discovering new jutsus, more and more powerful. She was unable to perform several ones while some other were pretty easy; the last ones gave her trouble to master, but she finally succeeded.

Her favourite was Tengoku no jutsu: Tenshi no hane (Heaven jutsu: Angel's wings).

With that jutsu, she gained white feathery wings with which she could teleport herself and become very fast.

She smiled as she spread those wings; so beautiful. She felt free. She could go anywhere, no one would be able to catch her, ever. She hid them again; she would never forget the hand signs.

She looked at the last scroll; this one was sealed. She felt it was probably the greatest secret of the clan; she was unsure if she should read it or not. She knew once she'd opened it, there would be no turning back.

I shouldn't. But I already went so far… That would be a waste if I do not open it. And if I'm caught, I'll be executed all the same, have I read it or not.

She slowly opened the scroll, and what she saw made her heart stop beating:

The Hoshigan: the Nowhara clan's kekkei genkai

She couldn't take her eyes off the scroll. Who could have ? She started to read:

The Hoshigan is a powerful kekkei genkai which only the Nowhara clan's members have. It grants the user the ability to look into someone's mind through his eyes. Nothing can stay hidden from the Hoshigan; only another kekkei genkai such as the Byakugan or the Sharingan can counter it. The most powerful shinobi with the Hoshigan could also look into the past by touching an object with the Hoshigan on; the founder of the clan, Nowhara Shigeru, could even sometime see the future. However, only a few people managed to activate it; since the second Hokage's death, no one has been able to awaken it.

When the Hoshigan is on, the pupil takes the shape of a moon on its last phase, points upward.

The user needs to be extra careful when he enters someone's mind; if his opponent is stronger than him, the user may be trapped in his opponent's mind. It also needs ultimate chakra control; if too little chakra is used, the Hoshigan will be overpowered. However, if too much is used, it can greatly damaged the eyes of the user; they will start to bleed, and if the user goes on he can lose his eyesight.

The amount of chakra needed depends on the user; it cannot be taught.

There was several drawings of the Hoshigan, and the text went on; descriptions of one's mind, how to explore it, how to activate the power to look in the past and such. But Tsuky had read enough for today. She really wanted to try to activate her kekkei genkai; however, the scroll said she needed great chakra control, and right now she was way too tired to try. Sighed with regret but quite happy with herself, she gathered everything and turned around to go home. Right then, she felt someone's chakra. She quickly spun on her heels, only to stare at the threes. No one. Tsuky narrowed her eyes; I did felt someone, I'm sure of it. Wait… What if it's a clan member !? I'm gonnna be caught !

She began to ran, fear overwhelming her. She sprinted the whole way, only to stop abruptly in front of her house. Heart beating fast, she pushed the door open, expecting the angry council of elders to greet her. However, there was no one; only the maids. No angry brother or furious mother.

She sighed in relief; looks like whoever caught me weren't a clan member, he would have come straight to my mother and I'd be screwed. She went to her room. She put her weapons back on their hidden place with the scrolls, and went to sleep after changing into a nightgown. I just hope I won't be blackmailed…

In the end, it seemed she worried for nothing; days went by and nothing happened; she stopped training for a while, hoping the person who saw her wouldn't come back. She waited a whole week before she went to train again; when she arrived at the farthest training ground, she checked her surroundings and made sure no one was there.

Once she did, she opened other scrolls and began to practice throwing kunais and shurikens. But, after an hour, she felt it again; a strong chakra signature, the same as the first time. She didn't stop, but paid attention, trying to decipher whose chakra it was.

It's pretty strong…and quite dark. I'd say it's someone from a strong clan, but if it was my clan he would have already spoken to me, or fled and told my mother. So, not a Nowhara. A Hyuuga ? No, I know Neji's and Hinata's and it's nothing like that. It feels familiar…like…Sasuke's. But Sasuke's a little brighter. An Uchiha, then ? But the clan was wiped out…except ..!

Tsuky froze; there was only one other Uchiha she knew of, other than Sasuke, and that was the murderer himself, Sasuke's older brother. She didn't know his name.

Calm down, Tsuky. She told herself. He can't be there, he's a S-ranked criminal. He wouldn't come so close to Konoha. And besides, he's an Akatsuki member and they have partners. He is alone, maybe it's just an Anbu or another ninja. He's masking his chakra, but not all of it. Maybe I should ask him to come out ? But what if he asks why I'm training ? Well, if it's a Konoha shinobi, he would have probably tell my mother already, or he want to blackmail me, and then talking won't change a thing; if he is an admirer, and I seriously doubt it, he's gonna run. I know he is older than me, so it's not a genin who's impressed. If it's Sasuke's older brother…I don't think he'd show himself. He may kill me and hide my body, but if I don't know who he is then what's the point in killing me…Oh well. Let's just try.

"Whoever you are, please come out, I know you're there !" Tsuky said.

Only silence answered her, and the chakra signature shifted slightly before disappearing completely. Tsuky stared at the threes; she wouldn't know who it was. She shrugged, and resumed training, careful of what she felt. But after some time, it became obvious the spy wouldn't come back, or unmask his chakra. Because, Tsuky thought, he may have only mask his chakra, and still be there. Either way, I'd better go home.

And that's what she did.

The next day, as she began training, she couldn't feel another chakra signature, but she did feel watched. Each time she'd turn around, but found no one. It really began to piss her off.

Maybe I'm being completely paranoid, and there's absolutely no one. Ugh, this is sooo frustrating !

In the end, she decided to ignore the feeling, and kept training like nothing was wrong. She still felt she was being watched, but she had given up trying to find who did. She was only sure she wouldn't be blackmailed, because her spy had had enough time to figure out who she was.

After several training sessions, she reached her goal: activating her kekkei genkai. However, she couldn't train it, because she couldn't let anyone know her secret, and it was dangerous. So, she tried to look into the past, with no success. She came to the conclusion that she wasn't strong enough. So, she began to work on her chakra control, by watching Sakura as she trained. She also created clones to spar against. She was making only little progress, and that saddened her to think maybe she wouldn't be able to reach her dream of being a ninja. And slowly, she began to lose faith, in herself, in the village, in her clan (not that she had any to begin with for the latter). More and more, she was thinking of running away. What was the point in staying there ? There was nothing more left for her, but she couldn't leave her friends. And the village, the children, her painting comrades… The village was her life, but it was her childhood against her freedom. And if, for the time being, her childhood won, she knew there would be a day where she couldn't handle it anymore; she would just snap at everyone and run, free. She'd be ranked as a missing-nin, and hunt down, unless she could change her mother's mind, but that was very unlikely to happen. Must I always remain a bird in a cage ? Will I ever be able to fly on my own, to decide of my fate ? What if it's already decided and I can's change anything about it ? I'm beginning to sound like Neji…

Tsuky stared at the top of the three; she had been working on climbing without her hands, by using chakra on her feet. Okay, tomorrow I'm climbing on top. I need to be the strongest possible, to face mother. Right now, I'm too tired. Let's hope everything will turn out for the better.