Chapter 4

Neji waited for Tenten to catch her breath, he leant against a tree.

"Nikoo-san, is angry, very angry. I was following her but I lost her she entered the forest. Neji-kun, we need to find her." Tenten left the clearing and Neji followed her, he knew where she would be so he led her there.

They stopped at the edge of the small cliff, or what remained of it. Tenten gasped. Neji stared straight ahead to where a girl in an oversized grey haori, hair blowing back over her shoulders was sitting, everything surrounding her was dead and a terrible wind swept through the new clearing in the forest.

Trees were rotting and falling as they stood there. Neji stepped out into the clearing, Nikoo paused.

"Hyuuga, go home"

"…" He stepped forward again, Tenten chose this time to leave. He looked at her face, her eyes were glistening a tear slid down her left cheek. "You told me not to disregard my friends" he said looking down at her.

"Friends? I have none" she gave a twisted smile.

"What about Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san? I thought you travelled with them for two years, are they not your friends?"

"I have not had friends for six years" she laughed dryly, and then to herself muttered; "Not since him"

She turned away and proceeded to allow a few more trees fall to the ground, birds rose from the damaged forms in panic.

"Tsunade-sama told me you lost your family, people are lost all the time, it is decided by fate, by your destiny in life" he turned away walking back towards the edge of the clearing.

"Wrong, Hyuuga, you want to know what really happened?"

"I'm not interested, but if you must" he reverted back to his usual self.

---Flashback, Nikoos POV---

We left on a rainy day, I got home the night before and was told we were leaving. My clan is a big one with 6 branch families living across the 5 nations we had heard about members of one of the families dying. At first my father thought little of it, we had never met them and they lived far away. That night, however, we heard more disturbing news. Those who died were murdered and it was not just a few, all 6 of the branch families had been killed houses searched, ransacked. I didn't know it at the time but our clan rose to power because of the possession of a priceless artefact. My mother wore it round her neck on a chain, the stone was meant to bestow power and good fortune on the owners' house, it had been passed down through the generations each time to the oldest daughter. Our clan existed only to protect and guard the stone from those who would misuse it. That night a chuunin from the village came to tell us that a band of missing-nin had been discovered near the village boundaries.

Realising that we had been found my father ordered that the clan move on, to a place where we could remain posing no damage to those who surrounded us.

So we left and travelled far to the east beyond the mountains we lived on our own by a river there was a village 5 miles south of where we lived but we never saw or heard anything of the residents. We were totally isolated, or so my family thought.

Not 1 week after we arrived I had walked into the forest and found a small clearing where I sat hugging my knees to my chest and cried, as I cried flowers grew around me circling my wrists. A voice called out behind me; "That's an interesting ability you have little girl"

I lifted my head to see him he had silver hair reaching to his shoulders and was about 11 years old.

"I am Kumo" he smiled down at me and held out his hand, I took it pulling myself to my feet. "What is your name little girl?"

"Nikoo" I replied. "Uekiya Nikoo"

his eyes lit up momentarily before he smiled at me, "does your whole clan live here?"

I nodded and wiped my eyes. "Kumo-san are you a ninja" He looked intently at me then nodded,

"yes, I'm training, do you want to join me"

"H…hai"

It was from that day for the next year that I met with Kumo every day to train, he taught me how to throw kunai and shuriken and how to hone my abilities. We used to walk through the countryside sometimes I would bring food out and we would eat it by the stream.

It happened on my birthday, my seventh birthday. Kumo told me about a place high in the mountains where you could see the whole country, he suggested taking a picnic up there, he said it would take a whole day to get there but he'd meet me up there. Being a gullible trusting girl I followed his every command, he was right, it took me nearly 6 hours to reach the spot and it was worth the hike. I laid out the birthday picnic I had brought and waited for him to arrive. I waited for 2 hours before rolling up the picnic again and returning home, The sun was setting so I travelled quickly not wanting to be out in the forest so late. When I reached the small house we lived in The first thing I noticed was the silence, the place was so quiet I could have heard a pin drop. As I moved round the back of the building the stench of fear reached my nose. Driving myself forward I opened the door. The dining room was empty, unusual, for my family would be eating at this time. Each room I came to was empty and I began to worry wondering where they had gone. By the time I reached the back room, tears were streaming down my face I opened the door surveying the scene before me. My family was tied against the wall, my mother and father, my grandparents, my sister and cousins. They were looking at a man standing in the middle of the room, but as my eyes grew accustomed to the gloom I noticed that this was a boy not much older than Tsukiko, my sister.

"Happy birthday, Nikoo-chan" the figure turned towards me, by the voice alone I knew this to be Kumo, I stood frozen to the spot looking from my family to Kumo. He took this opportunity, stepped forwards and pushed me roughly to the floor, pulling my head back so that I could see my family.

"Such a stupid daughter" his face formed a twisted smile. He looked at my father then said "You will watch your family die, knowing it is your fault for whilst they strove every day to remain hidden, you wandered through the forest telling me all of your secrets."

My father was looking at me sadly, they all were.

"Father! Forgive me"

"Forgive me?" Kumo snapped "forgiveness is something you earn, have you earned it, Nikoo-chan? No, you shall be given something quite different it is your birthday is it not?" I nodded staring at the ground. "Well then, here" he pressed a kunai into my hand "Will the birthday girl do the honours of making the first cut" he spat this last word out his face close to mine.

I sank to the ground again unable to move. He stepped over me pulling my head up again as I looked from face to face I saw only fear until I reached my sister. She looked at me written on her face was forgiveness. My father showed anger but when I caught his eye I knew it was not meant for me.

"Where shall we cut first Nikoo-chan, who deserves the afterlife the most?" I didn't reply and he grasped the kunai out of my hand idly swinging it round his fingers. "Really you disappoint me"

he said lifting the katana over his shoulder and bringing it down on my mothers' body. I screamed backing up until I hit the wall. He continued the slaughter until he had killed every one of them. I did not see it as I had curled up in a ball at the back of the room. I felt my anger rising within me as he wiped his blade on my fathers grey haori. He had made a mistake in training me how to use my abilities. The house was built from wood, and it wasn't long until I could feel its power running through me. He tried to turn to face me but couldn't as his feet were bound by vines which had grown out from the floor, he gasped as another vine wrapped around his neck slowly crushing him to death. I did not look at him but I knew there was no life in him. I ran towards my father rolling him over and untying his wrists and the gag in his mouth. He opened one eye looking at me he drew a ragged breath before saying "Musume, you are forgiven" his eye closed again and I cried over his body.

I woke the next morning still clinging to my father, I moved off his body and stood in the center of the room my eyes met with the horrors of the night before. I set about removing the bodies of my loved ones and built them in a pile by the stream where I pulled back the roots of an old tree and deposited them there. The roots closed again and my family lay underground in an eternal sleep. I had removed my fathers' Haori and my mothers' necklace. I then went back into the house and lived on my own for 4 years. It was then that Tsunade found me and took me on as her apprentice.

---End flashback---

She finished the story and then stood up, raising her hands above her head; "Now Hyuuga you and I will die together, I told you to go home but you would not." She threw her hands to the earth and Neji felt a tremor as her terrible chakra spread from her, killing in its path. He jumped into the air calculating as he fell through each perfect movement, then his right hand collided with her heart shutting off her chakra altogether. Having knocked each other out they lay in a confused heap on the ground and remained like that until Tenten entered the clearing with Tsunade and Shizune in her wake.


I loved this chapter, hope you did!

Review! it's good for you.