Chapter seven…I warn you now; this won't be a happy chapter!
I apologize for any pairings that you don't like…actually, I don't because it's my fanfic so nya!
I do not own Umineko or Naruto.
Please Review!
Kakashi's eyes widened as she saw what had made Tenten scream so terribly. She dashed forward and caught her around the middle before she had gone too far, and pulled her back. She was kicking and struggling, fighting tooth and nail to break free of Kakashi's grip. Finally, with a kick that sent Kakashi staggering backwards, she escaped and sprinted back into the storehouse. She collapsed beside something at the back of the building. Her sobs could be heard al around, echoing through dark room, above the sound of the wind and the rain.
"What is it Tenten?" Neji called urgently as he too ran forward to join her.
Tenten was covered in blood, her chest, face, arms and legs were soaked in it. She was clutching something tightly to her chest, something green. It was a body, the body of Rock Lee.
"Tenten…" Consoled Neji, as he gently moved the corpse out of her grip, and held her in a soft embrace, as she shuddered and sobbed against his chest. He knew that Tenten had always regarded Lee as a brother to her. Neji looked at the body, as a single tear ran down his face. It was hideous. Lee's face had been destroyed, and he could hardly bare to look at it. The floor all around them was awash with blood. As he held Tenten close to him, he looked around the room, and gasped. He could see no less than five more corpses, left in various positions around the room. He suddenly spotted a familiar one. His eyes widened.
"Sh-shikamaru – can you come here and stay with her for a minute?" He called. By now, the others were coming into the room, the atrocity of the gruesome scene sinking in. There was blood spattering every surface. All of the corpses' faces were smashed at least partially, so some were only recognisable by the clothes.
"Hanabi, stay here…OK?" Shikamaru said to the little girl as he entered the storehouse. He sank to his knees beside Tenten, and held her hand. She was shivering uncontrollably. Neji stood up and crossed the room, bending over another body. Tears were falling from his eyes faster now, as he looked at her ruined face. It was Hinata. Half of her features were intact; he could see one eye, widened in shock, tears still wet against her bloodstained cheeks. Kakashi entered the room last, and spotted a larger mound that the rest of the bodies. It was Akumaru, lying limply beside Kiba.
The Akatsuki regarded the bodies with mixed emotions. Among the corpses were Itachi, Kisame and Zetsu. Hidan, for once was silent. Konan and Pein made no comment either. No-one could tell what Tobi felt through that mask. Sasori was examining the bodies closely, and Deidara simply stared at them, dumbstruck. Sasori lifted Itachi's body over his shoulder, straightened up, and began to walk away.
"What are you doing?" Asked Deidara, finding words at last.
"I'm taking the body. Itachi will make for a decent puppet."
Tenten suddenly got to her feat. Covered in blood and shaking, she glowered at Sasori, who stared back.
"Is that how you care for a fallen comrade?" She said, her voice angry and trembling.
"I wouldn't bother…" Deidara said, "Sasori wouldn't understand. Besides, Itachi wouldn't have minded."
Tenten went quiet, and looked down at the ground.
"I'm sorry…" Deidara said. Sasori looked incredulously at him. It must have been more of a shock than he had first thought.
Pein closed his eyes.
"At the first twilight, you shall lift up as sacrifice the six chosen by the key." He repeated, as all eyes turned to him.
"Are you saying that what happened here was in consiquence of that strange epitaph under the portrate of that woman in the hall?" Kakashi asked.
"It could be." Pein said. Konan looked up at him, her face betraying nothing.
"We should leave the bodies here…apart from Itachi." She said, looking back at the remaining corpses, and then at Sasori.
"We can't!" Tenten shouted, her face red and full of defiance.
"I'm sorry Tenten…" Neji said, his voice hollow, "But it seems the most logical thing to do. We need to get back to the safety of the house before anything else happens. Lee would want you to be safe."
Tenten nodded slowly, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. She looked around at the carnage in the storehouse one more time, before walking slowly away, out of the building and away to the gardens, alone. Her heart felt so empty…as if part of her had died with Lee. She knew it had. Lee had always symbolised the laughter in team Guy, so much so that the possibility of him dying had seemed like an alien concept. Fresh tears rolled down her pale cheeks, but she remained silent as she walked.
"Neji…" Kakashi said his eyes heavy with sadness. "Take Hanabi back to the house. She shouldn't see this. Shikamaru…help me see if there are any clues here…"
Neji dipped his head in agreement, and with a last look at the body of his cousin, he left, taking Hanabi by the hand as he headed back towards the old house.
He looked up at Pein.
"Could one of your people go and stay with Tenten. I don't like the thought of her in that state on her own. Trust isn't an issue…not after this…"
He looked back at the bodies. Akatsuki mixed with Leaf. It was horribly ironic.
Pein nodded.
"Deidara. Go and find her."
The blonde nodded and left the building. As his footsteps died away, the remaining group stood in silence, listening to the rain pounding the roof.
The Akatsuki left the storehouse, Sasori carrying the body of Itachi. Pein and Konan wore emotionless expressions on their faces. Hidan was still strangely quiet; the thought of his comrades going down so easily had hit him hard. Kakuzu and Tobi were unreadable beneath their masks.
Tenten kept walking, if only to keep her mind on the steady rhythm of her paces than thinking about other things. She reached a small covered area in the centre of the rose garden. It was a small dome, built atop four marble pillars with an intricate mosaic tiling beneath her feet. On a sunny day, the view would have been beautiful, especially if the roses had been tended to. The thought made fresh tears well up in her soft brown eyes. She felt broken and shattered, empty, as if nothing would ever fill the huge gap left by Lee's departure. She knew that Neji was probably hiding the emotions he felt at the loss of both his cousin and his team-mate. She closed her eyes. He had always been stronger than she. She leant against a white pillar, her head bowed, loose bits of here falling across her eyes.
She thought she heard something, and looked up, directly into a piercing cerulean eye, that regarded her thoughtfully. She took a step back.
"Why are you here?" She demanded, hurriedly wiping her tears off of her face.
"Your sensei requested that I be sent to stay with you. It's dangerous to be alone out here."
"It's dangerous to be alone with an S-rank criminal…" She muttered, looking away.
Deidara smiled uncomfortably.
"Look, the fact that three of our members were also killed puts us in the clear doesn't it? Well…at least for now anyway. We won't hurt you, especially since we all want to find out who committed the murder."
This triggered another sob from Tenten, although she quickly disguised it as a cough.
"Look…" Deidara said awkwardly, "I'm sorry for what happened…"
He sighed, and put an arm around the girl, hoping that it would comfort her in some way. She flinched away at first, but then accepted it blankly. Deidara wondered why he had suddenly turned into such a softy. He loathed showing any weakness, and yet, here he was, consoling a teenage girl. He guessed that the loss of all of his ability and art coupled with the sudden and brutal deaths of usually such powerful shinobi had stirred everyone up a bit…well it would, naturally. So there he stayed, close by the girl as she let out the sorrow in her aching heart, the rain turning the world grey around them.
