A/N:
1) Thank you to everyone who had reviewed and / or read the chapters thus far.
2) To the reviewer 'guest', the answer to your question will be revealed soon. But a hint, Neji always had a good hunch.
3) Apologies for the late update.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
7 Colours of the Rainbow
Chapter 10: Violet ( Part 2)
Under the glow of the crescent moon, I laid down on the slope of the roof of the Hyuuga residence. I was counting stars in the midnight sky, mind fighting against the drowsiness of that called sleep. The Hyuugas had long retired to their beds after the funeral.
I was waiting. Katashi would have seen what I have done to his people at the lighthouse and one of these days he would come for Neji because Neji's eyes were a crucial part to his masterplan. And for this, I will be ready.
However, I did not count on him coming so soon. Deep into the night, just faintly, I heard the sound of leaves rustling and branches heaving. Not all at once, like when the wind is carried through, but a gradual rustle that seemed to spread from one tree to another and another. It was a familiar sound, which I have heard many times throughout the years.
It only meant shinobi.
Inhaling a sharp breath, I sat up, flipped over to my stomach and went on all fours. My eyes peeked from the ridge of the roof, scanning the surrounding area of the Hyuuga compound. The outer garden was large and lined with full trees, which indicated the extent of the Hyuuga land.
The sound came again and this time, in the still of night, I saw a branch of a single tree sway. Perched on a sturdy branch was a huddled shape which seemed to rise from the somber darkness.
It took me less than a second to process that he was here.
It took him less than a second to know that I was there because the trees had started swaying again and, a moment later, the dark shadow was still, perched on another branch of a tree, closer to the West Wing.
I pulled myself up to the peak of the roof, the faint glow of the moon outlining my body. For a while, we stared at each other, not knowing who would make the first move. Him or myself.
It was a dreadful five minutes of quietness and a mental battle on who would resign first. Neji was on my mind and I decided to lead him away from where Neji was. I tilted my head to the North Wing in hope that he would take my bait.
Katashi took it, because he was no longer there and a figure was quickly making its way to the North Wing.
Taking a deep breath to calm the storm of my heart, I pushed forward, balancing my body on the five inch wide ridge of the roof and ran... and ran until I reached the end of the ridge and leapt in the air...
I flew momentarily, like the dragons I call before the impending certainty my victims call death. The cool night air, grazed my cheeks, combed through my unbound hair... and then, I was falling downwards, hard towards Katashi.
I raised my katana high in the air and swiped downwards. My blade had met against his own. Before I could properly land or wound him, Katashi had pushed me back with inhuman strength. I was flung backwards, a nearby tree trunk breaking my fall. How did he get so strong?
I turned over to the left upon hearing the familiar whizzing of a kunai. It came with a soft 'thunk', the blade just grazing the tip of my ear.
"Coming here was a mistake." I told him, breathing in the scent of flowers that wafted through the air. It smelt familiar; sweet but strangely sickening to the stomach. "I'd hope once you've seen what I can do, you would never return."
"It is because of what you have done that I am here," he breathed, voice breaking through the cool night air.
Without a second thought, I pushed forward again, this time, running head on towards him, my blade aiming towards his neck. I saw his teeth gleam in the darkness and he dissappeared, only to reappear beside me. I feigned left but went right instead, ramming my shoulder, hard, against his stomach.
He coughed and spat out a mixture of spit and blood.
"Enough," he choked out. He grabbed the collar of my yukata and lifted me a few inches from the ground. I made a fast sweep with my katana which he had caught with his teeth and broke my blade in two.
My eyes widened and he flung me hard against the tree. I hit the tree head first, my thoughts a blur, my steps disoriented. I slowly slid down to the ground, my body doubled over, fighting the bile that threatened to come out.
Katashi was covered in the shadows. However, I had managed to see a glimpse of his face just now. There was nothing human with his appearance.
"I saw the bloodbath you left for me at the lighthouse," he stated, his fingers tugged at the strings that secured the wide rimmed straw hat on his head and removed it. The hat now laid beside his feet. "I assume I was to be the main recipient."
I lifted my head, thoughts of what I should do next, weighing in my mind. I had no weapons, those which I had bought with me still buried a few feet underground.
"Were you impressed?" I slurred, my blurred eyesight slowly gaining normalcy.
He smiled crookedly, his jaw noticeably angular. I noticed an angry red line that appeared and seemed to connect his jaw from one ear to the other. "You left a bloody mess which the Akatsuki helped clean up later. But I appreciated the gesture. Sooner or later, I would have done it myself."
"What happened to your face?" I asked him. "Were you always this hideous?"
He cackled, his sharp teeth gleaming. "I find myself so beautiful." He stepped forward, the moon's light illuminating his new found features. "But my body is still incomplete." His entire face was disfigured. His nose bridge which was aristocratic-like was now flat, with flared nostrils.
"The Kagi clan would have your head for this," I stated, disgusted.
"Well," he said, an amused look on his face. "They would, since this belonged to the Clan Head. I had to have it you see. I was particularly mesmerised by their ability to breath out fire through their nose." He sneered and showed off his new pearly whites. They were sharp and able to bite through human bone as if it were a twig. "Then, I got particularly greedy and took the Fuuma heir's jaw."
I pulled myself to my feet, my hand reaching my broken katana. Only the blade was within my reach. The hilt of my katana was flung a few feet away. If I was quick, I might have a chance.
His eyes trailed to the blade within my grasp. "I know not to underestimate your abilities," he said, fixing his stance and wielding his two-edged katana in front of him. "Especially since I now know that you are Indigo."
The craftmanship of his katana was familiar and one-of-a-kind. Each blacksmith had their own signature when forging weapons and there were not many double edged katanas available in the market.
"Where did you get that?" I asked him, a deep sense of dread filling my being. My eyes were fixed to the blade.
"Well..." He feigned ignorance, bringing the katana closer to his line of sight and admiring the blade and hilt. "I'm surprised that you don't know your own weapon, Indigo, especially since you were the one who gave it to me." He gave a small chuckle.
"I would never do that." That katana was one of my best craftmanships. The blade was thin, and impeccably sharply. A traditional katana was curved but as it was a double edged blade, I had lessened the severity of the blade's curve to maximise its strength. I only ever had forged two of them.
"I'm surprised you don't remember me." But the look of horror on my face told him a different story.
"I would never have thought that you were Indigo until I saw your blood message left on the wall of my laboratory," he explained. "We last saw each other many years ago, amongst destruction and death. Amongst a field of wilted flowers and our shared ideologies," he said, watching my expression. "You did not know me as Katashi then." He opened his pouch and put a mask over his head. It was old, and the edges of the mask burnt and chipped. "But you did give me the name that I am so widely known back in our world. A name based off the field of flowers that I grew up in and later destroyed."
My throat constricted and my mouth went dry. If my heart could stop beating, it would right now.
"... Violet..." I murmured. And memories that I had long buried came flooding back.
...
Dirt... that was what I was as I was pushed to the ground, face down. My assaillant had gripped a good chunk of my damp long hair and pressed my face deep into the mud. I could taste the soil on my lips from behind my mask, through a severe crack at my mouth region. My body was immobile due to the enemy having closed off the chakra points on my arms and legs. My airways were also blocked and airless lungs searing in pain. This person, the second-in-command, Junsho, seemed to understand the usage of each chakra points on the human body as much as a Hyuuga clan member.
Then, my hair was yanked back roughly and neck whipped behind. My body was lifted and I found myself kneeling. The enemy was behind me, with a long blade against my neck. I panted, breathing in the much needed oxygen. The rain felt cool against my skin and a calm washed over me despite my current difficulties.
"So you are the infamous, Indigo," he stated. I could imagine his beady pale yellow eyes, enjoying the sight of my resign. "I thought you would be ... more difficult to handle."
I closed my eyes and relaxed my body. I focused on the flow of chakra throughout my body, sending pulses of chakra to the closed points in hopes to ease it open again.
Once upon a time, Neji had told me that the Hyuuga children were taught meditation since young. It helped the Hyuuga children understand the gifts of their eyes and the chakra movement of their own bodies. Once a person understood that, they were able to manipulate their own chakras and even open up their own chakra points. I was not as apt as a Hyuuga but I have learnt to do it. However, to open up my chakra points again requires time that I might not have.
I let out a weak throaty laugh. "You think you're stronger than me. I had taken on 15 of your men."
Junsho gripped my hair tighter and the blade was pressed harder against my skin. "And yet here you are kneeling in defeat."
"I am not defeated," I told him. "I'm just taking a moment to take in the damage that I inflicted with my storm." I had made my presence known to the secluded group, headed by the last remaining Kawai clan member, upon the first drop of rain. It was formed ten years ago and consists of missing shinobi from various clans. There were whispers that they were actually a group of religious zealots, whose extreme beliefs had led to unnecessary deaths of the innocence and experimental medical methods.
"Don't tempt me," he said with gritted teeth. I could feel his hot breath beside my ear.
"You won't kill me," I emphasized. Just a bit more. If I could ease the chakra a bit more, to enable just one leg and one arm, I might have a chance to escape. "There are many bounties for me with condition that I am brought alive."
He clucked his tongue. "Material matters never did interest me. Only power." He adjusted the blade in his hand. "Right now, I am in power." He tapped my mask with the tip of his blade. "You should pray," he pressed. "I will give you and your god a moment."
There was no silence while I was waiting for death to come. No lost memories of happiness remembered. No regretful thoughts that burnt my eyes came. Only the sound of raindrops pelting on my mask, on soft ground and my breath came loud and clear. I opened my eyes and the sight before me slowed down. I could see each single rain drop falIing from the ink painted sky, each terror stricken faces frozen in their deaths and lightning breaking through the sky in all its frightening glory.
Soon, my gaze fell onto buds of violets, which had nested itself in the mouths of the dead. Its stricken colour a startling comparison against the grays and browns that painted the landscape of the area. Even the fields, once I am sure, was filled with blossoms of flowers, were now wilted and darkly pale.
I prayed for my death to come fast and painless. I had long given up on opening my chakra points. It would take an additional 20 minutes of which I do not have. And even if I were to dodge my own beheading, it would be difficult to avoid his later onslaught.
"You know what I prayed for?" He uttered, tightening his hold on my hair. "I prayed that in the afterlife, you would be denied your heaven."
I gave a low guttaral laughter. Was there even a heaven?
"Hold her," Junsho yelled, instructing his henchman to hold me by the hair. He walked in front of me, motted face displeased and eyes with hard resolve. He raised his katana in the air. The blade , reflecting the flash of lightning that had made its way across the sky.
I closed my eyes and waited. I prayed for Lee and Gai Sensei to pick up the beautiful pieces in my ugly remnants of my life, gather them all at once and deliver it to Metal, so that he would know that his mother had once been... whole.
What I did not count for was my body falling to the side, onto the mud. A piece of my mask cracked off from the impact. I heard the sound of gurgling and abrupt screams and opened my eyes. As I was facing to the side, I saw a pair of bare feet, dirtied with mud and fresh blood, walking towards Junsho.
Junsho was breathing in shallow rapid breaths. His throat was cut open, and the blood that came from the jugular vein, formed a stream towards me.
My saviour, knelt on the ground beside Junsho. He wore a mask, burnt around the edges and made of ivory bone. He held a hand over Junsho's eyes and placed a single violet into his mouth. I took in the sight of a raised fist and a metal claw held sturdy. I watched as he busted open Junsho's chest and ripped through his heart.
"Is this enough?" I heard him say to himself. "89 flowers," he counted, his gaze never leaving the flower. "Has it already been 89 flowers."
"Such beauty should not be given to him," I stated.
He whipped around, the ivory bone mask, seemed to glow in the overcast day. He was one of Junsho's accomplices, however, choosing to watch from the sidelines as Junsho had restrained me from my further deadly advancements.
"What will be of me?" I asked him. "Death?"
His eyes, painted with not a single emotion, blinked."I was assigned by the council to infiltrate this group. I am here to help." He pulled me upwards, my hands wound tightly around his neck. "We have to stay low for a while until you can fight," he said, his voice muffled by the faceless mask. "The others will know that it is my doing. They will hunt for us."
"I need time to open my chakra points."
"How much time do you need?"
"Half an hour at most." He nodded. I rested my head against his wide yet reliable back and focused on easing the chakra pulses to my chakra points again.
...
"I thought you had left this life a long time ago..." I said, my voice small. "You said that the council would let you retire after a few more missions."
He gave me a long dreadful stare. "I, like you, thought that the people that we had to go after were all pure evil. Some are but I had learnt of the truth and it seemed that we were the fools."
I lunged at him, pushing my blade into his shoulder. The palm of my hand bled as I gripped the blade tightly and pushed in further. He grunted as my sword penetrated his flesh and cut the rope that held his cape together. The heavy fabric slid to the ground, revealing his new right arm.
My eyes widened. "You killed a member of the Jenga clan?" I asked. The Jenga clan were lizard-like humans. Green but with durable skin and sharp claws that could cut through metal. The Jenga clan did not belong to any village and lived in seclusion. But an earthquake up north had swallowed their home and only three known survivors were known to be in existence as per Sasuke's report. Sasuke had stayed with them for two years until they were old enough to live on their own. "They're still children."
His green hand wrapped around my throat, constricting my airway. He lifted me a few inches from the ground. My feet dangled in the air and my two hands gripped his green arm. "I'm not that cruel," he stated, he shook his head. "I waited till the eldest was 18 before I claimed his life."
I gagged and my legs shifted in the air. "Why?" I struggled to ask.
"Because of the truth of my existence." He watched as my face turned ashen.
He loosened his hold. "What is this truth?" I uttered, gritting my teeth.
"That I could change the world. That I could control the world," he said. "I want you to join me."
"...no," I sputtered.
A long silence. "You should think long and hard before you reply me. I could have ended your life by now but I did not. I could have taken that Hyuuga that you so hold dear but I did not." He gave me a discerning grin. "I could burn this place down and yet I did not. Why is that?"
Yes. Why was that? My head and limbs grew heavy due to the lack of oxygen.
"I want you to join me. We could start this world anew."
My mouth formed a sneer. "I will join you in your grave instead."
His grin disappeared and he sighed. "You really have no choice." He threw me against the ground, much harder this time. His foot connected to my stomach and I curled up in a foetal position, writhing in agony. "I have leverage." He squated, his eyes surveying the damage that my body had taken. "I thought you held your son so dear," he whispered, wiping the wisps of hair away from my eyes.
...
The skies had cleared and the rain had ceased. Seven, my saviour, and I, were huddled in an abandoned shack, both covered in mud to hide our scent from the search party. A former hunter-nin were amongst them.
"Are you from Konoha?" I asked him. The blockage on my chakra points for my arms and right leg were cleared. I was now focusing on enabling my left leg.
"No," he said. "I am from the Land of Earth. But I used to live here with my family and fellow villagers, until they were all murdered. I was the only survivor." I turned towards him. The mask on his face held no colour but a 'VII' etched on his forehead region. "I wandered away from our fields of violets and memories of home. The Daimyo, out of kindness, took me in."
"The council that you speak of..." I trailed off.
He turned towards me. "The council exists everywhere, hidden with interconnected webs throughout the lands." He brandished his blade, wiping the blood off with a dirtied cloth. The metal, poorly forged was bent awkwardly. "They select people like us who has every reason to fight, yet no reason to live."
"We correct the world," I told him.
He nodded. "And yet we are seen as evil. But it is a necessary evil."
"What happened to your village?" I asked him, but soon after decided against it. The less we knew of each other the better. "You don't have to answer that. It is not my place to know."
I saw his light gray eyes pierce through my own."A group of men, lead by a Kawai Clan member came to our village, seeking for a place to rest. They seemed like good men, helping with our farming in return for food and shelter. For one week, they stayed with us until one nightfall..." His face tilted downwards. "The villagers. My family. All 128 of them...murdered."
"And the flowers?" I asked.
"Are for them," he said, he took another bud from a pouch. The flowers were small, young buds. "These days, I yearn only for peaceful days... the council had promised me a way out."
"I have yet to have those thoughts of leaving this life," I voiced out.
He saw my lips moving from where the mask had cracked off. "Who is he?" he asked. "Not the person that you have lost but the person that you are fighting for."
"We have shared too much about each other."
"No. I did," he stated. "I want someone to know that I am good although my methods may be wrong."
After a few moments of silence, I spoke. "...Am I still good?"
"Yes," he voiced out. "You can only fight for the dead for so long. But someone living, you will fight for forever."
"A son," I told him. "I have a son."
"Well," he started. "We should come out of this alive then. We have every reason to live." A trap nearby was set off and a scream of agony could be heard. "How's that leg?"
"I'm good to go." I thrusted him a double edged katana. "Take it," I told him. He was hesitant on taking my weapon. "We're to come out alive remember." He nodded, chucking away his old katana and taking in my own.
We were done two hours later. We left no survivors and the once violet fields, were streaked in red.
I had found him in front of an old house with a dark blue door. I knew it was where he lived as a child.
"Seven, protocol has it that I am to burn this village down after I am done," I told him.
"Protocol," he said, his voice, detached. A hand placed on the door knob.
"Your family is no longer here. There is no one to welcome you here anymore," I said, softly. "There is no one behind that door."
"Yes. No one is left but me," he said. "But I need to take a look. I have long forgotten their faces. I have no photos of them," he said, slowly.
"I will leave you be then," I uttered. "When you are done..."
"I will burn this place down," he confirmed.
"I'm sorry that it has to be this way."
"Don't be," he said. "I have no more attachments to this place." I nodded and turned to leave, when he caught my sleeve. "Would you give me a name? The council only ever refers to me by a number."
"You already have a name; given by your parents," I said. "Isn't that enough?"
"I would like to leave that memory behind. I wish to start afresh."
Everyone had their own way to cope with loss. "Violet..." I decided. "Violet. For your precious family that never left your thoughts and the land that you had reclaimed today."
The last I saw him, he had unmasked himself and placed his mask by the door. His back was facing me and his face away from my view. He had stepped into his old house, the darkness, welcoming him, enveloping him.
A month later, violet had made it into the bingo books, for a reason that was not known to me. A year later, he had steadily made a name and climbed to one of the most wanted criminals in the shinobi world. Soon after, he quickly disappeared from the face of the earth.
...
"You know what I found that day after we had wrecked havoc on earth?" he asked, not waiting for an answer. "There was a basement. I remembered from my childhood so many years ago. My father had forbid me from ever going down there, warning about monsters that made its home there. When I went downstairs, I found a book, a pair of Hyuuga eyes and myself," he continued.
"I read the book slowly in a span of two months. I could hear my father narrating the history of my ancestors. He was alive in that book." He stroked my hair. "I reached a chapter and discovered that I am a relative of the Ootsutsuki clan. My ancestors were entrusted with knowledge of chakra. My family had chosen to reside in this village to hide away from unwanted attention," he spoke in a trance-like voice. "In that book I found the truth. The council lied to me. Lied to us. That group of men did not kill the villagers. The council did because they were afraid of what my family could do." He patted my cheek. "Indigo, we were fooled. We may have killed innocent men because of the council." He stood up and placed his straw hat atop his head.
"Even if that was the truth, I would never betray my village," I choked up.
"And yet your village hunts Indigo," he said. "Once the truth is known of your identity, if the village knows of your identity, they will turn on you. It is only a matter of time."
"Find someone else."
"There is no one else that I know who is able to do what I will ask you to do," he stated. "You will join me. You will bring the Hyuuga to me. If you don't..." he trailed off. "You know what is of risk."
I coughed, the coldness of the night seeping through my thin yukata.
"I will find you," he said. "If you choose not to do this, your son will be left a burning memory. And the Hyuuga will go through unnecessary torture."
He disappeared into the night, leaving me with a bruised yet winded body.
I laid there till sunrise, my suppressed pain threatening to spill through lost expressions and unearthing traumas.
Would I choose my son, who I had abandoned, or Neji, who I had once lost.
The next day, at dawn, Neji found me beneath the oak tree, at the outer land of the Hyuuga compound.
I had a shovel in hand and was desperately digging through the earth. The cream yukata that I was wearing was stained with dirt and dried blood. The shovel finally hit something hard and I heard a clang of metal.
"What are you doing?" He asked me, watching me claw at the earth, the shovel no longer in my hand.
"I need to get my weapons," I told him.
"What happened to you?" he stated, lifting my chin up gently and noticing the bruised imprint of a hand on my neck.
"An old... friend visited last night," I told him. I continued to dig at the earth.
"A friend would do this to you?"
"We don't always see eye to eye," I responded.
He assessed me under a watchful gaze, knowing that my answer was a lie. But the underlying tone of my voice, cold and faraway, made him leave the subject for now.
"You should get that looked at," he said. He joined me a few seconds later, his long fingers, raking at the earth until a piece of cloth was seen poking out from the ground.
"Hinata had given me a salve long ago. I had applied it on my neck. It should help," I stated.
"I had a dream," he said, his voice husky in the morning.
"About your mother?" I voiced out. An object pricked at me and blood trickled out of the wound on my finger.
"No... About you," he said, so quietly it was almost taken by the early morning wind. He grasped my hand and carefully wiped the blood and dirt away from my fingers, with the edge of his yukata.
The warmth of his touch left tingling imprints on my fingers.
"I dreamt that you left," he continued, his white eyes searching my own.
I pulled my hand away from his grasp and proceeded to yank at the cloth.
"What do you need your weapons for?" he asked me, reaching for the cloth too and yanking it hard. The soil lifted and the heavy sack was freed.
"I just want to claim back what is mine," I said, simply.
"Are you leaving?" He asked. The words spoken were so soft, I almost did not hear it.
"Not yet," I said. I untied the rope that kept the sack fastened and took a good look at the weapons inside, making sure that all were at hand. "But there is a place I must go to today."
"I'll follow you," he stated, wiping his dirtied hands on a handkerchief.
"Please don't," I told him.
"Regardless, we both know that I'll come with you," he said, his resolve strong.
I knew that which is why I openly announced my plan for later today. "You shouldn't trust me."
"You shouldn't trust me either but yet you do."
He turned away towards the house, leaving me to wonder what he meant.
After lunch, we found ourselves wandering the streets of Konoha where the market was bustling with activity, exuberant people, attractive goods and abundant traditional foods.
I wore my usual shinobi training clothes, a white chinese inspired top with black pants. I had tied a small red scarf around my neck to hide the large bruise. Under my clothes and tucked into my twin buns were my weapons. It had been a few weeks without my weapons. I almost forgot the feeling and weight of metal against my skin.
"Is this where you wanted to go?" he asked, taking a bite of the pork dumpling that he had bought from a chinese street vendor. He had saw me eying it earlier and bought it for us to snack on without a word.
"No, it's near here," I said. "A little out of the way. I just wonder if it exists."
I felt a presence nearby that seemed to differ from the other market going people. I was being followed followed. My eyes darted here and there but it recognised no one.
We walked on wordlessly; the market getting more packed as time goes by. The narrow paths, forced passerbys to walk in a single file. A stout man was seen juggling two heavy paper bags filled to the brim in fruits. Another elderly woman was seen pulling a small trolley filled with her weekly groceries.
We had stopped at a lemonade stand to parch our dried throats.
"Sour," I voiced out.
"Hn," he agreed.
We had reached the end of the market and sat on a bench, sipping our drinks slowly.
"This is my first time here," Neji admitted.
"People who lived a life of privilege do not need to come here," I retorted, amused by the glare I received. "How was it?"
"It was... an experience," he said, finally.
"I used to go to the market all the time," I revealed. "Alone... or sometimes with friends." I glanced down at the half emptied cup. "I have this one friend who hated the market because it was intrusive and loud. He preferred to be in a more quiet environment. But he still came with me anyway. Although with a scowl." I gave him half a smile. "I think it was for the pork dumplings."
"He must be important to you."
"He was..." I replied.
"He still is." Neji held my gaze.
"Maybe," I replied. I took a long sip.
"I want to know more of you." he stated.
"But?" I replied.
"I trust that you will be honest with me and that is why I do not ask," he continued.
"I never thought of you as a fool," I told him. "I know you understand more than you are letting on. Once you are ready for the truth, I will answer any questions you have of me." I stood up and stretched my legs. "Come on. If I'm correct, the place is that way," I said, pointing him in the direction of the Konoha forest.
We walked a good 50 meters into the forest, on a rudden and crooked path until we came across an opening. It was overgrown with grass and choked with weeds but it still did look like my own training ground back home.
"It's here," I voiced out, in awe. I took in the sight of burnt orange coloured grass and dried patches of mud.
"What is here?" he stated, unsure of what he was seeing.
"My most fondest memories. A place where I spent most of my time in my youth," I stated, my voice turning grave. "A place where I no longer belong... not after today," I whispered. "You shouldn't have come."
"You know I would."
I nodded. "That is something you both have in common," I stated, my lips set in a grim line. "I am sorry for what is going to happen next."
Neji felt a presence behind him. Before he could react, a green arm had wrapped him in a chokehold. Panic flooded his mind as his airway was crushed.
"I bought you to him," I said, watching as Neji's body fell limp in Violet's arms.
"I knew you'd make the right decision," Violet stated.
The seasons are very much like human evolution. Where the death of winter passes, it breathes life into spring with its child-like innocence. Gradually, the leaves start to sprout from stark trees, a beautiful lively green colour. Flowers also appear, tiny buds at first, then, full blooms in adulthood.
Spring had always been Lee's favourite season. On a spring day, he had met Gai Sensei, in all his green spandex glory, loudly strange yet magnetic attitude with an ocean background scenery that was unlike any genjutsu that he had studied at school. Lee had first gained his resolve to be the best taijutsu specialist that day when Gai Sensei told him, full of confidence, that Lee's dream was possible and very much reachable. Lee never had anyone believe in him before and in his barren heart bloomed a single flower of hope.
It was also on a spring day, that he became part of Team Gai. He was thankful, that he had graduated, passing his exams just barely. Judging from the side glance from Tenten and the sigh from Neji, he knew that they were unimpressed to be on the same team with him, but he would later prove them wrong. Lee would always challenge them for a spar. Tenten would just throw her kunais from where she stood, a bored look on her face, to see whether he could outrun them or not. Neji would refuse until he eventually gave in to Lee's persistent outbursts. Come next spring, Tenten would help him with developing the second gate. Neji, to his amazement, asked to spar together. And in that second spring, he was fully accepted as a member of Team Gai.
Although, Team Gai had its share of hardships and loss, every spring, Lee prayed that things would get better, that the year would start anew and his emptied heart, would be filled again and, one day, when he had stopped praying, Metal Lee was born.
A year ago, on a fine spring day, the Konoha Shinobi Academy held its graduation for its final year students. His son, Metal Lee, was one of them. Lee was almost late having added an extra 200 crunches to his already rigorous routine because he had lost count and decided to redo the entire routine, just in case. He had managed to find a seat at the edge of the auditorium, near one of the many opened windows, just beside Yamanaka Ino and Sai.
He had found Tenten watching, a lone figure beneath the large tree where, many years ago, an adolescent Naruto would spend most of his school break. It took him three glances to really make sure that it was her. She stood there, wordlessly, not realising that Lee found her watching. He noticed that she had a mask in hand but it was partially hidden by the bleak cloak that she wore.
'She must be ANBU,' he thought, his heart clenching at the thought. How long had she been in the ANBU force? It would explain the long absences and distant emotional connection.
She waited till Metal's name was called to the stage. Metal, very much his father's son, crossed the stage with such bounce in his steps, that the wooden slates creaked with each movement and the sun revolved behind him. Lee quickly turned to the front and took a few commemorative pictures, before turning to his former teammate, but she was no longer there.
Lee tore out of the auditorium, in search of his former teammate.
"Tenten," he called out, appearing in front of her. He had found her, not too far away from the school.
Tenten stopped in her steps, an indescribable look on her face. When did she learn to make the same stoic face as Neji?
"Lee," she replied.
He flashed her a toothy grin, hoping that she did not notice how much he worried about her. "I haven't seen you for the past week."
She pursed her lips. "I was away on a mission."
"So you will be back for a while?" he said, his voice considerably brighter. "We could go have congratulatory lunch with Metal and Gai Sensei later. What do you say?"
"I am only back for a few hours," she stated. "To give a mission update."
Lee felt his happy facade melt off his face. Tenten noticed.
"I came back to see his graduation," she said, quietly, truthfully. "I waited till he was on the stage."
"You received the invitation card that I sent you?" Lee said. Weeks ago, he had wanted to submit the invitation to her personally but she was not home. So he had slipped it under her door instead.
"Yes."
Lee gave a smile and shifted his feet. "You could stay, at least, stay until the ceremony is over. Our budding seed has sprouted into a tree."
She gave him a small smile. "He is a young man now."
From afar, they heard the the subtle sounds of applause to students collecting their certificates. "He has been asking for you more."
She gave him that slight smile that never reached her eyes. "He has been coming round the weapons store more often."
"That's not what I meant..." Lee started, keeping his voice jovial. "He has been asking about his mother. Who she is? Where she's from? A picture even." He searched her eyes, unable to deciphor her expression. "He's old enough to know."
"Then, tell him," Tenten stated. Lee was surprised, he did not expect her to exceed to his request so easily. "Tell him everything he wants to know and if he has any more questions, then I will answer them."
"Are-are you sure?" Lee hesitated.
"I never wanted to be a secret from him. It was never my intention but only for his safety."
"Does this mean we can start being a family?" Lee asked, he rubbed his neck. "Of course not as my wife. Just would you be around more for Metal." He failed to say that it was for him and Gai Sensei too. Tenten was a huge presence in their lives and her absence was felt everyday.
"It would be difficult."
"What would it take?" Lee asked.
"..." She never answered.
Lee did not press her any further. He was happy with what little answer he had received.
"HEY OTOUSAN," a young voice boomed.
Both Lee and Tenten turned to see their son in the distance. He was waving his certificate in the air, his friends beside him.
"TENTEN SENSEI," Metal stated, excitement in his voice.
Tenten gave him a wave. "He really doesn't know," she said, her brown eyes softening. "He has my eyes."
"It's because of those eyes, I let a lot of mishaps slide."
She t'ched. A smile now evident on her lips and this time, it reached the corners of her eyes in shallow creases. "I think its more of how he reminds you of your younger self."
"He takes after you. He is not as dim as his old man." Lee laughed, glad that their conversation turned to a much light-hearted banter, reminiscent of their younger pre-war days.
"You raised him well," Tenten said. "As expected from the green beast of Konoha."
Lee saw her tightening the knot on her cloak and realised that she really had to go now. "Will I see you soon?"
She smiled. "You know... Neji and I discussed this before." He noticed that she did not wince when she said Neji's name. "You are like the sun, Lee, on a fine spring day."
"What does that mean?" He asked, somehow knowing very well what that means.
"The sun is the source of our very existence. Even when night comes, we still look for the sun," she explained. "I will look for you when I return."
...
"Lee," Sasuke called out. He noticed his teammate staring blankly into space. Lee had been doing that a lot lately.
Lee jerked his head towards Sasuke. His eyes slowly coming back to the present.
"The portal opened," the Uchiha heir stated.
Lee's eyes trailed towards the glowing orb. It emanated heat and was slowly decreasing in size.
"Yosh... Are you ready?" Lee asked.
Sasuke nodded. "Are you?"
Lee did not reply and walked into the portal, Sasuke close behind him.
To be continued...