In the Hidden Clouds
Chapter 12: Family
It had been a few days since the end of the Chuunin exams, and Neji was out exploring Kumo. The town was quite the sight, possibly more beautiful than Konoha. The village was nestled up in the mountains of the Lightning Country, and was within a pleasant pine forest as well. However, the village itself, or more specifically the people, were less than pleasant. There was a constant sense of fear in the air, the type that could be felt in villages overseen by a tyrant.
Neji had bought a few things when he came across an art dealer on the street. He looked over some of the paintings and was really impressed. He tapped his hand on the stall and a woman looked out from behind an easel, "be with you in a-oh it's you," Neji recognized the woman as none other than Nobunaga Tamima.
"Why are you here," Neji asked, "I thought you were a Genin."
"I am," Tamima said, motioning Neji into the stall, "it's just, well, this is what I always wanted to do in life."
"Then why didn't you," Neji asked, "this art is exquisite; you could've lived in luxury."
"Because," Tamima said, "I'm a member of the branch family." Those words hit Neji dead center, "because I'm a member of the Nobunaga branch family, I'm forced to become a ninja because of family laws." Neji could sympathize. He was a member of the Hyuga branch family, and was required by family rules to be a ninja. And then there's the Juinjutsu scar, Neji thought to himself, absentmindedly rubbing his forehead where the mark of the branch family had been scarred into his forehead when he was younger.
"When I said I wanted to become an artist, I became the laughing stock of the family," Tamima went on, "I'm the youngest child of my father, the head of the family, so I'm the branch family. I don't even get to choose my own fate." Neji was about to say more when two people walked into the stall.
"Well," one of them said, "this is where you were hiding."
"Stupid little sister," the other one said, "think you can run away and avoid your punishment."
"Get out," Tamima said, returning to her painting. The two men, one of them obviously Tamima's brother, began to slowly walk around the shop.
"Heh, you know what you are," the older man said, "You're a Nobunaga branch family member. Trash and trash doesn't get away without punishment." Neji was fighting to not attack the two men. Then he felt it, the intense bloodlust coming from Tamima. He looked back at her and saw the way she glared at her family members. Neji moved to stop her, but she moved with a speed she didn't have during the exams.
She had a paint brush in her hand. Within an instant, there were "manji" symbols on the older man's throat, and Tamima's brother's arms. Before either man could move, Tamima did, "SEAL!" She formed a seal with her hands and the marks on her family members flashed briefly and faded away. The older man tried to speak, but no sound escaped him. Tamima's brother tried moving his arms, but failed.
"I designed these seals," Tamima said, "based on the Juinjutsu that sealed that Hyuga whose body we received years ago." Neji's eyes widened, she'd been able to design a seal based off of the Hyuga Juinjutsu that was placed onto Neji's father, incredible, "father," Tamima turned to the older man, "you'll never be able to speak again, brother," Tamima turned to her brother, "your arms are useless for the rest of your life. The seals I placed on you are permanent, even I cannot release them."
"You think you can get away with defying us," Tamima's brother said. Tamima walked toward her brother and placed her finger on his forehead.
"The secrets of the Hyuga Juinjutsu are mine," she said, "you may not have gained much from that guy's body, but I did. All it would take is a few bottles of paint to make our entire clan submit to me," she shoved her brother with her finger, then walked over to a chest and opened it. She pulled out a bag with a Konoha headband on it, and handed it to Neji, "these belonged to that guy," she said, "I'll give them to you since you're his son." Neji froze. How had she known that? "I'm going to leave the village for a while," Tamima said, "I'll be back in a few hours, I just need to get away for a while," And with that, she left.
Outside of town, Tamima had time to think about what she did, and she realized what she had just done. Her emotions began to destabilize and she started crying. She was there for a while, thinking about what she should do. After a while, she heard foot steps and looked up. Being careful to avoid giving a clear change in emotions, she realized she was in deep trouble. The people approaching wore black coats decorated with shapes that resembled red clouds. They also wore large sun hats, and their faces were hidden. Tamima recognized them almost immediately. Akatsuki…