I Won't Let You Down

Ichiru awoke to the sound of someone outside his window. He lifted is aching body from the bed and cautiously walked to the glass, placing a hand on it's cool surface.
No one there. I'm being paranoid.
He turned from the window, sighing deeply. The he heard the noise again. He swung around, the kunai he now kept under his pillow instantly in his hand, to be faced with…
Akane.
Her tearful face looked back at him through the glass. Obviously she'd climbed out of her own window and shimmied along the ledges of others until she reached his room. He smiled, shaking his head as he opened up the window to let the shivering girl in.
"Sorry…" she said meekly.
He swept her into his arms suddenly, as if the argument of a few hours ago had never happened, pressing his warm lips to her icy ones.
"I'm sorry too." He murmured softly into her neck, "Stay with me tonight?"
She pulled away, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean…I'll sleep on the floor," he said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.
The girl rolled her eyes, grabbing a spare blanket from the wardrobe and draping it around her shoulders as she sat herself down on his bed. She patted the space next to her, tucking her feet underneath her as she did so. Ichiru let himself flop down onto the soft bed, letting out a relaxed sigh.
"I'm sorry I made you cry." He said, his eyes closed.
She kissed his forehead in reply, and sleep suddenly seemed so attractive. The two of them were dozing within minutes, unaware of the activity outside the house.

*

Neji signalled silently to his cousin as she crouched below a wall a little further up the garden from him. She nodded, in turn signalling to her husband. Kiba silently growled, following Hinata around to the front of the house. Someone was prowling in their front garden, someone unwanted. Akamaru whined almost inaudibly next to him, warning that this person definitely wasn't a friend. Kiba nodded, throwing a light twig at his wife's back to get her attention. She nodded, letting him know she understood. Sasuke followed a little behind Kiba, his fists clenching and unclenching as he readied himself for a fight. Neji was preparing to confront the intruder, sizing them up with his Byakugan from his hiding place.

*

Tenten held Hirokazu close to her chest as she crept along the corridor towards the children's rooms. She listened intently outside Ichiru's room, picking up the distinct sound of more than one person breathing. She tutted to herself: still strict, even at a time like this one. Quietly, she walked into the room, tapping the sleeping boy on the shoulder. He awoke with a start and Tenten quickly explained the situation to him. He nodded in understanding, waking Akane hastily. They then followed Tenten to Haru's room, a little way along the corridor.

*

Izanami knew that the Hyuuga clan were undoubtedly a terrifying foe. The shattered memories she held from her home village told her that they had been revered -even feared- there, with their mysterious bloodline limit, and strange pale eyes. Right now, this only added to her excitement. She felt the presence of four people, each one a powerful ninja in their own right.
I'll have some fun with you. Then I'm going to collect niisan's prize…

*

Ichiru, Haru and Akane hurried with Tenten and Hirokazu towards the tunnel that led from the kitchens. It had been put there by a very paranoid Hyuuga of the past, and boy, were they grateful to him now! Ichiru felt the air tingling with anticipation, and could feel anger in it too.
How is it so emotionally charged?
Then he realised: This was someone's chakra he was sensing, and this person was not nice at all…
He shivered at the hatred he felt all around him as they descended the dark, algae covered stairs, splashing through leaking water as they hurried through the old passageway.
I'm scared. he thought, his heart thumping. His palms were sweaty and his head was swimming. Akane holding his hand was the thing that kept him sane. The images of the last battle he'd been in, and Hoshi's dead body flashed before his eyes, as he took panicky breaths.
"It's okay. We're nearly there." Akane whispered to him.
"But…where is there?"
"The Hokage's house!" Akane replied, smiling at him in the darkness.

*

Akane sat opposite Ichiru in the darkness. Using her Byakugan, she checked him over. His heartbeat had regulated now as Dai and Haru sat either side of him, chatting in hushed voices. The room they sat in was situated deep within the mountain that overlooked Konoha, etched forever with each Hokage's face. The villagers sat huddled in rooms further back. As ninja, the teenagers were told to keep guard in this room, close enough to hear intruders, far away enough to be in no immediate danger. It had been only 20 minutes since they had emerged in the Uzumaki household, prompting the Hokage to leap from his bed half dressed, clenching a kunai in each hand. Tenten had explained that an intruder had been found at the Hyuuga compound. Naruto's face had fallen, but only for a second before her dressed himself and barked his orders at Tenten. She was to take the children and alert the village as quietly and quickly as possible. They were all to go seek shelter in the mountain hideaway while he and the other jounin assessed the situation.
Akane sighed, leaning her head back against the damp wall behind her. Her mind strayed to thoughts of her parents, and she silently asked her sister to look out for them, hoping that the childhood stories of guardian angels and the afterlife were true. She murmured every prayer and charm she could think of, even ones her father had taught her, and that her mother had banned her from saying (Hinata said it was uncouth to swear when asking for help from a higher power).
Ichiru listened to Dai and Haru discussing what they thought was going on outside. Both seemed to be itching to get out and fight, and Ichiru shivered at the thought. He couldn't handle what he'd done last time he'd been in a fight. He couldn't deal with any of that right now. His brother was missing, and possibly dead somewhere in the woods of the Fire country. His father was unreadable and had completely cut himself off from his sons when Sumi had died. A large ball seemed to have lodged itself in Ichiru's throat as he thought these things, and it was hard to swallow or breathe. Just as he felt he might slip into unconsciousness, he felt a warm hand upon his own, and knew that Akane had reached out to him across the narrow passageway they sat in. A weak smile formed upon his dry lips, and he could breathe again.

*

Izanami stood panting in the middle of the once beautiful main garden of the Hyuuga house. Around her were four ninja, also out of breath and in their defensive stances. So far, their fight had been harder that she had anticipated, and she paused now to gather her senses. Two of the leaf ninja appeared to by Hyuugas, with their freakish, emotionless, pale eyes. One was a dog user, accompanied by a huge white beast, which snarled at her furiously. The fourth was definitely the man her niisan hated so much.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Izanami smiled to herself, focusing now on this dark haired ninja. Maybe she could kill him, and do Kabuto a favour?

*

Sakura changed quickly from her hospital clothes as Naruto left the room for the Hyuuga compound. She fumbled with the buttons, her mind on one thing only - on one person. And she hated herself for it, as she followed her husband into the night.

*

Hinata stepped back, faltering for a second as the small girl ran at her. Her hair was luminous, and flowed behind her like a beam of light, her eyes huge and innocent. It all changed in an instant, as her hair turned as red as blood, and her nails grew like talons. In a flash, Kiba jumped in front of her.
"Don't let her appearance fool you Nata!" he shouted at her, launching a violent attack upon the small girl.
Neji stood alert, spotting 5 other intruders hidden around the clearing. For some reason they did not approach, and even seemed afraid of the girl who was attacking them with such ferocity. Sasuke stood a little way away, his eyes darting in every direction. Neji was sure that the Uchiha had spotted the location of the other five too, and he signalled to him. The black haired man nodded brusquely, and immediately shot off towards a tree in which one ninja was hiding, his sword held in front of him.

*

"Do you think that everything will go okay?" Ichiru asked, grasping Akane's hand.
She looked down at the floor.
"I don't know."
"Can we…go to help please?"
Dai and Haru looked up suddenly, both shocked to hear Ichiru saying this. Ichiru himself could scarcely believe what was coming out of his mouth, and almost turned to see who was saying something so ludicrous. However, it was him, and he had to stick by his suggestion when 5 minutes later he stood with his three friends in the entranceway to the mountain. The air was cold, but fizzing with activity as they ran across the rooftops towards the scene of the battle.

*

Uzumaki Naruto and his wife arrived in the Hyuuga garden to see Sasuke slicing his sword into an enemy ninja, who seemed to be manipulating chakra in his palms, not unlike the Hokage's own Rasengan. Naruto leapt into action straight away, running headlong into battle. Sakura hung back, looking for an opening as the garden filled with yells and screams and the smell of sweat, tears and blood.

*

Ichiru felt his heart beat in time with the pounding of his feet on the ground. His breath came out in gasps, and the cold air hit his chest, shocking him every time. In front of him was Dai, effortlessly running forwards, quickly using the Kage Bunshin as they neared the Hyuuga compound. Akane overtook the boys suddenly, Haru following just behind her, both popping soldier pills into the waiting jaws of their nin-dogs. Ichiru closed his eyes tight, opening them again to see everything so much clearer as his Sharingan activated.

*