Neji and his father walked back to the place where i first found them. I assumed they must live here. His father sighed, and looked out on the training ground, eyes glazed. I tried to lick his hand, get him to look at me, but he waved me off. Neji was curled up at his father's side, sucking his thumb. I tried licking his face but he withdrew from me. Maybe they needed a distraction? I jumped off the porch and dropped into a play-bow, barking at the two of them, but neither looked at me. Then I tried jumping, and rolling around in the mulch. I even brought them a stick to throw. Nothing worked. I groaned in frustration. I had no idea how to handle traumatized kids.
That's when Akira and Yuki sprinted into sight. Akira Immediately barked "update" at me, and Yuki ran over to the boy, looked him over and let out a sigh, before settling herself next to him quietly. I turned to Akira.
"It's just not right… he's four, four! Damn it! They sealed the poor kid, there was blood running down his forehead, all over his face. At four. What the fuck kind of place is this?" I could hear the hysteria creeping into my voice but I couldn't stop it. Yuki and Akira's ears picked up at sealing, and I saw Akira's shoulders fall. She made a noise like all the air had been knocked out of her and turned to look at the man and his child. Looking at this scene, everyone seemed so frail, the man, the boy, and the two dogs.
Then, there was the sharp voice again, and I saw the Hyuuga clan leader step into sight, mouth set in a stern grimace, eyebrows furrowed. Immediately, ninken and the father were at attention, and the boy seemed to shrink even smaller. His father stood up and stepped in front of him, and Yuki replaced him, curling around Neji as best she could. The two men began shouting at each other, both red in the face. They were gesticulating wildly, and even without knowing enough of their particularly flowery Japanese, I understood the jist of it. Yuki glanced and Akira and I, and we slinked over, trying not to grab the attention of the two men.
"I think the boy needs to leave, go some place…" she says softly, and as if to prove her point, there's another shout and the boy shrinks further into himself. Akira gently grabs the sleeve of his jacket and Yuki helps nudge him up. I stay rigid. I don't know what to do. Akira looks at me, her eyes saying something I cannot quite understand, and then looks away as she leads to boy down the porch, turning the corner. Numb, I follow the three of them, but just as I turn the corner I hear a strangled noise, and as if I'm being pulled by an invisible leash, I am jerked back. Neji's father is on the ground, clutching his head, as his brother looks down at him. He bends over to say something, and then turns to leave. I feel a shiver run down my spine.
We walk aimlessly for a while, before Yuki apparently decides to stop. We are by a pond, with Koi in it, and she deposits Neji on a nearby bench, before jumping up and curling on his lap. He buries his face into her side and I can see his shoulders heave again. When he pulls back he is still hiccuping and his eyes are still red and puffy from crying. I am still at a lost. You never were good at comforting people were you? The voice whispers, and I can feel the headache coming on. I grit my teeth and try to ignore it. Akira and I sit on either side of Neji and Yuki, in silence.
I don't know how long it is before I see another Hyuuga approach us. Neji has fallen asleep curled up against Yuki. Akira and I still aren't talking, but there's something hanging in the air keeping both of us on guard. It's the only explanation for what we do next. When the Hyuuga approaches we both jump off the bench and growl, hackles raised, braced and ready to lunge. The Hyuuga raises their hands in a placating manner, and tries to talk gently to us, but Akira and I do not waver. Neji stirs, but does not wake up. Then I realize that I can see a seal on their forehead. They keep talking and eventually, through my rage, their words filter through.
"Inside… father… rest… injured… boy... Eat… no harm…" and I look at Akira. We slowly back up and let our hackles drop. The Hyuuga scoops up both Yuki and Neji, and begins to carry them somewhere, with me and Akira trotting at their side.
We come to a quiet room, where Neji's father is staying. He looks pale, and there is a wet sheen to his face, as if he's been sweating. Wrinkles I hadn't noticed cover his face. Neji slowly wakes up, and then looks at his father and starts, before jumping out of the Hyuuga's arms and rushing over to his father's side. They talk quietly as the Hyuuga excuses themself. Neji's father reaches over to ruffle Yuki, wincing, so she leans into him, closing the gap. I feel like I can't breath. I don't belong. This is such a personal moment, and I feel wrong being here. I knew about the curse seal! I knew this was coming But could you have stopped it? The voice responds. No. There was nothing you could have done against this age-old tradition. Don't let the guilt eat you. The voice says, this time comfortingly. And it does help,even if it's just a little.
The Hyuuga enters, this time with a tray of food, and offers it to the man and boy, as well as a dish of water for us. Akira and I drink it appreciatively. I never realized how thirsty I was, or how good water tastes. It's then that I feel the hesitant fingertips trace down my spine. They are trembling, afraid, so I do not even move. Then they retreat, and I feel them again, right behind my neck, a little less hesitant, but still trembling. Is it fear, or sadness then, that is making them tremble. This nameless Hyuuga, I don't know who they are at all, but I can feel the heartbreak, and my heart breaks too.
We spend the night. I have no idea if that's actually allowed, but no Hyuugas come to force us to leave, and no Inuzukas come looking for us. Neji sleeps curled around Yuki, and Akira and I sleep on either side of the door. But I don't think any of us sleep well. My dreams are full of future horrors, and unsettling memories that seem to slip further away the harder I try to picture them. I wake up stressed, and with a pit in my stomach. I wake up to cheers and celebration.
The cheers do not come from within the Hyuuga compound of course, they are much too reserved for that. Instead they come from outside it's walls. There's a flurry of activity, and Hyuugas quietly talk to each other, but I catch bits and pieces. Kumo, Ninja, Peace, and war. All of which make my stomach drop.
Akira notices it too, and gives me a grim look. We both know what comes next, and neither of us are prepared. But we steel our nerves and Akira quietly says that she will go check the seals again, for any weaknesses, and tells me to find the Heiress. I don't even have the energy to remind her of Hinata's name.
As I walk over to the main compound, sniffing for the smells of a toddler, I see Hyuugas running every which way, getting ready for something. I catch a glimpse of the clan leader leaving the compound. That man. He wears a formal and intricate outfit, and looks so serene, as he departs. He is beautiful, of course, but if anything, it just makes me more scared. How could someone so beautiful on the outside be so cruel on the inside. I shake my head. Focus.
I think I can smell Hinata, but Hyuuga guards refuse to let me into the building where she is kept. I circle it incessantly, looking for a way inside, which is how Akira finds me at sunset. She looks grim.
"It's now or never, Akamaru" she says in a low voice. "Shall we stand watch?" and her eyes show grim determination. Most of the Hyuuga are gone. From what I can tell, most of the branch members have gone into the city to celebrate, beyond the few servants I see entering and exiting the main house. They still won't let me or Akira in. From beyond the wall, I can hear the sounds of celebrations and parties, as well as so many wonderful smells. But I'm not hungry, and my nerves make all of this grate against my senses. I want to scream. But I can't. So I pace. Back and forth. The first few times, Akira tries to get me to stop, saying something about conserving energy, but even she is on edge. Is it tonight? Tomorrow? When? I pace, back and forth. My legs feel like lead. It's like I'm wading through mud. I feel so… heavy…. Exhausted… I look over to Akira and she's already asleep. Somewhere in the back of my head warning bells go off… This is wrong. I stumble. Genjutsu? How do I stop it? I remember the ninja saying Kai, but there were hand signs, right? My thoughts are sluggish too, but in the back of my head I am screaming. How else can I break it?
Pain… the voice supplies. Bite your leg. So I do, and I feel the sleepiness recede. Thank you, I think to the voice, before the adrenaline kicks in and I howl. I sprint to Akira and close my jaw around her hind leg. She screams and wakes up, looking at me panicked.
"Genjutsu, they're here!" I say, dropping her leg. We hear a crash and the sound of glass. Then the sound of a child wailing, which is suddenly cut off. I see a dark shadow leap from the building and am off like a shot, as fast as I can to follow. Every breath I get I let out a sharp bark, begging someone to hear me. The ninja is running along rooftops, and I can't find a way to get up there without losing sight of him. But I can't stop. Akira appears beside me, howling as best as she can as well, but running at this pace, we are sucking in air as best we can. It's hopeless, I think to myself, and I can feel my limbs growing weak. I've failed.
It's then that we are overtaken by another shadow, one that lets out a strangled war cry before launching at the ninja, knocking him off of one of the roofs. Akira and I skid to a stop. Her father is here, I think, relieved, before remembering what happened last time.
"We have to stop him from killing the Kumo nin!" I shout to Akira, but she is already gone, investigating a small lump. It moves and I realize it's Hinata. She must have wriggled free from the Kumo nin when her father hit him. Akira takes a protective position in front of the dazed girl. It's up to me then, I realize, before jumping into the fray.
The Kumo nin is throwing Kunai and Shuriken frantically, leaping backwards to keep a distance between him and his opponent. At close range against a Hyuuga he is as good as dead. Occasionally he forms a few hand signals and air slices towards the clan head, but it only slows him down. Every weapon is deflected by a swift palm, every slice of air neatly dodged. Everyone here can see that the Hyuuga is getting closer and closer, as the Kumo nin gets more and more frantic. His eyes dart around, looking for a way to escape, and then his hand reaches into his pouch, and draws… nothing. He falters, and in that second, the Hyuuga lunges, palm extended towards his heart.
I leap and grab the edge of his jacket, trying to pull him back, and feel the fabric tear between my teeth. It's just enough to pull him back for a second though. The Kumo nin reaches behind himself and grabs a Kunai. The Hyuuga head hits his heart at the same time the Kumo nin rams the Kunai into his stomach. As he goes limp, the Kunai drags down the Hyuuga's body, and both fall. I freeze. Blood is roaring in my ears. I can't hear anything. All I can smell is blood, and I can see is the blood oozing out of his stomach. I look at his face and… it's the caged bird.
Akira would later tell me it was only a few seconds of fighting, and then I stood there for a few more, which she howled her heart out, summoning everyone nearby. The grab the Hyuuga Heiress from her, and medics swarm around. But they can't fix it. No one can. Then his brother, the real clan head comes, and kneels down in the dirt beside him. He softly says something, and his brother lets out an awful laugh, it's wet and raspy at the same time, and it burns itself in my memories.
"After what you did to my son I hope you rot in hell. But poor Hinata never deserved any of this" Then he turns away from his brother and calls a different Hyuuga over, this one tearful. He says something and they look at me and Akira before nodding. He coughs and the medics start shouting to each other. Soon he goes limp.
In the following commotion Yuki appears next to us, and a flurry of Hyuugas gather up both Neji and Hinata. Akira solemnly decides it is time to go home, and we wordlessly follow. We would later be told that while it stalled peace for a little while, because neither ninja had walked out alive, and the suspicious circumstances, the Kumo delegation had graciously decided to call it even. I nearly threw up when I heard the relieved sigh from everyone.
A man was dead. I killed him. If I hadn't pulled his jacket, the Kumo nin wouldn't have been able to grab that Kunai in time.
I killed him. The sounds of that night, his laughter and Hinata's cries medled in my nightmares. But when I wake up all I can do is puzzle over the last thing I saw. As we were ushered out, I took one last look behind me, and saw the Hyuuga head, on the same bench we sat with Neji, eyes glazed. My heart lurches, and I don't know how I am feeling.