Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto. I only own the plot for this fic.
"Neji-san, you have a visitor." Neji turned from the grille over the window as Hinata came into his 'room'. She looked around, and he saw her take in the small bed and table that constituted his tiny room. The room was about medium sized and the bed took up about a third of the space. Neji had moved the table to the corner beneath the window to make room for his training exercises.
"Are you in here the whole day?" she asked, eyes wide.
"No, I can train under supervision and I can walk around in the hallway." They were quiet. "Why did you come? You family won't be happy about this," he warned.
Hinata smiled sadly. "They're never happy about anything that I do," she replied quietly. "One more thing won't make it much worse… Neji-niisan, I'll try to get you out. Tsunade-sama will try too." Unspoken was the Konoha power struggle, that even the Hokage would have problems interfering in the Hyuuga Clan's affairs.
"It's not too bad being here. I'll survive," he assured her. He looked her over carefully, taking in the perpetual trembling hands and pale skin. Thinking over it, Neji wondered that she had not collapsed in fits, losing her idol and her family. She was dealing with it well. 'Or hiding how she's dealing with it,' Neji thought, narrowing his eyes. His gaze lingered on her arms and her stomach, which were covered by her heavy coat. Hinata felt his gaze, but did not answer his unasked question.
"I need to go now," she said softly, turning. He almost called out to her, almost asked her about the rumors; but he was too afraid of her answer, if she really was cutting herself or starving herself…
A knock sounded at Hyuuga Maya's door. She opened the door a crack, but saw no one in the hallway. She shut the door quickly, surveying the room fearfully. Activating the byakugan, she looked up too late as a figure dropped on her, cutting her throat in one swift motion. Maya was dead before she could even register the pain, her face frozen in surprise. Moving the slumped body to a chair, the killer tossed a small card onto the table.
FATAL DECISIONS HAVE FATAL CONSEQUENCES
"Neji-san, you are free to leave." Despite the mask, Neji could tell that the Anbu was unnerved, edgy.
"Who was it? Who was killed?" Only a death while Neji was locked up could prove his innocence.
"There were two. Last night, Hyuuga Keiji's throat was cut. This morning, after the meeting over Keiji, Hyuuga Maya was killed in the same manner."
"N-Neji-niisan?" The Anbu shifted to reveal Hinata, looking even paler and sicklier than she had yesterday. "I'm taking you home." The girl turned and shuffled down the hall, leaving Neji to catch up to her.
Stepping into the street, the two cousins made heir way home in silence, ignoring the sympathetic and curious glances of the other townspeople. The Hyuuga murders were common knowledge, scandalous news in an otherwise boring place. Some people approached Hinata to exchange a few words along with a reassuring hug or squeeze. Despite her smile of gratitude at their support, Neji could see that the girl was shaken and tired, most likely ready to start crying, although she may have run out of tears at this point. Naruto 3 months ago, and the six murders strung out in the past month or so. Of the six, Keiji and Sukari had been the only ones Hinata had liked. Hinata had lost 3 of the most important people to her, and Neji knew that Naruto had finally started to clue in when he was killed. He felt sorry for his cousin as well, to lose the boy that was finally starting to like her back and to lose two people that had raised and cared for her. Neji, on the other hand, was perfectly fine. While his hate had abated, a strong dislike for the main branch and leaders still remained.
As they approached the compound, Hinata's steps grew even slower. Stepping through the gates, Neji could almost taste the fear that laced the air. Anbu guards were stationed around the perimeter and people slunk fearfully across the courtyard, running to buildings and twitching at the slightest sound. Hinata led him into the main building and to one of the smaller meeting rooms.
"Neji!" As soon as the boy stepped through the door, his mother tackled him, babbling and examining him to make sure he still had all of his arms and legs. Gai and his teammates surrounded him, voicing their relief and anxieties.
"I'm fine, Okaasan," he protested, extracting himself from her arms. Hinata slipped out the door, leaving him to enjoy his homecoming.
Tsunade paced in her office, looking out the window every few seconds. She threw herself into her chair, glaring at the file on her desk. It was all because of that file, the Hyuuga murders. Hiashi complained constantly, and other townspeople demanded that she do something to ensure their safety.
'Idiots, only the Hyuuga council are targets,' she thought irritably.
"Hokage-sama!" One of the Anbu captains burst into the room.
"Finally! You guys are late. So what did you find out?" The Anbu had obviously found something, for he was breathing too hard from excitement. He finally straightened and started to give his report.
"As advised, we looked at those who would have a grudge against the Hyuuga. We narrowed it down, and we have a handful of possible suspects and two probable suspects." He handed her a scroll with a list of names. He saw her eyes widen when she reached the bottom of the list, one of the probable suspects.
"Call the Hyuuga Council immediately," she ordered.
Yet another meeting in the meeting room. Neji was getting tired of the whole thing. He didn't even have to come, but he had come because Hinata-sama had asked. One of her few requests, and he couldn't refuse her such a small thing. Entering the room, Neji quickly realized that this was a very exclusive meeting. Only the most important members of the Hyuuga Clan were present, all of the main house and the branch members that had an important position in the clan. A few people were muttering when Neji came in, but Tsunade cut them short.
"Hurry up and sit down," Tsunade snapped. People sat quickly, quieting to hear what this was about. "We investigated suspects. We found two probable suspects, one more than the other." She tossed a file with a picture onto the table. Neji craned his head to read the caption.
"Hyuuga Mari…?" Someone said, puzzled. Hiashi stood up abruptly.
"I demand that you stop this right now! This is none of Konoha's business."
"It is Konoha's business," Tsunade retorted coldly. "This may not just be against the Hyuuga."
"Who is she?" Hanabi asked.
"She is a Hyuuga, of the main branch."
"Stop this!" Hiashi ordered.
"That's your half-sister." Many people in the room gasped, though some who knew of Mari pursed their lips.
"She's dead and gone, and good riddance."
"She is not dead, Hiashi. After you disowned her she fell in with some missing-nins. She is currently part of the Akatsuki. Our second suspect too." Tsunade threw another file onto the table, and this time everyone recognized the picture.
"What would Uchiha want revenge for?" someone demanded.
"Who knows? But he would be able to move around in Konoha and he is capable of all of the murders. It could be both of them or one of them or maybe neither of them." Tsunade sighed. "There is a disturbing lack of clues and motives, so we still advise you all to be cautious."
"Hmph," Hyuuga Miho snorted. "So you want us all to hide and slink around in the shadows?" Hiashi's mother stood in annoyance and stalked to the door. "I, for one, can take care of myself!" She stepped into the hall, then gasped in surprise. Neji watched as she fell into the room, body curled slightly.
Tsunade was the first at the woman's side. She flipped the woman onto her back and pulled the kunai from Miho's chest. "Dead," Tsunade said grimly as a red stain spread across Miho's kimono.
She strode into the hall. "Damn, no one."
"What happened?"
"Someone was waiting outside and attacked as soon as she stepped out. But," Tsunade brow furrowed, "Miho isn't part of the council, right?"
"No, she's not. My mother refused a position."
"Then why was she attacked? Unless…it's not just the council. This was random; she was just the first out. Maybe someone really is after the whole clan." Many in the room who had considered themselves safe tensed.
"What happened to the Anbu?" Neji asked. "Weren't they supposed to be guarding?"
Tsunade's eyes widened. Slinking down the hall, she peered around the corner, every nerve alert for any sign of danger. Neji and a few Hyuuga followed while the rest adhered to the 'safety in numbers' tactic. The halls were eerily deserted, and Neji wondered if the Anbu had died like Miho.
He was the first to see the body with his byakugan. The man was still alive, chakra pulsing gently in Neji's vision. Tsunade poke him gingerly, wary of traps. The Anbu remained unconscious, head lolling to the side slightly. The Hokage leaned in to look at the man.
"Drugged, I think," she said after performing various examinations. "Most likely a gas or maybe in his food." She slapped him lightly. "Damn," she cursed, slapping him a little harder. Neji walked further down the hall and saw the chakra of the other Anbu in different rooms. All seemed to have been attacked in the same way as the first.
"Fine," Tsunade said. "Call some medic-nins to take them to the hospital. And send more Anbu to investigate the area. We need to find some clues to this. Apparently they are only after the Hyuuga, if they didn't kill the Anbu."
"Hokage-sama!" A Hyuuga servant rushed down the hall. "Kuriha-sama was just killed!"
"Damn this murderer!" Tsunade swore. Neji did not swear out loud, but he was sure he felt the same as Tsunade. After the unconscious Anbu had been discovered, the Hyuuga that remained in the room had left. Kuriha had been at the meeting, and he had been killed on the way to his room, murdered while the absent Anbu were investigating the unconscious nins.
'This killer is definitely smart,' Neji thought. 'They anticipated we would be preoccupied.'
Kuriha's death was the worst yet. His body dangled a few inches off of the ground, the long knife in his chest pinning him to the wall.
"A horrible death," Tsunade said. "The blade pierced both lungs; he drowned in his own blood." She pulled the knife to release the man. A piece of paper fluttered to the ground as Tsunade blinked at the handle in her hand. Kuriha remained pinned by the blade. Neji bent to retrieve the note:
THREE MORE TO SEND TO HELL
Wow, I updated in less than a month. I meant to update yesterday but FFN was down. A little over the week I planned for, but not too late. I'll try to update in a week again, so watch for it!
Star Lily