Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. I only own the plot of this story
Neji barely concentrated on his training, his mind puzzling over the latest message. 'So the last three on the council. Or it should be, unless there's another random murder like Miho-sama's' he stilled as he sensed someone approaching, then sighed in relief as Hinata emerged from the pathway.
"Neji-niisan, they want you to come back now. They think it's safer if we all stay together."
'Everyone together, huh? And they send you alone to get me. Bastards!'
"Niisan." Hinata gently touched his sleeve. Neji knew she could feel his anger. He met her eyes, and knew that she knew what he was mad about. She really was too observant, that she could read him so easily. "It's okay. Hanabi is more suited to their needs."
'Damn bastards. Trying to get her killed so Hanabi can replace her.'
Before, it had seemed like Hinata was going to be engaged to a suitable clan leader. Hanabi, however, complained constantly that depending on Hinata doomed the Hyuuga. The arrogant child insinuated the disgrace of bringing in someone else to lead the great Hyuuga clan, and it seemed that now everyone agreed with her. Hinata needed to go, and death was the only way to get rid of her without a huge fuss. Disowning had been an option earlier, but Hiashi had argued against it.
'Probably didn't want another daughter in the Akatsuki,' Neji mused, thoughts turning to Mari. Hiashi's child by a different woman, she would be 27 years old, 10 years older than Hinata. Hiashi had showed up with the child one day, but when he needed to marry Hinata's mother in order to become the leader, he had disowned the 8-year-old Mari. She had disappeared, and many thought that Hiashi had killed her. Nothing could be proved because few had seen her or even knew about that part of Hiashi's past.
"A horrible clan," Neji murmured softly as he walked beside Hinata. 'One in the Akatsuki, one to be eliminated, and a little brat the favored child.' Neji shuddered to think of a future ruled by the scheming brat. 'They've managed to destroy any hope they had.'
The main house had been very busy lately, as everyone had moved into the building, leaving the servants to deal with the sudden increase in population. People rushed around, trying to cater to the needs of the paranoid Hyuugas who were convinced that they were the third target. No one knew anyone else; there were too many people all of a sudden.
"Hey," Hanako, the main cook grabbed a servant's arms. Dragging the man to a table, she thrust a peeler into the servant's hand. You get to peel potatoes." She vanished to kidnap more servants leaving the young worker with the group preparing vegetables. The servant joined the peeling while others chopped and diced.
"Aww dammit!" A fellow worker wailed. "I hate cutting the onions." Tears streamed from her eyes.
"Here, I'll do it," a calm voice said, sliding the chopping board towards away from the girl.
"Really, thank you so much!" the onion-cutting inept woman exclaimed. She eyed her savior. 'Cute, but he seems a bit young. Oh well, I need some fun.' She smiled brightly and tried to start a conversation. She received short replies, if any. 'Geez, he's so awkward.' She continued anyway. "I don't know why Hanako-san always makes me cut them. I swear, she-" The girl prattled on, unaware that her hero was preoccupied with more important things.
"Finally," Daichi grumbled as a plate was set before him. "Really, you servants are slacking. My lunch is half an hour late!" His server refrained from retorting that the servants were now serving the whole family instead of just the main branch. Daichi was Hyuuga Hiashi's father and the second member of the council. The final member other than Hiashi. Everyone was paranoid now, and a thoughtless word now could result in an execution.
Daichi motioned a dog over. He watched carefully as the dog gobbled the food Daichi gave it. He looked the dog over after it finished eating. Daichi had learned from a medic-nin and could spot signs of poisoning or pain even before the subject noticed it. Seeing that the dog was fine, Daichi inspected the food closely, looking for anything odd, even sniffing the meat. Satisfied that his food was safe, he picked up his chopsticks and dug in.
A few minutes later, a figure entered and set a white card on the plate.
Tsunade selected a file from the heap on her desk. Flipping through the various documents, she found the page she wanted and skimmed it quickly:
Hyuuga Jako, branch house, heart attack, maybe caused by a chakra strike to the heart
Hyuuga Sumi, branch house, heart attack, maybe caused by sudden surprise
Hyuuga Mako, branch house, poison, slow acting and relatively painless
Hyuuga Sukari, branch house, heart destroyed by chakra injury
Hyuuga Maya, main house, Hiashi's paternal grandmother, throat cut
Hyuuga Keiji, branch house, throat cut
Hyuuga Miho, main house, Hiashi's mother, kunai in heart ---------- not council
Hyuuga Kuriha, branch house, Hiashi's paternal grandfather, blood in lungs
Picking up a pen, she added the latest entry:
Hyuuga Daichi, main house, Hiashi's father, poison, fast-acting and violent
She closed the folder and rubbed her temples. Hiashi was definitely one of the last targets, and the other most likely Hyuuga Kyosuke, a member of the branch family and the other remaining member of the council. Of course, there was always the possibility that there was a different target, such as a member of the main house.
The main house had dwindled, and only Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi remained. "And Mari," Tsunade added silently. But Mari had been sealed, much like the branch members. However, unlike the branch members, she could not pass the bloodline on. Hanabi and Hinata were the only two who could pass on the bloodline. If one of the girls died, the other would become the clan head.
If that was the motive, Hinata was the suspect. The leadership of a clan was enough to turn most peoples' heads. But Hinata was different--at least Tsunade hoped that she was different. The girl was too kindhearted, too benevolent. Tsunade had never seen hate in the girl; she was just too accepting, hardly ever fighting back.
Hanabi, however, was as unlikely to have committed the crimes as Hinata. She would become the leader anyway. The girl was ambitious, but she would get her way eventually and she would not become leader any quicker if her father died.
So the last two suspects, Uchiha Itachi and Hyuuga Mari. Both had seen the Hyuuga complex before and the Akatsuki's objectives had always been obscure. She needed more information, something to help the last two Hyuugas.
She sifted through the papers until she found the report she was looking for. Hyuuga Daichi's murder. He had been killed by a violent, fast-acting poison extracted from a plant that grew in the Mist Country, yet no poison had been found. The servants were being questioned, but there were too many servants to know who was supposed to be there and who was not. So in the end, she had gained no new information.
'Damn whoever it is. They're leaving nothing for me,' she thought bitterly. But something still puzzled her. 'Hyuuga Daichi had some medical training. He should have noticed if that poison was in his food.'
"Uck," she groaned as she rose from her chair. Shoving the papers on her desk into a messy stack, she left to go inspect the body herself.
Hyuuga Daichi's body lay on the floor, a white cloth over his face. Tsunade lifted the cloth and quickly examined the man's face. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was curled in a grimace of pain, the froth at the corners attesting to the agony of his last moments. She replaced the cloth quickly and moved on to an inspection of the corpse. The rigid muscles and strange position hinted at poison, a violent, painful poison.
"Has the food been inspected?" she demanded of the medic-nin hovering behind her.
"Of course. Hokage-sama, but we found nothing. Also, apparently Daichi-sama tested his food on dogs in suspicion of poison. The dog is perfectly fine," he concluded.
"Is there any other way he could have been poisoned?" she asked.
"None that we can find. There are no wounds on his body, although the murderer may have poisoned him in some way and removed the evidence." They were interrupted when the door slid open.
"Have you discovered anything?" Hiashi demanded as he walked over to look down at his father's body.
The medic-nin handed Tsunade the killer's message:
THE BLOOD PRICE IS ALMOST FULFILLED
"A blood price," Tsunade murmured.
"Yes, it's an old term. It demands revenge on all who participated in some act. The revenge could be anything, though in this case the revenge is death."
"And the act?"
"The Anbu are working on it, I'm sure. Most likely something big though, to demand a blood price of 11 deaths."
"Well, Hyuuga-sama, do you know of anything that the victims have done that could make someone want to kill those involved?"
"I know of nothing," he replied, guarded. "Anyway, have you discovered the circumstances of Daichi-sama's death?
"We were getting to that," Tsunade answered. She turned to the medic-nin. "Has the body been examined yet?"
"No. The Anbu didn't want us to disturb anything. Also, Suzu-san, who is the poisons expert, is not in the village right now."
"Fine, I'll do it," Tsunade said shortly. "Send someone to get the testing supplies." The man left, returning quickly with the supplies. Tsunade looked through the various things the man had brought, then selected a short, squat jar filled with a white powder.
"This one should react with that poison," she explained. Lifting the cloth, she dusted the powder over his face. The powder turned yellow around the man's lips. "In his food," she remarked. She looked at the food. Only the beef had been eaten. Daichi had touched nothing else on the table. Tsunade lifted the meat gingerly and prodded it, looking for something. She raised the plate and sniffed the food delicately. She frowned.
"What is wrong, Hokage-sama?" the medic asked.
"Daichi-san ingested poison that was not in his food. He must have been poisoned another way. She brushed some powder over his hands. They stayed the same color. "How?" she wondered. "Someone knew enough not to put the poison in his food, which he tested on the dog first. They put it somewhere else where they knew he would ingest it somehow. We need to inspect the whole room and find where the poison is. It may have been a lucky guess, or it may be that the poisoner has watched Daichi or knows his habits, someplace that Daichi would never think to suspect."
She put some of the powder into a small cup that she gave to the medic-nin. "We may have to test the kitchens too, if nothing turns up." The two women got to work while Hiashi waited impatiently in the doorway.
"Hokage-sama?" the medic-nin said uncertainly. "I've found some traces of the poison, but it's in the wrong place."
"What are you talking about?" Tsunade moved to see what the woman had found. "Strange…Hiashi-sama, perhaps you could explain why the poison is here." She held up a pair of bamboo chopsticks. Yellow powder clung to the larger part where one held the chopsticks. "There is poison on the handle, yet no poison on his hands."
Hiashi stared at the poison. "Of course there is no poison on my father's hands," he said stiffly. "My father held the chopsticks by the lower part used to grasp food and used the top part to eat. A strange habit that he has had for as long as I can remember."
"Is he the only Hyuuga with that habit?"
"Of course, he is the only person to do such a thing."
Tsunade turned to the medic-nin. "Check other pairs of chopsticks," she ordered. The medic-nin hurried to obey. "Hiashi, who knows of this habit?"
"Very few. Daichi rarely took meals with anyone. Only his friends and some of the Hyuuga know of it. Myself and my mother, the council, and some of the branch members that were privileged enough to eat with him."
"Do any of the children know?"
"I doubt it. He wanted grandsons and never visited his granddaughters."
The medic-nin knocked and entered the room. She held a cluster of chopsticks in her hand. The handles of all were a pale yellow. "All of the ones that I've found so far are poisoned."
Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Was there anything strange, any clues?"
"None. All members of the Hyuuga and their servants are currently in the main building. No one knows half of the people they see. We can question the kitchen staff, but I doubt they would know anything."
'Damn, whoever plans these murders is smart, and knows about his victims.' Tsunade turned to Hiashi. "Is it possible to find out who knew Daichi's eating habits?"
"No, my father kept to himself so I don't know who he met with or ate with. I could only offer the names of those I know my father trusts, and I doubt the murderer is one of them."
She must have been feeling tired or irritated, or it may have been something in Hiashi's voice, but something urged Tsunade to ask. "Do you know who the murderer is or what they want revenge for?" she asked point-blank, looking him straight in the eyes.
Hiashi seemed to think for a moment before turning away. "No, I have no idea of anything."
Tsunade watched him leave the room, striding purposefully and regally, back ramrod straight. 'He's lying. Either he's protecting someone or he has a suspicion he will not reveal.'
"Yosh, now I will run thirty laps around the forest!" Lee stretched excitedly, already running in place. "Soon, Gai-sensei, I will be a great ninja!"
"Good work, Lee!" Gai smiled and directed a thumbs-up at his pupil. Tenten sighed inwardly as she watched the green suited shinobi babble excitedly about youth and hard work.
"It's strange, but sometimes I kind of wish I was like them--not the green suits or anything," Tenten added hastily, "but I wish I could be as enthusiastic as them." Neji continued pounding at the tree. "Hyuuga, pay attention when someone speaks to you." Neji kept attacking, but Tenten saw his eye slide around to glance at her. "Would you stop it already!" she demanded. "If you're so pissed go take it out on your uncle and not on innocent bystanders."
Neji dropped his fists, but still faced the tree. "It's none of your business."
"Fine! Deal with your crap and apologize to Hinata at her funeral!"
"What?" Neji swung around. "What are you talking about?"
"I didn't mean she'd be killed…at least, not like the others. Her family seems to preoccupied to do anything, but she seems to be doing their work for them." She seemed slightly disgruntled to have Neji's full attention now. His glare was intense, even without the Byakugan he still had activated. "I'm sure you've heard the stories; not all of them are rumors.
"Yesterday, some girls and I collected Hinata from the memorial tablet and we took her out to eat, to talk if she wanted to. We said dinner was on us and we got tons of food, but Hinata didn't eat very much. She put some food on her plate, but she only ate a little and moved the rest of it around. She said she was okay, but she didn't even eat any fuuga, and that's her favorite food."
Tenten leaned against a tree and looked down at her feet. "She's starving herself, Neji. I don't think she can face life without Naruto, and her favorite aunts were just killed."
"And what do you expect me to do about it?" he demanded harshly. "I'm not exactly the best person to encourage her to eat after I almost killed her."
"That was years ago, Neji. It's all water under the bridge; she couldn't care less about people's pasts, and you know it." Neji turned back to the tree and unleashed a series of palm strikes. "Neji!"
"I know," he said. The speed of his fists increased, and Tenten knew he was done talking for the day.
"Naruto-kun, I miss you so much." Hinata's voice was barely a whisper, eyes tracing the familiar carved letters. "I want to be with you so much…" Hinata heard footsteps approaching but didn't move.
"Hinata-san, you need to be more alert. If I had been an enemy, you'd be dead."
"I knew it was you, Neji-niisan. The rhythm of your steps. And I guessed you would be coming. Tenten-san is very concerned."
"Of course she is concerned."
"Hai, she's a good friend. Don't worry, I'm not starving myself." A ghost of a smile flashed across her face for an instant, and Neji wasn't even sure he had actually seen it. "Naruto-kun would be angry with me if I didn't eat. I just wasn't hungry last night." She unfolded her legs and rose to her feet. "We should probably go back soon. Hokage-sama wants us to return to the house early incase of nighttime attacks." She touched the headstone softly before starting for the house. She stopped abruptly to keep from running into someone. Looking up, she recognized her uncle Ridou glaring down at her.
"It's good to see that you are not dead and have merely stayed out late to indulge yourself." The three ANBU accompanying him looked at Hinata with pity.
"Sumimasen, I forgot the time." She lowered her head demurely, letting Ridou's contempt roll over her like water rolls over rocks. Ridou frowned, obviously not satisfied with how she seemed untouched by his hatred.
"Your father is waiting, and the Hokage insisted I go out to search for you. I don't know why she would send the last council member to retrieve you, especially as I'm a target of the bastard murderer." His tone suggested that it was Hinata's fault.
"Please forgive me," Hinata apologized again. "I will not stay out again." Ridou's mouth twisted, and he glanced at Neji.
"You hurry up too. After all, we can't have any Hyuuga in danger." He mimicked Tsunade's words, mocking her orders. The ANBU shuffled, but said nothing as he strode away from the monument.
Hiashi had stayed awake the whole night, and he paced uneasily around the room. He stopped by the
window, and looked out as dawn lightened the seemingly empty garden. He looked carefully, but was unable to see any of the shinobi waiting in the dark. He was safe, but he was still uneasy somehow. Perhaps he could feel the killer's rage, or perhaps he was finally feeling guilty, but for some reason he was unable to sleep or sit still.
He was lucky, he decided as he leapt back to avoid a kunai. He stumbled back and moved towards the door to call for the guards. A splash of red blinded him, and he dropped to the ground with a thump, body stinging from the slashing kunai. Each wound burned like a hot wire, but he pushed the pain away. He crawled towards the door trying to alert the guards, a gagging sound emerging from his throat as blood dribbled from his mouth.
He tried to cry out when he felt his shoulder wrench forward and the bone break but the blood and his panic muddled his words and his thin squeak died in a gurgle of blood. He attempted to pull himself forward, or to pound on the floor or call for help, but mist covered his eyes and his body tingled painfully. The pain made it impossible to feel anything, and he could no longer tell if his body obeyed him and still moved.
"Gagh…" He finally managed to push some air from his lungs and hoped that someone might come in time.
"Hiashi-sama!" ANBU flung the door open ahead of Tsunade and stopped in their tracks. The choking noise had sounded ominous, but nothing could have prepared them for the sight that met their eyes.
"What is it?" An imperious voice rose form the back of the squad as Hanabi pushed her way through the group. "Move out of the way," she ordered. An ANBU moved to block her. "Step aside, I demand to see what has happened."
"Hiashi-sama is dead," one of the guards said, face pale. The ANBU did not move, mask hiding any emotions the shinobi might be feeling.
"What's going on?" Hanabi shifted her glare to her older sister.
"It took you long enough to get here. They said that father's dead."
"What!" Hinata darted to her sister's side, and her height allowed her to see over the shoulder of the ANBU blocking their path. Her hand flew to her mouth and she staggered down the hall. One of the people in the hallway followed the girl outside and held her head steady as she began to throw up.
Hanabi shoved the guard aside and paled as she felt bile rise in her throat. She swallowed and closed her eyes, but the sight seemed burned into her eyelids, and she could still see every little detail of the scene in her father's bedroom. She sensed a disruption in the crowd but didn't dare open her eyes until she regained control of herself and of her stomach, unlike her sister who seemed to have finally quieted down. She felt someone stand next to her, and cracked her eyes open to see Neji.
Unlike the two sisters, Neji had more experience with gruesome scenes, but he still felt slightly nauseous as he looked at Hiashi's death. Blood was spattered on the wall and Hyuuga Hiashi's body lay a meter or two from the door. A trail of blood showed that the Hyuuga patriarch had struggled to reach the door even as he died. The most horrifying part of the murder was Hiashi's decapitation. The head had been cut off shortly after he died from blood loss. The head hung in the middle of the room, a kunai pinning it to the low ceiling by the hair. The face was spiderwebbed with cuts and the mouth hung open as Hiashi had tried to scream.
On the wall behind Hiashi, the killer had left a final message. Unlike the other messages on crisp white rectangles, the killer had used Hiashi's blood.
THE JUDGEMENT OF HELL FELL UPON THE DAMNED; THE JUDGEMENT OF A DEMON SHALL FALL UPON THE DEMON
Yea, finally updated. Sorry but I hit a lazy period and only watched TV or played videogames. But I'm back now so I'll finish this next week or the week after. There's only one more chapter and an epilogue.
Star Lily