Disclaimers: A, I don't own Naruto.

Bleeding Martini
By Areku1993
Chapter seven: A Nightmare

The next day

Martini rolled over and sighed in her sleep. "Ahhh..." She winced, snuggling deeper into the covers. Her head killed... That is, until she felt something fuzzy. She opened her eyes and sat up, looking straight into the face of a tail-wagging Akamaru. "Hey..." She whispered.

The black haired girl reached up and stroked Akamaru's head. "Who's a huge, cute doggie? You are, yes you are..."

"Nobody ever called me a huge, cute doggie before." Kiba commented, pushing into the room with a tray of breakfast.

Martini smiled. "That's because you're not a dog, Kiba-kun. Who's a huge, cute human? You are!"

Kiba blushed and set down her breakfast. "Here. I thought I'd bring it up in case you had a hangover from Hell."

Martini pointed at her head. "Is that what this headache is?"

"Yup. It happens when you get drunk." He gestured to the bedside table. "N... I laid out some Motrin for you. That'll ease the pain."

Martini looked over and smiled. "Thanks. You're really nice, Kiba-kun."

Kiba rubbed the back of his head, grinning. "You think so?"

Martini nodded. "Yes."

Kiba blushed more, then turned. "Alright, well, Neji and Hinata and I have nothing else to do, so once you're out of bed we're going to go train. You want to watch?"

Martini laid back on her bed. "Can I have another hour? My head kills. I'm afraid that if I move my brain will implode, or explode, or another word that ends with 'plode...'"

"Martini-sama, just a warning, if you think too much your brain just might explode. We can't have that, I don't want to mop Martini-residue off the floor."

"I don't want to mop up Kiba-residue either."

"I'm leaving, okay?"

"Thank you."

"Welcome."

Oto-san?

"Don't worry, little one," Tahata Jayruss said, kneeling down and petting her hair. "The future will unfold like the rays of the sun. I might come back one day, who knows? Maybe the power of love will bring me back. Love gives meaning to each moment of your life. Maybe it'll be useful some day."

Useful? How could this be useful? Love breaks hearts. Love cannot mend them.

"Someday you'll meet a kid you love even more than me. When you're older you'll understand."

Never. I will never love anymore more than you, Oto-san. If only I could speak to you one last time...

Jayruss was roughly pulled away from Martini, but he did not struggle. He just smiled and called back, "Martini-chan, you'll grow strong with or without me. Just you remember that! Remember!"

Oh, Oto-san, oh, God. Come back... Come BACK...

"You are Tahata Martini!"

OTO-SAN!

The scene suddenly changed. Martini could see herself, standing there, looking around timidly. All around her were images of her past, of her father mostly, and her mother, and... Aufer? The images disappeared, and four doors replaced them. They were labeled Tori, Jayruss, Aufer and... Martini.

I have my own door...?

Martini made for her door and pushed it open. The door quickly disappeared and she was surrounded with words, in strings of sentances. After reading several of them, she noticed... These strings of words were every horrible thought she'd ever had. She could hear them in her mind as she whispered them to herself, consuming her, taking over...

Then everything was stark white. Martini shieled her eyes from the sudden burst of bright color. There was a gate before her, tall, gold, with an eye engraved on it...

A... A gate?

A gate to where...

A gate to...

Hell?

Martini's eyes snapped open. Her hand flew to her face, feeling her cheek, the hot, sweating flesh. She was surprised to find another hand there; Kiba's was pushing her bangs up and was pressed firmly against her forehead. The worried faces of Kiba, Neji and Hinata stared down at her.

"You've been screaming for an hour." Kiba said. "You kept screaming, for your father, and about love and wanting your father back."

Martini panted as if she had just run a great distance. Kiba noticed this, and concluded: She was shaken.

"Neji-san, Hinata-san, why don't you two go train. Martini seems shaken. I'll try to see what happened and calm her down."

Hinata nodded. "Alright, Kiba-kun. Come on, Neji-kun, let's go."

As he and Hinata left, Neji cursed silently to himself. Kiba was so... SO... Annoying! He needed to find a way to get back at Kiba. Nobody, nobody threatened Hyuuga Neji!

Hinata, on the other hand, was glad that she and Neji would be alone. She would be able to tell him about the Tahata legacy. But would that be... Betraying Martini? Betraying her family's secrets?