A/N:Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Especially:Sea-Tiger170 and Lynlyn-maru. These were the best reviews I've ever got, thanks a lot!

Please review. Recently, I've been having a bit of breakdown...so, c'mon, cheer me up with your opinions!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

The greatest shinobis came from the oldest and most respectable clans, formed in Konoha. Each had it's own tradition, abilities and characteristic appearance. since ages, the members of every clan passed down their abilities and secrets of ninjutsu to the next generation, creating a chain never to be broken. If you were born in such a clan, your destiny was sealed. You will be a ninja, whether you like it or not. There were never any objections to it. Children grew in the atmosphere of great respect which surrounded their parents. From their birth they watched how to live as a good shinobi and unwillingly they became set on this one aim: to continue the tradition of their family and make most out of their inheritance.

A very big role played eyes. Almost each tribe had their own special color and built of eyes. Most famous were: The Hyuuga Byakugan and the Uchiha Sharingan.

Thanks to the sharingan, you can copy your every enemies move. However, it's difficult to learn how to control the power coming from these eyes. It takes years, even for a genius, to understand the complexity of it.

The Byakugan, which belong to the oldest and the most powerful clan in the whole Leaf village, allowed you to see through your opponent. And not only the body; you could easier read their emotions, heir fears, their passions...And then use it against them.

These two were the most famous and looked up to families in Konoha although they had to ay an enormous price for it. The Hyuuga's were divided into two, the main family and the branch family. Constant quarrels and even wars because of the cursed seal weakened the tribe a lot. Many Branch family elements were killed, dieing in agony because of the mark damaging them from inside, slowly and slowly...

The Uchiha clan was slaughtered, one by one. All because of their genius, Itachi Uchiha. Not only the said man murdered his parents, grandparents, cousins and everyone with sharingan, he left his younger brother without a heart, only an organ beating in his chest.

Less known families like Nara, Yamanaka, Inuzuka or Akimichi, never met with something like that. They had their own tragedies but none could compare to those.

Sometimes too much strength and power is not only a curse to you; your family can suffer too.

Sakura sighed, running her hand through her short hair. Since she cut it at the chuunin exams, it was never allowed to grow back. As a medic, long hair meant bigger troubles and more risks to be caught in some wounds.

The pink haired girl loved such days. It was calm, peaceful. She was strolling down a street, not rushing anywhere just enjoying life. Only one thing could make this even better: company.

Since Sasuke left, she often found herself thinking of him, begging him in her mind to come back. Even now, when Naruto was by her side, she still longed for the Uchiha's touch, ironic smile...

Sakura knew it was wrong. He was a traitor, he left everything she loved. He almost killed her precious friends and Naruto. Those sins couldn't be forgotten so easily. And yet, Sakura often started at the photos of team 7, wishing for him to come back, imagining how it would be to have him back...

During the time when the famous Kakashi trio was still together, she was really happy. Sasuke was actually the first person who sent her virgin heart into fluttering. He gave her support and motivation, just being there.

The Fifth rule of a Konoha ninja: When you love someone, make it last for a lifetime.

Sakura wasn't stupid; she knew that things will never be the same again. No matter if he returned, they would never be together. She couldn't; not after what he had done. She was, unlike him, loyal and faithful to the ones she loved. To the ones that loved her. She wouldn't be so ungrateful.

But still, on lonely nights, her mind would drift to the dark haired man, imagining his soft voice and touch.

Inside, Sakura was dieing with guilt and regret for Naruto. He deserved so much more after what he gave her.

She was sometimes so angry and disgusted with herself that it felt hard to breathe. Naruto suffered too because of what happened to their comrade and she was just adding pain to it. She wanted to be honest, truly. But each time she found him smiling with love and trust, just like a naive child to her, she couldn't bring herself to show her own feelings.

Naruto was precious to her; but it wasn't love. Nope, it was something different from what she felt for Sasuke. She was always trying t be better, braver, more feline when the sharingan user was still around. She didn't do it around Naruto.

Was it because she didn't need to fear rejection?

For Naruto, she would die just to see him smile. His blue eyes were drawing her, his previously annoying, cheerful chatter was making her laugh with pure mirth. That never happened with Sasuke.

So many beautiful coupes were destroyed by death in deadly missions. Sakura even knew few of them, not to mention she belonged to it as well. In this world the risk of falling in love equals the risk of heartbreak and great emotional suffering. Not all people are brave enough to develop stronger feelings of devotion to another ninja.

It this world, loving someone means constant fear, that dull ache in your chest when your lover is late or injured. And that emptiness that's left after theirs death really makes you want to die. Such people were the ones who died on the missions the most often. And they were grateful for it.

If it weren't for reproduction, love would be most probably forbidden in ever fighting village.

A shinobi's path was a dark one indeed.

"Sakura-chaaaaaan!" But, as Sakura thought, spotting a blond haired ninja waving wildly to her, there's always a ray of sunlight in it.

Tap, tap

Hinata glanced around the room. It was late at night and most probably everyone was asleep. Quickly, she opened the window to let the impatient boy inside.

"Finally! You know how long I had to look for the right room? Why didn't you tell me you changed bedrooms with Hanabi?" The man barked in a very friendly, dog-alike manner, grabbing the slim waist. "Not to mention those guards...Why are there so many of them, anyways?"

"Kiba-kun, I'm sorry...I didn't know how to inform you. And those guards are here because the threat from the branch members is getting even more serious." The girl sighed. "Ever since Neji-nii-san disappeared, they were furious with my father. He wanted to ask Neji to be the next clan head and that would most surely help the branch family but now..." She trailed. Kiba nodded. "I see. Maybe if you were the head..." His eyes suddenly sparkled.

"Hush, Kiba-kun! We need to be very quiet! And besides, you know it'll never be like this. You will be never accepted, no matter what. And it's more likely that Hanabi will be in my position."

"I always wondered...Shouldn't she have a seal as well? she is your father's second daughter, right?" Kiba changed the topic, masking the disappointment.

The Sixth rule of a Konoha ninja: Shinobi has no hope.

"Yes...But we had different mother. She is the first daughter of my dad's second wife." Hinata confessed, warping her arms around the boys neck.

He was always there for her. While it was Naruto whom she admired, Kiba was the one who she grew to love. He was caring and so much like Uzumaki. Loud and arrogant. In his presence, she always felt as if she was someone too; he asked for her opinions, took note to them carefully. Finally, she found someone who wanted to listen and was patient enough. Naruto always passed by her, never stopping to look or pay interest to what she wanted to say. He never took the effort to interpret her stuttering. Her medicine was useless to him; his wounds healed by themselves and the deeper cuts needed more experienced doctors. Not her homemade ointment.

Kiba was a chuunin and he would probably always be a chuunin. Her weak remedy worked on him perfectly well.

But for how long? This was the question that was buried inside her mind for the past months. They couldn't continue like that forever. One day, Hinata will have to be married to the man her father chooses. The white-eyed girl was always worried about the future.

Right now though, she didn't want to dwell on it anymore. All that counted to her was the warm and protective embrace that surrounded her.

"I brought Akamaru with me," his hushed whisper reached her ears. She shivered. "Oh, that's so nice. Where is he?" Hinata always loved animals. Those cute kittens, puppies always seemed so careless, so much in need of protection. And Hinata could give it to them.

Being with Shino on one Team taught her to not be disgusted by bugs. Even a little fly has feelings and needs protection from others. Maybe even more than puppies and kittens.

Kiba with his doggy attitude always made her want to cuddle him, protect from any harm although she knew that it was something she could never give him. It was just the opposite. Kiba was her guard dog.

Footsteps shook her out from the sweet reverie she was having. Panicking, she pushed Kiba away. "Kiba-kun, hurry! You need to get out of here, now! Someone's coming..." Ignoring her protests, the Inuzuka kid pushed his face into her neck, sniffing it. "Just a little more..." he mumbled, drowsy with the sweet scent emanating from her. He always took every risk he could, not thinking about the consequences.

"Kiba-kun, there's no time! Hurry, hurry!" Finally freeing herself, she pushed him outside. A quick kiss and he was gone in the darkness of the night. The Hyuuga girl trotted to her bed and covered herself up to her chin. The door opened.

"Hinata-sama. I heard something. Is everything alright?" It was her cousin, one of the ninja guards. His tone was cold and it sent shudders down the woman's spine. He waited a little and, not bothering to even check if there's a foreign chakra inside, he closed the door.

Hinata was so relived that she couldn't sleep. After every night like that, she felt restless. And all she could do, was think and hate herself. She was betraying her own family, her father, sister and everyone. She despised herself for it. And yet...before every meeting with Kiba, she had no regrets only a feeling that it's just like it should be.

Their relationship was like another tale where Hinata was Konoha's Juliet and Kiba was her Romeo. She could only pray for a better ending.

"Lee...please...let's take a break..." Tenten huffed, slipping to her knees. She was covered in sweat, her skin was burning not to mention her muscles. The exams were coming pretty fast and she didn't want to lose to Temari again. She had to rely on something more than just her weapons, so she choose taijutsu, having an excellent tutor.

"As you wish, Ten-chan." Rock Lee sat by her, cross legged. He, himself looked quite tired from the intense training session they just experienced, but it was nothing compared to his girlfriend. A moment of silence passed by them, interrupted only by harsh pants. "You're getting better and better, Tenten. Really. Your speed is amazing and the strength is quite big too. All you need to do now is to practice some combos and accuracy of your kicks. Since you always fought by weapons, your arms have a marvelous aim. Though, your legs need more attention." If there was one thing Lee was serious about, it was training and missions. He knew that on practice deepened your chances of survival. He learned it the hard way.

The woman smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Lee. But I'm nowhere compared to you." She sighed a little. "Maybe I should also develop some ninjutsu attacks? That might be helpful." Her companion looked at her regretfully. "You know I can't help you there, Ten-chan." That was right. Lee, as much as he was a shinobi, he never used ninja techniques. His strength was pure, raw animal force and brutality, masked by complicated combos, moves that only increased it's deadliness.

Tenten, on the other hand, also hadn't developed any special seal techniques. Her deadly equipment consisted of every kind of weapons that could be invented. Each one had it's own destination and it was hard to remember every one. Somehow, she managed that.

Tenten had a great way of doing it. She just imagined that she was a kunai, being thrown to bury in the enemies body. It always worked.

"I know that, Lee. Maybe it could be something without seals, just weapons..." That was so funny. She could remember every kunai, shuriken, sword she had, but she couldn't remember any seal. "Then it would be just what you are doing, fighting with weapons." Her teammate smiled, getting up. "Yosh! Let's get back to training!" The girl groaned.

Pushing herself up, she took an attacking position. Lee prepared to defend himself.

They stood, unmoving for minutes, when the girl suddenly rushed forward. Remembering what Lee told her about her legs, she concentrated on using them. About five, six kunais flew to his right and left side, making it impossible to move anywhere but backwards. He did various flip flops, only to be met with her foot right in front of his face. Lee blocked it, immobilizing the limb with his bandage, when her fist hit him in the side. He winced, but managed to catch it as well and warp it with her leg. Using a sword, hidden in her sleeve, Tenten cut the wrappings and jumped backwards. Hand to hand combat wasn't her specialty. She had to find a method to force him to fight in a distance...

On training fields, if you want a session to be successful, you have to treat your partner like your enemy, but never reaching the limits. Tenten couldn't risk injuring Lee, so almost all her serious attacks with weapons were useless. She had to think of a combo...

Seventh rule of a Konoha ninja: If a shinobi has to be sacrificed in order to pull through a mission, then so be it.

I got it! Lee was quick and had very good reflex. She had to use it against him.

Summoning all her chakra to her feet, she leapt out to him, attacking from various sides, but never hitting. Unexpectedly, his kick shot her right into an old battered tree, creating a big hole in it.

When she didn't come out for some time, he grew worried. His strength couldn't be so big...could it?

A punch in the back of his head blocked all reasonable thoughts. Immediately, he turned around ready to strike his opponent when a kunai sliced his arm a little. Gasping with the sudden pain, he took a step backwards.

Tenten continued to beat him, like she was in some kind of furious rage. Punch after punch, kick after kick and in spare time she threw what remained of her shurikens. Lee was really good at dodging so not many actually hit him. She didn't have to worry.

The boy was almost in the hole he created...perfect. Just one more step...

Cling!

A giant log with weapons buried in it fell on him. He crashed it with a powerful kick, losing concentration just for a mere second.

Gotcha! Victoriously, Tenten started to kick him in the back, just like he did in his Lotus combo. His spine was cracking more and more...

Tenten stopped. She couldn't cross the line. Dazed from her kicks, her boyfriend kneeled by her, after a graceful landing.

"Oh, Ten-chan! That was so amazing! You finally felt the power of youth! Gai-sensei will be so proud of you and me! Now all you need to do is form a chain of analyzed moves and you have your own combo!" He wailed. The woman smiled with satisfaction. The exams were near and she was finally getting somewhere. She managed to get Lee on his knees, at last.

The sun was already setting down, and the fighting noises coming from the training hadn't even quieted down a little. The orange light shined on the two shinobis, standing in front of each other, panting harshly.

"Damn you, Shikamaru"One of them, to be more precise, a blonde girl, spoke letting an exasperated sigh. She rushed forward to let out a set of furious attacks, every filled with chakra. "Fight me like a man!"

He summoned the last bits of the energy he had to his feet and used it to create unearthly speed just to avoid her hits. When the girl tripped, falling with exhaustion, he finally decided to speak. "I can't."

Why...the...hell...NOT!" It wasn't a question, it was a demand. Ino was angry, to say the least. Since noon they trained for the jounin exams and while ninjutsu and genjutsu went pretty well, taijutsu was a disaster. She felt as if she was just fighting with herself, punching and kicking air. Shika only dodged, never even trying to hit her. She cursed under her breath.

"A real man can't hit a girl." He explained like it was the most natural thing to say. It made perfect sense to him; that was what his father always said and he understood it.

"In this country, everyone is equal! Times, when woman were only wives and mothers passed!" The girl yelled, both to him and to the world. Right now, she hated him and everyone else. She hated that lazy smile on his face, full of understanding and doubt.

A sudden wave of adrenaline washed through her veins, blocking every thought. It was directed at the boy in front of her and she watched as her legs sprinted in his direction and started to aim at his stomach. Shikamaru avoided them where he could, but Ino knew his weak spots in defense. He was too lazy to even correct them.

Left, right, right, down, left...NOW!

A high kick connected with Shikamaru's chin and threw him backwards. He landed on his back, tearing his shirt a little. His mouth opened and let out a groan of pure discomfort.

"You're even worse than everyone else." She said, calm again after she let out all her anger. The sight of him lying at her feet was strangely satisfying, even if she felt like suffocating him. One day, she probably will. Right now, she settled for kicking some sand on his face. He moaned and started to rub his eyes energetically, to get the dirt out.

"Nowadays, this is called a sexism. That's who you are and so is everyone else." Shika winced. She was really being unfair. "That's...not it." he protested weakly, still lying on his back. "It's the tradition of my clan and besides I can't hit you because you're..."

"That's not important!" Ino screeched. If he wasn't on his back, she would have kicked him.

The Eighth rule of Konoha Ninja: Treat your comrades with respect you want to earn.

"You know what's important here? You want to know? I'll tell you what, then. You have no respect for me. Nothing! You think like them too, don't you? You think I'm only good in seduction, right? Everything that's good in me is my body, right? It doesn't matter to you that I'm here, working myself numb just to take this blasted exam with you...Nope, it doesn't. Maybe I should just ditch it. What's the point, anyways? I'm going to be in seduction anyways. That's my freaking fate!" Angry and humiliated, she kicked the ground, this time avoiding Shikamaru's face, which was still lying in the same place, it's expression unreadable. She turned around and started walking away. When her knees gave up, scraped the ground and she made no movement, only some muttering, he considered it to be safe to get up. Carefully, he went to her side, leaning a little to hear her mumbling.

Guilt started to form in the pit of her soul. "I'm sorry, Shikamaru. Did I hurt you?" He shook his head. It was nothing compared to the state Ino was in. Looking disbelievingly at him, the girl took out a clean tissue and started to wipe his red eyes. He closed them in content, just enjoying her delicate touch and the pain slowly disappearing. Giving in to the temptation, he laid his head down, until it rested in her lap. With his eyes still closed, he blocked all his thinking and just enjoyed her near presence.

Ino smiled, feeling completely at peace. Stopping with cleaning his eyes, she moved to his hair not paying any mind to the fact that it was wet with sweat and dirty. It felt comforting.

when they were like this, it never felt silly or embarrassing to confess things that bothered her to him. It felt almost natural; as if they were connected somehow. A little unsure, she started. "I'm sorry for jumping at you like this Shikamaru. I was just worried...that it'll be the same like with that chuunin exam. That I'll be left behind again." Her caresses paused for a second, then continued. Shikamaru winced. He didn't want to think about such things now. He knew what she referred to; that gap in their relationship when they were going on a different ranked missions. The impossibility to understand their problems, when Ino was still a genin worrying about a chuunin exam and he was a chuunin leader, worrying about his teammates.

Feeling to tired and lazy to actually find some believable words of comfort, he choose a simple gesture. He gently squeezed her slim hand, his way of saying: I'll always be by your side, no matter what. So don't worry and stop being so troublesome.

Four different couples. Four different relationship. And this is the story of every one of them.

Meanwhile in the Sound village...

"His determinacy and resistance is remarkable." Kabuto noted, untying the man who fell limply on the hard floor with a sickening crunch.

"But you will get him to talk, won't you?" A long haired male asked, watching his companion carefully. The silver haired man with glasses nodded. "That's for certain. Sooner or later." With those words, he took the empty bottle and left, followed closely by Orochimaru.

Still silent, Sasuke took one last glance at the lying prisoner before closing the door.

Soon.

Slowly, the Hyuuga awoke his body still unused to the change of position. He groaned as he forced himself to sit up. Everything was hurting. Every cell of his body felt as if it was screaming with agony.

Neji glanced to the small puddle on the ground. It was lighted a little by the pale beams of moonlight.

His eyes...once filled with no emotion, only arrogant confidence...the significant eyes of a Hyuuga, the one with famous Byakugan...

... Now were filled with despair and anguish.

A/N: So, how was it? Really that bad? I'm sorry for the lack of action but I wanted this chappie to be kind of...'quiet before storm'. Please tell me what you think!