A/N- Somewhere in a room lit by screens, the few people following this story sit in a circle. They slowly clap at the chapter released. Slowly indeed.
"You know, Emiko-san, if you comb my hair any more it might fall out." Unmei joked with her elder. Her long and elegant hair was met with a dark brush every now and then. She preferred to keep her hair in a simple ponytail, but the occasion would not allow it.
"Hush now, lady Unmei, it is an important day. Your parents are due to arrive soon." Emiko replied to Unmei's joke.
"I really wish they wouldn't, it would just put them in more danger." Unmei replied bitterly. She held no resentment towards her parents for separating her from them. She fully understood the danger that is Orochimaru, but Orochimaru hasn't been the only one plaguing her clan. In the past year her parents have become a hunted pair by Kirigakure. Apparently the supposed to be massacre Orochimaru attempted had put the whole village in danger and according to the Mizukage, Hareta and Toshio had to be executed for that.
"I know dear. You have to try and enjoy your tenth birthday though. We need a little light every now and then." Emiko smiled softly at Unmei. In the past 5 years since separating from her parents, Unmei started growing into a young and respectable lady.
"Same~! Let's go play Shogi later!" Unmei yelled out the window to a passing Kisame. Emiko's eye twitched in annoyance at the heiress. Respectable young lady, yeah right.
Kisame grinned at Unmei. The young boy was currently on his way to training with his swords master. His master was hired about two years ago by the clan to train Kisame. He requested some last minute training today so that he can show off to Toshio when he arrives.
"Lady Emiko, the leaders have arrived." A teenage boy said from the open door. Unmei smiled softly. Today would be the first day she sees her parents since she moved away from them. Emiko rushed Unmei into her Kimono before leaving to greet Hareta and Toshio.
Unmei was about to leave the room as well when the door slammed shut. She looked around to check if it could be the wind only to find that the whole room had become dark. The only light she could find came from the corner of the room, but it didn't seem natural to Unmei so she did the only natural thing she could think of. She walked closer to the strange light.
"My my, you sure have grown since I last saw you." A pale figure, the source of the strange light, said.
"I almost thought you had forgotten about me, Ghost-lady-san." Unmei smiled at the woman she was supposed to meet the night Orochimaru attacked.
"I've not forgotten anything, the people from my realm kept me busy for a while." The lady smiled.
"So, not to waste any time, since my parents are here. What did you want to tell me?" Unmei asked. Often times she would find herself wondering about the lady and what she meant to tell her. More times than not it had driven her curiosity to the brink of almost asking someone to help her locate this very lady.
"Right, let's get to it then. The elders that are looking after you. Specifically Joto and Keiko, have some knowledge that the previous elders passed on to them about your clan. You have the ability to touch the string of fate and manipulate it to your will. This is because you're a direct descendant of me, the founder of the clan. You are not only the heiress of the clan, but the most powerful member in it if you learn how to use that. The elders never told your parents or anyone else in fear of someone gaining the knowledge that could possible turn it against you since this power has one huge disadvantage." Unmei looked at the lady with huge, curious eyes.
"What's the disadvantage?" Unmei asked.
"Well, every time you touch a string not belonging to you, it starts to become a part of you. No one can have more than one string at a time attached to them so you'll have to choose to lose yourself and who you are for a while. This, if not used correctly, can lead to a lot of confusion and unwanted romantic feelings not to mention loss of your own path." The lady answered.
"Not to worry about that now, I will return to tell you more when the time is right. Trust no one with this information. Goodbye, Unmei." The lady smiled at her descendant before vanishing.
Unmei, a little lost and confused, took a while to regain her composure before running out of the room and to her parents.
"Look at how big you've become!" Hareta gushed as she suffocated Unmei with her hugs and kisses. Her little girl than once fit snugly into her arms now stood around two heads shorter than her.
"The feeling of nostalgia often returns to people when dire situations arise." Unmei remembered what her mother told her once now that she looked at her. Her mother had a very bright smile on, but she could see the toll these past years have taken on her through the heavy bags under her eyes. This left Unmei feeling as if her bright smile wasn't as heartfelt as she had hoped.
"I'm not that big Mama, Same's still taller than me!" Unmei complained in a joking manner to lighten the mood. Hareta's eyes seemed a little bit brighter after that.
"Well dear, Kisame is taller than everyone his age, isn't he?" Hareta smiled at Unmei, thinking about how much she always compared herself to Kisame. Hareta always did it with Toshio when she was younger, until she realised it was better not to be the same person.
"I know Mama." Unmei grumbled. Emiko stared at her coldly before sniffing, feeling insulted that all of her training on etiquette went down the drain. Unmei looked over at Emiko and giggled.
Toshio arrived with Kisame not trailing far behind. Unmei quickly ran over to greet her father with a big hug and kiss on his cheek. He gushed at seeing his daughter growing up nicely while Kisame went to greet Hareta.
"It's nice to see the both of you again." Unmei smiled. She really missed seeing her parents often, but she knew better than to become a burden for them. Sometimes she worried so much about them that she had trouble sleeping.
Maybe if it wasn't such a happy moment everyone would have been more aware.
All Unmei could do was stare in horror as Kisame's master drew Samehada through her father's chest. It was almost as if it had happened in slow motion. She could see his muscles rip, his eyes go wider and more lifeless with each second, her mother screaming in horror and Kisame paralyzed with shock. It all happened so fast and oh so very slowly at the same time. The elders didn't move. No one moved.
Except Unmei.
She didn't know how she managed to react, but sooner than Kisame's master could move, Unmei had him bound so tightly that his ribs were crushed. At first she didn't know how she crushed him, but the red strings wound tightly around her fingers surely gave a hint. It almost amazed her. The strings were thick and chain-like. They looked unbreakable. They felt unbreakable to Unmei.
"W-what just happened..." Hareta managed to mutter through her shocked state. She gripped her husband tightly as tears escaped her wide eyes. Her husband was gone.
Toshio is dead. Hareta thought to herself as her throat tightened. She felt heavy. Emiko was rushing towards her, why was she rushing? Toshio was already gone.
"HARETA!" Emiko yelled at Hareta. Unmei had released the now dead assassin and ran up to her mother. She looked like she couldn't breathe. Unmei knew the feeling.
"She's going to die, Unmei, your mother can't be alive when your father isn't." Emiko told Unmei in a grim voice. This was not how today was supposed to happen. Unmei should never have seen this. The head of the clan was severely linked to their partners so to not betray the clan. A seal was placed on the heads in order to insure that the one cannot live without the other. Hareta and Toshio were both dead and no one could do anything about it.
Unmei turned to Kisame in tears. She needed him more than anyone right now. He was the only one that could tell her that everything would be alright and she would believe him, except this time he looked just as bad as she did. He had tears streaming down his face and his eyes were shut tight. He couldn't believe someone he knew and trained with everyday could have just lied to him like that. He couldn't believe how absolutely betrayed he felt at the person that taught him everything he needed to become strong these past few years. His idol and father was dead. All because of lies.
Unmei hugged Kisame tightly, refusing to let go of the only person she trusted. For the past few years she had watched Kisame grow up and become strong thanks to the person that now lay crushed because of her. Kisame hugged Unmei back just as tightly as they both fell to the ground. They felt so helpless.
The following week a funeral was held for the late clan heads. Unmei and Kisame had prepared for the day with a lot of dread. The traitor was buried outside of their village and Samehada was handed over to Kisame, even though he didn't want it at first.
Unmei and Kisame had become closer to each other and farther apart at the same time. They were seen together at all times protecting each other but they refused to look at each other. They couldn't handle losing their parents like they did and Unmei feared her newly-found power so she didn't want to accidentally hurt Kisame.
It was late when the funerals finally ended and all Kisame and Unmei wanted was to get into a bed they now shared and sleep all of this over.
Unmei and Kisame now slept back to back instead of towards each other like they always did. Unmei didn't know why they distanced themselves from each other. It was almost as if Kisame didn't even trust her anymore. She cried herself to sleep again that night.
When Unmei woke up the room was eerily empty. It wasn't day yet, judging by how dark it still was. Unmei couldn't understand why the room was empty. She noticed that Samehada wasn't in the usual corner of the room and Kisame wasn't snoring in bed like he should be. Unmei noticed with dismay that all of Kisame's belonging wasn't in the cupboard that was still left open. She quickly lit a candle to find absolutely everything belonging to Kisame gone.
On the desk was a letter for Unmei and she forced herself to open it and read every single word even though she didn't want to.
First her parents died, and now Kisame ran away in search for someone that wouldn't lie to him. Kisame didn't want to be with someone that didn't tell them of their powers like she did. Kisame wanted loyalty and to him that wasn't Unmei.
For the second time in one week, Unmei's heart broke. She guessed he was right, after all she didn't even tell him that she could see the string now. She didn't even tell him that they were meant to be together forever. She didn't even tell him that she would always be there for him.
She didn't even tell him that she loves him.