Chapter 2

Dawn was coming as I raced through the forest. Although I had never been to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I knew its location more or less. Elder was right. I'd make it by nightfall at this pace. The sounds of the forest calmed my thoughts and allowed my thinking to become clear. Maybe this was a good idea. I knew full well how far along the world has gotten. There was ninja who could probably find us now. Maybe some had. I don't know much about the famed Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, but I suspect it could find us. I doubt it could perceive what we were, though.

Time passed quickly as my thoughts raced and before long, I could see a looming gate in the distance. The sun had already begun to set, so I picked up my pace. I pulled the letter out so they could hopefully discern I wasn't an immediate threat. Two men were guarding the gate when I arrived. One had brown hair and chose to wear his Leaf symbol on a hat rather than a head band. The other had black hair and a single bandage across his nose. A strip of color was on his chin.

"State your business." The one with brown hair had spoken first. He spoke these words with only a hint of aggression.

"Izumo." The second one said, "She's just a child. You should use a nicer tone." He turned, kind eyes on me and said, "I'm sorry. We're not always on edge, but there's been some trouble on the border that has turned even the nicer guys mean. My name is Kotetsu, and my friend here is Izumo. Once you've stated your business, we can decide how to proceed."

"I've been sent here to deliver this letter to the Lady Hokage. I come from the Elara clan Hidden in the Moon. This is urgent."

Kotetsu stroked his chin thoughtfully before saying, "I've never heard of that clan before. I'll need confirmation before I can let you anywhere near the Hokage. Can I see the letter?"

I pulled the letter protectively against my chest, "Elder says it's for the eyes of Lady Hokage only. I don't even know exactly what it says. Just the premise. I'm to only let the Hokage hear what I have to say. I don't mind if you use sensory ninja to confirm the truth. You just need to hurry. I'm expected to return quickly with an answer." I was surprised at how tense my voice sounded. Something didn't feel right. I was anxious to return to the village to put my fears at ease.

"How about it, Izumo? Pretty convincing. I say we take her to the Hokage and see what she has to say. I'm sure she can defend herself against a young one like this one. Stay here and hold the fort" He then turned to me and said, "Follow me."

He led me down some dusty streets, night life picking up while children were being called inside for bed. He walked straight towards a large building with purpose. The building had an alternating red and gold pattern that panned out almost like a hat resting on the bottom third portion, which was tan. A round red sign with the Leaf symbol was displayed proudly on the building. He led me inside and up a rounding corridor until we stopped outside double doors. He knocked softly before coming in. "Lady Hokage. You have a visitor from some place called the Village Hidden in the Moon. Says she has an urgent message from her elder."

There was a woman sitting behind the desk. She wore a green robe over a greyish shirt and had her blond hair pulled into a loose ponytail. There was a purple diamond symbol on her forehead. She seemed a little irritable as she looked up and said, "What? I've never heard of that clan. I'm busy."

I stepped forward before the man could say anything more. "Please. It's urgent and won't take up much of your time." I looked nervously at Kotetsu before saying, "I'm not even supposed to say this much in front of anyone but you, but as a show of trust, I'll say this: My clan is in a true hidden village. Part of no region. We have something valuable that we've been trying to hide for centuries and have decided it's safer to come out and make an alliance with an honorable village."

I could tell that the Hokage was seriously considering what I just said. "What's your name?"

"Artemis Elara."

"Elara?" The Hokage looked baffled. "Where have I heard that name?"

It wasn't a question directed to me, but I answered anyway. "You saved Elder many years ago during the Third Great Ninja War, long before he was Elder. He appeared to be a civilian, attacked by bandits. You saved him even though he could've been the enemy. You had told him that leaving him to die on the premise that he might be an enemy would be dishonorable. So you saved him. His clan is Elara."

"Yes," she said pensively, "It's coming back to me. He was so weak. How did he become your elder?"

"Don't disrespect him," I warned her, knowing she could hear the threat. I knew that was dumb of me. I knew this woman could kill me with a single blow if she felt like it, but I couldn't stand by and let her say things she doesn't know about. "That was many years ago, before his powers awakened. I presume he could be your match now."

Instead of looking offended, she threw her head back and laughed. Huh. That's not the response I was expecting. "Have I said something to amuse you, my Lady." I spit out that last word, because I was still upset with her initial comment.

"I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect. I like you, Artemis. You're straightforward and have potential. I can tell. Kotetsu. You may leave. I'll speak worth her. I don't believe she's a threat to me right now."

Kotetsu nodded, closing the doors behind him. The minute he left, I handed the Hokage the letter. She read over it quickly before jerking her head up. "Do you know what this says?"

"No. Elder says I wasn't to know unless you felt like telling me..." I said, trailing off as her face filled with rage.

"Read this." She shoved the letter at me

"Lady Hokage,

I'll make this short. We are the People of the Moon and we possess the Korigan. I fear our time is short. There have been people hunting us, set to destroy all in our village and therefore taking away our legacy. Most in the clan know of this. In fact, all know of this except for Artemis. I'm sure she'll be enraged to know what I've done, but she is to special for the world to lose. I suspect her Korigan will awaken soon and when it does, she was be the most powerful user of the Korigan. The only female known to possess it. With that comes a heavy burden. I want to keep her safe with an ally I can trust. That ally is you, Tsunade. Please accept her into your village. I know she can be of use to you and your village. Please help her grow and protect her.

Sincerely,

Natsuki Elara"

I crumpled the letter and threw it on the ground before running out of the room, the Hokage shouting something after me. I didn't understand her words. My head was buzzing with rage. That idiot, that fool. What was he thinking? Who could wipe out a whole clan? And he knew I'd be back in a day, especially after I read that letter. I picked up the pace, hoping to reach home by the evening, as it was in the middle of the night now.

I must have run on pure adrenaline because I made it in the late afternoon, much earlier than possible. However, it didn't matter. I was too late. My home was destroyed.