Part 4

"What?! I have to go with her again?" Neji said. Mizuki looked very hurt after he said that. "Neji, this time, Tsunade-sama actually wants you to go, if you don't believe me, then read the paper." Hizashi showed Neji the paper. "I'm sorry you had to go yesterday." Mizuki said. "Hn, really." Neji said, rolling his eyes. Mizuki looked back down.

One o' clock

"Hurry up, I don't have all day sticking with you." Neji said coldly to Mizuki when they were on the way to Tsunade's office. "H-hai." Mizuki said, following Neji's pace.

When they arrived at the office, Tsunade said something that changed both Neji and Mizuki's lives forever.

"Mizuki, I have a letter from the Mizukage. This was Yuuto's errand." Mizuki nodded. Neji rolled his eyes, knowing it's about Mizuki and her only, that he wasted his time coming here instead of training. "What does this have to do with me?" Neji asked in a rude way.

"Because, the letter said that Mizuki will no longer be a Hide-In-The-Mist ninja." Mizuki gasped, and Neji looked at Tsunade, amused. Tsuande continued, "She's no longer be a Hide-In-The-Mist ninja anymore because she's going to be a Konoha ninja for now on." Mizuki smiled, Neji looked away angry about his whole thing. "I don't get why I'm still here." Neji asked, still rude. Tsunade was getting tired of Neji, "You better get used to her around you, because she's going to be in your team." Mizuki's eyes got wide, she didn't want Neji to hate her then he already does.

Neji said calmly, "Why does she have to be in my team? There's already four, unless you're taking one person out." Tsunade nodded. "Yes, I know that there's already four people in your team, but your team is the only team that matches with Mizuki's age." Now, Neji was confused, "Wait, I thought you were twelve." Neji said to Mizuki. "Just because I'm short for my age, and I look like I weigh like nothing doesn't mean anything, I'm older than you." Neji was shocked. Shizune giggled and said, "Mizuki, don't make it sound like you're soo much older than him, you two have the same birthday, it's just that Mizuki was born five minutes before Neji." Neji looked like his silver eyes were going to pop out.

Mizuki sighed, and looked at Neji. "I guess, we're teammates." Neji sighed, ding ding ding! He had an idea! "Hokage-sama, how can you trust her so easily? No one knows her, some people don't know her skills, and the most important, WE DON'T KNOW HER LAST NAME!" Mizuki looked at Neji again, Neji sure could make someone feel bad. Tsunade banged her hand onto the table and yelled, "DO YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT? IF IT WASN'T FOR HER, YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE! DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHE DID? SHE-" Mizuki cutted her off, "Tsunade-sama, please calm down." Neji was very confused right now. Why is Hizashi, Hinaha, Hanabi, Shizune, and the Hokage so nice to her? What did she do that everyone respects her?

"Does he even know?" Shizune asked. Mizuki shooked her head no. "Ok, Neji, Mizuki will be your teammate for now on, during missions, it will be Lee, Tenten, Mizuki, and you. Gai won't be involved in your missions. He can still train you, and teach you, but he won't go to the missions with you. Got that?" Tsunade said. Neji looked away and sighed. Mizuki knew she was a pain in the ass for Neji. "Wait, why am I going to be a Konoha ninja? I can go back to my village again, you don't have to pull anymore strings for me to be a Konoha ninja." There was a little sadness in her voice, she always wanted to be a Konoha ninja, just like her mother, but making the person who saved her from hell suffer to achieve her dream won't make her feel any better.

"Mizuki, before your mother died, she wrote a will. She wanted you to be a Konoha ninja, and the Mizukiage agreed to let you go. Please don't make anything harder then they already are." Mizuki sighed and looked back at Neji. Neji looked at her, wondering who she really was. "Neji, I have a mission for you." Tsunade said, facing Neji. Neji looked away from Mizuki and faced Tsunade. "You are to protect Mizuki, you have to be there if something happens. You can't leave her out of your sight." Ok, Mizuki felt like a baby, being taken cared of everyday, every hour.

"Why? I'm a ninja now, I can take care of myself!" Mizuki said, she didn't want Neji to hate her even more. Tsunade sighed, "You don't know how many people is looking for the monster in you, and how many people want to do something inappropiate to you, and how many people want your fortune your mother left behind for you." Mizuki looked confused, her mother never left her any money left, just before she died, that's about it. But Mizuki didn't want to ask Tsunade anymore questions. Tsunade looked back at Neji, "Can you do that?" Neji nodded and said, "Even if you didn't assign the mission, I still have to do it from the order of Hizashi."

"Then you two can leave." Tsunade said, making a hand gesture for them to leave. Mizuki bowed, and walked towards the door, Neji didn't say anything, he just walked.

When both of them were out in the streets heading home, Mizuki said, "I want to see something for a bit, you can go home if you want." Neji looked at her and said, "I never fail my missoins." Mizuki shrugged and walked towards another direction and Neji followed.

While they were walking, Neji wondered where Mizuki was leading him to, but deep deep deep deep deep deep inside of Neji, he could trust Mizuki so he followed her without a sound.

Minutes later, they arrived at the blue stone where heroes of Konoha's name was carved. She knelt down and touched the stone, Neji stood a good three feet away from her, not too close, but not too far.

She touched the carving of the Third Hokage's name, "Hokage-sama, I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you during the Chuunin Exams. Thank you for taking care of me when I was little. Thank you for everything, you died saving Konoha like mother. You left alot of memories here. Thank you, Hokage-sama." Her hand slid down the stone and stopped at the name, "Tomoyo Hitomi" (Hitomi means beautiful eyes) She touched the name back and forth, remembering the memories. "Neji, you can go home if you want, I'll be staying around for a long time." Neji looked at her back and said, "Ok..." He walked away, while Mizuki stared at the name.

Neji walked into the village, wondering if Mizuki was safe out there. She did look really really sad when she touched the second name. Neji couldn't think of what to do, so he walked back to the blue stone, but to see that Mizuki wasn't there anymore.

Byakugan!

He searched around for her. Searching and searching. It started to rain, which made his vision a little bit blurry, five minutes after the ran started, he saw Mizuki, or someone that looked like her. He ran towards the direction of 'Mizuki'

When he got there, it really was Mizuki, Neji didn't get wet as much, because he grabbed for an umbrella on the way. Mizuki had a stone in her hands, it looked like a gravestone. She was in the process of carving the name ' Tomoyo Hitomi ' When she was finished writing the name, she took out the half of a log that was sticking from the ground out. On the half log, it had the words ' Tomoyo Hitomi ' on it, but it was very sloppy, a kid must've wrote it. She replaced the half log with the gravestone. She touched the name again before saying, "Mother, I'm back."

Neji was confused again, why is Mizuki's mother's name on the blue stone? "Mother, I'm going to be a Konoha ninja in a few days. I'm very happy. I'm living under the Hyuuga's roof, but don't worry. I'm going to find money and move out of their house so I won't bother them. Neji and Hinata has grown up fast too, so mother, you don't have to worry about them. Neji seems like he doesn't like me, isn't it strange? When we were little, we were best friends, haha, now he doesn't even know who I am, but don't worry, I'm strong enough."

Even during the rain, Neji could tell Mizuki was crying. "Mother, what did you left behind? Everyone is asking me about your past, something I don't know and no one would tell me. Mother, why did you have to leave me, after you left, I was living in hell. I miss you alot, I said to myself ,' she's going to come back' but I know you won't. I'm proud of you though. You were a good ninja everywhere. Oh, and um, Azuki, she ... became ... a ... um ... prostitute. When I got back from the Chuunin Exams, she brought home a new guy every night. There was one night, when she was with a guy, I came in and Azuki yelled at me. The guy asked Azuki if I was her sister. Azuki nodded. "

"'Is she fresh?' the guy asked. I was horrified, Mother. He started walking towards me, I didn't know how to escape him. He pinned me down onto the floor, he untied my kimono, but he didn't do anything further. I ... I .. stabbed him with a needle. Azuki just stood there. Father became a gambler and took all the money to gamble, and sold Azuki to the brothel, but she went on her own free will. I'm trying to help both of them, earning money to sell Azuki out, but she said she liked working there, and Father never treated me like a daughter, what should I do? Things would be much easier if you were here with me, Mother. I feel like a stranger in Konoha."

Neji stood there, listening to everything she told her mother. He was, of course, surprised. "M-Mizuki." Mizuki turned around slightly to see Neji holding an umbrella. Neji walked closer, towards the stone. He remembered someone with a Tomoyo as a last name, but he couldn't remember exactly who it was, and why the last name was popular. He stopped walking when he knew the umbrella was both on him and Mizuki. "Mother, Neji's here. I know you can tell that he's fine." She smiled, then started crying again. "Mother, please don't worry about me, everything will be fine. I still cherish the things you gave me, and the memories we held. I'll come more often now that I live in Konoha. Goodbye, Mother." She touched the name on the stone, and stood up.