Disclaimer: I only own the plotline and the characters I created.
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The first rays of sunlight danced across my face as I woke to the dull repetitive beeping of my old alarm clock. Strangely, even thought a cold breeze drifted in through the window I felt a cozy warm wrapped around my body, a feeling that I always felt when waking up with Neji.
I shook the thoughts from my mind and replaced them with thoughts of the two children sleeping in the nursery down the hall only a few feet away. The clock informed me that the time was 5:42, giving me enough time to take a quick walk before Ino would come bursting through my door asking for her babies.
The Nara boys, or at least Shikochi, had queen hearing, and was a light sleeper, unlike his brother who sleeps through anything. Because of this reason I used the open window as my exit and leaped lightly to the ground.
My feet led me to a fruit market that was opened at strange hours so that ninjas could get groceries after their missions. It was the market that I had been leaving from when I had lost the baby.
Men attacked me. I had no weapons, Sakura had taken them away in fear I would hurt the baby, or myself and because of my unborn son needing chakra too I had almost none left, so basically I was completely defenseless. They tore at my clothes, beat me to almost the point of death, and then left me there to suffer in my pain. It had almost been an hour when Shikamaru found me whimpering in the alleyway.
I still remember what their ringleader had said, "You're a Hyuuga, I know because you're humming one of their songs, and your even caring one of the spawn. You're pretty… to bad you have to die."
He had some vendetta against the Hyuuga clan and planned to kill them all, my unsuccessfully death was a warning but because I lived and had traces of him on me he was caught and put to death.
As the memory seeped through my body I absentmindedly began humming the comforting lullaby under my breath. When I started the second chorus I felt a hand grab out at me and turn me sharply in a half-circle.
Neji stared at me incredulously, then asked," Where in the world did you learn that song?" I stuttered for an answer, my mind clouded by the simple contact between us, I finally spit out words from my mouth, "I had to learn it," I said in a low whisper.
My hand clamper over my mouth realizing what I had just implied to him, and I knew he hadn't missed the slip-up by the surprised look that would be evident even to a blind man. I flung his hand off my shoulder, laid the fruits I had gathered on a stand, and took off running only glancing back once to see him frozen in the same position I had left him in.
When I arrived at my home the Ino and Shikamaru were just exiting through my front door, Shikochi glancing drowsily from his father's back, and Asuma cradled between his mother's arms. Ino looked up from her son and shot me a worried glance, "Why are you crying?"
My hand rose to my face and sure enough tears were drifting almost lazily down my face and had even begun to damp my blouse. I answered slowly, "I had a run in with Neji and I said something I shouldn't have." Ino seemed to want more details but Shikamaru touched her lightly, reminded her they had their kids to take care of at the moment.
Ino nodded but mouthed that they would talk later before finally leaving with the rest of her family.
I entered my house and collapsed on the couch, drifting back into a troubled slumber, before waking up an hour later to leave for my mission as Moondancer.
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Sorry so short…