For those who were following my first draft, I'm sure you'll have noticed by now that I've changed the timings around -I just think it makes things work slightly better
I don't own Naruto, etc... but the OCs are mine.
Read, enjoy and review -the more reviews i get, the more i feel inclined to post -but NO FLAMES, especially in this season!
The bell rang, signalling the end of afternoon classes. It was October –I had been in the Academy in the village for a month now. I was dedicated to my studies –I wanted to live up to the expectations of my family –but I wasn't about to lose my friendship with Shikamaru and Choji. So I balanced it –being a 'dead-last' with excellent test results. My circle of friends had grown since I had stepped through the class-room doors on the first day, after the Welcoming Day. I had been there with my parents –I had seen members of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans there as well.
Kiba had already darted from the classroom, running off with his dog Akamaru sitting on his head. He was of the Inuzuka clan, with the distinct red-fang markings on each cheek.
And Naruto –he was the class-clown, the prankster of the year. He had blue eyes and blond, spiky hair, but his most characteristic feature was the strange whisker marks on his face. I had found out –only recently –that he was an orphan. And I had another reason for calling him my friend –I had seen the glares the villagers gave him, the looks of disgust and fear. And there was no reason I knew of.
I collected my books, looking down the row below me. Sasuke was still sitting in his place, vehemently studying even though class was over and our sensei was collecting his papers. Despite what my mother and his had wished about us being friends in the Academy and beyond, it hadn't happened. Day after day, the other girls in the class fawned over him. There was nothing he could do wrong. So I kept my distance –I decided that 'Mr. Perfect' would not appreciate a friendship to the extent that Naruto would.
I walked through the streets until I reached the Takeda complex. I pushed open the gates to the main entrance of the Takeda complex and entered the large gardens. Then I stopped –there was something wrong here. It was only early evening –there should have been people around. And it was too quiet –even at the darkest hour of the night, things weren't this still.
"Mother! Father!" I shouted, opening the first door I came to, moving into the house. As I opened the door, something slumped out of the door –a body. I turned the corpse over –it was one of the Xa Jing Guardsmen. His throat had been slashed.
A part of me –the rational part that had been trained to have the instincts of a killer and shinobi –told me to run, to find the ANBU and tell them what was happening on the Takeda comlex; another part –the little girl who had grown to love the only people who had loved me and taken me in –screamed at me to find my parents, my brother, my sister.
Then my training, embedded in me and impossible to shake off, kicked in –I could find them on my own. I took the tanto that the Guardsman had been holding, moving into the house and keeping to the shadows. Someone was here, in the house, completely undetected.
I had no doubt that whoever had entered the house had infiltrated the village –outsiders from beyond our borders entering the village. And since they had targeted the Takeda household, I could guess what they were after –the secrets of the Takeda, the skillset and technique that made the clan renowned sword-smiths as well as the wielders of the blades.
I moved through the compound, until I reached a sliding door that had been left partially ajar. I knew the room beyond –it was where Mother met with the Council, the members of the clan who advised her upon her decisions that affected the rule of the clan.
I moved up, pressing my back against the slightly ajar door; I peered around the door. There were three people inside, none of whom I recognised. They had drawn weapons, all of which dripped with blood. And at their feet-
No! I blinked, trying to alter the vision before me. But it was no good. The image would never change simply because it couldn't. The man and woman on the floor –they were my parents, and they were dead. Sorrow and rage shot through my chest at the exact same moment.
"I can't believe this," one of the men growled. "Why haven't you been able to find those secrets?"
"I was closing in on them, sir," another man spoke. "But the moment they died –the information was blacked out and erased."
I knew what had caused that –the Takeda had woven intricate sealing jutsu to keep their secrets from falling into the wrong hands. There were a multitude of genjutsu mind-blocks, to prevent the information from being read from the mind; and then, as a final safe-guard, there was the Sealing jutsu that activated upon death –it completely wiped the mind clean of any and all techniques that the Takeda had stored within their body.
One day, those same techniques would be woven into me –on the day that I turned sixteen.
The Takeda clan guarded the secrets, while the Xa Jing protected us. That was the way it had worked for generations –and the Guardsmen assigned to my mother and father were all slain. They had given their lives to defend the leader of the clans and her husband.
The first man made a disgusted noise in his throat, turning slightly. I saw the emblem on the forehead protector and recognised it in a heart-beat –these invaders were from the Cloud! The man's lower face was wrapped in bandages, leaving only the upper part visible. My breath caught in my throat as a memory surfaced, replaying as I knew instantly that I recognised him.
"Your mother died fighting a powerful demon –your father died upon sealing it into you. The monster that attacked the village, that murdered your mother, has taken over your body! You are the demon that killed hundreds here!"
The words echoed in my mind. And with it came the face that had said those words, dark and flushed with hate. The face belonged to the man standing before me –the face of my uncle…
As I realised that –that I had had a family before the Takeda –I remembered that this man was the one who had kidnapped me to the Hidden Cloud village one night. But that was it –I couldn't remember anyone else from that village, where that village had been, or what it had been called.
"If we don't get this information, then we've failed the mission," Tsurugi snapped. "Try again!"
"It's no good," the third man of the group said. "We're going to have to pull out, sir –otherwise, we compromise our advantage. Someone's going to notice that blood trail sooner or later."
I gathered myself –I wasn't sure whether I should fight or flee, though. I could feel the tears well up but they dried as they reached my cheeks as rage and sorrow battled for control.
Suddenly, from the shadows behind me, a hand clasped tightly over my mouth before another wove around my chest. I fought the panic –I hadn't even heard anyone approach! –and tried to fight my captor as he dragged me backwards.
"Calm down –it's me," my 'captor' hissed in my ear. I recognised the voice –it was Etsuya. Relief –and also dread –flooded through me. Etsuya carried me outside, where he set me down. He looked into my eyes as I turned around –and I saw surprise registering.
"What's wrong?" I ask. He pulls out his sword, moving it so that the light reflects off my eyes. And I see in an instant what he was surprised about –my eyes were no longer the onyx I knew. Instead, they were red with a black pupil, with a black tomoe in each eye.
I had Sharingan, the trademark Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha.
As I floundered with the news, I noticed a flurry of kunai flying towards Etsuya's back. I stepped in front of him, blocking each kunai knife; they thudded useless into the ground.
"So you're here?" Tsurugi said –he had been the one who had thrown the kunai weapons. As I looked up at him, I saw that he had the same Sharingan eyes –although his were different. The black was far more extensive, seemingly in the shape of a three-bladed shuriken. I knew instantly which side of my forgotten family the Sharingan had come from.
"State your name," Etsuya said, turning on him and drawing his sword. He pushed me behind him and I realised –this was his obligation. He had sworn to protect both me and my sister.
"Get out of the way, Takeda," Tsurugi said. His voice was low but laced with malice, and all of it directed at me. "My business isn't with you."
"But sir, we're supposed to…" began one of his sub-ordinates. He didn't get to finish, though –Tsurugi had already slammed a blade through his heart. I was stunned –he was unbelievably ruthless –and glancing up at Etsuya, I could see that seeing a Cloud ninja so heartlessly slaughter one of his own subordinates had shocked him.
The other Cloud ninja seemed to be cowed into silence.
"Now… you have something that belongs to the Hidden Cloud," Tsurugi said, deceptively calm again. "Hand over that harbinger of death."
Harbinger of death… I knew that it meant something –anything –that announced or indicated the approach of a death. Was Tsurugi saying that I was responsible for what had happened here –for his actions? I didn't want to go back –I would never go back to living in that cage. I had been free, happy –and then he had had to show up again! It was so unfair!
"Forget it," Etsuya said –he was holding his ground. "Hazuki's not some monster to be locked up in a cage. I won't let you take one step towards her."
Tsurugi looked Etsuya straight in the eye –and an instant later, Estuya crumpled to his knees. His scream was loud, piercing –the sound of someone in agony. He could do nothing as Tsurugi started forward.
"Release him!" I shouted, seeing my brother's spirit on the verge of breaking. I didn't know what Tsurugi had done, but I knew that it had to be some form of genjutsu. He had Etsuya trapped in his own mind.
"I will –the moment you join me," Tsurugi said, holding out his hand. "Come here, and I will set him free."
I knew in a heartbeat that he was lying. I instantly placed a hand on my brother's shoulder. I knew from class that genjutsu was affected by manipulating the flow of chakra in the victim's brain, causing a disruption in their senses, controlling the mind by affecting one of the five senses. We were taught the basics of genjutsu –what genjutsu actually was, how it was activated, as well as the basics of how to stop it –but that was all.
Instinct told me that there was a way to free Etsuya on my own. I focused my chakra, releasing a burst of chakra into Etsuya's body. My knees buckled –I had just used a lot of chakra. But I knew that it had worked as I felt him draw in a sharp breath before he glanced up to look at me. I saw that he was trembling slightly –but he still managed a thin smile.
Then he grabbed me, reversing our positions. As I fell, I saw Tsurugi was approaching with a bloodied sword raised high; Etsuya had his sword half-way out, moving to protect me.
Then Tsurugi's blow was halted in its tracks, the blade forced into the ground as the intruder was sent flying backwards and into the ground. He managed to right himself, as someone else landed in front of Etsuya and me.
"Itachi!" Etsuya said as Tsurugi managed to right himself. And it was the elder of the Uchiha brothers, wearing the uniform of the ANBU Black Ops, although he wasn't wearing his porclein mask.
"I sent word to the rest of the ANBU that the Takeda compound was being attacked," Itachi Uchiha said, looking over his shoulder at me. In that instant, I saw a bit of surprise when he saw my activated Sharingan. "Until they get here, we'll hold them off. Hazuki –take a rest. Using the Sharingan can be extremely draining when you're not used to them."
"I don't know who you think you are –but you're in my way!" Tsurugi shouted. A moment later, a circular ball of flame was being shot across the garden towards us. Itachi countered it with his own ball of flame, and then sent two shuriken hidden in flames at the invader. One caught Tsurugi across the shoulder.
And I found that I could read the hand signs as they clashed their jutsu against one another. I could distinguish their chakras as well.
"Judging from the fact that you possess Sharingan, you must belong to the Uchiha clan," Itachi said as Tsurugi panted. I couldn't believe it as I watched –Tsurugi, who had been able to completely outmatch my brother, was being forced onto the defensive.
"I am not an Uchiha," Tsurugi spat. "I am of the Tamiko clan!"
"The fact that I can nullify your genjutsu just from making eye-contact means that your clan and mine share an ancient bond," Itachi went on, ignoring Tsurugi's last statement. I could see that the man was getting madder and madder as time went on. "And since Hazuki shares the same eyes as well, she must also be from the Tamiko clan."
"She is not!" Tsurugi protested, sounding furious and disgusted at the very idea. I couldn't follow them anymore as they moved again –the fight was getting more and more vicious. I didn't care that Tsurugi didn't acknowledge me as a member of his clan –and to be honest, I was relieved that I wasn't being directly linked to the man who had destroyed whatever life I had had.
The battle got more intense –it was turning into a contest of Fire Style jutsu. And Itachi was right –I didn't have the chakra reserves to continuously use my Sharingan to keep up with the hand signs.
Etsuya hovered beside me, ever-vigil, ever-ready should Tsurugi try and attack us again. He was able to follow the speed of the battle. I realised that I had never seen two people move so fast. Itachi was a member of the ANBU –he should have had the advantage –but Tsurugi was keeping right up with him. Only a Jonin –an Elite ninja –should be able to move that fast.
Suddenly, the house erupted into flames. And they were no ordinary flames –these were dark and felt much more powerful –much darker. My thoughts jumped to the one person who might still be alive, trapped inside. Tomoha was in there!
"Don't –it's not safe!" Etsuya shouted, grabbing my arm as I tried to bolt into the burning house. The battle was still raging, although it looked as though Tsurugi was getting more and more desperate. I could see blood on his right cheek, seemingly streaming from his eye.
"Tomoha's in there!" I shouted back, pulling out of my brother's grip, and through the smouldering remains of the door. I covered my mouth with my hand as the smoke hit my lungs, coughing slightly before I forced myself on. The entire house was crackling and burning, being devoured by these flames. It didn't matter –my only thought was on saving another, even if it cost my life.
Tomoha's room was not alight as I wrenched the door open, although I could barely see through the smoke. Tomoha was sitting up, one sleeve covering her mouth as she fought not to breath in the smoke. I dropped to her side –that was when I realised the biggest problem in my strategy –Tomoha was too heavy for me to lift or pull, and I wasn't being rude.
"You are a real handful," I heard someone say from behind me. It was Etsuya –he picked Tomoha up like a bride, clambering out the window as the flames finally licked their way into the room. I followed him out and back into the gardens. The house was completely engulfed in flames now.
Itachi approached –there was no sign of Tsurugi. Itachi's eyes were changing from the piercing red of the Sharingan back to deep oynx. I could see that the third intruder –the one that Tsurugi hadn't murdered –was bound in ropes, held by two porcelain-masked ANBU.
"Itachi –where's…" Etsuya began.
"He fled," Itachi replied. "Using Amaterasu seemed to have been his final effort to end the fight –his right eye was bleeding from overuse."
"Will he come back?" Etsuya asked, tightening his hold on Tomoha, glancing down at me.
"I doubt it," Itachi said. "We'll send word to the Raikage as well, let him know that we know he's trying to steal our secrets. That will make him back off."
The yard was beginning to fill with people. Itachi directed some of them to seal the flames of Amaterasu; members of the Xa Jing began to arrive, staring at the burnt-down remains of the Takeda house.
I allowed a Xa Jing to treat the slight burn that I had gotten in the house; I watched silently as Tomoha sobbed and Etsuya did his best to comfort her. But his expression was grim –we had lost our parents, the Takeda clan had been destroyed even though its secrets remained safe. It was going to take years before a Takeda ruled again.
I couldn't help feeling guilty –as though I had brought about the collapse of the clan just from being here, for being the target of Tsurugi's wrath. Maybe he hadn't known before –but he did now. And word was sure to trickle back to the Raikage –A may not try a head-on approach to recapture me, but he had other means of getting me if he wanted.
Now I was faced with a bleak future –as well as a destroyed clan.
My gaze hardened –I was going to ensure the Takeda clan recovered and flourished anew; and I was going to take my revenge for the loss of my parents out on the man who had attacked our home, even if I had to hunt for him my entire life.