日向導 - A Hyūga's Guide

Chapter Thirty Six: Blue Skies

The sun was barely past the horizon when Neji realized that the puppet had come to a complete stop somewhere near a body of water. He flexed his fingers, expecting it to react, but there was no response from the humanoid doll. Getting out of its grip slowly, he tumbled into the soft grass and turned on his back to feel the cool air of the morning against his face. This would be a great time to at least get his ragged appearance in order before he sees Hinata.

Listening carefully, he followed the sound of water until his hand was plunged into the shallow waters of a small lake. It was cold, but he would take anything as long as he could get rid of all the dirt and grime that was built up on his skin over the years. Only the gods knew how much he probably smelt at the moment, his nose had long since stopped perceiving the stench that rose from his skin.

It had been so long since he had used his arm, and the muscle memory of having both made him realize how much of a disadvantage he had without his left arm. It took some time, and a lot of frustrated grunts at not being able to see what he was doing or use his missing arm, before he felt clean enough. His hair was still a mess, and his skin still felt somewhat dirty, but he wasn't completely coated in filth anymore. That would have to do.

Neji sat at the edge of the lake with his legs folded, his chin was prompted up by his hand and his eyes were closed. Toneri would realize that he was gone by now, so he couldn't exactly stop moving, but he relished in the short semblance of peace that surrounded him. The clicking of the porcelain puppet made him open his eyes and turn to where the sound came from.

"Are you awake now?" He called out.

There was no response but he could feel it coming closer.

"Can we keep going?"

A click was heard again.

"Alright." He stood up and reached out.

The puppet held onto his arm, letting him use it as a crutch.

"You didn't need me to use chakra strings to control you, huh?" Neji mumbled as he followed the puppet out of the forest — judging by how many branches that caressed his skin as they made their way through the thick foliage.

Click.

"He's held you captive for how long?"

Silence.

"Two years?"

Click.

"Five?"

Click.

"Six?"

Click Click.

"He killed his family six years ago?"

Click.

"The same night as the Hyūga Massacre?"

Click.

"Long before that...No one realized at all...No one came to your rescue."

There was a hollow grumbling sound and then...Click.

"Were you a child?"

Click Click.

"I'm sorry."

The clicking stopped.

Neji frowned and tightened his grip on the doll. "How did he do it? How was he able to put your soul into a new host?"

Although the question was directed at his somewhat inanimate companion, he knew that there wasn't any way for it to respond.

"That sort of art is unheard of...I know that chakra can be manipulated, but chakra isn't the only component to our soul. Unless..." He looked at it. "He has mastered a way to transfer the soul to a new body, but doing so with a human would be harder than with a puppet. No wonder he's killed his family, you were just specimens to him."