Hey kids. This idea has been in my head for a few days, so I thought I'd try to get it off my mind and onto paper. I get no payment for this other than my own peace of mind at night. (Yes, that was a cleverly disguised disclaimer. Hardeeharhar.) This ended up being a lot longer than I expected it to be, so enjoy and review, please!

01. Neji

Neji's first kill is in the dead of the night, far from the streets of Konohagakure.

The forest is very dark, and Neji is on watch as the rest of his team sleeps in their tents. This is not their first truly dangerous mission, nor is it their last. Everything is silent; all the animals are sleeping, and Neji himself makes no noise as he sits motionlessly on a tree stump beside their long-extinguished fire.

The first sign is the rustling of leaves. The sound is faint and almost inaudible, but Neji is alert. He knows it could be nothing more than a falling stick, but nevertheless he activates his Byakugan.

The figure is stealthy, without a doubt, but the Byakugan misses nothing. Without a sound, Neji removes two shuriken from his pouch and flings them towards the would-be assassin. They hit him in the leg and shoulder.

Silently, Neji jumps from into the trees and leaps from branch to branch. In a matter of seconds, he no longer needs his Byakugan to see the wounded ninja. He can see the rain insignia on his forehead protector, and he is clutching his shoulder while kneeling.

There is no room for hesitation. Neji takes a kunai and, with one swift motion, slits the throat of the unfortunate rain-nin.

It is unlike anything Neji expected. In his mind, he pictured his first kill as quick, clean, painless, and merciful. Not like this.

The ninja falls backwards, his body sprawling across the branch. Blood is not just trickling, but cascading from his neck. It is seeping into his clothing and hair, making rivulets across his face and pooling around the shuriken wounds. It drips down, a crimson rain on the branches below. Neji has been injured before, and seen others injured, but he's not quite sure he knew that one person could bleed this much.

Then there are the eyes. Neji had always believed that when a person died, their eyes would close and they would look peaceful. The rain-nin's eyes are wide open in a mixture of pain and fear, and they stay open long after he has taken his last breath. He looks terrified and hurt and anything but peaceful. Neji feels an overwhelming urge to close those eyes, but he cannot bring himself to touch the body.

Neji is not sure how much time passes before he wills himself to look away and silently returns to camp. He resumes watch duty on his tree stump, and the forest is quiet once more.

The morning comes, Neji says tells his team nothing. He suspects that Gai knows anyway, though, from the way he wordlessly pats Neji on the back. Neji secretly wonders how many times his sensei has done the same.

When the four leaf-nin pack up their camp and leave, Neji feels slightly guilty; they taught them how to kill a man in the academy, but never what to do with the body. He imagines the rain-nin, lying motionless in the trees above, covered in blood and eyes wide open.

Neji wakes up the next night covered in sweat, and knows it will be a long time before he will be able to sleep soundly.