Chapter 10 - Kizaru ‘The Fallen’

The days came and went, but everyday Ernie and the girls grew a bit closer to each other. He managed to learn that they were from the Nakuhina clan, which was a clan founded around fifty years ago.

They weren't an overly large clan, but they had a decent amount and managed to keep close ties to some of the other clans.

Hina and Himari were both 14 years old this year, just 2 years older than Ernie. Hina was polite and showed a lot of respect, while Himari was more fierce and cared not about giving face to the other party.

When the three of them were traveling to the Kizamaru clan they ran into some rouge ninja's who tried to rob them.

The rogue ninja's outnumbered them 6 to 3, but due to them being less skilled they were quickly dealt with. There were other encounters along the way, but Ernie and the two girls always managed to win or get away.

This helped him learn a bit more about the two girls. While they were twins, they were a bit different. Hina was skilled in using wind techniques, while Himari was better at using earth.

Ernie thought children from the same clan would have the same chakra nature, but it seems that wasn't always the case. Only the clans with strong bloodlines is where one would be able to see many of the clansmen using the same chakra type.

The rocky mountains were in view now, Ernie figured less than half a day's journey would be needed to reach them.

"You know, what if we came all the way here, but your brother went back to the clan. You'd miss each other."

Ernie commented as he continued to walk behind Hina.

Hina turned her head and shook it side to side.

"If that was the case, we'd have run into him by now. Going to the Kizamaru clan means traveling along the same route as us."

"That doesn't mean his journey would have been smooth. There is always the chance he ran into a problem during his travels and had to change direction. You can never be too sure of anything."

Ernie replied.

Himari sighed as she walked next to Ernie.

"We've told you so many great things about our brother, but you doubt his strength? All those ninja we've come across so far can't compare to 1% of our brothers worth."

Ernie shrugged his shoulders and just continued to walk ahead.

"Quiet now after knowing how powerful he is. Don't worry, he'll take good care of you in return for bringing us to him."

Himari said with a devilish grin on her face.

Even though Ernie spent six days with them, he still could not manage to know if Himari was actually being serious or not. Sometimes, she would laugh after letting him know she was only kidding around.

However, the times where she said something that would cause him to worry, she'd look really innocent. Her words really had two meanings, and he did not know which he should take her for.

As the trio were getting closer and closer to the Kizamaru clan, Ernie started noticing the slight changes in scenery. The large pointed rocks in this area seemed to be alive.

The path started to narrow, and the rocks became bigger and bigger, while a persons view on their surroundings became shortened.

Ernie also had this strange feeling in his gut, as if something or someone was watching him. Yet, when he scanned the area, there was no one in sight. It was as if the rocks themselves had eyes.

Eventually the three of them made it up the mountain, and what greeted them was a large village. It was three times as large as the Nakura village and at least twice as big as the Sodachi clan's village.

There was a dome like wall encircling the village. On one side, Ernie could see people taking care of plants, and on another side he could see various types of animals locked behind a small wall. There were many people walking around the village as well.

"Wow, brother was right, this is someone we should ally with. They were in a remote location and the wall blocks them from danger, anyone who wants to attack them has to do it from the entrance."

Himari's eyes were wide as she looked here and there.

Hina was silent, but she too was observing things.

"What brings the three of you to our clan?"

A man wearing a dark green vest asked, his face was covered with a black cloth making it hard to tell what he looked like.

Hina did a slight bow as she showed a loving smile.

"Hello. My brother Kizaru was sent to your clan a while ago to propose a marriage alliance between our two clans. It has been awhile since we've last heard from him, so we were sent to find him. Is he around?"

The man looked at Hina and Himari before he turned to Ernie. He could tell that the two girls bore a resemblance to Kizaru, but Ernie did not look like them.

"Your brother is not around right now, I believe it best you converse with our lord about this matter."

As the man said that he allowed the three of them to enter the clan.

There were many gazes on the three, but Ernie felt they were more focused on Hina and Himari than on himself. Afterall, the two of them were very pretty.

Once inside the village, they were led to a large stone home, decorated with all sorts of items. Above the door was a symbol of two pointed mountains, this was the clans symbol.

"I hear you are the sisters of Kizaru. I can see the striking resemblance."

Inside an old short man whose head was full of grey hair spoke. His dark brown eyes stared directly at Hina.

Hina smiled as she did a light bow of her head.

"I thank lord for his compliment. Might I ask where our brother is?"

The lord stroked his short grey beard.

"Kizaru came to propose a marriage alliance between our two clans, while he offered us a great deal of medical herbs, he wanted to trade for the Flower of Yama. While it's true we have more than one of those flowers, it would be hard for us to part with them."

Hina was about to speak up, but the man raised his finger.

"However, his talents and ideals more than made up for it. So, we agreed to the alliance, as long as he brought us back a jade mineral."

"A jade mineral?"

Himari asked.

The man nodded.

"Yes, it's a rare mineral that can be found in the southern part of this area. But, it's guarded by a few aggressive beast is all. I wanted to see if he had the courage to get the mineral."

Hina and Himari showed a worried expression, but the man laughed.

"Worry not, the beast are aggressive but they shouldn't be a problem for your brother to handle. It's actually a simple quest, even a child could accomplish it."

After he spoke, Hina and Himari let out a sigh of relief.

Seconds later, the door swung open and hit the wall, creating a loud boom. A bloody figure entered and kneeled on the ground before the old man.

"Lord, there has been a problem! The cave where the jade mineral grows has been taken over by the Itaku clan. They caught us in the cave and started slaughtering everyone, it was a bloodbath. Our men tried to fight back, but they had some strange men with them. With glowing red eyes, and some of them were able to copy our every move! I was barely able to escape with my life!"

Ernie could tell the man was telling the truth due to the state he was in, his entire right arm was gone, and there were countless marks all across his body. Even his clothing was in shambles.

However, what really drew his attention were the men he spoke of. Red eyes and able to copy moves. Definitely sounds like the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.

'Weren't they supposed to be in the land of fire? Why the hell are they all the way out here?'

Himari's hands were clenched onto Hina and they were slowly trembling.

"W-what about our brother? Is… did he manage to escape?"

The man kneeling finally noticed the other three and took a deep breath.

Seeing the silver hair of them, he figured they were relatives of Kizaru.

"I'm sorry, lord Kizaru did not make it."

Hina and Himari held onto each other, as they cried their hearts out.

Ernie even felt his heart drop when he heard the news, even though he has not had any interaction at all with Kizaru. He still felt as if he knew the guy due to his sisters tales of him.

First their entire clan was wiped out, and now their brother is dead. The two of them had nowhere to turn to anymore, or anyone to rely on. They only had themselves.

Ernie wrapped his little arms around the two girls and held them close as he could, letting them cry as much as they wanted in his arms.