Hi everyone and welcome to From Rivals, to Friends, to Something More Part II! I'm so excited to get started on this, and I hope you all will like it. Here's Chapter 1. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters are the property of Kishimoto Masashi-sama. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is made from this fic.
Neji was on his way back to Konohagakure no Sato from another A-ranked mission. It wasn't anything too hard for someone of his caliber, but it was a pain for the Hyuuga prodigy since it wasn't challenging enough. He'd hoped reaching Jounin would be more stimulating.
That's right; Hyuuga Neji had reached Jounin status. Throughout the past three years, Neji had done nothing but train hard at the Hyuuga Compound with his uncle and cousin. He wanted to become much stronger than before, and on top of that, he had a promise to keep to a certain kunoichi.
'You better become strong you bastard.'
Neji let a small smile come to his face as TenTen's voice echoed through his head. It's been three years since she left the village with Jiraiya and Naruto, and she remained on his mind the entire time. Every time he went to sleep, his mind always played the last night he and TenTen spent together. It was definitely a pleasant way to dream, but he really wanted to see the brunette again. He counted the days until her return.
Suddenly, Neji felt a flare of chakra. The Hyuuga prodigy activated his Byakugan and scanned the surrounding area. There was a fight far from his current position, about 500 meters or more northeast. It made the Hyuuga prodigy thankful that he increased the vision of his Byakugan; instead of the usual 50 meter radius granted, he pushed his limits to nearly 1000 meters. Focusing in the direction of the fight, Neji saw that about five Oto nin were surrounding a cloaked woman. What was the Sound doing in Fire Country, and what did they want with that woman? The Jounin decided to go find out for himself. Putting extra chakra into his feet, Neji sped off northeast toward the fight.
"You're one of Konoha's dogs aren't you?" taunted a Sound nin to the woman.
Full pink lips curved in a smirk as she took in the people surrounding her. All she wanted to do was have a nice walk through the forest, but a fight was fine with her too. She rolled her eyes as she assessed their strength, an action hidden by the hood of the maroon cloak she wore.
"Does it really take an entire recon platoon to take on a woman?" asked the woman with an eerily calm voice. "And Otogakure has the nerve to say they're 'strong'."
As the enraged Sound ninja pounced to attack the woman, the unseen smirk on her face widened. Before any of them could land a hit, the woman disappeared. They all looked around in surprise, but couldn't find any trace of maroon.
"Ugh!"
The other four of the group turned toward the sound to see a kunai embedded the fifth member's chest. He fell to the ground, dead. Eyes widening fearfully, the four Oto nin remaining formed a circle to find any sign of the woman.
Neji was in the trees, his chakra suppressed to the point it was near nonexistent. He saw what happened to the first of the Sound nin, and was surprised with the woman's speed. Even now, he couldn't really tell where she was. His eyes widened as he saw the woman standing in the middle of the remaining four's circle. None of the enemy nin seemed to sense her, and she struck quickly and mercilessly. The four bodies fell to the ground with a dull thud at the same time.
"Did you enjoy the show?" came a whispered voice from behind Neji.
The Hyuuga prodigy stiffened in surprise as he recognized the voice of the woman he was just watching. He didn't even see her move from the middle of the clearing! The point of a kunai was pressed lightly into his blind spot.
"Are you friend or foe?" questioned Neji in return.
"Depends on your intentions," said the woman.
"Otogakure is an enemy," said Neji. "They were in Konoha territory, so I wanted to know their purpose, and possibly assist you if you needed it."
A breathy chuckle hit Neji's ear and made him want to shiver.
"Help me?" asked the woman with amusement. "I'm far from the 'damsel-in-distress' kind of woman."
The kunai pointed at his vertebrae was removed, and he felt the woman move away from him. Neji turned quickly to try and get a glimpse of her, but she was gone.
"I'm sure we'll meet again Hyuuga-san," came the woman's voice.
Neji was alone in the clearing. Taking note of the day's current events, the Hyuuga prodigy made his way back to Konoha to report to the Hokage.
Tsunade was in her office trying to stave off an oncoming headache. Her honey colored eyes glared darkly at the two men in the room, and she was ready to break something. The Godaime Hokage's eyes shifted from the blond fidgeting nervously in his seat to the white haired man giggling perversely at something in his notepad.
"What do you mean she went to the Sound?" asked Tsunade through gritted teeth.
"W-Well, after she made Jounin, we didn't see much of her," said Naruto nervously. "We got word from her a few months ago saying she was heading to Otogakure."
Tsunade's hand slammed on her desk, the wood creaking dangerously beneath it. What was with the younger generation of shinobi? Did they all think they were invincible?
"And you haven't heard from her since?" questioned Tsunade.
"N-No, Tsunade-baa-chan," replied Naruto.
The blonde woman glared at the aspiring Hokage with fire in her eyes.
"What did I tell you about calling me old?" hissed Tsunade.
"Must be that time of the month," muttered Jiraiya.
Tsunade's head snapped to his direction, her desk in one hand ready to be thrown at the Toad Sage.
"Ah, so this is why you're chakra is flaring," said a voice from the door. "Figures Jiraiya-sama would say or do something stupid."
The three occupants in the room turned to see a woman wearing a maroon cloak standing there. Tsunade and Naruto looked at her in question, while Jiraiya openly ogled her, drool starting to drip from his mouth.
"Would you like to be my research subject for my newest novel?" asked Jiraiya as blood began to trickle from his nose. He giggled once again as naughty images went through his mind.
The cloak wearing woman stepped further into the room toward Naruto, completely ignoring the white haired Sannin. The blond shinobi was slightly unnerved and began to sweat a little. A tan hand with a black fingerless glove on it reached out toward him, and it took all of Naruto's nerve to not scream. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for some type of pain. Blue eyes opened in surprise when he felt the hand on top of his head, ruffling his hair.
"I-Is that really you?" asked Naruto with surprise and hopefulness.
"It's been a long time Naruto, Hokage-sama," said the woman and bowed deeply to the village leader.
Neji had just arrived at the village gates to see Kotetsu and Izumo talking to each other quite enthusiastically. Weren't the two of them supposed to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious? He approached the booth that the two sat in with a quirked brow.
"Aren't you two supposed to be on watch?" asked Neji.
Kotetsu and Izumo looked at Neji with wide eyes. The one thought that came to them was 'At least it's not Tsunade-sama.'
"There was this weird woman wearing a cloak that came a while ago," said Kotetsu.
"We questioned her, and all she did was give a creepy smile and said she was going to see the Hokage," said Izumo.
"Well, she said it while brandishing a couple of kunai, but that's beside the point," said Kotetsu. "She's obviously one of ours if the band on her left arm is anything to go by."
"We just can't remember ever seeing anyone like her," said Izumo.
Neji listened to them ramble, but the remembered what Kotetsu said. A cloak?
"Was she wearing a maroon cloak?" asked Neji.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Izumo. "How'd you know?"
"Never mind, I have to go see the Hokage," said Neji, and quickly made his way to Hokage Tower.
The Hyuuga prodigy was waiting patiently for his turn to see the Hokage and give his mission report. As he waited, his mind went back to the woman he ran into on his way back to the village. Who was she? Evidently, she was a Konoha kunoichi, but no one knew her identity. Her prowess amazed him, and his mind went back to their conversation. He let a small shiver run down his spine as he remembered the woman's warm breath fanning across his ear. She felt so familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on what about her gave him that feeling.
"Hokage-sama will see you now," said an ANBU with an eagle mask.
Neji nodded to the ANBU and went to Tsunade's office.
"Ah, Neji, you're back a little early," said Tsunade.
"The mission was easier than initially thought," said Neji.
"Report," said Tsunade in a professional tone.
Neji gave his report of the so-called "A-rank" mission. He went through the details with apparent boredom, but made sure to spare no detail.
"Anything else?" asked Tsunade.
Neji failed to miss the mischievous flash of the Hokage's eyes.
"I ran into a cloaked woman on my way back," said Neji. "She was surrounded by a few Sound nin who came into the country. She handled herself impeccably."
"What were the Sound doing in Fire Country?" asked Tsunade.
"The woman said that the group was here for recon," replied Neji.
"So Orochimaru is probably getting ready to make a move soon," said Tsunade.
"Any word from Uchiha Sasuke?" asked Neji.
The Hyuuga prodigy remembered when Tsunade called a meeting with all of the shinobi in the village not long after Naruto, Jiraiya, and TenTen left. The Godaime informed them of Uchiha Sasuke's reasons for leaving with the Sound, and it made Neji's blood boil. He almost lost his life for nothing? It made him want to kill the last Uchiha all the more. He had to admit that it was a good idea since it was helping them eliminate a threat to their home. Neji just wished he knew about it sooner. Preferably before he had to fight a six-armed freak.
"None as of yet," said Tsunade. "Just remember that he'll send word before Orochimaru gets ready to make a move."
"Hai," said Neji. "If that's all Hokage-sama?"
"Yes, that's all," said Tsunade. "Oh, and tell your cousin Hinata to go to Ichiraku's in an hour."
"So Naruto's back then?" asked Neji.
"Yes, he and Jiraiya arrived over an hour ago," said Tsunade.
"What about TenTen?" asked Neji before he could stop himself.
"I'm afraid I haven't heard from her," said Tsunade.
Once again, Neji missed the mischief shining in the Hokage's eyes.
"I'm sure you'll run into her before I do," said Tsunade.
Neji nodded absently, then dismissed himself. As he walked through the village toward the Hyuuga Compound, he thought about TenTen. Where was she? And what was taking her so long to get back? The Hyuuga prodigy decided he was going to kill Naruto and Jiraiya. Weren't they supposed to keep an eye on her?
"Hello Neji-nii-san," greeted Hinata as Neji approached her in the dojo.
"Hinata," greeted Neji back with a nod. "You have to go to Ichiraku's in less than an hour. Someone will be waiting for you there."
"Is it Kiba again?" asked Hinata with a sigh.
"You'll see when you get there," replied Neji with a smirk.
The Hyuuga prodigy was proud of his cousin for coming out of her shell. A little over a year after Naruto left, Hinata dropped her stutter. Her confidence began to increase as she gained the approval of Hiashi for her variation of their Jyuuken fighting style. The Hyuuga heiress let her midnight blue hair grow, and it stopped at the middle of her back. She no longer wore the baggy khaki coat she wore as a Genin; she now wore a fishnet shirt and navy Capri pants, and kept her hitai-ate around her neck as always. His cousin had blossomed into a beautiful young woman as well as a formidable Chuunin. He wondered if she'd fall back into old habits once she saw Naruto again.
"You're mean nii-san!" said Hinata with a slight pout.
Neji shrugged. "It's a surprise I'm sure you'll like."
With that, he began to leave so Hinata could finish her training.
"Wait Neji-nii-san!" exclaimed Hinata.
The brunet turned to his cousin.
"Do you remember where you and TenTen trained?" asked Hinata.
"Of course," replied Neji. How could he forget?
"Well, Gai-san and Lee-san wanted me to tell you to meet them there," said Hinata.
"When?" asked Neji with a quirked brow.
"Now preferably," said Hinata.
Neji nodded to his cousin, and left the compound to meet with the rest of Team Gai. Even though he and Lee were no longer Genin, the trio still got sent on missions together on occasion under the name "Team Gai". What did those two want with him?
When he reached the training grounds, he saw that the two Green Beasts of Konoha weren't there. That immediately raised a red flag in Neji's mind. Those two were never late. As he scanned the clearing, he saw a flash of maroon hanging from a branch.
"What are you doing here?" asked Neji.
"I can ask you the same thing Hyuuga-san," replied the woman.
She jumped down from her perch and stood with her arms crossed. Neji really wanted to rip the hood from her head.
"I'm here to meet my former teammates," said Neji.
"Funny, so am I," replied the woman.
"Who are you?" asked Neji.
"You should give your name first before asking for someone else's," chided the woman lightly.
The Hyuuga prodigy was about to glare at the woman, but knew that wouldn't get him anywhere. Deciding to play her little game, Neji replied.
"Hyuuga Neji," he said.
"Neji?" asked the woman with surprise.
"That's what I said," said Neji smartly.
"Still a bastard after three years huh?" replied the woman.
That's when Neji's eyes widened in surprise. Could it really be?
"TenTen?" asked Neji with no small amount of surprise in his voice.
Okay, I know that it was pretty obvious that TenTen was the cloaked woman, but I still found it fun to write it as a mystery for Neji LOL. So what do you all think of the first chapter? Please drop a review with your thoughts if you can. TenTen will be very strong in this half of the story, so I hope that no one minds. Anyhoo, I'll try to update again as soon as I can. See you next update!
KuroiOokami89