"You will be gone for at least two weeks. Don't forget to stable our relations with the Mist Village. Team Kakashi did us wonders four years ago by taking out Gato and his gang, but in these times we need to be absolutely positive. Do you understand the severity of this mission, Hyuuga?" A woman with long blonde hair and harsh amber eyes asked as she looked at a young man standing before her. He was tall, wearing a traditional Hyuuga outfit and his long brown hair had a tie near the base of his hair. His proud, calm, icy light purple-blue eyes looked at her, almost in distaste. He nodded seriously.
"Of course Hokage-sama." The woman nodded and looked at the papers on her desk. She picked up a stack and tapped the bottom against the desk. She looked at him again, almost hesitant, but straightforward.
"And another thing, Hyuuga. You will be taking one other member on your team. She has proved herself worthy of being useful in political situations." Neji's lip curled slightly over his teeth, but he nodded obediently. Tsunade motioned a figure over from the shadows. Neji stiffened, mentally cursing himself for not noticing her presence sooner. He wondered how he had missed her before.
She had light brown hair that hung loosely in a ponytail that trailed down to the middle of her back. She was wearing a small, beige-colored, kimono-like top that had only one sleeve covering her left arm, but leaving her right arm free. Underneath that were black leggings that were cut off by bandages wrapped around her legs and leading to her black nin-sandals. She also had arm bandages. It didn't escape his eyes that her left side was more tightly bound than her right. Past her neck, he could see no skin showing on her left side.
The young woman bowed respectfully to Tsunade, being very formal in her movements and then turned to look at Neji. She bowed to him as well and then raised her head and met his eyes. Neji nearly started with surprise. Her eyes were a light purple, nearly rivaling the opacity of his Hyuuga eyes. Her lips parted in a brilliant smile.
"It's very nice to make your acquaintance, Hyuuga-san. My name is Koorino Anrui. I look forward to completing this mission with you." Neji nodded and broke free of her powerful stare.
"Hn." He responded ungraciously. Anrui's smile didn't waver as she turned back to look at Tsunade.
"We'll see you as soon as the treaty is complete, Tsunade-sama. Try and keep the village intact while we're gone, okay? I trust you." Tsunade snorted, but smiled at the young woman, captivated by her charismatic nature just as Neji was. Anrui turned back towards Neji, a playful grin on her face. "So, mission leader, what do you want me to do?" Neji's lip nearly curled at her enthusiasm, but he forced it to stay down, thanks to many years of practice with Rock Lee and Maito Gai.
"Are you ready to go or do I have to wait?" He asked coldly, not seeing a bag anywhere near her. She nodded and walked to the corner of the room where she had come from. Neji noticed as she walked that she limped slightly on her left side, but she concealed it well. What unnerved Neji was that he found himself strangely curious as to why. She bent over, keeping her right leg straight as she bent over and tossed a bag into the air, raising her arms and letting land on her back. She walked back over to join him.
"I'm ready, Hyuuga-san. Anything else or do we get to head out now?" She asked curiously. Neji shook his head and turned to walk out the door. "Bye, Tsunade-sama. Tell Retsumori-sensei that I said good-bye, okay?" Tsunade agreed and Neji turned and walked out the door. Anrui followed quickly. Neji found himself slowing his pace down so that she could keep up. The limp was becoming more pronounced the longer they walked and she had to slow down in order not to tire herself. He was confused; usually, he shunned weakness in everyone else. Why was it that he was so concerned with the weakness of this new girl?
"Why are you so slow?" He asked suddenly. He stiffened at his own outburst, expecting her to be like every other female he knew and jump on him for telling her about her weakness in such a manner. She just gave him a smile, letting out a short laugh.
"So, you've noticed my weakness already, Hyuuga-san? I apologize. My left leg is weaker than most, so it's a little harder for me. It's a challenge that I have yet to overcome, no matter how hard I've tried." Her light silvery-purple eyes met his. "I should have known that your byakugan shouldn't be underestimated. Forgive me Hyuuga-san, I'll do better to try and keep up. Neji nodded in approval, watching her push herself to match his faster, stiffer pace.
"Will you be able to keep up when we're on our way to the Hidden Mist?" He asked, his tone almost cold, though he hadn't meant it to be. The smile on her lips didn't falter, like he had expected it to, if anything, it grew.
"No probably not." She replied honestly. His eyes narrowed slightly and now he was sure that her smile had grown. "Don't worry about it, Hyuuga-san. I, with my left leg being as it is, couldn't keep up with a great jounin such as yourself. However, Keiro can. He'll make sure that I don't get left behind. If anything, he might give even you a run for your money." Neji frowned at her teasing.
"Another person is coming along?" He asked, unhappy. He preferred to work alone and now he had a weak girl and another mystery person coming along with him? This was turning out to be a very bad day. She laughed, despite his obvious sudden bad mood.
"I think that you've got it all wrong, Hyuuga-san. I'm the only human that will be coming along with you on this mission. Keiro…" She paused, biting her bottom lip while grinning. "Well, you'll see him when we get to the gate." She promised vaguely. Neji sighed, about to say something else, but another figure suddenly ran up next to him.
"Neji-san! I came to wish you the very best of luck on your mission!" The new man told him excitedly. He had a large bowl-cut hairstyle and huge eyebrows. Neji rolled his eyes and Anrui giggled quietly, smothering it with her hand.
"Thank you, Lee." He ground out through clenched teeth. Lee's eyes shot over to Anrui, who had lagged behind a little, sweat beads on her forehead from the quick pace. His eyes widened and he bowed slightly, keeping up with Neji himself. He stood beside her, taking her hand and kissing it lightly.
"Hello, fair lady. I am Rock Lee! May I be graced with your name?" Anrui smiled slightly, a light blush tracing her face. Neji's frown deepened considerably at his treatment of his new teammate. A dark emotion was bubbling up in the pit of his stomach, one that he was familiar with; jealousy. He frowned even more, trying to figure out why he was jealous.
"My name is Koorino Anrui. It's so nice to meet you, Rock Lee." She looked over at Neji and met his gaze. With a smile, she carefully and politely removed her hand from Lee's grasp. "I'm sorry to have to part so soon, Lee-san, but Hyuuga-san and I are on a tight schedule because we have to get to the Hidden Mist as soon as possible. It really was wonderful to have met you, Rock Lee." Lee smiled at her nodding his head quickly.
"What a strong sense of duty! It is so youthful! Goodbye, Koorino-san! I hope to see you when you get back!" He shot off the way he had come from and Neji looked over at Anrui in surprise.
"How did you do that?" He said with something akin with awe. "I can never get him to leave me alone. It always takes me hours." Anrui giggled and shrugged.
"I guess I'm just better with people than you are, Hyuuga-san. Oh, look at that, we're at the gate." She raised her right hand to her mouth and bit sharply on her thumb, letting blood out of the small cut. Anrui quickly did handseals that Neji recognized immediately as the Kuchiyose No Jutsu. She stepped back to make way for a large gray and black-striped tiger easily the size of three horses.
"Hyuuga-san, meet Keiro, my partner. Keiro, this is Hyuuga Neji. He's a good person and the person that is coming with me on my mission, so try not to eat him okay?" She leaned up next to it's ear. "I don't think he'd taste very good anyway." Keiro let out a raspy, purr-sounding noise and nuzzled her fondly. She giggled and pushed him away, smiling at Neji again. Neji's lips suddenly felt the urge to join her's in a smile, but he forced them to stay in a straight line. He nodded toward the tier, a question in his raised eyebrows.
"And how exactly is your giant friend going to help you keep up with me?" He asked curiously. Her smile widened and she leapt into the air, landing on Keiro's back with obvious skilled ease. Her eyes sparkled in mischief and a grin played on her lips.
"Race you, Hyuuga-san!" Keiro suddenly shot off and Neji's eyes widened. He ran after them, catching up only after a few miles had been put between them and the Hidden Leaf.
"Koorino! Slow down!" He called sternly. She let out an exuberant laugh, slowing Keiro so that Neji could easily catch up and keep pace with the giant feline. She grinned at him, an excited light in her eyes. He couldn't stop his lips, this time, from turning upwards into a smile.
"You're insane, Koorino." He chuckled quietly. She laughed and nodded, obviously agreeing with him. They traveled for as long as the sun was up, stopping only once at noon to let Keiro get a drink. By the end of the day, both of the humans were exhausted. Neji because he had run practically the entire day and Anrui because, instead of food, Keiro had to be sustained on her chakra and running hungered the great beast.
"C-can we stop now, Hyuuga-san? My chakra storage is running out fast and," she picked up a strand of sweaty hair from the back of her neck, "I desperately need a bath." Neji nodded and led them to a well-protected, shady clearing in the trees. Anrui released her summons on Keiro, telling him to get a good rest so that they could run again tomorrow. After the large tiger disappeared, Neji used a simple fire jutsu to get the fire started. They quickly and efficiently set up camp. Neji was surprised that she could follow orders as quickly as she did with the weakness in her left leg.
"Koorino–"
"Please, Hyuuga-san, call me Anrui." She interrupted with a smile. He nodded slightly, expecting as much from someone like her.
"Fine. Anrui, why is your left leg so weak? You've never told me the reason before." Her lips faltered for a moment but the smile stayed on her face. She looked away not, or unable to, meet his strong gaze. She looked like someone who was about to get reprimanded, minus the smile on her face. She put her hands in her lap properly, having sat down to rest her leg.
"Is the great Hyuuga prodigy concerned for someone like me? I'm touched, Hyuuga-san." Neji's eyes narrowed at her tease, though he felt the odd urge to laugh at her jokes.
"That's not the topic at hand, Koo-Anrui." He scolded lightly. The smile faltered again, but stayed in place. After a few moments of her silence, he sighed. "I like to know exactly who I'm working with. Since I know nothing about you, why don't we start with your leg?"
"Let's just say…" She paused, looking for the right words, the smile on her face turning sad. "Let's just say that destiny was not kind to me, Hyuuga-san." She whispered. She got up suddenly, reaching for her bag. "If you don't mind, Hyuuga-san, I'm going to go and take a bath." She didn't look at him as she quickly limped out of the clearing, towards where the river was. Neji sighed, a frown marring his otherwise cool features.
Koorino Anrui was proving herself to be an enigma to the Hyuuga prodigy. He had never seen her without a smile on her face and she had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He didn't claim to knowing all of the villagers of Konoha, but he knew all of the people in and around his age group. She had to be at least two years younger than him, and he knew everyone in that age group. And her left leg was week and she was unwilling, or unable, to explain the reason why. Maybe her parents beat her and she was ashamed of it. Or maybe it was a birth defect she wasn't proud of. He stopped thinking, getting more questions than answers and only making himself more frustrated.
He looked over at where she had left, wanting to go and demand answers from her. Neji thought back to what she said, her whisper still echoing in his mind. Destiny wasn't kind to her? What did that mean? Neji sighed angrily, laying back against the tree he was sitting against.
She came back moments later, saying nothing but still giving him a soft smile. Her hair was still wet as she laid down and went to sleep, still not giving him a word. Her silence toward her cut into him like a kunai and he didn't know why. He couldn't help wondering if he had hurt her and feeling upset if he did. Closing his eyes, he shut down his mind to the questions that kept assaulting him, wanting the freedom if only for a few hours.