Author's Note: This story takes place a bit before Shippuden. This whole plot is original. I'm going to throw some of my OC's in here, and pairings are possible. I will be focusing a lot on Neji/Tenten. If you are confused, just read on. Hopefully I'll be able to clear everything up later.
It was barely morning when Neji awoke.
He could hear the lively chirping of birds waking from their slumber as he slipped out of his warm sheets and onto the cold wooden floor of the Hyuuga compound. The urge to return to his bed, his sanctuary at this point, was overwhelming however. Neji ignored this though, and continued to progress in his morning.
Merely five minutes after he had awoken, Neji was standing outside the compound's gates, waiting for his team mates, who were scheduled to arrive any moment now. The Hyuuga boy opened his icy lilac eyes to the sky, watching a mother bird flutter her wings effortlessly while her baby had more difficulty in following her movements.
Neji watched the pair for a few moments. The two small creatures seemed to throw him into a reminiscing fixation, each swoop they made and flap of wings drew him even deeper into his memories.
It had been nearly a year since Uchiha Sasuke had left the village...it had been nearly a year since the peace of the ninja countries was thrown into utter despair and confusion...it had been a year since the Sound village attacked, and the past Hokage had died. Neji remembered his uncle speaking in hushed tones with the other elders about the situation's gravity. He was thirteen at the time, and going through his own problems.
The Hyuuga boy had participated in the Chunnin exam that year, before everything had gone to hell. He and his team mates, Tenten and Rock Lee, had passed the first two tests of the exam with flying colors and ease. But when the third round came nipping at their feet, Tenten and Rock Lee were left in the dust by their opponents awesome strength.
Neji however...he had passed...only by putting his younger cousin Hyuuga Hinata through one hell of a battle and mental beating that is. Neji had to frown at his past actions against the younger Hyuuga. During this time, the world seemed to be against him and the only thing he could do is fight back.
His Oto-san had bravely sacrificed himself to save her and the clan. Neji was too young at the time to understand that his Oto-san's death had kept the clan strong and him safe. He had selfishly accused his father's passing to be Hinata and her father's fault, which later led him to hate the upper branch of the Hyuuga family, because he and his father were of the lower branch. Again Neji frowned. Memories of his rude actions and selfish ways brought him to doubt himself, which he detested in every way.
This hatred continued until a young, aspiring young boy by the name of Uzumaki Naruto came and knocked some sense into the older teen. In the final phase of the Chunnin exam, Neji was pitted against Naruto into a free-for-all. Of course, Neji had been chosen as the favorite, and had gone into the battle with great confidence.
Damn, what a mistake he had made.
Naruto defeated him. Naruto had beaten him. A mere drop-out had graciously overcome Neji's Byakugen expertise.
But Neji smiled at this memory.
If Naruto had never crushed him in that fight, and finally spoke some sense to Neji...who knows what he would've become...
The Kyuubi boy had opened his eyes to all new wonders. Wonders the Byakugen couldn't even show him.
The rest is self-explanatory, really. Neji realized his egoism and his selfishness; he realized his faults and mistakes. From there on, everything changed. The make-up of the Hyuuga family changed. Neji's relationship with Hinata and her Oto-san changed. He changed.
Just...everything just changed.
And till this day, Naruto's insight held a firm grasp on Neji. Although the Hyuuga boy was a bit miffed over the fact that he failed the Chunnin exam, he eventually got over it and re-took it alongside Tenten and Rock Lee yet again. They all passed with flying colors, especially Neji, who was instantly on his way to becoming a Jounin the second he placed that Chunnin vest on.
Even Tsunade, Gondaime Hokage, was impressed with his skills. She immediately took note of him, just like the past Hokage had done before her.
The team stayed together with the leadership of Maito Gai, and became one of the top Chunnin teams around. They received high praise and marks of recognition from the strongest of warriors in the village. Even Hatake Kakashi had formally praised the team in front of his "rival" Gai.
Gai was on a road trip with that one for about two months, until Tenten had finally snapped and told him to shut up.
The praise and recognition was only half of the good fortune Team Gai and Neji received. They were allowed to take higher ranked missions, all the way up to 'A'. They had only been on a few 'A' and 'B' ranked missions though. Tsunade was weary with her ninjas and tended to only give the 'B' and up missions to ANBU or Special Jounin. Neji had to wonder if this was because she was worried about the Sound village, and another attack. They had spent so long rebuilding Konoha after all...
But Neji had his hopes up this morning anyways, even through his tell-tale of memories he had a hard time focusing. "Maybe we'll get a 'B' ranked mission or maybe even higher" kept running through his head.
He was so entranced with the thought he hadn't even noticed that Tenten was now standing right in front of him, waving her hand inches away from his face.
"Oi, Neji-kun! Anybody home?"
The call of his name snapped the Hyuuga boy out of his thoughts. Neji blinked a few times, his eyesight re-focusing and revealing Tenten who had her arms crossed against her chest, a sly grin across her tanned face.
"Daydreaming again?" She asked with a giggle. Neji smiled lightly, nodding to his friend.
Tenten shrugged, adjusting her equipment bag on her shoulder before turning back to Neji with a sigh. "You've been doing that a lot lately." She laughed again. "It's funny."
The boy nodded his head again, not quite sure what to say or do. "It's just...a lot has changed. I can't help but think about it."
Neji's team mate nodded in agreement. "You're right. A lot has changed..." Tenten's gaze teetered away from Neji and towards the sky, much like his. "Everything has changed..."
"Yeah..."
The two sat in silence for a few moments, gazing up at the purples, pinks, and light oranges the morning sun was painting upon the normally blue sky. The mother bird and her baby Neji had been watching flew past the two's line of vision, chirping away happily. Neji watched the baby bird fly beside his mother, its movements much more fluid than before.
Tenten caught Neji staring at the bird, and couldn't help but smile and giggle lightly. Neji said nothing as the birds finally flew away, heading down the market road's direction. Tenten and Neji turned to watch them, only to catch sight of two very familiar figures...
"Ohayo Tenten-chan! Neji-kun! Isn't it beautiful this morning?" A tall boy with dark hair called out, a wide beam etched across his face like usual. "It just makes me feel so full of energy!"
Tenten giggled in response. "You're always full of energy, Lee."
Neji sighed. "No kidding..."
"Now, now Neji-kun! Don't be like that! You should follow Lee's example!" A loud voice boomed in the Hyuuga's ear. Neji didn't even have to have his eyes opened to guess who that was. "Ohayo...Gai-sensei."
"Good morning to you too! Now, moving on." Gai said, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner. The team almost dead-panned with his quick change of subject, but they recovered quickly once he began to talk. "First thing is first, is everyone packed?"
"Hai!"
Gai clapped his hands like a child. "Very good! Second thing, is everyone packed i appropriately /i ?"
The trio nodded, a bit uneasily though.
"Very good! Next we go see Gondaime Hokage! We'll receive a mission scroll and a quick debriefing from her! Let's go!" The man cheered loudly, turning around and marching off like a lunatic.
Lee bounced childishly, close to Gai's heels, while Tenten was close behind.
Neji hung back for a moment before he sighed rather loudly.
i 'Gai-sensei...he hasn't told us anything about the mission yet...' /i
"It's good to see you all this morning, I'm particularly glad that you all were willing to accept this mission." Tsunade said upon the team's arrival in her office. The four bowed deeply to her, while Gai recited a rather sappy "thank you for considering us" speech.
Tsunade smiled weakly before turning to her black haired assistant Shizune. "Shizune, do you have the map?"
The young woman nodded while spreading a scroll across Tsunade's desk. "Yes ma'am, here it is."
The Gondaime glanced down at the paper before turning her head back up to the team sitting anxiously in front of her. "Listen carefully and follow along attentively, I won't repeat myself." She muttered sternly.
The team nodded, excitement boiling over slightly. "Hai Hokage-sama!"
Tsunade ran a hand through her pale hair before slapping her hand down on the right edge of the scroll. "We are here, this is Konoha." She pointed to a rather large, darkened circle of ink before sliding her finger along a dark line. "You will follow this route through the north-eastern gate, where you will meet up with your client...it should be around here." Tsunade's finger jabbed an area of the route that seemed to be detailed with little drawings of tree and such. "This is the rendezvous point; they should be coming up from the east." She looked up, checking to see if the team was still following. "You will guard your client until you reach their nearby country, this mission should last at least two weeks at the most."
"Two weeks?" Tenten gasped, her brown eyes widening.
The Hokage turned to her. "Yes, two weeks. But that is a mere estimation. It could be shorter, or it could be longer. We are not sure. It depends on the client's needs."
Neji ignored the side conversation that the Hokage, Lee, Tenten, and Shizune were now having about the mission (it was most likely on petty details anyways). He stared at the map, memorizing the route and its locations marked.
He was somewhat surprised with it. He glanced to the country in which the client would be returning to.
i 'The Storm country? They're one of our allies, right?' /i
"Tsunade-sama." Neji spoke her name smoothly, breaking her attention away from her distraction. "Yes Hyuuga-kun?"
"The Storm country is an ally of the Fire country and Konoha, correct?" He glanced down at the map and pointed to the strangely formed continent.
Tsunade replied quickly. "Yes, there government situation is shakey right now, but we're not quite sure what's going on there." She closed her eyes. "They've been keeping contact rather light, if you know what I mean." The blonde rubbed her temples. "This mission and request was pretty random actually."
Shizune patted her older counter-part on the back. "Yes, but this team is perfect for this 'A' rank mission, no worries."
Lee jumped. "'A' rank?!"
Tsunade looked up, surprise across her face. "Did Gai not tell you? You're escorting a government official; he's the Arashikage's advisor."
Tenten, Neji, and Lee turned towards Gai, their eyes dark. Gai sweat dropped. "So...maybe I forgot some things?"
Tenten snapped. "You didn't tell us anything, baka! You just told us that we had a mission, to pack for rainy weather, and to get up stupidly early! You never said anything about an escort mission or anything!"
Lee shook his head. "Gai-sensei...sometimes I wonder..."
Neji looked at his team before turning back to Tsunade. "Uh...Anything else?"
The older woman smirked. "I think Gai will be able to explain the rest, your client should too." She tossed the map and a scroll to Gai. "Study those closely."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Gai turned to his team. "Everyone ready?"
"Hai!"
Gai beamed, and tossed his fist into the air. "Then let's go!"
Almost instantly, Team Gai was filed out of Tsunade's office, leaving her and Shizune there alone. Tsunade faced her grand window, catching sight of the group heading to the north-eastern part of the village. She smiled.
"Good luck...and be careful."