Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
White of the Blue
"I'll bet Neji will know who that girl is," said Naruto as he burst from the underbrush into the clearing still damp from the morning drizzle. Shino stepped silently in behind.
Hearing the orange-clad ninja's voice chirping with excitement the Hyuuga prodigy expected nothing less than yet another needless complication in their weeklong mission. He slowly stood up and asked: "Back already, Naruto? The way you demanded extra training I'd expect you'd be able to handle more than an hour with Shino."
"It's not like he's easy! He was taking the awesome beating I was giving him pretty good. But we didn't stop because of that, we found this unconscious kunoichi near where we were training. She was like, maybe fifteen and wore tight shorts and this classy pinkish jacket. I mean, I could wear that thing myself..." Naruto paused for a bit to consider the implications, and then amended, "...if it was orange. And man, that kunoichi was lucky she didn't cut herself with that giant shuriken strapped to her back when lying out cold like that."
As it was clear that Naruto was about to further derail the debriefing with nonsensical comments the young Aburame quickly interjected in his usual monotone: "Her affiliation was Konohagakure, as evidenced by the symbol on her hitai-ate."
Naruto's head nodded rapidly, "Yeah, she wore it like a bracelet. So we rushed to check if she was hurt and if she needed any help. It turned out that there was no blood and no signs of a fight at all, bummer. So we guessed, maybe she was knocked out by poison or genjutsu, but Shino checked for both and it was not the case. Oh, and there were no tracks to boot.."
"If she was a leaf ninja why didn't you bring her with you?" asked Neji pointedly.
Shino seemed to concentrate on observing a bug crawling on his palm, so Naruto tried to explain. "We wanted to, but she escaped."
The Neji's brow knit in confusion. He hadn't been expecting that answer.
At the Hyuuga's confused look, Naruto growled and puffed out his cheeks. "She did! Anyway, she way lying there under a tree and Shino and I were trying to bring her around. At first when she woke up she seemed confused, so I said I was Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha to calm her down. But then she mumbled something and stared at us with her Byakugan and moments later she was running away in panic!"
Naruto cringed under Neji's sudden glare.
He threw his hands up in front of his face, "I seriously don't know why. Honest!"
Neji softened his intense gaze. "Are you entirely sure she had the Byakugan?"
"Yeah," said Naruto and Shino nodded in agreement. "So, if she was Hyuuga, we were thinking you might know who she is, Neji."
Neji's eyes narrowed. "Naruto, you will tell me exactly what she looked like!"
"I can do even better than that, Henge!" With the set of handseals and a cloud of displaced air, Naruto transformed into a teenage girl of average height and sleek build; her vaguely disheveled appearance and apparent lack of regard for Hyuuga dignity catching Neji's attention immediately. On top of her tasteless choice in attire, she had her shoulder length blonde hair tied off to the right side of her head with a piece of knotted string. What horrified the young Hyuuga the most was the fact that this girl's forehead was uncovered, suggesting she was a member of the main branch.
"Th-that is impossible..." muttered Neji as more and more unreasonable explanations, from classified eye transplants to an illicit affair, went though his head. The young Hyuuga's voice grew louder with each word. "There are no main family members of her age. There are only a few Hyuugas with fair hair and I know them all personally. The secret of the Byakugan might have been exposed and you let her escape?!"
"Hey, it's not that we didn't try to stop her," orange-clad ninja retorted angrily. "She was pretty fast and she used this ultra cool jutsu that let her run through air the air like on solid ground. I'd wish Pervy-Sage taught me that one after water-walking..."
"Indeed. Our opponent proved to be highly skilled at evasion. While we weren't directly engaged I estimate her abilities to be at least high chuunin level. I have tagged her with one of my kikai bugs."
"Is she still within range?" Neji was furious that they had not mentioned this detail earlier.
"Yes. Apparently she stopped fleeing after we ceased our pursuit."
For the next minute or two Neji had to curb down Naruto's enthusiasm for immediately resuming the chase, which was all the harder since he himself had a foremost obligation for the Hyuuga clan to capture the mysterious white-eyed kunoichi. Still as their leader, he would not allow his team into a potentially dangerous situation without proper preparations. After asking for more details about the unknown ninja's presumed capabilities Neji outlined his plan. Moments later the three genin each jumped on a tree branch and swiftly disappeared into the thick forest.
Pursuit team was fortunate, as their target seemed to remain relatively stationary. To capitalize on this opportunity Naruto was ordered to create dozens of shadow clones and deploy them in a wide circular formation surrounding the mysterious kunoichi outside of Byakugan range. Owing to the blonde ninja's inhuman chakra reserves twenty additional clones reinforced the most probable escape routes. At the same time Shino dispersed one of his swarms and sent it towards the circle center. Kikai bugs silently crept through the undergrowth never disturbing a single leaf or twig in their path.
"We will now gradually reduce the circumference," Neji subvocalized.
"What?" several Narutos asked in unison. The team leader was grateful that at least they all whispered.
"Tighten the ring. Twenty steps forward at a time."
Shortly thereafter the blonde kunoichi appeared in Neji's field of vision. A hint of smile passed through his face as he realized his Byakugan was more developed than hers. The girl was frantically forming hand seals. The Hyuuga genius easily recognized the pattern of an illusion breaking jutsu . Tactically there was no reason for concern since his team did not rely on genjutsu, but he couldn't help but wonder why would she go through the same set over and over again. Her whole body language reeked of anxiety. Neji saw that she was trying to control her breathing and calm down, but it was futile. Contents of her backpack were scattered nearby.
Finally some of Naruto clones entered in blonde kunoichi's Byakugan range.
"Target is on the move!" Shino and Neji exclaimed simultaneously.
Mismatched battle cries echoed throughout the forest as shadow clones broke formation and charged head on. The girl was careful to evade larger groups, however by doing so she nearly run into one clone noticeably faster than the rest. The Hyuuga prodigy knew most Byakugan users were able to recognize and discern different combatants by their distinct chakra system structures. He himself would have never been fooled by such a simplistic trick like Henge. Still, given the female ninja's unnerved state, it was just enough to make her hesitate.
Naruto persona engaged the enemy in a traditional Jyuuken stance. The kunoichi, her jacket now half unzipped and eyes wide open, dodged the opening strike. She recoiled out of reach of the follow-up strike and took her stance, clearly Jyuuken but sloppy in Neji's discerning eyes. Neji was outraged, because that evidenced she was trained in secret Hyuuga arts, possibly by a rogue clan member. He poured his anger into a flurry of strikes. The swirling glow his chakra coated hand filled one side of her vision as she managed to tip her head out of it's path. Despite the source of her training the Hyuuga genius had to admire her speed; she again almost landed a blow inside his guard. Visible strands of chakra surged around the combatants as they continued to exchange hits. By the time Naruto and his clones got to join the fight Neji's Henge was disrupted and the mysterious kunoichi was steadily losing ground.
One by one shadow clones started disappearing in clouds of smoke. Nonetheless, in a few moments the girl was about to be overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers. Also with her focus divided between multiple combatants Neji was now free to step up his offense. Desperately she sidestepped simultaneous attacks by Naruto and a Jyuuken strike and begun to run through a short sequence of hand seals unfamiliar to all three genins. She yelled "Raion no Gouon! [Lion Roar]" on top of her throat and her voice resonated into a thunderous roar that rumbled through the forest disturbing every bird within several miles radius. Konoha genins paused momentarily and roughly a third of remaining Naruto clones were destroyed by the pain caused by busted eardrums. Shino smirked, as his kikai bugs were unaffected by the jutsu and continued to drain the kunoichi's chakra.
Unsurprisingly the blonde ninja couldn't hear himself yelling: "Alright, lady! Now we get serious, Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! [Mass Shadow Clone]" A shadow clone was now sitting on a nearly every branch capable of supporting one.
Yet, the mysterious girl had already spend the precious moments of advantage to scramble herself and use "Fuuton: Kuuchuu Oomata no Jutsu! [Wind Release: Sky Stride]" She jumped straight up and, instead of landing, absurdly suspended herself fifteen feet above the ground. Despite the strain evident on her face and the labored breath the kunoichi's moves remained dynamic as she ran through the air above the orange hoard. Neji molded chakra into his feet and leapt from one tree trunk to another, determined to counter his opponent's altitude advantage while it was still possible. He would bring disgrace to the Hyuuga clan, if he failed to capture the mysterious girl with Byakugan.
The horde of Naruto clones unleashed a barrage of kunai and shuriken with attached ninja wires aimed at entangling the target. For a moment taut wires created an intricate pattern gleaming in the sun. But in a blink of an eye everything collapsed into a tangled mess as wires twisted around each other while projectiles diverted, ricocheted and severed other strings. Kunoichi had little problem with dodging the few kunai and shuriken that actually reached her. Naruto pouted, reluctantly admitting the attack definitely wasn't the greatest feat of coordination seen in the ninja world.
The kunoichi reached into her weapon holder for an oversized explosive tags, which she quickly folded it into a paper plane. Her sweaty palms left discolored marks where she touched the paper. Next she threw the plane and let it glide slowly along the most direct path her pursuers would use. In response Shino simply shredded the plane with an accurately thrown shuriken. Unknown ninja's own route of escape was blocked in a critical moment, when several fire bursts blasted above the tree crowns. Unfortunately Shino's supply of kunai rigged with explosive tags sufficed only for a single salvo.
Eventually, by virtue of superior speed and her air walking jutsu, the girl dressed in pink jacket managed to evade Konoha genins and escape above the canopy.
"The outcome of present encounter is not yet decided. My kikai bugs are continuously draining our target's chakra. Thus far her reserves proved to be more than considerable, yet I predict she will soon be unable to support her technique," the young Aburame commented in his usual monotone.
"She has just swallowed a soldier pill," said Neji hoping that the mysterious kunoichi repertoire of jutsu did not include any close range technique that could decimate Aburame's insects.
"Guys, she is doing her fancy air walking, but we can still take her down," Naruto proposed and quickly explained that he could use his shadow clones to launch them all in the air. Normally the Hyuuga prodigy would not go along with the suggestion, but under the circumstances he considered it better than waiting or throwing shuriken.
"OK, let's do it."
Naruto clones divided in small groups and took positions suitable for catching the escaping kunoichi in a crossfire. On signal, shadow clones flung the human projectiles in the air. Genins used the flying clones backsides as platforms for a second leap. The mysterious girl tried to evade by running sharply down. Fortunately Neji predicted that move and delayed his second jump accordingly.
At the very moment when two Byakugan users passed by themselves in mid-flight Neji whispered; " Hakke Rokujuu Yonsho!" [Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms]. It was nearly impossible to maintain the correct form for an advanced Jyuuken attack without the ability to balance ones weight on a solid surface, yet there was a reason the young Hyuuga was considered to be the best of his generation.
"Two strikes! Four strikes! Eight strikes! Sixteen strikes! Thirty-two strikes! Sixty-four strikes!" Neji brutally closed kunoichis' tenketsu points deliberately causing more pain than strictly necessary. The girl, being unable to mold chakra to her feet, was now plunging towards the ground.
Shino caught the falling girl in mid-flight and gently landed. Shortly thereafter bulged veins on her face receded and her Byakugan deactivated, as her chakra reserves were nearly depleted. She was gasping for air and her eyeballs were moving rapidly indicating fear. Moments later Neji and Naruto joined Shino. Together they easily overpowered the struggling kunoichi. The young Aburame took care to properly bind the captured girl.
"Yeah! We got her," Naruto cheered.
Neji approached the laying captive threateningly. She turned her head to look away. He leaned down over her and placed a finger charged with chakra onto her temple. He then used that finger to push her head back to face him. Without a word Neji moved the glowing finger under her chin and forced the kunoichi to stand despite the strain put on her legs by closed tenketsu points. The captured girl wrangled not to meet his gaze, but he was glaring straight into her white eyes.
"You! What is your name? How did you obtain the Byakugan?" he asked stressing every syllable.
"I... I'm M-Mut-tsumi," her voice was barely a whisper.
"No, Mutsumi evidently is not your real name. My Byakugan pierces all attempts of deception. Minute shifts of your facial expression, your slightest hesitation, everything. Don't you dare lie to me again! I'll ask one more time, what is your name and where did you get the Byakugan?"
"No... p-please. I shouldn't... ev-even b-be here! Ne... Hyuuga-sama, please don't!" The blonde kunoichi was shivering from exhaustion and fear.
Neji simply repeated his question, while Naruto watched in horror at the relentless interrogation. She was already broken, there was no need to press her that much. He felt the girl looking at him, silently pleading him to make Neji stop. The orange-clad ninja gritted his teeth.
"I b-b-beg y-you! If I... interact with you ev-everything will ch-change. Please, I want to live!" Her words made no impression on the young Hyuuga.
Just as Naruto was about to move in and pound the cruel bastard to the ground Shino sternly put his hand on Neji's shoulder and said; "There is no need to continue this inquiry. Her last statement contains the last piece of conclusive evidence required to establish her identity."
"What do you mean, Aburame?"
"Neji, Naruto, you should allow yourselves a few moments to calm down." Shino then turned to the girl with tears staining her cheeks. The young Aburame did not smile, but his face was the very picture of serenity and security. "I presume you fear of temporal paradoxes. There is no cause to panic, as they clearly pose no immediate danger to your wellbeing. "
"No! Shino-sensei, please, you mustn't say these things!"
"'Shino-sensei'? 'Temporal paradoxes'?" Neji had no idea what the white-eyed girl and his comrade were talking about. "Explain yourself, Aburame."
"Hey, I know all about temporal paradoxes," exclaimed Naruto. At that comment young Hyuuga could only stare blankly and even Shino raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "I really do! I read manga. Like in that chapter of 'Steel Samurai'", in reality it was 'Pink Princess', but Naruto wouldn't admit he followed that series, "there was this time traveler that went into the past and messed things up pretty badly. Like, when he ruined his parents first date. Man, that was fun! He then started disappearing, since, you know, he wouldn't have been even born in the future." Realization slowly downed on Naruto. He pointed his finger accusatory at the mysterious girl and said; "Wait a minute, pal. You are from the future, aren't you?"
"I... I..." she wanted to deny it, but could not; to the prying Byakugan eyes the truth would be painfully obvious.
"You are," Shino supplied. "I see no other plausible explanation of the observed facts," the young Aburame then proceeded to list clues that led him to this conclusion. "You were found with your tracks either perfectly covered or nonexistent, yet you made no effort to disguise your presence. You attempted to flee from fellow leaf ninja, yet I don't recall seeing your profile listed in the bingo book. In truth, neither of us had any previous knowledge of you. Furthermore, your behavior might be interpreted to indicate you thought yourself to be under influence of a powerful jutsu. It was also your intention to curtail interaction with us. Even during our brief combat encounter you refrained from using offensive tactics and techniques." The girl listened in silence, as Shino presented more evidence. Notably, he mentioned that as he was tagging the girl while she was still unconscious he discovered another male kikai bug. "I studied it intently. This specimen had the particular characteristics never before observed in nature, but planned by the Aburame clan to be developed in foreseeable future."
"Come to think of it, you do look kinda like Hinata-chan," Naruto mused quietly, paying little attention to Shino explanations.
"No. I refuse believe that the most noble clan of Konohagakure would degrade to that," Neji pointed at the rugged jacket worn by the girl, "in a single generation." The Hyuuga prodigy would sooner accept the possibility of time travel than this, there was no other word, sacrilege. "Even if I acknowledge she is from the future, her Byakugan is still stolen."
"B-But..." protest died on kunoichi's lips.
Neji's palms flared with chakra as he struggled with his thoughts; "You! You would claim to be a Hyuuga? A member of the main branch, no less?". The young Hyuuga waited as the girl gathered her courage to respond.
"I-I am, b-but... it is complicated. Lady Hanabi and my mother..."
"Impossible," Neji spouted. He prided himself on being calm and collected. However, the Hyuuga genius subconsciously knew that the moment he would pause and consider the facts, he would reach a disturbing conclusion. He opened his mouth again, but said nothing.
"So, who's your mother anyway?" Naruto asked to break the awkward silence.
"Naruto," Shino turned towards the blonde ninja and spoke in monotone," why ask a question you yourself answered not a minute ago? She is a daughter of my teammate, Hyuuga Hinata."
"Like, for real?"
The girl nodded nervously in response. For some strange reason speaking to a thirteen year old boy with vibrant blue eyes made her uncomfortable.
"That's so cool. I bet she will kick Neji's ass for what he did to you just now," he added smiling sheepishly, "So..." Naruto wanted to try and comfort her further but he didn't really know what more to say, "...what's your name?"
"I'm Ayumi," she said and neither Shino nor Naruto saw the need to press the girl for her surname at the moment, albeit each for a different reason.
"Glad to meet you, Ayumi-chan. Heh, you probably remember this from before, but I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna be the Hokage, believe it! Say, Ayumi-chan, you're from the future, aren't you?" Wide and mischievous grin sprouted on his face, "you tell them I'm gonna be the next Hokage."
"Shut up, Naruto! Do us all a favor and don't interfere with my interrogation," the young Hyuuga lashed out and glared at Naruto with his Byakugan, "I wouldn't be surprised if you were responsible for this perplexing situation."
That last comment struck a sensitive chord. The orange-clad ninja could not put up with Neji's confrontational attitude and retorted; "You blame me? For what? If you got your way earlier today, we wouldn't even meet Ayumi."
"You idiot, you're completely missing the point. I'm talking about the fate of the Hyuuga clan," said Neji as he released the kunoichi, who slowly slid on the ground. The Hyuuga prodigy now faced Naruto directly.
"Huh?"
"After we fought at the chuunin exam," the memory of the loss and its consequences flashed through Neji's mind, "you vowed to personally change the Hyuuga ways. Or have you already forgotten?"
"No way I ever forget that," Naruto remembered the curse seal, the divide between the main and branch house of the Hyuuga clan and the pain Hinata had to endure. "It is a promise of a lifetime!" The bold statement hid the fact that the blonde ninja still didn't understand what Neji's problem was.
"We have the effects of your efforts before our own eyes;" the Hyuuga genius denoted Ayumi, "a coarse, fearful girl. Be warned, Uzumaki, I won't let you take Hinata-sama and wreck the Hyuuga clan."
Although Naruto missed the depth of the insult, it was more than enough to provoke a reaction; "I don't go back on my word!" Naruto was confident that as Hokage he would make all the right decisions. "And don't drag Hinata-chan into it, you bastard! If you have a problem with me, we can deal with it right here, right now."
"Yes, you consistently appear hellbent on making errors like that, Naruto," Neji replied and adjusted his position. "I might just be tempted to grant your wish."
Naruto took a single step to the left to his disputant's movement. He taunted; "As if you could take me on, Neji. I dispatched you before and I can do it again, no problem. Heck, I couldn't even do Rasengan back then." Naruto clenched both fists and tensed his body in anticipation of an attack.
"It would be unwise to attempt to solve our current predicament by fighting among ourselves," said Shino with a buzzing undertone of kikai bugs. He stepped in between the other genins and attempted to diffuse the situation.
However before Shino could appeal to young Hyuuga's sense of duty or Naruto's sense of teamwork the blonde ninja shook his fist and shouted; "Neji needs some sense beaten into him, I tell you!"
"This is between him and me. Don't interfere, Aburame," Neji said in the tone of an order. With his active Byakugan he observed Shino's impassive facial expression.
"Uncle Neji, please, t-this isn't like you at all," the kunoichi unexpectedly joined the argument. Her chest raised and fell as she was breathing hard. The look in her milky eyes was different than before. "The man who taught me Jyuuken would never inflame himself over unconfirmed presumptions. Let me assure you, the clan you care so deeply about is no less respected than twenty years ago. Ehm...", her hesitation helped undermine the impact of the speech, nevertheless Ayumi continued. "I mean, no less respected than now. In spite of anyone who says otherwise my parents wouldn't have it any other way. As for me, I'm not fearful. I'm proud to be Hyuuga." The girl wisely neglected to refer to her other surnames.
"Indeed. We would to well to understand the relevant aspects of the situation before we act," Shino addressed the Konoha genins. He waited for few moments to confirm that they both relaxed their stances. Only then he withdrew his swarms of kikai bugs.
"Yeah, what they say," Naruto put his hand behind his neck. "We don't know what happens in the future, exactly."
"I suppose we don't," Neji agreed reluctantly. He admitted to himself the need to properly reevaluate Ayumi. Of course that didn't change the fact that she was still to be treated with proper caution.
"See, Ayumi-chan, no need to worry now," said Naruto as he approached the girl. "I'll protect you no matter what." Naruto was actually surprised how positively she reacted to his statement. He reached for a kunai and proceeded to cut the wired binding Ayumi.
Neji grabbed his hand.
To prevent the situation from once again escalating Ayumi responded immediately; "Uncle Neji, p-please, I wouldn't have anywhere to run to. I promise I will return to Konoha with you."
"Yeah, she is Hinata's daughter and a leaf kunoichi. That's reason enough to trust her."
Neji released Naruto's hand.
"You will be watched closely. We will gather our gear and head back to Konoha shortly," he declared dryly and turned away.
"I can't imagine the look on everyone faces when we get there. Eh, Ayumi-chan?" Naruto chattered as he helped the kunoichi stand up.
"Naruto, I would strongly advise against revealing the identity of a time traveler. Ayumi-san represents a significant intelligence asset to the village. We should report directly to the Hokage and request a private debriefing," Shino spoke in his usual monotone. He then bended to pick up a kunai stuck in the ground.
Naruto puffed out his cheeks when Neji accepted Shino's suggestions without question.
"In addition I ask you to contain your curiosity for the duration of the journey. Do not harass Ayumi-san for information from the future. If you don't, it might result in unwelcome consequences as exemplified by your earlier passionate dispute with Neji."
When all preparations were made four ninja left for Konoha in standard escort formation.
Regards to dragonboy-mt, for Ayumi inspired by his "Future on Their Shoulders" fanart.
Regards to Psalm of Fire, for his advice and help in writing my first fanfic.
A/N: Yes, I know my oneshot could serve as a prologue for a larger story. I might attempt to write it in the future. Comments, suggestions, reviews, questions and constructive criticism are welcomed.