A/N: Hey! I'm back again with the second chapter. XD Just wanted to say thanks to all of those who are reading and thanks for your review NarutoShippings! I'm glad to know you're enjoying it.~
Warning, this is probably a lot longer than the first chapter, but I hope you enjoy it!
I don't own Naruto.
xXx Chapter 2 xXx
The sun gleamed brightly over the green plains located outside of the city of Konoha. The blue sky gracing the day with beautiful bright clarity. This day was just the definition of a perfect day, and Neji thought that he might be able to enjoy it. But of course that never seemed to be the case.
Neji's pearlescent eyes stayed focused on a specific flock of birds that flew over the plains while he was sitting on the shoulder of his SOULdier.
"Hey Neji!" A certain blonde called out from just a near distance from him.
The peaceful silence he was enjoying was now completely broken. "Hn?" He offered a side glance towards the SOULdier located next to his own. "What is it Naruto?"
Naruto Uzumaki, the son of the legendary sergeant Minato and commander Kushina. Both parental figures were the pride of the country of Fire but both were lost against Kurama. Now you'd think that Naruto was a prodigy, but he isn't. Neji understood that it was because he lacked their teachings and guidance when he was growing up. Naruto was taken in by Minato's mentor, Jiraiya, and was raised to become an asset against the Bijuus so he became a SOULdier rider.
Naruto beamed a bright smile. "I just got confirmation from Sakura-Chan! The Bijuu has broken out of the countainment wall!"
"Too cheerful for something as horrid as that wouldn't you think so?" Neji asked in reference to the cheeky smile Naruto had on display.
"I'm not happy about that! Neji you jokester you," Naruto laughed, completely oblivious to the fact that Neji wasn't trying to be funny, "this is just the first time you and I work as a unit! It should be fun!" He said while he climbed up his own mecha.
Neji chuckled with a small shake of his head.
Exactly five hours ago officials in charge of containing the asteroids informed the SOUL base that a Bijuu was already struggling within the containment walls to get out. Their base captain, Orochimaru, immediately singled out Neji and Naruto to get rid of the Bijuu or find a way to contain it for further researching.
Neji usually works with Shikamaru Nara, a prodigy genius, but he was informed that he was off riding duty to train a new female SOULdier rider. Not like he was really worried about messing this up. The plan was too simple to mess it up.
"You know the plan right, Naruto?" Neji asked while he scanned his bandaged arm.
When Naruto spoke back he was already inside of his SOULdier. "Yep!" His cheerful voice projected from within the black and orange mecha as Naruto pilot it to stand up.
Neji gave a nod and then made his way into his own mecha and activated it.
The inside of the SOULdier was a simple design. The rider went within the head to a seat with handles and controls. Neji praised its simple design, made them a lot easier to handle. What Neji didn't like was what came after activating the mecha.
Neji took his seat and swiftly activated his SOULdier. Its eyes lighting up as it then stood up besides Naruto's mecha.
"Ready?"
Neji smirked from within his mecha. "Which part?" Cracking a small joke to lighten up the situation once in a while wasn't a bad idea.
Naruto laughed, "that's the spirit!"
On both Naruto's and Neji's side view appeared a screen where a girl with emerald green eyes and ligh pink hair could be seen.
"Sakura-Chan!"
Neji just offered a simple nod as a greeting to the female.
"Naruto. Neji-San." Sakura waved at both of the riders. "Prepared for the synchronization process?"
Neji and Naruto both nodded their heads to avoid anymore stalling.
"Perfect!" She said in a way too cheerful voice that bothered Neji. Synchronization was the part he hated the most.
"Prepare to synchronize," Sakura pressed a few buttons and switched a few of the switches from her current location in the SOUL base.
Neji and Naruto both sat up straight and made sure that the back of their heads were against their seat. A small compartment opened from behind the seat where a wired rod was located. The tip of it being a slim shot that seemed to be the perfect size to fit in the small circular slot located behind the seat where they have rested their heads.
"Ready?" Sakura asked and took their silence as conformation that they were. "Commence synchronization," she announced and pressed a button that made the wired rod extend towards the back of their seats, the tip of it sliding into the slot and into the back of their heads. Both Neji's and Naruto's eyes widened, their bodies stiffening, all thanks to this new sudden intrusion taking place in their brain and slowly slipping into their nervous system and nerves.
The synchronization process didn't last that long. In fact it just lasts for a few seconds, but it feels like it lasts an eternity. When synchronizing memories of importance to the rider of the SOULdier flash before their eyes at an alarming rate of speed. It sounds overwhelming doesn't it? Well, because it is! Different memories just flashing at an incredible rate of speed can cause quite some pain. The purpose for this process is pretty obvious. It's to synchronize the SOULdier and its rider as one instead of them being two completely different things.
Neji and Naruto shot their heads forward away from the seat once the process was done and over with.
"Never going to get used to that," Naruto laughed weakly in attempts to recover from the small daze he was currently dealing with.
Neji shook his head and attempted to steady his breathing so they'd focus on their main objective already. "No one will, but let's focus," said in a stern voice Neji's eyes gleamed a light blue color that soon subsided. His SOULdier's eyes doing the same as its eyes flashed on. This small event proved that the synchronization was a complete success.
"Right!" Naruto nodded his head. His eyes gleaming soon after as his SOULdier's eyes flashed on as well.
Naruto reached for the giant sniping rifle located on the grass next to him and placed it over his shoulder, all of these actions taken by the SOULdier. "So has it's destination been confirmed yet?" Naruto directed that question towards Sakura who was waiting for the two of them to recover from the daze of the synchronizing.
"Yes," Sakura nodded. "The Bijuu is heading straight for Konoha, but I might as well inform you that it isn't doing it through land."
Neji rose a brow, "a flying Bijuu?" He asked. "Well this is a first," he added.
Kurama and Shukaku weren't able to fly, guess not all Bijuu are land restricted. You learn something new everyday.
"It is a first," Sakura agreed. "Orochimaru would prefer that the two of you capture it for research but if it can't be done then it'll be okay. Peoples' lives are in the line after all."
"How far away is this Bijuu from us?"
"At least a hour away so taking your positions right now would be best."
"Alright!" Naruto said with an excited tone of voice. "Let's do this Neji!"
Neji's SOULdier nodded its head and prepared itself. Placing its hands down in front of him the SOULdier leaned downwards as if it were about to partake in a running event on the olympics once it was positioned. Naruto's SOULdier laid itself flat on the ground while it held the sniper rifle, pointing it on to the distance.
The plan was that Neji would intercept the Bijuu before it entered the city and gain its attention away from the city. Then Neji would force it at shooting distance for Naruto to shoot it, and then hopefully place containment shields around it and capture it. Pretty basic really.
Neji, from within his SOULdier, looked at one of the screens located under his vision. On the screen details about this Bijuu were seen and even an outline of how it looked like.
"Looks like some kind of bug," Naruto pointed out. "First a possum, then a fox, and now some bug," Naruto laughed, "what's next? An ape?"
"Don't jinx us Naruto," Neji shook his head at Naruto. "Sakura," he looked at the other screen where Sakura could be seen.
"Yes?"
"The Bijuu's supposed to fly over us soon correct?"
Sakura nodded her head to Neji's question. "Yes. When you see it on the distance behind..."
"Uh...Sakura?" Naruto tried to speak.
"...you make sure you begin the operation like..."
"Sakura-Chan?"
"...planned so don't think-"
"SAKURA!" Naruto yelled in order to get the attention he was desperately trying to get from them.
"What baka?! I'm trying to explain something here!"
Neji shot a glare at Naruto, "what's the matter?"
"Look!" He pointed towards the distance in front of them.
Neji looked towards the direction in which Naruto pointed and then cursed under his breath at the sight. "Sakura you were wrong."
"What?!"
In the distance the bug-like Bijuu was already closing in on Konoha at an alarming rate.
"The Bijuu took a completely different route, that's what!" Naruto added.
Sakura stared back at Naruto and Neji through her screen in shock. "B-But how?! I-"
"It doesn't matter," Neji interrupted, "we've already wasted enough time, I'm going." And with that said Neji began to pilot his SOULdier. The SOULdier pushed itself off the soil with its hands and began to put its legs to work, beginning its running. It didn't take long for the SOULdier to quickly gain momentum but to Neji it didn't seem like it was enough so in order for it to get to the Bijuu quicker Neji made his SOULdier execute long jumps in between its mad sprinting.
"I'll back you up! Bring him my way!" Naruto smiled brightly through Neji's screen.
Neji nodded his head without saying a word. He was currently too focused to really give any feedback to anything right now. Konoha was his home and it was yet again in harm's way. Last time Neji wasn't here, he was recovering, but now that he has the tools to prevent it from going through such a terrible experience again he was going to do everything in his power to keep his home safe. His family was in that city, some of the few friends he did have, and then there was his dear friend, Tenten. It's been so long...
"I won't let anybody get hurt," he said with an obvious promise.
"Neji!" Sakura's screen appeared again. Neji didn't even notice it went away until it flashed on just now.
"What is it?" Neji gave her a side glance, not wanting to look away from his path.
"Even at this rate, you won't be making it on time," Sakura said with a heavy heart.
"What?!"
"Thanks to my mistakes," Sakura bit her lip in obvious shame, "we got a late start and the Bijuu also turned out to be a lot faster than we had anticipated and calculated it to be!"
"Tch!" He shook his head. This damn plan was already going terribly wrong. Neji continued to pilot his SOULdier, making it sprint and execute long jumps as it neared Konoha. Looking up at the sky Neji noticed the Bijuu circle the sun and then make a mad dive down towards Konoha. This was an opening, time to take advantage of it. "Activating rockets," Neji announced.
"Rockets?! Neji are you crazy?!" Sakura yelled. "Neji those haven't been tested yet, it might backfire on you! Stop being so reckless, this isn't like you!"
"It doesn't matter. It's better to have one lost life than thousands." Neji knew he wasn't being himself and that this indeed was reckless of him to do but this was the only idea he knew he was going to make it in time. Pressing a few buttons Neji pulled on his controls and on the handles down on his feet.
"Go Neji! Go!" Naruto cheered, not seeming to have a problem with just how reckless Neji was being...or maybe he didn't realize it that he was. One or the other, who knows. But Naruto was still in the same position, awaiting with his sniper rifle to finally be able to contribute.
Neji shook his head at Naruto's cheering but ignored it soon after.
The bottom of the SOULdier's sprinting feet began to leave burned grass on the sections it stepped on while Neji smirked and then tugged on the controls, stepping down on the handles thus making the SOULdier make a high jump up towards the blue sky. Two rockets appeared under the SOULdier's feet and were soon after activated, fire blaring out of them as it pushed the giant mecha towards the sky and eventually over the beginning entrances of Konoha. Immediately Neji deactivated the rockets making the mecha begin its free fall down towards the city.
"Sakura lessen the weight," Neji ordered to Sakura who just gave up in trying to make Neji come into sense.
From the SOUL base those like Sakura are put in charge of the status physic condition of a SOULdier. People like Neji and Naruto are just trained to pilot and control them. In some ways this is a two man job, not just one.
The weight ofthe SOULdier was decreased just in time before it finally landed down against the pavement, not causing much damage besides the craters that were created by the giant robot's feet. His landing was just in point as well because he caught the Bijuu by its horn, stopping its attack when it was really needed.
"Evacuate this area immediately!" Neji spoke through his mecha.
He put as much strength as he could on his SOULdier's grip since it was holding on the horn of the Bijuu to prevent it from moving forward. The SOULdier's foot dug into the pavement to stable its standing while the other leg was used to balance the weight of both the mecha and the Bijuu. The SOULdier looked over its shoulder once the grip felt secure enough. Neji took this time to see if the area was cleared like he had told it to be, but to his surprise it wasn't, people were just standing there gawking at the SOULdier.
He groaned. "Are you all deaf or what!?" He asked again which finally got people snapping out of their daze. "I said evacuate this area immediately!" He repeated in obvious irritation. The Bijuu beginning to squirm about on the hold held upon by the SOULdier. At the sight of the Bijuu finally fighting back people began to scramble about.
'Finally,' Neji thought but thanks to his keen eyesight he had he spotted one person who didn't seem to want to move an inch. 'Damn it move!' He thought, the grip on the Bijuu struggling within his hold when it came to the horn. He couldn't really do anything right now besides hold it. That stupid girl was too close for comfort and whatever action he took he was sure that she'd end up hurt.
Tenten dared to think of that the sight before her was majestically beautiful. She might die, but the sight was still beautiful none the less. Totally worth it...maybe. It's just that the SOULdier's design, it was just too hard for her not to admire it. It screamed to be noticed and just by looking at this small little scene she already figured out what would make her life worth her while.
"I need one of those," she said to herself while her admiration for the SOULdier continued.
"Tenten!"
Tenten looked over to where the familiar voice was coming from when she snapped out of her thoughts. "H-Hinata? What are you doing here?"
"Getting you out of here," Hinata took Tenten's hand, "i-it's too dangerous here, lets go."
Neji looked over to where the stupid girl was to see if maybe she had grown some sense but instead his eyes widened at what he was seeing down there. Was that Hinata? If that was Hinata then that other girl had to be-
"Tenten?"
"Neji watch out!" Sakura yelled through his screen but her warning was too late. By the time Neji turned around to look at the Bijuu again it had already swung the single tail it had at him.
The left side of the abdominal area was hit by the lethal swing of the Bijuu's tail causing the mecha to crash against a building located next to it. Though Neji locked his mecha's hands tightly around the horn to keep it from doing anything at all. This only made the Bijuu more upset and thus continued to swing its tail against the same spot it hit first, slamming the SOULdier against the tall building that was already starting to fall apart.
Neji winced in pain. He felt every hit his beloved partner was currently taking and trying to charge through. "I'm not going to let you win nor hurt anybody." Neji glared at the Bijuu who continued to attempt to cut loose from Neji's grip.
"We need to help!" Tenten yelled when watching the event take place before her.
"I-I wish we could but we can't, n-not like this."
"Get out of here!" Neji yelled from within his SOULdier. "Sakura put up the shields!" He didn't really know how many more hits he could take.
"You don't think I've been trying?!" Sakura glared at Neji.
"Where are they then?!"
"They aren't responding, damn it!"
"Forget about someone?!" Came a voice from the sky. "Let the Bijuu go Neji!" Naruto gave his command and Neji already had a general idea of what it was Naruto was going to try to do. He wouldn't mind a few commands, anything to stop this pain he was being put through.
"Naruto, why did you move from your spot?" Sakura glared at Naruto. "This isn't in the plan!"
Naruto laughed. "There is no plan! Screw it! Lets just impro-improvi uh..."
"Improvise." Neji and Sakura both said in unison.
"Yeah! Improvise!" Naruto smiled brightly while his SOULdier charged its sniper rifle.
Neji quickly released his hold on the Bijuu's horn once Naruto's SOULdier landed right on top of it, causing it to roughly impact against the once rowdy work street. With no more orders needed Neji scooped up Hinata and Tenten, safeguarding them with his SOULdier's arms as he jumped into the air and out of the area. Once Naruto saw that the two civilians were safe and not in harms way he pointed the rifle right at the back of the Bijuu's head.
"Say hello to my big friend!" Naruto said.
"Naruto wait that won't-" Sakura tried to warn him but again she was too late.
Naruto pulled the trigger and shot the Bijuu's head, but that immediately backfired. Instead of brains splattering everywhere the bullet simply recoiled and hit a building, making a hole right through it.
"-work..." Sakura finished, but then sighed and brought her palm to her face. Signature facepalm.
"Oops," Naruto watched the bullet recoil. He had completely forgotten that this specific Bijuu had armor on it.
"Baka!" Sakura glared at him. "Just keep it down, I'll be sending you the containment sticks."
Naruto gave a nod of his head to what Sakura had just said. "Got it! I won't let it move an inch!" Naruto's SOULdier pointed its rifle at one of the wings, Naruto noticing that they lacked armor, and shot it. The bullet successfully penetrating the sensitive layer. Just when he was going to shoot another wing the Bijuu let out an ear bleeding screech.
Naruto closed one of his azure eyes, feeling heat beginning to dwell inside his ears."Scream all you want, I'm not letting you win!" Naruto's SOULdier pointed its gun at another wing and shot it, the screeching only getting worse. 'This hurts too much!' Naruto thought in pain.
"Naruto!"
Naruto's eyes lit up when he looked forward and caught sight of Neji and his SOULdier running straight towards him. "Neji!"
"Get off the Bijuu now!"
He obeyed Neji's orders and jumped off the Bijuu and over Neji's sprinting SOULdier who had in hand two sticks. If Naruto had to assume what they were they were probably the containment sticks Sakura had mentioned earlier. Neji's mecha quickly stabbed the Bijuu with both the sticks on a sector of its body that failed to be protected by armor. The Bijuu began to get electrocuted once the two sticks were on it. The tips that were sticking out opened up and small hexagons began to surround the Bijuu. The hexagons then neared each other and connected together then wrapped themselves tightly around the paralyzed Bijuu, thus disabling it from any further actions or movements it might have wanted to take.
Oh my God...they actually captured a Bijuu. They actually did it.
Naruto and Neji both stared at the captured and unmoving beast in silence.
"We did it..." Naruto said, breaking the silence between the two riders first. "We did it!" Naruto repeated happily. His SOULdier expressing Naruto's happiness by holding its arms up in the air, this action causing the mecha to let go of the rifle which fell on top of a Starbucks, crushing the building.
"Oops." Naruto winced at the now crushed building.
Neji glared at the blonde and shook his head.
Sakura sighed and joined Neji when it came to the shaking of their head. "Besides the damage caused," she glared at Naruto, "good job! You two were able to obtain a Bijuu-huh?" Sakura stopped midsentence and looked away from her screen towards her right. Naruto and Neji both watched Sakura nod her head. "Got it," she looked back at the riders, "standby until further instruction," and with that Sakura's screen went off.
"What was that about?" Naruto asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, but you need to stop destroying buildings."
"Sorry!" Naruto apologized.
Oblivious to the two SOULdier riders people were already walking up to them and the contained Bijuu clapping and cheering at them for their valient effort and obvious victory.
"Hey look!" Naruto smiled. "We're going to be famous now!"
"Not us, our SOULdiers. They can't see us- Naruto what are you doing?"
"Getting out of here!" He beamed a bright smile. "Wouldn't want to keep 'em waiting!"
"Naruto. Sakura said to standby-"
By the time Neji tried to talk some sense into him Naruto was already out on his SOULdier's shoulder. "Please, please it was our pleasure!" Naruto boasted. His words making the cheering and clapping of the crowd only intensifying, some flashes of light could already be seen down below, meaning they were probably already taking pictures of him or video recording him for the news.
"Idiot," he sighed but then noticed Tenten in the crowd when he was scanning over it.
In the midst of posing for pictures Naruto saw that Neji was also stepping out of his mecha, seeing him now standing on the shoulder himself.
"Neji! So you decided to join- Neji? Neji, where are you going?!" Naruto said when Neji suddenly jumped off the mecha's shoulder, his landing causing him no harm whatsoever.
'Neji?' Tenten thought. It couldn't be, could it?
"Are you suicidal or what?" Neji asked when he finally walked up to her.
"What? No I'm not!" She glared.
"N-Neji please don't pick a fight," Hinata stuttered.
Tenten gasped silently."So you really are the Neji I was thinking about!" This only made Tenten's glare intensify which made Neji flinch a bit.
He doesn't really recall her having the ability to give such a deadly glare.
"Why hello there, jerk! It's so nice to see you again too!"
"T-Tenten please don't start a-an argument right now," Hinata was getting nervous. All eyes were on them along with the cameras.
"You were just standing there like some idiot, Tenten," he quickly changed the subject with a stern tone, "you could have died, why didn't you listen to me when I clearly said to evacuate the area?"
That made Tenten stay silent because she knew he had a point, hell even she knew she was being stupid and not really being much help. "..."
While these two continued their little show Hinata fiddled with her fingers silently in hopes that they would stop making such a scene.
"I know," she admitted, "I'm sorry about that. I just...I just couldn't help but to admire the SOULdier."
Neji shook his head, finding that reason to be one of the stupidest reasons to ever be given, but that didn't really matter because she apologized anyway. "It's okay. Just don't do that again- Ow!"
Tenten had punched Neji on the shoulder and for that he glared at her.
"That's for not keeping in contact with me and worrying me."
He considered what would be the right things to say but settled with, "fair enough."
"So...are they like a thing?" Naruto asked while he stood next to Hinata with his arms crossed. He was too ninja for these people, a sneaky ninja.
Startled by his voice Hinata blushed and shook her head. "N-No, they're just old f-friends."
"Looks like more than that to me," Naruto laughed which earned him a glare from the Hyuuga rider.
"When did you get here?"
"A bit ago," he beamed a smile.
"Neji," Tenten spoke up again, "why did you just disappear?"
"Disappear?" Naruto rose a brow at what Tenten had said.
"Can we talk about this another time?" Neji asked.
"That would be highly adviced." Someone said from behind Naruto and Hinata.
Both the riders' eyes widened, that voice sounding very familiar to them.
Naruto turned around and Neji took his place next to Naruto, both standing at attention. "Base captain Orochimaru," they saluted to the pale dark long haired man who stood before them.
"Orochimaru?" Tenten asked.
"I hope you both realize the things you have caused," Orochimaru glared at the two riders.
And there's the second chapter!
Please review and let me know what you think, or what would you like to expect on coming chapters. Again, thanks for reading, you're all so wonderful.
Till next time! :P
