The story so far...
There's a huge celebration party for Yamanaka Ino as she decides to go out and help Hyuuga Neji meet Sakura again. Not having much of a choice, he accepts her company as they incessantly try to get to Kouya island by teleport. So far, none of their attempts were successful.
Meanwhile, pursuing her journey to gather the Nine Tailed Beasts Gems, Sakura seeks for Hatake Kakashi, the mercenary shinobi. A few years ago, he's been her surrogate father, but now he's a drunk and troublemaker mercenary. At first, Kakashi refuses to help, but then he and Sakura enter the woods nearby Konoha looking for some rogue nins. After killing them, a Gem is found.
Chapter 4. The hermit kunoichi and the clay master
She did it. She actually gathered all the Nine Tailed Beasts Gems. She could feel a mix of pride, joy, relief and love, as she held the last of the Gems and walked towards him. Reverently, she knelt in front of her mysterious champion, gingerly placing the Gem on his chest and seeing it being promptly absorbed. A sudden explosion of light blinded her; when she regained her eye sight, there he was, standing up in full splendor and glory. She was exhilarated. He held his hand to her; she took it, as he pulled her into his arms. It felt so good. When she looked up to his face, though, it'd been replaced by a nasty, rotting corpse.
"Sakura... Sakura..."
She screamed.
"Sakura! Wake up, baby girl!"
"K-Kakashi?" She managed to say, cheeks wet with tears.
"It's just me, baby girl. Now stop screaming, will you?" he said, gently swaying atop the water dragon she conjured. "It seems that those dreams are really getting into you. You were just taking a quick nap..." The mercenary sighed. "Now I see why you're so obsessed about these Gems."
Sakura took a deep breath. "I saw him die, Kakashi! I always see him die." A shudder. "I just can't take this anymore. Why is this happening to me?" A tear. "Why do I have to see him die?"
"Hn" Kakashi retorted. "See... him... die? Wait a second. Who is it you're talking about?"
Poof.
"There you go, Neji-kun!" Ino said in a sweet, sing-song voice. "Isn't it much better to teleport instead of being sick aboard a ship? Not to mention all the very interesting people we got to meet!" Her eyes gleamed. "Yakushi Kabuto, Nagato, Terumii Mei, that cute kid with an orange whirpool mask..." She noted his absence. "Neji-kun? Where are you? Kami, could it be I lost him back in Otogakure?"
"I'm here, woman." His masculine voice came from above her head. From the thick canopy made by tall trees.
"Oh, there you are! You do like climbing up high, don't you?"
He muttered something that almost sounded like 'crazy woman', then graciously landed on the soft grass. "So, is this Kouya? Are you sure?"
"Well, to be honest, no, I'm not sure. But where else could we be? I mean, there are tall trees, right? And no trace of human life, right? And all these wild flowers, right? So, this must be it."
"WHAT?" he almost screamed. She flinched. "Isn't your family specialized in plants and flowers? What kind of Yamanaka are you?"
"The fighting kind." She snorted. "Why does everybody think all of us are flower specialists? One day, we held all extant knowledge about plants. Well," she lowered her head, suddenly saddened, "it was before the... before we... Damn."
He tilted his head slightly. "Before what?"
Her smile was promptly back. "Nothing! Just forget it. I don't feel like talking about it; it makes me sad. Ino-chan and sadness are things that will never match!"
"Fine, whatever." He turned around, moving some bushes as he walked. "Let's see if we can find out where we-" After a thick wall of foliage was moved, he stopped. "-are."
"Soooo, Mr. Suspicious, are we or are we not in Kouya?" She started to chant, certain of her victory. "Someone owns me an apology, someone owns me-"
"KONOHA!" Neji all but shouted. "We're back to Konoha! Back to where we began!" He tugged at his hair in distress. "Dear Kami, I beg you, give me strength and patience. Why is this insane woman-"
"Heeeeeeeeelp! Please, somebody help!" Both of them stopped and looked at each other.
"Yamanaka, did you just..."
"Of course I heard it, Neji-kun! Quick! Someone is clearly in need for heroes!" They ran towards the voice, and saw a heavily beaten cloaked woman surrounded by strange spheric creatures, seemingly made of... clay?
"Stop it! Go away!" Even though she was trying some jutsus, Neji saw that the woman was completely out of chakra. Those spheric clay creatures jumped on her, making small but damaging explosions when in contact with her skin.
Ino stepped forward, brandishing her staff. "Do I turn them into popcorn?"
He held her wrist. "Wait, Yamanaka!" She gave him a suspicious look. "I mean, you must be tired of all those teleport jutsus. Let me handle it." He offered, offhandedly.
She flashed him a dreamy smile. "You're actually concerned about my well being! My, isn't it the sweetest thing? Go ahead, Neji-kun, do it your way!"
Even before she could finish, he was already by the injured woman's side. "Hakkeshou Kaiten!" With that, he sent the little clay balls away. They didn't return. "Much better than-"
"Give me a N! Give me an E! Give me a J! Give me an I! Neji! Neji! Neji!"
He closed his eyes, trying his best not to kill the noisy blonde kunoichi. "Woman, do you want to attract the creatures back?"
Ino pouted. "What? That was just brilliant, Neji-kun! You are really one of the-"
"Excuse me", the woman's voice could barely be heard. "I... Thank you so much for saving me. I was... They were..." She passed out. In no time, both Neji and Ino were beside her.
"I don't suppose you can heal her?" he asked.
She smirked. "Why, yes, Neji-kun, of course I can! I don't mean to brag, but... Actually, I do mean to brag! After all, I'm the world's most powerful kunoichi-"
The blonde was rendered speechless when the hood hiding the woman's features fell off her head and she could see who the woman was. "Yuuhi... Kurenai?"
"Neji, Ino, thank you for saving my life." Kurenai said, after being healed by Ino. Both nodded. "Given that I live as a hermit, taking care of the Temple of Fire, it's been a long time since I last saw someone."
"And where is Sarutobi Asuma-sama? As far as I remember, he was the one responsible for the Temple." Ino asked.
Kurenai lowered her eyes. "Yes. Well..." She sighed. "Before today, the last time someone cared to show up was... He called himself Hidan, and was seemingly immortal. I still have no idea why he had to kill Asuma, though."
"This is nowhere near the Temple of Fire," Neji pointed out. "Why are you here? Were you pursuing those little clay things?"
"Not those things, but their creator. A few days ago, a blonde man came by and kidnapped my son. Since then, I've been tracking them. But today I was ambushed. The man seems to spit explosive clay from his hands – I know it sounds impossible, but I saw it happen."
The Hyuuga prodigy widened his eyes. "Deidara! I thought he was long dead."
"Not only very alive and well, but with Asuma's living legacy..." her eyes brimmed with tears, but she kept them from falling.
"Kurenai-sama! Fear not. Neji-kun and I will bring your boy back. Right? You can trust Ino-chan!"
They spotted a strange bird flying. With his Byakugan active, though, Neji soon realized it was no bird at all – but a clay simulacrum of a flying creature, with someone on its back. "There," he pointed. "Can you fly us towards him?"
"Yes, but you'll have to hold onto me real tight," she answered, and he was positive she was just trying to take advantage of the situation to bring him near. His suspicion was confirmed when they reached Deidara's level and he let go of her, staying in the air. The boy was securely tied. Neji and Ino nodded at each other. The kunoichi teletransported the boy to her arms, and then did the same to both of them to the ground. The Konoha jounin didn't give the criminal time to think.
"Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou!" Progressively, he closed his enemy's tenketsu. Before Neji could land a fatal blow, though, Deidara disappeared in a poof of toxic smoke. He cursed.
"Yamanaka, care to make me land safely?"
"I don't... I don't know his name. The dreams never told me. First, they showed me where he was. When I found him, they told me to bring him here to Kouya. Now they tell me to gather the Gems, for only they can bring him back to life."
"That's pretty strange." Kakashi looked at the wilderness of Kouya, feeling a bit nostalgic about his years with Sakura in the island. "I've heard a lot about the Gems, but nothing about them being able to bring back the dead. Do you know how this man died?"
"No." Tears filled her eyes. "The dreams showed me his death, but in a thousand different ways. Each one worse than the other." She looked down, then at him again. "I've never felt this way before, Kakashi! It's a feeling of urgency! As if time were running out. As if he were the only one capable of saving the world."
"Save the world from what?"
"I don't know." They stopped by a cavern entrance. "There he is. Do you know who this one might me?"
"HOLYSHIT!" Kakashi shouted, utterly shocked.
"'Holyshit'? You know him, then? Is it his name? I've never heard it before. What kind of name is that, is it from Hoshigakure?"
"I said safely, you insane woman!" And falling face-first on a bramble wasn't exactly his idea of safety.
"Shhh Neji-kun! No need to wake the poor boy up."