Nichole's Note: SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATE. SCHOOL. UGH. HARD CLASSES. UGH. And I'm also very sorry for the short chapter but a lot happens so that's good right? And it leads up to some pretty awesomeness for the next chapter! Aggggh I'm tired. Bleh.
Disclaimed: Own nothing that is featured in the manga Naruto. That all belongs to other people not me.
Review? Please? :D
I needed to hurry; there wasn't much time to lose. He runs fast, and now he's motivated. I had no idea how fast he was going. And I needed to catch up with him… Quickly.
The first stop was to my apartment. I needed supplies. Weapons: Check. Bandages: Check. Hopefully I wouldn't be needing any food or shelter; this group couldn't be that far away, could it? I threw the backpack onto my shoulders, and headed out the door.
"Neji, I'm coming," I whispered into the air, feeling kind of silly but filled with purpose as I dashed toward the town gate. The guards didn't bother stopping me, something I was grateful for. The less brain power I had concentrating on getting to him, making sure he was safe, the worse off I'd be. I needed all thrusters set to speed.
The forest was bright and warm, and there weren't many other people within the reaches of the green trees, another thing that offhandedly crossed my mind as lucky.
I felt like I was getting nowhere fast as the same scenery kept on speeding past. All it was was green and brown. I wasn't going fast enough. I would never get to him in time. And I needed to get to him before he ended up putting his team in needless danger.
Or worse… killing himself.
I bit down on my tongue to keep the tears that welled up at the thought of Neji dying. He was a capable ninja, I told myself. Strong, smart, and logical.
He was logical to the point of being cold and cynical.
He was the last person to let emotions affect him.
Right?
The thought of him when the messenger boy told him that the group-the rebels from the Cloud- had been sighted flashed through my mind. That look was what killed my confidence in his apathy. That look was what scared me.
That look was of a man willing to die for nothing, marching to his doom because he can.
"Idiot!" I reprimanded him, and pushed myself faster, faster.
The world around me began to blur into one continuous color stream. I was no longer able to make out any distinctive shapes in the colors whipping around me. I was barely aware that my foot kept hitting a branch to keep me propelled. All I could see was the frozen expression on his face when he knew he could get revenge.
And all I could imagine was the dead, cold look on his face I would find when he was over powered.
My heart wrenched painfully. I needed to stop thinking of that. I needed to have confidence in his abilities. That was what I needed to do.
An elite group of ninja surrounded him and kept him safe.
He would elude them… go out to fight this battle on his own.
He is smart, analytical, and careful.
But he's angry, depressed, and careless.
He is strong.
But is he strong enough?
The question echoed throughout my mind, and I knew I was freaking out. I wasn't thinking rationally. I was repeating things for no reason whatsoever. I was scaring myself. But my mind only had one idea, and that was a Neji who needed me.
Something in my leg began to burn as I felt the effects of pushing myself so hard after having it punctured. I made a mental note to go home and punch Hana in the face. Regardless of it's supposed healing, there was still some sore tissue, and I was murdering it.
The pain slowly dulled after another three hours of running a speed no normal ninja should ever be able to reach. I wanted to say that I was no normal ninja and this was nothing for me, but my time as a member of Gai-sensei's team had ended quite a while ago and now I was killing myself to keep the same pace.
"Stop."
My body froze in place as a man appeared in front of me, kunai at my throat. He was dressed in the traditional ANBU uniform with a bird's mask covering his face. The steel blade was lowered as I guess he saw my headband.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was sent by Hokage-sama to search for and find the leader of this squad, Hyuuga-san. It is important that I get to him before he does something reckless, as Naruto-sama expected he would. Can you give me any information?"
I could feel the man's gaze drop. "We lost contact with the leader over thirty minutes ago. He ordered us to stay in the woods and make sure that no one got through into or out of the fighting area. He told us he would handle it on his own."
Fear ran down my spine. "Let me pass, and warn your fellow members that I am coming, and tell them not to disturb me."
"I cannot allow you to do that, miss."
My eyes narrowed into a glare. "Hokage-sama's orders trump Neji's every time, boy. Let. Me. Pass."
After a moment of consideration, the ANBU agent finally let me through. He was reluctant, but I knew he knew I was right. Thank God Naruto let me come out here, and I didn't have to give up my headband. That would have sucked.
My ears and eyes were alert for any sign of Neji. I moved silently through the trees, searching, waiting, watching. Yet no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get anything.
The ANBU I had met in the woods seemed to have sent the message along to all of his team not to bother me, because while I knew they were out here somewhere, I neither saw, heard, or felt them anywhere. Usually I could tell when I was being watched-a feeling- but I didn't get it at all.
"So you finally found me. I've been waiting for you, Hyuuga."
A very sickeningly familiar female's voice quietly drifted out of a clearing to my right. I slowed my pace, and propelled from branch to branch with the stealth of, well, a ninja.
"I knew that one day you'd be back to avenge that little girl. You were so angry when she fell. Even I was scared."
I settled myself in a place where I had just enough view of the proceedings to tell what's going on. The red headed woman stood smugly in front of Neji, her fellow rebels surrounding her. He stood tall, his whole body tensed with hatred.
"But now I get to kill you like you killed my men, white eyes. You will soon be nothing more than a memory. And that's always good news."
In a matter of seconds, Neji was in stance and tearing through the bodies coming at him. But try as he might, they just weren't normal humans. They were ninja, and they had skills of their own. One of them threw kunai to the ground, creating the points of a star. With the slam of her foot, the ground in between the knives cracked, and Neji fell.
Another one jumped on top of him, stabbing him with something disgustingly sharp. Neji pushed him off with a surge of chakra, but he couldn't get up fast enough before others of them jumped on.
"Dispel!" I whispered, making the hand motions. This could not be happening. I walked into a genjutsu, I just knew it. It was a trap, and this was my greatest fear. "Dispel!"
Yet nothing happened. The scene stayed the same. I reached into my pouch and pulled out a few kunai, and threw them. It hit the two ninja currently wailing on Neji, and sent them flying off of him.
The red head looked straight into my hiding spot, and I knew my cover was blown. I stood up, and practically flew into the open battle field. Neji was pushing himself up, and blood was seeping from his back.
"And here I thought I had killed you that day when we ambushed your pathetic little three man cell. Surprise," she mumbled, looking highly displeased.
"You did kill her," Neji said. "You killed my teammate. You ended her life! This is not the same girl!"
"No, I'm sure it's her. It looks like her, although I will admit I like this style more than those buns. Yes, I remember. I liked seeing how the blood mixed with your muddy brown hair."
I gritted my teeth, but made no comment back. The other ninja were just standing there, watching this go down. Neji was slowly gaining his composure, and I was walking toward him. As soon as I reached him, I slipped my arm around his waist and put the other one over my shoulder. He tried to pull away, but I gripped him.
"No, you're injured. Don't push yourself."
"Kyaten, what are you doing here?"
A strange laugh came out of the girl's mouth. "Kyaten? I distinctly remember you yelling something else the last time I saw you."
I cleared my throat. "Like he said, I'm not the same person. That girl, as I understand, was his teammate. I'm just someone sent here to fulfill my Hokage's orders."
I glanced over at Neji. His mask has shattered already, and there were cuts all over him. I saw the black mike that connected him with this team hanging down on his chest, and the small box told me it was off.
"You look like her, walk like her, and even use weapons as your main source of defense. I know it was you who throw the kunai, and your aim is spot on."
Neji staggered forward, and I caught him with my free arm. "You're mistaken."
"You even have the same chakra signature as her. Now if that isn't sure proof, I don't know what is."
My eyes widened, and Neji looked down at me. She could sense chakra? Was she a tracker? My pulse quickened. I had to think of something to get out of here. I needed to get Neji away from here. My eyes drifted back to the microphone as I ignored the redheaded woman's taunts and Neji's curious stares. As long as those other ninja were standing around in the circle, they'd make easy targets.
I sneakily turned that black box back on, allowing all of his team to hear what was happening.
"Help! I repeat, all team members, this is an alert!" Neji winced as my announcement came loud and clear over his earpiece. We waited for a few seconds, and as the other ninja registered what I had yelled and were preparing, the rest of Neji's ANBU team appeared. With one assessment of the situation, a massive battle began, and we were quickly escorted off the battle field by an ANBU member.
Neji dismissed the ANBU as soon as we were safely hidden. The ninja shook their head. "No sir, I am trained to stay here and make sure that no one will attack you in this state," she said, her high voice taking me by surprise. "You are not allowed to go back onto the battlefield."
"I need to go with my team," he argued.
Yet again, the girl shook her head. "Sir, when we became part of this team, we were informed by Hokage-sama that if this ever happened, you were to stay off the battlefield. Naruto-sama told us that we were not allowed to let you throw your life away over revenge. He said he's tired of that excuse."
That's Naruto for you. Here I thought he was just going ot let Neji march to his death, but he had the team prepared. A new sense of pride welled up in me. That was my Hokage kickin' ass and being awesome.
"Then hide yourself and forget everything we say,' Neji said, waving her away. The girl nodded, and then was gone. Suddenly, Neji's eyes were trained on my face, as if really seeing it for the first time.
"Neji…" I began, my eyes dropping to the ground.
"You're her, aren't you?" he asked quietly.
I laughed awkwardly. "I… I don't know what you mean."
His eyes narrowed. "Don't like to me. You're Tenten, aren't you?"
I nodded, unwilling to let myself speak.
"I knew it," he said quietly. "I knew from the first second I saw you that it was you. But I couldn't believe it. And Sakura had sad that you…" he struggled for words as his mind began to race. I could see the gears turning. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?"
"I-I…" I started, my voice shaking. "I didn't want you and Lee to treat me like a child again. I was just getting to the point where I was a capable teammate and not just something you had to protect. If I had told you the second I had woken up, you would have been acting fake and trying to protect me from the reality of it all. I was gone for five years. I had… I had to see for myself."
His eyes were still trained on my face.
"Tenten…" he said, his hand touching mine.
A rustling in the leaves alerted us to a new presence. The redheaded girl, the leader, limped up.
"I found you," she said, venom drenching her voice. Neji shot up, pain crossing his face, and I followed suit, facing her. She grimaced at us, and then spit out blood into the ground. "I have unfinished business with both of you."