Author's Note: Finally, the thirteenth chapter! Woo! Aren't we getting somewhere?
Heh...honestly I had no idea I would plan it out this long; and that many readers would...say it's good. O_O Do I just doubt my writing skills too much? ...Eh, probably...-_-
*Claps hands together* Okay! Things will pick up a little in this chapter; like Team Kurenai's mission, Sakura's side-story with the scroll, and Sasuke's 'special' role.
...Huh...with this story I always get SO many questions in reviews. -_- Why don't I clear a few things up right now (without spoiling TOO MUCH! ^_-)
Q&A: (Skip this if you want; but if you want to know the answer then continue reading, kay?)
Q; "What does Kurenai know that Naru and Hina don't?" (-Cassie M. M.: chapter 11.)
A; Kurenai knows about the Nine-Tails; therefore, she believes that it's the fox that's causing these images.
Q#2; "poor kiba...does anko remember any of this?" (-CaptainFlye: chapter 9.)
A; No she doesn't. The liquor Ino imported was so strong that it caused everyone's memories to be pretty much lost of that night. -_- Hardly any of the characters that were at the party remember much; only the ones that didn't drink and were sober the entire time. :(
However, Anko briefly notices the little weight she's put on in this chapter.
Q #3; "Will Naruto and Hinata get married before she gives birth to the baby? You know because it's the Hyuga's and all." (-Dark Insomniacs chapter 8.)
A; I can't really give away information on that right now. BUT, the mentioned clan considers it in a near-future chapter. Let's just say that it's iffy. -_- After all, Hinata and Naruto already got caught up in this situation and pretty much the entire village knows. What more could POSSIBLY affect the Hyuuga reputation now?
Q #4; "Don't in konoha they have that pill? The one that prevents pregnancy after sex?" (-Hektols: Chapter 4.)
A; Yes, of course; I made Konoha a tad more modernized in this fic since it takes place somewhere after Shippuden's events. :)
...Hinata didn't use the pill or any kind of birth control because believed that she would stay innocent until marriage to maintain the clan's reputation. She didn't think that she would ever get crazily drunk and have sex with her long-time crush-now boyfriend!
Q #5; " Thing about them being shocked that Ino was drinking seemms off. I'm sure they're recognized as adults as soon as they become ninja. At sixteen Shikamaru smokes and nobody is shocked by that...when Choji takes pills that could kill him, Lee uses the body deteriorating gates, Naruto has poisonous chakra...who's really going to worry over alcohol when their most likely to die in a more gruesome manner. They are ninja right?" (--_-Skeptical-_- Chapter 3)
A; ...*Eye briefly twitches* Can nobody ever see thing like that all the way through?
First of all: The bartender had no CLUE that Ino was a ninja; he was a simple shopkeeper who cared about business and payed no attention to the younger ninja in the village.
Yeah...sure they're recognized as adults by most, but that doesn't change the fact that they STILL have young bodies; deep within all the jutsu and chakra, they still have to be careful not to harm their regular human bodies past all the mentioned^.
Answer this, SOMEBODY *Frowns*! When does Shikamaru ever smoke? -_- We never see him smoke at all! Sure he carries around a lighter and all, but I don't ever remember watching him in the sub, or reading in the manga, were he even lights a cigarette.
And those pills Chouji took; what the heck did that have to do with anything? Seriously. -_-' They were nothing more then special tools from his clan. That had nothing to do with the fact that he's seen as an adult. *Sighs deeply* And yeah...Lee opens dangerous gates in his body; that has nothing to do with being seen as an adult; it's just there for no reason. ;)
...Okay, that thing with Naruto is beyond ridiculous: That has nothing to do with the subject.
All said and done: they all WILL die gruesome deaths you're right, but Kishimoto wouldn't possibly allow most of the major supporting characters to die off without a final fight. ..Unless he decides to disappoint us all again...-_-"
There's a reason behind why I made the alcohol thing so major. Give it up, flamer!
I AM SO SORRY THIS NOTE IS SO LONG. T.T PLEAAAAAAASE STAY WITH ME FOR THE CHAPTER!
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Crazy Nights Lead To Crazy Situations:
Chapter Thirteen:
"...The fox sealed within you. My theory is: it's sending you both images so that you'll know just how it happened; either to help you or to taunt you. ...Probably to taunt."
Naruto's eyes widened; was Sasuke's theory even possible?
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"...Sasuke...that sounds so likely."
Sasuke nodded and briefly glanced away.
"Of course. After all, there really is no other way." Sasuke commented.
Naruto then furrowed his eyebrows together and snapped his finger.
"One thing doesn't fit though! How could those images possibly help us? That wouldn't really do much at all." Naruto declared.
Sasuke sighed.
"You have me there, Naruto." Sasuke replied. "But maybe there is one conclusion: it wants to help you see what happened by showing the taunting visions."
Naruto sighed.
"How is that taunting?" Naruto deadpanned.
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Don't you want to know what happened during that time?"
"...Well, yeah!"
"...Then that's taunting."
"No it isn't."
"It is; because that beast wants you to do it again; so he can get a thrill out of it."
Naruto's eyes widened and he nearly fell back.
"WHAT?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Exactly."
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Meanwhile...
Hanabi and Konohamaru both sat on a bench discussing the plan; the plan Hanabi would use to set up Udon and Rie.
Hanabi, due to her being smart and logical in thinking out a plan, she was able to quickly come up with a plan. All she needed was some help...
...And obviously got Konohamaru's help. She didn't understand why; but he was the first to come to her mind when she needed some help.
"Okay...I think I see it know! That'll surely work!"
Hanabi smirked and nodded.
"You bet! I can tell Rie just might like 'em already." Hanabi explained. "...Based on what she said of course."
Konohamaru snickered.
"Yeah...and I can tell Udon likes her already! You should SEE how he acts when she's around; it's real priceless to watch!" Konohamaru said.
Hanabi laughed.
"I can imagine! Anyway, this plan can't fail like our last plan to help Naruto and Hinata." Hanabi warned.
Konohamaru's face fell as he glanced away.
"...It's too bad it did fail." Konohamaru sadly said. Shortly he perked up and smirked. "Failure isn't an option this time!"
Hanabi grinned.
"Yup. Now then, let's recap the plan: tomorrow at noon, I will 'accidentally' encounter Rie. If I play my cards right, I'll be able to convince her to hang out with me..." Hanabi recapped.
Konohamaru nodded as she did so. He had to admit, Hanabi was very good with plans and setting things up. It almost made him feel like-
"Meanwhile, you will talk to Udon at exactly 1:30. And since you two are friends; you can convince him to hang out with you."
Konohamaru then smirked and started continuing where Hanabi left off after she paused.
"And then, I'll convince Udon to go to the market with me; which is where you and Rie will be." Konohamaru finished.
Hanabi nodded and clapped her hands together.
"It all sounds so perfect when it's said aloud! Okay, now remember Konohamaru: me and Rie will be outside the bookstore. So you and Udon just 'randomly' walk past it; and make sure that you stop and shout something along the lines of: 'Hey, I see Hanabi and Rie over there!' to get him to notice."
Konohamaru and Hanabi then stood up and shook hands.
"Alright! I'll see you tomorrow then." Konohamaru said.
Hanabi nodded.
As the two separated and went back to their homes, Hanabi was feeling great. Because she would be able to help the two out, and once again 'hopefully' add another couple to the village.
...But why is it that she feels overwhelmed suddenly?
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Back With Naruto And Sasuke...
"Actually Naruto, there could be a reason as to why the fox wants to do that."
Naruto looked annoyed and crossed his arms.
"Yeah, I know exactly why! It's a million-something year old monster who's freedom is limited to a cell, and never gets any fun." Naruto explained.
Sasuke blinked and then rubbed the back of his neck.
"...Well, that wasn't how I was going to put it; but I guess that's it in simple terms." Sasuke mumbled.
Naruto growled and jumped up from the log.
"I need him to see that those visions are causing nothing but trouble for everybody! After all, Hinata's seeing them too and his worried; and Kurenai decided to be nosy last night and use some kind of advanced genjutsu to see them herself! IT'S NOTHING BUT CHAOS!" Naruto yelled.
Sasuke's eyes widened.
"How do you know...? And...what...?"
Naruto sighed and crossed his arms.
"Because last night when Hinata was asleep, Kurenai used a genjutsu to see the images with her own eyes. But since I was asleep as well, it channeled through into my mind and I could perfectly see all that Kurenai-Sensei saw, and what she did. That's why I woke up refreshed this morning! All the images from my mind/the Nine-Tails was sent there!" Naruto then ran up to Sasuke and shook his shoulders crazily. "SASUKE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? THIS IS CHAOS!"
Sasuke yelped and knocked back Naruto. Naruto sailed through the air and then roughly landed back on his feet as he slid.
"Naruto! Calm down! I see that it's chaos!" Sasuke replied.
Naruto stomped his foot.
"Whatever. 'Ya know what? I'm going to make the fox's taunts end." Naruto declared.
Sasuke rose an eyebrow and stood up.
"Well, how are you going to do that?" Sasuke asked; still shaky from where Naruto suddenly attacked him.
Naruto smirked briefly and then grabbed Sasuke's arm.
"Come with me. I know a way!"
Sasuke sighed as Naruto then ran off; dragging him along by the arm. He was starting to hate himself for even explaining all that to Naruto.
...The thing is, what is Naruto going to do to possibly stop the fox from doing that anymore? And what could the Uchiha do to help?
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With Team Kurenai...
The team continued to walk through to the borders of the Land of Lightning. They passed by several walk walls and a few cliffs.
Hinata had a little trouble walking; but she went through it anyway.
And Kurenai was still warily glancing at Kiba; she still hadn't told him yet about what she saw and was considering whether she should or not.
After all, he might get the wrong idea and think she was being nosy. But...would that really happen?
They have been a team for many years and they all knew each other; so why would Kiba not understand?
Hinata would understand if she told her. That's just here nature. Even Shino would understand if she told him about using the jutsu. ...Kiba was iffy.
Stupid, she might be for not telling any of the three. But she wishes it was easy. If only-
"AH!"
Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba gasped. Akamaru even yelped at that.
Everybody turned around and saw Hinata on her knees; tears slightly now welling up in her eyes as she groaned from pain.
"HINATA!"
Kurenai quickly walked over to the Hyuuga and got down slightly.
"Hinata! What happened?" Kurenai asked.
Hinata grunted and stared up at the red-eyed woman.
"I-I tripped...but I think...I-I think I'm okay, Sensei..." Hinata replied.
Kiba gasped and out of nowhere, he suddenly appeared by her right side.
"You tripped?"
Kurenai glared at Kiba as if saying: "Look around, idiot! The terrain's raised and has rocks on it!"
Hinata grunted again and sat up on the ground; Kurenai put her hand up behind her head to steady her as Kiba put his hand behind her back.
"...I think I-I'm fine...but m-my ankle hurts..." Hinata mumbled.
Kiba blinked and then looked down at her feet; he just went with a wild guess and took her left shoe off to see her whole ankle.
Apparently, the guess was right; her left ankle looked irritated slightly and a little swelled.
"Hinata...your ankle looks-"
Kurenai cut Kiba off as she gasped when she saw her ankle.
Shino then walked up and stared at her ankle; it wasn't visible, but he looked worried and was worried.
"...She might have broken her ankle." Shino pointed out. "...Hinata, does it feel broken?"
Hinata stared at Shino and then sat up higher. Her face fell as she glanced at her ankle.
"I-I don't know, Shino...b-but it really hurts..." Hinata replied.
Kurenai then sighed deeply. Unfortunately for the team, they didn't bring much medical supplies and they didn't have a medical ninja on the team. And because of the injury from an important person in the team, their defenses were hurt.
"...I know we all shouldn't jump to such conclusions here; but her ankle could be broken for all we know. And that's real bad for the mission."
Kiba's face fell and he thought for a minute.
"Yeah...we can't just give up and return back to the village; so she can get checked out in the hospital..." Kiba pointed out.
Shino then sighed.
"And there are no hospitals near here. We already passed a neighboring land that contained one." Shino added.
Hinata's face fell and she felt awful right then. It wasn't because of the fact that she had possibly broken her ankle, but it was because she was sitting there listening to her sensei and teammates talk like the mission was over before it begun; and that she was useless.
...The past suddenly overcame Hinata; making her feel real sad. It was as if it was back when they all first became a team and she wasn't of use at all; or so she felt. She couldn't stand to sit there and listen to them freak out and declare the mission over just because of a simple injury that wouldn't kill her.
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A thirteen year old Hinata stared into the mirror of her bedroom as she clenched her hands into fists.
She was about to leave for an important mission with the rest of the team; and she was sure that finally she would be of use to the team.
...She had been training real hard. ...'Real hard' was actually an understatement truthfully. The real way to put it, was training herself to the death pretty much. Just so her father would finally see her as a strong ninja; and a Hyuuga.
...It was all because of Naruto that she made it through the chuunin exams pretty much. He encouraged her to be strong.
Maybe she finally is becoming strong? Or...not?
"...I will try hard on this mission. I-I can't fail no matter wh-what."
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Hinata furrowed her eyebrows together; tears were threatening to spill over in her eyes but she tried to fight them back.
"...I-I will be fine. Don't worry about m-me; it's just a simple injury..."
Kurenai and Kiba, who were briefly arguing, stared down at Hinata as she said that.
"But...if your ankle is broken, there's no possible way you can get up and fight-" Kurenai said, she was cut off by Shino, who was glancing around the area.
"Ah...Sensei? We are already at the borders of the Land of Lightning..." Shino pointed out.
Kurenai, Kiba, and Hinata blinked repeatedly; they then all looked up to see that Shino was right.
"Wha-what? We were...here all along?" Kiba asked.
Hinata's eyes widened.
"W-we must not have realized it..." Hinata mumbled.
Kurenai sighed.
"Well. . . .at least we're finally here; and the mission has started. Luckily, we can go into one of the hidden villages and find a hopital-"
Kurenai cut herself off with a scream as she glanced up; a giant shuriken was flying right towards the team.
Luckily, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba noticed as well. Kiba helped Hinata up and then they all jumped out of the way.
"An attack! Team, stay on your guard!" Kurenai shouted; she was a little distance away with Akamaru.
Meanwhile, Shino, Kiba, and Hinata were on the other side and were glancing around for the attacker.
Suddenly, two more giant shuriken were thrown; but one was aimed Kurenai and the other at the team.
"Another one! Watch out!"
Kurenai yelped and successfully dodged the shuriken, but she quickly spun around and grabbed it between two fingers just as it flew by.
Kiba helped Hinata dodged the shuriken, and Shino was able to duck as it flew just over his head.
"S-Sensei!"
Kurenai panted and examined the shuriken; it appeared to have been made in one of the hidden villages, that meant that there was either a rogue ninja after them or an accidental attack: Kurenai immediately put down the latter.
Kiba, Hinata, and Shino then ran up to her to see the shuriken.
"What the heck just happened? Where's the enemy?" Kiba asked.
Kurenai shook her head.
"I don't know. But we have a rogue ninja around here somewhere...this shuriken has a symbol of a village on it; the Sound symbol." Kurenai explained as she held out the shuriken. "See? Right there in the middle."
Kiba nodded, Hinata blinked, Shino stared at it.
"Yes...there are Sound ninja somewhere around here..." Shino declared.
Hinata's face fell.
"B-but I thought that the H-H-Hidden Sound was destroyed back last year..." Hinata pointed out. "...D-didn't all the villagers get killed?"
Kurenai sighed and threw the shuriken behind her shoulder; it landed on a boulder.
"It's likely that some shinobi escaped...let's just guard the borders and watch out for attacks." Kurenai replied dryly. "...Some escaped probably are the ones attacking this land."
Hinata sighed deeply
"K-Kurenai-Sensei...that's kind of a...wild conclusion." Hinata mentioned.
Kurenai closed her eyes and crossed her arms.
"I know. But we must remember that nothing is ever as it seems, Hinata." Kurenai replied.
"I simply hate to intrude on your little team discussion, but..."
The team gasped and turned around at that voice; there was a kunoichi that looked about nineteen standing there.
...She was obviously from the Sound; she had a Sound headband that was loosely hanging around her waist at the end of her tight kunoichi shirt.
Akamaru growled at the sight of her, and the team examined this young woman:
She had really pale skin, was extremely-almost deathly skinny, had short dark maroon hair in a messy bob, and wore a really tight; black kunoichi shirt with netting on her arms, and she wore slightly baggy pants of the same color, she wore gray ninja sandals, and there was a giant shuriken on her back in a holder.
"...Heh...gawking at me like I've just grown a second head won't get 'ya anywhere, my friends!" The kunoichi pointed out as she smirked evilly and gripped a sword she was carrying.
"Who are you?"
Everybody including the mysterious kunoichi, stared at Shino oddly as he finished saying that.
The kunoichi laughed and grinned mischievously as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes.
"Oh, I am sooooo sorry! HOW could I have forgotten to introduce myself? Because on the battle field, shinobi are supposed to get acquainted before fighting!" The kunoichi replied; her words pretty much dripping with sarcasm that made the team sigh.
"Listen, just tell us. We are here from the Leaf on a mission; if you're an enemy then we must get you out of our path." Kurenai said in a monotone; she was really irritated by the kunoichi's attitude.
The kunoichi rolled her bright yellow eyes and then immediately smirked again as she did a pose: she put her sword back in it's holder on her waist and put both hands behind her neck.
"Wanna know my name, old woman? Heh...just call me Noriko: the Sound's Feistiest Female Warrior!" Noriko replied.
Kurenai rolled her eyes.
"(Sound's Feistiest Whore is more like it, if you ask me. What is this young girl's problem?)" Kurenai thought.
Norkio snickered and teasingly twirled her sword in the air.
Kiba's eye twitched at the girl's attitude. She seemed extremely annoying; but he did think she was somehow hot...SOMEHOW.
Hinata just stared in disbelief at Noriko.
And Shino really had no interest in the current situation; but he did briefly glance at Noriko.
There was silence for a few minutes, then Hinata attempted to break it.
"G-get out of our way! W-w-we don't have t-time for you!" Hinata said; irritation in her tone but also slight fear.
Noriko rolled her eyes.
"I don't think so!" Noriko replied; her voice was slightly high-pitched and she obviously was over-confident.
The team all rolled their eyes; it was until Noriko crossed her arms and grinned tomboy-ish that they realized she wasn't moving. Suddenly, she grabbed the handle of her sword and stomped her right foot.
"Wanna know what will make me leave?" Kiba nodded at Norkio's words; and her tone was now sounding cocky as she smirked. "...Then you guys will..."
The four Leaf ninja blinked.
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Meanwhile...
Anko Mitarashi yawned lazily as she leaned up against the counter at a dango shop. That had been going on since last August; she would be really tired. But...the weird thing was, she was going to bed early because of the lack of missions she'd been sent on.
"Miss, are you alright?"
Anko rubbed her eyes and irritatedly looked at the old woman at the counter.
"Ah...yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just give me the dango." Anko replied rather irritably.
The old woman's face fell rather briefly as Anko snapped at her. After all...it was just a simple question she asked!
When Anko was given her dango, she forced a smile and gave the woman her money; she gave her slightly bigger amount due to the fact that she wasn't paying attention all the way.
"...This is real odd..." Anko said aloud as she walked away.
The purple haired woman sighed and stuffed her face with the dango; she was really hungry for some reason. And she had just eaten about an hour ago!
"(I've been feeling weird lately...I wonder why? I mean, I never get sick too much...)" Anko thought as she took a big bite of the snack.
She sighed as soon as she swallowed. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she promptly yawned again.
"(Something's up. I can just tell...but what? I mean...it makes no sense...)"
Anko finally ate the entire thing of dango and threw away the stick, as she put her hands behind her head and walked off she felt bloated.
"(And THIS is another thing, I've been feeling like I've gained a lot of weight! And that's impossible, considering the fact that I train and perfect my ninja skills two times a day!)"
Anko found herself walking past the training grounds; she walked into them but didn't start to train, she just leaned by a tree and scanned the area.
"Huh...I've been feeling real weird lately. When did this all start? ...What...back sometime in August?"
Anko crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows together. Now she did feel like she was on to something with that. But what happened back in August to make her feel like this?
"I can't really remember much. But...I do remember waking up one morning with a hangover and a headache that hurt like heck..." Anko recalled.
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Anko groaned miserably as she slowly opened her eyes. She felt awful; like she took on an entire army of really strong shinobi.
"Where...where am I?"
Anko grunted and brushed her hair out of her eyes; she could have sworn that it was up earlier...
When the purple-haired kunoichi was able to see, she nearly got blinded by the sunlight filtering into the room pretty much mocking her.
"AH! Freakin' light! I can't see!" Anko shouted as she covered her eyes.
Eventually, the sunlight faded after three seconds, Anko rolled her eyes and started to look around at her surroundings.
ONE thing was really weird though: she wasn't in her house. But she was apparently in somebody's bedroom; obviously a girl's.
"What is this? This isn't-"
Anko cut herself off as she got a good view of the room. It looked completely trashed! The bed was tousled, the curtains on the window were ripped, paper was scattered, the floor was wet, and her clothes were scattered around the room...
...WAIT. Her CLOTHES were scattered around the room?
Anko blinked and looked down at herself; only to have her eyes bug out as her face flushed.
"WHAT THE HECK!"
Anko clutched her heart and breathed heavily; completely confused as to why she was laying on the floor of someone's room, completely nude, and...wet?
However, her head started throbbing and she groaned. Not only was these things odd, but her breath smelled like alcohol.
"I don't understand this...but whatever the hell happened, it must not have been pretty last night! Isn't this Ino's house?"
Anko shook her head and got up off the floor; she really wanted to puke from the odd after-taste she got of alcohol. And that was weird...
She got dressed, and wiped her drenched body off. Anko really didn't even want to know why the latter was wet. And when she glanced at the alarm clock, it read 7:00 in the morning.
"Well...I might as well leave." Anko mumbled.
Just as she walked towards the window to jump out, she gasped as she nearly tripped over something. She rose an eyebrow when she steadied herself, and she picked up the object...
. . . .It was Kiba's shirt.
Anko looked really confused.
"(Well...that shirt looks slightly familier...)" Anko thought.
She then shrugged her shoulders and threw down the shirt; after jumping out the window, she disappeared.
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Anko blinked repeatedly in confusion at that memory. Now that she thought about it, she did recall the shirt looking a lot like Hana's little brother, Kiba's shirt.
...How...how mysterious...
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Somewhere With Neji Hyuuga...
"...Incredibly youthful weather and amazingly amazing sunshine..."
Neji uncomfortably inched away from his enthusiastic teammate slightly as he went on and on about the atmosphere. He was used to it by then, but it still was slightly weird.
"Anyway! What did you want to talk about, Neji?"
Neji inwardly cringed; he knew all too well what he was about to tell Lee. Honestly, he didn't want too, but he knew it had to be done.
And since he already has Lee's attention, there's no going back! It's time to risk it! Time to shout it out! And time to stop beating around the bush and come right-
"NEJI! HELLO?"
Neji's eyes widened at Lee's shouting in his ear, he immediately reverted back to a calm look and sighed.
"Yes...ah...Lee...there is something I think you should hear." Neji began. Lee stared at him curiously. "...But it might be a little hard for you to accept."
Lee blinked and laughed.
"Oh, come on! You're really exaggerating, Neji! I can accept anything!" Lee interrupted.
Neji deadpanned, inwardly rolling his eyes.
"(Only in your dreams...)"
Lee then suddenly looked concerned and inched slightly closer to the Hyuuga; they were both standing by some trees in a part of the training grounds.
"Look, tell me what is up." Lee coaxed.
Neji looked at him and then unclenched his hands; briefly sighing as well.
"Alright...ah...I do not really know how to put this Lee, but...for some time, I have had this real suspicious and strange feeling around this female..."
Lee's blinked.
"I do not understand." Lee interrupted.
Neji looked over at him.
"...I have this odd feeling that keeps haunting me..."
"I still don't really understand, Neji."
"...Like...flushing at thought of her, feeling speechless, and just...not feeling like myself."
"What...?"
"LEE! I AM SAYING THAT I LIKE A GIRL! ANY CHILD COULD FIGURE THAT OUT!"
Lee's eyes widened; either from what Neji just told him, or the fact that his usually quite and cold teammate who never shows emotion was loud!
And Neji's eyes were equally as wide. And not only that, but embarrassment was pretty much written all over it.
"...What is this I hear? I cannot believe what I just heard!"
Lee and Neji blinked and turned their heads; Neji inwardly groaned.
"(...God, no. Not-oh, ANYBODY but...)" Neji thought.
Might Guy, their sensei, was grinning and looking as if he just won the jackpot of a slot machine.
"DID I JUST HEAR THAT? Amazing!"
Lee suddenly recovered from surprise and looked enthusiastic, Neji looked mortified.
"Yes, Sensei! Never thought it would happen, huh?" Lee asked.
Guy chuckled and gave a thumbs up.
"You are correct, Lee!"
Neji's eye twitched.
"What are you trying to say?"
The two enthusiastic shinobi looked over at Neji who looked kind of offended. Well...who wouldn't be?
...He did know why they reacted that way; he NEVER noticed a girl before in his life. And certainly not confessing he does have emotion unlike what many think at first glance.
As the seconds ticked by, Neji continued to regret even talking to Lee. Besides, he could have always sidestepped Lee and tell Tenten to tell him.
...Well, that idea sounded terrible as well. Life so wasn't fair at that point...
"So Neji, just who is this young lady? I bet she's extremely youthful!" Guy asked.
Neji sighed and put his hand over his face.
"...It is...Sakura Haruno."
Both Lee and Guy were shocked, but each had a different expression: Guy's expression was a cross between thrilled, and knowing. Meanwhile, Lee looked extremely shocked whilst his mouth formed an 'O'.
"It really isn't that shocking." Neji defended when he noticed their expressions.
Suddenly, Guy perked up and ran off; shouting something about 'youth burns strongly in my students!'.
Meanwhile, Lee and Neji had sat down on a log.
Neji didn't really look at his teammate, he figured that he was probably going to have a meltdown. And he wouldn't be surprised at all if he did; Sakura was his whole life with training coming right behind her.
He knew there was no way Lee would accept it at all. In fact, the Hyuuga considered walking away wordlessly. But he didn't; Lee stopped him with an exaggerated sigh.
"Neji...how long?"
Neji glanced at Lee.
"...Almost a year."
"Well, why didn't you tell me or anybody?"
"I...I...well..."
"Was it...because I love Sakura?"
Neji nodded.
Lee sighed again and rubbed the back of his neck.
And it was silent for several minutes, Neji had a feeling that Lee would freak out or not accept it at all.
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A thirteen old Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten were in the Forest of Death for the Chuunin Exams. And as they searched for one of the Heaven or Earth scrolls they would need to pass, Lee was blabbing on and on about 'Sakura Haruno'.
"And she's so youthful! I MEAN, SHE'S AMAZING!"
Neji and Tenten looked at each other; both looking extremely annoyed.
"And that HAIR! It's gorgeous! She's so radiant! And that skin...so milky smooth!"
Tenten yawned.
"...Lee, stop being so dramatic with it. Even Neji looked prettier then her."
Neji glared at Tenten at the last part.
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"...Yes."
Lee looked away; he did look serious but then he gasped and his eyes suddenly grew sparkly.
"That is...SO YOUTHFUL! You have been hiding your feelings for her because you knew I loved her too!"
Neji blinked. He didn't understand what Lee just said at all.
"Neji, forget about me. . . . .You can have Sakura."
Neji eyes widened and he looked over at Lee.
"What?"
"Well...she told me one time, that she felt like she was starting to fall for you. I told her I understood. Sakura never actually felt the same for me anyway. But at least she was nice enough to put up with it. If you really like her, you will go for her." Lee explained.
Neji stared at Lee in shock. He then sighed and looked away.
"Thank you, Lee."
Lee secretly smiled.
Because he knew that he was doing the right thing. Despite the fact that he was totally giving up Sakura; he really didn't mind. And at least he helped out somebody. That's all that really mattered to him.
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Sometime Later With Sakura...
Sakura yawned briefly as she walked through the village. She seemed to be tired lately; but assumed it was from her work.
After all, her work was exhausting. Hana Inuzuka was in the hospital due to injuries on a mission, and recently, Shikamaru Nara got injured on a mission as well; earning him a room in the hospital.
But right now she wanted to drift away from these thoughts. She had to go back the library and return the scroll back to the old man.
"(Well...at least the old man was helpful. But...he did seem suspicious anyway. But maybe if I return the scroll I can ask him for other-)"
Sakura's thoughts were interrupted as she glanced over absentmindedly and noticed Neji walking out of a shop. She smiled and walked up to him.
"Hi, Neji. What are you doing?" Sakura greeted.
Neji noticed her right away and responded.
"Nothing really...but there I'm glad you are here. I need to ask you something-"
"Hey, would you like to come with me to the village's library?"
"...What?"
"The library. See, I need to return this mysterious scroll to an equally mysterious old man I burrowed it from sometime ago."
Neji blinked and glanced at the scroll in Sakura's hands. He didn't know what the heck she was talking about, but he accepted the invite anyway.
"Ah...sure. That sounds fine. But why are you asking me?" Neji asked.
Sakura shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh, I just wanted to talk to you. And maybe...I could ask you something?" Sakura replied; sounding slightly unsure.
Neji nodded.
"Okay. Well, let's get going."
The two then walked side by side to the library. Sakura made some light conversation and Neji occasionally threw in some comments. But they both were inwardly sighing in dismay.
They both wanted to ask the other person something. But it seemed too hard. The question is: why is it so hard?
. . . .Maybe they just felt kind of weird talking to each other. After all, they hadn't really talked since the other night.
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Sakura and Neji arrived at the library. The entered and noted that there wasn't many people there. Save the person at the counter and Ino who was looking at medical scrolls.
"Hmm...doesn't it seem odd, Neji?" Sakura asked.
Neji crossed his arms.
"Sort of. The atmosphere seems...off."
Sakura nodded and her face fell.
"That's exactly what I was thinking." Sakura mentioned. "...It's probably nothing. Let's just find the old man."
Sakura and Neji then walked up to the counter. Instead of the old man Sakura met, it was a young looking man; probably about twenty something or thirty.
"Oh, hello there."
Sakura and Neji looked at the man in confusion. Sakura forced a smile and replied.
"...Hi. Um...I'm here to return a scroll." Sakura replied.
The man nodded.
Neji examined the man closely: he was kind of tall. Had slightly spiked dark black hair, light hazel eyes, and wore a simple uniform. His features were young slightly, but there was something odd about him...
"Okay then." The man extended his hand. "Where's the scroll?"
Sakura reached into her weapon pouch that was on her hip and handed him the scroll. Upon being given the scroll, the man's eyebrows furrowed together and he looked confused.
"(Is this...? What? Why does this girl have this scroll?)" The man thought.
He then glanced at Sakura's headband and suddenly looked serious.
"(Apparently she's a ninja. That's good; it's not into the wrong hands. And she's obviously a medic. By the sense of her chakra, I sense that she hasn't enough to preform the jutsu.)" The man thought.
Sakura and Neji stared at him for several seconds. Eventually, he glanced around warily and placed the scroll on the counter.
"...What's your name?" The man asked.
Sakura blinked.
"Uh...Sakura Haruno. Why do you ask...?" Sakura replied.
The man rubbed his temples.
"Miss Haruno, where did you get this scroll?"
Sakura blinked again. She was a little wary at that point; Neji noticed that and replied for her.
"She got it from one of the workers here; an elderly man."
The man sighed and crossed his arms.
"I knew it. Listen, I'm not the one you two should give this scroll to." The man announced.
Neji and Sakura exchanged looks.
"Why?" Neji asked.
The man furrowed his eyebrows together again, and hesitantly leaned over the counter. He then opened his mouth to reply.
Continued.
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...And...done. There's the thirteenth chapter. ^^
As you might have noticed, there's several little plots going on all in one. That's the format I wanted to go with.
This chapter's probably a little long(?). I wanted to begin everybody's little plots in this chapter. The next few chapters will explain some of the stuff that might not make sense just yet; don't worry! -_-
I'm not sure when the next update will be. But I hope soon, just bear with me! :(
Next Chapter: Team Kurenai fights the mysterious Sound Kunoichi. But what's her deal anyway? She's got some strange jutsu and odd skills with the sword. Could she be a little too much for the team? Meanwhile during all this, Sakura and Neji learn about the old man's connection with the scroll and the jutsu; sending the two off on a search for him.
Read AND review. ;)