Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto
A/N: I'm seriously surprised with how many people loved Ryoku. I hadn't planned on using him in more than the one chapter for which I created him, but people seem to have really taken a shine to him (me too actually). I was very excited to write this, but honestly, I had the hardest time with this chapter, just because I didn't know how to end it. (Normally my problem is how to begin a story)… I think this might actually be the longest chapter I've ever written (including my chapter stories)… anyway, I sincerely hope you all enjoy it… and if not, no pelting me with stones please. XP
DEDICATION - Everyone, round of applause for Hexxgirl and her posse… lol… always wanted to use that word :P . Thank you Hexx and Kin for the awesome prompt… and of course to Blue who I'm sure put in her two cents also, all the way from Egypt (did you bring me back my cursed amulet?…lol), thank you too. And thanks so much for the wonderfully amusing reviews. Enjoy girls! XD
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MISSON
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Outside the Hokage's office, Neji waited patiently to be called in as the two insane members of his team anxiously ran up and down the hall, worried that their 'precious flower' would not make it in time to start their briefing with the Hokage.
"Where could she be Gai-sensei?" Lee visibly trembled; intense worry evident in his big black eyes.
"Do not worry Lee, I am sure our precious flower will be here before we are to speak with lady Tsunade." Gai replied, giving Lee a nice guy pose; ping and all.
"Hai! Gai-sensei, I am sure you are correct. Tenten-san is never late!" Lee brightly smiled back, reassured by his mentor.
It was true that Tenten was hardly ever late to anything, let alone mission briefing, but with less than a minute left until their scheduled meeting, Neji wasn't so sure the girl would make it this time. He wondered what could possibly have made the kunoichi run so late. The meeting had been set for midday in order to give the team time to ready their packs, as they would be leaving for the mission immediately after. Knowing her to be an early riser, Neji could see no reason for Tenten to be late to a noon briefing, especially considering her house was the closest to the Hokage Tower. For a brief moment, Neji considered the possibility that perhaps Tenten had been taken off the mission, but that didn't seem likely since team Gai had been specifically assigned this mission because of the team's skill at eliminating a larger number of enemies in one quick attack. The only logical reason Neji could surmised would be if she had fallen ill; this, the Hyuga was fairly certain, was not likely since she had seemed perfectly healthy the previous night when he walked her home.
"You may come in." the trembling voice, of an always stressed out Shizune, called out to them as she opened the door to the Hokage's office to allow them entry.
Sitting behind a pile of papers, and looking considerably frazzled herself, Tsunade briefly looked up before returning to the papers before her.
"Good, you're here." she loudly greeted from behind a manila folder containing the mission specks. "Now as you all know, your team has been assigned to retrieve certain important documents from an unidentified criminal organization currently hiding within the borders of Lightning Country." A momentary pause overcame the room in silence as the hokage shuffled around more papers before continuing, "The records indicate that these documents are under heavy guard. This is not a stealth mission, as this would be impossible with the number of men surrounding the building where the documents are currently being held. I want you to go in there, hitting them fast and hard, and then get back here immediately. Our information tells us that the documents will only be held there for another five days. Therefore, because Lightning Country is four days from Konoha, time is of the essence. Do you understand?" She put the folder down and looked up at the three shinobi, waiting for their reply.
"HAI!" all three unanimously replied.
"Good." Tsunade nodded, satisfied that she had covered all of the important facts. "Then what are you waiting for?" she hastily motioned for them to get going.
"Hokage-sama!" Lee stepped forward.
"Yes?" Tsunade looked up at the young man agitatedly, "What is it?"
"Tenten-san is not here." Lee pointed out.
"So?" Tsunade replied in a frustrated tone. It was evident from her blood shot eyes, and her irate tone, that she had had very little sleep the night before and was perhaps not as alert as she would normally have been.
"Ano…" Shizune nervously began, clearly having already fallen victim to the Hokage's sleep deprived temper. "Tenten-san…" she motioned to the file on top of the smallest pile.
"Oh," a light suddenly flashed behind the Godaime's eyes as she glanced over to the file her assistant had signaled to. "That's right, I almost forgot." she turned to Shizune, "Go." she ordered.
"Hai." Shizune quickly exited the room.
"Tenten will not be joining you on this mission." Tsunade informed the trio.
"But Tsunade-sama." Lee spoke up again, much to Neji's relief, since the Hyuga was equally curious about the sudden news, though not as outspoken enough to question a decision made by the Hokage. "If this mission is to succeed, we shall need a ninja of Tenten-san's expertise." the boy reasoned.
Neji silently agreed with his friend; Tenten's attack would be needed in taking down a larger number of the enemy's guards in one swift attack. Though it would not be completely impossible to do using Neji's eye's to organize an appropriate attack, along with Gai's strength and Lee's speed, the fact of the matter was that Tenten's traps and arsenal of weapons would be the most effective method with which to attack.
"That's true Lee." Tsunade nodded her head in agreement, "Unfortunately Tenten is not available to join you."
.x.x..x.x.FLASHBACK.x.x..x.x.
"Mom, I'm fine, you can stop worrying." Tenten fidgeted as her mother adjusted the blankets around her, trying her best to make Tenten feel more comfortable.
"You are not fine, you could have killed yourself." Xiu-Juan tearfully replied, looking up at her pale daughter.
"Please tell her." Tenten looked up pleadingly at the Hokage who stood next to her father watching as Xiu-Juan fussed over the bun-haired kunoichi.
"You're mother's right, Tenten." Tsunade informed her. "That poison you were experimenting with was actually quiet potent, you're lucky it only touched your skin, if it had actually entered into your blood stream, you would have died instantly."
"Gee, thanks." Tenten dryly replied, mentally rolling her eyes, feeling slightly betrayed.
Tsunade smirked, noting the annoyance in the young kunoichi's voice. "I'm actually quite impressed though." She paused, "If you hadn't told me what was in it, I don't know if I could have figured out an antidote in time." she added.
Although a large part of a ninja's job was to kill, Tenten firmly believed that she didn't have to be cruel with her kills, thus she had decided to create a faster method of killing that would provide the least amount of pain to her victims. It had taken her many failed attempts to come up with the prefect ratio for each ingredient, to create the ultimate fast killing poison, but the previous night she had finally attained her goal. It made her incredibly proud that her hard work had not only paid off, but that she had also managed to impress her idol with it.
"Thank you." Tenten shyly smiled.
"You'll need a day or two to recover," The Hokage informed her, "which means, I can't, in good conscious, allow you to go on tomorrow's mission."
"But you've already healed me," Tenten began to protest, "by tomorrow I'll be completely fine."
"I'm afraid not." Tsunade shook her head, "you're team will just have to cope without you."
.x.x..x.x.END of FLASHBACK.x.x..x.x.
"It is true that Tenten's skills are very useful." Tsunade commented, "however, as you've already been informed, we do not have the time to wait for her to get better." she paused, "therefore I've decided for the moment to add a replacement to your team, whom I feel will be very useful on this mission."
"But, who could ever replace Tenten-san?" Lee emotionally protested.
Inwardly, Neji also agreed that it would be a difficult task to replace the kunoichi's unique abilities. Though there were many shinobi who were skilled with various weapons, there were few who could handle as many weapons as Tenten, and far less who could handle them at the same mastery level with which the bun-haired girl had been able to achieve.
"We are lucky Konoha has another weapon's master." Tsunade eerily smiled before continuing, "Now, he normally doesn't take team missions anymore, working mostly high ranked assassination missions." she turned toward a side door hidden beneath the shadows of bookcases and armory lockers. "You can come in now." she called out.
Upon the Godaime's instruction, the private door opened, revealing a large, dark, looming figure. The shadows obstructed the view of the three men, but Neji instantly recognized the intimidating figure, having caught sight of that menacing shadow various times already.
.x.x..x.x.FLASHBACK.x.x..x.x.
Assured that the young weapon's mistress would be more than well taken care of in her own home, Tsunade agreed to allow her to remain there instead of being stuck in the hospital through her recovery. After leaving her instructions and the necessary medication, Tsunade began walking out of the room.
"Hokage-sama" Ryoku's deep voice called out as he followed her out the door.
"Yes Ryoku-san?" Tsunade respectfully turning back to face the large man.
Even being a legendary sannin, Tsunade was not immune to the intimidating presence of the gargantuan figured before her; though she was perhaps one of the few people who could say she wasn't completely terrified by the man. No, for her, it was much more a mutual respect; although she would certainly never desire to cross the man.
"This mission…" Ryoku began, garnering Tsunade's interest. "it will be with her team, is that correct?"
"It is." she replied, wondering where the man was going with that.
"And the Hyuga boy will be there." Ryoku stated tentatively.
Realization dawned on the older woman, "That is correct." she replied, fighting back the urge to smile.
.x.x..x.x.END of FLASHBACK.x.x..x.x.
Neji visibly stiffened as he prepared himself for the daunting figure to step out from behind the shadows.
"I believe you have all met Ryoku-san." Tsunade addressed the three shinobi, eyeing the terrified Hyuga out of the corner of her eye. "He will be taking Tenten's place on the mission." she informed them.
"Hello Ryoku-san." Gai politely greeted, "it is an honor to have you join us on this mission."
"Right," Tsunade called back their attention, "Just to make things perfectly clear, Gai will be leading this mission. You have four days to get there, and then four more to get back in order to return the documents to their proper place. Good luck; you're dismissed."
"Hai!" the four men relied before swiftly departing.
"Tsunade-sama" Shizune addressed the Hokage after the four shinobi had left, "If the enemy has such large numbers, is it really wise to let just the four of them handle this mission alone? Shouldn't we send back up?"
"Relax, this will be easy for them." Tsunade reassured her, "Team Gai could surely have handled it themselves."
"Then why send Ryoku-sama at all?" Shizune inquired.
"You kidding?" Tsunade smirked, "What I wouldn't pay to be able to see how the Hyuga handles this situation." she replied, a slight chuckle escaped her lips as she pulled out a bottle of sake she had hidden under her desk.
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"RIGHT!" Gai loudly shouted as the four shinobi stood at the village gates, ready to set off toward Lightning Country. "Everyone, lets get to Lightning Country in 2 days!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist enthusiastically in the air.
"No sensei, we should strive to get there in 1 day!" Lee excitedly offered.
"That is an excellent suggestion my dear Lee!" Gai smiled broadly. "if we do not make it there in one day, then we shall run to and from Suna and Konoha five times!" he proclaimed.
"Hai!" Lee readily agreed, looking starry eyed at his eager sensei.
"What are you thinking?" Neji scoffed, "it will take us four days." he muttered, slightly embarrassed at the pairs antics, especially in front of Ryoku.
However, Ryoku seemed completely unaffected by the two men's bizarre behavior. Perhaps it was his shinobi training, or perhaps Tenten had explained to him what to expect; regardless, Neji was surprised that the man had not reacted in the slightest. Even Hashi had visibly cringed upon first being introduced to Gai and Lee. Neji was impressed.
The emotional outburst between the two spandex wearing shinobi abruptly stopped as Lee turned to face Ryoku with an expectant look on his face.
"Yes?" Ryoku inquired, his expression still unreadable.
"This is usually when Tenten-san agrees with Neji-kun, before he takes hold of her hand and rushed off without us." Lee explained, clearly indicating that he had expected Ryoku to do the same.
"Is that so?" Ryoku eyed the young prodigy menacingly from the corner of his eye, though his face did not seem to indicate even the slightest change.
"Hn." Neji avoided the older man's glare, looking straight into the forest, "we should get going, if it is our intention to arrive in Lightning Country before the five day deadline." he hastily added before rushing off into the forest, quickly followed by the three others.
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An entire day had come and gone as the four shinobi made their way through Fire Country. They had been traveling non-stop for the past thirty-six hours before Gai abruptly stopped and motioned for the rest to follow suit.
"What is it Gai-sensei?" Lee asked cautiously, wondering if perhaps there were danger near by.
"It is nothing Lee, but we are approaching our destination and have yet to take any breaks." Gai replied. "It is late. We should take this opportunity to rest under the cover of darkness." he added.
"But I am not tired." Lee protested, "we can continue for far longer then we are usually able to."
"We already have Lee, but we must also conserve our energy. We do not want to arrive at the enemy's location too tired to fight." Gai explained.
"Right!" Lee immediately gave in to his sensei's wisdom.
After Gai instructed Neji to scan the surrounding area to see where the best location for them to set up camp for the night would be, the four shinobi dropped down to the forest floor ready to call it a night; the twilight hours swiftly approaching.
"This has been a most successful journey so far." Lee mused absentmindedly, "Do you believe we would have made it this far with Tenten-san, Neji-kun?" he addressed his friend, who was preparing his sleeping bag a few yards away.
"She has improved her stamina greatly over the past few months." Neji replied in a non-committal manner.
"Yes, that is true, but she is much smaller than us, and therefore uses more energy to run the same distances that we do." Lee pointed out, "She has normally always asked for us to rest, a day into our trip."
"Hn." Neji wasn't sure this was an appropriate conversation to be having in front of their female teammate's father, who would undoubtedly take offense to any unfavorable assessments of his daughter's abilities. "She would make it Lee." he sternly replied, hoping his friend would take the hint and drop the subject.
"That is true, even if she became tired, I am certain you would carry her the rest of the way as you have done so in the past." Lee smiled brightly at his friend.
Neji inwardly cringed, hoping that Ryoku had not gotten the wrong impression from Lee's words. Yet, even as he reasoned that there was nothing inappropriate about a teammate assisting another teammate, Neji could sense the intense glare burrowing into his back, as a heated aura raged behind him.
"Go to sleep now, Lee." Neji ordered, as he moved into his own sleeping bag.
"Are you certain that you shall be okay that far away Neji-kun?" Lee asked concerned.
"Yes, now sleep." Neji repeated as he closed his eyes, inviting sleep to take him over.
"But you normally sleep next to Tenten-san to keep warm, will you not be cold all by yourself?" Lee innocently asked.
The heated aura emanating from the temporary member of team Gai grew even stronger and Neji visibly shuttered at the statement his friend had innocuously made. The mortified Hyuga sunk deeper into his sleeping bag, wishing the ground could just swallow him up. He, a jounin who was known for his icy demeanor, unflinching even before the most dangerous of circumstances, could narrowly withstand the intensity of Ryoku's glare. And though he was certain Lee had not intended to direct Ryoku's fury towards him, Neji still made a mental note to pay Lee back for his transgression.
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Early morning had arrived too soon, and Neji had hardly gotten any sleep. The entire night was spent in anxious distress and worry that he might dream of his female teammate and accidentally say something in his sleep; which was not an uncommon occurrence. With his other teammate's previous comments, and the fact that Ryoku had already nearly caught Neji and Tenten kissing a few times, Neji couldn't risk further angering the seasoned shinobi.
"We should head out." Gai exclaimed from beside his favorite student. "If we move at the same pace as yesterday, we should be able to arrive at our destination within nightfall. Using the cover of night, it will be much easier to create a sneak attack and infiltrate the enemy's building to recover the stolen documents."
"Yosh! Gai-sensei, that is a brilliant plan!" Lee proudly stared at his mentor.
"Let's go!" Gai shouted.
The four shinobi sprinted through the trees at top speed, taking no rests. As Neji had expected, Gai had overshot his estimation as to their arrival time, having actually reached the enemy's lair in the early morning hours of the following day. Under Gai's orders, Neji had used his clan's advanced bloodline limit to scan the area. Using a layout Neji had roughly sketched, and the information Gai and Lee had gathered while they observed the enemy, Gai devised a strategy. The first part was pivotal. Using Lee and Gai's information, Neji would assess the best locations for him and Ryoku to set up the weapon master's traps. They would all then wait until sun down to take their position until it was dark enough to begin their attack. Neji and Ryoku would be in charge of deploying the traps, while Lee, using his incredible speed, would find entry onto the enemy's base attempting to go as unnoticed as possible. Gai would be at a far distance, creating a distraction once the enemy realized they were under attack, thereby hopefully allowing Lee to sneak through undetected.
As night fall quickly came upon the team, they each tuned their radios to the correct frequency so they would be able to communicate. Gai ordered Neji to have his Byakugan activated, in case anyone were to later require assistance. As the plan fell into motion, the first wave of traps took down more than half of the enemy's numbers. It had been a large quantity, but less then the group had expected. Thankfully Ryoku had foreseen this possibility and had instructed Neji to spot out where all the lights to the building were located. While they had been setting their traps, Ryoku had taken the time to set up extra traps to destroy all the lights thereby leaving the entire encampment in completely darkness. With Neji's eyes to see in the blackness of night, and the radios to communicate all necessary information to his teammates, Lee was able to reach the documents without much trouble.
Outside, Gai, with his abnormal strength, had managed to take down a large number of enemy ninja, making his way over to where Lee was expected to exit the building. Meanwhile, Neji had noticed that a vast number of shinobi were headed in the direction of Ryoku's location. Having disabled the few that had come after him, Neji quickly made his way towards the weapon master. Upon arriving, he noticed the litter of men scattered throughout the clearing in which Ryoku currently stood, fending off more enemy ninjas as they came at him in hordes. As Neji rushed to the enormous shinobi's side, he noticed an arsenal of weapons careening straight for the giant leaf shinobi. With little time to think or act, Neji quickly stepped in front of the impressive man and fell into his Kaiten, rapidly commencing his spin to parry the oncoming attack; easily deflecting the weapons. However, this was not his usual defensive spin, as he was actually able to move around Ryoku while performing his chakra shield jutsu, thereby protecting both himself and Ryoku in the process.
The younger shinobi's jutsu greatly impressed Ryoku, who had not seen the oncoming attack, having not been graced with the Hyuga eyes that allowed Neji to see the assault coming from behind him. Together, the two then easily defeated the remaining shinobi, before soon being joined by Lee and Gai. Following the Godaime's instructions, they immediately left the enemy base and began heading back towards the village, careful to prevent any of the enemy from following them.
After running for a few hours, exhausted from their battle with the enemy, Gai instructed Neji to find a secure location in which they could take time to rest and recuperate. Finding a small clearing, the four shinobi set traps around their intended campsite, and then proceeded to lay out their sleeping bags.
"We will rest here until day break." Gai instructed, as the three others sat down to catch their breaths.
Moments later, while Lee fanned the small fire they had made, and Gai secured the documents, Neji went around the camp handing each of his teammates their meal. As he arrived over toward Ryoku's side of the camp, Neji noticed the man tending to a few minor wounds he had received.
"Thank you." Ryoku replied as Neji handed him his food.
Neji nodded, then moving to return to his sleeping back.
"That jutsu…" Ryoku began, calling Neji's attention back over to him. "That jutsu's not meant to be used that way is it?" Ryoku asked, referring to Neji's Kaiten.
"No." Neji answered impassively, "It is a new technique, adapted from the Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin."
Looking slightly impressed, though his face showed very little hint of it."How did you know it would work?" Ryoku asked.
"That technique was not the original use of this jutsu," Neji explained, "but it has been used in this fashion before." He paused momentarily, wondering whether or not to continue. "However, because this new technique was developed with only Tenten in mind, it was slightly more challenging to expand the chakra field to encompass someone of your measurements." Neji added before turning around and heading back to his supplies.
Had he turned around, or activated his Byakugan, Neji would have noticed the slight smile on Ryoku's face as the muscular man gently nodded his head, before returning to his bandages.
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THE END (1)
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Author's Note: I think I may have bitten off more then I could chew with this one… that's probably why I had so much trouble with it. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed it, but I ruined a whole notebook just jotting down endless ideas, and usually my note books last me for at least five stories (or 10 poems, depending on what I'm working on at the moment)… in the end I only used a handful of them… I really didn't want to do too much. But I think, if it had been more than a one-shot I probably could have added more… but after all that, I don't want to even consider doing a longer version of this one…
I'm just glad it's done. I actually liked it. The end… I'm still iffy on, but it's okay, over all I kind of liked it. I'm slightly concerned that the 'flashbacks' might have made this a little choppy, but I really wanted to include them (otherwise there would be no Tenten in this one-shot at all, and we can't have that!). Oh, and I apologize for the crummy title, I seriously couldn't come up with anything. XD
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed.
(1) Not really since this story ended up being expanded in WIND AND DRAGON
HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!
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