Title: Crisis Reverted
Series: Naruto
Rating: T
Genres: Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.
Warnings: Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.
Verse: Canon Redeux.
DHC: Ahahaha, I am here with the next installment. I hope you all like it! Sorry for the long hiatus I took. Dx I needed a break.
"Move!" Neji roared and at once, everyone sprung into action and leaped away from the point of impact, leaving Neji there. In a flash, the long haired Hyuuga veered to the side, a kunai in hand and swung out, aim deadly, intending to sink the blade to the hilt in their attacker's arm.
But Itachi saw it coming and broke off the swing, reversing the blade and swung it for Neji as he twirled on his heel to build momentum again. Neji's eyes widened, unexpecting the lightning reflex from the other and knew there was no other way to avoid the strike.
But before the weapon could connect to Neji, a kunai slammed into the blade, knocking it off mark, sending Itachi staggering from the force.
Standing on a limb from a tree, Tenten flipped another kunai around, three more poised between the fingers of her other hand. "Kiba-kun!" She yelled.
Out of nowhere, Kunai and shuriken began to rain down from above them. Neji took the opportunity to sunshin away and Itachi was forced to dash away as Kiba and Akamaru appeared and began to use their Gotsuuga attack.
Hinata jumped into Itachi's line of sight, her Byakugan activated and her hands glowing.
"Hiyahhh!" She cried as she dashed forward, rearing her hand back to strike with an open-palm.
Itachi glanced between Kiba and Hinata advancing on him. He twisted away from Hinata's first strike, ducked the second, and with the third, it left her open and he took it, grabbing her by the arm and flipped her, kicking her away at the last second. He was not fast enough to dodge Kiba and Akamaru's Gotsuuga...or so it seemed.
Before he could be sent flying, he dispersed in a flock of crows.
"Wha?" Kiba cried.
"He's hiding." Shino informed. "He's masking his chakra well, I can't find him."
Ino scanned the area from atop another tree. "Well, he couldn't have gotten that far, or he's just waiting for us to trip up!"
Neji and Hinata were looking around the area carefully.
Shikamaru was being subtle with everything he was doing. He was carefully moving around the trees of the area, making subtle seals and weaving an intricate genjutsu that stretched the whole area.
"No, that bastard is still here," Kiba replied, sniffing the air. "I can smell it. Come out!" He snarled and Akamaru barked in agreement.
Chouji was standing next to Lee who was looking around as well. "We must proceed with caution, as this enemy seems to be very skilled, indeed." Lee commented.
"You're right," Neji confirmed. "We must assume that they are above our level of skill. Don't lower your guard."
"I'm gonna try something!" Ino declared as she jumped down from the tree, leaning against it. Before anyone had a chance to protest or say anything, her hands formed the seals and her eyes slid closed and her body slumped against the tree.
"She... What'd she do?" Hinata asked.
"She's using her new jutsu," Shino explained. "We developed it recently."
Ino could hear, but not hear her companions. It was an odd sensation. Her consciousness was floating. Instead of possessing a person's body immediately, she let her conscious wander freely. If she could locate all of her companion's minds, then she could probably find the bad guy's, right? The idea was simple. Finding it, was harder.
She could feel the warm auras of her companions, but there was an oddity she couldn't describe and that's what had her consciousness floating closer and closer, until-
Itachi leaped out of a tree, straight for the area that Lee and Chouji were standing at. Just before he could reach them, however, he froze.
A web of shadows surrounded him like a spider-web. He struggled, but could not break the hold.
"Fell for it, eh?" Shikamaru grinned.
"...Clever," Itachi said, forcing a sneer upon his features. Just at that moment, another Itachi leaped out and headed straight for Ino's unconscious body.
Ino could feel the sensation upon her, it was so close-but she heard the yell of her name and instantly snapped her spirit back towards her body. Before she could make it, her spirit collided with Itachi.
Itachi could feel it, his eyes activated behind the henge and he used it to repel the Yamanaka. What he wasn't expecting was that when he reached her body and touched it, a flash of memories, feelings, and thoughts flooded through him, overwhelming him. In that instant, Ino broke through his mental resistance.
His body stilled, his mind was still fighting against her conscious inside of him, thankfully, he managed to keep her out of his memories, thankfully keeping himself well hidden from her even as he felt the control of his body leaving him.
"Ino, daijoubu ka?" Shino asked as he slowly approached.
Slowly, Itachi turned his head and blinked slowly, pulling his hand back away from Ino's body.
"It's okay, I think..." Ino answered through him. "Something happened... I was trying to get back into my body when I hit him... We fought for control, but... I can't read anything about him. It's like his mind is blank. It's freaky..."
The others came around. "Is there anything else you can tell us?" Neji asked.
"Well, their immediate thoughts were just on how to defeat us, but there was no images or thoughts of them killing us... I don't really feel any malice. It's odd."
"Do you think this was another test?" Lee asked.
Shikamaru glanced towards the other clone of Itachi who was still struggling. Itachi's consciousness flooded to the clone and was trying to find a way to get out. "It's possible... I don't think we'll get an answer out of them, though."
"Get out of my body, you bitch!" Itachi yelled, keeping up his facade as he continued to struggle against the shadow-web.
Ino snorted, sticking her tongue out at him. "Make me. Besides, I can always dispel you, since you're a clone. Your conscious is trapped, you can't do anything. And really," She brandished a kunai from Itachi's pouch.
"I don't think you want me to harm this nice body of yours, do you?"
"Maybe I do," Came another voice.
Just at that moment, Ino screamed as immediate pain laced through her whole being and she blacked out.
At that, everyone whirled to see Itachi again, this time both clones disappeared, including the one Ino had been in.
"Ino!" Hinata cried as she ran over to her.
Ino's face was a grimace of pain as her body shook and slowly her eyes opened. "Wh-what happened...?"
"You took over my clone's body. I forcefully dispelled it, forcing you out of my consciousness." Itachi explained in a blank voice, drawing his katana again.
Everyone minus Hinata and Ino got into a stance.
Itachi dashed forward, striking low with the back of his blade to knock the air out of Lee, twisting and kicking out when Tenten leaped for him, sending her flying back with a loud cry.
He was quick to avoid Neji's jyuuken strike and was forced to parry each strike with the flat side of his blade. When Neji finished his first volley, Itachi saw the opening and lashed out fast, catching the Hyuuga by surprise as he struck him across the back of the neck with a chop, knocking him clean out by momentarily severing the impulses from his brain to his body.
"Neji!" Hinata cried again.
Ino stood up, still shaking a little. "G-go, Hinata. Go take care of him. I'm okay."
Hinata looked at her, before nodding and began to run over towards her cousin.
Akamaru and Kiba charged for Itachi next, engaging him with their fast speed. When it looked like they had him cornered, instead of going in for the finish like they would have before, they broke it off. "Chouji!" They yelled. Before Itachi could wonder, a large shadow overcast him. He had three seconds to move and dove out of the way just in time as Chouji came down in his expansion form, leaving a large crater where he would've been.
"Ngh! Damn," Kiba growled.
Shino took Itachi's momentary distraction to send out a hailstorm of his kikai towards him.
Itachi was hard pressed to avoid them and not get cornered by Kiba again, lest he want to get flattened by Chouji who was now munching away on his chips at a rapid pace, which could only mean one of two things...
"Neji! Neji, wake up!" Hinata said as she finished healing him with her chakra. His head was in her lap and she was gently shaking him. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open. "Oh, thank goodness..." She said.
"Hinata-sama...?"
"It's okay. He just knocked you out. There was nothing serious." She replied.
He slowly sat up and turned his head to watch the fight for a moment before standing, looking over to see that Lee and Tenten were still out. "Take care of them, Hinata-sama... Thank you."
She smiled and stood too, giving a small nod. "Un." She sprinted over to Lee next.
Ino rejoined the fight by providing some long-range help, throwing out kunai and shuriken to keep Itachi from gaining an advantage over them. Whenever he tried to run or get close, she'd throw some projectiles to keep him from it. She knew she wasn't quite strong enough to engage him head on and she knew she couldn't get her family jutsu's to hit, so the best she could do was to help them out this way.
Itachi jumped back underneath a tree to avoid another volley of Ino's projectiles before a large shadow wrapped around him.
"Shadow bind, success." Shikamaru yawned, holding his hands in the familiar seal that he used to utilize his shadow abilities.
Itachi struggled, but he knew he couldn't break it. He already knew that Shikamaru knew that it was Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto's idea, so it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to reveal himself to him. So with an effort, he turned his head and met Shikamaru's eyes. In an instant, Shikamaru found himself in the midst of nothingness.
"Hello, Shikamaru-kun." Itachi murmured.
"Ah..." Shikamaru mumbled, turning to face him, yawning. "I was wondering if it was you."
Itachi gave him a dry smirk. "I'm here to test all of you."
"I gathered that. And how do we fair?"
"Above what I initially expected." Itachi replied.
"Is that a good or bad thing?" Shikamaru yawned again, scratching the back of his head.
"That's for me to know."
"So why did you pull me into the genjutsu?"
"I need you to let me go. I have an act to keep up. I don't want to forcefully break your shadow. If I seem to struggle a little too hard, would you?"
Shikamaru's brows furrowed before he sighed. "Alright. This is such a pain in the ass..."
"Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah... The sooner this is over, the sooner we all can go home, right?"
"Hn." Itachi nodded.
"Okay. So let me out and start struggling."
No sooner had he said that, than the genjutsu broke and Itachi began struggling again.
"Ngh!" Shikamaru fake exclaimed. "I don't know if I can keep holding him with his newfound energy..."
Before any of the others could react, Shikamaru pretended that his shadow 'broke' by letting it splay out before fading.
Itachi jumped away onto a branch. "Damn you! I won't forget this... Konoha will fall! And I'll make sure you bunch die first!" With that, he jumped away and disappeared.
"Let's go, we've got to be ahead of them when they make it back home." Sasuke murmured when Itachi caught up to them.
"Right, let's move." Naruto agreed. Sakura and Itachi nodded wordlessly and the four of them leaped from the branch away in the direction of Konoha.
They made it back three hours ahead of the others, giving enough time to report to Tsunade, and make their way off.
The whole team entered Tsunade's office later that day.
"Good work," Tsunade praised softly as she smiled.
Neji sighed as he gave the woman the whole report. Afterwards, he decided to speak up. "May I request to speak freely?"
Tsunade and Hiruzen both nodded.
"I think you went too far," He said coldly. "Putting this kind of pressure upon the genin, forcing us to evolve too fast is not going to produce the correct results you're searching for. While we may have succeeded, I suggest you should call off the exercise before any of the other teams get hurt."
There was a chorus of agreement from the others around him.
Tsunade frowned deeply. Hiruzen was the one to speak up. "My boy, while I agree with you, these recent events have brought us to realize we are lacking, and we must make up for this. Normally, we wouldn't agree with such a training regimine as crucial as this, but from the recent drop in numbers to our village from that attack, we must prepare you to face what's to come."
The others looked between one another.
"You've become that much stronger both individually, and as a team. Once you become Chuunin, Jounin, perhaps even ANBU, you will be faced with like-minded situations. You all have learned the importance of working past those circumstances that could always happen while in the field. We may not like it, infact, it's something that should never happen, but we are Shinobi, we must move on despite our losses, we must perservere and carry out the wills of those that have passed before us."
They were all silent. Neji sighed, but gave a nod. "I know," He said softly. "But putting it so clinically only makes it seem all the more deceitful and uncaring." He turned on his heel.
"Let's go," He suggested softly to the group.
They all nodded and began to file out of the Hokage's office, leaving the two in silence.
"...Heh, who knew that Hyuuga, Neji could be so concerned?" Tsunade finally said.
Hiruzen chuckled softly as he took a puff from his pipe. "He's learned the responsibility of leading a team, there is no room to be selfish in such a position. He has begun to see the sides of our world that are unpleasant and cruel, and the sides that should never be in the first place."
Tsunade gave a small sigh as she nodded to her sensei. "It's actually somewhat surprising...how much progress they truly learned while out there by themselves. They've learned not only more about themselves, but about one another. It only serves to strengthen those bonds, but...at what cost, Sarutobi-sensei? We've only forced them to grow up that much faster. What will happen when the day comes that so much has changed that our youth will no longer be?"
There was a long silence between them.
"I do not know, Tsunade." Hiruzen answered finally. "I pray for the day peace will settle before then."
"Yes."
The group had all split ways at the center of town, going their seperate ways towards their homes to inform their families of their return.
Neji and Hinata made their way back to the Hyuuga compound, bowing to Hiashi, informing them of their completed mission before going to their rooms to change, returning to join him and Hanabi for their afternoon tea.
"You both have grown," Hiashi spoke softly, but his voice held a proud edge to it. "I believe you two will be the Hyuuga's finest yet."
Hinata blushed heavily, swallowing back the urge to duck away and stutter and held her head up and gave the faintest of bows. "Thank you, father."
Neji bowed as well to accept the praise, unnoticing the delicate hands pouring his tea before making their way around the table to pour everyone else their tea.
Hanabi finally spoke up, all with a smile as she took a long sip of her tea. "So what was it like?"
"Very harsh," Neji spoke. "We learned much, but... I fear the cost will be too great upon the genin."
Hinata sighed quietly. "The mental, physical, and emotional training we endured, it was very strenuous but I believe the rest of us have become that much closer, as friends, and individually. I learned much about myself and the others, but I agree with Neji-niisan. The results may become catastrophic if our generation of shinobi must endure such training so early."
Hiashi took their information in silently as he took a sip of his tea. Slowly, he looked up to the delicate looking figure standing in the corner of the room, the teakettle still in her hands, looking a little pained and upset.
He decided to lighten the mood a little. "Haruno-san, you make very fine tea."
At once, Hinata and Neji's heads snapped up and around to take in the sight of a finely dressed Sakura in a beautiful while furisode, sakura, orange, and ume blossom petals swirling across them hems of the arms and bottom of it, while red rose petals decorated the center, a sky blue obi tying the furisode closed, various butterfly pins attached to it, her hair was pinned very formally up, a light weave of silver leaves wrought through the locks like a crown upon her head as she gave a formal bow. "Arigatou, Hyuuga-sama."
"Sakura-chan!" Hinata gasped, before a smile made it to her face, making her radiate brightly. "You look very beautiful,"
Sakura smiled back. "Thank you, Hinata-chan."
Neji stared, seeing the young woman before him made his heart pound, taking in the beauty of her outfit up to the beauty of her features, of her pale-but not incredibly pale-skin, her soft hair and the way it shined from the way she took care of it, and her eyes... They met, and he found his pulse speeding up that much more, caught somewhere between wanting to run and embrace her, before a conflicting sorrow suddenly grasped him as the memory of her lifeless body lying there flashed before him. A subtle anger grew within him and he coldly turned away, pushing his tea away and stood. "May I be excused, please?" He requested.
He didn't see the long, hurt look that Sakura's face shadowed with, nor did he see the disapproving gaze Hanabi sent his way or the surprise on Hinata's. Hiashi, however, saw through his nephew, and saw the feelings he was going through. He knew forcing him to stay was unwise, so he gave his permission with a nod.
"Thank you." Neji said as he turned and silently stalked away, sliding the door to the teahouse closed behind him as he made his way off to his favorite training spot.
Sakura was struggling with her feelings. All she wanted to do was speak, to run after him, apologize, hell, to even cry, but she stopped her lower lip's trembling and swallowed, forcing herself to maintain her composure as she set the teakettle gently upon the table and collected Neji's teacup and silently walked out of the room gracefully with as much dignity as she could muster, though her pride was damaged as the remaining Hyuuga's could hear the gentle sound of her washing the cup and see the almost awkward way she moved through the thin oil-paper that seperated them.
"Why does Neji-niisan have to hide how he feels?" Hanabi finally spoke up, looking a little angry. "I'm not stupid, I could see it. He likes Sakura-chan."
Hinata sighed quietly. "Hanabi... You weren't there with us. Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, and Sakura-chan all faked their deaths... We watched them 'die' before our eyes. Neji-niisan doesn't know how to feel right now." She explained softly.
Hanabi went quiet for a long while. "So he's angry at her?"
"In a way," Hiashi explained. "It was Haruno-san's idea for the survival exercise she put them through. While I don't think he knows this, he's still upset because he doesn't know if he should feel happy she's here and alive, or if he should be angry at her for doing such a thing."
Hanabi stood silently, walking out through the door and the two could see Hanabi walk to Sakura's form and embrace her.
Hinata gave a weak smile. "I will speak to Neji-niisan later." She promised.
Hiashi gave her a nod. "Thank you, Hinata."
She gave a polite bow and they finished their tea.
Sakura returned a few moments later with Hanabi, looking like she was going to cry again, but remained silent and kept her cool as best as possible. When they were all finished, Sakura offered them all some more tea, but they declined with their thanks and she collected the cups and the teakettle and walked away to wash them.
Hinata slowly stood and excused herself to go find Neji.
Hanabi told her father she was going to go study some more and left for her room.
Sakura returned once she was finished to find Hiashi waiting. "Haruno-san, would you join me for a walk?" He requested.
She did her best to smile and gave a polite bow. "It would be my honor, Hyuuga-sama."
He smiled kindly at her and took her by the arm gently and they began to walk out of the teahouse and down the long path that wound around the complex towards the gardens.
Hinata made her way to where she knew her cousin was only to see him rigorously training, his hair-tie had broken from the force he was moving at and his hair was flying free. She made her way down and silently moved infront of him a few yards away and dropped into a stance wordlessly.
Neji gazed at her and she gave a small nod. He rushed her, putting all his force and feelings behind every strike he made at her. Hinata merely parried them and blocked, striking back when she could. He grit his teeth and pushed himself to move faster and strike harder. He was so confused, he didn't know what to think, much less feel. His feelings were jumbled up so much, he was afraid to confront them.
Hinata merely accepted his strikes, giving him the time he needed, doing her best to show him she was there for him and to accept his confusion and offer what consolation she could in the only way she knew how without speaking.
Finally, there was a breaking point. Neji rushed her one more time with one final strike, all of his energy put into it and before he could connect to her, she gently put her hand around his wrist, completely stopping him from striking her in the chest. He looked up with widened eyes to see her smiling face, her kind eyes understanding and it broke him. He slumped forward into his cousin, his legs trying to give way beneath him.
Hinata caught his collapsing form and just let him lean against her. She hugged him, listening to how fast his heartrate was, how erratically he breathed, trying to calm himself, and felt the shaking throughout his body.
"I don't know what to think or feel anymore, Hinata-sama..." He admitted.
"I know," She said quietly. "I'm not sure I do, either." She replied.
"When I saw her there, all I wanted to do was embrace her, but I... I'm so angry at her, at the three of them for what they put us through. Kami help me, she's beautiful, Hinata-sama..."
Hinata smiled a little sympathetically at him and hugged him tighter. "Sakura-chan is a very beautiful lady," She agreed. "I find myself jealous of her sometimes. She's so much more mature than me, she can hold herself so tall, and not flinch in the face of the unknown. She's so strong... I admire that. I'm sure she will be a good mate to whom her heart chooses."
Neji's whole body tensed up, and his eyes clenched shut. Suddenly, the thought of Sakura being with someone struck him and he found himself angry at it. He didn't want her to be with anyone, he felt extremely jealous. The proverbial green-eyed monster had ahold of him. He felt almost indignant. Who her heart chose? Did that mean she held no feelings whatsoever for them? For him? He wasn't blind, he realized he found himself attracted to her, but he always scoffed, she was merely a friend, a teammate, someone he could trust.
But when he'd saw her lifeless body lying there, felt that sorrow... He had suddenly been hit by all of these regrets. Things he never had told her. How beautiful she was, how much he enjoyed her company, how much he appreciated the small gestures of friendship she always gave him. It was never anything big, but she always gave him some kind of small gift. The one that he treasured the most was a beautiful ume blossom comb for his hair she had made herself. It all suddenly clicked into place and he found himself back at square one: confused.
He shook his head and let out a long sigh, his body shuddering as he tried to let it relax. "Yes," He admitted bitterly. "I just..."
Hinata blinked, breath catching in a small hope he could say it aloud, to admit how much he felt about her.
"I'm just selfish," He said finally. "I don't want her to be with anyone. I want her right here, with us." He mumbled, his voice dropping to a mere whisper. "...With me."
Hinata glanced up at that moment to see her father and Sakura approaching. She gently gave her cousin a shake. "Then tell her," She urged softly. "It's not too late."
Neji looked up at his cousin and she gave him a kind smile again. She pulled him to stand with her and gently shifted her eyes to tell him they were coming. He glanced back to see them approaching down the pathway, conversing to themselves, and he once again found his eyes drawn to her beautiful outfit, the graceful way it shifted as she walked, before up to her face that held surprise in them at the moment, before her expression changed and a smile overtook her, making her face light up to her eyes, making her look that much more attractive to him. He looked back at Hinata who smiled again at him encouragingly and he found the will to give her a small smile in return.
"Arigatou, Hinata-sama." He thanked quietly.
She gave a small bow of her head.
"Ah, there you two are. I have some news for you." Hiashi announced once they stopped within a few feet of the two cousins. "You three will begin to teach and train Hanabi. Haruno-san has agreed to become her mentor for the academy. As you know, Hanabi is at the top of her grade. It's far time she begins her duty as a Hyuuga and begin learning the techniques of our clan."
Neji and Hinata both looked shocked for a long moment, before they both gave a nod. "Hai, tousan." Hinata replied with a low bow.
"Are you...sure, uncle?" Neji asked softly, frowning just a moment to express his concern for his younger cousin.
"Yes," Hiashi answered.
"...Very well." Neji replied.
"Don't worry," Sakura assured quietly, her head dropped, her hands fidgeting. "...I won't force her to grow too fast..."
Neji's words came back to haunt him and for another time that day, he struggled to get ahold of his emotions. He would make it up to her, he swore inwardly.
-
Shikamaru ambled down the pathway to the Uchiha complex, knocking once before entering with a polite call of 'Ohayou' as he slipped his sandals off.
"Oh, Shikamaru-kun," Mikoto greeted with a smile. "Sasu-chan's been waiting for you. He's out at the bath-house."
Brow raising, he gave a nod and a thank you to the woman before he made his way out towards the bath-house. Steam was pouring out through the cracks of the door by the time he reached. He slid the door open under his hand and stepped inside. The humidity was near stifling, but he soon adjusted as he made his way to the edge of the water. Sitting upon a small rock, long, delicate looking legs just barely peeking out of the water sat Sasuke, dressed in nothing but a loose bathing yukata.
Shikamaru's breath caught at the sight. He looked like an alluring siren, the steam from the water only added to the effect.
"I thought you could use a hot bath to relax," Sasuke murmured softly, looking up through his long bangs that shadowed over his face. His hair was out of the tie, it cascaded down his back and shoulders, making Shikamaru's fingers itch to run his hands through it.
Attempting to recover, the shadow user looked away. "Damn right I could...mendoukusai." He yawned before he slowly began to slip off his clothes until he was down to absolutely nothing and slipped into the water, slowly wading over to where the Uchiha was sitting. He lift his hand and slowly trailed his fingertips up along the side of Sasuke's thigh, feeling the way it quivered beneath his touch. There was a breathy sigh as Sasuke slowly pushed himself down from the rock, sliding down into the water with the other.
Shikamaru smiled just a little, bringing both hands up to trail from the older male's shoulder's, pushing the loose fabric down until he reached the tie to the yukata and pulled it open. Sasuke let the material slide off his body to sink into the water from the heaviness the material absorbed from the water. Shikamaru pulled the Uchiha up close to him, bringing his hand up to twine into his long ebon hair, slowly bringing him down until they were mere inches apart.
Lips met a fraction of a second later, breaking the chaste moment between them. There was a soft kind of sensuality to their movements as they broke the kiss a moment later. They didn't speak any words as their hands began to roam, slowly tracing over the expanses of skin.
It was late towards the evening before they returned.