As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

It felt very strange to Neji to go on a mission without Tenten and Lee. They were all chuunin, so it wasn't a singular occurrence to be assigned to a different group for a mission; each of them had specialties that were needed at times, especially Neji, who had both tracking through byakugan and exceptional taijutsu. Normally though, Tsunade kept them together. They were a powerhouse team and knew how to play to each other's strengths.

Something about this mission seemed off though. More specifically, something about his teammates was off. Both were generic chuunin, wearing Konoha's uniform instead of anything more personalized. Taro was taller than Neji and around his father's age. He wore his brown hair neat and trimmed close as most shinobi did. Emi was shorter and perhaps only five or more years older than Neji, a black braid trailing behind her. As they ran to the rendezvous location, his teammates seemed to be watching him as much as they watched for any possible enemies. Someone without byakugan might not notice, but for Neji it was becoming a bit unnerving.

"Is there something else about this mission that I don't know?" Neji asked as they closed in on their target location. The last thing he wanted was a surprise from his side.

The two of them exchanged a glance—surprise, they hadn't expected him to see the deception—before turning back. "Nothing that concerns this mission," Taro said.

"If it keeps you preoccupied, then it is a concern." Neji understood secrets had to be kept, but if it involved him, then it must matter. Besides he was the team leader. He should know what was happening on his own team.

Emi smirked, only for a second but it was enough to confuse Neji further. "We have a secondary mission that you are not privy to. It will not interfere with our primary mission, and we will remain focused."

Neji wasn't sure what annoyed him more, that they hadn't told him they had another mission or that he wasn't allowed to know what it was. Like a good shinobi, he shoved down his bruised ego and focused on the task at hand. The rendezvous was just ahead, and so far Neji's surveillance of the area showed no one except the three people already waiting at the border to the Land of Earth.

Clearing the tree-line, Neji's team slowed enough to show they weren't hostile. The contacts continued to hold a defensive position as they approached, but Neji caught hints of relief in their tired faces. Their part would be over as soon as the package was safely delivered to Konoha's control.

"Stop there," called the leader of the trio. "Toss the scroll this way first."

Neji's team complied, and Neji pulled a red-wrapped scroll from his bag. It was their proof they were the contacts from Konoha meant to take the package. Once the Iwa-nin had the scroll, he pulled out one of his own and placed the them side by side. The two seals that were wrapped around the scrolls burned away when they touched, and once opened, the Iwa-nin appeared satisfied.

"All right, you can come closer."

While his teammates held back to keep watch for any surprises, Neji approached the trio. Neji studied each face with byakugan. There was no deception or anticipation he'd expect if their meeting was a trap, and no anxiety beyond a nervous tick causing one of them to continually bite at his lower lip every few seconds. Neji relaxed as much as he should in such conditions.

"I'm Hyuuga Neji of Konoha here to receive the package."

The leader nodded to the man to his right, who obediently pulled a small, sealed box from the bag over his shoulder. All three men had the same bag, no doubt decoys in case they were attacked on the way. Neji accepted the box, double checking the accuracy of the seal before stowing it away. "I'll see to it the package is delivered."

"Good luck," was all the Iwa-nin said before all three turned and headed back. They may not have been a trap, but they certainly didn't seem to want to wait for complications to happen.

Neji surveyed the area once more, suddenly unsure of the mission. It felt like there was more going on than anyone was telling him, and the only two who might know were refusing to answer. Neji let byakugan settle on his teammates, though his body still faced away from them. Just what was their secondary mission?

"We have what we came for. Let's head home."

The first day back remained uneventful, though all three kept their senses open for anyone nearby. On the second day they headed for the bridge that crossed the canyon around the Ina river. Before they could leave the safety of the forest, Neji halted the group. He activated byakugan to check the area and silently cursed. "The bridge's down. The rope edges are clean. It was probably cut."

"And here I was hoping things would go smoothly for once," Taro joked, though Neji could see a trace of delight in his expression.

Emi rolled her eyes at him, then settled into a more serious countenance. "The next way across is nearly five miles south. Someone could be trying to divert us there for an ambush."

"Or they could want to delay us, forcing us to either go to the next bridge or try to go down the cliff." Despite his jest earlier, Taro quickly refocused on the mission at hand. "Or there's a trap down the cliff."

Neji adjusted byakugan to scout deeper into the canyon, but all he found was the rushing river below. "No ambush in the canyon, but once we're down there we lose the high ground. Even if the ambush isn't down there, we'd be at a disadvantage in an attack."

"Can you see to the next bridge?" Emi asked.

Considerable as his distance was—better than most in the clan—five miles was out of reach. He went ahead and scanned the area south as far as he could with little result. Any decent ambush wouldn't be so far from the site. "I can't make it that far, but there's nothing in what I can see."

"So, team leader," Taro said, "what do we do?"

Neji was beginning to appreciate Lee's exuberance. It might have been nerve-racking, but it was also genuine. Taro's sarcasm was not. "Ambush or not, the bridge is the better choice. They won't be able to attack from above there, and we'll have more maneuvering room once we see them coming."

Both nodded and fell in behind him. It took them longer than it might have if they weren't being careful to keep concealed, and Neji searched with byakugan for any sign of an enemy. Nothing showed. There was the off chance that the previous bridge had been damaged for some other reason than to stop their particular mission, but assuming anything got people killed. The three stopped, still concealed in the woods, a few yards from the bridge's entrance.

"Everything looks okay," Neji said, not seeing any chakra glowing in the distance. "I'll go first just in case, but stay close. We don't want anyone to get stranded in the middle of the bridge."

It wasn't that Neji didn't believe they were able to handle themselves, but he didn't know what they were capable of. Neji knew what he was capable of and had a well-earned reputation for it. If it had been Lee and Tenten, he would have been less cautious; they knew how to react to one another.

Taro and Emi followed a step behind him as they sprinted across the wood-plank bridge, each step light and quick. They were nearly to the other side when Neji saw the spike of chakra beneath his foot. "Shit!"

Grabbing Taro by the vest, Neji rotated fast enough to toss him to safety before the explosive tag beneath the bridge exploded. He caught Emi as the shock wave from the blast threw them into the canyon, and Neji forced a burst of chakra from his free hand to push them against the canyon wall. Halfway down they both quickly reclaimed their footing.

"Nice save," she said, nursing a bright red burn from her wrist to her shoulder.

"Can you run still?" he asked while checking on Taro above them. Eight new chakra bodies were on fast approach, but Neji should have seen them if they were that close.

Emi nodded. "I can still fight, too."

They scaled the canyon-side as fast as they could, but Neji calculated that the enemy would reach Taro before them. His chakra attacks were useless until he could get into a decent line of site, but a couple well aimed shuriken would at least help Taro. Neji's skill with weapons would never rival Tenten's, but having her on the team meant he was better than the average shinobi. As he ran up the canyon's side, Neji traced the arc from two enemies coming up to flank Taro and sent two shuriken flying over the edge to catch them by surprise. One imbedded deep into its target's exposed neck, while the other got caught in the enemy's flak jacket and only nicked his shoulder.

"Thanks!" Taro said as Neji and Emi finally transitioned over the edge. "They had summoning scrolls hidden in the trees. Must have been triggered by the explosion."

Neji entered the battle with swift, graceful moves that no wasted energy and took down three incoming opponents in single strikes. "We can't shove through them; they're too many. But there's a small opening in their formation to the right. Taro, go first and widen it. Emi . . ." Neji tossed her the bag with the package in it. "Go next and watch out for any strays. I'll be close behind."

Normally Neji wouldn't relinquish the purpose of the mission to a shinobi he didn't know well, but normal had blown up with the bridge. Pragmatics mattered now, and the fact was Emi was wounded, which made her more vulnerable than him and Taro. Rather than divide his attention trying to protect the package and keep an eye on Emi, it was best to focus on one location. Emi wasn't infirm yet, so she'd hold her own if someone slipped.

"Keep them off our tails," Taro said before taking down a nearby enemy and sprinting for the hole Neji indicated.

That request was much simpler now that Neji was free of the package. With a cautious eye always watching their escape, Neji dealt with the enemy. Most had been forced into pursuit, while a few remained on the team's flanks. Taro and Emi were doing well against the latter, which was good, because as hard as he tried, the sheer number of shinobi was beginning to draw Neji further away from his teammates. He needed to reduce their numbers before he was too far away to help the others in an emergency.

Jyuuken was effective once they were in range, and kaiten could've helped if they swarmed him, but most attempted to pass him, not engage. He did have one technique that might be useful, but he hadn't fully mastered it yet. Necessity was a good teacher, though. Centering himself in front of the bulk of the pursuit, Neji stopped running and dug in for a strong footing. Chakra gathered in his arms gathered and grew until, to his eyes, his hands were swallowed in a blue miasma. It was more than he'd need to produce kaiten, and it reminded him that he needed to practice this technique more; his arms strained to contain all the chakra at once.

Drawing back his arms, Neji stretched the concentrated chakra out on either side of him like a wall and expelled it with the force of an explosion. The chakra expanded upon release, growing wide into a moving wall that struck everything in its path. The trees cracked and broke, while those running into its path suffered the equivalent of a full body palm strike. It wasn't as damaging as a single concentrated hit in close quarters, but it would still disrupt their chakra flow, and the force of the wall slamming into them would hurt enough to stall them.

Only the outliers still followed, and they were far enough away to give Neji a chance to catch up with his team. Blood soaked Taro's left shoulder where a kunai had pierced through his vest, but otherwise the two of them had held the enemy off. Neji counted no enemy nearby except those behind them.

"I managed to damage a number of our pursuers, but I don't know how long it will delay them. And we still have half a dozen on our trail," Neji said.

Taro laughed. "A chance to breathe, then."

Emi's expression offered far less humor than their partner's. "We can't outrun them all the way back to Konoha. We need a new plan."

Neji agreed. They needed a way to block the path behind them. Scanning the area, he searched for an adequate location to enact the plan forming in his mind. "Do either of you have any explosives?"

Taro nodded. "I have some explosive tags. Six in total."

That would make a total of ten with the four he carried. That might be enough in the right conditions. An easily dodged shuriken warned Neji how close the attackers were getting again. The best of the worst options would have to do.

"I have four tags in my bag. Head west a bit and you'll get to mouth of a valley with steep hills on either side. Set the tags along the mouth. I'll hold them off a few minutes for you to set it up. If we're lucky we get them in the blast, if not it will hopefully block them from following."

Taro and Emi nodded their understanding and sprinted ahead in the direction he indicated while Neji turned to face the enemy. He didn't need to delay them long, but he needed to delay them all. In the back of his mind he knew this mission would have gone far smoother if he'd had his own team with him, but thoughts like that were useless. This was the situation he was in, and dwelling on ifs and buts would only distract him.

There were three outliers fanned out from the three in formation heading for him. Precise bursts of chakra struck to the sides of the outliers. Not enough to do real damage, Neji had already expended a lot of chakra to create the wall earlier, but enough to crack the trees next to them and funnel them back to the main group. Then he waited.

He waited for the three closer to jump into the air to give the others behind a chance to rush forward. He waited for the chakra in their bodies to focus and channel into their hands. He waited until he could have reached out and touched each one of them. And he smiled. A push of his heel started the rotation and chakra halted their attacks. Once the two were combined all six shinobi scattered, crashing the ground like birds shot on a hunt.

That was enough time. The few who would be able to easily get back up from that would be on his trail, but once more he'd reduced their numbers. Now only four remained. Even with two injures on his team, that was a reasonable fight. Much further out the rest of their pursuers were recovering, but if his plan worked, they'd have a large enough lead and obstacles to keep out of sight. Emi was right, they couldn't run all the way back to Konoha, but they didn't need to. They needed to escape right here, and then Neji could use byakugan to keep them from being discovered again.

Taro and Emi were concealed to the naked eye, but Neji saw Emi's hands raised in the final seal to trigger the tags. Further ahead two clones ran in open view—a good enough ruse. Without sparing a glance to his real teammates in case the enemy noticed, Neji ran past the line of tags hidden in the tall grass and hurried to catch up with the clones.

The shockwave rumbled through the ground before the sound caught up, a chain reaction of explosions that offered a fraction of a second to hear the screams before the next deafening blast. Neji skidded to a halt and looked back properly. Those were far more powerful than normal explosive tags, even considering they had a total of ten going off at once. Smoke clouded the opening to the valley, but Neji could see the deep cracks and ridges gouged out of the once fresh grass. The sides of the bottleneck had been reduced to rubble fallen in to block the path and no bodies were visible on either side of the debris.

From his hiding place, Taro came out and activated his chakra. Neji wasn't sure what jutsu he intended to use, but from the seals it was earth style. As soon as his uninjured hand hit the ground, walls of bedrock rose up from the hills on either side of the now ruined opening. By itself, it wouldn't have been much of an impediment, but with the height of the steep hills, it would take some time for the remaining shinobi to scale and follow.

Once they rejoined him, Neji turned in quick step to keep moving, albeit without the vital rush that had hurried them before. "How did you make the explosion so powerful?"

Emi grinned. "An old trick I picked up. Adds a little fire jutsu to the mix."

"Good trick." Neji scanned the area once more to ensure they were finally free before motioning to a nearby path for them to follow. "We should be safe for the moment. This path diverges quite a few times. If we use it right, it will make tracking us more difficult."

A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. It was funny how the people you know determined your skill set. He'd used the weapons training Tenten taught him, the speed and power Gai and Lee demanded, the jyuuken skills only the main family knew, and now Hinata's tracking hints. It made him wonder how much of his success was due to his own genius or the people who brought him there. Lee was proof that even someone lacking could, when surrounded by incredible people, become incredible, too. That and an obsessive desire to become improve himself. Neji knew natural talent gave him an advantage in the beginning, but he wanted to believe the people around him made him better.

They traveled for an hour before finally deeming it secure enough to rest and tend to Taro's and Emi's wounds. Taro's injury was shallow and had quickly stopped bleeding on its own. Once they were back in Konoha, a med-nin would heal it back to smooth skin. Emi had suffered more damaging burns, and without the heightened adrenaline of the attack, was starting to feel it. Her trip back wouldn't be as pleasant, but they cleaned the burns and bandaged her arm as best they could to keep infection from setting in.

Through careful planning and Neji's continual scans of the area to avoid being ambushed again, the three of them and their package managed to make it back to Konoha without further issue. None too soon for Neji's tired eyes. Genius or not, a day and a half of nearly continuous byakugan use left him with an occipital headache stabbing the back of his eyes. He was more than ready to take a hot bath and sleep it off.

"I'll report back and deliver the package to Hokage-sama's office. You both can go get treated at the hospital," Neji said once they crossed the main gate into the village.

"Sounds good to me," Taro rubbed his sore shoulder and winced. "Besides, it'd be very inappropriate to give our evaluation of you while you were there."

Neji stopped walking. "Evaluation?"

"Our secondary mission," Emi said. "And really, I'd heard of the Hyuuga clan's gift at insight, but you caught on way too quickly. We had to be twice as careful in everything we did."

Neji wasn't sure if their jovial tone was comforting or disconcerting. Whatever it meant, his knowledge of this mission no longer seemed to be of a concern, so he wasn't going to let them go without an explanation. "What exactly were you evaluating?"

"We can't say that just yet," Emi said, smiling.

"But I'll give you a hint." Taro motioned to the two of them. "We're both jounin actually, and that wasn't a B rank mission, it was an A rank. I wonder what that could mean."

Taro and Emi left an altogether speechless Neji, which was a very disconcerting position for him, alone in the street and headed for the hospital. He was being evaluated by jounin on an A rank mission?

He was being evaluated by jounin on an A class mission!

Eventually one foot moved, then the other, as Neji's body slowly headed for the main offices using more muscle memory than intent. His mind twisted and fumbled and overanalyzed Taro's words but each conclusion was exactly the same as the last. There was no denying it. Neji was being considered for jounin.

Lee's rivalry was going to get so much worse now.