PRENOTES

Okay. Time to play defense, but this was expected. I know the Neji I placed in this one was a bit OOC from what you see in the series. My opinion is that Kishimoto needs Neji to be a larger-than-life kind of guy. The intensity of purpose and his belief in fate at the beginning of the series are neccessary to have a good contrast with Naruto for the major fight. And Neji is definitely one of the most mature characters in the series. However, he's still 14, and I imagine he'd probably have a few moments where he gets frustrated. We all have our moments, no matter what age we are, and most of us act like children occassionally. Consider that one of those moments for him...he was so annoyed that he fought back in the only way he could...an accidental cheap shot. :P

Not to mention it's kind of a plot device...but you'll see later.

Also, I apologize for any grammatical oddities you may see in this document. I write in chunks and then assemble chapters...but document manager seems to mess with my spacing a bit. Every now and then it even sticks words together with no space, even though I'm positive I've typed them correctly. So bear with me as I try to fix the errors.

Back to the story.

BEGIN CHAPTER 3

Neji quietly walked through the forest, slowly making his way towards home while pondering the situation. It had only been an hour since Neji confronted Sakura in Gai's training area again. Though he had spoken the truth, he realized he could have handled the situation better. His kaiten assault on Sakura reminded him of something he'd expect from a ten year old...a tantrum. And, even as he looked back over the situation, he still couldn't pinpoint what about the situation had made him so angry. That bothered him more than anything. Well, he thought, at least before I left, I was able to help her some. He hoped that made up for some of it.

He attempted once more to figure out why he had gotten angry in the first place. Sakura had been quite stubborn, and perhaps it was her similarities to Rock Lee in that area that struck him so oddly. Yet, with Lee, Neji had given up on caring and simply let Lee be Lee. Why wouldn't he instinctively do the same thing with Sakura? That couldn't be it. Neji silently continued his walk home...

E V O L U T I O N
Chapter 3: Limited Visibility

The Hyuuga residence was --as always -- an extrodinarily calm place. It was nearly time for a sunset over the nearby mountains of Konoha, and the children had been released from the academy, but none of this affected the Hyuuga. Those who had missions were long gone, and everyone else was lightly attending to whatever daily activities there were left to do. And yet, within the lands of the Hyuuga, one man was deeply troubled.

Hyuuga Hiashi lay flat on his bed, his hair strewn across his face...he could not shake the feeling of lethargy.Somewhere along the way,his melancholic mood had shifted into something deeper...darker. His brow furrowed in frustration as he attempted to figure out why the entire area seemed to be devoid of energy...and constantly sucking it out of him. He arose from his bed suddenly, and began lightly pacing the room, attempting to wake up his body that seemed to want nothing more than to a long rest. Did I overwork myself this week? What could cause me to feel so depressed and drained?

Hiashi walked over to the window of his room and opened it. Taking a glance out of the window, he looked toward the front gates of the Hyuuga family residence and took a deep breath.He immediately noticed the light smell of fresh air entering the room, and it brought a small smile to his lips. I need to go outside more...perhaps it is time I got away from here for a bit. A vacation might do some good. Hiashi had never had such a thought before...but the lack of energy he felt right now was just too strong to be ignored, and this was as good a plan as any for combatting it. The vacation wouldn't solve the problem for today, however. I shall have my meditation time outside today...perhaps that will aid me.

Hiashi made the walk down the stairs of Hyuuga Manor and toward the kitchen area as a new plan entered his mind. Maybe some tea will help me wake up, and then I can meditate properly outdoors. Hiashi noted that his normal attendants were out doing other things. That's fine, he thought. Iwouldn't want to sit still again anyway. He would simply make the tea himself. As he made his way down the stairs, a small vibration beneath his feet startled him. Walking into the kitchen, he stood still and listened carefully for any other sounds. Nothing. Eventually, he went back to preparing his tea. Suddenly, he heard a panicked scream within the manor, and the sound of feet running down the manor's stairs. A panic-stricken Hyuuga woman barged into the kitchen.

Hiashi quickly turned to her, inquiring with his eyes. Before he could formulate words, the woman quickly spoke.

"My lord! The residence is under attack!"

Hiashi quickly dropped what he was doing, literally, onto the floor and ran to the windows at the front of the manor, overlooking the rest of the residence. Looking to his left, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, but to his right were the obvious signs of battle. As he watched and attempted to get a grip on the situation, a wave of ninjas suddenly poured into the area from the direction of the front gate. Have they taken down the gate guards? The severity of the situation suddenly struck Hiashi like a brick as he spotted the purple and grey clothing the ninjas wore. Yes...he had seen this country's ninjas before.

Orochimaru himself was nowhere to be seen...but this was obviously his handiwork. The ninjas in the front yard of the Hyuuga clan were proudly wearing their Sound clan apparel. Hiashi balled his fists in anger as he watched the Hyuuga warriors outside be pushed to the limit by these foreign ninjas. But, one thought stayed his hand momentarily. Why would he do this? What could be gained from this attack?

However, with a moment of thought more, Hiashi decided. No matter the reason, it must be stopped before they got what they came for. Activating his Byakugan, the leader of the Hyuuga tossed his inhibitions aside. Turning to the panicked woman who was staring at the scene, he remembered something. My daughters are both upstairs...but there was no time to lose!

"I'm going out there! Stay and protect the children!" And then Hiashi leaped through the window and toward the chaos.

Hiashi breezed his way through the warriors of the Sound, incapacitating with deft strikes as he went, attempting to eliminate as many as possible from the struggle.He did not go far, however,before a man leaped in front of him. A quick glance revealed a large amount of purple: a deep purple vest and pants, along with a light purple shirt. His face was shrouded in shadow by a dark purple hood, but his hands were not, and each held a kunai. Without a second thought, Hiashi dashed by the fellow...he would not be stopped by one warrior until he had stopped their general advance on his defense force. The situation changed entirely, however, when he glanced behind him and realized that the man behind him was running after him...and keeping up.

As it became obvious that the ninja behind him was close enough to attack, Hiashi reflexively backflipped high into the sky. The purple-clad shinobi quickly crouched and kicked his legs out, stabbed a kunai into the ground, and slid around the kunai to face Hiashi. Hiashi made note of his agility, but if he was going to waste time here...

Hiashi licked his lips lightly, then spoke with authority. "What is your purpose here?" Hiashi called out to his opponent. He truthfully didn't expect a response.

He didn't get one, except for his Byakugan alerting him to the fact that this man was carefully controlling his chakra output...and perhaps more. He watched the man's breath become slightly deeper and for some reason couldn't shake the feeling. This one is a medic nin...and he's controlling his adrenaline production. He must be a bit intimidated. Hiashi decided to take advantage of that.

"Insolent whelp..." The elder man slid into his battle stance. "What the heck do you think you will accomplish with your frontal assault? The Hyuuga are the strongest clan in all of Konoha..."

Still no response. Hiashi frowned. No luck. "Very well. I'll save my questions for the survivors of this battle."

"Hey, Teuchi-san! Another bowl!"

"Comin' up, Naruto!"

As Uzumaki Naruto got his third bowl of shrimp ramen, Haruno Sakura reflected on how fortunate they were to beat the evening rush by a few minutes. She was already starting to get full, and there were still people in line to make their order. It amazed her just how packed the Ichiraku Ramen Cafe could actually get...she rarely ever used her money on going out to eat, so she'd never really noticed the demand for the stuff. Even though a few of the people were quite starving, the place was full of atmosphere and smiles, and the food was great.

Someday, she might actually come back here on her own pocketbook. Today was Naruto's treat, however, in celebration of two weeks of hard work. Her morning sessions with him had made it clear that she was taking her training seriously. After both of their evening training sessions today, they had met to catch their breath as the sun set, and Naruto had decided they should eat together to celebrate.

Between breaths of ramen, Naruto spoke proudly of Sakura's improvement. "Like I said, Sakura, it won't be long until you're ready to keep up with me for real!" Another breath of ramen followed directly after.

Sakura smiled, then focused on her food for a moment. While his words were encouraging, they still carried a sharp edge for her. It won't be long...but not yet. Sakura realized that her growth was substantial, but she was so far behind everyone else that...

No. That line of thought was self-defeating. Sakura did her best to wipe the frown from her face, and lifted some noodles onto her chopsticks.

Naruto turned just in time to see her introspective frown. Once he swallowed enough noodles to properly speak, he turned back to her. "Sakura, do you realize just how far you've come?" When no response was forthcoming, he continued..."Two weeks ago, if you had tried the set of things you've done today, you wouldn't be able to eat right now."

Sakura blinked as she considered it. He was right. If I had even tried to do the punching exercises a few weeks ago, I would have been exhausted. And today...

"Heck, Sakura, you don't even look tired! If I didn't know better, I'd think you took the afternoon off!"

He had no idea how much she'd considered doing that...but she was glad she'd gone through with it. She'd become stronger for it, and things with Neji...

No. She was with a good friend, and she wasn't going to try to figure him out now. There would be time for that later. She was with Naruto now, and she was determined to enjoy his company as much as possible.

"Teuchi-san! Another bowl please!"

Teuchi nodded and jogged back toward the boiling noodles.

Naruto had a moment without food now, so he turned completely to Sakura and smiled. With all the hustle and bustle of the shop, it was surprising Sakura even heard his next words, spoken in a serious tone. "Seriously, Sakura...I'm very proud of you."

It was a simple praise, but it caught Sakura completely off guard. She locked eyes with Naruto for a moment and felt her own lips draw into a smile involuntarily...and then a bowl of ramen plopped in front of Naruto.

Moment over. Naruto returned his focus to beating his own world record for bowls of ramen in 10 minutes, and Sakura simply stared in surprise. A bowl clanked in front of her as well, but she hadn't even finished her previous one.

Sakura turned to Teuchi and waved him off. "No thanks, I'm full! It was great though!" As the older gentleman thanked her for coming, Sakura's heart swelled with pride for two reasons instead of one.

Just because she was with Naruto didn't mean she had to eat like him.

Hiashi couldn't quite believe how daring this shinobi was being in this battle. The Sound nin he faced seemed to know him like an old friend would...the range of his fists, his palm style...even the distance his Kaiten could cover. But really, Hiashi suspected he was just slower today than normal.

Hiashi panted and then frowned. What did he just do? Was he out of breath? Why? Why am I so tired today? The battle had only gone two or three minutes thus far, and Hiashi already felt spent. Hiashi attempted to fight off the weakness in his body...

Wait! That's it! The elder Hyuuga quickly formed a seal with his hands and yelled "Kai!" I'll kill this genjutsu quickly...

An eerily cold laugh came from in front of him, and Yakushi Kabuto shook his fingers at Hiashi. "You think it's a genjutsu? You should be old enough to tell the difference, geezer..."

Something isn't right here, Hiashi thought. It was quite possible that a medical nin could steal the life force of an enemy he was facing, but Hiashi never sensed anything of the sort. "When did you...how did you..."

"Easily. I didn't." Kabuto pointed toward the roof of Hyuuga Manor.

Slowly, Hiashi turned his head and looked. His eyes opened wide in surprise.

There was a group of Sound ninja on top of the roof, chakra exuding from every pore in their bodies. Hiashi instantly knew what had happened.

"Damn." He had been right earlier...the room was sucking the life out of him.

"Foolish Hyuugas...you can find anything that is hidden...but you rarely check for what is in plain sight. You could blame your own cockiness for this failure today..."

Hiashi frowned all the more intensely and slipped back into a battle stance. He was at a disadvantage, and he had gained no information whatsoever about what they were after. What if they were after him? Or his children? He refused to let that happen...

His thoughts were broken into by a loud yell.

"KAITEN!"

Hiashi gasped and turned to his left. There was a large pile of Sound ninjas on their backs at the front gate, and a single Hyuuga was sprinting towards Hiashi's battle. Even as the battle around him raged, Hiashi was suddenly aware of only three people...himself, Kabuto, and Hyuuga Neji, who slid to a stop next to Hiashi. Neji stared intensely at Kabuto, and Kabuto slowly turned to face him.

Neji spoke first. "I recognize you...you must be a quite respected ally of Orochimaru to show up in Konoha twice..."

Kabuto smirked and replied, his words venomous, despite being politely spoken. "And you...you are the boy that lost to Naruto-kun...Neji, correct?"

Hiashi watched the two of them closely, and noticed that Neji did not even flinch at the mention of his first ever lost battle.

Neji's next words were spoken as if they were fact.

"I will not lose to you."

For a split second, Hiashi felt the strength and confidence within Neji, and knew he could leave this battle in Neji's hands. After all, Neji had not been home during the chakra-stealing that had made Hiashi's own fight with Kabuto a worthy battle. But, in that moment of not worrying about this fight, Hiashi suddenly saw the rest of the field once again. The Sound ninjas were still pushing the Hyuuga battle lines back, and many of both sides had been wounded or worse. The lines and the fighting, however, were now within close distance of Hyuuga Manor.

As Hiashi watched Neji slip into stance and prepare to charge, decisive action was neccessary. His yell was perfectly timed with Neji's first step into the fray. "Neji!"

Neji jumped lightly and turned his head towards Hiashi. "Hai, Hiashi-sama?"

Hiashi turned back toward their adversary, watching him carefully. "Leave him to me, and get out of here now!" Hiashi's commanding voice left no room to question his orders.

Neji froze for a moment and considered the situation. It was obvious that his uncle was exhausted...and he would most likely need help in a battle against such a fresh opponent. In fact, it seemed like most of the Hyuuga were winded. Why would he send me away? "There are less risks if we face him together, Hia--"

Hiashi's commanding voice cut through Neji's words like butter. "That is an order, Neji! You are in charge of my daughters' safety! Get them out of here now!" Hiashi made direct eye contact with Neji, leaving no doubt as to how serious he was.

Hinata and Hanabi are home? Neji quickly bowed to Hiashi. "Hai! Pardon my previous rashness!" He turned to run to the manor.

Hiashi noticed when Kabuto began to inch to the side, but he ignored it. This ninja was not bold enough to try anything underhanded against him with the Byakugan activated. Besides, it was important that Neji understand this. "Do not return here until I send for you...go into the city."

Neji nodded and sprinted towards the battle in front of the manor. Hiashi spoke once more, almost to himself..."You are the future of this clan..."

"Don't underestimate me!" The yell pulled Hiashi's mind from previous concerns, and he turned towards Kabuto.

Instead, the only thing he could see was a kunai.

Oh sh--

End of Chapter 4

I'll try to keep cranking out chapters when I can...got a lot of free time during the week. If I avoid using it for sleep, I might be able to get a few more chapters out before school picks back up. We'll see. Feel free to review, as always!