I've got only one or two more chapters to type before this fic is complete! Can I get a 'Hoorah' from the cheering section? Lee and Gai: Hoorah! Me:…Ahem…Sorry. I got excited. I'm very happy with my reviews, and I'll try to update as soon as possible. The reason I updated the last few chapters so fast was because I already had them typed. And to Kratos Wilder, you said you like that there isn't too much fluff. I just wanted to tell you that it does get a little mushy at the end, but it's not too bad. This is a romance fanfic, after all! There is a fight scene coming up, so maybe you'll like that- I HOPE! Thanks everyone for your support! Now I'd like to introduce you all to chapter 5! YOSH!
Chapter 5 – Dangerous Encounter
"That's the place." Neji whispered from his perch among the leaves.
"I don't sense anyone." Said Tenten. "What do you see?" Neji activated his Byakugan and looked back and forth.
"There isn't a single person around the outside of the castle." He adapted more of his chakra to view inside the castle walls. " I see some people in the upper rooms."
"How many?" The brown-haired kunoichi asked.
"Two…no…three standing by the door, and five sitting at a table. That must be Haru and his guards." He deactivated the Byakugan, the veins around his eyes vanishing. "Our best bet would be to enter through the window to avoid traps. Follow close behind me." The two nodded to each other and sprang into the open.
Upon reaching the castle, Neji channeled his chakra into his feet. He ran up the wall, his low ponytail whipping behind him. Tenten did as she was told and mimicked his movements perfectly. When Neji reached the top, he grabbed the edge of the roof and swung to kick the window open with both feet. (A/N: I can see it in my head, but it's hard to explain! O.o ) He landed inside with Tenten following. They were immediately bombarded with shuriken. Tenten deflected them all with a kunai so that Neji didn't have to use up his chakra. "Hold your weapons. We're shinobi from Konoha village- sent to help." Neji told them. The rain of shuriken stopped, allowing them to see seven men standing around a boy about their age.
"Finally," one of them said, "some help has arrived."
"It's awful! We've been trapped in this old castle for days!" Another man cried. A man on the side stepped forward.
"How can we be sure you are who you say you are?" He asked, holding three senbon between his fingers. Neji pointed bluntly to his forehead protector.
"The Hidden Leaf Village symbol." He supplied. " A true ninja doesn't lie about his loyalty to his village."
"A likely story." The boy in the middle finally spoke up. "You would say that," he stepped out of the protective ring of guards and up to Neji, "if you were trying to trick us…well hello! Who do we have here?" He asked, discovering Tenten behind Neji. He took her hand and kissed it. Neji almost gagged.
"Uh…heh…well…" Tenten didn't know how to act. Boys were only interested in girls like Ino and Sakura. Never tomboys like her. She didn't have to worry. Neji had already stepped in front of her. Breaking the two apart.
"I am Neji, and this is my partner Tenten." He informed with a glare that could kill.
"My name is Kyoushi Haru." The boy said with an extravagant bow. Neji rolled his eyes. "And I believe you are who you say you are." He finished. Neji growled, but it went unnoticed.
'Now you believe me? Or is it that you WANT to believe me because you saw Tenten?' He thought incredulously. "Let's head out." Suggested Neji calmly. "The sooner we get there the better.""I agree!" Haru proclaimed annoyingly. He gathered his things. "We've been in this dark, empty castle for far too long!"
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Neji and Tenten stood in a road littered with bodies. Upon leaving the castle, the same group of ninja that had been bothering Haru had attacked them. The now-dead shinobi had all seemed to be pushovers. The duo defeated them all with little degree of difficulty. Haru ran up to them.
"That was quite amazing!" He proclaimed. "You are so strong, me dear Tenten!" The girl blushed and thanked him. Neji had to restrain himself from killing the dramatic boy. "It's so wonderful to be outside again!" He went on, spinning around in the sunlight. Neji's lip twitched when Haru pulled Tenten with him.
"Are we ready to go?" He asked, arms crossed. Finally, Haru got dizzy and stopped spinning like an idiot.
"Actually, can we eat first?" He patted his stomach. I'm starved!"
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Neji messaged his temples, trying to soothe his pounding headache. Haru could be heard ahead of the group, talking to Tenten. That boy was WAY too happy. He supplied most of the conversation. Tenten would give an occasional 'mhm' or 'hai' to prove she was paying attention. Neji wondered how she could stand it.
They had been traveling for two days, taking frequent breaks due to Haru's whining.
"At this rate," Neji thought, "They'll end up sending the ANBU team after us." He heard Haru give a shout from up ahead.
"I know that waterfall! We're almost there!" Neji smirked inwardly. 'Thank God…'
"I can't wait to introduce you to Papa!" Haru winked at Tenten who blushed. That was the last straw. Neji grabbed the boy's shirt and prepared to punch his lights out, but stopped.
"Tenten, do you sense that?" He asked, setting a shocked Haru down on his feet.
"Huh?" After a moment it clicked. "Yes, I can sense something, but I'm not sure what…"
"I noticed it a little while ago, but it went away." Neji explained. "But now it's back, and has the intent to kill." Suddenly, kunai were showering down on them from all directions. Neji used his kaiten, spinning around and deflecting the weapons. Tenten pulled out her scrolls and pushed Haru between her and Neji to keep him safe. In an instant Haru's guards were all dead, and the three teens were surrounded by ninja. Tenten and Neji got ready for a long fight. The battle began.
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"They keep coming!" Tenten yelled, killing two more enemies. Neji blocked a shuriken that was headed for Haru.
"I know." He replied. "I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this up." Neji found he didn't have to worry long, because the ninja fell back.
"Why are they retreating?" Tenten asked, confused. They heard a deep laugh from above them. The three teens looked up in the trees to see a man.
"Because I told them to." He said simply. The man hopped down and landed a few yards away from the group. Neji and Tenten stepped in front of Haru. "I've been watching you." He told them. "Very impressive." Tenten got the feeling that he was referring mostly to Neji. "As a reward for being able to hold your ground against my men, I will allow you to fight me." The man removed his long coat and took an offensive stance. Neji moved in front of Tenten.
"What is it that you want?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "It seems that you are not after money." The man laughed his chilling laugh again.
"You're a smart boy." He smirked. "My name is Atsuuka, and you're right. It isn't money that I seek."
"Are you the leader of the group that attacked us earlier?" Neji demanded to know. A dangerous look crossed the man's face.
"You should know better than to compare us to those weaklings." He sneered angrily.
"It's just as you thought, Neji!" Tenten said. "There's a third party! Haru makes one, those other ninja we killed at the castle made two, and this guy's group must be the third."
"So you killed off all of the Chishiki members?" Atsuuka scoffed. "It figures. They were weak: always relying on brains rather than brawn. I am the leader of the Tsuyosa tribe. And you," He said, glaring at Haru, "are from the Kanjo tribe, ne?" The boy gulped and nodded. (A/N: Chishiki means intelligence, Tsuyosa means strength, and Kanjo means emotion. )
"No one c-calls my village Kanjo anymore, though." He said, shaking. The man in front of them had an expression that could kill.
"What I desire," he took a step forward, "is that ring." Neji and Tenten took note of a golden ring with a smooth, blue stone on Haru's finger.
"My ring?" Haru clutched his hand to his chest. "But Papa gave me this! He said never to give it to anybody!"
"Clearly you don't know the value of that trinket." Atsuuka began. "It's got nothing to do with money. Long ago a Feudal Lord had three sons: twins, and a younger boy. The brothers all fell in love with the same girl, and they always fought over who should marry her. One day she grew tired of their bickering. She said she would give her most prized possession- a ring- to the one of them that she loved the most. The twins did everything they could to prove themselves worthy of her love, but that night she ran away with the youngest brother. The couple started their own life, and eventually ruled their own village- The Kanjo Village. Soon after, though, the wife died giving birth to her first child. Her husband, however, still had the proof of her undying love for him: the ring. The twins, still obsessed with gaining her love, stole the ring from their brother. Eventually they turned on each other. Each of the boys gathered followers and became leaders of their own groups. The youngest son still called his 'Kanjo', the younger twin called his 'Chishiki', and the older twin called his 'Tsuyosa.' For years the ring traveled among the three tribes, getting stolen time and again. Soon it became that whichever tribe had the ring at the time was considered the most powerful. As the ancestors of the brothers, we want that ring to prove our power above the other two tribes. It's currently in the possession of the Kanjo tribe, and has been for some time." He smirked. "But that's about to change."
With a yell he charged. He extended his arms, and a couple of blasts shot out of his fingers. Neji realized they were impossible to block, and it was too late to dodge. The blasts hit his chest, and Neji found himself unable to breathe for a moment.
"That is a sort of paralysis technique. It stuns your chakra momentarily. Although the effects don't last very long, it gives me all the time I need to finish you off with one fatal blow. Neji saw that he was telling the truth. His Byakugan told him that his chakra froze in its canals.
'It's like a temporary jyuuken.' He thought. Neji couldn't manipulate his chakra at all. The boy was relieved when he felt himself gaining control of his chakra again.
"I could have killed you right there." Said Atsuuka. "But I want to see what you are capable of." He attacked again. Tenten dragged Haru to a safer spot, and Neji blocked his opponent's punches and kicks. Atsuuka jumped back. "You're pretty good, kid. No doubt from the Hyuuga clan."
"How do you know of my heritage?" Neji asked, not letting down his guard. The man smirked.
"You'd be surprised at how much I know. Your eyes and fighting stance gave it away. For instance, that move you used earlier was the Hakkeshou Kaiten, correct?" Neji didn't answer. Atsuuka kept talking anyway. "It's a perfect defence- that is…if you're only protecting yourself. But what do you do," He looked at Tenten who was pushing Haru behind some trees for cover, "if there's someone else on the line?" Neji's eyes widened. Atsuuka pulled out a kunai and cut a string that ran from the ground to the treetops. Another bombardment of weapons was released.
"Tenten! Look out!" The girl looked at Neji as he tackled her to the ground. Most of the weapons missed, except for a few shuriken that embedded themselves into Neji's back. "Ack!" He coughed up blood.
"Neji! Are you okay?" Tenten helped her teammate up. "You didn't have to do that!" The boy just turned to Atsuuka again.
"How do you know of my weaknesses?" He demanded. The man laughed. He pulled a katana out of its sheath and appeared behind them in a puff of smoke.
"I told you: you'd be surprised at how much I know!" He yelled. Tenten gasped.
'He knows about the Byakugan's blind spot!' She barely had enough time to step in front of Neji as Atsuuka thrust the sword at his back. Neji watched, dumbfounded, as crimson blood spilled out of Tenten's abdomen. Atsuuka growled and pulled his katana back.
"NO!" Neji caught Tenten when she collapsed. "Dammit, Tenten! Why did you-
"You little brat!" Atsuuka sneered before the boy could finish. "How dare you get in the way of my attack! I'll kill you both!" He sent out more chakra blasts that stunned Neji's chakra. "Now DIE! The finishing move: Exploding Chakra Technique!" He put out his hands. A wave of chakra erupted from his palms and headed straight for the two teenage shinobi. Neji used his body to shield Tenten.
'No! He'll…get…hurt…' She used the last of her strength to push Neji away. The blast hit Tenten, exploding on contact. All she knew was searing pain before everything went black.
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I'M SO SORRY! IT WAS SOOOO CRUEL OF ME TO STOP THERE! I know what I'm talking about when I say CLIFFHANGERS ARE EVIL! I can't stand them, but I just wrote one! AHHHHHHHH! (Cries) I'm a hypocrite! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Lee: Will she be okay? Gai: She'll be fine. She just needs to settle down. Me: (Runs around screaming in the background). I'LL UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAAAAN!