Welcome to the second chapter. To those that reviewed the first chapter, I'm glad you enjoyed my first installation, and glad the response was all positive. I was even put on someone's Author Alert. Yay for me! It's only right I put something in response.
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Gandhara: I think I can squeeze in another brawl between Jiraiya and Orochimaru, though the Snake Sanin won't be poking his head in again until afew more chapters in the future. -hands over a chocolate chip cookie-
Vensert: Danke. That's exactly the feel I was going for, though I promise that it'll be more light and humorous as the chapters progress. -give Vensert a chocolate cookie-
Cdromdrive: I'm pleased to see you actually put me in the AA, though you should review what you thought too. I enjoying hearing input from my readers. -pokes before handing over a cookie to bribe cd to review next time-
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Look back to my first part for the details of my disclaimer. I am too poor to sue, so I wouldn't mind if anyone made donations to my 'Take over the World' fund. If someone does, then I think I would be willing to give them a continent or island, depending on the size of the donation. Think about that while you read.
"Blah" Normal Speak
"Blah" Thought Speak
Beauty of the Beasts
Chapter 1: Follow the Bouncing Cyclops
He had been told that those woods were off limits. Of course, that was told to him by the Main House of the Hyuuga Clan, so it made him all the more willing to ignore such an order.
Neji brushed the excess dust from the sleeves of his white coat after he leapt over the fence, his chest puffing out slightly as he sauntered into the imposing forest. He had been sure to replenish his various armament and food stuffs before heading into such a dangerous place, though he had decided not to inform his teammates of where he was going. If their instructor found out, he would give them a week-long lecture about following the rules that would invariably involve strange poses, crying, and teeth that glinted at the end of every other sentence.
Just the thought of it sent a shiver down his spine.
The young Hyuuga Branch member had yet to activate the Bloodline limit, wanting to go further into the forest before he began the training. He had heard of the various creatures and things that lived here, and was sure a day or two training here each week would make him an even better ninja in time for the Chuunin Exam. When the time arrived, he would be able to put that spineless little urchin of a cousin in her place. And he would do so hard.
Unfortunately for him, the young Neji was so distracted by his plans for when became a Chuunin that he didn't notice someone watching him from the trees. At least, he hadn't yet.
Glancing at the trees and at the less then sporadic spots of sunlight in the canopy, he was sure that this would be far enough to begin his training regimen. Activating the Byakugan, he flared his nostrils as he found himself able to see in almost every angle around him, thoroughly examining his surroundings before entering the Gentle Fist fighting form that was practically second nature to him. He was always fascinated by how the chakra would leak from the openings in his fists when he struck his imaginary opponent, only expelling charka when he would actually make contact with his nonexistent quarry. For reasons that escaped him, he imagined this particular opponent to be shorter them him and as irritating as they came, practically able to see this opponent in his minds eye.
"You do know this forest is off limits, right?" asked a voice from out of nowhere, forcing the young Hyuuga to spin around and look where his blindspot had been moments before, his hand automatically reaching back for his packet of kunai. But by then, the blur of orange had already dislodged itself from its branch perch, its fist swinging too fast for Neji to dodge.
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"Damnit, where the hell is he?" TenTen practically growled those words as she stormed down the street, her anger so noticeable that all the passersby gave her a wide berth when she and her teammate, Rock Lee, continued their search for their missing team member. They were all supposed to meet for training two hours ago, and she had no interest in telling Instructor Gai that they had somehow lost him. If she had to go through another of those brain-melting lectures because of him, she would skin Neji alive with a butterknife!
Rock Lee merely looked at his teammate/friend and sighed. He knew that she was as worried about Neji as he was, if not moreso, but she preferred to cover up such a fact by bringing her anger to the forefront. "Calm down, TenTen. We've already searched the places he usually goes, and I'm sure he wouldn't do anything dangerous without us." the attempt to placate her did not go unnoticed, since she suddenly pivoted her head around and fixed him with a venomous glare, which was her way of saying 'yes, he's that stupid'. Forced to sigh out his objections, his mood seemed a continued downward spiral until he caught sight of his beloved. "SAKURA-CHAAN!"
That was the only warning the startled girl got before she saw something leap into the air spinning several times before he nimbly landed on the ground and got right in her face, a glint in his eyes as he got right in her face. "err...Good morning to you too, Lee-kun." Sakura offered him a cracked smile in greeting, which seemed to only add fuel to the fire.
"She's smiling at me! Truly, the heavens are also smiling upon me his day!" Lee thought as he felt his hope was quickly rekindled, the fire retuning to his eyes as he felt that he was nothing short of invincible at that moment.
That was, of course, until he was struck in the back of the head by TenTen's halisen, which send him to the ground in a sprawled heap.
TenTen looked at Rock and shook her head in irritation, though she flashed Sakura and her team a smirk when she saw how grateful the pink-haired kunoichi looked. After a moment of silence, she was struck with an idea and turned her gaze to another member of Sakura's team. "Hinata-san, would you happen to know where your cousin is today?" she asked as politely as she could, liking the shy Hyuuga girl a great deal more then Neji seemed to.
Hinata meekly nodded at the inquiry, her posture straightening everso slightly when she was addressed by the older kunoichi. "I believe I do, TenTen-san." she said softly, though her voice was still able to carry to all within the group. After Neji spoke/berated her this morning, she had hoped that she could travel with Sakura to the bridge, where Shino was probably waiting for them, and forget the entire ordeal in training. "If I recall correctly, he said he was going.." she paused and pressed her index fingers together, staring down at them as she felt three pair of eyes watch her with captivated interest. After taking a moment to marshal her courage, she continued. "He said he was going..to the Forest of Death." she finally managed to squeak out, wincing ahead of time in preparation for what was coming.
"He went WHERE!" TenTen bellowed, unaware of all the attention she had suddenly attracted to herself. "That place is forbidden by order of the Hokage herself! Did that baka actually go there?" she had been speaking in a more or less rhetorical fashion, but Hinata nodded all the same. This seemed to only irritate the bun-haired women even more, who placed her hands over her eyes and gritted her teeth as she let out a growl of irritation. How could they find him now? The diameter of the forest to the tower was at least a two day run for a shinobi, making it almost impossible to find someone when they went inside.
Thankfully, someone had been paying more attention then the average passerby did. "Are you talking about the Forest of Death?" someone asked in a casual tone of voice, all four heads suddenly turning around in order to see who it was that had spoken to them. From the military green vest that adorned his chest, despite being somewhat concealed by the bag of groceries he held, he was either a Chuunin or Jounin, though it wasn't what they were staring at. Neither were they staring at the dark blue half mask that concealed his nose and mouth. What TenTen and Sakura noticed was the practically silver hair that seemed to be defying gravity, while Lee and Hinata were mystified by how he had his hitai-atewas pulled over left eye, which meant he was using it as a makeshift eyepatch. To be a shinobi that could compensate for such a dehabilitation, he was most likely a high ranking Jounin.
Strangely enough, none of them had ever seen him around before. With an appearance like that, they would have certainly remembered.
"Sorry for interrupting, but I couldn't help but overhear. I heard someone had jumped the gate an hour or so ago from the northeast sector, and I was already on my way to find out who that was. Care to tag along?" he asked, the crinkle in his visible eye telling them that he was smiling beneath his mask. He seemed to be even more amused when they all nodded in unison, and hadn't asked him why it took two hours for him to get to the Forest, then nodded in return before casually walking down the street. "Then let's go."
"We would, if you were going the right way." Sakura commented, causing the grey-haired ninja stop in his tracks and look back at them. "…oh right. I forgot." he chuckled and spun around on the balls of his feet and resumed his leisurely pace, seemingly unaware of the sweat drop that trickled down the young girl's temple. "Is this guy for real?" she asked herself, letting out a sigh before she and the others followed after the older shinobi.
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The chain link fence seemed to loom ominously over the quintet, forcing several to swallow the nervous sensation that had been building in the back of their throats. Hinata was one of them, but was the first to speak. "Ano…don't we need written permission from the Hokage to enter these woods?" she inquired, her attention fixed on their makeshift leader, who casually had drawn a key card from one of his pockets.
"Under normal circumstances, that would be true. But for the time being, I can sorta deputize the four of you, so we can all go in and look for your friend. Does that sound alright?" he couldn't help but grin at the mousy little girl, who seemed so shy and adorably cute you just wanted to squeeze her and see if she squeaked. What else caught his attention was the sudden movement from the kid with the Moe Howard haircut, who was now standing beside Hinata and clenching a bandage-wrapped fist.
"I know I would be honored to be given such a special courtesy. Please count me in!" was all Lee could say, too moved to say anything else, but sure that his friend all agreed with him in his sentiment. Of course they did, though it was only about the counting them in part, rather then being moved close to tears. That was just too Lee to be anyone else.
It was just too familiar not to be disturbing. "Must be one of Gai's students." he muttered to himself before he swiped the key through a small black box that seemed to be haphazardly placed on the fence, a chime echoing through the air before a section of the screen swung into the forest. The students all blinked at once when they realized that it was actually a hidden gate, the dark blue sigils painted on the border having been some sort of genjutsu. "It keeps people from trying to break in where they're not allowed to go." the man said, snapping them out of their surprise so they could follow him into the woods. "We'll start at one of the little check in points. It's about a three hour walk from here, so let's run. If your friend has been caught, I can only hope that HE isn't there with him." he shook a thought from his mind before taking to the trees, soon followed by the four Genin, who were hard pressed to keep up with him while they all wonder who on earth HE was.
Do any of you know who 'he' is? If you do, consider yourself smart. If you haven't, look back up for the clue I left, find it, THEN consider yourself smart. Either way, if you're smart, then you'll review as soon as you can.
In the chapter, we'll find out how the cursed people in the tower intend to find love. Who in the Naruto crew will among the cursed, and why? Well, you're not going to figure that out by just wondering. You'll have to read my next chapter, won't you?