Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me
Just finished this 10 minutes ago and trying to get this posted so I can run off to watch 'House.' Must-see TV show!
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Chapter 7
"We'll set up camp here."
The other two shinobi settled gratefully on the grass, wearily stretching out their sore limbs while their team leader staked out their camp ground.
"Neji, just relax. It's barely a day's journey back to Konoha and the mission went perfectly."
Tenten patted the bag next to her, reassuring herself that their hard-earned missive was still there. Miyaki, one of the newer chuunin, yawned beside her, rubbing the back of his neck in a gesture that seemed innate to the male species.
"That doesn't mean we can let down our guard, Tenten. You should know better by now."
Shrugging easily, she glanced around. The forest was relatively silent at dusk, the hazy sky just peeking out from above the thick canopy of trees. Neji had finally finished his examination and was now sitting on a rock a little apart from the other two. Her clear brown eyes came to rest on his lone form.
Her old teammate had been off for the past few weeks, colder and even sharper than before, throwing himself into training with a single-minded fervor that had even given Gai-sensei pause. Obviously, he and Ino were having some sort of argument or other; neither Lee nor herself had seen them together other than that brief, nerve-wracking moment a week ago on the training field.
Tenten had hoped that this mission would give Neji a chance to blow off some steam but apparently, the longer they stayed away from Konoha, the more frustrated he seemed to become. It was getting to the point that he was snapping almost constantly at both of them, the usual sheen of tightly-controlled indifference cracked and slipping.
"Oi, Tenten."
The quiet mutter to her right had the kunoichi shifting her gaze to the curly-haired boy sprawled out next to her.
"Yes?"
Miyaki tilted his head questioningly towards the older Jounin she had just been contemplating. The Hyuuga was now staring at nothing, his pale eyes watching for any signs of danger as usual but it was evident that he was lost inside his own mind.
Shaking her head in response, Tenten pulled out one of her beloved senbon to examine the specially lacerated tip.
"Miyaki-kun, can you pass me the wa…"
Her words were cut off by the familiar whizzing sound of a katana hurling through the air. It was pure instinct that had her rolling out of the way almost at the last second, the loud yell of 'Fuck!' alerting her to the fact that both her squad mates had leapt to their feet and assumed fighting poses.
Three more katanas spun out from high above them, one narrowly clipping the younger shinobi in the shoulder.
"Into the trees, now!"
Trusting the others to obey him, Neji threw himself bodily in the direction where the attack had come from. Activating his Byakugan automatically, he could make out three other figures darting to his left and right, fresh weapons already in hand.
Speeding up stealthily, he slipped behind one of them and slammed a chakra-loaded palm into the nin's neck. A choked gasp spluttered out of the attacker's mouth before he collapsed on the spot, his limp body crashing down towards the ground. Ignoring the sickening crunch and thump below him, Neji somersaulted back to see Tenten in a standoff with another nin, both sporting a kunai in either hand.
Obviously feeling his gaze, Tenten slammed her heel in her attacker's instep, efficiently slicing a long gash along his shoulder as he jerked to the side in pain.
"I'm fine, Neji! Go to Miyaki!"
Aware that her claim would hold true for at least the time being, Neji turned his attention to scan the forest. The flash of long, gleaming blonde hair caught the periphery of his gaze.
Neji froze momentarily before his arm automatically whipped out, flinging a kunai sharply to knock the one Miyaki had thrown off its deadly path as it hurtled towards the remaining nin. The metal clanged loudly before both weapons fell to the ground.
Startled green eyes met his from above the black cloth covering the rest of the nin's face.
Green, not blue.
The split second of indecision was all that was needed. A keening bird call sounded from behind him, the nin Tenten was fighting obviously signaling to retreat, an order that was obeyed as swiftly as they had appeared.
Tenten made to go after them but a curt command had her halting.
"Leave them. Attend to all injuries and then we're leaving immediately."
Nodding, she leapt over to where they were situated, calmly starting to bind the ripped flesh oozing blood all over Miyaki's shirt. Crouching, Neji reached out to steady the faintly trembling arm when a hand roughly pushed him away.
"Save it, Hyuuga!"
The younger chuunin glared furiously at him before jumping to his feet, muttering his thanks to Tenten as she similarly stood up.
"You mind telling me what happened out there just now? Exactly why did my squad leader save an enemy instead of fighting with his teammates? What sort of game are you playing here, Hyuuga?"
Rising slowly, Neji's face was completely blank, the only visible sign of irritation a faint crease in his brow.
"You forget yourself, Miyaki."
Unheeding of Tenten's placating murmurs, the other male brashly ignored the warning, riding high on confusion, pain and anger.
"I forget myself? I forget myself? That's a laugh! Do you even realize what you just did out there?"
"Do you realize you're completely out of line?"
"Oh yeah? Just what was so interesting about that nin that you chose to protect her? You're going to have to explain that to the Godaime when we get back anyways … oh wait, considering your recent behaviour, that's if we get back. So what was it, huh? Wanted to leave a survivor but somehow let her escape? Or, don't tell me, it was all that beautiful blonde hair…"
"That's enough!"
Chakra pumping tangibly in the raised veins around his famed eyes, Neji yanked the boy forward by his torn jacket. The other's mouth snapped shut, realizing a bit belatedly the trouble his runaway mouth had gotten him into.
Paper-white orbs drilled into his widening darker ones, the volatile Jounin inches from his face clearly swallowing the wave of temper threatening to explode. His voice came out low and flat.
"We're leaving now. No more questions."
Shoving the boy away, Neji shifted his stare to Tenten, whose lips pressed firmly together but as usual, offered up no disagreement. As the three of them made their way silently through the forest, the kunoichi's eyes were repeatedly drawn to the almost painfully tense figure leading the way.
Oh, Neji.
-o-O-o-
Scowling, Neji stalked out of the Hokage's Tower, his footsteps sounding crisply on the stone steps.
His mind was whirling, the long, drawn-out debriefing with the Godaime lasting well over an hour. Miyaki's indignation had calmed down somewhat during their hurried journey back, merely shooting confused glances at the Hyuuga as he gave his report. If his answers were slightly more clipped and brief than usual, Tsunade gave no indication of noticing. Nor did she comment when he explained that his actions regarding the nin in question had been because he had been distracted by what he thought was a familiar face.
"I expect this not to happen again, Hyuuga."
The Godaime had been strict but it was the knowing twinkle in her eyes that set his teeth on edge. Nodding his head curtly at a fellow Jounin, Neji made his way towards the training field. He really should have just returned to the Hyuuga complex; his body was screaming from fatigue and strain. But his temper was too close to boiling point for him to simply relax. It was as if the past few weeks had passed in a blur of nothingness, the various events and images melding together in a numbing coldness he had no defenses against.
"Hinata, watch your back!"
The faintly recognizable shout, along with a well-known chakra signature, had him turning. Opaque eyes narrowed instantly at the sight of his cousin and her teammates as they sparred on the grassy slope near the river. One bushy brown head in particular practically had the Hyuuga raising his hackles.
Good. I need a workout.
Advancing on the laughing threesome, Neji vaguely savoured the feeling of chakra throbbing through his veins, feeding the weeks of unsettledness into adrenaline.
"Neji nii-san…"
A soft gasp was all Hinata managed to get out before the older Hyuuga appeared in between her and Kiba, long hair barely finished swaying with his sudden movement before he launched himself forwards.
"What the hell?"
Spinning to his right, Kiba snarled, his own anger sparked by the prickling killing intent directed at him.
"Hey! Back off!"
Lips curling in a smirk, Neji merely dipped to crash his fist into the Inuzuka's stomach. A low grunt escaped the younger boy's lips, the force strong enough to send him stumbling into Shino as he stood behind him.
Steadying his cursing teammate, the Aburame watched as the other shinobi straightened, brushing off Hinata's stammering protests. It was obvious that Neji was quickly becoming unhinged, his pale skin tinged with an unhealthy pallor of utter restlessness and eyes flashing almost wildly.
Considering the fact that Neji's relationship with the Main Family had greatly improved lately, there was only one other thing that could have threw the Hyuuga into such a blind rage.
And Shino had a pretty good idea what it was. Or rather, who it was.
Neji raised his arms, preparing to launch into a fresh attack when the tall boy raised a placating hand. His kikai buzzed loudly around him, rushing out of his body in dark droves, stirred into action by the furious wave of chakra nearby.
"He didn't do it."
All eyes turned to stare at him. One particular opaque pair narrowed in mocking disbelief and frustration, the owner taking a threatening step forward.
"You lie."
Hinata let out a muffled gasp at the harsh growl coming from her usually composed cousin. The only other time she had heard such pain was during the Chuunin exam years ago. When it was directed at her.
Kiba turned to look at her in concern but Shino kept his attention on the Hyuuga in front of him.
"No."
"Move."
"No."
"What are you two talking about, damnit? Can't you see you're scaring Hinata?"
Shino barely spared him a sideways glance.
"Tell him, Kiba."
Neji took another step towards them, his Byakugan lasered in on the boy crouched on the ground. Akamaru growled at him, barking fiercely in front of his owner.
"Tell him what? I don't even know what the fuck is going on!"
"Did you do something to Ino?"
At that, Neji lunged forwards with a sneer, only barely restrained by the thick swarm of kikai Shino sent at him. Hinata gasped again, turning shocked eyes on to her teammate.
"Ki-Kiba-kun?"
The boy spluttered, jumping on to his feet. His face was darkly flushed, the crimson markings on his cheeks almost hidden.
"Fuck, I didn't touch her! What…is that what this is about? All I did was crash at her house when I was stinking drunk! I was out cold the entire time!"
His hands waved wildly in the air before rising to run through the mess of brown hair in agitation. The Hyuuga stood stock still, glaring intensely at the other.
"You're lying."
"Hell, no! She kicked my ass out the door the minute I woke up, yelling at me about stinking up her house! That chick can be pretty scary, I tell you!"
The Byakugan searched his face, taking in every detail, every movement of his eyes before finally receding. The others slowly let out tightly held indrawn breaths as Neji calmed down, his hands lowering as he slid the usual cold expression back into place like a pre-prepared mask.
It was almost freakish.
"Stay away from her. Or I will break every bone in your body."
His voice was flat, the menacing threat inherent in his vow as clear as day. Grimacing, Kiba threw a reassuring arm around Hinata's shoulders, patting her awkwardly on the head as he hugged her to his side. He shot Shino a grateful look before muttering at the older shinobi, ruefully stretching out his sore body.
"Che. I don't take what belongs to someone else."
Neji frowned, aware of the other shinobi's anticipatory gazes as they waited uncertainly for him to reply. Turning to stalk away, he threw his answer quietly over his shoulder, the words ringing with a determined assurance that he himself was not quite sure he understood.
"Good. Because she belongs to me."
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A/N: OK, so there will probably only be one more chapter after this but I hope you've all enjoyed this fic so far cuz I've definitely had a blast writing it! Next update should be in a week or so and then I'll be starting that ShikaIno multi-chp fic I've been promising for so long.