It was Tenten in the flesh, no doubt about that. The same lilt in the nose, the same rounded face, the same hair, but Naruto looked out through her brilliant blue eyes. Tenten, or at least her body, sauntered sassily towards the shocked Hyuuga, her mouth oddly warped, and it was then that Neji knew that the long-dead blonde had taken possession of the girl's body. However….

"Naruto…is it really you?" He asked in a whisper. Lips twisted in a wry smirk.

"Dare you suggest another?"

Oh god, the voice was the same, undoubtedly feminine and in the high pitch that was uniquely Tenten's, but the air, the manner which flowed around the body of the girl…how could he have any uncertainties? But still...years of experience railed on his brain, cautioning him to test this strange entity. Naruto, or rather his spirit, seemed to acknowledge this caution; he was looking at the Hyuuga with a rather forlorn look in his eyes.

"How did you…how did…." Neji balked, at a loss for words.

"I'll explain later. Follow me for now; I have things to tell you. And take that strand of my hair with you." Neji hurriedly wrapped the silken strand of gold around his finger.

Eyes faded back to a dulled umber, and for a moment Neji felt a pang of alarm that the blonde had so soon vanished, but when Tenten strode across the room to the door, her step was the light, buoyant step of the wraith in her body, quickly banishing any remaining doubts that lingered in Neji's mind. She opened the door, nodded to an expectant Hizashi, and led Neji down the many twists and turns of the hallways down to a certain niche of the laboratory.

The duo finally came to a halt before two imposing steel-wrought double doors. Naruto reached out and slid a nail down a small, practically infinitesimal crack in the metal, and immediately a series of clicks, snaps, and whirs answered his action. The doors slid open just enough to allow entrance to a slender individual; motioning furtively for the Hyuuga to follow, Naruto slipped inside, Neji in tow, and closed the door with a snap.

Groping his way along the walls, slim fingers found a switch, and Neji flicked upwards. Blinding white light suddenly filled the room, giving birth to a vision that was all too familiar. Neji nearly tripped over his feet at the sight before him, and suddenly his tongue felt too big for his mouth, constricting his airways and causing him to gasp.

"This…this place…." Naruto nodded grimly.

"Yes. It was where you were born, wasn't it?" He whispered. Neji passed a hand over his eyes and swept a gaze over the eerily familiar machines, pausing ever so slightly on the gigantic test tube in the middle of the room. With a rueful look at the stunned Hyuuga, Naruto turned his face upwards and spread his arms wide.

"This place. This is the place where we all were created, each and every single one of us. Countless humans, both successes and failures, were spawned from that tube." He stopped mid-sentence and let out a sigh that made him suddenly seem a hundred years old.

"We weren't the only ones who were created here, you know." He said softly. Neji looked up, quickly grasping the situation.

"What happened to the rest?" He asked, afraid to know the answer yet already informed. Lips curved up in a sad smile.

"They were killed." His worst fears were confirmed by the three small words that slipped like silk from Naruto's mouth.

"They were used as tests, as specimen, as subjects for Hiashi's experiments. He wanted to combine every single one of their advantageous traits into a single human being, a super being, the closest thing to a god. He extracted those traits, studied them to their full potential, and when he was done with the subjects, he had them killed. Dissolved back into just lumps of genetic material." Naruto concluded, smiling wanly at Neji's horrified expression.

"And the reason you haven't been killed, the reason why you haven't yet been tested…"

"Is because I am that creation, that epitome of perfection?" Neji finished for him, with an expression of mortified horror. Naruto slowly nodded.

"Yes. Which means you have something of me in yourself. I was lucky enough to have the sense to escape before they finished testing me. Hiashi, afraid I would expose all to the world, has been tracking me for several years. And he believed that he finally succeeded that moment that you killed me." He said, then smirked as Neji opened his mouth. "And don't waste your breath on apologizing. I forgive you."

"I…don't know what came over—"

"I'll ignore any other excuses you try to feed me, Neji. You were under Hiashi's control, so it wasn't your fault. And if it isn't your fault, stop blaming yourself, because if you blame yourself, I'll get mad and leave, which will bring us back to square one until I can make another deal with Kami-sama to possess someone else." He inhaled deeply, then sighed.

"I already bargained off all my possessions to appear to you like this, and even then Kami-sama said I had to possess her." Tenten's shoulder arched as Naruto executed a frustrated shrug. "Her body's SO uncomfortable, I can't see how she STANDS it…" He muttered. Neji found it rather hard to keep a straight face.

"Anyhow, we're not here to dawdle all day long. I've spent the last seven years studying Hiashi and his building, and I think I can come up with a way to get my own body back again, but I'll need your help." He turned to Neji, searing the Hyuuga with a scalding stare sodden with intensity.

"My question is: are you willing to help me?" He asked in a dead whisper. Neji drew back, confused.

"Of course." As if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But why are you so worried?"

"You have been under Hiashi's regime for about all of your life now. If you want to do this, it means going against and possibly killing him, so I need to know if you have any doubts." He said, eyes blazing brilliantly in the bright lights of the room.

Neji bit his lip, opalescent eyes glittering worriedly. True, he had indeed been greatly influenced by his creator, but not to the point that he'd change his views just because Hiashi thought differently. And there was that one incident…a long time ago…when, in a blinding rage, he'd tried and almost succeeded in killing the man…

"I'll do it." A smile broke out on Naruto's face.

"Good. We start right away." he said, then whirled on his heel and strode quickly to the machinery. Neji quickened his pace to keep up.

"W-wait…what am I supposed to do?" At this, Naruto paused, thoughtfully tapping a nail against the corner of his mouth.

"Oh yeah…I didn't tell you what I had planned, did I?" He said in a somewhat sheepish tone. Neji barely refrained from rolling his eyes, but nevertheless stayed silent.

"All right. There's a certain process that, if performed correctly, will convert the genetic material every single cell in a body to that of one's choice. Using that strand of my hair, we'll input the genetic material into the converter. I'll get into the test tube, during which time I'll need you to monitor the progress. If I'm correct, it will take about three hours to complete. Once the process is done, I'll have my own body back again." He said candidly. Neji blinked.

"But…you're in Tenten's body…" He trailed off. Silence resonated loudly around the room until Naruto spared him the worry.

"Yes…which means that her body will be replaced with mine. Tenten will, in essence, cease to exist, because I will have converted her cells to mine…and as for her soul…" he arched a casual shoulder, then incinerated Neji with another stare. "After hearing that….are you sure you want to do this? After all….you did live with her…." He trailed off. Neji's mouth twisted into a somewhat dry expression.

"I don't recall saying I enjoyed living with her." He remarked lightly. Naruto turned away, blue eyes glittering with a strange emotion.

"Yes, but…after all, she's human….and yet another victim of Hiashi's….I kinda feel sorry for her." He said softly.

"I know….but….do you not think it would be better for her to die now, at our hands, a painless death, than to be carved up later by Hiashi when she has exhausted her usefulness?" Neji's comment had a dull ring to contrast the stark reality.

"I guess so…." Naruto answered absently. Silence reigned supreme for a long period of time.

"Well, we can't dally any longer, since Hiashi might come in here any minute…." The blonde muttered, turning thoughtfully to the numerous blinking lights on the dashboard of the machine. Pressing buttons at random, Naruto brought up a screen, clicked a mouse once or twice, then turned to the waiting Hyuuga.

"When I give the signal, press the small blue button in the middle of the dashboard. The light will go red, and the tube will start to fill with liquid. When it's completely full, pull the candy-cane thingamahoozit there to start the metamorphosis, kay?" Neji nodded curtly, then strode quickly to the machine, drinking in the various sights and information before him.

"Very well. I wish you luck, Naruto." He said sincerely. With a wry smirk, the blonde clapped a reassuring hand on Neji's shoulder.

"Yeah. I mean hey, if worse comes to worst, I can always possess someone else…" he murmured mischievously, then grinned as Neji shot him a scandalized look. "Just kidding. But you knew that already."

Turning to the imposing glass cylinder erected in the middle of the room, Naruto opened a latch and pulled open a large piece of rubber, exposing a small passageway. He stooped, effortlessly slid his body into the base of the machine, and closed the door. Seconds later, the blonde reappeared on a small metal platform inside the glass receptacle, upraised like some sort of maladjusted trophy in a gilded case. Cocking his head to the side, the blonde flicked a smirk at the waiting Hyuuga, who nodded once and pressed the button gently with his thumb.

At once, emerald-green liquid started to fill the casket in which the blonde was encased. Naruto looked oddly serene as he stood almost angelically on the upraised platform. The water lapped at his feet, then slowly slid up his body and over his head, rising quickly to the ceiling accompanied by small, greenish bubbles. Completely submerged in the substance, Naruto closed his eyes and just floated, Tenten's brown hair wafting lazily around her face, making her seem like some sort of mermaid.

Neji allowed himself a brief moment to enjoy the view, then slid fingers around the lever and pulled.

The tube nearly exploded with a brilliant white light that seemed to pour itself into every orifice of the stunned Hyuuga. Just as quickly as it had come, it died down to a pulsing dimmed white sphere, surrounding the body of the girl Naruto had possessed. The ball floated almost lazily in the middle of the tank, emitting a peaceful, almost tranquil aura.

Neji was far from being anywhere close to tranquility. The Hyuuga bit nervously on a nail, flicking a glance every once in a while at the door. Minutes seemed like hours as Neji continued to survey the progress, extending a Byakugan-enhanced view as far as he could see. He jumped and barely refrained from shouting when a figure passed by his view, then went slack once more as the passing scientist continued obliviously on his way. The Hyuuga slanted a furtive glance at the white cocoon enveloping Naruto, praying that for once in his life, everything would go as planned.

Plans, however, had a tendency to go awry. And despite the measured safety precautions, Neji had a deep feeling in his gut that told him Hiashi would know.

Because Hiashi always knew.