Chapter Two

Author's Notes: Yes, I gave Neji tattoos. I also gave the Sand Siblings a matching tattoo. So sue me. ;) There's a touching scene between Neji and Sakura in this chapter but it's for purely medical purposes.

Rated M for sexy scenes between two males (mainly and eventually), swearing, and a bit of blood and gore.

I don't own Naruto characters but I am taking some liberties with the universe. All characters will be dusted off and returned, if a bit scarred.

The shock of his new outfit had worn off on most of the people of Konoha. It was a disappointment but he could still see the grins of some villagers as he passed, even a month later. There had been a bit of a scuffle with the Hyuuga clan about him wearing something so revealing but Hiashi had mentioned Neji was a branch member, other branch members had worn worse, and besides, the outfit made him an S-class distraction.

Neji had not known other branch members had worn whatever they wanted and looked into it. Some of them had piercings in discrete places, others had small tattoos. The branch family was not looked upon to bring the pride to the Hyuuga clan as they were nothing more than servants. Neji considered his position in the clan in a new light.

It was why he was currently walking into Konoha's single tattoo parlour on his day off and looking around the small front room. There were images all over the walls in expressive detail featuring dragons, flowers, butterflies, and a myriad of other subjects. Booklets of designs sat on shelves and Neji flicked through a few.

He heard a buzzing sound, not unlike Shino's kikaichu when the bug-user was fighting. Neji decided it best to ignore the sound and kept looking through the book in front of him. Little grunts of pain came over the sound of the buzzing and Neji looked down the single hallway directly across from the door he had entered.

Neji stood in the threshold of the hallway and saw an open door to the right and left. At the end of the hallway was another door and Neji could make out a countertop with a register. There was a book on the counter but no one greeted him. Neji frowned and waited in the hallway, hands hooked through the front loops of his pants.

He had taken the liberty of buying more fitted, low-riding pants in black. Some had loops for belts, others had discrete designs along the legs, and one pair even had slits from ankle to the top of his hips on the sides and stitched together. His vests were different too, some lined in deep gray, others with the same kind of stitching along the sides, but they all had inner pockets and a single button. They all fanned out at the button and covered his hips and ass down to mid-thigh.

He had more mesh shirts than he knew what to do with all with different sleeve lengths and hem lengths. He had two bandanas and a few sets of arm wraps. All the arm wraps were loaded with the same weapons in the same spot so he always knew what he carried and where. He also had a lot of different leather collars and a few sets of fingerless gloves, all slightly different from the others. No one seemed to mind and Neji had never realized how much fun clothing could be.

The buzzing stopped and Neji heard low voices talking in the room to his right. A man came out and stared at him. The man was tall, broad across the shoulders with thick arms and a muscled chest. His waist was trim, his legs long and lean. His hair was shaved on the sides, thick on the top and went to his butt from its high pony tail. His eyes were black and he wore a shirt without sleeves and pants to his ankles. The interesting point was his arms and neck was covered in tattoos of breath-taking design.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"I was looking to get a tattoo," Neji replied.

The man nodded. A second man came out, a civilian of eighteen years or so, and Neji spotted plastic wrap over the bleeding tattoo on the man's bicep. The two men went to the back of the shop where the register was but Neji stayed in the hallway. The civilian gave him a nod when he passed later as the owner of the shop, the heavily tattooed man, came towards Neji.

"First one?" the man questioned.

Neji inclined his head in the affirmative. The man's eyes were locked on Neji's forehead but Neji did not flinch. Neji blinked and the man met his eyes.

"Hyuuga branch member, huh?" the man enquired.

Neji said nothing. The man nodded and led Neji into the room on the left. Neji saw more designs covering the walls. One wall had a mirror across its width and length. There was a sink in one corner and a cart full of needles, inks, and various other objects Neji did not know the use of.

"What were you thinking?" the man asked.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure," Neji replied.

The man smiled but not in mocking. All Neji knew was he wanted a tattoo. The location and what the tattoo depicted were lost on him. He did not want it to be large or too complex but he did want it to mean something. Perhaps this had been a bad idea. Normally he went into a place with a plan.

"Take a seat and we'll talk," the man said.

Neji sat in the reclining leather chair the man indicated. The man sat in a chair with wheels. They faced each other and Neji blinked before lowering his eyelids slightly. He had picked up the trick over the years. He could not half close his eyes but keeping his eyelids partially closed made a difference when he spoke to anyone. A few millimeters made people comfortable.

"I look at you and see freedom," the man said.

Neji tilted his head to a side and thought about it. All his life he had been a caged bird. He learned the Hyuuga techniques by watching and mimicking. He had hated the clan for most of his childhood, lived without parents, and decided to live under the clan's thumb as he thought he had owed them.

Hiashi-sama had said Neji owed the Hyuuga nothing when Neji had first donned the traditional robes. The robes meant complete servitude. Neji wasn't a servant to the clan but an unofficial main house member. He was free. This man had seen it in an instant. Neji was impressed.

The man brought a sketchpad close to him and Neji watched as the man began sketching. The word 'Freedom' appeared in various styles of text as well as the image of simple bird-shapes in flight. Neji said nothing as the man sketched out what he wanted. When he was finished he turned the page to Neji.

Neji's eyes flicked over the page quickly and he allowed a small smile to come to his face. He spotted two images he liked, the word 'Freedom' in a fancy sort of script but still legible, almost like calligraphy. It was simple but beautiful. Neji spotted another design, two birds, simple but elegant flying upwards between light shapes mimicking wind. He pointed both out and the man traced them onto some semi-transparent paper.

"Where?" the man asked.

There were not many places a shinobi could get a tattoo. Upper left arm was out for any with a lot of skill as this was where the ANBU tattoo went. The arms in general were a bad spot unless one wanted to wear longs sleeves to cover them. Legs and back were the popular choices. Neji wanted to be able to see his tattoos.

He glanced down at his knees and blinked. A small smiled came to his face and Neji took off his gloves, exposing his hands but more importantly: his wrists. The gloves would cover the tattoos but he could easily pull the cuff down when he wanted to look at them. The man nodded as Neji held out his wrists.

"Freedom on the left," Neji said.

Freedom went on the left close to his palm, right where his wrist bent. The two birds and their gentle swirls on the right, the lower bird in line with his pinkie finger, against the bone where his wrist bent and the upper bird in line with his thumb where all the veins and soft tissue was. Neji watched as the man sanitized both areas, pressed on the semi clear paper then wiped it. He took both papers off and Neji knew this wasn't it.

The man had put on gloves while Neji decided and now prepared his inks and a new needle. Neji said nothing when the man took Neji's left arm in his with a soft touch, his large fingers holding Neji's arm still. The needle began to buzz and it met Neji's flesh.

The pain was immediate but Neji did not flinch or cry out. The word freedom faced out, towards the man, but Neji liked it this way. It meant he was expressing his freedom and showing the world how free he was. Neji grinned inwardly at his thoughts as the man continued to ink him.

The process did not take long, ten minutes at most and when it was finished the man wiped down his wrist. Blood came away on the damp towel but Neji did not flinch. Plastic wrap went over his wrist and the man helped him into his left glove. The right wrist went through the same procedure but gods did it hurt when the man went over the bone. Neji did not wince though. He was shinobi after all.

The man began to shade the birds and Neji watched them come to life. When it was done, again his wrist was wiped and plastic wrap added. The right glove was put back on and Neji met the man's eyes.

"Leave the wrap on there for a few hours and when you take it off wash them really well with warm water and unscented soap. Use this gel twice a day. If you get any scabbing, don't pick at it, let it heal naturally. You should be fine in a week or so. Here's a pamphlet with more detailed instructions," the man said.

Neji nodded and tucked the paper into an outer pocket on his vest. They went to the back counter and Neji paid. He thanked the man and strode out of the tattoo parlour with lightly throbbing wrists. Neji walked away and had to fight to keep his smile back. It was only when he got back to the Hyuuga compound that Neji realized he had not gotten the man's name.

Keeping tattoos hidden in a family that had x-ray vision was not easy. Hinata-sama had spotted the tattoos the day after Neji got them when Neji had taken Hinata-sama up on training in the afternoon. Hanabi-sama mentioned the tattoos after dinner the day after Neji got them but Neji had not noticed when Hanabi-sama had looked at him with Byakugan activated. Perhaps Hinata-sama had told Hanabi-sama.

The next day, day two with his tattoos, he had been called into Uncle Hiashi-sama's office and told to remove his gloves and show Hiashi-sama his wrists. He had done so and caught a little smile on Hiashi-sama's face before Hiashi-sama had put on his "stern uncle" look and told Neji no more tattoos. Neji had agreed, put on his gloves, and walked back out of the office with a smirk.

Tenten, Lee, and Guy-sensei had not noticed even after a week. Neji did not mind though as the tattoos were in a rather hidden spot and he did not take off his gloves until he was preparing for bed. He liked the feel of the leather against his palms. Kiba and Shikamaru hadn't noticed either but Neji had not been in either of their beds in the past week.

Funnily enough the next person in their group found out after a week and a half. Neji strode into Sakura's private office in the hospital where she was conducting physicals. A shinobi had to get a physical after any mission which lasted longer than a week, any away mission, or every second month. Neji had a short B-rank away mission a week after getting his tattoos and strode into the hospital requesting a physical an hour ago. Sakura had drawn him and she shut the door behind them for privacy.

"All right strip down to whatever you wear under those pants," Sakura instructed.

"What if I don't wear anything?" Neji teased.

She turned and smirked, raising her eyebrows at him in interest as her green eyes skated over his form.

"You know, I like you a lot better with the new outfit. You have a better personality," Sakura said.

Neji chuckled but pulled off his vest. He laid it out on the shelf beside the bed and tugged off his mesh shirt. Sakura watched as his sandals came off next, staying beside the bed. The armbands were next then the headband. Neji thought it would be stupid if he left his gloves for last so pulled them off and laid them out atop his armbands.

Sakura's eyes were focused on his pants and he unbuttoned the pants before slipping them down his hips, his thighs, knees, lower legs, and finally off. Sakura flushed. He did wear underwear under the pants but they were clinging and did not have much fabric. In fact, his entire butt was exposed minus a tiny triangle of fabric at his tail bone and a string of it between his cheeks.

"Wow," Sakura said.

Neji smirked.

"If the other medical-nins giving physicals today knew they would be seeing Hyuuga Neji in a tiny black thong they would have fought me over your file," Sakura told him.

Neji snorted. He stepped away from the bed and raised his arms to his sides when Sakura instructed. She began poking and prodding at him, using her charka and asking questions as she studied his muscles, bones, and looked for any wounds.

Her hands ghosted over his left arm and she turned his left hand gently so the palm faced upward. She paused in her stream of questions and Neji saw her gaping at his 'Freedom' tattoo on his left wrist. She traced a finger over it and met his eyes.

"You got this a week and a half ago?" she asked.

Neji had to admit he was impressed. He nodded. She frowned.

"It's healed well. You are still moisturizing it, right?"

Neji inclined his head in the positive. She gave him a single nod. She ran her fingers over the tattoo, applying a bit of chakra and Neji felt the tingling in his flesh. When she was done she swatted him on the forearm.

"Proper procedure is to tell a med-nin you got ink," Sakura told him. "The area has to be checked for any kind of compromise and technically you shouldn't be going on a mission until three weeks after getting the tattoo."

Neji blinked. He hadn't even realized there was a procedure after getting a tattoo.

"I had no idea, my apologies. I do have another on my other wrist," Neji said.

Sakura scowled and went to his other wrist immediately. She checked the area over, applied a bit of chakra then went back to his left arm to study his hand. She still had a frown on her face but not one of concentration.

"I am sorry," Neji said.

She sighed then shook her head. Their eyes met and she smiled. Neji let out a breath of relief as she continued to check his left hand. She paid special attention to his fingers but Neji did not mind. He answered whatever question she had as she moved to his other arm. He flushed when she got to one particular question:

"When was the last time you had sex?"

Neji swallowed a bit harder than needed and kept his eyes forward.

"About two weeks ago, maybe closer to ten days," Neji said.

"Kiba or Shikamaru?"

Neji felt his cheeks go warmer but did not meet her eyes as she went over his right hand.

"Kiba," Neji replied.

Sakura hummed in acknowledgement and Neji let out a breath. She took down his weight and height without remark. Neji sat on the bed when she asked and breathed while she used her stethoscope on his chest and back. She listened to his heart rate and took his pulse. Blood pressure was next. She had him open his mouth and say "ah." The little light came out and she checked his ears and up his nose with the light. They did a brief eye exam then she rubbed down his throat checking lymph nodes, arteries, and thyroid.

The abdominal exam came next and all through she kept asking questions to access his mental health. She tested his balance, reflexes, and strength in the room. Neji knew he would be donning hospital issue pants and shirt to go to a treadmill down the hall.

"Okay, drop the thong and stand up," Sakura said.

Neji did as instructed. He let out a breath as she checked his testicles for any abnormalities then his penis. Neji bent over the bed and coughed so she could check for hernias. She performed a rectal exam and Neji tried not to think about either of his lovers.

"Use more lubrication the next time you have sex with either of them, okay? You had some tears around your anus," Sakura told him.

Neji nodded and felt the heat in his cheeks. She allowed him to pull on his underwear and he dressed in hospital issue gear. The treadmill test was easy but the sticky substance from the tabs measuring his heart and various other things annoyed the Hell out of him. She brought him into the other room for a full X-ray and ultrasound and Neji meditated as he lay on the machine. Finally, he was able to go back to her private office and get dressed. He settled on the bed and she in a chair by the desk and went over his charts.

"Still five feet and 7.8 inches," Sakura said.

Neji frowned. He had been hoping to hit at least five foot and eight inches. Shikamaru and Kiba had been an inch shorter than him but had both hit growth spurts and were now taller. Neji had a feeling he would not be any taller than five feet and almost eight inches.

"Your weight is good for your frame and muscle structure too," Sakura said.

Neji nodded. Sakura asked him a few more questions and he answered easily. He did stiffen slightly when she faced him with a little frown.

"I am serious about using more lubrication, especially with Kiba," Sakura said.

Neji managed to keep his blush down and gave her a curt nod. She kept the serious look on her face.

"Let me be honest," Sakura went on. "Kiba's huge, I mean, you obviously know that, but sometimes he can forget and move before you're ready. I know you can take pain and you like to put up a brave face when you're injured so I can't imagine you mentioning anything hurting too much during sex. Plus he's got claws so even the lubing process can be painful if he's rushing and Kiba isn't exactly a patient person."

Neji was glad Sakura decided to have this talk with him and not some random med-nin for the fact she didn't flush when she talked about this. He hated it was her because she had become a decent friend and he felt mortified.

"If he tears you too seriously and you're too prideful to admit it then that tear could get infected. Trust me it'll be a lot more embarrassing for you to have to deal with the infection from an anal tear than telling Kiba to slow down and be careful."

She had a good point. He nodded and she grinned at him. She stood so Neji got off the bed.

"You're in perfect condition," Sakura said. "I'll file this report with the Hokage today and you'll be cleared for any mission that comes up tomorrow."

"Thank you," Neji said.

"No problem," Sakura said with a smile.

He left her office and let out a breath once he walked into the waiting room. Sakura had followed behind him to get her next patient and send off the charts. Neji walked out of the hospital and into the bright sunny day with a little smile. Now he could enjoy the rest of his day. Perhaps cloud-watching with Shikamaru was in order.

Shikamaru had not been in any of his favorite cloud-watching spots so Neji strode through the streets of Konoha with a frown, definitely not a pout. He kept getting the occasional stare with goofy grin but ignored it. Neji turned onto the main street that lead from the main gates to the Hokage tower and gave pause.

Shikamaru strode down the street with Kankuro, Temari, and of course, Gaara. A few other shinobi from the sand he did not know strode behind them and Neji mentally swatted himself. Shikamaru had mentioned the Sand Siblings would be coming to Konoha today and he would be the one greeting them.

Neji grinned inwardly when he saw Temari and Kankuro had spotted him. The siblings' mouths dropped and their eyes went wide. Even Gaara's expression changed marginally to one of surprise as Neji approached. He did notice Shikamaru had a smirk on his face.

"Wow Hyuuga, you were hiding a great body under all those traditional robes," Temari told him.

Neji inclined his head in thanks and took up a position beside Shikamaru. Neji could feel Kankuro's eyes focus on his ass. He smirked but said nothing.

"Seriously, damn," Kankuro said.

"Can you fight like that?" Gaara questioned.

"Of course," Neji said.

"Practical and distracting," Temari said. "I didn't know a guy could do the same as women."

Neji scowled but said nothing. He knew better (thanks to Shikamaru) than to rise to Temari's verbal challenges. Temari did snort and Neji saw Gaara roll his eyes marginally at his sister.

"We've classed Neji as an S-class distraction," Shikamaru said.

Kankuro hummed in agreement and Gaara gave a curt, business-like nod. Neji heard Temari chuckle.

"And what class of distraction am I?" Temari questioned.

Her voice purred and Neji glanced back at her. She had lowered her eyelids a bit and thrust her chest forward. Neji saw Shikamaru look back at her. Shikamaru exhaled smoke into her general direction and she scowled.

"Eh, B-class," Shikamaru replied.

He turned back around and Neji faced forward. He bit his tongue to keep from laughing but Kankuro had no such qualms. Gaara smirked but Temari gaped before whacking Shikamaru in the back of the head.

"Jerk," Temari said.

"Neji has a better ass," Shikamaru said.

"If I were you I would stop there," Neji told him.

Shikamaru nodded and did not continue his comparison between Temari and Neji. The ass comment did get Shikamaru another smack, this one on the shoulder. Shikamaru took it without a word. Neji meant to leave the group at the foot of the stairs to the Hokage tower but Shikamaru took his arm and forced him to follow. Neji raised an eyebrow in question but Shikamaru simply dropped his arm and they kept walking.

They strode into Tsunade-sama's office a few moments later. The guards left but Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, Shikamaru, Shizune, and now Neji, stayed. Tsunade was rubbing her temples and let out a sigh before looking at them over tented hands.

"Neji, did you get your physical done today?" Tsunade-same asked.

"Yes. Sakura-san said she would be delivering the report today," Neji said.

Tsunade-sama nodded.

"You are cleared to go on missions?" Tsunade-sama questioned.

Neji nodded. Tsunade-sama let out a little breath of relief. Neji noted Gaara did the same. Shikamaru kept his expression neutral but Temari and Kankuro looked to know what was going on. Neji hated being left in the dark.

"Good. You'll be accompanying Temari and Kankuro on a mission. A certain scroll has to be found in the desert between Suna and Konoha and you're the best Byakugan user we've got. Here are the details. I'll expect you to set out in the morning," Tsunade-sama said.

Neji took the offered scroll with an inclination of his head. All but Gaara and Shikamaru were dismissed. Neji looked to who would be his teammates and Temari grinned at him.

"Gaara briefed us on the way so we're going to relax until tomorrow morning. What time would you like to meet?" Temari asked.

Neji let out a breath. He had not been informed and was behind on the details. Shikamaru likely knew the mission inside and out. Neji kept his annoyance down and met Temari's eyes.

"Seven," Neji said.

Temari frowned. Kankuro balked. Neji raised an eyebrow. They moved away from the bottom step as to not block any traffic and Temari let out a long breath.

"Fine but you'll notice I'm not an early-morning person," Temari said.

Neji smirked.

"Good thing you never had Guy-sensei as a jonin in charge. He made meet at four in the morning for training," Neji remarked.

Temari visibly paled. Kankuro groaned. Neji gave them a final nod before striding towards the Hyuuga compound. He needed to catch up on the mission details and make sure he had all the supplies he needed. Then there was informing Tenten, Guy-sensei, or Lee as well as his uncle. It was going to be a happily busy day.

Neji kept the lead as he, Temari, and Kankuro left Konoha the next morning. They were headed to the border between Suna and Konoha in the Land of Rivers, a day journey, to search for a scroll one of Gaara's spies had hidden. The scroll contained important information on the Sound Village, Orochimaru's Village, but the spy had been taken out before reaching Gaara. The final message the man had left had been to send a bird with the symbol of the Land of Rivers: three vertical strikes with the one on the left being slightly tilted outwards to the left.

It was a lot of boarder to search, lots of trees, rivers, caves, and other such landscape but it could not be helped. Neji knew Kankuro and Temari were with him to narrow the search. They had known the spy and figured out how he would have traveled from Sound to Sand. It would do much to help.

As typical they remained quiet as they traveled. Crossing out of Konoha's boarders and into the Land of Rivers' boarders was uneventful. Temari took the lead but Neji allowed her and followed. Kankuro took the rear and Neji engaged his Byakugan. They remained silent until Temari called for camp as the sun set on their second day.

Few words were exchanged and focused on discussing watch, their chores for making camp, and other necessary information. Temari took out a map and Neji shifted closer to look at it. Kankuro didn't bother but Neji did not blame him.

"He would have come straight through Konoha and along the uppermost northern part of the Land of Rivers, obviously staying ten or more miles away from the Hidden Rain Village," Temari said.

She traced the path with her finger then circled the area they were to check.

"We're smack dab in the middle," Temari said, keeping her voice light. "We'll be looking for something buried in a tree or underground with traps on it and a Suna symbol."

Neji inclined his head in understanding. Temari rolled up her map and they packed in for the night. Neji took the first watch and let out a breath. The mission relied on him to see the scroll of information and he would not fail.

The first hour of his watch was boring. Neji kept his Byakugan activated and as his time moved into the second hour he spotted movement at the edge of his vision perimeter. Three shinobi, Sound Nin, jumped into his eight hundred meter circle but did not come towards them. No, the three began to hunt through trees and grass. They were looking for the scroll.

"Temari, Kankuro," Neji muttered.

The two opened their eyes and sat up. They looked at him and he decided not to remark at how in sync they had been.

"Three Sound shinobi are looking for the scroll 788 meters to our due north," Neji told them.

"Son of a bitch," Temari said.

It took them a minute to break camp. Neji took the lead and it did not take them long to be within ten yards of the Sound shinobi. Neji shifted his eyes through the area, studying the ground and trees for any hint of a scroll. There was nothing in the direct vicinity but Neji saw a scroll shape with a Suna symbol buried 546 meters North-West of their location. He kept this quiet for now. No need to let the Sound Nin in on it.

"Should we engage?" Temari whispered.

They did not need to. The Sound Nin were way off and didn't have the benefit of a Byakugan user to help. Fighting them for nothing wasn't worth it no matter how much they all hated Orochimaru and the Sound Village.

"No but I did find the scroll," Neji said back softly.

Temari grinned. Kankuro smirked. They nodded. Neji took the lead and they left the Sound Shinobi behind combing through trees, grass, and other foliage. Neji dropped down in the small clearing where the scroll was hidden 546 meters away from the Sound shinobi moments later. He pointed to the spot and Kankuro was the one to bend in front of it.

Temari stood with Neji, back and shoulders tense, as they watched Kankuro disassemble the trap. Neji kept an eye on the Sound shinobi as Kankuro worked. He also kept scanning the area around them as they were a short journey for any shinobi from the Hidden Rain Village. They were so close they might run into a border patrol team if they were unlucky.

Kankuro got the trap disengaged and began digging with a kunai to get to the scroll. Temari let out a breath but Neji kept scanning. He spotted movement on the edge of his perimeter and scowled. Shinobi from the Hidden Rain were doing a patrol, three of them, and they were headed close to them.

"Three Rain Shinobi, 650 meters out and coming from our North-east," Neji said. "Chunin level chakra but they are headed straight for us, likely border patrol."

"Shit," Temari muttered.

Kankuro scowled and dug faster. Neji got into a defensive stance while Temari opened her fan wide. They did not know if the Hidden Rain shinobi would attack on sight but it did not hurt to be prepared in case they did. Kankuro pulled out the scroll as the Hidden Rain shinobi landed in the clearing.

"The Hell?" one questioned.

"Sorry, just retrieving something a friend of ours had to leave behind," Temari said sweetly.

This caused the shinobi to grab up kunai. Kankuro took a few steps back and Neji noticed him tuck the scroll into a pouch at his back.

"Suna property," Kankuro said.

All three looked to Neji who stared back, Byakugan eyes wide. One of the shinobi shivered under his gaze. Neji frowned when he spotted the Sound Nin on the move, coming right for them. Obviously they had sensed or heard something. Damn.

Neji made a symbol for three behind his left hip and pointed back. Temari caught it but kept the smile on her face. It had twitched marginally.

"We're going to head back to Konoha," Temari said. "We don't want any trouble."

The Hidden Rain Nin smirked. The Hidden Sound shinobi were closing in. This would not be good. The Rain Nin they could take with little issue. They did not know what to expect from the Sound Nin. Sure, they had jonin level chakra now but if they also had curse seals they would become S-rank jonin within moments.

The Rain attacked. Temari flicked her fan through the air hard which blew back all three. Kankuro went into the trees with all three of the scrolls on his back opening as he went. Karasu and Kuroari would be on the attack while Sanshuuo would act as their defense. It was like having three other shinobi on their side and they would need it.

The Sound Shinobi attacked from behind as the Rain Shinobi landed. Neji immediately fell into his Eight Trigram Sixty-four Palm attack and began fending off one. Another went for Temari but she blew him back. Karasu went after the third. The Rain Shinobi came back but Kuroari intercepted one. Two came towards Neji but he had all ready disabled the stunned Sound Nin. The two Rain Shinobi had seen it happen though and knew to stay out of his close contact.

This meant he was dancing across the field, loath to use his Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm technique too close to Kankuro's puppets or Temari.

Neji ducked under a thrown kunai and saw Karasu take down the Sound Shinobi it fought. The puppet immediately came to Neji's aid and Neji smirked as he and one Rain Shinobi were now fighting one on one. The Rain Shinobi panicked and Neji easily caught him with a single debilitating strike to the lower back. Temari finished her fight and Kankuro his. The six shinobi lay around then unconscious but in no way too seriously injured.

"Let's move out," Neji said.

He wanted to be in Konoha's borders before they decided to rest for the night. Temari and Kankuro nodded and fell into step with him. Kankuro's puppets disappeared back into their scrolls but Neji did not mind. Neither complained as they headed straight for Konoha's border with the scroll in hand, not even when the sun started to come up.

They hit Konoha's border by mid-morning and came to a stop in a clearing Neji recognized. The border patrol would be coming through here in about an hour and likely give them a bit of relief. Neji let out a breath and looked to the two Suna Shinobi.

"That was fun," Kankuro remarked.

"Yeah, fun," Temari said with a huff.

"We can rest here," Neji said. "Leaf Border Patrol will be coming through in about an hour and will likely give us some relief before continuing on."

Temari nodded. Kankuro grinned and they began to help Neji set up camp. Neji again took first watch and settled by the Sand Shinobi. Temari and Kankuro easily fell into sleep. They had all ready discussed taking perhaps four hours to rest before using the afternoon till sundown to get deeper into Konoha.

An hour went by and the border patrol did not show up. Neji frowned. They might be delayed but Neji did not worry about it too much. He did shake Kankuro awake and the Sand Shinobi yawned hugely before sitting up.

"Aw, I was hoping the border folks would be here before you woke me up," Kankuro said.

Neji offered him a small smile and a shrug. Kankuro stood as Neji settled onto his sleeping bag. He was asleep within moments, Byakugan shutting off automatically as he sunk into much needed rest.

Waking up to an explosion was never a good event. Neji activated his Byakugan and rolled out off his sleeping bag, coming up on his feet within a second. He did see Kankuro get blown into the trees but Kankuro recovered and landed with Karasu and Kuroari coming out to strike. Temari was up with her fan in hand and Neji sunk into Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven to fend off the barrage of senbon needles coming at him.

He spotted their adversaries and scowled. Hoshino's lightning attack smacked into his barrier but Neji stopped revolving and jumped back as Hoshino's bandits landed in the clearing. Neji recognized the bandits right away but they did not recognize him.

"Not wise to attack the brother and sister of Gaara," Neji called out.

Hoshino and his dozen bandits stopped. Karasu and Kuroari paused in mid-strike as did Temari. Hoshino gaped when he recognized Neji. The six bandits Neji remembered quivered. The other six looked confused when Hoshino chuckled in nervousness and started rubbing the back of his skull.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, we'll go," Hoshino said.

"Not yet," Neji said.

Hoshino gulped as did the six who recognized Neji. The other six tensed upon seeing their boss nervous. Temari and Kankuro looked at him.

"Hoshino Kido, S-Rank criminal wanted for murder, general mayhem, and assault, one of the few civilians in the Shinobi Bingo book. Temari-san, Kankuro-san, we'd get a mint bringing this guy in," Neji said.

Hoshino went a sickly shade of green so did every one of his bandits. Temari got an evil grin on his face and Kankuro chuckled before disappearing into the trees again. Hoshino held up his hands in a waving position and smiled.

"Ah, ah, we'll stop coming into Konoha," Hoshino offered.

"Mm, nope," Neji said and struck.

Karasu and Kuroari moved at the same time as Neji and Temari. The bandits did not stand a chance once Neji took down Hoshino with four well placed strikes. Within ten minutes all 12 including Hoshino were unconscious and tied up.

"Well now that was fun," Temari said.

"Great cool-down," Kankuro added.

Neji smirked. He gave Temari a look when she began studying his wrist. Neji looked down to see a stray sharp-something had sliced the fabric of his glove's cuff off, exposing his 'Freedom' tattoo.

"When did you get ink?" Temari questioned.

"A week and a half or so ago," Neji answered.

He did not wince when Kankuro lifted the wrist and studied the tattoo. Neji showed them the birds and they nodded in approval. Neji grinned when Temari lowered her skirt to expose her hip and a tribal sun tattoo. Kankuro revealed a tattoo on his right bicep of the same sun.

"Gaara's is on his ankle," Temari said.

"Cute," Neji said.

She huffed and swatted him. Neji chuckled and looked around their camp site. At that moment the border patrol leaped onto a nearby tree branch and gaped down at them. Neji offered a small wave. Temari giggled and Kankuro grinned.

"Uh, I take it you don't need help?" one asked.

"No, but we would like a few hours rest before heading back to Konoha," Neji said.

The three nodded and said they would spend three hours waiting. Neji, Kankuro, and Temari agreed before fixing their sleeping bags and finally getting some much warranted rest.

The stares and mutters from the villagers when Neji, Temari, and Kankuro reached the village were not only from Neji's outfit. The fact the Kankuro had summoned Sanshuuo to carry the bandits and Hoshino took priority over Neji's outfit. Temari kept the prideful smirk on his face and Kankuro his amused grin. Neji managed a mainly neutral expression but a little smile snuck through as they headed towards Tsunade-sama's office.

Neji heard shouting, mainly in Naruto's voice but walked in anyway. He blinked as Tsunade-sama grabbed Naruto's collar in one hand. The two looked to him as Shizune lowered her head with a snort. Neji and Temari walked in the office with Kankuro and Sanshuuo trailing behind. Tsunade-sama dropped Naruto in shock and fell into her chair.

"We completed the original mission and managed to capture Hoshino Kido and his cohorts on the way back," Neji said.

Gaara, who had been standing in the corner, came forward and accepted the scroll from his brother. Tsunade-sama got to her feet and looked down at an embarrassed looking Hoshino. She punched him in the head with a shout. Neji raised and eyebrow as his Hokage began panting in anger.

"Good catch, good job, I want the reports within two days. Dismissed, you too brat," Tsunade-sama said.

Naruto didn't argue and took off in front of them. Kankuro kicked their bundle off his puppet before summoning it back. Neji gave a light bow to Tsunade-sama and Gaara before walking out the way he came with the two Sand Siblings. Kankuro started laughing the moment they walked down the stairs. Temari smirked.

"Ah man, the look on her face," Kankuro said.

Neji grinned.

"The look on Gaara's face," Temari said with a giggle.

Neji chuckled as they got to the street level. Again they moved to one side. Naruto came to join them and stared at Neji who raised an eyebrow at the blond.

"You got tattoos? Lemme see!"

Neji snorted but revealed the two tattoos. Neji frowned lightly when Naruto took both wrists and gaped over them in wonder. Neji spotted Ino, coming towards him with a little scowl and fists at her sides. Neji had a feeling Sakura had casually mentioned Neji's tattoos. He was about to be assaulted by the Rookie Nine but didn't mind. Neji would grin and bear it for his friends.

Next chapter coming soon. Reviews welcome ;)