C-Rank Mission: START!

Author's Note: A minor original character but he's a space filler kind of like Hoshino from chapter one and two. And hey look, a wild Anko appears! Neji also gets his heart stepped on and we begin the transition from Neji X Shikamaru to Neji and Kankuro and Shikamaru X Temari.

As the title states: Neji is taking his students on their first C-Rank mission. In accordance to the Naruto universe rules when it comes to main characters going on "simple" missions, this mission will not be as easy as the rank dictates. This section is split in three so there are two more chapters for the middle of the mission and the wrap up of it.

Short chapter is short.

Rated M for sexy scenes between characters (mostly male), swearing, and some blood and guts.

I don't own the characters but I am taking liberties with them and their universe.

It had taken Tsunade-sama a week to find Hanabi-sama, Yori, and Shigo a new jonin-in-charge. In that time (the hour after if Neji was honest) word had gotten out about Hanabi-sama's defeat. Everyone from the Konoha Eleven and Sasuke came to watch Kuma kick Hanabi-sama's ass at different intervals. Other jonin began to make an appearance as well as other genin teams and what seemed like every shinobi in the village.

For any normal shinobi the pressure would have made them crack. Hanabi-sama was a Hyuuga heiress with certain expectations. She fought back as hard as she could and started managing to get some hits in. The hits were nothing serious but they were little victories to Hanabi-sama who had always been thought of the best all around genin in her generation.

To be beaten by who had been deemed dead last was an insult. Neji knew what it was like though. Being defeated by Naruto had given him perspective. For Hanabi-sama it made her determined to beat Kuma for the sole purpose of Kuma stopping in calling Hanabi-sama chan. Neji thought it was amusing.

The day had come when Hanabi-sama, Yori, and Shigo had been given a new jonin in charge. Neji had been summoned last night to be introduced to her and gone over the particular weaknesses and strengths of all three happily. They had agreed to meet this morning, fifteen minutes late to the normal start for training sessions.

Neji let out a breath as he waited for her near the training fields. It was a few minutes after oh-five hundred. Tora would start getting antsy, so would Hanabi-sama. Kuma would keep kicking, Akino napping, Yori playing with Maru, and Shigo staring into space and thinking.

"I still can't believe you were hiding such a great ass for all that time."

Neji smirked to see Mitarashi Anko striding towards him, her eyes flicking from his ankles to the top of his head then back down to focus on his ass. Neji chuckled as she stepped up beside him. They began heading to the training fields at a comfortable pace.

"Thank you," Neji said.

"I'm serious. And that navel ring, mm-hmm. I want to lick it," Anko said.

Neji snorted at her. Shikamaru liked licking it and flicking the little bauble he wore in his navel with his tongue. Neji pushed down the rather nice thought and let out a breath. He and Shikamaru had not been intimate in three weeks. This was unusual for them. Neji hoped the man hadn't decided to court someone else.

"You know, I have an extremely flexible tongue," Anko said.

Neji said nothing but kept the smirk on his face.

"I mean, I know you and Shikamaru are fucking but you're not together, together, are you?"

Neji stopped and stared at her. She took a step before realizing he had stopped. She grinned at him and offered a shrug. Neji smoothed the glare out of his expression.

"Sorry I asked," Anko said. "Make a move if you want him and don't be slow about it or you'll end up losing him."

Neji sighed and caught up to her. They strode into the proper training field a moment later and Neji wanted to laugh. He had predicted exactly what all six would be doing. Tora and Hanabi-sama both pointed to him but paused before yelling he was late when they saw Anko. Anko grinned and waved.

"Hanabi-sama, Shigo, Yori and Maru: this is your new jonin-in-charge: Mitarashi Anko," Neji said.

"Hey kids," Anko said.

Yori's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Hanabi-sama blinked before crossing her arms over her chest with a scowl. Shigo sagged. Kuma jumped into the air with an excited whoop. Tora beamed. Akino smirked.

"Aw, but can't we stay with you Neji-sensei?" Yori asked.

Maru yipped. Kuma huffed at Yori. Anko stared but kept the smile on her face.

"I mean, Kuma, Tora, and Akino can go with Anko-sempai," Yori said.

Tora looked abashed. Akino scowled. Kuma stomped a foot and made a little crater in the earth. Everyone looked at her as she stomped up to Yori. Maru hid behind her master and began shivering. Yori gaped.

"NO! Neji-sensei is our sensei, not yours! You were borrowing him and now you have your own. As much fun as it's been kicking Hanabi-chan's ass this past week I want to learn more. Go away," Kuma said.

She kept her voice raised, fist clenched at her sides, and little body tense. Hanabi-sama scowled at her pet name. Yori pouted. Shigo shrugged. Anko shook her head and sighed.

"If it helps any, Neji did tell me all your strengths and weaknesses and gave me recommendations on personal training for all of you. Plus I've worked with Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuuga many times so know a lot of different ways to cater to your individual abilities," Anko said.

"She would be a better sensei for you three than me," Neji added.

Hanabi-sama frowned but strode towards Anko. Yori pouted and Neji kept back his grin when the Inuzuka hugged him before heading over to Anko. Shigo said nothing. Anko grinned at her first genin team and told them to follow her. When they were gone, Neji almost fell over because Kuma launched her body into his for a hug. Tora came next and Akino walked over, allowing himself to be pulled in by the girls. Neji chuckled and hugged his students.

"Finally! Now we get you to ourselves again," Kuma said happily.

Neji smirked and they came apart. They started with laps. Neji ran along with his students and wanted to laugh when Kuma started running backwards for a few yards every dozen or so yards. Neji did not mind. It would help her in the end.

Neji sighed heavily as he jumped onto the rooftop. Another week had passed. His genin had completed two successful d-rank missions. Tomorrow they would be leaving Konoha, going on their first c-rank mission. They would be escorting a fisherman back to his village.

Apparently the man had been ditched by his friends and did not want to travel alone. Neji did not blame him. Traveling through the Hidden Rain Village to get to the Hidden in Stone Village which neighboured it was deadly for a shinobi. A citizen would not stand a chance.

The reason this was not a higher ranked mission was because the man was not an important person. The chance of attack was low. Neji could avoid most of the problems by simply telling any Rain Shinobi they came across they had nothing of worth which would be true.

Even so it would take them a week to travel from Konoha to the Hidden in Stone Village at a civilian's pace. It would be three days to get back at Shinobi pace. Neji wanted to see someone once before having to take off.

Neji peered into the sunroof and saw Shikamaru was not in bed. Neji easily pulled the sunroof up and landed soundlessly on the bed. It had been a damned month since Neji had lied in that bed. Sure, he and Shikamaru had enjoyed lunch, dinner, shoji, conversation, movies, cloud-watching, and basically everything else but it had never been in private. They had always been at a restaurant or friends had been with them.

Neji would demand to know what was going on with whatever they had but stopped at Shikamaru's bedroom door. Someone giggled and the laugh was too feminine to have been Shikamaru. Neji took a deep breath and peeked through the gap in the door, not daring to activate Byakugan because of the chakra flare. Hell, he had hidden his chakra so Shikamaru would not be able to take off as he did whenever Neji tried to get him alone privately for the past month.

Temari sat on Shikamaru's couch, facing him as he faced her. Neji took a breath and held it as Temari laid a hand on Shikamaru's face. He did not pull away, no, he took her hand. Temari grinned and leaned in for a kiss, Shikamaru leaning in at the same time. Their lips met. The vision of them kissing became blurry.

A chasm opened in Neji's chest and he bit his lip to keep from releasing his chakra in rage, sorrow, and disappointment. Neji turned and jumped out the way he came, being sure to close the sunroof quietly before running through the night.

Neji had no idea where he was going, blinded as he was by his tears. When he finally stopped running he found he had an all the way into the Nara forest to a special spot Shikamaru had taken him so many years ago. There were no cameras here and no one but Neji (apparently) knew where it was. Kiba could not even find them when Shikamaru wanted Neji all to himself. Neji wiped his tears and sat in the middle of the clearing.

The bastard had not even had the guts to tell Neji to his face. Neji brought his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs and allowed his forehead to rest on his knees. His long hair covered his face and Neji let the tears come.

Neji did not know how long he sat there crying but eventually he raised his head out of his knees. His eyes burned, his nose was clogged with snot, and his throat hurt. Neji let out a breath and wiped his eyes with the heel of one hand. Anko had told him last week to act. Maybe she had heard one of the other girls talking about Temari being interested in Shikamaru. Tenten would have told Neji though. No. She did not know how much Neji liked Shikamaru. Neji sighed and shook his head.

Shikamaru had not even realized how much Neji liked him. Neji used a gauze pad he had in his vest to blow his nose then tucked the used pad in an empty pocket. It was late, the night cool, but Neji was not inclined to move. He heard a rustle in the bushes and looked up to see one of the Nara deer come into the clearing.

Neji stared at the deer and it stared back for a moment before walking towards him. Neji offered a hand and the deer sniffed it. When the deer noticed Neji carried no food it stepped away from him to eat grass a yard away. Neji smirked but it did not last long.

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath. Gods he was wearing what Shikamaru had suggested he wear after that damned mission two years ago. Neji loathed changing though. He liked his new look. Neji knew he could not stay out here all night and got to his feet. The deer looked up at him but did not run off.

"When Shikamaru comes out here, tell him he's a jackass," Neji told the deer.

He figured it did not understand but something in the animal's eyes made Neji smile. Neji teleported out of the clearing and into his room in the Hyuuga Compound. He let out a long breath before running a hand through his hair. It did not take him long to strip until nothing covered his flesh or hair. Neji set his alarm for 6:30AM (they were meeting the client at 8AM) and slipped under his covers. He closed his eyes but he knew it would be a long while before he slept.

The image of Temari and Shikamaru kissing on the couch kept coming to him and Neji sighed. He needed to be well-rested for his genin tomorrow. His genin. Neji forced away the image and tensed his jaw. He would not let his students down.

Neji stood at the main gates of Konoha by half past seven. He wore his fitted faux leather pants, mid-calf sandals, a mesh sleeveless shirt that ended an inch above his navel, and one of his leather vests. This one had slender sleeves and like all the others one button that hovered three inches above his navel then flared back and down. This one was home to many inner pockets which Neji had filled with solider pills, senbon, kunai, medical supplies, ration bars, water purifying capsules, a compass, their mission, a map, some hair ties and a small brush, a bit of rope, some blank pieces of paper with a pen, and matches.

He carried a small black leather bag on his right hip which was home to a blanket, an extra set of clothing, some hand sanitizer, and a bottle of all purpose soap. Once they got to the Hidden in Stone Village they would take a proper shower but until then Neji and his students would bathe when and where (and if) they could.

He wore his hitai-ate strapped to his upper left thigh and shuriken hidden under the black band over bandages on his right. His bandana kept his long hair out of his face and streamed down to the tips of his hair. Really he did not need hair ties as he could use his bandana to tie back his hair. Still, Kuma or Tora might need them.

Neji also carried a pack on his left hip full of dried fruit, meats, and oats. They would be eating mainly on the way so the bag was small but Neji always carried back up food on the off chance they did not catch anything or find eatable food on the way. He tried not to think of how he was outfitted to Shikamaru's tastes. Neji had not put on his leather collar this morning and wore his leather gloves. These were the only sign of rebellion in his outfit.

Neji ran a finger under his left glove as he waited, rubbing his Freedom tattoo. He wished in rubbing the tattoo enough he would be free of thoughts about Shikamaru. So far it had not worked. Neji let out a breath when he felt chakra coming towards him.

Kuma wore her traditional bright outfit: fitted short shorts in orange, a fitted yellow tee-shirt, fitted yellow vest, black fishnet under black leg warmers, and her red hitai-ate tied on her right arm. She carried a flame yellow bag and came to a stop beside Neji with a grin, wild red hair framing her face in the bright morning.

"Good morning, Neji-sensei," Kuma exclaimed.

Neji smiled at her and returned the sentiment. He wanted to ask what was so damned good about the morning but would not let his bitter mood bring her down. This was her first C-rank mission and she was excited. He remembered how thrilled he had been to take on his first C-rank mission as well.

"We get to leave Konoha! I've never left the village," Kuma said.

Civilians who were not merchants, traders, shinobi, or some other government-type never left home. Most of the population stayed in Konoha so leaving would be amazing for her, Tora, and Akino. Neji kept his smile in place as she talked about how different everything would seem. He wanted to tell her all forests looked the same but kept it down.

"And we'll get to protect someone," Kuma went on.

She was vibrating with joy. Neji pushed down the urge to put a hand over her mouth and tell her to shut up. He rubbed his Freedom tattoo again and begged it to let him be free of these horrible thoughts so he could concentrate on the mission. Damn Nara.

More chakra came towards him and Neji glanced up. Tora was jogging to their meeting point. She wore her white thigh high leggings and fitted white tee-shirt. Her skirt was mid-thigh length with slits up the sides and deep purple in color to match the deep purple arm sleeves she wore. Her long brown hair was held back with a purple and white headband, similar in the way Neji tied back his hair. Her hitai-ate (in purple) had migrated to her right arm. Her black framed glasses were adjusted in front of her blue eyes when she stopped beside Kuma. She carried a purple bag on her back.

"Good morning, Neji-sensei," Tora said with a smile.

Neji returned the greeting. The two girls began talking about leaving the village and wondering about what they would see. Neji could not take his eyes off Tora's hitai-ate. She had moved it to her right arm like Kuma but it was purple. The color symbolized a loyalty to Orochimaru a few years ago, so much so Yamanaka Inoichi had gone to a black hitai-ate. Tora likely did not know what was so abysmal about the color. She happened to like purple, simple as that.

He sensed more chakra and saw Akino coming towards them at a measured pace, shoulders slumped and covering a yawn. Akino's lazy attitude made Neji grit his teeth but he let out a little breath, knowing his student would perk up when it came time to getting the job done. He tried not to think about how it was like Shikamaru and jabbed his tattoo with a finger-nail.

Akino wore his dark blue tee-shirt with fishnet arm sleeves and black shorts. Bandages wrapped around his right leg and his hitai-ate (in blue) had migrated to his right arm. His messy black hair framed his face and deep brown eyes well. His bag was blue and on his right shoulder, similar to a way Neji had worn his old bag.

"Morning, Neji-sensei," Akino said.

Neji returned the greeting. It was five minutes to oh-eight hundred hours so the client should be arriving shortly. Kuma was going on about how they might see foxes, wolves, and bears while Tora said it would be unlikely. Akino said it was annoying and Neji jabbed his tattoo again. This time it stung a bit.

Someone was running towards them, not a shinobi as there was not a lot of chakra and Neji looked up. Their client, Fukui Teruo, came towards them in a sprint. The man had dark brown hair tied in a bun at the back of his head, black eyes, a tanned complexion, and wore simple brown pants which ended a few inches above his ankles, black sandals, and a brown shirt, loose, with the sleeves ripped off. He was muscular for a common-man likely due to fishing, and he wore a gray bandana around his head, similar to the way a shinobi wore a hitai-ate.

His bag was brown, full enough that it looked like the seams would burst and he carried a fishing rod and tackle box. Neji found it odd how both items looked new. Konoha was not known for its recreational fishing but Fukui was a fisherman. Perhaps he knew better than him. Still, something felt off but Neji could not place what.

"Ah, hello there, I'm Fukui Teruo. The shinobi in the mission room said the shinobi accompanying me home would meet me here at this time. You must be them. It's a pleasure to meet you all," Fukui said with a smile.

Neji inclined his head. Kuma opened her mouth but Neji was faster.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well," Neji said.

Kuma pouted. Neji wished he could find the humor in it as he normally did.

"I am Hyuuga Neji, jonin. These are my students: Takenaka Kuma,"

She waved. Fukui smiled at her.

"Rinji Akino,"

Akino yawned. Fukui frowned and looked worried. Neji did not bother to assure him Akino would be fine.

"And Junji Tora,"

Tora smiled and Fukui nodded. Neji lowered his right hand from the tattoo on his left and threaded both thumbs through his belt loops. Fukui watched his eyes with a smile. Neji thought this odd. Civilians normally could not stand looking into a Hyuuga's eyes.

"We will be heading almost due west from here, straight through the Hidden Rain Village and into the Hidden in Stone Village as direct as possible. It should take about a week depending how quickly we travel. Do you have any questions for me?" Neji asked.

Fukui's smile did not fade and Neji wanted to hit him. He pushed the urge down and waited.

"Are you like the other Hyuuga? All business and no play?" Fukui questioned.

He laughed a bit then stopped when he noticed Neji had not moved a facial muscle in amusement. Neji raised an eyebrow and wondered how Fukui would know about other Hyuuga. Civilians had heard of his clan, yes, but they rarely knew their personalities.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, just joking. I've traveled with Hyuuga before when my buddies left me behind just like this," Fukui explained.

Something about the story did not sit well with Neji but he shrugged. Neji turned on his heel and began to walk away.

"Let's go," Neji said.

Fukui chuckled nervously but Neji sensed him following behind. Kuma rushed ahead and fell into step beside Neji. Neji sensed Tora and Akino keep pace with Fukui. This was affirmed when Tora began talking to Fukui about what countries he had fished in. Fukui launched into his stories happily and Neji half-toned the man out.

He set a comfortable, if a bit faster than normal civilian, pace but had a feeling Fukui could keep up. Neji had learned to trust his instincts and something bugged him about Fukui. Neji hoped he could figure out what before anything went horribly wrong.

Reviews welcome. Next chapter coming soon.