Troublesome Fate

By: Lone Ronin

Author's Notes: Ah, an update at last. I've been writing bits of this in between school, the next chapter will be longer. This part of the story shifts back a few days to Neji, there will be NejiShika in the next chapter, I swear. I've also added in some KotetsuIzumo and KakashiIruka for you guys as well, but they don't really major in the story.

Part 5: Orochi

While Shikamaru worked on him mission abroad, life went on back in Konoha. Sakura worked on her latest exercise as Tsunade spoke with Kotetsu and Izumo about the most recent set of paperwork that had come in.

"Demonic horses, sightings of dead relatives and now talking snake like creatures? These reports read like the writers were on drugs."

"Everyone keeps assuring us that they're true." Kotetsu replied.

"And the teeth and claw marks shown in injuries and on damaged equipment seem to match their stories." Izumo added.

The sannin massaged her temples in frustration. She really needed a drink of sake. Who knew that being Hokage required so much paperwork?

"Anyways, these mission reports have been reviewed, these proposals are approved and these are ready for filing." Tsunade handed them a large stack of completed documents.

Seeing the look on Tsunade's face as Shizune entered with a new stack of papers for her to deal with, Kotetsu and Izumo decided it was best to leave. They paused outside the Hokage's office, watching the storm clouds in the distance blowing in from the warm south.

"Looks like the rainy season is coming early this year, they said it's going to be a heavy one."

"Great, paperwork on flooding, that's just what we need. Hope the dikes hold better this year, I could really use a break." Kotetsu sighed.

"You know, we could, relax over at my place for a bit." Izumo said with a wink.

"But we always go over to your place. Why can't we go to my place?"

"Remember how we got caught? Your little brother said it was the funniest thing he had ever seen."

"Relax, Roka left for his mission the other day, he won't be back for at least a couple days. Hope he doesn't get caught in the rain."

At the estate of the oldest and most powerful family of Konoha, Hyuuga Norima, a Branch Family member, entered the meeting room and bowed to Hiashi. She was rosy and middle-aged, with a plump, motherly figure and gentle personality. Although she was a very distant relative of the Main House, her warmth and keen sense of observation made her well liked and allowed her to serve as a peacekeeper for the Main and Branch families, settling disputes or speaking on a Branch member's behalf.

The Hyuuga estate was in some ways a separate world from Konoha society that wasn't about to let reality and change overtake their traditions, so it was expected that disputes and concerns involving Branch family members had to be discussed between the heads of the Branch and Main House.

"You sent for me, Hiashi-sama?" Norima said though she knew perfectly well what he wanted.

"Some of the other Branch House members have told me about your concern for my nephew. Why do you think that something is wrong with Neji?" Hiashi questioned her.

"He has been behaving rather erratically, Hiashi-sama."

"How so?"

"Ever since he came back from the hospital, he's been training almost obsessively, even for him. When he's not training, he's restless and pacing, I can't help but think of that time I saw a panther they once caught up in the mountains and held in a cage, he reminds me of that. He won't sleep in his room anymore, he says it's too hot at night, he's dragged his futon out to the covered wooden landing at the edge of the inner courtyard, and he sleeps there even when it's pouring rain just a few feet away. He used to sleep like the dead before he took the chuunin exams, but when I passed by him to get a drink of water the other night, he was tossing and turning in his sleep like he was having a nightmare." She recalled.

"I've seen this before, it's a phase some young men go through, where they're restless and don't know what they want." Hiashi didn't seem that concerned, recalling his own personal 'phase'.

"My sons never went through such a phase when they were growing up." Norima wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Neji is different from most of the Branch House, I've treated him more in some ways as a son rather then as a Branch House Member." Hiashi answered as he left to train Neji.

After a moment of thought, Norima realized that it was true. Even though Neji was technically a Branch House member, Hiashi had been very close to his brother, Neji's father. As Hiashi's nephew and a prodigy of the bloodline ability, Neji enjoyed privileges that other Branch members didn't, so he seemed to be considered something in between the Main and Branch, not really one or the other. A Branch House member was too busy working and serving the Main House, most of them didn't train to be shinobi and accepted their lot. The older Branch members accepted their life quietly, but Neji was different, he felt trapped by the rules of the Hyuuga, he was a young man struggling to find himself.

Norima didn't quite understand it, but it seemed that the chuunin exam had changed him. Before entering, Neji seemed to have quietly accepted the rules of the Main and Branch families, hiding his unhappiness in a quiet and sullen sort of anger. But the exam seemed to fuel his desire for more out of life; he was still quiet, but he no longer seemed sullen or angry, instead he seemed focused on something. It both pleased and worried Norima at the same time.

'I know you want something more then what most Branch Members get out of life, Neji-kun, I'm happy for you, but be careful.' Norima thought as she watched him train.

While Shikamaru had to deal with a lot of external changes to his life, the changes to the rhythms of Neji's life were coming from within.

'There's always room for me to go further, I have to reach that level.' Neji thought as he sparred and trained with Hiashi.

Fully recovered and out of the hospital, he was pushing his limits at every spare moment he had, it was even starting to exhaust his uncle.

"Neji, let's rest a bit." Hiashi said as he went inside for a moment to speak with a Branch House member.

"The tea is ready." Hinata called to Neji as she came out to the courtyard with cups and a teapot.

"I'm going on a mission soon." Hinata added as her father and cousin each picked up a cup.

"Don't get in anyone's way." Hiashi answered as he went inside with his drink.

Neji's mind felt clearer then ever as he looked at his cousin for the first time in his life without hatred in his heart. It had taken a beating at the chuunin exams, a revelation about his father and a near death experience during a crucial mission to make him reexamine everything that he thought he had known.

"Hinata-sama, I'm sorry, for what I did at the chuunin exams, I regret that I tried to kill you." Neji said to Hinata, in his usual flat tone, only saying what was necessary.

Hinata was too shocked to answer, but the way that she pressed her lips together showed that she wasn't completely sure if he was sincere.

"I directed my anger towards you, because of the hatred I felt for the Main House, I didn't hold back because I thought for certain you would use the cursed seal, why didn't you?" he continued.

"I wanted to fight you as another shinobi, not as a member of the Main House of Hyuuga." Hinata answered quietly before she left with her teammates for their latest mission, leaving Neji by himself.

"This is a B rank mission…"

Neji barely paid attention to the briefing as, his thoughts turned to his own personal desires.

"…we need you to investigate the following coordinates in the Southeast of Fire Country. There are all these reports of the strangest creatures down there…"

He remembered when he had first graduated from the academy when Gai had asked his team what they dreamed of. He didn't want to answer, since there really was no way around the fact that he would have to be a servant to the Main branch when he became older. He hated being controlled more then anything else and there seemed to be no way to get around it.

"When I become Hokage, I will change the rules of the Hyuuga clan." He recalled Naruto's promise from the exam.

Maybe it would happen one day, but he knew Naruto had left Konoha with Jiriaiya, the legendary sannin himself and he couldn't wait that long, maybe and one day wasn't good enough for him. He wasn't surly about it anymore, but he wasn't ready to accept it.

That was when he decided to run away.

He didn't quite know where he was going to run to, he wasn't quite sure where to go and he really didn't care. He did still plan to return to Konoha one day, he just needed a change for a bit and maybe to explore the countryside while he was still young.

He had put his plan into motion during his hospital stay, when he had learned that one of the medic's parents ran the bookstore. He had been able to borrow as many books as he could, books he would have never been allowed to look at in his home with no questions asked, such as maps and geography. He even secretly hoarded the medicines that he had been given, hoping to use them later. Memorizing the maps and learning as much as he could, he planned to run away next time a mission took him outside the village for more then a day. He had planned everything perfectly, it seemed like nothing could go wrong, but he knew there was always something that he could have overlooked.

"…kill and bring back a specimen if you can. We just need to see what some of these things are like. There are other Konoha ninjas running missions in those areas as well, so feel free to ask for or offer assistance if its needed. We don't know what your odds of finding it are, but with Neji's Byakugan and you team's excellent mission record, we estimate it will probably take about a week."

Although he seemed to be his usual quiet self on the outside, Neji secretly felt delighted hearing just how far and how long they were going to be from Fire Country, it was the perfect chance.

For several days, the mission went on without incident as they explored the dense, humid jungles of Southern Fire country when the animals suddenly fell quiet as they entered an old abandoned quarry and a strange fog seemed to fill the area. The humid tropical climate suddenly became cold and dry to the point that they could see their breath. Realizing something was stalking them, they drew their weapons.

Something made Neji draw in his breath sharply, as if an invisible hand had grabbed his heart and squeezed it hard. He felt a strange, almost overwhelming sense of panic for no apparent reason. His heart was racing and he broke out into a sweat despite the chilly climate. Seeing the rest of his team affected in the same way, Neji quickly activated his Byakugan. Although the fog limited his vision, he still managed to see the monster in time.

The giant snake charged the group, trapping them in the lower part of the quarry where the loose gravel made it difficult to walk but were perfect for slithering. A person without ninjutsu training would have been paralyzed with fear, but the team stood their ground. Gai kicked and punched the creature but all he did was knock the snake around and enrage it. The snake tried to bite Tenten as she unfurled a scroll and quickly thrust a sword into its mouth, cutting it from the inside out, before it healed again.

Lee took off his weights and struck with enough force and speed to shear off the snake's head with a flying kick. At first the snake seemed dead, its body writhing on the ground next to the twitching jaws, but then the pieces fused back together, this time stronger, faster and with an extra head. Gai, Lee and Neji tried plastering the monster with explosive notes, but it simply healed whenever the notes blew another chunk off its thick hide.

Neji performed Hakkeshou: Rokajuu Yonshou, striking at the heads as they charged, only to find that although he could see the creature's chakra system, with the white fog interfering his Jyuken wasn't effective enough to penetrate its tough scales. He could knock the heads back, but it didn't seem to damage them.

Tenten performed Soushouryu, sending a flurry of weapons at the snake. Some weapons simply bounced off the thick scales while a few larger and sharper ones lodged deep into the skin, but the snake was still able to attack. She quickly threaded her charka to grab the weapons with Ningyoushibai no Koutetsu and showered them down, shredding the snake to bits. But in a matter of seconds, the snake had just reassembled itself again with three heads.

The struggle continued, the creature seemed to be waiting for them to run out of weapons and tire out as it simply grew more powerful and gained more heads when cut apart, when suddenly a set of vines began pulling the snake far into the woods, towards a large river. Neji peered through the fog to see a rather skinny Leaf shinobi with straggly haircut, who looked like he had been roughed up a bit in a previous fight and was now tired and struggling to manipulate the vines.

The snake resisted the vines hard, snapping its jaws and writhing against its bonds. It snapped through some of the plants before a pair of shadow hands joined the vines and dragged the snake into the river. Neji saw Shikamaru, followed by an older scarred shinobi and a female with a medic uniform under her flak jacket jump into the water as the creature continued struggling and thrashing in the water. The snake suddenly broke free and tried to swallow them, but what it thought was prey had actually been decoys covered in explosive tags. The bulge traveled down the snake's throat for a few seconds before rapidly expanding, blowing it apart from the inside out.

"We got lucky, catching him off guard like that. I don't believe it, that was Orochi himself." Subatsu muttered from their hiding spot as he propped himself up on his hands on his knees.

"Did we get it all?" Roka asked as Yumi and Shikamaru supported Subatsu, the captain heaving and tired from age.

Tenten suddenly turned just in time to jam a weapon into the snapping jaws of one of the creature's severed heads. Neji lashed out with Jyuken, sending the head into the river by barely brushing it with his palm. Everyone watched wearily as the river ran red with blood, the river current carrying the pieces away before the snake could come back together.

Author's Notes: Orochi is a 9 headed demon snake from Japanese mythology. I combined it with idea of the hydra, where cutting off a head causes more to sprout.

Hakkeshou: Kaiten - Hand of the Eight Divinations: Heavenly Spin

Hakkeshou: Rokajuu Yonshou - Hand of the Eight Divinations: Sixty-four Palms

Ningyoushibai no Koutetsu - Steel Puppet Show

Soushouryu - Rising Twin Dragons