I'm proud to say that my chapters are gradually becoming longer! And, thanks to:
Matahari, sand tessen, lovingmylife, B.Q., sleeping ox, and Takky-san for the reviews.
They are very much appreciated!
Disclaimer: I give up on the disclaimer. Even if I owned Naruto, Sasuke still wouldn't be mine. Poo.
Chapter Seven
His heart thumped incessantly in his chest and his head swirled with confusion as he raced towards the Hokage's office. That seemed to be the most reasonable place to find Tsunade, since he hadn't seen her at the Chunnin exams and Tenten had said she wasn't at the hospital. Neji tore through the streets of Konoha, which, fortunately, were mostly empty due to the Chunnin exams, and rushed up the stairs towards the Hokage's tower.
As he made his way down the long corridor, his mind wouldn't settle down. Something didn't seem right in his head, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong. Tenten had described the two shinobi who attacked them and kidnapped his cousin, and from her description, he could swear one of the two sounded exactly like Kidomaru. He wasn't supposed to be around, though, was he? Neji had watched him fall from that tree and die; he'd done the killing himself, and he had the scars to prove it. But, there was always the chance he hadn't really died.
Then again, she had mentioned their names as well, "Kanaye" and "Leiko". At the moment, Neji couldn't care less who the heck Leiko was, but he couldn't help thinking that "Kanaye" and "Kidomaru" sounded a bit similar. Maybe Tenten had heard it wrong. No, he couldn't question her judgment; Neji had known Tenten long enough to know she was usually right about these things. And, why, why, would they take Hinata? As far as he could think of, there was absolutely no reason why Hinata would be of any importance to anyone. Well, he didn't mean it in a bad way, but it was true. She wasn't of any value, since her father had disowned her, and she wasn't especially powerful or good at any particular thing that was valuable to anyone. Maybe she knew something about Naruto, since she stalked him so much. Nah, there was no way the enemies would know about that little detail.
Neji simply couldn't figure it out, so he just shoved it all aside and hurried into the Hokage's office, not bothering to knock. Luckily for him, Tsunade was on one of her not-so-drunk days and was in a good mood. She looked up at him questioningly, then pushed aside the paperwork in front of her, giving him a nod and permission to speak. She listened intently as Neji explained what had happened, then ordered him to stay in the room while she rushed out.
Neji had no choice but to obey, and stood awkwardly in front of her desk as Tsunade blew out of sight. He was now left alone in the office, and, as all people do when they aren't allowed to go anywhere, Neji started looking around. His movements seemed calm as he glanced at various things around the room, but his mind was still in a flurry of confusion and he was trying harder than ever to figure out what was going on.
He shook his head and began pacing around the room, which, for some strange reason, was starting to feel a bit stuffy. And, Neji noticed, he was suddenly getting a headache. In fact, the dull ache had been there a while ago and he hadn't really noticed until now.
In a few moments, the Hokage had returned with, to Neji's surprised, his uncle (Hinata's daddy). Hyuuga Hiashi gave the boy a stern look, then turned to the Hokage and they began talking in low tones. Neji stood where he was, indignantly looking at the pair and slightly surprised that they would exclude him while he was standing right there. What were they talking about, anyways?
The discussion broke up shortly after and Tsunade called for Shizune, whispering a few orders in her ear before allowing her to quickly leave the room.
"What's going on?" Neji demanded, taking a step toward the Hokage. She held up a hand to silence him, demanding his patience. Hiashi offered no help and stood silently in the corner, arms placed stiffly at his sides. Neji sighed and struggled to keep his emotions in check. Now was not the time to piss anyone off.
His question was answered when, quite a bit later, Shizune returned with several people in tow. Neji raised one eyebrow in question as he watched a bored Shikamaru, a confused Ino, and a disappointed Kiba and Akamaru enter the room, grumbling about how they were pulled out of the Chunnin Exams.
"What are you doing?" Neji demanded again, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Geez", Tsunade rubbed her forehead, "As you may or may not know, Hinata was, according to Neji, kidnapped by two Shinobi who are in some way related to Kidomaru of the Sound Five".
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed at the last part and a shudder came over him. Kiba stepped forward, eyes narrowed as well, his senses coming on high alert.
"As agreed on by Hyuuga Hiashi and myself, we are sending out a four-man squad to track down Hinata", Tsunade continued, "Neji. You will be leading the squad. As demonstrated by your most recent fight, you have reached the Chunnin level and may possibly have surpassed it".
What is she talking about? Neji only nodded slightly to show he was still listening.
"Your mission is to retrieve Hinata safely. A successful mission ensures your becoming a jounin and you two as Chunnin", she turned to Kiba and Ino, " A failed mission is - "
"Unacceptable", Hiashi cut in. "This is the not the first time there has been an attempt to kidnap Hinata. You will not fail".
They'd lost Neji after the word "jounin". A jounin? A jounin? Him? There had to be a catch here. Why would there be such a… a reward, just for bringing back his cousin? And why the heck was his headache growing worse?
"That's all. You are dismissed", Tsunade nodded. The room cleared out until Tsunade and Shizune were its only occupants.
"Did you notice that?" the Hokage asked her assistant quietly. Shizune nodded. Signs of Neji having a slight headache were apparent, and both medics knew it would only get worse.
"His curse seal is going into effect", Shizune whispered.
Just outside the Hyuuga compound, Neji stood with his back against a tree, the three members of his team gathered around him. He looked at them solemnly, trying to contain the dull ache in his forehead.
"We're leaving at the earliest time possible, so go home, get what's needed, and meet at the front gates".
He watched them leave in separate directions, then headed into his own home. As he walked down the hallway leading to his room, Neji sensed a familiar presence, teeming with agner. He entered his room only to have his suspicions confirmed; on his bed sat a furious Tenten, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, breathing uneven. "Why do you keep running out on me?" she demanded, jumping off the bed. Neji backed away instinctively as she stepped closer to him, her large, honey-brown eyes boring into his.
He was most definitely not in the mood to argue at this point, and simply side-stepped her to get to his backpack.
"I'm going on a mission", his reply was simple.
"For Hinata? I want to come".
"No".
"No?" Tenten echoed.
"No".
"But I was there. I could help - "
"Tenten", Neji interrupted, "You haven't fought against the Sound Five. You don't understand what they're like".
"How can you be sure it's them? I thought they all died, or are you suggesting there's more than five people in the Sound Five?"
"Look, you described the two Shinobi, didn't you? I know exactly what you're talking about. I've seen them before".
"Yes, yes you have. And look how that turned out!" Tenten bit her lip bitterly to fight back the tears that were threatening to slip down her cheeks. She could feel the same paranoia she'd felt when Neji had just left the hospital creeping back into her again. There it was, the very same image of Neji as he lay unconscious on the stretcher, being carried into the hospital.
"I've improved since then", Neji replied curtly. He motioned for Tenten to move out of the way and stepped beyond her, grabbing a few scrolls from a shelf.
"Why are you like this? Why are you so insistent to go, and why can't I go?" Tenten cried, reaching out to grab Neji's backpack away from him. He snatched it back less than a second later and grabbed Tenten's arm as well, pulling her towards him until she couldn't help but allow him to move her, lest she lose balance and fall on top of him.
"You don't understand", he explained, his voice dimming into a whisper, "If I can lead a successful mission, I'll become a jounin. A jounin, Tenten".
She didn't know how to respond, and simply allowed him to hold her in place, until, with absolutely no warning, Neji suddenly let go of her and brought his hand to his temple, massaging it slightly.
"What's - "
"Headache", Neji waved his teammate aside and continued packing, ignoring her protests that he see a medic before leaving.
"Who's going with you?" Tenten asked.
"Shikamaru, Kiba, Ino",
"Why them? Why can't I go?"
"Because", Neji sighed. They were back to the argument they'd started out with. "You just recovered and -"
"That's not a reason anymore! I'm fine, and you know that!" Tenten plopped back onto Neji's bed and turned away from him. She wanted to punch him in the face, and she supposed that if she couldn't see his face, she would be less tempted to do so.
Neji had no reply for her outburst, so the pair fell into silence. Tenten eventually settled for lying on the bed, face down, head buried into whatever was there. She could still feel Neji's presence, and for those few moments, as she listened to Neji shuffling around the room, she felt a sense of security that had become so unfamiliar due to the recent events.
She could feel her mind drift a bit, although, in the background, she was still somewhat aware of Neji moving around. Then, all the noise stopped and Tenten noticed a pair of footsteps entering the room. She kept her head buried in the bed, like a child who believed she was invisible if she closed her eyes, and listened carefully. She could sense the charka of the figure who'd just entered the room and knew that whoever it was, he was quite powerful.
"Neji", the voice spoke, and Tenten recognized it as Hiashi's. Can he not see me here? Tenten wondered.
"Uncle", Neji nodded and continued stuffing things into his pack.
"You are aware of what this mission means for you, aren't you?" Hiashi asked.
"Yes".
"I know you don't sympathize with the Main Branch, but you have to understand, with Hinata kidnapped, the secrets of the byakugan are in danger".
"I know".
"I trust you will do your –"
"I just want to know one thing, uncle", Neji interrupted, "Why will I be a jounin if I succeed?"
Tenten heard Hiashi sigh. "I talked with the Hokage, and she's agreed to allow you to rise to Jounin level and for Ino and Kiba to become Chunnin if the mission is a success. It's fairly simple. Anyone can see you have the ability to be a Jounin, and it's our fault Ino and Kiba were pulled out of the Chunnin exams. They've passed the preliminary rounds, so if they can succeed, then they deserve to be Chunnin".
"That's it?" Neji raised an eyebrow. That's stupid. Still, he couldn't argue with the way things were, because they seemed to be in his favor. Sure, it would be difficult to find his cousin, and he could only hope she was in a safe condition, but other than that, it seemed that become a Jounin was much closer than he'd expected. Oh yeah, he could live with this.
"I'll leave you to pack. Good luck", Hiashi walked towards the door, paused, then turned to the bed with a wry smile on his face, "Yes, I can see you, Tenten".
Near the main entrance into Konoha Village, three Shinobi waited. The one with the blonde hair stood between her two male companions, tugging at a loose strand of hair. On her left, the shinobi scratched his head and looked up at the clouds. Beautiful. On her right, the shinobi petted his dog and adjusted a strap on his backpack. They were all waiting for the leader of their squad; they were all waiting to begin the mission.
"Did you hear what Hokage-sama said?" Ino turned to Shikamaru, stealing his attention away from the clouds.
"Yeah, you and dog-boy will become Chunnin after this".
"Dog-boy?" Kiba turned to look at Shikamaru, a glint in his eyes, "you know, that's only if we succeed".
"But, of course we will. This is a fellow shinobi's life at stake. Don't you care about Hinata? She is on your team", Ino continued playing with her hair, twirling a strand around her fingers.
"Of course I care", Kiba lowered his voice and looked away. Who wouldn't care about someone as close as a teammate? That was a stupid question.
"Sorry", Ino muttered. Apparently, some people were just touchy about stuff like that. Still, she could understand what it was like to have a teammate in danger. Two, in fact. There wasn't a day that passed by when she didn't remember the first time she stumbled into Chouji's room at the hospital and saw him lying on that bed, hooked up to all sorts of weird machines. That was pretty traumatic. And, yeah, Shikamaru only had a broken finger, but he'd been scarred emotionally, and that was pretty tough to watch as well.
The trio became silent again and returned to their own activities. Shikamaru became immersed in the clouds again, Ino's mind had drifted off, and Kiba had found a spot on the floor and sat down, allowing Akamaru to walk around.
From far away, they looked like three kids who were hanging out, without a care in the world. But, if you got closer, you could see they weren't kids anymore. They'd grown out of that long ago.
"At least let me help you a little, ok?" Tenten hopped off the bed and walked after Neji as he exited his room, backpack slung over his shoulder.
"What do you mean?"
"At the spot where we were attacked, both shinobi left something behind that they could be tracked by. I- I could show you".
Neji nodded.
"C'mon. It's not too far from the main entrance", Tenten seemed to brighten just a bit and she led Neji to the area where Kanaye's blood and Leiko's hair were still on the floor. "You know, I'm surprised they're still here", Tenten said lightly. Neji nodded again and bent down to retrieve the items, carefully placing them in separate bags for Kiba and Akamaru to deal with.
"Neji, be careful, ok?" Tenten's voice was unusually calm and Neji became suspicious that she was up to something. And, if she wasn't up to something, at least something was wrong with her. She didn't normally act like this.
They walked to the gates where the rest of the team waited and Neji nodded to them as they stood up. From the small distance between them, Neji could hear Ino's impatient call for them to leave, and he was ready to do just that when Tenten quickly drew him aside.
"What is it?" Neji easily recognized the troubled look on his teammate's face. Tenten opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to reconsider and closed it again, shaking her head slightly while looking away.
"What?" Neji repeated, taking her gently by the shoulders.
In the background, Akamaru's yapping and Kiba's impatient calls were making Tenten nervous, and she couldn't find the right words to say. Instead, she threw her arms around Neji and buried her head in the crook of his neck. He froze at first, unsure of what to do, but gently relaxed into the embrace and placed a hand on her back, hoping it was gesture of comfort. I mean, c'mon, he wasn't good at this kind of stuff.
Neji held her this way for a while, then gently pried the girl off him and gave her a rare smile. "I'll be fine", he told her. There was promise in his voice.
From her spot near the gates, Ino watched the scene in awe, a stirring feeling developing in her heart. She had always wanted to do that to Sasuke, ever since she'd first known him as a kid in the academy, but of course, the forehead girl got to him first. Still, even the genius Sakura couldn't keep Sasuke from leaving them all, so what could she do?
She unknowingly let out a ragged sigh followed by a quiet sniffle, which caused both guys to look at her.
"What's up with you?" Kiba asked. Ino shook her head and smiled sadly.
"Troublesome", Shikamaru muttered, shaking his head. But, it didn't take much for his super genius brain to figure out what was up. He knew his teammate well enough to know what she was thinking, and at that particular moment, he really couldn't blame her.
"Alright, it's time to go", he gently tugged Ino away from the scene and motioned for Kiba to follow as Neji approached them. The team made their way out of the village and, with one last look, took off for the forest ahead of them.
Tenten sadly watched them leave, then turned to face the Hokage Monument in the center of Konoha. In a very "un-Tenten"-ish manner, she looked at the empty spot next to the Fourth Hokage's carved face and grumbled, "While he's gone, what the hell am I supposed to do with my time?"
So, I have a question. Since everyone's split up, should I focus more on Neji and the mission, or focus on everyone equally, including Tenten and Hinata?