Many thanks to my reviewers!!bloodystars357 megan sarathine sand tessen Cyberwolf lovingmylife Matahari 10Join-Fei Takky-san

So, I know that this is supposed to be about NejixTenten and romance and stuff, and it is, but if there's too much of that, it becomes very unrealistic. I mean, c'mon, how often do Neji and Tenten have "mushy" moments? So, since I'm trying really hard to stick to the original Naruto, this is how it's gonna be. But don't worry, there's still gonna be NejiTenten stuff soon enough!

Disclaimer: Aw, screw the disclaimer. Any idiot could figure out I don't own Naruto. (Although I'd LOVE to own Sasuke)

Chapter Eight

He wandered the woods alone, frustrated that she'd left him behind. Sure, it was he who had opted to hold back the other girl, but that didn't mean she had to leave him behind without so much as a word. This was stupid; how the heck was he supposed to find his way back? Plus, at this rate, with the bleeding that he was enduring, he wasn't even sure how long he'd survive.

In fact, now that he stopped to think about it, Kanaye realized there was so much he didn't know. He didn't even know where Leiko planned to hold the hostage and he had no idea what her plan had been all along. And just because they had this girl, that didn't mean this Hyuuga Neji was going to come to them. He felt defeated; there was no way to figure her out.

Kanaye sighed and continued walking; he hadn't bothered to jump from branch to branch, because, really, that was painful for the state he was in. Instead, he simply wandered through the forest, feeling a strange, unnerving feeling overcome him. In the rush of events that had happened during the past weeks, there had been no time for him to stop and think.

Just to stop. And think.

His mind had been numbed by the pain he felt for the loss of his brother, and although he came off as rather brutish and simple-minded, there was no denying that his heart could feel emotion. And, so, Kanaye drifted through the forest, allowing the deathly silence to buzz in his ears. He felt the anguish and he felt the grief that spread throughout him, but above all, he felt a sense of frustration that brought him almost near insanity.

Kanaye was on the verge of pretty much destroying all the trees around him, when he sensed a faint presence, no, group of presences, around him, and he paused. He slinked behind a tree and waited, trying to detect whether those presences were shinobi or civilians, friends or foe.

"Oi! Kanaye!" a high pitched, somewhat annoying voice spoke up, and Kanaye stepped out from his spot, looking around suspiciously. Across the small clearing in forest, three figures emerged, tall, thin, and multi-armed. Kanaye recognized them as Leiko's friends and he gave a sigh of relief; she hadn't left him behind.

They approached him with a friendly aura and the medic among the group began healing him immediately. They took turns explaining what Leiko's instructions had been, and, apparently, the girl had figured it out way ahead of all of them. "I mean, Kidomaru had to like her for something", one of the guys remarked sarcastically. Kanaye could only give a weak smile, as his mind really wasn't too clear at the moment.

"C'mon, let's get started", the medic had sealed off Kanaye's wound for the moment and kept him out of life-threatening danger. He thanked her and slowly got off the ground. The group reviewed one last time what Leiko had sent them to do, then looked at each other, nodded, and moved off in different directions.

With nothing better to do, Tenten eventually wound up in front of the Hokage's office, debating silently whether she should enter or not. She had originally planned to ask for a mission to get her mind off of Neji, but then realized it might be better for her to stay in Konoha so she'd be around when they came back.

Her mind argued back and forth with itself and she felt immensely frustrated. The perfect solution would have been for her to go with Neji on his mission, but it was too late for that. With a defeated sigh, she knocked on the door and hung her head, hoping no one was in there.

But, there was. The door opened to reveal a smiling Shizune, with both hands gripping a tightly leashed Ton-ton.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Can I, um, speak to Hokage-sama?" Tenten sputtered. She wasn't ready for the door to open so soon, and the comical sight of the little pink pig caught her off guard.

"Come in", Tsuande's voice sounded from her desk. Tenten stepped into the office, took a deep breath, and spoke.

"Hokage-sama, I'd like a mission please", she talked quietly, hoping to hide the uncertainty in her voice.

"A mission?" Tsunade looked at the genin in front of her, eyeing her warily.

"Yes", Tenten nodded.

Without needing an explanation, Tsunade could already understand what Tenten was thinking and she decided to simply play along. After all, it seemed the poor girl had gone through enough recently.

"Alright. I'm sending you, Sakura, and Lee on a mission", Tsunade replied, ordering her to pack her belongings and meet Sakura and Lee at the front gates.

"Thank you", there was sincerity and relief in Tenten's voice as she headed for the door. Shizune stepped aside for her to pass, but Tenten paused and turned around.

"Hokage-sama? I- I was wondering…"

"Mmhm?"

"Why did you choose Neji and his squad to have the mission that… you know".

Tsunade sighed. She knew that sooner or later, she'd have to answer this. "Each of them is on this mission for a reason, Tenten. Neji is leading them because of his duty to the head-branch, at the request of Hyuuga Hiashi. Kiba's and Akamaru's smelling abilities are essential in a missing persons mission, and Shikamaru and Ino work well as a team when it comes to long distance enemies".

"I- I see", Tenten nodded to the Hokage and her assistant, then exited the room, softly shutting the door behind her. See? There's a good reason why you're not on this mission, she chided herself. Her heart felt lighter after talking to the Hokage, and although she had planned on asking Tsunade why she wasn't there to sign her out of the hospital during the morning of the Chunnin exams, Tenten felt she didn't care anymore.

She returned to her own apartment and hurried into her room, preparing for her upcoming mission. There was a feeling of excitement in her stomach, but Tenten knew it wasn't that she was looking forward to a mission. I mean, c'mon, she went on missions all the time; she was a shinobi. Instead, she was excited because being out of Konoha, and being in the forest, meant she was one step closer to Neji.

Once they had entered a reasonable distance into the forest, Kiba picked up a familiar scent and began following it, ignoring the two bags that Neji had wanted him to smell. He claimed that at any other time, he would have definitely followed the leader's instructions, but this was pure instinct and he just had to follow it. Not wanting to argue, Neji had stuffed the bags of hair and blood back into his pack and followed Kiba. He wasn't used to listening to others, but Kiba had seemed so confident on this, that he really had no choice but to follow him.

So, here they were, jumping from branch to branch, with Kiba excitedly leading the group, Akamaru nested on his head, Shikamaru and Ino behind him, and Neji taking up the rear. When Kiba announced that the scent was growing stronger, and that it definitely belonged to Hinata, Neji quickly activated his byakugan and ordered the team to stop.

"There's no way it could be this easy", he examined their immediate surroundings, but found nothing worth taking a closer look at.

"So? Do you see anything?" Ino asked quietly. Neji shook his head.

"Then let's keep going", Kiba proceeded to jump to the next branch, but Shikamaru quickly stopped him, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"If Hinata's scent is strong, then why can't Neji see the source?" he questioned.

"That's a good point. We'll move ahead cautiously", Neji left his spot on the tree branch and landed softly on the floor, motioning for the others to follow.

The passed by several trees before Kiba abruptly stopped in front of one and Akamaru started barking suddenly, declaring that Hinata's scent was stronger than ever.

"I'm telling you, it's here", he exclaimed.

Neji looked around, his eyes straining to see something, anything that would give them a hint as to where the source of the scent could be.

"There's nothing here. There's… wait", he effortlessly walked up the tree trunk and stared at one of the branches, eyes narrowing as he studied it carefully. "There are traces of chakra here, but it's…"

"It's spit", Ino spoke up. Neji looked over his shoulder to see the girl crouching next to him on the branch, nose wrinkled in disgust. "I don't understand why there's saliva here, and why you think it smells like Hinata, but, that's what it is. Spit".

"So she spit on the branch. That could have several possible meanings", Shikamaru said thoughtfully, "She could have been attacked here or she could have chosen to spit. If she'd done it purposely, it could have been as defense, or to leave us a clue".

"What do you mean, she could have been attacked here?" Kiba demanded.

"It's only a possibility", Shikamaru shrugged.

"Well, either way, we're stuck now. The scent's led us here, but what's here?" Ino hopped down from the branch and looked around.

"Try these", Neji reached into his bag and pulled out the two bags again, holding them towards Kiba, who reluctantly opened the one containing hair and took a sniff.

"Female, somewhat human", he said, mostly to himself. He tugged at the other bag and smelled it as well, "male".

Ino looked slightly disgusted at the thought of their enemies being not "human", but Neji knew what Kiba meant. "They are, in a way, human", he explained, "their charka systems are just like ours, except they have extra arms, which contain chakra as well".

"So they have more capacity for chakra?" Shikamaru asked.

"Only because they have a larger chakra system, but that's relatively unimportant. They can release chakra from pores in their bodies, not just from the hands and feet, and the one I fought was very skilled at creating chakra webs".

"I remember that", Kiba commented lightly. Shikamaru nodded in agreement. Their encounter with the Sound Five wasn't one to be easily forgotten.

Neji looked at his two male teammates, then looked down. How could anyone forget that fight? He had said that Kidomaru was the strongest enemy he'd fought, and up till now, it was still true. Neji almost shuddered at the thought, but quickly forced his mind off the subject. "We have to keep moving", he interrupted, rubbing his forehead gently; the pain had dulled away, but he could still feel it.

"Whoa, slow down, you guys. I know you've all been out chasing the Sound Five and Sasuke-kun, but I don't understand what's going on. Hokage-sama didn't explain anything to me, either", Ino cut in. She looked towards her three teammates for an explanation, but was only met with sighs.

"We'll explain on the way", Shikamaru finally answered.

"This area is faintly tainted with the female's scent", Kiba sniffed the air and Akamaru let out a quiet yelp. "We can follow it".

The group took off again, heading deeper into the forest.

Sakura stood in front of the Hidden Village of Konoha, glancing up at the tall gates and trying as hard as she possibly could to mentally shut out the noise around her. Her mind had drifted to Sasuke, but in the background, she could vaguely hear Gai's shouts of encouragement to Lee as he waited to see his student off on his mission.

WHY am I stuck with him? Inner Sakura grumbled. The incessant babbles of Gai and Lee seemed to suddenly die off, and Sakura turned to see what had happened.

"Are you here to see us off as well?" Lee asked happily as he watched Tenten approach them.

"Uh, I'm going with you guys", Tenten shifted to one side and showed Lee the backpack she had slung over her shoulder. Those words, especially at this time, were like a ticket to heaven for Sakura. She yanked the girl towards her with the biggest sigh of relief that ever existed and thanked her over and over.

"You have no idea how glad I am that you're coming with us", she gushed. Tenten smiled and replied, "Well, you have no idea how glad I am that you're here too". Because, honestly, neither girl could endure alone time with the oh-so-infamous enthusiasm of Konoha's Rock Lee.

"Well then, I wish you all a very successful mission!" Gai patted his two students on the back and gave Sakura a flashing smile before sending them off into the forest. He retreated back to the Hokage's tower and looked at the distant figures of the three young shinobi, feeling all too proud of them.

"The two kidnappers who took Hinata are, according to Tenten, very similar to an enemy I've faced before", Neji explained, "They aren't from the Sound Five, but there must be a connection. All we know for now are their names and that they most likely have powers similar to Kidomaru".

"Kidomaru?"

"That's who Neji fought, Ino", Shikamaru reminded his teammate.

"Right. So, now, we have their scent and we're going after them", Kiba added, "It's pretty simple".

Ino looked from one teammate to the other, then nodded. "What about the whole chakra things you guys were talking about?"

"The enemy I fought was exceptionally strong, and was skilled with manipulating chakra to imitate the powers of a spider", Neji replied, "If the two enemies we're going after are somehow related to them, they must have the same type of chakra control as well".

"Since we know that already, doesn't it put us at an advantage?" Kiba asked.

"No", Shikamaru answered seriously, "We don't know what knowledge they have of us".

Kiba hmphed in reply and the group fell silent. They continued to jump from branch to branch, occasionally changing courses, as directed by Kiba and Akamaru's noses. Several hundred meters passed by before Neji suddenly stopped the group, his keen eyes sensing danger in three surrounding directions.

"Looks like they've set traps for us", he mused.

"Traps?"

"There are explosive notes attached to all trees within a 200 meter radius in these directions", Neji motioned towards his left, right, and front. "They all seem relatively basic, but there are several that explode without contact. They're timed".

"We have to go around", Shikamaru spoke up, "There's no way to go through all of them, and we don't know how much time we have".

"No, not just around", Neji moved his head slightly so he could fill in the gap of his blind spot, then turned back to face his teammates.

"That's right", Shikamaru suddenly understood, nodding his head, "they've forced us to retreat if we want to get past the explosives".

"What are you guys talking about?" Kiba asked.

"All the notes are on the east side of the tree trunks", Neji continued, ignoring Kiba's question.

"Which means, there were multiple shinobi who place them there, and they were traveling as they did so", Shikamaru concluded.

"Still don't know what you guys are talking about!" Kiba interrupted. It was times like this, that Shikamaru's true genius and Neji's… well… "smartness", made others feel inferior.

"Why do we have to retreat?" Ino added.

"It's simple. The explosive notes are all set on the same side of the trees for two reasons. First, the shinobi who set them were traveling, and this sped up the process. Second, since they're all on the same side, either all the notes will be set off, or none of them will be", Shikamaru explained, "And that's why there are timed notes as well. If we travel from a certain direction, none of the explosives will go off, and that wouldn't be good for the enemy. So they added timed notes to trigger the other explosions".

"Either way, we can't go through this area", Kiba nodded.

"Let's go. We don't know how much time we have", Neji turned around and waited for the rest of the team to move before he moved as well, looking back one last time at the area covered in explosives.

They traveled a safe distance back from the explosives, then shifted the course and continued moving, with Akamaru's occasional yelps leading the way. It was late afternoon by the time the group stopped again, pausing in a clearing while Neji scouted out the area.

He scanned the trees, branch after branch, trying to calm the unsettling feelings in his stomach. Even though they were supposedly out of reach from danger, Neji couldn't help but feel they'd miss something. He looked to Shikamaru, wondering if the Chunnin had figured something out. From the look on his face, Neji could tell that Shikamaru sensed something was wrong as well.

"What?" Ino looked back and forth from one teammate to the other, her eyes narrowing in confusion. Ever since they'd come out here, Neji and Shikamaru had done nothing but keep her and Kiba in the dark. It felt as if their knowledge was on a whole different level.

"Something's wrong", Kiba replied.

"How do you know?" she retorted, a bit rougher than she'd meant to.

"Akamaru can sense it". It was fortunate that being a guy, Kiba missed the harshness in her voice.

"C'mon", Neji took off again and the group fell in line after him, trying to keep up with his increasing speed. Something felt incredibly wrong, and by now, every member of the team could feel it.

"I though we'd move away from the explosives!" Kiba yelled as the first explosion sounded from behind them.

"Move faster!" Shikamaru responded as he stole a glance behind him. He turned away just in time to miss a second and third explosion, which had gone off less than a meter away from him. The trees around them trembled, urging the team to move faster.

"What happened?" Ino asked as Shikamaru quickly caught up, until he was right beside her.

"They're connected!" he shouted back.

"What?!"

"The explosive notes we saw earlier! They're connected to these!"

"How's that possible?!" Ino gritted her teeth and continued moving, speeding up slightly to catch up with the rest.

It was a trap. We fell right into the trap. Neji thought as he continued speeding through the trees. How could I have overlooked this?

Several more explosions went off before the forest fell into a deathly silence, and the team took this chance to pause in one of the larger trees. They made their way towards the top where the leaves grew in thickened clumps and were easy to hide behind.

"There was another reason why those traps from earlier were all facing the same way", Shikamaru said, shaking his head, "I can't believe I didn't think of it. They purposely forced us to go this way, and, knowing we'd end up here, set more traps that we'd be sure to run into".

"But, why couldn't Neji see these traps?" Ino asked. They all looked over at Neji, who quickly averted his eyes and sighed.

"He had no way of seeing them", Shikamaru replied, "These explosive notes themselves have no power, so they can't be seen, even with the byakugan. These were connected to the time explosives through thin chakra strings that were weaved through the forest".

"And you couldn't see the chakra strings?" Kiba questioned, turning to Neji.

"I could", he replied sullenly.

"But-"

"But Chakra strings themselves are not uncommon. All living creatures have chakra, even if it's in minute amounts, and the string that was used to bind the explosive tags had minimum chakra in them, so they were concealed. The enemy must know about the byakugan", Shikamaru sighed. This was turning out to be much more difficult than anyone had expected. Maybe, just maybe, this was why Tsunade had offered to raise the rank of his three teammates if the mission was successful. Maybe she'd known all along.

"We can't stay here", Neji suddenly jumped up, his eyes darting around suspiciously. Akamaru whined and buried his head into Kiba's hood, shaking slightly. It was obvious that they weren't safe in the tree anymore.

"There are enemies down there", Shikamaru whispered as four shinobi, who were obviously from the same clan as Kidomaru, approached the tree, "and they know we're here".

Ahahahha. So, I felt like the part I'd just written was all a blur. Honestly, I have no idea what I was writing. Chakra string connecting explosive? LOL. It feels like I'm making stuff up... oh, I really hope I'm not, becuase this was supposed to be realistic. Oh geez. On top of that, school starts TOMORROW, so, it's goodbye summer. Dang.

SO, I haven't really figured out what Tenten, Sakura, and Lee's mission is and I'm opened to suggestions, but they absolutely cannot come in contact with Neji's team at all in the forest. Any suggestions? Is there something you guys would like to see happen to Tenten, Sakura, and Lee?