AGH Long time no update. Sorry! I thought that after college apps, things would cool down and I'd have more time to write, but NO, now there are scholarships to apply for. It's the same process all over again!

On a happier note…I've got 100 reviews!!! WOOT!! Thanks so much everyone!

To Mako.Ten- I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to, but I think you might be talking about the mission with Tenten, Sakura, and Lee. That happened after the first set of Chunnin exams, during which both Sakura and Lee became Chunnin. I hope that clears things up.

Chapter 18

Gai and Lee spent the rest of the morning scouting out the area around the small cabin in the forest but, sadly, nothing happened. Their patience was wearing thin as they waited restlessly amongst the bushes, occasionally give each other a glance that fully expressed their boredom, despite their attempts to stay alert.

Finally, when the sun reached its highest peak in the sky, the two shinobi nodded at each other once, then quickly shifted positions so that they could enter the cabin. Gai nodded his head towards the door and Lee jumped out, hurriedly opened the door, and slipped into the cabin. Gai followed immediately behind him, bumping into his pupil so that they fell to the floor in a comical heap.

"There is no one in here, Gai-sensei", Lee mumbled into the hard, wooden floor as he attempted to lift his head.

"You are right, Lee. It seems that all the men have left the cabin already".

"Then what are we to do next?" Lee looked to his sensei for directions.

"We will take advantage of this opportunity and see what we can find by looking through this cabin", Gai decided.

"Yes, sir!" Lee pumped a fist into the air.

"Then, we shall begin!"

They quickly shuffled through all the items in the cabin, most of which were simple things for daily use. But, as they neared the trapdoor that led to something underground, both Gai and Lee tensed. A blanket of seriousness came over them and they carefully drew open the door, to find a sea of blackness underneath them.

"Is there no light?" Lee asked curiously.

"No, Lee, we must endure the darkness. Our eyes will adjust".

The pair made their way down the stairs and found themselves in a dark room. As their eyes slowly got used to the dark, they saw that the place was very different from what they'd expected. Instead of high-tech headquarters or something very assassin-related, the room consisted simply of more living space. Beds, couches, tables. Food was scattered in several places, and a few weapons were lying idly on the floor.

"Gai-sensei. There is nothing here", Lee announced.

"I know, Lee, we have been misled". Gai sighed.

"Then it is time to meet up with Neji and Tenten, is it not, Gai-sensei?"

"Yes, Lee, it is time to meet up with the other members of our team. Let us leave now".

A circle of men who were obviously assassins closed in on the two shinobi as the door slammed shut behind them. They had creepy grins on their faces and various weapons in their hands. Some looked more menacing than others, but in general, they were all pretty darn gross.

"I guess we picked the wrong time to walk in, huh?" Tenten laughed nervously as she took another back step. Her back collided with Neji's and she instinctively reached down to grab a weapon, only to remember that the majority of her shinobi equipment was back at the inn.

"We can take them", Neji replied confidently, easily dodging a large axe that was swung at him. He ducked, found an opening, and forced two fingers to sink into the stomach of the man who tried to attack him, rendering him unable to move in just a second.

Tenten jumped out of the way as a crudely designed sword came flying at her. She landed smoothly behind her attacker and struck her elbow against his back at a strategic angle, so that he doubled over as the pain spread through his spinal chord.

She picked up the sword he'd dropped and looked at it, a slightly disgusted look on her face. Out of all the weapons she could handle, a sword was not one of them. She had some exposure to this weapon, but this extremely primitive looking one was pretty much useless to her. She definitely missed having her weapons and scrolls.

"Tenten, move!"

Tenten ducked just in time to avoid a flying body; Neji had apparently begun a round of his kaiten and the force of his chakra was tossing bodies all over the place. Still, there were more assassins than they had expected, and with Neji busy on the other side of the room, Tenten found herself being closed in by several men who were especially messed-up looking.

"Hey, little lady", the tallest one in the center smiled a wide grin as he toyed with the axe in his hands.

Tenten rolled her eyes at the comment and her hands automatically reached down towards her legs, only to realize, once again, that she'd forgotten she didn't have the weapons she needed.The men laughed at her actions, encircling her and throwing mocking phrase at her.

A small amount of panic began spreading through her, when she realized that she was pretty much defenseless without her weapons. It was a fact that shinobi had to learn taijutsu, but that had never been her strong point, as she'd always expected to rely on her weapons. Still, at a time like this, she knew that even the most basic taijutsu she'd learned would have to be of some use.

She crouched into a defensive stance and quickly surveyed her surroundings, noticing an opening near one of the men on the left. Without warning, she swung out a leg and knocked him to his feet in one clean, decisive blow. The initial shock of the other assassins quickly wore off and they approached her even faster, weapons outstretched.

And thus, Tenten found herself engaged in a blurred battle of blunt weapons and weak taijutsu. She wasn't completely aware of what she was doing; only that she had to avoid all things that could hurt her, and somehow manage to hit the enemies at the same time. Needless to say, it wasn't something she was cut out to do. She eventually found herself backed into a wall, the only thing in her line of vision a large, silver weapon that she couldn't really recognize or name.

It came closer, closer…

Her eyes shut and she did the only thing she could think of doing- duck. Tenten slid to the floor as she felt the impact of the weapon on the area of the wall immediately above her head. A second later, there was a rush of air around her and the wall she was backed into collapsed, allowing the sunlight to rush into the room.

She meagerly opened her eyes to see light colored cloth hanging in front of her. Her eyes adjusted and she backed away slightly, realizing that the figure in front of her was Neji, who'd just destroyed half the room with his kaiten.

"Get up", he told her quietly, sensing that a few assassins were coming from behind. He had grabbed a dropped weapon and handed it to her, trusting that she could quickly pick up on how to use it.

Tenten obeyed and jumped to her feet, grasping the foreign weapon in her hands. She ran her fingers along the handle and observed that it probably wasn't crafted very well. Still, it was the only option she had. Footsteps sounded behind her and Tenten whirled around, slamming the weapon into the enemy behind her. She heard an "oomph" and turned away, satisfied.

Neji had left her side during this time and was finishing off the last of the assassins, leaving her to clear the area around her. With a weapon handy, Tenten found that it really wasn't too hard to defeat these people. They were trained in the art of killing, but not anywhere near the level that shinobi were trained to be at. Thus, it wasn't really much of a match, even though they were greatly outnumbered.

When the group of men had all been rounded up and tied in one corner, Neji paused to survey the area. He studied that damage they'd made, then shrugged. He was about the approach the group of men to question them, when a loud yell sounded from beside him. Both he and Tenten turned to see Gai and Lee stride into the room, glancing around proudly at the progress of their teammates.

"I see you have captured the assassins!" Gai announced.

"Er…" Tenten looked at him awkwardly.

"We must begin the questioning", Lee decided as he stepped forward. Neji took a step back, allowing Gai and Lee to interrogate their prisoners. He really didn't mind. Personally, he didn't prefer to talk too much to these people. Tenten followed his lead and faded into the background, standing next to him as they watched Gai and Lee poke and prod at the group of men, demanding answers from them.

"That was horrible", Tenten commented after a while.

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't do anything. It's like I'm useless without weapons", she grumbled.

"But that's because you're highly skilled in weapons", Neji pointed out.

She could tell he was just trying to make her feel better, "I know, but…"

"But that's a liability for you, isn't it?"

Tenten nodded. "I just wish… I mean, you can fight with or without weapons, and you do so well at both".

"You want to learn?"

"I only know the basics of taijutsu, but you and Lee, you guys are…"

"You could be too", Neji smiled a little, giving her an encouraging look.

Tenten grinned in response and they simultaneously turned their heads back to watch Gai and Lee forcing answers out of the group of men. It was quite a funny scene, really, to watch the two shinobi jump around, raising their voices at times to get answers out of the men.

When there was nothing left to ask, Gai and Lee turned towards their two teammates and announced that they were finished. Tenten looked at them and sighed in relief.

"What are we going to do with them?" Neji motioned to the men, who were still on the floor. A few were trying to get out, but had no chance.

"We will turn them in, then report the first part of our mission to the Hokage", Gai decided.

The rest of the group agreed.

In the dusty outskirts of the Hidden Village of the Sand, hidden in a small hut that was near invisible, as most of it was underground, a messenger hawk landed smoothly on the grainy floor and pecked at a trap door with its beak. A moment later, a rough arm reached out and pulled the small, rolled up piece of paper from the bird and shut the door, allowing the bird to return to its home.

"The men stationed at the Mist have all been captured".

"All?"

"It says 'all'"

"Inform the leader".

"Right".

The old man was furious, almost falling out of his chair in anger as the messenger brought him the news.

"All of them?"

"That's what it said, sir".

"There are a few… who… I still do not trust completely. For them to be captured…" he trailed off, gripping the arms of his chair tightly as he sighed.

"What are you orders, sir?"

"Find those who captured them. They must be shinobi, then. For none other than well trained shinobi can capture my men".

"Yes, sir".

The door was shut, leaving the old man in darkness.

Tenten was sitting idly on the bed, waiting for Neji to finish grabbing all their supplies. Their next destination was the Sand, where the main operating base of the group of assassins was said to be. According to Gai, who had extracted the information out of the men, the base was somewhere near the village, but not exactly in it.

"When are we leaving?" Tenten asked.

"Soon".

"But we have to wait for Gai-sensei and Lee to get ready, don't we?"

"Why, what do you have in mind?" Neji looked up suspiciously.

"I know we're on a mission, but we have spare time. Maybe… maybe you could teach me something right now?"

Neji sighed and looked at her, then spoke as if he were dealing with a small child. "Fine. We'll go outside for a bit, but don't get carried away".

Tenten jumped eagerly off the bed and followed her teammate out. They made their way through the streets of the village and approached an area of forest that Neji had observed earlier. It was a nice place, away from the public eye, but not too far off that there was any sort of danger involved.

"You already know the basics of taijutsu", Neji began, "we all do. What your problem is, is that you rely so much on weapons that you haven't worked on developing skills. These skills are enhanced through jutsus that… well, there's a bit of a problem".

"What?"

"I can't really teach you much of what I use, because the byakugan is needed for a lot of my jutsus. I suppose it's easier for us to spar and from there, I can see what you need to work on".

"Ok", Tenten readily complied.

They moved into taijutsu stances, standing across from each other.

"Go!"

Gai and Lee stood outside the door to their inn, bags packed and slung over their shoulders. They walked down to the lobby to check out, fully expecting to see Tenten and Neji waiting for them. There was not much time to spare.

When they realized that Tenten and Neji had not even checked out, their first reaction was that something was wrong. Lee was sent to rush upstairs to their teammates' room, but there was no one there. He used the spare key and cracked the door open; both Neji and Tenten's belongings were packed, sitting in a corner of the room, waiting patiently for their owners.

"But where are they?" Lee wondered to himself as he dragged the bags downstairs, back to Gai-sensei.

"They are not present?" Gai raised one thick eyebrow in question.

"No, Gai-sensei, they are not".

"I do not believe they are in this building any longer", Gai decided, "let us go search for them in the village".

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

They each grabbed one of the packs and set out, wandering aimlessly among the village and keeping both eyes out for their teammates. The time ticked away and they had no luck. There was no way Neji would keep anyone waiting- he was extremely prompt, although the same couldn't be said for Tenten.

"Maybe something happened to them", Lee suggested, his eyes growing wider (if possible) as he looked around.

"That is one possibility, but we must keep searching", Gai replied.

After an hour or so, they found themselves nearing the forest they'd been at earlier, although it was a part of the forest rather far from the cabin where they'd believed the assassins had been in. Lee saw it first- a scrap of pink near the trunk of a tree, and a thin strand of brown hair beside it.

His trained shinobi eyes easily picked up the clues and he pointed it out to his sensei, who deducted that it had to belong to Tenten.

"She must be in trouble!" Lee gasped, hurriedly looking around him.

"No, we do not know what has happened yet", Gai seemed more tense, but still managed to keep a calm face.

They wandered warily through the forest, until both shinobi could hear the distinct sounds of a taijutsu battle not too far from where they stood. Gai gave his student a nod and they hurried forward, moving at a rapid speed while keeping silent.

The sight that met them brought a mixture of emotions. Relief that their two teammates were safe, annoyance that they'd kept them waiting, confusion as to what the heck they were doing out here, and amusement at their current state.

Neji had decided not to use his byakugan in their spar, and, without the boost that came with being a Hyuuga, he and Tenten were on very similar levels. They'd done hand-to-hand combat, using absolutely no weapons. As of now, both shinobi were worn out from continuous fighting, couching on the forest floor and clutching their sides, while breathing heavily.

A corner of Tenten's shirt was ripped and several bruises decorated her arm. Her hair had come loose, but there was a satisfied smirk on her face as she looked across the field at her teammate. Neji didn't look like he was in top-condition either. Although he wasn't as messed up as Tenten, his breathing was staggered and he had a couple bruises in random places.

"What are you guys doing here?" Gai asked, stepping forward. Neji looked up at him, a look of confusion, followed by realization, then frustration crossing his features. How could they have missed the time?

Tenten caught her teammate's expression and she suddenly understood that they'd forgotten to keep track of when they were to return to the inn. "Gai-sensei!" she babbled, "I'm so sorry! It was all my idea- I wanted to learn a few things about tai-jutsu, but we ended up spending so much time out here and now we're going to be behind on our way to the Sand Villag-"

Neji had, during this time, covered the distance between them and clamped a hand over Tenten's mouth, shutting her up. "We apologize", he said simply, looking up at Gai-sensei, "let's not waste anymore time".

Gai nodded seriously. "We brought your belongings. Here".

Neji grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulders, straightening up as he began walking at a brisk pace beside Lee, leaving Tenten standing where she was, looking dumbfounded. She quickly hugged her pack to her chest and ran after them. There was surprise and a small bit of hurt at the way Neji had acted just now, and although she didn't wanted to "girl-ify" herself by overanalyzing, she couldn't help but wonder why… no, how Neji could be so helpful one moment, even willing to spar with her, then suddenly become stone-cold and focused on the mission.

She knew that, as shinobi, they were all supposed to do that, but the way Neji did it made him seem inhuman. And, was he mad at her for delaying him? For delaying all of them? It had been her idea to go out and learn something, but he hadn't exactly kept track of the time either, had he? She wracked her brains, trying to think of an answer while following her team out onto the docks, and back into the tiny boats that would lead them out of the mist village.

The same old man was steering their boat and Tenten shuddered as she looked at his wandering gaze. Disgusting. As if he'd read her mind, Neji stepped closer to Tenten and gave her an inconspicuous nudge, urging her to hurry into the boat so she could be at the very edge. She didn't complain.

Still, as the waves in the water moved the boat towards the other side and the old man rambled about the weather, Tenten couldn't help but wonder what was going through Neji's mind. He would seem annoyed with her for one moment, then take extra precautions to keep her safe the next. What was he thinking? Or, was he not thinking at all, and just acting on pure instincts?

That could be it, Tenten thought. Maybe his actions just meant his priority was to complete the mission, and that to do so, he had to look out for his teammates. But, as rational and Neji-like that explanation was, Tenten felt like there was more. There had to be more. She knew that one of her flaws was to expect the best out of everyone, of being overly optimistic, but this just felt different.

There was no more time to decide what it really was, because the boat had reached the other side of the water and Neji was ushering her out, while keeping an eye on the grinning old man. Pervert.

They walked off the dock and headed into the forest on this side of the river, moving in a direction towards the Sand Village. As they walked, Gai explained that the assassins they'd caught at the Mist were being held captive in the village at the time, and that a squad had been dispatched from Konoha to go to the Mist Village to interrogate them.

That part of the mission was over with, but there was more. And this time, it would be much harder.

Erm... well, it wasn't as long as I'd have wanted it to be... but, hey, at least it's up, right? Review please! More reviews faster updates!