Again, thanks so much for the reviews! I appreciate it! Anyway, instead of making Shika the main character, I think I'll go with focusing on all four and their pairs equally. Some chapters will be focused on one more than the others though. Like how last chapter was about Shika, and this one about Neji. I also got around to putting some NejiTen in this chapter.

Last time: Neji and Naruto run into four masked females who have an unconscious Sasuke. Shikamaru fell unconscious from his wounds.

Enjoy!

"Who are you!" Naruto yelled. He heard no answer as one of the females jumped to the ground and set Sasuke down gently. The other three females joined her below as they jumped from their positions on the tree.

Neji glanced at Naruto, than at Shikamaru. He looked back to Naruto; then lifted his head toward a tree nearby. Naruto turned his head to the side, and noticed the tree. He looked at Neji and nodded.

Naruto put one of Shikamaru's arms around his shoulders as he stood up. He supported Shikamaru's waist with the other hand, and walked to the tree. He placed him gently against the tree, than turned his attention back to the four females.

He slowly walked back to where Neji was. His breath was heavy. He stared at the females as they stared back. They all matched with their masks and black outfits, which covered every part of their body. The masks covered everything from their hair, to their mouth. Only their eyes could be seen. The two in the middle held a kunai in each hand, while the two on the ends each had wire intertwined with their fingers.

Breaking the silent moment, one of the females bent down towards Sasuke. "Take him." She said.

Neji and Naruto exchanged glances.

"Take him and go back to Konoha. I already told this to your friend. I told him it was useless to go on this mission." The female said as she lifted her head towards Shikamaru.

"They're already dead." She added with an edge to her voice.

The four began to turn around slowly.

"Why you!" Naruto dashed towards the four females with a punch, as they all dodged with ease. They jumped into the air as Naruto heard one say, "Useless."

One entangled Naruto with her wire as the four landed in a circle around him. "Neji!" Naruto cried out to him.

He turned his attention to Neji who was already struggling in wires of his own. Naruto looked to see one of the females extending her hand backwards; wire wrapped in her fingers. He followed the wire with his eyes as he saw how it led to Neji.

Neji watched his breath appear while the rain still fell. He huffed as he felt the wire become tighter.

"Go back to Konoha, and we can avoid conflict." One of the females said.

Neji' head was full of questions. He didn't know what was going on, who these girls were, why they were trying to stop this mission.

"Orochimaru isn't the one who took Sakura."

Neji remembered Shikamaru's words, as his head filled with even more questions.

He drifted into his thoughts, but was brought back when he heard a yell from Naruto. He looked up to see Naruto broken out of the wire. He was shaking with anger as his eyes darted back and forth to each female.

Naruto quickly shot up, and jumped towards Neji as he lashed a kunai at the wires holding him. Neji broke free.

The females regrouped, and now stood side by side. "Take him and go." One said as she pointed her kunai towards Sasuke.

Naruto laughed. "We won't give up that easily."

"Stubborn." One of the females threw down a flash bomb, as Neji and Naruto shielded their eyes from the light. Neji couldn't open his eyes. He felt the rain pour on his body as his surroundings turned white.

Just then, Neji felt somebody pass by him. He opened his eyes slowly, realizing the flash bomb was still in effect. Suddenly, an attack was launched at him in the midst of the pure whiteness surrounding him.

He dodged the kunai, and realized there was a female on front of him attacking with a kunai in each hand. He continued to dodge as best as he could as he suddenly felt a kunai to his back. He yelled out in pain, as he realized there wasn't just one attacking him; there were two. Each female held a kunai in both hands. One female attacked from the front; the other from the back.

The flash bomb finally wore off as Neji looked to see Naruto fending off two females as well. He then looked ahead of him to see the two females standing on front of him; each waited for his next move. He pulled the kunai from his back, and activated his Byakugan. He noticed wire was strung everywhere. All around their fighting area, the wire was attached to the trees and wrapped around branches and trunks.

Neji scowled as he noticed the wire slowing Naruto's movements. He stared at his arms as he noticed they were entangled in the thin wire also.

Suddenly, a kunai was thrown at him. The kunai grazed past his neck, as he felt something fall. Next, the wire in the area was suddenly pulled tight, and the next thing he knew, he and Naruto were entangled in layers and layers of it. Naruto was struggling furiously as he looked ahead to see the females standing in a group ahead of them. All four had wire entangled around their hands, and as he watched them pull hard on it, his body was squeezed tighter. he looked around the area. Wire went from their hands to the trees, and after the wire wrapped tightly against the trees, it led to him and Naruto.

Neji then felt a sharp pain on his neck as he remembered the kunai that had grazed it.

He looked to see what had fallen from his neck to the ground; a necklace. It was her necklace.

Flashback:

"Hurry! C'mon! They're going to leave soon!" Naruto was calling to Shikamaru, Neji, and Sasuke as he ran ahead of them.

"We're only going because Tsunade told us to see them off." Neji said, arms crossed as he walked slowly.

Naruto stopped and turned to Neji. "Eh, you would've come anyway, and you know it." Naruto said as he pointed at him. Neji shot him an icy glare.

Naruto laughed. "C'mon. Ino, Hinata" he raised his brow at Neji and cleared his throat, "and Tenten…" He gave him a nudge. "They all need our support." Naruto laughed again, but stopped as he saw Neji still glaring at him. "It's only a joke." Naruto said as he ran off. "Hurry!" the group heard him call as he ran out of sight.

Shikamaru sighed. "How…"

"Troublesome?" he heard a voice say.

The three boys turned around to see Ino. Tenten was a little ways behind her. "You two are supposed to be at the front gate by now." Shikamaru said as he put a hand to his waist.

"Ino and I are running a little late." Tenten said. "Hinata's already there."

The three boys stared at them.

"What?" Ino asked. "It was only because we were asking around about Sakura." Her face became solemn. "No one knew a thing." She looked up to see everyone staring at her and realized the unhappy vibe she was sending off, so she flashed a smile. "But that's okay. We'll go find her. Right, Tenten?" Ino said as she turned to her.

Tenten smiled back at her and nodded. Everybody was tense, and she knew it.

Ino sighed. "Is it really too troublesome to see your friends off Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets. "That's not what I meant Ino." He began. "It's your mission that seems pretty troublesome."

Tenten stretched her arms upward and let out a sigh. "Sakura's never gotten into any serious trouble. I'm sure it'll be fine." She said as she placed her hands back to her side. Tenten looked around. No one seemed to believe what she had just said. She didn't even believe it herself. "Let's go now. Everybody's waiting."

Ino and Tenten hurried on front of the boys and began talking. The boys followed in silence.

When they finally got to the gate, they saw Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Lee, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma and Gai talking in groups. Naruto and Kiba were talking with Hinata. The four sensei were in a group. Gai seemed to be trying to show off a move to Kakashi as Asuma and Kurenai watched and laughed. Lee was standing nearby cheering Gai on, Shino stood alone by a tree, while Chouji ran up to Shikamaru and dragged him away. Ino and Tenten walked off and began talking in their own group.

Neji looked to see a nearby bench. He took a seat on it, as Sasuke remained in his spot and stood.

"Hey." Neji looked up to see Hinata. She smiled at him. "Oh, good luck with today's mission." Neji told her. "Thanks." Hinata sat down next to him. "I-I'm a little n-nervous." Neji looked at her. "I-Ino and Tenten s-seem so calm." She looked down to her feet.

"Don't worry." Neji responded. "You're strong."

Hinata smiled. "I hope s-s-so."

Neji kept his eyes on his cousin. He thought about what he should say.

Then, Kiba called out to Hinata. He motioned for her to come. Hinata stood up. "I-I'll do my best." She clapped her hands together and bowed slightly. She then walked away slowly.

Neji looked around. The groups had split up, and now each sensei was talking with their team. Even Sasuke was dragged into talking with Kakashi and Naruto. It was the same with Shino as he talked with Kiba, Hinata, and Kurenai. Neji saw Lee motioning for him to come. He sighed and headed over.

"We know you'll do great Tenten!" Gai was saying as Neji appeared. His fist was in the air. "Thanks." Tenten responded. She laughed.

"Find Sakura quickly, and bring her back!" Lee was saying, his hand in a fist as he shook it on front of him, mirroring Gai. "Don't worry Lee." Tenten told him and smiled.

"C'mon! Let's head out!" Ino yelled.

"Already?" Tenten sighed. Ino looked to the ground as Tenten realized she wasn't ready to leave either.

"It's just that we should've already left by now." Ino told her. "Besides, who knows what trouble that Sakura has gotten herself into," she joked.

"Okay…" Tenten took in a deep breath.

"Good luck Tenten." Neji told her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. He then turned around slowly as he began to walk away.

"Thanks Neji." She replied. Ino glanced at Tenten who had a look of disappointment.

"That's all?" Ino said as she tilted her head to the side. Neji turned around and looked at her. Ino laughed nervously and put her hand behind her head as she realized what she had said so loud. She walked up to Neji. "She's pretty nervous you know."

He remembered what Hinata had said.

"Ino and Tenten seem so calm."

Neji began to think that they were all nervous, but were just hiding it. He walked up to Tenten. "Tenten…" Neji stopped to think. He never had to give these kinds of talks. "Tsunade knows you're strong. If she didn't have faith in you, she wouldn't have sent you." He stopped again to think, but then saw that a slight smile was creeping across Tenten's face. "And I've seen you battle. You're a very talented kunoichi." Neji placed his hands in his pockets; he felt a little awkward. "Errr…" Neji felt his cheeks become hot, and he turned his face away from her. He tried to choose his next words.

He started to become frustrated with himself. Why couldn't he think straight? It wasn't like him to not be able to get his head together. He heard Tenten giggle. That was it. He felt himself become embarrassed. He turned to walk away, but stopped when Tenten spoke his name.

"I appreciate it," she told him. Neji turned to her, as he saw how brightly she smiled at him. He felt a smile creeping to his face so he turned away again.

"Awww…" Ino said from a distance, but turned away when Tenten looked to her.

Gai and Lee then came up to Tenten and both gave her a tight hug. "Tenten, I'm already worried about you," Gai told her. "Gai-sensei, I'll be fine." Tenten said, struggling to get her words out. Gai and Lee grabbed Neji and forced him into a group hug. Neji sighed quietly to himself, as he pulled away

"That's enough," Tenten laughed as she struggled her way out. "Tenten…" Gai began.

She sighed. "Here," she said as she took off her necklace. "When you rub it, I'll…I'll know you're thinking of me," she said with a smile. She played with the necklace a little. "Here Neji, I want you to hold it." She held out the necklace to him.

Neji took the necklace. "…Thanks." He looked at it closely as it rested in his hand. It was a thin, silver chain with a red jewel shaped like a diamond in the middle. Neji clasped his hand around it as he looked up to Tenten, Lee, and Gai who smiled at him. Neji scowled as he heard the three giggle.

Tenten gave Gai, Lee, then Neji a tight hug. Neji hugged her back realizing how nervous he felt about them leaving.

She then headed towards Ino and Hinata. "Thank you!" Lee and Gai called out to her.

"I'll see you guys in a few days!" Tenten waved to them.

Neji watched as everybody told the girls good luck, goodbye, see you soon…He silently wished them luck himself as the large group watched them head off.

He placed the necklace around his neck as he started towards home.

End flashback.

Neji turned to Naruto who had gone unconscious. He managed to turn his head toward Sasuke, then towards Shikamaru. He winced in pain. Their mission was a failure. He then turned back to the necklace as his vision became blurry. He wanted to take it in his hands and rub it. Would Tenten know he was thinking about her now?

He felt the wire become tighter as he shut his eyes tight. He struggled for his breath. He wondered what would become of everybody. It killed him to know the reality of his situation. Neji cried out in pain, as he felt blood slowly creep down his body. The wire was so tight he started to feel his body go numb. He could hardly breathe; the pain was so intense.

he couldn't move. And he knew if he would anyway, he would lose blood faster. Naruto had fallen unconscious for that reason. Things became dreamlike as he felt his body sting increasingly. He looked up to the sky as rain tinkled down his face. He tried to remain conscious as he then looked towards the females.

"Who took them?" Neji asked. He let out a cry of pain as he gasped for air.

He wanted to ask more, but found himself struggling more than ever. He ached everywhere. Neji shut his eyes for his headache kept him from keeping them open. He waited for an answer.

"That doesn't matter anymore if they're already dead!"

Neji listened to her voice. She was trembling as she said the sentence, and her voice rippled as if she was holding back tears.

Finally, he felt his body giving up. He couldn't think clearly anymore. He wished he could do something, but he couldn't. He let out another cry of pain as the females saw his body relax.

The females quickly let go of the wire as Naruto and Neji's bodies fell limply to the ground. They hurried to their bodies as they set them gently on their backs. One of the females went to Sasuke as she wiped some of the falling droplets off of his face. Another wiped blood falling from Naruto's mouth.

One of the other females picked up the necklace and put it into Neji's hand. She fell beside him on her knees.

The female by Sasuke stood up. She then looked towards Shikamaru as she saw one of her teammates kneeling down beside him. She put her hand on the shoulder of her friend by Neji and called out.

"Let's go."

Sorry it took awhile for this chapter. I should have another one up soon though.

Once again, I know you know who the females are, but again, I meant to do that, so please keep reading!

Well…that's about it!

Feel free to review!