Title: Identical Lies

Rating: T for language

Pairings: ?/Hyuuga Neji, ?/Hyuuga Hinata

Genre: A bit of everything.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of NARUTO or it's characters.

A/N: Please excuse any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes - the version of word I have won't detect some of the incorrect grammar ):Still working on pacing, but it hasn't gotten any better. Short chapter today!

Please review! They are appreciated~

Neji would never be able to explain in words what the hell was happening.

When they arrived at the battle sight, he couldn't pull his eyes away from the burning body inferno as he fought masked enemies. All he could make out was Reikou's figure within the bright, blazing fire. It was almost ethereal - a burning angel of hell. The flames emitting from her skin glowed bright and large. Reds, oranges, and yellows. Occasionally, it would flash blue when she came in contact with someone; a stronger, more extreme heat. He observed, and noticed that anyone even a foot near her would get a third degree burn.

She moved with grace; elegantly but extremely swift as she tackled several people to the ground, burning their bodies and flesh within seconds.

A large, built man was on a large patch of blackened grass, the whole front of his body burnt off. The man that had Reikou in the headlock earlier, Neji assumed, noting how the fire vanished once it did it's job at scorching the body. The skin was no longer visible and his flesh were searing red - his face, chest and legs - the whole front side of his body was no longer traceable. Just flesh and bones…Blood pooled the body of the dying corpse. He could see the bloodied lungs still try to gasp for air, and eventually the beating of his heart had stopped. Neji forced himself to look away from the horror Reikou had made of the man. He knew it would be a terrible memory to everyone on the team.

Reikou did not waste time. She fought - still in her burning state. As the teams quickly got rid of several more enemies, the masked men decided to retreat. Kiba insisted on going after them, but Neji shook his head as he used Gentle Fist against one of the enemies, his eyes spotting a red mark on the side of said enemy's head; not quick enough to pull back before he knocked the masked man out of consciousness. He felt for the pulse, and was glad the masked male was still alive for interrogation.

Within a second, the seal on the side of the enemy's temple glow red. His Byakugan eyes watched the chakra die out of the enemy.

Damn it...The seal killed him once he was unconscious...

His pale eyes raised slowly away from the dead body and watched the fire of Reikou slowly die down. Kai had flashed to Reikou's pack a few paces away, and pulled out one of the blankets, quickly retreating back to the female. The fire was gone, but he could see the steam rising from her skin. She was doubled over, clutching her stomach on a patch of burnt grass. Neji looked away from the bare female as Reikou choked up blood, coughing and gasping for the minimal amount of air she could get into her lungs. Her nude body was quickly covered by the blanket Kai brought over, but no contact was made between them. Neji could imagine just how hot, no pun intended, Reikou's body was burning at.

"Neji-niisan," Hinata's quiet voice came from behind him. Neji's pale eyes met his cousin's, and then lowered to the cut on the female's arm. Neji's eyes zeroed in on the wound, his facial features settling on a concerned look. He spotted the small smile the dark haired female gave weakly. "I'm okay, my ointment can heal it…but Reikou-san…"

"She'll…" Kai's voice interrupted, hands in pockets as he tried to hide the emotions that the Hyuuga could read with ease. Neji frowned, watching the emerald eyed male shake his head. "She'll be fine…eventually."

Shou held the blanket-wrapped female in his arms when he approached. "She's out. We'll need to settle down somewhere. The ninjutsu she used - "

"Wasn't supposed to be used," Kai scowled, his eyebrows furrowed. Neji could sense the tension in the air, and he felt…worried. The unconscious girl in Shou's arm seemed to be frowning - even when she wasn't awake. For a reason he had trouble finding out, he wanted to know what was causing her this much pain.

"Sakura," the green eyed male moved over to the medic who was currently healing Tenten and Kiba. "If you can look over Reikou once we find a place to rest…?"

The pale eyed male found himself sitting across from a certain chunin - one that he would rather not speak to at the very moment. It was an inescapable confrontation, and Neji could only stare back; a battle of patience. The thing is, there was no fierceness in Kai's eyes, from what the Hyuuga could read. All he saw was patience, wonder, and some burden? It wasn't clear to the prodigy. How could the teen across from him be able to control his emotions enough to hide one under many other feelings?

"I'm going to switch places with Reikou," The seemingly calm voice jolted the Hyuuga from his thoughts. "I'll go with Team A from now on."

Neji furrowed his eyebrows, not liking where this is going. "No. I'll switch in. Or we could get Kakashi-sensei to. It'll only mess up the strategy."

He heard a chuckle, and his opalescent eyes met the deep green pools of Kai. The fire between them made Kai's features more defined. His narrow face, the shadows under his eyes, the way everything on the usually healthy male seemed to be sunken in. A weak state fighting to stay strong. Neji watched as Kai's eyelids fluttered, shuttering his tired gaze. A look that was tired of everything and anything happening at the moment...

And Neji knew enough to know why.

The tall male dressed in white robes travelled at an easy pace around the forest, scouting for any possible danger, traps, or enemies. He had left Hinata and several others at the campsite to stay on guard, cook and set up. With his Byakugan activated, he scanned his surroundings as he stayed at about a mile radius from the camp at all times, going around the edges to see beyond. He was close enough to keep an eye on the camp - not that he doubted Hinata's, Kiba's or Akamaru's abilities - but just to be sure; in case the transmitter malfunctioned, or they were in danger and needed back up.

Halting, he spotted a river not far away; the veins around the corners of his eyes stretched, pupils dilating and contracting as he focused his view. Neji scanned the river from one side to the other - and spotted the chunin he hadn't yet spoken to in a while.

Reikou was at the edge of the river, feet submerged in the calm waters. From what Neji could see; she seemed as if she was in a dream, possibly, or a potential nightmare. His eyes trailed down her back and saw her shaking shoulders and fumbling hands.

A strange urge told him to confront her. One that pulled his insides towards the female, but his body just wouldn't move. Neji itched a step forward but stopped when his moon lit eyes caught movement heading down the edge of the water towards the still female.

His lips tightened, and he quietly climbed up the nearest tree, concealing himself within the leaves. His breath was kept steady, calm, like he usually was. Eyes refrained to move away from the confrontation between the two people. With his Byakugan eyes, he recognized that it was no stranger - it was Kai.

They began to speak. From the distance Neji was at, the conversation was inaudible. Instead, he watched their mouths, and could only pick out several words from the minimal amount of lip movement. From what he could read, it did not make any sense. He felt guilty, to know he was eavesdropping, but what could he do? He was a ninja, after all.

"Then why!" The raise of Reikou's voice caught Neji off guard. Before, he could tell they were having a serious and emotional (on Reikou's part) conversation, but for her to suddenly speak up? It was uncharacteristic of her. Something Neji, nor anyone else, has ever seen her do.

"Since when can so many people think they know how I feel? The look in their eyes…They don't understand! You don't understand!"

Neji allowed it to sink in, his eyes were unable to peel away from Reikou's heartbroken face. She was lost. The fire in her eyes were gone, and all that was left was an empty void. A void so deep, dark and afraid. Neji felt himself swallow his saliva thickly. Forcing himself to pull away and not get pulled into them. His mind didn't comply.

The Hyuuga's breath hitched, holding his breath when he saw Reikou crumble into Kai's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Her tear stained face reflected more than just fear - it held pain and helplessness. The resemblance wasn't even near Hinata's when he had almost…killed her. This was one expression that Neji felt he needed to get rid of. He wanted that look gone. Now.

This protectiveness wasn't part of his very few character traits. It peeved him. It pissed him off that this girl can just cry some tears, and bam! She had made him feel powerless and at lost. Hell, he had barely spoken to her before…

His fists tightened before he slowly lowered himself down the tree, letting the sobs echo - deafening his quiet footsteps as he moved.

He knew what to do.

I need to…

Where his feet led him wasn't towards Reikou.

Forget it.

After checking her temperature, Sakura sighed. "The ninjutsu she used took up most of her chakra. It'll take a long time to replenish that amount. Also, as a side effect of the technique, Reikou-san has an extremely high fever…"

"Her chakra is replenishing…" Hinata cut in, softly. "But…"

Neji could see it too. Their Byakugan could usually spot the blue glow of chakra of a regular shinobi, but in her case - he saw the bright red glow of extremely hot chakra. Nothing like Naruto's Kyuubi. It was different. Not necessarily demonic but something else. The Hyuuga knew his cousin couldn't quite figure it out either.

"Her chakra isn't cooling down, at least, what she has left of it," Neji muttered, glancing at the tent the female Nagakawa was resting in.

Kai looked conflicted. Neji could see it in his facial expression as he sat with his head between his hands, slouched over on a log. Beside Kai was Shikamaru, discussing the new strategy with Kakashi and Shou. Neji had a vague idea of it already.

Kai didn't go down without a fight a few hours ago.

Neji had argued with the auburn haired male, but only to know Kai had already convinced Shikamaru, Kakashi and Shou already. He was beat by the number of votes and it pissed him off. Neji should be the one to switch to Team A. They needed a close quarter combat, and he was one. He was capable, and he knew that everything would go much smoother if he just switched in instead.

He also didn't want to stay near Reikou. He didn't have a specific reason, but he needed to stay away.

However, everyone seemed to be against it.

"Okay, Team A will head out tonight, we're crossing onto the land of Rivers soon, so…" Shikamaru rubbed at his eyes, "Keep all your heads clear."

"Team A now consists of me," Shou started, "Shikamaru, Kakashi-san, Kai, Hinata and Tenten."

Neji furrowed his eyebrows. It was now a six member team? He bit his lip back; Shikamaru must know what he's doing, right? He wasn't in the position to question, but majority won.

"Neji…" Sakura took a seat next to the Hyuuga on the log, the fire heating before them.

How ironic.

The fire was what kept them alive - but also kill.

Neji nodded his head to acknowledge the pink haired kunoichi, his eyes not removing from the warmth.

"Reikou, she…" The female next to him shook her head sadly. "Her chakra isn't cooling down at all. I'm trying to cool down her body, but it's almost impossible with the heat beneath her skin. She won't let me transfer and try to heal it with my own chakra."

The pale eyed jounin nodded again, his hands tightening in his lap.

Earlier tonight, Kai, Sakura and even Hinata tried to help with cooling down Reikou. The female was conscious once they laid hands on her and thrashed, yelling and shouting - threatening them to back off. Kai had almost gotten burnt; when he emerged from the tent while rubbing his hand after Neji saw a flash of fire within it. Sakura and Hinata had insisted, holding her down and tried their best, but the heat only caused the procedure to backfire.

Later on, the newly created Team A embarked into the Land of Rivers, and Reikou was now in their hands.

Sakura had put Kiba and Akamaru inside the tent to make sure Reikou wouldn't do anything rash. Neji could see and rustling about inside the tent. The dog-nin was probably changing the wet towel on Reikou's forehead.

"She has to be willing in order to be healed," Sakura muttered, rubbing her temples. Green eyes trailed from the fire to the profile view of Neji. He could sense the look, one that was asking for help.

"I'll talk to her," Neji gave in. He was the only one left that hadn't attempted anything.

Upon entering through the flap of the tent, he sent the Inuzuka a nod, and the dog-nin quickly rushed Akamaru out.

The Hyuuga settled himself down, crossed legged next to the female laying beneath the same blanket she was wrapped in earlier. His eyes landed on her dark auburn hair, spread around her head, following the flow of the tresses onto the face. A frown settled on his lips when he touched the wet towel and noticed it had warmed up too quickly.

Taking the towel, he dunked it into the pot of cold water from a nearby stream, and squeezed out the excess water before placing it on Reikou's forehead again. Her sleeping form was rigid. Eyebrows furrowed, body shivering from chills trying to heal her heated body. From the look of it, Neji could guess she was in a nightmare.

His eyes landed on the distorted figure of the hitai-ate plate. The metal had melted from the heat, but cooled down, now deformed; the leaf symbol almost incomprehensible. The fabric that the plate was previous held on had burnt to ashes, along with the rest of Reikou's clothes.

Neji lightly touched the metal, feeling the deformation of the item. His eyes and fingers left the hitai-ate and went to Reikou's exposed neck. Following up the column to her sleeping face, and back down. Using the back of his hand, he reached over, feeling Reikou's neck. The contact made him shiver, but the heat almost made him draw back, a strange push and pull force. The warmth travelled up his arm, and he frowned, the back of his fingers going up to her face, touching her cheek. The warmth was the same, unnatural.

Placing the towel back into the pot, he then felt her forehead. With the towel removed, he could see a thin layer of sweat forming.

He thought about whether or not to attempt at healing her while she was unconscious. There could be casualties if Reikou were to awaken, but they needed to succeed in this mission. Any more delay would be reckless.

Sighing silently to himself, he moved himself onto his knees, placing his hands just above her forehead, hovering for a moment before a blue glow of chakra emitted from them.

As he concentrated his chakra into his palms, he almost gasped when extremely hot hands grabbed his wrists, and violently tugged them away, the chakra cutting off before it could do anything effective to her.

"Don't," Reikou hissed, her emerald eyes glared up at Neji, making him pull his hands away from the hands clasped around his wrists and frown. "I can do it myself."

Hyuuga scoffed.

"Stop being stubborn. Don't you realize that the mission is more important than your pride?"

"Says the Hyuuga," came the weak retort laced with malice.

Neji visibly rolled his pale eyes, and lurched forward to push Reikou back when she tried to sit up. "Rest. Don't do anything rash."

"I'm sorry I need to go piss," Reikou growled, roughly pushed his hands away from her shoulders. "Now get away from me and leave me with my privacy."

He sewed his lips shut as the female flipped the blanket off her, and staggered into a standing position. His eyes unwillingly followed; her brown hair falling over her shoulders, ending about mid-back. She was clad in a similar black tank top - but instead of the regular shinobi pants she had usually worn, she was in a pair of black shorts. Shorts that weren't too revealing, but enough to show most of her legs, toned but slim; just like the rest of her body.

He forced himself to look away when her hips swayed as she weakly pulled herself to the tent's only exit, bending forward slightly to duck outside.

A moment after she left, Neji emerged out of the tent.

Sakura stared at him, the same position on the log when Neji had entered the tent.

"Is there anything you need?" The pale eyed jounin said after the silent staring contest ended when he blinked.

"We're at a disadvantage," Sakura stated. Obviously talking about the sick chunin who can't even walk straight, and the fact they probably won't have time to establish teamwork between them - since they were originally all on separate teams. "Why didn't you input any ideas into the plan? If we were to get ambushed now -"

"We'd be screwed!" Kiba piped up, rubbing behind Akamaru's ears. The large, white dog barked softly in agreement.

Neji sighed. He had been thinking about this the whole time, besides Reikou. This team wasn't even logical, he didn't know how Shikamaru could even think up of something like this. It just didn't make sense...

"I know," he finally muttered, the fire flickered a few times. "I assume we won't as long as we go according to plan and not cross over until told to. For now, we can only prepare and help Reikou get better quickly."

"But she won't get better," Kiba scowled from his crouched position on the ground, chucking in more pieces of wood into the fire. Neji watched the flame grow with the excess wood and a light bulb blinked above his head.

To make a fire…

Neji reached over for a piece of wood and swiftly put it into the pile of burning bark.

You need ignition, and something to keep it burning…

The fire flickered brightly.

If the mission was the trigger…?

What was keeping her so emotional?

A/N: This was pretty hard for me to write; I tried to be descriptive but I think I failed, ahaaa. Please review! Critism is appreciated :)

Next: Unexpected visitor.