Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or anything other than my OCs.
Bright and early in the morning in the Hokage's office stood three young men. The busty Hokage just concluded the mission briefing and sat awaiting any questions the trio might have for the sake of better understanding and completing the mission she had just assigned but it seemed that the trio was much more interested in simply glaring each other down like hungry wolves.
"So… Hokage-sama." Was the long and sarcastic drawl from the blonde teen before her, "You're saying I have to go on mission with him and you're not going to send Kori with us?"
"That's correct." Tsunade almost cracked a smile, "Remember Kai, the three of you are now one team. It's unlikely that you will go on a mission without him."
His eyes shifted from their assumed leader to his more muscular companion, "And why exactly is it that the three of us got stuck together?"
"Quite obviously because you're weak and you clearly need help." Touga said in a calm tone that didn't betray the insult he had just spit out, "My help."
"YOU?!" The Saizo's short fuse had just been lit, "Why in the world would I ever need you?! You're the one who needs me! You must've been so weak that you've been kicked out of the ANBU squads!"
"I see the Saizo Clan doesn't teach their young to respect their superiors."
"I'm above you!"
"Correct but I am leading this team. Your rank may be above mine but my skills have been deemed above yours. You're making yourself look like a fool so I suggest you silence yourself before I decide to act on the instinct that insists on corporal punishment."
"Ahem!" Tsunade cleared her throat loudly as Kai opened his mouth to reply, "You are both shinobi regardless of your positions or ranks and you have a mission. Are either of you refusing your assigned duty?!"
"Tch." The jonin made his final stand of rebellion before complying, "You're just asking us to fail with this set up. We just have to catch him, right? Jeez. I'm not a bounty hunter… Why is it that we always hunt down criminals?"
"Someone has to do it and your team was built for hunting. Kirishima Touga has apprehended the most traitors and criminals whether they committed petty crimes or severe offences." Tsunade said, "He hasn't failed a mission of this sort until he came into contact with you so perhaps you should try to learn from him. He is the only member of Asahina's graduating class to have gone toe to toe with her and still be called a genius."
Toshizo heaved a big sigh, opening his mouth to stop the insult towards their teacher that he knew Kai would blurt out but to his surprise the blonde was dead silent as he narrowed his eyes on the Hokage. The aspiring puppeteer stared at the silent jonin in awe.
"You know too." Was the first statement to come out of Kai's mouth, "Why is it that I'm the only one that doesn't know these things?"
"Perhaps it's because Asahina has deemed you unworthy of our secrets." Touga said harshly, "Asahina has always had an innate sense and she has always been drawn to those with high tactical abilities. She hasn't failed in picking out a talented shinobi since she decided to put faith in Uchiha Obito. You are clearly of a lesser quality and therefore she has chosen to avoid trusting you with any such information."
"Wha-?"
Toshizo had never seen Kai stunned speechless. The blonde was a hot-tempered, witty person and he was always able to think of a comeback but Touga's explanation had taken any thoughts from the jonin's head.
"That's not true! If anything, Asahina-sensei doesn't trust me!" The puppeteer drew attention to himself at a good time, "I'm always pestering Kai-san so she probably couldn't tell him because I would try to draw it from him."
"Not it." The blond said sharply, "There's some reason we don't know but I'm absolutely sure that Kori does. I thought their story was just another boring tale but there's some secret they're keeping and it's true that out of the three of us, only Kori has been chosen to carry that secret."
"So you know. It changes nothing." Touga said it even more calmly than the insult that preceded it, "If you want to be better than me, if you want me to pass my authority onto you, receive approval and utmost faith from Asahina first. If she deems you a true genius, you will inevitably overtake me."
"That's enough of this. Let's go." Kai turned and stormed out but it was not the furious stomping that he usually displayed at such times. His shoulders were stiff, the chakra that bristled through his hair was weaker than it was moments ago when he was emphasizing his hatred for Kirishima Touga.
"That's for me to choose but it seems you're not entirely dumb. This time I expect us to succeed."
As Tsunade watched the trio leave in silence, she cracked a small smile. The familiar silhouette of Hikawa Asahina in her prime was following Saizo Kai's backside, "Watch out, Touga. It looks like he may be closer to approval than you think."
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
The sunlight reflected against the smooth surface of the Memorial Tablet, names of fallen heroes etched against the surface looked blurred together to the average person. Just a list of the dead. To those who have lost, the name or names they came to see are not just one amongst many but specific and clear.
Hyuga Kori had long since known that and she was certain she was not the only shinobi to feel that way for she had heard it verbalized from another ninja as well. She stood before the tablet in silence but she knew the silence would not last when she glanced to her right to find Hatake Kakashi's single visible eye staring back at her.
"Asahina's having a hard time." The copy ninja began in a quiet voice.
"Yes. I'm aware but there's nothing I can do or say to fix that." Kori responded gently, "She feels the frustration from her own inability to fight. Asahina-sensei didn't strike me as the type to enjoy sitting around doing nothing."
"Well I can't let her fight in her state so I'll have to trouble you again." Kakashi murmured, "I'll be leaving the village later today with my team. Can I ask you to protect her?"
"Yes, sir. And good luck on your mission."
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
Kai stood above the corpse of yet another dead man today. The blonde took no notice of the blood running down the side of his head, nearly blinding one eye on its way down. Behind him stood both Touga and Toshizo, bruised and battered.
"I can't believe one man gave us so much trouble. It's hard to think that this one had so many traps set up before we arrived here." Touga grumbled, "But he has no registered allies. His skill was far above the warning ranking. How could such a mistake happen?"
"Someone else must've been using him." Kai spat, "Everyone move!"
There was one brief moment of shock between his sharp command and the movement of his two teammates. The explosives hidden in the dirt all blew at once, eliminating the trees in the area turning the rocks and boulders to rubble. The bodies of the three ninjas caught at the edge of the blast were sent tumbling into the portions of the forest that survived the explosion.
Kai felt his entire body vibrate from the force of being sent flying into the trunk of a broad tree. He coughed a bloody and gurgling cough as he hit the floor, the grass beneath him being drenched in blood.
"Kai-san!" Toshizo's voice made his brain pound in pain.
"I'm alright." He barked back, "Where's Touga?!"
As if in response, Touga snorted down at the pair from the tree above, "It looks like Saizo Kai can't go on much further."
"Bullshit." The jonin breathed out, "How did you…?"
"I was the furthest away from the center of the blast. I purposely put you between me and the corpse knowing he was leading us towards the center. The blast hit you before it even sent the winds into me." The ANBU officer was cold but not completely unaffected, "In our youth, Asahina was the one I often used as a shield but she knew and she was never hurt the way you were just now."
"You-!"
"Enough!" Toshizo snapped, "We need to get out of here! If there's really another enemy here we have to go! Kai-san can't fight anymore and there's no telling what'll happen!"
"I never said I couldn't fight anymore." Kai's pride forced him to his feet, "But there is one thing that's important. Until we know how many there are, we shouldn't fight."
"Incorrect." Touga said, "For the sake of the mission, we will fight using you as our shield."
"Our mission is over! We detained the one we came for!" The aspiring puppeteer was usually very kind and accommodating but he could not handle Kirishima Touga's cruelty any longer, "If anything, you're just going to get all of us killed."
A small but certain voice called out through the trees, halting their argument, "It's been foretold that your team ends here."
"Them!" Not a single shinobi could say they didn't recognize the girl and her companions-the nine blind fighters that had stopped them from going to Team Asuma's aid in their fight with Hidan and Kakuzu a while back.
"We have to call for help." Kai spoke through gritted teeth, his pride aching.
"I couldn't agree more in this case." Touga knew the strength of the nine before him, they had experienced it once before and with more numbers than they currently had, "Toshizo, let off the flare."
The puppeteer did not have to be told twice. The flare of red smoke that went up could probably be seen from the village not too far away.
"So you're calling the Hyuga…" The leader of the blind fighters spoke, her voice gentle yet teasing, "Good. Bring her to me."
"How does she know Kori's going to be our reinforcements?" Kai's eyes narrowed on the cloak of the Akatsuki that draped each of the fighters before him, "Even we don't know that for sure."
"We have no desire to fight you. We simply want the Hyuga. If you bring her here, we will let you leave alive. Do not resist us and we will not give you trouble."
"No way…" Toshizo murmured, "What kind of people are they? What do they want with Kori-san?"
"I don't care." Kai's hair was bristling with static, the area around him crackled with energy, "Kill them before Kori gets here."
"We have no orders to kill you, Saizo Kai." The girl continued, "We don't have to fight meaninglessly. We don't want to hurt the Hyuga. We just want to borrow her vision."
"Borrow?"
"We only want her eyes. The Byakugan is our goal."
"You can't have them."
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
"A signal?!" Tsunade stood from her chair immediately, Shizune and Asahina both shot up out of their seats as well, "That direction… That's where Touga's team went! Shizune, go call for Kori and gather whoever you can find!"
Shizune went running in search of the Hyuga, leaving Asahina and Tsunade together.
"If I could go… I would." Asahina murmured.
"But you cannot." Tsunade said but not unkindly, "One day, you will be able to return. For now, we wait."
Just then, Danzo arrived with Yui following closely behind him, "Tsunade. I presume you're sending the Hyuga after them?"
Old coot! Asahina thought, letting out a sigh.
"Kori is best suited to aid that team so yes, I am." The Hokage said curtly, "Is there a problem?"
"No. Send her but send Yui as well."
"You still don't trust her?!" Tsunade slammed her hands on the table, "She has done nothing to gain your distrust! She's a kunoichi of this village through and through!"
"A kunoichi of this village that happens to have good foreign relationships." Danzo corrected in a low and threatening tone, "You will not leave her unsupervised."
"You're not giving me a choice."
The escalating argument was halted by the entry of Shizune and Kori, Neji following closely behind his sister, "I wasn't able to gather anyone else!"
"That's fine! Danzo has brought us Yui! The three of you are to immediately assist Touga's three man cell consisting of Kirishima Touga, Saizo Kai, and Tsukara Toshizo. Kori will lead your team for the time being. When you meet up with Touga, you can take over for them if he's not doing well." Tsunade ordered, "Go now!"
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" Kori's sudden technique surprised each ninja but Danzo first and foremost. The man had drawn a blade in surprise, "Rokuro, Koichi!"
The two white tigers appeared before her, their heads bowed, "Kori-sama!"
"Oh, be quiet!" The kunoichi hissed, "That's embarrassing so stop it! Let's go!"
"Where is it that we happen to be going?" The pair of tigers asked as they followed their master out the door in a hurry.
"To help Saizo." Kori was in a terrible hurry. She knew Kai was not the person to call for help if he didn't absolutely need it. They were probably in some devastating fight, "Koichi, you stick with Neji and Yui. Rokuro and I will head full speed towards Saizo's group."
Her brother's call of "Kori, wait!" was completely ignored as she hurried forward towards her destination without looking back. Neji threw up his arms in frustration as he hurried after his much more speedy sister with no hopes of catching up without abandoning Yui.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
"Raiso Gekishin (Lightning Rat Violent Quake)!" Disks of lightning flew across the dirt. The grass had long since been charred by the initial explosion and the Saizo Clan's lightning ninjutsu. The barrage of shuriken aimed at Kai was felled expertly by the unfolding sword puppet maneuvered by Toshizo.
Touga's blade swooped just inches from the nose of another blind fighter while he turned to block the blade aimed just at the back of his neck.
The leader of the group of blind assailants had yet to be moved from her position. Their group was nine members strong and yet Kai could only grit his teeth in shame at the knowledge that there were only four of them engaged in combat. If all nine members flew into motion, Kai's small uncoordinated team would be eliminated.
The Saizo's eyes swept the battlefield once more, his eyes passing over the small girl briefly at first and then more firmly when he realized she was smiling more and more. The girl was blind indeed but she smiled at him as if she knew he was looking. With slow movements her hands came poking out from under the cloak, displaying a stack of cards.
"Toshi, move back! I think something's coming!" The blonde flipped out of the range of the next bombardment of weaponry.
"It's not for you." The girl spoke in a tone of confidence, flipping just one card from the stack, "What is it that you see?"
"..."
"A tiger perhaps?" She was smiling broadly, knowing that she had called the card correctly. A solid white tiger was printed boldly against the front side of the card. Moving the first card to the bottom of the stack she pulled a second card, instantly frowning at the symbol of a bird, "She's not alone. A bird? I see him. Hyuga? Hyuga Neji."
"Neji?" Toshizo glanced at his teammate, "She said Neji's coming… Are we going to be alright? We've never worked with him."
"But Kori has." Was Kai's firm and confident reply.
The deep and threatening roar was heard before the vision of white came barreling onto the battlegrounds. The four blind fighters were forced to temporarily retreat as the majestic white tiger snapped its mighty jaws just inches from where they may have been just moments ago. Atop the tiger's back was Hyuga Kori, just as the girl had predicted.
"Get her." The girl commanded and every fighter turned their attention onto the new arrival.
Kai and Toshizo scrambled to get to Kori's side as six of the nine blind opponents rushed toward her. Touga did not hesitate to take his chance to back away and regain his composure, assessing the battlefield once more.
Locked in combat, the original members of the now-disbanded Team Asahina appeared to be much more powerful than Touga had initially expected them to be. Kori had clearly earned her position as a jonin with sheer talent. The way she commanded her proud summons and the charisma with which she murmured advice into the ears of her teammates proved her leadership skills to the opponents as well.
Kai's stubborn attitude was a perfect match for the quiet yet assertive Hyuga. He was not a quitter and he would not let her suggestions go to waste. He made the most of what he had and exploited any and all weaknesses revealed to him.
Toshizo's puppet was the defense on which the two before him played. His support was the reason the two above him took risks and chanced sheer offences where they should approach cautiously.
Another roar shook the noisy battlegrounds as Koichi's group made their move. Neji's fast engage gave Kori room to back away and form the seals for a more powerful technique.
"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Style: Water Trumpet)!"
Neji leaped out of the way at the last minute, leaving room for his sister's blast of water to make full contact with the face of her target. The sound of the mask shattering against the opponent's skull was deafening. Touga's eyes widened at the combination the siblings had pulled off. It was hard to believe that Kori's original team had not included Neji.
"Yes!" Kai hissed, his own fingers flying at the chance given to him, "Raiton: Bakurai (Lighting Style: Depth Charge)!"
The charge of lightning burnt the remainder of the body, the water soaking the blind fighter only supported the Saizo's attack further.
"Enough is enough." The leader spoke again, "If you insist on getting in the way, you must all go. I won't spare a single one of you any longer."
"Any other bright ideas?" The blonde grumbled as the remaining opponents moved to surround them.
"This was a three part charge." Neji snorted, "I was the second part."
The mist creeping around his ankles told Kai exactly who it was that had joined them, "Yui."
The thick heaps of mist floated up into his vision but he knew that both Neji and Kori could see.
"Yui, no!" Kori shouted in surprise.
Through the mist, she had seen. The men stood clustered closely together as if they could sense Yui's approach. They were blind to start with, the mist was not disadvantageous to them at all. In fact, with their sharpened senses, it was quite the opposite. The Hyuga moved forward to aid her companion but it was impossible at her distance.
One of their enemies had dropped to his knees weaving the signs of a summoning technique and all at once he had summoned four or five hideous blind creatures. Yui was only able to cut down one before the massive naked mole rat turned and swung its tail toward her. She readied her blade to block the heavy swing but her strength did not hold. She was sent flying by the sheer force of this beast, straight into the ready claws of another.
A heavy scream of pain shook Kai to his core, "YUI!"
"I can't see! What's happening?!" Toshizo demanded, his sword puppet raised at the ready.
They both knew that Yui was pretty much a silent fighter. If she had been forced to scream, she was clearly not going to continue fighting any longer.
"Dammit!" Kai hissed, dashing forward into the thicket of mist that had yet to clear.
"Saizo, don't come any closer!" Kori commanded, her feline companions pouncing into combat against the beasts that had felled Yui, "If you can't see it's not safe!"
The blonde was not one to sit still, "I can see just fine!"
"No!"
Touga didn't know when exactly he had joined the fight. It must have been when he first heard Kyrie's pained scream. She was one of his association's members and he was most likely responsible for her injuries since she had come to aid his team due to his own incapability. Or so he thought but it was simply an excuse for the emotions bubbling deep in his chest. Watching this group struggle was igniting a passion that he thought he had lost long ago.
Kai stared blankly at the figure in front of him, protecting him as if he had been assigned to do so, "What do you think you're doing?!"
Kirishima Touga did not look back. Even if he wanted to answer the question, he couldn't without a good understanding of his actions himself. He didn't know why he had jumped in but he had and there was no going back. His blade swept through the air once, twice, and a third time. It was an effective defense against the blind man who had taken advantage of the mist to attack Kai who was blindly charging forward without vision of the happenings of the battlefield.
Certain that her visionless teammates were safe, Kori gave her command, "Rokuro! Retrieve Yui at all costs! Koichi and I will cover you!"
"Leave them to me!" Neji called through the mist, swiftly moving to combat the next charging opponent.
"Kori! Don't go! Their target is you!" Kai shouted but he could see the massive blur of a tiger beginning his charge, the smaller silhouette of his teammate not too far behind it.
"Kai-san, what do we do?" Toshizo murmured, his puppet holding its form as a solid blade to be used for defensive purposes.
"You will ask me." Touga said firmly but there was not an ounce of spite or hatred in his tone. It was simply the confident tone of a commanding shinobi. "The secret of the Byakugan cannot leave our village. We will protect it at all costs."
"Now you're talking." The blond growled.
"I said we but I mean that I will protect her. You are only in the way without your vision and you will not move unless it's deemed absolutely necessary. Do you understand?"
"How in the world can you see any better than the rest of us?" Kai snapped, "We're going in too!"
"Wait!" Touga commanded but there was no such patience in the Saizo's veins.
As the jonin went barreling forward with confidence, Touga almost thought it was going to be alright. That split second of uncertainty is what cost them the battle in Touga's opinion; his inability to stop Saizo Kai from charging into the battlefield with Toshizo at his backside cost them a desperately needed victory.
The only one who had full vision of what happened was Neji and even then he was powerless to stop the ongoings of a heated battle with two of the blind fighters blocking his path. A glimpse of a tiger roaring over Yui's fallen body with enough force to stop anyone from finishing her off. Vision of the blind fighter closest to Rokuro backing away strategically before Kori's kunai came down inches away from her target. A small glance at Koichi snarling and snapping at the naked mole rats kept them at bay. Staring in surprise at Kai and Toshizo approaching blindly through the fog.
The small girl at a distance holding up one single card - blue on blue. Neji would later realize that blue on blue is the military symbol for friendly fire. His inability to think of that is what, in his opinion, cost them their victory.
He could only watch as a majority of the fighters flocked to Kai and Toshizo, taking them by surprise. Kai's professional reaction speed gave them the edge. The powerful lightning attack lit up the area immediately as it rushed forward towards his enemies, effectively forcing them to scatter. Not a single person could have expected the second attack to go astray. It happened so quickly and yet it seemed to happen in slow motion for Kai.
The lightning escaped his palms so quickly. Dead set on taking someone down, it left his hands full force. A single blind fighter was his target but the attack did not catch the visionless fighter off guard. He simply dove out of the way and the attack continued forward into the fog.
Kai could not have stopped it even if he wanted to. It was literally out of his hands at this point.
"Kori-san!" Toshizo's voice was filled with pure panic as he shouted for his teammate to turn and pleaded with everything he had for her to be unharmed, "Move!"
It was not that the Hyuga couldn't see the lightning coming her way. She had a good view of it and it terrified her to no end knowing that if she let up on the kunai that was keeping her opponent's blade from her throat that she would be cut down. Her opponent didn't care one bit about the lightning coming their way. His life seemed to be irrelevant to him. The blast hit both fighters hard enough to knock them off their feet. Rokuro and Koichi disappeared, the chakra source keeping them amongst the shinobi was no longer capable of feeding them.