Ch.13.: Red Field
The night covered the battlefield with its dark cloak. The Zetsu had been eradicated long ago and the Hyuga, with their Byakugan, had made sure there were no more around. Hinata had been sent to another point to cover the perimeter along with some other sensory ninja while she had been placed with the Inuzuka.
She had rested and with the help of the painkiller, the headache had disappeared. Ten minutes of rest was more than enough.
Her Byakugan was the one which covered the most distance, therefore she had been placed on a point of vital importance. Neji had been feeling a twinge behind her eyes for some time now but ignored it. She had been on guard for three hours now, resting her eyes for five minutes every twenty. Suddenly, her sight began to blur, and her knees felt very weak. Cold sweat bullets were rolling down her forehead and the edges of her vision had turned black. The Hyuga fell on the ground.
"Neji, you okay?!" Kiba asked while getting down from his watching post. The girl had managed to catch the fall with her arms in time. Through pants, she answered.
"Yeah…fine."
"Don't kill yourself pal, my nose is here to sniff out the enemy too. Your eyes don't have to do all the work."
'Dammit!'she had overstrained her eyes.
"Let me handle things for a while, you should get to the medic tents and get patched up." Kiba said as he took out a map from his back pocket. "The coordinates are behind the center point of all squads so it shouldn't take you too long to get there."
"I…I'm telling you I'm fine." She said standing up, her legs visibly wobbling.
Kiba only gave her a poker face.
"You know I'm not that stupid, right?"
"Yeah, I forgot you only look the part." She grumbled while leaning on a rock.
"Hey! I'm not-!" Kiba stopped midsentence before giving her a lopsided grin. "Ha! You thought I would fall for that one, didn't ya! I'm not letting it go, you're not fine."
"That's not true." Neji mumbled. Well, she had tried. Suddenly her legs gave out. She couldn't move any of her limbs. Great.
Kiba watched her with a snicker.
"Well, since you're so fine then stand up."
The Hyuga glared at him.
"Okay, so maybe I'm not in perfect condition but all I need is to rest a bit."
"Well, that is better than nothing." Hinata's teammate eyed her. "Akamaru! Come here." The big dog came trotting with its tongue out and stared at Kiba expectantly.
Kiba kneeled and grabbed her limp arm. "Come help me." Kiba called his dog.
"W-what are you doing, Inuzuka!" The girl exclaimed.
"Well, it's pretty obvious you've strained yourself too much and aren't able to move, and I'm pretty sure a patch of dirt isn't the place you would've chosen to rest."
"Y-you're wrong!" she stated, raising her chin. "It actually is very comfortable." Akamaru gave the closest thing a dog could give of a chuckle.
"Ha! See? Not even Akamaru believes you."
She resigned herself and allowed Kiba to drag her to a previously laid mat.
"Hmm…thanks." She mumbled once she had been laid down. "You too, Akamaru." The great dog barked in response.
"Sorry, I did not hear that." Kiba joked.
"Don't make me repeat it, Inuzuka." She warned him.
Kiba only laughed.
"Nah, but really you should go to at least get a checkup."
Neji only closed her eyes.
Kiba went over a stash of covers and pillows and grabbed a pillow. He carefully laid Neji's head on it and sat by her side.
"Ehem, Kiba. You can go now, thanks." The girl said after a few minutes of silence.
"Nope. You clearly aren't well and since you're adamant about going to get a checkup, you are unable to move so the enemy could easily sneak in and slit your throat. Besides Hinata and Shino can do an excellent job keeping guard, and even from here my nose works extraordinarily." The boy explained, pointing at his nose proudly.
"Thanks, Kiba." Neji muttered.
She tried to command her body to heal more quickly but 1) she was not Naruto; 2) she did not possess that ability; 3) she wasn't a medic-nin. The only thing that was left was for her body to take its time which, by the way, was taking extraordinarily long.
Her vision was like a big blur, but she did not wanted to admit it. Neji was truly regretting having overused her Kekkei Genkai.
"So, do you wanna-"
"No, Kiba. I don't want to go to the medic tents."
"Oh, okay."
As she laid down, she tried to make her chakra flow easily, opening each of her tenketsu…
"You know, I can let Akamaru carry you towards the medic tents…"
"Thanks, but no thanks, Kiba." Neji responded through gritted teeth.
The Hyuga closed her eyes again and began the meditation, hoping it would help with her chakra flow…
"Are you sure it's alright not to head to the medic tents?"
"You're getting on my nerves, Kiba! I told you I'm fine!"
"When you use your Byakugan too much you get pretty mouthy, huh!" Kiba chuckled. "When somebody works themselves too much in front of you, I call it showing off!"
Well, now he had gotten to her nerves.
"Shut up, Kiba!" she finally exploded, not noticing she had talked to Akamaru instead of the Inuzuka.
"The difference between dogs and humans isn't that weak!" Kiba exclaimed, offended. "And your eyesight is supposed to be your specialty!"
"It's not my fault you look like one." She grumbled defensively.
"What?! If you weren't a woman…"
"Hey, I can move my hand again." Neji interrupted him. It was true, her body was regaining movement again.
A few hours later she was again back on watch. It had taken her an hour to regain complete mobility of her body again, and another hour and a half to be able to activate her Byakugan again. Against Kiba, Hinata and surprisingly some of her clansmen's recommendations, she returned to guard duty.
By the morning, she, along with some others went to sleep while the others fought. It was a few hours after she woke up that the notice that Naruto had joined the ranks reached the Second Division.
Nighttime had fallen when all Hell broke loose.
Everything was black and red, like an everlasting nightmare. The clouds on the sky blocked the stars from shining, the floor was stained with red blood spilling everywhere. A lot of her clansmen scattered on the ground, their bodies tarnished with mud, dry blood, and cuts. Her eyes panicked at the sight, then went to the two figures standing atop the Juubi.
Those wicked Uchiha eyes.
"Neji, eyes on the battle!" Hiashi ordered behind her.
She nodded and breathed in. This was war. It wasn't just another mission. Her Byakugan eyes searched for Hinata on the battlefield. Until her chakra was spotted, Neji was able to breathe again.
Then it happened, the HQ Center had disappeared. With her Byakugan she saw it, and all that had been left was dust. And Naruto. He looked broken; his eyes filled with despair. He wasn't a jounin. He had not been sent to S-ranked missions where your only companion was Death.
"Shikamaru…" Choji started.
"No unnecessary comments now. We're in a battle. The same goes for Ino." Shikamaru's gaze was hard. "We're gonna do what my father said."
He was right.
"What does this mean…?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide and with an expression of pain painted on his face.
"That you are the key to the strategy." She answered sternly, landing by his side.
"No! I mean, what happened with Shikaku and Inocihi!" Naruto yelled; worry visible on his features.
She only stared at him, trying to convey what had happened with a mournful expression. Words had escaped her mouth.
Suddenly someone screamed behind them. One of the…tails? Hands? Of the tailed beast had entered the battlefield.
"Neji! Spin right!" her uncle yelled.
At once, both performed the Kaiten forcing the hand to retreat. The strain had started becoming too much.
She turned her head and saw Naruto staring at them in awe.
"Don't space out, Naruto!" Neji called him out of his trance. "We're in a battle and we are fighting!"
"Some people may die." Her uncle addressed the blond boy. Naruto looked ready to argue, but Hiashi spoke first. "But if we lose this fight, everyone will die."
It only took those simple words for the fighting spirit to return to the boy's eyes. "Of course…I know!"
"I'm sure that Shikamaru and Ino's fathers are happy that they passed away before their children." She stated. "Like my father." A brief wave of nostalgia washed over her.
Neji could feel Hiashi's gaze but ignored it. Her father. Why was she remembering him, after all that time? 'Could it be you calling me home, father?'
In the middle of the battlefield, screaming and blood all around her, she remembered her deceased father for the first time in a long time. He had always been in the back of her mind now she noticed. The wind was cold, the dust was dry, and her lips were chapped. Her hair was dirty and so was her skin. Her body had some wounds, the pounding on her head was strong and her limbs ached. Still, the tears threatened to fall because of her father after so many years. None of it mattered in the end. She was going to fight for the peace her dad had given his life for.
"For this strategy, we need your power!" Neji said, her voice firm. "In order to make it successful!"
Then her cousin was by her side.
"We will protect Naruto-kun to the end!" Hinata's voice rose above the rest.
"Hinata…!" Naruto exclaimed astonished.
'Only now are you beginning to notice it, Naruto?'
"Be careful!" Hiashi's commanding voice spoke. "The Hyugas are the strongest of the Leaf."
With her Byakugan activated she could see Naruto's expression. Only a few seconds had passed when the rain started. The rain of spears.
The ones that had been caught off guard were already laying on the floor dead, the rest were trying to look for a hiding place, but in the desert, there was nowhere to hide. Some spears were heading towards Naruto's direction, so she hurried and used her Kaiten, but it wasn't strong enough. Neji felt her headband slip from her forehead, hitting the ground. She had yet to completely recuperate from the overuse of her bloodline limit.'Damn. My Kaiten isn't fast enough'
"Thanks, Neji! I was able to enter hermit mode!" Naruto spoke behind her, already forming several Rasen-shuriken and throwing them towards the enemy.
'That'll give us some time to catch our breaths.'
She deflected some spears that were heading her way, but the girl was already running out of chakra. She rested her hands on her knees, trying to regain her breath and panting. Cold sweat fell down her forehead, the wind blowing her now free tresses. Neji wasn't sure why, but she suddenly raised her head, her Kekkei Genkai activated.
Naruto was on the floor, exhausted; Hiashi had deflected a tail; Hinata was in front of Naruto in an instant and then her eyes saw the wooden damned things.
It all moved in slow motion. Neji's body moved before her mind even ordered it, her muscles burned as she sped off surpassing her limits and then jumped. At first, it felt like a flying sensation and then, it was just as if time had stopped, and she was suspended in the air. The sudden memory of birds flying into the sunset came to her mind and she could almost feel like one of them. Then her eyes closed.