Naruto 1. 1

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. As someone pointed out previously in their disclaimer he belongs to Hinata smirk

Winds of Change

They were fighting. Both Jounins were going at each other with determination and murderous intent that they could only use against one another. There was no holding back. Every ninja knew that holding back in a fight meant death.

It had been far too long since they had an opportunity to fight the other this way. Both missed the feelings it brought out.

"Come on, Neji. You can do better then that," Tenten taunted her companion. "I thought you're supposed to be getting better as the time goes by and not worse! "She smirked. Usually her taunts were stoically ignored. This time was no different.

"Concentrate on the fight Tenten, or you won't be thinking about anything anymore," _you'll be unconscious_. Both of them knew what Neji meant.

It was fortunate for both of them that they agreed to use no skills other then tai-jitsu. After reaching ranks of Jounin both were confident in their techniques. Living through some of the missions they did forced them to learn some deeply unpleasant jitsus, being on receiving end of which was far from fun.

In these dangerous times it came as no surprise that every ninja of Konoha village had to do his or her best. It also was not surprising that their skills had to improve because of it. No matter that these two ninjas fighting against each other were only seventeen. Both of them were full fledged Jonin who earned their respect.

"It feels good fighting with you again!" _I missed you, Neji._ Team nine split up once they became strong enough to fight on their own. It grew to be very rare for the three of them to get together. Each moment they spend in each other's company had to be relished. That's why Tenten was enjoying every minute of this spar, even though Lee wasn't here with them.

"Fighting you is a challenge." _I missed you too, Tenten. _With Hyuuga Neji learning to read between the lines was a must and both of his old teammates were frighteningly good at it by now.

Tenten had two kunai in each hand while Neji was weaponless. Jumping high in the air the kunoichi threw one of her kunai at her opponent and followed it herself with a punch to his beautiful face. He blocked it, countering with a low strike to her abdomen that she avoided by jumping back.

Landing on a near by branch Tenten was getting ready to attack again. But before she could think of a good strategy Neji attacked firs and she was forced in to defense.

"Shit, you really did get better, didn't you?"

"You spend too much time with Naruto, " Neji's voice held no inflection, but amusement danced in his nearly-white eyes.

This went on for hours. Nether ninja was giving up or retreating. It would have been faster to just use something other then tai-jitsu to finish the fight, but they both agreed to hand to hand combat only.

Occupied by each other they didn't notice that wind was picking up nor did they notice the ominous clouds covering the sky. And when suddenly the scenery changed from familiar trees to strange forest both of them just continued fighting.

The clouds were gone but the fight wasn't slowing down. Drained and weary from fighting the entire day away but uncharacteristically happy the two Jounin flew at each other with renewed vigor.

Finally, tiredness was making itself know, at least in Tenten's case. She made a mistake of getting too close. Being better at long-range fighting she always preferred to fight from afar, summoning her weapons as needed, but this time was different.

Getting a hold of Neji's right hand, that was currently holding a kunai, the brown haired girl tried to perform a throw. His momentum was directed slightly forward and if she could successfully complete her technique the fight would be over. But her balance was a little off which with a weaker opponent wouldn't have mattered, but Neji was far too good.

Tenten ended up flat on her back with Neji on top of her. Adrenalin from the fight coursing through kunoichi's blood made her head swim giving Tenten some interesting thoughts about her current opponent. Or maybe it wasn't the adrenalin. Neji's nearness always affected her strangely. Even though they grew up from the kids they used to be her reactions didn't change. Got more intense – maybe, but did they change? No.

Neji's face was slowly coming closer to her own. Breath catching in her throat Tenten couldn't form a coherent thought much less understand what was happening.

"Oi, bastard! Let her up!" the perfect moment was interrupted by a loud and arrogant sounding voice yelling out the demand. Something close to annoyance fluttered on Neji's face, but it was gone before Tenten could be sure. "Did you hear me? Get the fuck off her?"

"This is not your fight, whoever you are." Neji's calm voice answered as he slowly got to his feet. Every ninja in Konoha knew not to interfere with another's fights, outside of missions. These people had to be strangers.

"Inuyasha, come one! We need to help the poor girl." A girl's voice insisted.

"Yeh, Inuyasha." Another voice could be heard. From her position on the ground, Tenten couldn't see the intruders very well and Neji's impassionate face was… well… impassionate.

Tenten quickly flipped back up to her feet standing beside her old teammate and trying to assess the situation. She saw five people and a cat. Two men - one with strange dog ears on top of his had and silver-white hair. The other male wore priest's robes and carried a staff. One boy-child with a tail and pointy ears was also part of this group. The little boy was cute, Tenten absently noted. The two females of the group looked just as strange as the males did. One of the girls carried a bow and wore almost indecently short skirt while the other held an oversized boomerang.

"Who…? " Tenten's question was interrupted when the monk spoke to her.

"Don't worry, fair maiden, you are safe now. We won't let anyone taint your delicate beauty." The monk of this strange group spoke.

Blushing, Tenten couldn't form the right words to explain the situation when annoyed… he sounded annoyed to Tenten... Neji spoke up. "This is none of your business so stay out of it."

"You arrogant bastard! Attacking…"

"It is not what you think," Tenten interrupted before this got any more ridiculous. They were trying to protect her, a Jounin, from her fellow teammate. This was actually beyond ridiculous. If she wasn't so flustered Tenten would have been laughing her ass off. "We were just…," but again she wasn't allowed to finish her sentence.

"That son of a bitch is going to pay. I'll kick his ass right now," and the man with silver hair started moving. He had no headband to show him as a ninja but he moved faster then a regular person would. Neji's stance didn't change.

"You are welcome to try," if Tenten didn't know her ninja partner as well as she did she would have been amazed at how calm he was. It was obvious to her that Neji was looking forward to this fight but she tried to stop it anyway.

"Wait! This is all just a big misunderstanding!"

"You're dead, asshole!" the silver haired man didn't slow down nor did he show that Tenten's words were heard.

"Inuyasha, sit!" immediately Inuyasha's face met the dirt. Explicit curses followed his landing.

"What did you do that for!" could be filtered out from the stream of profanity with some difficulty.

"Let's hear what the girl has to say first. Maybe we got it all wrong and then no one will have to fight." Turning to one of her companions, "What do you think, Sango?"

"From the looks of it, we might have made a mistake." The woman named Sango slowly put her boomerang behind her back shifting into a more relaxed stance. "She doesn't look like someone who needs to be saved."

"But dear Sango, we clearly saw him flipping her over his head and onto the ground" the monk spoke once again, "Then he…"

"We were just training! It was nothing, really." Tenten tried to explain hurriedly, "If I kept my balance right you'll be the one on the ground and not me," she spoke quietly to Neji. Inuyasha's ears twitched while Neji replied with something suspiciously close to "You wish."

Silver haired man slowly got up, half turning to his companions.

"But I really wanted to kick this guy's ass."

"Inuyasha," the warning was clear in the girl's voice after a moment's hesitation the man just huffed. It was clear that he just wanted to leave, but was not about to abandon his friends with strangers. So he stayed near the group, pouting.

The girl with the bow spoke once again.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your training, but we were just trying to help, "and before Tenten or Neji could summon forth a suitable reply she continued.

"My name is Kagome," with a friendly smile she pointed to the woman with the boomerang "this is my friend Sango and this," she gestured to the monk "is Miroku." Kirara and Shippo were introduced next. "And you already know Inuyasha"

"Keh"

"Who are you?" Sango spoke.

"We are… "Tenten started to speak when suddenly a realization dawned on her. She sharply turned to her companion. "Where are we?"

Neji shrugged.

"What is this place?" Tenten slowly looked around. This was definitely not Konoha forest anymore. And the strangeness of it all was not lost on the Jounin.

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha impatiently spoke, "Maybe you are just Naraku's allies send after the shards." The last was said in a near growl.

"Who is Naraku?" Tenten didn't wait for an answer, "I don't care. Just point us in the direction of Konoha and we'll be on out way. I'm starving."

"Ko-no-ha?" monk slowly repeated, "Never heard of it."

"Country of Fire?" after receiving almost identical blank looks Tenten groaned.

"It seems like we will have to catch our own dinner tonight." Neji, as composed as ever, didn't show any reaction to the events. But both ninjas were beyond confused, but only one of them was any good at hiding it.

"Where are we?" Tenten tried again hoping that this was all just a communication problem.

"You're trespassing in _my _forest!" Inuyasha snared.

"Your forest?" Neji raised an eyebrow,

The raven-haired girl with the bow, Kagome, replied before her friend could, "It's named after him. Inuyasha's Forest. So, I guess, theoretically it is his."

"No 'theoretically' about it," the boy in question grumbled, but was ignored by both parties.

"Inuyasha's Forest?" Tenten repeated before groaning in despair, "How the fuck did we get here? One minute we were training near our village and the next we are in _Inuyasha's forest._"

"Gen-jitsu of some kind? But no one can create an illusionary technique of this magnitude," Neji was trying hard to understand what happened, "It feels like we have been transported to a completely different world."

"B-but things like this happen only in the movies! This c-can't be true," kunoichi turned to face Neji fully, eyes wide. Hating the stammer in her voice Tenten forced herself to stay calm.

"M-movies," now it was Kagome's turn to stutter.

"It's a thing from your time you sometimes talk about, right Kagome?" little boy, Shippo, innocently asked.

"Could they be from the future?"

"No one went through the well," Inuyasha spoke, "I would have smelled it if someone did."

"They can't be from my time. There is no Konoha in my time. There is nothing called Country of Fire in my time ether,"

"I think we might have a slight problem…"

***

They were all comfortably seated in the village hut as it was mutually agreed upon relocation to a more comfortable environment.

Discussion continued well into the night on topic of time travel and other unbelievable things. It took better part of the evening to finish the telling of their individual stories. Monk and his cursed hand, demon exterminator and Kirara, a girl from the future with miko powers, half-demon with thirst for power, little orphaned demon adapted into the group and of course the jewel of four souls. All this and more has been thoroughly explained to the newcomers.

After that was out of the way the conversation shifted to Tenten and Neji. Trying to figure out the mystery of two ninjas occupied the rest of the evening. Even Inuyasha participated in the conversation after it has been proven that nether guest knew anything about Naraku.

"Feudal Japan, you say." Neji repeated, "Never heard of it."

"To-kio sounds strange to me too. I don't think I've ever heard of a village called that, "Tenten shook her head.

"If you were from the future you would have known about it"

"Maybe they are from a different future, child." Their host spoke up. She was a kind woman named Kaede. "But let us continue this discussion tomorrow. We still have much to talk about, but for now you can all stay in my hut."

"Why would someone from a different world be sent to us? What purpose can it serve?" monk asked.

"Who could have done it? Orichimaru?" Tenten said worriedly, "Maybe he was trying to get us away from the village?"

"He could, if he was alive, that is," Neji was just as confused as everyone in the hut, but only someone who knew him very well could see it. And Tenten knew him very well.

"There might not be a purpose at all," Inuyasha got up to walk out of the hut, "Some things are utterly pointless."

"Inuyasha may be right. But we won't find the answer tonight," the old woman spoke again, "Let us all discuss what has happened tomorrow. Nothing can be done about any of this today."

"Fine with me, I'm sleepy," Shippo was only too eager to end this lengthy conversation.

Everyone started getting up and getting ready to rest when the monk suddenly moved closer to Tenten. He took her hand in both of his while standing far too close to her for comfort. She allowed it, thinking that it might be a local custom and offending her new friends was not something kunoichi wanted to do.

"Will you do me the honor and give me the absolute pleasure of bearing my child?" the question was so unexpected that Tenten's breath caught in her throat. She could do nothing but stare at the monk that was now holding both her hands in his. Miroku was patiently awaiting her answer, but the weapon mistress was far too shocked to form coherent words.

"W-what!" Tenten was frozen in her spot, "What are you talking about?"

"I…" the monk took a step forward that brought him closer to already blushing Tenten. She was sure that her face was probably glowing from embarrassment by now.

"Shut up, monk" it was Sango who decided to speak up. Cutting the monk off, she dragged him away from the blushing kunoichi.

"But…"

"If you don't shut up I swear I will kill you myself!"

"We should listen to the old woman and just go to sleep," Neji spoke as if nothing has happened. Tenten was too out of it to notice the slight annoyance in his voice and no one else in the hut knew him well enough to be sure.

Not saying anything more the group split up and began preparing for sleep.

***

"Pervert!" the yell woke every one up immediately. A loud slap could be heard that followed the scream.

"But my dear Sango, you know about this curse. My hand moved of its own accord," monk with a red handprint on his face was trying to defend himself.

"Yeh, and completely on its own your hand found its way to my but and squeezed it?!" sarcasm unmistakable, eyes glowing with anger Sango was toying with the idea of killing the troublesome hoshi.

"I am glad you understand my situation," Miroku's innocent smile was not met gracefully by an angered Sango.

"You demented pervert! Stay away from me or I swear I'll… "

"Why won't you just kill him and be done with it?" suddenly a dispassionate voice asked.

"Who...? Oh," it actually took some time for the occupants of the hut to remember their two new additions.

"Kill me? My Lady Sango would never do a stupid thing like that. Loosing my company would cost her far too much," but after saying that the monk wisely moved out of the demon exterminator's reach.

"Don't push your luck, hoshi. I'm tempted, very temped."

"I can do the job for you even without my usual fee," Neji's smirk could be called nothing but evil.

"Neji!" Tenten was not happy with her friend's 'selfless' offer but he didn't even have the decency to look guilty. "Don't." There was clear warning in her voice.

"Or what?"

"We still didn't finish our fight from yesterday"

"If I remember correctly – you lost,"

"No, I didn't. The fight was interrupted."

"'Care for a rematch?"

"Wait. Wait. Wait," Kagome spoke up. "What did he mean by 'his usual fee'?" it occurred to the miko before that they knew almost nothing about these people. They didn't look threatening, regardless of how creepy Neji's eyes were. But now she was forced to reevaluate her opinion.

"We usually get paid for this kind of thing," Tenten answered not sure about what was confusing the younger girl. She was too used to everyone recognizing her as a ninja and everyone knew that assassinations were a normal part of ninja life. "It depends on the difficulty of the mission, though."

"And killing a weakling like him would not pay very much so loosing my payment for it will not be much of a loss," Neji spoke with his emotionless voice once again.

"Neji! Will you stop it already?" Tenten spoke, now clearly annoyed. But no one in the hut was paying attention to her.

"So, you two are hired killers?" Kagome clearly resented the possibility. She actually took a step back from the two.

Tenten's mouth fell open in shock. Kunoichi has never been called _that_ before, though thinking about it she had to admit that in some missions a ninja was forced to assume the role.

"No. We are Jounin of Hidden Village of the Leaf." Kunoichi said proudly.

"Ninjas," the Byakugan user simplified, noticing the blank stares aimed their way.

"Wow," was miko's response.

"Hmm…"

"Keh"

"What's a ninja?" Shippo's question wasn't something any of them expected. That's why no one answered it right away.

"What say you people if we go outside after breakfast to talk? It's a beautiful weather and we have a lot of things to discuss."

After the breakfast was finished and the group proceeded to vacate the hut to continue their conversation elsewhere everyone's mood improved.

Discussion on ninja life style and training took a lot less time then the conversation from the previous evening did. After Tenten explained the basics, she changed the topic of the talk.

"You went through a lot of troubles because of that jewel," both ninjas had time to analyze their new friend's stories and Tenten was the first one to give voice to her thoughts, "I'm sorry that you had to go through all that."

"We have each other, so it's not as bad as it sounds."

"Keh."

"We will help you in any way we can while we're here, right Neji?" Tenten didn't expect a response from her comrade, " and we won't even charge you anything for it," kunoichi winked and smiled to show that she was not serious.

"We don't need your help. Ninjas or no – we'll probably end up protecting your sorry asses." Inuyasha was not happy with the offer.

"Maybe. And maybe not, "before Neji could object Tenten continued, "we really don't know much about this world, but our techniques can be useful against demons. I am confident in our abilities."

"My Byakugan works, so the rest of the techniques will work also. And no – I am not going to show it to you."

"What an arrogant bastard…" Inuyasha said with feeling.

Neji didn't react. And Tenten chose to ignore the comment. She couldn't dispute a very well known fact after all…

"So, now what?"

"Lets go hunt more shads. And if these two get killed then it's their own fault."

"Inuyasha – be nice"

"Keh. I am!"

***

"It's a demon!" half-surprised and half-worried Tenten could not believe she was in the presence of an actual demon. The weapon master only heard stories about the Nine-Tail Fox and she was positive that the two demons looked nothing alike.

"No shit. What was your first clue?" Inuyasha smirked while extending his claws and getting ready for battle.

"Inuyasha, they're probably never seen a demon before"

"It's just a weak Bear demon, but I think maybe you two should keep away from this fight," Sango suggested looking pointedly at Neji and Tenten.

"Yes, a beauty like you shouldn't be subjected to such violence," if Miroku was close enough to touch the kunoichi he would have emphasized his words with an 'encouraging' grope. Luckily for the ninja, or for the monk's life expectancy, he was standing closer to Inuyasha then Tenten who was occupying a spot to the farthest right.

Rolling her eyes Tenten attacked, expecting Neji to do the same.

Konetz pervoy chasti


	2. 2

Chapter 2

* * *

_The dance of battle is always played to the same impatient rhythm. _

_What begins in a surge of violent motion is always reduced to the perfectly still. _

_Sun Tzu _

* * *

"You owe me a fight," Neji said looking utterly bored.

"Hey! It's not my fault that this demon was so frail," the kunoichi was not excited about the prospect of fighting a jaded Neji, "I did not mean to break him _this _quickly."

"I don't care," the Prodigy didn't even get a chance to land a single strike, "You still owe me," before Tenten could protest Neji continued, "And don't forget your last loss."

"I didn't lose! The fight was interrupted," _it wasn't just the fight that got interrupted, _but Tenten wasn't going to say anything about that. Before her fellow ninja could pursue the subject, she continued. "Killing that demon was too easy," Tenten sounded almost disappointed. "No challenge whatsoever. You should thank me for saving you the trouble." These people did mention that bear demons are weak, but she still imagined it to be a little more difficult then this.

Tenten was the first one to attack the demon while Neji and the rest of the Inuyasha group were right behind her. The Hyuuga did not even bother activating his blood limit, she noticed, after chancing a quick glance back. Summoning three kunai in each hand and throwing them towards the demon, ninja was getting excited about the fight. All doubts and reservations were immediately forgotten in the face of the oncoming fight. All six weapons hit their respective targets – two in the eyes, two in the neck and two more into the shoulder pressure points. Demon roared in pain while blindly trying to hit the offender. Tenten just jumped into the air dislodging a whirlwind of summoned weapons. Neji did not even need to interfere, it seemed, her weapons took care of the demon, and after several moments, the creature was laying motionless on the ground.

Concentrating on her chakra strings that connected her to the launched weapons with a power of her will Tenten forced them to move cutting the fallen body into pieces in the process.

Shard hunters were quietly observing the fight.

"Not bad. Beautiful _and _deadly," Miroku was slowly making his way towards the Weapon Mistress who was gazing suspiciously at the other ninja.

"Keh, they wouldn't last a minute against something stronger," the half-demon had to point out.

"Inuyasha, at least give these two a chance. They did take down this demon without even breaking a sweat… At least Tenten did. And I'm sure that Neji is pretty close to her level." Kagome was now holding on to Inuyasha's sleeve to make sure he listened, "They could really help us out. We need all the allies we can get especially in the fight against Naraku."

"I agree with Kagome," Sango was observing the body of the dead demon, or what was left of it. "Interesting technique, I have never seen anything like it."

"I don't care!" Inuyasha was not happy, "Fine, whatever! Get the shard, wench! If it has any…" he was about to say something else of a rather rude nature to his favorite miko when he was interrupted.

"Eeep!" Tenten, was not used to the feeling a hand on her rear end. Therefore, she reacted as any proud kunoichi would in such situation. She knocked the offending hand away and then immediately followed it with a spining kick to the person the appendage belonged to. She added extra spin to her attack to make sure it had enough power in it to be memorable and it was. The monk flew away with a speed of a small torpedo. His spectacular flight was interrupted by a near by tree and he landed painfully in the bush under it. At least it sounded like it was painful.

"What the fuck? You… you… pervert!" Tenten was more shocked then anything at that moment and before the angry kunoichi could come up with something more creative to call the Hoshi Sango decided to step in.

"You'll learn to watch out for his wandering hands." Then taking a closer look at her fallen comrade the demon exterminator frowned, "Did you have to hit him so hard? We have need of his skills."

"Hah! I'll say the pervert got what he deserved," Inuyasha was laughing his ass off while Kagome went over to check on her fallen friend, while shaking her head in disapproval.

"He so-o shouldn't have done that," muttering to herself Kagome inspected the wounded hoshi. Nothing was broken, but he was clearly unconscious and pretty badly bruised.

Tenten was still seething with anger. _That perverted idiot! _Anything could happen in training, kunoichi knew this better then anyone. When Lee touched her chest on an extremely rare occasion, she knew it was an accident and when Neji's hand sometimes came in contact with… well… she knew he didn't mean it and there was no reason to get mad about it. However, this contact was definitely deliberate and the Miroku got what he deserved in her opinion.

Then the Jounin stated to feel bad about her new friend. _Maybe hitting him like that was uncalled for. _Not like she could have stopped herself. The reaction was almost automatic. The only reason that he was able to come close enough to touch her at all was because she trusted her new friends not to attack her from behind. And they didn't… It wasn't really an attack…

"I'm sorry. I should have paid more attention to my surroundings then this wouldn't have happened." She humbly apologized.

"You should have," Neji was the one to answer. There was something in his voice that Tenten could not name but she heard the message behind his words clearly enough. _Incompetent._

"Why you…!"

"Control over your striking power is something they teach first years in the Academy," _You are fun to watch when you are angry –_ Neji was thinking to himself, but Tenten will never know this.

"I would like to see your control when someone grabs _your_ ass," _I might actually do that one day myself, purely on accident of course. _She smirked internally, her outrageous thought having a calming effect.

One perfectly shaped eyebrow was raised in amusement. Thanking all the gods that Byukagun could not read her mind Tenten chose to end this conversation there. Thinking too much about Neji's butt was bound to get her into trouble.

Making her way to Kagome who just finished inspecting Miroku for any injuries Tenten offered a helping hand. She also missed the expression on Neji's face that was very unusual for the Prodigy.

"He's ok. If you could just help me lift him up, we can get him to a standing position. I think he's waking up."

"Leave him there" Inuyasha was enjoying the monk's predicament far too much.

"If he doesn't wake up it will slow us down in our hunt for shards, Inuyasha," Sango pointed out and it immediately wiped the smirk off the hanyon's face.

"Oi, wench! Hurry up, and help him up already."

Exchanging an amused glance with each other both girls concentrated on the task. Kagome was struggling with the weight of her friend mumbling about diets and monks while Tenten simply swung his arm around her petit shoulder and stood up. Using a small amount of chakra, she made sure that Miroku was mostly on his feet. He was taller then her so it was a little awkward, but after a little struggle and with Kagome's help they were able to get the monk out of the bush. He was slowly regaining consciousness.

Hoshi's hand was deliciously close to the rear end of the brown haired ninja. Monk, in his still clouded brain, thought it was a perfect opportunity to… Before his hand could make contact, an iron grip on his arm stopped him from finishing the motion.

"Do not touch her," calm voice plainly stated, "Wasn't one knock out enough for you?" it took Miroku, who still wasn't completely in his right mind, several seconds to recognize Neji the ninja in the speaker.

"Why, I have no idea what you are talking about. I am a man of the cloth and…"

"Neji?" Tenten was a little surprised to see her friend standing next to her considering he was on the other side of the clearing the last time she saw him.

"Watch your back," with those words he let go of the monk who was sputtering in 'righteous' indignation and quietly walked away.

"I think 'watch your back side' would be a little more accurate in this situation," Sango said dryly.

"Oh," looking suspiciously at the man whose arm was still draped around her Tenten immediately moved away from him. He swayed, but remained upright. Kagome was keeping her distance from Miroku, taught by experience.

"Finally! Lets get going!"

***

"Gennin, Chunnin, Special Jounnin, ANBU and then in some special cases - Hokage. Below all these ranks are Academy students, although technically ANBU is not a rank," Tenten was explaining the system to her new friends for the lack of anything better to do. "Hokage is the strongest ninja of the village who is elected to oversee its well being, among other things. There can only be one Hokage at a time, though. To become Hokage, one must be truly an extraordinary ninja as well as a great person."

"What ranks are you guys?" Kagome asked.

"We are both Jounin," Tenten proudly replied.

"Wow, cool!" Shippo's excitement could be clearly herd in his voice, "You must be pretty strong by your village's standards, right?" Tenten just smiled in response. She could not help but look longingly at the bushy tail, her pride not allowing her do anything more then stare. _The little kitsune is so cute._

"I just passed my exam recently and Neji passed his test at the age of fourteen. He is the famous Hyuuga Prodigy and the strongest of his clan," Tenten continued. Neji did not say anything in response but the Weapon Mistress could clearly see that he was happy with her description.

"That meant he's even stronger then you are!" Shippo said cheerfully.

"_I_ haven't seen him fight yet," Inuyasha grudgingly put in.

"We'll get to fight soon enough, Inuyasha," Sango replied looking at the half dog demon accusingly.

"Not soon enough for me," and with these words Inuyasha stalked on ahead.

"There are many pleasant things we can do other then fighting," Miroku was walking closer and closer to Sango, but not quite in arms reach yet. The Demon Exterminator preferred to keep it that way.

"Whatever it is you are thinking about, hoshi – just forget it!" keeping a hand on her boomerang, just in case, Sango eyed the perverted monk suspiciously.

"Why, my dear Sango. What could you be thinking about?" his innocent expression was not fooling anyone, "I just meant that we could just enjoy our walk without any disturbances a fight will cause. But I'm sure your idea was much more interesting," Miroku's expression became as innocent looking as humanly possible while Sango blushed lightly.

Grumbling quietly to herself, the Demon Exterminator stalked ahead almost catching up to Inuyasha pointedly ignoring the monk.

Tenten, Kagome, and Shippo were strolling side by side while Neji was walking slightly behind the trio.

"So, are you and Neji together?" Kagome openly asked the brown haired ninja who tripped over an invisible rock upon hearing the question.

"What gave you that idea?" quickly regaining her balance Tenten questioned while trying to keep her voice impassive.

"Oh, just the impression I got," Kagome was looking straight ahead as if trying to see something.

"No! We are not," Tenten replied quickly while blushing lightly. Chancing a quick glance back showed that Neji was hanging on every word wile not looking directly at them.

"I see," Kagome continued, "It's really none of my business, but I just thought… you know… looking at Neji when he…"

"You are right," Neji interrupted, "It is none of your business," his voice left no room for argument and he was suddenly walking right next to them.

"Hey! There is nothing wrong with asking!" Kagome was not happy and the anger that could be herd in her voice was there to prove it.

"You asked – I answered," Neji's tone of voice did not change.

"You don't have to be such a jerk about it!" _He reminds me of… Sesshoumaru. No wonder Inuyasha hates him so much, _Kagome was trying to calm down, _what is he going to do? Try to kill me?_ Miko could not rule out the possibility and therefore doubled her efforts to get her rising anger under control.

"Don't mind Neji. He's just grumpy because he's missing his mission," Tenten said cheerfully, "It's nothing personal."

"How can you be so carefree?" disgruntled Hyuuga asked, though no one but Tenten could see it, "I know you are missing _your _mission too"

"I'm actually happy to get away for a while," _and spend some time with you,_ "I'm trying to think of this as a vacation."

"It's strange that anyone would think of shard hunting as 'vacation'" Kagome was a little surprised by the turn of this conversation. _How did we get to this from my 'are you together' question?_

"Vacation? I didn't know you ever had one of those"

"I didn't, so it's a nice change," Tenten smiled warmly at her long time friend, "And I know for a fact that you need a break. You never rest." Neji opened his mouth to argue, "Hospital time doesn't count," and then promptly closed it.

"Just don't let your guard down. This place could be dangerous," Neji said grudgingly.

"No 'could be' about it, " Kagome tried to make sure there were no misunderstandings, "we have some powerful enemies, other then Naraku."

"And Inuyasha is not the nicest person to be around," Shippo mentioned, rubbing his head dejectedly, "Especially if Kagome is not around."

"Inuyasha and Kagome are a couple?" it was more a statement then a question as was obvious by Neji's tone of voice.

"They could be if Inuyasha wasn't suck a blockhead," the little fox answered ignoring Kagome who was doing a great imitation of a tomato.

Shaking her head and plastering her hands over Shippo's mouth to stop anything else he might say Kagome proceeded to deny everything but the damage has been done.

Neji was smirking almost evilly while Tenten just smiled at the embarrassed school-girl. There would have been more through discussion on the subject, but Inuyasha's yell from the front of the group interrupted anything anyone might have said.

_What the…?_


	3. 3

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. But if you want to sue me anyway - go ahead. My government lawyer will take care of it.

Chapter 3

"That was… amazing. I have never seen anything like it!" Miroku was saying while the group kept walking through the woods.

"Amazing is not quite the word for it, hoshi," Sango was just as impressed as the monk.

"Now all we have to do is figure out how something like this could be possible," Kagome spoke. Alerted by Inuyasha the group witnessed something none of them had explanation for. Through Inuyasha forest Hokage monuments were visible. Only the two ninjas knew what those faces carved in stone meant but seeing a part of their world through the trees of Feudal Japan was a unique experience.

"It looked like a mirage and as soon as Neji came close to it the whole thing disappeared!" Kagome continued.

"What the fuck is going on here!" Inuyasha was just plain confused.

"It was just like a… it looked a lot like an illusion technique. But it was an actual place," Tenten was just as confused as everyone. "I guess whatever or whoever brought us here is still in the area."

"Maybe if we spread out and look we can find a clue,"

"No, whatever it was its long gone. I can't smell anything unusual." the dog-demon was unusually thoughtful. "Damn, I wish this asshole could go back to wherever he came from!"

"Inuyasha!"

"What? Don't tell me you want them to stay?"

"It would be nice if they could go back to their world, but until they do I am grateful for the help they can provide," miko was not happy with the attitude her best friend was displaying, "And you can try to be nicer to Neji."

"What the fuck are you talking about, wench? I didn't kill him yet. He should be fucking grateful for that."

"Inuyasha…"

"If you want to fight me… " Neji's eyes flashed dangerously. It was clear that he didn't like the dog-demon ether.

"If you want your ass kicked… !"

"Inuyasha, Sit!"

"Grrr… what was that for, wench?" eating dirt was not one of Inuyasha's goals.

"Stop trying to start a fight and don't call me wench!"

"The bastard started it!" Neji's smirk was a clear indication of what the ninja though about that comment.

"I hate to interrupt this exchange but this serves no purpose. I suggest we get moving, "

"I agree with the hoshi, for once. Lets just go." Sango couldn't keep amusement out of her voice. It was very entertaining to watch Inuyasha hit the dirt, after all.

"Keh"

"I heard rumors of increased demon activity north of here. Lets had in that direction." Miroku continued.

"Oh yeh? No shit monk. That's where we were going in the first place, remember." shaking the dirt off his fire-rat armor hanyon glared a Miroku.

"I do remember but I just wanted to make sure you did too." walking ahead monk made sure to stay out of the dog-demon's reach.

"Why you…"

"I like these people. If we have to stay here longer then expected then at least it won't be boring," Tenten quietly spoke while following the Monk.

"If you say so…"

***

Camping out in the forest after a very uneventful walk the group was in a significantly less cheerful mood then before. Even eating a filling dinner that Inuyasha caught didn't help.

"There wasn't a single fucking demon. What the fuck?" Inuyasha's complaining was nothing unusual for the group, "I really wanted to kill something," looking pointedly at Neji and not receiving a response the dog-demon huffed and walked off to sit by a tree while keeping a watchful eye on Kagome.

"Is he always this…"

"Stupid?"

"Annoying?"

"Cranky?"

"Emm… something like that?" Tenten was still observing the dog-demon.

"Well, yes," Kagome replied, "but it's all an act. He is actually a great person and a…" stopping herself before saying anything she might regret later miko blushed lightly. "How about a bath? There is a hot spring near by."

"Count me in!" Tenten always hated being dirty.

"I'll come too," Sango was not about to leave her friend alone with the ninja. She still didn't trust the new guests completely. "And if I see you peeking, monk, I swear you won't have to worry about your curse - I'll kill you myself."

"My dear Sango, how can you even suggest that a holy man like me do something as lowly as…"

"You heard me," demon exterminator was too familiar with Miroku's perverted ways to be fooled by his innocent act.

It took no time at all to get to the hot spring. The stream itself was shallow and full of rocks, but there was a deep part of it secluded by the giant boulders. Water felt relaxing and calming. Settling comfortably in the water the girls were content to just sit there and talk.

"So, are you sure there is nothing between you and Inuyasha?" Tenten couldn't help but ask, "I mean he watches you like a hawk all the time and wont let the perverted monk anywhere near you."

"We are just friends," Kagome answered blushing, "There is nothing other then friendship between us."

"But that could change. Just tell him how you feel,"

"H-how I feel?" deep red Kagome couldn't help herself, "Is it that obvious?"

"Just a guess," Tenten smiled, "you should tell him."

"It's complicated," Kagome's face got even darker with her blush.

"Wow, some interesting thoughts must be going through your head if you can blush like that, " now Tenten had to actually force herself not to laugh.

"That sounds like something Miroku would say," Sango, who stayed quiet during the beginning of the conversation, said with aversion. "That pervert…"

"Yeh, I guess I have been hanging around Naruto too much…" Tenten spoke half to herself.

"Naruto?" Sango asked, "Is he like Miroku?"

"Kind of. But from what I have seen - no one can be as perverted as that monk." Tenten laughed.

"That's true."

"So, are you sure you and Neji are not together, " Kagome, who finally regained her normal skin color, asked. Payback is a bitch. Now it was Tenten's turn to blush.

"There is nothing between us. We used to be teem-mates and now we spar on occasions. That's it!" and before anything more could be said on the subject Tenten made a quick retreat. "I soaked long enough. I think I'll get back to camp now. I'll see you guys there." Two girls left in the water just exchanged knowing smiles.

***

Hopping from tree to tree Tenten enjoyed the feel of wind in her face. It was definitely faster then walking. No wonder they were not getting anywhere with their search - walking everywhere took too much time, Tenten mused. With a boost of chakra Tenten landed a little ways past camp. Some alone time was a welcome change. Ninja enjoyed her new friend's company but she couldn't see herself spending all of her time with them. No wonder they fought so much, it had to be frustrating to be with each other all the time, she though.

But then, thinking back on herself , Neji and Lee she remembered the fun times they used to have going out on missions. She never got tired of her teem-mates. Well, maybe Lee… Never Neji. And before her thoughts could go in a totally different direction Tenten forced herself to stop. This is not what should be going through her head right now. Leaning against a near by tree Tenten signed. Thinking about Neji was just distracting. And the thing that could have happened between them had their spar continued brought Tenten thoughts right back to what she tried to avoid. Thinking about Neji.

"How about another spar?" she should really pay more attention to her surroundings, Tenten thought, annoyed. Here was Neji, and she didn't even notice his presence until he spoke. Just because she trusted him with her life did not mean that she shouldn't be alert to his sneaky self.

"Are you sure you are up to it?" Tenten smirked. Getting a rise out of him was one of her lifetime goals that she have not reached yet.

"You still owe me for your last loss, if I remember correctly," his answering smirk was not what Tenten was going for.

"The fight was interrupted! I could have won that, you know," arrogance must run in Hyuuga family and Neji got an unhealthy dose of it.

"Then we can begin exactly where we left of," the smirk on his beautiful face turned dangerous while his eyes burned with something Tenten couldn't place. With a light blush Tenten quickly moved away from the tree she was leaning against and got into defensive stance.

"I'm ready when you are"

TBC


	4. 4

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. He belongs to Hinata.

Chapter4

"What is it, Inuyasha?" dog demon startled Kagome by suddenly getting up and staring intently in the opposite direction from where he was look at before, "did you hear something?"

"Do you feel anything?" Hanyon asked without answering her question.

"No, not r..., "but as soon as she thought about it her senses told her different, "I do feel something, some kind of power. It's really close and it's growing!"

"Is it a demon?" Sango already had her boomerang at the ready, just in case.

"No, it's something different," Miroku said, getting to his feet from where he was comfortably seated by their campfire, "I have never felt anything like it before."

"Neji and Tenten are still out there," concern obvious in her voice Kagome tried hard not to show it, "let's go! They might need our help!"

Their spar started as usual. Tenten attacked. Neji defended. They both agreed to Tai-jitsu only and nether broke the promise.

Fighting against Neji's Gentle Fist was a challenge, but Tenten knew his style better then anyone. He did not even activate his Blood Limit, but from the years of training, he didn't have to. The basic movements and strikes of his style were still just as devastating if used correctly and Neji was a master.

Tenten grinned and attacked once again. Well-aimed kick, skillfully deflected, and she was out of reach again. The trick was to stay out of Byoukugan user's reach. If she didn't - there was a serious risk of her losing control of her limbs eventually. You didn't have to see charka to know what points will paralyze movement.

And that is how it went. Back and forth. Lightning fast attacks. Perfect defense. Getting tired of this game and Neji's obnoxious smirks Tenten faked a strike to his right flank. As he was about to block it, she changed direction of her movement and swept at his feet instead. Neji gracefully avoided both attacks.

"If that is how you fight on your missions it is a wonder you survived this long," his smirk was still firmly in place and Tenten was getting irritated. This spar was getting her nowhere. She was at disadvantage from the beginning. He managed to disrupt her equilibrium without even trying.

"My fighting skills will be more than enough to beat you." _May_ _be if she got him angry…_

Throwing several punches at Tenten's vital organs Neji side-stepped another kick. His next strike landed on nothing but air as Tenten easily danced away.

"Running away will not save you," Neji started to say, but Tenten only heard those first words. She froze. An unwanted memory fought its way to the surface and she lost touch with reality.

"_Running away will not save you-you will die, just as he did_"

Pictures, as clear as reality, running through her mind, Tenten with a burst of charka leaped into the trees still not taking her eyes of Neji but not really seeing him. Nightmares were becoming reality in her mind, threatening to drive her insane, but the Weapon Mistress was a fighter. She would not let anyone break her!

"I will kill you," her face became an unreadable mask Tenten focused her charka and attacked again. Neji, sensing a change said nothing. Quietly shifting his stance, he concentrated on his energy himself. He did not live to be a Jonin by being careless.

High in the air, Tenten was unfastening her scrolls. Summoning her weapons forward she sends them with deadly accuracy hurling towards the target. As he activated his Byoukugan Neji could clearly see the wild swirls of charka his ex-teammate brought forth with her summons. She was wasting too much energy but he had no time to finish his thought as he was forced to use Kaiten. No sooner the whirlwind of charka died down Tenten was on the ground a sword in each hand.

"You are going to die!" her vacant eyes showed no emotion and her demeanor spoke of nothing but determination.

It did not take long for the group to find the source of the strange power. It was almost within shouting distance from their camp, Kagome noted.

"Why are they fighting?" Sango, who still held her boomerang protectively not sure, if she will have to use it, could not take her eyes of the sight. Tenten and Neji were fighting. Their movements were blurred with speed. Some of them, she was ashamed to admit, she could not see at all - they were just too fast.

"Who cares?" Inuyasha was ready for a fight himself, "Where is this power you felt coming from? Is it another shard?"

"No, I can't feel any shards," Kagome was certain of it. If Shikon Jewel had anything to do with it, she would have known right away.

"This power…"Miroku was just as mesmerized as Sango, "…it's….them."

"What do you mean _it's them_?"

"It's coming from them." and as if to prove Miroku's words Neji executed his Kaiten technique once again to deflect a couple dozen kunai Tenten send his way. Sword in hand she was constantly in motion. One second she would be in the air and in the next moment, her deadly swords will be slashing at her sparring partner. With every attack, her determination would double, but Neji was not standing still himself. He was slowly working on closing her charka points. If this fight continued, there was no doubt who would win…or was there?

Summoned fire technique forced him to take to the trees himself to avoid being burned to ashes as the grass where he was standing just moments ago was. Tenten, hot on his heals followed, not even bothering to summon more weapons. The tree took some damage as her sword cut deeply into it. She was too slow in pulling back. The sword flew out of her numb hand as Neji's strike solidly connected.

She grunted in pain but continued attacking. Several kunai later and a wild slash at his head which Neji successfully avoided kunoichi was still showing no signs of slowing down. Inuyasha group was shocked speechless.

"It looks like she is really trying to kill him," Miroku observed, and as if to prove his words, Tenten landed one of her own kicks, charka charged. It knocked Neji out of the tree tops they were fighting in and before he could redirect his momentum the ground came up to meet him. Sliding for several feet he quietly landed by Kagome's feet.

With a squeak, Kagome took several steps back.

"She's kicking his ass!" Inuyasha did not know if he should be happy or just amazed.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that Inuyasha," and before anyone could argue Miroku continued, "but the fight has gone on long enough. I suggest we stop it now and get back to the camp before some unwanted attention is attracted."

Tenten was already on the ground, coming after Neji with a sword in one hand. Her other arm, hanging limp, was empty of weapons.

"Hey, Tenten, that's enough. Let's go." Inuyasha called out. Neji, regaining his balance, Byoukugan at the ready only observed the kunoichi without comment.

Tenten still caught up in her memory, ignored him. All her attention was still centered on Neji.

"Didn't you hear me, bitch?" if Neji was annoyed by the way Inuyasha spoke to Tenten, he did not show it, too busy defending her newest charka charged attack. "Let's go. You can finish your fight later."

"There is something wrong," Kagome, observed, "I think they are really fighting."

"We have to do something. We can't just let them kill each other."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Do not interfere," Neji said, seriously, in between blocks.

"Damn, he sounds just like Sesshoumaru."

As Tenten delivered her next attack Neji managed to catch the blade of hers word in between his charka charged palms. With another charka burst and a bright flash of power the blade broke. Using the created distraction to his advantage Neji successfully landed a strike that send Tenten flying into a near by tree.

It took her several moments to recover while Neji did not move other then adjust his Gentle Fist stance for better balance.

"Neji?" Tenten spoke for the first time since her initial death threat, "I…" slowly getting to her feet shakily taking several steps in his direction, "I thought you were someone else. I'm…sorry."

***

Everyone walked quietly to camp. Even Miroku felt the gravity of the mood and kept his hands to himself. The walk was not long. Not a single word was spoken.

Tenten avoided looking at everybody and upon reaching their settlement for the night she, in a very Inuyasha way, walked off to the nearest tree and with a burst of chakra was comfortably seated in it.

Neji followed his old teem-mate with his unreadable eyes still not saying anything. By all accounts she should still be in pain. In their fight he was forced to slowly close some of her chakra points and it was a wonder that the kunoichi could move at all right now.

Kagome and Sango just exchanged glances and chose to just sit by the fire… away from Miroku who was also quiet for a change.

"Ok, since nobody else what's to do it, I'll ask – What in the fuck has just happened?" all his bottled up frustration and confusion over the unusual encounter turned into a loud shout that almost made his own ears ring. "I want some fucking answers!" dog-demon was ready to fight.

"It's none of your concern," was Neji's dispassionate reply. He never took his eyes off Tenten.

"Why, you…"

Before Inuyasha could explode Miroku spoke in the most persuasive voice he possessed, "If you tell us what happened, we may be able to help," seeing no obvious reactions monk continues, "there are also several things we would like to know. I believe, the more information we have about you the more likely we would be to give you some help."

"We can take care of ourselves. Do not concern yourself with our welfare," apparently, Miroku has struck a nerve because Neji's voice, while not changing in its volume, did get several degrees cooler."

"But you do need our help," Kagome ignored the hostility radiating from the ninja and just smiled, "you don't know this place – we do! Our help could be the key to the solution of your problem.," before anybody could argue she continued, "Plus, we kind of like you guys and not landing a helping hand is _not_ what friends are all about."

"Like them? You must be crazy, woman!"

"Inuyasha, you must admit that Tenten is nice and Neji is… " trying to find the right words to describe the ninja Kagome turned her eyes on Neji, "he's… emmm… cute?"

Savage growl was Kagome's answer, while Sango just smiled. Neji, for the fist time since the entire exchange started, chose to take his eyes of Tenten. After looking at each of them in turn Neji took a couple of steps back and turned around, as if trying to shield himself from the strange people.

"Don't fucking turn your back on me, you bastard!" Inuyasha, ready to charge was stopped by Kagome.

"Come on, Inuyasha, don't be like that."

"Do not tell me what to do, wench!"

"How many times… oh, for the love of… SIT!" frustrated Kagome was not the one to be messed with.

"Bitch, you…" as the half-demon once again became one with the dirt he could not keep in the string of violent curses.

"What was that?"

"Feh!"

"Ask your questions" the quiet command came quite unexpectedly, "I will tell you what I can."

"Would you eat shit and die?"

"Inuyasha! SIT!"

"It was worth a try," muffled words from the newly created hole in the ground were barley distinguishable.

"When you and your friend were fighting, you used magic. You never told us you knew anything about magic. You just said that both of you are ninja."

"We are ninja and that was not magic," Neji responded, "It's called chakra. Every person, has it. Ninjas learn how to control and manipulate it from the very beginning of our lives."

"Oh, but it felt… I don't know how to describe it," Kagome searching for the right words had a thoughtful look on her face.

"What you call magic feels different to us too. It's not what we are used to seeing," before Kagome could complete her though Neji cut in.

"Well, they are from different worlds, that will probably have to be enough of an explanation," Sango was not surprised.

"Why the fuck were you tying to kill each-other back there?" Inuyasha, now recovered from the spell, wanted an answer to his own question.

"It was just a spar," tightening of his features was the only indication that Neji did not like the question.

"No, it fucking was not! I have been fighting all my life and I know the difference, so…"

"Inuyasha…" Kagome's warning was clearly ignored.

"What the fuck is your problem? You two looked pretty fucking close so why the fuck would you…?"

"It. Was. Just. A. Spar." Neji spoke slowly, pronouncing each word clearly as if willing everyone to believe him.

"I don't…,"Inuyasha's growl could be heard through his words by everyone present. All Neji did was shift his stance a little as if getting ready for a fight.

"It really was just a spar – nothing out of the ordinary," Tenten's cheerful voice interrupted the confrontation in the makings. Smiling in confirmation of her words she moved to stand next to her ex-teammate.

"I'm still not buying it"

"Inuyasha, drop it." Kagome tried to reason with her friend, "They obviously don't want to talk about it,"

"Anything else you want to know?" Neji asked clearly wanting to end the entire conversation.

"Well…" before Miroku could finish his sentence he was interrupted by Tenten who was acting overly cheerful.

"Great! I'm kind of hungry," turning to the other ninja she continues just as cheerfully, "you still have help me out. I kind of have no control over one of my arms." She was smiling while she said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Let's go sit by the fire and you can fix my chakra flow."

Neji quietly followed her lead sitting down, facing the kunoichi. His face was as unreadable as ever and even Tenten could not guess what he was thinking. Activating his blood limit he quickly went to work.

"Yes! That's another thing. What the fuck is wrong with your eyes?" Inuyasha could not hold in the question while the rest of the group watched.

Both ninjas ignored the question with Neji expertly finding the correct chakra points while Tenten struggled to keep her fake smile in place.

"Come on, Inuyasha. I think they need a moment," Miroku said.

"But…"

"Let's go."

"Feh"

It seemed like the two ninjas didn't even notice the exchange. They continued on in silence until Neji finally chose to break it.

"Tenten," Neji didn't even ask. All he had to do was say her name the way he did and Tenten's act was impossible to hold on to anymore. She couldn't hide the emotions that showed through.

"About a year ago, while I was still a chunnin, one of our missions went wrong," she didn't say anything else and Neji didn't ask. "I sometimes still… " she couldn't look him in the eye.

"Emotions are a weakness," _What happened to you_…

"I'm sorry," if it was not physically impossible kunoichi would have shrunk in size. It was such an un-Tenten like behavior that Neji almost winced.

"Some emotions can also give you strength as you learn to control them better," giving his old teammate a smile Neji continued, "and I believe that is the second time you lost a spar."

Tenten answered with her own little, but true, smile, "The first spar was interrupted!"

"I will take my payment now," and before Tenten could form a reply Neji quickly leaned forward capturing her lips with his own.

To be Continued…


	5. 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Sorry for the really-really long wait. Thank you all very much for not giving up on me and for all your wonderful reviews.

Hopefully, I will be able to update my stories more often now.

And sorry for the really short chapter, but I'll try to update again in a few days :)

Chapter 5

Kainashi could not figure out what to do. He created a serious mess and was unable to even imagine a working solution. He could always move to a different continent, Kainashi mused. But no, that wasn't an option, with his luck, the mess he created would just follow him no matter where he went.

It was not suppose to be this way. From what his research showed, the spell he attempted was relatively simple. Not as simple as calling rain or setting a forest on fire, but definitely not as hard as creating an undead army. _So what went wrong? _Kainashi asked himself over and over but there was no simple answer to his dilemma. _What do I do now?_

***

"So, the time we gave you to work through your problem was not wasted on talking, I see," Miroku's amused comment did what it was intended to do. Tenten immediately jumped away from Neji, looking somewhat dazed while blushing furiously.

She used all her considerable will power to put the kiss out of her mind and to squash her embarrassment. It was one of the hardest things she had ever done.

When Neji's lips came in contact with her own, she was lost to a flood of sensations. Neji quickly deepened the kiss and her mind went blank. His tongue urgently explored her mouth and Tenten responded with a savage need of her own. Wrapping her arms around Neji's neck Tenten brought herself as close to him as possible without breaking the kiss. She could feel the heat all the way down to her toes. The kiss seemed to go on forever and they did not even consider stopping until Miroku's voice brought them out of their haze.

Taking a deep, cleansing breath kunoichi tried to regain her composure. Quick look at Neji showed that he was as composed as ever and Tenten was suddenly afraid that the kiss affected only her. _Why did he do it?_ It was not like him at all to do something like that and now they had their new friends to explain this to. _ Well, we are not children_, Tenten thought, _we can deal with this like adults_.

"Tenten and Neji kissing in a tree!" little kitsune child yelled at the top of his lungs, "K-…." Was all he could get out before he was hit on the head by an irritated Neji. The glare he sent to the rest of the group was just menacing enough to keep most everyone quiet. Shippo, wailing loudly, ran to Kagome as was his habit.

Neji gave them both an inquiring look, as if daring them to say something. "Can't you put a subduing spell on him too? Please, Kagome?" seeing Shippo's pathetic look Kagome could not keep herself from laughing.

The rest of the evening was spent in a relaxed atmosphere.

Morning came quickly and soon the group resumed their trip. Other then amused glances, which Tenten worked hard to ignore, nobody said anything about the previous evening. They walked in silence, which allowed her to get her thoughts in order and come to terms with some things. The more Tenten though about the previous evening the more several things demanded her attention.

"Neji, I need to talk to you," finally, she was ready to face the facts and Neji definitely needed to know the conclusion she reached.

"About what?" if Tenten did not know any better, she would have said that he looked apprehensive.

"Oh, fuck no! You are not getting anymore fucking 'rest'!" Inuyasha yelled from the front of the group. Even though the two ninjas were walking in the back he heard them clearly enough to respond in his usual manner, "We have wasted enough time on you two. There are shards to find, demons to kill and Naraku to destroy. You can mate on your own fucking time!"

"Inuyasha! That's not what they were…" Kagome tried to reason with the hanyon.

"Could have fooled me!"

"I just want to talk to Neji," Tenten tried to explain through her embarrassment.

"Yeh? So fucking talk, but we are not stopping until it's time to make camp again." Inuyasha yelled.

Tenten fought the urge to laugh. Half dog-demon was complaining about the two ninjas slowing him down while he was the one just walking. No matter how brisk a pace he set Tenten was confident that his mode of travel was still slower then what her and Neji was used to.

"What do you want to talk about" Neji asked, while ignoring everyone except Tenten herself.

"I need to talk to you about what happened yesterday," the slight narrowing of his eyes showed that he was not happy with the chosen topic. It probably made him even less happy that Inuyasha could hear every word.

"Nothing happened that is important enough to talk about. It was just a lapse in judgment that will not happen again," Neji's tone left not room for argument but Tenten was not going to leave it alone.

"That was not what I needed to tell you, but I appreciate the clarification," kunoichi fought hard to keep her anger under control. She was right, it did not mean anything to him. He was not affected at all and now he was trying to explain his nonexistent feelings. She really did not want to hear it, especially since it was _not_ what she was trying to talk to him about. _Neji is just emotionally crippled_, Tenten told herself, _He can't help the way he is. Don't kill him._ After a deep breath, she was able to let go of a kunai that jumped into her hand of its own accord in reaction to her anger, and proceed with her explanation.

"When we were sparring I lost control of my emotions, " It was a difficult thing to admit to anyone, especially to Neji, but it had to be done, "It… it was a… memory of when I was a chunin… and… Well, what I'm trying to say is that after I we came back from that failure of a mission we underwent treatment for both our physical and mental states."

"Treatment?" Neji sounded semi-curious and Tenten was forced to elaborate.

"Yes, treatment. Hypnosis, couch time, picture associations and all other psychological bullshit that's supposed to help fix your fucked up mind," she was quickly loosing patience with this conversation again, "Do you really think that the Hokage would sent a ninja on a mission while they were in danger of doing something fucked up, like I did yesterday?"

All Neji did was give her a curious look, while waiting for he to continue.

"I'm trying to tell you that… they fixed me," It was not getting easier to talk about this but she had no choice, "I would get an occasional nightmare and that's it. Period. Even my nightmares about this thing were getting really rare."

"What are you trying to say?" Neji's voice was controlled, his expression unreadable.

She did not respond to his question for a long time. He was about to ask her again when she broke the silence between them. Even Neji's perfect control over his emotions could not keep his surprise and worry from showing at her next words.

"There is something wrong with me…."


	6. 6

Disclaimer: nether Naruto nor Inuyasha belong to me and unfortunately they never will.

A/N: I'm very sorry that I took such a long time in updating. A lot of changes happened in my life including things like us moving, my new son being a cute little pain in the butt, my husband getting deployed to Afganistan (how dare he go without me, right!). I know, all this crap has absolutely nothing to do with my writing but my computer crashed and I had to get a new one and then try and recover my stuff off the old hard drive.

Well, anyway, here is the new chapter. I'm not very happy with it but it is necessary for the rest of the story for things to go this way. I really tried my best. What I really need is a beta reader.... I will be grateful for any help offered.

A/A/N: Thank you all very much for not giving up on me and for all the wonderful reviews. Whenever I start procrastinating too much someone always reviews and gets me right back on track... even though my "track" is pretty crooked.

Chapter 6

_After debating long and hard with himself his course of action he finally decided to just go ahead with the original plan. How bad could it get? He already made enough mistakes and it was about time for things to start going his way._

_Centering himself, clearing his mind of everything except the thoughts he needed he concentrated on the motions needed for his spell. It was a lot easier to complete now, especially since the main part of his incantation was already finished, however flawed it may be. _

_This time everything went the way it was supposed to and with the power coursing through his veins Kainashi knew with absolute certainty that she will come._

_He succeeded._

_***_

The group was once again seated around the campfire. Even though it was not very late in the day the camp fire made it just warm enough to be comfortable while the gentle breeze carried forest smells and combined them with the aroma of a cooking rabbit. Regardless of the atmosphere, the only content individual in the group was Shippo. Everyone else was ether too busy arguing, glaring, groping or trying to keep peace.

"I know you were talking about a problem, I heard you. Don't even try to lie!" Inuyasha was very vocal in his outrage.

"While we are traveling together it would be wise for all of us to share our troubles," disapproving frown on Monk's face showed exactly what he though about the current argument.

"This really has nothing to do with the group or the shards," Tenten tried to sound as convincing as she could, "this is more my personal problem then anyone else's. I just didn't think I needed to involve anyone…"  
"Well, you told that asshole about it so it wasn't _that_ personal!" the half-demon's temper was nowhere near to being appeased.

"She was my teammate and a friend for a long time," Neji decided to explain and hopefully finish the argument.

"There, you see, Inuyasha. She just..," but before Kagome could finish her though she was rudely interrupted by Inuyasha.

"I don't give a fuck what kind of shit is going on between these two but if there is a problem I need to know about it!"

"Its not worth all this attention. It's just something I might have misunderstood," Tenten tried to rationalize.

"No, you were right to question what happened," Neji told her.

"Then how do you even know there is anything wrong at all?" Inuyasha interrupted again, "She doesn't seem too worried about it."

"We trained together and worked together long enough for me to trust her intuition and her instincts."

"And you wanting to fuck her brains out has nothing to do with your trust." Inuyasha was very blunt in his accusations but Neji was quick to retaliate in kind.

"You are the one to talk, considering your obvious lust for the miko," after turning beat red it took Inuyasha a moment to catch his breath and formulate a response.

"I will fucking kill you…" was the only thing he could get past his indignation. Before he could lunge for Neji's throat a flushed Kagome took him gently by his arm.

"Fighting won't solve a thing," but he still wasn't listening to her.

"I will tear your heart out and stick it up your…" the growling half demon was stubbornly trying to get his arm back from Kagome who was now putting considerable effort into holding him back.

"Inuyasha, we have strayed far enough in our conversation…" Miroku decided the wises course of action was to help Kagome but his words of wisdom fell on deaf ears as usual

"You can not…" Sango didn't get to finish her sentence ether.

"…and then I will shred your…" Inuyasha showed no sign of calming down.

"Enough of this crap," Tenten had to raise her voice considerably to be heard over all the noise and treats Inuyasha was producing but she tried anyway, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I will explain everything later. For now, I need to talk to Neji. Alone."

That changed the direction of Inuyasha's anger.

"So, what? You are going to tell him something else you think we can't be trusted with?"  
"Trust has nothing to do with this and I will tell you everything when we get back," she tried to sound as calm as she could but Inuyasha was a difficult person to be calm around, "You need the time to calm down anyway," she couldn't help adding.

***

They walked farther away from the group then they normally would have in any other situation. Not knowing how far the demons in the group could hear they chose not to take any chances.

"Did you remember something else about what happened," Neji started the conversation first. If Tenten didn't know better she would have said that he sounded worried. But of course that wasn't possible - this was Neji.

"No, that's not what I wanted to tell you," he patiently waited for an explanation, so after a deep breath Tenten looked into his pale eyes, "It's about the kiss."

The look on Neji's face didn't change but the subtle difference in his eyes and posture gave away his turbulent feelings. Tenten ignored it and continued on trying to get the words out as fast as possible.

"You are right, it was nothing but a lapse in judgment and it will never happen again. It didn't meant anything ether so we will never mention it again," Neji looked almost surprised by her words, Tenten though.

"Forget it ever happened – that's what I did," Tenten was surprised at the conviction she heard in her own voice. The brief kiss they shared touched her more then she ever wanted to admit and if she was honest with herself Tenten highly doubted that she would ever forget it, but Neji never needed to know that.

Tenten didn't think that her little speech made much of an impression on Neji but he proved her wrong and shocked her speechless with his reaction.

"Then I will just have to remind you," was Neji's next words and without giving Tenten any opportunity to respond he pushed her up against a tree trapping her there with his muscled body and his hands on ether side of her. He was not gentle but Tenten wouldn't have cared even if she noticed.

His lavender eyes burned with emotion and in the next moment his mouth was on hers. He wasted no time and soon his tongue was exploring her mouth. He was kissing her with a savagery and passion she never would have expected to come from his controlled self. Soon she found herself responding to him with equal intencity.

As his mouth wrecked havoc of her thoughts his hands seemed to be everywhere at once, her neck, her hair, her sides, her hips… she couldn't concentrate enough and her body seemed to move of its own accord when her own hands began to explore his body.

She arched into him to feel more of his heat, to somehow get closer to the source of this unbearable tencion he created. Just as he was about to tear her shirt open something changed.

Tenten froze. It was as if all feelings left her at once and Neji, as attuned to her as he was, felt the change immediately as it happened. And then before he could even think to formulate a question she was leaping away from him in a burst of chakra. And then the moment after that she was gone, running through the trees at an amazing speed.

Something was very wrong with Tenten. Neji could feel it and the fear and worry he felt for her was very real and very new to him.

Neji acted immediately, but as he made his first leap to follow his ex-teammate a growling angry mass of muscle viciously slammed into him knocking Neji off his feet.


	7. 7

Disclaimer: Naruto and Inuyasha don't belong to me.

A/N: I realize that the previous chapter was short, annoying and confusing but I hope this one will clear some things up. I will try to update again soon. Thank you very much for all your wonderful reviews.

Chapter 7

"Inuyasha! Don't hurt him!"

Kagome was sure that the hanyou was over his anger towards their new friends. She lectured him extensively on controlling his anger. She explained that Neji wasn't trying to make him angry on purpose and that Inuyasha wasn't the most polite person to begin with and that the ninjas probably couldn't help themselves but answer in kind. Kagome was sure she got through to her favorite half-demon when he settled to pout over his ramen.

She didn't realize how devious Inuyasha was becoming until he just took off, seething with lethal intent the minute her attention shifted completely away from him.

There was no doubt in her mind where he was going.

"He's going to kill Neji, isn't he?" Shippo summarized what everyone was thinking with his one question.

"No, he won't - we are going to stop him," Kagome was determined to protect her new friends. The thought of Neji actually holding his own or winning the fight with Inuyasha never even entered her mind.

As determined as Kagome was to stop the confrontation, by the time she caught up to the hanyou he was already fighting. Breathing hard, Kagome froze, an angry "sit" never leaving her lips. All she could think of before was protecting their new friends but Tenten wasn't there and Neji definitely didn't need protecting.

***

Getting tackled by a half-demon was not a pleasant feeling and Neji cursed himself for allowing it to happen at all. Activating his Byakugan Neji proceeded to throw Inuyasha violently off him while looking for Tenten at the same time. She was already out of his range of vision and Inuyasha was not done attacking him.

Well, then he had to take care of the yokai first before he could go after Tenten.

There were no chakra pathways through his body, Neji noted. Instead, what he could se was that every part of Inuyasha's body was full off pulsing energy. At this moment, he didn't care about Inuyasha or how he worked. All his thoughts were centered on Tenten.

He didn't even try to examine his earlier actions toward his ex-teammate. There will be plenty of time for that later. Right now the only thing on Neji's mind was saving her. There was something very wrong with Tenten. He knew it without a doubt. Neji felt it and with it he felt an unfamiliar emotion - fear. Fear for her safety.

"Fight me, you bastard," Inuyasha's growled demand had little effect on Neji, "I will rip you to shreds," and with that he attacked again. It didn't take any effort on Neji's part to dodge his clumsy attacks.

Neji realized that he couldn't close off his chakra pathways since Inuyasha had none but there were plenty of internal organs to damage. Killing him with a few well placed strikes would have been easy too. All he had to do was attack his heart.

"If you do not get out of my way I will kill you," Neji was in no mood to play. Delivering strikes to vital organs as he spoke jounin expected this fight to end here, as Inuyasha landed in the dirt. Neji was already turning away from the half-demon to follow Tenten when hanyou got to his feet. Neji was mildly surprised by his strength - any normal person would not have been able to shake off those injuries the way Inuyasha did.

"I will kill you first, you bastard," pulling out his giant sword Inuyasha proceeded to use the Wind Scar. Neji was once again surprised by half-demon's power while easily avoiding his slow attack, "who the fuck do you think you are?" Inuyasha was obviously not done and his fighting was getting more and more determined, "You come here. Endanger my pack and then try to walk away like nothing happened while talking shit the entire time! I will kill you first." With those words Inuyasha put everything he had into his next attacks. Neji was sure the half demon gained speed but it still was not that difficult to avoid his strikes. Every time Inuyasha came within striking range Neji would deliver several damaging attacks, but to his amazement his opponent was still standing and showing no sign of slowing down. Though his strikes hit their intended targets every time Inuyasha was stubbornly fighting through any pain and damage Neji caused him.

"Inuyasha! Neji! Stop," Kagome, after regaining her breath and her wits, was finally able to get out. She didn't dare "sit" Inuyasha. Their fighting was too vicious and they were moving so fast her eyes could not follow their movements. "Please, Inuyasha! We shouldn't be fighting!"

But her pleas fell on deaf ears. And by the time Sango, Miroku and Shippo came to stand by her side Inuyasha and Neji showed no signs of slowing down.

This delay was making Neji angry. He shouldn't be here fighting a useless fight. Tenten needed him and all he was doing was wasting precious time.

"I will kill you," Neji was done playing. Though in the next instant Inuyasha's miko friend was standing in front of him, a glowing arrow notched, ready and pointed straight at him.

"You will stop this fighting NOW! Both of you!" and before Inuyasha could think of a suitable reply Kagome continued, "I will "sit" you until you become one with the earth if you don't stop right now Inuyasha!" and when he looked like he was about to argue Kagome gave him a seething look that left no doubt as to how serious she really was.

"This is all a misunderstanding," Miroku was by Kagome's side in a heartbeat, trying to help diffuse the situation while Sango stood by Inuyasha's side, just in case he needed help, "Inuyasha, I know you hated our guest from the very begging but he has done nothing to warrant death."

"I'm sure whatever trouble followed them has nothing to do with us," Kagome said and before Inuyasha could argue she continued, " and we will help in any way we can. I know they would do the same for us. Isn't that right, Neji?"

Neji, who hadn't moved since she stepped in front of him said nothing. But he didn't voice a denial ether. He was still mesmerized by the glow of her power. She didn't have chakra paths ether - none of them did. Now that he looked closer at her he could see the source of her power, located in the center of her body, it spread and enveloped her in gentle weaves. Neji never saw anything like it.

"Keh…!" Inuyasha haven't lost many fights but now that Kagome entered this one he knew he had to admit defeat. He did not expect this ninja to be so strong nor did he expect to take any damage or having to use Tetsaiga. Inuyasha counted on a quick kill before Kagome could get here but now it was too late and the smart thing to do would be to stop fighting. What made it even worse was that other then the initial tackle Inuyasha has not landed a single strike on his opponent while his own body was in agony in more ways that he could count.

Thank Kami for yokai healing.

"I need to find Tenten" Neji saw that the half-demon wasn't a threat anymore so now he could finally concentrate on his new mission.

"What happened?" Kagome, after putting her arrow back, very satisfied with herself, asked.

"Where did she go?" Sango still refused to let go of her boomerang.

"I'm going after her," Neji was not going to waste more time answering useless questions.

"Wait, we can help," Kagome could not go back on her earlier promise of help. There was obviously something wrong here. And she could feel that if she was in need Neji and Tenten would not hesitate to help her even if they might not look thrilled about it, "Inuyasha can track her by her scent - it's a lot faster then just following her trail."

Neji showed no visible reaction to her suggestion but he didn't move to follow Tenten on his own. He was in an alien country filled with magic and full of strange creatures. It would have been stupid of him to refuse help from the natives. He would have left them in a heart beat if they didn't offer to help him on their own.

"I'm not a fucking dog to sniff out trails - especially for this bastard, " Inuyasha was far from happy at being volunteered to track Tenten down, "I'm still going to kill him. This doesn't change anything."

"Come on, Inuyasha," Kagome used her most persuasive voice, " She may be in danger," Seeing that this line of reasoning was not getting her anywhere she changed tactics, "We may ran into shards on the way. I might have sensed some in that direction earlier."

"Why didn't you say so sooner, bitch?"

"Inuyasha…."

***

_She will be here soon. He could feel her moving closer with every passing minute. Soon. Very soon. He will have exactly what he wanted…_

A/N: Ok, there was a fight between Neji and Inuyasha in this chapter and I feel like I need to clarify certain things. Yes, overall Neji is a superior fighter but Inuyasha makes up for it in his raw strength, stubbornness and his accelerated healing. This whole thing is out of character but this was what I was trying to portray. And in this story I did not want to make it clear who would win. Who knows? Maybe Inuyasha would have won eventually or Neji could have finished him off. But this will be the extent of Inuyasha/Neji fighting in this story… I think.

Review. Tell me what you think.


	8. 8

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Naruto do not belong to me. Please don't sue me.

A/N: I apologize for the extremely long wait. Here is chapter 8. I'm working on the next chapter now (it's going to be a little smutty in a weird sort of way). But this whole story only has about four more chapters left to write.

Chapter 8

She looked breathtaking. Neji could not think of any other description of the vision in front of him. Never, in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine that his old team mate could ever look this way. Her long, slim legs were bare and he could not help the visions of what it would be like to have those legs wrapped around his waist, while he stroked her creamy skin that was now bare for everyone's view. She was wearing only black silk to cover her most private parts and also a see-through… something… he couldn't bring himself to call it a dress.

And once his eyes landed on her chest he, Neji, had to work hard on keeping his breathing normal. During missions she had to have been binding her chest very tightly because what was staring him in the face was a definite proof that Tenten was a well endowed woman. Her hair was unbound. Silky tresses were flowing down her shoulders and all the way to her lower back. Neji never saw anything so beautiful or so seductive. But, as soon as he looked up to her face and saw her clouded gaze, in that moment her felt as if a bucket of icy-cold water was dumped over his head.

"Tenten?" he spoke her name in undertones as if afraid to confirm what he already knew to be true, "Answer me, kunoichi."

It was as if she did not even hear him. She did not move away from the bed, next to which they found her standing.

"Oh, my kami, was she… "

"No, I don't smell any other scent on her but her own," Inuyasha replied. "Who the fuck would do this to her?"

"Someone who has very good taste in women and who has very specific ideas about what to do with them," but after catching several horrified looks from his companions and noticing Neji's killing intent Miroku chose to wisely keep his expertise to himself. Everyone in the room understood the implications without him having to point it out.

Everyone was quiet when Neji came to the bed and took one of the rose-scented sheets to put over Tenten's near naked form. As he got close to her he tried not to touch her but he found himself unprepared for the scent that Tenten herself was bathed in. It was almost primitive, sweet and bitter at the same time. Neji never smelled anything like it and he had to fight the urge to lean in closer and see if the underlining scent was of Tenten herself. If the situation was different this would be the time when he would squish this unusual onslaught of feelings about his ex-teammate, but this was not the time to wonder about his own feelings. He had to save her.

Saving Tenten was all he could think of on the mad dash following the scent she left behind. He could have gone faster alone but the half-demon was useful in helping to follow what little trail she left behind. The rest of the group kept up as well, with the help of a demon-cat, but he did not care enough to keep track of their whereabouts. Neji knew perfectly well that awareness of his surroundings was crucial to his survival during missions and every day life, but they were not a threat, he justified, and if they were he could always kill them later.

It did not take them long, at a grueling pace Inuyasha and Neji set, to reach their destination. It was a network of caves, carved deep into a mountain that they discovered. Neji overheard Kagome whisper "Just like dwarven cities in books", but he did not care enough to find out more about what she was talking about.

There was a maze of carved stone corridors that widened into rooms or large halls, all with enough things laying around for a comfortable life for a city full of people. But Neji did not care about that nor did he care about the awed whispers of his current companions. They followed Tenten's scent and it lead them straight into the room she was in right now.

Performing several quick jitsus Neji quickly determined that she was not poisoned and nor was she drugged. Her body was in top physical condition, as far as Neji could tell. Physically, she was not any different then when she left his side. But her clouded gaze did not waver or change while he went through the motions. She continued to stare, seemingly, into nothing.

Miroku's examination did not produce any better result's then Neji's own. Even though Sango was standing next to him in case she needed to punish him for his wandering hands the demon slayer was surprise to see that her help was not needed in restraining his urges. His face was serious, movements careful and well practiced. At that moment Miroku was the picture of a perfect hoshi and she could not help but be fascinated by this side of him that she did not get to see very often.

"She doesn't smell any different, other than that weird smell," Inuyasha said while trying to hold back a sneeze. "Fuck, I hate it when this happeneds."

"Now there is going to be a bit angry demon that we will fight. There is _always_ a demon around in a place like this."

"Could a demon have caused her to be this way?" Neji asked. If he could only figure out what caused this then he would know how to help her.

"I do not feel any demon presence nearby, do you, Kagome?" Miroku looked to the miko who was concentrating on her, still mostly uncontrollable, power.

"No, I don't feel any demons ether. But if he is really strong and knows some good shielding techniques…," Kagome, ever the optimist tried to cheer up her companions, "Maybe all we will need to do is kill this demon to get Tenten back to normal and then we might even get lucky enough to find a shard," Inuyasha added.

Further conversation was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Are you the one responsible for this?" Inuyasha sniffed, trying to find out more about the newcomer. Skinny human male of average height with dark brown hair and terrified eyes, but before hanyon could voice any other thoughts Neji was already in motion.

His right hand was wrapped around the man's throat while his left was a blur of motion. Inuyasha could have sworn that there was a blue light shining from Neji's fingers. In another moment everything was over and Neji was just holding the man by the throat against the right wall of the room, right by the inconspicuous door this man just walked in through.

Neji's eyes took on an eerie glow and it felt as if he could see through everything and everyone that was in the room right now. Veins, by his eyes, did not soften his look any.

"Whatever it is that you have done to Tenten - fix it," his voice was quiet as close to icy cold as a voice could get, "Now"

"K-kil me and s-she will stay like this f-f-forever," it would not be surprising to see a puddle on the floor by the man's feet, as terrified as he looked at that moment in time.

"L-let me go! I will not t-tell you anything!" his voice rose in pitch and even though the words sounded defiant he acted ready to die from fear alone.

Miroku was on his way to offer assistance when he was stopped in his tracks by a smile. Neji started smiling and it was the most vicious and angry twist of lips that the monk ever had the pleasure of observing. Even Naraku never smiled this way, Miroku swore, forcing himself to move forward.

"I know just enough about healing jitsu to keep you alive for as long as I need… " Neji started.

"Don't worry, this guy will answer all our questions," Kagome tried to calm the situation without getting any closer to the ninja herself, "Just let him go, for now. He looks like he is about to have a heart attack," and indeed, the prisoner looked ready to do just that.

"You will not help Tenten if you kill our only lead without getting even a single question answered," Miroku, after taking a deep breath, put his hand on Neji's right arm.

Sango and Inuyasha following Miroku's example surrounded Neji trying to help diffuse this situation.

"Just steep away," Inuyasha commanded. Hanyon did not attack this time, his senses told him very clearly that this time Neji will hold nothing back, but he was willing the Hyuuga to understand that _this_ was not going to help Tenten's situation.

"He is not going anywhere" Neji finally said as he let go of the abused neck of his adversary, and true to his words as soon as he was not held up the man crumbled to the stone floor like a rag-doll.

"W-what did you do to me?" fallen man's voice was filled with panic. "I c-can't move!"

Neji moved to stand by Tenten.

"You better start talking, before that crazy bastard decides to finish you off," Inuyasha growled.

"We need to know what happened here," Kagome added, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Lets start with your name."

"My name is K-kainashi," the man said after some pause. He still could not get off the floor.

"Nice to fucking meet you, now tell us something that we can actually use!" Inuyasha was never a patient individual, "Did you do this to her?"

"Em… well… you see," Kainashi started to say, but was interrupted.

"You know how to get her back to normal," Kagome could barely hold back her smile, "Please, make her the way she was before."

"I c-can't. It's not that simple," was the reply she got, "This spell is irreversible."

"What?" Neji was the one who voiced the question in almost a whisper, which still did not take anything away from the obvious threat he projected.

"The spell cannot be changed, altered or removed!" gathering his fleeting courage Kainashi spoke up, "So you better just leave and forget about her. She was chosen specifically… emm… just leave!"

Miroku immediately moved to put himself between Kainashi and Neji who, he was sure, was one breath away from killing the pitiful creature.

"There has to be a way. There is always a way," Sango commented, half to herself, "If the dead can be brought back to life with ease then one girl can be brought back to her senses."

"No! There is no way!"

"Shut the fuck up! Saying that shit is not going to save your ass."

"I think we need to get to Kaede's as soon as possible," Kagome interrupted the impending argument, "We can get more details out of this guy on the way."

"Kaede? Will she know how to lift a spell?" Neji was looking almost as composed as usual.

"She is the best priestess in the area. If anyone will know what's going on it will be her," young miko had full faith in her mentor.

"We will get this Kainashi to tell us everything, don't worry," Sango added.

"Then let us not waste any more time" said Miroku, while picking up Kainashi off the ground, slinging one of his immobile hands over his shoulder and taking several steps in the direction of the door. "But our travel would go much faster and easier if this person had control of his legs."

* * *

Once the group left the cave system they were forced to make a short stop and camp. Neji refused to touch Kainashi, so the man was quietly whimpering in pain while sitting against a tree. He still could not move his extremities and Miroku was forced to mostly drag him. Now Kainashi's feet were bruised, scraped and bleeding purposely from the constant contact with first rocky floor and then rocky ground.

Kagome was already getting her first aid kit ready to treat his wounds when Neji stopped her.

"Do not," was all she was told by the silent ninja who carefully set Tenten down against a tree farthest away from Kainashi. He carried her, sheet and all, the entire way out of the caves.

"But if his feet get infected…"

"It doesn't matter. If he does not give us any information soon there is no reason to keep him alive." Neji calmly explained to the horrified schoolgirl. "And if he is of no use to me then the longer he takes to die the better." Kainashi heard Neji's words very clearly himself and as fear drowned out the last bits of defiance from him he started to talk. It would have been impossible to singe the flow of words from him now that Kainashi started.

"I am a monk… a magician… a wizard." he was almost shouting those words,"Our tribe had no name. You, barbarians, saw our dwelling. I am the last of my tribe. Kuraga told me that I will be alone, but I did not listen and I started a spell." His words were coming up more and more jumbled, "He told me about the spells, not to try them, but I had to! It was my destiny. And then they were gone and I weaved a spell to get her! And it worked. She needs me and I had to have her…" getting hit in the face with a log that was getting ready to go in the fire stopped Kainashi mid word.

"I would be careful with how you word things," Miroku advised, looking casiously at Neji's back who was wordlessly staring into the fire. "Lets start over. What magic does your tribe have?"

"It doesn't have a name. It's magic. We all have it but only my tribe is trained from the moment we draw our first breath on how to use it," talk about magic obviously calmed Kainashi down because his speech became a little bit more logical, orderly and almost calm. "Every movement, from the tiniest of turns of your toe to the almost negligible twist of your neck to your thoughts and whispers, everything we are, everything we know and think can be used to weave a spell. Your mind needs to be clear and focused to get every action in the perfect order necessary with only the specific thoughts that have to think in precisely the right order again for a spell to work. If one of your movements is not defined enough or if one of your thoughts was not as clear as necessary the spell will not weave correctly. It could destroy you and everyone around you or it could just turn into a simple whisper, like the wind, disappear without doing anything at all. Or it could work _almost_ the way it was supposed to," it seemed like Kainashi would have said more but Miroku interrupted.

"I have never heard of such magic."

"Not surprising. Our tribes never mingle with the outside world."

"What changed?" Inuyasha could not hold back his curiosity.

"Eh… it's a long story," and Kainashi looked like he did not want to tell it.

"Is that the kind of spell that you cast on Tenten?" Neji asked without turning around. He just wanted confirmation.

"Y-yes," was the shaky reply.

"Why?

"I needed a bodyguard and she had no one that would miss her…"  
"Ha! If she was supposed to be a body guard then I'm Sessomaru's concubine!" Miroku laughed ignoring Inuyasha's disapproving growl.

"Well, she has other… duties," Hainashi, against his own better judgment, clarified.

Neji's words, mostly the vicious way ninja said them, stopped Kainashi from adding anything more to his statement, "She will _never_ belong to you!"

Kainashi was smart enough to keep quiet but he could not hold back his first smile since this whole thing started. The unspoken words hang over the campsite.

_She is already mine._

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A/N: Review. Please, let me know if something doesn't make sense and I will clarify.


	9. 9

Disclamer: Naruto does not belong to me. I wish he did, though. I can think of many naughty things to do with him if he really was mine (and maybe a little bit older).

A/N: Sorry it took me this long to update. This chapter was a b#^ to write and I re-wrote it at least twice as it is. At least the next few chapters should be a lot easier.

WARNING: There is a debatably lemonish scene ahead, so if you are easily offended by questionable themes then don't read. Plus, this story is only going to get worse from here so, you have been warned!

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Chapter 9

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Even though they walked the whole of next day almost without stopping, they were still a long way from their final destination – Kaede's. Few words were spoken between them and everyone was deep in their own thoughts, including their prisoner.

Tenten's condition did not change and she was still the same as when they found her, except better clothed. Neji was leading her by the hand and she was quietly following him. But if he was to release her hand she would always stop. No amount of pleading or words of encouragement had any effect on her.

Not that it stopped Kagome from trying it anyway, "It's worth a shot," she told Inuyasha afterwards, "Maybe I can help break this spell."

"By just talking to her? When was the last time you saw a spell that was this easily broken?" was the dog demon's reply, but all he got in response was a half harted glare from the future born miko.

"She is trapped within her own mind, but I am almost one hundred percent sure that she can understand everything that is happening around her," Kagome argued, "so, I think the more we talk to her – the more likely she is to fight this spell off herself and possibly break it even without Kaede's help!"

"And when did you become an expert on spells?" Inuyasha started to object but was interrupted by Miroku.

"Kagome may be right," and before the girl in question had time to say her 'I told you so's to Inuyasha, Miroku continued, "but I disagree, she probably won't remember anything that happened to her during this time. The stronger the spell – the deeper the mind retreats."

"It doesn't matter," Kainashi chose this moment to speak for the first time that day, "What is done can not be undone. My spell is permanent, so it doesn't matter if you talk to her or not."

Neji's movement was too quick for anyone to follow. One moment Kainashi was walking and in the next instance he was face first in the dirt.

"You speak only when spoken to and if I hear another word out of you without leave to speak first I will slice a piece of you off," his voice was cold enough to freeze several suns and no one in the group doubted that he was going to follow through. Neji's words did not sound like a threat. His words were full of promise. Then, the Hyuga prodigy quietly took Tenten's hand and started walking again, ignoring horrified and surprised looks of people around him. Though, after this incident the atmosphere became quite a bit more tense.

"So, what did you say happened to your tribe?" Miroku tried asking the wizard if only to break the awkward silence, "You still never said where they went."

"That's because I don't know where they went and I don't want to talk about it," Kainashi had to concentrate on not letting tears of pain roll down his cheeks as he walked. Even though Neji, hours ago, had finally let him have the use of his extremities back, the pain from the previous injuries was still there and intensifying with every step.

"You will tell us eventually, you know," Inuyasha interjected from a short distance away. "You are lucky we have not started seriously questioning you yet."

"We will have plenty of time for that later, once we are all calm and collected," Kagome apprehensively glanced in Neji's direction, "We might not even need to question him once we get to Kaede's. I'm sure she will know how to fix this." Her words were full of hope that there would be no need for intimidation or torture. Especially since Neji looked like he would be much too happy to cause Kainashi bodily harm.

No one choose to reply to her statement and the atmosphere in the group did not improve as they continued on their way.

When Kagome finally suggested it was time to stop and that they could stay at the closest inn this night, no one thought to argue. It was obvious that Neji would have rather kept on walking, but he still did not object.

Kagome's heart went out to him. He was unmistakably very worried about the welfare of his friend and she was sure that he was not this bloodthirsty by nature. But it was also very clear to her that Kainashi was not safe in the presence of the young ninja.

When they finally found an inn close by and Miroku performed his usual exorcisms the grateful owners gave them three rooms in payment for services rendered. It was decided that the women were going to take one of the rooms, Miroku and Inuyasha another and Neji would have a room to himself. Kainashi would be staying in Inuyasha's room. It was the only logical choice that would allow him to survive until at least the next morning with all his body parts still intact.

"You will stay in that corner over there," Inuyasha pointed, "If I see or hear you trying to move anywhere beyond that corner I will kick your ass."

"I understand," Kainashi compliantly moved to the designated corner, without any complaints, even though there wasn't even a blanket there. He immediately sat down with his back against one wall and leaned his head against the other, so no one in the room noticed the gleam that entered his eyes or his facial expression that was far from docile.

As Inuyasha and Miroku went through the motions of getting ready to rest Kainashi has not moved other then to interlock his fingers and to adjust his feet.

What happened next was completely unexpected by the dog demon and the monk. Their prisoner made a clapping sound and then they knew no more. As the spell was completed Inuyasha just collapsed where he stood. Miroku did not get to experience surprise at his friend's sudden fall because he lost consciousness at the same time as Inuyasha. Luckily for the monk he was sitting down at the time.

_They __did__ not __tie __me __up!_Kainashi though excitedly, _such __idiots. _Now even his feet were hurting him less in his triumph. Did they really consider him so little of a threat? It was almost offense worthy, but they would not live long enough to regret it.

As Kainashi was getting up, he couldn't suppress the smile of victory that was getting wider by the second.

"Finally!" walking over to Inuyasha, who was laying face down on the floor by one of the sleeping mats, he kicked him in the ribs with all his might, which wasn't much, but it was enough to widen Kainashi's already prominent smile.

"Try to kick my ass now, you stupid dog!" he yelled, kicking Inuyasha one more time, for good measure. Then he walked over to Miroku, who was laying part way on his side a few feet away, and proceeded to kick him as well. He did not keep it up for long. It was too painful to kick them anyway and there were better things he could do with his time then trying to inflict pain on a, soon to be, dead bodies.

"All of you think that you are so smart. But I am still smarter!" Kainashi could not hold back his laughter anymore, "You thought you could keep me here, but now you have paid for your ignorance. I should kill you two right now. Too bad I don't like to dirty my hands with blood," looking at his fingers with distaste, as if recalling a memory, Kainashi, after a few more minutes continued his monologue. "It does not really matter. You will never wake up as it is. You will be dead in a few hours regardless of what I do."

Kainashi kept his flow of words going as he collected the things he thought he would need on the way back home and then as his eyes fell on the empty sleeping mat they light up with unholy glee. Looking over at the hanyou laying right next to it he made another decision. "I think I will have my bodyguard kill you as soon as she gets here, after all. Just to be on the safe side. Now the only thing I need to do is to decide if I want to leave right away or if I want to spend some time getting to know her a little better..."

"There could be nothing better than some quality bonding time before a long trip, don't you think?" Kainashi addressed his question to Miroku who, of course, could not reply.

There was no rush. It was late at night, but there were still many hours left before dawn. He had plenty of time to have some fun before he escaped, decided Kainashi. It was time to summon Tenten.

In the space of the next few seconds there was the sound of Kainashi's muttering and then the sound of another loud clap. Then the room went quiet once again as he sat down on the futon and proceeded to wait with a sinister grin still firmly plastered on his face.

888

Neji was trying to sleep. Honestly, he was. Several hours have already passed since they came to this inn and he knew that sunrise was still ages away. Tenten was safe. Kainashi was secured. And he needed rest. Every shinobi learned early on that rest was a precious commodity as it was never certain how many days one would have to go without it. So, it was very important to rest whenever possible.

But tonight sleep just would not come to Neji. What came instead were images of Tenten wearing nothing but a seductive smile. He was amazed at how vividly his imagination was painting these pictures. Neji honestly tried to think of something else, but it was a lost cause trying to fight off the fantasy.

And it was full moon tonight. Neji always hated when the moon was full. You are always so much more likely to get spotted when the moon provided this much light. At least tonight there were clouds that blocked its light from time to time.

As he was laying on the bed, contemplating the advantages and disadvantages of moonlight, trying not to think about his teammate and the current situation he was in, there was a noise. In the next instant he had a kunai in his hand and ready to react with the necessary amount of violence when the door to his room slowly opened.

In the next heartbeat he was sitting up and ready to fight, but another heartbeat later he recognized the figure and his body automatically relaxed. In the moonlight he could clearly recognize the figure purposely making her way closer.

"Tenten you…!" his words were full of surprise and hope. Neji did not even realize that he just dropped the kunai. Tenten was actually moving on her own! She has not done anything, but the very basics, without help since they found her and now she was walking with a purpose. Though, before he could complete the thought Tenten has already closed the distance between them and then her hands were on his body.

Neji flinched from the contact. It was almost a physical shock to feel her hands on his chest. Since he always slept shirtless there was not barrier between her fingers and his skin. He tried to formulate the correct question to ask her when all coherent thoughts were forcibly driven from his mind as Tenten's lips came in contact with his neck. He could feel her tongue stroking right under his pulse point, spreading the heat through his body with these simple caresses. She was gently sucking and licking at that one spot and Neji was amazed at how quickly his body came to life.

It turned out to be a real effort not to vocalize his pleasure at Tenten's ministrations. Her hands were now blatantly exploring his chest, parts of his stomach and then moving back up again as she continued to move their bodies even closer together. Neji's breath immediately caught in his through when her lips began their downward decent. Tenten's slim but powerful hands fluttered into his hair then to his shoulders, over his ribs and over what could be reached of his back, to his thighs as her tongue flicked and stroked his heated skin.

"Tenten?" her name came out choked. Her touching him like this was making Neji lose his train of thought, especially with what he was imagining only moments before she came in. "What are you..?"

He could not hold back the needy noise that no one would ever expect Hyuga prodigy was even capable of producing. He tried to make sense of what was going on, but he was losing the battle of keeping his thoughts coherent with her exquisite form so close and with her luscious lips still on his body.

Maybe this was Tenten's way of showing him that she was fully back to normal. _Yes_. That made sense. They did share a _moment_, several actually, before this whole thing started. Everything was finally ok again. Tenten was back. And she was in the process of driving him insane with the little stroking motions she was doing with her fingers and moving closer and closer to the line of his pants with every caress.

He stood no chance in fighting off this temptation. Neji's body was eagerly reacting to the woman doing these delicious things to him and, against his better judgment, he reached for her in return. As if of their own will his arms were suddenly around her. When Neji's hands touched her slim form it was as if the world realigned itself and suddenly everything was perfect.

Tenten did not resist when Neji pulled her the rest of the way into his lap. Her lips almost never broke contact with his naked skin, making him feel hotter and hotter with every stroke of her tongue. Her hands were everywhere, seductively touching him, gently sliding downwards, inch by tantalizing inch.

As she straddled Neji the kunoichi rubbed herself against him in the most primitive of ways and the room was once again filled with another sound Neji would not have been able to hold back, even if he was aware that he was making it. Her nimble fingers made short work of her own clothes and in the next moment Neji had a completely naked woman straddling his lap.

Marveling at her beauty and the perfect proportions and lines of her body he did not even try to stop himself from touching her anymore. He started at her neck and moved downwards slowly and methodically, exploring, squeezing, cupping. He passionately caressed her silky flesh in this exciting exploration and it was almost too much for him to hold himself back.

He could not think anymore. With her presence she took over every single one of his senses. It was all centered on her and the way she sensually moved against him. Her gentle but demanding motions were driving Neji insane with excitement and need. His breathing was labored and he could hear that hers was as well. The feel of her breath against his skin was driving him wild.

When she reached for the tie of his pants he let her. It was awkward work but she has not uttered a single word of complaint. She reached for him as the same time Neji reached for her lips. Then the moonlight, that gently seeped in through the windows, finally let Neji get a good look at her eyes.

What he saw in her face froze his blood cold and he could only stare at Tenten in horror as she still fumbled with the last piece of clothing he was wearing. She was as beautiful as always and her unbound hair was framing her face in a way that was making Tenten look even more seductive.

But at the moment Neji could not see anything past the empty and emotionless chocolate-brown eyes. _She__ was__ still__ not __herself!_

Her eyes were just as cloudy as when he first found her. She was definitely not back to normal. And all of this was very _very_ wrong, especially since she had no control over her actions.

Trying to untangle himself from her Neji was having very little luck as she was still intent on getting him naked.

"Tenten, stop!" raspy command had no effect on her, so after a few more moments of trying to resist her touches and to subdue her at the same time he was forced to change tactics. It was ridiculously easy to find a point three fingers below her earlobe and press it. She did not try to resist his attack and within the next few seconds she was unconscious.

Neji, as carefully and calmly as he could, laid her body on the bed and covered her with a blanket, putting as much distance between himself and Tenten immediately following.

Then, he had to take several deep breaths to try and get his heated body under control. Never in his life was Neji ever this close to losing it. And Tenten looked so peaceful, under his blanket and in his bed, just laying there, as if simply asleep. But she was still under the spell and now Neji was feeling lower then dirt for not realizing it sooner. If the moon did not come out at the exact moment it did, he probably wouldn't have realized it at all until much later. And yet, a part of him did not want to listen.

_She __had __no__ control__ over __what__ she __was __doing_, Neji repeated to himself while trying to normalize his breathing. He tried to think of something other than the beautiful naked woman laying under his blanker.

_It was not her. She was not in control… Wait! _

And suddenly there was no need to think of Gara of the Sand in drag anymore. The coldly vicious anger was enough to wipe away almost all of the lingering excitement his body refused to let go of only moments earlier.

Neji's hands involuntary balled up into fists and his Byakugan activated without him even consciously thinking about it.

Holding back a roar of anger Neji quickly left the room. With inhuman effort he managed not to slam the door as he shut it. Luckily, the person who cast this nightmare of a spell was only one door down the hall from Neji's own room.

It was time for murder.

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A/A/N: Let me know what you think about this. Also, this story will be re-written to correct English/grammar mistakes. It is a work in progress and I try to correct these as I find them, but it's not easy.

Please, review! People reviewing is what, sometimes, reminds me that I do need to update this sometime and that this story being complete in my head does not do anyone (but me) any good ;)


	10. 10

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. It's very sad.

A/N: Special thanks to my wonderfully loving husband for proofreading this for me.

Chapter 10

Kagome heard the commotion coming from Inuyasha's room and it instantly brought her to full wakefulness. From her years traveling to the Feudal Era life has taught her to listen closely to her feelings and currently her senses were screaming at her that something was very wrong. She was fully dressed and ready to go, with her bow in her hands, before she even finished thinking these thoughts. Kagome also became aware that Sango and fully transformed Kirara were also next to her, prepared to do battle as necessary.

It appeared that Sango had a similar idea, so the two women and a demon cat, without wasting any time on talking, immediately went to find the source of the noise.

The young miko reached the door first, and without knocking or waiting for an invitation, she promptly opened it, and, after a deep breath and a mental prayer for courage, stepped inside the dimly lit room. She could not hold in a startled exclamation and Sango behind her made a similar noise of surprise.

Their ninja friend was standing over a battered looking Kainashi who was leaning against a wall. Neji had a sharp looking implement in his hands as he was looming over his victim and the expression of pure terror on Kainashi's face was unmistakable and a site to see. It took several moments for the new arrivals to spot the other occupants of the room, namely Inuyasha and Miroku, who were unconscious, and in somewhat less than dignified positions on the floor.

Kagome chose to immediately run to Inuyasha. There was no way she was going to attempt to deal with the furious ninja and the hanyou was always her first priority. And Neji was clearly furious. It did not take a skilled empath to feel the waves of raw anger radiating from him in waves.

"Inuyasha? Wake up, we have a problem," Kagome gently shook him by the shoulder. Sango was quietly observing Kagome's efforts while keeping Hirakotsu prepared. She was clearly at a loss whether it was safe to take her watchful gaze off the ninja. "Come on, Inuyasha, get up! It's not like you to be like… this…" as if suspecting that their condition might be more serious than expected Kagome tried to awaken Miroku with a similar result. At that point Sango made her decision, giving up on the ninja in favor of assisting Kagome.

"Their breathing is even and I don't see any physical marks on them," Sango said, just as much to convince herself of their good health as to pacify significantly more frantic Miko.

"Why won't they wake up?" as if to answer her question a painful groan came from Kainashi.

"No! Please, don't hurt me!"

"I will do more than hurt you," Neji's voice cracked with emotion. "I gave you a fair warning."

Sharp scream rang though the air and was quickly cut off before it could reach its full volume. Chancing a look at Kainashi, Kagome saw Neji hold a hand over his mouth to stifle the noises he was making. The shinobi was holding him against the wall with effortless ease while one of his kunai was lodged firmly in Kainashi's hand pining it securely to the wall in question.

"You need your hands to cast spells, don't you?" Neji's voice acquired a deceptively soft note. Kagome sucked in breath at such cruelty coming from her friend and she could have sworn that there were tears in Kainashi's eyes. This scene was impossible to watch and she couldn't let this torture to go on.

"Stop it, Neji," gathering her courage and reluctantly turning away from Inuyasha Kagome felt compelled to say, "You have terrified him enough!"

Wimpering cries filled the room as Neji removed his hand from the magician's mouth while pulling out another Kunai.

"Do you really want me to stop, Ka-go-me?" Neji asked, still in his terrifyingly quiet voice, "Even if you know this man is responsible for the death of your Inuyasha?" As if to emphasize his words, in a movement almost too quick to follow, Kainashi's other hand was pinned to the wall with the same cold blooded precision. His next scream was smothered in the same way as the first.

"Inuyasha is _not_ dead!" Kagome vehemently objected while averting her eyes from the scene. "We will wake him up in no time, so stop torturing our prisoner."

"I should just kill him."

"No!" Kagome was horrified at the depth of violent potential that was so well concealed beneath the Neji's stoic facade. "We still might need him. Keep him alive for Tenten's sake, if not for anything else," the miko felt that this line of reasoning was the only way to keep Neji from doing anything more to the poor mage. "He might still be the key to getting her back to normal!"

It seemed as if an eternity has passed before Neji made his choice. Kagome even began to worry that he was not going to make the right one, but then with one precise strike to the side of the neck Neji halted the whimpering as Kainashi lost consciousness.

Without saying another word Neji braced himself against the wall next to his victim, as if in physical pain himself. But at that point Kagome did not care to keep watching the ninja. All her attention was back to Inuyasha. Arranging his head comfortably in her lap Kagome attempted, once again to wake him up, with the same result as before.

Sango was in the similar predicament and position with Miroku.

"At least their breathing is steady and their temperature is normal," Kagome tried to console herself and her friend.

"We need a way to wake them," Sango was already running all the possibilities through her mind.

"Alright, we can try water, pain stimulation, caffeine and that's all I can think of," Kagome listed off.

"There is also the trula herb. It has a very distinct odor and it is used to revive those that fainted." Sango suggested. With the battle plan laid out and the mission before them clear the two women went about making it a reality. Roughly a half an hour later they had to stop to reevaluate the progress or the lack of their off.

"What else can we try?"

"Well, there is always the "sleeping beauty method"?" Kagome was out of ideas, but she refused to contemplate the alternative.

"Sleeping beauty? I have never heard beauty or lack of thereof being relevant while trying to bring someone to the state of wakefulness."

"It's more of a fairytale, really. But at this point I would try anything," and after a brief explanation Kagome proceeded to try what she logically knew was not going to work. But if there was even the smallest of chances that a kiss would wake Inuyasha up then Kagome was willing to try it. It was, theoretically, possible, especially since they were clearly dealing with a spell.

Her friend was looking at her as if she lost her mind, but she made no comment when Kagome touched her lips to Inuyasha's and waited. Then she waited some more, while trying not to enjoy the musky smell, Kagome could not help but notice, coming from the dog demon.

At that point she started contemplating if maybe the kiss should be a French one when a calm voice startled her away from Inuyasha.

"If you are done taking advantage of your unconscious companion then maybe I should see if I could help," Neji was, apparently back in full control.

"I was not…!"

"I do not care," Neji made his way to the fallen men. He looked as if he was done having this conversation, but he was still intent on his offer of assistance.

"What do you think you can do that we haven't done already," Sango asked suspiciously while hovering protectively over Miroku.

"Every shinobi that lives to reach the rank of jonin has at least a rudimentary knowledge of medical jitsu," Neji explained, feeling that this will go much quicker if he had full cooperation from Sango and Kagome. "Let me start with the monk first."

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Please review.

A/N: Sorry for the extremely long wait, but a few things has happened. For example, I am currently deployed to Afghanistan. Though, I have high hopes of finally finishing off this story soon.

As a show of good faith I present the exert from the next chapter that I hope to have ready within the next week: ""It appears that Kainashi's spell did not quite go as planned," Miroku stated, "That seems to happen to him quite often.""


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