Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto….
AN: I don't know what's wrong with me… Words aren't flowing as they used to, and it takes me hours just to write a single sentence. I'm struggling with the simplest of words! And it's not just this story… I used to love working on my stories but right now… I don't know what's going on.
It might just be a stage I'm going though. Maybe all authors go though this... Dunno... Well, I'll see you guys at the end.
Uzera had a dream. It was filled with sadness and sorrow and something else. Fortunately, he couldn't remember any of it. He was still sitting on the couch trying to remember his dream when Kuro suddenly appeared in front of him, kneeling next to him with her head tilted slightly. Uzera gave no indication that he noticed her.
"Humph, that's the welcome I get for saving you?" Kuro asked, jolting Uzera from his thoughts. "I was expecting a hug or at least a thank you…" She said with large fake tears welling up in her eyes.
"Err, I…" Uzera looked at Kuro who was staring at him in anticipation. Uzera sighed before standing up and walking to Kuro. "Umm, Thanks I guess." Uzera said reluctantly before giving Kuro an awkward hug, which Kuro made worse by returning enthusiastically.
"I knew you would come to your senses!" Kuro squealed happily. This being the first time that Uzera ever showed her any gratification Kuro was pleased to say the least.
"K-Kuro! You're suffocating me!" Came Uzera's voice from somewhere around Kuro's chest.
"S-sorry!" Kuro said hastily as she quickly released the boy. "So, what were you doing anyways?" She said as she plopped down on the couch grinning in satisfaction.
"Thinking about a dream I had…" Uzera said as he sat next to Kuro on the couch. Kuro raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
"I wish I could remember it though." Uzera said wishfully. Kuro suddenly smiled as she heard this.
"I have a way!" Kuro said suddenly as she snapped her fingers. Uzera almost fell out of the couch, as a part of the room was flooded in light.
"Wasn't that where you used to stay?" Uzera asked, squinting at the area while his eyes adjusted to the light. His mouth dropped open in surprise as the room came into view. Shelves piled with scrolls of ever size lined the room in orderly rolls. A few of the shelves were dusty but most of them looked like they were used constantly. As Uzera noticed more details he saw one of the scrolls looked oddly familiar.
"Hey! That's the scroll that my father accused me of stealing when I was five years old!" Uzera said suddenly as he pointed to a large dusty scroll. "What is it doing in my mind?"
"Heh, heh heh, funny story with that one…" Kuro said laughing nervously as she walked over to the wall of scrolls. "But it's not the time for a story." Kuro said quickly as she started to rummage through the scrolls.
"A summoning scroll? For bears?" Uzera asked as he spotted one scroll that looked brand-new and was lying by its side.
"Where did you get this? Stole it?" Uzera guessed, looking unimpressed as he gave Kuro a sideways glance.
"It's mine originally." Kuro said looking offended that Uzera thought she stole almost every single scroll in the room. Which probably was true since she defiantly didn't buy them. "I'm going to teach you summoning later."
"And what are all these scroll doing here?" Uzera asked as he jumped off of the couch and held up one scroll curiously. "This one says… Juken style?!"
"Yep… I remember stealing that from the Hyuuga clan a few hundred years ago. It was an interesting read but it didn't contain anything I didn't already know." Kuro said absently, before yelling out a cry of triumphant as she pulled out an especially long scroll from the shelves.
"W-what's that for?" Uzera asked apprehensively as Kuro opened the scroll and started to read it.
"A scroll to drag out memories forcefully." Kuro explained before she snapped her fingers. "Got it!" She exclaimed before looking at Uzera. "Lie down on the couch. It'll only take a-" Kuro suddenly stopped talking and looked up at the ceiling. "Looks like we have to continue this another time." Kuro said reluctantly before grabbing Uzera by the scruff of his neck and threw him up into the ceiling ignoring his screams of protest.
"W-wait!" Suddenly Uzera was suspended in midair. Up above him he could just make out the real world. It would have been very disorienting if he hadn't experienced something like this the first time he came to this realm.
"Hmm?" Kuro asked looking amused at Uzera's situation.
"I just want to know. What happened to my original body?" Uzera asked looking seriously at Kuro. "It's back right?"
"Yes, yes…" Kuro said sighing, apparently sad that the effect of her jutsu wore off. "You're back to your normal manly self…" She said, slightly sarcastic at the manly part.
"Good." Uzera asked looking as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Bye then!" Uzera said before gravity reversed itself and he went flying into the ceiling.
"What in the world?" Uzera exclaimed, turning his head left to right. Only after a few seconds did he realize that he wasn't in his mind anymore. Large trees towered above him. "What's with all the trees?" Uzera wondered out loud.
"Damn! I think he hit his head one time too many." Kiba muttered grumpily from opposite of Uzera. Hinata was standing behind Kiba looking as if she was struggling to ask him something. "So did you have a nice nap?"
"Uh… What just happened?" Uzera asked Kiba as he shook his head in annoyance.
"Well you blew a hole in Gaara's shield, trashed up the place, and if I saw correctly, you probably killed Gaara too." Kiba said flatly but looking nonetheless impressed. "Great job." He finished sarcastically.
"Oh, err, thanks…" Uzera mumbled looking down. In truth he didn't do anything but sleep through the whole thing. Kuro did all the fighting. Ha, you call that fighting? We demons call that playing! Kuro said smugly inside his head. Uzera grunted in reply.
"Uzera-kun…" Uzera looked up wearily but smiled encouragingly when it looked like Hinata was about to back down.
"I'm just tired. What do you want to ask me?" Uzera asked hoping to comfort the shy girl.
"W-wh… Where did you learn the Juken?!" Hinata suddenly blurted out before looking horrified at how loud her voice was. Kiba and Uzera both looked at Hinata wide eyed. Apparently she surprised them more than she surprised herself.
"Ah that? Well…" Uzera hesitated and decided to ask a question before continuing. "Do you know that scroll that disappeared from your house a few hundred years ago?" Uzera asked.
Hinata looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "My father did mention something about a scroll that was stolen five hundred years ago… He said he would, umm…" Hinata paused and blushed horribly before continuing because of the curious stares she got from Uzera and Kiba. "Rip off the balls of whoever stole it…" She said quickly.
"Boy, would I hate to be the person who stole the scroll!" Kiba said laughing loudly. "Right? Uzera?" Kiba asked as he smacked Uzera across the back playfully.
"Uhh right…" Uzera said looking slightly pale at the prospect of getting his own balls ripped off. I don't have any ba- Kuro started but was immediately interrupted by Uzera. Shut up!
"Why do you ask?" Hinata asked as her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"N-no reason!" Uzera said quickly, noticing Hinata becoming suspicious of him. "I-I just picked up the Juken from watching you use it!" Uzera paused before adding, "It's just that you're so good at it that I wanted to learn too."
Hinata's eyes widened in surprise before a sudden buzzing sound filled the air, interrupting her before she could say anything. A large number of bugs started to gather on Hinata's right side before they solidified into Shino. Numerous scratches on Shino's body showed that he had just finished a battle. Silence followed his appearance.
"I have dealt with the third sand nin." Shino said emotionlessly as he surveyed his stunned team.
"I followed you using my female bug I planted on Kiba…" When no one said anything Shino sighed.
"I would like to know what happened." He said impatiently, shaking Kiba out of his stupor.
"Err… Uzera kind of saved us." Kiba said before laughing nervously. "What about you though? You look like hell."
Shino shot a look of disgust at Kiba. "You don't look that well yourself." Shino snapped before looking at Uzera who was sitting next to the trunk of the tree. Uzera suddenly tried to back away from Shino. The branches that pushed into Uzera reminded him that a tree was behind him, and he had nowhere to back up to.
"Thank you for saving Hinata and Kit bag here." Shino said formally as he held out a hand, which Uzera took though looking slightly shocked.
"Thanks I guess." Uzera said as he shakily stood up. "I guess this means… Well I got my scroll so-"
"No." Surprisingly it was Kiba who spoke up. "Haku. Where's Haku?" Everyone fell silent as they looked at Kiba with something akin to pity. Kiba suddenly glared at Shino. "Where is she?!"
If Shino was surprised by Kiba's sudden outburst he didn't show it. "My female bug that I put on her shows me that she is alive and well. You have nothing to worry about," A pause, "Lover boy."
"L-l-lover boy?" Kiba sputtered looking highly offended though blushing slightly. "I'm just surprised I'm the only one that cares if Haku's ok!" Kiba shouted, successfully making both Hinata and Uzera look ashamed.
"Well when you put it that way…" Uzera said shamefaced.
"I will lead you to Haku then." Shino said stolidly before a few bugs leaked out of the holes from his face and started to fly slowly east. "It may take a while…" Shino said looking for anyone to challenge him. No one did.
"I'm sorry," Sakura said sadly looking at Naruto's prone form.
"Orochimaru…" Sasuke whispered as he looked up into the darkening sky. "It's getting late." Sasuke said suddenly, as he walked into the small opening in the tree that they found.
"I'll stay up and keep watch." Sakura said as she made a move to get up. Sasuke suddenly pushed Sakura back down again.
"I'll keep watch." Sasuke said firmly as he sat down at the entrance. "There has to be something useful I can do." Sasuke muttered more to himself than Sakura.
"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura looked at Sasuke worriedly but she knew he needed his space. "Ok Sasuke-kun. Call me if you need me!" Sakura shouted before she lied down on the ground next to Naruto.
"Sure…" Sasuke said absently as he looked up at the dark clouds. Orochimaru... I will find you.
"AAHHRRRGGG!" Screamed one of the brothers, jolting Haku from her sleep. "No more explosions, Katzuko…" mumbled the brother before resuming his snoring. Haku glared at the brothers in disgust. Having to sleep next to them was bad enough. Having to deal with their snoring and sleep talking was a nightmare.
"I don't know how she stands it…" Haku muttered looking at her surroundings again. The two brothers were curled up near the end of the tree, occasionally moving but they never fell out of the tree, much to Haku's displeasure. Katzuko wasn't anywhere in sight though she was probably keeping a watch on her.
"I know you're there Katzuko…" Haku said and sure enough she felt someone land right next to her.
"How did you know I was there?" Katzuko asked as she smiled playfully at Haku. "I was breathing too loud again right?"
"No, lucky guess." Haku said shortly, amused at how childish Katzuko was.
"Humph, you're no fun…" Katzuko mumbled looking slightly crossed that Haku didn't find anything in her form to correct.
Haku looked at Katzuko wearily before asking, "Why are you like this?"
"Like what?" Katzuko asked, innocently looking at Haku with wide eyes.
"Like that!" When Katzuko did the same confused look again Haku exclaimed, "There! You did it again."
"You mean why am I acting so strangely?" Katzuko guessed and when Haku nodded Katzuko sighed.
"I guess it's because I always have to hang around those two. It's the only way I can cope." She said sadly. When Haku nodded understandingly Katzuko exclaimed, "Don't get me wrong! They're good company when they want to be but they're kind of perverted."
"What?! You mean they-" Haku's shouts were immediately cut off as Katzuko pressed her hand over Haku's mouth. Katzuko frowned slightly, looking at the brothers to make sure they were still asleep.
"Milky milky… Bouncy bouncy…" Muttered one of the brothers sleepily. Slowly two sweat drops formed on the back of Katzuko's head.
"I see what you mean!" Haku mouthed to Katzuko.
"Eh… Well, they don't peek at me when I'm changing or any of that stuff… At least I think they don't." Katzuko's eyes slowly narrowed in suspicion. "They better not." She growled before continuing, "They don't really think of me as a girl anymore since we have to stay together twenty-four seven… Just another comrade."
Katzuko frowned in thought, "Do I look beautiful to you?" She asked suddenly as she stood up and did a slight twirl.
"Err, yeah…" Haku said slowly, not amused anymore.
Katzuko muttered, "Let's hope Uzera thinks so," before sitting down next to Haku and letting out a long sigh.
"What do you mean you stay together twenty-four seven?" Haku asked.
"Don't you have to stay with you team all day every day?" Katzuko asked incredulously, and when Haku shook her head Katzuko looked at Haku with newfound jealousy. First she steals my boyfriend and now she tells me she has a better life than me! Haku backed away noticing the look on Katzuko's face.
"You're extremely lucky you know." Katzuko said enviously. "In our village we have to stay with our teammates to, as they say, 'Improve teamwork'" Katzuko said making imaginary quotation marks with her hands. "They also said being with people you don't like will prevent bonds from forming… They got the preventing bonds thing right." Katzuko scoffed shaking her head.
"Wow, your life must… Suck." Haku said sympathetically flinching as one of the brothers suddenly snorted loudly in his sleep. "But why are you keeping me here?" Haku looked around squinting to see the explosive notes that surrounded them.
"I'm not really sure to tell you the truth." Haku sweat dropped. "We meant to keep you as a hostage, and we thought you knew where Uzera was…but you don't know and now you know too much about us." Katzuko smiled apologetically. "We can't let you go until the end of the exam."
"B-but my team will be disqualified!" Haku sputtered as she suddenly stood up. "I can't just let my team down!"
"To tell you the truth, you don't have a-" Before Katzuko could say any more explosions caused by her explosive notes went off all around them. A second later the two brothers were already by Katzuko's side as if they weren't asleep to begin with.
"Nice reaction time." Haku said appreciatively as she took out some senbon. "Just this once I think I'm going to make an alliance with you three."
"Agreed." Hissed one of the brothers, interrupting Katzuko. "It takes a skilled Ninja or a mass amount of them to trigger off so many explosions at once." The brother suddenly paused in thought, "That or a really stupid one."
"Naurto?" Haku asked hopefully. Naruto was only the ninja that Haku knew that was skilled, stupid, and able to produce mass amounts of clones.
"You mean that dumb blond kid?" The two brothers suddenly looking bloodthirsty, but the gaze left so suddenly that Haku doubted that it was ever there in the first place. "That's highly possible..." A small buzzing suddenly started all around the four.
"Shino!" Haku exclaimed as she pocketed her Senbon.
"Shino? You're teammates?" Katzuko exclaimed suddenly looking alarmed. The next second she had a Kunai pressed against Haku's neck. "Sorry about this but it has to be done." Katzuko whispered feeling Haku tense up against her.
"How does it feel to be the prey?" hissed a voice from the darkness. Katzuko immediately held up one hand to the area where the sound originated and explosive notes flew out. Random explosions were caused as they hit a tree branch from in the darkness. There was a loud crashing as the large branches tumbled down into the darkness.
"What the hell?! Katzuko!" Exclaimed a loud voice from the darkness. "Do you know how close those explosions came to my head?! You could have killed me!" A pause. "Err, I mean… who are you?"
"You freaking idiot! You just revealed our location!" Haku made a sudden movement at this voice but Katzuko pressed the Kunai against her neck, warning her not to move.
"Not a word…" Katzuko whispered as she pulled Haku back. The two brothers suddenly tensed in anticipation.
"There're somewhere to the right of us…" Whispered one of the brothers.
"I-I'm sure Uzera was thinking for the best…" Came Hinata's voice from the tree branches.
"What the hell? Uzera?" Katzuko said, looking suddenly alarmed. "We have to go!" Katzuko said as she let Haku go and backed away. "It is not our objective to get in a fight with Uzera… We are only here to observe." Katzuko explained, before she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The two brothers looked disgustedly at the area where Katzuko disappeared.
"She follows directions too closely." Said one of the brothers as they looked at Haku sinisterly. "Our instructor told us not to engage Uzera…" The second brother grinned as he whipped out his twin Katars.
"He said nothing about attacking his friends…"
"I-I won't let you!" Haku said as she glared at the brother's threateningly. The leaves rustled slightly, and a second later Uzera, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba jumped out, backing Haku up.
"Haku! You're alright!" Kiba exclaimed as he hugged Haku like an affectionate dog. Haku, however, looked distressed. She didn't want Kiba to stop hugging her but it wasn't really the time for hugs.
"Kiba? I don't think..." Haku said, looking from Kiba to the brothers that were looking more and more threatening by the moment. Kiba didn't answer but responded by hugging Haku even tighter.
"Let me handle this." Uzera said as he stood in front of Haku. "Look here!" He said pointing a finger at the brother. "I don't like you and you don't like me! So back off!" Unfortunately this didn't provoke the reaction he predicted.
"I was under the impression we were friends… Being from the same village and all." Said one of the brothers. Somewhere behind Uzera someone gasped but Uzera wasn't listening.
"D-damn you!" Uzera said suddenly looking outraged. "They weren't supposed to know that!"
"If you have something to say then say it." Said the second brother, holding up a Katar to his ears mockingly. When Uzera continued to stutter the two brothers looked at each other.
"Well I guess action serves better than words." A brother said, before both of the brothers suddenly charged Uzera, but before they reached Uzera a white blur jumped in front of Uzera.
"Uzera watch out! Kaiten!" Hinata shouted as she blew back the two brothers with a burst of chakra. The two brothers flew back but rather than slamming into the trees they pushed off the trunk with their legs and rebounded towards Hinata.
"Such a cute girl." Said one of the brothers smiling at Hinata's shocked expression. "It's ok. We don't go after girls…Only annoying little brats."
"Is that so!" screeched a voice from the darkness. The two brothers suddenly stopped their attacks looking fearful. Without warning, explosive notes flew out of the bushes and formed a wall separating the brothers from Hinata.
"Katzuko…" Breathed one of the brothers.
"That's right!" Katzuko said as she jumped out from the trees looking angrier by the minute. "Don't engage! What part of that did you not understand?!"
"The don't part?" One of the brothers said, smiling feebly but the grin slowly came off his face as Katzuko approached him.
"We're going to have a talk…" Katzuko said dangerously before the three disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Well I guess I have some explaining to do?" Uzera asked, looking apprehensively at the questioning faces that faced him.
"You come from their village?" Kiba said disbelievingly. "How come you're not as strong as… Wait, never mind." Kiba said remembering what he did to Gaara only a few hours ago.
"Well I have a perfect expli- Wait what's that?!" Uzera screamed suddenly pointing behind everyone. While everyone had their backs turned Uzera slipped away unnoticed.
"I don't see…" Haku turned around and noticed Uzera wasn't standing in back of them. "UZERA!! COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD!" She screamed suddenly.
"Don't worry. I have planted a female-"
"Bug. Yeah ok, we all know that already." Kiba said before looking at Shino sheepishly. "Sorry… I'm just pissed off that Haku was captured and I couldn't do anything…" Kiba looked almost ashamed and slouched his back.
"Don't worry Kiba-kun. We were all worried." Hinata said as she patted Kiba on the back.
"You were worried about me?" Haku asked looking surprised before breaking into a wide smile. A few stray tears fell down her face but they went unnoticed.
"Come on! Group hug!" Haku said suddenly. Shino looked more surprised than Kiba when Haku grabbed them and Hinata and drew them into a bone-crushing hug.
From somewhere out in the darkness Uzera said, "You should get away from those explosive notes! As for me, I'm going to find my team!" interrupting the team bonding session.
"Explosive notes?" Haku looked back at the wall of explosive notes. "What's he talking about?" Suddenly every explosive note started to hiss and spark. "Oh… That… RUN!" Every Ninja within the vicinity of her yell fled as fast as they could. A few minutes later an explosion rocked the whole forest of death.
"What in the world?!" Shikamaru shouted as he picked himself up from the shockwave of the blast. Slowly he brushed the few stray leaves that stuck to his cloth. "Who the heck sets off 100 explosive notes at once?"
"Shikamaru? Are you feeling ok?" Ino asked carefully because of the sudden outburst by him. Choji looked at Shikamaru anxiously when he nodded. He knew that he was deep in thought at the moment.
"Ok listen guys! We don't have a scroll and it's already two days into the exam." Shikamaru said as he narrowed his eyes in contemplation.
"How about getting it from Naruto's team? They're kind of weak…" Ino said not really thinking before speaking.
"Are you kidding me?!" Choji chocked out before stuffing more chips into his mouth. "They have four people on their team!" He said with his mouth full of chips.
"But they have Sakura on their team! She's probably slowing them down." Ino said, but now looking less sure of herself.
"No. Sasuke is considered the rookie of the year, Uzera beat the rookie of the year easily, and Naruto doesn't seem exactly the same ever since he came back from his mission…" Shikamaru said weighing their chances. "I don't like the odds."
"Then who can we get the scrolls from?" Ino said looking exasperated. "Naruto's team is the weakest in this whole exam!" She said again almost in denial.
"No, that's not true." Shikamaru said annoyed and frowning slightly about something. Choji took one look on Shikamaru's face and knew that the news wasn't good.
"We're the weakest team. We would be easy prey to any-" Shikamaru suddenly looked up into the trees, startled. "Everyone into the bush!" Shikamaru hissed pulling Choji by the scarf. Ino quickly followed.
"What are we hiding from?" Ino whispered looking out of the bushes. She was answered when a pair of legs came into view.
"Neji." Shikamaru said, looking grave as he calculated their chances of escaping.
"You there! Stop!" Neji said suddenly. Ino and Choji looked at Shikamaru fearfully with expressions that said, 'we've been caught.' Shikamaru put his hands up to his lips, telling them to be quiet.
"Huh? What?" A second later another pair of feet landed right in front of Shikamaru's bush. 'That's Uzera.' Ino mouthed excitedly to Shikamaru. He'll murder Neji! Inner Ino cried out confidently.
"Do you have a scroll?" Neji's voice came from somewhere in front of Uzera.
"Wait! I know you!" Uzera said suddenly, ignoring Neji's question. "You're that guy that got brushed off by Sasuke… And me!" He added like an afterthought.
Neji's eyes twitched from that comment. Apparently that memory still stung. "I will once more. Do you have-" once again Neji's question went unanswered as three people landed next to Uzera.
"Uzera! The next time you run off like that we're going to call off the alliance!" Even though Haku was the same height as Uzera her demeanor made it as though she towered over him.
"O-ok." Uzera said looking scared. The last time she was like this was the time she found out Kakashi smuggled in another copy of Icha Icha paradise under her nose with Uzera's help. Of coarse she dealt with the problem but she never quite forgave Uzera for not telling her that Kakashi had another book.
"I don't like this…" Choji whimpered softly, looking around for someway to escape.
"Hinata-sama." Neji said abruptly making everyone stare at him. Sama? The same thought was on everyone's mind at the moment.
"Neji-nii-chan…" Hinata said softly trying not to meet Neji's eyes. Nii-CHAN? Haku's mouth gaped open in surprise.
"W-wait a moment!" Uzera said looking from Hinata to Neji. "You're related?"
Neji gave the same respect to Uzera and ignored him but Hinata answered him. "Distantly but we are related…"
"Hinata-sama. Since this is the forest of death I cannot guarantee your safety. Give me your scroll and I will let you leave in peace." Neji said coldly. Three gasps emitted from the bushes but no one noticed.
"How does he expect to win against four people at once?" Choji whispered while stuffing himself with chips. He was thoroughly enjoying the scene that was playing out before him. It was almost like the movies. Except without the popcorn… And the butter.
"Shh." Shikamaru shushed without taking his eyes off from the scene. "Let's see how this plays out." Choji nodded, understanding what Shikamaru wanted and returned his attention to the Genin in front of him.
"What do you mean by that?" Hissed Haku in a deadly whisper, her eyes as sharp as daggers. "Are you threatening my best friend?" Hinata smiled gratefully when she said this. Neji meet Haku's glare easily.
"No, I am merely suggesting that Hinata give me her scroll, or somebody may get hurt." Neji said calmly but his eyes glinted maliciously.
"Ok! Now I knew that was a threat!" Uzera said finally hearing the underlying malice in Neji's voice.
"You better clear out now before I open a can of whoop ass on your behind!" Kiba said sauntering up so he was blocking Hinata from view just the way Uzera and Haku were doing.
"What he said." Shino said as he stepped up too. The bugs inside Shino buzzed ominously.
"What kind of relative are you?" Uzera said looking at Neji with a mixture of disgust and anger. "How could you even think of hurting," Uzera suddenly nudged a startled Hinata in front of him. "Such a cute girl?" Hinata blushed as Uzera said this and tired to hide herself from Neji's view.
A pampered heir for the main branch… Neji thought with disgust as Hinata's blush died down. You know nothing. Neji thought looking at Uzera in a sudden rage. "You don't know what I'm capable of."
"You don't deserve to be related to Hinata." Uzera retorted before looking comfortingly at Hinata like an older brother. "Don't worry. This jerk, we can take care of."
Hinata shook her head looking slightly apprehensive. "Please, it's my fault Neji's like this. Don't hurt him." She whispered.
"I never wished to be related…" Neji said under his breath before looking at Uzera. "So you have refused my offer. Then suffer the consequences." Neji swiftly crossed the gap between them but Haku was already ahead of him.
"Run!" Haku said as she appeared in back of Neji and locked his hands behind him. "I'll take this guy on!" Haku knew she couldn't keep Neji like this for long but she could hold him for a couple of seconds.
"Haku! Please don't!" Hinata cried looking at Neji's pained but determined expression.
"That's right! We're not leaving you behind!" Kiba said suddenly, misinterpreting why Hinata was so distressed.
"Kiba don't be a hero! I'm more than enough to take this guy on!" But as soon as she said this she was blasted into a tree by a tremendous amount of chakra emitted by Neji. "Ok… Maybe I might need a little help." Haku said wincing slightly as she stood back up.
"We meet at the tower!" Kiba said as he rushed forward to help.
"Come on Hinata! Let's go! Let Kiba and Haku handle this!" Uzera said as he tugged on Hinata's coat. Shino nodded in agreement before jumping into the trees.
Hinata cast one last worried glance at Kiba, who was performing the Gatsuga with Akamaru before leaving.
Somewhere in the bushes someone frowned. "Come on. We've seen enough." Shikamaru said but his eyebrows were still furrowed in thought.
Next chapter: I don't know when it's coming out... I'm going to try... Something...
AN: If anything, I'll get this story done first. Once I get over this 'slump' I'll get working. I need one story out of the way before I start working on another one.
PS: If I do abandon my story I'd like to give a few shoutouts before I go... Since I might not actually be gone (Take it as an extended vacation) I won't give any shoutouts at this time. If I do you guys know who you are!
On a lighter note- One of my friends, Ryan, has finnaly found my account. It was really a slip up on my part but nonetheless he found it, and as I type this I know he's reading this. If he doesn't tease me too much about my mediocre writing skills I might actually get a coauthor for my stories. You never know! (He's writing skills are a lot better than mine... He just never uses them).