"What do you mean those two are gone?" Tsunade was stomping down the hallway, holding onto her clipboard right. Guy matched her speed down the hall, sweat dripping off of his face.
"Well, Lee and I had made plans for when I returned from my mission. A great thing about that boy, is that he doesn't miss any plans, not a second late, and he didn't show!" He explained, practically telling a story with his hands. "That in itself was concerning enough, but when I stopped by not so long ago to check on how [Firstname] was doing, she wasn't there!"
Tsunade got faster, the grip on her clipboard getting tighter. "I told that girl to stay put, to think, Lee even went along with it! I thought that boy would be concerned over his teammate, with how he always talks of her, You'd think he'd talk her out of it!"
Guy sweat dropped, "You're right, my students are as close as three peas in a pod..."—A casual flex over his squad-bonding techniques, he remembered the first one of those, where he had made the three of you stand shortest to tallest—where you had been at the shortest/middle/tallest position. He wondered if it was still the same. "But maybe that's the problem, [Firstname] can convince Lee to do just about anything...! Neji always knocks sense into them, but since he was out on a mission..." The two of them finally made it to your room, which was as empty as Guy remembered it being, and the window was open.
"A clear escape..." Tsunade observed, closing the window and fixing the curtains. She took another look at the room, noticing the bottle of medicine by the foot of the bed. "This is what I gave to Lee, a soothing medicine for the rest of his recovery..." She said, leaning down to grab the bottle, unscrewing the top. "If he's as good a student as a you say he is, then why..."
She fell silent as she recalled who it was who had been in this room before, a heavy drinker—and she stilled, noticing the similarities of the bottle she gave Lee, and the favorite drink of her previous patient. She took a sniff, and could almost feel her heart drop. Right, if Lee was as good a student Guy claimed him to be, it made sense for him to have offered you some of his medicine—since she had only given you what was left of the batch she made. She said she'd get on it to make a new batch, but it looked like the pain in your head had reappeared faster than she accounted for.
...And Lee had mixed up his medicine for the bottle of Saké the nurses hadn't cleaned out before. "What's the matter, Lord Fifth?" Guy asked urgently, noticing Tsunades sudden silence. Tsunade lowered the bottle of medicine in her hand, turning toward Guy.
"It appears your students mistook Lees medicine for Saké..." She explained, looking down at the bottle. She didn't see the instant look of shock on Guys face—if it was Saké Lee took, then it made sense why he hadn't tried to rebute your escape. But what he didn't know, that it was you who had originally taken a sip. He had no clue that two of his students were capable of the Drunkest Fist, and another thing he had no clue about was that it was you who told Lee to come along.
Tsunade turned toward Guy, concerned by his uncharacteristic silence. She rose a brow at the look of concern, now it was her turn to ask what the problem was. "... If Lee had taken a drink of that, then..." He sweat dropped, "This is a real problem, that boy Lee... Is a master of the Drunken Fist." He explained.
Tsunade was caught off guard by it, but when she thought back on it—she denied that it was the case. "Considering the time, Lee was required to take his medicine not to long ago." She pressed her hand against the sheets you laid on, "The bed is lacking considerable warmth, with her unnatural body heat, that means she has to have been gone for a while now..." She observed. "If anyone had drank, I'd say it was [Firstname]."
Guys eyes widened at the suggestion, "You mean to say..."
"You might have two Drunken Fist users on your team." Tsunade finished for him. For the most part, Guy was ecstatic, it was an honor! As a Taijutsu specialist, it was all Guy could ever dream of mastering—but to have you and Lee, people with a considerable amount of knowledge at Taijutsu be capable of the Drunken Fist, was great. But now his plans of taking his team out to a bar as celebration for them for being so youthful once they were of drinking age went out the window—Neji would have to deal with two drunk teammates, since Guy couldn't bring himself to knocking out any one of his students. Maybe as discipline, but could it really be considered that if neither of you would know what was happening?
"Oh please, don't look so bashful." Tsunade scoffed, "The estimated time of this mission has already been exceeded anyway, we have to send in a recovery squad..." Guy perked up, of course, seeing as three of his students had gone—he was a clear first pick. "We have to gather as many medical ninja as we can, chances are the Sand Ninja I alerted for are on the scene, too..." Shisui had wandered in a few seconds later, with Shizune at his side due to his having gotten lost in the halls. Shizune was a clear pick, but she was hesitant on asking Shisui.
Right, it Shisui was visible, that meant wherever you were, you were conscious. That might be a good thing to know while out on recovery, but still, this was a ghost—of the Uchiha nonetheless. Though, maybe that was for the better. To talk some sense into Sasuke and get him to come home, he was not a traitor to the village until this mission was a failure. Which looked like the clear result of this mission so far; but she'd hold out. All she needed now was Medical Ninja—and Kakashi. She could not send this team out without Kakashi, if all else failed, he'd be the one that talked them into coming back.
——————————————
The next scent you had followed was Nejis, perhaps it was a bit biased--but he was your teammate, and the scent of blood was strong coming from his direction. Lee was your next priority, but the smell of blood was small coming from his direction, and you could smell Gaara, too.. So his condition must have been better. Hashirama didn't have much longer until he dissapeared, and you didn't have an expendable amount of Chakra to nake him visible again. That, or Shisui disappeared in the middle of sorting things out with the fifth. Although neither were great options--you tried to compromise with both. Kiba struggled to keep up with you, but Hashirama kept up, expected of the first hokage to do so.
He had caught the jist of the situation, one Kiba had to stutter out because he was one; infront of a ghost, and two; this was the fist Hokage. He wasn't as uptight as you thought the practical founder of the Leaf would be--and he was eager to help. It only made sense, since the result of his hard work for the Leaf led to this; the sole survivor of the [Lastname] clan moving to his humble village and asking him for help. Well, it didn't all happen in a second, but it was nice to see his village become something--and that someone from a differing village could still trust him. The shock of suddenly having senses hit him as hard as it did any other ghost; but he didn't falter a second at what you had asked him.
You had landed beside Neji, his headband was off; and seeing his curse mark was enough to have you watery-eyed. For the first time you could recall, you were crying--unbeknownst to you, Kiba had seen you in your emotionally drunk state, but did that count? You couldn't exactly find it in you to care, a tender hand landing itself on Nejis cheek. He was getting colder, and the gaping wounds he had on him didn't do much to reassure you on his condition. Kiba knew of Neji to be a genius on surface level, strong, and a genius... To see him in this condition; he wondered how strong the opponent had to be. His seniors by a year were impressive when it came to strength; and the one he was most impressed about, Lee, wasn't even here.
And... Kiba could tell the tears you were shedding not were geninue; not fueled by a stupid state of mind. Your hand wandered up towards Nejis forhead to brush the loose hairs away from his face. Although you wouldn't deny he looked good with his hair like this--you couldn't care less about his looks any other time
than now. Your hand rested on his head, his hair was as soft as you ever imagine it being.
Kiba held Akamaru close, frowning at the sight in front of him. He was sure he could relate to the overwhelming feelings you were having right now, the risk of losing someone so close to you—as far as Kiba was aware, your teammates were the only people in your life so... Important. He knew of your Clans passing, he knew back when he approached you for a ghost story, he heard of bad rumors first. Of course, someone from a foreign village were never accepted so easily, but what they would say always varied—some so bad and common he wondered how you never heard any of it. It was never that he believed any of those rumors, but in front of you now, he knew it was all a lie.
Who he saw in front of him was 100% human, just like the rest of the Leaf Village. Kind, and even in a drunk state—concerned over people you barely knew. All those rumors were false, and if they were still being told, Kiba knew now that he could deny them. Just like Naruto, he never disliked either of you, even tried to get to know the two of you—but popular belief always had an effect on what others thought.
Kibas frown became more prominent as he was Hashirama take you place beside the boy, analyzing the situation. There wasn't much he could do for Akamaru but numb the dogs pain, but he appreciated it more than anything. After all, he seemingly got Kiba back into the best state possible despite Kiba purposely hitting a vital spot. With Neji, however, he was also human. Yet Hashirama was stumped at what he could do at the very moment, how to help the bleeding boy with two gaping wounds. Although it wouldn't save him, Hashirama could stabilize him—to actually operate him would take a whole group of talented ninja that he didn't have on board.
"This boy is of Hyuga descent, isn't he?" Hashirama asked, two hands over Nejis chest. If anything, it looked like he was trying to start Nejis heart up again.
"Yes..." You answered quietly, looking down at Nejis face. This was the most peaceful you had seen him, at the face of death, Neji was peaceful. Because he thought he was free—from his curse-mark and his destiny. You realized now, that you hadn't made any progress, that promise you had made yourself over a year ago hadn't got anywhere. And that wish you made of freeing Neji of his destiny had amounted to nothing, that thought alone made your tears fall with more ease than before—the ones you wiped away being replaced by new ones in a second. "He's apart of the second branch." You added, speaking slowly so that your voice wouldn't falter.
Hashirama nodded his head, the green glow increasing in brightness. "If that's the case, then your friend will be fine." He reassured, "The curse mark inflicted on the second branch of the Hyuga is only removed upon death."
It was meant to be reassuring, but the hand that wiped your tears away stilled, just a little ways away from your face as a single extra tear fell. "There's not another way?" You asked silently.
Hashirama lifted his head, not distracting himself from healing Neji, but still answering. "Well, there might be one—.." He disappeared before he got the chance the finish, completely. He hadn't even went back to being a ghost, he simply vanished. Kiba didn't look as shocked as you did, or maybe desperate was the word. It wasn't that you wouldn't be able to summon Hashirama again, but you truly needed the man as soon as possible. He had to finish his sentence. You tried your Poltigan again, it swirled in your eye for a second before deactivating. That process happened again a few more times before you gave up.
Kiba watched you, worry evident on his face as you looked back at Neji. He didn't seem to much better, but if there was one thing Hashirama managed to do in his sort time-span, it was stabilize Nejis breathing. He looked back up at you, the first thing he noticed was that your tears had started back up again, he never knew what to do how to comfort someone—especially a girl. He remembered when Hinata first cried because she felt useless, and he could never find the right words. Kurenai ended up being the one to comfort her, or whenever his sister would cry. But through time, he figured stuff out about those three—girls he all saw often. But you... Were never one he thought he'd see in this state.
"His breathing's gotten better..." He mentioned slowly, he didn't know it, but him speaking served as a reminder that he was there in the first place. You faced away from him, quickly wiping your tears away and sobering your emotions.
"I see," You answered, wiping your final tear away discreetly. "Thanks... I didn't notice that." You were being genuine—in your frenzy of tears, you could hardly see. Any yet see Nejis breath even out, but for a second, Kiba thought you were being sarcastic. You turned toward him, putting on the best stoic look you could at that second—which was as good as ever.
Kiba looked back at you, sweat-dropping. If he hadn't seen you crying your eyes out just a few seconds ago, he would've thought you were actually alright. "I'm sure he'll be alright, if there's one thing I know about the Hyugas... It's that they're real resilient." He grinned.
You blinked in order to process his words—you almost forgot he was on the same team as Hinata. And he was right about that, the Hyugas were resilient. Still, one of Nejis injuries looked like it had hit a vital spot. But if he was breathing, then he must've been alright. You smiled, a small smile, but it made Kiba think he actually might've done good at comforting someone.
Well, to a certain degree, it did. "Thanks, Kiya." In a drunk state of mind, he understood the name mix-up, but right now? "With how much Neji used to talk about destiny, I'm sure he'd be denying this way of death right now..."
Despite the name mix-up, Kiba smiled, corrected you—and mentioned... "Hey, what about those three smells, you smell em' too, right?" He asked, a finger on his nose as he sniffed them out again. He had no idea where your smelling capabilities came from, but how could you explain that they came from a dragon completely ripped off of another story? You didn't, you kept silent.
"Yeah.." You nodded, taking a discreet sniff, turning your head toward the one that was following you. It had Kiba on guard, yet you looked so relaxed. "The one coming this way now is Kankuro." You observed.
"The dude from the Sand, right?" Despite his best efforts, he couldn't bring himself to look nonchalant, and you noticed. The reason Kiba tried to look nonchalant was because he knew well you had visited them a while ago, but it was just Inuzuka instinct!
"Yeah, he's not a bad guy..." You reassured just as the mentioned boy landed in view, he looked a little angry.
"Dammit... I've been chasing you around for a while now and you never stopped moving!" He complained, "I was supposed to step up and save you!" He pointed at Kiba, who sweatdropped before a grin formed on his face.
"You totally got beat then," Kiba pointed at you with his thumb. "She saved me, in a way cooler fashion, too." Kankuro finally looked over at you, who was still kneeling beside Neji. The boy seemingly missed your teammate on the ground and smirked, leaning over to whisper over at Kiba.
"Saved by the cutest chick I know! You sly dog..." He chuckled, a hand over his mouth. And despite his best attempts at being sneaky, you stood up, clearly having heard him.
"Uh..." Kiba blinked, sure you were cute, but given the situation, it was no time to flirt. "You do know whose on the floor there, right?" He mumbled back, and Kankuro took the time to look. Not only did he see you standing now, but he just barely noticed your teammate on the floor.
Kankuros posture stiffened, and you clenched your fist. "How do you suck so badly at being sneaky..." You grumbled. "Are you sure you're a ninja?"
Kankuro raised his arms in mock defense, sweat dropping. Your plain-face was scarier than any theeaf he's ever faced. " Hey... I didn't see him, I'm sorry!" It wasn't that you were going to give him a good beating anyway, you were rather tame with hits when it came to your fellow ninja—but you couldn't help your anger at any time. Still, your hand loosened as you sighed.
"It's alright..." You looked back down at your teammate and frowned. Your eyes always wandered toward his curse-mark whenever it was visible. It was something he was insecure about, you were sure—but in a way, you thought it was beautiful. Not just because it was Neji who had it, but because of how much it represented in your teammate, and despite it's cruelty, Neji managed to change... For the better, of course. "If you're here, Kankuro... I'm sure they've started assembling a... Recovery squad for the recovery squad.." You concluded, taking a sniff of air. Kiba followed, sniffing around for any new scents—which he found none of, but Kankuro made a comment that made you both stop.
"If I knew I would be accompanying the sniff squad, I woulda sent in someone else." He said, arms crossed. To which, you and Kiba turned toward him, blank-faced. Kankuro stared back, mouth slowly falling closed. He realized quickly his joke didn't land. "Sorry." You and Kiba looked back toward each other, seemingly deciding if he was forgiven. To which he was, given a few seconds of excruciating silence. It looked like the two of you were thinking at the same wavelength, teasing him the same way.
"Well, I caught a scent." Kiba said, looking away from Kankuro, back turned toward him. "Sure you wouldn't know since you're not apart of the 'sniff squad'." He shrugged, hands on his hips. You mimicked Kibas position, back turned toward Kankuro.
"Oh yeah, there's a lot, too. At least in the double digits..." You added, sniffing the air again for extra effect. "They smell pretty angry, too. Huh?"
Kiba sniffed too, and nodded. "Yeah... They seem to have a particular distaste of puppet users...!"
"There's no damn way you two can smell something like that!" Kankuro burst, not buying into the story the two of you were telling. "...Right?"
Kiba changed the subject, pointing out toward the trees in front. "Sasukes that way, we have to get to him." Right, this was a Sasuke retrieval, you nearly forgot. And now that you actually took the time to sniff, you could tell Naruto had reached Sasuke. Kankuro straightened out, and nodded.
"That's what the mission called for, lead the way!" He instructed, but Kiba looked over at you.
"Are you coming, [Firstname]?" He asked, and you looked at him. You thought it through for a second, but your head instinctually shook your answer; "No."
"I'm gonna stay here, you two go on ahead." Kiba thought it was because you wanted to stay with your teammate, which was definitely a reason why, but the more pressing reason in your mind was because you didn't want to see Sasuke. He had said some things that stuck to you—mostly about your clan.
"Yeah, alright." Kiba nodded, "Stay put here, then. In case there's some sort of ambush, I'm sure you'll be able to guard Neji." With that, the two left, and you were left alone. Well, Neji was there to, but he was unconscious—his company hardly counted. You had lowered yourself back down to his side, on your knees as you reached out for his hand. Just as cold as you remembered them being, but what Nejis hand naturally cold? Well, you didn't know, you never held them anyway. Actually, you had, but the positions were reversed, you were the one barely alive, and Neji held your hand.
You tried your Poltigan again, only to be given a heavier headache as a result. You could feel something leak from your eye, you quickly wiped it away—mistaking it for tears as anyone else would, but lowering your hand, you saw blood. It was no surprise, yet your breath shook—your hand that held Nejis subconsciously tightening. Of course, making two ghosts visible and having your Poltigan on during a fight meant you overused it, you hardly kept it on in the first place, and all at once you tried to pull off everything you could with it. You brought up the same hand, wiping your other eye with the back of your hand. More blood.
You never ran into this consequence of your Poltigan before, but that's what you assumed it was. You looked up from your hand, and now that you took the time to look at your surroundings, you realized what was missing from your sight. When you would usually see hundreds of ghosts around, there were none. The sight of ghosts would startle any one else, yet not seeing any at all startled you, you spent most of your life accustomed to seeing them. Though, it was peaceful. You had never been outside of your house and not seen a ghost. It was only you and Neji beneath the sun, the only sound was the wind, and birds in the trees. You knew now why Neji looked so peaceful, in this scenery, anyone would be peaceful. You smiled, finding yourself at peace, too.
Time had passed, and you caught a scent of Kakashi passing by, in a clear rush. It made sense; since two of his students had been fighting. And it looked like Kiba and Kankuro hadn't even made it, infact, they weren't moving. No, nobody over in that side was, not Naruto, Kankuro or Kiba. And Sasukes scent was fading. Had he really knocked the three out? Or had something else stopped Kankuro and Kiba on their way there? You were curious, yet you didn't leave Nejis side.
More time had passed, an hour in peaceful silence at the very least, Kiba and Kankuro returned you, shaken, but alive. Kakashi and Naruto were headed another way, back to the village you pressumed, and another group of unknown people were headed toward the others.
You looked up at Kiba from your position on the floor, and he told you what had happened. They managed to catch up, but what they saw made them stop their pursuit. Naruto and Sasuke in an unsurprising battle—but Sasuke looked different, demon like even. And Naruto had been surrounded by Chakra they'd seen a minimal amount of before, the same used against Neji—but much stronger. The moment they saw Naruto get his neck snapped by Sasuke, they knew to not advance further. Yet, Naruto was alive.
He has been brought back to life... In a similar fashion to Diaval bringing you back, you assumed. They were adamant about staying with you from that moment further. Given a few more minutes, Kiba pointed out the group of people that were getting closer, pointing at a tree, the group that had appeared were being led by...
"Shisui!?" You called out in surprise, standing to your feet. Yes, you knew he was with the Hokage—but to see him here now, leading a squad was a shock you never thought you'd experience. You hadn't even smelt him—well, you never had before. Ghosts barely had a presence, one that could only be revealed if they were seen. You pointed a shaky finger at him, "When'd you get that vest? You know... I worked really hard for my own!" You whined, it was true—you did work hard, you had put your life on the line for the one you didn't/did wear.
Shisui looked at you, he sensed your Chakra and had led the squad he was appointed for straight toward you. Besides, there were others with you, so it was a fair judgement to make. "I was Jounin level myself when I was alive, M'lady." He reminded, he knew you were conscious due to the fact he was visible, but you were in better condition then he thought you'd be. "It's only a temporary placement, most of the Jounin level ninja were out on missions, or had been knocked out. Fifth decided I would be the most suited for this mission, given an exception." He explained, surveying the area. At the sight of Neji on the ground, he was quick to lead the medical ninja in, and then he observed you, Kiba and Kankuro.
You were definitely worn out, seeing as you left the hospital prematurely without rest and had overused your Poltigan—Kankuro was unscathed, seeing as he was late to the party, Kiba might need a check-in at the hospital, and Akamaru would need to see a veterinarian soon. Shisui reached into his Jounin vest, pulling out a scroll that he quickly began to write in. He was already filling in a report, everything he did when he was visible was never taken lightly, the second chance at life you offered him every now and then was taken with appreciation each time. And boy did he look like a professional, definitely of the Anbu as he had said, and as Jounin level as he claimed.
Yet at times, he was just as childish as you. It served as a reminder that he and you were similar in various ways, despite not looking the same, or having the same blood, the two of you were a-like. Forced to grow up, pulling off a killer poker-face, yet at the end of the day, just a kid. In a way, your story was similar to an Uchiha. Though maybe, you had realized that much yet. "I'll fill in a report, M'lady. When we get there, your friend will get the immediate attention he needs." He reassured, because he knew you'd want to hear of your teammates condition first. You stared down at him, a frown exposing how you really felt.
"Thank you, Shisui... You really are the best ghost-companion anyone could ask for..." You managed a small smile. One that he returned when he looked up at you, finishing his report. Neji had already been recovered by one of the nurses—a technique that had been thought of to recover the injured were simple summoning scrolls. Convenient, fast, and made sure patients weren't moved a wrong way.
Shisui had done the honors of putting the Neji scroll in his pocket, along with his report file. "Due to the number of recovery teams, we'll have to retrieve one more..." He explained, "With your sense of smell, I'm sure you can lead us to another one."
Kiba quickly butted into the conversation, "Choji! We have to get Choji!" He answered quickly. "The rest are fine, but the smell coming from him is blood, I could barely catch his scent over all of it!" He said desperately, he and Choji weren't necessarily close, but Kiba had been worried about that smell ever since he saw Nejis condition. Seeing him—a genius as injures as he was had his thoughts plagued by Choji's condition. Shisui nodded at his suggestion, turning back toward the recovery group. Who was going to be led by you and Kiba in sense of direction, a good sense of smell was surprisingly useful.
On your way to recover Choji, you could only think back on what Hashirama had said. Another way to unseal the curse mark of the Hyuga, an answer you needed to know. If you were going to help your friend the way you claimed you would, you had to know, no matter how hard it might've been. You stared at Kibas back, he hadn't put his jacket back on—instead he laid it over Akamaru to shield him from the wind. You could feel your sight get blurry, but your steps didn't falter.
If the unsealing of Nejis curse mark meant another unlocking of your Poltigan, then you'd have to experience deep hatred, loneliness, sadness... And even more death, of people important to you, or another near-death experience. But the next stage of your Poltigan was a blood-bond seal contract, which wasn't something you thought would be necessary to remove a curse mark. You weren't sure if you'd even want to waste your only shot at the fifth stage on someone like whoever created the curse-mark. It was special, it was powerful—and it was why the [Lastname] clan was cursed in the first place.
A blood-bond seal contract was basically a revival of the dead, where the [Lastname] shares a soul with a ghost, shares a chakra-flow, and where the ghost is practically invincible. A ghost doesn't die until the contractor does, but in that time, a ghost ages, eats, drinks, and sleeps just like a human does. They shi—share hugs, just like humans too! Unlike when you made them visible with Chakra, they didn't age, and when they ate or drank, they were never satisfied, it was like an endless hunger. It's a powerful technique, something the [Lastname] were sought for, arranged marriages were popular within the clan, and you figured... If they hadn't been wiped out, you would be married right now, possibly even pregnant. A thought less than lovely, but more than possible.
And as the heiress, you'd be even more popular. That was another reason you never liked to think of your clan, because your parents had been killed—and because of its corrupt system you forgot of until now. Your frown grew, the wind hard against your face as you continued forward. The [Lastname] were powerful, and were wiped out by one person. Perhaps multiple you weren't even aware about, and you couldn't do anything about it, because your hatred and drive weren't as powerful as Sasukes was.
You being the last survivor was a mistake.
The group of you finally landed by Choji, the retrieval squad getting to work quickly as you stood by a talkative Kiba—who kept asking on Chojis condition. You were lost in thought, about things that had happened of recent, Nejis curse-mark, Sasukes words, the group that attacked you—and more beyond that. And the answer to all the problems you were facing were answered by one thing; you had to leave the village.
You looked up at the blue sky, so bright it felt as if it were mocking you for the sequence of events. You weren't going to leave for long, but once Neji recovered, you were going to leave—and get stronger. For your teammates, your friends... Your clan.