behind the smile chapter two

• Artist: Xxkairix1_QueenOfHeartsxX
• Description: it took me a few hours to write this but its finally done hope you like it
• Date: 10/26/2008
• Tags: behind smile chapter

Behind the Smile

• Behind the Smile

-Chapter 2: The Advance On Konoha

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All was soundless as Neji stood among his fellow comrades in silence. The only noise the slight whistle of the wind as it swayed through the open window of the Hokage's office, slightly rustling few of the lightweight papers among the desk.

It was easily felt the tension and rising tempers amidst the room as all stood with bated patience, eyes filled with curiosity and seriousness. They were all resultant of the long look Tsunade was giving them all as she gathered her words, her facial expression very unreadable.

His pearl eyes remained on her, though there was no curiosity; he was calm, and able to predict that likelihood and timing of her words as her lips parted to speak.

He was the one who had informed her.

"Konoha is in grave danger." Her first words escaped her in serious tone.

Flashback

The smell of early morning tickled his nose as he walked through the vast forest adjacent to the gates of Konoha village. The pines of trees perfume of flowers; the gaining rays of the rising sun warmed his skin as it managed to peak through the trees hovering above brought all his senses to life. The ground met softly with his calm, poised footsteps, and he made not a sound and he strolled along with a sort of gracefulness. It took him another moment of traveling before he slowed to a halt.

His pearl eyes scanned the area around him as his senses flared out. Seemingly content and satisfying with his choosing of place, key to his liking due to the numerous amounts of vantage points possible within his grasp, the Hyuuga proceeded to sit down, with one leg crossing under the other.

He shut out all other senses, closing his eyes, relaxing his body, calming his breaths. He cleared his mind completely leaving only the incoming signals and messages from the nature around him to invade. This was a perfect place. It was secluded well enough from the bustling and loudness of the village, which lacked untouched, un-humanized earth. Letting out one last barely discernable sigh of a breath, his body relaxed completely, his mind extending outwards in all directions, sensing, hearing and feeling what the ground beneath him was feeling, what the wide expanse of forest around him was feeling.

He felt soft footsteps tingle his skin as it did the soil of the earth. He sensed the movement of an arm as the motion vibrated from the hollows of the trees surrounding. He also caught sense of the kunai held in the arm, ready to be thrown. He was aware of the person’s exact position, exact features, and intentions; the figure was aware of his location, but not his intent, or the moment in which he had disappeared.

The Hyuuga prodigy swiftly appeared in front of his teammate, stopping her arm in place, holding it in its extension. The two teammates stayed like that, gazing into each other’s eyes. Haughty, yet amused chocolate eyes gazed into cool, calm pearl. It took a moment before a smile graced Tenten's lips as she sighed in defeat. Noting her submission, a small smirk graced his lips as well, however brief as he released Tenten's arm, moving to sit down once again.

"It's no fun not being able to sneak up on you anymore." She joked however winy like as she watched him sit down. "So, this is your new spot eh?" She looked around for a moment, bringing her hand over her eyes as she looked up against the glare of the sun. "It's nice."

"Yeah." Was all Neji said. He glanced at her, it seemed he were about to grin, but did not. He let out a small release of breath before closing his eyes once again. Concentration was his goal. Tenten was also very aware of this, and made her it own goal to make no noise, though it didn't apply to her gaze. A sort of warmness coveted by her eyes, slightly twinkled into exposure every time she looked at him without his notice.

She just strolled over to another tree and waited, gently sliding down to the ground. It was nice, and she wouldn't mind a relaxing pass time. Maybe she could learn to do what he did. Neji's eyebrows were furrowed in focus, but the rest of his body’s muscles were so relaxed that if she pushed him, he surely would have fallen over. He was embracing his deep state of meditation.

At this point Neji could hear Tenten’s every breath, every heart beat, the ruffling of her pouch as she took out a kunai and fiddled with it. He could hear birds flocking, the splashing of jumping fish in a nearby stream, the little squirrels and rabbits that were obviously startled quickly huddling into their burrows… and then something came upon him.

Tenten saw his hands grow tense as his senses went deeper into the forest. Something was wrong.

A twig snapping… the scraping of feet on hollow tree branches… the brushing of leaves and deep, shallow breaths. A few miles distance separated them. Three...Five miles. There was a small group traveling in their direction. He delved deeper into his senses; the five miles seemed to be leading something else. The sounds grew louder; there were more footsteps, ragged breathing, and chattering. He couldn’t even begin to count the numbers.

His eyes snapped open. He jumped up and immediately activated his Byakuugan for enhanced vision. And surely, there were rows of Sound Nin jumping through the trees as far as he could see. But they still had about twenty minutes until they got here. If that.

Tenten was alert, knowing that something was bothering her teammate. “Neji?” She asked, waiting for him to tell her what to do. He was still looking far ahead.

“Tenten, go to the guards and alert them. Tell them the Sound are invading..” He didn’t wait for a response and ran towards the Nins. Without a second thought, Tenten ran.

End Flashback

He had set quite a few blow tags, not under any impression that they would help much, or matter of fact even be set off, but it was something. He had then taken the time to try and get a broad count on numbers, but even that was impossible by the never ending lines of Shin obi. He had used his Byakuugan, the numbers stretched out as far as he could see, as far as he could reach with his improved sight.

Tsunade took a long look around at the shin obi once again before speaking.

"There is no time to discuss this, only time for us to assemble a defense. And possibly an offense."

Many pairs of eyes squinted as she said this, their eagerness for her words to continue bading them quiet.

“This moment, as we speak, the army of Sound, if not its whole damn village is advancing on Konoha. I want you all to assemble every rank of our ninjas in the village at the gates. There you will be split into your positions." There were only nods as most of the shin obi in the room disappeared.

Tsunade had turned and let out a small sigh, though stopped as she noticed the group that remained. She wasn't surprised in the least, and her eyes seemed to light up with a sort of graveness. She let her stern brown eyes meet the gazes of Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura.

A small silence ensued before she turned to face them completely.

“If Uchiha Sasuke truly is with the Sound advancing on us, it is your mission by my order for you to kill him. If you even dare to hesitate you too will be betraying this village.” She looked specifically at Sakura. She stared back with an emotionless expression.

It was then that another small silence ensued.

Tsunade was about to turn away to allow them leave, but she was interrupted by the small , stern voice that sounded the room.

"And if there's a chance to capture him?" Her emotionless, calm tone implied no personal feelings to her inquiry. Naruto and Kakashi took their long glances to her, before returning to Tsunade as they waited an answer, and answer to a question they too, had wanted to ask.

Sakura's emerald gaze clashed with Tsunades amber.

"He will present you no chance."

"And if he does?" Sakura's calm voice continued to argue, though there wasn't a single trace of hostility.

"If he does he will be brought before a council, tried and convicted for all his crimes. He is an S-class criminal, Haruno Sakura, and he will be executed."Tsunades voice seemed growing in frustration, yet stern and commanding as she continued to stare Sakura down.

Naruto's jaw clenched as he seemed eager to say something, but he did not, letting out a barely disernable release of breath as he averted his eyes to the side.

No emotion crossed her face, and only a small moment of silence separated her word from Tsunade.

"Understood."

They all disappeared from the room.

..ooo00ooo00ooo..

“As you all know, this is a very troublesome situation. Konoha needs your cooperation. We are pressed for time so just stick with what you have to do. If you really have an objection, speak up quickly. If you don’t, then don’t waste our time. Do you all understand?”Shikamaru's calm voice sounded the area filled with awaiting shin obi. Their numbers requiring absolute silence to be able to hear his words.

“We need Neji up in the front with the Jounins outside the gates. With his Byakuugan he can use his three-hundred and sixty degree angle sight and use the Hyuuga main family’s Heavenly Spin. It excels in both offense and defense which is the ideal move for the frontline... So Neji, you’ll be just a few feet ahead of the Jounins doing that. That fine?” Neji nodded. “Now…“ Tenten interrupted him.

“Up front Neji would need more help. With my weapon skills, I can cover him and help make sure none get through...” Shikamaru didn’t have time to argue. “Okay then. It would be best for Tenten to have your back with her excellent weapon skills. You together can lessen the load on us behind you. When you get too tired you will signal the Jounins, and they will let you through…” He looked over to Sakura.

She spoke up immediately. “The next line behind you will be Naruto. He will make his own little army of clones and give Neji and Tenten room to retreat. When you guys are safe, he will stay up front until all of his clones are gone. Then he will go back to the line with the other Jounins and fight. Naruto, can you do that?” She asked.

“Of course.” His calm, slightly deep voice sounded as he did his great “hero/cool guy” pose. Sakura gave a small smile and continued. “Kiba, Shino, Ino, Lee, and Chouji will be behind Naruto with the rest of the Jounins and Chuunins. Neji, you go back to there and help them out. Shino, you can use your bugs to whatever advantage you like while a select few will make sure you don’t get hurt.”

“Okay.”

“Alright.”

“Gotcha.”

“Right” They all replied. Sakura signaled to Shikamaru.

“Behind you guys, a ways back, I will be there making sure no Sound Nins try to sneak past and get through to the civilians and Genin. Whenever Tenten is done up front with Neji, she will come back with me while I use my shadow Jutsu to trap them. Tenten can use her weapons to kill them. If needed we will help the line in front of us.” He smirked at Ino. "Tsunade-sama?"

She simply nodded in agreement.

Shikamaru also nodded before continuing.

“Okay, all the Genin will be escorting the civilians around the mountains through the underground tunnel. Hinata, you will be with them, putting your Byakuugan to good use to scout for any nin that sneaked past us. If the need arises...” He was at a loss. Sakura saved him.

“You take them out."

“H-hai.”

Sakura then continued.

“As for me, I will be all over the place helping out wherever I can, healing those who need to be healed. But first I will be up front taking out a lot of the Nin coming in before they reach Neji and Tenten.” Shikamaru drawled on, not being one good with encouragement. Sakura closed it all up.

“So everybody, let’s try the best we can. Good luck and let’s kick some Sound Nin a**!”

“Yaaa!” they all cheered. They quickly arranged in their positions, ready for battle.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

With one giant leap, Sakura made her way to an outpost uon Konoha's giant wall. Over head the Sun and began its descent behind the mountains, its retreat creating wonderful clashes of the sky's colors, a battle neither would win before they disappeared.

She had no time to enjoy this as her emerald eyes snapped to the armada of Sound shin obi only a distance away. Without a word she looked to Neji and Tenten, who's gazes had met hers. They slightly nodded before walking past the Konoha gates, and towards the oncoming enemy.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

Her chocolate brown eyes transitioned to the sky above them as they walked, her mood content, un-sorrowful. A brief smile graced her lips.

“Beautiful sight, neh?"

He let his gaze transition briefly to the sky above him, the clashing colors of the sky reminding him of a distant memory.

Flashback

The chirping of the crickets had all ready sounded the start of the late evening; the moon had risen high in the sky, its craters not hidden nor obscured from view by any lone stream of clouds. Not many stars sparkled in the sky that night, though in their place little fireflies vacated the area, looking to be floating orbs of light, luminescent in the moon's glow.

The yawn of a grunt that came from Lee as he reached his arms high into the air broke the comfortable silence that had long since situated between the post training teammates. The long and tall green grass that they had been walking through, part of an extremely large opening in the forest's span, tickled their exposed skin as they continued to travel through. Their destination. The small rounded hill that rested not too far form them, its area very populated with soft, luscious grass, and its height allowing added benefit to the wonderful view that was the night sky.

"Neji-san. I'll race you to the top!" It was a challenge, however jokingly stated. Whether he was serious or not, Neji had simply glanced at him, delivering a look that implied his unwillingness, and the reason as to why not. It had already long ago been discovered that Rock Lee could surpass him in speed easily, there was no denying on either side.

Tenten let out a small giggle, making her way ahead of the two. She glanced over her shoulder to her two teammates, her best friends.

"You two didn't forget about me did you?"

It was then that she took off, running towards the small mound that had caught their attention and desire. The two young men watched her with amused eyes, still gazing as she stopped once more.

"What are you two dingle-heads waiting for! You satisfied with letting a girl beat you?"

Rock Lee let out a hearty chuckle, turning his amused view to Neji, who also had a small smirk adorning his calm features. Neji met his gaze. There was nothing spoken between them.

They had bolted from their position, starting in their pursuit after Tenten.

..ooo000ooo000ooo..

The confines of his mouth could be seen as he yawned, reaching his arms high above him before fearlessly letting himself fall onto his back. Small before unseen particles shot out from the grass underneath him, rising in a small puff. The taijutsu specialist put his arms behind his head before focusing his eyes on the sky.

Tenten followed action, letting herself fall onto the ground before her. Neji casually lowered himself into a sitting position, leaving his legs bent up, and his hands behind him for support.

“I think it would be nice to see the sunrise together, don’t cha think?” All seemed to have a mutual agreement as they started up at the nearly starless sky.

End Flashback

His eyes refocused on the enemy coming towards them. He didn't say anything, which was unusual of him ..

"Now don’t go getting yourself hurt, Neji.” She added, a slight humorous tone masking her slight nervousness.

It was then that his pearl eyes traveled to look at her face, which was now turned to look ahead at the enemy.

“Tenten..” Her chocolate brown eyes twinkled with slight surprise and curiosity as he called her name. By the time she had looked to him he had already averted his gaze. “Just be careful, okay?.” He was completely serious, an almost protective tone directing his voice. It was almost as if he was too content with her being there, the front lines.

Her unreadable gaze was stil cast on Neji, seemingly as she contemplated her words to say, though her thoughts were interrupted as the distance battle cries were heard.



Neji lowered his body in the very familiar stance, his palms splayed out to the direction in front of him, his fingers pointed in deadly angle. He glanced to Tenten who immediately nodded, reaching into her clothing before pulling a single scroll. She expertly grabbed the opening, yanking the parchment out before her, letting its length reach out fully. The small bite directed to her thumb allowed her to create the line of blood along the scrolls length.

It was then that she started her first slow, graceful twirl, slowly brining her arms up and her spinning climbed in both speed and strength. As the tornado illusion had slowly started to from, Tenten jumped up, finally halting her spinning. Weapons of all kinds appeared from within the depths of the scroll, moving on their own as they started their descent towards the enemy.

When the first weapon had started its travels towards the enemy, Neji had followed pursuit, his calm eyes reflecting the long expanse of the Sound Shin obi coming towards him.

And so, the war began.

Thanks for Reading!

Did ya like? Next chapter be prepared for confrontations, the works. Ja! sweat drop