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Disguised Curses	By : Raholea Category: Naruto AU/AR > General Views: 2438 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 27
- 28
- 29
A/N: HI!! I told you all I had 28 waiting. I'm currently working on 29, not sure when I will finish it. And I am mean enough to take a slight diversion in this chapter. And before anyone asks, I am NOT writing out that first talk between Hiashi and Naruto. I will make it up, I promise. I have plans within plans, from here out.

Cynaga: Demon! Naruto is supposed to be creepy. Balancing wild instinct and demon opinions with human thinking and emotion is going to be Naru's biggest problem. We haven't seen the end of this yet...

Chapter 28

Neji twitched, his body reposed in meditation at a familiar pond edge. Ice crusted the edge of the lake, but he sat shirtless at the edge anyway. He'd gotten closer to controlling his shift, but had yet to maintain his consciousness once assuming his avian body. Darkness spread across his skin, swiftly flowing into feathers as his body warped on itself, pain etching into his features before they lost human form. In a minute Neji was no longer there. A large black swan flapped its wings and settled its feathers, fluffing out against the cold. Its blank white eyes scanned the area before waddling out onto the water. Unnoticed, a brown and gold hawk landed in a sapling overlooking the water, sharp eyes studying the progress of the bird swimming lazily across the lake. The surface broke halfway across as the transformation reversed, leaving a wet Neji standing shin deep in frigid water when it was done. He dashed for the shore, pulling on his pants and a cloak.

“What are you up to, Kimi?” He turned toward home, needing to get warm and dry before his core temperature dropped. Kimi flapped quietly from her branch, arcing around Neji before flying ahead. He frowned and turned up his speed, breaking into a sprint to keep up with the hawk, senses opening and probing. A spark at the compound of rich, wild predator and Neji stumbled, his footing lost as darkness spread across his skin. Not now, he told himself silently, and pushed himself forward. It didn't stop the growing marks of his impending change, but he focused as he moved. Yes, Naruto was at the Hyuga estate, but the more Neji focused on just that signature, the more he realized Naruto was simply there. He wasn't angry, or purposefully emanating predator. A quick focused check with the Byakugan revealed a more level mix of the chakras than he'd seen that first time months ago. And he was sitting across from his uncle. The shock of the idea stalled out the change, the dark would-be feathers fading from his skin as he slipped into the compound and to his room, quickly dressing before scouting for his uncle and Naruto. Kimi leaned against the wall not far from his uncle's private study.

“You need to report to Tsunade- sama as soon as possible.” Neji gave her a pristine, cool glare. “Your control is improving. But stay away from Naruto for a while.” With that she stood and wandered off, leaving behind a confused Neji. Why would she compliment him on his control but tell him to avoid Naruto? The slide of the door made Neji look up, seeing Hiashi and Naruto emerge from the study and shake hands. The second Naruto turned away from Hiashi there was a faint change in his demeanor. That look was back in his eyes, ready to devour him. Neji merely froze and held the dark gaze, determined not to lose himself. A wash of killing intent flooded from behind him, and a firm hand clasped his shoulder. Naruto sneered minutely and turned away, bowing slightly to Hiashi, still standing in the door to his office, before vacating the building. Neji calmed as he felt Naruto leave the compound and Kimi's threatening presence fade. Her smack across the back of his head caught him completely off guard. It was childish, but on a retaliatory level, when he stomped backwards and slightly to the side, crushing his heel against the toe of her boot. It wouldn't damage her, and he knew that, but it'd hurt and piss her off. He felt satisfied at the grunt of pain as he walked away, intent on the order Kimi had left him about needing to go report in to his Hokage. He could feel the glare Kimi was sending his way- the prey instincts were reminding him quite clearly that something was hunting him. But he pushed it away. His boss was calling.

He was sent with a select team after a rogue mist nin rumored to be hiding near the border but well within Leaf Nation lands. A lower priority bingo book ninja, the man had been terrorizing a village and randomly slaughtering innocents. Their mission was simple: take the rogue out by any means necessary. A hunter nin from mist showed up shortly after they did, and a quick alliance brought the rogue down with only a few non fatal wounds scattered amongst the group. Focused on the mission, Neji had little problems with battling his instincts, feeling sluggish jolts during the fight that had been helpfully squashed from hours of sparring. But he was confident that in the 'normal' aspects of his job, he could manage just fine.

They were headed home when Neji's torso turned into a giant senbon- filled pincushion. He barely managed a grunt of surprise before his body shut down, falling through the tree he'd been up and crashing to the ground. It was the last thing he remembered for quite a while.

“He's a branch member. He's no good to me.”

The first words that filtered into Neji's consciousness put a chill in his heart. He regulated his body, not wanting to give away he was now awake. He couldn't be sure if he was able to move yet. There was a deep edge of nerves in his head, his prey instincts freaking out. He had to find out why.

“He may be branch but he is very close to the head of the family. Hiashi is his uncle. Surely that will have some influence.” Sickeningly sweet voice, male, no doubt trying to save himself from a failed job.

“I don't care who he is. I tell you, he's not human.” Deep, grating voice, very close, followed by a whuffing sensation of something large sniffing him. Neji had to choke down the drive to bolt away from whatever unknown was checking him. “He's awake and scared.” The rough voice had an edge of humor in it. Neji held still and kept his eyes close, ignoring everything. He had to stay human, he had to stay human... he had to...

A hand fisted into his shirt and threw him into the wall, where Neji slumped there for a moment, his breath knocked out of him. It allowed for more than enough time for his eyes to focus on a rather large, mean looking badger, presumably the one that had been sniffing him moments before. The damn thing was nearly as big as a wolf, but wider, and Neji couldn't help the way his attention focused on those claws and teeth. Fear was snaking through him, snuffing his attention and strength, when the badger grinned. “I told you he isn't human.”

Human. Stay human. Neji flexed his hand, finding he had some control, charging chakra to his fingertips. He had no doubt that the badger was a summons or a familiar. Striking it with enough force and chakra would either send it back to wherever summons came from or at least put it out of commission. He had to focus, though, as fight- or- flight instincts screamed for him to run. He would run, he told himself. As soon as that predator was neutralized and the men off his tail. He had to get out. He had to stay human. He had to take out the predator before his instincts ran out of control.

He'd forgotten to check where the humans were.

He was hauled up by his hair, grabbed in the looser space above his tie, restricting what he could see and how to move. He shoved his elbow back, grazing his captor, then turned enough to shove his hand into the person holding him. Gentle Fist technique turned his chakra into devastation, and he knew the innards of the man were jelly before he pulled away. Then he spun, using rotation to shove the attacking badger across the room before escaping. Out the open door, through a short hallway, out another door, and into the yard. There was a ninja in the yard, a familiar, very angry badger at his side. Neji promptly ducked behind the door and felt for his gear. His weapon pouch was still on him, but it had been emptied. Same with the hidden pockets in his garb that held his last effort weapons. He wasn't helpless, but it really didn't bode well. Not with his reduced chakra levels and an increasing need to flee. He moderated his breathing and pulse in a final attempt to slow the adrenalin and surging instincts. He'd have to get in close and dispatch his opponents, or slip away and run. The tree line wasn't far from the back of the house. Neji slipped around the side of the house until he was out of sight and bolted for the promised cover. A rushing, scrabbling sound of claws crushing through dirt followed him, and terror spiked through his mind. He wasn't going to make it before that thing caught him and tore him to shreds.

A kunai sailed past his head, and he caught the impression of a paper tag attached to it before an explosion knocked him off his footing. He was flung forward, but was back up in an instant, vision blurring and skin prickling as he rushed for the nearest tree. If he had to shift now he'd rather be under cover. Several weapons flew past him before bodies emerged from the tree line. Ten Ten went jumping past him, arms snapping as a hoard of weapons flew toward the enemy he'd left behind. Neji paused when he reached his tree, eyes wide as he watched his team cover his ass. A very pale hand grasped his shoulder.

“Hyuga- kun.” Another explosion rocked the area and Sai waited until he could be heard again. “You've been MIA for two days. We're here to get you back in one piece.” Ten Ten reappeared by the tree, giving a sharp nod before taking off. Neji followed in a blur, moving more on muscle memory than anything else, barely aware of Sai taking his right side and someone he hadn't bothered noticing taking the rear point. They moved, unstopping, until they reached Konoha shortly after nightfall. Neji was immediately escorted up to Tsunade's office.

“Hyuga.” There was relief in Tsunade's voice, a little too sharp. Neji noticed but ignored it. He was too exhausted from being unconscious for two days, dancing with his non-human instincts, combating whatever drugs were still in his system, and rushing all the way home. Training and strength of will would only carry him so far. Thankfully Tsunade seemed to recognize his state, ordering him to sit down and checking his health as Ten Ten gave a brief summary on what had happened upon their trip and arrival. The enemy had been defeated easily, gone under a barrage of her skill. Unfortunately, she couldn't confirm a kill, and Neji knew that could be a very bad thing. But the priority had been getting him home, in as best condition as possible, without further trouble.

His body relaxed as Tsunade slowly purged his body, toxins and drugs passing from him and leaving him alone in his body. His muscles were trembling in fine spasms, and he knew he'd collapse soon. But he had to warn his Hokage. He held on as Tsunade turned away and dismissed the rescue team, coming back with a cup of clean, cold water. He gulped it down before broaching his worries. “The man that had me, he wasn't aiming randomly. He wants a Hyuga. I can only surmise why, as he clearly stated that as a branch member I wasn't suitable. He's either hunting for a means to use our kekkai genkai or is looking for a highly profitable hostage. I'm not sure if he's the one that I killed or the one that most likely got away.” Tsunade stilled a moment, turning sharp eyes on him. “Are you certain?”

Neji nodded. Yes, he was very certain of the man's words. He couldn't be sure of the intent, but he had a very bad feeling about the situation presented. “The clan will be a target. Anyone traveling out needs to be warned, and the clan heads. It won't hurt to increase security on clan grounds and awareness on missions.” He blinked, his vision started to blur around the edges as his body gave its final warning signs before it gave up completely.

“I'll handle things. Go home, get some sleep. Get back in here once you can walk again without support. I want everything you can remember from your trip.” She led him to her door, flagging a passing chuunin to make sure Neji got home in one piece. Once he was secured, she wrote orders for an ANBU team to search the area Neji was held at. She would squash this threat to her village before it rose up to destroy them.

____ End chapter ___

For anyone that doesn't know, MIA means missing in action. *ducks* don't hurt me! REVIEW!!
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