Archive of Our Own

(I don't own any characters etc etc )

“It’s about time!” Tenten sighed as she and her teammates waved goodbye to Gai as their training ended. “We’ve been waiting a year!”

“Agreed!” Lee cheered. “And now we can put our excellent skills to use!”

“We’ve been putting them to use,” Neji countered. “We’re just finally getting to use them to test for chuunin.”

“And Konoha gets to host the exam!” Lee shouted. “Of all the good luck! This is most fortunate for us!”

“For once, I agree!” Tenten teased him, nodding and grinning. “It’s pretty nice that we don’t have to travel for it.”

“It is, but we should expect shinobi from other lands may try to use that against us,” Neji posed. “They may think we have it easy, or are cheating.”

“Never!” Lee gasped. “We would not dare!”

“I know that, but they might say it. We might look out for that ourselves if it was being held elsewhere,” Neji suggested, shrugging.

“I wonder how many genin will be testing,” Tenten wondered aloud as they walked. “Not to mention, what the tests will be.”

Neji nodded. “Even with our training and studying of past exams, it’s hard to know what’s to come.”

“But we are hardworking and dedicated, we will pass with no fear!” Lee cheered. “All of us will pass!”

“I hope so,” Neji agreed.

“Yuck, I wouldn’t want to be on a team where one or even two didn’t get promoted,” Tenten said, grimacing at the thought. “Can you even imagine? That would be so embarrassing!”

“Embarrassing would be if a whole team didn’t get promoted,” Neji countered. “So, we should think about increasing our training now that it’s been announced,” he suggested, and his teammates nodded.

“You think Hinata and her team will test?” Tenten asked Neji, who shook his head.

“I don’t know, but I doubt it. Gai-sensei wanted us to take a year to train, I would think the other jonin-sensei would do the same,” he said. “Otherwise, that’s nearly setting them up for failure. First year genin, just months out of the academy?”

“I hear there are some strong genin from that class,” Lee offered. “The last Uchiha, for one.”

“Right? If anyone could make chuunin right away from that year, it’s probably him,” Tenten agreed. “He’s got it in his blood, and he’s being trained by Hatake Kakashi. Win-win, so lucky!” she sighed.

“Are you joining the Uchiha fan girl club?” Neji teased her, and she shook her head and made a face at him before they waved goodbye to Lee as he turned down a different street.

“No, having one semi-aloof and overly smart guy in my life is more than enough,” she laughed. “I couldn’t handle dating him and working with you. What about you, though?”

“What about me?” Neji asked with a slight frown.

“Brooding, sullen, aloof, cooler than everyone else,” she said, ticking off her fingers. “Your type, no?”

“Stop reading so many romance books, not every dark haired guy is like that,” Neji replied, rolling his eyes.

“Sure, but a lot are,” Tenten laughed. “I haven’t met him, just heard about him or saw from a distance, so…”

Neji shrugged. “Same. I’m not interested in dating or anything beyond our team and the exams, so who cares? Focus on that from now on, nothing more.”

____

A few days later, the three were shocked, absolutely shocked, when they heard the news.

“The newest rookie genin were signed up for the exam?” Tenten gasped. “How? Why? How? What?”

“I don’t know if I should feel jealous that they’re testing so soon, or if I should feel bad for them,” Neji sighed. “I don’t understand.”

“Ha, both are appropriate responses!” Gai laughed in a booming voice. “It was quite the scene! I stepped forward to nominate you, my precious and hardworking students! Then, my esteemed rival did, as did the other newer jonin-sensei! The Hokage was quite surprised and amused, and an academy teacher seemed perturbed. Quite the scene!” he repeated.

“And nobody seemed to think it was odd, for new genin to be tested so soon?” Tenten asked him.

“People were surprised!” Gai cheerfully told them. “Most definitely!”

“And no one stopped them?” Neji asked. Gai shrugged.

“The one academy teacher did, and Kakashi had words with him. I heard they have since patched it up after Team Seven proved themselves,” he mused, shrugging again. “What luck, to have more Konoha genin in the exam!”

“What luck!” Lee agreed emphatically.

“So lucky,” Neji sarcastically agreed, crossing his arms and scowling. “We should have been nominated last year, too.”

“It is not common for such new genin to test, I hope that you trust my judgment,” Gai said in a more solemn tone than usual. “I believe that the decision to enter the newest genin is in part because our village is the host, otherwise I do not expect they would be participating.”

“I suppose,” Neji begrudgingly agreed.

“I get that,” Tenten said, nodding. “If Konoha hosted last year I’d have been fighting for us to test even if I didn’t expect to have a chance to pass!” She paused. “Maybe that’s it, they don’t expect the new genin to pass, just letting them test. Experienced genin like us are going to pass,for sure!”

Neji shrugged. “I suppose,” he repeated.

“Well!” Gai cheered, resuming his usual boisterous levels and clapping. “I have a surprise that will cheer you up!”

“That surprise was plenty,” Neji muttered as Tenten snickered. Lee looked at their sensei with wide eyes, waiting in eager anticipation.

“I have arranged for training sessions with Team Seven!” Gai told them.

“Exciting! Unbelievable! Great!” Lee cheered.

“Not bad, I hope,” Tenten offered, and Neji nodded.

“As long as they don’t waste our time,” he mused. “When do we begin?”

“Today!” Gai said, ushering them to another training ground, where Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were warming up. “Rival! And your enthusiastic team! I have brought my wonderful students!”

The two jonin stood off to the side while the genin sized each other up.

“What’s his deal?” Naruto whispered to his teammates, eyes on Lee.

“Please go out with me!” Lee gushed to Sakura, as his teammates face palmed.

“No!” Sakura yelled.

“Let’s get this over with,” Neji sighed.

“Stop wasting my time,” Sasuke snapped.

“Let’s get to it,” Kakashi sighed. “Team against team?” The others agreed, and set off. Naturally Team Gai had better teamwork skills, after working together for just over a year. The younger genin struggled, still trying to outdo the other and find their footwork together after not even working together formally outside the academy for more than several months. The older genin took advantage of this, and after twenty minutes the two jonin paused everyone.

They debriefed over water before separating the teams into pairs. Tenten worked with Sakura, to the pink-haired girl’s relief. Lee was with Naruto, and Neji was paired with Sasuke.

“So, the last of the Uchiha,” Neji mused as he crouched into a stance. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“I was born ready,” Sasuke snapped, and lunged, kunai at the ready.

The two matched each other hit for hit, block for block. Neji was surprised the younger shinobi was so fast, but he was an Uchiha and it was in his blood. And it was nice, Neji found, training with someone new, for it had been a while since his team had more seriously sparred with others.

The others fared a bit worse, as Sakura struggled against Tenten’s arsenal and Naruto was clumsy against Lee. But it wasn’t a terrible session, and Team Gai agreed to meet periodically until the exam, which wasn’t that far away.

“Just don’t help them to the point they pass and we don’t!” Tenten whispered to her teammates as they parted ways that day.

“I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” Neji mused. “They’re clumsy, and young.” Sasuke wasn’t that bad, he thought, but brushed it off.

“Just one year younger than us!” Lee countered.

“And that makes all the difference,” Neji continued. “I’m not saying they’re bad for where they are, just that they’re not ready for what’s to come.”

“We don’t even know what’s to come,” Tenten laughed. “If only…”

___

The teams continued to meet periodically, changing the sparring partners. Sakura hated sparring with Lee, who adored her and struggled to fight as he was distracted by his blossoming feelings. Neji and Tenten weren’t the biggest fans of Naruto, who often wanted to prove himself at the cost of himself or a teammate. Working with Sasuke was the highlight for Neji, as he found the Uchiha to be more and more adept as time continued, even after just two weeks.

Neji didn’t want to lose any time before the exam and spent all his free time training, even if it was by himself. He was doing just that one day when Sasuke happened to come to the same training ground, a more isolated one.

Neji paused and nodded in polite but vague greeting. “Do you need anything?”

“I was going to train, but I’ll go elsewhere,” Sasuke told him, turning to leave.

“You could stay,” Neji offered. “It’s a big training ground, plenty of room. Or…” he began, feeling surprisingly nervous at his sudden idea. “We could spar.” Sasuke looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Neji shrugged. “We do it anyway with our teams, and you’re not half bad.”

“I’m better than ‘half bad’,” Sasuke haughtily told him, crossing his arms. “Look who’s talking, anyway.”

“What are you implying?” Neji snapped, nervousness now gone.

“You’re not a chuunin yet, we’re equals.”

Neji barked out a laugh. “Equals? I’m older in both age and skill. Our sensei was smart enough to make sure we had experience and ample training to get promoted. You and your teammates don’t stand a chance.”

“I’ll make chuunin, even if they won’t,” Sasuke hissed.

“You’ll be lucky to make it past the first round,” Neji countered.

And off they went, sparring and lashing out at each other, at a higher intensity and faster speed than previously. Maybe because there was no audience, there was no adult supervision, or because they had gotten under each other’s skin, but they lashed out at the other until they were panting and heavily out of breath.

“That was…not bad,” Neji posed, and Sasuke nodded.

“Of course,” he said.

Neji rolled his eyes and was about to say something when he froze and looked over Sasuke’s shoulder at a cluster of trees. “There’s someone here,” he said in a low voice. “Behind you.”

“Who?” Sasuke asked, poised for anything.

“I don’t know, they have dark clothing on and masks.”

“ANBU?” Sasuke asked, and the other genin scoffed.

“I know what ANBU look like, and they’re not it,” Neji told him. “I don’t see them anymore.”

Sasuke shrugged. “Let’s get out of here, I don’t need to be attacked before the exam,” he said, and Neji couldn’t agree faster.

They continued to meet up after that, making plans to train and make the most of all time before finally it was the day of the exam. Team Gai met with Team Seven to enter the building the first test was being held at, greeting other genin teams including the Sand siblings.

The first test was as unexpected as could be, with everyone sweating about how they would pass such an exam. They could only laugh after, the silliness of needing to cheat, especially given the previous discussion of not wanting to be seen as cheaters!

They were not so lucky to have an easy exam after, and the test in the forest was more challenging than expected. Neji and his teammates split up to find the scroll they needed, and when he found Team 10, debated of what to do.

Suddenly, a masked shinobi, similar to one he had seen several weeks previously. He tensed, unsure of who they were. Another genin at the exam, sneaking around? A proctor, observing before the exam and now here to monitor?

“Keep an eye on them, but don’t attack,” the masked shinobi said in a muffled voice. “You need to save your energy for a bigger fight. Do what’s right for all, not just your team.”

“But the exam –” Neji protested. “That’s why we’re here.”

“There’s more happening than that, bigger things are at play. Trust me, and help when it’s needed,” the shinobi said, disappearing after.

Neji sighed and shrugged, leaving Ino and her teammates as he continued on. But later, when he had reunited with Tenten and they found the fight between several other Konoha genin and Team Dosu, the words came back to him and he knew what he had to do, or at least try to.

____

Neji and Hinata walked away from the rest of their clan after the Third Hokage’s funeral. It was a somber affair, and in light of what especially had happened to Hinata (or nearly happened), Neji was both on edge and exhausted. It felt like years since the start of the exams, but it had only been weeks. He was tired.

Hinata walked slowly next to him, still having lingering effects from their match together even one month ago. Neji had mixed feelings, too, about their fight. Did he regret it? Perhaps, but also not. Had he wanted to hurt her, kill her? Perhaps, perhaps not. She led a different life than he, had a different path, but she too was as caged in some ways as he was. More even, possibly.

“We’re okay,” she softly said to him as they sat on a bench in the shade. He turned to look at her and she nodded. “We did what we needed to, as shinobi back then, Neji. Th-thank you for fighting me that day.”

He frowned and looked away. “I could have killed you. Might have.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t j-join the academy expecting it might not happen, by you or someone else. And if I’m n-not a shinobi, my place in the clan puts me in as much danger regardless. This is a l-learning opportunity for me.”

“Thanks to your teammates, and Naruto,” Neji mused, glancing over and finding her blushing and fidgeting with her fingers.

“M-maybe.”

“He’s a better person than I thought, a better shinobi day by day,” Neji admitted. “Now that he’s training with not only Kakashi-sensei but also Jiraiya-san, he’ll grow stronger than all of us. Sasuke, too, now that he’s got Kakashi-sensei’s technique and training, and the curse, sealed or not.”

“They’re a strong team, and Sakura,” Hinata agreed. “I hope to train with them more, along with my own team.”

Neji thought about it in silence for a moment. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Me too.”

“And with you,” Hinata said in a soft tone, offering a gentle smile.

“Sure,” he said in brief moment of softness himself. “If you can handle it,” he added and she smiled.

They sat in silence lost in their thoughts, and Neji was the same later as he visited Lee with Tenten. Lee was rehabbing from his injuries suffered in his fight with Gaara and the team wanted to spend time together, even if it wasn’t their usual training.

Lee went on and on about training plans, how he would work to rebuild his strength, what the others could do in the meantime and who to train with.

“Can’t I just be unhappy and lay about for a month?” Tenten sighed. “The village was attacked, the Hokage is changing, and almost no one got promoted!”

Neji nodded. “And the next exam will be at least a year away, and who knows what that could look like, after all this?”

“A year to excel, and ensure we pass!” Lee cried. “All of the genin will be hungry to be chuunin, we can work together to do just that!”

“I guess,” Tenten begrudgingly agreed. “It will be different, soon enough. Still on teams, but working together differently. After all, a lot of the new genin weren’t as bad as we thought, seeing who progressed and all even if almost no one passed.”

Neji nodded, thinking of his previous sparring sessions with Team Seven. Sakura was not of his concern, but his fight with Naruto had been productive even if very surprising, and training with Sasuke was always helpful, and could be even better for Neji's own progress. He’d have to talk to the Uchiha, he mused.

Neji did just that a few weeks later, finding Sasuke reading a scroll under a tree. He joined him and they sat reading together in silence making the occasional remark about the seals on it.

Finally, Sasuke shared unexpected news.

“I think I’ll be leaving the village,” he offered, and Neji looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Why?”

“The curse. It’s sealed, but it can do more for me, give me more. I think there’s ways out there for me to get it, get more power, more strength. I fought with Naruto on the hospital roof, and was no match for his skills,” Sasuke reflected, clenching his fist. “I believe I can go out and find what I need. I have to, to fight Itachi.”

“You can find it through Konoha,” Neji posed, surprised Sasuke was sharing this with him. “Not that the village is perfect, nor clans in it, not all, anyway. But there are better resources than out there. Orochimaru may not give you what you want, or how you want it. He decimated the village, has turned his back on so many and harmed so many more. I’m the last person to seek good in others, but going out to seek him won’t end well.”

“I can control it, and him,” Sasuke told him. “I have to become stronger than Itachi, to end it. Stronger than Naruto. I’ll take what I can from Orochimaru, not the other way. Not become his pawn like so many who are weaker than me.”

Neji shrugged, not feeling it to be his place to challenge the Uchiha. They were fellow Konoha shinobi, training partners, but not full teammates like others. Perhaps Kakashi or Naruto would be better to talk to Sasuke, Neji suggested, and Sasuke shrugged. They sat in silence for the rest of the afternoon.

In the end, Sasuke reached a compromise of sorts, though only he and Neji knew of it. The Uchiha decided to talk to his team and jonin leader about his plan and desire, and consulted Tsunade about it during lengthy meetings. Sasuke did need to work to control his seal more, to learn to master the curse when, not if, it came out. But to lose him to the world, to Orochimaru, was not something the village wanted.

Neji had said his peace so he continued as a training partner and at times friend and confidant of Sasuke’s, and helped him prepare for his journey. Some would be with Kakashi, some would be with others. Naruto was going away as well to train with Jiraiya, and other genin were finding their own paths in the world overall and world of shinobi. Neji would stay with his clan, for what else could he do? He had his own curse on his shoulders, but being a shinobi gave him freedom to leave the village walls with different teams. And he would work with Hinata to make her stronger, putting his previous feelings aside as much as he could.

Neji focused on his own training while Sasuke and Naruto were away, not paying their absences much mind. After all, they hadn’t been his teammates, not directly at least. Naturally there was discussion of them as news came back to Sakura, as both wrote to her, though Naruto wrote more often (unsurprisingly). Hinata was always delighted to hear news and quick to share it with Neji, who humored his cousin and nodded along silently as she talked.

Hearing the occasional bit of news about Sasuke, well, that was different for Neji, to his surprise. Sasuke wrote short bits to Kakashi and the Hokage to update them on his location and who he was training with, and in turn Kakashi shared it with Gai as it was not secretive. Gai was always eager to uplift his team and share of how others were training, leading to Neji keeping updated on the Uchiha.

He found himself wondering here and there of Sasuke’s training and travels, longing for some of it himself but knowing it was not his place in life. Neji had to be somewhat satisfied with what he could do, was doing, and so focused on his own training so that he could work to take solo missions for the village. If Konoha approved, the clan could not deny it, he figured, not wanting to risk it otherwise. He trained with a range of shinobi in the village and his team often joined the Sand siblings for training when they came to town, which was more and more often as Gaara became Kazekage and Temari began a friendship (or more) with Shikamaru. She and Tenten had gone against each other in the chuunin exams and while Temari had easily defeated the other kunoichi, they were now friends and eager to train together. Lee and Gaara were similarly, and so Neji would spar with Kankuro or any of the others, as the trio mixed up training partners.

News came that Sasuke was to return in a month, and Neji felt a flutter he had never before. Was he…nervous? To see Sasuke again? It had been some time, about eighteen months per Sakura, but he hadn’t thought much of their reunion. Neji had been focused on training and missions, nothing more. Well, there was the occasional date as Tenten, Temari, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura set him up here and there. He had tried to get out of it, then gave in to amuse them and get them off his back. They tried to figure out his type, whatever that meant, and even once suggested he take a magazine quiz for it.

He was not impressed by that and quickly left, but later, in the privacy of his room at two in the morning, curiosity got the best of him.

It gave him no information, nothing new at least. He was interested in a partner who was equal, in both skill, strength, outlook in life, motivation, values. But who didn’t want that, he mused, though then thought about his clan and rolled his eyes at himself. Other components in a partner…well, he wasn’t sure. He was sixteen years old, nearly seventeen, what did he know? Neji wanted someone who was enjoyable to spend time with, but that didn’t provide him with anything. He thought of his teammates and what he liked about their time together, even if they hadn’t chosen their team themselves. He thought of others, and his mind circled to Sasuke. The brief banter they had while training, the more in-depth discussions about seals, scrolls, history, and the village.

He thought back to their conversation about Sasuke leaving the village, and how it had come back to their own clan experiences, or perhaps lack of. What was better, or worse, he mused – not having a clan, or not wanting to be part of your clan?

Neji shook his head at himself lest he grow too philosophical over a silly magazine’s quiz that asked where and what a first date would be, and threw it out.

“Training and missions, just focus on that,” he reminded himself as he went to sleep.

____

Neji heard of Sasuke’s return long before laying eyes on him, as the Uchiha had his teammates and former classmates to catch up with, as much as Sasuke would tolerate for social engagements. Hinata had been the first to share any real updates, as the rookie group had taken him out for a meal once he was settled, in the midst of meetings with Tsunade and different advisors of hers.

He was curious to meet with Sasuke, see what he had learned, but it was not Neji’s place to do so. They had, after all, barely a friendship, Neji figured, though something settled in his stomach in an unpleasant manner when he said that to himself.

Their first interaction once Sasuke was back was reminiscent of their first one overall, in that Kakashi brought Sakura and Sasuke to train with Gai and his team. Tenten and Lee peppered Sasuke with questions as Neji and the others stood listening, Neji studying Sasuke as he spoke. He was taller, broader, slightly. Had a different air about him of power, control, strength. Neji felt slightly envious, unsure if he offered the same.

Sasuke had grown better looking too, Neji was surprised to note. When they last spent time together they were children, but now were teenagers. It had been nothing Neji cared about, but he could not deny some appeal now.

“Excellent!” Gai cheered and clapped, bringing Neji’s attention back to him. “Let us see what we can do!”

The younger shinobi took turns sparring with Sasuke, with Sakura and the jonin watching. Neji felt jealous that he was to go last, another surprise for himself. Going first was not ideal, as he would be caught off guard. Second was best, to observe one fight but get in early himself, and he tried to cheer himself up by thinking that observing two fights was helpful as well.

Sasuke’s speed had never been slow, but now it was even faster. Neji used his Byakugan to help him, and liked to think he got in a few hits on Sasuke the other shinobi hadn’t expected or been quick enough to dodge. It was graceful, strong, fast, and exciting, thrilling even, to spar with Sasuke again. Judging by the way Sasuke’s eyes lit up, Neji thought he felt similarly.

“That was the best one of the day,” Sasuke said once the jonin had called it. The Uchiha smirked at him. “You’ve been training well too, I see. Not as much as me, but you’ve improved a lot.”

“And you, of course,” Neji agreed. “We’ll have to do this again,” he offered before he could stop himself, and Sasuke nodded. Sakura called her teammate away, stating they had a meeting elsewhere, and the entire group dispersed.

“Ooh, did you secure a date with him?” Tenten teased Neji as the two walked away from the training ground. “So slick!”

“We discussed training again,” Neji told her, rolling his eyes. “As two worthwhile shinobi should do. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“But it could be!” she said, poking him in the ribs and earning a scowl. “Maybe we struck out in setting you up because he wasn’t here,” she mused to herself, tapping her chin in thought.

“Maybe because you’re all terrible matchmakers and should focus on better things in your free time,” he countered.

“It’s called having hobbies,” Tenten laughed. “You probably just need more. Maybe Sasuke has some he can share with you,” she said in a singsong before dropping it as they entered a shop.

Neji paid her no mind, not reading into his interaction with Sasuke as anything more than that, an interaction. Conversation while training. If they met to train again, great. If not, so be it. Not like he was short on teammates, Neji mused.

He was sent on two solo missions and a few more team missions before he and Sasuke crossed paths again, about two months later. They bumped into each other at the missions office, and somehow Tenten and Lee had vanished from Neji’s side. He internally sighed; he’d have to have a word with Tenten.

“We should train together sometime,” Sasuke said by way of greeting, and Neji nodded.

“Agreed,” he said. “Tomorrow?”

Sasuke nodded. “Tomorrow,” he agreed. “Training ground four. Noon?”

Neji nodded again. “I’ll see you there,” he said, and they separated as he was leaving the office and Sasuke was entering. Tenten high-fived Neji outside Hokage Tower but he left her hanging and rolled his eyes.

“Find a different hobby than bothering me,” he scowled at his teammate.

“Go get ready for your date!” she laughed as he walked away, and he most certainly, definitely, totally ignored that comment.

Date, he scoffed as he headed to meet Sasuke the following day. Nothing could be farther from the truth, he thought, but frowned. He hadn’t read into it mistakenly, had he? They had discussed training together before, and it was revisited once they saw each other again, that was all. Nothing more, nothing less, he said, scowling at the thought of Tenten and her nonsense.

Sasuke arrived early, pleasing Neji and they moved into warm up stretches, not talking during it. In fact, they didn’t talk much until they had called it a day, when they offered commentary on the other’s approaches. Then, they fell into easy conversation about it, offering points to consider that the other appreciated.

From then on, it became more routine to meet to train at least once a week, if not more. Sometimes with others, sometimes by themselves. Sasuke had a power unrivalled by anyone else in the village, differently from Kakashi or even Tsunade, as what was to be expected from someone with a curse such as his?

It was inevitable then, really, that Neji and Sasuke would be sent on a mission together. Their first one was also with Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba. A larger team than usual, but it was a farther mission than others and took quite some time to get to and from the village they were assigned to support for a few weeks. Neji had spent time with the others but as he was not part of their graduating class, did feel a slight divide between them, at least at first. He was easily welcomed in, and welcomed it himself, as though he might not be the most social person, he did not wish to isolate for five or so weeks. He and Sasuke roomed together and evenings found them staying up late talking about a range of topics. Childhood, the village, the county and surrounding ones. The mission they were on, missions they had been on. Council rumors, academy experiences, village gossip, though neither had much from that last one to share. Politics and procedures were a favorite of both, something more logical and factual than emotional. What they would do differently, if given the chance, though neither had any desire to be in a position of power, even with Sasuke being the last of his clan.

A few weeks after returning, Tsunade summoned the two of them to her office where she and Shizune assigned them a mission of their own. Track and take down enemy nin, missing ones from a village to the north, and bring back any items on them.

“Likely maps and a few other scrolls,” the Hokage said, “whatever is on them. Do a quick review for inventory. Bodies in a scroll as well.”

Neji was made team lead, not that it would be significant on such a small team, he mused, and the two separated to pack before leaving a few hours later. They headed north in silence, taking most of that day to get near the expected area of the missing nin. Neji tracked traces of chakra, and after a few hours they found the men camped in the open, seemingly confident they were safe. Rain started to fall and the men grumbled about it as they started to set up a shelter. The Konoha shinobi moved in while the men were distracted, quickly taking them down and cleared up the area, sealing items and bodies into scrolls as the rain continued.

Neji decided they could make some progress getting back and he and Sasuke donned ponchos and headed back. But the rain grew stronger, and with it as dark as it was, he decided it was unsafe. Seeing as they did not have to rush back, there was no point in risking anything and so they made a dry shelter and huddled in it, reviewing the scrolls the enemy had and comparing notes and thoughts.

“This is old,” Sasuke commented as they looked at the third one. “What is it?”

They looked at it together, trying to make sense of it.

“Dimensions and coordinates?” Neji mused. “Measurements?”

“And lengths of time,” Sasuke added. “I wonder if there’s a signature on it, markings of whoever wrote it…”

They looked at the rather lengthy scroll and its seals before finding a small, barely there signature.

“Is that who I think it is?” Sasuke asked, surprised.

“Senju Tobirama?” Neji read in a breathless tone, looking at his teammate in surprise in the light from their lantern. “Do you think it’s genuine?”

“Tsunade did say they probably had important things on them and had been dodging authority for a while,” Sasuke mused. “This could be one of them.”

Neji nodded, pursing his lips as he looked at the scroll again. “Measurements, coordinates, time…wasn’t he known for trying to find a way to time travel?”

“As so many have, yes,” Sasuke agreed. “Is this one of his studies in it?”

“It looks like more than a study, what with the seal and the clean, crisp lines of it all,” Neji posed. “This might be one of his top works on it.”

They sat in silence reflecting on that and the gravity of being in possession of it.

“We’ll need to depart in the morning, before first light if we can, pending the weather,” Neji finally stated. “Get these back as soon as possible.”

“Right. Or…”

“What?” Neji asked, surprised.

“If this is real, we use it,” Sasuke commented.

“What?”

“We’ve talked before about what we would change, if we could,” Sasuke reminded him. “This could be our chance.”

Neji barked out a laugh. “Time travel doesn’t exist, Sasuke. You’ve been reading fantasy stories with Sakura and the others too much.”

“You said it yourself, he was known for trying to find a way. This could be it, and we could do something good with it.”

“In the unlikely chance it is real, and this is it, the village authorities will use it accordingly,” Neji reminded him, and Sasuke scoffed.

“To do what? How have they used authority positively so far? Keep clans under their thumb, turn people against each other, not provide resources to those in need? Accept jobs for money, rather than merit? Abandon people like Naruto, who didn’t deserve it? Let people like Itachi go without punishment?”

Neji blinked. “They’re always looking for Itachi and the Akatsuki, you know that. Naruto was…I can’t deny the system has its failures and can cause harm. It’s nowhere near a perfect village or system, but this is beyond something we can do.”

“We can go save the village,” Sasuke said in a quiet but firm voice. “Back to the chuunin exams like we’ve talked about. Grow stronger, get promoted right there. Do that differently. Alert the village, save it, save everyone.”

“Since when do you care about everyone?” Neji challenged. “You used to isolate from others, still do. Went off travelling on your own, nearly did that through abandoning the village, or did you forget?” he snapped.

“I didn’t forget,” Sasuke told him. “But by interacting with my teammates, old and new, I see that there are some good in the world, some people who I can help and need in my life. I changed, even if it wasn’t easy. And if we can change the events that happened, we can change the course of it all.”

“And yourself,” Neji offered. “Your curse, would you give it up and the power it gives you, to save others?” Sasuke didn’t respond, and Neji nodded. “I thought so,” he said, rolling the scroll up and putting it in a case with others, pointedly putting the case in his sleeping bag. “Go to sleep, we’ll take these back in the morning and be done with it.”

Sasuke sighed but did as told, and as they laid in the dark, he spoke once more.

“You could free yourself,” he murmured. “Not be as trapped as you are.”

“It’s destiny,” Neji sighed. “Some things can’t be changed.”

____

Neji woke to Sasuke studying the scroll, though he wasn't sure how the other man got it while he slept. Impressive... “I hope you got some sleep,” he muttered.

“Good morning to you too,” Sasuke shot back, eyes on the scroll for a moment before looking at him. “I figured it out.”

“Figured what out?” Neji asked in a yawn as he stretched.

“How to make this work.”

Neji leveled him with a blank look. “Again, we’re not messing with time travel. For one, it doesn’t exist. For another, let the village try and fail. They can get messed up, I’m not letting us be sacrifices yet again.”

“We won’t be sacrifices, it’s all well and safe,” Sasuke told him. “Lord Second knew what he was doing, and with our strong chakra, we can make this work.”

“Didn’t he dislike the Uchiha, being a Senju?” Neji argued. “That alone should deter you from trying. It could be trapped for your bloodline, for all we know.”

Sasuke pursed his lips, and Neji could tell he hadn’t thought about that.

“That’s a fair point,” he finally admitted, and Neji nodded as he peered out the tent. It was early, but with the heavy rain it was still dark out. Not the best weather to take down the shelter in, and he sighed. They’d be better off staying until the rain eased up, even if it delayed their return home; no sense in risking themselves or what they had been sent to retrieve. “I appreciate your insight,” Sasuke continued and Neji looked back at him. “Most people don’t try to contradict or correct me, other than Naruto.”

Neji shrugged. “I’m not correcting per se, just sharing another perspective.”

“A contrary but important one,” Sasuke agreed. “But…the Senju and Uchiha did work together, in the end. So this could still work.”

Neji shook his head. “As team leader, I say no. It’s too risky. I don’t want to carry your body back,” he firmly told the other shinobi. “I won’t be responsible for your clan fully ending. I’d be killed myself for that.”

Sasuke blinked. “When you put it like that…” he softly said, trailing off.

“Yeah,” Neji huffed. “Let’s eat breakfast,” he said, and they did so in silence.

Sasuke went off a short time later to check their traps and wards before returning, shaking the rain off his poncho before he entered the tent again. “All clear,” he announced, and Neji thanked him.

They laid down again, stretching out side by side as the rain continued to fall on the rain. It was quiet out otherwise, no animal or person seeking to move from shelter lest they get soaked. A rare event that shinobi could almost let down their guard in.

Neji let his mind wander to this and that, in part of the mission and in part other things. The thought crossed his mind of how many of their peers would kill to be alone in a tent with Sasuke, and he nearly laughed aloud at it. It was the least romantic position he could be in with anyone, but then again, Neji knew he wasn’t the most romantic, so what did he know, really?

Perhaps a secluded tent in the middle of the woods on a rainy day was perfect for some, but for Neji it was just a reminder of his own loneliness and separation in life. Though, as he stole glances at the sleeping Uchiha, he couldn’t deny that he was handsome. Strong features, delicate in some ways. A serious look even when asleep, and Neji wondered if Sasuke was still thinking about his half-cooked plan.

Neji wanted to protect him, as a team leader, teammate, and friend. He had to, he didn’t want any trouble to fall on Sasuke, even if it was the last thing Neji did.

He blinked; surely that was romantic, wasn’t it? If so…what did that mean? Sure, he knew he had some attraction to Sasuke, but now it seemed he couldn’t deny it.

“Mission first, that’s the priority,” Neji reminded himself. He could have whatever realization and awakening later, if at all. Besides, Sasuke would probably grow angry at him for continuing to block him from trying the Senju seal.

Neji let himself doze lightly, and woke when Sasuke stirred awake. Neji sensed Sasuke looking at him, and he turned his head to in fact find the Uchiha on his side, facing Neji, studying him.

Neji’s heart quickened and he tried to school his face to remain still and unaffected. He wanted to speak but was at a loss for words.

Pale eyes studied dark ones, as the rain thumped heavily against the fabric above them. Sasuke parted his lips and Neji’s eyes were momentarily drawn to them, something not missed by the Uchiha, who paused for a moment, surprised by the unexpected event.

“I have a plan,” Sasuke said, and Neji rolled his eyes and sighed.

“It came to you in your sleep, huh?” he sarcastically asked, and Sasuke nodded. “Let me guess, a spirit guide came to you about it?”

“Kind of,” Sasuke admitted, shrugging as he sat up, Neji doing the same. “You’re right, I can’t do it.”

“Good, forget it all,” Neji agreed.

“Alone.”

Neji paused. “What?”

“I can’t do it alone, for sure. But with you and your chakra, as much as you have, your control over it, we, we can do it.”

Neji ran a hand over his own face. “And I told you the consequences –”

“And there’s more consequences if we don’t even try,” Sasuke argued. “Think about what we could do if it works. Who we can save. The different futures we could have.”

Neji sighed. “I don’t want to think about that, what might be.” He paused, and sighed again after a long moment. “But…if we did this, if, when do you propose?”

“The chuunin exams, the invasion, that whole period,” Sasuke said, staying firm in his decision.

Neji blinked in surprised again. “I would have thought…never mind,” he mumbled, having been sure Sasuke would decide he wanted to go back to that fateful night of the Uchiha. “Sometimes destiny happens, things happen and can’t be changed. As destructive as that was, it might be part of Konoha’s history. Like the founding of the village, the night of the nine tails, perhaps this is too big for us, all two of us, to change.”

“We won’t know if we don’t try,” Sasuke argued. “Should we go back farther, then? No one will listen to two teenagers about the nine tails…and I don’t know about going to the founding, that was a wild time.”

Neji couldn’t not mention the obvious, get it off his chest. “Why not go back to the…that night, of your clan?” Sasuke looked at him with an unreadable look, and Neji fought the urge to shift in place. “I just meant…I thought…”

“You would go then?” Sasuke asked in a curious but flat voice. “To the heart of the Uchiha compound then with me? To save the clan from slaughter?”

Neji blinked. He had heard things, that the Uchiha were not the perfect clan Sasuke might have believed them to be. Hell, Neji’s own were far from perfect; many older clans weren’t.

“I would endanger myself,” Neji admitted. “My clan existed then, obviously, but I don’t know how I can help…should you go alone?”

“I don’t think my chakra can work alone, I don’t have enough,” Sasuke admitted. “But I could go, try.”

“And if you don’t come back, then what?” Neji groaned. “What will Konoha be like, with the Uchiha around again?”

“It will be a good addition to the village, won't it?”

“Probably, large clans can be. But…” Neji paused, needing to say the second thought bothering him. “What if it doesn’t work? Can you really risk reliving that night twice?”

“We’d relive the attack if we go back and fail,” Sasuke posed. “Should we not, then?”

“I…your clan massacre is more personal, I should think. And not something for me to be involved in. “

“I won’t be powerful enough to stop it,” Sasuke admitted in a small voice, looking away. “I idolized Itachi then, no one will believe me if I tell them to take him into custody. I…I worry they’ll ignore it, and it will still happen, but now it will be my fault.”

They sat in silence for a few moments before Sasuke spoke again.

“I started to care for people again with Team Seven,” he admitted. “And spending more time with other shinobi once I was out of the academy. People who never turned on me even when I turned my back on them. If I can go and help at that event, I should focus on that. There’s a better chance we’ll be listened to, that more can be done.”

Neji nodded as he thought about it in silence before taking a deep breath.

“There was quite a lot that happened back then. We would need to be early enough to make change in what is to come, and we don’t know when the plan was set in place. Not to mention, who will you tell, and how will you explain us being there?”

Sasuke nodded and they spent the next few hours discussing this back and forth. It was fun for both, they found, to debate and discuss. Ask pointed questions, find solutions together, see from the other’s perspective. Both thought they were smarter than many others around their age, and felt the other to be more of an intellectual and logistical equal.

Finally, it seemed they had actually reached a middle ground. It was still raining buckets, clearly a storm was in the area, and Neji still saw no reason to go back to Konoha in such a downpour. If Sasuke’s thinking was correct, they would return to the very same place, their tent in the rain, about when they planned to “leave,” for lack of a better term.

“Just the last point then, we can’t traipse about Konoha as us,” Neji reminded Sasuke. “We might come across ourselves, and set off all sorts of alarms.”

“Our chakra won’t set off any alarm, but sure, we can’t show our faces…” Sasuke agreed, thinking about it. “The nin we took out, they had masks in their possessions. We could wear those, and our rain gear?”

Neji thought about it. “I guess so…” He sighed. “So we go back, before the exam starts, try to meet with the Hokage, and try to get shinobi stationed without alerting anyone to knowing?” Sasuke nodded. “This sounds like a disaster, but if it could work, it’s worth it to try, even if we end up in prison for the rest of our lives as possible ‘imposters,’” Neji mused.

“I’ll get us out of prison,” Sasuke told him in a serious tone, and Neji looked at him in surprise. “I won’t let harm come to you because of this, it’s my plan and I’m responsible. Even if we have to become missing nin ourselves after this, I’m here for you and always will be.”

Neji looked at him in surprise, the admission not something he had expected. “Careful, or I’ll think you like me,” he weakly offered, and to his continued surprise, Sasuke nodded.

“I do. We’ve been friends for years, and training partners, and more,” he said. “So, ready?”

“Uh…” Neji began, at a loss for words and found himself nodding. They checked their traps and wards, set up extra barriers, and got to work leaving the seal that would, should, bring them back. They worked in silence to recreate it, pulsing chakra in here and there as needed. Their chakra mixed and mingled, feeling tingly but not unpleasant, making Neji all the more confused about, well, everything.

They ate lunch and prepared to go back in time, stocking up on weapons and light gear, as they couldn’t be seen with full rucksacks.

Sasuke was more in charge now, and they sat next to each other at the seal they would use, concentrating on it, their chakra, and waiting…a sudden loud whoosh was heard and felt and the world spun, blacked out, and suddenly they were standing at the edge of a familiar training ground, in bright sunshine. They turned to each other with wide eyes, shocked to have travelled to Konoha.

“Did it work?” Neji asked in a hoarse voice. “I mean, I know we’re here, but when?”

Sasuke could only shrug. “Let’s see what and who is around to see. It should be near the exams, but…”

Suddenly, familiar voices could be heard – Kakashi and Gai. The two younger shinobi exchanged another look of surprise before crouching down and following the tree line towards the voices.

Neji breathed out a curse. “Do you see that?”

“We got back here before the exam, but earlier than expected,” Sasuke admitted as they watched their younger selves and teammates meet for the first time. “Do you think today is significant in Orochimaru’s plan?”

Neji shrugged. “I’m not sure, but that would be quite the coincidence if we came back on that day. Though, why today?” he wondered as he watched his younger self. Something nagged at his mind, but he wasn’t sure what, or why.

They sat watching in silence, stating it was to be safe and not be caught by such high-ranking and skilled jonin. But it was also because it was so surreal to have the seal and time travel work!

The genin separated and Neji and Sasuke donned their masks and cloaks to move forward, hiding in brush to do so, wanting to catch glimpses of their past selves.

Once the teams had left, the two left as well, looking for a safe haven to talk about what to do next, as neither had been fully sure it would work. Ultimately, Sasuke believed that the Uchiha compound would be the best place given how empty it was.

“So long as we don’t run into, well, me, we’re fine,” he said, and they waited in the forest until nighttime to move under the cover of darkness. They went to a more out of the way grocery store to buy food, figuring it was less likely to recognize them without their masks, and similarly chose part of the compound in the farthest area, setting their spare bedrolls up and remaining in the dark to eat and talk, grateful for moonlight streaming in.

“We’re earlier in time than I thought we would be,” Sasuke admitted. “This is a change in plans.”

“True, but the exam is only a month or so away,” Neji posed, “so it’s still enough time for the village to plan, but not enough to be so strange. Well, more strange than it is,” he sighed.

“I still don’t understand why we came back to today…”

Neji considered it before speaking a moment later. “It was the first time we met,” he acknowledged. “So, perhaps our timeline is overshadowing the one we’re here to change?”

“That doesn’t seem significant,” Sasuke sighed. “I wish we had gotten back closer to the exams but this isn’t bad.”

“Not bad? We have nearly a month to kill!” Neji snapped.

“And time to warn, we just have to get to the Hokage, to his guards and entourage and let them know. Send warnings, reports.”

“We didn’t think this through enough,” Neji groaned. “I’m going to sleep, I can only hope past you doesn’t find us and kill us…”

___

They spent time writing everything they could about the attack and invasion, warnings and signs, hints of what might occur. It wasn’t their best plan, too rugged, but they had no choice. They went about the village here and there using henges to appear to be anyone but themselves. To stores to replenish supplies, to weapons depots for more weapons, to training grounds to keep up their strength. And to libraries and general archives, looking up more about Senju Tobirama’s research. Along the way, they kept tabs on their past selves, watching them start to train together, always hiding to do so.

Finally, they had everything ready, not wanting to take too long, and sent the report via messenger hawk, hoping for the best.

“Do we go back now?” Sasuke mused. “And see what happens?”

“Should we wait?” Neji wondered. “In case? But if nothing changes, then what?”

They weren’t sure, and so remained for at least the start of the chuunin exams. The first test was uneventful, all things considered, and Neji and Sasuke reminisced about the forest exam.

Something that had been in his mind all along finally clicked, and Neji gasped.

“We have to stay here longer!” he told Sasuke. “We have to go, I mean.”

“What? Why?” Sasuke asked, confused.

“We have to be in the forest,” Neji said. “I saw us, we saw us, if you did too.”

“What?” Sasuke repeated.

“The first time we trained together, alone, I saw masked figures in the bushes, watching us. That was us, Sasuke! I saw us watching us!”

“What?” Sasuke again asked, eyes wide.

Neji nodded. “That was us, and we appeared again, at least I did, to help in the forest. When there were attacks, I told myself where to go, and I think I helped distract them,” he added, recalling a long ago memory of a brief appearance by a shinobi who left soon after.

“I did too, at least, someone in a mask,” Sasuke admitted, looking at their masks and gasping. “How could I have been so stupid all along?”

“You and me both, some smart ninjas we are,” Neji sighed. “We have to enter the forest and help. We were supposed to be here all along…”

“Then that means our word got to someone, but it still occurred,” Sasuke said with a frown. “So, it’s all still going to happen?”

“Maybe? This is getting confusing,” Neji sighed. “But maybe if we don’t appear and help, it’s worse? People, our teammates, get killed in the forest if we don’t step in? So, at least we’re saving others, and ourselves…”

“And we can’t save the village or others, and the Hokage still dies, Orochimaru still gets away, and I still get the curse,” Sasuke mused. “I still have to have the power…the power to be able to travel back here and help. I still need to have it to face Itachi later, in whatever is going to come.” He looked at Neji. “I’m not sure I was ever supposed to go back to when he killed our clan, then. Maybe…maybe I was always supposed to be able to fight him later on, to be on my own, to let this compound be alone and dark.”

“I…” Neji fell silent, unsure of what else to say. “Maybe, but you can make your own decisions about it when we’re back. To stay or not, to find Itachi or not.”

“Where will I go?” Sasuke wondered. “I should leave, go back out and train, find him and see what happens then. Train more, first, to be able to kill him…Or maybe, I can still go back. Maybe we had to come here first to test it out, in case it didn’t work coming here, or getting back.” He stood, excited. “If we get back fine, I can go back after all! Save everyone, figure out what to do about him, maybe even get back early enough to change his mind!”

“I…uh…yeah, maybe?” Neji posed, not knowing if he should agree or not. “One thing at a time, yeah?”

Sasuke nodded and they sat, starting to discuss their times in the forest and making a plan. They had to figure out when and where to be, along with how to get in and out without being caught, or targeted by other teams.

In the end, they henged as general, plain looking shinobi test guards and slipped in during a gap in patrols, masking their chakra and wearing dark clothing with their masks. They separated to go to the original places they first encountered themselves in the forest. Later, they reconvened, recounting it all, as surreal as it was, before falling into a deep sleep.

“How long do we stay for?” Neji asked as they laid on their sleeping bags back at the compound early the next morning. “It’s another month or more before the next test. We can’t stay that long, shouldn’t. We’ll certainly get caught, and anyway, what else can we do for the village? We can’t stick around for the next round, there’s nothing we can do for our individual fights.”

“You’re right,” Sasuke agreed with a slight frown. “We should go back, once our chakra is fully replenished. I don’t know what time travel forward will be like…”

Neji agreed and they had a day of rest, eating the remaining food supplies and sleeping, waking to check their wards were still active.

Finally, they packed up their minimal gear and pulled out the seal, holding their breaths as they pulsed chakra into it. Their chakra mingled again, but felt different once more. Like it was truly combining, almost like…like spending over a month together, living together, had brought them closer. Because of course that had, Neji thought, as the world started to fade away. He had enjoyed the time with Sasuke, working with him, training with him, being with him. Maybe there could be hope for more, if they got back alive, he sighed, as his eyes closed and it all went black.

____

Neji woke with a start, looking up at the top of a tent. Their tent, in the middle of the woods, in the middle of a rainstorm. The very rainstorm they had been in when they left, he realized!

He glanced to his right and saw Sasuke was still asleep, and Neji exhaled. Sasuke was back too, they were both back!

Though, maybe it was a dream, Neji mused as his body grew tired again, yawning as he closed his eyes again. Maybe it wasn’t that time travel was exhausting, but it was all just a long dream…

He next opened his eyes to silence, save for Sasuke’s light breathing. The rain had stopped and the sun was out, and Neji poked his head out of their tent. It was late afternoon, judging from the sun, though he wasn’t sure what day it was. Had they slept til that afternoon, or lost a whole day?

Regardless, they needed to eat, and he went to wake Sasuke, who was in the same position from earlier. Neji called his name; no response. He shook his shoulder; no response. He picked his upper body up; no response.

Neji’s blood ran cold as he saw black markings up Sasuke’s neck, and pulled the shirt away. There, on pale skin, were some of the curse markings creeping out of the seal.

“What if it actually happened, and going back and forth in time made the seal loosen?” Neji wondered, shocked to think it had been real, and worried for Sasuke. He checked the man’s chakra; low, but steady. Not good, though. Neji cursed and thought about what to do. They were still a distance from Konoha, but not impossible to travel alone. At least it had stopped raining, he thought, as he decided to head home.

He moved Sasuke onto a poncho on the ground to keep him dry as he packed up their belongings, putting the wet tent into a sealed scroll for travel, with Sasuke’s gear in another. Neji put his own gear on and hauled Sasuke onto his back, making sure he was secure before starting to run home, dodging slick patches of wet moss and leaves.

Neji didn’t stop, couldn’t, until he got back well after dark. He alerted the gate guard that they were heading to the hospital and went straight there, where a team of medical shinobi greeted them.

Neji only told the medics that Sasuke was experiencing extreme chakra depletion, that was all. No injuries, no risk of poison, just chakra. He refused to leave the wing and settled in at Sasuke’s bedside once the Uchiha was cleared to be in bed, as the medics found nothing to contradict Neji’s claim. He let whoever asked know he needed to meet with the Hokage, and sat and waited, unsure of what else to do.

Sakura stopped by in the early morning on her rounds, frowning as she reviewed her teammate’s chart. “Everything looks fine, as much as it can. What happened out there?” she asked, but Neji shrugged.

“Just a long mission, you know how it goes,” he said. “Is the Hokage free today?” Neji asked, for he hadn’t been able to verify yet who the Hokage was. Would it still be Sarutobi, or would it be Tsunade?

Sakura nodded. “She’ll be here later this morning,” she told him, and his heart sunk. “Try to rest up, okay? I’ll have breakfast brought, and there’s a guest space with a shower just down the hall. You won’t be any good to Sasuke or anyone if you don’t take care of yourself,” she gently but firmly reminded him, and he nodded numbly.

Tsunade was the Hokage, so what did that mean? Had it all been for nothing? There could also be a million reasons a new Hokage occurred…natural decline in health, retirement, desire for fresh opinions…

Guilt gnawed at him as he washed up and changed into clean clothes, and it settled in his stomach as he picked at food. It was his fault, wasn’t it? As team lead, as Sasuke’s friend. As someone Sasuke cared about, and someone who cared about him.

“We should have never messed with the seal, never thought we could do anything,” Neji sighed to himself as he looked out the hospital window. “Has anything even changed?” It would still be about two years if not more since the chuunin exams, so architecturally, it might not be alarming for the village to look the same as when he and Sasuke left for this mission.

Sasuke still had the curse mark, Sakura was still donning short hair and worked in the hospital…had it all been for nothing, Neji groaned once again.

He also wondered why Sasuke was so affected and not himself. Both had put chakra into it, both had travelled through time, both had been as active during the events. They hadn’t left each other’s sides the entire time, Neji wryly recalled. Slept side by side, ate together, trained together, shopped together. So why only Sasuke, and not he?

“Not that I’m complaining,” Neji mused. “Since at least I was able to get us both back…”

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, and another medical nin entering the room. Neji moved to give them space, sitting on the window sill with Kakashi as the medical team checked the Uchiha. Satisfied, or so it seemed to Neji, Tsunade dismissed everyone and Sakura, Shizune, and the medic left without hesitation, leaving Tsunade and Kakashi with Neji.

“We’ve got some things to talk about,” she said as Kakashi pulled a chair out for her before resuming his seat on the sill with Neji. “What happened on the mission?” she asked, tenting her fingers. “Spill.”

Neji took a deep breath and shared it all, not hesitating. Tsunade’s eyes widened at the mention of Tobirama’s scroll and that they travelled, of what they did, and of what happened after. Neji unsealed the scroll he had put the seals and original scroll in, and Kakashi looked at it with Tsunade.

“That’s something,” the copy nin said after a long few minutes in silence. Or was it hours? Neji wasn’t sure. The room felt suffocating, and Sasuke still hadn’t moved. Neji was sure he was going to be demoted, tossed in jail even, for his role in this, his approval as team leader. He was an embarrassment to the village, his clan, his teammates, to Sasuke. He deserved what was coming, and said as much out loud.

“Nothing is going to happen like that,” Tsunade told him in a stern voice. “I certainly don’t approve of you two messing with something like this, but if it’s true, which I don’t have any reason to doubt you, I’m more impressed than anything that two teenagers could do it. Tobirama would be impressed too, I’m sure.”

Neji laughed at the absurdity of it all, and Kakashi nodded.

“Sasuke’s bloodline and power from the curse,” the jonin said. “And your own bloodline and chakra control, that’s a strong combination there. Powerful, strong, perhaps more than we had considered,” he said to Tsunade, who nodded.

“We’ll have to look at keeping you as teammates for future mission,” she mused. “With Sakura as a medic, an older jonin to guide as needed, or in general another teammate…”

“When Naruto is back from his training that could be an interesting mix for some missions,” Kakashi mused. “Though, an Inuzuka for tracking too…”

Neji looked at them in continued surprise. “But why is Sasuke in the hospital and I’m not, if we’re so strong?”

She pursed her lips and looked at Sasuke. “Senju and Uchiha have had troubled relationships,” she reflected. “Perhaps Tobirama had safeguards that weren’t apparent. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something along those lines.”

“I thought that might happen,” Neji sighed. “Did we even change anything? Was there still an attack?”

“There was, but there’s a lot to review from that time,” Tsunade said, standing to leave. “We’ll talk in due course, but first I want to go through the last Hokage’s archive to find your report, and see what happened after that. I’ll be in touch,” she said, leaving. Kakashi followed her out, and Neji was left in the silent room once more with his thoughts as he sat by Sasuke’s bedside.

___

Tenten, Lee, and Sasuke’s former classmates came by over the next few days to check in and keep Neji company. People brought cards and silly knickknacks for Sasuke’s nightstand they knew he’d frown at. Hinata sat with Neji in silence, making her cousin fold different origami animals with her, something they did from time to time when the other needed quiet company. He appreciated it, even if he didn’t say it, knowing she knew. He reflected on how Hinata had grown since her academy days, becoming stronger and more confident in her own right, and felt shame at how he treated her once upon a time.

Tsunade and Kakashi came to see Neji after three days, with ANBU standing guard outside Sasuke’s room. The Hokage produced the original report Sasuke and Neji had written, and part of Neji was relieved to know it had been real after all. Tsunade reviewed that the last Hokage had taken it seriously, even if his personal journals showed surprise and slight disbelief. It was known that time travel was always being pursued, so really it was only a matter of time before someone found out how to make it work.

The Hokage, however, had not known who to trust, given that it wasn’t clear when some of the betrayal had occurred. There were records of long debates of if the betrayals were already set, and if so, Sarutobi discussing it with the wrong person could speed up attacks. It was decided it was best to let things occur as they would, but with more guards and awareness.

The chuunin exams played out as Neji had recalled them to, though Kakashi then trained Sasuke differently when the two went away. Others worked with them as well, to help manage the curse but not entirely seal it away.

“That ultimately helped him to have more control over it, so that when something like this occurs,” Tsunade said, glancing at the Uchiha, “it won’t be as severe as otherwise.” Neji nodded, trying to take it all in.

“So the village was still attacked, and the Hokage still died,” Neji sighed. “We couldn’t do anything about it, in the end. We should have done more…”

“There was no way anyone could do more, without letting our enemies know we knew,” Tsunade reminded him. “Knowing their plan and timeline was enough to prevent more destruction, rather than have them abandon it and attack who knew when, or where. If it happened in another village, then what?”

“Essentially,” Kakashi interjected. “You and Sasuke actually saved things from getting worse. As bad as was, it would have been much more destruction and lives lost.”

Neji looked at him in surprise. “That’s…sad,” he finally said, and the older shinobi nodded.

“It is, but at least you and Sasuke still protected us, even if doesn’t seem that way,” Tsunade gently told him. “There’s a bit more, but Hokage’s eyes only.” She stood. “He’ll come out of this soon, and then you and Sasuke can have a few weeks off. Get out of the village somewhere, we’ll cover it.”

“Thank you,” Neji said, bowing in surprise. Kakashi stood to follow her, pausing still in the room once she was out the door.

“Take him somewhere nice, an onsen or something to relax, with gardens,” Kakashi suggested. “He’ll like it, being there, with you.”

“I…uh…” Neji stammered, feeling awkward receiving suggestions like that from the jonin, who felt like Sasuke’s what…older brother? Guardian? Quasi-dad?

“Look, he’s my student, and since I haven’t had many,” the jonin told him, “I know more about them than they want me to. He can’t hide everything, and I’ve seen how he cares about you. Just be glad I’m the one having this talk with you and not Gai, or he’d be crying,” Kakashi laughed, waving as he left.

Neji felt his face on fire as he moved to sit in a chair by Sasuke’s bed.

“That was awkward,” he told the sleeping teen. “I’m glad you’re asleep for it, I’m not reliving that again when I tell you everything else that just happened…”

___

Sasuke woke three days later, and Neji left the room to allow medical staff and the Hokage to do their thing. Sakura told him when he could return, and Neji slowly entered Sasuke’s room after the Uchiha called out a greeting upon him knocking.

“Hi,” Neji said, dipping his head in greeting as he remained standing near the door. “How are you?”

“Tired, hungry,” Sasuke grunted, eating a large bowl of eggs, rice, and vegetables. “What are you doing there, sit down,” he said, nodding at the chair Neji had previously planted himself in, not that Sasuke would know.

They sat in silence and once Sasuke pushed his tray away, he levelled Neji with a flat look and crossed his arms. “Spill,” Sasuke ordered.

Neji sighed and launched into it, talking at length of what occurred since they returned to the tent, came back, and his meetings. Sasuke nodded, and at the end, frowned.

“So it worked, but now they have the scrolls?” he asked, and Neji nodded. “We can’t go back anywhere again.”

“Unless you get the Hokage’s approval,” Neji said, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Yeah, good luck with that,” Neji laughed, for the first time in what felt like weeks, perhaps months, given how much time this had taken over different periods.

“So, now what?” Sasuke sighed, glancing towards his window at the village. “Just go about life knowing we only did so much?”

“I’m told it was more than what anyone else could have done,” Neji told him. “Now we train, grow stronger, and see what else we can do for Konoha.” He paused, fought the urge to fidget. “But first, we take some time off. Hokage’s orders,” he said in a rush.

“Why?” Sasuke asked, surprised.

“She’s concerned time travel is exhausting, and wants us to have time to recover, somewhere relaxing outside of Konoha. Get away for a bit.”

Sasuke nodded. “Together?” he asked, and iti was Neji’s turn to nod. “I’d like that,” Sasuke said, glancing away.

“Me too,” Neji agreed, and they sat in comfortable silence together, not needing to say anything more. Time would tell what lay ahead for them, but for now, they just wanted to stay in the present.