Neji's POV (Medical Ward of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Neji groaned as he awoke. While he had been conscious after his bout with Sasuke, the pain had exhausted him, and at some point, he must've slipped into sleep.
"Ah, good you are awake. Felt like a creep waiting for you to wake up." A female voice called out, alerting Neji of her presence. Instinct flared in the Hyuga as reflexively he tried to activate the Byakugan. A dull pain distracted him; he was out of chakra…
Neji sat up on his bed and eyed the voice. He was surprised to see a bandaged and bruised Tenten sitting in a chair in his room.
"Excuse me, where am I?" Neji politely asked, glad to see it was what should be a friendly face.
"The medical ward, of course," Tenten replied with a smile. "And no need to worry, not here for vengeance on Team Seven."
Neji nodded before eying Tenten again suspiciously. "So why then are you here?"
"Well, for one…" Tenten said as a tanto suddenly appeared in her hands. Neji refused to flinch or show fear but knew he would be primarily helpless should she decide to attack. "We're neighbors!" Neji deflated at that. It seemed she was some sort of joker. "But more honestly, I had a few questions I hoped you could answer."
"Question about what?" Neji said with a frown. He had been defeated by Sasuke. It felt like these days, for a "genius," he seemed to be constantly being defeated. It annoyed him; he had aches and was very much not in the mood for a conversation, especially one that appeared to be a hidden interrogation.
"About your lovely teammate, everyone's favorite, blonde knucklehead, Naruto Uzumaki," Tenten replied bluntly. "Before you tell me no and to leave." Tenten stopped him from doing just such. "I just need to know him better. It's important… I heard early on that you and Naruto did not get along. Up until you both beat the hell out of each other. He defeated you, correct?"
Neji scowled as he was reminded of his defeat. He held no grief towards Naruto for such. Neji had been deserving of the defeat, and it was well fought. But the reminder after his recent failure stung all the same. "Correct." He snapped, his annoyance dripping from his voice.
"Very impressive, considering your fight with the Uchiha." Tenten continued.
"Your point?" Neji asked, now done with her questions. Was she trying to infuriate him?
"My point is you are quite the shinobi; I consider myself one as well, and yet he defeated us both. I was just wondering if you could tell me a bit about it. How it felt, how he seemed." Tenten explained. Neji was silent as his Fury boiled beneath the surface. He had indeed come a long way since the start of his career. But he had never been a very sociable person.
"OK, I can see you dealing with your defeat poorly. You realize you only have yourself to blame?" Tenten countered, apparently realizing his inner turmoil. She recognized this may lower her chances of getting the information. But she couldn't help but be a bit snarky.
Neji wanted to stand and attack her, but she was much too tired and wouldn't shame the Hyuga by acting like a brute. "What. Do. You. Mean?"
"You are undeniably strong, smart, and fast, yet you limit yourself," Tenten replied. "If you had simply fought to win instead of fighting like a Hyuga, you may have won."
Neji wanted to reply angrily, but her words reminded him of Eagle's.
"You are doubtless an extremely talented shinobi, but as long as you are only a Hyuga, you will be limited. Instead of fighting like a Hyuga, you should fight like Neji."
He had brushed off the words then. How much more could he adapt? He was the only Hyuga he knew who bothered to use element jutsu! He had taught himself the techniques of the clan. But he tempered his anger; perhaps he needed to think more. He decided to answer her question for now. He would need time alone to think. He could sense she wouldn't be leaving until satisfied.
"The battle was one of anger and pride. Naruto was a placeholder for my frustrations. I had no true reason to resent him, and yet I did. To my shock, he was bold in standing before me. Although I was held a genius of our year, he was confident he could stand as my equal. In the fight, I had been assured of my victory and fought as such. Naruto never backed down, never gave up, and never stopped. He matched me blow for blow, took my worst, and gave better. He never seemed to be aiming to hurt me, yet I cannot say the same for him. It was odd how determined he was to defeat me, yet I never sensed him enjoying the pain he caused me. Soon, he met my strongest defense with an attack I could not defend against. It was shocking, yet it felt like we somehow had gained a level of understanding. It made me respect him…"
"Similar to my own experience then…" Tenten said, trailing off as she seemed to focus on something else. Neji raised a brow. She thought she would grill him and then offer nothing in return?
"I answered your question now answer mine. This isn't everything. Why are you so interested in Naruto Uzumaki." Neji replied stiffly.
Tenten chuckled but decided to answer. "I have hated combat for years. Unlike some, I've seen the real thing: men and women mercilessly killing each other. Oftentimes, it is for reasons that seem awfully unjustified. I've been trained to do the same. Combat to me for the longest time was merely a prelude to death."
"You were one of the Genin in the Root, weren't you," Neji replied casually.
"Rumors were spread of Genin being in it. Though they never quite mentioned names."
"Of course, they didn't. It's a law to leave it unknown. I was at Root with my teammate Sai. Our original goal had been to investigate various other Genin. But we had been active and in use since a very young age. It is why I grew to hate combat. Yet when fighting Naruto, I felt at ease… as if we weren't dancing with death but with each other. It was… well… I wish all combat could be like that." Tenten explained. "I just want to learn about Naruto Uzumaki because I'm certain he will be a big name soon enough."
"He intends to become Hokage one day," Neji added. "I often find myself believing in such."
"Well, then, I intend to stick around him. I could use someone like that in my corner." Tenten said with a smile. "Want some company until the healing kicks in?"
Neji went to tell her no but hesitated. It had distracted him from his anger…
"Sure."
Sai's POV (Courtyard of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Sai often felt out of depth. The world had always been strange for him. He could scarcely remember his parents; from his small amount of memories of them, they seemed ordinary enough. Loving, kind, and nurturing, they had all the traits parents needed. Sai could not remember specifics, but he remembered being somewhat happy. He loved his family and enjoyed experiencing life as it went. He couldn't remember it, but he had been informed that his parents and his home village had been razed by a missing shinobi. There had been few survivors, primarily children. Sai was one of them; he was saved by an Anbu patrol. Unknowingly, they were not normal Anbu but Root Leaf Anbu. His recruitment had been a significant adjustment. His training had been both physically and mentally shattering. Sai knew he had been different before, though he could not tell how.
"Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!" Temari roared angrily as she whipped her fan forward. A gust of wind flew through the forest. The force of which whipped rock with force and uprooted trees. Not to mention how much of the forest caught in her blast was sliced into pieces. Sai was glad his desperate leap had allowed him to dodge such. He drew another scroll and hurriedly scribbled a series of bunnies, squirrels, and coyotes onto it.
"Super Beast Scroll," Sai whispered as he ran through the forest; as he passed a thick tree, Sai allowed his creations to run into the forest, lying in wait with the others he had summoned thus far. He leaped backward, a series of backflips allowing him to narrowly avoid another gust of destructive wind. He quickly backtracked to keep up cover. His opponent was Temari of the Sand. She was the eldest child of the Kazekage Rasa of the Sand. She was a notable mention due to her team's track record. Flawlessly completing at least ten A-rank missions. While primarily due to her sibling Gaara, it would be foolish to assume she had just stood there.
Sai had changed; such had been necessary in his new world. His previous one had been filled with care, nurture, and enjoyment. His new one seemed full of pain and violence. While he remembered some discomfort initially, Sai, as most children were, was ever adaptive. He had learned to become emotionless. To value the mission more than himself or his happiness, Sai could not hate it, for he knew he needed to do so. Necessity had a way of simplifying matters. Sai could not say he had been happy. Others informed him of all the damage it must've caused. Tenten did so often, lamenting the treatment they had suffered. Truthfully, Sai did not feel as strongly. He had learned to accept the cruel world as simple and thorough; he had lost much, but he still had his art.
"Super Beast Scroll," Sai whispered as he ran through the forest; as he passed a thick tree, he allowed his creations to run into the forest, lying in wait with the others he had summoned thus far. He leaped backward, and a series of backflips allowed him to narrowly avoid another gust of destructive wind. He quickly backtracked to keep up cover.
Sai had quickly discovered his intuition was well thought out. Temari was a formidable opponent, an incredibly skilled wind nature user; she used such a battle fan to unleash potent and vast techniques. She would be an interesting opponent to defeat. It would be much simpler if he could kill her. But Tenten forbade such actions if they were unnecessary. His new world was more complex than his old one.
Sai was further confused when Danzo and the root were destroyed by proxy. Not entirely, of course; organizations could be difficult to fully eradicate. But enough for Sai to have been "freed." Tenten had been ecstatic; Sai was sure Shin would've also been. But Sai had felt little for it; he had come to enjoy the world as it was now. Tenten and Shikamaru seemed to make Sai comfortable merely by being around. But his world now was endlessly complex. Social behavior, morality, and freedom are all things never truly pondered. They were considered something everyone deserved. But at times, Sai wished he was merely a tool for Danzo again. At least he had understood that world.
Sai released another volley of his creations as he narrowly dodged a more focused wind blade. 'She can do focused attacks as well. How is she tracking me?' His thoughts were interrupted as Temari shouted out another technique.
"Wind Style: Cast Net!" This time, a sizeable net-shaped gust of wind flew forward, slicing through everything in its path. Sai frowned as he ran toward the attack, drawing his tanto as he did so. He allowed his chakra to flow through the small blade, glowing as it did, and sliced toward the net. There was a boom as the techniques canceled each other out, sending Sai flying back. Temari smirked as dust filled the air. She sheathed her fan and started weaving hand signs. "Wind Style: Air Current-Wild Dance!" Temari said with a smirk as two gusts of wind shot from her palms. They quickly surged through the air, collecting dust and speed as they did so. Sai raised his eyes as he saw the twister suddenly surge toward him. 'My plan won't work if she can track me. A wind user somehow keeping track of me… air currents? Likely but impossible to know for sure. Enough to act on.' Sai decided as his body flickered close to Temari; he ducked, barely escaping being clubbed by Temari's fan and pretending to be caught off guard. "I'm no slouch at close-range combat! Loser!" Temari said with a shit-eating grin as she swung her fan and sent Sai careening toward the forest. Temari chased after him to pursue her victory.