Swapped Kunoichi (Completed 2016)

Chapter Twelve - "More Dead-Ends!?!"

He watched them through both sets of eyes, almost chuckling in glee. 

It seemed that they were quickly catching on that something was off, but going directly to the site of the switch? Now that was a risky move. Someone sighed behind him, but he didn't budge. 

"This is a waste of time," the voice from behind hissed. "We have bigger, better things to take care of. This is silly, letting a charade like this continue to exist. Wouldn't it be simpler to kill it off and let them stay trapped?" 

The former laughed, his voice sounding almost amused. "You're so quick to stop things before they start. Wouldn't it be fun to sit back for a moment and watch them run around like a punch of puppies?" he suggested. 

The latter sighed. "You do what you want," the voice snapped, "But this is indeed a waste of time." 

"Oh come now, I'd rather do something enjoyable before all hell breaks loose." The shadow sneered. "Unless you'd rather go entertain him. He did leave it up to us on what to do with this situation." 

The voice sighed. "You are a pain, Chatterbox." 

The shadow's pale mouth grinned widely. "Happy to be one," he teased, before closing his eyes to look through another's. 

It seems like if they got close enough, everyone would see another. 

'That won't do,' he thought as a sigh escaped his lips. No, one side needed a distraction. It wasn't like they knew how to stop from crossing one plane to another, but he didn't think it would be fun for them to see each other just yet. 

A distraction needed to be created. And he knew just the type of distraction one side needed.

~

Shikamaru yawned softly, watching Neji as he watched him. "Hm? Can I help you?" he asked. 

Neji blinked and shook his head. "I'm just not used to... You. Or anyone around here. It seems like everything is so different here." 

"Heh, you should've figured that out sooner than you did." He teased. 

Neji half glared. "Hey now, I had only met Tenten. I didn't think everyone else would be so different... Even Hinata. She hasn't tried to create a hole in my stomach yet, so she's certainly not..." 

Neji couldn't find the right word. 

"Harsh," Tenten added in, shuddering just a little. Hinata looked at them in confusion. Sakura smiled weakly, unable to stop a shudder creeping up her back. 

Yes, the Hinata on the other side was indeed terrifying. Even Naruto knew it. 

The blonde-headed shinobi said, "Ehe, yeah, let's not bring her up. B-Besides, this Hinata is a lot better than her." 

Hinata blushed hard at Naruto's compliment and said, "T-Thank you, Naruto-Kun..." 

Sakura smiled before saying, "I do hope we find a clue around the area. It'll bring us one step closer to bringing the other Neji home." 

Lee nodded and exclaimed, "I will give him my best Youthful Hug ever!!!" 

Tenten sweatdropped and said, "Aha, actually Lee, that may not be the best idea." 

"Why?" Lee pressed, "I'm sure he'll want a hug!! He misses us of course!!" Tenten looked at him for a moment before looking down. 

"Yeah," she said softly, "And we miss him."