Neji's Romance

The search

"Yo Kakashi", came the customary greeting of the smallest dog in the group that had just appeared out of the substantial puff of smoke.

Kakashi stood back, leaning jauntily on his heels and tilting his head to the side, in the manner that Kakashi was well known for, even when he became Hokage, he still kept to his slightly goofy mannerisms. As he inhaled to prepare the hounds on the mission, their attention was drawn to the street as footsteps came pounding towards them.

"Ah there they are. Ok Pakkun, now we can get moving", he addressed the small dog.

As they started on their run out of the town, Kakashi started explaining what exactly it was they were doing.

"My morning of paperwork was interrupted by a strange sensation, almost like a pulse of pure power. It felt like something small but very strong punched me in my gut."

"We all felt it too" interjected Neji, as they ran "we were just discussing the sensation when Shikamaru arrived".

"As it stands, I have no idea what it was, but we have to find it, which is why I gathered eyes and nose. I still feel a dull pulse at the moment, but I cannot pinpoint it exactly, just the general direction of it." Kakashi told his fellows.

Kiba chuckled "don't worry Hokage-sama, we will help you find it!"

Lying there, her eyes closed, she felt her world slowly expand, the darkness behind her eyes no longer the only thing she lived in. She could not remember how long she had been in that endless darkness. Now her senses expanded, before she opened her eyes she knew she was surrounded by trees, she sensed their closeness, she felt the network of roots beneath her, the trunks surrounding her as she lay at the foot of a particularly large and old tree.

Whether it was one of any significance she could not say, she just knew that it had been there a long, long time. As she felt the trees, she started noticing other life forms, bugs, lots of those, and birds, even occasionally a larger creature passing by, causing a disturbance around her.

Then as she spread her senses even further, she stopped. People. A whole lot of them, and close by. What was it? A village? A town? Her curiosity was awakened and she decided to explore. She pulled in her senses, keeping them only alert enough to warn her of danger nearby, and moved her limbs for the first time, in what seemed like ages.

They passed through the large archway that held the gates to the town, and headed onto the main road to and from their beloved Konoha, turning into the dense forest after just a few minutes of running. Both Neji and Hinata had changed their appearance just a bit, their eyes now showing pupils. Their eyes were surrounded by veins that seemed to pull out the paler version of a pupil, this allowing them to see much more than the average human or even ninja.

Their counterparts, Kiba and Neji, using their enhanced sense of smell, were accompanied by the group of ninja dogs, fanning out in a search formation. As they ran, searching in a wide arc, the evergreen trees that surrounded Konoha and made up the vast plane of trees, flew by in a blur. Their passage would every now and then disturb an animal or a flock of birds. Konoha was not named the leaf village in vain, as the vast forest surrounded it for miles, and it was here where the group was searching, covering as much space as they could, the dogs in the lead and Kakashi close behind, trying to catch variations in the vague pulse that called to him like a seductive siren. Not since the discovery of the jinchuuriki had he felt such a surge of power, not even Pain had generated such a kick to his senses, when he revealed himself, and since it was an unknown source he had to locate it fast, he had to absolutely determine whether it was a threat or not.

The village was his number one priority, and no danger would be tolerated, they had been through too much already.