human
Tayuya
To say the past several years had been a major and very much real hell for the former Sound kunoichi, Tayuya, was a massive understatement. It had been miserable and at first, everything felt like an impossible struggle. The life of becoming a wandering shinobi as opposed to staying loyal to Otogakure had forced her into a nomadic lifestyle, making her move from nation to nation. Even before her travels, however, the list of places she could even try to go had been drastically dwindled down. There were three locations that she could never step foot into without risking signing away her death wish; Konohagakre, Otogakure, or Sunagakure.
Poor Tayuya's past was known in all three nations and she had known perfectly well that none of them would dare accept her. They'd rather kill her before giving her a second chance.
Thankfully, however, the now seventeen year old had been residing in one of the smaller nations. Yugakure, a small but prosperous enough country which focused on tourism, had offered her a job as a bard. It fit her perfectly enough and they more than needed the morale boost. Apparently, some silver-haired man had gone insane years ago and killed off a good number of the population before leaving himself.
Needless to say, Tayuya had been grateful for every day that passed by and she never had to worry about encountering the same male they spoke of. Whomever he was seemed to have no reason to return.
Good. Don't need anymore shit fucking up for me ...
At the moment, Tayuya was off duty and resting in her room. Every now and again, she took walks outside or was even sent off as an errand girl. She never minded for two reasons; extra money was just that. Moreover, although, Tayuya never went truly alone.
During her near-death experience, she'd barely managed to hide her flute away so that even though the trees had crushed her, the redhead had been able to keep her prized flute and weapon safe. It'd taken much time, effort, and money to help get her healed up. But here she was, living and breathing well enough. The damn trees had, however, left multiple bruises and the surgeries resulted in many scars.
It had been close according to many of her co-workers. She almost hadn't made it after a few of her own ribs punctured her own lung.
Her head quickly shook as she dismissed the thoughts aside. A few slightly struggled gasps passed her lips as she swallowed softly.
"No ... no, fuck and no! No point!" she reminded herself, her eyes slowly closing as she fell back upon her bed. "Those days are gone, dead, over ... "
Despite her own words, Tayuya couldn't help but think back to the same day she'd been sent on her suicide mission to retrieve the bratty Uchiha. She wasn't sure if any of the others had made it out alive or not. All of them, she guessed, had close calls. But how many had avoided the Shinigami? Truth be told, there was only one she even hoped had been given that type of fortune and the name softly escaped her lips.
"Kimimaru ... "
Of all the members, he was the only one she'd even slightly respected. It made her feel slightly annoyed at having had to betray Otogakure. But when all was said and done, Tayuya knew it had been the right thing to do. Snake-yaro, her nickname for Orochimaru, would likely have killed her or worse.
Her hand subconsciously went to the nape of her neck where her Cursed Seal still remained. It had never pestered her. But still, she couldn't help but fear one day, it would activate. And when it did, she knew the meaning behind it. She would be sought after and not in a good way at all.
The mere thoughts made her grip her lower lip to stifle a whimper as her body lightly trembled on the bed.
Finally, her mind managed to dismiss the 'what-if scenarios' as she resumed relaxing upon her cot, thinking of nothing neither good nor bad.
gpt
A group of ninja were out looking and scouting an area, the group of ninja were moving out from the village of the leafs or Konoha. The leader of this group was the new jounin, Neji Hyuuga. Neji looked ahead as he let his eyes scan the areas around himself, he was looking for any possible sign of a person. The area was not one that people normally traveled though and thus it was an area where people who were potentially dangerous would possibly show up. Neji let his eyes focus on the smallest thing as he knew a danger wouldn't be something that said hey I am here come and find me and stop me now. He knew that the foe would be doing their best to get by him and who ever else might be in the area. His work was fruitless, as nothing could be found on the borderlands. It was nothing big, but he knew that he hadn't missed anything, he was as good as they had, and his eyes were great at picking up things, they had gotten rather well, which was why he was a new jounin.
He came back to the road, and noticed he worked himself far away form his group. He looked up and noticed that it was getting late. He was closer to another village then he was to his own at this time. He decided to move on, heading down the road, Neji head towards Yugakure, a small village, he figured it was the closest and he knew that his teammates would be find, and would be camping out in the woods, he left a message telling them this and telling them to meet him in Yugakure the following day. He had never been in the village before, but he knew a bit about it, and knew nothing good ever came from the village. He walked up to the nearest inn and put down money for a room. He knew that the night would be coming soon and went to find something to eat in the town after getting a room.
The Hyuga knew how to keep money and keep track of it which meant that he had money for when he was in a situation like this. Of course being part of the Hyuga clan would mean that he had connections to money anyhow. He went to a very nice place as he found his seat. The hyuuga dressed in his clan's robes, he fit well in the nice upscale place. He was surprised that after he came to the village he found it was some tourist place and not a ninja village at all. He had old data so this was a interesting find. He didn't look into why this way, but he figured that it was a interesting development. He sat calmly looking at the people, knowing that after his team caught up to him they would head back to Konoha to report a mission over. Still the Hyuga could enjoy his meal this night at least.
human
Tayuya
Tayuya had felt herself become so calm that she'd damn well nearly drifted off into a deep sleep. At most, she got a brief nap though.
Moments after Neji had entered, one of her managers snuck away and knocked onto the door that led to Tayuya's room. Only those who that knew Tayuya also had the knowledge the bard lived in the same place she worked in which was a more modern tavern of sorts.
A low groan as the third knock finally made Tayuya begin to wake up. "... Yeah?" she called out, her voice hinting she was a bit annoyed and still very exhausted.
"Company!" she merely heard back for a reply, making the bard groan again.
"Can I get ten minutes?"
There was a brief pause behind the door before finally, a reply came. "Deal. Be dressed, ready, and conscious by then."
The answer made a small smile cross Tayuya's face. At least everyone here was understanding. By the time seven minutes had passed, Tayuya finally sat up. If anyone had been in her room, they would have seen she had been resting in a set of panties and a 'bra' made from a set of bandages. Although the bard had meant to get the real thing, she had always gone against it in the end. They looked too .. uncomfortable. Besides, bandages, never were too big or small since they could be adjusted. It just seemed easier to use.
A few deft movements later, Tayuya was clad in a tank top, pair of blue jeans with holes in the kneecaps, socks, and sneakers. One hand opened the door to her room as the other grasped her flute. After leaving her room, the door closed behind the bard who arrived in time to see the stage getting prepared for her.
Her manager smiled as Tayuya walked backstage, the curtains still concealing her. "Took long enough. We have a real cute one in the audience this time."
A teasing smirk crossed Tayuya's face as she rolled her eyes. "You always say that, Akane."
"No, this time I mean it. His eyes are especially captivating."
".... Whatever. You know I'm not ---"
A defeated sigh left Akane's lips as she went silent. "Yes, yes, I know. You're not here for that. One of these days, though, you should really consider it. You do only live once, you know?"
The lights dimmed in the tavern and finally, Tayuya stepped out. A spotlight encircled her, enhancing her appearance.
Her eyes blinked as she adjusted her sight. The male that her manager must have been speaking about was easy enough to catch. And, admittedly, Tayuya inwardly agreed that for once, Akane was right.
In fact ... he felt familiar. But why?
She tried to forget the nagging sensation as she raised the flute to her lips and began toplay. But the more she glanced at him, the more Tayuya felt like she'd seen him somewhere.
And given her lack of people she actually did know or not know, this made the encounter all the more a huge deal.
Goddamnit all ... focus!
Though the task of playing her flute seemed simple, deep down she was becoming more and more frantic with each passing second. The man's identity was revealing itself slowly, as if he were a puzzle that was automatically piecing himself together. Her eyes began to focus on the new male's while her fingers moved gracefully along the flute. Somehow, those white orbs had the answers. She didn't understand it but her instincts were screaming that was definitely correct.
Now if only she could remember ....
gpt
Neji hadn't been in a place like this in a logn time. He enjoyed the atmosphere and he enjoyed the way the place was setup as well. He relaxed as he smiled to one of the people who came by to get his orders. It wasn't much longer till the musician came out, the moment she came out he raised an eye brow looking in the direction of the woman. He thought he knew the woman, she looks familiar to him. He spend the next bit thinking about who she might be. He thought back on many of his missions, going over each of them starting with the most recent and moving back in his mind as if here were moving back into time to older days that had gone bye. It took a good while for him to actually remember it had been a long time since that he had seen her, but he was able to remember who she was after a while or who he thought she was.
He figured that woman was dead, that was what he had seen in the report. He blinked as he looked at her, he remembered that mission cause he had come so close to death during that fight, it was the closest he hoped he would ever get to dying during a mission though he knew that was likely untrue for some reason as well. He looked at the woman, she looked just like the leader of the unit that came and took Sasuke from them. It was the mission that was a failure and very troublesome in the words of their leader for that mission. He looked at her as she played and remembered the report, and blinked, was she her. He wasn't sure, he kept a calm exterior as he watched her, but he would have to talk to her when he had the chance, he wanted to know who she was, and what if she was the believe to be dead woman, she was doing here.
human
Tayuya
Every moment the song went faster, so did her pulse. Her own outward appearance seemed calm enough. In reality, however, Tayuya was incredibly nervous. There was always a perk with being a genjutsu expert; you tended to have better self-control over yourself in certain opportunities. As much as part of her wanted to faint or her hands screamed to shake and risk dropping the flute, neither of them happened. Her willpower and pride were both refusing to give into such temptations.
A few minutes later, those eyes that had felt so familiar finally registered to Tayuya. The memory made her hit a slightly higher than usual note.
W..wait?! The same one who went against Kidoumaru?!
There had definitely been one among the squad who tried to save Sasuke that had a similar appearance; long raven hair and white eyes. Back then, she had inwardly sneered and thought it meant he was blind. But now even she could see that was anythingbutthe case. No, those eyes were ... deadly somehow. And she didn't feel like testing it.
Her stomach tightly clenched as she finished the melody. A half-fake but half-real smile managed to cross Tayuya's face as she gave a slight bow before deftly turning on her feet and walking back to her room.
Maybe he's forgotten ...
It was a stupid wish, she knew. After all the trouble they'd gone to just to try to get that damn brat back? It wasn't likely.
Still, if she could have a head start, which should happen from the mere fact almost no one who wasn't staff ever got near the areas she lived at, it would give Tayuya time. It'd probably be foolish but suddenly, she didn't feel safe here. Not for today at least. She had to go elsewhere, be it temporarily or for a prolonged period of time. Hopefully not the latter though. She didn't wanna move again.
Fuck and that.
Her hands finally shook as she entered her room and locked herself in. Without saying a word or even leaving a note, she began opening her window. There were a few secluded areas nearby that Tayuya often went to when she was usually angry. She'd never intended to go there for nervous break-downs but ... fuck it. It'd suffice.
gpt
Neji watched her and was going to ask her a question, but when she moved quickly off stage, he knew that she was who he thought she was. It was the give away, otherwise she would be moving so fast. He knew most likely she knew who he was as well. He activated his eye skills as he looked at her and then watched her and then slipped out at the same time. He then slipped out of the room, his eyes able to follow her from when she left. He kept an eye on her with his great Hyuga eyes as he looked at her stop for a moment and he stopped figuring that she was in her room. he then watched her leave that room just as much. he followed following her as she moved off staying a good bit away. His eyes were able to track the place as he looked at her head to the hidden away spot as he moved up to it carefully prepared for any possible problems.
"Tayuya, correct," he said looking in the area that she thought she was hidden in, "if you are Tayuya as I believe that you are, I have a number of questions for you," he said as he looked at the spot that she was in, his hands prepared to use his attacks or defense if he had to use them. "first of all what is a woman such as yourself doing in a a tourist place," he asked as he found this rather strange that a woman such as her self would be hidden away in a place like this. Was she trying to escape the world of ninja. This caused him to wonder, why would a woman slip away and just disappear when she died, was she still working in secret for Oto, it didn't make sense they wouldn't send her to this place. Why was she here, he was curious about this, and he was curious what was going on in general with the redhead.
human
Tayuya
Luckily, Tayuya never did tend to need much. Her body and her flute were pretty much it. So once the window got opened up far enough, she was out and on her way. Her head turned back every now and again to see if she was being followed. The bard never saw anyone. Yet all the same, she knew it didn't mean a damn thing for or against her just yet. She continued to glance back every so often until finally, Tayuya arrived in a cavern.
The temperature inside, however, hinted it had one of the many hotsprings that the nation was known for. The heat didn't bother her since she had more light than heavy clothes on. A soft sigh passed her lips. She had just finished leaning against a wall and sat down before a masculine voice addressed her by her name.
Sure enough, when she opened her own eyes, she saw that same guy who had been at her work not but moments ago.
Tch, damnit. Of all the times I can't be able to verify this is the same guy.
It was becoming more and more likely, especially since few people outside this country knew her name without a damn good reason. But some slightly delusional part of her wanted to believe that this was a god-awful nightmare. Hell, maybe he was an illusion himself? It'd explain the eyes. She'd heard brief rumors that the Uchiha brat could create them partly because of his own bloodline. Who was to say this guy wasn't the same.
For a while, she remained quiet. It was easy enough to actually reply with a 'No' when he asked if she was Tayuya. But as she looked back at him, her gut instincts told Tayuya that wouldn't work. He was smarter than that.
"... Yeah. Yeah I am." A defeated sigh passed her lips as she gave a 'go on' gesture with her hand. ".... Fine. What are your questions? May as well get this shit over with ... "
An eyebrow raised as the first question echoed in her ears. Her head tilted and she couldn't help but smirk. "Isn't it obvious? I'm working here. I don't belong to Snake-yaro, Four-Eyes ... none of them. I'm done with that shit. I have been for a while now."
gpt
He looked at her as he knew that she said she wasn't connected with her former boss. He blinked as he wondered if this would even be believable, there was of course the easy lie she cold be telling him, but something told him that she wasn't lying to him. He was sure he wasn't going to be able to explain this easily, but he had to ask the question and then he had to figure out what he would do with his next step. he deactivated his family jutsu as he looked at her still. "Okay, lets assume I believe that, Uchiha Sasuke, do you have any idea where he might be, I am guessing no, but I have to do my due diligence as it were."
He paused for a moment as he looked at Tayuya and then took a deep breath, "What are you future plans do you plan to work for any other organization or village," he asked looking at the redhead this question also needed as he looked at her and waited for her reply for it. He again had a good guess what her answer was, but this was one other questions he had to ask her just cause he was a ninja. "Then lastly, is there something or some way I can prove to the ninja who are behind me a day or so, that you are not a danger to the leaf and are not going to attack us again, or that you are not working for Orochimaru. If I can get this proof to show them perhaps I can forget that you were here even, or can talk my superiors in forgetting that you happen to be here at this moment," he commented as he looked right at her his tone focused, he could see the logic in the fact this woman was most likely hiding away, but he did need proof to show Tsunade and others who would want to know this.
human
Tayuya
"I'd guess still with Snake-yaro. He went along pretty eagerly. The brat never put up a fight when we all met up with him all those years ago. He let us put him in the barrel and seal him in it. He stayed pretty fucking quiet too." It had only come off as intriguing to Tayuya because Sasuke hadn't shut up prior to getting into the container. He went on and on about getting to Orochimaru and obtaining more power. "If he has left Otogakure, it's likely because he's found somewhere or someone with even more power. I don't know many if anyone that fits that description. But I'll believe that there is at least one person stronger than Snake-yaro."
She'd only keep that possibility in her mind due to having been forced to live a life she hadn't wanted for so long. In many ways, Tayuya was still as naive as she was three years ago. In other aspects, she was smarter than others.
"Any other organizations?" she repeated, finally chuckling a bit. "From what I saw all the times I relocated in various nations, the only 'organizations' are things like the local police. But I haven't heard about any hints of any other rogue shinobi. And honestly, even if they did exist, there'd be no point in going with them. I've been there, done that. It's not fucking worth it. As far as villages go ... two others excluding Otogakure are already out of the question. Konoha and Suna; no fucking way I can go to either without having several kunai hurled at my throat. I'd figured you would have realized this."
Her fingers lightly tapped against her hip as the final request and question echoed gently in the cavern. "Well ... something else that would have been a given I'd think. It's been ... what? Three years? Don't you think I could have done something pretty quickly after recovering from my fight with your Shadow-manipulating bastard? I doubt your nation was in much better shape than I was. If you want a bit more though .... "
Tayuya got up to her feet and stretched her arms out by her sides. "You won't find the headband on me or in the room. I got rid of it after I got my ass outta the Forest of Death."
gpt
Neji looked at her as he let out a deep breath and then shook his head, her argument and her reasoning made a great amount of sense, and he would be able to see the logic behind her reasoning to avoid places and groups, she could of been marked by Orochimaru or others or maybe they didn't even care about her at all, everyone had so many bigger things to deal with. He looked at her as she admitted that she admitted that she had nothing else to prove she wasn't of any danger to others in other villages. He knew that lack of physical evidence of course would make things much harder then otherwise. He had to think of something a way to prove that she wasn't a danger.
"Well then, that leaves us at a bit of a impasse on how to handle this, I do believe you about what your saying if that means anything to you, thought I don't think it would," he said calmly as he though to himself, "How about this, we right a paper, which says that declares you have in instrest in harming Konoha or its people, I can have this given to my leaders, with my report then, I will be able to perhaps convince them that you are to be left alone here. Lady Tsunade isnt' so unfair as to not be willing to listen to a report or think about the fact that people do in fact change," he mused as he looked at the musician. "I think it would work best if we went to this room of yours to get this taken care of wouldn't you agree," he commented as he looked at her and waited for her to decide on his suggestion.
He stood up and walked to the edge of the cave,. he figured if she wanted to stay here she would be willing to do this, and this would tell him more too if she was really working alone, beyond the words that she used, while he had a feeling she was right, he knew words were words and people lied all the time. He knew that his report would have to stress that she was truthful to go along with the letter if she were to have a second chance from the village at all.
human
Tayuya
Tayuya's hands slowly went back down to her sides as Neji began to suggest another idea. An eyebrow raised and by the time her mind repeated the idea a few times over, she couldn't help but scoff upon hearing the suggestion.
"You fucking kidding? Why in the hell would they accept my written promise? That, to a lot of people, is even less reliable or trustworthy as opposed to a verbal agreement or blood oath. You may have this Tsunade person as your leader. But I can imagine it's going to cause .... a hell of a stir to some other people if my name gets brought up. I don't know. Wouldn't it be best to just pretend you never found me? Still, you kinda just admitted a major problem. Even if Tsunade believes you, there's a good chance none of the others will. And that is alsomyconcern, quite frankly."
It was infuriating to know there was little she could do to change his mind. He seemed too strong-willed for genjutsus to work on him. And more likely than not, he'd see it coming and be able to prepare for it. But deep down, Tayuya definitely was not fond of the thought regarding this written agreement. Simultaneously, she did want to prove herself. But it felt like there was no damn way the rest of the living shinobi would accept anything she could say or even try to do. The musician was torn, at a loss. She was trying to say the right things in front of the Hyuuga without looking or acting like she may have lied to him.
And yet, she realized that may have already been fucked up by refusing to want to help out or even go back to her room.
"Just forget about this, about me ... please." she murmured softly, her ankles tensing slightly. She didn't run then and there even though she wanted to. But she did try to prepare her body to move if push came to shove.
gpt
Neji looked at her as she pleaded with him to not report that he found her. He wondered of there was something he didn't know about, Tsunade was their leader, she could do what she wanted, similar to Orochimaru had complete control over his lands. He wondered more if she was hiding something that was or would be more troubling then he first thought. He looked at her as he could tell that if he pushed this, it wouldn't end well most likely she would try to run he would go after her and either force her back in chains or she would be killed, and honestly he figured there was a great likelihood that the second one would happen. He paused as he took out a piece of paper, and looked at her pausing for a moment as he sat down at the table before he motioned her to sit down opposite of him.
"I can only see what you mean, but I need to make sure that you are not a threat, imagine me letting you disappear and then suddenly I find out you killed a dozen people and were harming my home, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," he commented as he looked at her, he hoped that she would be able to see the reason behind his logic. "I have an idea, you are dead in my village and you can remain so according to everyone else, but I am going to stay here for the next few months. I will be the resident ninja in the village as it were, konoha sends out ninja to places like this often to help out and this village is neighbors anyway with Otogakure. So after this time, I will know for sure if you are a danger or not," he said pausing as he looked at her, "I can have this done easily, my family has a lot of weight behind them as well as the Hokage owes me for other missions," he commented as he looked at her. "If you are a threat then you will come back with me in chains or I will kill you though."
"Now what is your name here, I want to know it so I know how to not give you away and so that I know what to call you while I keep an eye on you," he said his tone telling her he wasn't backing down from his own idea.
human
Tayuya
It had been reluctant, but Tayuya wound up finding herself subconsciously following and leading Neji back to her room. Any odd looks managers or co-workers gave her were met with a sharp glare, as if to signal for them to be quiet. She never once, however, sat down and continued to lean against the wall where her door was closest to. Her body tensed yet again as Neji began to speak, now also beginning to shake in anger.
"Look here. I know it's been a fucking while but my tactics haven't changed. That ... that Nara boy ... he can tell you that especially by myself, combat is a fuck of a struggle. There was only one reason I almost won at all ... and he can tell you that. I don't have any goddamn reasons to go back to somewhere that is more likely to kill me on sight anyway. I began to talk to you because you look like the kind who knows what words are sincere and which are bullshit so I decided there was no point in trying to lie my ass off to you. It took a lot of swallowing my pride to go through with that. But this is fucking enough! Your concerns might be valid. But they're with the wrong person!"
Her fists clenched as her arms stayed at her side. As much as she wanted to toss a slap or punch at the Hyuuga for the words, she restrained herself, albeit barely.
"...I .... no. I'm not doing any of this! I don't need someone living with me just to ... no. That's more bullshit than any lie I could have tried to hurl at you."
A semi-trembling arm finally raised and without a word, Tayuya flipped the lights off. With a graceful jump, she went through the same window once again. Now that she knew there wasn't much time, however, she had few seconds to give herself a good head start.
She began to play her flute, summoning one of the three massive zombies. She commanded it with the flute to lift her up. It got momentum ... and then tossed her away from the tavern. She landed on her feet with a few good minutes ahead of Neji.
No sign of the summon would be there once Neji got out, save for maybe a cloud of smoke and a large set of footprints. But more than that, she had given the orders that came to Tayuya's mind because there weren't any immediate footsteps which signaled where she had been.
Deep down, Tayuya was cursing at herself. She'd panicked, done the stupidest possible thing. And yet, she didn't regret it, not completely. It didn't seem fair to answer for crimes she had no intention of going through with. If he'd said he was here to arrest her for the last three years, she honestly would have understood better. But no. He was here to prevent any future happenings.
And that had been why she'd ran. It was an insult to her and she wouldn't accept it. Sure, this meant a hunt would begin. But that was fine with her. Even with his eyes, he'd need time to adjust, figure which way she went, and locate her. She doubted he'd been here before. So with any luck, that'd help Tayuya out.
Now where though?!
Her mind began frantically racing along with her heart as she thought up of other hiding places to use. The hotspring caverns was now out of the question so ... the outskirts? Probably and it was closest. Nodding to herself, Tayuya continued toward her new destination, taking advantage of every second she had ahead of Neji and using it in her favor.
gpt
Neji let out a long sigh as she ran. He had given her every damn possibility to get out of his the easy way and she choose he hard way still. He shook his he head as he had to take this seriously for once as he moved past the summons and went after he redhead. Using his byakugan he tracked her easily he knew her chakra signature and though behind her he could follow and keep track of her movements easily.
He followed her quietly. It fast using all that training Gai had put him though for years and years. He knew how to handle her he would cut off her chakra points then tie her up and take her back to Konoha. In her escape she proved that she was just as much a danger as ever. After all only the guilty run which told him that she was guilty of something. He just now had to catch up to her and use his special taijutsu on her.
human
Tayuya
Tayuya's body continued to shudder as she run. Emotions ranging from disbelief to anger to stress to even fear were swimming through the flute player. What in the hell had she just done? It was a double-edged sword; an act she regretted and yet didn't at the same time. The part of her that did feel anxiety and remorse, however, made her body tremble even more. Gods, what would happen to her?
No, no, no, no! Don't fucking think like that. The entire reason for getting a head start was to avoid ... any .... any unpleasant verdicts.
Even despite that fact, however, Tayuya couldn't help but wonder if her efforts had still been in vain. Her head shook no desperately from side to side. She'd gotten away from Snake-yaro and Four-Eyes. She could do so from this one ... right? Gods, she wanted to believe that.
But he found you in the cavern so easily .... Tayuya reminded herself, gripping her lower lip with her teeth firmly as her fists clenched tighter.
If push came to shove .. the feeling of her flute reminded her of a few last things she did have in mind. Aside from genjutsus and the zombies, there were the chakra-draining creatures. They'd definitely taken a toll on the Nara bastard. If she absolutely had to, she could use them - all at a distance too - on this other male.
But there was no damn way she would just give into his demands, especially the one that would have allowed him to live with her. What bullshit. She didn't need someone her age to watch over her just to prove she was innocent. Fuck no. She'd done more than enough by not making a move during the past years.
At least her mind tried to convince her of that much.
gpt
Catching her of course wouldn't be easy this woman gave them troubles in the past and was smart, he had to think smart as well. Of course, Neji was a genius which might help him in the situation that he was in. He figured that he would have to think around traps that she most likely would use. Tracking her was rather easy actually, he knew where she was going based on what he could see, he knew to avoid getting to close for she was going to act rashly, she ahd proven this already. Yet, he had the intel from the fight against Shikamaru, and knew she was a ranged fighter. He wasn't he was a taijutsu master being a Hyuuga and the son of the Hyuuga clan as well. He moved forward, picking up his pace, no he had to intercept Tayuya at some point, intercept her and then he would be able to cut out her edge. He increased his pace, thankful for the lessons that Minato Gai had forced him to go though once, running long distances fast was something he was rather good at. He moved cutting up over the trees, he could see the redhead getting closer and closer, he knew it was only a mater of time till he was able to catch up to her, but he knew he had to be prepared for this, and breaking her genjutsu as well.
human
Tayuya
Tayuya's legs began to burn and ache. She knew that with each step and minute that passed, she was losing more and more range. As much as the bard disliked it, she knew that in order to keep some distance between her and the assailant still chasing her, shehadto act now. A soft but pained wince resounded from Tayuya as she bit roughly on her lower lip, drawing a bit of blood. She raised her left hand up and let the crimson liquid fall onto her hand. While still keeping the flute held in her hand, she performed the appropriate seals for the Summoning Jutsu. The sight before Neji made it clear she wasn't about to hold back.
All three Doki were in front of Neji. They stood stationary but not for long. Soon, Tayuya began to activate herjutsuwhich gave them nonverbal commands. Even without the Byakugan activated, however, it was obvious on what Tayuya was ordering them to do. They were to protect her while ensuring she could continue to get more distance away from Neji.
And they began to attempt to enforce that by surrounding Neji. Even with his abilities, there was always at least one in his blind spot. Each Doki took a swing, punch, stab - some form of an attack - at the Hyuuga.
All the while, the sound of Tayuya's flute began to get softer and softer. Her own eyes glanced around as her mind frantically raced. While this advantage remained, she had to think of somewhere else to run to, somewhere else she could hide. Regardless, it was easy to guess that the longer she remained here, the worse things would get for her.
gpt
Neji watched the three figures appear and stop his advance upon the redhead. This was something that was going to have to be dealt with. He looked and remember these figures from the report about Shikamaru years before. He moved sot hat he would be able to keep them all in his field of vision. "Hakkesh Kaiten," he announced as he created his absolute defense blocking the strikes from the group of and also enable himself to counter attack moving quickly forward on one of them. "Hakke Rokujyon Sh" he said as he attacked with his pressure point attack disabling at least one of them before turning. He had to hit the other two fast and hard, he was far faster and stronger then when he was a gennin, fighting her teammate, and he was far more skilled as well. He moved fluidly as he attacked the other two fast off using his momentum to end this little threat. He was able to after a good bit of dodging and ducking to disable the others as he knew that he had lost time and ground on the redhead. He had to find her.
He just barely saw the direction that she had gone off in only cause she able to just check her location and started to move again. He knew that he was going to have to hit her from distance, this time, and he had a plan for how to do that as well. He started to come up with a plan to catch her and then hopefully end this fight, if nothing else, this had proven the intentions of the woman to him. Neji's resolve hardened after the fight knowing he had to capture her either at that moment or keep tabs on her and when Lee and Tenten caught up go for the finishing strike against the redhead.
human
Tayuya
As the fight continued on, Tayuya paid close attention to the chakra of her Doki. The first vanished much sooner than she'd wanted, making her frown. Still, she never stopped moving even though her legs hurt like hell. A new location had finally entered her mind. And it wasn't much further, either. To the normal human eyes, it'd look like one of the many famous sets of hotsprings. In actuality, it was a home that Tayuya had built months ago. Her Doki had helped her, of course, to speed up the process. It was her best and most reliable hiding spot. Nodding to herself, she continued to play her flute, only ceasing when the last Doki vanished.
Now, he'd have to rely on something else to find her. That was always the bad thing about using her flute; she'd all but lure people towards her if she kept playing. But now, Tayuya had ceased. He wouldn't be able to hear the instrument anymore. He might catch her pants and gasps, depending on how good his ears were. But they'd be soft even though she wanted to be louder.
Stealth wasn't typically something Tayuya used. But she could go to such tactics when the time arrived. And as far as she could see, there was no better time to be using the art of hiding than now.
Tayuya's pace finally slowed as she got closer ... closer .... and entered the house, quickly but quietly closing and locking the door. To Neji, it'd probably look like she tried to jump in for a swim ... which made her realize that'd be an obvious giveaway considering their circumstances. Using the last bits of her strength, the illusionary hotsprings changed to a deep river. It'd make more sense and there were a few actual waterfalls, rapids, lakes, and rivers around here. Plus, it'd be more realistic and with any luck, he'd assume her truly dead and give up.
"Fuck ... ngh .... " Her head gently fell against the wall behind her as she slid down, sitting upon the floor, gasping and panting quickly. She was tired and exhausted. But from what she could determine, Tayuya had done it. She'd outran and outsmarted the male.
gpt
Neji's eyes followed the woman, he could follow her chakra track from a good long ways off, it was the edge of being a Hyuga and having the gifts of his clan. He followed focused on her as he cut though the undergrowth moving though the trees with a great deal of effectiveness sliding under one jumping over the next one to dodge to the right to avoid a third, he was faster then most people would give him credit for. He was also very good in the area of stamina, another thing that all that insane training that Gai had him do with Lee and Tenten helped with now. He couldn't let this woman get away, the danger she may pose was unmeasurable, she had shown her willingness to attack and to fight him, that had been made so crystal clear to the Hyuga. He didn't think about anything but the goal that lay in front of him track down the oto nin and capture her.
He followed till she entered into some place and then dropped down into out of his sight the water blocking even his great view. He moved up as he went to the spot keeping his focus for any movement. as he got there he released his view for a moment to see the river. His mind went over the reasons that a river would bere here and how she could of entered a building. How would you be able to do something in the middle of the deep river. The answer was rather simple you couldn't do that, how could you make it look like you had was way easy. She would of had to use genjutsu on the area, she wouldn't of known where he came from so it had to be an area of effect type genjutsu. He had a guess that was just what had happened to him as he got close enough for it to pick up on him.
Neji had a two point plan for dealing with this and dealing with the redhead in the same moment. He was going to be damned if he was going to let this slippery woman slip though his hands and have her escape back to Orochimaru or maybe even Akatasuki where she could plot the death and downfall of his friend Naruto. He did a break on the genjutsu know he figured it out but then he did something to counter anyhow, he picked out the point where she had gone into the house and disappeared and then he prepared his long range attack right on it. Using his Byakugan he picked up the chakra signature of Tayuya and fire it off, "Hakke Ksh," he announced as he fire a waved of chakra energy right at where the she had been before the disappearance watching the situation closely as he launched the strike
human
Tayuya
Alas, everything truly did seem to come to an end. Tayuya's sense of relief was no exception. As she heard a voice outside then felt a rough impact upon her house, she scoffed in annoyance.
"Motherfucker!" she hissed, shakily pushing herself away from the wall. He was persistent and determined, much like the Nara. She'd give him credit for that much. But why, why,whythe fuck wouldn't he just go away?!
Because it'd be too simple ... she retorted mentally in her mind, crawling into a nearby closet and hiding herself behind an array of boxes and clothes.
Sure enough, Neji would be able to see the house which, apparently, was very real. Even after his technique, it was still standing relatively well. The impact had hit but nothing appeared broken. His eyes and chakra sensing both revealed Tayuya was definitely inside somewhere. An exact location, however, was a different story. But at least he had something to use and go off of.
gpt
Neji's eyes picked up movement and then he knew she was in there, the house was standing, but he knew that he had to go in and take care of this in close quarters, not that this bothered him in the least, it was what he had to do and what he would do. To many people counted on him to do his mission and complete it, this was one of those times, he couldn't abandon his duty. When someone did that others would end up suffering for it. He felt that was the case here if he let her get away then she would cause suffering that he could of avoided. He moved toward the house fast going down as he broke though the front door using his shoulder to break the door. He looked around knowing she was here.
"Now, I would suggest that you come out of hiding, I am a member of the Hyuga clan, we are pretty good at close quarters combat, and I will find you with my Byakugan in time. I can wait here all night if I need to, I have back up coming, and I won't you slether away like a snake into whatever whole you really came from be it Orochimaru or Akatsuki and give any intel you might have to them," he said as he moved carefully using his Byakugan to pick up any movement that would happen his focus pretty complete his guard very much up incase some objects came flying at him. He just needed one shot and he would close off her chakra points and bring this woman down.
human
Tayuya
Tayuya's teeth gripped her lower lip. She didn't want to, but now it was time for her to heed her own logical side.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Grrrr!
It hadn't seemed possible that this day could go from annoying to god-awful. But somehow .. it had. And all because the damn boy had been sent here! Her head lowered in annoyance and defeat as he explained his eyes and what they did.
Seriously? That's his ability? Fucking hell .. why was Snake-yaro so obsessed with the Sharingan? Those sound much better.
Of course, she didn't dare say that aloud. It'd make this sound much more worse for her than things were already going. A slightwhamwould be heard as her fist angrily snuck a punch in on one of the boxes before Tayuya shakily walked out, scoffing and chuckling.
"Tch, yeah fucking right. I'm nothing like those two. Never have been, never will be. Fucking seriously though, think for a goddamn second. I've had years to inform them of any goddamn thing I've wanted, be it about you or anyone in Konoha. The fact I haven't at all .. does that not mean shit?! You sound smart enough now fucking act like it! You're looking at the wrong threat! Yeah, I fucking panicked, I'll admit that. But damnit all, I don't need someone to watch me. Isn't the fact I didn't do shit over the past years enough? Seriously, what more do you want?! A blood oath? Come the hell on. I live here now. I don't evenwantto see anyone from Otogakure. Maybe the better wording is Ican't! You know and understand all this, don't you?!"
Her voice had a quick but very desperate tone to it. Even though it was obvious that Tayuya had likely screwed up her best hope at being able to negotiate with Neji, it wasn't stopping her from trying again. For the first time since they'd met, he'd be able to see that same desperation in her eyes.
"Look ... I'm sorry. Kinda. I'm not sorry for saying that I disagree with a lot of the plan. Because I still do. But yeah, I should have done something much more smarter. I'll admit that much. Please though, just fucking go away. If I wanted to kill anyone - you included - I could have. You know that much, hm? I'm at least assuming Nara told you everything. Godddamn, isanyof this meaning a fucking thing to you? Any of it?!"
Poor Tayuya could feel tears wanting to build up. But she kept them hidden away and continued to face Neji. She wasn't going to break down, not just yet. She had to keep trying first. And even if it did fail, she wouldn't give him that added sight of seeing her give in and cry. Nu-uh. She was too stubborn to let him get anymore than he likely already had.
gpt
"Well here is what I know, you have lived here, for a while, you say you have been here for a great long while, which is believable, I admit," Neji commented as he looked at her, "I also know this is a center for tourism, which means that lots of people come though here. Where would be a better place to put a spy at to just simply get information on the people and a musician could get even more information when they were asked to do private shows for clients," he commented his eyes still focused on her as he made the comment to her, pausing for a moment, "it would be the perfect place to gain good intel on a lot of things, and then you can send it off without ever having left this placem: he said as he looked at her, "you say you have sent nothing and have no communications but there is no way to prove this for sure."
"I try to play nice come up with multiple ideas for you to avoid this situation and you run twice now," he said commented his words firm as he looked at her, "Now, Gaara was attacked once by a person who was off the radar for a longer period then you have ben off the radar someone who was gone for well over a decade even," Neji commented as he knew that he couldn't let her go cause of the length of time since her last crime. "This tells me you can easily still be a serious threat to my friends, especially to one Naruto Uzumaki, if you are working for Akatsuki more so," he said firmly as he wasn't one to let his friend have the same thing happen to him that Gaara had happen to him.
"So simply this leads us back to the one offer I gave you, I will stay in this village and keep an eye on you for two months, if I am convinced at the end of this time that you are not a danger, then I will forget that I ever saw you and you can go about your business, if you are a danger, no one will know you even excised and you will disappear," he said firmly showing that he wasn't going to back down on this, "if you don't want this, I can take you back with me, and let the world know your still alive keep you in a cell at Blood Prison and keep tabs if Orochimaru has any reaction though the grapevine. Your choose, really, and this is your very last time you will have a choice. My teammates always arrive ahead of time."
human
Tayuya
".. Spy? Me? Nah, that's what Four-Eyes is for. He's the goddamn espionage expert. That's another thing you should know." Her eyes quickly narrowed as the mentioning of 'private shows' were brought up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I don't do that shit! Some of the others might, yeah. But me? Fuck no. I point blank refused to when I joined there. I might not have ever been with a man but I can guess pretty well what most would try to fucking do. Moreover, you just said it yourself. This is a spot for tourism. What intel would I have to gather? Aside from you coming here, not a damn thing. We don't hear shit about Konoha or any of the other nations. This place just ... keeps to itself. Nothing more, nothing less."
"... Gaara?" she mused, pondering why the name sounded familiar. "Oh ... oh yeah. He briefly assisted Snake-yaro during the Chuunin Exams." It'd definitely sounded like he'd made quite the change for himself given Neji was speaking about him in a more positive manner. An eyebrow raised as her head tilted slightly. "... Akatsuki? I don't even know who they are let alone where they are. And as far as Naruto goes, Sasuke is your concern. Not me. The damn brat used to go on and on about wanting to finish everything against him, particularly his life."
Finally, the cards were placed yet again on the table. Now there were even less and neither were ... preferable in choice. She remained silent before finally shaking her head no and turning around, letting her back face Neji. "I'm not doing either of these. Fuck it."
And with that, she began to play the same melody he'd heard in the bar. If he'd thought it to be a genjutsu or fluke before, Neji would now hear she could play her instrument for jutsus or just for leisure.
gpt
Neji had enough of this crap as he had given her one last chance, he wasn't going to not attack now, he launched himself forward as he used his gentle fist on her cutting off all of her chakra points as he used the full 64 hit strike combination on her. He was tired of her, and if she didn't want to go along, he had given her a choice, she made it for herself. as his palms hit her body fast in order and with the natural grace of a jounin. He wasn't a gennin like he was when he had battled her group years before he was jounin of the leaf and he wasn't going to let her get off another genjutsu off on him. He his hands striking faster then any of her oto team could back in the day even. He would then grabbed her after he had hit the chakra points, and head out most likely running into his teammates on the way back and would let the courts figure what they wanted to do.
"Now, that wasn't a choice, we will take you to konoha now and let them judge you for your attack on the city, and all that, I gave you your chance your own choice to toss it away," he said to her coldly as the first open palm went at her. He knew he would win, the close range mad it so that he could hit her with the gentle fist, what else could he ask for, he knew she had genjutsu, but he knew it already and it wouldn't work nearly as well the second time against him as it had the first.
human
Tayuya
Tayuya's flute ceased the second she felt her chakra sealed away. She turned around, a dangerous glare in her eyes. Much like Neji, she had had enough. And the attack against her when she hadn't made any moves against him - let alone had her back turned to him - was the final straw for Tayuya.
"Okay, you little shit. I'vetriedsaying and giving hints that I have nothing against you or your goddamn nation, that I'm not still with Orochimaru, and even that I don't fucking wanna fight. Real fucking smooth of you to hit someone not even facing you. That's more of a tactic Snake-yaro would enforce. Sure you haven't already just paid him a visit yourself?" she added in, knowing it was putting more fuel into his fire which would probably be a double-edged sword. But the hell with it. In her mind and eyes, he had all but set this up and asked for it. Now .. well .... he'd get it.
While Taijutsu wasn't Tayuya's forte, shedidknow how to use it. Besides, the chakra points didn't take away her speed or reflexes. She'd use that to her advantage. But first off, before anything, she put her flute away. If anything was gonna get broken, it wasnotgoing to be her flute. No damn way.
There had been a few good advantages of having been around Kabuto. His vast knowledge of anatomy was often left in reach around the base. There had definitely been enough days Tayuya had been both bored and desperate to try to find a way to cure Kimimaru herself. That being said, she actually knew quite a bit, including vital locations on the body. Her knowledge was good although the Hyuuga still had a bit of an advantage with the bloodline. Simultaneously, it didn't mean Tayuya had no chance of defending herself.
"You want this so fucking bad? Come on then!" she hissed, keeping herself close and yet a few steps away from Neji. She wanted to see where he'd go for in order to make an appropriate counterattack against him.
gpt
"You made your choice, you choose your fate, no woman who had nothing to hide would choose the path you have picked," he said as he took up his stance, he wasn't angry, he was able to keep calm and focused as he looked at her. "I think you have five minutes to beat me, two others are closing in on this spot," he said calmly as he focused his eyes on her, the gentle fist itself was something that he could use, many years of having taijutsu training, and fighting Lee and Naruto and even training with Gai made him confident in his abilities to fight this woman. He wasn't going to mess around with her as he figured that she was near enough to get into his zone of fighting. He stepped forward with his gentle fist towards her. his step gracefully as he moved closer to the foe in front of him.
His gentle fist used the chakra burst in his attack using it to hit her with a blow that would do damage inside of her body when she blocked the fist itself. It was a different type of attack then say Gai who would use his power to break bones. he aimed for her shoulder his open hand moving towards her in a sort of punch as he shot the burst of chakra with the punch towards her shoulder aiming for the spot. He then followed up with a second one that was aimed for the core of the woman knowing that was the largest target and had a lot of vital things that were placed there, he knew that he couldn't underestimate his foe, a lesson Naruto showed him long before this moment. He would fight her as he battled any foe no mater how strong or weak, and he focused for he knew the danger of losing the battle too.
human
Tayuya
"Oh fuck off! You don't know shit! You've never been forced into a lifestyle you don't want! You've never had to do things you didn't want to. You really think I wanted to help with taking Sasuke to Snake-yaro?! Fuck no! You've had it easy, maybe even perfect for you! So don't fucking talk like you know me! You don't have a damn thing on me! And even if you take me back, youwon'tfind anything on me! You'll look more pathetic than I did when all the goddamn trees fell on me! I fucking guarantee it!"
Just the speed and momentum from the punch gave her all the incentive to dodge. She side-stepped away, coming so her fists were near his kidneys. While she had her own opportunity, she tossed her fists forward, aiming to hit the one on the right side.
An irked scoff passed her lips as she shook her head.
"Tch, no woman would also want some guy she didn't fucking know watching her, staying with her just to prove a point. You know how fucking awkward that would have been? Of course not. That's why you suggested it ... "
Her eyes widened as she watched Neji's hand go for her core. Her left hand shot down as she grabbed for his hand, aiming to begin twisting it and breaking his wrist.
"You fucking perverted son of a bitch! Don't you even think on that!"
Her temper was not only flaring but her own resolve was strengthening. Her grip seemed to actually tighten as she continued trying to twist Neji's wrist. The weirdest part? She hadn't even activated her seal. True, she did partly believe it couldn't work anymore. But disregarding that possibility, this was something she hadn't done ... ever. Even with Shikamaru. Her seal had been turned on first before she began trying to go toe-to-toe against him. Then again, it had also been easier to do. He was, after all, another genjutsu user like herself. So neither of them were overly good at Tai.
This, though was different. And while her mind did remember that ... well ... her wrath was on the fence as to if it recalled that or not.
gpt
Neji didn't show it but he wasnt' happy at this point, to have a genjutsu user beating him in a fight, didn't actually seem possible Lee had failed for how many times to defeat him. He had to focus, he used his hand to use the force of his open palm to break her grasp of his wrist first and foremost. He had no clue what she was thinking about calling him a pervert, the idea was to kill her not touch her, he was still wondering how the after effects of his gentle hand were not hitting the chakra waves from his hands should of been harming the woman, was she to high on some type of something to not be effected by this, he never more then tapped a person the chakra was what did the damage not the fist itself. the core shot had been the same type he almost killed Hinata with years before.
He had nothing to say to this woman, she was the foe, and he had to pick it up it would seem focused on her. "Jkenp Ichigekishin ," he said throwing a massively powerful taijutsu attack at her point black the One Body Body strike was what he had used against Kisame to escape his water prism, it was as powerful of an attack as had, and he wasn't going to hold back on this woman now. He was going to defeat his enemy. To him she was his enemy, granted she had no clue who he was either, nor the challenge he battled with the seal on his head that could be used by his family to kill him at any moment. The fact his lower branch status was not the greatest thing or the challenge he had in his life. IF she were to dodge that some how then he would slip right into Hakkesh Kaiten. At this range the defense would also be a powerful attack against her.
human
Tayuya
It was likely exhaustion more than anything. Still, she hadn't thought before speaking. Ah well. It wasn't a completely false accusation. Her chest wasn't too far away and he could have hit her breasts if she hadn't blocked. Regardless, the fatigue was beginning to show as her hand began to tremble even while she kept the grip on Neji. As far as her body went .. it had been, briefly, too focused - although high was a slightly accurate word to use - on going through with her tasks. But now, she was beginning to feel everything. That plus the attempted attacks at her made Tayuya shakily jump back, trying to gain distance away from Neji.
"...Fuck .... ngh. Damnit please ... "
The word 'stop' never got to leave her lips as his palm thrust forward once again. It was clear he wasn't going to. So .. she was going to do the next best thing. Push had finally come to shove.
While her upper body had taken quite a bit of abuse, her lower was working well enough to go through with the next idea. Another perk to being excellent at genjutsu was her chakra control. Applying some on her feet, she ran away from the Hyuuga and began going high up in a tree. Tayuya ran as far as she could before clinging onto the branches above her, panting and breathing heavily. Her whole body shook as she held on for dear life.
Damnit, now what?!
She could try to summon at least one of the Doki again to carry her away. But as it was, the real answer ... was almost nothing. She was too sore, too exhausted. And with how hellbent Neji was, all that seemed to wait for her was Death. It didn't seem like he could be negotiated with.
Fuck! Is this really how it's all going to end?!
The tears she'd been fighting back were slowly beginning to form, ready to fall down her face in a matter of moments.
gpt
Neji had what treed a woman, he was sure he had, he was focused at the moment as he knew he could win the fight he paused as he looked up at the tree, taking a deep breath as he looked up. "I bet that offer I had for you looks a whole lot better now then it did back when you ran away, I was going to try to make it little awkward as possible. Yet, you couldn't work out a diplomatic solution, and you were wrong, trust me, just cause I am a Hyuuga," he said firmly as he looked up at the tree, he knew he had her, he knew that in a couple of minutes Tenten would be there and she could summon her weapons and use them against this woman if she stayed in the tree or Lee could do some of his crazy as well. He looked up at the tree, he didn't feel bad about killing people it was part of being a ninja after all.
"So, fowl mouthed woman, the ball is in your court, my friends will be here really soon, I can see them in range with my eyes already, one of them is a range expert and we can blow up the tree with you in it, otherwise you can go with what I offered, and we can make adjustments as we go, I won't be following around every second, and you will have your freedom, I can't see why you are so damn hell bent on fucking getting your ass killed this day, you are a strange and bizarre woman, and I can't figure you out," he said waiting for a moment longer as he figured he would give her another chance as it was better then killing her just to leave he opinion to live and he felt that Naruto would of done that too.
human
Tayuya
"... Somewhat." she admitted, continuing to hold onto the branch. "It's still bullshit though. I'm fucking seventeen! I don't need someone watching me! Fucking hell!"
Her head fell against the back of the tree as the tears quickly and quietly finally began to stream down her face.
Fucking bastard! Urgh!
Her right hand slowly let go as she wiped some of the tears away, panting and trembling in a mix of anger and fear.
"... If I fucking come down, you gonna stop? Or are you just gonna try to hit me again?" she finally asked. "And it's Tayuya! Didn't the Nara tell you that? Fuck no, I don't want to die. You're the one coming at me with murdering intent -- and all without any hardcore proof. Would you really be able to live with yourself if you found out Ihavebeen innocent? Fuck, you going to be able to when you realize this plan is going to do nothing but prove you wrong?! Hope you're happy with all you've fucking done so far. Tch ... "
gpt
"First of all the Nara and I are not on the same team, and I know who you area anyhow, but you still are strange to me," Neji commented as he looked at her, "you are as innocent, yeah right, we know you have done many things in your time, like that barrier you used for Orochimaru when you attacked our hokage, for example," he said calmly that itself was reason enough to go at her with killer intent. "We will see if I am wrong I am wrong about you know, we will see won't we," he commented as he looked right back up the tree for a moment.
"I won't attack you , if you don't try to run right away," he commented as he took a step back, "if you try to run for the third time I will strike though," he said honestly letting his tone tell her he wasn't joking about it either.
"Now, I would suggest that you come down sooner rather then later, so that I can explain the situation to my teammates when they arrive and tell them about our deal," he commented as he put his hands at his sides waiting to se just what the woman would do.
human
Tayuya
"Tch, that was back then. Like I said, you never had to live a lifestyle like that, to have to obey someone like Snake-yaro. So of course you're not gonna fucking understand that going against him is like asking for him - or Four-Eyes if he doesn't wanna get his hands dirty - to slit your throat. Ihadto! Trust me, there were tons of other places I would have rather been. That wasnotone of them!" Her grip remained firm upon the branch as she glanced down, watching Neji from above. The step back was ... well ... a start of sorts. It definitely reassured her a bit that if nothing else, he did seem to be a man of his word. So ... maybe this could work?
It still didn't change her feelings on it, though. Gods help her, shehatedthis! She didnotwant to agree to this. But between him staying with her versus going to a prison, it was obvious what the better option was. She was still pissed off, oh gods yes. It felt like most of her words had fallen on deaf ears. But the hell with it. The two month wait - or however long that wound up being agreed on - would be worth the wait. He'd definitely feel like a fool and that would probably be the best sensation for Tayuya; knowing she could look him in the eyes and have the ability to say 'See? I told you so'. That alone made her smirk.
".... Fine. Fine. Fuck sakes, I'm coming ... "
Slowly, she began climbing down, making sure to not fall on the way. It hadn't dawned on her until half-way down that she had nearly put herself in quite the ironic state. She'd gone in the same place which nearly killed her years ago. It made her inwardly chuckle. After a few moments, the redhead was soon in front of Neji. Her face was mostly dry though there were hints that she had been quietly crying while she had been up in the tree.
"Here ... I'm fucking here ... " she replied softly, leaning against the same tree she'd climbed down. ".... So now what? We wait I guess?"
gpt
True enough Lee landed as he looked at the woman and had no clue who she was, Tenten was behind him by a short distance, but they were there within a few minutes of her statements. Neji looked at the pair and talked to them quickly, explaining the situation and explaining how he was going to stay in the village and make sure that the redhead wasn't going to cause the village any more possible trouble. He knew that this was a surprise to the other two and it showed on her face as he made the comment to them. After he had the quick talk he turned back and looked over at Tayuya and heard her statement to him. The Hyuga could tell she was impatient to have an answer, but he had one for her.
"Now, what is going to happen is I am going to find a job perhaps at that place you work, maybe not, then I will basically be under cover as possible for the next two months. I will keep in touch with you, perhaps we can do this by having meals or meeting a certain number of times per week," he explained as he looked at her giving her a calm response as he knew that it wasn't perfect. "Now, most likely we will work at the same place, to make this easier, I am sure I can talk my way into a job at the same place you work at. This was I can keep an eye on you, but also wouldn't have to follow you or find some place to meet you each day as we would meet for work anyhow."
He paused stopping for a moment. As he waved off the others, making sure they knew where he would be and who the one he was keeping an eye on. "Now, we return back to the village, I have to find a place to stay and you need to get home to do whatever it is you do," he commented as he looked at the woman. "Now, it shouldn't be that hard. Now if you have any other ideas on how we can communicate now is the time to say them," he said as he waited for her to say something. Most likely she would have something to say, she had a smart mouth as it were and that just seemed to be kind of her thing.
human
Tayuya
Tayuya's gaze remained looking down to the ground while Neji spoke with his comrades. Honestly, she didn't have anything to say for once. She was too infuriated for one. More than that though, it'd be the equivalent of signing away her death wish if she tried to protest. She might have come off as a cold-hearted bitch but Tayuya had always been a woman of her word. Always. And she - reluctantly or otherwise - was going to keep her part of the bargain.
"I don't know if there's anything there. They tend to be in higher demand of women. And for the record, they know me as Tayuya; nothing else. I didn't see a point in bullshitting them when I arrived here so I didn't use a fake name." It was gradual but there was definitely a much more calm aura around Tayuya. It was clear she was trying to make the best out of this rather than give into her temper once again. "I don't know though. I very well may be wrong. There's never been a point with me inquiring about any available jobs because no one else had found me here. My manager and co-workers can vouch for that."
With any luck, that'd be a start that she truly was innocent. After all, no one meantno one, including Orochimaru or Kabuto. So if they hadn't found her, she couldn't be associated with Otogakure anymore.
"You ... ever gonna undo ... whatever it was you did?" Tayuya finally inquired after a bit of a pause had lingered between the two. "As far as communication goes ... even without the job, the tavern does allow for people to pay for rooms by the week or month. It ... " Her teeth gripped her lower lip in annoyance as she forced herself to continue. "It's not just a damn bar. It .. it is a .. well ... a brothel. But I don't do any of that crap. I outright refused when they asked me about that. Um ... "
Her head slowly shook from side to side. "Staying close by somehow is likely the best way to keep doing this talking method. Nothing's immediately coming to my mind otherwise."
None of this was probably anything Neji expected. If he even contemplated on the reason as to why she'd been more civil than before, it was simple. Tayuya did know her limits. Otherwise, she could have - and would have - darted off into a run. It wouldn't matter to her if it failed. If she didn't know when to stop, she wouldn't give a damn.
Clearly, there was another side of her that perhaps no one had seen before.
gpt
To say he was surprised by her reaction would be a understatement, he figured he would have to continue to push her down this road kicking and biting and yelling out at him the whole while. So to hear her change in town was something that surprised the Hyuga clan member as he stood there. He undid his byakugan and then took a deep breath, "nothing I did is perminate, it will heal quickly and there are no marks on your body either," he commented as he looked at her, "now I am sure they need males for minor jobs, there is always a need of people to clean tables, to tend the bar and to keep track of money and such for a company of any size, and even more so for one with different operations as you said it has."
He thought about it, "Then I shall get a room there at least for the time being as I or we figure out how this is going to work. I figure this will take a bit of time to get used to everything and then we can adjust as we go about these two months. Now, I do not know medical jutsu, so I can't help you with any injuries you may have, but if you wish, I do know several medical nin who are traveling though this region who can stop by and help you recover on their way back to Konoha, they should be if I make it known to them able to arrive sometime tonight so that you will be back to normal before your work shift tomorrow," he mused as he figured that her going in hurt wouldn't help her any with her job, and would show that she was in trouble which would cause countless numbers of new problems that honestly he didn't want to have to deal with.
"So if there is nothing else, either I can go find this medic-nin for you, or we both can go into town and find this room for me to rent," he finished up as he knew that things hopefully would not be as challenging as that first day was.
human
Tayuya
Now that Tayuya thought on it, one of the other women had been complaining about being the bartender for so long. She'd always believed it to be a guy's job but .. that could work either way. Itwasmore typical of men to take up that role but it didn't have to be for them only. So ... there probably was a way to make this all work. That was both a good thing and an annoying one. Just because Tayuya would cooperate didn't mean she enjoyed what was going to happen. It was still very frustrating. But ... there was no point in arguing anymore.
As tempting as the idea of a medical ninja sounded, she feared that may be pressing her luck. Kabuto was an espionage expert. This included disguises. So while this medical ninja might look like an innocent person on the outside .. with her luck, it'd be fucking Four-Eyes somehow.
That'd just be it, wouldn't it?she inwardly mused, thinking a bit longer on the idea. After a few more minutes of quiet thinking, her head shook no slowly. "I can heal pretty fast ... so long as nothing vital was hit."
When the trees had fallen on her, it'd taken months. But that was to be expected. In terms of light bruises, something that was very likely for her to have soon, Tayuya knew they'd likely go away in a day or so.
"No though I .. should be fine. I just .. wanna lie down for a bit. I'm on call so I don't really have a schedule. Furthermore, I can easily ask for time off. My manager will probably give the rest of today off if that'd help at all with allowing us more opportunities to figure this all out."
gpt
He could see the reasoning of her wanting to avoid more ninja, he figured too that to many would bring the wrong attention to her as well. He figured he could handle the bar tending job rather easily as he had some experience with such jobs in pervious undercover missions that he did in smaller villages in the past. He figured it would work out and he would be able to get set up quickly in what he wanted. That would then pay for his room and food and then he would be able to get though the two months easily and hopefully she was right and he could admit to being wrong and leave as if he had never been there. Of course, he still was sure she was keeping some secret from him that she just wouldn't let go, but only time would tell on that front.
"Fine, then I shall walk you home meet with your manager and then I shall see you tomorrow to check on you and to make sure that you are still alive and haven't skipped out of town or anything. Then we will go from there," he mused as he walked on heading to the village, "Now your manager seemed a reasonable person so it should be hard to get a job, but I do need to know one things, your name here?" he asked as he looked at her, he knew her real name of course. That wasn't going to be here name here, she wouldn't just use her real name, he was sure about that, so he wanted to know what her name happened to be so that he didn't call her by the wrong name when he was talking to others or her in public, something like that could turn out to be bad.
He figured that the town would draw people and perhaps he could keep his eye out for any information on his villages enemies as well while he was here. People who were drunk and or partying were likely to drop their defense and were easy to get information from, far easier then even when they were in their homes thinking about nothing. Here they were disconnected from that life which meant he could perhaps learn a lot about the people who came, and as a bartender he would be able to build up trust with his work and then gain info in slight ways.
human
Tayuya
The onlyrealsecret was that every now and again, Tayuya did tend to indulge herself in 'alone time' via masturbation. But her mind realized that there were few ways she could continue to do that much if ever. After all, if his eyes really did all Neji had said .. it was going to be next to impossible. It definitely annoyed Tayuya to realize. But .. she'd figure something out. She wasn't a genius like Neji or even Shikamaru. But she wasn't stupid either. When push came to shove, Tayuya could think of quite a few ideas relatively quickly.
Aside from that, however, there genuinely were no secrets. She had escaped her near death incident feeling pretty damn confident that no one - at least from Otogakure - would be able to find her. So far, she'd been right and three years had already passed.
Her attention went back to Neji as he inquired again on her name. "Oi, I'm serious! I didn't see a point in using a fake name. They really know me as Tayuya! That's not a lie, I swear. I'll admit to being a bitch at times. But I'm sure as hell no liar."
He wasn't really thinking on having her try to abruptly change her name .. was he? That wouldn't even begin to work. And even if it did, what in the hell did Neji expect her to say to her manager? There were so many excuses she could use that would sound ... logical.
A few minutes later, the two arrived back into the bar. The manager, Akane, greeted them both with a smile. "Tayuya-chan. I thought you didn't play to gather attention. What happened to that?"
"... I ... I don't. We .. um ... we go back, know one another."
It was the closest she would get to telling a full-fledged lie. They were more like acquaintances. But he wasn't a complete stranger to her either. Essentially, it was a half-truth, half-lie statement.
All the same, Tayuya managed to sneak an 'I-told-you-so' look towards Neji as her manager addressed her by her real name. She may have lost the physical battle. But it was clear that the musician would take any and all victories, regardless of the types they were.
gpt
He looked at her and wondered what was on the mind of the woman he was walking with, she seemed to be thinking about something deeply, he had no idea what it might be but he didn't know. He figured that it couldn't be all that important as he continued to walk towards this town. He figured he would need to think of a new last name for the name Hyuga was one that would seriously draw way to much attention and would not be most likely the type of attention that the young man would want, so going by a different last name while he was here would be something that would work far better then using his real last name and having perhaps hunter nin after him looking for a way to get one of his eyes.
"I see, I will use a false last name, for my real name would draw attention to you, various villages have tried to kidnap members of my clans just due to our special abilities, and they would see me as a missing nin and come to try to kill me and take my eye, it has happened to a member of my clan before anyhow," he commented as he looked at her figuring that using one name wouldn't draw nearly as much attention perhaps he could follow that course, it would still be an lie of omission but that wasn't the worse thing ever.
"Yes, the woman is correct, I ran into her during some travels in fire country when I was younger, I was traveling with some friends of mine and we ran into her friends along the way," he commented as he looked at the man, "I have been told by someone that you could use a new bartender, I happen to be skilled with such things, I have very good hands and lots of experience dealing with all types of people even strange and odd people," he said honestly anyone who had to deal with Gai and Lee could say they knew how to deal with people. He figured that the job would be helpful, and help pay the bills for remaining there.
human
Tayuya
Tayuya merely mentally noted that Neji would have a false name, one that she would have to remember. That was fine by her. Hopefully she'd remember to use whatever he chose rather than 'Hyuuga'. It didn't exactly amaze her that many had tried to obtain the eyes of his clan. Not to say Tayuya would side with those people, either. But with how powerful they helped him be, it just seemed .. like a given that anyone could have honestly guessed. Hell, the more she learned about them, the more it piqued her interest. If she had been Orochimaru, these were clearly the better eyes. But .. whatever. What-ifs were only those and thus her mind didn't think on it for long.
Did he just say 'the woman' and not my name?!
That certainly got Tayuya out of her thoughts and back to reality. It took every ounce of willpower to keep from looking up and glaring at Neji angrily. The only reason she hadn't used his first name was .. he hadn't said it! Otherwise, she would have!
Akane merely smiled and nodded. "She's correct, yes." Her gaze lingered on Neji for a while before placing a hand upon Tayuya's forehead and feeling it. "Hun? You okay?"
"...Huh?"
"Go lie down. You can have the rest of tonight off. You ... um ... I don't think I got your name, sir. Follow me." Akane began to lead him towards one of the back rooms to give him an application. Tayuya, on the other hand, took the advice and eagerly headed backstage, unlocking her door and falling upon her bed. It'd been a hell of a long day. She wasstilla bit pissed off at these arrangements.
But ... somehow ... she'd try to work things out, even if the only reason was to prove her innocence.