one_long_mission | [Open] Where do the dead go when they die?

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[Open] Where do the dead go when they die?

This isn't what he expected.

Neji stands at the outskirts of a village, one he's never seen before, and tries to trace the moments that brought him here. The battlefield, Hinata's suicidal move to protect Naruto, his own moments later to protect them both... The stunning, numbing pain as his body was pierced. Naruto supporting him, holding him up, as he gasped out a few soft words...

And then darkness, and an almost-unfelt flare of pain in his eyes as the seal did its ugly work.

But now, there is no evidence of it. He wears the uniform of the allied army, and it is clean, untorn, unstained. His body is whole, with no pain or weariness.

He can see.

The seal still sits on his forehead, a quiet but tangible presence, a gentle pulse that doesn't quite match up with his heartbeat. Foreign, but for short times, forgettable. It's there, as though he's never died to trigger it.

What happened?

He gains nothing by standing here. Slowly, still feeling a floating sense of unreality as though his feet don't truly touch the ground, he steps forward.

Where am I?

Perhaps there will be answers. Or perhaps this is what death is. His fingers rise to touch his forehead, covered by his hitai-ate, manji pulsing beneath. Is even death not an escape, then?

Who knows?

He enters the village, silent and wondering.

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"Yes." He seemed to grow a bit more subdued for a moment. "The first version of you that was our age hurt Tenten very badly, but he was gone again very quickly! Worry not, for you have otherwise been yourself! ...Though it has been amusing watching another you try to juggle your youthful passions."

He shook his head, giving him a brilliant smile. "And of course there are the youngers as well, as this place seems to very much like versions of you."

It was still too much information, too fast, but at least there were things Neji could focus on. "Hurt Tenten?" he snapped, eyes narrowing. "How? Explain this, Lee." Because of all the things he wouldn't do, seriously hurting his teammates was high on the list. He wasn't that uncaring person anymore, and had promised himself he wouldn't be again.

It only made him more confused about what this place was. Lee and Tenten from his past, other versions of himself, ones that would turn on his teammates...?

"It was before I got here. I just know she was... very focused at first on him. It worried me, but I simply supported her. It seems as though she's put it out of her mind since that Neji has not been here for several months." He shook his head and sighed. "I spoke to him once and he was very adamant that she could not be Tenten because she had died in his timeline so..."

She had died? Neji frowned, shaking his head. "No. That hasn't... if anything had happened to Tenten, I would know. She's not the one who..." And his words faded there. No, she wasn't the one who had died.

But was he? Absently, his fingers strayed to his own chest; it was harder to tell beneath the vest than it would have been with his habitual flowing clothes, but he didn't feel anything that might have been a scar or evidence of a previous wound.

Had it happened? Or had that been all some ugly dream?

"In his world, when Naruto spoke to Pein, he died."Lee's voice was very quiet. "He denied my presence as well, though not as violently as he did hers."

"In his world?" It seemed to make some things click into place... and yet, at the same time, raised so many more questions than it answered.

He hated it for that -- hated feeling so off-balance, so confused.

"Timeline? Ahhh, it is always so confusing! Basically, how it works is that people here fork off in might have beens from the main 'this is how most places go' thing. My timeline is on the 'how most people remember it' line. Others... not so much." He screwed up his face a little. "You will understand it better when you meet the Sasukes."

The Sasukes. That was... ominous. Not only the plural descriptor, which was not entirely a surprise given what they were discussing, but that it was Uchiha Sasuke of all people...

Well. He would deal with it when he met... them. Until then... "Other than simple comparison," he asked slowly, "is there any way to determine who is from the same... timeline?" Because if his own was the main stream, versus just a branch off a greater river... well. He wasn't sure that it made a difference for him, but it would for his teammates.

"It is a matter of key events usually. Even gender seems to play no part!" He shook his head. "Some who are the wrong gender follow my timeline closely, while others do not. You can but ask and see if they have the answers you already know."

Gender? So there was some possibility that he'd run into... into a female version of himself, or a male Hinata, or any other bizarre change-over. Neji shook his head, frowning. "This place is sounding more and more like some kind of lunatic hallucination." Perhaps this was only what the dying endured -- illusions, a brain dying as the body died, entertaining itself to avoid the final moments of pain.

He huffed a breath. "Some have believed so, but not all here is kindly, no matter what wishes to the contrary." He spread his hands. "Though it goes... well here. Peaceful at the moment. One must not let their training dip however given concerns to the east."

"Of course not." If there was one thing he and Lee were agreed on, at least in principle if not in detail, it was the need to be thoroughly prepared, no matter how quiet things seemed at the time. "Still, I have to wonder..." He regarded Lee thoughtfully. "You understand, of course." Presuming somewhat, but he hoped clearly.

And the question came to his mind. Should I tell him? He thought it over, then discarded it. Not now, not yet. Lee... knowing Lee, he might well make a scene, and Neji would rather avoid it.

"It is all very unbelievable? I understand. When I met Tenten here... she did not know about Pein's attack." He paused, a little smile on his face. "She also seemed to be taking a moment away from her date, though I did not, at the time, realize this."

So far back, then. Could one be taken from any time? (Or was it simply his mind giving him more details to obscure his death?)

... And if the dead could come here, then was there any limit at all on who he might encounter? The thought of finding his father here...

"From her date?" Might as well ask. This was probably all an illusion anyhow.

He hesitated, sobering a bit. He remembered how tense the two had been at each other after it got out last time. "I would not wish to cause any strife between you."

How would Tenten having a date be a cause of strife? Neji frowned, seeing the slight tension in Lee's answer. "I don't intend to march out and defend her honor, if that's what you're concerned about," he prompted dryly, a little of his usual self coming to light through the haze of distraction, confusion, and the memory of all-too-recent deadly pain. "She's quite capable of taking care of herself."

"The other Neji of our age and her... had a fight over the matter when he found out about it, I would not wish for the same to happen again." He shook his head and sighed. "I shall insist that you ask her about it!"

He gave a firm nod and looked him in the eye. "Neji. You are just arrived, correct? You may stay in my room!"

Of our age. Neji eyed Lee again on the heels of that statement; it was one thing to speak of the time difference between them in terms of what Lee remembered or didn't - very different to think of it in terms of their ages. It felt odd, to realize that. He felt a little old, suddenly.

"Is there a shortage of housing?" he asked dryly in answer to Lee's offer. "Or...?" Well, this wasn't Konoha; he wouldn't be returning to a known and familiar clan compound. Staying with his team might not be a bad thing, but he'd rather have his own space, if he could.

"There was a rather large rush of people recently." He gave him a bright, if sheepish smile. "And I would not want to stick you in an apartment... unless you would rather? You know I do not snore!"

"No, but you flail," Neji pointed out dryly. They'd shared a tent on missions often enough to know this. "I believe I'd prefer to take an apartment, if there are any that are available and in decent condition." He did have high standards, after all. It was a part of being Hyuuga.

He sighed, disappointed, but rallied himself quickly. "But of course! We shall make it our quest!"

Quest. Sure. Neji sighed in resigned -- perhaps just a bit affectionate -- acceptance. "Fine. That's fine. It's a quest to find me a place to stay." A place to live didn't quite feel right to say yet. He shouldn't be living, here or anywhere else.

But it was something of a second chance, and with his team.

He gave him a brilliant smile, finally releasing him and moving a few steps ahead. "Are you hungry? If you are we can eat before starting! if not then come! There are many places to explore!"

Hungry. He hadn't thought about hunger; his whole self was far too twisted up with the surprise of finding himself alive again to even think about it. But the battle had been going a long time, with no breaks for sustenance. He considered the matter, and decided it might be best to eat.

And the tales of being trapped in a dream world once you ate its food... well. Did it matter? He was dead. He might as well.

"I could eat," he agreed casually.

If anything, his smile brightened. "Excellent." He started to walk, tone just a tad more serious as he called back over his shoulder. "Perhaps it will help brighten your spirit!"

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