The call arrived at 0:47.

"Here's a badly injured boy!" the caller shouted in panic, "Oh god, there's so much blood! You gotta help him!"

Not even five minutes later the ambulance arrived in the nearby Clement Clarke Moore Park. A business man stood a little off the pathway, bile clung to the collar of his dress jacket; probably from throwing up after making his discovery.

The victim was a young male, not older than 18. He wore a dark green flak jacket, black trousers and black half-sandals and was unconscious. The reasons for this state were two deep stab wounds on his back which stained his jacket and his long dark brown, nearly black hair.

The two medics didn't hesitate for long and jumped into their routine again.

"Shit" one of them, an Afro-American called Rick, ground out, "Look at this Jim. He's barely as old as my Gracie."

"Fucking gangs" Jim, an Asian muttered. He checked the unconscious boy's vital signs, frowned and pulled open an eyelid before grunting: "Blind and stabbed in the back – damn cowards… We need to get him to the Elmhurst ASAP. He's going to bleed to death otherwise!"

"I see two stab wounds" Rick said and began to apply some pressure bandages. "One directly into his guts, the other probably pierced a lung."

"Shit" Jim grimaced. "Okay, let's get our friend to the truck. We don't need another teenager on the graveyard."

-oo0oo-

The Elmhurst Hospital Center was a very busy facility both at day and night. Though nobody had expected having to treat an adolescent with severe stab wounds in the back at one o' clock in the morning. Things like this happened in Manhattan, not in Queens.

Nevertheless the present doctors and nurses jumped into action when the ambulance truck arrived with its vulnerable cargo. Rick and Jim were released while the doctors brought the gurney away to the nearest Emergency Room to treat the injured.

Sentences floated muffled through the room, audible even over the beeping and groaning of the machines.

"Left lower lung and diaphragm have been pierced by… a wooden beam or something, same goes for his intestines. Some of his ribs had been shattered by the impact."

"Wooden Beam?"

"There are wood splinters in his wounds. And the wound channels are too large and too round to be from a knife."

"How can he still be alive?"

"Kid's a fighter."

"He's got scars, so he was either brought up in an abusive home or got a lot into fights. There are two rather large scars, one on the right side of his abdomen and one on his left shoulder – as if he had been run through with something before. There are also several more scars of stab wounds on his back."

"Just what did this kid get into?"

"No idea… are those Ninja weapons?!"

"His eyes are all milky white, with his irises almost not distinguishable from the rest of his eyeballs, and the pupils are only visible when one looks really close… I've never seen a worse case of Cataracts."

"Who would stab a blind boy in the middle of the night into the back?"

"And what blind boy carries Ninja Weapons around with him?"

-oo0oo-

Despite every sender broadcasting the news, nobody called that claimed to know this boy. Hospital records didn't yield anything, too, and neither were his fingerprints nor his DNA matching just anywhere. He had no ID with him either.

It was as if this boy had not existed before he appeared in the Clement Clarke Moore Park.

Their only chance was to wait until he woke up.

-oo0oo-

Doctor Woods – the head of the intensive care unit - sighed as she went through the bright lit hallways with their fluorescent artificial lights. Over a week and there was still no clue on her newest, strange patient.

She was just at the end of her normal round when she entered the last room left on this hallway. She only wanted to check on her mysterious patient before calling it a day.

However, when she entered the room, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"…Oh… you woke up" she stated in surprise. Indeed the young man – boy really – was obviously awake and already sitting – albeit only by leaning against the head of his sick bed and against the wall. He was pale, sweaty and panting, but had discarded the mechanical ventilation and seemed to be confused.

When she entered he turned his head towards her, and his white eyes looked directly into her face. Something a blind man shouldn't be able to do at all.

Doctor Woods paused and said: "You should not be sitting up right now, you are still injured" He did not answer, but frowned and cocked his head. "Well… you are a fast healer then."

Doctor Woods came over and rounded the bed. Her patient watched her. Then it struck her: "You… you can see me?"

Again he blinked and frowned, apparently not understanding a word she said. Now it was her turn to frown and she asked: "You don't understand me, do you?" When he did nothing but frown she sighed: "Great. I need to find an interpreter."

Before she did that, however, she got out her pen and held it before him. At first he blinked and arched a delicate eyebrow as if waiting for an explanation. "Look at it" she said. "Don't touch it, just follow it with your eyes" While Doctor Woods said that she gesticulated to bring her message over. It seemed to work, and he did what she wanted.

Now Doctor Woods became impressed. "You can see! Your eyes look blind, but you aren't. Is that normal from where you are?"

Of course he didn't understand any word. So she sighed and said: "Well, anyways. I'm Doctor Woods, but you can call me Alexx… what's your name?"

Her patient, at least, seemed to understand what she wanted. Bowing his head slightly to not aggravate the wounds in his back, he answered: "Hyuuga Neji."

"Hyuuga? Strange name… Oh wait! It's your family name? You are Neji?"

He nodded. Alexx smiled: "I'm going to get you some food – and someone you can speak to. Try to sleep, okay?"

At least she now knew his name.

-oo0oo-

The hospital staff learnt several new things about their newest addition. First, his name was Neji Hyuuga. He was a quick healer and could already move around only two weeks after having been brought to the hospital. And while nobody had believed he would actually survive when he was first brought in, he was out of the hospital before the month was over.

His eye color was naturally milky white. He could still see like every normal person, though. And he preferred to keep his hair long and in a low ponytail.

He only spoke Japanese, calling for an interpreter. Ms. Tara Wong was called and was from then on always at his side. Neji had to stay in the care of Ms. Wong until his guardians were found. And while he stayed first in the hospital then in her tiny flat in lower Manhattan and even later with a foster family – the Parrs - he taught himself English, and within a few weeks he spoke it nearly perfectly.

Neji was also not named in any register. Again nobody had ever heard or seen him, not even the Japanese authorities ever heard about the boy, before, and this made everyone confused. Neji himself was most confused about where he was. He had stated that he hailed from a town called Konohagakure no Sato, which lay in the Hi no Kuni County, but again nobody had heard about this. When they told him, he was visibly shattered.

Which only left one question: What to do with the boy?

-oo0oo-

About three months after his sudden appearance, Neji took a walk with his foster family in the Central Park, just enjoying this beautiful late spring day. Wearing borrowed clothes from the neighbour's son – who was away for college – the pale-eyed teen looked almost normal. Almost. If not for his white eyes that still attracted a lot of attention.

Plus the fact that his face had been on every TV only a few weeks ago. Of course the people recognised him now. And it made Neji feel uncomfortable.

"Is everything alright?" his foster father – Bob – asked him.

"Yeah, I'm okay" Neji replied, "Thank you for your concern, Parr-san, but…"

"I've told you" Bob said smiling, "Call me Bob."

"…Bob-san."

Mrs. Helen Parr laughed a bit. Tugging at Neji's sleeve she said: "Let's get ice cream, okay?"

The Hyuuga sighed inwardly and followed the small red-haired woman. His new family followed them. Their ten-year old son Matty worshipped Neji; he called him cool and thought him to be an X-Man… whatever that was. Their teenage daughter Gladys was less enthusiastic about him, but then again, she was a teenager. Mrs. and Mr. Parr tried to be the perfect replacement parents for their strange new son, but even they could never quench the pain in his chest.

It wasn't so much the wounds from his near-death – they did hurt sometimes – it was more the aching for home and familiarity.

Then again… Neji frowned, pretending to look at the variety of ice-cream flavours, he was pretty sure he had died that day in Naruto's arms. Why was he here then, alive, without the Curse Seal branded into his forehead and still being able to see?

However, his musing was cut short when they suddenly heard a great explosion. Everyone whirled around the source of it.

"Damn!" Bob cursed, "It's those guys again!"

Neji's training screamed out to him again. He watched the people in the park running screaming away from several men armed with strange-looking weapons (guns they were called if Neji remembered correctly). They even had a few huge suits of armor with them!

"Robots!" Matty crowed, "Cool!"

"This is not cool!" Helen shrieked.

The pale-eyed boy was the only one not freaking out. "Who are they?" he asked.

"Bad News" Bob grunted and pushed his son and daughter behind his slightly obese body.

"Hydra!" Matty called out, "They are the bad guys!"

Slightly irritated Neji asked: "And why are you so happy about this?"

"Because now the good guys will come and kick their asses!"

"Don't piss yourselves!" someone yelled and Neji looked up where a man in a red and gold suit of armor came flying. He had seen him in TV a few times. Iron Man he was called.

The Iron Man landed between the Hydra Agents and the scared crowd. "Iron Man is here to take over."

"Hey!" another voice cut in. A man with a blue suit and a shield ran towards them, followed by a red-haired woman and a man with a bow. "We're here, too, don't forget that."

"Yeah right. I'm still the best there is."

"So cool!" Matty crowed again and Neji frowned.

The group – the Avengers – began to fight against the Hydra agents, and when their last member – a huge blonde man with a hammer – appeared, they drove them backwards.

The civilians turned tail and ran into the opposite direction. Or at least wanted to.

Neji stopped when a man in front of him stopped and felt Matty and Gladys impacting into his spine. "No!" a woman from the crowd cried. And only now did Neji see what was going on.

More Hydra agents had sneaked up from behind the civilians. They were going to use them as hostages against the Avengers!

This was something Neji Hyuuga would not allow. He was a Shinobi after all.

The scared civilians backed off again, clustering together. The Shinobi counted thirty Hydra soldiers and one robot. There was no way the Avengers could reach them before the soldiers took their first human shields, at least not while they were occupied on the other side. It fell to Neji to defend them.

"Nobody move!" one of the soldiers yelled, "Don't even think we'll hesitate to kill all of you when you as much as look at us the wrong way!"

The civilians screamed in panic and backed away, but Neji held his ground. "Neji" Bob hissed, "We have to get away!"

"Run, Bob-san" the Hyuuga told him, "I'll clean out the rubbish."
The head of the Parr family stared at him, but something in Neji's tone told him, the boy was serious. The civilians around Neji parted the way, which confused the Hydra agents. Especially when one young man wearing a pair of run-down sneakers, worn jeans and a dark shirt stepped in front of the huddling people. He, however, looked as if he knew what he was doing. And his eyes were white, stark white.

"Neji!" Gladys hissed, "This is madness!"

"Stand back" he replied, "Take cover. I will not let them hurt any innocents."

What followed then startled everyone, not only Neji's foster family. The young man lifted his index fingers and said: "Byakugan" Suddenly the veins on his temples bulged and bunched out, while his usually nearly invisible pupils emerged now more visible.

Neji felt his vision change, no longer able to detect colours, but therefore he had a near 360° field of vision and could see the chakra paths of his opponents in a range of about 50 metres. A smirk came to his face as he went into a battle stance: "You should run, gentlemen, because I will not hesitate to strike you down."

The Hydra agents were confused for a moment, but not for long: "And what will you do, freak? You are alone, and we are thirty!"

"I've fought with more outnumbering me" Neji replied, "You cannot scare me. Hakke Rokujūyon Shō."

Neji leashed out. With blurring fast strikes he literally obliterated all the Hydra soldiers. An alert – a really, really alert – person could have counted 64 strikes which Neji dealt out in less than a minute, too fast for any normal man to react. And when he came to a stop, all agents fell to the floor unconsciously.

If the civilians hadn't already dropped their jaws in shock, they did now. Especially the foster family of the Shinobi.

The robot was left. Without hesitating it levelled its massive energy weapon at the Shinobi. Again Neji was unflinching.

When the robot started shooting, Neji dragged his foot over the ground for a moment before muttering: "Hakkeshō Kaiten" and started to spin around. A blue dome of energy enclosed him; an impenetrable shield that let the energy projectiles of the robot bounce off harmlessly.

The robot stopped its attack and paused, calculating its next moves, but then Neji was already there. He jumped right at the machine and drew back his hand. "Hakke Hasangeki" he growled and smashed his flat palm with all his considerable strength after the machine. Upon impact a flash of light erupted together with a massive shockwave, which threw the machine off its feet and flung it several yards through the air like a toy, until it crushed against a rock, smashing itself and the rock in the process.

Neji straightened back up, deactivating his Byakugan after having surveyed the scene.

All Hydra agents had been defeated.

"Wow" someone said and Neji blinked before turning back. The civilians stared at him in undisguised surprise, Matty had even sparkling eyes. What were more, however, were the Avengers that looked just as surprised.

The Iron Man opened up his visor, pointed at him and said: "You, my friend, you are getting on this team in this instant."

Neji blinked and opened his mouth. The Captain, however, interrupted him: "You can't just go around and recruit kids – this guy is barely full age!"

"A Great Warrior has to be recognised early on!" Thor boomed.

"He's right" Tony said. Addressing the crowd he asked: "Who does Pale Eyes belong to? I want to adopt him. Ah, don't be shy; I can pay a good price."

Before the day was even over, Neji had his meagre belongings stowed away in a duffel bag and stood in the large lounge/living room of the Avengers Tower. He was not entirely sure about what would happen next, but he knew one thing.

Things would surely not become boring.

And maybe, just maybe, he would find a way back home.

Author's Note

Just another random idea we had. I'm not sure whether I'm going to write a sequel to this, but feel free to do so if you want.

Read and Enjoy ^^

Disclaimer

I don't own Naruto or the Avengers or other familiar characters. I wrote this only for my own (and my sister's) enjoyment.

Warnings

Contains grammar mistakes. Gah.