Authors Notes: This fanfic is for the Nejitenplz contest in deviantart, with the theme of "Love Letters". But for this story, I interpreted the theme much differently than other contest entries as you will read on. So I hope you enjoy! For more info on the contest visit my profile and click on my homepage link. This will take you to my deviantart account and the rest should be self explanatory.
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns naruto, I do not. Poem also belongs to the genius, John Keats.
Mine Forevermore
By Inkmissives
Within an instant, a sliver of time much too quick for the untrained eye to perceive, well-practised hands made quick work snatching poisoned senbon from their scroll. Only to have them deeply embedded within the neck of two unsuspecting sentry standing outside of an inconspicuous and rather dreary slopping hut. From that fatal swoop no noise alerted the inhabitants inside the hut of the dangers that silently slithered through their defences. The very ones thought to be protecting their hideout now lay motionless on the dirt floor.
Within that flash of time, white eyes discreetly lingered on the very hands of the infiltrator. They were pleasantly tan, a shade darker when contrasted to his skin, and yet against the gleam from the pale moon above one could hardly tell the difference.
There had been a time in his genin days when he wondered if those very hands were coarse and warm from the touch of cold steel, or smooth and cold from the lotion she applied after every mission.
However there was no time to ponder on that thought a moment longer. Activating his byakugan, Neji quickly scanned the dingy hut for a familiar shade of burgundy hair only to see that it was surrounded by a sea of balding, shaggy and spiky haired captors. With a flick of Neji's hand the perimeter was clear and his female companion joined him in their descent.
As they stalked along the shadows while making light footwork towards their target, Tenten recalled the mission's details over in her mind.
"Get in and out, as quickly as possible" rang Tsunade's boisterous voice, "Don't get caught, and bring back Gin Hisami alive." She continued with much emphasis on the latter comment.
From there her memory flooded her mind's eye like spilt ink, staining all the crevasses within its grasp. Tenten could still recall awkward silence she and Neji shared on their way to the hokage's office. While more vividly, she could recall the slow permeating stench of Tsunade's sake perfuming the room. It lingered in the air leaving its fingertips over all that it touched including the bundle of unopened scrolls on Tsunade-sama's desk, the tip of her nose, and what Tenten begrudgingly admitted to later on, over Neji's entire traditional shirt.
Tsunade briefed them both on the mission the moment they entered; it seemed there was no time for proper greetings.
"For this mission I need you both," She piped over a cup of sake in her hands.
Pretending to not notice the tense stances from both ninja over the word "both" she continued on, "An important researcher for Konohgakure has been kidnapped by a rouge band of lowly thugs for petty cash. But, it is not defeating the thug that's the issue; it's them finding out that Gin has with him a scroll that houses one of Konohagakure's greatest secret. Information that has been in our safe-keeping back to when the village was first founded. All confidential, and can spell disaster in the wrong hands, so…" stopping only momentarily to draw her coat closer for warmth against the chill that had wafted its way into the room when Neji and Tenten entered.
"We have already agreed to set up an exchange in two days' time, and I need you both to leave as soon as possible", Tsunade commanded while handing Neji the printed location of the rendezvous, and
Tenten a creased picture of Gin Hisami; A man in his thirties who had a pleasant face and a mop of burgundy hair that brought the picture alive in her hands.
"Neji, you're in charge."
They were quickly dismissed and passed Shizune on the way out. After a rather quite greeting, Shizune pivoted toward Tsunade, an eyebrow rose in silent question while Tonton slung from her arms wallowing in grief from the cold shoulder treatment she received from the pair.
"Did something happen?" Shizune questioned, only to receive a huff of dismissal from Tsunade as she sipped her sake in contemplation. Shrugging the cloak from her shoulders a faint muttering could be heard, "The chill is gone".
From there, only the tattle-tale click of Shizune's shoes accompanied with a contented sigh from Tsunade as she downed the remnants of her drink could be heard while the sun broke through the clouds and warmed an ageing woman's weary bones.
"Please don't touch that!" a quivering voice begged, but to Tenten it was more like a jarring alarm that shook her back into reality, they needed to get Gin out of there fast. With the mission at hand she couldn't help but sneak tiny glances at Neji who had yet to speak a word to her since the mission began, the thought alone bring a frown and a unceasing discomfort in the pit of her stomach.
Disregarding all personal feelings and placing them aside, they both quickly apprehended the kidnappers. Within a span of three minutes all of the gang members were either made into pin cushions by the cruel touch of steel or rendered dead by the fatal plunge of a Hyuga hand.
Burgundy hair turned to them both, doe eyed and stuttering at the sudden appearance of his unsuspected saviours.
"The scroll.." was all Gin Hisami could utter, as he sat bound to a chair, alabaster skin gave way to a coat bearing the village symbol, and much like the picture Tsunade gave them; his angular yet pleasing face along with his brilliant emerald eyes were nothing compared to his short hair that blazed under the sliver of moonlight which trickled through the cracked window in an otherwise drab and filthy hut.
As dusk fell on the trio like a thief in the night, a fire was quickly stuck and bedding prepared after a quick meal of fish from a nearby stream.
Neji and Tenten lay in their respected spots, specifically far away from each other with Gin nested in-between them like a human buffer. Not even the pleasing site of stars or the warmth of the fire could coax the silent pair into speaking or turn Hisami away from his zealous inspection of every nook and cranny of his precious scroll.
When completely satisfied with his thorough investigation he shot the ninja couple a thankful smile.
"Thank you both so much for saving me back there" his voice rang through the night, no longer quivering or fearful. "I didn't know Tsunade allowed couples to do missions together. But what do I know right? I am just a researcher after all, and most of what I know stems from books written years ago!" he ended with an awkward laugh, while his right hand lay over the scroll. Its mossy colour and average size would leave many to doubt if it contained anything of value at all.
No reply came from the pair, but charming blushes accented by the glow of the fire was enough to tip Gin off. His job was to interpret the thoughts of people daily through the scores of scrolls they left behind, so body language came as a cake walk for him.
Sensing the unspoken tension between them, a feeling of responsibility swelled within his chest. To show his gratitude for his safe return, a little gentle prodding to fix their lover's quarrel should do the trick he deduced.
Glancing back and forth between the two, the white eyed male staring intently into the open flames while the female discreetly pulled a kunai out of thin air and twirled it expertly with her fingers, was all Gin needed to press forward with his plan.
"I sure you both are curious as to what exactly is written in this scroll?" he questioned, passing it back and forth from each hand to grab their attention. When both ninja drifted their eyes onto the scroll, a small grin graced his lips. Hook.
"It belonged to our first hokage, Senju Hasirama-sama" he continued, interest slowing blooming in the pair's eyes as they squared their bodies towards Gin, his smile only growing bigger. Line.
"When Hasirama-sama came into possession of this scroll containing kinjutsu, he sealed it away to keep its contents a secret. However, when he passed it onto his wife, Mito Uzumaki, for safe keeping, he bound a note on it. A clue to break its seal, if a situation ever arises to use the information stored inside." And sinker.
White eyes filled with curiosity, "If it stores forbidden kinjutsu like you claim, why would you have a way to break the seal?" the black haired man replied.
"Ah! A good question, which I am currently trying to figure out myself" Gin grinned in reply.
"What does this clue say?" piped the brown eyed female, whose hair was placed into two buns that looked rather cute he noted.
Smiling again he retorted, "Another excellent question that I have been trying to figure out". The duos interest faltered. Seeing that he was losing his audience quickly, Gin turned the scroll over quickly, exposing five thinly written lines of text along one of its edges.
Blank ink that showed the signs of age caught the light from the campfire, flicking in almost lifelike animation. Sure enough the duo inched their way forward from their spots to inspect the lightly scratched message.
Coming to life from the fires breath it read,
"Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel forever its soft swell and fall,
Awake forever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live forever or else swoon to death."
White and brown eyes clashed against emerald, a mixture of interest and doubt clouded their entwined glances.
Before they could return to their spot and lose all the ground work Gin had paved to get the two closer together he hastily jumped into his offensive tactics.
"Now, now I know it reads like a love letter, or more like a love poem between Hasirama-sama and his wife, but please hear me out." Pausing momentarily to ensure their attentions he pressed onward,
"From my line of work, I have read, interpreted, and solved many ancient scrolls. But, what is so fascinating about this particular scroll is not only what it contains, but that our hokage chose to hide the only way to break its seal in the form of a love poem specifically given to his wife."
A lack of understanding marred the faces of his saviours, yet Gin pressed on.
"When actions fail, and spoken words fall on deaf ears, it is written word that stand the test of time. However, there are countless scrolls with a wealth of knowledge from our ancestors. So how can you find the ones worth investigating?" Gin questioned,
"By simply finding letters written from the ramblings of the heart. These are the very letters that give you true insight into those who have written them and those who receive them. My job is to probe inside their minds and soul, decode their secrets behind each letter and extract the truth."
Gently rotating the scroll in his large hands Gin concluded, "So our first hokage in his great wisdom, knowing exactly what forbidden kinjutsu is housed inside this scroll, gave a love letter to his wife, in the sole purpose that this scroll remained sealed for all of eternity. And yet decoding a simple love letter could make all the difference, when in the right hands."
Quiet, contemplating silence soon followed as they both pondered on what he said.
Growing tired from his large speech, Gin slowly prepared his makeshift bed. But before he could drift into blissful dreams of encrypted messages and codes he caught the pair passing knowing smiles towards each other.
Sensing calculating eyes on them, they slowly turned and addressed Gin, "My name is Tenten."
"Neji Hyuga" followed the male soon after, with a nod of acknowledgement.
As the three prepared for bed, with Neji as first watch sentry, the tension that had shaded the group like a heavy quilt since the beginning of the mission had evaporated into the night like a hazy dream.
Soft crunching of the trio's feet was the only noise that passed between them as they made their way out of Tsunade's office. The mission was complete and proven successful with Gin and the scrolls safe return. No injuries to report and a gained sense of knowledge humbled both Tenten and Neji.
Tenten, lingering behind the building waited for Neji to finish his rather hushed conversation with Gin Hisami.
It was not long till they found themselves face to face, thankfully shaded by a large tree and away from any prying eyes or ears wishing to get snippets of their conversation.
Silence filled the air as they both tried to grope for words to say.
"Perhaps we should put it in writing first" Tenten joked, which lifted the mood immediately as a genuine smile passed Neji lips. He boldly stepped forward, allowing him to intimately pull back a wayward strand of maroon hair behind Tenten's ear, only to linger along her jawline.
"In a form of a love letter, is what Hisami-san would say" He jokingly continued, bringing back the beguiling blush on both of their cheeks.
Not wanting to waste the delicate moment, Neji slowly clasped Tenten's hand with his own. A pleasant smile spread from Neji's face, her fingers were course and filled with warmth but her palms felt like a gentle caress as her soft skin kissed his own palms.
A short moment later, Tenten pull back in disgust when she felt the slimy film of some unknown substance marking both of their palms.
"Neji!"
Taking a quick glance at the foreign stain, it was gleaming back at her looking remarkably like the one written on Garra's forehead. It was love. Flashing her eyes back onto Neji in hopes of an explanation he answered for her.
"I know I messed up, but it doesn't matter now." White eyes searched through a field of brown, trying to gauge her reaction. "But a wise man once said that the written word lasts forever and love letters are the windows into people's soul."
He paused, mouth open in speechless mutterings, dropping his eyes briefly from her only to glance back with more conviction then before. Raising his hand towards Tenten, it showed an inked reflection of love matching Tenten's very own.
"So like this letter on your hand and mine, I will love you forever." Stepping ever so slightly closer to Tenten, Neji openly stared at her, eyes hopeful for her reply. Only to have Tenten draw closer to him as well, lips a hairs breathe away from each other, while a lovely pair of brown eyes met their white counterparts. Both danced with mirth as they reflected the inked love letter that dyed both their palms.
Lover Letters indeed.
Authors extended note: First ever fanfic done! Wohoo! Please excuse me for the bad spelling, grammar, and fast story line. The deadline for the contest is tomorrow, and I don't have much time to tweak this. I hope you enjoyed it! And if you are wonder what they were both fighting over in the beginning, it's up to your imagination.
Please comment, I would love to hear your views on my work so I can tweak them better in the future!
*new* I won second place in the contest YATTA! Thanks to all who has read this! Also if you have an account on please visit my profile page and vote on my poll. I am interested to see the amount of people who would like me to write requests for them. *new*