Masashi Kishimoto
Tenten's Past
"Tenten! Try and keep up!" Lee shouted at me. I glared at him. He knew very well I stayed up late last night training hard. Sure shinobi were supposed to be ready for anything, but I was up until 3:00 am practicing this new technique.
"I would keep up if you guys went slower!" I yelled back. Surprisingly, Neji was the one who stopped and waited for me. I looked at him questioningly.
"I can tell you're tired. I'll keep at your pace if you like." I looked at Lee and Gai-sensei. "Don't worry; we'll catch up once you get your strength back." He turned ready to go again. I smiled at him admiring his rare concern for others. And we were off again.
"Here we are troops!" My sensei shouted exuberantly. Neji and I weren't very far behind, so we were able to hear him.
"Here is what exactly?" Neji asked in his monotone voice.
"Yeah," I questioned "All I see are trees, rocks, oh and look, more trees..." Even Lee had to be questioning Gai by now, but no he still had faith in him.
"Do not question Gai-Sensei! He has a good reason for why we are here!" Lee exclaimed. Course he was sticking up for Gai, even if he had no idea why we were here either. Neji and I knew this couldn't be where our mission was, it involved finding a woman who could see the future and past. We had to protect her until she got from the Village Hidden in the Sand, to the Village Hidden in the Rain. It was a short mission so it was only a C-rank mission, a type of mission Naruto would've been unhappy with.
"Don't worry; this is only where we're resting up! Tenten needs some rest from her over worked training the other night." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Great job Tenten! You've learned the meaning of Youth! To work hard at something until you get it right!" I flinched away from his hand.
"Uhh... Thanks... Sensei..." 'He sure is one of a kind '. Then I looked at Lee. 'Well I guess two of a kind...'
The night went by smoothly. Except Gai and Lee were terrible snorers, so Neji and I had to move away behind a couple of trees so we could barely hear them. Plus, I would annoy Neji at times saying "Hey Neji." "What?" "Hi." He wouldn't be very impressed with me after that.
Morning finally came, and after I had a better, longer rest I was ready to go.
"Did you get a better rest?" Neji came over and asked me after we were all packed up.
"Yes, did you? Have a good rest I mean."
"Yes, but no thanks to you." He playfully glared. I struggled to hold back a laugh.
"Alright! Time to go and move out! Go team Gai!" Gai-sensei shouted wildly as he started jumping from tree to tree. 'He must not be very good at sneak attacks' I thought as I jumped from tree to tree beside Neji, as Gai and Lee were just slightly up front.
After a half hour I noticed sand in our tracks. I could tell that we were at least close to the Village Hidden in the Sand.
Suddenly, saw something flash below me. "Wait!" I shouted Gai, Lee, and Neji stopped.
"What is it Tenten? We're on a very tight schedule!"
"Lee we still have an hour to spare, and besides, I saw something down there."
"Yes we still have an hour, but won't the woman be proud that such excellent shinobi like us have arrived early!"
"Lee." Neji glared at him, which automatically made him shut up. "Byakugan!" Neji shouted and started searching for whatever I saw. "Behind us!" He shouts, and I spin around.
"My, my, what great shinobi..." The woman behind me says in a slow voice. She had long black hair down to her waist, and had eyes like Neji's except her pupil was lighter than her actual eye, which her eye was a pale blue. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I am surprised at what great pace you all run at." She looks at me. "Even when one, is not their best." My eyes grow wide, but I look away before I show any signs of shock. "I am sorry, I have forgotten to introduce myself; my name is Kazumi. I am the woman you are looking for." She looks at Neji. "My, my, a Byakugan user. You are of the Hyuga clan I assume. I can tell your skills come in handy, especially in this case." Neji smiles briefly then looks at Gai.
"Allllllrighty! Come Team Gai; let's get this beautiful woman to her destination, Lee you carry Kazumi, Neji look out for any possible fo..."
"There is no one after me, I can assure you. I am needed there for work, plus, I have distant family there. There is no need for anyone to capture me."
"Alright, but just in case, Neji."
"Got it."
"Tenten, look out behind us and signal us for anything unusual."
"Leave it to me"
At that moment Kazumi looked at me in a most unusual way, and I looked back at her. Her pupils dilated, and just like that, I was trapped in my worst nightmare.
Chapter 2
Her eyes weren't like anything I've ever seen. They weren't like sharingan, for her eyes would've turned red instead of staying their natural colour. I thought that it might be a new type of byakugan, but then again…
Before I could think of anything else I was trapped. Her staring at me, me staring at her, and there was no way to get out of it. Neji's byakugan couldn't do this, the sharingan could, but her eyes were still that dull blue colour. Then, at that exact moment I remembered something…
Neji and I knew this couldn't be where our mission was, it involved finding a woman who could see the future and past. We had to protect her until she got from the Village Hidden in the Sand, to the Village Hidden in the Rain.
'Oh shoot…' I thought. Either she's going to tell my future or my past… And neither was good.
I was suddenly, at my old house. Inside the living room, the sofa and love seat were red, and I could hear laughter coming from the next room, the kitchen.
"All right Tenten, get in here." It wasn't until then, that I saw myself sitting on the sofa. I was really young, and today, was my third birthday. Though my clothes had changed while I got older, my hair was still in the nice little buns that I still wore in my hair today. The voice that just called the smaller me almost brought me to tears; it was my mother's voice. So she was going to show me the past that I had suppressed for so long. I wanted to forget it so I wouldn't be emo avenger Sasuke, or that crazed knucklehead Naruto. I just wanted to move on with my life. I never told anyone, because I didn't want to be pitied and branded as "that girl who lost her parents on her third birthday".
I watched myself skip towards my parents. I decided seeing them, would be a terrible choice, but I couldn't hold out any longer. I ran to see what all the fuss was about. My father was holding me up and I was giggling like mad, while my mother was holding a cake with three candles lit. Despite what was going to happen next, I smiled. I thought this was going to be the best day of my life. But I was dead wrong…
I heard the door open. If I hadn't been laughing, maybe my parents would've heard the door, I closed my eyes as I heard footsteps coming towards us. I opened my eyes to see two big men with black masks walk into the room with swords. At three you don't really know what would be going on in this situation, for all you know; you could think those people could be entertainers for your birthday party. My mother quickly put down the cake and my father put me down, they grabbed the weapons from the top of the fridge. The weapons I was NEVER allowed to touch.
"Run Tenten." My father said sternly. I looked at him, confusion in my eyes. "RUN! To your bedroom now!" I don't know what was wrong with me, but instead of running to my bedroom, I just ran behind a wall. My parents couldn't tell. My mother was fighting one of the big men; my father was fighting the other. I watched as the men were too strong for my parents, for they missed out on training for 4 years, taking care of me. I watched as the man stabbed my mother in the back, and my father's wide eyes as he watched the man do so. I watched as while my father was caught off guard get stabbed in the chest. The two men must've forgotten about me, heard people outside and ran out one of the windows. I saw people walk into the kitchen, some people wearing masks some weren't. They must've heard my mother's screams and my father's yell.
"Where's the young girl?"
"Was she killed too?"
"No! There she is!" One of the masked persons spotted me, crying behind a wall. She picked me up, but I was too scared, I squirmed until she put me down.
"Honey, you're gonna be fine… All fine…"
Suddenly I was back to the present. Neji was looking at me, and he looked traumatized. I noticed there were tears in my eyes, I wiped then away. Gai (unlike him) didn't say anything, anything at all. Lee's expression was almost expressionless, except his mouth literally hung down to the floor. Great, so she told my team about my whole deep dark secret. I was irritated to hell.
"How could you do this to me!" I screamed at Kazumi. "You brought up the memory that I've wanted to suppress for as long as I can remember, and now my whole team knows!" I ran up to face her "Who the hell do you think you are! What makes you think that you can just go into whoever's mind and look at what's happened to them and what they hate the most about their life!" I started crying again, but I couldn't show it. Shinobi do not shed tears no matter what. So I just yelled at her again. "If you think I'm going to help you now, think again! I… I…"
"Tenten." I heard a voice behind me. 'Shoot.' I WAS NOT crying in front of him. As soon as I caught my breath, I turned to face him. Neji was behind me. He had his usual expressionless face on, but this time I detected… Sorrow? No that couldn't be it. Neji never felt sorrow for anyone, not even himself. But I couldn't help… "Tenten…" He said my name again. I just stared at him. I remembered all the pain that memory put me through, my parents who I would never see again, and the two men who took my parent's lives for nothing. I couldn't hold out much longer. I wanted to run somewhere, where my teammates couldn't see my weakness.
"Tenten, it's alright. You can cry, no one will tell. I can promise you that." Neji comforted me. He gave a glare to Gai and Lee, and with a look like that, I could be sure they wouldn't tell anyone.
I wasn't sure what happened next, but I ran into Neji's arms and started crying. And just like that, I broke down.
Chapter 3
(Neji's Point Of View)
"We're almost there, just a few more miles south." I replied to my teammates and our 'guest' who was on Lee's back. Tenten was behind us, not paying attention at all to where we were going. I could tell all she wanted to do was finish the mission so she could just go home. I wanted to make her feel better, but I needed to focus on the mission, afterwards, I could do whatever I could to help her.
'Tenten's life has been down a very dark path. It never occurred to me that he parents had died like that. In fact…' I thought to myself 'I've never asked her at all about her family life. I always just assumed that I was the one worse off in this team. I never cared for anyone else.' Thinking that, I felt like hitting myself. Why had I not cared for Tenten before? She was always nice to me. She helped me train before I fought Naruto. She was there to cheer me on, even when I failed. But yet I just decided to brush her off as if she was some annoying little girl who was just a pain. Was I really that insensitive?
"Neji, Look out!" Lee cried. Distracted, I glanced in front of me and stopped just in time before hitting a tree. My eyes widened as I realized how deep inside my thoughts I was. From now on I needed to focus. But now Tenten was fully inside my mind… And…Was it weird that I couldn't get her out?
(Tenten's Point of View)
God it was good that we were almost there. That means we drop off Kazumi and then I can go home and avoid whatever conversations any of my teammates want to have with me. I wanted to avoid anything that would make me break down like I did. It was embarrassing to have to be comforted by Neji. 'But it did feel nice…' I thought to myself. 'NO' I was not going to use the pain from my past to get attention. That was something Ino would do to get to Sasuke. If I was to get Neji, I would do it the proper way, not the suck-up way. Besides, then Neji would treat me like one of those fan-girls that are always chasing after him. And that was even worse than just being ignored by him.
"We are here." Neji announced. We were still in the forest, but I guess the mission never said to get her to EXACTLY where she needed to go. We were here, she could go. That's all I wanted.
"Thank you, all of you. You have been so helpful." Kazumi said lightly as if everything was just joyful and nothing happened. I looked away from her. I don't even think she cared about what she did. Either that or she was totally oblivious.
"Team Guy is always ready to help out, with the power of YOUTH!" Gai sensei smiled and gave her a 'thumbs up'; his signature move, typical.
I really just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I randomly decided to look at Neji. He looked… Relieved? Why? Was it for my sake? I had to admit, I did look kind of tense around her, but that was my problem, not Neji's. Lee looked like his usual self, happy. It seemed as if everyone had already forgotten about my major freak out, and my past. I was calmed. Thank god there would be no questions or awkward conversations on the way back to the Hidden Leaf.
Once Kazumi was out of sight, Gai turned towards us.
"Alrighty people! Time to move on our way back home! And we'll make it back in twelve hours!"
"No sensei! I believe we can make it in eight!"
"No! If we go at a fast enough speed we can make it in five!"
"Let's just go already!" I yelled at both of the two spandex weirdoes who were fighting over nothing. They both stared at me, wide-eyed. Of course I got annoyed by their constant 'youthfulness' if you will, but I never really raised my tone at them. But Neji just sighed.
"Tenten is right. It will take us a day to get back. Remember how thick the trees are here, and it will take us for time to find a way around them. Either that, or go back the way we came, which will take us another four days." Neji was always so good at estimating time from distances.
"There's no harm in trying!" Gai-sensei smiled again, and he and Lee went off in the way we came. Instead of following, Neji turned to me.
"Are you al-?"
"I'm fine." I replied sternly, cutting him off, with that I ran off before he could ask me anymore unnecessary questions.
We ran as long as two days before I finally fell down from exhaustion. Neji looked concerned when I fell through one of the spaces between tree branches. But he didn't need to. I landed perfectly on my feet as a proper kunoichi or shinobi should. He landed beside me.
"It's fine…. I just need to… stop; you go on ahead… with Gai and Lee." I panted, as I motioned for him to go.
"That is alright Tenten. For I am tired too." That was Lee. He and Gai stopped as well.
"Alright, well set up camp here."
It was pretty quiet in the forest, just a few owls were hooting, and some crickets were chirping. As usual, Gai and Lee were the first asleep, and as usual Neji and I had to move away from their horrible snoring. Except this time I was farther away from Neji and I turned away from him.
Suddenly I felt pressure on my sleeping bag. I turned around to see that Neji was sitting on the end of my sleeping bag, looking at me.
"Um… Hi?" I whispered, trying not to wake the other two.
"Hello." He replied, nonchalantly. We sat there for a few moments, having nothing else to say.
"Tenten…" He murmured. I couldn't tell what his emotion was, I couldn't read his face.
"Yeah?"
"You know, I share your-."
"No. If this is about what you heard or saw-." My voice broke off. I heard something behind me. I looked at him. "Neji?" He was already on it.
"BYAKUGAN!" He started searching the forest behind me. "Move!" He yelled at me. Suddenly a man with a mask covering his mouth, nose and the top of his head appeared. He wasn't carrying any weapon that I could see. I was wondering if Gai or Lee were up. It was amazing they couldn't here Neji's yell. I quickly grabbed my scroll, and Neji was set up in his fighting position. I looked for a headband on the man's head, but there wasn't one in sight.
The man disappeared for a second, and then reappeared behind me. I jumped and turned around to face him. He took out two shuriken and threw them at both Neji and I. I managed to cartwheel out of the way while Neji managed to catch his. I would have to make sure that he hadn't cut himself later. He had made this first move, that way we know he means to kill us, and he's not just passing through. I took out one of my many kunai, and ran at him. He was ready to attack me back, so I back flipped out of the way so Neji could hit him. Neji had punched uncountable times in the chest and delivered an immense blow to his cheek. Before I gave him a chance to recover, I threw my kunai and some shurikens at him, they all hit him. Realizing his chances of winning were slim, he ran as fast as he could, like the coward he was.
Neji still had his Byakugan on, searching to see if the man had really run off, or had just tried to trick us. I guess he really ran off, because he eyes went back to normal, and he sat down with me again. I grabbed his hand quickly. He looked at me questioningly. I took a look at his hand, and sure enough, it was cut. Not badly, but if it wasn't covered soon, it could be infected. I turned to get the med-kit from my bag.
"What are you doing?" He asked me.
"I'm covering your cut."
"Why?" I looked at him like it was obvious.
"Neji, it doesn't take a Sakura to know if a cut is open and left open, it could get badly infected."
"Oh…" He turned to try and hide the fact that he was blushing, but I could still tell. I pulled out a bandage and wrapped it around his hand and covered his cut. I lay down. I was tired in the first place, but that recent battle took a lot out of me. Neji lay down beside me casually. I just gazed at the stars, breathing deeply.
"So, yes I will bring up what I've just recently learned about you." He sat up almost as soon as I did. He took my hand and he leaned close to my face. "I know what you've been through… I've also grown up without parents, of course, I didn't see them die. But of course, I at least know how you feel." I couldn't speak. I didn't know him being close to me would affect me so much. "I know it hurts… But I just want to know one thing… If that's alright." He looked at my hoping for a yes. I really didn't even want to have this conversation anyway, but we already crossed that bridge…
"Alright…" I said it slowly, and I was prepared for the worse.
"Why not tell anybody?" I was surprised. No one had ever asked me that. Well at least the people that knew. I looked down at the ground before I answered his question.
"Well, I needed to tell the people who were in my house when it happened, but most of those people just forgot, and they decided it was nothing to talk about. But the reason why I didn't tell anyone who didn't need to know was, well if I did, I'd never hear the end of it. You know how Ino and Sakura are. I mean Sakura's okay when you get her to stop, but Ino will go off and tell everyone. I couldn't handle that. I didn't want to be an avenger like Sasuke, or be so depressed that I go crazy and act out like Naruto. I know they're pain too, I've just decided to move on in my life.
"Sure it was hard sometimes, when some girls were complaining about how their hairstyles, or a guy was unreasonably angry about how he got rejected by the girl he liked, I wanted to shout at them 'AT LEAST YOU HAVE SOMEONE TO COME HOME TO!'. I mean, I had my aunt to come home to for awhile, until I was 6. Then she went and got married to a man quite a ways from here, I forget where exactly. I thought after she got married, we would all be one big happy family, but instead, after their honeymoon, I never saw her again."
I couldn't believe that I had just told my life's story to one of the people I've tried so hard to hide it from. Why did I go through all this trouble trying to not tell him, when I just ended up telling him anyway? But it actually felt good telling him. I felt I could trust him with this, and he wouldn't bother me with it. I finally had someone to know everything about me. I looked at Neji, he looked angry, but I didn't know why.
"Y-your aunt… abandoned you?" I could tell from his stuttering he was enraged.
"I guess you could call it that."
"Why?" So that's why he was upset, he didn't like that I was abandoned.
"You'd have to ask her." I really didn't know why. "I thought she would at least return to say good-bye or something, but no."
"So who took care of you then?"
"I did. Well, I took care of myself; like Naruto did."
"You don't live with anybody now?"
"No." He seemed to think for a minute before answering.
"You know, Tenten… If you ever need anything from me or Hinata, we're both here for you. I know Hinata would do anything, and I'll do the same…" He murmured. Jesus, how did he get so nice, and charming and sweet? Whatever happened to Neji… I'm starting to like it…
Chapter 4
'Almost there, almost there.' I kept thinking to myself. Most of the time on my missions with Lee, Gai and Neji, I would be thinking 'Why the heck are we in such a hurry?' but now I'm actually grateful this one time for having us speed up. I just wanted to go and lock myself in my room. Or go to Neji's to tell Hinata that I need to sleepover there… I internally smacked myself. There I go again thinking of using my pain as a way to get attention from Neji.
'Isn't this exactly why I didn't want anyone to know?' I asked myself. 'So I didn't get any unnecessary attention?'
But I wanted attention from Neji. Why? I wasn't sure. 'Maybe…' I considered to myself. 'I may… Love him?' I shook my head. That may be, but what's the point? Neji may care for me, but that was the change after the chunin exams. Lee and Gai… Well they aren't exactly the most observant, so I doubt they saw what I did, but I noticed that he cared more for others after that. Naruto changed him obviously, but… I doubt he would think of anyone more than a friend. He's just not that type of man yet.
After a long eight days, I was relieved to find the gate to home; Kohona. I sighed; it felt like ages that I've been away from the Hidden Leaf Village. I guess it made sense, because a lot has happened between those eight days. I pretty much ran through the gate, without waiting for anyone to recognize who I was, and ran into my house. I leaned against the closed door, making sure that no one followed. But as I opened my eyes I almost screamed. He covered my mouth, but it wasn't needed, I had control of myself. Who knew Neji was quick enough to fly through a closing door?
"You'd have to do better than that to get rid of me." He murmured. I just stared at him idiotically until he turned and sat on one of the steps on the stairs to the upstairs. I finally snapped out of my trance, and turned left into the kitchen to get something to eat. As I stepped onto the wood floor, I heard footsteps. I turned my head slightly. Was Neji following me?
"Um… What are you doing?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders, a simple response. "Won't Hiashi and Hinata be worried, and be wondering where you are?"
"I doubt word of our return will reach them this soon."
"I don't know, Lee will tell Sakura, Sakura will tell Ino and then everyone will know." I winked at him. He smiled back softly.
I really did not want him in my house when we were alone. My heart was already beating double time, and I was afraid to look him in the eyes. So I just turned to the fridge, opened it, and searched it for something to eat. There was left over Sesame Dumplings, my favourite food. I took that out, and grabbed a glass of water. I placed the plate and glass on the small table.
"Do you want anything?" I asked trying to be polite, but still avoiding his eyes.
"That's fine; I'll eat when I get home." He smiled again and I looked down, trying my best not to blush. But I knew he could see me blushing anyway. I sat down at the table, and he sat across from me. "So… " He started, looking kind of awkward. Why was he? I gasped on the inside. Could it be…? He has feelings for me too? I wanted him to get out whatever he was about to say.
"Yes…" I pushed him. I started to reach across the table, to try and hold his hand. He looked at my hand; a confused look came across his face.
"Is this… where it happened?" He asked wary to not to make me break down again. I gasped; I knew I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, now things were even more awkward than ever.
"Oh, uh… No, the house was in too bad of a shape for my aunt and me to live in, the kitchen was stained with blood, the door was knocked down, and there were windows smashed, sure we could've got repairs for the house, but there were too many… memories… So we moved here. It is a better house, we have three bedrooms, and the yard is very spacious and beautiful." I explained. He thought about all of this for a minute.
"Do you have any idea where your aunt is now?"
"Sadly no." I looked away so he couldn't tell that I was hiding something else. I glanced at his face, he was suspicious, so I knew I needed to make him leave. I was about to do something stupid; I could tell.
"Um… Neji, you should go…"
"Am I making you uncomfortable? We can change the subject…"
"No, no, not at all. I just… Need to do something…" I really needed to shower, but no way was I going to admit that to him.
"All right, if you really want me to leave… I'll go. But Tenten…"
"Yes Neji?"
"You can tell me anything. You can trust me, I hope you know that, and if anyone else ever hurts you…" He leaned in towards me. "I might just have to kill them." He smiled playfully. It almost made me faint, how close he was to me. I was acting like Hinata.
"I-I'll keep that in m-mind N-Neji…" I stuttered. I wanted to speak normally, but I couldn't keep from freaking out that Neji was so CLOSE to me.
"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned his eyebrows furrowed.
"Y-Yes I'm fine. Just a little shook up at the moment…" He leaned away.
"Well I'd better get going… Oh, and Tenten."
"Yes."
"Be at my house at 8:00." I looked at him confused. He flushed red. "Uh… Hinata will want to see you… and hear about… How you did on the mission…" I flushed as well.
"Of course… Hinata…" I murmured. But I needed to get this off of my chest. "Neji…"
"Hn?"
"I- I… I can't wait to see you and Hinata tonight Neji…" I couldn't do it. Not now. Although, from his reaction, I knew he liked me back, I would do it when I went to his house. After I asked Hinata, when I knew for sure. He looked at me strangely, but then smiled and waved.
"Alright. I'll see you then." He said, as he walked out the door. I waved too late, for he was already out the door. I sighed, just bit relieved to get away from him. My heart couldn't take very much more of that.
I ran up the stairs, undressed, took my hair out, and got into the shower. I tried to get most of the smell of the forest out of my hair. I laughed when I took a small twig out of my hair.
When I finished, I put on a nice dressy tank top, it was black with golden dragons coming up the side of it, and jeans. I was on my way downstairs, when I heard the doorbell ring. I sighed, I really just wanted to leave and go see Neji and Hinata. I ran down the stairs into the living room. I tried to make out who it was. I wondered if it was Neji, or Hinata coming to pick me up.
I opened the door, and the last thing I saw was the night sky.
Chapter 5
(Neji's POV)
It was 9:00. She was an hour late. I knew this wasn't like her; she was either at a place early, or right on time. Whenever she was late, it was a few minutes late, not a whole hour. 'Maybe she just didn't want to come…' he thought miserably to himself.
"N-Neji-kun…" I spun around and saw Hinata behind me, playing with her fingers as always.
"Yes, Hinata?"
"When is T-Ten-chan going t-to be here?" She stuttered. I turned away from her and looked towards the ground.
"I don't know…" I murmured. A sudden pounding at the door lifted my spirits. 'That could be her!' I shouted happily in my head. I raced towards the door to open it. I could hear Hinata laughing, knowing of my crush, finding it funny that I would react like this to a girl. I opened the door.
"Hello Ten- Lee?" I looked through the doorway to see Lee. He was breathing hard and panting. I figured he ran all the way here. He also had bruises on his cheek and forehead.
"L-Lee, w-what happened t-to y-you?" Hinata yelled at him.
"N… Neji you need… Tenten…"
"Lee what happened?" I was more serious now. What was he talking about? What happened to him and Tenten?
"All I saw… was a man, carrying her in a bag…" I didn't let him finish. I whacked him over the side of the head, furious.
"YOU IDIOT!" I yelled at him "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING!"
"N-N-Neji-k-kun…" Hinata was afraid of me, for good reason too, I was going insane.
"N…Neji I did… I tried… But that's how I got these bruises, He tried to knock me out the first time but missed, I… tried to get her again… but then that's when he knocked me out…" He was still breathing heavily. I thought through all options, before I decided what to do.
"Hinata,"
"Y-Yes Neji-kun…?"
"Help Lee with his injuries, if they are needed of medical attention, take him to Sakura. Understood?"
"B-But N-Neji-kun…"
"Understood?" I repeated, more severe this time.
"U-Understood, but Neji."
"Yes?"
"What are you doing?" I had finished thinking, and if I had to, I would get her back at the cost of my own life. She'd been through enough, I could tell. She doesn't deserve any of this to happen to her.
"I'm going to save the girl I care about the most." I replied, as I ran out the door into the cold dark night.
(Hinata's POV)
I stared at the door that my cousin just burst through. I couldn't stop, until finally Lee brought me back to reality.
"H…Hey Hinata… Can you please…? Help me…" Lee said slowly. 'He must be still half unconscious. He was speaking slowly.
"Oh- Lee-san… O-Of course…" I ran over to him and put my arm around him. I carried him over to the couch. "L-Lee-san… I am g-going to go g-get S-Sakura…Try n-not to move." I told him. "H-Hanabi!" I called to my sister.
"What is it Hinata? I was busy." Then she looked to the boy on the couch. "What the hell happened here?"
"P-Please Hanabi… I'm g-going to g-go get a m-medical n-ninja to l-look at him. C-can you please w-watch over h-him for m-me." The situation we were in was making me stutter more than usual.
"Alright fine, but hurry up."
"Arigato, Hanabi." And like my cousin I rushed out the door.
(Neji's POV)
I ran over to her house. I knew she wouldn't be there, but I knew that, that was where she got kidnapped, so there had to be some clue to where she went.
"Byakugan!" I shouted and I searched the house, while running. Inside the house was normal, but I spotted footsteps. 'Ha,' I thought. 'I have you now.' I followed the footsteps, but they stopped randomly in the middle of an old street. Hiashi always told me not to go down this street. There were robbers, rapists and prostitutes. You did not want to get caught up in people like this. I was seventeen now though, and a jonin. I could probably handle whatever came my way.
"DAMMIT!" I shouted, as I punched one of the bricks in the wall I was standing by. There was now a small indent in the wall, and my hand was bleeding. If Tenten was kidnapped, she probably didn't have a weapon, and if she didn't have a weapon and there were a bunch of people behind this, she probably couldn't hold out for long.
A tear ran down my face. I quickly wiped it away. A tear. I hadn't cried since my father's death. I didn't cry after then, and I wasn't going to cry now.
"BYAKUGAN!" I turned my ability back on. I looked through the poorly built building that I was leaning against. I shuddered at what some people were doing in there. I looked above, it was even worse. I noticed that there was a lower floor, a basement maybe. I looked there, to see a man, a woman, and a bag… That was moving. I rushed into the building.
"Hello young man…" An underdressed woman greeted me. "Welcome to-." I ran off before I could let her finish.
(Tenten's POV)
I couldn't keep breathing. The bag was suffocating me. I know who captured me; I just didn't want to see their faces. If the bag was just a bit bigger, I could've been able to grab the shuriken in my back pocket and cut out of the bag, then throw it at the two and run. Though I knew the bag was too small, it didn't stop me from trying to grab it.
I needed to do something. I couldn't just sit here; I needed to get out of here and fast. It was a bad time to think about him, but I thought about Neji. I wondered if he was upset that I didn't make it to his house on time. Would he forgive me if I explained what happened? If I was ever to be able to get out of here, I would have to try and make it up to him and Hinata.
Suddenly, someone was trying to open the bag I was in. I was half relieved; I could at least get air. But I was scared seeing her… I was terrified. I knew what she wanted, but I didn't have it.
Finally the bag was opened. I gasped at the face that I saw.
Chapter 6
"Kyashi…" I murmured. Looking at him reminded me of that night, the very first night I met him…
~~~~****FLASHBACK****~~~~
"Now Tenten, this nice young man is coming over, and I want you to be on your best behavior. Understand?" Noriko, my aunt, told me. I was 5 at the time, and since it had only been 2 years since my parents died, I was quite the quiet one. I had just started at the academy, but having not been there for very long, I hadn't learned very much. Maybe how to through a shuriken, but that was about it.
Later that day, I had my hair up in its usual buns, and I was wearing a nice pink top with blue pants, I was waiting on the couch for my aunt's friend. I wanted to train more, I had found my love of weapons early, and I just wanted to through shuriken to improve my aim. I heard a knock at the door. I waited a few moments to let my aunt answer it, but she didn't come.
"Noriko?" I called, wondering if she was going to come down the stairs or not. The knock on the door came again. I sighed as I got off the couch and went to answer the door. I opened the door and saw a tall man. He was wearing all black, and had blond hair. He was completely a stranger to me, except, I remembered those eyes, those horrifying eyes of the night. They were pale blue. Not a regular pale blue. His pupil was lighter than his actual eye, his eyes were memorable, hard to forget such an eye.
I screamed.
~~~~****END OF FLASHBACK****~~~~
"So, you got Kazumi, to do your dirty work for you?"
"You'd be surprised, she wanted to help." He responded smiling.
"So you couldn't kill me those days… Why now?"
"I couldn't find you the day your parents died, and you're aunt just would've got in the way." He had a kunai in his hands, even though his hands were behind his back. He was going to finish me quickly.
"Why did you kill them? You know we don't have any money, we were middle class. You had nothing to steal."
"Tenten, have you forgotten our ability? We can see the future and past. In the future, you and your parents were going to kill our clan. You'd have entire Leaf Village behind you too. But we couldn't allow our secret to be out, or else we all would've died."
"What secret?" I asked, still partly confused.
"Since you're going to die, I might as well tell you…"
"No!" A voice behind him screamed. It was none other than Kazumi. 'What else could go wrong?' I thought. "Don't tell the girl! She doesn't deserve to know!"
"She'll die anyway, what's the harm?" Kyashi explained. Kazumi was still ticked off, but she was silent now. "We have to kill people to survive. It isn't as… classy as we like, but that's our clan. If anyone else ever found out, it would mean the end." Kyashi sighed. "But of course no one WILL find out…" He glared at me. I shivered. If I could just get the shuriken out of my pocket…
"How did you know? That I would be a ninja? That I would be with Team Gai?"
"Oh that was easy. We just got that information from your aunt. It was pretty easy to do."
"Where is my aunt?" I really didn't want to know. Though, she did abandon me for this creep, maybe I did want to know.
"Tenten… Have you forgotten already? We need humans to survive…" So he did do what I thought he did. Well nothing I could do for her now. "Now… Enough questions… I'm afraid it's time to silence you forever…" He held up the kunai, about to jab it in my throat. 'This is it…"I reached into my back pocket, and rapidly pulled out the shuriken. I threw it at him with lightning fast speed. I didn't stop to see where it hit; I started running towards the stairs I saw. But someone held me back.
"Shoot…" I murmured. Kazumi had grabbed my leg and was trying to drag me back. I used my other leg to try and kick her in the stomach.
"Ugh!" She grunted she fell back. But before I could get back up Kyashi kicked me in the ribs. He continued with that until I coughed up blood. Then he picked me up and threw me against the wall.
"Uh…" I was starting to fade away. 'No Tenten…" I told myself. 'You're stronger than this…' I got up. 'You've got strength..." I grabbed a pole from the floor. 'So use that strength…' I started running at him. 'AND KICK HIS ASS!' I wacked Kyashi on the head and he fell to the floor. Kazumi was about to hit me, so I turned around and swung the pole around just in time to hit her in the gut. They were both on the floor, so I took this as the time to escape. I flew to the stairs, but Kyashi tackled me to the hard basement floor. I dropped the pole and it rolled out of my reach.
"Looks like the end of the line for you…" I spun around and kicked him as hard as I could. He didn't move.
"Dammit!" I murmured. I started hitting him. A final blow to the face finally got him off of me, but then Kazumi grabbed me and threw me against the hard wall. I coughed up more blood and I fell to the ground.
'Dammit! If only I had my ninja tools… Then I would have a chance, but now I need to rely on the tai-jutsu that Gai-sensei taught me. I got up once again.
"Aaaargh…" I fell down. My legs felt numb, and I couldn't move them very well.
"That's a special jutsu we use. We can numb the muscles of any body part we want, to the point where they can't move." Kyashi said. 'Damn!' I thought 'I let him get to me…' For my final move I threw the cinderblock from behind me and whipped it at him. He dodged it, and instead it hit Kazumi. He hit me in the stomach.
"Ughnnn…" He started walking towards me.
"Now for the final hit…" And he whacked me upside the head.
"Ahh!" I collapsed completely now. My vision was going fuzzy now. Everything was so dizzy… I saw someone else in the background though. It wasn't Kazumi, so then who could it be? I couldn't focus; the hit in the head confused my vision.
"This is the end… Tenten…" He took the kunai and raised it high. I just watched helplessly as the kunai came closer and closer to my neck.
"Good-bye… Neji…"
CHAPTER 7
I could still see, but just barely. It would've been easier just to slip away, but I couldn't. If I did, I'd have died right there. With what little strength I had, I rolled over slightly to avoid the kunai, but it still hit my arm, causing blood to splatter onto the floor. I winced; the kunai was about to fall down again, to hit my chest. I moved upward at the last minute, so it only stabbed me in the stomach. I cried out in pain, while at the same time coughed up blood, it choked me slightly.
"You are a strong one," Kyashi admired. "You shouldn't be able to move right now, but I guess your strength was more powerful than I thought. Well, it's decreasing now, you have hardly any chakra left… hmm seems like the end finally." I couldn't breathe. I tried to grab for something, but nothing was there. It was just time to say good bye to everything. This was the end of my life. I watched the kunai slam down a final time.
I closed my eyes, preparing myself for more pain, but none came. I heard a smash so I opened my eyes again, it was still blurry, but the person I saw before had rammed Kyashi right into the brick wall. I squinted to try and see better, I gasped. How the hell did he know where I was? He was using the 'Gentle Fist' technique on him, and every time he hit him, he would hit the wall over and over again. Kazumi was coming up behind him though; she had recovered from the hit I gave her.
"N… Neji…l…l-look out…" I murmured trying to warn him of Kazumi. He just used ration to spin both of them to the point of them collapsing on the floor. He finally stabbed a kunai into both of them, to kill them. I felt kind of weak; Neji killed those two easily, while after I battled them, I'm here lying on the floor almost dead. My breathing was coming shorter and shorter. Neji turned to me rapidly, worry was in his face.
"I… could've handled… it…" I murmured and he laughed.
"If I hadn't come, you would've been dead." He flinched at the thought, as did I. My chest hurt, and I started to close my eyes, but only halfway. His eyes grew wide. "Shit…" He murmured, and he picked me up in his arms bridal style. I didn't have the strength to lift my head up, so I just let it drop. He looked concerned as he ran through the crowd of confused faces. My breathing started to get shorter and shorter. I gulped; I wasn't going to make it.
"N… Neji… I…I'm not going to… I can't…"
"Shh…" He whispered to me. "You're fine; you're going to be okay I promise." His voice sounded strained.
"N…no… I…"
"Shh." He whispered again, we were outside now. My hair was now down, so the soft, cool wind blew it around my face. I closed my eyes, not slipping completely, but it felt like I wasn't there anymore. "Kuso…" (Dammit) Neji whispered, running now. Breathing getting shorter and shorter by the minute. I had to realize that I was not going to survive; I was going to die, no matter what Neji said. I coughed up more blood, probably ending up on Neji's clothes.
"S…so…"
"Don't speak…" He told me. He definitely was strained now. He was slightly growling too. "Kuso…" He murmured. I didn't know why he was speaking Japanese to himself. I assumed it was just something he did when he was angry. I winced, I couldn't hold out much longer. The pain was unbearable. "Kuso, Kuso, KUSO!" He screamed this time. I almost wanted to laugh at how funny he sounded, but if breathing hurt, I'd better not push it.
Shorter and shorter and shorter… My breath was so short I was sputtering. I coughed out blood again. That made my chest hurt. But I felt something cold and wet fall on my chest. Was it raining? I slightly opened my eyes with what little strength I had left, to see the Hyuuga prodigy crying. Never in all the years that Neji and I had been teammates, had I seen him cry.
"Neji… It… I'll been fine… I-I promise…" He didn't respond. He just sped up. Knowing I probably couldn't keep that promise, I remembered what I needed to tell him tonight. "N… Nej…"
"Please stop talking Tenten… Just Please…"
"N… No… I need… Please listen…" I murmured.
"What?" He asked. He sounded furious, he started running faster and faster every minute.
"I… I…"
"It can wait now. We're at the house." He ran up to the door and almost smashed it open.
"Oh… Oh my…" That was Hinata.
"Ā, watashi no aruji o!" (Oh my lord) Sakura gasped. She must've have looked at my wounds.
"Yosh! What happened to our Utsukushii haru no hana?" (Beautiful Spring Flower) Who else would that be?
"Neji, lie her down on the couch so I can take care of her injuries!" Sakura instructed. I felt a warm soft surface underneath me. I preferred Neji's arms.
The slower and slower my breath, the more concerned Neji seemed. I kept coughing up blood, while Sakura was healing me. I screamed when she was healing a vital organ.
"Ku so~tsu!" (Sh**) Neji yelled. "What did you do!"
"I'm only healing her stomach. The enemy hit an internal organ! It wouldn't hurt so much if she had just passed out instead of struggling to stay awake."
"No…" I panted. "I n…need to tell… Neji…" I pushed.
"Tenten can't it wait?"
"No…"
"Sore wa nanidesu ka?" (What is it!) He yelled. He was angry again, but I needed to tell him. If I was going to die, I needed to at least tell him this.
"I… I love you, Neji…" I murmured. I saw his shocked face before I finally drifted away.
CHAPTER 8
I awoke, in pain. My lower chest and arm were a throbbing pain, and my back was aching. I could breathe deeper though. I finally opened my eyes to find myself in a beige room, there was a door on the right side of me, and a machine beeping, hopefully signaling I was alive. I looked to my left to see a big window, which was covered by curtains, and had a smaller bed beside it. There was a lump under the covers. I took the jello cup that was on my tray and threw it at the lump.
"Ahh!" The person under the sheets sat up rapidly.
"Neji?" I looked at him questioningly. Why was he here? Why was I here?
"Ten…ten?" He looked at me confused, like he was trying to believe the sight before him.
"Where… Where am I?" I asked him. He was smiling, but I had no clue why. He also looked relieved, but he got out of the bed he was sleeping on walked over to me and hugged me. I widened my eyes. What was he doing? But he turned his head so he lips were just barely touching my ear.
"You're in the hospital, safe and sound. Thank god for that." He whispered. I shivered. I wasn't used to him being this close to me. So I wrapped my arms around him.
"Thank you." I whispered back. He looked back at me, confused. "Isn't it obvious? You saved my life. That should certainly deserve a 'thank you'." He smiled, blushing a bit. "You're blushing?" I looked at him weirdly. He had never blushed at all. At least not that I've ever seen.
"Well, I was thinking of what you said to me last night before you passed out." He smiled, I just looked at him confused.
"What did I say?" I asked. I was a bit scared of what I might have said to him. He looked at me, kind of disappointed.
"You don't remember?" He questioned. "Well… you said…"
"I said what?" I asked, getting more and more nervous by the second.
"You said you loved me." He answered. I was about to run out of the hospital, and go crawl into a hole and die. Her secret had been revealed! She remembered the only reason she said it, was because she thought she was about to die. Not that he would remember and bring it up when she was in the hospital. He blushed and looked down.
"Oh…" I blushed tomato red. I gulped. Did I really want him to know now?
"Was it not true?" He asked me, concerned. He looked like he cared, so he must have SOME feelings for me.
"No Neji… It's very true. I mean… You helped me and comforted me when I was upset. You accepted my past, you saved me, and… well, I love you Neji, I really do. I hope you can accept my feelings…" He broke off my sentence and kissed my cheek. I gasped, and I turned to face him.
"I'm glad you feel the same as I do, watashi no utsukushii tenshi." (My beautiful angel) Neji whispered, smiling. I blushed. Neji leaned in towards me and kissed me tenderly on the lips. I guess he didn't speak Japanese only when he was mad. I wrapped my arm around his neck, I lifted my other arm but a sharp pain shot through it.
"Ahh!" I broke away from the kiss. Neji looked at me worriedly. I put my arm down, and rested it on a pillow.
"Mōshiwake arimasen." (Sorry) I apologized. "I guess the hospital isn't exactly the best place for kissing." I giggled. He just smiled.
"I was worried as hell for the last few days. Lady Tsunade needed to perform an operation; some of the cells in your muscles were badly injured. Not to mention the cuts in your arm and stomach were pretty deep. But you battled incredibly. I can't believe you held them off for so long without any of your ninja tools."
"Well, I did have a shuriken handy in my back pocket." I responded to his assumption.
"You were going to bring that to the house?"
"It's in case of an emergency like last night… Er… I guess a few days ago." I corrected myself. Had I really been asleep all that time?
"Well I guess that's good you had that. Lee got hurt by the man who kidnapped you. But don't worry, he's fine now. Subete no hitsuyōna no wa nokoridesu." (All you need is rest.) He caressed my cheek softly.
"When can I go back?" I asked. Wondering when I could go back to training.
"The Hokage said you should stay here for about four more days. It depends if you're a fast healer or not." He smiled again. It seemed like he was in a happier mood then when he carried me back to his house.
Suddenly there was knocking at the door. We both turned to see who it was. Neji sighed. "I forgot to let you know, Sakura, Lee, Hinata, and Gai-sensei are waiting outside to see how you are." He told me.
"Why are you the only one who stayed here over night?" I asked, but the door was opening. He put his finger to his lips and mouthed 'I'll tell you later'.
"Oh Tenten! How is our hana of youth doing?" (Flower) Gai-sensei rushed in, not so far behind was Lee. Hinata and Sakura followed soon after.
"I'm doing okay Sensei." I responded. I really preferred he didn't call me his 'flower' but if I told him, it would just break his heart.
"Oh my gosh! You better not scare us like that again! Watashi-tachi wa TenTen no o shinpai shite ita!" (We were so worried Tenten!) Sakura looked at me with worry on her face, but also relief knowing I was fine now. Hinata also looked relieved.
"Shite yokatta…" (Thank God) Hinata murmured, collapsing on the couch. Neji turned to her looking worried.
"Hinata-san? Are you alright?" He asked her alarmed. Everyone turned to her with worried eyed.
"I-I'm fine, N-Neji nee-san. I was j-just so w-worried about Ten-chan. I'm r-relived she is f-fine though." I smiled at her.
"I'm just fine Hinata. I'm glad that you are all here." I responded.
"Well we're all glad you're better." Sakura smiled as she leaned in to hug me. I hugged my best friend back with the arm that didn't hurt to lift up. She leaned away. "When did Lady Tsunade say you could come back home?" She asked me.
"The Hokage said about four days, a week at the most." Neji answered for me. I smiled at him.
"Do not worry Tenten; we will have you caught up in your training in no time!" Lee yelled. I was glad he was confident in me, the fact it meant more time with Gai-sensei… Not so exciting.
"I-It's only four days… It's such a short time period… I bet you I won't miss much…" I smiled as friendly as I could, and shaking my hands 'no'.
"That is not true, Tenten. You learn something new each day!" Gai, our always inspiring teacher, shouted. I sighed, no getting out of this one…
"T-The good thing is t-that you're s-safe and g-getting better." Hinata said, stopping the two from going on about my torturous week ahead of me. 'Thank you, Hinata.' I sighed. There was a knock on the door. All six of us looked towards the door.
"Hey." It was Sasuke. What was he doing here? I hardly knew the guy. "I heard Sakura was here. Plus, I heard you were in the hospital, Tenten. How are you feeling?" I just stared at him, everyone did. Since when did Sasuke care about anybody? Sakura was just smiling.
"Aww, Sasuke finally has a heart." Sakura glomped him, and he just smiled.
"Anyway, I got this for you Tenten. Hope you get better soon." He handed me a lilac flower. I held it just below my nose, and breathed in the gorgeous scent. I looked back to Sasuke.
"Thank you, Sasuke. It's beautiful." I commented. He blushed at the fact I acknowledged his gift.
"Sorry Tenten, Sasuke and I have a date. I didn't know you would be up this early. But it was nice seeing you, anata ga yoku naru kitai. Baibai!" (1. Hope you get better. 2. Bye, bye) Sakura waved, and Sasuke smiled as they left. Lee looked upset that Sasuke won his beloved Sakura, but he seemed to get over it pretty quick.
"W-Well, I'm sorry, b-but Hiashi w-wanted me h-home by now. Sayonara, Neji-ni san, Ten-chan, Lee-san." She bowed to each of us, but she looked at me with that 'Watashi wa Neji wa, TenTen no anata o aishite shitte iru' (I know Neji loves you Tenten) look. I looked away, blushing, and Hinata left.
"Gai-sensei! Let's go train!" Lee yelled turning to his sensei, Neji and both sweat-dropped.
"Great idea Lee! See you two later!" Gai left, running out the door. Lee turned to us and winked.
"Watashi wa chōdo watashi wa anata o 2tsu dake nokoshite omotte ita..." (I just thought I'd leave you two alone...) He whispered, and left us, both blushing red.
Then, Neji and I, were alone. I turned to him, and saw him looking at the flower Sasuke got for me. No, he's wasn't looking at it, he was glaring at it!
"Neji?" I called him softly. He didn't turn to me even the slightest. "Neji?" I called a little louder. Still no reaction. "Neji?" I called, poking him in the shoulder. "NEJI!" I yelled. Out of surprise, he fell backwards. I gasped, got on my hands and knees on my bed and looked down on the floor where he fell. Suddenly, my injured arm gave way. I was leaning too far off my bed, so I ended up falling off. Just as I was about to hit my head on the hardwood floor, another injury to add to most of mine, someone caught me just in time. It was Neji, who again saved my life. He lay me back down on the bed, and kissed my forehead.
"Seriously, you have to be more careful." I crossed my arms and frowned. I wasn't some helpless school girl.
"Watashi wa genki dake de, Hyuuga Neji o matsu nda yo! As soon as I get out of the hospital I'll be back to my own self. You won't have to catch me anymore. So… HAH!" (I'm fine, just wait Neji Hyuuga!) That remark just made him laugh. I growled at him.
"I'm sorry, but for now, you need to take it easy, alright? Don't be like Lee and over-do it." He patted my head. I hated it, it made me feel like a helpless insignificant. I sighed. Four days, then I could kick his butt.
"So, do you remember what we were talking about before everyone came in?" I asked him. If he didn't remember, I had another question up my sleeve.
"I think we were talking about how long you were here for."
"Well, I have two questions then. One, how come you're sleeping here? Does your uncle even allow it?" I asked, he thought about the question for a few seconds.
"Well… Hiashi is out at the moment, so he doesn't exactly know I'm here. Don't ask me why he's out, I don't know either. As for why I'm sleeping here, well I'd thought it'd be obvious. I couldn't sleep at home knowing you weren't alive, or safe. I annoyed the hell out of Hinata, I can tell you that much." I giggled at that last comment. I'd have to apologize to her later. (BTW you will find out why Hiashi was 'out' in a different story! Which I have not wrote yet)
"Okay and number two is, why were you glaring at Sasuke's flower?" To this question, he blushed. 'Neji Hyuuga blushing? Masaka!' (No way!) I thought to myself.
"I was just thinking of what a baka I was that I didn't bring you something as beautiful as that." (You should all know this one! But unless you don't know any Japanese at all it means idiot. Sakura uses the term a lot.) I gasped.
"N-Neji… Anata wa watashi no subete de nani ka o eru hitsuyō wa arimasendeshita!" (You didn't need to get me anything at all!)I told him, but he still didn't look very convinced. "Neji, you brought me the best gift of all though." I told him. He looked at me confused.
"What are you talking about? I didn't get you anything. That's why I'm a total baka!"
"Stop it! And yes you did get me something!" I argued. He looked like he was about to argue back. "You know what you brought me?" He still looked confused. I leaned in towards him. "Anata." (You.) I murmured and then I kissed him. Neji didn't look confused anymore, when I pulled away.
"Watashi wa, Ten-chan o aishite imasu, watashi no kawaii hana." (I love you, Ten-chan, my pretty little flower.)
"Watashi mo, watashi no Neji o anata o aishite." (I love you too my Neji.)
CHAPTER 9
Life pretty much went back to normal after I Ieft the hospital. I went back to training, and sparing with Neji, and hanging out with Temari, Sakura, Hinata, and Ino.
Some people would bother asking, why those people were after me, and I would lie, telling them it was because of a mission that Neji and I had, and the people wanted revenge. Neji went along with the story, I guess he understood that no one needed to know, and I didn't want them to know.
Right now, it was around 10:00 at night. I was hanging out at the now abandoned training field. The one where Neji and I would spar. I was looking up at the stars and watching the scenery unfold before me, when I heard a twig snap. I spun around rapidly, to see nothing.
"Come out!" I called out to the darkness.
"Jeez, you don`t need the Byakugan, do you?" Neji smiled, I giggled. He walked up to me and lay down beside me. I lay on his chest. No one really knew of our dating yet. There had been rumors, but usually whenever we're asked, we'd just change the subject. We thought it would be better to keep it a secret. We knew how Ino and Sakura were. You couldn't tell them anything.
"I love summer nights like this." I murmured softly. I could feel his chest moving up and down with each breath.
Hn… They are beautiful, aren't they?" He murmured, moving his hands underneath his head to use them as a pillow.
"It's not too hot, or too cool. Just, calm. Not to mention you can see the stars."
"One night, I was looking up at the sky, and for each star, I named a reason for why I loved you. I was doing great until I ran out of stars." He murmured, and then kissed the top of my head.
"That's so sweet… But you know that's what Sasuke told Sakura on their date last night." I giggled. I sat up to look at him, he was blushing, embarrassed.
"W-Well, it means different things to different people." He tried to save himself. I laughed again, and he just looked away, probably cursing Sakura for gushing about her date. She was one of those girls who needed to tell every single detail.
"I know. I also know that you probably mean it. Though, I doubt any boy could possibly just stay outside, counting reasons why they love their girlfriends, and naming the stars after those reasons." I told him, he looked but at me, smiling smugly. He pointed at one star.
"Because you're beautiful." He pointed to another.
"Because you're headstrong."
"Because you're a fighter, and will fight for anything."
"Because you're sweet."
"Because every time you smile, I can't breathe."
"Because you love me with all my faults."
"Because even when I'm an ass, you still like me."
"Because I can tell you anything" I thought he had stopped, but he had one more.
"There are endless reasons why I love you but the most important is darling, knowing you is loving you." He murmured. I looked away and blushed, but he took my chin and kissed me tenderly. We broke away for a second but then he leaned in again to kiss me, more passionately this time. He licked the bottom of my lip, asking permission for entrance, like a gentleman, and I accepted. The kiss became deeper, I wrapped my arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer before pulling me on top of him. We fell onto the grass of the training field.
"Uh… Neji, Tenten…. What are you two doing here at a late hour?" Neji and I both stopped kissing, traumatized and paralyzed. We both knew that voice, wretchedly well. Neji took me off of him and he sat up glaring at the boy who interrupted us.
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Lee." Neji murmured. Lee looked embarrassed.
"Gai wanted me here so I could train harder….." Lee answered softly, but I didn't buy that.
"Lee… Who else is here?" I asked him, annoyed. Neji looked at me, surprised that I read his face so easily. Then he turned to glare at Lee.
"Byakugan." Neji muttered and turned his power on. He pointed his finger at the bush. "They're all behind there." He murmured to me, unwillingly.
"Who?" I asked. But before he could answer me, everyone came out. Sakura, Ino, Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, and even SAI, had all been hiding behind the bush.
"We all knew there had to be SOMETHING, going on between you two…" Sakura explained.
"Hn… Sakura dragged me along." Sasuke tried to lie, but I could see he was at least a little curious.
"N-Neji-kun, you wouldn't stop t-talking about her… Y-you were acting like I d-do with N-Naruto-kun." Hinata blushed as Naruto wrapped his arm around her.
"You obviously care a lot about the girl. But I cannot comprehend how much… or what exactly it is…" Sai told us, looking up at the book he had in his hand.
"I couldn't leave my suspicions behind, when BOTH of you said you were busy tonight! Thanks Lee!" Ino patted my teammate on the back. Lee blushed slightly, having one hand behind his neck grinning.
"Hehehe…. How was I supposed to know you two were here?" He tried to prevent Neji from killing him.
"You guys are cute, believe it." Naruto smiled. I was blushing, but Neji just looked annoyed.
"Well… Now that we're here… Come on Tenten, Hinata, Sakura and I are having a sleepover, so you can come over and tell us all about you and Neji." Ino winked at me. Neji didn't look very happy, but I guess he saw this coming. I sighed. Looked like my romantic night with Neji was over, and so was our secret dating. I got up but someone held my arm from going any further.
"Sorry, but Tenten is currently occupied at the moment. She will meet you all at Ino's when she is ready, alright?" Neji spoke. Sakura and Ino's jaws were hanging wide. Hinata just dragged the two along, obviously knowing her cousin well.
"A-Alright. C-Come along all of you. T-Tenten and N-Neji-kun want to b-be alone." Sakura and Ino got dragged along by Hinata, while the boys followed them. I sat down again beside Neji.
"You do realize we'll never hear the end of it now, don't you?"
"I disagree; no one usually bugged Sasuke and Sakura, Sai and Ino, or Shikamaru and Temari."
"That's because the first two were predictable, and Temari would kill us if we made fun of her and Shikamaru."
"Naruto and Hinata?"
"We even made fun of them for a bit, but we stopped after Naruto went nine tails on us."
"So? I still don't get how we will get made fun of the most." Neji looked at me, confused. It was a girl thing, of course he couldn't understand.
"The reason why we're going to get made fun of is because we're older. No one could've predicted us being together. I bet you half the people in Konoha would've either guessed you would've ended up just focusing on training, and ended up with no one, or have been forced to marry Hinata to keep the Byakugan in the family, and not share it with other clans." I explained so he would understand. He nodded, but then smiled.
"I guess the good thing is that Hiashi won't complain since your clan is all …. Well…."
"Dead, yeah." I finished his sentence. I had gotten over that a long time ago. But since I couldn't get my old family back, I would have to start a new one.
"You know, you could just threaten them if they don't shut up, I'll use my 8 trigrams on them." Neji tried to change the subject. I smiled, it was nice he wanted to protect me from gossip-loving girls.
"I dunno, for all we know, they could be talking about us right now." I told him moving closer towards him.
"Byakugan!" Neji cried. I looked at him confused. "They ARE all at Ino's house… You were right." He told me. I looked at him even more confused. "I lip read." He replied.
"I hope they weren't talking about anything too drastic."
"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, I'm not sure I would like to know." I smiled, agreeing.
"I'd better get going though, before they come back." I replied rolling my eyes. He just nodded, agreeing. I got up, as did he. He grabbed my arm and pulled me in for another kiss. He held my head in between his hands, and kissed me passionately. We broke away for a minute.
"Neji…" I panted. He smiled, and kissed me again. Kissing him was so easy now. It was like I had been waiting to make a move like this all my life, except I was too afraid to.
We walked to Ino's house together, arm wrapped around me, and my head on his shoulder. He kissed me good-bye before leaving me with the girls. They swarmed me with all types of questions that I really would rather not have answered. But it showed that they cared about me, so I was more than happy to try and answer the questions to the best of my ability.
I realized that my past was nothing to be happy, or brag about, but I could make my future worth it.
The End :'(