Disclaimer
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Masashi Kishimoto-sama owns everything. Including my soul... or not. Meh... it's probably not worth all that much anyway. Why? Try selling your soul on E-bay... go ahead try it. ... I dare you.
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I have one explanation for everything I do... I'm a Psychology major... And how does that explain everything? Well, it explains about as much as saying that you're a whale biologist... if not a bit more due to the slight inclination towards insane people. And besides... who needs sanity when you've got fanfiction? It's a fact of life that entertainment is one of the basic needs of living. Even the squirrels and pigeons in your backyard know this. Go and watch them if you don't believe me.
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Author's Note:
The background behind the story should be obvious after reading a bit... but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask in a review, or PM. Anything like that. Sometimes I wonder if people actually even read these things that I write for no reason other than because I'm bored. That and I think my writting skills can do with a bit of improving. But doesn't everybody think similarly? Well, nevermind, maybe not everybody.
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This one-shot is dedicated to some reviewer named Tenten... who told me that my other series of one-shots lacked sexual content. Or something along those lines. Actually she blatantly told me it was a kindergarden story... Well... and here I wrote a lot of... well... you'll see. It might still be a kindergarden story. Can't say I didn't try though.
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And now, on to the story.
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This story will start out angsty, but then ending won't be tragic.
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There
will be implied sex, torture, rape, suicide attempts (sort of), mention
of porn, and at certain points the characters won't have any clothes
on. But despite all that, it won't be that bad... really.
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Still... you have been warned.
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Chapter One
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He found her after two months of long and agonizing search... The Sound had captured her... They wanted information. Only Konoha knew that they didn't tell her anything... She could have been dead... but thankfully they found her... However...
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"P-please... go away. Don't hurt me... P-please go away."
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He barely recognized her...
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Her clothing were so ripped and bloody that it seemed like they were hardly there. Her hair ties were long gone, and the once soft and hair that glowed in the sunlight, covered her face like a rag. Her demeanor was like that of a tortured ghost... And the room had the air of bloody despair...
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She was in the corner of the room, curled up into a ball. There was never a sight so pathetic... and yet, no sight had ever caused him so much pain in quite the same way.
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It was the kind of agony that rose up from his gut. And as he slowly stepped towards her, she slid closer into the corner, backing away. As she looked up at him, with such a look of fear in her eyes... he knew that he never wanted to see such an expression on her face again.
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She looked into Neji's eyes blankly, and it was as if she couldn't see him.
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'Tenten... please... say something to me. Anything. Don't keep looking at me like that...'
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Out loud, he tries to comfort her with words, "I'm sorry... I... couldn't protect you. Don't be scared... I'm your team mate. I won't hurt you."
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Finally, a bit of recognition reached her eyes.
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"N...Neji?"
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And he smiled at her. It was a smile that was barely half there, but a smile nonetheless.
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"Neji!"
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All he could do was kneel and receive her, as Tenten hurled into his arms and started sobbing as he had never witnessed her doing so before. His head hung low. There was nothing he could do but stay there and allow her to cry on his shoulder.
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"You came. You've really come haven't you? I waited... and I waited. Sometimes they knew genjutsu, and I thought it was you but then it wasn't. You're really Neji right? This isn't just another dream? Another genjutsu?"
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At these statements... Neji felt a bit nauseous. Had they tortured her while pretending to be him? If so... that she still had such a reaction to his presence. He hardly knew what to think. He didn't know how to reassure her that he was really himself, and not another trick. And it was only at the moment when she looked up at him and smiled, that he realized how strong she really was. That she could have held up her faith in her team mates, in Konoha, in him... for the entirety of the two months in which she was held by these thugs. It amazed him, and he felt slightly humbled by that smile.
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Slowly, he came out of her tight hold, and placed her arms around his waist. And then he held her tight, not even quite sure of his own feelings, but only knowing that he had never felt quite the same way before. He remembered the past few weeks, not knowing if he would ever see her again, wondering in what condition he would find her in if he did find her at all. He was a shinobi. He'd seen many things. The idea of Tenten going through what he'd seen with his own eyes done to enemy shinobi, or maybe even worse... His expression tightened, as did the strength with which he held her close. He closed his eyes, and savored the feeling of her warmth. The relief upon seeing her alive suddenly multiplied ten-fold. And he thanked whatever kami had helped him find her in, as far as he could tell, an attached condition. Although, there was quite a lot of blood in the room...
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"Yes, Tenten. It's me. I'm here. We're going back to Konoha now. You're safe. Don't worry. You're going to be alright. ... Tenten..."
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With a week smile, she sadly stated in a quiet whisper, "Neji... never says such comforting words. He's always... a lot colder to me. But even if you're not Neji... T-thank you." Her eyes rolled, and closed... suddenly she went slack.
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He'd never panicked before... but he panicked then. Thankfully Naruto, Sakura and the rest of team 7, along with team 8 as well as his own team arrived at that time. Somehow they managed to pry her from his arms. Even Naruto stood there without a word, as they watched the ever silent and imposing Hyuuga... screaming into the night. Neither Lee, Gai, nor even Hinata had ever seen Neji cry before. But he cried that day. And they weren't quiet tears. In that moment, it was all very strange... because Lee and Gai were the ones who cried silent tears.
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End, Chapter One
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Author's Note:
Trying a new formatting style that's based on the old one. About the only thing that works here however, are dashes and parenthesis. So... yeah, using those.
Well... if you feel like it, review. Flames are just as welcome.
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Hey guess what... I fooled you, not ending it here... there's more. This was actually supposed to be a one-shot. Go figure it winds up being 20 freak'in pages... This is what happens when the wind blows and a muse hits me.
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Chapter Two
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The words she spoke last, revibrated in his mind. "Neji... never comforting... always cold..." The sound, the sad expression... How could she have just closed her eyes... after saying words like those?
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Luckily, Tenten wasn't quite gone, she was only unconcious. However her condition at the time... she was barely alive. It was Sakura who helped stabilize her condition, and the medical team of Konoha who helped pull her through to the point where they were sure she'd survive a night in the hospital without attention.
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The Sound-nin had given her several types of poison... They couldn't tell what was done to her body besides that at first. However, upon closer examination, they concluded that she might have been sexually assaulted, perhaps even tortured physically and then healed. The Sound were quite advanced in the field of medical ninjutsu. Various bodyparts could have even been hacked off and re-attached.
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Of course, these words spoken by the medical unit were only whispered. They didn't want the poor Hyuuga boy standing outside of the room where the examination was taking place to hear... it seems that Neji was the one who was taking all of it the hardest. Even Gai and Lee calmed down after a few days, trusting in the abilities of the Fifth Hokage, and the rest of the medical staff at the hospital with Tenten's care.
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But for a period of a week he hardly spoke at all. He didn't eat, didn't sleep, he hardly even drank any water... only a little bit of tea, and that was when Hiashi forced him to. Hinata was incredibly worried, but there was nothing she could do, other than follow along with him to the hospital every now and then to check up on Tenten.
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Hinata… she tried to tell him that none of this was any of his fault. But it was as if he couldn't hear her.
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All that ran through his head, were Tenten's last words to him, and the way in which she said it. It was as if she had simply accepted the idea that he didn't care about her...
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It would have been a foolish thought if she actually believed such a thing... after all he did care, how could he not? They were team mates, partners, friends... and he might have even felt something more, he just was always incredibly bad at expressing himself in any way. These were just things he never bothered to learn because he never felt they were important for being a ninja. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that as a human being, these little expressions were almost as important as talking and breathing.
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And he wondered if he had ever expressed in any way that he cared about her during their time together as team mates, as partners, as friends. Did he really seem that cold to her? Or was it because of what the Sound-nin did to her...
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The more he tried to remember, the more he was convinced that in her mind, the only thing she was sure about when it came to his feelings about her was that he acknowledged her existence, and even then barely. He remembers that her dream was to become famous as a kunoichi... and he remembered that once during training she asked him if he'd remember her if she died on a mission.
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He hadn't wanted to endorse the idea that such a thing could ever happen. And thus he didn't say anything at all. And now that he thought about it... what if her conclusion on that was that he wouldn't remember her... What if she thought that he wouldn't even care if she died, and that he would simply forget about it, easily.
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It was about the fourth or fifth week after she was brought back, and she still wouldn't wake up. He overheard a conversation between the nurses that perhaps they should simply give up on the idea of the girl ever waking up again. They said that, maybe it had something to do with her not wanting to wake up, maybe she simply thought that there was nothing for her in this world.
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"Well doesn't the girl have any parents, or relatives?"
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"I think they died in that war against Lightning. All that we found when we went to her apartment was... nothing. We talked to a few of her neighbors who knew her quite well... she doesn't have any family. She was alone all the time, poor girl."
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"What about her team mates?"
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"What you mean those two green freaks, and that emotionless Hyuuga prodigy? No... I doubt it. There were a few neighbors who told me and Hiko-san that she might have liked that Hyuuga kid... but really, if that's true, then I'm almost certain that she wouldn't want to wake up. Could you imagine a girl asking such a guy out on a date? Remember how badly he beated up his own cousin during the chuunin exams? Ah, poor girl. No doubt she was treated just as badly... or even worse. She must have had such a miserable life up till now... maybe if she died she'd be happier in the next life."
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'No... no, that's not it! She couldn't think in such a way and then die! She can't!'
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After listening to such a conversation, Neji rushed past the nurses and into the hopsital room where Tenten was. The nurses saw this, and suddenly they all had a look of guilt on their face.
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Hinata, as usual, was following behind. She too had heard the nurses talking. She walked past them, turned around and glared at them like she'd never done so before. Hinata rarely if ever looked angry at anyone... but when she does, it's not a pretty site.
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"Don't talk about people behind their backs... when you really don't know a thing about them."
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The statement was made in a whisper, and she walked away calmly and silently. But despite the brievity and the fact that it was said in such a quiet manner... the words carried the weight of a thousand tons.
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And with the nurses staring... just staring... Hinata walked with hurriedly towards Tenten's room.
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It was in times like these, that everybody loses a piece of their character to the void of silence. And sometimes silence... speaks louder than words.
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End, Chapter Two
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Author's Note
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Hmm... you know, I think I'll just post two chapters per post. This might actually work.
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So then... each posted chapter is actually going to contain two chapters!
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I've already finished writting the entire thing anyway, and it's posted on a forum called Narutofan.
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This is just because I feel like playing around with a different formatting. That and I do like reviews. What kind of wierd person doesn't?
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Well... whatever. Experimentation. Lets see how all this works out.
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