Author's Note: As promised, here is one of the side stories to "Casualties of War". Sadly, this 'side-story' will actually be longer than the actual main story, only because I believe each pairing deserves their own chapter. The pairings are in no particular order, so don't go bashing me saying I didn't give this pairing their time to be angsty. LOL, anyways, ENJOY! And please review.
Pain of Emotion
Neji and Tenten
Neji panted slightly, the length of the battle taking its toll on him. The waves of Sound ninja seemed endless. The moment he struck down an enemy, another appeared to take its place. Neji knew that the odds of Konoha winning the battle were something Tsuande wouldn't even bet on, but that didn't mean to stop fighting. No. Don't stop fighting, never stop fighting. There were very few ninja from Konoha who didn't repeat to themselves this mantra during the battle.
Several meters away, hidden in the trees surrounding the clearing, Tenten rained weapons onto the enemy. There was always the chance you would hit your comrade, such was the level of the chaos, but ninja knew to always be on their toes to dodge when working with or against Konoha's renown weapons' mistress. But the outlook of the battle wasn't any brighter from Tenten's standpoint. The scroll she carried was enormous, yes, but sheer numbers was definitely not something on their side. No matter how large the scroll was, no matter how many weapons could be sealed into it, it had a limit. And the limit wasn't far.
"Kaiten!" Tenten spotted the familiar sphere of spinning blue chakra in the midst of the debris. Taking in her situation, she decided that even though close range combat was less efficient than simply throwing weapons from the trees, she was more likely to kill when she could focus on one target at a time. With nimble grace, she pushed off the tree limb and landed in the clearing, mixing with the chaos.
Neji, his Byakugan activated had taken to sweeping a glance at his teammates, comrades, and friends, even if it meant he left himself open for a split second. This was war, he knew, but that didn't mean Konoha abandoned its ideals. That did not mean that the mission, or battle, was above his comrades. No, nothing was above his comrades. Kakashi's familiar words, "Those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash!", filled his mind. He noticed a slim figure jumping into the battle, and understood that Tenten had decided to take on enemies in close combat.
Tenten mechanically hacked through her opponents. It didn't matter how they died or if she had received an injury. All that mattered was that she hit her target and that she was one incapacitated shinobi closer to Neji. Slowly but steadily, the whirl of grey, white and black she knew to be Hyuuga Neji came into view, and the efficiency of her attacks doubled.
Neji saw that Tenten was coming closer to him, aiming probably to guard his blind spot in the familiar way she had guarded it so many years ago. Tenten, go! He shouted in his mind, wishing he had the opening to say the words aloud. She should have never joined the fight. She should have stayed in the trees, firing weapons in a slow, methodical manner. But she had come, and paid the price. Though she had only been engaged in combat for several minutes, she was already worse for wear than he was. True, he was low on chakra from the continual use of Kaiten and his clan's Jyuuken taijutsu, but Tenten already sported a deep gash on her left arm and her movements had begun to slow. This was not good at all. No, this was not just not good. This was very bad. At least thirty kunai were headed straight toward Tenten, and she didn't have enough energy to dodge a critical blow. To be able to use weapons against a weapons' mistress... he thought as he raced toward Tenten, who had braced herself for the impact of the kunai. Yes, Tenten should have never joined the fight.
All Tenten could see before Neji's white and grey robes filled her vision and reflex from years of training with the Hyuuga genius took over was the dull black of many kunai. Then, Neji was by her side, beginning the Kaiten, while she crouched inside of the blue chakra shield. No matter how many times she was within it, Tenten could not help but marvel at the way the chakra smoothly repelled everything toward it. Generally, her weapons when they trained, but today it was the kunai that had been meant to kill her. We're safe for now…
Neji spun rapidly inside the Kaiten, wishing for once that his hair didn't always whip into his eyes when he did so. Even with the ability to see through it with the Byakugan, it still was a nuisance. The whirling chakra was slowing and the speed of his rotation diminished as well. A wave of relief washed over him, but it was short-lived. What, exploding seals? How did I miss-? But there was not time to finish the thought. Without hesitation, ignoring Tenten's cry of surprise, Neji wrapped his arms around Tenten's waist and leaped into the air, aiming for the trees and safety. But each of these actions were a second to late. Not a moment after he had attempted to flee for safety, the exploding seals went off, filling the clearing with a deafening bang as dust, debris and corpses flew through the air.
As the smoke cleared away, the Sound ninja snickered and sneered, thinking they had killed off two of Konoha's most notable ninja. But the scene that lay before them was very odd: chaos kept its leash on the clearing, but in one of the many circular indentations made by the Kaiten, peace found its haven. There, Neji and Tenten lay, his arms still wrapped protectively around her.
Author's Note (again): Waaah! Such a sad ending!! Well, I hope you liked it! I'm doing Naruto and Hinata next, so wait for an update (soon)! Please review!!! Neji and Tenten cakes for whoever review first!