Three weeks to go

They lay silently next to each other. It was their unspoken agreement not to discuss what they did together in the late hours of the evening. In a few minutes, Neji would collect his things and slip back to the Hyuga complex, and Tenten would be left alone once more.

It was an unusually warm summer night, and the sweaty sheets clung to the back of Tenten's legs. Her ceiling fan circled lazily above her head, accomplishing little more than stirring the warm air around the small room. There was gentle moonlight wafting in from the window, illuminating only the silhouettes of her end table and dresser, and the profile of Neji lying next to her.

She knew she didn't have to tell him that she loved him. She was fairly certain he had always known, from the moment they began training together to the moment they began spending the night together. But saying it out loud would make the feeling tangible; suddenly what only existed as a fantasy to her would become reality, and she wasn't sure she wanted that. So, she left her love an implication. It's not like Neji needed the validation; he had plenty of admirers beyond her.

Tonight was different than the others. Tonight she had forced back the impulse to cry, had swallowed past the lump in her throat, and had mentally bid goodbye to every caress Neji gave her. Tomorrow, there could be no Neji anymore. These stolen moments would be only a faint memory.

She turned her head to look at the man in her bed. His hair was splayed about his resting form, tangled and loose and soft. His body was littered with scars, most of which she had been witness to. On his forehead was the emblem of his servitude, just as striking as it had been the first day he had revealed it to her. He was a force of nature: beautiful, powerful, and vulnerable here with her. She would miss getting to see him so relaxed and peaceful.

"I'm getting married," she whispered into the dark.

There was no indication that he'd heard her, but she knew that he had.

Her family announced the engagement the next day. They invited every major clan to their home for a dignified party. Tenten was forced into a long silk kimono, her hair braided and pinned into an elaborate knot (a far cry away from her simple twin buns). She felt like a prize show dog, groomed and paraded around for all to scrutinize. Her mother had a death grip on her arm, knowing that Tenten would otherwise try to slip away and avoid making vapid small talk with the guests.

Her betrothed was not present, although his family was. They were from a neighboring village and had set their eyes on marrying their heir to a Konoha kunoichi. All the clan members present were old and wrinkled and expressed similar disdainful pouts. They spoke to very few people and looked on with judgment in their eyes. Tenten was not looking forward to spending the rest of her life with these grouches.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Ino and Hinata arrived. She detached her mother from her arm and hurried over to embrace her friends (a breach in etiquette, she knew, but one that was worth it to her).

"Tenten, an engagement? That's crazy!" Ino said, pulling Tenten into a bone-crushing hug. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"He's from the Tomoyo clan. He couldn't make it to the party."

Ino squealed and started asking her a barrage of questions, but Hinata remained quiet, assessing Tenten with the steady, insightful Hyuga intelligence her clan was famous for.

"Ino, would you be so kind as to fetch me a glass of water? It's rather hot today," Hinata finally said. Ino paused mid-question and scurried off to find the refreshment table. Everyone knew how Hinata could faint if she overheated.

With Ino gone, Hinata addressed Tenten head-on. "You don't really want this, do you?" she asked.

Tenten sighed. There was little use in hiding it. "Of course not. I don't know the guy and I'll have to move outside the city walls. I won't even be an official ninja after this."

Hinata nodded sympathetically. "But that is not all that gives you pause, is it?"

Tenten was thrown off guard, not quite sure what Hinata meant by that. Before she could respond, Ino returned, laden with even more questions for Tenten to answer. Before Ino could launch into a full-on attack, however, Hinata pulled her away. "I believe Tenten needs to tend to the party, Ino. Let us socialize somewhere else."

"Of course! Come find us when you get a break," Ino said, hugging Tenten once more.

As the two figures retreated, Hinata said one final thing. "Neji sends his apologies for not attending." It was curt and polite, but Tenten swore she saw a twinkle in Hinata's eye as she said it, as if she knew something Tenten did not.

Tenten was polishing. It was her go-to activity, a time for reflection, like meditation was for others. She was a weapon's mistress, and thus had drawers and drawers of kunai in her room, all of which needed to be kept clean and sharp. Whenever she was deliberating anything, she would polish. It was productive but relaxing. She turned each blade over carefully in her hands, buffing out the scrapes and nicks and restoring them to their original gleam.

In three weeks time she would be married. There would be no turning back. Her parents had made the deal, bartering away her freedom like she was cattle. She had always resented the requirement that she answer to them before she answer to herself. Usually, they had little interest in what she wanted and had a greater interest in what was best for their reputation or their prestige or their family tree. If she told her mother now that she did not want to be married, her complaint would be brushed away and written off as pre-wedding jitters.

She'd give them credit where credit was due, at least. They'd let her train to be a ninja, they'd let her use her earnings to buy her own apartment away from home, and they had interfered in her personal affairs very little when she was growing up. As long as she was healthy, studious, and well-respected, they never pried into her daily activities. But there was always the looming expectation that at a moment's notice, she would be home, and would behave as a loyal servant to the family.

She certainly had no right to complain. She was not a total puppet like Neji. Everything he had ever achieved was for the clan, by the clan. Any award or recognition he was given was a feather in the elders' caps. If he disobeyed he would be killed without mercy. Every step of the rest of his life was decided for him. She was far better off than he, and she knew it. But that didn't mean she had to be happy about this stupid engagement.

She had met her fiancé once, over a supervised dinner. He was reserved, like his family members, and staunchly unapproachable. She had attempted to broach topics on a myriad of subjects: weaponry, politics, the weather. The poor boy was incapable of producing more than three words about the weather. She supposed she would have to get a cat to keep her company, since clearly none of her new family members would rise to the occasion.

At least silence was a comfortable place for her. She had grown up trying to engage Neji Hyuga in conversation, which was a daunting task to even the most skilled conversationalists. She had grown quite adept at deciphering one-word answers.

She cursed herself for thinking of him again. She hadn't seen him since the night she had told him she was to be married. He had slipped out without a word while she had showered. Was he happy for her? Was he sad to be losing an easily accessible training partner? Friend? Lover? Did he even care at all?

Of course he would care, she chided herself. They had known each other forever, had gone to school together, had trained together, had fought together. Her life was once again about to change, so of course it would matter to him.

Just how much it would matter was a different question entirely.

Looking down, she realized she had run out of kunai. She had been polishing for hours, and the sun had already gone down. With nothing left to do, she lay her kunai gently into her dresser drawers and packed them neatly away. She wondered if she would be allowed to keep all of her weaponry at the Tomoyo estate. Somehow, she doubted it.

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