-1The first time he heard her hum was the day they started the academy when they were five. It had caught him, as though he were in a spell. Neji had no idea why he felt that way; all he knew was that he felt differently in the presence of this hummer, this girl, this… Tenten.
Ever since they were put on a team together, Neji noticed Tenten hummed and laughed the most when she was happy. Sometimes when they were taking a break during training, she would throw her head back, and laugh. The very sound of it caught him up, binding him in a wild free net.
One day, she stopped. Stopped laughing, stopped humming, stopped singing, and stopped smiling. That hurt Neji worse than anything he had ever endured. At fifteen, he had endured quite a lot. It wasn't until later, he discovered why. Her parents had been killed in the mission they had been on since Tenten was four. Knowing she had to care for herself, that she had probably jumped every time the house made a sound, hoping that it was her parents finally coming home, made him love her so much more.
One day, they had been training, and it had started to rain. Because Tenten was kind, she invited Neji over to her house for some tea. For the first time, he accepted. It was, in part, because he wanted to make sure she had enough food, water, all the necessities of life, but mostly because, even when she was like this, he enjoyed being around her. Plus, as soon as he said yes, some of the sadness in her eyes seemed to recede a bit.
They were quiet, on the way there. Unspoken words hung in the air between them. She unlocked the door, and led him to a small living room, and said, "Wait here, I'll get you some tea."
He remained standing, and as she turned to go into the kitchen, he called "Tenten, wait."
Four big steps brought him to her, and he wrapped his arms around her, and held on tight, before kissing her.
She stiffened and it took Neji a moment to register this. "What are you doing?" she asked sharply.
Stunned he took a step back. "I was kissing you."
"Well don't, I already lost some people I love, I don't want to lose any one else."
He smirked, "you love me?"
"Of course not. I care about you yes, but I don't love you." she told him fiercely, though it was obvious she was lying.
"Then, if you don't love me," he whispered huskily. "You wouldn't care if I kissed you again, or stayed the night over here, because I'm just like a brother."
Her small squeak of surprise was muffled in his kiss. She said she didn't love him, but he swore that when he released her, when she went into the kitchen, Tenten was smiling. Humming too and it made his world light up again.
This is deticated in it's entirety to my litte Sister, the hummer. For her, please review... Otherwise she will most likely cry. Do you want to make a little girl cry?