Letting Go

"If I know a jutsu to remove that cursed seal, will you lend me your power?"

NejiXTenten. Some NarutoXHinata.

Naruto is not mine.

Chapter 1: Family

He was on all fours, breathing heavily. The silken dark locks formed a curtain around his bruised face. Another kick to the ribs and he was sent flying a couple of meters before finally coughing out blood while sprawled on the dewy bed of grass. He took the moment as an opportunity- searching around, looking for that girl that he had vehemently pushed away several times. Knowing her, she should still be somewhere close-and to his dismay- he was right.

"Let her go." He said in a steady voice that was exactly the opposite of how he looked at that point.

"You are in no position to order us…" The older man said, dragging the girl and pinning her against the ground- face first. "Hiashi had been too nice to you and now you think you are one of us?"

Neji didn't really give any attention to all that talk. His gaze was fixed on Tenten- just as hers was fixed on him.

"I told you to run away!" His thoughts were angry and worried at the same time.

"I'm not leaving you alone!" Hers were equally strong.

He fisted the ground in frustration but quickly looked up when the older man who had now successfully tied Tenten down walked over to him. He was picked up with a handful of hair and then he was face to face with familiar features- pale eyes in particular.

"You are of the branch family. You will never be one of us." He said, poking the exposed green marking on his forehead. "Keep that in mind."

He fell back to the ground as he felt his head pulsating. His hands grabbed his scalp probably in an attempt to hold his head together since it felt like it would burst any time soon. He bit his lips to suppress any sound- unwilling to give further glory to his aggressors. Tenten's voice- at first loud, though slowly dissipating- was his only proof that he was still connected to the world.

He writhed as he tried his damned best to think of a way out- as if he was still capable of thinking. In a way, they were right. Genius was just a word. In the end, any one from the main family can knock him senseless- even dead- just with a flick of a finger. And that was exactly what was happening. Unable to bear the indescribable agony, his voice finally came out.

Hinata clasped her nervous hands together. She knew it was wrong to just stand back and do nothing. She knew that her sympathy, no matter how great it was, was still useless. But she had thought of what she could do and she couldn't come up with anything good. She heard of the plan to assassinate her cousin and she even went to as far as following them on their way to the said mission only to go back home even before she saw the clash between family members. She was too terrified, too weak. Too much of a coward, she mumbled.

She heard a knock on her door and with that, she automatically rushed to the farthest corner of the room- the walls proving her support.

"Asleep already?" The female voice asked.

"If she learns of this, things will be more complicated for us." Another voice, a male's voice, said.

"As if she can do that much."

Hinata could almost see the smirk on the female's face. It saddened her that the two of them had to be strangers over something that she still found so trivial.

"What an idiot." The female voice continued.

Hinata then heard footsteps until they were gone. Her hands- still clasped together and now trembling made their way to cover her sobs. A coward, an idiot- words that perfectly suited her, she knew.

Despite her previous attempts to improve herself, things have changed. Her strength and will continuously waned- her letters to Naruto, who was frequently out of the village, gradually lessened until they ceased. Because she was a coward and an idiot, but she was no liar.

Neji had encouraged the correspondence on the argument that it was doing her good. But she chose to succumb to her sister's cruel words. She couldn't tell Naruto of the strife within her family, anyway. The mental and the emotional torture of the threatening collapse of the clan that her father had greatly valued- those were too much for her to bear. And perhaps even Naruto grew tired on her. His letters- read but never replied to- stopped coming.

Just like that, her small circle of friends diminished. And it seemed like, it would diminish yet again. She finally broke down to tears, calling the names closest to her heart.

He who had never failed to tell her that she deserved to be the next head of the clan, he who had always told her that Naruto was just tied up with something, he who had been on her side through those tough times- she couldn't even do anything for him- like she couldn't do anything for the love of her life.

There was a chat between the men around him and as he understood it, the plan was to eliminate him. It made sense. With him out of the picture, they could take over. Poor Hinata-sama, he thought. He knew that it was coming. With Hiashi dead and the mild Hinata next in line, there were eyes prying like hyenas hungry for power.

From the moment he witnessed how Hanabi spoke with chilling words how inappropriate it was for her sister to flirt with boys instead of worry about the clan's future, he vowed to be by Hinata's side. And though she never wrote back to the only name those letters were addressed to, up until that time, he had been successful to make things somewhat easier for the young heiress. He wanted to be faithful to that cause but as much as he hated to admit it, there was no telling what would happen next. He was proud just as he was realistic. The situation was already out of his control.

Then he heard them deliberating on Tenten's fate. Shit. If only this annoying girl did as he told her- to run away. Their last mission nearly failed. He told Lee to wait for his signal before making a move but the hotheaded youthful son of a bitch he was- he jumped right in and blew his cover. God, his teammates were all annoying. He raised himself a little- now shaking and soaked in sweat. Falling off a cliff won't kill Tenten. At least she would have better chances of survival than to let her be with his family. He choked- a thin line of crimson streamed from his lips.

"What are you doing?" Her eyes were wide in shock as his body crashed against hers.

"You're running away…" He smirked. "When I see you again, you'll be punished for going against my instructions."

He felt lightheaded as he fell to the ground with a light thud. He found that he can't move even his fingers. It could be that he had used up his very last strength. At least I used it wisely, he thought before he closed his droopy eyes. The men who had assaulted him earlier divided themselves into two groups. The first group disappeared while the second remained with him. One guy picked him up after checking his pulse from his wrist.

The first group was a search party to collect Tenten who had fallen off the cliff- just as Neji planned. It was a forested area and though their Byakugan would have easily figured out her location, they had to hold back. It was Konoha territory and for sure, there was a unit out for night patrol.

With simple eye contact, each one knew where they should go. They quickly scattered around the area, perfectly concealing their chakra. Disposing of Neji in that state was almost certain- though it took them long enough. However, the mission was far from over once Tenten came to the scene. Who would have known that he spent almost the entire day with her?

Hyuuga Hiiko crouched on a sturdy branch as he contemplated on the events that just happened. He never believed that killing a fellow Hyuuga would solve anything but he never believed that Hinata was the right person to lead them either. His father would know better, he figured, and so he was enlisted for the said mission, only to drift away in amusement. He never knew that someone would be so willing to do as much for the branch prodigy- someone whom they had always looked down upon.

After several measured leaps, he saw her unconscious and badly injured- both from being beaten up and from the fall. He was to jump out of his hiding place to get her when a brisk wind stopped him from moving. Thanks to his sharp senses- as all Hyuugas possess, he was able to avoid being seen. The next thing he saw was a huge nin dog beside Tenten, and its owner was already carrying her.

Fighting was out of the question and there was no way he could pull off a lie that he was searching for her in good faith. He raced out of the forest. Her chances of survival were slim anyway. Perhaps she wouldn't make it and even if she did, there was no witness whatsoever, he decided.

His whole body was limp even as he heard and felt swishes of what seemed like branches and leaves. Was he being transported somewhere else? He didn't know. He didn't dare open his eyes either because the sight was nothing but dizzying clouds, he predicted. By the way his captors were handling his body, for sure they were thinking that he was a corpse. His chakra level was that low and he thought it was to his advantage. As they moved swiftly, more branches rustled against him. Wherever they were taking him, they were making sure he wouldn't be able to come back. He was in the middle of sorting out those thoughts when the biting cold water splashed to welcome him in its embrace.

Hey everyone! Surprise, surprise! I'm still alive XD

Well, this is kind of weird for a 'comeback story' but I hope you'll give it a chance. I haven't written in a while so I apologize for the errors. I still get some reviews for my old stories so here I am inspired to write again. Thanks for reading and reviews will be used as fuel so I can write the next chapter. Cheers!