Okay, welcome to this new rewrite of The Moon, The Star and The Blade.
This existed in my personal Naruto Universe where no one's dead (since Neji is a main character)
This is going to be A LOT darker than the original story, so prepare yourself.
Themes: Romance, Angst, Drama, Family
Very adult fanfic.
Love You Guys.
Hope you enjoy!
Part 1
Chapter 1- The Moon: Waning
She fought in the war, one of hundreds, and thus learned the reality of her uselessness.
She was no hero, no individual; nothing of importance.
She had aspirations that reached the highest rankings of her profession and yet was not even properly rewarded for her sacrifices.
There was peace, blissfully frustrating peace that completely took her only livelihood away from her; what did anyone need a warrior for, when there was no war. Who needed to be proficient in weaponry? Nobody.
Here she was, eighteen years old, no family, no career, the only thing to her name a fading reputation, a one-bedroom apartment and a few custom blades she had either made or been given.
At first, Tenten was happy to be apart of the great change that was happening in their world. Then she realized once the true saviors were given their badges, medals and governing positions, everyone else was like petals in the wind.
In the first few weeks, she kept up her routine of training and strict physical discipline. Eventually, it became pointless to go through all of that for what, her own enjoyment?
Granted, she hated sitting around her house all day sulking, but the depression was inconsistent. She wanted to go out and be alive, but she also wanted to curl into a ball sometimes.
When she was in a good mood, she'd walk to the Hokage's office and ask, nearly beg, for a mission. Well these new missions were for negotiators, diplomats, doctors, nothing she was trained or qualified to do.
After those disappointments, she'd go and try to find her former teammates. Lee would be training and teaching children. He would offer to speak to her on a later date, but she casually told him that he didn't have to make additional time for her.
Neji was an entirely different issue. She went to see him at the Hyuga compound once. She was told by some stuffy housekeeper that he was busy and would be for a long while. He had accepted responsibilities throughout his house, which assured him a future outside of fighting. How fortunate for him.
That hurt her the most, she was sure of it. Lee still tried to make time for her, but Neji, who had been far closer to her than Lee, didn't even condescend to tell her that he had better things to do himself. He left those orders to some stranger.
It was all very confusing, Tenten's feelings for Neji. She was more than content to have him as a friend, as they had been for several years. But that fine line between platonic friendship and deep attraction had been broken years ago.
She remembers laying in bed after a particularly gritty mission. She was slightly injured, and Neji had to carry her to a nearby safe haven. All of her body seemed to react to her flesh pressed against his. As she laid in bed thinking about how strange she felt, chills broke out about her body.
Vividly, she remembers her eyes fluttering closed and her own hands brushed over her sensitive flesh, though they didn't feel like her hands, they felt like his. His hands gently rubbed and teased her hardened nipples. His hands reached under her covers to ease the throbbing between her legs. When the pleasure became too much for her and she climaxed, it was his name on her lips.
The following morning, Tenten showered under scalding water, completely ashamed and embarrassed. Regardless, she was somehow able to look him in the eye the next time they trained together. She hadn't acted on those thoughts for years, though sometimes Neji crept into her dreams, and stripped away her abject despair, and her clothes, at least for a few hours before she woke up.
She missed him, yes. But if he was too busy to see her, he was too busy.
Tenten was naturally inquisitive, though, she wanted to know all about her former teammates and the lives they were leading. But while they could spin stories about the goings-on in their lives, she could only tell them that, what? She hadn't had a mission in a year, she lived alone.
She laid in her bed at night and tried to weigh her rather limited options. Her father died when she was still a child and she never knew her mother. From what her father told her, Tenten's mother was an ambitious woman that loved dance more than anything. He never spoke ill of her even though Tenten tended to resent her.
Perhaps that would be something she could do; find her mother, speak with her for a bit.
Tenten didn't have any reason to stay in Konoha, there was nothing for her here. She could at least travel and try to find her purpose, as there had to be more to her life than just being a nameless fighter in someone else's war.
"What! No! You can't leave, Tenten. What'll we do without you?!"
Ino had, of the three women Tenten had told about her plans, been the one to make a big fuss about her decision.
She had, for once, taken Hinata's invitation to join her for lunch with Sakura and Ino. Tenten, proud that she had something to talk about, for once, accepted the opportunity, dressed nicer than usual, and met them at a small outdoor restaurant.
Ino and Hinata compared their husbands, giggling madly in false exasperation. They then turned their attention to Sakura, who had been engaged for only a few weeks, and gave her raunchy, hilarious advice. When it was Tenten's turn for their attention, they asked her what she had been doing, since they hadn't heard from her in such a long time.
That was when she told them that she would be leaving the village for a while and Ino reacted as expected.
"It means a lot to me that I'll be missed, but I've made up my mind," Tenten explained with a soft smile on her face.
"Why are you leaving? Is it a mission or do you just want to travel?" Hinata asked taking a sip of tea. The other two women also gave her questioning looks.
Tenten sighed softly. "No, I'm not going on a mission. I want to find my mother. I never got to know her, so I hope to maybe talk to her now. After that, I'll travel."
Ino tapped her fingers on the table thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. When are you leaving?"
"I'm going to give myself a few months to gather information about her first. Once I have a solid lead on where she might live, I'll go. We'll have plenty of time to spend together before I leave, and besides, I'm not leave Konoha for good." Tenten winked playfully. "I'll definitely come back in time for Sakura's wedding."
The other three laughed and turned their attention to Sakura, who blushed and tried to deflect the attention from herself.
When they had finished lunch, Ino insisted on extending the visit for at least another hour by ordering dessert and tea.
While Tenten was savoring the most delightful dumpling, Hinata gasped into her tea and looked at Tenten foolishly.
"I'm sorry, Tenten, I completely forgot to say this earlier. Neji asked about you."
Tenten held back a bitter scoff and instead raised an eyebrow at Hinata's admission. "Did he?" she asked dismissively.
Hinata nodded. "When I told him that I was going to be seeing you today, he mentioned that you had not spoken for a long time."
Tenten smiled wryly. "I know Neji is very busy."
Hinata flushed at the blatant sarcasm and murmured, "Neji has taken on a lot of responsibilities since I married Naruto, but I know he'd want to see you. You were such good friends." Tenten couldn't help but frown a bit. If that was the case, then why wouldn't he just come and see her? He knew where she lived.
"I tried to visit him a few times," Tenten admitted, "but, I was told that he was predisposed and I didn't want to insist."
Ino scoffed. "Please! If I wanted to visit Choji and someone said they were busy I'd just pop in and apologize later."
Tenten chuckled softly with Sakura and Hinata smiled. "Neji is never busy in the afternoon before sunset. You should go to the Hyuga compound then. I know some of my family members can be a little stuffy, but if you mention that you're friends I'm sure that people will be a bit more welcoming," she assured.
She had wanted to talk to Neji many times over the year and if Hinata was sure that he had the time to talk to her, then there was no reason for Tenten to not take advantage of the opportunity.
"Thanks for letting me know, Hinata," Tenten said eventually, "I'll check in on him in a few days."
Takara was her name.
That was the only name she went by, apparently, and it also serves as the stage name by which she was known all throughout the Land of Fire.
Tenten stared numbly at the various articles reviewing all of the plays her mother, Takara, participated in. Best Odori Dancer of Our Generation; Takara, The Truest Treasure of the Land of Fire; Kabuki Revival Impossible without Talents of Takara.
It was all so fascinating and yet, Tenten could make no real connection to this woman, who she knew was her mother. In all of the pictures of Takara, she was in full kabuki attire, so she bore no resemblance to Tenten, as far as she knew. Under the make-up, they were probably identical, since Tenten looked nothing like her father, who had inky black hair and forest green eyes.
As she stared at these pictures and article clippings, all Tenten felt was something short of contempt and utter confusion. She couldn't bring herself to understand how this woman could exist, knowing that she was rich and famous and yet had nothing to do with her daughter.
According to her sources, Takara lived relatively close to Konoha, in a small town, maybe three days away, that was known to be a city of pure entertainment. There were several theaters, casinos, bathhouses and brothels in the city, and most people went there to celebrate weddings, host parties or act wantonly for fun.
Despite the fact that Tenten felt turned off at the thought of meeting this woman, she knew that this was something that she simply had to do.
Tenten slowly rubbed her aching temples and placed all of the articles and pictures in a drawer in her living room. There was not point to fretting too much about this. She knew where Takara was, so now the difficult part would be building up the courage to actually make the journey to meet her.
With that resolve, Tenten looked outside and noticed that it was still daylight outside, stretched and decided to clear her head by taking a walk.
It was warm and slightly windy, but Tenten was too flustered to acknowledge what a beautiful day it was. She didn't even know where she was walking, her feet just pulled her without much direction.
Eventually, she put all thoughts of Takara from her mind and looked around to get her bearings. She noticed that she was rather close to the Hyuga compound and found a strange sense of comfort as she walked closer to the estate.
Tenten approached, her mood going from numb to hopeful, and knocked slowly. A young, well-dressed man opened the door. He bowed and said, "Welcome. Is there something I can do for you?" The words were off of her tongue before she could even rethink them.
"I'm here to see Neji. We're old friends and I just thought I'd visit." The man nodded and stepped inside the estate for a moment, begging her pardon, then quickly returned.
"Please, come inside. I will show you to his chambers."
Some self-hating, dark side of Tenten's personality stabbed the notion into her that she should leave, that Neji wouldn't possibly want to see her, that there were other things she could be doing.
And for the first time since the end of the war, when these feelings were most prevalent, Tenten ignored these thoughts.
"Thank you," she said offering a smile to the man, as she stepped into the estate, no qualms entering her mind at all.
Ok,what did you guys think?
I'm really excited for this fanfic, so I hope you're enjoying it too.
Please Tell Me If You Liked It!
Review Below!
Chapter 2: The Moon-Waxing
Tenten and Neji speak for the first time in over a year. What do they talk about? What revelations are made?
