Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Life

Chapter 1:

She sat alone on the steps in front of her home. She wasn't shaking anymore. Control was a great part of her life, anyway. The jounin in charge had come as fast as they had left. The one at fault couldn't have been too far away. They needed to catch him. She hadn't cried. She never did. Ever since she was a baby and learned that she could never depend on anybody, she stopped crying. Nevertheless, it was still pretty shocking. Never in her life had she felt so close to breaking down. It was puzzling how she didn't. Nobody came to see her. She was an ANBU member and they all assumed she would be alright. Well, she was alright but…no, she was alright.

The stars in the sky were shining down, clearing part of the sky. She didn't look at them, however. She wasn't interested in stars right then and there. Her life wasn't always going to be composed of wonderfully bright stars, she figured that night, so it was best not to look at them in the first place. Nor was it good to look at the moon or anything fearless when it came to shine out. Nothing good could ever last. Nothing.

Dawn came shortly after and so would the rest of the day. She needed to shower, to get changed, to get to work. They needed her, the entire village did, and she wasn't about to let them down. Slowly, she stood up, her behind a little sore for having remained in the same position for too long, sitting on the cold cement steps. She turned to enter her home, but stopped in the middle of reaching the handle. The clean-up guys hadn't come yet. She would have noticed, since she was sitting right at the entrance. They hadn't come. That meant…her hand began to shake slightly and she quickly drew back from the door, no longer wanting to go back inside. She shook her head slightly. What was wrong with her? Things like that happened all the time. It only meant that she would have to shower at a friend's house.

The doorbell rang and Hinata was the one to answer the door. Ino was still asleep and Sakura was in the shower. Leave it to Hinata to be on time and always ready. However, she wasn't ready for what would happen.

"Tenten!" exclaimed the young girl "Come in."

"I hear the shower." stated the girl, making no move to enter the house.

"Sakura is – hey! Where are you going?"

But her friend didn't speak. She merely climbed down the steps and walk away, leaving Hinata in the middle of her doorframe. Sorrow filled her milky eyes. It had been a little less than a year since her friend had turned the way that she was. She never hung out with them anymore. She hardly spoke at all. Ever since she became ANBU, she was only preoccupied with her missions. Hinata closed the door slowly, her mind suddenly very tired. She only wished she could help her friend, but she knew that was close to impossible. If she made any move to help her, she knew she would be closer to death than to anything else. It was no overstatement.

Lee wasn't home. He was probably out training with Gai or someone. How was her old team doing? Well, it didn't matter. He wasn't home. That's all she needed to know. She considered breaking into his house to take a quick shower, but decided against it. He would make such a fuss if he found out. It wasn't worth her time.

Hyuuga's house was not far from Lee's, but she preferred to go a little further, to Naruto's place first. She wasn't avoiding him per say, she told herself, she was merely avoiding the annoyance he would bring her upon opening the door. Of all the people in the village, of all the people in the world, he was the one she liked the least. It was normal, then, she thought, for her to use him as a last resort.

Naruto was gone she had no idea where. She didn't really want to know where, either. He wasn't important to her. Nobody was important to her. Life brought the people around her, but life stank. Calmly, she walked back towards Hyuuga's house.

Of course, he opened the door. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. He was that type of person. His shirt was off and his pants were barely hanging. His hair was tied back, as usual. There was a short silence, where neither of them talked. He made no move to let her in, and she made no move to ask. They simply stared at each other; both looking at the other's body, a wordless way to see how the other was doing. At last, Neji opened the door wider and turned back to what he was doing. He hadn't told her to come in, but it was his way of expressing it. She took his welcome and went directly to the bathroom.

"Fucking Tenten." mumbled Neji when the bathroom door closed.

"Fucking Neji." mumbled Tenten, as she took her close off and hopped into the shower.

When she came out of the shower, he was pulling a sleeveless shirt over his chest. His pants were on firmly and his hair was still tied. She saw a scar on his abdominal just before his sleeveless covered it. She remembered the incident. It happened a little less than a year ago.

Carelessly, Tenten picked up a brush from one of her host's drawers and began to untangle her hair. There was steam covering the whole mirror. She couldn't see anything. When she finally came to wipe some off, she saw in the reflection of the mirror that Neji was standing right behind her. Quickly, she turned to face him, her fists ready. But they weren't. Hyuuga, faster, had pinned her wrists to the wall so hard she dropped the brush.

"Let me go." said Tenten between her teeth.

"That's the first thing you've said to me in the last six months."

"Shut up."

She tried to struggle out of his grip, but all in vain. He was a lot stronger than her. She tried to move her legs, but the area was too tight and he was blocking her way. She finally stopped struggling and he talked once more.

"Are you going to tell me what you're doing here?"

"No."

"Then I guess your next destination will be a miss."

"See if I care."

He smirked, his first expression of the day. She disdained his smirk. Every time she saw it, she couldn't help but hurt and hurt someone. She looked away, trying to calm herself down. He seemed to realize this, and it made his smirk widen.

"Why don't you look at me in the eyes?" he asked.

She didn't reply. She couldn't reply. Anger was building in her heart and was spreading throughout her body, closing her eyes and her vocal cords. Her hands began to twitch and she tightened them into fists, preferring he not notice her tics. But it was too late, he did. His grip tightened around her wrists, taunting her. He chuckled a heartless chuckle, his eyes still locked on her closed ones. Would it take her a little more for her to explode? No…

Tenten opened her eyes. They were cold and angry. She didn't like having to borrow other people's showers. She didn't like being imprisoned. She didn't like Neji. She closed her eyes again, trying one more time to calm down. She couldn't let him win. She couldn't let him get what he wanted out of her. She wasn't the same little girl she had been some time before. If he wanted to mess around, she wasn't available.

Neji stopped grinning when she closed her eyes once more. She was really trying not to give in, he realized. In one way, it made him mad and jealous, but in another, it made him understand her a little more. He couldn't deny the fact that she had changed during the last few months. She had changed more than what he had anticipated. She was darker and yet more beautiful than what she had been. She seemed more angelic, but her heart was frozen.

Her eyes remained close when their lips locked. He kissed her fiercely, not daring to leave her one moment of weakness. His tongue played on her lips, looking for an entrance and to his surprise, she gave one. Their tongues played together for some time, each pushing the other. Neji conquered her mouth, but it wasn't with ease. She had fought back, but had given in after a few moments. They both realized what was about to happen.

Tenten, in the middle of it all, had slipped from Neji's prison and had rushed out of the bathroom, leaving the Hyuuga leaning on the wall, looking at her fade from the no longer fogged mirror.