Mystery
A Nejiten fanfiction
Tenten, Neji, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata and Naruto are all agents from the intelligence agency FIRE. When a celebration is thrown for Hinata, a body and a threatening note spoil the events of the evening. Now the eight agents need to figure out exactly who did it and why with few leads to go on. But the recent murder was committed out of revenge from a certain person holding onto a grudge from more than a decade ago.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.
Chapter 1: Incident
Tenten adjusted her mask before she made her way up the marble steps to the large wooden doors of the Hyuuga manor. Tonight was Hinata's graduation party; she passed her final test and was officially a member of the intelligence agency FIRE. The theme for the evening had been masquerade-a rather fitting theme for a group of agents whose primary existence depended on masks and secrecy.
She took a deep breath and walked in. She was overwhelmed with the sound of loud music coming from inside. Her eyes were greeted with exquisite decorations and throngs of people all in their best formal wear. Tenten had arrived just in time to see Hinata descend the stairs, she truly looked like an angel—she wore a pastel blue strapless sweetheart cut dress with silver embellishments on either side of the bodice. The top of the dress until her mid-thigh was fitted and smooth like a thick layer of icing on a wedding cake. From the thigh downwards her dress continued A-line and was chiffon. Her hair was in a long slick ponytail and her mask was silver with white Swarovski crystals around her eyes. She recognised her friend and went to greet her immediately.
"Tenten, you're here. You look amazing" she said as she hugged her
"Thanks Hinata, but I think you've out done me, you look phenomenal. And I'm pretty sure Naruto will be here any second to tell you that himself." She smirked when Hinata blushed
"Damn Tenten who did you dress to impress?" came Ino as she walked up from behind Hinata wearing a white long sleeved lace and silk dress. The lace started from her arms and continued until her chest. From her chest downwards the dress was a silk pipe dress. She wore her hair in a single long braid with plum lipstick. Her mask was a navy eye mask outlined in gold with a black feather on the left side.
Ino wasn't wrong, Tenten did look great. She wore a mermaid cut, fitted black dress with ruching over her chest that spilled over her shoulders and hung over her back leaving it revealed. Her hair was done in a messy top bun. Her mask was a white eye mask with black pearls outlining it, accompanied by crimson lipstick.
"I see you went backless, very functional for you" Ino coyly stated
"What do you mean?" Tenten asked quite fearful of what her friend might say next
"It's conveniently backless; it makes the dress easy to get out of. You know, in case you and a certain tall and handsome Hyuuga decide to—
"Ino, could you for once not make a sexual remark about Neji and me?!" she cut Ino off blushing furiously
"And speak of the devil" said Ino as she pointed behind Tenten and indicated that Neji was coming in their direction. Tenten turned around to see that Neji was indeed on his way over. He stopped right in front of her dressed in a grey suit with a white shirt and a black waist-coat over it and grey skinny tie—looking sharp as ever, she said in her head.
"The word gorgeous doesn't even compare to how you look tonight" he complimented her before he took her hand and kissed it
"Thank you, you look pretty handsome yourself Neji" she blushed when she felt his lips against her skin
"Would you care to dance?" he asked and held out his hand
"I'd love to" she took his hand and followed him to the dance floor
She placed her left arm on his shoulder and took his hand; while he confidently put his right arm on her waist and took her hand. They glided across the dance floor with ease and expertise; they both knew what they were doing.
"I hope your time off hasn't deteriorated your sharpness as an agent" Neji started as he led her in the dance.
"Not at all, I'm as sharp as ever" she cheekily replied
"Alright then let's put it to the test" he smirked "You see the couple behind us?" he asked
"The one that just walked off the dance floor now? Yeah what about them?" she asked as he twirled her
"Without looking, tell me where they're going"
"Hmm…a social observation test, child's play" she said in her head. She gathered her thoughts before she answered his question
"Well based on how closely they were dancing just before they left, everything they did on the dance floor was a build up to where they're going now. When you and I got here, the guy—let's just call him X for now—had his arms around her waist. While I had my back to them X's girlfriend—her name will be A—moaned in pleasure but it was slightly muffled which means that X had leaned in to kiss her for no more than three seconds. Then when you dipped me, I saw that A had her left leg on X's waist and her arms wrapped around his neck. A few seconds later a giggle escaped her lips, and when I was back up and looked in their direction, X was whispering in her ear—probably gave her the idea that led to their departure. So I can only conclude that they've gone upstairs to find an empty room to continue their little lovers' game" she finished with confidence.
"I'm impressed, you were able to read that from a couple you barely saw" he said as he dipped her again and slipped his hand under her leg and held it over his waist before bringing her up slowly, keeping his hand where it was.
"I told you I'm still at the top of my game. And how did you know that my dress had a slit, it was hidden to conceal my leg holster" she raised an eyebrow at him all while trying to keep her composure due to the fact that Neji's hand was currently resting on her left thigh
"Only eyes as well trained as mine could have noticed" he cockily replied with a smirk on his face. She just rolled her eyes at him
Xxx
Tenten stood by the crystal clear large swimming pool, looking down at her reflection. She decided to get some air by herself. Things were getting a little wild at the party, with multiple shots being taken at the bar; a lot of her colleagues' tongues were getting looser each minute. She'd unbuttoned the left section of her dress revealing her left leg with a holster around her thigh and took out her cellphone. The bright light emitting from the smartphone brightened her face and caused her to squint slightly. She stared at her screensaver for a long time with a smile on her face.
It was a picture of Neji and Sasuke together—one of the few times they ever did anything together but when they did magic happened. It was a picture from when she, Sakura and the two guys went out for dinner together—undercover for a mission. Sakura and Tenten had to play the roles of supermodels out for dinner with their dates while they were following a suspicious group. To make things more genuine the four of them took pictures together and the one Tenten captured was of Neji and Sasuke casually leaning against the wall of the restaurant with their left legs against the wall and their arms folded. Both of them were smirking with a raised eyebrow—the arrogant face that they were so good at pulling. It was a brilliant picture.
"You've still got that picture on your phone, I see" he said as he walked up behind her and stood with his chest against her back.
"It's my favourite picture, of my two favourite guys" she replied then put her phone back in her holster. Sasuke shifted slightly and placed his hand over hers on her leg, Tenten was slightly shocked but then relaxed when she realised why Sasuke did what he did…they were being watched.
Tenten slowly turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up into his eyes. Their eyes locked on to each other's and they confirmed with each other. They couldn't allow whoever was watching them to know that they knew he or she was there, so they had to act like they were still busy with each other like they had been a few minutes ago. They also couldn't risk leaving or this person could figure out that they knew they were there. Tenten and Sasuke needed to know what this person wanted and why this person didn't want to be seen so they needed to make sure this person was as low guarded as possible.
"So I'm one of your favourites huh?" he leaned in
"Of course you are, especially right now" she said in a low voice
"Oh and why is that?" he lowly spoke as well
"For a number of reasons, like your strong arms around me; our bodies are so close and not to mention that you look absolutely irresistible in this suit" she said with a cheeky smile and played with his tie
"Well I definitely think we both dressed great tonight. For instance, the great thing about your dress is that I can do this…" he ran his index finger down her spine making her shudder in delight.
"And you know what I love most about this dress, it comes off very easily" she smirked
"Is that a fact?" he smirked back and leaned in incredibly close until their lips were barely a centimetre apart
"Yeah, all you have to do is slide it off" she said slowly
"Oh then are you suggesting…"
"Maybe I am…but before that comes this…" she leaned in and kissed him gently at first then deepened the kiss. He held her tightly against his body and kissed back. The atmosphere around them was intoxicating and very heated, they were flirting to distract the person watching them that much was true but there was a lot of truth in the things they said and did that wasn't just an act—and they both knew it.
Sasuke lifted her left leg and placed it on his waist then he slid his hand down her leg and removed the pistol in her leg holster in a single movement with such ease. Any person would have thought that he was just lost in the heat of the moment but he was a trained agent and knew how to make things look differently to how they appeared. As the kiss continued Tenten opened her left eye and looked for the person watching them. She saw a silhouette walk away from them.
She broke the kiss but kept her face very close to Sasuke's
"He's still within earshot, he's about to go around the house towards the entrance. Don't lose my pistol, I'll stay in contact from inside." she whispered
She pulled away from him but remained in character
"Meet me upstairs in ten minutes" she winked at him then walked towards the sliding door to go back inside the house. She looked like she was tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear but she was actually putting in an ear-com.
Tenten was on the top floor balcony looking at the large property the Hyuuga owned when she was joined by someone.
"Any sign of our mysterious friend?" she turned to face Sasuke
"No, he's probably hidden himself in the crowd by now. At least-whoever this is-doesn't know that were on to them so for now we'll just have to keep our eyes open." He replied as he walked to the rails and stood next to Tenten.
"And the reason they don't know is because of that act we pulled down there" she smiled cheekily at him
"But I wonder if it was all an act" he smirked
"I wonder indeed, you won't get any answers from me that easily Uchiha. You'll just have to figure out on your own if I was acting or not" she pecked him on the cheek then walked to the door but Sasuke grabbed her wrist.
Before she even knew what was happening Sasuke kissed her. She was a little shocked at first but then she relaxed and enjoyed the feeling of him kissing her. And after a while she kissed him back.
The two of them returned to the party with their friends. By midnight only a small number of guests remained. The group of friends were getting ready to take a photo together.
"I'll be right back with my camera" said Hinata as she ascended the stairs to her room. A few seconds later, a blood curdling scream pierced through the music causing it to stop.
"Hinata!" they all panicked and ran up upstairs to her room
Ino walked in first followed by the others, she saw a devastated Hinata in the corner of the room by her closet. Everyone froze—Tenten's blood ran cold through her veins when she finally saw what had petrified Hinata—it was Lee's lifeless body in a pool of blood…he'd been stabbed multiple times. His arms were over his chest, keeping something in place, a note.
Neji retrieved the note and walked over to Tenten as the note addressed the both of them: "I'm an enemy from your past, during your squad days with Guy sensei as the captain. I miss those days, you were all so inexperienced but now things have changed…now I'm coming for you"
Tenten's heart beat a little faster in her chest when she finished reading the letter
"That's it I'm calling it in" she turned on her heel and hastily walked out of the room with her cellphone in her hand "This is Black Smoke calling from the Hyuuga compound, we need backup immediately, this is officially a crime scene."
"Sakura—I mean Poison—can you figure out how it happened?" she kept her voice as neutral as possible. In their world there was no time for mourning, all that mattered was completing the mission and as soon as one began the casual niceties and nick-names were dropped immediately and an air of professionalism was adopted.
"Yeah, judging from the large bump on the back of his head, Lee was struck from behind with a blunt object then stabbed multiple times as soon as he was unconscious and left to bleed to death"
"But it doesn't make any sense, Lee was an agent he'd never let anyone get the drop on him so easily" said Ino
"That's true but Lee didn't let this person get the drop on him. A struggle happened between them—Lee's knuckle is bleeding and he has a scratch on his cheek and a tear in his sleeve. And also, did any of you notice the dent in the wall behind me, one of them got slammed into it." Sakura explained
"How on earth did you…?" asked Naruto barely able to keep up
"No she's absolutely correct" said Neji factually
"Now that I've given you the basics, care to shed some light on how this all happened, White Lightning?" she said and raised an expectant eyebrow at him
"Of course" he gathered his thoughts for a moment then went to the door "Lee—for whatever reason—came into Hinata's room on his own. Perhaps he knew that someone was in here. The killer was waiting behind the door as shown by the scuff mark left by his shoes. Lee waited here in the centre of the bedroom and blocked an attack from the killer with his right arm—that's where the tear came from…"
Everyone watched with shear amazement as they watched Neji walk from the door to where Hinata was standing breaking down the crime scene bit by bit.
"Then Lee punched the killer multiple times on a very bony part of his body—most likely the cheek bone—until his knuckle started bleeding. But the killer fought back but ended up slammed into the wall by Lee—this was the turning point of the struggle…" Neji observed the wall and ran his finger over a wet patch on it, he'd figured something out
"Poison are Lee's eyes red by any chance?" he asked not taking his eyes off the wall
"Very, why do you ask?" even Sakura couldn't keep up with Neji sometimes
"Just as I thought he used pepper spray to slip out of Lee's grasp. And as for your blunt object…" he bent down and retrieved something from under the dressing table "Hinata's metal flower vase. He struck him over the head while he was still recovering from the pepper spray. And you know how the rest of the story goes." He concluded and looked at his team
Everyone was impressed to say the least. Neji had been solving crimes for years and yet the expertise and preciseness of his theories never got old. His colleagues were genuinely impressed every time he worked a crime scene.
Sakura worked with the rest of the other medics and took photos of Lee's body. Tenten just couldn't stomach what had just happened so she left the room and leaned against the rails of the stairs in the hallway. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. Then she opened her eyes when she felt something warm cover her shoulders. She looked at Sasuke who had a blank look on his face; she couldn't read what he was feeling. She didn't feel like talking, she just slipped her arms into his blazer and leaned against him. I can't believe I'll never see Lee again—she said in her head
An hour later the Hyuuga compound had been locked down and all the guests were kept where they were. The place was full of agents. It took until three a.m. to get the names of all the guests and their statements, the team regrouped downstairs.
"I just got a call from the head of FIRE Tsunade; she wants this case solved as soon as possible. And she wants the Lightning Class team working this case as well. Looks like you three are put together once again." Ino said as she referred to Neji, Sasuke and Shikamaru. The three of them were the best of the best; the top agents of FIRE. They had the highest success rate for their missions—as individuals they had their own codenames but when they were put together as a team they were given the collective codename: Lightning Class. They were all masters in different areas:
Sasuke Uchiha-most agile and the best fighter, codename: Black Lightning
Neji Hyuuga-highly intelligent, has a knack for decoding and decryption as well as infiltration and deduction, codename: White Lightning
Shikamaru Nara-undisputed genius, very strategic and logical, gifted in choosing the best strategy to implement in a difficult situation, codename: Navy Lightning
After a gruelling three hours looking for clues and searching every inch of the Hyuuga compound, the agents were allowed to go home.
One week later
Tenten walked into her high-rise apartment and went straight to her bedroom. It was one in the morning. She quickly got changed and went to bed, trying to forget everything that happened. She spent pretty much the entire day at the agency trying to find out more about Lee's killer but she was at a dead end. She was restless in her sleep—having a nightmare. She kept seeing Lee's face everywhere she went but not his usual passionate and beaming face but the face she saw at the party…lifeless and empty. She was screaming his name both in her dreams and in real life.
"…enten, Tenten!" she finally woke up in a cold sweat and breathing erratically. She looked up and found Neji leaning over her with his arms on her shoulders. Tenten—dazed and confused had no idea what was happening
"Neji what are you doing here? Wait—better question—how did you get in my room?"
"As if something as simple as a locked door can keep me out. I'm an expert at infiltration remember? And as for your first question, I came to check on you. I didn't know you were asleep already but as soon as I got to your door I heard screaming so I rushed in."
Tenten's cheeks turned slightly red when she realised that Neji was leaning over her while she was in her sleepwear which consisted of black lace underwear with a thin shear short black night gown.
"Well you didn't have to go to all that trouble" she said as she avoided eye contact
She got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen to make some tea while Neji waited in the living room. Her mind was flooded with thoughts as she waited for the kettle to boil the water.
"What happened in the bedroom? Were you having a nightmare?" Neji asked as he leaned against the kitchen wall
"Yeah I was" she answered softly
"Keeping it in won't do you any good"
"I'm not keeping in anything I'm fine" she retorted, she wasn't in the mood to have this conversation
"You know Tenten, secret codes, crime scenes and artefacts aren't the only things I can read. The person you were back at the crime scene and the person you are now are very different" he got off the wall and walked towards her. He'd noticed that ever since the case started Tenten wasn't herself anymore, she was a lot more reserved and barely showed any emotion—not even to him.
"Yeah and what's the difference?" she raised an eyebrow at him
"You've put up a front right now and you're completely devoid of emotion. I'm worried about you—"
"I ALREADY TOLD YOU I'M—" she began yelling but regained her composure "I already told you I'm fine Neji. I'm just trying to stay focused on finding who did this, so excuse me for not curling up in foetal position and crying like some weakling"
"This 'focused' demeanour you think you have is coming off as cold and emotionless"
That was the final straw
"How dare you accuse me of being emotionless?! Lee was one of my best friends not to mention a teammate and I loved everything about him…" tears were streaming down her face while she was hitting him on the chest "And for you to come here and accuse me of being unsympathetic is unfair!"
"If that's the truth then why won't you let yourself feel anything?!"
"Because I don't want to be weak anymore!" she yelled at him
Neji stopped
"Tenten crying doesn't make you weak, and even if it does, there's nothing wrong with that."
"There's everything wrong with being weak, it's a curse. The strong take advantage of the weak. I was nothing but weak when I was younger and all it got me was watching my parents get killed in front of me. I got into a whole lot of crap because I let people walk all over me—even to the point of almost being sexually harassed and it's because I cried and waited for people to save me. It was only after I stopped crying and got off my ass and finally started fending for myself that I was able to become who I am today, so you'll have to forgive me for not wanting to show anything"
"Tenten…
He had no idea she was so emotionally scarred, and that she carried such a heavy burden with her everyday
"Look, I'm devastated about what happened to Lee, I really am, he was like a brother to me but…" she was trembling with emotion. Neji put his arms around her and held her close to him but she struggled
"No, let go of me Neji…" but he never did "I don't want your sympathy, I…" she began crying uncontrollably and buried her face in his chest, Neji held her tighter. She eventually sank to her knees and Neji went down with her. He wouldn't let her face this alone, at that moment she needed him and he was going to be there for her. He stroked her back and let her cry into his shirt—she needed to let her feelings out.
A moment later she calmed down and looked up at Neji with watery red eyes that spilled tears as well as emotions.
"I can't believe I'll never see him again" she whispered to him then closed her eyes and put her arms around him to which he responded by kissing her on the forehead.
A while later they made their way to the living room and sat on the white couch with a cup of tea in their hands.
"So apart from wanting to check up on me, why did you come here?" she asked
"It's about the note. Can you think of anyone who could have wanted Lee gone, someone that knows a lot about our days as Team Guy?"
"I'd been thinking about that as well and I couldn't think of anyone. Whoever this is seems pretty confident in the information they have about our teenage years on the team."
"It must have been someone we defeated on a mission with Guy sensei."
"Yeah, someone we defeated but never caught. I looked up everyone we've put behind bars in the last ten years and they're all still doing time in prison." She said as she took another sip of her tea
"Oh I almost forgot…" he took something out of his blazer pocket "This was found inserted deep in Lee's chest. It seems our friend stabbed Lee and broke his knife, leaving the blade inside." He handed her the blade in the plastic evidence bag.
"Now were playing in my court. Let's take this to my study I want to take a closer look at it."
Neji followed Tenten down the hall and waited as she turned in the lights to her study. It looked comfortable and professional at the same time. The walls were painted beige with a chocolate brown carpet. There were four full bookshelves aligned on the left wall while the right side of the room hosted a fire place and two one seaters. And at the very back of the room in front of the windows was a large smooth mahogany table.
Tenten walked to the second bookshelf and pulled it forward with ease, behind it was a white door. A secret door behind the bookshelf, Neji was surprised, although he didn't know why he was. Tenten was an agent she had to have some secret areas in her home.
They walked into a white state-of-the-art laboratory. Chemicals; beakers; test-tubes; you name it. All this and so much more was in this lab. Tenten tied up her hair and put on surgical gloves.
"Alright let's take a look at this knife blade" she said as she took it out of the plastic bag and examined it under her microscope. She carefully inspected the blade and noticed that the back had writing on it.
"This blade was deliberately left in Lee's chest, the killer wanted you and I to see it. You notice the writing on the back?" she asked while examining the blade
"Yeah but it's in Mandarin so none of them could translate it. I already read the engraved writing and understood it but I wanted you to read it for yourself…to see what we're really dealing with. That's partly why I brought it to you, that and the fact that your knowledge of weaponry in the entire agency is unmatched."
"You're starting to scare me" she slowly read over the Mandarin and felt her heart beat faster as soon as she finished
"One man's pain is another man's ecstasy"
"What kind of twisted person would…" she trailed off
"Anything else you can learn from the blade?" he asked as walked up behind her and stood with his chest against her back.
"Um…well judging by the scratches on the blade—or lack thereof—our killer was skilled with knives but had barely used this one which means that he'd just gotten it. Also he was left handed seeing that the more lustrous side of the knife is on the left side."
"And what's that at the base of the blade where it's been broken off?" he indicated his arms now under hers but neither seemed to notice just how close they were
"It's a company logo—obviously of the company that made this knife. It's the Exclusive Blades company logo and they're major company is in Tokyo. The owner of the company also runs a shady night-club in the heart of the city and he only ever deals with clients face-to-face. Looks like we've got a location to go on, maybe we can find out just how much time our killer spent there."
"You learned all that from half a blade?"
"Hey weapons are my specialty"
"Clearly they are, you're practically glowing" he said in her ear and lowered his arms around her waist. She smirked
"Isn't it a bit early in the morning for this?" she said, a hint of yearning evident in her voice
"It's never too early to do this" he spoke against her bare neck
"Whoa break it up you two" came a third voice from the door
The best fighter in the agency codename: Black Lightning, Sasuke Uchiha just walked in. The young pair turned to address him
"Hey Sasuke, how did you get in here?" she unwrapped herself from Neji's arms and walked over to him. Neji and Sasuke nodded to each other in greeting
"The door was open" he lied
"No it wasn't" she chuckled because she knew he was lying
"You're right it wasn't but I decided to let myself in anyways. Clearly I shouldn't have because I was obviously interrupting the two of you in whatever you were just doing"
"We weren't doing anything serious we were just messing around" she admitted while she blushed
"Are you kidding me, you two were five seconds away from undressing each other" he said with a blank expression on his face. If he hadn't noticed her blushing before he certainly did now because his last comment mead her whole face turn pink
"Okay that's it I'm changing the subject" she retrieved the blade from the counter-top and showed it to Sasuke. "We've got our first location that the killer's been to. The logo for the knife company is at the bottom of the blade. The owner has a night-club that I think is worth investigating and the easy part is that he's a real looker. He spends most of his time watching the ladies do their 'work' " she explained then referred to her state of dress—or lack thereof
"Ah so he's a rich pervert, they're always the easiest to extract information from. So you're going to suit up in your best 'outfit' and talk him over"
"Not necessarily, if we're going to do this right we're going to need to consult the best of us in terms of disguises—especially sexy ones. Her codename is Flame for a reason; she's the best at extracting information from criminals because she's willing to go to any lengths to get the information even if it means being felt up by a felon when she's in disguise as well as playing decoy on missions. There isn't a single person on earth she can't fool." She said as she worked on her cellphone and dialled a number…
"Hey, I've got a mission and I'm going to need your expertise. Come over to my place at seven in the morning Ino" she then hung up the phone
