I hope that me posting before a year of absence doesn't cause massive coronaries. I felt like writing, so this is what came of it. Enjoy
And again, I emphasize that I don't own Naruto. If I did, Tenten would have a last name.
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Tenten felt her senses begin to return to her and began to see the reddish glow of light coming through her closed eyelids. The painful intrusion from the darkness made her wonder if this was the classic white light you see after death. The thought was shot down by the recognizable hospital smell that attacked her second sense. Had she not been so thrilled about the fact that she wasn't dead, the overly clean and chemical-filled scent would have repulsed her.
An involuntary spasm caused by awakening muscles informed her that not only was she not alone in the room, but another being was holding her hand. A weight lifted from her bed as the other person rose from their hunched sleeping position.
"Tenten?" Neji's newly awake voice warmed Tenten's straining ears in the creepy silence. She wanted to tell him she was alright, but her voice faltered and turned out as a soft groan. Unable to communicate by sound, she opened her eyes—he could always read her when she needed him to.
Tenten blinked fiercely a few times before shooting up to a seated position. She soon regretted it as blood rapidly rushed away from her head and she swayed in her seat. Open eyes are usually connected to viewing of images, lights and colors. Tenten was sure she wasn't brain damaged enough to have imagined all that up.
She was sure something was drastically wrong with her as she met darkness with opened eyes. There were no shadows or alterations in the flat, black color. Any normal darkness had shapes, little pinpoints of light, movements, anything. The abnormal darkness would have frightened anybody, but knowing that you SHOULD be seeing, seemed to make it worse. The kunoichi was sure that she had seen light through her eyelids and firmly shut them once more, but even that glow was gone. She was completely and utterly blind.
Neji, who had been surprised by her sudden awake-ness and instant quick reflexes and mobility realized that she might be confused by the situation and maybe talking would be good.
"Tenten?" he began hesitantly. It annoyed Tenten that he kept saying her name, she was right there and blind, not deaf. "You were attacked while waiting in the forest. You were hit with 4 shuriken down your spine but they all missed your spinal chord. The force of hitting your head against the ground and a loss of blood caused you to pass out and stay unconscious for three days. You are in Konoha hospital and Sakura-san, your friend, is your doctor. How are you feeling?"
Tenten would have rolled her eyes if she was not afraid of not being able to do that. He was talking to her as if she was two years old. She knew what happened and even knew who her friends were.
"Neji?" she asked just as slowly and stupidly as she looked in his direction. He hn'd in acknowledgement and squeezed her hand that was still connected to his. "I remember what happened and recognize where I am. I even remember who I am and who my friends are. Physically, I feel just fine, except for the fact that I'm blind."
Tenten was never one to deal properly and thought that denial would be best right now. They'd fix her, she knew that. They had to. She was a ninja and had a duty in this town. They wouldn't let her just stay useless like this. Neji didn't take things like this so lightly.
She felt the hand rip from hers as two strong hands firmly gripped her by her shoulders and she felt Neji's breath against her face as he stared at her eyes. He had probably activated the Byakugan to take a look at the damage himself.
One of Neji's hands left Tenten's shoulder and a soft buzzing sound temporarily filled the room as Neji called for Tenten's doctor. Neji said nothing and the room fell into another awkward silence as they waited a few minutes for Sakura's arrival. Her shrilly excited voice soon irritated Tenten's sensitive ears as her overjoyed friend burst into the room.
"Tenten-chan! You're awake!!" she cried as she nearly glomped the bedridden girl. She instantly felt Tenten's body tense in shock and Neji's protective gaze shoot to Tenten.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked as she slipped very quickly into doctor-mode at the intensity of the mood in the room. Tenten felt weight again rise off the bed and a sudden emptiness in her room as Neji took Sakura to the hall to talk to her. Whatever Neji had seen, it wasn't good and chances were, Sakura could do nothing for her. Not yet, at least, Tenten was still very sure that they'd fix her soon.
Tenten flopped back on her bed and closed her eyes. At least when they were closed, she didn't expect to see anything. The door quietly slid open and the sound of Neji's soft steps reached Tenten's ears. Sakura's clicking heels were absent so she was probably still in the hall.
"Sakura just needs to take some routine tests for your vitals and you can be released. Your sight deficiencies are caused by outside sources and can only be fixed by those outside sources," Neji confirmed Tenten's suspicions. He was completely official again and seemed to regain that calm demeanor he ALWAYS had. It bugged Tenten but she remained silent and only gave a slight nod of her head to show that she was even awake. He had almost shown her emotion, but it was already gone. When she heard Neji move to get Sakura, she decided to stop being stubborn.
"Hey, Neji, could you stay in here with her and tell me what she's doing?" Tenten asked in a meek voice that was very uncharacteristic of her. She never asked for help and really never absolutely needed it, not like now. She was beginning to feel very useless and anxious for the cure. Neji seemed understanding and hn'd and quickly got Sakura, moving as if he was now afraid of leaving the room for too long.
Neji calmly recited all that Sakura did as she took blood and checked all of the readings from the monitors before signing Tenten's release form. Only after she left the room did Tenten try to move. She wanted as few people as possible seeing her fumbling and crashing around the room. She sat upright and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, using her bare feet and small, slow steps to maneuver her way around the room.
Only when she nearly crashed into a dangerous and expensive-looking piece of equipment did Neji step forward and protectively embrace her. He wasn't one for comforting. Tenten wasn't one who usually got injured on missions; she was reserved and cautious. Lee always was rash and got hurt, but Tenten was a girl and Neji wouldn't feel right laughing at her for inadequacies. Tenten allowed him to hold her but wouldn't break down. It wasn't something she did, not yet.
"I'll arrange to have you stay at the manor until I can figure this out and fix your eyes, is that ok?" Neji posed it as a question, but nothing in his voice allowed her to think she had a choice. She had no desire to contradict his request and return to an empty apartment with overly sharpened weapons adorning all of her walls. She wasn't that masochistic.
Neji walked Tenten back to the bed and pressed a change of clean clothes into her lap.
"I had Hinata get some clothes for you. I figured she would be better at that kind of stuff. I'll turn around while you change, I promise," Neji needlessly said. Tenten trusted him enough to know that he respected her and wasn't a peeping tom. She awkwardly changed, but eventually managed to get all of her limbs into the right places after trying to fit her head through a sleeve and putting her sweatshirt on as pants. As soon as she told Neji that he could turn around, he was at her side, holding one of her hands and securing her body to his with an arm around her shoulders.
He led her out of the hospital at nearly a normal pace, whispering who or what they passed into her ear. Tenten was surprised by his intimateness and was actually enjoying it. She didn't realize her blush until they were outside in the cool air and Neji asked if she felt feverish. Tenten shook her head and angled her face down, staying that way all the way to the Hyuuga compound.
Tenten inhaled the familiar scent of the gardens that surrounded the branch portion of the Hyuuga household. As the smell changed to a redwood forest-y, but pleasant smell, Tenten recognized Neji's room aloud before he even told her where they were. At Neji's door way, he placed Tenten's hands on the wall and led her to the bathroom and her room, right next door to his, so she could maneuver those rooms on her own, should she need to.
Hinata's soft and kindly welcoming voice met Tenten in her room.
"Tenten-sama, it's v-very good t-to see you on y-your feet. I-I'm here t-to h-help," she managed to stutter out.
"Will you help her dress for dinner with your father?" Neji asked Hinata before turning to Tenten and explaining that the family was required to attend three formal dinners every week. Tenten smirked in acceptance and at the aggravation filling Neji's words. She let go of him and held out her hand towards where she had heard Hinata's words agreeing to help.
"Thank you, Hinata-chan," She said warmly and felt contact with Hinata's skin as the younger girl took Tenten's hand. "We've got it from her Neji-kun" she informed him and he reluctantly left the girls. He knew that females had a tendency to scheme and though he'd never admit it, it frightened him. He was lucky this time, as the girls avoided all scheming due to a time restriction.
Tenten felt the most grateful all night when Hinata led her to a shower and gave her a towel. Days of unconsciousness and shower-less time after being on the forest floor does stuff to any hygienic girl.
Fully cleaned, Tenten returned to Hinata who had already gotten herself dressed. Tenten recognized the pathway to her room and hearing the swish of Hinata's kimono, realized that she would too have to wear one and groaned. She was proven correct as Hinata helped layer her with the multiple parts of the fancy dress. Hinata then dried Tenten's hair and pinned back the front. Tenten had never felt so girly in all of her life. She thanked the sweet heiress for all of her help but had to bid her farewell because the main house had to be present before the branch house showed up to dinner. Something about not trusting the branch house alone.
Tenten felt along the hallway to Neji's room and crashed straight into him as he turned around from having closed his door. Upon seeing his Tenten all prettied up, some part of him was thankful for the blindness that hid his very literal jaw drop. He managed to form coherent words long enough to tell her that she looked stunning before placing a guiding hand on her waist and holding her hand across his body with his other hand.
Entering the dining hall, Tenten never before felt the intensity of the white eyes as she did now. Not even Neji's Byakugan eyes looking right into hers during a heated spar were as intimidating as having an entire household stare at you and not even being able to see them. Tenten vowed to have a staring contest with them when she got her sight back.
Tenten thought she knew what to expect at family dinners since she had been invited to ones with Sakura and Ino, but why would the Hyuugas ever be what you expect. At he Haruno and Yamanaka households, people talked, laughed—heck they were alive. Here the only noises were chopsticks against plates…and the loud clank of Tenten nearly upturning her glass with a bump of her hand. Still, she felt like she was the only one who felt awkward with the silence. Did the Hyuugas hold another bloodline of telepathy that Neji had never told her about? Right now, it seemed likely.
Dinner was over soon enough and Neji led Tenten away with dozens of eyes following them again. Neji led her to his room where he changed from whatever formal attire he was uncomfortably stuffed in.
"Is it always that…quiet?" Tenten asked, seemingly oblivious that the male in the same room as her was half-naked.
"I guess it is, but you just get used to it after a while. Besides it's better if some of those people just keep their mouths shut. Permanently." Neji huffed and walked back to her. "As comfortable as you look all dressed up, I thought I'd ask if you were ready to change."
Tenten was about to fake loving the clothes, but feeling Neji's change of cloth on his arms just realized that he had completely changed right there.
"Did you just…? Are you? Do you know I'm Still a GIRL!?!" she nearly yelled. Neji, being a boy, had no clue what she was talking about and thought that this was all about her kimono.
"Hey, if you want to keep it on, that's your business, but there are silk pajamas waiting in your room for you," he taunted her.
Tenten huffed but had she not been who she was, there may have been squealing and jumping for joy at the prospect of getting out of the dress. Instead Tenten held a mental parade and simply nodded on the outside and led the way along the wall to her room.
After pressing a silky pants and shirt pj set into Tenten's hands, Neji opted to wait in the hallway as she changed. How much damage could she cause just changing in a large open space next to a very squishy and safe bed? Neji shook his head and refused to actually think of the many different ways Tenten would find to injure herself.
As Tenten felt he soft sleeves slip down her arms to her fingertips, she decided she could definitely get used to this kind of lifestyle. When she was finished, Neji poked his head into her room to ask if there was anything she wanted to do or needed. She declined, looking forward to some voluntary sleep. Maybe, just maybe, she would wake up and be back in her room scheming against Neji the day before she got her mission assignment. Maybe.
Tenten laid back against numerous pillows and found it lightly amusing that if she didn't pay attention, she couldn't' tell if her eyes were open or closed. She heard Neji moving around in his room on the other side of the wall behind her head. He soon stopped and laid still in meditation or sleep. The silence soon pushed Tenten to give into sleepy-ness.
She was giggling in Neji's room as she prepared to pull him boldly from his bed. She hadn't awoken him immediately, but enjoyed the sight of his peacefully sleeping form. It was strange to see him like that because he was always on guard. She took a mental image of his vulnerable state, reached for his sheets that he was wrapped in, and pulled.
She was in the clearing waiting for him. She was going over their assignment in her head, but her thoughts kept flashing to Neji asleep. She was distracted.
She was on her back, pinned down by a stranger. Her arms were glued to her sides by the strong legs clamped around her torso. She felt violated with a male that she didn't even know sitting over her like that.
She was looking into eyes of pure evil that stared down with nothing but absolute hatred. She thrashed against him; she had to do ANYTHING to get away. Panic rose in her as he didn't even shift. She was a ninja and wasn't supposed to let somebody like him lay his hands or weapons upon her. But she was defenseless here.
He slapped her. The buckles on his sleeves cut her cheek and lip. He put a hand around her throat and pressed down-hard.
"You fucking bitch. You got me in a lot of trouble and like hell I'll let your get away with getting me punished. Such a pretty little bitch could cause such a big problem. I'll get you and then I'll get my mark. You'll beg me to kill you like I'll kill her," he sneered, tightening his grip on her throat so no air could get through and holding it before disappearing completely.
Tenten jolted awake with a scream, looking around the room uselessly. Her door flew open and she yelped again.
"It's ok, it's me," Neji's voice said as he sat down next to her on the bed. Tenten reached up and felt blood on her lip and just let go. She finally allowed herself the much needed break-down. She could no longer take care of herself, couldn't recognize anything or anybody and wasn't even safe in her own dreams. She was the one thing she hated most, weak. She cried.
She fell against Neji's chest when he wrapped his arms around hr. To him, it was his fault. HE didn't follow soon enough. He had started their little game. She could have died and it would have been his fault. He blamed himself. He cradled her head under his chin and stroked her hair.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."