Here it is ladies and gents ….the second chapter of my War Story: Commanded. I hope you like it.
Disclaim: Always intended, but to be safe I don't own Naruto
My feet hit the ground soundlessly. I'm alone and it feels wrong.
There hasn't been a day since he finally got the nerve to say he liked me, in true Neji Hyuga fashion, that we've been apart for more than a couple of hours. It's been a week now and it feels like I can't breathe.
The Rain Village was in ruins when I arrived. Dead bodies lay in the middle of the street rain and sound and civilians alike , but the war was over here for now.
I step over the corpses of strangers, people I never knew and never will. People who will be honored by their own for having been killed. Is a tradition I never truly understood, honoring a person who died, most of them not knowing what the war was even about in the first place and never questioning it.
It begins to rain. Blood washes from the faces of these lifeless beings, and I begin seeking shelter.
I find refuge in a motel, broken down by war. This I know only because here is the place my team stayed the night Neji finally realized he couldn't live without letting me know how he felt.
I smile remembering everything. The smallest details bouncing to life in my mind.
Flashback
"Tenten," he said as he knocked on the door to my room. I had just stepped out of the small bath in the room and was wrapped in a towel, my ever waving hair sticking to my skin. I ad taken the time to relax and refresh because the hardes part of our mission was over and would be heading home early tomorrow.
"Just moment."I wrapped the towel closer around me and began searching for something that made me look half decent while I was still wet and looked half drowned.
"Tenten," he said. "This can't wait."
I had no sooner dropped the towel than the door swung open.
At first his eyes widened, and as I began scrambling to cover myself his eyes closed.
"Out Hyuga!"
Without hesitation he ran to the hall.
He saw me. Every inch of me. It wasn't so unusual, seeing a team mates most indecent parts, we did all the time when one of us was injured. Somehow though this was different.
Walking down the hallway I stop in front of a door. 305. Our room
"Neji," I call as I open the door. He stared up at me from where he had slid his way down the wall. "You can come in now.I'm..."I could feel the heat rising into my cheeks, "covered."
Nodding he stood and when he faced me he was blushing furiously. "I'm sorry."
"Nothing you haven't seen right?"
"Nothing I haven't seen under medical emergencies, under casual circumstance, plenty I haven't seen."I could feel my cheeks burning like a fire.
"All is well." I said, trying to sound as if it was absolutely no big deal to me.
"Right." He muttered and rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact. This wouldn't have worried me had it been anyone but Neji. Even in the most awkward situations he could look somebody in the eye until it burned and they had to look away, sometimes longer.
"What is it you needed to talk to me about?"
He stepped into the room and closed the door, my guard went up immediately. He was acting odd. I made my way towards the bag that contained most of my weaponry and scrolls. This wouldn't have been the first time I would have encountered a disguised attack.
"Tenten," UI raised an eyebrow and grabbed the zipper of the back ready for a cloud of kunai knives to come flying at my body. "You are amazing."
My breathing stopped and my hand fell limp at my side, as soon as I realized my air cut off , I began choking and gasping for any air I could find."Amazing?" Did you just...compliment me?"
He looked away and shrugged. "Does it come as surprise?
It was almost shocking that he thought it wasn't.
"The point is Tenten, you're worth it."
"Worth ...what?"
"You're...everything?"
"Neji,"Being a ninja we are trained to break codes and riddles, but Neji couldn't form a single sentence that I could make sense of.
He sighed, then groaned in frustration and tugged at his hair. "Neji. What's wrong? Are you sick? Have you been drinking?"
"Nothing's wrong. I'm not sick and no I'm not intoxicated." He glared at me , but as suddenly as the glare came it disappeared and his entire expression softened. "Maybe this was a mistake," he said, standing from the chair in which he's sat. "I'm sorry for bothering you."
"You could never bother me Neji."
He looked over his shoulder at me. "And you couldn't be anymore lovely with your hair down."
"Two compliments. You're on a roll tonight aren't you there Hyuga?"
"Tenten, before I go..." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black wooden box from his pocket and handed to me." For you. Wait until I'm gone to open it."
I reach up to my neck and tug at the small silver chain that holds the yin and yang charm the box contained. From the time I opened the box it hadn't been off of my person. Neji couldn't say I love you , not for two years after that. I knew what he meant though, and knew what he meant though, and knew when he wanted to say it too. We lived comfortably for a long time in an intimate silence.
"It all began here," I whisper and reach to openthe door, as I do, I am pushed to the ground and covered in a net.
I begin struggling until I hear a small voice.
"Who goes there?" I look up and am stunned by a girl with beautiful brown eyes, like those of a baby deer. Scared, innocent, pretending to e brave on a determined face. "Who are you?"
"My name is Tenten , from the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
"Why are you here?"
"I'm running away."
"So," another young child steps from the shadows. His eyes a dull grey. "A coward are you? Afraid of war? Pathetic."
"Cowardice has nothing to do with it you brat! I was given orders to flee."
...
I have been commanded.
Alright I hope you guys got a kick out of this chapter. I don't usually do well with writing comedy it isn't my strong suite, but I had a thought and put it to work just to make it different from everything else I write these days.
I'm really sorry though that I haven't been updating like I said I would. I've been moving into college and working a lot. But you guys should know there is a poll on my profile now after I received a review and several P.M.'s asking me to make Tenten pregnant. I would really appreciate the feed back. After all I live to make my readers happy.
Don't forget to read the other parts of this story or soon enough this story isn't going to make much sense.
Thanks~vcb