Hello, all! Sorry it's been so long. I hope you're all happy to see this update, though! Please, read my other fanfic, An Anxious Freedom, if you like this one! C:

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The sun cascaded through her windows; a golden sparkle beaming through her rosy curtains and letting the room take on a pink glow. Tenten raised her hands above her head, arching her back like a cat as she bended and stretched, muscles and joints creaking with a dull pain that she rubbed at forcefully with her cut and bruised hands. The silence that filled the room was suddenly broken by the chirping of a song bird as it reigned in the new day with its magnificent harmonies. There was an absence that she felt down to her bones, one that sent chills along her spine despite that the morning had brought along a warming breeze through her open window. She placed a hand delicately where her sheets had been folded back, the slightest indent at the edge of the bed as if someone had been sitting there for a long while, contemplating.
Yet, she knew very well that the walls had been rebuilt silently in the night as she slept. Without a say in the matter, the world, her world, was returned to its normal state. Though, she regretted, normalcy was not what she had grown fond of nor had she wished for it late at night. She knew better than to get her hopes up, and so she rose from her bed, letting the sheets that had taken themselves against her tanned skin fall to the floor and letting her hopes fall away much the same.

- x -

Long before the sun had rose, he sat against the oak tree that bordered the road leading to the Hyuuga compound and stayed long after the sun set itself comfortably amongst the white clouds that lazed carelessly and aimlessly. The leaves danced in the warming breeze and the sunlight that drifted between them glistened across the dewed grass. He knew that many of his relatives had walked by him, taking notice of his peaceful state of meditation and leaving him to remain alone. The presence of his younger cousin had been the only thing to disrupt his state and only after she left did he open his eyes. Neji glanced down to find a kettle of still-hot tea placed before him, a cup already poured. He felt a smile press against his lips, the first one he had felt all morning, but it was fleeting as he was still overcome with a certain sense of grief, its source was untraceable. Do I regret kissing her? Perhaps I fear that.. Neji felt another three presences come to stand before him as he raised the tea to his lips, taking a long sip before acknowledging them. Inwardly, he sighed, glad that there was finally something to distract him from his incessant thoughts. He hadn't remembered a time that he could not relax enough to meditate.

"'Ey man, how're you holding up?" Kiba asked almost sheepishly, a feeling of sadness and apprehension radiating from his voice and even more so from his slumping stance, a shadow of his confidence that could typically felt from a mile away. Akamaru pressed his broad head to Neji's hand, whining and radiating the same concern as his owner. The Hyuuga smiled softly as he scratched a soft spot behind the dog's ear in a soft attempt at comforting the white beast.

"Well. Better than expected, truthfully," Neji began, setting down his cup and raising a hand. Shikamaru grasped it, helping him to his feet. Though his eyes had taken the worst damage, he still had many stitches and wounds that were more painful than he cared to admit. Transitioning from standing to sitting was something he found to be an uncomfortable task and moving from sitting to standing was nearly excruciating. "My eyesight has almost returned, though I'm sure Tsunade wouldn't clear me to go on missions or use Byakugan yet. " With that, Neji felt Kiba's relief flow through the air as he smiled, clasping his shoulder roughly, causing him to wince.

"He just got out of the hospital, Kiba, don't be so rough." Shikamaru scoffed, pulling Kiba's arm away from the Hyuuga. Neji refrained from scowling, unsure as to why anyone would treat him as if he were weak. In that moment, he felt so out of touch with reality. People treated him as if he were so fragile and would break at any touch. He found their sentiment nearly insulting, but followed his friends lead as they began their walk towards the border of the compound.

"You two are babies! You almost died and Shikamaru had most of his chakra sucked right out of him by Obito, almost died right there on the battlefield, too. Me? Hardly even a scratch. Two bandages at the most." Kiba recoiled almost immediately, hissing at his own outburst as he realized that he had forgotten Neji had no recollection of the past few months. Shikamaru shot him a harsh glance and a quick punch to the ribs; an uncomfortable silence filled the air. Neji looked to the sky, the clouds meshed together with the sky brilliantly, even in his blurred vision. Ah, so that's why. He closed his eyes and nodded, quietly accepting the truth that was so carelessly thrown before him. He preferred it this way, though. No sugar-coating or cutting away the rough edges out of kindness. He thought briefly that this was what Tenten refused to tell him, not to protect him, but because acknowledging the past made it real. Tenten. He held her name on the tip of his tongue thoughtfully and with a certain sense of passion, remembering the way hers felt against his. He shook his head roughly, forcing any memory from his mind. At least for the moment.

"Probably because you didn't even do anything." The Hyuuga spoke, his voice nearly a whisper, but Shikamaru quickly nodded in agreement and chuckled. Kiba grinned again, his fangs gleaming in the morning sun. And so, the trio of unlikely friends fell back into place, their silence dissipating in an instant.

"Did too! You guys were off doing your own thing, you missed all of it!"

"So while Neji played hero and sacrificed himself to save Naruto and Hinata and I coordinated a great deal of the battle, you did.." Shikamaru trailed off, laying a hand out in front of him as he waited for a brilliant story that Kiba would create to make himself sound like a hero. Neji shook his head, a smile returning to his face. A hero? I wonder if father would be proud.

"Enough of that!" Kiba shouted. A flock of birds were startled by the sudden outburst and took to the air in an escape from his unwanted shriek. The other two men snickered loudly. "Man, we swung by late last night to ask you if you wanted to come to the bar with us for a drink but Hiashi-sama said you weren't around. What's up with that?" The color drained from his already pale face quickly, his heart beating just a little bit faster. A frown buried itself in firmly against his features as he looked down towards the compound, trying to come up with an excuse as to why he should be getting back, but even a Hyuuga genius was hardly one under this kind of pressure. Kiba nudged Shikamaru who only rolled his eyes.

"I was.." Hesitation was not a practice of the Hyuuga's and certainly not a practice of Neji. He grimaced for the interrogation to come.

"I've never heard you hesitate to explain your whereabouts." Shikamaru commented before he took a long drag of his cigarette. Blowing a plume of smoke into the air, he finally glanced back to the Hyuuga, smirking. He was not a man to meddle in another's business, but was surely a man to call another on his bullshit.

"I was at Tenten's." Kiba gasped with a quick grin and Shikamaru even looked a little surprised, raising an eyebrow as they waited for an explanation. He shrugged, sighed and started again. "I was at Tenten's after I left for a walk late last night and couldn't find my way back to the compound after the whole city was rebuilt. I had never seen any of it because I lack any memory of it. Being blind and all didn't seem to help and I couldn't.."

"But then, how could you find Tenten's place?"

"I.. just remembered where she lived. It's one of the few things that I remember. Everything after my mission to Iwa is a blur." Neji rubbed his temples, trying to make sense of everything but lacked the focus. His thoughts were, much like his life, a train wreck.

"Christ, that was five or six months ago. And then what?" Shikamaru asked, taking another long drag and blowing a ring of smoke into the air just large enough to encircle his head like a halo before it finally spread into the air like the clouds that he loved so dearly.

"We talked, I asked her to tell me what happened and she refused. She said it was better if I forgot and I stupidly insisted and she raised her voice, telling me that she didn't want to talk about it. I heard her cry for a few minutes before I went to apologize."

"Oh man, did you kiss her? Did you guys-?" Kiba humped the air for a moment, laughing hysterically before looking to Neji and Shikamaru who looked much less amused before he finally shrugged, mumbling something about how they had no senses of humor. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, glancing back to Neji to continue his explanation.

"It wasn't planned. The hospital nearly overdosed me with medication and pain killers so when I kissed her, I-"

"Well shit!" Kiba interrupted yet again, nearly shrieking. "I thought you'd never do it!"

"Do what?" Neji frowned, halting in place and crossing his arms over his chest. He refused to play such mind games, especially with someone like Kiba.

"Admit that you've got feelings for this girl! You've always had a soft side for Tenten, that's why I never bothered with her, dude! Always looking out for you."

"That's why you never pursued her. Because of him. Not because she would probably kick your ass from here to Suna and back before you'd ever even get to lay a hand on her." Shikamaru chided, taking another drag before finally flicking the butt onto the ground and swiping it beneath his shoe. "Besides, Tenten's much too nice for someone like you. Sweet girl, that one."

"Speaking of Suna, what about Temari, man? What's going on with you and her?"

"Nothing." Shikamaru waved his hand in the air as if literally brushing off the idea. "She's just the liaison and I'm her escort whenever she's in the village. Nothing more. I really should get going, I'm sure Tsunade's going to give me an earful for being late to the meeting." Yet, both Neji and Kiba knew that there was something much more in depth than whatever the Nara would admit but the men also knew that trying to get any information out of him was nearly impossible. His ability to avoid any conversation was unmatched.

"Gotta start patrolling the village tonight, eh? Nice enough excuse to get yourself out of admitting you've got a soft side for her, too, man. " Kiba nudged at Shikamaru again who, much to their surprise, smiled slightly before sighing.

"Hn." He hummed and nodded before parting from the group and down the road that lead towards the Hokage's mansion. He raised a hand in the air as he waved a fairwell, though he didn't look back to know if they had seen it.

"I should get going too, you know. I left Hana with a lot of chores this morning and she'll probably kick my ass if I don't help her with at least some of them." Kiba rolled his eyes, patting Akamaru on the back before he jumped on.

"She's the rough and tumble type, huh?" Neji mused.

"Like you wouldn't believe, my man. But I'll catch you around. We should hit the bars or a few food shops tonight. Hit the town to celebrate, eh?" Kiba grinned widely. "Let's go, Akamaru!" The two companions took off running, leaving a soft cloud of dust hovering in the air behind them. And so, Neji stood alone in the street and somehow they had left him just in front of his team's training grounds. Whether that was Shikamaru's strategic planning or just fate, he could sense Tenten just beyond the line of trees. He had tested the will of God throwing his life into the balance through his sacrifice, and yet this was the most fearful he had been in what felt like years, if not his entire life. His heart beat erratically and he grasped at his robes to silence its powerful thumping, but nothing could remedy this other than taking the bull by the horns. Hai, here's really tempting fate, Neji.

- x -

She wrapped her hands in white bandages, replacing the ones that had already been stained red. Her feet slid across the grass, her toes curling back against her feet as they did so, as if they themselves were sentient beings touching the ground for the first time with a sense of fright, but she pressed further until she stood in the center of the open field. The grounds were familiar, but were foreign as well. While she had spent years training in this very field, shed blood across this very grass, the months that she had spent away left her feeling broken and lost and that this comforting site was no longer home to her. She felt detached from Konoha and even more so from the people in it. But she pressed further again.
Her long pole pressed against her side, she bowed to no one other than the sun and the wind that existed long before she did and would exist with pride long after. Her feet assumed a stance that seemed more natural and memorized than breathing, her eyes closed as she listened to the sound of the leaves shaking in the wind and the birds singing their love songs in the distance. It took her moments before she sprang to life as she swung the pole around her, defending herself from dozens of invisible attackers. She dodged and weaved, her movements blended into a dance that she could continue forever if she was made of nothing but pure energy ad yet, she stopped with her pole stretched forward towards a figure in the distance. Her eyes remained closed but she knew his chakra like it was her own and so she remained still as he strode closer. His strides were not nearly as confident as she had once remembered, as if he were testing new grounds the same way she had.

"Tenten." His voice was low as he bowed his head to her. She was used to his formality, but suddenly she felt alienated from her teammate now more than ever. The way her name slipped through his lips was much too harsh. Tenten expected as much. She turned to him quietly, finally opening her eyes to reveal brightness as if she contained the sun itself in her very chest. The bruises and small cuts that lined her face had been invisible to Neji before this moment, his eyes too blurred and his mind too selfish. He wanted to reach out and ask her if she were hurting, but he knew better. These borders were borders for a reason, lest they wish to wage war amongst themselves. Neither of them seemed to have the energy or will to do so, and so the borders stayed.

"Neji." Hearing his own name made him frown, though he wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the vindictive way she spoke, the bitterness that hung on each syllable. It was not his name, nor was it Tenten.

"Hai." He assumed the same Hyuuga stance that he took on whenever they would train. "No Byakugan." Tenten watched him carefully, her body hesitant as it moved with rigidity. She was never known for stiffness, she moved like the river and the wind as one. The way the energy moved through the mountains. The way the rain fell from the clouds. But still, she stood before him, extending her long pole towards him until he grunted and they were off.
The weaved around one another, a danced they danced, a game they were both masters at and could never gain the upper hand long enough to check mate the other. This movement as gentle as the way he held her cheek while she cried into his chest, the way he wrapped his fingers around hers and the nanosecond that he spent thinking of the previous night was long enough to lose focus and just long enough for her to get the upper hand. Check mate.
His back collided the ground with a dull, hollow thud and it took just the sound of his fall to let her fall back into the memories of his sacrifice, him falling before his comrades, his teammates, her, and she was hovering over him in an instant. Tenten's brows furrowed as her eyes stared into his, the contrast of brown against white was almost too intense, but it burned furiously as they remained unwavering. She wanted so badly to kiss him the way she had that day, as the rain fell and cradled a love that had burned terribly in their chests, but that was then. This was now. The weapon's mistress could hardly suppress a frown as she grasped his hand and pulled him to stand. She noticed how he struggled and groaned softly as he did so. He was still hurt and, momentarily, she felt guilty for allowing him to spar with her.

"Hn. I hate to think that I deserved that."

"You're still hurt, it was luck on my part at best." She finally turned from his gaze, kneeling into the grass as she emptied her pack, looking for a small bandage to cover his freshly garnered wound.

"Luck." He repeated softly, his lips barely parting with a momentary realization. "Tenten."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"Why would you be sorry? I just cracked you on the head." She finally stopped looking through her pack, her eyes hot against his as she looked for answers that Neji hated to admit were most likely not there. Even he didn't know what to say, what answers to give her. She knew he was calculating what to tell her, their conversation hadn't gone as he planned and she readied herself for that bitter disappointment that came along with rejection. Only friends, Tenten. Only friends.

"For making you worry about me. For never allowing you close. Proximity is the only way that I feel comfortable." Neji rambled, something that caught her off guard and a guise of concern fell over her face.

"Are you alright?" She chided, still not smiling. The smile that could alleviate every worry that clouded his mind. The smile that brightened his every day. The smile that could drive him senselessly mad late at night. The smile that clung to her face long after she fell asleep and the smile he would then spend hours studying. That smile was his every cure and every poison, something he never admitted to anyone, let alone himself. And, he wondered, why all of these things were bubbling to the surface now. Why was it now that he lacked the confidence to do the simple things he must have done a million or more times but had the courage to do something crazy, like what he was ready to admit to her.

"I don't want to be comfortable anymore."

"I don't-"

"I don't want to keep you at a distance because it's easy. That's not fair to you." He interrupted her and for a while, he focused on her lips, praying for a smile. A grin. A flicker of happiness that would make her think of him the way he thought of her. That she didn't pity him and that their kiss was not drug induced on his part and vulnerability on hers.

"I think I hit you too hard, do you-" There. A smile fell over her features, bringing a light to her eyes and a lightness to her voice that was unmatched.

"It's not fair to me either." He pressed, rising and standing before her.

"Neji."