Authors Notes: Howdy! Based on all of the reviews so far, I have been taking your comments into consideration and hopefully you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns naruto, I wish I did. If only!
Hanging On
Sparing one final glance at Tenten's door, Neji eased his weary frame into room, only to plop down on the bed with an audible sigh.
His body sinking down, as the mattress gave way to accommodate his weight, groaning with every laboured movement.
Not even the tranquil calm of solitude and the soft caress of fresh linen didn't appease the unsettling weight in his chest. An unyielding heaviness that had pledged him as he waited for her at their team's training field. Three days ago.
Closing his eyes in a hazy daze he could vaguely recall the vivid sunlight as it burst through the tree leaves, leaving spotted rays of light on the lush green grass below. To his right lay Tenten's target boards.
The very ones she had ceremoniously placed above his meditation spot on their second day as a team. From where he stood he could faintly make out the slivered gashes in the wood, as they caught snippets of light.
For Neji the setting of the sun over the horizon had arrived too soon. The passage of time that had occurred went unnoticed by the Hyuga prodigy. Time seemed trivial at that moment. Tenten had never arrived.
From there he felt his body go through the motions, and he found himself back at the complex. It wasn't long till he was yet again ushered into another tedious clan meeting.
The very ones that consisted of half-heartedly concealed yawns, the gratuitous pouring of tea, and monotone voices; which was the case till Hinata's sensei, Kurenai, had arrived informing them of Tenten and Hinata's unexplained "absent" arrival from their mission. Tenten
The lead in his chest ensconced itself onto his ribcage. Inhaling became that much more difficult.
Within seconds the fear of Hinata's possible kidnapping spread around him, and throughout the compound, infecting the air in a droning buss as voices began to layer upon each other.
But with one solid look shared between him and Hiashi-sama, Neji knew there was all but one course of action necessary.
They say that every clan has their secrets. However, those born and raised in the Hyuga clan all knew that their secrets just happen to never leave the compound.
And with the future heiress' possible kidnapping, the gossip had to get aborted even before it breathed its first breaths.
"Which way is it?" whispered Tenten, whose body stood crouched, scanning for any possible individuals that might have sensed the duo slip through their measly defences.
Beside her Hinata also stood, body taunt with heavy concentration as the veins along her eyes pulsated with chakra.
"I just need a minute" Hinata whispered back.
A few yards away the scuffling of multiple feet tramping along pavement began to increase zealously. A foreboding noise indeed.
"Hinata", Tenten hissed in impatience.
"I've got it, follow me" was all Tenten heard from Hinata's lips as they sprinted their way through the wooded hallway. Turning corners and whipping from room to room with effortless grace, until they stumbled into a particular room.
The sliding door, clicking shut behind them as if to announce the pair's arrival.
The current room was a startling contrast to the ones they had run through only moments before. Unlike the cleanness of pristine tables, and folded futons, the room seem horrendously out of place.
Within its drab wooden panelling lay clusters of items, stored and stacked in gravity defying assortments.
Books toppled like fallen giants, scrolls riddled with dust, and its ink smudged from spilt tea or greedy fingertips.
And much to Tenten's dismay, beautiful steel begging for proper attention and care were now crammed into random crevasses like orphaned children.
"In here" Hinata answered nodding, "I know it is".
"Here?" Tenten replied in mortification, while gesturing to the mound of chaos onto her left.
Hinata could only nod, before the low thunder of male voices joined the chorus of their stomping feet. Running out of time the girls rummaged through every scroll on sight.
Some held information of meeting details, others had information on various missions, yet none contained the clan seal their clients had paid them to retrieve.
In her startled haste, Tenten has knocked over a stack of scrolls, their tumbling thuds announcing the kunoichi's whereabouts just as Hinata appeared behind her. Their wanted scroll in hand.
"I found it Tenten" She explained in happy exaltation.
Beaming back a smile Tenten muttered a soft, "Good job" but by then the approaching figures were to close for comfort.
Glancing back at the fallen scrolls Tenten's eyes couldn't help but skim over the dark ink, until shadows of clamouring bodies clouded the only light emanating from the crack at the foot of the door. Hinata stood frozen beside her.
They had company.
"It is general protocol to wait seven days for ninja to come back from their expected arrival date." Tsunade paused, eyes flashing over between Kurenai and Hiashi before continuing.
"However, given the certain circumstances, five days is considerably long for this mission's rank, and what it entails." Turning her glance over to the five remaining figure in her office she continued,
"So Gai, Lee, Neji, Kiba and Akamaru, I assign you five as the retrieval squad, with Gai leading this mission. You have seven days to ensure the safe return of both Hinata and Tenten is your only task."
She concluded, with eyes looming over team Gai, and delaying slightly over Neji when she had uttered Tenten's name.
"You are all dismissed."
Tenten...
.
.
.
... To be continued
Authors extended note:
Please comment, you don't need an account to do so, anonymous submissions are welcome too. This way I can alter my work accordingly and gauge the general interest; because there is a difference between reading my work and disliking it, thus no review. Or you read it, liked it, but didn't bother to review either. So in short, I want to hear from you!
Also check out my profile page for updates, vote on my poll and visit my homepage link to my deviantart account.
- P.S. I would love to hear what you think is going to happen next with Tenten, fufuufufu! If you guess correctly I'll dedicate the final chapter to you.