Chapter Two:
Canines and Cookies
Tenten was smiling- lost within a thought when until she went headfirst into a tree. She heard a snicker coming from both her teammates, but they soon stopped when they realized Tenten wasn't balancing.
She had hit the tree hard, and cursed the damn Hyuga from invading her mind, causing her to lose focus. Damn! She hated when she showed weakness like that.
But soon her world was turning black as she slowly slipped from the branch she was standing on.
'Nice going, Tenten. We happened to make a fool out of ourselves once again' her inner voice stated before she lost sight.
Tenten was feeling free, seeing the forest blur as she passed by trees. She was running.
Why was she running? When had she been so free in her life?
She turned her head just to see something next to her. Was it a wolf?
She looked down at herself, and noticed she was a wolf as well. The shinobi world she had once known and grew up in crumbled in her memory, and all she could do was feel the wind on her fur and run towards the moon. The wolf that was running smirked at her.
The wolf that was running at her side smirked at her.
Why did it seem familiar? Why was this wolf suddenly irresistible? Are dogs allowed to feel this way? Why were there so many unanswered questions in her head?
'I'm getting tired' she thought and ran a bit faster. She came across a cliff, and decided to rest there. She let her legs collapse and take her body along with them. She closed her eyes, ready to sleep, when she felt a presence approach her. She barely opened her eyes and saw the other wolf snuggle up against her.
The wolf was beautiful. There weren't enough words in her vocabulary to express the beauty of the canine. He leaned closer to her, bringing a warmth that made her even sleepier.
The male wolf was next to her, and she could almost taste the peace and serenity between them. She nudged her nose to his, and closed her eyes. Her world descended into darkness, yet it was as bright as the sun.
Neji noticed that Tenten was tipping over. He made it under her body just before she hit the ground. She was out cold, and he groaned.
When was this going to end?
Lee looked at Neji, and he thought he was going to cry. Don't get me wrong, he loved his teammates, but if they were going to keep him away from his food- he would rather kill them himself. And right now, the hunger was too much.
Neji looked at Lee and nodded to him, giving him permission to continue. Lee took of faster than a speeding bullet, and Neji was left there alone with Tenten in his arms. He started walking, and before he knew it, was exhausted. Tenten weighed a ton!
He looked her over and wondered why his little kunoichi was heavy. She wasn't fat; in fact, she had a six pack, and she obviously wasn't heavy because of her height. She was medium height, easy.
He looked her over once again. She was very muscular, yet toned, and her short bangs were falling over her forehead. Wait- of course! Tenten was pure muscle, and that's why she weighed so much. Muscle is denser that fat, and Tenten was full of it.
Neji was about to lay his partner down when he noticed she was smiling.
'Why would she be smiling? Is she dreaming' he said mentally to himself, and felt a tug on his neck. Tenten had wrapped her arms around him, securing herself onto him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and stayed there. She had no intentions of releasing Neji at that point. But Neji was extremely tired, and laid down, Tenten in tow and on top of him. She would kill him when she woke up, but what the hell. It was her doing anyway.
Before he drifted off, he swore he heard a deep growling, and it was coming from Tenten. Neji smirked, and let his consciousness wander off.
When Tenten awoke, her first instinct was to stretch. She felt as if she had run all night, and then she remembered her dream. Unlike other people, Tenten automatically knew what her dream meant, what it signified.
It was her; in a previous life. She could feel it the moment she began the dream. But why now? Why was she dreaming about her previous life now? Tenten tried to stretch her arms over her head. When she did, a long lock of hair fell across her face. She quickly brushed it off.
'Neji's hair is so annoying. Why is it so long?' she thought, and continued to stretch.
Her hands brushed against a tree trunk, and she arched her back. She found her stomach was being held down. She looked down at her stomach and saw an arm across it.
'Neji has an iron grip. Jeez' she said in her head. She tried and tried, but could not remove the appendage.
She gave up and went on to extend her legs.
Once again, her effort was hindered as she felt a leg entwined with her own.
'Why must Neji be so strong? He's holding me down with his leg!'
Tenten was about to start cursing Neji out when she realized the obvious. Neji was next to her; close enough for his hair to fall over her face, close enough to have his arm around her waist, and definitely close enough to wrap his leg around her.
"NEJI!!" she screamed, chakra levels rising and knocking the now awake Hyuga across the forest floor. Everyone in the Village Hidden In The Leaves turned their heads towards the forest. Even Gaara could swear he heard a familiar name in the wind.
"I AM GOING TO MOTHERFUCKING KILL YOU! I'M GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR THROAT WITH MY BARE HANDS!"
She walked slowly towards Neji, her beautiful brown eyes glittering with fire. Neji looked up at her, and couldn't help but smile. She looked absolutely stunning. As soon as he did, though, he regretted it instantly. Tenten looked as if she was going to rip and shred him to pieces. He stood up, and backed up. Even though he was stronger than his teammate; an angry Tenten was the one thing he was afraid of.
Tenten slowly stalked towards Neji, knuckles burning to bleed her opponent. She looked like the cold and pitiless goddess, Artemis, as she closed in on him. Artemis was a hunter, armed with a bow and arrows; and at the moment, Tenten was the goddess in human skin; armed with shuriken, kunai, and every other weapon imaginable.
She was the hunter, and Neji was the stag she was about to skin.
Neji took a fighting stance, hoping that the thought of battle would be enough to scare Tenten away. It seemed to make her even happier, as she smiled from ear to ear, showing her fangs and looking like a killer. What did Neji do to be in such a predicament?
Then he remembered.
'Damn it!' he screamed in his head, mostly to himself. 'Crap! Crap! Crap! I knew it!'
Tenten was only a yard away now, and Neji was shitting his pants. What was he to do?
Tenten was now face to face with Neji, and his mind was blank. Neji did the only thing he could think of. He kissed her. He kissed her.
Tenten stared at him, eyes as big as saucers. Her eyes then rolled back to her head as she fainted.
Neji grabbed her from under her arms and carried her away. He was starving.
On the way into the gates of Konoha, Tenten woke up on Neji's shoulder. She just crossed her arms and gave a small pout.
She had fainted in front of Neji.
No, she had fainted because of Neji.
She refused to think anymore of that incident. But she couldn't help it. She turned bright red at the memory of Neji's lips on hers. She had kissed him back. Even if it was only for a moment, a second; she had kissed him back. She felt as if she had done it before; but it was her very first kiss. It also seemed as if she was meant to do it. It felt completely right.
But the biggest problem lay with her pride.
She showed weakness in front of Neji, and he would never let her live it down. Maybe Hinata was starting to rub off on her. That was her very first time fainting as well.
Neji felt Tenten's temperature spike, and ran even faster. He came to her apartment, and sneaked in through her bedroom window. He placed her on her bed, and went directly to the kitchen. He had some work to do.
Tenten realized she was in her room. She was lying down in her bead, training clothes still on. She smelled something delicious coming from the kitchen. She headed out, and followed her nose. She saw Neji was sitting in her dining table, and reluctantly went to go sit beside him. He was cheerfully eating a cookie.
But then she realized she didn't have cookies.
She took one off the plate in front of her and took a big bite. The cookies were absolutely scrumptious!!
"These are fucking delicious!" she exclaimed, taking another cookie from the plate and placing it in her mouth.
"They better be. It took a while to make them just right."
Tenten took another cookie and once again and stuffed it in her mouth.
It took her a while to understand Neji's words, but when she did, her mouth flew open.
"You made these?" she said, extremely surprised. "You made these awesomely great cookies?" she repeated, more to herself rather than Neji.
"Why do you think they're awesome?" replied Neji, donning a bright smile from ear to ear.