Author's Note: Blah. My creativity upped. I'm actually thinking of making a sequel to this with up to 15 chapters. If I can get off my lazy butt and actually write them. The song is by Metalica. Never heard it, but it seems like a good song for the setting.

Welcome to where time stands still

No one leaves and no one will

Moon is full, never seems to change

Just labeled mentally deranged

The streets were empty, normal for such an early morning. Neji's steps were sullen, weighted as if the curse branded across his high forehead above his blank eyes were holding him back. The scuff of his sandaled feet on the cobblestones seemed to shred his eardrums, a pounding headache wracked his skull. His normally smooth locks were lightly mussed, the dull chestnut tresses free from the leather tie to hang in an unruly mess down his spine. Hiashi would normally have never been able to get to Neji, he was an island unto himself. Yet tonight, things had been different. His faith in the center of his universe, Tenten, had been shaken by a simple jibe.

Dream the same thing every night

I see our freedom in my sight

No locked doors, no windows barred

No things to make my brain seem scarred

The skin over Neji's left temple had split, scarlet tears of blood trickled down his cheek to his well defined jaw. The contrast of the deep crimson and his alabaster eyes was beautiful in that morbid way. At the moment, all Neji could think of was his shattered universe. He had to find her, ask her if the vile words had been the truth. His steps became more urgent as he saw the wooden doorway of her apartment building. Trudging up the staircase, using pure instinct he found his way to her room. Through his numb stupor, he knocked on her doorway. It took several moments before he heard the sound of her stocking-covered feet padding across the floor and the rattle of the lock. The door cracked open, revealing two blinking chestnut eyes.

Sleep my friend and you will see

That dream is my reality

They keep me locked up in this cage

Can't they see its why my brain says rage

Tenten recognized Neji as soon as she opened the door, and without a moment's hesitation she ushered him in. Her hair trickled down her spine to her lower back, free from the strict buns she always twisted them into. Clad in a sleeping shirt as well as sleeping pants, Tenten could only blink before two desperate arms snatched her up and held her tightly. Resting his forehead against her shoulder, content to simply inhale her comforting aroma. She smelled of sweat after training all afternoon with him. He could vaguely pick out the smell of polish, the sort she used exsclusively for her weapons. When he felt her arms wrap around him, her fingertips running over his spine through his clothing, and the murmur of her comforting words he let it go. Everything.

Build my fear of what's out there

And cannot breathe the open air

Whisper things into my brain

Assuring me that I'm insane

Tenten listened as Neji poured his heart out to her, his babbling at times didn't make sense but that wasn't what mattered. Neji, a Hyuuga nonetheless, was pouring his heart out to her. As his girlfriend, it was expected he would share his feelings with her. But this is Neji we're talking about, you're in luck if he bids you good morning. And yet here was Tenten, listening to Hyuuga Neji tell her how frightened he had been when Hiashi had found him. The knowledge that Hiashi had hurt Neji made her tighten her grip around his shuddering body. Lifting a hand, she caressed his jaw only to pull away when she felt the warmth of his blood on her fingertips. Disentangling herself from Neji's desperate embrace. She lifted his chin with her cupped palm, planting an adoring and apologetic kiss on his chin mumbling sleepily "Let me help." with that she lead him into the kitchenette.

They think our heads are in their hands

But violent use brings violent plans

Keep him tied, it makes him well

He's getting better, can't you tell?

Neji's forehead protector had been set down on the counter, the moonlight filtering through the window pane made the metal plate engraved with Konoha's emblem glimmer. Tenten's agile fingers set to work cleaning Neji's cut as well as his other mild injuries. He stared distantly at the border of white flowers that circled around the kitchenette, as if too ashamed to look Tenten in the eye. So she began to talk, if only to convince him to speak "Stay here tonight, Neji. Stay as long as you wish, but at least for tonight. Sakura can look at your injuries tomorrow and if the needed I'm sure Tsunade will gladly tend to the worst of them. Are you listening, Neji?" he nodded, his expression portrayed a guarded look as he took in the information. She wanted him to stay in her apartment, she wanted the best to care for him. It hit a vulnerable Neji hard, the tears welling up once more "Tenten, do you love me?"

No more can they keep us in

Listen, damn it, we will win

They see it right, they see it well

But they think this saves us from our hell

Tenten stared in shock up at Neji, shifting only when she felt her knees go numb from kneeling on the tiles. She nodded as she spoke "I do, Neji. I love you very much." he stared at her as if picking her thoughts apart, reading into her expression like it was his guide to life "Are you sure?" he questioned. An almost angry expression crossed Tenten's face, her eyes glimmering in that fearsome way in the moonlight. She retorted with a huff "What do you mean 'Are you sure'? Neji Hyuuga, I've loved you since I first met you, and I won't stop loving you until Hell freezes over. You got that?" then she returned to tending his wounds, and silence returned once more for the majority of five minutes.

Then, Tenten looked suspiciously up at the Hyuuga male "This isn't some weird marriage proposal, is it?" her expression and the words put together tore a laugh from Neji's raw throat. It came out as more of a cackle than a laugh, but he still managed to look amused "Not really, no. I'm still plotting that." he observed as Tenten sighed with relief, then did a double-take at his smirking face. "You're WHAT!? You're serious...?" when Neji cringed in his chair, groaning painfully Tenten instantly recoiled and began once again to fuss over his injuries big and small. Cautiously peering at the weapon's mistress, he spoke "Would I have braved the loudest woman in all of Konoha just to pull a prank like that?" she shrugged, not really having an answer to that. Neji's bravery and stupidity were unlimited, so there really was no answer because everything differed in each situation.

Murmuring while squinting at the bandaging on his arm, she stated quietly "You do that, the plotting thing. We'll wait, maybe when the time is right. But now is not the time." Neji stared down at the considerate konoichi, the one he had lost his heart to, the one that inhabited his thoughts night and day. Reaching out, he lifted her chin so that she had no choice but to look into the wide expanses of his pearly eyes. Meshing his lips against hers in an appreciative and adoring kiss.

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Meh, should I continue? Should Hiashi get pwned and Tenten get that proposal? xD we'll see.