A Thousand Miles
Written by BokchoiBaboy
Chapter 2 - Start Chase
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I hope this chapter fulfills my promise of action starting to pick up! If it doesn't, I'm sorry! I'll make it up in the next chapter. ;D
Neji awoke in the middle of the night; moonlight barely penetrating through his windows. He cursed the feeling of bitterness always greeting him whenever he woke up. He cursed not being able to get a full night's sleep, due to images of Tenten. He wondered why she had suddenly made an appearance in his trail of thought so suddenly; was that her eerie signal to him that something was wrong?
His attention snapped to the rustling of the fierce winds outside, his eyes watching the enchanted leaves sway with the wind. He heard the crackling of the gentle objects, their forms being torn by the cutting wind. He wondered if his sudden connection to these autumnal symbols had any connection to Tenten. His eyes wandered to his dresser, and noticed the brilliant red leaf gone. It was then that he remembered the harsh bitterness he felt last night, and remembered shattering the fragile object and letting it flow with the wind.
His eyes widened when he heard her gentle voice ring through his ears. He turned, and saw her leaning against the door, a small smile present on her lips. Her skin glowed in the soft moonlight, giving her an ethereal, goddess-like air. Neji examined her, his eyes wandering from her panda ear buns; straight down to the sandals she wore on her feet. He noted that nothing had changed since he last saw her two years ago, and made a move to get up and touch her; her image faded before he had a chance to walk over and see her face.
Neji's heart fell with a heavy weight, loneliness and bitterness once again taking over his mind. The thought of him being insane and hallucinating was suddenly brought into question, but he knew that he was still a small ways off from losing his insanity. It seemed that even though she was making him insane, she was still the only thing to keep him from jumping off that cliff. She was the only thing was making him hold on from falling off the slippery edge. He grunted. What a paradox.
Unable to sleep any longer and take the emptiness of his room, Neji got out of bed for a midnight stroll. He made his way out of the estate quietly, and walked into the large Hyuuga gardens. He knew it wasn't the best place to stroll, especially with the winds fierce and strong, bringing flurries of autumn leaves every minute; but he paid no mind, it was a calming place where he could think.
Neji began his way home back to the estate, paying no attention to his female teammate who was following him. He wondered why she tried so hard to get his attention in weird ways; after all, she was still a tomboy, and had some of that reputation to keep. He didn't stop to question her, nor did he stop to wait for her. He found it a waste of time to try to associate with her. He sensed though, that she had a strong feeling to talk to him, but found that her courage died down. He shrugged. Whether or not she was holding up to her tomboy reputation was none of his concern.
"...Neji?"
For some reason, he wondered why he shivered when he heard her voice. Perhaps because it was too gentle to be fitting. Or...perhaps it sounded like a song of an angel. Wait, did he just think that?
He stopped, waiting for her to catch up. When he felt her a few steps behind, he continued to walk. She continued to follow him, her pace remaining the same. When they reached an intersection, Neji waited. He was to go right, and she was to go left. What would she do then?
"...Neji?"
He waited patiently this time.
"Why are you so cold and distant?"
He felt his anger flare, and turned abruptly to stare at her. He saw her face letting off a curious air, her eyes wide and innocent. The flame slowly died down, but he glared at her, but she did not back down. Noticing that she was not intimidated by his famous glare that made his fan girls swoon, he decided to speak with her.
"Fate. I do not need to associate myself with others. I will associate with them when I have to."
He noticed her eyes widen, and her lips form a small pout. He found that it was rather cute, but quickly shook that thought away.
"Fate is changeable. There are so many roads and doors to life. You choose which ones to walk and open. Not fate."
He stared at her.
"I am a caged bird. My roads and doors have already been chosen for me. I do not have the luxury, nor the freedom, to choose my fate," he said stiffly.
He noticed Tenten's eyes soften, and immediately wondered why she cared about him so much. They were only teammates. They were only sparring partners. They were nothing more.
"Then let me be the key."
Neji walked away, only giving her a surprised stare. Tenten stared at him as autumn leaves twirled around him. A painful smile was on her lips, and she turned to go on her way.
"I wonder if you realized it, yet," she whispered.
Her words were blown with the wind and autumn leaves.
Neji frowned, harsh bitterness filling the voids in his icy heart. He remembered how he had reacted to her sudden comment; he remembered how he wished he didn't storm away.
It seems you did become my key. But did I choose the right path...?
A small smile appeared on his lips, as another flurry of leaves passed him by. He was surprised, however, when he saw the Godaime appear when the flurry had gone.
"Tsunade-sama?" He asked, surprised.
The Hokage smiled at him, and motioned him to move closer.
"I heard the Hyuuga gardens were the best in the whole country. So I thought I'd see for myself."
She winked at him, and they began to take a midnight stroll.
"Tenten's reports have stopped coming in. I'm a bit worried."
He stared at the Hokage with wide eyes. He began to get increasingly worried about Tenten. What if all the eerie feelings he was picking up from the leaves was true?
"Her last message said that she would begin the infiltration the next day. She said they would be back in two weeks."
He slowed his pace for a second, but quickly returned it to normal. His heart fell with worry and concern for his teammate, and his lover. Tsunade sensed this, and stopped. She faced one of her best ANBU captains with a deep frown on her lips.
"I should probably tell you why you aren't with her right now."
His eyes widened. The Godaime prayed to the gods in heaven that she was doing the right thing.
"Tenten...she didn't want you to…die."
Neji clenched his fists tightly, using all his self-control and stoic air to keep from crying in front of Tsunade. The Godaime noticed this, and tried to put on a smile to attempt to cheer him up.
"Where is she?" Neji managed to say.
His voice was coarse, as if he hadn't spoken for years. Tsunade turned away from him, her eyes closely watching the trees shed their leaves. A gentle breeze arrived, a leaf dance beginning as the leaves swayed with the currents of the wind. She remained silent, contemplating on whether or not to tell him. She knew Tenten didn't want Neji to know that she was most likely going to die. The leaves slowly died, and with that, Tsunade closed her eyes. Tenten is a brave girl, she thought. She did the village well.
"Well?"
The demanding voice of the man beside her made her open her eyes again, and her lips began to move.
"I do believe you know where the Village Hidden in the Snow is."
Neji's eyes widened. That was months away from Konoha, and the conditions there were harsh. There was also some leading suspicion and legend that one of Akatsuki's bases was stationed there. He also knew that some disowned Hyuuga members had moved there after Hiashi scared them away from Konoha.
Tsunade once again put on a pained smile, hoping to cheer the boy – no, young man – up. She turned to face him, and nodded her head in dismissal.
"Good night, Hyuuga."
Neji bowed with respect, and watched as the leaves twirled around from where she used to stand. His fists were clenched tightly; so tight that his palms began to trickle blood from so much pressure. He ran into his room, and grabbed his mission items, storing them in his backpack. He threw on his ANBU clothes, and grabbed his mask.
He ran back outside, out into the gardens. He stared at the trees, which were bending with the fierce winds. Blood was still trickling from his palms, and he made no move to stop the useless flow. Instead, he threw a kunai at the nearest tree, and knew Hinata would see it when she awoke.
He took one last gaze at the autumn flurry, and disappeared, leaves swirling where he had stood. He didn't notice a drop of blood land on a gerbera daisy beneath him.
I'm coming after you, Tenten...I'll make it up to you...
Hinata woke early the next morning, sensing something was wrong or missing. She took a quick shower, threw on her clothes, and walked out to the garden. This was always her first stop in the morning. It made her calm and ready for the surprises the new day could hold for her. She noticed shining metal on one of the trees, and quickly ran towards it. She recognized it as her cousin's, and examined it. Her eyes stared hard, but the corner of her eyes caught something.
In a small part of near the tree where the kunai was impaled, was a tiny field of gerbera daisies. They were blooming in the autumn light, giving the Hyuuga garden a strong sense of autumn. It never surprised her when it made Neji, or even herself, feeling dismal due to the uncanny resemblance. She picked a specific one out of the ground, and noticed a small drop of blood on one of the petals.
Gerbera daisies...mean innocence and loyal love...
A small smile was on her face. It was then that she caught an awkward gleam at the kunai in her hand, and examined the sharp metal. There was a code engraved on it – one that her cousin and herself had established.
Sky.
Her smile grew wider as she gently held the bloodstained flower in her delicate hands.
Hurry after her...nii-san.
She made her way back to the household, ready to get a vase for the stained flower to live. As she placed the flower in the cold water, she could swear she could hear her cousin's voice in her head.
Tenten...I'm coming after you.
...I love you Tenten...
Please...please just wait for me...
Hinata softly stared at the stained flower and smiled.
She's waiting, nii-san.
A/N: So I'm kind of disappointed with how this turned out, but eh. It took me a while to figure out which flowers bloomed in autumn, and which had some significant/symbolic meaning. So I came up with gerbera daisies, hehe. I hope the symbolism I used was easy to get and not confusing. It's kind of hard for me to explain it – I just feel it's this unspoken understanding of it. XD
Darn bad endings for chapters!
