Nichole's Note: So this update was a little faster than my last one; I know, I said I had most of it written, which I did! But then I got distracted by my research paper, and school had to take priority again. So here it is! I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and please… REVIEW! C:
A quick, dull pain throbbed in my legs as my eyes slowly cracked open once more. The first thing I noticed was that the usual sunlight that had flooded my room since I had opened my eyes a few days ago was not there; in fact, the window had completely disappeared and transformed into a white cinderblock wall.
I could see Sakura from where I was, and she was writing something in the metal chart labeled Tenten. I blinked a few times, my body screaming in pain with each movement I tried to make. "Ugh, Sakura, what happened to me?" I asked, my voice sounding scratchy.
Her green eyes looked up from the clipboard to my face. "Tenten, you're awake?"
"No, I'm randomly talking to you from beyond the grave," I said, looking at her. She still looked the same as she did when I last saw, which was good. I didn't pass out for another five years.
Her small chuckle let me know there was something wrong, however, and I'm sure my question glance let her know she had let something slip.
"How long this time?" I asked, choosing to look at the ceiling instead of the doctor's face.
"Only a few days! It's only been about three days since you passed out, Tenten, which is amazing. See, your body is so used to sleep, that the excursion probably wiped you out of all the energy you had, and it wanted a nap. But only three days! It could have been a month! You're recovering well."
I sighed. "You say three days like it's amazing that I passed out for 72 hours after being out for only an hour. I'm sure that in your mind, it's great, but in my mind, all I know is I'm weak. With all this crying I've been doing, I'm not enjoying this weakness, too."
"So it's been decided. You'll stay here with me for a few days while we run tests and try and stress your body out, and-"
"Whoa, Sakura. I don't want to stay here for a few days. I want to go back out."
She gave me a disapproving look, like cutting off the doctor was not smart. And, probably, it wasn't. But I didn't want to stay holed up in this place like some test subject. I wanted to see the changes. I wanted to become part of my village again.
"Tenten, this is not something I'm willing to budge on. You are NOT going out. If you pass out again…"
I looked her in the eyes. "Shikamaru will be there to bring me back. My body needs to get used to wasting energy, not spending days inside, hardly doing anything, only to go outside and pass out again. Why would I stay inside? I'm a walking miracle. Do tests on me outside of the hospital."
Her sign was loud and annoyed. I was being childish. I was being whiny. I sounded like a spoiled child. But I could not wait out my entire life in this place, waiting to return to normal, could I?
"Aww, Sakura, let our little 'Kyaten-chan' go!" Naruto's voice called gleefully.
"Yeah, Sakura. Listen to the Boss!" I pleaded, ready to go out. My body still ached slightly with every movement, but I wanted to get out. The pain was just a natural part of getting stronger.
"Fine. I can't argue with the Hokage. But Naruto, why'd you call her Kyaten?"
"Shikamaru didn't tell you?"
"No…?
"That's his pet name for her," Naruto said, an evil grin on his face. Sakura just rolled her eyes, and Naruto laughed out loud. I didn't understand much of what was going on, but they had something, and I wasn't going to ruin it for them.
"So I can go?" I looked eagerly from Naruto to Sakura for a conformation.
Sakura sighed again, and Naruto nodded. "I'll have to go collect your shadow, though," he said, smiling.
"Thank you, Boss!" I said, smiling myself. It's a good thing Naruto was on my side.
I felt a hand on my back as soon as Naruto was gone, and I turned my attention o the medic behind me. "Sakura?" I asked, taking in her expression. She looked kind of upset, and I could feel the beginnings of doubt about this outing. Was it really going to do me that bad of a deal?
"Tenten," she said, her voice low. "I wanted to warn you about something that… Well, it might be tough, and I just wanted to let you know… It's about N-"
"WE'RE BACK AND READY TO GO!" Naruto called, busting into the room with a certain Nara on his heels, looking embarrassed.
Sakura immediately straightened, and pulled me up as well. "I just gave you a shower this morning, so you should be good. Have fun out there. And Shikamaru!" Sakura said, turning slightly to face the spiky haired ninja, "Remember… if something should happen to her, bring her back. And don't let her out of your sight! And another thing, if she can make it, since it's about dinner anyway…"
I zoned out as she gave instructions to Shikamaru about me. I was just thinking of where I was wanting to go today; maybe I'd go explore the town some more, or go to a training field. Hey, I could even just take off, and see where that leads me!
"You ready to go?" Shikamaru asked, dragging me back to reality. In my daydreaming about Konoha, I had missed Sakura and Naruto leaving. Damn; I wanted to ask Sakura what she was going to tell me before they came in… I nodded, and he grabbed my arm, pulling me up and out of the door. "Same set-up as yesterday?"
"Mhmmm."
And he left it at that. See, that was why I was glad that Shikamaru was the one shadowing me. He left me alone. He didn't ask questions about how it felt to be in a coma. He answered my questions. He also was there when I needed him to be, and helped me out. His girlfriend was lucky to have him.
Did he even have a girlfriend?
His hand let go of mine as soon as we reached the doors, and he was gone. What a good shadow. My mind raced back to my plans for today, and I weighed the three options in my mind.
Shops? Nah, I'd rather not do that again. After all, it feels like just yesterday that I was out in the streets. It felt too… organized for two days in a row.
Training fields? But then again, I don't want to wear my body out. And it's not like I'd train anyway; that'd defeat the purpose of exploring.
So, random it was!
Pushing off from the ground with what little bit of chakra I could muster, I took off running in a random direction. I had no idea where I was going or what was there, but hey! That's the fun of exploring!
Suddenly, I felt the presence of Shikamaru beside me. "Tenten, what are you doing?"
"Running," I said, panting. My body wasn't liking this exercise. It wasn't used to running.
"I see that. But why this way? Let's go back."
"No," I said, still running. What was his problem, anyway? I could feel the energy draining from my body, but the determination to see what Shikamaru was so against drove me toward the field. Just a little drop of rebellion had welled up inside of me.
"You know what, I'd rather you-"
"We're here," I said, stopping in a field I didn't recognize. What was his problem? In the field, I only saw three kids, practicing sparring just like we used to. "Shikamaru, there is nothing wrong here," I said, speaking to the spiky haired ninja that was… I looked around, noticing a certain lack of Shikamaru.
Damnit, he left me by myself.
"Lee-sensei!" a boy's voice called out. "Lee-sensei, there's a girl here!"
"Do not joke with me," a voice rang out that I recognized a little too much for my liking. Tears came to my eyes, and they fell silently. I get it… I knew why Shikamaru tried to stop me from going here. He was protecting me, or trying to, at least. But where was he now?
"No really, Lee-sensei! She's crying!" The girl was pointing at me, running over to me. "Hey, onee-sama, why are you crying?"
"It's nothing," I choked out, looking at her. She had brown hair and violet eyes, but that's not what I was looking at. It was the green jumpsuit that caught my eye. The memories came flooding back to me; it seemed like Lee had a bit more control over his pupils than Gai did over Neji and me.
"What are you wearing?" I asked, looking at her. She sighed, frowning. She didn't like it, either.
"Lee-sensei makes us wear it when we train like this. He said it used to make his team bond together when they trained in these suits. I don't believe him, but it's not like there is anyone but him to ask. His other two teammates… well, one doesn't talk to kids, and the other is dead, so I guess I'll just have to take his word for it. But they're hideous and they don't breathe well."
Dead… I was… dead? "At least he's not making you wear the orange legwarmers," I muttered. The girl's violet eyes found their way back to mine, and she cocked her head, confused. "Ah, I mean… nothing. Spandex never does breathe well," I laughed, waving my hand in the air.
"It is the suit of the springtime of youth," the voice called out again, but it sounded closer. Much, much closer.
"Ahhh, Lee," I said, backing up a few feet from where the Taijutsu user had appeared. His hair was in the same bowl cut as it once was, and his eyebrows were just as bushy, but it didn't look exactly like Lee from 5 years ago. His was, of course, taller and more muscular. His jaw was more pronounced, and his eyes had lost some of their 3 lash silliness. He too was wearing that jumpsuit minus the leg warmers (I wonder why?) and he raised his eye curiously, as if asking…
"How do you know my name?" Nope, he was asking it.
"I got it from the kids. They were calling you Lee-sensei after all," I said, nodding. Lie. That's right. Lie.
He just smiled. "Ah, just as smart as Sakura-san, I see! So tell me, what is your name, since you know of my name?"
"It's Te- Kyaten." I felt my heart pang painfully as he smiled, unaware of the mixup. He didn't even notice, did he? That his teammate was standing before him. That the girl whom he used to make Neji jokes with and walk home was standing before him. But then again, I was dead, so who would guess there was a zombie in Konoha?
"Hello there, Kyaten. What brings you to our training field?"
"Ah! Um… Shikamaru," I said, making it obvious that I was trying to get him to come here, "was with me until now, and I wanted to see some training fields, but he up and vanished, so I'm lost."
"Well, if that is the case, than I shall accompany you to town," he said, smiling again. I felt tears well up in my eyes again. This was going to be bad. Very, very bad. If we started talking, or if things got too nostalgic, I might break down. I might spill all. And that… I couldn't take that, now could I?
"I don't-"
"No, that's fine. I'll take her in. She is my responsibility, after all," a lazy voice said from behind me. I spun around, more happy to see him than ever before. I ran over to him, crying silently, trying to hide the tears.
"Shikamaru! It is nice to see you today. You should not let a girl wonder around on her own, especially if she does not live here. We do not want to set a bad impression on other villages."
Shikamaru put an arm around me, and I kept crying. I realized the impossibility of Lee recognizing me before we came. Heck, I didn't want him to realize it was me, right? I was a walking miracle, right? He shouldn't have realized it was me.
Yet…
And another thing, what the hell was up with me crying so much recently?!
"Yeah, yeah. I would have stuck with her, but I saw one of our deer in the forest, and I figured she would be fine with you for a bit. Well, goodbye. And Lee, please don't make those kids wear those things."
"Goodbye, Shikamaru."
"Bye, Shikamaru-sensei!" I felt him wave to the kids.
The strong arm that had been across my back was now leading me through the woods, and I followed it, the tears slowly coming to a stop. "Sorry about that. I don't know why I'm being so weak…"
"It's hard. I shouldn't have left you alone; especially not when I knew what you were up against. But I really did see one of our deer had escaped, and I hoped you were fine."
"I'm just glad you got me out of there before I cracked." He remained stoic for a minute, letting me catch my composure from the 'incident'. I took another deep breath, steadying myself. I couldn't let myself be this weak; being in a coma was no excuse! If I could just pretend to be strong, act like I had some sanity left, maybe I could stop this stupid crying soon.
"Sorry. How about I take you to dinner? It's not right to leave a woman crying, and we have time."
"Eh?" I said, looking up at him. "I dunno, Shikamaru…"
"Sakura told me to, and I can't go against her." And then he smiled. And it wasn't an annoyed smile, God no. It wasn't the smile Neji used to give me when I did something wrong, or the smile he gave Hanabi when she asked a question he deemed stupid. It was a smile that let me know that maybe there was something going on between the battle strategist and the top medic, and I knew that he didn't mind do what she said. He didn't mind at all. So I agreed. I agreed with a smile, and a pang in my heart, knowing that I would probably never have that. I mean, the odds…?"Good, now she can't kill me, that troublesome woman." But his expression didn't say troublesome.
Ah, being in love.
The trip to the restaurant was short and dull, but I didn't mind. It let me clear my head of all things Lee related, and just relax. Being with Shikamaru was nice. Seeing everyone else, not so nice. Talking with Sakura was fun! Having a conversation with Lee only brought pain. What was up with this? Why was I so screwed up around my actual friends? Was it because I had seen how much they had grown without me?
How much I had… held them back?
The uneasiness that I had come to relate with crying was starting to come back, and I calmed myself knowing that it might have only been Lee I had held back. Maybe, just maybe, Neji was living on the Hyuuga compound as a hermit because of me!
But, I knew he would never do that. In fact, Neji was probably relieved when I 'died.' He was probably happy that he didn't have to watch out for me anymore.
We walked in, took our seat, and Shikamaru ordered for me. I was too deep in thought to really contribute to the conversation, so, as we sat, we talked of trivial things like the upcoming chunin exams and the teams that were coming in this year. He seemed a little more enthused than I remembered him about his job, and in the back of my mind, I wondered why a good ninja like Shikamaru was cooped up in the village, babysitting a coma patient. But the thoghut was pushed out of my mind as soon as I saw his eyes widen and heard him let out a soft, "Damn."
I followed his gaze to the door, and let in a sharp intake of breath.
Standing in the doorway was a white eyed, long haired Hyuuga male who looked to be about, oh, 21, and sent my heart pounding. I stared, my eyes drawn to his still perfect features, hos lean body, his silky hair, his still long robe, his tall and imposing form. I couldn't help it; even after 5 years, I still liked him. He was gorgeous.
"Neji…"
