Dare You to Move (Finale)
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Three days.
Three days of not talking.
Three days of torment in training, three days of confusion for the other half of their team.
Three days, Tenten waited for some sort of sign, some sort of logic or reasoning behind his behavior. But as far as she could see he was nowhere near an explanation. Every time she saw his eyes he looked like an angry animal close to snarling at her from behind the bars of his control. As soon as training was over he was gone, she had no chance of speaking with him.
She opened the door to her apartment, sighing. What was he doing, anyway? Was he testing her limits, was this some new, cruel form of training? Neji's Mind Games 101? She turned the shower on as hot as it could go, the burn on her skin a welcomed distraction. She dried off after the rinse and pulled on a pair of pajamas and slid into bed, pulling the comforter up to her chin. If he was playing mind games, she was definitely on the verge of losing.
.x.x.x.x.x.
Neji slammed a not-so-gentle fist into his training post, the resounding crack telling him it was time to call it quits. Something warm slipped down the back of his hand, and he looked down to acknowledge his bloody knuckles. A humorless laugh bubbled up, condensing in the cold night air. And he had been the one telling Tenten to take care of herself.
"Fool." He wrapped his hands after running them under hot water, and then quickly changed for bed. "I'm such a fool."
What did she think of him now? He tried to warn her away, to keep her distance. He wouldn't say anything, he didn't think he could keep control of himself long enough to explain, or to tell her he couldn't. He couldn't explain, he didn't know himself what was wrong with his mind, his actions.
The memory of her fear, her trembling, burned in his head. He had always taken pride in frightening his opponents with his presence, his unnatural eyes. But, scaring her, he didn't think it was possible. He never imagined…
He fisted his hand in the covers of his bed, brow furrowed in annoyance. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been. For one second, just one second, he lost control with her so close, and that ruined everything. He wanted to…be closer to her, but after what he had done…
"Damn it!" Neji flung himself out of bed, threw on the first pair of training clothes he laid his hands on and left the compound.
He was halfway to his destination when he stopped short, his mind reeling.
He had been going to her house. Out of habit, of course. They always trained when he couldn't sleep. He cracked his knuckles in frustration. Was there no one else he made contact with!?
Neji continued on his way, rage set into his features. He was absolutely furious with the situation he had gotten himself in to. The one person he needed the most, the one person he relied on when things went bad, and he just went and screwed everything up. He couldn't take it anymore. Three days was long enough, he was sick and tired of avoiding her and acting like he didn't want anything to do with her.
He was fed up with being pissed off at himself.
.x.x.x.x.x.
Tenten rolled over in her sleep and took a tumble right off her bed. She usually wasn't this restless. She ventured down the hall and put on water for tea, slumping into one of the chairs at her tiny kitchen table. She pressed her face into her hands, sighing. It seemed like the only escape from her currently screwed up life was sleep, and it was evading her in her time of need.
A loud, angry pounding thundered on her door just as she was standing to take the water off the stove. She turned off the burner and padded to the door, confused. No one called her this late in the night, except for he who tried to burn her out of existence every time they made eye contact.
She pulled the door open, only to reveal said person. He had his back to her, his shoulders tense with anxiety.
"N-Neji? What are you doing here?"
"Training. Now." His voice was hard and emotionless, like he was on a mission or something.
"But, I don't-"
"Please." The tremor that broke his voice pushed her to her bedroom to change out of her nightclothes.
Tenten followed her teammate to their training grounds, wondering at his silence. He hadn't given her the privilege of seeing his face since he showed up at her door, so it was hard to tell what was on his mind.
She snapped out of her thoughts when he disappeared, revealing an empty training field. So he wasn't even going to ask if she was ready, huh. She pulled a kunai knife from her weapons pouch and waited, knowing full well by his attitude he wasn't in the mood to be patient and wait for her to make a move. She waited, eyes closed and ears focused. She knew she wouldn't see him before an attack, her only chance was to listen. Very, very carefully.
There was a crunch of snow behind her, and suddenly it had begun. No breaks, no time to think. It went on for an hour like this, and Tenten was pushed beyond her limits just trying to keep up with his furious pace. Every time she blocked and dodged, every time she saw his eyes, there was anger there. Annoyance, troubled shadows. Obviously training wasn't working this time. She sighed at the telltale sound of his rotation, spinning dangerously behind her. Tenten whirled to tell him she was done, but he was already gone. A second too late she realized her folly, he had only been distracted her so he could get her from behind.
She turned just as he was moving into his final attack. But instead of disabling her arms with a gentle fist like usual his hands gripped her shoulders and they fell hard, landing in the grass where Neji's rotation had cleared the snow. It was the same as before. She was trapped under him, and he had that…that look in his eyes. He let out a sigh of frustration, his eyes blinking away the moment.
"Neji, please, don't just go." She grabbed his wrists as he moved to get away, and his eyes hardened.
"Why?"
"Tell me what's wrong. Why are you so angry?" She thought briefly on how calm she felt, even if she had just lost a spar and was currently trapped by Neji.
He pulled away, and she didn't stop him this time. But instead of leaving he sat beside her in the battered grass, and Tenten moved into a sitting position as well.
"Are you afraid?"
"W-what?" The question threw her off, to say the least.
"The last time, I…"
"You almost kissed me." She knew what he was getting at, the last time they sparred.
But he thought she was afraid? Afraid of him, or of being kissed?
"Yes. But you were afraid. Tenten, are you afraid of me?"
"No! Why, what made you think that?"
He spun towards her, and she gasped when she found his face mere inches from hers. He sighed and pulled away, turning his face to the clouded night sky.
"That. The look in your eyes, you're afraid."
"Well duh, stupid! You just jumped at me, who wouldn't be scared?" Tenten scowled and fisted her hands in the grass.
"Then, how about this?" He leaned in slowly, a warm hand finding her cheek.
Tenten could feel her heart speeding up and the blood rushing to her face. Since when was Neji such a romantic? She realized he was trying to prove something, but at the moment she couldn't remember what it was.
"Tenten."
"Hm?" Her eyes had fluttered shut, and she could almost feel his nose touching hers.
"Are you afraid?"
"Of what?"
"Me."
"Why would I be?"
"You…were frightened, the last time I was this close." He murmured, and then sighed, his face shifting to rest on her shoulder. "Tell me Tenten, what were you afraid of?"
She blinked, not quite out of the dreamy state he had unknowingly cast upon her.
"I…couldn't breathe."
"What?" Neji lifted his head, giving her a quizzical look.
"You were going to kiss me…but I couldn't breathe, I had no air." Her face flushed and she looked away, embarrassed.
Would he think her ridiculous because of her trivial fears? That would be just like him, anyway.
But Neji was blinking, stunned. So she wasn't afraid of him. Tenten was never afraid of him! That was right, they had just crashed into the ground when he lost his sense of control, but she was still catching her breath, and he had almost kissed her…when she had no oxygen in the first place. He was such a fool.
"Tenten." He breathed, a smile curving the corners of his mouth. "You're ridiculous."
"Wh-what?" He was pressing her back into the damaged grass, that burning look in his eyes again.
"Can you breathe now?"
"Well yes, b-but…what are you doing?"
"I'm going to try again." And he leaned all the way down, forsaking his control for this moment.
And what a wonder it was.
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^-^;
I'm sorry!! The ending is LAME!! DX
I shall despair.
But it was requested that I follow up the last chappie with a sequel, and I actually wanted to, so I've decided to forsake writing a one shot-esque chappie story, and just post one shots from now on. With possible sequels. ^-^
So to those of you that requested, here is your desire!!
And now, I shall go wallow, for I cannot write endings to save my life. -_-
The next completely unrelated one shot should come soon. Ish.
Reviews please? Some would be nice. :D
I love you all that have reviewed so far!! Please accept this sequel shot as a gift of many thankies!
Mistoffelees Shadow