Because she was still blindfolded, Tenten's captor wasted no time pulling her out the door. She felt the light on her face for a brief moment before being pulled into a dark room somewhere to her left. She felt the insistent need of her captor; he was still a man after-all. He led her inside a pitch black room and pulled off her blindfold, though still leaving her hands bound. She was unsure what his motives were at the moment and only prayed that he wouldn't find out her amateur display.
He pushed her backwards onto a bed, which wasn't too large, based on the feel of it. A moment later, he captured her lips with his and Tenten felt the urge to gag. This was the most dehumanizing mission she had ever been on and it certainly wasn't boding well for her. None-the-less, she persevered and forced herself to fall, willing, into his clutches. Due to the confined size of the bed, every move he made, she could feel. The closeness of her captor made her feel detestation towards him, but she could do nothing now except to pretend that she was needy and that he was the only one to satisfy her. Tenten felt, rather than saw the kunai pressing against her wrist bindings and struggled against the metal.
"You'd better stop before someone gets hurt," he told her haughtily and she froze, afraid once more.
After he was finished removing the bindings on her wrist, he began to place kisses on her neck. He continued the abuse, seeming to fall for her intentions and no matter how hard the kunoichi tried, she knew that she wasn't going to be able to stand being so intimate with her captor for much longer. She did her best to speed up the process, running her fingers through his hair and trying, desperately to see the face of the man whom had captured her. It was to no avail, being as the room was so dark anyway. No matter how close she got to him, Tenten was unable to discern his identity.
"Aren't we impatient?" he taunted before throwing off his outer garments and tugging at her pants.
He threw both articles of clothing to the ground and turned back to her, both of them now completely exposed.
"We should slow down," he said and somehow managed to flip her over.
Tenten gasped in surprise before feeling hands roaming along her back. She then let out an involuntary sound of pleasure once he began to massage her shoulders. He didn't say anything, but continued to unwind her muscles, which were taut after what she had endured the past few days. He caressed her skin and made her feel like jelly. True, though she didn't exactly like his company, she couldn't deny that the sensations running through her body were less than satisfactory.
It seemed like an eternity of bliss before Tenten finally awoke in a dreamy daze.
"How was it?" she was still lying on her stomach as he asked her.
He was now stroking her hair in an innocuous manner.
"Relaxing," she replied earnestly, surprising herself.
"See what happens when you cooperate?" He teased lightly.
"Mmhmm," she replied, finally clearing her head and turning onto her back.
"Now, it's my turn," he replied, and attacked her jugular with his lips.
The momentary feeling of euphoria wore off and Tenten immediately felt the effects of him. She was no longer blissful, but wanted to get away. The only reason she was doing this was in a vain attempt at gathering information.
His actions by now were rougher, more careless. He groped her fiercely in a lustful daze.
"Is this your first time?" he asked, his thumb tracing circles on her arms.
"Yes," she replied breathily. Her voice was becoming easier to disguise and she was sure that he couldn't hear the disgust behind it.
I'm about to do this with someone I don't even know. Great. She thought sarcastically.
"Lucky for me then," he said and kissed her swiftly once more.
Tenten felt herself take a deep breath, one full of regret. It's too late now. She thought and prepared herself for the worst.
He loomed over her and she closed her eyes. She braced for the feeling of pain and repulsion. However, in the next moment, she felt him push away from her and heard him throw on his clothing.
"What?" she spoke before her brain could process the words.
"Did you think that you were the only one playing that game?" his voice had lost its playful tune and was now cold and harsh.
"What game?" she asked evasively as he threw her pants at her.
She caught them and hurriedly pulled them on.
"Your seduction skills are decent, but by the book. It made everything too predictable," He informed her.
Tenten's mind blanked. Had he really figured it out that quickly? And if he had, how should she react?
"Don't bother playing dumb, we both know that you aren't stupid," He said and walked over, tying the blindfold around her once more.
"What gave it away?" she hissed, giving into her lie.
He seemed to smirk.
"You kept pushing me away before. There was no way that you would suddenly melt and give into my wishes," He explained and led her out the door. "But you gave a nice effort," he said.
"Where's Neji?" she asked once more.
"Dead," he replied, seeming to tire from the question.
"You're lying," she hissed.
"And if I am?" he replied easily.
Tenten gave no response and allowed herself to be lead to the unknown.
-o0o-
Neji opened his eyes and saw white. The room where he was currently in was completely bare with stark, white walls. He had awakened after his torture tied to a post in the middle of the room. His eyes raked over his surroundings before closing.
The door is about two and a half meters from my position. There are no windows in this room. Someone is watching me from behind and has fallen asleep. Based on the humidity in the room, we must be somewhere high in altitude and the slightly salty smell coming from the vent, which is four paces to the left above me, indicates that a large body of water is nearby; namely an ocean.
He concluded all this without the use of his Byakugan. The chakra band put in place by their captor was still tightly encasing his wrists. There would be no relying on his infamous bloodline trait this time.
Based on the feeling of the floor, I must be on solid ground. That makes it safe to assume that I'm at the highest point of this space.
Neji thought furiously, trying to grab onto any bit of information that might be of use to him. He glanced around to his left and right side; the guard directly behind him hidden from view.
This guy must be stupid. He's fallen asleep whilst guarding a prisoner. Neji inwardly chuckled at the thought.
Sending chakra to any part of my body would yield disastrous results. Neji narrowed his eyes at the constricting feeling on his wrists. He had once experimentally attempted to use his Byakugan with the bands in place the same day they were captured and had been trapped in a gen jutsu for nearly an hour according to Tenten.
But what if I get this off? The ninja began to plan.
I have no weapons on by body and there's nothing in this room that could possibly be used to take it off. Even if I managed to trick the guard, what if he can't take it off? What if the person who put this thing on is the only person that can remove it? His mind hurled a thousand possible outcomes at him, yet none seemed to be effective enough to work.
Instead, Neji tried another approach. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. This method had come about from a training session with Gai and the other members of Team 9. The pale eyed boy never thought that he would ever need to resort to this tactic, but it was worth a try. The memory burned in his mind and Neji let the reminiscence commence.
Flashback
"Tenten and Lee, you two go spar. Neji, I would like a word with you please," Gai told them one spring day.
"Do you understand how your mind works, Neji?" Gai asked him as soon as his other students had dispersed to train.
"I believe so," Neji responded.
He was slightly taken aback by the question his sensei had asked him. Team 9 had been together for a year now and he had never been talked to privately by his sensei before. Usually, any praise he had to give the young Hyuga was done so in a public manner in the presence the other two.
"Let me ask you this. How do you put an elephant in a refrigerator? "Gai asked.
"What?" Neji was unsure had had heard his teacher correctly.
"You heard me correctly. How do you put an elephant in a refrigerator?" Gai responded simply.
It was no lie that the green-clad jonin was a bit eccentric, but Neji didn't see what such an audacious question entitled.
"First you kill the elephant. That can be done in a number of ways, the simplest would be by hitting a vital point with a kunai. Next, you would have to cut it up in order to make it fit. Afterwards, you could individually package each part of the elephant and put it into the fridge," Neji answered methodically, feeling silly whilst doing so.
"Or you could open the fridge, put the elephant inside the fridge, and shut the door," Gai responded equally serious.
"But, sensei-" Neji was cut off by his teacher.
"You over think the process. Likewise, you also over think battle strategies," He informed his pupil.
"What do you mean, sensei? Physics dictates that-" Neji was one again cut off.
"It does not matter how the elephant fits in the refrigerator, so long as you get it inside. Now, likewise, the problem with you is that you create more problems for yourself by making up complex battle strategies. You over think the process and end up with too much time lost. The end result is just as important as the steps taken to get there, Neji," Gai instructed him.
The young boy stood there, dumbfounded by what his teacher had told him. He had never been one to be insulted for low intelligence, yet here, Maito Gai, was correcting him.
"Do you understand my point, Neji?" his sensei asked him after a moment.
"Yes, sensei," he replied.
"Very good. Now, off to training, my young student!" his teacher said in his usual colloquial tone.
It was the first time that Neji had ever been corrected by Gai and the thought was still new to him.
Over thinking the process? His mind asked him. Nonetheless, he accepted his teacher's advice and took it to heart, though smugly thinking that the knowledge would never be of use to him.
End Flashback
This situation brought new light to the Hyuga, however and he was forced to utilize this seemingly pointless tactic. He emptied his mind and thought of absolutely nothing, hoping that maybe something would catch his attention. After a few silent moments, however, still, nothing came to the boy.
What's the use of clearing my head if it yields no results? He scowled.
The sound of the guard yawning caused Neji to stiffen. He waited as the guard got up and began pacing toward him.
"Guess I feel asleep," the cloaked man informed Neji. "Don't tell the boss," he sneered at his joke. "Meh, I gotta go. Don't even think about trying to escape," he chuckled at this before leaving.
It was then that Neji was hit with a plan. It wasn't exactly anything that would enable him to escape at that very moment, but it would be of use later. He listened carefully as the guard walked down the hallway.
Fifteen paces down the hall. He thought.
The sound of a door being shut alerted Neji to a general location of where the room was. He heard the flushing of a toilet and the guard coming back.
A straight walk down the hallway fifteen paces leads to a bathroom. If I am located at the highest point of the space, the pipes need to flow downward in order to empty out into the sewer. It's obvious that it doesn't empty out into the ocean because then the air would be pungent. So where does it lead?
The guard had stepped back into the room at this point and was standing in front of the long haired boy.
"While I was gone, I thought I heard your little girlfriend. She seemed to be enjoying herself," the guard waggled his eyebrows in tone with his perverse implications.
Neji wasn't sure if he was bluffing or not, but thought better of the matter and decided to ignore it. There was no proof that he was telling neither a lie nor the truth.
"How thin are the walls?" he asked instead, disguising the true nature of the question by making it seem as if he wanted to divulge the truth of the guard's word.
An animalistic grin appeared on the guard's face, though his hood was drawn and Neji couldn't make out all his facial features.
"Jealous, are we?" he taunted and walked over to the wall, kicking it with his heel. "Not very, but she was making a lot of racket. Besides, it's the ceiling where I heard it from," he laughed darkly at this.
Neji fought to keep a smile off his face and instead hardened his glare.
"If either of you touches her, it will be the last thing you ever do," he threatened, lacing his words with venom.
The guard laughed freely at this.
"If only you could, little Leaf ninja, if only you could," he jeered.
Neji pretended not to have heard the remark; instead, he began to formulate a plan.
Based on the sound the wall made when it was kicked, the pipes flow through there. That means that we're on the left side of a cliff. If I manage to get through the right wall, I have a chance of escaping. But I need to find Tenten first. This deduction made Neji feel much more at ease. The problem with trying to find Tenten would be an issue, however.
I shouldn't leave her behind as a comrade. But in a case like this, what if that's the only chance I've got? He contemplated.
Just as his internal struggle began, the decision seemed to be made for him as the sound of a creaking door snapped him out of his thoughts. A masked man appeared guiding Tenten by the wrists. He was concealed behind a long, black cloak and the kunoichi was blindfolded so there was no chance of either of them discerning his identity.
"She looks like she had fun," the guard poked as Tenten was lead to where Neji sat.
She was tied beside him before her blindfold was taken away.
"Neji?" she gasped once she saw him.
"Shh," he whispered, inclining to their captors.
"She was interesting," the masked man responded. "No information though,"
"So boss, what're we gonna do with them?" the guard asked the masked man.
"Leave them here. No food for a week. Let's see if that'll make them talk," Neji heard the masked man respond.
"Heh, sounds like fun," the guard responded and with that the two of them walked out.
A/N: Thank you so much for sticking through with me on this! I know it's been a little bit, but I just wanted to give you guys a note on that. On my profile, there's a status, which I always keep up to date. If I seem to be taking longer than usual, I'm probably on hiatus, which should be stated on my status. But other than that, feel free to review! It makes writing very much worth it!