Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. –pout-
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The 'Great' Springtime of Youth
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Re-Cap:
"The fantasies I'm having are about you," He heard her chopsticks splash into her food as she dropped them, but continued on. "And Tsunade-sama said that if I tell you it might help ease the effects of the poison."
This time he heard the splash of her food and chopsticks on the ground. "W-Who knows?"
"Just you and I." Well what do you know; this was easier than he thought.
Then again—despite what Neji would've liked to believe—he was damned. "What were they…about?"
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Two weeks.
It had been two weeks since Neji had confessed the details of his 'condition' to his teammate. It had also been a week and a half since Neji had had any missions, an order from Tsunade-sama herself in order to "keep his illness from spreading". And it was also about one week since Neji had even bothered to exit the Hyuuga complex. Although, it had only been a minute or so since he'd last had a 'reoccurring symptom'.
Two long, frustrating, and depressingly silent weeks.
Neji yawned lazily as he entered his room, quickly ruffling his damp hair with a towel before depositing himself onto his still un-made bed. Sleep began to reclaim the corners of his mind just as a soft knock on his door echoed through his silent room.
"Neji?"
The jounin hurriedly stood up and smoothed the sheets on his bed before sitting down again. "Come in, Tenten."
The door slid open and his teammate beamed at him merrily. "Good morning, Neji. It's been a while hasn't it?"
"Hn. I didn't notice it too much…" It's been about a week…
The brunette settled on his bed beside him and pulled her back pack off her shoulders, opening the top and revealing a glistening kunai. "I made it myself, care to try it out?"
He flicked his white eyes from the metal to the kunoichi, and back to the metal. He hadn't trained in a while…
"But we have to see Tsunade-sama first."
A catch. Always a catch. "Why?" He mumbled the irritated question as he reached for his headband and secured it to his head. When he had successfully tied it and Tenten still hadn't answered, he turned to look at her questioningly.
After another few seconds of hesitation, she laughed nervously and put away her kunai. "Just a check up on your… situation…" Getting up hurriedly, she gestured towards the door. "Are you ready to go now?"
He nodded in an affirmative and followed the suspicious kunoichi. He wouldn't be surprised if the first time he left the complex in a week resulted in him being lead into some sort of trap by an enemy ninja using genjutsu.
Or maybe he had been cooped up too long?
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Upon arrival at the Hokage Tower, Tenten left Neji to "run a quick errand for Gai-sensei" as he climbed the stairs to the Gondaime's office.
Rapping on the door with his knuckles, Neji sighed in frustration. Why was all of this… strangeness… happening to him of all people, now of all times? Wasn't it supposed to have stopped when he told her?
"Come in. Ah, Neji! Just the person I wanted to see! Did Tenten send you?" He nodded stiffly, stepping up to the Hokage's desk with a rigid stance. "You look stressed, have a seat. Would you like some tea? I would slip you some sake, but Shizune took it all, something about it not being proper for a Hokage to drink over important paperwork…" The medical nin continued to grumble about rules and keeping up appearances as she poured him a cup of tea and repeatedly gestured to a small, plush chair near her desk.
Hesitantly, Neji took the cup and sat in the overly-stuffed red chair. It was rare that a shinobi was asked to sit down with the Hokage – especially in the office.
"How's the tea?" Tsunade's amber eyes glistened at him mischievously from over folded, manicured hands.
Sipping at the steaming liquid, Neji was greeted with a bitter-sweet honey taste. "It's good." He took another sip before placing it down on his lap. "What did you wish to see me about, Hokage-sama?"
"Oh yes, I was wondering if you could explain what happened in the Grass Country last month. If a cure was able to be made for a long-term case, it would be most helpful… wouldn't you agree? From the bags under your eyes, I'd have to guess that my previous suggestion didn't work." Again, her eyes twinkled in the dim lighting in the office. Something seemed off…
"You sent my team, Team Gai, out on a mission to retrieve a rare herb from the Grass country. It was just on the outskirts of the border and was only a C Rank mission; nothing serious." He took another sip of the tea automatically before continuing. "We decided to take a short break after gathering the herbs. It was then that we were attacked. A wave of senbon came down over us; I was hit in my left arm and Lee was hit in both of his legs. They didn't seem to be tainted with anything and we were able to use our limbs properly."
The Hokage nodded, encouraging him to continue in his report.
"We pursued the attacking ninjas for a mile or so, before retreating back into a safer area. We stopped to refill our water canteens, and that was the last stop we made before coming home."
Tsunade was silent at first, before nodding her head deeply. "Hmm… you may have ingested something in the water. Pollen, perhaps?" She nodded again, her face dark.
Neji took another nervous sip of his drink, now slightly cooled, as the room fell into a tense silence. A minute ticked by without the Hokage moving from her position or speaking a word.
Just as the Hyuuga was about to clear his throat a slight throbbing in his temple began. He winced and touched a fingertip to the slightly protruding vein.
"Would you like some sake?"
Neji looked up in surprise. "I thought you said—."
"A game of cards perhaps? I can't remember the last time I went to a casino. Aah! Being a Hokage is so much work."
Perplexed by the sudden change of topic, Neji ignored the slight spinning of the room. "Gondaime-sama, what about my condit—."
The woman cut him off once again, this time grumbling to herself about being rusty with the rules of poker. Neji winced again when she nosily pulled out a metal container with poker chips; the sound reverberating within his skull.
The previously fidgeting Hokage was now sitting still, focusing her amber gaze on his own white eyes. "Do you feel it yet?"
Furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion, Neji squinted at the blurry image of the Hokage. "What did you…?" The room titled sideways as the jounin collapsed off the side of the chair.
"I guess you do, then. Oh dear, his nose is bleeding."
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"Neji."
His head was pounding and the last thing he wanted to do was be waken up by Tenten this early in the morning.
"Neji."
Hmm… it was too dark to be morning… Had he dozed off during a mission? Cracking a blurry eye open, Neji tried to focus his eyesight within the dimly lit room.
"Neji."
"What?" He grumbled lowly, reaching a hand up to rub his aching head. A soft yank on his arm and the familiar jingle of metal hitting metal flowed into his ears.
Looking down at the chain on his wrist, Neji activated his Byakugan and scouted the room.
"Neji, it's just me here."
"What's going on, Tenten?" Neji asked icily, noting the single small barred window in the far right corner near the ceiling of the room. It seemed much smaller and farther from his view from the ground.
"Don't be so stiff…" Her voice, previously coming from across the room, now dropped an octave and caressed his ears in a soft whisper just above his head.
Shivers ran up and down his spine as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end. "Tenten, what are you—?"
A thin finger was pressed against his lips roughly. "Shh… Calm down. Loosen up a little…"
Was he fantasizing again? Where was he? How did he get here?
As she knelt down in between his legs, resting her hands on his bent knees, Neji's mind backtracked to what seemed like a few moments ago. He had been in Tsunade's office, explaining what had happened during the Grass Country mission when he had blacked out. Had it been the tea? Where was he now?
He was violently ripped from his thoughts as Tenten's warm fingers met his bare chest. When had his upper robes been taken off?
"You're so strong Neji… Your muscled are so toned, yet flexible… Lean enough for battle and bulky enough to give you a manly appearance… So amazing…"
He didn't bother to comment as her lips replaced her roaming fingers. His head span as she inched lower.
This was a much more detailed and adventurous dream than usual. Her hands had usually been the only thing to touch him; never her mouth.
"Tenten… what are you doing? Stop." He inwardly scolded himself for the breathy, whispering voice that escaped his lips instead of the strong, commanding voice he had envisioned himself using.
"But…" She lifted her head to pout at him, eyes sparkling in the dim lighting. Her headband wasn't on and her hair was tied up in a single messy bun instead of two tight buns. Bits of loose hair framed her face as she leaned towards him. "Don't you like what I'm doing?"
He grit his teeth together as her hands rested on the waistband of his robs. "No." This was so much further than his fantasizing had normally taken him. His fantasies were usually a little more innocent. Teasing touches, while he was—normally—fully clothed, some kissing, and slight touching was the most that ever happened. Not Tenten with the tips of her fingers down his pants. "Stop…!"
"Stop!" An echo of his half-assed plead resounded in his ears, snapping him back to a fully-clothed reality.
"Tenten?" Her brown eyes were dark and wide, a look of surprise on her face.
She continued to stare at him wordlessly as a lock was unlatched and a door near his left was opened. He squinted his eyes at the sudden light source as Tsunade silhouetted herself against the glaring light. "Were two hours enough, Tenten?" The blonde's voice contained a hint of amusement.
"Yes Tsunade-sama." She turned to leave, and Neji noted that she had her regular ninja gear on, her hair in her usual buns and her headband in place.
"Two hours…" He quietly repeated the Hokage's words to himself. Had it really been that long since he was knocked out? Or longer? The fantasy he had just experienced only seemed to have lasted a few minutes at the most. "Hokage-sama, what—?" Her hands moved in a blur as she performed a few hand seals.
As the prodigy's head slumped forwards again, Tsunade knelt down next to him and removed the chains from his wrists and ankles. Picking up a small tape recorder, the Gondaime popped the tape out and looked at it, deep in thought. She probably should've asked for the two shinobi's permission before recording what had happened in the room, but it could be so useful in the future. Blackmail was much easier than poker.
Flipping open a syringe, the medical nin injected the young man in the leg, watching the smooth green liquid seep into his body.
She probably should have also just given him the antidote, but teenagers were so amusing sometimes.
Pocketing the tape, Tsunade got up again and hoisted Neji over her shoulder. Perhaps she could send Hinata to the Grass Country as well? Now that would be an interesting situation that could perhaps distract the Jinchuuriki boy for a while.
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Neji opened blurry eyes for the second time that hour, hesitantly raising his head to observe his surroundings.
He was back in the Hokage Tower – in Tsunade's office to be exact. This time, though, Tenten was standing at the front of the red desk, watching him intently.
He met her gaze steadily and she smiled at him brightly. "You're finally awake, I'll go get Tsunade-sama!"
Neji didn't have time to react before the door closed and he was alone in the room. Straightening his back against the chair, the Byakugan-user rubbed his sore neck. When he didn't feel any resistance against his wrists, he began to wonder just how bad his little hallucinations were getting.
The door opened again and the Gondaime entered with Tenten trailing behind her.
"Well, you sure like to sleep don't you, Hyuuga?" Neji didn't bother to answer as the woman settled behind her desk and began fiddling with a small black device.
After a few muttered curses and some clicking noises, Neji heard his own voice echoing in the room.
"What? … What's going on Tenten?" He heard some shuffling being played back on the tape and glanced at Tenten who seemed completely unaffected by what was happening.
His voice continued, apparently taking on the role of narrator as he explained what was happening in his dream, his voice dropping to a lower tone when he spoke his own words. "Tenten, what are you—?" White eyes quickly glanced at the Hokage in horror and were met with calm, laughing amber.
His voice was more breathy now, coming out in slight pants and whispers, even as he continued to explain what he was seeing. "Tenten… what are you doing? Stop." The last word was nearly moaned, and Neji stood up abruptly, wobbling a little when he found that his right leg was rather sore.
"What's—?"
"Please stop the tape, Tsunade-sama." Neji glanced at Tenten as she continued to stare at the tape recorder, her face not revealing any particular emotion.
"I believe he can speak for himself, ne Neji? Would you like to hear more of the tape? Perhaps the first 117 minutes before this part?" He glared icily at her—he honestly wasn't quite sure at the moment. "I didn't think so. Good. Here's a quick explanation. Tenten came up with an idea to drug you, so I did. It wasn't a drug so much as a truth serum. Your teammate is a very curious girl, you know. Anyways, I recorded what happened, for safety reason; I assure you. And now here we are. Well, have a nice day you two. Get out!"
The Hokage had shooed them out of the door and locked herself inside her office before Neji could comprehend what exactly was happening and who was moving his body. He didn't even get to properly increase the pressure of his death glare on the Gondaime. So instead, he turned it on Tenten. "You what?!"
She looked away, her face rivaling his previous scarlet color, and pushed him down the hallway. "Neji, you shouldn't talk much, you're still drugged."
Neji allowed himself to be pulled out of the Hokage Tower and down the streets of Konoha, numbly noticing that they were headed towards Tenten's house.
If he was lucky, this was another – although slightly twisted – fantasy.
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A/N: As I re-read and edited my stories, I noticed a gigantic leap in the plot between chapters 5 and 6 (now Chapter 7). This was the missing piece of the puzzle; hope you enjoyed it.