A/N: Thank you so much for your continued support! I really appreciate all the reviews/alerts/ favorites I've received (especially the reviews lol) – it's what keeps me writing. I apologize for the long delay in updating, real life caught up with me, but hopefully things will calm down from now on and I'll be able to update quickly again ^_^
We're really getting to it now, so I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. As always, please, please, pleeaasse R&R.
~Nokito
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters used in this story
Chapter 7
Neji woke with an immediate sense of wrongness suffusing his being. Still foggy with sleep, he could not immediately pinpoint what was wrong as he lay watching the sun's rays creep across the floor. Slowly the sluggishness withdrew, and he became aware of the emptiness next to him, where Tenten should be.
Tenten. In a rush, memories of the previous evening assaulted him. Damn Lee. He swept his gaze across the room, but Tenten was nowhere to be seen. With the faint hope that she had decided against coming with him after all, Neji strained his other senses for any signs of her presence. The sound of running water from the shower drew his attention and, as he caught sight of her pack standing in readiness by the door, the last shreds of illogical hope he'd been nursing faded away. She hadn't changed her mind. He had spent half the night trying to think of ways to dissuade her but he was still drawing a blank. How am I to keep this from turning into vengeance now? It was never meant to be more than swift justice. The bathroom door opened, interrupting his thoughts.
"Are you finally up? I was beginning to think that you were going to sleep the day away. Or maybe you're planning on delaying us long enough that the trail is cold and then you'll sneak away on your own the next time you get wind of their whereabouts." Tenten frowned at him, as if he had just admitted to planning such a thing. Neji arched an eyebrow up at her, "Did anyone ever tell you that you have paranoia issues? And, anyway, whose fault is it that I was exhausted?"
Tenten blushed and he smirked in amusement. With her nose in the air she marched to her dresser and began brushing her wet hair. "Very funny," she said with as much dignity as she could manage, "but returning to the topic at hand, how long before we leave?" Privately, she was basking in the afterglow of a night spent with Neji. Silently, she thanked the gods for the courage that had enabled her to allow Neji's touch to erase the past. Neji wrapped the sheet around his hips as he got up and began gathering up his scattered clothes. He dressed swiftly as he replied, "As soon as I've had a shower, breakfast and collected my things, I'll meet you at the gate."
Neji slowly made his way to the main gate, reluctance dragging at his heels. He still had no idea of how to turn this whole debacle around. At this rate he would have to admit defeat and accept that Tenten would be accompanying him. Despite his slow pace, the gate came into view much too quickly for his liking. His steps quickened slightly when he caught sight of Tenten waiting impatiently for him. At last he could delay no more and when he drew level with Tenten she immediately fell into step beside him.
"Took you long enough," she sniffed, shooting a glare at his hair. Neji's eyes narrowed as he followed the direction of her gaze. "It takes time to dry," he said defensively, and immediately winced at how feminine he sounded. Tenten laughed but before she could continue teasing him, two shadows detached themselves from the deep recesses beside the massive gates. Neji swore when he recognized Lee and Gai. "What the hell are you two doing here?" Tenten laid a restraining hand on his arm, but he shook her off. This was just too much.
"We are joining you on your quest to avenge our youthful flower, of course," Gai boomed, seemingly oblivious to Neji's obvious annoyance. Lee nodded vigorously in agreement, ignoring the death glare Neji sent his way.
"There is no way that you are coming with us," Neji stated through gritted teeth, "it's bad enough that Tenten is coming."
"Well, Neji, it seems to me that it's up to Tenten who accompanies her or not. This is her mission more than anyone else's, after all," Lee spoke for the first time. Three pairs of eyes swiveled to Tenten who looked decidedly uncomfortable at being put on the spot. Neji shot her a 'don't-you-dare' look and she swallowed nervously. In recent months she'd grown so used to warmth blazing from his eyes that she'd forgotten how icily intimidating he could be. "I-I … well, I appreciate-" she started.
"That's settled then," Gai said cheerfully, "I've already arranged it with Tsunade-sama. This is now an official Team Gai mission." Tenten shot Neji an apologetic look as she shrugged helplessly – clearly Lee and Gai were determined to come along. Neji closed his eyes. How the hell did this happen? I hate my life. When he opened his eyes he was confronted with the sight of his three unwanted teammates' expectant faces. Neji gave a curt jerk of his head to the north, turned on his heel, and stalked off, not waiting to see whether they followed or not.
They travelled swiftly throughout the day. The forest flashed by in a green blur – one tree seemed much the same as another to Tenten – but Neji seemed to know where he was going. He had barely spoken to any of them all day. When they'd stopped for lunch, Neji had immediately headed for the bank of a small stream nearby. Tenten had gone after him and he'd given no indication that he was aware of her presence but, when she'd slipped her hand into his, he hadn't drawn away. She had opened her mouth but he'd forestalled her questions with a soft explanation, "I don't know if I can protect all of you."
Tenten had tried to keep her voice even despite the simmering resentment awakened by the assumption that they needed his protection. "Neji, have a little faith in us. So we lost to them once – it won't happen again. We may not all be geniuses but we're hardly helpless."
"I know that. I only meant … I never intended to attack head-on. Lee and Gai aren't good at stealth and silence – what if I'm only leading you into a death-trap? I don't want anyone to die here." She'd had no way of assuaging his worries, so she'd kissed him softly, hoping the gesture would convey her faith in him, and, for the first time, Tenten had become aware of the potential for awkwardness that was embodied in the presence of the other two. Lee had interrupted their moment to bring their lunch and none of them had known where to look.
Nightfall brought a whole new set of embarrassments. Neji resolutely settled himself by the fire and pulled her into his arms, shooting a challenging look at Gai. If she hadn't been so surprised and if the situation hadn't been so awkward, Tenten would've laughed at Neji's adolescent behavior and at Gai's small smile in response.
Later, Neji fit their sleeping bags together snugly, and Tenten drifted off to sleep in the warm circle of his arms with Gai and Lee's muffled laughter still ringing in her ears. Her last waking thought was that Neji's expression had been quite funny – his obvious reluctance to make any verbal confirmations regarding their relationship warring with the equally obvious mortification at the undignified display of public affection - but his closeness calmed her and his hands stroked soothing patterns on her back, and other thoughts faded into insignificance beside the feel of his hard body next to her. Tenten fell asleep, secure in the knowledge that she was where she belonged.
Neji woke the second Gai shook his shoulder lightly. He asked softly, "My turn?" Gai nodded and Neji slowly untangled himself from Tenten. She shifted and muttered and he smoothed a stray lock of hair away from her eyes before dropping a light kiss onto her forehead, not entirely oblivious to Gai's stare. He quickly headed to the edge of the clearing, calling softy over his shoulder to Gai. "I'll do a quick sweep. You can get some rest." He headed into the trees, not really surprised when Gai kept pace with him.
A safe distance from their camp Neji whirled around and, facing a startled Gai, he said grimly, "All right, just get it over with." Gai took a step back, holding his hands up in a sign of capitulation but Neji could see the thinly veiled amusement on the older man's face.
"I have no idea what you mean, Neji," Gai said airily, leaning casually back against a tree. Neji arched an eyebrow at him and, with a sigh of surrender, settled himself on the nearest flat rock. It's going to be one of those talks. How is it possible that he can still make me feel like a child throwing a tantrum over nothing? "Aren't you going to say "break her heart and I'll break your neck" or something similar? I believe it's traditional." Gai laughed loudly and Neji winced involuntarily.
"I believe it is," Gai chuckled, "and it would've been appropriate if you, or the relationship, were remotely traditional but I know you, Neji. Inherently – despite your hard work at convincing the population at large that you're really a heartless bastard – you're a nice guy."
"What gave you that impression," Neji muttered, unwilling to meet Gai's eyes. He was intensely uncomfortable, but vaguely he felt that this was the right thing to do. As much as he hated having to discuss his personal life with Gai, in some indefinable way, he owed it to Tenten to explain his intentions to the people that mattered in her life.
Gai sighed, "You're not the type to play with someone's emotions. Forgive me, but your own are buried much too deeply for that. Earlier tonight – you were throwing down the gauntlet. I'm not challenging your right to her affections. Far from it! But I care about you both, so you'll have to accept a certain amount of interest. She's always been closest to you and, even if I hadn't known you, I would've accepted Tenten's right to choose who she wants to be with for herself. I trust her judgment."
Neji leapt to his feet and started pacing in a small circle, frustration in every line of his body. "Then why are we talking about this?" Gai was quiet as he waited for Neji to calm down. At last, the sudden burst of energy burned itself out and Neji sank back down onto the rock and eyed Gai wearily.
"I'm not blind, Neji. In the immediate aftermath of the rape Tenten could barely stand to be in the same room with a man – except for you. She felt safe with you and that speaks volumes about the way you treat her. When you left she didn't even pretend to be trying to get over the past – she hid until Tsunade-sama forced her to work at the academy with Iruka. We figured she would find the children less threatening than adults and that helped somewhat, but it wasn't until you came back that she began to live again. That is what concerns me."
Neji shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand what you're getting at, Gai-sensei." Gai smiled, somewhat sadly, "Previously, I said that you won't break her heart, perhaps I should rephrase that statement – you won't do it deliberately. What concerns me is that Tenten feels a lot more than you do. If what you feel is born from pity, and she misconstrued that fact … well, Neji, I remember what it is like to be a young man and you can be forgiven for thinking that it won't matter if you take what is on offer now it's been sullied anyway-"
"Stop," Neji's voice was strangled as he slowly got to his feet. Deliberately, he closed the distance between himself and Gai, and the older man straightened up. Neji's voice radiated anger as he began to talk. "Because you matter to her, I will answer you this once. I don't pity her. In fact, I admire her courage. I'm not just looking for an easy lay, thinking that she fits that bill because she was raped. I'm not using her, in any way, shape or form. I intend to stay in her life for as long as she'll have me." Neji raised his hand, the chakra glowing from the center of his palm. "Because she cares for you, I will forgive you this once, but if you ever speak about her like that again, I won't be so civilized." Neji released the chakra he'd been molding and deliberately turned his back to Gai and walked away.
Gai smiled slightly as he leaned back against the tree again. Forgive me, Neji, but the only way to find out what you're truly feeling was to make you angry enough to let your guard down. Gai laughed quietly to himself, he'd let Neji cool down a bit and then apologize for the "misunderstanding". Who would've guessed that icy Neji could feel so passionately? I guess it really is true, the taller they are the harder they fall. Still laughing softly, Gai made his way back to the camp for some much needed rest.
Tenten glanced warily at Neji. He'd been in a foul mood all morning. Just after breakfast, Gai-sensei had called him aside, supposedly for "tactical planning" but since neither she nor Lee had been included, it was fairly obvious that whatever they'd been discussing, it wasn't about tactics. They'd been gone for a long time and when they'd returned Neji had seemed marginally calmer – or at least the killing intent he'd been radiating whenever Gai-sensei came into his line of sight had been gone. Still, all personal squabbles had been put on hold when Neji had swept the surrounding area with his Byakugan. Much to everyone's surprise he'd located a fresh trail, indicating that they were less than half a day behind the ninjas they were tracking. Now they were waiting for Neji to return from scouting the ninjas' back trail.
"Can't he hurry it up?" Lee grumbled, "I want to finish this. It will be a true test of my youthfulness." Tenten rolled her eyes and bit her lip to keep the sarcastic comment hovering on the tip of her tongue to herself. Abruptly, Lee turned to look at her searchingly. "Are you afraid?" he asked seriously. Tenten considered his question thoughtfully, "No. I'm not. I know that nothing bad will happen this time. To any of us." She was surprised to find that she really meant it.
Lee looked at her for a moment before replying, "Because of Neji. You feel safe because he's here." Tenten laughed self-consciously, had she been that transparent? The way Lee had said it, the words were a statement of a fact. When it became apparent that Lee was waiting for an answer, she took a deep breath and said in a rush, "Partly. Not because he's more powerful than we are – I think we are all powerful in our own way, that's why we're such a good team – but also because I've just got this feeling, you know? " She shifted awkwardly under Lee's knowing stare.
Finally, Lee took pity on her and looking away he said, "I understand, but please don't think that you have to hide how you feel from me." Tenten sighed, and, as she settled back to wait for Neji, she allowed the peaceful moment to steal over her. It seemed that team Gai's interpersonal relations were at last righting themselves.
Neji landed lightly in front of them. "There are ten of them in a clearing about three hours from here, roughly to the north-east. They're armed and obviously dangerous but they're not expecting any company so security is lax." Gai nodded slowly and Lee leapt to his feet. "What are we waiting for?"
"Calmly, Lee. We do not want to repeat our previous blunder," Gai was still nodding slowly as if agreeing with something only he could hear. Turning to Neji, he said, "This is your command. We await your orders."
Neji looked taken aback for a moment before clearing his throat, "The plan is to hit them hard and fast. Take them by surprise and eliminate as many as possible before they have a chance to rally. Obviously, surprise is the key element, so stealth is of the utmost importance when approaching the clearing," Neji glared at Lee who looked offended but before he could argue Neji continued, "I don't want heroics from anyone," a glare was directed to Tenten, "so if I say fall back you fall back. We'll circle around, try to split them up. Ideally, we want to be fighting one opponent each, so try to take out as many of them in the initial assault as you can, hopefully we can halve their number but that's a best case scenario. That's it really." Shrugging, he looked at each of them in turn, silently asking if they had anything to add. Tenten and Lee both shook their heads with an admirable display of meekness but Gai opened his mouth and they all stared at him questioningly.
"Neji, if worst comes to worst -" Gai stopped for a moment and they shared a look that had Tenten and Lee glancing between them in bewilderment. Neji finally broke eye contact. "Yes," he seemed to pull himself together and met Gai's gaze firmly again, "I'm sorry, sensei, but if worst comes to worst, I'm taking Tenten and getting the hell out."
Gai nodded, "Yes, I understand. Lee and I will take care of ourselves." Lee nodded his agreement and Neji turned a hard gaze onto Tenten. She took a deep breath, wanting to argue, but something about the set of his jaw warned her that maybe she'd pushed him quite far enough already. Slowly she nodded and Neji's whole body seemed to relax.
"Everyone ready? Let's go." Neji indicated the direction and Gai and Lee took off without another word. Tenten readied herself to follow but Neji grabbed her hand, holding her back. Drawing her into his arms, he stared into her eyes, "I know you're not happy about it, but I'm not leaving your side. Promise me that if anything should happen to me, you won't try to fight alone. Please. I need you to be careful."
"I promise," Tenten whispered helplessly, drawn into the depth of feeling she saw in his gaze. Neji nodded slowly. With a quick, hard kiss he released her and headed after Lee and Gai. Tenten shook herself and followed him, jumping quickly from branch to branch, ensuring that some space remained between them. Right now she thought it best to show Neji that she had no intention of causing him any worry.
Much earlier than she'd expected Neji indicated that they should stop. Their pace slowed to a crawl as they crept closer to the place where the enemy waited unknowingly. Tenten could feel her heart racing as she stared ahead, looking for any sign of their adversaries' presence. When the clearing came into view she nearly gasped with repressed reaction as it finally hit home that she would facing her worst nightmares in a short time. She felt, more than saw, Neji glancing sharply at her, and she fought to keep her breathing even, fought the bile rising in her throat – kept her eyes trained on the man she trusted above all others as she waited for his signal to take the final steps in overcoming her fears.
Neji stared at the clearing, watched the bastards lounging around and, activated his Byakugan. He gathered all of his resolve and, with a forward sweeping motion, he indicated to the others to attack. In the next instant he had dropped to the ground in front of the startled ninjas. A snarl lifted his lips, and he watched in satisfaction as the two men's eyes widened in shock and alarm. Now you die.
A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger ^_^ but the chapter was getting a bit long. Only a couple of chapters left to go! Are you as excited as I am *happy dance* Anyway, enough of my silliness – let me know what you thought!
