Here lies the Disclaimer.

Supposedly.

After a ghastly yet very brief battle with a writer's block, I've decided to make the rest of this story as a go, generally just sticking to whatever plot I've decided on. Pardon the randomness of events.

Oh! And this chapter elaborates the first events that happened in the prologue. Don't be surprised if they didn't appear at first, okie?


The tall walls decked in the fanciest wallpapers and embellished with the rarest artworks loomed over the members of Operation: Meltdown, shorthanded to Meltdown for convenience. They sat in a circle underneath the most lavish chandelier they have ever seen, the light dancing softly above them and casting short shadows on their figures. A lone sheet of long bond paper lay motionless on the coffee table they've gathered around. Beside it, an expensive pen lay in waiting.

Sakura motioned to pick the pen but decided otherwise. Instead, she pocketed one of her own—a cheap one, courtesy of the hospital she was assigned in—and reached for the paper. She neatly scribbled Operation: Meltdown on the upper right corner. Tapping the opposite tip against the tabletop, Sakura ran her eyes around the room, taking in the elaborate details of it, before she eyed her teammates one by one, "So…"

"Stop that," an authoritative voice barked suddenly. Sakura ceased her actions. Her jaded eyes worryingly traced the source, wary that it was perhaps another Hyuga elder, but was taken aback when her gaze landed on Hiashi. He sat upright and held a distinctive air of nobility that only Hinata exuded presently. She gulped, "That's highly reprehensible, especially from that of a lady. Use the pen laid out in front you." She quickly retrieved the expensive object and pocketed her own away, "Very well. The lot of you: sit properly. While you are in someone's dwelling, it is only appropriate that you conduct yourselves accordingly." Immediately, the teens shuffled for a more fitting position, unsure of the sudden twist of events.

Had Hiashi regained his memory? A fraction of them refused to believe it. If he had indeed, they would have been kicked out instantly. Despite this, the fact that his chakra level dropped remarkably was a telltale sign that he might have remembered everything now. They pensively waited for what was to happen next. "Alright, proceed." He said. They exchanged worried glances, "Did you not here me? What are you hesitating for?"

"Father?" a voice reverberated from the opposite end of the room, and soft footsteps padded against the marble floor. Moments later, the lone figure of Hanabi Hyuga stepped closer into the pool of light. A mask of aloofness quickly hid her previous confusion and erased any signs of whatever uncertainty she must have been feeling. With a green laptop tucked under one arm, she coldly and skeptically eyed the ninjas before her, as she presented a gray device to the older man. He gracefully stood up and walked over to her, retrieving the object. "I've finished making copies for backup."

Hiashi flicked the video camera to life and instantly, the serene haze that seemed to cloud his eyes disappeared. Glittering with excitement, an exuberant grin tugged on his lips again and the tension that previously surrounded him dissipated, "Thank you!" He squealed, jumping back to his position quickly. He shuffled to make space for the newcomer and he patted the vacancy beside him, "Come over, quick!" He said excitedly. Walking uneasily, Hanabi sat down between her sister and her father. She placed the laptop on the table and summoned a program. She opened a file and the video rolled out before them. The other teenagers huddled closer to watch.

"The sounds' a little choppy, but it's quite enough." She warned.


There was only blackness at first. But the camera had adjusted eventually. As the holder shifted for a better angle, the screen wobbled a little, just as it focused on one lone figure walking underneath the striking moonlight across the cobbled path of the streets of Konoha. Occasionally, the snippets of the lamppost' lights would dance over its form and cast almost eerie shadows, before it would disappear slightly under the light of the moon. Only the chirping of the crickets could be heard.

As it neared the camera, the seemingly huge figure revealed itself to be two teenagers of no older than 19. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be the young captain of the ANBU squad, and his vice captain heaved carefully on his back. She was fast asleep, her face buried on the crook of his nape, using his soft tresses as her pillow. A peaceful if not contented look settled on his face. He would crane his neck towards her occasionally as though to check upon her, before he would avert his gaze towards the road once more.

He reached her house and he swiftly balanced her with one hand as his other fished for something in her pockets. It was her keys. Opening the door, he led them inside. Instantly, the entire room was bathed in soft white light as he must've flicked the switch open.

The camera shook once more as Hanabi hopped off the branch and stealthily hid herself behind the foliages beneath the living room's window. She zoomed the camera over her subjects once again.

Neji laid her down on the couch and walked over to the kitchen. He returned a while later, but hesitated as he loomed over her form. While his face remained impassive, his form appeared to be rather rigged. After some contemplation, he lowered himself before her and lifted her bridal style. He then walked over to the staircase.

Once again, the screen became shaky as Hanabi resumed her previous position. Angling the camera, her location turned out to be directly by the window of Tenten's room.

The door opened and in came Neji with the unconscious Tenten in his arms. He walked over to her bed and gently tucked her in. His fingers gingerly brushed the ribbons that kept her hair in buns and wondered if she, perhaps, slept with them on. Vain with his own hair, he understood that keeping them in such would damage them, and so he tugged on the ribbons and ran his fingers through her thick brown locks. He twirled tufts of them occasionally, before he abruptly pulled his hands away, and diffidently stood before her. He seemed to gaze softly at her before he flicked his eyes over to the camera's direction briefly, before he turned and left.

The screen died.


"I never knew he had it in him," Kiba whistled in amazement as Hanabi snapped her laptop close. "Guess this was a lot easier than we thought."

"That was so sweet!" Ino and Sakura gushed as they clapped their hands together.

"How did you even get that on tape?" Shikamaru wondered incredulously. Hanabi offered him a sly smirk.

"Of course you'd ask," She began haughtily, "That bastard Neji-nii beat me at sparring and rubbed it on my face. I thought I should get back on him somehow." She clicked her tongue in vexation, "I figured the only way I could hold an upper hand on him was if I blackmail him, but even that wasn't easy. It took me days to figure something out, and a couple more days of testing waters. It was mere coincidence that I fell asleep on that branch with my camera, and woke up a few moments before I saw them walk by." She explained.

"That's wonderful, Hanabi-chan," Hinata smiled sweetly at her sister, who, in turn, looked away in embarrassment.

"So what do we do with this?" Hiashi asked. The rest of them eyed him skeptically and comically.

"You mean you don't even know?" Naruto whined.

"Then how did you even know I had such tape, father?"

"Umm… intuition?" Hiashi shrugged uneasily

"That's a lie!" The gang, sans Sasuke and Shikamaru, snapped.

"Then how do you suppose I know it?"

"The hell should we know!"

"I'm innocent, I swear—"

"What's going on here?" The deep timbre of Hyuga Neji's baritone rang in the room, and an icy tension caked the atmosphere. The Meltdown squadron queasily turned their attention to the newcomer and quickly struggled to cough out an excuse. The ANBU captain walked over to the group. Hanabi snatched her laptop quickly and suspiciously, "If I was in no way involved with whatever… conspiracy you are plotting, Hanabi-sama shouldn't have acted the way she did. I repeat: what's going on here?" he emphasized his words coldly.

"Don't be such an ass, Neji!" a feminine voice chirped from the doorway once again, and Tenten entered with bounces in her steps. She slung an arm over Neji's shoulder—an act that fan-girls would die for—as she grinned amiably at her friends, "Guys! It's rare to see you together. What gives? Can I join?" she giddily asked. Exchanging quick but uneasy looks, the Meltdown operatives silently decided that the ladies would have to handle this. Ino softly growled.

"I'm afraid you can't, Ten-chan."

A look of dejection swept Tenten's features, and the subtle yet menacing glance Neji sent her direction told Ino she had better quickly amend this situation. "Oh? Why not?"

"It's… umm… childish…?" The blonde supplied uneasily.

"Tenten, let's go. This is not what we came here for." Neji said simply, spinning on his heel as he led the way towards the family arsenal. Tenten followed closely, but before she disappeared into the hallway, she flittered quickly back to her friends and donned a threatening look.

"If you are plotting something, it had better work," was what she said before she hastily caught up to her teammate.

Operation: Meltdown operatives smirked. Oh yes.


Tenten had been to the Hyuga arsenal for so many times that she knew the layout by heart, and knew which weapon went where. Immediately as Neji hefted the bolts, she dashed inside and ran over to her favorite shelves of kunais. The Hyuga arsenal housed the best kinds of kunais, most of which were the remaining ones of her kinds. Not once had she dared touch them, as they exclusively responded to certain people only. Instead, she satisfied herself as she always had by gazing longingly at them like a child wishfully eyeing a toy she yearned for Christmas. She sighed contentedly as her chocolate orbs traced the lavish arcs of the weapon.

"Take it," a deep voice whispered behind her. Tensing the slightest, she smiled wistfully and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "I fixed it for you," Neji continued. He stood behind her so closely. His chest made soft contact with her back. Heat exploded from where their clothes touched. Their minds raced with almost incoherent thoughts, yet none of them understood just why. Neji had never been one for intimacy, and while Tenten had often been casual about initiating "contact", she had never been so brash enough to try anything remotely "romantic" at all. This was new. And the fact that it was Neji instigating this was taking her senses to overdrive.

Tenten uneasily reached for the glass container and slid it aside. She cautiously fingered the crevices of the closest kunai, and the electricity that ought to jolt any intruder away was gone. Instead, the cold metal felt wonderful against her trembling digits, and it felt right to be beneath them, to be by her command, by her disposal. Reluctantly albeit excitedly, she slowly pulled it out of its shaft and brought it closer to her face for examination. Neji had not moved an inch behind her. Her heart raced wildly against her ribcage and she wondered, perhaps, if this was because of the excitement of holding one of the most priced weapons of her time, or for the boy standing so close, so awfully close, behind her.

"How…" she whispered uneasily. Her eyes traced every elaborate pattern, every lavish cleft, and every swift curve of the weapon. The hilt was carved out of silver, with a subtle figure of a dragon encircling it. The blade glinted brilliantly under the fluorescent lighting. Absently, Tenten pricked her index finger, and blood oozed immediately from the gash. Despite the age, the weapon was still sharp. She smiled, but was immediately struck with the horror of her actions. She whipped a clean, linen cloth out of her back pocket and wiped the smear on the dagger. Neji held her hands firmly, and removed the cloth from her.

"You deserve to at least be able to hold it, Tenten," he said as he reached for her wounded fingers and wiped it with the fabric. They both stiffened with the action. Neji's mind was blank. He was acting purely on instinct now. He had been so since he suggested they visited the arsenals on the rare occasions he did not feel like training, or allowed Tenten to have her way with him. At first he deduced that a good distance should be between them, should something stupid occur to him out of the blue. Ever since his subconscious had wormed its way to his conscious mind, he found himself thinking if not doing things which are utterly uncalled for especially from the Hyuga prodigy—but his subconscious, that little bastard, would always reiterate that "it was not uncalled for, it was romantic."

Thus was his current predicament—or situation, actually.

Originally, he merely wanted to show the gift he belatedly got for her 19th birthday. He had readied for far too long and had been, in fact, though he will never admit it aloud, eager to hand it to her. But days before the 9th of March, he was summoned for an S-rank mission, and returned only after a few weeks. Upon his arrival, she had been assigned an A-rank one along with some jounins and was not to return until a few months time. It had been nearly four months after her birthday did the two of them finally got together. By this time, however, the gift was entirely but a distant memory.

A few days back, Neji decided to restock his scrolls and paid the arsenal the rare visits he did. When he passed by the kunai section, the magnificent glint of one of the most beautiful yet underrated weapon in the armory caught his eye. The memories of the gift nearly socked him over, and he quickly concocted a plan to give it to her.

That had been before the dream.

Now, being near her sparked a sense of awkwardness within him. Even now. He continued to wipe away the remaining traces of crimson liquid, until only a thin line of red remained of her small gash. Even so, he did not cease his actions and persisted on with the unwarranted (thought not unwanted) nursing. Her fingers were calloused from years of wielding weapons but her hand was still soft, especially beneath his firm ones. He did not stop until only a pink streak marked her gash. Only then did realization hit him at last. As he began to pull away, she clasped his fingers in her own, and smiled softly at him. A lump gathered in his throat, and he almost painfully gulped it down. This sensation was nothing new, but it had never struck him as hard as it had now. He wasn't stupid, neither was he dense. He simply did not let out much. He, of course, was aware of the subtle changes in them, and had acknowledged that feelings weren't anything stagnant, and were among the ones that varied often. What's more, he was aware of the more-than-innocent feelings he had been harboring for certain people for some time now.

He just never knew how to express it.

He met Tenten when they were seven—ah, she was eight at that time. She was the quietest one of the females, because she had no friends, neither did the idea to make some seem to cross her mind. Often, she carried small scrolls with her wherever she went. He noticed her, for she was the only who did so. She did not strike conversations with him, apart from when she needs something for their class, or if they were paired up. When they were ten, they had been partnered up so often that it was unusual if they weren't. But even so, their conversations remained within school-related chitchats. The less attention she heeded him, the more curious he grew about her.

He was the top-billed valedictorian, a natural teacher's pet. He effortlessly commanded attention, and nearly all the girls flung themselves at him. He was quite handsome too, and despite his icy attitude towards nearly everyone, he was well-accepted nonetheless, and everyone looked up to him, be it out of fear, or respect.

She knew her place, of course; knew he was a Hyuga, and knew it was best not to involve herself too much with him, in fear of the trouble it might brew. So she kept her distance. She silently admired him, although talking to him took guts, and never struck a conversation, wary that it might annoy him in any way. Even when they had been paired, she always made sure she never got in his way. She diligently did her part and never bothered him. Over the course of time they had been together, she developed an innocent crush towards him. And so when they were grouped days before their graduation, she was exuberant; she was leaping stars.

They became best friends when they were 12. They knew each other better than anyone, and understood each other so deeply. They did not rely altogether on one another, but the presence of one of them always relaxed the other. They were a team. They were a match no one could break. It was a silent fact that everyone had learned to accept. Neji would never consider another sparring partner, and Tenten never once thought of leaving him either. There had been no pacts, no contracts made, but the truth remained that Neji and Tenten were an unbreakable duo. No one said otherwise.

"Happy birthday," he whispered. He reached for the weapon and tied the fabric on a neat ribbon on its hilt. He handed it back to her, "I'm sorry it took so long."

Her fingers twitched, and she fought back the strong urge to embrace him. No. Under no circumstances will she let herself be carried away. But still. This was a rare occasion, a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Repercussions aside, she had long yearned for a moment like this. So she closed her eyes momentarily, mustering her courage. He eyed her strangely, somewhat worriedly. What was wrong? Did she not like his gift? He wondered why it bothered him so much. He would never even consider giving people gifts. Yet, he went through all the trouble to adjust the weapon to her and his chakras exclusively, so that it would only respond to them. It was hard, considering how the weapon was sealed with a Lost Technique. He had to study the technique diligently, and master it to perfection. It took months. Yet not once did all the effort he poured onto it bothered him. And he never questioned the steadfast determination to gift her with one of the best things she probably came across her life.

Then it hit him. He was worried, nay, afraid that she might not like it. It unnerved him greatly because he truly cares for her. Deeply. He knew he was very affectionate towards her. He had not felt this warm towards people for a long time. But Tenten was different. And her reaction towards his advances was important. He could not afford to lose her. When he first realized how attached he'd grown for her, he was anxious. But he had accepted it, and instead gave it his all so as not to let go of her. "Don't you like it?"

His unease dissipated when her arms wound around his neck and her face buried on her shoulder blade. He almost toppled over from the surprise and from her weight, but he quickly composed himself and balanced them. Albeit somewhat uneasy, he returned the favor and snaked his arms around her torso as well. "I love it, I love it, I love it. Thank you so much. Thank you, Neji. You don't know how much this means to me. Thank you. Thank you. I love it. I love it. I love y—" she abruptly stopped.


Ohohoho~ it's been a while since I've done a cliff hanger. Anyway, this chapter came out rather quickly. I've been inspired to do this because I didn't want to do my homework. So anyway… Neji's kind of OOC here, but when you think about how all of this is only going on inside his head, this isn't exactly… well… un-Neji-ish. I enjoyed writing this. I enjoyed the fluff, I enjoyed the sweetness. Ah. I hope you guys liked it too!

Before I forget, I'd seriously like to thank KuramaMustangElric and PolkadottedAngels for their unwavering support to this series. You guys always make my day! Thank you so much! You don't know how happy your reviews make me. Thank youuuu~!

Now you guys better take after their initiative and review as well. Alright? Ciao~!