"So, you couldn't figure out what to get Hiroshi, so you got him a turtle shell backpack?" Tenten questioned holding up the green bag while helping Yumi wrap presents.
"No, it's not that I couldn't figure out what to get him, it's more of I was going to give him that as an inside joke/gag gift, I just can't find a real gift," Yumi laughed.
"Still," Tenten laughed.
"Did you ever get Shizune anything?"
"I found a pair of earrings that I thought she might like."
"Nice, oh! Remind me that we need to make cookies for the party," Yumi said, placing the last piece of tape on her present.
"Sure, what kind of cookies?"
"Butter cutout, I made the dough last night."
"Nice, vanilla icing?"
"Of course, and chocolate chip cookies."
"Note to self: save some of the cookies for the party." The two laughed, finishing up the wrapping.
"How did we manage to use an entire bag of flower?" Tenten asked, looking at the empty bag of flower.
"Look at the kitchen and in a mirror," Yumi laughed, as they both saw extremely pale versions of themselves in the reflection.
"Asked, and answered." The two laughed again.
"We'll let the cookies cool and clean up this place before we ice them, sound good?" Yumi offered, her companion nodded.
After they had finished baking, icing, cleaning, and wrapping up the cookies, Yumi let Tenten take a shower first before they decided to hit the hay at midnight. It had been a long day, dreamless sleep was all the two could hope for.
Go ahead run, I'll find you.
The words seem to echo in the blackness as she ran, no weapons to help protect herself. The small light before her seem to be getting farther and farther away, smaller and smaller. She'd never make it. It was too far away.
Your brother can't save you, I'll kill him before he even has the chance.
The same tormenting voice continued to taunt her. Getting louder and louder.
Neji-kun is just a nuisance, but it will be fun to kill him in front of you. I love when you scream
There must be a way to escape. There had to be, she refused to live in torment much longer. How?
It's over Tenten, you're mine!
Tenten sat up with a loud gasp, hyperventilating in the bed next to her friend's. She sort of hoped she didn't wake her.
"Tenten, daijobu?" Yumi asked, sleepily sitting up.
Unwillingly, tears fell from the Weapon's Mistress's eyes. She had been holding her feelings in for a year now, she lost it. Yumi ran to her side.
"Tenten, shhh…" she said, trying to sooth her. She ran her hand through the girls long brown hair.
After she calmed down a little, Tenten spoke. "Yumi, about what happened between me and Kaizo-"
"You don't have to tell me-"
"But if I don't tell someone, these nightmares are going to continue!" Tenten protested. "I know you were the one who ran in to scare him off, but you don't know what he did, do you?"
Yumi shook her head. "No."
Tenten laughed a little. "It was last year at Ino's party we had been dating for a while, he said that I was the only girl that he ever felt this way for, he said he had surprise for me, my Christmas gift," Tenten started, looking at her hands. "He put a blindfold on me, I should have known to run the moment he was leading me upstairs. He took me into a room and took off the blindfold, saying he'd been wanting to do this for a while. When I said no, he…he…" she trailed off.
"Shh, I know the next part, I was there for it," Yumi replied. "You don't have to say anymore, but why did you tell me? Why not your brother? Or Natsuki?"
"I can't tell Takashi! I can't go to him and tell him this, I'd be this hysterical! I can't let him see me like this!"
"And Natsuki?"
"She's so happy with my brother telling her about this, while she's hormonal and pregnant, I don't know, the thought of what he could have done, seeing her it…."
"Oddly enough, I understand, but your brother has to know this, it's killing him that he doesn't know why your like this."
"I can't tell him, Yumi. I just can't face him," Tenten said quietly. "You tell him."
"Tenten, this isn't my business-"
"Please, Yumi…"
She sighed. "Fine, let's settle this later, get some sleep," she said, as Tenten lay her head back down. Asleep in seconds. "Tomorrow's gonna be interesting."
A déjà vu situation happened to Tenten the next morning. The only differences, it wasn't in her house, it wasn't Takashi who had left her and who left the note. This time, however, she wasn't annoyed.
Tenten,
Hey, sorry I didn't wake you up it's just I thought you could use the sleep. Tsunade asked me to run an errand for her. I'll be back soon, help yourself to anything in the fridge you know where everything is. Jaa nee!
3 Yumi
"At least she's more honest about it," Tenten sighed, searching for her breakfast.
"Glad you two could make it," Yumi said to a white eyed boy and a brown haired young man in the police station.
"What's this about?" Neji asked.
"I have news about what happened between Kaizo and Tenten last year," she explained, taking her seat. Neji stood up, it was not his place to know. "Sit back down, Hyuga."
"With all do respect, it is not my business," Neji replied respectively. No matter how much I want to.
"I understand, however, Tenten has given me permission to reveal this to her brother and I am revealing it to you, mainly because I think that being her friend and teammate, you have a right to know. As well as in the future you'll be able to protect her from this in the future."
"Just sit, Neji, I want you to know as well," Takashi decided, forcing the boy to return to his seat.
"Thank you, now I would first and foremost like to apologize to you, Takashi," Yumi started, turning to the man who had asked her to spy and pry on her best friend. "I have been keeping information that I knew away from you. I knew some of what happened a year ago."
"What!" Takashi exclaimed. "Yumi, I-"
"It was not my business!" Yumi returned, barely raising her voice. "It was not something for me to tell, I needed her permission."
Takashi let out a sigh. "Continue."
"I only knew the second half of the night's events, I could only guess at what had happened, though my suspicions were correct," Yumi replied, seeing her companions' faces drop. "It's not the worst case scenario, which is good, however it had the potential to be such."
"Get on with it, Yumi," Takashi ordered impatiently.
Neji didn't want to hear anymore, he shouldn't be hearing this. As much as he wanted to know what happened, he didn't want to believe that it really happened.
"To keep it short and less graphic, Kaizo wanted Tenten to sleep with him on Christmas Eve last year. She refused and he got violent," Yumi started, noticing Neji's fists tighten. "That was her side, my side will be a little more graphic…"
She took a deep sigh, closing her eyes in remembrance. "Kaizo almost succeeded in molesting your sister, Takashi, he immobilized her with a Genjutsu. I believed it was filled with visions of you and everyone she loved dying. He was threatening her with the visions, if he didn't allow him to do this, her loved ones will die."
Neji's fists tightened once more. Yumi let out a shaky breath. "I made it just in time," she started, opening her eyes. "I had noticed she had gone missing during the party, someone said they saw her and Kaizo go upstairs. I went up there, from downstairs the music was too loud to hear her, but I heard her yell out and ran. I threw some kunai at him and scared him off. Tenten was horrified, it took me a while to break the Genjutsu."
"Goddamn it!" Takashi cursed beneath his breath.
Neji stood up and began to leave the room.
"Neji-" Yumi started.
"Arigato, Yumi," he said, closing the door behind him.
"I know why you really wanted him here," Takashi said after a sigh.
"I figured if he knew what happened he definitely wouldn't try anything like that," she replied crossing her arms. "Of course, I never really thought he was that sort of man, but just in case."
"He was the only guy I'll probably ever approve for her," Takashi smiled. "All we can do is wait."
"Tenten! I'm back!" Yumi shouted closing her front door.
"I'm in the living room!" she called back.
"I was thinking we could make a little lunch, then head over to Ino's and help set up, that sound good?" she said, walking into the kitchen and pulling out leftover spaghetti from the refrigerator.
"Sure."
After they had some lunch, they packed up their outfits and walked over to Ino's house. Sakura and Temari were already there and Hinata came only a few minutes after them. "Ino! Where do you want the cookies!" Yumi shouted from the kitchen.
"Between the chocolate cake and the apple pie!" she called back, hanging streamers in the living room.
"Hey, Tenten! Do you have a scroll on you?" Sakura asked, as Tenten came into the living room.
"Hai."
"Could you seal the star in it and then put it on the tree? I can't reach it."
"Sure." She seal the star and stood on a chair, stretching out the scroll over the top of the tree, a poof of smoke came, leaving the star.
"Looks good! Thanks Tenten!" Sakura said, helping the girl down.
"No problem."
"Ino, w-where do you want the wreath to go?" Hinata stuttered, coming in from the dining room.
"The huge one or the smaller one!"
"B-both."
"The really big one should go on the front door facing outside and the smaller one I want to go in the family room, over the fire place!" Ino explained.
"Ino, I really don't care if you like where I put the mistletoe, but it's in the doorway leading to the dining room!" Temari called.
"It looks good, Temari!" Ino cheered, wrapping garland around the legs of the dining room table. "Just where anybody could walk under it, I love Christmas!"
Everyone laughed. Within another hour or two, everything was ready and the girls were getting ready for the party. Yumi had decided Tenten's outfit, a red sweater dress, black leggings, a black belt and black boots. Nothing that was her, but nothing that wasn't her at the same time.
"Shoot!" Hinata shouted, snapping her head up.
"What's up, Hinata?" Sakura asked, applying eye shadow.
"I left the Santa hats I made for you guys at my house, how long until guests are going to start arriving?"
The doorbell rang. "Now," Temari declared.
"Go ahead, Hinata, you can get them if you want," Ino said, opening the door. "Natsuki! Takashi! So glad you could come! I see you brought Mika and Shun, too!"
"They wanted to come so bad," Natsuki laughed.
"Come in!" Ino gestured, as Hinata ran out. "She'll be back later, she left something at her house. How's the little guy?" Ino asked pointing to Natsuki's stomach.
"Kicking like crazy, he's going to be one hell of a Shinobi like his father," Natsuki laughed.
Sakura turned on some music as Temari took their coats and Yumi showed the kids where they could play and have fun with the other children that Ino had come. More and more guests began arriving as the sun was going down.
The house was packed, everyone was dancing and had a good time, Hinata was having trouble finding the hats at her place, it being on the other side of the village didn't help much either. The door bell rang again, Ino answered it revealing Neji.
"Hey Neji! Is Hinata with you?" Ino asked, gesturing him to come inside.
"No she's still at the manor," he replied, looked around for a second before continuing. "Where is Tenten?"
"You two are always together, it's amazing you two haven't started a make out session yet!" Ino teased, Neji didn't seem bothered. "I'm teasing, she's in the dining room."
Neji made his way over to the bun haired girl. "Tenten," he greeted, as she finished her conversation with Matsuri.
"Hey, Neji, what's up?" she replied, drinking some punch. She had calmed down from the night before, she wanted to have fun it was a party, she didn't want any bad news. He leaned close to her ear so as not to allow the other guests to hear.
"I've found Kaizo," he whispered, her eyes widened.
"Neji, not now, I'm having fun, I don't want to talk about that," she protested, shaking out any feelings of fear or whatever from her head.
"Tenten he's not too far from here, you're the only one who can finish this," he urged her on, taking her hand softly.
She wasn't sure why she allowed him to. Maybe it was because he was Neji. She complied, nodding her head as he led her out the back door.
"Neji's not in his room, maybe I left them in here," Hinata wondered aloud, looking around her cousin's neat bedroom.
She noticed red, white, and the dome gold glitter from Neji's desk. "That's where I left them!" Hinata cheered, suddenly hearing a thump coming from the closet.
"Nani!" she nearly screamed.
i'm sooooooooo sorry but it's the christmas season and yeah lol i WILL finish this tonight or tomorrow! only one chap left! and for those of you who were angry with me about what a mission can cause p2 you will be happy! don;t forget there is a poll on my profile about the next fanfic i should write plz take it lol
