Machine

Moral was still unexpectedly high once the men gradually made their way to the end of the year, after their first victory. They'd soon realised with little consequence that the front had already moved on to somewhere less safe, and that they were the lucky ones sent to clean up and babysit.

It was a terrible business, war, as Tenten was now aware of, but as long as her friends were beside her, their spirits were solid. They sang songs and played poker till the morning came. The group of soldiers mostly spent their free time planning small ambushes and mucking about in cities, and strangely enough the time went by rather peacefully. That was, until quickly autumn began to wilt into winter. Everyone knew it was inevitable, and many discussions sprung forth, concerning how they would keep warm and where their supply of food would come from.

It seemed, as in Neji's words, that an angel had been watching over them, as the answer came to the men when they were asked to help out at a local hospital caught in the middle of a snowstorm. In return they would be offered food and hospitality from the village surrounding it.

The infirmary had a neat, gloomily beautiful structure, and looked just that bit eerie stranding out in the snow. It was there that they stayed for some time.

Different men chose different jobs there, and some went entirely without them. It became ever the more apparent that most of them there were caught up in the midst of the quiet bedlam, lost and void of a true purpose. Some behaved erratically or inappropriately, and those with a medical background were tasked with more advanced duties. Others did small chores: fetching the water, stoking the hearth, preparing the meals. Men of higher endurance were assigned as stretcher bearers and lumberjacks, while those less capable tended to the sick and generally stayed out of the way.

Naturally, Tenten was selected as a nurse for the patients. She wasn't as much of a lifter as the others, couldn't tell the difference from a spleen and a liver. It otherwise would've been blatantly sexist to do so if it was obvious that she was a woman, but they didn't know that, and so she was willing to let it go.

She wasn't the only one who almost vomited upon the first time entering the building. Her nose was ransacked with the stench of putrefaction and death, and her eyes assailed with the sight of the injuries. It was then that she was truly able to compare their plight.

There were ones with their guts spilling onto the bed, amputated limbs, bleeding eyes and injuries so ghastly it would be inapt to describe. After she got over this shocking grievance however, she soon found that she rather enjoyed the job, and realised that the girls were indeed no objects of lustful desire, but rather women that deserved respect and received it fairly. She realised then the men didn't treat them just as subjects of craving, and that they weren't dressed indecently or acted anything like working girls.

They strived harder than any women she ever knew and she felt guilty for ever thinking differently of them.

There was a particularly well-mannered girl there who went by Hinata, whose company Tenten chiefly enjoyed. She was Neji's cousin, as luck would have it.

Her dark hair, sheeny and indigo, flickered in the hoary snow as she ran out to meet him for the first time in months. They exchanged a tight hug, and it surprised Tenten that Neji would ever express such emotion. From then on she watched their sickeningly polite interactions closely with fascination.

Hinata was also acquainted with Naruto, and due to her infatuation avoided his oceanic gaze. That is, whenever she could resist the urge to look into those beautiful eyes and stutter like a bloody fool. But contrary to her behaviour toward Naruto, compassionate Hinata was well at ease whenever by Fang's side. She would complement Akamaru on how much of a good boy he was while Fang would joke cleanly with a healthy pink smeared across his cheeks, and Hinata would laugh along kindly. Even if the jokes Fang told were rather stale and anything but funny. It was to be noted that in comparison to Hinata's erratic behaviour around Naruto, Fang was just as much of a dumbstruck, lovesick fool.

For a great portion of the daytime she was away from her closest companions. Of course, she had made peace with most members of her platoon but there were certain members of it with whom she just clicked. Fang had to constantly keep to the inglenook and kindle the fire, as the nurses found no better use for him. He was too brash and rude to most, and had not the attention span or teamwork to be able to cooperate as a stretcher bearer, let alone anything else that had required "other people", or excluded the presence of Akamaru. Hinata was too busy in and out of the rooms and usually had no time to talk because of her snappy matron's mean mouth.

Lee had been issued the job of tree feller, for he was well known within the nurses for his terribly strong arms and quick reflexes once they'd asked him to lift some debris or whatnot.

And of course, Neji whose company she reluctantly but admittedly liked having, was out most of the time bringing back soldiers to heal. He was chosen for his job for he was the highest ranked, so thus the most experienced, fit and one of the few skilled in first aid. He did however frequently make trips in and out of the wards, in short time lapses in which he could converse with her (though he at times bordered on suspicion).

Languidly, Neji fed her small snippets of information concerning himself, because she would always ask out of sheer boredom.

It was a good communication system, and in the few weeks that passed in that winter she'd learned such a number of things about him. Such as how he really longed to be not in the army, but rather the air force. He'd told her that flying, to him, was such a marvellous wonder he often sought to realise, rather symbolic for reasons he would not say. But of course, his guardian and uncle, General Hyuuga Hiashi, could not allow his dear nephew to step into ground he was no longer able to manipulate his way into.

Sometimes she even found herself gazing out the window, checking if Neji would come back or just watching the snowfall until the matron would swing by and ask her to presume her duties.

In the meanwhile Tenten was stuck indefinitely with the likes of Sasuke, who she never spoke to for his bratty attitude, and Shino, who was quieter than a mouse.

The only good thing that came with these arrangements was that Chouji had been stationed in charge of the kitchen, and gee whiz could he make a good meal the odd times when they were able to get their hands on some food.

Best of all, at night they had a warm place to sleep! That was the hardest earned thing, and most worthwhile. At night, the men always huddled as close as possible to one of the fires in the hospital, taking the ground to sleep on, as while everyone was scheduled to sleep in spare beds, they were not always available. In the cold nights they spent together none of them were shy; arms and legs were thrown around, coiled around each other and welcomed in order to keep warm.

Working together, each soldier was a gear in the mechanism of some grand machine.

And that apparatus worked along just fine, until one day when she decided to indulge in a dry bath. Lee was still out, so he couldn't keep watch and she was sure she had locked the door when in truth she did no such thing. Neji had just happened to have strolled past the open door, and with it had a clear view of who she was. Upon drying off her hair she turned around, facing him facing her with this terrible gape.

She lunged at him.

"You pervert!" She snapped firmly but indistinctly, afraid raise her voice. She aimed a good kick directed toward his shin, just barely missing as her vision was still blurry from some water she had failed to wipe from her face. Oh! And she was supposed to never miss her target!

His hands raised in defence of himself, speaking in a nervous cluster of words. "A-as you know, I was not entirely aware of your... true identity. How can that be my own fault?"

Tenten collapsed into her hands, pulling them over her forehead to the base of her neck. Neji carefully paced to throw a towel over her shoulders. His face felt as if it were at perhaps boiling point upon seeing such a form... and what beauty!

"My cover's blown, isn't it? You're gonna send me home and on top of that some..."

"Who said anything about sending you home?" he chuckled nervously. He tried to keep his eyes off her, so he kept them on the bucket at her feet.

Her face instantly rose from the pits of her mortified grief having heard this. "You'll really let me stay?"

"I do not see any reason why you should not. However, I will not inform any of the other men of this discovery, for I fear an upheaval of... well. Ultimately it is your choice if you wish for your... complete character to be known. But if you choose to keep it a secret, it should be known that a Hyuuga will always keep their word."

She beamed at him, offering him a hand. He accepted it. "You don't know how much this means to me, sir! Thank you, thank you, and thank you again! But, I thought most men had some sort of gender supremacy issues or something like that."

"My mother once-oh, nevermind." Neji tried to cover his hot face in one of his hands. He gulped, and tried again, "Yo-you can do great things as long as you love whatever it is you are protecting. I used to believe that everything rested on the luck of the fates but... some goon soon proved me wrong. Do you understand where I am coming from, Ryuu?"

The fact that she was totally naked except for a towel seemed to escape her for a moment when Tenten crept closer and playfully whispered, "By the way, you can call me Tenten from now on, sir! That's my real name. Tenten."

"Tenten," he reverberated, not looking her in the eye. "Do you love your country?"

"Yes, sir!"

"And you will do your best to protect her?"

"Yes, sir."

He walked toward her, giving her a light pat on the shoulder. The heat upon his cheeks had still yet to leave him alone. "That's a good man."

Neji lingered there a moment too long to be promptly reminded by Tenten. His face did not seem to be undergoing a change of temperature anytime soon. He crept out the door, and as he passed her by, she quietly gave him yet another few words of thanks.

As Neji walked through the hallways, thoughts of self-assurance and discovery ran through his head. He knew it!

And as for Tenten, she was willing to place the event behind her rather quickly; it wasn't the first time a boy had accidentally walked in on her naked.

As long as he didn't keep reminding her of it (which he didn't), he was forgiven.

That, however still didn't stop the embarrassment she felt whenever he looked her way. Not that this hindered their growing friendship.

A few weeks after the significant episode, and a couple of days before Christmas, a blizzard plummeted from the sky. Tenten could barely see through her window.

Neji had left in the morning with Kakashi as he usually did, but the time for one delivery had already stretched far longer than that which was within normal boundaries. All the other soldiers that had been labouring outdoors were called to stay inside.

Tenten was becoming sick of Fang's constant whining about the weather, his family, his life... and so she had escaped him for the moment as she stared out into the snow. It was a futile effort however, for she saw absolutely nothing through the thick, violent flurry.

"I'm a bit concerned about your cousin," she murmured idly to Hinata, who stood close by.

"O-oh, yes," she replied meekly, her eyes dropping in ignominy (as if it were her forgotten duty to worry about him). "But you see, I'm not too worried for him, even if I t-try to be, sir. U-um, he's really...

Hinata smiled, fumbling with her thumbs. "Not once has he gotten himself into any serious trouble he w-wasn't able to loop out of... So p-please do your best not to fret for him, sir!"

"Ryuu. Please call me Ryuu. Sir makes me feel like a gentleman!" Tenten uneasily replied. Hinata's statement, though confidently told, did little to negate Tenten's fears. She sucked her lips in behind her teeth, twiddled with her buttons, and gave a stiff nod.

"But you are, mister Ryuu," was her shy reply.

It was the first time a girl had made Tenten blush. She was about to reply when a sharp call echoed from the hall in demand for poor, overworked Hinata. The obedient girl scrambled on her feet, apologised for her sudden departure and left the room, leaving Tenten to herself.

Tenten sighed and looked out the window, to see Fang staring dreamily after Hinata. Funny how she was able to see him but not Neji. Tenten stuck out her tongue at him and he cheerfully responded by turning his back to her and pulling down his pants.

Tenten immediately reached for the shutters.

Time passed rather quickly and in a short while a star speckled, ebony silhouette had been veiled over the sky for some hours. Tenten had been watching for far too long.

It was time to take things into her own hands.

"Lee, will you come with me to find them?" she said, tired of Fang's boasting and clumsy advances toward Hinata. Lee nodded as a small reply.

"You can't go out in weather like that! You must be insane," Fang whimpered.

"Yeah, well, somebody has to." She shrugged, throwing her a thick jacket over her shoulders. "Do me a favour, Fang. Hang on to this rope, would you? And don't let go."

Tenten took Lee's overcoat and chucked it to him. Gripping the rope, Fang stared dumbfounded. Hinata stood by, too, her face now shrouded with murky anxiety. They opened the door, letting a flurry of snow fly into the entrance of the hospital, almost diminishing the flame.

The stuff outside was knee-high by the time they first attempted to struggle through it, and tough to wade through, too. The wind howled and lagged their speed.

Tenten groped for Lee's hand and made their way through the snow as best they could. They travelled for probably longer than half an hour in that icy mayhem before they ran out of rope. Grudgingly, they agreed that Lee would be the one to hold the rope and Tenten the one to continue further in search of their commanding officer.

When she did find him eventually, he was out cold and half buried in the snow with no sign of the stretcher, or Kakashi for that matter when she found him. She hauled him onto her back, a little overwhelmed by the weight of him, but continued back to Lee as promptly as was possible. That took longer than the time she needed to actually find him, as she had lost her sense of direction by then.

Tenten was on the verge of defeat when Lee suddenly grabbed her from behind. Not having the time to ask him how he managed to get so far with the rope, she only told him the very minimum of what he needed to know.

"We need to get him back quick!" Tenten roared over the winds. "He'll die if we wait a moment longer to find the others; he might be hurt!"

Lee took him on his back as Tenten lead the way forward with the rope fastened first around her waist, and then embed firmly in her freezing hands. The trek back was an easier one however, as they knew where to go and the direction storm did not push against them as it did before.

Upon entering the foyer, the trio saw a few worried faces staring up at them. Quickly Lee handed Neji over to some nurses, who fluttered about with concern. Hinata called to him, voice so soft it was as if she was trying to avoid awaking him.

Tenten and Lee did not take off her coats, but instead reclaimed the rope and made off to find the missing Kakashi and stretcher, but paused. The whole party did when they saw Neji move his lips, faintly but surely. Naruto leaned in to make out the words.

"He's issuing us an order... he's telling us not to bother, that the injured are long dead and so is... so is..." Naruto had trouble making out the next word. "'Kakashi."

The room felt silent, paying their due respects. It stayed so until Shikamaru, sprinted down breathless from the tiny conference room upstairs. Promptly, being the group's unofficial telecommunications man, he interrupted the scene and announced, "We've been given orders. Orders to report to duty have been issued. We're to fight in the trenches under divisions, right after our Christmas celebrations."

The room was utterly quiet once again, being suddenly aware of their imminent doom, but were only in such a state for only a moment before they were all reminded that their leader was in need of some serious attention.

When the time came, everyone sprang alive. Hinata, Tenten and Lee all helped to lug him as close to the fireplace as possible. It was evident now that no one else would die if they could help it. Not until the winter was over, at least. Tenten retrieved blankets from the upstairs closet, Lee boiled some water and Hinata did a good job at towelling him down. All the others made themselves useful in some way; even Shikamaru got off his lazy little arse and decided to contribute.

In fact, their last doctor had died of pneumonia only the day before, and it was up to Shikamaru to mutter the instructions, for he was the next best thing.

Once everyone settled down and Neji was secured his life, everyone began to talk. Surprisingly it was not as a gloomy conversation as they had hoped. As Neji slept, everyone and the nurses held a congregation around the gate downstairs.

Fang, who pretended to be brave for his crush, sat next to an anxious Hinata. She had not worried before about her cousin's safety but she sure did now.

"I-I hope he makes it out okay," she murmured.

"Me, too," said Tenten. Lee was close by, shaking his head.

"We'll work together to get him better, yeah?" Naruto suggested. He pumped his fist as Sasuke knocked him back down.

"You're right, but you shouldn't be so damn happy about it. Have you forgotten Kakashi has just died?" snapped Sasuke. Naruto hung his head down low. He was doing such a good job at putting it at the back of his mind, too!

Shikamaru shrugged. "Judging by what we've done for him he'll be fine. Just some mild to moderate hypothermia's all."

"Sure about that?" Chouji grumbled. "With the little food we've got, how do you expect him to recover?"

"Think positive," Asuma told him.

"I comply with everything you have all said," Shino sighed.

"Let us simply hope for the best," Lee said, thus ending the conversation.

That night they moved their celebrations toward Neji's bed, where each and every soldier shared their concern for their commanding officer while having at the same time their own worries. Well, that too could have been a collective thought, as it was neatly summed up by a single question:

What was waiting for them in the battle ahead?

A longer chapter, kind of really slow paced and messy. Rushed at the end cause it's kind of late at night and I don't feel quite awake while editing this. But next week's may be delayed by a bit (extra week?) because I need to write another chapter between this one and the next drafted one. Otherwise the plot would be moving way too fast. Besides, post-exams they still decide to heap us with MORE work so... Gah. Plus I have an off-school large-scale Japanese thing to study for on the 5th. Sorry guys.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I'm nearly finished with the drafts. And that means for you... more reviews equals higher chance that I'll update sooner since most of the time I won't be starting a chapter off of scratch. I won't delay updates if you don't (I'm totally not asking you to), but just generally, more interest means more effort from me.

Thanks for your understanding.