Chapter Nine: Tenten's Little Problem
The next morning came quicker than anyone would be able to imagine, it felt like she hadn't been asleep very long before Hinata was vaguely aware of something … or rather someone moving on her bed and disturbing her. Though many wouldn't believe it, Hinata got very violent when her sleep was disturbed.
Not happy by this disturbance she let out a growl and hugged her warm pillow tighter to her chest, whoever was disturbing her seemed intent on pulling the pillow away from her head. It didn't even occur to her that it wasn't a pillow she was holding but in fact an important part of another person's body.
Or the fact that they might just happen to want that part of their body back, when she felt another tug she whined in an almost beg that the person left her to sleep before she was gifted an amused chuckle in reward. She let go of the pillow at once and her eyes flew open in shock of having someone watch her sleep, when she happened to see was Itachi watching her with a strange look on his face and the fact that she had been holding his arm.
She blushed bright red.
Despite being the next morning it was still very early and she could only just see the sun peeking out from the clouds, she couldn't think why on earth he was getting up at such a time, she was so busy in her thoughts that she almost jumped when she heard the door shut loudly.
Looking across she noticed it was Itachi coming out of the bathroom as he finished tucking his hair into his red and black infamous cloak. Her brows furrowed, had he already forgotten what they had spoken of, he was leaving her behind yet again.
"Where are you going? It isn't even light can't you go later?" she asked tiredly with a pout, as she rubbed her eyes. Itachi slowly shook his head, it wasn't that he didn't want her to go or that he couldn't go later, he just wanted to set some things up and check on things elsewhere.
"I want to stay but there are things to be done," he murmured silkily and she nodded in understanding as he went towards the main door. He seemed to pause with his hand on the door before he turned back to look at her with calm, understanding eyes.
"I'm not leaving you behind. I'll have Mei when I get back, please be ready," he added and when he noticed her still pouting expression he walked back over to her and ruffled her hair playfully.
"Sleep. I will be back soon," he told her almost affectionately before he turned and left the room. Hinata yawned and lay back down, she was really tired and he had said that he would be back soon. She guessed he needed some time to adjust to the fact that someone cared about him.
She didn't blame him at all and she was willing to wait as long as needed after all she didn't want to drive him away but instead drive him closer to her.
Tenten curled tighter into herself, she couldn't believe what had almost happened to her, she didn't know how long she had been outside their room now but she was afraid to even lean against the door, frightened that with a burst of strength he would bust it down and drag her back into hell.
She had always known something like this would come to her, she had always known! Watching all those soap operas she had known that one day she would sympathise with the characters that dealt with the abusive drunken boyfriend.
Itachi climbed down the last step and saw the girl huddled in her skimpy underpants, he could have turned back and pretended he hadn't seen her, heck he could have walked straight past her but no matter how heartless people thought he was he couldn't leave her there.
He walked up to her silently and placed a gloved hand hesitantly on the small of her back, when she flinched and whimpered in fear he stepped back and held his hand up in surrender, she looked up through teary big brown eyes and he felt his heart; however small it was; clench.
The two watched each other wearily as if expecting the other to verbally attack them before Itachi sighed gently to himself and unclipped his cloak, he didn't know how many of his precious cloaks he had lost but if he lost another he was going to go crazy.
He covered her cowering form with it and straightened it out so that she could sit up without fear he would stare at her uncovered chest despite the fact he really wasn't interested in her at all. Wrapping it tightly around herself Tenten looked at him with her head cocked to the side.
She almost reminded him of a curious kitten, starving and weak that had just been given a bowl of milk by a kindred soul. He turned to go back to his room, he had nothing of comfort that he could say to her and he was sure she needed a friend.
"Why?" the girl asked in a quiet whisper as if scared that any louder and dogs would come to chase her off, Itachi stopped and looked back at her before shaking his head and walking back towards his room, he really didn't have an answer.
"I'll get Hinata," was his only reply.
Hinata almost jumped when she heard the door open, she was just about to fall back asleep when she heard the door open, she rolled over her brain still thick with sleep and was about to nod off when she felt an arm on the skin of her arm.
She opened one pearly lavender eye and was surprised to see Itachi back already, she looked at the clock near her and was surprised to see that the time hadn't much changed since he left; it had been three minutes at the most.
"Itachi … what?" she asked sleepily and he sighed again, it was really becoming of him.
"A friend of yours seems to be in need of a friend right now" that was all he needed to say before she was wide awake and jumping out of bed, ignoring his cocked eyebrow she tugged on a cloak from his wardrobe, a plan black one and slipped her feet into a pair of his shoes.
Itachi decided to not bother her about his clothes and the two of them left the room, the moment Hinata saw the cowering girl she rushed towards her and knelt down, she looked about at Itachi and though he looked indifferent she knew he was concerned too.
"Go, it's alright" she whispered and he nodded hesitantly before he slowly made his way to his destination. Hinata crawled closer to Tenten and slowly wrapped her arms around her in comfort; the sobbing distressed girl gladly accepted the hug.
Even though she made no movement she cried on her friend's shoulder and when she had no more tears to cry she simply whimpered until she had finally managed to calm herself down. Once she had calmed her fast heart she looked up at her friend with a weak smile, her eyes wide and pain filled.
Hinata slowly took her arms away, she hadn't the idea what could be wrong with her and she was confused when she noticed the keys to the room were turned locked in the door from the outside instead of the inside.
"Thank you" the girl smiled and Hinata nodded, she was glad to be of help but she wondered what had happened between them, she was really very worried. Tenten bit her lip, she knew she could trust the girl.
"Is everything alright?" Hinata asked though in truth she knew it wasn't, she just didn't know what she could say without making the other girl sad when she asked her to say what had happened. Whatever it was she guessed it involved Lee.
However she didn't see the eccentric young man doing anything to hurt anyone.
"It started when we came upstairs" she whispered averting her eyes to the door in fear of what Lee would do if he knew she was telling someone else what he had done to her. She wasn't going to be weak; she knew he needed to pay for what he did.
"Ah! The joys of youth did you see the mini fridges Tenten" Lee asked in excitement as he opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of straight vodka, he jiggled the bottle at Tenten with equally jiggling eyebrows.
Tenten looked at him in surprise, she didn't see how he could want to drink, sure they were on holiday but something truly awful had happened, hadn't he seen how terrible Sasuke looked after his brother had talked through to him.
Did he not understand the pain that one of his friends had been through and instead of honouring that he wanted to drink she shook her head, she didn't think he should and she was going to let him know that she didn't agree.
"I don't think that you should drink right now, you saw Sasuke. Everything is in shambles tonight can't you just wait until tomorrow?" she asked concerned and he just shook his head and opened the bottle throwing his head back as he took a few large swigs.
Tenten hid her disgust and decided to go and get ready for bed, she wasn't going to stay in the room and risk having a fight with her boyfriend when he was busy drinking, she knew he was very serious about his drink.
By the time she had finished getting ready and got back into the bedroom Lee had finished the bottle and was lying face down on the bed. She didn't know much about how quickly alcohol could affect people but Lee was affected really quickly. He always had been.
She also knew that she had to be careful, Lee had always been both an unpredictable and an unreasonable drunk and if she wasn't careful she could wake him up. She wasn't suicidal enough to find out what he would do if she did.
She moved slowly and quietly into the bed and turned off the light however it seemed it wasn't to be as he sat up and smirked at her wickedly, it seemed that he had been waiting for her to let her guard down and think he was asleep so that she wouldn't leave.
That was what she normally did when he was that way, she would leave his own and run back to her house with her guardian until she knew she was safe and locked in, he always got this mad look in his eye when he was drunk.
"I'm going to lock the door now, I don't want you to run off now do I?" he asked rhetorically as he stalked towards the door and turned the key in the lock, Tenten panicked, she knew exactly what this was all about.
Despite what her friends and the world thought of her, she hadn't even had sex yet, yes despite seeming to be one of the most horny people on the surface of the planet she hadn't actually lost her virginity, sure she had done pretty much everything else but she wasn't penetrated.
He slinked back to her and sat on top of her, he didn't want her to try and move now did he? He attack her neck roughly and left his mark along it, "You know it should be a crime to be so sexy I want you so bad but you just won't give in" he stated huskily nuzzling her neck.
Tenten shivered and started squirming as she tried to buck him off her, he seemed to find this funny as he laughed heartily and Tenten almost recoiled when the strong vodka breath hit her. He pinned both her wrists above her head with one hand and used the other to pull out a knife from under his pillow.
Tenten froze, he could do anything to her now and by the time he woke up he wouldn't remember, well at least he could claim not to remember what happened. He slowly began to cut through her pyjama top slowly singing a creepily merry song while he did so.
"Now dollface, you don't want to move or else who knows, I may just happen to cut you" he said in warning as he shined the blade in her face. The brunette ignored him, if he thought she was going to lie there like a submissive and take his shit he had another thing coming.
Sure she was terrified, in fact she was fucking mortified but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He shrugged as if unbothered as he 'accidently' slipped and shallowly cut down her side, after all he had warned her but she didn't listen.
Bloody slowly seeped to the top of her skin before it overflowed and ran down her flat stomach. Tenten couldn't stop the rush of tears, he was either going to rape her or kill her. She wasn't ready yet, it wasn't meant to happen like this, Lee wasn't like this dammit!
She sat still from then on and he carried on cutting her clothes singing softly to himself merrily and when he got down to the last of her clothing; her underpants he smirked in a cruel victory. Tenten knew she had to act.
It was either then or never. She could either whack him and knock him out or she could let him get his way with her, her hand fumbled around for something as he moved back up to kiss her. She almost cried out in happiness when her hands hit the bottle.
She made it seem like she was giving in when she began responding to the kiss and then she closed her eyes as the last of her tears seeped out before bringing the glass bottle down on his head as hard as she physically could.
He groaned loudly and fell forward and she was pleased for the sound prove walls. She pushed him off her and ran for the door adrenaline pumping through her veins, she fumbled with the key fighting her rising hysteria, she would give in to it once she was safe.
Once it was unlocked she shut the door and shakily locked it before sliding to the floor and then the tears came and fatigue and hysteria gripped her. She couldn't believe she had let him get so far, she curled up and allowed her tears to flow.
She was so scared and yet so happy she had escaped both alive and intact of her dignity.
Hinata was so proud of her, she had told the story strongly and fought hard against her tears, water gathered but she wouldn't let them fall no matter how cloudy her vision got. Hinata helped the brunette up and looked at the cut; she knew exactly who would take care of both it and her.
"Where will I go there are no more rooms for me to stay and I can't take the room that you and Itachi are sharing" she whispered as Hinata supported her down the stairs. Hinata smiled as they walked down the second flight of stairs.
"You don't have to you can stay with Neji. He will take care of you I know he will, don't worry about anything else but feeling better, what Lee did to you was wrong and don't you forget it, what you did was right!" The pale eyed girl said firmly, her pupil less pale lilac eyes glaring at the area ahead.
When she got to her cousins room she banged the door, she knew Neji was a light sleeper and smiled when she heard shuffling from the other side of the door. She had no doubt he was making himself decent and he would know it was urgent considering the time.
He opened the door quickly as she thought, his hair was down and his eyes still looked groggy but when he saw the state of Tenten, her wild chocolate locks covering her eyes and the tears falling he sobered up quickly.
Hinata lightly pushed past him strong with determination and sat the girl on her cousins bed, "Let her stay with you, don't be mad I know it's late but she-" Hinata began to whisper but before she could continue Neji held up a hand and nodded.
He didn't need to hear anymore. The two cousins eyes met, pale lilac and snowy white, an agreement went between them silently. No matter what happened they would protect Tenten until she was back to herself.
He nodded and when she noticed the determination had been brought out in his eyes she knew Tenten was in safe hands. Feeling the tiredness catch up with her she yawned and retreated back to her and Itachi's room. She still wanted to get some sleep before she had to meet this young girl.
Neji shut his door and moved to get his first aid box from a shelf. He sat next to her the green box on his lap. He gently pushed the cloak off her shoulder; growing more confident when she didn't object. He turned her so he could get better view of the wound.
His hands worked hard to make sure the wound didn't infect and his eyes stayed focus, not once straying anywhere else. Once it was done he smiled at his work and gave her a shirt to use. She put it on before crawling into his large bed.
He followed suit after switching off the light but he was sure not to get too close in case she wanted space, she automatically moved close to him and he opened his arms to her, she accepted the hug and let her tears flow once more.
Neji looked down at her, she was beyond upset he couldn't even relate to what she had been through but he was worried about her. He wrapped his arms around her and very soon after that she was fast asleep.
He promised himself that he would protect her, Itachi was right, becoming Tiara's 24/7 boyfriend had made him blind to his friends problems and if she needed help then he would sacrifice his own happiness to make sure she was safe no matter what!
He smiled and held her limp body even closer to his own, he didn't care if they found out about this, she needed him and secretly he needed her too.
With those thoughts the Hyuga boy fell asleep next to the girl he had secretly always loved and he wouldn't ever let her get hurt again!