Hey, guys. :D
So, classes for college start tomorrow, and I just barely managed to get this up tonight. Please understand the sporadic updating. :)
eternalsmiles: Always! :D Thanks.
DarkAngel2098: You will be pleased. :) I managed to write one of the dreams this chapter.
hyperloon: Haha, that's an interesting interpretation.
AnimePrincessAkina: Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Liked the song, by the way. :) It was a nice one for last chapter.
DarkAlphaSwagga361: Thanks! :D What I have in mind is not a lemon. . . but it's close. ;D
Sasutenfan: Thank you! I'll update them whenever I receive more inspiration.
Nokito-chan: Haha, you're just feeding my ego. ;) Writing stories where they go on missions and fall in love are used a lot in FanFiction, and it IS really hard to swing the whole storyline and not just the romance part. Sometimes you just have to focus it on more of the mission, so you don't get sidetracked on the romance part. Good, I'm glad you could feel it! I was worried a little about that part where he gets shot. . . Wondering if I had portrayed it alright. :D Don't worry! I did a dream for this chapter, so you can dissect away. :) Thanks as always for your awesome reviews! They make me smile. :)
Drea1284: Gracias, senorita.
Blade Redwind: Sure thing! Thanks for reviewing! :D
audaciousxXxbooks: I'll take that as a compliment. ;)
ferbfletcherlover: That's okay. This will always be here. :) Good luck with your exams!
RemaSofiRuin: Thanks very much!
Ashirah: That is the exact picture I had in my head when I wrote it. I love House of Flying Daggers. . . Great foreign film. I'll just take your word for it on WaP, 'cause I honestly don't know what I've done. Ah, that's okay. :)
Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns this. Which means I, clearly, do not.
- Predicament -
"We found him outside your home."
TenTen swallowed, keeping her eyes level with the ground.
A door behind her slid open and closed.
She could hear three sets of feet coming towards her, one set lagging behind the others.
They stopped just short of her peripheral vision; she was unable to see the intruder.
Ahead, Tsunade cocked her head in interest.
"I do believe the two of you are acquainted, are you not?"
TenTen chose not to answer, feeling beads of sweat break out across her forehead.
"Stand, TenTen of the Ivory House."
TenTen bit the inside of her cheek. The blood swam in her mouth. She winced.
"Come here."
Slowly, TenTen walked to Tsunade's side, wondering with every step what her punishment would be.
"Now, TenTen, doesn't he look familiar?" prompted Tsunade, gesturing for TenTen to raise her head.
Reluctantly, TenTen obeyed.
Just as she had suspected, it was Neji.
He was bound by the wrists and feet and had been forced onto his knees, his head being held down by the two shinobi that flanked him.
"Release him," Tsunade commanded.
Grudgingly, the two shinobi removed their hands from Neji, though they shuffled unconsciously closer in case he posed a threat.
"Look at me, Jade shinobi," addressed Tsunade, amber eyes dead as a cold fire.
TenTen felt her heart jump in panic as Neji obliged Tsunade and lifted his head.
Someone had given him a black eye; it was a mottled purplish blue and swollen.
Neji met Tsunade's eyes first, but he merely glanced at her before focusing on TenTen.
She flinched under the weight of his stare.
"Now, TenTen, would you remind me of what we do to intruders of the Jade House?"
TenTen felt her eyes sting, even as she thought of the sentence.
"Never mind, I remember," Tsunade said loftily.
She gestured to one of Neji's shinobi captors.
Neji seemed unconcerned at this point, fiercely staring at TenTen from across the room.
His lips moved.
TenTen.
TenTen clenched her fists, wishing she could hide from those eyes that saw everything.
"My apologies to you, Neji Hyuga of the Jade House, but your life has no value in this court."
TenTen's veins vibrated beneath her skin as one of Neji's captors removed his ninjato from its sheath.
She didn't look; she did not want to see the brutality of it.
But she could still hear.
The clean cut of blade against skin, cartilage, and bone. The thud as Neji's head hit the tatami mat, followed by a deeper thump made by his body.
"Clean it up," Tsunade instructed TenTen, her tone clipped and full of authority.
TenTen stumbled across the mat, hesitating as her bare feet felt the warm wetness of his blood.
The roil in her stomach heightened as she reached blindly for his severed head.
Her fingers flowed through his long dark hair and traced his high, sculpted cheekbones.
TenTen chanced a glance.
She shrieked and dropped his head to cover the scream that emitted from her mouth.
His eyes were still open.
—
TenTen jumped as she woke, her body on edge.
It was just past dawn. The sky looked promising for clear weather.
"TenTen?" murmured Neji from across the campsite.
TenTen started, surprised.
She looked over to see him awake, and watching her with indecipherable pale eyes.
"Are you alright?" he asked, seeming a little unsure of the question.
TenTen nodded quickly, hardly aware of what she was assuring.
Neji didn't seem convinced, but he didn't reply.
"How's your shoulder?" TenTen croaked, flushing at how her voice sounded.
Neji winced at the subject.
"It's painful," he responded honestly.
TenTen stood and stretched, trying to loosen the rigidity that had invaded her limbs.
"Do you want me to fashion you a sling?"
Neji smiled grimly.
"I can manage," he said.
TenTen shrugged.
"If you're sure," she muttered, pushing for indifference.
There was a pause as TenTen climbed up a tree and stole a nest of eggs for breakfast.
"What time did you fall asleep on your watch?" Neji inquired as she cooked them over the small fire.
TenTen blushed again, grateful her back was facing him so he couldn't see.
"I'm not sure, but it won't happen again. The battle probably just took more out of me than I thought."
Neji was quiet for a moment, before he said, "We can't afford mistakes anymore. Yesterday proved that there are enemies out there we will have to contend with. We must be more aware than before so we do not have a repeat of yesterday's events."
TenTen knew he was right and was just stating fact, but something inside seized her mouth, forcing her to retort viciously, "I'm not a child. You don't have to scold me."
Neji stared at her, staying silent as he thought.
He remained like that as TenTen finished packing up their campsite and eventually roused Ino and Shizune.
"We're going," TenTen announced after everyone had their breakfast. "We're very near the end of this journey."
Instead of complaining, Ino and Shizune quickly finished gathering their things and set off after TenTen, with Neji following behind, wariness in every step.
—
"You're having dreams about me."
TenTen chewed on her bottom lip, staring at the ground. It had not been a question.
Night had fallen several hours ago, and they had settled and made camp once more in a patch of woods just off the beaten farmer's path that had been taken up again at the edge of the ferns.
Ino and Shizune were occupying themselves several feet away, oblivious to any conversation TenTen and Neji were having.
"What are they of?" Neji queried when she didn't answer for a long while.
"They're just dreams," TenTen shrugged off.
Neji raised an eyebrow at her.
"Maybe. Or maybe they're something else."
TenTen bestowed a blistering glare upon him.
"What are you implying?" she sharply inquired.
"Nothing," Neji replied, but his eyes told otherwise.
TenTen looked away, bitter and angry with herself.
She dug aimlessly at the ground with the end of a stick, brooding.
Finally, she said under her breath, "I'm still planning on killing you."
Neji just barely hid his smirk.
"I'm still planning on letting you," he replied solicitously.
TenTen snapped the stick in her hands and cast the remains on the ground, turning penetrating eyes on him.
Neji met her gaze squarely, assertive.
"I'm not scared of you," he murmured.
TenTen raised an eyebrow in a slight challenge.
"You should be," she answered.
Neji smirked.
"If my life wasn't yours to freely take, I would prove you wrong," Neji informed.
TenTen scoffed.
"Like you could. I doubt you're aware of this, but I'm the best marksman in the Ivory House. I don't miss."
Neji rolled his eyes.
"What does hitting a target have to do with anything? It's a matter of how many kills you make, not how many puncture wounds."
TenTen's eyes flashed. Neji noted the quirk at the edge of her mouth that said she was amused.
"At least I don't poke people to death," she retorted.
"I don't poke people to death. Paralyzation is a very complex technique. You couldn't learn it if you tried."
"I bet I could."
"I bet you couldn't."
TenTen demanded, indignant, "Why not?"
Neji's smile grew a little broader.
"You need an endless supply of patience, which you clearly lack."
"I must have patience if I've dealt with you for this long," TenTen impishly said.
Neji analyzed her brown eyes, seeing himself mirrored in her black pupils.
A breeze whispered through the trees, stirring TenTen's bangs.
A few strands of Neji's hair blew forward and tickled TenTen's cheek.
She absently brushed it away, her expression soft as she moved it away.
Neji's fingers twitched, seized by the sudden desire to touch her face.
He immediately moved away, turning his face from hers.
"You screamed the other night. When you had your dream," he quietly murmured.
TenTen gazed at the fire, debating.
"It was about you," she finally ceded. "They've all been about you lately."
Neji considered this for a few seconds.
"What do they involve?" he ultimately queried.
"Last night they killed you and made me watch."
Neji smiled drily.
"That's a little ironic, since you're planning on killing me yourself."
TenTen blinked.
This was not about teasing anymore. This was sincere.
She swallowed, unable to sort out her feelings.
Neji sent her a reassuring glance.
"Don't worry, Ivory shinobi. You still have a week left before you take my life."
He had meant it as a lighthearted encouragement, but his words only made TenTen's heart sink a little deeper.
Review, darlings. :)