Author's Note: O hey, another chapter here. And I'm almost finished with the next one. Why do I update so fast, you ask? I have absolutely nothing to do. College isn't that busy yet (Thank goodness!) And I don't have hospital work right now. But it will resume in January though.

To all who reviewed (SubtleQuirk, SarcasticScript, Little Benzai-Ten, athcagaluv and Sairey13), thank you so much! You guys keep me motivated~ And I will always put your 'typed' words to mind. It kinda means a lot to me, so, thanks again.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Bonds – Chapter 10

"Neji-kun!" The red-haired woman beamed a smile at him as he entered her room.

"Kasumi-san." He nodded a bow, "I brought your dinner." He quietly a tray of hot food for his client, clutched in between his hands, he walked over to the small wooden table in her room and placed it there. He really would have made Hinata do this, but their once-gentle client had been unusually hostile to the shy kunoichi. So, he had no choice, lest he wants to see the dear heiress wear this hurt expression on her face.

He is her protector after all.

The male with opalescent eyes opened his mouth to speak again, "We shall be leaving tomorrow."

Her head suddenly jerked up to him in surprise, her long red hair following her movements."What? So soon?"

"Hn." He replied. He never moved from his place near the wooden table, nor did the client from her bed.

"Can't we stay longer?" She asked, her emerald-colored orbs narrowed with sadness and disappointment, and her pink lips curved into a frown and parted, waiting for an answer she doesn't want to hear.

"We cannot." The male escort said with his silent but authoritative voice. "We are already late as it is."

"No." Her delicate eyebrows twitched and she doesn't know if she should be disappointed or angry. "I'm the client here, I requested this mission. And I want to stay here longer." And if I can, I wouldn't want to go back.

"Kasumi-san, we can't." He paused for a while and waited for further protest from his fuming client, but there was none, so he continued, "We were given only a certain amount of time to accomplish this mission. If we are unable to complete this by then, the Hokage would dispatch search parties for us."

Kasumi loudly exhaled, fully knowing that her battle was lost, and she didn't dare to say anymore.

His eyes never left the person that he's speaking to, and he noticed that her eyes were suspiciously moist.

Kasumi had recovered fully and much to the female shinobi's dismay, it's their last night in the inn. Neji had informed her earlier that they will be leaving at dawn, and she had already packed her bag with food and other necessities for their journey. Her kunais were already sharpened, and so were her shurikens, and she's ready to go tomorrow, the only problem is that, she doesn't want to.

She knows that Tea Country is only some days away, and once they had successfully accomplished their mission and Kasumi is back to her home and family, they would have to journey back to Konoha. And once they had returned, she has to keep her word that he's going to be set free from his duties to her, and that means that if he doesn't want to be around her, he can just easily avoid her. Aside from that, once they get back, Hinata knows that Neji's initiation ceremony into the ANBU will begin. And she has this sinking feeling inside of her that she might never see him again.

The heiress sighed softly.

"Hinata-sama? Is there something wrong?" The young jounin looked at her and the dinner that she had barely touched.

"O-oh...um, N-nothing. I-I'm sorry." She stammered an apology and bit her lip. There are questions nagging her on the back of her mind, but being a kunoichi for more than five years, she already knows the answers to them, but she wants to hear it from him nevertheless. "Neji-nii... ummm..." She begun and paused, trying to word each question on her mind. When we get back to Konoha, will I be able to see you again?

"What is it?" He asked, putting his chopsticks down.

"Ummm... W-when will you b-become ANBU?" She inhaled and placed her hands under the table and on her lap.

"Once we return." He said, his voice was sounding aloof and unconcerned.

"O-oh... Um, in A-ANBU, how long w-will your m-missions take?" Her head was slightly tilted down, not wanting their identical eyes to meet. Even though her face is currently hidden by her indigo-colored bangs, she tries to keep the emotions on her face from showing. Hinata knows very well that he can understand even the slightest twitch in one's face.

"It can be weeks, months or even years. It depends on the mission's difficulty and how fast we will be able accomplish it." Neji sounded confused for a bit. Doesn't she already know this? "But the average mission usually takes some months to complete."

Her right hand grasped the small fingers on her left hand and squeezed. "O-oh..." She said. "Ummm... What about our trainings?"

"I will not be able to train you anymore. I'm sorry." There was something that tinged his voice, making it sound less detached than usual, but when she quickly glanced up at his face, his features remained as expressionless as ever. She almost dismissed it, thinking that her ears are playing tricks on her, but somehow, she wants herself to believe that Neji is actually feeling something for going away. Sadness, maybe?

The young jounin waited for her to ask more, but she never did.

Silence lingered on for minutes, and he noticed that her head didn't move up from her bow. Neji was not quite sure why, but he is feeling quite uneasy. And he had this little urge to place his hand under her chin at tilt her head up so that he will be able to see her pale eyes.

There is something wrong, he knows it. But he was not really quite sure what he should do.

And to Hinata, one question remains unanswered, Will I be able to see you again?

Again, like the nights before this one, ever since they first stayed at the inn, she is staring again at his broad back, his clothed shoulder was peeking from the white covers and his hair was set free from the restriction of the thin white band that had always held it in place, to keep it out of his way.

She again felt the urge to run her fingers through his brown locks, even if it's just once. Even if it's just this time.

Knowing that he's sound asleep, she silently and carefully pulled the flimsy white blanket covering her and slowly rose from her wooden bed. The female fought the urge to flinch when the bare skin of her feet was greeted by the cold floor.

Neji was sleeping, with his body facing and coming in close contact with the wall. With her pale eyes, she eyed him intently, scrutinizing his form, memorizing every feature, angle and line her sense of sight can take in.

The white, gentle light of the moon had casted dark shadows over their room, it covered and engulfed them both. And with it, she felt a little bold, a little invisible like a ghost. Her nervousness and hesitation had been covered and pushed to the side by the stillness and calmness of the night.
She felt like she was alone; and she is able to do anything that she wanted to do without being judged, scrutinized or even stopped, she almost is, except for the presence of the warm breathing body before her that her nerve endings on her skin had always wanted to feel and be indulged in.

She cautiously crossed the distance between her bed and his with her small and dainty steps.

She cautiously cleared the empty side of his bed, her small white hands carefully and delicately pushed his cotton blanket to him, bringing it closer to his body.

She wants to feel closer to him, even just this once.

She slowly sat on the firm mattress, and gently laid her head on the empty unused pillow, just beside Neji's.

The wooden bed creaked a little at her movements, and the spring, foam and cloth beneath their bodies compressed and squeezed under their combined weight.

She shifted, careful not to get too close, but close enough to feel his warmth.

There were certain feelings and words that filled her chest and wanted to burst from her mouth. Just like all the other nights before, she let them out one by one, but this might be the last one. Their last night.
So like the past few nights that she had been silently whispering to him from the other bed across the room, she gathered up her courage that seemed to be uninhibited as long as he's asleep.

She doesn't want this night to end, she doesn't want the sun to rise if it means separating from this moment. She felt safe here, safe because he's close enough for her to touch him, and close enough to feel his body warmth radiating from him.

But she's still inches away.

She's quite afraid that he will wake up, become sober from the surprise of seeing her in his bed, and get mad and drive her away.

But if this is our last night, she thought.

She silently took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting go of all her worries and fears.

He won't mind, she told herself, he will never know.

The pale-eyed woman hesitantly opened her palms and let her fingertips brush against the soft white fabric of his shirt. From his shoulders, as he laid sleeping, her hand moved down, tracing an imaginary straight line. And under under the calloused pads of her fingers, she felt his clothes, his heat, and the bones that she can barely feel from the feathery lightness of her touch, and his silken hair. She dragged her fingers agonizingly slow, as if she'll never be able to do this again.

But she is happy, but awfully confused of what she's feeling.

Like every person in the world, Hinata has weaknesses and certain urges.

As the future clan head she was brought up to be prim and proper, sex was something taboo for her, she was not allowed to think about carnal pleasures. She barely knows anything about that, the only information that she had heard and gathered is when she would accidentally hear someone else's conversation. To her it was strange, and it ended up with her cheeks heating up and blazing furiously, even though she barely understood what they meant.

So Hinata doesn't really understand what this burning feeling inside her is. All she knows is that she wants to touch him or to feel him against her. She doesn't know if it's wrong. She doesn't know if this is enough.

Ignoring the strange feeling in her body, and focusing on what she wanted to tell him this night, she bit her lip, and slowly curled her fingers on the cloth on his back. As her lips parted to inhale for courage, the air was full of his scent.

"Neji-nii..." She begun, her voice wasn't louder than a squeak. It was so soft and airy that it was barely heard by her own ears.

"This might be the last time that I'll be able to talk to you this way... b-but I-I want y-you to k-know..." she paused, disappointed at her faltering courage as she stammered.

Concentrating at what she wanted to say, she closed her eyes once again, hiding her pale orbs.

"I want you to know something, e-even if you don't f-feel the same way and w-will never will..." She forced herself to go on, her eyes squinting shut.

"...I-I don't t-think that I can e-ever say this again, b-but... Neji, I love you." She dropped the honorific, and the last four words were barely audible and comprehensible as she felt some kind of lump in her throat blocking the passage of her voice, but her chest felt oddly light.

I guess that was all I needed, She thought. And let go of a breath that she had not know that she had been keeping.

Her fisted hands slowly uncurled, letting go of his shirt. And she sadly smiled to herself. Too bad he'll never really know.

But white lavender eyes widened in surprise when Neji shifted to face her, his eyes that are much like her's didn't have a trace of sleepiness in them, and his lips were curled upwards into a smile.

"I know." He said as if she asked for his reply.

"Y-your're a-a-awake?" She asked, her cheeks looked like it was draining all the blood from her body.

"Yes." He said, his smile never leaving his face. "Do you think that I never heard you whisper these past few nights? Do you think that I am not able to see you just because my back is turned to you?"

She didn't dare to answer because what she thought was already obvious in her shocked face.

But Neji sensed her distress and raised his hand, lightly touching her face. With his long, slender fingers he brushed the stray strands of her long dark hair from her face and caressed her cheek. I had been wanting to do this for so long.

You don't know how much I hid, how much I've wanted you for so long.

His hand slid to cradle her jaw to prevent her head from turning away as he gently dipped his head, and he lightly pressed his lips against hers.

The way her lips trembled on contact, and how she squinted her eyes tightly shut, confirmed his notion that she's still innocent, pure, and inexperienced. And he smiled against her soft closed lips as he thought to himself if this is her first kiss.