I think this is the shortest chapter I have made. XD; But, nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!
Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.
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Chapter Ten: Success
Ferio only smirked at Tenten's statement. Even with their beaten up state, they still wanted to battle? This would be rich. "Seems like the fight made your head spin, bunny girl. You sure about that?"
It took a lot of self-restrain for Neji not to dash forward and pummel the guy dead after he heard what he called Tenten. Instead, he just twitched from the nickname as his fists clenched even more, if that was even possible. Tenten simply glared at him and nodded at her two teammates who returned her nod with a smile.
"Yeah, let's finish this!" Ino agreed, smirking. "Get ready, you moss-haired freak!"
All three girls took off rapidly, too swift for the naked eye to follow. It was as if they were never injured at all. They ran in perfect synchrony towards Ferio as the lad took his stance to prepare himself. But, it was too late as Ino advanced quickly near him—maneuvering her body to plant a mighty kick on his stomach.
It worked faultlessly as Ferio plummeted down the ground but, even before he came contact with the soil underneath him, Ino ran to catch him with another mighty kick. The lad flew the other direction and even before he was able to fall down, Hinata already activated her infamous technique.
"Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!"
When Ferio's half-conscious body came contact with the shield the Hyuuga had just created, there came a loud shriek of anguish. Blood spurted from everywhere and when Hinata was finally finished with her technique, she planted a mighty Juuken Ryuu on his unconscious body.
The green-haired lad flew upwards and even before he came contact with the Earth below, Tenten immediately opened her scroll. "Sougu Tensasai!" She shouted, unraveling her own technique.
Various armaments of different sizes flew high up in the air and when gravity called on them, they followed Ferio's body on their way down. When the ninja finally fell, assorted weapons punctured him, stabbed him, killed him dead.
If this was a stage play, Neji would've given them a round of applause. But, instead, he just smirked. That was what that bastard got for messing with these feisty girls. Indeed, Konoha kunoichi were the best in their field.
That sudden fast movement was too much for Tenten as she almost collapsed down the ground. It was a good thing Neji was quick enough to catch her even before that occurred. His eyes gave out a look of pure concern as he stared at the beautiful out cold lass in his arms. She fought until the very end, that much was obvious, and he smiled upon realizing that. His Tenten was really one heck of a girl.
He glanced at the two other kunoichi who just watched their portrayal of love. "You alright, Hinata-sama?"
The lass smiled. "H-Hai, Neji-niisan, I'm fine."
Ino crossed her arms and looked away. "Great, now no one will ask if I was okay or not."
"Hey, you guys! Are you all alright?" A piercing voice shouted and when Ino averted her gaze to find out who it was, she couldn't help but sigh.
Not exactly the person I had in mind.
xXx
Both Naruto and Shino arrived too late, much to the annoyance of the former. Although, his irritation wavered almost instantly when he saw that Hinata, the person he wanted to see, was all right. As impulsive as ever, Naruto abruptly hugged the Hyuuga heiress upon seeing her all in one piece and it surprised everyone there that Hinata didn't faint and that Neji didn't pummel the blonde boy into a bloody pulp.
Of course, Ino thought, everyone had to have their moment.
The blonde Yamanaka, after making that realization, glanced at Shino fleetingly. She wore a cynical look after concluding that even if their names sounded alike, there was no way on Earth that she would date someone who was literally a living nest of bugs. And if that day indeed transpired, she would never forget to bring dozens of insect repellants.
Naruto still had his right arm around Hinata's shoulder when he approached Ferio's corpse.
"Ha! Is this the moron that tried hurting you, Hinata-chan?"
Hinata merely nodded, still blushing tremendously.
Naruto kicked the noticeably lifeless body. "Here, take that! That's for hurting Hinata-chan!" He said proudly, laughing cockily after. Hinata smiled at the ramen-loving blonde and she blushed even more, if that was even possible, when Naruto playfully rubbed his nose on Hinata's.
"Oi, Naruto. Easy going there. I'm still here," Neji reprimanded coolly, half-glaring at the hyper-active lad. He still had Tenten in his arms as he was carrying her bridal style.
Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly with his free hand. "Hehe, I'm not doing anything! I'm just happy Hinata-chan's safe!"
"Hn,"
"Could you all please get a room?" Ino whined, rolling her eyes.
Naruto grinned. "Heh, I should've brought along Chouji here, huh?"
"Ew, you didn't just say that, Naruto! When we get back, I'll surely make you eat my moisturizer!"
"Speaking of getting back, aren't we supposed to be heading now?" Shino asked calmly. Neji met his gaze and nodded.
"Yes, we should. Tenten must be brought to the hospital soon," The Hyuuga genius replied, glancing at the girl he was carrying. He gripped her body closer to his as a determined look graced his features.
"And after she gets healed, you're gonna go with her on that date you promised, yes?" Ino inquired, grinning.
For a moment, Neji didn't know what to say. So, Tenten told them about that, huh? He couldn't help but feel guilty and at the same time, slightly embarrassed. Tenten doesn't deserve to be stood up like that. And yes, after everything, he would make it up to her. Neji stared at Tenten's sleeping form and once again, he smiled. Yes, he would date her—countless of times if needed be.
After all, Tenten was his.
"A-ano.. Ino-san, h-how about Ayumi-san?" Hinata queried all of a sudden.
Ino slapped her forehead with her palm. "Oh yeah! I completely forgot about her. You should go get her now, Hinata."
"T-That's just it… I can't f-find her anymore,"
"What? Where did she go then?"
xXx
She was fast. She knew none of those girls followed her. She had arrived safely back at Amegakure and she made sure no one was pursuing her. She closed the door of her house behind her and she panted, catching her breath. She had just ran all the way from the forest after she made sure that Byakugan user wasn't looking.
When she took her first step inside, she knew someone was already there waiting for her.
"What are you doing here? I have granted your request, didn't I?"
The edifice was partly obscured and he was sitting on a particular darkened side. "My minions failed to retrieve them,"
Her brows furrowed. "Well, that's none of my business. I did my part. I wrote that letter, staged the whole thing that you forged it, befriended them… everything!"
"Not everything, my dear Ayumi. You see, I don't have my Konoha informants."
"That's not my problem anymore. Regardless of everything, you said you'll leave me alone!"
A soft chuckle. "Don't you get it? Since I don't have my necessary data about the Kyuubi, you fail. I don't have any use of you anymore. I have extracted all the needed information regarding the Hachibi from you,"
She could feel herself trembling from fear. Her legs began wobbling. "Oh, please, Pain-sama! Don't do this!"
There was an abrupt gust of wind and just when Ayumi planned on bolting out, he was already behind her. "But, I'm afraid I will." He said in a forbidding whisper. Even before the woman could move, he already pierced her with a kunai from behind. Blood gushed out incessantly from her along with all of her suppressed tears. And her painful wail was overwhelmed by the roaring thunder as rain started to spatter on Amegakure's fusty streets.
- Owari
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Yep, it's already the end! Thank you for all who reviewed and who will review. Thanks for reading all the way up to here as well. I appreciate your patience, dedication and effort! :P
I have another story in the works and instead of NejiTen being the flag pairing just like here in Tres Marias, it's gonna be NaruHina so stay tuned for that. :D It's going to be an AU one to take a break from this OU fic.
Oh yeah! I'll give cookies to anyone who would figure out something neat about the chapter titles, hehe. XD