Chapter 11

Shikamaru perked up slightly, but still remained in his lazed posture. Neji activated his Byakugan and scanned the corridors. He saw Kasumi Sano sprinting towards their room. No wonder the both of them hadn't felt anything.

"We've got mail." Neji said. Shikamaru made no reaction, only opening one eye to watch as the door of the room burst open. Kasumi panted as she wiped sweat off her brow with the back of one hand and held a thick package with elaborate markings in the other. Neji cocked his head to one side and studied the markings. It was a seal which protected the package from being opened by anyone except for those who had the authority.

"N… Neji" Kasumi acknowledged. "I came here as fast as I could. This is from Sunagakure" She handed the package to Neji, who in turn, slid it over to Shikamaru.

"This is your specialty, Shikamaru, break the seal." He smirked. Shikamaru grunted in reply and studied the markings.

"Tsk, she just had to use the most complicated one." He mumbled.

Neji and Kasumi watched as Shikamaru took a deep breath, and then performed a series of hand-signs. His movement was swift, but it took him a good 2 minutes before he was able to break the seal. A puff of smoke burst from the package, and the markings disappeared. Shikamaru stretched and yawned.

"Well, let's get to work, shall we?" he said idly. Neji nodded and started spreading the blueprints and maps on the large table in front of them.

"Um…Neji?" Neji turned around. He had almost forgotten Kasumi was still standing there.

"Yes" He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you guys going on a mission?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"Hn"

"Um, ok then. I'll leave you two to it. Oh, and good luck." She waved as she made her way to the door and closed it with a tiny click. The boys continued to stare at the door for a few more seconds.

"Who was that?" Shikamaru finally asked. Neji turned to him and caught a slight flush on his face.

"You too?" Neji asked, amused.

"What… What!? No, of course not, don't be troublesome, Neji." He turned back to the maps. Neji chuckled quietly.

"Her name is Kasumi Sano. She's an orphan. I train her sometimes."

"Oh. I don't seem to have noticed her around much."

"She left Konoha for quite a while after her parents died. She only came back recently.

"Oh."

"Why do you ask? Do you like her?"

"Hell no! Don't be stupid!"

"Good, because I want you to finish this mission before Temari kills you."

"Fuck off, Neji!"

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Tenten slowly opened her eyes, waking from her dreamless sleep. This was strange, very strange indeed. She felt normal. She felt comfortable. She felt herself, something she hadn't felt in what seemed to be ages. She rolled her head on her pillow and glanced out at the sky. It was dark, and stars were scattered across it. She turned back to her room. She seemed to be alone in it. That was strange as well; not that she didn't appreciate it. The people who had been forcing their conciseness into hers for the past month were nowhere to be seen. That was when she remembered. The tiny, dark haired medic nin had threatened her:

"I'm leaving for a few days, but that doesn't mean I don't know what you're doing. If you as much as hint to that boyfriend of yours what's going on…" Tenten knew she was referring to her white eyed former teammate.

"What will you do? Kill me?" Tenten shot back.

"Oh, no, better." The medic nin smirked.

"I'll make you kill him."

"You wouldn't be able to kill him, even if you wanted to!" she had wanted to say.

But she knew she couldn't risk it.

She sighed, relieved she would at least have a few days without the headaches and the horrible memories she had been forced to relive over and over again. She thought of all the things that had happened so quickly, which had led to these dreadful, year-like days.

Flashback

Tenten stretched and sighed peacefully as she walked in the mass of trees as her other two teammates strolled along beside her.

"I can't wait to get home." She chirped. They had just finished a mission, and were on their way back to Konoha. It had been successfully accomplished, and all three of them were in good moods. One of Tenten's teammates, Kaita, turned and smiled at her.

"I can't wait either." He said. Tenten giggled.

"That is so sweet!" She slapped him on the back. "I bet your fiancée misses you as much as you miss her."

He blushed at her comment.

"When is your wedding?" She asked.

"Next month." He answered sheepishly.

"Am I invited?"

"O…of course, Tenten chan! I thought you didn't need to ask to know that!" He said, surprised she had asked such an obvious question.

"Oooh, I can't wait!" Tenten exclaimed. "It's about time I got to wear a dress and look pretty. It's been absolutely ages since I've had an excuse to dress up!"

"Yes, that Hyuga boy would certainly have a nosebleed if he sees you looking so beautiful." Tenten's other teammate, Dai joined the conversation. Dai was an older, more mature man with stubble and the beginnings of wrinkles adorning his face. He was a husband; and a father of a newborn baby boy.

"Shut up, Dai." Tenten blushed. The two men laughed at their youngest team member.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't some cute little Konoha ninjas." A deadly familiar voice came from above them in the trees. The three of them whipped their heads upwards simultaneously. A man with a heavily distorted face and long flowing hair was looking down at them. He licked his lips.

"Orochimaru…" Dai whispered dangerously and Tenten's heart skipped a beat.

Indeed, it was Orochimaru. Next to him, stood two hooded figures, their faces hidden in the shadows of their cloaks. Tenten couldn't tell who they were, but she could tell they were female from their slender and curvaceous bodies.

"This could be fun." Orochimaru laughed. "Shall we kill them?" He asked the girl to his right, who was, compared to the other, shorter and smaller.

"Let's." She sniggered.

The next few minutes happened as a blur for Tenten. Her mind went numb as all she could see and feel was blood, sweat, and tears. Swords and kunais were whipped across the air. A giant snake fell from nowhere and tore at Kaita with no mercy. She frantically sent weapons in all directions. A finger came at her face and she suddenly felt an immense pain from her eye. She reached her hand up to touch it. She sobbed in horror as she realized that… it was gone.

"Tenten, pull yourself together! She screamed at herself. "She looked around with her remaining eye and saw it. She grabbed it.

"That's right, Tenten, Sakura will know how to fix this." She assured herself.

She knew there was no way she could win these people. Tenten felt herself rushing over to a bloody Dai and lifting him up with all her power. How she managed to carry a man twice as heavy as she was; she didn't know, and she didn't care. All she could remember was running. Running, running, and more running. Her muscles ached and burned, screaming at her to stop, but somehow, her brain managed to deaden that feeling as well. She ran for what seemed like forever. Then, she heard voices. She was tired. The sun was blazing onto her. She walked into someone.

She heard Naruto's voice.

She heard Neji's voice.

Then everything went black.

There it was. It was the voice again. His voice. Orochimaru's voice.

"What a surprise, my pet." It said. Tenten looked around in the blackness. She flung her hands around. Where was he?

"Stop it!" She screamed at him. He laughed.

"I'll find you!' She screamed again.

"No use." Orochimaru taunted.

"I'm inside your head."

The next thing she knew. She had woken up. Her left eye still hurt, but she could see again. It seemed someone had fixed it. But somehow, it didn't feel quite right…

The nurse standing beside her dropped her files and gasped when she saw the kunoichi stir. She rushed out of the hospital room. A few minutes later, Tsunade burst in with Sakura at her heels.

"I'm home!" Tenten thought to herself in delight. She tried to smile, but somehow, she couldn't.

"Tenten, do you know where you are?" Sakura asked her.

"Yes, of course! I'm in the hospital!" She wanted to say. But somehow, she couldn't. She wasn't in control of her own body. She couldn't open her mouth to speak. All she could manage was to stare at Sakura.

"Tenten, are you alright?" Sakura looked worried.

"Wh...Where am I? Who are you?" Tenten heard herself ask.

Why was she asking such a question when she knew exactly where she was?

She felt like she was no longer herself. Like somebody had taken control over her. Tenten couldn't figure out what was going on with her. The people in the room looked at one another. They left her room and she could see them talking outside with hushed voices.

Then, Gai sensei came. Then Lee came. One by one, her friends came, but she couldn't acknowledge them. Then Neji came.

"Tenten, you're awake!" He said to her. He grabbed her hand, and she could feel herself melt. He had never held her before.

"How do you feel, are you in pain?" He asked. She wanted to tell him she was fine, that seeing him was everything that she had wanted or needed. But she couldn't. Instead, she felt herself pull away from him and ask him a question which made her heart break.

"Who are you?"

Tenten knew something had happened between her and Orochimaru when he had taken her eye out. He had somehow managed to get inside her head, and not just that, he was controlling her every move. Tenten wanted to scream. She wanted to kill Orochimaru.

"Get out of my head!" She yelled mentally.

"Not until a bit of fun!" Tenten mentally froze. This was a new voice. This was a girl's voice; it was the voice of the small hooded figure that had been standing next to Orochimaru.

"Don't you dare tell anyone what's happening, or else…" The voice inside her head warned.

"Oh yeah?" She replied. And what if I do?

"You don't want to know."

Tenten was not going to be threatened by this. She was a kunoichi! She had to be strong. Her next chance came that afternoon. Neji was there. Tsunade sama was there, and Sakura was there. She tried to tell them as she pushed the voices away from her head. But all she heard was:

"I warned you, bitch!" And a horrible pain knocked at her head. She screamed and shouted as a medic nin pierced a needle into her arm and she blackened out.

When Tenten woke up, she still had a light cramp in her head, but at least it was bearable. She tried to move, but something heavy was resting near her feet. She looked up and saw Neji, sleeping peacefully near her. She reached out to touch him, but the voice in her head came back.

"Boyfriend?" It asked. It was the girl again.

"That's none of your business." She shot back.

"I don't think you should be touching him." It said. Involuntarily, the arm she had reached out which was so close to Neji's hair shot back towards herself, and she lied back down onto her bed. Neji stirred and awoke.

"You're awake." She heard herself say.

When Sakura brought in her dinner, Tenten decided to try again. Only to be met by the same piercing aches in her head.

"You're making this hard for yourself!" The voice said, as Tenten twitched and scream, trying to get the pain out of her body. She managed to take control over herself for a brief moment, and she grabbed at Neji.

"Orochimaru!" She managed to scream at him, before the pain was so unbearable, she fainted.

Tenten first came face to face with the mysterious girl inside her head a few days later. She had not expected it at all. She had walked in, smiling as if nothing was wrong, with Gaara, Temari, Naruto, Neji, and all the rest of the people. She was introduced as 'the medic nin from Suna.' Tenten had found her strangely familiar, and when she spoke, she knew. She tried to tell them, she even pointed right at her, but nobody understood what this seemingly insane girl was trying to tell them. When she was left alone with her in the room, she finally understood why Orochimaru and 'his gang' were doing this.

"Where is Uchiha Sasuke?" She would ask her over and over again, every single day. She would answer them with the truth – she didn't know. But they wouldn't believe her.

She later learned that this girl; the mysterious person inside her head, the 'Medic nin from Suna' was Aoki Ai.

Tenten sighed. When was this going to end?

Suddenly, she felt a familiar chakra flow; his chakra flow. She rummaged through her mind what she could do.

"I can't let him know!" She thoughtto herself.

Just as he came in through the window, Tenten quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

She heard Neji walk in; she felt his body heat, so close to her as he leaned down and carefully pushed stray strands of hair away from her face. She could hear and feel his breathing against her face. She almost wanted to just wake up and tell him everything was alright.

"I'll make you kill him."

No, she couldn't risk it. So instead, she remained as still as she could, as Neji brushed her face with his rough and gentle fingers.

"I'll save you from this, Tenten." He whispered, before planting a soft kiss onto her forehead. And with a swift rustle of his robes, he was gone.

She opened her eyes, and a tear rolled down her cheek and onto the pillow.

"I know you will, Neji." She smiled.

It was a promise

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Neji jumped from roof to roof towards the Hyuga complex. He had just finished making out their mission's plan. It had taken them a good few hours. The plan had to be flawless, because the enemy practically was. He was now going back to quickly get some basic necessities for the mission; he was due to be in the Hokage tower in half an hour. As he travelled, he noticed the Konoha hospital. He remembered Aoki Ai wasn't there, so he swiftly changed his route and made his way towards Tenten's room. As he got closer, he thought he felt Tenten's chakra flow; something he hadn't felt in a very long time. He quickened his pace and jumped in through her window. She was asleep, and he decided feeling her chakra flow was just his imagination. He stared at her; her features softened by the moonlight. He couldn't help but reach out and touch her.

Watching her made him even more determined.

"I'll save you from this, Tenten." He whispered, planting a kiss on her forehead. He tore himself away from her and left the hospital.

Neji quickly packed his belongings, keeping his bags as light as possible. As he left for the main gates, he remembered something. He had to tell someone.

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The team arrived in the Hokage's office at precisely the same time, each jumping through a different window.

"Very punctual." Tsunade complimented.

"Yosh, punctuality is key factor to youthfulness!" said a certain thick browed boy. He was ignored.

Shikamaru briefed them on their mission, and with a worried 'good luck' from the Hokage, the team made their way to leave the office. Sakura had been fidgeting with her fingers all through the briefing, something the Tsunade, Neji, and even Shikamaru had noticed, but hadn't said anything about. She lagged behind as the last of her team members had left the room.

"Umm, Tsunade sama?" She said quietly.

"What is it, Sakura?" She replied.

"Um… have you seen Sasuke around lately?" The Hokage sighed and leaned back on her chair. She took a swig from her jug of sake.

"I haven't." She replied honestly. "In fact, I haven't seen him for quite a while. I've been looking for him as well. I thought it would be a good idea for him to go on this mission, seeing he knows so much about Orochimaru. But I couldn't find him. I assumed he had left." Sakura froze.

"Left… as in left Konoha?" She stuttered.

"That's right."

"Oh." Sakura looked disappointed. She bit her lip and turned to leave the room.

"Sakura." The Hokage said sternly.

"Y…yes?"

"Pull yourself together."

"H… Huh?"

"That's right, that's what I said." The Hokage replied. "This is a very important mission. You should know better than to let a man like that get in the way of your concentration. You're a kunoichi now, a real one. Not a love deprived teenage girl anymore."

"I… I'm sorry, Tsunade sama."

"This is a very important mission for the Hyuga boy. Don't screw it up." Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She knew what the Hokage meant, and she knew she couldn't let Sasuke control her anymore. When she opened her eyes again, the determined sparkle was back, and the Hokage smiled.

"That's my girl." She took another swig of sake as she watched her pink haired student leave the room.

If you guys haven't already realized, Tenten's flashback is based on the first few chapters, except it's in Tenten's POV instead of Neji's. Hope it's not too confusing! You can go back and read chapter 1-5 if you've forgotten everything already. )

Cheers,

xholicx

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