Last chapter! :D
Guess what? There's a sequel!!! Surprise! ;)
Chirisaa Tomoko: Hahaha. In the future. :D
Afictionado: :)
HeavensPheonix561: Yes, yes, they are. ;)
AnimeFreak218: I think you'd all be severely disappointed if it did. :)
hullotherexx: Hahaha. Well, that's good! Oh, it's not brisk at all. I have too many plans for this than to just end it like that. No. The sequel should be promising. . .
Fake Bliss: Blood boiling? In anger? :/
Shubhs: Really? . . . It doesn't seem any different to me. . . But thanks for the compliment!
Disclaimer: Duh duh duh . . . duh duh duh . . . DUH SHARKMAN!
XI.
In the morning, TenTen joined the friends she hadn't seen in more than three weeks for breakfast.
Neji had not arrived yet.
Over their meal of bread and milk, TenTen informed her friends of her engagement.
Sakura seemed more surprised than the rest of her comrades, who genially congratulated her.
"You've known him for barely a month!" she hissed from across the table, green eyes narrowed.
TenTen glanced at Naruto for some support, who anxiously patted Sakura's hand.
"Sakura, in the time I've known him, it's been enough to realize I care for him far deeper than any other I've known. Surely you can respect that and give Neji the benefit of the doubt."
Sakura pursed her lips and savagely tore off a piece of bread.
TenTen sighed and paused to drink some of her milk.
"If you're so concerned over my judgement, you can speak with him yourself when we move out today."
Sakura sharply met her friend's gaze.
"He's coming with us?"
TenTen perched an eyebrow.
"Yes. Jiraiya gave him permission last night."
Sakura sent a wounded glance to Naruto, who shrugged.
"I don't see the problem. They are engaged, Sakura, why wouldn't he go? If not, he'd just be wandering around Jiraiya's estate by himself with nothing to do. It's best he goes."
Sakura glared at Naruto.
"Do you not see the consequences of this? TenTen could be gone for months on end, what will he do then?"
"I've already discussed it with him, Sakura. Don't waste your breath expressing concerns," TenTen snapped, growing impatient.
Sakura raised her strawberry colored eyebrows.
"If you'll excuse me, I have to ready my supplies," she murmured grimly, getting up and whisking quickly out of the main hall.
Naruto eyed TenTen.
"She'll come around. You know she will."
TenTen wasn't so sure.
"Perhaps," she responded, mouth thin.
—
They saddled their horses two hours later, checking weapons and their horse's tack.
Jiraiya had graciously lent Neji a gray mottled gelding who appeared forever sleepy-eyed.
As she was seeing to Konohamaru and his horse, Neji passed TenTen, brushing his fingers along her waist.
She could not suppress a small smile.
Neji leaned against Konohamaru's horse's stall, considering her.
TenTen bitterly frowned.
"My friend hates me."
Neji's forehead wrinkled in bemusement.
"Why is that?"
TenTen shook her head, still irritated.
"Sakura thinks I'm making a bad decision, marrying you."
Neji kept his face impassive.
"I'll just have to change her mind then, hm?"
TenTen snorted and reached for him.
"Be careful, she's stubborn."
"No one can be more stubborn than you," Neji murmured back, chastely kissing her on the mouth.
TenTen trotted away, grasping her horse's reins and leading him outside.
Neji did the same, having little trouble with the dappled horse.
He mounted, falling into step next to his wife-to-be.
Konohamaru rode on the other side of TenTen, the three following behind Naruto and Sakura. Sai had left an hour earlier, taking his scouting seriously.
The five gathered pace and traveled for a while at a gallop.
Hours later, they rested in a glade, racked with muddy marshland.
By the time they rode out again, both the horses and the humans had mud-splattered legs.
They broke their previous rankings, Naruto falling back to converse with Konohamaru. With a nudge from TenTen's boot, Neji ambled up to ride by Sakura.
TenTen read Sakura's body language, stiff and cold. There was tension in Neji's shoulders—he was uncomfortable.
TenTen refrained herself from moving forward to help; Sakura would hate to be cornered.
She focused on Naruto and Konohamaru's conversation, listening to the endless chatter of artillery and strategy and battles.
By nightfall, they had caught up with Sai who had built a sizable fire with some dry wood he'd managed to find.
He informed them of deer in the forest, food they could eat if they ran out of their rations.
After Sakura nodded off to sleep in her canvas tent, Neji sidled next to TenTen, grasping her fingers.
"What did she say?" TenTen pried.
"The same concerns everyone has been expressing. I reassured her . . . and endured her interrogation."
TenTen appeared less than pleased.
"She wasn't rude, was she?"
The corner of Neji's mouth lifted slightly.
"Rude, but with good reason," he responded diplomatically.
TenTen rolled her eyes.
"There is no excuse for rudeness. She is taking her anger with me out on you."
"No," interrupted Neji calmly.
He wrapped his fingers around the fist she'd made, enclosing them in a firm grip.
"She is your friend and she is genuinely worried about your well-being. You cannot blame her for being suspicious. As for her questions, they were normal, much like ones an overprotective mother would ask."
Neji glanced into the fire, watching the embers shoot up and disappear in the air.
"She feels better now, more secure with our relationship," he finally murmured. "Give her time."
TenTen listened to his words silently, eyes unfocused.
Neji exhaled crisp winter oxygen.
"Go to bed, TenTen. Naruto told me we'll be riding all day tomorrow with minimal stops. Get your rest while you can."
TenTen did not argue and stood, letting her hand drop from his at the furthest length.
—
The five rose at dawn and saw Sai off around midmorning after a light breakfast.
More than once, TenTen found herself cuffing Konohamaru on the head to wake him; he had taken to sleeping while they rode, leaving his horse inattentive.
Sakura slowly began to be less colder than she had been, speaking to TenTen and Neji several times in a day.
TenTen hated the slow procession and found herself impatiently riding ahead until someone called her back.
Finally, on the fifth and final leg of their journey, the group's restlessness calmed, switching to caution and suspicion.
They would reach the Uchiha estate by noon, if nothing held them up.
"What do you expect to find?" Neji murmured to TenTen as their horses walked precariously.
TenTen's only answer was a shrug.
They had finally caught up to Sai, who had set up a tidy camp under the shelter of a large maple.
After he had cleaned it up and packed it away, they proceeded towards the Uchiha estate.
As they drew closer, Konohamaru noticed markings on the trees.
Sai explained.
"They're markings to point the way to the Uchiha estate. Hunters use them in case they get lost or separated. During winter, it is harder to distinguish where you've been. The markings are placed sporadically throughout the forest, all pointing to the location we're seeking. I've been seeing them for a few miles out."
"Do they want to help visitors also?" Konohamaru asked.
"I doubt it. Visitors are usually more polite and take the main road. Most don't enter through the woods."
Konohamaru nodded, his eyes set straight ahead.
Sai kicked his mount into a faster trot.
"I'll be right back. Just going to check ahead a bit; see how much farther away we are."
The five watched him go with nods.
TenTen moved up to sidle next to Neji.
He glanced at her, eyebrow raised.
"Are you tired of traveling, yet?" she inquired softly.
"I can endure it if you're here."
She smiled at him.
"TenTen!"
TenTen sharply looked ahead, locating the source of the noise.
It was Sai, who had returned as quickly as he'd left.
He shook his head at her.
"You must see," he murmured somberly.
TenTen spurred her horse, maneuvering around trees and brush quickly.
She could see white ahead, a snowy clearing.
The remaining four were not far behind.
When they broke through the trees, TenTen's brain almost didn't register what she saw.
Her eyes floated to the ground at the discolored snow.
Except it wasn't snow.
It was bodies.
TenTen unconciously pulled on the reins, making the horse stop.
Behind the field of dead, a large manor was blackened, touched by fire.
TenTen shook her head in sadness.
It was a massacre.
And that's it.
:)
If you wanna see what happens next, give me a few days. I should have the sequel up by then. Though, I suggest you click Author Alert when you review, otherwise you won't receive the update I've posted the sequel.
Ha. Did you catch that hint?
Review.
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See you soon, guys.
- KNO