Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
A/N 3/2/14: Hey there! Are you guys ready for the secret? ARE YOU? Okay good! Well, that is if you haven't already figured it out. And if you guys think that this story is coming to an end any time soon, you are sorely mistaken. I still have a lot coming, like something regarding Neji and Tenten's relationship (which you may or may not like, but I'm assuming you'll probably like it!) Okay it seems that you all really liked that lemon, good! I spent 6 hours of my Sunday writing that! Okay I won't announce the results anymore, but the polls are still happening so you'll have to read to find out! It's a long chapter, brace yourselves!
Warning: Well, the stuff on the tape is disturbing. Hope you can stomach it!
Chapter 11: Neji's House of Horrors
Neji looked up at the ceiling. He had slept very little that night. He looked down to see that Tenten was still sleeping, snuggled into his chest. She had been smiling all night. He loved that. It had been so long since he'd seen her smile. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. And after there'd been so much ugliness between them and in his life, a little beauty was nice.
He ran his fingers down her smooth back. She stirred a little and her eyelids fluttered a little. He smiled as he leaned down and gently kissed her on the forehead. Her eyes slowly fluttered open.
It was nice for her to wake up on top of something so warm. And it was even nicer that it was Neji. But to top it all off, he was smiling, for the first time in the longest time. She snaked up and pecked him on the lips, "Morning!"
Neji smiled, "You're really cute when you sleep you know that?"
She blushed, "You were watching me?"
Neji shrugged, "I was just waiting for you to wake up."
Her muscles felt tense and as she tried to stretch, she flinched a little as the area in between her legs felt a little tender. Oh that's right…
She blushed as she tried to move, but Neji's arms stayed securely around her, not wanting to let go. "What's the rush Tenten? It's only 6:45 in the morning. The sun's barely up."
"Oh," she turned redder as she rolled off of him to take the place next to him.
"Feeling shy?" he teased, rolling on top of her and pinning her to the bed. She giggled.
"Wasn't one time enough for you?"
He chuckled, "Well, we'll have to do it again sometime."
She smiled sweetly and he bent over and lightly brushed his lips against hers, "Thanks for staying all night."
"I should probably get going soon. I don't want your dad coming in here and castrating me," Neji chuckled, and Tenten laughed.
"Well you were always a fast runner. Besides the damage is already done."
Neji raised an eyebrow, "Damage huh?"
"Well that's what it'll be in his eyes," she giggled, "His precious little Tenten is a virgin no more. The Hyuuga boy has defiled her."
Neji released her, "Hmm, are you sure I was the one who defiled you Tenten? If I remember correctly, it was you who decided to wear nothing but a tank top and a pair of panties."
"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled.
Then he smiled, and Tenten couldn't fathom why. Until he said, "You were a virgin?"
Tenten arched an eyebrow, "Um yeah. Have you seen me with anyone in the past couple of years? I've never even had a…boyfriend."
Neji let out a sigh of relief. He was thankful that she had never been with anyone else. "Yeah…so was I."
Tenten couldn't help but smile, "Somehow I always knew that you and me would…"
"Yeah, so did I," he whispered, bending down and kissing her once more.
Tenten kissed back and against his lips whispered, "So where does this put us Neji?"
Neji pulled away and looked down at her confused, "What do you mean?"
"I mean in terms of our relationship, where does this put us? I mean we've kind of already gone to the point of no return," she said, biting her lip. Secretly she was a bit scared of his answer. He hadn't been completely sober last night, and she didn't know if it was really the alcohol talking.
Neji didn't say anything, and the dread was building up in her stomach. What if he was starting to realize that it was a mistake? What would happen then? But his next action surprised her. He kissed her deeply, before pulling away and saying, "I don't think I need to tell you what we are Tenten. I know it's still dangerous for us to be together, but as long as we can keep this a secret…"
Tenten couldn't help herself from screaming in joy and grabbing Neji by the back of his head and bringing him down so she could kiss him again.
They rolled around on her bed until they heard a loud knock on the door.
"Tenten, Tenten? Are you coming downstairs anytime soon?" it was her father, and he seemed a little irritated.
Neji looked at the clock. It was barely past 7 o'clock. He looked at Tenten with an arched eyebrow, "You wake up this early on a Saturday?"
Tenten rolled her eyes, "Yeah don't ask. It was kind of my idea."
Neji kissed her forehead, "Of course it was. But I think I better leave before he breaks down the door and sees us like this."
She pouted before reluctantly agreeing. They both slid out of bed and quickly dressed. Of course they had a bit of a hard time finding them because Neji had thrown them all over the place. She cursed him slightly as he just chuckled.
Finally, as he was about to exit through the window Tenten yelled, "Hey!" Neji turned around confused only to find his lips smashed against Tenten's. He kissed back without hesitation, but broke the kiss first.
"If we continue on with that, we'll probably end up going for round two," he winked, only to be hit in the arm by Tenten.
"Okay I think you had too much fun. Get on home before you get caught up again," she smiled.
Neji tried his best not to cringe in front of her. No need to get her all suspicious, "Okay, I'll see you later then?"
Tenten pecked him on the lips once more, "Of course!"
Neji smiled and with that, he disappeared out the window…
Sakura clutched the steering wheel tightly. She looked up at the mansion and frowned. Ino had been roped into some family thing and Sakura had to come here on her own. This was the last place she wanted to be. She hadn't been here in years, and she hadn't planned on coming here ever again. Especially when Sasuke had found it extremely important to hide something like that from her. It still rubbed her the wrong way and it definitely still hurt.
She wished Ino was here more than ever. She didn't want to have to deal with the hurt or the pain that she had to all those years ago.
She stood in front of the door and sighed. She could always just run. But the nagging suspicion in her gut was too much. If Sasuke knew something, he needed to spill it. She'd recognized that man there that day. That's why she had stayed so silent the entire car ride. She couldn't forget that face. She'd had nightmares about him so many times.
Hesitantly, she knocked on the door. She wanted to bolt honestly. This place honestly sent shivers down her body. And not in the good way either.
The door knob turned slowly and Sakura knew that it was too late to run. The door opened to reveal the form of Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother. Sakura would've sighed in relief if not for the fact that she was a little afraid of him. Yes he was a gentle person who never resorted to harming another unless it was absolutely necessary, but he had an intense stare and was always serious. She had never even heard him laugh.
"Sakura?" Itachi was surprised to see her of all people here, especially after what had happened between her and Sasuke. She tried to smile, but failed miserably.
"Yes, is Sasuke home?" she asked politely.
"Uh yeah, this way," he moved aside so that Sakura could enter. She looked around, the place hadn't changed one bit. And if that was the case, Sasuke's room was where it had always been. Meaning she didn't need Itachi showing her the way.
"Um, I think I can take it from here, thanks," she said. Itachi shrugged and walked away. But he kept his eye on the pink haired girl. After what she found out a couple of years ago, he never expected her to come around here again…
Sasuke was trying to finish up some homework. It was easy, but there was too much of it. Damn his teachers, they just thought he had all the time in the world to spend on this. He checked his phone. He'd texted Neji, but he hadn't answered back. Sasuke was getting nervous about it, they hadn't tortured him more had they? No, they couldn't have. He didn't do anything, did he?
He heard a knock at the door and he huffed, "Kind of busy Itachi."
The knocks continued and finally irritated he spun around, "I said I was…"
His eyes went wide when he saw who it really was standing at his doorway. It couldn't be…
"Sa—Sakura?" he said, standing up. She had a hard, distant look on her face.
"I just want you to know that I'm here for my friends, not for you," she said coldly. Sasuke's heart sunk just a little. Of course, she had every right to pissed at him after what did. Or rather what he didn't do.
"All right, take a seat," he pointed to the edge of the bed. She looked at it for a second before walking over and taking a seat on the silk sheets. "Okay, so why are you here?"
Sakura frowned and thought about what she was going to say before finally saying, "What's going on with Neji?"
Sasuke's brows knitted together, "Neji? What are you talking about?"
Sakura sighed, "Don't lie or play innocent Sasuke. I already know how good at that you are."
Sasuke scowled, "Look, if there is something going on with him, then that's his business. I don't see why you have to get involved in it. It's none of your concern."
Sakura snapped her head up, her eyes conveying all the rage she had, "It is my business when the girls and I tried to break into Neji's house yesterday and saw Hidan walking around the area."
Sasuke's eyes widened once again at the revelation, "Y—you were at Neji's."
Sakura took Sasuke's stammering and nervous look as a confirmation, "Ha, typical Sasuke. What else are you hiding, hm?"
Sasuke shook his head, "Sakura you should not have gone there. The situation is complicated."
"Like hell it is! That son of a bitch killed my parents Sasuke!" she shrieked. "And now, he's creeping around at Neji's!"
"Sakura I know that this is—," he tried to say, but Sakura cut him off.
"No Sasuke I don't think you know. You knew who this guy was, you knew what happened to my parents from the beginning, you KNEW who he had been working for, and you KNEW that he worked for your family, but never did you say anything to me!"
"I know Sakura, and I kick myself every day for hurting you, but I couldn't drag you into my family's mess. I'm sorry…"
She let out a laugh, "Was it worth throwing away what we had Sasuke? Did you honestly think that I'd hate you if you'd told me from the start? But the fact that you chose to hide the truth about my parents' murder just proved to me that you were just like everyone else in your family…"
Sasuke shot her an enraged look, "Don't EVER compare me to them! I am NOT like them. And neither is Itachi."
Sakura could barely control her tears, "I don't believe a single thing you say to me anymore, but I do want to know…"
Sasuke sighed, wanting nothing more than to go over and embrace her. Tell her that he was sorry about everything and to give him another chance. But that would send her running like last time. "Okay, what do you want to know?"
"Neji…is he a part of this whole thing? Is he doing what Hidan does?" she asked brokenly.
Sasuke paused for a second. He wanted to lie, and tell her not to be ridiculous. But she saw evidence herself of their association, "He doesn't…exactly do what Hidan does. Neji has a conscience you know. But he was sort of forced into this whole thing."
Sakura put a hand over her mouth, processing the information, "You mean that's why Neji only hangs out with you? And is Naruto in on this as well, and Shikamaru?"
"Well Naruto came across it completely on accident. But yeah I knew, and that's why I extended a hand," Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek, waiting for a reaction.
Her response was to stand up and walk to the door. She paused at the door way and said, "Tenten loves Neji, you do know this don't you?"
Sasuke nodded his head, "And he loves her too…"
"And you also know that when she finds out about this, it'll be about ten times worse than what happened between us."
Again, he nodded, "Sakura, you can't tell anyone about this."
Sakura shot him another icy stare, "She doesn't deserve to be kept in the dark either."
"Look, the only reason Neji's there in the first place is because he knows that she'll be the first to get hurt if he isn't there. Do you honestly think he enjoys doing this?" Sasuke said.
"I don't know what to think anymore Sasuke. There are too many secrets and too many lies, and I'm fed up with it all. I've had to deal with this for years. Do you honestly think that I would have become a shameless gossip if it wasn't to keep my mind off of this? I know more than I let on Sasuke…"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I know what you and Itachi did. I put two and two together. And while you think it's noble, you are no better than your family. And if you think that I'm going to let Tenten go through the same thing I did, then you have another thing coming," she said, before turning on her heels.
"Sakura, wait!" he grabbed her by the wrist. "I don't know how you know about that, but please, this isn't about me, you, or Tenten anymore. Think about Neji, the real victim in all of this. He knows how much this is going to hurt her."
Sakura looked down at the ground, "I'll think about it Sasuke. Now let go of me before I do something I really regret."
He let her go and watched her walk away. He sighed, but he knew that Sakura would probably keep her mouth shut. She was a caring girl who always put her friends first. But he didn't know that for sure. He only hoped, but to prevent anything from happening, he decided to text Neji about it.
"Neji, things are bad! Sakura knows!"
He frantically sent the text message, eagerly awaiting the response. He hoped Neji would get it soon…
The Hyuuga mansion was huge. Naruto always felt like a tiny little insect whenever he was there. Not to mention the fact that the people there, with the exception of Hinata and her little sister, had still not warmed up to him. Her father was the coldest of them all.
Even then, he was tolerated. One of the servants opened the door and let him in. By now, it didn't matter if anyone showed him the way or not, he knew the mansion backwards and forwards. And of course he knew the way to Hinata's room.
Her room was on the third floor and he started climbing his way up. Hinata had texted him the night before, telling him that they needed to talk. Of course he gulped when he saw the message, because "we need to talk" was usually code for "I want to break up, but I'm going to break it to you slowly."
He was shaking as he opened Hinata's door. She was on her laptop, sorting through her email. She turned her head to see a very nervous Naruto at her door. She smiled gently, "Naruto, are you all right."
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be, hehe," he laughed nervously.
She smiled and shook her head, "You're a terrible liar."
Naruto couldn't keep it in anymore, "Look Hinata, I'm sorry for whatever I did! Please don't break up with me! I promise it'll never happen again!"
Hinata raised an eyebrow before bursting into laughter. Naruto was adorably hilarious whenever he thought that he screwed up. He never had, so it made it all the more hilarious. Naruto looked at her, confused.
"N—Naruto don't worry, you didn't screw up and I'm not breaking up with you," she said, getting a grip and becoming more serious. "But I do need to talk to you about something."
Naruto let out a giant sigh of relief, "That's great! But yeah, what did you want to talk about?"
She patted the empty space next to her on the bed, "Come sit next to me. And can you please close the door?"
Naruto did as she told him and finally plopped down next to her, "Okay? Are you going to tell me now?"
Hinata sighed, "Naruto, remember when I asked you to try and find out what Neji was hiding? And you told me that he was just going through some hard times, you weren't being completely honest, were you?"
Naruto frowned. This again? "Look Hinata, Neji's a private guy, and he doesn't like anyone in his business."
"But I'm not just anyone, I'm his cousin. We practically grew up together. And if there's something going on with him, I need to know. No matter how serious it is, I won't turn my back on him," she explained.
Naruto grabbed her hand rubbed it gently with his thumb. "Look, there's a lot going on with him, I wasn't lying about that."
"The girls and I were at his house yesterday," she revealed. Naruto immediately turned his head to look at her, shocked.
"What did you see Hinata?" he asked, grabbing her shoulders.
"We didn't go inside. But we smelled something foul and then when we got to the house, we saw a silver haired man covered in mud and blood," she said.
That was Hidan, shit! He cursed himself over and over, "Hinata, you shouldn't have gone there!"
Hinata frowned as her brows furrowed, "Again, he's my cousin! What's going on with my cousin Naruto? Please tell me! I know that you, Sasuke, and now Shikamaru know!"
Naruto frowned, "I can't tell you. I promised Neji that I wouldn't. Trust me, the less you know the better off you are. Trust me, you're safer that way. Neji's already living with a lot; he isn't going to put you and Tenten getting hurt on his conscience either. And neither am I."
Hinata wasn't satisfied, "Naruto, I thought we agreed to keep no secrets from each other."
Naruto nodded, "Yeah but this is the exception. Please don't go rummaging through Neji's business, for me, please don't."
Hinata frowned, "Then answer one this: Is Neji doing whatever that man is?"
Naruto sighed. He knew he couldn't reveal exactly what was going on, but she wouldn't stop bugging him unless he gave her a good answer. "Not exactly. Neji's still a good guy, but he's being forced to do things you don't even want to imagine."
"Please tell me," she begged, even though that was almost sufficient enough information.
Naruto got off the bed, "Hinata, please I can't. I want to, but my hands are tied."
He bent down and kissed her, "I have to go and help my dad with some stuff, so I'll see you around."
He quickly bolted out of the room before Hinata had the chance to say anything. He exited the mansion and got into the car. Before he started the car, he shot a text to Neji.
"Dude, the girls were at your place. They saw Hidan! We have to do something!"
Naruto pulled out of the drive way and speeded down the road, praying that Neji would respond soon…
Tenten stayed up in her room the rest of the day, surfing the web on her laptop. But her mind was still on the happenings of the night before. She felt stupid for blushing and giggling so much, but she couldn't help it. Nothing could ever be more special than that.
Neji wasn't texting her back either and she sighed. She tried calling him but his phone was off. Great, just like him to disappear after they'd shared that together. Well, he was probably busy. Tenten was slowly learning to trust him again…
She heard a knock and the door and she shouted, "Come in!"
It was her mother and she was smiling, "Tenten, there's a young man here to see you."
It wasn't Neji, her mother knew Neji, so it had to be someone else. Anyone would've been better than…
"Come in Kankuro!" she said to him. Tenten's stomach sunk as she saw the creep walk in. He had a polite smile on his face. For show, she thought. Oh well, she could push him out the window if he tried anything. Temari would forgive her.
"Thank you for allowing me into your home," he thanked her. All the insincerity was making Tenten want to vomit.
"Okay mother! Let Kankuro talk so he can leave!" she chimed in.
"I'll be downstairs if you two need something!" her mother said and then disappeared into the hallway. Tenten then glared at Kankuro.
"You have 30 seconds to tell me why I shouldn't land you in intensive care right now! How dare you even think about coming here?" she growled.
"You'll be thanking me later," he grinned, taking out the flash drive. Tenten raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell is that?" she frowned.
"Oh just something that'll prove to you that Hyuuga isn't the guy you think he is. Ever wonder what's going on inside of his house. All in this!" he grinned, waving the flash drive again.
Tenten blinked. Kankuro wasn't serious, "Where the hell did you get that?"
"That's not important. What is important is that you know about this. Trust me, you'll be begging to be with me when you see this," Kankuro answered cockily.
"Yeah, no matter what's on this tape, I just want you to know that I'd rather screw a cactus than get with you," Tenten snarled, grabbing the flash drive.
Kankuro smirked and grabbed Tenten by the waist and before she had the chance to even react, Kankuro's lips came crashing down on hers. She tried to shove him off but he was stronger than he let on. Finally when she felt his tongue practically down her throat, the anger and adrenaline kicked in and she shoved him hard into the wall on the other side of the hall.
"WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK?!" she seethed.
Kankuro smirked, wiping his mouth, "You know you liked it. That's why you didn't push me away right away."
"That's because you were practically making it so I couldn't move my arms. I didn't even kiss back or close my eyes! And you have 5 seconds to get the fuck out of my house before I scream for my dad to come here and castrate you!" she growled.
Kankuro smirked, "Don't worry, you'll change your mind soon enough. It was just a kiss."
"That was sexual assault you big stupid oaf!" she screamed.
Tenten heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She turned around to see Temari, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino stopping dead in front of her room. She was steaming mad and Kankuro was on the ground wiping his mouth.
"Kankuro? What the hell are you doing here!? How many times do I have to tell you to leave Tenten alone!?" Temari yelled.
Kankuro just smirked, "Well I just gave Tenten a little present. Just make sure when you watch that, you don't eat afterwards."
"Get. The. Fuck. OUT!" Tenten said between gritted teeth.
"Later ladies," Kanuro said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and grinning smugly. He felt accomplished. Tenten would soon be his…
SECRET REVEALED HERE. WARNING: DISTURBING!
"Okay, you guys did WHAT?!" Tenten asked incredulously. She couldn't believe that they had actually tried to bust into Neji's house. But she became even more nervous when they told her about who was there.
"We were getting worried so…but we never actually saw what was inside of the house," Temari sighed. Tenten glanced down at the flash drive and frowned. Did she really want to know? Especially now when her and Neji were finally together. Was it really worth it to know what the secret was?
"What's that?" Sakura asked, glancing down at the jack.
"The creep gave it to me. He says that it shows exactly what's going on inside of Neji's house," she sighed.
Temari frowned, "And where exactly did he get that?"
"He wouldn't tell me that," was the answer.
Temari narrowed her eyes. She had a feeling. She picked up her phone and quickly shot a text message to Shikamaru. That would've been the only logical explanation in this case.
"I think we should watch it!" Ino suggested.
Sakura shook her head. "I think that's a bad idea. From what Sasuke's told me, nothing good can come out of watching that."
Ino scowled, "Oh and Sasuke has the right to tell you anything anymore? Especially after how much he hurt you?"
"What did he do anyway?" Hinata asked. Sakura shook her head.
"He just forgot to tell me some huge things about himself that's all…"
The subject was dropped then and there, as they all knew that Sasuke was a very touchy subject when in front of Sakura.
Tenten grabbed her laptop and plugged the jack in. A window popped up and she immediately looked to the girls who looked equally as nervous as she did. This was it. The minute she pressed play there'd be no going back. The other girls nodded their heads, while Sakura just sat there. There was something weird about her gaze. Like uncertainty or panic. That was odd.
She pressed down on the enter button and the video began playing. She held both Temari and Hinata's hand as the images became clearer.
"That's Neji's old play room. The two of us used to play in there all of the time," she answered, seeing the familiar faded yellow walls and the rocking horse they'd broken together when they were 7.
But she gasped in horror when she saw two people, beaten within an inch of their life it appeared, chained and shackled to the wall. Only reason she knew that they weren't dead was because Tenten could see their chests rising a little. But they were close to death, there was no way that they were going to survive.
"All right kid, I take it that you've gotten enough," the girls flinched at the sound and sight of Hidan, appearing on Tenten's screen. He had a crazed, bloodthirsty look on his face. Even the crappy resolution of the camera could tell that much. Behind him Neji stumbled in. Tenten held in her breath, he had been drinking. His stumble and flushed cheeks gave that away.
"They've been of use to us. We have orders to get rid of them," Hidan continued and Neji stayed silent.
Hidan then picked up a rusty, lead pipe that had been lying in the corner. They'd obviously never cleaned it. Tenten looked away when she saw Hidan lift it over the barely alive man's head. She heard a crack, crunch, and Hinata crying in horror.
When Tenten frantically saw Neji, she just saw him stand there, no emotion whatsoever. Even inebriated, she expected him to be a little horrified at what was going on.
"This one's a pretty one," Hidan grinned, turning to the other person, who was a woman. "She's got 15 minutes tops, but I think I'll have some fun with her before she dies. I'll dispose of her in the woods afterwards; you take care of this one!"
Hidan threw something at Neji. It was a saw. Tenten's stomach lurched as she realized what he was about to do.
"My god Neji…" Temari sounded horrified.
"So this is what's been going on? No wonder Neji didn't say anything!" Ino commented.
"Yeah after you're done taking him apart, I already poured the battery acid in the bathroom. And then you know what to do with the bones," Hidan ordered, slinging the near dead woman over his shoulder. "Oh and make sure you clean up afterwards!"
'Battery acid? Battery acid…BA! That's what it stood for!'
Neji looked like he was going to be sick, but nonetheless did what he was told. The minute Tenten heard the metal sawing through bone, she stopped the video. She couldn't continue to watch Neji doing that anymore.
"Neji, no, please tell me no…" she heard Hinata sniffle, her eyes wide with shock and horror. Sakura's eyes were closed, she didn't seemed to look surprised. Ino looked like she was about to turn green, and Temari had to put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from vomiting.
"Oh my god Neji…" Tenten heard Sakura mumble, shaking her head.
"This is why Shikamaru wouldn't tell me. But then why is he protecting Neji…?" Temari whispered.
Tenten didn't say anything. She was trying to get her breathing under control, but she was having an incredibly hard time. She couldn't believe it. Not Neji.
"Hey Ten, are you all right?" Temari asked weakly. None of the other girls made a sound.
"I, uh, need to be alone," she said, swallowing the need to vomit all over.
The girls looked at Tenten but nodded their heads. This was a lot for all of them to take in, and giving Tenten some space, would've probably been the best choice.
"Just call us if you need something okay?" Ino requested and Tenten just nodded her head.
When she heard her door close she lay back on her bed. She had been shaking so bad that she hadn't even realized it.
'Oh Neji, what have you done…?'
Tenten knew this was probably a bad idea, but she was tired of it all. The secrets, the lies, the pain. All of it had led her here, to Neji's house. She stood outside of his house. She had parked her car right at the end of the road. The place indeed had a foul odor and now she knew why. She had forced her tears back until she could confirm what she had seen. She needed to know.
She'd stood at the side of the house, waiting for anyone inside to leave. She saw Neji and Hidan come out. Hidan had a giant burlap sack slung over his shoulder. It was big enough to carry a small child. Neji followed, and of course he was loaded. While his face wasn't showing it, his eyes gave away the anxiety and disgust. But Tenten just couldn't bring herself to believe the look. Who knew how many he had killed. The thought of Neji being a murderer made Tenten's stomach turn in a number of different directions.
The minute that they'd disappeared into the woods, Tenten decided to make her move. Of course they'd locked the doors; they really didn't want any chances being taken while they were gone. Even so, security wasn't all that tight around here. Why would it be? It was an isolated house in the middle of a forest. Who would even think to look?
Luckily, Tenten always carried a tiny knife with her. She'd snuck into Neji's house many times when they were kids. She'd always been the one to bust him out when his mom had locked him in his room.
The door opened without much effort and it was completely dark inside. But the stench that emanated from the inside made Tenten's eyes water. Good god, how did Neji live here?
Walking in made her want to cry. The house was relatively clean, but she saw the saw on the kitchen counter and…was that a skull on top of the television?
She hastened her way through the living room and down the extensive halls. She saw that Neji's door was slightly open. She peaked inside to see that the room was as clean as it could be with many, many beer cans and bottles thrown into the trash. She turned away immediately. She made her way down the cold hallways. There was something eerie about the place, like a haunted house, except even more sinister.
She then turned to see a door that was heavily locked. It was the doorway to the nursery. She held the knife in her hand and squeezed the blade so hard that her hand started to bleed. Tenten barely registered the pain in her hand as she picked lock after lock. The locks came undone slowly and she turned the door know. She had to take a giant breath before opening the door. The room was dimly lit, but it had changed. Obviously the recording Kankuro had given her was from ages ago.
The walls had been painted blood red, probably to cover the amounts of blood that had been spilled in here. The rocking horse was long gone and had instead been replaced with a table. Tenten didn't even want to know what it was used for.
In the corner she saw an old man in the corner. Or at least he looked old. He had been starved, beaten, stabbed , and burned. And somehow he was still alive.
He slowly opened his eyes, looking at the frightened girl in the doorway. From the look on her face, he knew she wasn't in on this at all. As unfocused as his vision was, he could tell that.
"You shouldn't be here," he rasped out.
Tenten couldn't help but rush over. He still has time, she thought. She needed to get him out of here. "Hold on, we should get you to a hospital…"
The man laughed weakly, "No, it's too late for me kid. But you should save yourself while you still can. Trust me, if you let me go, they'll know."
"But I can't just leave you here! Do you even know what they'll do to you?" she whispered.
"Correction, only one of them will really do anything to me. But you need to get the hell out of here. If you want to see me in peace, leave me here. It's almost over for me."
"But…" Tenten protested.
She heard the door click open. She looked at the doorway in horror.
"Get out through the window," the man rasped out. "They open it occasionally."
"But what about you?" she asked.
"There's no time, just get out of here! There's already one kid suffering in this house, no need for another," he rasped out.
Tenten felt the tears building up in her eyes for this complete stranger, but even so she made quick work of the window and climbed out of it. She quickly shut the window and made a run for the forest. It was getting dark so she needed to get out of there. But the guilt began weighing heavily on her heart.
The tears started clouding her vision as she ran through the forest. She ran so fast that she didn't notice that there was a rock coming up. Sure enough she tripped and fell crashing onto the ground.
And that's when she could hide the tears no more.
They cascaded down her face as she let out a strangled sob. Every part of her body ached, from the gash on her hand to her heavy heart.
'Why Neji…?'
Tenten stayed in a fetal position on her bed. She had stopped crying long ago, but she still felt depressed. Her hand was banaged and she had gone to bed early. She couldn't sleep and it was getting very late.
She froze as she heard the window open. She slid her hand into her pillow case and grabbed the knife. Neji was here…
Of course he was unsuspecting, so he kicked his shoes off. He was coming towards the bed and Tenten started panicking. No, she couldn't let this happen tonight. Had she known that she was sleeping with a killer, she would've never…
She hit the switch on her bed side lamp. And hopped out of the bed. Neji looked at her confused and backed away slowly when he saw the knife in her bandaged hand.
"Tenten, your hand," he whispered.
"DON'T. Worry about the hand Neji!" she growled.
Neji was slightly taken aback by the sudden hostility, but he stayed frozen, "Ten, what's gotten into y—."
"So that's why you stopped being my friend two years ago, hm? Because of what you've been doing! I know Neji!" she screamed.
Neji only looked more confused, "Tenten, what are you…?"
"I know what you're hiding inside of your house Neji!" she screeched. All the anger, rage, pain, hurt, and guilt came out in that sentence. "And inside of your old play room to be more specific!"
Neji's eyes widened as his arms dropped to his side. She knew, but how? Who had told her? Had anyone even told her, or had she been there herself? The broken locks and unlocked doors suddenly made sense. Tenten had been inside of his house.
"Tenten, you were inside of my house?! Do you realize how dangerous…" he started, but Tenten cut him off.
"I don't want to hear it!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Just answer one question: How many people have you killed? How many people did you murder by sawing them apart?!"
Neji paused for a second. Tenten had prepared herself for all the possible answers. 50? 100? Hell even 1,000 wouldn't surprise her at this point! But the one answer he gave was the one she had not prepared herself for…
"None…"
Please Review.
Option D won the last poll needless to say.
Curious about how that could be his answer? Hmmm? Well I'll tell you right now that he's not lying.
He he, I fell asleep, so I'm updating later in the day. Bet some of you weren't expecting that answer! Or maybe you were, I don't know. I can't read your minds from the other side of the screen. But yes, now you know what Neji's secret is! Yes I know it was gross, and if you want to know where I got the idea for this from, just PM me because I'm not going to reveal that here. Okay, now you want the explanation right? And yes, finally some SasuSaku.
Now you choose how Tenten is going to react. All of these options will result in Neji getting into an altercation with Kankuro. Sorry just makes this more interesting.
A) Neji explains everything, from how he got tangled into the organization and why he has to do all those things and who they are exactly. Tenten believes him, and though she's scared she believes him and promises to stay by him. He is enraged at Kankuro however, who mocks him at school. Sasuke tries to apologize to Sakura, but she feels like he has a long way to go before he can earn her trust again.
B) Neji explains everything. Tenten believes him, but she needs time to think about it, and tells Neji to leave and not talk to her for a while. Sakura is still unable to forgive Sasuke for hiding the truth behind her parent's death. She tells him to stay away from her and her friends and to keep Neji at a distance from Tenten as well.
C) Neji explains everything, but after seeing what she did, she is unable to believe or trust him. She tells him to leave and not talk to her ever again. He's hurt by it, but knew that this would be the outcome. Kankuro mocks Neji openly, resulting in the altercation. Sakura goes up to Sasuke and tells him that he and Neji shouldn't even be among normal people after what they've been involved with. She tells both of them to stay away from Tenten and the other girls.
As for Shikamaru's reaction, don't worry he'll get one, and it won't be pretty. More ShikaTema in the next one, promise! Yup! Well hope you guys are ready for the explanation next week! I'm sorry if it was hard to stomach some of this stuff this week, but my mind is a little dark. But I hope you guys continue to read this, because I still have a lot planned for this. The story is only half over my friends. No, Neji and Tenten have not reached the climax of their relationship just yet. I'm not sure you'll like it, but I spent days thinking about it, and it made the most sense. Well that's it for this week folks! The next update shall be March 9th(Tenten's birthday!)! Remember I update every Sunday! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Till next time!
CherryXButterfly(Angel)
