A/N: Thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/alerted/favorited! I'm so very sorry for the long delay in updating – again! I have no real excuse: laziness combined with a total lack of inspiration made it very difficult for me to get this chapter written. But it's here now and to say sorry I've included a bit of a look at Neji and Sasuke's past ^^ I hope you like it! Don't forget to let me know what you thought of the chapter!

Warnings: Usual ones but again, not an explicit chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto – if I did Sasuke wouldn't currently be so crazy

Chapter 14

Low clouds scurried frantically across a star-studded sky, the full moon hanging low over the branches of the tall trees that rimmed the Hyuuga estate. Neji took the turn too fast – always too fast – and then they were shooting through the wrought-iron gates and onto the graveled drive. The walk from the club to her car had been completed in silence, a silence that had only been broken by Neji's terse demand for Tenten's keys once they'd reached her car. He'd peeled out of the parking-lot, anger in every turn of the wheel and Tenten hadn't dared comment on anything. She hadn't even asked where they were going when Neji had driven past the turn-off that would lead them to her house.

Slightly hysterical, Tenten watched mutely as the trees flitted past, their shadowy shapes blurring to form a nauseating flash of darkness within darkness, and she prayed that she wouldn't succumb to either the tears or the laughter that kept bubbling in her gut. Instead of following the drive up to the main entrance Neji turned right abruptly and then they were travelling along a narrow dirt road – the dirt was neatly swept and without the usual ditches, Tenten noted in vague amusement.

Truth be told she was far beyond anything like coherent thought. The cat was out of the bag and now she would have no choice but to tell Neji the truth. Sasuke would not take kindly to the way Neji had treated him tonight and Tenten couldn't avoid the sinking feeling that she would be the one to pay the price for Sasuke's humiliation at Neji's hands. She slowly unclenched her fingers when they drew to a halt around the side of the sprawling house – it appeared as if they had circled around and would now enter through one of the wings.

Neji killed the engine and immediately got out, setting off toward a door that was almost hidden by the overhanging ivy that climbed haphazardly across the side wall. He didn't look back, didn't make any motion that indicated Tenten should follow, but she followed anyway - sure that he wasn't nearly done with her yet. The small door opened directly onto a plain wooden staircase and as Tenten bemusedly trudged after Neji through the semi-darkness – a couple of lamps were lit – she realized that they must be entering the main house through the servants' entrance or something of the sort.

Her attempts at distraction were to no avail and no sooner had the thought crossed her mind than it was already gone and Tenten was back to focusing on Neji's tall, shadowed frame ahead of her and worrying about what was to come. They'd entered the house proper by this time, if the decoration of the hallway was anything to go by – expensive carpets decorated the polished wooden floor and more lamps were lit – but Tenten had paid almost no attention to where they were going. She nearly ran into Neji's back when he abruptly turned and yanked another door open and suddenly they were in Neji's bedroom and there was no turning back.

Tenten swallowed nearly audibly, already mentally cringing as she waited for Neji to turn on her once she was safely inside and the door firmly locked, but he ignored her and went straight to the walk-in closet, the door of which was slightly ajar. In confusion, Tenten stared after Neji. The sound of a combination lock spinning could be heard and as if it was unlocking her Tenten found her legs were working again. She followed but hesitated in the doorway.

Neji was crouched in front of a small gun-safe, almost hidden in the shadows at the very back of the closet, pulling more bills out of the small box, but what held Tenten's attention was not the contents spilling out of the safe – various pills and powders mixed with money – but the smooth, sleek barrel of a deadly looking pistol that lay on the shelf just in front of Neji. She stared transfixed, and for the first time, she really understood what kind of world she'd stumbled into.

Blindly, trustingly, she'd followed after Neji wherever he went, sure that he, and all the others, were really no different from her. But Temari had been right: they were different. Very different. Neji finally straightened up and seeing her horrified expression he followed her gaze to the gun he'd not yet replaced in the safe.

Tenten's eyes lifted involuntarily to meet his gaze – blank as ever - and she whirled around quickly, trying to put some distance between them. Or maybe you're trying to avoid the gun … and the almost instinctive reaction you have to it. You admired it, wanted it … the voice in the back of her mind insinuated itself into her confused thoughts and Tenten shook her head violently, in denial but also in the hopes of clearing her head. So Neji had a gun – so what? Doesn't mean he's ever used it, she argued with herself, so absorbed in her internal wrangling that she jumped when Neji brushed past her and angrily tossed another wad of bills onto his bed.

"Ten grand," he muttered, "I don't keep more on me. We'll have to get the other five from the bank tomorrow." He walked to the window, his stride agitated, his fists clenched, but when he reached the far wall Tenten could see his shoulders relaxing - the deep breaths he took.

Before he could say anything Tenten decided to speak up – offense was better than defense after all. "Why do you have a gun?"

Neji turned and shot her an unreadable look, "What does that have to do with anything? A tool of the trade, one can almost say," his voice was filled with irony.

Tenten opened her mouth again, still not really sure why it bothered her so much, and she had no idea of how to articulate it to Neji, but this time he beat her to it. Quickly closing the distance between them he stood directly in front of her, forcing her to look him straight in the eye. "Why does it matter, Tenten?"

She shook her head, "Have you ever … shot … anyone?" she asked thickly, fear spreading its cool fingers down her spine – but it wasn't fear for herself. One thing she was entirely sure of was that Neji would never hurt her – not physically. No, it was fear for Neji that made the hair on the back of her neck rise.

"I repeat: does it matter?" Neji asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. He reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, the caress lingering on her cheek as his hand slid to the back of her neck, drawing her body closer. His lips brushed hers lightly as he whispered, "If I had, does it change this, Tenten?"

The kiss deepened and Tenten could feel her unresisting body swaying toward his. Shamefully she admitted to herself that no, it didn't matter. Would never matter. Whatever he'd done, he was still Neji and that was all that would ever be important to her. He drew back and Tenten slowly opened her eyes. His hand drew a burning path down her neck to come to rest over her heart. "Does it change anything?" he murmured, almost to himself, and Tenten closed her eyes again – hating how he had such complete control over her.

"No," she whispered back unwillingly, "you know how I feel – and nothing can change that." It was the closest they'd come to speaking of her confession since Neji'd told her to stay if she wanted to and Tenten waited with bated breath for his response. He drew away, shutters coming down over his eyes, expression suddenly business-like.

"You've got your money. Now talk," his voice was low, calm, but the piercing gaze he leveled her with had her cringing away from him as if his barely veiled censure could be physically felt.

She glanced away and saw the wad of money again. Her mouth twisted and she couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice when she replied, "Does this make it better? Are we even now, Neji? Now that you've paid your whore?"

The door had barely swung shut after Neji when Suigetsu detached himself from the rest of the on-lookers and approached Sasuke. The Uchiha still stood frozen in place, money at his feet, his eyes burning holes in the wood of the door. He couldn't believe that Hyuuga would actually say anything about their unspoken enmity. Neither had ever referred to the contention between them – or the reasons for it – before. The wheels turned and slowly a glimmer of understanding began dawning in Sasuke's mind.

Suigetsu drew to a halt next to the frowning Sasuke and barely bothered to try and disguise the mocking tone of his voice. Sasuke's frown deepened and he distractedly reflected that he couldn't let them see it as a defeat, couldn't let them think that Hyuuga had won, but those were concerns for another time.

"So, that's it? You're just going to take the money and be done with it?" the edges of sarcasm in Suigetsu's voice sharpened when he continued, "Wouldn't that be like acknowledging Hyuuga won?"

The words were a statement though he phrased it as a question and Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists to keep from resorting to violence. Suigetsu would have to wait … there were more important realizations on his mind.

The more Sasuke thought on it the more convinced he became … Hyuuga's behavior had been highly out of character. Since when was he in the business of bailing out damsels in distress? Since when did he care? Even if he'd appeared at the mansion with Tenten in tow – clearly there was something between them – Sasuke had never imagined that it could be anything serious. Had assumed that in typical Hyuuga fashion the other boy had simply been using Tenten further, that he'd seen the advantages of not having to go through the entire flirtation process each time when there was a perfectly willing girl right in front of him who knew the score.

Clearly that was not the case, Hyuuga cared enough to follow her – how else had he known to come here – he wouldn't waste his time following Sasuke, that was for sure. He cared enough to pay up, no questions asked, and Sasuke was under no illusions about that. The only reason Neji hadn't picked a fight – or at least tried to get some answers – was that he wanted Tenten out of there as quickly as he could manage. Tenten had never had a very clear idea of exactly the kind of danger she was in during her time in the room, but Neji wasn't an idiot and he knew the pitfalls of their world well enough to recognize that he had to get Tenten out.

So, all of this added up to only one thing, as far as Sasuke could discern: Neji didn't care about their long-standing antagonism or about the money – he only cared about Tenten's safety. It was worth 20 grand to him, or so it would appear …

Sasuke half-turned his body in Suigetsu direction, amusement apparent in his obsidian eyes, and began to laugh. The other boy took an involuntary half-step backward, eyeing the Uchiha warily. Though he was shaking with laughter, there was no real mirth in the gesture and Suigetsu knew Sasuke well enough to recognize the danger signs.

"How can you find it funny that Hyuuga one-upped you?" he couldn't help but throw in the taunt even as he stood in readiness to get out of the way should Sasuke snap.

Dark hair flew out and meshed briefly with the shadows before sinking back down to fall on pale cheeks, as Sasuke shook his head, still laughing. Through the laughter he stared at Suigetsu who looked poised for flight and that only made him laugh all the harder.

Finally he managed to gain control of himself and he pushed his bangs out of his face, "I don't think that I'm the one on the losing end at all, Suigetsu," he answered the other boy, "in fact, I never imagined that my weapon would be so effective." Another short bark of laughter, and Sasuke shook his head in disbelief as he turned to rejoin the group of people in the middle of the room – he still had some business to transact.

Suigetsu shook his head in confusion, "What?" he asked skeptically staring after the Uchiha, "Sure didn't look that way from where I was standing. I don't understand what you mean."

Sasuke paused and glanced over his shoulder, "I know you don't and I don't expect you to. Leave thinking to those actually qualified for it. But I'm feeling magnanimous so I'll let you in on a little secret."

The confusion on Suigetsu's features deepened and Sasuke smirked, "You see, Hyuuga loves her." Sasuke turned away leaving a still somewhat confused Suigetsu to stare after him with the sinking feeling that he did not want to know what the Uchiha was planning.

Sasuke stared at the drink he was idly swirling; the flashing lights, interspersed by the shadows of the writhing dancers, made the amber liquid sparkle like precious stones. He couldn't quite keep his thoughts from events of earlier though and his hand tightened involuntarily. Memories had been assailing him all evening – ever since he'd come to the realization that Neji finally loved someone too – and now Sasuke shrugged, his mouth thinning as he gave himself over to the tide waiting to spill over from his sub-conscious.

It was almost a relief to be carried away by the rush, to relive sunshine sparkling on long, dark lashes framing eyes as green as the clear waters of the Mediterranean oceans. Sasuke smiled bitterly. Oh, yes, he knew all too well what Neji felt like at the moment – after all he'd been the first to succumb to the weakness of love. Or what he'd thought was love – Itachi had been right after all, or rather, his way had turned out better for Sasuke than trying to forge his own path.

Sasuke shook his head to dislodge soft hair, silky skin and beguiling eyes from his thoughts but before he could shore the tide up tightly – lock it in the box where he kept all the memories firmly hidden away – another had taken its place. Just as poignant, just as bittersweet, but in a vastly different way …

The day was overcast though the sun made valiant attempts to break through the cover of clouds – even succeeding from time to time. The places where the sun touched when another brief battle had been won, seemed to burn with its warming light long after clouds had moved in to block the rays from view. It made the dew sparkle on the grass, it made the leaves of the trees seem to glow with an unearthly green light and it picked up on the diamond patches laced through the stone in front of him.

The sound of pebbles sliding on the gravel of the path had Sasuke's head jerking up from his contemplation and he stared curiously at the intruder. It was rare that anyone aside from him came to this section at this time of day – the morning wasn't very old after all and people usually had to store up their courage for this kind of trip.

Sasuke stared at the newcomer. The boy – despite his very long – ridiculously long in Sasuke's opinion – dark hair, he was quite obviously male and Sasuke's age or close to it. His skin was pale, his eyes light, and he wore unremarkable clothing though Sasuke could see that they were of good quality. A visitor then, not a vagrant, Sasuke decided musingly.

The other boy seemed to be completely unaware of Sasuke's presence just a few rows away – he was focused on the single, white orchid he held in his hand. He stared at it for a long time, as if debating with himself, and Sasuke stared at the unknown boy wondering what he was doing. It seemed to be his first trip here, of that Sasuke was sure, only newcomers to the world of death were ever this hesitant, this unwilling to let go.

Finally the boy knelt down in front of a large, square gravestone and another patch of light made it through, falling directly on the kneeling boy. The gravestone was very new, Sasuke noted, now that the sunlight threw the carving in such sharp relief. The boy's hair swung forward as he placed the orchid precisely but the angle of the sun made it possible for Sasuke to see the single teardrop that fell and glistened on the boy's hand, for a moment sparkling in the sunlight with all the brilliance of a crystal, before the boy wiped it away on his jeans.

Ever after Sasuke would wonder what on earth made him get up from his own kneeling position a few rows back. But in that moment he knew that he shared a bond of kinship with this boy – a bond that not even Naruto could ever really understand.

Sasuke made sure to walk on the gravel path so the sound of his footsteps would alert the boy and give him some time to regain his composure. He hesitated next to the row where the boy knelt but when the light eyes rose to his – devoid of any emotion despite what he had witnessed a moment ago – Sasuke stepped onto the grass and slowly made his way to the expectantly waiting other.

His entire body was sending out aggressive 'what do you want' vibes but Sasuke ignored it and simply waited until the boy had also risen to his feet.

"I'm Sasuke," he introduced himself.

After a long moment of silence the other replied in a tone filled with wariness, "Neji."

They turned to the gravestone in front of them simultaneously as if they were waiting for an introduction to issue from the unfeeling stone and then glanced away, embarrassed.

"The first time's always the hardest," Sasuke said, almost to himself, and abruptly changed the subject. "Where do you go to school? I haven't seen you around before."

"I'm new," the boy named Neji replied warily.

Sasuke turned and began to walk away, "I'll see you at school later then."

One small, meaningless conversation had led to a wary respect which quickly turned into a wary liking. Sasuke couldn't ever remember making a friend so quickly, so instantaneously almost – but perhaps it had to do with the setting of their first meeting, he never really tried to fathom the why's of their strange friendship. And it wasn't until much later that week, when they'd again met at the cemetery and Neji had finally told Sasuke that his mother was buried there, that Sasuke had known that the inexplicable affinity baffled the other boy as much as it did him.

A/N: Review?