Chapter 11: A coma for your thoughts
#&!
Neji's pov (After Tenten's singing)
After Hinata left I left as well, I needed to think through what Hinata had told me, 'If I could remember all she said', I thought mockingly in my head. Mocking myself for being too interested in whatever Tenten was singing.
I wasn't watching where I was going, so I wasn't surprised when I ended up in an alley way. I wasn't sure what it was that woke me out of my daze, but as I looked around I realised to guys blocked either exit to my sides.
I turned back around, with the intention of not getting into a fight. However when I turned, Zaku was blocking the way I had entered, 'shit'
I showed no outward emotion. Even though I could feel my anger rising quickly, I just stared at him, daring him to make the first move.
"Tie him", Zaku commanded, and the two other men stepped out of the shadows. One of them was Orobo, the guy that had been fired from my father's company. The other was Kabuto, Orochimaru's man servant.
'Coward', I thought as I let them bind my hands. I continued to stare at Zaku, who had a wicked smile on his face, and a look of victory on his face.
I made my move; I punched out the two males who had my hands bound. What I hadn't noticed was what they had tied my hands to, it was their bodies. When they crumpled to the group I became paralyzed, there was no way I could move my hands. Zaku had planned this; he knew exactly what I would do.
I watched as Zaku removed a knife from his back pocket, but all I could think about was how Zaku knew what I would do. One possibility came to mind, but I refused to believe this, was that Tenten had told him.
"Tell me Zaku, how did you know I would knock your men out", I asked, my voice not betraying the fear I felt for his answer.
"You and Tenten are too much alike. I know what she would do, do I thought it would work on you", Zaku's grin spread, and I know he had more to say, "Speaking of Tenten, your death would kill her more than this blade"
"What do you mean?" I asked, he had to be insane if he thought Tenten would actually care, so far the only death she's been sad about was her ducks.
"Don't play dumb with me", Zaku growled, tossing the knife from one hand to the other. 'What exactly did he think was going on between me and Tenten?' I knew I had the answer, it was scratching at the back of my mind, but I couldn't focus on it.
"Honestly Zaku, I don't know what you mean", I said calmly, and Zaku lunged at me.
"Neji!" I heard Tenten yell, and before I could tell her to stop, she was in front of me. The knife cut into her, and she gave a startled cry.
I felt a surge of Adrenalin rush through me. Using Zaku's moment of shock I knocked him unconscious, the extra body weight not affecting me at the moment.
I grabbed Tenten before she collapsed. Kneeling on the ground I was about to remove the knife, but she stilled my movements.
"Don't, its evidence. Just try to stop the bleeding", Tenten said sounding kind of weak. I looked around and saw nothing I could use. I tore off one of one of my sleeves from my T-shirt, "Hey!"
"What?" her voice had startled me slightly, and I looked down at her with the torn cloth in my hand.
"I liked that shirt", she said and pouted, I couldn't help it, I laughed as I placed the cloth on her wound. She was...bleeding and she's complaining about my ripped shirt.
I took out my cell phone and dialed for an ambulance. I gave them the address, and they told me they'd be there as fast as they could. Which wasn't good enough for me, "No I want you here in about five minutes. I know here's a hospital close by here. Did you not understand who I said was stabbed? Ashio Tenten. You know the daughter, the youngest daughter of the Ashio family", now they would be here in five minutes.
"Hey Neji", Tenten said, sounding so unlike herself, "I'm sorry about the things I said on the roof, and for not telling you I was sorry sooner"
"It's okay. I'm sorry too, and I said a lot worse things, and my mother's recipe did taste good", I said trying to smile, but I couldn't. I also couldn't stop thinking of how close this was to my dream.
"Can you do me two favors?" I nodded, "First call Kimmimaru, tell him what happened, and then your lawyer, mines a rat, okay?" I nodded again.
"Do you want me to call everyone else?"
"Not tonight, tomorrow", Tenten could see what I was about to say, and smiled, "it's only a flesh wound, I won't die, tonight"
"Promise?" Tenten smiled and nodded, I could feel that she was getting cold, so I shifted her closer while I maintained the pressure on her wound.
"Plus, I know what it feels like to die, kinda"
"Yeah, and what happened there?"
"My body went cold"
"And you're not cold now?" Tenten shook her head, and nearly closed her eyes. I didn't know why, but I felt if she fell asleep she'd be lost to me, I mean us, as in the world, "Ten, don't fall asleep, talk to me", Tenten opened her eyes again and smiled, I raised an eyebrow.
"You called me 'Ten'", I smiled down at her, and remembered the first day we met, it seemed a very long time ago. Then she had seemed such a weird girl, and now...she still seemed like such a weird girl.
"Ten, Tenni, Ten-chan", Tenten smiled more, and nearly closed her eyes, "Ten tell me something"
"Do you remember when we were over at Lee's, and how you said I was scared of bunnies?"
"Yeah", I answered.
"Well, I am scared of them", I laughed as Tenten said this.
"Why is that?" I asked and Tenten smiled.
"Well, one night, after Quackles death, I went down stares for some cookies, and when I turned on light there were cookie crumbs all over the floor. In the middle of the room there was a bunny, covered in chocolate, with a cookie in its mouth", Tenten had a tear in her eye, so I wiped it away and hugged her closer.
"Shh, it's okay, it's only a bad memory", I trying to comfort the girl in my arms. That's when I heard the sirens getting louder, "Ten stay wake until we get to the hospital, and when the doctor says it's okay to sleep", Tenten nodded, and the ambulance men rushed out with a stretcher and some nurses.
"What happened to these guys?" a nurse asked as she untied me.
"These are the guys who attacked me, then Ten ran in front of me before Zaku could stab me, and she ended up getting stabbed, so I knocked him out", I answered.
"How do you know Ashio Tenten?" I grinned she couldn't see who I was.
"You have blood on your shirt, take it off and we can possibly salvage it", I nodded, and took off my shirt.
"Neji", Tenten called, "they're going to remove the knife, tell them not to!" I ran from out from the shadows, ignoring the gasps that came from the nurses.
"Don't. I'm sure you've heard of the trail that is going on. Ashio verses Abumi? Well that's Ahiso Tenten, and that knife belongs to Abumi Zaku. You touch it, you ruin the evidence", the two men nodded their understanding, and lifted Tenten into the ambulance. I followed in after, which I was followed by the nurses. They began to wash my shirt almost immediately.
"Hey Neji", I raised an eyebrow, "you have no shirt on", I grinned down at the bun headed girl.
"Nice observation Tenni", I said and she grinned back at me, blushing slightly.
"Can you take my hair out of the buns", I nodded and did as she asked. After which I took out my cell and called Kimmimaru, and held Tenten's hand as it rang, it did so three times before Kimmimaru's voice came through the other end.
"Hello?"
"Hello", I greeted.
"Neji!" he said sounding surprised, "what is it your calling me for?"
"It's Tenten", I answered. I assumed his first thought would be the correct one.
"Oh, you want to ask her out", Kimmimaru said in a knowing voice, and I could feel the blush rising to my face.
"Uh, not exactly"
"Oh", 'Why in Kami's name does he sound disappointed?',"then what happened?"
"Uh, Zaku tried to kill me, then Tenten got in the way, and now we're headed to Konoha general, meet me there"
"I'll be there right away", I hung up and turned back to Tenten, whose eyes were closing again.
"Ten, come on, stay awake. Kimmimaru is meeting us at the hospital", Tenten opened her eyes again, and smiled, "and I think he's trying to set us up", Tenten gave a small laugh, and blushed.
"Wait. You two aren't dating?" one of the nurses asked, bewildered. Looking from me to Tenten and then back at me. I shook my head and turned back to Tenten.
"Everyone seems to think that", I said grinning again.
"You mean like Ino?" I nodded. There was silence again, and Tenten's eyes began to close.
"Ten", I warned, and she opened her eyes to look at me sheepishly.
"Sorry, I haven't been getting much sleep"
"Why is that?" I asked. I knew she was tired, but there was a chance that she could die if she closed her eyes, and it wasn't a chance I was willing to take.
"I've been having these dreams every night", I know where she was coming from.
"Were they good dreams or bad dreams?" I asked, I assumed they were bad, but I needed her to keep talking.
"Good, well most of them, but they'll never happen", She sounded so sad as she said this.
"Maybe they will happen", I said, but understood what she meant, 'stupid imaginary boyfriend'
"If you say so", Tenten took in a deep, shuttering breath. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the pain, that came with the action, away.
"Ten, what did you mean by 'most' of your dreams were good?" I asked and she opened her eyes and blushed.
"It was a dream like this, but it seemed so real, and I didn't get to ride in an ambulance, I just died"
"Was anyone with you?" I saw Tenten blush again, 'she's going to waste her blood if it keeps going to her face'
"You, Zaku, me, but I'm always with me so..." I smiled at Tenten again, 'great I get to be in her death dream'
"What made your dreams good but unrealistic?" Tenten once again blushed.
"Can I tell you some other time?" Tenten asked, with pleading eyes and I nodded.
We had finally arrived at the hospital, and the nurse handed me back my wet shirt, which, if I put on would do as much good as if he walked in with out his shirt on.
A few minuted later Tenten was being questioned by the Doctor, my shirt was dry, and Kimmimaru walked into the hospital. Then I called my lawyer.
"Where's Tenten?" Kimmimaru asked looking at me, "what did you have to do to get her in here, a strip-t?", I grinned and nodded, then I threw my shirt on.
"She's in with the doctor", I answered then followed Kimmimaru into Tenten's hospital room.
"We're going to have to remove the knife", the doctor said coming over to where we stood. So I ripped off my other sleeve and handed it to the doctor, "What's this for?"
"You can't touch the knife, so use this to grab it", I answered then walked out of the hospital room. I walked down the hall and called my parents.
"Hello?" my father asked anxiously, which was when I realized I had been gone about two hours.
"Hello father", I heard my father take an inhale of air, which meant he was about to yell at me, so I rushed on, "Before you get mad at me I'm at the hospital with Tenten"
"What's wrong with her?"
"She was stabbed"
"Kami!"
"I'll probably be here all night, tomorrow, tomorrow night, and the night and day after that", I explained, and there as a silence on the other side of the phone, "father I can't see you remember, so you're going to have to reply verbally", I said in a patronizing tone.
"Okay", my father grumbled, "Yeah, alright, I'll tell you mother"
"Neji", Kimmimaru said from behind me, so I turned to face him, "I need to go back to work, but I need someone to stay with her tonight, would you mind?" I nodded my head. There was no use in telling him that I was planning on staying here anyway, "thanks, uh, a lawyer just took the knife as evidence, so you can go in", I nodded again.
"Hey Tenten", I whispered as I came back into the room.
"Hey Neji", she replied and looked at my shirt, she smiled before saying, "I like your shirt like that"
"Plastered to my body or the sleeves torn off?" I asked jokingly, knowing it would be the sleeves.
"Both", Tenten answered and smiled again, "hey can I get some sleep now?"
"Yes", the doctor answered, and Tenten closed her eyes.
I placed my hand on Tenten's hand and stroked it, in a friendly manor. Then I prepared for a long night, and an even longer day.
#&!
Normal pov (next day)
Neji walked down the hall to the hospital cafeteria, where he grabbed a cup of coffee before he called Hinata.
"Hello?"
"Hinata", Neji said in a monotone.
"Oh, hey Neji", Hinata said happily, "where are you calling from, this isn't you cell"
"I'm calling from the hospital"
"Kami! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Tenten's not", Neji said in a seemingly uncaring fashion, but really he just wanted to get back to said girl.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!" Hinata yelled and Neji flinched.
"I did nothing. Zakuwas about to stab me and she ran in front. I couldn't do anything because I was tied to these two guys that I knocked out", Neji growled out. He was mad at the fact his own cousin thought he could harm Tenten.
"Oh, sorry does Kimmimaru know?"
"Yes but he had to go back to work last night, but he should be coming back"
"I'll be there as fast as I can"
"Hn. Call Shikamaru and the others"
"Why can't you?"
"You accused me of putting Tenten in the hospital, and I am not going through seven more"
"Good point, we'll see you soon"
Neji and Hinata hung up, and Neji rushed back to Tenten's room. Looking down on the sleeping girl he could only think of how unnatural it seemed for her to look so fragile. Well for anyone who knew Tenten 'Knows! Damn it! Knows, not knew!'
#&!
Normal pov (a little later)
Neji heard footsteps, many footsteps, coming towards Tenten's room. He moved away from the bed and leaned against the wall. He stared, in a uncaring way, out the window.
When the group entered they found him like this, only he was staring at them with no emotion on his face. They looked from him to the paler then usual Tenten, then back to Neji.
There was an awkward silence until Kimmimaru burst through the door. He looked at the group, to Tenten, then to Neji, then back to the group. Finally his gaze went back to Neji, where it stayed.
"Thanks for staying with her. Her sister would have killed me if I had left her without anyone", Neji just nodded, "hey Tenten can you wake up, I need you to tell me when the settlement deal is going down"
There was no response from Tenten. There wasn't a flutter of an eye, nor was there a grumble of 'leave me alone!' There was nothing.
"Ten, Itachi stole your cookies", Sasuke drawled and his older brother, who had accompanied them, looked at his brother shocked.
Neji was looking at Tenten intently, but when cookies were mentioned and there was no response from her, he glanced at the monitor. There should have been some indication that she was dead, or dying. There was nothing, only the indications that she was sleeping.
"Nurse, excuse me, but I think something's wrong with my friend", Sakura said politely and pointed at Tenten.
"That is why she'd in a hospital", the nurse said and was about to walk away, but Neji stopped her.
"That is not what my friend meant. She meant that the girl in the bed is unresponsive"
"Oh. Hey you're the male who came in with her last night. Why don't you try waking her up, you two seemed close", the young blond nurse said in a suggestive tone that made Neji blush slightly.
"Can you please just make sure she's okay?" the nurse nodded, and walked into the room.
"Oh no. I have to call a doctor", the nurse said and rushed out to grab the doctor that had seen to Tenten the night before.
"You'll have to leave", the doctor commanded, his strong masculine voice making the nurse next to him shiver slightly.
'Tenten would probably bet me on whether those two were together', Neji thought smiling slightly in his head.
The 'worry about Tenten' group walked out of the room, and waited just outside. Sakura had left t get coffee, even thought it was only noonish.
About half an hour later the doctor came out. He had a grim expression on his face as he turned to face the group. He looked at them in an unbearable long silence.
"She seems to have fallen into a coma type state", the doctor said darkly, removing the glasses he was wearing.
"What does that mean, dattebayo?" the doctor looked at the blond boy in both bewilderment and announce.
"It means she'd hanging between life and death", Neji answered, willing the tightness in his throat away as he did so.
"Yes, pretty much, but she's closer on the death side. It's better if you just let her go"
"You pull that plug and her family has the right to sue you", Neji said attempting to hide the anger in his voice, which only Kimmimaru was able to pick up.
"And I'll make sure you end up in one of your own beds", Itachi said standing up, his eyes daring for the doctor to call on his threat. Itachi's two younger brothers nodded and stood as well.
"One thing I don't get though", the doctor said calmly, and everyone waited for him to continue, "What is her family going to sue me for?"
"Apparently you have forgotten that I was there last night when you said it was alright for her to sleep", Neji smirked, "see with all the attempts on her life, we can pin you as an accomplish..."
"You'll lose your job, your medical license..." Kimmimaru picked up after Neji.
"And most of all, peoples respect", Itachi finished.
"Okay, okay. We won't, but there's nothing we can do. Try talking to her, maybe she'll respond", the doctor paused, "someone should stay with her almost twenty-four seven"
The doctor left and everyone looked around to see who would be staying. Only Neji didn't bother, he'd rather stay. Eventually all eyes fell to Neji.
"I think Neji should stay", Sakura said and Neji raised an eyebrow, "Well, it is your fault"
"How is it my fault?" Neji asked knowing the he was already blaming himself.
"If you two hadn't gotten into this stupid fight over a stupid reason-"
"That I still don't know!" Temari added, cutting off the pink haired girl, and received a glare form the same girl.
"Then neither of you would have been out, you wouldn't have been attacked, and she wouldn't have had to save YOUR SORRY ASS!", Sakura yelled in a manner that was unlike her. Neji offered no arguments and just shrugged 'uncaringly'.
"Okay, how about we don't blame anyone, 'cause Tenni wouldn't like it", Kimmiamru said, being the all-knowing brother.
"By the by, what are you doing here?" Temari asked, thinking that Kimmimaru wasn't the type to date younger girls.
"Uh...", Kimmimaru said and glanced at Neji.
"He's a friend of Tenten's, like Itachi and what not", Neji drawled waving his hand about.
"How would you know, you're madat Tenten?", Temari demanded, loudly.
"Because I'm intelligent. And, I wasn't always mad at Tenten, I do know things about her", Neji drawled, and Temari glared at the Hyuuga boy. She was intelligent too.
"Oh, wow, look at the time. I'll go in and say goodbye to Tenten and leave for work again", Kimmimaru said, breaking the silence that fell. He hopped, skipped and jumped into Tenten's room, leaving the rest to blink after him.
"Well, he didn't take very long talking to her", Temari said, thinking that he wasn't a very good friend.
"He didn't have to", the seven others drawled in close to the same monotone.
"That wasn't cool", Temari said in her 'that was totally creepy' voice, her red headed brother nodding in agreement.
"Uh, you might want to limit talking to her", the doctor said, walking back up the hall to talk to the little group.
"What do you mean dattebayo?" Naruto asked, and the doctor sighed.
"As in one person talking to her per day, except for the one who's staying twenty-four seven", the rest of the group nodded and looked around to see who would be the first. It happened to be Sakura.
Sakura hopped out of her chair and into Tenten's room. She sat there awkwardly, trying to figure out how to start a conversation with an almost corpse.
"Soo, hey Tenten", Sakura said awkwardly, breaking the awkward silence that seemed to still the pink haired girls tongue. When she had been with the others it didn't seem that bad, but know everything had changed. She felt incredibly awkward, "I'm not sure if you can hear me, but the doctor said that talking to you might help you recover from this state"
There was another awkward silence. It was as if Sakura was expecting Tenten to jump up and answer, and the whole thing was a joke. Unfortunately it wasn't, and Sakura let out a sigh.
"Well since you're going through something pretty, uh, bad, I should probably share something like that. Like a competition! We all know how much you like those"
Sakura paused to think, think, and think some more, "Uh, okay. This was like two years ago. Anyway my parents got divorced because my mother was an alcoholic. There was this large custody battle, and I agreed with my father that until my mother was better she was a danger to, well me. My mother get clean, and disowned me, I was dead to her.
"Later that year I walked into my fathers and my house, and found him on the couch, with another male. I ran up to my room and started packing my clothes, CD's, and I grabbed the money that I was saving to buy a pretty bracelet, which oddly enough was enough to buy a small apartment.
"I had a job by then, and worked really hard to pay the land lord, and keep going to school, it wasn't until last year that I bought a house under a random person's name. I also hired this woman to answer my phone and pretend to be my aunt.
"My father, I'm sure, believes me dead. So I'm dead to both my parents, it's kinda ironic", Sakura said and laughed slightly, "Well, that's really all I've got, so I think I lose"
Sakura said goodbye, and told Tenten she'd talk to her later, and then walked out the door. When she came out into the hallway she found the group looking around bored.
"Uh, I'm finished, but I made a competition to match what Tenten's going though, I lost", Sakura said with a frown.
"So we should be going now", Hinata stood, "uh, Temari how about you go tomorrow and talk with her for a bit, and Neji I'll tell Tsunade where you'll be during this week, well until Tenten wakes up"
Neji nodded and walked into Tenten's room. He went back to the place he had been sitting before the rest of the group came.
"Hey Ten. Looks like you're stuck with me"
#&!
Normal pov (Next day)
Temari walked into Tenten's room, and found Neji asleep on the chair beside Tenten's bed. Tenten was still unresponsive in the bed.
"Neji, Neji, Neji", Temari whispered, there was no response from the boy, "WAKE THE HELL UP!"
"Huh?" Neji asked raising his head to show a red mark on his cheek, which had been made by his hand that he had slept on, "Oh, yeah, hey Temari, I was up all night, sorry"
Neji got up and walked out of the room. He turned down the hall and grabbed a cup of coffee, leaving the two girls in the room. One was standing awkwardly, and the other lying unconscious of the world.
"Hey Tenni", Temari whispered as if she'd wake the brunette girl, "Sakura told me, well, all of us about the competition with you. To help us bond, and hopefully wake you up from...where ever you are"
Temari sat down in the chair where Neji had fallen asleep. She noticed slight moisture on Tenten's hand.
"Oh! Eww! Gross! He drooled on you! Wait it's your hand he slept on", Temair whispered, and shook her head, "anyway, my story time!" Temari again paused, "I was really, really young, and I was new to this place called Suna. You know, like Sunagakura high, yeha stuff like that.
"Right, so the first day I went to school there, it was elementary by the way, I was chased by the school bullies, and was saved by a girl younger than me. She became my best friend, we spent every minute together. But what really brought us together, along with Gaara and Kankuro, was our parent issues.
"Her parents were neglectful, so her older siblings raised her, and father had become abusive. Eventually our mother moved us. I had begun wailing as did my friend. We hated our mother until she died, last year. Gaara and Kankuro will probably explain the rest. It's more their depressing tale to tell, which mine wasn't.
"I'm pretty sure you didn't understand a word I said, 'cause I think I confused myself. None the less, I lose", Temari concluded her short story just in time for Neji to poke his head in.
"Did I interrupt?"
"No, I just finished", Temari said and walked over to Neji, as she passed him she whispered, "you might want to wipe her hand, you drooled on it.
Neji blushed and closed the door. He then ran into the bathroom joined to Tenten's hospital room. Hurriedly he grabbed some tissue to wipe Tenten's hand.
"Neji, I'm sorry, but I have another task I need you to do", the doctor said walking into the room just as Neji threw out the tissue he was using.
"What?" Neji asked in a slow drawl, and the doctor pulled out some ointment.
"This helps with scaring, just rub it over the wound once every day. It's a product of your companies", Neji took the bottle, and nodded. The doctor left, and Neji walked toward Tenten.
"What did you do to have your brother create this one?" Neji asked and removed the hospital gown, just to reveal her stomach.
Neji placed the bottle on the night table and dashed for the bathroom, just as a steady stream of blood flowed out of his nose.
"And it's only her stomach", Neji muttered as he attempted to stop the blood flow before he fell unconscious, "Why did I agree to do this?"