AUTHOR'S HEARTFELT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I would just like to give my million thanks to Blitz Magnus and Aikuchi Shikaku, who, helped me make this fanfiction possible. Thank you so much! I wish I could repay you for your kindness someday.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! And here's my New Year's Gift! 3 Chapters! Weee!
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(Chapter 29 – Determined Goodwill)
"Gosh, I can't believe you're alive!" Tenten gave Lee a bone-crushing hug and said, "Damn, I thought you were dead for a second!"
"Ouch! Tenten, the hug… it's… ack! Tenten, get off of me! …can't… breathe!" Lee whined.
"Woops, sorry!" she giggled.
Neji spoke, "Great, then, we should get going by tomorrow morning-"
"No, we'll be going the day after tomorrow." Tenten confirmed, "I'll explain things later."
"Explain what?" Lee asked.
She faced Lee and sweatdropped, "I'll explain to Neji what he's supposed to do when a green monster like you bites off his ear!"
"Oh man…" Lee sighed, "Share your secrets!"
"She'll just explain to me the requirements for the next Chuunin exams." Neji covered.
"But Neji, you're already a jounin!" Lee pouted.
A vein popped out of Neji's fists and temples as he said while he gnashed his teeth, "Lee, that's because I'm going to be a facilitator in one of the tests!"
"Now, now, guys!" Tenten butted in, "Can we please go back to the inn now?"
17 minutes later…
"Hey, where would I be sleeping?" Lee asked when he noticed that the room only had one bed.
"On the couch." Neji replied.
"Oh c'mon Neji, don't be so rude." Tenten smiled, "I'll just ask the receptionists downstairs if they could bring a futon, some pillows and a blanket here."
"Yay!" Lee cheered.
That night…
Lee was already asleep on a futon beside the couple's bed.
"Could you explain to me why are we leaving the day after tomorrow and why not tomorrow?" Neji whispered to Tenten as they were both staring at the ceiling, "You told me you're going to expound it to me 'later'. Well, 'later' is right now, Tenten."
Tenten flicked on a bedside lamp and stood up, walking towards her luggage. She took out the map and the pencil. She turned off the lights and offered a hand to her husband, silently saying, "Come."
Neji took her hand and stood up, tailing behind her as they walked hand in hand towards the lounge area of their suite.
Tenten flicked on the dim lights and set the map on the table. The couple sat beside each other.
"So?" Neji said.
"The reason is…" Tenten sighed, "I'll be waiting until I get a response from Kashime on what to do."
"Kashime? So you found Sakura?"
"No, I did not." Tenten inhaled some air and told her husband, "Please promise me you're never gonna shout and you won't freak out on what I'm about to say, Neji."
He raised his eyebrow and nodded, "Go ahead."
"Sasuke kidnapped Sakura."
After a moment of silence…
"What!" Neji said in a loud whisper.
"You told me you weren't gonna freak out!" Tenten pouted.
"Okay, sorry for that, but… what a-and how? Do you even know that we're so going to be in trouble once the Hokage hears that Sakura is missing?" he answered, "And if we go back to Konoha only with Lee, what are we going to say to her if she asks us where's Sakura?"
"I… I don't know, Neji." She shook her head, "I just… sympathized with Kashime. I think she was planning to kill herself a while ago, it's a good thing I arrived."
"Let's get straight to the point." He calmed down, "Tell me the whole story why we're going to leave only the day after tomorrow."
Tenten sighed and began to tell the story.
--- FLASHBACK ---
Kashime broke down again and cried, "Sasuke… Sasuke and Sakura fought a battle a while ago… Sakura lost and… and… Sasuke took her away. I don't know where she is right now, I don't even know if she's all right but… It's my entire fault! I shouldn't have gambled with her life!"
Tenten just stared at the woman who was crying right now and thought, "Sasuke kidnapped Sakura? It doesn't get any worse than that!"
"I'm sure we can still save her." Tenten comforted, "And you could help out to correct yourself from the mistakes you made."
Kashime calmed down and asked, "Give me 2 days. On the day after tomorrow, I will give you an answer."
"2 days? What for?" Tenten replied.
"I'll give you an answer… I'll tell you what we can possibly do." Kashime told her, "I know the whereabouts of Sasuke He's in the cave at the foot of a mountain in a forest. I'll try my best to gather enough information if Sakura could possibly be with him… or somewhere else."
"Are you coming with us to Konoha?"
"I'm uncertain." Kashime replied, "Give me 2 days. That's all I ask."
"Consider it granted." Tenten nodded.
"We will meet on the day after tomorrow, right here in my house at 8:00 in the morning." Kashime spoke, "I think this is enough to cover up my sins."
--- END OF FLASHBACK ---
"Now if you'll look at the map, Neji." Tenten continued, "You'll see that there's only one cave here that's located at the foot of a mountain in a forest. This has got to be his hiding place."
Tenten marked an 'X' on the drawing on the map in between a forest and a mountain.
"This is where we are right now." Tenten darkened the area where they were, "And we're just around 30 or 40 minutes away from the cave."
"Are you suggesting we should do a search and rescue mission?" Neji asked.
"One thing's for sure." Tenten confirmed, "No matter how bad Kashime was to Sakura, we certainly can't leave her alone. Sasuke can kill her."
TBC…
