She wasn't at home, she wasn't at my place, she wasn't at the restaurant or the library, or the school or the park, and I knew she wasn't at the grocery store. I didn't even bother with that place.
I pulled out my cell phone and called home. It took three rings, but someone picked up. Keiko.
"Keiko, if Tenten comes by there, make sure she stays there and call me okay?"
"Oh, too late, Neji, she just came by here."
"What?!" I clenched and unclenched my fist. "Why didn't you keep her there? You knew I was going out to look for her!"
"No I didn't." That's right, I told Akemi, not Keiko.
"Well, do you know where she went?"
"Out looking for you. She came by all out of breath and asked where you were."
"What did you tell her?"
"I said I didn't know, looking for her?"
"'Kay." I hung up without saying goodbye and pocketed the phone, rushing off down the street. I needed to be in the park, and I needed to be there fast.
I made it there in five minutes, booking it. I was out of breath, and sweat was dripping down my face. I'd never run so fast in my life, and it didn't exactly feel pleasant. My chest was constricting, and one eye was squinting as I looked up and around for Tenten.
I didn't see her.
No big surprise there.
"Tenten!" I called. The park was closed this late at night, so there was no one around. If she was there, she'd hear me. And since she didn't call out or come running, she wasn't there. Or she couldn't call or come running.
I started walking around, not wanting to run for fear of moving too fast and missing her. I kept calling out her name, hoping the cops wouldn't come after me for 'disturbing the peace' or anything. I headed for the woods.
"Tenten! Tenten!" I sucked in a lungful of air to call again, but stopped before I could. I'd heard something. I listened closely to see if I could hear it again.
Off in the distance, there was a voice. Calling, shouting, asking for help; and it wasn't the echo of mine.
"Neji!" I could just barely make out the words. They were calling my name. Tenten!
I started up the slope of the hill into the woods, looking through the dense branches for the speaker. At first I saw nothing, but I focused until I could just barely make out signs of movement. I sprinted toward it, nearly tripping over ever rock and root along the way, but I didn't fall, and I kept moving.
"Tenten!"
"Neji!" She flew into my arms, pressing her face into my shirt for a moment, catching her breath. It seemed that she'd been running for quite a while. My chest was heaving as well, and neither of us could speak for almost a minute. "Neji! They're after us! We have to get away from here!"
"Stop, wait! Who's after us?"
"The guys! The ones that took me!" I growled unhappily, but she ignored it. "They want me to testify that Akira is innocent, or they said they'd kill you!"
"Tenten, my family and I can take care of ourselves. I hope you didn't agree to that."
"Of course not. I bolted. But still, they know where we live, and they're not going to stop until they get what they want!" Her hands were shaking, I realized, as they clutched onto my sleeves. I wrapped mine around them in an attempt to steady them.
"Well, first thing's first, let's get out of here." I pulled her with me as I ran. I needed to get her away from there so she could explain everything to me. She started talking as we ran, saving me a bit of time.
"So, long story short, I was with Akira and he turned out to be bad, but you knew that bit already. Here's what happens next; I live with you, he finds me, kidnaps me, tries to…you know, and then he's carted off to jail. Unfortunately for us," she pants for a moment as we round a corner out of the park, "he's got friends in high places. They all want him out, because of his connections, and they're going through us to get him. They want me to tell the court that I lied and get him out, and me in for purgatory."
"Well, you're not agreeing to that. We'll get the cops—"
"No! Neji, you know what happened last time we called the cops! All this is because I couldn't keep quiet!" She pulled her arm from my grasp. "I can't stand seeing anyone else hurt because of me!" She averted her eyes and I stopped running altogether, just watching her. "I can't. I have to do something."
I strode toward her, three steps and I could touch her. I reached both hands and grabbed her tightly around the shoulders, and she snapped her head up to look in my eyes, surprised at how rough I was being. "Listen to me," I ground out between my teeth. "There is nothing you can do alone. I will not let you deal with this on your own. I am here to help you. We're going to the cops."
"No!" Her eyes were hard, but they softened. "I can't."
"You have to. Come on, we're going home."
"Fine." I pulled her away, and this time, we didn't stop until we'd reached the 'safety' of our home.
"Let's deal with things in the morning. Go to sleep." I, myself, was exhausted. When Tenten offered to make tea, though I was wondering how she had the energy, I didn't refuse. Within moments there was a steaming cup in my hands. I thanked her and gulped it down while trying to think of a plan. Where should we go from there? There weren't many options that tilted the odds in our favor.
I was getting dizzy. I looked at the girl across the table, disbelief in my eyes as her image seemed to blur. What the hell? My eyes shot accusingly to the tea. She'd drugged me.
What…
The…
Hell…?
My head lowered itself onto the table. My eyes were closing, and just before the blackness over took me, I could hear her voice, distorted and slow.
"I'm sorry…Neji."
A/N: SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! I got caught up in other stories, and life, and now school's starting. I'll try and get this one finished and pump it out to you guys quick, though. Expect at least another chapter soon.
