Part 7: Heart Matters (4)

This chapter is linked to the NejiTen one-shot I wrote, "Kibaku Kaiten" - s/7780811/1/Kibaku-Kaiten

"They're lying low for now… De-activate your Byakugan, Neji. The other Hyuugas are keeping a look-out."

The long-haired youth grimaced slightly at his fellow Konoha peer's well-meaning imperative, understanding that what had happened the day before was still fresh in his comrade's mind. Shutting his eyes for a second, he felt the veins and arteries around them recede and lose their prominence on his fair skin. Inhaling deeply as he took a cautious inspection of his own chakra levels, he made a mental note to secretly disobey Kiba Inuzuka within the next few minutes once he got out of his sight.

Ever since Neji Hyuuga had collapsed due to immense chakra loss the previous day, his Konoha friends had been treating him as a helpless invalid, adopting an overly precautionary stance over him as if he was an incompetent destitute. While he did appreciate their concern, he was more irked by how he could have been reduced to such a state, rather than the attention the Team 8 members were showering him with.

"He's a Jounin? You're kidding right? Why is he so bloody weak then?"

His hot-headed friend from the Inuzaka clan had launched into a tempestuous tirade against the impudent Kumo female, who had actually strode over nonchalantly to the medical area the night before to sneer at the pathetic state he was in. While the two youths were bickering heatedly, Neji had tried his best to block out those brusque words, but it was clear that even his normally quiescent mind and tolerant personality could barely bear the coarse accusations so ruthlessly hurled at him.

"That stupid bitch is looking over again," Kiba spat to no one in particular. "Ugh… just looking at that gloating face makes me want to puke."

Glancing towards the bush at the other end of the clearing where the olive-skinned girl was, the Hyuuga prodigy felt his skin prickling a little, but the nod of acknowledgement from Karui threw him off slightly. It was just a split second later that he noticed her expression changing to one that portrayed more irritation and annoyance; as he turned his head, he now saw Kiba's flared nostrils, gleaming irises and petulant frown directed towards her. It was as if the two were having a stand-off even from such a distance, and all of a sudden, in a very unexpected moment, Neji stammered something he never thought he would ever say to anyone.

"Maybe… maybe she likes you, Kiba. And maybe you like her too."

The abrupt switch of the boy's expression, from a snarling retort to a genuinely flabbergasted astonishment, brought an intense crimson colour to his cheeks. Noticing that even the red fang tattoos on his already tanned skin could not hide the befuddling embarrassment that had found its way to creep up his neck, Neji managed a smirk that grew into a full smile when Kiba yelled at Akamaru to 'Shut up!' when the dog gave an assertive bark of agreement.

This amusing exchange calmed his jangled nerves a little, and the Hyuuga teen let his tense shoulders slacken as he sat back down onto the ground. While the chakra drain incident had caused Neji to doubt his own stamina and abilities, something that he never thought could happen to him, he had to admit that fighting alongside his Konoha peers again was proving to be an enlightening experience. Fighting closely together with his cousin was bringing them closer than ever before, and Kiba acting as an overprotective younger brother was something he had not predicted, yet appreciated greatly. It was unfortunate that without General Kitsuchi and his daughter giving them proper commands and instructions, Division Two had had to rely solely on intel provided by their sensors who were linked directly to the headquarters. What aggravated matters was the number of more senior members of the troops that they had lost within less than a day, and without Neji and some other elite Jounins taking charge of the situation, the chaos could have intensified to irreversible proportions.

As Kiba carried on protesting vehemently about how he would never be attracted to 'that crude and foul-mouthed girl', strangely in hushed, urgent whispers behind the bushes with him, he allowed his mind to wander for a while. The unexpected revelation the night before of his own feelings for Tenten was still sending odd sensations through his body, and he was somehow thankful that he had finally come to terms with his emotions, even if it had been such a critical juncture of his young life. What made it even weirder was not the fact that he had come clean to Kiba of all people, but how he had taken so long to come to terms with his attraction towards one whom he had been spending so much time with. Well, that, and the fact that this rush of emotions was occurring at the northen end at the Land of Lightning, miles and miles away from Konoha.

"Neji, my senses … they're picking up some movement from behind us… we're the closest."

The duo, together with Akamaru, got quickly to their feet and bolted forward, antsy to take out more of the White Zetsu impersonators as quickly as they could. They had barely covered a few yards when four slumped bodies landed with some impact around the vicinity, each with a lone kunai lodged in the middle of the forehead. Before they could respond, the few shinobi reverted to their White Zetsu forms, all wearing awestruck expressions at the end of their short times in the world of the living. Neji's Byakugan was already scrutinising the chakra patterns of the lone soldier who was taking slow, hesitant steps forward, wielding two katana blades in her hands. When the chakra signature finally became clear to his dojutsu abilities, his white eyes widened as he took in a quick intake of breath, almost gasping in disbelief.

"Tenten?"

It was Kiba's almost raspy cry of incredulity that jolted Neji out of his dazed stupor; in fact, it was his friend and his pet dog who reached the figure partially cloaked by the shadows of the towering trees. True enough, the face of the girl he had been pining for came into view, the appearance of her glistening doe-eyes and grateful smile a visual spectacle that was now literally taking his breath away. Still, even though all he wanted to do at that very moment was to hold grab Tenten's callused hands, the ever guarded Jounin opened his mouth to exclaim for Kiba to be warier, to be more prudent in case she was one of those goddamned imposters.

"You… you told me that you hoped you would not want to meet the resurrected version of your father on the battlefield. That was after we had fought the Edo form of Hayate-senpai at the Tonika village, remember? And Kiba... when we fought Guren's men… you and Akamaru hid underground while I protected Lee and myself with my Iron Protection Dome."

Tenten ended her short monologue tentatively, and Kiba saw the obvious relief wash over Neji's face as he sank dramatically to his knees, himself nodding and Akamaru barking exuberantly at the confirmation that the Konoha kunoichi was the real deal here. The Headquarters had already established that the Narikawari no Jutsu technique the White Zetsu clones used allowed them to create perfect duplicates of anyone, simply by contact, even possessing chakra identical to those they were impersonating along with anything they might be wearing. Thus far, however, it did seem that what they could not do was to copy techniques, let alone absorb memories. Fears allayed and nerves soothed, the Konoha teen brushed his fingers through the back of his wild, messy hair subconsciously as he watched the girl kneel down right in front of his emotional friend. As she finally closed her hands over Neji Hyuuga's trembling own, Kiba felt a warmth course through his veins on the second morning of the war, one filled with tension and uncertainty, but now also filled briefly with tender affection. He decided to leave the pair in their own devices, and motioned for Akamaru to follow, breaking the tranquil silence only to pay a compliment as he walked past them,

"Your hair looks nice in that ponytail, Tenten!"