A/N: I got the inspiration from this year's Tenten Month. The word "fingertips" really did it for me, haha. But this is in no way a submission (I'm months late anyway). I've always been more of a quiet observer of this community, as opposed to an active contributor. Anyway, this one is for this dying fandom that I love, and for those of you still here, seeting it go.

"Now are the woods all black,
But still the sky is blue."
― Marcel Proust, Swann's Way

Tenten manages to climb no more than six steps before she has to stop.

The two flights of stairs couldn't be more than twenty steps. Still, she is hyperventilating and her vision is narrowing, stretching a climb she knows to be short into a tunnel. The elevator would have certainly spared her a lot of grief, but the thought of using it to go up a single floor seemed embarrassing at the time.

Reaching the clinic lobby feels a lot like stepping out of a plane after a particularly turbulent flight; she is exhausted and relieved. Only this space is warmer, quieter, and less stimulating than an airport. Most of the light comes from tall windows Tenten notices don't open. The waiting area is minimalistic, but not colourless. There are modern rugs and jonquil armchairs placed around a low oval table, and a few simply framed graphite drawings decorate the walls. She turns to the one closest to her, an outline of a feminine nude she instantly likes.

"Miss? Hi, can I help you?"

Tenten turns away from the drawing and approaches the front desk. Her pulse is steady now, but she is still alert, as if the 5'2 woman in front of her could actually do anything to her but get a social security number wrong.

"Uh, yes, my name is Tenten Dai. I have an appointment with Miss Hinata Hyūga for ten o'clock."

"Is this your first time in our clinic?" The woman's voice is pleasant and chirpy, and she is smiling the way all receptionists who want to keep their jobs have to.

"Yes."

"Alright, I will just need some form of identification."

Tenten passes her an ID then looks away. Now that her episode is over, she is almost embarrassed to perceive her surroundings: carpets, books, a pretty medical receptionist – whatever did she freak out at?

Tap – tap – tap.

There is a small pause and the woman hums to herself, then continues typing on her keyboard.

Tap – tap – tap.

"Miss Dai?"

"Yes?"

"I don't see you in Miss Hyūga's schedule… Did you call to make the appointment yourself?"

"I didn't. My, uh, boss kind of took care of that. I was just given the time and date."

"Alright, let me check again."

Tap – tap – tap.

The sound fades into the background as her brain fogs, defocusing. Her eyes slip from one object to another, barely registering anything. Her eyes fall on the signs engraved on the wall above the receptionist:

1st floor: Psychotherapy, Psychological Recovery, Substance Abuse

2nd floor: Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Paediatric Psychology

3rd floor: Sports Psychology, Couples and Sex Therapy

Tenten can't tell most of the terms apart, and the ones she can, she didn't even know classified as different fields. She wonders once again what she is doing there.

Tap – tap – tap – tap – tap!

The agressive typing snaps her atention back to the receptionist. The young woman's eyebrow is creased as she stares at the screen, and Tenten subconsciously leans forward.

"There appears to have been some sort of a mistake..."

Tenten blinks. "I don't have an appointment?"

"You do, just not with Miss Hyūga. I don't know how this happened, I'm sorry. If you wish, I can reschedule. She has an opening… next week."

The stairs flash before Tenten's eyes.

"But if I have an appointment now, I can just go to that one, right?"

"If you want to, yes. But it will be with another therapist."

"No problem. I mean... Wait, I-I don't know." She pauses and leans in. "This other therapist isn't a… sports psychologist or anything, right?"

The woman smiles prettily. "No, he's not. Seen as you were in his schedule, Mr. Hyūga should have already received your file. I believe he would have signalled if there was a major mismatch in the appointment."

"Oh, okay then."

"And even if your specific needs don't match his specialties, I'm sure he will know whether or not to refer you to somebody else after an initial session."

Tenten laughs awkwardly. "My employer is the one paying, so I don't really care if I'm being juggled between therapists."

"In that case, please sit down. He's finishing up a session and should call you in very soon."

Tenten makes her way to the waiting area. There is a woman sitting there, working on her laptop, comfortable. Tenten wonders if she is waiting for a loved one to finish a session.

She thinks about how nice it must be to have someone waiting for you in these yellow armchairs every time you come out of one of the rooms across the lobby. Her hand raises to the bullet resting between her collarbones.

You didn't even tell mom and dad you're here, she reminds herself.

And anyway, most people probably waited in lobbies by themselves. Why else would there be so many magazines and books to choose from?

She takes a big one and reads the cover, Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs. It's a collection of pictures, most alike to her eyes: simple, black and white compositions of valleys, forests, parks, but no people, not even animals.

She feels her heart speed up in her chest again and closes the book, perhaps too quickly. A hearbeat later, she hears a door open down a hall she can't see. Low chatter reaches her ears before a man and a teenage girl appear from around the corner.

Tenten immediately knows the man is the therapist. She can tell by the way he carries himself, like he doesn't need anyone to show him the way out because he may as well own the place. And he looks good, she notices, sharp too. The semi-formal sweater and pants show no signs of wrinkles, as if he were just coming in for the day. Surprisingly long hair is pulled back in a low ponytail.

Tenten frowns. She thinks he looks a bit young, perhaps the son of the woman she was supposed to meet with originally, and that worries her. She scrutinizes his polite back and forth with the previous patient, who can't be more than seventeen years old. Tenten closes her eyes briefly, wondering how a perfectly normal civilian who helped teenage girls with their issues could do anything for her. He couldn't, not really. But perhaps he could write her off as sane enough to resume active duty.

"I will see you soon. Please, call if there is anything you need."

He waits until the girl has walked about before turning around. His eyes land on her at once, but he checks his notepad before speaking.

"Tenten Dai?"

She stands up. "That's me."

He politely shakes her hand and her heart speeds up with fear she can't explain. "Nice to meet you. I'm Neji Hyūga. Do you want to come to my office now?"

"Alright, sure."

She wonders once again if everything was going to be formulated as a question or suggestion.

Neji Hyūga's office is, like the reception, clean and comfortable. There is a bookcase pushed against one of the walls filled with titles she isn't familiar with. On the desk, she sees a small Shinto amulet, a water bottle, and a few thick notebooks stacked on top of each other.

Tenten is slightly embarrassed to find him discreetly inspecting her by the time she's sitting across from him. She decides to say anything at all, only to get him to stop. "Are the books for you or for your patients?"

His mouth twitches. "Most of them are scholarly and part of my personal library. However, some I give to patients when they wish to explore a topic outside of sessions."

It's not a poor answer, Tenten thinks, but doesn't know what to say next. She is unsure who is supposed to do the talking.

"Miss Dai-"

"Don't call me that, please. It's way too formal."

"In that case we can establish a first name basis then. Would that work for you?"

"Sure. Would it work for you?"

You're the one wearing slacks, she thinks.

He smiles. "Yes."

Another moment of silence passes between them. Tenten is sure it is the most awkward thing she has ever experienced.

"So, Tenten, there is some paperwork we need to get out of the way before getting into why we are here today. It isn't particularly interesting, but it has to be done, okay?"

He waits until she nods before taking a pen and opening a pale blue file with the clinic's logo printed on top.

"Are you currently on any medication?"

She shakes her head and watches him scribble something down.

"Do you suffer from any chronic diseases?"

"No."

He pauses, then points his pen to her left arm. "When does the cast come off?"

Tenten grimaces, looking down at her hand. "It was supposed to come off two weeks ago, but I accidentally aggravated the fracture. Doctor said they'll be taking it out in about two weeks."

"Does it cause you any pain?"

"Not anymore, no."

"Any other recent trauma?"

Tenten lifts her head to look at him, eyebrows flying up.

He smiles subtly in response. "We're talking strictly physiological now, not psychological. Don't worry, I don't throw my patients in the deep end like that."

Tenten laughs shortly. "Alright. Well, I recently broke my left leg too, they took the cast off three days ago. Still hurts a bit but I don't take anything for it."

He nods. "Any history of psychological conditions in your family you can think of?"

"Sorry, I was adopted. I can't provide that sorta family history."

He nods again, then takes the time to explain to her that while people can be genetically predisposed for certain conditions, there is also an element of learned behaviour too.

They casually talk about her adoptive parents, about the things they enjoyed doing when she was younger and about the way conflict was handled and resolved. She maintains that her childhood with perfectly normal, and that she grew up with parents who were good people.

The questions he asks her are personal, but not intrusive. They are the sort of questions she anticipated she would be asked and knew the answers to. And he doesn't make her do all the talking like how they did it in movies. He isn't too expressive, but he is attentive and can maintain steady eye contact.

"Oh, and before I forget, I'm sorry about the confusion with your appointment," he mumbles, looking over the file. "You were supposed to meet with Miss Hinata, but there was a scheduling conflict and she passed on your dossier to me. If you wish, I can arrange for her to take your case."

Tenten shrugs lightly. "It really makes no difference to me. I'm okay with working with you."

Neji nods and writes something down quickly.

"It says in your file that your commander requires you to attend therapy. Do you agree with this?"

"Well, it sounds court-mandated when you put it like that," Tenten laughs. "I had a choice, but therapy was a requirement if I wanted to resume my military activities as soon as possible. I think he was just scared that I'll off myself at one point."

More writing, then a pause. "Is that something you've thought about?"

"Once, and never again."

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm a soldier," she states simply. "Self-preservation is a condition of my survival."

"Wouldn't you say self-preservation is a condition of everyone's survival?"

"Sure, but I've been trained in it. It's not something I can turn off."

He nods but doesn't respond or look away, and Tenten decides he must be waiting for her to go on.

Finally, she sighs. "I know this is kind of your thing but let me do this one for you. You can confidently write down in your notepad: patient is not a threat to herself."

He smirks and shakes his head, writing a couple of more words down. "Alright, I believe you."

His neutral expression is back then. "Why did your commander think you are in need of psychotherapy, then?"

"You probably already have the answer in that file you have on me."

"Does it bother you to know I received a file on you?"

"Not at all, actually. The military branch I'm in – someone's always got insight into my file. It's how we get chosen for missions that require specific skillsets or predispositions."

"Perhaps, but I'm not military staff, I'm simply a psychologist."

"It doesn't bother me," she reaffirms.

Neji sighs, then tosses the file on the table between them.

"This file I was given states that an incident which occurred during one of your expeditions has given your superior reason to believe you should be here with me today. Do you agree?"

"I don't disagree," she drawls.

"You can do more than confirm or deny things, you know, I am not your commanding officer."

"No, you're not. He doesn't ask."

He shrugs, leaning back in his chair. "The road I wish to walk with you isn't one that you can walk on command."

"I'm here at the army's command though, aren't I?"

"Technically yes, but now that you are here, the dynamic must be different for this to work. Do you want me to tell you what this process looks like for most people?"

She grins. "Why would I need to know that? Does one size fit all in therapy?"

"No, but It helps a lot of people to know what they're getting into."

Tenten laughs lightly. "Surprise me. I'm used to unknown territory."

He smiles, then picks her dossier up again. "Very well."