Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Naruto. Only the OC is my idea, her backstory, abilities, appearance, etc. I do not make any money from this story. Some characters may be a bit out of character.
Neji sat by Tenten, a solemn expression on his face as Tsunade's words echoed in his mind. He was staring at an empty bowl of ramen, as was Tenten next to him. The Hokage had intervened only to get them back onto speaking terms but if she ever caught even a whisper of them rekindling their prior romance with each other she'd decommission them both.
He glanced to Tenten unsure of what to say or do in that moment. As much as he wanted to take her into his arms and hold her close, he didn't want to give Tsunade a reason to follow through on her threat. Tenten wanted to be a well known kunoichi, and she certainly couldn't do that if she was no longer a shinobi. However Tenten broke the deafening silence, "well I guess it's back to passing ourselves off as deeply connected teammates that hold respect and admiration for each other."
"Yeah," Neji agreed, it was a painful thought but less painful than the idea of her not speaking to him out of spite or anger.
Tenten lowered her head as she offered, "For what it's worth, I really am sorry I acted that way."
"I should've been more open with you about what was happening even if I'd said something like 'she has amnesia and someone may be after her.' At least it would've been something to put your mind at ease," Neji countered.
Tenten gave a small smile and nodded in understanding. They'd both been at fault and now they were both paying the price for their respective faults, that's how things went. Tenten stood up from her seat at Ichiraku ramen shop, Neji placed some ryo down to pay for their meals and stood up with her, they walked in silence until they got to her house, once there she invited him in and he wordlessly accepted.
"Tenten?"
"I know we can't go back to how it was before I panicked and flipped out, but—I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to kiss you. Just once, so you'll know I meant what I said," Tenten offered.
Neji gave a broad smile as he assured her, "don't worry about that. I know you spoke earnestly."
Tenten gained a slight pink hue to her cheeks and Neji gently cupped the side of her face in his hand. He'd be lying to himself if he didn't share her desire to press his lips against hers. Yet he knew the risk if he did and they were caught. He instead brushed his thumb against her cheek before kissing her forehead. She closed her eyes at the warmth that flooded her from just that simple contact. He gently pulled back and stated, "I'll see you around."
"Chiaki—she's still going to be staying with you, right?"
"Yes. I won't turn someone out into the street, Tenten," Neji replied, a slight defensive tone to his voice.
"I didn't mean it like that," Tenten replied, she glanced to a painting of her grandmother and added, "if she ever wants to hang out with a girl or a few girls, just let me know okay? If she's going to be around you while she's here—as a teammate I should make an effort to know her at least a little."
"I'll pass along the message," Neji agreed as he opened the door, once outside he glanced back to her with a simple reminder to take care of herself before closing the door. He grimaced at the situation but at least now he was able to talk to Tenten again, and through his being a Jonin, she could gain more experience with A rank missions. He tried to remind himself that it wasn't permanent. It was just until he could be assigned his own squad to teach and shape into capable shinobi. He smiled a bit at that thought, 'it's only temporary.'
Neji headed back towards his apartment, glancing skywards he saw three oriental turtle doves sitting on an eave trough. He smiled as he watched them preen each other and interact before they flew away, he passed by the farmers market, stopping to pick up a few ingredients before he continued on his way. Entering the main floor of the building he walked up the staircase and then turned left to his apartment door. He opened the door and stopped short, Chiaki was sitting on the railing of the balcony. That didn't seem too safe. He quickly placed the groceries on the coffee table and opened the sliding glass door to the balcony before gently asking, "Aki? What are you doing out here?"
Chiaki gave a heavy sigh as she turned herself on the railing of the balcony and glanced at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, it didn't take a genius intellect to know what had been happening. Crouching in front of her he didn't speak but stayed where he was, observing her, and staying close.
"You never told me you had a girlfriend," she stated as she slid off the balcony railing and sitting on the floor of the balcony.
"It never came up," he answered, relieved that she was no longer sitting on the railing as she had been.
"That's a cheap answer," she growled, her hand coming up to wipe at the dampness on her face.
"Is that why you were crying?"
She shook her head as she hastily responded, "No. Well, in part but don't flatter yourself. One of the cardinal rules for Shinigami is we don't interfere in the lives of humans. We defend them from harmful spirits but beyond that we don't disrupt their lives. I thought the worst I was doing was cramping your living space but no. it's worse than that!"
Neji remained silent, sensing there was more to her anger than what she was letting on. She glared at him and he swore if she willed it to happen he'd burst into flames and ash on the spot. Did fire just flicker inside of her eyes? He had to be imagining it.
Chiaki's glare hardened and her jaw tensed as she snarled, "because you didn't give me that one vital detail I may have completely derailed your life from the path it was meant to take. One mistake and we can completely alter the life of a human. You could die unmarried now and it'd be my fault."
"No. It would be my fault. I'm the one who omitted information," Neji calmly reminded her. He sat cross legged in front of her, "And if I need to write a letter to your superiors to that effect, I will. Or if I can tell them myself in person I'm willing to do so. It was my choice to not tell you about Tenten, or to tell her about you. It was a poorly made choice, yet I made it anyhow. Not one of my brightest moments."
"Why didn't you?"
Silence between them for a moment while Neji thought back to the opportunities where he could've told her about Tenten but chose not to, his interactions with Chiaki and how he'd been all but shutting Tenten out in the past weeks prior to Chiaki arriving. Now that he really thought about the entire scenario, why hadn't he spoken up? He did care for Tenten immensely, he respected her as a shinobi, he had admiration for her skills and thoroughly appreciated her personality, and yet something didn't feel completely right. While he did have great warmth and affection towards her for all of the afore mentioned attributes, her depression and insecurity sometimes weighed on him. He often felt like he was a prisoner of her issues rather than her partner. If he showed concern for Sakura or Ino when they were against an opponent that may be stronger than them, he'd hear about it for three days after the mission completed. Tenten refused to mention her depression to Tsuande or any of the medical team because she feared being taken out of the field. While he had been trying to rid her of her depression, he wasn't seeing much improvement and it was discouraging. If he was honest, at times he felt that he might be falling out of love with her even though he still cared intensely about her well being.
He did love her but lately he'd been questioning if he was in love with her, or was he just infatuated with her and loved her as a very dear friend. After contemplating everything he gave the solemn answer of, "I'm not certain."
"Try again," Chiaki pressed, her voice was monotone and he got the impression she wasn't going to take uncertainty as an answer.
He closed his eyes and divulged, "I'm considered a prodigy even by Hyuga standards, and that is not easily accomplished. Even at the young age of four, it was realized that I was among the strongest in my clan with phenomenal potential. But my birth would always keep me from advancing as far as I could go if I were part of the main house. After my father passed I didn't receive any further instruction. I learned the techniques I use through observation, and reverse engineering them when I saw them in use. I can plan attack strategies in a unit that plays to the strengths of each person within that unit with little consideration. I can calculate the probability of success or failure with acute accuracy and yet—it seems when it comes to matters of the heart, I'm an idiot."
"Inexperienced," Chiaki corrected.
"Pardon me?"
"You're not an idiot. You're inexperienced. I'm guessing Tenten was your first relationship," Chiaki reiterated.
Neji hesitated before nodding in confirmation while adding, "we were together for eight months."
"That's quite a while for teenagers," Chiaki remarked.
"I suppose," Neji replied nonchalantly as he stood up from his seat and offered his hand to Chiaki, "I got a few things for dinner. Join me in the kitchen?"
