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Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me, otherwise the NejiTen would be canon.
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Enjoy.
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Chapter 22. Face to face
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She looked in the fridge for some fruit and sat down to eat it, Neji had left for the Sand Village so she would have a couple of days alone. She moved her neck from side to side, she felt tense. It was obvious that when he returned they should talk as well.
She entered the room, next to the door was a large mirror which she assumed was to see from the outside what was going on, inside were 2 ANBU and the Hokage who had entered next to her. Toshio was sitting on a chair in the middle of everything, with his hands tied behind his back and in front of him, about 2 meters away was another chair for her. He looked up and smiled. He had lost weight, he looked haggard, he had a scar on his cheek from her attack, his hair was disheveled but his light eyes still had the same commanding expression he always had. She made her way to the chair and sat in the designated spot.
"My son has got you glowing," were his first words.
"What do you want, Toshio?" she asked impatiently, the sooner it was over the better.
"I wanted to see my wife one last time," she gave him a bad look.
"The marriage was annulled."
"Yes, yes, yes, that's what the disguised people repeat to me every day. But you'll always be my wife," she rolled her eyes, "I've missed your always pleasant company," she didn't speak to him, "Will you answer me something?"
"Not if I can avoid it."
"What gave me away? I'm sure I was very careful, and I know it wasn't you."
"The note," she answered after thinking it over, "I told you that it was an unnecessary risk, you should have trusted me."
"Yes, I should have," he paused, "you were a good wife, you knew how to remember your position... and you were always well disposed," that sentence was said with a lascivious smile.
"You weren't a good husband," he laughed, "I'm glad you are finally where you deserve," they were silent for about a minute, "can I ask you something?"
"If I can't avoid it," he answered her almost as she had done.
"Why did you make me believe it was my idea to help with the exams?" she needed to get out of that doubt.
"I told you on our wedding night Tenten, I know everything about you," he stretched on the chair, "I knew that if we told you to do it you were going to be suspicious, but if we played the chips right, you were going to offer yourself... just like you offered yourself to me our first time," he looked at her and raised his eyebrows, she just wanted to get up to slap him, "I did my homework very well... and I don't only mean our desired Takeshi."
"It's not going to belong to you," she hugged her belly protecting it.
"You think so my dear, I read your profile very well... Tell me, have you already managed to take out my last name?"
"How do you know that?" he started laughing again.
"This time it's you, my dear, who forgets what you know about me. I was raised to be a strategist and to know how to control everyone around me according to my convenience," he stretched his neck, "your parents' customs were sent to be collected long ago, this silly village shouldn't have allowed them to leave you without a family name, it's your own village and its archaic ways who will prolong my lineage."
"No, they won't," she looked at the Hokage, who nodded, "I don't wish you bad, Toshio," she stood up to leave, "I simply wish you nothing, you will fade from my mind eventually," she walked to the door and before leaving she turned, "and the name won't be Takeshi, it's a girl."
She didn't wait for his reaction, from outside they had already opened the door, she threw herself into Neji's arms and kissed him, when she heard that everyone was leaving she tried to separate even though they had already seen them, he didn't let her go, he just finished the kiss and looked up. Tsunade stayed in front of them without showing any kind of reaction.
"Thank you very much, Tenten," she spoke, "you won't see him again, regarding the other thing, the legal team is still working on the matter," she nodded, "Neji, we will leave immediately for the Sand village. Let's go!"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," he answered and she saw her turn her back to them and leave from there.
"Did she know?" she asked in the face of the obvious.
"Yesterday, at my obvious anger at the nonsense of the humanitarian agreements," she was going to answer her but they were interrupted.
"The Hokage insists that it is important to leave immediately," although he had his mask on, she could recognize Shikamaru's voice.
"It will be a quick trip," he gave her a short kiss and she could see him cross a glance with the masked man. Who nodded.
"Come on, I'll walk you home," so that was the mute request. Wait a minute!
"And how long have you known?" he removed his mask and rubbed his face.
"Tsk," he went to take out a cigarette but looked her up and down and opted to put it away, "a few weeks after you came back to the village."
"What?" she asked surprised, "did Tsunade know?"
"No, until yesterday," she didn't answer and they started walking in silence, "I don't want to be nosy," he told her a couple of blocks later, but didn't utter anything more.
"No problem, tell me," she was curious, he wasn't the type to start talking just for the sake of it.
"He's fine since you came back, I mean... he almost drove us all crazy with the planning of the attack, I've never seen him so desperate," he paused, taking out the pack again and putting it back, apparently he needed that cigarette urgently, "but since you came back, he went back to being the Hyūga genius, we hadn't seen him like that since..."
"Since what?" she answered innocently, she didn't notice that he had stopped.
"Since before everything about the Lightning village, this relationship is not recent," he concluded.
"No," she admitted, it didn't matter anymore.
"Why were you assigned to that mission? You didn't meet one of the criteria," she raised her shoulders, "now I understand his desperation."
"Each of us made our own decision, we have to stop taking the blame," he nodded.
"I thought Toshio's comments were because Neji was the leader of the team," it was almost a murmur.
"What comments?" she asked.
"Nothing, nothing, I was thinking out loud," he took out a cigarette, "excuse me, I have to leave"
Shikamaru left without waiting for her answer.
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She had been surprised by the confidence with which Neji didn't release his embrace in front of Tsunade, while it was true that they had resumed their old relationship, and that it flowed as if they had never parted, they hadn't pointedly talked about making it public, but unlike before, they weren't hiding either. Simply Neji's extensive schedules made it difficult for anyone to see them in the hours they were together.
What she told Shikamaru about putting blame aside was true, the night she had claimed Neji to turn back the time, she could see his hurt look. He had already told her that time in the Lightning village that he had wanted to take it back, likewise it was she who had accepted the mission when she could have refused. It was unnecessary to continue spending energy and time in that futile discussion.
Now they were together and they were going to have a daughter, he didn't accept her with a daughter because he felt it was his fault that she was pregnant, no, he accepted her with her daughter because he loved her and that was the only important thing.
She got up from the table and began to look for what to wear to do those days.
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It was one day on the way to the Sand village and another day on the way back, so in total they were 3 days out of Konoha. Part of him felt uncomfortable that he had to leave Tenten just then, but another part of him was grateful that finally all those months of hard work had paid off. The peace treaty with the Lightning Country had been signed and in fact the Raikage was happy about how much his coffers had been increased. He was a powerful but unpleasant guy.
He had shared with Hinata for a couple of hours, because of the whole Yoshida attack he hadn't been able to attend her wedding, she was sad at the time but she had understood the circumstances. Likewise now she was grateful that everything had turned out well. She asked him about Tenten and the baby, and he confessed that they were now a couple, yes, it was time to stop hiding. Their farewell was with a promise to, after the baby was born, go visit them.
They returned after noon, in Tsunade's office they filed that mission, he was about to return to the barracks when a voice stopped him.
"A few words before you go, I didn't want to touch the subject before."
"Tell me, Tsunade-sama."
"You already decided wrong once, Neji," she said looking at him fixedly, "Are you going for real with her this time?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," he admitted. Although he wasn't saying they relationship wasn't for real before.
"Then I'm sure you know the easiest way to solve the surname issue," she opened a drawer and took out a bottle of sake, "you have the afternoon free, you're dismissed."
He bowed slightly before leaving the office. He found out about the surname issue during the conversation between Tenten and Toshio, and the only thing the Hokage said about it was that the brunette had been aware of the issue since the day of the ultrasound when it was known that it was a girl, so at last the dilemma of why she was crying inconsolably was solved. He stopped at a food stand to buy lunch for the two of them and a very large dessert just for her.
He entered the house and she didn't come out to greet him, he left the food on the table and looked for her, Tenten was sitting on the floor of the nursery looking very concentrated at a sheet with instructions, next to her were some large boxes. He cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Finally you're back!" she tried to get up quickly but couldn't, so he went over to help her, they greeted each other with a gentle kiss.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to put the cradle together... but I don't understand any of this," she pointed to the instruction sheet.
"Have you had lunch yet?" she denied.
Tenten ate it all and of the dessert she only gave him a bite, in other circumstances he would have asked where she put that amount of food. They lay on the couch for a while feeling her belly move, yes, apparently the daughter was going to be just like the mother: dessert lover.
"Neji," she spoke to him without moving, "what comments did Toshio make when you interrogated him?"
"Irrelevant things, why?"
"Were they... things about me?"
"He used to get snippy sometimes," Tenten was silent, "how did you know that?" It was obvious from Shikamaru.
"It doesn't matter," she assured, "but from what he told you... I want to say..."
"No, he was a dastardly man and he doesn't deserve you to think about him," well, while they were at it," you better tell me, why you hadn't told me the problem with your last name?" she sighed.
"Tsunade said she would solve it, I... I trust she will solve it before the childbirth."
"And if she doesn't?"
"I know she will," she tried to sound confident.
"But Tenten, that can only be fixed by changing your last name, if you marry me in a signature everything would be already solved and your last name would become Hyu..." he was silent suddenly, she lightly stood up to look at his face, had he just proposed to her? Apparently yes, and in a totally non-romantic way.
"I don't," of course, any woman would reject that proposal, "want a big ceremony," she continued speaking, "I want something private, just the two of us."
"Are you agreeing to marry me?" he wanted to confirm that he understood correctly.
"If that's what you call a marriage proposal..." she gave him a smile, "yes, I am accepting to marry you."
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All corrections and comments are always well received, they help me improve a lot.
Hope you like it!
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Regards, Sally K.