Chapter One
A/N: Well, I decided to write the sequel, so here you go
They arrived at Konoha in the middle of the day as if nothing had changed. In fact, if it weren't for their disheveled appearances, their return would've probably gone completely unnoticed. The boy with the bowl-cut was walking with his head held high, a barely visible limp in his steps. The only adult in the party, attired completely in green, wore a wide smile on his face that stretched all the way to his eyes. The other two teens were leaning on each other, stumbling into town, but wore looks of stubborn pride and accomplishment.
They were greeted by a Chuunin with spiky hair and a bandage across his nose. He carted them off towards the Hokage's office, and the crowd of bystanders who had previously been frozen where they stood, now seemed to thaw out and go on with their daily lives.
Tsunade looked up from the pile of papers on her desk to greet the returning ninjas. "All went well, I assume?"
"Of course!" Gai replied. "My brilliant students can handle anything this crazy world throws at them." He flashed a ten-thousand watt smile at his superior, and then ushered Lee out of the office.
Tsunade blinked several times, readjusting her eyes. "Do you two have anything to report?"
"We did what you wanted." Neji replied.
TenTen didn't bother to look up.
"Then the Phoenix is gone?" Kotetsu questioned.
TenTen nodded slightly and then clutched at Neji's arm. "Can you walk me home?"
"I'll take you." Her brother offered. He could see the exhaustion rippling off of her with each breath she took. He crossed the office to take her by the hand, but she passed out and fell into his arms. He hoisted her up to carry her comfortably and took his leave.
"You want to clarify exactly what happened?"
"She had a brother."
"Hmm?"
"TenTen. She wasn't the last one like everyone thought. She had an older brother."
"Had?"
"They fought. He died because of that."
"I see. Anything else?"
"Yes." As she watched, his entire body stiffened. "On the way to cure ourselves, I was taken hostage and nearly killed by the Shiratori brothers." He clenched his fists. "I don't care how much paperwork you have to do, I want to be the one who goes after them, finds them, and kills them."
"Neji…"
"I made her a promise. I'm not going to break that."
"For now you should try to heal."
He bristled in anger at her response. "Hokage-sama!"
"We can discuss this later. I'm not sending an injured ninja after dangerous criminals."
Still angry, he stormed out of the office towards his home.
~~~
Despite his passionate words, that was the last time Tsunade allowed him to speak of the Shiratori case again. He and TenTen passed the Chuunin exam with ease the next year and were assigned to different teams. He rarely saw her after that, but as the years passed he found himself doing whatever it took to spend time with her. When he couldn't take being away from her any longer he did the only thing he could think of to ensure that she would be by his side. He married her.
They were eighteen now, and they had an infant daughter who was nearly seven months old. They had married young, even by their village's standards, and their daughter's birth had come to a shock to both her father and his mother, but they'd taken it in stride and accepted their roles as doting grandparents.
He was serving as an ANBU now, although he was waiting on his opportunity to take the Jounin exam. After Haruka's birth, TenTen had opted for a less life-threatening job. Unwilling to let her skills as a ninja just go to waste, she took a job as a teacher at the Ninja Academy under Iruka-sensei's recommendation. She mainly taught the children how to use projectile weapons, but she was available for other things.
"TenTen-sensei?" She was working with the young children today. They were only eight years old, but some of them showed great promise, like little Outarou-kun, who kept to himself, but had managed to get attached to her. He was a genius and was above the level of most of the kids in her class, and she'd heard the other teachers whispering about entering him in the Chuunin exam.
"What is it Outarou-kun?"
"There's a man here who wants to see you."
"Really? What's his name?"
"He didn't say, but he's an ANBU and he says he knows you."
"Did you tell him that we don't let strangers in here?"
"Hai!" He said cheerily, and then his face fell. "But he said that he didn't have time to waste."
"Well, did you at least ask him to take off his mask?"
"He said he'd rather not."
A gruff voice interrupted her banter with the child. "TenTen."
She turned to face the owner of the voice. The dark haired ANBU was standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest. She recognized him immediately. "Outarou-kun, why don't you go outside and play with the other kids? I'll be back in a few minutes to start classes."
He gazed at her sadly, but left her with the ANBU.
"Why didn't you come to me right away?"
"I wasn't sure it was you. I was being cautious."
He sighed deeply. "TenTen, I've got something serious to tell you."
"What is it?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. "Here." He handed it to her.
She accepted it from him, and scanned it for a long moment. When she was done she sank down into her chair and sighed. "You have a mission?"
"Yes." He sat on the edge of the desk. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, so you should make arrangements for someone to watch Haruka during the day."
"Did you have to take this assignment?"
"I made a promise when we were thirteen. I can't turn this down."
"Neji, don't you remember what happened the last time you ran into them?"
He clenched his fists. "I've gotten stronger since then, you know that. They won't be able to beat me." He looked away. "And besides, I'm not the only one Hokage-sama is sending."
"Yes, but you're the only one that's my husband. If you get hurt I won't be able to live with myself. I know you're only doing this because of me."
"TenTen, this is my duty as a ninja. Dangerous criminals ought to be brought to justice. They've been on the run for five years. We can't let them continue to flee from retribution."
"Neji, I don't want you to go."
"I came here because I didn't want you to find out from your brother."
"You would go anyway?"
He gritted his teeth behind his mask. "This is something I need to do, or they'll come back here for you and me again."
She avoided looking at his face. "I understand that you feel you have to do this, but could you please be safe?"
"Don't worry about me."
"You should get going. Don't you have to leave now?"
"Keh." He lifted his mask to the top of his head. "They can wait a couple more seconds." He leaned over and shared a kiss with his wife.
The couple's bliss was interrupted by the return of several of the students. "Eww! Teacher's kissing a BOY!"
TenTen separated from her husband, a crimson blush staining her cheeks. "Guys, what are you doing back so early?"
One of the little girls pointed up at the clock. "It's time for class."
She glanced at it, her blush deepening. "Ah, so it is."
Neji stood, slipping his mask back into place. "Later." He strode from the classroom quickly.
One of the girls frowned. "Teacher's boyfriend is cute."
"We're married." TenTen stood, pushing her worry to the back of her mind. "Let's not get distracted, it's time to start class."