Tilting At Windmills
Chapter Six

Neji woke instantly and silently, never moving a muscle, only his eyes roving around the room in search of what had unconsciously stirred him from sleep. His chamber was dark, the walls painted with the shades of early morning still well before dawn. The only sound he could hear was Tenten's quiet breathing, her chest rising and falling with gentle dreams. He turned his head slightly to better look at her, casting aside his nightly suspicions for a moment just to gaze upon his teammate.

He didn't understand what had pushed him to confront her that evening. Perhaps it was her usual devotion to him that had done it, the fact that even if she didn't want to, she would have taken Nanabi by force if he had wished it. He knew she would have and without hesitation. She had never refused him anything. Never. Not even herself.

And she was giving to him even now, her head resting lightly against his chest, a lock of her long hair pooling over his neck. A sleekly muscled arm was curled against his stomach, her fingers bunched around his shirt possessively. She even had one leg flung over his, as close to him as she could possibly get with just sleep.

Neji was pleased, perhaps arrogantly so. It was true that he had never thought of any woman the way he thought of her. She had grown into him, changed him ever so slightly until he wasn't sure he could be without her. If she wasn't there, he would be alone again. Just the remembrance of that made his arm tighten around her, causing her to murmur sleepily at the movement. He relaxed, content.

She really was his. All her touches, her smiles, her kisses… his.

Neji's eyes widened and he jerked upright just as the bedroom window shattered, a body flying through it to land hard against the opposite wall, slumping down with a hoarse cough and a gurgle of blood. In an instant, he was out of bed along with Tenten who had come awake in the completely alert way only a ninja could acquire.

Amongst the broken shards of glass, Hiiro lay unconscious, a group of his own senbon imbedded in his chest. Tenten made a quiet, breathless sound as Neji crossed quickly to the window, looking down to the lawn outside.

"He'll have been poisoned, Neji," she was saying, making no move to go to the injured man, unsure of the situation. Neji's jaw tightened.

"Go to Nanabi," he said lowly. He felt her turn towards him, confused.

"What?"

"Hizaki Kei seems to want to finish our fight." He didn't look at her. "He'll want Nanabi, too."

Seeing his intent, she leaned over and grabbed the purse that held her scrolls, flinging the strap over her shoulder without hesitation. Neji activated his Byakugan to watch her go, a strange sort of pride filling him as she ran out the door without a word, fulfilling her duty as a ninja without any of the theatrics other girls might have included. She trusted him to take care of himself, she didn't have to say it.

And neither did he.

Down below in the courtyard, Hizaki Kei grinned despite the black eye he had received courtesy of Neji's frustration from the other day. He motioned downwards and the Hyuuga genius smirked.

"Once again, I'm forced to fight a fool."

Tenten ran through the halls of the Tenma house barefoot, hiding every sound she made, even her breathing, as she moved through the darkness. If Hizaki Key had decided to come get Nanabi on his own, she was sure he wasn't the only ninja there. Ishin-san had said the Hizaki house was full of great ninja which was one of the reasons he had promised his daughter to them, so that they might bring protection to the village. She wasn't sure what would happen if she was outnumbered, especially in such close quarters. If only she had some of her weapons…

Tenten shook her head. Well, she would just have to do without since she would have little chance to use her scrolls unless given enough room. After all, it wasn't like she wanted them to go easy on her anyway.

Turning down Nanabi's hall, she slowed, still moving but hyper aware of her surroundings, searching for hostile ninja. When she reached the door, she paused before taking a breath and opening it, sliding inside noiselessly.

The bedchamber was dark and still. Tenten smirked. A little too still. She flipped on the light switch.

Two ninja stood in the room, dressed entirely in black and with their faces half masked in various ways. One held a bound and gagged Nanabi under one arm. She looked unhurt if somewhat frightened. Mikuro, on the other hand, was sporting a long katana wound down his arm and was kneeling on the floor, the same sword held near his neck as a warning by the second ninja. Mikuro looked furious.

Tenten's mind raced. A katana…

Immediately, she widened her eyes, feigning shock. She backed up against the door, closing it, one hand going to her neck as if she were so scared she couldn't speak. Inwardly, she praised Ishin-san yet again for forcing them to wear unassuming clothes.

"N…Nanabi-sama. I…I just came to…to wake you… I…" She made a sort of strangled scream in her throat and watched as the two ninja did exactly as she wanted. They took her for a servant.

The ninja holding Mikuro at bay suddenly pointed his katana at her. "Come over here, woman. It looks like you entered the wrong room tonight," he growled.

She made a big show of stumbling in fear, trembling as she walked towards him, whimpering as the ninja pushed her to her knees by Mikuro, leveling his sword at both of them.

"We should go, Kinku," the ninja holding Nanabi said quietly. "In and out, Hizaki said."

The ninja before her, Kinku, snorted. "What about lover boy here? Hizaki won't be too pleased once he realizes he's getting spoiled goods." Mikuro leaned forward, outraged, but Tenten grabbed on to him, pretending to clutch him in her terror while holding him back.

Kinku laughed gruffly. "Well, let's take this girl at least. She's seems lively enough." He leaned down and grabbed her arm, hauling her roughly to her feet. Tenten smiled and the motion wiped Kinku's grin off his face. Using her upward movement, she slammed her shoulder into his, reaching behind her back with her left hand to grip the blade of his katana, snapping it out of his hands by pulling it against her body like a lever.

He cursed and she swung the sword around, flipping it over and stabbing him between the ribs. He fell like a stone and she had the sudden sinking feeling she might have killed him. She had no time to look however because Nanabi's ninja had drawn a kunai against her throat, backing up towards the balcony from whence he and his teammate had entered. Tenten followed, measuring the distance between them steadily as she flicked the blood off her borrowed katana.

"I know you won't hurt her," she said softly, "and your friend has been severely injured. I suggest you leave Nanabi and take him for medical treatment."

"It looks like you're more than what you seemed," he told her, ignoring her suggestion. "But I'll be taking this girl with me." He was out on the balcony now and she knew he was going to jump backwards off the edge to escape at any moment. She lifted the sword and reached her free hand towards her purse.

Pain blossomed under her right shoulder blade and she gasped as she felt a kunai bury itself into the muscle there. Kinku had thrown it from his position on the floor, blood dripping from a corner of his mouth as he looked at her with hatred. His partner smiled and Tenten gritted her teeth, determined.

"Do you think you've beaten me with that?" She made a sharp motion with her hand and sent invisible wire whirling out to wrap around Nanabi's arms and legs. Grunting with effort, she tugged hard while at the same time lunging forward. The ninja was forced to release Nanabi against her pull or risk cutting her throat accidentally. As the girl fell forward, Tenten ducked around her, stabbing the last ninja in the thigh.

The wound caught him off guard and his eyes widened as he fell off the balcony, pushed over by the force of her blow. She didn't watch him fall, she was too shocked. Stumbling down to one knee, her mind numb with the thought that she had just taken a life, she never saw Kinku throw two more kunai, one landing in her thigh, the other in her side. She barely had time to notice the exploding tags before they blew up in her face, ripping a cry from her as she collapsed.

More might have happened then if Mikuro had not suddenly kicked Kinku right in his stab wound, sending the ninja into painful unconsciousness. Through blurry eyes, she saw him hurry towards her, kneeling by her to pull the kunais free. She groaned each time he did, vainly trying to ignore the two horrible wounds made by Kinku's tags. Blood drenched her once pale sundress.

"Are you alright?" Mikuro asked her worriedly, the baker's apprentice having no idea what to do for her. She struggled to raise herself up on her elbow, panting. With another tug, she loosened the wire holding Nanabi.

"See to her," she said hoarsely. Mikuro didn't need to be told twice and he went to Nanabi, untying her bonds and embracing her quickly.

Ignoring them for the moment, Tenten used the balcony railing to pull herself up, scraping her arms as she tried to look down with her doubling vision. She could hear the sounds of a battle. Were Neji and Kei still fighting?

"Miss, you shouldn't move," Mikuro was beside her again as Nanabi watched worriedly. "You're badly injured. You need a doctor."

She waved a hand dismissively, bravely avoiding the sight of her blood seeping into the cement. "I need to get down there," she said, wondering why her voice sounded so whispery. "Neji, he…" A bout of nausea made her stop but Mikuro had heard her. Despite what she knew to be his better judgment, he helped her stand. She did not accept his arm, however. Instead, she walked unsteadily towards the bedroom door, using the wall for support, a trail of blood in her wake.

She would not go back to Neji beaten.

Neji was tired of holding himself back. Unfortunately, he wasn't there to beat Hizaki Kei into a pulp but to retrieve Nanabi safely. Fighting Hizaki the first time had been because he wanted to, this time it was purely business. As long as it bought Tenten enough time to get Nanabi.

So, the Hyuuga found himself using the most basic katas of the Gentle Fist. He applied little chakra, only enough to send Hizaki reeling back every time he got hit. Neji's Byakugan wasn't even activated but Kei was learning to keep his distance, sending shuriken at him every once in awhile. Neji could almost be amused. Tenten threw much worse at him during her good moods.

"This is pointless, Hizaki," he said icily, landing another flat-handed punch to the man's stomach. Kei jerked backwards, coughing. "Leave now. Nanabi will be returned to her father by my hands, not yours."

Hizaki still had the nerve to grin. "I've only come for what rightly belongs to me. I'm sure you realize that my men already have her. Mikuro won't be able to stop them, he's never handled a weapon in his life."

"Perhaps not, but my teammate surely has."

"Oh really?" he glanced over Neji's shoulder and smirked. "Looks like she slipped up."

Neji felt something like a cold wind wrap around him, somehow knowing what he would see as he turned slowly, his fingers tightening into a fist as he found Tenten making her way towards him painfully. She was barely standing, holding on to the garden fencing as she walked, her whole body shaking with exertion. He felt his teeth clench together at the wounds he saw on her and the splatters of blood that marked her path. She looked on the verge of unconsciousness and yet there she was, trying to reach him. He could have cursed and kissed her both at once for her stubbornness and loyalty.

"Neji…" she croaked, her voice wavering. "Nanabi… she's safe…" And having fulfilled her duty, she collapsed, her body falling almost gracefully to his eyes. He swung, coldly furious, to face Hizaki Kei, irrationally angry that he hadn't been there to catch her.

And without a word, and with no ninjutsu whatsoever, Neji punched the arrogant lord right in the face so hard he heard bone crunch.

Hizaki stumbled backwards clutching his face, groaning as blood spilled between his fingers. Neji was already turning away.

"Leave here before I do more than break your nose," he said over his shoulder, his voice strained with the desire to fight. He kept walking though, activating his Byakugan as he neared Tenten'sunconscious body so that he could see her internal injuries.

He kneeled beside her, lifting her upper body so that she rested against his chest. From the front doors, Mikuro and Nanabi came hurrying out but he ignored them, burying his face in Tenten's dark hair. His words were muffled when he spoke.

"It's time to go home."

Nanabi reached out blindly for Mikuro's hand and he caught it, squeezing her fingers. She answered softly.

"Yes."

To be continued…