AUTHOR'S NOTES:
THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! I'M VERY SORRY FOR THE DELAY! BUT AT LEAST I HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS. I MANAGED TO FINISH THE SECOND TO THE LAST CHAPTER OF A CURSE TO KILL, AND THAT'S CHAPTER 14. I'LL JUST HAVE TO WRITE CHAPTER 15 AND THE EPILOGUE!
Anyway, the bad news is that my 2 sequels for Black Coffee, a Gundam Seed fic will be much delayed and so is Homebound. Actually, I can't write the first chapter of Homebound not unless I finish the epilogue of A Curse to Kill, so that's the inevitable fact I have to keep correcting.
But still, that doesn't stop me from being active! Thanks to those "bad news" I actually have something really enjoyable to do this summer!
LiL-DoNkEy: I'm sorry I made you cry! That was not my real intention for this fic! Huhuhu… But I'm glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for understanding my current situation, yes, I am pressured, but I tell you this, being pressured is actually what keeps me going! Without pressure, I can't update this fic, or worse, without pressure, I can't possibly write the fic! All I could say is the pressure that I'm having now is actually healthy! Hahaha!FireDragonBL: I hear the suspense sound coming… And now, it's out of the building, folks! 'Coz here's what you demanded for, boss!
harukakanata: Hmm… what rumor? You'll see! TOTALLY! NEJITEN RULEZ! Actually, according to a survey that I've just read from a Naruto fanlisting site, the pairing of NejiTen is actually almost as hot as SasuSaku! NaruHina comes next, then, ShikaIno… NejiTen and SasuSaku votes are neck to neck in that poll, really. But still, these two pairings are my specialty when it comes to Naruto fics!
crazy-antman: We'll see in this next chapter! But what will Neji do to Lee when he sees him again? I'll put that up in Chapter 15, so keep those fingers clicking and those eyes reading!
Silent Shinobi: Thanks for your review for Silver Winter and for A Curse to Kill! You love it? Well, yeah, even I loved my own fic (what the hell am I saying? Every fic writer love their work!), and I really enjoyed writing it. And yes, I changed the way of thinking of Neji in this fic just to make it extra sweet! (Hear that, crazy-antman? I know you're an 'antman' and just like every ant and 'antman' alike, they like sweets! Hehe, just kidding! ) Silent Shinobi, can I ask you one thing? Please don't kill my readers! No hostilities in please! Huhuhu… Peace out!
nikki-14angel: Thanks!
Flash report: YOU WILL SEE TENTEN KICK BUTT IN HOMEBOUND!
After thinking over and over and over again for the plot for Homebound (actually, I think about plots for my fics before I go to sleep so that the following day, when I wake up, I can do some research needed and some few extra touches to the story, and then write it!), I managed to create a plot where Tenten will actually be in action, and so is Neji!
SPOILER: In Homebound, Neji and Tenten are legally married and they live in her mansion, so yes, they will be kicking butts as husband and wife!
And so another "Author's Notes" edition has been finished. I am Gensomaden-Saiyuki, giving you now, A Curse to Kill, chapter 11.
(From the last chapter…)
Tenten was able to wake up and was allowed to leave Tsunade's hut and went to Sakura's house.
She knocked on the door and everybody who passed by the street looked at her and smiled. She had no idea why are they doing that but anyway, she was still knocking on the door.
Sakura opened the door and smiled and Tenten raised an eyebrow, "Now that's weird, why are all the people smiling at me?"
"You haven't heard of the rumor?" Sakura answered, "By the way, come inside."
Tenten sat on the couch and so did Sakura.
"What… rumor?" Tenten prolonged.
(Chapter 11 – Home at Last…)
"Neji loves you." Sakura answered, "That's the rumor! Neji loves you!"
"Excuse me?" Tenten asked, not registering anything from what Sakura said into her mind.
"Neji loves you. Don't you get it? Hyuga Neji fell in love with you, Tenten." Sakura said, excitedly.
Tenten blushed and stammered, "N-no, it's j-just a silly r-rumor. That's right! It's only a rumor! Never true."
"Don't be silly, Tenten." Sakura smiled, "Neji can be stone-hearted but you've been his closest friend ever since you were genins. And that, perhaps, developed his feelings towards you. Hey, Neji is a fine man like my fiancé!"
"Oh yeah," Tenten changed the topic, her blush disappearing, "where's Sasuke?"
"Hmm? Why look for Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.
"I have something to ask him."
"Wait here." Sakura smiled, her long, pink hair following her motion.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called as she went up the stairs, "Tenten is looking for you!"
Sasuke went downstairs and smirked as soon as he saw Tenten.
Tenten raised her eyebrow and said, "What?"
Sasuke sat in front of her and asked, "What 'what'?"
"What 'what' 'what'?" Tenten frustratingly yelled, "Oh sheesh, what am I saying! I mean, why the hell are you smirking at me!"
"Nothing." Sasuke replied.
"Where's Neji?" Tenten once again, changed the topic.
Sasuke's smile broadened some more and he replied, "So, you're falling for that Hyuga just like he did for you?"
"Oh man!" Tenten shouted, "You heard it, too?"
"Of course," Sasuke answered, "my fiancée told me."
"Now answer my question."
"I don't know where's he now," Sasuke seriously replied, "but he just took a cure from that old man named Wasudo and gave it to me to give to Tsunade. Then, he told me to leave and he will continue to fight the old man."
"So if he got the cure…" Tenten answered, "Why didn't he escape with you?"
"You know, Hyuga is not the type of person who will most likely escape a fight." Sasuke answered, "Once Hyuga starts a fight, he makes sure he fights until the very end of it."
"You got a point." Tenten responded, standing up and started heading towards the door, "Well, that's all I'm here for. Bye."
As she went home, the skies darkened. She looked up to the sky to see if it was another murder of crows but they were just thick rain clouds, covering the sun. Tenten ran as fast as she could to get home, before the rain starts to fall.
When she reached her mansion, she went upstairs to take a bath and afterwards, she noticed that it was already raining hard.
She went upstairs and stood near her window, watching the rain. All her life, she liked to look at the rain to reminisce her past. But what was making her look at the dark sky was Neji. She was thinking of Neji. She never felt so healthy, so alive!
"Am I feeling this because I'm cured?" Tenten thought, "Or is it because I've kept my feelings for Neji too long and finally… My dream came true? Neji loves me, they say… But I love this feeling… This feeling of relief…"
Then, night came and she was still standing near her window. Lightning flashed and thunder clapped, and it so happened that she saw Neji walking towards her door. Whether it was just hallucination or reality, she hurriedly grabbed a towel and an umbrella and paced downstairs and flung the door open, only to see Neji bloody from wounds. Her knees want to fail her but she gathered up all her courage as soon as she saw the blurry silver eyes of Hyuga Neji.
She opened her umbrella and approached Neji, placing the towel over his shoulders.
"Please come inside." Tenten invited.
Neji and Tenten went inside and made him sit on the couch.
Tenten closed the door and placed the umbrella in an umbrella box near the door but as soon as she saw Neji, she approached him and-
SLAP.
Tenten gave a powerful slap to Neji, which shocked him. Then, Tenten fell on her knees, just at the feet of Neji and wept, "Where have you been! What happened to you! Don't leave just like that! You made me worry so much!"
Neji smiled and gently cupped her face, "I'm sorry."
She looked at him and saw those eyes, his loving stare, as if they can see into her soul. He wanted to say something to her, but he can't say it – because he was afraid of rejection. He, Hyuga Neji, was a very skilled ninja, and known all over Konoha, who never feared opponents but he feared something else… rejection of the one he loves… Tenten.
Unable to say anything, he just simply wiped her tears with his hands and she held them and said, "Please stay."
Neji nodded and she continued, "Please stay here, okay? I'll heal those wounds."
As soon as she left, Neji thought, "What the hell am I doing? Why can't I just tell her instead of… instead of doing that?"
While Tenten was in the bathroom, getting some bandages, towels, a basin of water, cotton buds and cotton balls, some ointments and antiseptics, she was blushing furiously.
When she went back to the living room, she noticed that Neji already took off his shirt, revealing his wounded, muscular torso. Tenten sighed loudly to get rid of her extremely flushed face.
Upon hearing her sigh, Neji looked at Tenten who was walking towards him. So he asked, "Is there a problem?"
"N-no." Tenten stammered, placing the things needed on the table, "N-none at all."
"Did you drink your cure?" Neji asked.
Tenten paused for a while and said, "Yes. Thank you for sacrificing for me to get the cure… But still, you should've told me! Because… Because… I don't want to see you like this, you know… You could have at least just asked me to come with you and you would never have to fight the old man of the Sand…"
"You think I would be willing to take you there?" Neji replied, "Never. Even if you insist to come, Tsunade would hold you back. It's just a way of repaying you for all the things you've done for me, Tenten. And also, it's a way to compensate for the harsh words I told you. Please stop worrying now."
Tenten nodded and started mending Neji's wounds.
After an hour of mending Neji's wounds…
Tenten got rid of all the trash and towels and everything else she used. When she came back, she saw Neji sitting straight and it's as if he was thinking of something.
She sat beside him and asked, "Is something bothering you, Neji?"