Title: Jealousy of Ice

Chapter: 2 - Aftermath

Author: Rekino

Three months.

Three months without him.

Three months of pure inane pain.

Three months of delirious notions that he would return.

Yet as the grains of time flickered down the clock to meet with the rest of the tiny pieces of sand; a realization stuck into my soul.

He was never coming back.

Five months had passed.

Days were always at its end. Nights in my mind were slowly becoming infinite. With each passing second, time ticked to reveal the same repetitive motion. Over and over; again and again. It was if the whole world was a massive ploy for me to feel hurt. No one sides with those who were damned. As the daylight dimmed, and the fiery sun began to set creating shadows that danced as they became cast. People were packing up their stalls and returning home to join with their loved ones. I walked briskly through the village. My head drawn up high, ignoring the flickering whispers that could only be described as wisps of the wind. My tale with Neji had strangely transformed into some sort of folklore that had spread through Konoha like wildfire. Burning through everyone's minds and staying on the mere tips of their mouths for five straight months.

It was a curse.

Everyone knew. And I do not exaggerate when I mean everyone. Everyone one from the lowly ranked genins to the superior Anbu squad knew. Even the little old lady, whom was wilting away like a flower, apparently had hold of this knowledge.

And you know what? They blamed me for breaking their poor Neji-sama's heart. If only they knew that he didn't even have one. He proved to me quite thoroughly enough that fact. I was suddenly the bane of everyone's existence. The very reason why they got up to hate the morning. People ignored me. People hated me. I didn't care either way. They were only becoming a nuisance. A roadblock of sorts that needed to be cut down. When they didn't – however – ignore my presence, they were usually accompanied with something nasty to say. I showed them with a simple kunai that I was not one to be trifled with. Weapon master Tenten is anything but weak.

I brushed past the gale that wrapped itself around me in a tendering caress lingering lightly before disappearing into the setting light. Staring up at the sky, which had faded into a dull orange hue, I took the time to enjoy its splendor. Times like these were limited to me. So I basked in its favor. After the darkness began to stir, its shadows beginning to stretch, thin and disperse, I continued my walk. This time at a more leisurely pace. Arriving at the mere front of the Academy, I paced around the area awaiting the arrival of my comrades before finding a swing, which stirred in the light breeze.

I was already taking a seat before I knew it. All the while flashes of memory whipped through my mind like a movie. Lee, Gai-sensei, Neji. Shaking my head roughly to rid myself of the thoughts, I patiently waited for my new teammates to arrive.

No, I was not in the same team as Neji's now. Hardly. After the episode he made it pretty clear that he intended to never see nor talk to me anymore. Which suited me just fine, as I didn't even want to face him either.

Lee. Lee was disappointed. Sad that our team broke up. He practically begged me to stay. But I couldn't. Not while Neji was there. So I was invited to Sasuke and Sakura's team. Naruto had left and joint Gaara and Temari when he found out that Sasuke and Sakura were dating. It pained him, so he left. But they were still close friends. Unlike my team and me. Yet I loved being in Team 7 now. They understood me. They appreciated me.

There was no more, 'Neji my prodigy,' from Gai-sensei, or, 'Lee, you on the other hand are a genius at work!' There was never a compliment for me. Never for me.

"Been waiting long?" asked Sakura who had just made her appearance with a dazzling smile, the wind blowing her hair on and off her face. Sasuke was beside her smiling at me softly. He began to smile more often, only in Sakura's presence and mine though. He wasn't comfortable with others. But to have him open up slowly, it was a nice sight to see. He and the pink-haired kunoichi were made for one another. The pair of them had been exceptionally understanding when they found out about what happened.

Hell, Sasuke had even offered to beat Neji up for me. Nice huh? No sarcasm there.

I slid of the swing gracefully. "Nope." I said with a weak grin. Sasuke nodded, passing me a scroll suddenly. Seeing as we went through this daily I caught it deftly. One hand snatching it out of the air and unrolling it in the process in a mere span of a second.

"Hmm… new mission huh?" I murmured. Eyes lazily skimming through the characters scattered on the parchment. We usually had missions that were received every few days and we bonded after. Going to one another's houses or celebrating outdoors when people hadn't decided to persecute me. Sasuke shooting them one of his famous death glares were enough to make them stay meters away.

They cared about me. My safety. My life. My love. My friends. True friends. I smiled softly to myself in amusement.

"Yup, infiltrate a house that's guarded by Stone-nins and retrieve a scroll. Easy enough," the chakra specialist said with a sunny grin that brightened up her partner. Though not as strong or fast as either Sasuke or me, Haruno Sakura's skills in both chakra and the medical field made up for that. And she was becoming renowned for it. Sakura was great backup when it came to things like injuries.

The chidori-user added, "Deaths should only occur if we're left with no other option." He explained. We didn't enjoy meaningless death, only if it was required. So if we were sighted, the only thing left to do was to cut off the eyes that had seen.

"A simple break-in job then," I muttered easily, snapping the scroll shut and tossing it back to him with relative ease. And I'm proud to say just the right amount of grace, "No problem. I can handle that."

"Any specifics that either of you know of? The scroll doesn't explain much," I inquired.

Helpfully Sakura pointed out, "We have a vague idea about the estimated amount of shinobis that may be there." Estimated? That wouldn't be accurate now would it? Information that wasn't specific usually fell within the 'vague idea' category. Something I had come to abhor.

Automatically, Sasuke inserted, "Amount may range from four to thirty." I blanched inside. That was quite a lot. I could handle enough on my own, half even, depending entirely on the offending rank. But simply three ninjas against thirty were a bit under minded. As if reading my mind, "Rank ranges from chuunin to jounin. But there are definitely two jounins present."

I processed the information. Every ounce that was available would prove to be important somehow. I worked through all the tactics I could think of that would help with any confrontation with the nins. Even though I knew it was to be avoided at any costs. Preparation was always vital. I suddenly came up with my own conclusion and gladly relayed it to my companions.

"I think that there would be no more than six," I imputed, watching the two for their own opinions. They listened intently, concentrating on my words. I continued, "If it's merely guarding a scroll, wouldn't they have a sizable yet efficient team that would be able to look inconspicuous but at the same time, not? With an amount of twenty, people traveling like that would look too suspicious for all eyes. So I believe we can safely confirm the most they would have would be ten."

Sasuke was first to agree. "True, you prove a valid point."

"I think so too. But if they're all jounin level, we might have a problem…" trailed Sakura who was still a chuunin – unlike Sasuke and I – felt a bit ashamed at her rank when compared to either of us. Even though we both knew that her skills could match up to any other jounin with the tutelage we've been providing her.

I gave Sakura a faint smile of comfort showing her my care. "We'll be fine."

She smiled back in relief. Sasuke patted her shoulder gently. "We set off by dawn tomorrow."

"Who's the backup?" Came my question. Backup was relatively important during missions. Especially when handling an item of mass importance. An extra amount of people could decide whether or not the mission ends in failure or success.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know." She then began to hop in and out around the crayon colored squares that decorated the floor of the Academy. Trailing along the courtyard with a striking reminisce twinkle in her apple-coloured orbs.

"We're supposed to be meeting here though," Sasuke said, glancing at her as she giggled from the corner of his eye.

"It isn't Naruto's team?" I wondered out loud. Whenever missions came around, Gaara, Naruto and Temari were usually there to assist, as we were for them. So curiously, them not being our partners was strange.

"I heard they're on a mission in another village and that they won't be back until the day after tomorrow," said Uchiha, watching his girlfriend twirl around while the leaves fluttered around her. They spun around to flick near her slim body. She hummed melodically. Dancing and uttering a low tune at the same time.

Clasping her fingers to her back, Sakura mused, "I wonder who our backup will be…"

"Ah. Well, let's get moving, we need to get to the meeting point soon."

Sakura and Sasuke had started walking away from the Academy building when I heard the slightest of noises. The leaves died down and the wind became deathly calm. As I turned around, out of the corner of my eye I saw him. He was like a ghost that appeared in the expanse of a second when time and the world around me stopped. Before my eyes could even fully focus on him, I couldn't help but involuntarily say his name under my breath.

"Neji…"

His pupil-less eyes seemed as if they focused on nothing or rather everything. It was like he was taking it all in. Me, my new teammates; everything.

"Did you say something Tenten?" Sakura's voice pulled me back to reality. I couldn't tell you if that was a good or a bad thing.

I spun quickly to face her as I came out of my confusion. "Um..." and when I turned back to see him again, he was already gone. Maybe though, he was never there, just a figment of my imagination. "No, I suppose not."

"Let's get going then," Sasuke's voice called to me from a distance as he had already started going ahead.

I lingered for a second, watching just for a moment longer to see if Neji had really been there before jogging to catch up with them. "Right, I'm coming."

For months I'd been moving on with my life, and even though the world around me was going through autumn it seemed like there was a part of my heart stuck in winter.

/ TBC ...

Fic notes;

Sasuke and Sakura are dating. For five months now, don't forget that it was Tenten who helped Sasuke do whatever it was he did, which led to them dating.

Naruto transferred to Gaara and Temari's team but they all remain good friends.

Acknowledgements;

Thanks to;

HanaTenshiHimeko, Princess Krystal01, Rythmic, LightDreamer, insanely-normal, animeEvivvErz, anonymous, CyberWing, krn-kimbap, Lil-DoNkEy, Kuro Shi, sweetlitojulie, cherry arrow, Sweartoad with a Scythe, babykitty2070, Ayuka-chan, Sakura Uchiha Sasuke, Aventri, Firerra, jmj102, Gashu-Aisu, moonlightpath, MaiMo, Overlord, shedevilz and Nothisisnotmyname.

Thank you for all the comments everyone made for the first chapter, which helped to convince me to continue. Usually I would address each and everyone and thank them, but I think for this fic I'll skip.I want to maintain a professional image for this. My apologies, but still thank you again. Especially to Aventri who practically helped me write this and make it as it is. He is extremely patient whilst helping me, something I thought would never be possible as I tend to suck a lot. Sankyuu! D

Reviews and criticisms greatly accepted.

Rekino