Chapter Three: Mission
"Dreams don't leave you with broken wrists, Tenten," Neji said softly.
Tenten breathed deeply and looked out the window. It faced the east, and the sun was beginning to ascend in the sky, wreathed in mist.
Neji sensed that she was very close to breaking down-mental abuse was the one thing that she had never been able to stand. What her dream assailant had done was a combination of physical, psychological and sexual abuse- the latter Tenten had never been put through, and Neji hoped that it would never happen again.
Tenten took deep, tearful breaths, trying to control that terrible and achingly familiar hurtful throb in her throat.
Neji acted swiftly, and took Tenten in his arms, rocking and soothing her gently as she cried. They sank to the floor together and Neji looked up at Temari as he stroked the weapons specialist's hair tenderly, lovingly, while her tears fell onto his smooth chest. Temari caught the request in his eyes and silently left the room.
"But I couldn't see his face!" Tenten cried.
"What?"
"I couldn't see his face… I couldn't do anything against him…" Tenten said between sobs.
Once her tears subsided, Tenten's strength was reduced to one of a kitten- one who was in a lot of pain. Neji picked her up and slowly placed her on the bed, stroking back her bangs and long hair, and whispered gentle words in her ear.
Temari appeared in the doorway, and threw something at the Hyuuga prodigy. He caught it without looking, and said thank you, softly. The kunoichi nodded, and went downstairs to make a cup of tea of some sort.
"Here, I'll bandage these up for you." Neji instructed. "Sit up and hold out your hand."
Tenten sat up, her hair spilling around her face, shielding his eyes from her emotions. Nothing however, could stop the overwhelming terror that was being emitted into Tenten's usually bright and optimistic aura. Times when Tenten felt scared or cheerless were as far and few as her name.
Neji hesitated and gently moved the silken strands of hair away from Tenten's face. She looked up and he stroked her cheek gently.
"You don't have to be afraid- it was, as you said, just a dream," Neji said, knowing his words had no true meaning to them- dreams did not injure you, unless it was some form of genjutsu…
"You don't understand, do you?" Tenten laughed hollowly. sending chills down Neji's spine and making the hairs on his arms stand up.
"He told me that we'd meet soon, and I can't help but think that I will see him on our mission today."
"Do you know who he is?"
"If I knew, I'd say, don't you think?" Tenten said sarcastically.
An awkward silence passed between the two.
"Things have changed, haven't they?" Tenten said to no one in particular. "And all because of a stupid nightmare."
"Nothing has changed and don't let something you think is so stupid get to you-nightmares aren't to be as taken literally as something like…" he then trailed off and Tenten rolled her eyes.
"Fate?" Tenten suggested, and then laughed again. "But I feel slightly stupid-I mean, I can't let things like these get to me, I'm a kunoichi-I can not afford to feel emotion. It could be the one thing to kill me!" Tenten said, more to herself than Neji.
"Well, emotions can make you stronger-the desire to protect someone you love can make that much difference to you," Neji said quietly.
"So will you let me bandage these now?" Neji asked, sensing the change in atmosphere. Tenten seemed a lot calmer, more serene, and this soothed his own frazzled nerves.
Tenten wordlessly held out her wrist, and Neji quickly and efficiently tied the bandage over the bruise with an experienced ease.
"These are special bandages-they're Hinata-sama's invention-they've been soaked in her medicine that promotes swift healing," Neji explained, giving something for Tenten to focus on rather than the pain.
"How is she now?" Tenten asked dreamily.
"She's more confident, and it's all for the better. It's thanks to many things, of course-the desire to be seen as an equal, as strong, as a woman, I suppose."
"How is she going with Naruto?"
"Mmm so-so, I guess. I don't like to pry into her relationship."
Tenten laughed gleefully.
"You are such a hypocrite!"
"What?" Neji's eyebrow twitched.
"You are the most overprotective cousin I have ever seen-I remember that one time…" Tenten grinned mischievously.
Neji growled menacingly, and Tenten remembered that this man was bandaging her wrists, after all. Maybe bringing up the topic hadn't been such a good idea in the long run.
After bandaging her wrists, Neji turned his attention to her shoulders.
"I have to rub in a salve for this. I'll be back in a moment," he rummaged around in his bag. Tenten looked down. The knots were flawlessly tied, the wrapping was even, and not bulky. It was a bit worrying, in a way, that Neji was getting so good at this.
Neji returned with a plastic jar filled with a pale, cream that smelled slightly spicy. The Hyuuga moved the silky curtain of hair over Tenten's right shoulder, and slowly began to rub the salve into her shoulders in a soothing circular motion, along with a small amount of chakra to help increase the circulation.
"Okay, all done." Neji said after a few moments.
"You're getting better at this every time we have to do it," Tenten smiled, and kissed him gently on the lips. "Thank you," she whispered.
They both knew that there was a hidden message in those two small insignificant words- thank you for understanding, caring, loving me and, finally, for the bandages and the ointment.
"Okay, who wants what tea…?" Temari trailed off, coming into the room, and seeing Neji and Tenten with their foreheads touching, their lips almost brushing each other's, and intertwined fingers. She began to back out. "Am I interrupting something?"
Tenten looked up.
"No- I was just about to get up anyway. Let's eat breakfast downstairs," she suggested and followed Temari out of the bedroom. Neji got off his knees, and had a shower, allowing the hot water to pound onto his skin and wash away all traces of dreariness from his body. After showering, the Hyuuga prodigy pulled on a white t-shirt, pants and some socks- it was a cold morning.
Tenten could not help but grit her teeth in pain and anger as she furiously scrubbed her nails and hands until they were raw, red and utterly clean. The blood came away after some time, and the kunoichi felt sickened, even more so than when she had to scrub the blood of an enemy off her skin from the battlefield- this was a different kind of fight.
Upon coming downstairs, a wonderful, warm feeling began to permeate the house- breakfast was cooking.
"What are you cooking?" Neji asked, feeling his stomach rumble.
"French toast." Tenten and Temari said simultaneously. Neji noted that the coffee pot had brewed and half eaten cookies lay on the counters behind them beside two pale pink and pale lilac coffee mugs. He smirked and switched on the heater and warmed himself up. It was blissful.
He walked through the kitchen and added the coffee to the mug on the counter that he presumed was for him. It was just the way he liked it, made by Tenten. He sipped at the hot beverage and then sighed. Tenten knew him too well.
Temari began to subconsciously sing as she waited for her meal to cook, and it seemed to stick in Tenten's mind-but she didn't know why.
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"Thanks." Neji smirked at her before eating. Tenten's elbow slipped as she reached for her coffee cup and conveniently elbowed Neji in the stomach, causing him to half slide off the leather covered stool.
"That was cold, Tenten," Neji shook his head as he continued to eat the meal that Tenten prepared for him.
"You think so?" Tenten asked sarcastically. Temari snorted and Tenten looked past Neji's head at the kunoichi who had only bothered enough to tie her hair up into a low ponytail this morning to get the curls away from her face.
"What was that for?" Tenten asked.
"Nothing, you guys just have so many problems in your relationship," Temari sighed dramatically.
Neji smirked, rolled his eyes and waited for Tenten to react.
"Oh well," Tenten said placidly. She finished her breakfast and placed everything in the dishwasher and wiped down all the counters.
Then, she leaned on the clean bench top and stared at Temari as she ate while sipping at her coffee.
"Don't stare at me while I eat-I find it annoying." Temari said without looking up.
"Too bad. Didn't you want to start this mission of yours?"
"Planning this unofficial mission is essential," Neji cut in.
"And I have to inform Kankuro that you've accepted," Temari stood and walked over to the dishwasher, which she slid open and stacked her plate inside.
"Do you mean that you came here for us? Why couldn't you get anyone else to?" Tenten asked, feeling an uncomfortable prickling at the back of her scalp.
"Because you two seemed suited for the job. Tenten, you have no idea how ordinary you look, even with your reputation as a Weapons Specialist-and people remember you with the weapons first, your hair second," Temari said frankly.
Tenten scowled.
"Tenten's ability to blend into her surroundings is a necessary skill for a silent and stealthy shinobi," Neji commented, placing his plate in the dishwasher also.
"So why Neji?"
"Because if this guy really is a Hyuuga, we'll need a Hyuuga on our side- one who isn't afraid to fight, and has experience in battle," Temari said.
"If this guy is a Hyuuga-" Tenten sat down on the couch.
"Then I will defeat him," Neji cut off softly.
"That's a bit cocky, don't you think?" Tenten asked.
"There is a reason I am called a prodigy, Tenten," Neji smirked as he sat down.
"So much for modesty," Tenten snorted.
"Well I have inherited the bloodline the strongest in three generations," Neji boasted.
"I do know that, but what if-"
"I have some things in my room," Temari said and she quickly retreated upstairs and into the room she was currently occupying. Tenten and Neji stayed downstairs in the lounge room, sitting by the coffee table and talking quietly, and Temari found the hidden cache in her bag and drew out a thick envelope with all of her documents inside.
She made her way back down into the lower level of the house and emptied the contents of the envelope onto the coffee table.
"This is all the information we've been able to gather about this area, its history, its inhabitants, ninjutsu or genjutsu similar to the ones that the supposed Hyuuga uses on people, witness records and people related to this guy…" Temari's voice faded away as she saw the look on Tenten and Neji's faces.
"This is…" Neji said, staring at the photo.
"That guy," Tenten said a deadly undercurrent in her voice. There was no doubt about it- the same sardonically polite face, royal blue hair that touched his shoulders at spiky angles – much like Sakura's did- and the same bruised coloured eyes stared back at her from the photograph.
"His name is Masaki, and that's all we've been able to glean from our current information."
Tenten opened the very thin file.
"As you can see, even our reconnaissance missions have mostly turned out to be dead ends-these people seem to have no roots and no records of any kind," Temari said.
"There are a lot of blank spaces here," Tenten said, looking at the forms.
There were no indications of special techniques, bloodlines and even his fighting style was not listed.
"So what's the plan?" Neji asked.
Temari handed him and Tenten files with their names marked on them.
Tenten read her itinerary. It was, in a few words, an order to interrogate and then kill a certain man-Masaki.
"Interrogation and assassination?" she asked.
"Reconnaissance?" Neji looked up from the document at Tenten.
"I don't understand…" Tenten said. Her brain seemed to not process the words she was reading.
"The target is not Masaki- the end game is the Hyuuga, or whoever he is."
"Why can't you spy inside the building?" Neji asked, looking at the photos of the new house.
"There seems to be something that blocks our jutsu whenever we try to get past those walls- we could try asking Gaara to use his third eye technique, but he has been very busy with other affairs," Temari sighed as she rearranged the files on the coffee table.
"Blue prints?" Neji asked.
"None can be found anywhere-it seems that our mystery Hyuuga has covered his tracks, and those of his minions, well."
"Does he have a job?" Tenten asked, picking up the Hyuuga file. There was a photo of a man with white eyes and long, dark hair, which was a very familiar trait in the Hyuuga family. There was no distinguishing facial feature; in fact, he could have been someone related to Neji anyway.
"Not that we know of." Temari answered.
"Does anyone leave the property?" Neji asked.
"No," Temari thought that she was being pushed into a box- these two were very in sync, and it seemed like they could read each others minds.
"How did you get these photos?" Neji frowned. Something wasn't right.
"We watched and waited for a very long time. It turned out that this house has a secret tunnel- which is also blocked by a kind of jutsu we don't know. After that discovery, our men were wiped out, with one left alive to deliver a message: 'Stay away from the Hyuuga, or you will face the same fate as these spies.'" Temari quoted as she stared out the window, but was not really seeing anything.
"Wiped out?" Tenten was puzzled.
"Yes, wiped out-as in turned to ash instantly," Temari said.
Tenten was shocked.
"The dots don't connect," Neji said slowly. "Who did the jutsu? How did you get these photos if no one seemed to ever leave the house?"
Temari said nothing.
"If you say nothing, you get nothing," Tenten said carefully, sitting back and not touching more of the documents.
"We have… a spy implanted in the area. So far, they haven't been able to get much information-and we've lost contact over the last few weeks…"
"Is this a rescue mission?" Tenten asked.
"No. this is strictly one to gather information," Temari said, albeit, sounding slightly unsure of herself.
"Who is the spy?" Neji asked.
"My… cousin."
Neji detected the strain in her voice, and the subtle shift in her eyes. She was lying.
"Who is the spy?" Neji asked again.
"My cousin!" Temari protested, her voice rising slightly. "Why won't you believe me?"
"Because you aren't telling the truth," Tenten said quietly.
"You need to tell us everything from the start." Neji said.
Temari glared and raised her head haughtily. She knew, however, that she was trapped-no one else could really help her with this mission, except for her siblings, but that was not an option.
"Temari," Neji said in a somber voice. "If you need our help, we, as shinobi, cannot unless we are informed of all currently known circumstances."
The silence fell and Tenten and Neji waited. Temari glanced at the clock-time was ticking away slowly, as if everything was underwater.
"My niece, Tetsu, recently took the chuunin exam, and passed- she's my cousin's daughter. We received this mission a few months ago, and she decided to volunteer, saying that nothing could stop her," Temari smiled mistily.
"Anyway, she got a position in the house as a servant of the Hyuuga, and for the first few weeks, everything seemed to be going fine- she'd do her work during the day, and at night time, she would contact us."
"How?" Tenten interrupted.
"She has a strange quirk in her talent. Somehow, she can… send messages through dreams. She has a strong mind and will, but I think something's happened to her."
"Dream messages-how does she send them?" Tenten pressed.
"I don't know, but she comes to me when we are both sleeping, and I wake up and remember everything that was said, and I report it…" Temari trailed off when she realised what she'd revealed.
"It's all too convenient." Tenten said softly.
"You came to us yesterday, and the first night you were here, some guy who seemed to have your niece's 'talent' came and attacked Tenten in her dreams-and you didn't pick up on that, knowing about Tetsu's quirk?" Neji shook his head, reached over and ripped up the files outlining the mission plan and details.
"If you want help on this mission, we do things our way," Tenten said softly.
Temari scowled and nodded. She could ask this of no one else.
"One more question-why didn't you come to Konoha about this?" Tenten asked.
"It's something that's off the record," Temari smiled grimly. "If I do not return with confirmation of mission status within a week, they'll presume that…" Temari let the sentence hang.
"Death, I have found, is nothing to fear," Tenten said gently.
"But it's not me- it's Tetsu!" Temari sighed. She picked up the phone and dialed Kankuro's office phone, putting it on loud speaker.
"Kankuro."
"It's Temari."
Kankuro sighed with evident relief.
"Gaara?" Temari asked.
"Yes."
"Is there anyone else?"
"Do you think we're stupid?" Kankuro asked, getting annoyed.
"Sometimes," Temari smirked.
"Back on task," Gaara said firmly. "Are they there?"
"Yes, we are," Tenten said clearly.
"We have agreed to this mission, but with some conditions-we do this our own way," Neji stated.
"Fine." Gaara said tonelessly.
Neji cracked his knuckles and found a topographic map, street directory page and an aerial photograph of the area.
"Mission commences at 1700 hours tonight," Neji began. "That leaves us with twelve hours preparation. We leave the house, with lights on and Bunshin inside the house, through the tunnel. After leaving the tunnel, we travel upwards about a kilometer to leave the barrier around the house. From there, we split up. Temari-" Neji looked up. "You will go into town and ask around about the target, or anything related with it, as I will be more likely noticed.
"Tenten," Neji looked at her. "You will be disguised, and will ask around on the beach area, in any way that you like. It'll be sunset and it'll start to cool down from the heat in the day. I will go further up the ridge and observe the building from the forest on the bay mouth, here. I want everyone back by 2000 hours tonight- two hours should be more than enough time," Neji concluded.
"I think… I might stay out tonight, if things… get interesting," Temari smiled slyly.
"We didn't need to know that," said four voices unanimously.
Temari shrugged.
"Meh," she smiled nonchalantly.
"That's not even a word," Tenten sighed.
"Okay- so that's your mission plan?" Kankuro asked.
"Affirmative," Neji said.
"Inform us of your results as soon as possible," Gaara said, and the line went dead.
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Tenten spent the rest of her day swimming laps in the pool. Temari lazed around the house, reading magazines, and Neji meditated and counted the various birds that glided on the ocean breeze. At three thirty, Tenten bathed and washed her hair and prepared her bag. The pain in her wrists had faded, as had the bruises, but flared up once more when strained too much.
"Leave it- don't push yourself too much," Neji said softly, coming to stand behind her at the mirror. He wrapped his arms around her bared waist and rested his head on her smooth shoulder and kissed the nape of her neck softly.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Tenten sighed.
"If you need anything, just say my name and I'll come to find you immediately," Neji murmured into her neck, sending tingles down her spine.
"Same goes for you, too," Tenten teased.
Neji looked at the clock.
"It's almost time to start." Tenten whispered. Neji nodded and Tenten pulled her hair into a bun, securing it swiftly with a pair of black hair chopsticks, each depicting a silver and red dragon twining up both hair ornaments. On the smaller edge, there was a small twisting catch that allowed it to be opened, letting four senbon slide innocuously into the user's hand as she went to 'adjust' her hair.
"Bunshin no jutsu!" Neji said softly. A clone of himself appeared beside him and they nodded at each other. The real one changed into dark clothing, as Tenten's clone put on her normal clothes and Tenten pulled on some black clothes, while checking that her other clothes were in a back pack.
Fifteen minutes later, the trio stood on the rocky outcropping, looking out over the ocean.
Tenten changed into her pale jogging outfit and Temari changed into a white tank top and a pair of black shorts.
"I'll change later," she shrugged and Tenten began to rummage around in her pack as Neji said, "There are men to the east-avoid being seen together." With those words, Temari turned and disappeared.
"Wait, Tenten," Neji said suddenly. Tenten turned around, and Neji kissed her passionately and arduously, leaving them both breathless.
"What was that for?" Tenten demanded. "We're on a mission!"
Neji cupped the right side of her face and kissed her left earlobe. "For luck," he whispered huskily before disappearing.
The weapons expert quickly slipped on her weapon holsters over her skin and covered them up with her outfit and flitted upwards into the trees. She found the sunglasses Temari had given her-she'd said that they'd capture video and photos, and all she had to remember was that right was for video footage, left was for photos- and all data collected would be transmitted to their headquarters in Suna.
A few minutes passed, and Tenten suddenly felt another presence beside her. A malicious intent overwhelmed her senses and she increased her speed without breaking a sweat. The rate at which she was currently running (or jumping) could not rival Lee's without weights on, but she could run abreast with the Hyuuga prodigy in the 100 laps around Konoha- a task they could finish in a time of around three hours.
Suddenly, she was out of the thick foliage, and she could see the long shadows the sun had cast upon the smooth earth. The kunoichi jumped to the ground and suddenly felt that same malevolent spirit that her body remembered with fear, so clearly. Noiselessly, Tenten turned around to face the same man who had visited her in her dreams last night.
Piercing blue eyes clashed against her mahogany eyes, and she flinched despite herself.
Tenten was speechless. Nevertheless, she settled into a defensive stance and glared up at him, the sun at her back.
"Didn't I tell you that we'd meet soon?" he asked pleasantly. "I had thought that you'd anticipated our meeting-why do you act so… hostile?"
Tenten remained silent. It wasn't that she had nothing to say; it would just be better to not reveal anything about herself that he did not know already.
"That's it," he nodded knowingly as he jumped down. "Always the practical one, weren't you? Neji was the cold one, with the ice block of a heart that only you could melt, and Lee was the annoying little-brother-like figure who idolized the strangest and most unique man in all of Konoha."
Tenten did not move a muscle, nor reveal her shock or surprise. This man was dangerous. Very dangerous. He knew more about her than anyone else knew about him.
"If you came here to find information, why don't you ask me?" he asked, sitting down leisurely on the branch as if he had all the time in the world.
"Still not willing to say anything?" the man raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather fight me instead, capture and then torture me slowly?"
Tenten flicked her wrist.
"That's a pretty bangle you got there on your wrist…" the stranger commented, as if he hadn't come to assault her in her dreams previously. "It's not really the thing to be wearing when you're going jogging."
Tenten slipped the bangle off her wrist and held it behind her back, making it seem like she was tucking it away. She smoothly separated the gold and sapphire with a twist of the jeweled item and poured her will into it.
The man watched, amused. The kunoichi had procured a pair of katanas, one seemingly made of a blazing, white metal and the other of some sparkling blue stone that seemed far from fragile.
"Those are very interesting weapons you have there. Don't you normally use scrolls?" he asked.
Tenten did not reply. She jumped into the air, feeling the sun on her back, and hurled the weapons in her hands in the man's direction.
The stranger was confused-hadn't she just been holding a pair of katana? How did they become shuriken? It must have been a trick of some sort, he decided calmly as he felt his lifeblood ebb away. This meeting had been highly informative. He knew one other thing now- this kunoichi would be useful to him in many ways. He would get her to do his bidding and he knew how to get her to do it even without asking her.
E2: … once again, lots got cut out. I really don't like how it ended, but meh.