Awaiting Sunrise

Chapter 4 - Haunting Memories & Sweet Revenge

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

------

Neji awoke to the morning by jolting upright, the moments of last night flashing before his eyes. He could not help but smile at Tenten's promise, and felt content that she would no longer be depressed that he was not there, and that his soul was haunting her. The sun penetrated through the tent's fabric, giving Neji a comfortable warmth. He smiled, thinking about Tenten. Neji then changed into his normal clothes, and put his headband over his curse mark. He emerged from his tent, and smiled at the forest's serenity.
Another day closer to being with her.
------
Neji sat down on a log, awaiting for his missionmates' report on the mission to be executed. They should have been back before he woke up, but there was no sign of them. He activated his Byakugan to prepare for any surprise attacks, and looked at the forest boredly, his mind dozing off, thinking about Konoha and its number one weapons mistress. He smiled at the thought of her, and was brought back to reality with the feeling of cold steel against his throat. Damn! I let myself doze off...

"I have to admit your team was too good for my men...but you aren't good enough for me. No matter how close you are to Konoha after your many failed attempts to assassinate me, I still live. Are you just another failure living in a daydream?"

Neji took a deep breath, careful not to bring doom upon himself with the kunai against his throat. He had been stupid enough to dream off into Lala Land and brought down his guard.

"I will assassinate you no matter how many years it takes me. You were stupid enough to be seen by Konoha's ANBU. You brought it upon yourself, Kurogane," Neji said, calmly plotting his actions in his head.

"I brought upon myself amusement? Here I am, still alive, ready to kill you any moment. And when you die, I will take over Konoha! And if my men reported to me correctly before they were brought down...there's a certain woman in Konoha whom you love," Kurogane said, putting extra emphasis on the word 'love'.

"Hn. Love her or love her not, you will not go into Konoha while I am alive."

Neji then centered chakra into his hand, and slammed it into Kurogane's stomach. He jumped away from his reach and smirked.

"And you were once one of the greatest ANBU, and your greed caught up to you and you became one of the most wanted...you won't enter Konoha again."

Kurogane ignored Neji's statement, and began to charge at him. He took senbon out of his pouch, and threw them at Neji, aiming at Neji's pressure points. He then disappeared and reappeared behind Neji, narrowly missing Neji's shoulderblade. Neji smirked, thanking Tenten for the days they had sparred. This man's technique was very similar to Tenten's, and he was just as well a weapons master as she was. Neji looked at his features, and noticed some of Tenten in him.

"YOU, YOU'RE related to Tenten, aren't you?" He said, growing angrier by the second as he found resemblance in Kurogane.

Kurogane smirked, and applauded Neji for his great research.

"Her brother, to be exact...our family's story isn't that much different from the Uchiha massacre. I killed everyone except her...I pitied her sorrow and let her be. Don't tell me she's a weapons mistress now? Hehe...just like Tenny-chan!"

That blew Neji's fuse. He had hated Tenten's family story from the start - he hated the suffering her family had put her through. His aura changed from calm and collected to evilly furious, and he glared at Kurogane.

"I will kill you...I will kill you for Tenten's suffering."

Without giving Kurogane a time to respond, Neji had gathered chakra to his feet and sped to Kurogane. His chakra began to gather in his hands, and he slammed into Kurogane's chest. He then got a kunai out and pointed it at Kurogane's throat. Bad mistake. Kurogane kicked Neji off of his body and threw a kunai at Neji, the kunai landing in Neji's thigh. He winced at the pain, and smirked at Kurogane's impact of being hit near the heart. Kurogane coughed up blood, and fell to the ground.

"G-good...job...worthy...of...Tenny-chan...heeeheeeheee..."

Kurogane smiled, and brought in his last gush of air. In moments, he died, looking content and happy as ever. Neji glared at the dead body. He could not believe how much his anger had led him to a near-impossible victory. He winced at his pain and bit his lip. No doubt his missionmates were dead, along with the targetted assassination bodies. He smiled. He had made it at a very high cost. Neji was exhausted from using too much chakra, but he was desperate to see her. He took a last look at his camp, and left, leaving nothing behind but dead memories.

I'm finally coming back Tenten...finally...after all these years...

------
Tenten awoke near late afternoon and sighed. She had a long night last night, unable to sleep until early morning. She got out of her hospital bed and sighed. A medic-nin came into her room and smiled.

"You're free to go now, Tenten! You got some checkups while you were asleep, and you're fine now!" The medic-nin said, happy that yet another patient could return home healthy.

"Wow, really? Thanks!"

Tenten threw her regular clothes back on, and in a flash, she left the hospital. She knew exactly where to go. She went to the bridge, where she shared so many memories with the one she loved. She smiled as she saw the sky turning into an onyx color, and looked at her reflection in the water. Her hair was a mess, and she still looked tired from her lack of sleep, but other than that, she was just Tenten! She couldn't help but think about her memories, and shuddered.

Flashback
A young, 5-year-old Tenten awoke from screaming here and there in her household. She ran out of her room and into the hallway, and fell down in shock. Her walls and floors were stained with blood, the blood of her own clan, her own family. She stared wide-eyed, as she found her parents there before her door, obviously trying to protect her from whoever did this to her family. They had content looks on their faces, as if they succeeded in whatever they were doing. Tenten began to cry, unable to hold in all her trauma. She held her kunai close to her, for her family was full of weapons masters, and all were introduced to the art at a very young age. Though Tenten was still inexperienced, her marksmanship excelled for her age, and she trusted her abilities enough. She did not let her guard down, even through her heavy sobbing. Then, a shadow fell upon her.

"Kuro-chan? Why aren't you dead? Why aren't you hurt?" Tenten asked, scared of her brother's answer.

"Tenny-chan, Tenny-chan. I killed them! It's your turn now," Kurogane said, smiling at his sister's fear.

"NO! I won't let you kill me, Kuro-chan! Never! No! I mean...you can kill me, but I won't let you without me fighting you first!" Tenten said, surprised at her bravery and words.

Kurogane looked taken aback, and smiled. His smile was freezing with hatred, and he looked at his sister through bloodshot eyes.

"Oh Tenny-chan. You'll grow strong one day...but unfortunately---"

He was cut off when he felt a kunai pierce through his shoulder. He stared in shock at his little sister, who stood from the doorway, eyes red from crying, staring at him with all hatred she could muster in her five years of life.

"I hate you."

"Hehe, Tenny-chan! We'll see who hates each other more! Other than that, sayonara! Find love! Be weakened!"

With that, Kurogane disappeared, leaving a dishearted Tenten alone in a house full of blood and its smell.
End flashback

Tenten felt tears rush through her eyes, wondering what has happened to her brother. She had tried her hardest to remove him from her memories, but her memories would not let go of him. He was a secret reason for her working so hard - training so hard. She sighed, and forced a smile to overcome her sorrow.

But that's okay...even if my memories won't let me forget him ...I have Neji now...right?
-
Kind of a random/rushed chapter, but there's some of Neji's life :D