Let Her Rot

Bittersweet relief washed over her, if only for a split second, as she stared back into the awashed eyes of the stranger crouched above her.

'It isn't him.'

The pins and needles of adrenaline flooding through her fingertips and toes instantly began to subside - but with a set of eyes piercing into her own, she couldn't let her guard down just yet. Her predicament only brought about a whole new set of problems - where was she, who exactly was this man, and what exactly does he want with her.

Her unanswered question clouded like a thick fog of doubt around the pair and neither wanted to be the first to break it. The mystery surrounding themselves gave them advantage after all, and secrets are silent weapons.

The solid grip he had on her wrists told her that he had his own set of questions, and that he wasn't letting go until they were answered.

"I could ask you the same thing." His voice was thick with impatience, but as his head tilted back she could sense the slither of curiosity he had about her. She couldn't help but smirk, letting a soft breath escape her nose in scorn.

"You're the one pinning me down."

"And you're the one who attacked first." With his free hand he matter of factly showed her the still bleeding scratches on his palm. The pretentious tone he took only seared her agitation.

"Because you're a complete stranger who decided to walk in on me! How often is it that you sneak into a lady's room and decide to stare at her like a piece of meat?"

His bloodied palm snapped shut as his entire body snatched back at the comment. His once smug features dawned in a wave of disgust at her insinuation. "I wasn't staring! I was checking on you. I saved you. I found you all but a corpse wandering on some beast of a horse late last night. Heck, you should be thanking me."

"Thanking you?!" She scoffed. "Oh yeah, you clearly have my health and safety on your list of priorities as you ever so kindly have me trapped under you. Where have you taken me? To some brothel to have your way with me as some kind of reward for your good deed?" She spat at him. She had always been told by the women in her life that her mouth would kill her one day, and with every word leaving her lips only causing his teeth to grind and his blood to boil, they may just be right.

His nail dug once more into her slender wrists before he slammed them down and freed her. His body remained over hers for a few seconds more as he glared in outrage - his once pale eyes flared in deep pulsing anger.

She may have gone a little overboard this time.

His breath laboured as his chest rose and fell in pants, his brows creased harshly to reveal years of hardship, and his teeth bared like a beast about to strike. Though her wrists throbbed in pain from his lasting grip, his presence alone was enough to keep her in place. When he finally moved to stand, he was close to being out of the door before she could catch her breath again and look at his hunched figure from the back.

"Don't kid yourself." He managed to spit out just as he opened the door to leave. "You couldn't even pay me to do anything to you."

…

As the door behind him slammed shut, the core of the pub shook for a moment as the ripple of the echo silenced. His fists remained clenched to his sides and he could feel the blood of his newly acquired wound begin to pool warmly around his fingers. He couldn't even think his brain felt so hot and bothered. Never in his life had he been so insulted. He had helped her - saved her life even. And for what?

'Let her rot.' He thought as he stormed away, practically throwing himself down the stairs as all he wanted to to get as far away from that foul excuse of a person as soon as possible.

As he was about to step out, he came face to face with the familiar face of his boss. Had he been in a better mood, he might have noticed his unusually flushed features. But instead, he nearly shouldered his way out of the building as he muttered "Don't ask.", heading straight for the privacy of his own home.

...

Naruto could only stare in disbelief as the usually collected Neji practically charged into him to escape the pub. His comment left little to the imagination - their new addition must have woken up and given him quite the greeting.

He couldn't help but hold back a snicker as he watched him leave. Hoping Neji didn't hear his amusement for him to get payback later, Naruto fell back into his original mission - the flower.

At that moment, a hand swiped at the curtain separating the kitchen to the bar and Naruto turned to see the bewildered face of Hinata as she came to inspect the source of the commotion.

"O-Oh!" She gasped as her eyes laid to rest on the snickering blonde. "You're…here!"

"I said I would, so…" His thoughts trailed off. Why was it every time he saw her his mind went blank? He held back from slapping himself across the face as his words betrayed him once again.

"Oh.. right! You did." As she stood still and speechless, she too wanted nothing more than to rewind time to restart this encounter again. However many times she practiced talking to herself in her head, however many times she willed the courage in privacy to speak to him with a full heart, her words simply abandoned her without apology.

They collectively sighed to themselves.

Then, a noise from upstairs made them both jump back from the blackhole of their inner despair. They had both completely forgotten about their new and mysterious guest. The uncertainty of the situation made them snap back into action mode as they both began to hurry upstairs to chase answers.

"Neji stormed out just now - I think she's awake. From the sounds of it, it wasn't a warm welcome."

"Neji's gone?"

"That's right, stay behind me." Without hesitation, he moved his arm to protectively cover Hinata. That's when her eyes caught what he was carrying all this time. As they arrived at the top of the stairs and hesitated outside of the door, Hinata couldn't help but let curiosity take over.

"Hey…Naruto? What-" Her timid question was cut short after a more intense crashing sound came from just the other side of the door. Naruto put a hand to the doorknob before pressing his shoulder and face to the wooden door.

"Don't move! This is the sheriff! Put your hands up, weapons down, and don't try any funny business! You have three seconds! Three…Two…"

"ONE!" The door came near flying off of the hinges as the blonde broke through with sheer force of adrenaline as the hand fell from the doorknob and fell to the familiar feeling of his trusted pistol. He took aim even before Hinata could register the disaster that had taken over the room. Her windows cracked open, the bedding flipped across the room, and the sheets tied into knots. In the centre of it all, holding the sheets, was the woman from last night.

The stranger stood with fists fulls of the sheet in a makeshift rope in a clear attempt to escape, but with fresh cuts now on her hands, it clearly wasn't made in a logical state of mind. Naruto's gun held tight on her.

"Put the sheets down. I won't warn you again, ma'am." Hinata stared in awe at this composed Naruto. The full-of-life boyish character that had first stepped into her bar those few months ago now seemed transformed into a poised and self-assured man. His trained eyes not wavering from his target, yet his arms still outreached behind him to shield her from harm. This was no time for ogling however. Her attention quickly turned to the strange woman. She had taken notice of Hinata, and the tension in her shoulder seemed to drop. She reluctantly let the sheets fall to her side and raised her arms.

"Look, I didn't mean no harm. After a run-in with a not-so-endearing son of a gun earlier, I didn't want to take my chances."

The stern features warmed suddenly as blue eyes softened with a chuckle.

"That son of a gun happens to be my deputy," he motioned down to his dulled, but still impressive, sheriff's badge. "and her cousin." He signaled to his backside where Hinata still stood. She gave a nod.

"It's true. He meant no harm. He was protecting me, that's all. He found you late last night close to death and he didn't want to put anyone in danger. But, I insisted that you stay here in my pub."

"This is your pub?" The woman took in her surroundings with a new found sign of embarrassment. "Oh..I'm so sorry...I would offer to pay you back but..as you can probably tell," She motioned down to her torn and worn attire - much of which was stained and ripped beyond repair. "If I had money, I wouldn't have been in this situation."

Hinata began to wave her hands in a panic. "No no, you were right to be confused and wary of us. I apologize for not introducing ourselves in a better way!"

"Hinata." Naruto abruptly turned, still keeping his attention on the woman in question. "It's not OK." He stood straight, bringing his arm back down and putting his pistol back in its holding, approaching her. "Hinata here is too kind for her own good, but I for one think that you owe her. Though you can't pay, you can however work until what is owed is paid.

He could see the immediate defensive look she was about to give, and her mouth began to open in reply. He couldn't help but smile. "In return, I won't arrest you." As expected, her mouth closed shut. "Thought so. Deal?"

"Deal." her answer came without hesitation.

"Good, first, you can start by cleaning up around here and fixing that window." He nodded to the damage done and the draft that already had swept the room in a blanket of frosted air. "And telling us your name."

The woman, clearly thinking of the first name that came to mind other than her own, settled on an answer. "Tenten. Just Tenten."

Though it wasn't the truth, it was enough for now. "Fine, just Tenten. Then, when you've finished, I think we need to have a small word with someone who you have already met. Don't you think?"

Her tongue clicked on the roof of her mouth before sighing in defeat. "Sure..but, one thing. What's that flower?" Naruto nearly gasped in horror as he looked down at the once gorgeous bloom which had now withered in shame at the torment it had just gone through. His entire body slumped in disappointment. "It was…nothing."

...