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Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me, otherwise the NejiTen would be canon.
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Enjoy.
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Chapter 1. First moon
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Blood, she woke up because the place smelled of blood and it was inevitable that her fangs formed as she wiggled her nose in the air trying to discover the source of such an appetizing odor. She got out of bed and walked around her dwelling to the front door, opening it and finding a villager who had fallen and cut his hand from where the red liquid gushed out.
She closed it immediately and did her best to calm down and get her teeth back to normal, as soon as she was sure that her mind was in control of everything, she went back out with her first aid kit to help the unfortunate fellow.
She heard a question about her eyes and just smiled saying that it would be a matter of the sun, fortunately the man believed her and after thanking her several times for her kindness she left. She went to the mirror only to find that indeed her normally chocolate orbs were almost yellow and looked more cat-like than human, she counted backwards from 20 and when she opened them again, she could finally see them normal. It was 1 night before the full moon and she was finding it increasingly difficult to appease her instincts.
Without wasting any more time she prepared for her working day, she worked as a maid for a prestigious family, the schedule was very convenient as she was mostly the nanny of the youngest daughter and by the way that allowed her to keep her mind relaxed enough and without high peaks of emotions that could trigger an incident that would reveal her hidden self, she always had to avoid being discovered or they would try to catch her either to use her as an exhibition at a carnival or simply kill her for being what she was.
The village she was currently in she liked, its name was Konoha and it was the capital of the Fire country, despite being an outsider there she had managed to go unnoticed and in general everyone was friendly and calm. The problem was that her other self was starting to attract a bit of attention and the month before she had heard that some men wanted to go on a hunting raid in the area to get rid of the animal that was killing the flock.
They were crybabies, she never killed more than 3 sheep on the one night she went out hunting. She took a piece of meat and restrained herself from eating it raw, though she only ran it over the heat for a scant 2 minutes per side before swallowing it without cutlery. She needed that day and the next to pass quickly, once the full moon was over she would have some peace of mind.
She ran around the huge garden with little Miku, the girl's parents were always grateful that she did it because it exhausted her and she slept all night without any problem, especially because none of the previous maids were able to keep up with her and they got tired first than the infant, she just bowed her head thanking the words without clarifying that such exercise was also helping her. That night she closed her eyes knowing that the next day would be more difficult.
She woke up late and hurried out through the village, no one was surprised at such a thing as they occasionally saw her going to the races. She had to use her normal speed, so she went through an alley between some houses to shorten the way and just as she was coming out on the other side a man crossed out of nowhere without her braking, so they crashed.
"A thousand apologies sir," she said automatically.
"You should watch where you are going," it was a deep voice, but evidently angry as she shook off the clothes that had been soiled by the fall, he was an attractive man who wasn't from the village. She didn't want to argue and although she felt like telling him that he should also pay attention to his surroundings but a slight convulsion ran through her as she looked into his eyes, causing her own eyes to change and her nails to sharpen. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, again, a thousand apologies sir." She answered, hiding her gaze and clenching her hands into fists to hide them before continuing to run trying to recover herself.
What had just happened? The very instant she focused those white orbs she immediately felt as if she had seen the moon in all its splendor and her transformation was partially triggered. Damn that day, the worst part was that at her work she saw the girl fiddling with a lasso and running with it and she was too close to jump at it and start trying to catch it mesmerized.
The very instant her day was over she went to the exit of the village where several men were parked, forbidding anyone to cross it as it was a dangerous night. She didn't need to be told, the danger was her. Exasperated, she began to look for another place to sneak, it was important to put as much distance as possible between her and the villagers, besides, if she didn't want another poor sheep to be her victim, she had to go somewhere where she could get better prey.
She ran as fast as she could, unlike in the morning, now she was using all her speed. When she calculated that there were more or less 15 minutes of sunlight left, she undressed and left her clothes in the hollow of a tree. She began to breathe deeply and closed her eyes, feeling the mixture around her. The sunlight fading for the day, the shadows that began to cover everything for a short fraction of time before the silver luminescence of the full moon began to envelop her, for the next few hours she would say goodbye to her consciousness. Her nails sharpened to claws, her eyes took on their feline appearance and black fur covered her.
Her roar echoed through the forest, causing the birds that were already resting in the branches of the trees to flee. She was a therianthrope, vulgarly known among ordinary and ignorant humans as a werepanther, she was born that way and her herd raised her to know how to go unnoticed when the situation required it, as well as to know herself so that the beast inside her wouldn't completely control her at least in the day to day. Because in full moon it was impossible for all the equals to her, her instincts were the only thing that existed in that night.
The problem was that with the gradual expansion of the different cities and the appearance of villages they stopped being free creatures to have to hide. Her parents were hunted when she was barely 16 years old and being an adaptable creature between being herd or not, she preferred to separate herself from the others. At 24 she had a modest life, but precisely unlike many stories she heard of the fate of other similes, she was still alive.
She lifted her head to sniff the environment, there was a prey nearby. She retracted her claws and with precise movements began to approach, it was a small hare. It wouldn't satiate it completely, but it was something to start with, she crouched down calculating the exact moment to attack and in one leap she caught it by the neck, feeling the warm blood slide down her throat, she devoured it in a couple of bites and licked her whiskers to then continue with her hunt for the night.
Because her basic instincts to satiate were simple, she needed fresh blood and she preferred not to think about the second one, since she had been separated from the herd it was almost impossible for her to fulfill as normal panthers didn't notice her and men were, as a general rule, disappointing.
She caught a deer and ate at leisure, she was grooming herself a bit when she heard what sounded like a group of humans. Ending the night with delicious human blood would be great, but with several of them it was an unnecessary risk, so she wandered off and after making several marks that would divert their trail she climbed to the top of a tree to view the scene. They walked in disoriented circles and after discussing for a long time they left, she wanted to roar to celebrate but only got down from where she was to start going towards the clothes, dawn was approaching, she turned and froze.
In front of her was the man she had seen in the morning. He carried a bow on his back but he wasn't aiming at her nor did he make any attempt to use it. She didn't understand, again she stared into those white orbs and now her consciousness had partly returned, she could swear it was her chocolate eyes that were focused, the beast was also not moving despite being in front of a lone human who would make the perfect booty.
"You are magnificent," the deep voice held admiration and she purred at the compliment, but the moment he took a step to approach her, her survival instinct kicked in and she fled.
She was especially attentive to what people were talking about the night before, the hunting party had returned empty handed and only with the story about a dead deer, that wasn't as bad as their stupid sheep, but they weren't happy so they would be out another couple of nights. Well, until the next full moon she would take no prey so she was safe.
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A couple of days later she was at work, reading a story to the little girl who was about to take her nap when her mother came into the room to ask her to go to the dining room, the maid in charge of visitors was sick that day and someone had arrived. She put the blanket over the little girl and after making sure that her clothes were in order she went to the place, passing first through the kitchen where the huge tea tray was already ready to be taken.
Noiselessly, as was expected of someone fulfilling that task, she entered the room and set the tray down on a side table before she began to pour cup by cup and as if she was a shadow set it down in front of her employers and the man who so far hadn't spoken but she recognized instantly, the conversation was about the previous night's hunt. She held the sugar bowl in one hand and the creamer in the other to approach each diner again, starting with the guest.
"It is unusual to see a panther in this area," he finally spoke, in the same tone as the night before and she wanted to purr again. "It is a young female," with a sign he indicated her not to move away, taking only a sugar cube. "Thank you."
"You are welcome sir," she answered gently.
"Your voice sounds familiar."
"That's right sir, and I apologize again," she didn't want to look up as she felt his opal eyes fixed on her.
"Did Tenten cause you any discomfort?"
"No, none at all. Now I understand why she was in a hurry."
"Yes, she is usually on the run but she is very good at her job and little Miku adores her," she brought the complements to them and after that she was going to leave.
"Where are you from, Tenten?" she stopped at his words
"Sir?"
"Your accent is not that of the locals, but I cannot identify it either."
"My family used to live in a small village outside Oni, sir."
"You are a long way from home," she nodded, still looking at the ground. 'How long have you lived in Konoha?"
"1 year, sir," the containers in her hands trembled slightly. "May I serve you in anything else?"
"Not for now, thank you Tenten," it was her employer who released her from scrutiny.
She pulled herself together as best she could to keep the large tray from shaking before leaving. For her personal good fortune she wasn't called back and for once without it being a full moon she was grateful that her day was over, she hung up her apron in the usual place and hurried to the exit.
"Should not you live closer to your work if you are running around the village and crashing people?" he was standing by the gate to the property.
"Maybe sir, or perhaps I rather like to run." She bit her tongue, she shouldn't be impudent. "Excuse me."
"I thought we could walk together," he began to advance at her side, anyway. "In the country of the Demons there were several stories about panthers, a large herd in the vicinity of the capital."
"Yes sir, the village I lived in took measures to protect us so they couldn't enter."
"Do not you ever look people in the eye when you talk to them?"
"No sir, in my job it is discourteous to do so."
"You are not in your job, and please stop calling me sir. My name is Neji."
"As you like, si... Neji."
"So Tenten – what does one do in this village besides being crashed by you and complaining about losing sheep?" she saw him sideways, he was smiling and she started to laugh.
"I don't know," she had looked up for a moment and lowered her gaze immediately, too late.
"Your eyes…"
"It's an effect of the light," she excused herself. "I've heard it a few times."
The man next to her didn't say anything else, he was apparently thoughtful and she tried as hard as she could, she couldn't get them back to their original color.
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Hi there, this is a short project I did for Halloween 2020. It have only 5 chapters.
Hope you like it.
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All corrections and comments are always well received, they help me improve a lot.
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Att: Sally K
