The journey to the Country of Wind was relatively fast. They made good time and arrived before they planned, much like Tenten suspected. After that night, when Neji and Tenten shared that nightmare, it was clear that the tether between them both was growing. They had not shared such an unnerving experience until that point. It was wholly different from sharing wounds or scratches. They definitely needed to share these findings with Sakura when they get back. The physiological aspects weren't the only ones involved, obviously.

To deal with the onslaught of reactions those nightmares had on both their bodies, Tenten decided to sleep beside Neji, to be as close as possible. That way she would be able to shake him awake if anything happened. Though Neji protested at first, he obliged. Tenten had also filled in Lee on what was going on in case she was unable to wake Neji—or if she needed to be woken up too.

Aside from that event, there had a small episode before reaching their destination. They were a day away from reaching Lao-Yung territory. They were all sharing a room on a Hidden Sand Village inn—Lee on the only twin bed the room had and Tenten and Neji in their bedrolls on the floor. Unlike last time, Tenten didn't have the nightmare, she just woke up to her body seizing up as if she were dying. Since she was more attuned then (even though she only experienced it twice—thrice with this one—she was already self-aware and knew what to expect), so Tenten was able to grab Neji's hand and say his name firmly right away, before she was too debilitated. Neji had not responded at first, but a hard squish made his eyes snap open.

He had turned to her, tired, perspiration forming on his forehead. Tenten could tell this was taking a toll on Neji. Each day made the dark bags under his eyes more pronounced. At least, she found sleep quickly afterwards. Tenten was sure he would stay awake after.

"I am sorry I've cause this. I know you don't want me to apologize anymore, but I can't bring myself to stop so don't expect me to," she said.

Neji just turned and looked at the ceiling. Tenten watched as he swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing in the process. He didn't even shoot a sarcastic remark her way. She could easily see that he was drained.

Tenten propelled herself on one of her elbow, trying to have a better view of Neji. "I'll stay awake while you sleep, okay? You need to gather all of your energy for this mission. And to be honest, I am starting to feel the exhaustion in my body as well."

Neji silently stared at her. Without saying anything, Tenten could tell he didn't like the idea.

"Come on, just try it," Tenten whispered, remembering Lee was sleeping. She sat up straighter, dragging herself closer to Neji, realizing she still hadn't let go of his hand when she went to move it. Had she been holding on it, or was he?

Tenten shook the thought out of her mind as she tentatively ran a hand through his head, trying to sooth away the tension. Neji seemed too tense at first, uncomfortable with what was going on, but his tiredness was winning over quickly. His lavender eyes were heavy with sleep, eyelids heavy anchors weighting down.

"Tenten," Neji protested, sleep tinging his voice, "I don't need this. You also need to rest."

"You need to rest more," she said, all too amused. Tenten had never seen Neji so sluggish.

Neji's breathing was evening out, "I am so tired, Tenten."

For a moment Tenten was speechless, she didn't know if she heard him right. She focused on rubbing the tiny hairs in his temple next, trying to make the rest of his body loosen up. "I know you are. You are barely sleeping."

Neji sighed. Soon he would drift to oblivion. "No. It's not sleeping that's making me tired. I feel like I haven't been able to rest since I died."

Tenten was silent, not knowing how to respond. Her heart felt bare with his words.

Her silence must have caught Neji's attention because he snapped his eyes back bat her, alert. She hadn't known she was crying until one of her tears fell on Neji's forehead, on the spot where his curse mark use to be. Tenten wiped it away immediately.

"I haven't rested much either since then," she said so silently it was barely audible.

Neji looked at the ceiling again, sleep forgotten. "Maybe I shouldn't have tried to burn the scroll. Naruto has a point. Maybe things would have been different."

Tenten has walked that road before, too many times to count. It was always the same ending, and she always felt the same way afterwards. But wishing things were different made no difference. It did not change anything. Even when she took matters into her own hands, things did not go as planned. Some things just aren't meant to be.

Tenten continued rubbing his hair. It was so soft, just like she always imagined it would be. "Maybe I shouldn't have opened it either."

Neji shook his head, surprising her. "Maybe this was supposed to happen."

Tenten frowned slightly, hands stopping its movements in his hair. "Are you sure? You seemed pretty against it. Have made me feel awful about it countless times."

Neji closed his eyes, sighing again. "I don't like not being in control of myself. I don't like having nightmares that make me relive my death. I don't like feeling like your life depends on me staying alive. I don't like that you went against something I was very adamant about… but this is not entirely bad. At least I have a chance to find rest."

Tenten let his words sink in. What kind of peace was he after? Weren't you supposed to rest in peace once you were dead? She couldn't even fathom an afterlife of unrest.

She didn't know she was lost in thought until Neji said, "Tenten?"

He was looking at her. "Hmm?"

Neji looked slightly embarrassed when he told her, "Can you keep running your fingers through my hair?"

Tenten was surprised by his request at first, but she regained her bearings faster this time. She nodded as she ran her fingers up and down his hair, occasionally running her knuckles down his temples.

Neji left sleep take over him the second time around, finding sleep within 5 minutes, eyelids slowing closing shut. Tenten watched him all the while, never daring to stop for fear of waking him or making him unrestful. So, that's what she did for hours on end. Watching his chest rise and fall evenly, awed that such a thing was even possible. Looking at the way his eyelashes twitched now and then. When she gathered enough boldness, she stoked his face, amazed at how smooth it was. She always wondered what it was like to do that. Tenten had wondered so many things, but for now this would do.

She kept this routine until daybreak, until Neji woke up. He didn't wake like normal people do, who groggily blink and yawn. He just snapped his eyes open, finding her instantly. Neji quickly sat up, disoriented.

"You stayed up all night?" he asked, stunned.

Tenten smiled, feeling the effects of her decision heavy on her body. "I told you I would."

Since they had arrived five days ahead of schedule, they decided that they might as well invest in disguises. They were aiming for wary worn travelers who journeyed miles to get to celebrate with the royal family of Lao-Yung—something Neji suggested. They needed to blend into their surroundings, they couldn't just stand out, especially if the New Order Society was also after the scroll. So, they purchased used clothes and ditched their Leaf Village head protectors for the time being. They tried not to draw too much attention as well, leaving the room from the inn they were staying in (one in a town closest to the palace) only for food.

They had been over their plan so many times, Tenten could recite it in her sleep. Like they agreed upon, the first day was all about getting the scope and outline of the palace. Of distinguishing where everything was located. They would discuss their findings afterwards, arguing about where they thought the scroll might be and divide the key areas amongst themselves.

Tenten couldn't help feeling distraught as the day of the celebrations drew closer, though. She had never had a mission riding in their success in a while and the pressure was getting to her. She was barely eating or sleeping. She sometimes wondered if Lee and Neji were feeling the same things she was (although, she was pretty sure Neji could sense her unease). On top of that, she wasn't sure if their group dynamic was still what it used to be. Each of them could do well, but if they couldn't work together, the mission was going to be a failure. To make matters worse, their success was what was going to determine if Naruto rid them of their ranks or not. Tenten started meditating to combat what she was feeling. She was well aware that they all needed to have their head in the game for it all to work.

The Lao-Yung palace doors would open at dusk, their celebrations lasting long until morning—as was the talk of the town. If what they were saying was to be true, that meant they had enough time to look around and draw out a pretty good map. Aside from that, there was also talk of their intricate musicians and dancers, who would entertain the crowds with their songs and mesmerizing movements. Of the delicious and exotic food that were prepared by culinary masters right then and there. Of the grandeur and splendor of the interior of the palace, of the marble golden floors and scarlet pillars. Of the hundreds of people who would be attending, distant foreigners coming from a far.

They had been going over their plan everyday since they left the Leaf Village two weeks ago, hoping they could have everything clear when the actual moment came. The first day of celebrations was no different. They had quickly made their rundown before walking to the palace. The walk was somewhat long, not far enough to tire them, but enough to make them feel out of breath. When they got there, they noted that only one of the palace gates was opened, one guard on each side. They were inspecting the people walking in, looking them over and asking them brief questions if some of them caught their eye. A few of them were not permitted inside, the reason as to why a mystery. Although at first Tenten thought that was going to be a problem, they swiftly got it.

The talk of the town did little to no justice in describing the Lao-Yung palace or their celebration. It was unlike anything Tenten had never seen before, something she hadn't seen when she had gone to their other dynasty in their farthest region 14 years ago—albeit there was no celebration back then. It was like everything was made of gold—the walls, the floor, the trim on the pillars, the tapestries, the sliding doors, vases, the window frames. The musicians and dancers were dressed in gold too—although they hadn't started playing their music or their dancing yet. Everything smelled like lavender, clean and pristine. No wonder they needed funding, they used it all on this.

For a moment all everything Tenten could do was stare in awe. That was abruptly put to an end when Neji pull her and Lee aside. Neji pointed out that there were four main leading hallways. One on the north, two on the right west side and one on the east side. He couldn't use his Byakugan there because there were too many people around, but on their way to the palace he did a quick sweep. He let them know that the east side led to the kitchen. The northern side led to the palace grounds and the two hallways on the west led to grand hall and rooms.

"I am the quickest," Lee said, "I think I should have the two hallways on the westside. I can assert them fast before anyone even knows I am there."

Neji nodded. "I would like the palace grounds. While I look around, I can use the cover of the night to use my Byakugan and have a better look at things. Are you okay with the kitchen, Tenten?"

Tenten gave a firm nod. It wasn't like she had any other choice. She also doubted they would hide a really important scroll in the kitchen, but…well.

"We will meet back here once we are done," Neji instructed. "Try not to draw too much attention."

Lee and Tenten nodded before they three dispersed.

Tenten tried to seem natural as she wondered the room, looking at everything with curiosity without appearing too observant, trying not to feel claustrophobic with the amount of people in the palace. She hadn't seen so many different kinds of people in one place before. It kind of reminded her of when she was in the water prison Kisame had her in years ago. Like the air wasn't getting to her lungs correctly. Tenten pushed back the feeling and moved forward.

Tenten was surprised that a simple getup and no forehead protector was enough to let her slip through the door and down the hallway of the eastern side, unnoticed. Even more, that guards hadn't stopped her on her way there. She found it challenging when she actually got to the kitchen. The reason why she hadn't seen guards on the way to the kitchen was because the guards assign to that area were all here. There seemed to be an argument going on. She knew that she would easily be spotted. Everyone in the kitchen had stopped what they were doing and where only focused on what was being said, mainly between a cook and a guard. If she started looking around, she would stand out like a sore thumb. Before she turned around and go back the way she came, Tenten decided to listen to what they were fighting about.

"Please tell Lord Lao-Yung that I did not intended to make the dancers and musicians sick," said a middle-aged man. Just by his statement Tenten could infer that he was the main chef in the kitchen or at least the one in charge of everyone there

"We will see about that," said the guard. "You are lucky that some hadn't eaten the food you prepared earlier or there wouldn't be much entertainment tonight. The family is very displeased. If it happens again, you will pay with your life. This is a very important event."

Then the guard turned and walked away, which was Tenten's cue to get out of there. While she was making her way back, she heard the middle-aged man shout, "I tell you it was the vendors from the market. They were the ones who brought us our ingredients today! They must be behind this!"

Tenten was disappointed when she got back, annoyed that she couldn't do what she had set out to do. She knew she could turn back, but with the guards in their posts again and everyone in such a tense state, she knew she was bound to get in trouble.

Tenten put on a face of amusement as she heard the few musicians and dancers trying to entertain the crows. The guard had been right—without the rest of them, the party was boring and lacked much. She could see unimpressed looks from the crowd surrounding her. She just hoped Neji and Lee were luckier than her.

Twenty minutes later, Tenten heard a voice whisper behind her. "What happened?"

Tenten turned towards Neji, trying to hold back looking defeated. She briefly explained what had happened. Neji cursed under her breath, rubbing one of his hands around his mouth.

"I have a plan, though," Tenten told him. "Tomorrow I will pretend to be one of the helpers and sneak into the kitchen."

Neji shook his head. Tenten could tell Neji was already thinking away around their problem. "You will get caught."

"I have my charm," Tenten said, giving a small wink. "If they stop me or question me, I will just talk my way around it."

"I don't know," Neji said, still unsure.

"Trust me," she reassured. "I will have things under control."

When they left the palace and discussed their findings, Lee, Neji and Tenten concluded that they needed more time. They were able to draw a blueprint, but there were some gaps in certain areas. Lee was able to search both hallways but was limited by the number of guards that were posted around the hallways and rooms.

"If I kept lurking, I knew they would have gotten suspicious," Lee said. "But I am pretty sure the hallway that leads to Lord Lao-Yung could be the key. I know he must be hiding something there."

Neji nodded, thinking over everything Lee told him. "The same thing happened to me when I went to the place grounds. Although there were some people walking about, the guards were always keeping a close eye on everything. I could only use my Byakugan for a brief moment, that was enough for me to determine that there is nothing on the palace grounds. That means the scroll is defiantly inside."

Neji paused, going over problems in his head. Tenten took that as her opportunity to talk about what she had experience and the plan she had told Neji over in the palace.

"That's too dangerous, Tenten," Lee said. Tenten could see how Neji was holding back his I told you so.

"Yes," Tenten admitted, "But it's the only way to get past the guards. We need to cover all of our bases. I couldn't check the kitchen at all last night. Though I am highly dubious that the scroll could be there, we can't leave any stone left unturned."

"The guards are going to be a problem," Neji noted. "When I used my Byakugan, I saw that they were stationed in pairs every 10 feet."

"See," Tenten said, as if that proved her point. "I will be in and out quickly. They will hardly notice I am there."

"I wonder if the new Order Society is facing the same problems we are," Neji wondered.

Tenten wondered the same. They had underestimated the guards. This little detail was going to make the mission difficult.

"We need a distraction," Lee said as if struck by a big epiphany.

"How will that help us?" Neji asked, irritation in his voice. "For this mission to be successful, we need to cover our trails."

"It might draw attention to us," Lee explained, "But it will also make the guards leave their posts."

"It would have to be a big distraction, though," Tenten said.

They were silent as they let the idea linger in their minds.

The next day, Tenten put her plan in motion. When she reached the eastern side hallway, she convinced the guard that she was one of the cook's helpers. She bated her eyes a few times, before he was convinced and let her pass. She went unnoticed as she checked each cupboard and drawer, closet and storage rooms. She had come up with nothing. Tenten was checking one last room before she joined Neji and Lee again—who were focusing their efforts in really scooping out the western side. She was closing the door after finding nothing (what a surprise!) when she heard the same guard from before calling out to yesterday's chef—Hiro she had found out his name was from the way people constantly called on him for approval.

"You have done it again, old man!" the guard shouted. "Are you purposely sabotaging the celebration? More of our musicians got sick and we only have one dancer left!"

"No. I am not doing anything of this on purpose," Hiro pleaded. "I just want to please Lord Lao-Yung! I don't know what could be going on!"

"If you are so convinced it's not your doing, then you are tasked to find new musicians and dancers for tomorrow. These two days have been lacking by much, tomorrow better measure up to the Lord's standards! They better capture everyone's attention!"

"But I am just a cook, I don't know any musicians or dancers," Hiro was on the verge of tears now.

"I guess there is a lot of work to do then," the guard said spitefully before walking away.

Hiro started falling to hysterics asking the helpers and other cooks if they knew of anyone that could fill in those positions. It was there that Tenten hatched an idea. The guard said that the performers Hiro got had to catch everyone's attention. Since it was the last day, could that mean that the guards would leave their posts to join the celebrations? If not, maybe she could capture enough of their attention for Neji and Lee to have an opening. She was sure this would have to be their distraction.

Tenten was so assured that when Hiro asked her, she answered without any hesitation, "Yes. Before I was a cook's aid, I was used to be known as the Dancing Dragon."

Hiro practically started crying right there and then. Neji, though, did not take such news as ecstatically as Hiro when they got back from the party and she told Lee and him about it. Lee was still unsure of what he should feel about it, afraid to side with her for fear of being in the receiving end of Neji's anger.

"I thought I told you we needed to keep our cover," Neji said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Tenten could feel the pounding of Neji's headache in her head too.

"I thought we all agreed we needed a distraction," Tenten countered, crossing her arms.

"Yes," Neji agreed. "Without putting ourselves in the front line. You will have to say caught whatever whatever the other dancers and musicians got."

"No," Tenten firmly said, standing her ground. "This is our perfect opening."

"I knew I shouldn't have believed you when you said you had things under control. I knew something like this would happen," Neji grumbled, rubbing his hand up and down his face.

"I think Tenten might have a point, Neji," Lee began gently (smart of him), "We only have until tomorrow to get the scroll. We don't know if the New Order Society has a better lead than us. We need to give it our all if we want this to work. We could be looking at new war."

Surprisingly, Lee's word rang true, silencing them all. Tenten hadn't thought about their deadline. Suddenly, she felt a pressure in her lungs. What if they failed and thousands of lives perished because they couldn't stop the war?

Neji cursed—which meant Lee was right. "Why did you say you were a dancer? You can't dance."

Tenten tried to not look too relieved. Neji was agreeing to her plan. She smiled, pleased that she had won this argument somehow. "Trust me, my dancing skills won't be the one distracting everyone tomorrow."

Tenten had gone through her 'routine' three times with Neji and Lee, who pitched in over the top ideas of how she could make it wild enough to catch everybody's attention. Tenten couldn't help feeling nervous. Although, she was confident in her weapons skills, she wasn't sure if she was special enough to catch everybody's attention. Tonight she needed to bring all her big tricks out for a spin.

To add to the pressure, Hiro had told her the day before that she needed to come early and get ready, seeing how the dancers and musicians dressed a certain way as was required by the family. He couldn't just give the clothes to her and let herself get dressed in the inn. No. He said the clothes were exotic and were property of the Lao-Yung family, so they were kept in the palace. So, she had to leave hours before the last day of celebration began and be primed there.

While they powdered and painted her face, Hiro came over and thank her again for helping him in this big task. He let her know that she was the only dancer he could find, so she really needed to wow everyone. Great. He also told her that the vendors who sold him the spoiled ingredients felt so sorry for the trouble they had cause him that they got a band for him. They would start playing once she was done preforming.

"So, everything worked out in the end," he said cheerily.

Tenten hoped she could say the same about tonight.

Once they were done doing her hair—which was simply pinning the sides of her hair with a golden brooch on both sides—they pulled out the dress she was supposed to be wearing. Tenten tried to mask her surprised when she saw it. The dancers weren't wearing such revealing dresses two days before. When she mentioned this to one of the girls who helped her get ready, she just chuckled and said, "This is the last night. The Lao-Yung family want it to be memorable. And besides, you are one of the main performers. You have to stand out."

Tenten smiled in understanding, though all she felt was dread. She tried to look at the bright side of things. At least the black sleeveless qipao-styled dress with its short collar and long skirt was only revealing in the back, it's trim lined in gold, the form of a dragon engraved in the stitching—she was the Dancing Dragon after all. She knew she had a strange faze one time when it came to the way she dressed, but this was totally different. When she saw herself in the mirror, black kohl lined eyes and red lips, her silhouette accentuate by how tight the dress hugged her body, she knew one thing for certain: if her 'dancing' didn't catch anyone's attention, this would.

As the hour drew closer, Tenten started to feel unsure of her decision. Why did she had to jump on the bandwagon? She knew peace hung in the balance, but did she really have to say she was a dancer. Now everybody was going to be looking at her. Every time she would look down at herself, she would see her hands trembling. Tenten hoped Neji wasn't annoyed with this.

Too soon one of the guards came to her and told her it was her time to 'entertain'. Tenten took in a deep steading breath, straightened her back, and walked gracefully to the main room. The moment she walked out she felt every eye land on her. Tenten tried to control her heart rate as she smiled flirtatiously at everyone. She ignored the seductive smiles she got back, instead looking around for Neji and Lee when she stopped in the center of the room.

They had said that they would head to the western side when she started juggling knives because everybody would have their attention solely on her by then. Tenten just needed to start, but she knew that unless she found Lee and Neji in the crowd she wouldn't have the right footing. She easily spotted Neji and Lee, but they hadn't notice her arrive. Maybe they didn't recognize her.

Tenten exhaled softly. She would have to do this without them then. They needed to be efficient with their timing. She nodded to one of the guards. He looked at her and stepped forward.

"Ladies, gentlemen and travelers from afar," the guard shouted. Those who hadn't noticed her then, noticed her now. "The Dancing Dragon."

Tenten caught a glimpse of Lee as she took out her ribbons and started moving them around, convincing herself that this was no different from training. Lee gave her an encouraging nod, which helped her gain a bit of confidence. Tenten could hear people's murmurs in fascination as she did a walkover and then a quick spin with the ribbons. She knew she couldn't linger too much on one thing, so she placed the ribbons on the floor and walked over to a table and peeked underneath. She had stashed all of her other props there.

Tenten noticed Neji when she took out the red silk veil fans and continued with her routine. He seemed to gap at first—but Tenten was spinning then, so she must have interpreted that wrong. When she looked at him again, he seemed to try to convey that she was doing alright—that her cover was working—with his eyes. So, she kept on.

The trick to her cover working was using the weapon skills she had acquired throughout the years and stepping it up each time. Tenten started with knives first, juggling them, catching them with the tips of her fingers. She knew that by then Neji and Lee were on their way to the western side.

"That's not all," Tenten said as she threw the knives at a guard. They landed right above his head. People gasped and clapped, the crowed growing more ecstatic with each trick. She got a sword then, doing all the stances she has learned over the years. Then she did a quick trick of swallowing the sword (it was made out of bendable plastic, but the crowd didn't know that). They seemed to lose it with that one. By then Tenten didn't know how much time had passed, put she knew it wasn't enough.

"Want to know why they call me the Dancing Dragon?" Tenten shouted overly enthusiastic.

The crowd cheered. Tenten smiled despite feeling dreadful. This was the most dangerous part of her routine. She just hoped nothing caught on fire.

Tenten twirled towards her ribbons again, grabbing a match box as she did. She moved a ribbon around before doing a walkover to a table and grabbing a drink. She pretended she was taking a sip—which earned her some amused chuckles—before she lit the match and spat the alcohol. People screamed in alarm first, not understanding it was all part of the act. But then they clapped cheerfully, impressed by her theatrics. Tenten did this trick two more times before she bowed, indicating that she was done.

People clapped and hailed, enthralled by her performance. Tenten circled the room while she waved, trying to take in account how many guards had gather to see her performance. There were plenty who had joined in and were applauding with the crowds. She just hoped it was enough to grant Lee and Neji enough time to go through the rooms.

"The Pungi's will now be playing music for us," said that guard that had first introduced her.

The musicians that Hiro got took their place in the center of the room much like Tenten had done when she performed. There was a moment of silence while they settled, people murmuring in curiosity.

Then the music began. The crowd stood around at first, unsure, but in a few seconds, everybody was dancing to the music. Just by merely listening to it, Tenten knew it was different from anything she had ever heard. Definitely different from two days ago when there were barely any musicians. It was like a living thing, it beat in the same rhythm as her heart. The melody, sweet and light, would possess her limbs and they would sway on their own, guided by some invisible force. It was like she was drunk, her mind fuzzy. She was sure she hadn't drunk or eaten anything funny—she made sure not to eat or drink anything Hiro prepared. Tenten wasn't the only one, though. Everyone else seemed intoxicated too.

Tenten danced alone at first, then different men and women would take her as their partner and sway her around. Different hands would touch her briefly before they were replaced by others. And then others and then others. Soon, Tenten felt lost. She couldn't remember where she was or how she gotten there. She almost forgot she was in a mission, that she needed to be alert. All she knew was that she was light as a feather. This time, a pair of hands touched the bare of her back, turning her around. Tenten knew without looking who it was, she would recognize him anywhere, even if she were old and blind. She felt her heart flutter, missing its footing with the music, as she stared up at Neji. She would normally try to keep herself in check, but the music and the dancing made her feel wild, so she went along with it. Tenten grabbed Neji and started swaying him around.

Neji seemed like he was fighting against something, like he was trying hard to concentrate.

"We need to get Lee. We need to get out of here. The music-"

"Is great, don't you think?" Tenten said, placing both her hands on his shoulder. "Dance with me."

"Tenten, you are not listening to me. The music-"

"Oh," Tenten pouted as she looked up at Neji, disappointed. "Just dance with me, you grouch. Isn't this a party?"

Just then the music slowed down, and everybody started seeking partners. This new melody was heart wrenching and melancholic.

"Oh," Tenten said again as she realized what sort of song they were playing. How sad. It's a tragic love song. Under normal circumstances she would have never attempted to do anything that she had done—most certainly not place her head in Neji's chest and start weeping. She was sure the kohl in her eyes was running.

Tenten felt Neji hesitate before wrapping both hands around her exposed back, engulfing her. Both their lives were so tragic. It seemed destiny didn't want them together. She might not have him, but she had this moment. That was enough for her.

Tenten pulled back and looked at Neji's lovely lavender eyes. "Why do you hate me?"

Neji just looked at her, mouth slightly agape. "I don't hate you."

"Yes, you do," she pressed. "You hate me just by looking at me. You despise me even more when I am with Lee and he didn't do anything to merit that. You hate me and all I ever did was love you."

Tenten paused, not quite sure if she could fathom what just happened. Did she just blurted that she loved him? Well. She couldn't take it back now, and the music was just turning more melancholic. The whole experience seemed surreal. She was starting to wonder how she got there in the first place.

Neji seemed to focus on her now. "You love me?"

The rhythm from the song was pounding in her ears. "I have never stopped."

It was like a switch. One moment Neji was looking into her eyes, the next her mouth. Tenten didn't know if it was an invitation or if he was merely looking, but she leaned forward. For a second, he just stared and then he leaned in too. She was sure both their eyes were heavy lidded— entranced by the music and their bodies pressing together. She couldn't distinguish which of their hearts was pounding so loudly. She started feeling giddy, but she wasn't sure why.

"Guys!" Lee came in, cutting between them. "I got the scroll. We need to get out of here. Something is off about this."

It was like an invisible trance had broken. Neji and Tenten both seemed to snap out of it. It was like they were looking at each other for the first time. Neji let go of his hold and Tenten took a step back, both blushing and looking away. As she stared at her shoes, she noticed the music stopped completely.

"Yes," Neji confirmed. "The music is a jutsu."

Tenten felt her mind clearing as the effects of the music wore off, something clicking. The New Order Society were the ones playing the music. They were controlling the crowds and, by the looks of it, the guards too. They also planned a 'distraction'. That meant Hiro was right—the food vendors were the ones behind this. Well, the New Order Society posing as food vendors.

"We have to go," Lee urged.

Neji and Tenten nodded. The three of them started pushing through the crowd, heading towards the exit.

They were reaching the doors when they heard someone shout, "Stop them. Thieves!"

A/N: Hello, guys. I know, I know. It's too long! It was going to be longer because I had a certain ending in mind, but I decided to leave it for next chapter. Man, I really struggled with this chapter. I had an idea for it, but I didn't know how to get there. I hope how the New Order Society was going about getting the scroll wasn't so obvious—I really tried to make it interesting. BTW, Pungi (the name that I chose for the musicians) is a wind instrument played by snake charmers. That was just be trying to foreshadow. So Neji and Tenten had been under a jutsu :0 Anyway, please review and tell me your thoughts. I am sorry you guys had to read a lot. Also, did you notice how almost all of my chapters start with the but this one didn't? See you on the next update!