They had barely gotten far before the New Order Society and the Lao-Yung palace guards gained on them. They were facing two opponents now, something they were unprepared for (though they had discussed the possibility of it priorly). It was three against twenty or so, more on their way.
"We are being surrounded," Neji informed them, his Byakugan seeing what Lee and Tenten couldn't at the moment.
"We will have to have to fight them off," Lee said getting into a stance position, reading himself to open the gates.
Tenten knew that something like this would happen, especially considering how things went last time they retrieved the scroll. This time around, she was going to make sure she wouldn't make the same mistakes.
She couldn't bring any scrolls or weapons—not that she could have with the guards inspecting the visitors. The only thing Tenten was able to sneak in were paper bombs. They were inside of her earrings just in case she needed them. It was the only place she knew they wouldn't question to look. Her only other defense method if she were to run out of paper bombs was her hand to hand combat. At least, Neji and Rock Lee had their own abilities and techniques to help them out.
"Hand over the scroll calmly and quietly," said a palace guard of Lao-Yung.
"No," said a man dressed as one of the musicians, a member of one of the New Order Society, "They will hand it over to us."
The guard looked at the musician, understanding for the first time that they were not working for the same side. "Who are you?"
Tenten stopped hearing after that, she could see Neji beckoning Lee and Tenten closer. Tenten was glad to see that their team still didn't need words to communicate. Just by looking into Lee and Neji's eyes, she knew all she needed to know.
An argument had broken out then. Now it was the palace guards of Lao-Yung and the New Order Society who were seconds away from fighting each other.
"You will be coming with us too," said the guard, cautiously stepping towards the New Order Society member.
"No such thing," screamed the man, no hesitation in initiating an attack.
Soon they were all fighting. Guards and New Order Society. A palace guard and Lee. Neji and a New Order Society member. Tenten was simultaneously fighting against both (how lucky).
She knew that she needed an opening, not to be fighting long enough to get one of the paper bombs out. This was the only way the plan her team had silently exchanged mere moments ago could work. The distraction would be their only means of escaping. If all went well, they would need to head to the inn next, so they could gather their gear and weapons and be on their way back to the Leaf Village (it was déjà vu all over again).
Tenten eye gouge a guard just as she turned, throat punching a New Order Society member next. She did a quick sweep before she shouted, "Lee, Neji, cover me!"
Lee and Neji were instantly there, on the defense, giving their backs to her as she worked to get her earrings off. She could only fit five paper bombs in each earing, ten in total. Tenten knew she needed to be wise with the way she used them while they got to the inn. Or in case they couldn't reach the inn.
"Get ready," Tenten told them as she threw the paper bomb.
They started running before the bomb hit the floor, but it was not use. The explosion sent them skidding. Tenten could feel her exposed back getting scratched up with the rocks as she rolled a couple of times before jumping back on her feet and running. She knew Lee and Neji were doing the same thing despite not being able to see them through the cloud of smoke. While she ran, Tenten shortened the skirt length of her dress with one rip. This helped her leap faster.
Once the smoke cleared, Tenten saw Neji and Lee running beside her. Neji was a little farther ahead, she was in the middle and Lee was in the back. The mere observation sent a pang through her chest. Lee's always so fast, Tenten's usually the one in the back. Something must have happened.
When Tenten turned back, she saw that Lee was clutching his shoulder. It looked like he was hit by a kunai. It seemed like a superficial wound, yet Lee was panting and looked to be on the brink of collapsing.
"Neji!" Tenten shouted as she slowed down to the same pace as Lee.
Neji turned and slowed too, understanding that Tenten needed help aiding Lee. Tenten grabbed the injured side, making sure she wasn't hurting it further. Neji grabbed the other side and they started moving.
"What happened?" Neji demanded.
"I got hit when the bomb went off and we started running," Lee explained. "But the kunai that struck me must have had something. I feel like my body is shutting down."
"Poisoned," Neji murmured to himself.
Lee and Tenten were silenced with his words. They were miles from a healer, and they were being pursued, if Lee had been poisoned, how would they be able to treat him on time? She could tell that was what everybody was thinking in that moment.
Tenten shook her head. "Let's just focus on getting to the inn."
Though they were being followed, Lee, Neji and Tenten were able to get to the inn undetected. There, Tenten was quick to change clothes and get dress, bandaging her scratched back and other minor wounds (hers or Neji's, she couldn't tell). Once, she got her hair out of the way and into her signature buns, she got to work on Lee.
Tenten tried to be gentle as she worked, trying to remember everything from her failed training as a medical-nin. As she worked on cleaning and bandaging, she told Lee and Neji of the inferences she made once she broke out of the trance. Of New Order Society posing as vendors and getting the dancers and musicians sick just so they could infiltrate the palace. She could only assume that they had concluded the same thing they had too, that they needed a distraction to bypass the guards.
"It makes sense," Neji commented as he watched Tenten work on Lee. "The only advantage that we had was that you preformed first. That was the only thing that made us have the lead on them. If it were the other way around, they might be the ones we would be perusing now."
"Yes, that is true," Lee said proudly, though we looked worse for wear. "You did amazing, Tenten. We got out of there on the nick of time. If it were not for there jutsu we might have gotten out before anyone noticed."
"What was that anyway?" Tenten asked, trying to push back the memory of Neji's touch on her skin. She wondered if he was thinking the same thing.
Strangely, Lee was the one who answered. "It's something I have ever seen only once before. It is a forbidden jutsu from the Land of Sound. The music is like a drug, it incapacitates the mind and leaves your opponent vulnerable and susceptible for deceit. That is why they banned it in the first place. Many used this for corruption and thieving."
Tenten thought about how her mind felt fuzzy, like she couldn't think straight. That would explain why Tenten had said she loved Neji. She wouldn't say such things if she had her head on straight.
"So, it's like someone is controlling you?" She asked for her and Neji's benefit. She was sure they both would rather forget what had happened at the Lao-Yung palace.
Lee shook his head, grunting as she secures the bandage with a tug. "Not quite. It is more like being drunk. You are not necessarily a puppet doing someone's bidding, Tenten. You are just more susceptible to being irrational than having common sense. That is why when me and Guy Sensei were trapped in a jutsu just like that one 5 years ago in the Land of Music, I was able to break free easily. They didn't know I would use Drunken First."
"Oh," Tenten tried to sound amazed, controlling the heat she felt raising in her cheeks.
"When I heard the music, I knew something—Ah!" Lee grunted halfway through his sentence, his hands covering his face like he just been hit.
"Lee!" Tenten called out concerned. She put a hand on his shoulder, letting him know she was there. "What's wrong?"
"I do not know," Lee grumbled, doubling over.
"Neji," Tenten turned to the Hyuga, "Please use your Byakugan and see what's wrong with Lee."
Neji silently nodded, crouching in front of Lee and inspecting his whole body with his Byakugan. Seconds later, he closed his eyes, resigned. "He is poisoned indeed. It is traveling through his system at a sluggish pace, though. He needs to be treated."
Determined, Tenten grabbed Lee's other shoulder, trying to get him to stand. "Then we need to move out now if we want Lee to get better. Who know if the guards and the New Order Society are right outside that door."
Lee was too heavy. Tenten could hardly stand up straight. "Help me, Neji," Tenten huffed. When he didn't answer right away, she turned to him. He was just staring at them, his silence was all she needed to know. "Just help me, Neji. Damn it. Lee is our teammate, we can't leave him!"
Neji's brows twitched in disapproval. "Carrying Lee will slow us down. It's better to leave him here, get our pursuers off Lee's trail and send help his way."
Tenten couldn't help her jaw falling open at his words. "Tell me you are joking. We can't leave Lee here alone. He could die. Neji—"
"No," Lee said beside her. "Neji is has a point. I have been trying to fight this off since I got hit and… it is useless. Our mission is our priority."
Tenten felt a lump in her throat and her eyes glisten. She looked at Neji with a frown and then at Lee. Lee gave a sympathetic smile. She was being outnumbered.
"It's okay, Tenten. Just help me get to the bed."
Tenten staggered for a bit, until Neji helped her with this task. She could feel the angry fire that burned in her chest. She wouldn't voice what she was feeling at that moment. No, Tenten would not make Lee feel bad about his decision.
Once Tenten was sure Lee was comfortable, she told him, "We will come back to you as soon as possible."
Lee smiled weakly. Tenten could tell he was out of it, a testament to how powerful the poison was. Lee usually was very animated, even when he was sick. "Be careful guys. Let's see this mission through."
Neji and Tenten nodded.
"We will," Neji said.
Tenten hadn't known she was so distraught until they were a few miles from the town and the inn, from Lee. This only reminded of the war, when they were permanently separated from Neji. She knew how them not being there for him ended up like. Tenten just hoped this time would be different. She didn't want to loosen anymore members of her team.
"He is going to be fine, Tenten," Neji said beside her as they jumped through tree branches, using them as cover. That is, once they got out of the desert-y parts.
Tenten felt her worry and sadness replace by the same anger as before. "No thanks to you."
"This is what was needed to be done for the mission to be successful. Lee and I understood that, but it seems like you don't have a clear grasp of that yet," Neji said coldly this time, clearly annoyed with her.
"All you think about is this mission being successful. What is the point of getting our ranks back if we get to lose so much in the process?" Tenten could feel herself retreat in her mind.
"You talk as if Lee is already dead. You are underestimating his strength," Neji noted.
His words tugged at something within her that Tenten wasn't aware of. She tried to gather herself enough, but all the fire left her. "He might as well be."
Neji looked at her briefly before focusing on ahead. "This is what it takes to be a ninja. We all knew that when we decided to choose this path."
"That is why I partially retired from that life," Tenten said. "My team is my family. I want them to be alive and safe. Clearly you have never experience losing someone to the degree—" Tenten stopped herself, remembering Neji's father. Suddenly, all she felt as shame for being so rash and insensitive. "I didn't mean it to come out that—"
Neji's face was like stone. "Enough, Tenten."
"I am so sorry, Neji," Tenten said quietly, feeling disgusted with herself.
Neji just moved further ahead, not wanting to be near her at the moment. "Let's just focus on this."
They had been moving nonstop, occasionally crunching or going down on the ground for better cover. When the palace guards of Lao-Yung or the New Order Society would pass them without being notice, they would continue onward. Before, they had reached their destination in five days (a whole week ahead of schedule) with them taking little rest stops and six hours of sleep every night. If they planned on shortening their time to the Leaf Village, they would have to be more extreme.
Tenten barely felt her legs by the end of the first day. The first thing she did when they stop was empty her stomach, which Neji didn't seem to appreciate. They barely rested that night, waking up an hour later by Neji who told her their pursuers where close by. They kept moving until Tenten saw the sun rise in the horizon. At the sight she almost cried, not because it was beautiful, but because it meant she hadn't rested in more than 32 hours.
Neji seemed unfazed, never showing that he was winded (even though her tiredness must be reflecting in his body as well). Tenten still wasn't sure how he was able to do it. Despite begging Neji to stop for rest, he insisted on moving forward. Tenten didn't know if he was doing it on purpose, as payback for her insensitive words, or because he thought they were in immediate danger.
It only took Tenten collapsing midjump for Neji to decide to rest. He had caught her then, just in time, before saying, "We rest for 20 minutes, then we keep moving."
After Tenten ate and vomited her food immediately after, she told Neji, "We need to make camp, we need to rest. I need to rest."
Neji had his eyes closed, a pissed off expression in his face. "No."
Tenten was tired, yes, but she still found enough energy to be angry too. "Neji, I am sorry if I hurt your feelings, but please don't take it out on me. We need to rest—"
"Stop apologizing," Neji said firmly. "You did not hurt my feelings and I am not punishing you. You are aware that we are being tracked and that we need to deliver this scroll as soon as possible, yes?"
"Yes," Tenten said a sharpness to her voice, "Lee is also counting on us. All of this isn't lost on me. Just like how much rage you are oozing right now."
Neji's eyes flashed furiously, slamming a fist on the floor, silencing her. "I am not angry!"
Tenten gaped at Neji, never seeing him so bad-tempered in her life. Neji seemed to realize that he did and said the complete opposite of what he just stated because he closed his eyes, trying to calm his expression.
"Ha!" Tenten said sarcastically. "Okay, yeah, sure."
More coolly, he said, "If I am behaving a certain away it's because you are getting on my last nerve."
Tenten felt a fire burning in her throat, all the things she wanted to scream at the tip of her tongue, wanting to come out. But when she opened her mouth, all she did was laugh. It started as big cackles. When Neji opened his eyes, a look of utter concern in his expression, she started giggling. When his face crumpled into irritation again, she started guffawing.
"You have lost your mind," Neji murmured.
"That is old news, Neji," Tenten said better composed then, wiping a tear from her eye. If she didn't sleep soon, she would surely lose it for real.
They were silent again, just like before. It was so sudden Tenten felt like she got stuck in the face. She knew she was not going to be able to rest now—the sun was still out, and she was still too wary from traveling and arguing. Never mind that 20 minutes would never be enough. They needed to keep going for Lee's sake and for the village's sake. She just needed five more minutes before she let Neji know that.
Tenten looked at him now, his outburst long lost. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she might not have believed it was true.
"I didn't mean to say that you had not experienced lost or pain, Neji," Tenten carefully said. "I know you have. I just meant to say that…" What was she planning on saying then?
Neji sighed. "I understand."
Quietly, she said, "Team Guy is all I have."
Neji just nodded, eyes still firmly closed. Was he meditating?
Tenten felt like they were still on weary ground. She felt the need to seek his approval (though she didn't understand why). Tenten could feel another apology at the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it down. Before she realized that she was echoing old words, she blurted, "Don't hate me."
Neji must have concluded the same thing too, his eyes opening, focusing on her with scrutiny. "I don't hate you."
Lee said the jutsu at the palace made people intoxicated, drunk. Tenten just wished it would mean being really drunk, blacking out and forgetting everything drunk. No. She was assaulted by memories. Tenten could tell Neji was also thinking back to two nights ago as well. His eyes were rummaging her face in search of something.
Tenten had wondered more than one time what would have happened if Lee hadn't interrupted them.
Tenten shook the thought out of her head, plastering a small smile on her face as she said, "Just don't, okay?"
Neji stared cryptically at her. By then, Tenten was too tired to figure out what that meant.
They had made their campsite near the border that divided the Country of Wind and the Country of Fire. The had been moving none-stop since resting for 20 minutes, trying to outrun their persecutors (who Neji noted were unrelenting). By the time they stopped, they had been gasping for air, collapsing on the ground. They ate quickly (this time Tenten didn't vomit!), deciding to rest for a few hours before continuing. They weren't that sure if they were still being followed. They couldn't linger long enough to find out, either. So, they agreed on this.
"We will leave in four hours," Neji told her.
Tenten had nodded, hopping that would be enough.
Sheer exhaustion made her fall unconscious quickly. Soon Tenten started dreaming.
It was like she was watching the entirety of her life unfold from far away. She was an orphan— a nothing that wanted to become something. That wanted to be important enough to be cared for and respect, to be worthy enough as to never be abandoned ever again. Tenten always knew she wanted to be great at something, no matter the cost or what it took to get there. When she joined Team Guy, she finally understood what it meant to have a family, to have people who cared for her and her wellbeing. She stopped striving for greatness—though she tried to be better at what she was good at— and she focused more on preserving the one thing she needed, her family. When she heard about Neji's death, part of that family withered and died too. Tenten felt like she had become an orphan all over again. Like she had been abandoned. Like she wasn't good enough to be sticking around for. Tenten never knew her parents, so the feeling of loss she was supposed to be feeling had been substituted by resentment many years ago. With Neji, she just felt complete and utter devastation. She only held it together because she knew that is what he would want. The main reason she opened the shop was so she wouldn't be face with carnage again. So, she could be as far away from loss as possible. To refrain from moving on.
Tenten had imagined countless times how things would have turned out if it were her the one who put herself on the line. If Neji were the one dealing with her loss—though he wouldn't be as devastated as she had been. He would marry and have kids. His kids would play with Lee's. Guy would be like their grandfather. She would be remembered fondly, occasionally, but otherwise would be an afterthought.
Tenten had thought about it so much, it felt strange to see it so vividly in her dream. It was like the dream she had that day at the camp, but this one was different. She was dying a thousand different deaths. A spear through her heart. Drowning under water. Burning in a fire. Falling off the sky. Decapitated. Starved to death. Stabbed. Choked. Hung. Run over. Poisoned. Over and over. While she watched all of these deaths, while she relished in the pain that seemed to want to bleed her dry, she would scream to a bottomless void. It felt like days and years and seconds and no time at all.
Tenten wasn't aware she was being shaken hard until the sudden movement and someone shouting her name woke her up. Her eyes blinked opened and she grabbed her neck, gasping. It was like the air didn't get to her lungs fast enough. Then she registered her shaking body, the hair pasted on her forehead, the sweat that clung to her clothes.
Neji was on top of her, both hands on her shoulders. His long hair spread around them like a curtain separating them from the world. He looked pale, out of breath. He kept looking into her eyes as if he wasn't sure she was wake.
"Neji?" she whispered, unsure of what was going on.
He sighed relieved, pulling away from her. Tenten took the opportunity to sit up then, looking at her surroundings. They were still in their campsite. She looked at Neji, who kept rubbing his face. Flustered.
"What happened?" she asked, although she had a pretty good idea. She was pretty sure she was the one stuck in the nightmare this time. She was sure Neji was the one who had been trying to wake her up.
Neji stopped rubbing at his face, looked at her defeated. She wasn't even sure how he hadn't passed out from the extortion like she has when he has his episodes. "I don't know. It was like another nightmare, but this time I wasn't the one dying. It was you. You kept dying over and over. I woke up when you were choking to death. I tried to wake you. I tried for 20 minutes."
At the mention of being in that state for 20 minutes, Tenten shuddered. It had never taken her so long to wake up Neji when he had his nightmares. She left like she was about to vomit as she thought about herself dying over and over. She was starting to understand why Neji had said the scroll was vile that first time they found it. By going against the natural order of things, it was like death, life, something wanted to set things back the way they were. She was starting to wonder if the nightmares would ever end.
Tenten covered her face with her hand, crushed. They needed to deliver the scroll to Naruto. They weren't even that sure if they were followed. There was also the matter of Lee. He had been hurt and, although Tenten did all she could, he still needed help. They weren't even sure if they got to Lee too. Now, they had to deal with this side effect of the scroll and—
Tenten felt Neji's hands on her, trying to make her look at him. "I just need a moment," she told him.
"Tenten," Neji said quietly. Tenten couldn't even bring herself to respond. "Do you truly think you're an afterthought?"
Tenten groaned at his words, dreadfully cringing at the thought that he even knew that. Sharing dreams was starting to be more of a pain than she initially thought. "I really don't want to talk about that."
Tenten felt Neji pull his hands away. She was relieved and sad that he did. They sat in silence while Tenten processed everything. She still couldn't believe Neji saw her dream, saw her life, saw her dying. Saw her deepest desire. She didn't know why she was so embarrassed about it.
"When we were in the hospital, Sakura had asked me what I would have done if I was in your shoes, if you were the one who died. I told her that I didn't know, but that I would have not done something so drastic," Neji said quiet and serious. "I thought it was clear. It was a clear path. I wouldn't have done what you did."
Tenten didn't know what Neji wanted to say with this but it was making her feel awful. "I understand."
Neji sighed. "No. I was arrogant. Watching you die over and over… Tenten, would you look at me."
No, Tenten wanted to say, but instead she slowly lowered her hands, surprised that Neji was so close to her. She didn't hear him move. He was looking at her so intently in the eyes, she felt the need to look away.
"I apologize for being so cold towards you and for not understanding what you went through. I would have regretted burning the scroll the rest of my life if you had died instead of me. And if I knew you somehow kept it, I would have surely opened it."
Tenten was speechless. She didn't know how to respond or how to react. The darkness of the night made his words feel more intimate than they should. She just stared at him.
Neji looked down at his hands and added in an even voice "You would not have been an afterthought. You would be the first thought that came to mind when I would wake up and the last before I would go to sleep."
Tenten grabbed at the hand he was looking at and tried to say everything she couldn't put into words in one squish. Neji lifted his eyes, his stare heavy with unsaid things. Tenten felt herself blush as his eyes flickered to her mouth and then to her eyes again, a question in his gaze. She answered by placing his hand in the nook between her neck and shoulder. She stared at his lips too, but she wasn't asking a question.
Time stood at a stand still as Neji leaned in. Tenten hadn't known she had placed a hand on his shoulder until they were mere inches away. Neji touched foreheads with Tenten, looking in her eyes. She didn't know if it was his or her heart beating wildly, she felt like she was going to have a heart attack. She didn't know why he was hesitating so much.
Tenten slightly parted her lips, beckoning Neji in. When Neji kept looking at her still, she couldn't help chuckle. Was he nervous? Just as she thought it Tenten thought how impossible it was. Neji was smart and handsome. She knew a lot of girls liked him and were constantly after him. He must have had plenty of experience when it came to them. Although, as Tenten thought about it, Neji was always very uptight. He was never just out for the mere enjoyment of it. He would only training and go on missions. And they were mostly stuck together in the majority of them. Tenten never remembered him talking about liking someone. Neji had also died young—before he could even do anything of those things.
This time Tenten was the one looking intently into Neji's eyes, trying to seek the answer to the question she didn't want to voice.
"Give me a second," he told her, frowning a fraction but never moving.
Tenten pulled back, just enough to read his whole face. "Have you done this befo—?
Tenten felt Neji's hand slide from her shoulder to the back of her neck before his lips gently touched hers. It was an innocent kiss, ones shared by children. It was like he was afraid she was going to crumble in his hands, like she was too delicate. Though Tenten melted into the kiss she could tell how unsure Neji was.
Too soon he broke away. Neji looked at the ground, clearly dissatisfied in himself, his face blushing red, something Tenten could see even in the darkness. Something she never thought she would see. She didn't know why watching all of this broke her heart— maybe it was the fact that he never got to grow up past 18. He was always very mature for his age, but even looking like a 32-year-old, Neji was still stuck in time. A teen who never experience a normal adolescence.
Tenten touched Neji's face, making him looked at her. His face was already composed then and his eyes told her he didn't want any of her pity. That was okay. She wasn't planning on being empathetic.
Before her boldness was lost on her, Tenten leaned in and kissed Neji, deeply and purposeful. Though he was tense at first, he quickly found his ground. Tenten was slow at first, being deliberate and to the point. Neji was a quick study, though. Soon he was the one leading their small dance. It reminded her of when they trained, except Neji never pressed her against him like this when they trained. Except, they didn't touch each other this way when they did.
Them being linked to each other made the whole experience different. Tenten was processing all of her sensations along with his. It was hard for her to have a clear head. She wondered if Neji felt the same way. Like being shocked by electricity. Like a fire, burning, raging. Her nightmare felt years away now.
Tenten wasn't sure what they might have done next if Neji hadn't pulled away so abruptly. She hadn't noticed when he activated his Byakugan, until he stood, circling their campsite.
"We have to go," Neji said, "They are on to us."
They had been moving for an hour and half. Neji had been right. Despite not being gifted with incredible eyesight, Tenten could hear the loud grunting and footfalls behind them. Making camp was a mistake. This didn't help Neji and Tenten; this only helped their persecutors. They had finally gained on them. They had barely shaken them off their trail.
Tenten couldn't help but curse. She could see Neji up in a branch putting a finger to his mouth, ordering her to keep quiet. She couldn't help rolling her eyes as she crouched behind a bush. She was sure this time they could take them. Albeit, Lee wasn't with them and they were too many too count, but Tenten had her whole arsenal with her. That at least counted as something.
Tenten waited, hearing the loud rumbling fade out in the distance. Neji came down to her when there was only the sound of insects and crickets. It was obvious that getting back to the village was going be more uphill than they thought.
"Let's go," Neji said. "We bide our time for now."
Tenten shook her head as she crossed her arms, understanding what she needed to do. "No." Tenten smiled, the corners of her mouth wavering a bit. "You deliver the scroll. I will get them off your trail. This is the only way you will be able to reach the village and get help for Lee."
It was Neji's turn to cross his arms. "Nonsense. We can both reach the village, deliver the scroll and get help to Lee."
Tenten stood her ground, already decided. "We will have to face them eventually. We might get hurt and with us link this way, it will be a problem."
Neji sighed. He outstretched his arm towards Tenten, scroll in hand. "Then you take it to the Hokage."
Tenten didn't move. "No. We both know you are faster than me. Besides, you are the one who the Hokage is mad at. It has to be you."
Neji stared her down. "He is mad at you too."
Tenten smiled. "Not as much as you. Anyway, Himawari must be waiting on you. You wouldn't want to get her mad." Silence. "Just do this, Neji. I will head to the village as soon as I shake them off me." When Neji didn't seemed to budge, she fed him his own words back to him, "I would think you'd understand how important this mission is. It's our priority. We told Lee we would see it through."
Neji sighed, resigned. Slowly he lowered his hand but didn't move from his spot. They just stared at each other for what felt like minutes. "I want you to keep your word."
Tenten nodded, chest heavy with unease. "I promise to return to the village as soon as I can."
Neji's gaze was unwavering. Tenten felt like she was crumbling underneath it. After a moment, he stepped forward and looked down at her. Tenten watched as Neji closed his eyes and patted her on her shoulder. "I hold you to those words."
Tenten nodded, slightly disappointed. Before she thought too much about it, she headed to the direction where she heard the footfalls last. She planned on using one of her other scrolls as a decoy. Once they were after her, she would run in opposite direction of the village. She just hoped she wouldn't get caught.
A/N: Hey, guys. Before anything, hello and thank you to the new people following the story. Thank you, Kmy068, raspberryfanfics, hannahzerofive, for always commenting. We finally had an official NejiTen moment. Woohoo! Next chapter would be kind of interesting, though… hehehe. But I guess you will have to wait until then. You might have not been wondering this, but I have been updating a lot because I have a lot of free time on my hands right now. However, soon I will start working and studying again, and the updates might take longer. I want to get a lot of important things out of the way though. I have already started writing the next one. Please tell me your thoughts in the comments! Um, anyway, see you on the next update! Stay safe.