Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.
Did I type 'kunai' as 'kurai' again? Damn it! Thanks AmazinGSensatiOn for telling me this.
It's 3am…why the hell am I even awake?
Just A Mission-ch6b
Thud…Thud…
Blood dripped onto the soft gravel ground.
The kunai embedded itself at Neji's left collar bone.
If he didn't move out of the way at the last moment…
The kunai would've nailed him at the throat.
Neji, for the first time in his life, found that he couldn't think at all. It was as if his brain had turned into hard solid rock.
Tenten injuring him on purpose?
Tenten attacking him with the notion to kill?
No, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to be able to put 'Tenten' along with the words 'killing him' in the same sentence. He looked at the woman underneath him. She was Tenten, still in the same clothes, still with the same purple bruise on her cheek.
She was still Tenten…or was she not?
Neji looked at Tenten with his Byakugan eyes, observing her inner coil.
Her chakra level was low, but it was not yet completely depleted.
Even if Isamu had some fetish on studying Tenten, he shouldn't be able to replicate her down to every minute detail—even to every scar she'd received at her prior missions.
It was the reason why he went to grab her without a second thought when Isamu had tossed her away.
Her eyes remained closed, her breathing rate had not increased even with her earlier activities.
Was she unconscious?
Neji was stuck in between a difficult position.
He would not be able to free Tenten out of whatever jutsu she was under unless he could find Isamu. However, finding Isamu would mean he had to delay Tenten from getting her medical treatment. Yet if he was to take Tenten to the hospital right now, her hostility toward him (and possibly to every other Leaf) might cause her injuries to worsen.
His thoughts was interrupted when Tenten yanked the dagger out of his shoulder, not caring for the fact that blood sprayed out of his wound and all over her. With a flick of her wrist, she aimed her thrust toward his throat again, forcing Neji to push her roughly away in self-defence.
Neji jumped back several feet, landing onto the wooden suspension bridge. He covered his wound with his right hand, but it did nothing to aid his situation. The wound was bleeding harshly, with its crimson warm liquid rolling down his left side, reddening his immaculate white clothes.
"Aw…She missed." Came a voice not far behind him.
Turning sideways, Neji saw Isamu standing on the other side of the bridge, with a regretful look on his face. The man had his arms crossed, with a cigarette dangling at the corner of his mouth. He lodged against the railing rope of the suspension bridge. The only indication of the fight before was his clothes were slightly dusty and ripped.
Taking a drag, Isamu held the cigarette in between his index and middle finger. "Come on Tenten, you can do better than this."
Then Neji saw the most sickening thing in his life.
Rolling to her side, Tenten slowly pushed herself up. Her feet planted onto the ground in a slightly slanted way, like the muscles of her legs had a difficult time trying to get the force necessary to support the rest of her body up. When she was finally able to gain a solid footing, sounds of bones cracking were heard as she slowly bent up.
She was limping as she made her way toward him, slowly. He wouldn't be surprised since her ribcage was about to collapse.
"Everyone calls you the genius; well I think you are an idiot. Anybody would know to never let a dumb mushroom head, who can only do taijutsu, to fight against me alone. Your feelings and obligations for this girl get in the way of your logic and now your 'dear friend' had paid for your mistake. This girl will be your downfall, Hyuuga Neji."
When Tenten was close enough, she swiped her kunai at him, forcing him to push her hand away to redirect the course of her attacks.
By now Isamu was already laughing, "Kill her Hyuuga, there's no point in saving her. With the way she's moving, she's going to die of internal bleeding anyway, you'll just be quickening the process that's all. Better to save yourself."
Neji ignored him, dodging clumsily in a compacted space between the railings as he did not want to sever Tenten's injuries.
"God, you are a disgrace Hyuuga. Not only did you cause your comrade to die, you can't even take on a girl who's on the edge of dying. If I'm you I would've…"
Isamu stopped.
"Would've what?" Neji said calmly as he had his hand on Isamu's neck. He shoved the smoking man back toward one of the tall wooden poles that was on either side of the railing at the start of the suspension bridge.
He'd been waiting for Isamu to become careless.
"I would've killed myself." Isamu finished nonchalantly, smirking.
Tenten got behind Neji and held her kunai at the Hyuuga's neck as well.
A perfect stalemate….
"Must've slipped my mind to tell you that she still has her speed, she can't feel anything after all." Isamu kept his amusement look, enjoying the fact that the woman who the Hyuuga love was actually doing things for him.
Neji's face turned stoic, the face which froze many shinobi, earning him the reputation of being ruthless.
Isamu could feel the grip around his neck tightened.
"I'm not afraid to die, you say?" Isamu spoke in a casual tone, interpreting Neji's silent message. "But what about her? Killing me won't cure her; her cognition is directly connected with mine. If I die, she dies. Only I'm capable of neutralize the effect of the pill."
The moment when Neji hesitated, Isamu spit the cigarette to his face. Using the chance of Neji loosening his grip to get away, he mentally ordered Tenten to slit the Hyuuga's throat.
"She is your downfall, Hyuuga."
Like it? Hate it? Please review, it really motivates me into writing.
I'm sorry for the grammar…little proofreading…need to sleep (dies).