A/N: Yay, two other characters have finally entered the story! I don't think I need to tell you who they are, it's pretty obvious. Thnx again for my reviewers and readers! Happy New Years! Meri-Kurisumasu!
[Arrival at Shikamaru's
Neji landed softly on the grass, on the other side of the metal fences. He steadied himself, then gently dropped Tenten's legs. She released her arms that was around his smooth neck, and tried to grab onto his shoulders for support. When Tenten knew she was firm on both feet, she smiled and let go of Neji. He returned her beaming smile. Suddenly, out of the rustling of leaves, a gentle yet firm voice was heard. Tenten spun around, listening carefully of the footsteps that were getting closer and closer every second.
"Who are you?!" A high-pitched voice came. Tenten was going to respond, but a kunai suddenly whistled through the air. The sharp weapon only missed the now sweating girl for a few centimeters; she would've been dead! Pushing Tenten out of the way, Neji landed right on her.
"I'm sorry." The Hyuga instantly jumped up, a blush creeping on his face.
"It's fine." Tenten responded back, trying to look away. Then there was an awkward silence, until….
"Why are you here?!" The same voice came again, except this time, it sounded a lot louder. The stranger's footsteps gradually slowed down, though it was near. A slim, curvy figure emerged from the trees and bushes. She was a girl, around Tenten's age. Her blonde hair was long and straight, covered with a few twigs and leaves. The stranger grabbed onto a few shurikens this time.
"If you don't answer, I will attack." The girl alerted. Neji put out a hand to stop her.
"We mean you no harm," He started casually, with Tenten by his side, "I just want to see Nara Shikamaru, that's all." The blonde's eyebrow floated up in surprise and quickly put away her shurikens.
"Shika-kun?", Tenten heard her say in a softer voice, "Then, follow me." Neji gave a tiny smile to her. She motioned the couple to go behind her as she ran as fast as she could. Within a minute or so, the girl had stopped in front of the back door and pulled it open. The blonde waved them inside.
The mansion looked so beautiful and bright in the inside, and Tenten's gaze was in awe when she first saw. She hoped she owned this house, living with Neji. But very quickly, she snapped out of her trance.
"Shika-kun!" The blonde lead the two to the guest room and motioned them to sit down, "Two friends of yours are here to see you!" The blonde ran out to find Shikamaru, and Tenten rested down on a nearby chair, her eyes still searching around. Neji remained standing.
Then a muffled voice came, "Who the heck is it?" A boy around Neji's age entered as he yawned tiredly. He had black hair which was tied back into a spiky pony tail. The blonde carried a tray full of biscuits and four cups of tea, leaving them on an empty table.
"Oh, it's you Neji." He yawned one last time before saying, "Why are you here so late?" The Hyuga let out a breath, staring seriously into Shikamaru's dark eyes. The Nara cocked an eyebrow. "So?" Gradually, he caught attention of Tenten. "Who is she?" He pointed at her.
Neji took a glance at the brown haired girl, "She is Tenten." He responded in a pleasant tone. Tenten greeted Shikamaru with a nod. He nodded back.
"I need your help, Shikamaru," Neji told him with a low voice, "Tenten and I are escaping from my family right now." He paused, noticing the blonde girl and Shikamaru's gaze, then went on, "Can we stay at your house for a few days, and hide for a while?"
The Nara scratched his head and exchanged looks with the blonde girl. By now, Tenten was chewing on her lower lip in anxiety and Neji was continuing his severe gazes on his friend. Finally, Shikamaru nodded in agreement.
"I guess Ino and I are fine with it." The boy answered, "Even though, I don't know why you and Tenten are running away." Neji let out a relieved sigh and thanked his friend.
"I will explain tomorrow, Shikamaru," He said, and Tenten rubbed her eyes in exhaustion, "Can you give us rooms now? We're pretty tired." Shikamaru smirked.
"Do you want ROOMS or A room?" The Nara started teasing jokingly. That earned him a slap from the blonde girl. "Fine, fine…but I only have two rooms….I guess Ino can share a room with Tenten, and you can share with me. How's that?"
"You have a mansion that only has two bedrooms?", Neji said, his voice climbing, "Oh well, I won't expect too much. The rooms will be fine."
Slowly, Tenten caught the blonde girl's stare and noticed that she looked regretful. "I'm very sorry about what happened earlier," The blonde remarked sheepishly, "I didn't know you were Shika-kun's friends." She held out her hand in a friendly way, and introduced herself. "I am Yamanaka Ino, Shikamaru's fiancée. Nice to meet you, Tenten." The brown haired girl grinned and shook Ino's hand, her eyes drowned with delight.
"Okay, enough talk," Shikmaru rubbed his tired eyes, "Uhh….Ino, show Tenten where your room is. I'll show Neji."
"Come!" Ino said and dragged Tenten upstairs.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
The wind was howling strongly outside, Tenten noticed from the shaky window beside her. She lay on the bed, still trying to go to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, a waft of anxiety would cover her, as if Hiashi's crew would come and capture them soon. She wiped the sweat of her forehead with the back of her hand, and sat up slowly. Tenten looked down at the resting girl, and gave a smile. Ino was nice enough to let Tenten sleep on her bed, while she slept on another mattress on the cold, wooden floor. It seemed pretty uncomfortable, yet Ino managed to sleep through it.
"I wonder if Neji's asleep yet." She wondered aloud. Tenten gasped when she just remembered that Ino was still asleep. Unfortunately, she did awake Ino. The blonde stirred tiredly, and gradually opened those fair blue eyes of hers. She sat up little by little, and stretched her arms.
"Tenten, you're still not asleep?" The blonde asked in fatigue, and Tenten shook her head.
"I'm sorry I woke you up." She replied apologetically, "I just can't go to sleep."
Ino looked up at her with gentle eyes, "Something bothering you? You can talk to me about it if you want."
"It's nothing."
"If you don't mind, can I ask you a question? I wanted to ask you before, but I just can't get myself to."
"Sure."
"Why are you guys running away from Neji's family?"
"I thought you'd never ask." The brown haired girl let out a sigh as she recalled what had happened since a month ago. Bit by bit, Tenten explained to Ino in detail. When she got to the part about the punishment and the escape of Gaara and Matsuri, the blonde's eyes would widen with horror. Ino had no experience with arranged marriages, or did she ever want one. Luckily, she already has Shikamaru, and they're both true to each other.
"I feel so bad for you." Tenten heard her say softly, "I've never thought about marriages that were arranged. It seemed so….so…cruel." Tenten laughed. Pretending to love someone is indeed very cruel. To be separated from one another would feel like the end of life, Tenten knew exactly how both felt. Then, Ino started to spin and twist the engagement ring on her finger, a grin slowly forming on her lips.
"I guess I'm very lucky," Ino's voice dampened, "Being able to marry whom I loved." Tenten agreed. "And at first, I didn't know that the 'future Mrs.Nara' would be me." Ino jumped up and sat next to Tenten on the bed. She stared at her own reflection for a few seconds, her mind rewinding back to the past.
"There was another girl that liked Shikamaru before. Her name was Temari, if I recall she was from outside the country." The girl continued to look at her engagement ring, with Tenten listening closely, "She was a very aggressive person, she has to get whatever she desired, and I disdained her with hatred." Ino's voice riled, marking every word strongly, "I had to compete with her for the jonin exam, and gradually, I had to compete with her for love too. Shikamaru never knew of our rivalry, until the final stage of the exam came. It was fate that I had to go against her." The blonde paused, and Tenten waited for her to go on.
Instead, Ino rolled up her right sleeve to her elbow, revealing a deep red slash that went from the wrist to her joint. The brown haired girl gasped in astonishment when she saw it, her eyes widened with fear. "This was from that fight." Ino explained as she touched her scar. "I almost had her, until she dodged my mind transfer jutsu. It was hard for my soul to return to the original body for such a short amount of time, so Temari came up to my body, grabbed my arm, and gashed it hardly with a kunai." A tear dropped from her azure eyes and she wiped it away, "The judges wouldn't stop her yet, but Shikamaru did. He came down to save me, but it was too late. My arm couldn't be fully healed. I could only throw a few kunais and shurikens, and maybe lift some things, but I knew that my arm wouldn't be able to embed anymore chakra, so my days as a kunoichi ended."
A tear dripped from her face, yet a smile was still on her. Ino was trying to stop her voice from shaking too much, "But he promised….he promised to keep me safe, and I trust him. Two months ago, he gave me an engagement ring and asked me to be his to-be wife. But, I accepted without thinking. Maybe he wants me to marry him just because of his promise. I don't want him to marry someone that he likes only as a friend. When I asked him, he told me he was sure that I was the girl for him."
Ino's gaze dropped, but she looked up when Tenten placed her hand on Ino's shoulder. "Don't think about this too much, Ino. You're a kind and caring girl, I'm sure Shikamaru loves you truly." The blonde returned a hesitating grin.
"Still, I have doubts."
A/N: So, it ends up that Tenten was trying to cheer Ino, instead of vice versa. Hmm…I think I'll continue Matsuri and Gaara's adventure next chapter. Then maybe, I'll add Hinata's predicament next time too! Once again, Merry Christmas!! Kyouga Shinnen!