I got tired of waiting so I decided to update. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I hope you like this one just as much.
Disclaimer: I don't own notin' Naruto 'cept a bunch of figurines, some keychains, an Itachi dog tag, 2 pillows, and a Mist Village headband. I don't own the anime/manga though.
Tenten didn't pay any attention to what was going on around her. All she could think about was getting as far away as possible. She knew Neji would probably try to follow her, even though she told him not to.
Tears were rolling down her cheeks and freezing before they dripped off her face. Tenten was completely oblivious to the cold. She didn't even feel that her legs and arms were going numb. She just kept running through the trees, distancing herself from the only place she had ever called home.
Neji was trying to track Tenten through the snow, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The light snowfall had turned into a mild snowstorm in less than an hour. Neji wondered how she was feeling. He had thought to bring a jacket, but remembered seeing Tenten's on her coat rack when he started his search.
Tenten finally slowed down when she noticed the increase in snowfall. She kept moving, trying to find shelter before the big storm hit. She jumped into the trees to increase her speed. She was doing fine for about 5 minutes before her foot hit some black ice on one of the branches. When she fell, her head hit the thick branch, and she blacked out on impact. Luckily for her, there was a large pile of snow where she landed.
Neji was still searching even though the storm had turned into a full force blizzard. He decided it would be best if he didn't use his byakugan, seeing as he was still low on chakra from the mission. Unfortunately for him, he landed on the same patch of black ice Tenten did. But he didn't hit his head and landed right next to her. All he could make out through the snow was the bright pink of her shirt.
When Tenten woke up, she was surprisingly warm. She looked around and found that she was in a cave and a fire had been started. She also had a white coat on top of her. When she tried to get up though, she found that her hands had been tied together, as well as her feet. She began to struggle.
"So you're finally awake." Tenten recognized the voice, but couldn't quite remember who it belonged to. Her senses had been dulled when her head had hit the branch. She looked to the mouth of the cave and almost missed the Hyuga prodigy sitting there, looking out at the snow, because he was wearing all white.
"Ummm… Neji? Would you mind untying me?" Tenten asked sweetly. He just glanced at her before looking back at the snow. She tried again. "You must be cold. Don't you want your coat back?" He didn't respond this time. "Come on Neji, at least answer me. The least you could do is help me sit up. I can't move with these ropes tying me up." Tenten was starting to get really annoyed.
Neji walked over and picked her up. She was surprisingly light. He sat her down closer to the fire, and took his coat back. Then he walked back over to the opening, sat down, and started staring again. Tenten could tell something was on his mind, but knew better that to question him about it.
After about an hour, the fire was starting to get smaller - and Tenten was getting cold again. "Neji, do you have any extra firewood? The fire is starting to go out." Neji noticed that there was no firewood left, and since they were in a stone cave - it was going to get very cold, very fast. He got up.
"I'll go get more." He left the cave and Tenten. Tenten smilled mischeviously, while reaching up towards her hair. She took a needle out of one of her buns and heated it in what was left of the fire. She then started cutting/burning the ropes tying her hands together. After she was done with those, she started on the ropes around her ankles. Once she she was free, she grabbed her bag – which Neji had been guarding – and ran into the snow once more.
"He should have known I always have a backup plan," Tenten said to herself as she was trying to navigate through the blizzard. Damn, why did I have to forget my coat? Tenten asked herself as her body began to go numb again.
Neji sat on top of the cave, seeing how long it would take Tenten to escape. He had gotten enough chakra back to use his byakugan so he was confident he could track her down. He had decided to test her. He knew she would come to reason and return to the cave when she realized how cold it was. Neji wasn't worried as much anymore.
Sure enough, Tenten came out of the cave exactly 5 minutes after Neji had walked out. Exactly 3 minutes sooner than I had expected. Neji was impressed.
"DAMNIT!! WHY IS SNOW SO COLD!!" Tenten yelled out angrily as she started backtracking. She wanted tho get back to the warmth of the cave. She was also curious as to why Neji didn't come looking for her. He surely would have caught up by now; he was less affected by the cold. Plus, he had a jacket.
Whe she finally reached the cave, she went straght in. The lovely warmth of a large glowing fire greeted her. And there was Neji, sitting comfortably against the wall, enjoying the warmth.
"10 minutes and 52 seconds." Neji looked up. "What took you so long?" he asked smugly. "I really hate you sometimes, you know that?" Tenten pointed out as she sat down next to the fire.
After a few minutes of silence, Tenten decided it was to quiet. "Why didn't you come after me?" "I know how much you hate the cold. And I knew, that you knew there was a fire here." He looked over breifly "And do you really think I don't know about the needle hidden in your right hair bun?" Tenten glared at him. I should have known it was just a test. He would have never left me alone unless he was an idiot.
"Ugh, this fire isn't helping one bit. I'm still freakin' cold." Tenten continued to grumble. She stared at the blaze while rubbing her hands together infront of it. She was still completely numb. She didn't even notice when Neji put his arms around her shoulders until she heard his breathing behind her.
Tenten's face turned beet red. "N-Neji. Wh-what are you doing?" "Stop studdering. You sound like Hinata-sama." Tenten was completely surprised by his actions. He never acted like this. Is something wrong with him? I think there is but - he's so warm.
"Tsunade-sama told me about what happened. You know you shouldn't be so rash. Your actions affect more than just you. I was so worried when I couldn't find you." Now Tenten was really confused. Why would Neji be worried about her?
Just then Neji mumbled something almost inaudible. "I think I'm falling in love with you," he sounded like he was starting to fall asleep. It made sense; he had been awake since they had arived in the village after their mission, and had insisted on taking most of the watch shifts durring it. She felt his body slump onto her and she heard his steady breathing in her ear.
Why did Neji say that he loved me? Is he sick? Tenten thought for a moment. Wait, he was practicly asleep! That means he was telling the truth!
Wow, I wasn't expecting this chapter to be so long. I couldn't figure out where to cut it off so I just kept writing. I hope you guys liked it. Please review 'cause I won't update until I get a total of 20 reviews.