A/N: Here is the revised, easier to read version of Chapter 3 that I promised! Hooray!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and am making no profit from this fanfic.

Possession

By nejiandtentenfan

Chapter 3: Longing

Shikamaru tiresomely absolved a long sigh before glancing at a clock on the white wall of the hospital hallway, 6:30 PM already.

"Tenten, sorry for the reunion cut short, but I have to go…" the Nara started muttering half to himself, "Shino will mock me for weeks if I arrive at ANBU headquarters too late, and things will just get troublesome…" With these words, Tenten artlessly smiled at the fact that she was one of the few that got to see Shikamaru again.

Her grin grew even wider when she blurted out a remark unexpectedly, "Are you going to visit Ino?"

"Why would I do that?" under the mask of the Nara's, his face stayed impassive as he said these words.

Tenten gave him an 'isn't it so obvious' sort of look, "She misses you. Plus, ever since Sasuke left…I think she might have some fee-"

"Well she can have all the feelings she wants for me, but I don't like her," his tone was rough and Tenten knew he was serious when he said this.

The chocolate haired kunoichi sighed and pressed on lightly, "Ok whatever, everyone knows you and Temari-san are already in a relationship. But Temari is from the Sand Village; please visit your former teammate Ino, who is in Konoha, because I know she misses you."

"Fine, I'll see if I can fit a reunion with my old team into my schedule once I get back to ANBU headquarters," Shikamaru concluded with a sigh. There was a trifling blush in the Nara's cheeks, cryptic under the ANBU mask, at the mention of Temari's name. Her remark made him question how many people knew of his hidden relationship with the female Sand-nin. Another sly grin made its way through his features under his mask, "On one condition."

The kunoichi's brow furrowed, "I'm listening." It was a bit of a shock to Tenten – because Shikamaru usually never made these kinds of according conceptions, since they were pretty 'troublesome.'

"Have a reunion with the old Team Gai – Neji included," there was a hint of smirking in his voice. He knew that it would be terribly hard for her to arrange something like this – whether it be because she couldn't bear bringing back the memories, or because she just didn't want to talk to the Hyuuga. Either way, she would have to put up a strong fight within herself to make it happen.

Before biting her lip in debating with herself, she finally half-sighed out the word, "Fine." The word sounded so sweet to the Nara's ear – which appreciated the thought of not having to organize a reunion alone.

"I'll be going now," the Nara steadied Tenten as she tried standing up without his support, before turning his back on her and starting to walk away. The girl normally would've vocalized a farewell, something like 'See you later, then!' but she knew that wasn't a likely possibility. This might have been one of the last times Tenten would ever lay eyes on Shikamaru – the lazy, cloud-envious genius – again in a long time. So instead of propounding words of departure, Tenten gave a small smile – which she knew he would not see behind his back – as the elegant black figure slowly disappeared around the corner, not taking a second glance. The girl shambled back to her room at the slowest rate possible, handicapped by the pain in her leg and the fear of having to face Neji once again. Not longer after she turned the doorknob, she was confronted from a distance.

She was greeted by a familiar icy voice as she leaned on against the open doorframe, "I thought you were going to the bathroom." The girl braced herself to meet the Hyuuga's eyes. She gathered all the courage and wit she had in herself before meeting his pearly white gaze with her own chocolate sharp stare. But all her efforts were liquefied once her eyes were raised. His hollow glare was even more menacing than she had ever revoked it to be when he was Jonin. What had ANBU transformed the Hyuuga into? More of a shinobi, Tenten answered her own internal question. Stupid Byakugan, letting Neji see my every move, Tenten fumed inside her head, what do I have to do with him? The tension in the eternal glaring between Neji and Tenten began eliciting Sakura to only be able to stare with fear. The pink haired nin achingly desired nothing more than to back into a corner and not take part in any of this.

"What business is it of yours?" Tenten said coldly, not breaking her glare.

The Hyuuga just smirked, "Tenten." Just the sound of her name being spoken by this man sent chills run up and down her spine. "I'm an ANBU; don't you think I have the authority to know every little detail there is to know about what goes on in Konoha…" his voice trailed off briefly before coming back sharply, "including the relationships?" For a few moments, Tenten was oblivious to the message that he was aggressively implying, before realizing he was suggesting herself and Shikamaru!

"Excuse me?" she uttered the words sharply; "You should know very well that Shikamaru is with Temari-san of the Sand Village!" Flames of anger were erectly starting to surmount as she realized he was totally misunderstanding the situation.

The Hyuuga kept his voice calm – giving him the advantage of composure over Tenten, "So he's been two-timing I see…"

"What?!" Tenten's voice quickly escalated a level. Her cheeks were bravely hued pink with fury and her shoulders were stiff. "You think just because Shikamaru and I were having a normal conversation with each other means that we're in a relationship?!" She spat out her words fiercely, but the Hyuuga didn't lose focus. He was partly amused at seeing how his placid stoicism could cause someone to be so infuriated.

He continued to push her further and further, testing her limits, "I just think it might be something worth investigating." Apparently he had just overstepped the hot-blooded kunoichi's final limit.

"The only relationship you should investigate is the one between you and your precious medical-nin!" she yelled loudly, before starting to walk out the door.

Concerned, Sakura finally spoke up, "Tenten-san, where are you going?"

"TO THE BATHROOM!" Tenten shrieked before slamming the door shut. Tenten let out a long sigh before lamely staggering toward the exit of the hospital. What had happened to her companionable bond with Neji over the years? They had done nothing but haphazardly argue since they reunited. Their relationship had never been on rocky foundations like that before the Hyuuga departed for ANBU. Where had all that sudden anger come from – was it because she got the sense that he abandoned her, or was it because she felt he had a deeper relationship with Sakura than herself? Either way, she had no aiming desire of reentering her hospital room in the next few hours or so.

As Sakura worriedly watched Tenten disappear out of sight, she turned to Neji and half-scolded with concern in her tone, "You shouldn't have pushed her that far." However, the Hyuuga had no interest in responding to the pink haired kunoichi – in fact; he hadn't even been listening to her. The Hyuuga simply stared at the spot Tenten had been hunched over in, unable to rip his eyes off that area. Both Sakura and Neji knew Tenten had no intention of using the restroom whatsoever, but neither of them knew where she was currently presiding.

The words that continually rang inside Neji's head haunted him as he continued to stare at the door, mind spinning with thought, you and your precious medical-nin.

"You just barely made it on time," came the monotone voice of the Aburame at the ANBU headquarters. The irritated sigh of the Nara could be heard before he took off his mask. Shino swiveled around in the chair in front of the computer monitor to face Shikamaru.

The Nara shoved his hands in the pockets of his ANBU robes and started off a bit hesitantly, "Yeah well I ran into a conversation with Tenten and…" his voice stopped for half a second, "I was wondering if I could -"

"Yes, you can have a reunion with your old team tomorrow afternoon from 3 to 6. I'll take your shift, but you'll have to work a double shift the next day. Just be back by 6 PM sharp, no tardiness will be accepted," Shino's voice was professionally crisp. Shikamaru blinked a few times at the quickness of Shino's mind. Sometimes the Aburame was so straight forward and well planned – it caught even Shikamaru dumbfounded.

Void of words, the Nara simply nodded his head slowly a few times, "Ok, that sounds good…but how did you kno-"

"Computer monitor," Shino grunted beneath his tall collar while tapping a few times at the large keyboard in front of him. Of course, thought Shikamaru, he can see and hear everything I say with that thing.

Shikamaru cleared his throat a bit, "So you were eavesdropping on my conversation with Tenten?"

"No…" there was less confidence in the Aburame's voice as he paused before going around the truth, "I was simply checking in on you, and I happened to check in at that particular moment." Shikamaru sighed and nodded pointlessly, knowing that was the ANBU way of saying yes. Most ANBU went around the truth when having to divulge something shaming, including himself.

Shikamaru gave one last smirk of confidence before saying, "Then I'd better be going to spread the word to Asuma Sensei, Ino, and Chouji." Without another thought, he pulled on his mask and relinquished the headquarters once more; assuming Shino had nothing else to speak of with him. And once again, Shino's eyes were attentively studious to the computer monitor, but this time in a more complicated manner – half the screen focused on the Nara, half on the Hyuuga.

Shino scrutinized it all with an eternal smirk hidden by his collar.

It had been exactly 8:00 PM that night when Tenten pelted the hospital room door open. Breathing uneven, clothes dripping from the pouring rain outside, a scowl on her face - this couldn't be good. The Hyuuga had been supervising the clock ever since she left – she had been gone for approximately an hour and fifteen minutes. The girl traipsed her feet in, a beyond-irritated look on her face.

"Tenten-san, where have you bee-"

Sakura's worried voice was cut off by Tenten's annoyance, "You." She turned her head sharply to glare at Neji, "I got my whole body soaked in freezing rain just to organize a stupid reunion with the old Team Gai! We're leaving tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM to our old training ground, and if you refuse to go, I swear I am gonna kic-"

"I'll go," Neji said calmly, stopping her from continuing any further with her threat.

There was an awkward pause that resulted in vigorous staring between the kunoichi and the ANBU. Sakura, like always, felt the need for this behavior to cease, "Tenten-san! I'll take you to the bathroom and help you change into a new fresh hospital robe." The girl's geniality didn't seem to have much effect on Tenten's mood, but the chocolate haired kunoichi hesitantly agreed. Neji watched emptily as Sakura pulled out a long white robe from the hospital dresser in their room and guide Tenten out the hallway to the real bathroom.

The old Team Gai, Neji thought – and for a brief moment he remembered it all – Gai Sensei, Lee, 100 laps around Konoha…maybe tomorrow wouldn't be as bad a day as this…no…not even near how bad this day turned out.

Tenten woke up to a resplendent beacon of sunlight directly hitting her eyelids. She fastidiously griped and rolled over, trying to face her back towards the bright light. Neji, who had been well awake for a few hours now, had been watching her rest – as there was nothing better to do. She must've completely forgotten everything that had happened to her yesterday – because it was now already 2 PM.

"N-neji?" Tenten groaned as she rolled back over and faced him. She blinked shoddily a few times before sitting upright on her bed. "Neji?" She repeated, staring emptily at the impassive man, "What time is i-" Her eyes suddenly widened and her jaw dropped slightly. Her eyes sauntered a bit farther down Neji's bed – and the Hyuuga followed her chocolate brown eyes and quickly realized what she was looking at.

Neji cussed internally, knowing this would cause serious trouble, "Tenten…I didn't-"

"Oh! It's almost 3 PM! We better get dressed so we're not late!" she immediately put on fake joyfulness, in a failed attempt to veil her hurt. She recoiled out of bed in the white robe Sakura had helped her put on and opened the dresser, picking out her usual white top with gold lace and burgundy baggy capris. She gamboled out the room and into the hallway, rushing to the bathroom to change. Sakura had helped Tenten's leg recover a bit the night before – she said the pain was from Neji inserting too much chakra for her body to handle.

The Hyuuga looked at what Tenten had spotted earlier that had marred her heart – it was the Haruno, who was now acutely napping on a chair next to his bed, her head resting on his legs. She must've been busy healing his leg more overnight and fallen asleep from exhaustion – typical spunky apprentice of Tsunade – never giving up until the job was done.

He shifted his calves a bit, "Sakura." The girl stirred at the sudden movement of the substance she rested her head on, and on hearing her name being called. She blinked a few times, raising her head off the Hyuuga's legs. A soft yawn escaped her mouth as she daintily rubbed her sleepy eyes with her pale hands, un-blurring her vision. Within a few seconds, she was back upright on her chair, giving her attentive ears to the Hyuuga.

"N-neji…" she yawned once more and rubbed her eyes, "What is it?"

The ivory-eyed prodigy frowned, "I need to change now."

"Oh…" the girl stared obliviously for a few seconds before waking up a bit more, "What time is it?"

There was a pause before words unexpectedly slipped out of Neji's mouth quietly, "Tenten was upset…" Other than the austere inflection he carried, there were subtle edges of regret and guilt in his voice. And with those words, Sakura irrevocably seemed to understand what he was talking about.

"Neji…" Sakura's eyes widened briefly before softening, "Go-gomenasai…" She had by now realized that he meant Tenten misreckoned the situation.

The Hyuuga cleared his throat before regaining his usual professional edge, "Well, I must start changing now, so if you don't mind…" his voice trailed off, assuming she knew what he meant.

"Oh! Of course! Gomen gomen, I'll just head out to see if any other patients need assistance…" her voice was cheerfully embarrassed as the pink haired kunoichi stood up and quickly shuffled out the door with her words, closing the door behind her.

Neji sighed and got off the raucous cot, pulling his old clothes up and over his head. Over the years of metamorphosing into an ANBU, his upper body in particular had become much more toned from all the strenuous training and missions – but he was still, like Tenten had last remembered, slender and muscular at the same time – something Tenten secretly much sanctioned. As the young man was walking over to the dresser to get a new set of clothes, he heard a small gasp come from behind him – causing him to immediately turn his head to the source of the detonation. In the doorway he found a familiar Tenten, looking the same as she had when they were 16 – same outfit, same hairstyle, same flamboyant face…but of course, there was no room for those kinds of conceptions in the head of an ANBU. The Hyuuga caught himself ogling at his former teammate's accoutrement before catching himself when he saw the red tinge start to spread throughout her cheeks.

She started to stammer in embarrassment, "G-gomenasai. I-I thought that you'd have finished changing…I'll just leave n-"

"You can stay," came the surprising answer from the Hyuuga – which did nothing to help the embarrassment in Tenten's face. The attempted welcoming should have been full of arrogance and ostentation – but instead she found something else – she found hints of longing and lust in it, and she wondered if it was just her overly dramatic imagination acting up. She couldn't help but just watch dumbly as he schlepped on his cream colored traditional Hyuuga robes instead of his black ANBU ones – which made the taciturnity between them drive Tenten mad.

As desperate as she was to break the silence, what came out of her mouth surprised them both, "So…how are things with Sakura?"

She quickly slammed her hand over her mouth as soon as those words were prattled – knowing they were the wrong ones to say.

"You act as if I'm in love with her," his voice came without a single trace of uneasiness.

Tenten bit her lower lip, trying to hide her pain, "No…you act like it…"

The girl surveyed the cream-colored, lifeless ground, not daring to meet the Hyuuga's eyes – only to find, a few moments later, those strong familiar arms of his wrapped around her waist.

To Be Continued…