Chapter nineteen.
Apologies for the lack of chapter on Friday…and the Friday before that – I cut off my internet so that I could focus for my ultra-important art deadline this week. Also, I am on Holiday quite a lot this summer (which makes a nice change) so I will just have to update when I can. Thanks for your continuing commitment and reviews!
I most certainly do not own Naruto!
Tenten's eyes widened suddenly, caught completely by surprise. Her heart started hammering wildly in her chest as Neji's soft warm lips remained clamped tightly to hers, and his taste filled her mouth. A rich deep crimson blush spread out over Tenten's cheeks.
Suddenly, she braced her palms against Neji's chest and pushed herself firmly but not aggressively away from him, her face still scarlet and full of a mixture of surprise, confusion and suspicion. He let her go quickly, moving his hands away from where they had gently held her thin waist and the back of her head.
Tenten couldn't believe what had just happened. Nothing like this had ever happened to her; in fact she was ashamed to think to herself that it was actually her first real kiss. And it had been with Neji. In their shinobi society, little space was left for romance or relationships, and it had never crossed her mind as that much of a key part of her life. Then again, she had had a crush on her Hyuuga team-mate for a long time prior to betraying the leaf village, where she had severed all ties to her home, including her feelings for Neji.
"Why…? I – don't understand…" Tenten said in a voice that was unusually unsure for one such as her.
What had possessed her mature and distant…now enemy she supposed to kiss her? He had always turned away all those years when it had been so obvious she had feelings for him. Was this a trick to get her to release information? Then again, surely the interrogation squad had extracted all they could from her mind anyway. The kunoichi shuddered as her memory replayed the blinding pain in her mind.
"This is my fault…I can see what I've done to you…and how they've hurt you…I -"
Neji looked away, his own cheeks ever so slightly pink against the usual porcelain white. He truly looked remorseful.
"I was tasked to come and inform you…your execution is scheduled for first light at dawn. The guards didn't want to take any chances with an Akatsuki member…Tenten." Neji said, his voice cracking as he said the word 'execution'.
"I came to tell you so it wouldn't come as a shock…and to say how sorry I am, although words hardly justify my actions."
He looked although he was about to say more, but Tenten interrupted him.
"You mean for capturing me in those woods and parading me through the streets like cattle for slaughter?"
"Yes, but I had no choice. Guy and Lee would not have let an Akatsuki member go free, even if it was you. And you would have died from exhaustion or have been found by Orochimaru if we hadn't have picked you up."
Tenten looked away stubbornly, her heart unsure of what to believe. Should she trust him or not? Neji seemed to be able to read her expression because he stepped forward and placed his pale hands on her shoulders, turning her gently so she would look at him.
"Look, I understand why you left, at least, how it seems to me. I knew that all that time when we were on the team together, how you felt about me. Did you really think you could keep it hidden? Especially the way gossip flies around." Neji said, a thin smile touching his lips.
Tenten immediately blushed a deep crimson and dropped her head so Neji wouldn't see her pink face. What was she doing? She was stronger than this! Trust Neji to be able to find her innermost walls and break them down before her.
"At first it was irritating. I couldn't understand why you would be so foolish as she allow your emotions to take a hold of you. However, over time…about when you passed the chunin exams, I began to feel the same way. You always supported our team, you were often the voice of reason and yet so overlooked by sensei and taken for granted by Lee. It wasn't long before I realised that I…had fallen for…you…and I still hold those feelings."
Tenten was stunned. She looked up at Neji, her eyes glistening. Was she really hearing this?
"But…I…why didn't you tell me?" She whispered.
"Because of whom I am. As a Hyuuga, I am bound by tradition and my clan's high standing in society to marry only a woman from a clan of equal rank. I was trapped, don't you see? I couldn't tell you or show you how I felt – even though I am only part of the branch family I am still expected to carry the honour and reputation of my clan on my shoulders. I…envy you, Tenten. You are free to be with whoever you chose, to do whatever you want, whether the choices you make are good, or indeed bad. You have to understand, the punishment for loving a…a -"
"Commoner?" Tenten said, her voice taking on a hint of sharpness.
"No! I mean yes. I mean…" Neji seemed to struggle with himself.
"Neji…I did love you. You and Lee meant the world to me, as did the village. However, over time, I felt like I was fading into the background. I can see why now you ignored me as you did…but it wasn't just you who made me want to leave. So don't go baring that burden on your own. I'm sorry…but I've grown up now, and I'm afraid that I cannot return your feelings." Tenten's eyes were full of tears.
"But Tenten -!" Neji began.
"Hey, your time is up in there!" The guard shinobi called, banging on the door with a fist.
"You forget, Neji. I am Akatsuki now, and nothing anyone can say will change that. I will think of you…as I…go to my…execution tomorrow. Goodbye…friend." Tenten held back a sob, clenching her throat tight even as she felt a tear start to fall down her cheek.
Neji turned, Tenten unable to see his expression as he left the small cell, the thick metal door clanging loudly behind him.
Deidara was running for his life through back-street and avenue, keeping his chakra levels undetectable as he moved. He could tell by the flitting shadows to his left that the anbu member was still following him. He had not yet employed his bombs, wanting to at least try not to blow his cover yet.
He scowled as he found himself wishing he was flying aboard his clay bird instead of scurrying down some alley like a sewer rat, but that was out of the question. Somewhere out in the night, a dog howled close by.
The shinobi tailing him paused and looked in the direction of where the noise had come from. Deidara seized the opportunity and flung a kunai at him with deadly accuracy. The enemy dodged just in time to avoid a fatal hit, but as it was, the kunai sunk deep into his forearm and he let out a strangled yell of pain.
Deidara didn't stay to wait for back up to arrive; whilst the Konoha shinobi fell behind, he disappeared into the night once more like a shadow. However, travelling at speed through the 'village' was going to arouse suspicion sooner or later. Having changed direction slightly and worked his way somewhat deeper into the maze of backstreets, Deidara finally paused, leaning up against a wall as he caught his breath.
He knew that within a few hours dawn would arrive, and there was no way in hell he would be able to get out of the Leaf Village alive with Tenten once the inhabitants woke up and the business of the day began. His aim was to find Tenten and rescue her before first light.
As a thin cloud drifted over the moon, the light became softer, and the sharpness the pure moonlight brought out of the world was temporarily taken away. Deidara seized the moment and skirted across the main street to the other side before a patrol spotted him. By his reckoning, he shouldn't have too much further to go, especially if the Strict Correctional Facility was as far away as he remembered.
Being a cautious orginistaion in the way it ran its missions, the Akatsuki had blue-prints in its stores to most of the major villages, which wasn't surprising seeing as it had a member from almost every country in the continent.
Deidara cursed himself for his impatience; having not even looked at the Konoha blue-prints when he set off on this mission. However, then, he'd had no idea that Tenten had been brought here, so he supposed it was understandable. Even so, he had glanced at the village's layout briefly before, back on some other mission before he had even met the kunoichi he was now so determinedly pursuing.
Suddenly, Deidara's wondering thoughts were brought back to the present as a rumbling boom reverberated through the ground. He looked up as he climbed onto the roof of the adjacent building, squinting through his eye-scope.
A flash of yellow and orange briefly lit up the night, and Deidara couldn't pause to watch the artistry of the event. Evidently, one of his clay-clones had been thwarted. That only left one remaining, therefore narrowing down the Konoha shinobi's search for him. At least some of them would have their hands full with the detonation, which would allow him precious time to get to Tenten.
As the clone exploded, Deidara felt its experiences filter into his mind. It had made it to the other side of the village at least before it was overcome by Konoha shinobi. Deidara had underestimated how many were on the hunt by the looks of it, even though a couple had been taken out who had been standing too close to the clay clone when it detonated.
He briefly looked back over his shoulder, more on impulse than on anything else. Was it his imagination, or could he feel eyes on him? Deidara decided it was probably just himself, getting anxious what with the imminent threat.
As he turned back to face his course, something thin and shining blue whipped out of the shadows and tightened like a sticky lasso around Deidara's ankle. The criminal fought back a yell of surprise as he was caught mid-leap and thrown to the ground with a smack that he knew would leave the most embarrassing bruises.
Deidara tasted blood in his mouth as he tried to stand, but another of the long sticky ropes threw itself as his right arm and wrapped around it. As he looked up, struggling with his bond, a pair of Konoha shinobi stepped out of the shadows. They bother wore anbu uniform and each a unique mask.
The slighter of the two pushed up their mask to get a better view of their detainee. A young woman smirked down at him, the other ends of the blue chakra lassoes in one hand.
"Well done, Saiken!" The woman's comrade said, his voice far brighter than the usual toneless robot-like speech of the average anbu member.
Deidara ground his teeth together from where he lay sprawled on the ground. He didn't have the time for this, and there was no way he would let his pride be damaged unpunished. The criminal spat out a familiar model of clay from the mouth in the palm of the arm that was bound by Saiken's chakra rope. With his other free hand, he formed a hand sign and smirked as the centipede grew to the thickness of his arm and wrapped lithely around the rope.
"KATSU!" Deidara yelled.
The centipede exploded with enough force to sever the chakra rope and throw Deidara about ten feet from the detonation, but not hard enough for him to sustain any injuries more serious than a slight burn. Unlike a kunai or shuriken that would not be able to cut chakra, the explosion emitted Deidara's own chakra at force – enough to rip the bonds into shreds. He did not have time to marvel at the artistry however, as the second shinobi was bearing down upon him.
Deidara withdrew a pair of kunai just in time to meet the blow form his enemy, who wielded a long katana blade. Both hands were gripped around the hilt, pressing his weight down onto Deidara.
The blonde Akatsuki member in question, pushed back, rivalling the Konoha ninja's force with ease. The man behind the mask gave a double take, as if surprised at Deidara's strength. Deidara may not have been the most ridiculously muscled of people, but he certainly had enough strength to counter this guy.
In a hurry to finish the fight, Deidara suddenly swung his legs around and kicked the man hard in the stomach. The anbu member swore as he crashed to the ground and a small white shape crawled onto his shoulder.
"W-what the he-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the spider exploded and blood showered the area. Deidara's didn't stop to look at the corpse as the smoke cleared and the shockwaves died out, but the look on Saiken's face told him it probably wasn't a pretty sight.
The looked of pure hatred on the girl's face made Deidara smirk. He had seen that face before. Saiken drew out a katana of her own and flew at Deidara with a litheness and agility her comrade had not possessed.
Deidara met her onslaught with kunai, having to admit to himself that she was adept at close combat; even he was having slight difficulty fending off her frenzied attack. Even so, it was still well within his capabilities to beat her. He put on his most smooth face, a wide grin on his lips.
"Well now, I do like a woman who knows her way around a sword, hmm?" He said, bating her into a still more aggressive attack that would hopefully lead her to drop her guard out of lack of concentration.
"You…bastard!" Saiken hissed, whirling in a complex arch to strike with maximum force.
The continual clang of steel rang throughout the street, and by now, a couple of residents had lifted their windows to see what all the fuss was about.
"A-Akatsuki!" Cried one of them.
Deidara ignored them, his face lined with concentration. He had underestimated this girl. A deep can now ran across his shoulder, ripping his cloak, although she too sported a slash on her forearm.
Suddenly, as they moved backwards through the alley, Saiken's foot caught on something and she stumbled. Deidara looked down briefly. Her foot had snagged under the leg of her dead team-mate.
With a swift movement, the criminal lunged, thrusting the kunai forward into her ribcage. Saiken opened her lips in a silent scream as blood trickled down her chin. She quavered, and fell dead across the body of her partner.
Deidara stood up, shaking his scarlet hand to rid it of some of the blood that coated it like a crimson glove. He could taste it in the mouth of his palm.
"That was fun, Konoha shinobi. I thank you for entertaining me so but I believe I must leave now hmm?" He smirked before turning and making a hand seal with his bloodied hand.
A huge owl opened its porcelain white clay wings before him as he stepped onto its smooth back. The Konoha shinobi would find him now, one way or another. Deidara was sick of skulking in shadows – it was time do stealth mode…his way.