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And they told me to stop believing fairytales
Because they never come true
That they only break dreams and hopes and fantasies
And that someday I'll know that too.
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Hourglass
Chapter 1: Antediluvian
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The moment Neji's lips left her own, Tenten couldn't help but feel annoyed at the intruder. But then her glazed eyes focused on the doorway and she realized with dread and a sinking feeling who it was.
It had been a priceless moment, to say the least, when Lee had burst into Tenten's apartment unannounced and unwittingly interrupted a rather intimate moment between his two teammates. At first no one spoke, and the embarrassment between the two teens on the couch grew to be almost palpable in the awkward silence.
But then Lee gave them what could only be described as a disgustingly sly smile and told them, quite unashamedly, "Aha! Gai-sensei said this would happen soon! And he was wise enough to tell me to keep an eye on you two incase I felt that it would!"
His two teammates' jaws dropped but Lee was unaware. His smile was blinding as he reached into the pocket of his spandex jumpsuit. "We bought this for you guys," he said, approaching them casually and handing Neji a small, square, plastic-wrapped item. His voice and expression grew somber. "Use it well, Neji."
Neji's face turned very red, whether from embarrassment or sheer fury or both, as he realized what he was holding. Tenten had been in the same state until she averted her eyes from what Neji was holding to look at Lee, who still held an expression of such serious solemnity that a peal of laughter left her lips, unbidden.
She was mildly aware of Neji jumping off of her and throwing himself agitatedly at the oblivious boy.
"Neji, what has gotten into you?" their green-clad teammate shrieked, dodging one of the Hyuuga prodigy's attacks. He was being forced to use his incredible speed so as not to receive a lethal blow.
Behind them, Tenten was clutching her side in merriment, laughing hysterically. Tears were flowing down her red cheeks from laughing so hard.
The situation was so absurd, but it was what made them forever Team Gai.
Tenten smiled as her laughter began to subside, the tears of mirth still sliding down her cheeks.
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She awoke gently from her sleep to the sight of near-darkness and sighed, staring straight ahead up at the night sky. The stars were very faint tonight and the moon was half-hidden from a thick wisp of cloud.
It was only the second night since her departure from Konoha, but it was also the second time that she had been plagued with horribly painful dreams of the "good old days."
Tenten lifted her hand to rub at her eyes and was startled. She drew back her hand to look at the moisture she found. Her tears had been real, but they were not like the joyous ones in her dream. The throbbing pain in her heart told her that she missed those days, when Neji had still been Neji and they had still been a team... and before the name "ANBU" ever crossed anyone's minds.
Tenten slipped out of her snug and warm sleeping bag and regretted it almost immediately. She shivered in the cool night air, but knew that there was little chance of her lapsing back into sleep. She packed her things quickly into her bag and undid all the traps she set in the little clearing she had chosen as camp. Her eyes lingered only for a second at the marred dirt that had served as her campfire a few hours earlier before dragging her sandal over the ashes and kicking dirt into it in a hasty effort to clean it.
Once Tenten was sure that everything had been organized and put in its place, she set off at her fastest sprint in the direction of Sunagakure.
Her mind wandered back to the dream against her will, and Tenten was forced to ponder upon it sadly. Yes, she told herself, that was all she had left now of those days and from her relationship with Neji. Dreams and memories.
She wondered if those magical moments had ever happened at all. Right now, it all seemed so surreal.
Tenten tried her hardest to keep composed. It would not do well to be so emotional all alone in the forest outside the borders of Konoha, especially at night.
Gritting her teeth, Tenten forced herself to imagine Orochimaru and the Akatsuki hot on her heels and she began to take advantage of the adrenaline that began coursing through her body. She nearly doubled her speed from the almost-suicidal effort.
Absently she wondered whether Lee had ever run this fast without his weights on.
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Tenten knew she set a record when Temari opened the door of the Kazekage's building in her pajamas. The wide, surprised eyes of the sandy-blonde girl looked her over and Tenten had a mental vision of what Temari must be seeing: a savage girl breathing heavily, clutching the stitch in her side, twigs poking out from her very messy hair, clothes slightly ripped and torn, sandals worn, scratches on her arms, face, and legs.
As if sensing what the blonde was about to ask, Tenten forced herself to speak through her wheezing pants, "N-not... not an ambush... just... ran... very... very fast..."
Temari cocked an eyebrow at her and looked as though she wanted to ask more on the subject but decided against it. "The guards reported that they saw what seemed to be like someone ripping up the sand out there," Temari said, amused, "and that it was headed straight for the Kazekage's building. I was curious so I told them to leave it to me, but I never expected it would be you standing outside the door... We weren't expecting you until mid-afternoon of the next day."
Tenten continued to breathe heavily, unable to muster up any energy to speak. Vaguely she wondered what time it was, and concluded that it must have been sometime after midnight but before dawn.
"Well come on in," Temari said, opening the door wider so that Tenten could slip through. The warmth radiating from the room inside attracted Tenten like a moth to a flame. The moment she had let herself stop running, her legs began to ache terribly and her steps were uncontrollably wobbly. Nevertheless, she dragged her legs inside the room to escape the harsh, sandy winds. She could already feel herself regaining her breath and also felt her accelerated heart rate slowing.
When Temari closed the door behind her, Tenten immediately felt comfortably warm and sleepy. In the past two days, she had only gotten a total of about four hours of sleep. She hid a yawn behind her hand as she turned to face the older kunoichi.
Temari seemed to be debating something for a moment. "Well," she began, rubbing the side of her neck in deep thought, "I guess I should take you to Gaara now. He's still awake anyway, and it's not like he's really busy at the moment... since he still thinks he doesn't need to sleep." She mumbled the last part under her breath but Tenten caught it nonetheless.
She nodded sleepily at the blonde. The sudden absence of adrenaline exhausted her. "Okay," Tenten managed to say, fighting back another urge to yawn.
Tenten followed Temari through a long, dimly-lit hallway in companionable silence. Through the years they had been randomly thrown together time and time again and it was because of this that they no longer harbored any awkwardness in each other's company. Memories of the long-ago Chunin Exams now seemed out-of-place in both girls' newly budding friendship.
But while it was true that Tenten had seen rather a lot of Temari and Kankuro over the past few years— and not just in Konoha— the same could not be said for Gaara. Of course, it was understandable for him to remain in his village as he was the Kazekage, after all. In fact, Tenten had not really seen Gaara since... Since those blasted Chunin Exams, when he had hurt Lee badly. She supposed the more recent event where Gaara had been kidnapped by the Akatsuki also counted as a meeting, but then he had been unconscious for the most part. A sudden wave of intimidation washed over her. Now that she thought about it, the only times she had ever really thought of Gaara were times when either Temari or Kankuro came to Konoha and whenever Naruto mentioned him in passing. From what she had been hearing these past few years, Gaara was doing better and was no longer the same murderous freak she had singled him out to be years ago.
A loud rapping noise snapped Tenten out of her thoughts and she realized that they had stopped in front of a tall polished set of heavy-looking stone doors. Temari's knocks were acknowledged by a low, quiet voice within. "Enter."
Tenten only had a second to wonder whether or not she should at least try to make herself look somewhat presentable before Temari pushed her inside the office and closed the door, leaving Tenten alone with the Kazekage. Tenten couldn't bring herself to face him yet and focused instead on steadying her wobbling and aching legs.
"Our Konoha recruit is here a little too early," Temari said from outside the stone doors, her voice sounding somewhat muffled. "I'm going to bed, if that's okay?" she asked.
"Go."
The simple word almost made Tenten jump. She felt chills creeping up her spine to the back of her neck at the sound of his low voice. He sounded so close to her. So near.
Tenten listened as Temari's footsteps began to fade away in the hallway and swallowed. The room was very large and very dark; the only source of light came from a far-away fireplace in the corner to her left. She could almost feel his eyes boring holes into her body from the middle of the room, where she knew he sat. She willed herself not to look up at him through her bangs and slowly lifted her head to meet his gaze.
He was looking straight at her, as she had predicted. Again, a mental vision of what she must look like presented itself in her mind. She couldn't understand why she was feeling so intimidated, as it was so very unlike her.
Tenten blamed the fatigue.
He was silent for a long time, and Tenten, on her part, seemed to be unable to come up with words to say. Her hazy mind was fogging up with a desperate need and wanting of rest but Tenten would not allow it. Besides, she wasn't uncomfortable with the silence. She better than anyone had the most experience with the silent-type... Heck, she had dated Neji Hyuuga for almost three years; had been in his team for almost six. Not to mention, she was in good terms with Shino, Sai, and even Sasuke, before he decided to turn rogue-ninja.
She took the time to study the Kazekage, as he was doing the same to her. He was sitting behind a handsomely decorated desk with his arms folded against his chest and was leaning back slightly on his tilted chair, not unlike a bored schoolboy being taught a subject he did not care about inside a classroom he did not want to be in. He had grown— as to be expected— and Tenten noticed that his shocking red hair was also a little bit longer.
His blue-green gaze was piercing, and Tenten couldn't help but think of the Byakugan. Neji had undressed her many times with his gaze, she was sure, but Gaara didn't even have the ability, and yet—
"Why are you here so early?" he asked, finally breaking the silence. For some reason he felt a trickle of unease. It was the first time somebody had ever held his gaze for so long.
Tenten suppressed the urge to sigh at the question. Of course he would ask the one question she really didn't have a decent answer to, she thought.
"I ran very fast."
There was an uncomfortable pause. Okay, Tenten had to admit to herself, it was a pretty lame response but it was the only one she really had. Or at least, the only truth she was willing to share.
Gaara frowned as he stared at her. He could not tell whether she was making fun of him or not and decided to let the topic slide for the time being.
"I assume the Hokage told you why you were sent here?"
"Yes, Kazekage-sama," she addressed politely. Inwardly, Tenten couldn't help but feel surprised. She had heard that Gaara had changed, but she hadn't had any idea just how drastically. She had been fully expecting nothing but silence between the two of them as soon as Temari had closed the door to his office, but then the logical part of her brought up the fact that Gaara was Kazekage now. Of course he'd have to learn to speak up, even if he didn't necessarily want to. "I am to be put into border patrol for a month... right?"
Her answer transformed into a question as Gaara's brows furrowed. For some reason, Tenten got the impression that he was doing some very quick thinking inside his head.
"For a month," he repeated slowly, as if weighing every word.
Tenten nodded hesitantly. "Uh... Y-yeah...?"
They both seemed to be missing out on something. Just as Tenten was starting to think that Tsunade probably played a very cruel joke on her, Gaara seemed to snap back to his senses.
"Yes," he confirmed flatly and with unmistakable authority. He brought his arms to rest on the desk before him and leaned towards her. "We are short on guards at the moment."
He paused, looking very sure of himself now, and Tenten wondered if she had imagined the slight hesitation in his eyes before. He seemed to be gauging her reaction. When Tenten said nothing, he continued in a soft, quiet voice.
"I'll have Temari show you the north tower in the morning. In the meantime..." He trailed off silently before tearing his gaze away from her and raised a hand.
Before Tenten could process what was happening, there was a flurry of sand and a tall, middle-aged man with a rather severe-looking face appeared next to her and inclined his head to Gaara.
"You called, Kazekage-sama?" His voice was a deep, rumbling sound.
"Isago," Gaara acknowledged. "Please show our Konoha recruit a room inside the building where she can stay."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama," he replied, bowing shortly, and turning to face Tenten. "Follow me."
"Uh, sure..." she managed, her eyes flickering briefly to the older man before returning to Gaara. She bowed her head slightly in his direction and he gave a small nod.
"Go."
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Tenten followed the older man out into the hallway obediently, wincing slightly at the forgotten pain in her legs. Although the hall was still very dimly-lit, Tenten found herself squinting against the sudden brightness. Compared to Gaara's office, it was definitely blinding.
The jonin before her outstretched a hand. "I am Isago."
Tenten hid her surprise and accepted the handshake. "Tenten."
He studied the messy, battered-looking young woman briefly and was immediately curious. He silently wondered why the Kazekage wanted to house her in the immediate building. It wasn't as if they didn't have guest apartments available in separate compounds. He wanted to know what made her so important. After all, with the exception of the messy, savage look, attire, and the roughness of her hands— all of which indicated that the girl was indeed a ninja— there seemed to be nothing very remarkable about her at all.
Isago forced himself not to judge ability based on appearances. He had made the mistake of underestimating an opponent many, many times. No doubt, his own personal hubris.
He led the way to down the dim hallway and couldn't help his curiosity. "Tenten-san, may I ask why you've been recruited by the Kazekage?"
The girl shrugged nonchalantly and he noted her slight limp with rapidly growing interest. "Nothing as exciting as you may think," Tenten mumbled, letting a small degree of bitterness seep into her voice. "I've been assigned guard duty here for a month, since Suna is, apparently, short on people for border patrol."
This surprised him greatly, but he took great care not to let it show on his face. Since when have we been short on ninjas? he thought. Then again, it wasn't as if he knew everything that the Kazekage was doing. He felt a hint of alarm course through him. If the village was indeed short on ninjas to such an extent that they had to request to borrow a temporary guard from another village for such a thing as border patrol— Well, Isago was not happy. That meant something pretty serious was happening and only the Kazekage, as well those directly involved, knew about it. Come to think of it, Isago thought, I haven't seen Baki around lately...
But that still didn't explain why this Tenten was being offered a room inside the Kazekage's building.
Isago tried to keep away his habitual curiosity. It was going to the death of him someday, even his comrades had told him so.
"I'm sorry about that," he offered the young girl, as she had abandoned all control and was looking very bitter indeed. He could understand, as guard duty happened to be something he greatly disliked also.
"Ehh," Tenten waved off his apology and glanced up at him from the corner of her eyes. "I think I can handle it... but it would sure be nice if someone told me what all this shortage is about."
Isago was none the wiser in the subject. He shook his head slowly to indicate this, to the dismay of Tenten. She heaved a loud sigh. "Oh well."
They had reached a fork in the long hallway and there were three doors before her that Tenten was sure led to more dark hallways. Beside her, Isago had come to a complete halt. The room order, he knew, was based on the sand siblings' ages. Shit, he thought, fighting the urge to scratch his head, If I remember correctly, Gaara-sama's room is in the left hallway, so Kankuro-san's must be in the middle and Temari-san's must be in the right… Right?
"Uh, this way Tenten-san," he said abruptly, opening the door to the right. Tenten was not disappointed in her assumption. The door did lead to another hallway, except this one was much, much shorter and contained only four doors, nothing more.
They stood silently for a moment while Isago pondered his chances. He dismissed the option of knocking on each door so as not to incur the wrath of a sleep-deprived Temari. He had forgotten exactly which room her's had been, but seeing as he had a one in four chance...
Taking a deep breath, Isago motioned Tenten towards the far-left door and slowly turned the knob to open it...
It was empty. Isago mentally breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Here you are, Tenten-san," he said, acknowledging the weary girl's heartfelt thanks. He watched her fall face-first into the bed before they exchanged hasty farewells and excused himself. He needed to find a gossip buddy.
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It was four in the morning, exactly two and a half hours since Tenten's arrival.
Gaara's soft footsteps made virtually no noise as he walked slowly to his chambers. He knew that he would never get used to the idea of sleep.
He looked at the blue folder in his hands in deep thought. He had been reading the report over and over again for the past few days but still didn't know what to make of it. Lost in his thoughts, his feet automatically took him to his room, and his hand automatically reached for the door knob.
"Nnnggh..."
Gaara froze mid-way of opening his door. He peered inside into the darkness but knew better; the noise had come from the room adjacent. He turned one-hundred-and-eighty degrees to face the door directly opposite his own and felt a slight irritation growing inside him.
No... Isago is not stupid enough...
Without his bidding, his arm stretched forward and he found himself inside the room, staring down at the girl who seemed to have fallen asleep immediately upon hitting the mattress. She was still in the attire he had seen her in, complete with twigs in her hair and untreated bruises and scratches all over her body.
That fool, Gaara thought vaguely, his irritation fading as mild interest took over. I thought I told him not to put guests in this hallway...
"...Nnrghghhh..."
Her muffled moan put him at a loss. What is she doing?
Gaara watched as Tenten turned over on her back, her expression one of distress. Her eyes remained closed and Gaara knew that she was still asleep. A distant word he learned in the days of Yashamaru flashed in his memory.
Could it be that Tenten was having a... a... what was it... a nightmare?
He fought the urge to shake her awake.
If this is what awaits me in sleep, then I am better off awake, Gaara thought, feeling a slight helplessness in watching as tears fell from Tenten's closed eyelids. He somehow wished he could see what it was that was making her cry. And subject it to my Sand Binding Coffin.
"...Help...me..."
Her desperate tone almost startled him and he waited for a while to prove that she was still asleep. Tenten's silent crying increased and Gaara felt something akin to slight panic.
I am never going to sleep, he silently vowed.
He watched as his hand reached her face without his permission, and his fingertips brushed lightly at a wet trail on her cheek. He wondered what would happen if she cried all night without knowing.
Would she wake up to a flood of tears?
He left her room to ponder this and knew that he would lie awake for a long, long time.
Tenten woke the next morning with no re-collection of the dream ever happening.
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But no one can make me a non-believer
Of this twisted little fairytale
Where hurt, deceit, and lies
Become the great Hero's demise.
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End Chapter 1.