A/N: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 3
Tenten noticed her Hyuuga face-reading skills had gotten rusty. She hadn't seen him in forever, after all. So, you couldn't really blame her.
Tenten tried to smile, "Today is a really special day. To me." Tenten's heart was ripping. She hoped Neji remembered now.
"Oh." Neji replied simply. Neji was still clueless.
Tenten's face fell, a frown on her pink lips. That hurt. How could he not remember?
But then she quickly veiled her hurt and smiled, "It's my birthday Neji." Tenten expected to hear something like, oh sorry I forgot, how could I forget? Or, Oh, happy birthday, I lost track of time!
"Happy Birthday." Neji said this simply without any emotion. Tenten was even more hurt, how can he not even care that it's my birthday?
Tenten looked ahead. She didn't want to look at Neji. Why is he so cruel to me?
Neji was always blunt. He had always been like that around Tenten, or around anyone for that matter. Neji always seemed like he was only interested in his own problems, but he never cared about anyone else.
He never let out his feelings and he was occasionally rude. Tenten had experienced this many times. She was pretty used to it by now.
Neji always thought he was better than everyone else. He probably was more skilled than many ninjas. But his arrogance got on Tenten's nerves from time to time.
He was a Hyuuga, strong, calm, and better than the rest. What else could Tenten say? He was what he was.
They reached the training field. Tenten looked around. She took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air.
Tenten smiled, "What shall we do today? And if I may say, please no 64 palms because I don't want to be hospitalized on my birthday, Neji-kun." Tenten feared him when he was fighting, for she knew he had the ability to put someone to death. He could do it easily, without blinking.
"New technique." Neji said simply. He had been waiting to practice with someone.
"Oh..." Tenten felt her nerves rising. Tenten wasn't pleased with the idea. The idea of Neji trying out a new technique on her made her uneasy.
New technique meant more advanced skills, which means it hurts more than the 64 palms. Tenten's mental self cringed at the thought of this. She could just imagine herself ending up in the hospital tonight.
Slowly Neji reached for Tenten's wrist. Tenten watched him. What kind of new technique is this?
He turned her around, much to Tenten's utter shock and joy. Tenten stood stone still. She did whatever Neji motioned for her to do.
Their backs touched, and they stood in the clearing, facing opposite directions. Tenten could stay like this forever. She was so close to Neji.
Suddenly blood rushed to Tenten's face. Her whole face turned a light shade of red. She looked like Hinata when Naruto held her.
Neji had lightly moved his fingers to fill the gaps between hers. His hand was now laced together with hers. If she was Hinata, she would've fainted by now.
Oh god... he's holding my hand...Tenten thought. Is this a technique or is this just an excuse to hold my hand? Tenten's heart was beating quickly.
Tenten couldn't see Neji's face but she could hear him murmuring words. She was pretty sure this was a technique. She couldn't recognize what kind of technique it was though just by listening to the words that came out of his mouth.
Suddenly, she felt all her chakra getting being drained from her body. She felt herself getting weaker and weaker. She couldn't just do nothing about it.
She watched wide-eyed as her visible blue chakra traveled from her body to her arm. She was astounded. Where had Neji learned to do this?
He's taking my chakra! Tenten panicked. What am I supposed to do?
Then it stopped at the brink of Tenten's fingers. Without much effort, Tenten concentrated hard. She was trying to stop him.
It was fighting its way back. Just as Orochimaru had fought for his soul, Tenten was fighting for her chakra. She wouldn't be weak for her birthday, certainly not!
It dispersed back into the chakra systems of Tenten's body, and Tenten's strength returned. She let out a sigh. She had survived.
"Damn," Neji cursed and slumped on Tenten's body, exhausted. Tenten could feel his muscular body against hers. She liked it this way.
The blood returned to Tenten's face as her cheeks turned dark pink. She once again looked like a lovestruck Hinata. She couldn't help it.
Neji's has never failed at a technique... what is going on? Tenten thought. It was so bizzare. He's NEVER failed at a technique!
Oh gods, he's never been this close either! Tenten froze. She wanted this moment to last.
"Back... to normal training," he said straightening. Tenten loosened up her body. Neji ruined the moment again.
"Of course," Tenten nodded pulling out kunai and putting it in her mouth as she jumped into the trees. She would show him everything she was made of. He still remembered how skilled she was at weaponry.
This little kunoichi grew up, Neji-kun. This was her chance to show him how much she had grown. This was her chance to try to impress him.
Tenten threw the weapons faster than she ever did in training. Neji tried to dodge them. A lot of them whizzed past his face, barely missing him.
She jumped to the next tree, aiming for his thoracic vertebra. She knew this was a sensitive spot. If she just hit it precisely enough, she would win.
I know your weakness Neji-kun. Tenten grinned. This was almost…too easy…
Neji managed to block some of it, but he was low on chakra. He was weak without his chakra. Many of his techniques were chakra based, other than a few taijutsus, he was almost powerless without it.
His instincts weren't fast enough when he was so worn out and Tenten wasn't. Neji was usually very quick on his feet, but not now. He was exhausted and low on chakra, there was no way he could keep it up for much longer.
Many of the weapons cut into his skin. He blinked a few times. Tenten thought, what's wrong with him?
Tenten hesitated. She felt a bit uneasy. She thought he'd be able to handle this.
I'm hurting him. Tenten felt like stopping. But she remembered what Neji had said to her once before.
Tenten remembered what Neji used to say. She remembered everything he said. She took mental notes, like the way Lee took notes on what Gai Sensei said.
Never hesitate. That's what Neji said. He told her clearly for her own defense.
Hesitation is a sign of weakness. Neji thought a lot of things were signs of weakness. That included love.
Neji strictly told her never to stop unless she ran out of weapons. She remembered that day when he was a bit upset with the way she always hesitated when she thought she was hurting someone. He made his message loud and clear.
She was only following orders. She debated inside her head frantically. Do I stop, or do I continue?!
A kunai stuck to his leg and Neji dropped to his knees. Tenten didn't know what to do. Do I stop, or do I continue?!
Tenten didn't know what to do as she hesitated again. She knew Neji had told her not to hesitate, but she was in a state of pure confusion. Oh lord, what am I supposed to do?!
"Keep... going..." he said, his hands only glowing faintly. She couldn't take it. He was on his hands and knees for crying out loud!
He can't handle anymore... I still have about another dozen then the scrolls. Tenten knew if she continued until she ran out of weapons, she would have killed him. That certainly was not her goal.
Tenten jumped down. She had made her choice. She was going to stop.
She pulled out the medical kit she kept handy in her pack. Neji looked like he was in serious pain. There was no time to find a medical ninja to heal Neji's wounds.
Neji was on his hands and knees. Tenten had never seen him in this position before. This was what his opponents usually looked like.
Kneeling down, Tenten quickly pulled out the kunai in his leg. She felt queezy. The kunai had dug so far in his leg.
Neji gasped and coughed up blood. Tenten began to feel sick. She had never seen Neji in this state of hurt before.
"Neji-kun you used up too much chakra. Stop pushing yourself!" Tenten said almost desperately. Tenten would've slapped him if he wasn't wounded. She wished Sakura was here to help heal him.
Then Neji fainted. This astounded Tenten. Hyuuga Neji had just fainted before her very eyes.
Tenten fretted. What's wrong with him?! She had absolutely no idea why he had done so poorly during training, was he really that worn out?
Neji never fainted. Never. Although his cousin Hinata did often, Neji most certainly never did that sort of thing.
What happened to Neji these past years! He used to be so skilled! Where did that all go?
Even if he was low on chakra he could hold back all of Tenten's weapons. Weapons were usually no match for Neji's chakra. But obviously that was not the case today.
"That technique wasted all his chakra..." Tenten said softly, lifting Neji up. He was lighter than she had expected. All his weight consisted of muscle, he had only the minimum necessary amount of fat, the rest was bone and muscle.
She felt a blush creep back into her cheeks as she carried him over to the nearby tree. She didn't want to work out in the open. She couldn't believe she was actually holding him!
She lifted Neji so he was sitting against a tree. She looked at his beautiful face. He's gorgeous even when he's unconcious, Tenten thought dreamily.
She hesitated, gazing at the unconscious Neji. What was she supposed to do? She wasn't fully a medical ninja and here Neji was unconcious, agh, what a mess.
A/N: Please comment/review, thanks!
