Title: The Spiral Project
Author: Matahari
Rating: T

Summary: Dr. Shi Tenten gets a job at Hyuuga Laboratories after receiving her Ph.D. in biophysics. Although not very socially experienced, she quickly gains a reputation in the organization as someone who can get things done and is selected to be in charge of the mysterious "Spiral Project". What she doesn't know is that this will involve getting close to a man who was even more secluded than she was and perhaps, love.

Author's Note: I am alive and so is this story! :) I've been away from the Naruto fandom a bit, since I finally read the three Twilight books that are already out and got obsessed with reading the fanfiction. But, do not fear, Neji and Tenten will always hold first place in my heart!

Upload Date: 4/12/0

Recap from Chapter 6

"Cages are not only those made of reinforced steel and bullet-proof glass. Sometimes the cages we make ourselves are even more difficult to leave behind."

Tenten's reply made Neji pause in consideration. Meanwhile, he offered her his hand, which she accepted. When she lifted herself up, she found herself in his arms staring into his eyes.

After a few moments of silence, he gave his response. "In that case, perhaps the key to the lock is something worth escaping for."

"Perhaps."

Chapter 7: Potential

And then, there was nothing except a steadily growing ringing sound. Tenten blindly groped along the side of her bed, her head half-covered with a pillow. After fumbling for a little bit, she placed the phone to her ear and mumbled, "Hello?".

"Tenten-chan? Did I wake you?" Hinata asked in a way that evoked images of her delicate fingers nervously running over the telephone cord.

"Oh, hi Hinata-chan. Don't worry about it. It's…" Tenten straightened up her back against her pillows as the fog of sleep started to lift and glanced quickly at her alarm clock, "… about time I woke up anyway. What's going on?"

A few moments of "umm's", "well's", and "so you see's", Tenten figured her friend was stalling for time. What could possibly make Hinata this incoherent? She hadn't been this distressed ever since… wait. Visions of her recent dream were pushed aside as she rewinded mentally to the night before.

"Hinata, this isn't about your date with Naruto is it?"

Silence.

Bingo. She'd have to act quickly before Hinata self-destructed just from thinking about her potential date. "Stay there. I'll be over in less than an hour. Be ready to go out for breakfast." Tenten commanded before Hinata could speak, or in this case, not speak, another word.

Not taking time to enjoy the warm water rushing against her skin, she hurriedly massaged and rinsed her hair before drying herself and changing into one of the few comfortable non-business outfits she had. Her feet slipped into some casual sandals and she was good to go. Hinata and the other girls lived in the same apartment complex, just in separate buildings - probably due to its proximity to Hyuuga Laboratories. In about 5 minutes after she had left, she was ringing Hinata's doorbell. Another 20, and they were both in a small café sipping coffee.

"So did you give him a call?" Tenten asked her friend.

"Technically…" Hinata answered while twiddling her fingers together.

Tenten spied a loophole and hurried to close it. "Let me rephrase that – did you talk with him?" Gotcha.

"No… It's just that I'm sure he was just being polite. I mean, it was my birthday. What if he didn't really mean it? Besides, what if he was just asking me out to find out more information about Sakura-chan? You know how close they were… I would absolutely die!" The panic in Hinata's voice rose with every word she spoke and Tenten looked at her as if she was an alien from another planet.

"Of course, he meant it! Unless my people-reading skills have completely been lost, I would definitely categorize Naruto as the direct type. If he had wanted to ask Sakura-chan out, he would have. But did he? No. He asked you." Hinata considered her friend's advice for several moments before replying, "I think maybe it's because I don't really have a grasp on the male perspective. That's what makes me so nervous – the uncertainty. I know!" she continued thoughtfully, "I can always ask Kiba-kun for advice!"

"Um… I don't think that's such a great idea." Tenten responded quickly. Kiba had lived in the same building as Hinata during college – right across the hall in fact. Tenten could see when he'd visited the lab one day that he'd liked his "friend" Hinata-chan a little bit more than one, but Hinata was oblivious in her single-minded affection. Seeing Hinata's confused look at her abrupt input, she continued, "I mean, you don't need any more advice than this. Be your wonderful sweet self and if he doesn't realize what a catch you are, he's not worth it."

And really, there were very few people who were, in Tenten's opinion, worth it. When she tried to think of anyone who fit, she could only see deep silvery eyes and remember the caressing of another's lips on hers. Shaking her head to clear the image she continued to persuade her friend, "Just give him a call, Hinata-chan. The worst he can say is no, right?"

The depressed look of longing that Hinata gave upon hearing that made it clear that the worst might be pretty bad indeed. So, she went on in a more humorous tone, "And the best thing he can say is that he's been waiting for you his entire life and wants you to be the mother of his children. Chances are it's going to be something in between them, right?" Tenten gave a quick grin and was satisfied when Hinata couldn't help but smile.

Back at the apartment and after a bit of coaxing, Hinata was happily talking on the phone to Naruto planning their ramen trip, while Tenten walked around taking in the surroundings. She found herself staring at a black and white photograph framed in silver with, if she could venture a guess, a much younger Hiashi and Hinata. She'd only realized just now that there were two other figures beside them. She'd remembered seeing the picture before and had always thought it was one of those photographic tricks because the adults had looked exactly alike. However, on closer inspection and with her recently acquired knowledge of the Hyuuga family, she realized that the other two figures must have been Neji and his father.

Her fingers reached impulsively to touch what she thought to be Neji's face through the glass. His eyes held a gentle gaze, not like the harsh critical stare she had last seen adorning his face. He seemed like such a loving and innocent child - full of potential. It was a shame that life had dealt him the hand it did. She didn't realize that she was being watched until she heard a low noise behind her. Hinata followed her gaze to the picture before her. "He was my cousin."

Tenten noticed the use of past tense. "Cousin?" She feigned ignorance.

"Neji nii-san – that was his name, was like an older brother to me. His father and mine were identical twins born only minutes apart. You can see the resemblance, right? They were very close even going into the same field as they grew up and ended up forming Hyuuga Laboratories together."

Tenten nodded remembering what Dr. Hyuuga had told her and encouraged Hinata to continue. "What about Neji-san?" she asked, feeling strange saying his name in front of another person for the first time.

"Well, I remember him being always so respectful and polite. He was extremely smart for his age – his teachers said that he had a genius IQ. His mother died when he was young, and I suppose this led to he and his father being so close. Why it was so devastating, I suppose, when uncle died." Hinata started to tear up and Tenten felt guilty for releasing these heartbreaking memories in her friend in a selfish attempt to gain more information about Neji.

"Hinata-chan, forget about it. You don't have to tell me if it's too painful." Tenten urged Hinata giving her a hug.

"No… no." Hinata refused, collecting herself. "It's actually good for me get this out of my system. I didn't realize how long I've kept this inside. When uncle died, Neji lashed out putting the blame on my father. He was like a wild animal – I'd never seen him act that way before in my entire life. I tried to comfort him in my own grief, but it was like he'd turned into ice or stone. He was inconsolable. There was a blackout that night. I don't remember if it was storming at the time, and he just disappeared. I think he ran away – from his memories. I keep on hoping that one day I'll see him on a magazine cover or on television. He was just the type of person you knew was destined for greatness. But sometimes my thoughts take a turn for the worse, and I can't help but think that he might have committed suicide in his depression, gotten kidnapped by a child molester, or killed by thugs in the street."

Tenten wanted desperately to be able to reassure her friend as to her cousin's well-being, but something stopped her. She wasn't sure whether it was more the threat of losing her job or the potential of being forbidden from seeing Neji ever again – she found it extremely troubling.

Note to Readers: This story has over 100 reviews, and 26 for just this chapter! If you could see me now, I've got this gigantic grin on my face. Thanks for all the readers and everyone who has put the story on alert or favorites. Thank you especially to dreaming.sapphire, Jupiter's Moon, newt-ish, tarzi-kins, Chigiri Sasaki, writingkage231, Luna Forest, B.Q., The Square, Aireonna, EshtarWind (I miss you too!), Shadeehue, dianalovely1995, LunarRose73, openwindow4, Takky-san, silent.peace, PurpleOnyx, Ariel32 (Yay for Nejiten!), jess (Thanks for the love!), Ishasuki Mitochi, Nightshadow Dweller, Dagirl14, inuyashaHELP, SnowCharms, and Sour Corn with Golden Marshmallows! You are the best reviewers a girl could ask for!