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: Enjoy a little look at Neji's paranoia. ;) Dedicated to all of you who are sticking with me on this Nejiten fanfiction ride.

Upload Date: 8/25/08

Recap from Chapter 7

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.

Chapter 8: Dreaming?

Neji's mind had been playing tricks on him. Fabricating a tale of a damsel in distress – a beautiful and vulnerable woman hidden behind an impenetrable façade in need of being saved. His body already longed for her touch – there was no need for his heart to cry out for hers as well.

And yet, despite the inexplicability that he could enter her (or anyone's) dreams in his little energy containment field, he couldn't shake the feeling that what he had seen had been real. But just a feeling wasn't good enough. There had to be some way to prove it one way or the other.

"Tenten" did not seem like a common name. If he could search the Internet, try to find out whether what she had said about her family had been true… well, he would cross that bridge when he came to it. So he typed in "Tenten" as the initial search hoping that he'd remembered correctly and that she had not been given an alias. The first hit he got was of a Dr. Shi Tenten and included a picture. The photo was small and she appeared slightly younger, but it was her. The actual page contained an article from a local paper, presumably one from her hometown:

"Dr. Shi Tenten has made a name for herself in the scientific community in the fields of biophysics and biopsychology. Graduating at the top of her class, she has been recruited to join Hyuuga Laboratories as a research scientist. She cites the influence of her chemist parents who had died in a tragic accident years ago and the great Dr. Tsunade as her main inspiration for going into research. But this young woman's passion is not only limited to science – she is also well known in martial arts circles as an expert in kendo and regularly participates in regional and national competitions. When asked about the romance department, the beautiful doctor slyly states that she sees no need for a relationship when her life is already so interesting. "

Beautiful, indeed. So she wasn't just any girl off the street. He should have guessed after their initial confrontation that she was something more. Now that he thought about it, the absence of fear in their earlier meeting could be attributed to her having a proficiency in martial arts. But a scientist? And one that worked for his uncle? He didn't know what would have been worse. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel some sense of satisfaction in knowing that at least at the time of the article, his "dream" girl was single. His uncle was definitely playing dirty.

And his dream… It had to be more than a coincidence that she had parents who were chemists that had died in an accident, right? Maybe it was just that… a coincidence. Or were they testing some sort of drug on him? His body had been reacting strangely lately – ever since he had met her. He sniffed the air thoughtfully. There were no unusual scents, but many gases could be odorless. Maybe they had been tampering with his food or drink? But even if they did it wouldn't have affected the content of his dreams, would it? Was there some sort of subliminal recording being played while he slept?

He couldn't trust himself anymore.

It was bad enough that he was imprisoned with little contact from the outside world, but now he felt that he wasn't even safe in his own mind. While he couldn't stop breathing, for the next several days, he managed to avoid eating a single bite of the food provided to him. While he did drink small amounts of water (during his shower), he had gone on a severe fast. The bed lay untouched as Neji opted to remain in an uncomfortable position in the corner of the room, only dozing off randomly when he couldn't keep himself awake.

He couldn't stop thinking of her. What was wrong with him?

It was after about a week of this self-induced starvation, that he drowsily opened his eyes to see the woman who had been haunting his thoughts. She crouched next to his huddled form looking at him critically, fingers grazing the undersides of his eyes and his now gaunt cheeks. "What have you done to yourself, Nejj-san?" he overheard her whisper to herself.

Was he dreaming again?

Her touch moved from his face, to his shoulder then his elbow and his hand. Lithe fingers intertwined with his own and pulled him temptingly towards the direction of the bed.

"Come. Rest with me."

He obeyed the sweet sounding invitation. Why should he try to avoid a dream within a dream? Slowly, he moved his weak limbs forward leaning on her for support. He lay on the bed and soon felt the sheets being pulled up over him and the feel of her slipping under them beside him. An arm encircled his waist in a half hug and the other moved above his head where the attached hand and fingers stroked his head in a calming manner. A warm sensation spread throughout his limbs and he turned towards her wrapping his arms around her and resting his head gently against her breast. He breathed in her scent with a sigh. She stiffened slightly, but only a second before the hand on his back started rubbing soothing circles.

He tried to open his eyes – to indulge in his mind's representation of her beauty, but his eyelids refused to lift. He contented himself with reveling in his other senses. The sensual combination of jasmine and vanilla the seemed to surround her, the softness of her skin, the silkiness of her hair, gentleness and warmth of her touch.

When she brought her lips to his earlobe, he shivered as he had never before. "Sleep, Neji," she whispered.

Every syllable that escaped her lips was a delight to his ears.

And, as he listened to her steady heartbeat and felt her chest rise and fall as she breathed, he let himself sleep more deeply than he had in a while.

Note to Readers: Thanks for everyone who reviewed, favorite-d or alert-ed. :) Thank you especially to Chigiri Sasaki, dreaming.sapphire, whitephoenix13, animefreakoO, Shadeehue, twighlight16, Lyris88, Sour Corn With Golden Marshmallows, The Sound Of Thunder, Aireonna, Dagirl14, EshtarWind (Eshtar-chan!), BlueHeavensAngel, writingkage231, SnowCharms, and last but not least xmarachanx!