Chapter 5: Fifth day

* Thursday

" I opened my eyes with difficulty, but the light around made me close them again. I took a slow breath and the smell of medicine invaded my lungs. I couldn't understand, I just forced my eyes to stay open, getting used to the exaggerate lights.

I didn't recognize the place at first. I tried to get up but my eyes were still hurting I couldn't see properly and my arm was stuck in something. I looked to my right and saw the needle connected in my vein. I was in a hospital.

As a strong punch in my face, the memories started running in my mind. The fight, Lee's wounds, Gai screaming my name and...

' Neji!' – i took the needle harshly from my arm. I needed to see him,I had to.

This day was particularly cold. It was probably the fear tattooed inside of me, but I preferred to believe that it was just the weather.

I had a bad night, just like the others before. The sun was starting to go up, but my muscles were paralyzed. I was still in bed and made a secure cocoon with my sheets and had no intention of getting out of that. Getting out of my bed today meant facing Neji and, much more than that, meant facing myself again.

No matter how much I said no, how much I had said no… all the rest yelled YES! It wasn't new for me that seeing Neji was necessary to keep me up, but I'm not sure if training with him was a good idea.

Yes or no… I said yes. The thought of training again could be scary, but the thought of not seeing Neji was even more. That made me get up and filled me with courage to face those weapons, the training field and my obvious fail.

Differently from the last time I came here, the training field was back to his old form. Free from the high grass and that dark appearance.

My old place of refuge was more beautiful and able to bring me back some cleaner memories in a way that didn't hurt, in a way that made me believe the Weapons Mistress may still be alive here inside.

" It's better, isn't it?" – i was drowning in my own thoughts that didn't realized it was missing Neji there.

I turned around to look at him and he was calm, sitting under one of the many trees in there.

" Well, I prefer this way. I didn't like when I came and saw all that high grass." – the end of his sentence came with a sarcastic laugh.

" It wasn't funny,Neji." – and I wasn't at all. It was amazing the way he could put irony in this situation. As if he could had actually seen the grass there. – "Who did this?"

" What do you mean with 'who did this?' "– he got up and came in my direction.

One of the things the blindness had never ruined was Neji's sense of direction. Paying attention to any sound around he knew exactly where each person was.

"I did!" – he said playing funny.

" You?" - I didn't want to be rude or anything, but I guess I'm not the only one who would have this reaction.

" I lost the vision, Tenten, not my arms." – his voice was strong, as if he had said the obvious.

I stayed in silence, not knowing what to say next. I wasn't used to Neji's condition as he seemed to be. I've always been the first to give him limits because of a blindness he seemed not to have.

" Lee was here. Sorry, I couldn't help. I wanted to 'see'…" – he made quotation marks with his fingers when pronounced the word – "…your reaction if I had really had done all of this all by myself."

Jerk. Neji had always enjoyed playing with people's emotions. This is something that would never change. No matter what, I think this is the only habit he would never leave.

" Did you call him here?" – I asked him, ignoring his last sentence. I think I've been ridiculous enough for one day.

" Not really. It was a coincidence."

Silence.

I was staring at him. Once in a while i forgot how to speak when i stared at him. He was walking back to the tree he was close to when I arrived.

" Tenten…" - he called my name, stopping half-way to the tree. It felt so good listening to my name in his voice again. It was an amazing sensation, I have no words to describe.

" What? " – and without any previous warn, Neji turned his body around in my direction, throwing a kunai.

Everything happened so fast that I had no chance even to blink. My eyes were wide open and my mouth dried because of the surprise. The cold I felt earlier in the morning became stronger, going from my toes until my the top of my head.

The kunai passed close to my face and I just realized it had touched me when I felt a thin drop of my hot blood on my extremely cold cheek.

"Neji… "- it was the most I could say, weakly.

" If i really had tried to kill you, Tenten, you'd be dead now. Why didn't you push off?" – his voice was severe.

My heart started beating faster and the temperature of my body was almost as hot as my blood's.

He couldn't have had done that. Testing me. He knows I can't do that anymore. I closed my hands tightly. I wanted to cry hard.

" Why did you do that?"

" Didn't like it?" – his voice filled with scorn.

" Why did you do that?" I insisted, waiting for a good answer.

The calm atmosphere i felt when i arrived went away and I got a bit worried. Since when Neji was teasing me like that? What's with this anger growing inside of me?

"Didn't like it... Weapons Mistress?" – i could almost touch the scorn in his voice, just as the anger here inside of me. " Come on, Amazing Weapons Mistress, do what you have to do. Attack me! Stop being a coward!"

" Shut up!" – moved by pure anger, i moved forward Neji. At that moment I was as blind as him.

I attacked him randomly, trying to be free from all that wrath. Neji was defending himself, he could easily avoid my thrusts. Maybe he wouldn't do it so well if he could see now. And no matter how incredible that was, was not enough to make me stop and admire him.

I attacked him with all I had, by all the ways I could. I was frustrated and tired, and that was the moment when I felt him stop only defending and attack me. I stopped instantly and went some steps back, getting some distance from him.

It was hard for me to breath, I couldn't understand. Neji had had closed two of my chakra points and … without the Byakugan.

"How? "– I asked more to myself than to him.

"Did you forget my Byakugan, Tenten?"

"What?" – my eyes, that were looking for an answer on the ground, ran to his face. He must be making fun of me again.

"No way,Neji! It's impossible! You're blind. BLIND!" – i yelled him these words.

That was the first time I spoke so clearly about Neji's condition. Actually, I don't remember saying them out loud not even once. It scared me a bit.

I put my hands on my mouth, as if it could take back the words I had already said.

I took my look away from him and faced the ground, trying to comfort myself there.

" You're right. But I can listen, Tenten." – listen? LISTEN? What does he mean with "listen"?

My attention went back to him, I was waiting for him to continue.

"Your chakra… I can perfectly listen to it running through all your body."

I was shocked. Was it possible? No, no way.

"Impossible!" – i yelled again.

"Your blood and your chakra run in different ways. Each one's pulsation is different. If I concentrate I can feel the difference…. Your chakra runs much faster and stronger than your blood, no matter if your heart is beating fast or slow. With a part of my chakra in my ears, my audition gets even better. But even without this, I can listen to it." – in his voice this process sounded very simple, even though I knew it wasn't.

" Knowing the ways my chakra takes is not enough to find out where my chakra points are! "– I still could not believe. That was too much.

" You'd be right if i didn't know about it or if the pulsation wasn't stronger in the chakra points. Truth be told: it's not that hard to find your chakra points."

" Is it not?" –I asked, curious. Was I so pathetic that even something I didn't need efforts to hide wasn't hiden anymore?

" No, it's not. I know each one of the chakra points in your body, Tenten. I could make a map if I wanted to. I have everything right here in my memory." – once again, Neji stole my speech. That was too much.

I was still lost in my thoughts when Neji got closer to me. He stopped just some centimeters away.

" Take it. "– he gave me a kunai and waited for me to do what he had told me to.- " Somebody has to mark the targets again."

" I can't, Neji." – i put my already sweat and shaking hands behing my body, hiding them. How could he ask me something like that? He should be the one who wanted me far from weapons the most. My voice was weak and I thought I'd lost it at that moment.

" What do you mean? "– he asked, getting even closer. – "I just closed two of your chakra points, Tenten. Don't come telling me you can't hit a simple target."

" Don't you understand?" – I was angry now – "You should be the first person to understand, the first one to want me far from all of this. I can't, Neji. I'll hurt someone. I'll hurt YOU!" – i wasn't crying, my eyes weren't even humid, but I felt a huge need of crying right there.

" I can't." - I said almost in a whisper, turning around, giving him my back. I wish I could just disappear and forget everything.

" Come on, Tenten." – I felt his breath in my neck and closed my eyes,I was tired. – "You are the best one I know in it." – his hand came to mine and I felt the kunai he was putting there. The cold material made me shiver a bit. – "Now tell me: where's the target?"

" Right in front of me." – I said after opening my eyes, facing my nightmare.

" So, hit it." – he was still holding my hand while whispered these words in my ear.

I was looking straight to the target, but I couldn't move to obey Neji's order.

" I can't. Forgive me. There is no time for me anymore." – i said, failed.

I felt his hand hold the kunai tighter in mine and my arm be slowly lifted with his own.

" Don't worry… " - his hot breath was still in contact with my skin, giving me a delicious sensation, which made me really want to be able to do what Neji wanted me to do: hit the damn target.

" …I'll pause the time for you. " – I closed my eyes and took a breath as long as I could. Moving my arm with his, he threw the kunai.

I don't know if it was because Neji was so close or because he had really done what he said he would, but the time seemed not to be passing normally.

In slow motion, the wind made some leaves move and the kunai he threw was cutting the air softly. I felt Neji crawl his fingers to mine and wrap it, squeezing softly.

The kunai was perfectly on the center of the target.

That was the moment when I realized: i needed, desperately, go back to be the Weapons Mistress I once was.

To be Continued...