I apologise sincerely for the long delay, which why I made this an extra long chapter. It beat the first chapter for the rank of longest chapter to date.
I have a feeling that the following chapters will have long breaks between posting, due to my starting university in the fall and the fact that my awesome beta and I will have much more difficulty communicating when we no longer attend the same school. But rest assured that eventually it will end.
This chapter was written while working at the Calgary Stampede and while listening to If I Fail by Cartel.
Enjoy.
Tenten found an invitation addressed to her on her table when she returned that evening, worn out after a long mission. Gai-sensei had probably placed it there in hopes that she would see it.
The Hyuuga Family
Request the honour of your presence
At the marriage of
Hanako Sugi
and
Neji Hyuuga
On May 10th
At four in the afternoon
The Hyuuga Compound.
She set the invitation back down on the table and sat down hard in a chair. Her hands went up to cup her head. Hanako had probably sent this; Neji had not spoken to her at all since they had last seen each other.
She'd always planned to go, but now she wondered if perhaps she ought to decline. But she'd go, because she shouldn't break a promise, even if it broke her. She grabbed a sheet of paper and penned out a reply.
"Might you be Tenten-san?" Someone asked her as she sat at her desk, writing out yet another missions report.
"Yes," she replied her gaze still focused on her work.
"Tsunade-sama requests your presence." That caught her attention and she looked up to see a new ANBU member, a young man with dark hair and wide eyes. He'd obviously been given the duty of passing out messages.
"I'll go at once," she replied and headed off to see the Hokage.
She entered into the Godaime's office to see Team Four sitting down on the benches carefully placed inside the office. Neji was sitting there looking calm and collected, while Lee was talking enthusiastically about his training with Sakura. Megumi in the meantime was leaning slightly in her chair, looking quite bored.
This was the first time she'd actually seen the girl who had replaced her. Megumi was a tall woman with long black hair and huge dark eyes. Her curves, full lips and well-developed chest demonstrated just why she'd specialised in seduction and interrogation.
All three turned to face her as she walked in. "Panda-chan!" Lee exclaimed. "It's been a long time."
"It has been a long time. Godaime-sama, Neji, Lee, Fuwa-san." Tsunade-sama was currently resting her chin on her folded hands, her eyes slit like as she surveyed the four of them.
"I have a B-rank mission for the four of you. It will simply be an escort mission." Tenten took this opportunity to remove her mask.
"But Tenten-san…" Lee began.
"I am aware that Tenten-san is now part of ANBU, however I feel that she is a key piece to this mission and your previous team record proves this to be a successful match-up."
"Are there any more details, Hokage-sama?" Neji asked.
"The man you will be escorting is the son of the daimyo of the Land of Waterfall, Daisuke Ito. Due to certain conflicts with Grass and Rain he has asked for protection while he attends a meeting that the three lands are hosting in an effort for peace. It is known for a fact that the Land of Wind and Earth will be sending representatives to observe this treaty."
"I see," Neji replied. "Is this all?"
"The Team Leader will be Tenten-san, with Neji-san as Co-Leader. That is all, if I may have a word alone with Tenten-san and Megumi-san?"
Tenten gave a curt nod and Megumi simply remained where she was watching as her two male teammates exited the room.
"Megumi-san I am sorry, but you will be required to teach your genjutsu technique to Tenten-san who will need it for an S-rank mission."
Megumi had opened her mouth as if she were about to protest but had rapidly closed it when Tsunade-sama sent her a hard look.
"That is all Megumi-san, you may join the rest of your team outside," Tsunade-sama added. Once the door was closed, the Hokage continued. "Tenten-san the original mission is simply a cover mission to disguise a secondary and more important mission. It will be an S-rank assassination mission. Megumi-san's genjutsu technique will allow you to get close to your target.
Your target is Takeshi Sakamoto. He is the representative from the Land of Earth. Takeshi is the head of intelligence in Iwagakure and he is directly responsible for the death of Minoru Yamada."
"So I am simply to assassinate him?"
"Yes, without making Konoha seem responsible. I don't need another war with Iwagakure. Relations are already strained enough."
"I'll do my best, Tsunade-sama." Tenten left then and was almost amused to find the others waiting for her. Though it seemed Megumi had only remained because Lee and Neji had forced her to.
"We'll meet at the Gate tomorrow morning. I'll bring Ito-sama, and then we can set off. Any questions?"
"None, Panda-chan!" Lee enthusiastically nodded with a huge grin on his face.
Megumi shot the green clothed man a look before saying. "When do you want to start training? Since you have no genjutsu skill this will probably take a while."
It was obvious that Megumi was displeased and trying to start a fight. "I'll see you tomorrow, Neji, Lee. Fuwa-san how about we start on training now? I've nothing to do and there's no time like the present, right?"
"I'm sorry," Megumi said insincerely, "I have plans."
"Oh that's a shame. Well you better be off," Tenten replied with a false smile. "Plans to go seduce some poor shinobi into getting you in ANBU no doubt," Tenten added in an undertone when she was sure Megumi could no longer hear her.
Tenten turned around to find Neji right behind her, watching with an amused smirk. When he realised that Tenten had caught him, he schooled his face into a more neutral look. "What did Hokage-sama have to say?"
"Classified."
"Will it interfere with the mission?"
"If you needed to know, I'd tell you. I can handle it."
They walked down the hallway slowly, the soft sounds of footsteps echoing as they walked before Neji finally spoke. "Did you get the invitation?"
"You know for a fact that I did," Tenten responded. She'd noticed that her window had been open proving that Neji had been the one to deliver the invitation.
There was an awkward pause. "In any case I have to return to the Hyuuga Compound…" He began to walk towards the exit.
"I…" he turned to face her. "I'll see you tomorrow," she finished lamely.
He raised his hand in acknowledgement and then continued to walk away. He didn't turn around.
When Tenten finally arrived at the Gate, with Ito-sama in tow. She was not at all surprised to see that Team Four was one person short. Megumi appeared over an hour later looking as if she had just rolled out of bed. A quick search of her pack revealed that the majority of it was taken up with clothing and make-up.
"Megumi-san, this is not a seduction mission! You have fifteen minutes to go and repack." It took Megumi several tries before she clued into the concept of 'more weapons, less make-up.'
As a result they left over two hours behind schedule which ended with them camping in the wilderness as opposed to sleeping in a decent bed, which would have happened had they left on time. Ito-sama had accepted it with good cheer while Megumi complained loudly. "How can you expect me to sleep on the ground? My hair will get dirty!" Megumi wailed.
That was when Tenten snapped. "Megumi-san, are you or are you not a shinobi of Konohagakure?"
"Of course I'm a shinobi of Konoha. My family has lived there for generations!" Megumi bristled at Tenten's question.
"Act like it then," Tenten added cruelly. "This is nothing compared to ANBU missions." A few examples leaped to mind but she didn't elaborate. "And this horrible complaining would be why you've been passed over twice for ANBU." With that said, Tenten returned to setting up the tents.
She'd only brought two tents, and she hadn't expected to use them till the trip home when Ito-sama would no longer be with them. As a result, she'd given up her tent for Ito-sama, which was proper procedure. The other tent was for Neji and Lee.
Megumi had ceased complaining and had become quite sullen after Tenten's harsh words. After a brief meal, Tenten finally approached Megumi. "Are you ready to start training?"
Megumi looked as if she wanted to be spiteful and say no, but she didn't. "Fine… the seals are the easiest part of this jutsu. It's the concentration and detail that are tricky. The seals are…"
Megumi proved to be a good teacher, and soon Tenten was able to produce vague feelings of familiarity. "Not bad for your first time," Megumi complimented her. "The hardest part is controlling the 'depth' of the familiarity and keeping control of it when you have a large amount of people under the jutsu."
"I see…" Tenten murmured. "Thank you for your time."
An hour or so after Tenten had started the second watch, she heard someone exit one of the tents. To her surprise it was Lee rather than Neji. "What are you doing up?" she whispered. "Neji hasn't even kept watch yet."
"I wanted to talk to you about Neji-kun." There was a serious look on his face.
"What about him?" she replied, turning to verify that Megumi was indeed asleep.
"I've known for a while about you and him, since the mission in the Land of Earth. I told no one but I want to know why…" Lee continued.
"It doesn't matter," she replied hopelessly. "He's engaged and this more than anything is his chance to change the Hyuuga."
Tenten didn't like the way Lee was looking at her, for someone who was so loud and oblivious and green and youthful he looked at her as if he could see everything. "It seems to me that if he's willing to give that chance up, you should accept it."
"Don't say that!" the words came out harsher than she had intended. "This is something he wants more than anything."
"What about what you want?" Lee asked. "You can't have both, you can't have Neji but not have him. You love him and he loves you. Neji's willing to give it up for you, but you can't accept that and so you both keep staying in this circle of unhappiness, knowing that this can only end badly, because it always does."
"We can't all be like you Lee," she replied. "We're not all full of determination and youth and optimism. Sometimes we stumble and fall, and sometimes no matter what we have to give up, we have to break our promises."
Lee was silent, as if thinking about what she'd said. He'd grown since their youth but he was still very much like Gai-sensei. But now he knew when to be serious, he knew when to be thoughtful.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Tenten added, wishing that she had her ANBU mask for once.
The next morning, Lee acted as if they'd never had that conversation last night. In fact he was even more over the top than usual, which drove Megumi insane.
"I swear if that bushy-browed, spandex-wearing man comes anywhere near me, this Team will officially be short one person!" Megumi warned Tenten.
"I'll try my best," Tenten smiled genuinely. She'd almost forgotten how grating Lee's eccentric behaviour could be for people who weren't used to him.
They arrived at Kusagakure, the shinobi village of the Land of Grass, late that evening. The thought between the meeting of the three countries was to peaceably resolve certain conflicts, among them their relations with the Five Great Shinobi Lands as well as the general dissent between Rain and Waterfall after the last Great War. Grass, fearing that it would turn to War with it being stuck in the middle.
However Waterfall was still wary of Grass, as Kusagakure had sided with the Land of Earth in the last Great War.
That night was the welcoming ceremony, it was full of speeches and general chatter. Despite the fact that there were too many guards watching attentively for any sign of attack for Tenten's comfort. Megumi had been chosen as the close guard and she was living it up, dangling off Ito-sama's arm as she laughed and chatted with foreign dignitaries.
While Neji and Lee kept their attention on Ito-sama, Tenten scouted the room for Sakamoto. He was not hard to find, as he was dressed in outlandishly gaudy clothes. He was also not in popular demand, as he was rather reclusive and tended to remain in Iwagakure.
Turning to cover her hands in her kimono, she hurried through the jutsu that Megumi had taught her and prayed that it worked. She was not very good at it, as she was not a genjutsu type but it was passable. Clearing her throat she settled her shoulders and drew herself up taller.
She was supposed to do her best to blend in and approach her target. She walked as a noble lady might do so, she made sure to walk with noise because if she walked silently she might as well hold up a sign that said 'Shinobi in disguise right here!'
Finally she walked right past Sakamoto who turned to look at her. She silently prayed that the jutsu was working. "Excuse me," he called out. "Don't I know you?" She knew that it was.
"Oh Sakamoto-sama, I'm offended that you've forgotten me already," Tenten replied coyly. "Ren Takuma. We've met before at the Tsuchikage's dinner."
"I am quite ashamed to have forgotten such a beautiful name. Please just call me Takeshi." He raised her fingers to his lips.
"Well then Takeshi-san, would you mind if I joined you this evening? My escort appears to have run off."
He gracefully invited her to sit at his table, and they casually flirted through out the evening. He never seemed to question why a young twenty-year-old woman could be so interested in an old man like him. Finally the evening drew to a close and Sakamoto invited her back to his rooms.
This was the chance she had been waiting for, to see his room. They passed his guard on the way in, a bulky young man who looked as if he could easily break any threat posed to his master in two. She smiled politely at him but he remained impassive.
Once inside the room, Tenten took her chance to observe everything, figuring out possible escape routes and how to make it appear as if she were not involved. She excused herself to use the washroom and took her time to observe his guard's room. There something off about the bottom of the small box that housed his guard's belongings.
There was a false bottom she realised, and she carefully removed it to see what lay underneath. Sakamoto's guard was none other than a member of the Souen Family, a family who despised Sakamoto's methods of intelligence because he had had one of their sons killed as a traitor simply because he dared to speak out against him.
This was exactly what she'd been looking for someone to blame the murder on, someone who had a reason to kill Sakamoto. In fact… she knew she would have to kill the guard too, and make it appear as if he had committed suicide. She replaced everything exactly as it had been and hurried back to see Sakamoto.
His flirting quickly turned to touches, with his hand rubbing up and down her thigh. The sake smelled foul on his breath and she suspected that even if he hadn't had anything to drink his breath would still smell foul.
Then he lifted her hand to his lips, and as his lips traced their way up her arm she shuddered but he mistook it for a shiver of pleasure. Her mind somehow seemed to detach from what was happening to her. Then his lips tried to coax her lips into action, reluctantly she let him.
His tongue probed hers into play and when she responded she began to forget that this was actually a mission, that he was not actually Neji who loved her but and old man who only hours before had been a stranger.
Then suddenly he pulled away, having heard the door open. His guard had come in to inform him that someone wished to speak with him. She gasped in realisation and felt horribly sick and repulsed. She's been imagining this old man who she was supposed to kill, as Neji.
Remembering she was still on the mission she tried to compose herself. "Takeshi my dear, I'm sorry but I must bid you goodnight my maid will certainly be wondering where I have gone to. Perhaps we can continue… this interesting development some other time?"
"Yes, yes," Sakamoto agreed absent-mindedly and Tenten left quickly.
Once she returned back to the broom closet that was the room she shared with Megumi she wasn't surprised to find that Megumi had yet to return, she was however surprised to find that Neji sat on her bed as if waiting for her.
"Who's with Ito-sama?" she asked, concerned because Neji was supposed to be with him.
"Lee and Megumi," Neji answered quietly. He stepped towards her and unconsciously she shied away. "What's wrong?" he seemed concerned and slightly confused.
"N-Nothing," she stuttered slightly. The look he sent her was questioning but he didn't press it. This time when he opened his arms, she allowed him to embrace her. She held herself stiff, unwilling to relax into his arms.
"Who was that man you were talking to?"
Inwardly she winced, of course he would have noticed everything she did. "That was Takeshi Sakamoto-sama from Iwagakure."
"From Iwagakure?" Neji's voice remained level but she could tell he was surprised. "What are you doing with him?" His brows narrowed in concern.
"Its part of my mission," she told him drawing herself up to her full height. "It doesn't concern you," She told him in her best ANBU voice.
"What is it? Why won't you let me help?" Neji whispered heatedly.
"You want to help me seduce him and then murder him?" she asked cruelly. "This isn't something you can help with." As the words flew out of her mouth she began to regret them. "I'm sorry," she added hastily, "it's not like I want to kiss him I only want…"
"To complete your mission, I know," Neji finished for her.
She nodded even though that had not been what she'd been about to say. She'd been about to say that she only wanted to kiss him. His finger brushed over her lips before he leaned down about to press his lips to hers when she whispered, "Don't. Kiss the cheek because I can't kiss you anymore."
The expression of hesitation and betrayal that crossed his face and the feeling of his lips pressed to her cheek remained with her even after Megumi stumbled in, limping slightly about an hour later.