Disclaimer: Naruto and all Naruto related stuff is (c) Masashi Kishimoto. All OCs and original storyline/plot/imagination (c) of ME!!
A/N: First, let me say… I PROMISE this is a HAPPY story… nothing bad (i.e. death) is going to happen to Tenten or to the baby… this is all just plot development people (and every good story has to have some conflict… even fluff-stories… one-shots are different of course…). Second… wow… I made it through an entire chapter without a flashback… eek…
WARNING: Sorry I got sleepy midway through the fic… so not much happens… and you don't even know it, but it's a cliff-hanger in disguise…
THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!
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APPROACHING
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The village gates were clearly visible to Neji; who had managed to extend his Byakugan's field of vision over the years. They had been for some time now. In a manner of minutes, the party of seven would be entering the hidden leaf village.
Neji watched as Ryoku continued looking over at Tenten. It was clear that the intimidating man was just as eager to bring the girl home as Neji was.
For the five years the couple had spent away from the village, they had enjoyed a happy and peaceful life together. Tenten had remained her cheerful and optimistic self; looking at every obstacle as an opportunity to improve herself and the world around her.
When they couldn't find a place that the Hyuga eyes could go unnoticed, it had been Tenten who never gave up trying to find another town. When they were left without a home to call their own, Tenten had been the one to suggest rebuilding the dilapidated house at the outskirts of the town. When they had been penniless, and without any experience or training outside of their ninja careers, it had been Tenten who suggested they build a dojo along side their new house.
She was a fighter; never giving up. An indomitable spirit that could not see defeat.
To Neji, she was the reason for his existence; the sunlight in his gloomy life. She was his everything.
She never allowed anything to get her down; to break her spirit.
But no one could be happy all the time.
As indomitable a kunoichi as Tenten was, she was still only human; and from time to time, she could be consumed by the fears and anxieties that all mortals possess. On many occasions Neji had awoken in the middle of the night to the stifled sobs of his beloved wife.
As happy as he knew Tenten was living in the peaceful village of Tokuhogo (1), with the small family they had created, Neji understood that she missed Konoha. But it pained him to see her hurt so much; worst of all, was when the nightmares would come.
But all that would finally be ending.
As he looked out into the approaching horizon, Neji spotted the large protective gates of the village.
"Neji-kun." The Hyuga turned to the owner of the voice that called him.
Taking in the sleeping form of his younger son on Lee's back, Neji nodded his head to acknowledge he had heard the spandex wearing jounin.
It was interesting to see Lee carrying Hitori. A part of Neji hadn't been too thrilled about the idea; Lee was, after all, incredibly rash and might abruptly decide to start running toward the village at lightning-speed, and that couldn't possibly be good for a child. (2) But after some insistence from his bowl-headed friend, Neji reluctantly accepted.
Hitori, for his part, had seemed to take a liking to the two peculiar men; but especially Lee. Instead of being frightened by the loud ranting of youth and self-imposed punishments, the young boy had become mesmerized by the two men's excited enthusiasm and positive personalities. Neji was glad his normally shy and fretful son had been enthralled by the fearless spirit of those two, but at the same time, Neji was a little apprehensive of the prospects of one day seeing his son clad in green spandex.
"…" Neji shuttered at the thought as he watched his sleeping son's little hands grasp tighter onto Lee's vest. "Yes Lee?" he replied to the aforementioned shinobi.
"We'll be reaching the main gates soon." Lee stated.
Neji nodded; he could see that.
"Everyone will be very glad to see you and Tenten return to the village." Lee cheerfully exclaimed. "And Hitori-kun and Ryuuken-kun as well." He added.
"Hn." Neji allowed a small smile to rise on his face at the thought.
The last time Neji had seen any of their friends, was on the night in which he and Tenten escaped from the village; never knowing if they would ever see them again. Now he wondered how much they too had changed over the years.
It dawned on Neji, as they continued walking toward the village, that Lee and Gai had been the only ones asking questions throughout their trip. Not once had Tenten or he asked about what had occurred during their absence from the village. Sure, they knew what had occurred with the three daimyo's, but as far as how the rest of their friends had faired the last five years, Neji had no idea.
Had Shikamaru been reprimanded for allowing Neji to escape? What's more, it had presumably been under the indirect order of Tenten's godfather, Oushi, that Shikamaru had allowed for Neji to escape. What had occurred to them?
While it was unlikely that they, or anyone else in the village, had been punished for aiding Neji and Tenten's escape, (especially given the fact that Tsunade herself had been secretly assisting in their flight as well), just the same, Neji wondered how their friends had been all this time now.
Had Naruto gotten any closer to becoming Hokage? Did he ever win over the pink-haired kunoichi? What about Hinata? Had she moved on from her infatuation with the blond loudmouth? Did Kiba ever manage to gather enough courage to confess that he cared about the shy heiress? And what about his uncle Hiashi? How had he faired under the pressure of the Hyuga elders?
Five years was a long time; surely many things must have changed in the course of those years. Neji wondered just how much though.
"They will all certainly be surprised." Lee continued; referring to other's being surprised about Hitori and Ryuuken of course.
"Hn." Neji shook his head incredulously.
Given that Neji and Tenten had been gone for five years; running from the village to elope, it was only natural that the two would have started a family in that time. No, Neji was certain only Lee and Gai could have possibly been surprised by such an occurrence. Ryoku hadn't, of course, been surprised when the twin boys walked out into the living room and first met the trio. Neji knew that Ryoku had been momentarily stunned at being confronted with the reality that his darling little girl was in fact a grown woman with children of her own; but he had not been entirely surprised.
"Ryoku-sama mentioned no one was informed of the mission upon your departure from the village." Neji observed; knowing that, in fact, it would be a surprise for all of them when Neji and Tenten finally returned.
"That is correct." Lee nodded. "As we already informed you, this is not the first attempt at finding the two of you. You both hid very well."
"hn." Neji nodded; of course he knew how well they had hidden.
"We didn't want to get everyone's hopes up this time." Lee explained. "So no one was told what our mission was."
"…" Neji nodded again. It made sense.
"Oh!" Lee exclaimed. "I can see the gates." He cheerfully beamed at the Hyuga prodigy.
.:.:.:.:.:.Tenten's POV:.:.:.:.:.:.
"Tenten-san!" Lee turned back to face the kunoichi; clearing wanting her to join in his excitement of seeing the village gates.
"I see it Lee." Tenten smiled softly.
She had missed Lee's enthusiasm. He had had a way of celebrating other people's joys almost as much, if not more so, than the people themselves. She had always loved that about him.
"Hey…" Tenten furrowed her brow as she stared questioningly at the sight before her. "How come the gates are closed?" She worriedly asked, as the group came closer to the main entrance.
Never in her life, absent some danger or battle on the other side, had Tenten ever seen the main gates of Konoha closed. But as she at last stood within yards of the place she'd called home, the first thing she saw was the large hiragana あん painted on both gates. (3) She wondered if perhaps something were wrong.
"Nothing's wrong." Ryoku answered the kunoichi's unspoken question.
Stepping ahead of her, Ryoku walked over to where the two gates stood. With Gai at the other door, the two ferociously powerful men began slowly pulling apart the heavy doors.
Though she had always known both men to possess unhuman strength, Tenten never would have believed they've be capable of opening doors that built to keep armies at bay. The main gates were designed to only open from within the village, using a mechanism of pulleys; no normal human could ever hope to open them bare handed; much less from the outside. But then again, neither man was exactly what one would call 'normal.'
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TBC
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FOOTNOTES:
(1) Tokuhogo is the village they were living in.
(2) for you Shadeehue… you're right… Neji would be a little freaked to have Lee of all people carrying his kid…
(3) Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary; basically a word that has no kanji. In this case, the word painted on the gates is hermitage, or retreat.
A/N: Sorry, it turned out into a complete filler… I was going to write more, but… amazingly enough, I got sleepy… and it's like 9pm… that's like… counts … 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …6! hours earlier than I've fallen sleep in recent months… heck, I can't remember the last time I felt sleepy at 9pm… wow… I promise, I will write another chapter very soon (what I intended to finish here).
I promise to read all reviews, pms, emails, and story updates (in that order) tomorrow… bed now…also sorry if there's typos... i edit as i read, but usually do a final read-through usually... this time, too tired to do that... so... let me know (in as nice a way as possible please), if there are any GLARING mistakes in this piece and I'll be sure to fix it (just kind of pinpoint a location for me please XP)