Please see first chapter for disclaimer, etc.
Prompt: Success
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Author's Note: The general idea for this has been floating around in my head ever since chapter 9, Choices, was completed. But I only got a complete idea for it the other day, and I've been really excited to get it finished and posted ever since then. I hope it doesn't disappoint, and thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting my story!
*~Success~*
Tenten had been truly honored when the Hokage had promoted her, giving her increasingly difficult missions that few other kunoichi in the village could accomplish. Her skills with weapons had not only earned her some of the hardest missions Konoha took care of, but a bigger paycheck that allowed her to finally move out of the broken-down apartment she'd lived in for most of her life. It was no Hyuuga compound, of course, but at least the water was warm and the windows stayed open without having to be propped up.
One downside to her new responsibilities was being away from home so often. It wasn't that she missed her new apartment's amenities - in fact, some of her missions even let her stay in spas or expensive inns on the village's tab - it was that she missed her friends. And, even more than that, her team. Especially Neji.
As she trudged through the gate into the village, feeling grimy and run-down and generally yucky, it occurred to her that she hadn't seen him for over a week. She'd only been gone on her mission for three days, but Neji was a jounin too, and a member of ANBU besides. He was called on missions as often as she, most of them just as if not more dangerous as hers. Neji had come to her apartment nine days ago, letting her know that he would be leaving on a mission the next day and wasn't sure when he would be coming back.
Her stomach had tightened, even more so than usual when she found out he was going on an ANBU mission. She knew there could be a day when he left and never came back, but he had always told her about them with a gleam of confidence in his eye. A glint that let her know he was confident in his abilities, that he was positive he'd be coming back home to her. But this time… This time was different. He didn't look scared - Hyuuga Neji was never scared - but he had seemed uncertain. She had asked him if it was a suicide mission, and the hesitation in his voice when he replied in the negative indicated his answer was a lie. She had never been more tempted to follow him, but had restrained herself.
Tenten wanted to go straight to the Hyuuga compound from the gate to see if he'd returned, but she restrained herself. For one thing, the Hokage would need her report, and for another, she didn't really want to go the estate looking as deplorable as she did at that moment.
Though not an ANBU herself, Tenten tended to enter Naruto's office through their traditional entrance: the window. The blond Uzumaki did not look up as she rounded his desk, but he did lift one hand in a half-wave, half-stalling motion to let her know he knew she was there. When at last he did look up, his expression was as harried as that of his predecessor, who was known to nip some sake when things got rough. Tenten knew for a fact that Tsunade's sake drawer had become Naruto's ramen drawer. At least one couldn't get drunk on ramen…
Falling to one knee in the traditional sign of respect, Tenten lifted her head to look up at Naruto. "The mission was completed with no additional casualties," she reported. "I made it in and out without being seen, and left no traces."
Looking pleased, Naruto nodded once. "Good job as always, Tenten." He arched one eyebrow at her, obviously noting the oddly-colored splotches of mud and blood on her clothes. "You're uninjured, I hope?"
"I had to make my way out of the danger zone via swamp," Tenten admitted. "The blood isn't mine."
Nodding again, Naruto opened the bottom right drawer of his desk without looking, withdrawing a container of instant ramen. "Good." Peeling the lid off of his mid-afternoon snack, the Hokage cleared his throat. "You - ah - might want to go shower now."
Apparently she wasn't the only one who thought she didn't smell the greatest. "Thank you," she said, inclining her head again. Naruto made a face and motioned for her to get to her feet. He was still getting used to everyone paying him such high respects every time they saw him. She went to the window, her traditional exit, but paused before climbing outside. "May I ask if Neji is back from his mission?" Usually she wouldn't ask, but … this situation was different. This mission was different.
"Hmm?" Naruto spun his desk chair around, giving her a puzzled look. "Oh, yeah." Returning his attention to his food, he gave her a less than interested wave goodbye.
Taking her cue, Tenten exited the Hokage tower and roof-hopped her way to her apartment building, now feeling much more at ease about life in general. She usually left her bedroom window open so she could enter that way, but when she left on missions, she locked everything up and entered through the lobby. Fortunately, several other ninja lived in the building, so she didn't get too many strange looks because of her appearance.
After closing the door behind her, Tenten opened a few windows to air the place out, then flipped casually through her mail as she headed for the shower. There was nothing too terribly interesting, so she tossed the lot of it on her bed to look at later and immersed herself in her shower, savoring the warm water that washed away the grime and eased the tense ache in her muscles. She could never fully relax after a mission until after she showered, since being clean again seemed like an official ending, even more so than visiting the Hokage's office.
Tenten remained under the spray until the water ran cold, then dressed and pulled her hair back into a ponytail at the base of her neck. She'd had to become used to wearing something other than her usual twin buns while undercover since they were such a signature look. Besides that, Tenten didn't like wearing her hair all the way down, even though Neji loved it that way. So they had compromised with the ponytail, which kept it out of her face, but still allowed him to run his fingers through it.
The route between her apartment and the Hyuuga compound wasn't as long as it used to be, but it still felt like longer than it should since she was so impatient to see him again. She hadn't asked Naruto if Neji was in the hospital, because in all honesty she didn't really want to know. If he were, she was sure to hear about it from Hinata, who was usually around somewhere close when Tenten stopped by.
However, instead of encountering the elder Hyuuga heiress, it was Hanabi who greeted Tenten at the gate. She stared at the older kunoichi with her pale eyes, standing in such a way that she blocked the entryway completely. "Hinata is in a meeting," she said sternly.
Tenten blinked, not used to hearing such a brusque tone from the youngest Hyuuga. "How much longer will she be?" she asked politely.
Hanabi shrugged, continuing to silently refuse to move.
Sighing inwardly, Tenten flicked a glance over the slightly shorter woman's shoulder. "What about Neji? Is he too busy to see me, too?" She hadn't meant to sound so snippy, but she was beginning to feel on-edge again.
Eyes narrowing, Hanabi started to open her mouth to reply. Before she could, Hinata appeared behind her sister, one hand resting on the girl's shoulder as she smiled tiredly at Tenten. "P-Please, c-come in." She guided Hanabi out of the way, stepping back with the same movement. "You should be at your l-lessons, Hanabi. G-Go."
Offering her sister a pout, Hanabi shot an unreadable look in Tenten's direction, then vanished into the extensive gardens. Hinata sighed once, then turned back to her friend. "I'm s-sorry. We've all b-been … slightly on e-edge l-lately."
"What happened?" Tenten resisted the urge to fist her hands into the fabric of her shirt.
Hinata tucked her hands into the wide sleeves of her white kimono, eyes very carefully avoiding Tenten's. "Th-There have b-been s-several changes m-made here recently," she explained.
The reappearance of Hinata's bad stutter let Tenten know the younger woman was under a great deal of stress. "Is it your father?" she asked softly. Neji had told her some time before that Hiashi's health had been shaky as of late, but hadn't seemed willing to speak of it again since.
"Y-Yes and n-no." The two women paused to slide off their shoes before entering the main house, and Hinata used the excuse of closing the door to keep from looking at Tenten again. "M-Maybe I should l-let N-Neji explain it to you." Her eyes drifted to the staircase briefly. "H-He's been asking f-for you since h-he woke up."
That did not sound good. "Woke up? Was he injured on his mission?"
"Mission?" This time Hinata stared in unabashed surprise at Tenten. "N-Neji hasn't b-been on a mission in almost t-two weeks."
He lied to me. Tenten's stomach twisted uncomfortably, and a sudden chill raised the fine hairs along the base of her neck. "Where is he?"
"In his room, upstairs." Looking guilty, Hinata quickly excused herself and hurried off down one of the many corridors that snaked their way through the house's labyrinthine layout.
Having been there often, Tenten knew the way. She forced herself not to rush up the narrow staircase that led to the branch families' rooms and suites, not wanting to disturb anyone else. Her heart fluttered anxiously in her chest as she reached out with shaking hands and knocked softly on Neji's door.
There were a few moments of silence on the other side before Neji's familiar baritone called out unwaveringly, "Come in."
Shoving open the door a little harder than she'd intended, Tenten hurried into the room and swept it with her anxious gaze. Fortunately, it didn't take long for her to spot Neji, who sat at his desk by the window, a pile of papers stacked before him and several books opened around them.
He turned to smile at her after she'd opened the door. "Tenten! You're home."
The anxious thump-thump-thump of her heart eased a bit. "You're okay," she breathed.
Neji turned back to his desk quickly, but not before she saw the guilt that flashed across his features. "How was your mission?"
"Fine." Striding across the room, Tenten grasped the back of his desk chair and spun him around forcibly. Keeping one hand on his chair, she braced the other on his desk and hovered her face close to his. "You lied to me, Neji! There was no mission!" Now Naruto's expression of confusion earlier made sense. She'd just thought he was hungry, but he'd known nothing about Neji's mission, because he hadn't assigned one.
Grasping her waist, Neji firmly guided her backwards as he stood up. Tenten always found that particular action of his unfair and annoying, since he was so much taller than she and knew how to use that to his advantage. "I'm sorry," he said softly, not removing his hands.
Tenten blinked. She hadn't been expecting an apology. She wasn't sure what exactly she had been expecting - perhaps a reason for why he'd lied? - but that was certainly not it. "What?"
"I didn't want to lie to you," he continued. Meeting her confused gaze with his own steady one, Neji shifted one hand from her waist to her shoulder. "Things have been changing so quickly lately. Lord Hiashi officially stepped down as clan leader eight days ago, naming Lady Hinata as his successor. She … implemented some changes. Risky changes. Not only was she going against the Elders' wishes, she needed someone to volunteer to try a very risky procedure. One that will change our clan forever. I seemed like the natural choice, but just in case something went wrong…" He trailed off, sighing heavily.
"I still don't understand," Tenten whispered.
Removing his hand from her waist, Neji twined his fingers with hers and lifted their joined hands. When they reached the knot holding his Leaf headband in place, he rested her fingers on it and withdrew. "Go on."
Tenten swallowed hard. Even though they'd spent so much time together, first as teammates, then as friends, and finally as something more, she could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she'd seen him without his headband. Swallowing hard, she forced her fumbling fingers to cooperate with her, undoing the knot and allowing his headband to loosen, then fall away to land on the floor between them. Neither attempted to catch it.
At first, her mind refused to comprehend what her eyes were seeing. She blinked twice, hard, but the image did not change. Shakily, she slid her hand from beneath his long hair and reached up to touch the smooth, cool, unmarked skin of his forehead. "Neji…?" This time she was blinking hard to keep the tears welling into her eyes at bay.
Even Neji's eyes seemed a little shinier than usual. "I'm free," he whispered. "Hinata discovered how to break the curse seal, how to remove it and its effects. One by one, everyone in the branch families is being released even as we speak."
She didn't even try to hold back her tears anymore. Allowing them to slide freely down her cheeks, she threw her arms around Neji's neck and clung to him, crying in relief against his neck. She tried to find something to say, but all she could do was chant his name over and over again, heart overflowing with the joy of knowing that, after all the years of pain he'd endured, Neji was finally free.
"There's still a lot of hurdles left to overcome between the branch families and the main house," Neji said into her hair. "But this is a start." He hesitated, and the long sigh he let out ruffled a few loose strands of hair by her ear. "Do you forgive me for lying to you, Tenten? I was afraid if I told you about what was happening and - and it failed…" He paused a beat before continuing, his voice a little shaky. "I didn't want you to get your hopes up."
Tenten sensed the words that Neji hadn't said, but didn't want to address them. Neji hadn't wanted her to put herself in danger to avenge him if the procedure hadn't worked and he'd died in the process of trying to gain his longed-for freedom. "You're alive, you're safe, and you're free," she whispered. "Everything was a success. How can I possibly stay mad at you in the face of all that?" Even if she wanted to, she couldn't. Not knowing what she knew now.
Neji's lips pressed against her temple, and she was sure she felt him smile. "Thank you, Tenten. But can you do me one favor?"
"Anything," she replied without hesitation.
"Marry me."
The whisper worked its way from her ears through her body with an excited shiver, ending at her suddenly pounding heart. "Yes, Neji." Oh, yes.
His chest rumbled against hers with a rare laugh of pure joy as he caught her lips with his. He was free. They were both free, at last.
*~The End~*
Author's Ending Notes: I've had this general idea in my head ever since I wrote Choices, way back in chapter 9. I touched on the idea of the beginnings of freedom for Neji in that piece, but even in its sequels, he still had his curse seal. I wanted to expand on that general idea in Success, though I took a different approach to it. Next up is a multi-part idea, to be tackled in three consecutive parts. I'm also really excited about that idea, the first part of which I hope to have up really soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this piece, and thank you so much for reading!