Please see first chapter for disclaimer, etc.
Prompt: Dark
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Author's Note: I've been working on this piece since all the way back at chapter 2. It's gone through several re-writes and even three separate plotlines to get to this finished product! I hope you all enjoy this piece, and thank you again for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting my story!
*~Dark~*
"I'm sorry, Tenten. It's just not possible."
"It's been two months!"
"And it will likely be more." Sighing, Sakura glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice. "Both Lady Tsunade and I have said, repeatedly, that it's not a good idea. But it's out of our hands. The Hyuuga have decided that the hospital isn't 'secure' enough, so they're taking him home later today. There's nothing more we can do about it."
Tenten flexed her hands into fists, clenching so hard her nails bit into her palms. "Is it that bad? What are they trying to hide?"
Sakura gazed at her with sympathetic green eyes, but otherwise her resolute expression did not change. "I want to help you, Tenten. I wish I could tell you, and Lee, and Gai-sensei, and everyone else who's come by to see him, what's going on. But I can't. Your only hope is talking the Hyuuga into letting you see him once he's at home, but that place is even more of a fortress than the hospital."
A cold knot settled into her stomach, making her regret her lukewarm lunch-on-the-run earlier. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"I don't know. But if you want my personal opinion?" Once more, Sakura swept the room with her sharp eyes before leaning over and lowering her voice, speaking so Tenten and only Tenten could hear her. "Once Neji goes into the Hyuuga compound ... I'm not sure we'll ever see him again."
Instinctively, Tenten's hand went to the pouch at her waist. Her fingers curled around the scroll inside, ready to yank it out and free the weapons it concealed.
The pink-haired med-nin's hand shot out, surprisingly strong fingers becoming an iron cuff around the brunette kunoichi's wrist. "I wouldn't be so hasty if I were you," she warned. "Stealth would serve you better, especially if you want to have even a prayer of seeing him again."
"Hmm." Tenten had always preferred the direct approach, but maybe her friend was right. "Or, I could try the direct approach..."
"What? You're not really...!"
Tenten shrugged. "Won't know till I try. I'll wait until tomorrow, though." Standing from the small table at which the two women had been sitting, she turned toward the door. "Thanks, Sakura."
As she walked away, the brunette heard the other woman murmur, "Good luck, Tenten. You'll need it."
I'm afraid I will, and lots of it.
Tenten had been to the Hyuuga compound only two times in her entire life. Neither had included her making it past the front gates.
It was beginning to look like this time would be the same. She was met with two stern-faced branch-family guards, cold pale eyes glaring at her intimidatingly as they blocked the gate. Their defensive stances and crossed arms indicated how unlikely it would be that she would actually gain entrance into the estate this time.
However, Sakura's wish for good luck yesterday had been granted. Hinata was close enough to hear Tenten's voice, and she came to open the gates to see why the kunoichi had come.
The moment she saw the heiress, Tenten knew this was her chance. "Please, Hinata. I need to see him."
Hinata hesitated, looking up at the guards. It was obvious she knew exactly who Tenten was talking about. "Tenten, I-I don't know i-if th-that's-"
"If it were Kiba or Shino, wouldn't you want to know?" She met the other woman's gaze unflinchingly, knowing that talking Hinata into letting her in was her best bet.
"I-I ... th-that's n-not fair, T-Tenten." Sighing, Hinata glanced over her shoulder and leaned a little closer, pulling her friend a little further away from the guards in the process. "F-Father isn't even l-letting me see h-him. I-I know that e-everyone else knows wh-what's wrong with h-him, but n-no one will t-tell me." She sighed. "B-But, if anyone has hope of s-slipping in, i-it's you." Leaning in so close Tenten felt the other girl's breath on her ear, she whispered, "I-I w-will d-distract the guards t-tonight at s-sunset. Y-You will h-have five minutes t-to get into th-the main house. N-Neji's room is upstairs."
Five minutes. That should, theoretically, give her plenty of time. Granted, this was the first time she had actually been inside the gates of the Hyuuga estate, but hopefully she would be able to figure things out as she went along. She'd just treat it like another mission. After all, half the time she didn't know the layout of where she was going then, either.
"Thank you, Hinata." Giving the heiress a quick, grateful hug, she left feeling a little better than she had when she'd come.
Maybe now she would finally get some answers. All she had to do was wait until sunset ... which felt like forever away. But she had waited this long. What was a few more hours?
Tenten crouched outside the wall of the Hyuuga estate, the last dying rays of sunlight slanted just right so she was hidden by the shadows. Granted, that wouldn't hide her from the Byakugan, but if Hinata came through on her end of the deal, she wouldn't have to worry about it.
Just as the very top curve of the sun vanished beneath the horizon, Tenten heard Hinata's voice. Hers, and that of the guards, were lowered, so she couldn't understand what was being said. But Hinata's louder, "Thank you," carried clearly to the brunette kunoichi's ears: the prearranged signal she'd been waiting for.
She waited a few more seconds, just to be safe, then launched herself over the wall. Her feet made just the lightest sound when she hit the ground, and she dropped straight into a crouch as she scanned the immediate area.
There was no one in sight.
Able to breathe easier now, she turned toward the house looming before her. It seemed rather intimidating, and she wondered how she was going to be able to get inside and up the stairs without anyone seeing her. It wasn't like she could just walk in through the front door.
...Right?
Hmm. Hinata had promised to clear the way for Tenten as best she could. Could that, perhaps, include the front door and the staircase?
It was the best course of action that she could see. Drawing in a fortifying breath, Tenten darted across the short open space between the flowering bushes that had been providing her cover to the front door, then slid it open and slipped inside, closing it behind her.
Her first impression of the entrance hall was that it was huge. The second was the overwhelming lack of color - it was almost like she'd stepped into a hospital. Or, worse, a mental ward.
Tenten's gaze landed on the staircase leading up to the second level of the house. Yes! She quickly slid off her shoes, her bare feet making no sound on the floor as she scurried up the steps, her free hand sliding along the smooth, polished railing. Everything about the Hyuuga main house screamed elite, but she wasn't there to admire the decor. She was there to see her teammate for the first time in two very long months.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she glanced over her shoulder, toward the bottom floor, to make sure she'd remained unseen. Seeing no one, she turned to continue down the hall...
...And unceremoniously smacked into something warm and only slightly yielding. Oomph!
Swallowing hard, Tenten lifted her gaze to meet the narrow white eyes of a Hyuuga. She had only seen Hyuuga Hiashi once, but he had the kind of face she would never forget.
It was that very same face into which she stared at that very moment.
"Tenten, correct?" His voice was deeper, more commanding, than Neji's.
"Y-Yes?" She was caught. Now Hiashi was going to call the guards to escort her off the property, and she would be banned from ever returning. Tenten just hoped that the guards - and Hinata especially - didn't get in trouble.
"You are the kunoichi on Neji's team." This time it was not a question.
"Y-Yes." She wished she could get rid of her sudden stutter, but Hiashi was a truly intimidating man.
"You are here to see Neji."
"Yes." This time her response was instant and certain.
Hiashi's eyes narrowed again, and his arms crossed over his chest. "No one has been allowed to see him in the hospital. His visitors are even more restricted now that he is here. What makes you think you will be allowed to see him?"
"For two months, I've been wanting to hear what happened to him. All I know - all that our team knows - is that he came back from his mission injured. This has happened before, but ... we've never been kept away from him, at least not for so long." Tenten met his eyes squarely, deciding that she had to reveal everything or risk being forced to leave without even getting close to seeing Neji. "Gai-sensei, Lee, and Neji are more than just teammates to me. They're family - the only family I have. Please, let me see him."
For a moment, Tenten thought that she was going to be thrown out of the gates onto her rear end. But then Hiashi's eyes seemed to soften a little, and he bowed his head and stepped back. "Third door on the left."
Surprised, she blinked. "Th-Thank you!" Bowing quickly, Tenten moved to step past him, but paused when Hiashi held out his arm toward her. "You'll need this," he said quietly.
Tenten gazed at the key in his hand in surprise. They've ... locked Neji in? A sour mix of unease and anger flared up in her chest as she reached out for it.
Hiashi turned and started down the steps. Halfway down, he paused but did not look at her again. "Be careful, Tenten," he said. "The man you will find in that room is not the Neji you once knew." After those cryptic words, he continued on.
Clutching the key, Tenten stopped in front of the door Hiashi had told her was Neji's, the elder Hyuuga's words spinning through her mind over and over. The man you will find in that room is not the Neji you once knew. Cold fear uncurled in her stomach, making her feel slightly sick. Her hand shook as she slid the key into the lock, twisted it, then slid the door open.
The room was dim, but she didn't notice just how dark it was inside until after she'd closed the door behind her. She blinked rapidly a few times, trying to adjust her eyes so she could make out the details, not wanting to trip over anything if she stepped forward.
The blinds across the room were closed, but some moonlight seeped around the cracks. Once Tenten's eyes adjusted, the silver light was just enough for her to see by.
There were no knick-knacks or personal items of any kind sitting on the bedside tables. No mirrors, either. Nor were there any pictures, she noticed. All she could see was the furniture, and ... what was that in the corner? She took a step forward...
It moved, driving straight toward her with an almost inhuman howl.
Her kunoichi reflexes instantly kicked in. Tenten dove to the left, springing out of a handstand to land in a crouch, her hand instantly pulling out one of her weapons scrolls. She paused right before unrolling it, seeing whatever had lunged toward her stop.
Neji?
He stood with his head tilted slightly, his shoulders hunched protectively, hands settled into a familiar defensive stance. "Who's there?" His voice was shaky, uncertain.
"N-Neji?" Even to her own ears, her voice sounded strangled.
Before her eyes, her teammate stiffened. He straightened instantly, his head whipping in her direction. He stared at her for a long moment, then spun around and headed back toward the corner she'd originally spotted him curled up in.
Only ... something was wrong. On his way across the room, he accidentally rammed his shin against the side of his bed. He growled, the sound low and dangerous, as his hands curled into angry fists at his sides.
Straightening out of her crouch, Tenten slid her scroll back into the pouch at her waist. Hesitantly, she stepped toward him, shaky hand reaching out to rest on his shoulder. "Neji...?"
He reacted instantly. Spinning on his heel, he lashed out at her, right hand drawing back toward his chest for the familiar Gentle Fist move.
The only thing that saved Tenten from the instinctive blow was her many years of training with Neji. She allowed her legs to go limp, bowing her back as she dropped to the floor. Her teammate's hand shot through where her chest had been a moment before, striking nothing but air. Neji's momentum sent his already overbalanced body crashing to the floor next to her, where he lay face-down, unmoving.
For a few long moments, Tenten remained lying on her back, breathing shakily. She was afraid to speak, let alone try to reach out to Neji, for fear of him going crazy again. At last, slowly, she sat up, making a little noise so she wouldn't startle her friend. "Neji, it's - it's me, Tenten."
He'd fallen in a swath of moonlight, and the illumination was enough for her to see the way he was shaking, his entire body quivering against the floor. "Go away."
Tenten felt a stab of hurt in her chest. "Why?"
Neji released a long, shivery sigh. Then he braced his left hand against the floor, shoving so he could roll over onto his back, letting her see his face clearly for the first time in over two months.
A jagged scar traced a path from the corner of his mouth, across his cheek and part of his jaw, to the tip of his left ear. It looked like it had healed badly, the edges ragged along the white of new tissue.
Then she noticed the two most important things that had changed about him, one right after the other.
The first was the smooth, unmarked skin of his forehead: his curse mark was gone, leaving no trace that it had ever been there to begin with.
The second, directly on the heels of the first, was the way his pale eyes stared straight ahead of him, blank and lifeless, not even squinting at the light shining directly into them.
He'd attacked her earlier because he hadn't been able to see her to identify her. In his unfamiliar, panicked darkness, he'd continued to lash out wildly, not even aware of what he'd been doing. Everything clicked into place in her mind, providing her with the sickening realization that Hyuuga Neji was completely blind.
"Neji...!" His name tore free from deep inside her, full of pain and anguish. "What - what happened to you?"
A bitter laugh barked out of her teammate, cold and derisive. "What do you think? The curse mark did exactly what it was supposed to do. The enemy tortured me to the brink of death, and the curse mark activated. It destroyed my eyes to keep the precious Byakugan from falling into the enemy's greedy hands. The Konoha medics were able to save me, meaning my body continues to live even though my eyes are dead."
A shiver slithered up Tenten's spine, leaving a trail of gooseflesh in its wake. "Neji..."
He glared unseeingly at the ceiling. "I wanted to tell you, Lee, and Gai-sensei the truth of what happened. But the Elders don't want word of this getting out. I think they're ashamed." Slowly, he sat up, tilting his head so his hair hid his face from her. "I have heard them say I'm useless now. It's true. Now there's only the matter of their deciding what is to be done with me."
Anger flushed hotly through her. "'What is to be done with you'?" she repeated incredulously. "Neji, you're not some weapon to be tossed aside when it gets dull! You are a person. You are a great shinobi and a good man. What makes them think they have the authority to 'do' something to you? And just what would that 'something' be, anyway?"
Neji turned his head back in her direction, blank eyes blinking. "Tenten-"
She wasn't finished yet. "If those egotistical jerks want to do anything to you, they're going to have to go through me first! And not just me, Lee and Gai-sensei, too! You're our friend, and we're all family, and-"
"Tenten!"
The sharp tone in his voice made her stop her tirade. "Yes?" She bit her lower lip.
"What did you think I was talking about?" There was an odd tone in his voice when he spoke that made Tenten squint in confusion.
"Aren't the Elders ... talking about whether they're going to let you ... live or die?" she asked hesitantly.
A slight grin briefly twisted Neji's lips. "...No."
Blink. "Oh." Tenten felt heat flush up her neck into her face, and was selfishly glad Neji couldn't see her blush.
Emotionless mask once more covering his features, Neji sighed. "Even if I can't use my Byakugan again, any children I might one day have would. If nothing else, they'll keep me around for that reason. I seem to be good for nothing else, after all." There was a sardonic twist on his last words that made Tenten's stomach clench.
"No, that's not all you're good for, and if they think that, the Elders are even bigger jerks than I thought they were," she muttered.
Neji's head jerked toward the door slightly, his features worried. "Shh, not so loud," he whispered. "You wouldn't believe how thin the walls here are. Everything makes its way back to their ears, somehow."
Tenten folded her arms across her chest and scowled. "I don't care if they hear what I say or not. Why should I? They can't do anything to me." A sudden thought occurred to her, and her stomach twisted uncomfortably. But they can hurt Neji. She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," she said, subdued.
Her teammate shook his head. "It's all right," he sighed. "I've said worse about them."
Looking down, Tenten traced patterns on the floor in front of her. "So what now?" she asked quietly.
He sighed. "Life is never going to be the same again. I - guess I've accepted that. I'll never be a part of Team Gai again."
"You'll always be part of Team Gai," Tenten said loyally.
"Hn." Despite his noncommittal response, his lips did quirk slightly in a smile. "Are you going to tell Lee and Gai-sensei?"
"If you don't want me to, I won't." She owed him that much.
"I'd prefer to tell them myself. But I don't know if they'll ever let me off the estate again - at least not for a very long time." What he didn't say hung heavily between them: my caged bird seal is finally gone, yet I'm still a prisoner.
"I don't suppose they'd let them come in?" At Neji's dubious expression, she laughed lightly. "You're right."
"Speaking of that ... how did you get in here? Only my uncle and the Elders have been in here, and they've said all other visitors are strictly prohibited. Did you sneak in?"
"Actually, your uncle let me in."
Neji's unseeing eyes widened. "Really?"
Tenten nodded, then remembered that he couldn't see the motion. That would take some getting used to. "It surprised me, too. I managed to make it into the house and almost all the way up the stairs before he caught me. I thought he was going to throw me out and ban me from ever coming back, but ... when I asked to see you, he gave me the key and told me how to get to your room."
"Hmm." Neji shook his head. "Hiashi hasn't been as firm as the others about my 'restrictions.'" His voice lowered slightly. "I'm really glad he let you in. I've ... missed you. So much." Slowly, his right hand lifted from his side and reached out, fingertips finding her shoulder with surprising accuracy, then following the line of her neck up to her face.
Lifting her hand, Tenten rested it over Neji's. "I've missed you, too. It's been driving me crazy, not knowing what happened to you. For over two months, I kept asking, but no one would tell me anything. I was beginning to wonder if ... if you were even still alive. If everyone was just giving us the runaround to keep from telling the truth, that you were..." She stopped, unable to finish. The thought was too horrible to voice.
Neji's fingers shifted, splaying across her cheek briefly before moving to trace her features. His other hand lifted, following suit on the other side of her face. She sat still and silent, closing her eyes as her teammate's fingertips ghosted across her cheekbones, her eyelids, her nose, her lips...
A startled gasp escaped her as, suddenly, Neji's mouth claimed hers in a gentle, almost shy, kiss. It lasted for a few long, wonderful moments before he pulled away. "It's been driving me crazy not seeing you, or even being able to tell you what was going on, for two months," he whispered. "And ... I'm sorry."
"Don't be." The words slipped out without her permission. She didn't regret voicing them one bit.
Tilting his head a little, Neji spoke again. "While I was ... there, when I thought I was going to die ... the only thing I could think about was how I regretted not ever doing that before, even though I've wanted to. Countless times." His breath puffed softly across her lips, smelling strongly of oranges.
Tenten let out her own breath in one long, shaky stream. "I-I..." She'd be lying if she said that she hadn't developed feelings - rather strong ones, at that - for her teammate over the years of their training together. But even though he had changed so much since the chuunin exams, she had never expected him to return them. She hadn't said anything for fear of ruining their easy relationship as friends and teammates.
Neji started to withdraw his hands. "I'm sorry, Tenten, I didn't mean to insu-"
Jerking her own hands up, she grasped his wrists to hold him in place as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. You didn't insult me. She couldn't find enough breath to voice the words, so she didn't bother, allowing her kiss to convey them.
Leaning back, Tenten smiled as Neji's fingers brushed her lips again. "I'll come see you again tomorrow, even if I really do have to sneak in to do it this time," she promised.
He nodded once, then caught her hand as she started to rise. "Tenten?"
"Hmm?" She eased herself back down into a seated position in front of him.
"I'm sorry I attacked you when you got here. And before you say anything else ... I need to tell you something. I've been depending on my eyes my entire life. I always thought my Byakugan would be there, and my eyes would remain strong. But now that's gone. I-I'm having trouble adjusting to this constant darkness. I'm not as bad as I was, lashing out at everything and everyone. But I'm still angry. And I don't know if I'll always be able to keep myself from taking it out on you." He hesitated. "So I'll understand if you don't want to come back because of that."
Tenten gently pressed her lips against Neji's unmarked forehead, lingering through his body's stiffening in surprise, then relaxing when he understood what she was doing. "I'll be back tomorrow," she repeated softly. She stood, then moved across the room to the door. Before opening it, she turned her head back toward Neji, who sat with his head tilted toward the moonlight streaming in his window. "Good night, Neji."
He didn't say anything, but she saw his lips tilt upwards in a smile. Her own mouth curved in response as she slipped out the door, closing it behind her. The key felt heavy in her pocket, but she turned away without locking the door.
Hiashi was standing at the bottom of the steps when she descended them. He looked at her silently for a long time, his lavender eyes studying her features. "Did he attack you?" he asked at length.
"At first. But I believe he will be fine in time, Lord Hyuuga. Thank you for allowing me to see him." She bowed stiffly, then moved past him toward the door.
"Tenten," he called after her.
She hesitated for a moment, then turned back toward him slowly.
"Perhaps the Elders have been remiss by restricting Neji's visitors. I believe that your seeing him will do him good. And, if things continue to go well ... perhaps one day you can bring the rest of your team, too." Hiashi inclined his head toward her, then turned and vanished around the corner behind the staircase.
Tenten smiled, then turned to leave, slipping her shoes on once she was at the door. She couldn't help but notice that Hiashi did not ask her to return the key. Was it an oversight on his part, or did he really mean what he said, and had let her keep the key in encouragement for her to continue returning to the Hyuuga estate?
Only time would tell, it seemed.
*~Ten Months Later~*
As Neji had warned her, there were rough patches over the time she went to visit him. He was frustrated at his lack of ability to do normal, everyday things he'd taken for granted before his blindness. Tenten tried to be as supportive as she could, even though it hurt her every time she had to let him try to do something on his own. The only way he could learn to redo things was to keep doing it on his own, but it was so hard to see his frustration every time he couldn't do it right.
At five months, Tenten was allowed to bring Lee and Gai-sensei with her. She had spotted a few of the Hyuuga Elders glaring at the trio from the shadows, but she had ignored them. She didn't think her teammates had even seen them, but she was used to their malice from her earlier visits. Apparently they were still in favor of locking Neji up for the rest of his life, considering him hopeless.
Tenten eventually learned that Hinata and Hiashi were helping him during her absence when she had to go on missions. It relieved her mind considerably, knowing that someone else would visit him and help him when she had to go do her job.
Ten months after the first time she'd come to the estate to see him, Tenten gathered Neji's hand into her own and led him toward the front gates. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" she asked him quietly.
His kept his glazed eyes pointed forward determinedly. After the first few shuffling steps outside the front door, he relaxed and allowed his on strides to naturally match hers. He was trusting her to lead him and not let him trip or run into something. "I've been locked inside these gates for the past ten months," he said quietly. "Even though they're letting me wander through the house and gardens now, I've felt my sanity slipping a little. It will be nice to get out for a while with the others, even if ... things will never be normal again."
For a while, they walked in comfortable silence. Tenten watched as Neji experienced the world through his now-sharpened other four senses, rediscovering everything as she guided him around people, buildings, and poles.
Tenten had prearranged for their friends to meet them at a restaraunt (not Ichiraku, despite Naruto's protestations), promising that she would bring Neji with her. Lee and Gai-sensei had been sworn to secrecy, both of them understanding their teammate's wanting to tell everyone else himself.
Everyone was already waiting when the two of them approached. Though ten pairs of eyes turned toward them, only eight of them were questioning. Tenten watched as, one by one, their friends began to understand, Shikamaru being the first. Slowly, she observed their expressions change from surprise, to sadness, to awkwardness. Unconsciously, her hand tightened around Neji's as she waited for someone, anyone, to speak.
She shouldn't have been surprised when Naruto was the first one to stand up. He took three steady steps, then stopped right before Neji, his blue eyes gazing into his friend's unseeing lavender ones. For a moment he looked so sad, then so angry, Tenten was worried about what he was getting ready to say as he opened his mouth. Instead of what she'd thought he was going to utter, he said, "It's good to have you back, Neji. We've missed you."
Murmurs of agreement swept through the others as they all came forward to talk to Neji. Tenten watched silently as the Hyuuga spoke to each one, his expression conveying his surprise and pleasure at how naturally they were accepting him back. He had confessed to her the day before that he was worried about what they would all think.
She was glad that, in the end, he'd had nothing to worry about. As she and Neji took their places side-by-side at the table, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He turned his head toward each person that addressed him, focusing his eyes as best he could toward where he thought their faces were located. He had been getting better at that, thanks to many hours of practice with her, Lee, and Hinata.
As Neji laughed at something Naruto had said, Tenten marveled at how the hyperactive blond had managed to reintegrate his blind friend back into their group so easily. He had a gift, there was no doubt about that, and she knew that he would continue to be a good friend to all of them far into the future.
A soft laugh escaped her lips as she overheard Neji quietly asking Naruto to be his best man at the wedding. Tenten's fingers lifted to her neck, where her engagement ring hung on a chain hidden beneath her top.
Neji would struggle with his blindness for the rest of his life, but they had both determined to try to make the best of it as they could every single day. Neither of them would waste another moment apart again, for as long as they both lived.
Maybe, just maybe, more good had come out of Neji's blindness than either of them could ever have imagined.
*~The End~*
Author's Ending Notes: This piece was a lot harder to tackle than I thought it would be. In fact, I started working on Dark way back towards the beginning, as the second prompt. I knew I would have to do something else, though, since I just couldn't seem to get it right. Dark has gone through six re-writes and twice as many edits. Several scenes have been taken out, and several more things have been added in. I really hope all my work on this has been worth it, and that you enjoyed! Thanks again for reading!