The rain had returned with a vengeance, and for nearly three days after his return to the compound Neji remained inside, either training in the dojo or locked away in his quarters studying scrolls. He had combed through more than half the selection of reports and documents in his bag, which he was due to exchange with Shikamaru so that they could share their findings by the end of the week. After Hinata's engagement party Shikamaru would be going on another mission with his ANBU team, effectively halting their investigation until his return.

Sighing, Neji leaned back in his chair and stared out the window at the water rushing in rivulets down the glass. Once it stopped raining he would find Tenten - he had not trained with her in weeks and thought a light training session might do him good after his prematurely shortened session with Hinata two days earlier. He valiantly tried to ignore the slow burn in his chest that meant he missed her. There was no shame in the feeling, but unlike missions - where the separation was simply a temporary fact of the lifestyle they each chose when they became ninja - spending his time at the compound was at best an attempt to deceive the Elders about their relationship, and at worst a pointless exercise in isolation. Having been reunited with her after three months away, only to spend so little time with her seemed such a waste considering either of them might go on their next mission and never return.

Morbid, Neji. He admonished himself. Very morbid.

He was interrupted from these thoughts by a servant who announced quietly that there was an ANBU captain at the compound gates asking to see him. Neji nodded once before asking her to send him through. He was just walking into his lounge room when Shikamaru appeared in the doorway looking half drowned, dressed in full ANBU kit and carrying a bag similar to Neji's that was packed full of scrolls. He was recognizable to Neji even with his mask on but removed it as he entered the room, nodding to him in greeting as the servant slid the door shut behind them.

"I have been asked to take the monthly report to Suna before the engagement party. I thought I would drop off the scrolls I have for you to read while I'm gone."

Shikamaru handed Neji the bag, then added quietly,

"I have some suspicions based on my readings, but if they are right, you are not going to like the implications."

"We will discuss them when you return. What is this?" Neji replied, pulling out a bundle of half a dozen scrolls tied together.

Shikamaru shifted uneasily from foot to foot before he answered,

"Those were a little harder to read, I recommend leaving them until last."

Neji raised an eyebrow at him in question. What could be so difficult to read that an ANBU captain was made uncomfortable by it?

"What do you mean?"

"They...troublesome," he sighed slightly before explaining "…they are Tenten's mission reports," he finished with shrug.

Neji stared at him in mute shock, wondering how he could possibly have found out about their clandestine relationship, and why he would not want Neji to read her mission reports. When he did not respond, Shikamaru continued,

"Look Neji, she is your best friend, you were teammates for a long time, you respect each other. I know what that is like and I can't say that reading Ino's reports was a pleasant experience - you and Tenten are much closer than Ino and I ever have been so, as a friend, I am suggesting you put them aside until you have to read them."

Realisation dawned on Neji as Shikamaru spoke.

"They are kunoichi mission reports," he stated more than asked.

Shikamaru nodded, "in vivid detail. More than I ever wanted to know - she is my friend too."

"I appreciate the warning. Have a safe trip to Suna, and give my regards to Temari," Neji finished as he grasped his friend's hand. His observant Hyuuga eyes noted the slightest colouring of Shikamaru's face at the mention of Temari's name but it passed quickly and the ANBU captain simply nodded, making a silent exit as Neji set the scrolls aside.

He would have to read all of the reports at some point, but for now he was done with reading - he needed to get outside and do something physical, regardless of the rain. Hoisting his training bag over one shoulder, he dropped the tied bundle of scrolls onto his desk and made for the door. The strange curiosity he felt about reading Tenten's mission reports was somewhat disturbing to him, though he concluded it was not so much out of voyeuristic interest in her activities as it was the opportunity to learn about aspects of her professional life to which he was not privy. He had a general understanding of what kunoichi missions entailed. He knew that they varied in length but ultimately ended with the seduction and assassination of a target of particular interest to the safety of the village. Neji had, on a number of occasions, been deployed on assignments to confirm the kills of kunoichi on such missions, or to extract a kunoichi whose cover had been compromised.

But Tenten, in all the time he had known her, had refused to discuss hers in any detail. While Neji had never tried particularly hard to push her for information, any mention of kunoichi assignments was met with a shrug of the shoulders and a decidedly evasive lack of eye contact as she carefully changed the subject. It was not particularly difficult to identify when she had been on one of those missions, as she rarely came near him for the first day or two after returning. A couple of times, Neji had even climbed into bed at her apartment, only to have her roll to the furthest side of the mattress, or woken up in the middle of the night to find her sleeping on her own couch. She always made up an excuse and refused to elaborate, but maybe now he would be able to fill the gaps.

Without really thinking about where he was headed, Neji had walked to his old team training ground. Looking around, he set down his bag and began stretching. The rain had eased off but the sky was still dark and brooding, with another storm threatening in the distance. Neji settled into his characteristic fighting stance and began working through the individual poses, one by one, before suddenly registering that someone was approaching.

"Need a training partner?"

He smiled slightly, then turned to see Tenten on the other side of the field, clad in her training gear with her hair in those familiar twin buns and a broad grin on her face as she leaned casually against a tree, twirling a kunai.

"I suppose," he responded in mock disinterest before turning to resume his signature fighting stance.

Tenten responded in kind and followed quickly with kunai flying in all directions. The wet weather hindered her visibility a little, but it also made it more difficult for Neji to get a solid footing on the muddied ground. Her close quarters combat was much improved from her chunin days, and if it weren't for Neji's superior strength and height, Tenten would argue that they were pretty evenly matched. That strength and height was now suddenly bearing down on her as she refocussed on the spar, narrowly missing the chakra infused palm aimed at her wrist and the follow-on kick to her steadying leg. The palm she dodged, but the kick she missed and it took all her agility and speed to get up again before the next set of moves had him almost on top of her.

The pattern continued for another fifteen minutes, Neji drawing her into close combat and Tenten barely scraping out of his dangerous reach before he was on her again. It was his lack of distance and subsequent choice not to use his bloodline trait or allow her enough space to call upon her weapons arsenal that finally clicked. He was playing with her. She brought it up at the next pause in his movements, deliberately putting distance between them.

"What has you so frustrated?" she huffed out as she dodged another high kick.

Neji grinned at her familiarity with his behaviour patterns. He was frustrated both with the miserable weather and being confined to the compound to avoid the suspicion of the Elders. Despite being a voluntary confinement, the scroll reviews were the only work Neji had, and without Tenten there to disrupt him with her chatter, he found it overly quiet and boring. That boredom led to physically frustration and restlessness which was, admittedly, manifesting in a close combat sparring session that would be much more physically draining than their normal routine.

"Who says I'm frustrated?" he swiped out at her again with his left hand, his footwork sliding slightly in the mud. The rain had started to fall lightly again and the sky had darkened even further, promising a heavy downpour.

"You are too predictable, Neji. The more bored or frustrated you get, the more you lash out," Tenten laughed as she slashed at his shoulder with a kunai. Neji turned it deftly to the side with his hand against her forearm just as the sky opened up in a sudden downpour of thunderous rain. Tenten let her concentration lapse for a split second as the water pounded down, only to provide Neji with the opportunity he needed to pin her and win the spar. Before she could react, he had backed her into a tree which formed part of the outer line of their training ground, knocked the kunai from her hand and twisted both her arms behind her back, between her body and the tree trunk.

Tenten could have kicked herself for letting outside distractions affect her concentration like that. She winced slightly as Neji pinned her arms behind her back, which he promptly noticed and dropped the angle so as to avoid injuring her.

"I may be predictable but you lack focus," he gave her a self-satisfied smirk and added, "You should mediate more."

Tenten gave him a sidelong glare through the water filtering down from the canopy overhead, irritated that the session was over so quickly and that he had managed to beat her. The feeling subsided somewhat when she felt Neji's hands loosen a little more around her wrists, his palms flattening against hers as his body pressed closer to her.

"The weather is becoming worse," he mumbled. His hands dropped from Tenten's and moved to settle on her hips, something he only did when they were alone,

"You're shivering."

Tenten had not realised she was cold, especially after such an intense training session, but the rain was freezing and as soon as he mentioned it she could not suppress the shaking that wracked her body. Neji pressed a little closer to her, shielding her from the rain with his height and allowing the heat of his own body to warm her as much as possible.

Neji, for his part, was very aware that his behaviour was unprofessional. Should anyone come looking for them on the off chance they were training in this weather, they would find this interaction between teammates very suspicious. He was also acutely aware for the umpteenth time that all the sneaking and separation and lies would be completely unnecessary but for the brand on his forehead. A sharp pang of bitterness shot through him at that thought. They could have a real relationship, a normal relationship, if he was not a Hyuuga. Even if he were a Main Branch family member, he would have at least a chance to convince the Elders that their romance had potential and that he should be free to choose his own path. While the Council had not announced any plans to arrange a marriage to any of the prominent families wishing for a marital alliance with the Hyuuga clan, he was reminded once again of just how furious they would be if they found out he was sleeping with the nameless kunoichi from his genin squad. Suddenly it was all he could think about, a nagging feeling of time catching up to him returned with the force of a tidal wave.

"Neji," Tenten whispered, wishing she did not have to break the spell he seemed under, but he was suddenly far away and unaware of the situation he had put them in,

"….Neji."

He started when he registered his name being spoken and looked down to find Tenten looking decidedly concerned.

"Right," he stepped back and dropped his hands to his side, inwardly reprimanding his own lack of focus. Moving away, he collected his sodden training bag before turning again to face Tenten. She was looking at him with a confused frown, but said nothing.

"I will see you for lunch with Lee tomorrow then," he could barely be heard over the pounding rain, but she picked up on the words and nodded in return.

"Don't let the compound drive you crazy, Neji."

He felt his lips twitch into a smirk when he caught her grin and wink, before heading back the way she had first come. Whether it was being stuck in the compound or spending more time with Lee, he figured it was only a matter of time.