It was a dark evening, and the only light inside TenTen's apartment was a few candles. There were three forms seated around a small table, visible only as silhouettes. The only sound was the occasional sipping of tea or clinking of silverware.

Finally, TenTen stood up and grabbed a bottle of sake from a shelf. There was no comment as to their being underage. She poured three glasses for the two guests. They guests each took one and raised it.

"To Lee," she said finally. Her toast was echoed, and they all drank.

--

The next day, there was a very hard knock on Maito Gai's door. He immediately sprang up, expecting an enemy, then realized that it was indeed just a knock. He yawned, and slipping on his green bodysuit, walked to the entrance and opened up. He was quite surprised to see Neji and TenTem standing there.

"Aren't you ready yet, sensei?" TenTen all but whined.

Surprised, Gai cried, "But my youthful blossoms! Ready for what?"

Neji snorted. "Isn't it a bit obvious? We're giving ourselves a mission. We are leaving Konoha, and assumed you may like to join us in avenging our teammate."

For once, Gai was at a loss for words. His stoic student was taking an initiative? And that initiative involved breaking Konoha law?!

"We've already left a note for the hokage," TenTen supplied. "She won't like it, but she has to understand that we have to do this."

"Who exactly do you intend to take revenge on?" Gai asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha, naturally," Neji said blankly. "And the one who stopped our medic from healing our teammate. Haruno Sakura."

That blatancy, that bluntness—it wasn't like Neji or TenTen at all. It was like they were… empty, almost, devoid of attitude.

Gai was angry. Why did they have to choose now, the very moment when he could not join them? "Foolish, foolish pupils," he murmured. "I regret it, but I cannot go in the near future! I not only have a physical injury I must attend to, but a few arrangements to keep, and… wait, did you say Haruno Sakura?"

"But of course. Thank you for the consideration, Gai-sensei, and we hope you will allow us to leave in secret for as long as possible." They both turned to leave.

"My pupils."

They looked back over their shoulders.

"Revenge is the very reason you are in this situation—Uchiha Sasuke's revenge. Do you wish to continue the cycle?"

"You're missing the point, sensei!" TenTen contradicted. "We're going to stop him and his follower from doing any more damage. If we can get rid of Orochimaru on the way, so much the better."

It pained Gai to let them go. He had an ominous feeling that it would not end well. But he knew that there was nothing he could do to deter the two youths in front of him—they may even fight him if he tried. Nonetheless, he was worried—he had not seen either of them fight lately, and if their skills were as they were two years ago, well, they didn't have much hope. Oh, who was he kidding? They were his students! They obviously trained! It would be all right.

Gai nodded his farewell, and Neji and TenTen sprang up in unison and took off to who knows where.

--

"There they are," Neji hissed. "I've found them."

"So close to Konoha? What's their aim?" TenTen queried, raising an eyebrow.

"Who knows? Either way, we have to stop them. Follow me. Hide your chakra."

--

Shivers ran up Sakura's neck. "I have a feeling we're being watched, but I can't sense any chakras," she admitted. "But I've never been that good at sensing anyway."

Sasuke glanced back at her and stopped, raising his head. Then his grin widened. "Perhaps their chakras are masked, but we've been in Orochimaru's base for such a long time that our senses are heightened. They move without a sound; they are skilled. But they haven't been traveling for long… they have not yet picked up the scent of the forest like we have. They smell artificial—scented soap or something of the sort. Somebody, then, who cares about cleanliness, but had less sense than you."

--

Shit. They've made us.

--

"Reveal yourselves!" Sakura called. There was still no rustling as the two nin tracing them stepped out from the trees, knowing themselves found. Her jaw dropped as she noticed the identities. "TenTen? Neji Hyuuga?"

"But of course," Sasuke interjected. "We took the life of their best friend. They're driven by revenge. This could be interesting."

"Why are you so close to Konoha?!" TenTen demanded. "You really think the two of you could do damage on our village?"

"Konoha isn't our target. We're just passing through. Or rather, we were, before you stopped us and held us up."

"Well, your journey won't go farther than here," TenTen declared, hand inching toward her back pocket. She had wanted to see for herself that Sakura really was just mindlessly following Sasuke. It was worse. She understood his motives, and was really on his side. In order to end the circle, she and Neji would have to kill off both of them, along with Orochimaru and the whole of Sound. It was going to be difficult, needless to say.

"We don't want a fight. We need to be in top condition for our mission," Sasuke said, sounding bored.

"Yeah. Judging by the last time I saw them fight, they might actually make us breathe hard." This was Sakura, with a sneer most unlike her.

"What arrogance," Neji snorted. "I'm sure that arrogance wasn't as present when Naruto and Kakashi beat you into the ground."

And then all the nin were invisible with speed as they clashed, briefly—they landed on the tree branches where their opponents had previously been. Sakura had a cut across her cheek from TenTen's kunai, one of Sasuke's chakra points in his leg had been blocked off, TenTen had a nasty bruise forming on her cheek, and Neji was surprisingly untouched.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. Such speed—but then, you are a Hyuuga. You have the byakugan—a feeble mutilation of the sharingan." His eyes narrowed. "Pathetic!" and then he formed hand signs faster than Neji could follow, breathed in, and spat fire at the two Konoha nin.

When the smoke cleared, they appeared to be gone. Sakura whirled sharply, but there was still nobody in sight. She nimbly ran down the trunk of the tree, plastering her feet to it with chakra, and looked around. Then she got a fist in the face, TenTen having punched her. Hard. Sakura spat blood, swallowed the tooth that had fallen loose, and let go of the tree, landing on the ground. She punched blindly in the direction the hit had come from, and heard a satisfying smack and a thud a few seconds later. But there was no time. Neji was on her, fingers poised and jabbing. He was muttering numbers rapidly under his breath: "two—four—eight—sixteen—thirty-two—sixty-four!" but when he was finished, he was surprised to find Sakura mostly undamaged. Her arm had one tiny bruise forming on it, but she appeared to have… countered his chakra? But that was impossible. Only Hyuuga had such precise chakra control and timing.

Then the grass beneath his feet literally rose and wrapped around his ankles. Neji's eyes widened. How the hell--? TenTen was in a similar predicament. Neither of the nukenin were supposed to have Earth-style chakra, but…

Then it hit Neji with the force of a charging bull. "Genjutsu," he gasped aloud. If he remembered anything about Sakura's nukenin profile, she was apt at genjutsu, and Sasuke, well, he had the sharingan. Enough said.

"Took a pretty long time for the genius to figure it out," Sasuke's disembodied voice sneered cruelly. Then he appeared in the clearing and walked toward the two, TenTen chained right next to him. A tree erupted behind the two of them. Neji ignored this and tried to gather his chakra, to force out the Uchiha, but stopped in horror when Sasuke unsheathed a big-ass sword and stabbed TenTen right through the stomach.

TenTen went rigid, her mouth open in a soundless gasp, eyes wide. Sasuke smirked, twisting the blade. Neji raised his arms, but they were snapped back by vines. He could only watch as Sasuke made TenTen writhe in pain. He reached behind her, grabbed her pack, and removed every single kunai from her being, including the hidden ones in her clothes and the one bandaged to her calf. After he removed each, he stabbed it into her. The blood splattered Neji. Once finished, he lazily removed his own sword. "Still hasn't screamed," he commented. "Strong willed. They fall all the harder. Don't you want to help her, Neji?"

Neji clenched his fists, his calm deserting him. He pulled at his restraints, hatred shining through his every pore. How had the Uchiha changed this drastically—to the point where he enjoyed torturing his old teammates?

Another disembodied voice. "Sasuke, that's enough. Stop. Damnit, stop!" Then a burst of chakra rushed through him and the genjutsu was dispelled. He collapsed on the ground, aware of Sakura standing near him. Another form fell limp to the ground near him—TenTen. She curled up on the forest floor among the leaves, clutching her physically unwounded stomach.

"Damnit, Sakura," Sasuke growled.

"That was entirely uncalled for. We wanted to stop them, not torture them. The fact that you take pleasure in their pain is—"

"I was simply trying to impress upon them that we're not to be—"

"You were torturing them. They got the hint when you restrained them! Do you realize that now their vendetta on is going to be even worse? You kill one teammate, torture the other physically, and torture the other one mentally? We're ninja, not monsters!"

"Stop lecturing me. Knock them out hard enough to give them amnesia, and then let's continue on our way. By the way, I saved your ass. The Hyuuga was about to go Eight Trigrams on you."

"I could've handled it," Sakura grumbled. Rustling of clothes as she knelt.

"You knocked her out with medical jutsu? What a waste—"

"It ensures that she will have no mental damage, plus she won't remember a thing. Get going already; scout out the area. I'll catch up to you."

The body moved closer to him. There was a whisper right at his ear. "We'll be in Tanzaku Gai tomorrow at the latest. When you wake up, she needs food and water. Didn't think to bring that, did you? I'm leaving you some. Oh, and…you won't actually have amnesia."

What the hell? Neji thought, before a jolt of chakra similar to the one that dispelled the genjtusu knocked him out.

--

He was woken up by a voice screaming, "GODDAMNIT!"

The screeching didn't cease, and Neji rolled over, trying to cover his ears. His head was throbbing. He just wanted…to sleep.

The voice softened. "Neji, get up. We have work to do."

"Nh…"

"NEJI!"

Neji finally cracked an eyelid open. TenTen was leaning over him, her hair starting to hang out of her twin buns. He then realized there was a pain in his arm. He looked down and noticed that there was a freakin syringe needle sticking out of his arm.

Neji really, really didn't like needles. He reflexively grabbed it and tore it out. "What the hell?" he hissed.

"Needed to wake you up. We have to get back on their trail, I don't know how far ahead of us they are! I'm the mistress of both weapons and drugs, didn't you know? I managed to jolt you out of your chakra-induced sleep—"

"TenTen?" Neji wondered, the events of last… well, he didn't know what unit to use… coming back to him. "You—you're alive?"

She snorted. "No. I'm back from the dead. Of course I'm alive. I'd probably be writhing in pain, but I know how to reduce the aftereffects of genjutsu—hence the needle in your arm! Oh yeah, and someone left food for both of us. Now come on, let's go!"

Neji acknowledged the courage, sitting up, but then shook his head. "TenTen, I—did you see their power? We've trained a lot, but that genjutsu. We can't hope to counter their attacks. They are simply too good, and exactly the wrong matches for us. Sakura may be a close-range fighter like me, but Sasuke has all his jutsu. In addition, you know how good Lady Tsunade is. Sakura has probably acquired similar skills, if not to the same extent… we should abandon this venture. We can only get injured."

Neji never saw the fist that hit him in the face a split second later. He flew back to the ground, a bruise forming on his cheek. He nursed his cut lip and glowered at TenTen, who had been the one to administer the blow. She glared right back.

"I cannot believe you," she hissed. "Did that genjutsu affect your brain? Do you realize what the hell you are saying? You want us to let our teammate's death go unavenged? You want to JUST SPOIL LEE'S MEMORY?!"

"TenTen, calm down," Neji chastised. "You don't know what you're talking about— "

"No, Neji," the weapons' mistress growled, fury creeping up her cheeks in the form of a red flush. "I will not calm down. I had respect for you. You are an alleged genius. Why can't you be the overconfident jerk you used to be right now?! If it were you who were dead, Lee wouldn't back down! That's where he beats you—loyalty to his friends!"

"TenTen!" Neji said sharply. "I won't tolerate this!"

"He was braver than you!" TenTen ranted. "He would never give up, and that was what made him succeed! He never gave up on the ones he loved!"

"AND LOOK WHERE THAT'S LANDED HIM NOW!" Neji yelled back, finally losing his cool.

TenTen stumbled back, stricken, against a tree. Neji suddenly felt a hundred years old. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"TenTen, all I'm saying is… Ito see what I saw in the genjutsu happen... I don't want to lose another teammate when I could have prevented it. Would Lee want us to go on a suicide mission?"

"Coward," TenTen said in a low, trembling voice. "you're a coward."

"No. I'm just sane," Neji responded. He finally stood. "TenTen, without my Byakugan you cannot find them. You would have to stop. Therefore, for both our sakes, I am going back to the village. Don't try to be a hero, TenTen. You're not cut out to be one. Neither am I."

TenTen stood too. This time the rage in her countenance was cold. "So be it. I will find them on my own. I don't need your help. If it kills me, then I will know that I at least made an attempt to honor Lee's memory. I didn't sit around and let his killers roam freely." She turned her back to him, picking up the syringe she'd used and depositing it in her pack. "Farewell, Hyuuga." She leaped off into the trees without a backward glance.

Neji stayed there for a few minutes. Well, that was a surprise.

He closed his eyes, then activated the Byakugan, searching for the way back to Konoha.

AN: Okay, first off, I am SO sorry for not updating for more than a week. Writer's block, schoolwork, basically crap came up. But hopefully I'll get in updates faster than this in the future.

Anyway, I had this argument between Neji and TenTen in my mind ever since I decided Lee had to die. I always thought that Neji's improving his personality so drastically was bull, so I tried to bring a bit of his old hopeless "fate dictates it" attitude back ("you're not cut out to be a hero"). And we don't know much about TenTen, so I gave her a bit of personality I thought she'd have. Oh, and I chose not to let Gai come because he would TOTALLY pwn Sasuke and Sakura with his awesome youth XD.

I thought Sasuke's torturing them may have been a little OOC, but I thought that he would be bothered by his own outburst last chapter, and wanted to prove to everyone that he really is cruel and heartless, and that it really is too late. Thoughts?

I'll admit it: I haven't proofread this chapter for technical errors or credibility. Too tired. So...I'm counting on you reviewers :3