Enlightenment
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Otherwise I would be in Japan writing Nejiten scenes to be watched on television. Sadly, I am not able to do that. Fortunately, I still have fanfiction.
Enjoy!
Tenten looked around the room she would probably spend eight months in, with Neji, nonetheless.
The room was decent in size and all in all, it looked pretty cozy. The same red carpet that she saw in the lobby of the Inn also adorned the floor of her room. Pushed up against the cream colored walls was a dresser, along with a small wooden desk. There was a couch and a small TV stood on a small table. Tenten spotted another door that she guessed led to the bathroom. But the thing that drew her attention in the most was the enormous king sized bed in the center of the room. She inwardly groaned at the prospect of having to share a bed with Neji in the same room, and she suddenly felt very aware of his presence.
She watched him as he dropped his belongings on the floor next to the door and she mechanically followed his actions. She would rearrange her things later after a hot, relaxing, steamy shower and a few weeks worth of sleep in that giant bed that suddenly looked very welcoming. Tenten decided that she was actually glad that the bed was as big as it was because it would allow her to distance from Neji as much as possible, given the circumstances.
"Would you like to shower first?" Neji asked politely.
She nodded eagerly, as she dashed towards the door of the bathroom. She felt kind of guilty for not letting Neji shower first because she was most likely to spend hours in the shower thus consuming all of the hot water. Tenten had always spent a long time in the shower because as the water hit her bare skin it felt like her troubles were being washed away into the drain.
The bathroom was a bit small, as to be expected with all bathrooms at Inns, and the floor was tiled. Tenten assumed this was so because of the water that inevitably dripped on the floor. Water on tiles was much easier to clean up than water on carpet.
She looked at her reflection in the rectangular mirror on the wall and flinched. Her eyes were covered with dark circles and strands of her hair were threatening to explode from her buns. Her skin was paler than usual and it had an oily look to it. Her clothes were dirty and ripped in some places from all the traveling. In one simple sentence, she looked like crap.
She began to take her hair out from her buns and watched as her hair cascaded down her shoulders to her waist like a waterfall. She then turned on the shower, making sure it was quite hot before she undressed herself and stepped into it. She sighed in relief as she felt the water wash down the oil and grime from her body.
She stayed standing in the shower for five minutes doing nothing before deciding to wash her hair and body properly. She looked at the shampoo and soap that was perched on the edge of the bathtub and quickly made use of them. They smelled like roses and she could not help but giggle when she realized that Neji would also smell like roses after he showered, if he ever got the chance to, that is. Tenten really did not feel like stepping out of the shower anytime soon.
...
Patiently, Neji waited for Tenten to come out of the shower. Ten minutes had passed since she stepped into the bathroom and he was not the least bit annoyed by waiting. He knew that she was a woman and needed time to herself. Then another ten minutes had passed and all he could do was wait. It was not like he could scream at Tenten to get out of the shower, so he sat on the bed and waited. Another ten minutes had passed and Neji was almost certain that she was almost done. But yet another ten minutes had passed and Neji felt his patience slowly dripping away from him.
It was true that Tenten, being a female, would spend more time in the bathroom than men, but she had to keep in mind that he too had not showered in three days of traveling. He had the courtesy to ask her if she would like to shower first, so it was common sense that she would have the courtesy to keep her time in the shower short. He decided he would give her yet another ten more minutes before telling that it was his turn to use the shower.
And if she refused, so help him God, he would drag her out by force.
...
Tenten estimated that she had spent around forty-five minutes in the bathroom and, knowing that Neji also needed to take a shower, she turned the water off reluctantly.
When she reached out towards the hook on the wall for a towel, she groaned as she realized her mistake. She had hastily made her way to the bathroom to the promising shower that awaited her that she had forgotten to take another set of clothes, much less a towel. She groaned at her idiocy and the current predicament she was in. From the way she saw it, she had two options.
One: She could put her dirty clothes back on, but that was really unappealing to her. They were all dirty and she was pretty sure she would want to take another shower after putting them on, even for just a minute before putting on clean clothes. However, her second option seemed even less unappealing than option number one.
She could ask Neji to give her a towel.
How embarrassing would that be? But both options seemed to be embarrassing, now that Tenten thought about them thoroughly. Even if she put her dirty clothes back on she would have to face Neji, and he would undoubtedly look at her like she had gone crazy for wearing her dirty clothes again. But how was she going to put her clothes on, anyways? She was wet, and she did not have anything to dry herself with.
She decided that option number two would suffice. It would save her a lot of trouble, even though her pride would suffer a great blow. She began to open her mouth, but it was dry and nothing came out.
'Get a grip, Tenten,' she told herself.
'You've faced countless maniac, psychotic, murderous criminal ninjas without hesitating and you can't even ask your own teammate for a towel? And these things happen all the time... I mean, sometimes people forget their towels...'
Tenten sighed, knowing only idiots forgot their towels. In a few moments, she had mustered up some courage and decided that it was now or never.
"Eh, Neji?" She yelled at him.
She heard hurried footsteps approach the door, and she tightened the shower curtain around herself self-consciously. It then dawned on her that she had forgotten to the lock the door, too, but she reassured herself that Neji was not perverted and that he would never barge in on her like that.
"Tenten, are you alright?" He asked, with a faint trace of concern in his voice.
She knew he had nothing to be concerned for, except for her state of mind, but she would also be concerned if the situation was reversed. If Neji spent fifty minutes in a shower and then yelled Tenten's name, she figured that concern would be an emotion she would have.
"Well... I kinda forgot my towel," Tenten said, mumbling.
She wondered if Neji had heard her because she had spoken so softly but she was almost certain that his sharp ears picked up on her words. Her thoughts were confirmed when she heard him chuckle softly. Embarrassment quickly overtook Tenten, and she suddenly thought that option number one was not as bad as she had originally thought.
"I presume you want me to get one for you?"
Tenten could almost feel the smirk on his face as he said those words and she wanted to do nothing more than to slap that smirk from his face. He may be a gentleman, but he sure knew how to tease and make people hate him. She heard footsteps retreating from the door, only to come back again. She suddenly wondered how he was going to give her the towel without her being seen.
"Can I come in?" He asked.
Tenten made sure she was completely covered by the shower curtain before sighing.
"Yeah, just leave it by the sink." She said.
She heard the click of the door being opened. She let out a breath she did not know she had been holding when the door snapped shut. She stayed enveloped by the shower curtain for a few moments and then started drying herself off with the unusually small towel. She wrapped it around her and she found out it only reached mid thigh. It was then when she realized another ill fortune.
She did not have any clothes. She would have to walk in front of Neji with nothing but a towel on.
...
Neji's patience was wearing thin. He had been amused when Tenten asked him to get her a towel, and even after he exited the door, he was still quite amused. He could only imagine how much pride Tenten had to swallow in order to ask him for that. If he had been in her position, which he would never be, thanks to Tenten, because now every time he would want to take a shower he would be reminded of her forgetting one of the most important things when taking a shower: a towel. Thus, he would always make sure to remember it to avoid being in her predicament. Not that he would have forgotten something as essential as a towel in the first place.
However, his amusement died down when she still would not come out of the bathroom. He could not understand why she would not come out. She had gotten her towel after all, so what was the problem?
He got his answer when he saw a nervous looking Tenten exit the door with nothing but a flimsy towel that did nothing to cover her body.
...
Tenten watched as Neji looked at her, an incredulous expression on his face.
Tenten was completely and utterly ashamed of herself. After all, all of this was her fault. If she would not have rushed so quickly to the bathroom she might have remembered to take a towel and clothes. And this was the punishment for her actions. Standing in front of Neji, almost naked. She felt her face turn different shades of red as she watched Neji entering the bathroom without a word.
Much to Tenten's surprise and horror, he came out of the bathroom in just a few moments. He smirked at her, grabbed a folded towel from the desk and a small bag which Tenten assumed contained his clothes.
"Almost forgot." He said, teasingly.
She felt herself fume on the inside. She knew that he had not forgotten in the first place and the only reason he did that was to embarrass her even further. Well, it worked, because Tenten felt her face heat up and she was sure that she looked as red as a tomato.
It was only when she heard the shower running that she willed herself to forget about what happened because it would only cause her discomfort in the future while being with Neji. She was positively sure that he would never bring this subject back up again, even if he had teased her about it. But what probably bothered her most was the arrogance he had by thinking he could simply tease her like that... without being teased in return. Tenten was not a vengeful person, but she decided that she would get him back for the extra embarrassment he had put her through.
She sighed as she took out her pajamas, dressed, and crawled into the right side of the bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
...
"Tenten, wake up," Neji demanded.
She was sleeping so fitfully until a certain pearl eyed man found it right to wake her up. She buried her head in the pillow, pulling the covers closer to her body to form a sort of shell. Tenten believed that Neji would take a hint and leave her alone by the actions she had just performed, but he kept on insisting that she wake up.
"Tenten, I mean it." He said in a serious tone.
"Mmmm," Tenten replied, burying her head further into the pillow.
"You've been asleep for twenty-four hours."
Reluctantly, Tenten turned her head towards Neji, who was clothed in his usual ninja attire. She wanted to remind him that he had no right to wake her up, that Tsunade had instructed him to leave her alone.
"Yeah? So what's another twenty-four hours?" Tenten said, groggily, refusing to get out of bed.
"I thought you wanted to meet your parents as soon as possible." Neji said, eyes narrowing.
Tenten tensed, glad that her eyes were closed, because then he would be able to read every single emotion that they displayed: Confusion, horror, because he had possibly found out the truth. She forced herself to relax, and kept her eyes as emotionless as possible.
"Neji, I haven't seen my parents in eighteen years. Another day worth of waiting isn't that big of a deal, and besides, I have eight months to find them, and I'm sleepy."
...
Neji was rather surprised by her behavior but decided that he would let her be. It was her choice to do what she pleased. He had only wakened her up because he doubted it was healthy for her to sleep for so long.
With nothing to do, he left the Inn and started taking a walk down the streets of Kirigakure. He was surprised to see that it was almost like the Leaf Village and he suddenly wondered what his comrades were doing.
He had gotten pretty close to Naruto since the chuunin exams a few years ago. Naruto had made him discover that he was not actually bound by fate and he was extremely grateful towards him for helping him realize that, not that he would ever admit it. Neji had also developed a respect for Shikamaru, as he was very intelligent and a very good team leader despite his obvious laziness. They often discussed attack tactics and how to use them during battle to gain an advantage. And then there was Sasuke, who had come been welcomed back to the village partly because of his help in the last ninja war, and partly because of Naruto and Sakura's pleading. At first he really did not take interest in Sasuke because he had left the village once and there was no stopping him from doing it again. However, spending time with Naruto meant spending time with Sasuke, which led to training with Sasuke, which led to a mutual respect between Neji and Sasuke.
He continued walking on for five minutes, absorbing his surroundings and etching them into his memory. It was more out of habit than anything else. But he knew if something bad were to happen he would be able to find his way easily through the streets that seemed to twist and turn everywhere he looked.
He had reached what he thought was the center of Kirigakure because there were shops and restaurants everywhere and tons of people rushing from one place to another. He decided that he would take Tenten here to ask about her parents if the address she currently had led to a vacant house or apartment. He also decided that he would take her here to eat because she was most probably hungry, seeing as she had not eaten anything for the past twenty-four hours.
He turned on his heal and walked back to Inn, wondering if Tenten had woken up. He knew that Tenten was anxious about seeing her parents, but staying cooped up in a room sleeping did not solve her problems.
...
Back in Konoha...
"What do you mean 'she left'?" Ino asked her bubble gum pink haired friend, her mouth agape.
"I know," Sakura said, "I was shocked too. I asked Tsunade-sama about it but she said the details were confidential."
"Confidential my ass!" Ino exclaimed, preparing to go on a full out rant.
"Tenten is one of our best friends and Tsunade knows that, why won't she tell us! Wait a minute... Why didn't Tenten tell us? Do think that this is a super undercover mission that absolutely nobody is supposed to know about?"
"I don't know, Ino," Sakura said, shaking her head. "But I'm also wondering why Tenten didn't tell us. I mean, we always notify each other when we're headed out on missions, so she couldn't have simply forgotten."
"And how long will she be staying, did Tsunade tell you that much?" Ino inquired.
"Yeah," Sakura said, shaking her head again. "Eight months."
"What!" Ino exclaimed, banging her hands on the counter at Ichiraku, which earned her a few curious glances from the cooks and the other occupants there.
"Eight months? And we have no idea where she went, if she's safe? Tsunade has to tell us, Sakura, go ask her yourself. You're her favorite, and this time don't accept 'no' for an answer!"
"Ino," Hinata said, speaking up for the first time. "Tsunade-sama is not at liberty to discuss confidential matters with us even if we are Tenten's best friends. She has a duty to fulfill as Hokage."
Ino sighed as she grasped the logic Hinata presented her with. She guessed that Tsunade was 'off the hook', per se, because Tsunade was just acting like a Hokage should. Although, Ino knew she could not attack or threaten Tsunade in the first place. But that still left Tenten and she had no idea why she had not informed them about her eight month leave of absence. Eight months for a mission is a really long time, so it must be very important and extremely dangerous. Ino suddenly felt deep concern for her friend.
"Did she go alone?" Ino asked.
"Tsunade wouldn't even tell me that much, but I'm sure we'll figure it out by ourselves. We just have to see whose missing." Sakura replied.
Sakura also felt concerned about Tenten's safety, and she asked herself why she would leave in the first place. Missions designed to be executed over long periods of time were usually S-ranked and usually taken care of by Anbu ninjas. Tenten was strong without a doubt, but she still wondered why Tsunade had not sent an Anbu instead of Tenten. Perhaps it was not assigned by Tsunade... Could it be possible that Tenten herself requested a mission? Sakura shook her head. The idea seemed too far fetched.
"Well, actually," Hinata said, speaking up, "Neji also told me that he was going on an eight month escort mission to Kirigakure."
Hinata recalled when Neji had vaguely briefed her about the mission. He said it was a simply escort mission to Kirigakure. He did not give out any other information and Hinata had not asked for any. She knew that a mission that long was supposed to be kept confidential.
"Well that's obviously not a coincidence," Ino muttered.
"Yeah, but we still don't know all the details," Sakura said. "We know for sure that Neji and Tenten left together, but did anyone else go with them? We also know that Neji is an escort, but who is he escorting?"
Hinata thought over the things that she knew in her mind. Tenten and Neji were on an eight month mission together to Kirigakure... Neji was an escort... Tenten had not informed them about her departure which was strangely unusual... Usually Anbu ninja were assigned missions that were required to be executed over a long period of time... Unless someone had specifically called for Tenten. Still, an Anbu should have escorted her, not Neji, her teammate... Unless Tenten somehow needed support from her teammate... But then why Neji and not Lee?
"I don't know, Sakura, but I think this is all very strange..." Hinata said softly.
Sakura knew she had all the facts she needed to come up to a conclusion but she could not quite piece it together. She decided that she would dissect each and every piece of information with the help of her friends. They had a slightly different perspective then her on some things and that could help her shed some light on the things she did not really get.
"Well how about we take things one at a time," Sakura suggested. "So Tenten and Neji set off on a mission to Kirigakure. Neji is the escort although we do not know who he is escorting. Has anybody else left the village that we know of?"
Ino tried to recall if anybody had left but she could not think of anyone. She knew Shikamaru was on a mission to the Hidden Grass Village to gather intelligence but she knew he would return tomorrow. Maybe she could ask him about all of this. He was a genius after all and he could surely help them put the pieces together.
"Chouji and his dad are still here, and so are my dad and all of his friends that I know of. Shikamaru's dad is also here, although Shikamaru is returning from a mission tomorrow... I was thinking that maybe we should ask Shikamaru about these things, you know? He's really smart and he might be able to tell us something that we're missing... I mean Shikamaru is sort of Neji's friend, I've seen them talk on occasions... Maybe Neji told him something." Ino said.
"You're idea is not bad Ino, but the mission is really confidential... I don't think getting a lot of people involved is such a good idea..." Sakura said. "But perhaps you're right... We should ask Neji's friends what they know about his departure. What about you Hinata, anyone missing on your end?"
"Nobody is gone from my family, except Hanabi who is on a D-rank mission with her team. Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino have gone on a mission to the Sand Village to deliver the scroll... But they left a week ago and Tenten left five days ago."
"Well," Sakura said, "Naruto and Kakashi-sensei are here, but Sai has been sent to the Hidden Sound Village for something... Again, the details were confidential so that's all he told me. And I know Lee has been hospitalized on his last mission."
All three girls sighed and they decided that the best course of action would be to hold a 'meeting' with Neji's closest friends: Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru. All six of them would be able to figure out where Tenten and Neji had gone, tomorrow.
They would find the answers they needed, and if they found out that Tenten was in trouble, the three girls would stop at nothing to protect her and get her back safely to the village.
...
"Tenten, you need to wake up now." Neji said.
Tenten sighed as she realized that she would not be able to tell Neji to butt off like she had done the last time. But the bed was just so warm and comforting and soft, and her eyelids were threatening to close again...Before she could succumb to slumber once more she forced herself to sit up. She knew that Neji's suspicions would rise when he figured out her reluctance to start searching for her parents and she could not risk being found out.
"Fine," Tenten mumbled, half asleep half awake.
"Come on, hurry up and get dressed and we'll go out to eat." Neji told her, hoping that the mention of food would wake her up completely.
It did. He watched in amazement as Tenten literally bounced out of the bed at the mention of something to eat. He watched her as she darted towards the bathroom with her bag. A few seconds later of staring at the bathroom door, Tenten came out dressed and presentable.
"Come on, Neji, hurry up, I'm starving!"
...
...And that's chapter three! After writing about five pages and idea hit me so I slightly altered the plot a bit. As you've noticed, I got the Konoha gang involved! I just had this really cool idea about the girls doing something together... but I won't tell you what because I'm evil and I don't want to spoil the surprise. You'll have to read on to find out!
Hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review!