Neji was burning.
He could feel the fire twisting, expanding to fill every bit of him. The sickening agony made him beg for death, for anything but the feeling he was currently experiencing. He knew he was bare from the waist up, he could feel the tightness of his skin where the stitches were holding it together under the fabric of the bandages. He had been in the hospital enough to know that he was not there at the moment. There was no burning smell of antiseptic or the odd sensation of the rough cotton sheets. He could hear no beep of monitors either, nothing to let him know if he was alive or simply in hell. It could really be either by his calculation. He could feel the soft surface he was lying on underneath him, the sheets a far cry from what he was used to in the hospital. They felt like the sheets he used on his bed. He tried to speak through a swollen tongue and chapped lips. A rag was pressed to his lips, soaked in some herbal liquid that soothed the skin. A calloused hand that shook with something reached out and cupped his cheek. He could feel the wetness on the fingertips, as if the person had been crying a moment beforehand. He hoped it wasn't Tenten, he didn't want her crying because he was too weak to protect the both of them.
"Get better okay Neji?" came the soft choked plea from his team mate, "there's a lot I want to tell you--" a sound like a sob came from her lips, "just get better, 'kay? Because if you make me spar against Lee I will definitely not forgive you."
He tried to smile, to tell her that even if he was about to die if Lee so much as touched her he was going to come back and haunt him. But his body was unresponsive, he could only lie there as her hand gently withdrew from his cheek, leaving the skin almost cool with its absence. He wanted, irrationally, to snatch her hand back and pull the woman into his arms, telling her everything. He blamed the desire on his fever, besides he had no desire to find out if Tenten's scroll worked close range. What he could not blame on fever induced delirium was the press of lips against his forehead, right where the Seal was. Everything seemed to stop. He felt two drops land on his forehead next to her lips. Tenten was crying over him. His heart tugged painfully. He didn't like seeing her upset, especially when it was over him. It was kind of ironic since the first time he laid eyes on her she was crying by a tree in the playground, her brown eyes full of tears. He had been trying to meditate but the sound of her hiccuping had distracted him. She had managed to get out between sobs that her mother's kunai, the one she had left for Tenten to protect herself with when she was gone during missions, had been thrown up high in the tree by a bunch of boys and that even if her mother wasn't coming back she couldn't very well protect herself without a weapon if they didn't start Taijutsu yet. Neji had climbed the tree, gotten the kunai and given it to her. He didn't know what possessed him but he had gruffly told her his parents had died and that he was sorry for her loss. They had become friends, both happy when they had been placed on the same team.
Friends was probably the wrong word for what they were now. Lee was his friend, Naruto was his friend, Tenten was something inexplicably more. Life without her seemed unbearable. Even if he was a Jonin and sometimes got solo missions or missions with other teams he would think only of her and how she was not there with him. The air that blew across the back of his neck where she usually blocked seemed to be mocking him. She could take care of herself, that much he knew, but he could take better care of her still. He depended on her to watch his one blindspot, she never really depended on him for anything. She knew her weaknesses, she knew how to defend against them. He thought that was part of the problem. Sometimes he wished he were like Naruto's team mate Sai, unfeeling. Maybe then he wouldn't feel the butterflies that beat inside his stomach on those rare occasions when Tenten let her hair down, maybe he wouldn't feel the heat in his cheeks when they landed on the ground in a tangle of limbs during sparring, her very not flat chest pressed against his as they struggled to catch their breath. When that had happened they used to jump apart, now they stayed pressed together, feeling their hearts pound in synch and not wanting to get up and put space between them.
Nothing more had happened. He had been just as shocked, if not moreso, when he did what he did. But he saw the enemy Nin, saw the suicide attack and before he could stop himself he dove in front of Tenten. The weapons had torn through his body like he was a rag doll, creating holes in places that should stay sealed. He was blinded with agony as the world dissolved around him. He barely managed to turn to see Tenten, a look of unconcealed horror and shock on her face. His lips quirked into as much of a smile as he could manage--all the comfort he could give--before the world gave out. He felt himself fall into her and thought he heard her scream his name but it seemed to come from an impossibly long distance away. His next conscious thought was of the fever inside of him. His head heart, his Seal obviously trying to finish the job and protect the precious secrets of the Byakugan. He ignored it, focusing instead on the familiar presence of the woman beside him.
"Good luck Neji, just try to hold on okay?" she said, before her presence was gone.
Hold on to what? He wasn't going anywhere, didn't they understand that? What the hell was going on? He heard Rock Lee say something soft to Tenten, something along the lines of how everything was going to be alright, how everything was going to get better. He was confused. Get better? He was unaware that their lives needed to improve. Of course there were things he would change, there were things they would all change but the idea of that actually happening was as inconceivable as him being named the Head of the Clan. The door closed softly behind her. He heard footsteps approach whatever he was lying on. The pain was pushed aside as he struggled to focus on what the hell was going on. He could recognize that most of the people gathered there were Hyuuga, If that were true then he wasn't in the hospital but in the compound. He was in the room where his father had died, where he had found his father's body, where he had been Sealed. So many horrible memories in this room and they had brought him here to do what? To die? Was he already dead? He tried to force some kind of life into his limbs, to ask someone what was going on. All he managed to do was twitch one of his fingers. Apparently that was not enough to get someone's attention because the quiet voices droned on. He repeated the gesture, furious that his body had betrayed him in his time of need. Apparently it was getting revenge for being used as a human shield.
"Will he feel it?" he recognized the unusually somber voice of Gai, his teacher and if he was admitting it, his mentor.
What was he going to feel?
"We do not know," one of the dry voices of the Elders spoke up, "which is why you two are here. We trust that the two of you should be sufficient to hold him down, should the need arise."
"We will be," Rock Lee said, "but Tenten--"
"The girl has been through a lot," he was surprised to hear something almost concerned in Hiashi's voice, "Sealing is traumatic in itself, This will be as well, if not worse."
"We understand," Gai spoke for both of them, "we are ready when you are, Lady Hokage?"
"I am ready to begin."
"Excellent," one of the Elders said, "lets begin."
Neji was about to rip his jaw open to ask what the hell they were beginning and why didn't they need his permission when a cool, very pleasant feeling settled over him. He could feel chakra pulsing through him, infusing his own Chakra with strength. He managed to crack open his eyes a bit, to see the dark wood interior and the white-robed old men standing around, Gai and Rock Lee plainly visible on either side of him in their green. By his head was the Hokage, her head bowed in concentration as her fingertips rested near his temples. Why would the Hokage herself be here when he was obviously well enough to open his eyes? He watched her raise her head fractionally and give a nod to the Elders and Hiashi. Their hands flew through seals, quickly and efficiently, before they clapped their hands together and bowed their heads. Neji was about to demand answers when the seals connected and slammed into him. They were like part of a string with each Elder holding a piece of the jutsu.It was wrapping around him, squeezing him. All the new energy he had been given was going to staving off whatever they were trying to do. His body jerked with the effort of his invisible foe. Instantly Gai and Lee were holding him down, making sure he didn't tear his stitches.
"He's fighting it," one of the Elders managed to say between clenched teeth.
"Let go Neji," Tsunade's voice came.
Easier said then done.
"Relax Neji," Hiashi said, "you have to let the Jutsu work."
"Can't," he gritted out, ignoring the agony in his throat.
"You have to," Rock Lee burst out, "Tenten's counting on you to be okay Neji!"
Tenten. He had to do this, if not for himself then for Tenten. He forced his muscles to relax, to allow the Jutsu to do its work. He had felt something like this before, when he was a child. He knew the feeling of the Seal branded to his forehead. How many hours at night had he traced it, wondering what would posse someone to do that to another human being. His father had bandaged his forehead both to hide the Seal from the world and to make sure his son didn't scratch his skin raw. Neji had continued to hide the Seal and to keep himself from spending his days tracing it with his fingers. The Seal was as much a part of him as his Byakugan or his hair. So he recognized the patter the Jutsu was weaving and when it settled against the Seal it was like a key turning in a lock. It was not very painful, not as agonizing as the rest of the wounds he received, just unplesant. He felt the Jutsu burn through the Seal, through all the paths it had created that led to every part of him. The symbol of the notion that everything he was belonged to the Clan. He felt the paths painfully withdraw as he felt his forehead ache and the Seal flare in protest. But the attack was less consuming, as if the Seal was loosing its ability. The agony that had taken over his entire being became a sever headache and then a dull throb and then nothing more annoying than a superficial scratch. He felt the weight of the Seal, the weight that had held him since he was a child vanish.
And just like that, as simple as that, Neji Hyuuga's cage was gone and for the first time in his life he was truly free.
The shock of it was enough to make him pass out all over again.
Above him Rock Lee watched the taught muscles of his friend's body relax as the expression of agony on his features turned to first to shock and then to complete relaxation. One of his hands flew off Neji's arm and jammed into his throat, desperately seeking some conformation that he was still alive. It was there, strong and steadier than it had been in the past few days. His chest rose and fell easier too. As the Elders raised their heads Tsunade immediately began barking out orders to the healers waiting outside. She reached out and unwound a roll of bandages, quickly twining it around Neji's forehead. The bandages had always been there to hide the Seal, to hide Neji's shame. Now they were there to hide the fact that he was free of it. The sight of his team mate with a bare forehead was unsettling to him to say the least. His stomach rolled as he wondered what this would mean for them, as friends and as a team. Team Gai was known for overcoming their obstacles and shortcomings. It was just that no-one really expected Neji to overcome this one. But he had. Even if Lee was happy for him he knew that this would present a whole new set of problems for his friend.
Carefully he walked over to the door and opened it. Tenten jumped to her feet, her eyes searching his face for any indication that everything was alright. He nodded, unable to speak and suddenly found his arms full of his bun-haired team mate. He loved Tenten but he knew that neither of them belonged in the world of the Hyuuga, especially not in that of the Main House which Neji had just become a member of. Neji who was not half as cold as he pretended to be and Tenten who was much tougher than she liked to show were supposed to be together. He had watched them for long enough to know that. Hell he had been there. He was there when Neji was learning the Heavenly Spin, he explained how to get one's body in the proper position to spin with the least drag and he was there when Tenten dragged him home to help her block the edges of her weapons so that Neji wouldn't be hurt in case he couldn't do it right off the bat. He was there when Neji had almost killed Hinata and Tenten, furious at him, had backhanded him and said she never wanted to see him again. He had become Neji's temporary sparring partner and if he didn't respect the Hyuuga before that he certainly did afterwards. He had been there when Neji had stood before them both, forehead protector in one hand and his Seal exposed to the owrld before he stuttered out an apology for his behavior and promised to improve. Though he had assured Neji no apology was necessary he had a feeling that the apology was meant more for the bun haired girl. Now what would happen to them?
The healers walked out bearing the stretcher that held Neji. Tenten caught a glimpse of him but it was enough. He looked better but still so weak. it was her fault that he was in this position in the first place. If she had been better or stronger or something he wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself like that. Why had he done it? It wasn't as if he returned the odd feelings she had for him. She used odd because it was really the only way to describe how he made her feel, how her heart pounded and her stomach fluttered and it seemed like the world had stopped moving. She knew they could be something but she would rather have his friendship than have him do something like he just did. She didn't want anyone sacrificing themselves for her--no, she amended, she didn't want him sacrificing himself. And what now? Now his Seal was gone, now he was going to become Head of the Clan. Would he have time for his old Genin team now? She highly doubted Team Gai had any place in the quiet, soft-spoken world of the Hyuuga, especially in the life of the Head of the Clan. His life had changed so drastically. Tenten sighed and resigned herself to the notion that there was no more room in Neji's life for her. At least she had been crying tears of relief before, now no-one had to know they had turned to tears of bitter disappointment, of a girl who cried for the boy who unintentionally broke her heart.