Chapter 5: They are similar and different

Tenten awoke and was happier then normal; which wasn't surprising. She hadn't been so happy since; well, last night. She down to the field and started to calm down because she knowing Lee and Gai-sensei, they'd go on about it all day.

"Morning Neji," He nodded acknowledging his fiancée's presence.

"Morning Tenten," He said in his normal tone.

"What do you want to work on today?" He shrugged in comparison to any day where he'd just start; today was different because usually they'd just start. It brought them to an awkward moment. "Where's Lee and Gai-sensei?" Tenten unlike Neji hated silence.

"I don't know they didn't leave a note."

"That's really strange, usually if they aren't going to bother us they'd at least tell someone, or leave a note." Neji nodded.

"Let's go ask the Hokage."

"Yeah, I'm sure Tsunade-sama knows what's going on." Tenten replied.

"Of course I know where they are. Lee and Gai are on a S-rank mission to watch out for Sasuke Uchiha. Only Tai-jutsu is a way to save you from him."

"Oh, okay, have anything for us to do?" Tenten asked happily.

"Actually yes, we have a 3 day mission for you two to go on. You will be retrieving a child from the sand village's second hokage; Gaara, Tamari and Kankuro's cousin. They will help you if you need it; this is an B-rank mission. Do you want to take it?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Neji replied.

"Tenten?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine with it, how old is the kid, nine, ten?"

"One,"

"That's why it's such a danger a new born baby that is the daughter of their hokage, who wouldn't want to kill it. Why do you think Tamari was almost killed at birth, without her brothers she would have, they protected her until she could take care of herself, that's why she's so strong."

"Okay, so where do we have to take her?"

"You will be taking the child to Tamari, Kankuro, and Gaara who are currently stationed at the top of Mount Shiten." Neji nodded, and so did Tenten.

"The baby has to make it alive, no exceptions. If this isn't completed, there will be a war between these two allied nations. Understood?"

"Yes Mam," Tenten replied.

"Yes Lord Hokage."

"Neji cut it with the formalities, Tenten you know the rules now go." They ran off, to get packed, Tenten brought everything the baby would need, she hoped that it couldn't use sand powers yet, she still remembered her first fight with Tamari.

"You're stronger then you were then, get over it." Neji said.

"Neji, stop reading my mind!" Tenten yelled.

"I can't, your mind's waves are very constant and interfere with my thinking."

"Oh, sorry for disturbing your concentration; are you ready?"

"Yes."

It was a long journey to the Sand Village, almost a day itself, a day to the mountain and a day back if they never stopped, rested, ate, or talked. So it would be 5 days at the least.

Neji stopped dead in his tracks, setting Tenten on guard. "We're stopping here for the night."

"Night?" Neji sighed and pointed to the sky; it was already night. "It is already night." She said giggling, at this Tenten pitched the tent while Neji got wood, he could easily you his jutsu not like he could use it to pitch a tent, Tenten seemed to be great at, the complexity made using kunai attached to the tent edges all to easy for her to put it up.

'I really don't want to bother Neji but I think someone is nearby, does he know or is he meditating?' Tenten thought.

"Someone is here, you're right."

"Sorry."

"Don't, I was meditation but when you're stressed to a certain point, when I meditate I can read your mind; so you snapped me, out we should go see what's going on out there." Neji walked out of the tent and was caught, some jutsu was pulled over, he couldn't see and his eyes couldn't sense anything, something had his weak spot in the Byakugan.

"Neji?"

"Tenten watch out." Another chakra net came down but this was easily repelled by a few kunai.

"I've got it. You rely too much on your Byakugan, it's a sensing kekkei genkai, can be good for night but not when they conceal their pattern."

"Thanks, I'll remember that." They went to sleep wondering why those who attacked them had run off, just in case; Tenten had laid a few hundred traps to stop them.

"I'm back."

"What were you doing?"

"Just laying some traps for whoever attacked us." Tenten said happily.

"Good thinking,"

"Yeah, so how are your eyes, they were perfect accuracy in hitting that."

"I'm totally blind."

"What?"

"For now, I'm completely and totally blind."

"You sure?" Not that she could see but he was giving her his 'you doubt me' looks. "If that it then let me take care of it,"

"No,"

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because doctors can't understand the Byakugan and trusting another is considered treason." She sighed.

"I'm engaged to you, a teammate, and sent by Tsunade to work with you and take care of you and Lee and you won't let me help you." Not that he could see it coming but she pinned him to the ground, and opened his eyes, compared to his normal lilac and white eyes, these were surprising."

"What's going on?" Neji demanded to know.

"You're being stubborn so I tied you down so I can help. But it's strange, usually your eyes are completely white with a tiny bit of lilac representing the small weakness, your pupils are totally black now, no white at all. It's scary." Tenten is stubborn and will do anything to help one another.

"I warned you, you can do anything to help me."

"Do not underestimate me Neji," Tenten preformed hand seals. She then removed his head band seeing where the seal was, she placed her two fingers on the seal. Neji winced in pain for a second then, he was healed, and his eyes came into focus, and returned to normal. Tenten had used up so much chakra with that she had passed out on top of Neji.

"Tenten, He sighed, he supported her legs and her head and lifted her up and set her on the blanket and covered her up. Most would have blushed in their previous condition, Tenten passed out on top of him and he pinned to the floor by her but he didn't see how it happened and he didn't blush.

In a final point, in Konoha, the wife or fiancée of a man is considered his soul position. It was a disgrace he thought to live like that. The purpose of girls is to live until they are old enough to be sold to a man, to be owned as property and be used. It seemed meaningless. Though Tenten seemed happy, she hadn't been before. Neji knew he had to protect her, it was his duty and he always had. Neji didn't see why you'd marry off so young, such is why that they weren't planning a marriage yet, and he wouldn't plan it until they were at least 17 or so. Until they were comfortable with one another, and she was sure this is what she wanted. Neji couldn't understand, but he didn't have a need to. His only need was to take care of her, and he would.

During the night, unconsciously she curled close to Neji. Neji secured his arm around Tenten in protection of her and then at 5am he awoke. And looked as he was close to her and nervously got up and got breakfast together.

He was sitting near a fire and warming up his hands. "Kunoichi rule, 16-36; a kunoichi is to take care of her male companion at all hours of the day no matter what."

"You always have stuck to the rules haven't you?" Neji asked.

"Of course, here." Tenten handed Neji a pack of pre warmed food that he could set on the fire and have made.

"Thanks."

"Think nothing of it, we'll need our strength." She answered.

"Okay," He replied. "A kunoichi is different then a wife isn't it?"

"I guess, in some ways it is."

Tenten seemed nervous about the topic. "A kunoichi is an all or nothing ninja. They give up their very existence for everyone around them. They were born to die. They were taught how to manipulate human hearts, never to fall in love, and how to be a wife to trick their enemy; they toy with their enemy, then they kill them or are killed."

"Why do you want to be a kunoichi?"

"We're completely trained in Nin-jutsu and we do jobs that men cannot, we die honorable."

"You want to die."

"No."

"Apparently you do."

"You don't get it Neji, I want to be worth something, and I don't have to go out on these missions once I pass the test. I just want a worth in life." Tenten said crying.

"All humans have worth, it's just that your worth isn't as much as you would like. You have a worth to me."

"Yeah sure, as a teammate, and a tool maybe, but not as anything else," Tenten said crying.

Neji pulled her close to him, he knew that the mission was beyond what was expected, what he was told in the mission wasn't all of it. He'd soon find out but for now.

"Tenten, you have to let me help you."

"Why do you care?"

"Tenten, I love you. It's my duty to you and me to take care of you. I don't fail on any mission or duty; especially not one as important as this. I want to know everything that's going on."

Tenten pulled a scroll from her side pouch in her pants and handed it to Neji.

Tenten, if you choose to accept this is the mission: You will infiltrate their base, and use kunoichi 18 to retrieve the child, with Neji and bring the child back.

"What is it?"

"18 are the rules that we have to use anything we have at our disposal to get the item. We're pretty much selling ourselves so that the mission can be completed."

"You don't want to be a Kunoichi this way, do you?" Neji asked.

"Of course not, why don't you get it Neji? I don't find this honorable. I'm horrified of this form deception. I can't handle it. I'm going to fail, I'm only 16, and what do they expect. I just can't." Tenten was a crying mess in his arms.

"It's okay Tenten; we'll get through the mission. I'll make sure you don't have to do anything you don't want to. After what happened a few days ago, you don't need this. No kunoichi at our age should be put through this, its okay." Neji said.

Tenten stopped crying, and she looked up into his eyes and she saw a Neji she hadn't met before. This one was generally concerned about her feelings, and well being. It felt strange but safe, comfortable. She just wanted to fall asleep but she couldn't.

VP: Neji I don't understand, why would anyone choose a path like this? She says she wants to but she can't take it, she's horrified, and scared. What kind of horrible ninja way would do this to any women our age?

I am looking into her eyes and I can see tears. I've never seen tears fall out of anyone's eye before. Not like this, in sympathy, pain and such yes. Not like hers. Tenten, she's so weak and frail on the inside. She works hard to pull it off.

"You know something?"

"No."

"I've never seen anyone cry, it's quite amazing."

"How so?"

"I can't cry my eyes can't make tears as heard as I may want to cry. Hyuugas were trained to never show emotion, we never can through our eyes. They are solid rocks, and by no way, the will be possibly able. After being taught never to, they adjusted, and now can't ever."

"That's so sad."

"Yes it is no tears of happiness, or sadness, pain, or anger. We can never cry."

"But it's what separates humans from animals, emotions, feelings."

"That's why, those carrying kekkei genkai were considered as such, monster animals. You know seeing someone cry is amazing to watch. Your eyes have a sort of glaze over them, that you can read them like a book, now that you cry, my Byakugan eyes can read you much easier."

"Oh, what are they saying?" Tenten asked.

"They're scared, and wounded; the need something to protect them. They need help. I'm going to help them. Windows are portals to the soul, so because my eyes are solid, no one can know my soul. You could talk to me all the time and never truly read me."

"Trust me; I never got the hang of that."

"I know you don't. I promise to protect you. Just don't do anything you don't want to, we'll get this done."

"Okay,"

We finally arrived at the palace and we got dressed in the ceremonial robes of the temple and untied our headbands. I didn't feel quite comfortable taking off my headband, for one, it was an act of treason but since it was a mission we were allowed and two, that headband is all that effects this seal.

"Here,"

"What is it?" It seemed to be a sort of headband, except it didn't have the marking of any village.

"It's a headband; it's metallically reinforced on the inside, but on the outside it's just a headband that normal class students, but they don't know that because there is no symbol."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, now we better go." I nodded and we walked into the palace. The guards merely took us as townspeople of Sunagakure who were visiting the palace.

"Welcome to the temple, I am the Kazekage. And who might you be?"

"Aliz and Nehisaun, who are visiting nomads." Tenten replied just in time. I'm pretty sure she made those names up. "May I see your pass?" Passes, we don't have one, only one licensed to us. Tenten had prepared.

"Of course," Tenten bowed handing him two illegitimate passes.

"Very well, I see you are from places very high up, you wish is to visit my family. You must understand they are out; well at least two of them are. I have three children, one 16, one 17, and one is only a year old."

"We have heard much of your youngest son, and child. Where is he?" Tenten asked.

"I don't consider him my child, he's a monster. I may have brought this upon him, but he has endangered our whole village and destroyed it worst then when we started."

"It seems that you and him alike, had made a huge mistake. Yet no one is a better man to admit their wrong, and fix it." I replied.

"I guess, but it's too many years to return it back to normal. When I found he couldn't and wouldn't help us, he was disbanded from our family that moment, so I couldn't find any respect in that."

"I see." I didn't understand but I wished to tour the village and this is why, to see about this mission.

"Then we must go, we have other business to attend to. We just wished to see them in our little bit of time in town." I answered.

"Oh, very well nomads, good-bye."

"Good-bye," Tenten said.

The Reasons Why… They're Similar or Different:

1. Tenten is happier.

2. She hates silence.

3. He can read minds.

4. He has to constantly concentrate.

5. She asks things.

6. He demands things.

7. They are stubborn.

8. They will do anything to help one another.

9. Neji underestimates her.

10. He saw her life and dreams as a disgrace.

11. He had to protect her.

12. Tenten can cry.

13. They feel comfortable with one another.

14. Neji completely understands her.

15. Tenten barely understands him.

16. They're always prepared.

17. He hadn't expected her to be the kind of person she was.