49. They don't want to fight
If you only knew how much work it took to start writing this story again, you'd feel bad. It's been so long I have no clue what's going on, good thing I took notes of all the chapters and I have UP for guidance. This chapter corresponds to chapter 39 of Uchiha Problems. Oh yeah and sorry it's been two years without an update, originally I wasn't going to continue but I figured that it was best to be completed!
POV: Tenten
I woke up to open my eyes to the familiar sights of my bedroom. The bluish sheets, white walls and yellow lamps. It was all normal. I rolled over. Neji wasn't there. I didn't need to roll over to know, I could just sense it. I got used to it while I was pregnant but after that I had been training with him. I was back to normal but lately I've been exhausted after little effort. Neji was a little bit concerned about me but I figured it was a cold or something. I was worried because I didn't want to give it to Owen or Neji. Owen's immune system was weak and Neji had important things to do. I could afford to be sick.
I went out to the training area to see Neji kneeling in front of Owen apparently trying to teach him how to use his byakugan. "Neji!" I yelled at him. I had strictly told Neji that I didn't want Owen to start training. Probably a million times. Every few days he would ask and I'd tell him the same way. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Tenten, Owen is…"
"I don't care how old he is." I carefully picked up Owen. "He's only a child, our child." I ignored whatever Neji was saying and went inside.
"Did daddy feed you this morning?" I asked him. Neji usually didn't feed him without me.
"Of course I did," Neji said it in a tone that I didn't appreciate. It said 'I'm not an idiot Tenten, I can feed our kid.'
"Daddy feed-ed me." I smiled at him and glared over my shoulder at Neji.
"I'm not incapable of taking care of him while you're asleep Ten." I rolled my eyes. Ten was his nickname for me and he usually used it if he wanted something, he was being playful or when he was trying not to get in a fight. I had been sleeping a lot lately but that didn't excuse his behavior.
I put Owen down. "Why don't you go play in your room? K Owen?"
"K mommy," he said smiling and running off.
I turned to Neji once I knew Owen couldn't hear. "How could you!" I crossed my arms. "I have told you so many times no! No. No! NO!" I screamed at him. I was so irritated at him I was already exhausted.
"He's four Tenten, he has to start someday."
"Why does he have to start?"
"Tenten, be reasonable." He grabbed my shoulders. "We're ninja, we all know how this goes. We train and we train and we train our whole lives to get stronger. Is he just going to be an average store owner? Is that what you want?"
"No…" I said quietly. Of course I wanted him to be a ninja. He had the byakugan! He could be the head of the clan! It was likely with how strong he would become. I mean he was Neji and my son.
"He has to start one day, the sooner the better. I started at 2 and Hinata at 3. He's four, Ten."
I wasn't convinced. "It doesn't change the fact that you went behind my back…." I started. He put his hand on my chin to stop me.
"I just taught him to use his Byakugan, no training. Just a simple command. I promise. If you don't want him to start I'll respect that."
"Really?" I didn't believe that for a second, he wanted Owen to be stronger than anyone else, more than even he was.
"Of course," he hugged me.
"Is Hiroka starting?" He shrugged.
"It's up to Naruto and Hinata." Hinata was afraid to mention it. I mean Naruto didn't train until he decided that he wanted to enter the academy, he had no skills prior. I didn't want Owen behind like that.
"Who would train him?" I asked Neji.
"Hiashi? Or I could?" He suggested.
"I'd much rather than you would." I felt more comfortable. Neji answered the phone and it turned out oddly enough that they were thinking about starting Hiroka in training so I guess they could start together with everyone, including myself there. I wasn't going to let them go through crazy brutal training like I knew Neji had been through.
I went into Owen's room and sat down, I was exhausted. "You sure you're alright Ten?"
"I'm just tired, is all. I hope I'm not getting sick." I didn't feel sick, I felt perfectly fine just easily exhausted.
"Do you think it might be… another kid?" He suggested.
"You mean pregnant?" I asked him. He nodded. I looked at my stomach. I wouldn't know… you can't really tell when it's you. "I'll go to the doctor's later on."
"So to clarify Owen and Hiroka will train."
"With all of us there to watch," I added to make sure it was clear. "And just the basics of the byakugan, nothing crazy." I added.
"Alright, sounds perfectly fair. He is only four." I smiled. He's just our little kid. Sure he was smart, a real prodigy like Neji but that didn't mean he shouldn't be treated like a kid.
After a while I called the hospital to make an appointment, they were open any time. "Bye Owen," I kissed his head. I sighed. "Bye Neji." I kissed his head to and walked away.
I arrived at the hospital. I was nervous. I could have another kid! I didn't know how I felt about it. I loved Owen and kids in general but they were a lot to handle. Especially if we were going to start to train Owen. A newborn and all the problems that came with pregnancy could make life a lot harder. It would explain my exhaustion all the time.
If I had a kid, it wouldn't be bad. I'd love to have another kid. I'd like a little girl who was like me. Owen took after Neji. She'd have Neji's byakugan, it would clearly be a benefit if our kids had my aim and skill with the byakugan. Neji and I as a team were unstopable. Or so I liked to think, it had been so long that maybe we weren't. I laughed. I didn't know if Neji wanted another kid. He wanted kids, I knew that much but did he want another one later or was now good for him. I just smiled. We'd both be happy either way.
A nurse came in, it was Nina she was nice. "What brings you here today?"
"I've been exhausted lately and Neji thought I might be pregnant."
"Well run a test and a few others, just in case. Alright?"
"Sounds good," I sat there as the drew blood samples, chakra samples and other samples. I was used to it after everything I went through when I was having Owen. It didn't bother me to be poke with needles anymore.
I laid backwards and closed my eyes thinking about the little boy or girl who could be inside of me. I smiled. I wanted another kid to love and spend time with. Owen would be busy training soon with everything and then school. I wouldn't have him to baby all the time. He was a little to old to baby anymore. Neji treated him like he was adult, that was a little drastic but it was okay.
After a while Nina came back in. "Mrs. Hyuuga I have some news. The good news is you are pregnant, we can't tell you if it's a boy or girl yet of course, you're only a little bit into your first trimester." I nodded, that was good news. I got up but she stood in front of the door.
"Thank you," I told her and headed toward the door.
"Mrs. Hyuuga that's not it. Your other tests can back positive as well. You have chakra poisoning." I sat down. Chakra Poisoning. I had never heard of it.
"Chakra Poisoning?" It sounded like I had poisoned chakra. Who poisoned my chakra? Was that even possible? Is this a joke?"
"It's a type of cancer called Hypertonic Chakra Absorbtion," she told me.
"Which means?"
"The amount of chakra in your body is less yours than it is that of other people's which is killing your system. It takes your chakra to be the enemy and tries to make more of the foreign chakra thus their chakra increases in your body until you die as your chakra is killed off." I leaned forward resting my head against my hands. I was dying.
"The good news is it is curable," she told me but her eyes said there was something else.
"We cycle in large amounts of 'empty' chakra to push out all of your chakra and then purify yours and return it to you. The empty chakra does no damage to you because you'll be seemingly 'dead' during the proceedure. We have to shut down your entire system for it."
"I'm pregnant."
"Yes, the…" I stood up. I was smarter than that. You couldn't tell me that the child would live, it would be a lie. They'd tell me that it was best that they terminate the pregnancy. I couldn't do that, not in a million years. That kid inside of me, it was mine, it was Neji's too. They wouldn't hurt it. I had to do something… I just didn't know what.
"I will be going now. I'm sorry there isn't anything you can do." I told her and I pushed past her.
The world is a lonely place when you're going to die. I supposed I didn't have long to live, that kid probably had less time than me. I didn't have the time. Chakra Poisoning… I knew how and why I had it. I laughed, years and years of practice. It was ironic the man I had trained with for so long to make me stronger, to make him stronger. The man who's kid was inside of me and I loved so dearly. It was him who was killing me. I had taken so much of his chakra into my system; I was surprised I was still alive.
I suppose that's why his attacks didn't disable me anymore, they simply slowed me down. My body accepted the chakra and took it in while rejecting my own. I wondered home. I needed so spend my last few days or weeks with my family. I couldn't tell Neji though. I looked at the sun, it was still high in the sky. I would say bye to Owen and then go somewhere.
I walked toward the room, Neji would be training. I hit something and fell on top of them. I looked to see it was Neji. My heart shattered. I couldn't tell him what was going on, I had to pretend that everything was alright. I closed my eyes. I couldn't… I was dying! I wanted to smack myself for being weak. I am Hyuuga Tenten, I am strong. That's what I told myself, I didn't feel like that.
"Tenten, what's wrong?" I looked at him, I was going to cry and break down.
"Mommy," Owen walked over to me. He cute little smile and his goregous hyuuga eyes. I hugged him. I had to be strong, for him. I couldn't cry or break down.
"I love you Owen." I whispered to him.
"Love you too Mommy," he told me. I returned with Neji to our living area and put Owen in his room play area. I just watched him but Neji wanted to talk to me so we went to our room.
"What's wrong?" He asked me.
"Uh…" I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell him anything. He pulled me closer to him on the bed but I shook my head and went to my side of the bed, closed my eyes trying not to cry just wanting to go to sleep. I couldn't sleep without having Neji there, I need him.
He laid down next to me, taking my hair out of their familiar buns and I tried to sleep. The phone rang and he jumped up so he wouldn't wake me. I heard that is was the doctor and they were telling him everything that was going on to me. He hang up the phone. I was sniffling, trying not to cry.
I couldn't face him so I made a dash for the door, he stopped me. "Neji let go of me right now!" I yelled at him, trying to get past not wanting to cry.
"No," He said in such a strong tone.
"Please,"I said quietly. He picked me up and laid me on the bed. I mumbled stuff about being a disgrace to the family and how I just want to go. I was an embarassment. I was dying because I let too much foreign chakra into my body. I let my husband accidentally kill me.
"Listen to me, Ten." He told me, trying to keep my attention. "Please." I didn't want to.
"Fine," I said.
"I want you to rest. I love you Tenten." He said other things but I couldn't listen. He activated his byakugan and started at each of my chakra points and I could feel my chakra being taken from me. Was he taking his chakra back? I felt very tired but he kissed me hoping that it would all be better. He collapsed on the bed, I called for help.
I went to the hospital with my remaining energy to see what was going on. I had equal amounts of his chakra and my own. I would make more of my own and Neji's was accepted because of the kid which had his chakra too. I went into his room and hugged him. I was so happy, I would be okay. I'd have to be careful with the kind of chakra I took in but I would be great. My body knew his chakra, and wouldn't harm mine. Neji was going to be fine, he just used up a lot of chakra and had taken in a lot as well.
I didn't like to fight with him. It wasn't fun and I hated it. We both had points to be made and good reasons. We were after all smart reasonable adults. Our faults were, we were both stubborn and determined. I'm glad he was determined to save me because now I can have that kid. I can live with him and Owen forever. I can train again… in another 10 months or so. I smiled. Everything would be better.
