Chapter 2: The Mission
The three of them left the lab and went back to the living room. Tenten took the two cups she and Neji had used to the kitchen then went back to the living room.
"Since we're practically on the job you guys are welcome to stay until Ino gets here and we start our mission"
"Great I'll see you two later"
"You know where the guest room is?" she called after him
"Yeah, goodnight"
She turned to Neji and looked up at him
"Can I talk to you?" she asked then made her way to the bedroom and Neji followed suit
Neji took a seat on the bed while Tenten stood with her back to him.
"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked and lay down on the bed
"About what happened earlier, what we talked about in the kitchen…could you not…" she trailed off
"Don't worry I won't tell anyone, you didn't even need to ask, I would never betray your trust like that"
"Thank you" she said quietly then walked up to the bed and sat next to Neji and looked down at him
"It's actually quite hard to believe that you weren't always this strong and determined" he spoke with his eyes closed
"Yeah well life has a way of changing people" she admitted then rested her head on his chest and looked at the clock on her side table; it was half past two in the morning. Ino would arrive at her house in four and a half hours. She was going to need as much rest as possible if she wanted to be ready for their mission later so without hesitation she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Six forty five a.m.
Tenten tiredly opened her eyes and looked around the room and realised that she wasn't asleep on Neji's chest like she'd been a few hours ago. It seems at some point during their slumber the two of them got a lot closer together. She was curled up against him while his arms were around her waist. He was still fast asleep so she carefully unwrapped herself from his arms and went to take a shower. A few minutes later she came out of the bathroom in a towel and went straight to her closet. She picked out black skinny jeans and a black mandarin collared sleeveless shirt with white cherry blossoms on it.
"You're very trusting, getting changed comfortably while there's a man in your room" Neji spoke with his eyes closed since she was changing
"Of course I trust you, I mean we've been on missions where we've had to share a bed and nothing happened then so what could possibly happen if I change in front of you. And besides I know you wouldn't so anything, you could've watched me change right now but you didn't." she responded
They made their way to the living room when a knock came from the door. Tenten answered it and led Ino inside.
"Alright so what are we doing today?" she asked as she sat down on the couch then saw Sasuke walk in the room after she'd greeted Neji
"Wow so much eye candy so early in the morning. Did you enjoy having two guys to snuggle with Tenten?" Ino asked sarcastically
"Yes I did if you must know" Tenten played along "Now getting back to the actual mission, did you bring the files along like I asked?"
"Yep they're all here" said Ino as she took three files out of her handbag
"Alright tonight we're going to the exclusive Shots for All night club. The owner of the night club is Koji Mashite age 23. Ino he is your target for the evening, we know he loves women so you'll have to look beyond enticing to get his attention. And as for me, I'll be searching the area in disguise as well—apparently Koji makes his weapons shipments via the night club. I want to see if I can find a match to the blade found in Lee's chest. Neji and Sasuke you two will be backing us up from inside" she finished explaining "Oh yeah Ino what about Shikamaru?"
"I already spoke to him, he'll hack into the security of the night club and watch and back us up from HQ." Ino explained
"As for outfits, Ino you'll need to show some skin and a lot of cleavage and unfortunately I'll be doing the same"
"What do you mean?" asked Sasuke
"The waitress outfit that I'll be wearing is a skin tight black leather halter, plunging V-neckline jumpsuit."
"That's not so bad, your outfit is a jumpsuit so at least it's just some chest you're showing" commented Ino
"Don't let the name 'jumpsuit' fool you, the bottom of this outfit—if you can call it that— barely covers my ass. But on the bright side I at least get to cover up a bit with this white blazer"
"I think I can honestly say that everyone in this room—except you—is looking forward to seeing you in that disguise" she smirked at Tenten.
Xxx
It was six o clock in the evening; the team was at FIRE Headquarters in Akihabara. Tenten and Ino were getting ready while Neji and Sasuke joined Shikamaru in the control room and watched him hack into the night club they were just about to infiltrate. Shikamaru's phone vibrated, it was a message from Ino:
"We're good to go"
"You two should head downstairs the girls are ready" said Shikamaru not taking his eyes away from the computer screen.
The two agents made their way to the elevator; and stood in silence as the numbers descended from the floor they were on.
"You ready?" Sasuke spoke up
"I suppose so but it all depends on whether or not the girls can pull it off"
"You have doubts?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him
"I have full faith in them but the mission doesn't only concern them, they're up against an enemy who's managed to make a name for himself in the dark underbelly of the city at the age of twenty three."
"It's not like they're going alone; that's what we're there for. Me, you and Shikamaru—the Lightning Class team that have the highest success rates for missions. You don't have to worry about Tenten; she can take care of herself"
"I never said…" he trailed off
"You didn't have to" Sasuke finished then went silent when the elevator doors opened
The both of them walked out and went straight to the transformation section. They walked into the first room on the right side. Ino just walked out of her changing room when the guys walked in: she was wearing a turquoise halter dress with a plunging V-neckline that went down to the middle of her stomach. The dress in cinched at the waist and was free flowing all the way to the floor with a thigh high slit on the left with bronze below the knee gladiator heels. She wore plum lipstick, mascara and she had brunette hair curled and resting on her right shoulder. She also wore hazel eye contacts.
"You went with brunette hair and hazel eyes this time, it suits you"
"Thanks, is Tenten out yet?" she asked as she adjusted her contacts
"I'm just about done" came Tenten from the changing room
A few seconds later she emerged wearing a pair of black high heels, with white knee high socks with black ribbons in either leg. Then the actual 'outfit' was—as mentioned before—a skin tight black leather halter, plunging V-neckline jumpsuit. But the bottom barely covered her butt and accompanied by a white blazer. She had sapphire contact lenses with crimson red hair tied in a slick ponytail and lipstick to match.
Tenten stared at her friends who remained silent for a while. They looked pretty much speechless.
"Well how do I look?" she asked feeling slightly self-conscious
"Holy crap Tenten you look so HOT. You look flawless" Ino went on complimenting her
"You guys got your new identities?" asked Sasuke
"Yeah I'm Miyasu Kokoni age twenty three and just moved to Tokyo" said Tenten
"And I'm Keiko Hizaki age twenty three and looking for a good deal. Alright let's get going." said Ino as she and Sasuke left ahead of Neji and Tenten. The two of them stood in silence for a moment until she looked up at Neji and noticed him staring making her smile
"What's with that look?" he asked slightly amused himself
"I know that face, you're thinking all kinds of things right now aren't you? Things about us that aren't exactly innocent"
"What guy wouldn't think this way if they saw their best friend in a scantily clad outfit? I mean seriously you look incredibly attractive in that" he admitted honestly
18:30 Tokyo, Shots for All nightclub
The group arrived and parked behind the nightclub. Miyasu left first and entered through the back entrance. Music blared from inside the building as she searched for the staff lounge. She walked into the room and saw about twenty-five-or-so girls all wearing the same uniform she was wearing. They all looked to be in their twenty's. Miyasu looked around the room in awe; it was exquisitely decorated for a staff lounge. There was a crystal chandelier in the centre of the ceiling, a white marble fire-place with three two-seaters as well as a buffet table and a walk in closet.
"Are you new here?" asked a woman with a black pixie-cut bob and green eyes
"Um, yeah I start today" Miyasu replied
"Oh welcome to the nightclub. If you want I could show you around"
"I'd really appreciate it"
"I'm Kara Ritomika" she smiled then led the way to the main bar
"I'm Miyasu Kokoni" she introduced herself as she followed Kara
The two of them walked down a long hallway and the further they went the louder the music became. They eventually made it to the club; the room was currently purple courtesy of the disco light on the ceiling. Masses of people were dancing or drinking or both at the same time. The bar was to the left of the dancefloor where slightly older men would drown themselves in alcohol and fill their minds with lust as they tried their luck with the younger waitresses. This made Miyasu feel slightly self-conscious but she pushed those thoughts away –she had a mission and she was going to complete it.
"Basically your job is to serve the customers as well as give them something a little extra if you know what I mean" said Kara a little suggestively "Observe…" she took two glasses of tequila to a table of two young men. She slowly leaned in and placed the glasses on coasters while she flirtatiously smiled at the two guys who stared yearningly at her semi-exposed chest.
"Enjoy your drinks" she said in a low voice then walked back to Miyasu "See its simple" she said as she placed her tray on the counter top and picked up a list and read it.
"Oh it looks like we're split up; I'm filling in orders on the other side of the bar. Will you be alright on your own?"
"Yeah I'll be fine" she replied with a smile and watched Kara walk away. Miyasu then turned her attention to the entrance and saw a young man walk in. He looked exactly like the picture she'd showed the others back at her place
"Target acquired" she spoke into her ear-com "I'm going in" she picked up her tray and walked in his direction. She then 'accidentally' bumped into him
"Oh my gosh I am sorry, I wasn't paying attention" she apologised
"No it's my fault" he too apologised as he helped her up "Wow you're absolutely gorgeous…"
"Um thank you" she blushed
"I haven't seen you around here, did you just start or something?"
"Yeah my shift started twenty minutes ago"
"Is that so?" he smirked "Well I hope you enjoy working here" he kissed her hand before smiled at her then walked away
"Ino get ready, I've diverted him to your direction"
"Got it I see him now" Ino replied
"Oh and be careful he's actually quite good looking and he clearly knows how to smooth over women. Don't let him win you over" Miyasu admitted
"Tenten—I mean Miyasau—who do think you're talking to? I'm a professional I can handle him" she then focused on the man walking towards her.
"Now how is it that someone as stunning as you is dateless?" he asked with a charming smile as he sat next to her
"I was actually waiting for someone" she returned the smile
"And he hasn't arrived yet?"
"Actually he just did" she said flirtatiously
"Oh…" he purred "And what is it that I can do for you?" he whispered into her ear
"Actually it's business so let's talk somewhere more private" she spoke with her lips literally hovering above his
"No problem follow me"
Meanwhile Neji had pulled Miyasu aside to talk to her.
"I just got word from Navy Lightning that Koji's weapons room is in the basement of the nightclub" he filled her in in the empty hallway with a staircase leading to an area off-limits to anyone except for Koji.
"Fantastic my shift ends soon so I can sneak in and find out—
"Guys Koji and Keiko are headed in your direction" Shikamaru warned them through their ear-pieces
"And he'll be suspicious if he finds one of his staff members in an off-limits area" Miyasu panicked
"Neji it looks like you'll have to go with 'the chemistry rule' " Shikamaru said clearly amused
"It would seem so" Neji smirked "How close are they?"
"They'll reach you in nine seconds" Shikamaru confirmed
"Tenten open your left eye ten seconds after our time's up"
5…4…3
"Alright but what is—
He cut her off by pressing his lips against hers. By the time she'd processed that he was kissing her she heard Koji and Keiko turn into the hallway they were in. She dropped her tray and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She'd caught on to his idea—no one would be suspicious of two young adults in a sultry nightclub alone in an off-limits area if it was for the right reason—and their reason was being alone in order to make out. What started off as a gentle kiss quickly got passionate as he deepened it and wrapped his arms a little tighter around her waist.
Half of her was cursing him for dropping a bomb like that on her without any heads-up but the other half was too busy enjoying the kiss to care. But she could enjoy it no longer because time was up. She opened her left eye just as Neji had told her and she saw Koji walking up the staircase followed by Keiko who caught her eye and winked at Miyasu before she followed Koji upstairs.
As soon as he heard a door close Neji slowly pulled away from Miyasu however she wasn't so ready to break the kiss since she leaned in a little after he pulled back. This made him smirk.
"Don't tell me that my lips had that much of an effect on you" he said clearly amused as he noticed her blushing cheeks. Miyasu quickly regained her composure.
"Don't flatter yourself…" she bent down to pick up her tray "Now if you will excuse me I have a job to do" The double meaning of her words weren't lost to Neji. He just watched her walk away with a satisfied look on his face. An hour later Miyasu returned to the hallway and made her way downstairs to the basement. The room was larger than she expected and had dozens of crates—all with the same logo as the knife that was used to kill Lee had. She walked to the nearest one and lifted the heavy wooden lid. In that crate was an arsenal of pistols and revolvers. She opened a second crate and found exactly what she'd been looking for—knives that looked identical to the one the killer used. Miyasu took her cellphone out of her leg holster and took multiple photos of them.
A sound from behind startled her; someone was coming inside and getting caught wasn't an option. She ran a few feet up the wall near the door and launched herself towards one of the supporting beams and climbed on top. Whoever walked in went straight to the crate filled with knives and took one of them out. As soon as he turned around and faced the light pouring in from the hallway Miyasu confirmed that it was Koji. I thought he was with Keiko—she said in her head.
"Navy Lightning give me a location on Koji right now" she whispered into her ear piece
"He's in his office talking—well flirting rather—with Keiko" he responded
It didn't make any sense for Koji to be with Keiko when he was standing in the room with Miyasu at that very moment. What's going on here?—she thought in her head. As soon as he left Miyasu jumped down and left the weapons room unnoticed and went back to the nightclub.
Meanwhile Keiko was sitting on Koji's desk as he stood in front of her, his arms on either side of her.
"So what business do you have here?" he asked
"I know that you've got weapons and I'm looking to buy one to teach a certain man a lesson" she coolly replied
"Let me guess you found this guy with another woman so you want revenge" he moved a little closer
"Something like that" she lied "All I want to do is show him how it feels to be stabbed" she let some emotion slip through "And just to make it ironic I want to buy a knife that I know he has and I know he got it here recently within a two week frame. And I also know that you only deal with clients face-to-face"
"Damn babe you did your homework and I do remember having three customers these past two weeks so he must be one of them. Everything is in that book over there." He pointed to the book next to his computer monitor. That was his mistake—letting anyone know anything about his business but he was so taken by Keiko that he didn't think about the repercussions of letting an outsider know of his work.
"Mind if I take a look?" she asked softly
"Sorry babe client-confidentiality is one of my rules but if you can pay I can definitely get you one of my custom made knives"
"Oh I can definitely pay" she looked into his piercing grey eyes
"Then I'll be right back" he slowly pulled away from her and walked out of the room. She smiled to herself.
"Time to get to work" she pulled off the bottom half of her left earring and revealed it to be USB that she plugged into his computer and began copying files concerning the company of weapons he owned. Normally copying that much info would take a few hours but because she was an agent she was able to get everything she needed in one minute as well as taking photos of the names in the book of customers all before Koji returned. And when he walked in he found her exactly where he'd left her. He placed the package containing the knife on the table.
"Now…" he kissed her "Let's forget about all this and get to the main event" he kissed her again and put his arms around her waist. Keiko put her arms around his neck and kissed him harder. Within a few seconds of kissing her he fell to the ground unconscious.
"Well it looks like that knockout lipstick really does work. Sorry babe but I've got to go." She said to his sleeping body before she walked out of the room and back to the nightclub with the package in her hand. As soon as she was gone he opened his eyes and stood up immediately.
"Sorry babe but that old trick won't work on me. Now go and tell Tenten and the others what you learned" he smirked "I do look forward to seeing you all again"
Xxx
Back at HQ the team met in the control room to discuss the mission.
"Alright so what have you guys learned?" said Tenten as she walked in the room with Ino; they'd changed back into their original clothes.
"Well overall the mission was a success. The photos you took and the knife Ino managed to get her hands on match the type of knife found in Lee's chest." He placed all three items side-by-side. "Now all we have left to do is figure out which of the three clients is our killer and that's where Neji comes in"
"Great now that everything's under control can you guys tell me what 'the chemistry rule' is"
"Oh yeah I almost forgot about that. You finally got your chance Neji" Shikamaru chuckled
"The chemistry rule' is a protocol that the three of us created" Sasuke added in
"You guys came up with your own protocol" Tenten asked a little surprised
"Yeah whenever a member of the Lightning Class is partnered up with a previous female teammate and happens to find themselves in a rather delicate social situation 'The chemistry rule' is perfect for diffusing the situation" Sasuke explained
"So the both of you have already used this protocol then?" she directed her attention to Shikamaru and Sasuke
"Yep Sasuke with Sakura and me with Ino" said Shikamaru
"What are the men of this organisation coming to?" she said before walking out of the room
She walked outside and took in a deep breath of the city air. The city was so loud and bright as she looked down at the neon lights that illuminated the vibrant city. She closed her eyes and leaned against the rails of the balcony.
"Are you alright?" she opened her eyes to the person that spoke
"Hinata…yeah I'm fine just thinking"
"The pressure isn't getting to you right?"
"No it's not that I was just thinking that I need a change of scenery. There are too many memories of Lee back at my apartment; he used to come over a lot. I need some time to clear my head and gain some new perspective"
"Then why don't you?" Hinata asked looking concerned for her friend
"And go where? I can't take time off in the middle of an assignment"
"You don't need to go far just somewhere you can be that isn't at your apartment. Like my place for example"
"No I couldn't I don't want to invade your space"
"You won't be…it'll be fun, I insist" she smiled at Tenten
"Well if you insist"
Hinata parked her car in the driveway and got out. The two agents walked inside the house.
"Goodness and I thought the outside was huge. Your house looked a lot smaller at the party ironically" Tenten stared around the room in awe
Her eyes were greeted with exquisite—and expensive—decorations. Marble white floors and twin staircases and a chandelier that hung in the centre.
They walked upstairs and into Hinata's bedroom which was white and navy: the carpet matched the navy duvet cover while the curtains and walls were white. A large mahogany study desk with a laptop was on the left of the room and to the right was a balcony with a table and four chairs. Next to that was the bathroom which had champagne coloured tiles; a large white marble bathtub and a two person shower with frosted glass.
"Your room is just as beautiful as I remember" said Tenten as she placed her bags down
"Thanks"
A knock on the door caught their attention
"Hinata I've already made dinner—Tenten?" he looked surprised
"Hey Neji" she casually greeted
"Oh Neji I forgot to tell you that I invited Tenten over for the weekend. It's not a problem right?"
"Not at all" he replied "Dinner's on the table" he left and closed the door behind him
"Shall we?" Hinata asked
"Of course" the two of them left the room and went downstairs and sat at the family table. Neji was in the kitchen dishing up a plate for Tenten. He then came to the table and sat down with them.
"So what's the occasion?" he asked
"I just needed a change of scenery and Hinata invited me over for that reason. I just wanted to clear my head."
"Too many memories?" he asked
"Yeah" she then took a forkful of lasagne
"It's so strange we're two weeks into the investigation and I still can't believe that Lee's gone. I mean I know the bad guy is angry for being defeated but why kill?—why kill at all?" Hinata said sadly
"Why kill indeed?" Neji finished his food then folded his arms "There are countless reasons as to why people kill, revenge is just one of them. But we agents can't afford to be naïve about anything; the world is cruel place."
"Neji's right Hinata we can't afford to let personal opinions cloud the real situation. As a new agent; my advice to you is to think about your training and think of the real world as five times worse. Training may have been hell but compared to the real world it's nothing because in the real world the bad guys don't follow protocol."
"But that's why we have teammates to back us up on missions"
Hinata looked down at her plate with a feeling of fear settling in
"You two have seen your fair share of casualties right?" she asked them to which they looked to each other for a response.
"Yeah we have but never one that's hit home as hard as this one" Tenten finished
The three of them cleared up the table then went upstairs. Tenten went to take a shower. As the warm water beat down against her skin she kept thinking about her kiss with Neji at the nightclub. There was more to that kiss than just a distraction and they both knew it but they never got the chance to speak to each other about it. Ten minutes later she stepped out of the shower dried herself and began blow-drying her hair. As soon as she finished she put on her underwear and night-gown and walked into the bedroom
"What the—Neji what are you doing in here?" she asked and realised that Neji was seeing her in her underwear for a second time
"Hinata left her clothes in my room so I brought them back"
"Oh…what was she doing in your room?" Tenten asked walking to the bed
"She's using my shower while you used hers" he suddenly smirked which made her suspicious "Why are you so worried about me being in here anyways? It's not like I've never seen you in your underwear before"
"Well for one thing I don't want you staring at me like that. Just because you've seen me like this doesn't mean it's okay. I don't want you getting used to this"
"Trust me Tenten when it comes to you, I'll never get used to it"
"Oh brother" she rolled her eyes at him
"Come now Tenten don't act like you don't like this" he walked closer and stopped right in front of her
"Hey I never said that" she looked up into his eyes
"You didn't have to. Actions speak louder than words" he then put his arms around her waist and leaned in
"I don't remember giving you permission to put your arms around me" she smirked and leaned in as well
"If you didn't want me to you would have stopped me by now"
"Well I guess I just figured that since I let you come this far I might as well let you finish…so finish. Our lips are almost touching and what if—hypothetically—I want to kiss you as much as you want to kiss me" she then pressed herself against him and wrapped her arms around his neck "It's your move Neji so you better make it now. I'm sure Hinata's done showering"
He leaned in to whisper in her ear
"And since it's my move I choose not to use it now. But don't worry I will kiss you just when you least expect it" he then kissed her neck making her moan slightly. He smirked against her skin then slowly pulled away from her neck and back to her face. He looked into her chocolate brown eyes for a moment before uttering a-goodnight-and brushing his lips over hers and finally leaving the room. Tenten just stood where she was slowly shaking her head with a cheeky smile on her face. That man just loves teasing me—she said in her head.
Hinata walked past her cousin on her way back to her room and noticed that he looked surprisingly happy and when she walked into her room she found Tenten with the same expression. She knew something had happened between the two of them but she decided not to ask. She just went to her cupboard to get her silk lavender pyjama dress.
"Your cousin really is something Hinata, you know that?" she said from her laying position on the bed
"Only when you're around Tenten" she said softly with a smile on her face
"What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing"
The girls went to bed at 23:00 but they hadn't fallen asleep yet.
"Do you still think about that night?" asked Tenten
"Yeah…I can still see myself walking in here and finding his body. I just wish I could forget seeing him like that, motionless."
"It'll get better with time"
"Will it though? Or is that just something people say to be optimistic?" she spoke quietly
Tenten didn't know how to answer that question because she didn't know the answer herself. The two agents eventually fell asleep as the crickets chirped outside and the moon watched them sleep. It was two a.m. when Tenten's phone started vibrating. She tiredly grabbed it from under her pillow and squinted her eyes to look at the bright screen to see who was calling—it was Shikamaru. She picked up immediately
"Shikamaru? What's up?" she spoke tiredly into the phone
"I've discovered something and it's important" he replied in a serious tone
"Can't it wait until the sun's up?"
"I'm afraid it can't. Are you home?"
"No I'm at Neji and Hinata's place for the weekend"
"Alright I'm on my way" he put the phone down before she could get another word in
Tenten looked to her side and saw Hinata was still fast asleep so she carefully slid out of her bed and walked out of the room and her night-gown over her black pyjama shirt and white shorts. As she approached Neji's room she saw that his light was still on. She decided to walk in and check on him. Neji was sitting at his desk with a lot of files and photographs.
"You know working yourself to death won't guarantee that you'll find the killer faster" she said as she approached his desk. He looked up at her with a serious look on his face.
"I just want to be sure that I didn't miss anything" he went back to reading the reports. She walked around the desk, removed all the files and papers and sat right in front of him on the desk.
"Neji look at me" she said seriously and as soon as he did she saw the unmistakable look of fatigue in his eyes "You need to sleep"
"No I need to get back to work" he said bringing the repots back but she slammed her hands on top of them before he could get them and he finally gave up on trying to work. She then got off his desk and sat him down on his bed while she sat behind him and kneaded his shoulders. He immediately relaxed and closed his eyes as she continued on
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure" he replied
"Are you doing this to distract yourself?"
"Distract myself from what?" but she didn't answer and he knew what she was talking about "No I'm not trying to distract myself"
"Well it sure seems that way; I mean aren't you tired?"
"Honestly I'm exhausted"
"Then why don't you let yourself rest?"
"Because if I don't get this work done then who will?" he slightly tensed up
She sighed "You know what I've noticed about us…" she stopped massaging him and sat next to him on the bed "That over the duration of our friendship; it's always been you asking if I'm coping or how I'm doing but you never seem to talk about yourself. Although I'm partly to blame since I don't ask but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't talk about yourself though."
"Tenten I ask you those questions because I'm genuinely worried about you and I'm not using my work as a distraction or to cover up my emotions."
"Well wrapping yourself in work in order to forget how you feel is a typical Neji thing to do. And it all works out for you; I mean I'm just a regular agent but you're an agent for regular assignments and you're a part of the Lightning Class for incredibly difficult assignments that normal agents can't handle. That's twice the work and half the amount of sleep that I get. It just seems like you haven't felt anything since that night"
"What makes you say that?" he asked
"I mean the way you worked that crime-scene was like Lee was nothing special at all"
"That's only because I've become so accustomed to it. I was on auto-pilot when I worked through the crime-scene. I'm so used to it that it's second nature. And you're mistaking indifference for numbness. I was so shocked at what I saw that I just went numb; I just couldn't react. I'd even surprised myself" he looked down into his lap as he spoke. As close as he and Tenten were, his body may have been in the room but his mind was a million miles away. He felt distanced from her.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I reacted the way did?" he asked and looked at her
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really"
"Well then there isn't much more I can do. I can't make you tell me what happened, it's your choice, and you have to want to tell me. Until then I'll wait" she replied "But one thing I can do is make you go to sleep"
"And how do plan on doing that?"
"Are you honestly telling me that you have enough energy to fight me on this?" he paused for a moment and realised that he was no match for her considering that she'd been asleep while he was working. He was exhausted just thinking about arguing with her.
"Alright I'll go to sleep" he said before yawning
Tenten watched him get in the blankets and lay his head on the pillow. He looked as though he'd fallen asleep immediately; she smiled to herself before walking out the door and heading downstairs. She boiled the kettle and made herself some tea. As soon as she sat down on the couch in the living room she saw headlights make their way onto the drive way.
She opened the door for him and showed him to the living room.
"So what was so urgent that it couldn't wait, Shikamaru?" he looked at her questioningly
"What, it's after hours, so I'm allowed to call you by your name. So what's up?"
"It's about our friend Koji"
"What about him?" she raised a brow at him
"I went over the footage from the nightclub and found something shocking" he explained as he took out his laptop and opened a few files "This is him when he came to the basement the same time you were there and this is him when he was in his office with Ino. Notice anything strange?"
"No ways that's impossible, he's…
The two videos were captured simultaneously. Tenten observed the times, the first when he was in his office was 20:31:15 and the second when he was in the basement with Tenten was 20:31:17.
"In two places at once." He finished her sentence
"How's that possible?"
"I don't know but how ever he did it is the key to how he took out Lee. I got Sakura's report of her examination of Lee's body. She figured the Time of Death to be between half past ten and half past eleven."
"Hmm…that's around the time Sasuke and I were followed by someone when we were outside. He was probably watching his own back while the other one was taking care of Lee"
"That's true and it's no trick I did a scan on both of the Koji's, they're one-hundred percent identical, not a single flaw with either of them. So it's not just some disguise their genetics are the same as well."
"Maybe he has a twin"
"I already checked his family history, he's an only child"
They talked for a while longer but weren't any closer to the truth than they were from the beginning. It was three a.m. when it started raining and Shikamaru said goodnight and headed for the door. Tenten decided to walk him to his car.
The two of them walked close together under the large umbrella shielding them from the rain. Shikamaru pressed the unlock button on his car keys and that's when Tenten caught it. It was barely a whiff but Tenten recognised the unmistakable scent in the air…His hand had just pulled the door handle.
"SHIKAMARU WAIT—
She pushed him out of the way just in time to avoid the explosion of his car. The sound of the explosion tore through the pouring rain and lit up the sky for an instant then leaving behind a plume of black smoke drifting lazily into the black sky.
"You alright?" she asked still holding on to him
"Yeah I'm fine thanks to you. What about you?"
"I've been better" she was clutching on to her left side and her night-gown was stained with blood. "I think a piece of the debris got me"
"What the hell—Tenten, Shikamaru!" yelled Neji as he ran towards them "What happened?!"
"Looks like a bomb was planted in Shikamaru's car" said Tenten "But can we talk about this inside away from the rain?" Neji picked her up and headed inside with Shikamaru
"What was that explosion just now?" came Hinata
"I'll explain while Tenten gets patched up" said Shikamaru as he gladly took the towel Hinata handed him to dry himself off
Neji carried her to his bathroom upstairs and set her on the counter-top. She immediately removed her wet night-gown and dried herself.
"Your wound needs to be cleaned and wrapped up. I'll go get Hinata—
"No Neji it's fine, you can do it…I trust you"
He paused for a moment
"Alright then"
Tenten slowly took off her shirt and folded her arms over her chest while Neji got the disinfectant from one of the cabinets. Tenten didn't feel as uncomfortable as she thought she would having Neji see her body so close. She actually felt quite relaxed about it because she knew Neji better than anyone else, that he wouldn't try anything. She looked down at him with a smile on her face wondering what was going through his head at that moment.
Neji held the wet cloth against her left side and heard a small yelp escape her lips as the disinfectant shot a stinging wave through her body and as she winced her muscles in her stomach contracted and he could see the outline of her muscles. Tenten had a toned body. But Neji kept a straight face, if he were anyone else; he'd have all kinds of inappropriate thoughts swimming through his mind at that moment but that wasn't the type of guy he was especially not when the situation was so serious. He just didn't feel for Tenten in that way—or so he told himself but found it harder to believe each time he tried to convince himself.
After he cleaned the wound he got a roll of bandages and slowly wrapped them around her torso. The feeling of his hands gliding over her stomach and back made her stomach flutter. When he finished he stood up and was about to put the bandages away when suddenly Tenten wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. At first he just stood still but then he hugged her back and stood in silence with her for what seemed like an eternity. He looked at his reflection in the mirror hugging her; she fit perfectly between his arms.
"What was this for?" he finally asked with a small smile on his lips
"Just something I felt I had to do"
As soon as they separated they went down stairs
"Alright now that I'm all patched up we can talk about what just happened" said Tenten as she slowly sat down on the couch
"What I want to know the most is how you knew the bomb was there" said Shikamaru from the couch opposite hers.
"I didn't know it was there until just before it went off. There was a very feint smell in the air and that smell comes from a Pressure Dependent Explosive."
"What's a Pressure Dependent Explosive?" asked Neji
"It's a twenty millimetre round bomb that goes off when the correct pressure level is reached. Each bomb has its own pressure level for detonation to occur, making it one of the most difficult bombs to defuse. The reason the Pressure Dependent Explosive—or P-D-E worked in Shikamaru's car was because of the cold weather. When all the doors and windows of a car are closed the pressure outside and inside the car is very different. The cold evening making the air in the car colder created a cold high pressure system and that activated the bomb. Just before the bomb goes off it releases a colourless and almost undetectable smoke."
"Wait if it's undetectable then how did you smell it?" asked Shikamaru
"I never said it was undetectable, I said it was almost undetectable. It can only be picked up by dogs like Bloodhounds and German Shepherds. It smells quite similar to hydrogen gas. It can also be picked up by specialists who have trained with every weapon and explosive for at the last ten years" she pointed to herself with a confident smile
"Now getting back to the bomb, the instant the pressure is disturbed the bomb goes off; so in your case, the second you opened the door you set it off."
"But how did the person time it so perfectly that it would go off the next time Shikamaru tried to open his car?" Hinata thought out loud
"I thought the same thing, if it was high pressure the bomb needed to detonate then it should have used up two hours minimum. Shikamaru where were you at around one a.m.?"
"I was still at the agency finishing off some work"
"That's it that's when the bomb was planted, either it was an inside job or he's infiltrated the agency"