Chapter 7: Trepidation
The storm outside became more violent as Tenten glared at the man who killed her mother right in front her—immediately stripping her of her innocence. She clutched on to her katana as though for dear life. But the man in front of her wasn't intimidated by her at all, quite the opposite in fact, he looked at her with a smug look on his face almost as though he was glad to see her so livid.
"You're right Tenten we should have settled this a long time ago, but you've been a little difficult to find, almost as though you we're trying to avoid me" he said with a sadistic grin "So how are your parents doing—
She came at him with her katana but he blocked her with his own. They were deadlocked neither stronger than the other at that moment until Tenten released her katana causing the rather strong man to fall forward but not before Tenten landed a solid kick in his stomach. It took him a moment to recover then he stood up.
"That was a good kick; they teach you that at the agency?"
"I have nothing to say to you" she said acidly
"Fine then; come at me with everything that you've got" he said as he pulled out a second katana
And with that they went full force. Tenten too had a second katana; sparks flew in all directions as the two of them crossed swords with all of their strength. As the fight drew on Tenten got angrier and angrier—she attacked him with killing intent. Her heart thundered in her chest and she could feel all her pent up rage rushing to the surface and all she wanted to do was take it out on him. She back flipped over, kicked him in the back then swept her leg under his but he regained his balance. Tenten then used the hilt of her sword to jab him in the stomach before kneeing him in the stomach and throwing him over shoulder and slamming him to the ground.
But he wasn't injured enough to lose the fight—he swept his sword under her feet but she managed to jump, giving him the opportunity to grab her ankle when she landed and pull her down to the ground with him. He rolled to his side and tried to stab her with his other hand but Tenten rolled out of the way just in time. And in an instant there were two of him and just as Tenten was about to attack again one of them blew some powder at her face. Unfortunately only after she'd breathed it in did she realise that it was knock-out powder. She was unconscious.
A while later she woke up with a searing headache and discovered that her arms were chained up against a wall. She noticed he was working at his laptop and the keys to the chains that bound her—she assumed—were on his belt. And there was just one him.
"Ah you're finally awake Tenten." He walked over to her "You know I just realised that all this time we've known each other, I've never told you my name"
"I don't need to know the name of scum like you" she spat
"That hurts me Tenten it really does. It's Sabuza, Masaomi Sabuza." He walked closer to her
Tenten focused on the keys; they were her only hope of escaping and putting an end to this psycho. She needed to keep him talking.
"How did you do that during our fight, there were two of you?"
"Oh I doubt you'd be able to understand my methods" he whispered in her ear and pretty much pressed himself on top of her "Although I could just have you now before I kill you" the unmistakable look of lust was in his eyes and he began trailing kisses down her neck. Tenten tried to fight him off but he took out a smaller knife and stabbed it into the wall-a few centimetres away from her face
"Try to fight me off again and I slit your throat" he pressed the cold blade against her skin and held it against her neck
This time he hungrily attacked her lips; pressing her harder against the wall. One hand held the knife at her neck while the other felt her up and went under her shirt. As soon as he managed to unclip her bra she reacted instinctively and kneed him in the stomach and got the keys off his belt with the heel of her high heels. She kicked him away with her other foot and flipped up the wall until she was upside down and the front of her body was against the wall. She unlocked the chains and flipped back down and ran at full speed to Sabuza and elbowed him in the face. He'd managed to get a cut on her cheek before she sliced his arm leaving it limp. She grabbed him by the neck and slammed him to the ground.
"Before I finish you off, I need to know why. Why you killed them and ruined my life!" she screamed at him
"Your bastard of a father kept searching where he shouldn't have. He brought it on himself. My gang had most of the cops in town on a pay-roll; they still searched for clues and what-not to keep up appearances for the public but I was always pulling the strings. The drug deal your father busted was my most important one; I paid the cops triple their salary to stay away from this drug deal but that son of a bitch Kasumi never bought into our plan and decided to look into things solo. Eventually he deduced the place and time of the deal and caught us all and got all my men arrested so I decided that if he's gonna take something important to me-why shouldn't I take something important from him—his family. I enjoyed watching him get hacked to death and don't even get me started on your mother. That bitch just refused to die especially when I mentioned what I was going to do to you. That night when the police arrived I managed to escape with my second-in-command but my other subordinates weren't so lucky. I promised myself that I would return and make sure that I'd kill you" he finished with a wicked smile
Tenten was shaking with rage-so much so-that she knocked him unconscious with just one punch. She raised her katana above her head, ready to do the unthinkable act she'd decided to do ever since the case started. Tears were streaming down her cheeks-she'd forgotten to ask why he'd killed Lee but she knew that no answer would ever satisfy her. She brought down her sword at full force and was ready to kill him until…
Her sword was stopped halfway—by another sword.
Overcoming the shock she took a look to see who was on their knees in front of her blocking her sword from reaching Sabuza's heart—it was Neji.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" she yelled angrily at him
"I could ask you the same thing." he calmly replied "You can't do this Tenten; it's not the right way to end this"
"I couldn't give a damn about the right way anymore! I just want him dead!" she exclaimed and came down harder on Neji hoping to overpower him
"And what exactly will that accomplish? Sure you'll have your revenge but you'll also be a murderer" he fought back
"I. Don't. Care!" she spat
"Will you stop being so damn selfish!"
"And why should I?! I can't just forget everything he did, everything he put me through!" she yelled the loudest while tears streamed down her cheeks "He's the reason I have nothing left anymore!" He's the reason I don't have a family anymore!" she was breathing heavily, her strength fading after her outburst
"You're wrong, you've got your friends, your team…you've got me…" he said and withdrew his sword since Tenten wasn't coming down on him anymore. She just stood trembling as the tears continuously glided down her cheeks. Neji walked over to her and put his arms around her and held her in his arms "You're not alone Tenten"
She dropped her katana and wrapped her arms around him and started crying even harder. She lost all her strength at that moment and couldn't support herself anymore. Neji went down on his knees with her, never letting her go. Her flood gates burst; every single emotion she'd kept locked away came flooding out as she held on to Neji like her life depended on it.
"Did you manage to stop her Neji?" came another voice—Sasuke just walked in
"Yes and without the use of excessive force. We need to call backup and have him arrested"
"I've already put the word out, they're on their way" said Sasuke as he walked over to Tenten who was looking down at Sabuza and looking quite defeated herself
"It wouldn't have been worth it Tenten; if you'd killed him your life would have changed for good and the rest of us would be in a situation that we wouldn't want to be in. Don't make the same mistake I did-the enormous amount of hatred and anger I felt towards my older brother just turned to an equally enormous amount of guilt when I got my revenge that I still carry with me today. Revenge is a heavy burden with a great price to pay." He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her
BANG!
A gun was fired.
Before Tenten could even register what had happened; Sasuke fell to the ground-a pool of blood forming around him. When she looked around she saw the second Sabuza leaning with a pistol in his hands and a smug look on his face.
"You bastard! How dare you—
Tenten was about to attack him but Neji held her in place. She tried her hardest to break free of his grasp
"No, Tenten don't! Focus on Sasuke; we need to get him get of here and to Sakura immediately. Take my car; I'll stay here with Sabuza until backup arrives"
She nodded and took Sasuke out of the room. Neji went over to Sabuza and hand-cuffed him.
"Neji's your name right? Well Neji, I have a feeling that you're going to do me a huge favour"
"And why the hell would I do that?"
"Let me tell you something about your girl Tenten" he said with a smirk
Xxx
Tenten was back at the Agency outside the infirmary where Sakura was operating on Sasuke to get the bullet out. After half an hour she finally finished. She took off her surgical gloves and wiped the sweat from her brow. Her anxiety wore off and she could breathe easily knowing that Sasuke was safe. She walked outside the room to see Tenten with her face buried in her hands.
"He's asleep Tenten, Sasuke's gonna be fine" she said and sat next to her friend
"What have I done? This is all my fault; if I hadn't gone off on my own—
She cried as she spoke
"Tenten stop; you can't blame yourself for this" she hugged Tenten who held on tightly to Sakura "Why don't you go get some rest, your body needs to recover" she stood up and helped Tenten stand as well
"I guess you're right; I'll see you later" she turned and headed to her room "Goodnight Sakura"
As soon as Tenten got to her room she took a long shower and tried to forget everything that happened but that was impossible. She would never forget how she relentlessly went at Neji-any longer and she could've done the unthinkable to him. As the warm water beat down on her skin she bit her lower lip trying to hold back the tears. After her shower she got dressed into her pyjamas and was about to get into her blankets when she heard a knock at her door.
"Neji…when did you get back?" she asked while trying to avoid eye contact
"A while ago, may I come in?"
She stood aside and closed the door behind him.
"So?" he started
"So what?"
"We have to talk about what happened back there" he said as he sat in one of the chairs
"Do we have to?" she sat on her bed with her back to Neji
"Yes eventually you're going to have to answer for what you did; at least now you can get your story straight before you speak to the Director"
"Well I'll answer then"
"Come on Tenten; I'm worried about you. How am I supposed to help if you won't tell me how you feel?"
"Fine you want to know how I feel!" She turned and faced him "I'm feeling unbelievable pain and rage and it's all self-inflicted. I let my anger get the best of me to the point of almost killing someone and abandoning the most important people in my life. Sasuke got shot because of me and I could have hurt you too—do you know how guilty I'm feeling right now; I can never look at myself the same way again; I can't even look at you without remembering what I did. I'll never forgive myself" she balled her hands into fists as she shook with emotion "I feel so broken"
He put his arms around her and held her close
"You know you don't have to put on this brave face for me" he rested her head against his chest and stroked her back
She started crying. And clutched on to Neji's shirt as she did—everything she was feeling came out "I'm so sorry Neji, I'm sorry for everything"
Nine a.m. Tenten was in Director Tsunade's office
"Tenten what you did cannot be overlooked. You not only put yourself in danger but the entire agency. I'm removing you from the case; you're to stay here at all times unless instructed otherwise. Use this time to recollect yourself. Consider this your first and final warning; if I hear that you participated in this case at all; you will be dismissed from the Agency. Do you understand?" her arms were folded the entire time she spoke
"Yes I understand"
"Good you may leave"
Tenten left the office without another word and went to one of the vending machines to get something to drink.
"So what did the Director say?" asked Shikamaru who came by
"Well I'm off the case and pretty much under house arrest, I can't leave this place" she answered as she opened her can of cool drink.
"I'm sorry about this"
"Why are you apologising?" she raised a brow as they walked down the hallway together
"Because I'm the one who called them-Neji and Sasuke. After you left that night when I found you using the satellite trackers; I knew you'd pull a Sasuke—excuse the word use—and go off on your own and try to kill the man that killed your parents." He looked quite regretful as he spoke
She put her hand on his shoulder
"It's alright; I'm glad you did. If you hadn't called them and they hadn't stopped me…well the situation would've been a hell of a lot worse than it is right now"
They two of them continued their conversation in the cafeteria; meanwhile Sakura was still with Sasuke in the infirmary. She was checking his vitals when he woke up.
"Sasuke, you're awake" she said relieved
"How long was I asleep for?"
"Just a few hours now" she said with tears in her eyes
He sat up slowly then winced from the pain from his left side
"Easy; I had to give you stitches after I removed the bullet so you're going to feel some pain there for a few days. I'm sorry" she sat on the edge of his bed and faced him
"You don't need to apologise for anything; you saved my life" he put his hand on top of hers
"What happened to us Sasuke; we used to be so close" she almost whispered
"What happened was me. After everything that I did while I was gone for those three years I didn't allow myself to reconnect with you because I didn't want you to forgive me. I'd completely convinced myself that I didn't deserve you and that you would never look at me the same way again"
"I admit that when you left it hurt me in ways I can't explain but I never gave up on you, I never hated you or anything. I just wanted you back here-safe, with me and here we are. My feelings for you never changed-I loved you then and I love you now" she tightened her hand around his and looked him in his onyx eyes a little tearfully
"You what?" he asked with genuine surprise
"That's right Sasuke, I love you." she cupped his face with her hand "And I've wanted to tell you for so long now but—
He interrupted her with a kiss. After getting over the shock Sakura closed her eyes and kissed back passionately. She placed her hands on his chest while he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her closer and deepened the kiss. After a while they separated
"I love you too" he said with his forehead resting on hers with his eyes closed. The words she'd been waiting to hear for the longest time never knowing if she ever would. She couldn't be any happier at that moment.
After a few days of recovery the rest of the teams were back to solving the case. Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Hinata were assembled in the boardroom.
"Sasuke are you sure you should back; shouldn't you rest a bit longer until your wound is completely healed?" Hinata asked
"I'll be fine as long as I don't do anything too strenuous" he replied "But getting back to the matter at hand; we need to figure out why the killer was in your room at the party."
"Nothing was taken and the room was unsearched so he couldn't have been looking for something"
"Maybe he was trying to lure Lee there"
"But Lee was on his own plenty of times that night. Sabuza had plenty of opportunities to kill Lee; so why did he choose to kill him at that time in that specific room?" Shikamaru said and closed his eyes to think
"I think it was done on purpose-he wanted us to see it as soon as possible instead of just killing Lee and hiding the body for us to find later. He's being bold; he wanted to show us that he isn't afraid of the organisation or of being caught" Neji concluded
And then it struck Shikamaru
"He wanted to get caught. According to what Tenten told us-he wanted to get revenge on her because of what her parents did right? So in killing Lee he increased his chances of being caught by the very person he was pursuing. Instead of going after her he made her go to him"
"Then doesn't that mean that were missing something?" Hinata asked
"Yes it does; it means that he's already a step ahead of us because we don't know what happened when Tenten went after him by herself. Whatever he wanted to do to her; he's already done it. It was never his intention to kill Tenten at that moment otherwise he would've shot her instead of me. The lag time between us arriving and her arriving at his hideout is about an hour." Sasuke explained
"So what you're saying is…" Hinata started
"We need to find out what happened between them for that hour" Shikamaru finished the sentence
Xxx
Tenten was on the training grounds sparring with one of her underclassman who'd asked her to help him with his swordsmanship. His name was Rinji and he had short brown hair and hazel eyes. The two of them had been training for just over an hour. Rinji was fast and flexible but he still had a long way to go to catch up to Tenten. With one swift final swing Tenten managed to get possession of his katana. The match was over and they were both breathless.
"You left yourself open Rinji, never give your opponent an opportunity to seize your weapon otherwise the battle is all but over" she handed back his sword
"I think your skills are just unnaturally refined" he said still trying to catch his breath
"You think so?" she chuckled
"Yes I really do; looks like I've still got a few more years of training to do before I could be in your league" he sheathed his sword and took his bag "You coming back?"
"Nah I'm gonna stay and train some more, I'll see you around Rinji" she picked up her bottle of water and poured it over her head to cool down then drank some
"Even when you're grounded you never stop training" said a familiar voice
"Grounded?" she scoffed "You make me sound like some juvenile Neji" she chuckled and raised a brow
"That's debatable" he said and took a seat on one of the benches
"You forget I'm holding a katana in my hands"
"Yes a katana that I got you" he looked straight at her taking in her training outfit which was a neon green training bra and black track pants with matching takkies
"You think that'll make me reluctant to use it on you?" she cheekily replied "As much as I'm enjoying our mid-afternoon banter there must be a particular reason you came to find me"
"Always straight to the point huh?" he smirked "Actually yes there is another reason. I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat in town seeing that you haven't been able to leave this place for a while now"
"And what makes you think that I can leave now? I'm still not allowed to leave remember?"
"I already asked the Director for permission and she agreed"
"Oh well then I'd love to" she paused for a moment. She'd just realised that things hadn't been this relaxed between her and Neji since before their fight a while back-excluding the time when he he'd stopped her from killing Sabuza and she cried in his arms in her room.
"Hmm…" she started
"What's the matter?" he asked walking towards her
"It just seems like things are back to normal between us"
"You make that sound like a bad thing"
"No no it's just we haven't really talked about what happened" she thought back to that day they argued
"Do you really want to talk about it?" the guilt of what he'd said came back to him. He'd never intended to hurt her like that. If he told himself he didn't know why he'd said those terrible things he'd be lying. He knew exactly why he'd said them but he was too stubborn to tell her how he really felt.
You love her and you know it.
The very thought of her being with Sasuke makes you angry. His inner thoughts argued with him, revealing truths to himself he knew he could never admit to her.
"No I guess not but—
"I didn't mean what I said"
"What?"
"That argument—the last thing I said to you before you left, I didn't mean it. I just…"
Got really jealous
"I panicked"
"For what though?"
He sighed. He never talked about things like this to anybody.
"Well you two were spending a lot of time together I thought that I'd lose you"
"And what on earth made you think you could lose me so easily?" she said haughtily "Neji we've been friends and teammates for years and I love what we have more than anything. Nothing will ever change that" she smiled "Sasuke's one of my closest friends and what we have isn't romantic at all-far from it in fact. Look what you and I have is irreplaceable, I rely on it more than you know and I would never do anything to jeopardise that. This is going to last forever and like it or not you're stuck with this amazing weapons mistress because I'm not going anywhere" she'd already wrapped her arms around him
"Are you done complimenting yourself?" he chuckled and hugged her back
"The point is you'll never lose me. And besides; if your stubbornness hasn't pushed me away by now then it never will"
She could practically hear him glaring.
"I'm kidding…maybe" she laughed "Now let's go eat, I'm starving" she hooked her arm with his and started walking back together
Xxx
"So how's the investigation going?" she asked knowing she wouldn't get an answer
"You know I can't answer you" he replied finishing off his coffee
"Yeah I know; I just thought I'd try my luck"
The two of them sat in comfortable silence eating their food in the not so crowded restaurant. Such is the city life during the working day.
"There is something I need to ask you though"
"About the case?" she suddenly got serious. He nodded "Alright but not here; we shouldn't talk about it in public"
Back in Neji's car they started talking
"It's about when you went after Sabuza. We need a clear timeline from when you left until I stopped you"
"Oh that makes sense…" she closed her eyes and thought "Let's see…I accessed Shikamaru's computer at two a.m.; then at quarter past he caught me then I left to find Sabuza at the armoury. I got to his hideout at three—we talked, we fought and that lasted about twenty five minutes and the next thing I remember is escaping from the chains he tied me up with, that was at four and you know how the rest goes"
"Wait what do you mean 'the next thing you remember'? What happened during that thirty five minute gap?"
"I don't know. During our fight he got me with some knock out powder, so I was unconscious for a while"
Neji's heart sank when she'd told him. That means everything he said was true, she really is in danger.
Flashback
"Let me tell you something about your girl Tenten" he smiled wickedly "You obviously know about my abilities by now, that I can control people like I did to Ino and Naruto. But that isn't the only ability I possess but that's a story for another time. During our little fight just now I managed to put her under my control but this is slightly different from the ones I used earlier. I can control her entire nervous system"
"And you expect me to believe you?"
"You don't have to believe me now, maybe you'll believe me after she's dead. All I have to do is make her point her katana at her chest and—" he was just about to when Neji stopped him "Oh I guess you do believe me then"
"Explain yourself!" he said furiously
"Gladly. You see I'm not one of those villains that can be bought or bargained with because the only thing I want is already in progress. I want Tenten dead—nothing more nothing less"
"And she has no idea that you did this to her or that you have control of her nervous system?"
"Why would she? It's not like anyone had told her about it" he smirked "And it's going to stay that way"
"I presume this favour is for me to keep quiet about all of this" he glared at him "And doing so will make me look like a traitor when you get her to start doing whatever you want, am I wrong?"
"My my you are a smart one indeed"
"And how exactly will you know that I'll keep up my end of the deal?"
"Because I trust that you wouldn't recklessly put her in danger just to prove me wrong. And as insurance I'll be able to hear what she hears if I so choose"
"…eji...Neji? You just suddenly zoned out. Are you alright?"
"It's nothing, I'm fine" he looked away from her
The next morning Tenten was on her way to see The Director but she suddenly stopped—she couldn't control her body and sharp pain shot through her back. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself trying to get through it but the more she resisted-the more intense the pain became. Until she finally let out a horrible scream. They heard her screaming and burst through the door. Neji and Sasuke found Tenten writhing on the ground with her eyes closed. They tried to calm her down but nothing worked-she kept squirming and fidgeting out of their grasp until they managed to get her on her bed and pin her down. The only reason they'd managed to do this because she started to calm down; she wasn't writhing anymore; she'd completely stopped but her breathing was laboured and beads of sweat were on her forehead.
"It looks like he's stopped controlling her" Neji said
What do you mean he stopped controlling her?!" Sasuke asked completely flabbergasted
She slowly opened her eyes. And smirked.
"Tenten are you alright—
Sasuke just managed to dodge the knife Tenten tried to cut him with
"What the hell are you doing?" he struggled, holding her left arm to keep her from stabbing him as she forced herself at him but she broke free from his grasp and ran out her room.
The silence that hung between Neji and Sasuke-as they tried to take in whatever had just happened-didn't last very long and before Neji knew it he was pinned to the wall by Sasuke.
"Alright Hyuuga talk, you clearly know something that I don't. What the hell is going on?!" he yelled at him
Neji explained the whole story-the conversation he'd had with Sabuza.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Why didn't you tell the rest us about this?!" he yelled
The situation infuriated him.
"My hands were tied" Neji replied calmly and did nothing to break free of Sasuke's grasp
"Like hell they were! You were just afraid she'd come to me for help instead of you!"
"Is that what you think?"
"No Neji; it's what I know. You thought you could help her on your own and look where it got you!"
It's partly true. His inner thoughts retaliated
"It doesn't take a genius to know that you don't care too much about the fact that she and I spend a lot of time together. You hate it and you know it. But I don't care—if you had just—dammit!" he exclaimed as he released Neji and walked away from him towards the door. Now wasn't the time to be arguing about this.
"I'll go after her; you need to figure out a solution to this problem"
"And why should you go after her?" he said sourly
Jealous aren't you. His inner thought plagued him
"Just which one of us is the best fighter in the entire organisation...I thought so" he continued towards the door. Just as he was about to leave he stopped…
"You had nothing to worry about…she loves you" he said almost silently then left
Neji watched him leave and let what he said sink in but he was also distracted by the way Sasuke said those words. He could be wrong but to Neji it sounded as though Sasuke was almost sad to say those words to Neji. Could Sasuke possibly…
Xxx
Sasuke had been fighting Tenten for over half an hour. They were currently in the Intelligence Division; both of them were panting but still clutching their katana-ready to fight. Both of them stood on a desk in a fighting stance.
"Don't make me hurt you Tenten." He said trying to catch his breath
"What makes you think you can?" she replied arrogantly then jumped backwards on to the desk behind her and then back flipped while grabbing the chair below her and throwing it at Sasuke and landed on the desk she was originally on. He jumped just in time to dodge the chair but Tenten was already coming after him by the time he landed on the ground. They clashed swords over and over. She tried to slice at his legs but he jumped at the right time and used his katana as an arm hold to support himself as he kicked her back with both legs. She crashed into one of the desks but quickly recovered.
"Why don't you stop pretending that I'm talking to Tenten when I know that you're the one controlling her Sabuza?" Sasuke stated while running in to attack
She blocked his attack with ease and went on the offensive trying to get him from every angle but he blocked her as well. Just as she was sure she would get him he ducked into one of the wheeled computer chairs and propelled himself away from her. Just as he was about to deliver the final blow to knock her out, she held her katana to her throat-ready to slice through if Sasuke moved even a little.
"Don't move or I'll make her end her life right now. Well well if you knew it was me in control of her all this time then why are you fighting her so hard when you know she can't control herself? You wouldn't want to hurt your best friend would you?" she said under his control and bringing the katana even closer to her neck
"I'm starting to see through this little game of yours"
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"This entire time you've made it clear that you want Tenten dead and yet here you are wasting your time fighting me"
"Killing her off immediately would be boring; I wanted to make her friends suffer as well"
"You say that and yet I don't believe you. You've had control over Tenten ever since she fought you at your hideout and you're only retaliating now. If you really wanted her dead like you claim, you could've made her kill herself the minute she got back to the agency. You're after something else…
Meanwhile…
"Shikamaru what are we doing in Tenten's room?" asked Ino as she followed him inside
"Neji explained the whole situation about Tenten to me and something just doesn't add up. I've been watching the fight between Sasuke and Tenten the entire time and he didn't even make a single attempt at making her kill herself" he said as he searched her room
"You think he's after something else?"
"No he's definitely after her life but he's after her life and something else"
"And what makes you think we'll find that something else in her bedroom?"
"The fight between her and Sasuke is a distraction. Everyone in the agency is going to focus on bringing her down and backing up Sasuke. And while they do that Sabuza has probably had some inside help to tamper with whatever it is he doesn't want found until after they catch Tenten. Her bedroom would be the most obvious place because nobody would think that he would put it in such an obvious place"
"You never cease to amaze me Shikamaru. Speaking of which; how did you figure out that I wasn't myself when Sabuza was controlling me?"
"Are you kidding me; I could tell it wasn't you the minute he made you speak" he stopped searching for a moment to look at her "No one knows you better than I do. I know that you like your coffee black with four sugars, you hate rainy days, when the moon is out you like to stare into the sky and write in your journal and I know that you've got a tattoo of our initials in an infinity symbol on your left shoulder blade" he was standing right in front of her and smirked when she blushed at the fact that he knew about her tattoo
"And I know that you've got a certain someone's initials on your collar bone on the right side, someone with the initials I.Y" she smiled knowing full well that they were her initials "But you tried to make it look like a single initial by having the 'Y' on top of the 'I'. So who is this woman? And why is her name tattooed on you collar bone?"
"Oh well that's an easy one. She means the world to me and I couldn't imagine my life without her. She's intelligent and gorgeous—easily one of the most amazing woman in my life" he couldn't help but smile "Now it's your turn to share. Why our initials in an infinity symbol?"
"That's an easy one too; I want us to be like this forever. That's all there is to it" she leaned in and kissed him while putting her arms around him and he kissed back. A few seconds later they broke apart and continued searching
Ino was going through the files on Tenten's laptop and noticed a red file and accessed it. It was the breakdown of Neji's next mission as well as her own. The information had been accessed through the main computer. A new programme was rewriting the scope of the mission. On closer inspection she realised that the programme was organising their deaths on their next missions.
"Um…Shikamaru, would this count as something he wouldn't want found?" she said with a shaky voice
When he arrived to see what she was referring to he froze to see the unknown programme hacking into the main computer of the agency as well as a small bomb attached to the back of her laptop.
"How the hell did he manage to do this?!"