Chapter 8: The Agency's Biggest Threat
In every organisation you get the best of the best-the cream of the crop. Basically the people who keep the organisation from shutting down and the intelligence agency FIRE was no different. Many successful and excellent agents had been produced from the training at the agency but the students of Tenten's year-her class was one of the greatest the organisation has had since its founding. They were the most efficient, the most thorough and without a doubt the biggest threat to the organisation if they ever deflected.
"The agency's biggest threat, what's that?" asked Hinata as she sat down for lunch with her squad namely Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Tenten, Neji, Shikamaru, Ino and Lee
"Well to put it simply it's all of us" Shikamaru explained "Just think about it; we've been trained by the best-of -the-best; been on plenty of missions to give us a lot of experience and we've all got our own areas of expertise and unique fighting styles. If any of us were to defy the agency and try to bring it down it wouldn't be easy but it wouldn't be impossible either"
"So every year the candidates that have graduated and become field agents are also simultaneously put on a list that the organisation had drawn up with all of our strengths and weaknesses" Sasuke continued the explanation
"The list is composed of the agents that studied together in the same year—so all of us here and others—and arranged from the greatest threat to the weakest threat depending on the amount of successful missions and the accuracy of your kills. But the list isn't absolute, it changes from time to time when someone is deemed an even greater or lesser threat and it's available for us to see." Neji took over
The three of them were in-the-know about a lot of things in the organisation.
"Well let's see this list I want to see which of us is at the top" said Ino excitedly
Shikamaru took out his tablet and went through the files that had to do with the organisation and finally pulled up the list in the folder named: The Agency's Biggest Threat. And as they all checked out the list the answer to Ino's curiosity was surprisingly unsurprising—there it stood in bold black letters, the number one spot was filled by none other than the Lightning Class.
"Hm should've seen that coming the biggest threat would be the three of you" said Ino as she read through the list "Oh but here's something surprising, there's no rank number by Tenten. That's strange; does that mean they can't figure out how much of a threat you are?" she looked at Tenten
"I have no idea but it looks to be that way considering there's a giant question mark next to my picture" Tenten replied
"Well that's very significant let's hope you don't turn on us Tenten. We just might not be able to know how to stop you" Sakura joked and they all laughed
If only they knew what was coming…
Normal Time
"How on earth did Sabuza-or whoever is helping him-manage to get this into the building without it being detected?" Shikamaru asked in a panicked tone "And why is the countdown screen flashing zero?"
"Wait a second, Shikamaru. Do you remember the day we were all looking at the list of the Agency's Biggest Threat?"
"Yeah what about it"
"Tenten didn't have a ranking at the time…do you think she has one now?"
Shikamaru caught on to what she was trying to say and took out his tablet to check the list. The first name that appeared on the screen was hers and seeing her ranking just proved Ino's train of thought. Her rank corresponded with the number on the countdown screen. Right there on the list in black letters read: Tenten, rank number…zero. Even higher than the Lightning Class who remained in the number one spot.
"She's number zero, she's the Agency's Biggest Threat?!" Ino couldn't believe it
"It makes sense though now that she's under Sabuza's control. But this is bad news because it means that they won't hesitate to use lethal means if necessary"
"But that doesn't make any sense. How can she be ranked higher than the three of you? Surely you guys could handle her if you charged at her at the same time."
"Probably but that isn't the point. Even if Neji, Sasuke and I were able to apprehend her; she would escape within seconds of capture-she's practically an escape artist. You see the thing about Tenten being a weapons mistress is that not only can she use every weapon out there but she can turn any ordinary object into a weapon for her use. She knows how to get out of handcuffs and unlock doors without keys. She's pretty much on the same level as Neji in terms of infiltration because she has that unique ability. That's what makes her so dangerous and now someone of that calibre is under the control of an external threat to this Agency, it's not surprising at all that she's ranked zero."
Learning that information sent chills down Ino's spine.
"But what does that have to do with the number zero flashing on this bomb?"
"I'm not sure yet" Shikamaru tried to figure it out while he was staring at the flashing number zero. It was flashing in a pattern; he focused on this pattern…it seemed so familiar, until it finally struck him.
"A heartbeat…
"What?" Ino asked confused
"Look at the way the number is flashing. It's a number zero just like Tenten's ranking on the list; now feel your pulse and look at the flashing number, notice anything?"
Ino did as he said and caught on
"They're in sync but what does that mean?"
"It means that this bomb is somehow linked to Tenten's heartbeat and I'm assuming that if her heart comes to a stop so will this flashing causing the bomb to go off; taking this entire building and more with it" he concluded "C'mon we've got to fill everyone else in on this information before Sabuza has the chance to kill Tenten."
Xxx
"You're right I am after more than just Tenten's life. I'm after this entire organisation; this place is the only thing keeping me from operating as freely as I desire"
"This isn't the only intelligence agency in the country. Even if you destroyed it some other authority will stop you." Sasuke said while holding on to his bleeding arm
"That may be so but FIRE has always been the biggest thorn in my side. Any other place I could handle but this one; it's too thorough, too efficient, too well put together. So I figured I could kill two birds with one stone by killing Tenten and destroying this building in one shot."
"I won't let you" he ran full speed at Tenten with no intention of stopping
"No Sasuke don't!" Shikamaru yelled as he ran in but it was too late Sasuke had just run his sword through her chest. Her body went limp and fell to the ground but Sasuke caught her before she hit the ground
She woke up in the infirmary. Looking around she saw on the side table was the bomb that was connected to her heartbeat. They managed to break the connection between her and the bomb without setting it off. She sat up slowly but flinched from her wound. It was still active and very much a threat but for now at least it wasn't connected to Tenten's heartbeat. And now only she could diffuse it.
"You really shouldn't be getting up so quickly" she turned to see Sasuke standing by the window "How are you feeling? Do you remember anything?" he never looked at her but continued staring out the window
"Apart from the occasional stab in the chest I feel fine. And I could see everything that happened during our fight I just couldn't do anything to stop myself or you for that matter. I can't believe you stabbed me" she said not with fear or anger but something else, mock surprise "Nice job" she said sarcastically
"This isn't funny Tenten, far from it" he finally turned to look at her and his eyes were full of regret and pain
"I know it wasn't easy but—
"Not easy?! My hand is still trembling from when I stabbed you, are you saying it should be easy for me to run my sword through my friend's chest?!" he suddenly got fired up
"Yes it should. You had to do what was necessary and because you did we're all safe for now"
"So if there was no other way to save you I was just going to have to kill you?" he couldn't believe her
"That's exactly what you were going to have to do"
"Are you even listening to yourself?!"
"What's so difficult to understand?! If you left me as I was who knows what I would've done. I'm not angry about what you did. I'm glad you did it. When I was forced to watch myself fight you I could see the desperation in your eyes to save me and I also saw how much I was hurting you. I knew Sabuza would never let you get close enough to me to knock me out so I came to the same conclusion as you; stabbing me was the only way to knock me out and get the bomb disconnected as well." She lowered her head "I gave you all those cuts and injuries that was my fault. Sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do but we have to because it's for the greater good"
They both knew that the conversation was shifting in another direction and they both knew where it was headed. Sasuke felt his heart sink as she got closer and closer to the very conversation he'd managed to avoid explaining to her for the longest time.
"I had to do something I didn't want to do three years ago. I had to just sit back and watch you walk out of here. Accept that you were gone and not know when or even if you were coming back" she said those words painfully
"Tenten—
"Just stop. I don't want to hear whatever excuse you've come up with. I want to know what happened when you were gone. If you can't give that to me than just walk out of here right now" tears were gliding down her cheeks "But know that if you do…were not friends anymore" she looked directly at him tearstained and serious
"If I tell you what had happened you wouldn't want to be my friend anyways"
"So that's it your final answer?" he didn't say another word but just turned away from her "Well then I guess that answers that" she watched him leave
A while later Neji rushed in
"Tenten are you alright?"
"Neji I'm fine—
He kissed her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She in turn put her arms around his neck and kissed back. He deepened the kiss then broke away to hug her. He was clearly concerned.
"Do you have any idea how close the Director was to giving the order to kill you if Sasuke hadn't subdued you? I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you…I love you Tenten"
"Neji you finally said it"
"Wait you mean you knew that I…
"Well you were incredibly jealous whenever Sasuke and I spent time together and that was much more than just friendly concern but more like romantic rivalry" she kept her arms around him "You have no idea how happy this makes me"
"And yet I can tell there's still something bothering you…about Sasuke"
"I don't understand why he can't tell me what happened. Can't you tell me? Was what happened really that bad?"
"In a word yes. A terrible event happened on our previous mission before he left the agency. What happened on that mission was what lead to his departure. But it isn't my place to tell you what happened"
"He's right; it isn't either of our places to tell that to you. Only one person has that right" Shikamaru walked in
"So I guess I'd better start talking now that we're all here" Sasuke carried on from Shikamaru
"Why are you all here?" Tenten looked at the three members of the Lightning Class
"Because excluding the Director, Neji and Shikamaru are the only other two people who know what happened while I was gone. The three of us decided that we'd keep it between the three of us but I guess that's going to change."
Xxx
Tenten was in tears by the time he finished explaining. She had no idea that such a terrible thing had happened to the three of them and most of all that Sasuke went through everything by himself. Neji and Shikamaru had just left so it was just her and Sasuke left to talk.
"I don't know what to say…but I do know one thing for sure; what happened during those three years you were away doesn't define you Sasuke. I don't know what I would've done had I been in your shoes. I'm sorry you had to go through that all on your own"
They were interrupted by a beeping sound. They both turned their attention to the bomb sitting beside her. The timer started counting down from forty-five seconds.
"Can you defuse it?" Sasuke asked
"Yeah I definitely can" she said while scanning the bomb with her tablet and pulled up its design "looks like it's electronically wired to respond to an electronic trigger. If I can change the frequency of the bomb then it won't respond and go off" she explained while typing furiously on the tablet then switching to the wiring of the bomb.
The clock was ticking…
6…5…4…
She pressed save on her tablet and the bomb responded and turned off. She'd done it with four seconds to spare. Tenten sighed heavily obviously relieved she'd done her job well. But suddenly she started shaking and couldn't keep her eyes open.
She was in agonising pain. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. She let out an excruciating scream.
"Tenten what's wrong?!"
"It's…Sabuza he's trying to get control of me again!" she spoke through gritted teeth "He's here!"
"Here what do you mean he's here?!" Sasuke tried to help her calm down but nothing was working
"She means he's in the building" Shikamaru answered as he rushed in
"So he's headed here then; to finish her off"
"Exactly; his abilities work like a remote control or radio. The closer the control is to its receiver the stronger the signal or in his case the closer he is to Tenten the more pain she experiences" Neji answered
"Alright there are three hallways that lead to the infirmary each of us will take one. Don't let anyone past you without confirming their identity"
The three of them agreed and left the room. As soon as they did the door to the medical supplies room opened and someone walked out.
Tenten still struggling with the pain managed to open her eyes to see the man standing in front of her. Just the sight of him intensified her pain. She was breathing laboriously and her vision wasn't clear. Her head felt like it was going to explode from the pressure she was experiencing. Every muscle in her body was screaming in pain-tears continuously streaming down her cheeks.
"Well well Tenten looks like I've got you right where I want you" he smiled devilishly and walked closer to her and stroked her cheek causing her to wince in pain and let out a shout. "You and your friends may have temporarily slowed me down but at least I can have you now" he leaned in to pin her down and as he did her body started shaking violently. The pain became so much that she fell unconscious.
"Get away from her!" yelled Neji as he burst through the door Shikamaru and Sasuke close behind
"What the hell are you bastards doing here?! You're supposed to be on the other side of this building by now" Sabuza yelled in a panicked tone
"Did you honestly think we'd leave Tenten all alone with you running around?" Sasuke started
"We knew you were in here the entire time so we figured we'd just bait you out. Tenten seemingly alone and helpless-you would never turn down an opportunity like that" Shikamaru explained
Neji and Sasuke were ready and knew how Sabuza worked thanks to Shikamaru's briefing before they returned to the infirmary.
Sabuza stood frozen but then turned around and threw kunai at them both but they were dodged easily. Neji and Sasuke ran towards him and Neji leaned forward allowing Sasuke to leap off of his back and strike Sabuza from above while Neji attacked from below-that was the plan. While Sasuke was coming down Neji threw shuriken at Sabuza which he evaded.
As Sasuke came down with his katana from above Neji simultaneously struck him from the centre. The two of them worked in sync perfectly. He blocked the two agents but was wide open in the middle which is where Neji kicked him and he stumbled backwards.
Sasuke swept his leg under Sabuza and made him fall to the ground. He then picked him and shoved him into the wall.
"Now how do we break the connection between you and Tenten?!" he asked with his katana close to his neck
"I'm the only one who can break the connection and the only way to break it is the same way it was activated"
"And how is that?"
"You have to kiss me again right?" came a voice no one thought they'd be hearing for a while
"Tenten you're awake?"
"I was awake the entire time but I decided to keep my eyes closed and see how the situation played out" she said as she stood up from the bed the pain still evident in her voice
"My you're just full of surprises aren't you? But yes; because kissing you the first time was how I took control of you; kissing you again is the only way to break our connection" he said with the smuggest look on his face and enjoyed the pure disgust on Neji and Sasuke's faces
"We're not letting him anywhere near you!" Neji yelled
"You think I want this! I'm just as furious as you are if not more but if it's the only way-
"It isn't the only way" Shikamaru cut in
"You think you understand how my ability works boy?! You understand nothing!" Sabuza spat
"Actually I know exactly how your ability works. You're nothing but a psychotic pervert and the only thing you were planning to do to Tenten as soon as you kissed her was overwhelm her with your chakra and kill her"
"His technique is chakra based?"
"Yes it is; that's why we couldn't figure out a way to defeat him. The higher-up's of this agency discontinued chakra training in all its agents a long time ago. If we can't use chakra then they still have ways of getting rid of us easily should the need arise. If we ever turned against the agency and had abilities like Sabuza the detriment would outweigh the benefit. Basically it's their way of controlling us-being one hundred percent sure that they can kill us. Director Tsunade's year was the last group of agents trained in using chakra" Shikamaru explained "The only way is for someone else to pour their chakra into Tenten and cancel out Sabuza's"
"Then we'll need to ask the Director to do it" Sasuke started
"No there's a simpler way-I'll do it" Neji suggested and looked at Tenten
"Neji you can't only someone who can manipulate chakra can do it…" realisation set into Shikamaru "Wait are you saying that you…"
"Yes I can and so can Hinata. The Hyuuga have been trained in chakra control for generations. Hinata and I could use chakra before we were even old enough to join the agency. The reason I can infiltrate basically any location and Hinata is such an excellent tracker is because we focus our chakra around our eyes increasing our range of vision and clarity" he explained
"You think I'll let you have her so easily!" he focused on her and the pain started again Tenten started screaming and fell to her knees
"Get him out of here!" Neji yelled and just as he did Sasuke knocked him out
This lessened Tenten's pain but not by much-she was on all fours on the ground trying to catch her breath as tears rolled down her cheeks-every muscle in her body was in excruciating pain. As though her whole body was burning on the inside. Shikamaru and Sasuke took Sabuza out of the room and headed to the lower levels to lock him up in a cell.
Neji crouched next to Tenten and turned on his earpiece
"Hinata…
"I'm already on my way Neji" she responded
Xxx
Tenten was asleep on the bed; Neji sat on the edge, moving her hair away from her face. She'd been through so much and he couldn't do anything to protect her from all of it. Do I deserve to be sitting here with her right now? He asked himself
Hinata walked in breaking him out of his pensive silence.
"Is she…?"
"Just asleep; come in" he said gently and stood up "It's going to take both of us to completely get rid of Sabuza's chakra"
"And it won't be easy. His chakra is definitely going to put up a fight and that is going to hurt Tenten; but we have no choice" she gently put her hand on her cousins chest and closed her eyes "First things first; let's break the seal on your chakra network" she concentrated all her chakra to the palm of her hand and focused it on his chest then pulled her hand back slowly breaking the seal.
She'd always disagreed with the segregation that existed within the Hyuuga clan. Only the main members of the family could manipulate chakra whenever they needed to but branch members had a seal placed on their chakra network that could only be undone by a main family member.
"I've never understood why the Hyuuga still upholds this regime of main family members and branch family members" she spoke while finishing off the undoing of his seal
"You've always been like this. You hate seeing others being mistreated" a small smile graced his lips as he looked into his cousins eyes that matched his own but hers held more warmth
"Shouldn't I?" she started "I mean for example; what you did just now; telling everyone about our ability…" her voice grew quieter
"I imagine your father will not be pleased about it and when he finds out-
"You'll most likely be punished for it" she closed her eyes in concern
"I accept full responsibility for it" and he did-all in the name of saving Tenten
"You shouldn't have to though; the situation was volatile and what you did was necessary"
"Hinata-
"No I won't tell him what happened. I've had enough of this; things are just starting to improve between the two sides of the clan, I won't let this destroy that. If my father finds out I could lose my cousin completely and I've already gone long enough without you in my life." Tears were at the corners of her eyes
"If he finds out that you kept this from him; you'll just get punished as well. I can't let you take the blame for me" he places a firm but reassuring hand on her shoulder; the tears had long since escaped her eyes "I'm supposed to protect you" he almost whispered
"It's fine; we'll go down together. You're not my subordinate Neji you're my equal-my cousin. I don't expect you to willingly die for me just because you're from the branch family and that's what you've been told is you reason for living. We're family Neji we're supposed to protect each other right?" she gently wrapped her arms around her cousin and he did the same.
"Thank you Hinata"
Originally he'd resented her-when he was younger. He never understood why he was treated differently from her. His entire life was decided for him. He existed only to protect her. His fate set in stone; he became a bitter individual. He lived up to what was expected of him which was to protect her but never putting any effort into getting to know her or even acknowledging her when she tried so hard to build a relationship with him.
But after having some sense knocked into him by Naruto-a story for another day-he realised that she too went through her own struggles and that all she ever wanted was a relationship with her older cousin and to have his approval of her because he excelled at all he did-to the point of being called a prodigy. That was the old Neji Hyuuga-the cold and resentful young man-he often told himself.
And now.
Now he had a genuine relationship with Hinata. A main family member interacting in an informal manner with a branch member of the family-unthinkable; the elders of the clan would often say about the two of them. But what they called unthinkable he called amazing. He truly cared about his cousin and appreciated how much she cared for him. He couldn't imagine his life without her in it. Smiling to himself Neji realised how much they'd done for each other. All the pain and sacrifices they'd gone through in service to each other made him hold her a little tighter.
He truly had a unique relationship with his cousin and he wouldn't change a thing about it.
After a moment in silence embracing each other they broke apart and focused on the task at hand.
"Alright let's eliminate this chakra for good" Hinata said and held out her hand. Neji took her hand and held Tenten's hand in his other. Hinata did the same.
They both closed their eyes and focused on pouring their chakra into Tenten. As soon as it entered she started squirming and squeezing their hands tighter.
"His chakra is burning me!" Tenten screamed
"You have it fight it Tenten; get it out of you!" Neji said holding her hand as tightly as he could
It pained both of them to see Tenten in so much pain but they knew they couldn't stop so they continued. After a few minutes they started to feel fatigued but they were almost done; Tenten's screams had stopped.
A moment later she stopped moving completely. They had completely gotten Sabuza's chakra out of her body. All three of them were breathing hard at the end of it. Tenten sat up slowly and looked at the cousins.
"Tenten are you alright?" Hinata asked
"Yeah just a little light headed but otherwise I'm fine thanks to you two" she smiled warmly
She then turned her attention to Neji. The two of them looked into each other's eyes for the longest time. Hinata knew they wanted some privacy after all that's happened so she took that as her cue to leave.
"I'd better head back to the Tracker Division; see if they need my help. I'm glad you're okay Tenten" she said while giving her a hug before leaving and closing the door behind her.
It was just the two them now.
She had a lot to say to him and him to her but neither could find the right place to start. She just closed her eyes and leaned against him while he put his arm around her.
"So you and Hinata can use chakra?"
"Yes and we could for a long time"
"Is there anything you can't do?" she asked with a smile on her lips
"There is one thing" he said quietly
"And what's that?" she could hear the concern in his voice as she took his hand and held it tight
"Lose you" he sat up and looked her in her chocolate brown eyes
The gravity of his words weighed down on her. He came very close to losing her today and she couldn't help but look away from him and focused her gaze on her lap. She couldn't even begin to imagine what had been going through his mind when she was attacking while under Sabuza's influence. How would she have felt had the roles been switched?
He cupped her face between his hands and made her look up at him. The emotion in both their eyes spoke volumes while they remained silent. They closed their eyes and brought their foreheads together. They remained like this for what felt like an eternity. The gesture between them was enough for them to know what the other was feeling. Everything they couldn't express eloquently with words was displayed in this one physical gesture and suddenly they both felt like everything was going to be okay.
Neji wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. She hugged him back with every bit of strength she had. All his fears over losing her just melted away at her touch and for reasons he couldn't explain he felt tears stinging the corners of his eyes and eventually escaped his eyes. Tenten ran her fingers through his long silky hair while fighting her own tears before whispering in his ear:
"I'm sorry"
But he didn't blame her for anything he was just glad she was safe in his arms that he could keep holding her. If he could be like this with her forever than everything would be fine. He pulled away from the hug to wipe the tears from her eyes then leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers. She kissed back and felt her stomach flutter during their kiss. She poured all her love for him into it.
"I love you so much" he said after they separated
He stood up from the bed and helped her up as well. Ever so often though she would lose her balance but she had Neji to support her and he would do so no matter how long it took. It was about time she got back into the swing of things.
And definitely about time she re-joined her friends.