Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 13: De javus and darkness.

IN THE SHADOW, PART II

Each step she took seemed to echo through the long, wide corridor. And each door she saw seemed to pull her, edging her to open them. But she ignored the inviting feeling, and walked boldly down the corridor. Painting were laid out on every side, splendid and glorious painting, portraying the power of the Hyugas.

She stopped just before she reached the end of the corridor. A great, brown door stood ajar. She could see the light from the room radiating to the dark, empty corridor she stood in. She checked her watch inquiringly. It was 30 minutes till midnight. 30 minutes till the end of another year. Looking around her, she immediately noticed the difference between the door in front of her and the others. It was bigger, and obviously more carefully designed.

Curiosity rising every second, she stepped forward and squinted from the light that hit her eyes, stepping forward she pushed the door lightly. The door swung with more force than she expected and she gasped as she saw the young man standing in front of her.

Her eyes widened as she stepped backwards. She could feel her heart hammering inside her chest.

Pale, lavender eyes looked down at her, also clearly surprised. His hand was gripping the doorknob. Apparently, he was just about to leave the room when she tried opening it, leading to them facing each other in an awkward silence.

"Tenten?" he whispered, confused.

"Neji!" she whispered back. She had completely forgotten. Neji! Neji Hyuga… of course he would be in this house… But she never expected him to be here, of all places. She thought he was back in the room, celebrating, like all the others.

He just stared at her questioningly.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here," Tenten said, bowing her head, but mainly to hide her blushing face.

"I don't know what your apologizing for," he said quietly, looking away.

Tenten opened her mouth to explain why she was here, but closed them almost immediately. A cold gust of wind blew from the window by the corner, causing her teeth to chatter.

"It's cold," Neji whispered.

Tenten nodded. Feeling to frozen to even speak.

Neji sighed and opened the door to the room widely. Light and warmth immediately radiated over Tenten. She stared inside and furrowed her eyebrows. The room… there was something about it.

"Hn," Neji grunted waking Tenten from her thoughts.

Tenten stared blankly in front of her. Neji's hand was outstretched, holding out to her an oversized jacket.

"Wha-?" Tenten stammered, looking at him questioningly.

He sighed, then pushed the jacket to her hand. "It's cold," he said, looking at her shoulder.

Tenten's hand shot to her dress strap consciously. Her shoulders were bare. One of the reasons I hate wearing dresses. She thought angrily, taking the jacket from Neji. "I—" She held the jacket firmly, it felt so soft… so… warm. "Thank you," she said quickly, bowing her head in gratitude.

"Just bring a jacket next time," Neji said quietly, reaching inside his room to switch of the lights. "We better head back to the party," he said, gesturing her to walk ahead.

Tenten hesitantly put on the jacket and nodded. She felt him walking just a few inches behind her. The whole corridor was enveloped in silence. Complex… awkward silence. Tenten sighed quietly. At school, it was never like this. At school, it was always so easy to talk to him. At school…

Tenten shot a glance at him curiously. His eyes were focused on the tiled floor. In the long span of time they spent together, she could already read him easily. He was deep in thought… but what it was about, she couldn't decipher. Looking down, Tenten noticed he was looking very formal, which was to be expected since they were heading to a party, but Tenten couldn't ignore the fact that he looked very striking… and more handsome, than usual.

She shook her head furiously, angry at herself. This was not the time to be thinking about those things.

"Do you remember?" Neji's voice popped out, shattering the silence.

Tenten stopped. Looking curiously at him. "Remember what?"

His lips suddenly curved into a thin, sad, smile. "Nothing," he said quietly. "Come on. We have to hurry."

But Tenten's feet kept her stuck to the ground. There was something about the way he talked to her. It's like he wasn;t asking her… but forcing her to remember. And why did they have to hurry?

"Neji! Remember what?" She repeated, running to catch up with him. She was lucky he walked slow.

He shook his head furiously. "I told you. It's nothing."

She sighed. "I know you. And I know it's not just nothing," she repeated persistently, looking at him. And almost gasped when she saw a faint, pink tinge on his cheeks. What the?

He just ignored her, walking straight ahead.

She shook her head again, frustrated. "Fine then. Then tell me why we have to hurr—!" Her question was answered before she could even answer it. The whole corridor turned pitch black. Her feet was rooted to the floor, and she found herself unable to move.

"Shit," she heard Neji mutter.

She could feel sweat dropping from her forehead. She tried to stand up straight, but her knees buckled below her. "Neji," she managed to whisper, before her knees finally gave in.

She closed her eyes, expecting to hit the cold floor, but instead, felt strong, powerful arms wrapped below her shoulders and her own arms, supporting her up.

"I thought so," she heard Neji whisper from behind her.

She felt her heartbeat race, faster than it could ever go. "I'm sorry," she whispered, heaving herself to stand straight. "Don't worry," she continued, pushing herself away.

"Are you sure?" He asked, worry etched in his voice.

"Hai," Tenten answered, determined not to show her weakness. She felt neji nod, before he finally let go of her. She breathed in deeply, before finally having the nerves to talk. "What now?" She asked, anxious to arrive at the party before the clock stroke 12.

She heard him sigh wearily. "I know the way, but the problem is how I take you there in this darkness," she heard him stride to her side. "You hand," he said, quietly.

"What?" Tenten asked, momentarily confused, then finally understood. She reached her hand out to where neji's voice emitted from.

"It's easier this way," he said, taking her hand in his.

She nodded, although she knew that he couldn't see it.

"Let's go," he said, taking a step forward.

Tenten followed, and they walked together in silence.

"They do this every year," Neji said, his voice sounding stronger in the darkness.

"This blackout thing?"

"Hai. Five minutes before twelve, and they turn off all the lights. They said it makes it more entertaining."

"For some," Tenten said, darkly.

She heard him scoff. "I have a feeling you wouldn't have been too scared if you stayed in the hall," he said.

Tenten chuckled. "You're right, I guess. But it's just my nature to."

"I know," He said, chuckling along with her. "There's going to be a fireworks display later. Twelve," he informed her.

"Really? Oh, that'd be great," she replied, smiling. Their conversation brought her back to the ones they always had at school… It just flowed effortlessly.

Silence once more, before Tenten spoke up again.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Neji asked, confused.

"For breaking down earlier…" She said, quietly. "I've had Nyctophobia ever since I was young…"

"It's not your fault," Neji answered sincerely.

"But still, I shouldn't have—"

"I told you," he said, more sternly. "I know you didn't mean to break down like that. And it's not your fault. I should have warned you, or at least have taken you back to the party before the lights went out."

"Don't blame yourself like that!" Tenten shouted angrily back, pulling her hand away, amidst the gloominess around her. There was no reason for him to blame himself… especially when they both knew he had nothing to do with it.

He sighed heavily. "Come on," was all he said, taking her hand and leading her to the hall.

The rest of their journey remained in silence, until he finally stopped. "We're here."

Tenten stopped, listening alertly. She could hear sounds from in front of her. "Thank you," she said, sincerely.

"Anytime," he said, leading her hand to the door.

She groped until she finally found the door knob. "Aren't you coming?" she asked.

"Not my kind of thing," he answered.

She smiled. "At least come and watch the fireworks," she said, knowing that the hall was filled with windows that reached from the ceiling to the floor, enabling the people inside to have a clear view of the sky.

"Speaking of which…" Neji said, rather hesitantly. "Do you want to have a good view?"

"What?" Tenten asked, unsure of what he was saying. Then, she suddenly smiled, and released her grip on the doorknob. "You know a better place?" She asked.

"The best," Neji said, laughing as he took hold of her hand again.

"We better hurry," Tenten said. She had a feeling they didn't have much time.

"Hai," Neji said, in agreement, jogging to pick up the pace.

xOxOxOx

"It's beautiful…" Tenten said, as she breathed the fresh air. Suddenly, it didn't matter how tired she was, or how many flights of stairs they had to climb. The whole sky was in front of her, stars shining brightly.

Neji had taken her to a great balcony, rested above the hall they had come from.

She looked at him, finally able to see his face with the help of the moon's light. Suddenly… she understood what he asked her earlier. The memories of that Halloween night… when she lost her way… and he helped her back. How could she have forgotten?

"Neji?" She asked, looking up to him.

"Hn?" He asked curiously.

"I… remember," she said, memories flashing back again.

He looked at her, smiling. "Good," he said, teasing her.

"Thank you for then," she continued. "And for now."

He nodded, grinning. "Anytime."

She smiled back, but turned her head to the heavens as she heard a clock chime just below them. Fireworks in different colors filled the whole sky. She watched them, feeling a sense of contentment inside of her. Another year had passed again. Everything was just moving too fast.

Looking to her side, she saw Neji also looking up, smiling at the lights. Then, before she could think of what she was doing, she stood on tip toes and kissed him gingerly on the cheek.

Neji turned away from the fireworks, to look at her, surprised.

Tenten felt her whole face go red. "Uhm… Happy New Year?" She said awkwardly, forcing a smile.

His lips curved into a thin smile, as his hand took hers. "Happy New Year, Tenten." He whispered, as their fingers entertwined.

END

A/N: Again, Happy New Year to all!

The ending's kinda rushed… I know, and I ask you to forgive me for that.=(, but drowsiness is finally taking over..

*sigh,*in a few more hours I'll be back to my boring desk listening to the teachers' boring discussions.. Oh well…xD

Don't forget to review! (please and thank you)