Update: minor changes, smoothing the dialogue, adding reactions, and rewriting of some parts.

I love this story, and I hope I can transfer these positive feelings to whoever reads it.

Chapter 2: Intense Anticipation

The Konoha shinobi had to walk approximately twenty-four hours to reach the meeting place, as opposed to the other groups that had to walk for three days. Although they had started their trip early in the morning, it was already noon, and the group was still weirdly silent.

Even Lee, who was usually the talkative type, at the moment was lethargic, quiet, his gaze wandering at the ground or somewhere far ahead between the trees. Chouji had taken out a bag of chips from his backpack, crunching it rhythmically. Shikamaru was walking with his hands in his pockets, looking around pedantically.

Ino sighed and looked at the other woman, who was deep in her thoughts as well.

"It's very quiet," she whispered.

"Huh?" Tenten needed a few seconds to adjust her mind. "Yes, usually the trips are quite loud," she confirmed.

"It seems like all of them are horribly melancholic." Ino continued moving her eyes from one teammate to another.

Tenten smiled slightly. "They are."

"I'm not." Ino shrugged. "But as I'm looking at you, guys, I'm getting sad too," she said to the team in general.

Tenten looked ahead for some time as if she was trying to get the right words and arrange them in the correct order. In a few minutes she spoke softly "Don't you miss your dad?"

Ino sighed and closed her eyes. "I do miss him every day. But he is gone. Even if I cry, even if I am sad, even if I punish myself…" She paused as if she wasn't sure of the last word. Anyway, she couldn't take it back. "It doesn't matter, he is gone. He is not coming back. It is up to me how I am going to look at it, and I choose to remember the happy parts, the things he taught me. I choose to smile when I remember him, because my heart is warmed by the pleasant memories." Ino glanced at Tenten. "I used to cry a lot — almost all the time, though I was grieving. Now it is still hard but way better."

Tenten nodded, but chose not to say anything.

"Alright, I am done being silent. We all need some distraction," Ino declared and smiled widely, her blue eyes sparkling beautifully. "In the end this trip is some sort of vacation!" She shrugged. "I am just feeling a bit sorry Sai is not here with us," she added quietly but shook her head and straightened up: "Shikamaru!" she shouted to make him turn. When this obviously didn't get her any result, she paced ahead and caught up with him. "Why are you ignoring me?"

"I am not," he replied.

"You are not answering when I call you. This is what I call 'ignoring'."

"If I had answered you, I would have to stop and wait for you, since you would have surely wanted to tell me something. Now, you hurried ahead, and came to me. There is no need to change my pace or to stop being on guard, watching around."

Ino gritted her teeth, but somehow succeeded to hold her shout in. Shikamaru had really become unpleasant to deal with at times. She understood him, she forgave him right on the spot, but he still annoyed her.

"Anyway," she waved her hand, "Do you know which shinobi will be joining us?"

He glanced at her and burrowed his hands in his pockets. He had brought them out for just a bit, so he could place them on his nape and stretch.

"Some," he said quietly.

"Would you share the information with us?" She smiled, radiating.

"I could do that. You are going to see them tomorrow anyway." He lazily shrugged.

But instead, it became quiet again. Ino glanced at him quite often over the next few minutes, expecting him to continue talking, yet he didn't.

"Well?" she insisted, starting to lose it.

Shikamaru glanced back at her, sighing. It was obvious she just wouldn't leave him alone.

"Temari and Kankuro of the Sand, Kurotsuchi of the Stone, Chojuro of the Mist, Shee of the Cloud," he recited wearily. "That's all the people I was informed about, though there will be more to the list. Probably shinobi we haven't heard of. Happy now?"

She blinked, repeating the names in her mind. Actually most of those names didn't really ring a bell. Of course she knew Temari — she even came along to their girls' gatherings once or twice while in Konoha. Honestly though, Ino barely knew Temari's brother Kankuro. About the other names — she did have some vague idea of who they may be, although she couldn't trust it. Maybe when she saw them, she would remember.

"Well…" She grinned and grabbed Shikamaru's elbow, causing him to huff unhappily and try to free himself, unsuccessfully. "So Temari-san will be with us? For a whole month," she emphasised on the word "whole". The man looked at her, a little spark flashed in his eyes. It was a warning.

Shikamaru didn't have a sister, but he loved Ino just like one. And just like a sister, she tended to meddle in…everything, including his personal life. Especially in his personal life. It was true she never did so with malicious intentions, and she was never rudely intruding. It never happened that he felt exposed by her or something like that. Anyway, Shikamaru was trying to keep his personal deals exactly that — personal. And it was extremely annoying that she was gifted with abilities, letting her with a great precision to sense what was happening deep in his heart. He had never shared nor spoken on that topic. She had never been a witness of anything that could be put in like 'intimate' between Temari and himself — not a conversation, nor a glance, nor a touch. And there was truly no way she could witness something like that. The most intimate contact he had ever had with Temari, had been sitting close enough to read together from the same paper. Even so, Ino had sensed it. She knew. And that caused chills down his back.

"What I mean," she continued unperturbed, still taking into consideration his warning glance, "is that we would be able to form a little female circle and actually have fun." She turned, looking back over her shoulder to Tenten, who was currently gazing off somewhere in the distance. "Tenten, did you hear that? Temari-san will be with us the whole time!"

Tenten smiled slightly — her smile was beautiful, charming, but somehow sad and carried away.

"That sounds good," she eventually said.

"Right!" Ino grinned, "Two is a good group number for a little female circle, but three sounds way better."

"She really is pleasant company," Tenten agreed. "She's fun."

"She really is." Ino turned ahead, still clinging to Shikamaru's arm. "I won't forget the very first time I heard her laughing out loud. I couldn't believe it! Her laughter is so contagious, isn't it? And her smile is so bright and radiant, I couldn't move my eyes away. Isn't her smile beautiful, Shikamaru?" she asked him with a completely innocent face.

He looked at her but didn't answer.

"Kankuro also seems to be fun." Chouji intervened thoughtfully. "When Shikamaru was on a mission, instead of Temari, Kankuro came to visit Konoha. I was put in charge to guide him around."

Suddenly all eyes turned to Chouji — he felt tense and out of place — he really couldn't stand to be the centre of attention.

"I didn't know about that." Ino shared quietly and Chouji just shrugged.

"You also weren't available. You were training…with your dad." He looked at her with great compassion; only he was able to look at someone like that. "And there wasn't anything to tell, really. He arrived in the morning, he had meetings the whole day. In the evening I took him out to eat, and guided him to the inn he was going to sleep in. In the morning I escorted him to the gates, and he left."

"And what brought you to think he is fun because of all of that?" Ino raised an eyebrow at him.

"It seemed so to me at the time. I remember we laughed a lot. On the other hand, it could have been the alcohol…" He scratched with a bit of uncertainty at his cheek.

Tenten truly smiled for the first time since they left.

Atsui was sitting near the campfire and was grinning at Omoi's swollen face. Karui had succeeded in reaching him earlier, and had poured her anger over him with the force of a landslide. Shee and Amai had refused to heal him, reasoning it was his fault and, if they helped him, he would never learn to think before he spoke. Shee even had stated the pain would have some purifying effect on the young shinobi.

"It hurts," Omoi complained, rubbing his jaw. "What's the point in having two medic ninjas if they won't cooperate at all, healing an injured ally?"

"You know I admire your big mouth." Atsui looked at him. "There will always be a woman who will put some kind of filter on it. They are just… like that."

"Like Samui?" Omoi teased.

"Well, yeah…" He sighed after contemplating for a moment or two.

"But she really is flat chested," Omoi whispered, leaning ahead with a hand near his mouth.

"She is now," Amai said as he prepared to sit down by the fire. Both of them looked at him questionably. "She is really skinny and barely nineteen. You couldn't really predict the way she would look in a year or two with a few kilograms more. You could be surprised."

Omoi looked at him with unhidden surprise. He didn't really think about that. He was just commenting on what was before his eyes.

"But it is possible for her to not change, isn't it?"

"That's right." Amai shrugged.

"And if that's the case, do you honestly think there will be a man who would like her? Skinny, flat chested and evil?" He smiled a bit too toothily. It was painful for him when tried to smile..

"Certainly." Amai smiled — his smile was quite charming. "Maybe you won't believe that, but I can tell you men's taste for women differ quite a lot." He was speaking calmly, with the confidence of someone with some more life experience. "Some men like more flesh, bigger breasts, bigger thighs and butts. Some like taller women, some like blue eyes… Some like calm and timid women, some pushy and assertive. The preferences are as much as the variety."

"Ok, what kind of women do you like?" Atsui asked suddenly, changing the course of the conversation slightly.

Amai looked back at him with amusement and smiled slyly.

"Every woman I have ever invited out on a date, I did so because I liked her. If we talk solely about looks, I do like tender women more, so the kunoichis don't really fit into this characteristic. I kind of like light eyes more, just as I like long, light hair more. But... It is a question of trial and failure at the end. I have had mainly failures in my experiences." He kept smiling, but he looked a bit nervous. "Though for one thing I am sure — the looks of two completely different women can cause the very same strong reaction in a man's body. There is something in the aura, in the behaviour, that affects me way more than looks." He took a breath and moved his gaze to the fire. "The way a woman looks at you, the way she talks to you, the way she whispers your name, the way her touch makes you get goosebumps, the way you can't wait to lace your fingers through hers… If she makes you want to share your secrets, to laugh with her… Those things are way more important for me than just looks."

Atsui looked at him, thinking about what the man had just said.

"Naah…" He waved a hand dismissing Amai's words.

Shee was resting a few feet away, listening carefully to what they were saying in complete silence. He was watching them and was shaking his head occasionally with obvious dissatisfaction. He wasn't smiling like the rest of the group did. He was mainly observing…

Karui picked up the first watch shift — she needed to be alone at the moment. Omoi really got to her this time and even the meeting between her fist and his face didn't help subside her anger. But she felt happy Amai and Shee refused to heal him afterwards. She was grateful to them for leaving him in pain. She was aware they didn't do it for her, but to teach Omoi a lesson - the words leaving your mouth have consequences, so you better watch it.

She looked at the three figures sitting around the fire. She could hear Omoi and Atsui's voices, though she couldn't understand what they were saying. She could catch only some words. On the other hand, Amai was talking quieter. She liked Amai — he was calm, confident, charming and he had this protective behaviour when it came to her, just like she would expect from an elder brother. She didn't really need protection — she could handle everything alone, but it was so nice to have someone stepping out to give a hand or take a hit for her.

She had known Atsui for a long time. She was in his elder sister's team — Samui, so Atsui was actually around them all the time.. When they were not on a mission, he was constantly hanging out with them, just like a fourth unofficial member of their team. He was really impulsive and loud, so Samui could balance him perfectly.

And C… She couldn't really put a definition to him yet. She couldn't decide if she liked him or not. He was keeping his distance, having a serious face expression and it was as if his eyes could see underneath the surface. Amai and C's eyes were alike - their colour and the shape to some extent. But Amai's eyes were warm, C's eyes gave out a cold warning "stay back, don't come too close". There was a chance for Shee to be just extremely bored though. In the end Omoi, Atsui and herself were just kids for him - he was almost 27, according to her knowledge. It was as if Raikage-sama had sent them a nanny…

Temari was laying down and looking blindly into the darkness. She was tense. She could not explain it to herself — the mission was not dangerous, no fighting was expected, she didn't have a kill to do, and yet she was still tense. It was as if she was expecting something to happen but she had no idea what that would be. She sighed with annoyance and forced her eyes to close.

She was happy Gaara picked up Ameno for this mission. Temari was in a striving need of female friends. It was not as though she didn't love her brothers…but they were men. And no matter how close she was with Kankuro, he was still a man in his bones. They were friends, of course, even close friends. They shared a lot of personal information between each other. She had even told him about her ex-boyfriends, albeit there was not so much to tell — she'd had two boyfriends until now and not for a long period of time. Kankuro had also shared about his past relationships. They had even discussed intimate topics. He had asked her for advice and he had shared ideas he asked for her opinions about. To some extent, perhaps thanks to her, he had become a sought-after lover. She was well aware that the credit was mostly and probably solely his - he was the one who asked, who was interested… She simply wanted to believe she helped, even a bit, for the male population to get better. What a thought… Why would she even think about that? She sighed, even more annoyed, and turned to the other side.

Somewhere in the pit of her stomach, she felt a tense ball forming. It was a feeling she had called 'intense anticipation.' It always appeared when something significant was about to happen - like a mission, the war, an important meeting… What was about to happen couldn't really fit anywhere near those categories and yet the tense tie was up in her body and refused to go away and let her relax. She fully knew what was next - she was going to fall onto the border between the sleep and the awake state. Temari didn't have any control over her thoughts then. She was going to go through short dreams resembling memories… Well, they were real memories sometimes. And sometimes they were just scenes, describing beautifully her fears…or deeply burrowed desires…

She looked around - she was in Konoha's library. In the other end of the room there was an old electric fan, making noises. Across the table was seated Shikamaru. That was a few years ago, he was not older than 17. Right now he was supporting his head on his hand, the most bored expression he could muster was all over his face.

Then she took a look at the documents spreaded in front of her. They blurred slightly for a moment, as if they moved and maybe the content changed. Temari looked up again - there was eighteen years old Shikamaru and instead of supporting his head on his hand, he was looking back at her with moderate annoyance. She tried to remember if he asked her something… Did he expect an answer to a question?

"What is it?" she asked.

"I asked if you would like to stop for lunch," he repeated with a sigh, emphasising his vexation.

Temari looked at the wall where the clock used to be — it was past one o'clock.

"Yes, of course." She attempted to get up but felt dizzy, fell backwards and was yet seated in the very same chair.

She felt a bit sick as if she had been spinning in the same direction for a long time. When she overcame the sickening sensation, she dared to look up to the other side of the table. That was last year, just before the exams… Shikamaru was rubbing his eyes while mumbling something she couldn't quite understand. Temari remembered they were both really tired then…

"I really think we should just go to rest and finish it early in the morning," he said, glancing at her with his tired eyes.

"Well, Crybaby… There is just a little bit left. Are you going to just…quit?" She smiled at him bitterly and challengingly. She was well aware where, how and how much to push to motivate him.

There was an angry flame in his eyes, he clenched his jaws. His fists clenched as well, even if for just a bit.

"Troublesome woman…" he hissed and got up.

"Quitting?" she asked.

"Going to grab coffee," he replied and went for the door.

The room spun again and she was yet again in the same place, near the same table, the same clock on the wall. There was no electric fan though — it was cold. While she was fighting back the urge to throw up, she looked at her hands - her left forearm was bandaged. So that must be a memory of after the war. Temari felt the intensity of someone looking at her sharply. That made her lift her gaze. And he was there - slightly bigger, slightly rougher and slightly more serious. His eyes were so dark and there was something in their depths she couldn't determine or recognise.

"What is it?" she asked.

He shook his head, attempting to say something, but then he changed his mind and chose to stay silent. He sighed quietly with no visible trace of annoyance, then he went back to the documents in front of him. Temari kept her eyes on him for a few seconds. There was a tightening ball in her stomach…

"There is nothing," he replied, causing her to flinch. She really didn't expect an answer at all.

She shrugged, deciding to ignore whatever it was, and also went back to her work. When she felt his look again in a few minutes, she raised her teal eyes to him. For a brief moment her eyes sunk into his. It felt just like time had stopped. She clearly sensed her breathing change — it became faster in anticipation of something, and her cheeks were about to flush, so she just turned her head away.

"Seriously, Shikamaru, what is it?"

"I am not sure…" he whispered, narrowing his eyebrows, then he went back to his work yet again.

His voice had become slightly deeper — she found his timbre really pleasant for the ear. And his eyes — they were absolutely nothing special according to colour or shape, but they burned with such an unbelievable intensity that it was really hard for her to get them out of her mind after she had been looking into them.

Temari turned around again, still in her semi-sleep state. She didn't have enough strength to wake up but she couldn't relax enough to fall fully asleep. Her mind obviously had decided to drag her through some meetings with Shikamaru before and after the war. She had a vague explanation about it - there was something different about him after his father died and after he went through the Infinite Tsukuyomi* of Uchiha Madara. He was looking at her differently.

She quietly sighed, falling into her twisted memories again.

They were walking down the street arguing quietly. It was something about shogi as far as she could remember. She was so into the conversation that stopped suddenly and turned to him to emphasise something with a gesture. In the same moment a running kid pushed her. Temari staggered towards Shikamaru and he caught her. Even though she retrieved her balance in a few seconds, he kept holding her hand with his, his other hand on her shoulder. It had happened before, their hands touching, like one of them pushing or pulling the other one by a trivial occasion. It was different now… He was still holding her hand, his eyes looking straight in hers. Shikamaru didn't say a thing. But she panicked, moved away and went ahead. It was like Temari was looking at the whole scene from above— she could see both herself and him. He shook his head, obviously unhappy, then he put his hands in his pockets and followed her.

Temari succeeded in fully waking up. Her eyes opened and she promised to herself she was not going to fall asleep again for the night.

She couldn't help thinking about why she even dreamed about those things. Why now and why Shikamaru? Yes, he was looking at her differently and there were moments she shivered and flinched out of uneasiness. Sometimes she had felt as if he was ready to flirt with her or even invite her on a date, but that didn't happen yet. It was possible she just imagined it. And if he really did start to flirt with her or invite her on a date, what would she do? Well, she would join the flirt and accept the invitation, that's what was going to happen… Temari had realised her entity was filled with shame. The feeling was consuming and sharp, and she couldn't shake it off. It came from the fact she would gladly accept a date invitation from someone she perceived as a kid — Shikamaru was three years younger than her. But no… That was not true, he was not a kid anymore — he should have turned twenty. A twenty year old man was not exactly the same as a fourteen year old kid. Also she was there when he ripened into manhood, when he was changing; when he became taller than her, when his voice became thicker, when his jaw elongated, when his hands became larger than hers and maybe even stronger…when his thin body wrapped itself in very satisfying muscles that served him well. She was there when he was talking, thinking, pondering and making plans. She was there when he grew up… And even so, there was something constantly reminding her she was older, she always would be. It would be better for him to hook up with someone his age, or maybe a girl younger than him.

Temari shook her head, trying to chase away all of her weird thoughts. In reality nothing happened. He had not flirted with her. He had not invited her on a date. Everything was in her head, only there.

Then she remembered her last visit to Konoha around a month ago. She was there for two weeks and she had a few training sessions with him. During one of them her hair tie broke. Shikamaru approached to give her his extra hair tie, which was usually placed on his right wrist. She reached to take it, but he shook his head and asked her to turn around. She was shocked enough to obey. He had carefully gathered her sand-colored slightly sweaty locks from her shoulder and tied them, while lacing his fingers through. She didn't dare to breathe… When he was done, he had put a hand on her shoulder, she had flinched and moved aside.

But what was happening to her? It wasn't really possible to fall for him, was it? He was so lazy and unambitious — two qualities she hated in her bones. And even so… Even so, there was something really charming about him despite his flaws, she confessed to herself. Especially that little smirk which sometimes appeared on his lip that made him look so…vicious.

Temari turned on her back and looked up at the little piece of sky she could see between the branches.

Someone landed just beside her — it was her brother.

"Temari…" he whispered, carefully placing a hand on her shoulder. "Change."

She sighed quietly in relief then sat up.

"Good night," she wished in reply, then got up.

"Do you mind if I take your blanket?" he asked with a typical mischievous smile.

Temari chuckled — her brother was such a child sometimes. He wanted her blanket so he wouldn't take his out and apparently not have to put it back in. Also hers was already warm.

"Nah, it is fine. Take it." She stretched, then jumped up and prepared for her shift, sitting on a branch.

Kankuro chuckled. He had seen how his sister was turning in her sleep from his position in the tree. He knew she didn't really have a proper rest. But she was so much fun sometimes, she thought herself to be a real smartass, though she needed a head hit in order to see something. Well now there was a chance for a head hit. Kankuro was too observant sometimes. And it often felt heavy upon him.

During the last Kage's meeting, he had ensured his suspicions to be correct. When he crossed glances with Shikamaru, he understood. And he never mentioned a thing to Temari on the matter. Also, he was not going to meddle, not in a case where he didn't need to…

Ino and Tenten laid down next to each other near a big tree sat down and leaned his back against the same tree. He stretched one leg, the other one bended slightly. His hands relaxed on the soft grass beside his body. His head leaned back, his eyes shut tight. Chouji laid down a few feet away from him, hand under his head, serving as a pillow. Lee had insisted on taking the first guarding shift, so he was sitting up in the very same tree.

"It's exciting." Ino whispered, looking at Tenten's peaceful face. She opened her hazel eyes and gazed back at the other woman's blue ones.

"Maybe a little," she confessed. "The unknown may be exciting to some extent," she continued again, whispering.

"Not only that. I am excited to see Temari. I have the very strong inner feeling she will be a perfect fit for our female circle.

"Maybe…" Tenten placed both of her hands under her head. "It seems you do really like her a lot."

"I do." Ino nodded. "She has a special soft spot in my heart." She smiled sweetly and closed her eyes.

"If I didn't know you as well as I do, I would say you have fallen for her," Shikamaru said without moving at all from his place.

Ino chuckled and tried to nestle more comfortably.

"But you do know me, Shikamaru. And you are well aware my heart already belongs to someone else." She spoke slightly louder. "I am not afraid to confess my feelings out loud."

"Yeah, sure you don't." Shikamaru huffed, the irony dripping hard into his tone. "Do I have to remind you how many months you've been complaining of Sai not paying attention to you? How long Chouji and myself had to bear your mumbling until he finally invited you on a date?"

"But that just emphasises my point," she replied. "Maybe I had been complaining, but you, as my closest friends and brothers, knew exactly who I liked."

"Ino, it is about time you accept we don't have to share everything. There are things one wants to keep for himself." Ino could clearly picture Shikamaru's frowning face.

"I want to share with you, because I have trust in you and I love you both." She lifted herself on an elbow and looked in her teammate's direction. "I know you love me too."

Shikamaru snorted but he didn't give up on her provocation.

"Good night," she wished, but no one answered her. Ino chuckled quietly and laid back down on the soft leaves, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

Tenten heard everything they said and, even if the conversation sounded sharply honest, she was left with the feeling there were some more, something hidden between every other sentence.

Lee, also, had heard the conversation but he never interjected. Instead he thought of their team. Neji, Tenten and himself — no matter how close they were, it was never quite enough so that they could feel like siblings. Especially Neji and Tenten — the feelings between them were not that kind. Tenten had lost not only a teammate and a friend, she had also lost the person who opened his heart to her just before the war began. Lee sighed and looked down at Tenten — she didn't move, she had fallen into a deep slumber.

Neji approached her just before they reached the battlefield. His head was hanging low with obvious uneasiness, his pale eyes looking at her hands. He hesitantly reached out and lightly touched the top of her hand with only his fingertips. He was extremely tender… That was highly atypical for him.

"Tenten…" he whispered. "I need to talk with you. Now."

She looked at him, narrowing her eyes. There was a strange urgency in him that forced her to just nod toward the rocks. They headed there to get at least some kind of privacy as far as that was even possible under the current circumstances. When they had hidden from sight, she looked questioningly at him.

"What's going on, Neji? You've been weird."

"I… Tenten, I have been gathering courage to talk with you for some time now. This may be my only chance though."

"What do you mean?" she frowned and unwillingly took a step forward, her chest tensing with suspicion.

Neji suddenly grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest. Her very first reaction was to pull her hand back, but he wouldn't let her.

"Tenten, I am going to get it out bluntly even if I had prepared a whole speech." There was a slight blush over his pale cheeks.

"Alright…"She couldn't believe that. It was quite obvious what was going on, but she still couldn't believe it.

"I love you," he said while breathing out. "I have loved you for a long time but I never dared to let you know."

Tenten was stunned. She didn't know what the right reaction would be. She had never expected something like that from him. She had hoped — yeah, but to expect it happening — not really. And even if she shared the way he felt, the time was so wrong.

"Why now?!" she asked, pressing her palm over his chest. "Why now, when there is a high chance one of us will never make it home?!"

"That is exactly why," Neji replied quietly. "No matter what happens, I want you to know. I know you love me…"

Tenten pulled back, embarrassed and ashamed. She averted her eyes but never denied what he said.

"But I regret I've never had the guts to encourage you or confess myself. Please don't be angry with me…"

She shook her head.

"I can't really be mad at you, I just—"

"Kiss me," he pleaded and she looked back at him with completely flushed cheeks. "If my fate is not working for me on this, if one of us doesn't make it, or both of us don't… I really want to have something to warm my heart, even if it will be at the last possible moment."

Tenten bit her lip and hesitantly approached him. He opened his arms in a silent invitation and she gave in to the strong desire. She stepped into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck, tenderly caressing his long, dark, and soft hair. He pulled her in more and leaned over to press his lips on hers. His lips were gentle and touched hers in a loving way. She returned the kiss, barely holding back her tears.

"I want to marry you," he whispered, placing his forehead on hers. "I want you as the mother of my children." Neji hugged her tightly and kissed her hair. "Promise me! If we make it—"

"I promise," she replied, raising on tiptoe to seal her promise with a kiss.

The image blurred and was slowly replaced by another — Hinata ran to stand between Naruto and the flying debris in his direction. Her love was stronger than the fear of death and she didn't even think twice. Neji stood up between Hinata and the debris at the last possible moment. Did his action come from a sense of duty or love for his family? Tenten would never know. She didn't have time to ponder, because right after Neji took the spot in front of Hinata, the hit came. Tenten physically felt it — she winced and her body cringed from the impact force when the flying wood met Neji's body and sank into it with terrifying ease, as if he was nothing. She felt the air leaving her lungs even now — she must have screamed, even though she didn't remember she did. Tenten wasn't there, beside him — she couldn't reach him, nor touch him. She couldn't hold him as he was dying. And the thought that Naruto was the one holding him for the last time, was choking her, ripping her heart out. She wanted to turn her face away but she couldn't… The only thing she could do was shut her eyes for a brief moment, praying this is just her imagination. When she opened them again, she felt dread — the wood spears were still piercing Neji's rib cage. Everything was splashed with blood. There was blood dripping from his mouth, colouring his lips red — those same lips that she had kissed just a few hours ago. The curse on his forehead disappeared slowly, together with his last breaths, leaving his lungs for eternity.

Tenten sat up straight. She was breathing heavily, her whole body and face were dripping with sweat, her eyes were teary. Drifting between sleep and reality, she turned her head in the direction she expected to see Naruto and Hinata sending Neji on his last trip. Her nostrils could still sense the smell of wet soil and blood. Her ears could still hear the screams and cries, though her throat was so constricted, she wouldn't be able to make a sound even if her life depended on it. Her nails dug into the ground, desperately seeking something to hold onto. Very slowly the nightmare blurred away, but her body was still shivering in terror and hopelessness. The sweat droplets stang into her eyes and fell over the blanket, melting away as if they never existed. Tenten finally succeeded to breathe in deeply. As she breathed out, she couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of sadness and loss. A silent sigh tore out her throat…

Ino woke up immediately and looked at her. She pushed herself up to sit and offered the trembling Tenten a hug. She didn't say anything, didn't ask anything… Just opened her arms and let her decide if she needed one. Tenten kneeled and wrapped her arms around her friend. She was a tough woman and had never talked about Neji with anyone. But at that very moment all she needed was proximity with no questions and no accusations.

"Thank you," she whispered and burrowed her face in Ino's shoulder, who was stroking Tenten's back until the crisis was over.

Lee went down on the ground and attempted to wake Chouji up, when Tenten got up suddenly.

"Lee, I will take the shift. I don't think I will be able to fall asleep anyway." She smiled slightly, her teammate nodded. She fixed her vest and, without looking at any of her group, she jumped up and disappeared into the tree's crown. Ino sent her away with eyes, then looked up at Lee — he was also looking after his teammate with worry, Ino recognised. When their gazes crossed, he didn't say anything.

Ino laid back down and tried to go back to sleep.

Tenten cradled, burrowed her face in her knees, wrapping them with her arms. She was hurting. She was in constant pain since she saw how the last breath left Neji's chest. She felt like she needed to cry, but she just couldn't. The only tears she was able to let out came only after the nightmares. She just couldn't cry when she was awake. Inwardly, she was convinced she didn't deserve the relief of crying. Tenten felt guilt because she was alive and he was not. She was supposed to be there with him, on the battlefield. She was supposed to be dead, so they could be together. Not like this… It was not fair! The woman took a breath and exhaled through her teeth.

"Neji…" she whispered only with her lips. "You shouldn't have said anything, Neji… You should have let me believe my love is unshared. I had loved you for so long that I had learned to live with it. I don't know how I will handle the knowledge we would be together if only you were alive…"

Ruka relaxed back in her cosy chair. She could get used to that. Chojuro had treated her really well and made sure she was comfortable. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept in an inn during a mission. Having clean sheets, a private bathroom and the best of all — hot coffee in the morning.

While they were on the boat, Choujiro had taken out a map and had shown their route. Both of their nights were planned to be spent with a roof over their heads, with warm food. She was sure he didn't do all of that solely for her sake. Most probably he liked to be warm, in a dry place, and have access to fresh food, as well as a chance for more than the most basic hygiene.

Ruka found Choujiro to be a really pleasant company. It was often she was hit on by her male teammates but he was respectful and definitely friendly. She liked that because she could let her worries aside.

"So what happened when the fight was over?" Choujiro asked with vivid interest and sipped from his coffee.

Ruka was telling a funny story from one of her last missions. One of her teammates had gotten himself drunk and had eaten a fruit she explicitly told him not to. This had resulted in severe diarrhoea, which had caused them a serious delay.

"It turned out that in addition to having to look for herbs for his diarrhoea, I had to apply an ointment on his backside for a rash…" She sighed and slightly chickled. "The alcohol intoxication didn't let him choose a good place for his physiological need's relief. So in short"— she leaned ahead a bit and whispered —"he had fallen in a nettle…"

"Oh…" Chojuro had an attempt at a sympathetic expression, though he failed to hold his smile in. "Sounds like an unpleasant encounter."

"Yep… When you are a medic and you are sent on missions with complete strangers, that's what you usually get…"

"I have always imagined the attitude towards medics in a slightly different way," he admitted.

"The truth is most of the shinobi treat the profession and us with respect," she said seriously. "There are, however, some shinobi in the eyes of whom you can see 'you can't tell me what to do, I know better' attitude. When I see that look, I just prepare myself mentally for problems.``

"Well, I can assure you, I am a really tractable patient." Chojuro smiled.

"I hope my medical abilities won't be needed at all, if I must be honest," she confessed.

"Me too," He nodded.

"I am going to miss this," Ruka said and smiled shyly, gesturing to the inn that surrounded them. "When we catch up with the rest of the group, we won't be able to take advantage of such comfortable conditions."

The man laughed and placed his empty cup on the table.

"But we will be more and I believe it will be even merrier. I know for certain that Kurotsuchi-sama and Temari-sama are going to be there as representatives of their villages and of the kunoichis in general."

"I know who they are —I have seen them. But I would rather have the company of someone coming from the medical corpus — I was working with them during the war and I could easily find crossing points with them." She shrugged and sipped from her cup.

"Ruka-chan, you may not be aware of this, but you are really easy to talk to. I am certain you won't have any problems finding crossing points with the women and men they have sent."

She looked up at him, eyes wide, filled with surprise. Then she gifted him a kind smile. "Thank you, Chojuro-san," she said, bowing her head slightly.

Chojuro smiled as well. Mai-sama had made a good choice with Ruka. She was really pleasant, joyful, kind and she wouldn't cause any problems at all. He looked at his watch and sighed.

"It is about time for us to go," he said slowly and attempted to get up.

Ruka nodded, gulped her coffee in a rush, and got up. She picked up her backpack and headed to the door, the man followed her. Soon they were walking on the wide dusty road, immersed in mission stories.

Thank you:
Pink Shirt (you're always the first one to read it);
Alezja, even if you dislike romances and the mention of sex, your strong logic always points out the gaps and irrelevant things I've written;

Rbecca, the story's beta, you are always so patient and kind. Thank you!