This is basically where I'll be posting all of my written work...so enjoy!

Take Back My Heart

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post I

There’s surprisingly little blood when she dies. He’s watching her, standing three feet away, hands limp at his sides. There is no color to him besides black but Sakura has to squint her eyes a little to see him, as if his very image is blinding her like a prism caught just right in the sunlight. Her fingers twitch as if she wants to touch him. She doesn’t but he can’t know that. Everything that has lead to this moment has only strengthened his belief that she followed because she had made a foolish choice when she was young, ignorant.

Some old, dusty part of him croaks that he should kneel by her shoulder, touch her hand perhaps, and sit silently with her during her last minutes in that world. He doesn’t though and he feels almost angry when she smiles weakly, a crimson line dripping down her cheek. Her hand does move this time, up and over to rest on her chest. The movement makes something tighten in his throat but he can’t say why.

“You’ll make sure to take it back,” she says, her voice fading on the edge of hearing. Her fingers tap once against the spot between her breasts. “Won’t you, Sasuke-kun?”

There’s a flash of green, like fresh leaves, and he meets her gaze. They stare at each other until the inky whirls slide off his skin and his pupils lose their animal gold. She was always doing that, stopping him, halting him. He pretends she isn’t waiting for him, the cadence of his voice slow and measured. There is no hurry.

“Yes.”

She gives a breathy sort of sigh and her eyes close, her fingers are still. His body stiffens, his bones tighten as he feels her pull chakra like heavy ribbons through the air. She’s working them, knotting them, and he does move then - an odd half-step diagonally as if he can’t decide on a direction, away or towards.

She dies in a field of torn earth and blue sky with Sasuke before her.

For a long time, she has had no other wish.

Take Back My Heart

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post II

It’s evening but the room is full of midnight and the shadows of his hair and eyes. She can’t see well in the gloom but he can see just fine and sheds her clothes with the sharp edge of a kunai. She lets him and the weapon is discarded as they clash, a tangle of long limbs and too violent moves against the wooden floor boards.

He is not gentle and she doesn’t care, turning her head to bare her slim neck as his teeth sink into her shoulder, his fingers bruising her hips. Then they are tearing at each other, her nails digging into the muscles of his arms as he jerks into her so suddenly she can’t help but gasp. He never slows and she hangs on to him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders.

She eventually has to brace herself against the corner wall in order to meet his thrusts, her body sparking everywhere he touches her, so full of him that she is sure she could not love him more than she does at that moment.

It doesn’t matter that he isn’t even looking at her.

The trip back is swift and almost without incident. He moves silently through the trees despite the weight in his arms, pink locks of hair tickling his skin. He looks only forward, from tree limb to tree limb and ignores the feel of unseen gazes. They have been following him for the last half hour and by now they must know his destination. Still, they don’t reveal themselves until he’s barely an hour away, blurred shapes dropping into his line of sight.

He lands on the forest floor easily, his legs bending to absorb the impact as his body curves over his burden. He does not release Sakura but straightens slowly, never hiding. Sakura’s head lays against his shoulder.

“Move,” he says.

The half ring of Sound ninja stay where they are, some of them sneering in contempt, others silent and serious. They don’t care why he’s out there with the lifeless body of a girl. They’ve come to make sure that their lord’s orders will be carried out, that the vessel hasn’t suddenly grown a mind of it’s own.

He has never had the power to decide for himself. Every choice, every decision was based on the temptation of more strength, more knowledge, more. Even now, standing there in dappled sunlight and watching death, he knows he still is not strong enough. Alone, he has never been enough.

But today, Sakura is there.

In his eyes, red wheels begin to spin.

Take Back My Heart

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post III

There is a moment of trembling, of breathless exultation and Sakura arches up, closing around him. He surges into her body twice more before finding a shuddering release, his head bowed over her nakedness, eyes closed tightly. Only when her fingers trace his jaw does he realize it’s over. He rolls off of her before she can say anything, lying flat on his back next to her, barely breathing hard. He is not far away but the distance somehow feels very great.

She erases it by leaning over and kissing him.

It’s their first.

When she pulls away, he sees something sparkling in the corner of her eyes but her smile is hard, resolved. He has seen that expression before, when they were young, and the sudden memory slices through him like a white-hot knife. He recalls then that they used to be teammates. And that she had loved him.

He had once told her “thank you”, and that was strange because he can not remember what it feels like to be grateful for something.

She moves on top of him, sliding down his body until she is flush against him, her breasts pressed into the scarred planes of his chest. Her hand dips between his legs.

“Again?” she asks, calmly.

He nods. “Yes.”

He reaches the end of his journey with blood on his clothes. It’s not his so he dismisses it as useless information, his focus on the aging tiles over the gateway, the mountainside faces in the background. It’s bright there and the air is different, lighter. Somewhere, a child laughs.

There are ninjas in the trees, Anbu, probably. They will try to kill him, of course, but they were probably unsure of Sakura and would be unwilling to hurt her. So he simply stands there, waiting for her to show him the way. She has brought him this far, after all.

Five minutes later, Naruto comes through the gates.

He stops a few feet away and he looks tired. Or perhaps it is grief because his eyes crumble at the sight of Sakura. It is the only part of him that does, however, and Sasuke is a little surprised. The Naruto he knew would have flown into a rage, voice rising in pitch along with his emotions. Now he just stands there, expression flint-hard while his gaze weeps without tears.

And Sasuke realizes Naruto knew, he had expected…

“You must have loved her then, you bastard,” Naruto says. His words are weights. “For you to come back here...”

Sasuke cuts him off out of remembered habit. “It was her wish.”

“And you never granted any of them before,” Naruto snaps back and Sasuke sees the familiar fire. It hasn’t all gone out then. It’s just damp, banked. “Why bring her heart back now?”

Sasuke’s eyes widen and his gaze is drawn down despite himself, to the figure he’s been carrying almost mindlessly towards a goal he had thought lost.

Take Back My Heart

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post IV

“There’s a story I heard once, when we were children I think. Ino-pig told it to me. It was about a woman who loved a man who never saw her.” Sakura’s fingers brush across his chest, tracing his ribs. “She fell in love with him at first sight and when she died, her love unrequited, she became a ghost wandering the plans, searching always for him. She’d given him her heart, you see, and in that place, you could not find paradise unless you were whole. Heartless, she was doomed to roam for an eternity.” She takes a breath and her lips twitch as if she’s trying to smile. It looks a bad fit.

“Sakura.” That is all he says, just her name, but her whole demeanor changes instantly. She smiles and it’s the brilliant, dazzling smile of their youth. For a split second, he feels like how she must see him. Sasuke-kun.

She slides away from him, off the bed. “Tomorrow, when I am gone, I’ll want my heart back.” She tilts her head at him and he becomes aware that his jaw has clenched and his bones are aching. She comes back to him then, her expression softening as she runs her fingertips gently through his hair. “Take it back for me, Sasuke-kun.” Her voice drops.

“Take it back to Konoha, where it belongs.”

“I brought it with me…” The words escape before he can take them back, before he can fully understand. Naruto spells it out for him.

“You are her heart, bastard.”

The world stills.

And then he moves. The landscape slides by with aching slowness as his feet close the gap between them, until they stand side by side in opposite directions. For the first time in years, Sasuke steps foot in Konoha. Naruto doesn’t speak, doesn’t move, doesn’t breathe.

Sakura does.

Chakra unwinds in long lazy loops, bright coils that shimmer almost visibly before collapsing inwards again, disappearing. Sasuke’s chest is tight and his mind is stricken with every moment, every action she has taken to bring him there, to even hope that she could. Tears finally well in Naruto’s eyes but he’s smiling fiercely, freely.

Sakura’s eyes flutter open and she looks up at Sasuke, with the gates of home just behind him, and smiles weakly.

“Paradise.”

.:End:.

The Starfish Significance

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post I

“Neji, make him stand still!”

Hyuuga Neji glanced over at one scantily-clad, hair-in-braids, mildly annoyed Tenten… and Lee, who was dancing in place as their female teammate attempted to slather him with sunscreen. She had managed to slap some on his shoulders and cheeks but hadn’t yet managed to rub it in, Lee’s focus instead diverted to the crashing surf, his eyes wide with happiness.

Neji shrugged. “He’ll be sorry later.”

Tenten grumbled under her breath at his lack of help, frustrated that her two-piece bathing suit didn’t offer kunai holsters so she could pin Lee to the nearest palm tree. With one final squirm, Lee managed to wriggle out of her grasp, skipping towards the waves, his skinny little body dwarfed by the bright green swimming trunks he was wearing.

“The ocean!” he cried, throwing his arms wide in a dramatic gesture. “This is surely the best idea ever, Gai-sensei!”

“Of course it is, Lee!” Gai beamed, teeth sparkling more than the sunlight off the waves. “Our team is sure to become stronger after a day of TEAM BONDING!”

Happy tears trickled down Lee’s face and he clasped his hands together. “YOU’RE THE BEST, GAI-SENSEI!”

“LEE!”

“GAI-SENSEI!”

Tenten sighed and hefted up a volleyball, setting it spinning idly on one finger. “I really don’t see how a day at the beach is considered training,” she said absently. She was feeling rather exposed in her swimsuit and she didn’t like the way she felt her cheeks redden every time Neji glanced her way. Really, this whole idea was nonsense.

Lee looked scandalized. “Of course it is, Tenten! The beach is the ultimate survival test! We shall be exposed to the very nature of our weaknesses! We could drown, or be eaten by sharks, or be beaten down by the harsh rays of the sun!” His eyes widened to the size of saucers. “And there are CRABS.” His voice held a note of awe. “It will be the experience of a lifetime!”

Tenten blinked and her jaw dropped, the white ball plopping into the sand at her feet. For a moment she was completely speechless, and then Neji calmly leaned down to scoop up the volleyball and she suddenly realized she looked like some kind of demented flounder. Shaking her head, she shut her mouth and pulled herself together.

“Lee! Who have you been talking to! Most people go to the beach to relax, not to test their survival skills!”

Lee was staring at her quizzically and she had to sigh at her own reasoning. Of course Lee and Gai-sensei were not “most people” and she should have expected them to turn their free day into some sort of training exercise. Well, at least Neji wouldn’t be too disappointed. He would have trained every moment if he could do away with those pesky activities called “eating” and “sleeping”.

“Alright, my students!” Gai said cheerfully. He, too, was wearing bright green swimming trunks and Tenten had to refrain from shuddering as he flashed her gleaming, white teeth. “Who wants to fight who?”

“Fight?” Tenten repeated dumbly. She felt as if Gai and Lee were having a conversation in some other language. If they expected her to fight in a bathing suit…

The Starfish Significance

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post II

Thankfully, Gai’s idea of a fight turned out to be a volleyball match and she and Neji immediately formed a team of their own under the belief that if they were paired with either Gai or Lee they’d end up killing their teammates and have to forfeit. And Neji really hated losing.

The game itself turned out to be very…enthusiastic, and Tenten and Lee were soon staring each other down across the net. With her amazing accuracy, Tenten was almost lethal with her spikes, the ball descending like a screaming missile. In a move that Neji privately found very intelligent, Lee would just get out of the way when that happened. Even he wasn’t prepared to take one of those balls in the face. Lee did, however, get his revenge by accidentally smacking Tenten with the ball, earning him a glare that spoke of impending doom.

“Lee,” she growled, rubbing the side of her head. He smiled at her sheepishly and Gai slapped him on the back.

“Lee! See how you have awakened the fires of Tenten’s youth! MAGNIFICENT!”

Tenten rolled her eyes and glanced over at Neji, finding him watching the scene with his usual stoic, almost bored expression. She wondered if he was having any fun at all. Even she was starting to get into the spirit of things, but it looked like the sooner they ended the game, the better.

So Tenten turned it up a notch and she and Neji won after Lee and Gai exchanged smiles and momentarily blinded each other, allowing Tenten to make the final points. The two proud beasts consoled each other and vowed to get stronger. Tenten blithely ignored them and started down the beach.

“I’m going to look for sea shells. I’ll be back.”

Neji watched her go mutely and felt massive relief when Gai and Lee decided to go for a swim, giving him a little quiet time. The Hyuuga sat down in a likely spot, smoothing the sand a little, and watched the waves come in, the sound of the water soothing him. He had never liked the beach, really. It made him restless, as if he should be doing something else, something more important. That Gai had made the day some sort of test was the only thing keeping him there.

Still, after a few minutes, he had to admit it was… nice …there. The open sky, the calls of the seagulls, Tenten running down the beach towards him with a smile on her face…

Neji choked and ruthlessly crushed that thought as his female teammate sank to her knees beside him and held out something pink and pointy.

“Look, Neji! A conk shell!” Her eyes were sparkling. “Listen to it!”

He looked at her carefully. “Tenten, shells can’t speak.” Obviously the heat was affecting her.

She tilted her head at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve never listened to one before.”

He continued to look at her, mentally wondering if he should call Gai-sensei before more symptoms manifested. She exhaled in that put-upon way she sometimes used around Lee and, before he could be annoyed, put her hand on his cheek and the shell up to his ear.

The Starfish Significance

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post III

“See?” she said gently, “The ocean.”

And, amazingly enough, it was. Well, sort of. The air rushing through the shell made a sound like waves crashing. He had to admit, it was interesting, and Tenten must have sensed that for her smile came back and she dropped her hand, letting him keep the shell.

“I knew you would like it,” she said.

How she understood what he was thinking when he didn’t say a word was also interesting, although he didn’t usually think about it too often. It seemed a given that Tenten was the one who would know him best. It was only at times like these, when she surprised him, that he wondered how.

He held on to the conk shell as she got up to check on Lee who was shouting excitedly about a jellyfish he had found and could he prod it just a little bit? She, too, seemed relaxed now despite her earlier misgivings and he couldn’t help but be thankful for her presence. Without her balancing force, he would have killed Lee long ago.

And if he thought she looked particularly fetching in her two-piece, well, it was only natural. He was a male, after all. Nothing more than hormones. Yes, perfectly normal.

Neji coughed quietly.

After Tenten pulled Lee bodily from the water and scrubbed sand on the burns he had gotten from “playing” with the jellyfish, the three of them left Gai-sensei to investigate the tide pools. Neji had never seen so many fish before. They were all colors and they darted like pieces of quicksilver beneath the surface. It was almost hypnotizing, watching them, and the Hyuuga wondered if following them with the Byakugan would be good practice.

His plans were interrupted though when he caught sight of what he knew must be a sea star. He had seen pictures of them back in the Academy but had never spotted a real one. Kneeling down for a better look, his movement caught Tenten’s attention and she joined him, her shoulder brushing his.

“A starfish,” she said, and he nodded.

“I’ve never seen one.”

She gave him a half-smile. “I had to do a report on one for Iruka-sensei once.” She glanced at him then and there was something in her eyes he couldn’t identify. “Starfish are really amazing creatures. Did you know they can regenerate their arms? They also have no front or back, so they can move in any direction without turning.” She laughed suddenly. “You know, they remind me of you.” He looked at her askance and she continued, “You can see anything you wish without turning your head, and it doesn’t matter which direction - you can go there.” Her voice quieted. “Even if you just have a little of yourself left, you always find a way to come back.”

A small silence fell and he watched the starfish but thought of Tenten. After a moment, he cleared his throat and stood, still not looking at her.

“I’m not a starfish,” he told her. “They can regrow all by themselves. I had help.”

He knew she was watching him and when he finally met her gaze, she grinned. “Well, you don’t breathe through your feet either, but work with me.”

He had to keep himself from smiling then and covered it by offering a hand to help her up. She took it promptly and they headed back, forgetting about Lee for the moment and walking together as if they were alone.

Gai-sensei was waiting for them and sent them out for one last quick swim before packing up. When they came back, breathless and covered with salt, Gai and Lee raced to the sand dunes, leaving Neji and Tenten to grab most of their things. Carrying a folding chair under one arm, she looked over to see if Neji had their volleyball and paused, lifting a hand towards his face.

“Oh, Neji,” she said sympathetically. Her fingers brushed his temple. “You’re going to have a burn.”

He was so surprised at her touch that he caught her hand reflexively, startling her as well. She blinked at him, completely still, her fingers interlocked with his.

His expression softened a little, just for her. “I’ll be alright.” I’ll have help.

She seemed to understand his meaning, her lips curving as she tugged on his hand. “Come on then. Lee and Gai-sensei have been out of sight too long.”

Following her, Neji looked back at the beach only once and thought of the twisted shell he had put in his bag. He was bringing the ocean back with him but he had left the starfish. He, too, was growing.

And, feeling Tenten’s hand in his, he thought it wouldn’t be so bad.

He didn’t have to do it alone.

.:End:.

One More Moon

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post I

For the first time ever, he hits her with a purpose, solid strikes that land where and when he wants them to land, the edge of his hand and fingers coming down hard against her bones. She grits her teeth and stands perfectly still as his arms move in a blur, dislodging the raindrops that cling to his skin and drip from her hair. Over head, lightning cracks, illuminating the ravaged battlefield and the two Rain-nins awaiting their time to die.

Through the pain, Tenten keeps her eyes on Neji, watching through her painted mask how the veins near his eyes pulse in time with his heart, how he seems to want to bite his lip but can't remember how. The blows hurt and he knows it but she can tell he's trying to be gentle with her. Even amidst the bloody corpses, in the middle of a brief intermission of battle, Hyuuga Neji is trying to be gentle.

Tenten wants to be amused, but her body is screaming at her.

It's over almost before she realizes it. She sways on her feet and he doesn't reach out to steady her. She's glad of it too because she's never been weak and she's not about to start, despite the fact that the man she loves has just used his technique on her.

Inside, she feels her depleted chakra gush up in a torrent, released. She trembles. For some odd reason, Gai-sensei's voice floods her mind.

The Byakugan can see tenketsu which are invisible to the naked eye. Neji can close them all or open them, depending on his wishes.

Tenten is opening.

She can feel it and its like flying only she's still on the ground. She lifts her katana with new strength and grins, an expression she knows he can see despite her mask.

"I'm ready again."

He nods and turns, showing her a profile splattered with blood. He's tired and she knows it because she is walking the fine line between exhaustion and unconsciousness. She won't fail him though, she can't, and so she strides forward past him, determined. She's going to protect him because he is Neji, a member of the powerful Hyuuga clan whose blood limit is so important to Konoha.

And she loves him.

In the darkness, she stabs her katana into the ground in front of her and raises two scrolls, wondering if her enemies can see her. If she can, she hopes they come for her. She's ready.

Kneeling suddenly, she slaps the scrolls onto the ground, performing the needed seals with blinding speed. She feels Neji's eyes on her and she smiles because she knows he likes watching her do this. He once told Lee he thought she looked graceful afterwards. He still didn't know that she had heard him.

Finishing, she crosses her arms as the two ninja rush her, kunai's raised.

"Rising Twin Dragons!"

A cloud of smoke and dragons scream, swirling skywards. She jumps, twisting her body to begin the revolution, her hands hitting the dragons which are now scrolls, weapons appearing from thin air.

One More Moon

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post II

She let's them fly without warning and watches as they find their mark. The ninjas aren't down yet, of course not. She did not expect it and she's almost happy. She would have been disappointed otherwise.

She lands daintily, the two scrolls winding down around her, folding and refolding. She wonders if Neji finds it beautiful.

She fights fluidly, like one of the raindrops that ping against the steel of her weapons. She doesn't mind having two opponents if it means Neji has a moment to gather himself. Her katana hisses against another, sliding and spitting sparks into the night. Tenten feels herself burning with chakra unrestrained, too bright against the dark of evening. She's flaring like a candle right before it's extinguished. She only has a few moments before she's going to be gone. She has to make them count.

She stabs one of her specially made kunais through one of the ninjas heart. He drops without a sound but she's already turning to face the stronger of the two, refocusing as she feels her inner flame tremble. His katana catches her, slicing a clean line down her side, cutting away a part of her shirt and revealing the bandages that bind her breasts.

He hesitates, startled, and she smirks as she realizes he didn't know she was a woman. One of her shurikens embeds itself in his shoulder. The rain falls harder. She opens her mouth to taunt him, strangely confident with one shoulder exposed and pale steel in her hands.

But then she's falling and his hand is around her throat, the other crushing the bones in her wrist together until she was forced to drop her sword. Her mask slips away. They land together in the wet grass, his weight straddling her, his breath coming too hard and too fast. She uses her free hand to try and pry at the grip on her neck, cutting off her air.

Her chakra goes out like a dying star.

Tenten goes limp, pushed beyond her limits, her body unable to respond to any of her demands. Her attacker's eyebrows draw together over his masked nose and mouth, confused about her sudden pliability before feeling her sudden drop in energy. He chuckles harshly.

"Looks like you're all worn out." His hand releases its choke hold and moves southwards towards her bandages, his fingers moving over the tops of her breasts. She summons up enough strength to spit in his face, curses leaving her lips as quickly as needles.

It's really unnecessary though. An arm appears from nowhere and slams against the ninja's chest, palm flat against his heart. A whoosh of chakra accompanies the move and the man coughs blood as he falls over. Neji's finishing move. Tenten breathes again and looks for him.

He's standing next to her, out of breath, veins easing around white-silver eyes as he straightens, a trace of anger in his tightly pressed lips. He disregards the ninja as a further threat and kneels beside her, knowing she has nothing left to give him except the one thing he won't accept. Not yet.

"I'm done now," she whispers and he nods. His eyes see everything.

He helps her sit up, one arm around her back, undeterred by the slashes in her shirt. He is a Hyuuga through and through and is beyond those things. Or at least, she knows that's what he thinks, whether or not it's actually true is another matter. She grits her teeth against the soreness of her muscles, determined not to collapse. She somehow manages to stand, tucked against Neji's side as her whole body trembles, devoid of energy. She won't be able to walk, not until she has rested. Neji does the only logical thing and lifts her bridal style, his eyes registering his own exhaustion.

They leave the field but don't go far. They're not quite sure the last Rain-nin is dead and besides, they have some cleanup to do. Neji finds them some shelter from the rain under a close group of trees and sets her at their base, propping her against the trunk of one. She groans despite herself and closes her eyes briefly, opening them again to find Neji watching her. His eyes are unreadable.

"You overextended yourself," he tells her, sitting down near her. She manages a close resemblance to her usual smile.

"With your help."

He doesn't reply and she closes her eyes again, weary. Silence reigns until she starts to feel cold, her body shivering reflexively. She'd like to rub her arms but the fact is she can't even lift them. She's so sleepy. Really, if she could just get some sleep…

"You'll get sick," he says in her ear as he settles her against him. Her eyes widen as she realizes she's in his lap, pressed so close she can hear his heart beat. Does he realize that he's holding her? "Stay awake," he commands, "You can't fall asleep cold."

Perhaps even more startling is that he runs his palm over her arms, the friction warming her chilled skin and stimulating her run down chakra circulatory system. A little life returns to her, just enough for a slight blush to mar her cheeks as he rubs her shoulders, her back, even her legs. Under his fingers her blood starts to run again, awakening her, and reopening her wounds. He bandages the more severe ones. A medical-nin will see to the rest when they return.

She checks his as well, as feebly as she can in her weakened state. There's a kunai wound in his thigh that worries her but he wraps it without a word and she stays quiet because it's Neji and he wants her to be quiet.

"They'll come again in the morning for their dead," she says quietly, half-asleep against him. His arms tighten around her and she feels his reply rumble in his chest before he even speaks.

"We won't be here in the morning."

.:End:.

The Sparrow

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post I

There was a high, clear window in the practice room, one that looked out over the playground with it's swings and shady spots. It was large and wide and she'd liked to watch the outside world through it after practice, stiff, calloused fingers pressed against the smooth, cool glass. She had hated it sometimes too, for it was a portal through which winged creatures tried to fly, never seeing the peril until they were stopped by that invisible barrier, stunned sometimes beyond recalling.

She remembered vividly the day of the sparrow.

She had arrived early at the Academy and had gone straight to the practice room, hoping to study one of the kunai techniques that had been bothering her without other eyes to judge her progress. Barely had she taken out her weapons then there was hard thump against the window and she turned, startled, an arm raised in defense. There was no one there, nor outside, but she realized suddenly what it must have been. Her short legs had carried her outside as fast as a seven-year-old could run, her eyes alighting on the still, small figure just under the window. It was a sparrow and, as she lifted it carefully, she saw it had died instantly upon hitting the glass, it's neck broken. Looking back on that moment, Tenten realized she had not been sad for it's death, but anxious. Anxious that no one else find it, that small life so fleetingly taken, especially her white-eyed classmate.

For Hyuuga Neji liked birds and she knew, instinctively, that she could not allow him to know about this one.

She buried the sparrow under the tree by the swing set, carefully and efficiently, but spoiling her distant attitude by picking a nearby wildflower and laying it on the tiny grave. She was, after all, only a small girl, and she liked wild creatures too. Upon seeing Neji later that day, she did not speak of the morning's events. Indeed, the secret of the sparrow stayed with her all her life, and became a pattern on which she ordered herself. There were things that she had to spare Neji from, things those pure eyes should never have to see, and so she hid them, dealt with them in shadows and secrecy, protecting him by sacrificing herself.

There were other sparrows, other birds, and those too disappeared, with only a single blossom to mark their passing. Now, though, ten years later, her sparrows were not so easy to recognize, and Neji's gaze had grown too sharp for her hide much.

It started with a slight dizziness during one of their practices, specifically, the kind that had him dodging razor sharp edges and her attempting to keep him from closing any of her tenketsu. She was standing on a tree limb, back flipping in order to avoid a particularly nasty blow, when her vision began to whirl, her body wobbling oddly in an attempt to keep her footing on a branch that seemed to be moving like a ship at sea. With a gasp, she felt herself lose the battle, her body falling through air, some sort of strangled noise caught in her throat as the ground hurtled up to meet her.

It was Neji who caught her, a flash of confusion crossing his face before his features resumed their normal flat expression. She knew he couldn't understand how she had failed to save herself, how she could have miscalculated so badly as to fall prey to such a simple mistake. She never told him, either, even when the dizziness became worse and she no longer could train in the trees without revealing her weakness.

Then came the coughing. She brushed it off as a chest cold and that excuse worked for about two weeks. Because of her sickness, she was excused from practicing one-on-one with Neji, something she had begun to agonize over, knowing that one look at her with the Byakugan and her last, final sparrow would be uncovered before she could hide it from him. She had to protect him from this. For years she had worked silently to ensure that, with all the sadness and grief in his life, he would never experience those things because of her. The birds when they were children, the strong face she presented to him when he opened his eyes for the first time after his fight with Kidomaru, the tears she had shed in private over all the hurt he had suffered. She would do anything to spare him anymore pain. Anything.

Even ignoring the blood she eventually coughed up after a hard coughing fit.

The Sparrow

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post II

Only Gai-sensei had seen it, for she had quickly folded the napkin and put it out of sight, not wanting to ruin the celebratory dinner held in honor of Lee making the level of jounin. He had confronted her afterwards though, his expressive face deadly serious, his eyes dark, the way they sometimes went just before a battle.

"What is it, Tenten? What's wrong with you?"

It was on the tip of her tongue to make up another excuse, but the bloody paper in her pocket weighed as heavy as a stone and she knew it wouldn't work. Unlike Neji, he had seen. There was no time to bury this particular secret.

"I'm dying."

It was said with such simple clarity, she could see that she had shocked him. But if nothing else, Gai-sensei was very strong, something people often lost track of beneath the blinding smile, bushy eyebrows, and wacky attitude. He recovered quickly. "Have you been to see Tsunade-sama?"

She nodded, suddenly weary. "It's not something that can be healed with a little chakra," she said, surprised to hear a little bitterness in her voice. She had thought she had come to terms with the fact that hers was not an easy solution. "It would require a procedure that I'm... not willing to let her perform."

Gai shifted on his feet as if he wanted to question her further but decided against it. "How long?"

She knew what he meant. "A handful of months."

"They're going to find out eventually, Tenten. It will only make it harder...in the end...if you keep protecting them."

She smiled a little, though the look was grim. "They have enough burdens to bear. This one is mine alone."

To Gai-sensei's credit, he did not reveal her and, indeed, made it easier for her to hide the growing pain in her chest, her shortness of breath, the blood that accompanied her coughing. As far as she knew, Neji and Lee were totally in the dark, if a little worried about her strange absences, pale face, and shadow-rimmed eyes.

Then came the day of the mission, one to the Sand that was looking to be particularly dangerous. The four of them were only halfway there when it hit her, a pain so intense she saw white stars and dropped to the ground, struggling to breathe, literally gasping for air. Neji and Lee were beside her instantly and she could hear their voices but it was beyond her to answer when she wasn't sure she could take another breath. There were some long, horrible minutes while her teammates could only watch their capable, strong kunoichi writhe on the ground, tears on her face from the supreme effort it took to force her failing lungs to work.

When she came back to herself and the knot in her chest had dissolved, she found herself cradled in Neji's arms, the Hyuuga's face white and stark against the dark of his hair, his eyes tightly closed as if he couldn't bear to witness her personal battle. It was the first time she had seen him look so... lost, and she wanted to cry, it hurt so much. Even after he had learned the truth about his father's death, he had never showed her any evidence of his sorrowful heart. Only now, because of her...

The Sparrow

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post III

"I'm sorry," she croaked, and his eyes snapped open, his arms tightening securely around her. Her lips curved with difficulty. "I didn't hide it so well this time, did I?"

She hadn't expected him to answer and was thrown off balance when he did. "This isn't some bird flying into a window, Tenten." His voice was surprisingly hoarse, tinged with righteous anger. Her eyes widened at his words. "You can't just pretend this isn't happening."

She couldn't believe it. "You knew?"

He looked at her a long moment. "About the sparrows? Yes. About this..." He paused and she saw him gather himself. "I overheard you talking to Gai-sensei." Again, he halted to swallow. "I heard you say, 'I'm dying'." His white eyes flashed at her and she could see the hopeless rage in his face. "Why didn't you tell me, Tenten? About the birds, about your sickness... I would have.. I could..."

"You could what, Neji?" she asked, tiredly. "Fight death?"

She had meant it to be rhetorical, but Neji's gaze met hers firmly. "I would try."

It was a minute before she could form a proper response, her hand fluttering up to touch his cheek. "Even you would not win that fight."

His lips thinned. "You don't believe in me."

"What?" she asked, startled.

"You've never thought I couldn't win before. You've lost your faith in me."

Such was the strength of her reaction that the sudden rush of emotion made her cough. Neji held her against him tightly, her face pressed against his chest until it passed. "That has nothing to do with it. This isn't your fight."

"Of course it is." His tone was growing harder, more resolved. "Your fights have always been mine. Do you think I'm just going to sit here and let it take you?"

"Yes," she said, "You have to. There's nothing that you-"

He cut her off by hugging her, their cheeks pressed together, his arms holding her close. It was only then that she realized he was trembling. "You hid the deaths of the sparrows from me because you thought I had suffered enough. Now it's my turn to make sure that death doesn't touch you." He drew back a little, enough to look her in the face. "Gai and Lee have gone for Tsunade. She'll be here soon. You're going to survive till then." There was not a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Neji," she said miserably. He was making this so much harder. "Tsunade... I've already talked to her... The procedure-"

"-requires more precision than she can do. I know." The veins around his eyes strained as he activated the Byakugan. "But I can. It's my eyes that will save you."

After that, Tenten was much too weary to argue with him and she dozed in his arms, wakened only by painful spasms and finally, by the arrival of Gai, Lee, and Tsunade, all of whom looked very solemn. Lee had tears on his face as they laid her down in the center of a carefully drawn symbol and she reached out to grip his hand, feeling him silently willing her strength through their linked fingers. He had always been so strong, so resilient in the face of downed dreams. She wanted to tell him that he would have to look after Neji if something... if something happened to her, but she couldn't get the words out. Neji wouldn't want to hear them anyway.

The Sparrow

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post IV

He was sitting next to Tsunade at the edge of the rune circle, legs crossed in what could have been a position of meditation. Only his clenched fists gave him away. Gai-sensei stood behind him, looking helpless, something she had seen him reveal only during Lee's recovery after his fight with Gaara of the Sand. It made tears come to her eyes. She didn't want to leave them but she knew, Tsunade had all but told her she couldn't perform the surgery needed to eradicate the disease in her lungs. It required a subtle level of cell growth that had to be pin-point precise. If it failed, Tenten would suffocate to death.

She didn't tell Neji this, though. She knew he was determined to save her and so, once again, she hid that ugly truth from him, buried it in the corners of her mind where he would never find it. Because, even then, she believed in him, some small part of her knowing he would never do less than his ultimate best. If she died, it would only be because she, herself, had been too weak.

"Are you ready, Tenten?" Tsunade asked. The Godaime's hands were still on her knees, perfectly in control despite the long odds she would soon be fighting against. Tenten couldn't speak, she simply nodded and released Lee's hand. Tsunade turned to Neji and said something she couldn't catch and then the circle flared into life around her, bright and warm, a powerful wind whipping around her. Tenten closed her eyes and heard Tsunade's voice through the tumult.

"She's got fluid in her lungs. We must drain it first. Then it will be cell by cell, Neji, damaged ones first. I'll show you where."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

After that it was all blackness and the sensation of falling, like the day she had lost her balance on the tree limb while sparring with Neji. He had caught her then, and she could feel his hands now, pressed against her ribs, and Tsunade's as well. They spoke to her in the void but she couldn't hear them. She was drifting, drifting...

A horrible wrench pulled her from the shadows, twin lines of fire in her chest made her arch off the ground, head thrown back in a silent scream of agony. There was a flurry of activity around her. Hands everywhere, holding her down, supporting her, soothing her, pushing against her chest rythmically. And a tiny, pure, lucid moment when she opened her eyes and knew that this was it, she was going to die.

"Tenten."

A face swam into view, dark and light, and something warm pressed against the side of her face. That hollow, dark voice was calling her.

"Breathe, Tenten." Neji, she remembered. He was shaking her. "You've got to take a breath. Tenten!"

He was almost...frantic, and the very idea of that made her start. Neji was never anything but cool, collected, icily arrogant in the face of danger. Even angry, he always remained in control. To hear him now, it was almost as if...as if he were afraid.

Afraid of losing her.

The Sparrow

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post V

Afraid of losing a teammate, her mind corrected, but even she didn't quite believe that.

And then Neji was leaning over her, his forehead pressed against hers, the pads of his fingers resting lightly on her cheeks. He whispered a scattering of words to her, so soft only she could hear, and her eyes widened even as she gasped in her first breath in ages.

Instantly, Tsunade's imperative voice ordered them to get back so she could have some room. Tenten's vision slowly resolved to show her the tops of the forest trees swaying in a gentle wind, clouds racing by against a blue backdrop. After a moment, she managed to tilt her head slightly to the side to find Neji still near her, watching her with a semblance of calm on his face, though his expression was still slightly pinched.

He was holding her hand.

"She's going to be fine," Tsunade was saying. Her voice sounded tired. "She'll need lots of rest, and she must be monitored, but we've repaired all the damage." There was a pause and scuffling of movement. Tsunade's hand came to rest on Neji's shoulder. "She owes you a great deal. Without your eyesight, we might never have-"

"She owes me nothing, Hokage-sama," Neji said quietly, still watching her. "It was I who was repaying a debt."

Tenten felt her heart quiver at the look in his eyes, and she dared to squeeze his fingers with what strength she could muster, the smallest of smiles gracing her lips when he squeezed hers back, the motion so unobtrusive that no one else noticed the exchange.

His words still echoed through her mind, comforting her as she lay in the sunlight with all her most beloved people around her, breathing in the freshest air of her young life.

Come back, sparrow. You don‘t have to hide. I'll keep you safe.

Even when her eyes closed in healing sleep, Neji never let go of her hand.

.:End:.

Kaleidoscope

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post I

It was raining out and the sound of it hitting the roof of the inn was somehow loud in his ears, perhaps a side effect of the local beer they were serving. The low rumbling sound of lightning and thunder drowned the small snatches of conversation around him, leaving him in a muffled world of weary muscles and aching eyes. It was a measure of his exhaustion that he didn’t really mind, content to sit at the bar and drink slowly, smoothing out the wrinkles of his mind.

The past couple of days had been difficult. He, Lee and Tenten had been assigned to escort a young family to their new home on the edges of the Fire Country, a place where a person could walk for miles and see nothing but rocks and trees. It was not uninhabitable, but the terrain was tough and the mission had taken a week to complete. The three of them had started back for Konoha two days ago and they were still a couple more days away, his team moving slowly despite that they were now unsaddled with extra charges. The mission was over but the long trek had taken its toll.

Not to mention the weather.

It had rained every single day, the clouds parting sometimes in the morning for a few, feeble rays of yellowish light before the sun disappeared and the deluge began anew. Neji was sure that this, along with the less than comfortable surroundings, had lowered their moral enough until it was impossible to travel with speed.

Neji shook his head slightly and took another drink, grimacing mentally as the stuff burned all the way down. Well, despite the slow going, they had fulfilled their contract and nothing pressing was waiting for them at home. If they took their time getting back it would be alright, though Gai-sensei would probably be upset with their lack of “youthful vigor”.

Scoffing silently at the thought, he turned in his chair to regard his two teammates, both of which were seated not far away and playing cards. Lee was hunkered over the table, elbows pulled together as he studied his hand with the seriousness of one contemplating his death. He was perhaps more reserved than usual, but Neji was sure that if Lee won the game he’d be ready to run a marathon. That was how he worked. Even at the far end of fatigue, Lee could always bounce back if given the right encouragement. It was a trait that had driven Neji and Tenten to frustration in their early years together.

Tenten, herself, was leaning back in her chair, one leg crossed over the other. It would have been a delicately feminine pose on an ordinary girl, but she only looked relaxed, at ease, reclining with the self-assurance of a woman who had seen and done things most men would never experience. He almost smiled, seeing her like that, but then he noticed the extra shadows around her eyes and the way her right arm lay still in her lap and his expression stilled again. She had broken that arm on their last mission and it had only recently healed well enough for her use the katana strapped to her back. Lately, because of the damp, he knew it had been bothering her with a constant ache that she never mentioned. He might never have known if he hadn’t accidentally glanced at her while his Byakugan was activated, his eyes picking up the irritated scar tissue around the newly sealed bone. Still, she had performed her other duties without a hitch and he knew her well enough not to confront her about what she was obviously trying to hide. If he looked out for her a bit more than usual, well, it was only natural.

Lee suddenly spread his cards, a wide grin on his face as Tenten accepted her defeat with a slight smile and a graceful one-shouldered shrug. Neji arched an eyebrow at that, noticing that she quickly slipped her cards back in the stack, Lee too busy beaming to notice he hadn’t seen them. Tenten, too, knew Lee very well. Once again he was bursting with energy, his mouth moving a mile a minute though Neji had no idea what he was saying. The rain was still ringing in his ears.

Kaleidoscope

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post II

Neji drained the last of his glass and rose, dropping a few coins on the tabletop before glancing back at his teammates’ table, preparing to order them to their beds since they would have a long day of traveling in the morning. Unfortunately, in the seconds that he hadn’t been watching, Lee had vanished somewhere and two guys approached Tenten, their faces hidden from view since their backs were to him. It didn’t matter though, since Neji was very competent at reading body language. His eyes narrowed and he looked to Tenten, waiting to see what she would do. After all, it was really none of his affair what she did with her free time, or who she spent it with.

Unconsciously, his hands curled into fists and he took a few steps closer despite himself. The movement brought him within range of Tenten words.

“I’m really not in the mood for company right now, thank you.”

“Not in the mood, she says,” one of them, the taller one, slurred. He was obviously drunk and a expression of distaste crossed Tenten’s features. “How polite!”

But then suddenly Tenten was spinning a kunai in her hand, flipping it up in the air and catching it again idly, with a certain laziness that spoke of talent. The two men followed the sharp edge of the weapon before hastily making their escape, looking for easier game.

Neji’s fingers relaxed and he went to her, standing next to her as she put the kunai away. “Showing off?” he asked calmly. She stood, uncrossing her legs and pushing back her chair. A small smirk played on her lips.

“Maybe a little.”

He turned his head, scanning the room. “Where is Lee?”

“I sent him outside to run laps around the inn. He was getting too antsy and I figured it was the best way to get him calmed down enough to sleep. He’ll be fine by morning.”

“Your card trick worked,” he commented and was rewarded with a certain sparkle in her amber eyes.

“You’d think he would catch on, after all the times we’ve used it on him.” She shook her head, amused, and then suddenly yawned, raising a hand to cover it. “Sorry.”

Neji gazed at her for a moment. “It’s been a long day,” he said quietly. “You should get some rest.” She nodded and turned towards the stairs, her foot on the first one before his voice caught her again, halting her. “You used your left hand.”

She tensed but didn’t turn. “What?”

“The kunai. You used you’re left hand.” His jaw tightened as he felt that string of worry worm its way into his heart. “Wrap your arm tightly tonight. It’s going to rain till morning.”

He breathed again when her body relaxed and she glanced over her shoulder at him, flashing a warm smile in his direction. “Good night, Neji.”

Kaleidoscope

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post III

“Lee!”

“Here!” the idiot answered, as if Neji were calling roll in the Academy. The Hyuuga genius crossed his arms impatiently.

“Quit running. We’re calling it a night.”

Lee came to stand before the doorway of the inn, completely drenched and somehow not bothered by it at all. Wondering why he had been cursed with such a teammate, Neji turned to step back inside and paused, eyes widening as he caught sight of Tenten in the common room talking with someone. What was she doing up? Hadn’t she gone to bed? And then he saw she had her rain cloak thrown over one arm and realized she had come back down to get it.

Neji and Lee had only take a single step forward when the man who was talking to her suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her off balance. A cry left her lips as the guy’s massive fist squeezed her already tender arm and Neji felt himself tremble with hot anger. Bolting into sudden action, he rushed forward, slamming the flat of his hand against the man’s stomach, sending him flying to the far wall. Tenten would have been pulled with him if Neji hadn’t then turned, his arm catching her around the waist and steadying her against him.

“What happened?” he asked sternly, looking down at her as she held her arm to her chest. There were bright tears of pain in the corner of her eyes though they didn’t fall. They never did.

“I guess he didn’t like my answer,” she said, and for the first time Neji realized the man was the same drunken one Tenten had intimidated earlier. Lee was standing over him with a fiery expression, the stranger babbling apologies. Neji scoffed, irritated.

“Come on.” He turned and led the way up to the room they had reserved, knowing Lee had things under control downstairs. He pointed towards the single, large bed and Tenten sat down with a sigh as he got out a roll of bandages. Kneeling down before her, he began winding the cloth around her arm methodically, trying not to notice as she winced. The bindings had to be tight or they wouldn’t provide enough stability.

When he was finished, he glanced up at her to find a peculiar look on her face which disappeared when she noticed him watching. “Thank you,” she said, somewhat breathlessly. He nodded once, still staring at her as she rose and went to stand before the smudged mirror in the corner, her hands rising to unbind her hair for the night.

Lee came in a moment later like a small whirlwind. “Tenten! Are you alright?” he asked, anxiously. Neji noticed that his arm wrappings had loosened.

Tenten glanced over her shoulder to smile at him. “Thanks, Lee. I’m alright.”

Neji spoke up. “You didn’t cause too much damage, did you?” Lee folded his arms over his chest.

“Not much,” he admitted after a moment, somewhat sheepishly. Neji smirked and got up to bolt the door. No need asking for trouble.

The next few minutes were spent in their usual nightly routine. Tenten finger-combed her hair and washed her face with cold water while Lee took the weights off his legs and checked his own bandages. Neji took off his forehead protector, the only time he ever did so in front of other people, and withdrew his hair band. In moments, Tenten came to him, untangling his hair with gentle fingers. The motion was soothing to him and his eyes drifted closed briefly as she worked. He would never admit it, especially to himself, but he sometimes missed their ritual habits when they weren’t on missions. There was something about them that was… comforting.

Kaleidoscope

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post IV

Because of the foul weather keeping them from sleeping outside and the lack of extra rooms at the inn, they would all be sharing a room as well as a bed that evening. Fortunately, they had done so before and it was not a cause for extra concern. Lee clamored in first, then Tenten, and then himself. Neji usually slept on his side, facing away from his teammates while Tenten lay on her back, her shoulder square against his spine. Lee slept every which way, arms and legs akimbo and earning himself smacks and nudges whenever he accidentally poked Tenten in the ribs or elbowed her in the side.

After about half an hour they would settle, each of them slipping off into dreamland. Neji, however, did not that night. There was a thought turning in his mind, taking on different shapes as he added to it. Finally, when he was sure he knew what it meant, he turned over, his milky eyes finding her shape in the darkness.

She was asleep, her head tilted slightly towards him, her long hair falling in gentle waves around her. She was different in the moonlight, like silk that turned to steel with the sun and then grew soft again at twilight. It was strange, but recently every time he looked at her she changed, morphing from fiery kunoichi to loyal teammate to… to a girl, a pretty one that other men seemed to want and yet would never know the value of.

Neji knew.

It seemed that she had been with him forever, always visible from the corner of his eye. She never took the spotlight, standing behind him like a strong wall to his back, sometimes supporting, sometimes pushing. The wayward idea crystallizing in his mind was that she was important to him. She was… necessary to Hyuuga Neji, a man who needed very little.

A surprising revelation but not unwelcome.

He was a little unsure of what to do with this knowledge, but he had a feeling it would come in time. Until then, he would continue to fight by her side, to protect her even as she protected him.

A perfect partnership.

Slowly, and almost without breathing, he reached over to brush a stray lock of hair away from her face, his touch so feather light it couldn’t possibly wake her. Instead, she made a small, endearing sound in her sleep and snuggled closer to him, her head against his shoulder.

Neji smiled slightly, something he was finding to be easier and easier to do these days. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep facing her for the first time, the rain no longer so loud in his ears.

In the morning, Lee woke to find Tenten tucked against Neji’s side, both of them sound asleep and dreaming. Grinning to himself, he gave a mental thanks to the rain and happily dived back under the covers.

They weren’t going to be leaving anytime soon.

.:End:.

The Dress

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post I

Her dress was killing him. He just didn’t know it yet.

He felt it only as a tightening of his muscles when he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, a deep breath when another man spoke with her, clearly infatuated. It was a Chinese-style dress, dark red in color with crawling vines in green and gold, the hem a little too short, the bodice just a little too tight. All of this he noticed unconsciously, seeing only the bigger picture in his white-silver eyes. It was the first time he had seen her truly dress as a woman and he hated it. At that moment, he hated her.

Her hair hung loose about her shoulder in waves. She fiddled with it sometimes, uncomfortable. He knew she was nervous, that she didn’t like going undercover this way, so very far from her Konoha headband and shurikens. She had stubbornly managed to slip a kunai between her breasts though, he’d seen her do it. He had hated that, too.

She was playing the part of a local lord’s mistress, a foolish man they had been hired to escort safely back to his village. There had been threats of assassination from one of his own sons, another foolish young man who thought to kill his father in order to take his power. If Neji had had his way, he would have left the two of them to murder each other. As it was, he was forced to mingle with the crowd dressed in his own black, casual clothing, a folded cloth over the curse scar on his forehead, his long hair untied. While Tenten stayed near the lord, smiling at him and allowing him to touch her hand for the sake of appearances, Neji roamed the masses for any sight of an unfriendly face. If the lord’s errant son wanted to try something, what better time than during his father’s birthday celebration?

The foolish Lord Yomaru seemed to be thinking the same thing for he was busy getting himself good and drunk while Tenten watched on with distaste. Really, the sooner the idiot got himself killed, the better for them all. Unfortunately, he and his teammate had been hired to keep him alive and Neji hated failing missions. Yomaru would make it through the night in one piece.

The Dress

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post II

Regrettably.

“Yomaru-sama, perhaps you would like to retire?”

Neji turned slightly as the sound of Tenten’s voice, pausing long enough to see her force a semblance of charm into her voice. Her face looked like she had swallowed something unpleasant and he understood why. The lord had drank himself into a stupor and was currently gazing at her with watery eyes.

“I would not want you to be too tired to travel tomorrow,” she continued, looping an arm through his and leaning forward like a caring, earnest lover. Neji felt his teeth grind together but didn’t bother to wonder why. It had been in their plans to remove Yomaru to his chambers if he became…difficult. Tenten would have a much easier time defending him in a room with only one entrance. Alone. By herself. With Yomaru. While Neji prowled the corridors like an alert watchdog.

He decided he hated their plan.

His eyes narrowed as Yomaru mumbled something in return and rose unsteadily, a stupid grin on his face as he stumbled, half falling into Tenten, his hand landing on her chest. Tenten’s eyes widened and flared angrily but she managed to keep her temper, removing Yomaru’s hand and pulling it over her shoulder to help him along. He was still speaking to her, a string of nonsense Neji ignored. He was too busy fighting down his suddenly doubled dislike for the man, for his eyes had seen what Tenten had missed: a clear intent in Yomaru’s face as his hand had descended on her.

He had known from the beginning that the lord had gotten a little too much pleasure out of Tenten’s role as his mistress. He was an arrogant drunkard who had always gotten his fill of wine and women with a simple wave of his arm. He was also a coward, which explained Neji’s and Tenten’s presence. He was just the type of person Neji despised, weak and stupid, and the fact that he had to guard him was beginning to rub the Hyuuga the wrong way. Especially since it was clear to him that Yomaru was not nearly as drunk as he was pretending to be.

The Dress

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post III

Scanning the guests one more time, Neji followed the two, ready to take up his position in the hallway outside the lord’s door. He reached it just as Tenten closed it. He managed to lock eyes with her and she nodded to let him know the room was clear before locking the only entrance.

Still restless and unsure as to why, he paced the nearby halls, on edge and in a terrible mood. A half an hour later he returned to Yomaru’s door after making a complete circuit, pausing outside it in order to sense what was going on inside.

A murmur of voices, one low and husky, the other strained. Then there was a moment of silence before the echo of a slap reached him along with the thunk of a kunai as it embedded itself into the door from the inside.

Neji reacted without thinking, kicking open the door, lock and all, a hand full of shuriken as he spoke strongly into the dark.

“Byakugan!”

And he leapt forward as Tenten slammed her knee into Yomaru’s stomach, grabbing her by the elbow and pulling her away as the lord crumbled to the floor, groaning. Neji swung her around, unsure of who he was more angry at.

“Tenten! What are you doing?” he snapped, wondering if she had just gotten them dismissed. She pulled her arm out of his grasp roughly.

“He tried to… to… seduce me,” she raged in a whisper. Her fingers rose to her lips, drawing attention to the fact they were red and swollen. Something in his stomach twisted. “There was nothing in our mission that said I had to let him kiss me, Neji! I don‘t care who he is!” And she looked down at the whimpering lord with complete and utter loathing.

Something was rearranging itself in Neji’s mind, a revelation looming on the horizon. He ignored it and replied as he was expected to.

The Dress

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post IV

“I thought you could handle him by yourself. I see I was mistaken.”

“And I see that you are just as much a bastard as he is.” She turned to leave, angry. “You stay with him then. I’ll watch the front.”

She had reached the doorframe when he gripped her wrist, stopping her. She turned on him with a kunai, stopping the blade a hair’s width from his neck. He ignored it, looking directly into her eyes.

“We’re both going to stay,” he said firmly. “It’s easier to keep an eye on you if you’re right here in front of me.”

She took the kunai away. “I’ve always been right here in front of you, Neji,” she replied flatly, confusing him. She disengaged herself from him and went to Yomaru, dragging the now unconscious lord and dropping him into his bed with little regard.

Neji smirked and settled himself against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, secure in the knowledge that the entire room was now well within the range of his Divination. Surprisingly, Tenten came to stand beside him, leaning back against the wall gently, the silk of her dress brushing his arm.

“I don’t like him,” she said firmly, as if daring him to argue.

“You don’t have to like him. You just have to keep him alive.”

“You don’t like him, either,” she accused, “I saw the way you were glaring at him earlier.”

He frowned. “I was not glaring. Your dress is too short.”

The Dress

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post V

“What?!”

He looked over at her, annoyed. “It’s no wonder he kissed you. Any man would if you wear that dress long enough.”

Her voice dropped. “Any man,” she repeated softly, “Any man except a Hyuuga, you mean.” He stiffened and she laughed softly. “I know. I’m sorry.”

He didn’t look at her. “Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry I’m not strong enough to make you want me.”

Something caught in his throat and he turned just as she moved away from the wall, ready to leave him again. He caught sight of her startled face as he pushed her back, looming over her, one fist planted against the wall near her shoulder. She blinked, thrown completely off guard.

He was so close he could see his reflection in her eyes.

For one brief, endless moment he didn’t now what to say. All his feelings, and lack of, where twisted inside of him in one massive knot that refused to untangle. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to untangle it, for what might he read in the finished pattern? Even his sight could not tell him.

“I hate your dress,” he told her finally, and leaned down to kiss her so quickly they shared the same breath. Her fingers threading through his hair as his hand cupped her cheek. When they finally parted, gasping, she smirked at him.

“I knew you did.”

.:End:.

Rust

A Naruto Fanfiction
Post I

He stood stoically in the midst of the battlefield, a bared katana in his hand, the blade clean and pristine, flashing light with every move of his wrist. Cold, white eyes were fixed on the approaching enemies, the veins around them straining to make out a figure among the fog.

It was morning and the grass was heavy with dew, the air full of wet mist and the tingling awareness that blood would soon be shed. Behind him, arrayed in their places, stood his team, wary of the approaching ninjas and none too sure of him either. He felt their gazes like glass weights on his shoulders, wondering if he would break and shatter, if he would actually go through it. He was irritated with their worry. They should know he had vast experience in feeling trapped.

Across from him, the shinobi were halting, shifting on their feet as they prepared to bring out their bargaining chip. Behind his painted mask, Neji’s expression tightened and he took a step forward along the invisible path he had paved for himself.