Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Neji's Flower...Tenten! ❯ Which flower? ( Chapter 2 )

I had messed up.

Of course, Tenten was full of hope, of light. She would soon forgive me.

But as we walked along the beautiful mountain path, I wondered if it was really that easy. To do something wrong and assume that you can be forgiven just with the passing of time. Maybe I did have to apologize.

My dark hair was swirling around me now; we were quite high up in the mountains, and I hadn't slid the ponytail in it yet. I ignored it. Sometimes hair around your body feels good. (Me: DIRTY!!!O.O)

I gazed off into the distant peaks. They were a dark shade of brown, like a warm cup of coffee or…or…Tenten's eyes. She had those warm, curving orbs that seemed to gleam up at you then draw you into a warm peaceful place, and when your gaze left hers and you were thrown out again, you felt as if you really wanted back into that warm, safe shelter, that retreat. Like you had just seen the makings of her heart, warm caring friendship and love. And hope. Tenten had that power that drove her through anything. She wouldn't give up, not even on the smallest thing, and wouldn't let her friends give up either. What drove her to do this?

Wait-why were my thoughts once more drifting towards this?

(Me: *slaps Neji* YOU NINJACOMPOOP! DUH! IT'S SO OBVIOUS! *looks smug* you're just in denial.)

“There it is.”

Throughout it's coldness in her attempt to shun me with the silent treatment, her voice was full of awe. I hadn't even noticed myself that we had arrived to the great snowy cavern within dwelled the Demon Flower. The monstrous gaping maw of the cave was dark and menacing, rimmed with a soft layer of ice through which you could see the brown earth, and atop, the same with snow.

It was quite a bit colder up here, and a slight draft was emanating from the cave. She shivered, as did I, and we proceeded. Though she had no choice but to stay by my side, I noticed she drifted more to the left, away from me.

When we reached the mouth, we both pulled out some kunai, and I activated my white Byakugan. I went to nod at her, but stopped when I couldn't see her confident smile giving me courage.

Giving me hope.

Somehow, it left me feeling dead and empty inside.

Why did I have to go and say that to her? It was a horrible thing to do, and I felt really bad for it.

Did I truly care that much?

I continued with a fruitless attempt to shrug it off. It was not like me to care this much. It wasn't my problem. What's said is said. (Me: Hey, that's not nice! Neji: Well, you wrote it! Me: Oh…right…^_^)

I could still see quite fine with my Byakugan, but Tenten had no device to help her see in the dark. She pulled out her big yellow flashlight, and waved it around.

Dead end straight ahead, even though we were only a few hundred yards in.

The poor girl stayed close to me, though she averted her eyes whenever I looked.

“Do you see any of the demon flowers?” I asked cautiously. You can never be too careful with women. (Me: HEY! Neji: I just said, you wrote it!)

Tenten didn't even answer, or give me an opinion. She just shook her head and drifted off to the left again, scanning the crags and rocks of the ground.

I did the same, looking for the blood red leaves and white and red flowers of the Kaibutsu Demon Flowers.

There were some specks of green poking through, but I just suspected that it was moss. And if nothing was growing on the moss, we wouldn't find our flower. That was where it liked to grow.

“Looking for something?”

An amused tone ran throughout the cave, and I spun around. My Byakugan spotted something standing from the roof.

My blood ran icy cold.

A man dressed in dark black and red robes was using his chakra to stand upside down on the roof. In his hand was something thick and dark…Tenten's hair. (Yes, the rest of her was attached too.)

In the other hand was the pale white blossom of the Demon Flower, the red middle winking at me like the Japanese flag. (Neji: Japanese flag? You couldn't think of anything better? Me(gallantly): ON WITH THE STORY!)

Luckily, my ninja training had taught me to stay calm and rehearsed in these kinds of situations, so I just stared coldly upward.

“May I have my team mate back now?”

“Oh, no, my good sir. This one is going to stay with me for now.”

He was mocking me.

“And what, pray tell, can I do for you?” I said as politely and civil as possible. Inside, I was seething.

“Follow me.”

He sighed, and jumped from roof to floor. Making his way to the back, he disappeared through the wall.

People don't just disappear through walls.

There was actually a crag in the rock which I had skimmed over in my desperation to find the plant. I followed, and at the man's command, I deactivated my Byakugan.

We came to a large and cavernous room, and his voice echoed around it. I had arrived about 5 minutes after him, as I had seemingly had some struggle through the dark path. This room, however, was lit by the gigantic hole in the roof; needless to say there was no literal roof. Just a hole.

Tenten was shackled to the far wall. She was slumped on the floor, her hands up above her bound by chains. Her crumpled form, they way she hadn't looked at me when I came in, her limp hands- the unimaginable had happened. Tenten-our Tenten- MY Tenten had lost hope. She didn't think she was getting out of here.

“So, Mr Hyuuga, can I help you?”

He knew my name.

“I want the girl.”

“Blah, blah, yes I know that. Anything else?”

“The flower.”

He smiled, a cold, arctic grin that resembled more of a grimace. He was toying with me. There was nothing that I had that he really wanted. He was just bored, deciding to bug a few travelers.

“Be serious!”

“Oh, Mr Hyuuga, but I am. Now, which flower would you like?”

“I'm looking for the Kaibutsu Demon Flower.”

“I know that, my dear boy, but I'm only going to let you leave with one of the flowers. Which one?”

I was confused now. He was holding only one flower in his pale hand. With the other, he was pointing.

Tenten.

“You want me to choose between that plant and my team mate?” I gazed coldly into his eyes. What did he think I would choose? What a fool!

“Oh, but there's a catch. That Tsunade woman really desperately needs this flower to survive, or she'll die. Now you have to choose a life. In the end of all this, I will have one.”

So maybe he wasn't toying with me.

Who was I going to choose? Tsunade was the Hokage, the most powerful and important ninja in all of Konoha. Tenten was just another Genin; if any life had to be sacrificed for the Hokage, it would be hers.

Those brown eyes of hers were watching me as I struggled to make a decision. My face was cold, as usual, but she knew me well enough to know I was having a hard decision. The only known demon flowers in the world, or the life of a team mate.

The life of a friend.

The life of a loved one.

Tenten was still watching me. I detected a glint of hope left in her eye…or did I? I wondered whether she had given me that look…because she knew what it did to me. How it made me want to leap up and touch the sky. How it gave me reassurance that everything was going to be ok. That I shouldn't give up.

I should never, ever give up.

“Take the flower,” I sighed, making my way toward the collapsed form of my friend. “Her life is much more important than a stupid plant.”

“Are you so sure? This is your Hokage's life at stake. Not just a flower. You could have to sacrifice being a ninja if you go through with this.”

I stopped, weighing my options. Being a ninja was extremely important to me: it was my life! If I'd have lost it, who knows what would happen!

But Tenten…

Her head was bowed low again. She knew that I, in my selfishness, would of course choose the flower and my Hokage.

Well, this was my chance to prove her wrong. This was MY turn to amaze her, to astound her, to show her my true colours.

“I'm sure. Tenten's life…is far more valuable to me than a stupid flower.”

There it was. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her head snap up and her jaw drop. I was thinking of someone else, for once.

And you know what? It felt good.

“Very well…” the dark haired man looked disappointed. He threw a handful of shuriken at the chains surrounding her, and they snapped.

I rushed to the poor girl's side. Her cut from yesterday was bleeding through the bandage once again, and her wrists were red and chafed from the metal. She rubbed them hard, not looking at me as I ran to greet her.

I knelt in front of her.

“Are you alright?”

She nodded, still not looking in my eye. Her face was screwed up in a weird way, like she was trying not to cry.

“Tenten.”

Her lip trembled slightly.

“Look at me.”

Her hands were beginning to shake with the effort, and despite her appearance, the expression on her face was a mix of sadness and determination not to let the tears slip out.

“Tenten, look at me.”

She finally cracked open an eye and gazed up into my face. The warmth was there, the softness, the peace, everything. Except for th fact that she was crying now.

I held her. I could tell she was surprised, but there was nothing else I could do. I just leaned forward and wrapped my arms softly around her, as gentle and innocently as I could. She understood, and pressed her face into my neck. Her warm breath tingled against my cool skin.

“I never meant it,” I whispered softly into her ear, “when I said I would never touch you like that if I was awake. The truth is, Tenten, that I…was the one who held you in my arms the first place. I was awake the whole time. Please forgive me, I don't know what made me do it. You were just so close to me, and I could feel you against my back and…”

I cut off, blushing, realizing that I was blabbering and that Tenten was blushing too.

“I forgive you, Neji-kun,” she whispered shyly, and I helped her up.

That night, in the cabin where we had to stay once more, we were both pretending to be asleep. I could tell she was awake, from her movements and her breathing. And her heartbeat. She curled up against my back again, and I turned over and took her into my arms. My lips were pressed against her forehead, and I couldn't move them. Like I said, we were both pretending to be asleep.

I got the best sleep of my life that night.

Of course, it was only once we got home to Konoha that I was informed that that man, and this whole trip, was a test to see my loyalty toward the Hokage, and I had failed it by choosing my friend.

As fate would have it, then.

 

There, that was my story. It'll probably never happen in the actual series, but we can always dream, right? Neji and Tenten are SOO cute together, no matter what he thinks.

Oh yah, and please rate! Nobody ever really rates on anybody's stories. Think of how you'd feel if your story had no ratings. So sad=(

Lol. Have a nice day, and thankies for reading my story!^_^