Chap 2

Missing You
By Saori Runa Dempsey
Chapter II
Gone with the Wind: I Miss You
Neji stood before the stone in the gardens of the Hyuuga main house, eyes unreadable. He was going on another mission and, like he'd gotten into the habit of doing, he'd gone to just meditate a while, comforted for no reason he could pin down and name by the tribute to those from the disaster of only a few months ago. At odd times, he found himself thinking of that day, and on really bad days wondered if there was something he could've done to prevent it. Whenever thoughts like that came, however, an image of Tenten came to his mind, red-faced in annoyance and chucking weapons at him with purposeful stars in her eyes. No, he couldn't have done anything, it reminded him. Tenten, let alone Gai-sensei and Lee, would've helped out anyway whether he liked it or not because that was just how they were. A teammate in trouble? Then they must help their teammate no matter what.
This is laughable. Pulling himself to his feet, he dusted off the traditional Hyuuga family robes he wore, shouldering his pack with familiar ease. Accompanying him would be Nara Shikamaru and Inuzuka Kiba, the former no doubt grumbling about how troublesome this was (although, he wasn't complaining as much as he normally would – not if it got him away from 'that sand woman' who was in town and Ino) and the other due to make his normally loud appearance any moment now…
"He-LLO!"
Fixing him with a glare, where once Kiba would've cringed, the young man only grinned wider from atop the huge Akamaru who gnawed on the bottom of his pants in greeting. Neji glared at him, too, but Akamaru only looked up, barked, and waved his tail before thoroughly soaking the bottom of his right leg.
He was losing his touch.
"Hey, Hyuuga. All set?" Kiba was grinning way too widely for Neji's peace of mind, his look towards the wild-haired boy saying as much. Smiling wide enough to show off his pointed teeth, he nudged Akamaru who reluctantly turned around to show what was making the dog boy so mysteriously happy.
Shikamaru, bound and gagged as he hung on the back off Akamaru's tail, looked anything but happy as he shot Kiba a look that could've rivaled Neji's own glare. A small smirk curled his lip as he imagined Lee's reaction when he told him how much he was going to miss. His energetic teammate would no doubt be disappointed that he'd missed such a…an interesting sight because of his broken leg.
"Ready to go, great ambassador?" Kiba gave him a mocking bow, grinning the entire time.
A tick popped on his head as Akamaru did the same as his master, nearly dropping Shikamaru in the process. Though he and Hinata-sama's teammate got along well now, Kiba couldn't seem to help taking potshots like this at him. They'd been worse when he'd still disliked him (along with Shino, who Neji personally never wanted to have as an enemy again – once was enough), but he and the 'dog prince' (named by Hanabi-sama the one and only time she'd met him) had come to an…understanding after one too many not-so-funny quips that had left Tenten scarred for life when he'd told her about the whole thing.
This mission he and the other two ninjas were going on now, on the other hand, would've made her laugh herself silly. The Hidden Village of Dreams, founded only recently, was working out agreements with each of the pre-existing shinobi villages and receiving ambassadors from each to form treaties with them. Why Neji was chosen to represent Leaf Village he didn't know, but he suspected it had to do with the fact that he was from one of Konohagakure's leading clans.
That, and Hiashi-sama had no doubt pulled a few of his countless strings again.
"Hnn…" Glaring once more at Kiba, who only smirked more, Neji let himself indulge his curiosity and glanced pointedly at Shikamaru. "Why is he tied up?"
Kiba flashed his canine teeth once more. "Ino and Temari tied him to a chair while they went at each other's throats again so he wouldn't run away."
"…Ah." Neji glanced at the sky and thanked whoever it was he needed to thank that he'd never had to deal with that sort of problem.
Both boys pretended not to hear Shikamaru mutter darkly behind his gag, "ublefum umin." (Troublesome women) as they both jumped off (ran, in Akamaru's case) into the trees.
Neither paid any mind to the numerous sounds their third member made the whole way, either.
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Every night, she dreams, and she dreams of the same thing. Explosions, yelling…how long has she been in this darkness? It seemed like forever even though she felt like something was waiting for her…people…voices?
They come soon. This voice, so unfamiliar, calms her again and she moves back, a little farther from the light. They come soon.
Soon? She wanted to ask more – Who was coming for her? – but the darkness was just too strong and pulled her back under, far away where light just couldn't reach. Soon…
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That night as he and his two team members (Kiba had finally untied Shikamaru, who'd promptly made him do the jig and bang his head on trees for a good 5 minutes in retaliation) made camp just within Dream Village's boundaries, Neji's normally dreamless sleep was disturbed by a vision. Tenten stood before him—he knew from her face and those unmistakable buns that kept up all that long hair of hers – but she wasn't normal.
In this dream, she laid peacefully asleep, arms over the blankets that covered up to her shoulders. He was sitting beside her, outside of the sheer curtains surrounding the large four poster bed that dwarfed her. It was in a room fit for a princess, and the problem with her was that she was…small. There was no way it couldn't be her from the face and the hair, but she looked barely 4 or 5 years old.
He wanted to touch and see if this was real or illusion, but Neji found his body unresponsive, forcing him to just stay outside of the bed's curtain, watching her sleep as he had many times before.
It was their first mission away and Neji couldn't help not being able to sleep, staring at the gently burning fire that they were all gathered around for warmth. How Lee could sleep upside down and on his head against a tree was beyond him. Gai-sensei was in a similar position, only he was also hanging from one of the branches by his legs, seemingly at ease. Only he and Tenten (who he'd quickly realized from day one were the sane ones of this unusual group) were huddled in their bedrolls, close to the fire so they didn't wake up in the morning with icicles on their toes. He could see his team mate and sparring partner through the flames, completely oblivious as she slept on without care.
"Can't sleep?" Her brown eyes stared at him through the fire looking almost crimson through the light. Hadn't she been asleep? "I can't either." She shifted her body so she was facing him, too, staring at him with half-lidded eyes. The fire flickered with the wind, making them both huddle deeper.
As was usual, she carried the conversation almost single-handedly, her voice soft but distinct. She had the type of voice that could lull a baby to sleep or make a grown man quiver in his boots at any given moment. He found these little quirks intriguing about his teammate, listening with heavy lidded eyes as she continued to tell him about…something. He couldn't quite tell what she was talking about – only that his eyes felt tired now, and the fatigue from the day's walk they'd had today was settling in on his body with a vengeance.
Neji shook his head, perplexed to see the little Tenten was awake now, too, though this couldn't be Tenten…not with those eyes. Eyes as dark as the night sky stared at him, spackled by dots of gold as this little mini-Tenten look alike stared at him through the drapes. "Have you come to get Tenten?"
His mouth, like his body, was immobile. He couldn't talk or speak, nor move no matter how he tried.
Disappointment flashed in her eyes, and he saw the gold start to fade, shifting to more of an auburn color that made him think of that red wine Hiashi-sama enjoyed so much. "I see…you haven't, either. Tenten just stay here then…"
As she spoke, he struggled to say or do anything, watching as that darkness he'd begun to see began rising up like hands, pulling her down through the bed and seemingly farther away from him. A touch on his shoulder made him turn around, his chest doing an odd tightening as he stared down at the image of Tenten he knew, her smile still soft but her eyes that same dark red as the little girl's. Around her feet, that bothersome darkness held onto her too, consuming her and dragging her back down as Neji began to get frustrated with not being able to do anything.
When his eyes finally snapped open, it took a moment for him to remember where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. A dream. His chest ached as he turned to his side, intending to check on his teammate, and only seeing a snoring Akamaru in return. She's gone. The reality hit him again, more painful then when he'd first realized this fact, and he couldn't breath for a second as he tried to understand. Why did thinking about her pain him so much? He'd lost relatives in battle before – family that he'd been close to – and had even lost his father to a political war.
Standing silently, he moved away from camp, careful not to wake his two companions. Akamaru raised his head and simpered once, but went back to sleep when Neji gave the dog a look. He needed some alone time. Neji walked and walked through the moonlit forest without end, keeping tabs on where the camp would be so he could find his way back easily. Night-blooming flowers danced in the night breeze all around him, singing their silent songs to the moon that could barely be seen through the thick canopy of leaves. He didn't stop until he came to a lake's edge, the moon's silvery reflection bouncing off the clear surface.
Neji settled down beside it with a sigh. Meditation and reflection might help with his thoughts lately. Taking the classic lotus position, he let his eyes drift shut and let his thoughts flow out his ears.
"Neji."
His eyes snapped open again, his aim forgotten. Tenten? He looked around, startled by the clarity of her voice, and nearly fell into the water when he saw her. Saw her. Head cocked to the side, she stood on the path leading back to the camp, a befuddled expression on her face as she regarded him. "Are you alright, Neji? You look pale." She walked towards him in that brisk, purposeful stride of hers that said she meant business and kneeled in front of him, her solid hand pressing against his forehead. This wasn't a dream.
"Tenten…" His eyes were wide as he stared, disbelief evident. "You're…alright?"
Again, that funny look of hers came his way. It was the look that said she was wondering if he'd hit his head on something. "Of course I'm okay, silly." She sat back on her heels, shaking her head "That should be my line. You've been acting funny, Neji. Is something wrong?"
His throat felt oddly…tight. He tried to say it in words what was wrong – he'd thought she was DEAD! – but he found himself unable to force them out, instead letting a trembling hand come up to her face that felt soft and warm and alive. It was the strangest thing, feeling as if he wanted to cry after so many years, but the emotions running through him were like a raging tempest. Besides, he'd never been able to keep anything hidden…not from her. Not from Tenten, who often understood him with him needing to say anything at all.
Her brown eyes widened at the touch, but she didn't move away, instead regarding him with concern. "Neji, I-"
"Hyuuga!"
The winds around him became a harsh gale without warning, whipping his long hair about, and he reached out for her desperately. "No!" He touched nothing but air, and when he opened his white eyes again he only saw a sleepy but befuddled Kiba and a strange ninja with the pentagram symbol on her head protector beside him, shaking her head. Ignoring them, he whipped around, cursing himself twice the fool as he saw nothing.
Tenten had disappeared with the wind.