Chapter 1

It had been 5 years since Tenten had disappeared. No one knew what happened to her or what provoked her to leave her comfortable life being Konoha's Weapon's Mistress. She lived a simple life, no designer dresses on her wardrobe, no luxurious furniture, no collections of jewels and no extravagant parties of any sort, except for the odd birthday celebrations thrown for her by her close friends. Many theories have surfaced about her mysterious disappearance. Some had said that maybe she had wanted more than a simple life and had gone on an adventure while some had said that she was killed in her sleep. Others didn't even bother themselves to think of a theory because to them, Tenten was just another shinobi – just another kunoichi. The point was that none were the wiser. For 2 weeks, Konoha had searched for her but no more after that. Tsunade herself had ordered them to stop the search stating that they cannot lose any men at this time of need. Tenten, at 16 years of age, was now officially a missing-nin.

Our story begins with Neji, a stoic, 22 year old man who was a team-mate of our beloved Tenten. Class prodigy, attractive and an absolute prick, he was the oldest student in Gai's team, 8 months Tenten's senior. ANBU captain at the early age of 18, he had developed – or in Lee's words, bloomed – into an absolute god. He had a nice build, not too stocky and not too lanky. His hair was still as gorgeous as ever, his face, a mask of absolute control. Or that's what they all think anyway.

It was a beautiful, cloudless night with the moon at its full glory. Small pin pricks of light flickered now and then on the ebony curtain we call the sky. Neji was lying on his bed, wide awake as usual. It had always been like this ever since Tenten's disappearance. Every night, he would lie awake, staring at the only picture he has of her, the one from their genin days. Her innocent, chocolate orbs would stare through him, piercing through the depths of his soul. He longed for her, her cheerful face, her no-nonsense attitude and everything else that was so unique about her, although he wouldn't admit this to anyone, private or not. He never realised it but when he was with her, he always felt – whole. He was in love with Tenten.

'How could I have been so stupid? She was right there with me, all the fucking time and I never, not ever, realised that it was she alone who could bring out the best in me. To everyone else I was either a jerk or a pretty face look at,' he scoffed at himself. 'Why is it that when someone loses something, it's only then they appreciate what was once theirs. I guess, she was never mine, but at least she was just right there.'

When Tenten was declared missing, all her friends went into a panic frenzy, especially Lee. Hinata had broken down, sobbing her heart out for the first few weeks. Neji had stayed unreadable but everyone else could see that it had also taken some toll on him. At night he would weep, his body racking from his sobs of despair but in the morning he would remain impassive. Those outside of his close circle of "friends" would say that he's an emotionless bastard but his friends knew better.

After a year, they all stopped grieving, but not Neji. Every night, except for when he was on a mission, he would follow his usual routine. Unable to sleep, he would cry within the comforts of his room while reminiscing the good times he had with her. He would berate himself for the times he did not comply with her simple requests such as eating lunch at Ichiraku's or going to the fair with her and Lee. Tiring himself both mentally and physically, he would drift into the land frequently visited by Shikamaru.

.............................................

The Hokage had gathered everyone who was still capable of fighting from the original Konoha 12. Aside from Tenten, who had mysteriously disappeared, there were others who were also – unavailable. Kiba had lost the function of his nose and his arms, Akamaru had been put to retirement due to old age and Chouji was still in a coma from a freak accident that occurred in his own home. All three were declared medically unfit and therefore unable to do any more missions.

Tsunade looked up wearily from her desk and nodded in greeting to the shinobis in front of her. "We have been given information of …irregular activities happening near the south of Suna. I would like the 9 of you to go down there and investigate. You are all either ANBU or jonin and we've already gone through all the minute details the last time I sent you to do some … research. This is supposed to be an A-ranked mission but it could easily change into an S-ranked one. Be careful, we are dealing with Itachi here. This is only meant to be an info gathering mission so stay no more than a week but if you believe that this has some sort of lead to Itachi and his accomplices, I can grant you a further week. Shikamaru, as captain you are to report to me via the birds for any development. Are there any questions?"

No one moved.

"I take that as a no. Pack lightly and go quickly. You are to leave at 0800 hours tomorrow. You are dismissed."

The 9 ninjas departed with a small bow.

Chapter 2

The ninjas left right on time, with Lee setting up the pace. No one spoke throughout the whole journey, not even Naruto. They all knew what was at stake. Although it was only supposed to be research, they were dealing with a notorious group and it could easily result in a bloodbath.

They stopped every couple of hours to accommodate for the kunoichis' weaker stamina. The three women nodded in silent gratitude.

They arrived in a small village before midnight. It was roughly an eighth the size of Konoha. Together, they entered a nearby inn silently, letting Shikamaru handle the arrangements. The innkeeper lifted an eyebrow at the shibobis' unusually dark garbs but stayed silent as Shikamaru placed a large amount of coins in his palm.

Splitting into 3 even groups, the team dispersed to their rooms, setting up the surveillance systems. They gathered in the girls' room discussing possible ways of 'effective stalking'. This lasted until morning before they decided to part ways in order to get as much sleep as they can.

It was 1300 hours and after having lunch and a quick re-evaluation of today's plan, the girls, clad in semi-revealing outfits, set off to do some 'information gathering' a.k.a. flirting. Shikamaru, Sasuke and Naruto went off with them, hiding in the background to act as back up if things didn't go as planned. Neji's team decided to split up to cover more ground.

Neji decided to search the forest seeing that he can do it much faster with his Byakugan, Lee announced in a youthful voice that he was going to follow the river trail since he's the fastest and Shino settled on manning the station while everyone was away, letting his bugs do the spying.

Hopping onto some sturdy branches, he activated his Byakugan and immediately began scanning the area. For 6 hours straight, Neji had examined every single nook and cranny of the forest grounds finding nothing unusual except for maybe a young couple making out in the bushes and a pigeon excreting in mid flight. There was absolutely nothing, nil, zilch, no bloody trace of Itachi or his cronies, ever setting foot in this forest.

'It was a hoax. Just a bloody hoax. Oh great,' he muttered sarcastically, 'I wasted a whole day of searching, for nothing. Bullshit.' As he readied himself to go back to the motel, wishing that the others had better luck, he heard a rustle in the bushes. He swore again. He realised that he was a sitting duck, just standing there in the middle of a clearing, but he also realised that any sudden movements may attract the attention of whoever was out there. Immediately, he activated his Byakugan. Scanning the area he saw nothing and then heard the rustling sound again. Swiftly, he turned his head towards the noise, Byakugan fully activated. It was a squirrel. 'I'm becoming paranoid,' he grumbled before deactivating the Byakugan.

"Shit," he swore out loud, as a kunai pierced him on his arm.

He activated his byakugan again while yanking the rose-shaped kunai out of his arm, searching for his hidden enemy. 'Damn. I let my guard down to soon. This must be one of Itachi's henchmen.'

Or henchwoman in this case.

A pale and slender woman came out from the shadows. She wore a tight, white, leather halter neck top, a very short, red pair of shorts, white, knee high, high heeled boots, red, elbow length gloves and a plain white mask with a single rose on her right cheek. Her hair was a mass of auburn curls, tumbling out of a single bun on the back of her head.

Neji frowned, "La Rose. Isn't it?"

The woman didn't reply but merely nodded.

Somehow, Neji found this rather seductive and alluring. She reminded him of that someone who keeps on haunting him at night. 'The word is that when she descends, it's like you see the Angel of Death. No wonder. She's as beautiful as they say, even more, but are her fighting skills as good as they say? Only one way to find out.'

He slid into his fighting stance but the woman stayed where she was.

"It's ladies first," he said but the woman still did not move.

'This is not my usual style but I'll have to play this by ear.'

Without warning he attacked, aiming straight at her most vulnerable areas. But before he could reach her she disappeared. Whirling around quickly, he managed to dodge the red rose that was thrown at him. He ran toward her, trying to get her nearer in order to perform his classic technique, the Eight Trigrams One Hundred and Twenty Eight Palms. 'Closer, closer …aha, you're dead,' he let a small smirk grace his lips before attacking.

But he was in for a shock. As his first palm reached her, she managed to evade him before landing a blow of her own on him. He wheezed a bit, his mind freezing up but his body was so used to fighting he still managed to fight back, he was practically running on auto-pilot. He shook his thoughts aside, now taking La Rose seriously. They exchanged blows, him reverting to the Gentle Fist style while she … while she did some sort of Taijutsu. Back and forth, they traded blows, not wanting to give up, until he saw a gap. He aimed a palm straight at her neck but she realised this as well. She ducked a bit, his palm just missing her neck, making contact with her mask instead. Both heard a CRACK. And the mask fell away, revealing a face he knows all too well.

"Tenten?" he whispered, not believing his eyes.

But before he could react he felt something plunge through him. Looking down he saw a white rose protruding from his abdomen with a gloved hand attached to it. His body paralyzed almost immediately and his mind started going hazy. He gazed up at her and was surprised to see tears in the corner of her eyes. He mouthed the words why to her but she just shook her head. He felt himself collapsing but she held on to him, guiding him down slowly. Something was put in his hand and he felt her gentle hands, close over his. His mind slowly drifted away but he still heard her whisper, "Take this to Tsunade-sama. Whatever you do, make sure it gets to her and nobody else." Those were the last words he heard from her before his eyes sealed shut.

chapter 3

The first thing Neji noticed as he peeled his eyes open was the wall. It was white. Is this what heaven looks like? He looked around in his surroundings and noticed that he was back in Konoha, in the hospital to be exact. Suddenly, the memories of the other night came flooding back to him. "Tenten," he whispered softly. He looked at his hand and noticed that his hand was still clenched shut. He opened it slowly. On his palm was a small scroll. 'I have to give this to Tsunade-sama.'

He got off his bed and was amazed that the puncture on his abdomen didn't hurt. He got dressed in the Hyuga robes and walked out of his room, heading straight for Tsunade's office with a determined expression. While he walked, a single question popped into his head. "Why?"

He reached her office and then knocked promptly.

"Come in," Tsunade muttered half-heartedly.

Neji opened the door, walked in and then shut the door behind him. Tsunade looked up and was genuinely surprised.

"How are you feeling? The doctors have said that you might not be able walk for a few weeks at least."

"I'm fine Tsunade-sama. I honestly don't feel any different except for a slight dizziness when I first got up. But I didn't come here to talk about me." He passed the small scroll towards the Hokage and then stepped back.

The Hokage opened up the scroll, grabbed a magnifying glass and then started reading. Neji kept quiet throughout. Finally, Tsunade lifted her head and looked at Neji. "I'm assuming you have a few questions," she asked nonchalantly.

He stiffened at her casual tone but nodded anyway.

"You're wondering why La Rose looked so much like Tenten and why I seem so casual about this. Am I right?"

Once again, he nodded.

She sighed before continuing, "Very well then, I'm going to tell you some things that I probably shouldn't tell you but I think you should know by now." She paused. "La Rose, one of the most wanted criminals after Itachi himself. One of the most deadly enemies you could ever make. And one of the sweetest girls you've ever met. Yes, La Rose is Tenten. Five years ago, someone had told us that Itachi had been looking for new recruits. We've been planning on sending someone there to spy on them and report back to us, but we couldn't do it. This was a suicide mission and we knew it. Most of the people whom we thought could pull it off are too recognisable. We thought of sending Hinata as a final resort because she has the makings of a strong ninja, coming from such a prestigious family such as yours. But then … Tenten had been accidentally eavesdropping, or so she says, and she had decided to offer her l…life for this mission," she started choking on her words but carried on anyway.

"We were surprised at her suggestion but then she debated her case so … effectively. And she was right; she was perfect for the job."

Flashback

"Tsunade-sama, I know I may not be the strongest kunoichi in Konoha, the smartest or the prettiest, but I do have one thing that they don't have. Well, more off, something that they have that I don't. And that's family, Tsunade-sama. If you sent any other person, they would have their families threatening you and they may even question your leadership. But if I was sent, no one would worry. I don't have any family who would look for me when I'm gone. Please Tsunade-sama. Don't send Hinata-chan. Send me."

End of flashback

"She thought no one would care … and so did we."

Neji was silent at the Hokage's last comment. 'She thought we didn't care? But she cared for Hinata, a lot, that she would risk her life for her.'

Tsunade broke his train of thoughts, "I've decided to pull her out since we've got all the information we need. Are you ready to make a trip back to the south of Suna?"

"Hai."

"That's good. I want you to pretend to kill her and bring her body back here. You know how she stabbed you and then you blacked out, but now you're feeling fine?"

He nodded.

"Well, apparently she's made a type of weapon, similar to those fake, retractable knives. The device contains 2 small injections inside. Those 2 injections are the only things that hit you; the rest of the knife doesn't touch you at all. When the blade slides back, it activates a small mechanism which squirts out your blood, blood that was first injected out of you. The other injection contains a potion concocted by her, to make her victims seem like they're dying. That was how she managed to get her dreadful reputation without actually killing all those innocent lives. I believe she has only killed 7 people out of the 287."

Neji just blinked, trying to digest the information.

"I know it sounds overwhelming but time is short. Go as soon as you can. If the others question you about her, just tell them that I want her body back. Try not to give away her identity or any of her dealings with us. We'll sort those out later."

Neji nodded politely and was about to exit the room when the Hokage said something else.

"Oh and Neji?" Tsunade called out, "Get her back safely."

Neji nodded once more before getting ready to pack his things.

'Don't worry Tenten, I'll get you out of that mess. I promise.'

Chapter 4

Neji packed his things quickly and then set off the next day.

'I wouldn't need much if things go according to plan … IF things go according to plan.'

He frowned at his doubting mind but he shook his head and the thoughts were once again buried within the depths of his brain. It was a good thing he packed lightly for he covered a far greater distance than when he first set off to do this mission. He had left later than when they had first come, but he knew he was going to get back there sooner. He was right. By roughly 2100 hours, he was at the inn they used as their base. Quickly, he entered. No one noticed his arrival, the men that were there were all too busy scoffing down their meals. He walked down the narrow corridor where their rooms where. He knocked twice then waited. The door opened and Lee's head popped from the side. His eyes doubled in size and his jaw dropped, almost hitting the ground.

"N-Neji? You're alive!" Lee exclaimed before giving him a huge bear hug.

Neji coughed once, getting Lee's attention.

"O-oh yeah," Lee scratched his head sheepishly, "I am sorry about that but I am filled with youthful joy to know that you have come back to life! Come in and tell us of your youthful journey to the land of Shinigami!"

Neji nodded then entered. Inside, Shino welcomed Neji in his usual fashion before going straight into business. He had heard that Neji was alive from Lee's loud exclamation and so he wasn't that surprised when he entered.

"Is there anything the Hokage wants us to do that's new?"

Before Neji could reply Lee intervened, "Can that not wait? I am most curious to know how you are back here with us at a short time. I believe it was only a day or two ago that we had sent you back to Konoha, how have you recovered so fast? Hinata was most upset, you were bleeding heavily when we first saw you. Your face was also going bluish grey and from your mouth, froth was coming out. They had thought you would not survive but I knew you are too full off youth to die so young, I just did not imagine that you would make progress this quickly."

Neji replied, "I thank you for your concern but it is fortunate that the situation was not something Tsunade-sama could not handle."

"Can you not be more specific?" Lee asked.

Neji sighed. He couldn't tell him the truth. He would have to lie a little bit.

"I am under an experimental drug devised by Tsunade herself. I am a guinea pig, so to speak. The drug had increased the speed of my recovery through increasing the production of certain cells in my body. I don't know the exact details but it basically heals a person faster. Tsunade-sama is unsure on how this will affect me in the future but it was the only thing that could've saved my life."

Lee was soaking the information like a sponge; his eyes were wide in fascination. Neji felt a bit guilty lying to him but he was under orders not to tell his team mates anything.

"Well then," Lee began, "We must make sure you do not strain yourself too much. We would not want anything bad to happen to you!"

Neji shook his head. He couldn't have them do that. It was he that was supposed to take down La Rose. If anyone else did, Tenten would be gone … forever.

"I'm afraid those were not my orders."

Shino lifted an eyebrow behind his sunglasses before asking, "What are your orders then?"

Neji replied, "Could we arrange a team meeting so I don't need to repeat everything again?"

Shino nodded

"I'll go visit Shikamaru. I'll tell him that you have come with a message from Tsunade. He should then arrange a meeting."

With that, Shino stepped out of the door and went over to the Captain's room.

Everyone was now gathered in the girls' room once again. After recovering from their shock at seeing Neji once more, they had returned to their calm, shinobi-like demeanour. Neji then repeated what he had said to Lee and Shino to everyone who listened quietly. For once, no one interrupted, not even Naruto. When he finished, Sakura looked amazed at the medical possibilities. But Hinata looked puzzled. She spoke.

"Neji-nii-san, how come you were first to try it out? Why couldn't they have given it to Chouji-san or Kiba-kun?"

Neji swore inwardly but his face remained impassive.

'And this is why I hate lying. Stupid lies are growing too big. I need to try and contain it before I blow everything.'

"It's because they have been sick for longer. Tsunade-sama doesn't know whether it may just make things worse for both Kiba and Chouji. They're both already in stable conditions. By giving them the drug, the sudden change of their cell development may just trigger some unwanted problem. Unlike me, I was … a lost cause. Therefore, they didn't have much to lose. Tsunade-sama wants to make sure that when they use the drug for them, they have control over the speed of cell production, ensuring both of them a safer recovery process."

Hinata nodded calmly, accepting his explanation but then she asked another, "But why does Tsunade want you to strain yourself? If this drug is untested and you're the guinea pig … wouldn't she want to see whether you would be alright first?"

'Damn her for asking too many questions …I'll just add a bit of the truth to make it plausible and easier for me to keep the lie.'

"There are two reasons why. One was because I-I had asked Tsunade-sama specifically to let me join you on this mission once more. This is because …" he paused.

'I hope they don't kill me for being a chauvinist.'

"It's because I want revenge. I did not like the fact that I was beaten by a … girl."

"YOU WERE BEATEN BY A GIRL?" Naruto yelled.

Neji glared at him with such ferocity that Naruto shrank back to his corner immediately while Sasuke just smirked at him.

Then Shikamaru spoke, "It was La Rose wasn't it?"

Neji nodded. Sasuke's smirk dropped. Naruto and Lee's jaws dropped. Shino stayed the same. And the girls blinked.

Shikamaru continued, "I'm not surprised that you want to kill her. I know your pride won't let you leave it just like that. I bet Sasuke would do the same."

At the mention of his name, he frowned, and then glared at Shikamaru's head.

Shikamaru remained unconcerned, "She has a record of killing two hundred eighty-seven people. You would've been two hundred eighty-eight. But you lived, the only one to have ever lived. It was a good thing we were quite close or else she would've finished you off I'm sure. She's not something you should take lightly; you know the consequences of taking her down alone."

Neji shook his head, "I know that, but I had asked Tsunade-sama and she has agreed to let me face her … alone. She wants her body back intact for some unknown reason. In fact, she would prefer it if we brought her back alive but if we can't get her back unconscious then we can kill her as long as we get her body back as a whole. I'm asking you nicely to let me have my revenge. I would like to have my pride intact when we get back home. IF I die in the process, you're welcome to finish off my task for me. But I'm asking you … I would like the chance to take her down myself. Will you grant me that at least?"

Shikamaru frowned but nodded. Neji mentally released a sigh of relief. Then Shikamaru asked.

"What was the other reason then?"

Neji spoke, "The other is to test whether my abilities will be back to what they were before I took the drug. By putting me under strenuous activities, Tsunade-sama would know the limit of what the drug can do. This would prove valuable research to help make the drug more … secure and reliable."

"I see. Well I'm glad you're back again with us, Shino said you have a message from the Hokage?"

Neji nodded, "As I have said, the Hokage wants La Rose's body back intact, alive even. My orders were to take her down and then stab her with this."

Neji then pulled out a small dagger about the size of his palm. It had two pronged points like a small fork. Although small, everyone could see that it was capable of killing someone.

"This weapon contains some sort of poison created by Tsunade-sama. When stabbed by this, the victim should be paralysed immediately and then soon they would be unconscious. The Hokage is the only person who has the antidote to wake the person up."

"So what is the rest of us supposed to do?" Shikamaru drawled.

"The Hokage wants five of you to continue the mission just to throw off the Akatsuki and three others to come with me to search for La Rose. The orders are to kill any members of the Akatsuki with La Rose but once we've got La Rose, we are to depart as soon as possible."

"So who's going with you?" Shiakamaru asked.

"The Hokage said for you to make the decision."

"Alright, I want the girls to remain here with Shino and Lee to do the mission. Naruto, Sasuke and I will accompany you to complete this new task. We'll depart tomorrow morning at 0700 hours. Everyone should go get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow."

Everyone nodded before leaving for their rooms.

'I'll be there soon Tenten. Wait for me; I'll get you out of there.'

Chapter 5

It had taken Tenten five months before she found the Akatsuki base. After the word was spread that the Akatsuki were recruiting new people due to their many loses, she was only the second person to have reached the destination unscathed … relatively unscathed. She's had her share of cuts, bruises and minor sprains but it's nothing compared to what the other Akatsuki wannabes had received. Most had died; others are dying as we speak. The Akatsuki are a very picky bunch. They don't just accept anyone. Anybody who wants to be a member of the Akatsuki has to find the base first … alive. If you are unlucky enough to meet an Akatsuki member you will most likely be killed soon enough unless they pity you or they see some possible potential. Even then, they would still make sure you understand that being a member isn't all fun and games. Some people who have escaped their villages decide to bunch up together to form a small band of renegade ninjas … but it just makes it easier for Akatsuki members to pick them off one by one. Tenten was fortunate enough not to meet any of the Akatsuki members but many mobs of exiled shinobis wander around the forests. She has met many of them, killing quite a few just to show them that she's serious about being an Akatsuki. The number of people she killed during these five months is unrecorded.

When she reached the base, there wasn't a welcoming committee to see to her. Even though she managed to make it to the base alive, it didn't mean that she was automatically a member. She still had to prove herself to them that she would be loyal to the Akatsuki alone … well, as loyal as you could get. No one from the Akatsuki really trusts another, if they did, it could cause them their life. There were many tests that they had her do. The first one was to fight a member to see if they do have potential. Unfortunately for her, she had to face Itachi. There's no doubt about who won but someone seemed interested in her.

Flashback

A bleeding Tenten laid sprawled on the floor, her weapons scattered all over the expanse of the room. She had a broken leg and arm and her hair was out of the single bun she wore when she started looking for the Akatsuki. She had no forehead protector with her because she did not want to have any trace of being with Konoha. Her clothing had also changed. Instead of her Chinese styled clothing, she had opted for some westernised style instead. For her top she wore a black, three quarter sleeved, body hugging shirt with a loose navy blue shirt over top. For her pants, she wore a pair of loose short, shorts that was half navy and half black. She had a full body bandage that just stopped around her ankles, wrists and neckline. Ninja sandals still adorned her feet. Using her left hand and her right leg, she managed to lift herself up the ground – just. Looking up she saw the Uchiha, unscathed, unscarred, untouched. She kept her face impassive although the pain she felt could sometimes be seen flickering in her eyes. Unable to keep herself up, she let go, her eyes closing as she drifted off to unconsciousness.

"Do I finish her off?" Itachi asked in monotone?

"Oh come on! I quite like her … she seems to have potential," answered Tobi cheerfully.

"That's not up to you to decide," Itachi replied.

"But he does have a point, not many survive that much damage especially coming from you" muttered Pein.

"If we gave Tobi a chance, the girl should be given one too I suppose," Zetsu shrugged.

"Exactly! W-wait …what do you mean by that?" Tobi said.

"SILENCE!" Pein roared, "Okay, this is what we do. Itachi, go take her to where we put the other one. Konan, go tend to her. When she heals … we'll decide then whether she's worth keeping or not."

Itachi and Konan nodded before proceeding to do what Pein said.

It took a week before she finally woke up but most of her wished that she just stayed asleep. Looking over to her right she saw another person, a boy by the looks of it. Half his body, from waist down, was covered by a blanket, the other half was wrapped tightly by bandages. He had a nicely toned body which was emphasized by the bandages around him. She couldn't see his face though for it was swathed in bandages as well, but there was a small slit for the mouth and two small holes for his nose so he could breathe. He had dark bluish black hair that flopped down on his forehead, other strands of his hair hung by his cheeks, framing a strong jaw. Tenten was curious to know what he looked like without the bandages but she didn't get to ponder on that for too long for her body was still weak from the beating she received. Slowly, her eyes closed and she was once again drawn to deep slumber.

When she woke up, she noticed that there was an Akatsuki member watching her and she felt suddenly exposed. He wore the usual black Akatsuki cape with the clouds and all but his face was covered by an orange mask except for a whole on the right side of his face.

"You're awake! That's good, I was betting against Kisame-san that you'd be awake in a week's time, he said you'd wake up in three weeks just like the guy there next to you."

Tenten looked over to her right and noticed that the person next to her no longer had bandages around his abdomen and forearms but there was still a healing scar that remained.

"Kisame-san did that to him," the orange masked man shrugged, "Those sharks of his really did some damage. Fortunately, Konan-san managed to sew it back on. The scars don't look too bad eh?"

Tenten didn't say anything but the masked man didn't seem to care.

"So … what's your name? You can call me Tobi!"

Tenten looked at him impassively although inside she was giving him a calculating look.

'Not really the Akatsuki type I had expected … but there seems to be more to him than that cheerful facade. I have to be careful.'

"Well then Tobi-san, you can call me," she paused, "you can call me … Akako."

"Akako? Hmm … that means red doesn't it?"

Tenten nodded.

"Well then Akako-san, it was nice meeting you. Konan-san will be here soon to bring you and him food. I hope you make it as a member, I enjoyed watching your fight against Itachi-sama."

With a cheery wave he left the room and then closed the door behind him.

'Strange. I wonder …'

"So, you made it to the base as well."

Tenten snapped out of her thoughts and directed her attention to the boy who spoke. He had a deep yet smooth voice that reminded her of Neji. She blushed at the thought but she reminded herself that she can't let anything distract her from her job … or anyone in this case.

She gave him a monosyllabic hn and frowned as the thought of Neji made its way to her head again.

"I didn't expect that a girl would make it all the way here," he said with a sneer.

Tenten bit tongue and stopped the feminist urge to rip him into shreds. Instead, she replied just as haughtily as him.

"Well, it doesn't look like you'll make it into being a member with the state you're in."

He tensed and Tenten smirked at the small satisfaction it gave her. The door opened. Konan entered with a small tray of stale bread and a pitcher of water. She popped it down by the table in between their beds and left just as quickly as she had entered. Tenten looked at the food and although it didn't seem very appetising she realised that she was too hungry to complain. She grabbed a small bun and took a bite. Stale bread had never tasted so good. She was so hungry that she had completely forgotten about the boy beside her. She looked up and noticed that he had been trying to feel for the food. She forgot that he couldn't see with the bandages on. She sighed inwardly.

'He might be a jerk but he's only human.'

Tenten then grabbed another bun then stretched her arm closer to his hands, placing the bun where he could reach it. She pulled her hand back and didn't say anything knowing that most guys have big egos and helping them out may just trigger their male superiority syndrome. When his hand made contact with the bread he immediately put it by his mouth and scoffed it down, choking on the last piece. Tenten would have laughed but she knew that choking was not such a good thing so she decided to become the Good Samaritan once again and poured a glass of water for him. She placed it as close to his side of the desk as she could then she spoke.

"There's a glass of water next to you on the bearing of 235 degrees."

He immediately followed her instruction, grabbed the glass and drank it down. He placed it back where it was then he was silent. They both had two buns each. Tenten had just finished her first one so she grabbed her second. The room was silent except for her soft chewing. Tenten was starting to get unnerved by the silence but she forced herself to stay quiet. She has a new persona now, she is Tenten no longer … she is Akako.

Chapter 5 - Part 2

The two remained silent for the rest of the week that came, only speaking when it was absolutely necessary. Tenten still helped him though, pushing the food closer to him, telling him in monotone that the glass of water is directly southwest of him and so on. He didn't acknowledge her help … not that she cared. By now, the boy's body bandage was gone and he was given a plain white shirt to cover himself up with. His face was still swathed in bandages though. A week had past and it was now time to uncover the boy's face. Konan came and she gently peeled away the topmost layer. Tenten had been awake for some time because she had been curious to know what the colour of his eyes was. She also wanted to know if his beautiful voice matched his face. She knew that deep down she was only a girl but she couldn't just let a boy divert her from her mission. Tenten had to keep on fighting the urge to find out his physical attributes and in the end, she decided to go to sleep. Surprisingly, sleep came to her easily and she was soon deep in slumber. By the time Konan had finished, Tenten's breathing had already evened out. Konan left quickly, letting the boy get used to seeing once again. His gaze stopped at Tenten's still form and the tiniest of smiles flickered at the corner of his lips. He sighed quietly and swallowed his male ego.

"Thank you," he whispered with genuine gratitude before nodding off to sleep as well.

When Tenten woke up, she became aware of someone gazing at her intently. Before she opened her eyes, she concentrated on making her face look blank, but when she did, it took massive amounts of self control not to swoon and faint. Looking at her was the bandaged boy but without the bandages. He had wonderful, deep blue eyes that matched the colour of her shirt and beneath those cool and calm eyes was something … unfathomable. He had a thin, almost invisible scar coming from the top of his right eye, across his nose, just stopping at the edge of his left jaw. As she had noticed before, he had a strong, well defined jaw, similar to Neji's. She cursed inwardly for remembering Neji.

'Like he'd even remember me.'

It took less than a second to check him out but even so the boy knew that she did. And to show that he knew, his soft lips quirked at the corner, smirking at her girlishness. The normal Tenten would've blushed but this was Akako not Tenten. Instead, she just repeated what she did earlier but this time in a painstakingly slow motion, looking at him from top to bottom, or from side to side in this case, only to shrug in the end and go back to sleep. The boy's jaw dropped in utmost surprise. Never in his life had he met a girl that ignored him. No, he isn't a conceited son of a bitch but he knows he's hot and he likes to keep it that way. Normally, he wouldn't mind if a girl left him alone – not that it had ever happened in his lifetime – but there was something in the girl that made her attractive in his eyes. This is not saying that she wasn't because … hell she was. The messy brown hair, the smooth oval face, those almond-shaped eyes and soft lips, when combined show one hot, feisty young woman. And she had the personality to match that too. But she also had this enigmatic aura that surrounds her, making him want to know her better. He knew that being in the Akatsuki, he couldn't trust anyone – or fall in love for that matter – but …

'Damn my male hormones.'

He shook aside all his thoughts and followed her lead, sleeping soundly like a newborn baby. When Tenten felt that he was sound asleep, she noiselessly shifted to face his side and gave him another look over. She frowned at herself for being such a girl but then she smirked.

'I've spent way too much time with Ino and Sakura,' she smiled sadly at those fond memories, 'why does he have to be so damn hot? And his eyes … they're beautiful … just like Neji's. They're so deep like an unfathomable well of concealed emotions and knowledge … and if I had stared any longer I would've probably drowned. God I'm sounding like a fangirl.'

Tenten shook her head at all those ridiculous thoughts which always seemed to lead towards Neji. This time, she closed her eyes firmly, willing herself to go to sleep.

'I used to think Shikamaru was such a lazy ass, sleeping all year round, but here I am doing the same thing. Sleeping should help clear my mind …' and with those last thoughts, she fell asleep once again.

After a month of non-strenuous activities and long steady rests, both teens were pronounced well enough to proceed onto the next task. Pein told the two come and meet him at his office, a dark, gloomy room without a view. When they came, he motioned for the two to sit down.

"From what I have seen on your performances … I believe that you two are not good enough to join the Akatsuki. You boy lost to Kisame even though your jutsus are mainly lightning related. Pathetic. And you girl, you girl lost to Itachi without landing a single blow on him. I'm surprised at the amount of weapons you hold … but your aim is absolutely useless."

Tenten remained impassive and calm, and so did the other boy except for the fact that she could feel him tensing up. She continued watching Pein, intrigued to know why they were still alive if the Akatsuki had no use for them, only to realise that he was looking at her as well. Although she was scared out of her wits, she maintained eye contact with him, not letting him see what she truly felt. Pein smiled at her … IF you could consider that look a smile. He then proceeded to examine the other boy only to receive a glare instead of a calm eye contact. Pein smirked.

"However, I can see that both of you have potential. You are young and therefore inexperienced, but with the proper Akatsuki training both of you could go far … quite far indeed."

He let this sink in first before continuing.

"But … we'll only accept ONE of you two. You're next task, if you accept it, is to fight each other until one of you is dead. The winner of the match will become a member of the Akatsuki. Now, if you don't want to do this … we'll give you a two day head start to get somewhere safe and then we'll look for you and hunt you down. Either way, the weaker person dies. So what will it be?"

Tenten did not hesitate.

"I accept."

The boy froze inside. He had wanted to get to know her a little bit better but it seems like she's too apt on killing him first. He shrugged, as if he didn't care at all.

"I accept as well."

"Very well. Your fight will be in half an hour. Tobi, Kisame, come in."

The two members entered.

"Tobi, you take the girl to one of the training areas and Kisame, take the boy to another. Give them their clothes and weapons and be at the arena in twenty-five minutes. Go."

The two men nodded and motioned for Tenten and the boy to follow them. Neither Tenten nor the boy spoke when they passed each other going out the door.

Sealed Secrets 5 - Tenten – Part 3

After doing some stretches and practicing her aim, Tenten let herself be led to the arena by Tobi. Before they entered, Tobi spoke.

"Watch out for that boy Akako. He's very good at what he does."

"I thank you for your concern Tobi-san but if Kisame can beat him even though he was disadvantaged, I'm sure I can beat him."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don't get too cocky, that's how he lost."

Tenten nodded her thanks but kept silent as they entered the arena. She stepped inside the ring of the battlefield and walked towards the boy who was already there. He looked calm and composed without any of the anger that radiated off him earlier.

'He won't hesitate to kill me … neither will I.'

Zetsu stepped in between them.

"There are no rules here except for one. The battle does not end until one of you is dead. DON'T fight fair. Go."

Neither one of teens hesitated in attacking. Kunai against kunai clashed against each other creating ear splitting sound. But before anyone could wince, the boy drove another kunai towards Tenten's abdomen. Tenten, predicting his move, deflected his attack with one of her own kunais. She knew that the boy had more physical strength than her and a hand to hand battle won't do her any good. She also heard from Pein that he specialised in lightning based jutsus and she wouldn't want to be shocked by him directly. That would just be plain stupid and she just can't take that risk. She's spent almost seven months away from Konoha and if she died now, then all of her hard work would be lost. She had to get away from him … fast. The boy lunged at her left side and she evaded him … just. By swerving to her right, she stuck her right hand on the ground and performed a one-handed back flip followed by two other ordinary ones. Her sandaled feet landed on the ground gently as if she was a born acrobat but the audience didn't have time to marvel at her feat for she was soon in the air performing an altered version of the Soshoryu.

"Twin Dragons Raining!" she shouted.

As soon as she had said that, two dragon heads came swirling up with her before heading down towards the boy at the speed of light. The dragons' body consisted of myriads of weapons, ranging from a mere senbon to formidable looking swords. Her attack had met their mark. She knew that her aim was true but she also knew that it was too good to be true. As soon as her feet touched the ground she immediately whipped out two katanas, one on each hand. She paused to see what the results were but her body language was poised, ready to kill. The dust clouds that had been disturbed earlier by her attack are soon fading away and a faint light could be seen emitting from within like a glowing orb. Tenten swore inwardly.

'Just as I thought, I knew it was too good to be true.'

As the dust clouds lowered, more and more of the glowing orb could be seen. It was a defence mechanism which the boy had immediately activated right before her weapons hit him. The thing, whatever it was, was in the shape of a large sphere and it was formed through layers and layers of pure electricity. There seemed to be no way of penetrating through it. An absolute defence. Just like Neji's. Tenten frowned even more.

'Now is not the time to think if him. No. I can't distract myself … this is a matter of life and death. MY death. Come to think of it … Neji's defence isn't as perfect as everyone thinks. Neither is Gaara's. There must be a way out of this. If Kisame can beat him even though his element is mainly water … then I have to win.'

The boy had interpreted her frown as a sign of her fear and he smirked triumphantly.

"Is that all you've got? Pathetic."

'Psychology now is it? Well, I'll play your game. If he thinks he can win just by taunting me then he's got me all wrong.'

Tenten spoke,"I think it's even more pathetic that you lost to Kisame-san especially since his element is clearly a disadvantage for him. Wow. A lightning user lost to a water user. PA-THE-TIC."

For a fleeting second, the boy gained an angry aura, but it soon disappeared.

'Anger management problems? Oooh, I like this. I have to use everything I can find against him.'

"Aww, did I hurt your poor wee feelings," she replied, mocking him.

"You're going down bitch."

And with that, the boy charged directly at Tenten with two metal rods, one on each hand. The tips of the rods were sending off sparks, deadly sparks that could kill at touch. It was a good thing that Tenten was right at the other end of the arena, giving her time to take out a wooden bo staff. She knew that if she made contact with any of her metal weapons she'd be doomed. The boy was nowhere near as fast as Lee, slower than Neji even, which means that he's most likely slower than her as she had managed to match Neji in speed after some extra training with Gai-sensei and Lee. She wasn't going to wait for him to come so she ran towards him instead, without any sort of plan on how to beat him. She was just going to play this by ear and hope to Kami-sama that she'd be the one who ends up alive. Their weapons finally clashed. The boy was not an inadequate weapons user and he's proved this to her already from the start. He was also unfortunately stronger than her, puberty has helped him with this, and she could feel her muscles straining to keep up but she relentlessly fended him off.

'Neji's better than you and I've lasted longer bouts with him. I won't lose to you. I won't.'

With that silent vow, Tenten upped their pace a bit more, even though her muscles were screaming at her to stop she kept on pushing on and on, finally landing some blows on the boy. The boy winced at the hits he received. He wasn't expecting her to be this fast.

'I knew that using my Lightning Sphere would use a lot of my chakra but I didn't have any other choice there at that time. I need to finish this off before she finishes me off. It would've been great to have known her a bit more, she has great talent and a worthy opponent … but I'm not about to lose to a girl. I've put up with losing against a water user but I cannot lose to a girl. I have to do something, quick.'

With renewed vigour, he fought back, getting less and less hits from Tenten but he was still no match for her speed. He had to break out. With an added boost of chakra, he gained a bit more speed and was soon as fast as Tenten. He knew he won't be able to keep this up so he feinted to one side before creating a substitution justu in his place. Tenten cursed for falling for that feint, right after her staff had smashed the inanimate log, breaking both the log and her staff into two. She swore again. By now, the boy was roughly thirty metres away and was quickly doing a set of complicated looking hand signs. Tenten couldn't risk running towards him without any sort of plan now, whatever he was doing doesn't look good. At all. She whipped out her katanas again. She didn't have any more wooden weapons because she mainly concentrated on the sharp, metallic sort so she had no choice but to resort to using conductors of electricity. By now, the boy was setting off sparks. His, body was illuminated by a bright yellow light which was no doubt made of pure, unadulterated electrical energy. The boy's midnight blue locks were levitating in the air due to the strong currents he was releasing, his face became dark and malignant.

"Say your prayers bun-girl."

And with that, he stabbed both rods into the ground, sending shockwaves of electrical current straight towards Tenten. She knew that it was too fast for her to avoid. Only Lee or Gai-sensei or someone with that absurd kind of speed could possibly move away. She had no choice but to take the brunt of it. She closed her eyes, bit her lip and whispered.

'I love you Neji.'.

Sealed Secrets 5 – Tenten – Part 4

Before the huge amount of electrical energy reached her, she substituted both katanas for two wakazachis instead, then, she stabbed both wakazachis into the ground, using it as an earth wire to redirect some of the current that was flowing through her. She winced in pain as the first shock came, but she gritted her teeth and kept on holding on. The electricity was infused with chakra which meant that the attack had more voltage than your average lightning. Parts of her clothing were ripping and her nose had started to bleed but she stayed focus. She knew that the boy was now weakened for to produce a strong jutsu like that, he would have had to use a lot of chakra. She had no choice but to act now. With her eyes closed, bleeding nose, grim face and scarred body, she looked like such a sorry sight but the match was far from over. Her wakazachis were a special sort because within it is a small hollow tube that ran across from the tip to the edge of the hilt. In that tube, chakra could be stored for emergencies. But not only that, some elements were also able to be accumulated within as long as they have some chakra infused within it – just like the one the boy produced. While half of the current were redirected onto the ground, the other half went into the swords. She knew that her body couldn't take much more but fortunately, her wakazachis were now fully charged. She looked up at him then smirked. The boy gaped at her audacity to smirk at him when it was obvious to everyone that she was the one who was about to lose. With that single smirk, the boy's hold on the current wavered giving Tenten the perfect opportunity to break out. And that's exactly what she did. With the speed of light, thanks to her newfound source of chakra, she ran straight ahead towards the boy, unwavering in her path. Both wakazachis glowed a striking green colour, the colour produced when her blue chakra moulded and infused itself with the boy's yellow chakra. The wakazachis which were once at her side are now held in front of her, with her arms crossed together, she held both blades like a dagger, its length running across her arms and its tip reaching past her elbows. There were only five metres between them when Tenten expertly flipped the blades, its point now facing the young boy. With a swift jab she aimed the weapon on her right to swipe the boy's head, beheading him while the one on her left to go directly through his heart. But somehow, the boy managed to block her blows just in time. His right rod protected his head from being beheaded while the left one redirected the course of Tenten's other weapon. Unfortunately for him, Tenten's momentum was too strong that her left wakazachi still managed to hit him – right through his stomach.

"Ugh,' he grunted at the searing pain.

But Tenten was merciless; she drove the wakazachi deeper and imbedded it within him. The pain was excruciating but with a blind swing, the boy still managed to make contact with Tenten, hitting her on the head. Tenten flew off and came crashing just a few metres away. Her head was all fuzzy and she couldn't form any coherent thoughts. Slowly, she opened her eyes but her sight was clouded by the blood running down the side of her face. She closed her right eye, not wanting to have blood in them. She glanced at the boy she stabbed. He was lying on the floor facedown, the wakazachi sticking right through him. She knew she could still probably stand, just enough time to make sure he's dead so that she'll be able to win for sure. But inside her she knew that there was a possibility that the boy could still live. She could kill him for sure – but the guilt would never wash away. She pretended to try standing up but collapsed again before closing her eyes.

'Sleep. That's what I need right now. Let them decide what to do with me and him. Technically neither of us lost because neither of us won.'

It had been another week before she woke up. She didn't open her eyes just yet. She wanted to have a feel of her surroundings first. On her right she sensed another person's presence.

'Oh great! Why couldn't they give me a room of my own … why do I have to share rooms with him – again?'

"I know you're awake."

'Damned asshole, I was about to go to sleep again!'

Although furious inside, Tenten just gave him a monotonous hn on the outside.

"Look, I know … I know we didn't get off to a good start. A-and I know it was mostly my fault. I was being an ass to put it plainly. And … um …"

"Do you mind getting on with it? I'm still tired and I just want to go to sleep," Tenten interrupted calmly, her eyes still closed.

"Look, I'm trying to patch things up with you, I was even about to apologise to you about being a bastard AND to top it off, I was about to thank you for helping me out when I couldn't see where my food was and when I was about to choke but I realise you're just a bi …"

"You're welcome. All you had to say was I'm sorry and thank you. I preferred your company when you didn't act like a wussy piece of shit."

The boy blinked. Then he smirked.

"You really are one of a kind. I like that."

"Hn"

An awkward silenced rested upon them. Tenten pretended to sleep while the boy kept glancing her way. He sighed. Tenten opened her eyes then lifted an eyebrow. The boy looked her in the eyes steadily. The look he gave her was rather unnerving but it also sent tingles down Tenten's spine. It reminded her of Neji – a lot. The way those white, pupil-less eyes with a slight tinge of lavender, would briefly glance at her causing her to go weak at the knees, making her want to melt away into small puddle. Right now, she desperately wanted to look away. She was about to do just that when the boy looked away first. Tenten sighed inwardly; glad to know he didn't see this weakness of hers. He sighed again but this time Tenten just rolled her eyes. She was about to close them when he spoke.

"Why didn't you finish me off?" he blurted out suddenly.

Tenten's heart started beating slightly quicker but she contained it.

"What makes you think I was able to do that in the first place? Maybe I should ask why YOU didn't finish me off."

There was a quiet pause before the boy spoke.

"Because I heard them whispering about it when they thought we were both asleep," he whispered quietly.

Before Tenten could think of a retort the door opened. Pein entered with Konan in his wake.

"It seems like both of you are awake. That's good. In a week's time you both will be starting your training as an Akatsuki member."

Tenten couldn't help her jaw from dropping in disbelief. It was the same for the boy beside her.

"I realise I said earlier that I only wanted one of you but due to the skills you had shown us in your battle a week ago I must say that I do believe you have potential. Therefore, you both are now official Akatsuki apprentices."

Both sighed in relief.

"However, both of you must improve and work to remove your weaknesses. For instance, girl, I know you can kill easily. I have seen the way you fought on your way to our base. But I realised that on your match, you gave up the chance of killing him."

Tenten remained unperturbed.

"I need you to understand that when I have set out an order … you do it. Understand?"

"Hai."

"Very well. Now you boy, I want you to work on your speed. I also want you to expand your chakra limit. Work on your endurance so you wouldn't need to rely on a knock out to ensure your victory."

The boy nodded once.

"Now that it's settled, I want both of you to rest. Get to know each other because you two would most likely be paired off together once you have graduated being an apprentice. Know each other's weaknesses and strengths. This plays an important part in the success of your task."

Both teens nodded. And without further ado, Pein and Konan left them on their own. They both heard the footsteps growing fainter and fainter until they could no longer hear it even with their chakra enhanced hearing. There was an awkward silence between them but Tenten was too prideful to break it. Unfortunately, the boy wasn't about to give in either. Tenten sighed inwardly.

"Akako. You?"

The boy blinked in surprise but regained his composure.

"Hirohito. But you can call me Hiro for short."

Sealed Secrets - Chapter 6

It was almost lunch time and the four male shinobis had been travelling for almost six hours. They had gone past the place were they last saw La Rose, the clearing where Neji had last seen Tenten. There seemed to be no trace of her at all until Naruto found a brown, wilted rose amongst the depths of some wild shrubbery. He was about to throw it away when Shikamaru caught sight of it. Being the genius that he was, he immediately noticed that something was not right.

"Rosa chinensis, commonly known as the "china rose". Those roses are not commonly found around here, actually, those are found in China … NOT in Japan. They're extensively cultivated in China as an ornamental plant. It's also used for traditional Chinese medicine," Shikamaru muttered quietly under his breath.

"What are you mumbling about?" asked Naruto.

"That flower. It's not from around here."

"What do you mean? And how do you know it's not from around here?" questioned the blonde.

The Nara boy rolled his eyes then said, "Oh I don't know. Maybe it's because my best friend owns a flower shop and that I have to help her out every weekend so that she doesn't kill me."

"You're not sure?" the blonde answered, confused.

"Dobe. He was being sarcastic you dumb ass."

"Shut up teme … so what? I still don't get what the flower's got to do with anything."

'Kami, help me,' Shikamaru muttered, his hands covering his face.

"Are you really that dumb?" Sasuke muttered in monotone.

"Shut up teme."

"Moron."

"Asshole."

"Fuckwit."

Neji gritted his teeth at Naruto's stupidity. He took a deep breath before intervening.

"Why don't you two just shut up? For god's sake Sasuke, you're supposed to be the mature one out of you two."

"Yeah, SASUKE!"

"When I meant you two it means including you Naruto."

"But I still don't get it!" he whined.

"I'll explain what I meant when you shut up," Shikamaru drawled, clearly pissed at Naruto's lack of mental ability.

Silence.

"Good. Now, can you remember who we're looking for Naruto?" Shikamaru said in a clearly patronizing voice.

Being the clueless idiot he was, he completely missed the jibe.

"Um … La Rose?"

"Good boy. Now, what is La Rose well known for?"

"Doesn't she specialise in weaponry? She uses rose-shaped weapons and she's also really good at using plants to their fullest extent, especially extracting poisons from rose plants. Oooh, I know! She's well known for her roses!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"That's right. Now what kind of plant is this?" Shikamaru asked while lifting the wilted, brown flower in his hand.

"Er … a rose?"

"Exactly. So have you made the connection now?"

"Um … that rose is from La Rose?"

"Clap, clap for the handicap," Sasuke muttered under his breathe.

"But I still don't get it?"

The three geniuses groaned in frustration, but this time Sasuke decided to talk.

"Okay Naruto. You know that the rose came from La Rose right?"

"Yeah."

"And you know that Hyuga's the first person who hadn't died from La Roses' wrath … right?"

"Er … yeah?"

"So. It looks like La Rose is interested in Neji, interested enough to give him a chance of living. This means that La Rose was waiting for Neji to get better so he could go looking for her so that they can have a fight off or something. The rose we found is probably the start of the track. She's meaning for Neji to follow the track of roses she's laid out so that they could finish off their fight."

Naruto blinked.

"Oh … but how did you guys figure that out?"

Neji interrupted this time.

"That doesn't matter. We can't waste any more time now. As long as you've got the gist of it you're fine."

"Alright then … but we have to find the next rose," replied Naruto.

"Finally, he spoke some sense," Sasuke muttered.

"Let's split up. Neji, you take the north, Naruto, the east, Sasuke, take the south and I'll go take the west. Blow your whistle when you find it."

"Um … Shikamaru? How do you know what the rose looks like?" asked Naruto.

"Oh for god's sake, if you see a flipping flower blow your stupid whistle. This deep in the forest, there aren't much flowers only bushes, shrubs and trees. Now can we get on with it?" said an exasperated Sasuke.

"Couldn't have put it in a better way myself," drawled Shikamaru, "so I'll see you guys later then."

"Hn," muttered the prodigies while Naruto did his trademark cheesy grin and yelled out …

"I'LL FIND IT … BELIEVE IT!"

With that, everyone set off in their given direction. Neji used his Byakugan to search every nook and cranny of the northern area, covering 800 metres squared of land with just a single sweep of his family's bloodline limit.

'Nothing,' he thought angrily, 'does she want to be found or what? Come on Tenten, five years is a long enough time to wait.'

Naruto on the other hand had created hundreds of bunshins to help him out in searching each and every single crevice on the forest floor. Unfortunately, due to the many copies of the blonde, many of nature's flora and fauna were trampled on by mistake. Clones kept on bumping onto each other, destroying themselves in the process. In the end, there were only just slightly over half left but I doubt the blonde had even noticed. He was too busy lifting rocks and peering under their mud-stained exterior where squashed bugs and grass lay, unmoving.

'Yikes. Shino would die if he sees this,' Naruto mused, currently forgetting the job at hand.

Sasuke wasn't very successful either. He has made a copy of himself and together, he and his shadow clone run around in high speed to look for anything that resembles a flower.

'Geez that was the fifth bug that I picked up that looked like a flower, how many more are there?'

In contrast to everyone, Shikamaru just stood where he was, his hands forming an elliptical shape, with his thumbs touching at the tips and the rest of his fingers, joined with their counter parts. His eyes were closed and he appears to be … snoozing. Although, of course, most of his friends would realise immediately that this was far from what he actually is doing. He let his thoughts flow while his body remained alert for any movement. He knew that La Rose would make sure that her message got across so he was sure that the next clue would be near by.

'Damn it. I should be able to figure this out. It's not like she's any different from other girls. I mean, come on, I've managed to understand Ino and her frequently changing moods and she would have to be one of the most complicated women in the world. Kami help me,' he sighed.

Still standing at the place where Naruto found the rose, he finally opened his eyes. He sighed, before frowning. Unconsciously, he found himself looking up. He was about to look down again when a flickering thing caught his eye. Directly above him was a single rose, pale blue in colour, discreetly camouflaged against the clear blue sky. At first, the flower seemed to be levitating on it's own but a closer inspection showed that it was hanging by several thin, but well made chakra strings. The stem part of the flower was split part way into two where the right side was folded back a hundred and forty degrees clockwise and the left, a hundred and forty degrees anti-clockwise creating the head of an arrow which seemed to be pointing west. Shikamaru smirked then shook his head at the shrewdness of the trick.

"Guys," he called out, "I think I found something."

Sealed Secrets - Chap 7

They have been following similarly styled clues for the last two day but it looked at if all they've done is to run around in circles. The trail has led them back to where they started, towards Suna, back by Konoha and other places where they have passed on the way to where they are currently staying. They are growing short on food and have resorted to hunting the wild life and feeding on Mother Nature's freshly grown berries and vegetation. Currently, they are high up in the mountains, quite far away from civilisation.

"Hey Shikamaru!" yelled out the blonde, "Where are the nearest shops? I haven't had any instant ramen in ages!"

"You've just had ramen three days ago, just before we set out to look for La Rose dobe."

"But that wasn't instant ramen!" Naruto whined, "They were dehydrated noodles with freeze dried vegetables and artificial condiments!"

Sasuke blinked.

Neji's eye twitched.

"Isn't that what instant ramen is?" drawled Shikamaru.

"Nu-uh!"

"Well then, what's the difference between the two?" Sasuke asked in a mocking voice.

Naruto blinked. He then crossed his arms while a cute frown found itself in his face. His lower lip jutted out a little bit while his brows knotted in slight frustration. This took about five seconds before he slowly started talking.

"Well, to start with, they don't taste the same. Instant ramen has that certain 'je ne sais quoi' that can only be found in … instant ramen! On the other hand, the ramen I ate just before we left had this powdery almost …"

"Okay, okay! Forget I asked," Sasuke said in exasperated tones, "I don't really want to know the history of how ramen was created."

"Why not? Personally I find that very interesting. Did you know that ramen was first invented …"

"Shut up, Naruto," drawled Shikamaru.

"Since when did he speak like … that?" asked a taken aback Sasuke.

"Since he started researching about ramen," Shikamaru stated.

Neji quirked an eyebrow, as if to say, 'and you know this why?'

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders, "He's taken a part time job at Ichiraku's with Chouji. They've been at it since … two years ago."

The two other geniuses blinked.

"A-n-y-w-a-y," Naruto interrupted, stressing out every single letter, "moving on to more important things other than my own personal life … what are we going to eat? I'm starving and it's almost time for us to go to sleep again!"

Shikamaru sighed, "We'll split up. Naruto, catch us some rabbits, Sasuke, you're in charge of getting wood and starting a fire, Neji, grab some berries and vegetables, I'll go set up our campsite for the night."

The three shinobis nodded before immediately leaving to do their own task. Shikamaru was now left on his own.

'We've been going around in circles for almost three days, is she toying with us? What the hell is she trying to do?'

Shikamaru shook his head in exasperation. It was getting dark; soon, there wouldn't be any light left.

'I better set up camp quick … and that Sasuke better hurry up. I can't see that well in the dark.'

Immediately, Shikamaru started unpacking their sleeping bags. He placed them all to one side before putting up their four-man tent. He placed the sleeping bags inside the tent and then chucked all their bags and equipment to the far corner of the tent. Outside, he heard a pile of logs being dumped on the ground and soon, the smell of burnt wood and smoked came drifting into the tent.

'Uggh, why the hell did I set up this tent downwind? There's too much on my mind. I can't even concentrate on this stupid task. W-wait a minute, I didn't set it up downwind. What the hell is that Uchiha kid doing?'

Quick as a flash, Shikamaru stepped out of the tent. There was no sign of the Uchiha. Instead, there was someone else crouching by the fire. The person had long, straight, light blue hair that that just reached the ground. He couldn't see what the person was wearing for their hair was obscuring this information. But from the silhouette formed of their body due to the light coming from the fire, the Nara boy could tell that the person was a she. Noticing his presence, the girl stood up slowly before turning to face him.

"Hello there. Captain Nara."

Shikamaru flinched unintentionally from her cold and calculating voice. She was not a girl as he had guessed earlier, but a young woman roughly his age. She had a lovely, curvaceous figure and her costume was not doing anything to hide this. She wore a tight, black, full sleeved leotard that had a deep neckline. Over this, she wore a tight, semi-transparent, short sleeved, white collared shirt that reached her hips. A red bowtie adorned her neck. On top of this, she had a black, velvety vest that reached just under her chest. This was kept shut by single golden button. Her legs were covered by a pale, translucent pair of stockings and on her feet were a pair of black ballerina shoes with ribbons, criss-crossing around her shins and calves. It stopped just above her knees. Although unnerved at the beginning, he managed to respond smoothly due to his good shinobi training.

"Hello to you too. It seems as if you know my name already, may I have the pleasure of knowing yours too?"

The woman laughed but it was a laugh that was cold and harsh.

"That information is not relevant but because you're such a gentleman, I think I'll give it to you anyway. But after, I give you my message."

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow, "Well then, what is the message?"

"Patience boy, patience," the woman teased, "but very well, the message is this. The Hyuga boy and the rest of you are to meet La Rose at the Valley of the Thorns by tomorrow afternoon. We have been tracking you down for some time now and we could have easily killed you all in your sleep … but that wouldn't have been fun, ne? The Akatsuki will bring three other members and La Rose and we are to fight to the death. We'll be looking forwards to see you there."

"What do you gain by doing this?" Shikamaru asked suspiciously.

"That … you don't need to know. But if it makes any difference … Konoha will certainly gain something from this."

"What do you mean by that?"

The woman smirked, "You'll just have to wait and see won't you? "I'll see you later pretty boy," the girl winked before preparing to set off.

"W-wait a minute!"

The woman paused before turning to look at him.

"You forgot to tell me your name."

The woman blinked once and a faint smile graced her lips.

"Leiko," she paused, "But you'd probably know me as Illusion.

And with that, she set off, disappearing into the night.

Sealed Secrets – Chap 8

When Sasuke came back, Shikamaru was standing still in front of a blazing fire, a thoughtful look painted on his face.

"If you were just going to start a fire anyway, what was the point of sending me away to get some wood? You've got enough wood there to last us the night."

Shikamaru slowly turned his head to look at Sasuke.

"I didn't do this."

Sasuke blinked.

"I'll tell you later when everyone's back together."

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly but he was curious nonetheless.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Neji came back with his robe, full of vegetables and berries. He nodded to the other two before laying down what he had gathered on the ground. Before he could stand up, Naruto came bounding in with a large boar on his shoulder.

"Hey guys! Sorry I took so long. It was really hard to catch rabbits and when I did, I couldn't kill it. Instead, I grabbed us a wild boar instead. Is that alright with you guys?"

The geniuses shrugged. Naruto then proceeded to gut and clean the boar. Sasuke grabbed a long branch from a tree and then snapped it. He then pulled off the bark before smoothing it all down, just like those metal rods used for barbequing at home. They were all silent. Something they've been doing for past few nights. Even Naruto was being noiseless, strange for someone who is normally so loud and boisterous. Shikamaru glanced at the three shinobis around him. When he got to Neji, their eyes met. Neji's face was impassive, like usual, but there was something about the way his eyes pierced through his thoughts like a skewer through a piece meat. The second time today, he flinched, unintentionally of course. Neji remained silent but Shikamaru knew what he wanted. He broke away from his stare and began to cough in order to grab everyone's attention. Everyone stopped what they were doing and then looked at their captain.

"I …" Shikamaru began, "I was given a tip off as to the whereabouts of La Rose."

Sasuke's ears pricked and he gazed back calmly, an eyebrow raised. Naruto seemed as if he was going to burst in excitement. But Neji … Neji had that intense look which he now used to drill imaginary holes through the Nara boy's skull. The Nara boy let this information sink in for a little longer before continuing.

"We are to meet La Rose in the Valley of the Thorns where we are to face her and three of her companions in a fight to the death."

Neji's lips formed a thin line. His knuckles turned white.

'I can't lose Tenten. No. Never again,' Neji thought.

Shikamaru glanced at the Hyuga.

'He seems to be really keen on settling this score with La Rose. I guess his pride had been pretty badly bruised. But for him to completely miss the presence of other people … the fact that we could've died without knowing anyone was around … I find this really strange. Somehow … I feel as if there's something he knows that he's not telling us. Something gnawing at him, something …' his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the blonde brat.

"Hey w-wait a minute! H-how did you know about this? Who told you? I didn't see anyone around!"

Sasuke then decided to join in, "What about the thing you said earlier? Who was it that set up the fire?"

"W-wait … you mean, it wasn't you teme?"

"Don't you think that he had implied that already?" Neji snapped.

"Guys, cool it would you? We can't lose our heads right now; we've got an upcoming battle that we cannot lose. I'll answer your questions and anything else you want to know one by one. Got it?"

The three shinobis nodded their head slowly.

"Alright. First question. Who told me? Well, it was Illusion."

Naruto blinked. He then spoke slowly, "Y-you mean … Illusion as in Illusion, the person who almost killed Kakashi sensei in the Mist Country …um … about a year ago?"

Shikamaru nodded.

"W-wait. So let me get this straight," he paused, "she just told you to meet La Rose and three other people in the Land of the Thorns … personally? She didn't even try to kill you?"

"Hai."

"So was it her that set up the fire instead of teme?"

"Yes."

"So, how did she know where we were?" Sasuke asked this time, "We should have been able to sense her presence if she was close enough to track us."

"That, I don't know. All she said is that she and some of her companions have been tracking us. She also said that it would've been possible for her to kill us in our sleep … but it wouldn't be as fun."

"That's still no explanation as to why we couldn't sense her. Why the hell wouldn't she want to kill us when we were asleep? Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that I'm still alive but … it just seems to me that, there is no reason for them to "not kill us" while we were asleep. The Akatsuki have never been known to play fair. They must have a bigger motive or something. They're probably setting a trap for us at the valley," said Sasuke.

Shikamaru nodded at his logic, "I know what you mean. I asked her what they would gain in this … but she wouldn't say. All she said was that Konoha will surely have something to gain."

"And what would that be?" Neji spoke in monotone.

"She wouldn't say either," Shikamaru answered, "Isn't there anything that Tsunade-sama has told you about the mission that we should know?"

Neji gave him a deadpanned look.

"I've told you what you need to know."

Shikamaru hesitated but he nodded anyway.

'But only what I believe you NEED to know.'

"So … what do we do now?" Naruto asks, scratching his head.

"We'll figure something out. Right now, we just need to finish preparing our dinner. We'll talk later."

They all nodded in agreement then continued working like before.

Neji started chopping vegetables but all he could think about was his meeting with Tenten. Their second meeting in five years.

'Will I pull it off? For Tenten's and my sake … I hope I do.'

Sealed Secrets - Chap 9

Flashback with Tenten

Akako came back to the Akatsuki base, the parts of her broken mask in her hand. She walked with an air of calmness and mild authority. She gave an almost invisible nod to a new, wandering Akatsuki recruit as he walked past her before heading off to her room. Just as her hand reached the cool door handle, she felt the presence of someone else. She turned her head as the person stopped a metre away from her face.

"I see you're back. How was it?"

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with Hiro-san."

He frowned at her formality, Ever since they had been both accepted as true Akatsuki members she had grown colder and colder ever since, never wanting affection or any kind of closeness at all. Except with little Keiko of course.

Tenten turned her back towards Hirohito and pushed her door open but he stopped her by grabbing onto her arm. She clenched her hands, fighting the urge to smack her partner square in the face, kick him in the balls and then rip him into shreds.

In her iciest voice she spoke, "What. Do. You. Want?"

Hiro was used to all of it by now, the glare, the voice and the attitude to match … but it didn't make him immune. Tenten felt him flinch but his grip was unwavering.

"Can't we just – talk?"

"What is there to talk about?"

Hiro hesitated for some time, his unoccupied hand combing through his soft, midnight blue locks. His shoulder length hair was currently down from its usual ponytail, causing the shorter strands of his layered hair to fly out a bit on the side. He had an uneven fringe that was longer in the middle of his forehead before being jaggedly chopped on both sides in a manner that gave him a rough and rugged look. If it was any other day and if the situation was different, Tenten would've smiled at the contradictory image he produced. The wisps of hair flying about made him cute but the fringe gave him a badass image. God he was sexy. Yes. Tenten had to admit, but her heart had already been taken by someone else. Besides, she had resisted him this long and there was no way she was going to back down now.

Tenten patiently stared at him, boring holes through his head. Finally he spoke.

"You."

"What about me?" Tenten replied suspiciously.

Hiro avoided her eyes before replying.

"There are … rumours."

"What rumours?" she whispered venomously.

"That. That the … "

"What?"

"That the guy you were assigned to kill was your ex-boyfriend. That's why you couldn't kill him."

Tenten's body froze. All her thoughts had evaporated and for once in her whole life of being an Akatsuki member … she had no retort whatsoever.

Hirohito regarded her with a look of sadness and then one of understanding.

Silence.

Hiro let go of her numb arm. He didn't smile at her, nor, did he frown. He gave her an impassive look before asking.

"Why did you join the Akatsuki?"

Tenten was caught unaware at the question. No one ever DARED to ask that question. It was considered a taboo, an immoral subject – even for those without morals at all. There was not a law per se about this question being illegal or banned if uttered – there was just this unspoken agreement between them all. Of course, everyone has a cover story of some sort. There was no need to actually utter this question for most people already have spoken of their reasons. It didn't matter too much WHY they were there (most of the time, what they said were false or only a small part of a bigger plan). All that mattered was that they did what the Akatsuki wanted and that whatever their personal objectives were, they must never interfere with the Akatsuki plans.

"Why? Why do you want to know?" Tenten replied, recovering quite well from her earlier shock.

"I just …I just want to get you know better … okay? Is that so hard to believe? It's been, oh I don't know, almost five years since I fell in love with you …shit," he covered his mouth on his last remark.

Tenten looked at him calmly.

"In less than a minute you've already broken two unspoken taboos. What next?" Tenten answered in a sarcastic manner, trying to steer the subject away from her.

"Don't try avoiding the question. Okay, I slipped. So what? It HAS happened before. For God's sake, we're both in the Akatsuki, a wanted criminal organisation. We've both killed people, done illegal things. Why can't you like me? That has to be the least illegal thing you could possibly do!" he finished, almost shouting.

Tenten stared at him. Hard.

"I know that already. I've also known that you liked me. God, can you make it even more obvious? If you just want me to like you …well, you've accomplished that already. I like you … as a comrade, as a friend. But … if you're talking about loving you …then that's just not possible."

"Why? Are the rumours true? Was the guy you were supposed to kill your ex-lover?"

Tenten stiffened.

More silence.

Then Hiro spoke softly, "So it IS true."

Tenten clenched her fists even tighter, her nails creating crescent dents on her gloves. She closed her eyes, reminiscing Neji's face, his lips, his jaw and his ivory eyes with that small hint of lavender. She remembered the times when they used to spar and how she always lost to him. How he used to scorn her mistakes until Naruto showed him the true meaning of life, of having friends, of caring. How he slowly warmed up to the team, to her. Oh how she missed him. Slowly, Tenten shook her head at Hiro and then looked up at him.

"No," she replied, "we were comrades, friends … nothing more."

"But you loved him didn't you?"

She didn't speak but her eyes betrayed her.

Hiro looked at her kindly, and then smiled a genuine smile.

"I think it's funny," he began, making Tenten look him in the eye, "it's funny that … you end up loving someone who doesn't reciprocate your feelings. Isn't that funny?

He gave a chuckle.

Tenten just kept staring at him.

"I remember … back when I wasn't in the Akatsuki yet, I remember how I hated all those girls who used to chase me around, wanting to be my girlfriend. How I wished every girl would just leave me alone, to let me live my life without their incessant whining and proclamations of undying love. But now, now that I wanted someone. Wanted that someone to love me back the way I love them …I just find it funny."

"So, are you trying to tell me that … you're becoming like one of those fan girls?" Tenten smirked.

Hiro smiled.

"I think that's the closest thing to a smile that I've ever received from you. What I'd do to be Keiko. Just what does Keiko have that I don't? Er … except for boobs and the other part of course."

Tenten couldn't help it. She smiled.

"You know, for such a … serious guy, you can be quite funny."

"Unfortunately, I have an image to protect. I can't just go laughing around if I want those people to listen to me. Take Tobi for instance."

They laughed. Tenten looked up at Hiro and cocked her head to one side, still giggling slightly.

"You're prettier when you smile. You should do it more often."

Tenten rolled her eyes, trying to hide her blush then retorted a quick comeback.

"Unfortunately, I also have an image to protect."

He shook his head at her sudden playfulness. They were quiet again for some time.

"You know, if this was a different situation. If I had never met …you know who … I might actually love you back," Tenten whispered shortly after.

"Is that so?"

"Maybe. I don't know, I mean, how would I kn-"

But before she could finish what she was saying, Hiro's lips had already descended upon hers.

Sealed Secrets - Chap 10

The 4 male shinobis were once again on the move with Shikamaru in the lead. They were on their way to their designated meeting place in the Land of the Thorns and they were moving at an incredible speed. Neji's Byakugan was activated and he was scanning for intruders like he ought to be but he was jittery at the thought of his encounter earlier with …

Flashback

"Okay. Here's the plan," Shikamaru began, "We'll try to get there as soon as we can so we can scout the area for possible advantages. We have to make sure that they DO NOT see us. After that, we'll take a break so that we can make sure that we're ready for the upcoming battle."

"But what if they see us? Do we have a back up plan?" asked Sasuke.

"At the moment … no."

"BUT WE'RE FACING LA ROSE AND ILLUSION! THAT MEANS WE'RE MOST LIKELY FACING OTHERS WHO ARE AT LEAST JUST AS STRONG AS THEM! WE CAN'T END UP LIKE KAKASHI-SENSEI! WE NEED A PLAN!"

Neji lifted an eyebrow, "Who the hell are you and what did you do to Naruto? The Naruto I knew would just charge at any opportunity to fight without thinking of the consequences – and most certainly without any plans whatsoever."

"Er … I … I …I had a conversation with Hinata-chan before we split up for this mission a-and she t-told me to q-quit acting b-brashly or e-else I might get m-myself k-killed."

Neji stared at him with his Byakugan activated.

"'tcomebackalive."

The 3 prodigies smirked.

Neji shook his head.

'If only life could go on like this. All of us just laughing …no fear, no pain – heck, I might even give up my Byakugan just so this moment could last forever.'

Suddenly, there was a loud BOOM and a bright blue flash blinded everyone. Neji suffered the most due to his activated Byakugan which heightened his eyesight immensely. Neji tensed. His eyes were now closed and his stance was purely defensive. His ears were strained, his whole body, sensitive to any movement. Nothing. He opened his eyes slowly. The dust clouds produced by the explosion was starting to thin out. Three silhouettes could be seen like dark seashells lying, unmoving on the sandy beach. Neji was about to call out when he felt a jab in his blind spot making him paralysed for a brief moment, but that moment was enough for the person who jabbed him to secure his wrists and mouth, making sure that he couldn't move. Neji struggled, wriggling like crazy. Then he stopped when he heard a voice whispering to him.

"I'll see you at the coming of dawn inside the walls of (1) La Lecho de Rosas."

He lost consciousness straight after.

End of flashback

After a few hours of steady running, they stopped to take a well needed rest. Naruto stretched and then pulled out his drink from his bag. Sasuke did likewise. The other two kept watch just in case they see anything amiss.

"So …" the blonde began, "how exactly do we get to the Land of the Thorns? Isn't it supposedly … hard to find? I mean … all everyone knows is that La Lecho de Rosas is situated somewhere in Rose Country … isn't that a pretty big place to look for them? And besides … isn't it supposed to be …"

"… a fictional land created for the pure entertainment of young adults based on their romantic feelings, aspirations yadda, yadda, yadda." Sasuke said.

"W-well, yeah."

Neji looked away from his friends, his hands clenching his robes.

'God Tenten, why the hell are you doing this? Do you want to be found or not?'

Silence.

No one dared to speak as a dark aura surrounded the whole of Neji's body.

Naruto placed a hand on Neji's shoulder.

"Come on man. Your pride can't be that badly hurt, I mean, she is a pretty tough opponent and I'm sure the other Hyugas would have lost to her too if they fought against her. Besides, we're not giving up yet! You guys told me that she wants to be found so this place HAS to be real."

Neji remained silent but the dark aura that was there before, slowly began to disappear.

"That's the spirit! DATT…"

"Shut up Naruto," Shikamaru interrupted suddenly.

"Wh-what?"

Shikamaru covered the blonde's face with his palm as an array of words began to form in his lips. Softly, he uttered some nonsensical phrases.

(2)"Blind the man whose worth is less

Than all the flowers that I possess

Only the worthy shall come and see

Of all the beauty that is me."

"A poet now, aren't we," Sasuke said.

"I'm not finished.

Follow the tears of heaven's pain

Then go beneath the infinite rain

Through the darkness you'll find light

And then you'll know your path is right.

Hush, be still, the dragon sleeps

Beware of its babe, for around it creeps

Prove thy worth, for me you dance

Defy thy fate and take the chance.

A drop of blood to replenish the earth

To welcome the day of my rebirth

The doors shall open unto thee

When proof of courage is laid before me.

"Huh? What's with the poem Shikamaru?"

"You dobe, it's a clue isn't it?"

"Exactly."

Neji stared at the growing smirk appearing in Shikamaru's face. It was so unusual … it unnerved him.

"Mind telling us where you got this from?" Neji asked.

The smirk dropped faster than the time it takes for Naruto to eat ramen.

"Did you have to ruin the mood?" he drawled.

Neji shrugged.

"It's Ino isn't it?" said the Uchiha.

Shikamaru nodded.

"I remember her reciting that poem when we were kids. She would always rant on about how "romantic" it was and how it sounded so much like clues for a prince in order to rescue the princess trapped in La Lecho de Rosas. I never thought much of it then. I never thought it would come in handy."

"That's awesome! Now we actually have something to work on!"

"Don't celebrate just yet. This is far from over," the Uchiha replied.

'But Naruto's right. At least now, we have something to work on. Don't worry Tenten. I know you hate being a damsel in distress …but there's no way I'll let you stay there any longer. I'm coming for you.'

Sealed Secrets - Chap 11

"So … we're in Rose Country now … where to next?" asked the blonde, "How does the poem start again Shikamaru?"

The lazy genius shook his head.

"I don't think the first part actually gives us a clue on how to get there or where La Lecho de Rosas is. I gave it some thought last night and I realised that the first stanza was more of a … statement, I suppose."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Sasuke took over this time, "Remember it said 'Blind the man whose worth is less, Than all the flowers that I possess, Only the worthy shall come and see, Of all the beauty that is me'? I'm guessing, in lay man's terms, it means something along the lines of … the people who are worth less than all the flowers there won't be able to see La Lecho de Rosas. Only those who are worthy will be able to see the place itself."

Neji nodded in agreement before speaking as well.

"If we want directions, I think we need to focus on the next verse."

"Um … okay then … but how do you know this?"

Neji rolled his eyes.

"It's called analysing or in-depth investigations of poetic notions," said Sasuke.

"B-but … I get that you guys figured it out … but how? I mean, you must have had help of some sort."

"S.O.U.P." answered Neji in monotone.

The other two geniuses nodded seriously at the word.

"Soup? What kind of soup? If I drink some, can it make me smart too?" asked the blonde eagerly.

"Not that kind of soup," replied Sasuke.

Neji nodded, "We meant the S.O.U.P. classes back in Konoha. It stands for Strategies On Understanding Prose."

The blonde blinked.

"Tsunade-sama made it compulsory for everyone in the top 5 percentile of our year group combined with your year group. Lee never made it but Tenten almost …" Neji froze before finishing his sentence.

He clenched his hands, his face, back to its normal impassive look. In the last 5 years since Tenten was considered a missing-nin, not once had he mentioned her name out loud.

The others looked away. They knew that inside, Neji was still hurting and they don't want to cause anymore damage by empathising with him – that would only bruise his ego - so they all stood there in silence.

Naruto was the first one to break the silence.

"Erm … okay then. So, moving on, what were you going to say about the second verse Neji?"

Sasuke was glaring at Naruto but to the surprise of everyone, Neji managed to reply in a calm manner, as if there was nothing for him to be even upset about.

"I think the next verse actually explains how to get there. On the first line it says, 'Follow the tears of heaven's pain'. There's a command in there. Follow. What we now need to figure out is …"

" … what the 'tears of heaven's pain' refers to," finished Sasuke.

The 4 of them were silent once again.

'Tears, tears … what the hell does this mean. And what about heaven? Heaven's pain? Heaven isn't supposed to be in pain. It's a land of peace and prosperity. No hunger, no pain …pain … pain … le pain is bread in French, well, Hinata-chan said so any way, … does that have anything to do with this?'

'Tears,' thought Shikamaru, 'Tears are liquid, fluid like water. Tears could be referring to a body of water or it could be referring to a tear like shape. W-wait, what about an actual tear, like a rip. Follow the rip of heaven's pain? Rip and pain goes together I suppose but … I still think it refers to a body of water. Uggh, what a drag.'

'Heaven. Heave and n? Heave – to haul or to tug, maybe n is the shorter version for and … like a colloquialism of a sort. So, follow the tears of tugging pain? Nah. Doesn't sound right.'

'God, Tenten. What the hell is it with you? You of all people should know that I hated the S.O.U.P. classes. I almost failed the entrance exam because I had no idea who the hell Confucius was. Damn you. Sometimes, you drive me nuts. You're like the devil of my world. But then, sometimes …you're like heaven itself … heaven. Heaven. Tenten. Tenten. Heaven. Tenten means heaven. But there's no place called Tenten anywhere. Or is there?"

Neji was the first to snap out of his trance. Quickly, he grabbed his pack and pulled it open. He pulled out a large map and a small bottle of dye and then activated his Byakugan, pouring over the miniscule names of places. The others looked at him oddly at first but then realised that he may be on to something. They waited in silence as to not interrupt the serious Hyuga.

Neji went through the map systematically. He scanned across the map at an amazing speed while marking certain names with the dye he had taken out. It took just less than 5 minutes but to him, it felt like an eternity. He deactivated his Byakugan.

Shikamaru was the first to speak.

"So … I'm guessing you had a lead of some sort?"

"I have some names," the Hyuga said.

Slowly, as to make sure that the dye doesn't run and ruin the whole map, Neji placed it flat on the ground, right in between all of them.

"I've scanned through the map and there are 2 places that stood out for me, the Tian Tian Rivulet and the Tian Tian's River."

It took Shikamaru and Sasuke a while before they realised just what Neji was on about. It took Naruto even longer.

"Tian Tian … means heaven. But how do we pick which one to go to?" asked Sasuke.

"That's what I'm not sure about but we should be able to work this out. Look here in the map. If we follow the rivulet, we can see that it's only about 100 metres long. There's a shop at the end there called …"

"HEAVEN'S BREADSHOP! Just like Hinata-chan said. Le pain means bread in French so it must be there!"

"Just wait a minute Naruto. That's only the first one. If we look at the river, we can see that it goes on for quite some time, roughly 4-5 kilometres in length. But what's interesting with this one is that, along the way, there are tears right by the river itself. And if memory serves me right, I believe these tears are from … "

" … the Heavenly Wars," finished Shikamaru.

"Huh? What Heavenly Wars?"

Shikamaru drawled, "Do any of you want to explain or do you want me to?"

"You go ahead," Neji said.

Shikamaru nodded before beginning, "Legends say that thousands or even millions of years ago, the gods lived in peace and harmony amongst each other and the human race. Even the gods of death, war and discord lived amongst the others in a civil manner. Earth was the homeland for all and neither hell nor heaven existed. But that was until a minor goddess, the Goddess of Flight, eloped with a human, a handsome gardener who has the very image of a god, but without the status. After the child was born, the man left that area to live somewhere else. He named his daughter Sky. For years, the gardener and the goddess made no effort to contact each other, knowing fully well that if the taboo they had broken was to be discovered, it would be instant death for both of them. Of course, gods were allowed to have human slaves and they could do anything they want with them, but that wasn't the type of relationship the Goddess of Flight sought for. And so, although they lived separately, they were in peace. Unfortunately, the child's beauty was soon discovered and it wasn't long before word got across about a beautiful maiden who was of age to be married. She had many suitors but her father thought them all unsuitable. It was easy to say no to them for they were only human. But this was not for long. The crisis began on her 18th winter when the arrogant God of Beasts set his eyes on her while passing through the little village in which she lived in. He disguised himself as a human and tried to court her. It was true that he was handsome but Tian Tian saw through his act and told him that her answer is no. For weeks he tried but to no avail. He then revealed who he truly was but her opinion of him did not change and her answer was still no. By then, the other gods realised that something had to be wrong for the God of Beasts to have not returned by now. They then sent Ryoku, the Dragonskeeper, – or the unofficial messenger if you prefer – to go after him. Ryoku was once the God of Dragons, but he was demoted after being accused of a crime he did not commit."

"But hey! What's this got to do with anything? I don't really want a history lesson you know!" Naruto interrupted.

"Shut up dobe and listen. You're the one who wants to know what the Heavenly Wars were."

"B-but …"

"I'm about to lose my patience here Uzumaki so shut up before I make you do something you will regret," Shikamaru said in a menacing tone.

"…"

"So, as I was saying, it took Ryoku a week to find out where the God of Beasts had stayed. It took him another week to actually find him. By then, other minor gods were also seeking Sky's hand for marriage. He knew nothing about Sky then, nor did he know anything about the other gods wanting to marry her. All he knew was that he needed to take back the parcel the God of Beasts had. When he arrived at the village, he asked around for the God of Beasts. He was pointed to the direction of a little hut on the edge of the forest. When he arrived, he knocked at the door, but was surprised when the door swung open. He stepped inside and realised that it was too quiet. He adjusted his dragon-like senses and realised that he could smell blood. Swiftly, he crossed the room and came upon the dead body of a man of maybe 40 years."

"W-was it the gardener?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide like a child's.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"So where's Sky?"

"Oh so now you're interested?" Sasuke smirked.

"W-w … b-b … I-i…"

"Save it Naruto. It's getting late; we should probably start collecting wood and food. Shikamaru can continue after we've had dinner."

"Aww, teme, that's not fair! Just when it was about to get to the good part you tell him to stop!"

"The sooner you stop whining, the sooner Shikamaru can tell the story so you better go now before it's too late."

"Fine."

"Alright then, we'll meet again here in an hour. No more than an hour got it?" ordered the Nara boy.

"Hai."

Sealed Secrets - Chap 12

Naruto stretched his body, bending this way and that before finally settling down again. He stared at the Nara boy eagerly, impatient to know what was to happen next, but the Nara boy doesn't seem to be interested in continuing his tale anytime soon. Naruto gave an impatient cough but it didn't really make much of a difference. He frowned before coughing again. Nothing. This time, Naruto couldn't take it any more.

"OH, COME ON! CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME THE REST OF THE STORY NOW? PLEASE!"

Shikamaru stretched and yawned, "Geez, all you had to do was ask. Troublesome."

The Uchiha and the Hyuga wore matching smirks.

"Alright, now where was I?"

"Oooh! You just got to the part where Ryoku found the dead gardener."

"Hmm. I see. Well, Ryoku checked to see if there was still a chance of the man being alive. As he grabbed the man's arm to check for a pulse, the man's eyes popped open. He gasped for some air, spoke 4 words then died."

"What did he say?"

"Bastard's got my daughter," Neji replied.

Shikamaru nodded, "Ryoku then realised that the bastard that the man was referring to could only be the God of Beasts. He was known amongst gods to be a womaniser and an alcoholic and Ryoku was soon fearful for the man's daughter. He quickly heightened his senses, concentrating on his sense of hearing the most. He heard a muffled scream from somewhere, deep in the forest. Immediately, he ran towards where he heard the scream. In a wide clearing, by some blackberry bushes, he saw …"

"WHAT! Oh come on don't stop now!" Naruto whined.

"Look, I'm just warning you. This part is a bit disturbing and it may contain things unsuitable for your ears."

"Don't give me that crap. I'm almost 20 years old for goodness sake and I've had Jiraya as my sensei for ages. I'm sure I can handle whatever it is."

"Oh I'm sure you'll be fine, what I'm trying to say though is that I don't think it's appropriate for someone who lacks – maturity to listen to this kind of thing."

Naruto glared at the pineapple head, "Just. Say. It. Nara."

"Very well. What Ryoku saw was a young girl of about 18 years, lying on the muddy floor, her blouse wide open for the world to see, her shoes gone along with her skirt. The God of Beasts had her arms pinned above her head while his mouth and remaining hand were busying themselves with her chest. She had been gagged by some sort of fabric, preventing her from screaming out loud. Ryoku froze, unsure of what he should do. He soon noticed that the god was working his way down and his teeth were soon pulling at the corner of her underwear. But before he could pull them off, Ryoku charged. He pushed the god of the girl and they wrestled on the muddy floor. The girl immediately stood up, covering herself up with what she's got left. Ryoku aimed for a punch on the god's jaw. It connected. Unfortunately, it didn't do much damage. Soon, the god threw the Dragonskeeper against a tree. Ryoku lay on the ground breathing heavily. The god then prepared his finishing blow – he shape shifted. First, his body became hairier and hairier until he was covered in thick, matted fur. Next, His body shape changed creating bigger upper muscles and a strong torso. His feet then began to change into hooves while his hands began to look like paws with retractable claws. Soon, he was bent, like a four legged mammal. When he finally raised his head, his face had elongated, creating a horse-like shape. His eyes narrowed into slits and from his bottom lip, sharp fangs protruded. Two long horns grew out from the top of his head, curving towards the front. He roared. It was a cry that was neither human nor beast-like. His eyes searched for Ryoku and when he found his target, he charged. Ryoku was still slightly dazed. By the time he opened his eyes, the beast was upon him. He did the one thing he could do to save himself – he unfurled his wings and covered his whole body. The beast rammed its head into his steel-like wings causing his horns to shatter into small fragments. While the god was distracted as he howled in pain, Sky took this chance to bring down a rock on his head. The god's body convulsed before it stopped, unmoving. Ryoku had his wings open by now and he witnessed what had just occurred. Murder."

"That's not fair! He was going to rape her; she had every right to kill him!"

"Calm down Naruto, I'm not finished yet. Anyway, Ryoku realised that he had to do something. He couldn't just leave the girl. She was too beautiful and would attract unwanted attention. On the other hand, he had to tell the other gods what had just happened or else something worse could happen. Since he couldn't decide just yet, he decided to bury the God of Beast's body first. It didn't take him long since he was a god. When he was finished, he finally looked at the girl. She had a fierce look in her eyes but her body language told him otherwise. Vulnerable. That was the first thing that popped into his head when he saw her."

"So what now?"

"I'm getting there so zip it. Troublesome. Anyway, to cut to the chase since this has become a lot more troublesome than I thought, the Dragonskeeper decided to take the girl with him and the parcel back to where the gods lived. He explained what had happened and all was well. Yeah right. The girl was accused of murder and Ryoku as the accomplice but the girl's mother, whom she finally met, came to their defence. The Goddess of Flight had many friends and for a while, it seemed as if they would win. Unfortunately, word of the God of Beast's death came around and his friends soon challenged the side of Sky and Ryoku making the gods and goddesses split into two sides. To make things worse, Sky fell in love and you could probably guess who she fell in love with since this is such a clichéd story."

"Err … someone from the enemy?"

The 3 geniuses stared at him.

"What? That's clichéd too isn't it? The heroine falls in love with the enemy."

"Ugh. It's Ryoku. It's Ryoku the Dragonskeeper that she fell in love with. And like all clichéd legends, he fell in love with her too. Unfortunately, just after their confession, they were pronounced guilty and their love wasn't allowed to bloom. But, Sky's mother wouldn't let her only child, the only remainder of the love between her and the gardener, go away and die. She challenged the other side to full out war and battle began. This was then the beginning of the Heavenly Wars. For a century it lasted, killing many civilians and gods alike. Just 15 years after the war started, Sky was killed, stabbed through the heart while protecting her children. Ryoku came just in time to save his children but he was too late to save Sky. A decade later, Ryoku was killed as well. The war ended with no actual outcome. The two sides just became more separated and although they no longer fought, the hatred was still there."

"What? I don't see what the link is?"

"I'm not finished. Just. Shut. Up." Shikamaru sighed in annoyance, "Going back about nine decades before the war ended, Ryoku and Sky entered holy matrimony. A year later, Sky gave birth to a son. Two years later, a girl. A year later, they had a boy again. And 3 years later, they had twins. A boy and a girl. By the end of that decade, they had five children. Three boys and two girls. Unfortunately, the eldest child, a boy, died in the hands of the enemy, only 10 years of age. Five years later, their second and third born were kidnapped and hung for the whole world to see. Now, they only had 2 children left – the twins, Ryuu and Rosa. I won't bother with what they look like because that would be too troublesome but I'll tell you that they both had different talents. Ryuu, was a lot like his father and grandmother. He had an affinity for flight and was great with creatures such as dragons. Rosa on the other hand was a lot like her grandfather and enjoyed plants, especially roses. Now, how this links up with our mission? Well, it was rumoured that La Lecho de Rosas was guarded – no – is guarded by none other than the twins for within the wall of La Lecho de Rosas lies the bodies of their mother and father."

"Sky and Ryoku?"

"Yes. Sky and Ryoku. It was their father's last wish to preserve his and their mother's body – together.

Sealed Secrets – Chap 13

"So," the Uchiha began, "have we decided which course to take?"

"I believe the vote was … unanimous," answered the Hyuga.

"We've all come to an agreement that the term "tears of heaven's pain" referred to the tears created from the heavenly wars, parts of it which are filled with water from either the tears coming from heaven itself, otherwise known as rain, or from the Tian Tian River. I believe we should be on our way to see whether the path we have taken … is the right path to take," said Shikamaru.

"You got that right! Come on let's go!"

They travelled for about half an hour when they reached the end of the Tian Tian River.

"Um … so what now? What are we supposed to do? Oh, hey Shikamaru, what's the next line in that poem again?"

"Follow the tears of heaven's pain

Then go beneath the infinite rain."

"Infinite rain? Wouldn't that be a waterfall?" asked the blonde.

"I would think so too but … there aren't any waterfalls around," replied Shikamaru.

"Does it have to be just a waterfall? Could it also be some other body of water?" Sasuke queried.

"No and yes … but if we're headed in that direction – in terms of thought – it could also be possible that the term "infinite rain" has nothing to do with water," answered the Hyuga.

"What the do you mean?" the blonde asked.

"What I mean is that the term could be saying "infinite reign, rather than rain"."

"Huh?"

"Reign, as in the period of time in which someone is dominant or powerful. Infinite reign could mean …"

"… the reign of Kami-sama," Shikamaru finished. "That makes sense. We are standing in the place where the main battles during the Heavenly Wars were once held … I'm not surprised if there is a statue of some sort around here depicting the very image of Kami-sama."

"Exactly. Have we actually read the actual poem? Hasn't it always been passed down orally? This could mean that it's just a misinterpretation of some sort," said Neji.

"That's true … but then … there would be grammatical problems in that sentence," replied Sasuke.

"This is too troublesome."

As the Nara boy sighed, he leaned against a protruding brick piece on the wall. It pushed in, surprising the ANBU Captain. About 5 metres away from where they were standing, an underground trapdoor opened showing a set of stairs going down into the dark. Shikamaru looked up at the exact spot where the trapdoor was and smiled faintly.

"The Iron Maiden," he whispered faintly.

The others looked at him.

"Shikamaru looked at them, "The Iron Maiden – otherwise known as the rainmaker (1). Go beneath the infinite rain means to go beneath "the infinite rain". What else could that be than the source of rain itself? Right there, we have the Iron Maiden, the goddess of rain and underneath lays a trapdoor. This is it. This is what we are looking for."

"How the HELL were we supposed to figure that out? And how the HELL did that trapdoor open?" yelled an absolutely confused Naruto.

"Your first question … I don't know. But the second …," Shikamaru stepped aside from the wall where he was leaning against. "Here's your answer to that."

Shikamaru pointed to the brick that was now pushed into the wall. It was just an ordinary brick but upon closer inspection, they could all see a vague scratch against it. No. It wasn't just a scratch. It was the kanji for rain.

Sasuke broke up the silence.

"Shall we go then?"

The rest nodded and entered single file with Sasuke in the lead. Using his Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu, also known as Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Sasuke managed to light the torches hanging on the sides of the walls. It was eerily quiet. As soon as the last person got off the set of stairs, the trapdoor shut, leaving them trapped underneath.

"Well, at least this way, no one can back out," Shikamaru drawled.

"Who said anyone was backing out? I'm not. I'm here till the end. BELIEVE IT!"

"Quit the shouting dobe."

Before Naruto could retort, someone socked him in the face.

"You piss me off one more time in this troublesome mission and I swear that you would rather have Hinata castrate you than let me do what I'm thinking off doing to you," hissed the Nara boy.

It was so surprising coming from Shikamaru. No one expected him to blow. The event had shocked them all – yes, all of them – into silence.

Walking in an uncomfortable silence, they made their way through the twists and turns with Sasuke lighting up the unlit torches as they passed. The flooring was surprisingly wet causing their sandals to create loud sounds. It also didn't help that they were in a cave like area which caused everything to have an echo.

On the sides, moss grew with random fungi sprouting everywhere. The remains of unsuspecting rats and other creatures which once lived were scattered all over the area. Overall, the walk was rather – unpleasant.

It has been sometime now, but none of them were aware of how long they've been down there, but surprisingly, the amount of oxygen there seemed to be enough that none of them were having problems breathing. Unfortunately, the torches Sasuke lit only lasted for sometime and in order to see in the dark, Sasuke was forced to continue his onslaught of fireballs. After another set of twists and turns, Sasuke finally stopped, his breath slightly hitched.

"So …" he began," What now?"

The other shinobis looked up at Sasuke and then glanced at what was behind him.

Naruto swore under his breath.

Right behind Sasuke were two tunnels, one which would lead them to La Lecho de Rosas, the other, possibly, to impending doom.

"Someone up there hates me. I know it. And I'm almost certain that this is just the beginning. Troublesome."

Sealed Secrets - Chap 14

All four shinobis stared at the two tunnels.

"Um …" Naruto squeaked, "I really don't want to annoy you Shikamaru but … what's the next line in the poem?"

"Follow the tears of heaven's pain

Then go beneath the infinite rain

Through the darkness you'll find light

And then you'll know your path is right," Shikamaru said.

"I think that the path we've just gone through refers to the 3rd line," Sasuke began, "What we need to find out is … which path is the right path."

'Through the darkness you'll find light,' Naruto thought, 'But there's light everywhere, how will we …'

And then it clicked.

"I've got it … I think?" Naruto said hesitantly, not wanting to suffer the Nara boy's wrath.

"What?" the Nara boy asked.

"The poem said that "through the darkness you'll find light" but we've got too much light here since teme lit all the torches. If we put them out, we might just see where the light is!"

"That's … true."

"We haven't got anything to lose do we," Sasuke muttered.

"Hn."

"Alright then, should we put the lights out," Naruto asked eagerly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Just wait one minute; it'll do just that on its own accord."

"Party pooper."

"Hn"

Just as Sasuke said, the torches went out. The tunnel became dark once again. The shinobis glanced towards the tunnels – and swore.

Both tunnels were emitting some sort of light. The one on the left was far brighter compared to the one on the right. The glow was bright yellow, like the sun trying to cut through the darkness. The one on the right, on the other hand, had a warmer glow. It was reddish orange, like a campfire in the middle of the night. But which one is it?

"Well, it was worth a try wasn't it?" Naruto said, trying to break the growing silence.

"Yes it was," Neji answered in monotone.

"I think I know which one to go to …" Sasuke started.

The other three looked at him.

"The right one."

Neji gave him a dry look.

"No, honestly, I think the right path is the path on the right."

"Do you have proof to back that up?" Shikamaru drawled, "It would be troublesome if we died now."

Naruto flinched at the possibility.

"I'm sure. My clan does have an affinity for fire and we know a lot about light and all that jazz."

"Care to explain yourself Uchiha?" Neji queried.

"Certainly. The light on the left tunnel is completely unnatural. It is far too bright to be just from the sun itself or from any other single light source. My guess is that there are a lot of weapons there with highly reflective surfaces, reflecting the light coming from … who knows where, which in turn are causing the unnatural brightness. As the light bounces against each of the reflective surfaces, it creates an illusion of extreme brightness which most travellers would imagine to be the sun or in other words, the way out. I could assume that there is a way out through there but, it most likely would not be used for that purpose since there are sharp pointy things that are barring the way. I can almost be certain that by going through there, we'll just end up speeding our possible deaths. Although, there is also a possibility that the cause of reflection maybe jewellery of some sort … but I wouldn't want to stick my head in there and find out. That's because, the one on the right shows a light coming from an open fire and the fact that it hasn't gone out shows that there is oxygen this way. We also know that there's more to the poem so this can't just be the end of it all. There has to be more things to go through. And frankly, given the choices of a natural and an unnatural light, I would go for the natural."

"Er … that's really complicated," Naruto muttered, scratching his head in puzzlement.

"I see your point."

"Hn."

"So, what do you think?"

"If you go ahead Uchiha, we'll follow five metres behind you."

Sasuke smirked, "Why? Are you chickening out Hyuga?"

"Don't be stupid. You understand light the best and besides, I'd rather lose your head than mine."

Sasuke glared.

"Enough fighting children," Shikamaru muttered, "Go on ahead Sasuke. It is your choice."

The Uchiha shrugged and then entered the tunnel. There was a turn ahead and soon, Sasuke's back could not be seen. Neji decided to follow suite. Naruto and the Nara boy followed soon after.

The light was warm and enticing and there was enough of it for people like Naruto and Shikamaru, who possess no kind of special eyesight, to see where they are walking without tripping. The walk wasn't far. Soon, the three met up with Sasuke at the end of the tunnel where a fire was burning brightly.

"Why did you stop teme?"

Sasuke shut him up with a look and gestured towards the far right. The blonde boy looked to where the Uchiha was pointing to. He knitted his eyebrows in confusion and was about to speak when he heard a rumbling.

There was a crash and bits of rubble and grit flew to the sides. Dust had marred their vision but it was soon cleared up.

Naruto's lips formed an O as he realised what had just occurred.

"Stalactites," whispered Shikamaru.

"And stalagmites," added Neji quietly after looking down on the cavern floor.

"Hush, be still, the dragon sleeps," whispered Sasuke, "The stalactites and stalagmites look a lot like dragon teeth. One wrong move and one of those things could fall and skewer through us or we could impale ourselves on the stalagmites on the floor."

"Take it from me, being skewered is not something you'd like to happen to you," Neji frowned, "And frankly, we can't afford any major injuries now. We don't have a medic-nin with us to patch us up."

Shikamaru nodded, "I think we should do this in pairs. One by one would be best but we can't take the chance. At least in twos, we won't make as much noise but we would still have a back up person to help us just in case. Also, this way, if the other two don't make it, we'll still have one pair left who can learn from the previous pair's mistakes."

"But hopefully, we won't be left with just one pair," Naruto added.

They all nodded.

"So, who's starting?" Uzumaki asked.

"Sasuke and Neji should start," Shikamaru said without hesitation, "Neji's second in command so we can't go together just in case a pair fails. Knowing you Naruto, I can't really trust you to go first. Besides, we'd need Neji's eyes to create the safest path for us and Sasuke to light up where we're supposed to tread. Sasuke can also create a flame at the end of the way to tell us when to go and to show us the end."

Naruto frowned but nodded nevertheless.

"Alright then," Neji whispered and then motioned for Sasuke to follow.

They began slowly, treading carefully on the clear spaces, Sasuke stepping exactly where Neji trod. They made sure not to make too much noise. With the help of Neji's Byakugan, he was able to cross the deadly path unharmed. The Uchiha just used his Sharingan and copied Neji's exact movements. Reaching the end, Sasuke made a small fireball to light up the way for the next pair, signalling that they were finished and that it was the other two's turn.

Shikamaru nodded to Naruto and soon, both were on their way. The first part of the walk was easy for the brightly burning fire lit the way, but as they went deeper, the darker it was. This was the tricky part. Sasuke's fireball was large enough to be seen but not large enough to for them to see the way clearly. On the other side, the burning fire was just a small dot and was no help at all.

'As long as we take it nice and slowly, there shouldn't be any prob –' Shikamaru's thought was interrupted as a quiet rumbling was heard overhead.

He looked behind him and saw that Naruto had frozen on the spot. They locked glances. One word escaped their lips.

"Shit," they both whispered.

The rumbling suddenly became louder. Both shinobis took a few steps forward, trying to put as much distance between them and the loose stalactite – or stalactites. There was another rumble and soon, bits of stone and dust dropped on Naruto's shoulder.

He looked up –

–and paled.

The stalactite dropped.

A crash could be heard from the Neji and Sasuke's end.

The two prodigies stared at each other, "Oh Kami."

Sealed Secrets – Chap 15

The prodigies looked away and Sasuke clenched his fists in anger.

"Shikamaru should've let me go with the dobe. Now the moron's got themselves killed."

"Don't underestimate the Nara Uchiha. He's smarter than that. I know it," he hissed.

They glared at each other, surprisingly, Sasuke looked away first.

"I want to go after them."

"No. I'll use my Byakugan and then we'll wait. Wait for the dust to settle. And then we'll both go."

"You too?"

"What do you think? My cousin would throw a fit if the blond doesn't get back in one piece."

They both smirked. But inside, they both knew that it was just a façade.

Neji activated his Byakugan.

There was nothing.

The Byakugan should've been able to detect their bodies – even if they had died. There should've been enough chakra left in their bodies for him to be able to spot the other two shinobis. The puzzling thing was – there was nobody there.

"Neji?" the Uchiha asked.

"Neji," he spoke a little bit louder.

"NEJI!" Sasuke half shouted though clenched teeth.

Neji was snapped out of his stupor, deactivating his Byakugan in surprise. He shook his head and blocked out Sasuke's voice activating his kekkai genkai once more.

Nothing.

Not a trace of Naruto and Shikamaru.

Not even tiny smidgen.

"What? Say something Hyuga?"

Neji frowned then faced Sasuke.

"I can't see them."

Sasuke frowned.

"What do you mean you can't see them?" he said slowly, his dark eyes narrowing.

"There's no sign of them being there. Zero. Nothing. Nada. Nil. Nought. Zilch. What else do want me to say?" Neji hissed back angrily.

"You have the bloody Byakugan and you can't even see if they're there or not. What kind of useless piece of shit are you? Talk about a useless kekkai genkai."

"Don't you start Uchiha. You lose your head now and you'd be the useless one. I said I can't see them. There's no sign of them being there. They're NOT there. We can make sure and check but I'm certain they're not there. You can check it with your own eyes and see if they can do a better job than mine."

"They just might."

Both prodigies glared at each other, a standoff between the Hyuga prodigy and the Uchiha one.

Unsettled emotions clouted both their visions, and only a tenuous strand of self-control held everything back. A single word could – would break that restraint.

They looked away, neither one followed the other, nor lead the way. Guided by the Byakugan and Sasuke's flame, they trudged through broken granules of rocks and stones.

Reaching the spot where the other two shinobis were last seen, Sasuke remained silent.

"Can you see –"

"Don't Hyuga. Don't," Sasuke hissed, his forehead knotted and his eyes aflame.

"I wasn't mocking you, you stupid son of a bitch. I meant if you could see anything that they could've possibly left behind. We need to find them and standing here won't do us any good. I doubt that they could've moved that far – why would they? Unless …"

" … unless someone had taken them, which would mean that we are like sitting ducks here."

"Was that pun intended?" Neji replied in monotone after briefly glancing at the other prodigies hair.

"Now is not the time Hyuga."

Neji shrugged.

Sasuke looked away and his eyes landed on something red. Bending down, he touched it. It was soft and velvety; pleasant against his roughened hands. Very unlike what he had thought originally.

"You found something?"

Sasuke didn't reply. Instead, he stood up and showed Neji a few crushed petals. Deep red in colour, they looked like blood – except that they were solid.

"La Rose," Neji whispered, "she saved them."

Sasuke looked at him funny.

"Why would you think that? She's the enemy remember?"

Neji turned to look at Sasuke, "Then how come we haven't died yet? Illusion talked to Shikamaru and told him that they could've killed us in our sleep – but they didn't."

"Because "it wouldn't be as fun", as quoted by Shikamaru. What's gotten into you?"

Neji shook his head, "Look, the point is, that they may be alive. I think we should continue the rest of the journey. We don't know where she's taken them so we cannot follow her. We'll probably just meet up with those two at the end of this all."

"You mean, at the end of this, we'll probably have to bargain with the Akatsuki for the lives of our team mates but not after they have their fun – with us four. They could be torturing the two for all we know and that's psychological torture for us in its own way already."

Neji affirmed this with a nod but his thoughts were slightly different.

"I see. We better get moving then."

"Hai"

The two went back to the where they waited earlier and then continued from there.

'Thank you Tenten. I knew you wouldn't just let them die. I'm coming for you soon – don't you worry.'

A small, almost invisible smile made its way to his face as he and Sasuke made their way to the next obstacle.

A pair of cold and calculating blue eyes and a set of dark pink ones watched from a distance as the two prodigies disappeared into a cavern.

"We've got two of the shinobis here. The other two are on the way there," the blue eyed one whispered into her communicator.

"Excellent job Leiko. Good work Keiko. Continue as planned," the voice from the communicator replied.

"Hai Pein-sama," the two answered, making their way through another path with an unconscious shinobi on each of their backs.

Sealed Secrets – Chap 16

Sasuke and Neji reached a short and narrow cavern that stretched out into the distance. It was just high enough for them to go through with slightly bent backs. Moisture glided down at a snail's pace along the diorite walls like the sweat dripping off their foreheads. The heat coming from the cavern should've dried off these beads of moisture but a further inspection showed that it was rain leaking through what should've been an almost impossible wall to break through.

Using his Byakugan, Neji saw through the deception. It was only the superficial layer that was made out of diorite, barely a centimetre in thickness. The rest was made out of something less sturdy, some sort of mixture of granules from rocks here and there.

Neji stepped towards the cavern opening. It was impossible to go through the narrow gap side by side so Neji took the lead as he was the Vice Captain for this mission, and now, the honorary Captain while Shikamaru was … unavailable. Sasuke followed him silently – albeit grudgingly. Fortunately, he had enough sense not to complain. Neji's mood lately was like that of the constantly changing weather.

The walk was silent, both their earlier outbursts of emotion unforgotten. There was a weird, possibly tense, atmosphere between them, now that the hyperactive Naruto and the lazy, yet calm Shikamaru were not with them. Neither prodigy would admit it but they had both missed the blonde ball of doom and their Captain who would rather go to sleep than do anything worthwhile.

Neji glanced back, checking to see if Sasuke was still there. He was. Neji glanced away before speaking.

"What do you suppose the next line means?"

"Beware of its babe for around it creeps … I wouldn't have a clue. The first part had mentioned dragons but, it was only figuratively. They had meant that we had to be quiet or the dragon's teeth, otherwise known as stalactites, would fall down and pierce through us causing us to fall and possibly land on some stalagmites," Sasuke paused, "Can stalactites and stalagmites have children?"

Neji snorted, "Are you sure you're not Naruto in disguise?"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say since Sasuke didn't reply. No one talked for the remainder of the walk.

#

About an hour and a half had passed with the two prodigies walking through the cavern with bent backs. They had stopped to rest every half an hour – at most. It wasn't favourable to walk continuously with their backs curved like that of an old man. However, in all those breaks, neither spoke to the other. One was too proud to admit being in the wrong while the other was too stubborn to forgive.

Fortunately, they were both naturally silent people and so the silent half walk half creep was not as awkward as they had imagined.

Neji finally stopped at the edge of the cavern. The other prodigy followed suite. There was nothing unusual with the place. There were no stalactites or stalagmites, only piles of rocks and boulders scattered around, some by the walls edges and some around the centre. It was a rather average place, similar to those places where they would camp in during their missions. The normality of the place gave Neji the creeps.

Both prodigies locked eyes. They knew that there was something wrong.

It was too quiet.

Too normal.

With activated kekkai genkais, they stayed silent, waiting in anticipation for something – anything, to happen.

Nothing.

The constant drip of water could be heard from a far, growing louder and louder as the earlier shower became stronger. This just made it harder for both the prodigies to make out any anomalies. They couldn't see anything and now, they couldn't hear anything.

Slither.

Sasuke saw something slither in his peripheral vision. He frowned, unsure whether it was his eyes playing tricks on him or something that he should be wary of.

Slither.

Neji glanced to his right. He was almost certain that there was something out there.

Slither. Slither.

The Uchiha and the Hyuga stared at each other.

There was definitely something out there – and it may even have company.

Neji signalled to the Uchiha, mouthing out his plan. Sasuke nodded in agreement. With knees bent and arms extended for the gentle fist, Neji readied himself for any sudden movements.

Slith-

Neji quickly motioned to Sasuke.

"Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A ball of flame erupted from Sasuke's mouth, illuminating the dark cavern. Just as Neji had thought, whatever that was lurking out there did not expect them to launch an attack, therefore they were open and defenceless. Neji was right about their attack being unexpected, but defenceless? That was being too optimistic.

The fireball hit the enemies full on. Any normal human being should've been hurt quite badly but unfortunately for the prodigies, they weren't facing any normal human beings. In fact, they weren't even humans.

Skin thick like leather, but tougher and almost indestructible, received the brunt of the attack. It was almost as if nothing had happened.

The shinobis looked up with awe – but that was only for a mere second or two because they soon received a taste of their own medicine.

They dived – a stream of fire gushed right up their faces, barely missing their skin – bodies tucked, ready for a forward roll, they sped forwards and then simultaneously stuck a leg out to stop themselves from continuously rolling down and hitting the hard walls.

There was a charred and rather burnt smell hanging in the air.

Glancing up, to the sides and then finally to the source of the smell, both prodigies twitched in a calm fury.

It was their hair.

For Sasuke, the ends of his hair had melted together, no longer giving him a "duck's butt" look but more of a "hedgehog" one. Strands of dark blue locks formed tiny peaks at random around his head. Although the shot had missed him, the heat was far too hot, managing to scorch and melt his hair and causing even more damage to his pride.

Neji's case was quite similar, but worse. The bottom of his hair was had also been melted, the ends sticking together in a clumpy fashion. If the damage was only that, Neji probably would not have been as mad … unfortunately, the combination of heat (from the fire), wind (from rolling and moving quickly) and static (from brushing against his clothes), Neji's hair resembled a partly levitating, clumpy, slightly afro-looking … mess.

Sasuke and Neji glanced at the other. One snorted, a half laugh coming out of his lips, the other, a grimace, teeth clenched in despair.

The jovial mood didn't last long as they were under fire once more.

Dragons.

Real. Live. Dragons.

That's what they were up against.

Sealed Secrets – Chap 17

They needed a plan. Quick. They were prodigies for goodness sakes but at the speed in which they are ducking and dodging, not a single plan comes to mind.

The dragons were surprisingly agile in such a small enclosure. But then again, the dragons weren't very big.

'Beware of its babe, for around it creeps', Neji thought, 'For babies, they're quite quick on their feet. This makes it just harder. The poem says to beware of its babe and not for more than one baby. I suppose, the baby they meant must have matured and died already. These two could be its children … or grandchildren, depending on how long ago that poem had been written. But how was it possible for the thing reproduce? Oh Kami! Could it be that the parents are still alive?'

Neji dodged once again, this time, the shots are beginning to get more accurate.

"Do you have a plan Hyuga?" Sasuke shouted from the far end of the room, suffering from a similar situation as the Hyuga.

"No, what about you?" Neji yelled back.

"No."

Neji heard Sasuke swore as the edge of his jacket was burnt, almost making his pants catch on fire. Luckily, he smashed into a pile of sand and the fire was prevented. He quickly recovered and resumed dodging.

'This is stupid. They know this place too well and I can't see any weaknesses from them. So far, all I've gathered is that, the one chasing me is younger and smaller than the one chasing Sasuke. Its flame is still lethal but it's not as strong as the fireballs being produced by the one with Sasuke. Its aim is pretty bad as well, but damn it's fast, faster than the other one.'

Neji turned to look up ahead just in time to see a wall. He back flipped over the dragon chasing him, using the wall to push off against. The creature tried to turn but tripped over its own feet, crashing into the exact wall it tried to trap Neji into. It shook its head then quickly followed Neji again.

Neji lifted an eyebrow then glanced at Sasuke.

The Uchiha saw what had just happened. He nodded then tried it for himself.

Leading the older dragon towards a wall, he copied Neji's earlier manoeuvre receiving similar, if not better results.

Both prodigies smirked, a plan, forming into their minds. They glanced back and their eyes met, twin grins on their faces. Nodding their heads, they knew exactly what to do.

Repeating Neji's earlier manoeuvre, Sasuke managed to change his dragon's course – angering him in the process. Now, both shinobis are running towards each other – a head on collision. Each step they took felt like an eternity. The angered roars of the beasts could no longer be heard. There were only about five more strides left. Four. Three. Two. One.

The two prodigies leaped up in unison, the flat part of their sandals hitting each other's sandal perfectly. Right foot on right, left foot on left, and then right foot on right again, they pushed off against each other due to a wall not being present, flipping over the dragons before leaping back. As predicted, the dragons were unable to turn. They crashed. Hard. The floors shook, the ceilings rumbled and the dragons fell on top of each other.

But that wasn't the end.

Sasuke launched three blades, flying in the air, chakra wires attached to those blades. With his Sharingan, he manoeuvred these wires to go around the dragons, forcing the two to go back to back, their unprotected middles like open targets. He pulled them taut and promptly received an angered growl. He quickly formed some hand signs, took a deep breath and then performed a jutsu.

"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu."

Immediately, fire came out of his mouth going through the hollow parts of the chakra wires he formed. The flame spread without delay and rushed towards the bound dragons. Neji, on his end, then began to spin, his Kaiten rebounding the fire sent towards him and forcing the blaze to remain where it should be – right where the dragons were.

The howls of pain were loud and high pitched causing both the prodigies' ears to bleed … but they didn't stop. Sasuke blew while Neji spun, the fire, easily maintained at a certain temperature and area. Once the shrieking had quietened, then and only then did the two cease their onslaught.

Neji was puffed. His breathing was slightly hitched. He stood still, shoulders and chest rising and falling in a slow pattern.

But Sasuke, he was exhausted. He had used a lot of chakra performing his techniques. And earlier that day, it was Sasuke who was responsible for lighting up the tunnels when they first went underground. Sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the wall, he rested. One leg was stretched out; the other was bent with his knee sticking up. His left hand fisted the dirt filled ground as his right elbow leant against his knee. His head rested against his right arm.

The cavern was now filled with smoke, the smell of charred meat sifting through the air. As the smoke began to disappear, a single lump of burnt matter remained in the middle. Unless you knew what it was, you wouldn't have been able guess that the single lump was actually made up of two, young dragons.

Neji smiled tiredly.

"You okay there Uchiha?"

"Been better," was the quiet reply.

The Hyuga snorted, "Too bad. We've got more obstacles to go through. We'll take a short break and then we'll soon head off."

"Easy for you to say."

"Wuss."

#

The break didn't last long. Sasuke was too prideful to admit that he was really tired. Neji realised this and slowed down to an easy walk. At least, Sasuke was smart enough not to argue.

It was another one of those quiet, uneventful walks. Without Naruto, the thought of starting a quiet banter seemed so … juvenile. In any case, they were naturally quiet people so remaining silent was not too much of a problem. Just awkward.

"Hey Hyuga."

"Yeah?"

"I am NOT dancing."

"What?"

"I am NOT dancing."

"I heard what you said. But I don't get what you mean."

"The next line."

"The what? The next – oh."

"Slow."

"…"

"What do you think the next one's about? Prove thy worth, for me you dance."

Neji frowned.

"I can't say. Most of the clues in that poem were figurative but what's to say that this one should be taken literally instead?"

"Beats me. But I am NOT dancing."

"Why? You've got two left feet?"

"…"

Neji smirked.

"Oh. So the Uchiha CAN'T dance."

"Don't assume anything without proof."

"Right. So you just don't want to dance because you're tired."

Sasuke glared sideways at Neji.

"Well I haven't seen YOU do much work vice- CAPTAIN."

Neji's eye twitched.

"In fact, I think it was YOUR fault that we're in this predicament – am I right? Had you not lost to La Rose, we would have been back in Konoha AGES ago."

Neji frowned. That remark had hit a mark. He knew that this was just one of those rare playful banters between the two of them, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was his fault for dragging his friends into this mess.

'Come to think of it, maybe if I had treated Tenten better, she wouldn't have offered to go to the Akatsuki. Maybe we'd still be together as a part of Team Gai. And maybe –"

His thoughts were interrupted by Sasuke. He glanced towards his comrade.

"Look."

Neji looked.

In front of them was long and narrow walkway about 50 metres in length. Around this, Neji could see cracks in the walls and in the flooring where he is certain booby traps could be found. Traps which could kill him if he takes even a single wrong step. Glancing at the starting line, Neji could see a thin veil of tightly woven chakra wires. He frowned.

"There's – " Neji began but was interrupted.

"I know."

"So I have to trigger the trap?"

"Yes. You're going to have to trigger the trap, avoid whatever booby traps they've left for you and then there should be a mechanism in the end to stop the traps."

"Great. Just great."

"So Hyuga …"

"Hn."

"Are you ready to dance?"

Sealed Secrets - Chap 18

Neji rolled his eyes.

"What kind of joke is that?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"The last one you'll ever hear if you're not lucky."

"Thanks a lot Uchiha."

"You're welcome. Oh and don't forget, Prove thy worth, for me you dance, Defy thy fate and take the chance. You might want to make it nice and flashy."

"Yeah, so I can take the chance to kill my self in the process."

"You said it, not me."

Neji shook his head while trying to comb down his hair. It seemed to him that at least two inches of his hair had been reduced to a clump of 'something' that can only be described as a 'fur ball'. He pulled out a kunai from the pouch in his hip and swiftly sliced off the 'unsalvageable' parts.

There was a snort from behind him.

"What?"

Sasuke snorted again, a queer half smirk half smile on his lips.

"Geez Hyuga, don't tell me you're becoming a Haruno … or the Yamanaka girl. God that blonde looked crazy in the chunin exams."

Neji's eyes twitched.

"You're one to talk. I can't say the hedgehog look is any better than the duck ass one you had before."

Sasuke frowned and tried to casually run his fingers along his hair. Fat chance. What used to be his strands of soft and luscious hair have pretty much melded together, forming sharpened spikes atop his scalp, kinda like a hedgehog, or a cactus, take your pick. Fortunately, his side fringes were still left untouched but he looked very much like a depressed parody of the blonde bumbling buffoon.

"I know, I'll be the blonde and you can be your team mate … want me to fix your hair," Neji smirked, a kunai in hand.

"Ha, you wish. Now, you're just stalling for the inevitable. Are you chickening out Hyuga?"

"Oh yeah, really … and you don't look like a hedgehog … oh wait, you do."

Before Sasuke can utter a retort, Neji turned his back on him while tying his hair up with a spare piece of elastic from his pocket. He glanced at the short walkway.

'There's only about 50 metres to go through, and normally, I can sprint that in less than 5 seconds but judging by the angles at which those stones are coming from, I won't be able to run in a straight line. Still, this should be a piece of cake. I've had heaps of practice with Tenten and her bloody arsenal …and her booby traps …why the hell does that thought sound …dodgy? Nevermind, I can do this … and I will.'

He took a step forward, towards the traps, then paused.

"Say, why don't we make things a bit more interesting Uchiha?"

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow.

"How about, instead of me turning off the trigger at the end so could just waltz your way towards me, we have a little contest between us to see who can get to the other end the fastest … and with the least … injuries?"

"Hmm … and what do I get out of it?"

"What do you want?"

A smirk formed at the corner of the dark eyed man's lips, slowly stretching out into a suspiciously cunning smile.

"In that case … I think I want some blackmail material."

"Care to explain?"

"Simple, I'll just get the girls to give you a …" he paused for effect, "… makeover."

"And I'll suppose you want to take a photo afterwards?"

"Exactly."

"Then if I win, I'll make them do it to you."

"Oh, you're on. Since you seem so sure you'll win, why don't you go first?"

"I was going first anyway hedgehog hair."

"Make my day Hanabi."

Rolling his shoulders, he readied himself.

"This is how you dance."

Neji tapped the trigger with his foot and sidestepped immediately to avoid a giant axe from slicing him in half. Crouching, he landed on his hands his knees just as a set of arrows came towards him. They missed Sasuke just by half a centimetre. A crack formed under Neji and a whirling blade came up from underneath. He rolled over it doing a full front flip in the process. Just as he landed on his feet a swinging spiked metal ball rushed to his face causing him to fall back, forming a bridge with his hands and feet over the whirling blade he had originally tried to escape from. The sharp serrated edges gnarled at his loose robes, tearing the area by his lower back. He swore. Pushing hard with his legs, he managed to form a perfect handstand just as another whirring blade erupted from underneath him. Gently, he placed his feet right by his hands and crouched low again just as the spiked ball came back for him.

'Shit, not good.'

Neji ducked low.

'If only there was some way that I can get to the other end so I can pass through these damned traps. The timing of that ball coincides with the other traps and I can't get to the other traps unless I get hit by that damned …'

Then clicked.

'This is going to hurt,' Neji winced inwardly.

He waited for the next swing then leaped onto the massive spiked ball. Carefully, he latched onto the spikes, barely missing being skewered. Using the spikes as handholds, he climbed up to the top where there weren't any sharp bits protruding. He snaked his arm and leg around the chain that suspended the ball in order to keep him still. He watched from the top as he memorised the next few obstacles. At the second swing of the pendulum, he leaped, his hands hitting the solid flooring before using his momentum to send himself flying towards the other direction with his feet pointing the way. Arrows, knives and various other sharp things went flying towards him but there was nothing he could push off from. In a split second decision he made some hand signs.

"Kaiten."

He swirled in mid-air, his technique propelling him forward and defending himself against the weapons. Landing 50 metres from where he began he smirked triumphantly. Except for a tiny scratch on his blind spot, he arrived on the other end pretty much scratch-free.

"How long was that?"

"20 seconds."

'Not bad, let's see the Uchiha do better.'

"Now, let's see you dance, Uchiha."

"Confident aren't we? It took you 20 seconds to get through that. 20 whole seconds. Now this is how you do it."

Feet apart, Sasuke waited until the traps returned to their original hiding places. He glanced up towards Neji then smirked. Pivoting on one foot, he faced the traps … with his back.

'What the …'

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu."

# # #

"That was cheating."

"Hey, you used Kaiten to propel yourself, why couldn't I use my techniques."

Neji was silent.

"Can't take the heat can you … and no pun intended."

"You stole my idea. That was mine."

"Oh come on. You just can't take the fact that it only took me a quarter of the time it took you … and mine was way flashier, literally! Besides, it was my idea to use propulsion right from the beginning."

"You only did that because you figured out that there was a human sized gap that was formed right in the middle of the traps after I took my turn and that the traps started slowly at first."

"So. I still won … and you're still getting a makeover."

"…"

"You really shouldn't have challenged me. It was your fate to lose to me."

Neji's eyebrow twitched.

"Chill out ice cube. No one would have to know … until after this mission."

Neji's face changed from his sulky one to an impassive one.

'Mission. I almost forgot about that …Tenten, where are you. Give me sign.'

"Geez Hyuga, what is it with you and this mission. I swear getting beaten by a chick can suck … but it's draining you."

"Can you stop it with the puns? It's not punny … at all."

Sasuke's lip twitched.

"Hey …"

Neji held a hand up. The Uchiha looked to where Neji was looking and was surprised to see some well kept Bermuda grass ahead of them. They walked on silently, the grass feeling slightly damp beneath their sandals. The dark cavern was soon filled with fresh air and soon the sunshine had hit them, blinding them into shock. It was a garden. Abundant with grass, sunshine and fresh smelling air, it almost seemed like paradise. But what was really plentiful were the rose bushes growing everywhere. But they weren't growing wildly. All were trimmed and kept. Every single bush was pruned with surprising care.

"We're here aren't we Hyuga."

"That you are."

Both prodigies whipped around only to see a tall young woman with long blue hair and piercing blue eyes, dressed in what they could only describe as a "magician's assistant" costume.

"Illusion," Sasuke muttered in monotone.

"Right you are."

Next to her was a little girl with pigtails that fell to her shoulders in little purple ringlets, like the colour of purple yam. She smiled at the two men with a surprising innocence. She was dressed in a frilly pink pinafore dress that went an inch above the knee. Underneath, they could see that she wore a pair or silky white cycling shorts. For her shirt, she had on a loose, collared peasant's shirt that puffed at the shoulders. It was white like her shorts and her ankle socks. A pair of deep purple buckle up shoes, which were almost black, adorned her feet. She waved with her gloved hand, her only free hand as the other was tightly hugging a worn stuffed bunny. Her fingers wiggled freely as they were fingerless gloves. A sort Velcro sealed the glove at her wrist.

The blue haired woman pinched her lip together.

"Keiko, they're the enemies. You don't wave to them."

"Oh. Oops. Sorry nee-chan," she grinned cutely.

"Anyway, enough with the talking. You two finally made it here, relatively unscathed. I believe you're here to face La Rose, are you not?"

"Yes. Where is she? And where are out team mates?" Neji asked edgily.

"My, my. Are all Konoha men that impatient? Well, La Rose will be meeting with you soon but as for your two team mates … they are here already."

She flicked her hand and a small pop was heard causing a smokescreen to surround the two females. Neji and Sasuke covered their faces and held their breaths to avoid inhaling the smoke. The dust soon settled and the figures of their comrades became visible … but there were two extra people.

A man with navy blue hair and a faint slash across his face stood behind Shikamaru, one heavily gloved hand gripping the Nara boy by his collar. He was dressed in a loose white shirt, a pair of dusty black pants on his lower half and thick heavy boots on his feet. Over the top of his T-shirt was an old navy collared shirt that was open in the middle, the sleeves, casually folded to just above his elbows. His hair was tied back, but his fringe stayed down. He was known as the Light bringer or Light for short. A single lightning by him can kill many in just one shot. He was the famed partner in crime of the one and only … La Rose. And like always, where one was, the other was surely not so far away.

"Hello Hyuga, Uchiha. Long time no see."

Neji flinched.

'That voice …it's changed … but it's still the same.'

At the end of a pair of leather white gloves was Naruto, his jounin vest being the only thing that is keeping him above the ground.

"Neji, she's all yours now. You can finally have your revenge," said Sasuke.

"Nu-uh-uh," Keiko grinned, "I think there's one thing you guys might want to know first. And that might change your opinion."

"And what would that be," Sasuke said with a smirk, "What can change a guy's mind that quickly, a guy who's pride was broken by being beaten by a girl?"

"This," Illusion smiled menacingly, "Akako-san, mask off please."

"My pleasure Leiko."

She passed Naruto over to Illusion and then faced the prodigies with one hand spread across her mask.

"Take a nice long look boys, a nice long look," Illusion sneered.

Slowly, the mask was lifted off. Then she raised her head nice and slowly to reveal a face they haven't seen in the last 5 years.

Sealed Secrets - Chap 19

Last time ...

Illusion smiled menacingly, "Akako-san, mask off please."

"My pleasure Leiko."

She passed Naruto over to Illusion and then faced the prodigies with one hand spread across her mask.

"Take a nice long look boys, a nice long look," Illusion sneered.

Slowly, the mask was lifted off. Then she raised her head nice and slowly to reveal a face they haven't seen in the last 5 years.

"Missed me Neji-kun?" the girl spoke, her voice, hard like the edge of all her blades.

Sasuke was dumbfounded. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, then directed a question to Neji, "And how the hell does she know you ... and me?"

Neji didn't speak. Couldn't speak. Even though he was already aware of the whole situation, he did not expect this. He clenched his hands.

"Tenten ..." he breathed out, his words soft as silk.

Sasuke froze.

"Well, well, well, you don't look as surprised as the Uchiha do you?" Illusion watched them closely, her eyes cold and calculating. "Don't tell me you already knew beforehand ... and didn't tell your team mates?" She feigned a look of shock and looked pointedly at Neji.

"You knew," Sasuke stated, not even a hint of surprise in his tones.

Neji inhaled slowly, "Yes."

Illusion shook her head, "What a shocker."

"If you're trying to break up our team with your words, I suggest you give up. I've known him for too long to worry about him leaving out some petty detail."

Inwardly smiling, Neji could've hugged him there and then, a man hug that is.

"Well, you can't blame my onee-chan for trying," a chipper voice replied.

"Enough," the silent man finally spoke, "we're not here to bicker like children." His voice was calm and collected. Glancing around, his eyes fell on Neji, "If I heard correctly from the Uchiha, then your purpose of coming here is to take revenge … but you knew all along that Akako … is your beloved team mate Tenten. From what I can see, your ulterior motive is to take her back home, am I right?"

"You catch on pretty quickly don't you … but how did you know she's my team mate?" the pale eyed prodigy looked at him warily.

Light ignored his question, "I see … but have you ever thought that maybe she doesn't want to go back with you?"

Neji stiffened, his eyes glancing over to Tenten's impassive face.

"Hasn't it occurred to you that maybe she likes where she is right now … with her new family? I do remember her mentioning once how she wasn't appreciated back in her old village. I believe that was her reason for joining the Akatsuki."

"You're wrong," hissed Neji, Light's accusations finally bringing out some emotion out of him, "She was here for a mission, and now it's our mission to bring her back."

Illusion chuckled, "So now the cat is finally out of the bag … but we knew that already didn't we, Hiro-kun?"

The man she named Hiro ignored her completely. "I suppose you're right about that Hyuga, she was originally sent here by your Hokage to infiltrate our plans. But I think your Hokage was being too … complacent about the whole infiltration. How could she think that a little chunin girl would survive as part of the Akatsuki without being found out sooner or later … it's been 5 years Hyuga, 5 long years, we were bound to find out."

"If you knew that all along, then why didn't you just kill her?" Sasuke asked, earning a glare from his companion.

"Good question, now we're getting somewhere," smirked Illusion, "Doesn't it bother you two that the whole time we've been talking here, your little friend has not done anything to save your two companions and free herself?"

"She can't be on your side. She would never betray Konoha," said Neji.

"Oh, but she has already, hasn't she?" a new voice joined the gathering.

Two men, one whom one could argue is not exactly a man, with his pale blue skin and gills in his cheeks and the other, a crimson eyed man with medium length dark locks, walked toward them out of seemingly nowhere.

"Hello there little brother."

Bile rose from the depths of Sasuke's throat like a fountain of recently dug oil, he swallowed subconsciously, the acrid taste spreading across his taste buds.

"Itachi," Sasuke hissed, his voiced laced with as many layers of vitriol as he could possibly put in it.

"I'm glad to see you too," Sasuke's older version answered in monotone, "but I'm not here for you. You and your colleagues are only here as witnesses to the birth of the infinite tailed beast."

"What are you on about Uchiha?" Neji asked.

The tall, crimson eyed man turned his gaze towards the Hyuga, "Have you ever heard of the story of the Heavenly Wars?"

"Of course."

"But not this version," Kisame interrupted.

Itachi ignored him, "You see, there many truths and falsity regarding that particular tale. I believe we can all concur on the fact that Sky and Ryoku's twin children are here today, guarding something of tremendous importance. But as to what that thing is, I am sure we all would disagree."

The younger Uchiha stared at his brother, "What are you heading towards?'

"Patience. I'll tell you the parts of the story you are not aware of. Ryuu and Sky did not have twins, but triplets. In those days, the death of a child in childbirth was seen as bad luck. When Sky gave birth to her triplets, the last born, was thought to be dead. She was a fragile thing – without a heartbeat. Her parents were stricken and saw this as the sign of their demise but not wanting to weaken the hearts of their family and friends, the two decided to only tell everyone about the birth of their twins. Only the two and their trusted midwife knew of the secret. Sky begged for the midwife to take the child and burry it far away. She also asked for her to leave their camp and never come back whatever happens to make sure that no one finds out about the dead child. The midwife, being the loyal woman she was, followed Sky's requests and set off with the dead child. Not an hour had passed when she heard the quiet whimpers of a child. Although spooked, the woman became curious. She opened the bag where the dead baby was kept and almost fainted in surprise when she saw the baby move. She was about to return when she realised that she gave her word never to come back whatever happens. And so, she raised the child as if she was her own, telling her nothing of her past."

"What's the point of telling us this story?" Neji said.

"The point? I'll get there, just you wait. Now, going back to the object of tremendous importance, the common version says that it is the body of the twins', or triplets', as you know now, parents, and that they guard it with all their life due to their father's request of being with his beloved wife. This – is absolutely false. A demon cult named Akki informed us of a tailed beast, so powerful, that all the beasts we have collected would seem infantile next to it. Inside that tomb contains the demon spirit of the infinite tailed beast. The Mugen. Unfortunately, the only way to reach the spirit, the only way to get past the guardians without being killed, is if you are a female descendant of the Goddess of Flight."

Neji clamped his mouth shut, not wanting to know where this is all going, although – he had a very bad feeling that he already knew.

Sasuke smirked, "So are you saying that Tenten is a descendant of that goddess? How can you be so sure that when according to your story, the midwife never told the child about her past and her family?"

Itachi lifted and eyebrow, "Well it seems that I have forgotten to mention a tiny little detail. The midwife – kept a diary. One that looked exactly like – this."

Gently, he pulled out a small rectangular book, covered in a deep red ink. An insignia of a single rose could be seen scratched on the bottom right corner of the book. The edges were worn but the book was well kept except for the yellowed pages and the randomly placed bite marks.

"This book contains the progress of the child, her name, Sora, if you wanted to know, her past, her family – and her husband. After finding this, everything else fell into place. All we had to do was follow this Sora person's genealogy. Looking at hundreds and thousands of hospital record books was a tedious job but we had specialists on the case. It didn't take long to find out that the only remaining female descendant is her. Once she opens the altar which contains the beast, it will use her body as a host, enabling us to capture Mugen."

"You're sick," Neji spat, "Tenten would never agree to this."

"Or so you say," Illusion sneered, "Hiro-kun, show them just where Akako's alliance lies."

The man named Hiro ignored her.

"Light," Itachi glanced at his direction, "if you please."

The blue haired man finally moved. "Leiko-san, please wake up our captive."

Illusion snapped a finger and both Naruto and Shikamaru awoke.

"W-wuh w-what?" Naruto, tried to shake himself free only to feel his whole body freeze.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Illusion looked at him in disgust, "Now stay still and watch."

Just as Illusion commanded Naruto followed suit, Light had Shikamaru bound in an electric rope, sending sparks around the Nara boy, causing him to flinch in mild agony.

Without missing a beat, Light spoke to Tenten, "Akako-san, would you please come over here?"

Tenten sauntered towards Light.

"Now, all of you watch closely, Akako-san, please give our captive right here "the Kiss".

Neji stiffened and Sasuke's face paled a notch. "The Kiss" was La Rose's trademark assassination attack, and they did not want to see it performed on one of their friends.

Due to being unconscious throughout the whole discussion, both the Nara and Uzumaki's eyes grew as they saw a familiar face.

"T-Tenten?" Shikamaru gaped, unwittingly making Tenten's job a lot easier.

In one swift movement, Tenten cupped Shikamaru's chin with one hand and pulled his face towards hers, putting a gentle pressure on his lips. He gasped as he felt something slide into his mouth. SNAP. And suddenly, Shikamaru's head lolled to one side, the position of his neck indicating his termination.

There was silence. The Konoha shinobis had just witnessed Tenten snap the Nara boy's head – killing him instantaneously. None of the horror in their faces reflected onto Tenten's face, instead, hers was impeccably emotionless.

"TEN-CHAN! HOW COULD YOU! HOW COULD YOU!" Naruto screamed, trying to wriggle free out of his invisible binds.

"Oh, don't worry, she didn't do it willingly. In fact, she doesn't even know what she did," Illusion smirked, "you've got Hiro-kun to thank for that. I wonder what her reaction is when she finds out that she killed him? Aren't you just dying to know?"

"You're going to pay," Sasuke leaned into a fighting position only to be stopped by Neji. "What are you doing?"

"Shouldn't you ask yourself that Uchiha? They've got Naruto in some sort of trapping jutsu and they're not going to hesitate killing him either."

"That's the smartest thing you've done today," Light muttered as he dropped Shikamaru's still form on the floor. In the blink of an eye light had formed a jutsu trapping the two prodigies inside a cylinder made out of bright light.

"What is this?" Neji glared at light, his body unable to move around.

"This … is a compulsion jutsu. It forces you to do my bidding or else experience a pain like no other. Would you like to see?"

Sasuke's lip twitched, "You think pain scares us? We're shinobis and we're not afraid to die."

"Ah," Light lips tremble slightly, forming a barely noticeable smile, "but you won't die … although, from experience, I think death would be considered a release. But since you're so sure …"

Light collapsed the cylindrical trap.

"Put your hands on your head."

Sasuke sniggered, "Are you shitting m-"

Sasuke collapsed on his knees, his body convulsing and racking with strong tremors. He rolled onto the floor, his whole body alight with electricity.

"Teme!"

"Uchiha!" Neji crouched by him only to flinch at the sound Sasuke's animal like cry. In his pain, Sasuke grabbed his head and immediately, the pain subsided.

"Now you know," Itachi said, his voice a dreary monotone, "If you'd like to feel more pain, then stay but if not, then follow us."

"I'll stay here with the dead body to watch out for any intruders," Keiko smiled, completely apathetic towards the drama earlier.

Itachi nodded, leading the way up front with Kisame and Illusion. Naruto was still bound in invisible threads and against his will, was levitated by Illusion up the front, away from his team mates.

"Follow Itachi," Light said in monotone, prodding the two prodigies to go in front of him and La Rose.

Without any choice, the two followed half-heartedly though they walked with the remaining dignity they had left.

They trudged on slowly and silently, the obnoxious blonde surprisingly obedient. Neji and Sasuke were quiet as well but their feelings contrasted. While Sasuke's eyes were defiant, blazing in anger, Neji's were surprisingly hollow and submissive, unlike his normal self at all.

They stopped, although Neji was completely unaware of his feet doing so. He stared up, his eyes cloudy and unsure. There was a semi-circular platform just ahead of them with a large stone altar at the very back.

"Akako," Itachi commanded, "It is time."

"Hai, Itachi-san." Slowly, she made her way towards the altar but before she could step foot into the platform, two blurs, one from each side, appeared, both armed with tall, deadly scythes.

"Who dares to enter the sacred grounds of La Lecho de Rosas?" demanded the male on the right.

He was tall and handsome, his long charcoal hair, dangling just under his shoulder blades. Piercing grey-blue eyes stared down at Tenten, his lips, tipped downwards in the universal facial expression known as a frown.

What Tenten said could not be heard but whatever it was caused the woman on the left to smile.

"I see," she whispered, her voice soft as a feather.

Like her brother, she had long hair, but hers were the colour of the earth in the early morning, when the dew dampened the soft soil. Her eyes were a vivid blue, as bright as the sky on a cloudless day, standing out against her blemish free, pale white skin. A small red rose was tucked at the corner of her ear.

Tenten could be heard muttering some more in a language none knew of.

The twins looked at each other then nodded.

Ryuu, the man on the right spoke loud and clear, "Are you aware of the sacrifices you must make?"

"I am."

"What sacrifices?" Neji spoke out loud, his eyes no longer pitiful and docile.

"Silence," Itachi commanded.

"Very well, we shall begin the ritual," replied Rosa, the other twin.

"What? She's not aware at all!" Neji yelled in frustration.

"Light, silence him."

"Silence," Light whispered.

"NO! DON'-, AAAAARRRRGGGHH!"

Neji's body convulsed, like a repeat of Sasuke's earlier predicament.

"TEN- AAAAAH!"

"Shut up Hyuga, shut up!" Sasuke, pinned Neji onto the floor, smashing his face in the process, halting his screams for a moment. With the command completed, Neji's spasms were brought to an end.

Sasuke let Neji go just in time for the Hyuga to witness a bright light surround the raised platform, completely blocking his view of Tenten.

Sealed Secrets - Chap 20

Recap

"TEN- AAAAAH!"

"Shut up Hyuga, shut up!" Sasuke, pinned Neji onto the floor, smashing his face in the process, halting his screams for a moment. With the command completed, Neji's spasms were brought to an end.

Sasuke let Neji go just in time for the Hyuga to witness a bright light surround the raised platform, completely blocking his view of Tenten.

A huge explosion immediately followed the flash of light, surrounding everyone with noxious fumes. Neji's eyes watered at the corners although he was unsure whether it was due to Tenten's disappearance or the detrimental smoke.

"Byakugan," Neji activated his Kekkai Genkai, trying to see through the layers of cloud and grit. It was hardly necessary though since it all soon cleared up.

"Where is the girl?" Itachi asked, the first sign of stress emitting from him.

"She's on the platform still, by the altar," Light answered in monotone, his body surprisingly tense.

Neji looked to see where Light was looking at and growled at the sight of Tenten's bare arms bleeding.

"Good, we're still in schedule," Itachi replied. "The prophecy will be fulfilled. A drop of blood to replenish the earth, to welcome the day of my rebirth."

The twins stood on their respective side next to Tenten, chanting at the stone altar where Tenten's blood pooled into the cracks and veins while they carved an image into her skin. Her arms glowed brightly and a tattoo like design stood out from her shoulders down to her wrists. An intricate pattern of roses in red ink filled her whole left arm while on her right, an abstract image of a black dragon filled the limb. The whole altar was soon filled with blood and an outline appeared in the form of blood.

It pained Neji to see Tenten bleed but it unnerved him that she didn't even wince at all; it was as if Tenten's feelings and emotions were removed. The sight was disturbing.

A column of smoke rose at the centre of the table, rising high up the sky before plummeting down to trap Tenten in pillars of cloudy residue.

"It is almost time for us to capture the Mugen," Itachi nodded to Kisame, "Get ready to kill her."

Neji's throat went dry.

Itachi and Kisame lead the way towards the edge of the platform with Illusion not far behind, only Light and the Konoha shinobis remained where they were. An ominous aura came from Illusion, her eyes bright with apparent satisfaction. A rod-like item appeared in her hand about twelve inches long. A large portion of it was coloured in deep charcoal while the two ends had an inch long each of a sharp ebony blade. She spun it expertly before throwing it, high up in the air. Out of nowhere, a kunai whizzed past, striking the object and successfully pinning it inside the deadly cavern formed by a wild rose bush.

"Troublesome people."

That single phrase froze them into place. Its effect was far more effective compared to the action of trapping the enemy's weapon. The Akatsuki members turned their heads, with Kisame and Illusion taking a double-take. Sasuke and Neji could not believe their eyes.

"You're alive!" Naruto exclaimed.

"H-how …" Illusion stuttered.

"Explanations later," Shikamaru drawled, then glanced at Light before nodding his head at him.

Light formed a hand sign and cancelled his compulsion jutsu.

"What is the meaning of this Light?" Itachi glared his way.

Light just ignored him, and looked at the prodigies instead, "Go, hurry."

Illusion's face was filled with fury, "You traitor!" Quickly, she charged towards Light but was stopped by a punch in the face from Shikamaru. Her shock caused Naruto's bind to become undone and soon the two were facing Illusion.

Naruto quickly multiplied and launched his trademarked "combo" stolen from the younger Uchiha. The Nara lad played his part through keeping Illusion all "tied-up".

At another end, Light, a young yam haired girl and what one could only describe as a pale white rabbit of magnanimous proportions, were facing off Kisame, the blue-skinned fish face. A pair of golden rods was pulled from his back pocket from which they were kept. Light twirled them with the same expertise as Illusion's earlier bravado, but with more control. The little girl cocked her head to one side and clapped her hands with glee making the rabbit jump at her command. She struck first, her rabbit clawing at the fish face, only to be stopped by a hefty sword. Light followed suit, creating pure electric bolts seemingly out of nowhere. Their fight had begun.

With a speed that could rival both the self-proclaimed "handsome" green devils, the younger Uchiha charged at his older brother. Without any warning, he launched eight shurikens, leaped over Itachi and used a Fuuma shuriken to slice him in half. If only it worked. The "Itachi" he originally attempted to assassinate disseminated, forming eight new and separate Itachis.

"You're still weak," the copies stated, staring languidly at the brooding bastard.

Undeterred, Sasuke launched in succession a variety of Fire Techniques. "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu !" He leaped atop an adjacent branch, "Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu !" At another direction he yelled, "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique," then, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu." And finally, "Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique."

A raging fire was built right where Itachi was like a huge bonfire at the festivals. The other concurrent fights paused due to the glare and heat. They stared within the flames, apprehensive about the surprising brutality of the young avenger. A dark shadow formed deep within the roaring flames, casting a shadow of doubt in Sasuke's mind regarding his abilities.

Itachi walked out untouched, unscarred except for the faint burning smell emitting from him. A strange expression made its way to Itachi's face. His lips twitched into a crazy yet menacing smile and his eyes contained the contrasting image of fear and glee. Even Kisame was perturbed.

"You little brat. I should have killed you along with the rest of them," Itachi hissed, like a crazed cat foaming in the lips. "But no matter," he amended suddenly, "you'll meet your maker soon enough."

Itachi glanced towards the altar. "The sacrifice is at its final stage. If you disturb her now, she'll be dead before the Mugen can transfer into her rendering her useless for both of us. You wouldn't dare interrupt now will you?"

Sasuke pressed his lips into a thin line while Neji's whole body became taut, like a strung arrow ready to fly.

"I'll entertain your attempts for now just because it's amusing. Try to kill me if you can, but you only have until the ritual is done before I kill you."

An angry snarl escaped from the young Uchiha's lips. "You're a lunatic."

"Oh really? Tell that to Pein-san. It was his idea in the first place."

"But you're his pawn, his foot soldier. You're the one making it happen."

"And why not?"

"Well, why should you?"

Itachi sniggered, "Can't you find a better retort?"

The other Uchiha was silent.

"Why should you," he continued, mocking the other in glee. "We're not in pre-school here anymore Sasuke. And it has been a long time since I've stepped inside a school. So come on. Show me what you're worth."

Sasuke clenched his fist.

He crouched, slowly and dangerously, his hands placed before him in a strong fighting stance. Three black marks appeared in his eyes, standing out clearly from the raging red flame that was its background.

"You'll regret that. Itachi."

His legs and feet were poised to leap but a sudden explosion made him stop.

High above them, bits of glass became cracked, causing small, jagged fragments to cut through the thick atmosphere. Plasters from the building's walls also began falling along with them.

Neji looked up, as did the rest of them.

"No," Itachi hissed, "I will not have my work wasted! We must get the Mugen!"

He turned and rushed towards the altar with his younger brother following at his heels. Unsure about what to do, the Hyuga raced off to follow suit.

Another explosion took place, creating masses of sharp fragments to fall in large chunks. Plants have become flattened, the once wonderful roses now torn and shredded. Fighting had become harder too. Not only did they have to avoid the enemy, they also had to avoid the falling debris, the wreckage becoming an obstacle in their path.

Kisame attacked with full force causing Keiko to go flying back. Her giant rabbit retreated, racing back to catch her unconscious form. Hiro hissed, worried about the girl and frustrated at the huge gap between their skill level and Kisame's.

"Well, well, you'll finally get your rematch kid. Let's see if you'll do better this time." His eyes glinted in delight as his lips opened up to reveal row upon row of small triangular blades.

Hiro tensed but kept his head clear, 'A surprise is all I need. Get him to lose his focus for even just a second and he's dead. Only, for that to happen, I need Keiko's help to distract him. Damn.'

Kisame launched quickly from where he stood, his huge sword at hand. He swung quickly and precisely, almost beheading Hiro if it wasn't for his quick reflexes. Unfortunately, not all of him came through. The long sword managed to nick the back of his head, giving him a 'near' buzz cut at the back of his cranium.

"Not quick enough kid."

Another slash made its way towards the younger man, but this time, Hiro was quicker. Sidestepping to the left, he slid under the slashing sword just as it went down. Placing his hands on his left side, he pushed himself further back, giving himself time to pull out his weapons as he back flipped gracefully.

But a laugh emitted right behind him and he soon felt the flesh on his back split. He fell forward, trying to avoid having the blade through him. Rolling sideways he became aware of the fact that he was cornered. Kisame made his way slowly and deliberately, the nasty smile on his face widening if it were possible.

Without wasting a moment, Kisame struck forth. Hiro pulled out a rod in a feeble attempt to protect himself. The sword struck the rod, slicing it cleanly as if it was butter. The edge of the blade lodged itself onto his side … but it never went all the way.

A large shard of glass fell from above, cutting Kisame cleanly in half, the point going through the centre of his skull right down to his groin. He was so intent on his killing blow that his expression of pure blood lust never changed even as he was cut. Blood splashed everywhere staining Hiro's already blood soaked garments with even more blood.

Pale white fur brushed against his falling form, nudging his body with its cold and wet nose.

Hiro relaxed his pained body, leaning against the rabbit's matted fur. His fight was over, and he didn't even do much. Unfortunately, he didn't come out unscathed. Gripping onto a clump of stringy fur, he pulled himself upright.

"Hey, Usa-chan, can you give me a lift buddy?" Hiro smiled wearily.

The rabbit lied down and picked him up with its long floppy ears before gently placing him by the unmoving, but fortunately breathing, young girl.

"Thanks."

With Naruto and Shikamaru, they had easily managed the blue haired woman, first, rendering her arms and hands useless and then finally knocking her out unconscious.

"Should we kill her now?" the blonde asked, his distaste for the woman very clear.

"Tempting … but no. We may need the information she possesses. Here. You hang on to her. It's too troublesome for me."

"Shkamaru!" he whined, but lifted the unconscious form over his shoulder anyway, while dodging the still falling bits of glass.

They walked towards the altar and immediately stopped alongside the large rabbit, watching in horror and reluctant fascination at what was occurring in front of them.

Neji was pinned on a stone column, using thorns, assorted living greenery and what one can only describe as the tough membrane of a dragon's wing. His predicament had been caused by his suicidal, possibly murderous, attempt at freeing Tenten only to be stopped by the two guardians. His constant struggle caused the pool of blood that now formed a rivulet by his feet.

Sasuke and Itachi on the other hand were in the middle of a dangerous tussle between brothers, a tussle where Sasuke clearly was outclassed. But soon he was thrown off; landing on a pile of thorns at the far end of the garden, unmoving, as the moment Itachi had been waiting for had been arrived.

The altar, a place of offerings for divine beings was now the stage for the rebirth of the Mugen.

The translucent barrier of light that formed around the semi-circular platform broke and scattered into small jigsaw pieces of glowing glass. The stage was open and the slender figure of a woman appeared – the star of this show.

The dust clouds settled to show a winged she-beast.

Tenten, or what is now the Mugen, opened her eyes, which were two slits of grey-blue disks, cold and hard like the frozen waters that reflect the dark seas. She stretched her coal black wings, the wingspans twice the size of her human form, strong yet elegant. A tail of the same shade as her wings made its presence clear as it swept through the floor, cracking the stone altar in the process. She rolled her neck as her canines grew longer than what is normal for a human.

Itachi stared in greed. He felt Illusion's unconscious essence and frowned as he realised he could not sense Kisame at all. He now realised that it was all up to him.

'Your demise Mugen, is my success.'

With no forewarning of any sort, Itachi was blown across the garden, his body flying through solid walls in the blink of an eye.

"Tenten?" Neji whispered his voice hoarse with pain and lack of recognition.

The creature turned its head towards Neji, her eyes unwavering and all seeing. She walked towards him, posture erect and head held high like that of royal blood. Neji flinched as she grew closer, unsure as to what the she-beast will do to him.

"You have no need to worry boy," the she-beast answered, her voice raspy and hard, "I can sense your intentions and I know you will not cause my host's body any harm."

He let out the breath he did not know he held.

"Unlike that other male, I know for a fact that you hold deep affection for this human girl. I believe that human emotion is called … love. Is it not?"

Neji stiffened.

"Your reaction just made my assumption very clear."

And with that, she slashed away at his bindings, causing him to drop unceremoniously onto the floor. Her eyes glanced around at her surrounding and towards the others.

"This place is about to collapse, I suggest you all leave now before leaving is impossible."

"But what about Ten-chan?" Naruto asked the question that has been bothering the young Hyuga.

"My human host? She will stay here."

"Bu- " Neji began.

The she-beast silenced him with a look before turning away to land her gaze towards Itachi and his captive.

The group jumped in surprise as they did not hear Itachi's approach. Naruto clenched his fist as he saw Itachi hold his comrade and best-friend hostage.

"I know for a fact that you wouldn't offer yourself to me just for my brother's life," Itachi's statement directed towards the Mugen, "But for you shinobis, I will make a trade. The Mugen's life … for hi-."

Itachi didn't even finish his last word when a swift sweep of two scythes made its ways through his heart, just narrowly avoiding his brother, killing him instantly.

"You dare threaten a kin of ours …" the oldest of the triplets said.

" … then you die by our blade without a moment's hesitation," the female finished.

"Thank you," the Mugen replied, "now if you could please deliver these shinobis …"

"And kunoichi!" a newly awakened Keiko quipped.

" … and kunoichi outside safely. I believe this is what my host would have wanted."

"But wouldn't she rather be back with us in Konoha," Neji said quietly.

The Mugen looked at him, "that may be so … but her blood sacrifice has sealed the deal. She is my host and therefore I become her mistress."

"But she was unaware of the situation," Neji replied more passionately.

"I'm afraid she was," Hiro's quiet voice was barely heard but it cut through the entire racket made by the collapsing building.

"What do you mean she was?" Neji frowned, unable to see how that was possible.

"She was," Hiro hesitated, "never really under my control. We had this all planned a long time ago. She was perfectly aware of the situation and the sacrifice she was meant to make. I … I'm sorry but … I couldn't change her mind."

"There you go. There's your answer. Now go, you must all leave now."

"Can't we see her one last time?" Naruto asked, his voice pleading.

Neji would've done anything for a chance to see her, but he held his mouth shut.

The Mugen stared at the group. Then, at Neji. She must have seen something for her answer was positive.

"Alright. But we must do this near the outside or none of you will make it out alive. Follow me."

She turned around and led the way, dodging through falling debris and stepping over obstacles with ease. The rest of them followed with less grace. Usa-chan had shrunk back to its doll-like state and was now tucked under Keiko's arm. The lifeless Sasuke was piggy backed on Shikamaru's back while Hiro was being carefully aided by Neji, hobbling in pain every step of the way. The guardians took to the back.

They ducked under what was once probably a very beautiful arch, decorated with roses in bloom in varying colours and style. It was impossible for them to go any faster but they tried to keep up with the Mugen's steady and brisk pace. They went through orchards, meadows and underground streams. Through tunnels and up stairs that seemed to never end.

Neji felt his companion slow down considerably and realised just how heavily wounded he was. He decided to take action.

"I'm carrying you now, you can't complain."

Neji lifted Hiro up, who was no lightweight, and proceeded to walk faster to catch up with the group.

Too tired to complain and in too much pain, Hiro remained quiet.

Finally they stopped. At a dead end. Light was peeping through the cracks but the way was covered by an obstacle at least a foot thick.

"Stand back," the she-beast said with only a few seconds warning before she smashed through the wall with a powerful thrust of the heel of her hand.

Light flooded the way, and the scene of a river rushing and green grass greeted them all.

The female guardian tapped Neji on the shoulder and motioned for him to put Hiro down. He did as he was told. Placing her hand on his wounds, pale white light seeped from her fingers and closed his open wounds on his side and on his back.

"Thank you," he said with earnest gratitude.

"You're welcome. I am done now Mugen, it is your turn."

"Of course. As promised." The Mugen closed her eyes.

A ray of pale blue light covered her and soon her tail, wings and extra long canines were gone. As she opened her eyes, a set of familiar brown orbs appeared.

She looked around and smiled but her eyes met no one's.

"My mistress has told me that you wanted to see me. I don't have long you guys. I'll miss you all," she smiled gently.

"Ten-chan … I'll miss you too!" Naruto exclaimed, dropping Leiko on the ground like a sack of flour before glomping her with affection.

"Me too Akako-chan," Keiko whimpered, her eyes full of tears. She went up and hugged her too.

Tenten embraced them back, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

Shikamaru, nodded to her, "I didn't really know you that well, but it was nice to see you again."

"I'm with him," the now conscious Sasuke said.

The two finally let go of Tenten and stepped back. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.

"Even after all those years, I still can't hold my emotions back," she sniffed, "a bit pathetic eh?" She laughed without humour.

Hiro stepped forward and took their place causing a pang of jealousy in Neji.

"No, you were great. You still are. I wish you didn't have to go." He gripped her tighter.

"I know," she whispered, her tear stained face awash with emotion, "You were the best thing in the Akatsuki … equal to Keiko-chan."

"But never more, eh?" he replied sadly.

Tenten smiled apologetically then faced everyone. She was hoping to talk to someone else one last time but it seemed unlikely.

"My time's almost up. Say hi to everyone else for me and tell Lee and Hinata that I miss them so much."

Naruto nodded, unable to speak.

Neji stared at her, unable to move however much he wanted to. He felt a nudge in his rib. It was Hiro.

"It's now or never. I know you love her … and I know she loves you too." Hiro stared at Tenten's delicate form and then added subconsciously, "You were the one thing stopping me from ever getting her. Go now. Go while you still can."

Neji clenched his teeth and took a step forward.

"Tenten …"

She looked at him, and he felt his world shatter as the facts began to sink in.

Three steps were all it took for him to reach her and he engulfed her small frame into his.

"Don't go," he whispered, full of emotion in his words, "please don't go."

Tenten just had enough and immediately burst into tears, clutching him back vigorously, "I can't. I can't. I promised."

"Please. Is there anyway for you to come back? Anyway for me to see again?"

"I … I don't know. I don't think so," she sobbed.

"Ten …" he took a deep breath, "I … I love you."

She froze for a millisecond only to have her body racking harder, with tears pouring from her eyes like cascading waterfalls.

"I. I do too. I … I love you Neji, I always have. I'm so sorry."

She cried harder. And he began crying.

The on-lookers looked away at the sight. They seemed so sorry … the pain they were expressing were so vivid, they could almost feel it themselves.

"Neji … I have to go. She wants my body back."

"Just a second longer. Please."

"I- I can't," Tenten said, pushing Neji away from her as a ray of light hit her once more, transforming her into the Mugen.

"You've had you're last chance boy and you've said how you felt. There's nothing else you can do to make her come back with you. Unless you want to spend an eternity locked inside some ruin, I suggest you leave now before I lose my hospitality and have you all for dinner. You have only seen the barest hint of my power, there is no chance of survival for the likes of you if you dare fight me."

Neji wiped his face with his sleeve, his impassive look returning as if nothing had happened at all, "I understand."

He glanced back to his companions and back to the Mugen.

"In that case … will you allow me to stay here?"

"Are you crazy Hyuga?" Sasuke looked at him in disbelief.

"The boy is right. Are you crazy?" The Mugen lifted Tenten's arched eyebrows.

"No. I am not." Neji's voice was calm and collected, "As you said earlier, I love her. I have suffered five long years thinking that she was dead, and now … now that I've found her again, I refuse to leave her side."

"You realise boy that your friend Tenten is no longer the user of her own body. Through her blood sacrifice we had made a deal making me her mistress and the new owner of her human form."

"I understand that … but what was the deal you had made? Isn't there anything in your pact that allows Tenten to use her own body from time to time?"

"Of course. She is allowed out when I say she can."

"Is that it?" Neji persisted.

The Mugen frowned at Neji, "And 1/3 of each human day if you must know."

"Then I will still be able to see her. With your approval of course."

"Neji, what on earth are you planning? Hinata won't appreciate losing you too after she lost Tenten!" Naruto panicked.

"True. But she won't die of it. She was closer to Tenten than she is to me. If she had managed Tenten's disappearance … then she can manage mine. Besides, this way, my uncle would have no choice but to make her the heir, allowing her to choose freely whom she can marry without any fear or restraints."

"That sounds very noble of you boy – but you forget who decides whether you may stay. These ruins are holy grounds and the disturbance and havoc you humans have caused will not be forgotten anytime soon. What makes you think that I will allow you to stay just because I know you will not cause any harm towards my host? You are no more special to me just because my human reciprocates your feelings than that man my guardians have killed."

"I realise that Mugen-sama, but I also realise that you would need another host to keep you alive when Tenten gets older. I know for a fact that although her powers may be increased due to your possession, it does not make her immortal. If I heard correctly, only a female descendant of the Goddess of Flight may bear you. I do not think finding another female heir would be easy after your host's death."

The she-beast's face remained unreadable, but her eyes held something resembling amusement.

"You make a fine point, but what do you propose," she asked, eyebrows arched.

Neji smiled, "I think you know what I mean."

Naruto's face was nonplussed and so was Keiko's, even Sasuke seemed lost. Only Hiro and Shikamaru seemed to understand the point Neji was driving towards. As for the guardians, it didn't take long for them to realise what Neji's proposal was.

"I see," the Mugen smiled, a deceptively pleasant change to her otherwise inexpressive face. "There will be rules and consequences that you must be aware of. But for now, I accept. I am sure my host would see it in the same way."

"Thank you, Mugen-sama."

"You drive a hard bargain boy, a hard bargain." The Mugen turned her head towards the rest of the group. "As for the rest of you, I won't suggest that you leave," she smiled warmly, only for her expression to harden and for her smile to become frosty, "I command you to. GO!"

Shikamaru hesitated for a moment, then looked at Neji one last time. "What do you want me to tell them?"

"The truth," Neji said.

The Nara boy nodded his head. "No more secrets then. Good. Till the next time then." He motioned towards the rest of the group, "You heard Mugen-sama, we need to go now."

All shinobis and Keiko, followed suit, a parting nod or wave directed towards Neji as they passed him.

Hiro was the last in line and he stopped briefly, his back towards Neji, "Take care of her."

"You know I will."

Then he leapt off the ground, his wounds no longer a bother, following the rest of the group as they made their way back towards civilisation.

Neji stood still, watching intently as the last of his comrades shrunk into small specks, disappearing into the horizon.

"The doors shall open unto thee

When proof of courage is laid before me."

The Mugen whispered, her words just soft enough for Neji to hear. "Your courage to stand up for your beliefs is commendable. Welcome Neji Hyuga, welcome to my Kingdom."

Epilogue

A month later …

A young man with a ponytail that spiked outwards in the semblance of a pineapple bowed respectfully in front of the Hokage, before carefully placing a folder atop her deeply worn mahogany desk.

"As you have requested, Tsunade-sama."

The said sannin eyed the neatly laid out file, a faint frown creeping on her ageless face. "Is this everything Shikamaru?"

"Hai."

The woman paged through the sheaf of papers, her fingers turning each page at a slow yet precise manner.

"Was the interrogation successful?" Tsunade said, without breaking the constant rhythm of her fingers on the pages.

"Yes. The man, Hiro-san, willingly gave us the information we needed. And the woman, known as Illusion, broke easily under Ino's control."

"So the Yamanaka girl has accepted Ibiki's offer?"

"To become his interim? Yes. In fact, the troublesome woman may even be enjoying herself."

"I should have guessed." Tsunade chuckled under her breath.

The young man said nothing, feigning disinterest towards the subject of a certain blonde in the form of silence. There was a lack of verbal exchange between the two as the sole focus was on understanding the report. Tsunade's lips were set in a tenuous downward curve, her forehead slightly creasing – the hints of confusion. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated, closing it once again as she continued to read through the rest of the papers. Shikamaru leant back, resting his shoulders against the pasty wall of the Hokage's office, closing his eyes while waiting.

"Let me get a few things straight ..." the Hokage pursed her lips, "Hirohito-san was an agent from the Hidden Cloud village in Lightning Country, the same village that used the peace treaty between our village and theirs as a pretext in order to abduct Hyuga Hinata and gain the secrets of the Byakugan. And he has happily given us all these … added information regarding the Akatsuki out of his own free will? Can we be sure that his accounts are true? I admit that a lot of what he says matches with the information Tenten has gathered for us but we know nothing of what happened after her last report … that would be since your team was sent out on that last mission nearly two months ago."

Creased lines formed on the young Nara's forehead.

"To be honest, Hokage-sama – we can't. There is no absolute way to tell whether he was telling us the truth unless we take extreme measures – measures that you have deemed illegal. To put him under what we put Illusion under would be callous and it may just cause unwanted resentment in someone whom we could consider a valuable ally. Also, I believe that it would take a lot more than Ibiki-san's interrogation to find out anything of importance in Hiro-san's mind. To go past what Ibiki normally does would – permanently damage him."

Tsunade nodded over steepled fingers, "I suppose the Akatsuki training would have been responsible for that. It would be like trying to force the secrets of the Byakugan out of Hyuga Neji."

"Very much so."

"Hmm," the Hokage pondered, "we may not be able to prove that he is telling the absolute truth, but, would you say, Nara-san, that he is telling the truth? Would it not be erroneous to believe that he will not sell us off to his own village?"

Shikamaru sighed, "I'd rather hoped that you wouldn't ask my opinion but since you have, I am prepared to answer a tentative yes."

"But a yes nevertheless."

He nods.

"Why is that?

"Two reasons. One, I mentioned somewhere in the report that he was originally sent to infiltrate the Akatsuki base through becoming a new recruit – very much like Tenten's mission – except that he was abandoned after the second year. Not that he has spoken with anything remotely recognisable as anger or antagonism towards his village, but I think that it would be safe to assume that he will not be returning to them anytime soon. I would doubt that his loyalty to his village be completely intact after being forsaken by his own people."

"Fair enough. What is your second reason then?

"Tenten," he answered simply.

"Oh …," Tsunade said, mildly taken aback, "so … the rumours were true?"

"That depends on which ones."

"I see … would that be written in the report?" a mildly sinister glint appeared in her eyes, suggesting more interest in the idea of an illicit love affair than anything else.

"Er …," Shikamaru pulled uncomfortably at his collar, "only the ones that came directly from Hiro-san."

Tsunade "hmphed" uncharacteristically, a dissatisfied look in her eyes, "It would have been so much better if you had included all the rumours floating about, such as that one about Hirohito being Tenten's boy toy in the Akatsuki or the one about Tenten carrying his child and being forced to leave the Akatsuki as she was heavily pregnant, or my favourite, the one with Hirohito being an exiled prince from Storm Country after directly disobeying his father's orders of marrying a neighbouring country's princess from the Lightning Country. He then ended up being saved by our Tenten from certain death, smuggling him into the Akatsuki as her assistant. Apparently, they didn't get along at first but slowly they fell in love and then Hirohito had the guts to tell her that he loved her whilst fighting for their lives in the middle a civil war they accidentally got involved with. She then answered yes and they got married the next day only for it to be thwarted by an evil prince with a glossy black mane, as dark as the night sky who swept her away on his noble steed, leaving Hirohito-san alone and heartbroken."

The Nara boy blinked. "Um …"

"Oh never mind," the Hokage waved her hand dismissively, "Jiraya will just have to wait for a new plot material a bit longer. Anyway, moving back to the report – what is the deal with Tenten being hypnotised by the Illusion girl?"

"About that, well …"

There was a knock on the door, interrupting Shikamaru.

"Come in, and hurry it up would you?" Tsunade said, annoyance in her voice.

The door was pushed open and in came a young man with midnight, blue hair tied right by the nape of his neck.

"Tsunade-sama," he bowed low and formally, "I was told to come here by Shizune-san."

"So you're Hirohito-san, am I right?"

"Hai."

"Come in and close the door after you."

He did as he was bid.

"Have a seat. I was just asking Shikamaru-san here, whom I assume you've met before, about the deal with Tenten-san being hypnotised. Would you care to shed some light regarding this … area of confusion?"

"Of course," he paused, his eyes unconsciously started to close as a dreamy sigh escaped from his lips. "It was the first time Aka – my apologies – I meant the first time Tenten had returned home from an unsuccessful mission. The first time I had confessed …"

Flashback

Tenten stared at him. Hard.

"I know that already. I've also known that you liked me. God, can you make it even more obvious? If you just want me to like you …well, you've accomplished that already. I like you … as a comrade, as a friend. But … if you're talking about loving you …then that's just not possible."

"Why? Are the rumours true? Was the guy you were supposed to kill your ex-lover?"

Tenten stiffened.

More silence.

Then Hiro spoke softly, "So it IS true."

Tenten clenched her fists even tighter, her nails creating crescent dents on her gloves. She closed her eyes, reminiscing Neji's face, his lips, his jaw and his ivory eyes with that small hint of lavender. She remembered the times when they used to spar and how she always lost to him. How he used to scorn her mistakes until Naruto showed him the true meaning of life, of having friends, of caring. How he slowly warmed up to the team, to her. Oh how she missed him. Slowly, Tenten shook her head at Hiro and then looked up at him.

"No," she replied, "we were comrades, friends … nothing more."

"But you loved him didn't you?"

She didn't speak but her eyes betrayed her.

Hiro looked at her kindly, and then smiled a genuine smile.

"I think it's funny," he began, making Tenten look him in the eye, "it's funny that … you end up loving someone who doesn't reciprocate your feelings. Isn't that funny?

He gave a chuckle.

Tenten just kept staring at him.

"I remember … back when I wasn't in the Akatsuki yet, I remember how I hated all those girls who used to chase me around, wanting to be my girlfriend. How I wished every girl would just leave me alone, to let me live my life without their incessant whining and proclamations of undying love. But now, now that I wanted someone. Wanted that someone to love me back the way I love them …I just find it funny."

"So, are you trying to tell me that … you're becoming like one of those fan girls?" Tenten smirked.

Hiro smiled.

"I think that's the closest thing to a smile that I've ever received from you. What I'd do to be Keiko. Just what does Keiko have that I don't? Er … except for boobs and the other part of course."

Tenten couldn't help it. She smiled.

"You know, for such a … serious guy, you can be quite funny."

"Unfortunately, I have an image to protect. I can't just go laughing around if I want those people to listen to me. Take Tobi for instance."

They laughed. Tenten looked up at Hiro and cocked her head to one side, still giggling slightly.

"You're prettier when you smile. You should do it more often."

Tenten rolled her eyes, trying to hide her blush then retorted a quick comeback.

"Unfortunately, I also have an image to protect."

He shook his head at her sudden playfulness. They were quiet again for some time.

"You know, if this was a different situation. If I had never met …you know who … I might actually love you back," Tenten whispered shortly after.

"Is that so?"

"Maybe. I don't know, I mean, how would I kn-"

But before she could finish what she was saying, Hiro's lips had already descended upon hers.

Tenten's reaction was both swift and brutal. Her knee flew up towards his groin, narrowly missing her target by a hairsbreadth. Hiro was fortunate enough to have sensed the tensing of her muscles to react accordingly, avoiding any real physical bruising. However, he wasn't able to shift quick enough to avoid a serious bruising of his ego. Tenten quickly twisted his arm around his back, pressing a pressure point to paralyse his arms into place, then pushed him head first into her room. He landed not too softly on the wooden flooring. A short click was heard before Hiro felt himself being pushed up into a chair, then turned around. Tenten's face was impassive.

"That was stupid Hiro-san," she spoke in a clipped tone.

"Why? You afraid to get caught?" he sneered, covering for his embarrassment and shattered ego.

She frowned at him, "That is the least of my worries. You should be more concerned about yourself and what your "little confession" and "action" could do to the dynamics of our team."

"That was my decision Akako. I know myself well enough to be able to say that it won't interfere with our dynamics. Besides, I would be more than happy to give my life up for you."

She looked at him coldly "Your 'death' could be the very screw up that could cost me my life."

Hiro gritted his teeth. "Don't play this game Akako. You're not the cold, self-centred bitch that you think you are."

She lifted an eyebrow, "I never thought that – which is why I am going to suggest that you go now before it's too late."

"What?"

Tenten stroked her hair back before rubbing her forehead in exasperation.

"Don't think that I didn't know about your 'true purpose' of coming here," she said, making bunny ears with her fingers as she said the words 'true purpose'.

"What are you talking about?" he said defensively.

"Hirohito Kurogawa, aged 23, citizen and shinobi of the Hidden Cloud Village, sent here undercover to infiltrate the Akatsuki defences by becoming a member, abandoned 3 years ago by his country," she listed off her fingers. "Would you like me to go on?"

His lips were sealed shut, an angry line across his face.

"Do you understand now?"

"No. How? Why?"

"We've been on many missions in the Lightning Country. Let's leave it at that. And as to your why … I presume you mean why I haven't rattled you out yet?"

He nodded.

"Well that is because I needed an ally."

"…"

"That's right. Like you I am not a seditious shinobi. I am a kunoichi true to my country. And like you, I was tasked with a similar mission."

"So that's why you didn't kill me? You knew that long ago?"

Tenten smiled wryly, "Don't credit me for too much. I didn't find out until quite a few years later."

"So what now? Why would you want me to go? As you've said before I am your ally. I would be willing to do anything for you."

"That's exactly why you should go. You've become too soft on me. You've become too attached to me. That means I'll have to kill you."

"What?"

"Pein-sama has hinted that he wants you gone. He hasn't given me a direct order yet but I can tell he wants it done soon."

"Oh. So you're worried about me," he said slyly.

"I don't need unnecessary blood on my hands. Guilt is something I've put up with, never something I enjoyed."

"Tch, you don't fool me Akako. I know you care. You've just told me you like me, you see me as a friend. You can't possibly kill me even with a direct order from Pein-sama. You didn't kill me the first time, remember? Besides, there's something else you might want to know. Something that I know and you don't."

She gave him a hard look.

"What is there to know? All I have to say is this. You may be my 'friend',' she whispered darkly, "but you are not above my mission."

"Spoken like a true kunoichi," he mutters off-handedly, "tell you what. How about you come with me?"

"Go with you? Not possible. My mission is not over. We are just about to discover what Pein-sama is planning to do and I'm not about to lose that chance. I've spent way too long and lost too much to leave now," she hissed furiously.

"Then I'll stay with you till the end."

Tenten grabbed a fist-full of her hair in an attempt to control her pent up frustration, "You stu-"

"Shut up and let me explain. You've just said that we're just about to discover what Pein-sama wants, he couldn't possibly want me dead before his plans have been executed. We all know that it's too big a plan and that we all have a part in it one way or another. I'll stay with you till you get what you want and then we're both leaving. And that's my final decision."

She eyed him with distaste.

"When I said I needed an ally, I meant a live one."

"That I will be. Besides, you need me. I'm not the only one they want dead."

"What do you mean?" she frowned, not liking the reversal of the situation. She didn't like him having the upper hand one bit.

"You see, I've found out that they need you."

"I know that already."

"Not in the way that you're thinking. You see, they want your body – as a host."

"What?"

"You're apparently a direct descendant of some goddess and they need your body in order to capture some sort of tailed demon. In other words, you'd be dead if you don't leave beforehand. And for you to leave, you'd need an ally. Me."

She sighed into her hands, muttering curses too foul to repeat.

"I'll let you go this time. But you should know that leaving here is not exactly as easy as just resigning a desk job."

"Isn't that what you had just wanted me to do?"

Tenten lifted an eyebrow, "I was going to make it look like I killed you. That way you could have left and they wouldn't have known anything."

"Make it look like you killed me? Tch. How would you have fooled them?"

She shrugged, "I already have. Not everyone I had to kill actually died."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say I know my poisons and antidotes well, especially when it comes to roses."

"Then why don't we pretend to have committed suicide and end this façade now?"

"Because we can't. Someone would have to make sure they don't actually damage the bodies, otherwise we'd really be dead. The only way to escape is if we somehow managed to get outside help."

Hiro frowned, knotting his brows. Then a thought occurred. 'But we can.'

"Yes we can."

Tenten blinked in surprise at his response, "How?"

"You've managed to stay in contact with your people haven't you?"

"Yes I have," she said tersely, "what of it?"

"Then I have a plan."

She crossed her arms waiting for him to continue.

"Let them catch you sending a message to your people."

"Why would I do that?" she scoffed.

"Just wait and let me explain. We have to make sure that it's Leiko who finds out first. I'll be walking with her at that time and we'll trap you and truss you up like a pig. Then we'll use on you a technique Pein-sama has been making us work on."

"What technique?"

"A submission jutsu."

"Care to explain?"

He nodded, "With Leiko's jutsu and mine combined, we have created a technique that would have allowed us to control anybody, forcing them into a complete submission. But it doesn't stop there. While the technique is in place, the body will feel no pain and therefore be able to continue on despite any action inflicted on the body. Not even sliced off limbs will hinder it. Nor will it know anything of what is going on."

"And then what? I'll be in your complete and utter control? "

"Not quite. The technique has not been perfected. Leiko does not have a complete control of the person's mind, if any. What we'll do is trick her into believing she has you in her control. When she sees you send your message, I will convince her to use you as a guinea pig. I know she will agree. She hates your guts – no offence. And when Pein-sama has 'seen' that it 'works', then your cover will be complete. We'll send your village a message; let them know of the plan. We can then give them trails to follow."

Tenten looked dubious. "I don't like this plan. It has far too many pitfalls. But then again, I have nothing better. I will start planning as to how we'll leave the trails. Sort your thing out then let me know when we'll begin."

"Fine. I'm glad you trust me enough to do this," he smiled.

"I don't."

Hiro's smile faltered.

"But I haven't got a lot of options."

"Tch. Fair enough. Now would you mind relieving me of this paralysis?"

Tenten pressed a few pressure points then pointed the way out.

Hiro stretched his arms before standing, "I'll see you later Akako."

Tenten nodded simply.

End of Flashback

"And it all pretty much went according to plan."

"Except that now I have lost an incredible kunoichi as she is now currently possessed by a demon," Tsunade mutters, "When did it all start going downhill?"

Hiro tensed. "When?" He replied bitterly, "That happened when Tenten found out what the Akatsuki had planned for her fellow shinobi when they were sent in to save her."

"That was not in the report," Tsunade said bluntly.

"Pein-sa, " he shook his head, correcting himself, "Pein was going to have them butcher each other. He had Leiko master a spell that would make a person see the enemy, rather than their friend. We wouldn't have needed to do anything save watch them kill each other. The plan was to have this jutsu activated after Tenten had been killed in the hopes that it will increase their brutality."

Tsunade clenched her fists, "That sick and sad bastard. Oh Kami-sama, that girl does not deserve this."

"No she doesn't … but she has made her choice. And I respect her for her courage," Hiro said calmly, though pain was clear in his eyes.

Tsunade affirmed his comments with a nod while Shikamaru just stayed silent.

"But what of that child Keiko?"

"Her mind will forever be like a child's," Hiro grimaced, "she followed her sister to the Akatsuki but she was far too … unsatisfactory for them. The only reason she was there was because she loved her sister, not because she wanted to join. She was still loyal to her village and so Leiko was ordered to turn against her. She has put on Keiko a jutsu that will forever keep her mind child-like, obeying her only as a younger sister should. Unfortunately for her, Keiko had grown to love Tenten more as she had treated Keiko with kindness. And so she was more than willing to follow Tenten despite finding out about her true agenda. This I had seen immediately, allowing me to inform her of our plans."

"I see."

"I do not mean to ask more than what I should but is there a chance you could cure Keiko of her affliction? Tenten had cared deeply for Keiko and I believe that she would have asked you the same thing."

Tsunade nodded in agreement, "I will do my best for that child. I have seen her myself and I can see why Tenten had cared for her. She had Hinata's sweetness, Ino's vivacity and Sakura's cleverness. She was like a reminder of her cherished friends. A child like her should not have to suffer. No one should be put through a jutsu like that."

The shinobis were silent, reflecting on the anguish caused in those last few weeks.

Shikamaru was the first to break the silence. "Tsunade-sama, if you have no need of me any longer, I would like to be excused."

"Just one more thing," Tsunade held up a manicured finger, "Before you go, I'd like to know about that steamy little kiss you shared with Tenten."

Shikamaru reddened slowly, "I … don't exactly remember much. I did get my neck snapped."

"Then would you like me to explain?" Hiro asked politely, a look of mild envy and satisfaction fighting in his face. Envy for having had Tenten kiss him willingly, and satisfaction that Nara boy now burned under the Hokage's sly scrutiny.

"That would be much appreciated," beamed the Hokage.

Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably.

"You see, when Tenten had kissed him, she had slipped a pill that was filled with a substance that numbs and paralyses a person, thus making sure that the person won't feel any pain. When she snapped his neck, Nara-san would not have felt anything."

"But she still snapped his neck. How could he still be alive? Sure it would have been painless but he should still be dead."

Hiro nodded at the Hokage, "You make a fine point Hokage-sama But that's where Keiko came in. Though her strength does not lie in the powers of illusion, like her sister, she also shares some illusory skills. Shikamaru's neck was snapped just enough to make it look realistic without actually killing him and the rest was all just an illusion created by Keiko."

"And then you just got her to stay behind in order to resnap my neck and feed me the antidote," continued Shikamaru.

"Correct."

"I see," Tsunade nodded appreciatively, "So Shikamaru … was she any good?"

"P-pardon me?" Shikamaru spluttered.

"I'm talking about Tenten. Was there any serious tongue action during the pill transaction? Oh and don't give me that crap about you not knowing. I know now that you were conscious thoughout," she wiggled her eyebrows.

The Nara boy looked away, burning with embarrassment, "N-nothing like that happened. She just passed me a pill."

"But how would you have known to eat it?" Hiro asked.

Shikamaru reddened even more, "Uh …"

"Oh so there was some serious tongue action," Tsunade giggled gleefully, "she probably made you crush it under your tongue with her tongue above yours then pushed it back for you to swallow."

The Nara boy was silent, his head the semblance of a blood-red pineapple.

Tsunade laughed, "Alright, alright I've had my fun. You're both excused now."

Both shinobis bowed to the Hokage then left, with one unmistakably eager to disappear.

Tsunade smiled as she shook her head, 'Thank you Tenten. Thank you. You've done more than we could have ever asked of you. May you and Neji live happily wherever you are now. I can't wait to see your little Hyuga babies!'

With Neji and Tenten … or shall we say the Mugen?

"Mugen-sama?"

"Yes boy," the creature known as the Mugen slouched inside their newly refurbished dwelling, eying the Hyuaga without interest.

"Is it not time for Tenten to take your place?" he asked politely.

"Ugh. Give me one more minute boy."

"As your wish."

The Mugen yawned deeply, her canines glinting in the low lamp light. She flexed her previously curled up wings before tucking them back in. She glanced at the Hyuga one more time. "Make sure she says yes or I'll have to kill you."

Neji chuckled, "I'll do my best Mugen-sama."

The demon nodded before a ray of light hit it, changing back into Tenten.

"Hey Neji!" she grinned.

"Hello to you too."

"So … what's for dinner tonight? I'm starving," she said, stretching her arms out after 18 hours of sleep.

"Follow me …"

"Roger that."

Tenten skipped beside Neji, slipping her hand between his along the way. He held onto hers, twining their fingers carefully.

Candlelight could be glimpsed from the corner of Tenten's eye and she gasped at what Neji had prepared for her. In the middle of the garden was a table with fine linen covering its circular top. Roses sat on a delicate vase in the middle and two candles were placed on both sides. Two dinner plates were laid out complete with utensils and a wine glass. Beside the seats were rows and rows of gorgeous flowers and the heavy scent of roses mingled to the smell of freshly cut grass.

"Wow. This is amazing Neji! But how?"

Neji only smirked, "You've been asleep for 18 hours. Let's just say I have a lot of time. Now come on, we don't want to keep the food waiting."

She smiled up at him, "You're absolutely right."

They walked up to the seats. Neji pulled back Tenten's chair for her before seating himself. Out of nowhere Ryuu came in with a bottle of wine.

"How about we begin with the Rose Country's special Chardonnay – a blend of luscious grapes and of roses."

"Why thank you Ryuu-san. That's wonderful."

Ryuu poured them both a glass full and then left them to catch up on today's events.

A while later, Rosa came in to serve them the mains. It was roasted chicken breast stuffed with brie, apricots and cashew nuts covered with a delicious creamy white sauce. Salad sat on a small bow with dressing to match.

"Thank you Rosa-san. This is wonderful."

"It's nothing Tenten," she smiled kindly, "I love it when people enjoy my cooking."

"This is unbelievable … I … I don't know what to say!" Tenten flushed in happiness.

Neji only smiled, "Well I haven't asked you to say anything."

"True. But you've given me far too much. Mere words of gratitude isn't exactly enough to compensate your effort. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"Actually," Neji smirked, "there is."

"What is it?"

"Marry me," he replied bluntly, sliding a small velvet box across the table.

She beamed at him, "Definitely."

Tenten leaped off her seat them glomped Neji. Neji smiled in relief, engulfing her in a hug.

Then Tenten froze, "But Neji …"

"Hn …"

"What would Mugen-sama say?" she looked up at him, her brown eyed dulled with worry.

"She's perfectly fine with it. So don't worry."

"Why would she allow that? In fact, you still haven't answered my question as to why Mugen-sama allowed you to stay?"

Neji shifted his grip on her, carefully placing Tenten on his lap. He thought about his wording carefully then replied with one simple word.

"Progeny."

Tenten blinked and blushed, "O-oh."

"So now you see why she's fine with it?"

"I-I see." She stuttered before shaking her head. "If that's the case then … shall we start preparing for the wedding?"

Neji was mildly surprised. The he recovered himself, smiling at her eagerness. "Not now. We've got a lot of time. Right now let's enjoy the dinner Rosa-san has kindly prepared for us."

"Oh yes. I forgot myself."

She eased herself out of Neji's grip, much to his dislike and sat back on her seat.

Her eyes twinkled in slight mischief. "So now that we're engaged … does that mean I get to sleep with you?"

Neji choked on a mouthful of salad.

Tenten just laughed.

"If that's what you want." Neji replied, recovering immediately, a teasing smirk on his lips.

THUD.

"Tenten? Tenten?"

'Oh crap.'