Chapter 7 - An Unequal Pain

The dawn of the morning was just peeking into the small Hyuuga home, but the souls that resided within it had already been up for more than an hour. Tenten said nothing, as she went over each and every one of Neji's weapons, making sure they were clean and durable before placing them in his pouch on the bed. Neji sat on the other side with his back to her, a map in his hand as he went over the fastest routes in and out of the Fire Country.

Mission mornings: They were always very tense and very quiet. The assign ninja going over mission specs and possible strategies, all in the name of completing their duty.

Tenten had finally assembled Neji's supplies to her liking before she left his ready pouch sitting on the bed before walking over to their closet. She reached high above her head to the shelf, her fingers seeking until they came across smooth and cold porcelain. She firmly took a hold of it and brought it to her before holding it in both hands. She sighed as she regarded the mark of the wolf. The wolf was dedicated, loyal, protective, and familial – everything that symbolized Neji.

Tenten walked over to her husband and stood before him and presented to him, his ANBU mask. Neji rose his head to her as he rolled up his map and laid it on the nightstand before reaching out to take the mask from her hands. “Tenten,” his voice along with his eyes were soft. “I trust you,” he confessed. He then shook his head. “About yesterday, I just need you know. . . just in case, that I-”

“Don't speak,” Tenten interrupted him as she guided their hands to the nightstand to put down the mask. “Whatever you have to say, you say when you get back.”

Neji nodded his head in understanding before Tenten took either side of his face and gently kissed the cursed mark on his forehead. Neji's lavender eyes slowly closed and he let himself exhale as he felt his wife tender kisses on his face. “We can't,” he spoke. “I'll be late,” he expressed his concern.

“Let them wait,” were her words as she lowered herself to her knees before claiming Neji's lips with her own. Her hands found the buttons to his ANBU uniform before she began to unfasten them. Neji gave her no more protest as he allowed the clothing to be striped from his body. He then broke their kiss as he took a hold of Tenten's arms and as he stood, he forced her back onto her feet.

He stared into her eyes and behind those hazel orbs he saw passion and need and so would not deny her. Neji then suddenly crushed his mouth against his wife's. Their tongues pushing against each other in a display of dominance that neither could seem to take from the other. Neji kissed her as if he were hungry for her as he licked and sucked on her lips. And as his lips played, his hands worked to pull the small frame of Tenten closer to him. His hands journeying south until they met the curve of her backside.

Tenten was only dressed in a short, almost sheer, purple house coat that morning and so Neji took the fabric and let his fingers bring in up slowly until he was able to feel the cotton panties that she wore underneath. Their kiss once again came to an end before Tenten began to nip and suck at Neji's neck and shoulder.

She then felt Neji's agile fingers tug at the little clothing she had on before she took a step back. Neji watched her longingly as her hands went to the rope around her waist before she allowed the robe to fall off her shoulders before it formed a pool around her feet. With his eye still on her, Tenten's thumbs found the band of her matching purple panties and bent over as she slide them down her long tone legs. She then stepped back into Neji, placing a kiss on his chin before undoing the drawstring on his pants and help him out of them.

Neji then took a hold of her and gently laid her down onto the bed, his caresses were soft and deliberate as he explored the familiar body before him. As what came with time, he knew exactly where to touch her to get the sounds he wanted out of her. He smirked in triumph, when she shivered underneath him, when he pinched that spot low on the inside of her thigh.

Tenten's hands hooked around Neji's shoulders before she slightly, but firmly pulled him just a little closer. Heeding her wordless request, Neji lowered himself onto her. She found the weight of him comforting; the heat of his body intensifying the lust she felt for him as he positioned himself between her sprawled legs. Then with one powerful and swift motion, with a grace held only by one born with the Hyuuga name, entered into her waiting body. Tenten exhaled as she felt her husband fill her. Neji then lovingly stroked her face as his hips thrust against her slow and deep. Tenten moaned as she arched her back into him to better feel his penetration. Their breathing became heavy and labored at they worked themselves into a quicker rhythm until each could take no more and they gave in to their bodys' release.

Neji slowly withdrew from her before collapsing beside her on his back. He closed his eyes and raked his fingers through his darks locks, his chest heaving as he rediscovered his lungs. He then felt Tenten shift in their bed before he felt her arm wrap around his chest and hold him tightly. “Come back to me, Hyuuga Neji,” she prayed.

The man beside her opened his eyes before taking her hand in his own and planting a kiss upon it. Then with heavy lidded eyes looked to his wife. “I will,” he told her. A tear slid down Tenten's cheek before she climbed on top of him and rested her head on his chest, where she held him a bit tighter. Neji tenderly ran his fingers through her hair.

He had never seen Tenten so upset before a mission before, but then again, it was he who had broken one of their unwritten rules. He tried to tell her again, how sorry he was for all the fighting they had been doing as of late, which signified his own weariness when it came to his mission. Of course, Tenten had picked up on it and it had frightened her. She didn't want to hear him speak as if he weren't coming back. She wouldn't allowed it. Neji then took a moment to kiss the top of her head. “I promised,” he whispered. “I'll come back to you.”


Neji arrived near the gate opening to find two of the three ANBU members he had been assign with for his mission. Kiba leaned casually against the wall with his arms crossed. His mask resembled that of a dog. A little off to the side of him was Ino, whose mask resembled that of a boar. “Neji-kun,” she called when she saw him approach her. “Where the hell is Shikamaru?” she asked as if he should have known.

“How am I to know?” Neji replied simply, as he began to wonder the same thing. Whenever Skikamaru led a mission, despite his laziness, he was usually very punctual. His tardiness for this particular mission left Neji in a state of uneasiness, but he didn't want to focus on that before their mission even began. So he turned his head towards Kiba and his brow furrowed underneath his mask, if he hadn't known before hand that was Kiba, he probably wouldn't have recognized him.

Akamaru had always been by Kiba's side and with his absence, due to an illness Kiba did not care to discuss with anyone outside of his family, Neji wondered if he would be able to focus on the mission as he should.

“Good, you're all here. Gather round.” Neji, Ino, and Kiba each came out of their thoughts as they heard Shikamaru approach him. He wore his ANBU mask, which resembled a fox. The three gathered around their mission leader as they waited for their instructions. “The mission we were assigned has been put on hold.”

“What? Why?” Kiba asked. “What could be more important than-”

“We've had a kidnapping,” Shikamaru interrupted him. “It took place a few hours before dawn. The assailants are said to be from the Firefly Country.”

“How did they get in undetected?” Ino asked.

“Well, right now, it looks like they may have had help from the inside,” Shikamaru informed them.

“Are you telling us there may be a traitor within Konoha?” Kiba asked angrily.

“It's only one of many theories as of now, but if there is a traitor that isn't our mission to find out,” Shikamaru explained. “There is a child of Konoha out there who we need to bring home. This mission is of the utmost importance.”

“It was a child?” Ino's voice was filled with concern, as she was a mother herself, but knew for a fact that her five year old daughter was safe at home with her husband, Chouji. “Whose?”

Then slowly the Fox turned towards the Wolf. “Heir to the Hyuuga clan,” he announced.

“Iruka-san,” Neji breathed to himself as he imagined an inconsolable Hinata. “What are your instructions,” he almost demanded of the man before him.

Shikamaru pulled out a map and they squatted to the ground as he explained that they were going to split into two groups, so that they could cover more ground, as they headed towards Firefly Country. As he continued with his plan the rest of his team pulled out their ear pieces and made sure they were on the same frequency. “Alright then,” Shikamaru stood up, “let's move out.”

The four man group then started towards the open gate, but stopped and took a step back when a blonde headed figure landed in front of them. “Not without me,” Naruto made clear. “I'm going with you.”

Shikamaru sighed as he stepped forward and regarded the outraged father before him. “Don't be troublesome, Naruto. You heard what the Fifth said, you're too close to this,” he told him.

“Too close?” Naruto questioned with a look of disbelief on his face. “Too close!” he yelled. “My son is out there!” He pointed outside the gate. “Those bastards came into my home and took him from his bed. So I'll damned if they don't pay by my own hands!” Though his face showed nothing but anger, tears began to brim in his eyes. He had waited too long for a family of his own to let someone steal it from him.

“You are not thinking clearly,” Shikamaru said firmly, he had no time for this. “In this condition, you can not be a productive member of any squad. So if you really want to help, stay home.”

“I will not abandon my son!” Naruto yelled.

“So you will abandon your wife instead?” Naruto quickly turned his head when he heard the calm voice of Neji.

“What?” Naruto seemed confused. “I would never. . .”

“The family will be going through a great hardship with Iruka gone. Hinata will need your support and your strength during this time. She will be worried enough about your son, don't make her worry about you too,” Neji explained. “I can only imagine, if I had a child-”

“That's right,” Naruto began heatedly. “Because from what I understand, the only thing you'll ever be able to do is imagine.” Neji was little taken back by Naruto's harsh words, as they, in Neji's opinion, hit far below the belt. “You'll never know what it's like to have your child taken right from underneath you as you sleep. So don't you dare try to console me, because you'll never know this pain. You'll never know-”

“Naruto-kun!” His name was bellowed surprisingly by Hinata. “What are you doing?” she asked as she made a hesitant step forward. “Where are you going?”

“Hinata,” Naruto cried, all anger falling from his features immediately before leaping over the four ninjas and landing before his wife.

Seeing her blood-shot eyes and her distraught face, Naruto lowered his head and pulled her into his arms. He then finally allowed the tears, he had refuse to let shed, fall down his cheeks. “Nowhere,” he told her as she buried her face into his chest and clung on to him as if her life depended on it. “I'm not going anywhere,” he whispered to her. After a few moments Naruto rose his head and looked to Neji, guilt written all over his face. “Neji, I-” he began, but Neji cut him off with a gesture of his hand.

“We should go,” Neji suggested to Shikamaru, who nodded. The four man team were then off like streaks of lightening.

Neji jumped from tree to tree, turning his head slightly to make sure that Ino was keeping up with his speed. When he saw that she was, he allowed himself to be distracted by his thoughts. He knew Naruto only said what he said out of stress and anger, but Neji knew he spoke the truth. With the way things were going in his life, Neji knew he may never know what it would be like to have a child of his own. And what Hinata and Naruto were going through now, he knew he would never know that type of pain.

To Be Continued. . .

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment