lucetilogs | Bittersweet Reunions [Closed]

Who: Hyuuga Neji and Tenten
What: Tenten's got some apologies to make, and some serious conversations need to happen.
Where: Roof of the former Community House 1, now Flame House
When: 9th of November
Warnings: Nothing to start with; will add if necessary.

The wind was bitingly cold as evenng came on, but Neji barely felt it; he sat up on the roof of the apartment building he lived in, the hood of his cloak pulled around his face, the body of it wrapped around himself as well as he could manage. His eyes were open, but his gaze was unfocused, his attention turned inward. He'd managed to find an equilibrium of a sort over the last several months, but Tenten's disappearance and subsequent return had thrown everything absolutely out of balance for him.

You're not real, she'd snapped at him, and although he had a feeling she was merely operating under a mistaken assumption -- well, it didn't matter, because so many of the conclusions he'd come to on his own echoed it. Hyuuga Neji had died a short time after his eighteenth birthday; he himself was nineteen and change. And really, if you looked at it, wouldn't it make sense if he weren't Hyuuga Neji, if none of them were really who they thought they were?

And yet, he wasn't someone different from Hyuuga Neji, apart from being alive, apart from Hyuuga Neji going on quite smoothly to his death, without any visible interruption for time spent in some strange other world. He was a ghost copy, an ersatz version that had branched off into this strange other life, this other world. That made sense -- that explained why no one ever noticed someone missing, why memories of Luceti never returned, even things like scars, wounds, changes to the body would not return from Luceti. Wouldn't that make sense if there were actually no return from Luceti?

So he was not Hyuuga Neji. He was a false copy. He turned that thought over, turned over the conclusions he'd made based on it. It made him a little sick to think of, but he had to concede the possibility. Tenten was correct. Of course, that made her not the real Tenten either. Rather than considering it a tit-for-tat, he found the thought sad. An enclosure -- no, a world -- full of ghosts.

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"No, it's just--"

She wanted to go on about how they can fight back, how they shouldn't give up hope, but-- How was she supposed to fight this? This wasn't a physical enemy. And no amount of hard work and determination could bring back the dead.

She scrunched up her face and pushed herself to her feet, taking several deep breaths to try to compose herself. "Sorry. I'm sorry."

"Tenten." He didn't stand, didn't look up at her; his gaze remained fixed out over the village. "Stop apologizing. It is what it is; I don't expect you to come to any easy acceptance."

There was a heaviness in his voice; it wasn't quite finality, but it was something close to it. "You have a right to your emotions."

After all, his own had almost fully overcome him, even with his normal rigid control. If it hadn't been for the support of his friends....

Her nostrils flared as she kept taking deep, gulping breaths, feeling tears welling in her eyes, sadness mixed with bitterness and anger. How dare he give her permission to feel emotional about his death?!

She pressed both palms to her eyes, fingernails biting into her forehead. "I'm-- fine. I'm fine," she managed, teeth gritting as she tried to use that anger to force through the sadness. "I-- we can still train together, right? We're still teammates no matter what, right?"

She had to ask? That... perhaps that was the worst of all. "Of course," he told her, his voice low but reflecting a little of his consternation at the question. 'No matter what' meant no matter what. That included this. It certainly would if it had been Tenten who had died, not him. Or Lee.

At least, that was his standpoint. If she felt differently -- even just enough that she had to ask...

She had to ask. After everything she'd said to him tonight, she'd understand if he didn't want to be around her. If she'd managed to bend, if not break, whatever bond they'd had as teammates.

An exhale, and she moved in close again, boots clomping against the roof as she stepped in and crouched down, tentatively letting her arms wrap around his shoulders as she buried her face against his shoulder from behind.

"Good," she murmured, closing her eyes and just letting herself linger there a long moment. But it was cold, and she had only just recently come from an ocean/desert battlefield, making it even worse.

"Let's head inside before my fingers freeze off."

The embrace wasn't unexpected; as infrequently as he indulged in such things, sometimes there was a need for them. And right now, Tenten seemed to need it. So he accepted it, calm and cool, letting her hold tight to him.

It was tempting to demur following her inside, though -- to stay out longer, slowly freezing himself in his quest for emotional peace. But it was cold.

"All right," he agreed quietly, shifting to indicate he was ready to stand, if she would release him. A pause, and then he added, "Do you have somewhere to stay?"

She didn't want to release him, not really, but at the shift, she let go and stepped back to give him room to stand. The question of her having a place to stay... If she lied, would he let her stay with him?

But it's not like he'd disappear the second she took her eyes off him, and Lee was there.

Crossing her arms, she nodded. "Yeah, I think so... The Kazekage actually offered me a place. It'll do until I find my own, I guess." She still sounded a little wondering at that, that the Kazekage himself had taken such an interest in her well-being.

"That's kind of him." There was faint surprise in Neji's voice -- not so much at Gaara doing something kind, not anymore, but rather that it was Gaara of all people who'd made the offer to Tenten. He'd have expected one of the girls from Konoha.

"There are plenty of open apartments in this building," he added, tipping his head slightly. "Once you're ready, you can just pick one and move in. Or one of the others might have a free room, if you'd rather be with others. Sakura and Hinata-sama, I believe, don't have a third...."

"Yeah, I was surprised. It's the fourth floor, room number seventeen." If there was anything she'd memorized, it was that. Just in case. And it looked like that's where she was ending up, at least for tonight. "I think his sister is there, too."

Would wonders never cease; she was moving in with the Kazekage and the woman who'd thoroughly kicked her ass in their first Chuunin Exams. She shook her head slightly at it all before looking back up to him. "Where're you and Lee...? I ran into him earlier, he said you guys are together..."

"You're close by," he commented lightly. "Lee and I are in apartment twenty." Which... seemed about right, really. They were close enough to see each other easily, but... well. Given the way she'd reacted on seeing him, given how hard this conversation had been, a little space was about right.

"Good." She nodded, taking a few steps toward the stairs downward to try to prompt him to follow her out of the cold.

"I'm... really glad you're both here." Even if it meant they were away from the battlefront, that didn't matter as much now. Neji and Lee were both here, they were safe -- or as safe as they could be in this strange place. And that's all that really mattered in the end, wasn't it?

He followed her easily enough this time, feeling... better. More settled, certainly, than he had been since their rather poor encounter in the forest earlier.

"As am I," he agreed with her quietly. "Things like this... it's easier to face with team all together."

"Yeah."

Recovery wouldn't be easy for her, but -- as long as Lee and Neji were here, as long as Neji was here, alive, solid, present -- she'd be alright.

"Tomorrow morning, let's meet up and train."

"I won't say no to that," Neji agreed. Not tomorrow -- though the cold would make it much less fun than usual -- and probably not any time. Training together... it was a part of who they were as a team.

"Good."

Once they hit the fourth floor, she wavered, glancing toward the Kazekage's room, then brushed her fingers over Neji's elbow.

"I'll see you tomorrow." A promise, not a question.

"Yes." Simple agreement; there wasn't much more to be said than that. They weren't back to normal, not yet, but the foundation was there. They were strong. They'd get through it.

Bittersweet Reunions [Closed]

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