They walked in silence down the dirt path they had walked so many times before; however, this time it was different. In their younger years, the silence was companionable and pleasant; a mere result of the Hyuuga's stoic nature and the Kunoichi's love of simply observing him in his natural state. Nevertheless, time had past too quickly, as it always does, and destiny had other plans for them; plans that took them their separate ways, resulting in their current state of awkward silence.

Tenten released her focus from the ground for a brief moment to glance at the man walking beside her. 'He is just as beautiful as ever,' she thought to herself, if not more so than the last time she had seen him, with his long and silky ebony locks blowing gently with the breeze. In the two years they had been apart, his build seemed to have grown more muscular, and his step more regal than ever before. Whether this was due to age or becoming the head of his clan, she knew not, but suspected the latter of the two. As if he could feel her eyes on him, he shifted his gaze to hers. White and beautiful in its intensity, his eyes seemed to pierce through to her very soul. Not being able to hold up under such force, she fixed her eyes onto the ground again, searching for something to say.

"I heard you're engaged now. Congratulations."

"There is nothing to congratulate. It is merely my duty to the clan. It's a business arrangement…there is no love involved...therefore, nothing to congratulate."

He reverted his focus back onto the trail ahead of them, plunging them once again into an uncomfortable silence. Attempting to ease her embarrassment, Tenten spoke again.

"Sorry, I was just trying to make conversation…I didn't mean to offend you."

At the sound of her uneasy voice, Neji glanced over at her, noticing the slight pink tint to her cheeks. He felt the beginnings of a smile creep onto his face. He had always loved how easily her emotions got the best of her, showing through on her face despite her attempts to hide them. 'Some things never change,' he thought to himself, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about offending me Tenten…focus on the mission ahead of us. Do you remember our objective?"

Regaining her composure, Tenten looked up and replied, "We are to travel to the boarder of Lightning Country to investigate a medicinal plant that their hidden village has been using to cure disease. We are to bring back a sample for Tsunade to study. It was the Lightning country's invitation, and they have even set up a place for us to stay. It seems fairly simple."

"Yes, it seems that way, but we shouldn't let our guard down. Although the Hidden Stone village claims to be somewhat of an ally, it is an unstable one at best. I don't trust them."

The Stone village was a touchy subject for Neji, as it was their failed attempt at stealing the secret of byakugan that had resulted in his father's premature death. This was common knowledge in Konoha. Although his anger at his clan had faded, his hatred for the other side responsible had not. Aware of the change in Neji's composure, Tenten attempted to ease his discomfort.

"Relax Neji…everything will be fine."

Raising an eyebrow, Neji replied, "What gives you the impression that I am tense?"

Tenten sighed. It was going to be a long walk to Lightning Country.

It was sunset when they arrived at the inn prepared for them. They stood in a large lobby filled with tropical plants and complete with a stylish fountain in the center. Moderately sized, yet still luxurious, Tenten looked on in awe, while Neji seemed unaffected by the display. Accustomed to the spaciousness of the Hyuuga complex, this place was nothing special to him.

"Glad to see you finally arrived," a young bond haired man exclaimed as he approached them. " I'm Ryoki and I will be taking care of all your needs while you are here," he said with a smile, as he looked Tenten up and down, "Any thing at all." Tenten was far too entranced with the place to even notice his actions, but Neji certainly did. He gritted his teeth.

"I doubt we will need help from you…of any kind." If looks could kill, Ryoki would be dead now, unable to withstand Neji's fierce glare. All the while, the Hyuua fought to suppress his urge to gentle fist the man.

Finally noticing her fuming teammate, Tenten attempted to alleviate the tense situation.

"You will have to excuse him Ryoki-san, we have been traveling for days and are somewhat exhausted. If you could show us to our rooms, we would be very grateful." Tenten nudged Neji in the side with her elbow.

"Right Neji?"

"Hn," was all he replied.

"Great!" countered Ryoki, with a satisfied smirk, " Let's get going!"

The two ninjas began to gather their belongings, but just as Tenten reached for her bags, she was stopped by her blond admirer. "A woman as beautiful as you shouldn't have to carry her own bags," he said with a charming smile. Tenten felt the blood rush to her face. He was no Neji, but he was still handsome.

"Thank you for the offer sir, but that wont be necessary. What kind of Ninja would I be if I couldn't carry my own bags?"

"Suit yourself." He replied, slightly disappointed. "We are short on rooms right now, so we need you to share…I hope there is no problem with this arrangement-"

"That will be fine," Neji interrupted, still clearly agitated with the man.

"I will come by tomorrow to show you around the grounds, then we can discuss the terms of our trade," Ryoki said as he opened the door for the two ninja. Neji quickly walked through, placing his bags on the bed. However, as Tenten walked in, Ryoki stopped her movement, grabbing her by the waist and cupping her face with his hand.

"Perhaps you would like a private tour later tonight," Ryoki whispered, his face dangerously close to Tenten's. Before Tenten could knock the man off herself, Neji had him by the shirt collar, his byakugan activated.

"She's not interested, " he growled.

"Neji stop!" Tenten yelled, grabbing at his arm for him to let go. Reluctantly, Neji released the man.

"I see I have worn out my welcome," replied Ryoki as he straightened out his clothing and headed for the door, " Goodnight." And with that Ryoki exited the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

"What is your problem Neji?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied as he unpacked his things, taking a clean shirt out of his bag.

"Don't play dumb with me Hyuuga! You know exactly what I'm talking about. Are you trying to endanger our mission? If our treaty with this country is as shaky as you say it is, we need to be on our best behavior. Are you even aware of the damage you could have done? You're going to have to apologize tomorrow."

"I am not apologizing for anything! He was all over you Tenten!" Neji shouted as he as he hastily pulled his shirt over his head. His breathing was heavy, and well evident through the visible rise and fall of his very sculptured chest. Tenten was momentarily distracted from her anger, and her heart beat wildly. She had seen Neji with out his shirt countless times before when they were younger, but she never remembered it looking quite like it did now… broad, muscular, and incredibly sexy. She took a deep breath to steady herself and replied.

"So, activating byakugan on the man was going to help that?"

Neji stalked over to Tenten, backing her up against the wall, pressing his body up against hers. His right hand rested on one side of her head while his other rested below her waist. She could feel the heat and frustration coming off his body. His blazing white eyes burned into her rich chocolate ones, and he made his reply in a deep, raspy voice that was dangerously low.

"These people can't be trusted! You have no idea what that man had in mind for you. These people are underhanded. My father is dead because of their actions!"

"So that's what this is all about…you're finally head of the Hyuuga clan, but you're still that caged bird...unable to let go of the past." The moment she said it, she knew that she shouldn't have. She immediately saw the hurt in his eyes... eyes that usually hid every emotion. There was a moment of dead silence after that. For a instant, Tenten thought he wouldn't say anything at all.

"You're right. I can't let go." Neji released Tenten and walked back over to the bed. He pulled his shirt over his head and walked to the door, but stopped before opening it.

" I'm going to get some fresh air." Without looking back, he walked out, leaving her to her thoughts.

Tenten let the warm water of the shower rinse the sweat from her body and ease her aching muscles. However, the water did little to relieve her troubled mind. Was it wrong of her to say what she had to Neji? She didn't need to ask herself…she knew that it was. He seemed far tenser than she ever remembered him being. His actions today certainly proved that. She had never seen Neji's emotions get the better of him on a mission. Maybe the stress of being clan leader and his upcoming arranged marriage had taken its toll on him.

Upcoming marriage…she couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment at the thought. Not that she ever imagined that she had any kind of chance with Neji…they were from completely different social statuses for anything like that to ever be possible, but that had never stopped her from harboring feelings of deep love and admiration for the man.

Rinsing the soap out of her hair, she stepped out of the shower and dressed herself. She then emerged from the bathroom only to find the hotel room empty. He still hadn't come back. Her guilt over their previous conversation assailed her again, forming a lump in her stomach. She knew what she had to do, and she exited the room in search of her troubled teammate.

It wasn't long before she found him, seated at the hotel bar and staring into his cup forlornly.

"So this is your idea of fresh air?" She jokingly asked as pulled out a stool and sat down beside him. He continued to study the lukewarm sake in his cup, but listened intently to what the kunoichi had to say.

"Look…I'm sorry about what I said Neji." She placed her hand on his back, gently rubbing small circles into the broad expanse of of it's surface as she continued, " It was wrong…and I was out of line."

Her touch at his back eased his tension, while increasing it in a completely different way, causing his heart to beat erratically. He had always loved Tenten, though he would never admit it to her. He knew his family would never approve, and there was no reason to start something that would only end in heartache. Even now, after so much time, he couldn't act on it. He was engaged. They led different lives now. But those thoughts did nothing to ease his longing. It was true that he was mistrustful of these people, but that wasn't the real source of his anger tonight. He had lost his temper at the sight of another man touching what, in his mind, was his…and his alone.

But he had no claim on her, and he knew it. There was no excuse for his behavior tonight. Tenten merely nullified the pathetic excuse that he had been using to lie to her…and himself. Still looking at his sake, which had grown cold, he answered her.

"You don't need to apologize Tenten. I was the one who out of line. I'm sorry."

He finally looked up at his Teammate, and what he saw almost made his jaw drop. Tenten's long, brown hair was down and still wet from the shower. It clung to the sides of her face and shoulders, and trailed down over her back. He closed his eyes to steady himself; unable to move as he felt his blood pump quickly through is body.

"What's wrong Neji? Are you alright?" Tenten asked, confused at his strange behavior.

"No…no, it's nothing…I've just never seen you with your hair down before."

"You don't like it do you…I'll put it back up-"

"Don't!" Neji grabbed her wrist as she attempted to pull it back. "It's beautiful."

Tenten dropped her gaze, hopping that Neji couldn't see her flushed face as he stared at her, but knew in her heart that she could hide nothing from Neji's all-seeing eyes.

Just as she was about to speak, she was stopped short by the coughing sound of someone standing in front of them.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything, but are you the two ninjas from Konoha?" asked the bar tender, snapping them out of the moment and back to reality. Happy for the distraction, Neji quickly made a reply.

"Yes, we are. What do you need sir?"

"Hahaha…no need for formalities," laughed the plump, jovial bar tender. "We are very proud to have you here in our country! It has been so long since we've been on good terms with anyone. I just wanted to offer you two a drink…this one is on me!"

With that, he replaced the old sake bottle with a new, warm one and placed two cups in front of them.

"Thank you very much sir!" Tenten replied and poured the drinks.

"To a fresh start!" She said, holding her drink up in the air. Neji chuckled under his breath and followed suit.

"To a fresh start," he replied and they both turned back their drinks, the warm liquid burning as it went down.

Tenten slammed her small cup down on the counter. When she looked to Neji, she noticed that the room had started to blur. She closed her eyes and wiped them with her hands in an attempt to regain her former composure, but to no avail. The room began to spin, violently.

"Neji…I…feel…funny," she said in a slightly slurred tone, then promptly passed out on the table.

"Tenten!" Neji cried as he tried to figure out what was going on, his on vision beginning to blur. There was only one explanation…they had been drugged. Neji dropped his head to the bar and attempted to activate byakugan, but it was in vain. Tenten's face was the last thing he saw as his world slipped into darkness.

Well, that's the end of the first chapter! It's been so long since I've written a story... I don't know if I still have the ability to write a decent one. This is also the first time that I have posted a story before I really know where I am going with it...and it is my first shot at a more serious genre...so please let me know what you think by clicking the review button! I also might change the rating of this story...I am still undecided about writing a lemon because I am just not sure if I have it in me. Anyway, thanks for reading!