Title: The Spiral Project
Author: Matahari
Rating: T

Summary: Dr. Shi Tenten gets a job at Hyuuga Laboratories after receiving her Ph.D. in biophysics. Although not very socially experienced, she quickly gains a reputation in the organization as someone who can get things done and is selected to be in charge of the mysterious "Spiral Project". What she doesn't know is that this will involve getting close to a man who was even more secluded than she was and perhaps, love.

Author's Note: Hopefully this will be complete for the AU Contest deadline at the NejixTenten FC on Naruto Forums on April 29th. If not, eh, it will get done eventually! ☺ That means my other fic, "Who You Must Protect" may take a little longer. My first AU fic, but there's a first time for everything. This is dedicated to Eshtar-chan aka EshtarWind (another NejiTen writer) who introduced me to the FC, my other loyal reviewers, and all other fans of NejiTen!

Chapter 1: The Spiral Project

The Present…

The office was dark, the only light coming from the computer monitor illuminating a sole figure whose head lay next to the keyboard. The women did not seem to mind the papers that littered the desk as she continued to sleep soundly at her station. Thin glasses were askew on her face becoming tangled with the wavy brown tendrils, which had escaped the tight bun she had placed them. A small pulsing noise could be heard next to her prone figure. A long arm with slender fingers groped through the mess to uncover a small black purse and the cell phone inside. "Tenten, speaking", she mumbled pushing herself up and rearranging her glasses.

"It's Hinata. Are you still at work?"

"Yes. I'm in the lab. I thought I had almost figured it out. I wanted to do a bit more research." As she was speaking, Tenten sorted through her papers, balled one up and threw it directly into the trashcan three feet away. "I've obviously been doing this way too long", she thought to herself.

"Tenten, you're barely living right now. It's just work, work, and more work. When's the last time you've slept in your own bed or cooked your own food – and I'm not talking about putting something into the microwave! You really need a break! Why don't we go out tonight, just us and the girls?"

Tenten gently closed her barely open mouth and sighed walking towards the edge of the room. "I know, Hinata, I know. I'll try to be better. I'm going to have to pass on the going out though. I think I need sleep more than anything else."

Hinata bit her lip on the other end of the line. "I know you're just going to stay at the lab, anyway. Just make sure you take care of yourself, Tenten. I worry about you. We all worry about you."

After the click signaling the end of the call, Tenten punched in her access code and let the biometric scanners analyze her iris and fingerprints allowing steel to retract and reveal a spanning window across one of her walls. Using the light from the moon that night, she could barely make out a figure laying below in suspended animation. Subject #A98ENH4. She gazed at the figure longingly and raised a hand to graze the glass. "Neji…" she murmured and closed her eyes.

Three Years Earlier…

A fresh young graduate with new ideas and an eagerness to please, she was thrilled when her professor informed her of a chance to interview with Hyuuga Laboratories. Her Ph.D. in biophysics and her Masters in cognitive biopsychology were apparently the "magic" combination they were looking for to fill a position they had. Also, for some reason they had seemed intrigued by her martial arts training (a black-belt in kendo specifically)… Perhaps it showed that she had discipline?

When she had graduated, people were always surprised when she mentioned to them that she had her Ph.D. She looked and was very young for such an accomplishment, but it had not come without a cost. She had barely had any social life to speak of besides school and work relationships.

Her interview with Hyuuga Hiashi went well and she landed the job after she passed the security clearance. She was fascinated by his discussion on the possibility of human energy fields and the inherent potential if they could be harnessed for national defense. If only she had known how far he was willing to go to achieve this dream.

Hyuuga Hinata was interning at the lab while she finished her dissertation writing in biochemistry when Tenten arrived. It was always strange to see the heiress to this large empire degraded to being at everyone's beck and call for such menial tasks as getting coffee. Tenten rarely used this privilege and rather called over Hinata when she saw that the girl was becoming overworked just to give her time to relax and talk.

When they first met, almost every other word that the young girl spoke was stuttered and the nervousness that caused this always increased when she was talking to her father. It seemed that she could never be good enough in his eyes no matter how hard she tried. However, as Hinata and Tenten talked more and got to know each other, the stuttering stopped and another side to Hinata appeared – the nurturing, protective, and caring side which wasn't afraid to lecture her when she was spending too much time in the lab. Hinata became her first real friend.

Tenten spent the first year assisting with Hiashi's experiments in other areas while learning the ropes of her new organization. This was the trial period where the company and herself would determine whether she was suited for this position she was in or not. The next year, Hinata was given a full time position and two other girls joined the small research group and Tenten was given the charge. The first was Haruno Sakura, who had an M.D. specializing in psychopharmacology and had decided to go into research rather than working in a hospital. When she came, she also took her best friend, Yamanaka Ino, who had just graduated from medical school specializing in neuroscience.

The girls surprisingly all got along and respected each other's individual talents. They started to spend more time together, both in and outside of the laboratory such as going for coffee, lunch, and later at night to some nightclubs or other local hotspots. Sakura and Ino were expert club hoppers and the first time they brought Tenten and Hinata along, the difference in their experience was obvious. In fact, when they all met at Sakura's house to go to Club Phoenix together, the girls we both dressed in collared shirts, business skirts, and sensible flats.

Sakura and Ino looked at each other, shook their heads, and grabbed a girl each. Clothes were tossed around the room, makeup was scattered over a dresser, and shoes littered Sakura's bedspread. According to Ino and Sakura, it was lucky that all of them seemed to have similar statures and shoe sizes. When it was all over, Tenten and Hinata emerged with trendy outfits, made-up faces, and stiletto heels (which they eventually learned to walk with without looking like marionettes). The girls were surprised to see that Tenten's hair, which was normally in a no-nonsense bun, created cascading waves down her back. Ino immediately deemed it, "come-and-take-me" hair because it reminded her of the women on the book jackets of romance novels and Tenten had blushed at the comment. The girls also tried to convince her to take off her glasses, but she insisted that they remain at risk of not going at all.

That night, she was asked out for the first time in her life – by five different men. But no matter how handsome Takeshi the fireman was, how intelligent Kenji the businessman was, or how caring and sensitive Hitoshi the social worker was, nothing ever seemed to turn out right. Perhaps it was because the men she dated tried to move a little too fast, expecting someone her age to have more experience. It's possible that they might have felt a little intimated by a strong woman who was both physically and intellectually capable. Or, it just could have been that she made it obvious where her priorities lay – with her work – and right now, no man could ever compete.

And work was going well. Hiashi had just asked her if she wanted to assist in managing something codenamed "The Spiral Project". Apparently, he'd had her in mind for this job even since he hired her. Hinata, Ino, and Sakura would serve as her research group and she was to start immediately on her preparations. She immersed herself in books and articles on human energy fields, chakra systems, energy meridians, energy healing, and extra sensory perception (ESP). She tried to relate it to her studies in biophysics. When you thought about it, Emc2. That meant that any matter was essentially energy. If someone was able to generate and manipulate the energy, the possibilities were endless. Just "thinking" something could make it happen.

After she gave the rest of the girls a briefing on what she had learned, she asked Hinata to try to figure out what parts of the biochemical pathways were most involved in these "processes" and once she was done, Hinata was to give the information to Ino to see what the associated parts of the brain and other neurological pathways. Using their combined knowledge, Sakura was to attempt to develop some targeted drugs in order to affect/enhance the energy field produced. Tenten would then analyze the resulting energy fields based on test subjects and come up with future steps.

The first experiment involved a several little white mice and Sakura's self-dubbed "energy tonic". The drugs were modified each time based on the energy field calculations and the health effects. Brainwaves were monitored as well as the chemical balance of their bodies every half hour once the drugs were injected. All of these results were correlated to the strength and spectrum value produced by the energy field. They attempted to analyze the long-term effects as well – trying to figure out how many doses were allowed within a certain time span, whether the effects to the energy field were permanent or temporary, and whether there were any unforeseen complications with lifespan or health.

The second phase involved chimpanzees, which would provide more similar results to human consumption being closer in chromosomal effects, brain capacity, lifespan, and stature. Initial calculations were done based on differences in weight to determine the dosage and again the same tests were performed with promising results. She was still anxious about beginning human testing and expressed this in her six-month report to Hiashi. Undisturbed by her concerns, he seemed immensely pleased with their progress and unlocked a cabinet producing a 3-ring binder for her to peruse. "The Spiral Project –1989-1994" was listed on the cover page. Apparently, they had done human testing before.

Author's Note 2: Let me know what you think. It's my first AU so I'd appreciate feedback. Next chapter should be up shortly!