Her mind could not stop playing reruns of the day. She saw herself, the oranges, the man…Hyuuga Neji he had called himself, she mused. What was so particularly special about him? Another one of those Elemental clan daimyo who thinks of himself as better than everyone else…especially the Chinese. She sighed. Why did everyone hate the Chinese?

There was a time when the Village loved all kinds of people. They needed jobs, and the Village had places for any man who was hardworking to come. Then the elder generation turned back the clock to the fundamentalist ages, the purist beliefs. Every man or woman who was not full-blooded Japanese was looked upon as barely human, and hardly tolerated in public. Each day was growing more and more dangerous, and Ten Ten wondered how she had stayed alive so long, especially if she was running into men of Elemental Clans such as the Hyuuga clan. Such as Hyuuga Neji…

He was rather handsome… her mind considered for a moment until she tossed the idea behind with disgust. Him? Of the higher clans? What would make me want him? She shook her head, a blush growing. No. No. No. Anything but that.

"Ten Ten chan!" her friend and employee Megumi called to her. Ten Ten's head instantly was thrust up, her eyes unnaturally wide, as if she had been suddenly pulled from a dream into the middle of a day. "Ten Ten chan, what are you doing?" Megumi frowned at her friend.

"No—nothing," Ten Ten gained consciousness. "I'm fine. Never felt better!" she grinned, her thin eyes squinting up.

Somehow, Megumi seemed satisfied with that answer, walking towards the wooden doors of the Rising Twin Dragons. It was one of those fake grins; Megumi was sure, the kind Ten Ten put on at the spur of the moment to keep face, to be polite. That was a Japanese way of doing things too, so she could understand. "Ready for another day of work?" Megumi grinned, her usual cheeriness trying to make Ten Ten forget whatever was bothering her.

"Of course," Ten Ten smiled back, though her mind dozed back to earlier thoughts.

The mid-noon wind brushed against the withered trees. He could hear it as vividly as if his head was right next to the branches, courtesy of the silence. The constant silence of the Hyuuga clan home.

That was the kata for the Elemental Clans, the higher class. The Kins were of one of the higher ranked clans, and Neji's father was among the top leaders of the clan, the daimyo. They, above all, were expected to follow the kata, the way of doing things.

In Hyuuga Neji's mind, the cruel irony of the daimyo's kata was that the way of doing things was doing absolutely nothing at all. His mother, being a woman, was expected to stay in a nearly empty room through the day, honing the arts of sumi painting and koto playing, and teaching the youngest daughter, Hanabi, the essential hand signs for the Ogon no Jutsu. The Ogon no Jutsu, was the signature jutsu, or battle art of the Kins. It was fueled off the power of metal (as were all of the Hyuuga clan jutsus). This one particularly also needed the glow of the sun. Yet in the small room, was there much sunlight?

He, being the next heir for the Hyuuga line, was expected by Hyuuga Clan kata to stay away from the common people. To live as one who is above that. Neji never understood why, or how he could do that. What if he liked being in the common streets--away from the Hyuuga manor, freed? What if there was something beyond the Hyuuga kana, something that he wanted? He was going to find it, he determined, even if it meant defying all rules. The rules, the kata, who needed them?

So that was why he was here, in the middle of the street, walking among the common people. Dressed in a simple yutaka, none recognized him as an elemental clan member. None except for that Chinese girl Ten Ten.

He still remembered her name? Stopping in his steps, his hand brushed at the air as if swatting a fly, as if trying to shoo away the memory. Just because he wanted to be freed from the daimyo fate didn't mean he wanted to be in the level of the destitute, especially not a girl from the Middle Kingdom…

"You again!" he cringed at her voice, the voice he had only heard once before. Somehow, it still clung to his memory like a bad flavor in the mouth. The kind that wouldn't leave no matter what he did. "Fancy seeing 'Mr.-I'm-A-Hyuuga' again," As she grinned, her eyes squinted up. He frowned. There was something cute about that grin.

"It is the main street of the village," he muttered barely coherently. "There's nothing unusual about seeing the same stranger twice."

"But there is," she persisted, wanting to make this into something more. "How many 'great clan members' of the daimyo go walking around the common streets? It's a little odd."

"There are occasions that permit it," He quickly covered, determined to hide his true reason for being here. "I'm the son of the Daimyo; why should I not go as I please?"

That look in her eyes frightened him. Never before had he seen such expressive eyes, literal openings into her soul, he was sure. She knew something. Giving the smile of a cat, she observed, "You're escaping that life, aren't you?"

"What?" Neji's voice was in a deathly whisper, half in fear and half in astonishment that she could know that. "What gave you such a ridiculous idea!"

"It's not ridiculous," she corrected, a frown setting in over her plump lips. "It's the truth. You're tired of the way of royalty. I can't blame you, honestly."

"What would you know? You're just from the Middle Kingdom!" he tried to not raise his voice, but he couldn't disguise the outrage in his heart. How dare she try to pick apart his life and his motives for his actions? They were mere strangers!

The smile had left her eyes. "What is it with you arrogant Japanese high clans? Just because I'm from the Middle Kingdom (a fact I am quite proud of) doesn't mean that I am not human, that I can't decipher human emotions as well! Do you think that just because I am not of the daimyo's family that I have never felt the need to leave my life, to discover a new one, to be free?" At this point, feeling a tear rise to her almond crested eyes, she swept a quick hand up to wipe it away before he noticed.

But Neji did notice. His face grew a ghostly white at her words, which echoed through his mind endlessly. You arrogant Japanese high clans…That was what he feared, was it not? To be of those "high clans"? She phrased his desire perfectly: to be free.

When he said nothing, his dark eyes just staring out into the distance, Ten Ten turned away, walking towards her home and restaurant. "Never mind, you fool. I must have been wrong; you are a daimyo at heart—"

Instantly, she felt the strong hand grab her upper arm. Spinning on the spot, her eyes met his as he asked in a harsh whisper, "Help me."

Bitter eyebrows wrinkled up in anger. "Why should I?"

"Because—I'll help you."

"Yakitori! Sukiyaki! Ramen!" A vendor's voice hailed from the warm street corner. Under the shade of the stand, two men in wide brimmed sugegasa strawhats stood, their veiled eyes scanning the crowds of villagers, going about their daily tasks.

"Do you see any sign of Prince Neji?" the one on the left asked after motioning for the cook to prepare a bowl of ramen.

"No." the other frowned, turning to his partner. "This seems to me to be a futile search. Why would Prince Neji wander around the streets of the Village? Are they sure he is not just hunting in the woods or practicing his kekki genkai?" His specialty martial art.

"No command from Hyuuga Arata is meaningless. Surely, he has reason to believe that his son is going through the common streets."

"But why, Chouji?" the man on the right demanded with a firm brow studying the distance. "What would dissatisfy him from the Hyuuga clan, from the honor of being the future Hyuuga Daimyo? Most men would die for such a position."

"Perhaps a lover?" the two snickered, turning to see two ramen bowls on the counter behind them. Muttering thanks to the server, they turned back to watching the streets, taking occasional sips of ramen.

"Perhaps he is too young to see that fate is a guider as opposed to an enemy." The man on the right muttered through the silence, making Chouji's head turn in confusion. "In youth, one seeks freedom. But as the years go by, one realizes that freedom is not all that it seems to be. Perhaps you yourself are too young to understand, Chouji." Though Chouji frowned at the addition, he held his tongue. Turning from the half finished bowls of ramen, the man stood up and remarked, "Chouji, I believe that this search is over. It will only be a matter of time before Neji-sama sees his error. Fate is far stricter of an enforcer of reality than either of us can be."

"This is the Rising Twin Dragons." In a half hearted sweeping motion with her arm, Ten Ten stood before her fading restaurant front with Neji. The already dusty shelves in the windows gave little justice to the grandeur Ten Ten saw in it. But surely, nothing was grand compared to what this son of the daimyo was used to.

So it was to her surprise when he muttered in satisfaction, "It's perfect."

With the creak of the door, sunlight burst into the empty room. Walking over to a table, Neji took a seat in a lonely chair, his eyes looking over every corner. "So how did you get this place?"

"I saved money. I worked hard. It hurt a lot."

"It hurt?" the Japanese young man looked to the Chinese girl in curiosity. Everything she said had some hidden meaning, he noticed. For that reason, she was rather interesting to listen to. But only for that reason, he mentally added.

Looking down at her calloused fingers, she laughed, "I suppose I learned when I came here that life isn't always like a faerie tale. You have to work and bleed before there's a happily ever after. I'm not sure I've seen that ending yet."

"You seem to be doing rather well though," he frowned, his eyes glancing around the room. Perhaps not well, but well for a Middle Kingdom woman, that is. How many single young women could live in a land where her kind were hated yet still buy property and work a business alone? It was incredible, an admirable achievement in that way.

This time, her true laugh rang free, uninhibited by the presence of a near stranger. Though it was a hurt laugh filled with prior pain, it was the most sincere and beautiful laugh Neji could recall. "That is what you see, not what is. There is always pain that others aren't allowed to see."

When silence fell between them, she walked around the circular table, remarking, "You know, when I first bought this place, I really had the dream of having it as an inn." She wondered what compelled her to tell him of this secret passion, the one she had bottled up for so long. Even if she had known him for such a short amount of time, something about his presence freed her, and made her want to tell him everything about herself.

"An inn?" Neji's eyebrow rose. "Why an inn?"

With a wild grin, she replied, "So I could tell stories."

"Stories? What kind of stories?"

"Oh, all kinds, I suppose. Myths and legends and dreams and nightmares, whatever my mind can imagine on the spot."

"Are you any good?" he asked, a look of interest leaking through his eyes.

Seeing it as a challenge, Ten Ten smiled, sitting down in a chair across from him, and began telling a story. These were the sort of moments she hoped for but never had until now: the moments she could do what she wanted to. "Once upon a time, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Chun Yufen…"

Neji found himself hung on every word she spoke, entranced as if he were a little child, who lived on the words of stories like a man did on rice. This girl had a gift, a sight given by the gods, to tell these stories. How else could a mortal tell stories with such passion and accuracy?

"He found he was in a dream world, one lined with many red gates, with gardens and fountains and fairies and creatures unnamed! It was a place that can't be found in this world." Here her excited voice faltered, and her eyes became distant, looking at the dull grey wall.

"Well then, what happened?" Neji urged her, wanting to know the end.

"He discovered it was all just a dream," Ten Ten's voice whispered, not daring to look him in the eye. "I'm beginning to wonder if that's how all tales end."

In that moment, her hurt was exposed, and yet she looked so beautiful. Neji tried to not think such thoughts, but they still came to him in a way he could not deny. She was beautiful. A beautiful foreigner.

What blasphemy!

Never could he even imagine a union with a gaikokujin, an outsider. Men of such a high clan and place could not loose face, dishonor all their kinsmen, to take for themselves a low class foreigner! How could he even draw close to such a thought! It was repulsive, abominable, unthinkable…

Beautiful.

She noticed that his thoughts had become distant. "Hyuuga san," Ten Ten stopped her story, "Is it really that dull?"

Neji's eyes flashed back to attention. "Dull? It was wonderful, very good! I did not know you were so gifted with words."

Certainly she did not expect such a reply. Rarely had she been in the face of Flattery, let alone from a Japanese high clansman! She couldn't restrain the blush that stained her cheeks. "Not wonderful, surely. I'm not very good at stories, but I love to tell them anyways."

It's a shame you are a foreigner, Neji thought to himself, perhaps then we could know each other on another level. All she can be for me is a hiding place right now, away from the Hyuuga clan. Once I can escape from their field of vision, she will be gone. I may not want to be the daimyo, but I do have some dignity. I could never lower myself to such a level. The thoughts bothered him so he shook them off and asked, "Would you tell another?"

The next morning, he awoke to the smell of ______. Never before had he smelled a food so vividly, as if it were already in his mouth. It was delicate, foreign, but warm and entrancing. Neji's stomach growled, as he lifted his head up a bit to look for where the scent was coming from.

"Get up, you lazy fool!" That Chinese voice belted. Startled by the sudden noise, he hardly heard her continue, "You want to stay in this place? You have to work to earn your keep. You are a man, and a Japanese one at that! Have you no sense of honor? Do you expect a poor little woman like me to do all the work in this place? I won't treat you differently because you're some head clansman!"

What a funny sight! Did women even know such words, Neji wondered. Few women were so bold as to speak to a man before being addressed, particularly unmarried ones. Never did they complain or accuse men of any wrong doings. This woman was little less than a stranger, and yet she spoke as if he were her son! He hardly believed it was happening; it must be an odd dream. Instead of following her words, Neji laughed aloud at the idea.

"What's so funny?" Ten Ten snapped, "Do you think I'm making jest? I mean every word, and I'm being kind! You know I have all sorts of heavy pots and pans I could throw in your face—"

But every word she spoke made him laugh harder and harder. She spoke as if she were a man in a woman's body! Neji couldn't hold himself back from laughing at the thought.

When he wouldn't stop, Ten Ten sent a firm palm against his cheek, sending an echo of a slap through the room and an end to the laughter.

"You hit me." He came to the realization after some time.

"That I did."

"A woman hit me," Neji put his hand against his wounded cheek, still unable to believe this for a moment. Was all of China like this, with bold mouthed women? What a funny girl this was! He laughed again. "A Chinese woman hit me. Do all women in the Middle Kingdom hit their men?"

"Few. What's so funny about that?" Ten Ten did not like being taken lightly.

"No Japanese woman would ever dare to be half as bold as you!"

"Is that a compliment?" Ten Ten snapped, though she couldn't hide the blush over her cheeks.

"…Perhaps," he smirked in a way that spoke yes. She noticed that smirk and had to turn away once she saw it. That was because that smirk told her what she had been trying to deny ever since the moment she saw Neji: she loved him. He could never know that though. That would be a weakness, a weakness the Japanese could take advantage of. Never would she allow that to happen.

So she changed the subject. "Well then, I am bolder than Japanese woman. You still need to help with the cooking and the cleaning. Hurry up and get ready!" Relentless. Neji's eyes followed her, surprised that no emotion but complete seriousness lurked over her expression. Ten Ten walked to the kitchen without him, starting to prepare ashinogoku, breakfast. She is one tough woman, he mentally observed, groggily getting out of the makeshift bed, as tough as a man!

He had never tasted anything so perfect. It tasted like a place that should have been his home all along but wasn't because Fate was a cruel creature. It was not a taste he would have tasted in his high official home. None of the things in this restaurant would be in his home though. It was a shame, because everything about this small restaurant was so comfortable, fascinating, and perfect. The kind of place he had wanted all along.

Neji wondered how a girl like her, single handedly, had come to learn to cook like this. To talk as she did. To own her own restaurant. To travel to a foreign dangerous land alone. Could she truly do everything?

Few people were so fascinating.

"Why are you here in Japan, anyways?" he asked at last, not caring how rude and to the point he was being.

No one had ever asked that question before. Megumi had wanted to on many occasions, Ten Ten was sure, but the conversation between them was wordless and all through the eyes. Ten Ten told her it was a question she would never be prepared to answer. Now this Japanese man, a man she hardly knew, was asking her this intimate question that she did not even explain to her dearest friend.

She shuffled some porceilin bowls across the short table, trying to hide the mixed emotions across her face. Part of her was flattered that he was interested in her life, part of her was offended to tell such an intimate tale, and part of her was bitter to recall her life's story. It was the kind of story no child should have to remember.

"Oh, you won't tell me?" he teased, which caught her attention. He was smiling now, the first time she had actually seen him smile before. It was a smile unlike any other she had seen, a smile only worthy of the sun, a smile she would do anything for. If only that smile would stay for many days to come! It made her heart race in a way she had never felt before, in a way she couldn't explain. Ten Ten felt hollow at the knees, having a sudden urge to fall into his arms and watch that smile until she could no longer see. It was a sort of weakness she had never felt before.

So she told him. She told him all about her small village in the Yunnan province in China, her friend Zhou who had birds that fished for the fishermen, how the communists came and how she wasn't content with her simple happy life in China. She should have stayed in China. She remembered how Zhou had asked her: "Why can't you be content with what you have? Why can't you just do what people tell you? Why can't you be happy with me?"

She didn't know why.

She didn't like the communist posters that were hung on the sides of buildings and falling into the water of the lake of the Moon Lady. One of Zhou's birds picked up one of the flairs once. It scared her. No man should have that kind of power, she thought to herself, to be everywhere and honored by everyone. And she had heard of a tiny village in Japan that needed workers. It didn't like communism, but it didn't mind people from the Middle Kingdom. It would be a new world for her to explore, a place were she could be free and happy and earn for herself a name that she couldn't in a tiny rural village.

So she left on the next boat to Japan.

Ye ye didn't know, her extended family didn't know, her neighbors didn't know, but she thought Zhou probably knew. He knew she was a wild spirit, the kind that couldn't be happy in one place. She hoped his spirit wished her good fortune.

Japan wasn't the beautiful land she thought it would be. "The Land of the Rising Son": how could that not be glorious? The first week or so was like stepping into a faerie tale: everyone was well standing, and though not everyone was rich, there was enough for everyone. Compared to her village in Yunnan, it was pure luxury! Because she was an immigrant, she had to get small jobs. She cleaned for the daimyo once or twice, and had the duty to take care of the chamber pots and waste. It was not fun work, but it was what she expected. She was in a new land; she would have to work. It paid her well and she was never hungry.

But then the fundamentalists rose.

The older generation in the Village grew tired of all these gaikokujin, foreigners, polluting the Village's tradition, and took out their wrath on every foreigner. Some were kicked out for crimes they never committed. Some were quietly murdered, their lives covered up as if they had never existed. Every night, she couldn't help wondering if she was next. She wondered why she hadn't run away yet. She wondered why she had had to be so adventurous, and why she couldn't have just listened to Zhou's advice. Listen to your elders. Be content where you are. Don't dream so much.

And that was why she was here right now.

She sounded bitter as she spoke, maybe with some regret for her young impulsive foolishness. Yet she still held on to some sort of hope that it would all change and that her happy story would come, a spark in her eyes that was still wild and imaginative. She would not die now.

Perhaps Neji had expected a different story: of a girl being whisked away to a foreign land by a lover, or a girl following family to a new place. She was right when she said she had worked for everything she had now; nothing had been handed to her. She didn't even look tired, he observed. Even through the pain, she persevered with passion and boldness. How many women did that?

Not enough, Neji decided.

He thought of the other women of the Hyuuga clan. The ones with powdered white faces, glossy black hair parted from their face, rich colored kimonos and silent red painted lips. They were raised to perform tasks they would probably never use. They were decorations for Hyuuga men to boast in.

That had never set in before until he truly knew Ten Ten, such a stark contrast from them. She could never be a decoration. She would never allow herself to be a decoration. It was not supposed to be good for women to be strong; it meant there was an imbalance of the elements.

But there was something terribly attractive about it.

Ten Ten studied his expression carefully. So he truly was paying attention to her story. Men did not pay attention to the tales of women; it was considered childish. But he was truly sincerely listening. The eyes do not lie, she thought to herself.

That was the other thing that was odd; Neji was still here. She would have assumed that by now, he would have said to her, "Thank you for the time here; I've got to go find my place away from my family," and she would have reluctantly let him go. But that was a man did; he did not stay longer than necessary.

But there was a flicker of a smile in Neji's eyes, those eyes that were so cold the first time she had seen them. His smile was enchanting, that was the only way she could describe it, and it was sincere. As if he was enjoying the company with a woman. How unusual.

How desirable.

There was good reason for both of them to remain in the Rising Twin Dragons together for a while.

"So why is it that you keep your hair in these buns?" Neji asked one day, daring to gently pull on the hairs that were gradually unwinding. It was too much of a temptation to watch them bobbing there in the filtered sunlight. He had watched them bob like that for a few weeks now. She had noticed him watching, but he hardly cared.

"It's tradition!" the Chinese girl pouted, cupping her hands over her hair. "Why does it matter?"

"But what does it look like down?" a smirk of amusement played over Neji's face. He knew Ten Ten well enough at this point. She had been so rough with him, he decided, why should he not be a bit rough with her? He was a man, after all. He should be the one teasing her, not vice versa.

Reading his thoughts, Ten Ten took a step back, her eyes watching him closely. "Don't you even think about it—"

Taking a step forward, he replied with masked innocence, "What am I thinking about?"

"It'd be unchaste!" She laughed, running across the room. Following suit, he chased her until chairs and tables wobbled uneasily, nearly being knocked down from the path of the two.

Despite Ten Ten's tries to escape, Neji caught her arms from behind, pulling her towards him. His warmth made her body instantly tighten up, her legs unable to move. Gently, his hand untied the buns of her hair, letting the umber waves cascade down to her shoulders.

She felt his fingers stop half way across her hair, making her lips whisper shakily, "I used to always imagine myself as a beautiful princess, with long locks of hair to my back. But I learned rather quickly how foolish it was—"

But before she could continue, her lips were cut off by his, as he spun her body around to face him. Moving his grip to hold her more tightly, the hair ties fell to the floor, quickly forgotten. As he reluctantly pulled away from her, he whispered in her ear, "You are a beautiful princess."

Every part of Ten Ten melted into his arms as warm tears ran down her cheeks. Any denial was worthless now. Noticing the wet spot on his sleeve, Neji loosened his grip, a look of worry on his face. "What did I do?"

Without a word, the Chinese girl's grip on his shirt only tightened as she pulled herself back close to him. In a whisper hardly discernable, she asked, "Say it again, please."

"Rising Twin Dragons…" Neji mused, his chin to Ten Ten's hair. "So why did you name this place the Rising Twin Dragons?"

"Well…" Ten Ten frowned in thought, her fingers tracing around his palm. "My ye ye told me a story of two dragons that together supported the Heavens in a time of trouble. He told me that no matter how alone I would feel, there would be one to save me. My own dragon. When I came here with nothing and found this restaurant, it was for me, a savior: a dragon. In memory of Ye Ye, I thought I should name it after his tale that strengthened me: Rising Twin Dragons."

At first, he said nothing, running his fingers through her hair, his expression deep in thought. Not quite sure what this meant, she whispered, "What are you thinking?"

"Your dragon…" he mused, pulling her closer to him. "You don't feel alone any longer, right?"

Smiling in relief, she moved herself into his arms. "Of course not." Looking up to him, her smile grew, starting to see what he was thinking. "In many ways, you were my dragon, my savior."

At that, his expression softened as he replied, "You were my dragon as well."

That seemed to surprise her. "Your dragon?"

"It was you that freed me…you that helped me realize that I should not live by fate." With the touch of his fingers down her cheek, a chill of delight ran through her skin. "I love you, my little dragon."

"Ten Ten chan!" Megumi burst through the doors of the Rising Twin Dragons, carrying in her arms a torn apron and a lucky bottle of duck sauce. Never was there a good Chinese dish without duck sauce, Megumi always complained. To her surprise, she noticed that the front room was empty, yet all of the tables were neatly covered in new white tablecloths.

This sign of neatness made Megumi pause in thought. Ten Ten had often remarked that Chinese restaurants did not care about decoration, and that it was only the food that mattered. And yet, the more that she looked around the room, the more neat and refined it looked. The dust from the corners was swept away, along with that small black spider Megumi had grown so fond of. "Hmm…" Megumi mused.

"What are you doing, Neji-kun?" a distant voice giggled. Freezing in her spot, Megumi rose and ear to listen.

"You said Soy sauce, Ten Ten chan." A male voice replied, just as bright as the first. "Don't tell me you're changing your mind again!"

The sound of splashing water and laughs echoed louder, as Megumi realized it all originated from the kitchen. With ginger tiptoes, she snuck over to the door, peaking through a small crack in the side.

To her surprise, it was none other than Ten Ten who was laughing so loudly, accompanied by some Japanese boy. Who was he? What was he doing here, with Ten Ten of all people? Ten Ten never cared for strangers. And never did she get so rambunctious and open in front of those besides Megumi. It was then that Megumi sadly noticed, it was the first time she had ever heard Ten Ten really laugh.

But suddenly, the two stopped their playing around, their ears perked. Megumi, kneeling outside the door, then realized what they had heard: her squeaking shoes across the tile. Jumping to her feet, she hardly looked suspicious when Ten Ten opened the door. A strong blush covered the Chinese girl's face when she asked, "What are you doing here?"

Raising an eyebrow suspiciously, Megumi muttered confused, "I'm here for work…? Did you forget to tell me about a holiday?"

Ten Ten's eyes snapped out of their dazed state, as she shook her dark hair furiously. "Silly me, of course you're here for work! Let's get started right away!"

It was by the old rustic sink that Megumi had seen Ten Ten laughing with that mysterious young man. But as she looked there once more, Megumi jumped to notice: he was gone. Scanning around the whole kitchen, there was no sign of a young man's presence then, or ever. Did I envision it all? Is that how desperate I am to see Ten Ten smile sincerely once more? Megumi doubted, looking back to Ten Ten's puzzled expression. "Well are we gonna just stand around or are we gonna cook?"

Speechless, Megumi simply nodded, watching Ten Ten rush to get a large wok pan, and to hear the wok stove warm. Humming a Chinese folk songto herself, Ten Ten poured some oil on the pan, making the sound and scent of sizzling fill the air. Everything was as normal outwardly. Yet Megumi still wondered, who was that that she had seen? Shrugging off the question for now, she tied her apron around her waist, grinning and going off to another day of cooking.

"Chouji san," one voice called across the dark empty alleyway. "Have you ever noticed that place before?"

"Of course not," Chouji snickered, "It's Chinese."

Usually, Tsutaru would have been amused by that sort of comment. But not tonight. "It seems highly suspicious there, standing alone in the street like that."

"Hai; shouldn't it have been shut down eons ago? Since when has the village tolerated Chinese businesses?"

"There are still some that don't want to be plucked," Tsutaru nearly spat. No one liked these foreigners polluting the village. Perhaps in finding the lost son of the daimyo, they could also root out a little rebellious gaikokujin. Kill two birds with one stone. "And do you notice how its lights are still on?"

At this, Chouji became serious, his eyes squinting in thought. "Not even a man from the Middle Kingdom would want a bowl of lo mien at this hour."

The two watched, as if waiting for the light to go out. It did not. "Perhaps Hyuuga-sama would take pleasure in this information," Tsutaru said at last.

Chouji nodded, and hardly noticed when Tsutaru began walking the other way. "Tsutaru san! Don't you think we should investigate more, maybe look in and see what is going on?"

"Another night," Tsutaru replied, continuing forward. "We're trying to find the son Neji, remember?"

"Oh right!" Chouji stood to attention, following his partner. Behind them, the light of the Rising Twin Dragons flickered, but still remained on, standing strong against the darkness. It would not go off until the morning.

She had never felt joy like she felt that night. She tried to remember it and keep it in her mind forever, because it was the only time she could recall feeling true happiness. What was smoother than flesh upon flesh, and what tasted sweeter than lips upon lips? There was nothing but him, his body, him next to her now. She was not Chinese; he was not Japanese. They were two spirits, united on a level that no other beings had ever been united, she was sure. It was a bond that surpassed any sort of man made barrier: any kata or village or war or hurt. Every night before, she would wake up from a blow of the cold, and remember that she only had a wearing sheet with Chinese gold characters for a blanket. The blanket was thrown in a corner that night. She had stopped counting the times he had kissed her, and she wasn't ashamed of the embarrassing sort of things they had done. She was sure she had forgotten what embarrassment was. Nothing could ever hurt this.

He had promised himself to her, and she to him. "One day," Neji had whispered in her ear, "when division between Japanese and Chinese is forgotten, we shall build up this place to be an inn. You can tell your stories, and I will extend this building out so it can host many many men. It will all be the way it should be." She believed his words, as he sincerely did too. They lived in their words. There was no one to stop them.

He was still asleep, she noticed, but she smiled as he whispered her name in his sleep. His lips moved so smoothly as he spoke, even if it was while he was sleeping. Her finger traced over his lips with a gentle brush, fascinated with the smallest workings like a small child. She felt his lips smile from under her finger, and she smiled back. She truly smiled. She had forgotten how nice it felt to smile.

It came the moment they least expected, when they had finally found some sort of happiness. Of course, their eyes were closed, their guard lifted, and yet, when they looked back on the moment, it still seemed impossible.

"Neji kun!" Ten Ten's laugh filled the small dining room of the Rising Twin Dragons as she was nearly lifted from the floor by Neji's arms. The two danced across the dust-collecting floor, clearly unafraid of any that could look on. They were alone, or so they believed.

The laughter broke when the door suddenly burst open, revealing two men dressed as guards. As they stepped into the dimly lit room, it was clear that they had not come alone, for there stood an older man, dressed in the garb of a daimyo. The Daimyo looked to Neji, and Neji to him, and it was then that Ten Ten realized that this was Neji's father.

The couple's steps froze, Neji's eyes widening as his arm nearly dropped Ten Ten. "No…not in all of Heaven…" he whispered, his words lost in a second.

"Hyuuga Neji," one guard spoke for Neji's father, who turned his face in shame. "You have, as you are aware, been caught in the middle of a most disgraceful grievance: abandoning the Hyuuga clan. But it is more than that, for you are also found in association with an outsider, one we have reason to suspect that you have grown far too fond of." The guard's eyes glanced over to the Chinese girl, looking her over from top to bottom, noticing Neji's hand still rested on her hip. "That is more than adequate proof," he motioned his head towards the hand.

A hundred smart remarks came to Ten Ten's mind, yet her mouth was dry and words could not reach her lips in fear. Her eyes were fixed on the Daimyo, his look of authority frightening her more and more with each passing minute.

When Neji said nothing, the guard continued, "You must come with us at once."

"And what if I refuse?" the young man's eyes narrowed, his hold on Ten Ten growing more protectively tight. "Yes, I left the Hyuuga clan. I am only ashamed I did not do it sooner."

"Control your tongue!" The Daimyo spoke at last, his voice making the whole building quiver. Stepping towards the boy, he turned his head, unable to make eye contact. "You have disgraced me and the clan as a whole in ways you will never understand. What possessed you to commit such foolishness?"

"Common sense," replied Neji, his tone growing sharper with any moment. "What's done is done. Can you not just leave me be?"

"You will do as all men do when they lose their honor: hara-kiri." As he said the last word, the room seemed to freeze over. Hara-kiri: Ten Ten had heard of that before, but only in tales of the high classes. When one dishonored himself and his family, he was sentenced to kill himself by opening his stomach… No, that was only in tales. Never would her Neji have to do that. Never, she promised herself.

"Neji is not a fool," her voice came out only as a hoarse whisper, and yet every head turned to listen. "He sees how honor can be restored, though life cannot."

The hit across her face burned as if she were struck with a hot iron. Turning her head, she saw that it was the Daimyo who had hit her. "You should know to hold your tongue, Chinese whore." He spat.

Without any premonition, a sturdy punch flew from Neji's side. Ten Ten found herself clutching to the front of his shirt with all of her strength, doing all she could to avoid the throw. The Daimyo's reflexes were rather fast as well however, holding his son's fist in his palm. "Don't even think to speak of her like that!" Neji shouted, ignoring any kata of protocol.

A well landed throw went straight to Neji's stomach, nearly hitting Ten Ten as well. In shock and pain, he staggered backwards, only held up by a shaken Ten Ten. "You should never even think to speak in the way you dare right now. You will lose your tongue for such foolishness." His father's face showed no sign of emotion, even when his son began to cough up blood. "Take him," he motioned to the two guards.

"No!" Ten Ten screamed, clutching to her lover with an even tighter grip. "You Japanese have taken everything from me: my dignity, my culture, my family, my life, but you will not take my one hope for happiness!"

With a rough shove, she was pushed to the floor, her burning cheeks met with the cold wood. "And what does it matter what you have, Chinese girl? You are a fool to think your voice could make any sort of difference." The ends of the daimyo's lips pulled into a smirk. The Chinese girl's shrieks and protests along with his own son's shouts and grotesque coughs made no impression on his outward appearance or reaction as he heartlessly sent the guards to separate the two lovers.

"The harlot's death would be easy to excuse. She is a foreigner, and she has committed a vile crime. It would be a fitting punishment." Ten Ten's eyes watched him fearfully, her body trembling violently. "However, I believe there is an even more fitting punishment, one that is far more painful and effective." The devious smirk pulling on the daimyo's lips made Ten Ten sick to her stomach, knowing that whatever his plan was, it was sick and perverse.

Raising his arms up with inspiration, he continued, "For her lover to die and for her to continue on through life alone is a sort of hell for any young girl. From now on, in this Village, there shall be a law prohibiting the death of this girl. No matter her foolish words or actions, she shall be forced to live. It will give her many a day to remember the way it truly is: you are a simple Chinese girl and there is no reason for you to live."

The last words she remembered were Neji's shout: Aishiteru, Ten Ten chan. I love you. She wouldn't let go of those words, even when her head fell to the floor and all became darkness.

Before she even opened her eyes, she screamed. Neji's name echoed through the dining room of the Rising Twin Dragons. It was empty, she observed bitterly, but she quickly rose to her feet and sprang out the door. There was a sign on the outside, prohibiting people to eat there, but she didn't notice. Her only thought was Neji…Neji…Please let me find you alive!

The path below her was sprinkled with tear drops, and her feet began to bleed from the rough stones below. She didn't think of that though; she continued forward desperately, looking for any sign of her lover.

She wished she had not found it.

For there, off in the distant street of the Village, was a procession, a small procession, carrying a vile up to the hills where the burial shrines lay. Ashes of a body, she presumed. She noticed the kanji "Hyuuga". It was the same in Chinese, she laughed. She shouldn't laugh at a moment like this, but that was why she laughed. The pain was too much; her body could not take it all in. All she could do was laugh as the tears trickled down her silk gown.

He should have had a greater procession that that. Those were probably his closest family: the mother and sister he had spoken so highly of, and perhaps his closest friends. They were the only ones who would dare find a way to bury the remains of a body of a dishonored clansman. The only way they got away with it now was because it was the wee hours of the morning, Ten Ten just noticed. There was only a faint halo of light spread across the streets now, enough for her to see the kanji and the vile. Enough for her to realize that he had probably had to kill himself as all men of honor had to when they committed a crime. Hara-kiri. He must have taken a blade, pressed it against his own stomach…

She could no longer think.

Ten Ten ran, faster than she had before, until her feet were numb from the cuts and blisters. She didn't know where she was running; she just ran. She had to run. There was nothing else for her to do.

One day, when division between Japanese and Chinese is forgotten, we shall build up this place to be an inn. Neji's young voice proclaimed so confidently in her memory. When division between Japanese and Chinese is forgotten: what a lovely dream. But now, more than ever, did she see it would never come true. Her inn, too, would grow to be no more than a dream. His death proved it.

"Neji…" she dared to whisper, but already felt a sudden rush of tears flow from her eyes. Rare were the moments that she had no control over her emotions. The pain, no matter how bad it got, was always under her hand. However, this most resent loss tore at her very being, until there was no reason to hold back her cries. In the most bitter cry she could muster, she screamed to the sky, "My very soul has been taken from me! How am I to live?"

Neji Hyuuga was a ghost. He could never be mentioned again, not even in a thought. It would be a curse to remember that happiness. It would be a curse to remember what never should have been.