The night was bottomless. The silence was more felt than heard. In hindsight, this should have been indication enough of how things were going to pan out. In fact, the whole night felt like it was destined for death. How ironic, Tenten thought, to believe in Fate at such a time like this.

Usually, Tenten doesn't shy away from a challenge. It's not in her nature to do so. Right this instant, though, she desperately wished to have turned away from this mission (if it could be called such) a month ago. If impending doom weren't that evident in the air, she would have laughed.

The fact that the mission was so classified it couldn't even be ranked should have been a dead giveaway. Ah, but to go to a faraway land! That was what sold her away. Not just any land, but a dynasty. It would be like a vacation, she had reckoned at the moment, since all of their missions have always concerned villages, big and small, never something so big as a dynasty! She had been so naïve.

Her pulse was the only thing she felt beating in her body. She wasn't even sure if she was breathing at times. Even the long slash along one of her arms hadn't registered yet. Who knew being so far from home could make her question her every move, her abilities even? One thing she knew for sure. She will never trade the villages again.

She closed her eyes trying to concentrate as she huddled near a bush, lost in the immensity of the palace's gardens where they were being cornered. When did everything turn so sour? She couldn't help thinking about that day at the Hokage's quarters.

"The nature of this mission cannot be discussed in depth. Only know, if you should accept, that the upcoming war can be shaped with this information which you are tasked to retrieve. Fate hangs in the balance."

Said information that was tasked to be retrieved was a scroll whose contents where unknown to them as to the Hokage. That is why Tenten was chosen, being an expert in that field as she was.

From her peripheral Tenten could see Neji nod a small nod. "I believe that decision is not up to me." He turned and looked at her. She locked eyes with him, trying to pry the right answer out of him. His stare was unreadable, waiting.

Tenten swallowed, delivering. She understood why Tsunade had chosen her, and there for Neji. She had told them that their track record was impeccable, and she needed absolute success at the moment. On top of that, their dynamic as a team was needed if the mission was to be fruitful.

The answer was plainly obvious.

"Hai. It would be my honor to tip the scale in our favor."

Tenten had started to sweat. She couldn't see Neji in the sea of bushes and flowers that where built like a labyrinth (on purpose, came the afterthought). She only heard the faint rustling and whispering of those who were hunting them, which was everyone at the palace tonight.

It was clear what she needed to do, she needed to reach their unbeknownst rented inn all the way across town, away from the Lao-Yung palace (which is where she was currently). That's where they were keeping all of their gear and their only means to escape. She understood the logic behind being unarmed when they began their rouse, of throwing off their sent. It would have been a dead giveaway to their enemy if they walked armed to the teeth and knocked on their front door. More so if she was posing as an heir to a long-lost important clan, one who didn't practice any sort of taijutsu or have any sort of special ability. But surly they could have come up with something!

Although the task was bluntly obvious, the means of getting it done without dying were not.

They had to cross a large expanse of water. And, though, yes, she had once stored an entire ship in one of her scrolls, being stranded in the middle of nowhere was something she didn't quite liked. She and water didn't quite mix well. So, she busied herself from this fact by making use of her time and memorizing her new alias.

Suki, only heir of the Chun-Ling clan. No special abilities. Loaded with enough money to fund, say, a war. She was being accompanied by her servant, Kenji. She was invited to the Lao-Yung dynasty to assist on issues not clarified on the invitation. But she and Neji knew what it was for.

"As Suki I will finally know what it's like to be you," she had said to him one afternoon as they were watching the sun fall on the horizon. They had estimated reaching Lao-Yung dynasty at that same time tomorrow.

"Which is?" Neji said, his eyes looking as unknown as the sea under them.

"To be a snub," she said with a grin. "But I will have you, my faithful servant, to keep me grounded."

How she wished she knew where her faithful servant was right now. They had bonded a lot this past month, unlike any before. They were so close Tenten was aware that they had reached something pivotal (how strange!). And, now, he was so far away she couldn't even fathom how one can even do that. He could be dead right now; a thought suddenly came. No, he's too clever for death. Tenten shook her head. She had to keep focus.
Tenten kept quiet and still. When she thought the coast was clear, she huddled to another bush, trying to near the gates that marked their exit. As she was huddling, she tripped on her heels. Damn! Why was she still wearing these stupid shoes?

"We aren't spies, Neji," she said as she adjusted her qipao-style deep red dress. It had a big slit on her right leg, which she tried to hide by pulling at it. She sighed. This was the last time Ino was going to choose an outfit for her! She was putting on some strappy heels when she walked out to face him. "We are freaking ninja. This is absurd!"

Neji was dressed simply, servant that he was. His clothes were not that different from what he usually wears. Except his dark rich locks were up in a tight ponytail and the Leaf Village head protector was missing, replaced by a red headband that matched his red servant uniform.

"You look," he said trailing off, face unreadable, "different."

Different was what she was shooting for. Although, she was still very hesitant when she tentatively touched her hair. Nobody made her do it, that was the truth. Yet deep down she kind of regretted a little bit and wished someone actually did. But the moment she decided to cut her hair in a bob and make her bangs short she had thought Hell! Let them think I'm royalty!

Now, under Neji's scrutiny she felt insecure. After all, this was the first time he was seeing her like this, since she was wearing her hair up during the entirety of their trip there. That is, until they had reached Lao-Yung dynasty that afternoon.

"I hope it's good different," she said, and before he could answer, she added, "You look rather different yourself, although you are not radiating enough servant vibes for me."

As Tenten was ripping her shoes off, an idea came to her. She looked around, her eyes trying to choose a bullseye and decided to throw one of the shoes at random. Tenten held her breath for a moment as the shoe thudded somewhere near a bush of roses. When hurried steps came rushing that direction, Tenten decided to make a run for the gates.

She tried not to look back for fear of seeing something she didn't wish, so she pushed on ahead. She knew the layout of the palace, she and Neji made sure to acclimate themselves to it as soon as they had arrived. Now that she was past the gates, she knew that open space was what awaited her. That would give out to a line of trees that would expand on all directions. From there, she would have to keep south until that line of trees would break to a worn road that would lead to town. From there all she would have to do was reach the inn, the one they rented as soon as they set foot in town.

There was still the matter of Neji. He was the one that had the damn scroll. She had had it originally, seeing how she was the one who retrieved it in the first place. But, then, they were apprehended and in the mist of chaos he ended up taking it.

Once Tenten was past the open space and was deeply submerge in trees, she slowed considerably enough to catch a breath of air and control her pulse. She decided quickly to move along the top of the trees because they would give her more cover. While she still gripped the other shoe (she didn't know if it might come in handy), she recollected how it had all come about.

For people that were strategizing for war, they did a lousy job at keep important stuff locked away. Finding the scroll was easy, trying not to take a peek inside was not. It was plainly obvious too, seeing how it was locked in a safe behind a frame in a study (a pretty cliché way of doing it).

She was making her way to the gathering, doing great time when she bumped into Neji. His face told her that something was wrong.

He placed a finger to his lips, letting her know that she should stay quiet. What is going on? she tried to convey with her eyes. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to a corner.

"They are on to us," he whispered so faintly she could barely catch it.

How? she mouthed. He shook his head. She knew it meant I don't know.

She showed him the scroll and his eyes widened.

"We have-" he began before someone cut them off.

"Hey! You two," someone shouted, making towards their direction.

Neji hovered over her, leaning close. "Follow my lead."

Tenten barely had time to register what was going on before she felt him grab both sides of her neck and draw close. She hesitated for a moment. It was clear this was a distraction of some sort, but some hysterical part of her mind thought is this real?

"Put the scroll inside my pocket," he whispered into her ear as he moved to her mouth and lingered there.

She gently slid it in his pocket before dragging her hands up and down his back, keeping with the rouse. Her hands were sort of shaking (which she assumed was the nerves of getting caught making her jumpy) and she felt Neji somewhat tense under her touch. Their breathes were one mingled form.

"What is this?"

"Oh!" Tenten tried to sound surprised and drunk with emotion, which wasn't that hard. Tenten felt Neji's hands slid down to her shoulders and stay there. She briefly met his eyes, tried to read too many things at once, before saying, "Oh, so sorry! This is so embarrassing."

"We apologize," Neji chippered in, but his hands were still firm on her shoulders.

They looked at each other one more time before they tried to brush it off and walk away, but the person insisted, "Wait!"

Tenten tried to keep focus as she moved on ahead, but her thoughts kept wandering to other places. Her mind was scattered, yes, a fragment of what it usually is. She thought of those after her. She thought of how she was going to escape. She thought of Neji and that damn scroll. She thought about how her body was tired and just wanted rest. Of how annoying short hair is (it was always in the way!) and how everything seemed overwhelmingly impossible. Tsunade was right when she said Fate hung in the balance.

She was nearing the worn road that led into town, and, so, she paused just for a moment to asses her next move. She was straining her ears, trying to decipher if their hunters were near. But, as much as she tuned her ears, she heard nothing. Which in and out itself was very strange. That could only mean two things. One, she had lost them (but that didn't seem right, considering she had a dozen men on her heels). Second, they somehow knew Neji had the scroll and where focusing their energy on getting him (which was very bad too).

Tenten just wanted to puke.

How would she know if Neji was fine and if he had gotten away?

She pondered for a moment. Be it what it may, her best possible option was to go to the inn and get her weapons. If he was fighting them off, he was going to need backup. If he was trying to get away, he needed her to aid him. So, reluctantly, she made her way down the line of trees and onto the road.

"I don't think I am ready for war," Tenten said the very same day they boarded the ship headed to Lao-Yung dynasty. "I know they prepare you for this sort of thing all your life. I mean, that's why we are ninja, right? But I can't accept the fact that things might change, will change, and…"

She couldn't even finish the sentence. Neji, ever patinate, waited for her to regain herself. She swallowed. "I can't bare the thought of losing any of you guys. You guys are my family. If I lose you guys, then I will truly be an orphan. I will truly have no one."

Tenten's eyes watered and she tried to be strong, to hold her chin up and look at Neji as she talked, because she was reluctant to this breaking her.

To her immense surprise, Neji took hold of her hand, which he had never ever done before, looked into her eyes with something that wasn't his usual stoic face and said, "I promise you will never be alone."

To make matters worse, she believed him.

She was alone, making her way to the inn. The town was both busy and ghostly, depending on the street she walked in. The inn they had rented was near the coast and harbor, which was very convenient and why they had chosen the place to begin with. Once she could pinpoint the ragged establishment, she decided to enter their room through the window. Walking in through the front door didn't seem ideal.

Tenten was just closing the window, inspecting the outside, making sure she wasn't followed, when a voice said, "You finally arrived."

She knew better than to start, than to throw something (although, she was very close to throwing her other shoe!). She was able, though, to calmly turn around and face Neji. "How did you get here?"

Neji looked worse for wear but managed to make the corners of his lips turn ever so slightly upward. She noted that his clothes were torn at places and his hair was disheveled.

He sighed, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning in and sat on the bed, almost sinking. "I Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm myself out of there. I am not even sure how I made it."

"How did you get here before I did?" She had thought she had left him behind with most of the bulk.

"I got here just five minutes before you did. I was about to go out and find you."

"Me too," she said. "I was going to gear up and go get you."

"Good to know you were coming back," he said. "I thought you left me to fend of for myself for a moment."

Neji's comment irritated her, but something struck her and instead she asked, "You still have the scroll?"

Neji nodded, patting his pocket. Just the fact made her remember how it got there and she had to turn around and look amongst the bags they had left at their room to hide her blush.

"I'm going to change quickly so we can get the hell out of here."

He nodded at her but stayed where he was sitting. When she came back freshly clothed, he was still there.

"Neji," Tenten approached hesitantly. "What's going on?" There's no time to waste, she didn't add.

Neji sighed, closing his eyes. He took out the scroll and said, "I read it."

Tenten felt her pulse quicken. "What?" she heard herself say.

Neji slowly opened his lavender eyes and locked them with hers, "We have to destroy this."

From Tenten came another, "What!"

"This scroll… The Hokage was right. This type of information can shape a war. Although, I don't see the viability in this. I've heard of Reincarnation Jutsu's before, but usually those require DNA samples, a sacrifice and for the soul of the intended reincarnated to reside in the Pure Land. But this," Neji trailed off. "This is a different thing altogether."

"Why is that?" Tenten didn't know if she wanted to know the answer.

"Because you don't need any of that with this. Not even chakra. That person is tied to your life, but you do not control them, which doesn't seem effective in war. It seems like an abomination to life, a crime even, to mess with something so precious."

"That's why you think we should destroy it?" she tried to sound levelheaded, but it was hard. "Neji, I remind you: our opinions don't matter here. Our mission was to retrieve the scroll, that's all."

"If it gets destroyed on the way to the Hokage, there won't be anyone to blame."

Tenten couldn't actually believe what she heard. She even said, "I can't even believe what I am hearing."

Neji just stood up, went to get his things. "Let's just get going before we are apprehended. We can discuss this matter later."

"There is nothing to discuss!" Tenten tried to control her voice. "You know our orders."

Neji seemed to not pay her any mind as he headed for the window, equipped with his gear. Tenten sighed exasperated, knowing she had not let him win the argument, but that they would continue later when better circumstances could be had. "This isn't over," she warned just in case it wasn't clear enough.

They kept to the walls when they got out the window, using the shadows as cover. They knew that from there their path to escape was simple enough. All they had to do was get to the harbor, to the water. There Tenten could unleash the small ship she had stored in one of her scrolls using fūinjutsu. After, they could summon clones that could aid them with managing the vessel and getting them out of there.

They almost reached the harbor without any hiccups, when a voice called after them, "Where do you think you are going!"

Tenten couldn't help rolling her eyes.

Neji was eyeing the room they had been assign to with a sort of distaste. Tenten thought that perhaps the Hyuga manor had better furniture. But, then again, this was a freaking dynasty!

"What is it?" Tenten had asked him, trying to figure out what was going on inside Neji's head.

Neji just shook his head, saying nothing.

There were some double doors that led to a garden. "I cannot figure out what could be wrong with this place. Aside from them scheming war, that is. This place is astonishing!"

Neji seemed exasperated. "It just seems a waste to me."

Tenten was sort of surprised. Nothing ever seemed to exasperate him (well, maybe just Lee and Guy-Sensei). "What is?"

"That this place cannot be fully appreciated. That's why it seems like a waste to me. Such a shame that we must be here on strict matters."

Tenten felt her ears ring, some things not registering completely. She looked at him, actually studied him. His eyes were fixed outside, wide open for all to see and yet totally unreadable. His jaw was tense, mulling something over. His arms were crossed, settled.

"Let's promise to go on vacation when this is over?" she offered.

Neji turned to her, sort of smirking. "It's a deal."

Tenten didn't knew how they had gotten away (although, the number of those after them had incredibly reduced, they had their weapons at their disposal and they were together), but they had. There was a moment, just when Tenten needed to summon the ship out of the scroll, when she thought they wouldn't make it. But, then, some clever maneuvering from Neji made it so it happened.

They had been on the water, on their way home, for an hour and there was no sign of them being followed. Which was good because it meant they had the lead, but bad, because if they were to be followed, they had nothing but water surrounding them.

Tenten sighed, rubbing a hand up and down her face and then down her short hair. "This is unbelievable. All for a stupid scroll!"

Neji walked over to where she was watching the black nothingness of night. Their clones were making sure they were on the right direction.

"We should burn this, Tenten. This thing," he said, patting the scroll in his pocket, "it isn't right."

Tenten sighed, looked at him. He seemed to want to try to convey how important the issue was. She knew her teammate had to have a reason. She knew that, somehow, he must be right about something.

To give him the benefit of the doubt, she outstretched her hand and spread it face up, expectant. "Let me see it."

Neji appeared to be reluctant for a moment before he forced himself to take the scroll out of his pocket and hand it to her.

She was unsure for a moment. Not quite sure if Neji was actually going to do it, but now that the scroll was in her hands she tried not to gape. Tenten shook the nervousness off her as she opened the scroll.

Tenten eyed the contents inside silently-what it meant, what it implied. The possibilities, the repercussions. She felt her heart ached as she understood something.

She was still looking at the scroll, her eyes and mind blank, not taking anything in now. Neji approached her, placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tenten."

Tenten slowly turned to him, trying to keep her face unreadable. "Let's do it."

Neji nodded.

That night they had made a fire, trying to be careful it didn't spread, and set it ablaze. She couldn't help throwing herself to him as she saw what was left of the scroll burn away, very uncharacteristic of her, and wept. Neji was surprised, but eventually wrapped his arms around her. She assumed he thought she was crying because of what they had done, after all, going against orders was so against their ninja way, it was borderline insubordination. And, yes, some part of her cried because of that… for what she didn't do.

A/N: I don't own Naruto.

First of all, if you are reading this note, I take my hat off to you. This is quite a long fic. I haven't written one in years and this is pretty long as it is, so thank you. Please review.

A couple of things:

I don't know if you can use clones for sailing a ship, but, alas, when I was trying to refresh my memory, I didn't quite understand how the clone technique worked. If it doesn't, let's pretend that in this case it does.

I am sure you can deduce by now that there will be a follow up to this story (the likelihood of when it will be out is still debatable, but I will try to get it out as soon as I can) so keep an out. I am really excited for it, though. It's a follow up after the war I will just say.

Again, thank you in advance for reading. If there is any reader from my other stories here, checking this out while my other stories are still unfinished, I apologize. I will try to dust them off as soon as I am able.