I seriously have no idea where the idea for this story came from. I was thinking about WWII and Tenten with a British accent and...some how that led to this. Don't ask me how it just did. So yeah. A few things to get out of the way first. I tried to make this story as historically accurate as possible but if I made any mistakes please let me know. Although, some things like the 442nd regiment is made to intentionally be off historically. Anyway, this story is for my great grandfather, he never did anything like play golf or checkers, he just jumped out of airplanes in the big one. So, yes this story takes place in WWII right before the fall of Berlin please see the bottom of the page for the historical information, thank you for taking the tour and please do not forgot to visit our gift shop before...I mean, please review. Oh and I apologize for making Kankuro French, I just thought about all the Suna nin with French accents, again, no idea why.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! Also, for ethical and racial issues I am legally obligated to say that this story is in no way meant to reflect the common stereotypes of countries or there people or to broadcast these people and countries in a negative light. I hate stereotypes.
"What do you mean I'm not going?" Neji Hyuga winced at the unpleasant tone of his, ahem, female acquaintances voice. In hindsight he should have seen this outburst coming. Yes, Tenten just worked for a company that supplied and delivered weapons and ammunition to the Allied troops but she was a soldier in her own right. True they were close friends but Neji thought that she might have enough sense to understand that she couldn't accompany the 442nd Infantry Regiment and the rest of the allied forces on there march towards Berlin. He thought she wouldn't want to accompany them on there dangerous march over the Ludendorff Bridge and towards Hitler's last heavily fortified defense in Berlin. He thought she would be completely against hanging around a group of American G.I's in the muddy climate for an indefinite period of time. Except...she didn't. In hindsight, he really, really should have seen that coming.
He had become acquainted with Tenten when he'd first landed in Britain. He'd been part of the U.S army security detail that was protecting a ship which was delivering ammunition and supplies under the guise of a cargo ship to the British. At first he'd been extremely skeptical that anyone would allow a woman to handle a weapons shipment. Apparently, one of the higher ups must have taken notice of this because, to his extreme enjoyment (sarcasm mode) his captain had decided to pair Tenten up with him to make sure he "did his job right". He soon found out why the girl was there. Tenten was an expert with just about every type of weapon, even more than most soldiers. She could recognize any one on sight and determine whether or not it was fit for a soldier to use in combat. She was a smart, curious and quick witted girl and for some reason she just seemed to grow on him. Maybe it was her smile that seemed to brighten up his day (not that he'd ever admit it), maybe it was because he enjoyed her company, maybe it was that fact that she'd saved his life during one of the Luftwaffe's air raids. Whatever the reason, the two had became fast friends. Of course, since he hung out with the girl so much, there were plenty of rumors flying around. Hence his need to refer to as a female acquaintance.
"Hey Neji!" Naruto, a new transfer had said one day. "What's the deal with you and her?" he asked quite bluntly motioning to Tenten. Neji was about to answer when two more members of the regiment butted in.
"Tenten? His little girlfriend?" Kiba asked with his doggish grin stretching from ear to ear.
"Ah yes, they met in Paris when Ol' Neji here was with the OSS doing whatever undercover work they needed doing." Kankuro, one of the French intelligence agents said chiming in.
"He saved her from a band of Nazi's!" Kiba continued.
"They fell for each other then and there!" Kankuro said in a sing song voice.
"And every night since then they have made sweet sweet..." Neji knocked Kiba to the floor before he could finish his sentence.
"Oh come on!" Naruto groaned, "He was just getting to the good part!" Neji fought the urge to deck Kankuro and Naruto as well. Tenten just face palmed, her face beet red. In truth however, he could see how easily it would be able to mistake there relationship for a romantic one. He always flatly denied any rumors saying that they were simply good friends. Lately however, he wasn't so sure.
He'd said goodbye to her once already when the 442nd was signed on for the Normandy invasion. The farewells were awkward to say the least. Both of them had spent most of the time in silence before they shared a quick hug just before he climbed onto the boat. Neji had spent the rest of the trip mentally kicking himself over that incident rather than focusing on the fact that he would probably die in the next twenty fours hours on d-day. It wasn't easy being a soldier but all the stress and worry just seemed to melt away when Tenten was around. He berated himself for not telling Tenten this knowing that he would probably never see her again. Of course he'd met her in Bastogne seven months later with a supply team. Now, four months later, here he was in Belgium as the Allies prepared to begin there final assault on Germany. Neji broke into one of his rare smiles remembering the surprise on her face when she'd seen him, her smile, the warm feeling inside him as she'd embraced him, the snickers and whistles of the other G.I's.
"Hey!" Tenten yelled snapping her fingers in front of his face bringing Neji back to the present. "Why are you smiling?" she questioned. The British accent in her voice becoming thicker indicating she was getting madder than she already was. If that was ever possible.
"Just reminiscing," he said calmly. Tenten immediately slugged him in the arm, hard. Neji flinched slightly and rubbed the spot on his arm while Tenten stepped back and waited. He sighed. "Tenten," he began. "This next mission is dangerous, very dangerous. Yes we have them outnumbered but we're heading straight for Berlin."
"I know it's dangerous! But do you think Mr. Davis is going to let me back out of my job even if I wanted to?" Tenten asked the tone in her voice rising and eyes narrowing slightly.
"I already spoke to your boss Tenten. I told him you'd come down with something and that you were in no condition to travel. So, he agreed to have you stay behind with the current occupying force," Neji said. Tenten quickly grabbed him by the collar of his jacket.
"You what?" she roared. A couple passing British soldiers snickered. Calmly, Neji took her hand off of his jacket and gently set it back by her side. "Neji," Tenten said with something that sounded like a mix between a sigh and a groan. "Why, why would you do something like that?" she looked up at him pleadingly.
"Just like I told you, this is going to be dangerous…"
"SO WHAT?" She yelled, her temper flaring back up again. "I ship weapons, I always put myself in danger! Do you just not want me around or something?"
"here it goes" Neji said to himself "and I don't want you getting hurt, I don't want anything to happen to you. You're to precious to me." he sighed finally bracing himself for the question he knew was coming. 'I-I don't understand. W-what do you mean. Blah, blah, blah.'
"You're worried about me getting hurt?" Tenten asked her tone rising again. "I…I...aghh…You idiot!" she said slugging him in the shoulder again. Okay, so that wasn't quite the answer he was expecting. "I'm the one who should be worried about you!" she yelled. Neji just stared at her. "You're the one who's out there everyday risking you life fighting!" her voice seemed to crack as the last words escaped her throat. Carefully, she rubbed a hand over Neji's chest settling on a sore spot near his shoulder which had been pierced by a bullet a few months earlier, on d-day. "I know that almost every member of the 442nd has received the Purple Heart." She said quietly with Neji. "I worry about you Neji,"
"I-I don't understand. W-what do you mean." He stuttered.
"I love you, you idiot!" she yelled at him quickly pressing her lips up against his. Neji's eyes widened in surprise. Slowly, he got used to the feeling. He placed a hand behind her head and pulled her closer.
"Hey!" a rough voice called from behind the pair followed by a low whistle. The two broke apart and turned around to see Kiba standing there with a dog like grin on his face and Naruto by his side. "Come on Romeo, we're moving out!"
"Five more minutes?" Tenten asked hopefully.
"We already gave him the extra fives minutes, he missed the debriefing," Kiba said rolling his eyes. Neji sighed and cast a sad glance at Tenten.
"Tenten I…" he was got off as Tenten brushed her lips against his once more.
"Just come back in one piece," she winked.
The end. Man, this idea seemed so much better on paper. Ah what the heck. So, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Remember, reviews are always welcome! I would love to hear how I can make my stories better! Okay, onto the historical information you don't care about.
1) The 442nd Infantry Regiment was an actual regiment and was formed completely out of American born Japanese during a time when many Japanese were shipped off to detention camps in America during WWII. The regiment was thee most decorated infantry unit in all of the U.S Army and carried the nickname the Purple Heart Battalion.
2) The Purple Heart, for those of you who do not know, was given to any soldier wounded in battle and just about every member of the 442nd had a Purple Heart.
3) The title of this story, 'Nisei', is another nickname for the 442nd, it means 'second generation' in Japanese.
4) Few of the Allies ever actually crossed the Ludendorff bridge. Mostly, they just took control of the city and bridge and then formed a blockade on the east bank blocking off Hitlers escape root while the Soviets attacked Berlin itself.
5) The U.S supplied Britain with supplies during the German blitzing (bombing) but did not officially enter the war until after Pearl Harbor. Which means Neji was in Britain for like four years. Agh, stupid historical inconsistency.