Here we are my darlings! I will let you enjoy to this final chapter without further babbling on my part ;)

-X-

It came too soon, the brush coated in red and white under predatory pearl eyes.
It came as a promise to meet under the harvest moon.

-X-

Harvest Moon
by Clementive

-X-

Her reflection shimmered, a thin layer of pale dust softening her features. Tenten breathed in and almost choked on a burning sensation in her throat.

Her hand stilled, the hair of the brush digging unpleasantly on the surface of her skin.

The scent of metal and fire cloaked him like it sometimes cloaked her, sweat tingling on her forehead in Ibiki's forge. Her grip around the kunai tightened as she locked glance with him in the mirror. His silhouette drew faint shadows on the wooden floor but his eyes shone like the moon. Slowly, her hand put the brush down and she turned her kneeling form towards him.

If she were to die, she thought she would rather drown in her blood an arrow piercing her throat than many planted in her back like a coward. A distinct coldness crept under her skin. She felt too calm, too composed hours from the wedding and still thinking of death and cutting through skin and bones.

"You're no Hyuuga." Her flat voice hung between them as he slid across the floor like an aerial creature. His naked forehead glistened, red and fierce and she felt her heart beating in her throat.

She wondered when the fear would come, if dying in silence and fearless was even impossible. Katsuo smirked, turning his forearm towards her. His dragon shone white almost translucent on his pale skin with red scales that blend in the curve of his elbow.

"Well, I suppose that means you can release that kunai you are holding. I'm only here to talk, even though..." the archer drawled, his eyes swiftly resting on the kimono lying on the futon. "I fear your mother would have wanted it differently. This ought to be interesting."

"Should I ask for tea, brother?" Tenten coldly asked embedding the kunai between them on the soft lathes below her.

Warriors trusted no words.

They spelled out their promises with blood on the sand, threw their hands back when they meant to shake their heads no. They danced and sang with blades under their pillow, one eye open. Yes, warriors knew no other language than the fight, the first leap and the bite of a katana.

The kunai gleamed, reflecting the waving flames of the lanterns still burning. The sun appeared above blood-drenched clouds that hung heavily with the last remains of the rain. The young could almost feel the awoken spirits of warriors easing themselves out of their slumber.

She breathed in. She needed time, a few hours to slide in Neji's arms. Her heart pounded in her chest and cold sweat tinkled her hands, the tip of her tongue running along the needles in her mouth. 'Maybe this is why dragons marry in red.'

"I'm certain you would agree that those with your gift and knowledge are dangerous," he began instead and his traits quivered. She saw a flash of amusement, that curved his face, interrupting his control. "There are usually two ways out for them: death or betrayal."

"Then, I suppose I will die," her stare turned to steel and she reached for her other kunai in her sleeve. "But this being said, brother, it doesn't mean I will go down easily."

He smirked coyly setting his bow and his quiver down as he kneeled in front of her. He spread his fingers on his laps, taunting her with his pearl eyes. A strand of white hair fell along his dark hair in a ponytail at the base of his neck. Tenten recognized Neji's elegance, the soft features and high cheekbones.

"And this is why there's a third option for you."

"Which is?"

"Leaving. Gai will accompany you to China where you will remain until the end of the war. Then, you will be free to do as you please."

She froze, thinking of the way his body blent at each of her attacks, at the seriousness he gained whenever he reached for a kunai. She wondered how long they had known, if Ibiki did. If he purposely pushed her into his care to sever her wings.

No one could turn his back on the House of Dragons.

"I'm getting married in a few hours." She shook her head.

"Maybe you haven't understood me, Tenten. You truly have two possibilities: death or China." His hand once again fell on his bow. "The elders of the House will not allow you to encounter the possibility of betrayal. The Akatsuki incident was most unfortunate and it won't happen again. I was dispatched here to ensure that."

She felt cornered as she nodded slowly, turning back towards her mirror. Her skin still shimmered and the perspective of going back to China didn't crease her lips the way she would have imagined it would.

She breathed in, the scent of metal and the Chinese valley of her childhood strong in her nose.

'Funny how one changes in a few months.' she thought in Japanese the way she used to in Chinese, with a melancholic edge that whirled within her. She thought of Neji and Ino. 'This will be temporary,' she promised herself straightening her back.

"I will leave in two days at the same time as the army of the shogun."

He nodded stiffly, retrieving a scroll from his robes. Without ceremony, he handed it to her. The dragon seal gave way under her fingers, unleashing curt instructions in Chinese.

"Very well, under the full moon, we will wait for you by the pond. Consider this a wedding gift."

Her hand didn't shake when she applied the red paste on her lips nor did her voice shake when Ino Nara entered her chambers in rich silky robes.

She breathed in and out, darkening her brows.

-X-

She still counted the hours when they met for the ceremonial exchange of gift.
She would still count them when he left for the temple and her kimono slid off her pallid shoulders.

-X-

The ceremonial room was plain, cushions disposed on the extremities for the elders and the two to be wed. When the bride arrived, servants silently opened the sliding doors to the rustle of water and leaves dancing among the cranes in the wind.

Elders with grim expressions surrounded Neji Hyuuga in dark traditional robes and grey large stared at her as she kneeled in a pool of dark red robes and long mahogany hair. She shrugged her strands away from her blanched neck and he almost smirked, the weight on his stomach lifting.

A part of him thought she would perch on a tree of his old training ground, her feet dangling in the air before the ceremony. Apart but close, they stood in the weeks that brought them together, between the kunai that threatened his throat when they trained and Sasuke's war declaration. He released a painful breath when she lifted her face. They were still feet apart, their gifts behind them. He locked glance with her.

Are you still sure?

Your relatives don't scare me.

Good.

She smiled mysteriously at him with painted lips and he nodded stiffly towards his aunt. Asuka set a small chest before her, opening it with a sullen expression.

"His lordship offers a dagger to the bride to protect his household." the old lady muttered.

I forge better daggers than that, Hyuuga. Is that iron? You have much to learn.

Behind his aunt, the shogun winced when Tenten pinched her lips, her amusement relaxing her features. Her thoughts seemed to mock him even when she didn't open her mouth. He clang to the sight of her smile, to the ghosts heaving in his relatives' breasts rather than in hers.

She knew it was a tradition among warlords to offer as a wedding gift a dagger. She bowed, the blade warm in her open palms before setting it aside. Her words trailed in a set of tradition ornaments that didn't sever their mute communication.

A comb, Hyuuga? After all these years, Japanese customs are still amusing.

You're half-Japanese, Tenten.

Tch.

Incenses burnt around them, trapping them in a slowed moment of ceremonial tradition that didn't vibrate through any of them. They still stood too far away and Tenten was already counting the hours.

"Tenten of the House of Dragons offers a katana to his lordship to protect her household," Ino muttered on her turn a faint smirk firmly curving her lips. The tense atmosphere bounced on her indifferently.

With an arrogant blink directed to his grandfather, Neji donned his katana to Shikamaru and sheathed the sparkling red blade. He bowed to her, his eyes remaining on her face. Members of the secondary branch passed between them with detached seriousness that didn't cloud their best wishes.

I wish I could reach for your hand.

Her hazel glinted, daring him to cross the distance between them. Her body moved and he followed the graceful roll of her shoulders beneath her robes when she bowed to one of his relatives thanking her in a mutter. The young Hyuuga listed specific recommendations for birthing sons. The silk of the red prenatal kimono she offered almost liquefied in rich waves between her fingers.

"Tenten-sama should clap three times in her hands when she prays to her ancestors. Three is the number for birth."

Tenten still counted the hours when the women stepped around her while the men left for the temple. A monk blessed her wedding kimono, in a hush deep voice, lids heavy with concentration.

Incense seemed to pour out of his mouth. Nervousness knotted her stomach while Ino's hands tugged at her obi, releasing the pressure on her abdomen.

A gentle hand pushed her up, pearl eyes following her every moves and thin lips muttering wishes of happiness. Her red wedding gown weighed down heavily on her shoulders golden lines reunited on her back in a roaring dragon.

She breathed in, her obi tightly slimming her silhouette and two cold hands pushed her hair up in a formal bun. A headdress matching her dress followed suit. She heard one of the elder muttered about the horns of jealous that the headdress mask to ensure that she would become a happy and obedient wife.

"You have never looked so much like your mother, Tenten-sama."

She turned her head towards the voice, her insides suddenly cold with dulled ache. Pearl eyes reflected her panic, not giving in to the woman who had spoken. The crowd bore the same face, awakening her fear. They acted as one hand as hey ushered her outside in the blazing sun towards her palanquin.

Snapping her fan open, she breathed in stopping herself from pushing the thin curtains aside to glance in the street searching for her mother's piercing green eyes.

A part of her trembled at the perspective of being Tiantian again. Fear came at that moment, gnawing its way in her system when the first cries of the crowd erupted.

-X-

They exchanged the cup of sake nine times for triple happiness, the voice of the monks strong and deep within them.

The guests clapped twice when the voices ceased and they released the tension in their shoulders.

-X-

Fireworks unleashed violently on the welkin, deafening the laughter of the remaining guests.

Incense and sake filled her senses, chasing the elaborate ceremony in the fog of her mind. Tasting the soft cool breeze on her skin, she giggled pressing her hand against her husband's biceps. Rock Lee's voice didn't falter, growing louder in his speech of youth merging with succinct congratulations.

"Lee," Neji snapped menacingly while throwing her an annoyed look.

"But Neji-kun! Youth must be embraced and your lovely wife's skin must shine like a beautiful flower until the end. Do you understand, my youthful rival? It is as sacred as it is important!"

"Why, of course, Lee-san," Tenten smiled amusement rolling her words on her tongue. "And I will ensure that Neji's skin remained shimmering like in his younger youthful years until the end."

The young taijutsu beamed bowing slightly before leaping back into the crowd in excited steps. The Hyuuga warlord pressed his fingers on her neck, his breath tickling her ear.

"My skin?" he snorted, his left eyebrow arched while she shrugged playfully.

Her mind whirled, swaying between sake sips she shared with members of the secondary branch of the Hyuuga clan and ghostly lips and fingers on her skin when no one was looking.

She wished she could lose herself in the warmth of his presence. She wanted to distance the fog that clung to the waters of the sea and its salty smell. After all those years, it remained so close to the smell of gushing blood. Faintly, she shivered, her smile frozen on her lips.

"I will be back," the shogun promise in a whisper, spotting the Nara warlord with the recovering Inuzuka warlord.

The young woman bit her below lip, noticing the hurried movements of the lips of the lieutenant and the narrowed eyes of the captain. Somehow, at that moment, she knew her mother was gone, back on the track of interesting medical injuries and favorite insults. Somehow, a part of her expected her to show up.

Shakily, she reached for another cup of sake. A wide palm stopped her with a growl.

"Ibiki-san?" Tenten jolted, widened hazel eyes searching the face of the Morino warlord.

The torturer was dressed in formal black robes, silver bear claws and teeth embroidered on his collar and sleeves. A few feet behind, men in similar colors waited impassively. Slowly, she blinked feeling her husband's pearl eyes on her.

"I don't do weddings, kid, but I'm leaving tomorrow for the South and I have something for you. So, I had no choice." Ibiki sneered, looking around him with disgust.

Neji took one step towards them but Tenten shook her hand. Ignoring the Hyuuga's glower, he handed her a small box while smirking arrogantly at him. Neji merely pinched his lips crossing his arms over his chest.

"You are leaving," Tenten repeated slowly, hesitant hands closing around the velvet box. "I thought you were banned from the shogunate of the Wind."

"In wartime, things change," he shrugged watching her carefully. "The Morino clan is the only clan with decent fighters in the South so Gaara-sama informed to I was forgiven of the fault I committed under his father's reign. I may have been in Konoha, Tenten-chan, but my cousins would be stupid to try to take over the clan. Gaara-sama had no other choice but to call me back to the South." A ruthless shadow crossed his features, scars merging with the brutality Tenten had grown accustomed to.

"Ibiki-san, I can't accept this. You have done enough for me."

"It's yours by birth, Tenten-chan." Ibiki said firmly ignoring her attempt to push the gift back into her hands. He glared crossing his arms over his chest. "Just open it and wear it."

She nodded, frowning. The necklace was made of fine silver. She searched her memories for a hint of the curved elaborate shape that formed a water drop. She could weigh it in its gleam; clan-made.

"It was your grandmother's."

"I don't remember anything like it."

"Your other grandmother," he cleared his throat, looking away. "She died years before you were born. She received it from your grandfather as a wedding gift. It seems only appropriate that you have it now."

The flames of the torches quivered across his face, the voice of guests dimming. The world still swayed like a boat fighting angry sea waves.

"How did you come by this, then, Ibiki-san?" She whispered suddenly afraid to touch the silver heraldry, suddenly aware of her appurtenance to an unknown clan that her mother left behind just as she had left her behind.

"You don't want to know." He stated coldly still not meeting her glance but she felt his hesitation when he turned away.

She drifted farther away when she watched his retreating back growing smaller into the distance. Neji fell back into step with her, his presence overwhelming her when he clasped the thin chain around her neck.

"It seems familiar," he muttered against her jugular, his fingers toying with the pendant.

"I don't want to know."

Her questions about Maito Gai died on her tongue.

-X-

"Do you think you can trust Katsuo?"

The tip of his fingers trailed down her spine, while she combed her hair. It unraveled on her sides, masking her naked skin that he couldn't reach. Shadows retreated to their darkest corner, her honey skin shone contrasting with his paler complexion.

He pressed his palm against her back, feeling her pounding heart.

"Gai-sensei will be there," Tenten turned a small smile towards him.

He sat up frowning, his palm now engulfing her frail shoulder.

"Gai-sensei is one of them too? I should have noticed, he does handle all sorts of weapons. But even if he is, remain cautious. Inuzuka swears that he saw Katsuo speaking with Asuka-sama when she pretended to be sick. They may be plotting."

She hunched her shoulders, closing her eyes, annoyed with the plots that crowded her earliest memories of Japan. She wondered if it had been any different among the dragons. If her childhood really tasted of innocence and Chinese sweets.

"Don't worry, Neji. I will be fine. I- I need to go and you know as much. My staying threatens you, Konoha and the House of Dragons."

'The realm comes first,' a deep voice muttered in her mind.

His fingers turned her face towards him and his mouth covered hers. There was no need denying it. He knew as he nibbled her below lip that protecting her wouldn't be easy on a battlefield she already visited in her nightmares.

Breathless, he rested his forehead against hers.

"This is temporary, Neji. I will come back when all is over and I will give you all the children you want."

"I know," he muttered between feverish kisses.

He pulled her beneath him where she fitted so perfectly and they allowed themselves to be lost one last time in each other's skin. The dawn turned crimson, boiling.

She breathed in, her nails drawing blood on the surface of his skin.

"We are warriors," she repeated one last time to convince herself that the coldness flowing in her veins wasn't meant to be. Reluctantly, she let him sit up, his expression blank.

"Hai," he murmured unconvinced.

There was no time left, and it hung between them, brutally, like loose ends carried by the sound of stamping hooves and restless neighs. Nonetheless, she pleaded him with her eyes. She didn't know if it was for him to stay or to leave without a glance over his shoulder, fast. Without a word, she could cry over.

Warriors didn't cry.

Servants opened the sliding doors, his armor shone in the pale sunlight that pierced the clouds. She almost laughed at the symmetrical movements of all the wives of the clan, clutching their husband's armor over their chest, tightening it in rough jerky rolls of their shoulders.

"I fixed the chains under the armpit, they should allow you to move more swiftly."

"It's also lighter," Neji stared at her with a softened pearl orbs. "Thank you."

"Remember, if you have to kill a man with a kunai..."

"The stomach if he's far and the neck if he's near. I know, Tenten." He laced his fingers with hers bringing them to his lips. "We are warriors."

She breathed in, watching him mount his horse. The body of the army grew, wild, hungry for bloods in various banner of the clans of the valley.

Warriors stirred as one.

Stamps rose, a war cry echoing in her soul and she let the metallic taste ran through her veins, beating alongside the roaring dragon within her.

Only did it fall into place. Pawns and knights alike on the shogi board that warlords controlled. The board glistened in blood and unspoken machinations in an elaborate parade that they covered in silk under a full moon. When everything gleamed and were revealed.

The harvest moon.

It shone, it paled and so, the dance began.

-X-

Well, this was possibly the hardest chapter I have ever written. My fingers refused to move across the keyboard for a while. I dearly hope the end hasn't disappointed any of you.

I have enjoyed working on this, I hope you have all enjoyed it as much as I did. Again, thank you for all those who supported me with favs, alerts and reviews.

Until next time! :)

-Clementive

EDIT: This is the end of the first book of Silk BUT the sequel is now up and running. You can find it on my profile page under the name of "Thrones of Silk." See you there! :D