All that is gold does not glitter.

Farewell to Naruto

goldberry — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 14:40:21 GMT

This is my official farewell to the world of Naruto. It’s been a great ride and I have met some truly fantastic people because of this fandom. My writing has grown and I have grown as a person as well, just from being able to say I was a fan of this wonderful series. Though my interests have turned to original writing, I thank each and every one of you for supporting me and my works for the last fourteen years - some of you having stuck with me all the way back from my Gundam Wing escapades. I’m truly blessed to have been able to meet and converse with so many of you. So long, Naruto, and thanks for all the fish.

TITLE: Phoenix
SERIES: Naruto
CHARACTERS: Tenten, Neji, Sakura
RATING: PG

WARNINGS: I’m rather saddened by the end of Naruto, or maybe nostalgic is another word, which is strange because for the most part I’m happy about the way it ended. If you are not caught up on Naruto, please be aware there be spoilers within. This piece is very short and has a rather… terrifying tone, if perhaps empowering? I’m not sure. Either way, this is the send off I imagined for Tenten. She and Neji will always be together in my mind.

PHOENIX

Her chest aches, the heart inside of it a core of molten lava that threatens to burn her up from the inside out in grief-stricken agony. Her muscles tense, her teeth clench and she feels heartfire rising behind her eyes, tastes ash in her mouth. She’s flame, the incandescent flare that feels too much, feels everything.

Tenten closes her eyes and lets herself be consumed.

Sakura has seen it before. The look of someone screaming without making a sound. She sees it now on Tenten’s face and wonders if anyone else there can see the flashfire, the quick burn of a short life before it’s utterly spent, the unending wail of hurt so deep it can’t be vocalized. Tenten is wounded to the bone but she does not bleed.

The medic in her tells Sakura she needs to do something, that this moment is dangerous for all of them. She wants to yell that even though Tenten is standing there, right there, they are losing her. In a moment she’ll be gone, she’ll be--

Tenten takes a step forward and everyone stills, holds their breath. They watch as she slowly comes to stand next to Neji’s body, her eyes dry but burning as she looks down at him. Sakura had turned him over so the great wounds in back were not visible but it is still clear that his death had been violent. His clothes are torn and splattered with blood but Tenten ignores this, her gaze resting on the clear expanse of his forehead. She stares at it for ages, for seconds, and then she reaches down and pulls a kunai from the pouch at her waist.

Everyone tenses at the appearance of a weapon, everyone there knew what Tenten could do with one, but no one, it seems, had the will to speak. It is obvious that this is a private moment, that standing there, on that battlefield, there is only truly Tenten and Neji.

Tenten lifts the kunai with one hand and with her other she grips the long fall of her hair that had freed itself of its usual buns during battle. Without hesitation, she slices through her hair close up by her neck, cutting it all off a few inches above her shoulders and gently drops the long tail of it on Neji’s chest.

“Wait for me,” she says, and her voice is full of broken glass and shards of grief.

And then she is gone.

Tenten barely notices the soft curls of dark hair that now flutter into her eyes with the wind. It had been important to leave part of herself behind, with him. Now she can let the fire take her and do as it may.

Calmly, she unrolls the large scroll at her back and lets it fly.

“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” - Ferdinand Foch

Seriously, Spartacus

goldberry — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 22:06:15 GMT

You ever get that feeling where you just want to crawl inside a story (or book or movie) and live there? That after you put the book down or shut off the television all you want to do is go back and read or watch it all over again? That giving up the characters and the world you've fallen in love with is unthinkable?

I'm having all of the above.

For SPARTACUS.

And I am pissed. Like, WTF, Spartacus. You were three seasons of porn, blood, guts and glory and yet all I want to do disappear inside Agron & Nasir's love story and die happily. I mean, why couldn't I be having this lovesick obsession with like, I don't even know, something where the characters aren't running around 80% naked 100% of the time. (Not that I'm really complaining but really? Even in a blizzard?)

So fucking pissed. You would not even believe.

/goes to re-watch all the Agron/Nasir episodes for the billionth time

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

goldberry — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 12:16:12 GMT

I still post here occasionally but I believe my fanfiction writing days are drawing to a close. Since this was primarily a fandom journal, I imagine there won't be a whole lot going on here in days to come. However, I do have other social media sites I'm still updating and you're all welcome to follow me and chat with me there, if so inclined.

TUMBLR | TWITTER

If you are here for my fanfiction, you can visit the FANFICTION tag, or browse my MEMORIES. ♥

Open Rant RE: Teen Wolf

goldberry — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 19:12:08 GMT

Dear Teen Wolf:

I freaking love the character of Derek Hale. The amount of character growth available to him is AMAZING but I am so TIRED of his character being used as a foil for Scott McCall that I just... &@#$*#@&$#*&@@. Every bad decision Derek makes seems to exist for the sole purpose of making Scott look better. I love Scott. I really do. I loved his bumbling - sometimes plain stupid - demeanor because he has a good heart. And so does Derek, but every time I turn around on this show, Derek is getting maimed, stabbed, thrown around all so that Scott can swoop in and be the hero? I'm sorry, but Derek's potential is greater than that. Scott has NEVER had to make some of the choices Derek has had to make, and I'm tired of Scott being thrown in my face as some kind of savior while Derek is cast as the loner fail!wolf who can't do anything right and who's whole existence is based on misery. I mean, Scott sees Derek "die" and just what - walks away? Oh he feels slightly guilty about it later but NO ONE ELSE EVEN HAS A REACTION. Oh well, Derek died. On with life.

OMGWTFBBQ.

Maybe this is what I get for watching a show whose main audience is age 13-18 because the lack of emotional reactions DRIVES ME FLIPPING BATTY. A main character just "DIED" and no one cares? Not even just Derek, but look at Erica! Or look at Cora coming back. I mean, we have these instances were there SHOULD be huge emotional scenes between characters and we get --- nothing. Nadda.

I've never stopped watching a show because of it's mishandling of a character before - not even with Castiel & Supernatural - but I'm doing it now. I can't watch a show that murders a character's potential so that the main protagonist can look better. I just can't. I like Derek. I want to see where the story takes him but right now I can't trust that the journey will be worth it. I don't want to see Scott McCall magically become an Alpha. I just don't. So I'm done. I'll keep tabs on the show throw Tumblr on the off chance that it becomes worth watching live, but otherwise. I'm just done.

No love,

GB

Sooooo.....

goldberry — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:00:20 GMT

... are Bleach and Naruto over yet? I'd like to move on with my life now.

Seriously, anytime you two want to wrap it up.

Others Modes of Communication

goldberry — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:22:02 GMT

I know things have grown quiet here so I thought I would post some other ways of communicating with me should you feel like it. I hope you do! ♥

TUMBLR | RUNNING BLOG | TWITTER

The running blog is brand new so there's not much over there yet but I'm trying to get back into jogging regularly so I'm hoping if I blog about it that it will keep me accountable. You're welcome to friend/reblog/add me on any of these sites.

And I will still be posting here. LJ was a big part of my life for a long time. I don't think I'm ready to give it up just yet.

Alphabet Song of Healthiness

goldberry — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:36:11 GMT

Inquiry for the flist: Are there any vitamins or supplements that you all take that really help your mood/overall health, etc? I mean, I know all vitamins are good for you, but anything you've taken that you've been like, "Wow! I really see/feel a difference!"

I ask because I've been taking Women's One-A-Day, and then I started taking a extra Magnesium pill that I really felt helped me. (I'm bad on remembering to take it but when I do, I actually felt the difference.) Lately, I've been taking Vitamin C too as I have a big work conference next week and I always come back from those things with some sort of sickness so I'm hoping if I prop up my immune system before hand, maybe I can avoid Post Event Virus of Doom.

I would really love to take something that would help my mood. And before you all scream XANAX or something, I'm looking for something natural, if it evens exists. I get so stressed out over these conferences, if I could find some sort of supplement that made me feel more calm/stable, I would cry giant tears of happiness. Like seriously. I would even take pictures so you see the blubbering.

RotG, Jack/Toothiana "Wings and Windowpanes"

goldberry — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:22:51 GMT

I had to do it. I had to. Just a little one-shot because I was going to die if I didn't. ♥ I'm not even sorry.

Title: Wings and Windowpanes
Series: Rise of the Guardians
Characters: Jack Frost/Toothiana, Baby Tooth
Word Count: 2,054
Rated: PG
Summary: It's not just about protecting the children, it's about protecting each other too.

Darting underneath a snow-laden oak branch, Toothiana skimmed over the surface of the frozen lake, catching a distorted glimpse of herself in the mirror-like ice beneath her. Wings fluttering like a hummingbird’s, she slid through the air, turning her head to glance across the landscape. She had thought she might see Jack – the lake was one of his many haunts – but the night was quiet and still, frozen underneath a pale crescent moon. She huffed a little in disappointment, her breath misting in the air.

It was not often she got away from the Tooth Palace, though she did manage to do more field work these days than she had prior to Pitch. She’d hoped, on this rare night out, that she would run into Jack Frost, especially considering where she was headed. Jack had become a good friend after the battle with the Boogeyman, all of the Guardians becoming closer after the trails they’d faced. The five of them got together more now, helping each other when they could and generally learning to work together as a team. Tooth loved them all and cherished even their differences, as was her nature, but Jack… Jack was special to her. He’d wanted a family for so long and she knew that their band of friends had become that for him, so much so that she couldn’t bear to let him down. She tried to show him in little ways that he was loved – a hug in greeting, looking in on him when she was out in the world, sending Baby Tooth to keep him company as he traveled across the globe. She wanted him to know that he was no longer alone. None of them were. And if she got a flash of that perfect smile in return, a crinkle of blue eyes, well, what was the harm? It was in her nature to look after people.

If perhaps she gave Jack a little more attention than most, it was only her job. Someone had to look after those gleaming molars. Right?

Right.

Zipping away from the lake, she flew into the heart of the nearby town, admiring the twinkling lights of the sleeping city. Central incisor on the corner of First and River. But it was the first molar on 241 Chambers that she was after.

Flitting like quicksilver up to the quaint, two-story house, Tooth hovered outside of the open window, glimpsing Jaime asleep in his bed, arms and legs akimbo in the boneless way only children could sleep. She smiled at the sight of it.

“He stayed up for hours, you know, waiting for you.”

Startled, she whirled, wings buzzing, to find Jack sitting lazily on a nearby tree branch, staff in hand, a grin on his face. With a sigh she put a hand to her chest, feeling her heart fluttering wildly beneath her palm.

“Jack!” She couldn’t help the small laugh that winged its way out of her. “You scared me.”

He gave her a devilish smile and got to his feet, walking lightly down the tree branch as if he were weightless. Gleaming silver whorls of frost curled around the wood where he stepped. “My apologies,” he said, perfectly contrite, though the gleam in his eye gave him away. “I wasn’t sure you’d come yourself.”

“I wanted to see Jaime again,” she said warmly, glancing towards the window. “It’s been awhile.” She didn’t have to ask what Jack was doing there. She knew how important Jaime was to Jack, the first to truly believe in him, to see him. That he was there on that specific night though, a night when Jaime slept with a tooth under his pillow, that was puzzling. Had he…been waiting for her too?

“He wanted to see you too,” Jack told her, leaning against his staff, a gentle smile on his face as he looked at her. “He fell asleep about an hour ago though. Poor kid. He almost made it this time.” He took a long, graceful jump from the tree branch through Jaime’s open window, landing soundlessly on his feet. She followed him inside, ducking through the window to glide over to Jaime’s side, looking down at his peacefully slumbering face.

Though more than a year had passed, he still had the same baby-faced boyish look about him, though his hair was a bit shorter. The sleeves of his pajamas were covered in little starships and a flashlight rested loosely in his right hand. She hummed a laugh and drew a blanket up from the bottom of his bed, covering him as best she could, watching as the gentle wind of her wings ruffled his hair.

“He’s precious,” she murmured. All children were of course, but Jaime… well, he had a special place in all their hearts. Reaching carefully underneath his pillow, she pulled out the small tooth he’d left there for her, lifting it up to inspect it and assimilating the knowledge – the memories – that came with it. She blinked over at Jack, awe-struck. “He used a string and the door? Really?”

Jack laughed softly. “I told you he wanted to see you.” He jumped up to crouch on top of his staff, perfectly balanced. “It was about to fall out anyway. I may have accidentally given him the idea.”

She eyed him wryly before turning her attention back to Jaime’s tooth. “Awwww, he’s brushing so well! It’s adorable,” she cooed. Rolling a magically-appearing coin across her knuckles, she slipped the quarter underneath his pillow, content. His memories would be safe with her.

A soft noise from the hall was the only warning they had before Jaime’s mom came into the room, pausing in the doorway to smile softly at the sight of her sleeping son. Jack did not move but Tooth fluttered back, closer to the window. Jaime’s mother did not see them, of course, she had grown out of her belief, as most adults did. She still encouraged it in her children however, perhaps retaining just enough faith to know that sometime, somewhere long ago, she’d waiting up for the Tooth Fairy too.

Jamie’s mom tucked his blanket around him more securely and then brushed through Tooth to promptly shut the windowsill with a firm downward movement. Immediate pain ran up one of her wings and Tooth awkwardly toppled to the floor, almost knocking over a lamp. A miserable squeak escaped her throat. Jamie’s mom left the room without a glance back.

“Tooth!”

Jack was suddenly in front of her, one hand reaching out towards her. She looked up at him, a bit teary-eyed and shaking. “Jack, my wing… can you…?”

He looked over her shoulder and saw what she felt – the tip of one wing caught in the now closed window. He moved to the window quickly, dropping his staff in order to quickly pull up the sill again. She grimaced, looking back to assess the damage. It hurt but she didn’t think it’d been broken.

“Are you alright? How bad is it?” Jack asked, one hand on her shoulder. He was watching her injured wing with concern.

“I…think it’s okay. Sorry,” she said, somewhat sheepishly, “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” he said, exasperated. “You’re the one who’s hurt.” His eyebrows drew together as he helped her to her feet again. “Are you sure you can fly?”

Her wings buzzed into rapid movement and she floated off the ground with only a wince. “I’ll be fine!” she said, brightly. “This isn’t nearly so bad as the time I ran into that billboard, or the time I hit that big bay window in Michigan, or when I almost got caught in the turbine of that 747. I mean, compared to that this is—“

Jack held up a hand to interrupt. “Wait, wait, wait. This sort of thing happens every time you go into the field?”

“Well, not every time, I just…” she felt herself blush in embarrassment, “I get distracted. There’s so much to see and experience!”

Jack was shaking his head but the look he gave her was fond. “Alright, come on. How many more stops do you have tonight?”

“37 teeth, 3 countries, 5 time zones—“

Jack chortled. “Okay, we’d better get going then.” He hefted up his staff again with his foot, glancing over his shoulder at her. She blinked.

“You’re going with me, Jack?” She felt foolish suddenly. “You really don’t have to worry. I mean, this was just an accident, I’m sure I’ll be fi—“

“Tooth.”

She stopped, watching him wide-eyed.

“Come on,” he said, beckoning her with a grin and an open hand. “It’ll be fun.”

And, of course, he was right. It was.

Perhaps it had only been his Guardian instincts, but Jack felt no remorse for volunteering to help escort Tooth while she was out and about. Flying with her was always a rush, even the north wind was hard pressed to help him keep up with her hummingbird-on-caffeine speed. The two of them laughed as they flew, his snowflakes swirling around them, their good spirits too high to be dampened even when Tooth almost flew head first into a cell phone tower. She swore she hadn’t seen it and Jack knew it was true. The Fairy Queen loved her job and when she was out in the field as she was tonight, it was all that occupied her thoughts. She saw teeth everywhere and for each one there was a bright coin and a sweet look. That was part of the reason Jack had wanted to come along. Watching her with the children, even when they were unaware of her, was something special. She just cared so much, even for him. Of all the Guardians, hers was the lightest touch, the most kind. Jack could not properly explain it but, when he looked at her, he wanted to protect that gentle spirit. He wanted to protect her.

And he knew, strangest of all, that she felt the same way about him. It warmed something long empty inside of him, a space that was slowly being filled by his new-found Guardian family and the soft touch of a beautiful fairy.

“Jack!” she exclaiming, winging up to him and then zipping back and forth, unable to hold still, a tooth in her hand. “Look how perfect it is! Amelia’s growing up so fast!”

He chuckled, amused by her enthusiasm. As always he had no idea what she was so excited about but her happiness was infectious. You couldn’t help but smile in the face of it.

He ranged alongside her for hours, listening as she babbled about each tooth and praised each child. When she’d finished her route he went back with her to the Tooth Palace, the sunlight gleaming over the gold spires and creating rainbows in the mists of the waterfalls. As they neared, Baby Tooth came zipping out to greet them, flying circles around Tooth before flitting up to him, chirping excitedly.

“Hey Baby Tooth, how’ve you been?” he asked, as she settled into the crook of his shoulder. A happy squeak answered him. When he looked up again, Tooth was smiling at him.

“Jack, thanks for going with me. You were right. It was fun!” she said, her eyes sparkling.

“Of course I was right,” he answered, winking at her, and watching in fascination as a blush tinted her cheeks pink. Unable to help himself, he darted forward and left a quick, cool kiss on her cheek before flying backward on a gust of wind. He took in her surprised look with a grin. “See ya later, Tooth.”

It took her a moment but she called after him softly, the breeze bringing her words to him. “See you soon, Jack.”

He smiled.

Yes. Soon. For though the children of the world were his to protect, who was to say that a Guardian didn't need someone to look after them as well? Protecting each other, maybe that was what it was really all about.

"Come on, Baby Tooth," he told the tiny fairy on his shoulder. "Let's hurry and get back. We've got someone waiting for us."

END.

Rise of the Guardians

goldberry — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 23:12:43 GMT

I have the strongest urge to write Jack/Toothiana fanfiction.

....

Don't judge me.

Stumped

goldberry — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:07:36 GMT

Still contemplating going back to school, but depressed by the thought of incurring more debt on top of the student loans I'm still paying off from my Bachelor's degree. GUH. WHY AM I NOT MADE OF MONEY? D:

I don't get how people are able to go to school full time and still pay bills. It seems daunting to me. I'm sure the answer is to go to school part time and still work but that's not really an option for the technical/trade degrees I'm looking at. GUUUUUUUUUUH.

/flops

The Oscars & Seth McFarlane

goldberry — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:05:36 GMT

I've been reading a lot of reviews of last night's Oscars and, I have to say, I thought Seth McFarlane did pretty well and I am not usually a fan of his. I do think he can be funny, but I also think he can be really disgusting. His shock humor can really gross me out. (I can't watch Family Guy anymore.) So watching him last night, I was not surprised at some of his below-the-belt jokes. But I actually thought it was pretty tame compared to some of the things I've seen from him. And aren't most all Oscar jokes pretty groan worthy?

I'm not sure I understand all the rage about The Boob Song. I'm a woman, I have boobs and I was not in any way offended. I laughed my ass off. I mean, it's not like he was singing about MY boobs and honestly, was he saying anything that wasn't true? We HAVE seen these actresses' boobs. If you saw Titantic, you saw Kate Winslet's bare chest. Whoop-dee-do. That fact that some guy is singing about boobs we indeed have seen on stage should not be so enraging. He's a comedian. It's their job to poke fun and make people laugh about ridiculous things. I mean, if we can't laugh at ourselves, what have we got?

And honestly, this is Seth McFarlane. Did anyone really expect anything less? I mean, what were people expecting?

If we want to talk about things we should be offended by, I think the better choice would be the Onion's bad taste tweet from last night concerning a 9-year-old girl and the word "cunt".

NejiTen, SasuSaku "Straight On Till Morning" Chapter Six

goldberry — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:01:24 GMT

TITLE: Straight On Till Morning
SERIES: Naruto
CHARACTERS: NejiTen, SasuSaku, Lee, Orochimaru
WORD COUNT: 2,510
RATING: PG-13
Notes: It's the end at last! I probably should have just included this part with Chapter Five as it's not very long, but to be honest I wasn't actually sure how it was going to end until I wrote it. A big thank you to those that have read and commented. Your support means a great deal. ♥ One an end note, I apologize to those of you who might want more SasuSaku then this holds, but as I was wrapping up, I came to understand that this is not really their story. Their story is the one after this, whatever that may be, and though it may not be me writing that story, it's still out there.

STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING

Sakura watched as Neji stopped before a closed door and gently rested his free hand on it. The singing they had heard was coming from inside - it could be only be Tenten - but he made no move to open the door. He stood there, listening, and as soon as the song came to a natural end, he dropped his hand away. His gaze found her and Sasuke.

“We need Orochimaru to stand here. Right here,” he said, and she nodded though she had no idea what was going on. Why couldn’t they go inside? It was very possible that Tenten needed medical aid, surely she should have a look--

“Ah, so you are still alive?”

The three of them swung around to face the hiss of a dark voice. Orochimaru stood at the end of the hall, slowly approaching as if time was of no consequence to him. He was alone. Yellow-gold eyes watched them narrowly, a smirk on his ghost-pale face.

“I wasn’t sure you know,” he continued, holding Neji’s steel-hard gaze. “Not many survive a stay at The Sound.” His eyes flickered over to Sasuke who stiffened imperceptibly. “And you found my wayward apprentice as well. How fortunate.”

“Leave,” Neji snapped, the word like a whip-crack. “There is nothing for you here.” Orochimaru laughed, a slick, oily sound that made Sakura’s skin crawl.

“Don’t be naive, Neji,” he said, grinning. “I’ll have the little Whispered you stole from me, and the boy too.”

In answer, Neji lifted the black sword, both hand wrapped around the hilt. The runes on its blade glowed, casting odd shadows in the darkened corridor. Next to him, Sasuke settled back on his feet and bent his knees slightly, ready for combat.

Orochimaru looked at them through lidded eyes. “So be it.”

The next thing Sakura knew, the Torturer had someone moved behind them, his movements so fast she hadn’t seen him take even a step. She half-turned, a startled gasp barely leaving her lips before she felt a knife sink into her shoulder, the point grinding against the bone. She couldn’t even scream it happened so fast, she simply toppled backwards, the med bag she’d had thrown over shoulder hitting the ground as her knees went weak. Someone shouted and then there was the sounds of fighting, of movement.

She felt dizzy and her vision narrowed as she looked up at the ceiling from the flat of her back. Her mind was still in a state of shock, trying sluggishly to comprehend what had just happened. Shaking, she lifted a hand and curled her fingers around the knife hilt rising above her chest. Stifling a groan, she pulled the blade free, the weapon clattering from her fingers as soon as it cleared her skin. She felt warm blood bubble up from the wound and she weakly pressed her palm against it, trying to control her breathing. She could not pass out. She just needed to breathe. The wound was not fatal, she just needed to get the bleeding under control.

The sounds of fighting broke her concentration and she turned her head slightly to get a sideways view of Neji and Sasuke facing off against Orochimaru. Neji was currently engaged in the fight but Sasuke was further behind him, one hand clenched against the side of his neck. He seemed strained, his muscles tense as if he were in some pain. She hadn’t seen him get hit. What had happened?

“Sasuke.”

Her lips formed the syllables but there wasn’t much power in her voice. Somehow he heard her anyway, for his head turned towards her and she felt horror well up within in her. Half of Sasuke’s face was a mask of comma-shaped black marks and both of his eyes whirled red. Dread curled in her stomach.

“Sasuke,” she tried again, and let her sadness bleed through. What had he done to himself?

Behind him, Neji was suddenly forced back against the wall, keeping two of Orochimaru’s long knives at bay with the blade of his own strange sword. Orochimaru broke the stalemate by lifting one blade to slash at Neji’s eyes, forcing the captain back and way, off balance. Instead of pursuing him, Orochimaru turned smoothly and charged at Sasuke, who’s back was to him.

Sakura’s eyes widened in alarm. “Sasuke, look out!” Her call was weak and whispery, but Sasuke pivoted, using his forearm to block Orochimaru’s attack. The Torturer barely paused, simply pushed forward, throwing Sasuke to the side, and came straight for her. Her eyes could barely track him until he was standing over her, knife raised to run her through.

“You took him from me once,” he hissed smoothly. “This time I’ll take you from him.” He lunged.

“STOP!”

Perhaps it was because the shout was so surprising, so unlike Sasuke, that Orchimaru obeyed, pausing to look over at his apprentice. Perhaps he simply wanted to draw out the anguish, to get a good view of Sasuke’s face as he killed Sakura there on the floor before him, rendering Sasuke helpless again. Whatever Orochimaru’s reasons, his pause cost him his life.

Sasuke’s red eyes captured and held him, freezing him to the spot. She watched as Orochimaru’s muscles locked and his whole body trembled, a sweat breaking out on his forehead. Neither he nor Sasuke said a word, both of them locked in a mental battle the likes of which she was sure she would never know. A few seconds passed and Sasuke shifted slightly, a mere waver of his body and Orochimaru’s lips spread into a halting grin. His fingers tightened on the knife in his hand, the one still poised over her.

Down the hall, Neji called out. “Now!”

The door next to Sakura slid open at last but she barely got a glimpse inside before an array of guns and other weaponry fired and she turned her head away, feeling Orochimaru’s blood splatter over her. He fell to the ground next to her with a sickening thump and she looked back, her eyes catching on his blank and startled face.

From inside the room, a weak voice called out hesitantly. “Neji?”

The captain hurried up and Sakura watched as he drew Tenten from the room, practically holding her up against him as she seemed very weak. The Whispered’s gaze fell on Sakura and her relieved expression turned to worry.

“Sakura.”

Before either Tenten or Neji could make a move, however, Sasuke was kneeling down next to her, the black marks receding from his skin as if Sakura were watching the last few minutes in reverse. The red in his eyes stuttered out like a fire quickly banked.

“I’m...alright,” she told them. “Just need to...stop the bleeding.” She grimaced as Sasuke pressed down hard on her wound with one hand, his other reaching out to her medical bag. She nodded stiffly at Orochimaru. “Is he...?”

“He’s dead,” Neji said calmly, but she could sense the deep satisfaction in his voice. “He won’t be torturing anyone ever again.”

She nodded and closed her eyes tiredly. “That’s good.”

Darkness enveloped her and she went without a fuss.

She woke in the med-bay aboard the Byakugan, in one of the narrow patient beds, a sterile sheet pulled up over her, bright lights shining down overhead. She blinked and let her vision resolve to show her Neji standing at her bedside, arms crossed over his chest as looked down at her.

“Neji,” she said, wincing at the rough sound of her own voice. Neji uncurled enough to reach over for a cup of water that had been sitting by her bedside. He offered her a straw and held the cup while she drank thankfully. “How long have I been...?” she asked when she was done.

“Only a few hours. Lee patched up your shoulder.”

Her left arm was in a sling to stabilize the bandaged wound and she was grateful to realize she felt no pain. Lee must have given her something for that as well.

“Is everyone alright?”

“We’re alive,” Neji replied, though that was perhaps not what she had been asking. She was sure he knew it too. “Tenten is resting. She used up a lot of energy and will need a little more time to recover.” His pale searched hers carefully. “And Sasuke is onboard the Tsukiyomi. He asked that you be brought there as soon as you’re able.”

She could feel her shock registered clearly on her face. “The Tsukiyomi? Is his brother...?” She had almost forgotten about Itachi in the midst of dealing with Orochimaru. She struggled to push herself up. If Sasuke was meeting Itachi, someone needed to make sure that-

Neji’s hand on her uninjured shoulder gently, but surely, pressed her back down. “There’s no need for worry. They will not hurt each other. Tenten was able to explain the situation but Sasuke needed to see and talk to Itachi himself.”

“What situation?” she asked softly.

Neji’s face grew grim. “Itachi is dead. Apparently it is only his spirit that inhabits the ship. Now that he has fulfilled his purpose, I don’t think he will linger any longer. Tenten advised Sasuke to go to his brother before it’s too late.”

Sakura didn’t know what to say. Itachi had been dead all these years? Sasuke must feel...directionless, to know after such a long time that the revenge he had lived for was now no longer possible.

“You should rest,” Neji said, watching her face. “There is still some time before we can dock properly with the Tsukiyomi.”

She nodded wearily, a little overcome with all the events of the past day. She closed her eyes and made herself relax, holding on to the belief that when she opened them again, the world would make sense once more.

Standing on the bridge of the Tsukiyomi, Tenten disengaged the ship from the now deserted Akatsuki. An escape pod had jettisoned from Orochimaru’s ship a half an hour before and she’d made no effort to track it. The pod would most likely land on Whitefall and she was content to let Orochimaru’s Snakes stay there. Without their master, they would be able to cause little trouble.

The Akatsuki itself was another matter. No matter who its captain had been, it felt wrong to destroy an entire ship, but Neji was adamant that they shoot it down. He had refused to set foot on it and had forbidden either herself or Lee from doing so as well. Tenten had briefly toyed with the idea of trying to Whisper the ship but in the end thought better of it. She knew very well of how remnants of people got left behind on their ships and she did not want even a wisp of Orochimaru touching her mind.

So it was that she trained the Tsukiyomi’s close range guns on the Akatsuki and opened fire.

The ship burst and broke apart, debris flying every which way as the bulk of the ship tumbled end over end in a spin that sent it moving away from them into space. She felt only relief in watching it go. They were really and truly rid of the Torturer.

“Finished?”

Neji’s voice broke her out of her thoughts and she turned towards him, nodding. “Just.” She tilted her head at him. “Did you bring Sakura?”

“She’s with Sasuke now in the captain’s cabin. Looks like Itachi left some recordings and logs that Sasuke wanted to look through.”

She exhaled and leaned back against the console table. “It’s a lot to take in,” she admitted. “Will they be alright on their own?” It was one thing for the Byakugan to run with a skeleton crew when one of them was a Whispered but two people alone would not be able to operate the Tsukiyomi efficiently, especially when only Sasuke had flight experience. There was no question, however, that Sasuke would be taking his brother’s ship. It was obviously meant for him and Neji had no need of another one.

“Lee is going to pilot the ship into Galatea where they can find a crew. You and I will follow in the Byakugan.”

She nodded and looped her arms around Neji’s neck as he drew closer, his hands falling to her waist. She leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes.

“It’s really over,” she breathed.

Neji’s voice settled over her like a blanket. “It’s over,” he agreed.

They said goodbye on a sun-drenched landing pad in Galatea’s space harbor, standing between both the Byakugan and the Tsukiyomi. It was a fond farewell but not an emotional one. They were all still too shell-shocked over the events of the past few days and there was more cause to be happy rather than sad, though perhaps that was not true for Sasuke. He seemed quiet and withdrawn, Tenten thought, more than usual, without the hard fire that had so filled him when they’d first met. The wind had spilled out of his sails but she knew, with Sakura there, he would be alright again. The medic looked better, her arm still in a sling, but she wore a smile on her pretty face as Lee tried to hug her without jostling her shoulder.

“Keep in touch,” Tenten told the other girl when it came time for her own hug. “If we can help, we’ll come.”

Sakura smiled. “I will. Thank you for everything you have done for us. With the new crew, Sasuke wants to go back to the Sound, see what’s left and then set fire to it, if possible.” Tenten could relate to him there. “I’ll let you know what we find out.”

Tenten nodded. “Thank you. I wish you well, Sakura. I hope...” She flicked her eyes to Sasuke. “I hope everything turns out the way you want.”

The medic laughed lightly. “Me too. It may take some time, but...” She smiled prettily. “It’s worth it.”

And with that the two departed into the Tsukiyomi, the sleek, dark ship rising vertically before taking off into the atmosphere with the smoke of a hard burn billowing out behind it. Tenten watched it go, listening to the contented hum of the ship’s voice as it faded out of sight.

“I hope they’ll be alright,” Lee said, one hand shading his eyes as he watched the sky.

“They will be,” she reassured him, hooking an arm through his affably. “They both needed a new start.”

“Speaking of starts...” Lee said, suddenly grinning down at her. She arched an eyebrow at him.

“Oh no, I thought we agreed you were telling him, not me.”

“Tell me what?” Neji asked from behind them, arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing his grumpy captain’s face and she felt a laugh, pure and perfect, bubble up inside her and escape. All she needed were these two, together and safe, and everything would be alright.

The grin she directed at Neji matched Lee’s.

“How do you feel about a vacation?”

THE END.

NejiTen "All The Choirs In My Head Sing"

goldberry — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 20:56:26 GMT

Here's the continued backstory I promised a week ago. Takes place prior to Straight On Till Morning. Won't make much sense unless you've read that first.

TITLE: All The Choirs In My Head Sing
SERIES: Naruto
CHARACTERS: NejiTen, Lee, Shikamaru, mentions of Orochimaru
WORD COUNT: 8,826
RATING: PG-13
NOTES: This thing just keeps going and going and going... My thanks to everyone who has stuck with me thus far.

ALL THE CHOIRS IN MY HEAD SING

To live will be an awfully big adventure. - JM Barrie, Peter Pan

Tenten walked barefoot onto the bridge, space glittering at her through the big forward windows. The ship was powered down and only a few buttons glowed on the console. Neji sat in the captain’s seat, seemingly lost in thought though she knew he was aware of her presence. She came to stand level with him, standing silently there for a few moments as the stars twinkled at them.

Neji still looked tired but he was healing. She did not know the extent of what Orochimaru had done to him but she could guess. Still, the bruises on his face were healing and she hoped his other wounds - the ones she couldn’t see - were as well.

Moving carefully, still wary of pulling too harshly on the wounds on her back, she lifted a hand to rest it on the curving wall of the ship next to her.

“The Byakugan is yours now,” she said softly, feeling the power of it hum underneath her fingers. Next to her, she felt Neji nod and she glanced over at him, trying to read his face in the semi-darkness. “What will you do?”

It took a moment for him to answer. “I don’t know,” he said quietly, but she could tell that it worried him. “Gai was our captain. It was never supposed to be me.”

She wished she could have known this great captain of theirs. It was obvious from the little things she had heard from both Lee and Neji that he had been their mentor. What would she have been like now if she had had someone to guide her as Gai had guided them? She wanted to ask Neji about him, what he had been like, but perhaps it wasn’t the right time.

She took her hand away from the wall of the ship and sat down in a chair usually reserved for the pilot. She pulled her legs up underneath her, making sure the simple dress Lee had found for her covered them. It was not a very ladylike way to sit but she found she was more comfortable if she was curled up a bit. She felt safer. No doubt one of the many, many marks Orochimaru’s torment had left on her.

“The ship remembers him fondly,” she said, and then stilled, suddenly nervous. She wasn’t sure how much Neji knew about her Whispered abilities. Some people reacted badly, as if she were some strange sort of alien that could read their minds. Others thought to use her to their advantage. She knew Neji was neither of these but she couldn't help her sudden anxiety. If he thought her too strange would he ask her to leave the ship? Where would she go?

Neji’s voice cut across her thoughts. “The ship remembers?” He was looking at her steadily, no hint of apprehension for what she had just revealed, no disgust that she was different from him. She relaxed a little and called herself foolish.

“It’s not remembering, not the way humans do it, but I can’t think of what else to call it. People leave..imprints on machines they use and love. A boy and his first car, a captain and his ship. Gai’s imprint is everywhere in the Byakugan,” she told him, “from the captain’s logs, to the vidcam filing system. He’s in many of the records - there were space races? With someone named Kakashi? - and in many of the security videos. In that way, he is remembered. The ship knew him well and his touch on it was...good. Kind. I can feel that.”

Neji’s face had changed into something fond at the mention of the space races and his eyes looked into her with quiet wonderment. “You can understand all of that by touching the ship.” It wasn’t a question but she answered anyway.

“I am a Whispered. It’s an ability we have, to communicate with mechanical and computerized things.”

“An ability Orochimaru wanted badly.”

She nodded, feeling her eyes burn with unshed tears so that she had to look away from him. Perhaps in time his name would not affect her so, but her years as Orochimaru’s slave were still too fresh. “He took me very young. I don’t really remember my family. I’ve been his prisoner for as long as I care to remember.”

Neji’s voice was solid, immovable. “But not anymore.”

She glanced over at him and felt herself relax again. “Not anymore.”

For a time they sat in silence, just watching the stars, the glow of far off galaxies. Tenten felt at home in that moment, the tension draining out of her. She realized she trusted Neji, probably more than she should have given the little she knew of him, but everything in her was telling her that she was safe with him. Nightsong had come alive for him and he had taken her out of the hell that had been Orochimaru’s compound. What was more was that the Byakugan showed every sign of being a loved and cared for ship. It would not have been so had the crew not been kind.

“Is there somewhere you wish to go?” Neji asked her suddenly, breaking their silence. “We can take you anywhere you wish. It’s the least we can do.”

“I...” She stopped. He was asking her if she had somewhere to go home to but the truth was there was not. She barely remembered the planet she had been raised on. Only Orochimaru would know of it now, if it even still existed. She knew no other Whispered, though Lee had said there were others who could do what she did, spread out around the galaxy. Feeling a little unmoored, she plucked at the material of her dress over her knees. “I... it seems I don’t really belong anywhere,” she told him, slightly ashamed, and then softer, “I don’t know where home is.”

She felt Neji’s gaze on her and when she managed to look up to meet it she saw anger there, but not at her, at what had been done to her. There was also something else, something... She would not call it ‘warm’- she did not think Neji was the type of person to show emotions easily - but it was certainly a regard for her, for her wellbeing. Neji cared about what happened to her. It was a startling thought.

“If you wished it,” he said quietly, watching her, “you would be welcome here for as long as you like. Lee and I cannot manage the ship on our own and you,” there was briefest quirk of his lips upward, “seem uniquely qualified as a pilot. There’s a place for you here, if you want it.” He seemed about to say something else but stopped, waiting for her. She almost didn’t know what to say except that she did. She knew instantly.

“I would like that,” she replied, smiling tentatively at him. The expression almost seemed unnatural, she was so unused to doing it. “Thank you.”

Neji relaxed with her answer, as if he had been worried she would reply otherwise, but he waved away her thanks, standing smoothly. “You’re part of my crew now.” He looked her right in the eye, without a hint of hesitation and she felt herself uncurl, sitting up straight in her chair, feet falling flat on the floor. “I want a course set for Magdela and the ship ready to go in a hour,” he told her, already headed for the door as he gave her the orders. Warmth bloomed in her chest, sudden and unlooked for, and she thought she might cry for real this time, but from happiness.

“Aye aye, Captain,” she replied.

Magdela was a beautiful planet, all blues and greens and whites from space. As they entered the atmosphere, Tenten could see that the surface was very mountainous and that there seemed to be waterfalls everywhere, water falling from such great heights that she couldn’t see the ground due to the silvery mist that rose from the falls. Villages and towns had been carved from the mountainside, great stone pillars and houses rising from the rock face. Snow dotted the mountain tops, completing the breathless scenery. Tenten had never seen anything like it. It must of shown on her face as she guided the ship towards the landing area of some small town for Lee smiled brightly at her.

“Magdela is a wonderful place, Tenten. You will love it. This town, Axalia, is where I was born.”

She glanced at him quickly, surprised, as the Byakugan touched down lightly and she released the controls, powering down the ship. “This is your home?”

“Yes!” His enthusiasm waned a bit, his features tinged with sadness. “It was Gai’s as well. He trained me as young boy.”

She had not known that. Carefully, she reached out to touch his arm to show her sympathy and was rewarded with a dimmer, but no less warm smile. “I didn’t realize. We are here to see his family then?”

“No. Gai’s family is gone now, but Neji and I would like to place a marker here for him anyway, to remember him.” He brightened suddenly. “And you will have to meet my family! I have five sisters and one brother, and three cousins and my parents of course. And then there’s Rose’s children, my nieces and nephews and-”

“Brats,” Neji said with flat certainty, walking onto the bridge, “All of them.”

“Neji,” Lee admonished him, frowning. “You can’t still be upset over them pulling your hair. They were three and four years old at the time.” Neji arched a cool eyebrow and Tenten felt the urge to stifle a laugh. It was obvious Neji was baiting him and Lee was falling for it. The mechanic shook his head. “Don’t listen to him, Tenten. They will love you.”

She hoped so. It seemed important somehow that she be accepted by these people Neji and Lee loved so well, however much Neji tried to hide it.

They spent a little time gathering their things and shutting down the ship. Neji and Lee wanted to spend at least three days in the village and they would leave the ship in the only available hangar while they were gone. Tenten patted the ship’s docking bay door as she closed it behind her and Whispered a good night to it.

Lee’s family lived on the far side of the village so Tenten was able to see a little of the place as they walked. It was not a large village but it was clean and orderly and the air was so crisp it was invigorating just being out in it. Lee regaled her with stories of his youth as they walked, Neji inputting a word here and there. Neji had not been born on Magdela but he had come there to study as a teenager which is when he had met Lee and Gai.

They did not have long to reminisce however as soon as they reached Lee’s parents' house. The door was practically blown down by a mob of children with Lee’s distinctive big, black eyes and short hair, followed by a group of adults who were also clearly related to Lee. There were people everywhere, children laughing and calling out and adults yelling at the children while trying to talk to Lee all at once. Tenten was hugged by five different people, none of whom introduced themselves first. They just hugged, as if being with Lee was enough for them, of course she should come right in and have some tea and had she met the children yet and no of course she hadn’t but would she like to? Tenten nodded and smiled, her head whirling, but she could feel herself getting tense underneath it and she struggled with herself. Everyone there was so lovely, why couldn’t she relax?

She knew why, of course, but it didn’t keep her from being upset with herself. She had been around so few people in her life, being flocked with so many at once was overwhelming. Logically, she understood that, it was just frustrating that inside she felt the need to curl up again, retreat into her defenses until she could sort out what was happening when all she wanted to do was be part of such a happy, laughing group.

Neji’s hand touched the small of her back lightly, so lightly she almost couldn’t feel it against the healing, bandaged welts there. He stepped up behind her shoulder and she felt a calm fall over her at his nearness. Neji felt like a strong wall to her back, unstoppable and immovable. Everything was okay. They were safe.

She breathed out and threw him a grateful look.

Lee’s family ushered them inside, calming down a bit after the initial rush of excitement. They were offered tea and cakes and then no, how about they start a turkey, or a chicken? Make that two. They spent the rest of the day eating and talking, though Tenten listened more than anything, not wanting to interrupt Lee’s time with his family. Lee introduced her as his friend and fellow crew mate and no questions were asked. In fact, Lee’s family acted as if she had always been there, filling a plate for her while Lee’s sisters argued over which one of them would sit by her. Tenten had never felt so immediately accepted so, of course, she slipped up.

Lee’s oldest sister, Rose, asked for her help with putting down her youngest, a cranky three year old boy who had been tired out by the day’s activities but was refusing to go to bed. He was crying great big crocodile tears and Tenten knelt down and picked him up, feeling his chubby little arms immediately curl around her neck. She followed Rose into one of the guest bedrooms, trying to shush the wailing bundle in her arms. She rubbed a hand down his back while Rose struggled with getting her other two children into their pajamas on the other side of the room. Distracted, Tenten started to sing.

Little Ruka perked up in her arms at the sound of her voice, leaning back a little so he could see her face. She kept softly singing her old lullaby, reaching up one-handed to wipe the big tears from his face with her sleeve. He smiled a bit and rubbed his cheek against hers, snuggling as she continued to hum, feeling him continue to relax and quiet. She continued the song as she put him down in one of the two beds Rose and her family were borrowing for the night and tucked him in, sitting down on the edge of the mattress to brush the dark hair from his eyes. The song came to a close and Ruka smiled sleepily at her. It was only when she smiled back that she realized the entire room had gone silent.

Turning her head, she realized for the first time that almost all of Lee’s family had piled into the room, the rest of the children sitting perfectly on the floor, watching her wide-eyed. And she immediately realized why. In the far corner of the room, a beautiful toy carousel was turning on its own, tinkling music floating through the air. Next to it, a small, handmade clock was whirring softly, the hands on its face speeding around and around without stopping. And on the floor, one of the children’s train sets was slowly making its way across the carpet, merrily chugging its way along with a track in sight.

Tenten shut it all down at once but she knew it was too late. She hadn’t even realized she was doing it, so caught up for the moment in a child’s simple need for reassurement. She braced herself for judgement, wondering what she would do if they asked her to leave.

On the floor, one little girl, probably about six years old, smiled toothily at her. “Wow, can you do that again?”

Almost as soon as she spoke, all the rest of them chimed in, clamoring over each other in a effort to be heard. Even the adults joined in, Lee’s sisters exclaiming that she was amazing and could she show them how to do that? By the door, only Neji was silent, watching her calmly, while Lee stood next to him, grinning widely and chattering as much as the rest of his siblings.

“Miss Tenten, are you crying?” The toothy six-year old asked, climbing into her lap. Tenten hugged her gently.

“Not at all,” she said, a watery smile on her face. “I’m very, very happy.”

Tenten slept that night in a bed shared with two of Lee’s younger sisters, teenaged Missa and Saika. Though by morning they were all a tangle of limbs and long hair in the middle of the bed, Tenten didn’t wake once. She slept soundly.

Tenten saw Lee and Neji only briefly the next morning before they headed out to where they were placing Gai’s memorial. Lee was his usually boisterous self but Neji looked as if he’d barely slept, which was not altogether uncommon since their escape. She thought it was akin to how she often grew tense in new situations now. Neji’s reaction to stress was just not to sleep. It would not surprise her if he had nightmares that haunted him. He had been tortured for hours on end every day that he had been in Orochimaru’s compound, much more so than her as she had been needed relatively well in order to create weapons. Neji had had no such purpose. Orochimaru had kept him alive only as a plaything, something to amuse himself with when he was feeling particularly nasty. She could not imagine what horrors he had faced while in the Torturer’s possession.

She thought about that the whole day they were gone, even as she played with Lee’s nieces and nephews and listened to Lee’s sisters gossip while Lee’s mother puttered in the kitchen, fixing another gigantic meal for that evening. All of the family was currently stuffed in Lee’s parents' house while Lee was there, apparently not willing to miss a second of the excitement while he was home. There were sleeping bags everywhere and every guest room had four or five people sleeping in it, and yet nothing felt cramped. It just felt...warm. Comfortable.

Like a home would feel.

They had dinner, as Tenten suspected, when Neji and Lee returned and then spent the evening playing board games until Lee boasted to Neji that his superior determination would beat Neji’s genius skills any day and Neji proceeded to wipe the floor with him at which point Lee’s father wisely told them all to call it a night.

Tenten changed into a big over-sized shirt Rose’s husband had let her borrow and fell asleep almost as soon as she hit the bed only to wake a few hours lately as if she’d heard something in the night. Missa snored in her ear but Tenten knew that was not what had awakened her. Carefully, she extracted herself from the bed and grabbed one of the spare blankets off a nearby chair, wrapping it around herself before slipping out into the hallway.

The house was dark and quiet, everyone sleeping off the meal they had had earlier. Tenten trekked barefoot down the hall and then into the living area where she found what she was looking for.

Neji was sitting by one of the windows, staring out into a crystal clear night. One of Magdela’s three small moons hung low in the sky, mystical and bright, casting silvery shadows over the lawn and Neji’s face. He turned to look at her as she padded closer and his pale eyes reflected the light for a brief moment, moon-gray and full of secrets.

And tired. So tired.

Perhaps a week ago she would not have been brave enough to try this, but Lee’s family had started to make her strong again, wearing down the old and fearful things in her mind that plagued her. Now, she calmly sat herself down on the floor right next to the couch Neji was sitting on and patted the cushion nearest to her in an invitation for him to lay down and rest.

For a moment she was not sure he would heed her, but then he tipped forward slowly, settling down into the cushions, his head near her arm where it leaned against the couch. When he was still, she took the blanket she had around her shoulders and drew it over him, stopping just short of tucking him in as she had Ruka.

But she did sing for him.

Softly, ever so softly so as not to wake anyone else, but with a hand soothingly stroking Neji’s long hair away from his face. It was not in a language that Neji would understand, it was not even in one Tenten understood though she knew it by heart. The words were not important, however, just the tone and the feel of someone close by who cared for you. Tenten had that much left of her past at least. Someone who loved her had sang this song to her too, once.

She sang until Neji finally fell asleep, perhaps the first time in days, and then kept singing until she was sure he was asleep deep enough not to have nightmares. Picking herself up off the floor, she looked down at him, wondering at the way he looked after herself and Lee and yet cared nothing for himself.

Shaking her head, she bent down and carefully pressed a kiss into his hair.

“Good night, Neji.”

They said goodbye to Lee’s family the next day, a goodbye that lasted almost two hours as everyone had to be hugged and chatted with and all the children had to be played with and could Tenten make the toys come alive one more time? Bye the time all the goodbyes had been properly said it was late afternoon and all three of them had been laden with enough food and supplies to last them several months.

The Byakugan was powering up and waiting for them when they arrived at the hanger, Tenten having Whispered to it while they walked. Lee gave her a gaping grin, laughing in surprise, and even Neji looked pleased as they walked on board.

After getting her things properly stowed, Tenten headed to the bridge to make sure all the systems were online. Sitting down in the pilot’s chair felt right, as if it had been waiting for her. Smiling to herself she let her fingers fly across the console keys, closing the cargo bay doors and readying the ship for flight in space. Neji joined her there after a few minutes. He looked rested for once, and comfortable. Their stay on Magdela had done him good, had done all of them good.

“Where to, Captain?” she asked cheerfully, leaning back in her seat to watch him. He leaned against the console next to her, arms folded across his chest, thinking.

“I suppose it’s time to get back to work,” he said. “Lee says there are some things he wants to update on the ship.” Neji glanced at her for confirmation and she nodded. She’d done a scan before Magdela and the Byakugan had reported a few minor issues they’d need to take care of. “We’ll need to re-register the ship for passenger and cargo flight permits. We can do that on Galatea, and get Lee’s parts as well.”

She nodded and gave him a small smile. “Galatea it is, Captain.”

Galatea was a government planet, most of its surface covered by tall skyscrapers and elegant palaces belonging to high government and military officials. It took a week to get there and as the Byakugan made its way through the atmosphere, Tenten realized there was an issue she had not anticipated. The planet was noisy. There were ships and electrocars and bicycles and hyper-rails and starcrafts and submarines and weaponry of every size and shape imaginable and they were loud. They were not speaking at her, really, but she could hear them murmuring, the sheer number of their voices creating a dull roar in the back of her head. She winced and pulled up her shaky mental shields. She had not had to personally shield herself in a long, long time. There had always been a deficit of voices, never an abundance.

“What is it?” Neji asked. He’d noticed her wince and was watching her carefully. He’d been on high alert ever since they’d entered Galatea’s atmosphere though she wasn’t sure why.

She smiled sheepishly. “There are machines everywhere here. They’re very loud.” He frowned but she shook her head. “It’s alright. I can block them out somewhat.”

Neji didn’t look convinced by said nothing else as they docked the ship at Bay 1013 as they had been directed by flight control. Tenten shut off the engines as soon as they touched down and unlocked the cargo and docking bay doors. Neji had told her that the ship would be searched as part of the registration process.

Indeed, by the time she and Neji made it down to the cargo bay, Lee was already speaking with a group of officials, all dressed in the grey uniforms of Alliance military. One looked up as Neji and Tenten joined them and Tenten hesitated, feeling something strange. The man was tall, dark hair pulled back in a spiky tail and before she’d gotten closer had looked rather bored with the proceedings. Now he was looking at her, eyes narrowed, as if trying to figure out a strange puzzle. A touch zipped across her mind, quick and strong, and she blinked, eyes widening.

The man tsked, drawing the attention of his comrades. “You’re a Whispered,” he said bluntly. The group went quiet, the other officials pausing to look at her. She could feel Neji stiffen at her side.

“So are you,” she replied, confused. Whispered were rare, that was true, but she’d learned that there were some who worked for the military, being uniquely beneficial in times of war especially. If they were known here, why was he looking at her so strangely?

“Take her into custody,” he ordered abruptly and two of his men immediately marched forward to grab her by the arms. Lee made a noise of protest but next to her, Neji went completely still. He seemed to settle in on himself and the aura she felt from him was as deep and quiet as one of Magdela’s mountain lakes. His face was blank and unreadable and she felt cold suddenly. This was Neji on the verge of violence.

“What are you doing, Commander?” Neji’s voice was like ice.

The Whispered Commander glanced at him as the two men started to propel her down the steps of the cargo bay towards the outside platform. “She’s listed in your flight manifest as your pilot, right? She’ll have to go through the registration process and be certified just like anyone else. We keep a close eye on our Whispered. We’ll need to document her abilities before she can be released.”

Tenten’s chest felt tight. She had done all this before. It was flashing before her eyes. She’d been standing on a platform just like this, only she’d been going on to a ship and someone - her mother? - had been crying and Orochimaru had put his hand on her small shoulder. We just need to run some tests.

Trembling, she lashed out before she knew exactly what she was doing. Her mental attack sliced across the Commander’s mind and he stumbled to the side, obviously surprised. Immediately the men holding her drew their weapons, the barrel of a plasma gun pushed against her temple. At that range, even she could not manipulate the weapon without hurting herself in the process. Up in the cargo bay, Lee had tackled the official nearest to him while Neji had drawn his own weapon, pointing the gun at the Commander with cold fury across his face.

The Whispered Commander shook his head slightly and straightened. “So troublesome.” He called out to the officers holding Tenten. “You there, holster your weapons. And you,” his eyes flicked to Neji and Lee, “stand down. No one is going to get hurt here. This is standard procedure. If everything checks out, she’ll be released this evening.” His gaze came to rest on Tenten and after a moment she nodded jerkily, pulling back behind her weak mental shield again. He was telling the truth, she could feel it. She looked to Neji.

“He’s not lying,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “I’ll be alright.”

Neji’s pale gaze held hers until she was finally pulled out of his sight.

For the most part, the Commander - Shikamaru, she soon learned his name was - had been truthful. She was subjected to a physical, performed by a stern but competent female nurse, and then was asked all sorts of questions about her health history, most of which she didn’t know the answer to. She was forced to explain the whiplash scars on her back, the nurse taking notes, and then she’d been ushered into another room where two dull gray-clad officials asked her questions about her Whispered status.

They asked about her abilities, her range and had her manipulate a sample guidance system from a spaceship. Her piloting abilities were graded and then she actually took a handwritten test over space and planet-side flight regulations. She didn’t actually know most of those answers but thankfully the sample guidance system that the officers had forgotten to take out of the room did.

She was tense and nervous throughout the long day but the horrible routine-ness of it all actually helped. It was obvious everyone was doing something they had done hundreds of times before and she could not sense any hidden agenda to keep her there against her will.

Shikamaru did come to see her towards the end of the day, slouching lazily against the wall across from her. She was seated behind a desk, dressed in sterile hospital scrubs, and looked at him tiredly. She’d been poked and prodded most of the day and her head was full of noise and multiple choice questions. She wanted nothing more than to be back on the Byakugan where she belonged.

“So, Orochimaru, huh?” he said suddenly, and she jerked in response. She didn’t reply and Shikamaru sighed. “You know, there could be a life for you here. Plenty of us go into the military. Lots of ships need flying.”

“I have a ship,” she said quietly. He looked at her as if trying to puzzle her out again.

“I’ve seen the inside of that ship,” he said. “It’s not built to allow for a Whispered.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean?” She’d been flying it just so fine so far.

“It’s all manual control. As a Whispered you could fly that ship with your mind if it was properly fitted with a interface console.” He looked down at his fingernails, rubbing them absently against his uniform. “Might be you could find one at a shipyard here somewhere. Lots of salvaged military ships would have one.”

She blinked, trying to read him, and then smiled slightly. “Thank you,” she said gratefully.

He nodded once, decisively, and started for the door, only to stop at the threshold to look back over his shoulder at her. “My offer stands if something changes,” he said firmly. “The world could always use more like us.”

“Thank you,” she repeated, and meant it. He opened the door.

“I believe you got a few people waiting on you,” he drawled and motioned at her. Realizing she was finally done, she got up quickly, almost tripping over the chair as she hurried out of the room and into the hallway where she was abruptly clobbered by Lee who somehow wrapped around her like an octopus.

“Tenten!” he exclaimed in her ear. “We’ve been waiting all day! We were worried.”

She laughed, she couldn’t help herself, and hugged him back. “I’m okay. They’ve finished with me.” She caught sight of Neji over Lee’s shoulder and saw her captain relax upon seeing her. She offered him a weary smile. “I’m alright,” she repeated, for him, and he nodded.

She was back where she belonged.

It was pure luck that they actually found one of the interface consoles that Shikamaru had mentioned at one of Galatea’s salvage yards. It was a oblong thing and looked like a high tech sleeping capsule. It was made of a sturdy sort of transparent blue plastic lined with a network of computer chips. At the head of the bed was a bundle of wires that would connect with the ship’s mainframe and she and Lee studied it intensely once they had the bed onboard. She had never used one of these before but in theory she understood the purpose. Once inside the capsule could basically download her mind right into the ship’s computerized nervous system, allowing her to become the ship in a fashion. Used her Whispered abilities, she’d be able to be everywhere in the ship at once and she’d be able to fly it with merely a thought. The prospects were exhilarating.

Neji was not so convinced however. She knew he was concerned that they were basically flying blind in this since none of them really knew how to operate the bed or what the side effects of using it could be. In short, he was worried. It made her feel warm inside and she did her best to do what she could to ease him. She researched what she could and, as they were still parked on Galatea, she talked with as many ships as she could get away with, seeing what she could find out. She thought she remembered these cocoon-capsules too, vague memories of at least seeing one before but she knew for certain she had never operated one, and that was the sticking point. Still, Neji did not try and dissuade them and she and Lee hooked up the interface bed in a small, unused room on the Byakugan, Tenten wiring it into the mainframe herself. If it failed, it would be no one’s fault but hers.

Thankfully, it didn’t fail.

The cover of the capsule slid back and she looked up at Neji with sleepy eyes.

“It worked,” she said happily.

From that time on she got used to melding with the ship, learning to operate within the ship’s ‘mind’, how to better protect her crew and passengers as they flew across the galaxy. They took passengers rarely, usually only to make ends meet, but when they did they were very careful not to let any of them close to the “weapons” room, as they were calling her interface room. Neji had installed an eye scan on the door so only the three of them could enter, and when the passengers heard her voice over the intercom system, they merely assumed she was sitting on the bridge in the pilot’s chair, flying the ship as anyone else would.

They had carved out a bit of happiness for themselves, moving cargo and people across worlds, and Tenten found freedom in making the Byakugan come alive. Even Neji seemed better, fewer nightmares. They’d never spoken of the night she had sang him to sleep and she didn’t think they needed to. It was something special between the two of them. He had needed her and she had come to him, just as he had done for her so many times before.

All was going well, until Rahavra.

It was a desert planet and a little out of their way, but they’d stopped there to pick up three passengers on their way to Galatea for some sort of summit or something that was being held there. One was a senator and the other two were his bodyguards. The two guards came armed onboard the ship, something Neji didn’t like, but since the senator had immunity there was not much he could do about it. Lee bustled their passengers into the passenger wing to get them settled and Tenten entered the interface room to set them on course for Galatea. She didn’t need to fly the ship via the capsule but she was still learning and this long trip was a good chance to see how much time she could spend interfaced without too much of a drain on her body. Even using hyperflight, which they could only do sparingly as the Byakugan did not have the power for a sustained flight in hyperspace, it would still take about five days to reach Galatea.

It was on the night of the third day that things went from good to bad.

Tenten was in her capsule and was floating near the bridge while simultaneously checking on the electrical readings when she felt it. It was like part of her brain just powered down out of nowhere, her thoughts slowing and creaking to a halt. She felt drained, like time was standing still but she was still moving at speed, struggling to process.

It felt like she was having a stroke.

She had never before felt pain while interfaced with the ship and she panicked, thrashing. An alarm sounding in her ear broke her out of it. Life-support was off line. The engine. She wasn’t having a stroke, the engine had powered down for some reason, and without power from the engine, several systems had shut off, including life-support. There was a backup power system however and she hurried to switch over the vital systems, relaxing when she heard the hiss of oxygen released into the cabins again. The engine was still dead, however, they could not fly anywhere. What had happened? All external sensors were clear, they had not been fired upon. It had to have come from within.

She flew through circuitry to the engine room to find the door open and one of the engine panels removed, revealing a missing capacitor. Without it, the engine could not turn over. She shifted, turning, and found a man standing in the corner of the room. He had the missing engine part in his hand and a gun pointed at the security camera she was looking through.

“Hello there,” one of the senator’s guards said softly, grinning, and fired at the camera.

It was like getting shot in the eye.

She screamed, momentarily blinded, and alarms sounded all over the ship in reaction to her distress. More shots were fired, more cameras exploded and she writhed in pain inside her plastic cocoon, sobbing. The assault on her senses was relentless, as if the guard knew exactly just how and when to hurt her to leave her immobilized.

He knows what I am.

“Hello, Miss Whispered.” The senator’s voice echoed across her pain. There was only one internal camera still working. It was the one on the bridge. She looked through it and felt her heart clench.

The senator, although apparently that’s not actually what he was, and his two guards were holding Neji and Lee at gunpoint. Lee looked rumpled and angry but unhurt. He had been asleep when the attack came. Neji, however, was bleeding from several cuts, one of them over his eye that dripped blood down the side of his face. He seemed a little hunched too, as if he’d been kicked in the stomach or taken a few punches to his ribs. His expression was one of cold fury.

“What do you want?” She spoke through the intercom system and winced at the roughness of her voice. Neji stiffened when he heard it and Lee’s expression darkened.

“Ah. There you are,” the senator said, smiling. “I’m glad to see I’ve gotten your attention. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, little Whispered. I don’t want to have to shoot your crew here but I will if you decide to give us trouble.” One of his men set the barrel of a gun against the side of Lee’s head. “The Torturer has placed a bounty on your head, did you know?” the senator continued, almost conversationally. He was a bounty hunter then, thinking to claim whatever reward Orochimaru had promised anyone who could bring her in. “You must have royally pissed him off because it’s a fairly generous sum, one I would dearly like to collect.” The bounty hunter leaned forward, his voice turning serious. “I’ll only say this once. I’m going to have my man here return the piece he took from your engine and you are going to fire up the ship again and fly us directly to Orochimaru’s compound, where you are going to hand yourself over nice and pretty without a fuss or your friend here is going to die and I’m going to throw your captain out of the airlock. Do you understand?”

She was barely breathing. What could she do? The gun was too close to Lee’s head. If she tried anything, the man holding it might fire by accident. And Neji... she had no delusions that the fake senator wouldn’t do exactly as he said.

She swallowed hard. “I understand.”

The bounty hunter smiled. “You understand... what?”

Anger swelled in her. “I understand, Captain.”

“Good girl. Now get us underway.”

There was nothing she could do. As soon as the missing part was returned to the engine, she fired it up and plotted a course to the Sound, Orochimaru’s terrifying compound. To be going back there felt like dying a little. The pain she felt from the damage to the ship was nothing compared to knowing where she was headed.

She was starting to feel sluggish. She’d been interfaced with the ship for a full eight hours without breaking for food or drink and her physical body was weakening. She needed to rest but if she disengaged from the ship, she’d be even weaker than she was now. She wasn’t even sure she’d be able to get out of the interface bed without help. At least if she was connected to the ship she had the power of the Byakugan at her fingertips and she could keep an eye on Neji and Lee. She was worried about the two of them. Lee’s righteous anger had been growing as he grew more and more upset at the situation. He was sporting a black eye now and looking unrepentant. He would try something soon, she thought. Neji’s wounds had stopped bleeding but he’d actually fallen asleep kneeling on the floor and one of the guards had had to kick him awake. She worried that he had suffered a head wound at some point and needed to be seen to.

What could she do though? She’d been interfaced too long, her thoughts seem to flicker all over the place. If she stayed much longer, would she get lost inside the ship? Would her body become just a dry husk, her mind forever locked inside the Byakugan?

Even as she thought this, something happened on the bridge. She forced herself to focus and found that Lee had made his move. He’d thrown himself bodily at one of the guards, the two of them grappling on the floor. Neji had taken the other, both of them locked in a battle for the gun the guard held in his hand. The bounty hunter seemed shocked for a moment at their boldness but recovered and went to draw his gun.

She Whispered.

The gun activated and fired while still in its holster, shooting a laser burst through the fake senator's foot and into the floor. The bounty hunter yelled in pain and fell over, clutching his foot. She Whispered and the gun fired again, this time hitting his thigh. He screamed and fumbled at his side, finally realized it was the gun he had to deal with. She Whispered one last time and watched as the gun exploded, tearing a chunk of flesh out of the bounty hunter’s side that immediately turned his shirt blood red, a dark puddle spreading on the floor where he lay stunned.

She thought she might have killed him and was glad. She wanted them off her ship. It was suddenly unbearable that they were still there, that a low-life bounty hunter’s blood was staining her deck.

The gun Neji and the other guard were grappling with suddenly went off, the plasma charge hitting the side of the piloting console, sending a spray of sparks everywhere. She winced, feeling the hiss and burn of electricity, but was more concerned with Neji. She Whispered and deactivated the gun they were fighting over, shutting it down so that it could not be fired again. Lee had knocked out the guard he’d been fighting with and was rolling up onto his feet, headed towards Neji. They’d be okay in a few seconds and she... she’d...

Things went sort of fuzzy.

She felt very sleepy. If she could just take a little nap she knew she’d be much more helpful. But then again, ships didn’t really take naps. Maybe she could just power down for a little bit...

The ship’s lights flickered overhead.

She jolted suddenly, unsure of what she was doing. She was so tired. Floating in cyberspace, she wanted only to rest.

I need to get out.

The thought came unbidden and for a long moment she didn’t know what it meant. Get out of where? She’d always been here. She was the ship and the ship was her. It was... It was.... She struggled. Why was it so hard to think?

The Byakugan buzzed at her, like an incessant firefly, bright and quick. She frowned and floated away from it. What was she doing again?

The spark of light came racing back at her and pushed and --

Tenten woke gasping, her entire body aching and heavy with exhaustion. She looked up into worried faces, Neji’s half covered in blood and Lee’s in bruises. The cover of the cocoon had been pried up and off and was missing so that when Neji reached for her with bloody fingers, he could actually touch her. He’d pried the thing off with his hands.

“Tenten,” he said her name carefully and slowly, as if he wasn’t sure she could hear him. “Are you alright?” His knuckles brushed her cheek.

She blinked. “I...I think so.” Already the pain she’d felt while connected with the ship was fading. It hadn’t happened to her. Not really. She swallowed and felt immediately how dry her mouth was. She couldn’t remember when she’d last had some water. “What about you?” She lifted a hand to touch the line of his jaw while she placed the other on Lee’s cheek. It was like lifting dead weight, she was so weary. “Both of you are hurt.”

Lee shook his head. “We’ll heal. It looks worse than it is.” He frowned, looking at her. “Are you sure you’re alright? Can you sit up?’

She tried but it was like pushing against a mountain. She had nothing left. “I’m sorry. I don’t think so.”

Without a word, Neji bent down and slipped an arm underneath her back and under her knees and lifted her against his chest. She rested her head limply against his shoulder, unable even to put her arms around his neck.

“I’ll take her to her room. Can you...?” Neji directed a look at Lee who seemed to read his thoughts and nodded immediately.

“I’ll take care of it.” Lee disappeared and Neji started towards her cabin, walking slowly but steadily and she wondered about his ribs, if he was hurt more than Lee claimed.

“You stayed too long in there,” Neji told her as he walked. His voice rumbled underneath her ear. “You could have been lost.”

“I didn’t know what else to do,” she admitted softly. “I didn’t want to leave you and Lee to face them alone. I would have been useless out here.” Like she was now, barely able to move a muscle.

“Better that than to lose yourself,” he replied quietly. They reached her bedroom and she managed to lift a hand to palm the door open for him. He crossed to her bunk and bent down to lay her on it gently. Before he could untangle himself and pull away, she struggled to reach up and touch the side of his face, stilling him instantly.

“I thought we were going back,” she murmured sadly, her eyes flickering over his features. “For a little while, I thought...”

He lifted a hand and put it over the one she held to his face, pressing their hands together against his cheek. His long hair slipped over his shoulder as he leaned over her, framing them both. His other hand trailed down the side of her face and buried itself in her own long, dark hair.

“We are never going back,” he whispered to her. His eyes did not waver. “Never.” His lips descended that final distance and she tilted her head back slightly to meet him. The kiss was soft and undemanding and full of Neji’s care for her. He was gentle and she wished she had more energy to kiss him properly but it just wasn’t there. Not that night.

When Neji pulled away though, his pale-gray eyes were moon bright, as if the kiss had been everything he’d wanted and more. She smiled at him sleepily. His lips curved slightly in return and he brushed his hand over her forehead.

“Get some rest.”

He pulled a blanket over her and she closed her eyes, still feeling the phantom warmth of Neji’s kiss against her lips.

When she woke she was warm and lethargic but surprisingly still tired. She must not have been asleep that long. Snuggling into her blanket, she rolled over on her side and almost smacked into Neji. He must have come in a while ago as he was deeply asleep on his back, still fully clothed though the blood had been washed from his face and there was a small bandage on the deep cut over his eye. She watched him for a moment, warm inside at the thought that he had come there and felt comfortable enough to fall asleep without waking her.

Careful not to disturb him, she pulled part of her blanket over him and then curled gently into his side, her forehead pressed against his arm. Exhaling, she left herself drift back to sleep, safe and content.

Space was vast, she had learned. More vast than a human mind - or even a Whispered mind - could understand. Bad things happened, but there was good as well, and every day she reminded herself that sometimes things happened for a reason, even if it wasn't clear at first. She had spent so much time angry and sad and hurt, but if not for all those times she would never have met Neji. She was not grateful to Orochimaru for this, make no mistake, she was grateful that she survived to meet Neji and Lee and the Byakugan.

Of course, nothing could be completely perfect. Her test results from Galatea had very clearly outlined that she was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and, though he hadn’t been tested as she had, she was sure Neji suffered from it as well. Still, they had each other, someone who perfectly understood what the other was going through, and they had Lee. Cheerful, determined Lee who was simply happy to have them at all, no matter what shape they were in. And they were getting better. Each day brought new surprises, but it brought new joys as well.

Sitting down in the pilot’s chair on the bridge, she sipped on a cup of fresh coffee Lee had brewed for her and idly watched the glittering starfield outside the forward windows. The Byakugan was quiet but ready, it’s power banked but waiting. Typing one handed, she brought up the day’s log and skimmed the contents, briefly catching a news clip of a drought on Duvrea. Ships were needed to carry water, food and supplies to the people there. She marked the clip for Neji’s attention. Might be something to look into.

She felt him step onto the bridge before she heard him, swiveling in her chair slightly to smile as Neji passed her, his fingers brushing her shoulder.

“So,” she said, unable to disguise the simple happiness in her voice. “Where to, Captain?”

END.

Fringe Series Finale

goldberry — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 03:23:36 GMT

If you have never watched Fringe, you are missing out on one of the most emotionally beautiful shows ever. It's not just "a scifi show". It's not a monster of the week show. It is not The X-Files.

It is a show about a father who loved his son so much that he would destroy a universe to save him.

Thank you, Fringe, for five years of suspense, action, drama, tears, destiny and every type of love imaginable. You are what every show should strive to be. The fact that I could watch the finale tonight and be sad and happy and heartbroken and hopeful all at once is a testament to an amazing writing team and cast.

You will be missed. ♥

"You are my favorite thing, Peter. My very favorite thing." - Walter Bishop

Rantings On Ship Wars

goldberry — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:34:45 GMT

Wandered into the NejiTen tag on Tumblr. Surprisingly, I hardly ever go there. And now I know why.

And WTF is up with the shipping wars? It always makes me laugh to see people who cut down other people's ships because of reasons like: they don't get hardly any screen time together, they're just friends, person A doesn't think of person B like that, etc, etc, etc. THAT'S NOT THE POINT OF SHIPPING GUYZ. People ship all sorts of things, heck. I mean look at Supernatural, we've got a huge fandom base that ships the two main characters together. THE TWO MAIN CHARACTERS ARE BROTHERS. Does that have a chance in hell of happening on the show? I'm going to go out on a limb and say NOPE. But people ship it! ALOT of people ship it and guess what? WHO CARES. They can ship whatever they want! I may not agree with it, I may not like it, I may ship something totally different. That does not make MY ship better than theirs, and their ship is not somehow magically better than mine. Whether a relationship has a chance of happening on the show or not makes no difference. There are no hard and fast "rules" for "shipping". People will ship anything and everything regardless of what's actually going on in the show. That is what fandom is about. The fact that I even have to explain this is giving me a headache.

For example, continuing with the Supernatural example here, I ship Dean/Castiel. Mostly in a bromance/BFF way but if it's written well, I like the romantic too. I would never, under any circumstances, wander into the Wincest tag on Tumblr and start spouting about how everyone there was delusional and omg Dean and Sam will never happen and they should just get over it already and go jump of a cliff. And yet I see this happening in the NejiTen tag. THE NEJITEN TAG GUYZ. It's like, the most non-controversial ship ANYWHERE. But today I've seen LeeTen and NejiHina shippers frolicking around the tag telling NejiTen shippers to just LOL GET OVER IT, etc, etc. I mean, WTF. Seriously. Grind a little more salt in those wounds, assholes.

I guess what I'm trying to get at here is DON'T TAG YOUR HATE.

The NejiTen tag is not for haters of the couple, its for people who actually enjoy it. If you enjoy NejiHina or LeeTen, perfect, I applaud you, go back to your tag and enjoy. But don't spread hate. If you hate something, that's your right, but keep it to yourself. Spreading it around to the people who are trying to enjoy something just makes you look like a douchebag.

Naruto 616

goldberry — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 04:43:20 GMT

I WILL NOT BE SATISFIED UNTIL THERE IS BOMBASTIC CHARACTER REVIVAL, OR I WILL REJECT THIS REALITY AND SUBSTITUTE MY OWN.

FOR SERIOUS, WTF.

I AM SO DONE.

Missing Scenes From SOTM: Interlude-verse

goldberry — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:26:51 GMT

These are just a few random scenes I wrote (that eventually lead to the 10k more of backstory I have waiting to post) that fall somewhere between the Interlude chapter and the main story of Straight On Till Morning. So set after Neji and Tenten escape from Orochimaru but before they meet Sakura, Sasuke, etc. They are very random and they are referenced a bit in the continuing backstory I'll be posting later this week, but they are not required reading or anything. Mostly just scenes I needed to get out of my head.

Also, I should probably warn that one scene is rather lemony. So, read at your own discretion. And only posting this here for now. I'm getting too lazy to cross-post. :p

Cut scenes from YET MORE BACKSTORY

She stood transfixed, watching herself in the mirror. Her hair was down to her waist, dark and tangled from their mad escape. Her eyes were too big in a pale face and her left cheek was an ugly mess of black and blue where the guard had punched her a few days earlier. The pale dress she wore was smudged and ripped in places, giving her glimpses of the bruised skin underneath. She looked like nothing more than a ragged pile of skin and bones .

“Would you like me to look at your back?” Lee asked gently. “Neji mentioned that they had...hurt you.”

Lee had a kind heart. Already she could tell by the way he softened “whipped” into “hurt” as if he didn’t want to bring up too many memories. She turned away from the mirror and nodded. She felt more comfortable with Lee seeing the damage than Neji. Neji had seen the evidence of enough torture.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and then turned away from Lee, offering her back to him. “Can you unzip me?” she asked, slightly embarrassed. She couldn’t stretch to reach back for the zipper without pulling on her wounds.

“Of course,” Lee said at once. He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed behind her. Very carefully, he unzipped her dress to just above her waist, gently peeling the two sides of it back a little so he could see.

To his credit, he made no sound of discomfort or shock. Instead, he reached up and squeezed her shoulder in support.

“I’m not a doctor but I could clean and dress this for you,” he offered. She nodded, her throat suddenly thick. He and Neji had been so kind to her. She still wasn’t used to it.

“You don’t have to if you’re unsure,” Neji told her, watching her carefully. He could sense her anxiety and it made him want to call a halt to the whole thing. It wasn’t as if they really knew what they were doing. It had been by luck alone that they’d found that Whisper bed at the space yard, and Tenten’s memories regarding them had been particularly fuzzy. She and Lee had set it up and Tenten had wired it herself but there was no telling just how the thing worked. She could kill herself trying to use something they knew nothing about.

“I know,” she said, with a grateful look to him, “but if I don’t at least try then it’s all been a waste.” She smoothed a hand over the transparent plastic cover. “Besides, I don’t want to be a burden. If I can use this then-”

“You’re not a burden,” he said tightly, cutting her off. He knew she felt like she wasn’t pulling her weight aboard the ship and the entire idea was ridiculous. The only reason he was still alive was because of her. If she wanted to live on an island planet and sunbathe for the rest of her life, he would make it happen and his debt to her would still not be paid. “You don’t have to use your abilities for me, for anyone, just to stay here.”

Tenten was staring at him, her eyes suspiciously bright.

“Thank you,” she said softly. After a moment, she rubbed a hand across her face and then smiled a bit sheepishly at him. “Will you stay while I’m...?”

He nodded and offered her a hand up as she climbed into the computerized capsule. She laid down slowly, trying to get comfortable in something that looked like a high-tech see-through coffin. Once in she looked up at him apprehensively, biting her lip.

“I’ll get you out if anything happens,” he said firmly. He’d break it open with his bare hands if he had to.

She nodded thankfully and he stepped back as the cover slipped up and over her, encasing her inside. Almost immediately her eyes closed and her body relaxed, lips parting slightly as if she had suddenly fallen asleep. He watched her breathe for a long moment, making sure her chest was still rising and falling. He could not read any pain or discomfort on her face.

The cocoon’s cover slid away and down, revealing a blinking Tenten, a tired smile on her face.

“It worked,” she said happily, her voice slow and sleepy. He nodded, taking stock of her. She looked fine, a little flushed, but there was weariness in her voice.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Tired,” she answered, thinking. “I hardly have the energy to move.” She frowned a little. “I hope that’s supposed to happen.” It wasn’t as if they’d know if it wasn’t. Tenten was doing this without any sort of guide book.

“Can you sit up?” he asked. She tried but her arms seemed to flop like wet noodles when she tried to push herself up. She huffed a breath and he had to hide a smile. “Come on,” he offered, “I’ll take you back.”

He got his arms underneath her and lifted her to his chest where she managed to get her arms around his neck. She leaned her forehead against the side of his neck and closed her eyes and he could not help the reflex to tighten his hold on her. The feeling of wanting to keep her safe had been with him for awhile now, perhaps all the way back to that night when she’d tried to comfort him by singing with him and Orochimaru had had her whipped just to rile Neji up. Hearing her screams and knowing there was nothing he could do to help her had been agony. He wouldn’t allow her to be hurt like that again. Mystical and special she might be, but she was still human, no matter what others might think. She was not something to be caged like an animal.

He staggered into the interface room, his left arm hanging limply, blood running down the side of his face from a cut over his eye. He limped over to the capsule, checking for himself that Tenten lay within, safe and sound, before sliding to the floor, light-headed from blood loss.

He must have passed out for a few minutes as the next thing he knew Tenten was kneeling in front of him, both of her hands framing his face, fingertips in his hair as she tried to catch his gaze.

“Neji! Wake up!” He blinked at her and she relaxed a bit though her expression was still tight with worry. “Are you hurt anywhere else? Should I fly us to a medstation?”

“Just the arm,” he managed to get out, and she moved to his right side, pulling him into her a little so that his head rested on her shoulder, careful not to touch his left arm.

“Lee’s coming,” she told him, “We’ll take care of you.”

He closed his eyes. He wasn’t worried.

“Cut the power!” Neji barked and Lee scrambled to disconnect the pod even as Neji slipped a knife under the transparent cover for leverage to try and pry it up and off. Inside Tenten, still interfaced with eyes closed, had her hands against the sides of the cocoon, beating against it with her fists. Her feet kicked out sporadically, her knees hitting the top of the pod as if she were having some sort of horrific nightmare. Tears streamed from underneath her lashes and she was making some sort of sound in her throat, like that of a wounded animal. It brought back too many memories for him and was almost more than he could take.

“LEE!” he snapped and the other man abruptly cut one of the cables running out from the top of the bed.

“Got it!” he cried.

Inside, Tenten’s back arched and her eyes flew open, wide and unseeing. Neji got his fingers under the plastic cover and pulled up, cracking the casing and breaking it clean off the pod. It crashed off to the side but Neji already had his hands full with Tenten. Her fingers grasped at his sleeves tightly, her expression pinched. She looked out of it and he wasn’t sure she actually knew who he was.

“Tenten, it’s me,” he said firmly, gripping her arms. “You’re alright now. You’re safe.”

Her mouth worked and he thought her panicked eyes cleared a bit. “Neji.”

He nodded and her arms went around his neck almost before he knew what was happening. Reflex made him wrap his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

“It died,” she whispered, “I could feel it. Empty. So empty. I couldn’t find my way out.”

He smoothed a hand down her hair. “You’re safe now,” he repeated. “I’ve got you.”

She arched her back as he pushed into her, breathless at the feel of him. He moved over her, long hair tickling her sides as their gazes met, dreamy and dazed. She curled her arms around his neck, her fingers in his hair, reaching up to kiss him deeply, a little overwhelmed at the whirl of sensations and emotions she was feeling.

Some sort of sound left her throat when he started to move and she inexpertly tried to match his rhythm, throwing back her head when one thrust hit a spot that felt particularly amazing. Neji bent down, his lips finding the white column of her throat. He breathed her name into the skin there and she shuddered at the caress.

“Tenten.”

Neji rarely said her name, usually only when he was concerned for her or was seriously trying to get her attention. The way he said it now, in that moment, was completely different. The husky voice, the breathless quality of it - that was hers alone.

She held him close as they moved together and it did not take either of them long to find completion. This moment had been building between them for a long, long time and it could not hold out any longer. There would be other nights, long and sensual, but for now she simply needed to be his, and he hers, quick like fire and light before something else came along to separate them.

I Need An Intervention, Like, Nowish

goldberry — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:37:25 GMT

I have written 10,000 more words of SOTM backstory. For serious. I have a problem.

NejiTen "Straight On Till Morning" Interlude: Second Star To The Right

goldberry — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:52:28 GMT

This is an interlude chapter before the final chapter of the main story. It's basically backstory and details a part of the time that Neji and Tenten spent imprisoned by Orochimaru. I was going to post it after SOTM was finished but I actually think the last chapter will mean more if you know the backstory first. In either case, however, you can read the main story without having read this so feel free to skip if you'd rather not be diverted. ♥ Thanks for the lovely support of this story. It's been keeping me going.

Also also, this chapter has theme music!

TITLE: Straight On Till Morning
SERIES: Naruto
CHARACTERS: NejiTen, Orochimaru, Rock Lee,
RATING: R (this may be a tad high but I'm erring on the side of caution)
WORD COUNT: 3,441
NOTES: Please heed the rating. Warnings for offscreen character death and depictions of torture. It's not graphic but please use your own judgement concerning possible triggers.

STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING
INTERLUDE - SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT

She woke into semi-darkness, the only light in her room a oil lamp that burned on her work desk. She had no way of knowing how long she slept, or even if it was still daylight outside. Time did not matter in her room. Her cell.

For a moment she simply lay there, curled in her blankets, unable to stop herself from listening to the silence. It echoed in her head and in her heart, pressing on her like a physical weight. She had fought against it in the beginning but months had passed and she was growing tired. Orochimaru had piled all sorts of raw materials on her desk along with various tools, just waiting for the day when she would break down and create, Whispering life into a machine born of sorrow and loneliness and pain.

She curled inwards, cocooning herself in her blankets. She could not allow herself to fall so low as to make weapons. But even though she kept telling herself that, she knew she was almost there. Soon enough she would break, the silence growing too loud for her to do anything but Whisper.

Outside her locked room came a sound.

She lifted her head, straining to hear, and stumbled off the bed and over to the door when she could not. She pressed her ear against the door and heard footsteps, many footsteps. The guards then. They came and went sometimes, always silent, but this time she heard another sound. A constant drag against the concrete floors. She frowned. The guards were dragging something down the hallway.

“The Master did a number on this one,” one of the guards commented quietly. Another grunted in agreement but nothing else was said and they went by her door, still dragging something between them.

A body, she realized painfully. They were dragging a body.

She knew there were other prisoners besides herself. There had been an older man once, boldly and loudly arguing with Orochimaru. She had heard him only the once and never again. She was sure he was dead, but there were others - a younger man, quiet and steadfast, and once a man who had been conversing with Orochimaru as if they could stand each other presence. Something about a curse or a seal or something. She had not been able to hear very well.

And now someone was dead. She pulled herself away from the door sadly, the weight pressing on her heavier than ever. She ignored her desk and crawled back into her bed, sitting herself in the corner against the wall with the blankets wrapped around her shoulders. One day she would join that person and they’d drag her body away as well, but not until she bent to Orochimaru’s will. He would not let her die before he got what he wanted.

She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.

The lullaby came to her from far away, so deep in her past she couldn’t even remember who had sang it to her. Her parents were misty memories now but somehow the song was still intact and she remembered feeling content, safe. She sang it softly, sadly, and from her heart. She sang it to herself and to the poor soul they’d dragged from Orochimaru’s torture chamber. No one deserved to be there, in that place. No one deserved the despair she could feel hovering all around her, just waiting for her to give in. She sang to ward it off

She sang for a long, long time.

And thirty yards away, in a completely separate cell, Hyuuga Neji lay broken on the floor, listening, a tear tracing its way down his bloody cheek.

The next day she had a panic attack.

The lamp on her desk had run out of oil and she’d been in total darkness and silence for six hours before she broke. Something just switched off in her head and she screamed, beating against the door, the desk, herself. She threw whatever she could get her hands on, broke whatever she could. Tears ran down her face and she sobbed even as she screamed in fury, catching a hold of the lamp in the dark, the glass shattering everywhere.

It was the sound of the broken glass that drew them, she knew. They could never allow her to hurt herself. Hearing footsteps outside, she threw herself at the door, beating on it like a madwoman even as the shards of glass on the floor cut her feet.

“Let me out!” she screamed brokenly. “Let me out! I want to go home! Please, let me out!”

Outside she could hear Orochimaru barking orders at his men. “Get that door open before she kills herself!”

The door opened and she fell out of the room, her knees hitting the concrete. She looked up blearily to find Orochimaru glaring down at her while two of his lackeys caught her by the arms and hauled her to her feet. Behind Orochimaru, though, there were others. Two guards, she thought, with someone between them. Another prisoner. He had long hair and pale eyes, one of which was swollen and black and barely open a slit. He was bloody and bruised all over and it was obvious that he’d been going into the torture chamber for another round when she’d halted the party with her tantrum. Their gazes met and she felt something pass between them.

Anger welled up once again, no longer fiery but hard as steel and deep as an ocean. She looked to the guard on the right side of the prisoner. He’d been foolish enough to wear a digital watch to work that day. What a shame.

She Whispered and the watch exploded, taking half the man’s hand with it.

Everyone moved at once. The guard screamed in pain and dropped to his knees just as the prisoner brought up his elbow and smashed it into the face of the other guard. In the span of five seconds he was completely free, but instead of making a run for it, he barreled towards Orochimaru and the two of them went down in a tangle.

Something smashed into the side of Tenten’s head and she fell forward to the ground, completely dazed. She was lying on her stomach, her cheek pressed against the floor and she could blurrily see that more guards had appeared to restrain the prisoner, pulling him off Orochimaru and slamming him into the ground 10 feet away. His head was turned towards her and their eyes met again even as she felt someone pull her hands behind her back and fasten them securely, just as they were doing to the prisoner across the way.

She felt a sharp pinch in her neck and knew that they had given her a sedative. She kept her gaze on the pale-eyed prisoner and managed to mouth ‘I’m sorry’ to him before everything went dark.

They brought her a new lantern and oil to keep it lit and Orochimaru made sure she knew that they had killed the prisoner she had tried to help escape. She had killed him, he said, because she had tried to interfere. He then had one of his men give her ten lashes with a belt across the back for her disobedience.

Afterwards, she painfully sat down at her desk and began.

Twisted things came forth from her mind, horrible things meant for maiming and killing. And the more things she imagined into being, the more the Snake hurt her until pain was all she could conjure, mentally, physically and spiritually. It poured into her work and she begat strange and terrible weapons whose voices hissed like snakes and whose blades cut her even as she formed them.

And even as she worked, she cried and bled and grieved for the man she had killed. But in the end even he too was swallowed by the blackness growing in her mind, hollowing her from the inside out.

Eventually she lost herself so deep that she stopped creating and no matter how much they hurt or beat her, she could not be made to rise from her bed. Orochimaru had her carried from the room and placed outside in the courtyard where the sunlight could reach her and then posted guards to watch her before disappearing somewhere.

It took her a long, long time for her to even realize where she was. She sat blankly for hours on a stone bench before she realized that there was grass under her feet and blue sky over her head. And when she did realize that, she wept, great tears rolling down her face without a sound. She cried for herself and for her lost freedom and family, and for all the others Orochimaru had stolen from their lives and brought pain to. She cried because she knew she had made things for him to hurt people with and she cried because she knew she was going to die and it would not be soon enough, not soon enough.

A small voice spoke.

She paused and looked around, wondering if she had finally lost her mind. The courtyard was empty but for her and her two guards. The surrounding buildings were silent.

The small voice spoke again.

Her face went white and her hands clenched in the ornamental robes Orochimaru had had her dressed in that morning. Her hair, so long and unruly now that she had stopped tending to it, brushed her knuckles as stared hard at her lap. Something was Whispering her.

A shiver worked its way up her spine and realized that she was afraid. She had heard no voices in so long except those she brought forth, the dark things from her dreams. The tiny spark of light in her mind was almost terrifying next to that great maw of darkness. In her lap, she shakily cupped her hands together as if to protect it.

She Whispered and heard her own voice creak with disuse. Where are you?

The small voice answered in a mix of words and images. The black. Space, then. It could not be far, however, or she would not have been able to hear it. Perhaps a ship in orbit around the planet.

What do you want with me? she Whispered. The voice was so tiny, so frail.

To help you.

She laughed and even in her head it sounded sad and defeated. I am lost, little spark. You should find another to Whisper to and leave me.

The answer that came was the human equivalent of someone refusing to budge.

She closed her eyes. What is your name?

It came to her as a complicated tangle of symbols and memories. White Eye That Sees In The Black.

Byakugan.

And when she said the name in her mind, the tiny spark flared bright and grew, pushing the darkness back into the corners, and she understood that it was not the ship’s voice that was weak and frail, it was herself.

Byakugan, she Whispered, and the spark glowed like a firefly. Let me speak with your captain.

The captain, Tenten soon learned, was dead and his second-in-command was on the planet that the Byakugan was now orbiting. He was being held captive somewhere in Orochimaru’s compound due to a deal gone bad. She learned all of this from a man named Lee, the ship’s mechanic, strangely enough.

She was able to speak to him through the Byakugan, the ship transmitting her thoughts as if she were speaking into a comlink. She was able to do so a bit every day as apparently Orochimaru had decided that she needed at least fifteen minutes of fresh air every day or she’d sink back down into depression again and stop making weapons for him. She might have helped this impression along by acting a little more melancholy than she really felt.

The Byakugan had saved her from the abyss. Talking with the ship and with Lee had awakened her mind again and cleared out most of the shadows. Day by day, she became a little more herself again and the weapons she worked on changed subtly in response. They were still clouded by her pain and imprisonment but she was in control now. She could silence their sharp voices if she wished. And she was working on something, something secret, a combination of something born of both despair and hope.

Lee had given her the name of the Byakugan’s second-in-command. His name was Neji but that did not help her much, as she rarely saw, let alone spoke, with any other prisoners. And after the incident with the guard whose hand she’d maimed, Orochimaru was very careful not to allow other mechanical things in her presence that she might use against him. He thought her range to be limited to what she could see, and that was true. She could not mobilize anything not in view, not without being directly linked with it, but she could certainly speak with machines a fairly great distance away. The Byakugan being one of them.

For fifteen minutes a day, she was free. When she was locked in her room, things grew dim again but she hung on to herself. It was during one such night, when she lay in bed, mentally bracing herself against the shadows in her mind, that she heard it.

Outside, in the courtyard, a man was humming her lullaby.

It was rough and his voice caught in places, stopping altogether in some moments, but she recognized her song, the one someone had sung to her all those years ago. Rolling to her knees, Tenten pressed herself against the wall, trying to hear. Perhaps it was one of the guards who had heard her that night? She shook her head after a moment though. No, whoever was humming so brokenly had to be a prisoner. The pain she heard in that voice echoed in her own.

Almost without being aware of it, she started to hum along with him, pressed into the very corner of her room. She heard his voice stumble when she joined him and she smiled, knowing he had heard her. They hummed only a few bars before she heard footsteps outside and his voice broke off suddenly. She stopped humming as well, tensing as she realized that Orochimaru was now in the courtyard with the prisoner.

“What was that? Was the girl singing again?”

Tenten curled in tighter to herself. She hadn’t known there were guards close enough to hear them. One answered.

“She heard him out here, I think. She was singing to him.”

Orochimaru’s voice hissed. “Fascinating.” There was the sound of shuffling and a grunt. “So, how did you like my little pet’s singing, Neji? You’re very lucky. Not many have the privilege of listening to a Whispered.”

Neji! She covered her mouth with both hands. The Byakugan’s second-in-command was just outside! Tomorrow she would be able to tell Lee that she had found him and that he was still alive, something Lee had been unsure of.

Outside, something heavy hit the ground.

“I think it would be...educational for you to stay and listen to a bit more.” Orochimaru said, only this time his voice sounded just beyond her door and she turned as it slammed opened and two guards strode in, followed by Orochimaru himself. The Snake wore a hooded expression, his fingers steepled together.

“Seems like you’re feeling better this evening, my pet. Perhaps you should sing for me this time.”

She cried out as the two guards dragged her from the bed and pushed her up against the wall. One reached up to the collar of her dress and violently ripped it down the back to her waist. Fear made her panic and she struggled and thrashed until one of the guards punched her clean in the face and she dropped instantly, held up only by their hands on her. Outside, she could hear Neji shouting something through what must have been a gag. She couldn’t understand him.

Wild-eyed, she did not resist when the guard pushed her up against the wall again. Behind her, Orochimaru picked something up from her desk.

“You’re very talented, my pet, but I think it’s time we field tested one these, don’t you think?” Something dark and coiled slithered to the floor. Her stomach immediately dropped. She knew what the Torturer held in his hand. “Sing for me,” his hissed.

The laser whip cut a line from her left shoulder all the way down to the small of her back with the first lash.

“Fifteen lashes, I think, this time,” Orochimaru said thoughtfully.

Tenten screamed.

The next day, they carried her out to the courtyard on a stretcher on Orochimaru’s insistence that she get her daily dose of sun. Tenten lay on her stomach on the cold stone bench and reached out for the ship circling overhead.

Neji’s alive. We’re out of time.

That night she did not sleep. Instead, she worked, her fingers bleeding right along with the welts on her back as she painstakingly etched glowing words into a sword’s edge.

The next evening the Byakugan attacked. She heard the explosions as it rocked the far side of the compound, red fire bursting towards the sky. She was locked in her room but Neji was not. She had given specific instructions on when the ship should attack and it had to be a moment when Neji was not confined, as she otherwise did not know where they were keeping him. She had chosen the usual time when Orochimaru had Neji brought to his torture chamber. In the courtyard she could hear the chaos as men ran to and fro, yelling for weapons and for the fire-ships to launch.

Knowing it was time, Tenten hefted the black sword she’d only just finished, the white symbols on the blade shining brightly. This weapon could not be used to hurt her, this one she could Whisper to without fear of darkness.

Lifting the sword level with her shoulder, a move that made her grimace with the way it pulled at her back, she rammed the sword into the outside wall of her room with all her might. No ordinary sword could have sliced through the lead-lined walls her room was made of, but Nightsong could. She Whispered and it obeyed, the hilt vibrating softly with power under her hand. She let go of the hilt and watched as the sword continued to move through the wall on its own, until the entire length of it went through and it clattered to the floor on the other side.

A fight broke out, she could hear the sound of punches being thrown, and then a hand closed around her sword. Reaching out through the blade thin hole in her wall, she knew it was Neji who had grabbed it.

Hope bloomed in her chest and outside she heard men yelling as every light flared to brightness, every machine whirring to life, every computer system powering on to full.

There was more fighting but this time it was the guards who yelled and fought and fell. Nightsong could cut anything. Anything. Nothing could stand in it’s path and live. It brought both hope and despair, as she had known it would.

When her door finally burst open, there were tears on her cheeks as she looked upon Neji for the first time and she could not help the happy sound that escaped her. Neji was the man she’d seen outside her door the day she’d lost her mind to the silence. Long hair, pale eyes, and bloody, but not dead. Not dead. Another of Orochimaru’s lies.

“I heard your song,” he said, his voice hollow and open, somehow soothing despite the state he was in. Nightsong glowed in his right hand. “It saved my life.”

She blinked away her tears, still smiling. “As you have saved mine.”

Slowly and carefully, he lifted his free hand towards her, palm up, beckoning. “Come with me.”

She placed her hand in his and, for the first time in a long time, she was without fear.

“Yes.”

END INTERLUDE.

NejiTen, SasuSaku "Straight On Till Morning" Chapter Five

goldberry — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 21:54:10 GMT

I've written something like 5,000 words of backstory for this fic. The muse is going nuts. What's more amusing is that I originally imagined this story as only two or three chapters. AHHAHAHAHA.

TITLE: Straight On Till Morning
SERIES: Naruto
CHARACTERS: NejiTen, SasuSaku, Team Gai, Orochimaru, Itachi
RATING: PG-13
WORD COUNT: 3,677
NOTES: No one guessed where the quote was from in the last chapter. LAME. It was from The Ghost and the Darkness. Good movie if you've never seen it.

STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING

For a long moment she didn’t know where she was. Her left arm felt like it was on fire and the ringing in her head would not quiet down so she could think clearly. She was having a hard time breathing as well, as if there wasn’t enough air to... Air. Her eyes widened and with a thought she sealed off the C Block, stopping the vacuum of air as it was drawn out into space by the damage to the hull of the ship. The throbbing in her left arm lessened somewhat once the seal was in place and she took a deep breath, trying to get her bearings.

The Byakugan had fired on her.

She couldn’t understand why. Her thoughts were still a bit fuzzy but she knew she had hailed the ship, had transmitted her whereabouts. Neji had to have known she was on board, why would he...? A flash of worry lanced through her. Unless something had happened and Neji was no longer in control of the Byakugan.

She paused, unsure of what to do.

A three note tone suddenly sounded in her ear and she winced. It repeated after a few moments and she silenced it with a thought, too off balance and hurting to understand who was hailing her. She needed to regroup, needed to pull her thoughts together. There was something she was supposed to be watching for, something was coming...

A chime sounded in her ear and she felt the docking bay doors opening, allowing someone in through the airlock. There was a brief second where she thought it might be Neji but then she realized, no, the Byakugan was still in orbit and she felt her heart sink. She had dropped the shields and prepared the ship for docking, but it was the Akatsuki that was now attached to her, like a parasite.

“Orochimaru.”

His name sounded in her mind, in the ship’s mind, and the Tsukiyomi reacted to her fear. Mechanical doors slammed shut and locked, lights flipped off, alarm systems were primed, and through it all, Orochimaru stood in her cargo bay and laughed.

“I was unsure before but now I’m certain. You’re here, aren’t you, my pet?”

His voice was oil, a snake’s hiss. Her physical body shivered in it’s computerized cocoon. She could not let him find her. He would take her back, back to his compound, to the room where she could hear no Whispers but her own, where she would create twisted and dark things, cruel weapons, just to have something to talk to. Neji had destroyed those creations when they had broken out of Orochimaru’s compound before, but he would not be there to help her this time. If she was captured alone there was no telling what horrible machines she might give birth to in her madness.

She would kill herself before she let that happen.

Neji walked quickly but steadily towards the starboard weapons bay, his hold on his anger tenuous at best. It could only have been Sasuke or Sakura who had fired on the Tsukiyomi and, of the two, he could guess which of them was more likely. Sasuke had taken the opportunity to try and bring down his brother’s ship and, though Neji could not fault him for wanting revenge for his murdered family, the Byakugan did not belong to Sasuke. He would not see it used as a tool in a grudge match that neither Neji nor his crew had anything to do with. What was worse is that Neji was certain Sasuke would still be firing if Lee hadn’t cut the power to the cannons, which unfortunately also left them practically defenseless with Orochimaru growing closer every minute.

Just before reaching the weapons bay he made a detour into his cabin, kneeling down to pull out a long, thin box from under his bed. He had hidden it there years ago, out of sight of any cameras and away from where even Tenten would look. The box was lead-lined and he had been very careful to not to open it. He had thought never to open it, really. He had taken it on a whim in his escape from Orochimaru’s compound all those years ago. Perhaps he should have destroyed it with the others but, at the time, he had not been sure they would actually survive Orochimaru’s pursuit of them. He had thought that if they were going to die, he was going to take the Torturer with him. With Orochimaru closing in, it seemed the time had come at last to use it.

Pulling back the lid of the box, he gazed down at what looked like a sword, curved slightly and sharp on only one side. The blade was about four feet long and black, like the deepest most part of space. Even now he could not have said what it was made of. The grip was black as well and looked like glass, smooth and shiny. It looked to be an elegant weapon, simple and unadorned, but he knew it was much more than that.

Reaching down, he wrapped his hand around the hilt and drew it forth.

As soon as he touched it, symbols lit up along the length of the blade, engraved in glowing white fire. There was a slight vibration under his palm, a hum of power as the sword came awake and he raised the blade horizontally, reading the runes.

I am the voice in the darkness.

A long time ago, lying near death in Orochimaru’s prison, he’d heard a voice singing in the black. There had been no light in his cell, indeed there had been nothing at all except suddenly that voice. It had been untrained but sweet, singing only a simple lullaby, but as he lay there listening, he understood. He could not die there. He could not allow Gai’s murderer to kill him as well. He had to live, he had to escape, there was still a world out there beyond the cold confines of his cell. There was still beauty, still goodness, still people he cared about. It had been so long since he had heard anything but screaming and the snake’s laughter. If someone could still sing, there in that terrible place, there was still hope.

Neji gripped Nightsong firmly. Tenten had made the sword during her years of torment and slavery under Orochimaru. The Torturer had twisted Tenten’s gift by locking her away, unable to speak, to Whisper, until she had no choice but to create her own companions or go mad with the silence in her head. Months after their escape, she had told him that she had sometimes heard Neji speaking during one of Orochimaru’s torture sessions, when they moved him to a chamber closer to Tenten’s. She could not always understand what Neji said, but his voice had been her anchor, her reminder that she was not completely alone there.

Looking back, he could not be sure what she’d been thinking when she’s created the sword in his hand, but he liked to think it had been meant for him.

Rising to his feet, he turned and headed down the corridor, barely pausing as he took off the comm clipped to his belt and activated it to talk to Lee on the bridge.

“Lee, open the starboard weapons bay door.”

It slid open effortlessly and he moved inside, Nightsong humming in his hand.

Sakura came to all at once. One moment asleep and then the next wide awake. She was still lying on the floor of the weapons bay, her skin cold where it touched the floor. She felt somewhat sore and she mentally cursed Sasuke for hijacking her like that. The thought of him brought a welling of panic inside her. What had he done while she was out?! Twisting slightly, she tilted her head back to look over at the cannon controls when the bay doors slid open with a mechanical hiss and Neji walked in.

He looked like wrath itself and there was a blade in his hand. His pale eyes flickered over her crumbled form before sliding over to where Sasuke stood ready near the cannon. His full body was turned towards Neji and he stood braced as if for impact, dark eyes still angry.

“Why did you stop me?” he growled at the captain. “Itachi is within range. We should be firing.”

Neji’s voice was as hard as metal. “The Byakugan does not answer to you.” His gaze flicked over to Saskura again and she pushed herself up slowly, trying to sit up on her knees. “In any case, your brother is not in control of the Tsukiyomi, Tenten is. You fired on Tenten.”

Sakura gasped, keeping herself upright with one hand against the floor. “Is she alright?”

Neji’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know.” His cold eyes turned back to Sasuke. “You’ve broken the rules of my ship and you attacked one of my crew. By rights, I should kill you.”

Sasuke tensed and shifted onto the balls of his feet. He did not attack though and instead watched Neji warily. The captain stared back at him and Sakura realized suddenly that it was her presence that was keeping Neji from attacking Sasuke with the strange ink-dark sword in his hand. The captain had not expected to find her there.

“We’ll go with you,” she blurted, and both men turned their heads to look at her. “To the Tsukiyomi,” she clarified. Sasuke stilled but Neji lifted his chin, signalling her to continue. She swallowed. “If Tenten is hurt then I can be of help. Sasuke can handle Itachi, whatever has happened to him, and then we can take the Tsukiyomi and be out of your way.” She took a breath, holding Neji’s gaze. “Please. Without bloodshed. Please.”

Neji glanced back at Sasuke who, after a moment, finally relaxed from his battle posture and nodded stiffly. Sakura smothered a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, there was a burst of static from what looked like a comlink on Neji’s belt. Lee’s voice crackled over it. “Captain?”

Neji reached down and unclipped the device. “What is it, Lee?”

“Captain, the Akatsuki has docked with the Tsukiyomi.” Lee sounded anxious. “I couldn’t do anything without hurting the Tsukiyomi as well. I’m sorry, Neji.”

Neji’s grip on the sword in his other hand tightened. “Orochimaru will know she is there. He’ll want to take her back.”

Back, back to his compound, the one Sakura had had Sasuke smuggled out of. She remembered the place, and not fondly.

Lee’s voice crackled over the line. “She won’t let him get far. She can barricade herself inside the ship until we get there.”

“Not if she’s injured,” Neji answered quietly, but he did not press the button to communicate that to Lee. The captain looked over at Sasuke who met his gaze steadily, without fear. Neji lifted the com and spoke to Lee. “Lee, prep the suits,” he ordered. “We’re going for a walk.”

Sakura had never space-walked before and she was pretty sure she never wanted to do so again. The feeling of nothing at all around her, nothing below her was so unsettling that the only thing keeping her from flying into a total panic was the fact that Neji had connected them all together by way of a long tie-line clipped to their suits. No matter what, none of them could drift off, and Sakura hung on to that fact as she floated slowly, ever so slowly across empty space to the Tsukiyomi.

With the Byakugan blocked from docking by the Akatsuki, the only way to reach the Tsukiyomi was to “walk” there and, from what she understood, basically use a special blow torch to penetrate the airlock from the outside and hope Tenten would open the doors for them once they were in.

Neji had the tools they needed slung over his back and he was in the lead, using the small thrusters on his suit to maneuver the line of them over to the Tsukiyomi. She and Sasuke were pulled by his momentum while Lee stayed behind to monitor the situation from the bridge. Right about now, Sakura wished she’d asked to stay behind as well even though she knew that logically she could not. If Tenten really was injured, then she would need a doctor.

Neji had reached the Tsukiyomi’s outer hull and he grabbed on to a long steel bar near the airlock used for maintenance when the the ship was docked planet-side. He clipped a metal tie around the bar to anchor himself and then took the blow torch off his shoulder and started burning a neat door-sized square in the side of the airlock. A moment later, Sasuke reached the bar as well and grabbed on and then turned awkwardly in his bulky suit to look back at her. Whatever he saw on her face made him lift a hand back towards her.

“Sakura.” His voice came through loud and clear over the headset installed in her suit. Her heart tightened in her chest and she raised her arm, letting him pull her the last few feet. She knew, in his own way, that he was apologizing for what had occurred in the weapons room. It may not have been said aloud but that was Sasuke’s way. That he was trying at all was something.

A panel from the ship’s hull abruptly sailed by them and the two of them turned to find Neji motioning at them. Together, the three of them made their way into the airlock, Neji floating over to the door and pressing the release.

Nothing happened.

“Tenten,” he said quietly, knowing that she had to know they were there if she was still interfaced with the ship. Neji had told them that cutting into the ship like that was like cutting into Tenten. He hadn’t wanted to do it but there hadn’t been any other choice. “Open the airlock.”

Sakura felt herself tense as they waited. Were they too late? Had Orochimaru already reached her? But then a light flashed from red to green near the door and it slid back with a hiss. Neji pulled them inside quickly, drawing a blaster from his belt as they floated into the airlock. The room was thankfully empty, however, and the airlock door snapped shut behind them. Oxygen immediately rushed into the room as the pressure stabilized. Once Neji gave them the all-clear, they fumbled out of their suits and drew the guns Neji had supplied them with. They were matching weapons, two laser guns, silver in color, with glowing blue lines etched into them in intricate patterns. The lines seemed to pulse at times, as if they were echoing her heartbeat. They had been Whisper-made by Tenten recently.

Neji had put away the blaster and the black sword was now in his hand as he looked at each of them in turn. “We go together to the interface room. Orochimaru will be headed there if he’s not there already. After that, if you want to pursue Itachi, I will not stop you.” The last was directed at Sasuke who nodded once and she felt her eyebrows lift in surprise. She had thought that as soon as they were aboard he would be off to find Itachi, but perhaps he thought his brother was in the interface room as well. “Orochimaru will have left men to secure the hallways, he won’t have come alone,” Neji continued. “Be on your guard.”

He lifted his blade slightly in a ready position, nodded at the two of them and palmed open the doors leading into the interior of the ship. Gunfire sounded almost immediately and they began the long fight to retake the heart of the Tsukiyomi.

Tenten had shut and locked every door between herself and Orochimaru but it had barely stopped him. He’d planted charges on the doors and had simply blasted his way through them, leaving a man behind every now and then to hold the passageways. Once she thought she’d had him. She had purposefully opened the door to the kitchen area and the moment he’d cautiously stepped inside, she’d slammed the door closed and reversed the oxygen flow out of the room. Instead of suffocating, however, he’d simply pulled out a small, portable oxygen mask and set the charge for the next door, chuckling as if he found her antics amusing. He knew what he was doing to her, the more explosives he used the more damage the ship took and, in turn, the more damage she took. Nothing would show on her physical body, but with her mind interfaced with the ship, it felt like she’d been shot in the chest every time a charge exploded. Neji hacking his way into the airlock had barely registered next to that and she had had to turn her attention away from him as Orochimaru got closer and closer. He was only moments away now and she knew she could not stay in her capsule. He would simply haul the whole thing out of the ship with her still inside.

Taking a breath she faded back into her body and opened her eyes inside the cocoon-bed, staying still as the cover slid over and off. As always, she felt weak upon disconnecting from the ship. Sitting up was a monumental task and immediately she knew. She could not walk.

Tears burning in the back of her eyes, she fumbled herself over the side of the capsule and fell heavily to the floor, muffling the cry that escaped her as she connected with the floor. Shakily pushing herself up on her forearms, she looked around the room. There was nothing. No weapons, nothing except the cocoon and that was no help to her now.

Closing her eyes, she wearily pressed her forehead to the floor. “Shusui, if you’re here, somewhere, I beg of you.” Her voice cracked. “Please help me.”

Overhead the lights went out.

She lifted her head, wide-eyed, and the door to her room slid back revealing Itachi. It was dark in the hallway as well. Apparently the lights had gone out all over the ship. Itachi looked down at her impassively.

“Follow me,” he said and then disappeared. Grunting with effort, she managed to crawl out of the interface room on her belly, using her forearms and her knees to slide herself a foot at a time. Even that exhausted her. She was panting for breath by the time she cleared the doorway.

Down the hall, Itachi reappeared outside another doorway, looked directly at her, and then disappeared again.

Willing herself to keep moving, she slithered down the hallway with painstaking slowness, glancing behind her every so often with each explosion that said Orochimaru was almost upon her. By the time she reached the door Itachi had been standing by, she was practically sobbing, her arms shaking with exhaustion. She was dizzy and her thoughts were starting to scatter as well, a sign that she should have been resting a long time ago.

Hauling herself up against the wall, she reached a hand over her head to palm the door open. It slid back silently and she half-fell inside, just managing to pull her legs in the rest of the way as the door slid closed again. The lights flicked on for her and she wearily got her first good look at the room she had been lead to.

It was an armory.

She Whispered. “On.”

And every mechanized sword, gun, blaster, bow and knife in that room powered on.

It was easy to follow Orocihmaru’s path into the bowels of the ship. He left a trail of destruction as he bombed his way through every locked door. They had picked off eight of Orochimaru’s men and had not come across anymore. Either Orochimaru’s snakes were getting smarter or Neji and his group were catching up.

“The interface room is close,” Sasuke said, his back up against the side of one of the blasted doors. He held his Whispered blaster in both hands, pointed towards the floor. A few feet from him, Sakura made a surprised sound.

“You remember this ship?”

Sasuke looked uncomfortable. “I was here once, when I was very young, before... before.”

“Is there another way to the room? One that would get us there before Orochimaru?” Neji asked quickly. Sasuke blinked and then looked down, thinking.

“To the right,” he said suddenly, nodding towards a small hallway past Neji’s shoulder. “Service corridor. We might make it in time.”

Without a word, Neji plunged into the darkness of the corridor, Sasuke and Sakura right behind. The moment the lights had gone out, Neji had known they were running out of time. Everything felt wrong, dead, and he was certain Tenten was no longer linked to the ship. She would be weak after interfacing with such an advanced system. He had to find her before Orochimaru did. He had to.

He kicked down a flimsy door leading to a maintenance room. They hurried through into the hallway where Neji paused, looking left or right. Each way was clear.

“Which way?” he asked, but Sasuke didn’t answer. Neji glanced over his shoulder to find the other man looking back at him blankly.

“I...” Sasuke shook his head. “I can’t be certain.” Sakura reached out and squeezed his arm.

“We could split up,” she offered. “Search each way?”

“No,” Neji said immediately. “Orochimaru is close. We stay together.”

And then he heard it.

A sweet voice singing softly.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Straight On Till Morning = MONSTER

goldberry — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:57:29 GMT

This story is out of control. That is all.

Dear Muse

goldberry — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 23:48:49 GMT

Dear Muse,

Thanks for leaving me high and dry as a desert for YEARS and then suddenly BANG! BACK TO LIFE with yesterday's post of Straight On Till Morning. I get nothing for the longest time and then OMG MUST WRITE ALL THE THINGS. Smex and missing scenes and side stories and PREQUELS and bad-ass fight scenes. Just. #@(*$#*@@^*@*@. Why couldn't you have done this YEARS AGO? I AM NOT YOUR SLAVE WOMAN. ~~Even though I obviously am.~~ QUIT JERKING ME AROUND LIKE A YO-YO. ~~I've been writing for pretty much 8 hours straight. Send help.~~

Sincerely,

GeeBee

NejiTen, SasuSaku "Straight On Till Morning" Chapter Four

goldberry — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:20:05 GMT

One day I will find my writing mojo again and it won't be months between updates. ONE DAAAAAAY.

TITLE: Straight On Till Morning
SERIES: Naruto
CHARACTERS: NejiTen, SasuSaku, Team Gai, Orochimaru, Itachi
WORD COUNT: 2,974
RATING: PG-13
NOTES: The last line in this chapter is a reference to a similar line from a movie. Gold star (and maybe a fic gift?) to anyone who can tell me the name of the movie. 8D

STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING

The Tsukiyomi was a ghost ship.

She’d felt it the moment she woken up in the strange computerized bed onboard the vessel, cobwebs brushing against her arms as she struggled in a blind panic to free herself from it. Tumbling over the side of the cocoon-like bed, she fell to the cold, dusty floor, looking around at a room that hadn’t been used in years, perhaps had never been used. It was a Whisper Room, like the one on the Byakugan, but it was cramped, the clear plastic encasing much smaller than the one Tenten was used to. It looked older too, out of date.

Pushing herself to her feet, she staggered over to the automatic door, feeling a swell of relief when it opened for her without complications. The corridor outside, however, was completely dark. Only emergency lighting on the floor provided any illumination so she kept one hand on the wall as she moved away from the Whisper Room, listening for the sound of a crew.

There was none.

Only a deep sense of time, of neglect, the halls dark and musty. Even the ship’s voice was silent. How could the vessel have fired on them without a crew? Was it only Itachi on board? It might explain the decay, if there was only one active crew member.

Fumbling along in the semi-darkness, she finally made her way to a set of large windows where she paused, halted momentarily by the vast beauty of space that looked back at her. Twinkling stars and the multi-colored curls of galaxies decorated the view and she exhaled, her eyes drawn to a speck of light that seemed to be moving towards them at a steady pace.

“Orochimaru.”

She startled, one hand moving to her throat as she turned to look at Itachi. He was standing next to her, watching the speeding star move across space. Looking at him, he seemed real and looked solid, but there was just a feeling of... impermanence, as if time was slowly ticking down on some invisible clock.

“He’s coming for your brother,” she said quietly. “And perhaps me as well. Is that why you brought me here?”

Itachi finally turned to look at her, his eyes as black as the space that was reflected in them. “This ship is a tool of utmost destruction. It was designed by a Whispered and, when piloted by one, it is unstoppable.”

Tenten’s eyebrows rose in surprise. She had guessed the ship had had a Whispered pilot by the presence of the interface room, but built by one as well? The Whispered were a rare race and their machines were even more rare. To have built such a large space ship spoke of immeasurable power.

“So that’s why it’s voice is so strong,” she said softly, thinking aloud. She caught and held Itachi’s look. “Who was the Whispered?”

“His name was Shisui. We grew up together.”

Tenten read between the lines and her expression hardened. “He gave you this ship and you used it to destroy your own planet, killing your entire family.”

Itachi’s expression didn’t so much as flicker. “All but one.” He turned back to the window, watching the bright spark of Orochimaru’s ship as it grew closer.

“Why?” she asked, an almost pleading note bleeding into her voice before she could stop it. “Such a gift as this ship... Why use it to kill? And your own family? I cannot believe, as a Whispered, that your friend would have wished for such a thing.” It was true that most Whispered were employed by the military, to create machines and weapons to be used in warfare, but she had never heard of a Whispered knowingly creating an entire ship to be used to wipe out a whole planet. Such a great sin could never be erased. Had Shisui known what Itachi would do with his gift?

“My family was very traditional. As royalty, we were expected to be the strongest of our people, the most powerful, the most ruthless. As a child, Sasuke was not this way. He was earnest, always struggling for our father’s favor.” Itachi paused. “Innocent. The elders decreed that Sasuke would grow up to be weak and spoiled and that he had to be sacrificed for the good of the clan. It was not uncommon for the blood of younger sons to be offered up to the gods in payment to keep the clan strong. My father was troubled but I knew, in the end, he would heed the clan's wishes.”

“So you murdered them first.” Tenten murmured, unsure if she was more horrified at the Uchiha elders or Itachi’s actions.

“The elders were useless.” Itachi’s voice dripped with condescension. “And my father was weak. He could not see past the ancient laws. I told him that I would oppose him should he try to take Sasuke’s life.” Dark eyes found hers. “He did not listen.”

“Sasuke thinks you murdered them all without cause, that you are a traitor,” she told him, watching his face.

He looked at her steadily. “I am. In my efforts to thwart the elders, I killed many who were innocent. At the time I did not fully understand the capabilities of a Whispered-made ship.” His hand reached out to touch one of the curved, cool walls. “I do now.”

“If you’ve been protecting your brother all this time, why did you fire on us?”

“I wanted to get your attention and I needed to learn the extent of your abilities. Battle is the only place you can truly know someone.”

She huffed and turned her head to watch the Akatsuki as it grew ever closer. It was still just a pinpoint of light but soon she would be able to make out the shape of it, the terribly familiar black and red cloud sigil near it’s nose.

“What is it you brought me here to do, Itachi?” she asked, feeling tired. She had a feeling she already knew what it was.

He turned slightly to look down at her, impassive and completely transparent.

“I want you to destroy Orochimaru.”

She licked her suddenly dry lips. “With this ship.”

“With this ship,” he confirmed.

“To save your brother?”

“To save you all.”

Her eyes widened and she studied her companion more closely. He looked back at her openly and, for the first time, she understood what it was she had been feeling.

“You’re dying,” she blurted out, surprised, but a moment later she shook her head and took a step back, the blood draining from her face. “No, that’s not right, you’re-”

“Dead,” he supplied, unruffled.

“How..How are you...?” she croaked, motioning at the vision of him in front of her.

“As I have said,” he repeated quietly, his voice echoing in the empty hallway, “this ship is very, very special.”

Neji was not pacing. He was not shouting or cursing or doing anything reckless, he was merely standing on the bridge, looking out the bay windows, pale eyes unreadable, focused. Sakura didn’t think he’d moved at all in the last ten minutes and, frankly, it was starting to creep her out. She wasn’t sure just what she had been expecting, but she thought Tenten’s disappearance would elicit some sort of response. But it was as if Neji had turned to stone, cold and distant, and that was almost more terrifying as she couldn’t anticipate what he might do.

Even Lee seemed tense in Neji’s presence, rubbing at the bandages around his waist in agitation. He was seated in the pilot’s chair, running scans with Sakura standing at his shoulder, watching to make sure he didn’t reopen his wound with all his itching and rubbing.

“The Tsukiyomi is still in orbit,” Lee announced. “She’s powered down and not responding to hails.” He’d been searching for the ship ever since Tenten had been found missing.

“We don’t think she’s there,” she glanced at Lee, “do we? I mean, why would she go there?”

“She might have been lured there,” Lee answered, but he sounded doubtful. “When she’s interfaced with the ship, Tenten’s mind can be vulnerable to someone who understands a Whispered’s abilities. Perhaps-”

“She did not go anywhere,” Neji spoke suddenly, startling them both. “She was taken.” He turned slightly, eyeing the two of them with steel in his gaze. “Her physical body is gone, therefore, someone or something physically removed her from the ship.”

“But nothing shows on the scans,” Lee said, a note of worry in his voice. He played back the recording they had pulled from the camera in the weapons room. One moment Tenten lay in her pod, the next she was just gone, almost as if a section had just been deleted, but Lee had verified that the recording had not been tampered with.

“I don’t see how it could have been Itachi,” Sakura murmured. “He shouldn’t even know Tenten exists let alone that she is a Whispered. They hadn’t encountered each other before today.”

One of Lee’s monitors beeped and a warning symbol flashed onto the screen. The mechanic leaned forward and tapped a few keys to bring up a different scan. His eyes grew wide in his round face. “Neji, the Akatsuki is approaching. It will be within range of the Tsukiyomi in fifteen minutes.”

“Orochimaru?!” Sakura exclaimed, feeling herself go pale. How had he tracked them this far? Had his spy, Kabuto, managed to get out another message before Sasuke killed him?

If Neji had been cold before, hearing Orochimaru’s name turned him to ice. “Lee, launch the ship. Get us into orbit near the Tsukiyomi. If either Itachi or Orochimaru has her...” he trailed off, his eyes flashing white silver.

I will destroy them.”

Tenten laid herself down in the Tsukiyomi’s dusty cocoon-bed once again, watching with trepidation as the cover slid up and over, sealing her inside. Now that she knew what the Tsukiyomi was, she was hesitant to link with it. She had never before piloted anything made entirely by a Whispered. She, herself, had only ever made guns, personal weapons for individuals, never something this large and complicated. When a Whispered created something, they linked with it, listened to it and fashioned it according to what they heard. You could almost say the things the Whispered created actually created themselves. If Shisui had indeed built the Tsukiyomi himself, then it was very possible some part of him yet lingered within it, an impression of his mind imprinted in the ship’s system. It frightened her, a little, to face him, another Whispered, when she was at her most vulnerable - interfaced with a foreign ship.

Still, she didn’t have much of a choice. Orochimaru would soon arrive and, though she did not trust Itachi, she too wanted to be free of the snake’s grasp, just as Itachi wanted his brother to be free. She would not allow Orochimaru to hurt anyone else, if she could help it.

Taking a breath, she closed her eyes and tried to relax, reaching out to the neglected ship gently. It opened to her mind slowly, revealing itself layer by layer and with each passing second Tenten could feel the power of it, dormant and sleeping now but wakening. One by one she coaxed each of the ship’s systems to life, listening as it Whispered to her of cold, blank space and black fire. She soothed it, smoothing over the rough edges, working out the kinks. She was moving with haste though as she knew Orochimaru was getting closer and she wished she had more time to learn and study the things she was seeing. Never before had she seen a ship like this. The Byakugan was a beautiful, strong ship but it had not been made for or by a Whispered. She and Lee had had to modify its weapons room to accommodate the interface capsule and Tenten had wired the link to the ship herself. The Tsukiyomi was different. Every line, every wire, every memory chip had been built by a Whispered. Tenten could easily get lost in this ship, it was so easy to move within. She could lose herself and would never even realize it to regret it.

Something drew her attention to the left and she floated to the bridge, flicking on the lights as computer screens flipped on and systems whirred with power. A proximity alert flashed before her and she felt an immense relief well up inside her at the familiar silver ship on the monitor. She could feel it now, coming closer and the Tsukiyomi flared to life in response to her joy.

For the first time in long, dark years, the Tsukiyomi sang.

“Neji,” she whispered, and then she Whispered, reaching out in the space between them to the ship, and the man, she called home.

“Sasuke, wait, what are you doing?!” Sakura asked, trying to keep up with him as Sasuke barreled towards one of the Byakugan’s real weapon bays, a thin corridor on either side of the ship that allowed manual access to the ship’s two photon cannons mounted on the wings. The moment Sasuke had learned that they were closing in on the Tsukiyomi he had taken off, his aura focused and intent. Even then, Sakura had not been too worried but then she had noticed it. The tattoo, the black scar on Sasuke’s shoulder had grown. More squiggly comma-shaped marks had appeared, crawling over his shoulder and halfway up his neck. What’s worse is that Sasuke didn’t even seem to notice, all his attention fixed on Itachi and the ship coming into range. Even mention of Orochimaru had not been able to slow him.

“I have to stop him,” he said darkly, and he was not so much speaking to her as to himself. “He can’t be allowed to continue. It’s time for it be over.”

The starboard side weapons bay door whooshed open for them and Sakura hurriedly followed him inside, a sinking feeling in her gut. “Sasuke, please, wait, we don’t know what’s happening out there. Tenten’s missing and Orochimaru’s ship is closing in as well. We should go up to the bridge and-”

“Go up if you want to, Sakura,” Sasuke snarled, “but I am an avenger. My brother will not leave this battlefield.”

Sakura snapped at him. “You are not the captain here, Sasuke. This is not your ship. These people have been kind to us, it’s not the place for-”

He was behind her so fast she never saw him move. A breath of cool air ruffled the ends of her hair and she felt him hit several points of her nervous system in rapid succession. She tried to call his name but she could not get her voice to work, even as her legs buckled underneath her and she felt his arms catch her and lower her with surprising gentleness to the floor.

“Sorry, Sakura, but I can’t let you stop me.”

She felt him tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear and then her world went black.

The Tsukiyomi was a beacon. The moment the Byakugan had come within range, it had burst into life across every sensor, all systems go. It shone on the monitors, it’s energy levels ridiculously high and the moment he saw it, Neji knew.

“Tenten,” he said quietly.

Lee made a sound of surprise. “She’s there?”

Neji nodded. He had seen something come to life like that before, an entire wing of Orochimaru’s compound, every machine buzzing, every computer beeping, anything close enough to Tenten to feel her influence suddenly powering on. It had been on the day he’d broken into the specially built prison Orochimaru had been holding her in, finally able to see, for the first time, the owner of the voice that had saved him from going mad in his own prison.

“She’s there,” he said, absolutely certain. A smile broke across Lee’s face just as his monitor beeped, flashing something across the screen. “She’s sending docking coordinates. She’s lowering the shields if we want to dock before the Akatsuki arrives.”

Neji paused for a moment. “She means to fight?”

Lee sobered, meeting Neji’s gaze. “It seems so, and with the Tsukiyomi. Somehow.” Lee shook his head, puzzled, but then his face cleared a bit as something else flashed across his screen. “She asks if the captain would like to come aboard?”

Neji felt himself relax. He wasn’t sure what Tenten’s plan was, but he trusted her. If she was going to stand against Orochimaru, he would as well. He knew she would explain just how she had gotten control of Itachi’s ship when she could.

“Alright. Tell her-”

There was no warning. The overhead active fire alarm rang and the ship rocked as a cannon on the starboard side suddenly started firing in rapid succession, pure white photon charges speeding across the intervening space towards the Tsukiyomi. They exploded against the side of the other ship in a way that would not have been possible had its shields been up. Neji’s heart clenched in his chest and for a moment, just a brief moment, he almost thought he could hear Tenten screaming.

“Lee, lock down both of the weapon bays. Cut the power to the canons,” he ordered, and Lee scrambled to obey. “Try to hail her again.” He turned and headed for the steps leading down off the flight deck, his face a cold hard mask of wrath.

I’ve got something to sort out.”

TO BE CONTINUED.

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

goldberry — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 03:56:10 GMT

So, uhm, I somehow forgot how awesome this show was back in the day, but I recently started re-watching it and OMG ALL THE FEELS. I'm sorry, Sully! I will never again forget your luxurious Fabio-like locks. ♥ Seriously though, brings back all the childhood memories. I'm pretty sure I shipped Sully and Dr. Mike before I even knew what shipping was.

Plus the theme music is lovely.

Onwards to 2013!

goldberry — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 01:22:43 GMT

Happy Last Day of 2012! THANK GAWD, is all I can say. ♥