[closed log]there is no guide to being friends

[dropofmetal]

Who: Neji and Tenten
What: Tenten gets into a bit of trouble and Neji, nearby, saves her....which causes him to show his angel-ness.
Where: Beach.
When: Yesterday.
Warnings: None, really. Only that NEJI AND TENTEN'S BFF PWNS ALL OTHER BFF. fo sho.

The beach was misty and gray on such an early morning, the sound of seagulls hardly cracking in the distance through the thick blanket of white fog. It still held the careful traces of winter breaking to spring, and Neji was sensitive enough to feel a sun behind the clouds that would break later that day, even when it couldn't be seen. It offered very little light, but enough to highlight the deep green of the sea, and the white of the foam crashing onto the beach.

Neji had been standing off the coast for a good twenty minutes, eyes cast to a horizon that was obscured by curtains of droplets, each one readily identified by his too-precise vision.

It was cold; he could feel that now. Neji wasn't sure if it was the numb stage that was the most painful (for the absence of feeling had been with him very long; having felt what this body could, he found that he quite liked sensation--it made him feel alive) or the stinging cold that had assaulted him upon his first step into the icy waters. It was calming, though, feeling the pulse of the waves under his feet. He was about forty steps out, and the island shelf had long since dropped off into the deeper waters of the sea. He'd been rather occupied with the fish for the first several minutes of his stay, but their movements had been unordered, sporadic. He preferred to watch the mist disappear and reveal landmasses unique onto themselves: prominent and changing slowly, as real things did. Fish were so transient.

The effort it took to stand solidly on the water was little, though it still took a toll on him since his injury. He'd needed to get out though---Sasuke's apartment was getting smaller, and he couldn't stay knowing just how easily he could undo himself in that presence.

Besides, the salt air did him good. And the ocean was said to be the cradle of life.

Though tomorrow was the first day of Spring, Winter was bitterly hanging on.

Tenten could tell, as she shivered through her wetsuit when a cold breeze eased by her. Her numb fingers clutched to the white and blue surfboard, straddling it as she allowed herself to be taken away by the ocean. The waves had been particularly been rough today, perhaps indicating that she shouldn't be here in the first place. Tenten refused that thought and quickly shook it out of her mind, as she thought back on how she pestered a friend to lend her their surfboard. Sure, it was going to take a week worth of food, but it was worth it. Feeling the waves slap against her thighs and the salt in the back of her throat made her feel alive.

The ocean breeze again swirled around her, making her too-wet (and extremely cold) hair tied in a modest pony-tail evident on her back. A violent shivered erupted through her body and her teeth chattered a bit, but there was nothing that could stop the feeling inside her from bubbling. Out here...it was all natural. No metal, no people, no cities, no buildings. It was just her and the ocean. Tenten smiled.

The fog that had stayed overnight was still making its round as Tenten continued to drift, feeling giddy and happy. She again sat another wave out, her too-numb legs not feeling the urge to stand up and actually ride it out. Her wind-blown cheeks was starting to sting and her eyes were getting watery, so she started to paddle towards the direction she assumed was shore. After a few minutes of paddling, Tenten had stopped, her shoulders suddenly gripped with ice and her mind numb from the air. Her throat now seemed to be overseasoned with salt.

There was someone standing. On water.

Tenten couldn't seem to breathe, for the familiar clear and holy buzz was unmistakenable, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. Her knuckles were turning white as she continued to float there, her breaths coming in little puff of fog as she continued to stay on. However, she failed to notice the building wave raging behind her until it was too late. Tenten was tossed into the ocean, her surfboard yanking on her ankle and keeping her from sinking further down. However, it didn't make her float.

She was content on floating there, her body unable to find the strength to move. Tenten was insane. Insane. That was the only logical explanation.

There was a very sudden shockwave of distress through the ocean. Neji could feel it climb up his legs and into his senses like a very heavy shock of thunder that was abruptly cut off at the source.

His eyebrows knit briefly, expression turning pointedly intent for a short moment before he took a few splashing steps in the direction that such a shock had come from. He wasn't far, but couldn't see that point clearly through the fog--though whatever had been in the water to cause it moments before had been smoothed over by the crashing of the waves. They were large, and he almost wanted to will them to be calm, but weather was one thing he refused to touch. It was not his dominion, and brushing a gust of wind here or there could blow clouds from some distant valley that needed rain. And Neji had dealt with paperwork problems like that before--he was in no way willing to make a mess that would cause one.

Estimating where the feeling had come from, he stopped walking and looked directly down. The water was a pale green and hardly clear, but Neji's eyes were better than most, and it didn't take human senses to feel the harsh stagger of a heart beneath the water. A heart whose beating was oddly calm before it started to stagger. A human heart.

He recognized that face and didn't hesitate in submerging his hands, kneeling on the surface tension of the water to pull her up and out of the liquid coffin. She wasn't breating and Neji, though still rather poorly versed in human fuctions, knew that breathing was essential for this stage of life. The shore was a long way off, and his last transportation hadn't gone so well, so he laid her carefully on the water, his power sustaining her as her hair floated beneath, and made her breathe again.

It was simple. He barely had to think it. There was water in her lungs, and he told it to get out.

It did.

Tenten could breathe. She couldn't even being to think, nor could she move. Her body vehemently refused to listen to her. Something in her seemed to be grappling for her life, on the edge of slipping down into the abyss where she would never come out. A fleeting thought of so this is what's its like to die crossed her mind before she surrendered herself to her senses.

However, something told her otherwise.

The violent reaction that shook her body jolted her mind out of its daze, her eyes barely opened before it squinted itself back shut. Her throat burned as ocean water came up, the salt slick on her tongue as it forced itself out of her lungs. It hurt. Tenten coughed and gasped, absentmindedly feeling water on her knuckles before her fingers lifted to feel her throat, trying to sooth the pain that seemed to ripple across her mind violently. Slowly, her mind seemed to crawl to conclusions, but not before Tenten opened her eyes.

A blurry image started to form in her vision, but not before the buzzing of metal forced itself infront of her mind. It was..familar and soothing, almost like chimes blowing in the spring breeze. Tenten wanted to smile, but instead coughed violently.

It was then she could vaguely feel the ocean beneath her, panic slowly threading in her veins, but not before she peered up at the figure. She continued to study it--no, him--before tilting her head to the side. A smile started to make her way to her face (though she had no idea why, she was ontop of the ocean for God's sake) as she remembered who exactly had saved her. "Hey," Tenten said, voice raspy. "I remember you."

Humans were really quite brilliant creatures, Neji thought after a moment of ignoring her bland statement and checking her other vital signs with a sweep of his eyes. Inches from death and still they pointed out the most obvious of details. But then, Neji had written down thousands of thoughts from thousands of moments similar to this one, and none of them had really been much more clear. None of them had ever been much more meaningful. He almost felt disdain before he realized what she had said. That she remembered him.

Surely she hadn't yet noticed that they were sitting on the surface fo the ocean.

Either way, Neji knew he had crossed that very delicate line between human understanding and human ignorance. At least for this girl, whose name he didn't even know. He had revealed himself the moment he helped her in such away. Acting upon her like this flipped the switch so to speak, and Neji grimaced internally. His good streak was making him feel very irritated these days, though the soft glow he got from having saved her hardly faded and seemed to imbed itself in his chest.

At least he had saved someone somewhat useful--at least she had a good enough taste in books--despite her accurate yet ridiculous statements upon the return to life.

"Are you all right." He asked, helping her sit up and ignoring the fact that now his (Sasuke's?) pants were wet, not to mention all of her and--his wings twitched--that he was awkwardly exposed in the only way that an angel could be these days.

Tenten just sat there, ignoring his question for now as she tried to regain her breath. It seemed to be snatched away from her too quickly and her mind fumbled with her thoughts. Everything that was being registered in her mind was only resulting into a big glob of mush, something that no one would ever be able to sort through. Instinct told her to get away from him, but she knew better than that. Years of training your mind and body could have great positive effects.

She took a staggering breath in, feeling confident that she wasn't going to die anytime soon before glancing at him. "I'm...all right," Tenten said, choosing her words carefully, for her tongue seemed to be uncooperative at the moment. Her tongue wet her lips and strands of hair clung to the sides of her face as she continued sitting there, regaining her bearings. She almost died. Died.

Well, she wouldn't be telling her Grandfather that anytime soon.

Her gaze was well on the ground--no, ocean surface--when her mind seemed to snap painfully in place and she had fully realize they were ontop of the ocean. Tenten gripped his arm in surprise, though it was not out of fear. Plus, her grip was soft, so Tenten didn't really know why her reactions seemed to be dulled. She caught sight of his reflection on the beautiful glimmering surface, her eyes trailing the shadow of it before it flickered up.

Wings.

It was beautiful, a sight that took her breath away. "Are you an angel?" Tenten's question left her mouth before she could stop herself, her eyes wide with curosity as she switched her attention back to him.

Bit too perceptive, this one.

Neji sighed, though it was quite a bit less exaggerated than the same gesture from anyone else would have been. He rubbed hsi forehead and moved his hands so that they were around her wrists, moving her easily so that she was no longer seated in the water, but standing on it. She was dripping--soaked--and it was cold, but she was wearing some kind of...what was it exactly? Skin? A special skin that kept her protected? He wasn't quite sure what she had been doing in the middle of the ocean to begin with (and vaguely wondered what kind of human he had saved) but did not ask, merely tried to settle on a way to answer her question.

Well, obviously the right way. The correct way. As he could not lie.

A bit irritating at times, that. Yet it seemed as if the giant white wings may have been something of a tipoff as to his status, if the walking-on-water bit hadn't been.

"I am." He finally answered, looking around to see if there were more of her kind anywhere in the vicinity. But there wouldn't be, would there? As they were standing in the middle of the ocean. She was dripping on him. That proved it.

"Perhaps you should keep this information to yourself." Neji said after a moment, his voice sounding slightly tight. "Now that you..." have tricked me into revealing myself, "know." He honestly didn't need some human trying to capatialze on this. She didn't seem the sort, but it was difficult to tell with some of them.

"Maybe we should...get off the water."

Get off water. Good idea.

Tenten nodded, droplets of water flying off her hair as she contemplated on how to bring her surfboard back. Her friend would with out a doubt be mad (no no, more like furious) that she had managed to lose the board, so perhaps it was better if she just carried it. With her ankle, she tugged back towards her and a swift motion, scooped it up from the ocean. Her fingers were incredibly numb as she carried it with her and her legs seemed to be trembling (the ocean looked very, very deep) as they made their way to the shore.

Her lower lip trembled with effort as she tried to hold onto the slick board, her mind not at all helpful as it whirled with thoughts and theories. He was an angel. He admitted it. Of course, he couldn't have lied about that, but still...Tenten glanced at the gold band on his wing, letting its humming sooth her over once again.

As soon as they hit the sandy shore, Tenten let herself collasp to the ground, the board with next to her. Her bottom now on solid land, Tenten was now able to think freely and breathe with out caution. He was afraid she would tell (of course, it was the same to her), though who exactly would believe her? No one, that's one. Plus, Tenten wasn't too keen on spouting off people's secrets. She had too many on her own.

She hesitated before she spoke, shyly glancing up at him before continuing, "Thank you for saving me," Tenten buried her toes into the sand. "And I still don't know your name."

He watched her scoop up her wooden...whatever it was (Neji eyed it carefully; it seemed rather useless and had a fin like a shark, but was not a shark, and therefore much more vexing for him) and watched her carefully as they returned to shore. When she collapsed onto the sand, either from the shock fo her near-death experience or his admission, Neji frowned and bent down carefully to look at her. She didn't seem hurt, and he wasn't about to do anything sudden, like check her over for injuries or miraculously have her in warm (normal) dry clothing out of nowhere.

Neji was actually feeling rather tired from all this exertion, and was irritated at the knowledge that it was from that damned creature whose wound still had not healed entirely. He rubbed his shoulder, and looked up when she thanked him.

Polite, as well. He thought he knew that from previous encounters. Neji felt as if he'd lost so much time over the last several weeks. Like remaining with Sasuke had sent him into some kind of stasis or a limbo. A different world.

This one was cold, and the sand was getting between his toes in a very uncomfortable way.

"I'm the M--" he paused, swallowed, and corrected himself. "Neji. My name is Neji." No use to keep it out of circulation; his title was superfulous here and the name that only God had called him seemed to be thrown all over the place these days. "And yours?" He wanted to tell her that they should get out of the sand, that she should get some place warm and away from the ocean, because she obviously ahd problems with breathing oxygen as opposed to seawater. But she was vulnerable and breakable in that moment, and telling her to do anything seemed a bit callous. Not that he wasn't, but Neji understood what it felt like to be drowning and suddenly know air.

"Neji," Tenten said softly to herself before repeating it louder, smiling at him. "Neji. Thank you for saving me, Neji." Neji the Angel. Well, there were going to be interesting days ahead of her.

She wiggled her toes in the sand, realizing that she liked the ocean a lot better than land. Though she did almost die, it certainly wasn't the ocean's fault. It was her, being to careless, and him, who was standing on water. It would had given anyone a fright and lose their bearings. Tenten closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, regaining control over herself once more. It was dangerous when her mind was lose and free, letting her thoughts and emotion wander around aimlessly. The results were sometimes rather violent.

Tenten prayed there were no buses around.

"My name is Tenten," She said, again feeling a bit....shy (what else would you call it?) around the angel. She was still fascinated by his wings, but felt that it was quite impolite for her to stare at them. After all, it was a natural part of him, something that was to be treated with respect, no matter how weird it made the situation seem. Tenten, quite pleased with herself by that thought, smiled to herself before turning to him.

"Are...are you afraid of me telling everyone else?" Tenten smiled sadly, knowing that her thoughts mirrored her own words. If someone found out that she was a human magnet, well...that would be bad.

Yes, really bad.

She seemed to be enjoying herself. In the sand. In the cold.

He really never would understand humans, but she was kind in a naturally oblivious way--a happy way that seemed to disregard all nature of sorrow that one was bogged down with in heaven. It was refreshing and he was glad that he knew her name now. Glad that he'd chosen her to leave messages for, and reasonably pleased that he'd saved her. She was the girl that stared, though, and he briefly considered making his wings disappear just so she could concentrate. He remembered quite clearly that she had been rather...easily distracted on their previous meetings. Always staring out into space or something of the like.

"Afraid?" He mimicked, watching her with an even, calm gaze. No, he wasn't afraid. He didn't know fear in the same sense that humans did, and even if she did tell someone, it was likely that they would not believe her. "No," he said. "Concerned. For you. If you told, I doubt anyone would believe you." And perhaps those that did may put her in danger. After all, angels weren't the only otherworldy forces on this beautiful rock.

"Don't you want to go back." To...wherever warmth you came from, he thought. Because he was getting cold now, and his shoulder was aching and he felt a certain obligation to make sure she was all right hereafter. "I stay somewhere near here." Or, he had been. Before. "It's warm." If it was still standing after leaving Naruto alone so long. Neji wasn't sure he should extend the invitation, but the two of them were connected in more ways than one, now. On several instances. Perhaps he was meant to keep an eye on her, if indeed the Lord was still maintaining his employment.

Go back. To her apartment? Tenten tried not to cringe.

She eyed him carefully before a mental boot had connected with her brain, realizing that it was very cold. He was probably cold as well, angel or not. With that, Tenten felt herself starting to shiver. However, her gaze remained on his wings (they were still beautiful), trailing the structure before landing on the metal band, again losing herself in the lovely tune it was making. She wanted to sigh, but stopped herself before allowing her mind out of her grasp.

"Are you cold?" Tenten said with concern, realizing that he was not at all well. Neji, in her mind, was slightly off, now that she looked at him. He seemed tired and eager to leave, though Tenten could not blame him. She bit her lip. Did something happen to him? She didn't want to pry. They had only met and Tenten did not want him to be out of her life forever yet. There were still things to discover.

"Are you..all right?" She inquired softly, looking him over quickly. "You don't look so well." Tenten's concerned gaze only seemed to sharpen her senses, as she continued to eye him.

She seemed to be gaining perception, Neji thought mildly as he watched her look him over. He nodded once slowly--he was cold, but not freezing. Numb, maybe (though he had been numb most of his existence, and that was not what this felt like) with the brittle edge that it seemed coldness gave him. He didn't know much about warming up, but he knew what was making him cold and could certainly get away from that. Besides, her body was more succeptible to the tiny bugs that made humans sick now that it was cold and the immune system was suppressed and sluggish. He supposed that it was the same for him.

"I'll be all right." He said, giving his shoulder a final rub (which did very little to help the dull ache) before letting his hand drop. "It's just an old injury that hasn't healed fully."

Noticing that she hadn't answered his question, yet had expressed concern, Neji took a few steps toward the edges of the beach, in the direction of the space he shared with Naruto. It was on the beach, but not this part--a place more populated, but not completely. It was nice, he supposed. More calm than where he had been staying with Sasuke, but more suited to Naruto than him.

"What is that wood for." He asked, nodding to her board with curiosity.

Tenten gave the tiniest of nods at his assurance of being all right and she took it. Her toes, which were still fully buried in the sand, was starting to feel the scratchy grains of sand, indicating that the water that was on her was becoming dry. Well, her feet were becoming dry, anyway. She pulled them out and with mild amusement saw them covered with golden specks, feeling oddly nostalgic as she reached down to brush it off. It was just a day, like any other day, going to the beach and doing things alone. How long it seemed to think that she had the beach to share with someone.

"Hm?" She glanced at the forgotten surfboard by her side, noting that it was still attached to her ankle. Tenten took the brace off, a bit sheepish on trying to explain the concept of surfing. "It's called a surfboard. People use it to surf, to ride the waves." She motioned to the ocean infront of them.

Since they couldn't obviously walk on water like Neji can, Tenten thought that the idea of it maybe a bit abstract for him. She pondered the thought for a moment, but not before going back to finishing brushing the sands away from her feet and stood up. He was going somewhere and she felt her feet follow him before being asked to. It was quite rude and Tenten didn't want to intrude on anything, yet he was pulling her alone like a toy-train connected with a string. Tenten was tempted to drag her surfboard because of that.

But it was not hers, so she picked it up and silently wondered they were going. "That...gold on your wing," Tenten said quietly, glancing at it before looking at it. "What does it mean?"

Neji briefly tried to picture what she had described, but his mind stopped short at the images he already had of the sea: parting beneath the hands of Moses, surging beneath the feet of his Lord. He found it briefly amusing that humans had tried to emulate that--Jesus walking on water. But such a thing would be transient for them, certainly. He couldn't imagine the waves being kind to them, but perhaps it was the danger that drew them. Looking at the girl next to him, he couldn't make himself be surprised.

He took her along the beach, suprised that she was coming with him. She was curious, wasn't she? He supposed so; he was a bit curious of her as well (after all, he was living in this world now) but mostly cold and tired and ready to be away from the blast of wind and memories that weren't really his own. He looked back when she asked about the cuff half-buried in his feathers.

"It's a mark of my station." He told her. He had a couple of those. This one supposedly marked him as an archangel, though Neji was unsure if the others had a similar band, or something else. He was half-aware that it had been given to him at the same time as the mark on his forehead, but the connection was not something he wished to see. It had been pointed out too many times by his enemies.

"You were looking at it, before." He said, "When you didn't know I was an angel, weren't you." It was more of a statement than a question. "How did you know it was there?"

Station? Like a..job? Tenten rolled what he had just said in her mind, trying to grasp the meaning of it fully. Angels all in all were in a new concept to her, but Tenten's mind furiously went to work, sorting through her common sense, common knowledge, and things people believed in humans. Her Grandfather was a great believer, always trying to persuade her into going to church with him every Sunday. She did go, but after the first several visits, the girl had drifted away. She remembered the vast paintings, the tainted-windows, and the statues that loomed over them (she thought they were errie, but to them, it probably radiated protectiveness). They were worshiping a painting of someone they thought they knew. Tenten thought it was ridiculous.

Oh. She would have to apologize to her Grandfather later.

Tenten again tried to think of her knowledge of angels and figured she really did know nothing about them. Faint images appeared, from the times where her Grandfather tried in vain to capture her interest to come to church with him. The little girl back then agreed they were pretty, but she never really believed they were real. Faith was not in her vocabulary. His voice broke her out of her thoughts, startling her on not predicting that question coming. Tenten bit her lip.

"I, uh," Tenten's mouth was extremely dry and she felt the need to lie. But that wouldn't be very....good, lying to an angel. No brownie points to refer to God then. She licked her lips nervously, her mind slowly ticking to a halt. "I...just knew it was there. I felt it there. ...Does that make sense?"

He narrowed his eyes onto of her, discerning the vague information he was getting. She could be a descendant of those angels that had drifted from God and made offspring with mortal women, but he couldn't know for sure. There weren't many humans gifted with that kind of power---it was probably unique only to her, though there may be others here with similar traits. Sensing metal? Seeing metal? He wondered what else she could do.

"Yes." He answered her question. They'd reached the bungalow and Neji put a hand on the door. Though it was locked, it opened immediately. Should he ask her if she wanted to come inside, or should he just walk in? She looked fine, but she'd followed him here, and sending her away seemed a bit rude. Not that Neji was familiar with human etiquitte just yet.

"Do you want to come in." He said rather blankly, looking at her curiously as he tipped his head to the side. "There's probably something warm you can drink." Or at least there would be ramen. If nothing else. He didn't sense Naruto's presence, and Neji really had no idea what he would find. He'd been away a long time, and frankly he was a bit surprised that Naruto hadn't come out looking for him. That the blonde wasn't here made him slightly curious, but he supposed Naruto must have found a job by now. Or doing things that Naruto did.

Oh, a bungalow. Tenten felt the prick of wonder, tilting her head to the side wanting to catch the full view of it. She remembered in her early college years wanting to rent one, but never having the money. Well, that was lie. She did have the money, but she was to live off of spam the next two months, something that Tenten could not even bear to start to think about. Goosebumpes had rippled over her arm, but it was not from that memory. The wetsuit still contained a lot of water, making her body feel extremely heavy and extremely cold.

"Oh!" Tenten felt surprised at his invitation. Neji seemed to be the type that was overly cautious and she was a bit surprised that he had extended it out to her. She placed the surfboard vertically down next to her, leaning on it pondering. It would seem rude to deny the invitation, though if she did go through with it, she was probably going to be interrupting something. After all, he seemed tired and cold and Tenten did not want to stop him from getting any rest. He looked like he needed it.

"No, it's all right." She assured him, drumming her fingers on the backside of the surfboard. They would be seeing each other, wouldn't they? It wasn't like he was going to disappear from the face of the Earth the next day.

...

"Thank you though, but I wouldn't want to intrude," Tenten continued, not letting her thoughts unnerve her. "Thank you again for saving me."

Neji felt himself nod once, slightly relieved. "Of course." He said. It was his moral obligation to save her. Now that he knew she was going to be all right, he could go back to the sea of thoughts that he'd been trying to overcome before he'd sensed her presence. Besides, they would see each other again, he had a feeling. She'd already come into the bookstore twice, and she apparently liked the ocean.

He offered her his version of a smile: something weak and strained, like his lips didn't quite know how to work it. But it was enough. "I might see you soon, Tenten." He said. He didn't need to remind her to be careful. Didn't think of giving her further instruction to keep their meeting quiet. He found no need.

As he closed the door and turned around (more than prepared to find the place in ruins) Neji realized that he really had no energy to go anywhere but the room he had chosen for himself. So he walked inside, and, finding it exactly how he'd left it, lowered himself onto the ground in a corner and fell asleep, too exhausted to take the bedding out of the closet or even change his clothes. He was going to have to do something about this body, he felt himself think just before it succumbed to unconsciousness.