Swapped Kunoichi (Completed 2016)

Chapter Ten - "You're drunk, and I'm Sober."

Neji said softly, "I know, Tenten, I know. Wait... Are you drunk?"

Neji took the time to glance around and found that Tenten ended up drinking almost three large bottles of liquor. He then looked up at her and watched as she started crying and getting clumsily into bed.

'Well,' he thought, 'I need to calm her down somehow. Kami watch over me.'

~

Tenten led Neji to her home, which to her relief, she found clean. She had to thank her other self for that.

Neji glanced around and said, "An exact replica... I'm still not believing it."

Tenten giggled and said, "Now you know how I feel... Erm, I hope you don't mind using the couch tonight."

Neji hesitated before saying, "Of course not. Ah, I do need to take a shower though. You couldn't happen to have any shorts, would you?"

Tenten held back her disappointment and said, "Yeah, I should. Uh, give me a moment."

Tenten turned around and walked into her room. Neji shook his head before quietly moving into the bedroom as well, slipping inside the bathroom and shutting the door.

'Great Kami,' he thought, 'It's taking everything not to grab and hold her.'

He took his shirt off, followed by his forehead protector and shoes, and was in the middle of unzipping his pants when Tenten had suddenly opened the door, shirt and shorts in hand. She had opened her mouth to say something, but the moment she saw him undressing, her face turned scarlet red.

"O-Oh my gosh! Neji, I-I'm sorry! I didn't-!" She shut up the moment Neji started chuckling softly.

"Relax, Tenten. I get undressed like this in front of the other you all the time. You usually don't pay any mind, as I don't mind if she stripped to her underwear."

Tenten blushed slightly and asked, "And you didn't cop a feel or anything?"

"Of course not," he replied, zipping his pants back up. He then turned to her and held out his hands for her. She handed him the clothes and glanced at his mark.

"Oh..."

Neji noticed that she was looking directly above his eyes and smiled. "Let me guess. He never let you see the cursed mark?"

She shook her head and said, "It's not that... It's just... Sometimes, I see it, and I feel bad for him. He told me about when he got marked and how he resented his clan ever since. It was... Sad. I hated him, but at the same time I felt a lot of pity for him."
She glanced up at him and quickly said, "W-Well, when you think about it, having to be branded for the rest of your life, and to be free only when you die is... Sad."

Neji shook his head and said, "The brand doesn't have to be gone for me to be free."

Tenten blinked a few times before saying, "W-Wait. It doesn't?"

Neji shook his head, looking down at her and saying, "No. It never did. And it took me forever to see it."

~

Neji approached Tenten slowly, watching her as she curled up and glared at him. Her cheeks were a rosy red, and her lips were thin and trembling. Her nostrils flared as she demanded, "What do you want?"

"I just want to help you relax," he replied carefully, "I won't touch you in the wrong places; I just want to rub your back. Attack me if you feel I've done you wrong."