A/N: The main pairing for this story is NejixTenten. Other pairings include: LeexOC, NaruxHina, SakuraxSasuke, InoxOC, ShikaxTemari. No flames for these pairings are accepted.
Summary: Tenten has been away from her home village for six months due to a mission. When she returns, why does she refuse to tell anyone the truth about her absence? There is another jinchuriki in the Hidden Leaf Village. Who is it, and can Naruto help her figure out what she is?
Chapter 1
Neji woke with a jolt as a loud 'bang' echoed throughout his room. He sharply sat up, only to be lifted up and crushed by some weird green thing in spandex.
"Lee! Let me go!" He yelled.
His teammate, (although he did seem a little disappointed) let him go. But his bouncing didn't stop. "Guess what, Neji? Come on guess!" He could barely contain his excitement.
Neji sighed. "What." He muttered.
"They found Tenten! Tenten is back!"
Neji's eyes widened to a considerable amount. Tenten? "After six months?"
Lee nodded energetically. "Yeah! She's been admitted into the Konoha hospital, though, but at least she's not dead, as we had thought!"
Neji stared down at his bedroom floor. Despite Lee's eargerness, he couldn't bring himself to admit that Tenten reappeared after six months. If she wasn't dead, then what the hell happened to make her stay away that long?
"I'm going to go see her. Are you coming?" Lee asked, calming down, but only a little bit.
"Yeah, just give me a minute."
"Alright."
"………………."
"……………….."
"……………………………..."
"……………………………..."
"Neji why are you in your boxers?"
"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!!!"
About an hour later, the two made their way out of the Hyuga clan mansion and began on their way to the hospital. They only stepped three feet before their sensei appeared before them.
"Gai-sensei!"
'Oh, great'
"Lee! Neji! I see you're on your way to the hospital as well!" His teeth flashed brightly as he placed his hands on his hips. He reminded Neji of Superman. A really, really messed up Superman.
"Yes. We heard Tenten was back and we were going to go see how she was doing." Lee responded.
Gai nodded. "That's my boy! Always looking out for his teammates!"
Neji rolled his eyes. He had long ago left the two spandex clad ninja behind.
"Hey, Gai-sensei?"
"Yes Lee?"
"Is it alright to wear boxers?"
Neji promptly fell on his face in mid-walk. Even Gai-sensei was caught off guard with that question.
"What do you mean?"
"Is it like, acceptable to wear boxers under spandex? Or is it wrong?" Lee questioned.
Neji secretly hoped that Gai-sensei wouldn't give him a retarded answer like…
"As long as you're comfortable nothing can go wrong!"
Exactly like that one.
Lee 'woo-hooed' and hugged his sensei, who in return, hugged back. "Thank you Gai-sensei!" He turned to Neji. "What about…….huh?"
Neji had ran. He ran far, far ,far away from them.
"Tenten-san, may I come in? You have some visitors here." The nurse opened the door, looking at the patient inside.
Neji was the first to step in, his eyes meeting with Tenten's deep brown ones. He nearly winced at the sight of all the bandages covering her body. Her arm was wrapped and held in a sling, he immediately thought it was broken. Her hair was out it's two usual buns, allowing it to flow freely down her back. Her forehead was also wrapped in bandages.
"Hey….Neji." She said, her voice seemed strained.
Neji opened his mouth to speak, however, a green blur rushed by him and into the room, right by Tenten's bed.
"Tenten! What happened? Why were you gone so long? Are you going to be okay? Did you know Neji wears boxers?" He bombarded Tenten with a barrage of questions, the last of which earned him a punch upside the head.
"Uhhh….I guess I should get to explaining, shouldn't I…" She muttered to herself as Neji reprimanded Lee for telling his personal business.
Tenten cleared her throat and directed the attention towards herself.
"It's only right that I tell you what happened, after all, you guys are my teammates." She began. That quickly caused them to settle down. Neji grabbed a seat on the other side of Tenten's bed, not to close, but close enough to hear anything she had to say.
"First of all, I want you guys to know that I didn't mean to stay away so long. The mission I was on required me, and only me," She added, seeing Lee about to object, "to infiltrate a mansion in Kumogakure and watch the actions of one of the village advisors. He had been suspected of plotting an attack against Konoha, so Tsunade-sama decided to send me to go observe his actions."
"The first month was okay, I learned enough information to confirm our suspicions. During the middle of the second month, I began to make plans to leave. But then, more and more information kept piling up. Too valuable to just let slide by. Not only was the lord plooting against Konoha, but he was also plotting against Sunagakura, Kirigakura, and Iwagakure."
Neji's eyes widened. "You mean…"
Tenten nodded. "His plans were to take out all the shinobi villages to gain military power."
"That's insane!" Lee shouted.
"I know. That's why Tsunade-sama ordered for me to return to Konoha. She said that she was going to send ANBU ninja to come fill in for me and take care of this psycho. But…." She took a deep breath. Even the memories haunted her. "But he found me out during the third month. And he wouldn't let me leave." She looked down at her arm. "This is what happened when I tried to get away." Her voice had gotten softer when she mentioned her own injuries. "It took me forever to figure out a way for me to get out of that hell hole. That's why it's been so long….."
"Is he dead?"
Tenten and Lee looked up, at the lavender eyed Hyuga. His head was tilted at an angle so that his hair shadowed his eyes.
"I…don't know….The ANBU had came and rescued me, and I was on my way to Konoha, but none of the ANBU members had survived. The lord's body hasn't been found yet."
Neji was about to speak, but instead he turned to the door. It opened, and a nurse poked her head in. "I'm truly sorry, but we need to distribute our patient's medicine. You can come visit later."
Neji and Lee nodded and stood up. They promised to come back later and get her something. She thanked them and as they exited, she sighed.
I can't tell him the truth….I can't risk his life…..not for my stupid mistake.
"Hey, Neji, I like green, so should I get green boxers? Or should I get pink ones?" Lee asked as he walked Neji to his room.
Neji stopped walking. "Why pink?"
"For Sakura and our undying love!!!" Lee shouted as he slammed his fist in the air.
Neji sighed deeply. His teammate still didn't get it… "Lee, she's married to Sasuke Uchiha. She is now Sakura Uchiha. Why would you go after a married and pregnant woman?"
Lee's mood seemed to fall considerably at now married crush. "But…" He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. To see the Hyuga prodigy giving him a reassuring, if not forced, smile.
"Don't worry, there are other girls out there for you. The whole world doesn't just have one." He said, stepping into his room and leaving a dazed Lee outside in the hall.
He blinked for a few minutes. "Other….girls?" He had always known there were more out there, but what one would even have a second thought about being his girlfriend?
End Flashback
Lee walked out of the Hyuga clan mansion in a somber mood. As he walked down the streets of Konoha, he thought about Neji's advice. Where am I going to find a girl who won't turn me down? He thought, not paying any attention to where he was going. He walked straight into someone who was walking towards him.
"Oh! I'm sorry!
Lee looked up, startled at the shaky, feminine voice that was in front of him. He looked up and found himself staring into two of the prettiest violet eyes he had ever seen.
"There's no need to apologize. It's me who should have been watching where I was going." Lee responded.
He couldn't take his eyes off her. Light violet eyes, long silver tresses that stopped halfway down her back. Two strands were left to fall down the sides of her face. She wore a pale pink shirt, the red sleeves wrapped around her middle finger and extended all the way up to her shoulder. The back of the sleeves were mesh. The sleeves connected in the back somehow with brown straps. The same type of straps outlined the top of her halter top, and criss-crossed on the back and to the front, across her toned midriff. She used those straps to hold her small sword in the back and two small scrolls on the side. The bottom half of her outfit consisted of a light pink skirt with a brown belt wrapped around her waist. Under the skirt she wore fishnet leggings that were cut off a little above her knees. Bandages were strapped to her upper right thigh, where she held her kunai holder in place. She wore open toed knee high brown boots that matched perfectly with her outfit.
Lee finally looked up when the girl moved. She reached up to mess with the red forehead protector around her neck. He could tell she was uncomfortable with his staring, and the light blush on her cheeks gave it away.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare." Lee apologized.
"I-It's alright." She stammered in reply.
They both stood there in awkward silence, neither being able to say a thing.
"Well…I-I should…"
"I need to…."
They both left, going in different directions. The kunoichi 's heart was racing as she walked. Who..Who was that? I've never seen someone so…. She found herself blushing as she made her way to her destination.
Lee was no better off. He was breathing heavily and he couldn't organize his thoughts. Is this what Neji was talking about earlier? There are other girls that might go out with me?
He made a mental note to find that girl again after his training tomorrow.
Neji stood in front of the flower shop. He had told Tenten he was going to bring her something the next time he visited, but he had trouble figuring out just what to get her. So, he decided to ask Hinata for advice. She had told him the most common thing to give someone while they're in the hospital was flowers, or a stuffed animal. The stuffed animal he had already taken care of. He found a medium-sized grey stuffed cat with a red ribbon around it's neck to give her. But, the flowers were giving him a hard time.
"Need some help, Neji?"
Neji looked up to see Ino staring at him with one hand on her hip.
"Uhh…well….I need something to…uh, give someone."
Ino raised her eyebrow at his way of expressing himself. He obviously wasn't very good at it. She sighed, shaking her head slightly. It was pathetic.
"Alright, first of all, is this 'someone' in the hospital? Because if they are, it's best not to get them a rooted plant. It's bad luck."
"Uh, Yes, she is." Neji answered.
"Okay, next question." Ino looked over the collection of flowers before her. "Do you like, love or cherish this person in any way other than a friend? If so, you should get them red roses. Especially if you love them. If you like that person, you should get them a lighter colored rose, like pink or white. If she's just your friend, you should get her something like a daffodil or a tulip. So Neji…" Ino looked up at Neji, one eyebrow raised. "Which is it?"
Neji stared blankly at her. Honestly, he didn't know what to think. He wasn't really paying attention to her explanations, he was too busy thinking of other things, like the person he was doing all this for. So, he just picked flowers that were her favorite color.
"Alright, here you go. Thanks for stopping by the Yamanaka Flower Shop!"
Tenten woke up late at night. The anesthesia the nurse put her under had knocked her out so quickly. Her whole body felt numb. She turned her head to the side. Her eyes widened when she saw a mini bouquet of pink roses sitting in a clear glass, vase on the nightstand with a stuffed animal.
"So thoughtful…..I wonder who…..?"
Tenten went to sleep with a smile adorning her face.
Kazuki's Corner: Whew! There's the first chapter. I know it's short, but I'm not good at starting fanfics off. Well, read and review! P.S.- No flames accepted. If you don't have something constructive to say, then don't review.