Okay so I started a new story. I'm still going to do Shadows and I'm a bit iffy on Flowers, but I dont think I'll abandon it just yet. I've had this idea flowing around in my head for a long time and have written several chapters for it in my notebooks so I decided to finally sit down and type it up. I'd like to thank two people though, whom without their stories this one would have never come into fruition. SargentAngua for the story imperfect timing that got me into NaruTen stories, and JPMod for making me love them. If you dont like the story blame them for inspiring me. So without further ado I present my story. Oh, and BTW, there is no bashing in this story. It may seem like it at first, but trust me when I say that there is no bashing of the characters. Everyone is doing what they're doing for specific resons. All will be explained. Later.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, his catchphrases, his clothes, his world, or anything. I wish I did, but only because if I did then maybe I could find a way to own his powers too. Then the world would pay. Er...ignore that last part.
Chapter 1: The Meeting
Sakura Haruno sat under the shady tree she liked so much at team sevens training ground. She was resting after a hard day of training and was waiting for her teammates to finish, or rather, she was waiting for Sasuke to finish. Kakashi had officially dismissed him after receiving word that the Hokage needed him for a private mission, but Naruto and Sasuke had decided to use this time to have a no holds barred spar. So she was just waiting for Sasuke to finish beating Naruto in the hopes that he might decide to ask if he could walk her home. Sure Sasuke said no the last sixty eight times but she had very high hopes for attempt number…well you know. Besides it's not like it was her fault Sasuke turned her down, no, it was Naruto's. At the mere thought of her annoying teammate Sakura ground her teeth and her temper shortened. That idiot was always getting in her way when it came to her Sasuke-kun, why couldn't he just leave the two of them alone? She was sure that if Naruto we out of the way then making the Uchiha fall in love with her would be easy.
"Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Sakura heard Sasuke yell. He must be getting serious if he was starting to use Jutsu on Naruto. 'Oh well, Sasuke will win no matter what Naruto does.'
"Sakura look out!" She heard Naruto yell, making her snap her eyes open. One of Sasuke's fireballs was heading right for her, moving insanely fast. Sakura struggled to get her body to move, but nothing was working as she was paralyzed with the sudden fear of being burned alive. The fireball was about to hit her when Naruto appeared in front of her, his arms outstretched to ensure that he was an effective shield. The fireball collided with him and he was blown back through the air past Sakura and her tree, and was about to hit the ground when Sasuke appeared and kneed Naruto in the back thus suspending him momentarily in the air just long enough for Sasuke to spin on his heel and slam his foot into Naruto's stomach, crushing him into the ground. Naruto gasped for air as Sasuke doubled over in exhaustion.
"I win." Sasuke muttered to Naruto as he tried to even out his breathing.
Naruto's eyes shot open at Sasuke's words as he started to piece everything together. "Wasn't an accident … you aimed for her. What if …I hadn't reached … in time?"
Sasuke glowered and straightened up. "Don't really care." He said then looked over towards Sakura who was running towards them. "Hn." He grunted before he turned and started to walk away.
"Teme." Naruto groaned, in pain and anger. Sakura finally slowed to a stop near Naruto's burned body, looking between him and the retreating boy who had her heart, torn as to what to do. Naruto had saved her from that fireball, he had protected her and was badly hurt because of it, but she had waited all this time for Sasuke to walk her home, and while it was wrong, since Naruto couldn't move he couldn't possibly ruin this chance for her.
Sakura scrunched up her eyes and turned towards Naruto. She may not like him that much but she was still grateful. After all, if that fire had hi her she might have been scarred and burned to a point where she would look hideous. She knelt down next to him to Naruto's surprise, and as he turned his head to face her she cringed a bit. It was worse than she thought.
"You're pretty hurt Naruto, don't move. It's really bad, but I have some ointment and stuff that I think can help. I just…maybe I should run to the hospital…"
"Sakura." The two heard. Sakura turned around and saw Sasuke waiting by the tree line. "Hey, I'll walk you home if you want." He said.
Sakura seemed to shut down for a moment as she processed those words. However once she checked and double checked to make sure she wasn't dreaming she felt a small twinge of anger at her beloved Uchiha. How could he possibly ask that when he can see that she was busy trying to help Naruto. Naruto who the Uchiha burned near to a crisp. She turned back to Naruto and grimaced a small bit once again at how much worse he seemed to be getting. His skin was blackening and his face…Kami it was bad. 'I cant fix this. There's no way I can' She thought before she reached her decision. If she couldn't, she'd just have to bring someone who could.
As she got up though, both Naruto and Sasuke had the same thought. That Sakura was choosing Sasuke over Naruto. It was heart breaking for the young blond to see the pink haired girl break out into a run in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke smirked and shot Naruto a look that the blond somehow unknowingly understood. 'I'm going to take everything from you Naruto. Everything.' Sasuke then turned and moved so that he could keep pace with Sakura, thus making Naruto miss the last message in his eyes. 'Only then will you become stronger.'
And so Naruto found himself alone in his training grounds, burned, bruised, and hurting too much to move. He could only stare at the space where the two people that had meant the most to him had been moments before they left him. It was then that he realized he was doing something that he had sworn to himself to never do again. Naruto was crying at his loneliness.
Tenten was close. She knew it was going to happen today. Everything was leading up to it. Neji was going to be hers today and the universe was helping any way that it could. First she and Neji had visited Lee in the hospital to congratulate him on the success of the surgery. She had even gotten to meet her idol Tsunade and her sensei Gai had been in the room to give everyone the day off. Neji, who hadn't eaten yet, had then heard Tenten's stomach growl. Being the gentleman that he was (by which I mean state the obvious to everyone in the room then say that it wasn't good to skip meals) Neji offered to treat Tenten to brunch. She jumped at the opportunity to be with the Hyuga and promptly led him out of the hospital to her favorite bakery. After a nice brunch with (Neji being silent as Tenten never stopped talking) Tenten recommended they go buy a gift for Lee. Neji grudgingly accepted and the next three hours were spent with the two shopping more for Tenten than they were for Lee. Finally Neji decided to walk Tenten home saying that he was tired (of her voice) and wanted to relax at home. Tenten pouted a bit but decided that at least the Hyuga was paying attention to her. So here they were walking side by side and Tenten was almost ready to confess her feelings to the boy when she heard someone shout their names. She turned to see that pink haired girl that Lee was always talking about and that cute Uchiha boy Sasuke. They seemed to be going somewhere with a purpose in mind, or at least pinky did, but they slowed down as they reached them.
"Hi Tenten, Neji," she said, making Tenten feel a bit guilty that she forgot the girls name, "are either of you two busy? You see, we have a team at training ground 7 who is in pretty bad shape and"
"Why aren't you helping him then?" Tenten said cutting the girl off.
Pinky seemed caught off guard for a moment before stammering her reply. "Well, I was going to help him, but you see, um, Sasuke here-"
"Oh! I get it now!" Tenten cut her off again, her anger very apparent to the other three. "You left your own teammate just so you could walk home with this-this-snobby Uchiha! You know it's fan girls like you that give real Kunoichi like me a bad name. Where's you're sense of decency, respect? Bah!" Before Sakura could even defend herself from the false allegations Tenten was off towards training ground seven to help the kid. Sakura could only stare off after her, hurt and insulted at her words, Sasuke and Neji doing the same, only feeling a bit impressed at Tenten's actions.
Tenten however was grumbling a bit at the fact she lost her chance to confess to Neji. Still, comrades come before love, so she didn't feel too bad about it.
Naruto had finally stopped crying through sheer effort alone. He knew that his cuts were already healing, and that his bones had set back into their proper places, but…the burns. It was too much for him. He couldn't move because of the pain, and when he tried, his blackening skin would break and bleed. He was just so tired of even trying to get up though, not because of the burns, but because he was nearing the end of his rope. 'It's always like this.' He thought. 'Sasuke beats me again and Sakura just follows him around him because she loves him. Neither of them really care about me. I thought Sakura was coming around, I thought she was finally beginning to like me, but she left for the teme like always.' Another tear left Naruto's eyes and he had to struggle to not break down again.
At that moment Naruto heard a rustling in the grass as something ran towards him. At first he thought it was an animal, but then he recognized the sound as human footsteps so maybe he was out of luck and a hateful villager wanted to kick him while he was down. He was sure the villager would leave and bring back friends too, so it was just going to be more pain. But then he heard a gasp and someone fall to their knee's next to him. Naruto opened his eyes and saw a cute girl around his age with two buns on her head looking over him with her hand hovering over his body.
"Kami…I never imagined it was this bad. How could they leave you like this?" He heard her say. She lifted his hand and started muttering to herself again. "These look like third degree burns…he's going to be scarred for life. Oh Kami!" She cried out as he saw her finally look at his face. Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth, reaching out with her other hand to nearly touch him. Naruto began to get worried and tried to speak but Tenten shook her head and began to make a few hand signs.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She said as her hands began to glow a faint green and she moved them towards his face. "I cant fix everything, the burns ate away towards you're muscles. I don't have the proper techniques or enough chakra to fix them all the way. So I'm going to heal them to where there's skin so that I can at least put salves and medicine on them. It's going to hurt, so much. I'm so sorry."
She finally put her hands on Naruto's face and the boy felt like screaming if he could find his voice. After three minutes of pain Tenten panted in exhaustion and cut off the technique. Slowly she brought her head up to face Naruto and he could see a tiny smile on her face as she reached out and touched him again, this time on the smooth skin of his whiskered cheek. Naruto almost cried then and there, but he swallowed it down and croaked out a thank you to the girl.
Her eyes turned sad and she slowly shook her head before grabbing and eating a chakra food pill. "Don't thank me yet. I spent a lot more chakra on you're face than I should've. That means doing the rest of them is going to go even more slowly." She trembled in place for a moment before looking at him again. "Are you ready?" He nodded at the question and Tenten went to work starting with his right hand.
The two of them didn't keep track of how long they were like that, all they knew is that when they started there was light out, and now it was dark, the moon rising up filling the training ground with light. When Tenten cut off the technique for the last time, Naruto was gasping in pain, tears washing down his face. Tenten shuffled towards him a bit and stroked his hair, trying to calm him down and show him that the worst of it was over. It only took a few minutes, and by the time it did, Naruto was ready for the next part.
Tenten pulled out a scroll and unsealed several pieces of medical equipment. She chose a large tub of burn ointment and uncapped it before pushing away Naruto's jacket. She had to break the zipper to get it off of him when she was healing him, but had put it back on him since it was the only article of intact clothing he had left, his black shirt was now in pieces courtesy of her kunai.
"This burn salve is the most potent one I have. It will hurt and give you a cold burn for a while, but trust me when I say that this will help. Once I'm done applying it and the bandages, it should be safe to move you around so that we can get you to the hospital. They should be able to do more for you there." She said before she scooped her hand in the salve.
Naruto could only think of how the hospital would most likely just leave him be thinking that he had enough medical treatment to stay alive. Still it felt extremely good that someone was taking their time to help him in such a way. He cringed as the salve hit his raw skin, but didn't do anything until he caught a strange scent. He lifted his head to see the ointment smoking on his chest for a moment, causing him to panic until he felt Tenten's firm grip on his injured shoulder.
"Don't move. I know it looks bad but this will help. I promise."
She continued to put the ointment on his body for the next ten minutes, before she unfurled a large roll of bandages. She began to bandage his now ointment coated legs, pausing embarrassedly when she reached his thigh before doing the same for his other leg and both arms. Finally she reached back to his chest and helped him sit up with an awkward 'kind-of-hug'. She began to wrap him up, stomach first, all the while assuring him that things were going to go fine, despite the obvious worry in her eyes. That was when he finally recognized her.
"You…you're that girl who was worried about bushy brows…Tenten."
Tenten's head shot up and she really looked at Naruto for the first time before her eyes widened. "You're that guy that beat Neji, Naruto. Wow, what happened to you? How'd someone like you…you know."
Naruto's face fell as he answered. "I was training with Sasuke-teme." He said coldly.
"The Uchiha did this to you?"
"Yeah, we were sparring and I was beginning to get some hits in on him. I was about to finish it when he cast a fireball jutsu. He aimed for Sakura on purpose knowing that I would go and protect her and he attacked me right after I got hit by the fireball. Then Sakura was about to help me when she ran off towards her precious Sasuke-kun." He spat.
Tenten glared in anger at the thought of the pink haired girl and the Uchiha. How could anyone justify such action! That girl should get her ass handed to her, and she'd gladly do it if need be.
"It's always like this," Naruto said, his voice taking on his somber mood. "It's…I try you know? I try to get Sasuke to recognize me as a rival, and I try to get Sakura to see me…at least as a friend. I-ow!"
"Stop with the pity party!" Tenten shouted, patting Naruto's bandaged back. She shifted until she was sitting right across from Naruto and stared into his eyes.
"I don't really know you that well Naruto but I have a small idea as to who you are. You always put everything you have into anything that you do. You defend you're friends and stand up for those who are to afraid to. And even those who couldn't care less about you, well, you fight for them. You're a good guy Naruto, and I know you'll go far." She smiled at him and his eyes lit up as she patted his head.
"But anyways -hey listen- anyway the point I'm trying to make is that people like the Uchiha and Pinky really aren't worth you're time. You can do a lot better than them. Trust me when I tell you that…that people like them will only hurt you."
For a moment as she said that her face lost a lot of that confidence it had and her voice became low and hurt. Most people wouldn't have noticed it as well as Naruto had, but he had always been good at reading when people were sad and lonely.
"Tenten." He said softly. "Who hurt you?"
Tenten stiffened then closed her eyes and sighed. She looked at Naruto and searched his eyes. "When I was a year and a half old my parents fought against the Kyubi. They died. I was sent to the survivors orphanage and grew up there. For some reason, no one wanted to adopt children around my age, but I always hoped and prayed that someday I'd get parents. That hoped turned into a desperate longing and that turned into a need for just some sort of acceptance. That led to me making the wrong kinds of friends." She closed her eyes and looked to the ground, hiding her now watering eyes.
"It was just the three of us. This girl named Rukia that treated me like a little sister, and my crush Yusuke. People always tried to pick on me, but those two always would protect me from the bully's. I thought that I meant something to them. They were just using me. Since I was a small kid I could squeeze through the vents and move anywhere in the orphanage, getting everything from extra snacks, to the keys for the ball closet. I hated the dark and compact spaces, but they would tease me then leave me alone until I went and did whatever they asked. One day I got stuck and cried out for someone to help me. The two of them didn't do anything and I was trapped in the vent for close to two hours until one of the orphanage workers heard me and got me out. I got into a lot of trouble for crawling in the vents and I was so scared that I just spilled everything I had done getting the other two in trouble instead of me. The next time I tried to talk to them, they beat me for being useless and getting them in trouble. They finally spat on me and told me to never speak to them again. I never did."
Naruto was stunned at the end of the story unable to move as he wrestled with his anger for the two that hurt Tenten like that. Tenten looked up at Naruto, tears now falling down the sides of her face from the pain of remembering those events. Naruto's anger died, instantly replaced with a need to comfort her so he smiled and lightly grabbed her arm.
"I'm an orphan too. I-I know how it feels. I never had a friend before I became a ninja, but I know how it feels to be thought of as useless. And to be scared of those bigger than you. I think you're great, and strong, and you care about others Tenten, and not a lot of people do that. You're good people Tenten, and I hope that we can be friends."
Tenten blinked and wiped away her tears smiling. She squeezed Naruto's hand in hers and he bit back a yelp of pain. "Sure thing Naruto. Thanks, I…I never told that story to anyone before. Thanks. For listening."
After the two of them smiled again to one another, Tenten helped Naruto back into his broken jacket, the bandages around his stomach and chest acting as a shirt. His pants, which had been cut down his legs into long strips so Tenten could heal his legs, waved a bit in the breeze, the bandages on his legs acting as under clothing. The two now ready, they began to make the painfully long trip over to the hospital.
Halfway to the hospital, the two of them nearly reached the Hokage tower where they ran into a woman with short black hair, a black kimono, and a pig in her arms. She took one look at Naruto before dropping the pig and rushing towards him.
"Heh, hi Shizune-neechan" Naruto said nervously. The lady Naruto knew as Shizune ran straight for Naruto and began to worry over him, asking questions and smothering him with concern. Tenten was so caught off guard by the woman that she nearly dropped Naruto as she was trying to pull out a kunai to fend off the sudden intrusion of personal space. She didn't even reach halfway to her pouch before Shizune latched her hand around Tenten's wrist.
"So Naruto-kun, who is this?" Shizune asked not even bothering to face Tenten.
"Oh, ah, that's my new friend Tenten. She's really great, she's the one who fixed me up."
Shizune raised her eyebrows and looked Tenten over as if appraising her slightly. Then with a smile and a satisfied nod Shizune clasped both her hands to Tenten's.
"Thank you for taking care of Naruto-kun. Did you do all of the bandaging yourself?"
"Y-yeah, I-uh-I put those on last. First I had to heal up his burns to a point where I could put a salve on them, then after applying it I was able to bandage him up. The burns were horrible all around, but the worst were centered on his face. I spent a good amount of chakra fixing it up to how it is now."
Shizune looked shocked that such a thing had happened to Naruto before searching his face and really inspecting him. She noticed large discoloration around the back of his neck and some dark spots on the bandages most likely from where extra salve had bled through. Still, if he was walking around then that must have meant that Tenten had done an excellent job on treating him with the limited chakra and resources that she had.
Smiling lightly, she pinched Naruto's cheeks and pulled, giggling at how his face stretched much to his embarrassment. "Well, his goofy face is all better now so thank you for helping him. I'm sorry that you went through so much trouble though, if I had known about this I would have taken him straight to Tsunade-sama for treatment."
"Oh! I completely forgot about Baachan." Naruto exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.
Tenten perked up and turned to Naruto. 'Baachan?' She thought and looked Naruto over, not seeing anything Naruto could have in common with Tsunade other than hair color. "You know the legendary Tsunade personally Naruto?" She asked anxiously.
"Sure I know Tsunade-baachan, I'm the one who brought her back to the village." He said nonchalantly.
"It's true…Tenten was it? Yes, it's actually true, if it wasn't for Naruto then I doubt Tsunade-sama would have returned to become Hokage." Shizune informed Tenten.
"Wow…" Tenten's eyes sparkled and an idea formed. She turned to Naruto with and eager look and puppy dog eyes. "Naruto, can you please introduce me to her?"
Shizune giggled slightly, shaking her head and patting Tenten's lightly. "I'm sorry but Tsunade-sama is usually very busy and-"
"Sure thing Tenten! C'mon neechan lets go!" Naruto shouted excitedly.
Shizune bit her lip in slight nervousness. Really, since she was going to take Naruto to Tsunade anyways, having Tenten tag along wasn't something bad. But she didn't know whether or not she would get in trouble with Tsunade for bringing an uninvited girl with her when she just wanted Naruto healed up.
Sighing, she decided to give in to the children's request. Tsunade be damned, Shizune just couldn't say no to kids. It was her one true weakness. "Alright then, just grab onto me tightly. We're close enough so I think we can shunshin in."
Nodding the two grabbed hold of Shizune tightly before they disappeared in a burst of speed only to reappear moments later in Tsunade's office, dizzy and struggling not to barf because of their inexperience with the technique. Shizune steadied them, giggling, before turning to Tsunade who was now coming out of the shock of seeing Naruto so hurt.
"Naruto!" Tsunade shouted in worry catching everyone's attention as she leapt over her desk and headed straight for Naruto. She checked him over with an experienced eye and seemed to catch everything that was wrong with him. "What happened to you? How did you get burned so badly?" Tsunade asked, her voice filled with worry over her pseudo son.
Naruto mumbled something about a training accident and Tenten shook her head. Why was he defending those two? Well, that's something she could fix at least. She was about to speak up when Tsunade turned to her and looked her over.
"You seem familiar. Have we met?" Tsunade asked Tenten making her feel down about not being remembered by her idol when they had just met that morning.
"Yes Tsunade-sama, we met earlier this morning in fact. I'm Tenten a Genin of Konoha and we met while you were checking in on my teammate Rock Lee."
Tsunade blinked as recognition set in. "Ah, yes now I remember. Well then Tenten what are you doing here? Not to be rude but only a select few people are allowed to Shunshin into my office."
"I-I-I…" Tenten stammered, not quite capable of replying on the spot. Luckily, Naruto intervened for her.
"She wanted to meet you formally Baachan. She's like you're biggest fan." Naruto said, grinning at the way Tenten blushed and told him to be quiet in a hushed voice.
Tsunade merely raised an eyebrow, though the hint of a smile was on her face. "Really? Well I'm flattered Tenten, but as you can see I'm rather busy right now. Tell you what though, after I fix up Naruto we'll set a date to meet and talk. How's that?"
Tenten gaped before her face lit up like fireworks at a festival and nodded a yes. Tsunade smiled and turned to face Naruto again. She peeled back a bit of the bandages and stiffened slightly at the color and swelling.
"This is good first aid Shizune, if a little under you're usual standard. You just forgot to let the salve air out for a few minutes before applying to make it more potent, but it's still very effective. I should be able to heal this up no problem now, but why didn't you just heal him up fully with some medical jutsu? These are only second degree burns, you can usually take care of them with out too much trouble."
Shizune blinked before turning sheepish and rubbing her arm awkwardly. "Heh, actually Tsunade-sama I didn't treat Naruto at all. From what I understand, the one who's helped Naruto-kun so far is Tenten here."
That immediately caught Tsunade attention. Spinning around, she stared at Tenten with a new found intensity, her eyes going over Tenten completely as if trying to appraise her. Turning back to Shizune, the two women began to have a hurried conversation, all hushed tones and stares in Tenten's direction. After a few more moments Tsunade bent down to Tenten's eye level.
"You used a medical jutsu to turn his third degree burns to second degree burns correct?" Tenten only nodded, astounded that Tsunade deduced such a thing as she never told Shizune how severe the burns were. "Do you mind showing me the jutsu you used. Hand signs only." Nodding, Tenten showed the signs to which Tsunade grimaced a bit. "That one works slow so it causes enormous amounts of pain, but it is useful if you don't really know how to work a specific jutsu."
After that Tsunade began to quiz Tenten on other aspects of medical practice. After that she had Tenten show her all her equipment and analyzed each piece individually. After all was said and done she instructed Tenten to watch her closely as she approached Naruto and made several hand signs. Placing her hands on Naruto's chest, her hands glowed a bright green that enveloped Naruto's entire body for an instant before dying down and focusing on several different places, most notably the places he had been damaged the most. All Naruto felt was a slight discomfort and itchiness for half a minute before the jutsu ended and Tsunade peeled back some bandages to show smooth skin. Yipping in excitement, Naruto hugged Tsunade something fierce, the woman simply patting Naruto's head with a loving smile. Once they separated however, Tsunade faced Tenten again, her eyes all business.
"Alright I have a few questions for you. First of all, why do you know so much about medicine?"
Tenten breathed in and out slowly, dispelling her nerves. She had pictured a moment like this several hundred times before, and now all those long days of practicing this scene had paid off. "you're my idol, and I want to be an even better Kunoichi than you ever were. To surpass you is my greatest dream. So when I was younger I learned all I could about medicine. I don't use it much any more but, well…"
Nodding Tsunade merely continued on with her questions. "Second, why did you help Naruto?"
Tenten blinked for a second in surprise before looking around. "What is that like a trick question or something? He was hurt and I could help him. I didn't need a reason other than that. It's not like I could just abandon him there like his teammates." Tenten's eyes then widened before she covered her mouth in her hands, acting as if she had said something she shouldn't have. She of course had meant to say it, but that was no reason to act like she did.
"What was that?" Tsunade roared before turning to Naruto who filled her in on the whole story. Grinding her teeth and swearing severe punishment for Naruto's teammates, Tsunade shook her head and returned to Tenten.
"Because of this…revelation, I have some heavy thinking to do. So I want you to return tomorrow around noon so that we can finish our conversation. Oh, and bring you're parents along, I'd like a word with them." At Tenten's crestfallen face Tsunade's eyes widened. 'Oh, the poor thing.'
"I-um-I don't have any parents Tsunade-sama. I'm an orphan"
Nodding sadly, Tsunade gripped Tenten's shoulder. "I'm sorry. Well, you can bring Naruto instead if you'd like. Oh, and you're Jonin sensei Gai, he should be there."
Smiling sadly, Tenten bowed her head in thanks. "Hai, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade went back behind her desk and dismissed the three of them. As they left however, Tsunade called out to Naruto. "Hey gaki! Walk Tenten home. It's getting late."
"Alright, see you tomorrow Baachan!" Naruto called back, waving as he ran out the door.
Tenten turned around as Naruto called out her name. As he caught up and fell into step with her he grinned brightly and put his hands to rest behind his head. Tenten raised an amused eyebrow and giggled a bit at Naruto.
"Baachan said that I should walk you home, you know with how late it's getting. Is that okay?" He asked sheepishly. He has never walked a girl home before.
Tenten smiled at him, his nervousness was funny and…just a tiny bit cute. "Of course Naruto, I'd like that very much. Thank you."
Naruto nodded happily and the two of them began wandering the streets of Konoha talking casually. The moon was shining brightly, and the village nightlife had just started to come out. Deciding to get something to eat before going to Tenten's home, the pair looked around for somewhere good to eat, or at least someplace that you didn't need ID to eat in.
"Man," Tenten sighed as she was told to go away from another more mature restaurant (not that they understood that) and met up again with Naruto who was just as down on his luck (though for entirely different reasons) "where can we get something good to eat? It's almost nine so most places that would let us in are closing now."
Suddenly Naruto got a devious grin and grabbed Tenten's wrist. "C'mon, I know this great place that stay open real late. It's the best spot in the whole village!" Naruto increased his speed, practically dragging Tenten through the air who was outright laughing at the corny situation. She had never been dragged through the air, and although she didn't quite want to acknowledge it, it was very fun.
As they were running (ar rather running and being pulled) two notable people saw the duo. One Neji Hyuga who was on the streets having to escort his cousin, one Hinata Hyuga who had needed to rush out and purchase more yarn to finish the Naruto plushie that she was making. Both Hyuga spun around as they went unnoticed by the passing duo, a single thought passing through both of their minds.
'Naruto…and Tenten?'
The Hyuga's froze for nearly a minute before wordlessly agreeing to follow.
Naruto finally stopped pulling Tenten, letting her land back on ground. She was a bit out of breath from all of the laughing she did, but a large smile had seemed to attach permanently to her face. Naruto grinned and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"Don't freak out and follow my lead." He whispered leaving Tenten a bit confused. She finally took in her surroundings and realized they were right outside of a ramen bar. Tenten sniffed the air and was immediately comforted by the delicious aroma of cooking food. Smiling Naruto wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah, I remember my first time at Ichiraku's. Trust me, you will never find a better place to eat than right here. C'mon."
Naruto gently led Tenten inside and the two of them took a seat. As they waited for the chef Naruto fidgeted around with his charred jacket. It was in pretty bad shape, with the zipper broken and the seams begging to unravel around the shoulders. He slowly and gently took it off and rummaged in the inner pockets until he found a slightly blackened frog wallet. He opened it and pulled out a piece of bright blue paper before stuffing it into his jacket pocket and returning the wallet back.
"Naruto!" Tenten heard as Naruto put his jacket back on. "How's our best customer? What can I get for you?" A kind looking old man in a chefs uniform came out from the back and stood in front of the two, smiling at Naruto. His nametag read Tuechi.
"Hey old man Ichiraku, I came to cash in an old favor for something to eat. Oh, and I'd like you to meet Tenten."
Tenten introduced herself just as two pairs of all seeing eyes stopped on the die of the ramen bar. They leaned in closely, listening to the situation intently.
"Anyways like I said I'm here to cash in a promise." Naruto said as he pretended to rummage through his clothes again.
Chuckling a bit, Tuechi crossed his arms. "Oh? And what promise might that be?" He asked amused.
"Remember when I was ten, you said that if I ever brought a date for dinner that you'd cop my meal? Well this is my first date with Tenten so bring on the free ramen!"
Tuechi began to stutter, flabbergasted at the promise. Naruto ate enough for ten people, a free meal would mean he'd lose way to much money. Neji was shocked and a little angry at Naruto, who he suspected was up to no good and trying to take advantage of Tenten. (Which is technically correct, not that anyone would ever tell him that.) Hinata was paralyzed in despair, never before had she suspected that after Sakura there would be another girl that Naruto would try to pursue, let alone one that would actually date him. Tenten was surprised and about to protest when Naruto's words came back to her.
'Don't freak out and follow my lead.'
Now Tenten was grinning like mad. She liked pulling a prank just as much as the next person, and c'mon, free ramen.
"Yeah Tuechi-san, can you bring me and Naru-kun some ramen, pork preferably. Apparently this is the best place in the village to eat according to Naru-kun."
Tuechi could only stammer in response. "Y-y-you m-mean you two are really on a date?"
"Of course we are." They said in unison, smiling mischievously at each other out of the corner of their eyes. 'Perfect' They thought, also coincidentally in unison.
Tuechi though still wasn't quite sure what to do. He knew he made a promise to Naruto, but the price of that ramen… "Listen Naruto, I'm sure you to will have a fine date here, but I just don't remember any-" Immediately he was cut off as Naruto slammed the blue piece of paper from his wallet onto the counter. He leaned back on his stool in smug satisfaction at his victory as Tenten and Tuechi inspected the paper. It had "Date Coupon" written on it and Tuechi's signature at the bottom.
"What was that you were about to say Tuechi-san?" Tenten asked mischievously, amused at the emotions Tuechi was showing on his face.
"Ah-um-well what can I get for you two?"
An hour and a half later Naruto made it to Tenten's home. It was a small, one bedroom apartment in one of the less than friendly parts of the village. It was much better than his own place but Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit sad for Tenten having to live alone in such a place.
"Well home sweet home I guess. Thanks again for everything you did for me Tenten." Naruto said happily as the two stood outside of Tenten's door.
"No, thank you Naruto. This evening was really fun. You introduced me to Tsunade, talked to me like a normal girl, pulled me so I could fly through the whole village, and took me out to eat at a nice, homey place. I haven't enjoyed myself like this in a long time. It felt real good."
Tenten leaned forward and gave Naruto a chaste kiss on the cheek, reddening a bit in embarrassment before giggling at Naruto's own crimson face. She opened her door and stepped inside before turning to him.
"don't forget to pick me up early for our meeting with Tsunade. If you're early enough maybe we could go out for breakfast. Good night!" She said happily before closing the door. Naruto smiled softly and turned down the hallway so that he could make his way home, his heart and spirits lifted from how low they were earlier that day. Unknown to the two of them however, across the street two Hyuga's were seething in anger and jealousy.
Alright so How'd you like it? Again I would like to emphasize that I am not bashing on any characters. Sasuke is acting the way he is because of a reason you will see later, and Sakura actually was trying to find help for Naruto. She was going to say that Sasuke hit Naruto with a fireball and ask if Tenten and Neji knew anyone personally who could help. If not they would just continue straight to the hospital. So yes, reasons! Also please review. Every time yo dont review you're killing a penguin. Dont kill penguins.