Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Naruto or any of the characters.
-
Naruto sighed, catching the lonely shadows the trees cast upon him as he limped among them and rubbed his growling stomach through his jacket. Instead of letting his thoughts drift back to the ramen that made his mouth water, the blond raised his head and looked at the late afternoon sky. The branches did obstruct his view, and the falling leaves did give him a little trouble but it wasn't hard to make out the murky array of colors that painted the sky.
He shook the leaves from his hair as he walked, some of them crumbling as he trampled over them. Suddenly the genin yawned, making no attempt to cover his mouth as he stopped in place and stretched his arms into the air. "Man, I'm sleepy…" He thought out loud before he started walking again. There was something about the season that always made him feel a little drowsy, but he thought nothing of it as he reflected on another successful day of training marred only by the fact that he missed lunch.
The training he did by himself was often the best part of the day. Learning from Kakashi wasn't half bad even if the copy ninja was lazy, but it always made him feel more accomplished when he put in the hard work all by himself to learn how to do something the right way.
Naruto, regaining his smile, beamed with pride as he continued his walk.
He could feel himself getting stronger. As long as he trained every day and kept working hard, he'd definitely be one of the strongest ninjas ever. In fact, he had to be since he was going to be Hokage in the future.
Neither his smile nor dreams of better days did much to dull the soreness in his leg, but, instead of grimacing with every step, the blond kept his grin. It hurt, but he was glad it did. His shadow clones were getting better. It was taking more and more of an effort to take all of them down. More than anything, he was glad he had his own personal sparing partners.
His stomach growled again and he frowned. "I'm pretty hungry, too."
He was honestly starving. A scarce breakfast, no lunch, and just the thought of dinner didn't add up to equal anything that made him feel good. The genin shook his head, ridding himself of his gloom before it even had a chance to set in. He'd definitely get his ramen. There was no doubt about that.
There was just something he wanted to see first.
Reminded, he lightly brushed off a twig he noticed on his shoulder as he neared his destination. He was hungry and tired, but he had to at least check to see if she was there before he paid a visit to his favorite ramen stand. Almost on cue, he could hear it. The sound of dry wood being broken met him from a distance. He instinctively lowered himself a little closer to the ground with his approach, keeping and maintaining a low profile as he quietly took a few extra steps forward.
She was there.
Naruto hesitated, his body locking up a little as the soft blue of his eyes scanned the area around him. No one was around. He was lucky, he supposed, that she choose to go so deep into the training grounds, but his thoughts were elsewhere as he took another cautious step. He had to be careful. The young ninja quietly snuck up to another tree and took a slow, deep breath to calm down before approaching the next.
He exhaled upon making it, the falling leaf he rustled with his breath touched upon the orange of his jacket before swaying to the forest floor. Belatedly, he realized how much he stuck out. Even though the falling leaves were all sorts of colors, some of them a hazy orange, nothing in the entire forest matched the bright hue of his jacket. All it took was one stray glance in his direction and it was over. The blond shook his head to rid himself of doubt and summoned his courage. He didn't walk halfway across the training grounds to wimp out.
Determined, Naruto tilted his head to the side and looked into the clearing.
He saw her.
Her form was fluent, so natural that it seemed like the kunai had a mind of their own. She reached for another the second she let go of the first and continued until the patter of metal on wood sounded like rain. She didn't need to hear it to know her aim was true. She didn't need to look to know she found her target. Mesmerized, Naruto huddled up closer to the tree as she undid her blindfold and smiled at her handiwork.
She was good. He didn't know how she learned to do something like that and she didn't give him the chance to dwell on the thought as she reached down in front of her to pull a dagger out of a log. She flicked her wrist and the knife embedded itself in another tree. A sword pierced the same tree. Then a spear. A handful of needles. Another knife. All of them landed in roughly the same place, and her target cracked under the stress. The tree leaned to the side, another split taking shape as the birds left the branches for the sky. It fell. The impact rattled the ground, but the girl in front of him didn't move at all.
The kunoichi stood right where she was. The loose strands of silky brown that slipped out of the buns she kept her hair in were caught in the gust, but she said nothing as she simply raised her arm to shield her eyes from the cloud of dust that lingered in the air. She lowered her arm the second it dissipated, her eyes already spying her next target as she bent to pick up something else to use.
She continued unaware of the ninja that watched her from afar. He looked on as she threw six shuriken at the same time and, with precision he only had in his dreams, hit six different trees. She did it again, increasing the number by one with every success and only stopped when one of the eleven stars she threw flew past the tree she was trying to hit. She sighed in obvious disappointment before turning around and picking up a scroll. She rolled it out, the coil it used to be unwinding into a stretch of parchment that danced in the autumn air. Naruto held his breath as she formed a few handseals and whispered a word of release. The entire clearing was abruptly filled with smoke. He almost coughed as he strained his eyes and found her standing before a pile of weapons about half his height.
She reached into the pile and fished through it, pulling out some weapons and looking over them before casting them aside to continue her search. A minute passed before she found what she was looking for. The brunette planted her sandals firmly on the ground and wrapped her hands around something deep in the pile before pulling with all of her might. The small mountain of weapons shifted and some fell as she lifted what she was looking for.
He blinked as she raised the giant axe overhead. It caught the light of the sun and gleamed like a jewel under the dying rays. Neither he nor the girl who held it paid any attention to the lighting as she brought the heavy axe down. The log she cut in half was split with ease. The trouble, though, came in lifting the axe back up. She wiggled the handle before stomping her foot down and forcefully ripped the axe out. She pulled it free of the ground and raised it overhead before bringing it back down on the log. She divided it. She did it again. What was once whole became quarters. She kept going. What was once a log became firewood. She didn't stop. Her arms trembled as she raised it above her head for the fourteenth time. She brought it down as hard as she could and left it right where it was as she let go. With the back of a calloused hand, she wiped the sweat from her head as she swayed and fell back on her butt. She was exhausted and her arms were still shaking but she looked happy, proud at the effort she put forth as she started to stand back up.
Exhausted but not quite finished, she took a deep breath before pulling the axe from its resting place to deposit it back into the pile she drew it from. Again, she looked over the pile and made her decision when she picked up a couple of darts, pausing only to juggle them for a moment.
She looked like she was having just as much fun as he did with his training. Without uttering a curse in frustration, she wore herself out and had fun doing so. He looked at her, watching the familiar puzzle in front of him juggle without a care in the world. Could she be like him? Was she trying to prove herself to someone? To everyone? To herself?
"Yes!!" Her voice rang out and he lost his train of thought so fast it took him a few seconds to remember where he was. He blinked before looking into the clearing again. The first thing he noticed was that the pile of weapons she summoned was gone. A smile registered on his face as he watched her jump up and down in exuberance. "I did it!"
He almost blushed on account of seeing her act so painfully cute, but his face instantly took a more dismal color when he heard the crunch next to him. His head snapped to the side, his eyes wide as he looked down at the squirrel that probably…
"Who's there!?"
That did give away his position.
Naruto started to backpedal. He had to run. There was no way to explain. There was nothing he could say, no possible way to explain to the girl that it wasn't what it looked like. He promptly turned on his heel to make his getaway, but the surge of killing intent from behind sent just enough of a chill down his back to give him pause.
She was going to kill him.
Cursing as he stepped over the squirrel that ruined his day, the blond ran as fast he could without bothered to look behind him. He sped up and the rustling behind him only made him run faster. She was closing in on him. Mortified by the idea of getting caught, he motioned to summon some shadow clones to aid his escape but the truth was…
A kunai nicked his ear and the tag attached to it dragged across his shoulder before the throwing knife landed in the tree in front of him. He froze, his heart thumping in his chest as he slid to a stop and stared at the explosive seal attached to it.
He was already caught.
"You!" The kunoichi was sweating, her breathing clearly labored even though she tried hard to put up an impassive front. She moved towards him with her arm extended, a kunai held tightly in her hand as she approached him. "You were spying on me!"
"No!" Naruto paled, the color draining from his face as he sought to defend himself against the accusation. "I…" He swallowed hard as he turned around with his hands held up in front of him, his eyes shifting from the kunai she held to her face as he spoke. "I was just watching!"
His surrender didn't make her any less angry. The brunette stared at him for a long second, her suspicion the only thing prompting her to hold the kunai a little higher as she edged closer. "You were spying."
"I was watching!" He stressed, trying his best to imply the difference. "I'm not trying to steal any of your techniques or anything!" He hung his head, his regret at being caught nothing compared to the idea that she didn't believe him. He should have expected as much, though. "Honest…"
She believed him.
She lowered her hand, the kunai she once held at the ready was returned to her side, but her eyes remained guarded. People didn't… watch other people for no reason. "Why?" She lifted the edge off her voice and took in the instant relief that crossed his features. "Why were—Wait," That wasn't the first question she needed to ask. "Who are you?"
"Me?" He brought his arms back down and looked around before pointing at himself. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before nodding. His face lit up and the sparkling gleam in his eyes reminded her of her teammate. The blonde smiled, more than happy to introduce himself to someone who didn't already know who he was. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! The future Hokage!"
She quickly bit down on her lip in an attempt to suppress her mirth, but her laughter couldn't be denied. Tears started to build in her eyes. "Y-You…" She tried hard to keep from grinning, but she couldn't help herself. She giggled before throwing her head back and laughing out loud. "You're going…" She stopped to take a breath in the midst of her amusement. "You're going to be Hokage?"
Annoyed, the blond frowned at her as his eyebrow started to twitch. She was making fun of him. "I am!" He replied before crossing his arms. "Believe it!"
She heard of Naruto Uzumaki. There were stories about the boy that went around defacing monuments and playing pranks, but it was the first time she ever saw him up close. He was shorter than she thought, but he was definitely just as outrageous as she heard. The girl doubled over and didn't even bother to dry her eyes as she laughed so hard she cried. It was rude. She'd definitely apologize to him for laughing in his face, but the idea that he out of all the people in the village would become Hokage was too funny! She reached out and put a hand on a tree as she slowly started to get her breath back. "I haven't laughed like that in a long time…"
"It wasn't funny!"
She sighed, nodding as she pushed herself off the tree and looked him in the eyes. "You're right…" She bent at the waist and bowed, honestly feeling a little bad that she laughed at his ambition. "I'm sorry for laughing at you."
"It's… alright." He was surprised. No one ever apologized for laughing at him before. "I…" It made him feel different. The anger that once touched him left like it was never there. "I'm not really mad."
Forgiven, she lifted her head but her sight remained on the ground. She completely forgot her manners. She laughed at him and didn't even introduce herself properly. She sighed again. "I'm really sorry…"
Naruto waved his it off. He didn't mean to make her sad or anything. "It's alright!" He exclaimed, smiling as he tried to show her no harm was done to his ego. "I'm used to people laughing-"
"No," She shook her head as she cut in, confusing him on the eve of her explanation. "I should have introduced myself before I asked for your name." Her slightly sad expression became something much more wonderful as she graced him with her smile. "I'm Tenten."
"Tenten…"
Just like that, a name was added to the image of the person that left him in awe. Somewhere between running for his life and getting caught, he almost forgot that she was the same girl that made him put off his beloved ramen just for a chance to watch her.
"So, Uzumaki…"
He returned her smile.
"Call me Naruto."
"Naruto," She addressed him again, her friendly smile fading as she returned to her original question. "Why were you spy-" She found another smile as he frowned at her. "I mean," She started over. "Why were you watching me?"
"I don't know." Naruto was honest, his response faster than she expected it to be as he lifted his head to look up at the sky. "No any big reason or anything…" He tilted his head and rubbed his bare chin in thought. "I guess you're pretty cool. Yeah!" He exclaimed as it suddenly felt like a light bulb lit up inside his head. With a wide smile spread across his face, he let his fist fall into his palm. "That's why!"
Crystal blue openly stared into grayed brown until she averted her eyes. It was embarrassing, but the reason she turned away had nothing to do with the faint pink that touched her face. His words were shocking, but not as much as his sincerity. "You think I'm cool?"
"Yeah, that's what I just said." Naruto nodded, completely unaware of the effect the things he said had on her. He smiled as he thought to pick another fallen leaf out of his hair. Idly, he wondered why he never just walked up and tried to talk to her before. "I kind of want to be…"
-
More Like You
A Naruto Story
-
"You really mean that, don't you…?" Tenten knew he was a prankster, but she didn't even need to ask if he was serious. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he meant everything he said. "I'm…" She shuffled her feet, kicking up the brush as she sorted through her mind for the right words to say. "I'm flattered. No one ever said anything like that to me before."
With an almost comical gasp, Naruto gawked at her. "You're joking!"
She shook her head, bowing as the flush of pink stayed on her face. "I'm the weak link in my team so I have to work extra hard to keep up with my teammates." She risked a look at him and found her new friend silent in disbelief. He was almost criminally easy to read. "It's true. I don't even think I could beat them on my best day, but I'm still going to try to be the best kunoichi I can be."
Naruto nodded with his eyes closed. "I know how that feels. Sakura and Sasuke always learn stuff faster than I do." He sighed, his shoulder slumping with the motion. "I'm always the last one to learn something or do it right… You know, dead last."
The weapon specialist smiled at the mention of the term. "Being last now doesn't mean you can't be first tomorrow or the day after that. One of my teammates was last in my class and he's one of the strongest people I know now!"
The blond instantly brightened on account of the words she shared with him, but the audible grumble of his stomach quickly changed his priorities. It was getting dark and it felt like he'd die if he didn't make it to the ramen stand in time.
"Guess you missed lunch, too?" Tenten gave him a knowing smile as he offered a solemn nod. It was a shame she didn't know how to cook or she'd bring box lunches with her, but a look up at the late evening sky reminded her why she never thought to try. It was already dark. "Looks like we better get going." She sighed. "I got to pick up all the stuff I left lying."
"Yeah," He painstakingly untied the tag from the kunai stuck in the tree. Using the last of the sun's light, he freed the kunai and tossed it back towards the girl. "Thanks for not killing me."
"Haha," Tenten laughed before slipping the kunai into her pouch and accepting the fake tag. "I wasn't going to kill you." She started to walk away, retreating deeper into the forest to retrieve the things she threw before it got too dark. "It was nice meeting you, Naruto."
"Hey!" The genin shouted to her before she got too far and she looked over her shoulder to see him frantically waving his arms in the air. "Hey Tenten! Congratulations!"
Confused, she spun around with an arch in her eyebrow. Congratulations? She didn't have any idea what he was talking about. Aside from making a new friend, the only noteworthy thing she did was reseal the weapons into the scroll. It was something she usually messed up on so she was really happy when…
"Oh…"
She blushed.
A deep crimson conquered her face as she vividly remembered celebrating after she did it. He saw her and the fact that he thought to say something like that meant he was aware of her previous failures. In a way she was embarrassed that someone even bothered to watch someone like her, but she was empowered at the same time. She was acknowledged by one of her peers for the very first time and he was long gone before she had the chance to say thanks.
0
As a daughter of a blacksmith, Tenten accepted that weapons were a daily part of life before she even became a kunoichi. She felt like she was born to become a weapons specialist. It was meant to be her craft, her trade, and her art. Her dream was to one day be on par with the legendary sannin, and her weapons would be the foundation she needed to build upon to reach her ambition.
Her weapons, each and every single one of them, were an investment she made to become stronger. She used, studied, and practiced as much as she could simply because she wanted to be the best. She wanted to be the best kunoichi she could be so it was only reasonable she'd have to make sacrifices.
In her heart, there was only room for dedication.
She didn't go around fawning over boys because she just never got it. She could understand the initial attraction. She knew about the birds and the bees, but she just didn't get why people her age bothered with such immature affections. If they were lucky, they'd have the rest of their lives to get mushy and all that. Nothing was wrong with having idols or anything like that, she reasoned. She had a few herself, but she'd be damned if she ever chased around any boys like some kind of lovesick dog.
The kunoichi yawned as she slowly opened her eyes and stretched. The soothing ache of muscles being flexed rippling through her body as she spread herself out on the bench she rested on. No one stopped to let a curious eye fall on her as the bustle continued undisturbed. Tenten looked up from where she rested and the clear expanse of blue told her all she needed to know. A dazzling array of color was backdrop to the setting sun, the majestic hues mixing as the sky started to take a darker shade. She sat up and watched the sight with rapt interest. She loved sunsets, but the stores further down the road blocked her view of the horizon so she watched as sun dipped beneath the stores and shops that lined the street. She liked to see it from high, her perch in the trees at the training ground the usual place she used to indulge herself in the sight. It was better simply because it was quiet and she actually could see the sun touch the horizon from there.
Tenten sighed, momentary regret rising as she leaded to the side and took a quick look into the shop. No customers. She laid back down, frowning as she rested with her hands behind her head.
She should have been out training instead of watching the shop. In the back of her mind, she knew maintenance was an important part of being a weapons specialist, but it was definitely the most boring. What people didn't know about metalwork and, by extension, making weapons was that it wasn't all about melting metal and dipping it in some water. The chemistry involved, the different kinds of alloys, forging, tending to the metal… It was more than that, way more, but all of it was lofty knowledge that had no bearing on her technical skill.
More than that, she just hated wasting her weekend.
She wasn't one to partake in some of the things her peers did, but that didn't mean she didn't have an interest in doing things with her friends when she had the chance. More than that, it was Sunday. No one came to the shop on Sundays, especially after noon. Maybe she'd have another blade or two to sharpen, but that didn't take long at all.
"At least I got an early lunch…" She grinned, reminding herself as she stretched out on the bench again. "Can't complain about that."
"Oi! Tenten!"
She turned towards the crowd at the mention of her name, whispers of brown obscuring her vision as she stared into the flow of people. A few slipped out of the moving mass, neither of which being the one that called her name so she continued to search until a familiar orange jacket came into sight.
"Ah, hello Naruto."
Naruto walked up to the bench with a grin, his disposition a clear opposite to hers as he raised a hand to go along with his sunny smile. She would have been able to tell he was in a good mood with her eyes closed. "What are you doing here?" He wondered, his eyes filled with wonder as he edged around her and looked into the shop he never noticed before.
"Nothing, really." Tenten rose to meet him with a smile, grateful to have anyone come along and put a change in her otherwise routine day. "I'm watching the shop, but we really don't get any business on the weekend for real."
Naruto slowed to a stop in front of her and looked up. He was sure it was a building he never saw before, but it wasn't like he was familiar with that many in the first place on account of the looks he got from both the owners and the patrons alike. Blinking away thoughts of being turned away from many an establishment, the genin looked the shop up and down before curiously taking a step to the left to peek inside. "I never noticed this place before."
"Yeah," Tenten sighed as her friend walked past her. "Everyone says the same thing. How about you? You did anything interesting today?"
"Yeah," He poked his head inside the shop and pulled it back out before answering. "I asked Sakura out but I got turned down again."
"Oh?" He didn't seem too down about getting rejected. "Who's Sakura?"
"You don't know Sakura?" The glimmer in his eyes was enough to tell she made a mistake with the simple question. Whenever someone's eyes lit up like that, she knew she was in for the long haul. Tenten held her sigh long enough to shake her head. "She's the best girl in the world!" The genin exclaimed with stars in the radiant blue of his eyes.
"Um, that's good…" She didn't know how to react to his claims, but they made her curious nonetheless. "Why do you like her?"
As someone that wasn't interested in dating, she honestly wanted to know so she was compelled to ask. It wasn't important and it didn't really matter, but it was just a passing interest she had in the girl he claimed to be the best.
"Why do I like her…?" He parroted the question, thinking about it for a second before coming to the obvious answer. "I like her because she's Sakura."
His placid expression shifted into one that was more pensive. It wasn't the first time someone asked him that question. His teammate herself posed the same question to him a couple of times so it wasn't a matter of remembering why. It was just a matter of remembering what he told the object of his affections.
"She's really smart and pretty and… and…"
Naruto cut himself short in light of having nothing else to say.
"I just like her."
Tenten nodded. She was tempted to ask why Sakura was the best, but opted to save herself from having to hear another one of his drawn out answers. Who he concerned himself with didn't necessarily matter to her because it wasn't her business, but hearing what he had to say did confirm one of her suspicions.
Dating wasn't for her.
Things like that didn't suit her. No one would think of her like that so she decided it was a waste of time to even try. There were plenty of smarter girls around and even thinking that she was among the most beautiful was a lie. The one solitary comfort was that she would indeed become the best at something. No matter how hard she had to work, she'd become the best.
"You don't seem that broken up about it."
"Haha," He laughed for a while before deciding to let her know his plan. "It didn't matter if she said no today since the whole team is going out tonight. I'm going to spend time with her either way!"
Again, she got interested.
"On a mission?"
"Nope, Kakashi is going to take us to dinner!" He was visibly excited at the prospect. "I don't know where we're going yet, but this will be my first time going to a real restaurant!"
Tenten deflated a little, but she couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. More than that, she hoped he had a good time. She liked her teammates, but sitting between the flames of youth and stern logic didn't make a good environment for eating. In fact, it was because she came to regret her first night out with her team that she came to hope he had a positive experience.
"Hey Tenten…"
"Hmm?" She hummed, escaping from her musing with a smile as she turned to face her friend. "What is it?"
"Um, should I dress up or something?"
"Ha," It was her turn to chuckle as she shook her head. She didn't know about dating or anything, but, thanks to experience with dealing with her team, she could at least offer some sound advice. "It's nothing big, Naruto. It's just dinner with your teammates so you don't have to get fancy. Just go and try to have a good time."
"Y-Yeah…" He scratched the side of his face as he broke out into a smile. "I should just be myself, like Iruka-sensei said."
"So where were you all going to meet at?"
"Ah…" His eyebrows shot up in alarm before he bolted back into the crowd. "Ah!"
Tenten broke into a laugh as realization dawned on her friend, but the blond paused for a second before sprinting down the road. "Thanks! I'll talk to you later, Tenten!" He yelled over his shoulder as he disappeared in the mass of people. "You should laugh more often!"
"I should laugh more often?" Tenten shrugged in his absence. She thought of herself as a serious person, but she wasn't stuck up or anything. The odd part about it was that Naruto, someone that made her laugh every time he spoke to her, didn't think she did it enough. "At any rate, it's dinner time."
It was already past closing time, but it didn't seem like there were anymore stragglers trying to get in to avoid to Monday morning rush so her lazy attempt at earning overtime was in vain. She probably could have even locked things up and got some dinner early. It wouldn't have made a difference, but the thought of dinner did make her work a little faster to make sure everything was fastened and bolted.
"Hmm," With the shop locked up and bolted down, Tenten jingled the keys around before stuffing them deep inside her pocket. "What do I want to eat today?"
It was due time for her to eat something that actually tasted good. While her parents were skilled at their work, neither of them or herself for that matter was any good when it came to cooking so it was common practice to go somewhere else to get something to eat. It wasn't as expensive a practice as it seemed, but the cost of eating out more often than not did add up so she preferred to save money when she could.
"I guess that settles it then…" She whispered, thinking out loud as she turned on her heel and started walking down the street looking for anything cheap to fill her stomach.
Restaurants were still open and the people running stands were still cooking, but the sky was already dark. She had a good time to decide what she wanted before any of them closed. The hard part was always picking what she wanted to eat when there were so many things to choose from. Hamburger steak… Gyoza… Ramen… She could go on and on, but she had to pick just one. Sighing, she ultimately decided to walk into the next place she saw regardless of what was being served and she would have done just that if she didn't see her new friend standing right beside the door.
Naruto leaned against the door frame impatiently tapping his foot up and down as he waited and she decided against approaching him on sight of the scowl on his face. It wasn't that long ago that he rushed off so it didn't take a genius to figure out that his teammates were late.
Shrugging off the feeling that she should just go to the next restaurant, Tenten stepped out of the crowd and towards the blond. She was hungry, there was no doubt about that, but she could at least keep him company till his teammates showed up. In fact, she figured it wouldn't be surprising if he made a mistake in his haste and just went to the wrong place.
An exaggerated sigh to her left caused her to turn around and nearly bump into the girl that walked past her. Long locks of pink fluttered, cherry strands caught in the wind as the girl escaped from the bustle that still littered the streets. What caught Tenten's eye wasn't the unique color of her hair, but, instead, the determination in her jade eyes. She watched, without a word, as the girl marched up to Naruto with her head held high.
"I should have known you weren't listening." She started without preamble causing her teammate to quickly turn towards her. He stood up straight, his eyes sparkling as the girl fixed her hands on her hips and continued. "Kakashi-sensei told us four times that he wasn't going to make it and—since Sasuke isn't here—I'm not sticking around, either."
"Wait Sakura!" Tenten watched the blond chase after his crush. "I'm here!" He caught her at the wrist and flashed a smile that would have made anyone stop. "Since it's just the two of-"
She snatched her arm free of his grasp and kept on walking.
"Ugh…" She looked repulsed at the thought. "Like I'd want to spend any time with you! You're the most annoying person I know!"
"I'm better than Sasuke!"
"No, you're not!"
"Yes, I am!"
Elementary bickering was the reason they were making a scene, but, instead of the back-and-forth argument going on in front of her, the girl that watched from only a few feet away found herself paying more attention to the things that weren't said.
"Leave me alone, Naruto! I don't like you!"
"But I like you, Sakura!"
"So!?"
He didn't say how much he was looking forward to it, and he didn't say it was going to be his first time going out with other people. He didn't say he just wanted to have a good time, and he didn't say all he wanted was to just be around her.
"Forget it, I'm leaving." She turned on her hell, her long hair whipping around with the motion as she started to leave. "I should have known this was going to happen."
"Sakura… Wait, we don't have to eat here!" One last desperate plea was all that he could make. "We can go and get some ramen! I know-"
"Stop bothering me!"
Sakura stormed off, the people that were in her way making room as she stomped off down the road, and the boy she left behind did nothing but sigh in resignation like he should have expected it to happen like that.
Even though she personally didn't date, it didn't mean that she didn't know people that did so she saw her fair share of break-ups. Interestingly enough a good number of them were on good terms, but the ones people remembered were the ones that went bad and, even then, none of them was like what she witnessed. Breaking-up was one thing, but getting completely—and repeatedly—shot down was another.
That was why Tenten couldn't do anything.
She could give her friends a pat on the back and start some kind of it-ain't-that-bad kind of speech, but, because she knew how much it meant to him, she just couldn't stroll over and try to cheer him up.
So she watched.
She watched him sigh again, the way his shoulders dropped along with the expression on his face making her look away thanks to the memory of his sunny smile. He wandered off, the night he hoped to be happy and the dinner he wanted to have with his teammates something he pushed to the back of his mind as he made his way home.
He wandered off, the night he hoped to be happy and the dinner he hoped to enjoy with his teammates both lost to him as he resigned himself to the truth. Unlike the boy that walked under the buzzing streetlights, Tenten stood right where she was until the sight of his back disappeared into the crowd.
She felt… unsettled.
It didn't matter how long she knew him or not.
Seeing one of her friends being hurt was bad, but seeing it happen and doing nothing was worse. Like the boy before her, she walked off into the night and forgot all about how hungry was earlier.
0
"Ninety-six…"
Tenten hated push-ups.
"Ninety-seven… Ninety-eight…"
It wasn't so much that she hated the actual exercise. It was actually the push-up competition with her teammate that led to her loathing, but that didn't mean she'd let herself fall behind. She probably could do them as fast as he could, but she could definitely do as many as he could if she applied herself.
"Ninety-nine…"
As long as she applied herself…
"One hundred…"
She would be the best.
"One… Two…"
She already forgot how many she did. She started over so many times that she forgot the exact number, it didn't matter. She wasn't aiming for a number in the first place. The real reason she was exercising had nothing to do with the challenges Lee presented to her.
"Three…"
She was trying to clear her mind.
"Four…"
Why didn't she say something?
"Five… Six…"
She should have tried to talk to him instead of just watching him walk away on an empty stomach. She knew better than to offer to eat dinner with him in place of Sakura—she wasn't going to be a replacement—but that didn't mean she wouldn't have been willing to talk for a while.
"Seven…"
Tenten sighed as she stopped right where she was and got up. Exercising wasn't working, and working on her technique was dangerous seeing as it required her undivided attention.
There was only one thing to do.
She had to talk to him about it if only to make herself feel better.
"Oi! Tenten!"
"Gah!" She was on her feet before her friend stepped into the clearing. "Where did you come from?"
"Um…" Naruto raised an eyebrow as he pointed behind him, his approach slowed as he lowered his sight to the kunai she held at the ready. "From back there?"
"No," Tenten sighed before putting the dagger back in its pouch. "Shouldn't still you be with your team? It's pretty early…"
"Nope," He was quick to smile at his friend as he shook his head. "We just had to rescue some stupid cats and I already got my training out of the way for the day." He abruptly pumped his fist into the air. "Not missing lunch today!"
"I see…" Tenten studied him, her voice slow to come as she quietly looked him over. He didn't seem too hung up on last night and, in fact, seemed to be in a way better mood than she anticipated. "So…" She couldn't just be frank with him when he was smiling like that. "How have you been?"
Beating around the bush wasn't something she was good at.
When questions needed answers, she was a firm believer of being direct but even she couldn't will herself to be blunt after witnessing the rejection he suffered.
"You know, you're the only person other than Iruka-sensei that asks me that…" Naruto laced his hands behind his head and looked to the sky. His response was almost soft, easily belaying the significance of what he said. "So…" He smiled before letting his sight fall on her. "How are you, Tenten?"
"I was thinking about you last night." The kunochi couldn't lie when he smiled like that, but she couldn't put him on the spot either. "How…" She didn't know any other way to ask, though. "H-How was your dinner last night?"
She felt like slapping herself in the forehead as he blinked in surprise. For a long second, neither said anything. He stared and she waited. He averted his eyes and she sighed. Instead of trying to talk about and resolve the issue, she only served to reopen a fresh wound and the look on his face marked her mistake. If she apologized and…
"It was great!" He laughed the question off. "I… I never had so much fun!"
She didn't think it was possible for anyone to have fun right after something like that. "Huh…?"
"After I talked to you, I ran all the way to the restaurant and had dinner with my team and we ate together and we talked and we had a lot of fun and…"
She stopped listening to his rambling.
Because he was lying.
After he rushed to the restaurant, he waited at least half an hour and she wouldn't have been surprised if he went to sleep just as hungry as she was. Almost immediately, she started to get angry. She was genuinely worried about him and he was lying to her.
"Sakura even talked to me!"
Tenten didn't even know why she bothered! The whole thing infuriated her. She knew he was a prankster, but she didn't know he was a liar as well. She turned her back to him, ready and about to walk away but…
"I never ate so much food at one time!"
She didn't move.
After she thought about him for so long, she was determined to say something. She just couldn't stay quiet like she did last time, but it was because of her idle thought of last night that she was struck by a feeling that made her take a step in the right direction.
Tenten sighed before executing an about face and walking back up to her friend. She definitely found herself sighing more often than she liked. "Naruto," She was only going to ask him once because she only wanted to know one thing. "Did that really happen?"
"Y-Yeah…"
He was that kind of person.
With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he was quick to tell a lie she would have seen through even if she didn't know the truth. The thing about it, though, wasn't that he lied or that she knew what actually happen.
It was the reason he lied that was important.
There was a chance that he didn't want her to know for the sake of his pride, but she knew enough about the blond to guess that wasn't the case and it wasn't like he gained anything by lying. It was inside her assumption that she found the truth she preferred more than the one she witnessed last night.
He just didn't want her to worry about him.
"That's nice." Tenten reclaimed her spot on the grassy ground, her tone matching her expression as she looked up at her friend. "I didn't feel too good last night, kind of slept on an empty stomach."
"Me too!" Unaware of his slip up, Naruto snapped his attention to his friend and nodded in understanding. "I'm not missing my ramen today no matter what."
"About that…" She crossed her ankles and stretched out, resting her eyes on him as she offered him something he never really had before. "You wouldn't mind me coming along, would you?"
"You want to come and eat ramen with me!?" He was more excited than shocked, the emotion in his eyes easy to note because of the way he leaned over her. "Really?"
It wasn't out of pity and it wasn't something she did for her conscience.
Naruto was her friend.
That was the only reason.
A hand was lowered towards her and the blond that blocked out the sun had a smile just as bright. Someone she once thought engaged in deception was so sincere that she found herself accepting his hand long before she even thought about getting up.
Someone that was written off as trouble helped her realize something she never thought to consider before.
Being the best was important, but so was having fun. Dating was still low on her list of priorities and becoming the best weapons specialist ever was still number one, but there was ample room for the fun she was missing out on.
"You know," Tenten wouldn't be able to make him forget what happened and it wouldn't be easy to forgive herself for just standing there when he needed a friend, but the important thing was that she was glad. She was thankful that they met in the first place. "I'm kind of happy that you spied on me or we never would have met."
Naruto was happy, so excited that he felt like running before she even got a firm grasp of his hand, but he didn't want to rush. He was just as, if not more, grateful than her that they met and had the chance to talk to each other. Without even noticing, she had become one of his important people.
"Naruto?"
The genin blinked, his musing interrupted by the sight of they joined hands. He lowered his eyes and looked down at the girl that looked up at him. "Tenten…" He couldn't lie to his important people. "Last night, I-"
"Let's talk about it while we eat, okay?" She interrupted him for a good reason. "I'm pretty hungry."
He nodded, the rumbling in his stomach agreeing as he helped her to her feet. With her scrolls still on her person and all of her kunai in her pouch, Tenten was ready to go, but the blonde that didn't let go of her hand stood in place.
"I'm glad I met you, too." Naruto was moved, something that was easy to note because of the way he couldn't raise his eyes to meet hers until he had a correction to make. "And I was watching, not spying."
"Yeah, yeah." He stared walking towards one of his favorite places hand-in-hand with the kunoichi that teased him. "It's just that I never saw someone watch a person from behind a tree, always thought of it as spying."
"Gah," He groaned before looking back at her. "What will it take to get you to believe me?"
"Ha," She laughed, something he thought she should do more of as they took their time leaving the training grounds. "I believe you and…" The sight of her friend smiling at her over his shoulder reminded her of something she wanted to say to him since they first met. "Thanks."
"Hmm?" He didn't exactly do anything. "For what?"
He was that kind of person.
She smiled, taking the time to look him straight in the eyes as she shared her gratitude with a friend she felt deserved a lot more.
"Watching me."
-
Fin
Author's note: Hello everyone, this is pretty much my last one shot for a while. I did a few on a whim as a writing exercise and this is one of them. Not trying to use that as an excuse or anything. I know the premise of the story is a little weak and that it doesn't tie together all that well, but I feel like my writing got a little better.
I apologize if the this rubbed anyone the wrong way and thanks for reading everyone.