Hey! What's up kids? ;D How have you been?! I've been great thanks!

…

Now, anyway. I don't think I'll be updating my stories anytime soon, so that list is going to get cut off…someday. I may have to go through the pain of reading them all again to decide which to remove and which not to. ):

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

Well, I've been meaning to work on this for quite a while now, so…mm…yeah.

Hidden
Chapter One: Small Talk

"Yup! I guess I can't lie to you guys, hee…"

"No, actually. If you really want to know that badly."

There were two different answers given to two different groups of people. It wasn't a very big deal, just a short conversation on the matter. Some of them cared a bit more than others, and some didn't really care at all. For different reasons of course. But they all expected an answer, nonetheless. The answer didn't really come easy for some, though. But they were given an answer, nonetheless. For some people, even if an answer wasn't given, it was received, nevertheless.

Though, perhaps this has begun a bit too late. But honestly, it was only a topic that had just so happened to be brought up.

"Speaking of men, I've heard a very small rumor going around." There was a slight smile that accompanied Yamanaka Ino as she spoke.

"Hm…As expected, Ino." Haruno Sakura winked at her good friend. "What'd you hear this time?"

"Nothing big, actually. Not very interesting, and barely enough people speak of it."

"Well…" Hyuuga Hinata stretched, not knowing that she had been so stiff from sitting, even in such a comfortable position. "I-It must be something if you mentioned it." She smiled nervously, running a finger down her cheek slowly, and repeating the motion. For some…odd reason, she was curious to see what Ino had in store for them. She decided to not wonder upon why she was curious, but more of the matter at hand.

Ino let out something that sounded like a whiny exasperated sigh. "Well, just out of curiosity…" Her bright blue eyes rolled over to the attention of Tenten, who sat one seat away from her. Tenten took note of the sudden focus with a slight shock, and held her breath a bit. The glance from the sharp blue eyes made her wonder, was there anything that she hadn't shared with her friends? None that she remembered…nothing of much significance or importance has happened that was worth mentioning.

Was she missing something?

"E-Eh…What is it, that came out of your curiosity?"

"Hehe…" That didn't sound chipper at all.

Tenten didn't understand why there was a bead of sweat that rolled down the side of her face.

--Somewhere else, at another time…

"Hm…this drink is pretty light." Nara Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at his drink that he held. "More water then flavor, it seems."

Rock Lee took a sip from his own cup. "Mm…it is very diluted."

"It's what you two ordered. You told the server you didn't enjoy drinks that were too sour, so you really shouldn't be complaining." Inuzuka Kiba set down his drink on the wooden table.

"Besides, if you didn't want a sour drink, then you should have ordered something else!" Uzumaki Naruto frowned, annoyed as he lifted his drink to take a sip.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru scratched his arm. "What about your drink, Chouji?" He turned his attention to his friend beside him. "You've had three cups already."

"Very sweet and delectable to taste." Akimichi Chouji turned to call out to the server for another.

"Sweet huh?" Naruto made a face. "Maybe I should have ordered that instead..."

"You took the longest to order, dobe." Uchiha Sasuke glared at Naruto, who sat beside him.

"Well, at least I actually ordered something different from all those times we've been here before!" He retorted, slamming his drink down.

Kiba interrupted the rising quarrel that seemed to be in the making. "Honestly, I think we should be enjoying this time that we have, considering the fact that as shinobi, it's rare that we all are able to sit down and have a break like this. All at the same time, that is."

"Hm…speaking of that…" Shikamaru turned his attention to Hyuuga Neji, who absentmindedly held his drink and was (most likely) staring into space at a tree or some inanimate object that was not relevant to the subject at hand.

"…By the way, Neji."

Neji turned his head slowly towards Shikamaru, and dipped his head in question. "…Hm?" Neji didn't think that whatever Shikamaru asked or told him would be important, so his response was a bit listless.

Then again, with someone like Shikamaru, and someone who speaks like him, you wouldn't expect much, really.

…Well, you can't really explain how they took it…but…

"I heard you were going out with Neji, is that right?"

"Heard some people around the village say you were…going out, with Tenten."

Tenten's face reddened slightly as she dipped her head in embarrassment. "Ah…heh…" What was she supposed to say in a situation like this?

"Hmm…!" Sakura beamed as she set a hand on Tenten's shoulder. "Well, if you're not going to tell us a straight answer, I think we could all consider you reaction as a yes."

"A-Ah…I've heard of this too, but it doesn't seem to have been confirmed yet." Hinata smiled at Tenten. "Is it true, though?"

"What?!" Ino gaped at Hinata. "You live with the him, but you don't even know?!"

"You m-must understand…" Hinata smiled nervously. "…It's hard to tell, I'm sure you know."

"Well, yeah." Ino took a moment to think about Neji, or Hinata's expressive cousin. "You're right." Ino retreated, and then reverted her attention to Tenten.

Tenten held her hands to her face to try and soothe out her blushing cheeks (Which seemed surprisingly productive) and sighed.

She sighed. "Oh goodness…"

--Somewhere else, at another time...

Neji's eyes narrowed. "What was that?" there was some sort of threat in the tone of his voice.

"Hm…I've actually heard about this." Sasuke glanced at Neji, who was sitting beside him. "It does seem mildly interesting, now that I think of it." The only response Sasuke got was a glare.

Naruto, on the other hand, almost spit out his drink. Shikamaru was gratified that he didn't. "Huh?! Tenten?" Naruto's eyes widened at Neji as he turned to him. "Well, are you?!"

Neji ignored the latter, and turned his attention to Shikamaru. "Since when did you start talking so much?" He crossed his arms. "Why would you be so interested in my personal business?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Neji.

"Hey, don't make this troublesome." Shikamaru snapped. It was only a simple question, but clearly he shouldn't have asked.

Chouji nodded in agreement. "Mm…Stop making him sound bisexual too."

Sasuke smirked at this as Kiba, Naruto, and Lee snickered. Shikamaru glared at Chouji. "Your assistance was not very beneficent." he said flatly.

Kiba faced Neji again. "Hahaha…so, does that mean you are? Going out with her, I mean."

"Hmpf…"

And then of course…

"Yup! I guess I can't lie to you guys, hee…"

"No, actually. If you really want to know that badly."

--Somewhere else, at the other time...

"That's great Tenten! You guys fit together perfectly!" Sakura exclaimed happily.

"M-Mm!"

"Well, that proves I was right." Ino crossed her arms, beaming.

Tenten looked at Ino nervously. "Er…You're not going to go around with a loudspeaker and tell everyone, right?"

Ino winced at her. "What? Eh, I wasn't really planning on it. Konoha doesn't really care."

"O-Oh…perhaps so." Hinata pondered on this.

"So, when did you two start going out?" Sakura asked, eager to know.

"Really I'm not sure. Can't remember when we started…'Going out'." Tenten wondered, trying to remember.

"Well…" Ino nudged Tenten from beneath the table. "Have you done anything yet?"

"Any contact at all?" Sakura added on excitedly.

Tenten blushed and giggled nervously. "I can't really say."

"Mm!" Sakura pouted. "Tenten you're no fun."

She frowned. "I didn't think I looked like a romance novel."

"Ah, a-anyway…" Hinata intervened. "Has anyone met…um…"

"Ah, are you talking about Ishikawa Masayuki-san?" Tenten asked.

Hinata nodded. "M-Mm! People talk about him a lot, saying he jumped from genin to jounin and such."

"They said he's good looking too." Ino shrugged. "Never actually seen him though."

"He just arrived in Konoha two weeks ago. He's been doing business with Tsunade-sama since. You know, issues with being a shinobi of the village and such." Sakura gestured towards the waitress to ask for a drink.

"No surprise there." Ino said in response. "Though, he's an official Konoha shinobi now, so all that's over."

Tenten held her chin. "Ishikawa Masayuki-san…Actually I had to run into him the other day."

They all turned their attention to Tenten again.

"W-What?" Hinata had heard some very interesting things about this man's strength.

"Did you make friends with him?" Ino asked.

"What?! I haven't even seen him before, and I'm with Tsunade-sama a lot."

Tenten laughed nervously at the attention again. "Well, it was nothing really. He was running past in the training grounds and he dropped his water bottle on me."

Sakura laughed. "Oh, wow."

Tenten giggled. "I know. He apologized though. Seemed pretty decent. Nothing special, if you ask me. His water bottle spilled my tea, so he offered to buy me another."

"He seems like a…g-gentlemen."

"From the looks of it. He got me another cup of tea and introduced himself. We had a small chat afterwards. You could consider us in between the line of an acquaintance and a friend."

"Huh…Well, it's nice to know that he seems to be a polite person." Ino smiled.

Tenten shrugged. "You'd expect as much. He's over three years older then us."

Tenten felt a hand on her shoulder. "Uh, Tenten-chan!"

Tenten turned and looked directly up. Her expression brightened. "Ishikawa-san!"

He winked. "Masayuki-san, you mean." Masayuki stepped to one side of Tenten, beaming. "Tenten-chan, how are you?"

"Great! Yourself?"

"Wonderful." He turned his attention to the other people who were sitting at the table. He smiled. "Ah, you must be Tenten-chan's friends."

Hinata smiled and nodded her head. "H-Hyuuga Hinata. You must be Ishikawa Masayuki-san!"

"Indeed. It is an honor to meet a Hyuuga such as yourself." Hearing this, Hinata smiled with the pride of her family. It was good to know that her family was known for it's greatness and such.

"Yamanaka Ino. I've heard many things about you."

He nodded. "Yamanaka-san." Masayuki laughed, embarrassed. "Ah, well. I hope they were mostly positive."

"I don't think you've done much of anything to be considered negative yet, Ishikawa-san."

"Oh, you must be the great Haruno Sakura!" he exclaimed. "Tsunade-sama often mentions you. It's nice to see you in person, finally."

"As yourself, Ishikawa-san." Sakura pouted a bit. "Gee, I hope Tsunade-sama didn't say anything bad about me."

"Oh trust me." he winked. "She didn't."

Sakura blushed, smiling. "Well, that's a relief."

"Hmm! Well, it was a pleasure to meet you all, but I'm afraid I was sent to call forth Tenten-chan. There is a mission for you to carry out." He told her.

"Ah, oh. Um, okay." Tenten laid some money on the table as Masayuki bid good bye and waved at Hinata, Ino, and Sakura, who waved back.

"Tenten-chan, huh?" Ino smirked.

Sakura elbowed Tenten after Masayuki was out of sight. "So much for between an acquaintance and a friend, huh?"

Tenten frowned. "Hey!"

"T-Tenten…" Hinata giggled. "Perhaps you should get going. We'll spend time together next time!"

She sighed as she stood up. "Yeah, until next time." She raised her arms in a stretch. "Really sucks that I'm the first to go on a mission though."

Sakura and Ino stuck their tongues out at her as Hinata smiled.

--Later

"As a jounin, you've been a Team Leader in missions, right?" Tsunade golden eyes scanned the papers that she held in her hands. "Three times, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I want you to be Team Leader again for this upcoming mission. You'll leave immediately, as it's not too much of a treacherous mission, though it is an impulse." she said.

"Yes, of course."

"Now…"

Ohohen: -Sigh- You know, I'm four months behind on Naruto episodes? I've just been so busy (And found other more interesting series to watch. -Guilty-) that I haven't been able to keep up. So, if any mistakes are made whatsoever, really, you can't blame me.

So yeah, instead of watching Naruto like I should be, I've been reading Good Morning Call. Finished, and now waiting for Good Morning Kiss. I've also been surfing for Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, and Warriors Orochi pictures. :D I'm a big fan of the series. Though, I've never played Samurai Warriors before, so I don't know much about the characters. Warriors Orochi was my first introduction to them, besides cruising for clips and cut scenes on YouTube. Haha…

Mitsunari Ishida is love. :0 It's funny how everyone abuses and spams his R1. xD It's weird how fans pair him with Sakon Shima. I don't really support. Mitsunari looks fine by himself…It might be from Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends or something, I dunno. I don't think I'll be playing the Samurai Warriors series anytime soon, besides Warriors Orochi.

It saddens me that I can't find much of any Yukimura and Kunoichi pictures. D;

WOW. DID I JUST RANT ON ABOUT VIDEO GAMES? ROFL. Sorry, it's been my latest obsession lately.

-Sigh- Can't wait for Warriors Orochi 2. I'm not going to spoil myself watching Musou Orochi Maou Sairin videos on YouTube like I did with Warriors Orochi. ROFL. Totally spoiled the fun of it.

Oops. Sorry. XD

This story is probably going to be a threeshot. I've got the majority of it planned out, so you should be expecting updates soon. I don't make promises I can't keep though, so I can't promise you.

I really didn't like the dialogue, details, and narration in this chapter, but I'm much too lazy to fix. D:

Hm…School is starting soon. Hope all you passed your tests. :D

I hope this will be the last of the ridiculously long Author's Notes. D; I'm very sorry. I should stop ranting…

...So uh...anyone have any good NejiTen stories to reccomend to me? :D