Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (yet).

Through a gap in the bushes, Sakura's green eyes narrowed dangerously. It was the fourth day this week that Sasuke had been training with Tenten. Which also meant it was the fourth day this week that Sakura had been spying on them.

She shouldn't care. She really shouldn't. After all, she was over him. OVER HIM (at least, this was what she told herself as she brushed her hair every morning, jerking hard at the ends of her ninja headband to squeeze some sense into her big forehead). Outwardly, she was doing quite well. She nodded brusquely at him when they crossed paths on the bridge, mumbled a toneless greeting when they stood in line at the grocery store, and – best of all – she hadn't peeled a single apple for him during his month-long hospital stay after Naruto had brought him back to Konoha. But inwardly…inwardly, Sakura was still as weak as the coddled, overprotected twelve-year-old she had once been. And there was nothing that nettled eighteen-year-old Sakura more than weakness. Not Ino, not Naruto, not even Kakashi-sensei's chronic tardiness.

Sakura's lips curved into a small, unbidden frown as she watched Sasuke gracefully dodge Tenten's barrage of weapons, his Sharingan catching every tiny flicker of movement. The way they moved together – so fluidly, so flawlessly – it made them seem like they fit together perfectly.

Tenten's mouth moved as she said something to Sasuke. An all-too-familiar smirk touched Sasuke's lips, and he shot back a reply. Without even realizing it, Sakura clenched her fists. What could they possibly be talking about?

-x-

Tenten threw fifteen shuriken at Sasuke in quick succession. She shook her head in amusement as he easily dodged all fifteen, even blocking one with his kunai and ricocheting it back at her. She ducked, and the shuriken whizzed over her head. "Why do you even train with me? My weapons are no match against your Sharingan."

He smirked at her. "Because you don't talk much." As he helped her retrieve her fallen shuriken, he arched a single black eyebrow. "Until today."

Tenten shot him an annoyed glance. That was the most words the Uchiha had managed to string together since they had started training together.

"Besides," he said, tossing her shuriken to her, "Since Neji went on that solo mission, and Lee is always training with Gai, you haven't had a training partner."

Tenten looked down at the shuriken in her hands, turning them so that they glinted in the sun. Ever since Neji had made jonin, he had been going on more and more solo missions. She would never admit it to anyone, but she missed their training sessions, when it was just the two of them. She missed trying in vain to crack his "ultimate defense" and sharing rice balls during lunch and complaining good-naturedly about Lee.

Tenten glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye. As much as he was like Neji in demeanor, training with him just wasn't the same. And Tenten had a sneaking suspicion that no matter whom she trained with, no one would ever be the same.

"We won't be training together much longer anyway."

Tenten looked up at Sasuke in surprise. She could probably add up all the words he had said to her in the years she'd known him, and it would fall short of all the words he was saying to her today.

"Once Neji comes back, he'll snatch you away faster than Lee's Leaf Hurricane," Sasuke continued, nonchalantly stuffing his hands into his pockets. "He's rather like a jealous boyfriend in that respect."

Tenten jerked back. "Neji and I…w-we're not like that," she managed.

Sasuke smirked, his eyebrow going up again in that infuriating arch. "Oh?"

"We're friends. That's all," Tenten said stubbornly. She shifted uncomfortably as Sasuke pinned her with his Sharingan. Sometimes, she felt like his eyes could see more than just physical motion.

"Is that so?" he drawled. His eyes returned to their normal impassive obsidian as he turned away. He started to walk away, but not before flicking her a casual look over his shoulder. "Is that the way you want it to be?"

A blush crawled rebelliously onto Tenten's cheeks. She clutched the shuriken tighter in her palm. "W-why would I want it to be otherwise?" Her voice wavered, giving herself away.

"Hn. Whatever you say." He turned again and began walking again. "Meet me here again tomorrow, same time."

The shuriken were digging into her palm now, she was gripping them so tightly. "Sasuke!" she called out before her brain fully caught up to her mouth.

He stopped, but didn't turn around. "What is it?"

Tenten took a deep breath. "I need your help."

-x-

Sasuke watched the clouds filter through the pink and orange dusk. He was leaning against a tree at the training grounds, his arms crossed loosely across his chest, as he listened to Tenten blabber on.

"I would never forgive myself if I didn't try. We only have one life, and a ninja's life is short as it is…" she was saying, her hands gesturing wildly. "I mean, Ino swears by this method, and she's an expert on guys."

I don't know about that, Sasuke mused, a small smirk curving his lips. After all, she never got ME.

Tenten was still talking at a hundred miles an hour. "After Ino started flirting with Kiba, Shikamaru finally got off his lazy butt to ask her out. And even Naruto got it through his thick skull to date Hinata after she began hanging out with Shino. And don't even get me started on Genma and Shizune. He was all over her after Raido sent her flowers that one time."

Sasuke grimaced (which, for him, wasn't much of a change from his usual expression). It seemed like everyone in Konoha was coupling up these days. Everyone except him. And Sakura. Hn. No doubt she wanted them to be a couple. Although… Sasuke frowned. She hadn't really been paying him any attention since he'd returned. She didn't follow him around, or give him flowers, or fuss over his every little scratch. Come to think of it, it's been years since he'd heard the annoying "kun" tacked on to his name…

"Sasuke. Sasuke? SASUKE!"

Whoosh. "Hey!" he snapped, glowering at the kunai Tenten had embedded in the tree behind him, way to close to his head for comfort.

"Whoops! My hand slipped," she said in an irritating singsong voice, twirling another kunai on her fingertips.

Sasuke glared at her. It looked like Shino was the only training partner in Konoha who wouldn't annoy him.

Tenten crossed her arms, her face suddenly becoming serious. "So. Will you helped me or not?"

Sasuke sighed. Shikamaru had a point. Why were girls so…troublesome? He pushed off from the tree and looked Tenten in the eye. "Let me get this straight. You want to pretend to be my…" He struggled to spit the word out, his tongue refusing to form the distasteful syllables, "…my fangirl…just so Hyuga will become jealous and fall in love with you?"

Two pink spots popped up on Tenten's cheeks even as she scowled at him. "You don't have to put it like that."

"And on top of that," he continued as if he hadn't heard her. "You want to become some sort of…girly girl…who wears short skirts and make-up." Again, he had to pause and force his mouth to form the words.

Tenten bit her lip. "Well, Ino said –"

But before she could continue, Sasuke shrugged and pulled her kunai from the tree, tossing it to her in one fluid motion. "I'll help you." He turned and headed toward the border of the training grounds.

"You – you will?" Tenten asked his retreating back.

He didn't even pause in his steps. "It's always entertaining to toy with Hyuga."

"Wait, I –" Tenten called out, but Sasuke had already disappeared.

"THANK YOU!" she yelled into the empty air.

-x-

Sakura slumped down in her position behind the bushes. She hadn't heard a word of Sasuke and Tenten's conversation, but she couldn't miss Tenten's shouted thanks as they parted ways. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. I am strong, I am strong, I am strong, she repeated to herself.

I am over him, I am over him, I am over him.

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading the first chapter of my very first fanfic! *blushes and pokes fingers together like Hinata* I love NejiTen and I love SasuSaku, but what I love most is NejiTen and SasuSaku all rolled into the same story. Yep, I'm a shipping addict…did you guys catch the implied NaruHina and ShikaIno? *grins* Anyway, please review! (I'm also a praise addict…but constructive criticism is also welcome, of course).