Author's Note: Dedicated to Blurredby Tears on Tinierme! xD

The first time Tenten saw him, was on the first day of school. He had long, beautiful hair, and the saddest eyes she had ever seen. He never let anyone approach him, and silently rose to be the first in class. Alone.

She, like everyone else, couldn't get close. So she resigned herself to watching from afar. To admire, and feel, from afar. Until the day when they were assigned to the same team, and she finally felt like she had a chance. A chance to crumble the walls he had built around him.

The first time Neji looked at her, was when they were announced to be on the same team. He inwardly dismissed her, for kunoichi could never measure up to their male counterparts.

Then their jounin-sensei, Maito Gai, conducted their genin test. And he grudgingly changed his mind. So the female had skills. He labeled the pang of recognition as a slight sense of relief, that maybe she wouldn't be a dead weight after all.

Tenten relished in every miniscule expression she could get her near-emotionless teammate to show. Especially when she managed to land a blow on him, something that was occurring lesser and lesser these days. During those times, his eyes would show surprise, and she would feel proud. Proud that she had once again made him acknowledge her. So she trained harder, and enjoyed the rare moments his blank eyes would show approval.

They were on their first B-ranked mission. They had split into two teams, and he was stuck with his dead-last of a teammate. He told himself that the beating of his heart wasn't any quicker than usual, and that the constant distraction of his thoughts towards a certain someone was just because he was concerned about the success of their mission. For a few minutes or so, he almost believed it. Almost.

The first time the thought of getting to know each other better seemed impossible, ironically came on one of those days where she had thought it was 'perfect'. In one of those few moments he let his guard down, and his hitai-ate loosened during one of their training sessions.

A seal she couldn't quite identify was revealed, followed almost instantly by an enraged roar she could hardly believe came from her usually calm teammate. Later, she learned that it was the Caged Bird Seal, and the reason for Neji's childhood torment.

Neji had a simple classification of people. The Main Family, the Branch Family, those with Bloodlines, and those without. 'Strength' usually followed this pattern. Then came Gender; males above females. That is, until he met his team, Team 9. Then, he learnt that just because one did not have a Bloodline, does not mean that they were weak. He also learnt that unless he wanted to feel pain in a very specific part of his anatomy, he would not mention 'gender' to his female teammate.

The more time passed, the more she realized, that there were… differences, between them. Some of which could never be mended. First of all, he had a Bloodline, and she did not. It was one of those things, which were so natural, that one didn't think of it as a 'difference', but more as a kind of 'classification'. And that was a part of him that she could never comprehend.

He had never before felt jealous of those below him. He didn't want, hence he didn't try, to understand the thoughts of those below him. Thus, he couldn't even begin to fathom what Tenten was thinking. No matter how much he told himself he had no need to.

The girl had no family background to speak of, had no bloodline to boast of. But she had that strength of will, and when she claimed that her goal was to be like Tsunade, one of the Sannin, he couldn't help but believe her, even though he didn't understand why.

Another difference, was their status in the shinobi world. It had occurred to her as she passed by the Hyuuga compound one day, that she could never hope to compare to the prestige and respect his very presence commanded. All because of his family.

For the first time, she felt her stand against his belief about 'Fate' waver.

He was a Hyuuga. He was not meant to associate with those lower than him. Tenten was his teammate, so it was inevitable, he told himself. He, under no circumstances, was looking forward to their meetings, to their trainings. Because of their differences. Because of their different positions in society. Even if he was a Branch member, surely, such behavior, would reflect badly on the Hyuuga?

She knew he had broken. She knew he was feeling. The only thing that stopped him, was her lack of status. The only thing she could do to mend this was to fulfill her goal. Of becoming like Tsunade. Because then, she would have something to speak of, and maybe, just maybe, she could get him to look at her.

So she trained and trained, and tried her best to improve. Because the only thing that could mend this distance between them, was a bridge, that came if the form of 'power'.