Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, and am not making any profit off of this.

Behind Those Sheets of White

A NejiTen Fanfiction

Prologue

To her, it seemed as though the world was ending. The kunoichi pushed open the large, wooden doors, and inhaled deeply. Ignoring the protests and cries behind her, she ran out into the night, going from the warmth of the building into the frigid December air. She gritted her teeth as the rain battered her from head to toe, but she ran on, unflinching. Nothing could be worse than what she had just endured. Nothing.

----

"Oh, Tenten-chan! It's great that you could come a bit earlier to help out with the preparations!" Ino Yamanaka grabbed the other girl's hand, and led her into the kitchen, where there were several chip bags and empty bowls. "Come on, we don't have much time. Hinata could be back anytime."

With a smile at her friend, Tenten tore open a chip bag, and dumped its contents into a bowl, as Ino was doing across from her. The kitchen smelled of fresh baking, and everywhere she looked, streamers had been put up, and there was a bag of balloons on the table.

"So, have you heard?" Ino chattered excitedly, grabbing another bag. "Sasuke-kun's all mine now!"

Tenten blinked. She hadn't heard. "Why, did something happen to Sakura-chan?"

Ino grinned, a look of triumph written all over her face. "You could put it that way, I suppose. Yes, something happened, all right." She paused, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. "Neji Hyuuga happened."

Tenten froze, the chip bag half open in her hands, but Ino chattered on obliviously, glad to have someone else to share the news of her victory with.

"Kiba-kun and Naruto-kun saw Neji and Sakura kissing at one of the training grounds yesterday!"

----

Tenten could only hear the pounding of her feet and her heart as she ran on blindly, tears rolling silently down her cheeks and mingling with the rain. How could fate have been so cruel?

----

Tenten uttered a soft gasp at Ino's words, and the blonde turned, sensing that something was off. "C-could you please repeat that, Ino?" the other girl asked softly, stumbling slightly on the first word.

Ino grinned, glad that her words had created the desired effect. "I know, I was so shocked when I first heard it too. I mean, come on! Neji Hyuuga and Sakura Haruno. That's just so..." She shook her head with a laugh. "Oh well, now that Sakura-chan's out of the running..." A devious look formed on the Yamanaka's features as she poured out the last of the chips and headed over to the table. "Come on. We've got to get these balloons blown up."

----

"Neji, Truth or Dare?" Hinata's birthday party had been underway for two hours now, and, to Tenten, it felt like the longest two hours of her life. She knew that Lee was probably the only one who noticed that something was up; she had been avoiding Neji for the whole party. The sad thing was that the Hyuuga didn't even realize it, and it was obvious to the whole group present that Neji and Sakura were absolutely lovesick. Now, they had gotten into a game of Truth of Dare, and Ino had just asked Neji.

"Dare."

Ino grinned, and shot Tenten a knowing look, before announcing the dare. "Neji, I dare you to ask Sakura out, right here, right now."

Tenten stiffened slightly, and listened for her teammate's response, hoping that he would chicken out of it, though it was unlikely.

"I already did," Neji replied coolly, his white eyes watching Sakura, who shot him a brilliant smile. There was a collective gasp from the others, and Tenten rose shakily.

"T-tenten-chan? A-are you a-alright?" Hinata asked softly. From the expressions of the others, she could tell that they were wondering the same thing.

"I...think I left the kettle boiling back home," she lied, and bolted for the door, feeling a lurching feeling in her throat, and knew that if she didn't get out of there, she was going to burst into tears. "I'm really sorry, Hinata-chan." Without waiting for a reply, she burst outside, and ran.

----

Tenten stopped, breathing hard, and gave a small smile, at her surroundings. A training ground. Or, more specifically, the one that she and Neji trained at every morning. "Damn," she whispered softly. Why was life so unfair? There was a fluttering noise behind her, and, even before the birds flew past her, she knew that there were eight. Eight birds, mocking her in her misery, like everything else was. But why? Tenten wondered, feeling the tears about to come again. Why didn't he ever say anything about it? Neji wouldn't have just...kept quiet about something like this, I know he wouldn't! But yet he had. Shaking her head, Tenten leapt up into the trees, heading back to her apartment. She wasn't going to go back to the party, or more truthfully, she couldn't. She knew that she would burst into tears again when she saw the looks that passed between Sakura and Neji. But why did she even care? Why did something like this even matter to her? Bitter realization struck; deep down, she knew the truth. She had, somewhere along the road, developed feelings for her white-eyed teammate. As Tenten left the clearing, it remained eerily silent, and only a sound of sand falling, as if it were tricking through an hourglass, remained.

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Author's Note: Well, it's my first, so please review, I'd like to see what you all think of it. Short, but there's more coming.