Artheph's Note: My gaw, I finally get to post up my story after a whole week of waiting! I don't know about you guys, but the lack of new stories was getting on my nerves. I was even prompted to write like two stories in one night. But those will be uploaded later. By golly this story…it was gonna be this ONE couple…but then that disturbed Crysthur, so I made it into the generic couple that we both LOVE…and the revisions caused some headaches. Anyway, here's the story…enjoy!

revision of a line of dialogue. you're right, iriqui. sasuke would never say "damnation." it was just during our phase of saying "damnation" every few minutes, and i just had to include it. a mistake it was though.

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He had fooled them all. Uchiha Sasuke had never ignored those girls who fawned over him. Oh no. He had coldly scrutinized ALL of them to see if they would fit his grand master plan. Alas, NONE of them had. He sighed, looking at his list once more. In the very beginning, when he had started planning out his life, Sasuke had hopes for Hinata. After all, she was of Hyuuga blood. Byakugan and Sharingan: the deadly eye jutsu combination. But, it was not to be. Hinata was still rather weak after all these years. She had given up after obtaining the chuunin title and became a teacher.

Sasuke shook his head and looked at the next name, Ino. It seemed a good choice at first. Number one girl in his class with striking blond hair and baby blue eyes. However, her "little" obsession with him was a major turn off. It wouldn't be very healthy, Sasuke had decided.

His last choice was Sakura. And it was practically perfect. Hell, they'd even been together. But it was Sasuke who had broken the relationship the first time. He felt he couldn't be entrusted with something so precious and wonderful as love. It would be too easy to hurt this girl who gave her entirety to him. Basically, Sasuke was afraid of the responsibility. So, he decided breaking up would hurt her only once…right? He was utterly wrong. After finding her sitting on a stone, crying to herself, a few weeks after the break up, he realized the pain had just become chronic, instead of only one instance. They got back together. The second time, it had been distance that tore the two apart. Their lengthy and numerous missions forced them to bond with their different teammates, instead of each other. Whenever they were able to meet up, their minds were always focused on other, confidential subjects. Finally, Sakura had lashed out her frustration and anger upon Sasuke. Her rant had ended with, "I HATE YOU, UCHIHA SASUKE." Her "I hate you" still ran through his head unbidden from time to time.

And now, Sasuke was left with a rather huge hole in his grand master plan. No girl. He sighed again. Nothing was going his way it seemed. He took a sip of the hot tea he was holding.

Suddenly, a commotion in the street caught his attention.

"Neji, you are the BIGGEST asshole in the WORLD!"

"And yet, you still like me?" Neji haughtily glanced at the fuming girl.

"I thought you could change! But I was obviously VERY wrong!" yelled Tenten.

"Look, Tenten. I just don't have the time."

"TIME? Then you MAKE time for things like this!"

"Tenten, will you listen to me? I've got too much going on. The clan is on the verge of a breakdown, and I'm needed."

"So your messed up clan is more important than me!"

"Get it through your thick skull. YES."

Tenten's eyes flashed angrily. "Then remember this, Hyuuga Neji: you've lost me…FOREVER."

"Tenten, you'll NEVER understand me. My life doesn't need such trivial things. So stop wasting your time thinking about me." Neji turned around and walked off.

Tenten glared at Neji's retreating figure for a few seconds before storming off in the opposite direction.

Such determination in her eyes, mused Sasuke. A determination that won't go away even when the situation turns against you. Tenten… He rubbed his chin and took another sip of his hot tea. …Interesting…He scribbled down her name onto his list.

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Tenten was leaning against a tree trunk. She periodically raised her arm to idly throw a kunai at the target in front of her. Every time, the kunai hit the bull's eye.

THUNK

Another kunai hit the target, but this time, it was a little off to the right of the small red circle in the center.

"What the hell?" she asked herself. How could she NOT hit the bull's eye? Sure, that may have seemed a little cocky, but she WAS known for her superior skills with weapons, after all. Was it because of…? NO, she dared not to say the name. NO, must NOT think of… Disgusted at this tiny show of weakness inside herself, Tenten rapidly threw ten shuriken at the target. This time, all hit the already heavily punctured bull's eye. There, she concluded, I just need to focus.

Suddenly, something whistled past her ear. THUNK. It too hit the bull's eye.

"Not bad," Tenten called out, as she turned around.

Sasuke smirked. "Che. I know."

Sasuke, she thought. The ever arrogant ass. There seemed to be too many of those around Konoha these days. Including…No, she promised herself she wouldn't say, even THINK, of that name anymore.

"Hey, how about a competition? You, me, kunais, target. Whoever misses the bull's eye first, loses. Though it seems, you probably won't last very long."

"Are you underestimating me?" Tenten glared at him.

"Kidding, kidding. C'mon, a nice, friendly contest. Yeah?"

"I didn't know nice and friendly were in your vocabulary."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Was she being abnormally snappy right now?

"Argh…I'm sorry. I've been out of it. But a competition sounds great."

"Good."

And the contest began. First, it was the basics. You know, throwing kunais behind the back, while falling upside down towards the ground. After three of those each, the bull's eye was crowded with six kunais.

"Next level?"

"Yeah."

Now, they gathered chakra into their feet and bounded into the air. While twirling once in mid-air, one kunai throw. Then, when they landed on the ground, one tumble forwards, another kunai throw. While wearing blindfolds. Two times each, four kunais embedded in the bull's eye.

"Let's end this."

"Fine by me."

"You see that leaf falling?"

"The one coming straight down?"

"No! The one erratically blowing in the wind six feet away."

"Got it."

Sasuke was first. He squinted, aimed, and fired. The kunai flew through the air, gaining towards the leaf, going closer, closer, and…missing?

"Damn it," he glanced at his opponent. "There's no way you can hit that."

"Watch me."

Tenten took a deep breath and closed her eyes. One…two…three. She opened them, looked for the leaf, aimed, and threw her kunai. The edges of the leaf fluttered weakly around the kunai edge that trapped it onto a tree's surface.

"Bull's eye." She used Sasuke's famous I'm-better-than-you smirk. "I win."