This story takes place after Naruto and Neji's fight, when Lee is injured.

I don't own Naruto... well, enjoy?


"I hope he's all right."

The girl paced around impatiently, almost uncomfortably, her lips drawn into a tight grimace. Her teammate sat a few feet away, giving away almost no signs of emotion whatsoever. He was staring into space, yet his light, pupil-less eyes kept some sort of sharp look. It was unnerving. Always the calm, collected one, wasn't he? She couldn't stand it, the way he would watch them without saying anything, sometimes giving them that smug, conceited smirk of his.

Oh, here it was again, that smile that wasn't the least bit pleasant. Tenten couldn't find anything amusing about the situation, but it seemed that he felt the need to mock their teammate's situation. She eyed him furiously and he returned the look with an unfaltering stare.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"What do you think? Would it hurt to actually care about something for once?"

He didn't flinch, but she swore she saw a change in his posture. Her teammate seemed increasingly self-conscious with his movements, his mouth opening and then closing once more with an awkward sluggishness. He looked away immediately, and suddenly it was her turn to smirk.

"Something the matter, Hyuuga?"

"Shut up."

"Oh? What's wrong?" Even though he was an unpleasant fellow, he rarely spoke so rudely to her. It was sort of an outspoken rule, because albeit the fact that he was far stronger, Tenten's intolerance for cheekiness outshone his; this was perhaps one of her most feminine traits. Or at least, in Neji's opinion.

"I told you, s-"

He was cut off by Tenten's strangely gentle voice-"No, really, tell me what's wrong."

Although Tenten had always been in awe of his silent resolve and prodigious talent, what amazed him the most was the way she could just change from one mood to another so easily. One moment she might be yelling at him or Lee, the next she might be suddenly kind, suddenly caring. And, even though it impressed him, he sometimes feared her.

"Nothing," He responded nonchalantly.

She wouldn't take it.

"Bullshit. Tell me what happened. You know... after Naruto, er, beat you... did something happened? You seemed kinda distressed..."

"It's nothing, really. I'm all right."

It was then that Tenten looked at him and understood that there was nothing he could say. It was then that she understood that it was best to let the conversation die, then and there.

"Well, if you wanna tell me anything, feel free..." She trailed off, and they both sat there in an understanding silence.

Then, when everything was absolutely quiet, Neji spoke softly, his voice the ghost of a whisper.

"I hope he's all right."