"Oi, Ten! Where's the dango I left on the table?" A voice reached Tenten's ears when she looked up from the laptop, minimizing the window of her IM and opening a window with online manga. Not like she had anything else to do.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean the ones in the plastic wrap?" She responded in the same tone as her brother, who was currently looking for the leftover dango. Pausing to think of it, she heard a faint 'Yeah, that one' come from downstairs.

"I ate it." She said it bluntly and blankly. No need wasting her energy on exclamations and elongated explanations. She heard footsteps approach her room, and an irritated Shikamaru stood in the doorway.

"Do you have to eat all the leftovers all the time? Sheesh." Tenten rolled her eyes at his complaint. Gawd, men and their dominance.

" Well, stupid little brother, I wouldn't have eaten it if it wasn't left out like that. I'm not that desperate to go digging for food, anyway. Besides, you're getting pudgy in the middle." Shikamaru looked down at his stomach, scoffing when he saw it was the same near to flat. He glared at her.

"No I'm not. Even if I was, you'd get pudgier than I would since you eat almost everything in your sight. You giant Panda-monster." Tenten twitched, and Shikamaru ran away from said girl, who currently wielded a baseball bat. And it was metal, too.

Deer- Panda- Deer- Panda- Deer- Panda- Deer- Panda-

"Tomatoes, Dango, Fish sauce, Rice, and Eggs. Check." Tenten scanned the messy writing known as her uncle's shopping list. Whenever her parents were away, he always took care of them, but his habit of bringing over random women pissed her off, especially when they violated the spot-clean couch. Shikamaru was supposed to do the shopping, but his lazy ass wasn't capable of walking of walking a few blocks. Tenten didn't know exactly how he stay fit, or maybe she did.

Both she and Shikamaru were adopted, anyway; she was already 12 by the time she was adopted, but she had adapted well to her new family. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was only a year younger than her, but had been adopted when he was only 7 years old. But, she had gotten along with him as well. Still, nobody knew they were related, even if they had no blood relations at all. Shaking thoughts like that out of her head, she headed to the cashier, who coincidentally was helping her former 'friend' Sakura. Back when Tenten was new, Sakura had been new too, and had been her friend. She used to care a lot for Sakura, but now she'd be bitching and throwing a fit before she could admit it. Sakura had taken the path to being a rich popular who was a total conniving bitch, and Tenten wanted away from the rosette.

"Oh. Hi! Tenten! Nice to see you again!" Tenten twitched at the fake smile and the overly-girly giggle that came from Sakura. The rosette pointed at her bags, Tenten had a feeling that this was her duty. As if.

"Uh…yeah. Hi. Could you please get out of the way? I'm trying to pay for my stuff." Sakura looked astounded at her defiance. Turning away with a 'Hmph', a bodyguard picked up Sakura's bags and left the store with her. Setting the contents of the plastic basket onto the conveyor belt, Tenten was met with a pair of dark eyes and dark hair, but his eye-bags and strange coughing stood out. Her eyes widened in recognition.

"Hayate? I didn't know you worked here." The man looked up, and let out a charming smile. He coughed, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, it's another part-time, since I have nothing to do. Well…I have off in a few minutes, so want to go out for a while?" He suggested. She beamed and grinned, her first real smile outside of the house. Tenten could feel the feelings she once had for the strange man resurface in a matter of moments. She laughed, something she hadn't done in such a long time, and she laughed a bit more at the surprised look on the older man's face. Grabbing the plastic bags, she walked alongside Hayate outside the store. Outside, Tenten wasn't smiling right now, but she seemed pleased. Hayate, who was 4 years her senior, was what she considered a real gentleman, in her eyes. True, she did have a crush on him while he was still in high school, and she in middle school, but that didn't mean that she still did. Or, maybe she still did, but that's not the point. Her family, especially Shikamaru and her mom, teased her endlessly about it, especially after the fact Hayate had asked for a kiss from her at his graduation party.

"Here we are!" Hayate's voice interrupted her thoughts. She knew this place…it was a small and hidden café', but still popular nonetheless. She used to go here a lot, but when he graduated, she hadn't had the chance. They sat down at a table for 2, and both of them couldn't help but blush at the familiarity. They chatted for a while, simply enjoying the company and the latter. What she didn't notice was the populars flashing secret pictures of her 'date' with Hayate. And to think that summer was almost over once it first began… The new school year was approaching, and the rumors would start flying around. But, of course, she didn't suspect that one bit.