Author's Notes: I was really pleased with the response I got from folks here when I posted the first chapter, so here is the second! Yay. Introducing Tenten who is stubborn, Ino who is gossipping, Sakura who swears and Neji who is still ignorant. You simply have to love the guy, don't you? I know I do. Thanks to Nywenn, hullotherexx, KNO, Unknown Variable and Irischeto for favouriting this story or adding it the their alerts, and huge thanks tohullotherexx, WinterVines, KNO, seesay99 and Irischeto for reviewing! You guys are the best. Anyway, enjoy and please be so kind as to let me know what you think in a review! It would mean the world to me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Except for my plushies.


Tawakemono

o2. "You may be clinically insane."


Tenten entered Tae's Teashop at a quarter past five in the afternoon, the warmth enveloping her like a blanket after the bitter cold outside, as a little bell overhead signalled her arrival. Tae's shop was a tiny place, tucked away in an alley off the main shopping street of Konoha. Even smaller was the clientele; what with all the tables and seats that had been crammed into the space the shop could probably house all of Tenten's friends, but it was a rare day when old Tae could say she'd served even a dozen costumers. It was the perfect place to settle down after a hard day's work for tea and talk, something Tenten and her three best kunoichi friends indulged in on a weekly basis - if they had the time. They had the place to themselves today, except for the old man by the window who came around everyday.

"Tenten!" Ino called from their usual corner table, the largest in the establishment.

Sakura raised an arm overhead. "Hi, Tenten!" The two chairs across from them were vacant. Tenten quickly made her way over and slid down across from them, winding her scarf from her neck.

"Hi guys. Where's Hinata?"

Ino shrugged, sipping her tea. "She came by the shop earlier, said she needed to find Naruto."

Tenten shrugged. "Okay." It wasn't like Hinata to skip their weekly meeting, but she was sure the girl had a good reason.

"We ordered for you," Sakura said, pushing one of the steaming mugs in front of her across the table.

"Thank you," Tenten breathed gratefully as she wrapped her hands around the drink. It was still warm... She'd been looking forward to this moment ever since she stepped out into the cold to train.

"Cinnamon-flavoured, just the way you like it," Ino sang. She wagged a finger. "But I don't think you deserve it! You're late," she accused with a flick of blond hair.

Sakura hit Ino on the arm. "Behave, pig."

Tenten knew better than to let them squabble, so she quickly apologised. "Sorry, guys. Neji was particularly demanding today."

Two sets of eyes stared at her, incredulity written in them. Tenten could have grown a second head and they still wouldn't have looked as stunned as they did now. Sakura was the first to speak. "You were training?"

"That's crazy, Tenten," Ino stated matter-of-factly. "It's freezing out there," she stated, shivering as she glanced out the window.

Tenten shrugged, taking a first sip of her tea. "So? We need to be able to fight in the cold, too." She wasn't about to admit this had been one of those training sessions where she had to run chakra through her weapons to make them warm enough to actually be able to wield them.

Sakura shook her head in exasperation. "You two need to learn how to give it a rest, honestly."

"Why don't you just tell him to suck it every once in a while?" Ino asked.

Tenten nearly spat out her tea at the thought of Neji's face when she told him to 'suck it'. Ino's suggestion was a tempting one, if only to see Neji actually wear the facial expression he now bore in her imagination... But no temptation could ever be greater than that of spending time with him, even if it was only for training. She'd never willingly say no to an afternoon of alone-time with him. However, that wasn't something she could very well tell the girls...

"There's nothing wrong with a little environmental endurance training," she argued.

Which was true. She knew she'd made sacrifices for Neji, but he did the same. Neji never hesitated to be the first to head into enemy territory, and there had been countless times he'd taken the risk of turning his blind spot towards the enemy to save her. He owed her, but she owed him too. She'd never have achieved her pin-point accuracy with all the weapons in her arsenal if not for Neji's relentless attacks.

"Nooo," Ino corrected, "there is something wrong with you."

Sakura nodded. "You might actually be clinically insane. I'll consider you a patient from now on," she joked.

Tenten sighed. She wasn't insane, that was for sure. She knew exactly what was 'wrong' with her, and it was a lot more impossible to cure than insanity. "Don't tell me you wouldn't come running if Sasuke wanted you to train," she remarked, meeting Sakura's eyes carefully.

"That's different," Sakura murmured.

"No, it's not," Tenten replied. It felt strangely like a confession.

Sakura's eyes grew wider. "Are you kidding me?" she asked tentatively.

After a moment's hesitation, Tenten replied: "No. But don't tell anyone, please?" She wasn't ready for the world to know.

Sakura's smile instantly lifted the mood. "Of course not. I've sworn my Hippocratic Oath, remember?" she said with a wink. Ino, in the meantime, shook her head at her two companions and focused on her tea. Usually she was the one dragging Shikamaru's ass to the training field, instead of the other way around!


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