I Will Always Be Waiting

A/N – Hey guys! Here's chapter two. I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Got a lotta school work to do. Hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto

Chapter Two

-X-

Neji couldn't think.

Even while he was lying on his bed holding a book in one hand and his long hair tangled in the other he was side-tracked; not reading or even concentrating on the words that were finely printed on the page. No. It was just a distraction from Lee's words pounding in his head and Tenten's smiling face endearing his thoughts.

It was now late in the afternoon when the horizon was still tinged with red and orange but the sky was turning black and the shower of stars were beginning to shimmer their way through the darkness. Hours had passed since Tenten's sudden departure and Lee's confrontation and still Neji found his attention diverted from doing what he wanted to do.

After Lee had left him alone in the busy streets, he went off to the training grounds to clear his mind. When attacking a defenceless wooden pole until it had become splinters didn't rid Neji of his thoughts, he perched himself beneath a tree, closed his eyes and meditated. Meditating seemed to work for a while until he realised that the tree he was sitting under was the exact one he and Tenten always used to sit beneath when they were younger to eat lunch or just take a break and so his previous thoughts came flooding back to him. He then tried to distract himself by looking around the busy streets where the villagers were setting up the festival. But as he reached the spot where Lee had confronted him, the green-clad boy's voice rang through his head.

"Neji, maybe you should've asked her to the festival."

Neji suddenly threw the book he was reading across the room. It sailed through the air and hit the opposite wall with a loud thud. Exasperated, he closed his eyes and ran a frustrated hand over his face. Lee's words had much more of an impact on him than he cared to admit. He had been confronted by Ino and Sakura last month with the very same question followed by a sly Naruto and Kiba a week ago, a bored Shikamaru with nothing else to talk about a few days back, a tentative Hinata yesterday and a serious Lee today.

It irritated him to no end. Why must people always try to make something out of nothing? Why couldn't they see that Tenten was a girl he didn't mind being around? He was often accused of liking her by not just his friends but by strangers throughout the village and even shinobi from other nations as well. And many times he would tell curious villagers, rather irritably, that there was nothing going on between them and Tenten would be just as quick to affirm their status as 'just teammates'. He had overly convinced himself that she had no romantic affection towards him whatsoever as he did towards her, that the burning sensation he felt in his stomach whenever she smiled at him, or the fluttering inside his heart whenever her hand accidentally brushed against his, was normal. They were things that just came as being good friends and that's all they were and were expected to be.

Though, from the time that they had first met each other when they were twelve, Tenten had always been different from any other girl that he had ever known. The other girls at the academy were more focused on their looks and what shoes goes best with an outfit whereas Tenten put all of her attention into training and becoming a strong kunoichi. Where other girls let their hair down, applied makeup to their faces and wore appealing clothes, Tenten tied her hair up into two buns on either side of her head, having her hair down would be a nuisance when training and any makeup on her face would have been smudged from sweat. She wore sensible and comfortable clothes suitable for the harsh conditions when going on missions or even just casually walking around the village. On their birthdays, most girls would hope for jewellery, chocolates or clothing as presents whereas Tenten had no use for such frivolous things. She would want something of use such as weapons or scrolls, not something that would do nothing but sit around her neck and look pretty or be thrown away after a short amount of time.

These were the just some of the qualities that Neji admired and tolerated about Tenten and what made her special and separate from every other girl. Another feature that he was thankful for was that she was never one of those girls who would fawn over him, batting her eyelashes prettily and trying to engage him in pointless conversations. Tenten was a genuinely kind, thoughtful, caring and – to a point – stubborn kunoichi who always had her head in place. Much like himself, Tenten didn't have time for such trivial things such as love. But then again that was Neji's thinking.

But even at the scarcest times there was always a 'what-if?' with Tenten. Even now, though he would never, ever admit it, Neji was pondering about what Tenten's reaction would have been if he did ask her to the festival like Lee suggested. Would she have been delighted? Or disgusted? Or even just plain dumbfounded that Neji Hyuga had even asked such a thing?

Neji mentally smacked himself for having such thoughts. He respected her too much to think of dating his teammate. He would just be confirming everyone's suspicions and Naruto would just throw it in his face and never let him hear the end of it. Though deep, deep down in the back of Neji's mind, the thought of Tenten accepting his offer to the festival somehow pleased him and the corners of his mouth curved ever so slightly.

The next morning, when the sun was beginning to rise and the village was beginning to wake, Lee, Neji and Tenten all stood to the side in Tsunade's office whilst the redheaded Kazekage, Kankuro and Temari stood in front of the Hokage's desk. The tiredness from travelling for three days showed on their pale faces and their clothes were slightly dirty and grimy from the harsh terrain.

"Thank you, Lord Gaara, for coming." Tsunade formally addressed the younger man who bowed his head respectfully as did his two siblings. "It's an honour to have you here."

"Thank you, Lady Hokage," Gaara replied in his weary tone. "It has been quite some time since we were last here in the Leaf Village."

"I have such fond memories of this place!" Kankuro said cheerfully looking around the room before his eyes found Tenten, Lee and Neji and his smile grew bigger.

Tenten swayed on her feet in anticipation and gave a small wave to which Kankuro replied by winking mischievously which made Neji frown disapprovingly.

"It is so great to have you here, Gaara!" Lee exclaimed excitedly, too loud for five o'clock in the morning. "Naruto and Sasuke and everyone else will be so happy to hear about your arrival! They'll be overflowing with excitement and youthfulness to see you again!"

Gaara regarded the boy who was grinning wildly while Kankuro and Temari raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Lee," Tenten chided softly. "This is the Kazekage you're speaking to. Turn it down a little, ok?"

"Oh, yes…right!" The green clad boy bowed his head respectfully before clamping his mouth shut.

"Well, this one is as energetic as ever." Temari smirked to which Lee beamed at, supposedly taking her statement as a compliment.

Kankuro nodded in agreement before adding, "And this one is as pretty as ever –"

He pointed at Tenten who blushed in spite of herself.

"–And this one is as moody as ever." He then pointed to Neji who glared daggers at him though Kankuro failed to notice. "They haven't changed at all!"

"I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or not." Tenten told him scratching her head confusedly.

"I'm not sure either." He replied grinning and Tenten whacked him over the head playfully.

"Alright, you can all have a joyous reunion later. We have business to discuss." Tsunade cut across them firmly and the conversation subsided.

She then turned to Gaara and said, "I have told Team Gai the requirements for this mission, though I haven't quite told them all of it. I think it might be better if you told them yourself."

Lee, Tenten and Neji just exchanged confused looks before Gaara turned to them and said, "As Lady Tsunade has said, you have not been given the full details of this mission. I fear it might turn out to be just more than a simple escort mission. I have put you all in grave danger as it is."

"I don't think I quite follow you." Lee said furrowing his eyebrows together, not quite worried. Yet.

"Lord Gaara reported to us that there has been a shinobi following him ever since he and his siblings left Suna three days ago." Tsunade began to explain as she stood up from her desk and began pacing around the room. "He has not yet entered the village but he waits patiently outside the front gates as we speak."

"Who is he? What are his intentions?" Tenten asked sceptically.

"He is a rogue Jounin; an S-rank criminal from the Sand Village." Gaara replied almost automatically. "He wishes to come here to disrupt the festival and assassinate me."

As he said this, there was no hint of fear or even disgust in his voice when he professed the criminal to be a shinobi from the Sand Village with murderous intentions. Gaara was too forgiving, though in a way it was quite admirable.

"But…why? Why would someone try to do such a thing?" Lee exclaimed, shocked and confused.

"Does there always have to be a reason as to why people do anything?" Gaara asked rhetorically. "Maybe because he simply wants to. He doesn't have to have a reason. Whether he does or not doesn't change the fact that that he wants to ruin your festival and kill me."

"Well then call off the festival or Gaara, Kankuro and Temari can return back to Suna!" Tenten stated firmly. "Make sure it doesn't happen. Ruin his plans."

"It's not that simple, Tenten." Neji remarked coherently. "If we suddenly announce that we've called off the festival or if Gaara leaves to soon, he will know that we're on his trail. That will give him the opportunity to disappear completely and hide in the shadows and devise another plan. That will give him the upper hand because we won't know what he is planning. He might target us one by one or attack the entire village for all we know. The best thing to do is to let things play out for the time being and catch him when his guard is down and then interrogate him."

"Always so damn logical." Tenten muttered under her breath and Kankuro chuckled provokingly at the Hyuga prodigy.

"Neji is right." Gaara agreed entirely. "We must weigh out the options, Lady Hokage. We can either pretend that we are still unaware of this shinobi's presence whilst still knowing what his plans are and catch him whenever he shows himself or call off the festival and lose him completely, jeopardising everyone's safety."

Tsunade nodded understandingly and then spoke, "We will continue with the festival preparations. I will alert the ANBU Black Ops. You three –"

She pointed at Tenten, Neji and Lee.

"– I want you to go warn the Rookie Nine of the current situation. Tell them everything! If anything goes wrong I want them to be in on this case as well, but keep a low profile. I don't want the rest of the village in a state of panic. That will certainly alert our skulking friend that we're on his trail."

"Yes, ma'am!" they all chorused straightening their backs.

"Gaara and I still have a few more matters to discuss alone." Tsunade stated before sitting back down in her chair and lacing her fingers together. "Kankuro and Temari can accompany you. Report back here when you are finished. Dismissed!"

The five shinobi bowed lowly before leaving the room swiftly and silently.

"Whoo! I'm glad that's over." Kankuro exclaimed, stretching as they exited the Hokage's office. "I can't stand being formal for so long. It hurts my face."

Tenten snorted.

"It hurts your face? How?"

"Because you sorta have to stay emotionless and you can't smile." Kankuro replied shrugging before turning to Neji and asking, "How do you do it?"

The Hyuga prodigy raised an amused eyebrow.

"Do what?"

"That!" Kankuro pointed accusingly at Neji's sharp features, perfect and angular. "Stay so…lifeless; not smile?"

Neji merely shrugged before answering, "Feigning emotions is something every shinobi should be good at. It's part of the shinobi code."

Lee made a disapproving face.

"I disagree. Even if we are shinobi, we are still human and we all have emotions."

Tenten nodded in agreement.

"I concur with Lee. It's inhuman to feign your emotions to such an extent."

Temari smirked ever so slightly before remarking, "I guess that explains why Neji is so heartless."

"Neji is not heartless!" Tenten snapped instantaneously and everyone turned to look at her.

She knew what Temari said was just a joke and she didn't even know why she jumped to Neji's defence so quickly. Out of the people that knew Neji closely, she should've been the last person saying that. After all, he did treat her most cruelly; beating her into the ground every other day, harshly criticising her abilities and pushing her far beyond what her body could cope with. Every time he was angry about something he would lash it out on her because she couldn't do anything about it. Other times he would ignore her completely without any good reason. And at this moment, Tenten asked herself why she even bothered to stay with this person who treated her so unfairly. She wasn't really gaining anything out of it except for a broken heart so there was no point in staying. Yet, she did. Why? There had to be a reason as to why she continued to stay and love the Hyuga prodigy. But then she heard Gaara's words suddenly replay in her mind.

'Does there always have to be a reason as to why people do anything?'

"Tenten?" Lee inquired worriedly, scrutinising the distracted kunoichi.

"Mmhm? Yeah, what?" she asked coming out from her thoughts.

"Are you ok? Are you sick?" Lee pelted her with questions and Tenten just gave him a quizzical look.

"No, Lee. I'm fine."

"Are you sure about that?" Kankuro teasingly nudged Tenten with his shoulder to which she replied with a full-force shoulder barge.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." Kankuro muttered as he gently massaged his sore shoulder which was now tingling.

"You seriously need to learn when to keep your mouth shut." Temari laughed at her brothers' now grouchy face, Tenten's look of satisfaction, Lee's giggling hysteria and Neji's smug expression. "If you're going up against a girl, you're gonna lose every time."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Kankuro grumbled and the two kuniochi's laughed lightly.

They exited the Hokage's tower to find that the village, despite being 6:00 o'clock in the morning, was wide awake and active. Villagers hurriedly bustled around the streets and the smell of hot food greeted them.

"We better stop to eat." Neji advised and then addressed Kankuro and Temari. "I assume you must be hungry from your journey."

Temari nodded and Kankuro groaned unable to resist the offer.

"I'm absolutely famished!" Kankuro exclaimed holding his stomach. "What's the best place to eat?"

Neji turned to face the streets and gazed off into the crowd.

"Ichiraku's should be open by now." He told them. "I'm pretty sure we'll find someone else there as well."

The first thing they heard when they entered Ichiraku Ramen was:

"NARUTO! YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT!"

They were greeted by the sight of Naruto cowering in the corner, an enraged Sakura looming over the poor boy and a humoured Sasuke, to say the least, sitting at one of the tables in the back of the shop. A tray and what had seemed to be the remains of eight bowls of ramen were in pieces on the hard floor. Glass and china was smashed and the floor was covered in noodles and broth.

"Naruto?" Kankuro asked sceptically with an amused expression and all three heads turned to face the newly arrived group.

Naruto's face broke into a massive grin and stood up and walked right past Sakura who seemed to have totally forgotten about the blonde haired boy.

'"Hey! How are you guys going?" He greeted them loudly and Sakura walked up behind him with a gentle smile.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Sakura!" Lee was practically tripping over himself as soon as the pink haired kunoichi stepped into view.

"Hello, Lee, Neji, Tenten." She addressed them kindly before realising that the Sand Siblings were standing right beside them. "Kankuro! Temari! It's been so long!"

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed energetically. "What are you guys doing here? Did Gaara come too?"

"Yeah, he is." Kankuro replied though his attention was rather focused on the smashed bowls of ramen dribbling across the floor. "He's talking with the Hokage. They wanted us to report to you guys and the rest of the Rookie Nine."

"What for?" Naruto questioned eagerly as he twitched in anticipation.

"There's a lot to explain." Temari told him simply. "Do mind if we sit down and order something? I'm starving!"

By the time they'd moved to a much larger table to fit the group, ordered and eaten their meals, Neji had already conveyed the information to Team 7.

"That's bad." Sakura said nervously, staring at her empty bowl of ramen. "What's Gaara and Lady Hokage planning to do?"

"Wait things out." Tenten shrugged indifferently like it couldn't be helped. "Courtesy of Neji."

"It's the only way." He retorted instantly and she just rolled her eyes.

"Neji is right." Sasuke agreed though it looked as if it pained him to say it. "If we truly want grasp what this shinobi's true intentions are, we need to be patient and wait. It is the safest way."

"Wait?" Tenten asked exasperatedly. "Wait for what? For the village to be attacked? For Gaara to be assassinated? How is that safe?"

"I agree with Tenten." Naruto chimed and Sasuke shot him a glare. "Why didn't Gaara just kill him once he knew he was being followed? He would've knocked him flat easily!"

"Gaara is too forgiving." Kankuro stated sighing. "Despite that this shinobi is a rogue ninja and that he's trying to hunt Gaara down, he is still of the Hidden Sand. Gaara will not have him killed if he can help it. He will capture him, bring him back to the village where he can be interrogated and then be thrown in prison."

Sakura frowned.

"It all seems too easy."

"What do you mean?" Temari inquired curiously.

"This shinobi's intentions is just too straight forward for an S-rank criminal don't you think? I mean, a shinobi like that wouldn't be too stupid as to reveal his entire plans right within earshot of the Kazekage now, would he? There must be something underlying. Something that he's planning that we don't know."

There was an uncomfortable silence as a waitress came over to their table and whisked their bowls away before Neji spoke up.

"We can't focus too much on the details at this moment." He said though his voice was hard, like the situation was bothering him. "We will have to be patient and wait for the Hokage's and Kazekage's decision."

Everyone nodded glumly before Team Gai and the Sand Siblings rose from the table.

"We best be on our way." Temari announced. "We still have to warn the rest of the Rookie Nine."

"How about we do it for you?" Sakura suggested before they could leave. "We're meeting up with them later on this morning. We can relay the information you told us so you won't have to find them individually."

"If it's no trouble Haruno…" Neji said.

The pink haired girl laughed lightly.

"Of course not! Besides, it'll be less trouble for you."

"Ah, you're so amazing Sakura-chan!" Lee exclaimed with obvious affection. "So generous and thoughtful. Such a beautiful flower!"

Sasuke regarded the green clad boy coldly and ever so slightly inched closer to Sakura who failed to notice the movement alongside Lee.

"Well, we better be going!" Tenten interrupted Lee's performance as she pushed the boy out of the shop. "We'll see you guys later!"

The rest of the group bade Team 7 farewell before following Tenten and Lee outside and retracing their steps back to the Hokage's tower.

"That was…fun." Kankuro stated as he linked his arms behind his head. "They don't seem to have changed a bit either."

"What were you expecting?" Tenten inquired, smiling.

Kankuro just shrugged.

"Not much really." But then he grinned slyly and added, "But what's going on between Sakura and Sasuke, huh? That Uchiha got a little bit protective when Lee complimented her. They got a thing going or what?"

Tenten scratched the back of her head and laughed gently.

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that." She replied. "They're going to the festival together, I suppose and so are Naruto and Hinata."

Kankuro grinned and said, "So the Uchiha finally grew some balls and actually asked out Sakura, huh? Never thought I'd see the day…"

He shook his head in disbelief and kept smiling.

"Anyone else?"

"Well…" Tenten stole a sly glance at Temari who gave her a confused look. "Shikamaru's going to be there. I bet he'll be very happy to see Temari again."

"Oh, shut up!" Temari growled trying to mask the blush on her face with annoyance.

Tenten laughed wholeheartedly along with Kankuro and Lee until Temari roughly shoved the brunette into the Hyuga prodigy. Tenten gasped at the sudden contact and stumbled slightly before falling into Neji's arms. Tenten was too surprised to even move and she blinked once…twice…until she finally realised that Neji was holding her. His right arm wrapped around her waist, fingers sprawled across her abdomen and her hands resting upon his chest, body pressed against his. Instantly, Tenten pushed herself off of him and staggered backwards, apologising and blushing furiously as she tried to calm her racing heart. She didn't dare try to see what his expression was, probably disgusted, so instead she rounded on Temari who was smirking triumphantly.

"What the hell was that for?!" She yelled angrily at the blonde haired kunoichi.

"Sweet, sweet revenge." She replied, shrugging. "Your expression was priceless though. So was Neji's. I don't think I've ever seen you two look more surprised than you did just now. It was funny."

Behind her, Kankuro was laughing uncontrollably holding his stomach and Lee was grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm glad you find me falling over so amusing." Tenten mumbled sarcastically at the puppet master who was now doubling over with laughter.

"It wasn't…you…falling…over…" He managed through gasps of breath. "…It…was…the Hyuga's…"

Kankuro couldn't help but laugh harder which earned him a cold glare from Neji and an exasperated sigh from Tenten.

"Ok, Kankuro. I think that's enough." She told him and the laughing began to subside.

"I'm sorry," He apologised, straightening up. "But you two are just so awkward around each other it's funny."

"I second that." Temari piped up snickering.

"Me too!" Lee chimed in brightly. "They are such a youthful couple! They are experiencing the blossoming of love for the first time and that can always be quite overwhelming."

Neji scoffed loudly and Tenten folded her arms seriously.

"I hate to burst you bubble, Lee, but as you see there is nothing going on between us." Tenten spoke very clearly and slowly, hoping the message would process through his brain.

But the words didn't seemed to affect him as he kept grinning and said, "Denial is a common thing in young couples such as yourselves and you must learn to embrace your true feelings for one another instead of concealing them."

His eyes drifted accusingly towards Neji who, in return, glared menacingly before saying, "Why would I ever associate myself with the likes of her?"

There was a surprised silence as Tenten's heart grew cold and constricted at Neji's cruel words. She thought that she would've gotten used to the searing pain in her chest by now every time Neji said something irrational and lashing but instead the pain just intensified and grew unbearable. But it proved her point. He would never love her, never care for her in any sort of way. Tenten could feel hot tears prick at her eyes and threaten to fall. She would not cry in front of them. Especially him.

So, she straightened herself up, wiped her face of all emotion and expression, pressed her lips into a hard, straight line and stared squarely into those beautiful, cold ivory eyes and said, "Yes, why would he?"

-X-

A/N – Not really then ending I intended for this chapter or the chapter itself. I'm sorry if I haven't really kept the characters the same personality wise. I find Gaara especially hard to write. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Keep the reviews and ideas coming!