Chapter 2

Shino had been walking, thinking to himself, when TenTen had suddenly raced past him. He had run after her, but there was no way he could match the weapon master's amazing speed. As the forest they were running through gradually cleared, Shino could see the edge of a cliff ahead. He gasped as he realized where they must be. He forced his legs to run faster.

"TenTen!" he called. She appeared not to hear him. As he continued to run toward her, she stepped off the cliff.

Shino cursed and ran even faster than he was before. When he got to the cliff, he continued at the same speed, using his chakra to run down the cliff face. He was catching up to the falling TenTen! Finally, he got to her. He grabbed her in his arms and barely managed to hang onto the cliff.

TenTen's eyes opened. "Shino? What did you do that for?" Shino didn't answer her. With her still in his arms, he climbed the rest of the way down the cliff.

When they finally got to the bottom, TenTen said, "Shino. Please don't stop me again." Shino was struck by how low her voice was, by how full of pain it sounded. And yet it was clear and determined.

"TenTen! Don't do this." Shino said, agonized. "Please."

TenTen looked at him wearily. "Why not? If you knew what I've been through, maybe you could sympathize with me."

"Oh, TenTen, I do sympathize with you. But just think. Think about all the people who will be hurt, everyone who is your friend. Think about your reasons for doing this." Shino was getting truly desperate now.

TenTen looked at the ground. "Well...I guess my reasons were...everything in my life that's gone wrong piled up, and then Neji just set the pile on fire."

Shino understood what she meant. "What did Neji do?"

She looked at him. "Can we move somewhere else? What I have to say is something I have never told anybody before, and I don't want anyone else to hear it."

"Of course." Shino led the way to a spot that he knew nobody else in Konoha knew about. It was high in a tree in the forest, with a large branch big enough for two and hidden enough that nobody could see or hear them. When they arrived, he climbed the tree and sat in it. She hesitated, but did the same.

"Okay" she said, taking a deep breath. "Let's start from the beginning." Shino knew that he shouldn't interrupt her, even though he knew it would be dark soon. He listened.

"Two years ago, when I was 13, both my parents died. I was by then old enough to live on my own, so I didn't tell anyone. I kept it a secret, and bore the weight of it, because I didn't want anyone's pity. I didn't want anyone to single me out. All I wanted was to be normal, and to become a true ninja. But then, things started to get worse. My missions failed. My teammates got ahead of me. Every time I fought someone, I lost. People were making fun of me and calling me weak. And my sensei was so obsessed with Lee that he never taught me anything. Everyone got into the mindset that I was worthless, just because I specialized in weapons. I just couldn't convince people that I was worth something, and they continued to think badly of me." She paused. Shino noticed tears in her eyes, and saw her gathering the strength to continue.

"And finally, what pushed me to the edge was Neji. Ever since our Academy days, I have had a crush on him. I have been by his side in many missions and battles. I looked forward to seeing him every day. And throughout our years as a team my love for him grew. Finally, today as we were training, I asked him what he thought of me. He avoided my question, saying things about friendship and respect. When I asked him outright, 'Do you love me?' he simply said 'No'. Just 'No'. No explanation, no 'I'm sorry', nothing. Just 'No'. If he really thought of me as his friend, if he really respected me, he would have said something nicer. When he talked to me like that, I knew that all he said about our friendship was complete bull. And soon, it hit me. All those days I looked forward to seeing him, all those nights spent awake thinking about him, all of those were just me chasing an impossible dream." TenTen was sobbing, so that Shino could barely comprehend her words. "And all this time I thought he might feel something for me!"

Shino was shocked. How could Neji be so horrible? He moved closer to TenTen and offered her his shoulder to lean on.

"TenTen, I'm so sorry. I don't know how Neji could be so mean to someone who obviously cares about him." Shino tried to comfort TenTen as she sobbed into his shoulder. He was about to ask her if he should talk to Neji for her, when Gai and Lee showed up.

"Dynamic Entry!" the two men clad in green spandex yelled at the same time. Shino shot them a poisonous glare. Then he remembered that they wouldn't see it; he was still wearing his glasses.

Gai, seeing TenTen crying, walked over to her and said, "Come, TenTen! Tell me what is wrong! I am sure I can help you with my youthful power!" He gave his stunningly gay smile. Then, Neji arrived.

"Actually, I want to speak to TenTen" said Neji.

"You're not going to." Shino growled. "I need a word with you." Neji looked confused, but went with Shino to another branch of the tree.

Meanwhile, TenTen was talking to Gai. "I don't think you can help me. You wouldn't understand."

"Of course I can help you! Whenever you need help, you can talk to me!" Gai smiled again.

"But you've never helped me before." TenTen's voice was getting dangerously angry. "Whenever I've asked for help, you've just said 'Figure it out' and gone off to train Lee!"

As TenTen and Gai's argument escalated, Shino and Neji were getting mad at each other.

"I told you, Shino! I do care about her as a friend, but I don't love her! She is not the right person for me!" Neji said, exasperated.

"That still doesn't mean you can treat her like dirt! She's the kind of person you have to give a reason to! You never gave her a reason for her refusal! You don't care how she feels! You just enjoy having her to taunt and win fights against!" Shino was yelling, which is quite uncharacteristic of him.

"And you know this how? You don't really know her! I've known her well for years! She'll get over it!"

"She was going to commit suicide! Does that sound like 'getting over it' to you? And you did nothing to prevent her from killing herself!"

"When I realized she was heading for the cliff, I ran after her! If I'd been able to stop her, she would've gotten over it and moved on!"

Shino sighed. "Look, the point isn't whether or not you tried to stop her. It's that you should be nicer to her. And you should apologize." Shino didn't tell Neji what TenTen had told him about her past. He knew she would want it to be kept a secret.

"Fine." Neji turned his head. At this point TenTen came over, having obviously won her argument with the support of a few kunai. Completely ignoring Neji, she walked past Shino, waving.

"I've got to go. See you around!" she called to him. Though she looked perfectly happy, Shino knew that happiness would be impossible for the weapon mistress, especially immediately after a suicide attempt. He couldn't be sure exactly how TenTen was feeling, however, because she was, like a good shinobi, doing a great job of hiding her emotions.

"What, TenTen? Leaving so soon? Aren't you going to train?" asked Gai.

"Hell no. I've been training all day. Now leave me alone." TenTen responded.

"But...but that isn't youthful!" yelled Lee. TenTen ignored him and continued walking. Shino watched as she walked away, slowly melting into the darkness.