A/N: I'm so sorry it took forever to update. Thank you for everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, or favored. Also I need to send an extra thanks for my beta Maria Krause for helping me out. You're the best!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto characters or places, blah blah blah, only own plot, etc etc etc.

Chapter 2

Thud!

Thud!

Tenten repeated the same warm up exercise so many times, she could do it blindfolded. Each kunai she threw landed dead center of every target.

Right hand to pouch on right leg. Grab kunai. Adjust grip based on direction and wind speed. Throw. Bullseye. Repeat.

The motions were automatic to her. She didn't have to think about hitting the targets anymore. That was her specialty. It was also the one thing she never got tired of doing. An hour passed and then four more before Tenten is snapped out of her daze. She felt someone's eyes watching her from behind the trees. She immediately knew who it was. Even after all this time apart, his presence was still so familiar to her. Her momentary shock of the visitor was quickly replaced with annoyance. She just wanted to be alone so she stood there, hoping he could read the irritation seeping from her body and maybe he would just go away. But she knew better than that. Once he set his mind on something, there was no turning back. Tenten looked down at her hands covered in calluses, cuts, and blood from the hours of target practice. She concentrated on the scars, tracing every cut on her palms with her eyes until she was calm enough to speak.

"What do you want?" Tenten's words were soft and low, but dripping with anger and hurt.

"Tenten-san. It is Neji's birthday. I thought we could—"

"Why now? Because it's Neji's birthday? What about the past month, Lee? Where have you been this whole time? You left me. No, you left us!" She spun around and faced Lee. Her eyes were burning from the tears she tried so desperately to hold back. Rage took over. She had never felt this emotion towards her teammate. Lee was always like a naïve little brother to her. Until now, his innocence and determination made it difficult for Tenten to ever be mad at him. But this was such an egregious offense there was nothing he could say or do to appease her hatred for him.

Lee had never seen this side of Tenten. He knew she had every right to be angry, but he never had the chance to explain his actions. He couldn't stand going to the memorial stone. Every morning at the stone, he relived the entire war; not just the loss of his teammates. Lee began to find himself drowning in sorrow. He knew that Gai-sensei would not have wanted that for his precious students. So he slowly stopped going and vowed to honor his teammates in his own way. At first he tried to get Tenten to do the same. Every day he would try to break the routine by asking her to leave early with him or go to dinner. He even sent Sakura and Ino to Tenten's apartment several times to get her to do anything other than cry herself to sleep each night. He desperately wanted her to get on with her life and get back into doing missions. But nothing worked and he just couldn't drown with her. He knew he was wrong for the way he left. And the guilt ate at him every day. He knew today would be especially hard for Tenten and he hoped that she would let him in to comfort her again. If only she listened to his words.

"Please give me a moment to explain. I did not leave you but I could not return to that place. I wanted…"

Lee was barely able to speak before four kunai flew past his head nearly missing his face. Stunned, he just stood there in silence as several strands of his hair fell to the ground. He didn't even see her draw them from her pouch. He looked directly into her eyes. They used to be so full of life. Even when Tenten was upset at Neji or annoyed with Gai, she always had a certain gleam in her eyes. Now they were radiating something else. Was it sadness or hopelessness? No. Lee had seen that look in only one other person. Uchiha Sasuke. Lee couldn't help be feel responsible for her current state, but he didn't know what to do to save her.

Knowing Tenten never missed unless she wanted to, Lee realized there was nothing he could say at that moment to make her understand. He took heed of her warning and turned around to walk away. But something stopped him. He had to try again. He would not disappoint Gai-sensei. He will save his teammate. Lee turned to face her with renewed determination in his eyes.

"It was not me who abandoned our team. You're the one who forgot everything that Gai-sensei taught us. You're lost, Tenten. But I won't give up until I reach you. If that means I have to dodge 10,000 of your kunai then I will. If I cannot dodge them all, then I'll do 10,000 kicks! And if I can't do 10,000 kicks, I'll run 1,000 laps around Konoha…"

Tenten couldn't hold onto her anger while her boisterous teammate kept with his ridiculous declarations of youth. She was relieved that he was still the same Lee. Watching him jump up with excitement, Tenten couldn't help but to crack a small smile. When was the last time I smiled, she thought. She felt her body become lighter as she listened to him. She missed this. His child-like aura was incredibly contagious but it wasn't enough to fill the void in her heart.

Leaving Lee to continue with his list of consequences for not completing his task, she turned around and prepared to leave. Suddenly, two arms were wrapped around her tightly almost squeezing the air out of her lungs.

"Tenten-san. I know this is hard for you. But I promise things will get better and you will return to your youthful glory. It's what Gai-sensei would have wanted for us both."

Tenten's breath hitched with his words. She knew he was right. If Gai would have survived, he would have made sure Lee and Tenten would continue to work towards their dreams. She wanted to believe Lee. She wanted so desperately to let go but she just wasn't ready. Her eyes began to sting again as tears threatened to fall. She couldn't work towards her dreams without Neji. Ever since that day at the training grounds, he became an integral part of her dreams. She closed her eyes and took a long deep breath to steady her nerves.

"Thank you, Lee," the pain still prominent in her voice. She removed his arms and walked away.

Tenten was extremely conflicted by her feelings. A part of her hated Lee for being able to continue his life, but she couldn't help but be happy for him. Another part of her was jealous that she couldn't do the same. Deep in her heart she knew Lee cared, but she couldn't get past the constant emptiness she felt. Everything in Konoha reminded her of Neji. They would always meet at the little cart on the corner that sold the best dango and he would buy her one before and after practice. The cart owner gave Tenten a sad smile and nod as she passed by. Tenten could barely stand it. She didn't want to cry anymore. She was so sick of crying; so annoyed with feeling weak and helpless, but her eyes betrayed her once again as the tears began to fall. All of these emotions drained her completely of what little life she had left, but she continued the long walk back to her apartment.

oOoOoOoO

Kakashi witnessed the entire conversation between Tenten and Lee. He convinced himself he wasn't spying, but just doing research on how to approach her. He waited at his perch high in the tree until both Lee and Tenten were out of sight. Kakashi pocketed his worn and tattered copy of Icha Icha Paradise, jumped down from the branch, and proceeded to follow Tenten. It didn't take long for him to catch up to her as she was moving at a very slow pace. Kakashi could tell she was exhausted both mentally and physically. He knew the signs of depression very well, having witnessed many shinobi deaths over the years. He understood the pain of losing the person closest to you. Kakashi grieved forGai in his own way, just as he had for Jiraiya, Minato, Rin, Obito, and his father. He always came back a stronger shinobi because of them. He knew that somewhere in the darkness, the old Tenten still existed and he would do whatever he could to bring her back. He decided now was as good a time as any other to make his move.

A few quick hand signs and in a puff of smoke, the copy ninja appeared in front of Tenten.

"Yo."

Tenten was noticeably startled as she jumped backwards and instinctively grabbed a kunai from her pouch.

"K-Kakashi-sensei. Wha-what are you doing here?" Tenten immediately wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't want anyone to see her so vulnerable and weak. She wasn't sure if it was the shock of Hatake Kakashi's sudden appearance in front of her, but something about him made her nervous. Her gazed shifted down as she stared at her feet.

Kakashi's visible eye closed as he smiled nervously and raised his hands defensively. "Well, I was on my way home from the Hokage's office and started thinking about life and I just wandered here. No need for the kunai, Tenten-san."

Tenten's eyes darted up to meet his. As she stared at him, completely confused by his actions, she didn't even realize she still had the kunai in her hand ready to be thrown. Nothing about what he said made any sense. She had never seen Kakashi around her neighborhood and was certain he did not live nearby. There had to be more to his story. She remembered hearing about how Kakashi would always make up strange excuses for his whereabouts, but she never thought anything of it before. Wild theories of the infamous Copy-Nin began swirling in her head. Is he some kind of pervert? He does read those weird books. I hope he's not after me.

Tenten was well aware her greatest weakness as a ninja was her inability to control her facial expressions. She realized her thoughts must have been broadcast on her face when Kakashi stopped smiling and began to rub the back of his head. He appeared to be lost in thought while they stood there awkwardly, staring at each other for what seemed like hours until Tenten broke the silence.

"Well. I will leave you to your thoughts. Have a good night, Kakashi-sensei."

She quickly walked away to avoid any further conversation. She could still feel his gaze burning through her back. For some unknown reason, she felt uneasy around Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded as Tenten walked past him and disappeared.

"Well, that didn't go so well," he said to himself. Kakashi headed towards his apartment, deep in thought on what to do next. "This is going to be a bigger challenge than I thought."

This chapter was a littler shorter than the first but I had to cut it off here or else it would last forever. So, what did you think? All feedback is welcomed.

~BCG