After searching fruitlessly for hours, Itachi and Naruto had convinced Sasuke that it was useless. His mystery girl was not going to show up again for tonight. Admitting defeat, only because he had an early morning tomorrow and he did not want Kakashi eating his ear off about being late, he walked out of the club with a sigh.

"It's not like you'll never see her again. I mean, yea there's probably a couple hundred thousand people in the city, but something tells me she'd stick out like a sore thumb." Naruto said, nodding to himself as if he'd made a profound statement on life.

"Thanks for the wisdom oh great guru Naruto" Sasuke replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"You always have to be a bastard don't you? It's no wonder she ran away! You were an ass to her too weren't you!?" he pointed an accusing finger in Sasuke's direction.

"Keep that finger in my face and you won't get to keep it at all." Sasuke growled. Naruto, being Naruto and not 'some wimp afraid of his best friend', huffed but removed his finger and turned away mumbling about temes and their bastardly ways.

Itachi chuckled, finding the whole scene amusing.

"Naruto's right you know. Your companion was quite… different." He said, choosing his words carefully.

"Both of you need to buzz off."

"Aye-aye killer bee-sama sir." Naruto said, smirking and giving Sasuke a smug smirk.

"You're really just enjoying pissing me off aren't you."

"There's nothing that would give me more joy." Naruto said cheekily and Sasuke rolled his eyes. Damn dobe.

Itachi merely chuckled and followed after the other two as they were finally making their way to the exit.

This will turn out to be very interesting indeed outotou.

His facial expression gave nothing away, but deep down Naruto could see a sadistic side came out to meet the other boys, who by now had realized they were in for more from Itachi than the friendly neighborhood toy. Too bad they couldn't control themselves.

In the meantime Itachi, the soberest of the three dropped them off, but Sasuke was too lost in thought to really notice much of what was happening around him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And she has resurfaced!" Deidara announced as Tenten walked into the club the next morning. "And in less than 24 hours too, I'm impressed."

"O shut up would you." She said, swatting his hands away from her when he attempted to hug her.

"And to what do we owe the pleasure?" Shikamaru said, walking up to her.

"Put a sock in it. I'm never coming back here again. I'm here to say my goodbyes." She said dramatically, collapsing against his chest.

"What did you do drama queen?" he asked, shifting them to sit at the bar.

"Ask him!" she spat, pointing and glaring at Deidara.

"Dei, what did you do?" Shika asked wearily.

"Hey, in my defense, I never told her to hook-up with anyone, just not to sit and mope at my bar the whole night."

"I didn't hook-up with anyone you idiot! If I did, I'm sure I promised I'd maim you!"

"Then what's the problem?!"

"The problem, you imbecile, is WHO I almost slept with!"

"Well who the hell was it then?"

"Sasuke Uchiha you dunce!"

…

An uncomfortable silence settled on the room after her outburst. Deidara was just too shocked to speak, afterall Sasuke was a big name in the industry and everyone who is anyone knew who the hell he was. Shikamaru on the other hand, was shocked for the deeper meaning behind everything. He knew Tenten's history with him, even if the Uchiha himself didn't seem to remember.

"Ok, step by step, what happened last night?"

Tenten went through every insightful detail of everything that happened from she left the bar to when she and Sasuke ended up in that booth. She spared no gruesome detail, much to the delight of Deidara's inner pervert, and the annoyance of Shikamaru and his vivid imagination.

When she'd finished she went back to sulking quietly while still on Shikamaru's lap, her head resting on the bar counter.

"You know what this means don't you?"

"That I'm never stepping foot in this damn club again? I know."

"I'm being serious."

"And you think I'm not?!" She growled out, shifting to glare at Shikamaru but still not getting up.

"Ten, he's not going to stop till he finds you again. You know how he can get."

"Yea, yea…" She mumbled, looking away.

Deidara turned confused glances to the two of them. "Ok am I missing something? I thought you guys met last night?"

Tenten scoffed, "Hardly."

"So then, you guys know Sasuke personally?"

"A bit too personal if you ask me." Tenten grumbled out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Huh? Explain please." Deidara whined, not wanting to remain left out.

Shikamaru sighed, "They dated. Back in high school. Briefly, but still. It was when Tenten was just starting her photography career. She used to take photos all over the place and he used to go with her. They were inseparable really."

"Inseparable my ass."

"The hell, so what happened?"

"That arrogant prick got fame shoved up his ass, that's what!"

Shikamaru glared at her, effectively shutting her up.

"Sasuke got recognized online from one of the photos Tenten posted. He got interested in modelling and wanted to pursue it seriously. In a way, you can say she inspired him, but Tenten didn't take it well. She got scared and instead of staying with him she left. She moved to Europe to focus more on her photography. Well, that's what I knew. As far as the rest of the world, and Sasuke were concerned, she disappeared."

"So then, last night was the first time you've seen him since then? Shit, talk about unresolved sexual tension."

"Shut it blondie!"

Deidara ignored her and continued, "So when are you going to see him again?"

"Never if I can help it!"

"The hell? Why?"

"How is that any of your business?!"

"Well ex-cuse me for being concerned about your-"

Shikamaru cut them off before it could escalate further. "Enough you two." He eased Tenten off his lap and turned her around, trapping her between his legs and the counter.

"Look, we both know that now that you're back it's only a matter of time before you have to talk to him. I won't force you to decide when that will be, but you had better think about what the hell you want, and how you're going to say it, cause he's going to want answers."

Tenten pouted and looked to the ground, knowing that Shikamaru was right. It was only a matter of time before she and Sasuke would meet again, and it was clear that whether or not she could deny her emotions, she could never deny their mutual attraction.

She sighed, she was fucked, and literally.

Before the conversation could continue further Ino came waltzing in, pausing to look confusedly at Shikamaru and Tenten. She knew their relationship, but it was moments like this that made her wonder if they were ever more than just best friends. Shaking her head to rid herself of her thoughts she continued on, hugging Shikamaru from behind since he still had yet to release Tenten.

"Shika darling I was getting worried. You didn't say you'd be staying so long."

Shikamaru sighed, moving to hug Ino to his chest and kiss her temple.

"Sorry love, I was helping Ten-chan figure some stuff out." Releasing Ino from the hug but still keeping an arm firmly at her waist he turned his attention back to Tenten, "Remember what I said." With that he lead Ino back the way they came.

Tenten watched them leave before slumping down on a bar stool.

"As much as I'd love to continue entertaining your display of misery, don't you have work or something?" He said, motioning to the clock on the wall that read 12:45pm.

"Dammit." Tenten grumbled, but she sat up, carefully fixing her hair using the reflection of a shot glass.

When she was done she turned to Deidara, "How do I look?"

He smirked, "Fan-fucking-tastic."

She grinned "Fucking finally"

With that she left, leaving an amused Deidara to watch her go.

That Sasuke guy better watch out, she may have been his once, but he's gonna have a hard time taming this fierce little kitten.

xXx

Tenten walked into the agency, her black boots scuffling quietly as she walked towards the front desk. She'd chosen not the change, remaining in the short pleated plaid skirt, the black stockings and the black crop top that clung to her figure. Her black leather jacket was loosely hanging from her camera bag, nd her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. She'd opted to remove her jewelry and accessories, with the exception of her piercings.

The young lady at the front desk was surprised to see her, to say the least.

"M-may I help you?" She stuttered out, and Tenten almost felt bad for scaring her. Almost.

Before she could answer though a silver haired man walked over to them, cell phone plastered to his ear.

"Ten, lovely you're here." He briefly stared at the receptionist, "She's with me Karin." Was all he said before leading the small brunette away.

Tenten followed after him, mindful not to get caught up with the activity buzzing around here. This place was certainly fast-paced.

Soon enough they reached a door with a door with a sign that said 'Shoot in progress' in bold red letters posted on it. Without hesitation Kakashi pushed open the door and ushered her inside.

The people bustling around didn't stop their activity, some carrying props, others guiding models to makeup or costume.

It wasn't until Kakashi had finally ended his phone conversation that the whole room seemed to pause as if waiting for instructions.

Tenten thought it was weird but said nothing. It seems Kakashi was clearly in charge, and the faster he could issue directives and get everything started, the faster she could get the hell out of there.

She noticed that everyone in the room seemed to have taken a special interest in her. She could feel them burning holes into her, even as she stood quietly beside Kakashi.

Before she could loose her temper and tell them all to f-off, Kakashi spoke.

"Alright everyone, I trust you're all almost ready. I'll just take a few minutes to introduce our photographer for the next few projects. This is Ten. In terms of creative, she's in charge. If she doesn't like something, fix it. If she tells you to do something, do it. Models, you especially need to listen to her, cause her job and role in the upcoming shoots will depend on it. Now we'll be starting in the next few minutes, but before that," he turned to Tenten, "Do you have anything you want to say?"

Tenten heard him talking to her. She knew she had to respond, that they were all waiting to hear it, but she couldn't. In that moment she couldn't do anything, not even breathe.

While Kakashi had been talking she had developed the bright idea to look around; familiarize herself with the faces she'd be working with for the next few months. It was a decision she was quickly coming to regret when her eyes clashed with familiar onyx orbs.

She'd stood there frozen as she watched confusion, recognition and finally amusement pass through those eyes.

It seems she wouldn't have the time to act on Shikamaru's warning, because Sasuke Uchiha was standing a few feet from her, and based on the look in his eyes there was no way she was getting out of here without seeing him first.

As thoughts played over and over in her head, and reality caught up with her, two words was all that could tumble from her lips.

"Oh fuck."