Ninja Skills
Chapter 3: Inner-Village Skirmishes
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In Which Sakura Glares at Lee who Glares at Naruto for Glaring at Tenten for Glaring at Sasuke who's Glaring at Neji who's Glaring at Everyone
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Summary: Tenten gets a second chance to save her friends and village when she's sent back to the day of the Forest of Death in the Chunin Exams. Can she change her weak past into a strong future? Neji/Ten
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything Naruto related, so please refrain from suing for plagiarism and let's all just enjoy our day! Also the whole 'In which…' title idea was gotten from one of my favorite books of all time Howl's Moving Castle, and I don't own that either.
DYEH: Here's an update so all of you can be filled with some degree of joy. Things pick up speed in this chapter. This chapter is just from the time everyone gets there to the star of Lee and Sasuke's brawl, but Tenten and Naruto aren't going to be random weak people any longer! Of course, what would their hidden power be if there weren't some suspicious ninja? And how will Tenten act when she sees Sasuke? GASP! This just might be worth some time after all! Now I present to you all Ninja Skills; 'cause ninja's have skills.
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Lee beamed at the empty hallways as his teammates followed close behind him. He looked over his shoulder and said with notable pride, "We are the first squad here!"
"Isn't that obvious, Lee?" Tenten asked him as her voice echoed.
His head bobbed up and down. "Yes, it is! But that's the beauty of it all, Tenten! You would think that there would be other teams waiting here hoping to make a good impression, but there are none."
Before Neji and Tenten could walk on Lee jumped ahead, "I feel, before we move further, that we should not cause a scene and show our power. Perhaps, instead, we should act weak so the other teams underestimate us and we have the element of surprise if needed."
Neji looked a bit stunned at his logic but nodded stoically none the less. Tenten, who had heard it all before, beamed as she nodded along with him. Lee smiled, "Great! All we have to do now is find room 301…"
Tenten couldn't help but smile. He had a unique blend of a childlike personality and an intellectual philosopher that could make for some interesting moments. Like whenever Gai tells him about a new move he works hard and spends all his time making it perfect and when he succeeds he jumps around laughing and gloating. She didn't personally witness Lee's downfall, so it was like he never left… it was like he never died.
"Oh no!" Lee cried out. Tenten and Neji's heads snapped up and saw two males that looked about their age. They were just talking in front of the room 301 until they caught sight of them. One of the guys chuckled at the sight of Lee's expression; a fusion of anger for them being their before them and sadness for the same reason.
"What do you three want?" one of the guys with his chin wrapped up and his dark hair falling over his eyes asked.
"We would like for you to let us enter!" Lee demanded.
Tenten knew, though. It was a trick. She could sense the faint jutsu the first time and she could sense it now better than ever. She took a reassuring glance over at Neji to make sure he knew it as well. His eyes made contact for a brief second, but that's all she needed to know he could. Lee probably knew it was there, too, since he also looked over to get a nod from both Neji and Tenten.
The second guy thumbed his nose. "Yeah? Well I don't feel like moving, kid."
Kid? Oh, right, those two are Chunin in disguise. Tenten crossed her fingers, hoping a weaker squad would come in soon and detract attention away from them and to also avoid getting smacked around along side Lee (of course she remembered… that was humiliation even if it was an act).
Lucky for her, at that exact moment three more Leaf nin jogged up and they weren't pleased with the door patrol either. Before long another group came, and another, and they were all over each other. Tenten, who stood in the second row next to Neji, was contemplating how simple it would be for her to get into that room now. For a matter of fact, she bet she could do it without anyone even knowing.
"HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON?" Bodies whipped around to see an orange clad blonde haired blue-eyed Genin with his eyes squinted in annoyance. Tenten smirked; Naruto finally showed up.
"They won't move!" One of the other Genin yelled and the crowd broke into argument again. Tenten was fairly calm now, until Lee started trying to get involved and get in the room. He let himself get hit a couple times (Tenten decided against trying to get in as well due to previous memories of getting hit in the cheek).
"That's not the room," a cooler voice spoke out suddenly as Lee was preparing to charge again. Bodies turned once again, but it wasn't Naruto talking (even though Tenten knew he could sense that it was the wrong room even if his memory sucked and he probably forgot). This time it was a taller Genin with an athletic build and dark hair over even darker eyes. Tenten's entire body tightened and her brows were forced down as she grinded her teeth together.
"Uchiha Sasuke!" Girls from the crowd shrieked out in a disgusting matter. God, even the older girls can't keep their eyes in their sockets when it comes to him.
Tenten has to admit; there was a time when she thought Sasuke was cute and mysterious. Now she was just trying not to strangle him to the ground and kill him for what he did to all her friends. It was his damn fault Naruto and herself were in this mess and he should die now and save them the time and effort of fighting off Orochimaru!
"Huh? What do you mean, Sasuke-kun?" a girl with bubblegum pink hair and soft sea foam green eyes looked to the Uchiha with curiosity. Haruno Sakura was one of the few people that were still alive when Naruto and Tenten left. That is if you count running away from your problems living. She went to go save him, thinking love conquered all or what not. When she saw him in action, she fell apart and ran away, never to be seen again.
Naruto spent a lot of time away searching for her. He needed her, but that didn't matter to her in the state she was in. Sakura is probably off somewhere trying to make herself strong enough for her precious Sasuke. One day Naruto just stopped looking. Since he never gives up, Tenten and Neji silently assumed he had seen her and they had some large argument, though it was never confirmed since she became a rather touchy subject with him just as Sasuke had become.
Actually, none of them could talk about their days on Team 7 without sobbing or getting defensive. For them to act that way, it really must've been the best days of their lives. Not even Sasuke with the bastard he became could make his heart so cold he'd kill Sakura or Naruto. Well, Sakura anyhow. He vowed to fight Naruto but when they got together they said nasty things and left.
"You sense it too, Sakura," Sasuke stated calmly with a smirk playing on his lips.
Sakura squinted her eyes and then immediately agreed. "I do? Yes, Sasuke-kun, I do! That is the wrong room! It's all an illusion and we're all on the second floor!"
The two guards looked at one another and nodded. Then the one said, "You're right."
With a puff of smoke the real room number (201) was revealed, then two guys had disappeared, and the crowd pushed one another to get to the correct room upstairs. Tenten was about to take off but something happened.
The something happened…
Was something that didn't happen before…
Sasuke grabbed her arm.
She tried to remain calm, keeping in mind he had no idea he'd grow up to be a cold blooded killer that murders his friends and the love of her life… yup… he has no idea. She faked a smile, "What?"
"Don't pretend to like me, I saw you glare," he said barely audible. "You're the first girl to do that to me."
"There's a first for everything," Tenten made a motion to leave but he gripped tighter.
"What's your name?"
She blinked. "Tenten."
He smirked and released his grip. "Tenten, I guess I'll be seeing you later."
She nodded uncomfortably. "Guess so."
He looked her up and down with his smirk still in place. Then he walked passed her to join his teammates in stride until Lee jumped in front of Sakura. "Hey, do you want to be my girlfriend? I shall protect you forever, I promise!" His teeth shinned brightly with an added ping for effect.
Sakura looked sick. "Ewe no. You're gross!"
Lee sobbed.
Tenten felt the pigments in her skin crawl away as she slowly turned to view behind her to see Neji looking a little too calm and stoic for comfort. Neji slowly asked, "What's your name?"
Sasuke barely stiffeled a grin. "Isn't it polite to give your name first before asking someone for theirs?" He spared a glance at Tenten as she watched Neji's eyes squinted a bit.
"Hyuuga Neji."
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"HEY! I BET YOU'RE DYING TO KNOW MY NAME, RIGHT?"
"I could care less."
Naruto started crying next to Lee on the wall. Tenten decided then that some things just don't change… Sakura started to haul her teammates away as the other teams filed off to go to the real room 301. "Tenten, Neji, I will meet you up there shortly," he said briskly before taking off after Sasuke.
Tenten bit her lip. She didn't remember asking Lee about what he did then and was sure Naruto forgot what to expect. She reluctantly followed Neji silently. "How do you know him?"
"Hm?" Tenten asked, shocked.
"How do you know Uchiha?" Neji pressed with his eyes glaring up ahead.
"Oh, uh, I don't know him actually. He just wanted to know why I was glaring at him is all."
Tenten started to walk faster but Neji's pace only quickened with hers. "Why were you glaring at him? You don't glare."
"Nerves I guess. Sorry, they've been acting up all day," she lied soothingly without looking at him. She didn't feel comfortable lying to him about being weak.
She saw him nod out of the corner of her eyes. "Don't worry. This exam is just another place for you to prove how talented we are. We'll all get through this easily."
Tenten smiled.
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"Hey! You with the attitude! Hold on!"
Squad 7 stopped and whipped around to see Lee in all his green-jumpsuit glory. Naruto started to panic. What was Lee doing here? Why wasn't he with Tenten? This was different! Wait… no, it wasn't… this happened… or did it? God, he wished he had a better memory sometimes.
"I wish to fight you. You see, I am the strongest Genin here and I wish to see what your Sharingan is made of."
Naruto looked over at Sasuke. Was he going to accept the challenge? He accepted, didn't he? Wait, why does he care whether Sasuke wants to fight him or not? Bushy Brows should want to fight him, not Sasuke! He's ten times better than Sasuke, right? Right? What if he suggested the idea and let Lee decide for himself? Yeah, that seems like a good idea!
"Why don't you fight me?" Naruto yelled out.
"No thank you. I wish to fight the Uchiha."
Naruto's eye twitched. Had Lee turned him down before? If so, did Naruto go ahead and fight him or did he wait until after he fought Sasuke? Did Sasuke even win? Was Lee's headband always orange? WHY WASN'T HIS HEADBAND BLUE LIKE EVERYONE'S ELSE? Should he fight or not fight? Where was Tenten? Why did she let Lee leave their group? Isn't it her job to keep track of her psychotic teammates? This was ridiculous! Lee should totally want to fight him!
Naruto decided in the end that he would make the first move. Halfway through his running to Lee, he had a flash of being twirled into the nearby wall. Ah, so his attack wasn't going to have a happy ending after all. What a shame.
Naruto gave up his effort once he got near to Lee and prepared himself for being spun into a concrete wall as best as one could. Sure enough, two seconds later his body was in pain and he was hoping that Sasuke wouldn't have better luck out of spite.
"Strange," Lee thought to himself. "He did not seem as if he was preparing to defend or offend himself. He was holding back. I wonder why that is so?"
Sakura and Sasuke exchanged looks as well. Did Naruto have to be so obvious that he was throwing in the towel?
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DYEH: I didn't write the end of Lee's fight with Sasuke, I know. The reason? I didn't really want to change anything since I thought the event was hilarious and perfect as is! So many hilarious quotes and parts… ah, the memories…