The Truth Shall Be Told
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I only own the ideas for my story.
A/N: Welcome back my readers! :D Every single one of your reviews for the last chapter were much appreciated! I am very grateful for your support and encouragement. Thank you, and as always…ENJOY! :D
Reminder/s:
'Inner Tenten'
Chapter Three
Written by 10ShizukaYuukiMistress10
"Are you all ready?" Hatake Kakashi asked the seven ninja huddled around him. They all nodded vigorously, some more enthusiastic than others.
"Once Pakkun is summoned, get into formation 'A', and follow his lead."
"AND LET THE POWER OF YOUTH TAKE CONTROL!" Gai sensei finished exuberantly. Lee immediately took notes and looked up at Gai with admiration. "GAI SENSEI YOU ARE RIGHT!" Lee exclaimed, impressed.
Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Naruto and Kakashi all sweat dropped.
"Right…" Sakura said. "…let's just go now."
Once the ninja dog was summoned, they all got into the formation – Kakashi taking the lead with Gai and Pakkun, next up was Lee with Naruto, then Sakura with Tenten and Neji with Sasuke taking the rear end.
With lightning fast speed, they all shot off and began the mission.
"So, whereabouts is this Kaname Hatimaki guy, Kakashi-sensei?" Tenten asked, a few hours into the mission, and breaking the tense silence which had enveloped the eight ninja. (Minus Lee, Naruto and Gai's noisy ramblings in the background.)
"Our leads tell us somewhere in the Hidden Mist Village. Pakkun should be able to sniff him out once we get there," Kakashi said, then stopped on the fourth branch ahead and turned around to face the whole team fully.
"Huh? Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto exclaimed, stopping as well along with the rest of the team, clearly confused.
"There is a river ahead which we must pass to enter the Mist Village. Pair up and grab a boat when we get there. Just a heads ups."
There was a bit of arguing after Kakashi's announcement, where Tenten glanced quickly at everyone.
'Oh boy…' Inner commented silkily.
Neji seemed to have completely removed himself from the situation, leaning against a tree away from the rest of the team with his eyes closed in deep concentration.
At first, Tenten thought Neji was simply meditating, but looking closer, it was far from that. The slight tightness of his jaw and discreet tightening of his folded arms indicated that something was off.
Wondering what was wrong, Tenten was about to go over and ask when a hand caught her wrist and held on to it firmly.
"Tenten."
She quickly glanced behind to see Sasuke, who was staring coldly in Neji's direction. What was going on? Had the two prodigies already gotten into a fight?
'Put two and two together, ne. Of course they did!'
"Sasuke, what…"
"You're going with me." He verified coolly. For a moment, the bun-haired kunoichi wanted to object, but then remembered about their… other little agreement.
"Alright." She said gruffly. "Just don't expect me to suddenly turn into one of your personal slaves." She muttered under her breath.
"You already got that point across after our little spar yesterday, remember? And do you also remember who won?" Sasuke said, smirking.
"We only agreed on pretending to date, remember? You winning has nothing to do with that!" Tenten snapped furiously. She didn't take losing any type of battle down well, especially against cocky bastards!
"HEY TEME!" Naruto yelled over everyone's heads. Tenten noticed that Sasuke had stiffened considerably, and raised an eyebrow wondering why. Was Naruto actually talking to Sasuke. And like that.
"What do you want, dobe?"
"YOU'RE GOING ON MY BOAT, SASUKE!" Naruto shouted loudly, assuming that Sasuke didn't already have someone to go with.
Sakura seemed to have finished her bickering with Lee and turned to the newest development, eyeing Sasuke hopefully. Maybe she wanted to be his partner. After all, the pinkette held on to even the oldest of crushes for quite a while. The recent rumours didn't stop her from wanting Sasuke all to herself. Maybe when she and Ino saw Tenten and Neji alone yesterday morning, it gave her the impression that they were no longer dating.
"WELL, TEME?" Naruto pushed impatiently.
"Shut up, dobe. I'm going with Tenten." Sasuke stated evenly.
An awkward silence fell over everyone. Even Gai-sensei and Lee had stopped their ramblings on youth.
"So the rumours were true after all…" Sakura muttered to herself disappointedly. "Fine then. If Sasuke is going with Tenten… then I'll just go with you, Naruto." The blonde seemed more than happy to go with Sakura, and completely forgot about the strangeness of his other teammate suddenly wanting to go with Tenten.
Neji however, didn't forget so easily. A fierce passion filled his pearly eyes momentarily, before he decided to speak up.
"Then I'm joining you two." He announced. Tenten raised a questioning eyebrow but agreed even so. It's not like there'd be any problems, right?
"You're not welcome, Hyuga." Sasuke stated plainly.
"I don't believe it is you who decides on that, Uchiha." Neji spat with disgust.
"We'll see about that, Hyuga."
"Just you wait then, Uchiha."
"Be – "
Tenten had just about heard enough. Seriously, why couldn't they both get along? Did their rivalry have something to do with their clans or something?
"Neji will be coming with us and that is that!" Tenten barked sharply.
The triumphant Hyuga shot Sasuke a smirk, who simply folded his muscular arms over his chest.
"Hn."
Tenten sighed. What had she gotten herself into?
A few minutes later, all the ninja were finally paired up – Kakashi would be sharing with Pakkun; Gai would be sharing with Lee; Sakura would be sharing with Naruto, and finally, Tenten would be sharing with Neji and Sasuke.
They continued travelling east, through the foliage of the pine forests outlining the Mist village, until they reached an ancient looking harbour with about four rusty boats.
"…Eh. Kakashi-sensei? Are the planks safe enough to walk along?" Sakura asked, wide-eyed. The wooden planks looked nothing more than a shattered set of mouldy wood with holes all over.
Tenten raised an eyebrow when Kakashi nodded in response to Sakura's question. She was definitely going to use chakra enhanced feet to get across it.
"Now that we're here, get into your respective boats and row north. The next meeting point is on the other side of the Naruto Bridge in one hour. Stay on guard and be careful." Kakashi warned.
With that, they all followed the orders they were given, and began.
"Hey teme! I'll bet me and Sakura will reach there before you!" Naruto challenged, as he walked to his boat with Sakura.
"Don't count on it, dobe."
When Sasuke reached his shared boat, he noticed that Neji and Tenten were already in.
"I'm rowing." The Uchiha informed them as he retrieved the shabby pieces of wood that they were expected to use as rows. Neji frowned but said nothing and Tenten just rolled her eyes.
"Whatever you say."
Surprisingly, Sasuke was pretty good at rowing, Tenten noted, as she watched the Uchiha's surprisingly muscular arms perform strong and rhythmic motions. She'd never noticed before how flourishing he was.
The bun-haired kunoichi soon found herself staring at Sasuke with captivation. His dark, raven coloured hair contrasted with his pale skin and dark eyes. His eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated at the task at hand…
'Just look at how sexy he is… ne? …And guess what? He's all yours!' Inner proclaimed deviously.
Sasuke suddenly glanced at Tenten who was still staring at him, in question. She gasped in alarm, then quickly looked away, blushing. She'd been caught red handed. Oh great. Just Great.
Sasuke looked back to his rowing, slightly confused. Why had Tenten been watching him for so long? At first he just ignored it, but it was getting annoying.
He just hoped she wasn't turning into one of his many fan girls. It would make this whole pretending to be dating act a lot more complicated.
The river they were rowing through was a clear navy blue. The current was so peaceful and steady, reminding Tenten of the stream in the Uchiha compound. She could just stare at it for hours, if she wasn't here for a mission. The atmosphere and calm splashing of water was just so settling…
There was, however, a ghostly mist beginning to envelop the area around them as well. For some reason, something about it made Tenten's blood chill considerably. Something just didn't feel right.
The bun-haired kunoichi turned to face Neji, to see if he found any of this suspicious, but the Hyuga wore a completely blank expression.
And Tenten wouldn't dare look at Sasuke, not after the recent incident.
'This place gives me the creeps.' Inner commented unhelpfully.
It was quite ironic, considering that she could have fallen asleep here without any problems a minute ago.
Just what was going on?
"Hey Neji…" She began slowly, "don't you sense something's wrong?" She asked, hoping that she hadn't gone insane.
The Hyuga shook his head and shot her a questioning glance. "No. But I'll scan the area just in case."
"Byakugan!"
When Neji looked around with his kekkei genkai, he noticed that something was indeed wrong. The others on their different boats were close by, but they didn't appear to be affected. It was only them.
"Our chakra networks have been disrupted considerably… that could only mean one thing." Neji bit out agitatedly. How had he not noticed?
Sasuke had momentarily stopped rowing to listen in on what Neji was saying.
"What are you talking about, Hyuga?"
Tenten shook her head slowly. "Now is not the time for that, Sasuke. I think we are caught inside a genjutsu."
The younger Uchiha's eyes immediately shot blood-red against three tomoe. He stiffened slightly as he too looked around.
"We are being ambushed. The mist is a genjutsu," He announced as his expression hardened significantly. "….and Tenten is too."
Neji's eyes widened in disbelief. He stared down at the bun-haired kunoichi next to him, and realised that it was indeed not Tenten.
A/N: Tenten's been kidnapped! ;'( lol. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading! As always, reviews whether their of praise or even constructive criticism are always appreciated! :D