Fuck it. She was late. She was so fucking late.

Tenten ducked, avoiding a collision with the huge pot of ramen hoisted on the shoulders of a young man by mere centimeters. She didn't stop to apologize, only hopping over the dog laying leisurely on the sidewalk before returning to her sprint: His screams of annoyance muffled by the blood pounding in her ears.

She should have known better. She really should have known better.

At the very least, she could have set the alarm clock, even if it was just five minutes and I'm only resting my eyes, okay? That way, she wouldn't be running through Konoha like a madwoman, attempting to salvage what little time was left of the first day of her mission.

Maybe if she hadn't have been so stubborn because it was only five minutes and it's not like I'm going to fall asleep or anything, so leave me alone... then she wouldn't have to suffer the embarrassment of arriving late for a mission (a mission, of all things), or the lectures she would undoubtedly receive from Gai Sensei when he heard word (she'd have to remember to punch Lee when he told him), or the disappointed shakes of the head and later tearful inquiries from Lee, or the degrading comments from Neji...

Shit... Neji.

He was going to murder her.


"... And that is why Gai Sensei and I wear the color green. Are there any more youthful questions?"

"Yeah," one kid exclaimed, tugging his hat further down his round, freckle framed forehead. He sat in the furthest row away from the board, Tenten noticed, in the seats usually reserved for the druggies and slackers of the world (though the first seemed highly unlikely, seeing as the boy was only about nine). His chubby finger was pointing accusingly in her direction. "Who's that lady?"

All of the children (first, second, third, fourth, and fifth row respectively) turned to stare at her with wide eyes.

Shit.

She smiled awkwardly back, raising her hand in a small wave. "Um. Hi. I'm Tenten," she began nervously, "and I'll be one of your teachers for the next few days." She scratched the back of her head awkwardly, attempting to look anywhere but in the faces of her subordinates.

"You're late," a little girl in the second row with blonde pigtails and glasses stated factually, not glancing up from her book. "It's not good to be late."

Tenten glared at the offender. If only the brat were a few years older...

"My dear, dear Tenten..." Lee shook his head disappointingly from the front of the room. Tenten squinted to make out his expression: had the seats always been this far back? She could hardly see him from where she was standing. "Samara-Chan is right. It is indeed not becoming of a young woman to be late."

"Nothing is becoming of Tenten today, it seems," Neji commented noncommittally, glancing upon her (no doubt rugged) form for mere seconds before turning back toward his work.

Tenten's face fell. It was only natural that Neji chose to acknowledge her then. He always had such impeccable timing.

"Well, you see," she began her long explanation, "I had just gotten out of the shower and I needed to clean my apartment because I haven't been able to see my floor in weeks - remember I told you about that earlier, Lee? When we were talking about our date for next week? So there I was, starting on my bedroom...


Did she just...

No, she couldn't have. Surely she was jesting.

He glanced again at the woman that spoke at the front of the room, punctuating her hurried conversation with an occasional hand gesture or - in this case, rare - intake of breath. Surely it could not be true.

Tenten couldn't have, wouldn't have, possibly scheduled such an event without consulting him about the matter firsthand. The Tenten he knew would not condone such a thing, nonetheless with Lee, of all people, without the approval of her team. She told him everything that she did (whether he chose to listen or not) on a daily basis. Tenten would have informed him of this slight, even if it required her to make an appearance at the Hyuga Manor and demanding a meeting with him herself.

Neji's eyes narrowed as he appraised his teammate, who continued to ramble on about her excuses for arriving late. It was nothing he hadn't heard before: Tenten was rarely punctual (excluding their team and individual sparring sessions respectively, of course). Her cheeks were flushed, but that was to be expected after her sprint toward the academy, which also explained her disheveled appearance and exasperated state. Neji's eyebrows furrowed. There seemed to be nothing out of sorts with Team Gai's residential Kunoichi (any more than normal, at least).

Which did not explain why she had scheduled a date with Lee without telling him about it immediately afterward.

Surely she could not have done such a thing: with Lee, of all people. Tenten wasn't stupid, after all. Even if she had had such a lapse in judgment, she surely would have told him about it by now. Tenten had dignity: she had always consulted him face to face when it came to urgent matters. She was never one to put off the inevitable. Tenten would have told him effective and immediately, further proving that she had just been joking about the matter. That, in turn, meant that she had made no plan nor planned to date Lee.

Satisfied, Neji continued reading the passage in his book...

Only to come to a screeching halt in realization but seconds later.

Earlier, when she had been calling his name in the Hokage tower... He had ignored her because he had more important affairs to handle: Hiashi Sama had demanded his presence to discuss a new technique he planned to teach him. She must have wanted to tell him about it then...

But that was... absurd.

Immoral.

Illogical.

It was most certainly not like his Tenten.

She had never harbored any romantic feelings toward their younger teammate, having made that quite obvious at their numerous team meetings. Tenten hit and berated him at any given opportunity; it was a regular occurrence within their team. It was made quite clear to any common observer, nonetheless a Hyuga, that the relationship was strictly platonic.

How had he, Neji of the Hyuga Clan, overlooked such a development between the two?


"... and I decided to go ahead and get my vacuum out to clean the floors, but as I was picking up my clothes from in the living room, I noticed that the couch looked really comfortable, and I was really tired so I was just going to lay down for a few minutes and... and..."

Tenten sighed, registering the twenty-one confused (and one contemplative - as a Hyuga's expression was never confused) stares she was receiving. "And I'm sorry. It won't happen again," she ended quickly.

"We forgive you, my dear Tenten." A tear fell from Lee's cheek as he made a few steps in her general direction. From her extremely limited view, it seemed as if Neji was glaring at Lee, no doubt disgusted by his childish antics (it wouldn't be the first time)... Or perhaps he was worried that the children would soon begin copying the spandex-clad ninja and they'd be faced with hundreds of little Lees running around for the next few days.

Yes, that did seem plausible...

"It is not your fault that your alarm clock was broken, Tenten. Do you not agree, students of youth?" Stammers were heard throughout the classroom. A majority of the students agreed with him; the rest of the answers constituted of a few incoherent mumblings (did someone say youth? Oh no...)

"Well, actually..." Tenten began, "My alarm clock didn't break. You see-"

And with that, the bell had rung, signaling the end of class.


Saved by the bell had never sounded so sweet. Just as she was about to exit the classroom (checking off day one in hell as complete), she heard a voice call her from the front of the room. "Tenten? Could you stay after class for a moment? I have some things to discuss with you."

Tenten gulped. Why did that not sound good?

Fifteen minutes and a few hurried conclusions later (Was Neji going to apologize to her? Maybe he wanted to spar again? Or maybe he was really angry with her and wanted to request that she be assigned to another team?) the room was devoid of anyone but the Hyuga and herself. He stood at the very front of the room and she in the middle. Neji was facing away from her - a first, as he usually liked to face those that he addressed... a pet peeve she'd learned about a few years ago when she refused to open her apartment door to speak with him - staring at the illegible print written upon the board. An uncomfortable silence crept between them.

"If this was about me being late..."

"It isn't," Neji responded monotonously. He did not look away from the chalk board in front of him. "It's about someone else."

Someone?

"Oh." Hinata, of course. She should have known. "You know, Neji, you really don't have to tell me. I don't have to know or anything; and besides, it's not like it's your job to tell me about everything that goes on in your life. I should have been a better friend and asked about Hinata earlier. It's your business, not mine."


Hinata?

She thought he wanted to talk about Hinata?

Neji shook his head back and forth. "It isn't about-"

"It's all right, Neji," Tenten persisted. "I understand that some Hyuga affairs just aren't any of my business. I've been your teammate for years. I understand. You really don't have to explain it to me. I'll just... I'll ask the girls about it." The girls, as in Sakura and Ino? Neji resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

He knew Tenten had made friends with them a while back, but he hadn't figured they'd been swapping rumors on their rare meetings. Tenten just wasn't that type of girl. And besides, Sakura would know nothing of the matter; she'd been out of the village for weeks, and it was common knowledge that Ino's facts were about as misconstructed as her diet.

"I don't need any of the dirty details." Tenten smiled pleasantly at him, chuckling as she scratched the back of her head. "Honest. Don't worry about it."

Don't worry about it?

Neji frowned.

Perhaps Tenten was right; though, not in the sense that she thought to be. It really wasn't any of his business, anyway. How could he expect his teammates - scratch that, Lee and Gai - to grant him the privacy he strived so hard to maintain if he did not respect theirs in return? It wasn't his place to interfere with Tenten's personal affairs, no matter how much the thought of her dating... Lee... or anyone, for that matter, disturbed him.

"Very well," he answered after a long silence, "as you wish."

The couple stared at one another for a few seconds, neither willing to be the first to break contact.

She maintained her smile.

He maintained his frown.

"Well, if that's all you have to say, I should be taking my leave." He withdrew a band from his left pocket, fastening it around the end of his hair. He'd taken to wearing it back when the wind had started picking up: an old habit of his. "I'll be expecting you here at five in the morning tomorrow to prepare for class."

Tenten's mouth dropped.

Neji smirked.

"Your tardiness mustn't be condoned, after all." Arriving two hours early seemed as suitable a punishment as any. He had learned within his first few days of shared partnership with the kunoichi that she was not a morning person. Twice he'd been assigned the duty of forcefully entering her apartment (dodging kunai and exploding tags on his way) to wake her up. Twice he had done so with a cold bucket of water. She hadn't been happy with him.

Neji removed his jacket from the edge of the chair, wrapping it around his body in slow movements. Hiashi would be expecting him for their afternoon training session soon and he hadn't yet visited Hinata to check up on her injuries. He began moving toward the door.

"Good afternoon, Tenten."


He was... leaving?

"Wait!" Tenten shouted after him. He couldn't just leave... not like that. It had been a while since they had sat down and just talked...

Okay, since she had sat down and just talked. He usually just listened. Regardless, it had been a while since the two had gotten together. Their last sparring session had been sometime last week (conflicting schedules had gotten in the way) and she'd been forced to battle with Lee just this morning (Gai Sensei had wanted to appraise her battle skill against a Gouken Taijutsu Specialist, much to her, and her body's, dissatisfaction). The last time they had been together, disregarding missions and the ever-increasing Team Gai Dinners, was sometime last month, which was far too long, in her opinion.

Neji raised an eyebrow at her.

Dammit, he wanted an answer. Think, Tenten. Think.

"What about training?" She asked innocently. Brilliant. "We've got to be here at seven every morning. I doubt there's any way we could fit training in before that time." Please don't say we have to wake up earlier. Please don't say we have to wake up earlier. Please don't say we have to wake up earlier.

"We'll move it to the evening," he responded immediately. "I think five to nine sounds good."

"All right." She could definitely agree to that. It was much better than their regular schedule: five to nine in the freaking morning. Neji just didn't seem to understand that she wasn't a morning person. "And I was wondering..." Here was her chance. "Since it's three right now and we didn't have lunch... Well, do you want to go to Ichiraku's? With me, I mean? I hear their having a special on Herring Soba." Tenten waited for Neji to answer her.

He didn't.

"Come on, I know it's your favorite," she taunted. "I'll even pay this time."


Neji frowned.

Tenten was... involved with Lee. She surely couldn't expect him to be comfortable escorting her to dinner. It would be inappropriate and inconsiderate of their remaining teammate to do so without his knowledge, even if it were obvious the two meant nothing to one another.

Besides, Tenten knew he didn't like Ichiraku Ramen. It was far too crowded for his liking, not to mention the favorite building of one ninja in particular... And he had other things to do that evening, anyway. Hiashi would no doubt scold him if he were tardy for their training session. He began to shake his head.


Tenten frowned as Neji began frowning and shaking his head. What ever happened to team bonding? They were in the springtimes of their youth; this was only going to happen to them once. They needed to stick together and remain close friends. It was their duty... as a team...

Oh God. She was starting to sound like Lee. Or worse... Gai.

"I can't," Neji answered, already moving steadily toward the open door. "I have other obligations this evening."


Tenten sighed.

She sat on the furthest stool in Ichikaru, a large bowl of (big surprise) ramen primly situated in front of her. It had been sitting there for ten minutes and she hadn't yet made a move to touch its contents. It was going to get cold if she didn't eat it soon. Tenten stirred the noodles in her bowl absentmindedly, watching as they rotated into unique shapes.

There was a circle... a square... a triangle... and, hey, that one actually kinda looked like Neji! Tenten smiled at her bowl, observing the long hair, large eyes, and stern body that made up the tiny figurine. Yes, that was definitely her Neji. The one next to him even looked a little bit like Lee: bowl hair cut and all. What were the odds of that? Tenten slowly re-rotated her noodles.

Another square, another circle, another triangle, and... Another Neji? Tenten frowned. She hastily restirred her noodles.

There was another one.

And another one.

And another one.

Tenten groaned, throwing her chopsticks roughly back into her bowl. Screw the noodles: What did they know, anyway?

So what if Neji hadn't come with her to Ichiraku Ramen? It wasn't like he'd never turned her down to a friendly invitation before (ha, only about five out of every six times). He was Neji. He did these kinds of things. And so what if he had other plans? He was allowed to do things outside of the workforce. It wasn't her right to say what (or who) he could or could not do. Neji had his own life and she respected that. Whether or not he chose to include his teammates in it was his personal choice.

His.

Personal.

Choice.

She didn't even care, really. Nope, not her.

"You all right there?"

Tenten jumped, jarring the bowl of noodles that sat in front of her. "I'm fine." She smiled sweetly at the waitress. What was her name? Amaya? Anaya?

"Are you sure? Because you've been sitting there for the past twenty minutes and you haven't touched your ramen." Twenty? What a liar! She'd only been sitting there for ten minutes! Only crazy people sat at ramen stands for twenty minutes without touching their food. "Is there something wrong with it? I could ask my dad to get you some more, if you'd like."

Tenten waved her hand absentmindedly. "No, no, it's fine," she answered honestly. "It's great, actually."

Amaya (Anaya?) hesitated, passing the tray of ramen she held to the other hand. "All right. If you're sure." Tenten nodded earnestly. "I'll be leaving you then. But a word of advice before I go? It's not good to throw your chopsticks into your bowl and groan loudly. It tends to draw a lot of attention." She gestured to the surrounding tables, where, indeed, customers were quickly looking away from their direction.

"Thanks. I'll, uh, keep that in mind." Tenten muttered.

Stupid waitresses who couldn't keep their minds to themselves... selfish... wasn't getting a tip.

She threw her cash on the table, pushing herself back from the counter. Why had she even gone to Ichiraku Ramen? It wasn't like she was even that hungry, and she could have easily made something at home. Why would she have wanted to go there in the first place?

Oh yeah... Neji. Tenten sighed.

It wasn't as if she could have just offered to take Neji out to dinner (pay, even!) and then decide not to go when he refused. What kind of crazy stalker did things like that?


"Hey, Sasuke? Want to go to Ichiraku Ramen with me later tonight?"

"No."

"Oh, that's okay. I didn't really want to go anyway."


As she turned to leave the restaurant, silently grumbling to herself for her stupidity, she spied a particular blonde, orange-clad ninja (because, really, he wasn't that hard to miss) in the corner of the stand.

Could her night get any worse?

He was seated next to some guy and was muttering something under his breath. Now she'd have to be extra careful not to draw his attention, lest she be coerced into some pathetic excuse for a conversation with the young man. She'd already spent her patience quota for the day: one conversation with Uzumaki and she just might explode.

"... Awake now? I'll have to come see her then. How's she looking? Better? Worse? Are the bruises still there?"

Almost there. Almost there.

"Can she talk? And how has she been through all of this?"

The door was right there. Just a little closer...

"Has Ne- Hey, Tenten! What are you doing here?"

Dammit... and she'd almost made it, too. She turned toward the ninja sharply, not bothering to set a fake smile in place. He'd probably see through it, anyway: her heart just wasn't in it today. "Same as you," she answered grumpily, throwing her thumb back toward the seat she had been sitting in. "I was hungry."

"Oh." Naruto answered, satisfied with her answer. "Okay. See ya la-"

"Then why didn't you eat your food?" The man next to Naruto pointed out. He gestured toward her former seat, where, indeed, a full bowl of ramen sat atop the counter. Tenten's lip curled. She really wasn't in the mood. "I would think that someone who was hungry would come to a ramen stand and actually eat. You know? Unless, of course, you're watching your weight..." He trailed off slowly, glancing leisurely up and down her figure, "But baby, you don't need to worry about that."

The man winked playfully.

Tenten smiled sadistically.

And this, Neji, is why I needed you here... so you could hold me back.