Big thanks to Blossoms of Spring, Matahari, Kratos Wilder, Ness345, Miarkira4eve, WeaponsMistress, petite.ia, cheese Maiden, animelover, alusy, dreaming101, StarNakamoto, Naruto-lover, TYT, belle2990 and all those who had taken the time to write a review!!! This chapter is dedicated to all of you! It has been quite some time since I last update. What can I say but that class has started again. Kiba and Neji will be OOC in this chapter cause…um…well…writing romance tends to do that to characters. This chapter will have endlessly and I really mean endlessly amount of grammar mistakes and I'm terribly sorry for it but I already have Kyakya991 doing my other fic and I didn't want to put too much workload on Kyakya (who I think is just awesome!). Okay, enough with my babbling. Enjoyed the fic!


"Neji, what are you doing?!" she asked when he grabbed her wrist. "Neji?"

"Tell me nothing happened," he forced out.

"What?"

"Tell me nothing happened," he repeats. "I don't care if something did happen. Just…" he paused. This was harder then he thought. "Just…tell me nothing happened."

"Nothing happened."

He released the breath he didn't know he was holding and nod his head in understanding but he didn't release his grip on her.

He didn't believe her. "Neji," she whispered. "Nothing happened."

Again, he nodded his head.

"Neji, let go of me."


Three hours earlier…

They have been sitting here for over twenty minutes and Sakura's bowl haven't even show signs of decreasing. A snail could have finished her food by now and the constant chattering; it was more then any man bare. If he moved his hands just a little to the left he could…No! He mentally shook himself for his murderous thoughts.

"And can you believe it?" Sakura asked in disbeliefs. "Sasuke actually…"

He tuned her out, occasionally nodding his head when he sensed a pause in the long string of words that seem to flow from her like water from a waterfall. How dare Tenten left with dog boy.

"Neji?"

How dare she refuse him.

"Neji?"

The next time he laid eyes on dog boy, he'll-

"Neji!!!"

He stared at her. "Huh?" Has the waterfall defy gravity and stop falling? It seems to have stopped sputtering nonsense. Good.

She frowned at him. "I asked if you thought Kiba and Tenten make a cute couple."

Cute? His mind processed the word. Cute! This woman is a medical ninja? Only someone with an intelligence level of a three-year old would used the word CUTE to described something he considered horribly wrong.

"Neji?"

"Damn." She heard him cursed as his chair tumbles onto the ground and a frown came over his face.

"I just remembered something Haishi-sama asked me to do at home."

"Wha-"

"Here's the money for dinner." Setting the change on the table, he took off before she could start another rant.

"This one stayed longer," the cook commented from his seat after the man vanished.

She groaned in defeat as her head fall down on the table with a loud "thud." At least he had stayed until he finished his food. Sasuke hadn't even waited until…Oh god! Was that it?! Was she eating too much? Did they consider her a pig?!!!


He found himself staring at her door. Her light was out. She must be asleep. Perhaps he was overreacting. Still…

He smiled as he pulls the little black cushion from its hiding place. He had hidden it here when he came to the painful conclusion that sitting in the tree for hours tends to put a lot of stress on his bottom and he needed his bottom for meditating. He knew that if anyone were to catch him, they would consider it very uncharacteristic of him but to Neji, it was as normal as night and day. After all, how was he supposed to keep a firm check on her all these years if he didn't have some underhanded methods of doing so? Beside, Hyuuga Neji was not about to get caught by anyone. And if she ever learn about his tendency to spy on her, it would be only and only when he decides to turn himself in. And if there is one thing Hyuuga Neji does not possessed, it was stupidity. Setting himself in his usual spot in the tree directly above her window, he activates his Byakugan.

He frowned. There was no sign of her. He told himself that since she wasn't in her room, she was probably in the bathroom so he waited. Five minute passed, then ten and then just as Father Time was about to strike his hands on another magic number, before he realized it, Neji was in her house. For the time being, he wouldn't care if he barges in on her naked as long as he was could convinced himself that she was in the house and not with dog boy, he would take the full burden of her anger later. Still, he found nothing.

Meanwhile…

"Thanks." She smiled at him over her bowl of ramen. "How did you know I was hungry?"

He laughed. "Tenten, you must really love the movie if you didn't notice your own stomach growling."

She blushed. At that time, she hadn't been paying much attention to the movie. She had been too focused on-"What?"

"I asked if Neji has always been like that."

She was confused. "Like what?"

He points his chopsticks at her, his eyes widening. "You didn't notice? So it's a regular thing then?"

Now she was even more confused. "Notice what?"

"Tenten, the man glared at me when I tried to ask you a question during the movie. At first, I thought it was because he didn't like interruptions but when I tried again to talk to you after the movie, he practically shoved me to the side."

She stared at him. "Neji wouldn't do that."

Kiba shook his head at her, "He would and he did."

"I-"

"Didn't notice a thing," he finished for her.

It was true that she had been a little up in the clouds during the whole escapade but surely Kiba was exaggerating. "Neji simply wanted to clear some things with me."

"He watched over you like a mother hen."

She couldn't help it. She choked on her mouthful of noodle. Neji? A mother hen? She didn't know rather she should laugh or help Neji feel insulted. After she clear her throat with enough water, she turn toward him. "I don't think Neji would appreciate you calling him a mother hen," she informed him then she couldn't help it, she smiled at him. "You best make sure you never call him that when he's near you."

"Don't worry," he assured her. "I'm not that stupid."

Kiba wasn't such a bad guy to be around with. So what if he loves his dog to death. It's not like she wasn't a dog person.

"How long?" he asked her, his voice suddenly serious.

He noticed. Was she that obvious? She tried to smile but it was useless. "For as long as I could remember."

"He has no clue?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "Sometimes, I feel like he's completely clueless and yet there are times when I wonder if he knows and he's playing me for a fool and I'm the clueless one."

"I don't know rather I should congratulate him for being so lucky or beat him up for being a fool."

This time she did smile. "Thanks."

He smiled back. "No problem."

"Perhaps you should stay clear of both options. I wouldn't want to see you in the hospital wing the next time I go visit Lee."

"You doubt my manliness?" he joked.

"I-"

"But you are probably right," he quickly add. "I won't bite more then I can chew."

"I just wanted to say thank you again." They had reached her house and were now standing outside her door. "That bowl of ramen really cheered me up."

"It was nothing," he assured her. "I had fun. I'll see you some other times then?"

"Sure."

"Tenten," Kiba whispered. "Next time you need someone to talk to; don't hesitate to look me up."

She didn't know what to say. Who would have thought that Kiba, with his wild then life attitude could sense feelings so well? All she could do was nod her head at him.


The very unpleasant present…

His grip on her wrist was starting to hurt. "Neji, let go of me."

His gaze focused on her for an eternity then travel to his grip on her wrist. He blinked, realizing what he was just about to do. What was wrong with him? He was just about to cross that line, that invisible line that was drawn so clear between them. He had simply wanted to talk to her, make sure she was safe. Because he couldn't deny that during the time he had sat in the dark planning all the things he would do to dog boy, there was a moment when his mind had gone wild with thoughts of her hurt and hopeless somewhere and it had scared him, scared him more then he had ever thought possible. Still, even as his mind screamed at him to release her, his hand refused to obey.

"Neji?"

He could see confusion written all over her face. She must think he had gone crazy. Hell, even he was beginning to wonder if he had somehow gone nuts. Who would spy on their own teammate? How long have they known each other? It seemed forever, like she was always there. But he knew that wasn't true. When his father die, she wasn't there with him, he had to bury all the grief and hatred within in himself. He wondered how things would have been different had he meet her then.

As if it has a will of its own, his hand moves until it circles her waist and pulls her against him. If she wasn't afraid of him before, she was now. He could see it in the way her eyes widen as her free hand unconsciously moves between them, as if to protect herself from his attack. He smiled. He wasn't going to attack her…he was going to do so much more.

That's the end for this chapter. Tune in for the next later whenever I update, which might take longer then I want. As always, read and review!