Chapter 6

Confrontation

"In life we make progress by conflict and in mental life by argument and disputation... There must be confrontation and opposition, in order that sparks must be kindled."

Christopher Hitchens

Nurse Akiko was usually a friendly lady towards everyone at school, but this was not the side Tenten was seeing in the Nurse's office. She couldn't really blame the lady, though; it was already 5:30 pm and Chancellor Tsunade had to hold her back from going home because of two teenagers who just didn't know how to obey the rules and let bygones be bygones.

"I don't believe either of you," she grumbled as she slapped an ice bag onto Tenten's swollen, blue-black knee, causing the girl to let out a hiss and tried to remove the bag from her skin. Nurse Akiko slapped away her hand and scolded, "Leave it right there, Miss Tenten. If it doesn't go down your knee will stay like that. And what are you smirking about Mr. Hyuga," she said turning to Neji, who apparently thought Tenten's anguish was funny. The Nurse walked over to Neji and started to dabbing rubbing alcohol onto his face and lip. He jerked away when he felt the stinging sensation, but the nurse held his head in position while she continued the onslaught on his face.

"You should be ashamed Mr. Hyuga. Fighting a girl! You should be ashamed of yourself. Why, in my day boys would kill to open doors for pretty girls like Miss Tenten. But no! You have to make sure that she can't use her leg anymore." Tenten made a startled noise, causing Nurse Akiko to go on the defensive. "Now, now, you don't go taking me seriously, my dear." The matron strolled over to the girl perched on the cot and examined her knee. "It's just a sprained knee, but I have to admit that you'll have to use crutches for the next couple of days, and no soccer practice for the next week. But I have to say, because of both of your outrageous behaviors; I'll be quite surprised if the Chancellor allowed you both to actually be on the team!"

The clock in the entrance hall struck six times to indicate the hour. Nurse Akiko pulled off her latex gloves and flung them, and the soiled cotton balls she used to clean Neji's cuts, into the bin. "I'll be right back," she said and she left, leaving Tenten exposed to the most awkward silence with a guy she was crushing on, but now wanting to pull out all of his long hair.

She looked at Neji from the corner of her eye but he was busy poking at his fresh wounds. She then shifted her attention to her knee, to the ice bag on it and the extremely numb hand holding it in place. The freezing feeling was easing the throbbing in her joint but if she didn't switch hands she would probably lose circulation and all feeling in her right hand. And sure enough her reflexes were so oblivious that the ice bag slipped out of her hand and onto the floor. She groaned in both frustration and discomfort as she made her way to slip off the bed and retrieve the bag, but Neji beat her to it.

Neji wrapped it in his wash rag, which he was using to dab at his bleeding lip, and placed the bundle onto Tenten's knee, holding it into placed. Tenten was totally shocked and frowned at the Hyuga boy, who was trying to avoid her eyes.

"I don't understand you Neji," she said softly, "one minute you want to beat the crap outta me and the next your helping me."

"Yes, well, it could have been a lot worse," he said, examining her knee while Tenten gave him a scandalous look.

Tenten snorted and looked outside the opposite wall. "I guess you're not very good at apologies, huh?"

"Apology?" he asked incredulously. "I owe you an apology?"

"Yeah you do!"

"If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have still been in school after dark waiting for Tsunade to put us in detention," he argued.

"And if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have started the fight," she countered.

"Oh really? Who the hell gave me these?" he asked, gesturing to the marks on his left cheek and bottom lip.

"I was only retaliating to the person who damaged my knee so badly that I'm out of commission for a whole damn week! Probably longer!" she quarreled back, kicking out her injured leg only causing her to hiss in pain.

Neji grabbed her calf and chastised her. "Stop shaking your leg! It'll hurt more," he said shifting the icepack to another part of her joint.

Tenten scoffed at him. "Stop sounding as though you care 'cause you don't." She reached to shove Neji's hand away and grab the icepack, but he grabbed her wrist. He looked up and, for the first time, Tenten saw something she had never seen in the depths of his lavender eyes. He looked at her with compassion and remorse and the fluttery feeling she usually felt, that had momentarily disappeared during tryouts, had returned when his eyes bore into her own.

Tenten blinked rapidly and tried to look away, but his gaze had somehow held onto hers by an invisible thread that could only be broken when he looked away. "I'm very sorry that I hurt you Tenten," he said. "I'm not very good at apologies but I've been in the limelight for so long, I've forgotten how to give someone else a chance to succeed. But I have seen how you play and you are truly a remarkable person Tenten." He smirked and looked down at my knee, braking eye contact with her.

"Not many people would have the guts to leave a note in my locker," he added.

Tenten's jaw dropped. She had briefly forgotten that small fact and suddenly she was wishing that he had never brought it up. Or rather she had never written it in the first place.

"You got my note?" asked a mortified Tenten. He voice had somehow become hoarse and her ears were starting to gain a pinkish hue.

Neji looked up and cocked an eyebrow at Tenten's expression. "Uh, of course I did," he said. "What's wrong?"

"It's n-n-nothing," Tenten started to stammer sounding ridiculously like Hinata. "I was just wondering…"

"Wondering what?" Neji asked trying to nudge Tenten's words out. He was looking at her, square in the face and suddenly Neji Hyuga did something that no one had ever seen him do; Neji laughed. It was scandalous like Ino's and Sakura's. Neither was it similar to Hinata's, which was a nervous chuckle. It was nice and natural and it was at that moment Tenten had just met the real Neji Hyuga – the one that was concealed by the cold, stern exterior that instilled fear in everyone at Konoha High.

Tenten managed to crack a small, uncertain smile. "So you're laughing at me now, aren't you Hyuga?

Neji smiled back and tucked a loosed strand of brown hair behind her ear. He changed the hand he was holding the icepack with and placed a cool hand on her warm cheek. "I'm not laughing at you Ten," he said. His eyes roamed over her facial features while his thumb lightly rubbed over her cheekbone. "You're welcome, by the way," he continued after a few moments.

Tenten sighed and closed her eyes, relishing in his touch. "I owe you Neji," she whispered.

She felt his hand leave her face and reopened her eyes to see his hand outstretched. "I'll keep you up to it then. Deal?"

Tenten grinned and shook his hand. "Deal!"

"You can both leave you know."

Neji and Tenten dropped hands and faced the door, only to see Chancellor Tsunade looking at the scene unfolding in front of her.

"You're not going to suspend us?" asked Tenten hesitantly.

"No," replied Tsunade.

"You're not even going to give us detention?" asked Neji, with a confused expression, mirroring Tenten.

"Neither." Tsunade's honey gold eyes shining and a grin appeared on her face.

"But we thought you were going to lecture us," said Tenten.

Tsunade took a deep breath and said, "The best way to work out friction between two people is to leave them to work it out themselves. Both of you are two of my best students at this prestigious school and I thought you were both smart enough to confront your issues head on and work it out yourselves. Even if it took all night."

"All night? You were planning on keeping us here all night?" asked Neji in amazement.

"Yes, Mr. Hyuga. You both can stop looking at me like that!" she scolded noticing their frowns. "You're both teenagers and you need to start acting mature enough to come to some rational decisions when you have problems and come running to adults fro every little thing." She consulted her watch. "It's getting late. Mr. Hyuga, Lord Hiashi has sent the limo for you and Miss Tenten, I've hired a cab to drop you home."

She turned to leave but paused when Neji and Tenten didn't move. "I don't think either of you understand; I want you both off of my damn compound, NOW!"

"Yes ma'am," the both shouted and they left without further ado; Tenten hobbling with her crutches and Neji holding both of their duffel bags.

Tsunade watched them leave. Neji had helped Tenten into her cab and saw her off before leaving with his own vehicle. Well, well, their relationship is going to be very interesting, she thought before turning off the remaining lights in the office before leaving for her own home.

Normally Fridays were Tenten's favorite day of the week, but this Friday, she decided, was the best. Yes her leg hurt like hell. Yes Karin, Rin and Tayuya and the rest of the 'elites' annoyed her ass. Yes everyone was looking at her in a new light, but thankfully it was in a good one. Most of the people in the freshman and sophomore class were acknowledging her for having the nerve to take a swipe out of the Neji Hyuga and still lived to tell the tale. But the best part about today was that she was friends with Neji, who was considered an insider and she was finally getting the respect she deserved.

That Morning…

The bell had already been rung, but Tenten decided that it would be best if she didn't rush to school like the rest of students, mainly because of the fact that she was, the first time in her life, a cripple. She hated that word, but how could she describe herself otherwise if suddenly the stairs leading up to school seemed as though she was climbing Mt. Everest. And there were only twenty one steps! How else would she be able to call herself if she needed Hinata or Ino or Sakura to help her hold her books or her satchel as she shuffled from class to class?

And those bitches didn't make it any easier for her. Usually Tenten rarely cursed, but the pain caused her to cuss more than Ino today. She had just exchanged her Math books for her Chemistry ones into her locker and was walking down the corridor towards the Chem. Lab alone. Hinata had English the period before so usually she would already be waiting for her in class. She diverted some of students and raised her hand and smiled when random people along the hallway acknowledged her and she was going so well until she tumbled and fell, scattering her books all over the floor.

"Aw look girls," crooned Karin, "Humpty Dumpty had a great fall."

Both Rin and Tayuya cackled as Tenten tried to stand but her leg gave way and she fell back on the floor. The laughter around her grew louder and Rin asked, "What's the matter? Are you waiting for all the king's men to put you back together again?"

Tenten ignored them and tried to put her books in a pile in front of her. Her lab note book had skid the length and someone had stopped it with his foot. When the person had bent to pick it up, a hush fell on the crowd of 'elites'. Neji walked towards Tenten and dropped her book in the pile.

"Do you need some help?" he asked softly, ignoring the gasps around them.

"Please," responded Tenten and he pulled her to her feet. He let her place some of her weight on him before he returned her crutch. He gathered all of her books and Tenten held out her hand to receive them. But he shook his head and he did something un-Neji-like; he held onto her books and walked with her down the passage towards Chem. Lab 3 through the hordes of hushed students, who moved to make way for them to pass.

The students in her class were already organizing their chemicals as the second bell rang. The sounds of chattering students and clinking of glass were heard and their teacher called for their silence. She started instructing their class through the qualitative analysis lab when she noticed Tenten had just arrived. She knew that the girl was injured and decided to be lenient this time, but what she didn't expect was the scene that unfolded before her.

Neji handed Tenten her books. "You didn't have to do all of that, you know? Walking me to class?" she said.

The usual serious expression on Neji's face had disappeared when he spoke the girl he escorted to class. "It was my pleasure," he responded, keeping eye contact with Tenten before leaning towards her, brushing his lips of her now crimson cheekbones.

Whispers of shock were emulating from her classmates, as he left for his own class, leaving Tenten rooted to the floor. Weren't they fighting yesterday? What the hell really happened?

"Miss Tenten would you like to join us now?" asked the Chemistry teacher.

Tenten jumped slightly, still red in the face, and made her way to her seat next to Hinata, who would find it hard to conceal a smile through out class.

"What the hell happened yesterday and we want all of the details?"

The minute Tenten sat down for lunch, Ino took it upon herself to interrogate her.

"What do you want me to say Ino?" asked Tenten warily. "You already know what caused us to fight."

"Yes but I want to know what transpired after. What did Tsunade say?" she persisted just as Sakura and Hinata slid into seats beside them; Hinata passed Tenten's lunch to her.

"She didn't say anything. She made us work it out ourselves in the nurse's office," the brown haired tomboy said shrugging.

"And did you guys work it out?" asked Sakura before she took a swig of her Evian.

"Well the must have," said Hinata, quietly, "because that would have explained the reason why he walked you to chemistry and kissed you in front of everyone."

Ino, who was eating tempura, choked on it and Hinata handed her her orange juice while Sakura sprayed her Evian over the table. Sakura was the first person the recover. "He walked you to class?"

"To hell with that!" Ino hollered at Sakura, before rounded on me asking, "The Neji Hyuga kissed you?"

"Uh, yeah he did, but it's not what you guys think though," Tenten said blushing furiously.

"Wait guys! First things first. I want to know how he managed to walk you to class," said Hinata and then added to Ino and Sakura, "He was holding her books when they arrived."

Ino and Sakura gasped and then turned Tenten who sighed and started retelling the story.

"So he helped you get up, gathered all your books and walked you to class. Aww, he's such a gentleman," swooned Sakura.

"And he did it in front of Karin, Rin and Tayuya. Oh my god, Ten I love your boyfriend already," said Ino, her blue eyes glazing at the triumph.

"He's not my boyfriend," muttered Tenten stubbornly and Hinata chuckled at her.

"He may not be, but it looks as though he really likes you."

"Oh right! Where did he kiss you Tenten?" asked Sakura.

"He kissed me on my cheek. Where else do you think? It was in front of a lot of people; one of which was a teacher, for crying out loud!"

All three girls sighed while Tenten huffed in impatience. "What now?" she demanded.

"We would have never have guessed that you would be the first one in our little crew to get a boyfriend," replied Sakura.

Tenten rolled her eyes and said, "He's not my boyfriend, Sakura." But a moment later her heart begged to differ. She decided to steal a glance at the table where Neji usually sat and she found the Hyuga boy looking at her with the same look he gave her just before he kissed her earlier. Their gazes locked onto each other for a second before he looked away and Tenten smiled to herself. He may not be my boyfriend but at least I know he feels the same way!

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