Hello once more. Here's the next update. I apologise for it being so very late, I was waiting on something, but decided to go ahead anyway. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think!

Sakura had been embarrassed by her lapse of emotional control in front of the weapons mistress, and she chose not to mention it as they continued with her training. Thankfully, and to her credit, Tenten had picked up on Sakura's reluctance and refrained from bringing it up. Tsunade was taking up a lot of time with training, too and she found that she had to cancel on Tenten more than once. The older girl didn't seem to miss a beat though, and they always managed to pick up where they left off. It seemed that she had perked up recently, becoming more cheerful and boisterous as time passed. It was like there was some unspoken trust and friendship between them now, and Sakura was glad as Naruto was frequently away on long missions.

She tried not to think of her mistakes often, and when she did it was only to reflect on what she simply would not do next time. On one such occasion, a few weeks after her 'episode' as she called it, she went a little too deep into her retrospection and hit a soft spot in her psyche. She set off to Tenten's at a tremendously fast pace, her tears almost blinding her on several occasions. No thought was spared for wondering if Tenten was actually home or not. Sakura rapped on the door sharply, craving a hug and a few comforting words. The door swung open and without much thought she collapsed forward into the other girl's arms. Tenten stumbled back under the unexpected weight but soon adjusted and shut the door after half dragging the other girl inside.

Soon they were seated on the couch. Well, Tenten was seated; Sakura was sprawled over her, crying softly into her shirt. Again the older girl's hands were tracing soothing patterns on the younger ones back. This time Tenten didn't speak, she just kept her hands moving, occasionally humming a soft lullaby in her throat. It took almost half an hour, but Sakura eventually calmed down enough to look up. Their eyes met and Sakura felt herself yield to the gentle affection that wrinkled the older girls face and softened her eyes. Her heart trembled in her chest and she leaned up a little, in rapt fascination. It was a very drawn out thing, and if felt like she had to travel miles just to press her lips to the corner of the other girl's. Tenten herself stayed very still watching the way Sakura's cool green eyes shimmered in the candle light. The kiss itself she felt as a burning, tingling sensation that shot through her. Their eyes remained open and they stared at one another even after Sakura withdrew. Silence enveloped them and Sakura continued to watch as Tenten watched her. Their breathing became a curious background noise, rasping along underneath the pregnant silence that had fallen around them. She had a feeling Tenten could have stared all night, her watchful brown eyes wide and liquid in the low light. That prompted Sakura to break away from the other's gaze, and nestle her head into Tenten's shoulder once again. She fell asleep like that, listening to the slow rhythm of the older girls heart beat, alternating with her breathing.

In the morning she woke by herself on the couch, to the sound of water boiling on a stove. Much like Tenten had not brought up her 'episode', it seemed she was not going to bring up last night. Sakura wasn't sure how she felt about that. They ate Breakfast in relative silence and afterwards as the older girl gathered up the dishes, she offered the shower to Sakura. She took the offer, not quite knowing what to do with herself. The hot shower did help her feel better though, and by the time she got out she had decided she wouldn't mention it either, in case it upset the other girl. From there things seemed to return to relative normalcy. They set out for training as per usual, and got all that Tenten desired to do, done. Sakura was happy to see that smile again, after last night which had been all silence and straight-faces.

The problem was now, as time passed, Sakura began to notice little things that distracted her from her training. Things such as the wonderful sheen of sweat that Tenten would work up after a few hours of training, and the way her smile sent Sakura's stomach into a flurry of back flips. There was a small part of Sakura that had an inkling of just what was going on, but the rest of her adamantly shook off the possibility, choosing instead to chalk it up to turbulent emotions and Tenten being there in her time of need. And of course, this had something to do with what was actually happening, but it wasn't the entirety of it.

And it wasn't just her training with Tenten that was suffering. Sometimes she'd zone out when she was training with Tsunade, and when she was at the hospital. This was not only stupid, but dangerous too, and Sakura really had to do something about it. This led to a strange sort of truce with herself. She'd only let herself become distracted when she was at home, by herself. Inner Sakura was completely up in arms over the whole situation, trying to force Sakura's hand at every turn. Her inner self, for one, had embraced the new light in which she saw the weapons mistress. As often as Sakura trampled down her volatile inner being, in this instance it would simply not stay down. That's why she had a fairly sound theory as to why she'd begun to have 'unusual' dreams.

Now Sakura had to stop the thoughts of last night's dream as well as focus on the task at hand. It was beginning to get to her. This whole time she noticed Tenten had remained steadfast in her role as trainer and teacher, and Sakura had not come to her once since that last night. If her concentration kept going the way it was, she'd have to forcibly stop herself from fleeing to Tenten for comfort after another failed operation. It was plain unprofessional.

And there you go. Next update: how's Tenten dealing with this?

OmniXx.