Chapter 6

Four Weeks Later (15 weeks pregnant)…

The sun shone with absolute beauty. The birds twittered and all was well in Konoha. As expected, the Earth Country had withdrawn from the war leaving Water Country to the mercy of Wind and Fire. Each day more and more ninja returned home since they were no longer needed on the front line. Everyone could see the war was ending, and parties began to pop up each night somewhere in the village. Even a certain kunoichi felt there was reason to celebrate.

The first few weeks home had been hardest. First, the death of her mother was announced. Even with her weakening spirit, Tenten soon had to attend both parents' funeral. For the following two weeks she did not want to eat, but now that she knew about the life she now protected she would force herself to have some kind of healthy meal when she was suppose to. As time went on, however, she started to regain her appetite. The only catch was she was now having a hard time sleeping. Tenten had thought she was highly emotional for a kunoichi before, now she could rival Lee and Gai in sudden emotional changes. That, she did not like. Then there were the days she would randomly start to vomit. Sakura had told her that for some women, that would be the closest they get to morning sickness. Tenten proved her wrong about a week later. When she went to take her frustration out on the pink hair woman, Sakura had defended by saying she had said some women. That only further angered Tenten. Yet, she was still grateful to the medical ninja.

If she had not befriended Sakura during their time together in the war, Tenten would have either gone to a public nurse or had to try things on her own. She knew that soon she would have to see an actual midwife, but for now she would rather avoid the hospital. Sakura also was very patient with the overly emotional Tenten. After all, Tenten had a lot to complain about.

"Why should I eat this?"

"Because it's good for you and the baby."

or

"I hate morning sickness!"

"It's necessary for your body to get rid of foods it thinks are bad for you."

or

"I can't sleep!"

"Try sleeping on your side."

"I did!"

"Was it you left side?"

"…"

"Then try your left side."

Or

"I'm fat."

"No, you're not."

"I am too! Look at me; I use to be so slim."

"You're still thin. The baby's only just starting to show."

"People will notice."

"Not yet."

OR

"Sakura?" Tenten was near tears.

"What's wrong?"

"What if Neji never comes back?"

"Don't give up on him so soon."

"You're right. But when he gets home he is in for it! He should have never of put me through this!"

"…"

Somehow, Sakura always managed to calm her down a little, but not enough for Tenten to be happy. It felt as if nothing was going to make her happy. Then, in the fourth week after returning home two things happened. The first was that Inuzuka Hana had returned home. Everyone had believed the vet had been killed in the explosion that Neji had been caught in. In the end, continuous replacement jutsus had allowed her to get out of the main explosion. She had still been caught in the shock wave, which cost her her leg, but she was alive. She was not the only MIA to return home either. Many missing shinobi thought to have died were finally coming home to their loved ones. It gave Tenten hope that Neji might return too when the war was finally over.

The second thing to happen had happened while Tenten was waking up in the early morning. For some reason she had found herself waking up earlier than 5 am. It left her irritable, but she would get up to make some tea. Once the warm liquid soothed her stomach she would relax on the floor seats and fall back to sleep. This morning, however, as she stretched out her stiff muscles she gained a sudden jolt of pain in her lower abdomen. As she placed her hand where the pain was she felt something else. It was like little patting on her hand from inside her abdomen. For the first time in so long, Tenten smiled a genuine smile. "Good morning to you too," she spoke softly. There was a harder kick in response, but not enough to bring pain. It was in that moment that Tenten realized that there really was a new life inside her. No matter the baggy clothes she had to wear or whatever else there was to complain about, that moment alone made it all worth it.

Since that morning she did not feel as ashamed to be an unwed mother. Not that she was spreading around the news, she was just more comfortable. Besides, she and Neji were engaged, so the unwed part would be fixed as soon as he came home; if he came home, of course. Tenten decided to take Sakura's advice and not think like that. For once, she really had reason to hope, and she was going to hold on to it with everything she had.

"How may I help you today?" asked the grocery store clerk. Tenten looked up at the woman no older than herself. "Umm… I was wondering if you had any… oranges?" Tenten answered unsure.

"Oranges?" Tenten thought a moment.

"Hai, that's right," she smiled at the clerk, "I'm looking for oranges."

"Well, you're in luck," the clerk smiled, "we just got a fresh batch sent to us to..." The clerks words were cut off with a sudden boom. "What was that?" Tenten asked.

"Oh no, the war must have reached Konoha!"

"No, wait, it sounded more like…" Another loud bang filled the air closely followed by cheers of joy. "Fireworks?" questioned the clerk, "but that means…"

"The Hokage-sama has returned!" Forgetting about her shopping, Tenten raced to the Hokage office. She knew Tsunada would be going there to stand on top of the platform beneath the Hokage Mountain to tell all of Konoha about the result to the war. Her heart pounded in her ears. If the Hokage had returned, then the war was most likely over which meant everyone would be returning home.

By the time she reached the Hokage's office almost all of Konoha had gathered there. She tried to look through the crowd but could not see over everyone's heads. "Tenten-san!" Sakura called from the middle of the crowd. She raised her hand for Tenten to see her. "Excuse me, pardon me," Tenten began to repeat as she forced her way through the crowd to where Sakura stood. "Sakura-chan," Tenten panted as she finally reached the pink haired girl. "Tsunada-sama has returned!" Sakura cheered.

"I know," Tenten joyously replied.

"Look, here they come!" said a man near them. The crowd began to cheer. Tenten could barely see Tsunada as she approached. Following her were the many shinobi who had fought in the front line. Some of them were carrying injured. "Look, there's the Hyuuga clan," Sakura said.

Tenten already saw them. Leading the clan was Hiashi with Hanabi on one side and Hinata on the other. "Is that… Naruto?" Sakura said in disbelief. Next to Hinata was none other than the loud, blonde haired boy. "I don't believe it, he's holding her hand!" Sakura protested.

"Come on, Sakura. If two months of war can make us friends, don't you think over a year of war would make those two more?" Tenten reasoned.

"I don't care; Hiashi is going to kill him the first chance he gets!"

"Well he hasn't yet."

"The war kept him busy. Oh, Naruto, I am not going to be the one to save your back end when he turns on you." Tenten only giggle.

"You're just jealous Hinata got to him first," she said.

"No, I'm not," Sakura said while still watching Naruto and Hinata.

Loud shouting brought the two girls' attention to a pair of green clad shinobi. "…youthful dreams will finally come true!" Lee cheered.

"That's the spirit, Lee!" Gai good guy posed.

"Hai, sensei!" No matter how much Tenten wanted to stop those two in their usual 'youthful' rant, she could not bring herself to do so. She just missed them too much. Still, as she watched the two she wished Neji would silence them with one of his comments that always made Tenten laugh. Like the Hyuuga clan, Neji was not with his team mates. "Where is he?" she muttered.

"People of Konoha!" Tsunada's voice rang out from the top of the Hokage's office.

The entire crowd silence as they wait for the Hokage to continue. "As you may already know, Stone and Cloud have forfeited from the war. The hidden village of the Mist has come to realize they were fighting a losing battle. The Mizukage has agreed to come to Konoha to speak to myself and the Kazekage of Suna in one month from now. He is allowing Konoha and Suna the chance to rest to show peace. If we are well rested and prepared for his arrival, then even if he brings the entire hidden village in the Mist, we will still win this war." The crowd cheered louder than thunder. The war was going to be over very soon. With the news gathered, the crowd began to part to see their loved ones. "I'm going to go welcome Naruto back," Sakura announced, "You should see if Hiashi knows anything about Neji."

"Yeah," Tenten answered, "Goodbye, Sakura."

Before Sakura had the chance to say goodbye, Tenten forced her way through the crowd. All the while her eyes were on the Hyuuga clan. There were easily twelve to fifteen members standing there. Neji had to be among them. "Watch it," growled an older man as Tenten tried to pass.

"Sorry," Tenten tossed over her shoulder without care. The Hyuuga clan was making their way through the crowd as well. No doubt they were returning to their compound. Tenten decided to take a less crowded back street to head the family off. With each step Tenten sent a silent prayer that Neji was with his family. She was so absorbed with her thoughts if it were not for her skill as a Kunoichi she would have run into Hanabi. "Hyuuga-san," Tenten greeted with a bow. At once every pair of pearl white eyes of the Hyuuga clan was looking at her. Tenten looked over the face of each of them. She recognized them since she had visited the Hyuuga compound before, but the one familiar face she wanted to see most was not there. "Neji's not here," Hiashi stated plainly. Tenten held back her embarrassment; Hyuugas really could see right through you. "Uh…Sorry. W-would you know where he is?" she asked.

Hiashi did not answer. His gaze was unreadable as it always was for a Hyuuga. Though she could not tell, it felt as if the clan leader was looking over her appearance. It made her feel highly body conscious. Would he see what she was trying to remain a secret? After all, he had been a father twice; he would know what a woman with child would look like. As the silence dragged on Tenten felt more and more uncomfortable. She decided to look at Hinata instead. The younger kunoichi was keeping her face hidden. "He's not here," Hiashi finally answered, "You can come to see him later in the evening at the compound. I'll send Hinata to come get you with the proper attire at 6:30. For now, you should go home." Proper Attire! Tenten knew her clothes may not have been as fancy as those of richer families, but she was still capable of picking out decent clothes herself. Then again, he was only talking like that because Tenten was not the most nicely dressed at the moment. If she was going to marry into the Hyuuga clan, however, she may as well get use to Hiashi picking at her outfits.

"Alright," she said as politely as possible with a bow, "thank you, Hiashi-sama." Tenten could feel the eyes of the other Hyuugas burning into her. Did they know? If not, then they must be aware she had a connection with Neji to be looking at her the way they were. "Very well," Hiashi continued, "we shall see you later this evening then, Tenten-san." With his goodbye said, Hiashi lead the way back to the Hyuuga home. The others began to follow, all except Hanabi. "Hai, Hanabi-san?" Tenten felt a little skeptical of the little she-devil… I mean, Hyuuga Heiress. Hanabi looked Tenten eye to eye. A small smirk crossed her young lips. "You've gained weight," she said as if it were a compliment. Tenten could feel her eyebrow twitching as she tried the best she could to keep her composure. A dark aura seemed to wrap itself around Tenten. Hanabi's grin grew when she noticed she had hit a nerve. "Hanabi," Hiashi called.

"Coming," Hanabi called back. She smirked once more at Tenten before running off to her father's side.

Tenten's anger rose as she watched the Hyuuga family leave. "You'd think war would have taught her some manners…" Tenten hissed under her breath. Seething, Tenten stormed off towards the training fields to blow off the anger on some target practice. Maybe she could imagine the target was Hanabi. As though the villagers sensed Tenten's anger, many jumped out of her way. Half-way to the training field, Tenten remember she only had a couple weapons on hand. If she was going to do Hanabi practice, she was going to need all her weapons. Tenten swiftly turned to go home. Only feet away from her home, someone called out her name. She turned to see two green blurs running towards her. They stopped just in front of her. "Lee-san, Gai-sensei," Tenten pretended to be shocked.

"Tenten-chan! It is so good to see you!" Lee cheered.

"It is a sign of great spring youthfulness that we see our team flower again," Gai began to rant, "And to see you have blossomed into a woman of beauty makes me so proud of you." Tenten tried not to laugh at Gai's ridiculousness. That did not stop her from smiling. "And to see you so happy even with the loss of your parents," Gai began to cry, "Oh gentle flower! Brave Flower!" Lee began to cry too. "Youthful flower looking to the sky!" he said.

As expected, Gai and Lee were starting to draw the attention of some of the residents. Tenten did not know if she could handle the stare much longer. "Why don't we go inside for some tea and you guys can tell me all about your youthful adventure," she said.

"Of course! We have much to share about our journeys!!" Gai good guy posed. Tenten sighed with relief as they entered the apartment building. The trip up the stairs to Tenten's apartment was the longest Tenten had ever known. Over a year away from Lee and Gai had made her forget how much tolerance she needed to have for them. Adding a growing headache, Tenten just wanted to go to bed for a little while. Sleep defiantly sounded inviting now that her earlier rage had gone. How was she going to get rid of Gai and Lee long enough to let her sleep?

"This is the one, right Tenten-san," asked Lee pointing to the correct door. Tenten nodded as she pulled her keys from her pocket. She opened the door and invited her team mates in. "Thank you," they said as they entered. Each took a place around the living room table. Tenten went to the kitchen area to prepare some tea. "… and so Gai-sensei opened all eight gates and blew away almost the whole army," Lee finished telling his story.

"Make sure to give yourself some credit Lee," Gai said, "After all, I could not have done such a fine job without your youthful spirit burning next to mine."

"Hai, Gai-sensei," Lee answered with tears in his eyes. Tenten sighed as she carried a tray with tea on it to the table. She set Gai's cup in front of him first. Then, as she was giving Lee his cup, Lee spoke up. "Tenten-san, something is different about you." Tenten froze in place. The last thing she needed was for Lee and Gai to know before Neji. Actually, she did not want to tell them until they had figured it out themselves. "Lee, you are absolutely right!" Gai added.

As casual as possible, Tenten walked over to her place on the other side of the table. Lee stood up just before she knelt down onto her seat. "I know!" he exclaimed. Tenten's heart went from beating one hundred times a minute to nearly not beating at all. This was it, he had figured it out. Sweat began to drip from Tenten's brow. How was she going to explain this? "You're taller!" Lee exclaimed. Tenten wanted to smack Lee over the head for nearly giving her a heart attack. That and he was a complete idiot for not figuring it out. "I hadn't really noticed," Tenten said as she calmed her once again racing heart. Lee returned to his seat giving Tenten the opportunity to seat herself. That had been too close. The baby gave a small pat as if agreeing with Tenten. She tried not to smile too brightly at the little life.

"And myself and Lee also want to meet your loving man," Gai added.

"My loving man?" Tenten felt a little confused.

"Yes, the one who took you into his embrace and lovingly asked you to protect his seed," Gai explained as he calmly took a sip of his tea. All the blood rushed from Tenten's face. Not only did they already know, they were acting as if it were everyday news. "H-how did you…" she stuttered.

"Tsunada-sama told us," Lee answered. "She thought that as your teammates we were going to find out anyway."

"I'd have to say, the news brought tears to my eyes to know our youthful flower had become a blessed mother," Gai smiled as tears formed.

"We fought twice our strength in the war in honour of you and your young one," Lee held back tears as well.

"I am so proud of you! Setting aside the pain that war has cast to find love and bare new life. To think I had been there to watch you grow into the woman you are and now…" Both green beasts let rivers of tears stream down their faces.

"Please tell us what man has taken your heart and vowed you his," Lee encouraged through joyful tears.

The entire display had left Tenten speechless. First off, how did Tsunada know about the baby? Secondly, what right did she have to tell these two? Who else had she told? People were not supposed to know about her and Neji until they were married! What were they going to do know? Did the Hyuuga clan know? Tenten dare not think what would happen if they did. And Neji! That would mean he knew too. She had to ask, "Does…Neji know too?" Both shook their heads. "The news arrived after Neji had left this world," Gai cried, "I know he would have been very happy to hear this glorious news."

"Left this world!" Tenten shrieked. Lee and Gai's tears stopped to look at Tenten. "You did not know?" asked Lee.

"That can't be," Tenten cried, "He can't be…"

"We found his body;" Gai said sadly, "The Hyuugas are having his wake tonight at seven o'clock." Tenten's heart shattered into a million pieces.