The girls of Konoha had met up a couple of days later to celebrate the beginning of Tenten and Neji's relationship. They decided on Ichiraku, a place the girls hadn't visited in a while. When Tenten had broken the news to everyone, there was pretty much no surprise.
"You two FINALLY got together!" Ino exclaimed. "I was scared both of you were going to hold in your feelings forever and never confess! I'm so happy for both of you!" She clapped her hands.
"We're happy for you, Tenten!" Sakura cheered. "Don't listen to Ino! You and Neji were basically meant for each other!"
"You know, when I used to train with Big Brother Neji to develop my new jutsu, he would always mention you. You were always on his mind, Tenten and I can tell he was always on your mind too."
Tenten blushed. All these different ways of saying "I KNEW IT!" were getting to her head. Even the ramen shop owner and his daughter congratulated her! "I didn't think it was that obvious."
"You guys are always together! You're practically married by now! So tell me, exactly how far have you gotten?" Sakura asked, leaning into her friend.
"Well ...we kissed...and he met my parents," Tenten replied.
"When you mean met the parents, you mean he asked to date you?!" Ino squealed.
"Yes. My father was really annoying at first but he accepted Neji because he was so respectful!" Tenten exclaimed proudly.
"But the question is, when are you going to meet his family?!" Sakura asked.
"Well ...I met Hinata!" Tenten smiled, gesturing to the shy girl next to her.
"That doesn't count!" Ino exclaimed.
"Then...Hanabi?" Tenten added.
"That doesn't count either!" Both Sakura and Ino yelled in unison.
"We mean like...maybe Hiashi-sama," Ino clarified.
"No, I don't even know if Neji has it all figured out yet," Tenten shook her head. "I'm not even sure what your family will think of me, Hinata."
"I'm sure father and the others would love you, Tenten. Besides, you're one of the war heroes, everyone will love you," Hinata replied.
"You really think so, Hinata?"
Hinata nodded.
"Alright! Ramen is served!" The iconic owner of Ichiraku, Teuchi, exclaimed, placing four bowls in a row.
"Itadakimasu!" The girls said in unison, before digging into their ramen.
"Oh, and Ino, how are things with you and Sai?" Hinata asked the blonde sitting three seats down.
"Oh well, he's been reading these weird dating books. I have no idea where he got them from, but I like how it's going…" Ino snickered. I'll be Mrs. Beautiful so soon!~ She giggled to herself at the thought.
"Ooo!~ How far have you gotten, Ino?" Tenten asked.
"He said he's gonna take me out to dinner one of these days!~" Ino sang happily. "I'll become his...Mrs. Beautiful! Hahahahahhahah!"
"Oh, Ino…" They sighed.
"How are things with you and Naruto, Hinata? We can't have all the attention on me and my darling Sai now can we?~" She bounced her shoulders excitedly.
"Oh please...you love the attention." Sakura rolled her eyes, earning the laughter of Tenten and Hinata.
"WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY BILLBOARD BROW?!" Ino exclaimed, suddenly taking her joke the wrong way.
"I WAS ONLY JOKING, INO PIG! WHY ARE YOU GETTING SO UPSET HUH?!" Sakura shouted right back.
"You guys ...we're at a restaurant." Tenten sighed.
"You're right Tenten, I guess it's up to ME to be the better person!" Ino flipped her hair, suddenly calming down.
"Why you little….." Sakura growled.
"Anyways, back to the conversation...Hinata, tell me about this Naruto!" Ino smirked.
"Well…" Hinata sighed. "It's really no different from before...but...he does try and say hi to me on the streets! Sometimes ...if he's passing by me at work, he'll ask how I'm doing too….." Hinata felt the blood suddenly rush to her face. She was turning red rather fast.
"AW! See! He's getting less dense every day!" Tenten exclaimed.
"Yeah! Don't lose any hope, Hinata! Pretty soon, you two will be going on dates and he'll be all over you!" Sakura added. She knew a lot about Hinata's feelings and a little bit about Naruto's too. Sakura, being Naruto's teammate and all, sometimes felt as if she knew Naruto better than the boy knew himself. He's been harboring feelings for Hinata for quite some time now, it was just that he had a tough time realizing it. If only Naruto wasn't such an idiot they would definitely be dating by now…. Sakura sighed.
"And Sakura, don't think you're off the hook either!" Tenten said. "Sasuke was released the other day. Were you able to get a chance to talk?"
"Ah...about that…" Sakura remembered. Sasuke had left the village as soon as he could, not wanting to spend another minute here. He was going to wander the world to atone for what he had done. It was for the best, Sakura thought to herself. This village had given him more pain than joy, even if it was his home. She felt a tear slide down the side of her cheek, suddenly bringing her back to reality.
"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed. "Hey! Are you ok?!"
Tenten called for another napkin, using it to wipe Sakura's tears away.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine you guys. Sorry about that. I just got a bit emotional…He left the village before I had enough time to say anything." She explained.
"Say what, let's forget about the boys for a while! It's girls night after all!" Tenten suggested.
"Exactly! We should go somewhere else after dinner!" Ino agreed.
"We should let Sakura pick," Hinata added.
Sakura smiled. Even if Sasuke wasn't around, at least she had a group of really caring friends. "Thanks, guys but, I think I'll head home after. I have a really long shift at the hospital tomorrow I should probably rest up." She lied as if words could cover a broken heart.
"Ah...well, in that case, you should rest up then. But Sakura! We're always here for you. The Konoha girls stick together through thick and thin!" Tenten said, pumping a fist to add to her point.
"Thanks you guys," Sakura smiled.
After dinner, everyone had headed home, back to their houses. Meeting old friends again was always fun.
Hinata got back to the Hyuuga estate at around 9 o'clock.
"Welcome home, Lady Hinata." Neji greeted her as she walked through the doors. He was dressed in comfortable robes, with only a soft piece of cloth over his forehead.
"Big Brother Neji? How long have you been standing there?" Hinata asked. "Don't tell me you were waiting for news about Tenten." She giggled.
Neji looked the other way. "You should get ready for bed soon. I was just making sure you got home safely."
Hinata giggled. "She's really happy that you two are dating now. I heard you met her parents. She also got home safely."
"I did," Neji replied. "I have their permission to court her."
"Do you plan on taking her to see Father sometime soon?" Hinata asked.
"Lord Hiashi?..." Neji repeated. "I'm...not sure."
"Oh? Why aren't you sure?"
"He told me that when my father died, he would fill in the role of my father for my wedding day ...but..something just doesn't feel right." Hiashi still wasn't Neji's real father. There wasn't really a Hyuga precedence. The side branch usually didn't need the main branch's permission for things like this. But then again, this was a special circumstance. Neji didn't have any parents left in this world and all responsibility was left for Hiashi.
"Would you liked it if I talked to Father for you?" Hinata suggested.
"No. That won't be necessary. This is something I should figure out myself."
"Alright then." Hinata agreed.
"Tenten…..I always wondered something." Neji asked the kunoichi next to him.
"What is it?" She wondered.
They were sitting side by side at the weapons shop, another moderate day. They only had about five customers today all who had come to buy some kunai and shuriken.
"Who will run the store when we're both on missions?"
"A-Ah…..I never thought about that." Tenten tilted her head to the side.
"Now that Sasuke is no longer in the prison, you don't have to be there to help anymore do you?"
Tenten shook her head. "That's how I can dedicate all my time here and with you."
"Now that I have recuperated, Lord Sixth might send us on missions together. I'm not sure what we should do about the weapons shop when we're out of town."
"I could ask my mother to watch it while we're gone," Tenten replied.
"She wouldn't mind?" Neji asked.
"I don't think so. Besides, Lord Sixth can't send us on too many missions. Besides, my mother thinks I'm safer in your care."
"Well she's got that part right," Neji agreed. "By the way, did you know after their mission to the land of waves, Guy-Sensei was appointed to be Lord Sixth's advisor."
"Guy-Sensei?! Really?!"
Neji nodded his head. "He started training again with Rock Lee the other day."
"Ah! I haven't trained in so long!" Tenten exclaimed.
"Would you like to train later today?" Neji asked her.
"But I have to run the shop…" She sighed.
"We can always train before we open tomorrow."
"Let's do that instead then," Tenten agreed. "But don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're my boyfriend now!" She teased, poking his arm.
He snatched her hand. "And I could say the same to you."
The force of his pull had yanked her out of his seat. "I think I'm close enough to jump into your arms now." Tenten giggled, wrapping her arms around Neji's neck. She got on the tips of her toes, ready to leap into Neji's-
"NEJI! TENTEN!"
"Lee?!" They both said in unison, turning to see their friend, who tends to arrive at the most convenient of times.
"Why do you both sound so surprised?! I came to congratulate you on your engagement! May you both be very happy together!" Lee said to them. "Also! I came because I bear summons from Lord Sixth!"
"Summons?" Neji repeated.
"Indeed! He is requesting our presence right now! He has a mission for the three of us! Also...I'm not interrupting anything am I?"
"No...not at all Lee….We'll be right there." Tenten sighed.
As they walked to the Hokage's office, Neji had grabbed Tenten's hand, holding it to make upfor that last moment interrupted by Rock Lee.
"We're finally going on a mission together again," Neji said.
"I missed going on missions with you." Tenten leaned into Neji's arm.
"I missed going on missions with you two as well!" Rock Lee jumped between them, throwing both his arms across their shoulders. "Now! Towards youth with full speed we go!"
"Yes…" Tenten sighed. She felt a little bad for Lee and his unrequited love for Sakura but she still needed some time with Neji. They had become a couple just a little while ago. She just wondered how Neji felt.
"We are here, Lord Sixth!" Lee announced.
"Yes, please come in, Team Guy," Kakashi said.
The three of them headed in, led by Rock Lee.
Kakashi sat at the Hokage's desk, dead center. His desk was fairly organized, despite the piles of papers that surrounded him. To his right was Guy-Sensei, equipped with a sparkly smile with an approving thumbs up.
"I have a new mission for you all. Tenten, I know that you just opened your shop, but I am currently short on manpower right now. Rebuilding the village isn't as easy as you might think. Tensions between villages aren't as high as they used to be but true peace is still hard to attain. There are many groups of ninja who are more than willing to disrupt this peaceful era." Kakashi explained.
"Yes, Lord Sixth, I will make proper arrangements for my shop," she replied.
"The mission is simple. The three of you will head to the Village Hidden in the Sand and deliver these scrolls." Kakashi said to them. "Within the scrolls is information about people who are still connected to Root, the group created by Danzo. We're suspecting that some of them have fled the village and are hiding in other villages. It should be obvious that this information is about people who are threatening peace among the Shinobi Union. Protect the scrolls and deliver it to its proper destination."
"Yes. We understand." Neji replied.
"You all should leave as soon as possible," Kakashi-sensei said to them.
"Go and show us what overflowing youth looks like!" Might Guy wished them one last time.
"We will not let you down, Guy-Sensei!" Lee promised.
And with that, the team had dispersed.
~To be continued~
(AN: Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading! For those of you who are reviewing each chapter, an extra special thanks to you! You all have been very supportive so far and I really appreciate that! if you havent done so already please follow favorite and tell me what you thought of the chapter in the comments! See you all in the next chapter! The cover for this story was created by unicornchen! Feel free to check them out at unicornchen)
