So, this is forever long...and if there are grammar errors i could honestly care less...im running on minimal hrs of sleep and am too lazy to check them:) so, lots happens in this chap! if u dnt think it fits togethre, tell me and i wnt make the mistake agian:)

Disclaimer: I don't own NaRuTo!


Chapter 7

The Feudal Lord's gaze was scrutinizing as the five and Kana seated themselves at a table with Koyuki.

"Now would be a perfect time to explain your lies," his deep voice boomed; the normal joy of it was gone.

Neji took the liberty of explaining, in accordance with Kana's lie.

"We came here undercover to see if this village was peaceful. If it was then we were to discuss an alliance; if not we were to leave as guests," the white-eyed man explained calmly.

"So what are your real names?" Koyuki asked; voice less tense.

"I'm Hyuga Neji," Neji introduced himself. Koyuki signaled his head for the rest of them to introduce themselves as well.

"H-Hyuga H-Hinata,"

"Nara Shikamaru,"

"Aburame Shino,"

"Tenten,"

"Kana,"

"Yes, I know your name!" Koyuki said with a laugh. Kana winked at the five; she had a way to calm her uncle down. "Alright, I think this is a good idea. Is there anything else you're not telling me?"

"Kana has volunteered to some back with us to settle things with Tsunade-Sama in your place," Shino informed him.

"She has, has she? And why did she know about this before me?"

"Well, I heard them talking about it," the nineteen year old replied, "I have always wanted to go to Konoha!"

"Alright, you'll go. When are you leaving?"

"We leave tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m." Neji answered.

"6:00 a.m.? Are you kidding? That's in six hours!" Tenten yelled.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled.

"How long will she be gone?" the Feudal Lord directed the question to Neji.

"However long she feels," Neji answered.

"Where will she stay?"

"Tenten's house,"

Tenten looked up at this. Neji sent her a look that told her to obligate.

"Alright, then you all are set! Thank Tsunade-Sama for this opportunity," Koyuki stood up, waved bye to the group and exited the massive doors off to his quarters.

"So, where do I meet you guys?" Kana asked.

"City gates," Shikamaru said with a bored yawn while standing up.

"At 6:00 a.m.," Shino added.

"Got it!" I'll see you all tomorrow morning!" the clearly excited girl said.

"G-goodnight," Hinata bade her goodbye as they neared the exit. The girl nodded with a smile and bounded up the stairs.

The braced themselves for the cold as they layered their jackets on.

"You realize she'll slow us down?" Shikamaru pointed out.

"Hn," Neji agreed.

"I don't think so, there's something strange about her, she might be able to keep up," Shino pondered the thought.

"No, Shino, that "something strange" is called a crush. I saw the way you blushed when she danced with you," Tenten teased the poor bug boy.

"Like you blushed when Neji danced with you?" Shino teased right back.

"Wha- no!" Tenten stuttered, turning red. Hinata laughed at the two, Shikamaru mumbled something about crazy people, and Neji had his head consumed with thought of the journey ahead of them.

The rest of the way to the Inn was quiet. The lanterns were extinguished; they only had the faint glow of the moon and far off windows to guide them. They re-entered the town to find the streets empty.

"Well, that w-was fun," Hinata said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yea," Tenten had begun removing the hairpins that held her hair securely up. Her hair tumbled down to her waist, glowing softly in the moonlight. "But now I'm ready for bed!"

They entered the Inn quietly, afraid of waking any other guests up. They climbed the stairs soundlessly, thanks to their super sweet ninja skills.

"Goodnight!" Tenten called to the guys as Hinata unlocked their door and the entered their room. She received three curt nods.

"I can't believe we have to leave at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow!" Tenten spoke from a pillow; she had plopped down on her bed once entering.

"We b-better change, pack, a-and go to sleep," Hinata suggested.

"Yeah," Tenten undid the layers of her kimono quickly and placed it back in the bag. She had been wearing shorts and a tank top underneath. She emptied the drawer containing her clothes and shoved them in her pack. Ino and Sakura's makeup followed her clothes along with her bath stuff. She was ready to go. She kept one outfit out for tomorrow.

"Night!" Tenten called to the young Hyuga, plopping down on the bed once more.

"G-goodnight," The timid girl made her way to the bathroom to change into her pajamas. She put her kimono up and packed up all her things. She crawled into her own bed once finished; soon falling asleep.

"Oi! Tenten! Hinata!" Shikamaru's deep voice rang through the room. Tenten jumped up and ran to the door.

"Yea?" She opened the door to see Neji, Shikamaru and Shino standing in the hall, ready to go. "Oops….Forgot to set the alarm clock!"

"Hurry up!" Shikamaru yawned.

"Ok! Five minutes!" Tenten shut the door. "Hinata! We gotta go!" she turned to see the girl scurrying around the room getting dressed; Tenten followed suit. Five minutes later Tenten and Hinata were dressed.

"Ok, were ready!" Tenten said putting one last pin in her hair to secure her buns and stepping into the hallway.

The five paid for their stay and made their way to the gates. Kana was already there when they showed up.

"Good –yawn- Morning," Kana greeted them.

"Sorry were late, we overslept," Tenten apologized, pointing to herself and Hinata.

"Oh, it's perfectly fine, I just got here," the older girl explained.

"Let's get moving, there is a storm coming," Neji ordered. The group nodded their heads and they walked onto the path through the forest.

They stuck to the ground because of Kana's inability to push chakra to her feet, although she was able to keep up with them as Shino had predicted. Snow fell behind them, covering the path they left behind completely.

They traveled as quickly as possible, leaving all traces of snow behind by noon. Once out of the cold land they stopped and ate.

"So, this is what grass without snow looks like!" Kana exclaimed as they entered a clearing. "This is amazing!"

"It's a real doozy, let me tell you," Tenten joked sarcastically.

"Tenten and Hinata take Kana and find some water," Neji commanded.

"Don't fall in this time!" Shikamaru yelled as the girls left the camp. She responded with sending a kunai by his ear. "Stupid perfect aim," he mumbled.

"Ok Hinata, do you see anything?" Tenten questioned.

"Well, if we can't how can she?" Kana asked, bending down and picking a small purple flower.

"Like t-this," Hinata began, "Byakugan!" Her voiced echoed as she activated her bloodline limit.

"Wow, can Neji do that to?" Kana asked, amazed, as she placed the flower in her hair.

"Y-yes," Hinata answered, searching with her eyes, "Off to our left there is a river."

"Let's go!" Tenten said, making her way off to said direction.

"Tenten, can you, Shikamaru, or Shino do something like Neji and Hinata?" Kana questioned as they filled the canteens.

"Well, Shino has his bugs, Shikamaru has shadow techniques. But they aren't bloodline limits; they aren't born with them," she explained.

"And you?" the curious girl asked.

"I'm a weapons mistress; I specialize in anything to do with weapons," Tenten answered proudly.

"That's cool!"

"A-are you guys ready to h-head b-back?" Hinata questioned.

"I don't wanna," Tenten said, taking a seat on the ground, "We should tell Kana about Konoha and stuff."

"Oh yea! Lets do that!" Kana agreed happily.

"A-alright," Hinata sat down next to Tenten with a smile, "Do y-you have a-any questions?"

"You said something about bugs and Shino," Kana said.

"Shino belongs to the Aburame Clan. They allow Kikaichu bugs to stay inside them and eat some chakra; in return they attack and do as they are commanded," Tenten explained; hoping Kana wouldn't be grossed out by that.

"Huh, do you think he would show me?" she asked, completely unaffected.

"I-I g-guess," Hinata answered smiling.

"Ok…who do you live with Tenten?" she asked the first thing that popped in her head.

"Two of our friends Sakura and Ino," the bun haired kunoichi answered.

"Hinata?"

"I live at the H-Hyuga C-Compound," the timid girl answered.

"Does Neji live there to?" Hinata nodded her head. "Ok…um…I can't think of anything else right now, and we should probably head back."

"Yea, alright," Tenten reluctantly stood up and the three of them headed back to camp.

"Took you long enough," Shikamaru mumbled when they returned.

Kana placed the water canteens down and strolled over to a large tree where Shino had placed himself. The boy looked up when he saw her approaching shadow.

"…" he said.

"Will you show me your bugs?" Kana asked sitting next to him.

"Why?"

"I don't know there aren't really any bugs in Yukigakure."

"Fine," he held out his hand where a few bugs were.

"How cool!" She said with a large smile, examining the tiny creatures.

The made some rice and left. They continued their journey; stopping at night to sleep and in the middle of the day to eat. They reached Konoha on their third day of travel, around dusk.

"Home sweet home," Tenten said as they walked through the city gates.

"Tenten take Kana back to you house. The rest of us will make the report to the Hokage," Neji instructed them.

"Good luck with that!" she called to the remaining four.

"Troublesome. There's gonna be some yelling," Shikamaru complained.

"Hn," Neji said.

"Kana my house is this way," Tenten said. They carried their packs the short way to Tenten's cozy abode. Leaving the rest of them to their doom.

Neji led the way to Tsunade's office. He knocked loudly on the door, receiving entrance. Tsunade looked as if she had just woken up, no wait, she did just wake up…she had ink smeared on her face again.

"So your back! How did it go?" She asked, wiping at her face. "Wait, where's Tenten?"

"At h-home," Hinata answered.

"On with the report," she waved away her absence.

"Well, we know for a sure fact they aren't enemies!" Shikamaru said.

"Hn," Neji said.

"How was the ball?" the Hokage asked.

"Fine, until someone found out we were from Konoha and asked to consider an alliance," Neji explained.

"Then she proposed that we tell the Feudal Lord that we were originally here to see if they were potential allies; hence the disguises. So we did, and we brought her back here to have a nice lil' chat with you about it!" Shikamaru added.

"I'M SORRY! YOU DID WHAT? YOU COULD HAVE JEPORDIZED THE WHOLE MISSION! HOW DID SHE, WHO IS SHE? HOW DID SHE FIND OUT WHO YOU WERE?" Tsunade yelled, slamming her fist down on her desk and her voice escalating as she went on with her questions.

"She is the Feudal Lord's niece; Kana," Shino answered, "She heard Neji, me, and Shikamaru talking earlier when we were surveying the palace before the ball."

"SO YOU BROUGHT HER HERE? WHAT IF HE HADN'T BELIEVED YOUR LIE?" Tsunade yelled, again.

"S-she asked us for help, she w-waited until s-she could talk t-to one o-of us a-alone t-to ask. No o-one f-found out," Hinata stuttered out, eyes cast on the floor.

"-sigh- Alright, you did the right thing…but don't do it without permission again!" Tsunade seated herself in front of her messy desk; giving them their one and only warning, "The last thing I need is more unexpected work,"

"Hai, Tsunade-Sama," they said at once, backing out the door.

"That went better than I expected," Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief, glad that his eardrums still worked.

"Y-yea," Hinata agreed.

"Hn," Neji said. They exited the large red building and separated, blending into the familiar streets of their home.

XXXXXXXXXX with Tenten and Kana XXXXXXXXXX

Tenten and Kana approached Tenten's home; exhausted from their travels. They reached the front door and the younger of the two pulled out her keys, she brought them to the door but hesitated.

"Sakura and Ino can be…very curious," Tenten began, "They will ask a lot o questions."

"Ok," Kana replied a little nervous. Tenten inserted the key and opened the door.

"Tadaima!" Tenten called into the house as they entered.

"HI!" came from two different places in the house.

"I have a friend!" Tenten called again, placing her stuff down by the door. They heard rushing of footsteps. "Place your things by mine and make yourself at home," she instructed her new guest. A flash of pink and blond came before,

"Hi!" both girls greeted energetically.

"Hi, I'm Kana," Kana waved.

"I'm Sakura," Sakura introduced.

"And I'm Ino," Ino introduced.

"Kana's from Yukigakure, she found out we were form Konoha at the ball. She confronted Shino first," Tenten explained, dropping down on the couch, other's following her example.

"I still can't see Shino at a ball," Sakura stated.

"You would think, but he danced with Kana quite a few times," Tenten said smiling.

"Really? Do you like him?" Ino quickly bombarded her with the question.

"Do you mind his bugs? Do they creep you out? They creep me out," Sakura asked at the same time as Ino.

Kana looked at Tenten, confused. Tenten just shook her head as if saying 'I told you to be prepared'.

"Let's go out and eat! I'm starved!" Tenten interrupted the rhetorical conversation; saving the girl from never ending questions. The brunette stood up and walked to the door. Kana and Ino and Sakura following. "And slow down on the questions." The two girls nodded their heads.

"What would you like to eat Kana?" Sakura asked as they strolled around the village.

"I don't know, where's the most popular place to eat?" Kana questioned, glancing around at the foreign village.

"Ichiraku Ramen," the three girls replied at once.

"That sounds good."

"Ok then. It's over this way," Ino said leading them to the ramen shop, "You know it's a good thing they expanded this into a restaurant instead of just the bar."

"Yeah. Here it is!" Sakura loudly announced, holding up the flaps over their heads as they entered.

"Thank you, Sakura for the loud announcement!" Tenten replied just as loud as Sakura had been.

The occupants of the restaurant had their attention turned seven yelling guys seated at the counter.

"Hey guys! Look its Shino and Shikamaru and a bunch of other guys I don't know!" Kana pointed to the group of yelling guys.

"So it is," Ino said, "and what a surprise they're yelling."

"Cut it out!" Sakura yelled at an arguing Kiba, Lee, Sasuke, and Naruto.

"The others are: Naruto, the one with the blonde hair, Sasuke, the one with black chicken hair, Lee, he's in green spandex, Choji, the "pleasantly plump" guy, and Kiba," Tenten whispered to Kana, the yelling intensifying as Sakura and Ino joined. The customers paid for their food and left, leaving the yelling teens. Shino, Shikamaru, and Choji watched.

"They sure are loud!" Kana's voice found Tenten's ears.

"Yea, it's giving me a headache, Hold on," Tenten reached in her pocket and pulled out two kunai, launching them a hair above the six loud one's heads. "Do you even know why you're arguing?"

"He, Lie, said today, I said, it happened, won't shut up," all said at once, sentences un-understandable. Tenten took a seat next to the group.

"Ok, one at time. Lee, what are you all arguing about?" Tenten asked.

"Well, you see my wonderful friend who is full of youth, Kiba and I have not fulfilled our dare yet, neither has Naruto. He has been eating ramen. Sasuke says that it is time all dares were completed. As I am glad for his youthful-ness, I do not wish to complete this dare," Lee said, finishing it of with a good guy pose.

"Naruto," Tenten allowed Naruto his side.

"Here I was eating Ramen with Lee, when Sasuke comes in with Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji and Shino came in soon after, Sasuke reminded me that Lee and Kiba hadn't streaked. And Sasuke and I were the ones who dared them to do that, so yea."

"Ok, from what I can tell, this is the most RIDICULOUS argument known to man," Tenten said, emphasizing ridiculous, "So, Naruto, your going to not eat ramen all this week, and Lee and Kiba will streak when they are told or Sasuke and Naruto can make you do something else."

"Ok," the group replied, defeated.

"By the way, this is Kana," Sakura said with a smile. The guys looked up, noticing the shorter girl with black and purple hair for the first time.

"Hi," they all said, Kiba kept his gaze on her. He walked over and sat next to her.

"Hi, I'm Kiba," he said with a cheesy smile.

"Kana, I came back with Shino and the others from Yukigakure," She answered with a smile of her own, oblivious to his flirting. The boy leaned in.

"Really? That is fascinating," Kiba could be so lame. Shino looked up and saw the exchange. Kana leaned back.

"Well, It was nice to meet you," Kana stood up and walked over to Shino, sitting next to him. "So, your friends seem…nice," Kana said.

"…" Shino replied.

"Hey, Shino, why are you wearing sunglasses inside?" Kana asked, noticing the black shades that still adorned his pale face.

"I always wear sunglasses," he replied quietly.

"You weren't at the ball."

"I couldn't."

"Well, you can't now either!" She snatched his glasses away.

"Kana! Give them back!" He demanded, reaching for them.

"Nah, I'll wear them for you," she answered, placing them on her soft, pale face.

"…"

"Oh! Examine the wonderful love blossom between the quiet Shino and our new flower, Kana!" Lee exclaimed.

"Ok, I think its time Lee and Kiba streaked. They are racking my nerves. Lee with his proclamations of love and Kiba with his lame attempt at flirting," Sasuke said, annoyed.

"Right, and we can eat!" Tenten said, happy they would leave, she was starved.

"Well, were staying! No one wants to see a naked Lee or Kiba!" Choji said.

"True!" Sakura and Ino exclaimed.

"Well, we've been here for ten minutes and haven't even ordered," Tenten pointed out. Naruto gulped down the last of his tenth bowl of ramen and left with Kiba, Lee, and Sasuke.

"We'll tell you when it's safe to leave," Sasuke said.

"So, kids what will it be?" Teuchi asked the remaining seven.

They placed their orders, Choji's being the largest, And picked up conversation amongst themselves.

"So, Shika, how was the mission?" Ino asked sweetly.

"A real drag. It was freezing," he replied lazily, "And most of the clouds were gone."

"Oh?" Ino tried to sound interested…but she wasn't.

"How was it at the academy?" Tenten asked as they received their food.

"Actually, I like teaching the little kids! They grew on me!" Ino informed her roommate, much to her shock.

"Wow, and you let them talk?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yes!"

"Sakura, did you have any exciting missions?" Tenten asked her pink-haired roommate.

"A few C and D rank missions, nothing too serious," the girl answered, slurping up a bite of her diet ramen.

"Choji, did you do anything?" Shikamaru asked his best friend.

"Not much! Hung out with Asuma Sensei," Choji answered, finishing his first bowl.

"So, umm what is it like to go on missions?" Kana asked, taking a modest bite of her food.

"Depends on what type," Ino answered. "If it's something lame like, pulling weeds, it's boring as anything."

"But if it's full of excitement and the unknown, it's wonderful!" Sakura added.

"So, your all's mission to my village, was it exciting?" she wondered aloud.

"Well, it was a real drag until you showed up," Shikamaru answered, "Before it was just a bunch of old women gossiping."

"Yea," Shino agreed, shocking everyone.

"Thanks!" she replied happily.

Conversation continued as they ate, undisturbed until you heard the laugh of Naruto, and the yells that had to belong to Kiba and Lee.

Choji stood up and looked out the door.

"Oh yea, you don't wanna see that," he laughed. The two boys were running around but naked like a bunch of idiots. They only wore their ninja headbands, and Lee still had his weights on. The streets were slightly crowded so they were stuck in a small area. They looked like complete fools. "Crap! Hinata's coming down the street!"

"Oh! She'll pass out if she sees this," Tenten replied, frantically worried for her shy friend. Without thinking, she ran outside, greeted with the sight of toned, naked butts. "Bleh!" she ran past them, getting caught in the crowd. 'Ok, we mustn't let Hinata faint, its bad for her,' she paused to think, 'Ahah!' "Naruto! Hinata is coming this way! She'll faint if she sees them!" she yelled, spotting a nearby Naruto.

The blonde-haired boy looked around for the voice, spotted Tenten and shook his head in understanding. He ran over to the approaching, curious Hinata.

"N-Naruto-kun, w-why are a-all these people gathered h-here?" she asked when she saw he longtime crush coming up to her.

"Hinata- Chan! You're back! I missed you!" he exclaimed, enveloping her in a hug. Needless to say, she fainted at the sudden display of random affection. "Why does she always do that?" by this time Kiba and Lee had found an escape route, but not before suffering huge amounts of emotional scarring. But what can I say? They are the ones who picked dare! Tenten walked over to the duo.

"You hugged her didn't you?" she asked, noticing the unconscious girl in his arms. He shook his head. "Come on." They took Hinata and sat her in a booth at Ichiraku. Sasuke came in a few moments later.

"What happened!" Kana asked, unaware of Hinata's crush on Naruto or her total shyness.

"Hinata is a very shy person, she isn't used to random displays of affection. So, I'm assuming Naruto hugged her, so she wouldn't see a very much naked Lee and Kiba. Either way she would have fainted," Sakura explained.

"Hey old man! Give us some cold water," Naruto called to the ramen shop owner.

"Hold on," Teuchi rolled his eyes, 'There can never be a normal day with Naruto around,' he thought as he filled a cup with very cold water. "Here." He handed the cup to Ino.

"Let me do it," Tenten voiced, as a certain morning replayed in her head.

"Here," Ino handed her the cup.

"Hinata!" no answer, "Ok, you did it to me!" the bun haired kunoichi poured the water over her head.

"COLD!" Hinata jolted awake.

"Morning sunshine!" Kana said happily, "You fainted, in case you were wondering!"

"I-I'm sorry," she replied quietly.

"No problem, we didn't want you to faint if you saw Kiba and Lee streaking," Shino began.

"But, this dobe over here, ran up and hugged you as a distraction," Sasuke finished.

"O-Oh, I'm s-sorry for causing so much t-trouble," the quiet girl once again apologized.

"Hey! Are you gonna finish you r ramen Ino?" Choji asked, ignoring the whole situation.

"Eat it Choji, I was almost finished anyway," the blonde answered, resuming her seat next to Shikamaru and Sakura.

They finished their meals and exited the shop, met by starry skies. Sasuke left, his quota for human interaction filled for the day, leaving them at nine.

"So, what do you guys do for fun?" Kana questioned the group of younger teens, still wearing Shino's shades.

"I watch clouds," Shikamaru responded, hands on the back of his head, after no one said anything.

"Anyone else?" the dark purple-eyed female asked.

"Observe bugs," Shino answered.

"I stargaze sometimes," Tenten answered looking up at the dark sky, marveling in how endless it was.

"Let's do that!" Kana yipped.

"Where? Everywhere has a lot of light, or too many tree obscuring them," Tenten pointed out.

"W-we c-could go to the H-Hyuga C-Compound," Hinata suggested quietly.

"Yea! Lets do that! All of us!" Kana clapped her hands together, overjoyed at being able to hang out with her new friends.

"Yea, ok, that's cool," They mumbled at once. She smiled.

"I can't I have to go home, I gotta get up early to train tomorrow! I'm gonna be the next Hokage, Believe it!" Naruto yelled, loudly, walking off with a wave.

"Bye Naruto," Sakura said to his retreating back.

Hinata led the way to her home, err… estate. A small silence settling over them. Kana looked around at her surroundings, trying to memorize everything about the place. She observed how different the people were from her home. People there were distant and cold. Here they were kind, accepting and fun!

"O-ok, when we enter, f-follow me. M-my father and N-Neji are sparring right now. The area is r-right in front of the door. They s-spar after dinner sometimes, the m-majority of the f-family watches," Hinata explained, stopping in front of the gates.

"Alright," they said, well, mumbled. Hinata pushed the doors open and walked in, quietly as possible. However, if most of the family is right there when you walk in with seven other people, someone is going to notice. That someone was Hanabi. She ran across the area where her cousin and her father were sparring, interrupting the fight, to greet her sister and friends. The Hyuga's ignored the situation and urged them to continue.

"Hello Hanabi," Hinata greeted.

"Hi," she smiled.

"How long have they been sparring?" Tenten asked the younger Hyuga.

"I'd say an hour or so," the twelve- year- old responded.

"Oh," Tenten looked over at the spar. It was intense; dangerous fists made contact, spilling small amounts of blood. Neji's hair had come free of its small tie, flowing with each of his movements. Tenten found herself mesmerized at his graceful attacks. She sparred with him almost everyday, but never had the time to watch him, for fear of losing.

"Tenten, you're ogling," Kana whispered, "and Hinata's going this way." She walked off; Tenten tore her gaze from the man and followed.

The fight ended when Neji stole a quick glance at Tenten as she left. Haishi noticed and took the opportunity with a smirk, sending a quick blow to his stomach, ending the fight. Neji regained his composure after stumbling back from the blow and falling over.

"Good match Neji," He complimented his nephew, "Females can be such atrocious distractions, ne?" he whispered to his nephew.

"I'm sorry?" the Hyuga prodigy tried to play "dumb" although that's quite impossible.

"The little bun haired girl, is she the one you always spar with, and went on your most recent mission with?" Haishi asked, ignoring his nephew's previous question.

"Hn,"

"I would like to speak with her," Haishi said, "let's go see them." Haishi walked towards the direction the eight teens, and Hanabi, headed.

Hinata had led them to a small, elegant garden. A petite pond was positioned near a tree in a corner. Flowers grew in abundance, with a Zen garden arranged in the center; rocks large enough to sit on positioned in the sand. In fact, the teens were sitting on the rocks when Haishi and Neji entered the enclosure. Tenten pointed out constellations in the sky, Kana hanging onto every word. Hinata and Hanabi noticed the company first.

"Father!" Hinata and Hanabi exclaimed, catching the other's attention, stopping Tenten's "lesson".

"Hn," Haishi answered, so that's where Neji gets it from! "What are you all doing?"

"S-star g-gazing," Hinata replied jumping down from the rock she sat on, the others followed.

"Really? I don't believe I know all of you," Haishi stated.

"T-these a-are my friends," she informed her father. "T-Tenten, S-Shino, C-C-Choji, S-Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, and K-Kana," she pointed to each one.

"You, come with me," Haishi pointed to Tenten. The weapon's mistress was shocked; she glanced at Neji, who nodded his head lightly.

"Hai," Tenten followed Haishi as he left the area.

"Hinata! You to!" the clan leader called over his shoulder, his daughter scurried after them.

"What the heck?" Shikamaru was the first to recover.

"Did you say something Neji?" Hanabi asked, "Father rarely talks to strangers."

"Hn," the stoic man answered, leaning against a garden wall.

"Is that a yes, or a no?" Ino asked.

"Hn," Neji said, smirking.

"Shut up!" Ino yelled.

"He didn't say anything…" Choji pointed out.

"No, I didn't say anything to my uncle," Neji answered, before Ino had a chance to yell at Choji. "He just saw you all as you entered."

"What do you think he wants?" Kana asked the group.

"Troublesome. It's getting late, I'm gonna go," Shikamaru mumbled, heading for the exit to the garden.

"Me too," Choji walked after his best friend.

"…" Shino stood up as well, "I need my sunglasses."

"Not you too, Shino!" Kana protested. Ino and Sakura tried their best not to smile at how obvious it was that Kana liked Shino, even though he was oblivious.

"…" he had no idea how to react to this situation.

"You'll see him tomorrow, Kana, when he takes you to Tsunade-Sama. Then you can give him his sunglasses," Neji spoke. Shino looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Alright," Kana agreed.

"Fine, when do we see the Hokage?" Shino asked Neji.

"Whenever you feel like it. Mornings are best," Neji answered.

"I'll pick you up at Tenten's at 9:00 a.m.," the, currently, sun glasses-less boy answered, eyes showing slight irritation.

"Bye!" The girls chorused as he exited, leaving Ino, Sakura, Kana, Hanabi, and Neji.

"Girl. Do you like him?" Hanabi asked.

"Which girl?" Sakura asked.

"The one with purple eyes," Hanabi responded as if it was obvious to everyone.

"Kana," Ino said.

"Kana, do you like that boy?" Hanabi asked, reminding the group slightly of Neji.

"I don't know…," she mumbled, I guess…."

"Aww! I knew it!" Ino and Sakura squealed. Conversation stopped as they waited for Hinata and Tenten to return.

XXXXXXXXXX With Haishi, Hinata and Tenten XXXXXXXXXX

Haishi walked in front of the two girls, not speaking until they reached a large room. He ushered them in. the room had pale walls and carpeting. In the center was a small coffee table with a few cushions around it. Family pictures adorned the walls; generations of all knowing eyes scrutinizing the brunette's every move.

"Sit," Haishi ordered. The girls obliged. "You are sparring partners with Neji?" he asked Tenten. She nodded her head. "Hinata, how close would you say they are?" he directed the question to his daughter.

"They were on the s-same genin t-team and have s-sparred together for six y-years. They have become friends," she answered, not looking him in the eyes.

"So they are friends nothing else?"

"W-well, I-I," he silenced her.

"You are not to see my nephew any longer," Haishi stated firmly to Tenten. Her face fell, "Distractions such as you are unnecessary."

'What? Not see Neji?' she thought, panic stricken.


yes! my first cliffy! kinda... do u kno how hard it was to stop writing there? i had to persuade myslef to write a cliffy! so tell me wat u think! plz, its greatly appreciated!