::A/N:: Huzzah! I have another chapter done!

Thank you all for the nice reviews and all sorts of goodies. It made me postpone my homework and projects and be late for work to write this! But it is all worth it!

I was originally going to skip the Konoha 11 filler because of the lack of Neji and Tenten moments. However, I figured it would be a good drama chapter. Hence the previous chapter's set-up. It took me a while to figure out how I was going to go about this chapter and all the situations that came out of watching these episodes, but I did like this chapter. So I hope it makes up for the crappy one I wrote last time.

Thanks again for reading! Hopefully more will be up soon!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, the spin off would be the original series. Because that series is WAY better!


Apple of Her Eye
Chapter Nine

Neji always heard the saying, "It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all," but he had no idea where he would have put himself in his so-called "relationship" with Tenten. They both had been avoiding each other; she trained with Lee and he trained with his family. He really never left the compound, except on rare occasions, make that once, to escort Hinata to some place in town. He saw her that time in passing, but she apparently didn't notice him, or did a good job hiding it. Regardless, neither had spoken to the other in days.

However, the issue plaguing his mind had been whether or not she actually knew he cared about her. He thought she had to have known by now, so why was she avoiding him? If she knew him as well as he thought she did, she had to have known he was not a pro at this kind of thing, nor did he even have the slightest idea of how to progress with it. The fear that she knew but did nothing in return scared him. Did this mean she knew he liked her, and that she did not feel the same?

He desperately wanted to seek her out, to ask what exactly she had meant when she told him that "she had thought wrong". A part of him guessed that she had been correct with her assumptions, but the fact that she thought she could have been wrong about them caused him to worry. He did not mean to yell at her that day, but in a sense, he was ashamed of himself and could not bring himself to apologize. But he wanted her to seek him out, to prove to him that she would still be there for him.

But she never came.

He sat up in his bed, sleep something he knew would not come with his mind as restless as it was. The only chance he had for summoning the courage to say anything to her, or vise versa, was if they were forced to work together again. He silently prayed since that day that Tsunade would call them on a mission, even if he had to endure it with Lee. Then they could at least work their way out of this and possibly get to where he had wanted to be before he dug himself into a grave.

As soon as the thought came to his mind, he felt a chill run down his spine. Something was happening. He quickly shot out of his bed and exited his room quietly, so not to disturb the sleeping family members. It was late, and he had no idea what could have possibly sent his senses into high alert. He just hoped it had nothing to do with Tenten, that she was okay. But the feeling wasn't as intense as the times he thought her life was in danger, so he tried not to think too much on it.

"Neji? What are you doing up at this hour?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin, but he hid it well. He quickly turned to find his uncle smirking at him. Damn. He must not have hid that well enough.

"I feel like there is something going on," he replied, his voice nearly drowning in the sound of his heartbeat.

Hiashi's smile disappeared instantly. "There is nothing that you need to be worried about. There is a situation. However, it is under control."

That did nothing to quell his curiousness. "A situation, Hiashi-sama?"

But his uncle did not comment any more on the issue. "You should head to bed, Neji. I'm sure tomorrow will be another busy day for you."

Neji wanted to say something more to convince his uncle to inform him on this "situation," but he suddenly felt tired. He watched as Hiashi disappeared from view, then he slowly walked back to his room. Hiashi was right. If something serious was going on, he was likely to hear about it the next day.

Now sleep just had to get him there.

-0-

A pounding on his window jolted him out of his slumber. He sat up quickly, but he made no effort to see who needed to talk to him. He was tempted to ignore them; they had woken him from one of the best sleeps he had had in days. But the pounding did not stop, and he was forced to get out of bed. He paused for a second, wondering why someone was knocking on his window. It meant that someone wanted to see him, yes, but it was not a Hyuuga member. His heart quickened at the thought. It could have been Tenten!

He was extremely disappointed when he saw a smiling Lee on the other end of his window.

"Good morning, Neji! Did you sleep well?"

Surely Lee did not come this way to check up on him. "What are you doing here, Lee?"

His smile vanished and was replaced with a serious look. "I am here because of the security alert. Shikamaru has asked us to gather for a meeting. It has something to do with the Black Ops mission last night."

Black Ops? He had a feeling something was up when Hiashi acted so serious the night before, but he had no idea it was in the hands of ANBU's finest. The mere thought made him worry about what kind of danger the village was actually in.

"Give me a minute," he responded as he turned around to gather his things before leaving for the day. What could have possibly happened last night? He followed Lee out of the Hyuuga estate before he spoke up again. "Are you going to fill me in?"

He could have sworn Lee nearly had a heart attack on the spot. He choked on his own words in surprise. "You do not know, my dearest rival?"

Well, now he felt like an idiot. But he had already put himself out there. Might as well not be left in the dark forever. "If I did, I would not be asking you to tell me what's going on."

Lee continued to stare at him in shock, but he quickly shook his head and replaced his confusion with his usual cheery expression. "How I never thought a day would come when I would know more than the all-knowing Neji Hyuuga!"

"Lee, tell me what's happening."

He left no room for arguing, but Lee managed to find a way around it. "I do not understand why you are not up to date with village concerns, Neji! Has your youth wilted away?"

He had a feeling Lee would never tell him what he needed to know, so he opted to remain silent. He would just have to stay quiet until he was able to piece everything together to formulate his own conclusion.

He stopped dead in his tracks as Lee addressed him once more. "Could our youthful flower be a reason for your wilting, my youthful rival?"

The first thought that entered his mind was, How the hell did Lee figure that out?! He would have understood someone like Naruto or Shikamaru managing to see right through him, but Lee? Was he really that easy to read when it came to their female companion?

Neji turned to him quickly, causing Lee to take a step back. "Where the hell did that come from?"

And Lee's smile only stretched further across his face. "I have noticed your bizarre behavior as of late, and I cannot help but notice that after our last mission together, the two of you have been avoiding each other! It breaks my heart to know that you were so unyouthful in your ways to yell at her in such a manner! But I can also see that you are consumed with guilt!"

He folded his arms across his chest. "I assume she told you about that incident."

Lee gave him a sad look in return, as if he would soon burst into tears. "I shed many tears of sadness at the story! My dear Neji, what could have motivated you to break her heart with such anger?"

Break her heart? What all had she said to Lee? And why was she taking comfort in his presence? …And how the hell had this gone from a serious topic of village safety to the concern of their non-existent relationship?

But he would not allow Lee to gain access to his personal affairs. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Lee, however, was determined to find out. "I can see that this has taken its toll on you as well! You have not been yourself lately and I can always see that look of caring and love in your eyes every time you look at her!"

Now Lee had taken it too far. "I don't love her. She is my friend. Nothing more."

His words came out quickly, but they slapped him in the face just as fast. Now Lee was going to tell her that he didn't care about her. The fact that Lee dropped his gaze to the ground in disappointment told him that much.

But wasn't this what he wanted? His first commitment had not been to have her like him equally in return, but to tell her that he only wanted her friendship through the years to come. Why did it matter to whom he told? He would have to tell her eventually, and Lee had brought it up on his own accord. However, he couldn't help but feel instant regret and shame for not expressing how he truly felt.

"I understand, Neji. It must be difficult to go from being such an unyouthful character to feeling mixed emotions about our youthful flower!"

He should have known Lee would not leave it at that. Neji decided to change the topic to avoid dragging out the conversation. "Where are we supposed to meet at? And who is all going to be there?"

It seemed to work in his favor. "Right. I will lead the way as soon as we pick up our bright and delicate little flower!"

Neji's heart sank into his stomach. As if Lee intruding on his personal life was bad enough, he now had to walk in proximity to Tenten? He could only imagine what Lee was going to do or say once she joined their little party. But, this would at least force her to talk to him, if the situation came up. Which with Lee, it always did.

"Do not be worried, Neji! My lips are sealed! I promise you, if I cannot refrain from spilling your secret, I will do five thousand push-ups on my thumbs before our meeting begins!"

He did not feel satisfied, even when he struck a Good Guy pose and his teeth nearly blinded him. He just had to keep Lee off the subject and all would be fine.

At least, he hoped so.

-0-

"Four thousand, nine hundred eighty-eight. Four thousand, nine hundred eighty-nine. Four thousand, nine hundred ninety."

He should have known Lee was going to say something the second they picked up Tenten. Hell, they hadn't even walked ten steps before the damn boy said something along the lines of, "Neji says he thinks of you only as a friend, but I think there is more to his words!"

He had been infuriated, so much so that he spoke up to defend himself. "Why would I ever think that?" That did not go over nicely. Tenten had not taken his remark well, and the two just ended up yelling once again before Lee finally intervened.

He glared at the boy when they had arrived at the meeting place as Lee dropped to his hands and knees to begin his punishment. Shikamaru had only looked at Lee with confusion, but the genius soon became uninterested with the whole issue, claiming it was "too troublesome" to deal with.

Neji found a spot as far away from Tenten as he could find. She did the same. He received another curious glance from Shikamaru, but they both ignored him. Tenten began sharpening one of her kunai, and Neji couldn't help but notice the dazed look in her eyes. He heard her curse out loud quietly, but he managed to pick it up, as she nearly sliced her hand off.

He was hit with a wave of guilt. It was now obvious to those around them, Shikamaru, Shino, Kiba, and maybe even Hinata and Ino, that something was troubling her. All because of something stupid he told Lee. How long was he going to keep lying to her about his feelings? Before long, he was going to lose her as a friend completely. And he would not have that.

The need to pull her aside and finally tell her exactly what was going on in his mind and his heart was overwhelming. He didn't care that they were waiting to hear about what was going on, which he still did not know. He didn't care that the village was under an S-level security alert. All he wanted to do was come clean with her.

"Five thousand!" Lee lowered his legs and stretched out his arms. He wiped an arm over his face, and to Neji's surprise, he bounced right back into his work out formation.

"Five thousand and one. Five thousand and two."

"Man, what's gotten into you today?" Kiba asked as Lee continued his routine.

Neji wanted to kill the conversation before it got started, but Lee managed to respond first. "I must…punish myself for…failing to keep…Neji's secret."

He instantly felt five pairs of eyes on him. He was tempted to walk over to Lee and Jyuuken an open spot on his back. But he didn't. He just stood, leaning against the tree, and prayed that something would happen to divert attention off of Lee's statement. And him.

Kiba began to laugh and Ino clapped her hands together. "He has a secret lover, doesn't he?"

This time, Tenten did cut her hand. Once again, Lee's inability to lie only furthered Neji's humiliation. "Yes…yes he does! But...he is too…unyouthful…to admit it!"

Now everyone was laughing, except Tenten and Lee, and Hinata, who actually gaped at him. He was going to kill Lee when this was all over.

"Ne-Neji-ni-san…I-I had n-no idea." Since it appeared Hinata believed Lee's words, he was never going to be able to set foot inside the Hyuuga estate again!

Then Kiba had to throw in his two cents. "What kind of girl would even want to be with someone as cold hearted as you? Keep dreaming, Hyuuga."

The laughter subsided instantly and Neji could feel his blood boiling. He pushed himself off the tree he was leaning on and glared daggers at the younger boy. As if he had room to talk. What kind of girl would want to be with someone who kept a puppy in his coat pocket?

"I'm sure there are a lot of girls who would be attracted to someone like Neji." His words caught in his throat as he realized it was Tenten who came to his defense! She did not stand up, nor did she stop her task. But she knew she had everyone's attention, and Neji was dying to know what she would say next.

"Why were so many girls attracted to Sasuke? It's the same reason why there are some girls who want to be with Neji. Some of us like that 'cold-hearted' personality, while some of us want a guy who will always care. We can't help who we want to be with. And I don't think it's that different for a guy."

Neji stared at her, eyes and mouth wide. This had to have been some kind of genjutsu. She would never say something like that. Never! Lee apparently thought the same; he fell on his face and gaped at her as well.

Kiba appeared to have been slapped in the face, which Neji took extreme pride in. "Please don't tell me you are attracted to Neji?!"

Then it was quiet again. Everyone anxiously waited for her to respond. Neji held his breath. There was a good possibility she would say no, only because everyone else was standing around. But he also knew her not to care what other people thought of her, so it was very likely her response could have been an honest one! His heart hammered loudly in his chest as he waited for her answer.

He thought he was going to suffocate in the tension when she chuckled quietly to herself. "No, I'm not. I'm one of those girls who wants a guy who actually cares."

It was as if she took the kunai she was holding and stabbed it into his heart. He felt like he was dying. A guy who cares? He cared! He always cared about her! Just because he had snapped at her didn't mean he had stopped caring about her! She even made the comment to him on their previous mission that if something were to happen to her, he would be the one to rescue her! Surely by saying that she knew he would do anything for her…

He fell back against the tree for support to keep from collapsing to the ground. He didn't know if she meant it. She did have a strange audience. But how could he ask her now? How was he supposed to approach her for honesty when he knew she aimed the last half of her statement at him? It tore him to pieces knowing that she had made her stand…and she had witnesses to boot.

"Hey guys! What did I miss?!"

But Naruto had arrived ten seconds too late. Neji Hyuuga's heart had officially broken.

-0-

They were walking to meet with the main carpenter of the village, but his mind was elsewhere. He tried as hard as he could to not let it show, but in a way, he wanted Tenten to know exactly how much her comment had hurt him. He wanted everyone else to know how badly he was hurting, so she would realize the extent of her damage. But he was Neji Hyuuga, and he did not want everyone to know he was reduced to nothing because his teammate denied any feelings for him in front of them.

Thankfully, no one said a word to him on their walk, and even better, no one seemed to notice his strange behavior. Well, maybe it wasn't so strange; the younger ninjas didn't really know too much about him, so his foul mood was probably normal to them. Plus, they had a huge issue on their hands, and they didn't have the time to be worrying about his "love affairs". Hinata kept looking at him every so often, until Naruto said something, then her attention focused on him. Lee walked next to him, acting like he wanted to say something to him, but wisely chose not to. Neji wouldn't be in this predicament had he kept his mouth shut.

They reached the foreman's house quickly, which was a blessing to Neji. He desperately wanted something else to focus on besides the pain in his heart. He took the seat next to Chouji, more so because he was the only one he wouldn't kill at the moment, and he was thankful when Hinata took the seat next to him.

However, when Tenten took the seat directly across from him, he cursed under his breath. No, no, no! He wasn't going to be able to focus! Hell, if she was even in the same room as him, he wouldn't be able to pay attention. He pleaded silently for the meeting to begin so he could divert his attention to the matter at hand and not on the girl within his sights. Couldn't she trade places with Ino? At least then he wouldn't be able to see her when the meeting started.

Luck seemed to be on his side for the moment. The older man, the carpenter boss, handed Shikamaru a booklet filled with missing blueprints. He explained to them that Genno, the man in question for stealing the missing blueprints, was not working on any of the sites listed in the book. It made sense to him. The man was not from their land. Learning the ins and outs of building structures of important offices and people would be disastrous in the hands of the wrong person.

"Is there a chance he could have slipped his way in regardless?" Shino asked. It was possible.

But the foreman shook his head. "Our security is top notch around those structures. No one would have let him through."

Perhaps security wasn't enough. This man had been able to avoid Black Ops for weeks without getting caught. There was a chance that he had managed to sneak in and set traps to the structures without anyone knowing.

But then Neji made a mistake. He looked up, though not intentionally, just a natural reaction, at the girl sitting across from him. She obviously felt his eyes on her, because she quickly met his gaze. Another onslaught of pain slammed into him, and he knew he had to find a way out and he had to do it now. He quickly broke eye contact with her and forced himself to his feet.

"Excellent security or not, we should check just to be sure." His words came out quickly, and he received quite a few confused reactions. He didn't care. He needed to get away from Tenten as quickly as possible. This was his only legitimate escape route.

Shikamaru either didn't notice or didn't care and handed him the books containing the names of the structures with missing blueprints. His rational side kicked in as he extended a book towards Hinata to aid his cause. But a small part of him wanted to see what Tenten's reaction had been. And he was slightly disappointed when she appeared to have been unaffected.

"I think you're help will be most appreciated, Hinata-sama."

She nodded her head in reply and stood up as well. He handed her one of the booklets and quickly moved for the door. At least he could have some peace of mind while he inspected the buildings. There were quite a few of them, so time could not have been of the essence. He could work at his own pace.

Then Lee spoke up. "I would like to help you as well!"

No, no, no! The mere thought of Lee working alongside him was insulting, especially after he had probably ruined his life! Maybe he could convince Lee, forcefully if need be, to go with Hinata. He would be fine on his own. And Lee would be able to live to see another day.

Then Tenten spoke up, and he knew he was doomed to suffer a long afternoon with Lee. But what angered him the most was that he didn't understand why she was willing to accompany them. Why didn't she wait and see what else she could have done? Needless to say, he knew better than to assume she would want to go with him, but still. Why make that risk when she apparently wanted nothing to do with him?

The four of them left the site and without any of them saying a word, Neji and Lee went in one direction and Hinata and Tenten in the other. Now he just had to hope Lee would stick to the mission and not bring up the conversation from the morning.

"I know she didn't mean it, Neji. I promise you that she is—"

He turned on his heel and uncharacteristically screamed at Lee. "Shut up. I don't want to hear another word about any of this from your mouth again. We are going to focus on this task and nothing more. Or I will be forced to leave you behind."

Lee fell silent and dropped his head, but did not say anything more. Neji turned around and started heading in the direction of the first building on the list. He did not have the time to be fighting with his heartbreak or Lee's attempts to make him see otherwise. This was a serious mission, and he would not allow outside thoughts to distract him.

And that's exactly what he did.

-0-

Neji could have sworn Shikamaru was out to get him.

He was forced to investigate the blast site where the old man was said to have blown himself up. With Kiba, Lee, and Tenten; all people he really didn't want to spend the rest of his day with. And even though Shino had not done anything to him, he still didn't want to be around him. He was half tempted to just head home and barricade himself in his room.

"This must be where the explosion occurred," Lee shouted. Neji wanted to say something smart in response, but he kept his comment to himself.

His Byakugan activated, he did a quick sweep of the area. Nothing. All they had to work with was burned trees and dirt. What was the point of even being here if ANBU had already done their own investigation?

He was slightly annoyed. Here he was with people who had ruined his entire day, maybe even his life, and they really had no need to be working together. Shikamaru had to have known, which caused him to mentally add the younger genius to his hate list under Lee and Naruto.

"Hey guys! Look at this tree!"

Hearing Tenten's voice snapped him back to the present as all four boys approached her. When she knew she had their attention, more so Neji's, she addressed them again. "This tree is burned on both sides."

Really? That's all she wanted to say? Of course they would be. There was a large explosion. Which meant there was fire, and in a fire, things got burned.

Kiba seemed to agree with his silent statement. "Well of course it does. There were a ton of paper bombs, so this is to be expected."

She defended herself. "Well, yeah, but why would be it be charred on both sides?"

She had a point, and he may have been a little too quick to defend her. "She has a point. If there was only one blast, there wouldn't be burn marks on the back of the trees as well."

The look she gave him was priceless. She appeared shocked that he one: acknowledged her, and two: spoke up in her defense. She looked uncomfortable for a moment, but after the initial shock wore off, she took a breath and nodded her head.

"These kinds of burns would only be here if there were multiple explosions from different sources."

"But," Lee started, "the ANBU said that all of the paper bombs were wrapped around his body."

Shino added to his comment. "ANBU also had to protect themselves from the explosion. They probably didn't witness the actual attack."

It all was starting to make sense. Since ANBU had not seen the actual explosion, it was hard to pin the assault on one particular blast. That much was clear now. But where had the other sources come from? And how was he able to set it all up so quickly?

They each took off in a separate direction to investigate. His heart nearly skipped a beat when he realized that Tenten was right next to him, the closest they had been in days. He caught her gaze for a split second in confusion, but she stopped and lowered her eyes. "Sorry." She then turned and headed towards another tree.

He stood frozen on the spot as he watched her walk away. A part of him was relieved to actually hear her talk to him, even if it was something as simple as an apology. But she really didn't have anything to be sorry for. They both happened to head in the same direction. It was merely a coincidence.

However, she actually sounded sincere, which bothered him the most. Ever since they regrouped after inspecting each building for traps, she had seemed different. He figured Hinata had to have said something to her, but he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It all came back to what he was ultimately avoiding.

Talking to her.

He knew there was no way around it if he wanted this nagging feeling in the back of his mind to go away. But he had been under the impression she wanted nothing to do with him, so why waste her time? Deep down, he knew it was more a fact of his pride; Neji Hyuuga could never be rejected. Perhaps Hinata had helped him in some way, which he would be grateful for. Only if it worked in his favor. Regardless, he at least needed to tell Tenten that he wasn't mad at her, just…confused as to what he should do.

But now was not the time. They had other issues to deal with. He focused his attention back on his investigation. It was now clear that most of the tress in the area had been burned on each side.

He had not been alone in his discovery. It appeared that the entire forest had contained double-marked trees. It made sense…but it didn't. A large explosion from multiple angles was likely the reason for the marks, but the biggest question in his mind was how. How had this man, chased by ANBU, found the time to set up the bombs and set them off in a manner that masked his death?

"If the tags on the outer trees went off first, followed by the bombs in the center, it would explain the burn marks on both sides. If the timing was just right, it could have looked like one big explosion!"

Neji suddenly felt stupid. Not that Tenten wasn't a bright person, especially in this field of work, but everything seemed clearer now. Everyone around him nodded in return, and he felt something bubble in his chest. Something akin to pride. A part of him wanted to say, "That's my girl," but he forced the thought out of his mind. He would tell her secretly. Not in front of everyone else.

But it still did not explain how Genno managed to set it all up. "How did this man set this up? He was being pursued by the Black Ops and they had him cornered right until the bombs went off. How did he have the time to place the paper bombs on all the trees?"

As much as he wanted an answer to his question, a part of him just took relief in being able to talk to her again, even if this was a group discussion. He wasn't as nervous or flustered emotionally at the sound of her voice. Perhaps now he could work on a discussion with just the three of them, Lee included. Then he would be able to manage to talk to her alone.

He was slightly annoyed when Shino spoke for her. "Yes, they were following him, or maybe, he was leading them."

He didn't know much about the weird kid standing next to him, and he honestly forgot he was even there. But he felt more like an idiot when Shino so simply answered his question. And with a cooler tone than he probably could have used. As if he already knew. Stuck up little brat.

Now the question remained: where had the old man gone? How had he managed to escape from the explosions? If he knew what he was doing, he must have had an escape route. He activated his Byakugan and searched the area again, looking for any clues to where their enemy had gone.

It was faint, but he managed to pick up a small tunnel hidden behind a tree. He pointed in the general area. "Go look under that fallen tree."

In a second, Lee was lifting the log out of the way. He had wanted Kiba or Shino to do the work instead, but seeing as Lee owed him multiple favors and this was a natural show of leadership, he decided it really wasn't too much of a shock.

They approached the small opening and Tenten stepped forward to investigate it. "So," Kiba said, "the old man really did have an escape route all along."

Shino added to his comment. "He did a good job hiding it. We never would have been able to find it without Neji's Byakugan."

Scratch what he said about Shino. Except the weird part. At least someone as smart as him knew Neji's kekkei genkai was on a whole different level.

"Yeah, and he even managed to design this so it would collapse over time. In another day or so, we never would have been able to find it. Even with Neji's Byakugan."

There was that sharp pang on his ego. Tenten usually stood up for him, but now it seemed she went out of her way to prove otherwise. It wasn't as if she was saying he was useless, but it still felt the same.

It forced him to reconsider her behavior towards him since they arrived on site. She never held grudges, well, none he was aware of, and her temper was a short fuse. But she never let it drag out like this. Was he saying or doing something wrong without him even knowing it? Again, he knew the only way he was going to find out was by talking to her privately. He just didn't know when he was going to know if either of them was ready to sort things out.

However, when Kiba knelt down beside her to look at the tunnel, his misery was soon replaced with anger. Even though it appeared that he was just investigating the escape route as well, he thought better. After all, Kiba was the one who asked if she had been interested in Neji. He had another thing coming if that meant she was open for him to swoop in and be a bigger part of her life than Neji was.

He had a feeling he knew Tenten well enough by now to know if she had any interest in the younger boy. But she really didn't seem to have any interest in anyone. He never saw her around any other guys except Lee and Gai, and on rare occasions someone else for a mission. And Naruto. But she had already denied any feelings for him. And she never talked extensively about any of the others either.

He did recall that she might have taken an interest in Sasuke before he left the village. It could have been nothing, but she did say his name with slight disgust after their failed mission to retrieve him. Regardless, she never really talked about him enough for him to get worried.

However, he did remember them talking about Kiba one day after training when she mentioned she was in love with the boy's puppy, Akamaru. He had thought nothing of it at the time, but when they would see the two of them in passing, she would always kneel down and pet the animal, and say a few words to his master. It happened more frequently than he realized, and now he was terrified of what that meant.

She denied Naruto. She denied him. Could it all have been because she wanted to be with Kiba?!

His stomach churned at the thought. No. He wouldn't allow that. All the boy did was run wild with that dog. The whole family did. He wouldn't want to give up any of his time to be with her! That aside, he didn't seem to have a sense of dignity about him. Neji had heard enough stories from Hinata to prove that. He was like a wild animal, and he refused to allow Tenten to be with someone of his stature.

It still didn't quell his concern. But asking her directly would only cause more problems. So, he would find out his own way. When the group decided to split up to share their information with the rest of those dealing with this situation, he couldn't help but think fate was smiling upon him once more as he pointed a finger at Kiba.

"You're coming with me."


I love Kiba, by the way. He is my favorite guy! He's so cute!

Anyway, I apologize if I failed to write someone's character well. Preferably Shino and Kiba. I'm a Team Gai person. I haven't studied personalities of the others.

Okay I have to go now before I'm late for work again. Thank you again for reading!