MAN THIS CHAPTER IS SHORT!!! Seriously, i really should have just merged this with that last one. Oh well, too late now. But seriously, this took longer in my head.
I don't own Naruto
Tenten ran through the village, confused. She had been so angry. This whole time, she had been so angry, remembering everything that had happened. She had been imagining everything that she would say, that she would DO, for the last few days.
And now, confronted with the source, she did nothing.
She had tried to, but couldn't. There was something in his eyes that stopped her. He had seemed so...positive the entire time. There was something about it that said that he was honest, and she was wrong. And yet, how was it that even possible? He had tried to kill her!
She eventually forced herself to stop, hoping that he hadn't followed her. She sat down, trying to collect her thoughts. She heard someone appear next to her, and looked up at them.
"You should have just killed him when you had the chance, Shino."
The boy stood in front of her, staring. She couldn't read his face through his glasses.
"I didn't kill him because he wouldn't didn't kill me." He said.
"What do you mean?" She was now more confused then before.
"He could have stabbed me, and didn't. I returned the favor."
"...But that doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't he have left you alive? There really isn't anything he could have gained from it."
"I can't answer that. I can only tell you that he did."
Tenten would have kept questioning him, if she hadn't heard her name. She turned towards the source, watching as Temari ran towards her. She braced herself for the worst, only for it to never come.
"Tenten, there's something that you need to know." She announced. Tenten only stared at her as she said this, so she just continued. "It's about Kankuro. I wanted to talk to you about this before you did anything. Shikamaru told me about what you think happened between you two."
"Then shouldn't he be here, too?" Temari waved the comment off.
"Listen, because I'm only going to say this once. Kankuro loves you." And why, I'll never know. Tenten just stared emptily at her. "Back then, when you guys were together, when he was helping you train, you two were being watched." Tenten's arched one of her eyebrows, obviously not believing her.
"If we were followed, then why didn't he say anything? He could have signaled, or anything."
"Because he didn't know, at first. That time, when he ditched you to 'watch Gaara,' he was trying to protect you." It seemed that something that she said finally managed to get through. "But then, you ended up finding him again. And he's an idiot, so I guess that he just decided to go along with it. Trust me, when you got that note from your 'dad,' he was as surprised as you were." Tenten's gaze lowered.
"But, why didn't he just say something?" Temari was already getting sick of hearing that question. If she asked it one more time... "I mean, he could have at least TRIED to signal it." Close enough.
"ALRIGHT, YOU BAKA! THATS IT! I'm not doing this for YOUR sake, I'm doing it for HIS, GET IT! I don't give a DAMN about YOU! Now SHUT UP and PAY ATTENTION!" Tenten shrunk back a little, afraid.
Kankuro sat down, still in a daze from his previous encounter. His mind raced through their meeting, considering every aspect of it.
She didn't kill me, so that's good, right? I mean, she still attacked me, but she didn't go through with it, so I'm good, aren't I? But then, she still ran away. So, is she undecided right now? If I see her again, what will she do?
He was so wrapped in his own thoughts, that he had no idea of what was occuring around him. In fact, he didn't even snap out of it until he heard a low, familiar thud. A kunai was embedded in the ground next to him. He knew who it was without looking.
"So, are you going to kill me?" He asked, standing up. Tenten walked up to him, scroll in hand.
"No. I'm just going to cripple you a little." He watched as an awkward smile formed across her face. "And don't make me regret it."
"I won't."
Against all of his hopes and dreams, the day finally came. He, along with his siblings, were being booted out of Konoha. Or at least, it felt like that. The truth was that they no longer had any valid excuse to keep staying there. The three stood just outside the gateway identifying the outer edge of the village. Looking back, his teammates were talking to Shikamaru, along with a large number of academy students.
He, on the other hand, wasn't paying much attention. His focus was on something else. Behind the group, watching from a distant rooftop, was the woman he had spent several days with. He knew, without even being able to see her clearly, what the expression on her face would be.
"So, your leaving tomorrow, then?" Asked Tenten, disappointed.
"Yeah, it looks like it. I'm out of excuses to stay, and if we don't leave soon, then Suna might end up sending out a search party."
She leaned farther into him. "Then, I guess this is goodbye."
"..Yeah."
Then, following his family's lead, he turned, leaving the village behind him.
At least, for the time being.
OK, this story is done.
OR IS IT?
Yes. Yes it is.
Oh, and one last thank you.
Tammy and Nocturnal Owl-Dragon for the reviews
Nocturnal Owl-Dragon for adding to story alerts (A bit late, though)
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