Total War

Chapter Eight: Share and Gain

--

"W-what are you!?" Sasuke stuttered. Tenten stared back at him, her eyes were wide.

"I don't know." She replied truthfully. She looked down. "I really don't know."

Sasuke roared in anger, slamming his fist against the tree. His nose wrinkled up in rage. "How can you?! How is that!?" He asked incomplete questions. That was beside the point, because even if they had been complete, Tenten would not have been able to answer them.

"Sasuke!" Karin's voice called up. "Are you ok?" She sounded worried, and Sasuke knew she was probably speaking for the entire team. He leapt down from the tree, landing between Konan and his team.

"No. I'm not." He muttered softly, beginning to pace. Tenten leapt down a moment later, her bangs obscuring her eyes. Konan stared at her.

"What happened?" Konan demanded. "What could you have possibly done to make the Uchiha stop fighting, but piss him off that badly?"

Tenten brushed her bangs from her face, and looked up. In the place of her creamy brown orbs were scarlet red Sharingan eyes.

--

"You can't just leave!" Sakura screamed. "We need you! I need you! Jiraiya's Alliance needs you!" The latter was spoken in a hushed tone.

"Sakura I had to lie for you, and I don't even know what it was I was lying about, because you wouldn't tell me!" Naruto groaned. "I need to figure out things right now. And to tell the truth, being here in Konoha with Danzo's men left and right isn't the best place. Not to mention Kakashi-sensei's good point. If I start acting a bit suspicious at all, Danzo is going to look into things. Let me protect you and our Suna alliance!" Naruto slung a bag over his shoulder.

"I'll tell you!" Sakura hissed. "I'll tell you everything!"

Naruto laughed sarcastically. "Right. This is so typical of you!" He threw his arms up into the air. "I've noticed a change in your behavior." He shook his head, pacing back and forth. "Ever since our visit to Orochimaru's lair, you've been treating me different."

"I've been treating you better." Sakura pointed out darkly. "I'm sorry if that's a crime."

"No. No you're not sorry! You only moved on to me because Sasuke isn't here for you to swoon over!" Naruto pulled at his hair. "And it's so frustrating, because you know I love you, but I don't know if the feeling is genuinely mutual, or if I'm just second best!" Naruto was completely flipping out. "And then this entire secret keeping shtick of yours..."

"I said I'd tell you!" Sakura screamed.

"Of course you would now because I'm leaving!" Naruto snapped. "You didn't have a second's hesitation of pushing me out of the loop until I told you of my departure." He growled. "You even told Kankuro for Kami's sake." He shook his head. "I thought that you'd at least tell me."

"I thought you'd tell someone!" Sakura stated defensively. "You haven't been known to keep secrets."

Naruto glowered at her. "Not been known to keep secrets? Not been known to keep secrets!?" He threw his arms up again. "Are you kidding me?! Sakura are you kidding me?!" He pulled at his hair more. "When have you ever told me a secret that I blabbed out? Hmm?" He groaned.

"Well…" Sakura glanced away. He had her stuck.

"I have a secret for you." Naruto folded his arms, staring at her. "Remember the first day we were assigned to our teams, you and Sasuke almost kissed?"

Sakura's head snapped up to look at him. "Sasuke-kun told you?" She asked.

"No." Naruto growled. "Sasuke doesn't even know of the situation. Because it wasn't really Sasuke. It. Was. Me."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Th-That was you?" She whispered. "You never said anything about it."

"I rest my damn case." Naruto seethed. "You already pulled this little stunt a few years ago when Sasuke tried to leave-"

"Hmm…I wonder why? Maybe because I don't want either of you leaving?!" Sakura suggested, clenching her fists.

"Well then you had better get better at your negotiating skills, because it didn't work on Sasuke and it sure as hell isn't going to work on me." Naruto growled. "Goodbye Sakura-chan. See you when I'm ready to be back."

--

Sakura trudged around the Konoha streets. She was absolutely devastated. Kiba stared at her from afar, before approaching atop Akamaru's back.

"Are we still having the meeting?" Kiba asked in a hushed voice. Sakura and Naruto had managed to recruit a few brave members for the alliance before the kyuubi host had decided to leave.

"Maybe." Sakura sighed. Kiba stared at her incredulously. She began to walk more, and Kiba steered Akamaru around to cut her off. He slid down the beasts back, dropping to Sakura's level.

"What's wrong? I haven't seen you this down since Uchiha left." Kiba wore a playful grin. Sakura looked up at him, a gloomy and emotionless expression on her face.

"Naruto left." Sakura sighed.

"Naruto's left before. He always comes back." Kiba shrugged. "How is this different."

"Naruto left under the cover of a Shizune mission." Sakura sighed.

"Um…can Shizune even do that?" Kiba arched an eyebrow.

"Yes. She can give out missions, errands for Tsunade." Sakura nodded. "But you don't understand…the last time she gave a mission-"

"Tenten died?" Kiba stated softly. "No offense to her or anything, but Naruto is much stronger than her. He'll come back alive." He smiled.

"No Kiba." Sakura sighed. "The last time Shizune gave a mission…" She looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "It was a cover for us to safely get Tenten out of Konoha. She isn't dead."

Kiba's eyes widened. "So that means…"

"Naruto is using the mission as a cover. He's not running an errand for Tsunade. He really is leaving, and no one knows where he's going. Hell, I doubt he even knows where he's going." Sakura shook her head. "It doesn't help that we got into a massive fight before he left." She sighed. "He's never been that angry at me, ever." Her eyes softened.

"It's ok Sakura." Kiba pulled the pinkette into a hug. "He's gonna be fine, you're gonna be fine, we're all gonna be fine." He smirked. "Now let's go to that meeting of yours."

--

"I need explanations. Now." Sasuke demanded. The six sat in a circle in the same clearing. Sasuke had refused to let either Konan or Tenten leave, which worked as leverage for Konan who was trying to stall the Uchiha from attacking Konoha.

"I don't have explanations. At all." Tenten replied in the same tone.

"Wow, you Uchiha's." Suigetsu snickered, earning himself a well-deserved smack upside the head from an angry red kunoichi.

"I do." Konan stated softly.

"Well go on bluenette." Suigetsu grinned. "We all wanna hear."

Konan turned to Tenten. "Your mother is Tsunade, a Senju. Your father is Uchiha, Yashiro. He was the sole member of the Uchiha clan who was noted to not have black hair." She ignored the look of confusion on Tenten's face. "I hope I get the story right…Tsuande-sama had just lost practically a fortune in one of her little gambling stunts. She got completely wasted at a bar. Completely. Wasted. Yashiro was also wasted, as though he was a top-ranked officer in the Konoha Police Force, he'd gotten into a lot of trouble that day. Three words. One. Night. Stand. Of course that was all that was needed to create you." Konan smirked, while Tenten made a disgusted face.

"It was easy for Tsunade to mask her pregnancy in the later stages. She simply used her Advanced Transformation Technique during the day, allowing her true form when she was alone at night." Konan sighed. "However, your birth caused more troubles." Tenten didn't like the sound of that. "It was impossible for Tsunade to care for you without questions being raised, so she had you put under the care of a skilled medical ninja."

"Shizune?" Tenten quirked an eyebrow.

"No. Rin." Konan sighed. "Sakura said the name as if it had some sentimental value, but I don't see it as much importance…" She shrugged.

"I…remember Rin." Tenten stated softly. "I remember someone being with me until I was around…six."

"The same time of the Uchiha Massacre?" Sasuke asked slowly.

"Yes. That sounds about right." Tenten nodded.

"You do realize why Tsunade did this for you, don't you?" Konan asked slowly.

"So that I could grow up without bonds?" Tenten asked.

"Better to not have them at all then to have them and lose them." Sasuke muttered.

"No. It was to protect you." Konan replied softly. "You saw how Sasuke reacted when he found out you were a Senju, and you know what happened to the Uchiha's. What do you think would happen if a person found out there was a combination? A link between the two mighty clans that created Konoha?" Tenten's eyes widened and she glanced with Sasuke.

"That person would have to be killed?" Tenten asked, staring at Sasuke.

Sasuke glanced back at her. "I'm not going to hurt you." He muttered, rather angry at his decision.

"Mhm. Sure you aren't." Tenten pursed her lips, turning back to Konan.

Konan laughed. "He won't hurt you." She stated. "I have this all figured out now."

"Oh?" Karin quirked an eyebrow. "What could stop Sasuke-kun from killing a Senju girl?"

"The fact that she's part Uchiha." Sasuke muttered, shaking his head. He leapt up into the trees. Konan grinned.

"Exactly. He won't hurt you, because as much as he doesn't want to admit it. He needs you." Konan smirked at the incredulous look upon Tenten's face.

"Nani?"

"You are the only Uchiha female in existence."

--

A/N: Okay, the big secret's up. Tenten is an Uchiha-Senju.