Mate

(A Naruto Fan Fiction)

A Smells-Like-Mary Story

Chapter ten: Defying Neji

It was halfway through the week, and the pressure was getting to them. Luckily they all stayed friends to support each other. They hung out almost every day of that week and came to the conclusion of surrendering; there was no other choice for them. Except for TenTen, she was a fighter; she wouldn't stop fighting and thought it was better to die, than to live with a bastard like Neji.

It was Friday already, Sunday was coming soon and it was going to be the worst day of her life. She found herself sitting on the floor in her room, listening to hard music. It always seemed to calm her thoughts. She then felt her phone vibrate in her pants pocket.

"Hello?"

"TenTen, its Hinata. I haven't seen you in days"

"I've been busy" she replied coldly "Yeah, busy thinking of a plan"

"Have you prepared for… y'know what?" Hinata couldn't bring herself to say it.

"No, I don't plan on going anywhere"

"TENTEN! You could die! Think about it! I don't like this better than you do, but there's nothing we can do!"

"I said NO! I plan on getting away!" with that TenTen hung up and turned off her phone.

She thought that by hiding in the city for a couple of weeks, Neji would forget about her and get another to replace her. She was so angry; she didn't care about the other girls. They were weak and surrendered easily; they didn't try to fight this. If they ended up dead, it would be their own fault.

"I'm not going. If he brings me back with him, it's going to be my dead body. I'm not going back alive" She tapped her foot furiously against the floor.

-Sunday Night: 7:30 PM-

The boys waited on the promised roof patiently. Their eyes closed, their breathing slow and calm. They knew the girls wouldn't disobey, so they had nothing to worry about. Only Neji had a slight doubt in his mind, he knew TenTen was going to be trouble. He just hoped she would just accept it and come with him calmly. He really did like her and he wasn't going to lose her anytime soon. He resisted the urge to sigh very loudly and just waited.

Soon they heard noises, their eyes shot wide open to look at the door. It opened slowly to reveal Sakura; she only had one bag, it looked like a beach bag. She walked slowly to a corner far from the boys, especially Sasuke. Her head hung low, her arms crossed. Minutes later Hinata came walking in, she had more stuff than Sakura, all in pretty expensive looking bags. She looked at Sakura and joined her.

It was 7: 51 and Ino and TenTen were still missing. Suddenly the door came flying open with a loud thump and brought everyone's attention to it. In the doorway stood a panting Ino with a pretty big bag. Shikamaru smiled at her. But instead of walking to her friends, she walked up to Shikamaru, surprising everyone, even him. She looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm here"

"I noticed" Shikamaru stated "I thought you'll be all sad like them" he said pointing at Hinata and Sakura.

"Well…" she closed her eyes and put her hands on her hips "I don't have a choice, so I thought I could make the best of this situation. Don't misinterpret, I cried, God knows how much I cried, but still I can do nothing. But I want you to remember, this won't give you the right to order and drag me around; you'll respect me and I'll respect you" Ino stated her conditions staring right at Shikamaru, not backing down an inch.

Shikamaru was wide eyed, but then smiled at her "I wouldn't have it any other way" he took her hand and kissed it. Ino was content at the moment, even though leaving her parents was killing her inside.

She didn't said anything to them, just left them a note. She just couldn't face them.

It was now 8:00 PM and TenTen was the only one who wasn't there. Everyone was ready to leave except Neji. He felt humiliated being stood up in front of everyone. "Neji, we're leaving, are you coming?" Shikamaru asked him.

"No, I think I got some business to attend to" and with that he jumped off into the city to hunt down TenTen. He was mad, no, he was furious. He was in the mood to kill and he knew one person he felt like murdering tonight.

Still at the roof, Sasuke had just left with Sakura and Shikamaru with Ino. Naruto stayed behind. He wanted to be alone with Hinata to talk calmly and not upset her any more than she already was. "You know I can't let you go" said Naruto walking over to Hinata.

She crossed her arms and looked down "I know" she whispered.

He raised his hand and cupped her cheek making her look up. Her face was stained with tears. He felt terrible, but he just couldn't let her go. She was all he was looking for and wasn't going to give her up. Naruto sighed "Just hear me out. I promise I will never hurt you, nor force you to do anything. I will always protect you. I love you and I know in time you'll love me too" Hinata thought that sounded like a marriage vow.

She closed her eyes and remembered everything Ino had told Shikamaru a few minutes ago. She could spend her whole life crying or she could make the best of this situation and try. She chose the latter. She nodded at his words and picked up her bag ready to leave, but then stopped and looked at Naruto "Is TenTen going to be all right?"

Naruto froze; he didn't know what to say. He knew Neji didn't like people interfering in his business, but the bastard could be pretty harsh and unfair sometimes. "I honestly don't know, but I'll tell you what, I'll try to find out and do something about it, ok?" Naruto smiled sadly at her. Hinata was worried about her friend and he didn't blame her, she was defying Neji and that was never a smart thing to do, except for the guys.

Naruto didn't waste any more time and picked Hinata up and jumped away. Still, in the air, Hinata prayed for TenTen's safety.

TenTen wandered the city; it was packed with people so she hoped he couldn't find her, because she already knew Neji had to be pretty mad and looking for her. As she kept blending through the crowd, she didn't feel the glowing pair of eyes following her every move. He was going to get revenge and it was going to be oh-so-sweet.

Back with another chapter, so what do you think will happen to TenTen? Dun Dun Dun! Stay tuned for another episode of Dragon Bal- Uh... wrong story. Don't forget to comment and review.