A/N: Hello my lovelies
A/N: Um, hi.
I owe everyone who's been following this story an apology for the extremely late chapter. I would love to blame writer's block and finals, but I was also lazy and paying more attention to new projects. Don't worry: this will be finished!
First off, I want to thank you all for the lovely reviews, which is something I have been neglecting.
Second, this story will probably wrap up in the next chapter or next two chapters, depending on what I feel like. I don't want to stretch anything out, and I have the ending distinctly in mind. If it feels like a rip-off, I'm really sorry, but that's the way I can write it without getting constantly stuck for ideas.
Now on to the chapter!
Using her last bit of energy, Tenten managed to deck her opponent across the face, effectively knocking him down and out of the running.
"The winner of this match is Katana." Intoned the referee, "Konoha wins." The loud cheers coming from the stands were especially pleasing to Tenten's ears. It had been a little annoying, being the last person to fight and knowing however your fight came out, it wouldn't make much of a difference. However, it seemed that the Konoha supporters didn't mind, and preferred the ability to prove their superiority again, and again, and again.
That wasn't to implicate, however, that the game had been an easy one. Whirlpool's Shinobi were surprisingly tough, and the fact that a few of the other boys on Konoha had to go twice didn't make it any easier. Since there were no girls on the team, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata were automatically considered out of running, much to their annoyance. There had been a couple of losses as a result of that decision, as some of the boys suffered bruising and other mild injuries that distracted them from just going in and fighting.
"Excellent job Toyo! Your youth was practically emanating from your body in shining green light!" trumpeted Lee as she made her way, slightly unsteady, to the bleachers. Whoever her opponent had been, even if he had the defensive reflexes of a dead cat, he knew how to keep his opponent confused, judging from the way her vision was spinning. She touched her forehead gingerly, wondering if she would have a nice lump for her efforts.
"Uh huh, sure Lee." Tenten opened her water bottle and drank greedily, emptying it of half of its contents.
"No, really! The glow—"
"Lee, you'd see a glow if you just went out under a streetlight or something, it's not a big deal." Ino came up and clapped Tenten cheerfully on the back. "Nice work, Katana!"
"Thanks, Ino." Tenten glared at the blonde as she massaged her now-sore shoulder.
"You're welcome." Said the blonde, purposefully oblivious.
Shaking her head in amusement, Tenten turned to put the bottle back in her bag, only to find Neji directly behind her.
"Hey Captain!" She mock-saluted. "How'd I do?"
Neji simply stared at her, before narrowing his eyes and walking away without saying anything.
"Yeesh, how big is that stick?" Asked Kiba humorously from besides Tenten. "Neji's been twice as anal as usual these past few days. You know why?"
Tenten shook her head. "Can't think of anything."
"Hello, Suna High School, how may I help you?"
"Hello, I am looking for information about a former student of yours, transferred to Konoha Academy last year. Name's Katana Toyo. Can you help me?"
"So you ended up using the Hammer method after all?" asked Tenten in complete amusement, holding the phone between her shoulder and cheek as she worked in the kitchen, frying rice for a quick lunch. It was the Sunday after their match, and much to Tenten's relief, she had yet to experience any swelling, though she suspected that the hit might have taken out an IQ point or two.
"Yep," Sakura's voice emanated out from the speaker, "Only the second variation, though. I got too freaked out to actually bring the hammer with me. Besides, the dress worked just fine."
"I'm glad. Hang on a sec." She piled her food into a bowl and set the pan aside, then picked up the container and carried it over to her couch, snagging a pair of chopsticks along the way. She settled herself before returning to her friend. "Now spill. I have been locked up all day with little to no contact with the outside world. So I'm currently in danger of going into an Inoish state."
"Please don't," said Sakura, sounding very amused. "The reason I called you was to have relief from squealing with Ino; kind of like my very own mini-therapy session."
"Please don't; I had a date with Neji last night. Lots of the sharing of the feelings and other silly things. I'd really rather not play the therapist again."
"I'll bet." Sakura was silent for a moment. Then, almost hesitantly, she asked: "How was he?"
"Neji? Normal, well, as normal as Neji will ever be. Why?"
"While we were on our date, Sasuke-kun…he asked a couple questions about you." Tenten frowned faintly, a slight prickling on her skin telling her that this wasn't good.
"What about me? Do you mean about Toyo?"
She could practically hear Sakura roll her eyes. "Duh. Who else would it be?"
"Having two identities is confusing, you know. Anyway, what kind of questions?"
"Just normal stuff, mostly. How I know you, why two cousins so close hardly ever hang out, etcetera, etcetera." She snorted, "Most of them where almost pathetically easy to fend off, but my god, Sasuke-kun was persistent. Almost like he was digging for something."
Tenten swallowed, suddenly not hungry. "Do you think he knows?" she asked, feeling her stomach twist in sudden fear.
"…I really don't know. Sasuke-kun's not stupid, but I don't think he would openly admit to believing that he believed that you were crossdressing or Toyo was crossdressing or a transvestite or whatever." She laughed. "You have to admit that this whole situation is kind of ridiculous. I mean really, who would believe this? It's too sitcom-esque for anyone to take it seriously."
Tenten was unconvinced. "What about Neji?"
"What about him?"
"Aren't they close? What if he tells him? Sasuke's more creditable than Lee or Naruto or pretty much anyone else." Tenten was beginning to panic, horrible possibilities flashing through her head.
"Tenten, calm down." Said Sakura in her no-nonsense voice. "Unless Sasuke-kun has a picture of you changing into Toyo or something—and his pride won't let him stalk you, don't worry about that—he probably won't do anything. Trust me. I stalked him for two years; I know what I'm talking about."
Tenten was not persuaded. "I'm still not sure…"
Knock, knock
Tenten mentally groaned at the visitor's bad timing.
"Sakura, I have a visitor. I gotta go. But one last question: did you and Sasuke go very far?" Even worries of an identity crisis didn't dissuade Tenten's need to tease Sakura about her date, oddly enough.
There was a loud snort on the other end. "Are you kidding? Sasuke-kun is a complete prune. He's worse than Neji. No, I only got a kiss on the cheek." Judging from her tone, Tenten gouged that Sakura wasn't exactly unhappy about the development.
"I think you mean 'prude', Sakura."
"No—he's a prune. Or a plum, since he's not wrinkly and prunes are just dried up plums. Actually, when you start really thinking about it, he's a pineapple—prickly on the outside, but sweet and acidic on the inside."
Tenten laughed, feeling much more normal. "I think Shikamaru's the pineapple, at least appearance-wise. I'll leave you to your ponderings of fruits. Whoever's at the door is getting really impatient." Indeed, the knocker was persistent and it was starting to get on Tenten's nerves.
"All right, all right. I'll go bother Hinata now. Remember: don't stress!"
"Bye Sakura." She hung up. Still chuckling over the girl's bizarre analogy, she went and answered her door.
Hyuuga Neji was standing outside her door.
"Neji! What are you doing there?" Acutely aware that sweats and a tank top were not the most flattering clothes to be wearing, even if they were the most comfortable, she fidgeted a little.
"Just visiting. Can I come in?" Other than a raised eyebrow, he did not comment on her apparel, for which she was grateful.
"Sure." She stepped aside, and he entered, looking curiously around her (to her growing horror, very) disorganized apartment.
"Have a seat. Do you want any tea?" She offered, hastily scooping up her empty bowl from its current resting place and making a beeline to dump it in the dishwasher.
"No, thank you." Had she not been somewhat embarrassed, Tenten would have been amused by Neji's air of walking on eggshells. Clearly, he had never been inside a girl's home before.
Grabbing the sweater folded carelessly over the back of her chair, Tenten quickly pulled it on, almost immediately feeling less exposed and more relaxed.
"So, what's up?" She asked, plopping down on the couch besides Neji, leaning against him with arms folded.
"Not much. Have you seen your cousin today?" One his hands absent-mindedly rested itself atop her head.
"Nah, he's usually with his Suna friends on the weekends, so we're alone." Tenten said airily, while inwardly her stomach began to do audible flip-flops in worry. It was stupid that Sakura's observations were making her nervous, but she couldn't help it.
"Really?" Neji's voice sounded light, disinterested. Tenten despaired that his thoughts weren't.
"Yeah, our apartment is basically a place he goes to change his clothes; Toyo is almost never here." She was bluffing, and bluffing badly. Tenten comforted herself with the fact that, if Neji demanded proof of his residency, she could simply point out the many men's clothing articles she owned, thanks to her friends, as well as the extra bedroll she kept in her closet.
"How odd." Those words weren't said with the minor incredulity that suggested he really was surprised, but said as though her words merely confirmed something. Tenten's stomach flip flops increased and she decided impulsively that it would be a good time to…distract Neji from whatever his current train of thought was.
"Yeah, it is odd." She turned to face Neji, lowering her eyelashes and praying that she wouldn't ruin the image by laughing. "But it does mean that we get to…hang out."
Neji eyed her warily. "What do you mean?"
"You know…hang out."
He looked really nervous. "Yes, but what do you mean?"
Tenten exhaled loudly and placed her hands on her hips. "You know, watching movies, talking—God, what did you think I was talking about?"
Neji relaxed. "Nothing." Previous experience told Tenten she wouldn't get anymore reaction from him, so she let it be.
"Good." She kissed him on the cheek. "Of course, if you change your mind, we can always do what you want to do—within limits."
He turned slightly red. It was very amusing.
He gave her a strange, indulgent look. "Were you by any chance experimenting with drugs before I came here? You are acting very strange."
"No drugs, just chocolate."
"That's a drug."
"No, it isn't, chocolate can't kill you."
"Oh really…"
The afternoon quickly raced by, as Tenten and Neji talked, made fun of each other, and of course, kissed. Despite wanting just to enjoy herself, Tenten made completely sure that whatever Neji's purpose in coming or whatever suspicions he may have had were largely forgotten by the time he took his leave of her.
She watched from the railing, waiting until Neji's car had disappeared from her viewpoint, before running back into her apartment and grabbing the phone. Tenten gave an impatient growl at the ringtone, tapping her foot.
The second Sakura answered, Tenten wasted no time. "Call Ino and Hinata, if you can. You're right; he's on to me."
"…and judging from our records, just a good role model of a boy; I've never once seen him in this office. Was this any help to you, sir?"
"Not especially, but thank you for your troubles. Good-bye."
For the most part, school was proceeding as normal. However, Tenten's heightened paranoia made it more difficult for her to mingle as freely as she had before. Whenever Neji was around, she had to act like she was perfectly unaware of his suspicion and make sure she acted as convincingly as a guy as possible, and when he wasn't around it was even more nerve-racking.
"Toyo-kun, calm down." Hinata removed the bento from Tenten's shaking hands and placed it on the ground in front of her. She and the other girls were all sitting in the middle of the vast grounds, on a blanket atop the grass one fine afternoon after school. There was almost no one in sight, and Shinobi practice had been canceled due to the overzealous animals' rights club releasing bugs, slugs, amphibians, and reptiles into the gym, and Tsunade demanding that all teachers help catch these creatures. While the other Shinobi had gone back to their dorms, the girls had chosen to have a picnic on the open grounds.
"Yeah, what are you so worried about?" Asked Ino, thoroughly enjoying her bento.
Sakura made a face. "Close your mouth when you chew, pig. You're spewing everywhere."
"Well, sorry, Miss Prim-and-Proper." Snapped Ino, nevertheless acquiescing. "But seriously, Toyo, what's going on? Neji's not here; he can't be watching your every move unless his eyeballs can come out of his head and float around the school, which is just gross—"
"I didn't need that, Ino." Tenten massaged her temple, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "I really didn't need to hear that."
The blonde sighed. "Really, you shouldn't worry so much. This whole situation is absurd enough that no one sane would believe it off the bat. And while Neji is insane, he is so insane that it is possible that he might as well be extremely sane, so there's no reason to worry!" Tenten treated the blonde to her best deadpan stare.
"Ino—that makes no sense."
"Yeah it does, if you just think about it."
"But I don't want to think about it! I WANT—" She looked around and quickly lowered her voice, despite there being no way that anyone would be able to overhear them. "I want to stop doing this."
"Why?" Asked Ino, with Sakura and Hinata looking on curiously.
"I'm finally beginning to figure out what the consequences will be for doing this, and they are not pretty."
"If by 'consequences', you mean Neji, just say so." Said Sakura practically.
"Sh!" Tenten looked around in alarm, despite the fact that no one else was within hearing distance.
"So you do mean him."
Tenten sighed and hung her head. "Yeah, fine. I mean him. I really don't know how he's going to react when he finds out. I mean, finding out that someone isn't who you thought they were won't bode well, considering…"
"…That the person is your girlfriend, it really won't bode well." Finished Sakura. "I see your point. But really, there's nothing you can do at this point." Tenten drooped even lower, if that was possible, than she had before.
"I want to finish this," she grumbled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to quit—but I really don't know what's going to happen and I'm actually worried about how Neji—or everyone else for that matter—are going to react."
"Probably better than if it turned out Toyo was Tenten, instead of the other way around." Ino pointed out with her illogical logic. "Of course," she added thoughtfully. "Neji probably wouldn't care either way, considering…" She trailed off with a suggestive wink. Tenten joined in with Sakura and Hinata's squeals of laughter, holding her sides to prevent them from physically splitting.
"Touché, Ino, touché." Tenten wiped the pinpricks of tears from her eyes. "Not entirely sure if the idea that my boyfriend is bisexual or gay should make me feel better or not, though…"
"It should," Ino replied with absolute conviction. "After all, you've led him on so far. If he turns out to prefer his, ah, own kind better, you can always just change back and screw—AH!" Ino screamed as Tenten flung sticky rice at her face and it made impact. She retaliated with a meatball, which hit Sakura to whom Hinata came to the defense of…
And in this way what had been a serious conversation dissolved into a food fight.
A few days later, Tenten found herself in an uncomfortable position in the park.
Literally.
"Hinata-chan, why are we hiding?"
"Because Ino-chan, Kiba-kun, and Shino-kun are talking about you, and I don't think they would want to see you." She whispered, crouching in the bushes.
"Then why aren't we doing something, oh, I don't know, productive?! I'm dying down here!" Indeed, Tenten was flat on her stomach under the bushes, and being poked viciously by resentful branches was not putting her in the best mood.
"At least you're not wearing a skirt!" Hissed Sakura from somewhere above Tenten. "Now shut up—I can't hear a thing of what that stupid pig is saying."
Tenten merely sighed in exasperation, but strained to listen to the conversation going on somewhere outside their hiding place.
"—so what exactly do you want to know about Toyo, anyway?" Asked Ino, sounding like she had much better things to do and was doing Shino a favor by humoring him.
"…I don't want to know anything about him." Shino also sounded bored. Not that he ever sounded any different.
"That's not true!" Came Kiba's cheerful voice. "We just wanted to ask you something, 'cause the guy's been acting weird for a while."
Tenten grimaced, nervous. This didn't sound good.
"Weird?" Ino still managed to sound disinterested. "What would make you say that?"
"Well…just weird. Like there's something going on at home or something he isn't telling us about."
"Well, he has been struggling for a little while." Ino admitted.
("What is she doing?!" Hissed Tenten, who would've liked to jump out of the bushes and strangle Ino, were it not for the two girls sitting quite determinedly on top of her.
"Shut up and just listen!" Sakura shot back. Hinata simply let out a long suffering sigh.)
"With what?" In Tenten's opinion, Kiba sounded just a little too eager.
"…" Shino didn't need to say anything.
"Personally, I think he should have told everyone a long time ago." Said Ino airily.
("SHE'S DEAD! THAT EVIL WITCH IS DEAD—"
"Shut up!!")
"Told us…what?"
"That he's…"
(Tenten moaned in despair, wondering why she had ever trusted Ino with her secret.)
"…straight. Not gay. Sorry."
"…What?"
(Then she remembered.)
"I mean, I'm sorry. But Toyo-kun, despite appearances, is much more interested in the opposite sex."
"No, that's not what I meant—"
"I'm really sorry—"
"No, really. I didn't mean it that way—"
"I've always known you and Shino had something going on but you're going to have to find someone else—"
"HELL NO! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! THAT'S NOT WHY I ASKED—" Tenten could just imagine Kiba's expression was, and could barely smother her laughter.
"…" Shino's silence sounded very ominous.
"Don't worry," Ino soothed, ignoring Kiba's words completely. "I'll make sure he lets you down gently—"
"No, just, no—you know what, forget we had this conversation. Just forget it. And now if you'll excuse me, I need to go throw up." Footsteps hurried away from Ino, determined to be as far from her as possible.
"…You're not going to say anything else, are you?" Shino asked monotonously.
"Say what else, Shino-kun?"
"…good-bye." Shino also left, though not nearly as loudly as Kiba had.
Ino waited until both boys were well out of range before turning to the bushes where her friends lay in hiding.
"Am I awesome, or what?"
With various strangled noises, the trio within the bushes popped up, gasping and attempting to remove oddly clingy plant bits from their person.
"Ino," began Tenten seriously as she pulled twigs and leaves out of her hair. "I could kiss you right now. That was brilliant."
"Pish-posh." Ino flapped a hand carelessly at Tenten. "And I don't like to lie, so I'm not about to take you up on that offer."
"It wasn't meant to be taken up—"
"Why were Kiba and Shino asking about you?" Sakura effectively cut through the petty squabble. "Neji's the suspicious one."
"And Sasuke—" Tenten interjected.
"—But we won't go into that."
"Neji nii-san probably made them go ask about you, Toyo-kun." Hinata pointed out.
"He does have a little too much pride to ask Ino," agreed Sakura. "Actually, I'm a little surprised that he hasn't gone after you, Hinata-chan."
"Oh, he did."
"What! When?" The other girls stared at the Hyuuga.
"A couple of days ago. Don't worry, I didn't tell him anything."
"Well, what did he ask?" Demanded Ino.
"The exact same thing that Kiba-kun just asked Ino-chan." Hinata shrugged. "Though it sounds like he gave them something else to say, and Kiba-kun just changed it to something more generic."
"Hinata-chan, do you think Neji will make other people ask about me?" Asked Tenten, wondering what sort of stories they would have to make up to placate Neji that she really was who he thought she was.
Hinata shook her head. "No. Neji nii-san will probably just start doing research by himself. School records and that sort of thing."
Tenten let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God for Temari, then. I swear, if that girl doesn't become a professional hacker one day, I'll…do something ridiculous."
"Neji won't be happy." Remarked Sakura, starting to laugh.
"Yeah." Tenten's smile was wiped off her face.
"Tenten-chan, what's wrong?"
"I'm dead."
"But if Neji can't find out anything about you—"
"Not that kind of dead. Dead as in 'Neji likes to take out his frustration on his poor sparring partner'. And since poor-sparring-partner is on of the reasons he's frustrated…"
"Oh."
"You are dead."
In a way, Tenten had been wrong when she had said she was going to be dead.
Being dead wouldn't hurt as much.
The very next day during Shinobi practice, Tenten fell with a crash on her back, gasping for air. Neji stood above her, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Neji!" Gai's voice sounded seriously alarmed. "I think that's enough." He walked over to Tenten and helped her up on her feet, letting her steady herself.
"Toyo, are you all right?"
"Yes, Gai-sensei." Tenten shook off the hand on her shoulder once she gouged that she was fine, save for a few already-darkening bruises. "Come on, let's start over."
Neji smirked and widened his stance. "With pleasure."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Gai cut in. "Toyo, go spar with Lee for now. I'll spar with Neji."
"But—" Tenten knew that she and Neji's current sparring session had been more of her being a punching-bag for him than anything else, but she still liked to fight him.
"Now."
Gai's tone left no room for argument, and Tenten reluctantly obliged. Fortunately, Lee's cheerful, upbeat declarations of her imminent defeat helped raise her spirits and force her into a friendly competition against Lee. The team practice hours, however, forced them to abort the competition while there still was no clear winner.
At Neji's dismissal, Tenten zoomed into the locker room, grabbed her bag, and zoomed out before any of the boys started stripping and showering. Instead of going home the way she would have liked, she loitered outside the girls' locker room, impatiently waiting for the other three girls to exit so that they could go to her apartment and let themselves unwind.
While she waited, her sensitive ears picked up Neji's and Gai's voices, coming from somewhere out of sight. Curious, and a little edgily, she creeped closer to where the voices were, but didn't dare to peek around the side of the building.
"…you've been in a bad temper for nearly a week now. Is something wrong?" Tenten recognized the tone of Gai's voice; it was a favorite of his to calm others down, and usually worked despite his usual knack of getting those same people worked up.
"…No. Sorry, Gai-sensei, for how out of control I have been getting. I will increase my meditation, and try to regain my control." Neji answered. Tenten noted with some relief that no matter how unbendable Neji's will could be at times, even he couldn't help but let his anger die away when Gai started being reasonable.
Gai sighed. "Neji, yes, control is important. But it seems to me that there is some hostility between you and Toyo at the moment. I don't know what's going on, but both of you need to work it out. We're ahead in the tournament so far, and if we want to win again, we don't need any inside problems, do you understand."
"I will try to act on your advice." Said Neji stiffly. Tenten rolled her eyes at his careful wording.
So that's no 'yes', she thought wryly. On the bright side, it's not much of a 'no' either…
"That's all I ask of you." Gai replied solemnly. "Remember, we need strong teamwork and a strong captain to win. You can't have one without the other."
Now that probably got through. Gai really knows us…
"And of course, the never-before-failed Power of YOUTH!"
…I'll take it back. That just ruined the effect. And he was doing so well…
"Yes, Gai-sensei." Footsteps coming her way indicated that Neji was making a quick getaway, and she hastily retreated from the end of the wall and back to where she had been standing just outside the gym doors, looking for all the world bored of waiting for someone. Other than a cold, sidelong glance in her direction as he passed, Neji gave no other indication that he noticed her, heading straight for the showers.
Once he securely disappeared behind the locker room door, Tenten allowed herself to collapse against the wall (still standing up) and groan, rubbing her forehead tiredly.
She had a nasty feeling that her deception was not going to last much longer.
A/N: Over 4,500 words and not much happening. Ugh.
Next chapter will be faster, promise.
Please review!