Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
A/N: I will be honest… this was incredibly hard to do… not because the story its self was complicated, but because I wanted to do so many things at once, that it just wasn't working… so… sigh… hope this worked…
WARNING: oh so cliché… lol… (IMPORTANT NOTE AT BOTTOM ABOUT CLICHES, PLEASE READ)…
NUMBER 10 in the 10 for NejiTen Challenge
THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!
DEDICATION – to Shadeehue... I wanted to do the panda-crack for you, but couldn't get it work; I even almost tired doing my first AU… but it felt so unnatural!... so this is what I came up with…I hope you'll like it… XD
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Sara
Happy Birthday to you!
Enjoy!!
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BETWEEN FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE
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.:..:..:..:. One Kiss Breaches The Distance Between Friendship And Love .:..:..:..:.
"I still don't get it… why are we meeting Gai-sensei at team seven's training grounds?" Tenten asked her silent companion as the two made their way through the forest to where their team leader had instructed them to meet up that morning.
"Hn." Neji grunted; slowly shaking his head to communicate his ignorance on the matter. He was almost certain whatever the reason was, it would no doubt end badly.
In the five years they had known Gai, Neji had learned two absolute truths about the spandex wearing jounin. (1) One, he was strange. Not just because of his outfit, or his hair, or his obsession with youth; the man was seriously screwy. And two, even though on his own Gai was an annoyance and complete and utter embarrassment; when the odd man was within close proximity of his 'eternal rival', all bets were off. There was no way of knowing what could possibly happen when those two were together. Neji was slightly worried about what today could possibly have in store for them this time. He was grateful, at least, that he had Tenten there to lessen the insanity of being on such a weird team.
"It's going to be another challenge, isn't it?" Tenten worriedly inquired.
Neji noted the dual meaning within the kunoichi's statement. Yes, it would most definitely be a challenge; regardless of whether or not it was one of Gai's 'ridiculous battles' with the masked shinobi.
"I believe so." Neji nodded.
Neji liked sticking to routine; changes in his habitual day to day activities tended to end up badly for him. Neji was beginning to get a bad feeling about this day. He really didn't want to know what today would bring.
Looking over at his female companion, Neji could see she too shared in his apprehension of what lay in store for them as they hesitantly approached their destination.
"Hey." Tenten stopped walking.
"…" Neji looked around the open field, to see what had caused the girl to halt. "Hn." One eyebrow quickly shot up as he stared at the area before them; thinking the same thing as Tenten.
"Where is everyone?" She voiced.
In the years they had known team seven, Neji had long since learned to expect the late arrivals of the legendary copy-nin. It was a well-known fact that the masked shinobi was never on time; therefore it didn't at all surprise the prodigy that Kakashi had not yet arrived. What did surprise him, however, was to see that the others on the team were also missing.
"Kakashi-sensei I understand, but… Sakura, Naruto, Sai and Yamato-sensei..."(2) She trailed off; clearly having been thinking the very same thing as him. "And what's more… Lee and Gai-sensei?" Tenten furrowed her brow, as if she were trying to come up with some logical explanation.
"Hn." Neji nodded in agreement.
It was unusual for the two buffoons to be late. If anything, Gai was the type who prided himself in punctuality, and would often reprimand others for being even a second late. Lee, by extension, was exactly the same as his idol.
"Well…" Tenten turned to face him. "What should we do?"
They had purposefully arrived a few minutes later than the designated time (even knowing Gai's likely, overdramatic reaction), for the very purpose of avoiding as much of whatever insanity their sensei had concocted.
"I suppose we should wait." Neji replied, taking a seat in front of one of the three training posts before of them.
"Yeah I guess." Tenten shrugged, before taking a seat next Neji.
In moments, the prodigy became suddenly aware of just how close the two were seated to one another. It wasn't unusual, of course, for the two teammates to lean up against a tree, seated together like they currently were, but for some reason, he had recently been feeling rather uncomfortable with their closeness.
"Neji, is something wrong?" Tenten leaned in to look at him.
"Huh." Neji's instinctively threw his head back; forgetting completely about the hard wooden post behind him.
.:..:..:..:. .:..:..:..:. .:..:..:..:. .:..:..:..:. .:..:..:..:.
"Neji" A soft voice called out to him from above. "Neji."
"Hn." The prodigy's eyes slowly began fluttering open.
He was painfully aware of the throbbing sensation in his head, as he opened his eyes to realize he was staring up into a bright blue shy.
"Finally." Tenten's head suddenly poked into his line of vision. "You were out for at least ten minutes. Geeze, really gave me a scare, you idiot."
"Hn?" Neji frowned up at her; not very pleased at being called an idiot by the girl he kind-of, sort-of, maybe, liked; even though he'd only just begun to realize that a few days earlier.
"Yeah, I called you an idiot." Tenten replied to his silent complaint. "What kind of genius shinobi goes and loses consciousness by bumping his own head against a wooden post?"
Neji shut his eyes, trying to ignore the overwhelming desire to pull the kunoichi down to him. Was it strange that he found ever her angry, scolding face to be endearing?
"What's with you?" Tenten continued. "Even before that you were acting weird, all red and jumpy." She paused a moment; her voice taking a more serious tone. "Actually, come to think of it, you've been acting kind of strange the last few days." Tenten tapped his bare forehead rapidly with her fingers; attempting to get him to look up at her. "You know if anything's bothering you, you can always tell me right?"
"Hn." Neji nodded his head, which oddly enough wasn't hurting as much as before. Even the hard dirt floor didn't feel that hard; if anything, it felt soft, and warm…
"Well?" Tenten pressed; preventing Neji from trying to figure out why his head felt so strange; and why his arms seemed barer than usual.
"Well what?" Neji questioned.
"Well, tell me already." Tenten urged; leaning down to face him better.
Neji momentarily forgot what she was referring to as he observed a loose lock of hair dangling down from one of her twin-buns; the ends of it barely caressing the side of his face as he looked up at her.
It felt slightly ticklish, but at the same time electrifying. He could feel sharp jolts of energy shooting through him, as the warmth surrounding his head continued clouding his mind.
"So…?" Tenten continued pressing the question.
"What?" Neji shook the previous thoughts out of his head.
"What is it?" Tenten questioned.
"What's what?" Neji asked again.
"Ah! Neji, you're starting to infuriate me!"
Without warning, the prodigy suddenly found himself being heaved off his warm cushion, as the bun-haired kunoichi rose to her feet and angrily stared down at him.
'So it was her lap.' A warm flush began creeping up his face at the sudden realization of where his head had been laying for the past few minutes.
Looking around Neji noticed his long sleeved shirt, Tenten's white top, and both of their headbands scattered on the floor beside them. It appeared as if she's made the two shirts into a pillow to place one her lap, before putting his head down on it.
So that was why he had felt a breeze earlier. And that explained the loose locks of hair.
It was then that Neji noticed what the kunoichi was wearing, or rather, what she was NOT wearing. It wasn't like he'd never seen her without her long sleeved shirt before, but because of how warm the shirt was, the top Tenten generally wore underneath it was rather small; and tight. It was really no more than a sports bra over her chest-bindings, leaving her entire mid-drift exposed; her very toned mid-drift.
"There you go again!" Tenten accusingly pointed at the Hyuga as his flushed face only continued deepening in color. "What is it you can't tell me?" She angrily shouted, before her face suddenly took on a saddened expression. "Don't you trust me?"
"…" Who could have known four simple words could weigh so heavily; so painfully. "That's not it." Neji lowered his head down to the ground; not wanting the kunoichi to see his blushing face, or the hopelessness in his eyes. She had always been able to read him so well; he didn't want her to know. What was the point?
"Then what is it?" Tenten knelt down at his side, trying to peek under the messy cascade of hair that hid Neji's face.
"I trust you with my life Tenten." Neji replied; trying to stay away from the previous topic by focusing on the last statement instead.
Even that, though, seemed out of character for him. He wasn't the dishonest type, but he just wasn't that expressive when it came to emotions; this wasn't the type of stuff he talked about.
"Then why won't you trust me with your heart?" Tenten solemnly asked.
"…" His head instantly shot up, looking questioningly at the girl before him.
What did she mean by that?
"Come on, it doesn't take a Shikamaru to figure out that whatever it is, it's clearly about something that's troubling your heart. And even though I know you're not exactly the warm emotionally expressive type… you can tell me anything." Tenten encouragingly smiled back at him. "Is… is it a girl?"
He wasn't certain, but Neji thought he heard a tinge of sadness in her last question; but perhaps he was just deluding himself… wishful thinking.
"Well, you are at that age I suppose." Tenten shrugged. "Actually with the number of girls after you, I'm kind of surprised it didn't happen sooner. But then you never seemed interested in anything other than training, which kind of…" she trailed off. (0)
"Hn?" Neji stared back at the girl curiously; his face scrunched together as he tired to figure out exactly what she had been trying to say.
"…" Bringing a hand up to his forehead, Neji began to gently massaging his temples as the throbbing pain from before suddenly resurfaced, preventing him from thinking any further.
"Neji?" Tenten's concerned voice echoed in his head. She leaned in again, this time much more slowly; to prevent what happened the last time from repeating.
"What about you?" Neji gravely spoke; lifting his head back up to face the kunoichi.
"What about me?" Tenten asked.
"If, as you say, I am 'at that age', would that not mean that you are as well?" He hesitantly inquired.
"eh?" Tenten cocked her head to the side; a trait of hers Neji found undeniably adorable. "I guess." She shrugged. "Haven't really thought about it for a while though."
"…" He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or concerned about her response. "Does that imply you did at one point?"
"Well…" she hesitated. "Yeah, I suppose… a long time ago…"
"…" Neji waited for her to continue.
"There was… someone…" She explained; but went no further than that.
"A man?" This time it was Neji who was pressing for answers; though he wasn't sure he really wanted to hear her reply.
"Yeah." Tenten sadly recalled; nodding her head slowly.
"What happened?" A part of him wondered what could possible get the generally cheerfully kunoichi to look so sad; but the rest of him really didn't want to know.
"Nothing." Tenten's nonchalant attitude returned.
"Doesn't sound like it." Neji remarked.
It dawned on him that he'd never noticed anything like this before. When had there ever been a man? He couldn't remember ever seeing her with anyone.
"Really, it was nothing." Tenten insisted. "Just a crush."
"A crush?" Neji repeated.
Inside, an uncomfortable churning threatened to have him keel over a second time; he really didn't need to know all this. This was not the sort of conversation the two sparring partners had; it just wasn't.
"Yeah, but everyone did." Tenten shrugged, trying to convey to him that it had been nothing at all, but Neji could see in the welling of her eyes that she wasn't being entirely truthful about the matter; maybe not even to herself.
'Everyone?' Neji repeated the word in his mind; wondering what significance it held. "Uchiha." A growl escaped the prodigy before he could stop himself, as the pieces slowly began pulling themselves together in his groggy mind.
"Uchiha?" Tenten repeated "You mean Sasuke?"
"Hn." Neji outwardly remained unmoved, waiting to see if she would affirm or deny his accidental accusation.
"What?" She chuckled. "You think I'm secretly a Sasuke fangirl?"
"Hn." He made no indication of what he was really thinking.
It made sense. Sasuke had had a large group of fangirls trailing after him for years, and since he'd left the village long ago, it only made sense that anyone who liked him would have felt the need to give up after his extended absence. He figured Tenten probably just wanted to forget about it, and so she tired pretending that it was 'just a crush,' when in reality, her eyes said differently.
"You've got to be kidding." Tenten indignantly replied.
"I seem to recall you mentioning to Lee before the first chunnin exam that you considered the Uchiha attractive." Neji pointed out, remembering how crushingly painful it had been to hear her say such words; though at the time, he hadn't really realized the significance of his jealousy.
Had he really liked her even back then?
"Oh sure, I'll admit, he's… good looking." Tenten confirmed. "But I'd far from consider myself a fan." She stated. "In fact…"
"…" Neji listened intently; even though outwardly he appeared to only be passively engaged in the conversation at this point.
"I kind of dislike him. And, I don't even think he's all that cute." Tenten stated matter-of-factly.
"You have not seen him for years," Neji observed. "What is it you are basing this change on?"
"Please Neji, physical appearance only catches a girl's eye," Tenten explained, "but in the end, it doesn't matter. It's a guy's character that catches a girl's heart."
"Hn." Neji considered the kunoichi's words.
Neji was aware that there existed certain parallels between the two prodigies; if it was Sasuke's personality that she did not like, it might imply that Neji's own personality fell short of her demands.
Not that it mattered; Neji had already determined she couldn't possible feel the way about him that he did about her; that was clearly evidenced by how casually she was treating this conversation, not to mention how she usually behaved around him. She wasn't the shy, bashful girl with a crush, like Hinata; or the pushy and demanding flirt, like Ino; or the open and direct confessing type, like Sakura. No; she treated him like a friend, and nothing more; there was no way he could expect her to feel the way he did.
"I mean, seriously," Tenten continued, "the guy betrays our village because of his own personal vendetta, and everyone goes looking for him as if it would all be the way it was before he left? What about those people who lost family and friends during Orochimaru's invasion?" she turned to face Neji directly. "Could you forgive him for nearly dieing when you and the other guy's went after him?" she asked. (3)
"Perhaps." Neji replied, turning away for the moment as he contemplated the question. He had never really thought about it before.
"Well, I can't." she softly replied.
"…" Neji turned back to face the kunoichi. "You forgave Gaara." He mentioned; referring to what the Kazekage had done to their other teammate.
"That's different." Tenten stated; looking mournfully down at her clasped hands.
"I don't believe that it is." Neji disagreed; once more trying to figure what the hidden meaning behind her words was.
"It is." Tenten insisted.
"How so?" he questioned.
"Because…" She trailed off. (0)
Neji couldn't see it though. The only real difference between her ability to forgive Gaara for nearly killing Lee, and her inability to forgive Sasuke for nearly getting Neji killed while trying to rescue him, was perhaps the fact that Lee had already forgiven Gaara, and even become friends with the fierce sand leader, thus making it impossible for Tenten to hold any animosity toward the Kazekage.
"Do you forgive him?" Tenten asked again; referring to Sasuke.
"I've never held any ill will toward him." Neji replied.
It was true; other than a few moments earlier when he believed Tenten's crush had been Sasuke, Neji had never felt any anger or resentment towards the renegade-Uchiha. There was no need for forgiveness when he's never even blamed him.
"I can't…"(0) Tenten began explaining, but seemed unable to. "What were we talking about before?" she shook her head, attempting to change the subject.
"…" Neji shrugged, indicated he didn't remember.
"Right!" Tenten exclaimed. "The girl."
"Girl?" Neji repeated questioningly.
"Don't play dumb with me Hyuga." Tenten sat herself firmly on the ground; regaining her fighting spirit once more. "Well? Who is she? Do I know her?"
"…" He stoically stared back at the girl as she brushed off her knees; wishing she could just drop the subject. "What about him? You didn't finish telling me about him. Who was it?"
"uhu." Tenten shook her head. "I asked first."
Seeing no way out of his present predicament, Neji relented. "Very well." He sighed; wishing desperately that the rest of their group would soon arrive and put him out of his misery. "There is someone." He reluctantly admitted; waiting her to say something.
"A girl." She reiterated.
"Hai." Neji affirmed; still quite hesitant to continue on with such a conversation.
Noticing is hesitation, Tenten warmly smiled and asked, "What's she like?"
"She's…" He considered his answer.
He needed to find a way to answer the question without really answering it. It was against his own desire that this conversation had even begun, but with no way to avoid it, he wanted, at the very least, to keep her from finding out that the thing that was bothering him was how he felt for her.
"She's…" He leaned his head back slowly; closing his eyes and exhaling deeply. "…perfect." He almost inaudibly replied.
Neji half hoped his whispered reply had somehow made it to the kunoichi's ear. It was the closest he would ever come to confessing his love.
"Wow." A soft gasp, escaping the girl's mouth brought Neji back to reality. "You really do like her."
Again, he could see a hint of something in her eyes; but what it was, was still unclear.
Was it sorrow?
'Could it be…' (0)
No. It didn't mean anything. Neji was certain of it.
"When… When are you going to tell her?" Tenten asked.
"Never." Neji automatically replied.
"What do you mean, never?" Tenten angrily exclaimed.
"There's no point." He responded, before leaning his head back up against the wood stump he had earlier knocked himself out with.
"I never knew you were such a coward Neji."
Neji quickly brought his head back down and faced her.
That had stung. But he couldn't deny it. He was a coward. No matter how he tried to rationalize it… he was afraid.
And it wasn't team dynamics; it wasn't even the fear of rejection or pain that stopped him. It was the fear that he could lose her forever. That if she knew how he truly felt about her, she would push him away, and out of her life completely. And that was the one thing he wanted least in the world.
"What about you?" Neji asked. "Did you ever tell him?"
"…" Tenten turned her head back down again. "Yeah." she half-heartedly chuckled. "You're right. I guess I'm not really one to judge either. Sorry" she looked back up again; her apology clearly written in her eyes.
'I was right.' Neji said to himself; though knowing that didn't make him happy.
He had been right about the 'crush;' it had been more than a crush.
"…" Neji wondered if perhaps she had also misrepresented the fact that it was over. From the look on the kunoichi's face, and tone in her voice, Neji seriously doubted Tenten was as 'over it' as she had declared.
"Why didn't you?" Neji bravely asked; putting his own feelings to the side, though it was difficult to do.
"Like I said," Tenten deeply exhaled. "It was just a childhood crush. Everyone has them, and then outgrows them. There's no point in ruining…"(0) She stopped to regain her composure, before continuing with a different reply. "It's different in your case though."
"…" Neji stared expectantly at the bun-haired kunoichi.
What did she mean 'different'? What made it so?
"Because we were kids." Tenten once again answered his silent questions. "It was a crush… one which all the girls our year had. But there was no point, he wasn't interested. And I'm satisfied just being with… just as things are."(0) She quickly gazed down. Neji could tell that 'satisfied' wasn't the same as 'happy'. "But it's different for you, because… you're you. Neji is Neji." (4)
"…" Neji quietly took in all that she had said. He could tell there was definitely something he was missing.
Every word seemed to have deeper meaning; more to it than just the surface layer.
A childhood crush.
Admired by other girls.
Of their year.
Which would ruin…
'Ruin what?' Neji wondered.
Satisfaction with just being with…?
'Being with what?' He asked himself.
And what exactly did it mean that 'Neji was Neji'?
"…" Sudden realization hit the Hyuga harder than the painful crashing of his skull into the wooden post behind him had done earlier.
Could it be?...
"Do you miss him?" Neji carefully observed the girl's reaction.
"Of course not," She scoffed. "Why would ... No."(0) She shook her head.
He was certain now. It had to be. But he needed to be sure of one more thing.
"Geeze, they sure are taking their sweet time aren't they?" Tenten scanned the training field for any sign of their missing companions.
"One last question." Neji called back her attention.
"Ok." Tenten nervously agreed.
"Do you regret it?" Neji asked; referring to whether or not the kunoichi regretted never having confessed how she felt.
"…" She looked down at her hands again; Neji figured she was probably wondering how the tables had turned on, making her the one being questioned instead of him. "Sometimes." Her whispered respond matching the same degree of longing and pain as his earlier one had held. "But I think I would have regretted…"(0) Closing her eyes to pause, Tenten bit her lip to stop herself from continuing; a habit Neji remembered her picking up long ago.
"Thank you Tenten."
"Eh?" Tenten cocked her head to the side again, looking at him with the same expression she always wore, when confused; one which Neji found completely adorable. "For what?"
"Life in the shinobi world is often so fleeting." Neji profoundly explained. "You've helped me realize this."
"Ok…" She continued looking at him curiously; unsure of what he was getting at.
"It's an unfortunate circumstance of reality that in order to gain that which we want most of all, we must risk losing what we already have, and perhaps even more." Neji continued. (5)
"Huh?" Her look of confusion told him she still wasn't getting it; but he hadn't expected her to; not yet….
"You were correct in calling me a coward." Neji continued. "Does a coward deserve happiness?"
"…" She didn't answer, but he could see his words were having some effect.
"I don't believe so." He replied to himself. "Only those willing to risk their hearts completely, should be so deserving."
"What are you trying to say Neji?"
"I'm saying," Neji leaned in. "I don't want to have regrets." Closer, he moved; close enough for the intermingling of breaths.
"Ne…" This time, Neji was the cause of her unfinished sentence, as he breached the gap between their lips and passionately released all that he had been holding back; his longing, his pain, his hunger, desire, affection, and most of all his love for the woman kissing him back. (0)
"Tenten." He called out to the dazed girl just as the two parted; his bare forehead pressed against hers as he looked deeply into her honey tinted eyes. "I entrust you my heart." (6)
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THE END
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A/N: I had a totally different plan, a totally different ending, and a totally different title, but somehow this works… lol… and surprisingly enough, it actually ended up fitting one of the 10 for NejiTen challenge prompts (Number 10). But you know what, I might just do the original story as a second part to this chapter later one (but don't quote me on that). In case anyone's wondering what Team 7 and Gai and Lee were up to... well that was part of the original plot... so... I can't tell you since I'm more likely than not going to do a second part to end... maybe... (lol... so like a future lawyer... no definite answers... lol)
FOOTNOTES:
(1) 5 years means they should about around 17 years old in this fic, which means AFTER the time-skip
(2) remember, they're 17, therefore it's just Naruto and Sakura… well and Inkei-boy and Tomato (weird, footnote within a footnote… case you didn't get it, Inkei means penis in Japanese… though it quite appropriate since Sai seems obsessed with it… plus, the whole nickname thing… and then of course, the "Ink" fits too… as for Tomato… well, come on, it's not like that one's not obvious XP)
(3) I apologize Sasuke fans, but… I really don't like the boy… not only because he betrayed the village and was so mean to poor little Naruto… but, as a Neji fan, I agree with Tenten… how dare that bastard almost get our Neji-kun killed?!
(4) If you're as obsessed with manga as I am, I'm sure that line is very familiar… lol
(5) It's basically theme 8 of the 10 for NejiTen challenge… but I only want to count one story per prompt… so this isn't number 8…
(6) Awww… that was so freaking sappy… but I loved it. XP
(0) Incomplete sentences completed...
-- which kind of… (nothing really, just indicative that she decided to be friends instead of pursue what she believed to be a hopeless case)
-- because… I love you (j/k… but that's the sentiment)
-- I can't… forgive him for getting you hurt
-- Could it be… that she feels the same way?
-- There's no point in ruining… what we had (referring to their friendship)
-- Satisfied just being with… him
-- Why would… I miss him? (since she's always with him)
-- But I think I would have regretted…losing him, more.
-- Ne… Neji (of course)
MAKING A LIST
(and checking it twice XP… and no, sorry, not Santa… although I would mind having some elves around to do my chores…)
Ok, so I want to do the MOST cliché story ever! (In my own style of course)… so lol… most likely it'll be a huge parody one-shot… but FIRST I must come up with a list of all the cliché NejiTen (or Naruto, or fanfic in general) plotlines out there… please please please help me come up with the list…
To get us started… off the top of my head, here's 5 I can come up with:
1. The Neji-obsessed-with-his-hair plot
2. Neji arranged to be married to some other chick, when he's really in love with Tenten plot
3. Tenten pretends to be Neji's girlfriend (to get him out of an arranged marriage, or to keep the fangirls away, or because of his uncle for some reason), and either they're already in love with one another, but hiding it… or Tenten's in love with him and hiding it, or Neji's in love with her but doesn't realize it, or neither are in love, but then end up falling in love or realizing they always were, or any combination thereof.
4. The typical high-school fic (Best friends who realize they love each other… which is so the plot for Nejiten fic anyway…lol; or Tenten is a new transfer student to Konoha high, where she has some bad encounter with Neji… hates him, then loves him…)
5. Sasuke asks Tenten out and Neji gets jealous (which as we all know, will likely never happy in any of my stories… but I did do this… sort of... with Gaara in WHAT IS LOVE)
SEND ME MORE!! (please and thank you XD)
