[[ A/N ]] Sorry about not updating on Friday, I had to leave. So I'm typing this out of the state. Cool. So anyways, I'm going to devote lots of my time in finishing. This fic will find its conclusion at the eleventh chapter.
[[ Disclaimer ]] N-A-R-U-T-O-I-S-N-O-T-M-I-N-E.
Chapter Nine: Noodle Stitches
At first, she'd attracted whispers like a magnet that drew stress and murmurs, gasps and little secretive smiles. She understood the fascination that those people had with the "scandals" that seemed to occur every hour, but it shouldn't have lasted so long. She experienced the sensation of the eyes of many boring into her wherever she went. No ordinary eyes. White eyes.
What had happened right after, she could hardly remember. There had been a brief moment of stillness, but both had disappeared right after the "little" incident. She'd not spoken or seen him since. It was disappointing, truly, that it had not been anything more than a maneuver to keep her from doing anything that would arouse regret. Tenten spoke her wishes into little puffs of air and sent them out into the daylight.
It had been weeks. Weeks. And still, they did not speak. The missions had been postponed due to their third member being injured, and, recently, their training sessions had not been exactly scheduled.
"Tenten, you've been busy, I see." A voice with resounded through the empty shop. Her tones, usually high and spirited, had a new fiber inside it that seemed out of place. She had no time to speculate upon the changed voice, however. "You haven't stopped by for a while." Recently, in worry that she wasn't getting out enough, her mother sent her off on some meaningless errand, and it was often to get flowers to "cheer up" the house. Despite this, they were not friends. Not enemies, but not close. At all.
"Ino," she said shortly. Her curiosity had been stabbed by the other's comment. There was a reference in it...
"Been busy with your boyfriend, eh?" Tenten burrowed her fists into her pockets. There was no correction. Her lips couldn't move. They'd been glued together, not only with frustration, but also because her lips were extremely chapped. "Speaking of boys..." The blond knocked her knees to the floor, her visage hidden expertly behind the counter as she put up the pretense of rummaging in the counter. "Sasuke-kun is missing...I really...I really don't think...well, it would've been..."
Tenten tore her mouth apart and moistened their dry, cracked surfaces with her tongue, the bitter tang of blood striking her taste buds. "Is...is that what's bothering you?"
"Nothing's bothering me!!" shrieked the Genin, papers flying behind her as she slammed the drawers shut. "I'm perfectly fine!" At Tenten's raised brows, Ino defended herself with her palms, as though expecting blows to fly. "I'm great!! Sasuke-kun never liked me anyways!" Her voice had reached a higher pitch. "It's you we should all be worrying about!!"
"Excuse me?"
"Everyone knows all about you and that boy who beat up Hinata," came the snarl. "Just pick a bouquet and leave!"
"I'd like...that group of wild ones back there."
'In and out, I've got to get out of here.'
Underneath her hysteria, Ino couldn't help but point out an obvious fact. Apparent to her, anyhow. "Oh, but these aren't coordinated! They were just brought in. I was getting to sorting them out..." Her fingers sought out the collection and waved them before her face, as though to prove her point.
"I don't care! Here!!" Tenten shoved money unto the countertop, much more than needed, and snatched the flowers out of Ino's shaking hands.
In less than five seconds, she been out the door and was well on her way to the outskirts of the village. 'I'll just peek at the trees. It'll help. Then I'm going to talk to him. There's no way that I'm going to muddle through this for another day. There are others with worse problems out there! I've got to start comforting them instead of mourning for myself!! We're going to talk and sort this out with everyone. Then I can get back to my old life.'
'The life when you were weaker,' she reminded herself spitefully. 'You're just trying to get out of it by saying it's over. But you really like him. So get over it and bear it.'
'I can't!!'
'You can!'
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Disheveled pink locks were strewn over her face, eyes shadowed with anguish and the tiniest glimmer of hope. But she was smiling slightly. Her voice was soft and choked---the way one's would usually be after a long cry. She was kneeling on the stiff stones, bruising her knees but not truly caring or feeling the ache.
There was a vague recollection of seeing her before a few times. A name came to her mind. "Sakura, is it?" Without allowing her a chance to respond, she went onward. "Why in the world are you..."
Sakura's expression---a mixture of grief, yearning, but a need, a great need to tend to the fires of hope swirling around. "They're gone...to find...Sasuke-kun."
"What? Who?"
Sakura ticked off her fingers, sighing after each name. "Kiba. Naruto. Shikamaru. Chouji. Neji."
"WHAT??" In her shock, Tenten crumpled, her legs folding easily beneath her. Her voice cracked as she whispered, "You're not serious."
At the soft "yes" that came in answer, she cradled herself in her arms and rocked back and forth slowly. 'Why did he leave all of a sudden? Didn't he want to say goodbye to Lee or...me? Didn't he even want to talk to me after all we went through? We were supposed to talk!! Where is Lee? He'll be furious...furious that he couldn't go. But he'll get over it. ...Neji will come back, won't he? He'll talk to me.'
"Will they come back soon?"
"...I don't...know."
One must take into account that neither girl knew the other well at all, and they were almost perfect strangers. Sure, they knew their names and whose team they were on, but other than that, there was little that the two female Shinobi knew of the other. Suddenly, they threw their arms around each other and had their faces flooded with the burning, hissing tears that were so eager to get out.
There they sat, sobbing, until a familiar hand reached down and patted the girls back into the world. "Sakura-san, Tenten. Please do not be sad."
"...Lee, you're back. I thought you left to tell the Hokage who left..."
"I wanted to see if you were okay. But...Tenten, what are you doing?"
"I'm so tired of questions like that...what does it look like I'm doing?" Her response was sharp and harsh, causing the startled teammate to hesitate before yanking her upward. "Why...why...why didn't he tell me?" she choked.
"He couldn't tell anyone. They just left. They could not prepare; nothing could be done before their departure."
"They just left? Then...then...I can catch up!!" She started forward, but Rock Lee blocked her with one of his crutches.
"You can't help them. You'd be a nuisance rather than a help, and he wouldn't want to see you there."
"What's that supposed to mean? After all of the training I did...all that I went through...I'm still not good enough?!!! And he doesn't...doesn't like me enough to see me one last time before he DIES?"
Lee turned away, preparing to leave. "It's not that. He doesn't want to see you hurt. Ever." And away he went.
"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?!" But she was off again, whimpering, chin tucked in. Sakura gently took her elbow and they both walked into the village, tears staining their cheeks for what seemed like an eternity.
"Ramen...?" They found themselves before Naruto's favorite dining place. And they seated themselves, ignoring every attempt others made at speaking with them, conversing with their empty hearts and frozen minds. As soon as their orders arrived, however, and they stuffed their first noodles down, their tongues loosened and their voices began to work; minds able to create coherent sentences.
"Ah...what was your...place with Sasuke?"
"...Place?"
"Yes."
"We...we...we were friends." Sakura slurped. "He didn't care for me. I...I found it incredibly difficult to let him walk away everyday, you know? It hurt, although I giggled it off and waved at his back. I tried to...to tell him how I really felt...but he scorned me again. It was always tough, but I don't think he'd ever want me harmed."
"You're not...sad about how he just left you without a goodbye? You're just sad that he left, right?"
Sakura hesitated, dropping a chopstick unto the counter. As she retrieved it, she answered. "We...spoke before he left. That's when I tried to convince him to stay...or take me with him. I tried to tell him...make him understand the depth of my affection...but..." There was definitely a strand of fury in her voice. "He is power-hungry and will do anything for strength. And he never cared for anyone but himself, I think. Even if I did get hurt, if it was between my life and him killing...the man who he is after...he'd overlook my death and call it a casualty." She swept her bowl away bitterly. "We were teammates. He cared enough to see me alive, but in a situation where my death can free him from his burden, I would be gone in an instant. He's selfish, that's what."
"What---"
"But I still love him. And I told him so many times." There were flames in her tones. "And I hate myself for it. He's not the kind who can be loved the way I love him. But if he would be kind enough to grant me a moment in his presence, I'd say it again."
Tenten was silent, processing the information slowly.
"I never got to tell Neji I loved him."
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Dude, this was a sobby and evil thing to write...so much crying!!! Oh, well. I want this fic to go off with 100 reviews! But, since that's not really possible, I'll just write. But that was ultimately my goal. Whatever! If I get reviews for every chapter then I'm good! ;D I'm just really surprised at how well this went compared to my old stuff. After "Stereotyped" and "Sour Oranges" (one-shot) look for a long fic! Take a look at them, if you'd like. I've mentioned that before, haven't I? Okay, well, two more chapters to go, so whoo!!
(Coming soon) Chapter 10: Allies to Enemies
[[ Review Answers ]]
Calophi: That's true...but I had to rush everything to stick it here, because I need to finish soon!
laughard72: Yay! Thanks so much! I'll keep writing, don't worry.
Lady Light: Thanks!! Oh, but by the end of this chapter, you'll be sad, just like me! It's a pathetic ending for this chapter...oh well.
Uzumaki Pryde: Yeah, it is supposed to symbolize stuff...thanks for reviewing, for once! Get better soon!
phattygirllove: I will always (usually) answer your reviews! Do not fear! Thanks!
Carollipop: YEAH!! Neji/Tenten has got to be one of the best pairings in fanfiction history!! ;D
blu-rain: Yeah, I updated!! :D Thank you for reviewing!!
Bana the Random: Love the pen name! And yeah, I try, thanks!!