So I call Siobhan up and go, "Hana, I'm scared...". The reason is we got eight or nine reviews (i'm quite horrible at numbers) and I really wasn't sure how you guys would like it. Thankfully, there were no flames. A few questions, yes, but nothing was said to demean us. Siobhan can take flames rather well, but I'm quite sensitive. Ehe. And I'm supposed to be older.

She didn't know herself why she said yes. The man was clearly a maniac, after all. Clearly.

She grudgingly added to herself that his good looks probably blinded all of Konoha to that fact.

"You're distracted," Neji said accusingly.

Tenten blinked. They had been training for a while without real incident, so she had assumed that he didn't notice.

"Ah… sorry, Neji…" she said lamely. She didn't quite know how to explain…

He sighed. Tenten now remembered that Neji wouldn't ask her, he would just postpone training until the next night.

"Let's postpone training for tomorrow night," he said grimly, eyeing the shallow cuts he managed to give her. He hadn't even fought hard, and she was being an easy target.

"Sorry…" she muttered again. She pulled out a roll of bandages to wrap her arm. Truthfully, she didn't want to admit to anyone how much Sasuke affected her. She was not, repeat repeat, in love with him, but he certainly affected her.

Not only because she thought he was attractive (who didn't?) but because he had been known to think that nobody was attractive. Worded out of pity for grammar teachers: nobody was attractive to Sasuke (as far as he let on) so him asking her out was very flattering.

Neji rolled his eyes as she finished wrapping her arm. "Careless. Come back tomorrow night when you're less unfocused."

"Um… I can't come tomorrow night."

That caught him off guard. "Hn?"

"I'm going out to dinner." Tenten swallowed. "Um. On a date."

He stared at her. "Ah."

Tenten wished he would say something else. He was staring at her with his intense eyes, and she felt uncomfortable.

"Tomorrow afternoon, instead? Earlier?" she managed to ask.

"Hn. Fine."

"Great."

She swallowed. She knew what was coming next. She smiled sheepishly at him. He gave her a suspicious look.

"Is this why you're so distracted?"

"Kind of…" She sat on the grass unexpectedly, fingering the damp blades. "I'm just a bit confused."

"Why?" Neji raised an eyebrow. She was eighteen years old. Though she trained more than socialized, she still had fairly good experience on (not with, Neji convinced himself) boys. A mere date shouldn't have gotten her this edgy.

Tenten suddenly realized that Neji wouldn't like her answer. "Um. Because it's Uchiha Sasuke. And…. You know."

Now he really stared at her. "What?"

"He asked me out for dinner," she muttered, more to herself as if just realizing the fact. "Ugh… what have I done…"

"If you didn't want to, why'd you agree?" was all Neji could come up with. He unconsciously clenched his fists.

"Actually, I don't know. Maybe I'm curious to know what Uchiha Sasuke does on a date." She laughed. Neji frowned at the red tinge on her cheeks.

"Why would he ask you…?"

Even Neji realized that it didn't come out right. Tenten put her hands on her hips.

"Is it that unbelievable?"

He tried giving her what he thought was a bored look. Better yet, a you're-being-childish look he often gave Lee, though of course it was never appreciated by the miniature Gai.

"It's not you, Tenten. It's Uchiha." Neji didn't need to say much more, they both knew this.

"I know, I know," Tenten said, dropping her affronted façade. "But… well, I don't see the harm."

Neji held back a snort. This was Uchiha Sasuke they were talking about.

"No, really, Tenten, why would he want to go on a date?"

She tried to glare at him, but he pointedly left out the words, "with you" in his question.

"Well…" Tenten hesitated, but then shrugged. "I kind of know why."

"And…?"

Ooh, he's not going to like this, she realized. But the mischievous side of her wanted to know his reaction, so she told him. His white eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed in… was it anger?

"And you agreed?"

The tone of his voice was outright disgusted. She was taken aback.

"To the date," she explained patiently, a little hurt by his quality. "Not to bear him a child." Did he think she was some kind of—

"He asked you for that?" Neji's voice was flat now, disbelieving but irate.

"No, he asked me to a date and I guessed as to why. Obviously he wouldn't ask just for kicks. Normal people ask because they want to get to know each other better. Do you think that's his reason? I doubt it."

All through the time she was talking, he was looking down at her with a frown. She stood up tentatively, but faced him squarely.

"I told him I wasn't making any promises, Neji. If that's what you're worried about."

He managed to hide the fact that she caught him off guard again. "I'm not worried. I'm concerned that you're going out with Uchiha even if there's a really good chance you are his best candidate for a wife. It's crazy and asinine, considering you have never spoken more than two words to each other before."

Tenten looked rather indifferent. "I don't really see the problem," she said stubbornly.

Now Neji scowled. "You like him."

She flinched. She managed to make two prodigies scowl at her in one day. She decided to cut back with her teasing.

"Neji, I don't even know him."

"…You're really going through with this."

Tenten couldn't detect emotion in his voice. "Yes. But for heaven's sake, it's not like I plan to marry him."

"He plans to marry you."

"True," she said, and she couldn't help but smile a bit. "It's actually more flattery than anything."

Neji gave her an incredulous look. "Flattery?" You're not that shallow, he silently added, because he didn't need to say it aloud.

"I'm still a girl," Tenten said delicately. "Not as feminine as Yamanaka or Haruno, fine. But female all the same."

"Hn." Neji didn't know how to reply to this. Did he ever… was it because he didn't…

"Well, I'm going now. Sorry about training, Neji. See you tomorrow."

He watched her go and suddenly had the urge to beat the crap out of something.

Points to remember:

We are not asking for votes as to who ends up with who. This is already planned out.

This is still experimental, so we don't really know how good or bad it will end up.

Though this chapter came out pretty fast, there is no real update schedule.