A/N: So this is the fifth chapter. The tournament starts here, so hopefully you don't mind the natural down playing of overtly romantic elements that is resultant. Don't worry too much though I'm really only going to focus on the real important matches. This is a Tenten chapter but I suppose you figured that much already. So yeah, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Temari or Tenten or any other names and elements associated with the anime Naruto. I do own transparent, generic original characters like Amaya and Kohana, so yeah… I suck.

The International Kunoichi Championships was set to begin two days after Tenten and Temari arrived in Iwagakure. Temari naturally seemed confidant enough with her ownabilites but she seemed oddly content with helping the other hone her talents. Tenten knew she needed to work hard in this time before her battles, her style required focus and that was not something she had much of at late.She had taken up training with this girl, who was in fact the source of her diversion, and knew it might do less then help her, still this training had other purposes, much more devious ones.

During the course of their trip to this village, Tenten had experienced something truly great in the arms of this other woman; something she knew was worth all the effort she could muster. In fact just the day before the start of this greatly influencing contest, Tenten's only goal in mind was the heart of her beautiful companion. It was hard to love someone you once hated and Tenten couldn't help but feel how Temari changed her, aside from ascertaining her sexual identity as a lesbian (a fact Tenten didn't deny to herself anymore), she now found herself engaging in this woman's trickery.

She was surprised at the joy that torturing this woman by her own method brought. By completely refusing to acknowledge their fateful encounter, she could elicit the most anxious, desirous reactions. When she listened intently, she could even hear the faint crying of her name through the thinner walls at night, and knew fairly well their origins. Tenten was sure she would break her eventually, and then Temari would come back to her forever, unable to resist. Love was a battle, after all, wasn't it? A battle she was determined to win, she would finally put her opponent in her place and win her desired reward if it was the last thing she did.

"Are you distracted or something?" The beautiful blonde asked impatiently.

"Wha…?" Tenten responded regaining her ground.

"There's no need to continue this if you're not going to try." Temari sighed slowly.

"No. I'll do better, just wait." Tenten replied taken aback.

"I have no use for weak opponents. I fought you once before and after seeing this crap of late, I'd say you're worse now then you were five years ago." The other spoke angrily.

"I can do better. I know I can." Tenten said fiercely.

"Ha. I doubt it. You need to just get over whatever the hell is holding you up. Maybe then you'll be able to prove yourself to me." Temari continued to yell.

"I swear I will!" Tenten shouted prideful.

"In that case good luck Tenten, I hope you do well." Temari said with a smile as she turned to walk away.

"Good luck to you as well, Temari…" Tenten called out softly, now knowing full well what she needed to do to win her prize. She needed to fight, and she needed to win.

---

The next day the tournament began. After the initial ceremonial proceedings, Tenten's first match began. She managed to defeat her first opponent rather easily with a few quick calculations and even quicker movements.Acouple day's later her second fight occurred and she was faced with a more grave challenge in the form of a talented kunoichi from Kumogakure. Though her opponent could use lightning techniques to polarize and deflect most of her weapons, Tenten managed towin through herown strength in hand-to-hand combat. Her third match wasn't particularly difficult; the rain village representative had some serious skill at genjutsu, but not much else. Tenten managed to secure a win despite taking some damage. After only a few day's, the initial thirty-two competitors had been narrowed down to four.

"You did pretty good out there. I guess you've proven your not a pathetic loser after all." An all too lovely voice called cruelly to Tenten.

"Temari! I heard you just completely blew away your competition as well. To think that the two of us would both make it this far." Tenten spoke enthusiastically.

"I suppose it is only because you got lucky. If you were put in the same division as me you wouldn't be standing here right now." Temari said with a bitter smile.

"Hey. You don't have to be so mean… So if we both win our fights now, it'll be me and you in the final match, wouldn't that be cool." Tenten spoke angry at first, but soon with the same huge smile. She had had little time with Temari as of late and had to make it clear that she was still interested.

"What, you really want to fight me again after last time... It doesn't matter anyway since you're going to loose your next fight." Temari laughed mockingly.

"Why's that?" Tenten asked unconcerned.

"Have you seen who your opponent is?" Temari replied in question.

"No. I haven't." Tenten responded simply.

"You remember Kohana, right?" Temari spoke softly.

"Temari, are you saying that I'll be unable to defeat a little girl?" Tenten replied unbelieving.

"If she was just a little girl do you think she would have made it this far? You have to understand there's some sort of unnatural energy about this girl, something that frightens even me. She could very well be the best of us all." Temari spoke in a dead serious manner.

"Is that why you were so nice to her before. I was wondering… It is a rare thing for you to show kindness to an opponent." Tenten said calmly.

"Well… no actually… I was just doing that to mock you since you were already being so mean to her." Temari replied shyly.

"I'm not going to loose to some little girl. I'd be more worried about you're opponent if I were you." Tenten retorted with a smile.

"What? Amaya the soul slicer. I think I'll be able to take care of that just fine. It'll be fun making that bitch cry." Temari said with an evil smile.

"I hope we both do well... I want one of us to win." Tenten spoke with energy.

"Right." Temari shot back shortly before walking away.

---

The next day Tenten's match was to be held. She woke up early to do some focus training and prepare her weapons for the upcoming fight. She had to win this match. She was certain of this fact. Even with what Temari had said about Kohana, she knew that if she lost to this little girl, her prize would never be hers. She needed to win this. Soon she had arrived at the crowded stadium which had been set up for these proceedings. And soon she was face to face with her opponent.

"Alright everyone. It's now time for the first semifinal match of this year's International Kunoichi Championships. The competition has been fierce this year, and these girl's have been the fiercest. Facing off today we have: Tenten, age 18 from Konoha Village. Despite beinga relative unknown in the tournament, she's shown some real mastery in her early fights, with her combination of strategy, speed, skill and seemingly endless supply of weapons." The stadium announcer started his pre-fight monologue in a loud voice; Tenten's name was met with loud booing from the crowd.

"And then there is Iwa Village fave, Kohana Ishibashi, age ten. The young daughter of the Ishibashi clan, and the darling niece of the Tsuchikage himself. She has torn apart her competition in the early rounds with record time. Will Tenten meet the same fate as all the rest? We'll just have to see." The announcer continued, Kohana's name was met with intense cheering from the crowd. Soon the battle had been set in motion.

"So, Miss Tenten, are you still so sure I'm just a little girl." Kohana taunted showing little emotion.

"I suppose I was wrong, but then again so were you. I thought you said this wouldn't happen." Tenten mocked her opponent with a laugh.

"I admit, you have surprised me, but it's irrelevant, you shall die by my hands like everyone else unfortunate enough to call themselves my opponent." The young girl said in an unfeeling tone.

"We'll just have to see about that." Tenten shouted fiercely before making her move.

With great speed Tenten leaped into the air. She pulled forth a scroll and unraveled it quickly. Rapidly she launched weapon after weapon at the child. Kohana retorted by erecting a strange transparent purple barrier. Tenten did a flip and landed on her feet.

"How did you do that? I've never seen a technique like that." Tenten asked in a shocked manner.

"It is my Kekkei Genkai. I am able to project my chakra and harden it into a solid shape on my desire. The young girl said with a demonic smile. Tenten now saw what Temari had seen, the girl's eyes had an intense glow, and her chakra was that of a monster.

"I've seen techniques that allow the user to use their chakra as a weapon, but I suppose this is far superior even to that. I can see why so many have lost to you... I won't be one of them." Tenten said with a yell.

"Let's see about that." Kohana replied unimpressed.

The little girl soon set forth two large purple blades at the other. Tenten managed to dodge them both with ease, but they were soon fragmented into many shards, which were once more set at the weapon master. Tenten blocked the brunt of that attack with a nearby blade, but still suffered a few shards to her shoulder. They were painfully sharp, yet they dissipated shortly after making contact. Kohana now did a leap back into the air and in the same vain as Tenten's initial technique began to launch volleys of chakra blades at her opponent. Tenten dodged most of the blades, and the rest she blocked with her sword, one however eluded her and pierced straight though her lower leg, causing searing pain. She fell to her knees in anguish.

"And now you die!" Kohana called demonically, as she created a chakra blade in her hand and prepared to cut Tenten down.

Tenten blocked her opponent's strike with the swift movement of a kunai through the pain of her hurt shoulder. With her good arm she launched forth a hard punch to the girl's face, which surprisingly connected and sent the girl flying.

"What the? How dare you hit me like that." Kohana said clenching her face in disbelief.

"Temari was wrong you're nothing special. I was right all along; when it comes down to it you really are just a little girl." Tenten spoke with a laugh through clenched lips.

"What? What do you mean!" The Iwa Kunoichi asked indignantly.

"People fear you because of your natural abilities and the ammount of chakra you posess, but without that pathetic kekkei genkai, you have absolutely nothing. You have no speed, no strength, no strategy, and no skills; you even go so far as to mimic your opponents move right after she shows it to you, since you have nothing or your own. I now see there is nothing to fear from such a false ninja." Tenten spoke bitterly, hatefully.

"I don't need anything else to beat you. This is enough! This has always been enough..." Kohana now had a scared look in her eyes.

Soon Tenten was completely surrounded in a field of thousands of purple chakra shards. All at once they closed in on her, at the single point of her location piercing deep into her flesh at every angle until she was completely coated in crystalline purple. Or so it seemed for about a minute until, Tenten's substitution technique took effect, replacing Tenten's body with a nearby sword on the ground behind the young girl.

"Pathetic, a child, not a ninja is the only one who could be so careless as to focusthe intensity of an entire attack on a single point and leave herself open, when it can be countered so easily with such a basic technique." Tenten laughed in disappointment as the girl tried desperately to stop her attack and turn around. Her endeavor ended in failure as Tenten readied a battle staff and sent the child flying to the ground unconscious, with a single blow.

As Tenten was proclaimed the victor, she was met by fierce booing, by the mostly Iwa loyal crowd. Yet in her heart it was a happy occasion, Temari would be forced to recognize her skills now.

A/N: God, I hope this chapter doesn't suck. I mean I don't think it does, but I wrote it so I don't know. I think the fight scene turned out alright, at least I hope so. The next chapter contains Temari and Amaya's fight, and something possibly more exciting. You'll just have to wait and see. Keep reading and reviewing, and I'll keep writing.