Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me.
A/N: I love reviews. And I love YOU, all you lovely people who reviewed, you. ;)
EDIT: was just informed that I messed up Kiba's name. ;) oops. fixed.
Aaaaanndddd, more edits- 02.5.06
"And of course, she had to just choose THAT time to tip everything over, ALL OVER every single dog in the whole stupid pen, which THEN caused them all to go crazy-"
Tenten laughed. It was more then she'd laughed in weeks actually, the product of being around Neji all the time. It was a refreshing change. She'd made good on her promise, and although she'd continued to train and spar with Neji at their usual times, she no longer bothered him about going with her places, instead leaving as soon as the sparring sessions were over. She still reminded him to eat, though it remained as just that, reminders. She never forced him anymore, though there was still that nagging feeling buzzing around in the back of her mind making her worry over whether he would collapse from hunger or not.
He never did.
If he had noticed the change, he gave no indication of it, and for that Tenten was insulted and relieved at the same time. Relieved because it meant there would be no embarrassing repercussions of her love, and insulted because it meant that Neji really was that daft, and didn't notice her subtle hints at all. Either that, or maybe Tenten was just REALLY bad at giving hints, though that probably was part of it. She had never been one for tact, preferring to just come right now and say it when she thought something was hideously ugly or stupid. Sakura and Ino had quickly realized that when they had once asked her what she thought of their new outfits.
They never did ask for her opinion on fashion ever again, of course.
She lifted a hand to wipe the sweat of her brow. What was with the heat? Surely it wasn't this hot a while ago? And it was weird, because the heat seemed unnatural, and every so often, she'd sense a faint presence… Very familiar, somebody she knew, but who? There it was again! Actually…it seemed like…Neji? She internally groaned. She'd been thinking way too much about him. It was probably just her imagination.
"Tenten, am I boring you?"
She immediately snapped back to reality, and blushed slightly when she realized she had been staring off into space.
"Sorry Kiba…" she said, embarrassment showing on her now slightly pink cheeks. "Just kinda… zoned there for a minute…" Tenten wiped a bit of sweat off her brow. " I think it's just this insane heat," she grumbled, in an attempt to divert Kiba's attention. " I swear it wasn't this hot fifteen minutes ago."
Inuzuka Kiba. Her newfound friend, even though technically, they had met each other before, namely during the chuunin exams. Their friendship was completely accidental of course. Tenten had been getting some ramen as takeout at Ichiraku's when Kiba had come with Akamaru. He had ordered his ramen of course, and while they were waiting for their respective orders, something had just clicked, and Tenten had found herself opening her takeout at the stand instead. Of course Kiba had been quick to remark on just how stupid it was to order takeout, only to eat it at the ramen stand anyways, but Tenten just smiled and waved it off. Kiba didn't think much of it afterwards. After all, a friend was a friend, and it was nice to be able to talk to a girl that wasn't overly shy, but also didn't care about clothes or appearances, unlike the other ninety percent of girls in Konoha.
" I know. It's probably even worse for Akamaru, since his fur is so thick." Kiba stooped underneath the table to check up on his ever-faithful companion. " You doin' ok, Akamaru?" The small dog yipped softly in response, trying to assure Kiba that he was perfectly fine.
Tenten thought it was amazing the way the Inuzuka's and their canine counterparts could be so in tune with each other. ' It must be nice,' she thought, ' to know that you'd never be alone.'
"Let's just go back home then. We'll see each other tomorrow, and hopefully, it won't be as hot." She offered a sympathetic glance towards Akamaru. " Besides, Akamaru won't be able to take the heat much longer. He's only a dog."
"Not just a dog!" protested Kiba, acting the role of an offended parent defending his child. "Akamaru's amazing! And most other dogs would have fainted by now! And just look at him! He's still able to run around!" Akamaru, as if knowing that he had to live up to something, promptly began to jog around their table, as if to show that he still had an abundant amount of energy left.
Tenten smiled slightly, though not without some mirth. " Yeah, yeah. And if we don't leave now, he'll probably die too. Let's go."
She got up and started to head down the street, not sparing a glance at the duo she'd left behind. Kiba and Akamaru ran to catch up with her. " I'll walk you to your house."
Tenten raised an eyebrow. " Oh? All gentlemanly suddenly?" she snickered.
"I can be a gentlemen!" he protested. " And besides, with a sister like mine, it's hard not to. Do this, do that, and REMEMBER, blah blah blah blah… I usually just tune her out after the first five minutes or so," he said, shaking his head slightly. "I swear; she could talk the hearing out of a rock."
" Rocks can't hear."
"Exactly. That's the point."
Tenten grinned. "Of course it is." The next few minutes passes by in a comfortable silence, and despite all of Tenten's self coaching, she found herself turning her thoughts back to Neji."
"Hey Kiba… Do you have a crush on anybody?" she blurted out in a moment of lost reality.
Kiba's eyebrows shot up, incredulity taking over his features, " And why do you want to know?"
"It's not like I like you or anything," said Tenten, rolling her eyes. She continued after a slight moment's pause. " I was just curious."
He mentally groaned. Girls and their stupid love problems. Didn't they understand that no matter what kind of weird vibe he was giving out, under no circumstances was he a good person to pour your heart out too? Confessing to a person like him was like confessing to a nearby ant. Sure, maybe they'd stand there, look at you, listen, maybe, but in the end; they no more understood what the heck you were trying to say then how the universe began. He sighed. Tenten was a good friend though. He supposed he should at least make an attempt to listen?
" hghhnoialltrau," Kiba muttered. He figured just saying it was the best way to go. He was no good at giving advice.
"What?" asked Tenten. " Speak up. I can't hear a word you're saying."
"Hkkiynagtao"
" Louder."
" Higntya" he ground out, clearly getting annoyed now. Too bad Tenten still didn't understand him.
" I don't understand! Speak louder, dog boy!"
" HINATA, OK? HYUGA HINATA. HI-NA-TA. HAPPY?"
Kiba braced himself for the teasing that was sure to follow, and was not disappointed. Tenten grinned, and let out a big "awwwwww…" Her smile widened. " That's so cute."
" I know. Drop it. Moving on. You asked me the question in the first place. And who could the great untouchable Tenten have a crush on?" He said sarcastically.
"None of your concern." She waved off carelessly, now realizing that it was stupid to be asking Kiba of all people for advice, since it was so obvious that he really, REALLY did not want to listen to her little problems.
And they continued towards Tenten's apartment, chatting about completely random things, their previous conversation forgotten, much to the Tenten's relief.
----
Neji had been skillfully following them the whole time, careful to keep out of sight. He had also kept his emotions under control. Tenten was not dumb or stupid, and would surely sense him if he continued on with his careless actions. Seriously. Why was he following her in the first place? He had no idea what had possessed him to care so much, or why his emotions had burst completely out of control upon seeing his partner and the Inuzuka boy together. And right now, he really wanted to bang his head against something, if only maybe to knock these feelings out. It was undignified of A Hyuga to do so, and that was the only thing keeping him from attempting it.
The Hyuga continued, watching Tenten and Kiba in secret. He was undoubtedly curious as to what the Inuzuka boy had that was interesting enough to keep Tenten's attention so riveted on him. And it frustrated him to no end.
----
They soon reached Tenten's apartment, and Kiba and Akamaru said their goodbyes, heading off down the street towards their own house. Tenten grinned at the sight of Kiba assuring that Akamaru would get his dog food as soon as they got home. How did they understand what each other were saying, she wondered. And then she observed him lifting Akamaru up and carrying him, relieving his pet of a couple minutes walk, though she could see that Akamaru clearly wanted to prove his worth and strength. The small animal was squirming entirely too much when he had just gotten a free ride home, in Tenten's opinion. He'd make a good boyfriend for Hinata, she though with a smile. He's got all the right stuff, not that she felt anything or something like that.
Really, she couldn't see Kiba as anybody other than a friend, though the thought of something more had crossed her mind more than a few times during the first few hours of their meeting. He was a good conversationalist, and he made her laugh, but there was just no spark that made him stand out.
But Hyuga Neji didn't know that.
And jealousy can sometimes lead a man to do weird and completely unheard of things. Things that weren't like them at all. Which probably explained a large part of why he was striding over to Tenten as fast as possible without losing the ever-present Hyuga grace, leaking dangerous amounts of venomous killing intent.
" Tenten. I need to talk to you."
Turning around, a bit of colour leaked from Tenten's face when she saw who it was.
" H--h-ey…." She fought to keep her voice under control. " What are you doing here, Neji?"
" What are you doing with him?"
Tenten was mildly surprised. " With Kiba?"
" Yes." Neji ground out between clenched teeth, fury leaking through his eyes in fearsome bursts.
"Why do you care?" said Tenten, eyes narrowing. 'NOW you care.' She thought to herself with a bit of anger. She had wished for Neji to acknowledge her and goddamn CARE for three years, and when she finally decided to give up on him, it's THEN that he starts caring. ' Well, it's too late buddy.' She thought.
" Hmm?" Tenten demanded in response to Neji's silence. After a moment's pause, her eyes softened and she sighed." Kiba and I are friends, Neji. And he's actually a very good friend. We have a lot in common."
Tenten noticed as Neji's eyes clouded over and shifted once again. " You should stay away from him." Neji stated simply.
Now this got a rise out of Tenten. " Who are YOU to decide who should and who shouldn't be my friend?" she asked in the coldest voice she could muster in this sort of situation. " You're not THAT special."
Neji was internally surprised at that. " I don't understand why you are making such a big deal of this. You could even say I'm looking out for you. That Inuzuka boy could hurt you," He said calmly.
" Just like you hurt me?" she said bitterly aloud before she could stop herself. Shit.
Neji's eyes became puzzled, but he said nothing, waiting for her to continue and explain herself.
'Figures that something as simple as a crush would elude the mind of the Hyuga prodigy, much less love.' Tenten thought. "Never mind." She said aloud, mentally berating herself for her little slip.
"I want to know."
"Well that's too bad, now isn't it?"
She turned to leave, praying to God that he'd let her leave so she could escape before she incriminated herself even more. She had no such luck. He grabbed her hand, spinning her around and bringing her to a stop in front of him. His hands held her in place on her shoulders.
"I want to know."
Tenten bit her lip, though still standing her ground. The icy glare the Hyuga was giving her was nothing new; he'd given it to her a thousand times before. "If that look is supposed to get me to confess, it's not working."
"You're being foolish Tenten. Just tell me."
She mentally beat herself with a stick. Why in god's NAME would he want to know anyways? It was completely ridiculous. Why did Hyuga's have to have such stupid superiority complexes, always needing to know every single little thing? He was still looking at her expectantly, hands still on her shoulders, keeping their gazes locked.
"Why would you want to know anyways, Neji?"
"A team with a loss of trust is an ineffective team. And I refuse to be on a weak team." But was that really all? Neji wasn't really sure, because that weird feeling of anger was still burning, aching to know in what way had he hurt her.
"Tell me," he tried one last time.
Tenten's shoulders sagged; she knew she was beaten. She managed to rip her eyes away from his, instead choosing to keep her gaze locked on the ground.
"I loved you."
It came out like a whisper, barely audible, though the Hyuga's sensitive ears picked it up. Tenten shut her eyes, feeling the tears start to flow. 'Stay in damnit! STAY IN!' she screamed mentally. She couldn't lose it now. It was completely ironic, that even after all that secrecy and hinting, it would all come out like this.
"That isn't funny Tenten."
"And why would I lie about something like this! I liked you for three years Neji. Three years! I could even come close to say that I loved you!" Her voice slowly escalated from a whisper to a yell, the only thought was, ' I can't believe it's coming out like this.'
"But you're so damn daft, in your entire stoic Hyuga-ness, and you didn't even realize it! I'm sick of waiting around for you to notice me, for you to acknowledge me, to see me as something more as the person you like to beat up everyday in spars!" Tenten couldn't control it, and it was all coming out in waves now. The only satisfaction was probably Neji's face, which showed an emotion something other than its normal coolness. " And you know what? I give up. I give up trying to get through to your stupid big fat swelled head. Because I've finally come to realize after three years, that you're not worth it. And I'll be over you, and you can live the rest of your hollow life with nothing at all. Goodbye." She wrenched herself out of Neji's grasp, and turned around to run; heart pounding. She ran through her apartment building door, taking a left in the lobby so that she could run up the stairs all the way the fifth floor to her apartment.
Tears were leaking out, and no amount of self-control could keep them in now. She only hoped she'd last long enough to get through her door first before she completely broke down. Finally getting through her door, she closed it shut with a slam and leaned on it from inside. She cried. Cried everything out, and cried away her feelings. In the morning she'd be better. Tenten slid down and sat, resting her back against her polished wood door. She didn't know what had possessed her to confess, but it was done now. She was so entirely stupid! Banging her head once or twice, she hoped it would just all go away. Tenten groaned.
And just like that, she'd handed her pride and dignity to Hyuga Neji on a platter. How self-sufficient was she? Certainly not enough to live up to the expectations she'd set herself.
"I don't think I'll be getting any sleep tonight." She thought with a sad smile. " I've got a lot of brooding to do."
Uh huh. Ch 2 done. Yay-ness.
Reviews?