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Chapter 4: Intro to Taijutsu; Lee, Neji, and Tenten

How long had it been? A day, a week, a month? No, certainly not a day, that was too short. It felt like a month, but then school would have been just around the corner. So it probably was a week. Sakura was locked in her room, rarely leaving. She'd told her mother she was sick. One of those summer colds. Thankfully, she'd believed her and that was the end of that.

But the real reason she was cooped up inside, was to gather her thoughts. Every night the last conversation with Uchiha Sasuke replayed in her mind.

"Get out of my sight. Next time, I will kill you."

She gripped the sheets on her bed tightly. Why was that affecting her so much? It's not as if he really did mean it…right? I mean, wouldn't he get caught and go to jail…or something? 'I can see the headlines now. New girl gets stabbed; police baffled. The Haruno family was worried on Saturday night, when their daughter didn't come home. They took a walk up and down the streets, to find her lying in a ditch and in her own blood. She'd been stabbed, the medical examiner reported. However, there was no trace to the actually murderer. They seemed to have vanished without a trace…

'Yes, that would go over quite nicely with people,' she sighed. Things were miserable again. She wanted to tell someone, anyone. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to go to her friends for help. For one, they probably wouldn't even believe her that the one and only perfect Uchiha would threaten to kill.

But his face…his face looked like he was ready to. She hadn't seen such a murderous face since Gaara. 'That's right, Gaara. I haven't talked to him yet. Maybe I'll give him a call…'

She picked up the receiver and listened to the dial tone. On second thought, he'd probably ask why she was so miserable then he'd probably find his way here and kill the bastard who caused it. Gaara was a great guy…well…once you got to know him, but he was always a bit…protective of his friends. It was a long story, and not particularly interesting or relevant either.

Not that she wouldn't have liked to see Sasuke get beat up and such, but she never wanted to see blood ever again. Be her own, her friends, her enemies or complete strangers, in these times, she never wanted to see any of that gooey red substance.

She gently put the phone back down. 'Maybe when I feel better I'll call him.' Then less than a second later, it rang, scaring the living daylights out of the already stressed out Sakura. She waited a ring before actually answering, praying it wasn't anyone she really didn't want to talk to. "Hello?" she asked waiting for a reply, but none came, "hello? Who is this?"

"She lives!" cried the person on the other end, causing Sakura to pull her ear away from the phone momentarily. She knew who this was.

"Oh, hi Ino…"

"Don't 'oh hi Ino' me! Where in the world have you been all week? We thought you were dead or something!"

'Please don't remind me of death,' she thought silently, and then answered back, "Yeah, sorry about that. I was…um…sick all week. I was feeling totally miserable and I was…"

"Okay, enough description," she said rather disgusted, "but you sound like you're feeling better. Come over today, wontcha?"

"Err…" did she want to risk going out? Maybe Sasuke would be there coincidentally and then she'd be murdered on the spot. On second thought, she was really just becoming paranoid. She couldn't let what one person said completely ruin the rest of her summer, now could she? "Okay, sounds good. Where?"

"Hinata's place of course. When we're not at Fire Country, we're always here. There's much more interesting stuff here then in town," Ino laughed.

"Are you sure you should be inviting me over to someone else's house?"

"Don't be silly. I'm already here. Now hurry up and get your ass over. The door and gate will be unlocked, so says Hinata. And you'll be able to tell where we are. Okay? Love ya, see you soon!" and then there was a dial tone.

"Um, sounds great," she told it, and replaced the phone. This was going to be a long day.

She opened the gate to the Hyuuga estate and walked slowly up its path. She luckily hadn't met anyone along the way, and convinced herself as long as it was during the day, Sasuke probably had work.

Sighing, Sakura opened the door, which was indeed unlocked. "And now how do I find them…" she wondered out loud, looking around the place that reminded her of a maze. Then she heard a crash. "I'm guessing there…seems Ino isn't the only one around." She followed the sounds of more thuds and screams until she found herself back at the lounge that she and Hinata had looked into the first time she was over.

Again, more guys were in there. Neji of course, and then she recognized Naruto and Kiba as well. Then she looked over to one side of the room near the door, and sure enough, there sat Hinata and Ino.

"Ah! You came," Ino said looking up to her and motioning her to sit down, which she did.

"H-hello Sakura-chan," Hinata smiled.

She returned it, "Hi there. So what's happening here?" she looked around. Right now Neji was on his feet facing another male who she'd never seen before. He had black hair, which seemed to be gelled down quite well. He wore a tight green shirt, and long black pants. His face was set to a serious expression. This also brought out his most noticeable feature; very, very thick eye brows.

"Martial arts," Ino replied, "they always do this. You just missed Naruto and Kiba's fight. Now that was something…not to mention destructive. I think they broke at least two lamps, ripped up one curtain and probably dented the floor."

"Okay then…" she looked around, "they do this on a tiled floor without any mats or anything?"

"Yeah, don't ask me why. They feel like no pain," Ino said dryly. "Anyway, just watch."

So her green orbs focussed on the two who stood in the center of the room. "Neji! I don't want you to hold back. Just because I broke my leg a few months ago means nothing. Give me everything you've got!" the dark haired teen said. Neji didn't say anything in reply, and just stood there, about ten feet away from him. "Fine, if you won't come at me, I will."

Sakura didn't have even a moment to blink before she saw 'thick brows' had closed the ten-foot gap. But what she'd found even more amazing, was the fact that his opponent had anticipated it, and moved his head out of a kick's way.

"So fast…" she thought aloud. Hinata and Ino both nodded.

That was basically the pace of the match. Thick-brows on the offense, Neji on the defense. However, it didn't seem that Hyuuga was giving much effort. That is, until a punch had managed to skin his right cheek, and he jumped back.

"I thought I told you to be serious!" said his opponent.

Neji looked at him straight in the eye. "Fine." And he went down into a new pose. His feet were spread apart, one in front of the other and knees bent. His palms were facing upwards.

"That's an odd stance," remarked Sakura, "I've never seen that before."

"It's one of the martial arts styles that only our family uses," explained Hinata. The other two females listened attentively, but didn't remove their eyes from the main match. "In ancient times, there existed a substance called 'chakara'. This was sort of like energy, and gave people special abilities. This was one of the Hyuuga clan's styles of fighting, or taijutsu. It's called the Gentle Fist, but it concentrated this chakara into the palms and used it against certain parts of the body for either injury or even killing."

"But if this chakara thing doesn't exist now, why fight like that?" asked Sakura.

"Neji nii-san likes to use this stance called 'kaiten'. He says it gives him an almost 360 degree view of the area. Just watch, this'll all end soon."

"Good, now that you're serious…" the black topped boy once again lunged at Neji with that amazing speed. With swift movements, he blocked all the kicks with his hands. They hardly seemed to move at all.

This time around, Neji decided to take some offense. He'd found an opening, and with his upturned palm, he shoved it into his opponent's gut. The Thick-brows bent over in pain, which was the last opening the Hyuuga boy needed to send him a kick, which landed with precision, and caused the other to fly backwards into the wall.

End of match.

"Oh my goodness! Is he alright?" asked a worried Sakura who stood up right after the match was over.

"You mean Lee? He's fine, you shouldn't worry about him," said Ino with a wave of her hand.

Naruto began to laugh uncontrollably. "Hey Fuzzy-brows! You should know you can't beet Neji! Didn't I tell you that before?"

Lee stirred from his place on the floor and rubbed his head, 'He really was serious this time. Damn.' His round eyes wandered the room and lay on the girl he'd heard been called Sakura. 'Wow, she's really pretty. And caring, I think that's the first time if somebody's been worried about me like that.' He stood up shakily and turned to Neji, who was once again occupying his seat on the sofa. "Next time, I'll beat you for sure! If I don't…I'll run 200 times around you're estate!"

"Sure," was all he got in reply, which was the usual response.

With his head up high, he marched over to where the three girls were sitting…or in Sakura's case, standing. "Sorry about that. Did I worry you?" he asked her.

At first Sakura wondered who he was talking to. Then she realized she was the only one who actually took any notice that he was remotely hurt. She gave a nervous laugh, "Well I guess. But then they told me this happens all the time and…um…" she began to feel aware of all eyes staring at them.

"Your name is Sakura, right?" he asked with an utmost serious face. She nodded. " My name is Rock Lee. Now that we're familiar, let's go out together."

If it hadn't been for the wall, Sakura would have fallen over. That question had just been the most foreign thing ever asked. "Excuse me?" she choked on her words slightly.

"You name is Sakura, mine is Rock Lee. Let's go out together," he repeated, just like she didn't hear a word he'd just said. Naruto and Kiba both began to laugh quietly amongst themselves, but loud enough so everyone could hear. Lee, chose to ignore it.

"I…I heard you the first time. Um, w-well Lee-san…I…" man, this was so embarrassing. "How to say this lightly…well…I just met you a-and all…so…um…no."

Lee looked rather hurt. "Another man?"

Sakura pushed some hair behind her ears. "Err…" all eyes were upon her. She'd never ever live this down. "Sort of…"

Naruto, who was sitting on a chair couldn't take it anymore, and fell off. "Fuzzy-brows! You can't get much lamer then that!" he was in another one of those laughing fits. Lee turned his head and ignored him. "This is how you ask a girl out," Naruto pushed his friend out of the way and stood a good half a head taller then she. "Sakura-chan, how would you like to go on a date with me this evening?"

It was Ino's turn to put an opinion down, "Look who's miss popular today. I wonder who's next?"

The pink haired teen was turning red. Even she hadn't expected one, never mind two boys to ask her out in one day. "I…I said I wasn't interested in seeing anyone. Got it? Get it through your heads!" she spat out rather quickly, and to take out her frustration, swung her fist in no matter which direction.

Turns out that it accidentally hit Naruto in the face, and sent him flying into the wall a good 15 meters back. The whole room quieted once more. This time, she didn't say anything as to if he was alright from hitting that wall. "Oww. That wasn't necessary you know…" he rubbed his cheek and got up.

"Sorry Naruto-kun. But that felt good. I haven't punched an actually person in awhile," she cracked her knuckles. Now she felt a bit more relaxed.

"What? You know martial arts too? Ah! How come I'm the only one who doesn't?" Ino whined getting up. "I only know the basics from what Shika taught me…"

"Hey, what did I say about that name?" said a new voice. Sakura turned to the opposite side of the door, where she hadn't looked. Sure enough, there was another boy sitting there. He had brown hair tied in a sort of topknot. She'd seen him before too, the first time she was there. He had been the bored looking one.

"Don't be so uptight, Shikamaru," Ino replied, using his full name this time around. "And you haven't even introduced yourself to the new girl? Shameful!"

"Sorry Mom," he said in that same tone, then looked up at Sakura. "Hey, welcome to Neji's house. Our home away from home."

"You need to get off your lazy ass sometimes you know," the blonde female continued, "I know, you go have a fight with Sakura. I want to see her martial arts techniques!"

Somehow the pink haired girl was beginning to wonder how she'd gotten involved in their little dispute. "Why? I don't like to fight girls. It's troublesome…" he replied monotone.

"Everything is troublesome to you. Now stop acting like the crack-user you are and get up!" Ino flared angrily, towering over him.

"We've been over this! I do not smoke crack or weed or anything! That was only those two times! There's nothing wrong with acting stoned!" he got up and glared right back into her blue eyes. Their foreheads were pressed one against the other.

Kiba made his way over to the both of them. "Alright, you two just work out your drug argument out there, and come back when you're ready. Thanks for playing," and he shoved them both out the door, and slammed it behind. They could here the two still eating at each other from the other side. Something about being a jackass and a bitch then a slap maybe…

"I'm sorry if I caused that…" Sakura spoke to no one in particular.

"They're always like that," said Hinata who hadn't spoken in awhile.

"And more importantly, who are you going to face?" muttered Kiba, "everyone has gone already. I doubt anyone wants to go twice…"

"Wha? What do you mean face? I still have to fight?" she said in a rather disbelieving tone.

"Of course you do, Sakura-chan! It's like a membership to the club. You have to face someone," Naruto piped up, but keeping his distance.

'Club? What club?' was going through Sakura's mind, as well as everyone else's. 'Maybe it's a kind of metaphor or something.'

"Never mind him," Kiba shook his head and continued, "Neji, you fight her."

His silver eyes traveled to Kiba, then to Sakura. Why him? "Sure," he said plainly and rose slowly to his feet.

'What in the world did I get myself into?' her green eyes studied the man several feet from her. 'But if I must…' She wasn't that great at this type of art to begin with. She'd much rather use her head then soil her hands. 'Let's see. With Lee-san, he played defensive. He's got great speed and uses those upturned palms…and whatever I do, I can't let him go on the offensive. Then I'm cooked.'

The room silenced once more, and she could feel all eyes bore down on her. One thing kept raging through her mind. 'Don't screw this up!' They both stood still, neither one making the first move. 'If I don't do something quick, he'll probably take the offensive and then I'll die and then no one will care! Then I'll haunt them from the grave and…ah! How did I get myself into this?'

On the tips of her feet, she raced towards him. Not anywhere as fast as Rock Lee's speed, but still. What she lacked in speed, she could make up in strength. She threw him a punch, which he blocked. She sent him a kick, which he blocked, all using the same Gentle Fist style.

This was getting her no where. Perhaps she'd ware him down, then attack? No, he'd probably go on the offensive and finish it before then. So her only option left was to devise a strategy. 'Let's see, it takes him one hand to block a punch, but two to block a kick. He's faster than me so every time I finish one move, he's a step ahead.'

"Neji nii-san likes to use this stance called 'kaiten'. He says it gives him an almost 360 degree view of the area."

Well, he hadn't used that pose. So did that mean his vision was less? It was worth a shot. She threw him two punches at the same time, which he caught with ease. 'I hope you're strong,' she prayed and used his hands as support, so she could back flip over his head. He was caught off-guard momentarily.

She wondered exactly how good it was, so she tried a kick. His hand shot back and took the impact, which means he knew exactly where it was headed. 'Damn,' they simultaneously thought. However Sakura's was because he still might have had that almost 360 vision. Neji, because since it was only one arm, it had stung from the strength of her kick.

He whirled around quickly and faced her. Then it was back to the punch, kick and block routine. 'Shoot. Okay, new strategy. I've got to get his hands immobile for just a moment. If I kick, he'll block with both hands and that would be the best time to punch. But my legs are longer then my arms, so that's pretty much useless. But I've got to do something like that…'

She could see him growing restless. It was now or never. So she brought up her foot, and both his hands followed to block, as expected. 'Now!' she stopped halfway and threw a punch instead. But nothing ever goes according to plan for Sakura, so she hadn't measured the distance very well, and her fist had only barely come in contact with his cheek.

It was still strong enough to send him stumbling back a few paces. He could still feel the tiny pain in his cheekbone from her hit, even though he'd just caught the end of it, and not the full blow. It was time to get serious. He couldn't be pushed around by a girl. Neji descended upon his 'kaiten' stance.

Sakura was breathing heavily. Now she knew, it would be even harder to win. 'I've got to make the first move again,' she took a step forward. 'Okay what do I do…eh?'

It was his turn to take offense. 'For the love of…ack!' she cold only block with two hands to avoid her face. Then she could only use one hand at a time to block each of his Gentle Fist attacks. But every one of his attacks hurt in some way. They all seemed to land with precision between the muscle and the bone. 'His hands move too damn fast,' she bit her lip and stepped back, only to find some sort of object on the floor and one can guess what happened next.

It was quite obvious to her, that she was bound to fall over at some point in front of everyone. Today just happened to be the day. "Ah!" but like screaming was going to do much…so like everything that follows the laws of gravity, she plummeted to the floor, but her hands breaking most of the fall. Neji had her beat, that was for certain. So she closed her eyes and waited for the final blow…

However, none came. She heard a 'whack' of a sound, then nothing. She cracked an eye open, to see that the male Hyuuga wasn't even looking at her.

"Hey, I thought I was your only training partner!" said a rather annoyed female voice, that was strange to Sakura. She looked past her opponent, and there indeed stood a new face she'd never seen.

She was a tall and slender figure. Her auburn hair was tied into two buns, at either side of her head. She wore a Chinese-styled shirt, and loose black sweats. Her dark eyes gazed menacingly at Neji.

"This isn't exactly what I'd call training, Tenten," he replied smoothly rubbing the spot where her hand had smacked him across the head.

"Humph, as long as you're serious about it, it might as well be training." Her hands rested on her hips, "You have a knack for 'wandering' off when I'm not around." She turned to Sakura, who had gotten up, with all the confusion, and looked around the room. Naruto and Kiba were talking between them, quietly for once, and Lee and Hinata were observing the growing situation. "So you're the new kid everyone's been talking about lately."

The pink haired girl didn't quite know what to say in return. Was she like testing her or something?

"Tenten," she extended her hand, which the other took reluctantly. "Last name isn't important. And sorry if I sounded kind of rude earlier," she went and took a seat next to Neji on the sofa, "I just tend to get a bit…well, when this guy and his training is concerned." Her ruffled his dark hair playfully, which he didn't seem to appreciate too much.

"Tenten! Tenten!" cried Lee from a corner, "how about supervising my training today?"

She gave him a smile. "Wasn't Sensei going to train with you later?" she asked.

"Yes, but…no, you're right. Maybe another day then?"

"Sure thing."

Sakura stood there feeling rather alone again. She knew all of these people by name, but she felt like the biggest outcast in the world. Everyone was so comfortable around each other…well sort of. She inwardly sighed. Maybe all she needed was time, and the rest would come in a snap. There were still so many things about everyone that she didn't understand…

The door swung open, stopping all thoughts and conversations. Ino and Shikamaru both strode in, her arms crossed, his stuffed in his pockets.

"So did you guys kiss and make up?" Naruto asked teasingly as to why they were outside so long.

"Oh please," they both replied. "Like I'd ever kiss that looser," was continued from Ino, and at the same moment, "Like I'd ever kiss that whore," from Shikamaru.

"What?" and they both glared at each other.

"Who're you calling a looser?"

"Who're you calling a whore?"

"Why you!" they both were back to their bickering, as everyone rolled their eyes. Well, almost everyone. Sakura could tell that this would go one for quite some time…

And truthfully, she wouldn't have had it any other way.

AN: Um, yeah…about this chapter. It was really supposed to be up last Monday, but stuff happened and it's a week late. Sorry! Um, also…I really had no freaking idea how to write this stupid filler chapter, so I kept restarting and blah blah blah, you get it…I hope. This chapter was really different from how I imagined it, the whole fighting thing. I had to keep it somewhat Naruto-based. So anyway, don't you guys worry, the SasuSaku moments are coming, next chapter most like. I'll update faster this time, promise!