Hey again guys- thanks for all of your reviews! This chapter along with the next few will shed some light on a few things you guys have probably been wondering about. So, read up and enjoy!

Chapter 3: Tenten's "Friendly" Encounter

Tenten opened the door to her Science class. She had never seen so many students crammed in one room in her life. All of them were up and about, catching up with each other and talking about their summers. There was, however, one boy who she couldn't really make out physically, but she could tell he was sitting down and not talking nor moving. Looks like a real stiff. A spot on Tenten's ankle began to vibrate and throb ever so slightly. She felt a small drop of sweat trickle down her temple. She only sweated like that when she was particularly nervous about something. Tenten didn't want to attract any unwanted attention by worrying about something no one else could understand.

Tenten shrugged off the memories that began to surface in her head and looked around nervously, having no idea where to sit. She wanted to be one of the other students who had friends there since elementary school and knew everyone. Tenten let out a sigh and resorted to simply leaning against a wall until the teacher came.

Crunch, crunch, Tenten heard. The crunching noises got louder until she looked to her left to see a short and stout boy with a bag of chips in hand. He had red swirls on his cheeks and a muffler around his neck. He was facing towards her with a smile on his face, and about six chips in his mouth.

"Hi!" said the boy. "You must be new here. I'm Chouji Akimichi!" he said, holding out a hand that was greasy from potato chip eating. Tenten knew it was common courtesy to accept this gesture, so she shook it and figured she would wash her hands later. She just hoped he didn't lick his fingers.

"Nice to meet you," said Tenten, happy that at least one person chose to acknowledge her existence. "I'm Tenten."

"Well Tenten, It's great to have you here! Let's go find seats," he said, leading her to the desk formations.

"Aren't we assigned to certain desks?" asked Tenten looking around for a desk that someone wasn't sitting or arm wrestling on.

"Not at this school we're not," said Chouji, plopping down into a seat two from the window. Tenten took the one next to him, which also ended up with her next to the stiff from earlier. Tenten managed a smile at him, but he didn't see it. He had raven black hair that went to his mid-back. It was tied at the end to keep it contained. His eyes were closed as if he were napping, and his arms were crossed over his chest. He had on a tan short-sleeved shirt and dark shorts. For whatever reason, his left arm and left leg were bandaged. On his desk, he had a notebook with a corner sticking out on the edge. Tenten caught a glimpse of a small seal that had been quickly drawn on the corner, as if someone wrote it down before they could forget it. Her ankle throbbed harder. Tenten squinted her eyes closed and hoped that it didn't mean anything. That seal…

A tall, shadowy woman stood over Tenten and looked down on her in a superior manner.

"You," she said in an icy voice. "You are particularly strong. But where there is strength, there lies weakness. Your fate will find this weakness." Tenten looked up at her boldly.

"You couldn't find that weakness if you tried," she said as-a-matter-of-factly. This angered the tall woman. She grabbed Tenten by the ankle and pressed her palm to it. Tenten screeched in pain. Once the shadowy woman released her grip, Tenten looked down in horror to see a seal upon her ankle. A circle with three ragged lines evenly spaced branching out from it.

"It would do you some good to watch that mouth of yours," the mysterious woman said, as Tenten clutched her ankle in pain and slight remorse. "It may get you into even more trouble." With slight difficulty, Tenten stood up.

"If you think this will slow me down, you are mistaken," she said, power and bravery returning to her voice. The icy woman bent down to Tenten's height.

"Ah, Tenten, but it is you who is mistaken," she said. "You may be a fighter at heart, but if you insist on pursuing the path you currently follow, stronger forces will only fight you back. You may suffer losses…terrible ones." Tenten thought about her friends, and doubted her meaning of existence if she were to loose them along with everyone else. She tightened her fists. "And once you have lost all you can loose," the woman went on, "...the situation will be beyond your control."

Tenten cringed at her memory before snapping back into reality. She directed a questioning look at Chouji. "That's Neji Hyuuga," whispered Chouji. "You may not want to disrupt him now. He's meditating I think." Tenten nodded and mouthed the word "oh." Right then, something Chouji said stuck out in her brain. Hyuuga? Is he related to Hinata? Why didn't she tell her or the others that she had family at the school? He looks familiar…why is it that he looks so familiar? Maybe…no I doubt it.

"Ok, boys and girls, that's enough chit-chat," said the teacher as she walked in. "Summer is out I'm afraid, and school's in. I need you to settle down." The teens all sighed and took any seat they could find. Once the teacher was sure they all were focusing, or at least enough to listen to her teachings, she began talking. "I'm Professor Minoru (AN: I may have to make up some of the teachers since there aren't enough sensei to fill the spaces). I am quite obviously your Science teacher, and I will lay down the rules for you now." She talked boldly and strictly as she walked around her desk. "I will have no sleeping, interrupting, whispering, chatting, passing notes, or eating in this class Mr. Akimichi," said Professor Minoru as she snatched Chouji's bag of chips out of his hands.

"Sorry Professor." Said Chouji looking down.

"Meet my eyes when you speak to me, Mr. Akimichi," said the professor harshly. Tenten watched this incredulously. What a witch!

Chouji looked up. "I'm sorry Professor," he said looking her in eye. Professor Minoru, satisfied with Chouji's apology, walked back to her desk. Tenten looked over at the embarrassed Chouji and immediately felt bad for him.

"Now, if there are no more interruptions, perhaps we can begin working." This startled the class.

"Um, Professor, we're not supposed to do any real work on the first day, remember?" asked a brave voice from the back. Minoru shot a look at the girl in a 'how-dare-you-challenge-me' way.

"Hm, since you all have such good memory, why don't I give you a nice little pop quiz, to see just how much you remember," said Minoru, taking out a stack of quizzes she was undoubtedly going to hand out with or without the girl's comment. Everyone groaned.

"What did I say about talking?" asked the professor. The students shut up, and Minoru began to pass out the papers. When Tenten got hers, she had no clue as to what they had learned last year. This class looked almost a year ahead of her old school, and how could she possibly attempt to reason with the witch? Tenten clenched her jaw and turned her head. The Hyuuga boy had long since awakened, and Tenten could now see his pearly white eyes. He was definitely related to Hinata.

"Why, may I ask, are you staring at me?" Neji asked a red-faced Tenten, without brining up his head. How did he notice me looking at him? I didn't even turn my head!

"There's very little I don't see," he said, as if reading her thoughts. "So don't think about trying anything." Tenten knew he was talking about cheating off his test, which she would never do anyway. She was taken aback.

"Why would I want to cheat off someone like you?" she snapped back.

"Miss Tenten! Were you listening when I announced the rules? Now be quiet!" Tenten sank down in her chair, even more red-faced than before.

"Sorry Professor Minoru." She said dully. Tenten decided to begin her test after one last evil glare at Neji.

Neji smirked. Looks like Science class will become increasingly more fun this year, he thought, as he stood up to turn his test in. But…I cannot help but wonder why that girl seems to stick out in my memory. I do not have any recollection of meeting her. Could she be one of…? No, it's impossible…Neji ignored his assumption and put his paper face-down onto Minoru's desk. Everyone noticed his oddly quick finish, but weren't surprised. What did they expect from the Hyuuga genius? Tenten, unfortunately, was not aware of this.

Who does he think he is? That no good son of a…Tenten had been writing so hard that the tip of her pencil snapped. Damn! Tenten thought, as she got up to sharpen it.

Tenten was too busy cursing Neji in her mind to notice the genius coming toward her. She accidentally walked into him very hard. He was much taller than her, so her face was about up to his collarbone. Wow…he's got some muscular abs…agh! What am I thinking? He's a no good son of a…

"Tenten?" asked Neji, snapping her back into reality. She looked up at him and noticed a raised eyebrow. She suddenly realized she was still pressed against him. She jumped back on impulse.

"Uh…yeah?" she asked, her face now reaching the peak of its crimson, and her ankle throbs reaching an all time high.

"I need to get to my desk."

Tenten walked around him. "Uh…oh yeah…sorry," she said. Neji sat down in his desk, and Tenten made her way to the pencil sharpener. She sighed. It's going to be a long year…

Agh, school is starting up and consequently I may be finding myself short on time. No worries! As long as people keep enjoying the story I'll keep it going! My love for writting shall never die! pumps fist in air triumpantly

ahem. Did I mention I just had a medium frostie? Anyway, R and R please!