I do not own Naruto or any of it's character, I am dirt poor and below even the red zone so please don't sue me.

Fools of Fate

By:Christina/ Aikiko-Ashra

Chapter Two

A cool breeze blissfully blew past the streets of Konoha, gently cooling the burning roads and citizens.

"Phew! The sun's finally setting!" exclaimed Tenten, wiping beads of sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Hn." Neji nodded, also grateful for the incoming breeze. "Well, I'm almost done. You want to go eat or something?" she asked, adjusting the strings and ribbons that she had put onto the west gate sign.

"Yosh! You've done a wonderful job today Tenten!" exclaimed Gai. He looked around and stared at the street that had transformed so much in one day; from dirty and dusty, to sparkling clean but plain, and finally to a work of art.

"Thanks," she smiled, looking down at them from the stairs, remembering how Gai, Lee, and Neji had set about, thinking of only cleaning.

"Now, for all the hard work that you three have done today, I will treat all of you to takoyaki!" shouted Gai, thrusting his fist into the air.

"Yes Gai-Sensei, after that we shall run a hundred laps around Konoha to make up for the precious hours of training that we've lost today!" shouted Lee, his eyes shining with stars.

"What a wonderful idea! Lee!"

"Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-Sensei!" Finally, the two of them grabbed each other into a tight hug.

'Yeah,' thought Tenten, 'definitely not going to be joining them.' "Can't Tenten announced, "I've got to fix the electricity in my house. I can't live another day without light, water, and an air conditioner."

"How 'bout Neji then? You're going to be training with us right?" asked Lee hopefully.

Neji's eyes involuntarily flinched. He was not planning to go along with Lee and Gai's insane training schedule just yet. "Iie, I have to help Tenten fix the utility box," he replied, his arms crossed.

""But why can't Tenten do that?" cried Lee.

Tenten took one of the bulbs in her hand and threw it at Lee's head. "Baka! How do you expect me to see through the utility box and see which wire's fried?" she demanded.

"Oh," he mouthed, rubbing the sore spot on his head with his hand.

"Wouldn't it be easier if you just got somebody to come and fix it?" asked Gai.

"You know I can't afford that. Just paying for food and bills is already killing me. So, gotta be as cheap as I can get," she stated.

"Oh," mouthed Gai, remembering that she lived alone.

"Are you done yet?" asked Neji, starting to feel hungry.

"Yeah," she answered, putting one final touch onto the gate sign. She crouched her legs, ready to jump off the stairs when...

"WATCH Y----

Tenten's eyebrow cocked up in confusion. Suddenly, she realized what Neji was shouting about, her leg had gotten caught onto one of the wires that she had hung up. Her body dangled upside down, smacking against the stairs, which sent it collapsing to the floor. Tenten pulled a kunai out of her pocket, ready to cut the wire when it let her go. She began to fall, unable to react fast enough to stop the collision. Gai, Lee, and Neji rushed forwards ready to catch her when...

Tenten's eyes were clamped shut, her lids sealed tightly to her face. Finally, after several moments passed, she realized that she hadn't smacked onto the ground, instead she had smacked right into somebody's arms. Her hand brushed past the person's hand. This must be a woman, she decided , because the person's skin was as soft as silk and... 'That's strange,' she noted, ...as cold as water. She looked up, it wasn't a woman who had caught her, neither was it Gai, Lee, or Neji, it was a man with dark brown hair and eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, smiling kindly.

She quickly shut her mouth, realizing that she had been gawking at him for the last minute. She nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

He grinned and gently set her down like she was a princess. Gai, Lee, and Neji quickly rushed to her side.

"TENTEN!" shouted Gai, tears streaming down his face as he grabbed her and hugged her. "Are you okay? I was so worried that you'd shatter your poor arms!" he cried.

Tenten winced, so she wouldn't be able to have 100 accuracy if her arms were broke, but wouldn't it matter more is she had died?

"Gai-Sensei," called Neji, staring at the two of them.

"Yes Neji?" asked Gai, hugging Tenten even tighter.

"You're choking her," he informed. Tenten's face was a plum, unable to breath.

"Tenten! Are you okay!" cried Gai, pulling her away from the hug, and started shaking her senseless instead.

"N-neji," she called. "H-help."

Neji sighed, seeing Tenten's body swing back and forth. He walked up to the both of them and grabbed Tenten's hand, pulling her away from Gai's grasp.

"Huh?" questioned Gai, finally noticing that he was no longer shaking Tenten, but Lee, who had been the replacement.

Tenten turned around, looking at her rescuer from before, ignoring Gai's constant cries. "Thanks for saving me," she informed.

He smiled at her, "No problem, it's my job to help those I see in need," he told her. "My name's Yoshiro, and that's Rei," he informed, pointing to the girl who stood behind him.

"My name's Tenten, that my sensei, Gai, and my two comrades, Neji Hyuuga, and Rock Lee."

"Nice to meet all of you," he told them. "I couldn't help overhearing that you guys were planning to head to a restaurant, and it just so happens that me and my friend here was looking for a place to eat. So might I ask you where's a good restaurant that we should head to?" he asked, studying the pink Chinese shirt Tenten wore, and her black capris. 'She doesn't look like a native here. Actually, she dresses like we do,' he noted, turning around to look at Rei, who wore a silky, white, long sleeve, Chinese shirt.

"Why, why don't you come with us to eat Konoha's best takoyaki?" asked Gai, jumping into the conversation.

"Are you sure that we won't disturb you?" he asked, noting that maybe people in Konoha dressed in different styles, considering that both Lee and Gai were wearing green spandex suits.

"Of course!" shouted Gai. "YOSH! Let's go eat then! I'm starving!" bellowed Gai, not waiting for the man to agree, before leading the team to the restaurant. Gai and Lee stood side by side, guiding the crowd, while Yoshiro and Tenten walked behind them, enraptured in a conversation that they had just initiated. Rei and Neji trailed behind them, silent, looking like escorts for the two people ahead of them.

Neji glared at the back of Yoshiro's head, 'He seems suspicious,' thought Neji, 'And he doesn't look familiar, he musn't be from here. He's wearing a black turtleneck shirt and long sleeve pants on a hundred and five degrees day, and still seems unfazed,' he noted, calculating the information in his head, not considering the fact that he also wore a heavy jacket and looked cool. But the fact that the man looked suspicious wasn't what bothered Neji the most, but it was the vibe that he could feel coming from the man and Tenten as they talked, seeming almost as if they connected. Neji's eyes scrunched up, angry that he could not decipher what he was starting to feel.

I know that this is a sucky chapter but bear with me, because I'm kind of brain dead tonight. I'll try to make the next chapter more interesting and juicy. Please R&R! That would make me the most happy person alive! I had the fifth chapter written before this one for some reason. Lol. R&R I repeat.