Heaven's Tale

Chapter 13

Tenten's stomach rumbled for the umpteenth time for the past hour. It was 3PM way past the usual office lunch hour. To say she was hungry was an understatement. Sure, she could easily call for hotel food since the hotel was just a few floors away. However, she had hotel food for over two months now and she was yearning to eat outside and see something other than the white walls of her office. So, here she was now, waiting for Neji to a least finish his report so he would be willing to eat lunch with her together outside.

She sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day as she printed out the drafted letter that Neji had requested her to do. She stapled the 3 pages of paper together and knocked on his door. Not caring whether he actually responded or not, she entered into his office or so-called his personal space.

"This is the letter you requested." She placed it on his desk and crossed her arms together, waiting for his response.

"Hn," he replied, not knowing that he was agitating her. His eyes remained glued to his laptop screen. Three minutes passed by and Tenten still stood patiently waiting despite the fact that Neji was furiously typing away on his keyboard.

Tenten's stomach growled in hunger. She pursed her glossed lips. "Did you hear that?" she broke the silence.

"Hear what?" Neji finally responded. He guided his mouse to click at the save button and proceeded to print out the report that he had worked on all morning.

"My stomach acids eating through my stomach line," she verbalised. Her brown eyes bore into his skull.

Pale amused eyes looked up at her. "Have an apple," he told her, pointing towards a platter of fresh fruit on his desk. Hinata made sure that her father and Neji each have a fresh platter of fruit everyday since they are known to both overwork and under-nourish.

"I don't want an apple," she retorted but her eyes seemed to notice how ripe and red the apple was and, suddenly, her stomach betrayed her own words as it rumbled yet again. "Fine." Neji held a smug look on his face. "I'm taking the apple." She made a grab towards the apple on the white plate and took a huge bite out of it. "But let's eat proper food."

"What you're eating is not junk food."

"I know that, genius," Tenten glared at him as he glared at her back. Hunger made her a little well a lot snappish. "What I mean is a proper meal."

"Order something from downstairs."

"We've been eating hotel food for two months now." Neji grasped the drafted letter on his desk and began scanning through the pages. "Let's eat outside for a change. Even Ichiraku's is ok," Tenten suggested.

The Hyuuga male looked up from his paperwork and saw Tenten clasp her hands together in a 'please' position. "Does Ichiraku's deliver?"

Tenten's jaw dropped. "That's it Hyuuga." She calls him that when she's usually at wits end.

Neji turned to look at her. It has been a long time since she had called him that.

"We'll play rock paper scissors." Tenten smiled at herself.

"No."

Tenten crossed her arms again. "Scared I might win Hyuuga."

Neji scowled. "Fat chance," he retorted.

"Then, why the refusal?"

"…" no answer.

"You do know how to play rock paper scissors… right?" she asked him.

"Yes, Tenten. I had a childhood."

"Well, that's good to know." Neji glared.

"If I win, we eat outside. If you win, I won't bother you about eating out again," she said, watching him place the letter onto the desk.

Neji sighed.

"You're such a bore…" Tenten started, but before she could continue Neji intercepted her.

"Fine," he replied, his voice slightly raised. "Two out of three is the winner." Tenten's face broke out in a grin. "No replays." Tenten nodded, agreeing on his terms.

Both parties readied their fists. "One two…. Three," Tenten stated, fisting her hand into a rock. "Yes," she cheered. Her rock had beaten Neji's scissors. Neji's eyebrows furrowed. This was one game he refused to lose in. "One two… three."

Neji smirked. Yeps, paper beats rock anytime. It was a tie so far.

Tenten cracked her fist. She only had one more chance before she could eat good food in a good restaurant. God this was stressful. It was as if she was pitting her life on the line. "One… Two…" Both of them exchanged heated looks at one another. "THREE…" Their hands molded into a specific shape."God damn it," Tenten uttered, disappointed that she had chosen scissors to go against his rock.

"I win."Neji gave her a small satisfied smile. Oh how Tenten would like to wipe that smug look off of his handsome face with a piece of dirtied old cloth.

All of a sudden, a light rapture was heard at the door and Hiashi walked in. "Hiashi-sama," both Neji and Tenten responded simultaneously. Neji stood up in respect of his uncle.

Hiashi smiled amused. Normally, Tenten would call him Hiashi-san. However, after being around Neji for longer hours at a time, she had started to call him Hiashi-sama. "Sit down." At Hiashi's order, Neji abruptly took a seat and Tenten made a turn towards the door. "Tenten," Hiashi called her. "This involves you too. Sit."

Tenten's chocolate eyes widened and she took a seat on across Neji. Then, she placed the bitten apple on the plate. Suddenly, Neji's stomach rumbled and Tenten tried hard to bite back her laughter.

"Have you two not eaten yet?" Hiashi asked them, Hyuuga eyes emotionless. Both shook their heads. "I'll have my secretary order food from the restaurant downstairs."

"Hiashi-sama." The said man turned towards his nephew's best friend. "Why don't we eat outside?" she blurted out.

The elder Hyuuga nodded in agreement. "It would be good to take the both of you away from the confines of this office."

Now, it was Tenten's turn to smile smugly at Neji. "What do you say, Neji? We can try that new Mexican restaurant that opened up down the street."

"Hn," Neji agreed, ignoring the satisfied look of his best friend. He can never say no to his uncle and Tenten knew that. He stood up from his chair and gestured to the door. "After you, Hiashi-sama."

Tenten – 1, Neji – 0

A leggy blonde walked through the airport, midnight blue stilettos clicking against the polished white marble floors. She was there for a reason. Earlier that morning she received a text from a certain red head asking for her presence. Since she was overseeing the renovation of her photo studio and her parent's flower shop, she could only manage to slip away a few hours after lunch time. Hopefully, Gaara has not eaten lunch or is in the mood for an early tea. Either ways, she hoped she would not have try to convince or argue her way through his thick skull.

Ino turned the corner and smiled at the secretary. "Miko… You seem just about to pop," Ino greeted, admiring the large swell of the secretary's baby bump. "When's the due date?"

"Any week now," the secretary responded, her hands rubbing her belly.

"Is he busy?" Ino gestured towards the door.

Miko shook her head. "He's been expecting you all morning."

"Good," the model replied, twisting the door knob and pushing the door open. She should have knocked first but it was too late. "You busy?" she asked him as her blue eyes roamed over his cluttered desk.

"You're here," he stated. He scribbled his signature on an document and proceeded to close it.

"I thought I de-cluttered your work," she mentioned, forcing him to remember her lecture a few months ago about delegating his workloads to the necessary staff.

"Hn," Gaara looked up at her face to be met with a frown. "It's the yearly budget."

Although Gaara had on a neutral expression, she knew there was something wrong. She spent enough time around Sasuke to understand stoic males. "What's wrong?" she asked him, taking a seat at the leather chair across from him. "Having financial problems?"

"No." the attractive male looked at her with a strong gaze. Ino's breath hitched in her throat. "It's my father."

"Your father?" Ino repeated. This was her first time hearing him speak of his own father. She knew the Subaku Airlines was a family business but Gaara never once spoke of a family.

He quirked a non-existent eye brow. "I have a family." The tips of his lips curved upwards.

She nodded her head, not knowing what to say. "Any siblings?" she asked, finally.

He gave her a small smile. "An elder sister and a brother."

She, suddenly, remembered the story that Gaara had told at Lee's party about him, Lee and his brother. "Right… Kankurou is your brother."

Gaara ran a hand through his tousled long red locks and Ino wondered what it was like to run her own fingers through it. "That's Kankurou." He pointed towards a picture of his brother.

Ino took in the dark hair and dark eyes of Kankurou which was in contrast to Gaara's flaming red hair and blue eyes. "He doesn't look anything like you," she articulated.

"Same father different mothers," Gaara explained simply.

There was something about Kankurou that Ino could not put her finger on. "I feel like I've seen your brother somewhere," she began, thinking hard.

"He's a Kabuki actor." Gaara watched Ino's eyes widened and wondered if she was his brother's fan girl.

"I should have known," Ino huffed. She didn't recognise him without his stage makeup and stage attire on. "You've got some brother that I can tell you." She balled her hands into fists. "When I see him I'll teach him to stand me up."

"You dated?" Gaara asked, a little crestfallen. He wondered if there was a guy code on dating his own brother's ex-girlfriend. He should ask Lee later or maybe Kiba.

Ino 'tch'ed'. "Please. We didn't get past the first date. He asked me out, I accepted and then he stood me up," she explained, her temper flaring. "I only accepted because he sent me a bouquet of flowers everyday for a week and gave me a front row ticket to his show."

"I… see," the male replied, unsure of what to say but a little relieved by her statement.

Ino tore her gaze from the picture and looked around the room. "What does your sister look like? Any pictures of her?" she asked.

"At home," he told her. "She's blonde."

"Sounds stunning," she teased him.

Gaara smirked, knowing very well that she was teasing his lack of ability to give a good description of his sister. "She has her fair share of suitors."

"That's good to know," Ino started, placing her Gucci handbag on his desk. "So, what about your father?" she asked him, pushing the conversation back to the main reason Gaara requested her for their meeting.

"My father does not approve of the campaign," he explained, waiting for her reaction.

Ino nodded slowly, digesting the news. "Did he give a reason why?" Gaara opened his mouth to justify his father's actions but Ino was not finished talking. "Was I too sexy? Or was the concept wrong? Was there a budget cut?"

"He thinks that you cater to a niche market."

"But since the theme of the aeroplane is luxury isn't that market your goal?"

"I agree. However, it seems only men have taken notice. We have yet to pull in any female customers," Gaara tugged at his gray tie, loosening it. "48% of all flyers are female and more than half of these customers fly business or first class." The blonde bit her glossed lips, listening intently at Gaara's explanation. "My father wants me to address these customers."

"You're firing me." Ino asked him. Well, more like stated.

Gaara frowned. She was taking the news rather well. "I will pay you regardless of what was agreed on the contract," he spoke, addressing the fact that now he will pay for the photo shoot although it was agreed that she would do it for free.

The model was deep in thought. She did not think that her final job would be left unfinished. She just wanted to leave her modelling career with a bang. "Before firing me, I have an idea," she smiled, leaning closer to his desk as inspiration struck.

Gaara knew to listen to her ideas. Despite her sometimes brash and fiery personality, she was level-headed and had the ability to make his life seem so much more manageable. "What is it?"

"What if I can increase your company's target market without having to fire me?"

"I'm listening," he articulated, in his baritone voice.

"Sasuke, Kankurou and I can complete that campaign together." Ino sat upright in her chair, her whole face revealing her excitement. "All three of us have a different target market. Kankurou has an older following and Sasuke, of course, has a really large female fan base."

"It's a good idea," Gaara admitted, slightly impressed. "But the budget is not enough to cover their services. "

Ino rolled her eyes. "Kankurou's your brother. He'll do it for free. Sasuke, on the other hand, would be happy to help a friend in need."

Gaara gave her a doubtful look. He knew that Sasuke and Kankurou would help him out but he was unsure whether their schedule would permit them to take on this campaign as it can be pretty lengthy.

Ino seemed to have had the same thoughts as Gaara. "Don't worry about their schedules. Just tell them that all you need is two days from their busy lives."

"What do you have in mind?" he asked her.

"What if the three of us go on a flight with the passengers of that luxury aeroplane? You can advertise it in the news. We'll be able to interact with your passengers, you can hire a cameraman to do a video footage of the entire ordeal and make that into a short ad. Maybe before the flight, you can request Monsieur … to do a photoshoot with the three of us." She looked pleased with herself. She should be since she found a way to increase profits as well as sales.

"That can work," he stated, admiring her brilliance. She was definitely no dumb blonde. "I'll run this with my father."

Ino grinned. "I'll call Sasuke later," she told him. "Have you had lunch?"

He shook his head. "Food court?"

"You read my mind." Ino grinned, taking her hand bag that was placed on his desk.

"My Chimichangas is here," the bun-haired girl exclaimed excitedly, eying the delicious dish of deep-fried burrito and rice with a side order of salsa. "Yum…" she grinned, turning to look at the waiter place Neji's order of chicken tostada, salad and Avocado on the table. "Yours look good too."

"You haven't eaten yours and already you're eying mine," Neji replied, obviously very protective of his food.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Geez Neji. I didn't know you were that hungry." She picked up her knife and fork and began attacking her own food. "I thought you didn't want to eat."

Neji gave her a hard gaze. "We're in a Mexican restaurant and you order a dish that is more American than Mexican."

"That is highly debatable," she argued. "Besides, do I look like I care?" She took a bite out of her chimichanga and savoured the taste. "Mouth-gasm…" she said out loud, sighing happily at the delightful burst of flavour in her mouth.

Hiashi looked at his two 'employees' in interest. Neji had on a disturbed expression as he watched Tenten chew on her food in a very grateful way. His uncle took notice of his nephew's intent gaze on Tenten's lips. He took a sip of his Café de Olla, a mixture of coffee, anise and cinnamon, his eyes observing their interaction. The coffee was a little sweet but the hot liquid soothed his throat and warmed his body.

"Here," Tenten said, cutting a piece of her food and placing it on Neji's plate. "Try some of my chimichanga." Neji stared hard at the deep-fried piece of burrito in front of him. His best friend watched him impatiently. "I just had a mouth-gasm and you don't want to try it."Neji frowned and pierced the piece of burrito with his fork. "Eat it before I feed you and when I say feed I mean shove it down your throat."

Neji glared but took a bite of it anyway. He chewed on the food slowly as if he would spit it out if it was not mouth-gasmic.

"So…" Tenten leaned in, interested to hear his opinion.

"It's…" he tried to think of a suitable word. "Ok."

The brunette did not believe a word he said. "Uh huh." She gave him a knowing look. "It's mouth-gasmic that's what it is." She tilted her head towards his dish. "Is that good?"

Neji used his fork to skewer a piece of chicken tostada that he had cut with a knife and placed it in his mouth. He chewed slowly, savouring the taste and was disappointed as it was not as tasty as Tenten's chimichanga since the chicken was dry and overcooked.

"Not that good huh," Tenten wondered out loud, taking in his reaction when he ate his chicken tostada.

Neji snapped his head in direction of her. "It's good."

She rolled her eyes and took a piece of chicken tostada from his plate despite his futile attempts to stop her. After a few thoughtful chews, she looked at him.

"What?"

"... I like this dish better," she lied, switching their plates.

Neji took their plates and switched their dishes back. "We both know your dish is the better dish."

Tenten switched their dishes again. "I know that." She rolled her eyes. "But I remembered that I'm on a diet and your dish has a lower fat content."

"Since when do you go on diets?" Neji replied, switching their dishes yet again.

"Since I weighed myself and I gained 2 kilograms," she told him, huffily, switching their plates yet again so now he had the chimichanga. She slapped his right hand as he tried to switch the plates yet again. He gave her his most potent glare while she looked back at him sheepishly.

"I don't see it."

"See what?" she asked him, forking in some salad into her pink mouth.

"Your weight gain," he told her quietly, tasting the rice accompanied with the chimichanga. "I prefer you with a little meat."

Tenten looked over at her best friend in shock. Both of them shifted uncomfortably in their seats by Neji's sudden confession about what he thought of her body.

Hiashi gave a small bemused smile. "It is a shame that the two of you did not end up together," he verbalised, watching them both snap to attention towards him. "Gai and I always thought you two would but both of you ended up with someone else." Tenten's jaw slackened. She never knew that. "He even picked out a wedding date." The elder Hyuuga eyed his nephew's blank expression.

The graying man took a sip of his coffee. "You're good for him," Hiashi continued, his gaze on Tenten's expressive brown eyes. "You care for him."

The bun haired girl followed Hiashi's eyes to her switched plate. "He has a rather… distinctive tastebud," she stated, a teasing tone to her voice. She could not help herself. Neji has rather selected tastes since he was used to the best things in life. The first time he ate ramen he had a stomach ache that lasted for three days. Of course, now, he was used to the 'commoners' food.

Neji glared at her statement. He seemed to do a lot of glaring today.

"And he listens to you," Hiashi had to smile as he saw Neji shift uncomfortably in his chair and Tenten eying her food with renewed interest. "My nephew is not a person of many words or emotions but with you he is able to convey them."

"I can read him well but, I agree, he's rather inept at expressing human emotions." She gave a cheeky grin.

Neji sighed.

"He argues with you. He spends more time with you than anyone else," Hiashi continued.

"She works for me," Neji finally uttered receiving a glare from Tenten.

She felt like she should kick him in the shin but instead opted to speak. "What he means is that the reason why we spend so much time together is because of work."

Hiashi gave them a small smile. "Regardless… Sakura is good for you." He looked at Neji. "As Sasuke is for you." He turned towards Tenten. The older Hyuuga took a sip of his coffee and realised that the cup is dry. "I hope Tenten you will continue being his friend and Neji I hope you would not do anything stupid to lose someone like Tenten."

This time Neji openly scowled at his uncle.

"You know," Tenten spoke out, braving herself to meet Neji's eyes. "You do have a tendency to screw things up."

"You mean you screw things up."

She rolled her dark eyes. "Please… remember the time we had an egg for a project. You gave alcohol to our daughter and Kakashi caught you. We got a C because of you."

"That's because you accidently dropped Miku. And told me to treat the crack," Neji defended himself. "If my daughter had a wound wouldn't you want to smear a little alcohol on it?"

"What I meant was plaster it with something," she replied, exasperatedly. "For a genius you sure don't have logic."

Neji opened his mouth to refute Tenten's points but Hiashi beat him to it as Hiashi flagged for the bill. "We haven't finished eating yet," Nej told him uncle, eying both his and Tenten's half-filled plates.

Hiashi placed a wad of Yen bills on the table. "I have another meeting in half an hour."

"Oh," Tenten replied, dropping her fork on the plate with a soft 'clang'. "So, why did you want to talk to us?"

"Tomorrow I am supposed to meet a client at the village of snow near Mount Fuji," Hiashi explained.

"Wow I heard it's beautiful there," Tenten replied.

"It is," Hiashi agreed. "As both of you know, I am looking to build a ski resort. I have found that piece of land. Since I cannot go to negotiate the contract, I would like the two of you to take my place."

Tenten observed Neji's reaction from the corner of her eye. She knew that this was the opportunity that Neji was looking for in order to prove to his uncle on his capabilities since he was promoted to Vice-President. It also showed how much Hiashi trusted Neji since he is delegating a higher number of responsibilities to his nephew.

"I accept, uncle," Neji responded, his eyes filled with determination.

HIashi's gaze shifted on Tenten. "I accept too," she replied, knowing that Neji would want her company and it was part of her job description as his secretary anyway to follow.

"I have booked both of your flights," Hiashi told them, taking a file out of his leather brief case and placed it on Tenten's opened palm. "Unfortunately, to get to the village, you have to drive by car." He watched Tenten and Neji scan through the contents of the file. "All the information that you two need is in that file as well as the car rental details and your tickets." Neji took a sip of his water. "Call me once the deal is made."

Tenten and Neji both nodded and Hiashi took that as his cue to leave. Tenten took a look at their plane tickets and gave a low whistle. "First class."

"Mercedes," Neji replied back, pointing at the car that Hiashi had rented for their journey up the mountains.

Tenten smiled. "I'll make a copy of this file so both of us can study it later tonight."

"Hn…"

~static~ "Naruto." ~static~

The blonde man adjusted the ear piece in his ear as he heard the faint but familiar female voice. "Yeah," he spoke into his tiny mike that doubled as a sun pendant that hung on a chain around his neck.

"Have you got the shot?" Konan replied, her voice much clearer.

"Not yet." Naruto was on his belly behind a couple of rose bushes. He peered up to the balcony of his target and saw two shadows. One male, his target, and the other female. "I only see shadows. I'm coming closer." He eyed a wooden frame just next to the second floor balcony. There were vines that crept up and twisted the wooden structure, past the second floor and ended a few inches below the roof.

"Wait…. Naruto," Kano yelled.

"You're….. sssssssshhhhhhh….break... ssssshhhhhhh….Ka…."

"Naruto….. You idiot," she yelled. Naruto took out his ear piece and placed it in his jeans pocket.

The blond eyed fox knew an opportunity when he saw one. If the frame could support his weight, he could climb it and swing himself onto the balcony discreetly and get the million dollar shot. Although it would be dangerous, Naruto knew that the client would pay big money. Plus, the client did state that he wanted a clear shot of both his wife and her male companion.

Naruto scanned the garden. Once, he made certain that there was no one around; he made his way towards the mansion. Then, he shook the wooden frame slightly, testing it to make sure that it would hold his weight. He grabbed hold of a wooden ledge and stepped on one ledge and proceeded to scale up the wall. Upon reaching the second floor, he swung himself onto the balcony and remained where the shadows hid him. He began to snap pictures of the couple. However, like true Naruto fashion, he forgot to switch off the flash. Suddenly, a shocked female and a livid male, both in varying states of undress, looked directly at his direction. Without a moment's hesitation, Naruto leapt off the balcony in reflex.

"Crap," he voiced out, his voice hoarse as he landed on his side awkwardly. He felt his right shoulder dislocate. He used his left hand to support his shoulder. Luckily he managed to save the camera which was slung around his neck.

"There he is," a solid built guard pointed out. A few equally buff bodyguards scampered around the corner, just a few meters away from Naruto. The blond haired man sprung back on his feet and managed to climb over the wall single-handed without much difficulty.

A black van came skidding to a halt. The side door slid open and a woman pulled Naruto into the safety of the van. The vehicle then sped off into the night.

"I know… I know," Naruto replied, grimacing at the pulsating pain coming from his shoulder. "That was stupid of me."

Kano stared him down angrily.

"But I got the shot," he told her, victoriously. He tilted his head towards the unharmed camera.

"You were almost found out," she told him, her face solemn.

"Almost," Yahiko spoke out from the driver's seat, checking the rear view mirror. "You're lucky we're not being followed. That was the Yakuza we messed with."

"What happened to you got balls?" Naruto replied, cradling his left arm.

Yahiko gave him a small smile. "There are no balls in stupidity."

"Enough," Kano replied. "I want to process this data as soon as possible. Drop Naruto off at the hospital. He needs to get his shoulder fixed."

Yahiko agreed and gave a mischievous grin. He flipped open his handphone. "I'll make sure that Dr Tsunade is expecting you." Naruto looked at him with a horror-stricken face. "Oh the fun you'll be having."

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Tenten apologised as she stepped out from the public bus. Sasuke gave her a small smile as he took in her frazzled appearance. She must have rushed to this part of Konoha. "Did you wait long?" she asked him, her cheeks and nose pink from the cold.

"Hn,"Sasuke responded, peeling away him woollen scarf and wrapping it around his girlfriend's neck.

"It's really cold out here," she replied, still apologetic and her brown eyes wide with concern. "You could have waited inside the restaurant where it's warmer."

Although the idea did sound tempting, Sasuke didn't mind waiting for her at the bus stop. "I should have picked you up," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "You were at the other side of town. It's out of your way." Tenten was practical and considerate. Maybe a bit too considerate Sasuke thought but he knew not to argue with her. "Let's get you warm," he told her, throwing an arm around her shoulder and leading her across the road.

"Oh… we're eating Italian today?" Tenten voiced out, surprised as they walked passed a Japanese restaurant. Sasuke was fond of Japanese food.

"Hn," he replied. In truth, while he was waiting for her to arrive he looked at the row of shops and chose the restaurant which seemed the warmest.

"I feel like having Tiramisu and lasagne," Tenten's eyes twinkled as they approached the glass door. "What are you ordering?"

"Risotto," he decided, pushing the door open and gestured a '2' sign with his fingers to the awaiting waiter. The pale-faced waiter nodded mechanically as he was star-struck but managed to direct them to their table.

The beautiful couple sat down, took a glance at the menu and ordered promptly.

"How was your day?" Tenten asked her boyfriend as the waiter walked away from their table. She often asked that on dates that they haven't seen each other for a long period of time. To Naruto and Ino, they were like an old married couple. They especially teased Tenten when she said that line.

"Gaara asked me to be in his campaign," he replied, admiring how the dim lighting made her skin look like honeysuckle.

"Really… I thought Ino is doing his campaign. "

"He wanted to cater to a wider demographic."

"I see… " Tenten nodded taking a sip of her warm water. "Are you going to do it?"

He gave a slight nod before lifting his hands away from the table as the waiter arrived with a platter of antipasti. "I got a few days off from the drama."

"You can take leave?"

Sasuke curled his fingers together. "It was postponed due to bad weather."

Tenten smiled. "That's great."

"How was your day?"

She looked at him. "Hiashi-sama asked Neji to go to Mount Fuji to close a deal for him. I'm required to follow."

"Hn," Sasuke replied, a little disappointed. He thought they could spend a little time together.

Tenten read his mind. "If Neji and I manage to close the deal fast, I'll come back as soon as possible."

Sasuke frowned, his mind processing her words. It will only be Neji and Tenten. Alone. Together. "When will you go?"

"I leave tomorrow morning," she told him poking a piece of breaded mushroom with her fork.

"I'll see you off," he decided. He watched her face light up.

Naruto was lucky Tsunade was not in that night. According to the nurses, a perverted old man came over and asked Tsunade out for a drink. The entire hospital knows that Tsunade going out for a drink meant her coming back drunk. Instead, he got Sakura who, now, stood before him, frowning prettily at his medical chart.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "In the past 2 months, you got 10 stiches to the head, a badly bruised chest, you sprained your ankle twice and had a mild concussion," she gave him an incredulous look. "And now you have a dislocated shoulder." She eyed his scruffy appearance. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"No," Naruto told her confidently, his pearly whites gleaming. Lee would have been proud.

"Did you get into a bar fight?"

"No," the blodn voiced out slowly.

"Were you mugged?"

"What…."

"Is Jiraiya abusing you?"

"Hell no."

A pause.

"Is Tsunade abusing you?"

Naruto gave a Sasuke-like smirk. "Not recently."

Sakura sighed. "So what happened?"

"I fell."

"Oh and what about the other times?"

"Accidents?"

Sakura set down the medical board and crossed her arms. "Why are you giving me Neji-like answers?"

"I am giving you explanations."

Sakura inhaled sharply. "Don't try to be a wise guy," she threatened him. To prove her point , she held the dislocated shoulder firmly in her hands and shoved the bone into place. Naruto sucked in his breath and let out a small "Sakura-chan."

"Don't Sakura-chan me," she mimicked him, huffily. However, this time she took care to bandage his shoulder gently. "If you're in trouble I can help."

He gave her an apologetic grin but said nothing. He watched her as she finished tying the loose ends of the white bandage. "Thanks Sakura-chan. You're the best." He jumped off the medical table and patted his sore arm. "I'll see you around."

Sakura sighed. She knew he had a secret. She was no fool.

On those rare days, stoic Sasuke would snake his fingers into hers. It's not like he didn't want to as much as possible but he wanted her to yearn for him as much as he does for her. He usually does these gestures before not seeing each other for a long time. The last thing he wanted her to feel was his touch.

"So," Tenten started, walking to nowhere. "Have you decided which movie to star in?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied. "They're still searching for a location."

"Ah I see," she continued. "What location?"

"I am to play a botanical gardener," he replied.

Tenten stopped in her tracks and looked at him. "Why not at Shino's and HInata's place? It's beautiful and I'm sure they'd love the publicity. Shino wants to go international."

Sasuke nodded, agreeing with her proposition. "I'll inform the director."

"Great," she smiled again and Sasuke took this opportunity to pull her in for a kiss.

"Is that Shikamaru?" she asked, hands against his chest. Sasuke pulled back dejectedly. "Hey Shikamaru!" she called out. The pineapple-haired man turned around, a look of surprise flitted across his face and then guilt.

To Sasuke it was obvious why. Shikamaru was caught kissing a blond girl who was obviously no Ino. The actor felt his girlfriend tug at his hand and he followed her to where the lawyer was.

"Hi Shikamaru," Tenten started, giving him a meaningful gaze. "Fancy meeting you here." Shikamaru put on his usual scowl and stuffed his hands into his thick coat.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to Temari?" She said laughing as she saw Shikamaru openly showing his irritation towards her. Tenten obviously knew Temari. Sasuke did too. He'd recognise Gaara's sister anywhere.

"It's really been a long time Temari," the bun-haired girl said, sincerely. Since an accident a few years ago, Temari went into a state of shock and grief and disappeared. Temari hardly made public appearances.

"Yeah well I'm here now," Temari answered, an uncertain smile appeared on her face. "How have you been Sasuke?"

"Good," he replied.

"I can see that. Tenten keeps you in check I see. You don't scowl as much." Sasuke gave her a defiant glare. Temari had to laugh.

"We've got to go," Shikamaru announced suddenly, throwing a desperate glance at Temari. Tenten and Sasuke knew what that look meant. It means that they saw something that was meant to be kept a secret.

"I'll see you too later," Tenten told them while Sasuke nodded. They watched the couple saunter away.

A few moments of silence passed by before Sasuke opened his mouth. "Don't tell her."

"I won't… It'll crush her." Tenten voiced out, suddenly worried for her good blond female friend.

TBC…

A/N: This is seriously overdue. I finished off this chapter months ago but did not have time to edit it.

Thanks to everyone and I mean EVERYONE who read and have reviewed this story. I have not given up yet. I will finish this.