Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter of Demonic Love. I want to thank Guest (whoever you are god damnit) about giving me pointers about my writing.

Like I've said in other chapters, I apologise in advance for grammar mistakes, repetitiveness and poor writing. I've still got a long way to go before I can come closer to other people on this site. Anyway on with the story.

I don't own Naruto, just the plot and my OCs.

"Haruno Sakura. I challenge you!"

Hinata couldn't believe the words that were coming from her best friends mouth. But the ravenette knew that Tenten was serious by the way she was glaring at Sakura with her eyes. This was the first time in a long time she had ever seen the brunette this angry before. The last was when the raven haired girl was in middle school, a co-ed one, and the boys back then made fun of her because of her white eyes and because she was shy and timid girl back then, she didn't stand up for herself.

When Tenten came to the scene back then and saw what was happening to her, she lost it and flipped out. She ended up beating the crap out of the boys and would have been expelled for nearly sending them to the hospital. But thanks to Hinata's intervention, the twin bunned girl only got a suspension.

"What are you saying Tenten?!" Hinata asked her, she didn't know what caused her to be this way, but she knew that if the brunette didn't calm down, something bad might happen.

"It's exactly like I said," Tenten said, her eyes never leaving Sakura's emerald one. "Ever since she gave out her apology to us, she suddenly became Miss Popular with everyone." Her eyes for the moment looked down toward the ground. "Even you're starting to drift away from me."

"Tenten..." Hinata's heart was breaking from seeing her friend like this. Her instincts were telling her to rush up to her friend and envelop her in a hug. But she didn't. The ravenette knew that Tenten was very prideful and hugging would show that she was weak. But Hinata knew that she had to do something. "But-"

"Fine," Sakura spoke up, causing both girl's to look at her. "I'll accept your challenge."

"Sakura-chan!" the ravenette called out, staring at the half naked girl in disbelief. She was really going to go through with this?!

Tenten looked back up and into the pinkette's eyes and smiled. "I'm glad," she said. "Today, after school, come to the naginata club in the gymnasium. We'll settle it in duel, and the loser has to do whatever the winner asks. You fine with that?"

The younger girl closed her emerald coloured eye and smiled a confident smile. "That's fine with me."

Tenten narrowed her eyes, slightly irritated by the pinkette's confidence. Tenten looked like she wanted to say something more but she bit it back. And with a "Hmph," the brunette turned her back on both of the girls and was about to walk away, but not before Tenten turned her head back, to look at Sakura. "Look forward to it." With those parting words, she left. Hinata could have sworn just before she left that the twin bunned girl stole a glance her way but there was no way to tell.

When her best friend was gone from sight, Hinata turned around to face the pinkette, who was in the middle of putting her uniform back on. "Sakura-chan," she called out to her. "Is there no way you'll reconsider? Another way of settling this?"

Sakura's fingers stopped for a moment and turned her gaze to Hinata's white pools. "Sorry, Hinata," the pinkette said with an apologetic smile.

"I... see..." she replied, crestfallen, turning her gaze the floor. She couldn't believe that she let this happen. Her two friends were going to have a fight with one another and there was nothing she could do about it. No that's wrong she thought. I could have stopped it. Had she only stepped into the conversation, she might have been able to do something. Why now, of all times, did she feel powerless?

Before Hinata could sink further into depressing thoughts, she suddenly felt a warm weight on her head. Looking up, it turned out to be Sakura's hand and the pinkette was now fully dressed. "Don't worry Hinata," Sakura reassured her with a smile. "I'm taking on this challenge to help your friend out. She's got a lot on her mind and if doing this will help her, and you, then I'll do it." Sakura's emerald and demonic orbs gazed gently into Hinata's white ones. "Believe in me."

The gentle look took Hinata by surprise and made her heart skip a beat. But she soon found herself smiling and nodding to the younger girl. Whatever Sakura had planned, Hinata knew from the bottom of her heart that everything would go well.

Nodding also, Sakura reached down to the floor and grabbed her eye patch that had fallen off, replaced it upon her eye and both girl's then left the nurse's office, heading back to their classes and waiting for the approaching time.

Unfortunately for Hinata, that approaching time came all too quickly, and now she and Sakura were making their way to the gymnasium. Even though she wasn't the one fighting, Hinata couldn't help herself but be nervous. Her hands began to fidget. What if they both ended up hurt? She knew that would never happen but the thought was still there.

"Huh?" the ravenette made a sound as she felt something warm wrap around her hand. Looking down, she saw that Sakura's fingers were covering her hand and when she looked up, the pinkette was still looking straight ahead of her. Did she notice that Hinata was nervous? But just from that action alone, the girl's nervousness suddenly disappeared and was replaced with butterflies in her stomach. A red hue appeared on her cheeks but she smiled regardless and enjoyed the feeling of Sakura's hand in her own.

They walked hand in hand to the gymnasium and when they were in front of the doors, Sakura removed her hand from Hinata's, which made the ravenette's hand feel cold. She pushed back the feeling of loneliness and watched as Sakura placed her hands on the double doors. "You ready Hinata?" Sakura asked. Hinata didn't know why she needed to be ready but she gave the girl a nod anyway and with that, the pinkette opened the doors.

The sight before them was very familiar to Hinata. The gym was full of girls who were either doing their club activities or spectating, and the gym was divided into two. One half of the gym were doing kendo, the girls there were practising their sword swings and other movements. The other half was for the girls in the naginata club. They hadn't started anything yet and Hinata probably knew the reason why.

Standing there, getting her gear on for the naginata match, was Tenten. The other club members were helping the brunette set up and when Hinata and Sakura got closer, Tenten finally noticed them. Her face lit up when she saw Hinata, but as soon as she saw the younger girl next to her, it vanished almost instantly. "And here I thought that you wouldn't show up," she commented.

"What? You were going to miss me?" Sakura asked, cocking her brow.

"Of course," Tenten said. Hearing those words, hope slowly to started to rise from Hinata. "I wouldn't have been able to kick your ass if you didn't show up." And the hope she had been building up had immediately been shattered.

"That's your gear over there," Tenten said, gesturing to one of the first year girl's holding a uniform in her arms and the girl next to her holding a naginata made of bamboo and a mask. Sakura made her way toward the two girl's and looked at the items that were presented to her.

The first year on her left held a hakama similar to the one that Sakura would wear when she went out to kill demons, except in a different colour. On top of the clothing were mitten-like gloves called kote, a curved stomach and chest protector called a dō. A tare, which was a thick cloth belt with covered flaps hanging from the belt to protect the upper legs and groin. And the final items were shin guards. Looking at each item carefully, Sakura knew that these were just going to get in the way of her fighting.

Her emerald gaze then turned to the other girl carrying the bamboo naginata. She also held the a helmet, the men, which covered the face, neck and shoulders, in her other hand, but just by looking at the thing, the pinkette defiantly knew that would just slow her down also. Instead she took the wooden weapon from the girl's hand and swung it down once with one hand. Sakura then smiled, and then turned to look at Tenten who just frowned, probably wondering what she was doing.

"I won't need the gear," she declared simply. Everyone gasped and their eyes widened. Tenten however, glared at her. "I'll just fight you as I am."

"Are you making fun of me?" she said in a annoyed tone. "You really think you're all that don't you?"

"Not really," the pinkette replied. Sakura then met Tenten's glaring eyes with her serious one. "You're not going to hold back when fighting me without gear are you? Because if you do, then I'll leave."

Tenten's glare became even more deadly, and for a minute, Hinata was worried that she would launch herself on Sakura. But when she looked toward the pinkette, she saw that the younger girl was totally calm. Like she knew what the brunette would do.

"Fine..." Tenten was the one who broke the silence between them. And then grasped her kote gloves and took them off. Everyone again looked on wide eyed, except for Sakura who looked like she had anticipated this action, as the brunette took off the remainder of her protective gear and put them on the floor, now standing there with only the hakama kimono on her body. "I'll also fight like this. You're not going to hold back fighting me like this are you?" she asked with furrowed brows and a smile.

Sakura just smiled even more and didn't say anything else. And with that, both girl's made there way to the mats that were laid out as for their stage. From that point onward, Hinata couldn't do anything more, and could only watch to see the outcome of the match.

Tenten, Sakura-chan Hinata called to her friends in her thoughts, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. There was no way she could cheer on one person so she decided to cheer on both instead. Good luck and please be safe...

Once both girls were on the mats, they just stood there staring each other down. Grey and emerald orbs clashing. The entire gymnasium was silent, not a single sound could be heard through the tense atmosphere. Hinata found it strange that would be quiet like that and was surprised to see that all the girls, even the ones from kendo, were all looking in the same direction of the two girls.

One of the first year girls, who was to be acting referee of this match, raised her hand toward the air and spoke out in a clear voice, "We'll now begin this sparring match between Hiramatsu Tenten, and Haruno Sakura! The first person to get a point wins the match!" The girl first turned her gaze toward the brunette. "Hiramatsu-senpai, are you ready?"

Hearing the girl's words, Tenten took her fighting stance. Both her hands on the bamboo weapon, the tip pointing towards her opponent and she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. Slowly exhaling it, the brunette's eyes shot open, and with a determined look, she replied back with a "I'm ready!"

Nodding her head, the girl then turned her gaze to her other upperclassman. "Haruno-senpai, are you ready?"

"I'm ready," Sakura replied with, but unlike Tenten, she didn't take a stance. She chose to just stand and wait, the bamboo naginata in her left hand. The first year girl waited for a moment to see of she would take any sort of stance. But when she was unmoving she decided to just carry on.

"Then, with both parties ready, let the battle begin!" the first year shouted, swinging her arm down which signalled the match to start. And soon as that happened Tenten made the first move.

The brunette ran forward, the naginata next to hip, at the pink haired girl who continued to stay on one spot, the bamboo weapon she held was limp in her hand. Sakura left a huge opening for her and Tenten wasn't going to let it go to waste. When she was close enough, the brunette swung her bamboo naginata at the pinkette's open right side. Sakura moved her naginata to defend that side of herself that was open and Tenten smiled.

It was a feint.

Just as Tenten's wooden weapon was going to connect with Sakura's, the brunette twisted her body and her weapon was now aiming for the left side of the younger girl's body. I got you! Tenten cried in her thoughts, celebrating her early victory. Her naginata was coming in too fast and Tenten knew that there was no way that the pinkette could block the incoming attack.

When the sound of bamboo hitting each other past through Tenten's ear however, her eyes went wide. The younger girl had managed to block Tenten's feint attack, her arm, with the naginata, arcing over her head. The brunette then jumped back, away from the pinkette, and narrowed her eyes. How? she thought. Tenten had it all calculated in her head. She's being using the nagainata since she was in middle school and thanks to a few years of experience, she has been able to become faster than anyone in the clubs she's been into.

Thus, she able pull off moves, like her feint attack, with ease and win a fight. So why was the girl in front of her able to block it with ease. Was it a fluke? She thought for a moment and came to the conclusion that it had to be.

Coming with that decision, Tenten pressed forward. She ran toward the younger girl once more and swung her bamboo weapon in a vertical arc. This time, Sakura didn't make an attempt to block this time and when the wooden blade nearly hit the girl's head, it stopped. Instantly, like she did last time, she twisted her body, and went from a vertical slash into a horizontal one, aiming for the girl's left side. Got you this time!

She felt her naginata hit something solid, and again her eyes widened. Again, the pinkette had defended herself against the brunette's feint attack and just like that time, she jumped back.

The brunette narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, her frustration building up. The girl has blocked two of her attacks so far, and Sakura has barely moved a muscle. Her emerald coloured eye was staring into Tenten's grey ones and it was starting to annoy her. The pink haired girl suddenly smiled a cocky grin and Tenten snapped at that.

"You bitch!" she roared, charging at the pinkette and launched a flurry of attacks. She started with another vertical slash, following it up with a horizontal one. Sakura easily side-stepped the first strike and parried the horizontal slash. When that didn't work, which angered her some more, Tenten began to thrust her naginata at Sakura once, twice and then three times. The pinkette dodge the first two thrusts and on the third she side-stepped and went around the grey eyed girl.

Turning her head to look behind her, Tenten twisted her body and with a war cry she began another assault of attacks. With each slash, thrust or any other combination of moves, the pink haired girl would either parry, block or dodge like it was nothing. After all those, exhaustion had started to hit Tenten's body and she soon stopped moving. She let out heavy breaths, as she tried to get the oxygen back into her lungs.

While she took deep breaths, her eyes looked at the younger girl in front of her. Sakura was still standing there, still as a statue. Her gaze never leaving the brunette's and from the looks of her, she looked fine. She wasn't breathing heavily like Tenten was, she wasn't sweating either. Why? What made her so special? Why was Hinata so interested in her!?

Hinata...

Thoughts and memories of her childhood friend flashed through the brunette's mind. The smile the ravenette had when she was in elementary school, middle school and at the begin of high school were bright in her mind. But when she compared them to when she was hanging out with Sakura, after they had become friends, her heart slowly started to ache. Her smile now seemed to shine much brighter than it did when Hinata hung out with the brunette.

Tenten could feel water starting to gather up in her eyes, and she tried her best to hold them back. Why? she asked herself again. Why is Hinata interested in someone like you? Why are you taking her away from me? Give her back. Give Hinata back. Give her back to me!

"Give her back..." Tenten spoke in a whisper.

For once in their entire sparring match, Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly. She could see that tears had begun to roll down the brunette's cheeks and dripping down on to the mat. With a quick glance toward the ravenette, Sakura could tell that she was worried for her friend. She just hoped that Hinata wouldn't jump in the fight. Tenten's voice then brought her attention back.

"Give her back... Give her back..." the brunette kept repeating those words like a mantra. Until finally, she looked up, her gaze fierce. "Give Hinata back to me!"

Shouting that, the brunette recklessly charged at the pinkette and again threw another set of flurry attacks at her, but this time more wildly. The tears that were rolling down her cheek were getting flicked away on to the mat from each swing and as she did, her true feelings began to come forth, no longer hiding whatever it was in her heart.

"Before you came along, I was enjoying my life!" she cried, slashing at Sakura twice and then a thrust. "I was happy when it was just me and Hinata!" The pinkette dodged another thrust and parried a diagonal strike. "Everything was going you showed up!" Tenten then swung in a vertical arc and Sakura blocked it, the two now in a deadlock. "Once you shown up, she started to drift away from me!"

Both them couldn't see as they fought, but the ravenette was able to hear the whole thing so far. And as she listened, both of her hands went up to cover her mouth, tears beginning to gather up in her eyes. Where these her true feelings? Tenten... she called in her thoughts. How could she do that to her best friend. The one person who has been with since she started elementary school and until now. The person who has heard her problems and not once complained.

Hinata was brought back to the match as Sakura pushed the brunette away and said girl jumped back. As soon as she did, she immediately went back in again, not giving up. "Give her back!" she cried, attacking this way and that. "Give Hinata back!" she repeated as more tears began to shed. "Without her, I'm useless!" She swung. "Without her, my life has no meaning!" She swung. "Give her back!" And again. "Giver her back!" And again. "Give the most important person in my life back!" And again.

After the last attack, the pinkette side-stepped, and like before she got behind the brunette, who at this point was now breathing heavily. She was completely exhausted. The adrenaline rush she was having was slowly leaving her system. But she gritted her teeth. She wasn't finished yet. "Give her..." she began. Then, she turned her body around, and swung a heavy horizontal slash, screaming, "BACK!"

Just as the wooden tip touched Sakura, the pinkette quickly ducked underneath it. The weapon made of bamboo was an inch above her head and thanks to the swing, Tenten's center of gravity was thrown off. And she could only watch as Sakura looked up at her and gave her weapon a thrust. The tip of the younger girl's weapon hit the brunette's stomach hard, causing her eyes to go wide. She then flew back and hit the mat, her weapon going in the other direction.

Everyone just stood there and watched. Silence filling the entire gymnasium. Then, the first year referee, blinked a few times and shook her head. "The winner is," she announced loudly, raising her hand, "Haruno Sakura!"

But there was no clapping, no cheering. They all just watched as the girl that just got beaten slowly sit up, her eyes shadowed from her bangs. Hinata, worried for her childhood friend, was about to go over to her, but as she took a step forward, the brunette suddenly stood up. And then with tears still streaming down her face, and without a word, she ran past the pinkette and out the door.

"TENTEN!" Hinata cried out her friend's name, but it was too late. She was already gone.

And there you have it. Thanks for reading and please leave a review, telling me whether you liked it and any improvements I can do to make it better. Also constructive criticism is also very appreciated.

Thanks again, and see ya next chapter!