Enter YuriBluflame who has not updated since July. He sits on his knees, a sheathed katana in front of him. Taking the weapon in his hands, he proceeds to unsheathe the blade, turning it so that the sharp metal tip is pointing towards his stomach. Then he plunges the weapon into his gut, committing seppuku. Unfortunately, the blade will not penetrate through and thus Yuri must live with the guilt of making his followers of Demonic Love wait for so, so long...

Anyway, back to reality. I am really sorry for the extremely late update. I was completely stumped on how to write this one, bloody chapter. I now have very deep respect for the writers on this site for doing what they do and get a chapter (even a story) finished.

Normally here is when I put the names of people who have favourited or followed, but I'm going to leave that out, just in case they don't want to be announced (sorry to the people who I have in the past). But I will still say thank you very much to the people who have favourited and followed.

Now since I struggled with this, I really mean struggled hence the two month mark, this chapter will probably (most likely) not be as good as some of my other ones. But I've left it for too long and needed to post this.

Like always, I apologise in advance for any grammar mistakes, repetitiveness and poor writing. And I also don't own Naruto or it's characters. I'm just using them for the story. And any OCs that you see in this story are mine.

Enjoy!(?)

Hirmatsu Tenten ran. When her lungs began to burn, she ran. When the muscles in her legs began to tighten, and her body told her to stop and take a quick break, she ran. She ran and she ran, the long item that was tied onto her back hit the body part rebounding itself. The brunette didn't know why, but somewhere she felt something was wrong. Something was happening to Ino.

But why would she think that? From the stories that Sakura and Hinata told her, the blonde maned girl was a badass. She was almost strong as Sakura, with demon blood running through her veins and she was as skilled as a master swordsman (or swordswoman) with her katana, Masemune.

So, there was no way in hell that Yamanaka Ino was losing to some demon. But even thinking that, the tightness that was forming within her stomach wouldn't just go away. She would have to see it with her own eyes, only then, Tenten thought, would it disappear.

The brunette soon got to the street were she had saw the smoke, and what she saw there could only be described in one word; destruction. Cars were tossed or destroyed to the point that they couldn't really be called cars anymore. There were craters in the ground of the road here, there and everywhere. Even some of the stores around the area didn't make it through the battle between hunter and demon. And if Tenten was honest with herself, she was surprised that there wasn't some sort of person that heard this. Surely, something of this scale was sure to attract some kind of attention.

But the brunette couldn't be bothered to think up anything at the moment. Right now, the task was to just find Ino and see how the girl was doing. Which shouldn't be too hard. Just follow the destruction and the blonde girl she be at the end of it all.

So, thinking that, Tenten ignored her body's soreness and kept on running. She kept running, following the debris like bread crumbs to the witch's house. She had to jump a few street lights that had been knocked down and the more she saw, the more the anxiety built up. Really, why hasn't anyone heard any this?

After moments of only seeing carnage and destruction, the twin bunned girl was finally met with a new sight.

But it was a sight that she didn't want to see. A sight that made slow down her run until she stopped dead in her tracks. A sight that made her eyes grow wide, the light in her eyes going dim. There before her was a creature that she had never seen before. It looked be like a large dog, with an apelike posture, it's skin the blackest that Tenten had ever seen. It had no facial features, just sharp teeth sticking out of it's mouth that were very defined.

A demon. That thing was unmistakably one of them. But that wasn't what stopped the girl. On the things back were four tendrils and two of them were in use. One had itself wrapped around the neck of the very person that she had been trying to find. But that wasn't the worst of it. The part was where the second tendril was... impaling the blonde haired girl in the chest. Blood was dripping off the sharp tip of the tendril that had done the deed and Tenten found herself shivering.

No... way...

This was a dream. It had to be a dream, right? There was no way that Yamanaka Ino, a demon hunter, the person who was near enough on par with Sakura and a master of the sword... was dead. But she was. No matter how she looked at it, the girl was not moving, Masemune, her katana, was on the ground next to the apelike monster.

"Ino..." the girl said only in a whisper. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears and her breathes were becoming laboured. Both of the girl's hands were closed tightly into fists, the pain of her fingernails breaking skin could mean that what she was seeing was most definatly not a dream.

"Ino..."

BA-THUMP...

"Ino..."

BA-THUMP... BA-THUMP...

The brunette clenched her teeth, closed her eyes tightly and screamed. Screamed like she had never before. Screamed, like her very life depended on it.

"INOOOO!"

"AAAHHH!"

Ino let out a shriek as she hit the solid concrete of the road, hard, and bounced once. Twice. Three times, before she crashed into one of the nearby cars on the street. The sound of the metal crushing beneath her body echoed loudly in her ears, before the sound of the car alarm took over.

The lights of the car flashed in time with the car alarm as it shone through the darkness of night. The car then began to creak, like it was crying in pain, as Ino slowly peeled herself of the metal corpse. She hit the ground with a thud, slowly getting onto her hands and knees once the pain of hitting the floor subsided and started to breath slow and heavy. Sweat and blood had begun to pour off the blonde's face, down her chin before hitting the floor.

Ino didn't have a chance to take a breath however.

A shadow instantly hung over her a moment later and when she looked up, her blue orbs saw the demon coming at her from the air, it's paw-like hands ready for the kill. Seeing it come at her, she took in a sharp breath before she rolled forward and out of the way. The demon landed behind the hunter, where she was originally, and whatever was left of the car that she had crashed into was now destroyed beyond repair. Gritting her teeth, Ino turned her body and raised Masemune, it's tip pointing at the demon as it too turned to face her.

Saliva began to come through it's teeth as it snarled at her. With minimal ease, it grasped whatever remains of the car was there and threw it away, the chunk of metal smashing into a building nearby. It took two steps towards her, the ground caving in beneath it's paw-like hand as it did so. Steeling herself, Ino ran towards the demon. It raised it's arm and swung down it claws when she was close. The girl flitted to the side at the same time when the demon's paw-like hand smashing the place were she had stood just a second ago.

You're mine! Ino cried in my thoughts, swinging Masemune at it's side. But the moment Ino swung her blade, one of the tendrils on it's back blocked the strike. Then, it turned it's head to face in her direction and before she could blink or speak a word, it used the back of it's paw-like hand and smacked her, hard and fast. The hunter smashed into a nearby clothing store, the sound of the glass shattering upon impact echoing the empty store while the fragments bit into Ino's skin.

The glass wasn't the only thing that was affected. Once she landed inside the clothing store, all of the displays that was in her area collapsed on top of her, the girl's body covered by material, plastic, metal and wood. Pain racked her body as she tried to get up, whatever was on top of her rolling off and hitting the floor. Slowly but surely she did, but she immediately began to breathe laboured breaths once more.

How? she though to herself, turning her blue gaze to the demon that was outside. How is it possible that it can see me? From what she saw, the demon absolutely had no facial straits. It had no eyes, ears or nose which made it practically impossible to see, smell or hear her and where she was about to strike. So how could it?

Unless...

Ino narrowed her eyes as a theory appeared at the front of her mind. Placing Masemune in front of her, she began to do her hand signs. When she finished the last sign, Ino took her weapon from the ground and then, she prayed.

Prayed that what she was going to do now wasn't going to be too unpleasant. But in the back of her mind, she knew it would.

Steeling her nerves, knowing what was about to happen, Ino leaped out through the now broken window and the moment her feet touched the solid concrete, she took on her stance once more. With the demon now in front of her, the dog-like creature could now 'see' her, the black creature baring it's teeth while crouching down, as if it was getting ready to pounce.

Which it did.

As it lunged for the girl, it roared like that of a lion. It was strong and powerful which could make even make the most skilled hunter, animal or human, quake where they stood. She, however, didn't have time to do that. Instead, as the demon's claws were pointing at her in it's attack, Ino rolled forward as far as she could, hoping she wouldn't get crushed or skewered. When the demon landed behind her, it felt like an earthquake had struck, but like when she didn't have time to quake in fear, Ino also didn't have time to see the destruction the demon was leaving in it's wake.

Once she stood back up again, it was time to put her new theory to the test. Ino jumped into the air, Masemune above her head and let out a cry that the demon couldn't and shouldn't be able to hear.

...But it did.

While she was so focused on the striking the demon, Ino never noticed the tendril making it's way toward her. And by the time that she did, it was too late. Her blue eyes widened when she felt the appendage wrap around my throat, suddenly tightening around her wind pipes so that all she could muster was a choked gasp. When it knew that it had her, the demon turned to face, using the tendril to bring her closer to it. Ino could feel the foul breath of the demon hitting her skin, and, even though it didn't have any facial expressions, she knew that it had a murderous aura.

It was now getting harder to breath, the tendril slowly closing in on her throat, cutting off the air her lungs needed. Visibly gritting her teeth and closing her eyes tightly, Ino raised her weapon, which was miraculously still gripped tightly in her hand, and in a desperate attempt to get free she swung her blade as hard as she could from the angle she was at. But even that was a failure. It used another tendril to grab her wrist, slowly bending it in a way that it shouldn't. Ino tried her best to not scream in pain as it kept bending and twisting, until finally she let go of Masemune.

Damn it! Ino cried in her thoughts. I need to do something! Otherwise...

SPHHHLT!

the girl's eyes shot open then, pupils growing small, as she heard the sound of bone and flesh being torn apart. And not just the sound. Ino slowly looked down at herself and there she saw another tendril had impaled her between her breasts. Now that she knew, she could feel a few things happening at once. Blood had begun to gather up in her lungs, the taste of metallic metal in her mouth before it came out through her lips, coughing up the blood as it did so.

Then, her body slowly began to shut down, and started to feel cold all of a sudden. Her eyes also slowly began to grow heavy, like weights. Ino was afraid. Afraid that this was it, that she was going to die here and now. That her time here in this world was up.

Which was the unfortunate truth. And as her eyes closed shut, letting the darkness take over, the last thing she saw was the demon's expressionless face... and the cry of her name.

"INOOOO!"

After she cried out the blonde's name, the demon was looking at her now. The brunette could hear the growling noise from where she was standing, and while it did, the demon removed the tendril from Ino's chest and threw her body to the side like a rag doll. It then began to charge at her, the ground feeling like it was shaking as it did.

Now wasn't the time for the girl to just stand there and let the demon do to her like she did the blonde. So, she ran. She did the same thing as the demon and ran at it. The brunette wasn't thinking. She was just acting on impulse. The first thing on her mind was to get to Ino's body. Maybe it wasn't too late, and she could do something to help the blonde.

The demon suddenly lunged at the running grey orbed girl, the claws of it's paw-like hands pointed directly at the girl. But they didn't get anywhere near the brunette, as she launched herself forward, the demon just brushing her back, and rolled forward. Rolling out, Tenten ran forward, ignoring the loud thud of the demon behind her.

She quickly made her way to the limp girl's side and got onto her knees, grasping the blonde's shoulders and shook. "Ino!" the girl cried, "Ino!" But shaking her body did nothing. Tenten then pressed her ear above the girl's breast and tried to listen out for a heart beat.

All she got was silence. The brunette pulled away, her eyes never leaving Ino's body. Her hands once again closed into fists as the earthquake sound of the demon was now making it's way toward her. Tenten finally let her eyes turn to her side, just in time to see the demon lunge itself at her. Seeing it, Tenten reached for the thing that was tied behind her back. She didn't know what she was going to do, but anything was better than just staying there, waiting to be demon food.

"Gate of Pain... OPEN!"

Her fingers hadn't even touched the object when a sudden flash of green, which was a companied by a familiar voice, had come into view. Before she knew it, the demon was flung back, sailing through the air before it landed on the concrete road. The person that saved her had familiar blonde hair tied up into a high ponytail and let out a long breath, before turning to give the brunette a hard glare.

"Are you completely stupid?!" That was when Tenten realised that the person in front of her was Ino, her grey orbs growing wide with shock and surprise. She had a green aura surrounding her frame and her skin pigment had become more tanned. Her eyes, that were once blue, were now pure white. But as the girl took in this new appearance of the blonde, the girl's aura faded away and she returned to what she was.

Just then, Ino bore a pained expression on her face and fell to the ground, on her knees. The blonde looked like she was about to pass out, so Tenten immediately went to her side, forgetting the girl that had been lying on the floor. "Are you okay!?" the brunette cried, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders for support.

"No," Ino admitted honestly. "Once I open one of the Eight Gates, my body becomes painful. And, unfortunately, it's only going to get worse."

Before the naginata wielding girl ask what she meant, the unasked question was already answered. The Yamanaka Ino that was lying on the floor suddenly disappeared into a puff of smoke and in the next moment, the girl in Tenten's arms instantly grew stiff. Her face contorted in pain, her hand clinging onto her chest which was the same exact spot where the demon had impaled the copy. The blonde then coughed out a lot of blood, the red substance splattering itself on the floor.

"Ino!" Panic was now rising within Tenten, seeing the girl in so much pain. "What happening!?"

"This..." she started, taking in another breath, "is also... a side effect... of using the cloning technique. Whatever it experienced... passes on to the original... whenever it retur-" The girl stopped for another bouts of coughing, more blood escaping through her mouth.

Again, the earthquake-like footsteps appeared, and Tenten looked to see that the demon had gotten out of it's daze from Ino's attack and was slowly making it's way towards the pair. The brunette glared at the monster that, even though it didn't have eyes, was eyeing it's prey hungrily.

"Get... out of here... Tenten."

The girl's grey orbs widened, her gaze returning to the blonde. Said girl raises her arm and in the next moment, forming out of cherry blossoms, Masemune appears in front of her palm, grasping the hilt.

"What?!" Tenten cried out, shocked to even hear what the girl even suggested. At this point, Ino dug her weapon into ground and slowly started to use it to pull herself up. "What are you saying? Are you an complete idiot? You are in no condition to fight that thing! Look at you, you can barely stand without using your sword as a crutch!" What the girl was doing was literally suicide!

"It... doesn't matter," Ino replied, finally standing up but leaning heavily on her sword. "This creature isn't allowed to live. If it does... who knows how many it'll kill before it's satisfied."

The blonde haired girl in front of her managed to raise her weapon towards the black beast, but even that looked to be all she could do. Tenten could tell that the girl was exhausted and still in pain, but that didn't stop her from fighting. And what was she doing? Being protected. Again. It was just like that time when the white skinned fiend attacked her. She was helpless, while Sakura, and even Hinata, risked their lives to save her's.

Tenten closed her hands into fists until they were knuckled white. If there was one thing she hated, it was the feeling of being helpless. And with that, the brunette made a decision; no more.

No longer thinking, Tenten walked up to the blonde haired girl, getting in front of her. Ino gave her confused look. "Tenten what are you-?"

"Sorry Ino," the brunette replied, cutting off the hunter before she cocked her arm back and punched Ino in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes widened and she let out a winded gasp before she fell to the floor, clutching the struck body part.

With quick movement, Tenten turned to face the monster from hell and grasped the clothed item on her back. Item in hand, the girl took off the material and threw it away, taking a fighting stance and brandishing her new weapon.

A guandao, a chinese naginata. But it wasn't any ordinary guandao. It was an exact replica of the Green Dragon Cresent Blade which had been used by the legendary general, Guan Yu. A majestic green polearm, with the body of a golden dragon wrapped around it. The maw of the dragon's head was opened up for a green metal blade with silver lining to appear through. Even though it was a replica, the blade was sharp and deadly like any other naginata.

And it was a family heirloom. Tenten's father, before he died, had gone to china and went to the very resting place of the man dubbed the 'God of War'. With permission of the Chinese, having to beg on his knees, her father, with other people helping, dug up the place were Guan Yu's weapon was last known in history. Unfortunately, there was nothing and that left her father devastated.

But as luck would have it, just as he was about to leave the country he had passed a merchant and that was where he saw it. The weapon he had been searching for. The Green Dragon Cresent Blade that he had seen in the history books. The merchant told him that it was a simple replica, but the sharpness of the blade and the weight of it made feel and look real. Much to say that it cost a lot of money, but her father got the item in the end. Ever since, it's been on the display at the dojo for all to see.

Until now that was. Now, it was going to be used for battle.

"What... are you doing... Tenten?" Ino spoke through in laboured breaths.

"I've had enough," the tomboy replied. "Enough of being on the sidelines, while everyone else is fighting." The grip on her weapon grew tighter as she explained. "When Hinata was first attacked by demons, what was I doing? Going about in my naginata club without a care in the world." Her grey orbs narrowed dangerously and the demon must have thought the girl was now a threat as it started to pick up the pace.

"When a demon attacked me," she continued, "all I could do was coware in fear as Sakura almost gave her life to save me. Even Hinata got hurt because of it!" Unknown to the brunette, at this moment, a blue light began to highlight her figure, her bangs swishing left and right. And it was also at this moment that the demon had now gone into a full blown sprint.

"And now, your willing to sacrifice your life so I can escape. But no more, I'm tired. Tired of being protected by everyone and being oblivious to everything!" The demon had now leapt into the air, aiming at Tenten with it's clawed paws. The grey eyed girl crossed her arms in front of her chest, the tip of Green Dragon's blade facing the battered concrete. "I've had... enough!"

Then, just as the demon was just a few feet away, Tenten brought the blade up, slashing the air in front of her.

"ROAR GREEN DRAGON!"

A sudden gust of wind had come out from within the blade, slicing through the air, and struck the mid-leap demon from the sky. It roared in pain as it was once again flung back. Tenten began to pant as she watched the creature hit the ground with a loud thud, and after a moment, her eyes grew wide in realisation.

"Did I..." she started, but cut off because she noticed her body was glowing. "W-what's happening to me...?" she asked herself. The answer however would have to wait as low growl was heard. Her grey orbs gazed at the doglike demon getting itself up and could tell it was extremely pissed.

And it was strange. Even though she could tell that it was, Tenten didn't feel afraid. In fact, she felt confident. She didn't know why she was, but she didn't care. And the question she was about to ask herself before; she didn't care about that either.

Because now, it was her turn. It was her turn to fight and to protect someone. So, not fully understanding what was going on with herself, Tenten swung her guandao above her head, then to the side, before running at the monster. It too did the same and swiped at her with a clawed paw. She sidestepped, noticing that she had gotten faster as well and jumped up. Above the demon's body, Tenten swung her blade. Silver metal was about to meet black fur when a tendril came at her side.

Not being able to do much, the brunette brought the polearm of the weapon close to her body and took the blow. When the girl hit the ground, she rolled backwards before she managed to get to her feet, skidding the last few feet. Tenten narrowed her eyes at the demon as it turned itself around. She scanned for openings but realised that the demon was practically that. She found it strange but it didn't stop her from attacking.

Two of it's tendrils rose up as Tenten advanced forward. Once in range, they shot down, but Tenten was faster. She dodged the income appendages, the sharp tips of the tendrils going through the concrete like butter, and went to strike the demon from behind. But that attack too came up short when the demon used it's hind leg to bash Tenten out of the way, making the girl skid back to Ino's side.

"Damn it!" Tenten cursed. "For a demon with no sight what-so-ever, it can see where I am perfectly."

"It's using vibrations."

Tenten gave the blonde next to her a look, an eyebrow cocked. "Vibrations? What do you mean?"

"I figured it out during my fight," the blonde continued. "It's like when someone loses one of their senses, the others' heighten to an extent. Well, this demon's the same but it's other remaining senses have gone up tremendously. It uses it's paw-like hands to feel the ground beneath it, and uses the tendrils on it's back to feel the shift in the air. And that's why it knows where we are and counters our attacks."

"So what you're saying is-?"

"We need to be fast with our attacks." Ino finished, and then slowly began to stand up, using Masemune as a crutch.

"Oi, Ino! Should you really be moving?" Tenten asked in concern.

"I'm fine. I didn't become a demon hunter for nothing," she told her. "I still have enough strength and chakra left to do a strong attack. But that means this fight needs to end now." Tenten and Ino both glared at the demon, the creature getting itself ready for another round.

"Tenten," Ino called. "Would you be able to do that move from before again?" The brunette stared at the blonde for a good second before she knew what she meant.

"I don't know," the girl answered honestly. "I mean it just happened in the heat of the moment." Tenten gazed down at her hand and closed her fingers to make a white knuckled fist. That was when she felt another hand grasp her shoulder and her grey orbs met sky blue.

"I believe in you, Tenten," Ino said in confidence, giving the tomboy's shoulder a squeeze.

Tenten eyes widened. She was stunned that an expert of killing demons was giving so much trust to an complete noob. But she gave a nod, turned back to the demon and closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath and concentrated. She could feel it. That unknown power that suddenly burst forth out of nowhere. But that was all she could manage. She couldn't do anything with it. It was just sitting there, within her grasp, but she couldn't manipulate it like Sakura or Ino could do with there's.

The earthquake footsteps came back again, indicating that the demon was on the move. The brunette clenched her teeth inside her mouth and sweat had begun to form on her forehead. Her fingernails had bit into the palm of her hand because she was clenching her fist that tight.

I can't do it Tenten thought, defeated. For the life of her she couldn't do it. We're going to lose here and it's going to be my fault!

But when Tenten felt a hand clasp her fist, those depressing thoughts left her mind. Her eyes opened wide and turned to Ino. The girl was looking ahead, her blue eyes never leaving the demon, but she must have sensed the inner turmoil going on. That was when the blonde's words came back into her head.

"I believe in you, Tenten..."

Her fist had loosened then, and the girl next to her took the opportunity take her now open hand and even intertwine their fingers together. She didn't know why, but Tenten felt her lips quirk into a smile. With Ino's support, the brunette closed her eyes once more and concentrated. This time, when she felt the power, instead of it just sitting there waiting, it was now moving through her body like flowing water with easy access.

Opening her eyes, Tenten's grey orbs held a blue fire within them. And with a confident smile said, "I'm ready!"

That was all the signal Ino needed. Releasing the other girl's hand, the hunter did a few quick hand signs and opened up the Gate of Pain, flaming green aura surrounding the blondes frame. Then without saying a word, she ran toward the demon. Thanks to the chakra running through her body, her speed had been enhanced and got in front of the demon in a second. But it already was attacking the space that Ino was occupying at that moment thanks to sensing the vibrations in the ground.

Grunting, Ino flitted out of the way, ended up behind the demon and struck it's hind leg with Masemune. It wasn't a deep cut, but the demon roared in pain and used one of it's tendrils to strike back. The girl flitted again and attacked, the cold metal of Masemune just scraping the demon's front. Unfortunately that was all she could do. Her remaining chakra was dwindling from using one of the Gates and side effects of her clone and the other use of the Gates was still weighing heavily on her.

She continued to flit, attack and flit again. However she could feel herself slowing down and knew that she needed to end this quick. So, with a final flit, she appeared underneath the demon's head and with all her mustered strength kicked the underside, hard. The monster's head snapped up, including it's body and that was the moment she turned her gaze to the brunette.

"NOW TENTEN!"

Tenten didn't need to be told twice.

With all the energy she had been gathering, her grey orbs narrow down her target. With Green Dragon in hand, Tenten crossed her arm over her chest, her knees bent slightly. "Roar," the girl whispered, "GREEN DRAGON!"

And with a shout that could pierce the heavens, Tenten swung her Chinese naginata in an upward arc. But unlike the last time, the gust of wind that ripped through the air had morphed into a dragon's head, It's sights on the demon in front of it. The blonde saw the attack coming and jumped out of the way and not a moment later, the wind dragon's maw opened up, swallowing the demon and went up towards the air carrying it with it.

Round and round it went as the demon soared higher into the air, and after a few more seconds the wind dispersed. Gravity instantly took over as the monster from the demon realm began to fall and unfortunately for it, it would never touch the ground again.

Not wasting the chance, the blonde hunter jumped up. When she was somehow higher than the demon, the girl brought her katana above her head, the metal gleaming in the moonlight behind her. Finally, with a shout, Ino brought down Masemune upon the demon's face, and slice down in one fluid motion.

The demon let out the loudest roar it could manage as it's body slowly started to slide in half. Then in the next moment, the roar died out as the monster slowly fizzled into black mist, evaporating in the air.

Tenten smiled at the sight. It's finally over...

But the smile that crept on her face suddenly disappeared when she saw the blonde's body grow stiff, the aura surrounding her dispersing and the girl was now falling down, fast. Oh SHIT! Tenten cursed in her thoughts and ran towards the place she was about to land. She wasn't going to make it however, so she gritted her teeth and slid on the ground, her arms out at the ready. The rough ground scrapped her skin but she thankfully was able to catch Ino.

"Are you alright, Ino!" the brunette cried out, but didn't get a response. "Ino!"

"You... don't need to... shout..." was the reply, and Tenten let out a sigh of relief, a genuine smile displayed for the blonde to see. And surprising the brunette, a smile was returned.

"That's what happened," Tenten said happily, grabbing some rāmen from her bowl and slurping it in her mouth. She was sitting at one of the booths at Rāmen Ichiraku's having just finished explaining the night's events to Sakura and Hinata, who were sitting across from her. The blonde was also there, sitting next to the brunette, eating her own meal.

"That's amazing, Tenten," Hinata chimed, then turned to gaze at the pinkette. "Don't you think so, Sakura-chan?"

The pink haired demon gave a nod, her arms folding in front of her chest. "I have to admit, I'm impressed," the demon girl complimented. For some reason, Tenten felt pride fill her chest from it. The girl then turned to Ino, her facial expression taking on an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been there. I was fighting a tough demon of my own."

"There's no need to apologise," Ino told her, "Besides, had you been there, I would have denied your help. After all, I didn't want your big forehead getting in the way."

The pink haired girl's eyebrow twitched but kept her composure. Instead, she smirked, which actually sent a shiver down the tomboy's spine. "I see. But then again, the demon would have been too distracted by the sound you would have made. Right, Ino-pig?"

This time the blonde's eyebrow twitched and she too smiled. And was it just her, or could she see electricity running between Ino and Sakura? Hinata laughed nervously and decided to speak up, hoping to dispel the glaring match the demon and hunter were having.

"So where's the Green Dragon now Tenten?" she asked.

"It's back hanging up in the dojo," she replied very thankful for her childhood friend. "Turns out whatever was inside the blade had given me the power to help take out the demon but once it was killed, the power was gone, and now it's just a normal decoration." As soon as the brunette had launched her last attack, whatever remaining power that had been dormant inside had completely vanished. Just like she had explained, it was now back in it's proper place and where it would forever stay.

Suddenly the door bell to the restaurant jingled, causing Tenten to turn her head and look. What the brunette saw, walking through those doors, surprised her.

"Ino, look," she called out to the blonde, who turned her blue gaze to Tenten before the door. The girl's eyes widened when she saw that it was the demon father she had protected that night and he had come with his wife. The son however was nowhere to be seen. The couple walked up to Ayame, who was at the counter and spoke to her. The owner's daughter then gestured to the group of four, and with a clear thank you, the husband and wife started to make their way towards them.

Ino's gaze quickly turned away from the pair, her eyes looking down instead, her hands tightly balled up into fist underneath the table. Tenten could tell the girl was still anxious. She had been fine in front of them when the demon had been there, fighting the monster at the front of her mind. But now that the distraction was gone, it was all coming back now.

Without thinking, Tenten reached underneath the table and clasped one of Ino's fists. The girl's eyes widened in surprise and turned her sky blue eyes onto grey. The tomboy smiled warmly and mouthed the same words that Ino had said on that night.

"I believe in you, Ino."

The wide eyes of Ino soon returned to what they were, her hands now resting calmly in her lap. When the older couple came up to their table and called out Ino's name, the girl herself looked at them with the confidence that a demon hunter should have.

"Yes sir?" the girl replied.

"Please, there's no need to be so formal," the demon man spoke. "After how we've treated you, we actually owe you an apology, and our thanks."

"But I don't-" Ino began but was cut off by the husband.

"Please let me finish," he continued. The girl remained silent after that. "When you came to us at the park that day and apologised to us, I admit, I was angry. I remembered when you tried to kill us the first time and I just couldn't let that go." Tenten could tell that the girl still felt the guilt as she lowered her gaze again.

"But," he carried on, making Ino look up again. "After what you did, nearly sacrificing your life to save me and my family, I knew then that your intentions at the park were pure. You could have easily left us to die, but you didn't."

"We made a huge mistake," this time it was the wife that spoke. "And that's why, Yamanaka-san, I hope you can forgive us!" The woman then bowed her head low, followed by the man, taking the girl aback.

"Please, raise your heads!" Ino cried in a whisper, not wanting to attract too much attention. They did as she said and Ino let out a sigh. "Like I tried to say, I don't deserve it. But, if we can put this behind us and move forward, I'd really love to do that." She smiled at the end, the delight in the couple was easily recognisable as they too smiled, bowing there heads once more only to get reprimanded by the blonde again.

The couple soon left with satisfaction and the group got back to eating and chatting. And all the while, Tenten noticed that a huge weight had lifted itself off her shoulders. For the first time, since she had apologised at the park, did she see a smile that reached her ears. She was practically glowing.

And unknown to them both, they had kept holding hands through out their time at Ichiraku Rāmens and only separated when it was time to head off home.

There you have it. Sorry if the ending and near it were too quick and lacklustre, and the explanation for Tenten's power wasn't done properly but this chapter will forever be in Demonic Love now. The next chapter will be Konan's so I'm going to try my very best into doing that one better. So please, bear with me!

Also, even though Tenten had power for a short amount of time, would you like to see her use it again in the near future? Please let me know, and I'll try and see what I can do.

Thanks for reading as always and please leave a review and tell me anything that can help improve the story or my writing. Also constructive criticism is also very appreciated.

See ya next chapter!