going to do TenTen now. I was wondering whether to do TenTen or Lee, but now I know exactly what sequence I can do things. :D :D so. Thank you Darth-Taish, and there was an awesome guest reviewer that motivated me. Review, people, review!

The Blacksmith

Tenten knew that the job she did wasn't for women. It was preposterous. Whoever heard of a woman making weaponry? Whoever heard of a woman knowing more about swords than a man? Scratch that, whoever heard of a woman owning a sword? No one, that's who.

She was a blacksmith. Yes, the ones that made weapons; swords, knives, daggers, clubs, axes, hammers, spears, she made them all. Using them wasn't an issue, either; she could beat most knights (but she could never beat the Prince or the King) any day. All knights but Neji.

Ah, Neji. He was her first love. She had loved him the moment she saw him moving with his sword, with grace and fluidity that made his movements seem like art. That was what he made fighting: art. The precise way he threw his knives, how he only had to lightly tap at his opponents for them to drop dead, how he commanded those around him.

It didn't help that he was so handsome, as if taken straight from a beautiful oil painting. He had long, creamy dark brown hair, with icy white pupil-less eyes, and porcelain skin and a slim body, with well sculpted and strong muscles from all of the training he did.

He was more beautiful than Tenten, herself. She only had brown hair, brown eyes, and tan skin, looking as common as it could be. It really was unfair. She even had her hair tied up, most of the time, because it couldn't get in the way while making weapons, making her look even more common. See, most of the ladies with status, in the kingdom, had their hair down. The only extra-ordinary thing about her was her job (meant for men), which was the way she met Neji.

Neji came here regularly for weapons, along with Lee. The two of them formed some kind of friendship with her, which steadily grew over the years. But as Tenten's friendship with Neji grew, so did her knowledge of him. She began to understand his cold mannerisms, his thoughts, his feelings. And once they got very close, Neji took Lee and herself to the castle, where he lived.

For Tenten, it started off being a magical experience. Everything was beautifully crafted, and Neji even took them to the weapon's room. It was all magnificent. Then Neji started acting a little bit strange, as if nervous, and he told them that he was going to take them to the gardens. And that was when they met her.

The Queen. Hinata. Neji's cousin. She was perfect, with lovely porcelain skin (much like Neji's), with lavender hues eyes in her creamy white eyes, and dark, indigo coloured hair. She also had a curvy hourglass figure, one that Tenten could never hope to achieve, herself. She greeted them, and there was nothing wrong with her personality; she was the sweetest thing, with the best of manners. A true lady.

But it wasn't that that put Tenten into a fit of despair and jealousy. Oh, no, no, no. it was Neji's reaction.

His usually cold eyes turned into putty in front of her eyes, a warm smile forming on his face. He dropped to his knees, and Tenten bore witness to how lovingly he kissed her hand. He did it a second longer than what was needed, but no one noticed but Tenten. And then he stood back up, and engaged the Queen in a conversation, actually attempting to humour her. It was then that Tenten realized why she had never seen Neji be with anyone, or mention anyone. It was because he was in love with the woman in front of her, the pretty Queen, Hinata. Who was already married, but everyone knew that royals often cheated on their other half.

Tenten knew jealousy. Not very much, but she had experienced it; jealousy for whoever was close to Neji, usually. But she had never known envy. Not such intense, blinding envy. And it only grew as Tenten searched, but couldn't find one horrible thing about her. Everything about her was perfect. And so, the envy grew and grew, until Tenten couldn't take it any longer, and stormed out. It only made her angrier that Neji didn't even seem to notice, or care.

Over the next few weeks, the jealousy in her stomach only seemed to grow. It mixed with guilt, for feeling such things for a kind and mannered woman, but she couldn't help it. And, one day, when Neji had come to visit, she had snapped, and insulted the Queen, in front of him. Neji's face had instantly hardened, and he had retaliated. Their close friendship, built over the years, was ruined. All because of a couple of words. Probably, Neji couldn't even be bothered to remember her...

But Lee didn't abandon her. No; he comforted her, throughout the whole ordeal. He had stayed by her side, doing his best to cheer her up, even though he didn't know what this breech was even about. He didn't care what Neji thought of her, even though Neji was his best friend. And so, Tenten began to forget all about Neji, his long silky hair, and his fluid movements. Those images were replaced with images of Lee's grinning face.

Lee wasn't handsome. He was incredibly tacky, with his green uniform, overly large eyebrows, and black shiny bob cut hair. But that made him so much more real than Neji's dreamy image. His strong, muscular arms comforted her when she needed comfort; something that Neji would have never done. He always smiled, and brightened up the atmosphere, even though he was much too eccentric, and after a while, started dimming it down. And, he too, was a fighter, his movements crisp and sharp, like newly cut grass.

When Tenten started gazing at him, as much as she could, she knew she was in love. A love much stronger than the love she had felt towards Neji, since there was an emotional connection between them too. But she knew it was never to be; Lee was much too in love with the Princess.

He repeated it all the time, actually. Sakura, with her exotic pink hair and crystalline green eyes had captivated him the first time he saw her, or so he said. And while Tenten was jealous, she was also quite bitter. Because the cycle would happen all over again, and if she opened her big mouth, Lee would abandon her, too. And this time, the heartbreak might even kill her.

Maybe this was what she got; for being a woman in a man's position. Men thought her as one of their own, forgetting, that she too, was a girl. Forgot that she too could fall in love with them, despite her job, despite her tomboyish appearance. Lee and Neji had never seen her as a woman; but a man, just like them.

But still, she couldn't give this job up. This was her passion, and without it, she would surely die. Love came and went, but passion stayed. This job was passed on throughout the generations in her family, from man to man. It was only her luck that she ended up being the only child in the family, her father leaving it up to her to carry their legacy.

And even if she loved Lee forever, at least she would have her passion to keep her going, even if he ended up being married with kids. Tenten learned from her mistakes; and if there was one thing she knew, is to never repeat what happened, ever again.

Still, Lee wouldn't discard her, not like Neji. Lee would probably scold her, and then tell her that everything would be alright. No, he would not be like Neji. But still, Tenten was scared, and weary. You could never know; especially since she hadn't seen him and Sakura together. Would he love her as much as Neji loved Hinata? Or more? Tenten was scared of finding out.

She wished he saw her as a woman. Not a man, not a friend, not a blacksmith, but a woman. But that would never be, because this was her curse for disobeying the laws of nature, that a woman wasn't supposed to work a man's job. Not in this world.

Ok. slightly shorter than the last one, but good enough. I hurried up, because pretty soon, Darth-Taisha will be unavailable T_T. But anyway, I hoped you liked it, and the next chapter will be Lee. His point of view, or his drabble thingiemabob. After that, Gaara, then Kankuro, then Temari, then Shikamaru, then Choji, then Ino, and so on...

Review, Review, Review,

Aurora-chan!