A/n: hey guys. Sorry for the delay but life has been kicking my butt for the past couple of months. I'm happy to say I'm more on top of everything now and plan to update this story more regularly.

now that that's said...

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THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! ^_^

they're what motivated me to get something up as soon as humanly possible. So thanks a bunch to:

Imagination's Keyboard, Nowriting, I LoVe TeNtEn, silverstargazer, Monzie, Dreaming101, BeautifulLullaby, reegreeg, 8ouji-Rui, Ichigo-chan, treavellergirl

Thank you so much for taking time to review the last chapter. I'm glad you're all enjoying it so far. And let me know if I missed you, I tried to make sure I got everyone.

and for those lurkers since haven't heard from yet, please feel free to drop a comments. Even just a word. I cherish every one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did Sasuke would have come to his senses by now (seriously, dude has major issues)

I frowned at my reflection, taking in the ridiculously baggy shirt and pants.

I looked like a runaway mental patient.

"The person who used to own this cabin seemed to have been a man," Neji had mused as he thrust the otrocious fabric at me, "This will have to do for now."

I opened my mouth to protest I had my own clothes dammit!, but then he had dumped the remaining moldy artlicles from my bag and I had no choice but to hang my head in defeat.

"Use the bathroom to clean yourself and change," he ordered, "By then I should have found you some shoes and then we can leave."

I had rolled my eyes, but obeyed. Maybe if he hadn't said it in such a patronizing manner I might have thanked him.

He treated me like a snotty little kid and it irritated the hell out of me.

I was probably older than he was too.

Sighing, I attempted to roll up the sleeves to the shirt a bit so they didn't completely obscure my hands. I already had to cuff the pants nearly four times—even with the belt, yet my toes barely peeked from the bottoms.

Whoever this man was, he must have been massive.

"You're still not done?" Neji's gruff voice demanded from the other side of the door.

I scoffed.

Still? I'd only been in here for ten minutes!

Ignoring him, I took another quick glimpse in the mirror. My skin was slightly pink from the intense scrubbing, but clean, and my hair damp and wavy. I fingered a dark strand lightly. If it weren't for the ten sizes too big clothing, I would have thought myself fairly decent.

"Tenten-" he growled, this time punctuating his words with a bang,"I can promise you if you aren't out of this bathroom in the next sixty seconds..."

I tuned him out, gathering my hair in a low ponytail. Jeez, somebody had control issues. Who did he think he was, my father?

When I had completed the hairstyle I gave myself a satisfactory nod. There. This should keep it out of the way. I had wanted to put it in my customary twin buns, but I lost most of my hair supplies back when I had gotten lost in the woods the night before.

"Tenten!"

Oh for the love of sea kelp!

I stomped over to the door and wrenched it open with a glare.

"Can't a girl get dressed in peace?" I snapped, "You'd think a shark was on our tail with the way you're rushing me."

He glared back, shoving a pair of boots at me with such force I nearly fell backwards.

"Time may not be of the essence to a simple creature like you," he stressed, jaw clenched, "But for me every minute wasted is a higher risk I am putting upon the well being of this planet and all it's inhabitants."

I blinked at him.

What the hell was he even talking about?

His expression was grim, like he had the weight of the world relying on his very shoulders. But that couldn't be true—unless, unless... he really was a god.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear it of the preposterous thoughts.

No. Absolutely not. There was no way this pretty-boy kid was a god.

"You're crazy." I retorted and that only seemed to spark his temper.

He released a frustrated growl, muttering something beneath his breath that sounded suspiciously like,

"It had be her didn't it?"

I frowned.

"Fine. Whatever, " he said tersely, eyes sweeping the room, "Whether you believe me or not we need to get going. Immediately."

He seemed to be expecting something, and I tilted my head curiously.

"How come?"

The ground vibrating beneath our feet answered my question. I threw a panicked look to Neji, who swore before yanking me by the arm towards a nearby closet.

The floor was trembling fiercely, and if it weren't for Neji's steady grip on my wrist I would have plummeted to the ground several times. A shadow fell over the windows and then suddenly the knob to the front door was twisting.

I stood gaping at it, frozen with terror.

Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod.

"Would you come on?" Neji hissed, and in less than five seconds he had entered the closet and pulled me in after him, shutting the door behind us with a sharp 'click.'

There wasn't much space to spare, and I could feel every little couture of Neji's body as it pressed against mine. It was awkward. And hella embarrassing as every time I breathed my boobs would rub against his chest in a way that should only be reserved for lovers.

"Can't you move back a little?" I practically begged. This was pure torture! His sinewy arms were caging me against the door, his head right next to mine as his silky hair tickled my nose and cheeks.

He shifted, and I stifled a squeal when his breath bathed my ear in smoldering heat.

"Be quiet." He ordered, voice so urgent my eyes shot to his. But it was dark, and I couldn't make out much but their shape.

"He's returned." He revealed and I could only stare.

He?

Loud shuffling sounded from inside the house and Neji tensed, before slowly crouching so that he could peer out the keyhole. I was beyond uncomfortable by this point, as his body slid intimately against mine on the way down, his face now resting right between my open legs.

Sweet octopus.

I desperately wanted to slap him because—just what the hell was that?—but knew I couldn't jeopardize our hiding spot. Plus he didn't even seem to realize just how sexual his position was as he squinted out the keyhole, like it had never even crossed his mind.

I groaned quietly.

Why me?

"Shit." He swore, interrupting my thoughts, "He's bigger than I thought."

Then it clicked.

He. The house owner.

The one whose clothes I was currently wearing.

Well, stealing technically.

"Let me see!" I demanded, but Neji kept me away with an effective elbow to my stomach. And it hurt like hell. I'm sure if I lifted my shirt there would be an elbow-shaped bruise. Whatever the heck that looked like.

"No." He answered deadpan, "There's no need."

I bristled, temporally distracted from my pain.

And just did he mean by that?

"No need?" I parroted, irritation prickling my skin. Indignant was an understatement as I attempted to scowl at him through the blackness.

"That's what I said isn't it?" He responded cagily. I nearly yanked his girly hair right from the roots.

Why you little smug bastard.

"And why the hell not?" I retorted, struggling to keep my voice low. He was seriously irking me.

He turned his head, no doubt at the anger coloring my words, and I caught the glimpse of a frown before it was obscured back into the shadows.

"Because it is unnecessary." His tone was clipped. "This discussion is over."

He said it with such finality I flinched, reminded greatly of my playground days when the others sirens refused to include me in their games.

"We have enough people already Tenten, you're unnecessary."

"But—" I had protested weakly.

"We're through talking about it."

I hung my head in defeat as they swam away from me.

"Okay."

But I wasn't that Tenten anymore, I reminded myself. I wasn't that tentative little girl who always just took what was thrown at her and just accepted it. And Neji was about to learn that.

I'll show you unnecessary.

I plopped right on top of him, ignoring the electric pulse that shot through my body at the contact. If he wouldn't let me see then I would just have to catch a glimpse for myself.

I could feel the muscles bunch in Neji's shoulders, still with shock. My little stunt had obviously caught him off guard.

Good. That meant I had the advantage.

"And just what in all Hades do you think you're doing?" He growled, voice sounding abnormally strained. I figured it had more to do with the fact that his puny body couldn't handle my weight than me practically sitting in his lap.

I smiled cheekily, not that he could see it.

"I want to see." I answered simply.

He blew a frustrated breath.

"Didn't I just say—"

"I don't care. I wanna see—"

"Don't interrupt me—"

"You interrupted me!—"

"Cause you interrupted me first—"

"I just want a peek—"

"See you did it again!—"

A loud thump silenced us both, the reverberation of heavy footfalls shaking the ground as He walked right past the closet. I could see his shadow filtering beneath the door, not relinquishing my breath until it was gone. God, I wanted to see him so bad.

It was the siren in me to be curious—I couldn't help myself.

I attempted to shove Neji aside, but he wouldn't budge. That skinny body of his was a lot stronger than it looked.

"Move." I hissed.

"No Tenten," he hissed back, then sternly, "And we're not talking about this anymore."

I shoved him again.

"Stop it!" He snapped.

"Then move!" I snapped back.

"No!"

I shoved him harder and his face slammed against the door—the sound a lot louder than it should have been.

Crap!

We both froze. Waiting for the door to be wrenched open by the giant, but nothing happened. We soon realized why when heavy snores rose to our awareness. We had been so busy bickering we didn't even realize.

He had fallen asleep.

"Let's just get out of here." Neji suggested tersely, "Before he wakes up."

I agreed wholeheartedly.

"Okay," Neji's hand began to slowly turn the knob, cautiously pushing the door open and allowing streams of light to filter in. "On the count of three we run for it."

His colorful eyes met mine and I bobbed my head eagerly.

"One."

Neji pushed the door all the way open.

"Two."

We tipped out of the closet.

"Three!"

Neji tore off running like a madman, and I was right on his heels. Or, er, at least I would have been.

As soon as I attempted to run I had tripped over my oversized pants-leg and went careening to the floor.

The racket that followed was like an explosion, one of my boots flying off and flinging across the room into the kitchen where it banged against various pots and pans and knocked a cup onto the floor.

Neji face-palmed from across the room.

Hey, it was his fault for giving me ginormous pants!

I opened my mouth to say as much, but a louder, much deeper voice answered in my stead.

"Well, look what we have here..."

For once Neji's indifferent expression was gone, replaced with one of panic as his eyes stared at the spot just over my shoulder.

That's when I noticed I was shrouded in darkness. Or more specifically, someone's shadow.

My entire body was trembling with fear.

I really didn't want to look up, but my curiosity had increased ten-fold, and I figured I might as well get it over with. So I slowly craned my head around—and nearly inked myself on spot.

"Shit." The word had slipped from my mouth without my consent.

The giant grinned.

a/n: yeah kinda on the short side but I couldn't fit everything I wanted in this chapter without it being colossal, so I divided it into three parts.

so...

Who do you think the giant is?

what's going to happen to Neji and Tenten?

Two new characters revealed in the next chapter

review and stay tuned! ;)

~Hope to dream