Chapter Seven
She laughed as he spun her around again and again. Their song twinkled softly in the background, but she could barely hear it. All she could hear was his deep laugh, all she could feel was love.
"I don't want this night to end." He said, speaking huskily into her ear. She shivered involuntarily as those oh so magical butterflies did flip-flops in her stomach.
This was it, she was going for the gold now, stepping out onto the proverbial limb, hoping he wouldn't let her fall. "I…I love you Neji-kun," she whispered softly in his ear.
She felt him pull away, watched him stuff his hands into his pockets and stalk off, "Well, I don't love you. Don't be late for training tomorrow morning." With that he continued walking, until he slowly faded into the blackness that surrounded her.
"Ah damn it!" Tenten jumped up off the ground in anger, glaring at the sun in mock protest. She had fallen asleep on the ground last night after going out training. She flecked at the dirt the was insistently clinging to her outfit, the expensive kimono she had failed to changed out of and subsequently had ruined.
"This sucks…ass. Damn stupid people!" She started to walk in the direction she assumed the house was before she realized something. "It's at least six in the morning," She stopped to gather some weapons that had been lying on the ground, "They didn't even come and look for me."
Little did she know that they had bigger things on their minds.
OoOoOoOoOoO
Last night…
"N..Naruto?" Sakura stared, this was not looking good. Sure, the whole let-me-rape-this-innocent-girl-who-happens-to-be-a-kunoichi-with-one-heck-of-a-crazy-cousin situation hadn't really worked out for the best. Technically, it wasn't worked out at all, but damn it, this wasn't looking so hot either!
"Just calm down Naruto, back off." Neji was slowing stepping away from the Kyuubi-fied Uzumaki boy, carefully pulling Sakura with him. "Just relax,"
Naruto stepped towards them, red chakra spiraling out from what used to be a foot.
"Where! Where is that bastard!" He was moving far more quickly now, effectively closing off the distance between himself and Neji and Sakura.
Sakura pulled out of Neji's deathlike grip and ran towards the only person she knew who, at this moment, could help get Naruto out of this. The last time he had three tails, well, that didn't go so well either.
"Sasuke-ku-" She cut herself off as she noticed him appear beside her immediately. He always did that.
"Where?" He didn't even wait for the answer as he ran towards Neji. She began to wonder how he could possibly know where she had come from, until she turned and noted the spiraling chakra seemingly coming from the secluded garden.
She ran back, not knowing that she was already too late.
OoOoOoOoOoO
"Kuso!" Sasuke hit the tree behind him, seemingly oblivious to the other young prodigy, brooding not three feet away from him.
"What if-" He too cut himself off and headed off towards Naruto. Hinata-sama was all that mattered, she was the clan's future and perhaps the only chance his future family had at enjoying the freedom he had never been able to have.
"Hn," Sasuke followed after, leaving Sakura to pant in the garden, muttering one obscenity after the other while she glared at her kimono. In a few seconds, however, she understood what she was left to do. It was her job to get Hinata. Whether Hinata knew it or not, which she definitely did not, she was their best chance at stopping Naruto.
OoOoOoOoOoO
"HINATA! IF YOU DON'T FUCKING OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR IN ONE FUCKING SECOND I'LL FUCKING BREAK IT DOWN WHETHER YOU'RE FUCKING IN FRONT OF IT OR NOT!" Sakura paused, mid rant to note what she had just screamed. She also paused to thank Kami-sama her mother was nowhere within the vicinity and within reach of a bar of soap. She shuddered involuntarily.
"I'm really sorry Hinata-chan but you need to come out, it's…Uummm…" she thought about what she was going to say this time, before she mindlessly spewed up her own form of word vomit.
'Well, uumm Naruto, who's not really Naruto at this point in time, is about to go on a killing rampage because of you…right…if that didn't convince her then what would..' Inner Sakura really needed to learn when to cool it.
She began to speak, but only got two words out of her mouth before Hinata flung open the door and asked "Where?"
OoOoOoOoOoO
"NO, THAT'S NOT HIM NARUTO!" Sasuke slammed Naruto into the nearest inanimate object for approximately the eighteenth time in the last ten minutes. The dobe was going after every male within eye shot and Sasuke, thankfully, had one all inclusive item with which to respond to every one of his best friend's actions – patented Uchiha glare of death.
Naruto slams innocent civilian (according to Neji anyways, one could never be too sure these days) into ground – Uchiha glare of death directed at Naruto (why must he persist in being such a dobe?)
Naruto growls as said innocent civilian runs for cover and Sasuke and Neji barrel in out of nowhere – Uchiha glare of death directed at Naruto and Neji (I can handle him by myself, damn it!)
Naruto claws at every available surface in order to escape, which he does within seconds – Uchiha glare of death directed at Neji (If you're going to help, there's a trick to this, and that would be not letting the idiot get away!)
And people say Sasuke doesn't say anything. Well, as everyone knows, actions speak far louder than words ever could.
He could imagine what his fearsome glare of death looked like after Naruto barreled into his latest victim, and Neji did absolutely nothing to stop him. Little did he know that for a moment, and regretfully for only one minute, he looked like a fish out of water.
Neji, in reply to the reinstated Uchiha-glare-of-death, glared right back with the eerily similar Hyuuga counterpart. His fists clenched and minute amounts of sweat began to gather on his forehead.
Sasuke turned away from him to evade the rather large blood spatter headed his way. He grimaced and returned his attention to Neji.
"That's him," he managed to hiss out, in yet another eerily similar resemblance to a former snake-sannin. He looked as if he wanted a piece of the red haired piece of shit himself until a familiar dark haired blob appeared, running straight into the path of Naruto's latest attack, the fearful Kyuubi-enhanced Rasengan.
"Hinata-sama," He ran to snatch her out of harm's way, much in the same way he had gone in for the kill during their match in the Chuunin exams, with freakish determination to achieve his goal. He didn't make it in time.
Hinata had gotten to Naruto far before her cousin or the crazy pink-haired woman chasing after her (still in the cumbersome kimono) could reach her. She disrupted his powerful attack with her kaiten, proving, perhaps for the first time in her life, that being a Hyuuga wasn't completely useless.
She stopped once she noticed that Naruto had been flung far enough back to get him out of harm's way, it was perhaps only at this time that she realized that he was never the one in danger. She felt the sadly familiar feeling of metal against her throat, the red haired attacker who had become far too familiar to her pressing his body against her much smaller one. She let out a strangled cry, cursing her stupidity for perhaps the millionth time since she had arrived in Iwagakure.
Naruto had returned to himself, only to charge into the fight once more when he noticed the latest addition to the motley battle. It was Hinata-chan.
"BASTARD!" He launched a precise kick at the man's head, but immediately pulled himself away once he noted that Hinata's head was were said bastard's had previously been.
She was pleading with her eyes for him to back off, and he did, although it was very unwillingly.
"That's right boys," he taunted the three young men before him before slowly backing away with Hinata in his grasp. "Just let me go if you want to see her again." He whispered softly to her after noting that Sasuke had pulled both Neji and Naruto away from him with some difficulty. She winced and struggled, but still couldn't get away.
"I've been thinking about you a lot, pretty girl," He started to stroke her arm while backing away. She looked murderous in reply, a surprising and heartening feeling. Sakura couldn't help but smile as she watched Hinata jyuuken his ass, she would finally be okay.
She noticed the look on Sasuke's face too, he was smirking. She would be okay, but maybe she would be okay faster with a little help from everybody's favourite blond embodiment of energy? She smirked too.
OoOoOoOoOoO
Sakura and Sasuke (although he did so against his better judgment) proceeded to drag Neji away from his cousin after he had inspected her non-existent physical wounds and stomped on the corpse a few times.
"Hina-"
"She'll be fine," Sakura replied softly, subtly inching him away from Naruto and Hinata.
"But sh-"
"I SAID SHE'LL BE FINE DAMN IT!" So much for subtle. She let out a few seconds of nervous laughter before recruiting Sasuke to drag Neji away from his cousin. He, however, couldn't do it until the Hyuuga had his chance to threaten and shake his fist in Naruto's direction.
The smirk had left Hinata's face as she gazed down at the corpse with acute fascination. Naruto approached her slowly from behind, oblivious to the large amounts of noise their friends were making behind him. He reached out to hug her, but she quickly pulled away before he could touch her.
"I…I guess you know then." She offered, with her trademark quiet voice. He nodded in reply, concern etched in his face. For the third time in his life, he had nothing to say.
"I…I…I will be fine," she smiled slightly, "but I will need help."
Naruto grinned at her. "Are you hungry then Hinata-chan? You haven't eaten anything in almost three days! Yosh, we'll find someplace like Ichiraku and get some ramen!" He was about to sling his arm around his shoulder before he remembered and quickly jerked it away, embarrassed for forgetting that small detail. He then felt himself blushing as a hand, much softer than anything he had ever felt grabbed his large calloused one.
"I said I would need help," she began after a couple of minutes, "you help me." She was roughly the colour of Tenten's kimono from that night.
The level and tone of his voice changed dramatically, becoming quiet and caring within seconds, "You help me too," 'More than I thought.' He smiled, grabbed her hand, and walked down the darkened road.
OoOoOoOoOoO
Athrun made his way down a darkened passage, careful to stick close to wall so he wouldn't fall. The dungeons were disgusting, covered with blood, bones, feces, and Kami-knows-what. He held his breath as he stood in front of the cell containing an all too familiar girl.
Ayame-chan…
He'd liked her for as long as he could remember, maybe he even loved her. But the thought of what he had done to her, he'd kidnapped her, watched as she was tortured for something she knew nothing about, and then he had left her there.
She'd been here for one night now and already her body was showing the signs of torture, even if her mind was nowhere near ready to admit defeat. Under her father's rule as Tsuchikage, Iwagakure nin had endured torture preparation as a result of their poor relations with every shinobi country, especially that of Kirigakure – the bloody Mist.
Ayame was definitely the strongest kunoichi he had seen in a while. Athrun knew that he was one of the strongest shinobi in the country, but being a kunoichi was entirely different. You had to be far tougher, at least in his opinion. His fist clenched, purely out of reflex – being tough hadn't helped his sister, or his mother, or any person in his entire family for that matter.
He opened the door briefly and put the tray containing the contraband food and medical supplies. He muttered a simple "Don't tell them," and then took his leave.
He was doing the right thing here; in the end he was saving far more people than he hurt, right?
OoOoOoOoOoO
"Do I have to?" Kenji whined as he threw the folder on his bed, noting Ikasu's murderous glance as he did.
"Tsuchikage-sama," she started to growl threateningly, "I worked very hard on planning dates those girls would enjoy. I factored in the hip things you swinging cats like to do nowadays and I ev-"
Kenji held up his hands in defeat. "Fine! Fine, tonight starting with Yamanaka-san." And people call me pushy…
OoOoOoOoOoO
"Forehead girl! Tenten! Hinata!" Ino began to run around their house, searching for her MIA friends. Unfortunately for the boys, they seemed to be the only people she could find.
"God damn it Naruto! Just because you patched things up with Hinata doesn't mean that we're not fighting!" She grabbed the collar of his black jacket and pulled him towards her, eyes blazing, "Now-get-off-you-lazy-ass-and-help-me-find-them." She hissed through narrowed eyes and clenched teeth.
"Calm down Ino," Shikamaru placed a reassuring hand on her back, but he whipped it off as soon as he noted her defeated expression. "I have to go on my date today and I would really appreciate some comfort food with the girls before I go and meet this guy."
If Shikamaru felt anything other than apathy he did not let it show, in the least. "Mendokusai Ino. Dates are wastes of time."
"I know!" Naruto had taken the past moment to release Ino's grip on him, "Do they even know how much all that fancy crap they want costs?"
"Hn" Sasuke gave his agreement. Neji merely nodded his assent.
Ino grinned, "Not like you've ever had anyone to spend your money on," She stuck out her tongue playfully. Sasuke barely hid his laugh, watching Naruto turn red.
"That goes for all of you." He stopped laughing, sadly, it was true.
Naruto grinned, "Well I have a solution! Just pick more of those clothes in that room near Hinata-chan's! That way he'll be sure to pick you!" Neji slapped his forehead in disbelief while Shikamaru looked murderous.
"No" His reply was met with four blank stares. He proceeded to clarify his position. "Well," he coughed, obviously uncomfortable, "if I was him, I'd say you should go for the ugliest clothes you can find.'
Questioning stares replaced the blank ones.
"Don't look like you're trying too hard. In fact, don't look like you're trying at all."
"That makes absolutely n-" Shikamaru elbowed Naruto in the stomach, earning himself Uchiha death glare number four. "Ehehehe, that makes perfect sense! If my girlfriend did that it'd be a real turn on!"
Sasuke glanced at him, seeming bored. "What girlfriend dobe?"
Naruto turned red. "Well, uummm,"
"TELL ME IT'S NOT MY COUSIN!" Ino quietly made her escape, not wanting to be part of the strange male bonding ritual. And they think the Hyuuga prodigy is quiet.
"It's not I swear! I would never do that to Hinata-chan!"
"So you're trying to break her heart now!"
Shikamaru muttered to himself, "Even he admits how awful dating him would be."
"IT WOULD NOT BE AWFUL! ANY GIRL DATING YOU WOULD BE BORED OUT OF HER MIND!"
Sasuke smirked, "Better than questioning her sanity for going out with a certain somebody."
"I'LL KILL YOU TEME! HEY! DON'T MOVE YOU SCAREDY-CAT!"
OoOoOoOoOoO
"Go away Sakura," Tenten was still lying in the clearing having successfully depleted her chakra reserves two nights in a row. At this point throwing a well placed kunai could be fatal. "Just go away."
"I need to apol-"
"I SAID GO AWAY!" Sakura's eyes widened, but she gained control of herself, choosing to look demurely at the ground.
"I…I'm sorry that I passed out, and I'm sorry that you had to see him trying to wake me up so I wouldn't be trampled, but you need to know that there is absolutely not-"
"I don't even know why I'm surprised really," Tenten got up very slowly, being sure to support her weight on the tree behind her, "I mean, when Sasuke left yo-"
Sakura's temper flared, "When Sasuke-kun left I holed myself up in my room for four months! What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
"Well," she smirked, "it's not like you were, how shall I put this, monogamous, per say?" Sakura glared.
"I didn't do anything with hi-"
Tenten glared in reply, "I'm sure, just like you weren't doing anything yesterday!" Her voice became shrill within the span of two seconds.
"I wasn't! I don't even understand why you're getting so uptight about this when you claim to have no feelings for him!"
"I never said that you bitch!"
"Well you didn't exactly deny it either! And who the hell are you to call me a bitch when you're a whore!"
Tenten took a step towards her, reaching for her shuriken until a wave of dizziness swept through her head. She rethought taking that menacing step and chose to remain where she was. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, bitch!"
Sakura followed Tenten's lead and remained where she was. She knew herself, and her infamously violent temper; she didn't want to do anything that she'd regret. "It's supposed to mean that the whole fucking village knows about your little fling with that random Kaze-nin last year!"
"That was nothing and you know that! You were with us all the-"
Sakura smirked, "Just like what happened with me and Neji, so why the hell don't you understand!"
"Because I don't think you're telling me the truth," she whispered, more to herself than to Sakura.
Sakura had calmed down as well, readjusting her volume level to match that of her companion. "Well that's it then, the real reason you won't listen to me and forgive that baka that you love." Sakura sighed, "Fine then, but there really is nothing going on." She walked away, leaving Tenten more confused than ever.
I don't believe you.
OoOoOoOoOoO
"I found you Ino!" Sakura grinned as she walked through the door, sending a small wave in Sasuke's general direction, which he surprisingly returned. "So, what's the big emergency I could hear you screaming about from a mile away?"
Ino grinned as well, taking her best friend's arm and leading her towards Hinata's bedroom. "Well, forehead girl, you will never believe the plan I just came up with…"
OoOoOoOoOoO
"So…" Kenji cleared his throat, clearly uneasy. For his troubles he received a…
…pathetically happy and upbeat cheer about the tone of his voice…
…slight sob, and a used Kleenex thrown in his direction…
…idiotic grin…
"I, uh, I like what you're wearing!" He let out more nervous laughter wishing desperately this night would be over.
…Me too! Me too! Me too!
…So you're a fan of masochism and totally not into the label people put on you?
…Isn't it adorable? I bought it way back; actually I bought the purse way back. The co-ordinating pink just happened to work with every other piece of clothing I have! Isn't that just the strangest thing?
He decided to go with the preplanned question list Ikasu-san had given him, "What do you like to do in your spare time?"
… Yet another cheer about his uncanny ability to wear matching socks
…How could you ask that you jerk!
… I like to go to the weekly banjo duels, then there's the cousin swap, and on Friday nights we all take baths together!
He sweat dropped, but struggled mightily to hide it from his date. Seeing how well this was going he asked the next question. "Would you actually consider marrying me were this not predestined by fa- What kind of screwed up question is this?"
…insert cheer about his wondrous deducing ability…
…Life sucks...
…Of course I would still marry you; I mean what's not to love honey! With that ass and those cheekbones?
Dear God, He glanced at his watch as discreetly as possible, okay only thirty minutes to go. "If you could pick any of your friends to immediately rule out from getting married to me, who would it be?"
…Forehead-girl…
…Tenten-san…
…Hinata-chan…
That should certainly clear things up…"Well, I've had a great time tonight, I don't know about you." I really don't want to know about you. "Oyasumi," After shutting the door he sank to the ground. And they wonder why I've never been in love. And why does that feel wrong even in my head?
OoOoOoOoOoO
"So forehead-girl? Did it work?" Ino practically attacked her as soon as she closed the door behind herself. She ignored the curious glances of the five others in the room and focused on Ino.
She forced the corners of her mouth down, "He….he…"
Ino's smile dropped like a dead fly, "He what! If that bastar-"
"He believed it! Your plan worked like a charm Ino-pig! There's no way he would pick us, if he's in his right mind that is."
Ino squealed and hugged her, the rest of the group letting out a collective sigh. Thank Kami-sama
"I..I'm happy for you Sakura-chan," Hinata stepped in front of Ino and offered Sakura a small hug of her own.
"Who would have guessed that acting like complete losers would actually be helpful in life?"
Hinata's small smile dropped, "He…he still has to pick two of us for the fight though," she practically whispered that line.
Ino's smile lessened, feeling the mood in the room turn oppressive once more.
"Come on Sakura-chan!" Naruto appeared from the living space, "One last night of bonding? We have ramen!" He practically sung the last line, eliciting a smile and smirk from his two teammates. We'll need it before we hear that depressing news tomorrow.
"Sorry Naruto," Sakura smiled sadly, "Not tonight…" I still have to find Tenten.
Naruto, being way more perceptive than people gave him credit for, understood completely, choosing to grab Hinata's hand, lacing his fingers through his.
"Wanna go for a walk Hinata-chan?" He smiled almost shyly at her.
She turned the colour of a tomato once again. "Sssure Naruto-kun," She smiled shyly at him as well.
OoOoOoOoOoO
Neji slapped his forehead in frustration, then again once he noticed that nobody had seen the first one. He had been out searching the village for hours and still no sign of Tenten. It wasn't that he was scared for her safety, but he did want to speak to her.
Sakura had told him about what had happened, again. If this had happened to him in the past he probably wouldn't have cared. But now, Tenten meant something more to him then he liked to let on.
She had been 'missing' for that past two days, although he was fairly sure that Ino was covering for her. I mean, she did need clean clothes, amongst other things.
Neji slapped his forehead as he passed into the more ninja-ized area of the village. There were weapon smiths on every street, once again making him slap his forehead in frustration. That was when he saw her.
"Tenten!" He tried to call her as discreetly as he knew how, which resulted in her not hearing him. Neji ran towards her, determined to at least convince her to come back to the house.
"Tenten, will you at least talk to me?" Okay, so now he was thinking that she had heard, and simply chosen not to respond. He grabbed arm from behind, struggling not to laugh as she tried to pull away without turning around. He stopped when she turned and he noticed the tears in her eyes.
"Damn it Hyuuga, let go of my hand!" She dropped the basket she'd been carrying and used her body strength to pry his death grip off of her. "If you want to hold someone's hand so damn badly, well, just go back to the little Haruno." Tenten's eyes narrowed.
"You know we're just friends."
"Who's just friends? You two or the two of us?" She waited expectantly for all of thirty seconds before gathering her things off of the ground. "That's what I thought."
Neji finally reacted, grabbing her wrist once more. "You can't leave, we still need to talk."
"Well I think we just did," she spat out dangerously. "And considering how fun that was, I really don't think we need to be doing anything anytime soon." He still wouldn't let go.
"Please," Her eyes widened slightly, but she recovered quickly.
Tenten finally managed to pull her hand out of his grasp. "No."
OoOoOoOoOoO
"I'm assuming that everything is at the site, ready to go." His face was masked with the shadows that were so prevalent at this time of day.
"Hai, Shishou. The explosive are set to go off when detonated by this." Athrun handed the man a small remote with a single button on it.
"And you got the original ones? We can not afford mistakes; we already had to change the plan."
"Hai, Shishou. Everything is as you said."
"Good, and the girl?"
He felt the menacing eyes staring holes in his face, yet he betrayed nothing. "She's holding up far better than expected. She claims to know nothing about the jewel."
"She will crack; after all, she is only a kunoichi. She is not a threat." He paused to revel in the glory of his plan. "The wedding is in how many days?"
"If everything goes according to pl-" Cold hands were clasped around his throat, leaving him gasping for air.
"Everything," the voice hissed dangerously, "Everything will go according to plan." He released his death grip. "Or it's your family who pays the price."
"Hhhaai, Sshishou, according to plan."
"Everything comes down to the next two days. Then, and only then, can we make our move." If only we could find that damn jewel!
OoOoOoOoOoO
"So, Sasuke-kun," Sakura wrung her hands nervously before sitting next to him. The two were sitting on the roof of their 'house', gazing at the stars. It was quiet, and for Sasuke it was completely comfortable. But Sakura needed some noise, and so she began to talk.
"Do you think everything is predestined or that we can choose our own fates?" She grinned sheepishly at his questioningly look. "It's just that, well, with the 'master plan' Ino drafted, it just might not do us any good."
"Aa."
"Sasuke-kun," she put on the most adorable pout she could muster before deflating her expression, "never mind. Good night." She got up and started towards the unlatched windows before he called her.
"I don't think it matters what you or I think."
It was her turn to be confused. "Well, why not?"
"With my clan," he took a deep breath before continuing, "I … I like to think that nii-san wasn't born an evil person, because I know that he wasn't. He was the most important person in my life, but life made him into what he was – one of the most feared and despised beings on the planet." He raised his eyes to meet hers. "Life, is what you chose to make of it."
Sakura blushed, feeling the intensity of his gaze on her face. "Arigato, Sasuke-kun."
"Aa."
"Do you mind if I stay for a while?"
He smirked. "Hn."
OoOoOoOoOoO
Kenji stared at his menu, fascinated with the tamagi, udon, and ebi (egg roll, calamari, and yellow fish) he saw listed. Those last three dates were disasters! I hope this girl is partially normal!
"Ano, why are you doing this?" Tenten folded her menu.
Kenji gave her a strange look before replying. "Well, typically at this time of day, people do this thing called eating."
She laughed, then remembered why she was there and stopped. "No, I mean why are you willing to marry a complete stranger because some old men and women say you have to?"
His expression became serious once again. "Honestly?" He continued when he saw her nod. "Well, my country has never been as…lucky…as Konohagakure. You have known peace all your lives, we've know war. I just thought that if I could do something, like ensure there was no war, atleast with one country, then the personal consequences were worth it." His eyes widened as he felt a smaller hand on top of his own.
Tenten smiled at him. "So, do you want to get out of here? I saw this great place that sells ice cream about a block away!"
He grinned at her, stood up and took her by the arm. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" I like her, I like her a lot. But… He stopped to open the door for her. She just reminds me of somebody else.
"Hey Tenten," She smiled at him. "Do..do you feel like you're forgetting about something?"
"Umm, not really."
"Well, it's just since the night of that party, I feel like I'm missing someone. Does that make any since?" He laughed sheepishly, putting both his hands behind his head.
"Actually," her brow furrowed, "Saku-…nevermind."
"You mean the psychotic pink-haired one? Dear god, how can you live with those three? I mean the blond one practically made up a cheerleading routine every time I said something, the black haired one just cried and talked about self-mutilation, and the pink one! She was just plain crazy!" He paused to wipe the sweat that had formed on his face, "Sadly, she was the most normal out of the three."
Tenten stifled a laugh. "Actually I'm not – living with them I mean. Things are just…weird."
"Well, if you don't mind my asking," he motioned towards a bench by the side of the road, "why not? You have known them pretty much your whole life as a shinobi. And there is nothing life life-and-death situations to bond people together."
Tenten stared at the cobblestones. "I," her voice dropped off, "I just don't really want to say."
"That's okay." He sighed, "But whatever it is, you'll get over it. I mean, your friends may be insane, but they're still you're friends."
"Yah," I hope so…
"Can I walk you home?"
She smiled, "Sure. I guess I'll have to face them sooner or later." She accepted his arm and the two proceeded to stroll down the main street of the village. "Just so you know, they aren't really like that." He looked at her, confused. "Well, Ino is really happy, intense, and always energetic. Hinata is just so shy and sweet that it makes even the nicest person feel like part of Akatsuki. And then Sakura…she's nice."
"She's just nice?" He glanced at her in wry amusement, hiding his relief. Thank god…
OoOoOoOoOoO
The doors of the house burst open as the council of elders and the Tsuchikage himself walked through. The Konoha shinobi stood ready, the guys were standing awkwardly, trying to pretend that what Kenji said wouldn't affect the rest of their lives. The girls were awkward too, each hoping that somehow all of them could get out of this mess.
"Well," the cold and calculating voice of Burraku-san cut through the silence. "Kenji has made his final selection. Kenji?" He gestured towards the other people in the room, "If you would."
"Well then," He smiled nervously, trying to ease some of his own qualms. "I…I just wanted to say that I think you're all very nice people."
"Damn right they are!" Naruto opened his mouth only to be knocked on the head by a very nervous looking Sasuke.
"Urusai baka," he tried to hiss inconspicuously, but everyone's eyes were already on him.
"Anyways," Kenji smiled at the golden-haired man who reminded him of himself in a carefree time. The smile disappeared. "I made my choice…and I chose…well..Tenten.."
Tenten smiled sadly at the ground, not noticing a certain Hyuuga using a certain death-glare on Kenji, Tsuchikage or not.
"Yes, Tenten and…"
"Oh, just spit it out!" Ino glared at Kenji, impatiently tapping her foot, and then shifting her glare to Fuzen as he glared at her.
"Sakura."
OoOoOoOoOoO
Dear – god, that was so long! Well, I hope you enjoyed it and WAM! Sakura and Tenten are the finalists! I know I said that we would find out who Kenji's bride was going to be but I felt it was more important to showcase personal development over major plotline events. But there was a lot of that. Tenten was getting extremely angry with Sakura for the past few chapters so their fight should be very interesting. Then there's Kenji who can't seem to remember a thing about this mysterious missing 'thing'. We learned some more about Athrun's background and why he kidnapped Ayame (don't worry, she makes her appearance fairly soon). Hinata (aahh how I love her) and Naruto are finally together. We'll see how they, as well as everyone else, reacts to the upcoming fight and marriage.
Now the next chapter will definitely have the fight and the wedding so stay tuned! Woot woot!
This story is probably going to be 2 or 3 chapters longer, so not that much to go! If you could review (hint hint), I would appreciate knowing which of my other stories (Broken Hearts – epilogue, Sold – Chapter 2, Bonds – epilogue, The ties that bind – Chapter 2, or even this one) you would like to see the next update in. Thanks again for reading!
Next chapter – Sakura and Tenten fight, Kenji makes his final choice, and our notorious bad guys make their move!