I (mostly) lived up to my promise, thank god. Please enjoy this chapter.
As the semi-finals approached, Tenten's paranoia grew stronger and stronger. Though most the Shinobi team treated her very normally (though Kiba seemed to be keeping his distance), Neji and Sasuke remained clearly suspicious. Neji may have stopped doing obvious enquiries, but Tenten still felt the painful tension between them, and was grateful that, once the team made it past the semi finals, her deception would almost be completed.
That said, there were still a couple of weeks before the semi finals, and another week before the finals themselves, and until then Tenten would have to behave herself very carefully.
All around her, the main topic of discussion was the faceoff against Suna for a place in the finals. While Suna and Konoha weren't exactly enemies, per se (that role belonged to Oto, and occasionally Mist), their rivalry always made for a good match. Practically everyone in the school anticipated a good match.
And Neji had no plans to let them down.
Practice was extended for an extra half hour each day. Though the extension didn't sound like very much, Neji was pushing them so hard that the practices were becoming almost unbearably long to most of the team. Naruto had commented once to her, only half-joking, that Neji did this every year to 'kill everyone who annoys him'.
One afternoon after a particularly hard practice, Tenten was getting ready to go home when she was approached by Neji.
"Toyo." She stiffened upon hearing her 'name' from his mouth. Though Neji hadn't been actively trying to rat her out, the harsh glares and brutal sparring sessions nearly killed her. Thankfully, Gai had intervened, and Neji had been handed to Lee as a training partner, much to Lee's delight and Tenten's relief.
"Yeah, Neji?" She turned to face him, reminding herself to breath normally, and not like someone under torture. He'll only suspect you more if you don't act totally natural…
"Come with me." He turned and began walking away before even hearing her answer. Figuring that more damage would be dealt if she tried to bolt, Tenten reluctantly followed, eying him warily, just incase he had planned on savaging her the second they were far enough away from the rest of the team.
Much to her surprise, however, Neji headed directly to the dorm rooms, with almost-single-minded determination. Minutely, Tenten allowed herself to relax, reminding herself that, if he tried to kill her, she could easily scream for help and someone would hear her. She relaxed even more once they were in the building, as it was unlikely that he would (or even could) try anything now.
"Here," he said curtly, stopping in front of one of the numbered doors and unlocking it. Her previous feeling of safety instantly faded, the panic returning full-force, and Tenten would have given in to her instincts and bolted if she had had enough courage. But she didn't, and mechanically, she followed Neji into his dorm room.
The first thing that hit her was that one side of the room was painted blinding, bright neon green that made her eyes water. In fact, everything on that side of the room was green, from the bed sheets to the desk to even the dresser. It couldn't have been more obvious that it was the dwelling place of the Second Green Beast of Konoha.
Once her eyes had recovered from the visual assault, she turned her attention to the other side of the room. Unlike Lee's painful, eye-catching colors, Neji's belongings were either stark white or black; no shade in between. The Hyuuga prodigy dumped his Shinobi bag on his bed before turning to face her, arms crossed and lips pressed together in a thin line.
He said nothing, and the silence stretched between them like a rubber band, waiting for the tension to snap it.
"…So, you wanted to talk to me?" Tenten asked, unable to bear it and simply wanting to get the encounter over with.
"Yes." Neji nodded brusquely. "It's come to my attention that you have been…hiding something from us."
"Us?" Tenten queried, trying to calm her now-erratic nerves and breathing.
"The Shinobi team," he elaborated, eying her with intense scrutiny. Tenten squirmed, too uncomfortable to control her actions. "I have no idea what you're lying about, but I'm sure it isn't something that would be…inconsequential to us."
Against her will, Tenten found herself nodding, and wondered why she had been cursed with such foolishness.
"I have tried to figure out what it is," he continued, still looking at her, "but I simply can't find the answer. And finding out, at this point, frankly, would probably do more harm than good. So I have a deal to make with you."
That took Tenten by surprise. "A deal?"
Neji nodded stiffly in confirmation. "A deal. You're a good shinobi: not something easily faked. And much as I hate to say it, we're going to need you for the semi-finals and later, the actual finals. So here's my proposition:
"You can keep your secret to yourself, on the premise that you work hard and don't do anything that could endanger our chances of winning. In the meantime, I will stop actively pursuing information about you. But if whatever you're hiding is a threat to the team, I will rat you out to Tsunade. She is considerably more persuasive that I will ever be. Do I make myself clear?"
"I understand." Tenten could feel the bubbly sensation of a laughing fit threatening to burst out, and bit her lip to hide her smile. Neji had practically given her complete leeway to do what she needed to, no interferences. It was perfect.
"Good." Seemingly satisfied, he sat down on the edge of his bed, still looking at her.
"…I should be getting home." She said. Neji simply nodded, but stayed where he was. As she was about to leave, a question popped up in her head, and she paused at the doorway.
"Hey Neji…"
"What?"
Tenten gestured at Lee's side of the room.
"How can you sleep when half the room is practically glowing?"
"I've gotten used to it," he smirked. "Lee's been my roommate for four years."
Tenten winced. "I knew that, but," she looked (not directly) at Lee's side of the room, "My eyes…"
"There is a reason that some people think I'm blind, you know." There was pure amusement in his voice.
Tenten nodded, laughed…then ran.
The weeks flew by and finally, the day of the semi-finals arrived. The matches were to take place in the Konoha stadium and begin at nine o' clock.
It was a very nice Saturday, with the sun shining and the sky bright blue.
It was also utterly freezing.
"I hate winter," Naruto was heard grumbling as they stretched on the field, "Why can't we just have warm weather all year round; why do we need winter?"
"It's only November, dobe. Winter doesn't start for another four weeks."
"It's still cold, teme. Not like it matters to you. You're made of ice. Seriously, who likes the cold?"
"I do." said Neji blandly. Tenten just tuned out the ensuring argument. She agreed more with Naruto than Neji, warm weather was much better than the cold, especially if there wouldn't be any snow. Especially during any kind of Shinobi performance.
"Make sure you stretch really well," she reminded Hinata and Ino besides her. "You don't want to cramp up."
"I would do so—too bad there are no girls on the Suna team! I can't fight, Hinata can't fight, and Sakura can't fight. Remember?" Ino gave Tenten the same incredulous look she was frequently bestowed with.
"Oh." Tenten felt her cheeks heat up. It was silly to forget her chief reason for dressing like a boy.
"Toyo-kun, really. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were just dying your hair."
Tenten frowned in confusion. "Why would I dye my hair?"
"So that no one would know you were blonde!"
"Hey, you're not one to talk—you forget things all the time!" Tenten shot back, not offended but not especially amused either. Ino stopped laughing and glared.
"I may be blonde—but I generally don't do stupid things." She pointed out. "That's Naruto's job."
"HEY!" Naruto tried to protest this point, had not Sakura and Sasuke grabbed his hair and pulled, inciting an argument between the three of them and distracting Naruto from Ino.
"But you are troublesome," muttered Shikamaru, well on the other side of Tenten.
"What did you say, Shika-kun?" Unfortunately for Shikamaru, Ino had unusually sharp hearing.
"He never learns," remarked Chouji, shaking his head. "Ino, please don't do any lasting damage, all right? We actually need him if we want to win." Ino gave a noncommittal snort, too busy shaking Shikamaru to give a proper answer. Tenten went back to stretching, trying not to be too flexible, considering that boys weren't as flexible as girls, as a rule.
She could feel Sasuke watching her from the corner of his eye, though he was giving Sakura more of his attention. Neji hadn't been kidding when he had told her that he and Sasuke would be keeping tabs on her nearly every second of the day. It was annoying; but Tenten found it relatively easy to ignore. Neji had, after all, promised to leave her alone unless she tried to sabotage the team.
Really, having a solid foundation for her secret made everything much easier to bear.
As the time drew closer, Kakashi called them up and had them crowd around him in a semi-circle.
"Don't expect a pep talk from me; I only have one thing to say." He was looking oddly more serious than usual. "If we can beat Suna, the finals are pretty much won. Mist is tricky, but their players aren't nearly as good as Suna's. So do your best to win this thing, and we're pretty much set. Got it?"
"Yeah!" They chorused. Kakashi nodded his approval.
"Good. Now get in—it's almost time."
With intense excitement—and also dread—the Konoha Shinobi headed into the stadium.
The stands were completely packed: students, parents, friends, family—everyone had come to see the face-off. The anticipation and terror in the pit of Tenten's stomach increased tenfold. This was it. Even more important than the finals. If she was shown as able to beat any member of the team she was kept from, she would achieve her purpose.
She gazed steadily at the team entering opposite from her. She could place a name with nearly every face. Gaara was at the forefront, as always, and flanking him were the rest of his teammates, including…
"Kankuro!"
"I thought he left Suna?" Hinata glanced over to the Shinobi team in surprise, then back to Tenten, eyebrows raised.
"He did," said Tenten, "I have no idea why he's here, but he really doesn't look like he wants to be here." Had it been a different situation, Tenten would have labeled the expression on Kankuro's (always painted) face as 'sulky', like a little kid's. He caught her eye and pulled at face, clearly indicating his unwillingness to be there.
"Toyo," Tenten's head snapped around to face Neji.
"Yeah?"
"…Good luck." Was the simple response, before the Hyuuga turned his attention to Gaara. Tenten raised an eyebrow at the unusual gesture, but quickly turned her attention to Tsunade, who had walked into the center of the stadium, holding a loudspeaker and calling for attention.
"WELCOME TO EVERYONE WHO HAS COME TO TODAY'S MATCH!" She spoke through the loudspeaker, the amplification of her voice ringing in everyone's ears. "BEFORE WE BEGIN, I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND BOTH THE FANS AND THE TEAMS THAT THIS IS A FRIENDLY COMPETITION, AND I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANOTHER MATCH LIKE LAST YEAR'S ULTIMATIUM, GOT IT? SO NO THROWING ANYTHING, NO BEATING ON EACH OTHER IN THE STANDS, AND ABSOLUTELY NO DESTROYING THE STADIUM!" A ripple of nervous laughter rippled through the crowds. Out of the corner of her eye, Tenten could see Lee cringe from the memory, and she fought back a grin. In any case, she was relieved that Lee and Gaara were no longer allowed to fight together—it hadn't ended very nicely.
"DO WE UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER?" Tsunade asked, grinning as she heard the crowd give a unanimous 'yes'. "THEN LET THE MATCHES BEGIN! FIRST UP WILL BE KATANA TOYO AGAINST NAGASAKI TAKESHI!"
Tenten grinned, cracked her knuckles, saluted Sakura, Ino, and Hinata (who were currently stuck on the bench) and headed straight for the matted center of the stadium, where the referee and her opponent were waiting. Giving the boy a quick look-over, she determined that this Takeshi was probably stronger than her, but wouldn't be as fast.
"Begin." The referee stepped off the mats, leaving Tenten and Takeshi to their fight.
"Katana wins!"
Coughing and gasping for air, Tenten left the arena, barely able to keep her balance. Her abdomen sent shooting pains through her body every time she took a breath; she was positive that once she got around to actually inspecting it, she wouldn't see her original skin color. Already she could feel the slight stiffening of her muscles.
"Toyo-kun!" She looked up to find Sakura, Ino and Hinata running towards her, anxiety written all over their faces.
"Are you all right?"
"What the hell happened?! You look like you just got steam-rollered."
"Do you need help, Toyo-kun?" asked Hinata, already at her side, ready to support her should she give the word.
"Yes, I'm fine, I feel like I was and no thank you, Hinata-chan." Tenten answered all of the questions directed to her and, with difficulty, managed to make her way to the benches, sitting down with obvious relief.
"But seriously, what happened?" demanded Ino, "You were doing fine then—wham! You get pummeled."
Tenten smiled, a little shakily. "I underestimated how fast he was. I forgot that big people aren't necessarily slow people."
Ino just sighed, shaking her head.
"How badly did he hurt you?" asked Sakura, ever the aspiring doctor.
"Just bruises. Nothing too serious." I hope.
Sakura lifted an eyebrow skeptically. "Nothing that knocks you out of the tournament? Because that looked pretty painful."
Oh it was.
"I'll live," she assured them. "It's not as bad as half of what we saw last year, remember?"
"I guess…" Sakura still looked unconvinced.
"Shikamaru's match is starting," said Tenten, throwing the focus off of her, "shouldn't you guys be supporting him?"
Ino had already turned her attention to the arena the second she had heard Shikamaru's name, making a beeline for a closer look, their previous scuffle already forgotten. Sakura reluctantly followed and, with a last lingering look at Tenten, so did Hinata.
"You sure you'll be able to stay in the game?" asked Neji, so suddenly that Tenten started in surprise.
"I think so; once I've rested a little I'll be fine." She grinned widely at him, hoping and praying he would just buy the act and leave her alone.
One of his eyebrows rose. "That was a full kick in the stomach—not something to be taken lightly."
Tenten shrugged nonchalantly. "It wasn't any lower; I'll live." He stared at her for a few moments, before snorting lightly and leaving her be, turning his attention to the match in progress.
The pain on Tenten's stomach began to slowly recede, and she watched the following matches, cheering with the crowd when Konoha pulled a victory and booing when they were defeated—but not too much. She had checked the bruise surreptitiously, and had already gotten the impression that someone had smeared blueberry juice all over her belly. The only saving grace was that she hadn't broken any ribs, so she would be fine…give or take a couple weeks.
Pity she wasn't given such a nice long time to recover.
Tenten gaped, unsure of what she had heard. "I have to go again?" After watching Neji's spectacular fight against Gaara—in which they had beaten each other black and blue—learning that she was going up again was not, for lack of a better word, pleasant.
Not only am I up again, but I'm against Kankuro?!
Gai sighed. "Toyo-kun, you knew this would happen. We don't have enough male Shinobi—we need to reuse team members. Besides, you've gone twice before, haven't you?"
"I know," Grimacing slightly, Tenten got to her feet. "I know."
"I could have them pull you, if you don't feel able to—" He abruptly stopped talking at the sharp look Tenten gave him.
"I'm perfectly able." She said, her voice sure despite the pain she felt. "I'll be fine, Gai-sensei."
She made her way back onto the mat, stopping only when she was barely a yard away from Kankuro, right near the center.
"Begin!"
Instead of waiting, this time Tenten engaged Kankuro in a taijutsu dance, knowing that he wasn't very good with direct, fast hand-to-hand combat.
"How'd you end up here?" she asked between blows, dodging and swerving away before jumping towards him, intent on landing a hit.
"Father decided that blackmail was appropriate," explained Kankuro, wincing as Tenten dealt a particularly heavy handed blow to his shoulder. "If I didn't do this, he would've mauled Karasu."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I don't even know how he got his hands on Karasu, let alone where he's keeping him—" Tenten hissed as she tried to pivot out of Kankuro's way only to be lightly decked across the face, "—but you do what you got to do. At least he only figured how to do it this year. Once next year comes around, I'll be safe in a school for the arts well on the other side of the world."
"Lucky." she commented, sweeping his feet out from under him.
"Yeah." he agreed, back-flipping out of the way.
They continued to fight, dodging, punching, kicking, and feinting. Kankuro was a good fighter, and Tenten briefly wondered why he found the sport so distasteful.
The wondering ceased when he punched her hard in the stomach, knocking her to the ground.
The hit to her stomach left her winded, gasping for air. As Tenten struggled to get to her feet, she was overtaken by a violent fit of hacking coughs, one hand flying to her mouth, the other clamped tightly around her stomach. It wouldn't stop; she couldn't draw any more breath…
With a last hacking cough, Tenten was able to breath. Feeling something warm and wet on her palm, she drew it away from her face, examining the substance with a feeling akin to horror.
Her hand was splashed with blood.
She dimly heard Kankuro shouting, his voice joined by Gai's and the referee's. It seemed to be about stopping the match, but she still couldn't think or comprehend quickly.
Someone helped her to her feet, hoisting one of her arms over their shoulder.
"Toyo-kun, can you walk?" That was Gai's voice; he was the one supporting her.
"Yeah…just fine…" she mumbled, trying to think beyond breathing and the various aches covering her body.
"Good." His voice was calm, soothing; very unlike him. "We're ending the match. You need to see Shizune, she needs to give you a check over—"
Tenten's common sense screamed at her, telling her to take it like a woman, stop letting herself be led and above all avoid what was about to happen. But she was so tired, she could barely think straight, and allowed herself to be led into the coach's office in the locker rooms.
Shizune took one look at her and ordered that Tenten sit down on one of the two beds right now while she got the supplies ready. Tenten removed herself from Gai's support and was able to walk, slightly unsteady, to the bed and sit down. The haze in her mind had mostly disappeared, replaced with a sick sort of anticipation of what was inevitable.
"Hello, Toyo-kun," Shizune smiled at her, "Where does it hurt?"
"Um…"
"For the most part it's just normal bruising and stuff like that." Gai cut in before she could say anything. "But he was coughing up blood, and well," He cast a worried glance at Tenten, "I figured that he needed to be checked…just in case."
Shizune nodded. "Good." She turned her attention to Tenten. "Now Toyo-kun, if you would please hold still…" She began to test Tenten, touching her arms, bending her limbs experimentally, asking questions all the while. Tenten answered them tersely, silently pleading that please, please Shizune wouldn't have to check her torso, that she would be able to completely finish the charade.
"—hm, you're right Gai, it is mostly just bad bruising—" Tenten forced herself to listen to Shizune, "—and I don't like the look of that knee, but it doesn't look too serious, so I'll leave it alone."
"Will he need any medication?"
Shizune shook her head, smiling. "No, just a little rest will be more than enough. If he goes around it correctly, Toyo-kun will be able to participate in the finals with no trouble at all."
"Can I leave?" Tenten made to stand, only to be pulled back down by Shizune.
"Calm down!" She laughed lightly, "I know you're eager to get out of here, Toyo-kun, but before you can go, I need you to take off your shirt."
"What?" Tenten asked weakly, feeling a horrible, swooping sensation in her stomach. Gai looked grim, arms crossed and head lowered.
"I have to check, just in case your injuries are dangerous," explained Shizune gently. "You coughed blood after being hit in the stomach, am I right?"
"Well, yes, but—"
"There's no need to be embarrassed, Toyo-kun. I have seen many young men shirtless since I've been here; it's hardly a reason for mortification. Now please cooperate. I only want to help."
"Can Gai-sensei not be here, please?" Tenten pleaded.
"If you insist," Shizune gestured to Gai, and he left the room, but not before sending Tenten an apologetic look. "Now will you please cooperate?"
Reluctantly, with the knot in her stomach tightening even more painfully, Tenten slid off her sweat-stained shirt. She didn't dare to look up at Shizune's soft intake of breath, seeing the bandages that, while effective under layers of loose shirts and clean cut uniforms, hadn't entirely hidden the fact that, yes, she was a girl.
"Well, that answers that question," Shizune's voice took on a slight edge that Tenten could not understand. She held still as the nurse carefully touched her ribs and examined the dark bruising on the exposed part of her stomach, wincing if the pressure became too great. But her mind was far away, lamenting the loss of her secret.
She had known it would've happened in any case, but it still hurt.
"I'm done." Shizune's voice broke her out of her reverie. "You have some painful bruising, but nothing worth a trip to the hospital. No broken ribs, nothing that should give you too much pain."
"Thanks."
"I'm obligated to tell your coach, Toyo—whoever you are," Her voice was cool, but not harsh. "Stay here."
There really was no reason for her to disobey the order, Tenten thought, alone in the room. Now that her secret was known, there was no reason to deny her identity. Dimly she heard Tsunade's voice, asking an indiscernible question, and Shizune's voice, responding to that question. There was more talking, other voices joining in surprise.
Doesn't sound like it's just the coach…
The door opened, and Tsunade strode in, staring directly at her, looking as though she could barely believe what she was seeing. Behind her were Kakashi, sans book, Shizune, and Gai. Just outside the door the Shinobi team was straining to see inside, get a better look. From the corners of her eyes, she could see their curiosity, their concern…their shock.
Tenten couldn't bear to look at them, choosing instead to look straight up into Tsunade's eyes.
"So, young lady, just who are you and would you care to let us know what has been going on?" asked the blonde woman, eyebrows raised, arms crossed.
She took a deep breath, mentally readying herself for the interrogation to come.
"My name is Tenten. And for the past three months, I've been passing myself off as Katana Toyo…"
A/N: …And the cat's out of the bag!
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Let me know in a review! We're almost at the end here, people!