"So, Tenten," Shikamaru said, poking at his lunch with a fork lazily. "What's the deal with you and Sasuke?"

I had to suppress a flinch at the sound of his name. "It's...complicated right now."

"Well, spill it." Shikamaru set his fork down and sighed, looking tired as usual, and pushed his food toward Choji. His best friend beamed and dug in.

"Yeah, tell us what's up," Kiba said.

Very briefly I relayed the events of yesterday evening to them. Once I finished, Naruto pushed his bowl of noodles away and stood up, his expression darkening.

"That jerk," he growled. "Friends should always come first!"

"Sit down, idiot," Shikamaru sighed, pulling on the edge of Naruto's shirt. The latter unhappily complied and groaned his disapproval, passing a hand through his yellow hair with a frown. Shikamaru shook his head like a disappointed parent before turning back to me. "So basically, Sakura trumped you is what you're saying."

"He hoed before bro-d you." Kiba folded his arms, visibly disgusted. "Cocky bastard."

"In crass terms, I guess he did," I said, smiling wryly.

"That doesn't sound like Sasuke," Choji said around a mouthful of barbeque. "I mean, you guys are so close."

"Look, guys, I can't blame him for wanting to work on his relationship," I said, trying to defend my best friend, even though a part of me wanted to agree with Naruto and let the anger seething within me take hold. "What kind of 'bro' would I be if I pitched a fit about it?" Even though I really, really wanted to?

"Well, I personally think Sakura has some jealousy issues," Shikamaru stated, rubbing at his eyes. He always looked like he desperately needed a good night's sleep. "Looks like-to me, at least-she doesn't care about the trouble it must be causing Sasuke, knowing how good of friends you guys are."

"He doesn't look all that bothered to me," Kiba muttered. He jerked his chin at something behind me, presumably where Sasuke sat with Sakura and her friends. I forced myself not to turn around.

"Don't be so hard on Sakura, guys," Choji said. "She likes Sasuke a lot. She's allowed to worry about losing him."

"But losing him to me? I'm sorry, but that's a stretch," I said. But Choji was right. Sakura did care about Sasuke, if a bit too much.

"You're grossly undercutting yourself, T. Don't know how many times I gotta tell you." Shikamaru shook his head with a sigh. "And people think I have a thick skull. What a pain."

"Hey, Kiba and Hinata are really good friends, but you don't see me getting all possessive," Naruto said, still scowling a bit. "Where is she, anyway?" He scanned the cafeteria a few times, but there was no sign of his girlfriend.

"That's because she's so in love with you she probably doesn't even grasp the fact that Kiba's a guy," quipped Shikamaru with another yawn. Kiba growled at him, flashing his over-sharp canines. "And no idea."

"She's over there. Who's that with her?" Choji paused in his meal to look at something behind me.

I set down my water and turned around. The boy walking along beside her bore similar a resemblance, though his hair was a dark brown and just as long as Hinata's deep blue. His eyes were a ghostly silver, more colorless than the light lavender of Hinata's; even their demeanor seemed oddly alike, the way they carried themselves with a grace that was almost ethereal. To the left Sakura sat at a table with Sasuke, seemingly deep in conversation. I turned back around and wondered just how long this ache in my chest would keep up.

"Oh, that's her cousin," Naruto said, his tone matter-of-fact. "His father died so he's moving in with her family. Name's Neji or something."

"You make a family death sound so cheerful, Naruto," Shikamaru quipped. "Awkward introduction in three...two..."

"Hey, everyone," came Hinata's soft voice came from behind me. I swiveled around once more with a polite smile.

"Hey, Hina, what's up?" Kiba grinned. "Who's your friend?"

"Um, this is my cousin, Neji," she said. Her eyes moved past me to Naruto, and that familiar pink tinge colored her cheeks. Cutest couple for two years running, no surprise.

"Nice to meet you," Shikamaru drawled, looking ready to lay down and take a nap right there on the table. "Name's Shikamaru."

"I'm Choji," his best friend said around a rather large mouthful of food. I watched Neji raise one eyebrow slightly, but he said nothing.

"Hey, I'm Kiba. Welcome to the neighborhood."

"And I'm Tenten," I said with a small wave. "Nice to meet you."

He flicked those unnervingly silver eyes to me, giving me a brief once-over. "Pleasure to meet you all," he said with a slight incline of his head. He definitely seemed to possess the same polite, impeccable manners as Hinata, and was just as talkative. Which was to say not at all.

"And you remember Naruto," Hinata said, gesturing to her rambunctious boyfriend. At this, Neji's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Looked like he was a tad protective, as well.

"Yes, of course," he said in low, even tones. I could almost hear Sasuke in his voice, unnervingly so, and dismissed the thought immmediately.

"You're welcome to sit with us," Kiba said cheerfully. "Anytime you want. We don't bite-well, except for Hina. She's pretty scary when she's mad."

"Oh, hush," she said with a soft giggle. She gave Neji a questioning glance, but before she could open her mouth he spoke up.

"I appreciate the offer." His lips turned up ever so slightly at the corners, but it didn't reach his pale eyes. "But-"

"I sense a rejection," Shikamaru said, fingers drumming lazily against the tabletop. Neji's eyebrows rose a bit more. I kicked Shikamaru softly and gave him a warning stare. The guy had just lost his father, and leave it to Shikamaru to have all of the grace and tact of a newborn lizard. He seemed to understand; he may be the laziest human being I knew, but he was smart to a positively frightening degree.

He sat back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head, and sighed through his nose. "Sorry, didn't mean to be rude." Kiba, Naruto, and Choji all looked at each other with mild surprise at his apology. Getting Shikamaru to apologize bore all of the ease of pulling teeth.

"The offer's on the table, that's all," I said to Neji. Still wearing that listless, tiny not-smile, he nodded his thanks and retreated from the table as Hinata took a seat beside Naruto.

"He seems...nice," Kiba offered. I rolled my eyes. Such tact this kid had.

"He just needs a bit of time," Hinata said in her soft voice, barely audible over the cacophony of students. "It's only been a few days since my Uncle Hizashi passed away."

"I'm so sorry about that, Hina," I said sympathetically. "It must be hard on you, too."

She shrugged a bit, looking down at the table. "I didn't really know him that well. He and my father didn't get along very well." She tilted her head to the side inquisitively. "Speaking of which, how is your father doing, Tenten? Have his seizures lessened any?"

I tried to maintain a steady tone as I responded. "He's still the same. He's going to the doctor again soon, though." Let the subject drop. Please, someone say something else, anything else.

"That's good," she nodded, offering me a tiny smile.

The table fell painfully silent for a few moments. Finally I stared after the direction in which Neji had gone. "I feel bad, leaving him alone."

"Neji's...never really been much for people," Hinata said, taking the bait. "He's all right with me, somewhat, but..."

"He'll come around, don't you worry." Naruto put a comforting arm around her and squeezed. She gave him a grateful smile. The two of them were sickeningly adorable and while it was nice to observe the affection between them, this was not one of those times. Watching them only made the constricting sensation in my chest grow tighter.

"So, Hina, could you help me out with this?" Kiba set a notebook on the table and flipped it open. "Calculus and I don't mix."

"Of course." She scooted closer to him and began walking him through a problem. Naruto watched her with a content, goofy grin on his face.

"Isn't she awesome?" he said to me, for probably the hundredth time.

I shook my head and smiled my best attempt at a smile. "The best."

Choji and Shikamaru began talking about an upcoming test in their literature class, and how they (of course) hadn't read a single page of the book they were supposed to be annotating. I sat there quietly, the urge to turn around growing stronger with each passing moment, until I could no longer resist and looked back to where Sasuke sat with Sakura. As I watched she leaned her head against his shoulder; he said something to her, and she covered her mouth as she giggled. Looked like his plan of keeping his distance was going swimmingly.

Before I could turn away Sasuke looked up and caught my gaze. He pressed his lips into a thin line, and I quickly averted my eyes, whipping my neck around so fast that it cracked a few times. I was more than a little relieved when the dismissal bell chimed; I grabbed my things, gave everyone a "see you later" and walked out of the cafeteria to class.

"Afternoon, Tenten," Ms. Yuhi said to me as I entered the room. I returned the greeting and sank heavily into my seat, letting my bag thunk unceremoniously onto the floor. Only when I actually looked around did I notice that I wasn't the only student in the room: Neji sat in the far row, nearest the window. I was normally the first one in the classroom-had he spent the rest of the lunch period here? He turned his head to look at me, but offered no visible response to my friendly wave. Okay. Obviously a tough nut to crack, to be sure.

I could barely focus the entire class period. As the minutes wound down, I suddenly became aware of the fact that I wouldn't be riding home with Sasuke. Or sitting with him next class period. The familiar stab of pain poked at my stomach again, but I pushed it back; it was his decision, and I'd gone along with it as willingly as I could muster. All I could do was wait it out, and desperately hope that it wasn't a permanent arrangement. The void he had left would not be so easily filled, if it were even possible to fill it at all.

Of course it isn't a permanent arrangement-don't be stupid. I shook my head a bit, trying to shake the thought. But it continued to gnaw at the back of my mind up until dismissal sounded. I shook myself out of my stupor, and was halfway out the door when Neji called my name from behind.

"Yeah?" I turned back, stepping out of the way of the deluge of students exiting the classroom.

"I'm not sure where my next class is," he said. I could tell he was trying to be friendly, maybe as a way to make up for his aloof attitude from earlier, but the words seemed stiff.

"Oh, here, let me see." I held out my hand and he passed me his schedule. "Room 368 is where I'm headed, actually. Looks like you're in luck."

He took the schedule back from me, and together we walked out of the room. Now that I stood beside him, I realized that he was almost identical to Sasuke in both height and walking speed: every two steps of mine matched one of his. I gave myself a mental shake. Stop comparing him to Sasuke. This is Neji. Neji, not Sasuke.

Hell, Sasuke. With each step down the hall the pit in my stomach seemed to grow. Normally this was my favorite part of the day, the one class I had with him. Now I wanted nothing more than to simply turn tail. I was suddenly grateful for Neji's presence, even though he had yet to say a word to me. But knowing I wouldn't be walking into the room alone was enough for me. If he wanted to be quiet, that was fine by me.

"Thank you," he said as we rounded the corner.

"No problem," I said with a smile. "I remember how lost I was when I started here. Then again, my sense of direction is already terrible."

A brief chuckle escaped him. I grinned, proud of myself for getting a seemingly genuine response from him. Maybe we had a shot at becoming, at least, good acquaintances.

"Oh," I said as he put his hand on the door handle. He turned to me, brows raising curiously. "I recommend sitting in the back. Mr. Guy tends to yell when he gets caught up in his lessons. He's pretty enthusiastic." When Neji merely blinked at me, I continued, "He spits a bit."

He looked a tad disgusted. "Noted." He pulled the door open and allowed me to pass, giving me a short nod when I thanked him.

"Ah, our new student arrives!" Mr. Guy strode forward and seized Neji's hand, pumping it up and down vigorously. He grabbed a textbook from the cabinet and shoved it at him. "Good to have you here, son. Sit anywhere you like."

Neji's look of alarm was almost enough to bring the threat of laughter to my throat, which I bit back desperately so as not to offend Mr. Guy. All too quickly he followed me to the back of the room, past the empty seat where I would normally sit beside Sasuke. I could feel his black eyes on my back as I claimed a rear desk; Neji sat down heavily beside me, wincing slightly as he began massaging the back of his hand.

"I see what you mean," he murmured to me.

I laughed and covered my mouth to quiet myself. "Told you."

While Mr. Guy blabbered on about Hinduism, I found myself staring at Neji out of the corner of my eye. He sat with immaculate posture; every once in awhile his long hair would slide over his shoulders upon leaning forward to scribble something down, only to be brushed aside with a fluid flick of the wrist. The motion would send a brief scent of something woodsy and spice-laden in my direction, and I breathed it in before I could think to stop myself.

He even smelled like Sasuke.

I pressed a hand to my forehead and groaned inwardly. Get a grip on yourself, you moron. Just forget about Sasuke for one second and focus on the lesson.

Well, easier said than done. The person in question was literally mere yards in front of me, seated in his familiar pose at his desk: hands laced in front of his mouth, elbows on the table. His leg bobbed up and down rapidly. I watched as he sat back and pressed a hand to his face, his other drumming against the page of his notebook. Very rarely did Sasuke fidget. My brow furrowed a bit, but before I could analyze him further Mr. Guy called my name.

"Tenten, what's your answer? You've been oddly quiet today." He flashed his blindingly white smile at me, leaning back against his deck. All eyes turned to me, including Sasuke's.

Shit. Of all the times to be put on the spot. My mind raced, trying to recall something, anything of what he'd been talking about. But all I could focus on was Sasuke, and his black eyes staring intently at my face. I refused to look at him; that wasn't going to assist me in any positive way at the moment.

Neji coughed a bit, placing a hand over his mouth. "Between 2300 and 1500 B.C.E.," he murmured softly.

I stared at him a moment, bewildered, but all he did was look down at his notes. "Uh..." I swallowed hard. "Between 2300 and 1500 B.C.E., I think...?"

"Precisely! Very good, very good! Now, if you all turn to page 459 in your books..."

A sigh of relief escaped me; I sat back in my seat, trying to slow my rapidly beating heart. I turned to look at Neji as he flipped through the pages of the textbook. "Thanks," I whispered.

He flicked his white eyes at me briefly. "You're welcome." The corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly before he turned his attention back to the book, following along as Mr. Guy read.

"Now, Neji," he said after he finished the passage. "Tell me the difference between dharma and karma." Again all eyes were drawn to the back of the room, waiting for his answer.

Neji cleared his throat a bit and sat forward. "Dharma refers to the duty one has in their life, or their lifelong task they must complete. Karma refers to the actions that one does in relation to their dharma, or the steps that are taken to complete their task."

Not once did he falter or stutter; he seemed to almost recite the answer. Mr. Guy blinked a few times before beaming. "Looks like we have a scholar in our midst! Well done!"

"Good job," I said to Neji once Mr. Guy drew attention back to the lesson. "We haven't even covered that yet."

He rolled his pen around between his long fingers. "We covered it at my previous school."

"Oh," I nodded. My eyes drifted to the clock on the wall, and my stomach plummeted. 3:15, only twenty minutes until dismissal. I sighed softly, and my eyes again returned to Sasuke. I didn't expect to see him staring back at me, a small furrow in his brow. I set my jaw and looked away, feigning interest in my notes that I'd barely written in for the entire class period. No doubt I would regret that later-Mr. Guy had a reputation for putting the most obscure questions on his exams.

I could still feel Sasuke's gaze on me. A spark of anger simmered in my stomach. What was his deal, making such a show of himself? It had been his idea to do this whole "keeping distance" thing, not me. Yet from the way he'd been behaving, one would think it had been me who stuck the knife in his gut and twisted. Gripping my pen with unnecessary force, I began taking random notes from the textbook to keep myself busy until the end of the class period.

"See you later, Neji," I said as I quickly shoved my belongings into my bag. He barely had time to utter a "see you" before I was striding toward the door. I felt a small twinge of guilt, brushing him off in such a manner, but I shook it off. We barely knew each other; it wasn't like he was concerned.

I twisted the combination to my locker a good three tries before it finally swung open. With burning frustration I roughly began shoving my homework for the night into my bag. I needed to calm down, and I knew it. But all I could think about was Sasuke's stare, the way his black eyes seemed to sear holes through my body. I slammed the locker shut and shouldered my bag. And this was only day one.

"Hey, Tenten!" Naruto's voice stopped me halfway down the hall; his vivid blond head bobbed and weaved through the crowd as he worked his way toward me. "We're gonna grab some ice cream if you wanna come with."

"I don't know, Naruto." Images of my father flashed through my mind, of the bottle slamming into the wall, of his footsteps pounding behind me. Did I dare risk incurring his further wrath at showing up late again? I opened my mouth to decline when a flash of pink whisked past me. I looked behind me just as Sakura barreled into Sasuke, pressing a kiss to his cheek. My insides twisted for the umpteenth time that day.

"Come on, Tenten!" Naruto practically whined. He followed my gaze, scowled, then turned his attention back to me. His blue eyes gleamed with determination. "You gotta cheer up!"

My heart softened at the words. It was moments like these where I was almost overwhelmed with appreciation over having such great friends. And at the end of the day, they were the ones here to support me, not Sasuke. With new resolve, I ripped my gaze away from Sasuke and bobbed my head with a smile.

"Yeah, sounds good." No doubt I was going to regret this as well, but I past the point of caring. Every logical thought was crushed under the painful weight in my heart.

"Awesome!" Naruto grabbed my arm and started tugging me along behind him. "Hinata said she was gonna try to persuade Neji, but she said not to bet on it."

"Oh, okay," I said, stumbling a bit as I tried to keep pace. We finally came to a stop outside of the building, where Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata and Neji stood by the parking lot: Hinata had succeeded in her persuading. As we approached his ghostly eyes alighted on me, and I felt another pang of guilt—and stupidity, considering here we were not minutes after I had brushed him off at the end of class.

"All right, let's get going!" Choji rubbed his hands together with anticipation.

"Wait, who's car are we taking?" Kiba asked.

All eyes turned to Shikamaru. "All right, all right," he muttered. "I'll go get the Dragmobile." Kiba, Choji and Naruto snorted with laughter as he walked away, and moments later he and his van pulled up to the curb. I found myself seated next to Neji in the very back; Naruto, of course, claimed shotgun, and he gave a look of apology to his girlfriend seated between Kiba and Choji.

"I still can't believe your mom gave you the van," Naruto snickered.

"Shut up," came the usual response.

"Or what?"

"You sure you wanna find out? It's a long walk to the ice cream shop."

"You're bluffing."

"Wanna bet?"

"Are they always like this?" Neji said to me, expression faintly amused. It was nice seeing genuine emotion on his painfully stoic face. Strangely nice.

I laughed. "Worse, believe me."

"You're welcome to join him, Tenten," Shikamaru said, looking back at me through the rear-view mirror. I held up my hands in a gesture of "I surrender."

The ice cream parlor was nearly empty; Choji made a beeline to the counter with his regular oder while the rest of us browsed the choices for the day.

"Ooh, they have cinnamon roll," Hinata beamed.

"Pumpkin, huh," I said, peering at the orange-colored substance. "Look's like they're breaking in the fall flavors." I got a single scoop and went to sit down with Choji. Neji claimed the seat on my other side, resting his arms on the table. "You're not getting any?" I asked. "Do you want some of mine?"

He shook his head, and he actually wrinkled his nose a bit. It was the most emphatically human expression I had seen him make. "I'm not particularly fond of pumpkin."

I popped some of it into my mouth and made a face. I promptly pushed it toward Choji, who eagerly accepted my offering. "I guess I'm not either."

The others sat down a few moments later; when Kiba finished, he stood up and shouldered his bag. "I gotta head home and walk Akamaru. He's probably going crazy right now."

"Doesn't he live across town?" Naruto inquired, brow furrowing as he watched Kiba leave the shop.

"Don't worry, he runs it all the time," Shikamaru said with a wave of his hand. "More luck to him."

My stomach dropped. I'd completely forgotten about Kohaku. I'd always taken the chance in leaving him alone in the house with my father, but last night's incident had no doubt put him into a foul mood -he always left surprises for me after. Broken bottles along the halls, food littering the kitchen floor, my room torn to pieces. And it was the last one that made me launch to my feet.

"I've got to get going, too," I said. "Shika, do you mind dropping me off at Sasuke's?"

He raised his eyebrows, no doubt puzzled by my request, but shrugged his consent. I bid everyone a swift goodbye and followed Shikamaru out to his car. "Don't you touch my ice cream, Choji," he called over his shoulder warningly.

"No promises!" was the yelled response.

The drive to Sasuke's was mostly silent, which I appreciated. Shikamaru was never one to pry. When the van came to a stop outside Sasuke's house, I hopped out with a swift "thanks" and shut the door before he could respond. I waited until he was out of sight before heading off down the street as fast as the weight in my bag would allow me. I didn't stop even when Sasuke's black BMW drove past, Sakura's form clearly apparent in the passenger seat.

I should be sitting there. The thought nagged me, despite my futile attempts to push it away. Only when my house came into view fifteen minutes later was I able to dismiss it. I could only hope for minimal damage as I mounted the front steps and pushed the door open. No yells greeted me this time, to my pleasant surprise, but I didn't dare relax yet. I entered the living room slowly to find my father passed out on the couch, snoring loudly above the noise of the TV. I watched him for a few moments. The hurt had disappeared long ago; now there was only pity, and a deep longing for a time lost. I shook myself out of my stupor and the stairs creaked with my steps, but not enough to wake him.

As I rounded the corner to my room, I stopped dead in my tracks. In my hurry to leave the house this morning, I'd left the door wide open. My heart raced a mile a minute as I scanned my bedroom, thankfully not destroyed, but missing one key thing.

Kohaku was nowhere to be found.