Disclaimer: Me no own.

A/N: This chapter has too much dialogue, again. And I just wrote it as it came, so some unexpected characters showed up...oh well.

And Neji's out of character. WAY out of character. But that's why it's funny.

Chapter 3

"No way! Really?! Never…..!!" Tenten gasped, covering her mouth in horror. Rock Lee nodded somberly, emphasizing the motion with a grunt of affirmation. Tenten's eyes grew even wider. Neji crossed his arms and snorted at the thought.

"And I have not even told you--" Lee stood up for effect, masterfully building the suspense to a sickening pitch. Neji felt a bit queasy. Even after all these years, he still wasn't entirely immune to Lee's unique brand of acting. "—about the baby-blue bandages."

"NO!" squealed Tenten. "How could he have done that to himself? WHY?!?!"

"Geez, it's not that big of a deal," Neji huffed. "Besides, why would you care?"

Tenten looked at him.

"Why? WHY? Why should I care that the most attractive and only Uchiha in Konoha just suddenly decides that 'gay' is a better look than 'emo'?!? YOU TELL ME!!!" she roared, causing even Lee to take a step back. Neji stood flabbergasted. His mouth fumbled for words, but only a weird babbling sound came out. Tenten drew her arms to her chest and looked at him, eyes wet in a very out-of-character femininity.

"Buh…..buh….buh…" Neji said stupidly. Eventually, his Hyuuga instinct kicked in, and he shut his mouth to save any remaining shreds of dignity. Oh, but how could he be worried about dignity?! The only girl he'd ever loved just told him she liked Sasuke!! She thought he was attractive!!! Neji felt his knees grow weak. How could he be beaten by the Uchiha? Swallowing a hard lump in his throat, he tried once more for speech.

"But….Tenten," he heard himself squeak. "I-I thought you weren't like other girls! I thought you were proud that you weren't one of Sasuke's innumerable air-headed fans!"

Tenten sighed effeminately, and looked away from Neji.

"Well, the truth is……I jumped on the Sasuke bandwagon the day you lost to Naruto in the Chunnin exams…."she admitted. "I mean, what else could I do? You let yourself lose to him, and I thought 'Do I want to be stuck with someone who gets knocked out by one stupid punch in the face?' And, after that, you just didn't have the same tragic air about you. That's…boring."

Neji stared at her, slack-jawed. It just wasn't fair! And it didn't make any sense!

"I think I should stop this horrible soap-opera," Lee remarked. "Before somebody starts crying." He glanced suspiciously at Neji. Neji sniffed.

"I'm sorry Neji," Tenten said, and left. She had to stop Sasuke before he did something worse to himself!

Hinata was casually walking around the Hyuga complex, when she accidentally bumped into someone staring at the ground, just like her.

"O-oh! I'm sorry," she apologized hastily, blushing in embarrassment. Then she realized it was Neji. And he looked….strange.

Neji glared at her. Stupid Head Branch anyway!

"Hmpf!"

"I-I'm sorry Neji. R-really…."

The male Hyuga was greatly annoyed to have his heart-broken brooding interrupted by a nervously smiling Hinata. He decided she was as good a target as any to vent his rage on.

"You!" He pointed exaggeratedly, a small part of his mind noting he was copying the horribly cheesy acting of a certain shinobi with a bowl-cut…

"Y-yes?"

"You stupid Main Branch princess!!" He now pointed to her Leaf-village headband around her neck. "How is your forehead-protector supposed to protect your forehead if it's around your neck?!"

"Huh?"

"That's what I thought!" Satisfied, he stalked off—quickly—to an uninhabited quadrant. Hinata just watched him. When he'd disappeared from her sight, she looked down at her headband, and wondered. Maybe she should wear her headband on her head….

"OH, LEE!!!"

"GUY-SENSEI!!!!"

The two green-spandex wearing shinobi embraced in a bone shattering hug. Both wept on the other's shoulders, appearing for all the world like a horrible nightmare of demented manliness. After quite the sob-fest, Guy put his hands on Lee's shoulders.

"Oh Lee, that's just horrible! I can only imagine how torn-up you must be feeling on the inside!! Truly, something this traumatic must not be borne alone!! You can always cry on my shoulder!!!" Guy howled.

"Oh Guy-sensei!!" The impassioned speech sent both into another round of tears.

"The horrible heart-break of youth…." Guy muttered after they'd parted again.

"And just imagine how Neji's feeling right now!" Lee added. Guy nodded.

"The poor boy…if only there was something we could do for him…" mused Guy.

"Guy-sensei…what if we tried to get them back together? Surely Tenten cannot be in love with the Uchiha, not after his new sense of fashion."

Guy nodded.

"It's a shame about that. If only he'd gone with green spandex….But we should definitely get them back together! Youth and true love will always triumph in the end!!!"

And so they began to plan.

When Sasuke woke the next morning, he tentatively tried to smile. The muscles ached from the harsh training of the previous night…but the motion felt a little better. He watched the stranger in the mirror, who had a boyish crooked smile. Frankly, it scared him. Such a change. But change was good. And he'd do anything to kill Itachi, even if it meant strained smiling muscles.

As he had yesterday, he paced around his bed. (But this time he had baby-blue boxers on!) The reaction at Ichiraku wasn't quite the one he'd been aiming for. So, clearly, he was still too emo. Or not stereotypical enough to fit into some other stereotype. That would not do! But what would do?

"I need to do something drastic!" he concluded, voicing his conclusion proudly. There had to be another way to change his image. What could he possibly…Sasuke stood up triumphantly. He was even more of a genius than everyone said he was! He'd figured out the perfect way to change his style. Itachi was so dead.

Excitedly he donned a baby-blue shirt and—gray!—pants. He decided it was best to leave the bandages off for a change. Besides, they'd take too long to put on! And he was very, very eager to go out…..and get his hair cut!!

A/N: The usual. Review if you want another chapter. Oh! And please tell me--what is the worst hairstyle Sasuke could possibly have? Because I haven't fully decided on a style yet, your suggestions are welcome and appreciated!