In retrospect, Tenten would realize that perhaps leaving unexpectedly had not been the best idea, considering her injuries and the argument with Lee. Sitting in the Hokage's office, however, all she could think was what stupendous idiots her teammates were.

Lee had arrived in the office first. His mouth fell open at the sight of her. Before Tenten could get away, he had pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, spouting something about the powers of youth and begging forgiveness for his transgressions, all the while crying copiously. She was fairly certain she even heard something about walking across the Hokage mountain 500 times on his hands to atone for his ill-considered words, which Tenten was quick to tell him wasn't necessary. While Lee had survived some ridiculous and downright foolhardy tasks in the past, Tenten was not about to be held responsible for any activity that could result in him permanently crippling himself, or worse.

While they awaited the arrival of their other teammate, Lee explained to Tenten the details of their search from Neji's panicked realization that she was gone – the severity of which Tenten could only assume, in typical Lee fashion, was considerably exaggerated – to their organized search this afternoon, culminating in Tsunade's summons. While Lee probed her for answers, Tenten promised an explanation only after Neji had arrived.

Neji, in fact, arrived mere moments later, opening the door with a nearly imperceptible sense of panicked urgency. As he stepped across the threshold, his eyes immediately found Tenten, and he froze. His eyes widened just the slightest bit, then returned to their normal state as he entered the room and stood before the Hokage's desk, saying nothing.

For Neji, that might as well have been the equivalent of all Lee's gushing and sobbing.

Tsunade walked into the office and surveyed the three of them, examining each of their faces before she opened her mouth.

"May I ask what in the world happened to the two of you?" She gestured offhandedly to Lee and Neji, leaning back in her chair to wait for an explanation.

Tenten took the opportunity to really look at her teammates. While she supposed some part of her brain had registered their less-than-pristine states, she hadn't really taken the time to look at them.

Lee's jumpsuit was worn in places, like he had been scaling a cliff barehanded. His sandals were caked in mud, dirt and some other unidentifiable substances, and his normally perfectly round hair was disheveled. When he shifted his head, she noticed a small twig snagged just above his ear.

On her other side, Neji, while decidedly less unkempt, still looked unusually weary. The most obvious signs were the veins pulsating wildly in his temple. Judging from their prominence, Tenten was surprised he had even been able to recognize her when he walked in – at this point, he was probably only able to see blurred shapes.

The silence stretched, as Lee looked nervously away from the Hokage's desk, and Neji maintained his aloof demeanor. Tsunade stared them down, but neither would budge.

Tenten heaved an exasperated sigh.

"If you baka won't tell her, I will. Tsunade-sama, these idiots were apparently under the impression that I'd gotten it into my head to run away on a leg I can barely walk on."

Even Neji looked slightly cowed. Tsunade raised an eyebrow, and her face twitched with what looked to be amusement.

"So they've spent the past few hours scouring the village and surrounding areas, trying to find me."

"Where were you?" The quiet accusation came from Tenten's left, and she turned, surprised. Had she imagined the hurt in Neji's voice?

"I have to admit, Tenten," Tsunade said, her tapping her fingers on the desk, "I'm also interested. You've only been in my office for the past half-hour. Where have you been?"

Tenten frowned. She really didn't want to say in front of her teammates, but then again, she also didn't want to lie to the Hokage.

"I…" She hesitated. "Well, you know the cave network behind the Hokage monument? I—"

Tsunade held up a hand, not allowing her to go any further. Leaning forward, she stared at Tenten incredulously.

"You're telling me you got all the way up to the caves on that leg, after just having been released from the hospital?" The older woman put a hand over her face, shaking her head. Tenten could have sworn she heard her mumble something that sounded distinctly like 'damn children thinking they're invincible…'

"I didn't say it was easy," Tenten offered reluctantly, though that didn't seem to make Tsunade any happier.

"Continue," Tsunade drawled, resignation dripping from her tone.

"I go up there a lot when I need to think things over. Lee and I…"

Tenten looked over at him. His eyes were still puffy, and it looked as though tears were threatening to fall again.

"Lee and I had a talk, and he pointed out some things I hadn't noticed. I needed time to process."

She heard Lee release the breath he had been holding and she smiled slightly. As much as their argument had upset her, there was no sense in airing their grievances in front of the Hokage or holding a grudge, especially where Lee was concerned. It was like trying to stay mad at an adorable – and slightly slobbery – puppy.

"And then you came here?" Tsunade prompted.

Tenten nodded succinctly. "About an hour ago, I left the caves and headed here to talk to you, Tsunade-sama. I'm really surprised Lee didn't see me walking back."

If gazes had been daggers, Neji would have had Lee skewered to the wall.

"Well then," Tsunade sat up in her chair, folding her hands across the desk. "I guess it's down to business then. Lee, Neji, I called the two of you here because your teammate has brought a proposal to my attention, and I think it would be beneficial to your team."

She slid a file across the desk. Neji picked it up and began to scan over the paper.

"While I've been lenient with your assignments while Tenten is in recovery, I think we have both come to the determination that it's about time your team was back out doing missions."

Lee began to protest, but Tenten laid a silencing hand on his shoulder. Neji remained as stoic as ever.

"However, since Tenten is not sufficiently recovered, I'll be instituting a replacement member for your team. His information is in the file I just gave you."

Lee was finally able to speak, his lower lip quivering. "But what about our youthful blossom?"

Tenten gave a faint smile. "I need the recovery time, Lee. While I appreciate the help you and Neji have given me, I think I'd do better working through things by myself for a little while. If…" She faltered, her mouth quavering under the weight of the word, "… if I'm going to come back as a healthy member of our team, I need to figure out a way to get this injury under control."

From the other side of the room, Neji closed the folder. Tenten glanced over at him, but he didn't look at her. He didn't bother handing it to Lee either, instead replacing the file on the desk.

"Will that be all, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade stared at the Hyuuga genius, then glanced over to Tenten, who confirmed her suspicion. Something was wrong.

"Yes, if there are no questions." She answered cautiously.

With an inscrutable nod, Neji swept out the door.

Tenten stared between the Hokage and the door, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Tsunade waved a lazy hand at the door.

"I'm not the best person to ask for advice, but I'd be inclined to think you ought to go after him."

Tenten was out the door as fast as she could go, hobbling on her crutches. Lee stuck his head out of the door, clearly unsure what to do.

"Neji!" She cursed as she stumbled, causing Lee to exclaim how un-youthful such a statement was. At the moment, Tenten really couldn't care less. "He can't have gotten that far. Neji!"

She barreled down the hallway, barely hesitating when she reached the stairs.

That, unsurprisingly, was a mistake.

Tenten had barely made it to the third step when her crutch hit empty air and she found herself tumbling forward. She tried to ignore the pain in her leg as it scraped down a flight of stairs.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, she came to a halt.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" A familiar voice hissed. As she straightened up and disentangled herself from the pair of arms that were holding her upright, Tenten was met with the familiar accusatory stare of one Neji Hyuuga.

"Well, if you hadn't bolted out of the Hokage's office, I wouldn't have had to run after you!" She snapped.

"You didn't have to run after me at all!" Neji bit back. "However, since you apparently possess the ability to recover while continuing to constantly exacerbate your injuries, you might as well!"

Tenten stared at him, agog. The veins in his head were now pulsating more rapidly than she'd ever seen them, even when he had been recovering from his battle after the mission to retrieve Sasuke. Pushing the argument aside, she limped forward, putting a hand to his temple.

"Neji…" She ran her fingers over the area, feeling every bulge where the veins seemed to be threatening to burst through the skin. He must have pushed the Byakugan well past its limits, doing… what? Searching for her? "Neji, you need to go home and rest."

"Did it ever occur to you that that was what I was doing before you came dashing after me and I had to stop you from adding a broken neck to your list of ailments?" He murmured tiredly, pulling her fingers away from his temple. Handing her back her crutch, he turned and began to walk again.

"Neji…" She hobbled to catch up with him, putting a hand on his shoulder, both to immobilize him and to steady herself. Her leg was still throbbing from the fall.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, and making you carry me to the hospital, and for calling you and Lee idiots. Though, I have to admit, you two did go a little overboard…" She risked a small grin, hoping he would share in the joke. Her efforts went unrewarded.

"It's fine." He muttered. Removing her hand gently from his shoulder, he moved forward again.

"Neji?"

"Hn?"

"Thank you."

He shrugged, disappearing into the night.

A/N: Hello, dear readers! Hope you're all having a marvelous day.

I also hope the way I went with this wasn't too disappointing. I considered the more dramatic route quite a bit, but I thought back to the way I'd begun this story, and it was meant to be funny, on some level. So I thought I'd get back to that with the resolution of Tenten's disappearance.

Thanks to McKazekage, Ami1010, pusa-is-me (And by the way, if you aren't reading the story Scars and Stitches, go do it. It's amazing!), FruitySmell, touch-the-sound, AceAmi, MiraAi, Dancing-Souls, Kratos Wilder, Animorphs007, and steenta112 for your reviews! You all are so supportive and amazing.

Happy reading!

- Senka