Double Trouble!

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 8: Being Tenten

Mmm…what time is it?" I yawned as I woke up.

I looked over at my alarm clock. To my dismay, it read 3:30 a.m.

"COME ON!" I shouted. "You're telling me that I actually woke up at 3:30 A.M. ON A SUMMER MONDAY?" I almost screamed.

"Well…that's a shame. Wish I had that same early bird instinct during school." I joked to myself.

I knew the real reason why I was waking up this early. It was because of Neji and Yoshiro. You see, ever since I broke up with Neji, something was pulling at the corner of my heart. I was able to brush it off then; but after I met Yoshiro, it popped up again.

"Something's not right." I said out loud to myself. "There's something Yoshiro's not telling me."

The dream I just had didn't help much, either…

{Tenten's Dreamland}

"Tenten…Tenten…" I heard Neji's voice call out to me.

"Neji? What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Tenten, you have to believe me. I'd never hurt you." He reached out to me.

Then the memories of last Thursday came flooding back to me.

"No!" I slapped his hand away."You called me a worthless bitch! I'm not going back to you!" Tears started falling down my face.

That's when Yoshiro came and wrapped his arms around me. "Ssssssssssshh…don't worry, Tenten. I won't hurt you." He glared at Neji. "Now go away.

Neji vanished into thin air.

"Thanks Yoshiro-Yoshiro?" The moment I looked into Yoshiro's eyes, they were pitch black.

"It's okay, Tenten." He grinned evilly. "I won't hurt you." He was looking more sinister by the second…

{Back into reality}

I lay back down. I knew something wasn't right, but maybe if I got the truth out of Yoshiro somehow…

"I know!" I shot up! "I'll ask Ino for help! She's always good with these kinds of things."

I laid down, closed my eyes, and tried to go back to sleep; but no matter how hard I tried; something in my heart wouldn't settle.

{Over at Ino's place}

"Well, I'm actually glad you got rid of that no-good, Tenten. I knew he was I knew he was sneaking around, that Hyuga boy."

"Ino!" I said. "Don't talk about him like that. He just officially became my ex last Saturday. After all he is Hinata's cousin."

"Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that he is your ex. Even if he is fine, and sexy, and-"

"Ino!"

"I mean, even if he is Hinata's cousin!" Ino finished, looking flustered.

"But the thing is, something doesn't feel right. It feels like I've made some sort of mistake or something." I sighed.

"Oh Tenten, come on! I've never known you as the desperate type!" Ino grabbed my shoulders and shook me. " He CHEATED on you for crying out loud!"

"I know, Ino! You don't have to shake me to get that point across!" I felt my eyes rolling to the back of my head.

Ino stopped shaking me ad then crushed me in a deadly embrace.

"Oh Tenten, I'm so,SO, sorry! HOW COULD I BE SO INSENSITIVE?" She wailed.

'Insensitive? To what?' I thought to myself.

"You're still feeling vulnerable, aren't you?"

'Oh God, yes...' I thought.

"OH HELL NO!" I yelled out loud.

"*Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!* Denial, Denial, Denial."

"I'm not in denial! I just feel like...like Yoshiro's hiding something from me, you know?"

"Well, if you really feel that way, then you're probably right." Ino sighed. "Just promise me something, Tenten."

"What?" I asked?

"Don't get so used to dirt that you forget what real food tastes like."

I knew there was deep wisdom behind Ino's words. She has two years of emotional scarring and real scars to back her up.

"I promise I won't get used to dirt, Ino. I promise." I knew my worth very well.

"Good." She smiled. " Now get outta here and have a great day!"

{Later- Somewhere in the city}

"Now I wonder, where can find Yoshiro?" I asked. "I guess I could start at Ichi-Raku's. After all, a lot of boys hang out there. Or I could go to the arcade. Or maybe...gosh, I don't know!" I shook my head in frustration. There were so many places he could be, and I didn't know where to start looking.

"Hey Tenten."

"Oh. Hey Yoshiro." I smiled at him. I then did a double take. "Y-Yoshiro?"

"The one and only." He grinned. "So, what do you need?"

"I...I just need to ask you a question." Why was I hesitant?

"What is it, Ten-chan?" He asked me quietly.

"Um...are you hiding something from me?" I asked.

"No." He stated. "I have nothing to hide. Especially from you. Why'd you ask?"

I explained the dream that I had early this morning. After a while, he breathed out slowly and looked away from me.

"Well...there is this one thing-"

"I thought you said you had nothing to hide." I stated. As soon as those words left my mouth, I wished that I could take them back. Yoshiro was looking sadder by the second.

"It's just that all of my relationships had always fallen apart somehow. My girlfriends always ended up walking out on me."

"How come?" I asked.

"It was because they would always find someone better than me. Then they'd dump me and they'd make me feel like garbage." He sighed. "After knowing how that felt so many times; I'd never do anything like that to anyone. Especially not you, Tenten. I promise." He took my hand in his and rubbed it gently. He was doing i as if to say 'don't you believe me?'

I absorbed his words; all of them. Neji promised that he would never hut me, but he was wrong. However, this was Yoshiro. He was different from Neji. He seemed sincere enough.

'And besides, I can't hold on to Neji forever. I've got to learn how to move on.'

"I believe you, Yoshiro." I smiled. "Thanks for telling me the truth."

*)*

U

The Author's Block!

*Whew!* This story can finally get back on a roll! This one was hard to do, because I had to rewrite it after it didn't save right. I know it's short, but tune in next time for: *gasp!* a depressed Neji!

until next time though,

imma' stay posted!

-Yoshi.C!