Note from the Author: Angst warning. And did anyone notice that almost all of my stories feature Neji in some way? -.- This was a request from Naash. … I thought I was going to have trouble with this pairing, but it ended up just going .

And just so we're clear, I will write any pairing except NaruHin, NejiTen, SasuSaku, and ShikaIno. -.-

Naash: What's really strange is that I wrote the fic before I got your prompt for it. o.O Although this turned out a bit angsty, because I was feeling angsty. And don't worry about the yaoi thing – I just felt like giving you a hard time because I like you.

MissMelody21: Not a problem – I actually enjoyed writing it.

Porny: It was indeed my longest yet – but this one is even longer! -.- You're only a freshy? Awww! Cute! I normally don't like freshmen, but I like you. :hugs:

Care

"You're not like the others."

His statement was accentuated by the thwop of her senbon embedding itself into the center of the target. "Really."

"You don't squeal when you see me."

TenTen tossed the needles with undeniable accuracy from her straight-backed position on the grass. "You're good-looking, but most of those girls like you because you're strong." She moved forward at an easy stride to retrieve her weapons.

"And why don't you like me?" Sasuke was perched in the low branches of a nearby tree behind her targets.

She pulled the senbon from them one at a time, absently tapping them together as she walked down the line. "I'm not weak."

"Hn. I heard you lost to Temari in the preliminaries."

Her shoulder blades tensed slightly and she tugged a needle from the canvas with more force than necessary. "And you passed out in the Second Exam – we all have our down days."

Onyx eyes lifted to the sky, brow creased with a frown.

"Why are you here?"

It was rare that anyone questioned his actions. "I wanted to spar."

She scoffed. "With me."

"With someone who could challenge me."

"You can't beat me with the Sharingan, you know." She tucked away her senbon, choosing a new weapon – shuriken – at random.

"Why do you say that?"

One. Two. Three – dead center. "You can't beat Lee with the Sharingan – and I can. If you can't beat him, you can't beat me."

He stiffened indignantly. "He only one because he doesn't use ninjitsu."

"Says something about your limits, doesn't it?" She closed her eyes, sending a shuriken into the bull's-eye without watching it. "Besides, I also train with Neji – and he's got Byakugan. It's said to be stronger than the Sharingan."

Sasuke scowled.

Her brown eyes rolled. "I'm used to pouting bloodline boys – so don't try that on me." She pushed the targets up against the trees. "Well, come on then."

He jumped down, immediately reacting to duck, as a kunai whizzed by his head. "That was a cheap shot."

"The enemy often won't give you time to take a stance." Her bored tone reflected that of a teacher repeating a lesson for the hundredth time.

He growled low in his throat.

"So how does the last remaining member of the Uchiha clan fight?" she goaded. "You know – without the help of a seal." She leapt out of the path of a fire that singed the trees behind her.

He smirked at the slight surprise that twitched across her face, throwing himself at her in a direct physical attack. She had predicted his first move, dodging the kick aimed at her chest to catch a fist launched at her mouth. He was quick, talented – but she was older and more experienced.

In a moment, he was injured and she was straddling his stomach. "You're lucky I didn't poison my senbon today," she murmured, licking her thumb and wiping the blood away from his ivory cheek. "You'd be dead already."

He didn't say anything, watching her face. "Why did you do that?"

She was inspecting the wound, deciding if it needed treatment. "What?"

"You're acting like my mother." He pushed her back by her shoulder, sitting up.

She frowned but snidely offered, "What? Wishful thinking?"

His brow furrowed and he gloomily climbed to his feet, turning to leave.

"I'm sorry."

He looked over his shoulder, halting. "What?"

"That was unkind." Her head bowed.

He shifted to face her. "You didn't answer my question."

She shook her head, pulling herself up to replace her targets. "When I ended up on a team with Lee and Neji, I kind of felt like it was my responsibility to take care of them." Her shoulder lifted in a shrug. "Lee is so enthusiastic about everything that he'll keep moving even if he's bleeding to death – he doesn't leave anything unfinished. And Neji." She paused, sighing. "I think sometimes Neji wants to die." Her head tilted, eyes resting curiously on his face. "I get that vibe from you sometimes."

"My life doesn't really matter." He said softly before he thought to stop himself. "And I don't think anyone will really care that I'm gone."

His hair fluttered as a shuriken thunked into the tree trunk beside his head. "That's stupid." She snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "There are so many people who care about you. Naruto would do anything for you; Sakura, too. And Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei. It's so stupid to say no one will care. How would you know?" Her back was to him, shoulders shaking. "How would either of you know?"

She's not talking about me anymore. "You really care about him."

She was glaring at a hole-ridden target like everything was its fault, her fists clenched. "I hate it when people I care about don't care about themselves." She whispered fiercely, voice quaking as her teeth gritted, and she spun on him angrily, intent on raving at him. But for some reason, upon seeing his face, her posture sagged, and she sank quietly to the ground. "Being a girl is rough." She grumbled. "We spend too much time feeling."

His heart went out to her – maybe the first time it had ever gone out to anyone – and he moved slowly to her side, kneeling, an arm around her in a gesture of comfort he wasn't used to giving. "I'd say it gets better."

Her head ell on his shoulder, her lips pressed against her neck as she finished what he didn't want to say: "But it doesn't." Her breath was soft and warm. "I watch them suffer, and I can't do anything to make it better for either of them." She laughed ironically, clutching his shirt to keep him close, as if this was the first time that she'd ever told anyone this. "Do you really care at all?"

He smiled slightly, tracing the lines of her palm with the cool tip of a senbon that he still had in his hand. "I could probably get used to caring."

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Note from the Author: … hm. :studies the rather bloody OOC shovel wound on Sasuke's head and moves on to TenTen: