Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, dammit!

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11: Bittersweet Revenge

What's going on?

-Shikamaru

What are you talking about? What's going on with what?

-Ino

You know what. With what Ten-Ten said and how does your brother fit into all this? I didn't even know you had a brother!

-Shikamaru

We don't like talking about him, alright? He's like the disgrace of our family and have you ever heard of "You don't tell what goes on in the family?" Well, we keep things like our brother incognito. And what does it matter to you?

-Ino

You sound so pleasant right now. (Being sarcastic.) And, I don't think I've ever heard of that. But, whatever. That makes my next question pointless, so I won't even bother asking. And why does it matter to me? It matters because I thought we were going out. Was I wrong? Besides that, I'd like to know because…Well, because it sounds interesting. I don't know why I want to know, okay? I just do. But if you don't want to talk about it, then whatever. I'll figure it out the same way you and your sisters did – Internet.

-Shikamaru

Ino read through the note, glared at Shikamaru and shoved it into her backpack. Shikamaru sighed and dropped his head onto his desk in frustration. He just wanted to know what was going on. But obviously he wouldn't get it the same way he was trying to now. He didn't get it; he thought that he and Ino were dating. As soon as the bell rang, he gathered his stuff and angrily left the classroom.

Naruto caught him by the arm on his way down the hall. "What's up?"

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru snapped, trying to break free of Naruto's grip.

"You look really upset and now you're yelling at me. What's up?" Naruto demanded, tightening his grip a little.

Shikamaru glared at him. "Ino's being weird. And really secretive. She won't tell me anything about last night. She's barely talking to me."

"You know, it might have something to do with Ten-Ten. I mean, maybe she's being all stubborn and stuff and she doesn't want her sisters to hang out with us anymore – I mean, not that most of us were hanging out with them anyway," Naruto told him with a smile.

"Wrong," Sakura said from behind them. The boys jumped and looked at her. "She doesn't care what we do now. Sure, she's upset that Ino likes you" – she pointed at Shikamaru – "but she said that we can do anything we feel like as long as it's okay with Mom and it doesn't involve having the police on our doorstep." She paused as if thinking this part over. "Anyway, if Ino's not talking to you, it's her choice. Ten-Ten seriously doesn't care."

"Why not? She was on your back about it since your first day here," Naruto pointed out, sounding really confused.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with Neji. He was at our house at midnight when I was trying to sleep. They were downstairs for over an hour laughing before he finally went home." She stared at them suspiciously as if she thought they knew something.

"Neji…at your house?" Shikamaru stuttered. "I wonder what he was doing…"

"Why don't you ask him? He and Ten-Ten get to come back to school today, right?" Sakura asked, flipping her hair.

"I think…Probably," Naruto muttered, nodding his head.

The bell rang and Sakura pushed past the boys. "I got to go. Later!" she called happily over her shoulder.

"Why was Neji at their house?" Naruto asked as Shikamaru walked away. "Hey, hey, Shikamaru! Wait up!"

--

"Hey, Ten-Ten," Neji said, smiling as he walked up beside her.

"Oh, hey, Neji," Ten-Ten replied, smiling as well. "What's up?"

"Not much; I just saw you walking alone and I thought you could use some company," Neji explained, sounding silly as he tried for a sweet tone.

They walked down the hallway for a few minutes and then Ten-Ten finally asked, "Does this mean it's over?"

Neji looked at her curiously before answering, "All those pranks? Only if you want them to be over." He smiled after he said that, like he thought it was a joke or something.

"I kind of want them to end," Ten-Ten said uncertainly. "They were getting vicious."

"That was the fun part," Neji told her. He lost his smile when she looked at him angrily. "Your reactions fueled them, you know."

"Does that make you a baby then?" Ten-Ten asked pleasantly, smiling in triumph. Neji pretended to pout and looked away as they continued walking down the halls. She shoved him and laughed.

--

Naruto watched Hinata walk outside with Sakura and Ino. Ten-Ten wasn't with them because she was at the boys table with Neji. Naruto leaned out of the tree a little, checking to see where the three girls were going. He was so angry; so were Shikamaru and Sasuke, but they didn't want to help Naruto. The girls picked a table just across from the tree Naruto was in. He pulled out one of the water balloons he'd hidden carefully in his backpack and threw it at Hinata. It hit her in the head and she screamed, standing up. Sakura and Ino stood up too and started looking around. Some of the other kids around were laughing. He pulled another balloon out and threw it at Sakura, hitting her shoulder but getting one side of her head wet. She screamed as well. Naruto tried not to laugh as he threw a third balloon at Ino. Just as she was turning to look in his direction, the balloon hit her – in the face. She screamed and Naruto hid himself behind the leaves of the tree. He had one more balloon left. He'd been expecting Ten-Ten to be there too but since she wasn't…

He pulled out the last balloon and threw it at Hinata as he yelled, "Go home, bitches! No one wants you here!" He grabbed his backpack and heaved it onto his shoulders. Naruto slipped down the tree and ran inside the school as fast as he could. He'd be in deep shit if the girls decided to tell the principal.

--

"He's such a jack-ass!" Ino cried, drying her face with a paper towel. "I can't believe him! What's his malfunction anyway?"

Hinata took a paper towel and started drying her face as well. "I don't know but I can't stand him."

"We should tell the principal. We can totally get him suspended for this. It's harassment!" Sakura declared, wringing out her hair in the bathroom sink.

"You're right…" Ino agreed, throwing away the paper towel and pulling her hair down out of its ponytail. "And if he gets suspended then it'll just show how much power we have. We've already suspended Neji. One more of them…"

"I don't know…Don't you think that might just piss them off even more?" Hinata asked quietly, throwing away her towel. She started tugging at the hairpins in her hair, letting it all fall down. "If they get even more pissed off then we might be in even more trouble than we already are."

"Hinata…Listen to yourself! We need to get revenge on them. Remember what they've done to us? They've dumped paint on my hair, they've gotten Ino in trouble, they've teased you and they've dumped paint on all of us! That and so much more! And you want to spare them?" Sakura demanded. "They've got it coming."

Hinata thought about this for a moment and then declared, "Stop what you're doing and gather the evidence. We're going to the principal to get Naruto suspended!"

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"Naruto Uchiha, please come to the office. Naruto Uchiha, come to the office please," the secretary called over the intercom. Naruto looked over at Shikamaru and Sasuke who glared at him. He dragged himself from his seat, gathered his things and left. When he got to the office, the secretary pointed to the principal's office. He walked in and froze. Hinata sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk looking innocent and scared. She had her hair down and curled around her face to add to the "innocent" part of the equation; she was dripping wet as well. Naruto gulped and sat down next to her.

The principal cleared his throat and looked at Naruto. "It's come to my attention that you've been harassing Hinata and her sisters."

"Where are they, anyway?" Naruto asked, suddenly aware of their absence and scared to know why they weren't there.

"They went home," Hinata told him softly, casting him a shy look.

"Anyway," the principal started again. "Apparently it's been going on for awhile they're getting scared to come to school." Hinata smiled wickedly and ducked her head.

"And you haven't noticed until now. What a wonderful principal you are," Naruto commented, leaning back in his chair and grinning. He felt shaky though; this wasn't going well.

"I can't keep an eye on all the students at once. I thought you weren't like Sasuke or Neji. And yet, here you are." The principal smiled grimly. "To the point? You're suspended for a week."

Naruto felt all the blood rush from his face. This really wasn't good. "What?! But I haven't –"

"Naruto…" The principal stood up, putting his hands on his desk. "Stop. No excuses this time. It looks like trouble runs in your family, ne?" The bell rang and he turned to Hinata with a warm smile on his face. "You can go now."

She looked up at him with a weak smile and muttered, "Thanks, sir." She stood up, turned and cast one more mischievous look at Naruto before she strolled out of the office.

"This so isn't fair…" Naruto murmured, glancing down at the papers that the principal was filling out.

"Where have I heard that before?" he asked distantly as he handed Naruto his papers. "Have fun."

"I will," Naruto retorted as he stormed out of the office to meet his brothers. Ten-Ten was among them – big surprise. He sauntered up to her and shoved her. "I hate you!" He took off before Neji could process what had happened. Ever since those girls had showed up, everything was wrong. His brothers weren't having fun anymore and they kept getting in trouble. They were dating now! Neji was serious about Ten-Ten and Naruto knew it. Where had all their fun gone? What had happened to all their morals?

Naruto pushed through the front doors and ran toward the school parking lot. He sprinted out onto the sidewalk and down the street. Everything was wrong, all wrong. And it was all those girls' fault. His brothers were mad at him and they'd never been before; sure, they'd teased him about being an idiot or would get briefly mad at him, but this was different. They were really and truly mad at him. Neji was seriously dating and they'd never done that before; they'd always considered girls to be toys, something they could play with until they were bored. But they'd never thought of these girls like that – they were enemies. It sounded so childish, now that Naruto thought about it; still, it was true. Neji had betrayed them and Sasuke and Shikamaru were alright with it.

Everything was all wrong now.

--

"What the fuck?!" Ten-Ten screeched, getting up without Neji's help. It wasn't that he wasn't trying to help, but she just didn't want it. "What is his deal?!"

"He just got suspended," Hinata told them quietly, walking out of the office. They all stared at her blankly. "Ten-Ten, he threw water balloons at us and got us all soaked. Ino and Sakura went home to change; I was just about to go too. We were tired of him and all his brothers harassing us."

"They aren't doing anything," Ten-Ten protested, ignoring Sasuke who cleared his throat to remind the girls of their presence. "Neji said they'd stop."

"Someone didn't get the message," Hinata muttered darkly. "Besides, when did you decide to start trusting him, huh?" Ten-Ten froze, looking at Hinata in horror. "I called mom earlier; she said I can move into the office." And she walked away silently, slipping out the front doors.

Ten-Ten straightened up and stared at the ground, fighting back tears. There were still two periods left in the day but she wanted to go home now. She stiffly turned and shoved past the boys, hurriedly walking to her locker. Her own sister didn't want her around. As she reached her locker, the realization struck her and she started crying. When did school get so emotional? She spun her combination in, opened her locker and started pulling books out. Everything had been so simple before they'd moved. Now nothing was easy.

"Are you alright?" Ten-Ten jumped and started wiping her eyes. She glanced at Gaara and almost broke down again.

"I'm fine. It's just…Hinata doesn't want to be around me anymore and Naruto's suspended – I don't even know why I care about that," Ten-Ten babbled, shoving books into her backpack. "School just got way more difficult, is all."

"Wasn't it already hard?" Gaara asked, catching a book that slipped from Ten-Ten's hand before it landed. "I mean, weren't those boys tormenting you and all that?"

"Yeah, but this is different," Ten-Ten muttered, taking the book from his hand. "Thanks. Now I'm sort of dating Neji and I guess his brothers are mad at me. I have no idea why Hinata was so pissed at me though."

Gaara was silent for a minute and then he said, "I bet she was so pissed because you can't relate to them anymore. One of those stories you told me once…Didn't you say that you guys were really close?"

"We are…" Ten-Ten trailed off as she realized what he was saying. "I totally betrayed them with this…"

"I should go find Kiba…" Gaara murmured absentmindedly.

"Wait, that guy that hung around Hinata for awhile and then just kind of vanished?" Ten-Ten asked, closing her locker door and looking at him.

"He didn't go anywhere. I guess you could say he faded." Gaara stared over her shoulder and his voice was distant. "Sasuke threatened him and he backed off of Hinata. He really does like her, but he knows better."

"Could you be more specific?" Ten-Ten inquired impatiently.

"I don't know specifics," Gaara replied, looking back at her. "All I know is that Kiba likes Hinata but he's too afraid to get close to her, no thanks to Sasuke." He stared at her with an eerily dark expression. "Those Uchihas sound like bad news. Everything I hear about them is bad." He shook his head. "Maybe you should back off of Neji. It would be pretty bad if he decided you weren't worth it."

"You're listening to rumors?" Ten-Ten asked, smiling mockingly. "I didn't think you were the sort of guy who'd do that."

"They aren't rumors. They're accounts of what people went through," Gaara stated bluntly. "Most of the girls in this school all got viciously dumped by at least one of them. A few girls said that both Neji and Sasuke had about three girls attached to their arms at a time. It doesn't sound fun."

"Are you…" she hesitated. "Worried about me?"

Gaara stared at her intensely and replied, "You're the first friend I've ever had. I'd hate to see you hurt." He walked around her and sauntered down the hall. The bell rang and Ten-Ten sprinted to her next class; everything that Gaara had said swarmed around in her head as she ran. Was Neji really that dangerous?

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A/N: I am having fun with this again. I mean, after that really long gap where I lost interest in this story, I think I'm picking it up nicely. This story is kind of fun for me to write because I get to focus more on their feelings rather than all the events and shit that I have to in all my other stories. I mean, even 'Rendered Weak' focuses more on events and actions rather than emotions. So when I really want to just, like, let loose I can work on this. Sad that the only character I can really keep in character is Gaara, huh? And even he's OOC some…-sigh-

Well, obviously, I haven't given up on this quiet yet. So stay tuned and I'll see what else I can come up with.

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To my reviewers:

From: GReeN-PuNK-PRINCeSS

Great Story...
But one thing... Sasori and Deidara are NOT Gay -.-...

lolz

update soon pretty please with cherry n top I laughed when (Spoiler) Hidan said that to Kakuzu in Shippuden 77-78 xD

To: GReeN-PuNK-PRINCeSS

Oh touché! I can say otherwise about Sasori and Deidara. They may not sound gay, but…I have my suspicions…

I haven't seen that one yet…it sounds really funny. Do you know where it is in the manga?

From: Apple Bubblegum

YAY! NO RED LINEE!

I agree. SasoDei is the Ultimate. Nothing can beat SasoDei, but yeaah. Others are good too. Haha.

WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO ITACHI?! (I love him, after I found out his true story. Sasuke's an ass now/was always one because now he's trying to destroy Konoha. PTH.

To: Apple Bubblegum

Yep, yep! SasoDei RULES! So does HidaKaku…I'm discovering…

Eh, Sasuke was always an ass. I don't know what I ever saw in him. Hidan-senpai's so much better. Same with Dei-Dei. Er…I don't really know what happens to Itachi yet…I'll figure it out. Maybe he'll break out of jail or something. Ugh. But then the story would be longer! –dies of horror at the thought of extending the story anymore that need be–

From: NeonAlchemist

wow i didn't think Sasori would be the brother! amazing chapter. can't wait to read wat happens next. i wonder what will happen to Itachi...

To: NeonAlchemist

Why do you people want to know what happens to Itachi so bad? I really don't know! I'll figure that out later. And what happens next…may still be a mystery to even me…well, not in this chapter, I guess…

I was pretty shocked that Sasori was their brother! And I was the one who wrote it! 8O

From: NaruHina fan22

Update

To: NaruHina fan22

Er…Gotta give me more to work with here if you want a reply posted in the chapter…

From: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal

like OMG that is so cool how u did that I'm not pushing but...
I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT UPDATE!

To: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal

Um…What was so cool about what? Wait…Huh!? THE PRESSURE! THE PRESSURE! Don't yell at Darkmoonphase…she doesn't do well under pressure…

From: Artic Fox7856

actully it was quite good please reveiw soon pretty please kyuubi will attack if no review soon(back to happy mood) thanks
ArticFox7856 out

To: Artic Fox7856

-teary-eyed- OMG! I love you! Thank you for having a name that doesn't have a red misspelled line under it!!! You have no idea how much I appreciate that!

Ah! No kyuubi! Darkmoonphase no like kyuubi. He's scary…Darkmoonphase update, see? See?

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Please review! TTFN, peoples!