SasuTen III.

A/N- Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! It seems that most everyone that reads this thinks that Sasuke is in character. That is great to hear, but I'm afraid that in this chapter Sasuke is going OOC. It's sad I know. But I really thought about it, and Tenten has been extremely OOC and no one seems to care about that, so I figured that since Sasuke is falling in love, he'll just be out of character anyway. And I also had many reviewers say that they like my Sasuke and to keep him that way. So I will.

Chapter three. Budding friendship.

Tenten didn't think too much on Sasuke's little interruption in her life. She had learned that people could come and go at any moment, and he would probably never speak to her again.

A day had already passed and he had not been anywhere near her. Not that she would know, she'd been watching Ino's apartment for her. Ino had to go out on a mission with Shikamaru and they needed Tenten to watch their cat for them.

Tenten had slept on their couch over the night. It had been very peaceful, she definitely preferred sleeping somewhere that wasn't her house.

Tenten also really liked the cat. Ino's cat was named Stefan, and it had sat with Tenten the entire time she had stayed in Ino's apartment. It felt slightly less lonely with the cat here. Stefan was the sweetest animal Tenten had ever known. He would nuzzle underneath her hand and ask to be petted.

Tenten was sad when Ino and Shikamaru came back. The weapon master bid farewell to the cat and left. She did not want to return to her empty life.

Sasuke POV

Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about Tenten. Somehow she seemed so different from every woman he had ever met. She was almost like a man in some aspects, but such a feminine person in other aspects.

Her hair, it was so beautiful, but she kept it tied at the base of her neck like a man would. She was very much like a Japanese man with no care for his hair in that way.

However, the way she was handling the passing of her teammate was so much like a real woman would. Sasuke knew that if he or Naruto died Sakura would not be this affected. Sakura was just stronger than Tenten in emotional standards.

But Sasuke liked that. He liked Tenten's utter disregard for her physical appearance, and he was almost jealous of how emotionally connected to Neji Hyuuga Tenten had been.

If Sasuke remembered correctly, no one had been able to achieve that kind of emotional relationship with the departed prodigy, not even his cousin Hinata.

Sasuke had been on a mission the day after he first spoke to Tenten, or else he would have gone to find her again. But he was in Konoha now, and would be looking for her, but he had been called urgently by Naruto to visit him.

The two men met at their training ground. "What is it?" Sasuke asked once he arrived.

"It's Hinata." Naruto said his voice tinged with panic. "I heard that she's upset about me marrying Sakura!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Didn't she tell you that she loved you?"

"She only said it in the heat of battle! I didn't think she meant it." Naruto said. "Besides, Kiba likes her! I couldn't make a move on the girl Kiba likes. And I also like Sakura."

Sasuke shook his head. "You should tell Hinata that you only view her as a friend. That way everything is cleared up." He said. "And when is your wedding to Sakura?"

"In May next year." Naruto said.

"Will you both be eighteen by then?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes we will." Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded. "That's good." He tried to appear slightly concerned with his best friend's life, but all he could think about was the fact that if Neji had lived, the big wedding would have been Neji and Tenten's, and not Sakura and Naruto's.

Sasuke planned to leave and find Tenten then, but he was called by the ANBU to sit in one of their meetings. He was being considered for a possible ANBU member, and had to attend these long meetings.

So he sat through three hours of reports from various other nations on threats against Konoha. He paid attention, but was always slightly distracted.

The meeting finished and as Sasuke was leaving to look for the Chinese girl when some students from the academy stopped him. "Excuse us sir," The boy and girl who must have been around ten years old said, "We know you're the famous Sasuke Uchiha and we were wondering if you could show us how to jump from tree to tree?"

Sasuke mentally groaned. He would never find her at this rate. Normally he wouldn't stop to teach young children, but the boy was Chinese, and he had brown hair and brown eyes and reminded Sasuke of Tenten.

So he taught them how to jump from tree to tree. It really was the duty of their teacher to help them, but Sasuke found it was not terrible showing them himself.

Once he had finished it was time for dinner and Choji and Shikamaru pulled Sasuke into a barbecue restaurant and force fed him pork.

Sasuke would normally appreciate such nice companionship, after all he had been a traitor, and it was nice to know he was so easily forgiven, but he really wanted to find Tenten now.

Shikamaru and Choji both chatted about Shikamaru's relationship with Ino, and Sasuke was forced to listen.

"When are you going to propose?" Choji asked.

"Not for a long time." Shikamaru said. "We only just started dating, and I know that it will take a while for me to completely settle down."

"Naruto is marrying Sakura so that no one else can have her." Sasuke said, "His only competition is Rock Lee though." Especially now that I have found Tenten, Sasuke mentally added.

"Everyone thought that when you came back you'd instantly hook up with Sakura." Choji said. "I think even Sakura herself thought that."

"I never cared for her as more than a teammate." Sasuke admitted. "I'm very glad that she is with Naruto."

The men concluded their dinner and they all left to go their separate ways. Sasuke wasn't heckled by anyone else. But it was really late at night by now.

Sasuke wondered if she would be in that park again. So he ran along rooftops to the park so as not to attract anyone else to hinder him.

He scanned through the park and didn't see anyone.

Then his eyes landed on a lone figure sitting on a bench.

Tenten POV

Tenten didn't know why she had returned to the park again. Maybe she just liked reliving old memories of a childhood long past, or maybe she liked hiding in a place where none of her friends would find her. She hated their continual looks of pity.

But Tenten really liked the stars. They were the only real source of light in her life. And as winter would soon be in Konoha, they were easier to see. They were unchanging, they could not die and leave her all alone.

Tenten heard the footsteps and looked up on instinct. Sure enough, Sasuke Uchiha stood beside her bench once again.

"Do you come here every night?" Sasuke asked as he sat down beside her.

"I do most nights." Tenten said. "Why do you care?" She asked.

"Because you are out at night all alone; I know that you're a capable ninja, but you really shouldn't be out at this hour." Sasuke said.

"I know you're a very capable ninja, so why are you out here?" Tenten mocked his question.

Sasuke grinned slightly at her. Then he abruptly changed the subject. "Have you eaten today?" He asked.

"No, but when I go home I will, I've just been so busy-" Tenten said.

Sasuke stood up and gently pulled her wrist. "I don't believe you. Come with me, I know a really great crepe place. Everyone loves crepes, and everyone loves this place." He said.

Tenten had no choice but to follow him. "What in the world is a crepe?" She asked as they walked along the deserted city streets.

"Do you eat only Chinese food?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes! I eat some Japanese food, but I really prefer to eat food of my heritage." Tenten said.

Sasuke scoffed at her. "Crepes are a French delicacy that you have obviously been deprived of." He said.

Sasuke led Tenten through the city streets, not letting go of her wrist. He led her to a tiny street she had never been on. She saw a small stall where a vendor would sell something and she wondered what they sold; but they were closed for the night. Eventually they arrived to a little little restaurant nestled between an old library and a Laundromat.

The sign said, 'French cuisine in Japan!' and it had a whimsical picture of a smiling pastry next to the words.

"Is it still open at this hour?" Tenten asked.

"It's open late into the night and early in the morning. Crepes are in the highest demand then." Sasuke said.

He ushered her into the door and she looked around the tiny restaurant. There were little tables scattered around. Each little table had a candle burning on it. There were paintings on the wall of what Tenten assumed were French architecture.

A hostess greeted Sasuke very personally. "Hello Uchiha-san, come back for more crepes with your lady friend?" She asked sweetly.

"Yes I have. She's never had a crepe before." Sasuke said.

The hostess looked at Tenten and smiled encouragingly, "No wonder she looks so sad, she hasn't had her life altered by Louis's cooking. I assure you ma'am, you will be forever changed."

Tenten was not looking to be 'forever changed'. Nor was she sad because of a lack of French food. She was sad because of her dead teammate that she loved more than anything, she was about to say so when Sasuke spoke.

"We'd like to sit in my usual place." Sasuke said.

They were led to one of the little tables near a fake window that was painted onto the wall.

"We'd like two orders of crepes." Sasuke said to the hostess. She nodded and left.

Tenten continued to look at the restaurant. There was another couple on the other side; they weren't even looking at Tenten or Sasuke. They were too busy looking at each other longingly.

"Do you come here a lot?" Tenten asked as she tried not to look jealously at the happy couple. "That hostess seemed to really know you."

"Shino actually introduced me to it, and I love it." Sasuke said. "I never see any annoying people here. I think that's why Shino showed me this place. He could tell that I was growing tired of women chasing me around, so he brought me here and I found a special sanctuary." Sasuke said.

Tenten nodded. "I can understand that." She said. "Since so many girls swoon over you."

Sasuke would normally glare at her for silently insulting him like that, but he caught sight of the waitress carrying a tray with two orders of crepes their way.

Tenten looked at the plate of food and tried to hide her repulsion. It looked like a tortilla, (yes she had experienced Mexican food) that was filled with various fruits and covered in crème. What was so special about this?

"Would you stop staring at it and try it?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

Tenten blushed lightly at being chastised, and reluctantly stabbed into the crepe. She took a hesitant bite and fell in love with French cuisine.

It was fruity, hence the fruit inside, and sweet because of some special syrup from within the crepe, and the crème inside added a sweet touch. This is magnificent! Tenten thought. Then she remembered that Sasuke had been watching her, she looked up and caught him smirking.

"You like it." Sasuke said. "I knew you would."

"I do." Tenten admitted.

Tenten looked up at Sasuke and expected to hear him tease her; instead he smiled genuinely at her. Something weird happened in Tenten's stomach. It fluttered, am I nervous? Tenten wondered.

The Uchiha's smile was contagious and Tenten found herself smiling back. When was the last time I smiled? Tenten wondered. She honestly could not remember the last time she had smiled like this.

What is going on with me? Tenten asked herself.

A/N- Thanks for reading! I can't say when the next part will be out, because I actually had this chapter written when I last posted, and I do not have chapter four written yet. But it will be soon I promise! The idea for crepes came from a personal experience in my life if you were wondering.